This preliminary final showcased everything that is exquisite, brutal and cruel about the sport. And how about Nick Watson?
Some of the most memorable games in the history of Australian rules football have come in preliminary finals. Some, like Geelong’s win over North Melbourne in 1994, are remembered as wildly fluctuating, end-to-end shootouts. Some, like Collingwood v GWS in 2023, were hand-to-hand combat. Some, like Hawthorn’s win over Melbourne in 1987 and Sydney’s over Essendon in 1996, are remembered for their dramatic finishes. Some, like the Crows-Bulldogs game in 1997, wrenched the hearts out of the losing supporters. Some are remembered for individual brilliance – Ablett in 1989, Long in 1993, Kouta in 1999 and Cox in 2018. And some, like the 2016 prelim in western Sydney and the Brisbane-Geelong game in 2024, are remembered for the high standard of play throughout.
The Brisbane-Hawthorn prelim on Saturday sampled the best of those and distilled them into one discombobulating, unforgettable brew. It had violent momentum swings, exceptional skills, tactical intrigue and plenty of controversy. And that was just the opening 20 minutes. One of our greatest historians once called Australian football an “emotional bath of agony and ecstasy”. Hyperbole butters a lot of bread in footy. But if ever that phrase was applicable, it was this game. It might be the greatest of all the preliminary finals. It might be the finest exhibition of the code we’ve ever seen.
(Original Caption) New York City: Tom Tresh, of the Yankees, at Yankee Stadium.
Although a familiar name to scholars of Yankees history (for lack of a better term), Tom Tresh did not have a long big-league career due to injuries and treatment of the time. Nonetheless, he was among the Bombers’ finest players of the 1960s and one of the last gasps of greatness from their vaunted farm system. As the team around him declined, Tresh continued to perform at a high level at multiple positions, making him a fan favorite and a valued final connection to those terrific teams of old.
Thomas Michael Tresh Born: September 20, 1938 (Detroit, MI) Died: October 14, 2008 (Venice, FL) Yankees Tenure: 1961-69
September 1938 was a big month for the Tresh family, as patriarch Mike made his MLB debut with the Chicago White Sox on September 4th, and son Tom was born on September 20th. Mike Tresh spent 11 years catching for the South Siders, playing in over 1,000 games in the majors until ending his career in 1949 with Cleveland. He was named an All-Star by the Associated Press in 1945, the only year of the 20th century in which the Midsummer Classic wasn’t held (after the creation of the All-Star Game in 1933).
Tom Tresh spent some time living with his parents in an apartment in Chicago, but he went to school in Michigan, as his father’s career was over by then. At Allen Park High School in Detroit, he lettered in baseball, football, and basketball, and he later went to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. His father’s prestigious job allowed him to gain some first-hand perspective on how clubhouses operated and what big-league living was like. He was even allowed to become a bat boy when his father briefly managed at Daytona Beach and Wausau, Wisconsin in 1951 and 1952, respectively.
MLB teams knew just how talented the younger Tresh was, and they kept a close scouting eye on him growing up. Mike and Doris Tresh wanted their son to go to college, but after a year at shortstop in Central Michigan, Tresh felt that he could not turn down a $30,000 offer from the New York Yankees. It was a lot of money for the time, the Yankees were baseball’s marquee team, and like many boys in the ’50s, Mickey Mantle was his idol. He recalled going to Tiger Stadium when the Yankees came to town and watching him intently from the upper deck in center field. Mike had even taught Tom how to switch-hit like Mantle.
Ultimately, Tresh was able to convince his parents to let him sign with the Yankees at age 19, assuring them that he would go back and finish his degree. He was on his way to joining his hero at Yankee Stadium.
Tresh was quick to impress in his first exposure to pro ball in 1958, as he hit .316/.435/.445 for the St. Petersburg Saints in 126 games of Class D ball. His pace slowed down upon a late-season promotion to the Double-A New Orleans Pelicans (no, not them), where the average player was seven years his senior.
It was around this time that Tresh met his idol for the first time, down in spring training. It was recalled in Jane Leavy’s book on Mantle, The Last Boy:
The first time he saw Mantle up close, Tresh was in an elevator during rookie camp in St. Pete–the doors opened and there he was. Though they stood eye to eye, Mantle seemed a thousand steps higher–a feeling Tresh never got over. “I never could see him as just one step higher than I was.”
After batting .246/.363/.415 in 133 games with the Binghamton Triplets in A-ball in 1960, the Yankees tested him at the minors’ highest level. There was no pressure to promote the young prospect, as the big-league club was in the midst of one of their greatest seasons in history, a 109-win romp to the World Series powered by Mantle and Roger Maris. Tresh had a superb year in his own right, hitting .315/.380/.428 in 141 games at shortstop with Richmond and taking home International League MVP honors.
As a reward of sorts, Tresh was tabbed for his MLB debut as a September call-up in ’61. With another Rookie of the Year-turned-regular in Tony Kubek at shortstop ahead of him, it was hard to find time. Tresh did make it into nine games though, debuting on September 3rd as a pinch-runner and taking his first at-bat on September 16th in his hometown at Tiger Stadium. Tresh notched his first big-league hit in the first game of a doubleheader on September 26th against the Orioles. The huge story that day was Maris tying Babe Ruth with his 60th homer of the season, but Tresh played his part as well, singling to right field off Jack Fisher in the middle of a rally that put the Yankees in front.
Tresh was only technically part of a championship team in ‘61, but the next year, he truly earned his ring. An opportunity arose, as Kubek was recalled to the U.S. Army Reserve. Manager Ralph Houk entrusted the starting role at shortstop to Tresh over fellow infielder Phil Linz. It was the right call, as Tresh went on to an All-Star rookie campaign. He capably fielded the position in Kubek’s absence while hitting well from both sides of the plate. Tresh racked up 20 homers and a .286/.359/.441 triple slash, good for a 119 wRC+, Rookie of the Year honors, and even a 12th-place finish for MVP.
There was the potential for an awkward situation to arise when Kubek returned from the service in August, and Houk tasked Tresh with playing alongside Mantle in left field. In 573 minor-league games, Tresh had never manned the outfield, but he handled it with aplomb. Having previously made that same transition, Mantle even gave Tresh his glove, choosing to befriend and praise his potential future replacement rather than ignoring him, as Joe DiMaggio did to Mantle. Tresh knew Mantle had his flaws, but he loved him anyway and eventually nicknamed his son “Mickey” for him in 1964. (“What the fuck did you do that for?” Mantle later asked. He knew he was no idol.)
The Yankees won the pennant and played the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Tresh had only just turned 24 and yet he didn’t appear to be fazed at all. He hit .321/.345/.464 in the seven-game series, leading the Yankees in hits and average. It wasn’t garbage time participation either, as his three-run homer in the eighth off Jack Sanford gave the Yankees a Game 5 victory,
Mike Tresh was in the stands at Yankee Stadium when Tresh hit that homer to win Game 5, crying tears of joy. His son had definitely made it.
A terrific one-handed catch by Tresh on a seventh-inning Willie Mays drive in Game 7 likely saved a run with the red-hot Willie McCovey on deck. The Yankees edged the Giants 1-0 to bring home their 20th championship.
Rather than suffering a sophomore slump in ’63, Tresh had an outstanding year. He was on fire, hitting .269/.371/.487 with 25 dingers and a career-best 141 wRC+. Tresh was an All-Star for the second year in a row and again earned down-ballot MVP votes as the Yankees ran away with the AL pennant thanks to 104 victories. Tresh spent the year in the outfield and even manned center while Mantle missed a few months due to injury. Unfortunately, they had no answer for the overwhelming Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff in the World Series. Tresh managed to take the seemingly untouchable Sandy Koufax deep late in Game 1, but like most of his team, he was otherwise quiet. They swept the Yankees away.
Houk moved up to the front office in 1964 and the popular Yogi Berra took over in the dugout. The Yankees won their fifth straight pennant, but it was as tough a climb to the top as the team of that era ever endured. They battled injuries and ineffectiveness from several positions, including Kubek at shortstop. Tresh remained a solid player, though he also saw his numbers slip. The Yankees faced a tough competitor in the Cardinals, and it was a tight seven-game series. Tresh slugged .636 and homered twice, including a game-tying blast off World Series MVP Bob Gibson in the ninth inning of Game 5.
It wasn’t enough, as the Cardinals prevailed and Berra was stunningly fired.
The Yankees pulled off a classic “if you can’t beat him, sign him” move for ‘65 by hiring Johnny Keane, who just beat them in the World Series. Kubek played poorly at shortstop and missed a lot of time, but Keane kept Tresh in the outfield, alternating him between relieving Mantle in center and playing left (there was even some right mixed in). To some extent, it paid off, as Tresh finished in the top 10 for AL MVP, won a Gold Glove, and showed no sign of ill-effect at the plate with a 136 wRC+. To another extent, it didn’t, as the team around him was not good; the Yankees fell below .500 for the first time in 40 years.
Despite the increasing effects of a pitching-heavy era, Tresh pulled off a career-high in home runs in ‘66, smacking 27 dingers in 151 games. That was one of the few highlights for the Yankees though, who were abysmal and dropped all the way to last place. Keane was fired and replaced by Houk in May, who moved Tresh to third base since he wanted to give a young Roy White time in the outfield. Tresh ended up splitting time between left and the hot corner. The Yankees appreciated his athleticism and Zobristian ability to handle basically any position, but it still mystified Tresh to a certain degree:
“I win Rookie of the Year as a shortstop and they move me to the outfield. Then I win a Gold Glove Award there in 1965 and they move me to third. I couldn’t figure out what position I was supposed to prove I could play.“
Although Tresh was only 28 entering the 1967 campaign, the second game of spring training was the beginning of the end. He popped his right knee while firing a throw across his body from left field to the cutoff man. Tresh was in serious pain and could barely walk; it was later revealed to be torn cartilage. Inexplicably, the Yankees told him that he should try to play on it rather than undergo surgery.
It was a disaster. Through some miracle, Tresh kept his numbers above league-average with a 106 wRC+, but his OPS dipped below .700 and he was a shadow of the defender he once was in left field. Tresh later recalled that his knee “gave out five more times” that year, undoubtedly affecting his future. He had surgery to repair the damage in the offseason (why he wasn’t simply shut down on a 90-loss team is a mystery), but the damage was done. Tresh was mostly a hobbling shortstop in ‘68 and his play only worsened in ‘69.
By then, the only other position players aside from Tresh remaining from the Yankees’ early ’60s glory were Joe Pepitone and catcher Jake Gibbs. Mantle, Maris, Berra, Kubek, Elston Howard, and Bobby Richardson were all gone. Tresh was miserable. The team was middling at best, and he could barely hit, let alone play shortstop. So he asked if the Yankees would trade him to the Tigers, where he could at least be close to home, not to mention play for the defending World Series champions. The Yankees acquiesced, and Tresh was dealt to Detroit on June 14th. The very next person to wear number 15 for the Yankees was a worthy heir: Thurman Munson.
Tresh remained primarily a shortstop and appeared in 94 games for the Tigers, batting .224/.305/.387 with 13 homers, a .692 OPS that was amusingly still good for a 92 wRC+ in the league-wide offensive malaise. While Detroit was a better team, there was still no competing with the 109-win juggernaut Orioles, who ran away with the AL East in the first year of divisional play.
Tresh had gone through another surgery on his knee in hopes of playing again in 1970. However, the Tigers told him that he would need to rehab in the minors, and Tresh had no intention of living that kind of life again, particularly with a wife and four kids at home. So Tom Tresh retired having played just eight games after his 31st birthday. His story was a warning sign about the dangers of dismissing injuries, but he had no regrets.
Even though Tresh was so talented before his injury that the Red Sox briefly considered a swap of him for Carl Yastrzemski, one can’t blame Tresh for his overall happiness about his career. He was a beloved teammate, a World Series champion, an All-Star, and an MVP candidate for baseball’s greatest franchise. At the time of his retirement, he was even in the Yankees’ all-time top 20 in homers at 140 (the recent offensive spike pushed him back to a tie for 34th as of 2026). Tresh had a fine life post-retirement too, as he did fulfill that college promise to his parents, even after his father’s passing in 1966.
Tresh earned his degree in physical education from Central Michigan in 1969, where he later served as an assistant baseball coach for 15 years and helped innovate a training tool for sliding and diving called the Slide-Rite. His son Mickey inherited the baseball gene, playing at Miami University of Ohio before going through four years in the minors as well with New York and Detroit. The younger Tresh even got a glimpse of the ascendance of one of the great successors to Tresh and Mantle in center: his 1988 Prince William Yankees teammate, 19-year-old Bernie Williams.
The bond between the Mantles and Treshes remained strong—the two Yankees were at a card show in Nashville when Mickey Tresh called to inform his father that he just had a boy of his own, who he named Tommy. Mantle celebrated with Tresh by ordering a $150 bottle of Dom Perignon, raising a toast to the lad, and later writing “Happy birthday Tommy, we had one for you. Mickey Mantle.” on the bottle.
That bottle could have sold for something valuable, as the glove Mantle gave to Tresh in 1962 was enough by itself to put a down payment on a cottage. Tom Tresh never sold it though; it meant too much to him, and he grieved as much as any of his teammates on the day Mantle passed away from liver cancer in 1995. Thirteen years later, Tresh suddenly left the world as well, as he died of a heart attack on October 14, 2008, not even a month after turning 70.
At least Tresh got to see the old Yankee Stadium one last time before it closed for good, as he was in attendance at the final Old-Timers’ Day. As always, the crowd gave him an ovation before he stepped to foul line one last time. Number 15 will always mean Thurman Munson, but it will also always be connected to Tommy Tresh, another fantastic Yankee.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
Manchester City sent a message to Arsenal with this chaotic victory that takes Enzo Maresca’s team three points clear as leaders during the three-week international break.
Until the Premier League resumes on 10 October City can enjoy their status while Mikel Arteta’s champions have to stew following Saturday’s 3-0 humbling at Brighton.
Alexander Isak’s second-half goal was enough to give Liverpool the points in a disappointing game, taking them up to sixth in the table; Bournemouth are 17th
I don’t imagine Rose spent too long sweating over his team. Kluivert is a miss, and of course Junior Kroupi is long-term injured, but otherwise, his team is pretty settled. Adam Scott, who we might’ve thought would leave in the summer, stayed, and has started the season in excellent form. His ball-carrying is exceptional and he offers height in both boxes; if he can develop his passing, especially shirt, punched through the lines, he might develop into an all-round monster.
But back to our game, let’s have a closer look at our dramatis personae.
GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 21: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Tibbs III (98) reacts running the bases after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox in a Spring Breakout Game on March 21, 2026, at Camelback Ranch at Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Oklahoma City Comets allowed seven runs in the sixth inning, breaking a tie in stunning fashion in a road loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).
Player of the day
Oklahoma City was first on the board with five runs in the third inning, including a three-run home run by James Tibbs III, who was designated to hit and did just that on Saturday.
Tibbs this season was already the first player in the Pacific Coast League with at least 100 runs, 100 RBI, and 100 walks since Greg Brock, Dodgers first base prospect for Albuquerque in 1982. This home run on Saturday was Tibbs’ 30th of the season, second-most in the PCL.
Ryan Fitzgerald, playing third base on Saturday, had three hits and drove in his 101st run of the season. His 171 hits are the most by an Oklahoma City player in the team’s Bricktown rra (since 1998).
Shortstop Noah Miller started the scoring with a two-run home run in the third inning, his second start in a row with a home run.
Transactions
Mike Sirota, yet another Dodgers minor league outfielder ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball, started the season in High-A Great Lakes, was promoted to Tulsa in May and put up a stunning .450 on-base percentage in Double-A. With the Drillers season over he was promoted to Oklahoma City on Friday and played in his first Triple-A game on Saturday, and batted third, playing right field.
Sirota on Saturday doubled after he walked three times, giving him 100 on the season between the three levels. After the second walk, in the fifth inning, Sirota scored his 100th run of the season. He has played 107 games.
Sirota is the seventh Dodgers minor leaguer to score 100 runs this season, along with Zach Ehrhard (118 runs with Oklahoma City), Tibbs (109), Eduardo Quintero (108 runs for Great Lakes and Tulsa), Josue De Paula (106 runs with Tulsa, not counting his six runs so far with the Dodgers), Midwest League MVP Charles Davalan (103), and Mairo Martinus (103 with Ontario and Great Lakes).
Tibbs (108) and Sirota (100) are the only Dodgers minor leaguers with triple-digit walks this season.
Sep 19, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) is called safe as San Francisco Giants catcher Andrew Knizner (19) missed the tag in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It’s official. In the historic rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers (or Bridegrooms, or Superbas, or Dodgers, or Robins, or back to the Dodgers again), spanning a continent, two cities, nearly 140 years, the Dodgers are back ahead: 1,293 wins to the Giants’ 1,292.
After building a sizable lead during the New York era, the Giants have seen their lead dwindle over the decades in California. This most recent era has obviously been lopsided towards LA, and it’s possible, after ending the 2025 season in a dead-lock (1287 – 1287), that 2026 could be the first season since 1895 to end with the Dodgers leading in overall head-to-head wins.
So, if we’re leaning into the dramatics of this clash, was Saturday’s 10-4 loss the 21st century hinge-point? The moment in which the balance shifts, with our Giants stuck on history’s down-slope, increasingly left in the dust, huffing and puffing after a vanishing point on the horizon that is the Dodger machine?
For LA fans, this interpretation is not only attractive, it just makes sense. This era of 13 division titles, back-to-back championships, a roster stuffed with future Hall of Famers certainly feels like a pinnacle, the culmination of a century-long project. How could you not believe that history has a direction? And if that truly is the case for us Giants fans, it’s somewhat laughable that after all these years, our beloved club’s final fingernails, desperately holding onto rivalry relevance, was made, quite unsuccessfully, by a 24-year old scrap reliever, Philip Abner.
Yup, the man who’s name you learned on Friday when he was shelled for four home runs in the 8th inning of Friday’s loss was somewhat surprisingly called on to take the mound again in another fraught scenario. And just as he did in Friday’s loss, a ballgame became a bust when Abner was introduced to it.
With two outs in the bottom of the 5th, the Giants and Dodgers were knotted at four runs a piece. The San Francisco offense had done their part against Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Victor Bericoto, in his return from the IL, reached base three times against the lefty. His 2-run homer — a no-doubter to dead center — lifted the Giants back into the game in the 3rd. He led off the 5th with an opposite field double and knotted the game back up at four runs apiece on Jung Hoo Lee’s double.
San Francisco had kept pace with a Dodgers offense, led by a 4-for-4 night by Mookie Betts, into the 5th. LA had scored in each one of their frames against starter Yunior Marte, but that pattern looked primed to end after Max Muncy grounded into a double play. The young right-hander had the bases-empty and two outs in the 5th, but couldn’t find a way to get the third. Teoscar Hernandez kept the inning going with an opposite field single. Marte walked Kyle Tucker next, and with his pitch count nearing triple-digits, Tony Vitello decided to go to his bullpen.
There was certainly an argument for pulling Marte at that point. Command of the zone was clearly waning. Bagging that third out and closing out a frame had been a challenge all evening. When more grit and a finer touch on his pitches was needed, Marte acquiesced to his opponents.
With two outs and Betts on third, Marte served up a 2-strike fastball right over the heart of the plate for Muncy to rip for an RBI double. Another fastball was served up to Betts with two outs and two runners on in the 2nd. He again allowed number-9 hitter Alex Freeland reach base with two outs in the 4th before hanging a slider to Betts, who doubled the runner home from first.
Marte’s night was certainly done, but it was a bit surprising that Vitello went to Abner to help close out the inning. Abner was really the only southpaw available, and Vitello wanted the left-on-left advantage against Josue De Paula, so much so that he played deaf to the echoes of those home runs still bouncing around Chavez Ravine.
The first pitch Abner — a spiked curveball — allowed both runners to advance. Down early in the count, he couldn’t get De Paula to chase after elevated fastballs. Five pitches into his outing, the bases were loaded. Five more pitches, and the tie was broken. Behind in the count, Tommy Edman got another fastball and dropped it into shallow left for a two-run single. A pitch later Miguel Rojas punched in one more run and would’ve brought in another if not for Turner Hill’s perfect assist throw to the plate.
LA went 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position (compared to SF’s 2-for-12), logging six two-out RBIs. The three runs scored on Abner’s watch (two attributed to Marte, and one unearned for the lefty for some ticky-tack reason) proved to be the burst of energy needed for the Dodgers to edge out in front and never look back.
The question is, now with the head-to-head rivalry record in their favor, will they ever look back?
KANSAS CITY, MO - JULY 26: Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, July 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Tanner Gatlin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Hello everyone and happy Sunday!
The Mariners dropped another stinker in a 5-3 loss to the Rockies yesterday as the team failed to take advantage of a solid outing from Bryce Miller. The M’s will look to secure the series win today with first pitch coming at 12:10pm PT.
In the latest episode of the Meet at the Mitt podcast, the crew began to look back on the 2026 season as a whole and tried to figure out how the team may approach this offseason. (Spotify link; Apple link)
Around the league…
Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge was placed in concussion protocol after he bumped his head on a low archway at the team hotel in Los Angeles.
Despite recent speculation, Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán says he has no interest in taking the Mets’ managerial job next year.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 23: Rowdy Tellez #11 of the Atlanta Braves bats during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 23, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On the next to last day of the minor league season the Atlanta Braves brought Davis Polo up to Triple-A to make his debut for the Stripers. After getting injured during the 2024 season, forcing him to miss the 2025 season, Polo opened the season and spent the majority of 2026 there – but his rapid rise over the last month has now seen the 21-year-old reach the level directly below the big leagues as he has hit every level of full season ball this year.
Patrick Clohisy, CF: 0-3, BB, R, SB, .345/.427/.493
Davis Polo, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Davis Polo didn’t just make his Triple-A debut on Saturday night, he shut out a solid Indianapolis lineup through six innings of work. Polo allowed just four hits and a pair of walks as he struck out three and whiffed 11. In total he needed just 84 pitches to get through six, with 50 of them coming as strikes. Polo didn’t rack up the strikeouts the way we’ve been accustomed to seeing this year, as he was pitching to contact more than his normal rate (9.5 K/9 or above at each of his other three stops this year) – however he was missing bats at a solid rate in his toughest test yet with three Indians having big league experience. Polo got five whiffs on 11 swings with his changeup, three whiffs on five swings on his cutter, two on five swings with the slider, and one on 12 swings with his fastball. Only the sinker failed to record a whiff, despite drawing 10 swings on the night. Polo looked quite comfortable with the new challenge, and was throwing harder in his final two innings of work than he did at the beginning of the night – which could be partly due to the game getting a late start due to weather.
Once Polo finished for the night, Rolddy Munoz pitched a scoreless seventh inning. The recently promoted Luis Vargas came in to start the eighth, but didn’t have his command and allowed the lone run on a pair of walks in just a third of an inning. Bailey Falter got the final two outs in the eighth and the first out in the ninth, before giving way to Blake Burkhalter to pick up the save by recording the final two outs. Combined the four pitchers allowed the one run on five hits and four walks with nine strikeouts and 19 whiffs.
The Stripers didn’t have much offense in this one, managing two runs on four hits and three walks. In fact this game was still scoreless in the bottom of the sixth when Rowdy Tellez came up to the plate with a pair of runners on and hit a ground rule double that accounted for all of the Stripers scoring as Luke Williams and Patrick Clohisy came around to score. Williams and Brett Wisely joined Tellez in picking up a double, while the final hit came as a David McCabe single. McCabe also walked in the win, as did Clohisy and Chuckie Robinson.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 15: Martín Pérez #33 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 15, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Griffin Quinn) | Getty Images
After the offense brought out some power to secure a series win Saturday and the Phillies struggling a bit, the Braves have a chance to secure the division title with a win or a Phillies’ loss on Sunday. Martin Perez will take the mound for Atlanta, with Hunter Brown his counterpart for Houston.
Perez continues to be a functional innings-eater this season, with a spectacular (and lucky) ERA of 3.07. At this point his job is pretty much done for the season, though he will likely make one more start after this one. The goal at this point is to prevent the Braves from nuking their bullpen heading into the playoffs. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that Perez would be called upon to make a start in the playoffs, though not impossible, given the massive questions around the Braves’ rotation behind Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle. For Martin, give the team 5-6 innings today and if you win it’s a bonus.
Hunter Brown is a tough customer on the other side, as a strong 2/3 starter for years now. He’s got strong strikeout and ground ball rates, but his walked have jumped this season up to 4.55 batters per 9 innings, lowering his overall effectiveness. Brown makes it work off the back of his fastball, featuring mid/upper 90s velocity, high-end extension, and a high release point that gives his four-seamer and sinker exceptional rise. Those two pitches consist of 60% of his mix with the knuckle curveball as his preferred secondary and a slider and changeup mixed in. Brown has really good stuff and the Braves will likely have to beat him by being patient. If they let Brown get some easy outs and keep his pitch-count low, it could be a long night for Atlanta.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 20, 2:10 p.m. ET
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: David Morgan #66 of the San Diego Padres celebrates at the end of the tenth inning during the game against the Miami Marlins at Petco Park on September 19, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ethan Salas will get the headlines and rightfully so after the 20-year-old recorded his first-career walk-off hit to lead the San Diego Padres to a 7-6 win in 10 innings over the Miami Marlins at Petco Park on Saturday night. Jake Cronenworth started the inning on second base as the free runner and Salas got his chance to be the hero after Cronenworth advanced to third base on a wild pitch and Sung-Mun Song struck out for the first out of the inning. Salas was called on to pinch-hit and delivered the game-winning RBI-single on an 0-2 fastball down in the zone. He was able to ground the ball past the Miami reliever and through a drawn in infield to push the Padres ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Wild Card race.
Before Salas got the opportunity to win the game, David Morgan, who was credited with the win, saved the game. The right-hander was called on to pitch the top of the 10th inning after Mason Miller allowed a game-tying home run to pinch hitter Griffin Conine in the top of the ninth inning. Miller got past the home run and completed his outing, but it appeared like a wasted opportunity for one of the best closers in baseball.
Morgan took the ball in the top of the 10th inning with the go-ahead run on second base. He struck out the first two Marlins he faced before an intentional walk put Miami runners at first and second base. Morgan then faced Heriberto Hernandez and got him to line-out to Jackson Merrill in center field after two borderline pinpoint pitches that just missed the plate to end the inning. Miami was unable to advance the runner, let alone, get him home to take the lead.
It was another dismal start for Casey Mize in a Padres uniform. The deadline addition lasted just three innings and allowed five runs on five hits with five walks and two strikeouts. The game turned into an unexpected bullpen game where six different pitchers were needed to cover the final innings. Miller was the only San Diego reliever to allow a run and that was off the solo home run by Conine.
San Diego will look to complete the sweep of Miami today when the teams meet at 1:10 p.m.
Padres News:
The Padres have been on a run during the second half of the season, and that success has been sparked by the improved play and production of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill.
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with teammate Wyatt Langford #36 after the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field on Saturday, September 19, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Courtney Kramer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Rangers 6, Blue Jays 2
Ladies and gentlemen, the Texas Rangers are in sole possession of first place in the American League West, a full game up on the Houston Astros.
Let’s take a moment to enjoy this.
* deep breath * ah, the smell of that first place air!
And the Rangers won this game in spite of starter Cal Quantrill leaving with lat tightness after retiring just four batters.
Quantrill, I will note, clearly wasn’t right from the outset, with his velocity down a couple of ticks in the first inning. He threw just one pitch in the second, a fastball that was just 87.8 mph — a full six mph off his 93.8 mph season average — and that was enough for Skip Schumaker to go get him.
We felt the bullpen was in great shape after Trevor Williams threw four innings to finish out Friday’s game. Turned out, it needed to be.
Jordan Montgomery — remember him? I forget sometimes that he’s in the bullpen for the Rangers.
Montgomery, who threw an inning just two days prior, gave the Rangers 51 pitches and 3.2 innings, with the only baserunner he allowed being a walk in the fourth.
Since Quantrill retired all four batters he faced, the Rangers took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
A sixth inning handled by Nathan Eovaldi, of all people.
The booth speculated that Saturday would have been Eovaldi’s throw day if he were going to start on Tuesday, so with the uncertainty surrounding Quantrill, they held off on having Eovaldi throw, in case they basically needed him to do his “throw day” as a relief appearance.
22 pitches later, Eovaldi handled the sixth inning, allowing the first two Jays hits of the game as well as the first Toronto run, but finishing the inning with the Rangers still ahead, 3-1.
After the Rangers answered with three runs, Robert Garcia came in to handle the seventh, allowed a solo homer to pinch hitter Davis Schneider and an infield single to Kaz Okamoto, but a double play and a 3U meant no more runs scored.
Chase Silseth and Jacob Latz pitched the eighth and ninth with no runs coming across, and Latz only needed 9 pitches, meaning he should be available for Sunday if needed.
It was a weird one for the bats. They only had five hits in the game, and were just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Not the sort of output that would have you thinking six runs.
Josh Jung had a first inning opposite-field solo homer for the second time in three games to put the Rangers up early.
Texas was then the beneficiary of some clownball in the second, scoring two runs on zero hits.
Wyatt Langford led off with a walk, then Nicky Lopez, with one out, was hit by a pitch. Danny Jansen grounded to short for what looked like an inning-ending 6-4-3, but the throw to second was bad, allowing Langford to score and Lopez to get to third. Lopez then scored on an 0-2 wild pitch to Evan Carter.
The three runs in the sixth, in response to the first Jays run of the game in the top of the inning, also was assisted by the Blue Jays. A Josh Jung hit by pitch, a Brandon Nimmo single and a Wyatt Langford double brought a run in and put runners on second and third with no one out. After Jake Burger struck out, the Jays intentionally walked Nicky Lopez.
Yes, you read that right…Nicky Lopez was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Nicky Lopez.
It was the first time in Nicky Lopez’s career that he was issued an intentional walk.
I really don’t like issuing an intentional walk to load the bases, because it means there’s no margin for error for the pitcher.
Which was promptly demonstrated, as our old friend from the 2023 World Series, Paul Sewald, hit Danny Jansen with the very next pitch he threw, forcing in a run.
Evan Carter followed with a shallow sac fly to center, which featured Langford having to leap over Alejandro Kirk, who was in front of the plate, unsuccessfully trying to catch the throw home from Brett Bateman. Langford didn’t tag the plate, but was alert enough to go and touch home before Sewald, backing up the play, could tag him.
Meanwhile, 260 miles away, the Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves, putting the Rangers’ playoff fate in the Rangers’ hands.
Seven games to go, and the Rangers are still in it. Exciting, isn’t it?
Paul Quantrill hit 93.2 mph with his fastball, averaging 91.7 mph. Jordan Montgomery’s fastball hit 91.9 mph. Nathan Eovaldi touched 94.1 mph with his fastball. Robert Garcia’s fastball topped out at 93.7 mph. Chase Silseth hit 97. 0 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball reached 96.8 mph.
Jake Burger had a 105.4 mph fly out. Corey Seager had a 104.0 mph groundout and a 103.4 mph single. Wyatt Langford had a 102.8 mph double. Josh Jung had a 100.2 mph home run.
Let’s finish off the sweep today. The Rangers haven’t swept a team since…they swept Toronto in Toronto at the end of June? Really? Its been that long?
It won't be long now before the Detroit Red Wings begin play in the 2026-27 NHL season, and for forward Andrew Copp, it's a contract year.
Copp, an Ann Arbor native and former Michigan Wolverines forward whom former Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman signed to a five-year contract in 2022, has centered Detroit's top line through the early stages of Training Camp in place of the injured Dylan Larkin.
During Training Camp last year, Copp said in no uncertain terms that the Red Wings "had" to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While Detroit put itself in a good position to do so, the team experienced yet another unraveling in March and ultimately missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive year.
Has Copp's mindset regarding the expectations for 2026-27 changed? Not at all.
"We can't accept anything less," Copp said of making the playoffs.
"I don't think there's any other way to look at it - what more growth can we do without making the playoffs? We've done all that the last three or four years since I've been here," he continued. "So there's only really one way to go."
As far as his own contract status goes, he said that there are more pressing matters that have his attention at the moment.
"I have enough to concentrate on my game this year, that's kind of where my mind's at right now," he said.
"Copper is a very cerebral player, a very deep thinker about the game," McLellan said.
"(He'll) be a coach one day, if he wants to be," McLellan continued. "He's got that type of mindset. He probably didn't have a great year as far as goals go, offense, and five-on-five, but he produced with the other two (power-play and shorthanded) in other ways. A lot of helpers, a lot of net-front stuff."
Last season, Copp appeared in 79 games, scoring nine goals with 34 assists.
Since joining the Red Wings in 2022, Copp has tallied 41 goals with 100 assists in 296 games.
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DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 12: (R-L) Cole Carrigg #16 and Kyle Karros #12 of the Colorado Rockies sit in the dugout after their 11-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 12, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Just one week from today, the 2026 Colorado Rockies season will draw to a close. Despite the looming lockout and what promises to be an acrimonious labor dispute, it’s an end that some Rockies fans are no doubt ready for.
Saturday night’s victory over the Seattle Mariners in honor of Todd Helton brought back some of the joy from earlier in the season. However, it’s hard to ignore just how bad the Rockies have been over the last month and change as they limp to the finish line.
Since mid-August, the Rockies are just 9-34 with just two series wins and a series tie. During that stretch, it seems like every flaw on the team has been laid bare. From poor pitching and defense to bad baserunning mistakes and a total lack of clutch hitting—the Rockies were 4-for-20 with RISP in Friday’s loss—the 2026 Rockies of September look a lot more like the 2025 squad instead of the one that gave us hope earlier this season.
It’s clear the Rockies have hit a wall. Just 5-12 in September, the Rockies need to win six of their remaining seven contests to avoid the 100 loss mark for the fourth consecutive season. That’s a tall order.
However, the Rockies will finish at least 10 games better than last season regardless of what happens over the next week. The 2026 Rockies are better than the historically awful team in 2025. Progress is full of small steps up the foot of the mountain, and we have been here for the climb.
The victory reduced the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot to 2. If the Cubs win Sunday and the Yankees defeat the Diamondbacks, the Cubs will be in. Thus it would appear very, very likely that the Cubs will be playing a Wild Card series. The question remains: Where? The Padres passed the Phillies into the second wild card spot when they won Saturday and the Phillies lost. The Cubs’ magic number to clinch home field against Philadelphia is 6, and against San Diego it’s 7. So, thanks to the tiebreaker that they have over both teams, the Cubs actually now control their own destiny — win out, and the Padres and Phillies cannot catch them for home field. (That’s not likely, of course, but it’s mathematically possible.)
First things first, let’s look back at Saturday’s win.
The game went scoreless into the second inning, which is when the Cubs took a 1-0 lead. Nico Hoerner led off with a double and Michael Busch was hit by a pitch. A force play put Nico on third, where he scored on this sac fly by Matt Shaw [VIDEO].
I cannot emphasize enough how good a pickup Taylor was. Not only can he play solid defense at all three outfield positions, but he absolutely crushes left-handed pitching, something Ian Happ is decidedly not doing this year. That makes Happ and Taylor a pretty good platoon arrangement.
The Reds tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth thanks to some sketchy Cubs defense — and that’s not a phrase we’ve used much this year, when the team defense has been at elite level.
First, Shaw overthrew his cutoff man. Then Swanson made an ill-advised throw in the general direction of third base, which got away, allowing Suárez to score and putting JJ Bleday on second. That clip is from the Reds broadcast. On Marquee, JD said that he thought Suárez hesitated going around second, though I didn’t see that. In any case, there should have been runners on first and third with one out. Instead, a run is in and there’s a runner on second.
After a strikeout, Boyd faced Ke’Bryan Hayes, who is having a miserable season. Hayes came into the game batting .144 with a .433 OPS and since returning from a groin strain Sept. 7, was 1-for-19 with eight strikeouts. Never mind all that! Hayes singled, scoring Bleday to tie the game.
After that, Boyd was removed in favor of Daniel Palencia, who threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. This was the first time since April 19, 2025 — 81 appearances ago — that Palencia had thrown two full innings in a game, and he looked really good in this outing. His velocity was up, touching 100 a few times, and he had his devastating slider working. If he can continue this, that is an enormous boost to a bullpen that could really use that. Palencia’s six outs were recorded on just 20 pitches.
The Cubs extended their lead in the top of the eighth. With one out, Happ batted for Taylor and walked. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on this single by Nico [VIDEO].
That was an aggressive send, especially since you can see Happ hesitate before the single gets through. But the throw to the plate was cut off and the Cubs led 4-2.
Aaron Civale, who’s been really good in relief for the Cubs, recorded the first two outs easily in the eighth, then gave up a single to Dane Myers and a walk to Elly De La Cruz.
Craig Counsell summoned Ryan Zeferjahn to pitch to Sal Stewart. Zeferjahn wild-pitched the runners up a base, then ran the count full on Stewart before striking him out on this nasty sweeper [VIDEO].
Hopefully, that was a confidence-builder for Zeferjahn, who’s got the repertoire to succeed if he can just throw more strikes.
A note about the pair of Cubs homers from BCB’s JohnW53:
This was the second of the Cubs’ last three games in which they hit multiple home runs. They had done so in only two of their previous 14 games, beginning Sept. 1, the day after they smacked a team-record nine homers against the Brewers.
Zeferjahn was sent out for the bottom of the ninth. He allowed a leadoff single, then retired the next two Reds. But Counsell, correctly, was not going to let him face the left-handed Bleday, so Ryan Rolison entered to finish things up.
I cannot remember the last time the Cubs bullpen put together a line like this: Four innings, two hits, one walk, no runs, five strikeouts. That’s the kind of work this team is going to need if they are going to succeed in October, so it’s great to see it happen. Perhaps this pen can still come together and help the team win games.
We covered the postseason permutations above. The Cubs are 5-3 since they were swept by the Brewers in Milwaukee and if they can go 5-2 over the last seven games of the regular season, their chances of that top wild-card spot are pretty good, I’d think.
They can begin that by winning Sunday’s series finale against the Reds. The starters will be David Peterson for the Cubs and Rhett Lowder for Cincinnati. Game time is 12:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network. The BCB game preview will post at 11 a.m. CT.
