Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned going to Delmonico’s steakhouse and how it stacked up to Peter Luger. Well, on Wednesday I happened to go to Peter Luger for dinner and I can confirm they remain the steak and creamed spinach kings of New York City. Although they no longer have their “sports bar” set up. Either way, highly recommended if you are, once again, looking to spend an irresponsible amount of money on a dinner and don’t mind crossing the East River to come to the best borough.
Today’s Headlines
Raking Salas
Ethan Salas has gotten off to a slow start in his first nine major league games, but as is so often is the case, a trip to Coors helped him get those numbers up. The Padres beat the Rockies by a score of 9-3, with Robbie Ray picking up his 13th win of the season. The man with the tight pants struck out six over six innings, although he gave up three hits, a pair of walks, and three earned runs. A quality start was more than enough, though, as the Padres’ bats put up their nine runs by the time Ray’s day was done. A Ty France sac fly and a Jake Cronenworth RBI single got them on the board in the top of the first, although an RBI groundout from Adael Amador cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning. But it was all Padres for the next five, starting in the top of the second with Salas sending one deep to center for his first career homer:
That’s a good catch by the fan there, too. Totally set, no doubt about it.
Dustin Harris tripled in the third to bring home Samad Taylor, who then hit a two-run single in the fourth to make it 6-1. Salas was up again, and he figured he’d explore the right field stands this time:
While the fan at the rail did come up with that ball, I award no points for their technique. But with that second dinger, Salas had made some history, becoming the youngest catcher to hit two home runs in a game and the youngest Padre of any position to do it, period. Ty France hit an RBI double in the top of the sixth for the last of the San Diego runs of the night and Kyle Karros hit a two-run dinger in the bottom of that same inning to round out the scoring. With that win and the Diamondbacks’ loss, the Padres are three and a half games up in the third wild card spot, and they’re only a game behind Philadelphia and a game and a half back of the Cubs.
For Pete’s Sake
Speaking of the Cubs, this guy Pete Crow-Armstrong might be good. Chicago took down Atlanta 8-4, and it was a two-man show on the north side. Starting in the bottom of the first inning, Alex Bregman scored Michael Busch with a double, but ended the inning when he (kind of?) tried to stretch it into a triple:
In the third, Pete added another run to the board with a solo shot:
I gotta say, I really love watching a guy just obliterate a ball at the top of the zone like that. Just the most direct bat path possible; you can barely see it come through the zone in that clip. But not to be outdone, Bregman added a solo dinger of his own an inning later:
(I’ve gone on the record as disliking ground rules where you can hit a home run without the ball leaving the field of play, and the baskets aren’t an exception. I don’t really get why they exist at all, to be honest.)
I guess PCA and Bregman thought this was like a game of Horse now, because PCA hit an RBI triple in the fifth:
(Carson Kelly is chugging around third there. Relatable.)
But Bregman wasn’t about to take the H, because he added a triple of his own in the same inning to score two more:
I mean, Bregman did end up with the H though, as PCA smashed another solo homer in the seventh:
And I just have to feel for the Atlanta pitching staff at this point. You can’t pitch PCA up in the zone; he’ll just smash the ball for extra bases. You can’t throw him a changeup that actually drops entirely below the zone, either; he’ll just smash it for extra bases. Such is life against the MVPete, I suppose.
Pete Crow-Armstrong's 81 RBIs out of the leadoff spot this season set a Cubs record dating to at least 1898, per team historian Ed Hartig.Tonight marked his 6th game this year with at least 10 total bases, tying Nelson Cruz in 2019 for most such games in a single season in MLB history (since 1900)
— Meghan Montemurro (@mmontemurro.bsky.social) 2026-09-17T03:11:53.457Z
And for Bregman, ending up a single shy of the cycle is probably annoying but has to feel a little better than the usual triple shy situation.
Looking at the score, you would correctly surmise that it was a bad day for Atlanta’s pitching, but you may also think it was a struggle for Cubs starter Shota Imanaga given his troubles this year. But you’d be wrong! Shota got back to his I’m An AGA mode, throwing six innings while giving up only four hits, one run, walking nobody, and striking out eight. You love to see it. The Cubs can’t win the division at this point, but they need to keep their foot on the gas to hold onto their wild card spot, so their final stretch will likely remain dramatic.
Halpin His Own Cause
The NL Central might already be sewn up when it comes to the division winner, but the AL Central is still wide open. And you can tell because the lead changed on Wednesday as the Guardians bested the White Sox 6-3. Cleveland got out to an early lead in the third on a Jo Adell two-run single, but the White Sox pulled ahead in the fifth thanks to…Tommy Pham?!
a NO-DOUBTER from Tommy Pham ‼️ pic.twitter.com/unWhcvzrTr
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 16, 2026
Yeah, Tommy Pham. He’s currently with his fourth organization of the year, and yesterday was his first game with the White Sox’ big league club. Way to make an immediate impact, huh? Unfortunately for the Sox, that lead would only last them until the sixth, when Petey Halpin (absolutely incredible baseball name) sent a three-run dinger out into the right field seats:
José Ramírez would add another run to Cleveland’s ledger with an RBI double in the same inning, and that would be all the scoring. But it was enough to give the Guards the division lead for the first time since July. They’re just a half-game up, but that’s still up! Cleveland is also currently the second seed in the AL, which would mean getting a bye should they hold on to win the division, which surely has the AL East wild cards feeling great about having to beat up on each other despite having several more wins. Should have been better than the Rays, I guess. The Guardians do really need to come out on top of the division, though, because they do not hold a tiebreaker over any of the other teams in contention for the third WC except for Baltimore:
AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAOS TIEBREAKER CHECKWhite Sox over:GuardiansRangersBlue JaysRangers over:GuardiansBlue JaysAstros over:GuardiansWhite SoxRangers(3-3 vs Blue Jays)Blue Jays over:Guardians(3-3 vs. Astros)Guardians over:Orioles, I guess?
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@cespedesbbq.bsky.social) 2026-09-16T21:58:56.943Z
By The Numbers
1 career save for Sandy Alcantara after he worked the ninth inning in Miami’s 4-3 victory over the Diamondbacks last night.
Best Moments From Yesterday
A True Elevator Pitch
So you may be wondering why Tommy Pham was even in the lineup for Chicago on Wednesday. It’s because he ended up in the elevator with GM Chris Getz. I am not joking. (I also love when a GM gets picked up by the player linker.)
Hot Shot, Dead Center
The Giants beat the Cardinals 6-5 in 10 innings, with the difference-maker being a two-run homer off the bat of Drew Gilbert.
I show you this mostly to point out the dude in the CF seats who “caught” the ball while wearing what I can only assume is his kid’s mitt, which gets utterly blasted off of his hand like a special effect from an old-timey western film.
I Definitely Know What A Balk Is
I mean, I guess this is kinda textbook? But rare? And when would Jakob Junis have had to step off to get away with it? Before it leaves the glove? Before it hits the ground?
Well this is about as awkward as it gets. The Red Sox just took the lead on a balk because the ball rolled out of pitcher Jakob Junis' glove.
— Casey Drottar (@caseydrottar.bsky.social) 2026-09-17T01:39:37.382Z
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Dodgers only got one inning out of Blake Snell yesterday, as he left the game due to groin tightness. For whatever it’s worth, Snell downplayed the injury, although it still to be seen how things end up for him.
⚾ Atlanta has pushed Chris Sale’s next start back to next week. They say that he’s not dealing with any issues, and this is likely to better get the rotation lined up for the postseason.
⚾ Aaron Judge only just returned from the IL this week, but he left yesterday’s game in the sixth inning due to lower right leg tightness. He didn’t sound overly concerned about it in his post-game interview, but it’s definitely a situation to keep a close eye on.
⚾ The Yankees also activated Clarke Schmidt from the 60-day IL as he makes his way back from Tommy John. The team has already confirmed he will be working out of the bullpen for the rest of the year. In the corresponding move, Oswaldo Cabrera was DFA’d, which makes me sad.
⚾ Arizona activated Ryne Nelson from the 60-day IL where he was rehabbing a partial UCL flexor tear. We’ll see how the ligament holds up with the non-surgical plan of attack. He’ll almost certainly be working out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, as well.
⚾ The Twins have placed Kaelen Culpepper on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain.
⚾ Kyle Bradish is already on the IL and his season is over, but he was officially diagnosed with a sports hernia on Wednesday. It’s good to have an official diagnosis, although the treatment plan is still up in the air.
Articles You Should Read
Let’s Help Jack Reacher Remember Some Guys – Davy Andrews, FanGraphs
What Happened to the September Pinch Runner? Why a Beloved Species Went Extinct – Chad Jennings, The Athletic (gift link)
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
