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MLB News & Moments: MLB honors Roberto Clemente

Will Milwaukee finally get its postseason moment?

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 12 Hours Ago

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

On a day where several MLB games went to the wire and continue to set up a memorable final stretch, it is important to honor one of the game’s greats. Roberto Clemente remains a monumental figure in the history and evolution of baseball, and MLB’s decision to celebrate his day every September 15 is one of the highest honors in our sport. May his legacy remain alive forever.

Today’s Headlines

 

Can’t Miz TV

To start the season, pundits and projection systems were bearish on the Brewers, repeating a yearly tradition of everyone doubting this franchise. But like it tends to happen by this time of the year, those doubts have been erased emphatically by Milwaukee. With a comfortable 5-1 win over the Pirates, the Brew Crew only needed a Cubs loss to clinch the NL Central. A few minutes after their own win, this would come to pass, allowing the Brewers to celebrate their fourth straight division title. Jacob Misiorowski may have secured his first Cy Young with a solid start of five scoreless frames, which lowered his ERA to 1.89, while the offense collected four doubles and secured the game with a four-run sixth. Milwaukee now has a real chance of reaching their first-ever 100-win season, as they try to fend off the Dodgers for the best mark in the league. Regardless of what happens, the only relevant achievement for this team will need to happen during October.

Walk-Off Brayan

By several measures, Brayan Rocchio is not a particularly good hitter. He doesn’t walk much or add much value with his bat, but lately he has found a way to make the most of his late-game opportunities. With the Cleveland Guardians one out away from falling two games behind the White Sox in the AL Central race, but with two runners in scoring position, Rocchio hit a deep ball to left field with a chance to make some damage. Chicago’s Sam Antonacci did not read the ball cleanly and took a weird route to it, allowing Rocchio to add a new chapter to his newfound walk-off lore. The comeback as a whole was impressive for Cleveland, as they battled back from a late 6-4 deficit to ultimately win 7-6 and keep things extremely interesting in this division and the wild card chase.

Bend it Like Longo

Just a few days ago, Junior Caminero had zero walk-off hits for his career, which seemed extremely strange for such a good hitter. He can now say he has a couple in four days, as Caminero was again the hero for a Rays team that continues to win and stave off any potential Yankees comeback atop the AL East. With the A’s still in spoiler mode after ruining the Mariners’ lives over the weekend, Jack Perkins had a masterful 6.1-inning outing with only an unearned run allowed, matching Griffin Jax and Tampa’s bullpen in a tight 1-1 affair. Offense was at a premium with limited chances to score, but Caminero had no problem sending everyone home happy in the bottom of the ninth. In many ways, the homer was reminiscent of that famous Evan Longoria screamer to win the wild card for Tampa in 2011, as a perfectly-placed line drive home run made the most of Tropicana Field’s quirky dimensions and wall heights. This time, though, the ball went to right field and gave the Rays a hard-fought 2-1 win and 3.5 games ahead of New York in the standings.

Spoilers Ahead

With the advance knowledge that any outcome from the Guardians-White Sox series would help them as long as they kept winning, the Blue Jays have instead decided to continue their season-long level of frustrating play. This time, they dropped the second game of their home series against the Tigers, with an embarrassing 10-1 score, to boot. Another desperation bullpen game started well enough for Toronto, as the game remained tied at zero after three innings. However, bulk man Michael Lorenzen could not hold his end of the deal, allowing five runs in two frames as Detroit pulled away thanks to a Spencer Torkelson three-run homer. The Blue Jays’ offense had no recourse and amassed only six singles in this rout, as they are now two games behind the last AL wild card spot. Toronto owns the tiebreaker over Cleveland, but not against the Sox, which adds more drama to the final 10 games for the Jays, as they cannot continue to play this brand of disheartening baseball if they wish to have any chance.

Love the Drake

With the Brewers and Dodgers looking unstoppable, it seems that Atlanta will have to settle for the third-best mark in the NL and play a tough opponent in the wild card round. However, they are sure as heck looking good and ready for that fate, now taking down a difficult foe on the road. Atlanta’s 6-3 win over the Cubs was impressive for many reasons. The ageless wonder Martín Pérez was able to outlast Kevin Gausman and earn his ninth win of 2026 despite allowing three early runs on five hits and four walks. However, Atlanta was able to chase Gausman thanks to a Ronald Acuña Jr. two-run blast, while a couple of similar long balls from Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin would be crucial to complete the comeback. Atlanta’s bullpen ended the game with three perfect innings, as Chicago’s vaunted offense did not register any extra-base hits in this game. With the playoff picture becoming clearer, it looks like the Cubs will now have to battle the Phillies to decide who has home-field advantage in their matchup of big-name franchises.

By The Numbers

 

63 With a comfortable 10-3 win over the Cardinals, the San Francisco Giants reached 63 wins, making it official that they will avoid the ignominy of a 100-loss season. They remain only one of three active franchises with a lone 100-loss season in their history, including the Red Sox and Brewers. Meanwhile, the Angels also won and now need at least 5 victories in their last 11 games to stay as the only franchise without a triple-digit loss campaign.

.730 The Yankees won again in Minnesota, which is nothing new in this one-sided rivalry. Since 2002, the Yankees are a whopping 130-48 against the Twins, including playoff games. The .730 winning percentage is astounding for that volume of games, as it would translate to a 118-win team over a full season.

3 Pete Alonso’s clutch homer was not only valuable for its impact on the playoff race, but it also made him reach a cool milestone. Alonso is now only the third player to reach 300 homers over his first eight MLB seasons, joining Ralph Kiner and Albert Pujols. Most impressively, the Polar Bear achieved this despite the shortened 2020 season.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Pete, the Elder

The return of Pete Alonso to Citi Field has been a love fest of massive proportions, with his presence at the stadium serving as a reminder of what could have been in the tail end of a lost season for the Mets. Last night, New York had a chance to put a major dent in Baltimore’s faint playoff hopes, but none other than Alonso made sure to keep the Orioles alive. Following a tense 3-2 game in which Sean Manaea had limited the O’s to a couple of solo homers, Alonso faced closer Kodai Senga in the ninth with a chance to add to his legacy in Queens. He delivered in a major way, with a solo homer that became the 300th long ball of his career, sending the game to extras. Alonso celebrated with a massive bat flip and even received a curtain call from the fans, who were probably indifferent to the possibility of yet another Mets loss. From there, the game went crazy, with both teams exchanging ghost runs in the tenth before a Coby Mayo inside-the-park homer in the 11th drove in three to finally give the Orioles some breathing room. The 7-5 final keeps Baltimore three games behind the AL wild card, while Alonso got the chance to retrieve his historic ball thanks to a group of grateful Mets fans.

Tag, You’re Out!

As the Dodgers continue to inch closer to a first-round bye in the playoffs, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was his usual dominant self in a 4-0 win over the Reds. Yamamoto cruised through seven scoreless, allowing only one hit and a pair of walks, while homers from Teoscar Hernández and Alex Freeland gave him more than enough run support. The highlight from the game, however, came from Cincinnati’s Elly de la Cruz, who continues to mature on defense. Using his unmatched athleticism and instincts, de la Cruz was able to run down Kyle Tucker as he tried to make it to third on a groundout. The awkward slide taken by both ended with Elly tagging Tucker on the arm, and then bouncing off his helmet in hilarious fashion. If you are going to lose, at least add some style points.

Game of Inches

As the Padres took a tough loss in Denver, the Arizona Diamondbacks were in prime position to pull a game closer in the standings. However, the Marlins were not making things any easier, as a planned bullpen game started by Janson Junk led to seven different Miami pitchers limiting Arizona to only one run. Michael Soroka and the D-backs bullpen were similarly stingy, as only a Griffin Conine solo blast put Miami on the board. As the game went to extras, Arizona was in prime position to steal a win, but the ghost runner was tagged out at the plate to reduce their chance to walk it off. Next batter Ildemaro Vargas had a runner at third and two outs, but sent a routine grounder to shortstop that looked certain to extend the game. Instead, Otto Lopez made an errant throw to third that initially looked to give Arizona the victory thanks to an error. However, first baseman Deyvison de los Santos saved his shortstop by making an acrobatic mid-air swipe tag on Vargas, which looked spectacular in slow motion. The game went to the 11th, where Miami broke through with a three-run inning and finally won 4-2. If Arizona misses the postseason by a game, this play will loom large.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ The Phillies have placed lefty Jesús Luzardo on the 15-day IL due to left shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to September 12, making Luzardo fully eligible for the playoffs. However, his return by that point is not fully guaranteed. While an MRI showed no structural damage, this type of injury is always hard to predict and could leave the Phillies without one of their top arms during the most critical part of the season. If Luzardo is unable to return in October, Philadelphia would need to rely on the likes of Aaron Nola or Andrew Painter as their #3 starter.

⚾ In the middle of a complicated postseason push, the Astros announced that Carlos Correa will not return from the IL in September, which was a possibility considering the progress on his injured left ankle. Correa has been out since late May, but his status as a franchise icon could have been a nice boost for a Houston team that has struggled to keep the top spot in the AL West. 

⚾ Baltimore’s Shane Baz was removed from last night’s game in Queens after taking a line drive to his upper right arm. The ball was hit by Bo Bichette, and while Baz tried to remain in the game, a few practice pitches after the play were enough to acknowledge he was not fit to continue. Initial X-rays were negative, but his status will be day-to-day until there is more certainty regarding his availability. 

 

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Is Gavin Williams an Ace for Real? — Dan Szymborski, Fangraphs

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Pablo Figueroa

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Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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