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Well, today’s the final Thursday of the regular season, and I once again would like to thank you for reading along this year, and I’m looking forward to getting back into all of the weird and wonderful stuff that baseball will bring us next season.
Today’s Headlines
Snake Eyes
As of this morning, the Diamondbacks are 70-0 this season when they lead after eight innings. That’s an impressive record, and the fact that as a team Arizona only has 38 saves (including last night’s from Jonathan Loáisiga) and a +6 run differential somehow makes it even more impressive for me? You’d think they would either be better than 20th in saves or have a lot more runs scored for that type of thing to hold up over an entire season. That 70th win after leading through eight innings was Arizona’s 84th win of the year as they held on for a 5-3 win over the Rockies. The Diamondbacks put up four of their runs in the first inning thanks to RBI singles from Gabriel Moreno and Nolan Arenado before Corbin Carroll hit his league-leading 17th triple of the year to score another pair:
They got their fifth run thanks to a solo dinger from Tim Tawa in the eighth:
Which was followed in the bottom half of the inning by a homer from Ezequiel Tovar to give the Rockies their third and final run:
Colorado threatened in the bottom of the ninth, getting runners on second and third with two outs, but Loáisiga got Tovar to pop up in foul territory to end things. You might be thinking that this is a lot of words about what was by many measures a pretty standard game of baseball between two teams that are both mostly on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Well, one of them is looking in from much farther away than the other, I suppose. But it’s funny that you should mention the playoffs…
Something Fishy…
All Chicago needed to do was win on Wednesday to lock in a playoff spot as one of the NL wildcards. Miami simply wasn’t having any of that. Kevin Gausman and Ryan Gusto stayed on top of their games through five innings, with neither team able to put any runs up on the board. That changed quickly in the sixth, though, as Kyle Stowers hammered a two-run shot deep to center field:
Gausman followed that up with a walk to Heriberto Hernández and then got the second out of the inning on a chaotic and high-IQ play to nab Heriberto trying for third as the Cubs totally forgot to cover the bag:
Gausman’s final line was 5.2 IP, six hits, a walk, two runs (both earned), and seven strikeouts. The Cubs got him off the hook for the L in the bottom half of the inning, though, as they scored two runs of their own on a two-out broken-bat Dansby Swanson single:
To keep with the theme of chaotic baseball, the Marlins added their third run in the seventh on what was initially called an inning-ending double play but was overturned on review into an RBI groundout for Joe Mack:
That would be all for the scoring on the night, although the “Wait what?” didn’t stop as Sandy Alcantara picked up his second career save.
Sandy got his first career save all the way back on September 16th and I actually didn’t even give him his own section for it because I figured it was just a silly little one-off thing, but apparently the Marlins are looking into this as a strategic option going forward:
“This is something that is a potential at various times, and him now having the experience of having done that, I think it’s a great developmental piece for him, too, to take on something different,” McCullough said. “Also, looking down the road, if this is something that we explore further, he and us can draw from this.”
Miami was one of the first teams to try calling pitches from the dugout, too, so they’re nothing if not going outside of the box these days…
But in any case, with their loss and the Arizona win, Chicago will continue their hunt for a clinch tomorrow in the series finale with Miami, which is also their final home game of the regular season. No pressure.
Padres Pyrrhic Victory
Well, the Cubs needed either a win or an Arizona loss and got neither. San Diego needed a D-backs loss and a win, and they at least held up their end of the bargain. The Padres came into last night’s game after having a winning streak snapped at LA’s hands on Tuesday, but they’re now 8-2 over their last ten games, and their playoff hopes remain alive. The first three innings for each team were scoreless, then Manny Machado got things going with a two-run homer in the fourth:
While the Dodgers were still searching for their first run going to the bottom of the fourth, they hadn’t been making things easy for Robbie Ray, who had given up four hits and a walk in the first three innings, needing 70 pitches to get through them. It looked like the Dodgers were going to blow things open in the home half of the inning as they loaded the bases with no outs. Ray got Max Muncy to fly out on a ball that was too shallow to score a run and was then replaced by David Morgan, who gave up a run on a deep lineout from Tommy Edman and walked Mookie Betts, but got Shohei Ohtani to strike out swinging to end the inning and the threat.
The Padres added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on a throwing error by Yoshinobu Yamamoto that let Ethan Salas score, followed by a sac fly from Machado that scored Fernando Tatis Jr. They’d add one more in the top of the ninth thanks to a Freddy Fermin RBI single for the final 5-1 line score. While Ray only lasted 3.1 innings, Yamamoto went six innings, giving up five hits and a walk, striking out four while also being responsible for four runs, two of them earned. Maybe the Dads will get to clinch tonight as they finish up the series in LA.
Central Stalemate
But of course it’s not just the NL where teams are still scrabbling to get that precious playoff spot, as the AL Central continues to be completely unsettled, with the Guardians and White Sox brawling for the division. The Guards currently lead, but only by a single game. Cleveland played Boston on Wednesday, and it was one of those Sonny Gray clinic days, as he hurled six shutout innings:
Sonny kept 'em quiet.
The game ended with an Aroldis Chapman save, and the second out came on a swinging strike against…this:
That’s a 90.5 mph splitter with 30″ of drop and 11″ of horizontal movement. That’s nuts. Boston currently holds the second AL wild card spot, and today’s rubber game against Cleveland will resolve the only outstanding tiebreaker question they have, as they currently hold the season series over the White Sox. It’s also worth noting that Boston is planning on playing a doubleheader on Friday in order to avoid some of the more dire weather forecasts for this weekend.
With Cleveland losing, the White Sox were in a perfect spot to best Kansas City and tie things up in the division. Things did not go to plan, as the Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run Maikel Garcia single, a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI double, and a Michael Massey RBI single. Chicago did tie the game up in the third, also on a pair of singles and a double from Kyle Teel, Miguel Vargas, and Munetaka Murakami, respectively. The winning run scored thanks to an RBI double from Maikel Garcia in the seventh that scored Bobby Witt Jr.:
The White Sox remain three games up on the Rangers for the third WC slot, but it sure would be nice to get a bye…
#GOMS
If you haven’t already gotten enough of the playoff picture drama, the Mariners are here to give you a whole new heaping helping of it. Houston put up a quartet of runs in the third, but Seattle answered right back, tying the game up by the end of the fifth, and things stayed knotted through the end of regulation. The Astros pulled back ahead in the tenth on a Yainer Diaz triple(!):
Houston tried to get a second inning out of Josh Hader, but things didn’t go as well as his ninth did, to put it mildly. Hader threw seven balls total in the ninth, and he threw twelve to the first four batters in the tenth (and that includes a three-pitch, all-strike AB from Dominic Canzone that ended with a groundout). Hader walked in the tying run, and then Josh Naylor got to play the hero for the M’s:
With that loss, Houston is now tied with the Rangers atop the AL West, but much more importantly, Seattle has not been eliminated from contention and has the possibility for the most incredible and insane way to end the season:
"The Clubs will be ranked by their overall winning percentage amongst the other Clubs combined."In this scenario, Seattle would win tonight & tomorrow, so: HOU: 12-15 vs. TEX+SEATEX: 12-14 vs. HOU+SEASEA: 16-11 vs. TEX+HOUSeattle would win AL West
— Levi Weaver, but for baseball (@threetwoeephus.bsky.social) 2026-09-24T03:20:06.752Z
I don’t think I ask for much generally, but I need to see this happen.
Sale Hits 200
Now we smash cut to news from a team that clinched their division last weekend: Atlanta! Chris Sale made his final start of the regular season yesterday, and he made it count:
Chris Sale (ATL) struck out 10 and allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings against the Reds
— Pitcher List Stats (@pitcherlistplv.pitcherlist.com) 2026-09-24T03:23:54.909Z
With those ten strikeouts, he has an even 200 for the season, which marks his ninth season hitting that number. He’s in some rarefied air with that accomplishment:
Two of the most dominant left-handers to ever step on a mound!
RIP Don Cooper
Unfortunately, we have to finish things up with some sad news today, as we learned of the passing of Don Cooper, who was actually Sale’s first pitching coach at the MLB level back in 2010. Sale learned of his death during his pre-game warmups and said in a post-game interview, “I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Cooper pitched for four seasons from 1981 to 1985 for the Twins, Blue Jays, and Yankees, but he’s best known for his post-playing career as a pitching coach, which started in 1988 with the White Sox’ A-ball team. He was promoted to the MLB role in 2002 and oversaw some of the most dominant pitching staffs not just in the franchise’s history, but in all of the sport:
Cooper’s tenure included Esteban Loaiza’s second-place finish in Cy Young voting in 2003, Chris Sale’s five straight All-Star appearances in a White Sox uniform, and the peak years of Mark Buehrle’s career, including his 2007 no-hitter and 2009 perfect game. When Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia closed out the 2005 American League Championship Series with four straight complete games, it was first time an MLB team had accomplished such a postseason feat since 1928, and none have managed it since.
The White Sox send our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Don Cooper, who has passed away at 70. Don Cooper spent 33 seasons as a coach in the White Sox organization from 1988-2020, including 18 full seasons as the major-league pitching coach. Cooper served as the pitching coach [1/2]
— Chicago White Sox (@notwhitesox.bsky.social) 2026-09-23T22:21:23.573Z
By The Numbers
4-2 was the final score of both ends of the Toronto vs Baltimore doubleheader. The O’s came away with both wins, although the Blue Jays outhit them 10-5 in the first game.
14 game RBI drought for Shohei Ohtani, the longest such stretch of his Dodgers career.
Best Moments From Yesterday
I’m Seeing Double, Four Identical Umps!
A double helping of ump brothers for the doubleheader in Baltimore!
We've got twin brothers umpiring in Baltimore, first game they have worked together
That’s Tyler and Austin Jones, identical twin brothers who are both umpires and had never umped a game together until a rainout put them together on Wednesday. Umpire crews need a fifth member for doubleheaders, which opened up a spot for Austin at the last minute.
“This is something we’ve dreamed about forever,” Tyler Jones said. “We were told last year, ‘OK, if we can make it happen, we’ll make it happen.’ And it didn’t. The schedules didn’t align. Even this year we weren’t even sure if it was going to happen or not, and then it was kind of a shock.”
As best I can tell, they’re the first twin brothers to umpire a game, and it just so happens that the official Little League website posted a short article with some more information about them last week. I forgive them for retroactively stealing my headline.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Tampa Bay will be without Shane McClanahan for the ALDS. Kevin Cash confirmed he will not be available for the first round of Tampa’s playoffs due to his forearm tightness.
⚾ The Reds announced that Spencer Steer will be undergoing surgery on his wrist, and Tony Santillan will be undergoing hip surgery. Steer is expected to be ready for Spring Training, but Santillan’s timeline won’t be clear until after the procedure.
⚾ Cristian Javier is going on the IL due to a grade two groin strain. He is, obviously, done for the year.
⚾ San Diego activated Jason Adam last night; the corresponding moves were to option Griffin Canning and DFA Alek Jacob.
⚾ The Dodgers activated Shohei Ohtani in time for last night’s game, optioning Josue De Paula to make room. LA is saying that they wanted to be sure De Paula would be eligible for a call-up in the playoffs.
⚾ Atlanta activated Robert Suarez ahead of Wednesday’s game; he is expected to make another appearance before the season ends.
⚾ Aaron Judge is “hopeful” that he will be ready to play in the Wild Card series. I have my doubts about both the practicality and wisdom of such a thing happening.
⚾ Dylan Cease has been placed on the IL due to shoulder inflammation. The Blue Jays have been eliminated from postseason contention, so his year was already done.
Articles You Should Read
A Visual Primer to OpenCommand – Tom Kim, Baseball Prospectus (free!)
This Wave Of Japanese Talent Is The Beginning Of A Pipeline – Robert Arthur, Baseball Prospectus (sub req’d)
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
