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MLB News & Moments: The Phillies Make Things Interesting

Could the Phillies pull a Mets?

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News An Hour Ago

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

As the regular season comes to an end, this is the final Saturday morning column from yours truly in 2026. Thank you for your continued support of this website and column, as we all hope for a memorable October.

Today’s Headlines

 

Phillies Collapse Keeps Dbacks Alive

It would have been shocking one week ago, but there is a real chance that the Phillies miss out on the postseason altogether, which would probably be the final nail in the coffin for this era of Philadelphia baseball. With the Cubs and Padres officially in, the Phils were left as the odd team out with a chance to be upended by the Diamondbacks, as Arizona holds the tiebreaker due to intra-division record. While the Dbacks had the easier task of facing a Padres team playing just for positioning, the Phils hosted the pesky Rays, who always look ready to wreak havoc.

With Freddy Peralta still finding his best form late in the season, the righty held the Phillies scoreless through 5.1 frames, while the bullpen kept the shutout as the home team had to hear some heavy boos from the crowd. The Phils were limited to four singles and three walks, and only had three at-bats with runners in scoring position. Just a week ago, Philadelphia had playoff odds well over 97%, and now they face the real possibility of a catastrophic collapse.

This is only possible because of Arizona’s recent surge, having won their past six. It continued with a rout of the Padres, who probably celebrated too hard after clinching on Thursday night. Arizona had a 7-2 lead after four, highlighted by three homers, including #30 for the ageless Nolan Arenado. The Dbacks collected eight hits and eight walks, and starter Brandon Pfaadt made the most of his massive run support, earning his eighth win of 2026 despite allowing four runs. The 11-4 final score keeps Arizona alive, as they now need to only tie the Phils’ final record. This unexpected storyline should dominate the rest of the weekend, as a Phillies collapse could have massive ramifications.

Wild Lousy West

For several weeks, we have known that the eventual winner of the AL West would be a bad team with the luck of hosting a playoff round thanks to MLB’s weird format. Somehow, the past week has made things even more depressing, as nobody seems willing or capable to seize control of the division. To start this weekend, both the Astros and Rangers had the fortune of facing teams with nothing to play for, and both started their series by losing and making sure that whoever wins the West will do it with a .500 or worse record.

Texas did not even put up a fight against the Twins, as Jacob deGrom was roughed up for eight runs over four frames, allowing eight hits and three walks in the process. The 10-2 final score displayed just how bad things have gone constantly for Texas, as they have gone 21-27 in blowout games.

Having known this result, the Astros had the chance to make a statement, especially as they hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers. Facing the pitching-challenged A’s, Houston faded shockingly after cruising over the start of the contest, where they held a 1-0 lead behind strong pitching from Hunter Brown. It all fell apart in the sixth, as the A’s shocked Houston with a barrage of singles and a decisive two-run triple from Henry Bolte. The Astros stormed back with a three-run eighth, that closed the gap to one run, but the A’s maligned bullpen held the fort and closed the 6-5 win. Even if nobody wants to win the West, it could all be decided by a Houston win and a Texas loss as early as today.

Battle for Home Field

The AL Central has yet to crown a winner, even as their top-two teams know they will be playing October baseball regardless of the final outcome. The big difference is that whoever comes out on top will earn a first-round bye, making this weekend’s games all the more dramatic. The White Sox, who only need to be tied at the top to take the division, decided to spare any kind of drama, earning an easy win over the lowly Rockies. Chicago took early command thanks to a first-inning homer from Munetaka Murakami, while the rookie added a second one in the seventh to add an exclamation point to the 6-1 victory. Amid all this, a shout-out to Colorado’s Tomoyuki Sugano, who took the loss to finish 2026 with a weird 12-12 record despite a 5.37 ERA. His career record is now 22-22 with a cool 5.00 ERA, which is the most Rockies line ever.

Over at Kansas City, the Guardians had a much tougher test in facing the Royals. Gavin Williams just didn’t have it this time, allowing four runs in 3.1 innings, and squandering an early Cleveland lead. The game went into full chaotic mode, with the Guardians making the most of their offensive chances to take a 7-5 score by the fifth. As everything settled, the playing-for-pride-only Royals went into full spoiler mode in the eighth, tagging Hunter Gaddis for two runs and creating a real problem for Cleveland. Alas, Kansas City’s efforts would not last for long, as the Guardians put up a spirited five-run ninth that included six walks and a decisive two-run double from Angel Martínez. Cleveland remains one game ahead of the White Sox, needing only two more wins, two losses from the Sox, or a combination of one win and a Chicago loss to clinch their second straight division title.

Aces Dominate

Miami’s Eury Pérez can generously be described as one of the most frustrating (or infuriating) pitchers in baseball. This season, he will finish with 29 starts – in 13 of them, he allowed one or zero runs, but he also had nine with at least four runs in his tally – including a 3.91 ERA and a 9.6 K/9. To close out the season, he decided to give us one of those flashes of untapped potential, pitching only the tenth complete-game shutout of 2026. While it could be argued that Atlanta has nothing to play for as they gear towards the playoffs, they did field their regular lineup and could only muster one hit and one walk, while striking out eight times versus Perez. The 3-0 final score gives the Marlins a chance of finishing the season at .500, while any kind of progress from Perez is essential to their future.

Meanwhile, Tarik Skubal had a final dominant outing before the postseason, looking unstoppable against San Francisco’s glorified AAA lineup. The Dodgers’ offense was limited to two runs on a pair of solo homers in the second, but that would be more than enough for Skubal, who tossed seven scoreless while allowing only three hits. In turn, he struck out 10 to post his fourth double-digit K game of 2026, ending his up-and-down season with an exclamation point. LA knows it is locked to the #2 spot and will have home field advantage in the NLDS, but they can still aim for a sweep of the Giants and return to the 100-win mark for the first time since 2023.

By The Numbers

 

56 Jordan Walker hit a homer off righty Bryse Wilson, giving him 29 long balls for the season and 56 for his career. He has hit those 56 against 56 different pitchers, which is the second-highest mark to start a career, only one behind Willy Adames, who hit 57 before having a repeat victim.

224  The White Sox have been one of the top feel-good stories of the year, but they have also added a dubious milestone to their season. Colson Montgomery, who owns a .692 OPS, struck out for the 224th time in 2026, breaking Mark Reynolds‘ all-time record for a single campaign.

30/30 With a steal of third, Elly de la Cruz joined the 30/30 club for the first time in his career. He is now the fourth Cincinnati Red with this milestone, joining Brandon Phillips, Barry Larkin, and Eric Davis.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Living Legend

The Tigers are finally putting an end to what has been a miserable season, but at least they are going out on a sweet, high note. The return of Justin Verlander has not gone as expected, but he will get a chance to close his career with an emotional start later today, and the Tigers have decided to give him a weekend-long send-off. Before last night’s contest, an exciting 8-7 win for Detroit, Verlander had the chance to address the crowd, get a standing ovation along with his family, and even see his daughter throw out the ceremonial first pitch. This kind of lovefest is usually reserved for the true greats of the game, which Verlander certainly is. Following this weekend, he will need to wait the customary five years before being immortalized in Cooperstown, where he is certain to be inducted with an old English D on his cap.

Baseball 101

This week, the baseball world has taken its turns heaping praise on the Brewers as an organization and finally coming to terms with the fact that their way of year-to-year competitiveness is unmatched. In the process, Milwaukee has continued to increase its all-time winning mark, as they reached 100 wins for the first time ever, and now went a step further. With a commanding 8-4 win over the Cardinals, the Brew Crew reached 101 victories using their usual brand of relentless hitting, including 12 hits but only three doubles. Milwaukee had already secured MLB’s top mark and home-field advantage through the playoffs, and now they surely hope this kind of positive momentum can carry over towards a crucial October for the franchise.

Snowcone Robbery

As the Twins were putting a major dent on the Rangers’ playoff hopes, catcher Danny Jansen attempted to at least add some kind of jolt to Texas ahead of a crucial weekend. Jansen hit a lousy fastball square to left field in what looked like a probable homer, or at least an extra-base hit of some kind. However, left fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez showed why every game in the majors has meaning, even for a team that has not played for much in the past month. Rodriguez leapt expertly against the wall, barely holding on the ball as he secured the catch and erased any hope of momentum for the Rangers.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Arizona has placed starter Corbin Burnes on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation. The former Milwaukee ace had been out all season before returning for Arizona’s late playoff push. He made three starts before showing issues again, and is now effectively out for the rest of 2026 even if the Diamondbacks somehow make the playoffs. While Burnes holds an opt-out option at the end of the year, his recent struggles almost guarantee he will return to the desert. 

⚾ The season finale between the Red Sox and Cubs, which should not have any significant impact on the final standings, has been moved to Sunday at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field. This is due to the inclement forecast in Boston this weekend, as both teams played a double-header on Friday. The Red Sox are locked as the fourth seed in the AL, while the Cubs are almost set for the fifth seed in the NL.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Verlander Says Goodbye at Comerica Park — Jason Beck, MLB.com

Scouting in the Age of Machines — Brendan Gawlowski, Fangraphs

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

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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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