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Friday marked the 10-day countdown to the end of MLB’s regular season. It’s always fun to predict which teams fighting for playoff spots will emerge victorious. For instance, in the American League, is it possible that the Cleveland Guardians not only snag a postseason spot from one of the current wild card teams, but also steal the AL Central from the Detroit Tigers? It was only two months ago that the Guardians were 15.5 games behind the division leaders. Entering Friday, that deficit was down to 3.5 games.
In the National League, could the second-highest payrolled team in MLB miss out on the playoffs by blowing their narrow lead in the race for the final wild card spot? Yes, I’m referring to the New York Mets and their near $350 million payroll. The Mets entered the weekend with a pair of NL Central and NL West teams all within five games for that last postseason berth.
Enough about what might happen. Let’s get to what actually happened on Friday night around the majors.
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Today’s Headlines
Mariners Take AL West Lead With Shutout Win of Astros
In what is undoubtedly the most captivating series of the weekend, the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros entered Friday tied atop the American League West, and even in their head-to-head matchups at five apiece. The winner of this series would not only take sole possession of the division, but also win the season series, which could come into play at the end of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 28. Remember, unlike the good ol’ days of a Game 163 (something I really hope MLB brings back), there are no longer tiebreaker contests to settle divisions and final wild card spots. A predetermined number decides everything, and in the case of Houston and Seattle, it would be their head-to-head record.
Friday’s opener paired two of MLB’s top starting pitchers at Daikin Park in Houston. Seattle sent 25-year-old Bryan Woo to the bump to face Houston’s strikeout leader, Hunter Brown. The Mariners jumped out early via a Julio Rodríguez first-inning solo shot to left.
Neither pitcher would yield another run until Brown surrendered a second solo homer in the fourth frame to third baseman Eugenio Suárez. It was Suarez’s 47th of the year.
Woo pitched great over five scoreless frames, but while warming up before the start of the sixth, he felt tightness in his pectoral muscle. The right-hander threw 67 pitches before being removed after five innings. Woo surrendered one hit and struck out seven, and at the very least was eligible for the win. He’s expected to have an MRI on Saturday.
The Mariners’ bullpen held the Astros scoreless the rest of the way. Relievers Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash, and Andrés Muñoz allowed two hits combined over the final four frames. Seattle added two more solo home runs courtesy of Victor Robles and Josh Naylor. The long ball by Naylor put him in the 20-20 club.
JOSH NAYLOR MAKES IT 18
This solo shot off of Craig Kimbrel gives him his 20th HR of the year and his first career 20/20 season!
He is the 14th 1B in MLB History to have a 20/20 season https://t.co/uQMXOmlih5 pic.twitter.com/twZd3pVME4
— Baseball Unstitched Podcast (@BaseUnstitched) September 20, 2025
Seattle won 4-0 to draw first blood in this pivotal series. The victory not only puts Seattle one game ahead of Houston in the AL West, but also in a tie with the slumping AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers for the all-important No. 2 seed in the American League playoff bracket. There’s our segue to the next topic.
Guardians Win 8th Straight and Gain Ground on Detroit
The AL Central race is officially on after Friday’s results in Detroit and Minnesota. Beginning with the Tigers and their veteran right-hander, Charlie Morton, whose horrific start was against his former Atlanta team. Morton surrendered six runs over 1.1 innings before his removal in the second frame. The final blow came on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 18th homer of ’25.
Atlanta homered twice more in the eighth and ninth to win by a final score of 10-1. SP Bryce Elder gave up one run over seven innings for the win. Detroit dropped its fourth consecutive contest and fell to 85-69.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians were locked in a 2-2 tie with the Twins before a two-out rally in the eighth frame, beginning with José Ramírez’s 31st double of the year, followed by his 40th stolen base on a double steal with teammate Kyle Manzardo two batters later. With men on second and third, catcher Bo Naylor drove in both runners on a sharp single to right. Naylor collected four ribbies in the contest.
Cleveland added two more runs in the top of the ninth and won the series opener 6-2. Every run the Guardians scored came with two outs. Most importantly, the victory cut Detroit’s division lead down to 2.5 games with nine days remaining on the schedule. The Guards and Twins play a doubleheader on Saturday.
The Dodgers Clinch a Playoff Spot in Kershaw’s Final Home Start
It wasn’t exactly a vintage Clayton Kershaw performance on Friday versus the Giants, but the future HOF’er battled hard in the final regular-season home start of his amazing career. This was also a massive game for the Giants, who entered the contest three games behind the Mets for the third NL wild card.
Kershaw allowed two runs over 4.2 innings, tallied six punchouts, but walked four batters. The southpaw left with two outs in the fifth and his team trailing 2-1. But, fear not, Dodgers fans, because there’s a guy named Shohei Ohtani on your team, and he wasn’t about to let Kershaw take an L in his last home outing. With two outs and two men on in the fifth, Ohtani smacked a go-ahead three-run homer to deep left off Giants veteran Robbie Ray.
The homer was Ohtani’s 52nd of the year, and would ultimately be the game-decider. Next batter, Mookie Betts made it back-to-back jacks with his 20th tater, and Los Angeles would go on to win 6-3.
The three-run victory clinched a 13th straight playoff berth for the Blue Crew. Afterward, Dave Roberts had some words for his team and their long-time ace.
Mensaje de Dave para Clayton después del juego. pic.twitter.com/VzxcBjoFAf
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) September 20, 2025
More Playoff Implications
⚾ Cleveland remained 1.5 games behind in the race for the third AL wild card after Boston’s seven-run seventh in Tampa Bay led to an 11-7 victory over the Rays. Garrett Crochet picked up his 17th win after tossing six innings of three-run ball. The southpaw struck out nine to increase his MLB-best strikeout total to 249. Detroit’s Tarik Skubal ranks second with 233.
A couple of notes on the AL wild card picture. Houston’s loss to Seattle put them in a tie with Boston for the final two wild-card positions. The Texas Rangers lost to Miami, 6-4, after giving up three runs in the 12th inning. Texas has lost five straight and has a record of 79-75. At five games back with eight matches remaining, it’s just about over for the 2023 champs.
⚾The Toronto Blue Jays got off to a nice start in Kansas City courtesy of a leadoff homer by George Springer in the first inning; his 30th of ’25.
However, that would be all Toronto would score the rest of the way, and unfortunately for the AL East leaders, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to come away with the W thanks to 20 unanswered runs by the Royals, seven of which came in the first frame off SP Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old lasted only two-thirds of an inning and allowed eight batters to reach base (seven via a hit).
Kansas City scored three more times in the third, added four in the seventh, and put the final touches on their franchise record 27-hit night with six runs in the eighth. The only hitless player in the Royals lineup was Maikel Garcia. Ten KC players recorded at least two knocks. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey led the way with four hits apiece. Catcher Salvador Perez reached the 30-homer mark for the second time in his career with a first-inning three-run blast off Scherzer.
That was pretty fun.#HEYHEYHEYHEY pic.twitter.com/KOgLajrY0w
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 20, 2025
⚾ Despite Toronto’s loss, they remained three games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East after New York dropped its contest to Baltimore, 4-2. Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers allowed one hit over six shutout frames for his ninth win. One positive note for the Pinstripes: Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered for the 30th time this season in the seventh inning to become the third player in franchise history to join the 30-30 club (Bobby Bonds in 1975, Alfonso Soriano in ’02 and ’03).
30 Homers. 30 Steals.
Congrats, @j_chisholm3! pic.twitter.com/qpKIZq9hrZ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2025
⚾San Diego fell further behind the Dodgers in the NL West after a 4-3 road loss against the Chicago White Sox. The loss put the Friars four games back in the division. Starting pitcher Dylan Cease was credited with the L versus his former team after surrendering four runs over six innings.
The Padres are 83-71, and still hold the second NL wild card spot by three games over the Mets after New York defeated Washington, 12-6. Juan Soto homered for the 42nd time this season to pass his previous career high of 41 while playing with the Yankees last year. Soto is hitting .343 with seven home runs and 19 ribbies in September.
⚾In other NL wild card news, the Reds defeated the Cubs for a second straight day, 7-4. First baseman Spencer Steer homered twice, and shortstop Elly De La Cruz went yard for the first time in 43 games. The victory kept Cincy two games back of New York for the final wild card position.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks fell at home to the Phillies, 8-2. The loss puts Arizona three back in the wild-card race with eight contests remaining. The St. Louis Cardinals are technically still in the playoff hunt after a 7-1 win over Milwaukee. However, at 75-79, and five games back of the third wild card spot with four teams to pass, it’s safe to assume that the Redbirds’ season is over.
Best Moments From Yesterday
More Kershaw
Some more moments from Kershaw’s final home start.
A night to remember for 22. pic.twitter.com/y5jArZweuf
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2025
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2025
Removing the pitching rubber with Clayton and his kids. 👀 pic.twitter.com/JblMXPRbWP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2025
The Wilsons Celebrate Together
It’s always cool when a father and son get to share the field. Even though A’s rookie Jacob Wilson can never claim that he played at the same time as his father, Jack, the former Pirates shortstop joined his son on the field for the ceremonial first pitch. Jack Wilson played with Pittsburgh from 2001 to ’09.
In the eighth inning, Jacob impressed his father with a great play from short.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Twins right-hander Pablo López exited Friday’s game against the Guardians after four innings with right forearm tightness. Lopez was reinstated from the 60-day IL in early September after missing significant time with an issue in his right shoulder. An MRI is expected on Saturday.
⚾ The Astros officially placed LF Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day IL with a right ankle sprain. The move is retroactive to Sept. 16. Alvarez has played only 48 games this year. Third baseman Isaac Paredes was activated from the injured list (hamstring) to replace Alvarez on the roster. Paredes went 1-for-3 against the Mariners in his first big league action since July.
⚾ Kansas City RHP Lucas Erceg was placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder impingement syndrome. Erceg will miss the remainder of the season and finishes the year with an 8-4 record, 2.64 ERA, and 1.17 WHIP out of the Royals’ bullpen.
⚾ The Angels activated 1B Nolan Schanuel from the 10-day injured list after missing nearly a month with a left wrist contusion. Schanuel collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs at Coors Field on Friday.
Articles You Should Read
Gone in 2.5 pitches: The fleeting life of a baseball in modern MLB — Tyler Kepner, The Athletic
MLB history watch: The wacky records that could be broken this month — Jayson Stark, The Athletic
Judge or Raleigh for AL MVP? Execs have a (slight) preference — Mark Feinsand, MLB.com
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