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I don’t like to start any baseball article, let alone the final PitcherList piece I’ll be writing this season, with the word Ho-Hum. But, after the Los Angeles Dodgers shutout the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday to clinch their fourth consecutive division title and 13th straight postseason berth, I feel there is no other word to start with when describing their NL West dominance over the last decade-plus than to say…Ho-Hum to another Dodgers potential postseason run.
There was more than just the NL West at stake on Thursday. Between two American League division races and the battle for the final wild card spot in both leagues, the excitement level was high on the last day before the final weekend of the MLB regular season.
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Today’s Headlines
Dodgers Clinch NL West
Not only did Yoshinobu Yamamoto toss six scoreless frames to help the Blue Crew to an 8-0 shutout win over the Diamondbacks, but Shohei Ohtani matched last year’s career high in home runs with No. 54 in the fourth frame. Ohtani’s long ball was of the two-run variety and gave him at least 100 RBI on the year for the third time in his career.
Shohei wasn’t the only Dodger to get in on the action. Freddie Freeman smacked two taters and drove in three runs, centerfielder Andy Pages went yard for the 27th time in ’25, and Mookie Betts continued his sizzling September with two more ribbies to give him 23 for the month.
Yamamoto fanned seven, walked two, and yielded four knocks to claim his 12th win this season after the Dodgers’ bullpen allowed one Arizona hit over the final three innings while striking out five.
Los Angeles claimed its 90th win, making it 12 straight full seasons (excluding 2020) with at least 90 victories.
Reds and Mets Win
The problem is now a lack of time for the Diamondbacks’ wild-card hopes after Thursday’s loss to the Dodgers. The Reds began the early afternoon schedule with a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates to avoid what would have been an embarrassing three-game sweep at home to the NL Central’s worst team. The Buccos hung tight through four scoreless innings until Cincy broke through with the first run of the contest in the fifth via a Noelvi Marte RBI single. Marte came around to score in the next at-bat after Gavin Lux singled on a grounder to right field.
Staked to a 2-0 lead after five frames, starter Nick Lodolo would take it from there. The big left-hander dominated the Pirates over 6.1 innings. Lodolo tied a career high with 12 strikeouts, walked one batter, and allowed two hits.
The Pirates scored one run in the eighth to cut the lead in half, and threatened to tie the contest with one out in the ninth after Bryan Reynolds smashed an Emilio Pagán fastball to deep right. However, a perfectly timed over-the-wall snag by Marte saved the game.
Next batter, Andrew McCutchen, fittingly flew out to Marte to end the contest. Lodolo was masterful, but Marte was the hero after driving in the first run of the contest and making the biggest game-saving catch of the year for Cincy.
With the 2-1 victory, the Reds pulled to within a half-game of the Mets before New York battled the Cubs in their rubber game at Wrigley Field. The Mets scored the game’s first six runs, four of which came courtesy of Francisco Lindor’s 30th homer in the third (more on that later) and a three-run tater by Brett Baty in the fourth.
CRUSHED. 30/30!@Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/MxzU4FhOES
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 26, 2025
Despite two homers from Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki off New York’s SP Nolan McLean, the Mets rookie hung in there and struck out 11 over 5.1 frames. McLean allowed all five of Chicago’s runs on the day, but still claimed the win after his opponent, Shota Imanaga, surrendered eight runs over 5.2 innings for the loss. Final Score: Mets-8, Cubs-5. The win kept New York one game ahead of Cincy and two ahead of Arizona for the final NL wild-card position. The Diamonbacks’ elimination number is down to two with three contests remaining for each team.
The remaining schedule for the three NL wild-card contenders:
Mets: 3 at Marlins
Reds: 3 at Brewers
Diamondbacks: 3 at Padres
Tigers and Astros Snap Losing Streaks
It was getting ugly in the American League’s fight for the final AL wild-card spot, and with three days remaining on the schedule, we could still be in for an ugly finish even after the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros ended their combined 13-game losing streak on Thursday.
Starting with Detroit. Everyone knows about the incredible 15.5-game comeback in the AL Central by the Cleveland Guardians. Following Cleveland’s 5-1 victory on Wednesday, officially giving them a one-game lead in the AL Central and putting them on the verge of a three-game sweep to go ahead by two games in the series finale, all Tigers fans were probably thinking was, Can we please end this eight-game slide and get back into a tie atop the division with a win?
The Tigers jumped out 2-0 in the first on solo home runs by leadoff man Jahmai Jones and right fielder Wenceel Pérez.
Javier Báez singled home Detroit’s third run in the second, and left fielder Riley Greene hit a solo homer in the fourth (No. 36 of ’25) to give the Tigers a 4-1 advantage.
Cleveland’s José Ramírez cut the deficit to 4-2 in the eighth via his 34th double this season, but Detroit’s closer Will Vest shut the door in the ninth by striking out the side in a 1-2-3 frame.
The Tigers’ 4-2 win not only ended their eight-game losing streak, but more importantly, it drew them even with Cleveland atop the AL Central standings with an 86-73 record. Cleveland owns the tiebreaker with a better head-to-head record.
As for the other scuffling one-time division leader, the Houston Astros avoided their sixth straight loss behind starter Framber Valdez’s 10 strikeouts over seven innings of one-run ball in Sacramento versus the Athletics. Houston scored the game’s first nine runs, and despite a pair of homers off the bat of A’s stud rookie Nick Kurtz later in the contest, the ‘Stros came away with an 11-5 victory. Astros first baseman Christian Walker homered for the 24th time this season and drove in a team-high three runs.
Houston remains one game behind Detroit and Cleveland for the final AL wild-card position. Here are the remaining contests for each squad:
Guardians: 3 vs. Rangers
Tigers: 3 at Red Sox
Astros: 3 at Angels
The AL East Remains Tied
The wild-card hopeful Boston Red Sox looked for a three-game sweep in Toronto, but after neither team could score over the game’s first five innings, the Blue Jays finally broke through on a Daulton Varsho grand slam in the sixth.
Later in the frame, George Springer hit his 31st homer to give the Jays a 6-0 lead. Boston scored one in the seventh, but that was all they could muster in this contest as Toronto came away with the 6-1 victory.
Meanwhile, the Yankees rallied from a 3-1 deficit against the White Sox after DH Giancarlo Stanton laced a go-ahead, bases-clearing double to left in the fifth off Chicago’s reliever Tyler Gilbert. Austin Wells doubled home a run in the seventh to give New York a 5-3 lead and an eventual win by that same score.
Starter Carlos Rodón picked up his 18th win behind six innings of three-run ball. New York and Toronto are still tied atop the AL East with records of 91-68 (Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker). The Red Sox are hanging onto the No. 2 AL wild card position by one game over Detroit and Cleveland. One more Boston victory or a Guardians or Tigers loss will ensure the Sox are playing in next week’s opening round of the postseason.
Here are the remaining contests for each team:
Blue Jays: 3 vs. Rays
Yankees: 3 vs. Orioles
Red Sox: 3 vs. Tigers
The No. 2 Seeds Earn Wins
The current No. 2 seeds in the American League and National League were victorious on Thursday. The Mariners defeated the Rockies 6-2 to complete a three-game sweep over baseball’s worst team for their seventh straight win. Eugenio Suárez went yard for the 49th time to get the scoring started in the second inning.
Unfortunately for M’s fans, Cal Raleigh was 0-for-4 and remained at 60 home runs on the year. He’ll look to continue his quest for the all-time AL homer record this weekend versus the Dodgers. Before the game, Raleigh met the fan who caught his 60th home run ball.
In the National League, Philadelphia guaranteed itself a first-round bye to the NLDS with Wednesday’s win over the Marlins. On Thursday, the Phils looked to gain ground on the idle Brewers for a potential No. 1 overall seed. Behind five scoreless innings from starter Walker Buehler, and one RBI groundout by Alec Bohm in the opening frame, the Phillies managed a 1-0 shutout to cut Milwaukee’s lead for the top overall seed to two games with three remaining. The Phillies host Minnesota for three contests this weekend, while the Brewers welcome the Reds to town.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Lindor Joins Four Others in 30-30 Club
Back to Lindor. Not only did he join the 30-30 club with his third-inning homer on Thursday, but he, along with Corbin Carroll, Jazz Chisholm Jr., José Ramírez, and his teammate Juan Soto, combined to make it the first time that five players in one season clocked at least 30 long balls and stole 30 bags.
What a player 👑@Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/eRAl52mQS7
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 26, 2025
Ramirez Sets Club Record for Extra-Base Hits
It’s nearly impossible not to mention the great J-Ram when referring to the 2025 Cleveland Guardians. Where would this franchise be without him? Ramirez’s eighth-inning double on Thursday was his 725th extra-base knock of his career, making him the all-time Guardians extra-base hits leader. He’s one of the best around. Congrats to José.
Walk-off For Beavers
A meaningless game between two non-contenders in the AL East at least had some walk-off drama after rookie Dylan Beavers sent a first-pitch cutter into the right field seats to give the O’s a 6-5 win over Tampa Bay.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Minnesota Twins placed rookie Luke Keaschall on the 10-day IL retroactive to Sept. 24 with a left thumb sprain. Keaschall’s season ends with a .302 batting average, four homers, and 28 RBI over 182 at-bats.
⚾ The Toronto Blue Jays placed José Berríos on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. The right-hander last pitched on Wednesday versus the Red Sox. Berrios lasted two innings and gave up three runs in the contest. His regular season ends with a 9-5 record and a 4.17 ERA.
Articles You Should Read
Cal reaches 60 — and adds to his MVP resume — with another multi-HR game — Daniel Kramer, MLB.com
I’m an MLB All-Star and I still get nervous before every game. Here’s how I deal with it— Steven Kwan, The Athletic
Can ‘Big Inning’ captivate fans like NFL’s ‘RedZone’? MLB Network hopes so, despite obstacles — Stephen J. Nesbitt, The Athletic
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