The Morning Horsehide Herald — the Three-and-Twentieth of September, Two Thousand and Twenty-Six

Is it spring training yet? No — but the championship season is upon us, a finer thing still.

The Game of the Day

THE CHAMPAGNE RIDES TO THE BRONX AND WAITS OUT AN AFTERNOON OF DEFIANCE — RASMUSSEN CARRIES A NO-HIT BID INTO THE SEVENTH, AND THE EAST'S CROWN IS WORN AT NIGHTFALL: RAYS 6, YANKEES 1

Beaten in the day's opener, the Tampa men send their ace out for the nightcap and he strikes out eleven on a career-high hundred-and-fourteen pitches, no New York hit falling until the seventh; Díaz drives home four with a pair of two-run knocks; and the club picked last in March seals its fifth division title, its first since 2021, with the American's first seed besides — the one victory this paper reckoned would suffice, delivered in the second game it could reach

The plastic sheeting went up in the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, and for one afternoon it hung there unemployed. Carlos Rodón, whose eight scoreless innings the card below salutes, stalled the coronation in the opener of the twin bill and sent the corks back into their crates. Whereupon the Rays handed the evening to Drew Rasmussen, and the right-hander made certain the sheeting would not hang a second day: no New York batsman touched him for a hit until the seventh inning, eleven struck out in all, and the hundred-and-fourteen pitches he spent were the most of his big-league life. The manager Boone's men managed a single run — Lombard Jr.'s knock in the seventh — and three hits the whole night.

The scoring had the patience of men who knew what waited. Vilade's groundout cashed the first run in the third; in the seventh Walls dropped a bunt single to fetch home Simpson, and Yandy Díaz lined a two-run knock that survived a New York challenge; in the ninth Díaz did it again, two more across, four driven in on the evening. Fried, who took the defeat, offered no alibi: "You don't want anyone to be celebrating at your stadium. Especially with the way Carlos came out, we wanted to put some pressure and be able to win some games. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow up on what he was able to do."

So the arithmetic this paper has carried all week — one Rays victory in the Bronx wears the crown — was settled by the second game it could reach. It is Tampa Bay's fifth division title in the franchise book and its first since 2021, and it carries the American's first seed, so that the league's road to the World Series now runs through the rebuilt dome where the club banked a record five-and-fifty home victories. Remember that the prognosticators of March picked these men last in a division they said belonged to any of four others. "No one really expected us to be here, so we've had to fight for it from the beginning of the season," said the veteran Martinez, who lost the afternoon game and celebrated anyway; "four teams got all the attention in this division," added the operations chief Neander, "and they're four really good teams, right? Just a testament to these guys." Even the beaten manager paid the toll honestly. "Rasmussen was great, and they've put together a fantastic regular season to earn that," said Boone. "That's theirs that they earned. Hopefully we get another crack at them in the next couple of weeks." He may have his wish; October is near enough to smell the champagne through the plastic.

News Around the League

THE OCTOBER DESK: MILWAUKEE'S BYE IS SEALED BY ATLANTA'S DEFEAT, THE NATIONAL'S WILD-CARD ROW KNOTS ITSELF AT THREE-AND-EIGHTY-SEVEN — AND THE AMERICAN'S WEST IS A DEAD HEAT WITH FIVE TO PLAY

The bye this paper has watched Milwaukee chase all week arrived Tuesday by courier: the Brewers lost at Philadelphia, but Cincinnati's whitewash of Atlanta settled the matter regardless, and Milwaukee can now finish no lower than the National's second seed. Mark the calendar as the club has — the first game of their Division Series falls on the third of October at their own American Family Field, opponent to be named by the scrambles below them. And a scramble it remains: the Cubs, beaten in twelve innings at their own park, and the Padres, whitewashed at Los Angeles, fell back into the row on the very night Philadelphia climbed, so that all three sit level at seven-and-eighty wins with five to play — the three-way knot whose written verdict this paper entered Tuesday, Chicago holding the row's head by its season series against both pursuers, Philadelphia holding the second chair over San Diego, Arizona four adrift of the field. The berth arithmetic is short: Chicago clinches a place with one victory or one Arizona defeat, and Philadelphia may clinch this very evening with a victory of its own beside an Arizona loss at Denver.

In the American, the East's coronation above leaves two live races, and neither will yield early. The West is now a dead heat at eight-and-seventy wins apiece, Houston's whitewash at Seattle and Texas's three-hit evening at Arlington having met in the middle — and the Silver Boot tiebreaker, as this paper has noted before, rests in Houston's keeping, so Houston controls its own destiny: win out, and the division is theirs. "That's what we can control," said the first baseman Walker. "We got five games ahead of us. Let's go 5-0." The Central stands as it stood: Cleveland by one over Chicago, the Guardians riding six straight and one step from a clinched berth, the White Sox riding three with the season-series tiebreaker still in their keeping. And the beaten Yankees banked their own consolation Tuesday: New York hosts the Wild Card round a second consecutive year, the first game falling on the nine-and-twentieth in the Bronx — most likely against Boston — with the survivor to open at Tampa Bay's dome on the third of October.

THE MILESTONE DESK: SEVEN STRIKEOUTS BEFORE A BREWER TOUCHED THE BALL — WHEELER'S TWO-THOUSANDTH ARRIVES IN THE FIRST INNING, AND SUÁREZ'S THREE-HUNDRED-FIFTIETH IS THROWN BACK BY A SIX-YEAR-OLD

Zack Wheeler came to the hill at Philadelphia on Tuesday needing three strikeouts to reach two thousand for his career, and had them before the first inning was out — then kept going. The first seven Milwaukee batsmen all went down on strikes, a figure no Phillies pitcher had ever matched, the punchout of Turang to close the first standing as the milestone itself. He is the six-and-ninetieth pitcher in the game's history to reach the mark, and — here is the flourish — his teammate Nola reached it earlier this same season, making the pair only the second set of teammates ever to do so in the same year, after Hudson and Peavy of the 2014 Giants. For a man whose career was twice interrupted — the elbow surgery of 2015, the blood clot and the thoracic-outlet surgery of last autumn — the figure landed sweetly. "Some of the guys asked me, 'Would you have ever thought?' And the answer is no," Wheeler said. "Just being where I am now, it's pretty special."

At Atlanta the milestone wore a party hat. Eugenio Suárez lifted his five-and-twentieth home run of the year over the left-field wall in the eighth — the three-hundred-fiftieth of his career — and the ball came down amid a birthday celebration, into the hands of a girl turning six years old that very day. Whereupon, to the astonishment of every adult in the section, she threw it back. The souvenir was lost; the memory, this paper submits, will outlast any baseball, and the Herald wishes the young fan a happy sixth.

THE INFIRMARY WARD: ACUÑA'S SHIN TAKES A FOUL AND GIVES BACK GOOD NEWS — PEDERSON'S SEASON ENDS AT THE HAND SPECIALIST'S, AND HOUSTON'S VICTORY COMES AWAY LIMPING

The gasp of the night came at Truist Park, where Ronald Acuña Jr. fouled a three-and-one cutter squarely off his own left shin in the third inning and went to the ground twice before limping off under his own power. The pictures came back kind: X-rays negative, the later scan confirming a contusion and nothing worse. "He's going to be sore. Obviously we'll err on the side of caution at this time of the year," said the manager Weiss. "But all things considered, it's good news." With the East sewn on and the third seed all but fixed, Atlanta's only remaining pennant is health; whether Acuña returns before the homestand closes Thursday will follow the swelling.

At Arlington the news ran harder. Joc Pederson, shelved since a pitch broke his left hand on the twelfth of September, progressed only as far as swings off a tee before the club conceded the regular season Tuesday and placed him on the injured list, the move dated back to the nineteenth — so that, should Texas reach the Wild Card round, he could yet be activated for it. "It just didn't progress like we hoped," said the manager Schumaker. The club also moved the pitcher Quantrill to the sixty-day shelf. And Houston's whitewash at Seattle, entered on the card below, collected its own tolls: the starter Javier departed after two innings with tightness of the right groin, and Peña and Matthews likewise left the field early, the club's five-game sprint now to be run on a trainer's-room budget.

THE CONVALESCENT DESK: THE VIGIL CLOSES TONIGHT — OHTANI IS EXPECTED IN THE LINEUP AGAINST SAN DIEGO, THOUGH PERHAPS NOT AT THE HEAD OF IT

The watch this paper has kept over Shohei Ohtani — the named series, the forty swings against the pitching-machine, the manager's Wednesday promise — reaches its final entry. "Unless I hear otherwise," said the manager Roberts on Tuesday, "he'll be in the lineup" for this evening's middle game of the San Diego series at Chavez Ravine, his fifteen-day shelf-leave expired, his return strictly as a batsman with the mound closed for the year. He is expected to play out all five remaining games to sharpen the eye he could not use from the shelf.

The one open question is the batting order's first line. With the southpaw Ray starting for San Diego, Roberts allowed he may hold Ohtani from his customary leadoff post and open instead with Betts — carrying a .984 on-base-plus-slugging figure over his last forty games — against left-handers, Ohtani taking the top spot against the right-handed kind. "That's probably the way it's going to fall out," the manager said, "but I haven't totally decided yet." The champions have scarcely suffered for the absence — three defeats in the eighteen games since he sat, and a fifth straight victory banked Tuesday by eight arms passing a shutout hand to hand, as the card relates — but October wants the whole arsenal, and tonight the largest piece steps back into the rack.

THE FAREWELL DESK: FIVE HUNDRED SEVEN-AND-FIFTY STARTS, AND THE LAST ONE NAMED — VERLANDER WILL TAKE A BIG-LEAGUE MOUND ONE FINAL TIME SATURDAY, AT THE PARK WHERE IT BEGAN

Justin Verlander walked out to the bullpen beyond the left-field fence at Comerica Park on Tuesday and threw a between-starts session, as he has done for one-and-twenty years; this one, he confirmed afterward, was the last. The club has named Saturday afternoon, against the visiting Pirates — whose series in Detroit opens Friday — for the five-hundred-fifty-seventh and final start of his career, his first outing in Tigers flannels at Comerica since August of 2017. Sidelined since March by the hip and lately the hamstring, he owned that the year broke his heart before it schooled him: "I honestly didn't envision this being the last season... [I] slowly came to the realization through the course of the year when I just couldn't get back out there." He pushed through the rehabilitation anyway, he said, for the fans as much as himself — and then, in the old competitor's registry: "Just don't do anything stupid between now and Saturday, and we should be good."

Nor will it be a ceremonial inning and a cap-wave, if the man himself has any say. "He's made it perfectly clear to me that he doesn't want the one-inning sendoff," said the manager Hinch. "He's going to give his best shot to have as close to a normal game as he can." The Herald, which has set down no small number of his deeds, will keep Saturday's account with particular care.

THE WIDER GAME: THE FIRST PENNANT OF THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE FLIES IN LOS ANGELES — SATO THROWS THE LEAGUE'S FIRST COMPLETE GAME WITH THE TITLE ON THE LINE

History of the freshest kind was made Tuesday night in the Women's Professional Baseball League, whose inaugural season closed with a winner-take-all championship game: the Los Angeles Queens 2, the San Francisco Firebells 0, and every out of it belonging to Ayami Sato. The most decorated pitcher in the women's game — three World Cup Most Valuable awards, a pioneer season among the men of Canada's Intercounty league — had labored through the league's first summer with an earned-run figure above six and her frustrations posted plainly for all to read. With everything staked, she faced the league's heaviest-hitting club and threw the first complete game in the circuit's history, taking the championship's Most Valuable honors besides. "My mind and my pitching connected successfully, and we won," she told the crowd. "I wanted to enjoy my baseball with the best teammates in the world."

The Queens are managed, the record should note, by Eric Young Sr., late of the big-league basepaths. The Herald, a paper of the National Pastime in all its houses, tips its cap to the new champions and enters the WPBL's first pennant in the almanac with pleasure.

The Rest of the Card

RODÓN CLAIMS THE AFTERNOON FOR NEW YORK AND THE CHAMPAGNE MUST WAIT FOR DARK — EIGHT INNINGS, THREE HITS, NOT A WALK: YANKEES 2, RAYS 0

In the twin bill's opener, Carlos Rodón was everything the occasion demanded of the home nine: eight scoreless innings, three hits, eight strikeouts and not a base on balls, before Bednar sealed his five-and-thirtieth save. Bellinger's two-run blow in the fourth, his seventeenth, was the whole of the scoring off Martinez, and 41,421 saw the coronation postponed in a brisk two hours and two minutes. "It kind of sucks," the second baseman Chisholm said of the evening that followed anyway; "the end goal is the World Series, so it doesn't really affect us here."

THE AMERICAN'S TWO BEST FRESHMEN DUEL AT FENWAY AND CLEVELAND TAKES IT BY ONE — GASPER'S LATE THUNDER ANSWERED BY A NINTH-INNING SACRIFICE: FOREST CITY NINE 3, HUB NINE 2

Parker Messick against Tolle was a meeting of the league's two finest rookie arms, and the Cleveland man's five innings of one run — his fourteenth straight start of three earned or fewer, the earned-run figure now 2.55 — left with the lead. Gasper's tenth home run squared it against Gaddis in the eighth, whereupon Lowe's sacrifice fly cashed DeLauter in the ninth and Smith closed his fortieth save. A sixth consecutive victory keeps the Central's lead at one over Chicago and brings the clinch of a berth within a single step; Boston, thrice beaten running, still holds the wild-card row's second seat.

WHEELER'S RECORD FIRST INNING, MARSH'S THUNDER AT BOTH ENDS, AND A THREE-RUN EIGHTH — PHILADELPHIA MAY CLINCH TONIGHT: BROTHERLY LOVE NINE 6, MILWAUKEES 4

The milestone desk sings Wheeler's seven straight strikeouts to open; the game itself turned late. Marsh's two-run homer and Bohm's double had built a three-run lead, Milwaukee clawed level at three by the sixth — Contreras driving home all three — and then Stott lined a two-run single and Marsh a run-scoring double in the eighth, Duran sealing his three-and-thirtieth save against Lara's ninth-inning answer. The Brewers lost the game and won the bye, as the October desk relates; Philadelphia may seat itself in the wild-card row tonight with a victory beside an Arizona defeat.

ONE HIT IS ST. LOUIS'S WHOLE EVENING — JONES AND TWO RELIEF HANDS PASS THE WHITEWASH, AND PITTSBURGH MAKES IT FIVE STRAIGHT: CORSAIRS 2, CARDS 0

The Cardinals collected exactly one hit at Pittsburgh, and the Corsairs needed little more than manners to beat them: O'Hearn's single cashed Cruz in the sixth, and in the seventh the rookie Griffin stole his three-and-twentieth base and Horwitz scampered home on the wild pitch that followed. Jones took the decision, Soto sealed his sixteenth save, and Pallante — twelve victories notwithstanding — absorbed the defeat. Five straight for the Smoky City men, at eighty wins with five to play; September continues to ask their permission for nothing.

ABRAMS TWICE, AND TWICE IS PLENTY — THE SENATORS TAKE A SECOND STRAIGHT AT THE PARK LATELY RENAMED FOR A BANK: SENATORS 3, TIGERS 1

CJ Abrams supplied the entire Washington offense that mattered — a solo home run in the second, his two-and-thirtieth, and a two-run blow in the seventh, his three-and-thirtieth, with Crews aboard. Kent took the decision, Tolman his fourth save, and Detroit's answer was a single sixth-inning run. The Senators of the present day have won seven of ten while playing out the string; the Tigers, whose home is renamed for a bank from next season as this paper recorded Tuesday, drop level with them at four-and-seventy wins and turn their eyes to Saturday's farewell, entered at the desk above.

A WHITEWASH AT TRUIST AND A KEEPSAKE RETURNED TO SENDER — DE LA CRUZ AND SUÁREZ SUPPLY THE THUNDER: CINCINNATIS 4, BRAVES 0

Brandon Williamson and three relief hands blanked the crowned champions of the East on seven hits, while De La Cruz's nine-and-twentieth homer, Myers' eighth, a run-scoring single, and Suárez's milestone blow — thrown back by the birthday girl the milestone desk celebrates — built the four. Ritchie took the loss. Atlanta's evening was chiefly spent holding its breath over Acuña's shin, as the ward above relates; the Cincinnatis, playing the spoiler's part with vigor, have now blanked the Braves on the very night Milwaukee needed it done.

FIVE-AND-TWENTY RUNS, SIX THUNDERCLAPS, AND A NINTH-INNING FRIGHT — MEIDROTH DRIVES HOME FIVE AND THE SOUTH SIDERS OUTLAST THE GRAND SLAM: SOUTH SIDERS 14, ROYALS 11

The South Siders piled fourteen runs on thirteen hits at Kansas City — Meidroth's three-run homer and two-run single worth five driven in, Grichuk four hits and a trapped dive from the cycle, Murakami's three-and-thirtieth and Doyle's fourth joining the barrage, the club's ninth night this year of four home runs or more — and then held their hats through a four-run Kansas City ninth crowned by Pasquantino's grand slam. "It's the 2026 White Sox," said Vargas, the reigning Player of the Week. "We don't give up." The one-and-eightieth victory guarantees the first non-losing season on the South Side since 2022; the last wild-card chair stays warm, and Cleveland stays one game distant.

TEN INNINGS OF STALEMATE AND A SIX-RUN TWELFTH — MIAMI LEAVES WRIGLEY'S CHAMPAGNE ON ICE A SECOND NIGHT: GULF STREAM NINE 8, CUBS 2, IN TWELVE INNINGS

Stowers' twentieth homer and Ramírez's single had Miami ahead until Chicago squared it at two in the sixth; there the ledger froze for six innings, the Cubs stranding fifteen runners and going one for eighteen with men in scoring position, until the twelfth burst its seams — Conine's go-ahead knock, its run awarded when the moving pictures overturned the call at the plate, five more runs piling behind it, Mack driving home two. "We just didn't get a hit," said the manager Counsell, arithmetic enough. Four hours and ten minutes of baseball leave the North Side clinch — one win, or one Arizona defeat — waiting another day, and the wild-card row knotted as the October desk relates.

THREE HITS ARE ALL ARLINGTON CAN MUSTER AND THE WEST'S THRONE IS SHARED BY NIGHTFALL — ALVAREZ'S TWO-RUN DOUBLE TURNS THE SIXTH: METROPOLITANS 6, LONE STAR NINE 3

Texas nosed ahead on Jung's double and a pair of sacrifice flies, whereupon the Metropolitans took the evening back with three in the sixth — the catcher Alvarez lining a two-run double and scoring on Torrens' sacrifice — and Benge doubled home another in the seventh. Manaea took the decision, the loss was charged to Eovaldi, and Senga, working from the bullpen, sealed his eighth save against a Texas offense held to three hits entire. The defeat costs the Rangers sole possession of the West's throne, now shared with Houston on terms the October desk explains — and their bench loses Pederson besides, as the ward records.

THE CENTURY ARRIVES IN DENVER, AS THE LEDGER LONG PROMISED — A THREE-RUN FIRST AND ARENADO'S EIGHT-AND-TWENTIETH KEEP THE SNAKES BREATHING: SNAKES 7, MILE HIGH NINE 2

Arizona fell upon Freeland for three in the first — Moreno, Perdomo, and Carroll cashing runs nose to tail — and never looked back, Moniak adding his three-and-twentieth homer and Arenado, whose grand slam this paper sang on Monday, his eight-and-twentieth. Soroka banked his ninth victory. The defeat is Colorado's hundredth of the season — the century this paper saw standing a game away on Monday morning — and for the Snakes, four games adrift of the wild-card field with five to play, every sunrise is still a stay of execution: they must win on while Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Diego all falter.

THE MAN WHO CALLED THE MEETING SUPPLIES THE MINUTES — ALVAREZ'S ONE-AND-FORTIETH CROWNS A WHITEWASH AND HOUSTON SEIZES ITS SHARE OF THE THRONE: HOUSTON NINE 7, PUGET SOUND MEN 0

Yordan Alvarez, who stood up in the clubhouse after Sunday's sweep and demanded better, delivered it personally at Seattle: a run-scoring single in the first, his one-and-fortieth home run in the eighth — drawing level with Caminero atop the American's ledger — and three driven in toward a hundred-and-two on the year. Walker's three-run blow off Gilbert did the early heavy lifting, and after Javier's two innings ended in the trainer's room, four relief hands — the rookie Ullola taking the decision — passed the shutout home. "That's our club right there," said the manager Espada. The West is a dead heat at eight-and-seventy wins, and Houston holds the tiebreaker; the arithmetic is at the October desk.

DOWN SIX-TO-TWO AFTER SIX, AHEAD FOR GOOD BY THE EIGHTH — CORTES AND GELOF STAGE THE COMEBACK OF THE NIGHT: MACKMEN 9, HALOS 7

Anaheim built its lead on Guzman's three-run homer and led six-to-two entering the seventh, whereupon the Mackmen scored three there — Cortes tripling and coming home, McNeil walking one in with the bases full — and four more in the eighth on a pair of two-run blows, Cortes' tenth homer and Gelof's twentieth. Medina took the decision and Harris, surviving a ninth-inning run, his sixteenth save. Trout crossed the plate twice in a losing cause for the Halos, whose seven-and-ninetieth defeat keeps them two games astern of the Mackmen at the West's floor.

JENKINS'S FOURTH PROVES THE DIFFERENCE AND BRADLEY BANKS A TWELFTH — MINNESOTA SQUARES THE SERIES BY THE BAY: TWINS 3, ORANGE AND BLACK 2

A night after falling to the Giants' late-season cheer, Minnesota answered with small precision: Keaschall's triple and Lee's single built two in the sixth, the young Walker Jenkins lifted his fourth home run in the seventh, and Bradley banked his twelfth victory, Hoffman sealing his sixth save around San Francisco's ninth-inning push. The Orange and Black, whose three-and-ninetieth defeat arrived despite a spirited final week, send the rubber match to this afternoon's card.

EIGHT ARMS PASS ONE WHITEWASH HAND TO HAND — FREEMAN DRIVES HOME THREE, AND THE CHAMPIONS ROLL A FIFTH STRAIGHT ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT RETURN: BOYS IN BLUE 7, MISSION NINE 0

The champions staged a bullpen procession — eight pitchers, five San Diego hits, not a run — while the bats did brisk business against King: two bases-full walks and Freeman's two-run single made four in the second, Freeman cashed another in the fourth, and Edman's eighth homer and Smith's tenth finished the account. Wrobleski's inning took the decision to twelve victories, and Sasaki, a day off the shelf, struck out two in a clean frame of his own. Five straight for Los Angeles at seven-and-ninety wins; the Mission nine, whitewashed a night after their streak died, fall back into the wild-card knot — and tonight Ohtani is expected back in the lineup against them, as the convalescent desk relates.

The Wednesday tables, then — with the American's East decided in the Bronx. In the American: Tampa Bay is crowned at six-and-ninety wins and holds the first seed, its Division Series to open at the dome on the third of October; New York hosts the Wild Card round from the nine-and-twentieth, most likely against Boston; the Central is Cleveland's by one over Chicago, the Guardians riding six straight against the White Sox' three, with the season-series tiebreaker still in Chicago's keeping; the West is a dead heat, Houston and Texas level at eight-and-seventy wins with the Silver Boot tiebreaker Houston's; and the wild-card row reads New York and Boston seated, Chicago's last chair three clear of Texas, four of Toronto, and five of Baltimore. In the National: all three divisions are sewn — Atlanta, Milwaukee with the bye now in its pocket, and Los Angeles — and the wild-card row is a three-way knot at seven-and-eighty wins, Chicago's head chair held by the season series, Philadelphia's second held over San Diego, with Arizona four adrift and five to play; the Cubs clinch a berth with one win or one Arizona defeat, and Philadelphia may clinch tonight by winning while Arizona loses. Last evening's Toronto-at-Baltimore engagement was postponed entire, so today's bill carries a separate-admission twin bill at Camden Yards — sixteen games in all, verified against the schedule: Washington at Detroit at 1:10; the Baltimore twin bill at 1:35 and 6:35, the venerable Scherzer opening for Toronto; Minnesota at San Francisco at 3:45 for the rubber match; Milwaukee at Philadelphia at 6:40, Henderson opposing Nola with a Quaker clinch possible, alongside St. Louis at Pittsburgh; Tampa Bay at New York at 7:05, Seymour against Cole, the crown already bestowed; Cleveland at Boston at 7:10, Griffin against Gray and his seventeen victories; Cincinnati at Atlanta at 7:15, Sale taking the ball; the White Sox at Kansas City and Miami at Wrigley at 7:40; the Mets at Texas at 8:05; Arizona at Denver at 8:40; the Angels at the Athletics at 9:40; and at 10:10, Houston at Seattle beside San Diego at Los Angeles, Ray opposing Yamamoto with Ohtani expected back in harness. Four mornings remain to the season's last page on the seven-and-twentieth; the Wild Card rounds open on the nine-and-twentieth. Until the morrow's dispatch, keep your scorecards near and your enthusiasms nearer.

~ THE HERALD ~

The Herald Acknowledges Its Debts

MLB Box Scores — Wednesday, September 23, 2026 — Boxscore
Baseball-Reference.com — Today's Games, Upcoming Schedule and Upcoming Dates — Baseball-Reference
Adam Berry, Boundless confidence powers Rays to AL East title, home-field through ALCS — MLB.com
Bryan Hoch, No East? No sweat: Yanks focused with Wild Card Series home-field clinched — MLB.com
Adam McCalvy, Brewers secure bye, home-field advantage in NLDS despite falling short in Philly — MLB.com
Todd Zolecki, Wheeler achieves career, franchise milestones as Phils close in on Wild Card — MLB.com
Manny Randhawa, 6-year-old birthday girl grabs milestone HR ball, smiles the biggest smile — MLB.com
Jordan Bastian, Cubs' clinch put on hold after rocky 12-inning loss to Marlins — MLB.com
Craig Forde, Another start, another Messick gem as Guards close in on October — MLB.com
Scott Merkin, 'Don't give up' White Sox win third straight, close in on playoff berth — MLB.com
Brian McTaggart, 'Let's go 5-0': Astros control their destiny after moving into tie for AL West lead — MLB.com
Mark Bowman, Acuña's X-rays negative after exiting with left shin contusion — MLB.com
Kennedi Landry, Pederson lands on IL with hand fracture, hopes to return for postseason — MLB.com
Sonja Chen, Ohtani expected back in lineup Wednesday -- but he may not bat leadoff — MLB.com
Jason Beck, Verlander set for sendoff he deserves: One last start at Comerica — MLB.com
Michael Clair, Superstar Ayami Sato sends Queens to inaugural WPBL title — MLB.com