[BarkingToad]

Cardinals would benefit by playoff for NL West Title

[EmpireMaker]

Tigers southpaw Matthew Boyd will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left forearm, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Jason Beck of MLB.com). The team didn’t provide any specific timetable for his recovery, but they’re “hopeful” he’ll be able to pitch at some point in 2022.
It’s a disappointing but not wholly unexpected development. Boyd missed two and a half months earlier this season because of triceps discomfort, returning in late August. He made just two starts before landing back on the shelf due to recurring elbow soreness, and the team sent him to visit a specialist a couple weeks ago.
The small silver lining is that the repair which Boyd will undergo is a less extensive procedure than a full Tommy John surgery. That offers some hope he’ll make it back onto a mound next year, but he’s almost certainly going to miss a good portion of the upcoming season.
It’s possible the surgery brings a premature end to Boyd’s six-plus year tenure in Detroit. The 30-year-old is scheduled to go through the arbitration process for a third and final time this offseason. Were the Tigers to tender him a contract, he’d be due a raise on this season’s $6.5MM salary before reaching free agency at the end of the 2022 campaign. Now that he’s seemingly in line to miss much of next year, Boyd’s likely to be let go a year early.
Tigers GM Al Avila told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) the club isn’t ruling out the possibility of Boyd pitching there moving forward. That’d most likely come in the form of a lower cost, incentive-laden free agent deal after a non-tender. But a non-tender would give Boyd the opportunity to explore inquiries from other teams.
If this does wind up marking the end of Boyd’s time with the Tigers, it’d conclude a generally up-and-down tenure. Acquired from the Blue Jays at the 2015 trade deadline as part of the David Price deal, Boyd almost immediately stepped into the Tigers’ rotation. He’s remained a member of the starting staff ever since, settling in as a reliable back-end innings eater for the first few years.
That changed in 2019, when Boyd leaned more heavily on his four-seam fastball at the expense of his sinker and saw a huge uptick in whiffs. Through the end of July that year, he owned a 3.94 ERA with an elite 32.5% strikeout rate across 132 1/3 innings. That dramatically improved performance — coupled with the Tigers’ continued rebuild — made Boyd one of the hottest names on the summer trade market.
Ultimately, Detroit made the decision to hold onto Boyd past the deadline. That proved to be a misstep in retrospect. He struggled down the stretch that season before a very poor showing in last year’s shortened campaign.
Detroit continued to stick by Boyd, though, and he rewarded their faith with a bounceback showing in 2021. The huge strikeout stuff Boyd showed in that 2019 season has fallen all the way back to his early-career levels, but Boyd tamped down on his prior home run troubles early this season en route to a career-low 3.89 ERA in fifteen starts.

[Checkerboard]

The Giants have got to sweep the Rockies it looks like because I doubt the Dodgers lose to the Diamondbacks. I think its a good thing though because it will force the Giants to stay sharp heading into the playoffs with it starting to look like nothing will be decided for the division until the final weekend of the season.

SF's minor teams, San Jose Giants and Eugene Emeralds both won their championships. Pro Giants going for the sweep!

[stevenash]

Schwarber got booed out of Fenway last night.
To be fair they stuck him in a position he's never played before.

[Stallion]

The Cardinals have won 15 in a row!!! While the Jays have lost 3 in a row and are out of the wild card

[JMobile]

Braves tied it in the 9th and Padres lost it in the 10th.

[jrgum3]

Big win by the Giants tonight with the Dodgers losing to the Diamondbacks. As long as they handle their business it really doesn't matter what the Dodgers do but it is nice to increase the lead to 2 games with time running out on the Dodgers.

[Cross]

Cardinals are still going, when will they lose?

[EmpireMaker]

The Brewers placed righty Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list due to a right biceps strain, as right-hander Miguel Sanchez was called up from Triple-A to take Cousins’ spot on the active roster. Speaking with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters, Brewers GM Matt Arnold described Cousins’ injury as “nothing major,” adding that “We just want to be careful. It’s that time of year where we want to make sure he’s available in a playoff capacity.”
Considering that Cousins didn’t even make his MLB debut until June 21, his status as a potential postseason weapon is a sign of how well he has performed during his rookie season. Cousins has a 2.70 ERA over 30 relief innings, along with an eye-popping 35.2% strikeout rate — not far off his minor league numbers since joining the Milwaukee organization in 2019. While Cousins’ control hasn’t been nearly as impressive (15.2% walk rate), opponents haven’t been able to take much advantage, as Cousins has been carving up batters with his wipeout slider.
More on other injury situations around baseball…

• While scoring the game-winning run in the Athletics’ 2-1 walkoff win over the Astros today, Elvis Andrus suffered a left ankle injury and had to be helped off the field. A’s manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reporters that Andrus is getting x-rays after “feeling a pop” in his ankle. More will be known after Andrus has been tested, but it certainly looks like the 33-year-old’s season could be over, as the shortstop could be facing a serious injury. It has been a tough year overall for Andrus, as he has hit only .243/.294/.320 over 541 plate appearances in his first season in Oakland.
• The Yankees could have Jonathan Loaisiga and Jameson Taillon back from the injured list during the club’s upcoming series against the Blue Jays, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera and Newsday’s Erik Boland). Loaisiga was sidelined on September 5 with a strained right rotator cuff, but the reliever has already thrown one bullpen session and will throw another soon, Boone said. Taillon has missed close to the game amount of time with an ankle injury, though he has been on a minor league rehab assignment and threw a bullpen today.
• Jose Cisnero’s IL stint has lasted beyond the minimum 10 days, and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that while Cisnero hasn’t yet been shut down, a return this season is “improbable.” Cisnero has been hampered by swelling around the right elbow laceration that first sent him to the injured list back on September 14. If this is it for the right-hander in 2021, Cisnero will finish with a 3.65 ERA over 61 2/3 innings, marking his third consecutive year of solid work out of Detroit’s bullpen.

[BarkingToad]

Cardinals are still going, when will they lose?

15 straight is franchise record

[Checkerboard]

Semien's 43rd homer ties mlb season record for a 2nd baseman, 7 games left to go.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Cardinals are still going, when will they lose?

I'd love to see them beat the Dodgers in the one game wild card playoff

[Otters27]

This kind of like the 2007 Rockies run T the end of the year

[stevenash]

I'd love to see them beat the Dodgers in the one game wild card playoff

From your lips to God's ears.

[JMobile]

I'd love to see them beat the Dodgers in the one game wild card playoff

Dodgers have lots of playoffs experience

[EmpireMaker]

Shohei Ohtani played his final home game of the 2021 season today, limiting the Mariners to five hits and one run over seven innings, while striking out 10 Seattle batters. Ohtani also added a single as part of a 1-for-3 day, underlining another outstanding two-way performance for the AL MVP favorite.
However, Ohtani’s single was one of only three hits for the Angels, and Ohtani ended up with a no-decision as Los Angeles dropped a 5-1 result to the M’s. Following the game, Ohtani told reporters (including Bill Shakin of The Los Angeles Times) that it had been a “very frustrating, very disappointing” season for the 74-82 Angels, and hinted that he is losing patience with Anaheim’s lack of success.
“I really like the team. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere of the team,” Ohtani said. “But, more than that, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Such Angels stalwarts as Mike Trout and Joe Maddon have made similar statements in recent days, which isn’t surprising considering that the Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Trout and Maddon each indicated that upgrades need to be made to the L.A. roster, and Ohtani echoed those sentiments, saying “if nothing changes on the team, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to be in playoff contention.”
Ohtani also noted the interesting detail that he and his representatives have yet to begin talks with the Angels about a contract extension. Ohtani is under team control through the 2023 season, so there isn’t yet any immediate rush for the Halos to pursue a new deal, nor is unusual that a team wouldn’t want to open negotiations during a season (especially given all the extra preparations already on Ohtani’s plate). That said, figuring out Ohtani’s future would seem like a top priority for the Angels.
Ohtani is scheduled to hit the open market at age 29, so Anaheim will have to figure out how much they are willing to pay such a unique talent into his 30’s. The other factor could be that the Angels themselves aren’t yet sure about how Ohtani will continue to perform as both a pitcher and a hitter, so they could conceivably hold off on extension talks until perhaps after the 2022 campaign to gather more information on how Ohtani has (or hasn’t) held up after another year of two-way action. Plus, if the Angels do spend big to acquire more talent this winter, that creates another major long-term salary on a payroll that already ha Trout and Rendon locked up on huge contracts for the better part of the decade.
The Angels have already reached one low-level contract extension with Ohtani; a two-year/$8.5MM pact that covered his first two years of arbitration eligibility. That does set up a very intriguing arbitration case for the 2022-23 offseason heading into Ohtani’s final arb year, as his contributions as both a star batter and a star pitcher could certainly make the argument for a precedent-setting arbitration payday. Of course, an extension to avoid arbitration would make the whole situation moot.

[jrgum3]

Semien's 43rd homer ties mlb season record for a 2nd baseman, 7 games left to go.

I've always liked Semien since I saw him quite a bit when he played for Oakland. It was because of that that I targeted him heavily in a lot of my fantasy leagues and was able to get him in a few of them. He's a large reason why the Blue Jays have been so good this season.

[Checkerboard]

Manoah's slider nasty versus Twins.

Jays off Monday, one game back of wild card spot number 2.

3 game series with Yankees beginning Tuesday.

[Otters27]

Day off could hurt Cards momentum

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Just end the season and the pain already

[stevenash]

Red Sox and Blue Jays finish the season playing cupcakes.
Yankees have to end the season against TB

NYY could be odd team out.

[Stallion]

The Jays need 2 of 3 ( or better) vs the Yankees and then sweep the Orioles, to have a chance at the wild card.

[BigSpoon]

The Jays need 2 of 3 ( or better) vs the Yankees and then sweep the Orioles, to have a chance at the wild card.

It's going to be tough but at least they have a chance. A month ago they looked toast.

[JMobile]

Shohei Ohtani played his final home game of the 2021 season today, limiting the Mariners to five hits and one run over seven innings, while striking out 10 Seattle batters. Ohtani also added a single as part of a 1-for-3 day, underlining another outstanding two-way performance for the AL MVP favorite.
However, Ohtani’s single was one of only three hits for the Angels, and Ohtani ended up with a no-decision as Los Angeles dropped a 5-1 result to the M’s. Following the game, Ohtani told reporters (including Bill Shakin of The Los Angeles Times) that it had been a “very frustrating, very disappointing” season for the 74-82 Angels, and hinted that he is losing patience with Anaheim’s lack of success.
“I really like the team. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere of the team,” Ohtani said. “But, more than that, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Such Angels stalwarts as Mike Trout and Joe Maddon have made similar statements in recent days, which isn’t surprising considering that the Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Trout and Maddon each indicated that upgrades need to be made to the L.A. roster, and Ohtani echoed those sentiments, saying “if nothing changes on the team, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to be in playoff contention.”
Ohtani also noted the interesting detail that he and his representatives have yet to begin talks with the Angels about a contract extension. Ohtani is under team control through the 2023 season, so there isn’t yet any immediate rush for the Halos to pursue a new deal, nor is unusual that a team wouldn’t want to open negotiations during a season (especially given all the extra preparations already on Ohtani’s plate). That said, figuring out Ohtani’s future would seem like a top priority for the Angels.
Ohtani is scheduled to hit the open market at age 29, so Anaheim will have to figure out how much they are willing to pay such a unique talent into his 30’s. The other factor could be that the Angels themselves aren’t yet sure about how Ohtani will continue to perform as both a pitcher and a hitter, so they could conceivably hold off on extension talks until perhaps after the 2022 campaign to gather more information on how Ohtani has (or hasn’t) held up after another year of two-way action. Plus, if the Angels do spend big to acquire more talent this winter, that creates another major long-term salary on a payroll that already ha Trout and Rendon locked up on huge contracts for the better part of the decade.
The Angels have already reached one low-level contract extension with Ohtani; a two-year/$8.5MM pact that covered his first two years of arbitration eligibility. That does set up a very intriguing arbitration case for the 2022-23 offseason heading into Ohtani’s final arb year, as his contributions as both a star batter and a star pitcher could certainly make the argument for a precedent-setting arbitration payday. Of course, an extension to avoid arbitration would make the whole situation moot.

So the Angels want to get Max Scherzer next year?

[stevenash]

It's going to be tough but at least they have a chance. A month ago they looked toast.

Red Sox and Jays back in March were not even an afterthought for October baseball.
Now look.

[EmpireMaker]

The Giants have announced that an x-ray revealed a fracture in the left thumb of first baseman Brandon Belt, as relayed by several reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Belt was hit on the thumb by a pitch in yesterday’s game and was pulled a short time later. The expected recovery timeline is still unknown right now, as Belt still plans on more meetings with doctors, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. However, for comparison’s sake, both J.T. Realmuto and Joey Votto suffered a fractured thumb earlier this year and missed about a month before returning to action.
This is awful timing for Belt and the Giants, both because the postseason begins in a week and because Belt had been on such a tear of late. Since returning from a knee injury August 5th, Belt’s slash line is an absurd .297/.394/.690, hitting 18 home runs in that stretch. That production is 83% better than league average, according to wRC+. After three straight years of lagging production from 2017 to 2019, Belt has essentially been on fire the past two years. Since the start of the 2020 season, in 148 games, his line is .285/.393/.595. His wRC+ of 163 in that time is the third-best in the majors among those with at least 550 plate appearances, trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper.
As for the team, they are already guaranteed a playoff spot, though which kind is still to be determined. They are currently two games ahead of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West, with each team having six games remaining. In the absence of Belt, they will likely turn to Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr., who have each seen some time at first base this year. Darin Ruf could be an option down the road, but he himself was just placed on the IL on Thursday with an oblique injury. Those three all have good numbers this year, but the loss of Belt’s potent bat is certainly a blow to the offense, as it would be to any team’s.
It’s also unfortunate timing for Belt, career-wise, as he’s heading into free agency in just over a month. This injury could deny him the ability to add to his postseason ledger, which already includes a pair of World Series titles with the Giants in 2012 and 2014. Although, based on the incredible numbers he’s put up over the past two seasons, he should still garner plenty of interest on the open market, even if he’s unable to make another appearance this year.

[Cross]

Dodgers out in one game playoff would be a blessing for sure.

[jrgum3]

So the Angels want to get Max Scherzer next year?

The Angels biggest problem has always been a lack of pitching. They always sign hitters to ridculous contracts and they don't have the pitching to compete because of it. These are some interesting comments by your teams biggest stars in Trout and Ohtani so their offseason will be one of the most interesting to keep an eye on.

[Checkerboard]

Yankees struggling vs LH, while Ryu is having a rough September. Last game vs New York he pitched 3 hits over 6 innings. Taillon will need some sliders and curves, Jays feast on steady RH fastballs.

[stevenash]

Day off could hurt Cards momentum

Momentum is the next days starting pitcher.

[jrgum3]

The Giants have announced that an x-ray revealed a fracture in the left thumb of first baseman Brandon Belt, as relayed by several reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Belt was hit on the thumb by a pitch in yesterday’s game and was pulled a short time later. The expected recovery timeline is still unknown right now, as Belt still plans on more meetings with doctors, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. However, for comparison’s sake, both J.T. Realmuto and Joey Votto suffered a fractured thumb earlier this year and missed about a month before returning to action.
This is awful timing for Belt and the Giants, both because the postseason begins in a week and because Belt had been on such a tear of late. Since returning from a knee injury August 5th, Belt’s slash line is an absurd .297/.394/.690, hitting 18 home runs in that stretch. That production is 83% better than league average, according to wRC+. After three straight years of lagging production from 2017 to 2019, Belt has essentially been on fire the past two years. Since the start of the 2020 season, in 148 games, his line is .285/.393/.595. His wRC+ of 163 in that time is the third-best in the majors among those with at least 550 plate appearances, trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper.
As for the team, they are already guaranteed a playoff spot, though which kind is still to be determined. They are currently two games ahead of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West, with each team having six games remaining. In the absence of Belt, they will likely turn to Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr., who have each seen some time at first base this year. Darin Ruf could be an option down the road, but he himself was just placed on the IL on Thursday with an oblique injury. Those three all have good numbers this year, but the loss of Belt’s potent bat is certainly a blow to the offense, as it would be to any team’s.
It’s also unfortunate timing for Belt, career-wise, as he’s heading into free agency in just over a month. This injury could deny him the ability to add to his postseason ledger, which already includes a pair of World Series titles with the Giants in 2012 and 2014. Although, based on the incredible numbers he’s put up over the past two seasons, he should still garner plenty of interest on the open market, even if he’s unable to make another appearance this year.

Just an absolute terrible break for the Giants since Belt was having a tremendous year. Flores, Ruf and Wade will be able to fill the void at 1st somewhat but they needed Belt in the lineup for the playoffs and now it looks like that won't happen.

[Stallion]

The Jays are in tough vs the Yankees and Ryu is not as good as last year. It will be exciting to watch the last 6 Jays games of the season.

[JMobile]

Dam, Cards still rolling hard

[Cross]

17 for the Cardinals, end this pain!

[jrgum3]

The Jays need 2 of 3 ( or better) vs the Yankees and then sweep the Orioles, to have a chance at the wild card.

I thought that they'd get that one with Ryu on the hill. Now it's a must that they take the next two against the Yanks.