Ahead of a new era, one former Ibrox star has fired a direct warning to Celtic as Rangers set their sights on climbing the Scottish Premiership table.
Rangers set to appoint Gerrard
It’s de ja vu for Rangers, who are reportedly on the brink of reaching a full agreement with Steven Gerrard to return to the club. The last manager to win the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox, the 45-year-old is set to step foot in the dugout in Scotland for the first time since leaving for Aston Villa. He has a lot of making up to do, but arrives with it all to do after Russell Martin’s disastrous tenure.
Gerrard’s last Rangers spell
Record
Games
192
Wins
124
Draws
41
Defeats
27
If the former manager can pick up where he left off, then Rangers should begin to bridge the gap on Celtic and Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership. As things stand, his first game back in charge of the club is likely to be Dundee United at Ibrox, before travelling to face Brann in the Europa League after the international break.
It will be a hectic start for Gerrard and the Rangers squad, but the manager will be hoping to have learned from recent lessons in the technical area to enjoy a quick start.
He recently told Rio Ferdinand when asked about returning to management: “I’d love another go at some point. I want to change a few things and improve a few things and come back fresh, with a few different people around myself.
“I’d love another couple of challenges doing this and that’s what I’m working on in the background at the moment. A few different ideas, a few different people around me.”
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It will certainly be interesting to see the current version of Gerrard compared to 2021 and one former Ibrox star has already issued a warning to Celtic with that in mind.
Kyle Laferty fires fresh warning to Celtic
Speaking about Gerrard’s return to the club, former Ibrox ace Kyle Laferty warned Celtic about the immediate plan that the Liverpool legend has, claiming that’s what Rangers fans will “want”.
Currently nine points away from Celtic and 11 away from leaders Hearts, it would take a monumental effort for Gerrard to win the league from here, but he’ll be looking to draw on his previous experience as a champion to do exactly that.
Celtic’s interim manager Martin O’Neill got off to a dream start on Wednesday night with a commanding 4-0 win over Falkirk at Parkhead in front of the home support.
The Hoops had lost their previous two matches in the Scottish Premiership, to Hearts and Dundee, before Brendan Rodgers tendered his resignation from his role on Monday night.
O’Neill and his interim coaching team got a brilliant response out of the first-team player against Falkirk, with Johnny Kenny being one of the stars of the night.
Why Johnny Kenny is undroppable for Celtic
The Ireland U21 international has started the last two Premiership matches after Kelechi Iheanacho suffered a hamstring injury early on in the win over Sturm Graz in the Europa League last week.
Kenny failed to make much of an impact against Hearts on Sunday, but he stepped up with two goals from five shots in 66 minutes on the pitch against Falkirk, per Sofascore.
On top of his goalscoring exploits, converting from close range on two occasions, the Irishman won five of his nine duels and won three fouls for the team, per Sofascore, acting as the focal point in the number nine position.
Chalkboard
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With Iheanacho’s injury and Celtic’s lack of depth in the striker position, Kenny’s impressive performance against Falkirk should mean that he is undroppable for the time being.
The former Shamrock Rovers star is not the only Hoops ace who should be considered undroppable after Wednesday night, though, as Marcelo Saracchi was just as good.
Why Marcelo Saracchi should be undroppable already
The Uruguay international was brought in for experienced left-back Kieran Tierney, and barely put a foot wrong throughout the 90 minutes on the pitch.
Despite assisting Celtic’s goal, Tierney had a difficult afternoon against Hearts last time out. He lost three of his four aerial duels and failed to make a single tackle, per Sofascore, which is why the left-back position may not be guaranteed to him.
Saracchi came in against Falkirk on Wednesday and showed the defensive quality that was lacking from Tierney’s performance against Hearts, as he impressed for O’Neill.
Minutes
90
Tackles won
4
Interceptions
1
Ball recoveries
12
Ground duels won
7/11
Aerial duels won
3/3
Key passes
2
Crosses completed
3/6
As you can see in the table above, the Boca Juniors loanee made four more tackles and won 75% more of his aerial duels than Tierney did in his last outing at left-back.
On top of his impressive defensive work, with ten duels won and 12 ball recoveries, Saracchi also created two chances and had two shots on target, one of which was parried out to Benjamin Nygren for the third goal on the night.
It was a brilliant all-round display from the energetic full-back, who showed that he can contribute at both ends of the pitch. He has the bite, tenacity, and patience to provide quality defending, whilst also having the ability on the ball to make things happen in the final third, which is why he was just as good and influential as Kenny.
Saracchi, who earned an 8/10 player rating from 67HailHail, is now undroppable because his performance was one that the Hoops lacked when Tierney was in the XI against Hearts on Sunday, albeit that was away against the league leaders.
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ByDan Emery Oct 29, 2025
O’Neill, should he still be in charge next time out, should consider the left-footed star an undroppable part of his team, along with Kenny, because of his sublime showing in and out of possession.
Num período de 11 dias, Paysandu e Remo vão se enfrentar por quatro vezes seguidas, em duas competições diferentes. O Papão e o Leão Azul disputam a semifinal da Copa Verde e decidem a final do Parazão. O primeiro jogo jogo terá transmissão da TV Cultura do Pará e da TV Cultura pelo YouTube.
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Confira abaixo todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).
✅ FICHA TÉCNICA PAYSANDU X REMO COPA VERDE – IDA (SEMIFINAL) Data e horário: sábado, 02 de abril de 2024, às 20h (de Brasília); Local: Estádio do Mangueirão, em Belém (PA); Onde assistir: TV Cultura do Pará e da TV Cultura pelo YouTube.
⚽PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES PAYSANDU (Técnico: Hélio dos Anjos) Diogo Silva, Edílson Júnior, Wanderson, Lucas Maia, Geferson, João Vieira, Leandro Vilela, Robinho, Vinícius Leite, Nicolas e Jean Dias.
📅 REMO X PAYSANDU PARAZÃO – IDA (FINAL) Data e horário:sábado, 07 de abril de 2024, às 20h (de Brasília); Local:Estádio do Mangueirão, em Belém (PA).
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📅 REMO X PAYSANDU COPA VERDE – VOLTA (SEMIFINAL) Data e horário: sábado, 02 de abril de 2024, às 20h (de Brasília); Local: Estádio do Mangueirão, em Belém (PA).
📅 PAYSANDU X REMO PARAZÃO – VOLTA (FINAL) Data e horário:sábado, 02 de abril de 2024, às 20h (de Brasília); Local:Estádio do Mangueirão, em Belém (PA).
PHILADELPHIA — In the bottom of the second, he helped give away two runs. In the top of the seventh, he drove in three. This is the Teoscar Hernández Experience, and for the most part, the Dodgers have decided, it’s worth it.
“At the end of the day, for me, anything that happened before a big moment like that, it’s in the past,” Hernández said after Los Angeles put the finishing touches on a 5–3 win over the Phillies in Game 1 of the National League division series. “I try to put it in the trash and just focus on the things that I need to do in that at-bat and especially in plays on defense and just trying to help my team.”
He has had plenty of practice. In Game 2 of the wild card series, he camped out under a two-out fly ball, stuck up his glove—and missed the ball. Afterward, he apologized to righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whom he believed he cost an inning or two by forcing him to pitch around the mistake, and promised to try harder. Five innings later, Hernández clubbed a two-run double to pad the lead. The Dodgers won that game, as they did the game before (Hernández home run) and the next one (Saturday’s Hernández home run).
Saturday’s miscue was less egregious, although potentially more costly. With the score tied at zero and runners on first and second, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto lined a ball to right-center field. Hernández is not terribly fleet of foot under the best of circumstances, but he averaged 28.0 feet per second running home to first this season. On Saturday, his rate to the ball was 25.0 feet per second. Center fielder Andy Pages beat him there; by the time the ball made it back to the infield, both runners had scored and Realmuto was at third base.
“He wasn’t not trying,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But, yeah, that’s a ball that you don’t want Realmuto to have a triple, certainly a short right field.”
This sort of inconsistency is easier to swallow when Hernández is hitting, as he did last year, when he had an .840 regular-season OPS and almost singlehandedly won three playoff games en route to the 2024 title. It was that performance that made him beloved in Los Angeles and led the front office to sign him to a three-year, $66 million deal before his age-32 season. But Hernández missed two weeks with a strained groin in May, then battled bruising after fouling a ball off his left foot in July. He has insisted all season that those ailments have not slowed him, but he had a .933 OPS before the groin strain and a .672 OPS afterward.
For a while, he became a symbol of a team that seemed to be recovering from a World Series hangover. The Dodgers wilted down the stretch, playing .417 ball in July, then coming close to letting the division slip away in August and September. Hernández was certainly not the only problem—the bullpen had a 4.90 ERA in the final month—but his mistakes were glaring. In August, he failed to come up with an easy ninth-inning pop-up; two pitches later, that run scored to give the historically awful Rockies a walk-off win. Reporters and fans began speculating that Hernández might be moved out of right field. The team insisted that was not the plan—if only because the Dodgers were too banged up to accommodate a positional shift. A week later, Roberts benched Hernández for two games.
“He’s an every-day guy, but I do think that where we’re at, you’ve got to perform, too, to warrant being out there every single day, regardless, right?” Roberts said.
A few days later, Roberts lamented to reporters that he felt Hernández lacked focus. “He’s a guy that I really admire, because he can balance the fun part of baseball but also have that edge,” the manager said. “And I think we’ve lost a little bit of that edge over the last couple months. So I think, for me, I want to see that edge, that fight, that fire, and I’ll bet on any result.”
He had already spoken with Hernández himself. “He was, like, ‘You know what, I’ve got to be better, I gotta play better, I gotta play better defense, I’ve got to dial up the offense,’” Roberts recalled on Saturday. “We talked about it. And he delivered.”
Hernández told reporters he thought he was pressing. He felt a bit of that unhelpful energy early on Saturday, when he chased pitches well below the strike zone—two in his first at-bat, one in his second, another in his third—against Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez and struck out three times. So for his fourth at-bat, this one against lefty Matt Strahm with two runners on, Hernández decided to simplify his approach and just look for a pitch up.
“Not trying to do overswinging or anything like that,” he said. “Maybe a hit. Try to bring in one run to tie the game.”
He brought in three to win it, and to ensure that the Dodgers get to enjoy the Teoscar Hernández experience at least a few days longer.
When the Rays called up prospect Bob Seymour on Thursday, they inadvertently ended one of Major League Baseball's greatest droughts: lacking players who go by "Bob."
Remarkably, no major leaguer has gone by Bob since relief pitcher Bob Howry retired in 2010 according to MLB's . That's 15 years without a single Bob gracing a major-league diamond. That is, until Thursday.
Sure, the great Bob drought isn't a complete surprise with less and less Roberts deciding to go by Bob, but the name was once extremely popular across the MLB. There's Giants manager Bob Melvin, legendary Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker and Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. And as pointed out in their Bob-less baseball investigation in '19, five members of the 1971 Pirates World Series team went by Bob.
You'd think there'd be at least one Bob to play in the major leagues in the past decade-plus, but no Bobs until Seymour.
Our latest Bob was drafted by the Rays in the 13th round of the '21 MLB draft and has slashed .263/.327/.553 with 30 home runs and 87 RBIs in Triple-A Durham this season. Per the ' Marc Topkin, he's expected to join the team in San Francisco Friday ahead of the Rays' weekend series with the Giants. That means Seymour's debut could miraculously come against another Bob—Melvin. Hopefully the two link up for a photo to commemorate the historic moment.
تحدث تشابي ألونسو، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد عن خسارة فريقه أمام مانشستر سيتي ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.
وخسر ريال مدريد أمام مانشستر سيتي بثنائية مقابل هدف في المباراة التي جمعتهما أمس، الأربعاء، ضمن منافسات الجولة السادسة من مرحلة الدوري لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.
وقال ألونسو، في تصريحات عبر صحيفة “آس”: “لا أحد منا يلوم نفسه، لقد حاولنا حتى النهاية، بدأنا بشكل جيد وتقدمنا في النتيجة لكن في بعض الأحيان تكون الانتكاسة مؤلمة أكثر وهذا ما حدث”.
وأكمل: “في غضون عشر دقائق، من ركلة ركنية وركلة جزاء، تقدموا في النتيجة، في وقت كانت فيه المباراة قوية وتنافسية لكننا استقبلنا هدفًا، لم نسيطر على تلك المواقف جيدًا ثم حاول الفريق مرة أخرى، سواء كان ذلك جيدًا أم سيئًا، فقد حاولنا حتى النهاية وأتيحت لنا فرص لكننا افتقرنا إلى اللمسة الأخيرة لتسجيل هدف، ليس لدي ما ألوم أي شخص عليه”.
وأضاف: “عندما تكون في موقف حرج ليس فقط من حيث أدائنا بل أيضًا بالنظر إلى المباراة السابقة والإصابات التي نعاني منها حاليًا، تشعر بأنك أقل تماسكًا وهذا ما سمح لهم بالعودة بسرعة كبيرة”.
وتابع: “في مثل هذه المباريات، عليك ألا تستقبل الكثير من الأهداف وقد فعلنا لكن ذلك لم يكن كافيًا لهم، قلبوا النتيجة لصالحهم، كانت لا تزال لديك فرصًا للتسجيل، بعضها في الشوط الثاني لكننا لم نستغلها”.
اقرأ أيضًا | فرص ريال مدريد في التأهل لدور الـ16 من دوري أبطال أوروبا بعد الهزيمة أمام مانشستر سيتي
وأتبع: “صافرات استهجان جماهير برنابيو؟ مررنا بلحظات كثيرة، بعضها كان تشجيعًا ودعمًا حتى النهاية، لقد بذلنا قصارى جهدنا ومن الواضح أننا غير راضين عن أدائنا الحالي لكن ليس لدي أي لوم على اللاعبين، ولا ألوم الجماهير أبدًا فهم شاهدوا الكثير ويعرفون الكثير عن هذا الأمر”.
وحول الجدل التحكيمي، استطرد: ” في الهدف الأول، منعوا كورتوا قليلًا، حسنًا هذه لقطات أفسرها بشكل مختلف من وجهة نظري، الحكم رآها كذلك، وكان قراره حاسمًا، لا أعرف لم أتمكن من مشاهدتها مرة أخرى”.
وعن عناق رودريجو له بعد تسجيل الهدف: “أنا سعيد جدًا لأجله لأنه كان يمر بفترة صعبة ولم يكن يلعب كثيرًا واليوم كان رودريجو رائعًا، لعب بشكل ممتاز، وكان له تأثير كبير على مجريات المباراة وسجل ذلك الهدف وهو أمر في غاية الأهمية بالنسبة له، من أفضل الأشياء التي حدثت اليوم أننا رأيناه يلعب وظهر جيدًا للغاية ثم هناك دعم الجماهير والفريق، كل هذا موجود ومعًا سنقلب الأمور رأسًا على عقب، أنا ممتن لذلك”.
واسترسل: “أكثر ما أعجبني هو أداء رودريجو، رؤيته بتلك الجودة الفردية وتلك القدرة على المراوغة، بالإضافة إلى الهدف، كان أمرًا إيجابيًا للغاية”.
وعن حالة مبابي: “من المبكر جدًا معرفة ما إذا كان سيكون متاحًا لمباراة الأحد، من الواضح أنه لم يتمكن من اللعب اليوم، افتقدناه اليوم كثيرًا رغم أننا أتيحت لنا فرص كافية لتسجيل هدف ثاني لكنها لم تدخل المرمى”.
وبسؤاله حول تواصل فلورنتينو بيريز، رئيس ريال مدريد معه أجاب ألونسو: “لا لم نلتقي”.
حول ما قاله بيب جوارديولا عنه في المؤتمر الصحفي قبل المباراة، أوضح: “نحن نعرف بعضنا البعض جيدًا وهو يعلم جيدًا ما كان يقوله ولا داعي للتعليق على تصريحاته”.
وأتم: “قلق حول مستقبلي؟ أركز على المباراة القادمة، الأهم هنا هو ريال مدريد، الأمر يتعلق بالفريق واللاعبين وكيف يمكنني مساعدتهم، الأمر لا يتعلق بي أبدًا”.
There is only one day left in June to bet some home run props, so why don’t we close the third month of the MLB season with some winners?
Betting on home run props can be tricky, but there are two very favorable matchups on Sunday that I’m targeting.
Mainly, we’re fading two struggling veteran pitchers, but these two sluggers should be in a great spot to go deep this afternoon.
Best MLB Home Run Picks Today
Isaac Paredes to Hit a Home Run (+500)Christian Yelich to Hit a Home Run (+600)Isaac Paredes to Hit a Home Run (+500)
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes leads the team in homers (12) so far this season, and he’s in a great spot to go deep on Sunday.
The Rays are taking on Washington Nationals lefty Patrick Corbin, who has given up 12 homers in 16 games so far in 2024.
I don’t mind a bet on Randy Arozarena either in this matchup, but fading Corbin in any way is the way to go. Paredes is slugging .452 this season, hitting .327 on batted balls in play against left-handed pitching.
All season long, Corbin has struggled, posting a 1.53 WHIP. He’s in danger of giving up a long ball or two today.
Christian Yelich to Hit a Home Run (+600)
Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich only has seven home runs on the season, but he’s in a prime spot to go deep against a division rival on Sunday.
The Chicago Cubs have Kyle Hendricks on the mound in this game, and he’s allowed 11 homers in 14 outings (57.2 innings of work). Hendricks has gotten shelled in 2024, and Yelich has fared well against the Cubs veteran in his career.
Across 53 at bats, Yelich is hitting .226 with two homers, two doubles, nine walks and six runs batted in. While the batting average isn’t great, Yelich has been able to take Hendricks – a sinker-ball pitcher – deep on multiple occasions.
Similar to Corbin, we’re fading a veteran starter that simply hasn't been able to slow batters down this season.
With a 15 game slate on Independence Day, let’s hit the prop bet market.
There’s plenty of games to choose from, but I’m eyeing three pitcher props that have caught my eye, namely the outs prop for Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta. Pivetta has been a victim of poor variance, but a matchup against the Marlins can cure all.
Here’s three player props I’m eyeing on the Fourth of July.
Best MLB Prop Bets for Thursday, July 4th
Nick Pivetta Over 16.5 Outs (-130)
Kenta Maeda Under 3.5 Strikeouts (+116)
Charlie Morton Under 17.5 Outs (-138)
Nick Pivetta Over 16.5 Outs (-130)
Pivetta has been volatile this season, but his underlying metrics indicate he has been unfortunate when the ball has been put in play. He has a 4.52 ERA with a 3.92 xERA with a 75th percentile walk rate, per MLBStatcast.
The righty will face a limited Marlins lineup that is last in OPS this season, meaning he should have little issue rolling through this lackluster set of hitters.
He has only gone over in this in five of 12 starts this season, but given the matchup, I believe this calls for an over bet as Pivetta should face little resistance.
Kenta Maeda Under 3.5 Strikeouts (+116)
Maeda’s strikeout prowess has diminished this season. He ranks in the third percentile in terms of pitching run value and is striking out a career lowe 17% of batters while posting a 5.76 ERA.
It won’t get any better for the veteran Tigers starter against a Twins team that strikes out at a bottom third rate and is second in OPS over the last 30 days. With power in the lineup, Minnesota can chase Maeda from this game rather quickly.
I’m interested in the plus money price tag with some outlier downside risk for Maeda, who can be pulled quickly from this game. For what it’s worth, he has only pitched into the sixth inning four times in 13 starts (one he left after two pitches), and he has tossed four or more strikeouts in seven of them.
However, given this matchup, I’ll jump on the plus money price tag.
Charlie Morton Under 17.5 Outs (-138)
This is a fairly average outcome for Morton, who has gone under this mark in eight of 15 starts, but I believe it’s worthwhile to take the under given the Giants ability to work pitch counts and for Morton’s shaky control.
San Francisco is a league average strikeout team, but the team doesn’t chase much, a top 10 team in chase percentage.
Further, Morton is walking batters at a 10.1% clip, 24th percentile in the big leagues. If the Giants are able to take pitches around Morton’s breaking ball pitch, this can be a quicker than expected outing for the 40-year-old.
Thomas Frank’s position as Tottenham Hotspur manager is under scrutiny following the 4-1 North London derby defeat against Arsenal.
Tottenham’s humiliating defeat at the Emirates Stadium was arguably the low point of the Frank era so far, hardly laying a glove on their bitter rivals, with their only goal coming from a piece of Richarlison magic and just 0.07 expected goals (xG) recorded by the visitors.
Spurs have fallen to ninth in the Premier League table, but they are still within touching distance of the Champions League places, despite picking up just one point in their last three games.
It is the manner of the loss that will be particularly concerning, however, with Frank’s side once again looking extremely poor going forward, having also struggled to create any opportunities in the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea.
As such, the manager is undoubtedly under pressure, and there has now been a new update on his future in north London.
Tottenham players concerned by Frank's tactics and lineups
In a report for The Telegraph, journalist Matt Law has revealed the Tottenham hierarchy are determined to give the Dane time to put things right, despite the disappointing loss against the Gunners, but some players have two very worrying concerns.
Indeed, some members of the squad believe the 52-year-old has been focusing on the opposition too much, instead of concentrating on the strengths of his own players, with sources around Spurs also of the belief he has chopped and changed his forward line too much.
Only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea have rotated their starting XI more often than the Lilywhites this season, which is named as one of the reasons for the inconsistent results, but Frank seemingly remains safe in his job for the time being.
Games
19
Wins
8
Draws
5
Losses
6
Points per game
1.53
It would be a little early to relieve the manager from his duties, given that Spurs are within touching distance of the play-offs, but the negative approach has to be called into question.
When asked whether he was surprised by Tottenham’s defensive approach, Leandro Trossard said: “Yeah, maybe a bit. Because as I said, it’s still Spurs. But we have been facing a back five a lot of times this season, so we’re kind of used to it.”
It is understandable not to play an extremely high line away against Arsenal, given that they have the joint-best attacking record in the Premier League, but the lack of attacking threat is inexcusable.
It is a short turnaround for Tottenham, who face another tough test away against reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
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Until Sunday, the 12 teams in playoff position at the All-Star break were the same 12 teams holding playoff spots with one week to play. No more. The Reds leapfrogged the sagging Mets, and the molten-hot Guardians can replace the Tigers as soon as Tuesday. You want chaos? This is your week, when baseball becomes a high-stakes, minute-by-minute sprint.
The third wild card is proving its intention: inject sizzle back into September. And don’t worry about a watered-down playoff field. The six No. 6 seeds in three years of the 12-team format have won between 84 and 89 games with an average of 86.9 wins. We again should see the last two teams qualify in that range.
How crazy is the tournament? In the three seasons with six playoff teams in each league, the No. 6 seeds (32–26) have won as many postseason games as the No. 1 seeds (32–22). Just get in, baby.
Wild card spots are not all that’s at stake this week. We’ve got playoff seedings, major awards and MLB records also up for grabs. Here’s your guide to what’s on the line in Chaos Week:
The collapse of the Mets
They no longer control their playoff fate now that the Reds, who hold the tiebreaker over the Mets, caught them for the third wild card.
Since Aug. 19 the Mets are 13–18, including 3–8 against the Marlins and Nationals. But this is not just a late fade. From 45–24 in their first 69 games to 35–52 in their next 87, the Mets have been a bad team longer than they’ve been a good team.
They have used more pitchers than any team in history, received the fourth fewest innings from starters, lost more games out of the bullpen than any playoff contender, walked far too many batters, not once rallied to win after trailing after eight innings and whiffed on trade deadline acquisitions Cedric Mullins and Ryan Helsley, who had been in one organization for a decade before they were dropped into the heat of a New York pennant race.
This week the Mets play three games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs (where they see pitchers Cade Horton, Matt Boyd and Shota Imanaga) and three games in Miami against the Marlins, while asking three kids in their rotation to save their season.
The Reds have three at home against Pittsburgh (including one start by Paul Skenes) and finish with three at Milwaukee against the Brewers. Cincinnati has the edge because of its starting pitching. It also has the tiebreaker advantage over Arizona, which still lurks in the wild card race.
The Tigers in freefall
Detroit takes a six-game losing streak into Cleveland for a huge series against the Guardians that starts Tuesday, then goes to Fenway to finish against the Red Sox, another team hanging on by its fingernails. The Tigers are in a 7–18 freefall in which their 11.5-game AL Central lead has shrunk to one.
The length of the season has exposed the flaws of the Tigers. They strike out too much, their bullpen has the worst strikeout rate in baseball and they are a 46–54 team when anybody other than Tarik Skubal or Casey Mize starts.
American League musical chairs
The Tigers (85–71), Red Sox (85–71), Guardians (84–72) and Astros (84–72) are separated by one game with six to play and three spots up for grabs. One spot will go to either Detroit or Cleveland as the AL Central winner (Cleveland wins the head-to-head tiebreaker with one more win). That leaves three teams for two wild card spots. Here is the skinny on the race:
Tigers: The good news is by finishing against Cleveland and Boston they don’t need help. Their fate is smack in front of them. But that schedule—finishing on the road against two contenders—is also the bad news, especially after Detroit hit .182 against the Guardians while getting swept in three games last week. The Tigers are in trouble, especially if they lose with Skubal on the mound Tuesday in Cleveland.
Red Sox: They are 3–10 against Toronto and Detroit, their opponents this week. They see veteran pitchers Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber in Toronto. Holding tiebreakers against Cleveland and Houston and with head-to-head games with Detroit, Boston still has a good chance of getting in.
Guardians: Manager Stephen Vogt went to a six-man rotation to survive 17 games in 17 days. It worked, not just to keep his starters fresh, but also because pitching coach Carl Willis had them throw two bullpen sessions in between starts to dial in mechanics and pitch shaping. Cleveland is 16–5 with a 2.32 ERA this month. Cleveland is the only one of these four bubble teams to finish all this week at home. If they take two of three from Detroit, the Guardians will be in first place (by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker) and control their fate entering a series against Texas.
Astros: This is the bubble team in the most trouble, if only because they lose the tiebreakers to the Tigers, Red Sox and Guardians and they don’t have Yordan Alvarez (ankle) in the lineup. The Astros are 12–16 in August and September without Alvarez. They need to go at least 4–2 on the road against the Athletics and Angels.
Will Cal Raleigh’s historic year be enough to propel him past Aaron Judge in the AL MVP race? / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The AL MVP race
If you like positional importance, you like Cal Raleigh (118 games behind the plate) over Aaron Judge (89 games in the outfield). But when it comes to impacting games at bat, Judge has the significant lead.
Raleigh is having a historic season when it comes to comparisons to switch hitters, hitters who have played for the Mariners and catchers. Judge is having a historic season compared to … well, everybody, especially dead legends. He is likely to join Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle as the only players to hit 50 home runs and win a batting title. He leads in all three percentage triple crown categories—. He has been better than Raleigh with runners in scoring position (.327 to .242) and better in September across all three slash categories, including an absurd .506 OBP.
The slight edge overall goes to Judge. But it’s close enough for Raleigh to make one last push this week to steal it. How about four more home runs to get to 62?
The 50-150 club
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers needs nine runs to become the second player since Ted Williams in 1949 to score 150 runs (Jeff Bagwell had 152 in 2000.) Only two players have hit 50 homers and scored 150 runs: Babe Ruth (four times) and Foxx.
The (crowded) 30-30 club
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jose Ramírez, Juan Soto and Corbin Carroll are in. Julio Rodríguez (two stolen bases), Pete Crow-Armstrong (one home run) and Francisco Lindor (two home runs) are close. There has never been a season with five players reaching 30-30.
The (sparse) 200-inning club
Garrett Crochet of Boston and Logan Webb of San Francisco are getting there. Skubal may get there if the Tigers need him to pitch Game 162 on Sunday. And that’s likely it. That would mark the fewest 200-inning pitchers in any season in history.
The (closed for renovations) 100-win club
Unless the Brewers go 5–1 this week, this will mark the second straight season no team has won 100 games. There were 22 100-win teams in the previous eight full seasons.
These things run in cycles. There were no 100-win teams from 2012–14. The talent gap between teams has shrunk. And the incentive to max out wins has declined with the expanded playoff format and the conservative use of pitchers to try to keep them healthy.
The single season strikeout record
With 215 strikeouts, Nationals outfielder James Wood is just eight strikeouts short of tying the record of Mark Reynolds that has stood for 16 years. The Nationals have six games remaining.
Paul Skenes could become the first pitcher to win the Cy Young with a losing record. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
One more win for Paul Skenes
No starting pitcher has won the Cy Young Award without a winning record. Only two were one game better than .500 over a full season: Félix Hernández (13–12) in 2010 and Jacob deGrom (10–9) in 2018. Skenes is 10–10 with one start remaining: Wednesday in Cincinnati against the Reds.
Rock bottom for the Rockies
Colorado needs to go 4–2 to avoid a 116th loss, which would put it behind only the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (134) and 1962 New York Mets (120) as the third worst team in NL history. The Rockies already have clinched the worst run differential in MLB (-406), blowing away the 93-year-old record of the 1932 Red Sox (-345).