TJ Friedl goes 2-for-3, homers versus Brewers

Both starters in the Detroit-Pittsburgh game are hanging it up, and while Justin Verlander will someday be elected to Cooperstown, Yates had a heck of a career as well. He made that first start of his long career at the age of 39 on Saturday, and he finishes with a 3.35 ERA and 101 saves in his 518 appearances.

Garcia, 26, will get a night off after picking up a pair of hits in Friday’s loss. Josh Rojas is in at third in Garcia’s absence.

It was the perfect ending to a storybook afternoon in Detroit that featured a vintage performance from Justin Verlander in the final start of his legendary career. Valencia played the role of unexpected hero when he connected for a walk-off homer against Pirates closer Mason Montgomery with two outs in the ninth inning. It was his seventh career home run. He simply hasn’t stopped hitting since arriving in the majors and is now batting .344 through his first 41 games.

Lowe took Detroit starter Justin Verlander deep in the fourth inning for his seventh round-tripper since the beginning of September. The 32-year-old second baseman, who has also made a massive leap from a defensive metrics standpoint, has expressed a desire to remain in Pittsburgh long-term. He figures to have plenty of potential suitors when he reaches free agency in a couple weeks.

Montgomery was summoned to protect a two-run lead in the final frame and was unable to get the job done. He still had a chance to secure the save after Kevin McGonigle slashed the deficit to a single run with an RBI ground out, but he served up a walk-off two-run homer to Eduardo Valencia with two outs.

Verlander brought one of the most storied pitching careers in recent memory to a close with his final appearance at Comerica Park, throwing 91 pitches before leaving the mound alongside his daughter Genevieve to a standing ovation in the sixth inning. How can you not be romantic about baseball? He carried a shutout into the fourth before serving up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe. He surrendered another solo shot to Jacob Gonzalez in the ensuing frame but otherwise kept Pittsburgh off the scoreboard. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer concludes a 21-year run in the big leagues as a two-time World Series champion, three-time Cy Young Award winner, 10-time All-Star and 2011 AL MVP. He finishes eighth on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 3,560 punchouts to go along with a sparkling 3.33 ERA across 3,576 2/3 innings over 557 starts since 2005. Next stop, Cooperstown.

It sure felt like the final moment of Yates’ career when he tipped his cap to the crowd following a heartfelt send-off from his teammates after a scoreless outing in his first-ever start. The 39-year-old right-hander has spent time with eight different organizations since 2014, posting a 3.35 ERA along with 101 saves in 518 appearances during that span.

Arraez will sit out his second straight contest after suffering a left ankle sprain earlier this week. It’ll be Bryson Stott taking over once against the keystone in his absence. The contact-oriented 29-year-old’s status for next week’s potential NL Wild Card Series matchup appears to be in serious jeopardy. Of course, the Phillies need to hold off the Diamondbacks this weekend if they’re going to punch their ticket to the postseason.

It’s basically no-or-never for the Phillies as they sit one game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card playoff spot with two games remaining. Nola gets the ball on two days of rest after allowing four runs over six innings in a loss to the Brewers on Wednesday evening. The 33-year-old was unlikely to pitch in a potential Wild Card Series matchup, so they’re going to have him take the ball in this spot instead. It’s a massive spot as Philadelphia attempts to snap a three-game losing streak and clinch a playoff spot.

It’s a massive relief for the Mets after Soto was drilled on the right hand by a 91.7 mph sinker during the ninth inning of Saturday’s blowout win over the Nationals. The 27-year-old generational talent figures to sit out Sunday’s season finale, but that’s not a guarantee. The positive news is that he managed to avoid serious injury, based on initial imaging. He missed a significant chunk of the year with a calf injury, but still has managed to hit .278/.397/.522 with 63 runs scored, 27 homers, 68 RBI and nine steals in 110 games so far.