Griffin Canning shuts out Twins for 3 1/3 innings

Nuñez enters the contest sitting on 49 stolen bases for the season, so if he gets on base expect him to run wild in an attempt to hit that 50-steal plateau. For the season, the 26-year-old infielder is slashing a paltry .208/.292/.241 with one homer, 36 RBI and 49 stolen bases (59 attempts).

The Padres are already locked in as the top Wild Card team in the National League, so Sunday’s game doesn’t mean anything to them. It’s imperative to the Diamondbacks though, who need a victory and a loss from the Phillies in order to punch their ticket to the postseason. Vásquez has been working out of the bullpen and hasn’t thrown more than 44 pitches in an outing since September 1, so don’t expect him to work deeply into Sunday’s contest.

The 25-year-old hurler struggled throughout the minor league season, registering a 6.27 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and a 45/29 K/BB ratio over 47 1/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville. Apparently, the Cubs saw something that they liked though, as they poached him from a division rival.

The Cubs needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster after claiming Julian Aguiar off of waivers, and unfortunately for Kelly, he was the odd man out this time around. The 26-year-old southpaw made just one appearance with the Cubs, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout in his MLB debut.

That’s an interesting choice, what with Lambert seemingly running on fumes at the moment. He gave up four in 2 2/3 innings against the A’s on Thursday, and he’s thrown 44 more innings this season that he has in any of the last five years. Most likely, he’ll throw only an inning or two.

It’s hard to see how Crawford, a free agent to be, would fit for the Marines in 2027 and beyond, since he no longer belongs at shortstop, but he might have a little more in store offensively if he gets out of Seattle. He’s hit .220/.335/.352 in 115 games this season. His homer tonight was hit 403 feet off Mitch Ferris, breaking the game open in the seventh.

The Angels let Johnson off the hook by scoring four times in the top of the sixth tonight, but they went on to lose 8-4. Johnson ends the year 5-9 with a 5.04 ERA, but there’s still more reason for optimism here than there was a year ago. He just needs to figure out something with his sinker if he intends to keep throwing it. It’d be better if he does, but it was such a liability while his four-seamer, slider and splitter were all solid this year.

Ward’s one at-bat off the bench produced a 106.6 mph single. That wouldn’t have seemed especially notable a few months ago, but it was hardest-hit ball for Ward since the Mariners acquired him at the deadline. The last time he topped that was on July 9 for the Orioles. Ward has only 19 balls in play in excess of 105 mph this season. Last year, he did it 49 times. One imagines it all has something to do with a hand injury suffered in April, and if so, he could turn into a bargain in free agency this winter. It sure doesn’t seem like the Mariners will seek to retain him, though.

Naylor is the first first baseman to steal 30 bases in consecutive seasons since George Sisler did so each year from 1920 through 1922. Which is incredibly cool, even if it doesn’t save Naylor from being a major disappointment in the first season of a five-year contract. Stealing 30 bases simply doesn’t come close to making up for hitting .261/.318/.349. Even with all of the steals, he’s scored only 58 runs in 646 plate appearances. And he’s driven in 56. He has exactly as many runs scored and RBI as Baltimore’s Leody Taveras, who has also been pretty bad and who has 164 fewer plate appearances than Naylor.

The win keeps the Astros in control of their own destiny in advance of Sunday’s finale. If they win, they’re in, and if they lose, they could still advance with a loss from the Rangers. Peña, who had been slumping of late, turned in his sixth career two-homer game. It’s the first time ever that he’s scored four runs. He’ll take a .276/.325/.477 line into Sunday’s finale.