Blake Snell blanks Pirates over six for victory

The Angels are now 62-98 as they try to avoid the first 100-loss season in franchise history. Detmers will finish the year 7-8 with a 3.36 ERA after winning his last four decisions over the final seven weeks. He had a 1.61 ERA and a 61/9 K/BB over 56 innings in his final nine starts.

Miller allowed two runs through five and should have been through the sixth without any damage, but Julio Rodríguez got an oddly late break on a flyball single and Christian Moore ended up homering with two outs on a fly that would have left only eight of 30 ballparks. Miller finishes the year 4-10 with a 4.17 ERA after a very promising start following a six-week absence due to an oblique injury. Alas, the velocity spike that showed up this spring and briefly carried over upon his return in May didn’t stick around at all. He went from looking like a legitimate No. 2 starter in May to more of a middling No. 4 lately.

Even though it hasn’t been a particularly encouraging season overall, Neto is tied for 15th in the majors with his 63 extra-base hits and tied for eighth with 101 runs scored. His .241 average and 212 strikeouts are less impressive. Fortunately for him, having the 12th-highest strikeout total ever only puts him third behind new all-time leader Colson Montgomery and Kyle Schwarber on the 2026 list.

Canzone was robbed of at least a double on his lone out, flying out 404 feet to center in the first. Even so, he had a great night, improving to .264/.335/.486 with 23 homers in 523 plate appearances. He’s hitting lefties even better than righties, so he should be locked in as an everyday player for the Mariners at the beginning of next year.

Culpepper has been on the IL since Sept. 16 with a mild hamstring strain. Ryan Kreidler has been the primary shortstop in his absence.

With Moreno limited, manager Torey Lovulli indicated that Jesús Sánchez will be DFA’d in order to add a catcher prior to Saturday’s game.

The Guardians’ bats showed impressive restraint in a game that the Royals completely gave away. Starter Noah Cameron walked four batters in five innings. Then, their bullpen walked an unbelievable nine batters between the eighth and ninth. Nate Pearson was the primary culprit with four free passes in the final frame. Then, Nolan Hoffman walked two more before Martínez socked a two-run double to finish off a five-run ninth inning. Red-hot heading into the postseason, he has a .301/.345/.573 slash line with six home runs over his last 30 games.

Luckily bailed on by his lineup – and the Royals’ brutal relief pitching – Williams did not answer the bell in this pivotal start as a budding ace should. Gifted three runs over the first two innings, he immediately gave them all back and never found a rhythm. Of the 18 batters he faced, only nine saw a first pitch strike and Williams was forced to play catch-up all game. All in all, this was an ugly start and the Guardians hope Williams will be able to put it behind him before he takes the ball in the playoffs.

Last year, it was a shoulder issue that explained Henderson’s decline. We don’t doubt that a wrist injury limited him this year, but the fact that remains that he wasn’t very good in the half of the season before it apparently became a problem. His decline from future-Hall of Fame superstar to above average regular is probably the biggest of the several issues currently plaguing the Orioles, even if he’s still providing way more value than what he’s making in terms of salary.

Quickly growing into one of the best power hitting catchers in the league, Jensen is ending his season on a heater. Two more home runs gave him 27 in total to go along with 33 doubles and two triples. Those 62 extra-base hits pushed him ahead of Mike Piazza’s 61 in 1993 for the most all-time by a rookie catcher. Don’t let this monster rookie season go unnoticed in what’s been an otherwise awful season for the Royals.