Jordan Lawlar hits third career homer

Guerrero Jr. was out on Monday with a back injury and was originally held out of the lineup on Wednesday before being a late addition. He’s clearly not 100 percent, but the Blue Jays will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss, so there is incentive for their star to try to play through the discomfort.

With Samuel Basallo (concussion) landing on the injured list, Kjerstad, who had been optioned to the minors four days ago, will come back up. The former top prospect is just 4-for-19 (.211) in 11 games with the Orioles this season and was hitting .287/.334/.456 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 79 games at Triple-A.

Basallo was hit with a foul tip on Monday, and it turns out that will end his 2026 season. The 22-year-old struggled in his first MLB season, playing through a shoulder injury and hitting .222/.291/.406 with 18 home runs, 54 RBI, and a nearly 27 percent strikeout rate. With Adley Rutschman no longer in town, Basallo will enter 2027 as the starting catcher, but his fantasy value will be impacted by how much of his struggles this season can be attributed to his multiple injuries.

Murphy threw three innings out of the bullpen on Tuesday, so he was the option to head to the minors when the Braves needed to activate Robert Suarez. Murphy has just a 6.00 ERA in 12 MLB innings this season, so it remains to be seen what changes the Braves have in store for the 22-year-old as he heads into the offseaosn.

Suarez has missed over two months with a forearm strain, so his return is a huge addition for the Braves bullpen heading into the season. The Braves have said they plan to use Suarez a couple of times over the final few days of the season to get a sense of what role he would best occupy for them during the playoffs.

Varland has a 2.76 ERA with eight saves and a 39/12 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings at Triple-A. He will try to see if he can carry any of that success over into the big leagues to bring down his 6.82 ERA from 31 2/3 innings earlier this season.

Jazz Chisholm is back from the injured list, and Boone told Talkin’ Yanks that he prefers to keep Chisholm at second base and George Lombard at shortstop. That will mean that Volpe needs to play third base in order to remain in the starting lineup, which would push Jose Caballero back to the bench. Volpe is hitting .263 in 11 games in September with one home run, seven RBI scored, and four runs scored. He’s certainly better than Ryan McMahon, but how he handles the position defensively will determine if he’s a better option than Caballero.

Basallo got hit in the catcher’s mark with a foul tip on Monday and left the game to be evaluated for a concussion. He’s not in the first game today, and Heston Kjerstad is with the team on the taxi squad. The Orioles are carrying three catchers, so Kjerstad could be the corresponding move if Basallo winds up having to go on the injured list.

Alvarez doubled to lead-off the third inning and came around to score the first run of the game. Then in the sixth inning, his two-run double put the Mets ahead 4-3. Alvarez has five RBI over his last three games. He’s hitting .234 with a .718 OPS and 42 RBI this season.

Benge hit a ground-rule double and scored on an error in the fourth inning. He later hit an RBI double to put the Mets up 6-3. Benge has three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI in 19 games in September. He’s hitting .277 with a .764 OPS and 62 RBI with five games left in the regular season.