Pirates bring back Dotel for bullpen

Vivas’ lone hit on the night was a two-RBI double that put the Nationals up 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Vivas has now hit safely in his last three games and has doubled three times this month.

Gray allowed a leadoff double to Carter Jensen to start the game, with Jensen coming around to score on a two-out RBI single by Salvador Perez two batters later. Gray would get out of the inning and pitch a scoreless second inning, but gave up two more runs in the third inning on an RBI double by Carter Jensen and an RBI single by Vinnie Pasquantino later in the inning. Gray wouldn’t allow another run the rest of the night, but the damage had been done, and the Red Sox couldn’t muster enough run support to pick up the much-needed win. Gray will hope for better results in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the Rangers.

With the Yankees’ bullpen reeling lately, Bednar entered this game with a three-run lead, one out, and the bases loaded in the eighth after Brent Headrick made a mess. He got out of that with just one run home on two lazy fly balls. Then, after the Yankees got him one more run of support after that, A.J. Ewing got him for a lead-off home run in the ninth to put the lead right back at two. The game hung in the balance just after with Juan Soto up just after, but Bednar forced him into a game-ending double play. It was his first time working more than an inning in nearly a month the trusted closer gears up for the playoffs.

Rice absolutely had Mets’ starter Nolan McLean’s number in this one. First, he hit a lead-off single and came around to score the game’s first run soon thereafter. Then, another single – following a great challenge and overturned third strike – kept the second inning alive for Cody Bellinger to launch a three-run homer. Lastly, in his final at-bat against McLean, Rice poked a home run just over the left field fence on an inside-out swing that looked like it had no business getting a ball over the wall. With an .877 OPS and 37 homers, he’s absolutely cemented himself as one of the game’s best hitters.

On a heater lately, Ewing chipped in a RBI single in the seventh and solo homer in the ninth as the Mets chipped away at the Yankees lead before falling short in their comeback attempt. He’s now 13-for-27 with two home runs and nine RBI over his last seven games as he looks to end his rookie season on a high note.

McLean wasn’t right from the jump in this start. His command was all over the place from the very first batter and it took a line drive that found a glove with the bases loaded and double play to hold the Yankees to just one in the first inning. Then, things got much worse in the second. He retired the first two batters he faced, but still wound up throwing 35 pitches and letting up three more runs in the frame. He was nearly out of the inning too before Ben Rice challenged what would’ve been a called third strike, got it reversed, and Cody Bellinger homered just after. It was the first home run McLean has given up as a big leaguer on his curveball as he just couldn’t make it move the way he wanted it to. By the end of that barrage, he’d allowed a hit to seven of the first 13 batters he faced. He rounded out through the middle innings though and saved his line some despite the damage already being done. This poor start was a crushing blow to McLean’s Rookie of the Year hopes and he’s scheduled to face the Phillies at home next time out.

Tucker’s sacrifice fly in the third inning brought home Tommy Edman to give the Dodgers their first run of the night, but that was just the start of a big night for Tucker. In the top of the seventh inning, Tucker stepped up with the bases loaded and sent a slider from Marlins reliever Cade Gibson 413 feet into the stands for a grand slam, pushing the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1. Tucker has now tallied three hits in back-to-back nights and is slashing .318/.360/.864 in his last seven games.

Gusto made it through the first two innings without much trouble, but in the third inning he would allow back-to-back runners to reach base, and saw Tommy Edman come home to score on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Tucker to put the Dodgers up 1-0. Gusto would make it through the next three innings without allowing a run, but was pulled at the start of the seventh inning in favor of Victor Vodnik. Friday’s outing was one of the better ones this season for Gusto, and marks just the second time that he pitched six-plus innings while allowing two earned runs or fewer. His next start is scheduled for Wednesday on the road against the Diamondbacks.

Snell gave the Marlins fits all night on Friday, limiting them to just three hits through the first five innings before giving up a single to Javier Sanoja with one out in the sixth. Snell would exit after the hit by Sanoja but was charged with an earned run after Augustín Ramírez doubled to bring home Sanoja on the next at-bat. Snell has been dominant since returning to the mound, allowing just four earned runs in his six starts since August while pitching 34 2/3 innings. Now sitting on a 1.91 ERA, Snell will look to stay hot in his next start, which is set for Wednesday on the road against the Reds.

Jensen doubled to start the game and came around to score a few batters later on an RBI single by Salvador Perez. In the third inning, Jensen again doubled, this time driving in Isaac Collins to push the Royals’ lead to 2-0, and later came around to score to push the lead to 3-0. Jensen has hit safely in back-to-back games and has 11 extra-base hits in September.