Denzel Clarke reaches twice in rare start

Boone added that the determination to leave Judge off the club’s AL Wild Card Series roster was made after meeting with trainers following a live batting practice session at Yankee Stadium on Monday. The 34-year-old franchise cornerstone told reporters last week that he was planning to be ready for the start of the postseason, but that always felt a bit unrealistic after he suffered a calf strain back on September 16. It sounds like there’s a decent chance that Judge returns for the AL Division Series, if New York manages to get past the Red Sox. There should be some additional clarity on his next steps later this week.

Albies just missed a homer, but Derek Hill was able to keep the ball in the park. The 29-year-old also drew a walk, and scored on Austin Riley’s go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning.

Realmuto lined a ball into the right-field corner off Didier Fuentes that scored a pair of runs in the seventh that gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately for Realmuto and the Phillies, that lead would not last. The 35-year-old will be behind the plate in a must-win Game 2 against Atlanta on Wednesday.

With two runners on and two outs, Riley launched an opposite-field homer off Jhoan Duran to give Atlanta the lead and the victory. The 29-year-old was awful in the regular season and hasn’t been an elite hitter for the past few years, but he now has his team one game away from advancing to the NLDS against the Dodgers. The Phillies and Atlanta will play again Wednesday with Cristopher Sanchez squaring off against Tyler Mahle.

Sale allowed just one run while he was in the game, but a pair scored in the seventh after he exited on a two-run triple by J.T. Realmuto. The left-hander was so much better than this line suggests while generating 22 swings-and-misses with 16 of those coming on his slider. Sale remains one of the best starters in baseball — although with more volatility because of durability at age 37 — and if Atlanta can’t come from behind and win, he’ll be the ace of the staff again to start 2027.

So much for being the “opener. " Luzardo was able to throw 77 pitches, and outside of a scuffle in the second inning where he allowed his lone run, he was outstanding. The left-hander allowed just three hits, walked one and whiffed six while throwing 48-of-77 pitches for strikes. He generated a solid 11 swings-and-misses while averaging 96.6 mph; down ever-so-slightly from his average heater. If all checks out well and Philadelphia advances, he should be just fine for the NLDS against the Dodgers.

Gasper told reporters that he completely tore his biceps tendon last week. The 30-year-old unexpectedly emerged as a key contributor during Boston’s remarkable midseason turnaround and obviously won’t be an option at all during the playoffs.

Tracy added that Gonzalez is “very much in play” for the remainder of the postseason after suffering the injury towards the end of the regular season at Triple-A Worcester. The fact that he’s still a little banged up is presumably why he wasn’t added to Boston’s postseason roster as a bench option against left-handed pitching.