Orioles option Heston Kjerstad to Triple-A

Batting for Freddy Fermin, Salas got to face a drawn-in infield because a wild pitch advanced Cronenworth to third, and he was able to connect on a grounder up the middle that would have won the game even if the second baseman had gotten to it. The Padres have won four straight games and are five up on the D-backs with seven to play.

Mize’s Padres tenure has been a disaster for his upcoming free agency, with his 24/17 K/BB in 40 2/3 innings standing out as being even more hideous than his 6.64 ERA. He hasn’t actually hurt the Padres, who have gone 6-3 in his starts, but he’s not giving the team any reason to trust him in the postseason. He’ll likely face the D-backs on Friday, but on the off chance that there’s anything still on the line at that point, he’ll by on a very short leash.

Miller entered with a one-run lead in the eighth and stranded Esteury Ruiz at third by striking out Heriberto Hernández and Kyle Stowers. The Marlins, though, got to him in the ninth, with Conine delivering a very impressive 427-foot homer off a 102.1-mph fastball as a pinch-hitter. It’s the third homer allowed by Miller this year. All three of those and all three blown saves have come since the beginning of August.

Pérez had a stretch in August in which he allowed one earned run in 18 innings, but in five starts since, he’s given up 24 earned runs in 21 1/3 innings, raising his ERA from 3.17 to 4.17. He’s going to be a tough pitcher to rank next year, given his lack of consistency. He’s due to face the Braves next weekend, but it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see him get scratched.

Ruiz was also caught stealing once, not that fantasy leaguers care about that. Ruiz has hit a surprising .223/.339/.386 with 33 steals in 235 plate appearances this year, though his weak EV numbers make his line look rather flukey. The steals would make him a fantasy stud with regular playing time, but he probably wouldn’t help a major league team in such a role.

Ohtani is eligible to return Wednesday, and it looks like that’ll be the day. He’s currently on the IL with knee and biceps injuries, but he was able to hit off a Trajekt machine and run the bases on the field Saturday.

Betts homered twice on Friday, and he has 10 hits in three days, raising his OPS from .738 to .785. That’s quite a boost this late in the season. He entered September at .701.

Skubal gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out three against a pretty awful lineup, but he got the dub anyway. It’s his first time allowing more than three runs in nine starts for the Dodgers. He’ll face the Giants again on Friday or Saturday.

The 22-year-old Marte has a 4.66 ERA in two starts and two relief appearances since being summoned to the majors on Aug. 29. He’ll likely face the Dodgers again next weekend.

Smith is hitting .250/.362/.521 with three homers in 16 games since coming off the IL on Sept. 1. He was catching a second straight game tonight, so if he plays Sunday, it figures to be as a DH. That seems more likely to happen if Kyle Tucker needs a day off due to his leg.