Ian Hamilton elects to hit free agent market

The arrangement helped put a win on the board last night, though the offense was limited to three runs and eight hits. The lineup: LF Jackson Chourio, 1B Jake Bauers, DH Christian Yelich, C William Contreras, 2B Brice Turang, CF Garrett Mitchell, SS Cooper Pratt, RF Sal Frelick and 3B David Hamilton.

Palacios almost always plays against righties, but the Rays went for defense in using Williamson over him last night. That’s the only personnel change from last night. The lineup: DH Yandy Díaz, 1B Jonathan Aranda, LF Chandler Simpson, 3B Junior Caminero, C Liam Hicks, 2B Palacios, CF Jonny DeLuca, RF Victor Mesa Jr. and SS Taylor Walls.

The 25-year-old Rodriguez is just 6-for-30 so far, but he’s tied for the league lead with four homers. Rodriguez has been in the Rangers system since 2018, and he hit .268/.325/.459 with 19 homers between Double- and Triple-A this season. Barring a surprising decision to add him to the 40-man, he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency after the World Series.

Estrellas is well stocked with Cardinals this winter; Rincón got to throw to Leo Bernal in his appearance last night, the lead he was handed was in part supplied by a two-run triple from Cesar Prieto. Rincón has allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings to date.

The 21-year-old Estrada slugged 25 homers while amassing a .281/.325/.482 in a 2026 season spent mostly in Double-A. His defense at second base still needs some work, and he’d be a less interesting prospect if he’s forced to an outfield corner, but as a switch-hitter with impressive pop, he’s a threat to see some major league time next year.

Colmenarez, 22, had a rather odd season that saw him open up in Triple-A because of some injuries in the Rays system and finish it in High-A. He also missed time in May and August, so he was limited to 66 games in which he hit .249/.359/.442. That he’s a left-handed hitter helps his cause, but he has quite a bit of work to do if he’s going to land a utility gig someday.

Blake’s contract was expiring, and he would have been in considerable demand around the league had he opted to look around. Instead, he’ll remain the Yankees’ pitching coach, a role he’s held since the 2020 season.

Yelich got the Brewers on the board first with a run-scoring triple off of Nick Martinez in the home half of the first inning. He then scored on an RBI single by William Contreras. That was his lone hit in the ballgame but played a major role in the Brewers’ taking a 1-0 lead in the Series. Expect the 34-year-old slugger to be back near the top of the lineup for Saturday night’s showdown against Rays’ right-hander Drew Rasmussen.

Chourio led off the home half of the first inning with a single off of Nick Martinez, then raced around to score the game’s first run on an RBI triple by Christian Yelich. The 22-year-old superstar also plated a run of his own with a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning that increased the Brewers’ advantage to 3-1 and proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The Brewers will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead when they take on Rays’ right-hander Drew Rasmussen on Saturday evening in Milwaukee.

It wasn’t the smoothest of innings for Megill by any means, as he allowed one-out singles to Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson and walked Junior Caminero to load the bases. He then got Liam Hicks to ground into what looked to be a game-ending double play, but Caminero was ruled safe at second base upon umpire review. Not to fear though, as he battled back to retire Jonny DeLuca on strikes to end the ballgame. Megill needed 20 pitches to get the job done though, which could impact his availability in Game 2 on Saturday.