Monday’s three-game slate comes with more pitching notes than you’d expect, and the biggest one is that Boston has already punched its ticket to October.
The Red Sox took a loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, but they still clinched a postseason berth when Houston fell to Atlanta. Boston is now positioned to finish with the No.
2 Wild Card spot in the AL. The Red Sox are five and a half games behind the Yankees and four games ahead of the White Sox, which would set up a first-round meeting with New York if the standings hold.
It’s a sharp finish to a stunning climb for a team that was 14 games under .500 in late June.
Detroit is also set to get a notable arm back in the mix. River Ryan is expected to start for the Tigers on Monday in what would be his debut for the club after coming over from Los Angeles in the Tarik Skubal trade.
The right-hander has been held to 10 Triple-A appearances this season because of injuries, and he’s posted a 4.39 ERA over 41 innings. Across the diamond, DJ Herz is expected to return to the Nationals after missing all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Toronto, meanwhile, is bringing Trey Yesavage back from the injured list for Monday’s game against the Orioles. The Blue Jays right-hander has been sidelined for about six weeks with right knee inflammation, and he logged one rehab outing in Triple-A, where he threw 34 pitches. Toronto enters the day on the edge of the AL Wild Card chase after dropping two of three to the Rangers, sitting three games behind the White Sox for the final playoff spot.
In Other News...
Nationals Depth Pieces Are Forcing Attention In Rochesters Playoff Push
Rochester kept rolling with a 7-3 win over Buffalo, a result that gave the club its second straight victory and its fourth in five games against the Bisons. The Nationals Triple-A affiliate got steady work on the mound from Zak Kent, who allowed one run over four innings, and Joe Glassey, who followed with a scoreless inning to pick up the win. At the plate, Cayden Wallace, Max Romero Jr., and Trey Lipscomb all helped push the offense forward as Rochester continued to play like a team with something real at stake.
The timing matters, too, because every win tightens the picture in the International League playoff race. Rochester is not just padding September numbers here, it is putting pressure on the teams around it while a handful of Nationals depth pieces keep making their case for bigger attention. For a club that has leaned on organizational depth all season, this stretch is exactly the kind of late push that can change how those players are viewed going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Young Core Is Giving Fans A Reason To Watch Again
The Nationals had positioned themselves to finish off a sweep against the Cardinals, and for most of the afternoon the game had the feel of another step forward for a club trying to build around its young core. Washington got solid work from its pitching staff overall, and the kind of competitive effort that Blake Butera and his players have been emphasizing as the season winds down and the organization looks for signs that the long rebuild is taking hold.
What lingered afterward was the frustration of watching a lead slip away late, with the bullpen unable to close the door and turn a promising day into a complete one. Even so, the bigger takeaway for the Nationals has been the same for several weeks now: this roster is playing with more purpose, more energy and a little more reason for fans to stay engaged as the season nears its end. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Finally Get A Crucial Look At DJ Herz Again
DJ Herz is finally getting the kind of look the Nationals have been waiting for, with the left-hander set to start the series opener against the Tigers on Monday. Washington has spent most of the last year and a half trying to map out what comes next for a pitcher whose arm talent has long made him one of the more interesting pieces in the organization, even as his path has been interrupted by surgery and a long rehab process.
For the Nationals, this start is about more than filling a turn in the rotation. Herzs return gives the club a chance to see where he stands now and whether he can factor into plans for future seasons, a test that has been on hold since his last big league appearance in 2024. The timing makes it a meaningful checkpoint for a team still sorting through how much of its pitching future can be built around arms like his. [Read more 🡒]