Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

Jazz Chisholm Jr. zipped all the way home from first base on Austin Wells' tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees extended their season Wednesday night with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series. Unhappy he was left out of the starting lineup in the opener, Chisholm also made a critical defensive play at second base that helped the Yankees send the best-of-three playoff to a decisive Game 3.

For however much I hate the Yankees, I always have to give them this: their fans are great losers. I don't mean this in the traditional sense of a gracious loser, someone who says "aww shucks, we'll get 'em next time" and offers to shake your hand - no, that's milquetoast and boring and I have no time for it. I mean that - generally speaking - they don't make excuses and, instead, go all in on eviscerating their own team with a fervor even we struggle to match (see, e.g., Mike Francesa's famous post-mortem after the 2004 ALCS).

Just in time for another Red Sox playoff run, ESPN's new three-part Red Sox documentary "Believers" is now available for streaming on the ESPN app. The series, which explores faith, heartbreak, and redemption through the lens of the 2004 championship team was co-directed by Gotham Chopra and Lauren Fisher. Chopra, a Boston native and lifelong Red Sox fan, co-founded the media company Religion of Sports with Tom Brady and Michael Strahan. His projects include the 2018 documentary "Tom vs. Time," and the 10-part ESPN+ series "Man in the Arena: Tom Brady", along with "I Am Giant" which featured former Giants receiver and UMass alum Victor Cruz.

The Marlins' 2025 season marked a step forward. The rebuilding Miami club finished just four games under .500, thanks largely to a 56-50 record from June 1 onward. The Fish went 14-11 in September and won 13 of their final 17 contests. A fair portion of those wins came against last-place teams in Washington and Colorado, but Miami also won series against the Tigers and Mets, swept the Rangers and won a pair of games against the Phillies during that blistering finish.

In his four starts since being called up, he hasn't looked like a rookie at all. Sometimes, simply throwing enough pitches is enough to get you through an outing, and Early has several. Here are his pitch movements from his last outing: There are six distinct shapes here, and he's been able to throw strikes with most of them. He doesn't need to give you seven shutout innings, either,

"Let's be honest, nobody thought we were going to make it to October," Cora said at Fenway Park, per Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. "Whoever said that, yeah, we're a playoff team, that's [expletive] bull-[expletive] to be honest with you. Nobody thought we were going to make it to October. It was New York; it was Baltimore; it was Toronto. We believed that we were going to play in October. We set our standards every single day and we hit our standards. Up and down, trades, injuries, we kept going. And you have to let them know because over 162 [games] to do that is not easy and they accomplished that."

Jose De León was called up from Worcester and I think blew away everyone's expectations. Steven Matz, Zack Kelly and Greg Weissert were the only ones needed out of the bullpen. The Sox even allowed Alex Cora to take out Trevor Story midway through the game, sliding Nick Sogard to short and plopping Nate Eaton at third. It all worked out in the end.

More was expected heading into 2025 and even during the season, especially after the club was firmly in NL West contention by mid-June. With just a .500 record as the final result, however, Melvin admitted to reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle's Shayna Rubin) that he hadn't been told that he'll be returning as manager in 2026. "It is what it is. We'll see what the next day brings," Melvin said, noting that he believe he'll be meeting with " somebody " in the front office.

" If something comes up to [president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom] that makes a lot of sense for him and the organization, and it makes sense for me and my future, how about we talk about that?" Contreras said. " But as of right now, I would just like to be part of the [rebuilding] process."

That comes with a 3-4 month rehab timeline that'll delay his offseason. Hentges was already out for the entire 2025 season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September '24. The 29-year-old Hentges was a solid reliever for the Guards before the shoulder injury. He combined for a 2.93 earned run average across 138 appearances from 2022-24. The former fourth-round draftee punched out 27% of opponents while holding them to a .220/.282/.312 batting line. He hasn't thrown an MLB pitch in more than 14 months.

Getting back to the postseason always calls for a champagne-soaked party! And getting there for the first time in four years is especially meaningful. Take a look at what happened last night! First everyone got their brand new October Baseball shirts on, and took a photo with the backdrop of the Monster behind them. Then everybody made their way into the clubhouse and got ready to pop bottles! Alex Cora made a speech and at its conclusion, the party was on:

That includes using Jacob Misiorowski out of the bullpen in preparation for his expected postseason role. The 23-year-old will make his first career relief appearance behind lefty Robert Gasser tomorrow (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Gasser will likely be limited to 3-4 innings as he continues building back from last year's elbow surgery. Misiorowski should work multiple innings out of the 'pen.

Aaron Judge's health situation was a major component in these trade discussions, and the Yankees' entire deadline direction. Judge hurt his elbow while making a throw from right field on July 22, and the discomfort continued when the star outfielder was clearly having some issues throwing in the Bronx Bombers' 12-5 loss to the Phillies on July 25. A trip to the 10-day injured list followed, and Judge was limited to DH duty for over a month after returning from that fairly minimal IL stint.

Oh, that was magical last night! Glorious. We're all riding high but we've still got a job to do and won't lose focus on what's in front of us. What with Abreu back in the lineup (still great to see him after his long absence), a lot of guys getting a rest day, and another start by rookie Connelly Early, it feels like we have a fairly fresh-faced lineup today.

Full disclosure, the editors of the book, Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Louis H. Schiff and Robert M. Jarvis, sent me a review copy, but I've been trying to get it from the library, and we'll be honest, I'll buy this book because it's going to sit in my office as a resource. How? We'll see but I keep a dictionary of etymology and the Dickson Baseball Dictionary on the desk too. You just never know.

After spending more than three weeks on the injured list due to a calf strain, Kyle Tucker is back for the final regular season series of the year. The Cubs outfielder himself tells ESPN's Jesse Rogers that he's in the lineup today - his first game since Sept. 2. The team hasn't formally announced the move or a corresponding transaction yet.

Netflix will have exclusive streaming coverage of next season's Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and Giants, reports Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Those teams will kick off the season with a standalone game at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25. Everyone else's season will begin the following day, aligning with MLB's usual practice of opening on the final Thursday in March.

Infielder/outfielder Josh Smith has been placed on the paternity list. Right-handers Chris Martin and Cole Winn have each been placed on the 15-day injured list. Right-handers Luis Curvelo and Jose Corniell have been recalled to take two of those spots. Infielder Donovan Solano has had his contract selected to take the third. To open a 40-man spot for Solano, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

They made arguably the biggest sell-side trade at the deadline, sending Mason Miller to San Diego for a prospect package headlined by potential franchise shortstop Leo De Vries. The A's have quietly been one of the best teams in the American League for the final two months of the season. They're in for a second straight offseason focused primarily on pitching. It's not an easy task while they're in a Triple-A home ballpark that plays as one of the most hitter-friendly venues in the game.

"I think I do, just to be frank and to be honest. I definitely think I do. Whether I do decide that I want to go somewhere - whether that actually happens - I don't have complete control of that. Obviously, I have control of where I can't go or don't go. I'm going to be 36. It's going to be my 14th season. Last year of my contract for this. I don't know what the future holds for me."