September 2025

There were 1,641 posts published in September 2025 (this is page 56 of 165).

Phillies end 6-game road trip with 9-2 loss to Diamondbacks

Phillies end 6-game road trip with 9-2 loss to Diamondbacks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX – Small ball, long ball, ugly ball. It was all there early in the series finale between the Phillies and Arizona. Philadelphia supplied the ugly, the Diamondbacks the rest as they cruised to a 9-2 win.

Arizona, which had 15 hits on the day, batted around in the second inning, when they scored five runs off starter Ranger Suárez. They loaded the bases to begin the inning without a ball leaving the infield. Tim Tawa hit a chopper to third that Alec Bohm bobbled and threw late for an MLB single. Jordan Lawler walked and Jorge Barrossa laid down a perfect bunt. Katel Marte’s single scored two before Corbin Carroll launched a rocket to the rightfield seats for his 31st home run of the season and a 6-0 lead.

“They made me pay for all the pitches that I left in the zone,” Suárez said. “Ending the season healthy. There’s one more start before the post season so I just want to pitch as well and end the season on a high note. Pitch better, think a little bit better when I’m on the mound and just perform a little bit better.

“That’s what we work for (the playoffs),” said Suárez. “That’s why we have such a long season ahead of us every single year to get to October and perform in the postseason. It is exciting. We want to perform in the playoffs. I think we’ve lacked a little bit the past couple of years. We all want to perform there. That’s what it’s all about. We want to get it done this year.”

If Suárez needed to get an ugly performance out of his system before the playoffs begin, this one was it as he gave up six runs and eight hits in the first two innings alone. He was done after four innings and 79 pitches.

“He had a 33-pitch second inning, basically is at 80 pitches after the four,” said Rob Thomson of removing his starter. “Down 6-0, I just wanted to take care of him. They’ve got a lot of speed and other than Carroll’s home run, I don’t think they hit many balls that were hard off of Ranger. They’ve got a lot of speed.”

There was little excitement provided by the Phillies – perhaps the Eagles used it all up – as they could do nothing of significance against Arizona lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed no runs in his six innings. They did score two in the eighth on a single by Nick Castellanos that drove in J.T. Realmuto, and a bases loaded walk by Weston Wilson. Third baseman Alec Bohm remained hot since his return from the injured list on Friday, as he was on base five times with a double, three singles and a walk.

“He’s been great,” Thomson said. “I’ll probably have to move him up. He’s on everything. Maybe that healthy shoulder is really helping. He’s swinging the bat good. We had plenty of opportunities today. I think we were 1-for-14 (with runners on). Casty had the base hit. We had plenty of opportunities we just didn’t come through.”

There were some signs of a pulse in the sixth when pitcher Tim Mayza plunked leadoff hitter Katel Marte after Jorge Barrosa hit his first major league home run and celebrated circling the bases a bit too much, but nothing came of it. Later in the inning, Carroll stole second base for his 30th swipe of the season, becoming the first player in Arizona history to have 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.

The Diamondbacks got another run in the seventh when Tim Tawa belted a 2-2 slider from Orion Kerkering to the seats in leftfield. Kerkering gave up two more hits in the inning but got out without any more damage. They closed out their scoring by getting a run in the eighth off Jhoan Duran, who was simply getting in some work having not pitched since Tuesday.

“I talked to Duran and I said, ‘If you don’t pitch today, you’re going to be off six days going into Tuesday. Do you want an inning?’ And he said yes. So that’s why we pitched him in the eighth. I asked the same thing to David (Robertson) and he said, ‘Not necessarily.”

The Phillies have an off-day Monday before facing the Miami Marlins on Tuesday to start a three-game series. Cristopher Sánchez will get what could be his last start of the regular season as he prepares to be the Game One starter for the Phillies when they begin the playoffs.

Though his performance may not have showed it Sunday, Suárez is ready for the postseason.

“I feel better overall, if you want to compare it to last year (at this time),” Suárez said. “I’ve been feeling better overall after every single start. Whatever is best for our team to win, (starting) Game Two, Game Three, Game Four. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win.”

Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff goes on 15-day IL with right lat strain

Brandon Woodruff‘s comeback season for the Milwaukee Brewers has encountered a setback that the team hopes is a brief one.

The right-hander went on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain on Sunday. Woodruff is scheduled to be evaluated by a doctor in St. Louis. Those results will be sent to renowned orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister, who performed shoulder surgery on Woodruff in October 2023. 

Woodruff was placed on the IL retroactive to Thursday, but he will miss the remaining seven games of the regular season. However, the Brewers are likely to win the NL Central and earn a first-round bye through the wild-card playoffs. (They can clinch both with a win or a Chicago Cubs loss on Sunday.) So if Woodruff recovers quickly, he won’t miss more than two starts. 

[Get more Brewers news: Milwaukee team feed]

Woodruff sustained the injury while throwing a bullpen session on Saturday, feeling the strain after his 13th pitch. 

“Feels like déjà vu, doesn’t it?” Woodruff said to reporters, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg, on Sunday. That remark was in reference to being shut down before the 2023 postseason after reinjuring his shoulder that he strained earlier in the season and eventually requiring surgery. 

“If you look at the body of work I’ve done for the whole season in terms of the innings workload, probably I’ve gotten to a point where whatever projections or whatever limits were put on this year,” he added. “Who knows, maybe this is my body saying I’m to that point.”

Including his rehab starts, Woodruff has thrown 106 2/3 innings this season. 

The injury at least temporarily stalls a strong return for Woodruff, who missed the entire 2024 season following surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. His debut was delayed by tendinitis in his right ankle and a bruised right elbow from a line drive. However, he returned in early July to pitch six innings, allowing one run and two hits over six innings versus the Miami Marlins.

Woodruff has been outstanding in 12 starts, compiling a 3.20 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings. His last appearance before going on the IL was in Wednesday’s 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. In five innings, he allowed one run and two hits with nine strikeouts. Woodruff skipped a turn before that start and pitched on 10 days’ rest.

The eight-year veteran can be a free agent after the season, but has a $20 million mutual option on his deal that both sides will likely agree to pick up. 

Atlanta Braves 2025 offseason preview: Can the Braves bounce back to contend for a title again next season?

With Atlanta eliminated from the 2025 postseason, let’s take a look at the season that was for the Braves, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.

Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the White Sox, Pirates, Twins and more?

The return of Ronald Acuña Jr. was a major bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Braves season. The superstar returned from a torn left ACL on May 23 and immediately regained his place among the best hitters in baseball. Granted, the 73-steal player in 2023 has not yet recovered his base-swiping prowess, but the rest of his offensive game was as strong as ever in 2025.

The emergence of Drake Baldwin was another offensive bright spot for Atlanta. The 24-year-old got off to a strong start and remained consistent enough to push his way into a significant role. He cut into Sean Murphy’s time behind the plate for a while, and during the summer, Baldwin assumed more DH responsibilities in place of disappointing veteran Marcell Ozuna. Given Murphy and Baldwin, this is a rare organization with two No. 1 catchers.

On the pitching side, several hurlers had successful seasons interrupted by injury. Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach both delivered excellent results when they weren’t spending time on the 60-day IL. Spencer Strider had some effective starts but wasn’t at his best after two IL stints caused him to make just one start prior to May 20. Grant Holmes was a stabilizing force in the rotation until he landed on the IL in late July. In the end, this potentially elite rotation had too many pitchers who made 20 starts instead of 30.

There was no shortage of disappointments for a team that ended a string of seven consecutive postseason appearances with a clunker. The Braves lost their first seven games of 2025 and never logged the necessary winning streak to bring them close to a winning record. Another rough stretch near the beginning of July sealed their fate as the most disappointing team in the National League.

In two years, the Braves went from being the highest-scoring group in baseball to ranking below average in runs scored. And injuries were not a major problem for this group; instead, many players signed to long-term deals fell short of expectations for a second straight year. Michael Harris II picked things up in the second half but arrived at the All-Star break with the lowest OPS (.551) of any qualified player. Ozzie Albies has been on a downward trajectory since he produced 33 homers and 109 RBI in 2023. Austin Riley’s decline has been more gradual, but after being one of the most durable stars in baseball from 2021 to ‘23, he has spent significant time on the IL the past two seasons, and his performances when healthy have been solid rather than excellent. 

Meanwhile, Ozuna struggled to be a league-average hitter for most of this season before finally finding his groove in August, long after the team was out of the race. And Jurickson Profar left the team high and dry after signing a three-year deal in the offseason, as he was handed an 80-game PED suspension after playing in just four games.

The pitching woes were primarily caused by injuries, though Strider could not recapture his dominant form from 2022-23. Beyond the previously mentioned injuries to Sale and Schwellenbach, Reynaldo López followed a terrific 2024 season (1.99 ERA) by being shelved due to a shoulder injury after just one start. AJ Smith-Shawver was starting to come into his own before requiring Tommy John surgery. Finally, Raisel Iglesias had been effective throughout his Braves tenure, but he struggled in the first half (4.42 ERA) this season before finding his form after the All-Star break, when the team was already out of the race.

[Get more Atlanta news: Braves team feed]

Braves president Alex Anthopoulos has been aggressive in signing his young players to long-term deals, which means most of this team’s underachieving lineup will return next year. Murphy and Baldwin will continue to give Atlanta one of the deepest catching duos in baseball, while Matt Olson and Riley will handle the corner infield spots. Albies will still be the second baseman. Nick Allen plays excellent defense at shortstop but is usually overmatched at the plate and profiles as more of a backup player, which was likely the reason Ha-Seong Kim was claimed on waivers from the Rays on Sept. 1.

The outfield trio is also set. Acuña is the most important player on the roster. He will play right field, while Profar will work in left, and Harris will patrol center. In the second half, Profar returned to the form that resulted in an .839 OPS with the Padres in 2024. Harris fields his position well and showed with a late-season surge that he still has premium plate skills. But the Braves’ DH spot is wide open, with Ozuna heading to free agency.

With better injury luck, the Braves could have an excellent rotation. Strider, Sale and Schwellenbach all have ace potential and are under contract for 2026. López and Holmes are the preferred options for the fourth and fifth spots, but they will need to show in spring training that they’re past the injuries that ended their 2025 seasons early. Bryce Elder can eat innings when called upon, and Joey Wentz showed improvement in the second half of this season. Prospect Hurston Waldrep will also receive major consideration after he was outstanding in a late-season audition.

Rebuilding the relief corps will be a major offseason priority. Notably, Iglesias is headed to free agency. There are some useful arms who are under contract for next year, including Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee. Joe Jiménez could be an asset after having his 2025 campaign ruined by offseason knee surgery. Adding an established closer would go a long way toward making this group a strength rather than a weakness.

After years of operating in win-now mode, the Braves understandably have one of baseball’s weakest prospect groups. Their only highly regarded prospect is Cam Caminiti, a 2024 first-round pick who recently turned 19 and won’t reach the majors for at least a couple of years.

Although they aren’t expected to be stars, there are, however, several Atlanta prospects who either debuted this season or have that milestone on the horizon. That group consists of Waldrep, Didier Fuentes, JR Ritchie and Drue Hackenberg. After his success with the Braves in the second half, Waldrep has moved to the front of that list.

Nacho Alvarez Jr. is the one minor-league hitter to note. He has had a couple cups of coffee with the Braves but has thus far looked overmatched. That said, he has plus speed and has shown a strong ability to get on base in the minors.

Atlanta’s front office has clear intentions to get this group back into contention in a hurry. And the Braves should be able to make that happen, as they have a deep group of talented veterans under contract. Reversing the two-year declines from Harris, Albies and Riley will be key to sparking the offense. Finding a bullpen anchor might be the biggest offseason task for Anthopoulos, and there figure to be plenty of options in free agency, including Robert Suarez, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley and Luke Weaver.

In the NL East, the Braves won’t have an easy time surpassing the Mets and Phillies, who have talented rosters and deep pockets. But they could make it happen by regaining their offensive stature from two years ago, which feels possible given that many of their key hitters are still in the primes of their careers.

Fantasy managers will be excited to use valuable draft picks on several Braves. Acuña will be a first-round pick in most leagues and could become a top-five selection by making it known that he wants to regain his baserunning aggressiveness. Riley, Olson, Sale, Schwellenbach and Strider will all be selected in the range of Rounds 4-6. In the second half of drafts, some managers will take a chance on bounce-back years from Profar, Albies or Harris, and some will consider Baldwin and Murphy as inexpensive catching options.