National League notes
Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks entered last weekend reeling from an ugly series at the Mets, dropping the final three games to them. The Cubs were again the perfect antidote to Arizona’s struggles. The Diamondbacks cruised to wins on Friday and Sunday. On Saturday, they battled through a 13-inning marathon to come away with perhaps their best win of the year. To do it, they needed nearly 41⁄2 hours, eight pitchers, 13 position players and four comebacks, capped by a big hit from their young catcher (Gabriel Moreno) and an incredible slide from their 37-year-old third baseman (Evan Longoria) into home to finish it off. In the process, the Diamondbacks again managed to place themselves in playoff position at press time.
Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves locked up their sixth consecutive National League East Division title last week in Philadelphia to the dismay of Phillies manager Rob Thomson. Before the game, Thomson appeared on a Philadelphia sports radio station and said, “I like our guys to act like they’ve been there before,” which appeared to be a shot at the Braves and their home run celebrations. While Thomson didn’t point any fingers, the second-year manager clearly wasn’t happy how Acuña and Marcell Ozuna showboated around the bases after hitting a home run during the series. Acuña, a catalyst for the Braves offense and an MVP candidate, responded by quoting teammate Tyler Matzek on social media: “IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, STOP IT. IF YOU CAN’T STOP IT, ADMIRE IT. IF YOU CAN’T ADMIRE IT, KEEP IT DOWN SO EVERYONE ELSE CAN ENJOY THE SHOW.”
Chicago Cubs: The Cubs activated AllStar Marcus Stroman from the 15-day injured list last week, hoping he can help the bullpen as the team tries to stay in the playoff race. The 32-year-old right-hander has been out for about six weeks with right hip inflammation. He has a 10-8 record and a 3.85 ERA in 23 starts this season. He gave up no earned runs in two appearances at Arizona last weekend but blew a save in the bottom of the 10th of a 13-inning game Sept. 16 when he allowed a leadoff single with a runner automatically placed on second base.
Cincinnati Reds: While rookie infielder Elly De La Cruz was the talk of baseball when he burst onto the scene, he has been a disappointment in his 56 games since the All-Star break. His slash line is an ugly .184/.266/.336 with 89 strikeouts in 223 at-bats.
Colorado Rockies: Retired Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is helping
eliminate millions of dollars in medical debt for Colorado residents. Starting this month, Helton and the organization RIP Medical Debt planned on sending letters to Colorado residents notifying them their medical bills will be covered. A total of $10 million in medical debt will be eliminated, per the Colorado Rockies newsletter. The five-time All-Star said last week he came up with the idea after seeing friend and fellow University of Tennessee alum Ryan Jumonville do something similar in Florida.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers clinched the NL West title for the 10th time in 11 seasons with a win over the Mariners last weekend. This may be Dave Roberts’ finest season yet as manager. His team opened the season with Julio Urias, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and Michael Grove in the rotation with Tony Gonsolin coming off the IL and Walker Buehler expected to return late in the season. Urias, who’s on paid administrative leave, is done for the season after his arrest on suspicion of a felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse. May underwent flexor tendon surgery in July. Gonsolin had Tommy John surgery in September. Syndergaard was dumped in July. Buehler has been shut down for the year. Kershaw was sidelined for six weeks and has been dealing with an inflamed shoulder.
Miami Marlins: Right-hander Sandy Alcantara has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, manager Skip Schumaker said last week, casting doubt on whether last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner can pitch again this season. Schumaker did not say whether he thought Alcantara would return. Miami is fighting for a wild-card spot . ... GM Kim Ng’s contract expires after the year but she is fully expected to receive an extension in the offseason.
Milwaukee Brewers: Manager Craig Counsell may not be stepping down as manager after all. Counsell, perhaps the leading candidate to win the NL Manager of the Year award, is still trying to decide whether he wants to continue managing or take a break. If Counsell decides to continue, he’ll certainly be the hottest commodity on the market. He could remain in Milwaukee, where he surely would get a substantial raise. Or he could have a halfdozen teams – perhaps the Mets where his former boss, David Stearns, was hired to be president of baseball operations – bidding for his services.
New York Mets: Now that David Stearns is officially running the Mets, it’s hard to believe that popular first baseman Pete Alonso won’t go on the trade block this winter if they’re unable to sign him to a contract extension. The largest contract Stearns ever gave to a player in Milwaukee was Christian Yelich with a seven-year, $188.5 million contract that was heavily deferred.
Philadelphia Phillies: Former manager Charlie Manuel, who led the Phillies to their second World Series championship in nearly 150 years in 2008, suffered a stroke Sept. 16 in a Florida hospital while having a medical procedure. In a statement, the Phillies said the hospital attended to Manuel, 79, immediately and subsequently removed a blood clot. Manuel is the Phillies winningest manager with 780 wins from 2005 to 2013.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Jason Delay hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning Sept. 17 that benefited from a fortunate bounce off third base and allowed the Pirates to edge the New York Yankees 3-2. Delay turned on a curveball from Carlos Rodón and hit a bouncer that nicked the outside of the bag and rolled away from New York third baseman Oswald Peraza and into foul territory in left field, allowing Jared Triolo to score from second. “Shoutout to the bigger bases,” Delay said with a laugh.
St. Louis Cardinals: Adam Wainwright earned his 200th victory on Sept. 18 when the Cardinals defeated the Brewers 1-0. He became the 122nd pitcher to accomplish the feat. The next-most victories by an active pitcher? Marlins veteran Johnny Cueto with 144. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, with 143 victories, has the best shot of becoming the next 200-game winner . ... Manager Oliver Marmol is returning in 2024, as team president John Mozeliak has reiterated.
San Diego Padres: Ace Blake Snell, who won the American League Cy Young award in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays, is on verge of becoming only the seventh pitcher to win the award in both leagues. Snell has been nothing short of sensational in his last 20 starts at press time, yielding a 1.31 ERA . ... Owner Peter Seidler had an unspecified medical procedure last month and “am now on the road to recovery,” he said in a statement posted Sept. 18 on the team’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
San Francisco Giants: While stolen bases are the rage in baseball, the Giants have taken the other extreme. When Blake Sabol stole one this past week, it was the first stolen base by a Giants player other than Thairo Estrada since July 22. The Giants went 27 consecutive games without even a stolen base attempt when Estrada was injured . ... Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations, and manager Gabe Kapler are returning for the 2024 season, owner Greg Johnson told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Washington Nationals: The Nationals have officially reached an agreement with general manager Mike Rizzo on a multiyear contract extension. Rizzo, 62, has served as the team’s GM and head of baseball operations for the past 15 seasons, with four NL East Division titles and the 2019 World Series championship among his accomplishments. He is steering the Natonals through a major rebuilding process.