Daily Report – 9/26/25
Yankees
It’s almost October. The playoffs are almost here. But for the Yankees, every game is a playoff game from here on out.
After sweeping the Chicago White Sox last night, the Yankees remain tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead. Because Toronto holds the tiebreaker, the Yankees must finish at least one game ahead of them to win the American League East and receive a first-round bye. The only thing last night’s win guaranteed was home-field advantage for the Yankees if they play a Wild Card series.
This weekend’s three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles is as much of a postseason series as any in Major League Baseball this weekend. The same can be said for Toronto’s three-game set against Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays need at least two more wins to be guaranteed the division title, but if the Yankees finish the weekend with one loss fewer than Toronto (unless Toronto wins their first two games and the Yankees lose their first two), they will clinch the division title. In other words, for Toronto to hold onto the division lead, they must lose fewer games than the Yankees this weekend.
Last night, the Yankees brought out the brooms with a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Carlos Rodón was solid on the mound once again, permitting three runs over six innings. He threw just 82 pitches and notched five strikeouts, reaching 200 strikeouts for the second time in his career, and for the first time as a Yankee. In his 2025 regular season, he has posted a 3.09 ERA with 203 strikeouts and an 18-9 record.
“It was good enough,” Rodón said of his performance yesterday. “I just tried to attack the zone. There are a couple of pitches I’d like back, but I’m happy with the win. I can’t be upset.”
After a disastrous first season in pinstripes two years ago, in which he recorded a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts, Rodón drove himself and a trainer to live in a cave for several weeks. You read that right, a cave. He worked hard to refine his mental approach to eventually prove Yankees fans wrong about his potential as a starter in the Bronx. The next year (last season), he completed a career-high 32 starts and finished with a 3.96 ERA. This year, he set a new career high in starts with 33, and his latest ERA is 3.09. But has he proved Yankees fans wrong yet?
“I’m just glad I was able to go out there and post every five or six days, compete, and try to win every game,” Rodón remarked.
Rodón was honored with the Opening Day start this season, and he battled through his emotions and had a strong game. This was especially important because Rodón knew from the gate, he had to offer stability for the Yankees’ rotation after Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery. All season, the lefty has been able to bounce back when he hasn’t had his best stuff, and he’s been able to control home runs and walks. If Rodón continues to control his emotions, and he exorcises his demons in the playoffs as the Yankees’ No. 2 starter, then maybe he’ll finally redeem himself.
But the price of redemption is heavy for the southpaw.
Since August 11, the Yankees’ rotation has been the best in baseball while the team has gone 29-12. In that span, Fried has recorded a 7-0 record with a 2.63 ERA, and Rodón has gone 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA. The two lefties have been better for the Yankees this season than the team could have ever imagined.
“They’ve stabilized the rotation,” said Cole. “They’ve both taken turns being superstars atop the rotation, winning shutdown games, getting deep into ball games.”
The Yankees’ bullpen has also improved in September. Last night, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, and David Bednar each had scoreless frames against Chicago. Here is an updated AGM Sports reliability chart of the Yankees’ bullpen (in order of leverage) as the team enters its final series of the regular season:
C; RHP David Bednar: Reliable
SU; RHP Devin Williams: Reliable
LR; RHP Fernando Cruz: Reliable
LR; RHP Luke Weaver: Somewhat Reliable
MR; RHP Camilo Doval: Reliable
MR; LHP Tim Hill: Reliable
MR; RHP Mark Leiter Jr.: Somewhat Reliable
MR; RHP Paul Blackburn: Somewhat Reliable
MR; LHP Ryan Yarbrough: Somewhat Reliable
This is, by far, the best reliability chart of the season.
The Yankees loaded the bases in the first inning yesterday before Chicago recorded any outs, but they could only get one run to score. In the second inning, Chicago tied the game, and in the fourth, Rodón surrendered a two-run home run to Michael A. Taylor to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, White Sox starter Davis Martin allowed the Yankees to put runners at first and second with one out, so his team replaced him with Tyler Gilbert. But Ben Rice worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases for the struggling Giancarlo Stanton, who drilled the second pitch he saw 109 mph to left field, and under the glove of third baseman Curtis Mead. The double cleared the bases and gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Stanton, who is hitting .300 with runners in scoring position this season, said, “We know we’ve got to go out and play well, execute, and play good baseball.”
Stanton led off the seventh inning with a walk, and with one out, Austin Wells hit a double to center field, adding an insurance run for New York. According to Katie Sharp, Wells is hitting .306 with a .954 OPS since August 27. “I’m just trying to put the ball in play and trying not to hit it where they’re at,” Wells said. “For me, it’s been working a little bit better than it did at the beginning of the year. I’m rolling with it.”
Devin Williams gave up a walk and a single in the eighth inning, and Miguel Vargas nearly tied the game with a 108.5 mph line drive to left field before Cody Bellinger made a backhanded grab on the run. In the ninth inning, David Bednar pitched a 1-2-3 frame to earn his 26th save of the season and a win for the Yankees.
Giants
On Sunday, the New York Giants (0-3) will start Jaxson Dart for the first time in his career. Big Blue is seeking their first win of the season as they host the Los Angeles Chargers (3-0) on Sunday at 1 PM (12 PM CDT) at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s my decision,” said head coach Brian Daboll when asked why he’s starting Dart on Sunday. “We’re going with Jaxson. We’re going to get him ready to play this week and for the remainder of the season.”
Wow. This was unexpected. Well, it was expected, but not for several weeks. Russell Wilson had the game of his life two weeks ago, but he was unproductive in Week 3. It’s worth assuming that Daboll’s job is on the line right now, and if the Dart experiment fails, he’ll be out as head coach.
“When you know that your coach has confidence in you, it means a lot because you know that you can trust them and they can trust you,” Dart pointed out. “I know that every day I come out here, every day that I step into the facility, he’s going to give his all for me, and I’m going to do it the exact same way.”
Daboll expressed that he believes Dart has “done enough” to earn the starting role at quarterback, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the Giants are ready for Dart. The Chargers have one of the best defensive units in the NFL this season, and the Giants’ offensive line could crumble at their hands. That would put Dart in danger, and the last thing he needs is to get squashed in the pocket.
“As an offensive line, we’ve got to step our game up,” said Giants’ guard Jon Runyan Jr. “We’ve got a young quarterback, and we’ve got to make him feel comfortable back there.”
Sunday Funday Injury Report (9/26):
K Graham Gano (groin) did not practice this week and has been ruled OUT to play on Sunday.
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. (shoulder) did not practice this week and has been ruled OUT to play on Sunday.
DL Chauncey Golston (ankle) did not practice today and has been ruled OUT to play on Sunday.
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled DOUBTFUL to play on Sunday.
TE Theo Johnson (N/A) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
WR Malik Nabers (shoulder) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
CB Art Green (hip) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
C John Michael Schmitz (neck) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
WR Darius Slayton (calf) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
T Andrew Thomas (foot) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
WR Beaux Collins (hamstring) practiced in a limited capacity today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
LB Darius Muasau (concussion) was a full participant in practice today and has been ruled QUESTIONABLE to play on Sunday.
OL Aaron Stinnie (personal) did not practice today and is LIKELY to play on Sunday.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT), the Yankees will kick off their final series of the regular season as the Baltimore Orioles come to town (YES, Gotham Sports). The tough lefty Trevor Rogers (9-2, 1.35 ERA) shut the Yankees down with six scoreless, one-hit innings last Friday. He will start for Baltimore, while on the other side, RHP Will Warren (8-8, 4.35) will toe the slab for the Yankees.
“It’s understood what we need to do,” said Stanton. “It’s what we’re capable of, and we’ve got three more games to be the ultimate factor, then turn the page and see what else we can do.”
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees, which is their primary lineup against left-handed pitching:
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
CF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
LF Austin Slater (R)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
2B José Caballero (R)
SP: RHP Will Warren (8-8, 4.35)
Tomorrow, at 1:05 PM (12:05 PM CDT), RHP Cam Schlittler (3-3, 3.27 ERA) will take the rock for New York against RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (10-0, 4.54 ERA), off whom Giancarlo Stanton crushed his 450th career home run last weekend (YES, Gotham Sports). This means Schlittler is the Yankees’ most probable candidate to potentially start a third Wild Card game.
Then, on Sunday at 3:05 PM (2:05 PM CDT), the Yankees will conclude their regular season as RHP Luis Gil (4-1, 3.29 ERA) will face off against RHP Kyle Bradish (1-1, 2.25 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
Tonight 9/26:
7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Will Warren (8-8, 4.35 ERA)
8:30 PM (7:30 PM CDT): 45th Ryder Cup, Day 1; NBCGOLF
Saturday 9/27:
7:00 AM (6:00 AM CDT): 45th Ryder Cup, Day 2; NBC
1:05 PM (12:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (3-3, 3.27 ERA)
Sunday 9/28:
9:30 AM (10:30 AM CDT): 2025 NFL Dublin Game – Minnesota Vikings (2-1) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1); NFLN
12:00 PM (11:00 AM CDT): 45th Ryder Cup, Final Day; NBC
1:00 PM (12:00 PM CDT): NFL on CBS, Week 4 – New York Giants (0-3) vs. Los Angeles Chargers (3-0); CBS, Paramount+
3:05 PM (2:05 PM CDT): 2025 Regular Season Finale – NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Luis Gil (4-1, 3.29 ERA)
Not Before 7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): 2025 Yankees Postseason Preview; YES, Gotham Sports
8:20 PM (7:20 PM CDT): Sunday Night Football (SNF), Week 4 – Green Bay Packers (2-1) at Dallas Cowboys (1-2); NBC, Peacock
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): Football Night in America (FNIA); NBC
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CDT): Hyundai Sunday Night Kickoff; NBC, Peacock
8:10 PM (7:10 PM CDT): GEICO Sunday Night Anthem; NBC, Peacock
