The Buzz — Monday, August 24

Kyle Schwarber

The take Schwarber walk-off HR seals Phillies ninth-inning rally streak

Four hundred fifty-nine feet over the batter's eye in center — no Cardinal moved. That swing ended the game, but the inning that produced it was the larger story: the Phillies scored six runs with two outs in the ninth, erasing a 4-0 deficit that had stood for eight-plus innings.

A four-run deficit gone in one half-inning is a lineup that does not stop swinging. The Phillies are on a season-high nine-game winning streak, and the man who hit the walk-off leads the majors with 39 home runs. The rally was dramatic; the fact that it ended with him is routine.

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Randy Arozarena

The take Weekend leadoff/walk-off HRs plus historic sixth 20-20

Six consecutive 20-homer, 20-steal seasons places him alongside Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Bobby Abreu, and Willie Mays — four players in history, and now a fifth. The leadoff homer Sunday that clinched it was the quieter half of a weekend that started with something rarer: a leadoff shot and a walk-off two-run homer in the same game Saturday, something only six other players in history have managed.

He robbed a home run in that same game, then led off again the next day. The back-to-back made him the 14th player since 1900 to lead off the game immediately after a walk-off, and just the second ever with two leadoff homers plus a walk-off across a two-game team span. The crowd is watching a streak. The record says it is a career.

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Shohei Ohtani

The take Ohtani nearing mound return post-live BP for October

Thirty pitches to Will Smith on Saturday, his first time facing a hitter since July 3, and Roberts called the session 'really positive.' That is rehab language — the checkpoint that separates a pitcher still building from one ready to face another team. Ohtani is moving from the first category toward the second.

The knee, not the arm, pulled him from a rotation where he was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts. His landing leg — every pitch asks that joint to absorb his full weight — and the club shut him down rather than let it become something worse. He has since adjusted his mechanics, landing more closed to take pressure off the joint. He kept hitting. The pitching is what they protected.

Roberts said the knee is behind them, and if it were up to Ohtani, he would be in a game in a few days. The club wants caution; the player wants the mound. The plan: another live BP next week, then likely a start during the September 1-9 homestand, one inning at a time, no rehab assignment, building toward six innings by October. Every step is a test the landing leg has to pass. The 1.79 ERA is what they are trying to get back to. The knee is what has to hold.

Shohei Ohtani cards on eBay →(paid link)

Junior Caminero

The take Caminero chasing Alvarez for AL HR lead amid MVP talk

Thirty-five home runs, one behind Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead — and the MVP market has him at +800 to Alvarez's -1200, which is the bookmaker's way of saying he is in the race but not winning it. The line reads .894 OPS, 83 RBI, and second in the AL in total bases for a contending Rays club, so this is not empty power padded against bad pitching. ESPN's AXE metric ranks him 9th, not 2nd, because the leverage impact is not there yet. The crowd is right that he is chasing. He is one swing from the tie. He is also not the favorite, and the numbers know why.

Junior Caminero cards on eBay →(paid link)

Fernando Tatis Jr.

The take Tatis two-homer four-hit game fueled Padres Twins sweep

Four-for-five with two home runs and four RBI in an 8-1 win that completed a three-game sweep of the Twins — and both clubs are contending for wild-card spots, which is what makes a sweep a standings event, not just a highlight. The home runs were his 16th and 17th of the season, a total that answers the recent questions about his power rather than opening a new chapter.

Seventeen home runs in late August is steady production, not a torrid pace — enough to keep a contending club in position, and this was the loudest version of it. The crowd will remember the four-hit game. The standings will remember the sweep.

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