The Buzz — Monday, September 7

Mookie Betts

The take Betts clutch three-run HR sparks Dodgers sweep rally

The eighth inning was nearly gone — two outs, Alex Call on first after a single, Tommy Edman on after a walk — when Betts turned a deficit into a 7-5 lead with one swing off Will Dion. It was his 18th home run of the season, and it finished a four-RBI night.

The number that matters more is 6-0: the Dodgers' record against Washington this season, every meeting taken. This is a club that lost six of eight before the winning streak reached four, and they are doing it without Ohtani. Betts kept the lineup going when it needed someone to, and Sunday night was the sweep that steadied the club.

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Aroldis Chapman

The take Chapman hits rare 400-save milestone for Red Sox

Chapman became the ninth pitcher in MLB history to record 400 saves, locking down a 3-1 win over Baltimore that completed a four-game sweep. The final out was a 101 mph fastball to strike out Christian Encarnacion-Strand — his 33rd save of the season.

The 2026 line: 3-4 record, 33 saves, 2.03 ERA in 48.2 innings, 65 strikeouts. The career totals: 400 saves, a 2.49 ERA, and 1,396 strikeouts. A closer does not get to 1,396 strikeouts by accident, and the 101 mph fastball that ended this game was not a ceremonial last lap. The stuff is still finishing games.

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Ronald Acuña Jr.

The take Acuña reaches 1,000 hits on clutch tying homer

Acuña's 1,000th career hit was a 414-foot three-run shot off a 100.5 mph fastball from Alex McFarlane — his 16th home run of the season — tying the Phillies 4-4 in the eighth. The Braves won 5-4 after Austin Riley's RBI triple in the ninth. He is the second Braves player ever with 1,000 hits, 200 home runs, and 200 stolen bases. The other is Hank Aaron. The milestone says what Acuña has already been. The swing off a 100.5 mph heater says the bat speed is still here.

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Fernando Tatis Jr.

The take Tatis sparked three straight HRs off Cole in Padres win

Tatis led off the bottom of the first by taking Gerrit Cole's 83.8 mph knuckle-curve the other way — 371 feet to right, his 20th of the season and the 19th leadoff homer of his career. Jake Cronenworth followed with a 343-foot opposite-field shot, his first career oppo home run, just fair. Manny Machado sent one 416 feet to center at 109.2 mph. All three came on Cole's first 15 pitches, and Cole called only the Tatis curve a clear miss — the other two were competitive pitches that got crushed.

It was the second time in Padres history the team opened with three straight home runs — the first since 1987 — and the 12th time any MLB club has done it. Cole is the only pitcher ever to allow three consecutive leadoff homers twice in his career. The Padres won 4-3 and stayed a half-game behind Arizona for the third NL wild card. Tatis now has six full seasons, all with at least 20 home runs. That is the signal under the noise.

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Cooper Hjerpe

The take Rookie dominates perfect debut for Cardinals

The Cardinals' 2022 first-round pick, 22nd overall, and their No. 18 prospect missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, on top of prior elbow procedures. Cooper Hjerpe entered in the fourth inning at Coors Field and set down 12 straight Rockies on 54 pitches, 41 of them strikes. Four innings, no hits, no walks, no runs, six strikeouts. He earned the win in a 10-8 Cardinals comeback.

The setting is what makes the line hold up. Coors Field does not hand out zeros to anyone, let alone a pitcher in his first major-league appearance. Hjerpe threw 41 strikes out of 54 and struck out six, and the Cardinals recalled him from Triple-A Memphis that morning — he was not on the roster a day earlier. A pitcher coming off a lost year does not usually walk into Coors and set down 12 straight. That happened.

One appearance is one appearance, and a four-inning relief debut is a different test than a start. What Sunday proved is that the arm works — and after Tommy John surgery and a full year away, that is the one question this outing could answer, and it answered it. If he gets a start this week, the debut stops being a highlight and becomes a real question: whether the arm holds up twice through a lineup. That is the thread worth following.

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