The Buzz — Wednesday, September 9

Jacob Misiorowski

The take Brewers flamethrower dominates Cubs with triple-digit Ks

Last night he threw his 1,000th pitch of the season at 100 mph or harder, and that is the number to sit with — more than the 103.7 mph fastball that struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong, or the 104.5 he touched against Seiya Suzuki. Those are peaks. The volume is the signal. He finished 6.1 innings with one earned run and nine strikeouts.

His ERA is 1.95, best in the majors, with 236 strikeouts across 161.1 innings and a 14-5 record in 27 starts. A flamethrower who leads baseball in run prevention is an ace, and the radar readings are how he works.

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Junior Caminero

The take Caminero takes sole AL HR lead with 39th in Rays win

His 39th home run of the season traveled 455 feet into the left-field bleachers off Braves starter A.J. Smith-Shawver, a first-inning solo shot that put the Rays ahead 1-0 in a game they won 7-1. The blast moved Caminero into sole possession of the American League home run lead. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice — the kind of night that says the power is part of a complete offensive season, not just one swing. The AL lead is earned. The question is whether anyone catches him over the final three weeks.

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Tarik Skubal

The take Skubal deep start fuels Dodgers' sixth straight win

Seven and a third innings of two-run ball against the Reds extended the Dodgers' win streak to six, tying their season high, and the fact that it was his longest outing since the Aug. 3 trade tells you what the acquisition was for. Skubal has a 2.95 ERA in seven starts as a Dodger, with 48 strikeouts and 10 walks, and the club has won each of his last four. The two-time Cy Young winner is a rental heading to free agency. He is pitching like a piece the Dodgers needed for exactly this stretch.

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Aaron Judge

The take Judge back from long rib IL to ovation in win

He missed 84 games. That is the number that matters more than the 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, because it tells you what last night was actually about — a body coming back from a stress fracture in his right first rib, not a bat finding its timing.

Judge had not played since May 31, when the rib he injured diving for a ball on April 26 finally became impossible to play through. He skipped a rehab assignment entirely, ramped up on live batting practice, and walked into Yankee Stadium to a standing ovation from 46,211 people who understood the length of the absence. He played six innings, was pulled on a plan, and was not happy about it. Aaron Boone described him as asymptomatic for weeks with no restrictions. The club is prioritizing October health over September volume, and Judge wanted more — which is the version of this story you want, a player who feels ready being held back by a team thinking past tomorrow.

The Yankees won 5-3 and clinched their 34th consecutive winning season. They went 45-39 without him. The lineup missed him, and the .907 OPS he carried into the IL was depressed by weeks of playing hurt. What last night proved is that he is back; what the next three weeks decide is whether the rust clears before the games start costing something.

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Juan Soto

The take Soto homers in Mets multi-HR win over Marlins

Soto's 24th home run of the season was a three-run shot off Sandy Alcantara in the second inning, a 417-foot blast with an exit velocity of 108.2 mph that built the early lead in a 7-5 Mets win over the Marlins. Lindor and Brett Baty also homered, but Soto's swing was the one that turned the game — scoring Alvarez and Lindor on a 95.7 mph sinker he handled cleanly. He finished 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, two runs, and a walk. After missing time with a calf injury, he is producing in the middle of a lineup that needs every run it can find heading into the final stretch.

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