The Buzz — Friday, September 11

Anthony Volpe

The take Volpe slam and 5 RBIs on minors return, Yanks sweep

The crowd saw the curtain call and 40,706 chanting his name, and the instinct is to call it vindication. It is not quite that. Volpe went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a career-high five RBIs in a 10-3 win that completed a sweep of the Rockies, and the game was real — but the recall was an injury opening, not a coronation. Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s sprained right thumb is what put Volpe back in the Bronx, and the second-base start was his first at the position in the majors, a tryout he built in Triple-A with 19 starts there among other spots.

What the crowd is really responding to is the turnaround. After his Aug. 4 demotion, Volpe batted .284 with 10 homers, 21 RBIs, and a 1.023 OPS over 28 games at Scranton — production that earned the call-up, but against a lower level. His 2026 MLB line remains .251 with 2 HR and 24 RBI. The slam was his second big-league homer of the year.

One game does not lock the position, and the manager called second-base playing time day-to-day. But Volpe earned another start, and the Yankees moved within three games of Tampa Bay. The demotion forced the versatility work; the curtain call was the crowd acknowledging it. He has not earned the job. He has earned the chance to.

Anthony Volpe cards on eBay →(paid link)

Jared Jones

The take Dominant no-hit flirting start powers Pirates win

Jones carried a no-hitter into the seventh with one out before Colson Montgomery doubled, and the 20 whiffs on 90 pitches tell you the stuff never sagged. He finished the inning and left with a one-hitter, extending his scoreless streak to 13 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts over his past two starts. The 99 mph fastballs held, and Don Kelly called the slider really, really good.

The season line — 4-6, 4.10 ERA, 100 strikeouts in 85.2 innings across 18 starts — says this is a pitcher finding his form after internal brace elbow surgery, not a finished product arriving on time. But the Pirates are 74-73, over .500 for the first time since July 29, on a four-game winning streak. The dominance is recent. The timing is what matters.

Jared Jones cards on eBay →(paid link)

Josue De Paula

The take Top prospect called up from AA to DH for Ohtani

The Dodgers are skipping Triple-A entirely for a 21-year-old who slashed .303/.401/.547 with 27 homers and 31 steals across 124 games at Tulsa, and the move tells you what the front office thinks of the bat. De Paula fills the DH spot while Ohtani sits on the 15-day IL with knee and biceps issues, plus some corner-outfield reps — a temporary opening, not a permanent job. But Andrew Friedman has never called up a position player straight from Double-A, and that is an organizational verdict on a player evaluators already viewed as major-league ready, accelerated by necessity and justified by production.

Josue De Paula cards on eBay →(paid link)

Jacob deGrom

The take deGrom dominant vs Mariners with 15 retired and 12 Ks

Fifteen straight retired, eight of his first nine batters struck out, 12 total — his highest since 2022. deGrom was perfect through five and left after six with a one-hitter, a 3-0 lead, and a groin that tightened earlier in the start. He was winning when he came out, and the removal was precautionary.

The number that matters more than the 12 is the year. 2022 was the last time deGrom struck out this many in a game, and everything since has been about whether the arm holds up across a season. Across six innings, it held — 15 retired, one hit, zero runs. The groin is a medical question the club answers this week. The bullpen turned 3-0 into 4-3 and wasted it. But the arm that retired 15 straight and struck out 12 is the one the Rangers need, and it showed up.

Jacob deGrom cards on eBay →(paid link)

Julio Rodríguez

The take clutch three-run HR sparks Mariners comeback win

Rodríguez had been searching for his swing since May, took early batting practice that day looking for the launch angle he had lost, and found it at 18 degrees — 112.4 mph, 410 feet, a first-pitch sinker from Jakob Junis that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. It was his 21st of the year. One swing does not end a four-month slump, but it is the swing the Mariners have spent the season waiting for, and it came against the bullpen that had just chased deGrom.

Julio Rodríguez cards on eBay →(paid link)