The Buzz — Saturday, September 12

Cody Bellinger

The take Bellinger three-run HR sparks Yanks Subway Series win on 9/11

The pitch settles it — a full-count curveball from Nolan McLean, the first curveball homer the rookie had allowed in the majors. That is a disciplined at-bat on a night carrying more weight than the standings.

His father Clay played for the 2001 Yankees and later became a firefighter. Cody wore an FDNY cap, swung a custom FDNY-themed Louisville Slugger, and caught the ceremonial first pitch from Brielle Saracini, whose father piloted United Flight 175. The blast was his 14th of the year, giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead in a 6-4 win — their fourth straight. Ben Rice added his 37th and Rodón struck out eight across 6 1/3. The night was personal before it was a box score, and the box score held up fine on its own.

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Junior Caminero

The take Caminero walk-off HR clinches Rays playoff berth

Number 40 left the yard at 107.2 mph and traveled 417 feet, and it did two things at once — won the game and made Tampa Bay the first team to lock a 2026 postseason spot. He is the first Ray with multiple 40-homer seasons, and at 23 years and 68 days, the second-youngest ever to go back-to-back at that mark. The clinch came with 15 games still left. The division is not settled, but the spot is, and a roster that has held the AL's best record for 115 days earned the right to tune up before October.

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Garrett Mitchell

The take Grand slam in Brewers 20-0 playoff clinch

The 20-0 final looks like a misprint, but the number that matters is eight — the runs Milwaukee scored in the fifth inning, capped by Mitchell's first career grand slam and the Brewers' first of the season. He went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI in a 23-hit attack that turned a clinch into a rout.

Milwaukee is 92-56, the best record in baseball, and this is their fourth straight postseason. Mitchell's full-season line — .263, 10 HR, 61 RBI, .771 OPS in 419 at-bats — is the profile of an everyday center fielder who stayed on the field after years that did not let him, not a slugger catching fire. The division magic number is 4. The clinch was expected. The margin made it emphatic.

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Kyle Tucker

The take Tucker grand slam fuels Dodgers 8-game win streak

One grand slam does not erase a .701 OPS, but it is a start, and the Dodgers will take the start. Tucker went 3-for-3 with 5 RBI, a double shy of the cycle, and his 14th homer — a 395-foot shot off a 79.5 mph sweeper — stretched the win streak to eight and pushed the club to 90-57. He is hitting .230 in the first year of a four-year, $240 million deal. The streak is real. The turnaround is not yet — one night does not change a sample that size.

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Paul Skenes

The take Skenes starts today vs Cubs in ace matchup

The reigning Cy Young winner takes the ball at Wrigley this afternoon with a 3.83 ERA — a number that would be unremarkable on most arms and reads like a detour on Skenes. He is 10-11 across 29 starts with 181 strikeouts in 155 innings. The stuff is still there. The results have stopped being absurd.

His last time out, he threw 5 1/3 scoreless against the Angels for his first win since July 19, snapping a seven-outing drought. But the matchup cuts against him: 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in two starts against the Cubs this year, though the career line — 2-4, 3.45 ERA in nine starts — is more even. Clay Holmes goes for Chicago at 6-7 with a 2.83 ERA, and the Cubs took Friday 12-2.

First pitch is 2:20 p.m. EDT. 181 strikeouts in 155 innings say the arm is still special; a 5.06 ERA in two starts against the Cubs says the runs came anyway. Which Skenes shows up at Wrigley decides whether his 2026 turns back toward what it was supposed to be or settles into something ordinary.

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