The Buzz — Thursday, September 17

Ethan Salas

The take Rookie hit first two HRs as youngest multi-HR catcher

20 years, 107 days — the youngest catcher in MLB history with a multi-homer game, breaking Butch Wynegar's mark from 1976. Both home runs were real: a 426-foot first-pitch shot to center off Mason Adams, then a two-run homer off Nick Frasso in the fifth. Coors Field helps, but 426 to center is not cheap at any elevation.

The context matters more than the distance. The Padres are 83-69 and pulling further ahead in the NL wild-card race, and Salas is their top prospect per MLB Pipeline. He is also the youngest catcher to homer in the majors since Iván Rodríguez in 1991 — and the youngest to catch in the big leagues since Rodríguez. Catching demands a defensive maturity most players don't have at this age, and the power arriving this fast, on a contender, is the part that holds.

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Elly De La Cruz

The take De La Cruz HR delays Dodgers NL West clinch

The homer was his 28th, a two-run shot off Seth Halvorsen in the third that put the Reds ahead 2-1 in a 6-2 win. The Dodgers needed a win or a Padres loss to clinch the NL West — their fifth straight and 13th in 14 seasons — and got neither, because San Diego won in Colorado. The delay lasts a day. The magic number is still one.

The number that matters more: in six games against the Dodgers this year, De La Cruz is batting .429 with a 1.716 OPS, five home runs and seven RBIs. The Reds are 1-5 against Los Angeles — more than half their runs in the matchup came from him. He has 28 home runs and 26 stolen bases with 10 games remaining, and has reached base in 23 straight, tying a career high. The clinch delay is temporary. His hold on this matchup is not.

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Blake Snell

The take Snell exits after 1 IP with groin, delays clinch

The inning tells you what kind of exit this was. Nineteen pitches, ten strikes, one single, one strikeout, the runner picked off — he faced the minimum and the frame was scoreless. He felt a 'grab' on the second-to-last pitch of his pregame bullpen, tried to get through the first, then told staff. This is a pitcher choosing to stop, not being pulled mid-meltdown.

The history is why he stopped. He has strained this area four times by pitching through it — IL stints in 2021, nearly a month in 2022, and again in 2024. He began this year on the IL with shoulder inflammation, had May elbow surgery for bone spurs and loose bodies, then returned at 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA in six starts. The arm came back. The lower half is the recurring problem.

The velocity dip confirms the grab was physical: eight four-seamers averaging 94.5 mph, down 1.5 from his season mark. Snell said it does not feel as severe as past episodes and wants one more start; Roberts said they will decide on imaging after returning to L.A., with October the priority. The Dodgers are 92-60, magic number one — the division is a formality. October is the timeline that matters, and the club is acting like it.

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Zack Wheeler

The take Wheeler gem eases Phillies rotation worries in playoff race

Seven scoreless, four hits, one walk, five strikeouts in a 3-0 win. He is 13-5 with a 2.99 ERA, his second straight seven-inning start. The Phillies had just placed Luzardo on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation and watched Sánchez give up five the day before. In Wheeler's past four starts he has allowed three runs over 26 innings, and the Phillies have won all four. The rotation behind him is fraying, and he is exactly what the gap required.

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Aaron Judge

The take Judge exits early with leg tightness after rib return

This was his seventh game back from a broken right rib that cost him roughly 99 days — and now a different body part has sent him to the bench. Judge was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the sixth at Minnesota with lower-right-leg tightness he first felt playing the field in the first. He said he did not anticipate imaging; Boone said the club would not speculate on severity, with Thursday an off-day.

The leg is separate from the rib. What is also true: since returning, Judge is 4-for-26 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games. That is a small sample with rust all over it, but it is the sample the Yankees have — and now it comes with an early exit attached. Seven games back is not enough to say the layoff is behind him, and the runway is getting shorter.

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