The Blue Jays needed a win to avoid falling further behind the Guardians on September 2. Thanks to Dylan Cease & Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto secured that victory. Meanwhile, the NL Wild Card standings changed after the Phillies and Diamondbacks completed their game in Arizona.
Blue Jays blow out Cleveland
Dylan Cease continued his masterful campaign with arguably his most important start with the Jays to date on September 3. He struck out four over six scoreless innings in an 11-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
It’s been a very difficult season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2026. But he broke through on the 2nd with three hits, one of which was a home run, and five RBI. Nathan Lukes, as well as former Guardians Myles Straw and Andres Gimenez, each had two hits in Toronto’s win.
With that win, the Blue Jays return to 1.5 games behind the Guardians.
Phillies shut out in Arizona
The Diamondbacks ended their series with the Phillies by defeating them 1-0 in Arizona.
Andrew Painter had, arguably, his most impressive start as a Major Leaguer to date. The rookie went seven innings for the second time in his last three starts. He also struck out six and allowed no runs, the first time Painter’s put up a spotless run number in an outing this year.
However, the Phillies’ offense only mustered up three hits against the Diamondbacks, on a bullpen day for Arizona. The lone run came via a James McCann solo home run.
With that victory, Arizona moved ahead of the Padres for the final Wild Card spot in the NL.
Cubs can’t make up ground
The Cubs, now in the second NL Wild Card spot, had the chance to move back into that first spot held by the Phillies. However, the Brewers didn’t allow that, as Milwaukee won 9-5.
Alex Bregman had two hits, one of which was his 24th of the year to continue his torrid second half. However, David Peterson had a rough start, as he allowed seven hits and walked four against the Brewers.
Jackson Chourio had a four-hit night, one of which was his 21st home run of the season. Andrew Vaughn, William Contreras, Cooper Pratt, and Christian Yelich each had two hits.
Acuna makes history
The Braves picked up a 9-0 victory to close out their series against the Nationals, as the offense ruled the day.
Thanks to an 86-minute rain delay, the Braves’ bullpen had some heavy lifting, tossing six scoreless innings. The offense was pretty good, too.
Sean Murphy, Austin Riley, and Mike Yastrzemski each had two hits. Ronald Acuna Jr. had three, one of which was his 14th home run of the season and his 200th career shot. He became the fastest in MLB history to accumulate 200 home runs and 200 career stolen bases.
Astros gain ground
After Henry Bolte and the Athletics downed the Rangers, Houston defeated the White Sox 2-0 to add more padding to their existing AL West lead.
Hayden Wesneski tossed seven scoreless innings against Chicago. However, he didn’t pick up the win in a deadlocked game. It wasn’t until the eighth, when Nelson Velazquez drove in two, that runs were scored.
At 71-69, the Astros are two games ahead of the Rangers.
Everything else
- Reds def. Padres 7-3
- Athletics def. Rangers 9-2
- Rockies def. Orioles 6-5 (11)
- Mariners def. Red Sox 8-3
- Giants def. Pirates 5-4 (10)
- Mets def. Rays 10-4
- Marlins def. Royals 9-6
- Tigers def. Twins 11-6 (12)
- Yankees def. Angels 6-3 (10)
- Cardinals def. Dodgers 8-6 (10)
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