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Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B | BAL
Orioles' Christian Encarnacion-Strand: Three-hit game in win
Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, two doubles and two additional runs scored in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Mets.
Encarnacion-Strand crushed a homer into the second deck in left field in the third inning to bring Baltimore's lead to 5-0. The 26-year-old has now homered in back-to-back contests for the second time this season and also extended his on-base streak to six games, during which he's gone 10-for-24 with three doubles, two homers and six runs.
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A.J. Ewing CF | NYM
Mets' A.J. Ewing: Two hits, steal in loss
Ewing went 2-for-4 with two singles and a steal in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Orioles.
The 22-year-old singled and stole second base during the second inning for his 24th theft of the season, which ties the Mets rookie record for steals in a season set by Mookie Wilson in 1981. Ewing's bat has been red hot in September, going 18-for-47 (.383) with five extra-base hits and 10 RBI. For the season, that's boosted his slash line to .256/.327/.383 with 10 homers, 38 RBI and 52 runs scored in 110 games while operating as New York's primary center fielder.
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Jake Bennett SP | BOS
Red Sox's Jake Bennett: Fans seven in no-decision
Bennett took a no-decision Wednesday against Texas, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven.
Bennett kept the ball in the park after serving up five homers in his prior two starts, but he was instead tagged for a trio of doubles Wednesday. The rookie southpaw is showing signs of fatigue late in the season, surrendering at least three runs in all but one of his last 10 outings. He'll take a 3.78 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 90:20 K:BB over 109.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance against Cleveland, which will be a key matchup in the American League playoff race.
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Wilber Dotel RP | PIT
Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Opening Thursday's contest
Dotel will serve as the Pirates' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Brewers, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Dotel will be making his second start of the season, but he's likely to be in line for a limited workload. He retired two batters out of the bullpen just two days earlier and hasn't covered more than three innings in any appearance in the majors or minors since May 10. Khristian Curtis will be available on six days' rest to pitch out of the bullpen and could be called upon to cover multiple frames once Dotel exits the contest.
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MacKenzie Gore SP | TEX
Rangers' MacKenzie Gore: Ineffective in no-decision
Gore took a no-decision Wednesday against Boston, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks in four innings. He failed to record a strikeout.
The Red Sox were hardly fooled by Gore on Wednesday, as the hurler induced a mere two whiffs on the evening. The southpaw appears to be losing his effectiveness quite a bit down the stretch, fanning four or fewer in five consecutive starts while yielding at least three runs in three straight abbreviated outings. He'll look to right the ship when he carries a 4.67 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 172:69 K:BB over 165.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance against the Mets.
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Chris Bassitt SP | BAL
Orioles' Chris Bassitt: Quality start in win
Bassitt (8-5) earned the win against the Mets on Wednesday, allowing one run on five hits and a walk in 6.2 innings. He struck out six.
Bassitt gave the Orioles great length in Wednesday's start, which the team needed after using eight pitchers in Tuesday's extra-inning contest. The veteran right-hander tossed 95 pitches (61 strikes) to efficiently get through 6.2 frames and improve his record to 4-1 in his last five starts. During that span, Bassitt has a 3.64 ERA with a 26:11 K:BB over 29.2 innings. The 37-year-old is scheduled to face his old team, the Blue Jays, next week in what could be his final start of the campaign.
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Blake Snell SP | LAD
Dodgers' Blake Snell: Expects to make another start
Snell (groin) said after Wednesday's loss to the Reds that he believes he "should be good" to make another start before end of the regular season, Jack Harris of the California Post reports.
Snell left his start Wednesday after just one inning due to left groin tightness, saying that he initially felt something was wrong during his pregame bullpen session. The 33-year-old has a history of groin issues and noted that it likely would've evolved into a more serious injury if he pitched through it, so he's hopeful that Wednesday's early exit will help him avoid missing more time. Manager Dave Roberts added that it's possible Snell will be able to take the mound again before the end of the regular season, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com, but the Dodgers will first need to make sure that the southpaw's condition doesn't worsen over the next several days.
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Cameron Booser RP | TB
Rays' Cam Booser: Posts 11th hold
Booser struck out one in a clean eighth inning to record a hold Wednesday against the Athletics.
With Garrett Cleavinger (forearm) sidelined, Booser continues to serve as the top left-handed setup man in the Tampa Bay bullpen. He's given up just four earned runs in 16.2 innings since the start of August. Booser has a career-best 2.13 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 42:6 K:BB over 38 innings for the Rays in 2026.
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JR Ritchie SP | ATL
Braves' JR Ritchie: Rocked for six runs in loss
Ritchie (1-3) took the loss against the Cubs on Wednesday, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across 4.2 innings.
Wednesday's start was Ritchie's ninth start in the majors this season and first since Aug. 2 against the Nationals. He proceeded to give up a season-high six runs, all of which came off the bats of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman, including a solo homer apiece. Ritchie has a 5.03 ERA and 1.47 WHIP over 62.2 innings this season, and he figures to get at least one more turn in Atlanta's rotation after Reynaldo Lopez (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday. Ritchie is tentatively slated to make his next start next week at home against the Reds.
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Shota Imanaga SP | CHC
Cubs' Shota Imanaga: Fans eight in Wednesday's win
Imanaga (11-10) earned the win against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight across six innings. He did not issue a walk.
The Cubs' batters provided plenty of offense for Imanaga, and the 33-year-old southpaw held up his end of the bargain by keeping Atlanta off the board until a Matt Olson RBI groundout in the sixth. It was the sixth time this season that Imanaga struck out at least eight batters, bringing him up to 164 punchouts on the year and 10 shy of matching his total from the 2024 campaign. He'll take a 3.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 168.1 innings into his next start, tentatively slated for next week at home against the Marlins in what projects to be Imanaga's final outing of the regular season.