[jksander]

September 19, 2025: Ryan Weber (6-10, 4.24 ERA, 144.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.30 WHIP) pitched against the Padres’ Manuel Castro (0-3, 2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP, 21 K’s, 1.06 WHIP), as the 23-year-old got the call-up in late August. The Padres took the lead in the top of the second off a solo homer by Xander Bogaerts, but in the bottom of the fifth we tied it on a Meidroth RBI single and then took the lead when Tauchman singled in two more to give us a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth. They got one of those runs back with a single by Trevor Larnach in the top of the sixth, but we piled on five more runs in the bottom of the inning to turn it into something of a rout! The Padres got a homer off the bat of Bogaerts in the top of the seventh to cut our lead to five, bringing out Martin Perez to take the mound trying to get the final out of the inning. Instead, he gave up back-to-back-to-back hits, including a single by Jorge Mateo that cut our lead to four before he did finally get that third out -- we went into the stretch leading 8-4 but still not feeling very self-assured. Our bats kept hitting, however, Yordys Valdes hitting a leadoff homer to get us back up by five, and Julian Merryweather was a calming influence from the mound in the final two frames as we held tough to win 9-4. Weber improved to 7-10, pitching 6.2 innings with four hits, four strikeouts and three earned runs, and we outhit the Padres 12-6, led by Valdes who hit four times for two runs and an RBI.

This is officially just our second four-game winning streak of the season, tying a streak of four wins across series with the Reds and Cubs on the road from May 14-18!

September 20, 2025: Sean Burke (6-14, 4.75 ERA, 142.0 IP, 157 K’s, 1.40 WHIP) faced Bryan Hoeing (2-1, 4.64 ERA, 54.1 IP, 39 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) in our second game of the series against the Padres, and their second batter of the game, Manny Machado, hit a solo bomb out of left to put them up 1-0. Burke struck out five batters in a row across the third and fourth innings, and he got another pair in the fifth to keep the game still super close. But our bats weren’t popping off today like they have the last few games, and our margin for error was thin indeed. Penn Murfee took over in the sixth to face Machado, and in the end it didn’t matter WHO faced their lineup the third time through, because they all were hitting. Machado scored off a fielder’s choice that yeilded no outs, and they picked up a third run when Giancarlo Stanton hit into a 6-4-3 double play. They added on a run in the seventh, and though we got a couple runs ourselves in the ninth to keep it respectable, we were never in this one past Burke’s five innings. San Diego beat us soundly 6-3, snapping our streak and bringing us back to earth with a bang. Burke took the loss, which really sucks since he pitched brilliantly -- five innings with three hits, a walk, a run and eight strikeouts. They outhit us 11-6, with Tauchman leading our offense with a pair of hits and a run scored.

September 21, 2025: It’s our final home game of the season, and Brandon Pfaadt (9-12, 4.12 ERA, 183.2 IP, 186 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) started against San Diego’s Derek Holland (7-7, 3.45 ERA, 128.0 IP, 113 K’s, 1.21 WHIP). The Padres got a run each in the first and second, but we tied them with an RBI single by Valenzuela to make it 2-2 heading into the top of the fifth. Tauchman hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the bottom of the fifth, and when Merryweather took over in the top of the seventh we still led 3-2. Kimbrel got the ball in the eighth, striking out the side and drawing a huge ovation from the home crowd, and he got us through the ninth as well as we shut them down to win 3-2! Pfaadt lasted six innings with three hits, a walk, two runs and seven strikeouts, Kimbrel earned his second save of the year with a two-inning effort involving four strikeouts, and we outhit San Diego 10-4. Valenzuela led the way with two hits and an RBI, while Meidroth added two hits and a run scored.

That’s our 65th win of the year, with six games remaining (all on the road) against the Yankees (93-62, 1st AL East) and the Nationals (70-85, 4th NL East) after our travel day tomorrow. The Yankees have clinched their division, while Washington has been eliminated from playoff contention. We are guaranteed a last place finish in the AL Central unless we win out and the Tigers lose all six of their remaining games, but we can finish this season on a strong note with an eye to the future.