The Opener: Guardians Walk-Off, Dodgers Comeback, Pivetta Return,

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. belted a game-tying home run in the eighth inning against the Phillies. As boos rained down in Philadelphia, Acuna emerged for a curtain call (video link via NBA Sports on X). “I love it when they boo me,” Acuna said. 1. Cleveland does it again Guardians utilityman Daniel Schneemann came through with a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Sunday against the Tigers. It marked Cleveland’s third walk-off win of the four-game series. As Jason Beck of MLB.com points out, Detroit did not throw a pitch while trailing in the series, yet dropped three of four. With the Blue Jays losing, the Guardians moved back into sole possession of the final AL Wild Card spot. They’ll embark on another critical series Monday in Baltimore. The Orioles have lost six straight and are fading out of the playoff race, but they’re only four games back of Cleveland. 2. Dodgers win late, Ohtani nearing return The Nationals were four outs away from avoiding a sweep in Los Angeles. A two-out Alex Call single and a Tommy Edman walk brought Mookie Betts to the plate, and the shortstop crushed a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Washington has now blown 37 saves, tying the all-time record. Shohei Ohtani was looming to pinch-hit for Call, but manager Dave Roberts ultimately stuck with the right-handed bat against lefty Will Dion. Ohtani has missed four straight games. He could return Monday. “My expectation is that he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow,” Roberts told reporters (h/t Dylan Hernandez of the California Post). 3. Pivetta back on Monday Padres righty Nick Pivetta is expected to come off the 60-day IL to start today against the Nationals. He’s been out since April with a flexor strain. Pivetta’s elbow flared up again after his first rehab outing in early August. He recovered after a few weeks and made two more minor league appearances. Pivetta got up to 64 pitches with Triple-A El Paso on August 30. He’ll likely have workload limitations in his first few MLB outings. Randy Vasquez will be bumped to the bullpen. He’s a candidate to cover innings behind Pivetta. Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images View Comments (6)