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With weather wreaking havoc in Pennsylvania on Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates had their game called in the middle of the sixth inning with a 1-1 score for Major League Baseball’s first tie game in 11 years.

MLB‘s last tie game prior to Thursday was on June 30, 2005, when a game between the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds was called after seven innings due to weather with the score tied at two.

Per MLB.com’s Adam Berry, the tie game will not be reflected in the standings for the Cubs and Pirates, and it won’t be completed before the regular season ends since it holds no bearing on standings for the playoffs or draft.

After the game was called, Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova, who was on the mound when the weather delay started, said he had never seen a tie in baseball.

“Never seen that before,” Nova said, per Berry. “I was hoping at least we could keep playing until we scored a run and we win, that’s it. It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen.”

Baseball Tonight tweeted out the last time the Pirates and Cubs had games that ended in a tie:

Player stats will be counted toward their season numbers.

The Pirates are fighting to finish the season over .500 and playing the role of spoiler. They will travel to St. Louis for a three-game series against the Cardinals, who trail the San Francisco Giants by one game for the second wild-card spot.

The Cubs have already clinched the National League Central title and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Their first postseason game will be played at Wrigley Field on October 7.

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Pete Rose is making his case to the Baseball Hall of Fame in an effort to get on the ballot 27 years after agreeing to a permanent ban from Major League Baseball for betting on games during his time as a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

On Wednesday, USA Today‘s A.J. Perez shared a copy of a letter Rose’s attorneys, Raymond Genco and Mark Rosenbaum, sent to the Hall of Fame:

We are writing to respectfully request that Pete Rose be treated exactly the same way that every other Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager has been treated from the start of the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting in 1936 until 1991. We humbly submit to you that Rule 3A should be amended in a limited way, to allow Pete Rose to be treated in exactly the same way as every other player and manager before him had been treated.

This is not the first time Rose has tried to get back into baseball’s good graces. In December, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred denied Charlie Hustle’s request to be reinstated, with this explanation, per MLB.com’s Paul Hagen:

Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing, so clearly established by the Dowd Report, or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of the circumstances that led to his permanent eligibility in 1989. Absent such credible evidence, allowing him to work in the game presents an unacceptable risk of a future violation by him of Rule 21, and thus to the integrity of our sport. 

In 2015, William Weinbaum and T.J. Quinn of ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported documents showed that Rose bet on baseball games during his playing career after he had insisted for years that the only time he bet came during his time as a manager from 1986 to 1989.

Since the Baseball Hall of Fame is owned and operated by groups separate from MLB, it adopted its own rule in February 1991 against voting for any player on MLB’s permanently ineligible list. 

Rose’s first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame would have come in December 1991, two years after former MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti and Rose agreed to his ban from the sport. 

Since the Hall of Fame has been following MLB’s lead with all of the players on the latter’s permanently ineligible list, Rose’s plea feels like another Hail Mary in an effort to get the all-time hit king into Cooperstown, New York.

Rose was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame in June during a pregame ceremony in which his No. 14 jersey was retired. 

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Tim Tebow took his next steps toward trying to reach Major League Baseball by going 1-for-6 with a solo home run in his first instructional league game as a member of the New York Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Any doubters were silenced, at least in Tebow’s first at-bat. The former Heisman Trophy winner hit a home run on the first pitch he saw, driving the ball over the wall in left-center field. 

Making Tebow’s homer even more impressive is that it came off a left-handed pitcher, and he went the other way with the pitch. 

While Tebow does deserve all of the praise for hitting that first pitch out, Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel shared his thoughts on the Cardinals pitcher:

SB Nation’s Michael Katz was able to humorously equate Tebow’s prolific power to an MLB legend:

The Cespedes Family BBQ podcast jokingly speculated about Tebow helping the Mets in October if they are able to make the postseason:

Before we get Tebow’s bust ready for Cooperstown, Joe Trezza of MLB.com did run down the list of players who homered in their first-ever at-bat at the MLB level:

A home run in your first at-bat doesn’t guarantee any kind of success, regardless of the level of baseball at which it occurs. Tebow still has a long way to go while learning the craft of playing the game, and things will only get more difficult when he moves up the minor league ladder. 

Things did calm down for Tebow after that home run. He followed it up by grounding into a double play, grounding out to shortstop, hitting a hard liner to center that was caught and grounding out to third base in his final plate appearance.   

Tebow also played in left field for five innings, though he didn’t have many chances to showcase his defensive skills. 

Per ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin, Tebow’s only defensive chance came when he cut off a ground ball that held a St. Louis hitter to a single. 

After a three-inning game Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s contest, Tebow’s confidence as a baseball player seemed like it was as high as it has been since his workout in August.

“I feel like every day I’m getting a little more comfortable,” Tebow said, per Bill Whitehead of the AP. “It’s great just to see live pitching and get live at-bats. I’m just getting a little bit better every day. That’s the goal.” 

This is a perfect setting for Tebow to continue honing his skills as a baseball player because instructional league games are a low-key environment with young minor leaguers still developing and an occasional veteran MLB player rehabbing injuries. 

Tebow won’t be hitting a homer every day, but as long as he is showing improvement as a baseball player, the Mets’ investment in him will give him a chance to make the 25-man roster at some point. 

It’s going to take Tebow at least two years because of the difficult nature of baseball. He also hasn’t played in an organized setting since his junior year of high school, so the acclimation process is going to take some time, but the first homer showed there is something for the Mets and Tebow to build off going forward.

Post-Game Reaction

In a funny bit on social media, Cardinals pitcher John Kilichowski had some words for Tebow about the first-pitch homer he allowed:

As he is known to be, Tebow was very positive about the way his professional baseball debut went. 

“It was fun,” Tebow said, per USA Today. “I just wanted to have the approach that I was going to be aggressive,” Tebow said. “That’s something that we’ve been talking about here every day and practicing it.”

While the solo homer will get most of the attention because it was his only hit in six at-bats, Tebow was encouraged by most of his plate appearances.

“I liked a lot of my at-bats today,” Tebow said. “I hit the ball really hard four out of the six times. … Four of the at-bats I felt really, really good about. Didn’t swing at any breaking balls, didn’t feel like I got fooled seeing it out of the (pitcher’s) hand.”

Baseball is a game built on adjustments. As he gets more at-bats and scouting reports come out, his ability to make adjustments and attack offspeed stuff will determine how far he goes. 

For now, though, Tebow can enjoy owning his first professional home run.

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The Washington Nationals have been dealt a huge blow heading into the postseason next week, with All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos suffering a torn ACL during Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Continue for updates. 

Nationals Announce Ramos Injury

Tuesday, Sept. 27

Per Comcast SportsNet Nationals, Washington manager Dusty Baker announced Ramos’ injury Tuesday. 

Ramos’ injury adds insult to what was a forgettable 14-4 loss by the Nationals on Monday. He was hurt during the sixth inning after coming down awkwardly while trying to catch a high relay throw from first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. 

The Nationals clinched the National League East title on Saturday, but they are ailing with just five games remaining in the regular season. 

Stephen Strasburg’s return is uncertain right now, though Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters Monday that the team “may be able to answer” if the right-hander can pitch in the division series on Tuesday, per the Washington Post‘s Jorge Castillo.

Daniel Murphy hasn’t played since September 20. Bryce Harper has been banged up most of this season and is dealing with a thumb injury that kept him out of the lineup Monday. 

Ramos’ injury is particularly devastating because a catcher with a .307/.354/.496 slash line and 22 home runs is a valuable commodity. He controlled the pitching staff and provided the lineup with more depth behind Murphy, Harper and Anthony Rendon. 

Jose Lobaton is a decent backup catcher who has been with the Nationals since 2014 and knows the pitching staff, but his production with the bat pales in comparison to what Ramos has done this season. 

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For the first time since 2007, the Cleveland Indians are the champions of the American League Central thanks to their 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

The victory immediately led to plenty of celebration in the locker room, as Matt Loede of NEO Sports Insiders and Dave Chudowsky of WKYC shared:

First baseman Mike Napoli provided his thoughts while celebrating, per Dennis Manoloff of Cleveland.com:

As the team’s Twitter account noted, the magic number was officially zero:

Following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ triumph in the NBA Finals, the city has apparently turned around its sports fortunes in the past year, as Rep. Marcia L. Fudge noted:

Tom Withers of the Associated Press broke down the season as a whole:

The Indians have been on the cusp of a breakout since 2013, when they made the playoffs but were shut out by Alex Cobb and the Tampa Bay Rays in a 4-0 Wild Card Game defeat.

Horrible starts out of the gate in each of the following two years left Cleveland with huge holes to dig out of, though the Indians finished over .500 in both 2014 and 2015.

The Indians appeared to be facing an uphill climb in 2016 after learning All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley would miss the beginning of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his ailing right shoulder in November.

The front office made some moves during the offseason—signing Napoli and Rajai Davis, most notably—hoping to bolster the lineup until Brantley’s return.

Brantley briefly returned for 11 games before his shoulder flared up again in May, eventually requiring season-ending surgery, but the Indians were in a better place offensively with an All-Star performance from shortstop Francisco Lindor, a breakout season from Jose Ramirez, a return to form for Napoli, continued excellence from second baseman Jason Kipnis and a career year from Carlos Santana.

Ramirez, in particular, drew praise for filling the void Branley’s injury left in the lineup, per T.J. Zuppe of 92.3 The Fan:

One of the season’s best stories took place from June 17 through July 1, when the Indians reeled off a franchise-best 14-game winning streak that they capped off with a 19-inning marathon win against the Toronto Blue Jays:

Seeing the year was going in its favor, Cleveland’s front office became major players at the trade deadline by acquiring Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees to bolster its relief corps.

Adversity hit the Indians starting rotation down the stretch, when Danny Salazar, who earned a spot in the All-Star Game after posting a 2.75 ERA in the first half of the season, battled injuries in August and September that limited him to just eight starts.

Carlos Carrasco’s season ended prematurely when a line drive off Ian Kinsler’s bat hit his pitching hand on the second pitch of a Sept. 17 game against the Detroit Tigers.

After that game, which the Indians won 1-0 on the strength of nine relief pitchers, manager Terry Francona told reporters what he said after Carrasco exited the contest.

“I called [bullpen coach Jason Bere] down there and said, ‘Tell them to put their seat belts on, because they’re all going to pitch, and we’re going to win,'” Francona said, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Jason Beck.

That’s a fitting quote for this year’s Cleveland team, which has been forced to use a next-man-up mentality since spring training—and has used it to great success.

One reason the Indians have continued to play at a high level is the bullpen, which has become one of baseball’s best since Miller’s arrival, as MLB showed:

Given the increased importance of relievers in October, as the Kansas City Royals‘ run to the World Series last year demonstrated, the Indians have the right formula to continue the AL Central’s postseason dominance.

It also helps to have a Cy Young candidate such as Corey Kluber leading the rotation and a lineup that has exceeded expectations all year.

The city’s 52-year championship drought ended in June, when the Cavaliers captured their first NBA title.

The Indians will enter MLB’s postseason with a chance to end their 68-year World Series drought and solidify Cleveland’s place as the city of champions in 2016.

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The Texas Rangers‘ dominance of the American League West continued in 2016, with the franchise clinching its second straight division title Friday with a 3-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

The Rangers provided video of the final play to clinch the franchise’s seventh division title:

The team also showed footage of the ensuing locker room celebration:

Closer Sam Dyson came ready for the party with a mask that was sure to protect his face:

While there is still a few years left for things to play out, the Rangers are putting themselves on the short list for best AL team of the decade with five playoff appearances, four division titles and two World Series appearances since 2010.

After getting off to a slow start in April and May, the Rangers took over first place in the AL West on May 29 with a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. They never looked back from that moment, expanding their lead to a season-high 10 games on June 22. 

The Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros did put together strong runs in the second half, with both teams still threatening in the wild-card race, but those two teams went a combined 11-27 against the Rangers in 2016. 

It’s a testament to the Rangers’ talent and character that they are making another postseason appearance. Their run differential of plus-12 is only eighth in the AL, but they have made up for it with an incredible and historic record in one-run games. 

In a 3-2 win earlier this week against the Los Angeles Angels that got the Rangers’ magic number down to three, Ian Desmond delivered one of those one-run wins with a walk-off single:

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said that win, which was the team’s 46th come-from-behind victory in 2016, represented who they are as a unit. 

“That has been our DNA this year. We didn’t give up until the last out, until the last pitch, and it’s contagious,” said Andrus, per the Associated Press (via the New York Times). 

Desmond is emblematic of everything that has gone right for the Rangers in 2016. He turned down a seven-year, $107 million extension from the Washington Nationals prior to the 2014 season, per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. 

After Desmond struggled through 2015 with a .233/.290/.384 slash line, the Nationals’ only offer to him was a one-year qualifying offer to help him rebuild his value. 

Instead, once again betting on himself, Desmond turned the Nationals down and wound up not signing until February 29, two weeks after spring training started, when the Rangers came calling. He turned in an All-Star performance and is once again in line for a huge deal this offseason. 

This season was not all smooth sailing for the Rangers. Yu Darvish didn’t debut until May 28 while still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery the previous year and went back on the disabled list for one month after making just three starts. 

Starting pitchers Derek Holland and Colby Lewis both spent time on the 60-day disabled list with injuries. Prince Fielder was a mess at the plate early in the year and was forced to retire in August after spinal fusion surgery. 

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels did strike gold at the trade deadline, acquiring catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers and outfielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees to boost their lineup. 

Thanks to strong performances all season from Desmond, Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Cole Hamels, Matt Bush, Dyson, rookie Nomar Mazara and an aggressive front office not afraid to take big swings, the Rangers are celebrating with champagne right now and await another shot to win the franchise’s first World Series. 

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The Washington Nationals are on the verge of a playoff appearance, but a lingering injury to All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy‘s buttocks could cause panic. 

Continue for updates.  

Nationals Briefly Shutting Murphy Down

Friday, Sept. 23

Per MLB.com’s Jamal Collier, an MRI revealed Murphy has a strain in his buttocks, and the Nationals are shutting him down for the next few days.

Murphy has not played in a game since September 20, only making a pinch-hit appearance in a 1-0 loss against the Miami Marlins while dealing with the injury. 

Murphy is having the best season of his career at the age of 31, leading the National League with a .596 slugging percentage and .987 OPS. He’s been a standout for the Nationals, who have needed his effort to offset a surprisingly down season for Bryce Harper. 

Murphy has been able to avoid major injuries this season after spending time on the disabled list in each of his last two seasons with the New York Mets. His breakout season does give the Nationals an anchor in the middle of the lineup, though they are fortunate to have more depth than in recent years. 

With Murphy out of the lineup, Trea Turner can shift to second base as he continues to also handle the outfield. He’s shown excellent promise in his initial exposure to major league pitching, so the Nationals should be optimistic he can hold down the fort.

Since the Nationals’ magic number to clinch the National League East is down to two, they can afford to be patient with Murphy and allow him to heal in order to be ready for the postseason. 

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The Cleveland Indians’ already-thin starting rotation was dealt a huge blow Saturday when Carlos Carrasco suffered a fractured finger on his pitching hand.  

Continue for updates. 

Carrasco Likely Out for Season

Saturday, Sept. 17

According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, Carrasco was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his fifth metacarpal and is likely done for the regular season.

Carrasco suffered the injury on his second pitch of the game, when Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler hit a line drive that caromed off the pitcher’s hand.

After Cleveland’s medical staff examined Carrasco for a couple of minutes, Jeff Manship replaced him on the mound.

While the team has not announced an official timetable for Carrasco’s return, MLB.com’s Jason Beck noted Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, who suffered the same injury, has not played in a game since Aug. 6. 

The timing of Carrasco’s injury is devastating for the Indians, who entered play Saturday with a seven-game lead over the Tigers in the American League Central with a magic number of nine to clinch the division. 

The Indians rotation was already without All-Star Danny Salazar, who was diagnosed with a forearm strain that will keep him out for three to four weeks.

Coming into the season, Cleveland’s strength was its starting pitching depth. Corey Kluber remains the team’s ace and a strong Cy Young candidate, but the injuries to Carrasco and Salazar leave manager Terry Francona with Trevor Bauer as his No. 2 starter and Mike Clevinger and Josh Tomlin in the next two spots with no clear option for a fifth starter to finish the regular season. 

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Atlanta Braves pitcher Jose Ramirez has been hit with a three-game suspension and fine for throwing at Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez during Wednesday’s game.  

Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Ramirez’s punishment, adding the right-hander’s fine was for an undisclosed amount. Mark Bowman of MLB.com also reported the discipline and noted Ramirez will appeal the decision.

Ramirez threw at Fernandez in the seventh inning of Miami’s 7-5 win on Wednesday, which resulted in both benches clearing.

Fernandez hit Braves outfielder Nick Markakis with a pitch in the sixth inning after Markakis hit a two-run homer earlier in the game to give the Braves a 4-1 lead. 

Braves manager Brian Snitker told Joe Frisaro and Pat James of MLB.com after the game he felt that Fernandez was intentionally targeting Markakis.

“To me, Nick hits the ball out and then almost another one and then gets squared up,” Snitker said. “I don’t think that was an accident. When we play, I don’t feel bad blood. It’s just two teams going at it. It was a pretty hard-fought game, really. Their team is trying to get into the playoffs, and for my take on it, we’re not trying to get in the playoffs but we’re trying to win every game we play.”

Per Frisaro and James, Fernandez said the pitch that hit Markakis “slipped out of my hands” even though he explained he was just trying to throw a fastball inside after Markakis was late on them earlier in the game. 

Ramirez has quietly had a solid season for the Braves. He’s posted a 3.38 ERA and 30 strikeouts in a career-high 26.2 innings. 

The Marlins are chasing a wild-card berth, entering play Friday four games behind the New York Mets for the second spot in the National League. 

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The San Diego Padres are in hot water with Major League Baseball because of their lack of medical disclosure regarding players on their roster.

On Thursday, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported Padres officials instructed their athletic trainers to keep two distinct files of medical information for players on the team, with one being used only by the Padres and the other to be used by other big league teams.

As a result of the investigation, Padres general manager A.J. Preller was suspended 30 days without pay, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported there is no further punishment coming for the Padres.

The Padres released the following statements on Thursday:

Olney, citing two sources, reported that “trainers were told in meetings during spring training that the distinction was meant to better position the team for trades.”

Olney noted MLB teams feed their medical information into a central database that protects the privacy of each individual and is accessible to teams when necessary. Each time a player receives treatment in the training room, no matter what it might be, that information is supposed to be filed.

In San Diego, however, Olney noted that “athletic trainers were told to post the details of any disabled-list-related medical situations on MLB’s central system, but they also were instructed to keep the specifics about preventive treatments only on the Padres’ internal notes.”

On Aug. 6, Olney reported MLB was looking into the Padres’ exchange of medical information for their trades with the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox. The Padres dealt Drew Pomeranz to Boston on July 14 and Colin Rea to Miami on July 29. 

Per Olney, “Sources within the Boston organization say it wasn’t until after the deal was made that they became aware of some of the preventive measures that had been provided for Pomeranz.”

Rosenthal reported Pomeranz and other players were taking oral medications that were not disclosed by the Padres. 

Meanwhile, Rea made his Marlins debut July 30, throwing 44 pitches in 3.1 innings before being removed with an elbow injury. Miami sent him back to the Padres on Aug. 1—getting minor league pitcher Luis Castillo back in return—and four days later, it was announced Rea would undergo Tommy John surgery and likely miss all of next season. 

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