MLB News & Moments You Should Know - 9/27

Today’s Headlines

Judge Stuck at 60 as Blue Jays Walk Off Yanks

Everyone on watch for Judge’s record-tying 61st home run was disappointed, but the Blue Jays increased their lead to 2.5 games for the top AL Wild Card spot. The win brings their magic number to lock in a playoff spot down to three games.

Toronto and New York played to a deadlock through nine innings on Monday behind strong pitching from starters Luis Severino and Kevin Gausman before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slammed a double into left field off reliever Clarke Schmidt to win it for the home team.

Trending in USA: Walk
Trending in Canada: #WALKOFF 💥 pic.twitter.com/QVZKVs4Y6a

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 27, 2022

Judge’s one-for-three night leaves him neck and neck with the Boston’s Xander Bogaerts for the AL batting title. His quest to break Roger Maris’s AL single-season home run record will continue tonight in a rematch with the Jays.

Best Moments From Yesterday

2021 World Series Winners Visit the White House

Fulfilling the longstanding tradition of championship-winning baseball teams visiting the President’s residence, Atlanta’s squad received a private tour of the White House on Monday.

Today, President Biden welcomed the Atlanta Braves to the White House to celebrate their 2021 World Series championship. pic.twitter.com/gmJolW17uh

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 26, 2022

The players were greeted by President Biden, who gave a brief speech sprinkled with jokes about beating long odds and expressed appreciation for their experience at the end of the day.

"𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁."

The 2021 World Series champion @Braves spent their day at the White House 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ciWn5X0WfI

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) September 26, 2022

Atlanta Rookie Throws Complete-Game Shutout

23-year-old Bryce Elder may want to make a habit of touring the White House before games. In their evening matchup with the Nationals following their tour and meet-and-greet with the President, Elder went the distance and held the Nats scoreless on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Respect your Elder!@bryce_elder13 becomes the first @Braves rookie to throw a shutout since 1990. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2kimi7OGm9

— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2022

He got some help from his defense along the way, including a sliding catch by Eddie Rosario and a phenomenal play by third baseman Austin Riley and first baseman Matt Olson:

👏👏 Eddie 👏👏#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/gzyIqz1n3n

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 26, 2022

What. A. Play! 😱@austinriley1308 ➡️ @mattolson21 pic.twitter.com/nlPhMEeEyY

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 27, 2022

Alek Manoah Receives Sportsmanship for Defending Kirk

When Montreal radio host Matthew Ross posted a video of Toronto’s All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk rounding the bases and called it “embarrassing for the sport” because of the catcher’s weight, pitcher Alek Manoah came to his teammate’s defense.

He responded, “What’s actually embarrassing for the sport is people that go by the name of Matthew and have never played a day in the big leagues thinking they can control the narrative and stereotypes. Go ahead and tell that 8-year-old kid who is 10 lbs overweight that he should quit now.”

Dove Men+Care announced a new sponsorship on Monday honoring athletes for sportsmanship and announced Manoah as the award’s first recipient for “promoting body positive reassurance.” Manoah promptly donated the prize money, which consisted of roughly $73,000, to KidSport, a Canadian nonprofit focused on providing opportunities for children to participate in organized sports.

Ross has since shut down his Twitter account and issued an apology, but not before Manoah and the rest of the Blue Jays faithful reminded him that no bystander has the right to criticize the body of a man who is playing baseball at an elite level and is an essential piece of Toronto’s run to the postseason.

Injuries