Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

One of the greatest pitchers to take the mound for the storied Dodgers franchise – perhaps with a case for the greatest ever – will soon be throwing his final pitch.

Clayton Kershaw announced this afternoon that the 2025 season will be his last, signaling the end of an iconic 18-year career that is a veritable lock to culminate with a plaque in Cooperstown once he is eligible five years down the road. That would add him to an exclusive list of Hall of Famers who spent their entire career with just one franchise.

• Top moments from Clayton Kershaw's career

Kershaw is no stranger to exclusive lists, of course. Allow us to … list them for you. He’s one of only 11 pitchers to win a Cy Young and MVP Award in the same season, and one of 11 to win three or more Cy Young Awards. Earlier this season he became the 20th and quite possibly final member of the 3,000-strikeout club, joining two of his great contemporaries, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer (test your knowledge on all three of their careers here). His 300-strikeout season in 2015 is one of the 22 recorded in the Modern Era (since 1900), and again, those might be a relic of the past. He owns one of the 10 longest scoreless innings streaks in a single season dating back to 1920, at 41 innings from June 13 to July 10, 2014.

Got all that? Hopefully it helps capture the type of legendary, generational career that will be coming to an end here, though it almost feels like an injustice to reduce Kershaw simply to lists. We haven’t even made mention of his 2014 no-hitter, his 2011 pitching Triple Crown, or the shedding of his postseason demons with a dominant run to the 2020 World Series. Or the signature wonder that is his burrowing 12-6 curveball, which Vin Scully dubbed “Public Enemy No. 1” on a spring afternoon in 2008, before Kershaw had ever thrown a regular-season pitch.

Almost two decades and many, many curveballs later, we’ll be bidding farewell to a giant of the sport. Here’s to a happy retirement, where we’re sure Kershaw will continue to stoke his competitive fire with his second love, ping pong. You already know he can spin it.  

-- Scott Chiusano

• Cubs @ Reds (7:15 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, FOX): A letdown could be looming for the Cubs a night after they clinched their first postseason berth since 2020, but the Reds have no such luxury. Cincy remains 2.5 games out of the Wild Card picture and turns to ace Hunter Greene, who followed up a 12-strikeout gem with the shortest start of his career (2 1/3 innings) last time out.

• Yankees @ Orioles (7:15 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, FOX): The Yankees will be tough to beat as long as Trent Grisham (10 homers in his past 22 games) is swinging like he is, but the most encouraging sign in the Bronx has to be Aaron Judge's return to form. Judge hit .200 and slugged .385 in his first 19 games off the IL, but in 20 games since, he's slashed .385/.549/.785 with 11 more walks than strikeouts. Max Fried goes for an MLB-best 18th win tonight.

• Giants @ Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, MLB Network): The Dodgers would love nothing more than to smash the playoff hopes of their divisional rival this weekend, and there's no one better to start off that assignment than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has allowed one run and one hit in each of his past two starts, spanning 15 2/3 innings. The Giants, 2.5 games out of the crowded NL Wild Card race, counter with ace Logan Webb in the opener.

Blake Snell was not going to experience a repeat of Game 6 of the 2020 World Series.

Last night, the two-time Cy Young Award winner – who was infamously pulled by Rays manager Kevin Cash in the sixth inning of that dominant start – saw Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts coming out of the dugout with two outs in the seventh inning and immediately started to shake his head.

“No, no, no, no,” you could see him mouth on the broadcast. “I got this.”

Roberts kept the faith in his left-hander and reliever Alex Vesia, who had started walking onto the field to take Snell’s place, made like Grandpa Simpson and turned right back around to head back to the bullpen.

The decision paid off, with Snell striking out his last batter for his 12th K of the night. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Just ask Grady Little. 

-- Scott Chiusano

Unfortunately, it’s a little too late to get Trevor Story a cameo in the latest Austin Butler movie.

When the Red Sox shortstop was caught trying to steal second base in the bottom of the eighth inning against the A’s on Wednesday night, it snapped his streak of 31 consecutive stolen bases to begin this season. It was the longest stolen-base streak to start a season in the American League since at least 1951 (when caught stealing was first tracked in both leagues). Story’s speed run was one better than Carl Crawford, who was the previous AL record-holder when he went 30-for-30 in steals to open the 2009 season for the Rays.

Story’s caught stealing also kept him from becoming just the second player to record at least 30 stolen bases without being caught over the course of a single season. The lone member of that club is the Phillies’ Trea Turner, who was successful on all 30 of his attempts in 2023.

Story fell just a few steals shy of becoming the 12th player with 35 consecutive successful stolen bases over any span. Do you think you can identify the 11 players who were able to do that? Give it a shot by playing this quiz. 

-- Brian Murphy

When it comes to big-time free agents who will hit the market this offseason, Bo Bichette might pose the most interesting questions.

Offensively, he can rake with the best of them. Despite being out since Sept. 7 with a left knee sprain that will sideline him through at least the rest of the regular season, he leads the big leagues in hits and doubles to go along with a .311 average and .840 OPS, showing he’s rebounded nicely from the first down offensive season of his career (70 OPS+ in 81 games in 2024).

On the other hand, if he can’t return for the postseason, the concerns about the health of his knee could linger. There’s also the question as to whether he’s a true shortstop, even in the short term. He’s never been considered a defensive stalwart, and he posted -13 Outs Above Average at the position this season.

After committing half a billion dollars in April to extend longtime running mate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., will Toronto want to invest big bucks in Bichette as well? Who might other potential suitors be? Check out our roundtable discussion for a deep dive into the possibilities awaiting Bichette as he heads into free agency for the first time.

-- Ed Eagle

Ever been sitting at your desk at work after finishing something important and thought: You know what, I really crushed that? Well then this pop-up Home Run Apple is the perfect giveaway for you, for all the times you feel like you just hit one out of the proverbial park. Be one of the first 15,000 fans at Citi Field tomorrow for the Mets’ opener against the Nationals to get yours. 

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