Today marks the final game of the 2026 season for the Cincinnati Reds who, with 86 losses already on their ledger, have clinched a last place finish in the National League Central division and have once again missed the playoffs.
Surprisingly, it’ll be the final game of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays, too. After coming within earshot of a World Series title just last season, their season collapsed early and often and they, too will wrap up today with no postseason play on their docket.
What remains
to be seen, though, is whether today marks the final game of something else, too.
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will get the ball to start today for Toronto, and this may well be the final game in which he plays. Just yesterday his former teammate (and fellow future Hall of Famer) Justin Verlander pitched for the final time for the Detroit Tigers, and Verlander now sits just one spot ahead of Scherzer among the Top 10 strikeout leaders of all time.
In fact, if Scherzer were to fan 11 Reds today, he’d pass his old teammate on the all time list. So keep that in mind when you watch the Reds flail at the plate today.
Lefty Brandon Williamson will start for Cincinnati today, while Sal Stewart will try to homer often enough to a) raise his season OPS back into the 800s and b) catch the MLB RBI lead on this final day.
First pitch is set for 3:07 PM ET. Here’s how both clubs will line up to begin:
