JOSE QUINTANA

Justin Verlander says owner Steve Cohen and his willingness to spend his hedge-fund fortune on building a World Series-contender is the reason he joined the New York Mets.

Steve Cohen's New York Mets are on track to shatter spending records in his third season as owner, boosting payroll to about $350 million for purposes of the luxury tax and poised to pay a penalty of about $80 million. New York added veteran starters Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana plus reliever David Robertson and Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga while re-signing center fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Aaron Judge is returning to the New York Yankees on a $360 million, nine-year contract, and the other contenders for the AL MVP in free agency are moving on.

The Phillies were down to their final two outs in Game 1 of the wild-card series, but the Cardinals choked away their lead, and they are now on the brink of elimination.

Albert Pujols hit his 703rd home run, breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for second place in career RBIs, but the St. Louis Cardinals lost to Pittsburgh 3-2 when the Pirates drew four consecutive walks in the ninth inning to force home the winning run.

Albert Pujols has hit his 703rd home run, breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for second place in career RBIs.

Because this is the final edition of the Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column for this year, I’m going to change the format this week and guide your team through the final two weeks of the regular season. Players who can help this weekendPadres and Rockies hittersSan Diego and Colorado will meet this weekend for the final 2022 games at Coors Field. We have already seen some offensive fireworks at Coors this week, and there should be more in the next three days. The club opens with three games against mediocre Cubs starters before facing the woeful Nats pitching staff for four contests. The right-hander has been effective this year (3.34 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) and has converted the team’s past four saves.

Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that rallied the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

Paul Goldschmidt slugged his 32nd and 33rd homers and had five RBIs, Corey Dickerson set a franchise record for consecutive hits and the St. Louis Cardinals rolled to an 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols blasted two more homers, pushing his career total to 692 and helping St. Louis beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 16-7.

Rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski hit his 14th home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled Jameson Taillon’s return to PNC Park with a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees.

Cubs Pirates Baseball Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki (27) heads back to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jose Quintana during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (Gene J. Puskar)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — Seiya Suzuki homered twice, Drew Smyly pitched five scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh 2-1 on Tuesday, spoiling the Pirates’ home opener. Smyly also signed a $10 million, two-year contract with the Cubs in December 2017, but he never pitched for Chicago. Pirates: RHP Luis Oviedo (right ankle sprain) began an injury rehabilitation assignment at Low-A Bradenton on Sunday and pitched one scoreless inning. Pirates: RHP Zach Thompson (3-7, 3.24 ERA in 2021) makes his debut for Pittsburgh after being acquired from Miami in an offseason trade.

Seiya Suzuki homered twice, Drew Smyly pitched five scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh 2-1, spoiling the Pirates’ home opener.

Shohei Ohtani pitched seven strong innings and hit an early RBI single as the Los Angeles Angels earned a 6-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Shohei Ohtani became the sixth player to reach the upper deck of T-Mobile Park with a majestic blast for his 33rd homer, but Mitch Haniger’s two-out grand slam in the eighth inning lifted the Seattle Mariners over the Los Angeles Angels 7-3.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5, ending a four-game losing streak.

Bauer wound up pitching three scoreless innings with the creative approach, striking out three while allowing two hits and a walk. Known for speaking his mind and going his own way, Bauer said he regularly shuts one eye during bullpen sessions and other workouts. METS 6, ASTROS 1 (6)Jacob deGrom pitched two scoreless innings in his spring debut, striking out three and allowing one hit. AdBLUE JAYS 7, PHILLIES 1 (7)Newcomer Tanner Roark made his first start for Toronto, allowing one hit in two scoreless innings. Jorge López threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Hoyer insisted the Chicago Cubs are taking a different approach this time. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)CHICAGO – Jed Hoyer insists this time won't be like 2011 for the Chicago Cubs. Along the way, Cubs fans endured a painful rebuild that included a 101-loss 2012 season. “We know that we're coming to the end of this group of players — a wildly successful, franchise-changing run with this group of players,” Hoyer said. "We haven't gotten extensions, and as a result, there are contractual realities to how long we control some of these players,” Hoyer said.

The NL Central-leading Cubs were assured a spot in the expanded playoff field when Philadelphia was swept in a doubleheader at Washington. It was Stallings’ third home run of the season and the third game-ending hit of his career. Anthony Rizzo’s two-run homer in the eighth inning had pulled the Cubs into a tie at 2-all. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on RBI doubles by Erik Gonzalez in the second inning and Adam Frazier in the fifth. Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (1-8, 6.70) has lost five straight decisions since getting his lone win Aug. 13 at Cincinnati.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Alec Mills reacts after throwing a no hitter at a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)MILWAUKEE – Alec Mills cruised through baseball's second no-hitter this season, shutting down the Milwaukee Brewers for the Chicago Cubs' 16th no-hitter in a 12-0 victory Sunday. Baez completed the play, and the Cubs swarmed around Mills, tearing off his cap and pulling at the smiling right-hander's uniform. His five strikeouts are the fewest in a Cubs no-hitter since Ken Holtzman in 1969. Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano has thrown the only no-hitter at Miller Park, against the Houston Astros on Sept. 14, 2008.

Chicago Cubs' Willson Contreras hits a solo home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)DETROIT Jonathan Schoop hit a grand slam in a five-run sixth inning as the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs 7-1 on Tuesday night. The Tigers have won three of five since a nine-game losing streak dropped them out of serious postseason contention. Turnbull walked the leadoff hitter in the sixth but retired the next two before he was replaced by Bryan Garcia. The Tigers put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth.