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PHILADELPHIA — There should have been champagne flowing, at least a beer shower, or perhaps a classy toast Monday night in Trea Turner’s historic game.

The Philadelphia Phillies shortstop hits two home runs for the 200^th of his career. He hits a double for the 300^th of his career. He produces three hits and drives in five runs.

He’s the hero in the Phillies’ 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in perhaps a mid-October preview at Citizen Bank Park.

So, surrounded by a sea of reporters and camera crews in the clubhouse after the game, just what is the second question asked?

“What’s going on defensively?’’

Welcome to Philly, baby.

Turner was heavily booed by the crowd of 40,265 at Citizens Bank Park in the first inning when he booted a potential inning-ending grounder. He botched two more plays that could have easily been ruled errors instead of hits later in the game. And then got a Bronx cheer when he cleanly fielded Teoscar Hernandez’s ground ball and threw to first baseman Bryce Harper for the game’s final out.

What have you done for me lately?

"Obviously, Trey swung the bat really well," Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. "He didn’t catch it as well."

The A’s got back in the win column on Monday evening in Arizona, beating the Diamondbacks 5-2 behind a solid performance from tonight’s starting pitcher, . On offense it was death by 13 singles plus a pair of home runs. Just how we all expected it to go.

It was left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the bump for the road team this evening. His first half wasn’t what he or the team had hoped for but with the All-Star Break comes a chance to reset. Springs certainly looked like he needed it after his great performance tonight.

The lefty was on fire early in Arizona, allowing just two singles, a double, and one walk through the first five innings, relying on weak contact to keep Arizona from getting anything going for much of the game. This was the guy that showed up for the first couple weeks of the season before disappearing for a few months.

He got a little bit of run support early as well. After an uneventful top of the first against D-backs rookie starter Mitch Bratt, rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer led things off in the second with his first career home run, a booming shot to left-center field to give the A’s a 1-0 lead:

Get that man that ball! That’s certainly the first of many for the 23-year-old, who would finish the day 2-for-3 and is now hitting .417/.435/.583 through his first 60 at bats. Unfortunately he would later depart tonight’s game after taking a hit to a… rather sensitive area. He momentarily stayed in but was eventually replaced by Donovan Walton in the top of the sixth. Outfielder Colby Thomas also departed tonight’s game after getting hit by a pitch on the wrist in the third inning. Hopefully they’ll both be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.

After a couple more quiet innings of work from Springs he would get more help a bit later in the form of another solo shot, this one coming off the bat of shortstop Jacob Wilson:

That was just his sixth of the year but his second in the past three games. He’s never going to be a huge power threat but these blasts every now and then are good for keeping pitchers on their toes with him.

Springs would finish the fifth up 2-0 and that probably should have been it for him in this one. Instead manager Mark Kotsay wanted to squeeze one more inning of work out of the veteran left-hander and it backfired. Springs faced three batters in the sixth and it went: double, 2-run home run, single. Only then did Kotsay decide to come get his starter, who would depart this one responsible for the runner on first.

• Jeffrey Springs: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 78 pitches

All of his work undone in the final five minutes, A tough end to an otherwise solid and encouraging start for Springs here in the second half. While the club is nearly out of contention there might be interested suitors for a lefty such as Springs and tonight’s strong outing certainly could have boosted interest in his services. He’ll likely have a few more starts in the Green & Gold and his next start is lined up to be this weekend in Minnesota against the Twins.

Kotsay decided to switch things up on the Diamondbacks and went from the lefty Springs to right-hander Luis Medina. He walked a tightrope thanks to a throwing error by Langeliers on a stolen base but he managed to get himself out of the jam with a lineout to center. This game would be up to the bullpens.

The A’s offense didn’t wait around. With the game now tied the bats rallied. Back-to-back singles started things off but then a bunt pop out and strikeout had the A’s on the verge of wasting those hits. Tommy White stepped to the plate with two outs and (thanks to some hustle and replay assistance) collected the third single on a comebacker to the pitcher. Kotsay decided to pinch-hit Jeff McNeil for Alika Williams in this bases-loaded, two-out situation. It was the right button to press as McNeil rewarded him with a two-run single to retake the lead for the Athletics:

Doesn’t get much more clutch than that! An absolutely massive hit off the veteran infielder’s bat for the squad. The A’s managed to plate one more after that as well thanks to a wild pinch that let White come in to score. 5-2 A’s with nine outs to go.

Medina stayed in the game and handled a second inning of work for the seventh, lefty Jose Suarez had a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. Hogan Harris came on for the save opportunity and ran into some trouble by letting the tying run come to the plate, but managed to get a strikeout looking to end the game and secure his seventh save of the year.

A quality win all-around for the guys, and a much needed one. The squad has their second win of the second half. A strong start from Springs, paired with the bats waking up for 15 hits (13 of which were singles) was enough to get the job done in this one. A couple of the rookies had big games as Kuroda-Grauer had his first big fly and White went 4-for-5. The club now sits at 43-57 a hundred games into the season. The playoffs may be too far but there’s always fun playing spoiler for a team like Arizona who are fighting and clawing to keep playing in October.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. Right-hander Jack Perkins is set to get the ball for the first time in the second half, hoping for better results post-Break. The former well-regarded prospect has struggled immensely in his time in the rotation this season, posting a 8.10 ERA in his six starts after beginning the year in the bullpen. With the playoffs slipping away though the club can afford to let Perk work through his struggles at the big league level. Who knows, maybe he’ll figure it out in the second half and build himself into a legitimate option for next year’s starting rotation.

Arizona meanwhile has yet to announce their starter for tomorrow evening so we’ll have to keep an eye on how they want to tackle the A’s tomorrow. Stay tuned.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been described as resilient this season. Does that adjective still apply? No better way to find out than to see how the team would compete against the Los Angeles Angels after arguably their worst defeat of the season losing a 7-run lead in Arizona. Monday is a new day and Kyle Leahy led the troops into battle in Anaheim. However, the end of the game would bring back the disappointment from the day prior unfortunately.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 2nd inning when Jordan Walker smoked a double off of the left field wall to leadoff the inning. Lars Nootbaar followed Jordan’s double with a single to left giving the Cardinals runners at first and third with no outs. After Masyn Winn struck out, Nathan Church ripped a single to right scoring Walker and giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

Blaze Jordan then grounded out to third on a ball that Angels third baseman Guzman couldn’t come up with cleanly which allowed Nootbaar to score from third on the fielder’s choice giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

The LA Angels cut the Cardinals lead in half in the bottom of the 3rd inning Jo Adell turned an 86 mph curveball that caught too much of the plate into a no-doubt 389 foot home run into the left field seats making it 2-1 Cardinals after 3 innings.

Potentially key play of the game happened in the top of the 4th inning when Nathan Church hit a 2-out double, but came off the base sliding into second where the safe call on the field was overturned on the Angels challenge.

Neither the Cardinals or Angels scored in the middle innings, but St. Louis had some loud outs including a 96 mph four-seam fastball that Alec Burleson barreled in the top of the 6th inning with an exit velocity of 106 mph that landed in Mike Trout’s glove at the top of the centerfield wall. Jordan Walker followed Burleson’s loud out with one of his own also to center for a line drive out that ended the Cardinals 6th inning.

Kyle Leahy did give the Cardinals a quality start even though he got minimal run support through the first 6 innings. He only allowed 3 hits, struck out 4 and didn’t walk anyone. Very nice.

Ryne Stanek walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the 7th inning, but for once that didn’t come back to cause issues as he held the Angels scoreless as he got a strikeout, pop-out and line-out to end the Los Angeles 7th.

George Soriano was tasked by manager Oli Marmol to maintain the Cardinals one-run lead in the bottom of the 8th inning. He was greeted by a very loud single by Jo Adell who ripped one of his 89 mph changeups to left leading off the inning. George struck out Guzman looking with a 86 mph sweeper. Meckler then ripped a changeup lineout to Burleson at first on a ball that looked like it hit the dirt, but it was ruled a lineout, but Alec was unable to double up Adell. It fortunately wouldn’t matter after Neto flew out innocently to Walker in right to end the Angels 8th inning.

I can’t speak for Cardinals Nation as a whole, but pretty sure a majority of us would feel better if the team could have added to their one-run lead in the top of the 9th inning. Unfortunately, Iván Herrera struck out (for the 4th time tonight) followed by a whiff from Alec Burleson. Jordan Walker managed a two-out walk and then stole second to get into scoring position. Lars Nootbaar came close to bumping up the lead as he drove a 90 mph slider to the left field wall, but it was tracked down by Angels outfield Josh Lowe for the final out of the Cardinals 9th inning.

Riley O’Brien came in to secure the win for the St. Louis Cardinals, but is that how it would turn out? The TV crew shared the stunning stat the the Los Angeles Angels were 0-48 when trailing after 8 innings. Future Hall-of-Famer Mike Trout led off for the Angels. O’Brien struck him out with a nasty 96 mph sinker. Nolan Schanuel was next up for LA and he ripped a solid single into right-center giving the Angels the tying run on base and the potential winning run at the plate in the form of Jorge Soler. Soler was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts in the game up to that point. After running the count full, Riley plunked Soler giving the Angels runners at first and second with just one out. Vaughan Grissom nearly ended the game with a ball that slammed off of the right field wall scoring pinch-runner Peraza tying the game 2-2. The umpires held a review that confirmed the ball was not a home run, so the Cardinals were given a brief reprieve. The Cardinals intentionally walked Josh Lowe to load the bases in hopes of a double-play to send the game to extras. That left the game in the balance as Jo Adell walked up to the plate having homered earlier in the game. Riley did the unthinkable and threw 4 straight balls with the last one hitting Adell giving the Angels a disastrous walk-off win. This, my fellow Cardinals brothers and sisters, is the low point of the season right here.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to find a way to crawl out of this hole with a Tuesday night clash versus the Los Angeles Angels. Matthew Liberatore will start for the Cardinals while the Angels will give the ball to Walbert Ureña. First pitch is scheduled for 8:38pm central time at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Game TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

Making it to the big leagues is always a special feat, but nothing compares to hitting your first career home run.

That special moment came in the second inning for the Athletics' third baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer in his first plate appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, July 20.

Kuroda-Grauer approached the plate in the top of the second inning when he faced a 91-mph four-seam pitch from Mitch Bratt, who made his MLB debut just five days before Kuroda-Grauer.

The A's 23-year-old prospect took it yard, sending it back 416 feet across left-center field for a solo home run, the first in his major-league career.

Kuroda-Grauer was selected by the A's with the 75th overall pick in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He was called up from the Las Vegas Aviators on June 29 and has yet to look back. In his first 15 major-league games, Kuroda-Grauer has shown consistency and signs of a high-level slugger.

He followed up his homer with a gutsy base hit, but not before he could demonstrate his grit and toughness. Kuroda-Grauer was back at the plate at the top of the fifth inning when he swung at a pitch that resulted in a foul ball. The ball ricocheted off his bat and straight down to his midsection, right below the waist. Yes, that tender area that is usually protected in baseball with a cup in the under garments.

Kuroda-Grauer was down for bit but bounced back to deliver a line drive to right-center for a single.

Kuroda-Grauer was replaced defensively at third base by Donovan Walton in the bottom of the seventh inning, finishing with a batting line of 2-for-3 to push his batting average to .417.

The Athletics won the game, 5-2.

Mariners 8, Reds 0

Being on this side of it: Victor Robles, .12 WPA; George Kirby, .34 WPA

Being on that side of it: Buddy Kennedy, -.09 WPA no one is bad all mariners are good tonight

Game thread comment of the day:

It took 10 innings about three and a half hours, but the Tigers beat the Cubs 8-6.

After dropping the final game of their series against the Angels, the Tigers were hoping to have a good series against the Chicago Cubs, knowing they can’t really afford to lose multiple games in a row. To get the job done, they had Jack Flaherty on the mound and he was squaring off against James Taillon for the Cubs. The game got underway about thirty minutes late thanks to the threat of rain.

In his first game back, Gleyber Torres got a one-out single in the first. Colt Keith then doubled, and on his heels, Riley Greene hit a three-run homer.

Hot on his heels, Dillon Dingler homered as well, getting the score to 4-0.

Two outs followed, but it was an ideal start to the game for the Tigers. Flaherty had it pretty easy in the bottom of the inning going 1-2-3. He owed quite a bit of that to his defense, including this incredible play by Kevin McGonigle.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in top of the second. In the bottom of the inning Ian Happ got a one-out walk, then Nico Hoerner singled. Two outs followed, though, getting Flaherty out of an early-inning jam.

It was another three-up, three-down inning for the Tigers in the third. In the home half, Flaherty wasn’t so lucky. Miguel Amaya singled to start the inning, then with one out Seiya Suzuki homered, bringing two runs in. Immediately after him Michael Busch homered to almost the exact same place. While Flaherty did manage to get out of the inning, the score was 4-3 at the end of the third.

Dingler did his best to add some runs in the fourth with a leadoff single, but unfortunately his teammates left him stranded, going down in order after his single. In the home half, Dansby Swanson walked with two outs. Flaherty did manage to get through the final batter without any runs scoring and even had a nice strikeout to wrap up Amaya. When he’d dialled in, his stuff is nasty. Unfortunately, when he’s not dialled in you get back-to-back home runs into center, so it really is a Tale of Two Flahertys.

Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk in the fifth. Gleyber Torres then walked, and that was it for Taillon. Ryan Rolison came in to replace him. A pinch-hitting Hao-Yu Lee came in and did exactly what Hinch wanted him to, hitting a little bloop single to left to load the bases. Riley Greene then hit into a force out, getting McGonigle out at home. Despite their best opportunity all game to break things wide open, Dingler lined out to end the inning.

Flaherty’s day was done after four, not a big surprise given his elevated pitch count and his inconsistent performance. His final line for the game was 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR on 82 pitches. If two of his hits hadn’t been for home runs (and Wrigley can be a very home run-friendly park when the wind blows the right way) his outing wouldn’t have looked quite so bad, but the results are what they are. Drew Sommers replaced him. Suzuki got a one-out walk. With two outs, Alex Bregman singled, thanks to Lee not quite being able to make anything happen with a ball hit right to him. Dingler then came through with a throw over to second, getting Suzuki out to end the inning.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out in the home half, Jacob Waguespack replaced Sommers. He gave up a two-out single to Pedro Ramirez, but was able to get out of the jam.

Gavin Hollowell was the new Cubs’ reliever in the seventh. McGonigle got a one-out double. Then Torres singled, but McGonigle held at third base. Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch after the second out of the inning, specifically to face Greene, and it turned out to be a good move because he got the final out of the inning. Waguespack got the first two outs of the seventh before the Tigers turned to Kyle Finnegan to take on Suzuki. He induced a ground ball out to end the inning.

The Cubs dipped back into their bullpen for the eighth for Tyler Ferguson, who gave up a leadoff home run to Dillon Dingler. His third multi-homer game since June.

Three outs in a row followed, but Dingler had helped boost the lead for the first time since the first inning. In the home half Alex Bregman got a one-out single, then Ian Happ homered, tying up the game. Two outs followed, but the results were less than ideal. Really death by home run on both sides today.

Jacob Webb came in for the ninth. With two outs, Torres walked (though the Cubs did attempt the ABS challenge, it was upheld). Matt Vierling came in to run for Torres, and it was up to Lee. Lee, sadly, hit into a force out to end the inning. Kenley Jansen was in for the ninth, which was certainly a choice given the wind. Swanson hit a leadoff double. One out put Swanson on third. After a meeting on the mound, Pete Crow-Armstrong was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners. PCA advanced to second on defensive indifference. Busch worked a walk after seeing a lot of pitches. With the bases loaded and a three-ball start, Jansen somehow got Bregman out to end the inning and force extras.

Riley Greene singled to start the tenth, putting runners on the corners thanks to the ghost runner, but he also hit Thornton with a comebacker to the foot, forcing the Cubs back to their bullpen. Javier Assad came in to replace him. Dingler worked the count and then hit a single to left, scoring Lee to push the Tigers into the lead. In what should have been a textbook double-play off the bat of Kerry Carpenter, Hoerner just couldn’t field it and somehow the bases were safely loaded. Carpenter was pulled for a pinch runner, looking like he might have hurt himself getting to first. Torkelson then laced a hit dead center, and scored two more runs with Ben Malgeri safely on third.

With two outs, Assad intentionally walked McGonigle to load the bases. The Tigers managed to squander a great additional opportunity, leaving three on, but they did score three to retake the lead. Tyler Holton would be the man responsible for holding that lead. With one out, Hoerner singled, putting runners at the corners. Ramirez grounded into a force out, scoring Bregman but eliminating Hoerner. Swanson singled, and thanks to an error by Outman who literally dropped the ball, Ramirez ended up at third. Former Tiger Carson Kelly grounded out to end the inning, probably one of the best things he’s ever done for Detroit, and the game blessedly ended with a Tigers win.

Final: Tigers 8, Cubs 6 (F/10)

The hot-and-cold nature of the Sox offense as of late gave a fizzled first-inning rally an ominous feeling. Sam Antonacci drew a rare leadoff walk against Jacob deGrom, and just a few pitches later a Munetaka Murakami double had him standing 90 feet from home. Yet some baserunning butchery saw the game remain scoreless into the bottom of the first, when Joc Pederson welcomed Erick Fedde back to a pure starting role with a 423-foot blast to lead off the Rangers half of the game.

Facing down a future Hall-of-Famer who had already worked his way out of one jam felt like a tall task. Yet thanks to repeated rally-sparking efforts from Antonacci, more lasers from Miguel Vargas, some Andrew Benintendi bases-loaded magic and a ninth inning cascade of hits, the Sox walked away with a resounding 10-3 win, their 52nd of the season, fourth in five tries, and seventh of their last eight.

Pederson’s homer wasn’t the only time Fedde let the Rangers get to him, as he was also tagged for an additional run in the third inning on a string of base hits from the top of the Texas lineup. But Fedde kept the Rangers off the board for two additional innings, and there are many worse outcomes than getting four innings of two-run ball from the 2026 version of Erick Fedde. So the decision to pull him for Chris Murphy after just 64 pitches felt apt. With a three-run lead, why play with fire? Murphy was able to handle the bottom of the Rangers lineup handily, which leaving 11 outs for the high-leverage part of the Sox bullpen to handle.

Oh yeah, before we get to that, the other thing. When Fedde departed his half of the fourth, the Sox still faced a 2-1 deficit, having clawed back a run thanks to some hustle from Antonacci on a Vargas double down the line. By the time Fedde was scheduled to go out again, the Sox offense had driven deGrom from the game and turned a one-run deficit into a three-run lead.

The rally was sparked by Tristan Peters and — who else? — Antonacci, who attacked a first-pitch slider from deGrom to drive in the former after he led off the inning with a double against the former Mets ace. Antonacci moved to second on a four-pitch walk to Munetaka Murakami, and then third on Vargas’s second hit of the night. Just when it looked as if deGrom was on the verge of escaping once again, Benintendi — who entered the night 0-for-8 against the 38-year-old for his career — had other plans.

Benintendi has been fantastic with the bases loaded for his entire career, hitting .365 with 16 sacrifice flies, 13 walks, and just eight strikeouts entering today. That double made for 100 RBIs in 116 appearances with the sacks packed. Not bad!

The bright offensive night was darkened, however, by an as-yet unspecified ankle injury to Kyle Teel, who left the game after a play at the plate in the third inning. Ominously, he was unable to put any weight on the ankle, needing to be helped off the field as Drew Romo put on his gear. Romo finished the game 1-for-4 at the plate, which actually brings his average up to .134 on the season. Per Baseball FR’s Francys Romero, Edgar Quero is already on the plane to DFW, so to speak.

Unfortunately, the Sox couldn’t even escape from the rest of the game unscathed, as Colson Montgomery was removed in the seventh inning after fouling a ball off his shin. He’s reportedly day-to-day with a contusion. At the very least, his replacement, Luisangel Acuña, was the one who all but put the game away with a soft two-run single in the ninth to extend the lead to five.

The seventh inning also gave us our first game action look at erstwhile farmhand Ben Peoples, who worked to a sterling 2.39 ERA in Charlotte before being dealt to Texas last month in a trade that remains as head-scratching now as it did then. Peoples worked a 1-2-3 inning to lower his ERA to 2.84 over his first 6 1/3 innings as a big-leaguer.

In one of the more poetic instances of the announcer’s jinx I’ve heard recently, Dan Plesac was unable to finish the sentence “Seranthony Domínguez is on to try to get the Sox through the seventh inning” before Domínguez coughed up a mammoth home run to Jake Burger, who’s now homered three times in 10 games against the club that drafted him 11th overall in 2017.

Domínguez did recover, to his credit, to post a hassle-free 1-2-3 effort after that, and though Sean Newcomb ran into a little bit of trouble, he kept the Rangers off the board in the eighth. Before the Sox started tacking on their five last-ditch insurance runs courtesy of Acuña, Vargas, pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk and Braden Montgomery, it looked like Grant Taylor would be getting another chance to solidify himself as a closer in the more traditional sense. Instead, the extra breathing room gave Taylor some extra rest, allowing Trevor Richards to come on for the final three outs.

With Cleveland’s equally resounding 13-4 win over Minnesota, the Sox remain a game up in the AL Central, and they’re now a season-high seven games better than .500. This graph does not include today’s game, yet the arrow is still as high as I’ve seen it in a few election cycles, so I’ll still post it.

We’ll be back with you tomorrow evening as Noah Schultz tries to secure another series win against a to-be-announced starter for the Rangers. First pitch is once again at 7:05 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!

MVP
Sam Antonacci: 2-for-3, BB, 2 R, RBI

Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas 1: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Andrew Benintendi: 1-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI
Sox Bullpen: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Cold Cat
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 2 K, left game w/ shin contusion

Everyone else had at least one run or one run batted in, let’s not get cute, will we?

Entering Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was hitting .224 with a .705 OPS -- not what New York saw out of him last season, nor what Chisholm expects out of himself.

Still, there were signs that he was beginning to come alive from his season-long slump, including a four-game hitting streak and a late go-ahead home run to break a 1-1 tie with the Dodgers Sunday night.

Then came Monday’s series opener, where Chisholm hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat, giving him back-to-back home runs in consecutive at-bats, to put the Yanks up 4-0. For an encore, the slugger mashed his second home run of the night in the third inning, this one a two-run shot, that gave him 16 on the season and three in as many AB's.

“He’s capable of that,” manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “When he gets it rolling he’s capable of big things and obviously that was a big night for him and for us tonight.”

New York needed every bit of Chisholm’s massive night in what ended as an 8-5 win after starter Ryan Weathers struggled early but gave the Yanks for 4.2 innings in a game where the bullpen was short.

Chisholm’s two-home run performance now gives him a five-game hitting streak, eight hits (four home runs) in his last seven games, and an .815 slugging percentage over that span as well. And after a dismal June, Chisholm is batting .260 with an .856 OPS in July -- much more similar to his numbers last season.

Even though the results haven’t been there consistently for the 28-year-old, who went as far to say his season “sucked” recently, he knows there’s still plenty of time to salvage the rest of his regular season.

“There’s still two and a half months [in the season], like there’s a lot that can happen in two and a half months, especially on a baseball field,” Chisholm said. “So for me, I feel like it’s more than enough time to just flip the whole season around.”

At the same time, Chisholm is less focused on his personal numbers and concentrating more on helping his team win. On Monday night, he did that in a big way.

“I just wanna win,” he said. “Honestly that’s all I’m feeling. Like I’m going up there and trying to just help my team win. In the first at-bat I wasn’t trying to hit a home run, I was just trying to hit a fly ball to the outfield, get the run in and it happened to just go out.”

Still, the Yankees and Boone know that in order for them to win, Chisholm needs to perform, especially with the continued absence of Aaron Judge. 

Speaking of Judge, he and nearly the rest of the team gave Chisholm a boost of confidence recently by telling him that he’s the best player in the world, something Chisholm tells himself all the time, but as his struggles worsened, became harder to believe.

Then he hit that home run on Sunday and things changed for Chisholm.

“It gave me a lot of confidence, I can say that,” he said. “I mean it’s always nice when you are successful. For me, it gave me a lot. A good boost.”

With two more long balls on Monday, Chisholm has found his power stroke and is a dangerous hitter in the middle of New York’s lineup. It also brought his OPS up to .726 which is as high as it’s been in nearly a month.

What’s also impressive about the recent home runs is they all came on different pitches – fastball, curveball and slider, meaning Chisholm is seeing the ball really well.

“When he’s going good he’s a game changer,” Boone said. He can beat you in a lot of different ways. So we need it. We need him to get going like we know he’s capable of and go on one of those runs that we’ve seen him do a lot here over these last couple of years.”

Aside from the low average, Chisholm is still impacting the game, including with his 26 stolen bases, 43 RBI and 51 runs scored in 95 games.

“He’s in position here, with a couple of good months, to be right in line with what he’s had in the last couple of seasons,” Boone said. “It’s a long season, you go through a lot of different things. Hitting is as hard as ever, but he’s in position to hopefully go out and do something special for us the rest of the way.”

Down to their last out, the San Francisco Giants rallied to tie the game on a two-run, 380-foot home run from Willy Adames. Then the Kansas City Royals walked them off with two bunts that traveled about 38 feet each.

The Royals sent the Giants to their third straight loss after Nick Loftin bunted home Josh Rojas for a walkoff, 4-3 win. Rojas singled off Caleb Killian (2-6, not a great record for a closer!), then Tyler Tolbert reached on a bunt when the Giants tried and failed to force Rojas at second base. Rojas went to third on a fly ball to center, and then Loftin’s squeeze bunt succeeded, despite him bunting his first attempt foul.

Bryce Eldridge couldn’t handle the bunt in his rush to nail Rojas, but Daniel Susac wasn’t really standing in the right spot to take his throw anyway. Just like how Adames wasn’t standing on second base on the attempted force play. It wasn’t the proudest defensive inning.

It was almost an inspiring night in Kansas City. The non-Killian members of the bullpen delivered four shutout innings after starter Trevor McDonald left after suffering elbow discomfort while warming up for the 5th. JT Brubaker threw 2.1 innings and Dylan Smith bailed him out when he got in trouble in the 7th. The mustachioed Jason Foley remained perfect in his second appearance, working a 1-2-3 8th.

Drew Gilbert got McDonald out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the second inning by gunning down Lane Thomas at the plate.

Susac had two hits. Bryce Eldridge struck out three times, but drew a walk to maintain his eight-game on-base streak that he probably doesn’t realize he even has. Bobby Witt, Jr. left the game with lower back tightness, which actually seems cruel to list as a positive for the Giants, but it’s a three-game series and they need all the help they can get. And Heliot Ramos delivered his first extra-base hit in two weeks when he opened the scoring with a home run in the 4th inning, his ninth of the season, launching the ball 430 feet and nearly hitting it into the weird outfield fountain.

McDonald got into trouble because, like Eleanor of Aquitaine, he just couldn’t stop drilling Royals. He loaded the bases in the second by hitting Salvador Perez with an errant slider, then put Vinnie Pasquantino on first when another slider got away from him. Perez took revenge two pitches later.

It was Perez’s 316th career homer — putting him just one behind George Brett on the Royals’ all-time home run list. Mike Sweeney, Amos Otis, and Alex Gordon are third through fifth, but they’re 120 or more behind Perez and Brett.

Kansas City got their third run later in the inning when Michael Massey doubled and Isaac Collins singled him home. McDonald left after that, having yielded eight base runners in four innings with four hits, two walks, and two hit batsmen.

Meanwhile, Royals starter Michael Wacha shut down the Giants for six innings, besides Ramos’ big fly. He gave up two singles, two walks, and a massive dinger, with all those hits coming with two outs.

You probably remember Wacha from the 2014 St. Louis Cardinals, when he came into Game 5 of the NLCS in relief and gave up a series-winning home run to Travis Ishikawa.

The top of the 9th inning was as inspiring as the bottom was a bummer. After Rafael Devers and Ramos both struck out, Jung Hoo Lee singled off Alex Lange, who got the rare blown save/win combination, then Adames hit when out the opposite way for his 18th homer.

But the 2026 San Francisco Giants cannot have nice things, so it all fell apart. With bunts. They continue to find new and innovative ways to lose, so at least it’s not boring.

The Nationals entered the day tied with the New York Yankees with MLB-leading 144 home runs. They hit three against the Rockies on Monday, helping Washington earn a victory and pass New York atop the HR team standings.

Two of their homers came against Kyle Freeland (2-9, 7.28 ERA) and accounted for four runs, which ended up to be enough in the end.

The Rockies were held to six hits on the night. All three of their runs came in the third inning before the offense went cold, despite Denver hitting 100 degrees earlier in the day.

Colorado dropped to 40-62 with the loss, while Washington improved to 51-50.

Nats start off hot

Freeland got in trouble early when he walked the first batter he faced, James Woods, and then gave up a single to Curtis Mead. That set the table for Andrés Chaparro to take advantage of the 90-degree first-pitch temperature and blast a three-run homer 427 feet to left field and put Washington up 3-0.

Freeland recovered and got out of the first without giving up another run.

“Three-run homer three hitters into the game — after that, I thought he pitched angry and he pitched well,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said of Freeland’s performance. “He competed and he kept us right in that ballgame.”

He also got help from an outstanding diving catch by Kyle Karros to leave the third without further damage.

That continued through the fifth inning. In the sixth, Freeland surrendered a solo homer to Jacob Young. The bomb put Washington up 4-3. Freeland held the Nationals at bay in the rest of the inning and through the sixth. He was pulled from the game entering the seventh with a line of four runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

“You can do one of two things when you get punched in the face early in the game: You can quit or you can dig down deep and keep your team in the game,” Schaeffer said. “He’s had a lot of experience doing that here in Coors because you all know how Coors operates. So he kept us right in the game and gave us a chance to come back and win it. Great job by Kyle Freeland tonight. He gave us six innings too.”

Freeland credited his catcher in helping with his mental fortitude and his de

“A lot goes to Braxton [Fulford] behind the dish, making sure to keep my head in the game. … He did an incredible job of that tonight,” Freeland said. “The defense tonight was absolutely incredible. Down three early, it’s easy not to cash it in, but know that you have a mountain to climb, but the defense was spectacular. Karros at third, Willi [Castro], Jake McCarthy covering a bunch of ground out there, TJ [Rumfield] picking at first. The guys around me definitely kept me going.”

Here’s one example of the ground McCarthy covered.

Castro comes through on 2nd chance

The Rockies had a chance to strike back in the bottom of the first when they loaded the bases after a McCarthy single and walks by Karros and Hunter Goodman. With Cole Carrigg flying out in between, Rumfield couldn’t capitalize when he struck out. That brought Castro to the plate, but he flied out to right field and the Rockies came up empty.

Luckily, Castro got another chance with the bases loaded in the third inning and he took advantage. This time, singles by McCarthy and Carrigg, along with a Rumfield walk, loaded the bases with two outs. Castro came up and smoked the first pitch he saw to center field, where it hit off the Bridich Barrier for a three-run double to tie the game.

That’s all the Rockies could manage off Washington’s lefty starter Andrew Alvarez, who was pulled in the fifth inning. He gave up three runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. The Rockies had their chances with runners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but Castro’s hit was the lone tally in a 1-for-8 with RISP performance.

Battle of the bullpens

Antonio Senzatela relieved Freeland in the seventh inning and the Nationals jumped on the righty immediately.

Wood singled and Senzatela seemed to be back in control after striking out Curtis Mead and getting pinch-hitter Daylen Lile to ground out in a fielder’s choice, but CJ Abrams had other ideas. He sent a low curveball 420 feet to right-center field for his 22nd homer of the season. The shot gave Washington a 6-3 lead.

Juan Mejia threw a scoreless eighth despite giving up a leadoff single to Young. But Young was erased when he tried to steal second and Brett Sullivan threw him out on a safe call the Rockies had to challenge and successfully overturned. He also notched a strikeout.

In the ninth, Victor Vodnik also gave up a leadoff single, but then quickly got two outs. But Lile tripled for an insurance run that seemed to take the sails out of any would-be comeback for the Rockies.

The Nationals, on the other hand, used four relievers over the final five innings and they held the Rockies hitless and scoreless. For the MLB’s most productive team in the eighth and ninth innings, Colorado had no answers on Monday night.

Up Next

The Rockies and Nationals will face off again on Tuesday night.

The Rockies will send RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.22) to the mound, while RHP Miles Mikolas (3-7, 5.53) will get the start for the Nationals. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. MDT.

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The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Chicago White Sox scored ten runs.

The Rangers were perhaps simply outclassed by a better team this evening. That’s a hilarious notion facing the White Sox of this recent era but former Bruce Bochy sidekick Will Venable has the South Siders atop the AL Central and playing good ball.

The Rangers, meanwhile, remain the picture of inconsistency until further notice.

The Rangers actually held a 2-0 lead in this game with a run apiece in the first two innings. That’s usually a solid sign of an impending victory but even so, Jacob deGrom wasn’t exactly inspiring confidence before he eventually cratered to allow four runs in the top of the fifth.

The Rangers had just two opportunities with RISP against Chicago starter Erick Fedde and left one on base. The White Sox, meanwhile, had ten chances with RISP against deGrom and capitalized on three of them with a two-out bases loaded double from Andrew Benintendi being the big blow as deGrom finally broke after spending much of his brief outing bending.

The Rangers pulled to within two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a Jake Burger solo dong but the White Sox put the game to bed with five more runs in the top of the ninth off a floundering Jose Corniell.

The Rangers have played 100 games in 2026. They’ve won 50 of them and have lost 50 of them. Take a coin out of your pocket and flip it. Heads, the Rangers win. Tails, the Rangers lose.

It was a tails kind of night tonight.

Player of the Game: After deGrom wiggled out of a runners on second and third, zero out jam in the top of the first, Joc Pederson led off the Texas half with a solo home run. Things seemed pretty promising in that moment, but alas.

Up Next: The Rangers and White Sox are back at it tomorrow night. Texas hasn’t listed a starter but Chicago will opt for LHP Noah Schultz.

The Tuesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can watch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Much like his entire first season with the Mets, Freddy Peralta’s first game back in Milwaukee didn’t go as planned. 

Simply put, other than his ovations from Brewers fans, it was ugly for Peralta.

The right-hander was greeted rudely by his old teammates, as they immediately made him pay for a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the first, striking for the first two runs of the ballgame.

21-year-old rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt jumped him for his first career homer in the second, then Andrew Vaughn got him for a two out two-run shot in the third to make it a 5-1 game.

Peralta had to battle to strand a man in scoring position as he posted his first scoreless frame in the fourth, then he followed that with his only perfect inning of the night. 

The Mets pushed him too far in the sixth, though, and he ultimately ran out of steam.

After a walk and single put runners on the corners with one out, Xzavion Curry entered and immediately served up a three-run homer to add even further damage on his line.

Overall, Peralta allowed seven runs on eight hits and a pair of walks over 5.1 innings.

“It’s frustrating for him, he desperately wants to be great,” interim manager Andy Green said. “Today he backed up some spin, he hasn’t had much trouble with that but got hit on those, and didn’t get the fastball up when he needed.

“He clicked it in there in the fourth and the fifth and was heading in the right direction, then the sixth probably gave him too much of a leash -- it was good to see some positives, but obviously, not the outing we’re looking for.”

Peralta now holds the third-highest ERA among qualified pitchers through 21 starts (5.01), and he’s completed six-full innings just six times over that span. 

He still can't explain the continued struggles, but will continue to battle to figure it out. 

“I don’t understand it,” the 30-year-old said. “I feel good, the stuff feels good and everything is there -- I’ve been working to figure it out, I’m not going to give up -- just have to keep going through this and keep fighting.”

Freddy Peralta struggled in his return to Milwaukee tonight, and the offense could not figure anything out even after Jacob Misiorowski left the game after the fourth inning, resulting in an 8-3 loss.

Bo Bichette put to rest any hopes of a no-hitter for Misiorowski in the first inning as he broke his bat on an in-field single. Francisco Lindor also smacked a single into left field, but Jorge Polanco was called out on strikes to end the Mets’ first-inning bid immediately after. Peralta walked Jackson Chourio with one out, and then Brice Turang whacked a ball right over Jared Young’s head down into the corner of right field for an RBI double. After Peralta struck out William Contreras, Garrett Mitchell also smacked one into right field for an RBI single. By the time that Andrew Vaughn flied out to end the inning, Peralta’s pitch count was already 24, and the score was Brewers 2, Mets 0.

After the Mets batters went down in order in the second inning, Peralta started with a strikeout but then gave up a home run to Cooper Pratt. With two outs, Christian Yelich lined a double over Juan Soto’s head into right field, but Chourio grounded out to strand him there. At the top of the third inning, Francisco Alvarez drove the first pitch he saw into center field to reach first base. A.J. Ewing snuck one under Vaughn’s glove, reaching first on the error, and Alvarez made it to third base. Despite Soto grounding into a double play, Alvarez was able to score. Bichette worked a four-pitch walk with two outs, but Lindor flied out right after. With two outs in the bottom of the third, Mitchell hit a ground-rule double to left field, and Vaughn lofted a home run over Luis Robert, Jr.’s head in center field to increase the Brewers’ lead and bring the score to 5-1.

Young hit an infield single to third base in the fourth inning but was left there. When Pratt lined a single into left field, he proceeded to steal second base successfully because Brett Baty could not hold onto the throw from Alvarez. A couple batters later, Pratt got to third on a wild pitch from Peralta that glanced off the edge of Alvarez’s glove. Luckily, Peralta struck out Chourio to end the fourth inning, the first inning in which the Brewers had not scored.

At the top of the fifth inning, Craig Yoho replaced Misiorowski. Ewing drew a one-out walk, but Soto and Bichette both struck out after him. Peralta worked a 1-2-3 inning to end the fifth quickly and came back out for the sixth inning. After he got the first out, he walked Jake Bauers and allowed a single to Cooper Pratt, prompting his replacement by Xzavion Curry. Curry immediately gave up a three-run home run to Joey Ortiz, the Brewers’ third home run of the night. He walked Chourio, but struck out Turang to end the inning. Unfortunately, the score was now Brewers 8, Mets 1.

At the top of the eighth inning, Soto drew a one-out walk, and Bichette dropped a double into right field. Lindor grounded out, but Soto scored and Bichette pulled in at third base with two outs. Polanco then came through with an RBI single to right field that scored Bichette. Young grounded out to strand Polanco. Curry came out for the bottom of the eighth and retired all the batters in order, and despite a single and stolen base from Alvarez, the game ended with final score 8-3.

Mets will try again tomorrow with Zac Thornton on the mound. Brandon Sproat will be pitching for the Brewers, and first pitch is at 7:40 PM ET.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Freddy Peralta, -30% WPA
Mets pitchers: -32% WPA
Mets hitters: -18% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing reaches first on a fielding error, Francisco Alvarez goes to third base, +8.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Andrew Vaughn 2-run home run, -12.7% WPA