Shortstop Ezequiel Pena was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs

Iowa Cubs

Rained out. They’ll play a doubleheader on Saturday.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies defenestrated the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 6-2.

Connor Schultz pitched four innings and gave up just one run on three hits. The one run came on a solo home run in the fourth. Schultz struck out seven and walked just one.

Evan Taylor threw the next two innings, didn’t allow either a run or a hit and got the win. He struck out three and walked one.

Center fielder Andy Garriola hit a grand slam in the first inning, his tenth on the season. Garriola was 1 for 4.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas was 2 for 4 and scored once.

Left fielder Carter Trice was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Second baseman Ed Howard went 1 for 3 with an RBI double and a sac fly.

Garriola’s slam.

Howard’s RBI double.

A great catch by Trice.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were hijacked by the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 4-3.

Cole Reynolds pitched the first four innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Ben Johnson threw the next three innings and took the loss. Johnson allowed two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Second baseman Alex Madera went 2 for 3 and scored once.

A nice catch by left fielder Jose Escobar.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got bitten by the Charleston River Dogs (Rays), 9-5.

Hayden Frank started and got the loss. Frank made one big mistake—a three-run home run in the third inning. Frank allowed three runs on three hits over three innings. He walked two and struck out two.

First baseman Michael Carico hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth, his fourth of the season. Carico went 2 for 5.

DH Logan Poteet doubled twice in a 3 for 5 night. He drove in one run with a double in the seventh inning and scored once.

Second baseman Yahil Melendez also hit two doubles. He was 2 for 4 with a walk. He had three RBI.

Shortstop Derniche Valdez was 2 for 4 with a walk and one run scored.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Angels, 6-3.

The Dbacks were able to split the series with the Dodgers Thursday night thanks to some late inning heroics from none other than Ketel Marte and some terrific pitching from Ryne Nelson and the bullpen.

The Dbacks offense was stymied once again for 7 innings until Corbin Carrol hit a home run in the 8^th inning to get the Dbacks offense on the board. Torey Lovullo dropped Geraldo Perdomo from the 3 hole to the 7 spot against the lefty today, and in the 8^th inning he came through with a key hit, his second of the game, to tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the 9^th, Ketel Marte was due up second after going 0-4 previously in the game. However, 9^th inning Ketel Marte has been a whole different animal this season, and on the first pitch he saw from Tanner Scott Ketel Marte hit a ball 431 feet to send 41,000 fans into a frenzy as the Dbacks walked off the defending world series champions. Such a good moment for this team and for Ketel Marte! His 3^rd walkoff hit already of the season. According to Mark Grace in the postgame show, since May 17 Marte is now 4-7 with 4 HR vs left handed relievers.

Ryne Nelson dominated the defending world champs holding them to just 2 ER through 7 IP. Nelson did a phenomenal job of getting quick outs in this one keeping the pitch count super low with the exception of the 5^th inning due to some questionable defensive plays. The first being Nelson himself not covering first base on a ground ball from Max Muncy (more on that later) and the second being a bad route from Corbin Carroll in RF as he took way too shallow of a route to a ball in RF allowing the ball to soar over his head for an RBI double.

On the aforementioned Max Muncy ground ball to Ildemaro Vargas, Ryne Nelson was late to break to cover the bag and so Vargas sprinted to the base to get the out himself. However, Max Muncy gave Vargas a forearm shiver that was a blatant contact initiating move. From Muncy’s standpoint maybe he was in self defense mode from colliding with Vargas, however it was a very bad look as the replays clearly showed Muncy going out of his way to make contact with Vargas. According to Lovullo, Vargas’ xrays are all negative and he was all smiles in his office after the game and is day to day. Vargas said he would be ready to play tomorrow but it sounds like Lovullo will rest him tomorrow to give him some time to recover.

A split of this series to the Dodgers certainly feels like a decent outcome to the series and now the Dbacks will look to win the next series against the Nationals. It is worth noting that the Nationals offense has been pretty hot so far this season, however hopefully they can carry the momentum from this walkoff and the series split into the series.

PHOENIX –– There are no-doubters. And then there are the kind of thunderous swings Ketel Marte uncorked in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday night.

After leading by two runs entering the eighth inning, the Dodgers got walked off by the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday night.

The fatal blow: A first-pitch fastball from Tanner Scott that Marte absolutely crushed deep to left.

The ball sailed 431 feet, leaving Marte’s bat at a scorching 113 mph.

It was the culminating blow in a bullpen implosion from the Dodgers, who squandered a 2-0 lead by allowing three runs over the final two innings.

Will Klein was at fault for blowing the lead, making a mess of an eighth inning that began with a leadoff home run from Corbin Carroll. After that, Klein walked Gabriel Moreno, then gave up a one-out single to Ryan Waldschmidt.

Alex Vesia tried to come in and limit the damage, but Geraldo Perdomo got him with a base hit to center that tied the score.

The Dodgers had initially taken the lead Thursday in the most painful of ways.

With two outs in the fifth inning, Max Muncy hit a ground ball up the line that Arizona first baseman Ildemaro Vargas fielded directly behind the bag. What ensued next was a brutal head-on collision.

Vargas tried to quickly record the out himself, racing back toward first. Muncy came barreling directly at him. 

Muncy got there first by half a step, reaching safely for an infield single.

But neither player had time to avoid the other, sending them crashing into each and flying to the ground.

They each remained down for several minutes before exiting. The Dodgers later announced that Muncy had shortness of breath and was being evaluated for a concussion.

The good news: The Dodgers capitalized on Muncy’s effort to get to first safely.

The team’s next batter, Ryan Ward, laced a line drive to right field that Corbin Carroll misplayed and allowed to sail over his head, scoring pinch-runner Santiago Espinal from first. Dalton Rushing followed with a bloop single to center, giving starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski a 2-0 lead in his scoreless sixth inning start.

Alas, after Klein’s eighth-inning stumble, the Dodgers couldn’t recover.

Will Smith hit a double with two outs in the ninth, but was left stranded when Espinal struck out against Dbacks closer Paul Sewald.

Scott, who is effectively serving as the Dodgers’ closer in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s injury, couldn’t get the game to extras, helplessly turning to watch Marte’s blast fly out of the yard as the Dbacks split this four-game series.

Who’s hot

Wrobleski continued his breakout 2026 season, producing his fourth start of at least six scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.62.

For a second-straight outing, the left-hander’s fastball played up, averaging 95.6 mph. And while he only had four strikeouts –– returning to a pitch-to-contact approach after his season-high nine Ks last week –– he was effective at limiting damage and wiggling out of jams, stranding a one-out double from Corbin Carroll in the first inning and runners at the corners following a pair of singles in the third.

Wrobleski’s biggest escape came at the end of the night, after a two-out double from Ryan Waldschmidt in the sixth inning put two runners in scoring position.

He got Pavin Smith to ground out; after catcher Dalton Rushing won back-to-back ABS challenges to turn a 2-0 count into an 0-2 hole.

Who’s not

With Shohei Ohtani getting the day off following his two-way masterpiece on Wednesday, Mookie Betts was bumped up to the leadoff spot in the batting order.

The move, however, did little to snap what is quickly becoming a troubling, prolonged slump.

Betts went 0-for-4 in the defeat, dropping his batting average this season to .183.

Up next

The Dodgers return home for a weekend series against the Angels, starting on Friday night when Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.59 ERA) will face left-hander Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.63 ERA). 

In a game that featured a rain delay in the middle of it, the Royals prevailed in their series opener against the Minnesota Twins, 8-6. After losing their first three games of their current road trip, the Royals have won three out of their last four, including their last two.

Josh Rojas, called up earlier today, played the unlikely hero. In his first plate appearance as a Royal, Rojas pinch-hit for Nick Loftin in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third with one out and the game knotted at 6-6. Against Twins relief pitcher Justin Lawrence, Rojas knocked a pitch up the middle, scoring Tyler Tolbert—pinch-running for Salvador Perez, who led off the inning with a line drive single on an 0-2 pitch—and Lane Thomas.

Alex Lange, for the second night in a row, came in to lock down the win. He did the job, but he made it pretty interesting. Victor Caratini led off the inning with a single. One out later, the Royals nearly turned a game-ending double play, but Orlando Arcia just beat the throw to first, keeping the Twins alive for slugger Byron Buxton, who led off the game with a homer.

Buxton eventually walked in his plate appearance and represented the tying run while the potential winning run came to the plate in the form of Brooks Lee. Thankfully, Lee feebly grounded out to Tolbert, who stayed in the game at second base, to end the game.

The game was a seesaw for most of the night featuring multiple ties: 1-1 after the first, 2-2 after the second, 3-3 after three-and-a-half, 5-5 in the top of the sixth, and then 6-6 after six.

Seth Lugo started for the Royals and had his worst outing in some time. He didn’t come back after the game resumed from its rain delay, but even before that, he struggled through five innings in which he gave up six hits, walked one, struck out four, and allowed five earned runs, including giving up three home runs—the aforementioned leadoff homer to Buxton plus two to Kody Clemens, who’s turning into a true horror for the Royals to face.

Events turned in the Royals’ favor in the top of the sixth. Carter Jensen broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with a slap down the third base line—0ff a lefty, no less. The hit easily scored Isaac Collins, but right behind him came Kyle Isbel. The throw to the plate beat Isbel by a fair margin, but Isbel slid in under the tag. The home plate umpire called him safe, which he was, and the Twins declined to challenge. That tied the game, 5-5.

Next up, Bobby Witt Jr. hit a lazy pop-up that fell to the ground when the Twins middle infielders bumped into each other like a scene out of Major League III: Back to the Minors, which, oddly, was about the Twins, not Cleveland. Anyway, Jensen scored to give the Royals the lead.

After the rain delay ended, John Schreiber, bless his heart, came in and, with two outs, surrendered the lead when Caratini took him deep. That would be the last run of the night for the Twins.

Daniel Lynch IV and Matt Strahm combined for scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Strahm picked up the win, improving to 2-1. Lynch’s ERA dropped to 1.78.

Second baseman Michael Massey continued his hot streak. Massey went 2-for-4 with a homer and a single. He also flew out to deep right on a hard-hit ball.

With the win, the Royals improve to 25-38. It is their first win on a Thursday this season. I should know. It is also the first time since May 23-24 that they’ve won consecutive games, and it’s the first time since May 2-3 that the Royals won consecutive games on the road. Can they play the Mariners more?

Game two of the four-game series is tomorrow evening at 7:15 CST.

Not a pitch was thrown with the Dodgers trailing, and yet they found themselves on the losing end of a 3-2 matchup, all thanks to a walk-off solo shot from Ketel Marte off Tanner Scott. Justin Wrobleski did his part by delivering six scoreless innings, but the offense was underwhelming without Shohei Ohtani, and a couple of hiccups from the Dodgers bullpen were all that Arizona needed to complete the comeback and split this four-game set.

After going scoreless in the first four innings, the Dodgers offense began the fifth with a bang, but it wasn’t the bang of a long home run; instead, it was a collision between Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas on a race to first base that saw both players leave the game early. Muncy beat out Vargas to the bag, which forced LA to bring in a pinch-runner in Santiago Espinal, who came around to score on a Ryan Ward double. The bottom of the order kept pushing the envelope as Dalton Rushing doubled the lead, an advantage that Los Angeles would maintain until the bottom of the eighth.

Speaking of Rushing, the young catcher also showed poise and a good eye behind the plate to help Wrobleski navigate through his one troublesome inning in the sixth. A pair of two-out hits had Pavin Smith up, who came into the game to replace Vargas, with runners at second and third—in fact, the score would’ve been 2-1 if Arenado wasn’t such a slow runner at this point in his career. The umpire missed the call on the first two pitches, and twice Rushing called a challenge to overturn his decision, ultimately leading to an easy groundout on a down-and-away 0-2 slider. Rushing had one more successful and important overturned challenge, earning Kyle Hurt a strikeout in the seventh after a 2-2 changeup to Tommy Troy had originally been called a ball. Rushing’s work behind the plate deserves praise because it’s not just about getting the challenges right but also about utilizing them in the most important moments.

Other than that one questionable inning, Wrobleski once again thrived in generating soft contact, keeping a low pitch count, needing just 84 to cover the six scoreless innings. Becoming known for his lengthy outings, Wrobleski was on his way to 10 straight outings involved in a decision, potentially earning the win in eight of them, but Arizona had something to say about that. After Hurt’s scoreless frame, Will Klein couldn’t replicate the same level of efficiency, opening up the eighth with a solo shot to Corbin Carroll and creating a mess that Alex Vesia couldn’t clean up, with the lefty later allowing an RBI single to Geraldo Perdomo.

Muncy’s early departure would come back to bite the Dodgers in the ninth because Shohei Ohtani got ready to hit, but couldn’t pinch hit for Santiago Espinal with Will Smith at second following an RBI double since the Dodgers didn’t have any hitters left on the bench. Alex Call and Miguel Rojas had both been used as pinch-hitters against a left-handed pitcher in the previous inning. Instead of using Ohtani, Espinal was punched out, and Marte went yard in the bottom of the ninth with a blast.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Corbin Carroll (9) and Ketel Marte (11)
• WP— Paul Sewald (2-4): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Tanner Scott (1-3): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 strikeout

Up next

It’s a quick turnaround for the NL West leaders coming home for the Freeway Series over the weekend. Roki Sasaki starts on Friday night (7:10 p.m. PT), with the Angels yet to announce their starting pitcher.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs rallied late against the Athletics to secure a 7-6 victory on Thursday, June 4, at Wrigley Field.

Crow-Armstrong had his first career walk-off as Chicago needed a four-run ninth inning to help prevent a three-game series sweep.

"We've stayed in the fight all year,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters after the game. “We've been fighting through these last couple of weeks. This kind of stuff is exactly what we are capable of."

He singled to right field on a pitch by Athletics pitcher Luis Medina while facing a 1-1 count with two outs and runners on second and third base.

The single allowed Seiya Suzuki to score the winning run.

LOVELY NIGHT FOR A WALK(OFF). pic.twitter.com/TQzyBkl2Tq

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 5, 2026

Crow-Armstrong’s heroics helped ease what was a forgettable moment in his career, after he allowed an inside-the-park home run earlier in the game.

With a 2-0 lead in the top of the 6th inning, Shea Langeliers of the Athletics hit the ball 358 feet into center field before it landed behind Crow-Armstrong, who appeared to have lost the ball in the lights. Langeliers’ inside-the-park home run also brought in Henry Bolte to improve the score to 4-0.

🚨 INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN FOR SHEA LANGELIERS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gMHK7ph5JX

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 5, 2026

Crow-Armstrong responded quickly in the bottom of the inning, hitting a homer 383 feet to right field and putting his team on the scoreboard.

He finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Crow-Armstrong has already had his share of blunders this season, having whiffed on a line drive that led to a "Little League home run" against the Milwaukee Brewers back in May.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong allows inside-the-park homer, hits walk-off