Defenseman Christian Wolanin, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, has signed on as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche. The deal carries a salary of $850,000 at the NHL level with the Avs and $400,000 in the AHL with the Eagles.
Wolanin hopes to earn a job with the same NHL team his father, Craig, won a Stanley Cup with in 1995-96. The elder Wolanin was selected third overall in the 1985 NHL Draft and in 1990 was traded to Quebec straight up for Hall of Famer Peter Stastny.
Steve Staios describes the two prospects who arrived in Ottawa in the William Karlsson trade.
Of Craig's 695 career NHL games, 364 of them were with the Avalanche/Nordiques from 1990-96.
Christian joined the Senators at the end of his University of North Dakota days in 2018 and played 10 games with Ottawa right out of the gate. In 2018-19, he was primarily in Belleville for the first half of the season, then joined the Senators full time in the new year, putting up 12 points in the club's final 30 games.
New Sens head coach D.J. Smith said he had Wolanin pencilled in as an everyday player for 2019-20, but then Wolanin slipped and fell on the ice, tearing his labrum on day one of training camp. He was out for four months, and then he returned roughly in time for COVID to hit.
In 2020-21, he was in and out of the lineup, playing in only 15 games for Ottawa before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Michael Amadio. The Sens didn't know what they had in Amadio and allowed him to walk in free agency that summer.
In all, Wolanin has seen 86 regular-season games' worth of NHL action and posted 23 career points with the Vancouver Canucks (2022-23), Buffalo Sabres (2021-22), Los Angeles Kings (2020-22) and of course, the Senators (2017-21)
Now 31, Wolanin played 53 games for the AHL's Providence Bruins last season, scoring 7 goals and 31 points.
His best AHL season came in 2022-23 when he had 55 points and won the Eddie Shore Award for the AHL’s best defenseman. He led all AHL defensemen that year in assists and points with Abbotsford. Two years later, he helped them win a Calder Cup.
Wolanin represented Team USA at the World Hockey Championships twice (2019 & 2021), winning the bronze medal in 2021.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published on The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. For full coverage of the Senators, check out one of the latest headlines below:
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 03: Cameron Carr #43 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after making a three-point shot against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in the California Classic a NBA Summer League game at Chase Center on July 03, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a late comeback in the fourth quarter to tie the game, the Lakers needed a couple of extra sessions to earn the win, that coming on a putback layup from Anton Watson.
Anton Watson with the game-winning putback, giving the Lakers the 93-91 victory over the Heat: pic.twitter.com/B3mEWpLw6S
Many of the same issues that existed in Friday’s game persisted on Sunday, which should not be surprising. While Cameron Carr opened the game with a floater off a nice set play, the Lakers were largely relegated to long-range shots the rest of the quarter.
Watson, Peter Suder and Carr all connected on 3-pointers, but the Heat found offense much easier to come by and opened up an early 10-point lead. Eventually, some defensive stops and a couple of baskets in the paint pulled LA with a possession at 20-17, but Miami closed the quarter with the final six points.
That run only extended to open the second as Miami moved ahead again by double digits as part of an 11-2 run in total. A Thiero freebie accounted for two points to stop the run.
LA’s bizarre zone defense was somehow worse than their man-to-man as the Heat got an open three and an open lob on consecutive possessions.
Carr did his best to keep the purple and gold attached, getting a friendly roll on a three before hitting a pull-up jumper to bring him to 12 first-half points.
Cam Carter hits a 3-pointer, Cameron Carr wastes no time and hits a 3 of his own, Vladislav Goldin with the alley-oop dunk (with replays), and Carr with the jumper.
The Lakers got off to another slow offensive start in the second half, including Adou Thiero getting blocked at the rim on a fastbreak dunk attempt. Watson got revenge with a huge poster dunk for an and-one for the first Lakers points of the half.
Carr continued his strong showing, converting his free throw after being fouled on a three before getting to the rim for a dunk. Thiero then had a steady stream of drives to the rim to draw fouls and get in a rhythm as well.
However, the Lakers still trailed by 10 going into the fourth.
After some back-and-forth action in the fourth, the Lakers finally pieced together a run. Zhaire Smith started it with an and-one dunk before a Thiero layup. Carr also converted a 1-for-2 free throw to pull within three.
From there, the teams traded big shots, including a long-distance Carr 3-pointer to keep the Lakers attached.
Carr putting on a show here in Chase center. Hits his fourth three of the night.
Down four with under a minute left, Chris Mañon forced a pair of turnovers leading to two fastbreak layups to tie the game. The Lakers made it three straight forced turnovers, but could not come away with a basket, leading to overtime.
In the two-minute extra session, Mañon answered a Heat basket with a pair of free throws before Thiero answered a Heat floater to keep the game tied. Miami had a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, but missed both.
Thiero created an open layup for Watson off a drive on the ensuing possession, but he could not get the gimme to fall. The Heat tried a lob from the in-bound but turned it over, setting up a sudden death double overtime period.
The Lakers won the tip, setting up a Carr pull-up jumper. While the shot bounced short, Watson got the putback to fall for the walk-off win.
Key Player Stats
Carr continued his great Summer League showing, pouring in 26 points on 7-15 shooting, including 4-9 shooting from range. Thiero had 13 points with three rebounds, two assists and three steals, going 4-7 at the free throw line.
Mañon and Watson had 12 points each while Smith had 10 points off the bench. Suder finished the game with seven points and five rebounds while AK Okereke had seven points as well.
The Philadelphia Flyers may still have business to do with their two most important free agents, but their recent arbitration filings may prove beneficial in the end.
On Sunday, ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline, young Flyers stars Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale each filed for arbitration, which means a third party will determine the salary for the two players on their next contracts.
One each side makes its case, the arbitrator will make a binding ruling within two days.
However, the Flyers, Drysdale, and Zegras can always agree to new contracts before that takes place, and given Flyers general manager Danny Briere's confidence that new deals would get done heading into the offseason, this feels like the most likely scenario for both players.
And there's another catch that helps the Flyers.
Now that Drysdale and Zegras have elected arbitration, they are both ineligible for offer sheets, which completely neutralizes the threat of another NHL team using one against the Flyers.
The Flyers, of course, got that party started with their massive $90 million offer sheet of budding Anaheim Ducks star Leo Carlsson... who was once teammates with Zegras and Drysdale.
Funny how that worked out, right?
Earlier in the week, Daily Faceoff NHL insider Anthony Di Marco reported that Drysdale's next contract "seems" to be trending towards a medium-term three- or four-year deal worth $6.25 million annually, which is what Flyers teammate Travis Sanheim is currently costing against the salary cap annually on his deal.
It is less clear where things currently stand with Zegras, though the expectation throughout the year has been a long-term deal that would cost the Flyers somewhere between $8- and $9 million against the cap annually.
Additionally, it is worth noting that both Drysdale and Zegras are two seasons away from becoming unrestricted free agents, so the Flyers, at worst, will buy themselves some time to adjust to Carlsson's $18 million cap hit if their bid is ultimately successful.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 05: Isaac Paredes #15 of the Houston Astros is congratulated by Christian Walker #8 after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Daikin Park on July 05, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tampa Bay came to Daikin Park with the best record in the American League, winners of 8 straight games.
They will leave Daikin Park still with the best record in the AL, but on a 2 game skid.
Peter Lambert (W, 7-5) went 5.2 IP scoreless, backed by Steven Okert, Bryan King and Josh Hader (S, 9) to combine for a 4 hit shutout of the Rays (52-35) 2-0.
The Astros (45-47) got solo homers from Christian Walker (20) and Isaac Paredes (12), which proved to be the only runs of the game, and all Astros pitching would need to take the series from the Rays. Houston has now won 6 of its last 7 series.
The Astros are currently 2 GB of Seattle in the AL West (pending tonight’s action) and 1GB Texas for the final Wild Card spot.
Lambert was terrific, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. He threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes and got 5 ground ball outs.
Walker got the Astros on the board in the 4th when he took a four-seamer from Mason Englert (L, 0-2) opposite field for a solo shot.
The Cubs offense, seemingly lost for two days against the Cardinals in which they scored a total of just one run, suddenly appeared on a cloudy July afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Two first-inning runs appeared they might be enough until a bullpen meltdown in the sixth gave St. Louis the lead. But the Cubs came back and re-took the lead, in part with key hits and in part due to some sketchy Cardinals defense, and hung on to win 6-4 and salvage the final game of the series. They finished the homestand with a 4-2 record and get to 50 wins on the season. Just five other MLB teams (Rays, Braves, Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers) have won 50 or more games so far this year.
After Javier Assad threw a 1-2-3 first inning, the Cubs got right to work in the bottom of the inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong inside-outed a ball toward third base that took a weird spin and went for a hit.
Assad struggled through the second inning, issuing a leadoff walk to Jordan Walker, but then picked him off. That was important, because after getting Lars Nootbaar to fly to left, Assad loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. This seems to be a common theme among Cubs starters lately — inability to put away the third out with two out and no one on.
But Assad got out of that inning with a popup to short right that was caught by Dansby Swanson.
That was the first of nine straight hitters Assad retired. He was lifted at 80 pitches with two out in the fifth. About that, from BCB’s JohnW53:
This was the ninth game of the season in which Craig Counsell lifted the starter after exactly 4.2 innings.
It was the third of the nine in which the starter had no allowed a run. The first two were Jameson Taillon, on March 31 vs. the Angels, and Matthew Boyd, on June 25 vs. the Mets at New York.
The six other starters gave up two to seven runs.
Counsell did it seven times all of last season, after having done it 13 times in 2024.
That lifting of Assad led to the Cardinals’ first three runs. Ryan Rolison finished the fifth without incident, then allowed hits to two of the first three St. Louis hitters in the sixth. So Counsell called on Tyler Ferguson, whose second pitch was hit out of the yard by Walker for a three-run homer and a Cardinals lead. Ferguson did get out of the inning with no further damage.
Busch stopped at second on that hit and that’s when the defensive miscues began for the Carinals. Ian Happ popped into short left for the first out of the inning.
Swanson, who had wound up on second, scored on that play as well when Walker’s throw went into the Cubs dugout. So the Cubs had a 6-3 lead heading to the seventh.
Drew Pomeranz, just re-signed, threw a 1-2-3 seventh, then allowed a leadoff single to JJ Wetherholt in the eighth. That brought on Jacob Webb. Wetherholt advanced to second on a ground out, to third on a single and scored on a sac fly, cutting the Cubs’ lead to 6-4.
Webb finished off the eighth with no further St. Louis runs scoring, and remained in the game to throw the ninth after the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth. He issued a leadoff walk to Masyn Winn in the ninth and, well, those are never good. But he recovered to get the next two outs on a foul popup and strikeout. Winn took second on defensive indifference, and that brought up former Cub Nelson Velázquez.
Incidentally, if you’re wondering why this recap is more text-heavy than usual, it’s because, well, basically the video clips here are all I had available, and some of the Cubs highlights only via the social media posts you see here.
Before I get to a couple more game facts from John, I did want to say something about Counsell’s pitcher management today. Yes, it’s easy to criticize and usually I don’t, but this time I think Counsell outsmarted himself. Assad was on a roll, having retired nine straight hitters. Yes, I get pitch counts but… in this case he couldn’t have faced one more hitter? Rolison got that guy, but then gave up hits to the two left-handed Cardinals hitters he was left in the game to face, and then Ferguson, who was sent in to face a right-handed hitter, served up a three-run homer.
Yes, I get the platoon advantage, etc. etc. etc. But sometimes I think managers do that too reflexively and don’t “feel” the game situation, for lack of a better term. Fortunately, in the end it didn’t matter in this game.
Four Cubs were hit by a pitch today, making this only their 12th game with at least that many since 1901.
The previous one was on June 22, 2022, at Pittsburgh, with four.
Their team record is five, set in 2020 at Cincinnati and tied the next year at St. Louis. That was the only previous game in which Cardinals pitchers hit at least four Cubs.
…..
With today’s win, the Cubs are 64-63 in games vs. their Central Division rivals in their three seasons under Craig Counsell.
…..
The Cubs overcame a deficit for the 38th time this season, in 35 different games. They are 24-11 in those games and have won nine in a row, beginning with a win over the Rockies on July 11.
Before rallying, the Cubs had blown a lead for the 38th time, in 29 different games. They are 14-15 in those games, including back-to-back wins and four of the last five.
One note from me: PCA singled twice and was hit by a pitch in five plate appearances. That raised his season OBP to .383 and his season OPS to .910.
One more note: This is a game in which the pitcher of record when the Cubs took the lead (Ferguson) was not given the win because he pitched “briefly and ineffectively” — a scorer’s discretion. Thus the win was given to Pomeranz.
At this writing the Brewers are leading the Diamondbacks 3-1 in the seventh. If that score holds up the Cubs will remain six games back in the NL Central and the Cardinals will be 7.5 behind Milwaukee. The Cardinals head home to open a five-game set vs. the Brewers Monday in St. Louis. That includes a doubleheader Tuesday, one of the games a make-up from a rainout May 5.
The Cubs will enjoy their off day Monday and then open a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore Tuesday evening. Matthew Boyd will start the series opener for the Cubs and Shane Baz will go for the Orioles. Game time Tuesday is 5:35 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Jul 5, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31) stands at third base during a pitching change in the fifth inning of a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Casey Mize wasn’t at his sharpest, but he got great defensive work behind him to put together a quality start. Meanwhile, Riley Greene did it all in this one, showing off power and great defense to lead the Tigers to a 6-3 win, and a series victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Kumar Rocker took the mound for the Rangers, finally settling in as a pretty solid depth starter at age 26. Kevin McGonigle greeted him with a battle that ended in a single to center field. Dillon Dingler followed with a grounder into a double play. A high cutter drew a whiff from Kerry Carpenter to end the top of the first.
Casey Mize, in the midst of a breakout campaign, was on the bump today for the Tigers, with Jake Rogers behind the dish. Joc Pederson greeted him with an opposite field single. Mize responded by dusting Jake Burger on three straight fastballs. Mize fell behind against Brandon Nimmo, but back-to-back well located fourseamers locked Nimmo up as he hunted something softer. Ezequiel Duran popped out to send us to the second inning.
Rocker has good stuff, but he tends to nibble when ahead, leading him to a lot of inefficiency like many young starters. He got ahead of Riley Greene, but the Tigers left fielder worked back to a full count and then flared a leadoff single into left field. Spencer Torkelson bit on a good 2-2 cutter away to strike out. Another lengthy at-bat ended in a deep drive from Colt Keith, but Evan Carter had no trouble hauling it in near the warning track in center field. Rocker was already closing in on 40 pitches five outs into his outing, but he coaxed a weak fly ball to center from Zach McKinstry.
Mize punched out Evan Carter with a high fourseamer to open the bottom of the second. That was his third strikeout already on the outing. Elias Diaz smoked a line drive but McGonigle dove gloveside and snared it with a great play. Josh Smith fouled off several well located two-strike splitters, and then battled Mize through a 10-pitch AB that ended with him smashing a fastball to the wall in right center field and racing to third for a two-out triple. Rookie infielder Cam Cauley, a right-handed hitter, was up next and Mize fell behind 3-1. He stepped off to compose himself, but fired a slider that missed up to walk him. After that slider that didn’t slide, Chris Fetter came out to hit the reset button on his right-hander. It worked, as Nicky Lopez grounded out on a splitter to end the inning.
Rogers and Outman flew out to start the third. Outman’s was a towering drive that floated out deep to center field, but it was still a comfortable play for Carter. McGonigle fouled off a slew of pitches, but then got a sinker right down the middle and grounded out sharply to second.
Mize got Pederson on a grounder to McGonigle to start the bottom half. However, a first pitch slider to Jake Burger stayed up and got crushed to left for a solo shot. 1-0 Rangers. Nimmo got a splitter away that didn’t quite fade off the plate, and smoked an opposite field line drive but Riley Greene laid it all out and made a brilliant diving catch in the left center field gap for the second out. The Tigers were flashing the leather early on, while Mize was still struggling to locate the slider and splitter consistently. Instead, he spotted a fourseam at the bottom of the zone for strike three on Duran to end the inning.
This might be the defensive play of the year for the Tigers so far, although the consequences were minor. What a catch though.
The Tigers were still struggling with Rocker’s cutter, and Dingler popped out to open the fourth. Kerry Carpenter finally broke through, lining a cutter to right for a single. Riley Greene worked a 2-1 count and then killed a fastball for his 13th shot of the year. It was a majestic no-doubter to right field for the All-Star outfielder, who was doing it all in this one and now has nine homers since the beginning of June. 2-1 Tigers.
Torkelson struck out. Keith fouled off a couple of cutters and then a fourseamer before working the count full. Rocker walked him on his 75th pitch of the day. McKinstry hit one hard, but right to Burger at first.
The Rangers went into swing mode against Mize in the bottom of the fourth. As a result he needed just six pitches to pop up Carter, get Diaz on a grounder to McGonigle, and then Smith grounded one to Torkelson, who fed Mize the toss to close out the fourth inning. By contrast, Mize only needed 56 pitches to this point.
Rogers struck out to open the fifth, but James Outman beat out an infield single on a grounder to first. That was it for Rocker as Skip Schumaker turned to lefty Robbie Ahlstrom against McGonigle. Outman was dancing off first and Ahlstrom fell behind the Tigers’ rookie 2-0. A solid single through the right side of the infield followed, with Outman cruising from first to third on the knock. Dingler got a 2-2 changeup away and Dingler ripped an RBI single to center field. 3-1 Tigers, and McGonigle easily went first to third as well, and so they had runners at the corners with one out and a run in for Kerry Carpenter. You’ll note Jahmai Jones’ services were not called upon once again, and Carpenter stayed in against the lefty.
Ahlstrom stuffed a pair of fastballs inside to start things off against Carpenter. The first was called a ball but challenged into a strike. The second drew a swing and was well inside, but Diaz interfered with Carpenter on the play and so he took first, and the bases were juiced as Riley Greene stepped into the box. The first pitch of the at-bat was a breaking ball that went right through Diaz’s wickets for a wild pitch to score McGonigle. In a full count, Greene launched a slider high to the opposite field and just off the wall in the left field corner. Smith couldn’t handle it and the ball bounced all the way over toward center field where Carter had to corral it to hold Greene to a two-run triple. 6-1 Tigers.
Spencer Torkelson followed by drawing a walk. AJ Hinch, with Pink Floyd’s On the Turning Away playing mournfully for Jahmai Jones in the background, pinch-hit Hao-Yu Lee in for Colt Keith. That just prompted the Rangers to go back to the pen for hard-throwing right-hander Gavin Collyer. He got Lee to pop out and blew McKinstry away with 99 mph to finally end the inning, but the damage was done.
McGonigle moved over to third base, with McKinstry to shortstop, and Lee in as the second baseman for the bottom of the fifth. Casey Mize had a long rest during the top half, but he picked up where he left off, getting Cauley to ground out first pitch. Nicky Lopez lined a single to left field, and so the lineup turned over to the top for the third time. Mize bounced a splitter to walk Joc Pederson, and suddenly things got a little bit tense again. Mize unclenched the situation by popping up Burger on a high fastball for the second out. He got ahead of Nimmo with two high fastballs that were fouled off, but the next one was a little liner just over McKinstry and off the tip of his glove for an RBI single. 6-2 Tigers. Duran lifted a fly ball to left to end the inning.
Collyer locked up Rogers for the first out of the sixth. Outman was victimized by a good fastball on the outer edge for a whiff. McGonigle fouled off a host of good two-strike pitches and ultimately drew a two out walk to reach base for the third time in this one, but Dingler popped out to end the frame.
Mize quickly got Carter and Diaz to ground out. His 85th pitch drew a lazy fly ball to left to send us to the seventh inning.
Right-hander Cole Winn took over from Collyer to face Carpenter, Greene, and Torkelson in the seventh. This was a very favorable matchup, but you never know. Carpenter whiffed on a splitter and struck out, while Greene flew out. Torkelson lined a single to get Lee to the plate, but he popped out down the third base line.
Matt Vierling took over in right field from Carpenter for defensive purposes, while Mize came back out for the seventh but on a short leash. Cauley lifted a drive to right field, finding Vierling immediately for the first out. Mize’s 94th pitch got Nicky Lopez on a little fly out to left, and that ended Mize’s day as the lineup turned over again. Left-hander Drew Sommers got the call to take on the top of the Rangers’ order. The lefty dispatched Pederson with a sinker that tied him into knots to end the inning.
Winn took care of the last third of the Tigers order with no difficulty, and so we were onto the bottom of the eighth with the Tigers defending a 6-2 lead. With Keider Montero unavailable, Will Vest injured, and Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan pretty iffy, how would Hinch try to get through the final six outs? As expected, the first answer was Drew Anderson with the right-handed Burger up to start the inning.
Anderson leaned into the fastball early on, with Burger grounding out to third and Nimmo flying out to Vierling for the second out. That left to Duran, who ambushed a slider that leaked back on the inner half rather than bending away and launched a solo shot over the center field wall. 6-3 Tigers. Anderson’s changeup and slider continue to be pretty mashable when left up in the zone, despite the copious whiffs he’s generating off the two pitches. Carter quickly grounded out on a changeup to send us to the ninth.
Right-hander Peyton Gray handled the ninth for the Rangers. He got a McGonigle pop up into shallow left field to start things off. We were hoping to get Greene back to the dish with a shot at the cycle with a double. Unfortunately, Dingler lifted a routine fly out to center. So, it was up to Vierling and he delivered, ripping a screaming drive up the left field gap for a two-out triple. And so, Greene had a shot at the cycle. The Tigers haven’t had a cycle hit for since Carlos Guillen in 2006. Unfortunately, Schumaker wasn’t interested in seeing Greene hit again in this one, and so they intentionally walked him. Boooooo. Yeah it’s a three-run game and not totally out of hand, but that was a bummer. Torkelson grounded into a force of Greene to end the half inning.
And so, it was Kenley Jansen time. He promptly popped up Diaz to Torkelson, staying at the top of the strike zone or higher. Smith also popped out to Torkelson, this time on a 1-2 slider. Alejandro Osuna pinch hit for Cauley, and he lifted a little pop fly to Vierling to end this one.
That was save 486 for Jansen’s career.
A 5-1 road trip feels pretty good after the Tigers’ first half struggles on the road. The 40-50 Tigers now come home for three against the Angels starting on Tuesday night. The six-game homestand will also see the Phillies come to town for three, and that will take us into the All-Star break. The Tigers are currently seven games back of the White Sox in the AL Central, and five games outside the final Wild Card spot.
The Mets opted to sit A.J. Ewing in a tough left-on-left matchup with Braves ace Chris Sale on Saturday.
The youngster was back in there with another southpaw, Martin Perez, on the mound on Sunday afternoon though.
Ewing was ready for the opportunity.
With the Mets trailing by a pair after an eventful first inning, Ewing stepped to the plate and lifted a 3-2 sinker at the top of the zone 408 feet to right for a solo shot.
It was his fifth homer of the season, and his second against a lefty.
The next three batters reached, as well, as the Mets pushed themselves back in front with a four-run inning.
Ewing struck out in his other two at-bats on the day, but also lined a single back up the middle in another left-on-left matchup with former Met Danny Young in the top of the sixth.
“It was great to see,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The home run left-on-left, the single up the middle against a down lefty, that’s just really exciting to see.”
Ewing came into the day hitting just .190 in those situations thus far in his career.
The 21-year-old outfielder has certainly shown he's capable of handling lefties in the past, though, as he hit a strong .313 against them in the minors last year.
“We’ve believed he’s going to hit lefties in the long run,” Green said.
“I’ve always been comfortable against lefties,” Ewing added. “Obviously blips happen, but I’m comfortable facing whoever is on the mound.”
Ewing's hitting .265 with a triple, five homers, seven doubles, and a .756 OPS on the year.
Jul 4, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the America 250 logo on the third base during the Fourth of July game between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Detroit Tigers scored six runs.
The Rangers are an American League-best 22-17 against teams with records above .500 this season. The Rangers are a .500 team exactly. The Detroit Tigers came into today’s game 39-50. The Rangers lost to the Tigers for a second consecutive game to lose the series to Detroit.
There’s some unpleasant math here.
The Rangers actually scored the first run of the game and the final two runs of the game. Between those two runs, the Tigers scored twice in the fourth and four more in the fifth when Texas succumbed to poor pitching and even worse defense.
Player of the Game: Jake Burger hit a team-leading 15th home run.
Up Next: The Rangers remain at home but have tomorrow off for their final day off of the first half before opening a series against the Anaheim Angels beginning on Tuesday.
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On this day in 2013, Daniel Alfredsson signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings, ending 17 seasons as the face of the Ottawa Senators franchise and setting up what would become the final chapter of a Hall of Fame career.
The deal carried a $5.5 million cap hit, built around a $3.5 million base salary with performance bonuses, and it stunned a league that largely expected the longtime Ottawa captain to either re-sign with the Senators or retire outright.
Alfredsson was 40 years old at the time of the signing, and his decision to leave the only organization he had ever known came down to a chance to finally win the Stanley Cup.
He had spent 18 years in Ottawa without ever hoisting the trophy, including a run to the 2007 Final that ended in a loss to the Anaheim Ducks, and he made clear that the pursuit of a championship. Alfredsson served as the Red Wings' assistant captain in 2013-14 and put together a respectable final season, recording 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points in 68 games.
At 41 years old, he was still productive enough to be one of Detroit's most important forwards in a season that saw the Red Wings finish fourth in the Atlantic Division before falling to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. Back issues kept him from training camp the following season, and rather than push through another year, Alfredsson announced his retirement in November 2014.
A month later, he signed a ceremonial one-day contract with Ottawa so he could officially retire as a Senator, taking part in warmups and the ceremonial faceoff in his final appearance at what was then Canadian Tire Centre.
The situation echoes, in some ways, what the Red Wings find themselves navigating now with Patrick Kane, another future Hall of Famer brought in during the twilight of his career to add scoring punch and leadership to a team trying to climb back into true contention.
Alfredsson won the Calder Trophy in 1996, was named Ottawa's captain in 1999 and held that role until his departure in 2013, won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, and took home the Mark Messier Leadership Award shortly before he left for Detroit.
By the time he left Ottawa, he held the franchise records for games played, goals, assists and points, finishing his time with the Senators having played 1,178 games and totaling 426 goals, 682 assists and 1,108 points, numbers that still stand as franchise benchmarks today.
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DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 5: Jake McCarthy #31 of the Colorado Rockies runs out his first-inning triple against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on July 5, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s been another busy afternoon on the board as the Colorado Rockies attempt to mount a comeback against the San Francisco Giants on Peacock.
And it’s been another busy day on the board, so here’s another overflow thread for the final 2.5 innings!
CHICAGO — Nico Hoerner drove in two runs, Pete Crow-Armstrong had two hits, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for four runs in the sixth inning against a sloppy St. Louis defense to top the Cardinals 6-4 on Sunday and avoid a series sweep.
Alex Bregman doubled in a run, pinch-hitter Pedro Ramirez had an RBI and the Cubs posted two unearned runs to win for the 10th time in their last 13 games.
St. Louis’ Jordan Walker hit his 20th homer, a three-run shot in the sixth, then drove in a fourth run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, to boost his RBI total to 67. Rookie JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson each had two hits.
After Walker’s drive to deep left put St. Louis ahead 3-2, Chicago took advantage of two Cardinals errors in the bottom of the sixth.
Hoerner tied it 3-all with an RBI single off Matthew Liberatore (4-6). Michael Busch scored to make it 4-3 when third baseman José Fermin threw Dansby Swanson’s double-play grounder wide of second and into right field.
Hoerner scored from third on Ramirez’s sacrifice fly to Walker in right. Swanson came home from second to make it 6-3 when Walker’s throw to third skipped wide of the bag.
Drew Pomeranz (1-3) pitched an inning of relief for his first win with the Cubs since rejoining them Friday. Jacob Webb tossed the final two innings for his third save.
Cubs started Javier Assad allowed no runs in 4 2/3 innings, yielding two singles while walking two and striking out two.
Liberatore allowed four earned runs on four hits in five-plus innings, and was nursing a 2-0 lead entering the sixth when Matt Svanson relieved. Liberatore walked two, hit three batters and struck out two.
The Cubs jumped ahead 2-0 in the first, scoring on Bregman’s double and Hoerner’s sacrifice fly.
Eliezer Alfonzo will make his major league debut Sunday, July 5, catching and batting ninth for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres, the culmination of a lifelong dream for the 26-year-old.
That moment, though, will come with an unspeakable burden as his sister and stepmother remain missing amid earthquake rubble in Venezuela.
Alfonzo's family members had been missing since a pair of earthquakes – magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 – rocked an area of northern Venezuela, west of Caracas, on June 24. Alfonzo's father of the same name, a former major league catcher, spent that time attempting to locate his wife, Patricia and daughter Eliana.
Alfonzo is still in the lineup for Sunday night's game.
"I don't really know what to say about it, outside of my heart goes out to him and his family," Roberts told reporters in his pregame briefing, per the California Post. "I don’t really want to go too far (into it), because I’ll get emotional. I know it’s tough. Very tough."
Alfonzo, signed by the Detroit Tigers out of Venezuela in 2017, joined the Dodgers organization this year as a minor league free agent. He batted .319 with an .813 OPS in 49 games at Class AAA Oklahoma City and joined the major league club as incumbent Will Smith will remain on the injured list with a neck injury through at least the All-Star break.
The elder Eliezer Alfonzo played parts of six seasons with the Giants, Padres, Mariners and Rockies.
ATLANTA — Juan Soto’s two-run single in the second inning gave New York the lead, Nolan McLean regrouped after a rough start and the Mets held off Atlanta’s ninth-inning comeback attempt to beat the Braves 10-9 in a rain-delayed game on Sunday.
A.J. Ewing hit his fifth homer and Francisco Lindor added a run-scoring single in the Mets’ four-run second for a 5-3 lead. Tyrone Taylor homered and Bo Bichette drove in two with a bases-loaded double in the ninth. Bichette had three hits and three RBIs.
The Mets led 10-3 after their five-run ninth but still had to withstand a major scare. Huascar Brazobán gave up five runs, including Drake Baldwin’s grand slam, in the bottom of the ninth. New York closer Devin Williams gave up another run before striking out Dominic Smith with runners on second and third for his 13th save.
The Mets had lost 12 of 14 games, including the first two in this four-game series against the Braves.
McLean (6-5) gave up five hits and three runs, two earned, in six-plus innings.
After allowing four runs in the second, Braves left-hander Martín Pérez (6-6) was hit on his left forearm by Soto’s liner to open the fifth. Pérez recovered to throw out Soto at first base before leaving the game. The Braves did not provide an immediate update on Pérez’s status.
Jul 5, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The hot weather in Kansas City appeared to agree with Aaron Nola. The Phillies’ starter pitched his best start of the season, going seven innings while giving up three runs. Unfortunately, it was wasted because the Phillies’ offense and bullpen came up small in a 5-2 loss.
In the first inning, it didn’t look like it was going to be a good day for Nola. With one man on and two outs, Nola gave up a double to Lane Thomas and a single to Michael Massey to put the Phillies in a 0-2 hole.
Things improved in the second. With two men on and two outs, Nola got Bobby Witt, Jr. out to end the threat. That seemed to settle Nola down, and he pitched clean innings in the third and fourth.
The Phillies’ offense was racking up zero run innings of their own against an unspectacular array of pitchers. Starter Luinder Avila came in with a 5.40 ERA, but he limited the Phillies to one run in five innings. The only damage they did against him was in the fifth when they cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth on a Bryson Stott triple and a Gabriel Rincones sacrifice fly.
The Royals got that run right back in the bottom of the inning thanks to two hits and a sacrifice fly of their own.
The Royals handed the Phillies a run in the seventh by botching two potential double plays. Stott led off with a single, and after Rincones flied out, Justin Crawford hit a ball to third base that looked like it might end the inning. Instead, Josh Rojas threw the ball into right field giving the Phillies runners at the corners.
Garrett Stubbs then hit a comebacker to the mound, but pitcher John Schreiber double clutched on his throw to second. The delay let Stubbs beat the relay throw to first, allowing Stott to score a run.
That was it for the Phillies’ offense. The Royals bullpen isn’t well thought of, but they didn’t give up any earned runs in four innings and retired the final seven batters in order. The top five batters in the Phillies’ lineup went a combined 1-18, and Bryce Harper had a particularly rough game. He struck out three times and had two decisive ABS challenges go against him.
Nola’s day was over after seven, and if nothing else, he kept the game close. Once he left the game, the Phillies’ bullpen made it not so close. Seth Johnson walked two batters, and Kyle Backhus gave up a double to Perez that scored them, essentially sealing the game for the Royals.
The Phillies might have played as if it was a getaway game, but the series will continue tomorrow afternoon when Cristopher Sanchez takes the mound looking to secure a series victory. Hopefully, Sanchez will pitch the way we’re accustomed to, and this time, the rest of the team will follow suit.
