The Pittsburgh Penguins had a member of their front office poached by another team on Tuesday.
Vukie Mpofu, who served as the Penguins' director of hockey operations and legal affairs for the past three seasons, left the organization to be an assistant general manager of the Nashville Predators.
He will work alongside Predators general manager Chris MacFarland and help with everything, including salary cap compliance, contract negotiations, scouting, and player acquisitions.
Welcome to Smashville, Vukie! 👋
We've hired Vukie Mpofu as Assistant General Manager.
“We are very pleased that Vukie has elected to join the Predators hockey operations staff as Assistant General Manager,” Predators GM Chris MacFarland said in a statement.
This is a significant loss for the Penguins' front office, as Mpofu handled the salary cap situation and player contract negotiations. Dubas hired Mpofu from the Los Angeles Kings in 2023, shortly after he arrived in Pittsburgh.
It remains to be seen if Dubas hires anyone to replace Mpofu.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 03: Nick Allen #20 of the Houston Astros bats in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Daikin Park on July 03, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Houston Astros (46-48) didn’t get the start they hoped for from Tatsuya Imai, but they got a terrific performance from 6 relievers as they took the second game of this series 6-3 over the Washington Nationals (47-46) at Nationals Park.
Imai only lasted 3.2 IP, impacted by a cut on the ring fighter of his pitching hand that impacted his ability to grip the baseball and execute pitches. At one point in the second inning, a trainer had to come to the mound to put a cold towel on his hand to try to help him get him get a proper grip on the ball, as his velocity dropped during the inning but it rebounded to normal level after the trainer came out.
The cut impacted his execution, and his pitch count racked up as a result, throwing 84 pitches in his 3.2 innings. Imai was charged with 2 ER, 4H, 3BB, and 3K.
Steven Okert (W, 2-1) was called on to finish the fourth, as he has essentially become the team’s stopper, and the pitcher manager Joe Espada is most comfortable going to when he brings in someone to get out of a jam, particularly when the Astros have a lead. Okert went 1.1 IP scoreless allowing 1 hit and striking out 3.
As Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, Alimber Santa and Josh Hader (S, 10) held the Nationals potent offense in check, it was the Astros bottom of the order that did the majority of the damage for Houston this evening.
A second inning sac fly from Nick Allen drove in the Astros first run to tie the game at 1 in the top of the 2nd.
Allen then ripped a 2-run single in the 4th to give the Astros a 3-2 lead, driving in Christian Walker and Zach Dezenzo. A Christian Vazquez sac fly drove in Brice Matthews to make it a 4-2 game.
In the 6th, Vazquez struck again with an RBI single to score Dezenzo, and increase the lead to 5-2.
An 8th inning solo HR from Jose Altuve pushed the lead to 6-2.
The Nationals got 1 run in the 9th before Josh Hader was summoned to close the game out.
Tomorrow the Astros will send Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA) to the mound looking to win their 7th series in their last 8 against Washington lefty Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87 ERA).
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 07: Tyler Tolbert #2 of the Kansas City Royals smiles at first base after his seventh inning infield base hit against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Do you like offense? I hope you like offense. One day after scoring 15 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Kansas City Royals topped that by scoring even more in a 16-12 win over the New York Mets.
So much happened tonight that it would be a very long and very boring blog if I recounted what happened inning by inning. Instead, we’ll approach this in a series of vignettes, accompanied by video highlights.
The United States Men’s National Soccer Team proved yesterday that highly skilled, trained, and motivated athletes can and do screw up bigtime even when they really shouldn’t. Before any of the run-scoring shenanigans, the Royals channeled their inner USMNT and completely botched some defense.
In the above play, Seth Lugo made a throwing error to first base. Then, Jac Caglianone made a throwing error to…somewhere. Finally, Nick Loftin made a throwing error to home plate. It was truly a travesty of a play. But thankfully, it wasn’t all.
Tyler Tolbert takes over
Two days ago, Tyler Tolbert got a hit. His next time up, he got another yet. Yesterday, Tolbert got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit.
Today, Tolbert stepped up to the plate in the second inning. He got another hit, a home run, for his eighth consecutive hit.
Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the fourth inning, he collected his ninth consecutive hit, an opposite field single. In the top of the fifth inning, Tolbert notched his 10th consecutive hit, an infield single. Things were reaching ridiculous heights. In the top of the sixth inning, Tolbert notched yet another consecutive hit, another infield single. It was his 11th straight hit.
Tyler Tolbert has a hit in 11 consecutive plate appearances 🤯
But Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the seventh inning, Tolbert notched his 12th consecutive hit, tied for the most all time in MLB history. Like, ever.
While Tolbert wouldn’t be able to get a 13th consecutive hit, he matched the record—first set by Johnny Kling in 1902 and then Pinky Higgins in 1938, Walt Dropo in 1952, and Jose Miranda in 2024.
My first title for this recap was not exactly kind, as a poor start by Seth Lugo put the Royals in a colossal hole. And yet, they persisted. After the Mets scored three in the bottom of the first inning, the Royals scored a pair on the aforementioned Tolbert home run. After the Mets scored two more of their own in the bottom of the second, the Royals scored another pair in the top of the fourth on the above Lane Thomas hit.
And after the Mets scored another quartet of runs in the bottom of that very inning to put them up 9-4, the Royals tied it up in the fifth with a five-run frame that included doubles by Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins, and Michael Massey.
Royals pitching was very bad, and on most nights it would have done Kansas City in. Lugo gave up six earned runs, let alone the other three that were partially due to the Errortastrophe from earlier, of which he contributed. John Schreiber gave up two more. And Matt Strahm gave up one of his own, punctuating a thoroughly disappointing year for the returning Royal.
But gosh darn it, it didn’t matter. With the game knotted at nine-all, Kansas City hung another seven runs on the Mets. A Salvy double. A Nick Loftin homer. Another Thomas double. Walks and more walks. It was a bloodbath, with poor Matt Seelinger wearing the whole inning on his own.
What a game. Anything can happen in nine innings, after all. And for Tolbert, maybe another nine and change.
Jul 7, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) scores a run on a throwing error by Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (67) during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Never in franchise history had the Mets scored 12 runs in a home game and lost. Well, there’s a first time for everything. And this 16-12 loss to the Royals at Citi Field had a lot of events never seen before. I attempt to describe them in the roughly 2,500 words below, but quite frankly, this was a baseball game that defies description.
Serving as the opener ahead of Kodai Senga, Cionel Pérez wriggled his way out of a jam in the first to keep the Royals off the board. With one out, Bobby Witt Jr. continued to climb the American League leaderboard in hits by lacing a single to right. Lane Thomas followed with a single and Pérez balked to advance the runners to second and third still with only one out. But he got a big strikeout of Salvador Perez and induced a fly ball out from Jac Caglianone to escape the inning unscathed.
It looked like Seth Lugo would manage to pull off a similar Houdini act in the bottom of the frame, but what transpired instead is what I can only describe as the Metsiest play ever perpetrated by a non-Mets team. A.J. Ewing led off the inning with a single and Lugo bounced back to strike out Juan Soto on a pitch Soto challenged, but was confirmed to be strike three. Bo Bichette then waited nicely on an offering from Lugo and threaded it up the middle for a base hit. Francisco Lindor struck out looking and then Carson Benge hit a slow roller toward the mound, but a heartbeat later, rather than the inning being over, Benge was crossing home plate with the Mets up 3-0—a Little League home run thanks to three separate throwing errors by the Royals. Lugo scooped up the ball and threw it wildly to first base. Then, first baseman Jac Caglianone scrambled after the ball in foul territory down the first base line, picked it up, and flung it into no man’s land somewhere in foul territory between third base and home plate. He was likely trying to throw the ball home, but it didn’t even end up in the same zip code. Once again scrambling in foul territory, third baseman Nick Loftin made a second attempt at throwing home for a play at the plate and also missed the mark, as Carson Benge completed his full trip around the bases to give the Mets a three-run lead. Again, I assure you I am describing a series of events that happened to the opposition rather than the Mets this time. Indeed, it is the first time in franchise history an opposing team has made three errors on a single play against the Mets. And my words don’t do it justice; you should really just watch the highlight for this one, trust me. For full effect, play circus music in the background as you watch it.
Anyway, unfortunately for the Mets, their laughing was relatively short-lived as Kodai Senga came in to begin the second inning and—after recording the second out of the inning on a successful version of a play nearly identical to the one Lugo failed to make that caused the first domino to fall in the first—gave up a single to Michael Massey and a two-run homer to Tyler Tolbert to bring the Royals back within a run in a hurry. But the Mets reclaimed their three-run advantage in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Brett Baty lined a ball into the gap in left-center for a double. He was erased on a fielder’s choice when Luis Torrens hit a grounder to third and Baty ended up caught in a rundown between second and third, eventually tagged out as he hit the dirt. A.J. Ewing followed with an absolute no doubter of a monster shot into the upper deck in right field—the furthest I’ve ever seen him hit a ball as a big leaguer—to give the Mets a 5-2 lead.
Senga rebounded to put up a zero in the third and Lugo did the same, working around a walk and a stolen base by Carson Benge. But Senga lost the strike zone in the fourth and it came back to bite him, allowing the Royals to once more cut the lead to one run. The inning could have been much worse, but in contrast to Royals earlier and in contrast to their usual modus operandi, the Mets helped Senga out some defensively. The walk Senga issued to lead off the inning was erased on a pickoff (which the Mets had to challenge to get awarded). Senga then walked Michael Massey and gave up a single to Tyler Tolbert, who simply cannot be retired right now. That was Tolbert’s ninth consecutive hit, which is a new Royals club record. Senga then struck out Carter Jenson for the second out, but wanted no part of Bobby Witt Jr. and issued a semi-intentional walk to him to load the bases. He then very much unintentionally got behind in the count to Lane Thomas and Thomas socked a two-run double off the wall in left field that could have easily cleared the bases if not for Royals third base coach Vance Wilson (Mets legend) very conservatively putting a stop sign up. Senga kept a tenuous hold on the lead when Juan Soto made a nice diving catch on a sinking Sal Perez liner to end the inning.
Something we are not used to seeing from the 2026 Mets: they once again punched back immediately against old friend Seth Lugo in his first time facing his former team. Jared Young singled to lead off the inning and then with one out, Luis Torrens singled. A.J. Ewing then singled for his third hit and RBI before the game had even reached its halfway mark. Juan Soto then launched a three-run shot to dead center to stretch the Mets’ lead to five runs. But the Mets saw that lead shrink once again in the top of the fifth, as it became clear that this was going to be one of those games where no lead was safe. Austin Warren was the next pitcher up for the Mets and things did not go well for him, to put it kindly. Jac Caglianone doubled to lead off the inning and then Warren hit Nick Loftin with a pitch to put two men on. Isaac Collins and Michael Massey then hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 9-7. Tyler Tolbert then continued his streak to notch his tenth straight hit—this one an infield single on which he beat Bo Bichette’s spinning throw to first. He promptly stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position. Austin Warren then walked Carter Jensen, marking the sixth straight Royal to reach base, still with nobody out. Warren was pulled from the game having failed to retire a batter, leaving Huascar Brazobán with a huge mess to clean up and a skinny two-run lead to protect.
Bobby Witt Jr. greeted Brazobán with a sharp grounder to short that ate up Francisco Lindor, costing the Mets a potential double play, but Lindor did manage to get the out at second. A run scored on the play to bring the Royals within a run still with runners at the corners and only one out. The Mets were fortunate to record the second out on a caught stealing which required replay review to adjudicate. But Sal Perez blooped a single to shallow center to tie the game at nine runs apiece. Brazobán finally struck out Caglianone, who you may recall led off the inning with a double, to mercifully end the inning. Again, this was the top of the fifth. I’ve written a full length recap already. But there’s still four innings of baseball to be played.
Lugo, who hadn’t thrown a pitch in 30 minutes, came back out for the bottom of the fifth with his team having evened the score and struck out Carson Benge for the first out. In his first game with the Mets in nearly three months, Jorge Polanco made a bid to give the Mets the lead again, launching a ball to the second deck down the right field line, but replay review revealed the long fly was just foul, so Polanco, having already completed his trip around the bases, had to return to the batter’s box and ultimately settled for a walk instead. That ended Seth Lugo’s night and he made way for Daniel Lynch IV, who was the beneficiary of a nice sliding catch by Lane Thomas in center to retire Jared Young. With two outs, Brett Baty also made a bid to give the Mets the lead, but Tolbert caught his towering fly ball right in front of the wall to keep the game knotted at nine runs apiece.
Brazobán immediately found himself in another pickle in the top of the sixth because nothing about this game could be normal. Nick Loftin doubled to lead things off and then Collins walked. Michael Massey then struck out for the first out. Tyler Torbert then hit a bouncer to third and—you guessed it—he beat it out for his eleventh straight hit because Bo Bichette was unable to come up with the short hop and whiffed trying to swipe at it and by the time the ball got to Francisco Lindor backing it up, it was too late. With the bases loaded, Carter Jensen hit another ball toward third on which Bichette did field the short hop and threw home for the force out. Bobby Witt Jr. then hit a liner back to the mound that Brazobán managed to stick his glove up and snag to somehow keep the Royals off the board.
Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber combined for a scoreless bottom of the sixth for the Royals, working around a walk and stolen base by A.J. Ewing (he was initially called out but then ruled safe upon replay review). With the game still tied in the top of the seventh, the Mets called upon local kid Matt Seelinger to make his big league debut in front of “half of Long Island,” as he put it before the game. Unfortunately, a cult hero’s performance was not to be for the 31-year-old. Likely with butterflies in his stomach, he walked Lane Thomas on four pitches to lead things off. Salvador Perez then doubled in Thomas to give the Royals the lead for the first time all evening. Seelinger struck out Caglianone for the first out, but then gave up a two-run homer to Nick Lofton to extend the Royals’ newfound lead to 12-9. Seelinger then walked two more batters and who came striding into the batter’s box but Tyler Tolbert with a chance to make baseball history. He hit yet another slow roller—this time toward short—and he beat it out again to secure his place in the record books. He became just the fifth player in baseball history to record twelve straight hits and three of the five he logged in this contest were infield hits.
Things continued to get worse for Seelinger, who issued another walk with the bases loaded to force in a run. It seemed like he got exactly what he needed when Bobby Witt Jr. hit a grounder to short that seemed destined to end the inning, but the Mets were only able to record the out at second, as Witt beat the throw to first base by a whisker. That whisker was the difference between a game that still felt within reach, especially given all that had already transpired, and the Royals blowing the doors off. With no one warming behind him in a shorthanded bullpen, poor Matt Seelinger had to wear it. And wear it he did. Lane Thomas doubled to plate two more runs for the Royals before the inning finally came to an end. All told, Kansas City scored 12 unanswered runs after trailing 9-4 and in the worst game of his major league career, Seth Lugo got a no-decision. Seven of those runs came against Seelinger in the seventh—a big league debut he will surely never forget for all the wrong reasons.
The Mets clawed back two runs in the bottom of the seventh to give both teams double-digit run totals. Carson Benge walked with one out and hearing chants of “Pete Alonso!” by the exasperated (and let’s be honest, probably drunk) crowd, Jorge Polanco laced a double to drive in Benge. Jared Young then singled to advance Polanco to third and John Schreiber made way for Beck Way (pun intended). Brett Baty launched yet another ball to the warning track for a sacrifice fly to score Polanco, which made the score 16-11 if you are still keeping track.
Not down by enough runs to use a position player to pitch, the Mets’ choices at this point were a.) send Matt Seelinger out for another inning or b.) use A.J. Minter, which would have likely necessitated the use of one of Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, or Brooks Raley for a third straight day. The Mets chose option a and with an assist from A.J. Ewing, who leapt up against the wall to rob Michael Massey of an extra base hit to end the inning, Seelinger posted a redemptive clean frame. Ewing continued to have quite the game, blooping a single off familiar foe Matt Strahm to lead off the eighth for his first career four-hit game. Strahm retired the next two batters he faced, but then walked Francisco Lindor and gave up a single to Carson Benge to bring the Mets within four.
A.J. Minter threw a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, which is only notable because a.) a 1-2-3 inning was about as rare as the Hope Diamond in this ballgame and b.) one of those outs was Tyler Tolbert, whose streak came to an end at 12 straight hits—tying, but not breaking, the major league record. Lucas Erceg responded with a 1-2-3 inning of his own to seal the victory for the Royals in what was a rather anticlimactic ending to an otherwise rollercoaster ride of a game. I feel like I ran a marathon, but all I did was recap a baseball game…an extremely bizarre baseball game.
Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +39% WPA Big Mets loser: Matt Seelinger, -49% WPA Mets pitchers: -97% WPA Mets hitters: +47% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge’s Little League home run in the first, +25.4% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Matt Seelinger gives up a go-ahead RBI double to Salvador Perez in the seventh, -21.1% WPA
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JUNE 06: Justin Foscue #14 of the Texas Rangers bats during a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Globe Life Field on June 06, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored eight runs while the Anaheim Angels scored three runs.
The Rangers had two hits entering the seventh inning tonight. By the end of the game, they had scored eight runs on 11 hits. This is the magic of playing the Angels, something that had not yet shown itself to Texas all season until tonight.
For a while it didn’t appear as though tonight would be the night either. Jacob deGrom allowed a pair of two-out run-scoring hits in the top of the first inning as Texas’ first inning ERA ballooned to 6.70 on the year.
Meanwhile, the Rangers had one hit entering the fifth inning. Luckily for them, that one hit scored two runs as a two-out RBI single from Nicky Lopez tied the game in the bottom of the second following a couple of walks allowed by Angels’ starter Jose Soriano.
The Rangers’ third hit of the night didn’t arrive until the seventh inning with Texas trailing 3-2. That hit scored their third run as Justin Foscue slashed a solo home run on a line just over the left field fence.
Texas trailed 3-2 at that juncture because Jacob deGrom exited after five innings and just 80 pitches in what appeared to be a bit of planned innings management for deGrom after a pretty taxing stretch for the pitching staff. With deGrom out, Cole Winn got through a scoreless inning but in a 2-2 game, the Angels took the lead two batters after Chris Martin entered to try to handle the seventh.
The 78 year old Martin with an elbow that probably looks like mashed up spaghetti has been bad all season but the collection of arms in a tied game is fairly uninspiring when you’re trying to get the game to Jacob Latz and with deGrom only penciled in for 80 pitches.
Thankfully the Rangers did a lot with the little they were doing at the plate before they broke out with five runs — including a three-run home run from Alejandro Osuna, his first of 2026 — in the bottom of the eighth to unbreak a 3-3 tie that transformed into an 8-3 win which didn’t even need to see the All-Star closer enter.
Couple a comeback win with a fall-from-ahead loss from the Seattle Mariners down in Miami and Texas remains above .500 and just a half game out of first place in the American League West.
Player of the Game: Foscue had the pinch hit, game-tying solo home run in the seventh and then had an RBI hit in the five run rally in the eighth immediately after Ezequiel Duran had singled in the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run.
That late-inning heroics eventually allowed the Rangers to earn their first win of the year against last place Anaheim.
Up Next: The Rangers and Angels will play more baseball tomorrow with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Walbert Urena for Anaheim.
The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 07: Manager Don Mattingly #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies (C) holds back infield coach Bobby Dickerson #9 as umpire Alfonso Márquez #72 looks on during the eighth inning of the baseball game at Great American Ball Park on July 07, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two of their four All-Star pitchers bookended a dominant night on the mound to pilot the Philadelphia Phillies (51-41) to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds (41-49) in the the opening game of the series.
The 18 strikeouts the Phillies’ staff collected were a season high, as they were for the Reds’ hitters who coughed them up.
Zack Wheeler matched his career high with 14 punch outs across his seven innings pitched, equaling the mark he set back in May of 2021 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 8, 2026
The Phillies got on the board first after a one-out double by Derek Hill and a single by Justin Crawford put runners on the corners for Trea Turner who grounded out to short to score Hill. Kyle Schwarber came up next and got the green light up 3-0 in the count to smash his majors-leading 31st home run to right center.
The Phillies would get it right back in the eighth after Turner beat out a throw for an infield single to lead off the frame. A single by Schwarber and a walk by Alec Bohm loaded the bases for Edmundo Sosa who scored Turner on a sacrifice fly.
Orion Kerkering was a one-man dinner and a show again as he threatened to yield the lead by loading the bases on walks. After the second one, Sal Stewart grounded to third for what might have been an inning-ending around-the-horn double play if not for a clever play by Elly De La Cruz to run through the bag at second instead of sliding or making a turn to third. After the dust settled on a challenge and an eight-minute delay, Phillies’ coaches Caleb Cotham and Bobby Dickerson were both ejected and De La Cruz remained at second. Kerkering finished loading the bases before being bailed out by Jonathan Bowlan to escape the trap.
Elly De La Cruz was ruled safe at second even though he ran through the bag.
After Don Mattingly and the Phillies argued, the call stood.
Technically, the umpires could have said De La Cruz abandoned the bag and called him out, but they elected not to and called him safe.… pic.twitter.com/fXNPnuEDGt
Chalk up yet another impressive career milestone for Shohei Ohtani in what will be a Hall of Fame career.In the first inning against the Colorado Rockies, Ohtani lead off the game with a home run, the 300th of his career.
Ohtani crushed right-hander Michael Lorenzen's third pitch of the game — a 93-mph sinker — over the center-field fence at Dodger Stadium for the milestone blast, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.
The Mets dropped a rollercoaster game to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, losing 16-12.
New York took a 9-4 lead into the fourth inning, but all of a sudden found themselves down 16-9 after a disastrous seven-run seventh inning. They slowly clawed back, cutting the deficit to four runs heading into the ninth, but the rally would end there.
The Royals out-hit the Mets 19-13 in the chaotic series-opener. It's the first time New York has scored 11 or more runs at home and lost.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York jumped on the board against former Met Seth Lugo in the bottom of the first inning with one of the craziest little league home runs you'll ever see... and it may have been a sign of things to come.
With two outs and runners on first and second base, Carson Benge singled on a tapper to Lugo -- and that's when it got messy. Lugo's throw went by first base, allowing a run to score. Then, 1B Jac Caglianone's throw sailed across the field to no-man's land and 3B Nick Loftin picked up the loose ball, firing home late as another run scored. As if it couldn't get worse, the ball got by catcher Carter Jensen, so Benge, who never stopped running, came around to score.
In total, three errors gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.
-- Cionel Pérez made his second start of the season as the opener and escaped some first-inning trouble, including a balk that pushed two runners into scoring position. Kodai Senga replaced him on the mound in the second and got two quick outs, but couldn't hold onto the clean frame. The righty let up a single and a two-run homer to Tyler Tolbert that cut the lead to 3-2.
-- A.J. Ewing one-upped Benge's "home run" with a two-run blast to right field in the bottom of the second inning, pushing the lead to 5-2. It's Ewing's sixth HR of the season.
-- Senga got into trouble again in the fourth inning, loading the bases and allowing a two-run double to Lane Thomas as the Royals trailed, 5-4. It nearly got worse, but Juan Soto saved two more runs from scoring by making a spectacular diving catch for the third out. Senga's final line: four runs on five hits over 3.0 IP with four strikeouts and four walks.
-- Ewing's big night continued in the bottom of the fourth with his third hit, driving in his third run to extend the lead. Soto then stepped up and launched a three-run homer, his 20th of the year, to make it 9-4.
-- Austin Warren let KC right back in the game in the fifth inning, allowing three doubles and four runs without recording an out as it quickly became a 9-7 game. Huascar Brazoban couldn't clean up the mess, allowing a run on a groundout, walking a batter, and letting up a game-tying single to Salvador Perez (that was tacked on to Warren's line).
Brazoban somehow escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, getting Bobby Witt Jr. to line out back to him to keep the game tied at 9-9.
-- Matt Seelinger's MLB debut didn't go as planned, as he let up a go-ahead RBI double to Perez in the seventh inning that gave the Royals their first lead of the night. The right-hander's night got worse, allowing six more runs in the inning, including a two-run homer to Loftin, as KC took a 16-9 lead.
Seelinger rebounded for a scoreless eighth inning with some help from a leaping Ewing at the wall for the third out. A.J. Minter tossed the only 1-2-3 inning of the game in the ninth.
Game MVP: Tyler Tolbert
Amid all the madness Tuesday night, Tolbert tied an MLB record with hits in 12 straight at-bats after his fifth of the night. He's just the fifth player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. Overall, Tolbert went 5-for-6 with two RBI in the win.
Honorable mention: A.J. Ewing, who finished the night 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBI for his first career four-hit game.
Jul 7, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Taj Bradley (26) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Cleveland got on the board in 2nd inning, as Rhys Hoskins went down and got Taj Bradley’s fastball and hit it out of the park to center for a solo homer. That was one of only three hits allowed by Bradley all night, as well as the only Guardians run. The question became: Can the Twins score more than one run tonight? The answer was yes.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Kody Clemens, Ryan Kreidler, and Luke Keaschall all reached without hitting a ball out of the infield. Then, after Kyler Fedko struck out (still searching for that first big league hit), Austin Martin got the Twins on the board with a sac-fly. With 2 outs, Brooks Lee put the Twins on top with a single up the middle, scoring Kreidler.
Taj Bradley had great stuff tonight, getting 10 strikeouts. Cleveland batters couldn’t hit his cutter, which had a 71% whiff rate and got him 7 of those strikeouts. In the 7th, with the tying run at 3rd and 1 out, he used that cutter to get Rhys Hoskins to strikeout, then a splitter got Brayan Rocchio to ground out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 7th, with Josh Bell at first and 2 outs, Kody Clemens drilled a ball into the left-center field gap for an RBI triple to get the Twins an insurance run.
Andrew Morris tossed a clean 8th inning, and Taylor Rogers got the first two in the 9th until he walked Chase DeLauter. Yoendrys Gomez came in and got Gabriel Arias to swing through 3 straight pitches for the save.
At this time of year, sometimes a smaller trade — like the sign-and-trade of John Collins to Detroit — ends up growing into something else entirely, a much larger trade, as it makes financial sense for multiple teams to piggyback on an existing deal.
Washington is essentially salary-dumping Russell to Washington (the Wizards get a pick out of it).
Middleton has agreed on a three-year, $17.6 million deal with the Wizards and will head there via sign-and-trade with Dallas. The second year of this deal is partially guaranteed, and the third year is non-guaranteed.
Both Russell and Middleton are now folded into a much more complex six-team trade that includes already agreed-upon trades, such as Collins from the Clippers to the Pistons. The six teams in the trade are Dallas, Washington, LA Clippers, Detroit, Milwaukee and Memphis. Here is how it shakes out, via Spotac's Keith Smith.
There are 11 Players involved in this six-team trade:
To DAL: Santi Aldama (from MEM), Marcus Sasser (from DET), Tarik Biberovic (draft rights from MEM)
To DET: John Collins (from LAC via S&T), Gary Harris (from MIL), Taurean Prince (from MIL)
Middleton will make $5.6 million next season, speculates John Hollinger of The Athletic, because at that number he and Deandre Ayton both still fit in the Kelly Olynyk trade exception Washington wants to use.
Dallas will come out of all this with Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser and a trade exception, which is a nice little bit of work.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 1: Zack Wheeler #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park on July 1, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a day off on Monday, the Cincinnati Reds opened a crucial six-game homestand with their backs against the proverbial wall in this 2026 season. They stood at 41-48 and in last place in the National League’s Central division, and were about to welcome behemoths to town in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
If ever there were a time to show up for this season, it was tonight. Instead, the Reds got absolutely waxed by a Phillies club that’s playing some of the best ball in the sport right now.
Phillies starter struck out 14 in his time on the mound, the Phils staff struck out an astonishing 18 Reds on the evening, and Kyle Schwarber – whom the Reds ‘tried’ to sign over the winter to no avail – socked a back-breaking 2-run homer off Andrew Abbott that sealed a 4-1 loss for Cincinnati in a game they desperately needed to win.
Abbott, to his credit, was hardly the problem on the night. He yielded 3 ER in 6.0 IP, the Schwarbomb the only true mistake he made. He fanned 8 against nary a walk and allowed just 5 H in his effort, and he once again showed he’s a rock within a rotation that’s otherwise been shaky (non Chase Burns edition) all season long.
Cincinnati’s offense, though, simply had no fight back.
Eugenio Suarez did launch a solo homer in the Bottom of the 7th as Wheeler tired, but Geno later struck out with the bases loaded against reliever Jonathan Bowlan in the Bottom of the 8th as the bottom dropped out of any potential Reds revival.
Chase Burns will toe the rubber tomorrow as the Reds look to once again attempt to right their ship, with first pitch set for 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.
Jul 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Luis Lara (18) hits a two run single in his Major League debut during the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
For six innings, the Brewers and Cardinals were involved in another close, low-scoring baseball game. Starters Robert Gasser and Hunter Dobbins were both pitching well, and while Milwaukee got out to an early lead, the Cardinals punched back in the sixth.
Then the seventh inning happened.
Milwaukee put up seven runs in their half of the seventh, and Gasser went deeper into a game than he ever has as a professional, and the Brewers finished a sweep of today’s doubleheader that guaranteed the team a series win in this five-game set. On top of all of that, rookie Luis Lara played his first game as a big leaguer and got off on the right foot.
After Christian Yelich started the game with a groundout, Lara got his first chance as a big leaguer. He had a nice at-bat and worked Dobbins to a full count, but on the seventh pitch he saw he also grounded out. Brice Turang hit a two-out double into the right-field corner, but Andrew Vaughn struck out looking, and the Brewers didn’t score in the first.
In the bottom of the inning, Gasser also allowed a two-out hit — a single to Jordan Walker — but he retired Nelson Velázquez on the very next pitch, and the inning was over. Dobbins and Gasser both worked quick second innings, as neither allowed anything except for another two-out bloop single for José Fermín.
The Brewers put themselves in a good position to start the third when Cooper Pratt hit a ball into the right-field corner that bounced just in front of the wall and ended up as his first career triple. Dobbins picked up a big strikeout of Joey Ortiz, but Yelich was able to come through with an RBI groundout that gave the Brewers an early 1-0 lead. With two outs, Lara nearly picked up his first hit as a big leaguer with a looping line drive to right, but Walker caught it on a dive to end the inning.
Sal Frelick answered Walker’s diving catch by making one of his own to lead off the bottom of the inning. Frelick made another nice play on a fly ball from JJ Wetherholt for the second out, but St. Louis got another two-out baserunner when Iván Herrera walked. Walker followed with a groundball to third, which Ortiz played in shallow left field and made a heck of a throw to get Walker — a play that looked very, very close, but which the Cardinals didn’t challenge.
Dobbins sliced through the Brewers in order in the top of the fourth. Gasser continued what was already an efficient game by getting his first three-up, three-down inning on just seven pitches. With the bullpen needing a break in the second game of a doubleheader, Gasser was through four scoreless innings on just 42 pitches.
Sánchez drew a walk to start the fifth, and after a Frelick flyout, Pratt walked, too. With two on and one out, Ortiz lined a solid single to right, loading the bases for the top of the order. Yelich struck out, and the Brewers were in danger of letting a golden opportunity pass… but Lara came up with a big moment in his debut. He hit a grounder just past a diving Wetherholt that scored two runs, and he ended up at second after Walker threw to third. Turang flew out to end the inning, but the Brewers were up 3-0, and the kid was on the board.
Nine pitches later, Gasser had another 1-2-3 inning.
After Dobbins walked Vaughn to start the sixth, he was replaced by lefty Jared Shuster. His first batter was Jake Bauers, who also walked. Shuster struck out Sánchez to get himself back in the inning. With one out and two on, Pat Murphy opted to send Jackson Chourio in as a pinch-hitter for Frelick, but he flew out to center on the first pitch he saw. Pratt, who’d reached in each of his first two at-bats, still had a chance with two out, and he hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Masyn Winn was able to make the play to get the Cardinals out of the inning.
After a Wetherholt groundout, Lara got his first action in the field when Herrera flew out to shallow center. But Gasser finally faltered with two outs in the sixth. Walker lined his second two-out single of the game, and Velázquez, the next batter, got a mistake on a 1-2 fastball and hit it into the front row in left-center. Gasser had been brilliant, but suddenly the Brewers were ahead by just one. Alec Burleson then made it his personal goal to wreck Gasser’s excellent pitch count, but on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he hit a weak tapper that ended the inning. Even with the long inning, Gasser was at just 72 pitches through six, but the score was now 3-2.
The suddenly scorching-hot Ortiz had an immediate answer. On the second pitch of the seventh inning, Ortiz hit one out to left for his third homer of the season, and, including the first game of the doubleheader, his fifth hit of the day. After a Yelich strikeout, Lara came to the plate as a right-handed hitter for the first time and drew the first walk of his career. Lara then got to show off the wheels when Turang hit a ball into the gap in right field; center fielder Nathan Church cut it off, and St. Louis thought they’d have a play at the plate, but Lara was way too fast and scored without much trouble.
Milwaukee still wasn’t done. Vaughn hit a ground ball up the middle that Winn was able to get to, but he couldn’t make a play on it. After Bauers walked (he was then replaced by the speedier Mitchell, who would take his place in right field in the bottom of the inning), the bases were loaded with one out for Sánchez. Sánchez delivered with a base hit to left field that scored two and advanced Mitchell to third.
Shuster was clearly laboring and had thrown over 30 pitches in the inning, but the Cardinals were going to cruelly make him figure it out. Chourio was up next, and he took three balls and a strike before he crushed an RBI single into right field that made it 8-2 Brewers. Shuster was mercifully replaced by right-hander Gordon Graceffo after that, 39 pitches into the inning and 52 in the game. Pratt greeted Graceffo rudely by lining a two-run double down the left-field line that scored two more runs. Yelich, trying to avoid making his second out of the inning, grounded out to finally end the top of the seventh. But the Brewers had scored seven runs in response to the two St. Louis had garnered in the bottom of the previous inning, opening up a 10-2 lead.
Brewers put up a 🔟 spot
🔵 El Gary singles, drives in 2 🔵 Jackson singles to score 1 🔵 COOP doubles to bring in 2 more
After a long layoff, Gasser was back on the mound. Winn grounded out to third, and for the first time in his major league career, Gasser had recorded an out in the seventh inning. Two batters later, Gasser had two more outs, and he was through seven.
Outfielder Bryan Torres was the new Cardinals pitcher in the eighth. The Brewers hit some balls hard and got a baserunner when Wetherholt was given an error on a grounder by Vaughn, but Torres didn’t give up any hits and got the Cardinals through the inning. Gasser was back for the eighth at 86 pitches. After getting the first two batters of the inning, he hit Jimmy Crooks (who’d come in as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning), and Murphy elected to end his night there. He called for Craig Yoho, and while Walker scalded a line drive, he hit it right at Vaughn for the third out.
Gasser was fantastic. He completed 7 2/3 innings, five more outs than he’d ever gotten in a big-league game before, and allowed just four hits and one walk. If not for the one mistake to Velásquez in the sixth, he may have had a chance at a complete-game shutout, but either way, he gave the Brewers length and efficiency at the best possible time.
In Torres’ second inning, he issued a leadoff walk to Sánchez. He then faced… left-handed Jackson Chourio? Chourio put some decent wood on the ball from the wrong side of the plate, but flew out to deep center. Pratt hit a hard line drive to short, but it was caught, and Ortiz flew out. Two scoreless, hitless innings for Torres.
Yoho was tasked with finishing the game, and he did just that, in order. Fittingly, Lara made the catch that ended the game.
In a game that featured a balanced offensive attack, the Brewers got hits from seven different players and multiple hits from three. Those multiple hits came from three guys with standout games: Turang, who had two doubles; Pratt, who had a double and a triple; and Ortiz, who hit the team’s only home run. But it was Gasser who was the big story, as he had one of his best nights as a professional and did a huge solid for a heavily worked pitching staff. Miraculously, the Brewers got through the doubleheader while using only three relievers: Ashby and Uribe for an inning each in the early game, and Yoho for four outs in the nightcap.
With two wins today, Milwaukee has already clinched this five-game series, but they’ve got two more games in St. Louis. The series continues tomorrow with Kyle Harrison on the mound for the Brewers versus Michael McGreevy at 6:45 p.m.
Jul 7, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson (4) is forced out at home plate against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The most frustrating thing about tonight’s 6-5 extra-innings loss: it was a winnable game, if just a few things had gone differently. But the mistakes compounded for the Mariners, ultimately delivering a loss to open up the Florida leg of their road trip – always a tough road trip for the Mariners, who haven’t won a series in Miami since 2011.
Those looking for an antidote to the “Bryan Woo struggles on the road” narrative (it’s me I’m those) would be disappointed by Woo’s outing today. The Marlins made a ton of hard contact off Woo early, and although he was able to navigate around a pair of singles in the first, getting back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning, he wouldn’t be so lucky in the second: after falling behind Marlins slugger Owen Caissie 1-0, he left a fastball in the lefty loop zone that Caissie demolished for a solo homer.
That itself wouldn’t have been so bad, especially after Woo got his next two outs, but nine-hole hitter Javier Sanoja ambushed a first-pitch fastball and then advanced first to third on a Liam Hicks single on a pitch high and out of the zone, his second of the day. Woo then made things worse for himself, spiking a slider for a wild pitch that brought in the Marlins’ second run of the day.
The Marlins kept nibbling away at Woo in the third, pesking around another run despite two outs and a savvy challenge from the Mariners on a very nice play by Cole Young against the speedy Xavier Edwards. But despite getting a boost from his defense, Woo couldn’t work around a single to Griffin Conine given up in his next at-bat, walking Caissie with some nibble pitches to push Conine into second and then surrendering a hit on the sweeper to Jakob Marsee to make it 3-0. The Marlins added a fourth run in the fourth inning; Hicks doubled off a slider and advanced to third on some fielding misadventures from Victor Robles, and then scored on a sacrifice fly (despite a very nifty catch from Luke Raley).
Meanwhile, Marlins starter Max Meyer was perfect the first time through against the Mariners, deploying his pair of sweepers with devastating effectiveness. The only batter who really made him work the first time through the order was Cole Young, who executed one of his platonic-ideal Cole Young at-bats, going from 0-2 and a called strike three, smartly challenged by Young, to working the count full and almost getting the Mariners’ first hit on a hard-hit ball that Marlins first baseman Liam Hicks was just able to smother.
Instead, it was – as it has so often been this year – Randy Arozarena who delivered the Mariners’ first hit of the day in the fourth, taking advantage of a poorly-located sweeper for a line-drive single; unfortunately, he’d be cut down trying to steal for what would be the final out of the inning.
Cal Raleigh, who was at bat when Arozarena got thrown out, would lead off the fifth with a double then be small-balled around for the first Mariners run of the day, and the Mariners got a second run in that inning when Cole Young jumped on a fastball identical to one he’d just fouled off in the first pitch of the at-bat: this time Young leaned on it, pulling it over the right-field wall for a solo homer that cut the Marlins’ lead in half.
The Mariners had their best scoring chance in the sixth and let it slip through their fingers, finally taking advantage of some shoddy command from Meyers and loading the bases with no outs on two walks and an opposite-field single from J.P. Crawford. The Marlins brought in flamethrowing reliever Michael Peterson to try to act as the fireman and prevent and runs from scoring, and he did his job—or rather, the Mariners did his job for him. Dominic Canzone chased after some high heat for a grounder that turned into an out at home. Cal Raleigh couldn’t catch up with 99 on the plate for the second out of the inning, and Josh Naylor – not any king of bat speed – grounded out to end the inning. NOBLETIGERS are the worst kind of tigers.
Similarly, the Mariners squandered another opportunity in the seventh after a leadoff double from Luke Raley – off a lefty, even! If there’s one bright spot to take from this game it’s that Raley has looked much better lately after what was a very tough June for him. Young advanced him to third on a deep flyout that he just missed knocking over the wall for a game-tying homer, but the bottom of the order couldn’t pick the run up.
The Mariners had another great scoring opportunity in the eighth, after some good work from J.P. Crawford working a leadoff walk off the lefty King, and then some bad work by Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher, who hit Randy with a 97 mph fastball, leaving him in obvious distress. But Canzone again couldn’t connect, trying too hard to make something happen and striking out chasing a curveball in the dirt. Cal Raleigh battled for nine pitches, fighting off some tough breaking balls and declining to chase after the curveball that got Canzone, getting a sweeper he could drive for an RBI double, bringing the Mariners to within a run.
The Mariners would tie it up and then go ahead on some good old-fashioned Chaos Ball, courtesy of Josh Naylor, who rapped a single past second baseman Edwards for the game-tying run; Naylor would then get tangled up with Edwards while making his turn at first, allowing him to get to second on an obstruction call. Naylor made it to third on a fielder’s choice out and then Cole Young put up yet another great at-bat, working a tiring Faucher for 10 pitches and eventually earning a walk. The go-ahead run, coming in on a wild pitch with Victor Robles at-bat, can be directly credited to Young pushing Faucher to the brink.
Unfortunately, all that work would go for naught when pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernández leaned on a pitch from Gabe Speier, trying to sneak a fastball past the righty in a full count, for a game-tying homer. Maybe frustrated, Speier then walked pinch-hitter Esteury Ruiz on four pitches, none of which were particularly close; Ruiz would get to third but that’s as far as he would get, as Speier, despite missing his swing-and-miss-stuff, was able to clear the inning without further damage.
On to the ninth in a tied game, then, with the Marlins bringing in their closer, former Ray Pete Fairbanks, pitching two days after a fairly disastrous outing against the Athletics. Despite a two-out single from Randy Arozarena, Fairbanks was able to put the Mariners away in the top of the inning.
Andrés Muñoz spun a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to keep the Mariners in it, but the Mariners weren’t able to score their Manfred Man, with pinch-runner Weston Wilson foolishly getting thrown out at third on a Cal Raleigh groundout, erasing the Mariners’ best opportunity to score and essentially sealing the loss. That left Michael Rucker to try to contend with the Marlins’ high-flying offense and things went about as you’d expect, with the Marlins walking it off.
More than anything else – not Woo’s hard contact and continued road struggles, or Speier allowing the game-tying homer, or Michael Rucker being pressed into high-leverage service again – it was the back-to-back squandered scoring opportunities in the sixth and seventh that sunk the Mariners in this game. To look on the bright side, there are a lot of good things that happened in this game: continued traffic on the bases, hitters making adjustments against a tough pitcher in Meyer, Raley hitting off a lefty, Colt Emerson making some solid plays at short, Cole Young continuing to put up impressive plate appearances, a clean inning from Muñoz. But that’s cold comfort for a team that’s struggled with consistency and struggled on the road, staring down the barrel of yet another tough East Coast road trip.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 07: Matthew Boyd #16 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 07, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
So, it turns out the Cubs are no slouches after all. And though it’s their offense that’s supposed to be a team strength, today the Most Cub-Like Player had to have been the starter, Matthew Boyd. The lefty hounded the Orioles all night, the way you thought a crafty lefty might. Through six innings, Baltimore had no runs and just three hits—a single apiece by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso—off the 2025 All-Star, who was mixing up speeds and locations. That’s no way to win a ballgame.
You can’t be too mad at a Shane Baz quality start (six innings, three runs) against MLB’s second-best offense. But his team gave him no help at all.
Rain delayed first pitch by an hour, so we kicked off bravely at the pretty regular hour of 7:30 ET. It didn’t appear to faze the Orioles starter, Baz, who confronted the Cubs with confidence, attacking the zone.
For two innings it kinda worked! Baz had a strong first inning, striking out the mighty Pete Crow-Armstrong with high heat before retiring Alex Bregman and Michael Busch on two quick flyouts. In the second, he allowed lots of noisy contact, including to outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who skied a ball deep to center, 383 feet away, 106 mph off the bat.
Despite keeping things scoreless, so many hard hits augured poorly for Baz in the third. Considering, it could have gone worse. With two outs, Miguel Amaya walked and Crow-Armstrong singled to center before Alex Bregman got a hanging Baz knuckle curve and singled home the Cubs’ first run. A concerned O’s pitching staff checked on Baz, but the damage wouldn’t go any further. It took a popout with the bases loaded to get Baz out of trouble, though.
The knuckle curveball featured prominently in Baz’s offerings tonight, but it proved vulnerable in a two-run Chicago fifth. Baz allowed three straight hits, including Crow-Armstrong’s RBI single. Then Bregman grounded into a forceout, scoring the catcher Amaya and making it a 3-0 Chicago game.
All of this would have been fine, like I said, except that Matthew Boyd was hounding the Orioles, who’d managed little more than offensive drips and drabs. Through five innings, they had just three hits off the 2025 All-Star, who was mixing up speeds and locations—you know, just what you’d expect.
The Birds had some baserunners, at least one in each of the first five innings. I still wouldn’t say they made the Chicago starter really sweat. In the first inning, Gunnar Henderson singled to right with two outs. No rally. Coby Mayo walked to start the second, but he was stranded. In the third, Adley singled and got no further. The fourth bid well for the home team, as Pete Alonso hit a leadoff rocket at 111.9 mph and Coby Mayo got hit by a pitch. But, whaddya know, then Matthew Boyd went and struck out the side in order. Thanks for spotting us two baserunners, Matthew Boyd (😞).
Both starters got lifted after six innings, Baz on 100 pitches, Boyd on 93. The move didn’t pay off for either club, but the O’s would have it worse (that is, because they lost).
O’s reliever Anthony Nunez got hit up pretty quickly. The right hander tossed a pair of fastballs down the middle that ended up a single for catcher Amaya and a Bregman double. A sac fly by Michael Busch would stretch the Cubs’ lead to a deflating 4-0.
True, it felt less deflating after a seventh inning where the O’s chose to score a pair of runs against a rickety Cubs bullpen featuring lefty Ryan Rolison and old Orioles friend Jacob Webb (so that’s where he ended up!). It started with Samuel Basallo in the six spot hitting an infield single. Blaze Alexander followed with an inside-out swing, a single of his own. (“An Alexanderian swing,” said a MASN booth of Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald. What a luxury these guys are.) Two strikeouts in a row by pinch-hitters Tyler O’Neil and Leody Taveras threatened to douse the flames. But with two outs, Taylor Ward walked and Adley delivered the Orioles’ first hit of the night with RISP, a 108-mph rocket to the outfield. Basallo and Blaze Alexander scored fairly easily, especially when the Cubs’ Suzuki airmailed the throw from right field.
Gunnar struck out, and there would be no more rallying. Then, alas, 4-2 became 5-2 the next inning. Maybe Craig Albernaz was wrong to try and extend Anthony Nunez for a second inning. The world may never know, but Cubs second baseman Hico Hoerner golfed a single to the outfield, stole second, and scored when Dansby Swanson, on some kind of a run (30 RBI in his last 15 games), served a Nunez breaking ball into the opposite field to make it 5-2 Chicago. Not much hard contact off Nunez. “A dying quail,” the MASN booth called it. A buzzkill, I call it.
With Nick Raquet on for the O’s in the ninth, the broadcast cut to a small but hardy “Tarps Off” section of shirtless, dancing men in the upper deck. I admired their commitment, because there wasn’t much on the field to get excited about. It would be cool if the Orioles could hit lefties a little better.
Onto better things tomorrow? Dean Kremer (1-1, 3.18 ERA, 20 K) takes on Chicago’s Colin Rea (6-5, 4.74 ERA, 68 K). At least it’s a battle of right handers.
Jul 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt (12) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Hunter Dobbins was entrusted with the starting duties of game 2 of the day/night doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers and did a great job of limiting their offense to minimal damage in the early innings. The St. Louis Cardinals offense did not make a significant appearance in the game and the 7th inning was a disaster – again.
The Brewers didn’t make a dent in Hunter Dobbins outing until Cooper Pratt tripled to lead off the top of the 3rd inning. He would score 2 batters later when Christian Yelich grounded out to Masyn Winn giving Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
More trouble would arrive in the top of the 5th inning as walks would come back to haunt Hunter Dobbins. He walked Sanchez to start the Brewers 5th. After Frelick flied out, Dobbins then walked Pratt. Ortiz singled to right to load the bases. Hunter was able to strike out Christian Yelich, but one of Milwaukee’s top prospects who was just called up to the majors Luis Lara smacked his first major league hit into right field after a diving JJ Wetherholt scoring 2 and increasing the Brewers lead to 3-0. Hunter Dobbins would complete 5 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 earned runs while striking out 4 and walking 3.
Jared Shuster, who was just called up today from Memphis, entered the game in the top of the 6th inning with one runner on. He walked Jake Bauers, the first batter he faced, to give the Brewers runners on first and second with no outs, but struck out Sanchez. Shuster was also able to coax a flyout to center from Jackson Chourio for the second out. He got out of the inning when Cooper Pratt grounded into a force out to end the Milwaukee 6th.
The Cardinals bats were extremely quiet for the first 5 innings with the exception of Jordan Walker. He had one of the only St. Louis hits in the early innings and hammered an 86 mph changeup for another single with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning. He would cross home plate shortly after thanks to a jolt that Nelson Velázquez put into a 93 mph four-seam fastball from Brewers pitcher Gasser as it sailed into the plants above the left field wall reducing the Milwaukee lead to 3-2.
The Brewers would almost immediately get one of those runs back when Ortiz led off the top of the 7th with a no-doubt 415 foot home run off of Shuster to make it 4-2 Brewers. Milwaukee wasn’t done in the 7th, either. After Christian Yelich struck out, Luis Lara walked followed by a double by Turang which scored Lara easily as he is one of the fastest players on the Brewers roster upping their lead to 5-2. Can someone please put up a poster in the Cardinals bullpen that says WALKS=BAD? I wish I could say that the walks and scoring stopped, but that would be inaccurate. After Vaughan reached on an infield single that glanced off of JJ Wetherholt’s glove, Bauers (you guessed it) walked to load the bases bringing up Sanchez with just one out. He piled on the misery by smacking a single to left scoring 2 and increasing the Milwaukee bashing to 7-2. Chourio refused to show us mercy by singling to right-center scoring another one of the zillion Brewers baserunners making it 8-2. That finally inspired the Cardinals manager to remove Shuster and bring in Gordon Graceffo. Perhaps feeling peer pressure from his predecessors, Gordon gave up a double to Cooper Pratt which scored 2 more Brewers and brought out the boo birds in Busch Stadium as the score inflated to 10-2 Brewers.
To make matters worse, the St. Louis Cardinals lineup made Brewers starter Robert Gasser look like Sandy Koufax. Not trying to detract from his impressive outing, but other than Jordan Walker and Nelson Velázquez, the Cardinals just looked overmatched all night. He pitched an epic 7 2/3 innings and deserves big credit for his effort. The fact that there was one singular Cardinals highlight to share tonight tells you all that you need to know about how far St. Louis is behind the Milwaukee Brewers as a team. I’m confident that the organization led by new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom have us headed in the right direction, but this series has been a reality check for the work that still has to be done.
The most effective reliever out of the Cardinals bullpen was position player Bryan Torres who pitched the final two innings of the game. My proof? He only walked one batter and allowed no runs.
The St. Louis Cardinals will play the 4th game of their 5-game series this week versus the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday night hoping for better results than the first 3 games have provided them. Michael McGreevy will get the start for St. Louis while Milwaukee will give the ball to Kyle Harrison who’s 8-1 on the season with a 2.82 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.
