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Game 75 Game Thread.

A sweep would be ok.

And Trey…..pitch deep into the game, please. And I don’t mean 2026 deep, pitching into the fourth inning or something. I mean 1990s deep, where you hand the ball to the closer as you come off the mound.

There are some injury notes:

• It sounds unlikely that Daulton Varsho will be back right away, when his IL time runs out. They say a lot would have to happen in the next two days. Likely sometime next week.
• Addiaon Barger is about ready to play some rehab game. Addison….maybe let’s not unleash the 95 mph throw from the outfield for a month or so.
• Anthony Santander (if you remember him) will start hitting soon. It will be a long rehab.
• Lenyn Sosa……well, who cares.

Lineup:

LOS ANGELES — Justin Wrobleski on Tuesday night had another strong start in a season that is filling up with them, and authored the first two-thirds of a game that lasted only one hour, 52 minutes.

Drew Rasmussen was also quite good, going seven innings for the Rays, and allowed the only run of the game, a solo home run by Shohei Ohtani in the sixth inning. That was the recipe for a quick game, especially with Will Klein, Kyle Hurt, and Tanner Scott retiring eight of their nine batters faced out of the Dodgers bullpen.

“Not only myself, but everyone that came out of the bullpen filled the zone and did a great job. When [Rasmussen] is dealing and we pitch a good game, too, that’s a product of it,” Wrobleski said Tuesday night. “Under two hours is pretty cool, especially when we’ve got a noon game tomorrow, so that’s good for the boys.”

Wrobleski needed only 67 pitches to get through his six innings, and was pulled due to a combination of pitching on four days rest plus some hard-hit balls later in his outing. He had the second straight quality start for the Dodgers after fellow left-hander Eric Lauer went six innings on Monday.

“He fills the zone up a lot, he’s not afraid to go after guys. I think that plays into his hand of, ‘I have a lot of good stuff, and I’m going to come after you with everything I’ve got,’” Lauer said of Wrobleski on Wednesday, as shown on SportsNet LA. “He throws hard, has good offspeed stuff, and keeps them off balance with that curveball now. He stays in the zone and gets guys out in the zone, which is hard to do.”

“You know he’s going to go after guys. His first pitch is like his last pitch,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s the epitome of go as hard as you can for as long as you can, until the manager takes the ball from you.”

Wrobleski this season has thrown 66.9 percent of his pitches for strikes, tops on the team and 16th among 128 qualified major league pitchers.

“Our defense is incredible, they’ve been great all year,” Wrobleski said Tuesday. “It gives me confidence to just fill the zone, and let them make plays behind me.”

That’s helped Wrobleski last at least six innings in nine of his 12 starts, including four starts of seven innings or longer. He’s also started two of the three shortest Dodgers games of the season. He went seven innings and struck out nine Phillies in a win on May 29 at Dodger Stadium that lasted two hours, three minutes.

But one hour, 52 minutes on Tuesday was a real throwback game, and the shortest game lasting at least nine innings so far of this MLB season.

The Dodgers hadn’t had a game that short for nearly 34 years. October 4, 1992 was the last time they played a game so quick, a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros in The Astrodome on the final day of a miserable 99-loss season for the Dodgers, their worst year in the live-ball era.

It was also the final game in the 31-year career of legendary umpire Doug Harvey, who worked behind the plate that Sunday. According to accounts from some Astros in the Associated Press game report, Harvey may have helped that game move along rather quickly:

“I knew there would be an expanded strike zone today,” Howe said after Houston beat the Dodgers, 3-0, in a 1-hour, 44-minute game, shortest in the National League since April 10, 1989. “I told our guys just to be aggressive.”

“He called a strike on me,” Houston pitcher Pete Harnisch said, “and then he looked at me and said, ‘That pitch wasn’t even close.’ ”

Harnisch matched his personal best with 12 strikeouts.

Harvey, who was also behind the plate for Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2010.

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Friday Jr. is here, and we have a handful of more MLB expert picks with baseball on throughout the day.

Our MLB analysts have scoured the board to find the best place, including backing the New York Mets as slight underdogs against the Phillies.

Find out why in the MLB picks for June 18 below!

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: Angels vs. Athletics - Over 10.5	+113
Jon Metler: Twins ML	-117
Neil Parker: Phillies ML	-113
Joe Osborne: Mets ML	+104

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Angels vs Athletics - Over 10.5

Price: 47¢ (+113) at Polymarket

If you're going to give us totals this low in Sacramento, I'm going to keep betting the Over until this number gets back to where it was during the Colorado series, when totals climbed as high as 14.5.

The Over cashed again last night on a similar number, and THE BAT is projecting 11.75 runs once again today. It's not 90 degrees at Sutter Health Park, but there are 12-mph winds blowing out to center field, and this remains, by far, the best park for runs and home runs on the board, per Ballpark Pal.

The Los Angeles Angels are rolling with a bullpen day, and the Athletics own the worst bullpen ERA in baseball over the last two weeks. Runs could come from either side at any point in this series opener

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: NBCS-California, Athletics.TV

Jon Metler's expert pick: Twins moneyline

Price: 54¢ (-117) at Polymarket

Let's call it what it is: this is a bet on Joe Ryan.

Ryan has quietly established himself as one of the better starters in the American League, and with the trade deadline approaching, he'll have plenty of motivation to continue building his value.

His success starts with a four-seam fastball that he throws at a high rate. While the pitch doesn't overwhelm hitters with pure velocity — it sits around 94 mph — its unique release point creates a flat, rising trajectory that makes it extremely difficult for hitters to track and square up consistently.

That pitch should be particularly effective against the heart of the Texas Rangers' lineup, especially right-handed hitters like Wyatt Langford, Josh Jung, and Jake Burger. 

If Ryan can neutralize that group, it's fair to wonder where Texas will generate enough offense to win this game. At the current price, I'm willing to back the better starting pitcher. I make the Minnesota Twins closer to 58-cent favorites in this matchup.

• Time: 2:35 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Monumental, RSN

Neil Parker's expert pick: Phillies moneyline

Price: 53¢ (-113) at Polymarket

While it hasn’t been pretty for Philadelphia Phillies veteran Aaron Nola, his underlying 3.49 xFIP at home is impressive, and Philly ranks 11th in wOBA and sixth in ISO at Citizens Bank Park.

So, with the New York Mets sporting respective 29th- and 26th-ranked marks on the highway, I’m expecting Nola to pitch well enough for the Phillies to pull away.

New York lefty Sean Manaea will be making just his second start of the year, and the Philadelphia bullpen paces the majors in xFIP this season and across the past 30 days to close out the game behind Nola.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: NBCS-Philadelphia, SNY

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Mets moneyline

Price: 49¢ (+104) at Polymarket

Sean Manaea appears to have found his groove, posting a 3.33 ERA over his last eight appearances, and now he gets the start against a Philadelphia Phillies lineup that ranks a brutal 25th in OPS against southpaws over the last month.

On the other side, Aaron Nola looks — quite simply — washed, carrying a 5.86 ERA this season and a 6.21 mark at home. The New York Mets have hit him well historically, enter with the hotter offense, and could also benefit from a potentially taxed Phillies bullpen after the team used eight different pitchers yesterday.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: SNY, NBCS-Philadelphia

More MLB best bets for today

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Last week, I wrote this article proposing that the Cubs match a lot of other teams and move all their night game start times to 6:40 p.m. Currently, the Cubs have that starting time for night games in April, May and September, and begin night contests at 7:05 p.m. in June, July and August.

Now, I’d like to go a step further. Night baseball began at Wrigley Field in 1988, but not until after some contentious negotiations with groups in the neighborhood around the ballpark. An ordinance was passed at that time by the city of Chicago limiting the number of night games to 18 per year. That ordinance was amended in 2002, raising the limit to 30, with additional night games allowed for national TV purposes. Night games were prohibited on Fridays and Saturdays, again with national TV exceptions — though the team has hosted night concerts at Wrigley on those days, and functionally there is no difference between a night baseball game and night concert, it’s still 40,000 people in the neighborhood, lights on, crowd noise (and obviously, loud music on concert nights). Typically there are now 35-40 night events at Wrigley Field each year, more if the Cubs make the postseason (postseason games are exempt from the ordinance limits). Last year the Cubs played two postseason games at night, the two in the division series vs. the Brewers. The wild card series games vs. the Padres were all day games.

It’s now 38 years since baseball under the lights was first played at the Friendly Confines. The neighborhood has changed and adapted to games being played at night. I’d say, without researching in detail, that the overwhelming majority of people living near Wrigley Field now were not living there in 1988.

This topic came up again because of what happened at the Mumford and Sons concert at Wrigley Field last week. The event was delayed several hours because of severe thunderstorms in the Chicago area. It didn’t begin until after 10:30 p.m. and ended at about 12:30 a.m., which is 90 minutes past the usual time limit on concerts. Per this Block Club Chicago article, the band was subject to “heavy fines” (about $45,000, according to the article) for going so long — but more importantly, the article indicates that at least some neighbors didn’t mind the late ending:

“I don’t care,” said Diane Chaney, who has lived on the 3700 block of Sheridan Avenue Wrigley for nearly seven years. “We knew going into this that we’re going to have noise when we move here. Anybody who moves here and thinks it’s going to be a nice, quiet place is delusional.”

Neil Barron, a Cubs season ticket holder who lives in an apartment on the 3700 block of Wilton Avenue, said the occasional late night comes with the territory.

“The stadium was here first,” Barron said. “I chose to be here.”

On Thursday night, Barron pulled up a chair and sat on his front lawn to listen to the Mumford show. That’s one of the perks of living so close to the stadium, he said.

Jarrett Prizel, who moved into the neighborhood less than a week ago, said he barely noticed the concert itself from his apartment at 3800 Grace Street and only heard some of the fireworks.

“If you move into an area like this, you kind of know what you’re getting yourself into,” Prizel said. “Last night was a little bit different because of the rain, but that’s just part of it.”

(Note: The writer probably meant somewhere around the 800 block of Grace Street. 3800 Grace would be several miles west of Wrigley Field. And “Sheridan Avenue Wrigley” … that’s not a thing. The writer probably meant Sheridan Road.)

These comments are 100 percent different from what neighbors were saying in 1988. This is likely because, as those three people noted, they knew exactly where they were moving and what was in the neighborhood before they lived there. I’d guess those comments reflect the views of most of the community.

And so I am going to propose here that the city of Chicago repeal the night-game ordinance and allow the Cubs to play as many night games as they choose. The ordinance, nearly four decades old, has outlived any usefulness it once had.

Playing more night games would help the team, allowing them more rest, as many other teams have. Here’s a list of the number of home night games played by all 30 MLB teams in 2025. 2026 data, obviously, is incomplete, but it’s likely to be similar. As I noted in last week’s article, the Cubs will play 39 home night games this year.

Author’s Note: This post contains sponsored content from FanDuel Sportsbook

Well, as is typical, I spoke too soon. Jhonny Pereda has been demoted back to Triple-A; it seems the Mariners are committing 100% to Garver, which I can respect, but at the same time, it’s like, why not go with the hot hand? Unless Garver has some remarkably strong relationship with the pitching staff, which I doubt, I’m a little confused as to why they keep running him out there. Seems like the majority of you agree with me:

Clearly, Pereda has captured the hearts of Mariners fans everywhere, but heart alone isn’t enough, and play apparently isn’t either, so I guess it’s vibes-based. Considering the results over the past few seasons, I can’t exactly disagree with the success of the strategy. Who knows, maybe Garver is going to give a Jayson Hayward-type rain delay speech in the World Series and inspire the Mariners to victory.

But let’s stop the roster construction talk for a bit. With the midpoint of the season coming up, voting has already opened for the Midsummer Classic, the MLB All-Star Game. All-Star week is always a fun time for players to reset and get back on track, accept their flowers for fantastic first-half performances, and capture bragging rights over the guys in the other league. Now, as we all know, every team gets one representative, while some teams send just one guy who’s been playing at a mildly above-average level; others have such a plethora of talent that they have the opprotunity to send multiple players. While the Mariners have struggled, they still have had several standout performances so far this season. Obviously, you can vote for Mariners all up and down the ballot, but what I want to hear from you all is who you would most like to see in the All-Star Game from the Mariners? Not necessarily the obvious pick, but who you would love to see rep the Mariners at the Midsummer Classic.

Speaking of voting, I know some people at LL already do this (including me), but do you always vote for all Mariners on your ballot, or do you mix it up? Personally, I always do a few All-Mariners ballots and then some where I try to vote for who I actually think deserves to be an All-Star. But I’d like to know how you do it- all Mariners, all the way, mixed and matched, or just pure hateraid and ignoring the boys in Navy Blue altogether? Let us know your thoughts through the poll and comments below!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mariners fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

It seems odd that we’re in mid-June and the Phillies and Mets haven’t played each other yet in 2026. While I’m a fan of schedule diversity and having every team play each other throughout the season, it also seems wrong that you can go almost three months into the season without seeing one of your division rivals.

Like the Phillies, the Mets spent most of April finding new ways to lose baseball games. While they’ve been better since then, playoff contention feels like a longshot at this point. They’re still mired in last place, and while one of their ballyhooed offseason pickups has seemingly turned his season around, it hasn’t been enough to get the Mets out of last place.

Opposition research: Bo Bichette

There has been much frustration about the Phillies not adding to their lineup, specifically, an impact righthanded bat. But it should be considered that the player most people wanted to fill that role was Bo Bichette.

Back in January, Bichette and the Phillies seemed like a good match. The two-time All-Star would have likely slotted in the Phillies’ lineup behind Bryce Harper and presumably provided 20+ HR power out of the cleanup spot. But as we know, the Mets swooped in to give Bichette a contract that he couldn’t pass up.

For most of the season, it appeared as if the Mets saved the Phillies from adding another long-term albatross contract to the pile. Bichette struggled badly out of the gate and became somewhat emblematic of the Mets’ struggles as a whole. At the end of May, he had an OPS of .583 and seemed miserable.

Perhaps he wouldn’t have performed as poorly in Philadelphia, but if he had signed here and similarly bombed, it would have felt demoralizing to have replaced Alec Bohm with a somehow worse and more expensive player.

Surprisingly, while he was hitting poorly, he graded out well on defense. He was a bad defensive shortstop, and most expected him to continue to be bad after moving to third base, but he seems to have taken a liking to the hot corner.

It seemed doubtful that Bichette would continue to hit so poorly, and sure enough, he’s been one of the best hitters in baseball in June. (One of the reasons why I wish the Phillies could have played the Mets earlier in the season.)

It looks like Bichette is planning to opt-out of his contract after the season. Considering Bohm is a pending free agent, and Aidan Miller might never swing a bat again, the Phillies will likely have a gaping hole at the hot corner for 2027. It’s very possible that come the offseason, the Phillies may offer Bichette another long-term contract, and this time, he might take them up on it.

Remembering a guy who played for both teams

Todd Zeile was a top ten prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 1990s, but he never reached stardom in the major leagues. In his 16-year career, he never made an All-Star team or received as much as a down-ballot MVP vote. A career OPS of .769 combined with subpar defense paints the picture of one of the most average players to ever take the field. You could win with him, but you were never afraid to find an upgrade either.

The 1996 Phillies were not expected to be good, but they didn’t think that their touted prospect Scott Rolen was quite ready for the majors. So, they signed Zeile as a free agent and had him keep third base warm for Rolen.

Zeile did so with his trademark level of adequacy. He had a .789 OPS and poor defense, and when Rolen was called up in August, he dutifully moved to first base before being sent to the Orioles in an August trade.

Heading into the 2000 season, the Mets were set at third base with Robin Ventura, but they needed a first baseman, so they chose adequacy to fill the need and signed Zeile as a free agent. He had one of the best seasons of his career, helping the Mets make it all the way to the World Series.

Trivia

Last week’s answer: The Phillies won their first game at Miller Park by a score of 10-4. Three hits were delivered by Pat Burrell. Nobody answered correctly.

This week’s question: When the Phillies swept the Mets in a key three-game series in September 2007, a different reliever earned the win in all three games. Name one of them.

Additional thought about the series

Because Lincoln Financial Field is hosting a World Cup game on Friday, we’re getting a Thursday-Saturday-Sunday series which you don’t usually see apart from Opening Day weekend.

There has been much written about the Phillies’ troubles at Citi Field, but the Mets have had their share of trouble in Philadelphia. If you recall, the Mets came into Citizens Bank Park in September 2025 with hopes of making a late playoff push. But a 1-0 loss in the series opener seemed to demoralize them, and they went on to lose the next three games as well.

The Mets were expected to be contenders this season after they had the offseason that a lot of Phillies fans wanted their team to have. But the acquisitions of Bichette and Luis Robert, Jr. have been duds, while Freddy Peralta looks more like his career norm of a mid-rotation starter rather than the All-Star he was in 2025. Combined with injuries and/or underperformance by veteran holdovers Francisco Lindor, Kodai Senga, and David Peterson, it’s been a rough year in New York.

I for one, absolutely hate to see it.

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It's getaway day with an abbreviated nine-game slate with plenty of afternoon action.

We're focusing on the evening schedule with our MLB same-game parlay predictions, including an offensive uptick in Kansas City, and an A's team that can take care of business against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.

Let's dive in with my MLB picks for Thursday, June 18

Today's best MLB SGP picks

Game	SGP Odds
LAA vs  A's	+600
STL vs  KC	+340
NYM vs  PHI	+440

Angels vs A's SGP: A's make the grade

I'm a Gage Jump believer. The 23-year-old A's rookie has looked very good through his first four MLB starts, boasting a 3.09 ERA and a 2.50 FIP. He hasn't allowed a home run in 23 innings despite starting a game at Las Vegas Stadium and another at Sutter Health Park. If he can navigate those confines without getting brutalized, the A's will be extremely happy.

He picked up six strikeouts in five innings in his last start, and the Las Angeles Angels have a 24.7% strikeout rate against left-handed hurlers this season (seventh-highest in MLB)

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ABTV, NBC Sports California

See full analysis of this game in our Angels vs. A's predictions.

Cardinals vs Royals SGP: Lefty-mashers unite!

Kansas City Royals left-hander Noah Cameron and St. Louis Cardinals southpaw Matthew Liberatore get knocked around the park. Cameron's 4.11 ERA isn't terrible, but he isn't missing bats. His one elite area of production is his 87th-percentile walk rate, which only further underlines that he's been too hittable for that decent ERA to be sustainable.

Liberatore's been worse. He gives up hard contact and issues free passes on top of it. I'm avoiding the moneyline on either side because I expect both teams to do enough damage to clear the total.

I'm going chalky with Jordan Walker and Bobby Witt Jr. to clear 1.5 total bases. Walker remains a bat-speed All-Star, which will make life miserable for Cameron, while Witt is simply relentless with his contact, and his .309 expected batting average ranks in the 99th percentile.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Cardinals.TV, Royals.TV

Mets vs Phillies SGP: Veteran hurlers stumble

Similar to the above handicap, I like the offenses to tee off at Citizens Bank Park tonight against New York Mets lefty Sean Manaea and Philadelphia Phillies veteran Aaron Nola.

Juan Soto has the best matchup score on the night's slate, and Kyle Schwarber isn't far off, per Batter's Box. With wind blowing to right field on a humid night in Philadelphia, according to BallparkPal, both left-handed sluggers are poised to go off. 

I'm focusing on total bases, but both hitters could easily clear the fences based on the matchup-weather combo. I don't love their odds to hit home runs at +203 for Schwarber and +253 for Soto (which makes this SGP +1100 for what it's worth), so I'm taking the safer route with their total bases.

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, BravesVsn

See full analysis of this game in our Mets vs. Phillies predictions.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.