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Alan Rangel has been the first one tasked with filling Andrew Painter’s spot in the Phillies rotation. So far, Rangel has appeared in three games, and Tim Mayza was utilized as an opener in two of them. Rangel has fared relatively well in his limited action, although the Phillies are 0-3 in those games.

He pitched five innings of one run ball in his first game with five hits and four strikeouts, but the Phillies lost 4-1 to the Nats due to a quiet offense and Seth Johnson allowing a late two-run homer to Curtis Mead. Rangel was charged with the loss in his second appearance against the Mets, but he was pitching quite well through his four innings of work heading into the sixth but hit a wall after allowing back-to-back singles and then a two-run triple. His day was done after allowing another baserunner and Jonathan Bowlan couldn’t clean up the mess, as he allowed both inherited runners to score, bringing the runs charged to Rangel total up to 4. His third appearance yesterday was his first MLB start, and although he lasted only four innings, Rangel did not allow a run despite allowing three hits and four walks.

Rangel is not being asked to do much, as the Phillies just need him to be a competent fifth starter. So far, he’s looked the part but perhaps requires a faster hook as evidenced by his second appearance. Regardless, Rangel has largely given the team a chance to win which is all you can ask of a fifth starter. So, what do you think of Alan Rangel so far?

Just about everything that can go wrong lately for the Yankees has. Losing games? Well, obviously. Injuries? Unfortunately, yes. Offense going cold? You know it. Pitchers who’ve been having good years having unexpected off days? That too. Defensive lapses? Duh.

However over the years, there’s always been one thing that can help the Yankees get some wins: playing the Minnesota Twins. Well, that’s who’s up next so this weekend, we’ll see how big the slump truly is.

Having traded away a lot of their notable players at the trade deadline last year, the Twins are in something of a rebuild. While Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, and some others you know are still around, they’re a different team than they’ve been in recent years. They’re still somewhat in the playoff race, but that’s more a product of the AL Central than anything else.

With the two teams starting a three-game set later tonight, let’s take a look at the probable pitching matchups for the next few days.

Friday: Gerrit Cole vs. Mike Paredes (7:04 pm ET)

Upon first coming off the injured list, Cole hit the ground running, throwing two 6+ inning shutout performances, including striking out 10 in one of them. However over the five starts since, he has a 6.12 ERA and a 5.95 FIP. His main issue in that time has been home runs, allowing seven in those five games. Hitting home runs has not been the issue for the Twins, as they were ninth in MLB with 110 going into Thursday’s games.

This will be the Yankees’ first ever meeting with the rookie Paredes. This will be just his fifth career start and seventh game in general, having gotten called up in late May. He’s been okay so far, with a 4.26 ERA and a 103 ERA+. However, his FIP is noticeably worse, 5.44, as he really doesn’t strike many hitters out.

Saturday: Carlos Rodón vs. Zebby Matthews (1:35 pm ET)

Rodón can often be a tedious watch. His 4.6 BB/9 rate is quite high, and only 61 percent of his pitches on the season have gone for strikes. That being said, he’s been effective. He has a 3.30 ERA and a 3.45 FIP. The issue is always just, will walks burn him and how deep into the game can he go?

Matthews is another fairly inexperienced pitcher, but in this case, the Yankees have seen him a couple times before and have gotten to him. They faced him last year in August and September, and in the second of those meetings the Yankees’ offense got him for nine runs on 11 hits in just three innings. His nine starts this year have generally been right around league average.

Sunday: Ryan Weathers vs. Joe Ryan (1:35 pm ET)

Weathers is another pitcher that’s a bit of a taxing watch, but unlike Rodón, his numbers don’t quite grade out as “pretty good.” His ERA (4.08) is technically better than average (104 ERA+), and his FIP (4.13) isn’t atrocious either, but when he’s bad, he tends to be bad enough to pitch the Yankees way out of games. In his last start, he lasted just 1.2 innings, having allowed five runs to the Tigers. The defense hurt him, as only two of the runs were earned, but he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory that day.

After a borderline ace-type season in 2025, that saw him in trade rumors during the Twins’ deadline sell-off, Ryan has taken a bit of a step back so far this year, at least if you just look at his ERA. However, his 2.95 FIP is the best of his career, and his 0.9 HR/9 rate is by far his best ever. If the Yankees’ offense are in one of their moods, he could very well breeze through them, even if a casual glance at his stats makes it look like he’s not as good this year.

Well, we now have (temporary) closure on the Willson Contreras/Cade Cavalli incident. Major League Baseball has suspended both players for seven games, with Contreras’s suspension being specifically linked to behavior “during and following” the episode, meaning, i.e., that he’s being punished both for the helmet throw and for his subsequent social media post. Nate Eaton has received an additional three game suspension, whille Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas received a five-gamer. Of course, Cavalli is a starting pitcher, meaning that a seven-game suspension is really just something that bumps his regularly scheduled start a few days. If MLB actually wanted send a message about his remarks, they would’ve given him at least nine games. Both players have the option to appeal the suspension, during which the suspension will be put on hold. Otherwise, Contreras, easily the Red Sox best overall player this season, is set to miss most of a crucial nine-game road trip that will likely be the last chance the Red Sox have of getting back into the playoff race before the trade deadline. (Jen McCaffrey Spencer Nussbaum, The Athletic)

Being in the middle of an on-field controversy isn’t anything new for Contreras, who is known for playing the game with more passion and verve than the typical Major Leaguer. “To be honest, there’s not a lot of people that like me, and that’s fine,” Contreras said recently. “There have been a lot of teammates that, when they’re on the other side, they hate me, but when they’re on your side, they love me, because they know what I’m willing to do. I’m willing to do anything to win for them. It’s a survival game. You have to survive. At the same time you might make people uncomfortable. To survive, you have to make people uncomfortable. That’s how I see it.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Contreras isn’t the only important piece the Sox will be without for the foreseeable future, as lefty Connelly Early was placed on the IL on the same day as the Contreras-Cavalli fight. Thankfully, though, an MRI revealed no structural damage to Early’s elbow. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

It’ll likely be Patrick Sandoval who will take Early’s place in the rotation. It’s been just over two years since the lefty has stepped on a big league mound. “I don’t want to speak too soon,” Sandoval said, “but I feel good right now.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Hopefully Sandoval fares better than Payton Tolle did during his most recent start, which was the worst start of of the precocious pitcher’s young career. In Tolle’s defense, it was so hot that catcher connor Wong claims to have lost six pounds during the game. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Outside of a measly one-run showing on Wednesday in Sacramento, the Dodgers offense has been rolling over their last six games.

Against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, they overcame a six-run deficit while tying a season-high with 17 hits in a 12-7 victory, marking the second time over their last three meetings that the Dodgers put up 17 hits over San Diego. One of the unsung heroes of Thursday was Kyle Tucker, connecting for four hits after walking four times in the finale against the Athletics and having reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances.

While Tucker hasn’t yet lived up the expectations that his contract demands, Tucker has been finding his stride over his last seven games, slashing .417/.548/.583 with a home run and five RBI. Tucker spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about his four-hit performance following Thursday’s win, where he noted that he’s starting to play at the level that fans had been expecting from him.

“The last four games feel a lot better… Swing feels a lot better, and even my takes have been a lot better, so I’m happy with those.”

Dalton Rushing was the other Dodger with a four-hit game on Thursday, adding a home run to his credit and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

The last 10 games have produced a whirlwind of results for Rushing, from having to be consoled by his manager to adding another huge night against San Diego, and he spoke with Watson about how Thursday’s performance gave him a boost of confidence in setting the table for the top of the lineup.

“It’s a boost of confidence. You feel ready for the next however many [games] you get. Anytime you can get your game started like that, it’s going to be a good game.”

The Dodgers offense had to do the heavy lifting after another frustrating start from Roki Sasaki, who tossed 89 pitches over three innings while allowing six earned runs and three home runs.

While Sasaki showed flashes of brilliance, especially in his two starts against the Angels, the right-hander has not only fallen back down to Earth, but cratered on the landing. Sasaki spoke with Watson about his rough performance, noting that while he felt his stuff wasn’t bad, there’s still some tinkering in store.

“They fouled off a lot of pitches, but maybe because my intensity of my fastball or maybe my command issues. I feel like I have to work on those things to improve.”

The opposite of waking up after a bullpen meltdown is waking up after a walkoff win and I much prefer today’s feeling.

Here’s your recap of yesterday’s 6-5 win over the White Sox. I still feel pretty mad about Vogt leaving Cecconi in that game.

Good game from Kwan yesterday going 1 for 2 with 2 walks. I still can’t get over looking at his line and seeing an OPS under .600.

Mike Mahoney and I did a Disgusting Baseball Podcast during the game.

AROUND MLB:

Tigers and Royals lost.

Triple-A: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 7, Norfolk Tides 3

Cade Povich allowed a pair of early homers but settled down to pitch into the fifth inning. The lefty allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out five. Povich tossed a clean third, danced around a two-out double in the fourth, and exited after allowing a walk and a double in the fifth. He threw 56 of 81 pitches for strikes.

Heston Kjerstad went deep for the second consecutive night to mark his fifth homer of the season. Enrique Bradfield Jr. stole a pair of bags and scored twice while going 1-for-4 with a walk. Jeremiah Jackson finished 2-for-5, and Ryan Noda went 2-for-3 with a base on balls.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 4

Chesapeake trailed 4-2 before erupting for six runs in the top of the ninth. Aron Estrada launched a go-ahead grand slam to flip a two-run deficit into a two-run lead. Ethan Anderson followed with a solo shot, and Douglas Hodo III drove in the eighth run of the evening. The grand slam capped a massive day for Estrada at the plate. The 21-year-old finished 4-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle. Frederick Bencosme doubled twice while going 4-for-5 as well.

Lost in the fireworks was a nice outing from Joseph Dzierwa. Dzierwa limited the Rumble Ponies to only two hits over 4.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Alex Pham tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless ball. Richard Guasch allowed all four runs in just one inning but received a fortuitous win.

High-A: Frederick Keys 9, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 4

Ike Irish smacked solo shots in the first and sixth innings while going 3-for-5 in the victory. The blasts marked his 11th and 12th homers this season. Wehiwa Aloy finished 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs, and Vance Honeycutt walked and scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Yeiber Cartaya limited Brooklyn to one run over 4.2 frames. He allowed three hits, struck out two, and walked a pair. Tyson Neighbors earned the win with a scoreless eighth. He struck out a pair and did not allow a baserunner.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 2

Delmarva scored all three of its runs in the second inning. The Shorebirds struck first on a wild pitch, and Raylin Ramos drove in two more with a base hit up the middle. Charleston outhit Delmarva 7-to-5, but the pitchers kept the RiverDogs off the board.

Andrew Herbert delivered a quality start for Delmarva. Herbert allowed five hits, but only one of his two runs were earned. Trent Turzenski, J.D. Hennen, and Jack Crowder combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

Box scores

Friday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 7:05. Starter: Yaqui Rivera (1-2, 1.75 ERA)

Chesapeake: vs Binghamton, 7:00 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (4-4, 5.37 ERA)

Frederick: vs Brooklyn, 7:00 pm. Starter: Twine Palmer (3-3, 3.62 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Charleston, 6:35 pm. Starter: Brayan Orrantia (0-4, 4.97 ERA)

Royals captain Salvador Perez was out of Thursday night’s lineup with elbow soreness, causing a flurry of roster moves

Catcher Luke Maile was selected to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Omaha, offering a reinforcement behind the plate if something were to happen to Carter Jensen and the Royals needed another catcher during the game.

In corresponding moves, outfielder John Rave was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, and reliever Eric Cerantola was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man for Maile. The Royals also activated Stephen Kolek from the family medical emergency list to make Thursday’s start against the Rays and optioned reliever Jose Cuas to Omaha.

In other injury news, Cole Ragans has UCL surgery and is out for the next 10-12 months

Cole Ragans underwent an ulnar collateral ligament repair on his left elbow on Wednesday, with the surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

The Royals’ lefty now faces 10-12 months of recovery. The club expects his return midseason in 2027.

The extent of Ragans’ elbow surgery was not known until he actually had the operation done, with several different options based on what the surgeon found once he could assess the elbow fully. But the Royals were operating under the assumption that it was going to be something related to Ragans’ UCL, and that they were not going to get Ragans back on the mound in 2026.

Kendry Chourio and Blake Mitchell will play in the Futures Game this season

Chourio has been on a rocket ship since signing for the Royals last year, and after a promotion to Quad Cities last month, he’s the only age-18 pitcher to appear at High-A this season and the first since Eury Pérez in 2021. His fastball sits around 96 mph (that stands out more for his command of it than its shape), and he plays off that with an upper-70s, good-spin curveball and an upper-80s changeup. Mitchell is a Three True Outcome King with 13 homers, a 24.5 percent walk rate and 35.2 percent strikeout rate in 68 games at High-A Quad Cities this season. The 2023 eighth overall pick also has a strong arm from behind the plate that he could show off in Philly.

Here are some former Royals who are playing well this year.

Michael Wacha and Jac Caglianone were named Royals player and pitcher of the month for June

Congratulations to Michael Wacha and Jac Caglianone, our June Pitcher and Player of the Month award winners! pic.twitter.com/mQFQkvVG0d

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 2, 2026

Brayan Rocchio hit a walk-off two run homer against the White Sox in a battle of for the lead in the AL Central

Julio Rodriguez left the game for Seattle after taking a throw off the helmet on a double play ball

ESPN analyst Matt Miller is now being investigated by Missouri attorney general after car crash last month

Here is your song of the day Africa by Toto

My first foray into this “contract year” between MLB and the MLBPA looked at how franchise values continue to grow at wildly unequal—if steadily upward—rates.

This time around, the focus is on geography. So, get out that green folder (don’t fight me on this) from eighth grade and let’s find the section on “population density”.

First, a thought experiment:

Imagine three lemonade stands run by the same proprietor operating on three different streets.

The first one operates on a street where 1,000 people walk by every hour.

The second sees 500 people/hour stroll by.

The third only draws 100 passersby in the same period.

Every single day, these three lemonade stands are in competition with each other for sales that can be poured (pardon the pun) back into the business. For product-saturation reasons, the less-trafficked stands cannot simply horn in on the busier stands’ territory.

One can imagine the inequity this setup might produce between the rival-but-all-in-the-same-gang stands. Stand 3 could have the highest-quality lemonade and service in the business, but never win the competition simply because the volume of potentially thirsty patrons is so low. Stand 1 could dominate in sales by pairing a strong product with high traffic—or put out watered-down lemonade and probably still come out on top because, well, there are just so many potential consumers on that hourly basis.

This is what is happening in MLB geographically right now.

Using this U.S. Census Data (no guarantees on if any fava beans or Chianti were consumed in the process), here is a basic tiered layout of MLB markets by population density/size…

Tier 1: 19 Million

• New York

Tier 2: 12 Million

• Los Angeles

Tier 3: 7-10 Million

• Chicago, Arlington, & Houston

Tier 4: 5-7 Million

• Toronto, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Boston

Tier 5: 3-5 Million

• Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Denver, Baltimore, St. Louis

Tier 6: 2-3 Million

• Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland

Tier 7: <2 Million

• Milwaukee

Something else to remember: though often hard for us “die hards” to comprehend, most daily ballpark attendance comes from folks simply “looking for something to do”. Yes, the competitiveness of the on-field product can and will certainly tip the scales in one direction or the other. But the access to larger numbers of individuals who may decide to go—and take their family/friends with them—to one or more of 81 yearly contests is also an enormous profit consideration.

It isn’t just “butts in seats”, either. TV deals are largely valued on advertising. The more potential eyes on the glowing box (or device), the more $$$ clubs can get for their media wares. While perhaps more prominent in the bygone age of cable TV, it still stands to reason that larger markets = larger potential advertising profits, especially with MLB mostly being a regional-over-national success media-wise.

This takes us back to our lemonade stand. Except now, replace the citrusy stop with a MLB ballpark but keep the varying street traffics. No matter how good or bad the product is, high volume is going to have an inherent advantage over its opposite. The Dodgers can build an empire by consistently winning, while the Mets can still rake in the dough as lovable losers. Meanwhile, the Twins or Pirates can turtle up and not compete at all, or clubs like the Brewers & Tigers can continue trying to swing with the big boys and never quite reach that level but for an extraordinary run of development/injury good fortune.

To be clear, I’m not at all saying that player dev and smart personnel decisions don’t matter. The Rockies have failed that exam for years and look where they are, while the Rays seemingly ace the test every term. I simply think it is important to remember that certain MLB franchises have significant built-in advantages over others by population density alone.

Advantages that could be leveled at least somewhat by a salary cap/floor structure in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement.

Good morning.

• Tuesday night there was a bench-clearing “incident” in the Nationals — Red Sox game after pitcher Cade Cavalli told Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras to “Sit down, boy.” Last night, suspensions were handed out. Cavalli and Contreras both got seven-game suspensions. Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas got a five-game suspension and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton got three games. All four players are appealing the suspensions.
• Cavalli did issue a public apology to Contreras and anyone else for the use of the word “boy” in this context.
• Steve Buckley writes that Cavalli’s apology seemed sincere to him, but MLB needed to punish him anyway. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The MLB Draft starts next Saturday. Jake Mintz looks at the White Sox big three options for the first pick.
• Thomas Harrington profiles UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who might be the Pale Hose pick.
• Former Braves general manager John Coppolella explains why ending the drafting of high school players is a bad idea.
• The MLB Pipeline crew give brief scouting reports on every player going to the All-Star Weekend Futures Game.
• Ken Rosenthal makes his picks for the All-Star Game. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Gabe Lacques has seven players who should make the All-Star Game.
• Sarah Langs explains what it means to be in first place on July 1.
• Will Leitch has seven storylines for July.
• One storyline is going to be the Trade Deadline, which is August 3. Mark Feinsand breaks down the trade market in the American League.
• Mike Axisa explains where all 30 teams stand going into trade season.
• David Schoenfield has one trade that every team should make. The Cubs need starting pitching, but no, they should not trade for Freddy Peralta.
• Russell Dorsey advises the teams on the fringes of playoff contention on whether they should buy or sell.
• Julian McWilliams breaks down the disappointing Mets and Red Sox and situation with their best two trade chips.
• There was one minor trade, but it was a historic one. For the first time since they moved to Washington, the Nationals and Orioles made a deal, with the Orioles sending right-hander Kyle Nicolas to the Nats for minor league infielder Randal Diaz.
• July 1 is Bobby Bonilla Day. If you don’t know what that is, Jack Baer explains the whole thing to you and why the Mets really weren’t as stupid as some portray them to be. Although they were pretty stupid to trust Bernie Madoff. I think even Baer has to admit that.
• The MLB Players Association released their proposals in the collective bargaining talks, which include larger roster sizes and more protection for players who get sent down tot he minors.
• Michael McCann breaks down all the legal issues surrounding the CBA talks. Or at least he does in Part I linked to here. Part II comes next week.
• Stephen J. Nesbitt and Zack Meisel wonder why MLB players don’t try to get shares of team ownership like athletes in other sports get. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich look at how baseballs aren’t quite as much of a drag as they used to be. Or to put it another why, why the current batch of baseballs flying farther? (The Athletic sub. req.) MLB continues to insist that all balls are within industry standards.
• Anthony Gharib has all the Fourth-of-July-themed uniforms that players will wear this weekend.
• Mets owner Steve Cohen said that team president David Stearns’ job is safe through 2028.
• Mark Bowman has four reasons the Braves will recover from a poor June.
• Rangers shortstop Corey Seager went on the injured list for the third time this season.
• The Athletics got bad news as designated hitter Brent Rooker had season-ending knee surgery.
• And more bad news for Sacramento as minor league outfield prospect Ryan Lasko is in stable condition after a scary collision that resulted in spinal decompression and stabilization surgery. Currently Lasko has no feeling in his lower extremities, although doctors have some hope that he will regain feeling in his legs.
• Mike Petriello looks at the mystery of Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s terrible, no-good month of June.
• Jay Jaffe looks at which contenders have the worst team defense. I don’t need to tell you which contender currently has the best team defense.
• The worst team, among the contenders, is the Phillies. Davy Andrews looks how bad first baseman Bryce Harper has gotten and what he might do to improve his defense.
• Guardians rookie outfielder Cooper Ingle did the old “throw the ball into the stands when there are only two outs” trick. That never seems to turn out well for the player who does it.
• David Adler explains how Giants pitcher Logan Webb found his old groove by calling all his own pitches.
• Michael Clair has the most “iconic” baseball card from every era of collecting.
• And finally, top Twins prospect Walker Jenkins played the hero this week when he caught a fainting kid during the National Anthem in St. Paul and carried him off the field. Happy the report the kid is fine.

Meet the Mets

The Mets mercifully had the day off yesterday, and they’re set to begin a four-game series in Atlanta tonight. The heat there will be slightly less excruciating over the next couple of days, but it’ll remain hot and very humid in Atlanta on Sunday and Monday, while temperatures will drop substantially in New York City.

During the off day, the Mets selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Jefry Yan and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

The 2026 Mets might be terrible, but David Stearns put together one of the team’s better bullpens in recent memory.

Speaking of Stearns, Joel Sherman writes that Steve Cohen’s decision to stick with him is the right call.

Laura Albanese also writes that retaining Stearns is the right move, as it could be better to let him see his long-term plan through rather than hand someone new the responsibility of fixing this mess.

Jon Heyman wrote about the Mets’ attempt to bridge the gap between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

The FDNY and NYPD will play their annual charity baseball game at Citi Field on August 19.

Around the National League East

The Marlins were obliterated by the Rockies, who scored 14 runs in an easy win over the fish.

The Phillies fell to the Pirates by a 6-1 score.

The Braves lost, too, as the Cardinals put up a whopping 11 runs against them.

Will Bryce Haper participate in another hometown home run derby?

Around Major League Baseball

The Reds did something that most teams haven’t been able to do this year, scoring five runs off Jacob Misiorowski in what turned out to be a 7-2 win over the Brewers.

Bryan Rocchio hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the Guardians a win over the rival White Sox.

The Rays extended their winning streak to eight games as they completed a sweep of the Royals.

It’s been a tough couple of days for the Padres, who saw a 6-0 lead over the rival Dodgers turn into a 12-6 loss last night after giving up 23 runs to the Cubs the day before.

Bryce Miller carried a no-hitter into the seventh innings as he and the Mariners blanked the Angels and won 1-0.

The Rangers improved to 45-43 on the season with a 10-4 win over the Tigers.

Cade Cavalli shouted “sit down, boy,” a phrase with a history of racism behind it, at Willson Contreras, and both players have received 7-game suspensions after both teams’ benches cleared.

Players in other sports have purchased ownership stakes in teams outside of their own leagues, but why haven’t baseball players done the same?

If Ken Rosenthal could set the All-Star Game rosters, these would be the 64 players at the game.

Here’s how the All-Star teams are actually selected now that voting is over.

How will the logjam in the American League playoff race affect the trade deadline?

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

The latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series came out yesterday.

This Date in Mets History

Alex Ochoa’s cycle led the Mets to victory over the Phillies on this date in 1996.

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

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans if they’d like the Brewers to continue their “bites of the apple” approach or make a splashy move in a push for a deep postseason run. Here are the results:

As you can see, it was a pretty split result, with 56% of fans in favor of a splashy move and 44% of fans voting for sticking to the status quo.

If the Brewers do opt to go for a big name at the deadline, there’s one obvious candidate that would fit for both sides: Tarik Skubal.

In fact, ESPN released an article on Thursday morning arguing why the Brewers should trade for Skubal. Here’s what David Schoenfield had to say:

The franchise has never won a World Series, hasn’t been in one since 1982 and has been on the edge of getting there for years now. If there’s ever a year to go all-in, this is it. Skubal could be that final piece for the Brewers, and he not only adds another ace to go with Jacob Misiorowski but also gives them another lefty starter alongside Kyle Harrison to combat Shohei Ohtani and a lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup. The Brewers have the prospects to make any deal they want, but does owner Mark Attanasio have the resolve to take on the rest of Skubal’s salary.

What do you think of that take? Should the Brewers go for Skubal in the next month? If they do, who (more importantly, how much) would you be willing to part with for a rental arm?

Be sure to check out the FanDuel Sportsbook for all your betting needs.

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Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Flashback to 2023.

The Rockies lost over 100 games for the first time in franchise history, and the future was bleak.

One of the lone bright spots was Ezequiel Tovar. The 21-year-old shortstop was fresh off a breakout rookie season. Hoping to capitalize on the promising prospect from Venezuela, the Rockies — a team in need of an anchor — locked Tovar in for the long term with a seven-year, $63.5 million deal in March of 2024.

The Rockies would have had team control of Tovar through 2028, but this seemed like a good way to show their appreciation for the young star and possibly avoid a splashy free agency departure down the line. It looked like a win-win and a boost to a team that needed it.

The Tovar investment paid off immediately as his sophomore campaign was even more impressive than his first. His power at the plate exploded. He won the National League Gold Glove and finished No. 19 in NL MVP voting.

Then came the injury-filled 2025 that included a left hip injury and a left oblique strain that only allowed Tovar to play 95 games compared to the 157 he played in 2024. His numbers weren’t bad, but it was mostly his absences that hurt.

Enter 2026 and the promise of a healthy, productive season for the 24-year-old, including his outstanding performance in the World Baseball Classic. In seven games, Tovar went 8-for-17 at the plate with three doubles and two stolen bases in helping Venezuela to an underdog championship.

Season	Age	bWAR	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2022	20	-0.3	9	35	33	2	7	1	0	1	2	0	0	2	9	.212	.257	.333	.590	58
2023	21	2.5	153	615	581	79	147	37	4	15	73	11	5	25	166	.253	.287	.408	.695	79
2024	22	3.6	157	695	655	83	176	45	4	26	78	6	5	23	200	.269	.295	.469	.763	100
2025	23	0.6	95	390	360	44	91	18	4	9	33	5	3	21	98	.253	.294	.400	.694	84
2026	24	-0.4	81	305	283	27	58	16	0	6	27	5	0	16	84	.205	.249	.325	.574	51

But when the regular season arrived, that 2024 Tovar or the WBC Tovar was nowhere to be found. He’s still a solid defender with range and a great arm, but he often looks lost at the plate. He’s always been a high-risk, high-reward batter who will strike out a lot and walk infrequently, but the power and clutch potential were worth it. Now, Tovar is barely hovering above a .200 batting average.

He’s maintained his aggressive approach at the plate, but it isn’t resulting in hits. Instead, he has posted a 27.5% strikeout rate, a 2.4% jump from last year. His slugging and OPS have dropped .075 and .120, respectively, since 2025. His batting average is a dismal .205 and his OBP is .249, the lowest by far for the Rockies starters. The OBP is second-worst among qualified players in MLB, while the .205 batting average is the sixth-worst.

Tovar has shown promise this season. His May was improved, but in June, he reverted back to his slumping April numbers.

Month	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
March	5	22	3	7	2	0	1	5	0	6	1	0	.318	.318	.545	.863
April	27	92	6	16	6	0	0	3	5	29	1	0	.174	.232	.239	.471
May	26	85	8	21	3	0	3	12	8	20	2	0	.247	.305	.388	.693
June	21	81	9	14	5	0	2	7	3	29	1	0	.173	.198	.309	.507

Outside of being heartbreaking, Tovar’s long-lasting slump is becoming a significant problem. Rockies fans know “The Climb” is going to take a while as Colorado dreams of avoiding 100 losses this season. With a .500 record and competing for the postseason still in the distant future, the Rockies can afford to be patient with Tovar.

But as he drops farther and farther down the lineup and feels more and more like a guaranteed out, how long can the Rockies wait for Tovar to be the star we all saw in 2024? His defense remains top-tier, but his offensive numbers don’t make Tovar a very valuable trade token.

In a darker query, what if the 2024 Tovar is the anomaly? With the evolution of the game, and especially with the pendulum swinging to favor pitchers right now, perhaps Tovar’s beginner’s luck has worn off. MLB is a tough league, and Tovar wouldn’t be the first or last bright star to quickly fade out.

I don’t want that to be true. The Rockies and their fans need Tovar to be the star we believe he is. I am hopeful that with his innate talent, a new coaching staff and more analytics, there is still time to turn it around.

The Rockies are better, but they aren’t vying for a Wild Card anytime soon. When they do, they will need Tovar to be a part of it.

If he’s not, the Rockies might not be able to keep him around.

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On the Farm

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 4, Round Rock Express 3

Vimael Machín hit a two-run triple in the first inning, Adael Amador hit an RBI single and Sterlin Thompson and Zac Veen each recorded two hits as the Isotopes beat the Express on Thursday night. Thompson also scored a run, coming in on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Jake Brooks had a solid start, giving up three runs on six hits in five innings. Parker Muschinski threw two scoreless innings and Andrew Baker added two more to get his first win of the season.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 10, Somerset Patriots 8

The first clutch performance came from Aidan Longwell, who doubled in Braylen Wimmer to tie the game in the ninth and send it to extra innings. In the 10th, it was a team effort — with some luck — when Jose Torres started on second, Mike Antico singled to move Torres to third and both were then joined by Roc Riggio, who intentionally walked. Torres and Antico both came around to score when the Patriots threw a wild pitch. That was enough to win it. Zach Kokoska doubled and homered to drive in three runs. Fidel Ulloa earned the win by throwing 2.2 scoreless innings.

High-A: Spokane Indians 5, Hillsboro Hops 4

Trailing 4-3 heading to the ninth inning, Kelvin Hidalgo and Tommy Hopfe hit back-to-back solo homers to put Spokane on top and  Justin Loer struck out two Hops in the scoreless bottom of the ninth for the save. The win was the sixth in a row for Spokane. The Indians rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the third when Tanner Thach hit an RBI double and Jacob Humphrey followed with a run-scoring single. Humphrey added another RBI with a sac fly in the fifth. Spokane outhit Hillsboro 12-8 and three of those belonged to Roynier Hernandez.

Low-A: Ontario Tower Buzzers 12, Fresno Grizzlies 10

Aidan Redahan drove in five runs and scored three on a three-hit night, but the Grizzlies comeback bid came up short on Thursday night. Aidan Redahan and Carlos Renzullo each hit RBI singles and Wilder Dalis hit a sac fly to help the Grizzlies jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Ontario bounced back with 10 unanswered runs to take a 10-3 lead by the sixth inning. But Fresno didn’t give up, getting one run back when Redahan hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Redahan struck again, this time with a three-run double and then he came around to score on a Dalis double to make it 10-8 Ontario. After the Tower Buzzers added a run in the eighth, so did the Grizzlies when Roldy Brito hit an RBI single. Fresno had the bases loaded in the eighth for a chance to add more, but came up empty. Kyle Fossum hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth, but the Grizzlies couldn’t manage anymore with the bases loaded.

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How Colorado pitcher Julian Garcia broke through to MLB at 31 after a decade in minors, independent league | Denver Post ($)

While not related to the Rockies, Kyle Newman wrote a feature about Julian Garcia, the Fossil Ridge grad, who also played for Metro State, and recently made his debut for the Cincinnati Reds. Making history as the first MSU player to make it to MLB, he never gave up on his dream.

Breaking down MLB’s special July 4 uniforms and caps | ESPN.com

All MLB teams will be decked out in festive gear for Independence Day on Saturday. The Rockies, playing at home to host the San Francisco Giants, will have their traditional white pinstripes, but with players’ last names in red and the numbers in stars and stripes. The hats will be white with blue bills and the CR filled with stars and stripes and outlined in gold. A special patch noting the 250th anniversary of independence is on the side.

The next phase of the Colorado Rockies rebuild starts now | Mile High Sports

Drew Ceasman contrasts the 2026 Rockies with the 2025 squad, highlighting the improvement, noting the areas where the team still struggles and emphasizing the need for the next phase of getting back on track to begin: better pitching.

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Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are heading to Coors Field today to take on the Colorado Rockies for this Fourth of July weekend.

So today I wanted to see what everyone’s favorite Giants (or general baseball) related Fourth of July memories are.

This is normally the part where I would weigh in with my own, however I tend to spend Fourth of July in hiding, due to getting blown up by a fireworks misfire when I was a teenager reasons. So I’m going to go ahead and let you guys do the heavy lifting on this one.

What are your favorite Fourth of July baseball memories?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants and Rockies play game one of this three-game series tonight at 5:10 p.m. PT.