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Jameson Taillon was a solid if unspectacular member of the Cubs rotation the last two years.

This year, though, the long ball got him, and then a hamstring injury kept him out about six weeks. Since his return he’s made two starts and they’ve both been, well, terrible. Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh was yet another example of Taillon giving up way too many home runs, three of them, including a grand slam by Ryan O’Hearn.

The Cubs did make a pretty good comeback attempt, but it fell a run short in an 8-7 loss to the Pirates.

Let’s rewind to the beginning of this one.

No one scored in the first, and that wasn’t because Jamo was fooling anyone. Brandon Lowe — who’s just feasted on Cubs pitching all year — singled with one out.

Then this happened [VIDEO].

Lowe took off for third, apparently convinced that Bryan Reynolds’ ball was going to fall for a double. But Michael Conforto made a nice catch and, with Lowe standing on third, had an easy inning-ending double play. A note on the double play from BCB’s JohnW53:

The first-inning double play by Michael Conforto to Michael Busch was the Cubs’ first this season started by a right fielder making a catch. The previous one was started by Willi Castro at home against the Brewers on Aug. 19 of last year.

Their first this year started by a left fielder was by Ian Happ on Friday.

They have not had one this year started on a catch by a center fielder. They had three last year, in March and July by Pete Crow-Armstrong, then by Kevin Alcántara on Sept. 7 at home against the Nationals.

In the top of the second, Conforto drew a one-out walk and one out later went to second on a single by Pedro Ramirez. Dansby Swanson’s single scored Conforto to make it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].

Nice “swim move” slide there by Conforto, incidentally.

A note on Ramirez’s hit from John:

Pedro Ramirez’s second-inning single made today’s game the Cubs’ 4,788th in a row on the road with a hit, tying the Pirates’ National League record. The Cubs last were hitless on the road Sept. 9, 1965, when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against them at Dodger Stadium.

The Yankees hold the big league record of 5,366 and counting, since Sept. 20, 1958.

That lead did not last long. Esmerlyn Valdez took Taillon deep leading off the bottom of the second to tie the game. O’Hearn walked and one out later, Shawn Ross, playing in just his second MLB game, got his first MLB hit and home run, a two-run blast. I don’t usually show these for Cubs opponents but holy hell look how that ball was demolished [VIDEO].

So it’s 3-1 Cubs and Taillon got hit hard again in the third. With one out, Lowe singled, Reynolds doubled and Valdez walked to load the bases, and O’Hearn unloaded them with his slam. Now it’s 7-1 and that’s three home runs in three innings off Taillon in this game. To save a bit of bullpen work Craig Counsell had Taillon work the fourth, and the Pirates didn’t score.

So since Taillon’s return from the IL, that makes two starts, 8.1 innings pitched, 11 hits and four walks allowed (1.800 WHIP), 11 earned runs (11.88 ERA) and five home runs allowed. All told, Taillon has served up 25 home run balls this year in just 76 innings. Only Jeffrey Springs of the A’s has given up more homers and he’s thrown 26.2 more innings than Taillon. And, the Cubs have now lost seven of Taillon’s last eight starts — and the one they won, which was the last time they played in PNC Park, the game was tied when Taillon left after five innings and he’d given up two homers in that one. Over those eight starts: 7.82 ERA in 35.2 innings, 1.626 WHIP, 13 (!) home runs allowed.

This just can’t continue. Give Javier Assad that rotation spot until the Cubs can pull off a trade for a starting pitcher. Taillon’s next start would come up against the Yankees at Wrigley Field and do you want him facing Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the rest of the Yankees? I sure don’t, and I hope the Cubs brass doesn’t either.

That’s it for my TED Talk, now back to this game.

The Cubs did mount a decent comeback attempt and didn’t wait too long. In the top of the fourth, Nico Hoerner led off with a single and stopped at third on a double by Conforto.

Carson Kelly’s ground out scored Nico [VIDEO].

Conforto took third on that play and scored on a single by Ramirez [VIDEO].

Pete Crow-Armstrong followed with this RBI triple [VIDEO].

That was a productive inning and the Cubs trailed by only three, with five innings to go. They’ve made big comebacks in PNC Park before. Could they do it again?

Well, you know the answer to that, but they did make a good attempt. Ryan Rolison got touched up for a run in the fifth and that turned out to be a very important run indeed for the Pirates.

The Cubs couldn’t do anything in the sixth or seventh, but made it 8-5 in the eighth. Busch led off with a double and went to third on a single by Ian Happ. That continued Happ’s PNC Park record on-base streak, now at 44 games.

Nico singled in Busch to bring the Cubs back within three [VIDEO].

Aaron Civale threw two scoreless innings of relief, the sixth and seventh, and Trent Thornton made his first appearance since he was hit on the foot last Monday at Wrigley Field. He looked 100 percent to me and retired the Pirates scoreless in the eighth after a leadoff single.

That left the Cubs still down three as they entered the ninth to face Mason Montgomery, who throws 100 miles per hour. Swanson led off with a single and after PCA struck out, Seiya Suzuki launched his 18th home run of the year [VIDEO].

Well. Back to within one, and there’s only one out. Unfortunately, Busch grounded out and Happ struck out to end the game.

The Cubs actually did quite well in this game with RISP, going 5-for-11. They scored seven runs, which most times will win you the game. The Cubs are 33-4 this year when scoring at least seven runs, and three of the four losses were when scoring exactly seven (this is the other such loss). This one’s on Jamo, and no, I am not recommending a DFA. Maybe he’s not 100 percent from the hamstring, maybe there’s something else nagging at him. Get him back on the IL and, as I said above, let Assad make that next start (probably Friday). Or who knows, maybe the Cubs can make a deal for a starter before then.

In any case, winning series on the road is still good, and the Cubs will take it. The Brewers are well on their way to crushing the Rockies at the time of this recap posting, so the Cubs will drop back to seven games behind in the NL Central. The Phillies, who trailed the Cubs by 3.5 games for the top wild card spot beginning today’s action, will play the Yankees tonight in NBC’s featured Sunday Night Baseball game.

The Cubs move on to St. Louis, where they will open a four-game set against the Cardinals Monday. David Peterson will start for the Cubs. At this writing the Cardinals do not have a starter listed for Monday’s series opener, but presuming they stay on rotation, it should be Hunter Dobbins, who threw six scoreless innings against the Angels last Wednesday. Game time Monday is 6:45 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Framber Valdez was mediocre at best once again on Sunday. Despite not swinging the bats well in this series, the Tigers did fight back and take a lead into the late innings, but once again their makeshift bullpen couldn’t lock it down. The Royals came back on a two-run homer by Michael Massey in the eighth, and held on to split this four game set with a 5-4 victory over the Tigers.

With the Tigers in their home whites, with this strange D logo on their caps, once again we got the shaky version of Framber Valdez to start this one off. Fortunately he bent in this one, but never came completely unglued. He gave up a solo shot to Lane Thomas to start the game on a 3-2 sinker that was up on the outer edge. The misses were non-competitive. Nick Loftin singled, and Valdez hit Salvador Perez. Jac Caglianone grounded into a force of Perez, and Valdez bounced back to punch ouf Starling Marte with a good curveball, but he was still struggling to find the handle.

Chris Fetter came out for a chat and AJ Hinch had Brenan Hanifee warming in the bullpen. Tyler Tolbert was next, and the Tigers got just what they needed least when the outfielder grounded one to Hao-Yu Lee at second and the rookie clanged it off the heel of his glove. Loftin scored, and this game was teetering on the brink of disaster already, but Luke Maile flew out to Kerry Carpenter in right to end the inning with the Royals up 2-0.

Luinder Avila was on the bump for the Royals, and the 24-year-old right-hander’s numbers were pretty miserable coming into this one. He clearly has the stuff to succeed with a high 90’s heater and good breaking stuff, but his control is a work in progress and his walk rate is a somewhat grisly 12.8 percent. Colt Keith popped out to lead things off, and Kevin McGonigle and Gleyber Torres flew out to left to end the first.

Valdez bounced back with three quick ground ball outs in the second, starting to get his pitch count a little back in order.

Riley Greene grounded out to start the bottom of the second. Dillon Dingler walked, but Carpenter flew out. Spencer Torkelson worked a lengthy AB and drew a walk as well, but James Outman struck out on a 98 mph sinker up to send us to the third.

Sal Perez grounded a first pitch curveball down the third base line to open the third inning. Colt Keith made a nice diving stop, popped up, and fired a strike to Torkelson for the first out. A nice play, aided by the fact that Perez runs like he’s wading through a pool of molasses. Caglianone worked a full count, but he bit on a sweeping curveball down and away to strike out. Valdez was feeling the curveball now, and Marte chopped a bender to McGonigle for the third out. Valdez was at 50 pitches, but at least had righted the ship after the wildness and Lee’s error in the first.

Lee and Keith grounded out to start the bottom of the third, while McGonigle flicked a single into left field. At this point, Dan Dickerson and Andy Dirks were interviewing Mark “the Bird” Fidrych’s widow. Fidrych’s grandson also threw out the first pitch in tribute to the right-hander’s amazing rookie season 50 years ago. Meanwhile, Avila’s early velocity was starting to creep down to 95-96 mph, but it didn’t help Torres, who flew out to end the inning.

Isaac Collins was up first in the fourth, and Valdez got him out in front with a changeup and popped him up. Tolbert battled through a lengthy at-bat and Valdez missed with a 3-2 curveball and walked him. Another long at-bat against Luke Maile ended with a sinker that was pulled down the left field line. Tolbert was off and running of course, and cruised all the way around from first to score as Maile cruised into second base. Valdez just could not spot anything with enough consistency to set anyone up, and he was behind in counts again and again. Very frustrating outing to watch. Andrew Velasquez struck out, but Valdez’s pitch count was approaching 80 pitches as he walked Thomas on six pitches.

While I attempted not to break any household items in frustration, Fetter came out once again to try and give Valdez a moment to pull it together. It was just one long at-bat after another with Valdez looking lost and wasting a lot of non-competitive pitches. His 82nd pitch was a good curveball down and in and Loften struck out to end the inning without further damage, but Valdez wasn’t likely to make it through the fifth inning at this point, and the Tigers were down 3-0 and once again struggling with a mediocre starter with good stuff and mediocre command.

Avila started spotting his stuff more as he worked into his outing. Riley Greene grounded out to start the bottom of the fourth. Dillon Dingler lined a single the opposite way for the Tigers second hit of the game, but Carpenter was out in front of a curveball and wanded a solid fly ball to Thomas in center for the second out. Spencer Torkelson drew a four pitch walk, and that brought Outman to the dish. He rolled over a slider to first base and we were on to the fifth inning with the score still 3-0 Royals.

Ben Malgeri made a nice catch on a liner from Perez to open the fifth. That was a surprise, as it meant that Carpenter was out of the game. He’s been dealing with a foot issue that was apparently flaring up. Caglianone grounded out to Torkelson for the second out. Marte pulled a ground ball single through the left side, and Ty Madden was warming in the pen. Fittingly, yet another seven pitch at-bat, this time from Collins, led to a ground out to Keith to mercifully end the left-hander’s day.

Hao-Yu Lee got a curveball and smoked it to center field for a leadoff double and finally the Tigers had a little something started. The lineup turned over and Avila walked Colt Keith. The Royals started warming up their pen, and the Tigers needed to pounce. Kevin McGonigle got one off the label and flicked a single into center field, but Lee was held up at third by Billy Boyer on a bad decision as he was going to score and center fielder Thomas was already throwing it in to third base. Lee actually had to slide to a stop down the third base line and retreat. So, the bases were loaded with no outs, but the Tigers really needed to come through.

Gleyber Torres worked a full count, but swung at a ball four sinker in and fouled it off. A high fastball was also fouled off that would’ve been ball four. Avila lost the handle on a slider and threw it high, dropping it just into the zone for a swinging strike three. That was it for Avila as lefty Matt Strahm came on looking to shut down Riley Greene and escape the bases loaded jam.

Greene worked a full count and then fouled off a pair of sinkers. Strahm came in with a sinker and Greene slapped a little spinner toward second base. Tolbert at shortstop and Velasquez at second converged on the ball together and flinched away from each other. The would-be double play ball bounded between them into center field, plating Lee and Keith. Greene didn’t stop running and slid into second just ahead of the tag as Thomas threw the ball in from center field.

Dillon Dingler got a 1-2 fastball away and lined a single back up the middle and that extra 90 feet paid off as McGonigle and Greene scored. Just like that the Tigers had brought it back and now held a 4-3 lead.

Ben Malgeri battled through a long at-bat, but bit on a two-strike changeup and struck out. That left it to Torkelson, who flew out to center field, but the Tigers had a slender lead to work with. Now, the question was how to navigate four innings with this bullpen.

Ty Madden walked Carter Jensen to start his outing, which was less than ideal. Massey flew out to Malgeri, and Velasquez had to offer at a 2-2 slider on the outer edge and flew out to Greene, holding Jensen at first base. Madden was throwing everything but the kitchen sink up there, and got Thomas to ground out to Lee to end the inning as lefty Drew Sommers warmed up in the pen.

Former closer Lucas Erceg took over for KC in the sixth. Outman lined a single to right to greet him. Lee chopped a grounder to Velasquez at shortstop after he’d moved there with Massey taking over second base and Tolbert out of the game. They got Outman, but Lee beat out the double play turn, so it was one-out with Lee at first for Colt Keith. Keith got into an 0-2 count and lined a sharp one-hopper up the middle, but Velasquez was there and they turned a snappy double play to end the inning. On to the seventh. 4-3 Tigers.

Madden popped up Loftin to start the inning. The right-hander was dumping in splitters, curveballs, sliders, and cutters to go with his two fastball types. Perez bit on a 2-2 slider and struck out, and that was a nice outing from Madden. He avoided any telltale fastballs and junk balled the Royals very effectively. With two outs and a lefty coming up in Caglianone, Hinch turned to Sommers to wrap up the seventh. The big fella blew the dangerous slugger away with 95 mph above the zone.

Right-hander Nate Pearson, who prospect watchers will remember from his days as a triple digit top 100 prospect for the Blue Jays, took over for the Royals in the bottom half. He was acquired just a few days ago, and suffice it to say his career has not panned out as hoped after a long stretch of injury plagued years, though he still hits 98-99 mph pretty regularly. He walked Kevin McGonigle to open the inning but Torres quickly grounded into a double play. Greene lined one sharply the opposite way, but Loftin made a leaping grab to send us to the eighth inning.

Zack McKinstry entered the game in right field for Malgeri, while Sommers popped up Marte to Lee to open the inning. Collins managed to fist a two-strike sinker for a bloop single to right field. Sommers fired a 96 mph dart on the outer edge for strike three to Jensen, but disaster was lurking. The lefty got ahead of Massey with good sinkers up and in, but in a 1-2 count Dingler called a slider down and away but it was left in the middle of the zone down and Massey launched it to right for a two-run shot and a 5-4 Royals lead. Sommers got Velasquez, but now the Tigers had six outs to come back.

John Schreiber took over for the Royals and got Dingler to ground out to start the bottom of the eighth. McKinstry drew a walk, and Torkelson lined a sharp single to left field to Collins. McKinstry tried to go first to third, but Collins threw him out at third. The Tigers challenged the close play, but they were unsuccessful. Outman flew out to center and we were on to the ninth.

Brenan Hanifee took over for the Tigers in the top half of the ninth. Thomas grounded out, and Loftin took a good sinker on the edge for strike three. He walked Sal Perez, getting cute with breaking stuff after getting ahead quickly with the sinker. That brought Caglianone up, but he grounded out and it was last call for the Tigers.

RHP Steven Cruz entered looking to save this one for the Royals. He nearly took Lee’s head off with a 99 mph sinker in a 1-2 count. Lee hit the deck, just escaping in time, and took a moment to collect himself. He then took a pair of fastballs for balls and drew a leadoff walk. Great at-bat from the rookie once again. Colt Keith fought off a cutter and dumped it into shallow center field. Thomas froze and couldn’t get there while Velasquez slid and had the ball in his glove, but it rattled loose and the Tigers were in business with runners on first and second and no outs. However, McGonigle popped out to left field and Cruz dialed up 101 to jam Torres for a first pitch foul. Torres took a cutter at the bottom of the zone for strike two and flailed at a cutter away to strike out. He just doesn’t look right since returning from the oblique strain.

So, it was up to Riley Greene. Cruz just jammed him repeatedly with mid to high 90’s cutters. Greene fell behind 1-2 and then fouled one off his leg. He needed a minute after that one. Greene fouled off 99-100 mph away twice, and then a cutter over the middle. One more cutter down and in drew the whiff, and the Royals had managed a split after losing the first two of this series.

That’s tough in a series in which the Tigers really needed to keep their winning ways going. They’re 6-4 out of the All-Star break, but these were very winnable games and the Royals pitching staff was running on fumes coming into this series. Another disappointing start from Framber Valdez started this one off, and the bullpen’s yearlong struggles to hold close games continued as Massey got to Sommers for a game changing homer in the top of the eighth. That was the 17th game in which the Tigers have blown a lead in the seventh inning or later.

There’s no rest on tap either. The Orioles come to town for three starting on Monday night, and then the Tigers will be off Thursday as they head out west for three against the Athletics before the trade deadline on Monday, August 3.

After blowing a three-run lead in the 5th inning, the Royals trailed 4-3 heading to the 8th. Michael Massey delivered, with a left on left, go-ahead two-run homer into the right field seats, putting the Royals up 5-4. They would hold that lead and earn a split in the Motor City.

The Royals immediately jumped on Framber Valdez, with Lane Thomas smacking his 10th homer of the year to start the game, just over the right field wall.

Nick Loftin singled, Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch, two on, nobody out. Jac Caglianone hit into a fielder’s choice, Starling Marte struck out. Isaac Collins worked a clutch walk to load the bases, right in front of Tyler Tolbert reaching via a fielding error. Luke Maile lined out to right to end the 1st, with the Royals up 2-0.

The Royals tacked on another run in the 4th inning, when Maile doubled down the left field line, scoring Tolbert. 3-0 Royals lead.

Luinder Avila was really good the first 4 innings but quickly struggled in the 5th. A leadoff double, walk and single loaded the bases for Detroit with nobody out. Avila struck out Gleyber Torres to end his day. Matt Strahm came in with one out, Riley Greene softly grounded one up the middle, Andrew Velazquez and Tolbert both went to get it, but it went between them, driving in two. Dillon Dingler followed up driving in two with a single, making it 4-3 Tigers after 5.

Lucas Erceg worked a scoreless 6th, Nate Pearson made his Royals debut, throwing a scoreless 7th. In the top of the 8th, Collins blooped a single to right field, Michael Massey, who pinch hit in the 6th, on a 1-2 pitch with two outs, smacked a go-ahead two right shot into the right field seats, giving the Royals a 5-4 advantage. It was Massey’s 8th homer on the season.

John Schreiber worked the 8th, walking a batter with one out, he then allowed a single to left, the runner tried to get to third, but Collins threw him out for the second out. A flyout to center ended the inning.

Steven Cruz was called upon to get the save, a leadoff walk and bloop single put the Royals in trouble. Cruz got Kevin McGonigle to pop out and struck out Torres on three pitches. The game came down to him and Greene. Cruz won the lengthy battle, striking out Greene.

The Royals played 7 one-run games in Detroit, and 6-straight in general. They are 45-62 on the season. They are off tomorrow, Tuesday night, Seth Lugo takes the mound in Minnesota against the Twins.

The Dodgers were 12 outs away from sweeping the New York Mets, but the bullpen allowed seven unanswered runs as the team ended their nine-game road trip on a whimper.

Both pitchers put multiple men on base while throwing over 20 pitches in the first inning, but it was the Mets taking the first lead with a Francisco Lindor single against Emmet Sheehan to plate A.J. Ewing.

The Dodgers would go down quietly in the second inning against Freddy Peralta, but a double from Eliézer Alfonzo and a walk to Andy Pages set the table for an RBI double from Freddie Freeman in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 1. It was Freeman’s 574th career double, now tying him with Bobby Abreu and Charlie Gehringer for 24th all time. A groundout from Max Muncy plated Pages and gave the Dodgers a one-run lead.

The Dodgers kept putting the pressure on Peralta as Tommy Edman led off the fourth inning with a single, and an error from Jared Young at first helped Kyle Tucker reach base. Teoscar Hernández singled to right to load the bases, and Alfonzo collected his second career RBI on a groundout to extend the lead to two. Peralta would retire the next two in order to get out of the jam, but by then, his pitch count was already at 93 over four full innings.

After allowing three straight hits in the first inning, Emmet Sheehan was dialed in against New York as he did not allow a hit after the Bo Bichette single. Sheehan allowed just one run on Sunday after allowing six runs against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, and it was the first time he allowed one run over five innings since June 28 against the San Diego Padres.

Once Sheehan departed, the Mets began to feast as they took a pair of walks against Jack Dreyer to put the tying run on base. Dreyer could only get one out before Evan Phillips took over, and Tyrone Taylor turned the game around with a thunderous three-run home run to give the Mets their first hit since the first and their first lead since the first.

The Mets continued to pour it on in the seventh inning as they got one run on a wild pitch from Will Klein to bring home Lindor. Klein allowed a two-out walk to Jorge Polanco to put two on with two outs, and Marcus Semien cashed them in with a three-run home run to extend the Met lead to five.

Freddie Freeman added a single in the top of the eighth inning against Luke Weaver, giving him his fourth consecutive multi-hit game. The Dodgers would eventually load the bases with two outs, but Teoscar Hernández failed to cut the deficit as he grounded out back to Weaver to get the Mets out of trouble.

Charlie Barnes made his first big league appearance since July 1, tossing a scoreless eighth inning and striking out two.

While the Dodgers couldn’t complete the season sweep of the Mets, they finish with a 5-1 record, giving them a winning record against New York for the first time since 2024. With the Milwaukee Brewers taking two of three from the Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers still possess a half game lead over the Brewers for the best record in baseball.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Tyrone Taylor (8), Marcus Semien (11)
• WP— Cionel Pérez (4-3): 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
• LP— Evan Phillips (0-2): 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Monday as they head home to begin a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Both teams have yet to announce their starters.

The Mets used the long ball to come away with an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Stay hot, Tyrone Taylor! With two runners on in the bottom of the sixth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to right-hander Evan Phillips, but the move didn’t work out, as Taylor drove a fastball over the wall in left for a three-run shot, putting the Mets up 4-3.

Taylor now has five home runs in the month of July alone.

--The Mets scored some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to some small ball and some not-so-small-ball, with A.J. Ewing at the heart of it. Ewing walked, moved to second on a ground out, advanced to third on a single, and then came in to score on a Dalton Rushing passed ball behind the plate. 

Later in the inning, Marcus Semien, who entered as a defensive sub, blasted a three-run shot of his own, helping the the Mets blow things up at 8-3.

--It was another slog of a start for Freddy Peralta in what could potentially be his last start in a Mets uniform. The right-hander went just 4.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. 

It seemed like Peralta had traffic on the basepaths and dealt with long at-bats from the Dodgers all afternoon, pushing his pitch count up to 93 (57 strikes) by the end of his outing. 

Peralta could potentially make another start before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but there’s also a chance he gets moved prior to that next start. 

--The Mets played more shaky defense in the top of the fourth inning. A grounder to first couldn’t be handled by Jared Young, who was charged with an error, but Peralta also didn’t get over to cover first base, and there was a chance the Mets could have still recorded an out there if he had.

The Dodgers added their third run of the game in that inning, which was also Peralta’s last.

--Ewing snapped an 0-for-9 skid in the first inning, blooping a double in front of Andy Pages. Ewing then came around to score when Francisco Lindor poked an RBI single to right. He reached base three times on the afternoon, including a pair of walks, and played solid defense in center field.

Dodgers starter Emmett Sheehan gave up that early run, but was solid after that. The righty went 5.0 innings and allowed one run, and the only three hits he allowed were the first three batters of the afternoon. He struck out five and walked two.

-- Tip of the cap to the Mets relievers in this one. Cionel Perez, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams combined to go five scoreless innings. Weaver also made a spectacular defensive play to get the out at first base in a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning.

Game MVP

Taylor, who gave the Mets the lead in the sixth inning, and they never looked back

Highlights 

Francisco Lindor flips one into right field to put the Mets on the board first! pic.twitter.com/R8ahAR6HNN

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

Tyrone Taylor throws out Teoscar Hernández at second base! pic.twitter.com/iPgQFUQ1iH

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

YOU BETTER CALL TYRONE!

A GO-AHEAD THREE-RUN HOMER FOR TYRONE TAYLOR! pic.twitter.com/KD1MZEegye

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

Marcus Semien with a towering three-run homer! 💣 pic.twitter.com/95aj1JcQIt

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

WHAT A PLAY BY LUKE WEAVER pic.twitter.com/SjBul5Mpg9

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

Next up

The Mets stay home for a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, starting on Monday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Zac Thornton will face fellow lefty Martin Perez.

Blue Jays 1 Red Sox 6

If the Jays aren’t going to put an effort into the game, I’m not going to effort into the headline.

That was far less fun than yesterday.

Kevin Gausman was pretty good, really. Some weak contact that fell in, but not much hit hard. He went 6 innings allowing 5 hits, 3 earned, just 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. He didn’t allow an extra base hit. It goes as a quality start, but the bats didn’t help him out at all. It is kind of sad that the team didn’t score for him in what might be his last start with the team. But then they never seem to score for him

And we didn’t do much on offense, 9 hits, but only 1 double for extra base hits. They were 0 for 6 with RISP, until Andrés Giménez finally singled in a run in the ninth. 1 for 8 in all.

The hits came from Giménez (3), Kirk and Springer (2 each) and Varsho and Clement (1 each).

Lukes (leading off against a lefty, which I didn’t understand), Vlad, Okamoto and Scheider/Piñango (sharing) had 0 for 4s.

Ranger Suarez was good for 4 innings in his first start back from the IL. And four relievers pitched the last 5 innings, giving up just the run in the ninth.

Jays pen had a rough time too. Braydon Fisher (on his birthday) gave up 2 hits and a walk, while getting 1 out. Brendon Little gave up two more hits, while getting the last two outs, adding up to 3 runs in the inning. Adam Macko gave up two hits in the 8th but no runs. One of the ‘hits’ was a ground ball to Vlad, several feet from first base, but instead of covering first, Macko ran to where Vlad and the ball were. It didn’t cost anything, but it was bad baseball.

No Jays of the Day. Giménez had the high mark at 0.06 WPA and made a couple of nice plays on defense, so let’s give him an honourable mention.

Other Award: Okamoto (-0.12), Varsho (-0.10) and Lukes (-0.09, though it isn’t his fault he was at the top of the other against a lefty, but then he didn’t hit the right-handed relievers either).

It was just one of those lifeless games from the Jays offense. I guess teams always look lifeless when they don’t hit, but there wasn’t a lot of great at bats.

Tomorrow the Jays will be in Washington to take on the Ex-Expos (I’m still bitter). The Jays are listing TBA for the starting pitcher for the full series. I guess we are likely to see Max Scherzer at some point.

James Click awoke on July 27, 2021, with a serious problem on his hands. The Astros were 61-40, one game behind the Red Sox for the American League’s best record. They had the league’s best offense and the American League’s best rotation. The bullpen, however, could best be described as shaky.

The night before, Click watched as the Astros blew a 6-0 lead and lost 11-8 in Seattle. Five relievers combined to allow five runs over 3 1/3 innings, punctuated by Dylan Moore’s pinch-hit grand slam off Brooks Raley.

Click’s bullpen finished that night with a 4.15 ERA, ranking 18th in Major League Baseball. It was the team’s lone glaring weakness, and with the trade deadline approaching, the then-Astros GM had work to do to ensure it wouldn’t prove fatal.

Despite overseeing one of baseball’s worst farm systems and having little financial flexibility, Click spent the next four days remaking the Astros’ bullpen—not only to position the club for a World Series run that season, but also to keep it in contention the following year while strengthening the organization’s future.

Trade 1: Joe Smith and Abraham Toro to Seattle for Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero

Smith, Pedro Báez and Enoli Paredes were supposed to anchor the Astros’ bullpen from the right side ahead of Ryan Pressly. Smith and Paredes were ineffective, while Báez struggled with both injuries and poor performance. Toro, who homered in that July 26 game in Seattle, was an analytics darling but was blocked from playing every day.

After transitioning to the bullpen the previous season, Graveman had emerged as one of baseball’s best right-handed relievers in 2021, allowing just three earned runs over 33 innings. Montero, meanwhile, had struggled all season.

Graveman posted a 3.13 ERA after the trade and allowed just two earned runs over 11 postseason innings. Injuries limited Montero to just four regular-season games with the Astros in 2021, but he rebounded to post a 2.31 ERA in 71 games the following season. He also recorded a 1.93 ERA in the postseason while appearing in 10 of the Astros’ 13 playoff games.

Trade 2: Austin Pruitt and Bryan De La Cruz to Miami for Yimi Garcia

De La Cruz was a 24-year-old outfielder putting up strong numbers in Triple-A, but he wasn’t considered a top prospect. He has since posted a career 90 OPS+ in 493 major league games. Pruitt was included in the trade to offset some salary and clear a roster spot.

Garcia’s impact was greater than his numbers indicate. He posted a 5.48 ERA in 23 regular-season appearances, but that drops to 3.86 if you remove an outing against the A’s in which he allowed four runs while recording just one out in a 12-2 loss. His 7.00 ERA in the postseason is also misleading. Garcia allowed runs in only two of his 10 postseason appearances.

Trade 3: Myles Straw to Cleveland for Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz

Straw was in the middle of the best season of his career, one that ended with 3.3 bWAR. He posted a 105 OPS+ in 60 games with Cleveland, earning a lucrative contract extension. He won a Gold Glove in 2022, but this trade became Click’s masterpiece.

Center field became a revolving door between Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Jose Siri, but the Astros didn’t experience much of an offensive drop-off. Phil Maton put together an outstanding three-year run in Houston’s bullpen, and Yainer Diaz is now the club’s primary catcher.

Maton recorded a 0.73 ERA with 14 strikeouts and one walk in 12 postseason appearances in 2021 after holding opponents scoreless in 14 of his final 16 regular-season outings. He went on to post a combined 3.42 ERA over the next two seasons and threw six scoreless innings in the 2023 postseason, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six after a broken hand forced him to miss the Astros’ 2022 playoff run.

Summation

Straw has posted 7.8 bWAR with Cleveland and Toronto since the trade, while Toro has compiled just 0.8 bWAR across four teams. De La Cruz has performed at replacement level with four different clubs, while Joe Smith followed a solid finish to the 2021 season in Seattle by posting a 4.61 ERA with Minnesota before retiring.

That’s not much to give up for four relievers who combined for a 2.39 ERA over three postseason runs, plus a primary catcher who has already been worth 8.8 bWAR in his first 450 major league games.

The Red Sox are in the middle of a difficult stretch of their schedule. Without even considering the opponent, they’re currently playing ten games in ten days. After that, they play 16 games in 16 days. Baseball season is inherently a grind, but this stretch in particular is testing the pitching staff’s stamina. Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett are at or near career highs in innings pitched. Patrick Sandoval is pitching for the first time in two years. Today, Ranger Suarez was activated to reinforce the group, but he did so without a rehab appearance, limiting his pitch count.

Suarez did his job, throwing four innings of shutout baseball. He was as sharp as ever, nibbling on the edges with each of his pitches, striking out six in the process. His velocity was down a smidge, but throwing hard isn’t in his vocabulary, so no need to sound the alarms. Despite Suarez’s effectiveness, Chad Tracy couldn’t afford to extend him, going to the bullpen after just four innings. Greg Weissert, Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten, and Ryan Watson combined for the final five innings to secure the 6-1 victory.

The victory didn’t look certain until the later innings, though. Ceddanne Rafaela singled home their first run in the third inning after a Carlos Narvaez sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position. They grabbed two more in the fourth inning after Jarren Duran brought in two runs following a sacrifice bunt by Romy Gonzalez to move the runners over. With the score at 3-0 in the seventh inning, Jahmai Jones doubled off the fall to score two runs after, you guessed it, another sacrifice bunt from Narvaez to move the runners over. The sixth run was sacrifice-buntless as Wilyer Abreu doubled in Jones.

A win is a win, but during stretches like these, you’re playing for tomorrow, today. That’s why the seventh inning rally was so important. It allowed Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman to remain in the bullpen (although both warmed up), and keeps them fresh for tomorrow. Both high-leverage relievers have appeared in five games since the All-Star Break, tied for the most in baseball. Whitlock has thrown in 11 games in July, second-most in baseball this month. Keeping them fresh down the stretch is important to win tightly contested games in September and October.

Next stop: the final West Coast swing of the regular season for seven games against the Athletics and Dodgers.

Studs

Jahmai Jones (1-1, 2 RBI)

Pinch hitting is really, really difficult. As a whole, pinch hitters have a 30% strikeout rate and a .203 batting average this season. Jones entered the game in the seventh inning with two runners on base and doubled off the monster to add to the Red Sox’s lead and keep Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman out of the game.

Ranger Suarez (4 IP, 0 ER, 6 K)

Jarren Duran (3-4, 2 RBI)

Duds

Masataka Yoshida (0-3)

By my count, Yoshida is the only player who didn’t reach base or sacrifice bunt. He’s the only dud today.

All the Tampa Bay Rays needed was one run, allowing one hit, to win one more game and complete the series sweep over the Cleveland Guardians and remain undefeated in their throwback Devil Rays uniforms this season.

Rays’ starter Drew Rasmussen recovered from a leadoff double to deliver seven scoreless innings. Steven Kwan lined the game’s first pitch into right field for a double, immediately putting a runner in scoring position with nobody out.

He never advanced.

José Ramírez flew out before Rasmussen struck out Chase DeLauter and Brayan Rocchio to strand Kwan. The right-hander kept the same energy in the second, striking out Angel Martínez and Kyle Manzardo during a clean inning.

The Guardians created another opportunity in the third when Petey Halpin was hit by a pitch and stole second. Rasmussen again kept him there, getting Kwan to fly out in foul territory before striking out Ramírez.

Parker Messick was just as difficult on the other side.

The Cleveland left-hander retired the first seven Rays before Nick Fortes doubled in the third. Richie Palacios moved Fortes to third with a groundout, giving Tampa Bay its first chance to score, but Manzardo went airborne to catch Yandy Díaz’s liner and end the inning.

With neither starter giving much away, Chandler Simpson created something in the bottom half of the fifth inning.

He opened the inning with a ground-ball single to left, then took second when Messick bounced a wild pitch. Ben Williamson’s groundout moved Simpson to third, allowing Cedric Mullins to turn a well-placed bunt into an RBI single and the only run scored in the game.

Rasmussen retired the side in order in both the sixth and seventh, striking out DeLauter and Travis Bazzana along the way. After Kwan’s opening double, he allowed only a walk and a hit batter while retiring the final 12 batters he faced.

In his 150th career appearance, Rasmussen completed seven innings on 87 pitches, allowing one hit with nine strikeouts and one walk. He improved to 9-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.07 continuing his impressive All-Star season.

Messick refused to let the game get away from Cleveland. Simpson singled again in the seventh, and Williamson reached after Tampa Bay successfully challenged what was initially ruled a catch by Kwan. With two aboard and one out, Messick struck out Mullins and Fortes to preserve the one-run deficit.

Messick pitched 7.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. His ERA dropped to 2.59 despite the loss, which was especially cruel considering his first major-league victory came through seven scoreless innings against the Rays last August.

Garrett Cleavinger handled the eighth on 11 pitches. Baker took the ninth and it got a little interesting retiring Kwan and Ramírez before walking DeLauter. He recovered by striking out Rocchio to earn his 28th save and second in as many days.

The Rays will take Monday off before continuing their homestand Tuesday against Texas. After losing five straight last week, they have responded with six wins in seven games and another series sweep.

The Rockies were almost holding their own until the sixth inning when things went sideways on Jimmy Herget.

But the Rockies like to arrive at the party late, and there’s a lot of game left, so you know what that means.

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