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Guardians Score Four Runs and Win Baseball Game

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 27: Kyle Manzardo #9 and Kahlil Watson #31 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate scoring on a single hit by Cooper Ingle for Ingle's first Major League base hit during the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field on June 27, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It sure is nice when the team for whom I root scores runs.

The Guardians began tonight’s game with more of the same – three scoreless and quiet innings for their offense. Fortunately, Slade Cecconi is on a heater right now and kept the Mariners’ bats quiet for the first three as well. Seven groundball outs in those three frames, four on the cutter, one on the sinker, one on the curveball and one on the four-seamer. His new pitch mix approach as outlined by our Jakhob Clady continues to work.

Then, the blessed fourth inning happened. After Travis Bazzana and Kyle Manzardo singled, Kahlil “I Am The RBI Man You Are Looking For” Watson mashed a double to score Bazzana:

Highlight: Mariners at Guardians (06/27/2026) | MLB Gameday

Then Cooper Ingle picked a GREAT time to get his FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HIT!

Good, aggressive at-bat and he hit a CHANGEUP, folks. We can use some changeup hitters, as you may know.

Brayan Rocchio added an RBI double to score Bazzana in the 5th after Travis had singled. Watson, Gabriel Arias and Petey Halpin had the three hardest-hit balls today for Cleveland. It was fun to see Kwan in the leadoff spot today but I really think he needs to stay 7-9.

Everything went smoothly from there as Slade Cecconi pitched six scoreless allowing only three hits and two walks… until the 8th. Sean Armstrong had only a 2.19 ERA/2.54 FIP since rejoining the team on May 21st. But, he was very bad today, giving up a HBP, a single and then a crushed three-run homer to Randy Arozarena. So, Vogt had to go to Hunter Gaddis whom he wanted to rest, having pitched him yesterday. But Gaddy Daddy got the outs and passed the baton to Cade Smith for the 9th.

It was a little hairy, but Cade got it done, getting Josh Naylor for the last out with two runners on. Guardians win, 4-3.

If the Guardians can find a way to win this series tomorrow, it will be the first series they have won since José Ramírez got hurt. Speaking of hurt, Watson left the game late and he had jammed his hand/wrist trying to make a catch a couple innings earlier. Hopefully our star slugger is ok. Vogt said his removal was precautionary and he will be checked out but should be good to go. Of course… he said the same thing about Angel Martinez.

Oh, Erik Sabrowski looked good and got his guy on a K, so hopefully he is getting back to normal.

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Cubs Minor League Wrap: Jaxon Wiggins rehabs with South Bend

MESA, ARIZONA - MARCH 15, 2025: Jaxon Wiggins #40 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during the third inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Los Angeles Angels at Sloan Park on March 15, 2025 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs got stomped on by the Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays), 9-3 in 11 innings.

Grant Kipp made his Triple-A debut tonight. Over 3.2 innings, Kipp gave up three runs on seven hits. Two of those hits were solo home runs. On positive side, Kipp did strike out seven while walking two.

The contest was tied 3-3 heading into extra innings and Vince Reilly had pitched a scoreless ninth and tenth innings.. But when he came out for the elevent., he got shellacked. The final line on Reilly was four runs, three earned, on two hits and three walks over 2+ innings. One of the three walks was intentional. Reilly struck out one batter.

Left fielder Chas McCormick hit a solo home run in the second inning, his ninth on the campaign. McCormick went 3 for 4 with a double. He scored twice.

Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 3 with two walks.

A Grant Kipp strikeout.

McCormick’s home run.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies scored seven runs in the eighth inning and dethroned the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 7-3. Knoxville has won eight of their last nine games.

Stater Evan Taylor pitched two innings and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out four and walked one.

The win went to Tyler Schlaffer, who threw the final 2.1 innings of this game without allowing a run. Schlaffer gave up just one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle tied this game up 3-3 in the eighth with a two-run single. Cantrelle was 2 for 5 and scored one run.

Later in the eighth, left fielder Andy Garriola had a two-run single of his own. Garriola was 1 for 4.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez was 2 for 4. He scored once and drove in one in the eighth.

Highlights from that eighth inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs incarcerated the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 11-1.

Jaxon Wiggins made a rehab appearance for South Bend and gave up no runs and just two hits over 3.2 innings. Wiggins struck out four and walked no one.

Adam Stone pitched the next 1.1 innings, allowed no runs on one hit, and was awarded the win. Stone struck out one and walked no one.

Ethan Flanagan got the rare four-inning save. Flanagan allowed one run on four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.

Left fielder Jose Escobar hit a two-run home run in the fifth, his fifth on the year and third with South Bend. Escobar went 3 for 4 with a walk. He had three total RBI.

First baseman Drew Bowser drove in two more later in the fifth inning with his fifth home run of the season. Bowser went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda also had a hug night, going 2 for 3 with a double and two walks. He also stole a base. Cepeda scored three runs and drove in two.

Wiggins highlights.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were unable to move the Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox), 8-5.

Solid start for Braylon Myers, who turned in three scoreless innings with two hits. Myers struck out one and walked no one.

Henry Cone got mugged for five runs in the bottom of the seventh and took the loss. Cone’s final line was five runs on four hits over 1.2 innings. Only two of the five runs Cone allowed were earned. Cone walked two and struck out three.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez went 3 for 5 with a double. He scored twice.

Left fielder Edward Vargas was 2 for 5 with an RBI triple in the seventh. Vargas scored on that triple for a “Little League” two-run home run. Vargas scored twice.

Second baseman Ezequiel Perez was 2 for 4 with a walk. He had one run batted in and one run scored.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 1 for 5 with a walk and three steals. He had one RBI.

Vargas’ Little League home run.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Giants, 12-9 in eight innings.

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Mariners lose 4-3 to Guardians, fail to find answers to life’s ultimate questions

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 27: Julio Rodríguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after being hit by a pitch during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on June 27, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Mariners lost to the Guardians, 4-3, and are now 42-42 on the season.

I am not a particular Douglas Adams fan but read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as a middle-schooler, as one does, so I could understand my older cousins’ inside jokes. 42, of course, is the answer to ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything – the catch is, no one knows what the question is. As a literal-minded middle-schooler I was pretty annoyed by this conceit, and more annoyed when I found out later that Adams picked the number 42 entirely at random – an empty answer to a question that didn’t even know what it was asking.

Older, now, and less literal-minded, I can appreciate words that fill in gaps for concepts too hard to name – tough one tonight – and how some questions don’t have answers, or even questions. The 2026 Mariners have won 42 games. The 2026 Mariners have lost 42 games. They are a good team, and also a not-good-enough team.

Tonight the Mariners hitters pounded the ball into the ground against Guardians starter Slade Cecconi, who retired seven of the first batters he faced on grounders. The only damage he allowed the first time through the order was a two-out double to Dominic Canzone, hitting in the three-hole spot for the first time in his career, and even the joy of that was tempered as Canzone, who’s been struggling with a bum hamstring, ran gingerly into second base. The hamstring was obviously bothering Canzone, who was serving as DH, all game; postgame Dan Wilson said the injury was “playable,” which is a word that has some meaning, somewhere, maybe, but not a tremendous amount here, or now.

From there, it was mostly the frustrating Mariners offense you’ve become accustomed to watching over the past few weeks. A leadoff single from Julio Rodríguez in the fourth was squandered after a variety of weak-contact outs. Cole Young uncharacteristically blew a Mariners challenge early, perhaps reacting in frustration after a tough check swing call in the third. Ground ball out. Ground ball out. Groundhog Day.

That left the Mariners starter in a familiar position – this time, Logan Gilbert had the grim task of keeping the Guardians off the board. Gilbert looked strong into the fourth, giving up only a single to the lone right-handed hitter in the lineup in Gabriel Arias, until things devolved in the fourth. Travis Bazzana led off with a groundball base hit on a fastball with good velocity (98 mph) but poor location (right in the middle of the plate). Maybe that scared Gilbert off his heater, because the pitch selection went a little wonky after that: in an 0-2 count where he had Kyle Manzardo whiffing at his four-seamer, he threw a changeup as a putaway pitch that instead Manzardo rapped past a diving Cole Young to put runners at the corners with just one out. Gilbert then hung a first-pitch slider to Khalil Watson for a ringing double that brought in the Guardians’ first run of the day, and went back to the changeup another two times against Kyle Ingle for another sharply-hit ground ball single, this time bringing in two runs. Postgame, Gilbert said the game plan was to use the changeup against the Guardians’ lefty-heavy lineup, but acknowledged “it’s kind of a cat and mouse game,” which must mean something to him.

The Mariners had a chance to answer back in the top half of the fifth despite not recording a hit, with Luke Raley accepting a four-pitch walk and Cole Young reaching on an error, but J.P. Crawford couldn’t come up with a clutch two-out knock, caught looking at a sinker up in the zone for an inning-ending strikeout.

It’s hard to fault Gilbert for the next Guardians run, however: with two outs in the fifth, Bazzana reached after a splitter and floated it into the outfield for a single, and then turned on the jets and scored on an excuse-me swing from Brayan Rocchio on a first-pitch fastball up and out of the zone that dribbled down the left field line for a run-scoring double, extending the Guardians lead to 4-0.

The Mariners had yet another chance in the seventh, with Cecconi’s day finally blessedly coming to an end after allowing a walk (and another walk from reliever Colin Holderman), but Stephen Vogt pushed the Sabrowski Saw button and cut down the Mariners’ attempt at a two-out rally. J.P. Crawford battled, but again was the last out, again caught looking at a perfectly spotted strike three.

If there’s any silver lining to be had for this game, it’s that Logan Gilbert managed to push through the seventh inning, saving the bullpen an inning at least – and maybe a palate cleanser for Gilbert to end his outing, battling Steven Kwan for ten pitches and emerging victorious on a called strike three on the slider for his seventh punchout of the day. Take away the fluky-BABIP run in the fifth (and maybe make a few different pitch calls in the fourth) and that’s a solid outing for the reigning AL Pitcher of the Week. If moral victories are the only kind of victory we’re allowed to savor today, well, there are worse ones.

Having used the Saw Trap already and with the Mariners down to their final six outs, Vogt opted to bring in former Mariner Shawn Armstrong, who had a rough outing, hitting Julio on the hand/wrist with a pitch – he was clearly in pain but remained in the game and even came up with a ninth-inning single – before surrendering a single to Canzone, and then giving up the big hit to Randy Arozarena, who jumped on a 94 mph fastball right in the heart of the plate and demolished it to dead center, giving the Mariners three runs in a hurry.

Armstrong then gave up a first-pitch opposite-field single to Josh Naylor before being replaced by Hunter Gaddis. Gaddis got his first two outs before surrendering a first-pitch single to Cole Young on a changeup. But Colt Emerson couldn’t catch up with Gaddis’s slider, closing the book on the Mariners’ best scoring opportunity for the day, as Cade Smith allowed some uncharacteristic traffic but ultimately slammed the door for the Guardians in the ninth.

The Mariners are 42 and 42. They left 11 men on base. Their bottom four hitters, which tonight includes the reigning MVP runner-up, went 1-for-13. It is their 13th straight game of scoring three runs or fewer, tying a franchise record. These are all numbers that might mean something, but probably don’t, let alone the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.

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Jaylen Brown goes off on insider Bobby Marks and analytics enthusiasts

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has had lots of time to respond to anyone who doubts his game, his abilities and contributions to winning basketball – and NBA media members aren't exempt.

After a back-and-forth with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, which has gone on for more than a month, Brown's media feuds continue.

Brown went off on X, formerly Twitter, in a series of posts including a response to ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks about the 2024 Finals MVP being viewed as the "seventh-best player" on a team by analytics.

"Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives - Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for," Brown said in a post.

"Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago," Brown continued in a pair of posts. "Analytics have / are ruining the game we playing AI hoops."

Marks responded to Brown on the social media platform saying that his full statement wasn't posted in the aggregator platform on X, The Dunk Central or NBA Central, a page non-affiliated with the NBA.

"But what wasn’t posted was the 2m of saying I’m not an analytics person but an eye test guy. That I would want Jaylen Brown on my team. That you impact winning (191-80 in the last 4 years), is a top-10 player and would help any team looking to win a championship. That part of course didn’t make it. But that’s the media in 2026," Marks said.

What actually was said about Jaylen Brown

Brown didn't let it go. After Marks' explanation, the Celtics forward replied, "state your source."

Sirius XM NBA Radio Brian Geltzeiler replied under Brown's "state your source" comment explaining how the comment on his radio show with former NBA player and coach Sam Mitchell originated.

"Jaylen, I asked Bobby the question. His full answer acknowledged the absurdity of the comment he REPEATED from someone else. It is not (Marks) opinion, mine, or my co-host (Mitchell)."

For full context of what was said on Geltzeiler and Mitchell's radio show, Marks was introduced and immediately Geltzeiler dived into the situation in Boston after Brown was included in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, which ultimately didn't work out. However, there is belief that Brown still will be traded.

"From what I understand, it's a pretty vibrant market out there for him, no?" Geltzeiler asked. Marks' response was less than assuring.

"Mmm, I wouldn't say vibrant," Marks said. "There's mixed feelings about him when you talk to teams. We had a spirited debate, I brought up the point on NBA today with Danny Green and Chiney (Ogwumike), you know, former players, and the debate was, the analytics of Jaylen Brown is not good."

Marks continued: "Listen, I'm more of an eye test guy, like (he) impacts winning, 29 years old, has played in 60 more games, four to five last year, they're 191-80, the last four years in place. Okay, he's a top 10 player. But, here's what the analytics say, a negative net rating the last four years, when he was on the court this year, they were -10.6. So, there are some people out there that look at that a little bit more deeper than you know than what the eye test says."

Marks said there isn't a line of teams looking to get Brown, especially due to having to take on his contract, which pays him $57 million this season and $61 million and $64 million in the following two years of his deal. He believes Portland could be a wild card contender for Brown.

Mitchell asked how front offices make the decision of eye test versus analytics, considering winning, the team a player is with and other variables.

"I agree, because like who is he on the court with? I mean, you really gotta like really go like deeper, it's just not throwing out a number and everything like that. Who's he on the court with? Was it at the end of games? You know, like, there's a lot more into it than just saying, like, got a net rating," Marks said. "Like, I mean, as I said, like, in that period of four years, they won an NBA championship. He was voted sixth in MVP. He basically carried a Celtic team without Jayson Tatum this year, and he had career numbers off the board, and everything like that."

Mitchell added: "And all the players around him played well, got better. You look at some of them, like (Payton) Pritchard."

"I know, I agree, Sam," Marks said. "You got three years left, and I know it's max money, but it's a deal that there's no player option in it, so I think you have to be careful as far as where you weigh it. You know, it's funny, that's a thing that's been brought up. I had one, not an executive, but an analytics guy saying, 'we view (Brown) as like the seventh-best player on a team.' I was like, 'holy crap'. Literally, like I get it, there's a role for analytics and stuff, but well, I guess they call.. I joked, I guess we call that strategy now."

A surprised Mitchell wanted to make sure he heard that right.

"Seventh-best player on a team?" Mitchell questioned.

In response to those who said Brown was a "seventh-best" player on a team, Marks said, "Wait a minute, that's a little bit of a stretch there."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Jaylen Brown goes off on insider Bobby Marks and analytics enthusiasts

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Caminero to the moon: Rays 4, D-Backs 2

Before you could grab your hot dog, popcorn, and preferred pilsner beverage, the Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead on a Geraldo Perdomo double, Corbin Carroll single, and a whiff of a tag from catcher Hunter Feduccia.

In the bottom half of the first, Junior Caminero hit a thunderous, sky-scraping blast for his sixth homer in his last 19 innings played. The 43-degree launch angle was matched with a 107 MPH exit velocity, the tallest round-tripper of Caminero’s career.

For the first time in 630 days, Michael Grove got to pitch in an MLB game, and my goodness did he deliver.

Grove retired nine of the 10 batters he faced over three innings, struck out four, all on sliders, and collected the win.

Jonathan Aranda hit his 13th longball of the season in the fifth inning, taking us to 3-1 Tampa Bay.

Ketel Marte would cut the deficit in half with a 430-foot solo shot off of Kevin Kelly in the 8th, and Brian Baker would come on in the ninth with a new light show entrance for save number 21 in 1-2-3 fashion.

The two expansion cousins will have getaway day tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 PM EST and Merrill Kelly and Dre Rasmussen as the probable starting pitchers.

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Jays Lose to Rangers 7-4

Jun 27, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho (5) returns to the outfield during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Another disappointing loss. Five in a row now, as they fall towards the back of the AL wildcard chase. Really, it’s remarkable that 39-44 counts as in the race at all, but the AL being what it is they’re just 2.0 games back of Texas in spite of having ceded three games to them in the last three days.

  • Dylan Cease was messy today. He did pick up 10 Ks in 4.2 innings, but strikeouts are never his problem. Walks sometimes are, and he had five of them en route to allowing four runs. He gave up a run in the first on two walks and a single, but it looked like he was pulling it together for the next three innings. Two more singles and another walk in the fifth plated Texas’ second run in the fifth, and also forced him from the game as his pitch count reached 107.
  • Mason Fluharty wasn’t able to pick him up, allowing both inherited runners to score and plating two of his own on a walk, a single, and a double. The first of his own runners would end up being the decider.
  • Derek fisher allowed a solo shot in the 5th, running Texas’ total to 7.
  • Tommy Nance, Jeff Hoffman, and Tyler Rogers eached worked a scoreless inning of relief.
  • On offence, they really couldn’t do much against Cal Quantrill, managing just two singles and a walk over 4.0 scoreless innings while striking out five times.
  • They did jump on relievers Robby Ahlstrom and Joe Ross. Ernie Clement doubled and the newly recalled Yohendirck Pinango homered to score two in the fifth. Alejandro Kirk lead the sixth off with a solo homer, and debuting rookie Sean Keys singled, moved to second on an Clement hit, to third on a Pinango, and across on an Andres Gimenez line single to plate the Jays’ fourth and final run.

If you want a bright spot, it was contributions form Keys and Pinango. The former was playing his first major league game, and while one for four isn’t exactly setting the world on fire it was a solid first effort. He outhit their other first baseman, for about 1/45th the price. Pinango, meanwhile, has looked like a solid MLB hitter throughout his MLB time this season. Both look to be long term contributors in some fashion. Plus, Ernie Clement looked like the All Star he’s about to be, accounting for four of the team’s 17 total bases on the afternoon.

We’ll wrap things up tomorrow at 1:37pm ET. Shane Bieber (0-0, 9.82) will look to find some kind of form in his second appearance of the season. The Rangers will start Kumar Rocker (2-6, 4.14).

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Golden Knights 2026 NHL Draft Recap

The Vegas Golden Knights weren’t expected to make much noise during the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Their earliest draft pick was a third-rounder, 95th overall. But if the past nine years have taught us anything, it’s that with this team, you have to be ready for anything.

By the time the San Jose Sharks made the second overall pick, two-time leading goalscorer Pavel Dorofeyev was a New York Ranger, and the Golden Knights had a first-round selection. 

The Dorofeyev trade should have been an indication of what was to come. When the Draft finally came to an end on Saturday, the Golden Knights had made a total of five trades and seven selections.

Here’s a breakdown of the players they selected.

29th overall: Juho Piiparinen 

Despite entering the day without a first-round draft pick, the Golden Knights found themselves on the clock at 26th overall. They traded down twice, but eventually selected Finnish defenseman Juho Piiparinen out of Tappara, Liiga.

At 17 years of age, Piiparinen stands 6’3” and weighs in at 203 lbs. He’s a smooth-skating right-shot defenseman who likes to create offense with breakout passes.

“[Piiparinen is] a really good two-way defenseman,” said Golden Knights Director of Amateur Scouting Raphaël Pouliot. “He’s really good in transition; he’s a good skater. He can contribute in every aspect of the game, and I think he’s got lots of places to grow. His game is really mature. He played in the World Junior this year, started as a 7th defenseman for Finland, and worked his way up and was really effective. He didn’t make many mistakes. And I think there’s the potential for his game to grow as well.”

92nd overall: Benjamin Wilmott

The Golden Knights used the second 2026 Draft pick they acquired in the Pavel Dorofeyev trade to select Benjamin Wilmott out of the OHL Barrie Colts. 

Wilmott is a 6’1”, 190 lb player who plays bigger than his size. He’s a great playmaker who likes to do his damage off the rush.

“He’s a really versatile player,” said Golden Knights Director of Amateur Scouting Raphaël Pouliot. “He could play the wing; he can play center. He’s a guy who can play both special units— power play and PK.

“He was really good in the playoffs,” Pouliot continued. “In the Conference Final, his team was down 3-1, and they lost their first-line center, who was a first-round pick by Utah. And they came back. They won Games 5, 6, and 7, and two games on the road against Branford, which was arguably one of the best teams in the league; they have 4 first-round picks on their team. I thought [Wilmott] really elevated this game in the playoffs.”

Wilmott is committed to playing D1 hockey at the Ohio State University for the 2026-27 season.

95th overall: Sean Burick

The Golden Knights used the 95th overall pick in the 2026 Draft to select defenseman Sean Burick out of the WHL Penticton Vees.

Burick is a giant, clocking in at 6’8” and 214 lbs. He’s a physical defensive defenseman who doesn’t shy away from dropping the gloves.

“[Burick is] a really interesting player,“ said Golden Knights Director of Amateur Scouting Raphaël Pouliot. “He’s got a really big frame, but for his size, he can move pretty well… He’s a guy that’s hard to play against. He’s long, and he makes really good use of his stick. He’s able to be physical. He’s really good at puck retrieval, too; he’s able to absorb contact and make good transition passes.”

Burick will spend another year in the WHL before heading to the University of Denver to play D1 hockey for the 2027-28 season.

113rd overall: Jonah Sivertson

The Golden Knights used the 113th overall pick in the 2026 Draft to select forward Jonah Sivertson out of the WHL Prince Albert Raiders. 

Sivertson is a 17-year-old sharpshooter who weighs in at 6’3” and 194 lbs. He scored 24 goals and 53 points in 66 games during the 2025-26 season. He’s not the fastest skater, but he makes up for his lack of footspeed with his heavy shot and physical play.

Sivertson was a player the Golden Knights expected to go before the fourth round, so when he was still available, they traded up to get him.

“He’s got lots of tools,” said Golden Knights Director of Amateur Scouting Raphaël Pouliot. “
It was his 1st year this year with Prince Albert in the WHL. He started on the fourth line on a contending team that made it to the League Final. Even though they added three forwards at the deadline, he made his way up the lineup all year, and he was a solid contributor in the top six in the second half. 
And I think there’s some growth that can be made in his game.

“We really like his smarts, too,” Pouliot continued. “I think he’s got really good hockey sense, that’s one thing we really like about his game. It was his 1st year in the league, and I thought he adapted really well as the year went on and added some layers to his game. He’s got good puck skills as well, really reliable player.”

159th overall: Will McLaughlin

The Golden Knights used the 159th pick in the NHL Draft to select defenseman Will McLaughlin out of the WHL Portland Winterhawks. 

McLaughlin is yet another big blue liner, and stands at 6’3”, 185 lbs. He’s a mobile, two-way defenseman who uses his exceptional skating to create offense. He registered nine goals and 30 points in 68 games during the 2025-26 season. 

McLaughlin is committed to playing D1 hockey at Colorado College for the 2026-27 season.

191st overall: Matthew Minchak

The Golden Knights used the 191st pick in the 2026 Draft to select goaltender Matthew Minchak out of the OHL Kingston Frontenacs.

Minchak, who weighs in at 6’5” and 194 lbs, was one half of a goaltending tandem in Kingston. He earned his net and made the most of every opportunity, posting a 12-12-3 record and an average save percentage of .910 in 30 games played during the 2025-26 season. 

“[Minchak] came in, he earned his ice, and was really solid, especially the first half of the season,” said Golden Knights Director of Amateur Scouting Raphaël Pouliot. “I think he was second in the league in save percentage and goals against average. 
So I think there are lots of tools for him. He’s got a really likable size. He’s got a good development path as well. So, this guy, we were really excited to get in the 6th round.”

Minchak is committed to playing D1 hockey at Colgate University for the 2026-27 season.

207th overall: Noel Pakarinen

The Golden Knights used their seventh and final pick in the 2026 NHL Draft to select forward Noel Pakarinen out of Kiekko-Espoo, Liiga.

At 17, Pakarinen is already 6’2”, 198 lbs. He’s a power forward who plays a 200-foot game. He has a heavy shot and notched 16 goals and 35 points in 44 total games across Kiekko-Espoo’s three squads. 

Pakarinen will spend one more year overseas before playing D1 hockey at Michigan Tech for the 2027-28 season.

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Hurricanes Acquire Rights to John Carlson

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 06: John Carlson #74 of the Anaheim Ducks looks on during the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

It had been a long day. Some teams were using all of their allotted time, even in the later rounds to make their draft decisions. Then came Carolina, and time had expired while the world waited for them to make pick number 192 in the Draft.

What happened?

Eric Tulsky and company smacked everyone in the face with another shocking trade announcement. The Hurricanes traded their final pick, along with Kyle Masters, (leant to Greensboro last season), to Anaheim for the rights to John Carlson. Yes, that John Carlson.

Carlson will be a Free Agent come July 1st, so the Canes have three days to sign the defenseman. It won’t be easy.

While the blueliner is a bit long in the tooth at 36 years old, he had 14 goals and 60 points last season in 71 games playing for both the Capitals and the Ducks. He averaged playing over 23 minutes a game and he is going to be highly sought after if he makes it to free agency.

The Caps traded him to the Ducks at the deadline last season for a conditional first rounder and a third rounder. He is coming off an eight year, 64 million dollar contract averaging $8 million a year. The rumor is that he is looking for $9 to $10 million for next year.

Obviously, this puts Alexander Nikishin’s future with Carolina in question. Also, if Carlson is signed, that would most likely end any Connor Hellebuyck or Zach Werenski rumors as well.

His hardest shot last season was clocked at 99.77 MPH, so he still has it. He was ranked in the top 80% with his skating.

https://www.nhl.com/nhl-edge/skaters/john-carlson-8474590

His offense is rated higher than his defense but Carolina could probably live with that.

Stay tuned. We will find out within the next three days.

The Canes could manipulate their salary cap situation a bit if they decide to buy-out Jesperi Kotkaniemi. If I had to guess, they tried to trade the center for a draft pick today and were unsuccessful. He was healthy scratched 40 times during the season and never saw any action in the playoffs.

“KK” currently earns $4.8 million annually. The buy out, if it happens before July 1st, would be about $850,000 per year for eight years. So the savings to the Cap would be about $4 million per year. We will get more details about this later if it happens.

I asked Darren Yorke about the situation after the Draft today and this was his answer.

“We’ll evaluate what happened today and as we go through July 1, we’ll always try to do what we think is the best thing for the organization to get better.”

Prospect Development Camp starts soon with on ice sessions at Invisalign Arena. These sessions are open to the public. All draft selections today will attend except for Wiggo Sorensson.

Monday, June 29th

10:00 a.m.: Skills sessions

3:00 p.m.: Skills Sessions

Tuesday, June 30th

9:00 a.m.: Fitness testing

1:00 p.m.: On-ice testing

Wednesday, July 1

10 a.m.: Skills Sessions

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St. Louis Cardinals Can’t Break Out of Funk-Lose to Miami Marlins Again

Jun 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) is unable to field a one run single hit by Miami Marlins first baseman Kyle Stowers (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Saturday night’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins was a contrast of two teams who have almost identical records, but are heading in completely opposite directions. The Miami Marlins took advantage of scoring opportunities and the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t. Watching this team for the past week has made it difficult to not go into an ALL CAPS RAGE.

I hope the St. Louis Cardinals were paying attention to what the Miami Marlins were doing when runners were in scoring position. Given the opportunity, they came through with clutch hits and it started early. The Marlins scored early on Andre Pallante as Otto Lopez hammered a one-out triple in the right field corner and Kyle Stowers singled him in giving Miami an immediate 1-0 lead. Scoring runners in scoring position is possible, Cardinals.

The Marlins added to their lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Joe Mack led off with a single followed by Edwards then reached on a bunt single to third that Bryan Torres couldn’t handle. But, after Lopez grounded into a double play, Miami scored anyway as Stowers came through with a clutch two-out single scoring Mack doubling the Marlins lead to 2-0.

St. Louis had an opportunity in the bottom of the 3rd inning when JJ Wetherholt went the other way smacking a single into left field after Jimmy Crooks and Nathan Church had struck out for the Cardinals first hit of the game. Iván Herrera added his own single to give the Cardinals two baserunners and Alec Burleson was barely grazed on the foot by a pitch which loaded the bases with two outs bringing up the very much overdue Jordan Walker. What did St. Louis do with this opportunity to break out of their 12 inning scoreless streak? Walker struck out on a 3-2 sinker. This has been the St. Louis Cardinals for the past week.

The Miami Marlins took advantage of the Cardinals lack of improving their freefalling RISP numbers by adding to their lead again in the top of the 4th. Jakob Marsee led off with a double. Conine shattered his bat, but grounded out to JJ Wetherholt advancing Marsee for a productive at-bat. Javier Sanojo promptly singled to center scoring Marsee increasing the Marlins lead to 3-0. They weren’t done, either. After Mack flied out, Sanojo stole second and then scored when Edwards came through with a two-out single to left making it 4-0 Marlins.

The Cardinals would FINALLY score a run, but it didn’t happen until the bottom of the 6th inning when they strung together hits for a change. Jordan Walker got it started when he drew a one-out walk. Lars Nootbaar then singled moving Walker up to second. Masyn Winn added his own single as St. Louis began chipping away at the Marlins lead as it was 4-1 Miami after 6 innings.

Andre Pallante did not have his “A” game going Saturday night, but he did pitch deep into the game. He pitched into the top of the 7th inning and was helped by a picture-perfect JJ Wetherholt to Masyn Winn to Alec Burleson double play. He would be removed from the game by manager Oli Marmol after giving up a standup double to Edwards replaced by Matt Svanson. Andre Pallante’s line for the night was 6 2/3 innings giving up 11 hits, 4 earned runs while striking out 4 and walking 1 as he hit the 98 pitch mark. Not disastrous, but not as sharp as Andre has been in his previous June starts. Matt Svanson was unfortunately greeted by a two-out double from Otto Lopez which (of course) scored Edwards who barely beat the throw by Jordan Walker from right upping the Marlins lead to 5-1.

I thought perhaps that fate would begin smiling on the St. Louis Cardinals as JJ Wetherholt hit one of the highest singles in recent history as the Marlins infield and outfield could not decide who should catch JJ’s popup. Lopez called it and then they all just looked at each other as the ball bounced in between them all. I was hopeful the Cardinals would go on a Bender – Anthony Bender who was brought in by the Marlins in relief. Unfortunately, it was just another St. Louis runner left on base when Iván Herrera flied out to center to end the bottom of the 7th.

The Cardinals also wasted a single by Jordan Walker in the bottom of the 8th inning, but that was hardly surprising based on what St. Louis has done for the past week. Did the Cardinals do something inspiring in the bottom of the 9th and make a game of it? Of course not. Hold on a second, personal emotional eruption is coming…

WHY ARE THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS SUDDENLY SO FLAT FOR THE PAST WEEK? WHY DO RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION SEEM TO CAUSE TREPIDATION TO WHATEVER CARDINAL HAPPENS TO BE IN THE BATTER’S BOX? WHY HAS OUR DEFENSE BECOME SO SLOPPY? WHO’S GONNA RISE TO THE OCCASION AND REMIND THIS CARDINALS TEAM WHAT INSPIRED THE “TARPS OFF” RIGHT FIELD CRAZIES IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHO STOLE OUR BATS? Sorry about that, but I feel better now.

The St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their homestand Sunday by trying to avoid a sweep from the Miami Marlins. The Cardinals will start Kyle Leahy while the Marlins starter has yet to be announced. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm central time at Busch Stadium with the game TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

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Nine Michigan State Spartans Selected In NHL Draft

Jun 26, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Chase Reid reacts beside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images | Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

As Steve detailed in his NHL Draft Preview, a number of Michigan State Spartans were going to hear their names called. However, unlike the more familiar styles of the NFL and NBA Drafts, pro hockey’s version is full of names that will still play at the amateur levels. In these cases, all the newly drafted players associated with MSU have not actually laced up for the Green & White yet. All the top names you heard during MSU’s most recent season had already been drafted in previous years. Some will be back next season, while some are off to the NHL. The names picked over the past two days are the ones to continue giving us fans hopes for an NCAA championship.

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The NHL Draft began with its 1st round on Friday followed by rounds 2-7 on Saturday. (I think I would like the NFL to follow this arrangement rather than its current 3-day program.) Five players who have given commitments to Sparta went in the first round, four who we will see in 2026-27 and a fifth who will keep us waiting for 2027-28. Here are those selections:

  • #7: Chase Reid, D – Seattle Kraken
  • #15: Nikita Klepov, LW – Anaheim Mighty Ducks
  • #17: Ethan Belchetz, C- Utah Mammoth
  • #30: Jack Hextall, C – Calgary Flames
  • #31: Thomas Bleyl, D – Nashville Predators (*coming to MSU in 2027-28)

In addition to the quintet of first rounders, four more future members of MSU’s hockey program were selected in rounds 2-7 including the very first pick of round 2.

  • Rd. 2, #1: Brooks Rogowski, C – Vancouver Canucks
  • Rd. 4, #2: Jonas Kemps, D – Florida Panthers (*coming to MSU in 2027-28)
  • Rd. 5, #11: Nicholas Bogas, D – St. Louis Blues (*undecided for 2026-27)
  • Rd. 7, #24: Cullen McCrate, D – Boston Bruins

Nine total selections in this NHL Draft will eventually play for Michigan State, assuming “reopening my recruitment” doesn’t come to college hockey. 6, and maybe 7, of those draftees will be in East Lansing for the 2026-27 season, four of which are forwards. While the Spartans lost a good deal of talent to the NHL after last season, this could be a case of reloading, not rebuilding.

The future still looks bright inside Munn Ice Arena.

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Brewers drop Saturday night affair with Cubs, 8-2, as bullpen struggles

Jun 27, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the base after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Box Score

Kyle Harrison had another solid outing on Saturday night, handing the bullpen a 2-2 tie with the Cubs in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s bullpen struggled, allowing six runs over the final four innings in what ended up as a blowout 8-2 loss.

After Harrison breezed through the first with a 1-2-3 inning, including a strikeout, Jackson Chourio greeted lefty David Peterson — in his Cubs’ debut, after being acquired from the Mets earlier this week — with a first-pitch homer over the wall in center at 411 feet to make it 1-0.

The bats went quiet after that, as singles by Gary Sánchez and Joey Ortiz were the only other baserunners through the end of the third.

In the fourth, the Cubs finally broke through. After Harrison struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw singled up the middle for Chicago’s first baserunner of the evening, and Seiya Suzuki followed with a two-run homer, his second homer in as many games, to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Harrison worked out of the inning with no further damage, though he did allow a two-out walk and single.

The Brewers got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, as Blake Perkins lined a double into the right-center gap, and Sal Frelick followed with an RBI single to left to knot it up at 2-2.

The tie wouldn’t last, though, as Chad Patrick found himself in some trouble in the sixth after taking over from Harrison. While he got the first two outs without a problem, he then issued a pair of walks before Nico Hoerner hit a single to right to make it 3-2 Chicago.

It wouldn’t end there, either, with Ian Happ jumping on a first-pitch cutter from Patrick for a three-run homer, quickly stretching the Cubs’ lead to 6-2.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, couldn’t do much of anything against the Cubs’ bullpen — they went down in order in the sixth and seventh, and their only baserunner in the eighth came on a two-out walk by David Hamilton.

Chicago was able to add one more insurance run in the seventh off Grant Anderson, as he walked Shaw, Suzuki singled to put runners at the corners, and Alex Bregman brought in a run with a sac fly. The Brewer defense was able to limit the damage, though, as Chourio, Cooper Pratt, and William Contreras combined to cut Suzuki down at the plate on a double into the gap by Michael Busch.

Just for good measure, the Cubs added a pinch-hit solo homer from Michael Conforto against Joel Kuhnel in the ninth to bring this one to an 8-2 final.

In an even more unfortunate turn of events in the ninth, Garrett Mitchell entered as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth, and after swinging and missing at the first pitch, immediately grabbed his left hamstring. After a visit from the trainer, he remained in the game (the team was out of position players), ultimately grounding out — hopefully nothing major and something more like a cramp.

Harrison looked good, though he wasn’t the most efficient. He threw 92 pitches across just five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out nine. Patrick took the loss as he gave up four runs in less than an inning of work, while Anderson and Kuhnel each gave up a run. Jared Koenig, in his first appearance since early April after being activated from the IL yesterday, was the only pitcher with a clean inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

The offense collected just five hits and one walk, with no players reaching base more than once. Chourio had the homer, Perkins had the double, and Frelick, Ortiz, and Sánchez each singled.

The Brewers still hold a 6.5-game lead over the Cubs, but they’ll look to move that back to 7.5 games with a series win on Sunday. Brandon Woodruff is slated to make the start for Milwaukee, with the always terrifying TBD scheduled for Chicago. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

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42-42: Chart

Jun 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (36) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

Guardians 4, Mariners 3

Groundhog Day as a movie: Randy Arozarena, .14 WPA

Groundhog Day for your baseball team: J.P. Crawford, -.17 WPA; Colt Emerson, -.16 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

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Not everything can be perfect: Mets 6, Phillies 2

Jun 27, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts after hitting a two run triple against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Phillies have had a pretty remarkable week. Three games that would have been losses were in not for the fight they showed against a weaker opponent. The catch of the year in Friday’s victory over the Mets. It’s been quite the several days.

Today, that came to a screeching halt.

After a decently long rain delay, the Mets and Phillies got underway about an hour late, a game that ultimately saw the Phillies wither without a true starting pitcher and a lockdown performance by the Mets bullpen. Things started well with Bryce Harper homering off of Christian Scott to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

However, it being the fifth starter’s turn, the team continued with its opener/Alan Rangel plan for the position and got burned today. Tim Mayza started and was fine, but Rangel allowed four runs in his four innings of work. He started off fine, but in the sixth, things got hairy. Juan Soto and Bo Bichette both singled with one out, then scored when Francisco Lindor tripled to tie the game at two.

After a walk, Jonathan Bowlan came in, walked a batter, then gave up a two-run single to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. In the seventh, Soto hit an RBI triple, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Bichette to end the scoring on the day. The Phillies’ offense struggled against the bullpen that only allowed two hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings.

It happens.

Sometimes, teams just have a rough game and this was one of them.

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Diamondbacks 2, Tampa 4: Fish House Blues

LISBON, PORTUGAL - MAY 28: A manta ray is seen as people visit the Lisbon Oceanarium (Oceanario de Lisboa) the second largest aquarium in Europe and is home to around 16,000 marine creatures from 450 different species, in Lisbon, Portugal on May 28, 2025. Opened in 1998 as part of the Expo '98 World Fair, the aquarium features a main tank with a capacity of 5 million liters, housing sharks, penguins, and tropical fish. Attracting great interest from both local and international tourists throughout the year, the facility offers a unique opportunity to closely observe underwater life. (Photo by Didem Mente/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty Images

I was initially going to call this “Bouncy Castle Blues,” because that’s what Tropicana Field reminds me of as much as anything. With its synthetic fabric top, and its weirdly springy turf, and the fact that try as we might we never seem to play competent baseball there, it seems fitting. But that would have led me to Google Images and then probably an extended session of foolishness with Photoshop, and I realized I really wanted nothing more than to get this recap done as soon as possible, because it wasn’t a fun baseball game to watch, even with the always pleasant company in the Gameday Thread. And rays are basically fish, right? They live in water and they swim around in it, anyway. Whatever.

Young Jose Cabrera was making his second start of his young major league career, and I was kind of excited to see that, because I must admit I slept through the early innings of his debut last Sunday. And you know what, the kid looked pretty good, even though his final pitching line doesn’t quite reflect that.

We also staked him a lead before he’d even taken the mound, thanks to a one-out Geraldo Perdomo double off the top of the wall in right center that just missed being a home run, followed by a Corbin Carroll single to right that drove him in. Carroll was then promptly thrown out trying to steal second, and Gabriel Moreno grounded out to third to end things against Tampa opener (and former Diamondback, apparently) Cole Sulser. 1-0 DBACKS

Sadly, Cabrera gave that run right back in the bottom of the first. After retiring Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda without any drama at all, he allowed a 2-1 sinker to catch a little too much of the plate, and Junior Caminero launched it over the fence in the left field corner for his third first-inning home run in as many games. 1-1 Tie

And there things stood until the bottom of the fifth, as Cabrera settled down and put up zeroes in the next three innings, while the Diamondbacks offense could do nothing whatsoever against Sulser (who pitched the second inning as well) or former Doyer Michael Grove (who pitched three scoreless with no blemishes other than a Moreno single in the fourth). Cabrera retired the last two batters in the Rays’ order to start the fifth, flipping the lineup back to the top, where their big bats live. And they did big bat things, alas: Diaz drew a 7-pitch two-out walk, and Cabrera threw Aranda a sweeper on the inside that Aranda turned on and sent into the right field seats. 3-1 Tampa

Cabrera was only at 78 pitches, though, so Torey Lovullo sent him out to start the bottom of the sixth, where he was promptly greeted by consecutive first-pitch bunt singles by Victor Mesa, Jr. and Chandler Simpson. Cedric Mullins came to the plate and looked like he was going to bunt as well, and I mean, why not? We hadn’t been able to stop it the first two times, right? That was enough for Torey, though, who pulled Cabrera and sent in Juan Morillo to throw some high-velocity pitches that wouldn’t be so buntable. Which was fine, so far as it went, but Morillo bounced the second pitch he threw in the dirt and it got by Moreno and rolled to the backstop. The runners moved up, and then a fly ball by Mullins to center field allowed Mesa to tag and score. 4-1 Tampa

Some new guy had come in out of the Rays’ bullpen, and allowed a two-out Perdomo single in the top of the sixth, and a two-out Arenado double in the seventh, but both runners were left standing there as the Diamondbacks once again continued to fail to hit with runners in scoring position (they were 0 for 5 total today). We did get one run back in the top of the eighth, courtesy of Ketel Marte going deep to pretty much straightaway center to drive himself in with his 14th home run of the year:

View Link

So that was nice, I guess, though it wasn’t nearly enough to make a difference. 4-2 Tampa

Meanwhile, after Morillo’s work was done, Ginkel and Clarke put up zeroes to keep Tampa from doing any more damage, but we couldn’t do any more damage ourselves, so it wound up being kind of moot.

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

This one was a truly symphony of mediocrity, in terms of Win Probability Added, with nobody really rating in either a positive of negative way other than Jose Cabrera, who also wore the loss in this one:

Fish Food: Jose Cabrera (5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR, -15% WPA)

Sad to say, it was also a pretty anemic Gameday Thread as well, with 141 comments total at time of writing. Amusingly, it looks like the three that got the most recs were from me and Ramona for our hello posts, so in the interest of choosing something at least nominally game relevant, this one goes to AZNailgal520 and kilnborn for this trifecta regarding Jose Cabrera’s nickname and how it reflects his ability to move about the infield:

Extra credit, too, for the callback to last night’s hippo business!

Anyway. If you feel like some morning baseball, you can stop by and join us as we try to avoid getting swept by the other Florida team. Merrill Kelly takes the ball for us, Drew Rasmussen goes for Tampa, first pitch is scheduled for 10:40am AZ time. Hope to see you!

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, Go Diamondbacks!

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Mets bullpen continues to dominate, pick up Christian Scott in win over Phillies

It was another banner night for the Mets bullpen, and they came up huge in the team's 6-2 win over the Phillies on Saturday night.

Four relievers combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings against a tough Philadelphia lineup, and with the help of Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, the Mets snapped their seven-game losing streak.

"The pitching was really good," Mets interim manager Andy Green said after the win. "For me, what [A.J.] Minter did was pretty special today. He went through the heart of the lineup in an inning-plus; there was a lot to like about today’s game."

Minter took over for starter Christian Scott in the fifth inning with a man on and one out. The veteran reliever got Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber to fly out to end the inning. Minter then followed up by pitching a scoreless sixth, working around a Bryce Harper single to get five outs for Green and the Mets. He also gave the Mets offense a chance to score four runs in the sixth to take the lead.

Huascar Brazoban, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams followed, allowing just two baserunners in the final three innings to complete the win. 

"It’s no secret the starters haven’t been going deep into games, haven’t really been doing our jobs too well," Scott said of the bullpen. "But our bullpen’s kind of saving us. Especially Minter, Brazo, Weave and Devin. Just coming in and being nails every time they’re out. Gives us a chance to win deep in ballgames. Gives our offense a chance to compete later in games. They’ve been huge for us, honestly."

The Mets' bullpen has pitched to a 3.35 ERA, which is the third-lowest in the NL and the fifth-lowest in MLB. The pen also leads the majors in strikeouts with 363.

Minter, specifically, has increased his scoreless innings streak to 12 and has not allowed an earned run in his last 24 appearances. But Weaver has been especially nasty for the Mets.

The right-hander completed another shutout inning, getting Turner, Schwarber and Harper out in order, running his consecutive innings streak to 23 across 21 games. He tied Roger McDowell (1986) for the sixth-longest scoreless streak in franchise history by a relief pitcher. 

"He had the heart of what they have and he had his way with it today," Green said of Weaver. "Schwarber couldn’t pick up the changeup. And the fastball is just alive right now. That combination is tough for guys."

According to Elias, since May 1, Weaver is the only relief pitcher in the majors with 20.0 innings pitched and zero runs allowed. During the same stretch, Weaver has held opposing batters to a .127 (10-79) average and has pitched to a 0.65 WHIP.

With their long losing streak snapped, the Mets will try to string together wins. If they hope to climb out of the hole they created for themselves, they'll need this performance from the bullpen.