With the 2026 NHL Draft just a week away, it's time to zero in on some Nashville Predators 2026 Draft Targets.
In the first edition, we covered Viggo Björk, and today, we are going to look at Daxon Rudolph from Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
He checks just about every box you want in a modern top-four NHL defenseman. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, he already has the frame to handle pro minutes, but it’s the way he moves that stands out more than anything.
Rudolph is a smooth skater with strong hockey sense, which shows up in how calmly he handles pressure on the breakout. He can slow things down when he needs to or speed them up and transition play through the neutral zone without much hesitation. There’s a real offensive element to his game too, especially with a heavy shot from the point that becomes a legitimate weapon on the power play.
He does jump into the rush when the opportunity is there, but it doesn’t feel reckless. His defensive game is more advanced than you’d expect at his stage, particularly in how he manages gaps and uses his stick to cut plays off early. Coming off a strong season in Prince Albert, he looks like a player trending toward a long-term top-four NHL role.
Scout's Takes:
Here are some of the scouting reports put out by the most notable scouts/hockey writers in the NHL.
"Rudolph’s hockey sense is off the charts. He doesn’t try to do more than he’s capable of and force plays for the sake of making them. Instead, he plays to his strengths, which happens to be quite a few elements. He has a booming shot, makes great breakout passes and can knock guys down.
- Steven Ellis - Daily Faceoff
"Rudolph is a good skater whose skating patterns, flow and edges are comfortable. He can manipulate coverage or jump off the line. He sees the ice well and can beat the first layer and then find the back door through a second layer. He defends the rush well and has a good stick. He’s a heady player who thinks the game well."
- Scott Wheeler - The Athletic
"His combination of size, skill, physicality and willingness to block shots are attractive attributes. The right-shot defenceman could develop into a top-pairing NHL blue liner in time."
- Jason Bukala - Sportsnet
Draft Projection
This season, it seems like with every passing mock draft, there is a completely different order outside of the top three. For Rudolph, it seems that the sweet spot for him to be drafted is in the range of 7-10. It wouldn't be overly shocking if the Predators lean towards taking Rudolph, especially considering how much forward depth they have in their system.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 19: Matt Festa #52 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after a three run home run by Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park on June 19, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guards would get off to a quick start with 2 of the first 3 hitters getting singles, but Bazzana and Rocchio would be stranded after back to back strikeouts by Hoskins and Schneemann. In the bottom half of the inning, the Astros would get on the board first. After the first 2 hitters were out, Christian Walker would draw a walk and come around to score on a throwing error by Khalil Watson in RF after Isaac Paredes singled. Bibee was able to strike out Altuve to end the inning and keep the score at 1-0.
After an uneventful 2nd inning, the Guards would tie the game on doubles by Bazzana and Rocchio and then take the lead on a 2 run homer by Rhys Hoskins. Houston would get 1 back in the bottom half of the 3rd on a solo shot by Jeremy Peña, making it a 3-2 game.
The score would remain 3-2 until the bottom half of the 6th inning. After issuing a leadoff walk to Yordan Alvarez and getting Walker to line out (on a nice jumping catch by Watson in right-center field), a ground ball single to RF by Paredes would spell the end of the night for Tanner Bibee. Matt Festa came on in relief and gave up the go ahead 3 run home run to Jose Altuve.
The Astros would tack on 2 more in the 7th on Jeremy Peña’s second home run of the game and a 2 out RBI double by Altuve off Daniel Espino. Erik Sabrowski would make his return in the 8th. He would only retire one batter and give up 2 runs. The 2nd run was surrendered by Shawn Armstrong, who came on in relief for Sabrowski. Armstrong would get out of the inning, only surrendering the one hit that scored the second run.
The Guardians offense could not muster any more runs, and 9-3 was the final score.
The Guards will look to even the series in Houston Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15pm Eastern time. It will be Joey Cantillo on the mound for the Guards, taking on Spencer Arrighetti for the Astros.
Jun 19, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins pinch hitter Esteury Ruiz is congratulated by manager Clayton McCullough (86) after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
Landen Roupp last bagged a win on April 26th, when he allowed 3 runs over 7.2 innings against Friday’s opponent, the Miami Marlins.
When Roupp walked off the mound that night in late April, he felt satisfied. He had pitched into the 8th, authored his fourth quality start in the season’s first six games, whittled his ERA down to 2.55, his WHIP sub – 1.00, and set his team up for a win. The Giants did win that game, their fifth in six Roupp starts.
But in the intervening weeks something changed. Roupp climbed the hill eight different times and in various ways left it prematurely, frustrated, gassed, bogged-down, alienated. Only once during that stretch did he pitch through the 6th inning and earn a quality start. His ERA ballooned past 4.00.
As we all know after a feast comes a famine. Neither lasts forever — but one tends to end abruptly and the other lingers. On this Friday night in June, Roupp walked off the mound in Miami with 18 outs recorded for the first time in a month. It felt different, maybe not quite like a “feast,” but hinting at earlier days. Six complete, over the hump, with just one walk given, quickly erased on a double play to end his evening. After leaning on his signature curveball early, Roupp upped his change-up usage each time through the order with the off-speed fetching four of his seven total strikeouts. He surrendered 2 runs, both RBIs delivered by the bat of Owen Caissie.
It could’ve been worse, but the right-hander mitigated the damage and managed traffic with some gritty pitching. With a runner, or runners threatening from scoring position, Miami went just 1-for-8, including four K’s.
All that — and the Giants are now…0-9 with Roupp at the helm.
The drought continues. Roupp exited the game with a 3-2 lead. Every time Miami notched a run off of him, San Francisco’s offense had a response. They erased two deficits before nosing ahead in the 6th. Daniel Susac missed a grand slam by a couple of feet, settling for a sac fly in the 2nd. Soon after Caissie’s RBI double reclaimed their lead in the 5th, Rafael Devers led off the next frame with a 407 footer to the second deck in right-center.
Jung Hoo Lee piled on with a double, his second hit of the night, and scored on Casey Schmitt’s flipped single to right for the Giants’ first lead of the night.
The lead lasted for an inning. Not long for this world the moment Tony Vitello dipped into the Giants’ rainbow relief corps and pulled out Sam Hentges. In an 0-2 count, the Bible-thumping Hentges thumped pinch hitter Esteury Ruiz with a fastball to start the inning, defying the first of the Bullpen Commandments:Thou shalt not walk the leadoff batter. A transgression that proved consequential. Before Hentges could even record an out, Ruiz had rounded the bases on a bunt single and roller into right. Two pitches later Caissie collected his third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly that proved to be the fatal coup.
A hit by pitch, a couple of singles, a sac fly shut San Francisco up for good. They had no response. Right when the pitching faltered, the offense went silent and cold. Three Miami relievers tag-teamed to retire the last 10 Giant hitters in order.
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 19: Antonio Senzatela #49 and Hunter Goodman #15 of the Colorado Rockies celebrate the win after the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field on June 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies needed to win a winnable game. They made it harder than it needed to be, but they still got there.
The Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Friday night at Coors Field, improving to 29-47 while Pittsburgh fell to 38-38. Kyle Freeland gave Colorado seven brilliant innings, reached 1,000 career strikeouts, and then watched the game nearly slip away in the eighth. The Rockies answered with two outs in the bottom half, and Antonio Senzatela escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the ninth.
Senzatela got the win, improving to 7-0 with a 2.23 ERA.
Mason Montgomery took the loss for Pittsburgh, falling to 2-2 with a 4.71 ERA.
Freeland gives the Rockies a winnable game
Freeland was brilliant before the eighth changed the final line. He finished with 7.1 innings, four hits, two earned runs, no walks and eight strikeouts, with his ERA moving to 7.36. The two runs came after Freeland had worked seven scoreless innings, retired 15 straight Pirates and reached 1,000 career strikeouts.
Freeland threw 81 pitches, 57 for strikes, and leaned on his knuckle curve more than any other pitch. He threw it 26 times, ahead of his four-seam fastball at 25 and his cutter at 17. The knuckle curve produced three strikeouts, including the milestone pitch to Marcell Ozuna in the seventh.
Freeland’s first real test came in the second, when Brandon Lowe doubled sharply to right field. The ball left the bat at 107.5 mph and traveled 389 feet, the hardest contact against Freeland until the eighth. It was loud, but it stayed isolated. Freeland answered by striking out Endy Rodríguez on a foul tip and getting Esmerlyn Valdez to fly out to center field.
Jared Triolo singled and stole second in the third, but Freeland stranded him when Nick Gonzales flew out to Cole Carrigg. From there, Freeland controlled the middle of the game. He retired 15 straight from Triolo’s single through the end of the seventh, needed just 63 pitches to get through six innings, and came back out for the seventh still in control.
After Ryan O’Hearn flew out to Jake McCarthy in foul territory, Freeland ran the count full against Ozuna before finishing him with an 84.4 mph knuckle curve for career strikeout No. 1,000.
No. 1,001 came much faster. After a brief acknowledgment from the crowd, Freeland struck out Lowe on three pitches, going four-seamer, knuckle curve and cutter to close seven scoreless innings.
Rockies do enough against Chandler
The Rockies applied pressure, but Bubba Chandler never unraveled. He finished with six innings, six hits, two runs, two walks, one strikeout and two hit batters on 74 pitches. His ERA moved to 4.62.
Chandler leaned on premium velocity, throwing 35 four-seam fastballs that averaged 99 mph and 15 sinkers that averaged 98.3 mph. His hardest pitch was a 100.6 mph fastball, which came on his only strikeout of the night. Sterlin Thompson challenged the previous strike call through ABS, had it confirmed, then chased the next pitch above the zone.
Most of Chandler’s night did not look like that. The Rockies put 21 balls in play against him and did not strike out until Thompson’s plate appearance in the sixth. They did not turn that into a big offensive night, but they kept Chandler’s velocity from taking over the game.
Colorado’s first run came in the third. Thompson was hit by a pitch to open the inning, and Ezequiel Tovar followed with a bunt single in front of Rodríguez. Kyle Karros then grounded to Triolo, who cut down Thompson at third, but Tovar moved to second and Karros reached first.
After McCarthy lined out, Willi Castro fell behind 0-2, fouled off a 99.6 mph fastball, then stayed on an 87.7 mph curveball and lined it 104.2 mph to right field.
Tovar scored from second, Karros moved to third, and the Rockies led 1-0.
TJ Rumfield added the second run in the fourth, driving his 11th home run of the season to right field. The 427-foot solo shot left the bat at 101.3 mph and pushed the lead to 2-0. Rumfield had already singled in the second, but Tyler Freeman erased that inning with a double play.
The Rockies had chances to do more. Tovar opened the fifth with his second hit, but Karros grounded into Colorado’s second double play. McCarthy followed with his 12th double, Castro walked, and Hunter Goodman hit a 105.7 mph line drive to center field, but Billy Cook was there to end the inning.
Chandler gave Colorado another opening in the sixth when he hit Freeman, Freeman’s 11th hit-by-pitch of the season, and walked Carrigg. Thompson’s strikeout and Tovar’s groundout ended that chance.
Yohan Ramírez replaced Chandler to start the bottom of the seventh and retired Karros, McCarthy and Castro in order.
The eighth gets away, then Fulford answers
The eighth changed the game.
Rodríguez grounded out to open the inning, but Valdez followed with a double, a 110.7 mph line drive to center off a 91.5 mph four-seam fastball. Triolo then doubled to right, scoring Valdez and cutting the Rockies’ lead to 2-1. That ended Freeland’s night.
Jaden Hill entered with Triolo at second and Bryan Reynolds pinch-hitting for Cook. Hill threw six sinkers in a 10-pitch appearance, but Reynolds singled through the middle to score Triolo and tie the game at 2-2.
The Rockies briefly slowed the inning when Jake Mangum, running for Reynolds, was thrown out trying to steal second after Colorado challenged the initial safe call, with Goodman’s throw and Tovar’s tag giving them the second out.
Hill still had to finish the inning. He hit Spencer Horwitz with a pitch, and Gonzales followed with a triple to right field that scored Horwitz and gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead. Hill got O’Hearn to fly out to center, but the inning had flipped.
Hill’s line was 0.2 innings, two hits, one earned run, no walks and no strikeouts, with his ERA moving to 5.19. The inherited runner charged to Freeland scored, making Freeland’s final line look less clean than the first seven innings felt.
Colorado answered with two outs in the bottom half.
Goodman flew out against Ramírez to open the inning, and Mason Montgomery replaced Ramírez after an injury delay. Rumfield grounded out softly, leaving the Rockies one out from taking a deficit into the ninth.
Freeman kept the inning alive with a single to right, and Carrigg followed with a single to left. Braxton Fulford then pinch-hit for Thompson and worked the count in his favor. After seeing three fastballs and a curveball, Fulford got a 97.5 mph fastball from Montgomery and lined it to center field. The ball left the bat at 109.5 mph and traveled 302 feet, scoring Freeman and Carrigg for a 4-3 Rockies lead.
Tovar struck out to end the inning, but Fulford’s third double of the season gave Colorado the lead back.
Senzatela survives the ninth
Senzatela came on for the ninth with a one-run lead and immediately had to work through traffic.
Ozuna opened the inning with a single to right, and Henry Davis entered as a pinch-runner. Lowe then reached on a fielder’s choice when Tovar could not handle a sharp grounder, with the error moving Davis to third. Senzatela walked Rodríguez, loading the bases with nobody out.
Senzatela got the first out himself, striking out Tyler Callihan with a 96.7 mph four-seam fastball and keeping the tying run at third.
Then the Rockies got the ground ball they needed. Triolo hit it to Tovar, who flipped to Castro at second. Castro stayed on the bag, pivoted and threw to first, and Rumfield secured the final out. The play went to review, but the call was upheld.
The Rockies had turned a bases-loaded, no-out jam into a game-ending double play. It was not clean, but it was enough.
Final notes
The Rockies finished with four runs, nine hits and one error. The Pirates had three runs, seven hits and no errors.
Colorado struck out only twice as a team, a notable number against Chandler’s velocity-heavy mix. The Rockies went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had two two-out RBI, one from Castro in the third and two from Fulford in the eighth. They left seven runners on base.
They found a way to win the winnable game.
Up next
The Rockies continue the series against the Pirates on Saturday night at Coors Field, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. MDT.
It will be a tough follow-up assignment for Colorado. Pittsburgh is scheduled to start Paul Skenes, who enters at 6-6 with a 2.85 ERA and 99 strikeouts. The Rockies will counter with Tomoyuki Sugano, who is 7-4 with a 4.54 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
After finding a way through Friday’s late-game mess, the Rockies get one of the league’s toughest arms next.
NBA champion Knicks guard Josh Hart has fully embraced the Cam Schlittler hype train.
Following a dominant start that saw the Yankees right-hander reach new heights on Friday night at the Stadium, Hart took to social media with an endorsement for Schlittler winning the most prestigious pitching award in baseball.
“Schlitty is the Cy Young winner hands down,” Hart wrote on X.
The post from Hart arrives as Schlittler struck out a career-high 13 hitters in six scoreless innings as the Yankees defeated the Reds 5-0.
Cam Schlittler pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 13 batters in the Yankees’ 5-0 win over the Reds on June 19, 2026 at the Stadium. Getty Images
Schlittler continues to emerge as one of baseball’s biggest breakout stars, a continuation of what Yankees fans saw brewing last year.
The 25-year-old right-hander has developed into one of the best young pitchers in baseball.
He arrived for his June 19 start with a league-best WAR at 3.8, as well as an American League-best ERA at 1.82, which dropped to 1.71 following his latest effort.
In Schlittler’s first 16 starts this season, he has 109 strikeouts across 95 innings pitched.
Hart’s endorsement comes during what has been a memorable week for the Knicks star.
Josh Hart gets a key to the city from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was wearing his jersey during the Knicks’ championship parade. NBAE via Getty Images
After helping deliver New York its first NBA championship since 1973, Hart on Thursday participated in a massive ticker-tape parade through Manhattan that drew millions of fans.
Hart was a key contributor throughout the championship season and really has been his entire Knicks tenure since arriving in New York via trade during the 2022-23 season.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are all smiles after throwing out the first pitch in the Yankees’ win over the White Sox on June 17, 2026 at the Stadium. NBAE via Getty Images
Known for his rebounding, tenacity and two-way versatility, the veteran wing averaged 10.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game in the playoffs.
His all-around play helped New York complete a dominant playoff run that ended with a Finals victory over San Antonio.
The celebration tour continued this week when Hart and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before a game against the White Sox.
To no surprise, the showing was met with raucous ovation from Yankees fans, many of whom have likely also been celebrating the Knicks’ championship team.
The Yankees, as they chase their 28th World Series title, sit at 46-28 and three games up in the AL East.
HOUSTON, TX - JUNE 17: Jeremy Peña #3 of the Houston Astros rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning during the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kairi Mano/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Friday Night was a mini redemption tour of sorts. Jose Altuve was stuck in the midst of a 0-12 slump, with visible frustrations boiling over prior to launching a decisive 3 run shot in the 6th inning.
One week ago, teammate Tatsuya Imai had been rocked in Kansas City failing to survive even a single inning of work. Fast forward things, Imai would strike out six Guardians throughout the course of two innings, and before it was all said and done, he’d register 11 K’s along with zero walks in a comeback 9-3 victory over Cleveland. The win represents the 9th for the month of June, and the 3rd in a row for a Houston squad gaining more and more momentum. For Altuve and Imai, it’s a chance to exhale and celebrate.
The Astros would actually start off the scoring. In the bottom of the first, Cleveland would gift the first run of the evening. After Isaac Paredes singled to right field, Christian Walker would score on a throwing error by Kahlil Watson.
However, in the bottom of the third, Imai would run into trouble. Travis Bazzana would start off things with a stand up double. Brayan Rocchio would bring him home with his 33rd double of the season and then he’d come around to score on the strength of Rhys Hoskins home run to left field. All told, Cleveland would post three runs, but that was all.
Jeremy Pena would respond in the fourth with a line drive solo shot, the Astros 100th home run of the season. That cut the deficit to 3-2. The Astros would next do damage in the bottom of the six off reliever Matt Festa. Festa would allow 3 hits in just 2/3’s of work after replacing starter Tanner Bibee. Pena would go yard again the next time up. He now has 6 home runs on the season. Altuve would pick up an RBI double in the 7th, finishing the night with 4 RBIs in total.
In the bottom of the 8th, Cam Smith would come around and score after leading off the inning with a walk thanks to an extra base hit from Jake Meyers who’s fresh off his 30th birthday. Meyers would be brought home by a Pena single. Pena would finish with 3 hits on the night.
After a pair of solid innings of relief from Steven Okert, Mike Burrows would come out of the pen to close the door in the 9th in his first relief appearance of the season.
Odds & Ends:
Lance McCullers threw 25 pitches of live b.p. on Friday Night as he continues his rehab.
Yanier Diaz would catch Imai for the first time in his young career.
Yordan Alvarez has now reached base safely in 25 straight contests.
Tomorrow, Spencer Arrighetti will take the mound for the Astros searching for his 8th win. First pitch @ 6:15 CDT.
Jun 19, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna (19) celebrates after he hits a double and drives in two runs against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers scored nine runs while the San Diego Padres scored seven runs.
When the Rangers and Padres took the field for the first inning in tonight’s game, there were just two umpires on the field as the rest were delayed by travel issues. That’s pretty strange. It was also the least weird thing about the first inning.
On Jacob deGrom’s 38th birthday, the veteran frustratingly allowed a two-out, RBI single in the first inning — because he is a 2026 Texas Ranger, after all — but that was merely the start of a bad beginning. deGrom loaded up the bases without getting that final out of the first frame before San Diego first baseman Ty France parked a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right field for a two-out grand slam to put the Padres up 5-0.
That was the fourth first inning home run that the Rangers have allowed in four games during this current homestand. The Rangers have allowed 14 first inning runs during this stretch and now sport an unfathomable 7.56 ERA in the first inning this season.
You couldn’t even really say “here we go again” because again implies tonight’s start was the norm and even these Rangers sometimes keep their bad starts to just a run or two. This wasn’t “again,” this was a full-on disaster.
Texas’ best starter of the season allowed five runs — all with two outs — before the lineup was even allowed to trudge up to the plate in a stretch where the team has been worn down by first inning woes in a season that has been defined by them. Happy birthday!
So, yeah. Game over, right? The Rangers allowed three runs in the homestand opener earlier this week against the Minnesota Twins. They lost. They allowed two runs in the first inning on Tuesday to Minnesota and lost by ten runs. They allowed four runs in the first inning in the finale against Minnesota and were swept.
Five runs? Might as well pencil in the tally in the loss column.
Except by the time the first inning ended, and the rest of the umpire crew had weaved through Arlington traffic to take the field, it was 6-5 Rangers.
Unlike any of those games against Minnesota, and unlike most of the games otherwise, the Rangers came storming back. It didn’t even take the John Blake peckaway theory. They didn’t methodically score a run here and a run there before overcoming San Diego in the end. They did it all immediately.
Here’s a fun fact: The Padres came into tonight’s game dead last in baseball in runs scored. The Rangers came into tonight’s game ahead of only the Red Sox and Padres in runs scored as baseball’s 28th best run producer. The Shed is notoriously one of the most difficult places to score runs where people play baseball.
So these two teams combined to score 11 runs in the first inning.
The Rangers got their six runs thanks to five hits with RISP in the first inning. It felt like the Rangers hadn’t had five hits with RISP in the whole of June. There had been many instances this season where even one first inning run allowed felt like enough to derail Texas. It was shocking to see them score six runs after allowing five.
Following that weird first inning, a more usual baseball game unfolded. The Padres tied the game in the fourth on another France home run, but luckily that came with no one on base. The Rangers countered immediately again with Wyatt Langford doubling in Josh Jung to put Texas back up 7-6.
The Rangers extended their lead to 8-6 in the sixth via an Ezequiel Duran RBI single. That came a half inning after deGrom’s night concluded, surely one of the stranger outings of his career. The birthday boy eventually finished six innings and allowed six runs on six hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in 106 pitches. He also got a win!
The Padres scored again in the top of the eighth to pull to within a run but just like every other inning that San Diego scored in, the Rangers returned serve with Langford again giving Texas a two run cushion with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.
After another 1.1 innings of scoreless ball from Jacob Latz, following 1.2 innings from Jakob Junis, the Rangers had a very weird, very Jac(k)ob-filled victory.
Player of the Game: Langford let the way with three hits, including the RBI double and the big insurance run with is fifth home run of the year. The Rangers have been needing Langford, and especially extra base hits from Langford, in the worst kind of way this season so getting a couple from him tonight made all the difference.
Up Next: The Rangers and Padres will play the second game of this series with RHP Nathan Eovaldi expected to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Walker Buehler for San Diego.
The Saturday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 3:05 pm CDT and you can catch the telecast on the Rangers Sports Network.
With a massive, five-hit effort on Friday, Kyle Teel is putting himself on the express train back to the South Side. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As it seems we do every couple of weeks, here’s a rundown of affiliate standings, before we dive into Friday’s games.
Triple-A Charlotte has won 12 of 16, now placing them second in the International League North, five games back of Rochester. While a first-half title is a long shot, the Knights are now looking like a first-division team able to make some noise in the second half.
Double-A Birmingham will have to push all of its resources into second-half play, as they now sit 26-41 and buried in last place in the Southern League North and 5 1/2 games worse than the seventh-best club in the eight-team SL.
At 38-29, High-A Winston-Salem has the best record in the system but the misfortune of being in a Sally South topped by a juggernaut, the 47-18 Bowling Green Hot Rods. The good news, however, is if that the Hot Rods stay hot and win the second half, the Dash staying close would get them cracking into the playoffs with a second half, second-place finish.
Low-A Kannapolis is 33-34, still just in fifth place in a tough Carolina League South. But they can take some solace in not being in the basement — where the Cannon Ballers started the year.
The ACL White Sox have been a disaster from the jump, now sitting at 11-24 and ahead of only the Dodgers in the 15-team ACL.
Things are early in the DSL, but at 5-9 the White Sox sit in a tie for fifth in the seven-team DSL Southwest.
Charlotte Knights 10, Buffalo Bisons 5 Old friends highlighted the Knights’ victory over the Bisons. Kyle Teel played like a man on a mission to reclaim his spot on the White Sox roster, going 5-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs. MLB’s Scott Merkin reported that Teel is apparently much closer to the majors than we think, playing all nine innings both Friday and Saturday before a re-evaluation for his immediate future. It sounds as if he could be back in Chicago in time for the Cleveland series next week.
Rikku Nishida is also eager to reunite with the parent club after his short and not-so-sweet taste in the big leagues. The multi-position thread had a strong performance, too, driving in two runs and scoring two of his own off just two hits. Backing Charlotte on the mound was Jonathan Cannon, who managed to show glimpses of his old self. His eight-hit, three-run start isn’t Cy Young-worthy, but it got the job done. Classic Cannon. And finally, towards the end of the night, Peyton Pallette reminded everyone why he should’ve been protected from the Rule 5 draft, twirling two shutout innings and striking out a pair to keep the Knights comfortably ahead of the Bisons.
While Ben Peoples didn’t exhibit perfection, his closing inning allowed Charlotte to come away with a healthy win.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 9, Birmingham Barons 2 Pensacola blew the Barons out of the water largely due to Birmingham’s inability to hit or throw. Bham tallied 10 strikeouts and just six hits through the night. They waited till the eighth to load the bases and allow Anthony DePino to hit into a fielder’s choice that notched their first run of the night. Colby Shelton continued being a standout for the Barons by posting his fifth jack, in the ninth, to keep the Barons from being completely decimated:
Aside from the final two innings, however, the crew failed to get on base and convert their baserunners into scorers.
On the pitching front, things were quite ugly. Connor McCullough’s formidable 3.99 ERA took a hit after giving up four runs off six hits in five. The bullpen didn’t play hero in this one, either: Jarold Rosado and Mark McLaughlin combined for eight hits and five runs in the sixth through eighth, handing Pensacola a cushy lead. At this point, it may be time to start sending arms down to High-A.
Greensboro Grasshoppers 7, Winston-Salem Dash 3 The Dash suffered from a case of nonexistent bats. Max Banks encountered his second welcome-to-Winston-Salem outing, giving up five runs and a home run in four frames. The adjustment from Low-A to High-A has proven bumpy for the rookie.
Banks’ position player counterparts didn’t offer much help, either. Kyle Lodise slammed a leadoff homer in the first, but everyone else’s bats failed to get the memo and stayed stagnant through the seventh. Perhaps pinch-hitting for Lodise in the fifth, before he got a third at-bat as the only hitter with a run thus far, was a poor decision. Boston Smith, everyone’s favorite catcher in the Sox organization, launched his 11th home run of the year, in the eighth, to try and get some momentum going after Greensboro had made it a 7-1 game. But by then, there was no turning things around for a crew that was 1-for-9 in scoring position and left nine on base.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers 10, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8 There’s no nice way to spin this: Kanny’s late collapse was a demoralizing way for the Low-A affiliate to fall back below .500 after fighting so hard to revive its season. The ferocious top of the lineup (Jaden Fauske, Matthew Boughton, Derek Cerda) each had a multi-hit game and were responsible for six of Kannapolis’ eight hits. A three-run first and two-run fifth were supported by Truman Pauley holding the Woodpeckers to two runs through the fifth. Kanny was also a base-running machine, stealing four free bases to keep the runs coming.
But the game suddenly got out of hand in the seventh. Ryan Schiefer started the seventh with the CBs up, 8-3, but allowed the first three Woodpeckers to reach base. He only managed to get one out before departing, closing the lead to three. Marco Barrios fared similarly. He gave up a two-run bomb before the seventh and a leadoff homer in the eighth before he was kindly shown the door. Landen Payne continued the misery, blowing the game in the eighth by handing Fayetteville another home run in what turned out to be one of the worst meltdowns by Kanny this year.
ACL White Sox 9, ACL Dodgers 8 (7 innings) The battle for Worst in the ACL turned out to be a whiplash of a game. The Complex Sox put up two runs in the first with much help from a fielding error and Jose Mendoza’s hit-by-pitch, and then a four-spot in the second thanks to Landon Hodge’s grand slam. Confidence didn’t remain high for long, though. The ACL Dodgers located their pride struck back in the third with a run and in the fourth with their own four-run tear. Kendry Garcia and Cesar Nunez shared the blame for the Sox’s blown lead, resetting the game at 6-5, Sox. Fortunately, the Good Guys got their mojo back before it was too late. Marcelo Acala, who finished with three walks, three stolen bases and three runs, led the sixth-inning charge to pad the lead just enough to fend the Dodgers off.
DSL Giants Orange 9, DSL White Sox 2 (7 innings) Another game, another loss for the DSL White Sox, as they fell to 5-9 with a 9-2 loss to one of their many nemeses, the DSL Giants Orange. Somehow the Sox could not manage to have a bases-l0aded walk to right fielder Orlando Patino hold up, as the game was off the rails at 6-1 by the end of the second inning. It was four walks and four hits over seven innings for the White Sox, and in the DSL that sort of production rarely holds up. Patino had half of the team’s walks, while Diego Natera (pinch-hitting when the game was out of reach) came off of the bench for half of his club’s hits (one a triple, the other a single-stolen base). Very young righty Franchel Crisostomo got the start but only saw two outs: One in the first inning in the process of giving up three earned before getting yanked, the other in the second when he came back out and had the same results. Crisostomo holds an 18.75 ERA over three starts in the young season. Reliever Alexander De Los Santos helped hold S.F. short of 10 runs with a brilliant three innings, giving up one (unearned) run on two hits.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JUNE 19: Jac Caglianone #14 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after scoring against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 19, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Royals hit eight doubles in last night’s game to dominate the Cardinals; they added five more tonight en route to another victory. This time, they won 6-5 over their cross-state rivals.
Seth Lugo made his return from the 7-day concussion IL tonight, and it didn’t start great. He walked Iván Herrera with one out, then gave up a double to Alec Burleson. He was fortunate that two well-struck flyballs resulted in only a sacrifice fly, but he threw a lot of balls in the inning.
He had a 1-2-3 second, but gave up another run in the third thanks to a leadoff walk, a passed ball, and a Herrera single. Fortunately, Burleson hit a grounder to Jac Caglianone, who calmly stepped on first and threw a strike down to second to initiate the rundown that resulted in an inning-ending double play. Lugo ended the night with a quality start, allowing only the two runs in six innings. Of concern would be that he gave up three walks without earning a single strikeout. He did field a comebacker from JJ Wetherholt and calmly made the routine throw to first, so at least it doesn’t appear the Gold Glover will field his position scared after taking that liner off the dome last time out.
The Royals stranded John Rave’s leadoff double in the third inning. They got another leadoff double in the fourth from tonight’s two-hole hitter, Lane Thomas. Caglianone was up and just trying to make sure he moved the runner over, but squeaked a single through the second base spot as the Cardinals had him shifted to pull. He advanced to second on a groundout by Salvador Perez. Then Michael Massey, also just doing his best to make sure he put his bat on the ball, flipped a single into center to tie the game. Nick Loftin struck out, but John Rave took a tough walk to put runners at first and second with two outs for Isaac Collins. Collins has been a disappointment for many Royals fans this year, but he didn’t disappoint this time with an opposite-field double to bring both runners home.
The Royals tacked one on in the fifth when Jac decided to show his oppo-taco from last night was no fluke.
They scored their final run in the sixth. Loftin walked to lead off the inning, Rave popped up a bunt, and Collins ripped a double into the right-center gap. With runners at second and third and Tolbert at the plate, the Royals put the squeeze play on. He put a couple of good bunts down, but both went foul. So he had to swing away and ended up with a sac fly to deep center instead.
John “Gas Can” Schreiber pitched a clean seventh, and Daniel “Danny Drips” Lynch IV pitched a clean eighth with a little help from his defense.
Some of you might not remember, but ESPN used to do a fan vote for the best web gem. They’d post two web gems to social media and let fans vote which was the best. Whichever one won would be one of the options the next day. This play from 2015 won the vote so many times that ESPN eventually quietly just picked two brand new gems for fans to vote on.
So, yeah, the Royals were invoking some good memories tonight.
Unfortunately, not everything that happened late in the game was positive. Matt Strahm-boli was given the ninth in a non-save situation. He ended up allowing three runs, with an honorable mention to Alex Lange-xiety. He allowed the tying run to reach the plate before Matt Quatraro was forced to summon Alex Lange to save the game. That also means Strahm has given up 10 runs in his last 6.2 innings. It’s amazing the Royals can win any games with both he and Lucas Erceg still looking completely unpitchable. Tyler Tolbert made another slick defensive play to finish the game.
A couple more highlights:
John Rave finished the night 1-for-2 with a double and two walks; his season OPS is now 2.167.
For the second straight night, every Royal in the starting lineup had a positive offensive contribution. Tyler Tolbert is the only one who didn’t reach, but he had the sacrifice fly.
This is the first time all year the Royals have won three straight games by 4+ runs.
The Royals’ infield featured exactly ZERO of their opening day starters. You’d have been right to question how good the defense might look, but it was terrific and needed to be because Royals’ pitchers only managed a single strikeout all night.
Rex Hudler joined the booth for a bit in the middle, and that was when the Royals did all their run-scoring. He suggested it was because he was helping to call the game. Makes you wonder if the Royals would have won more this season had they allowed him to broadcast more games.
The Royals have now guaranteed a season series tie with the Cardinals. They’ll have a chance to go for the series sweep and season series victory on Sunday afternoon. They won’t play tomorrow because of the World Cup game happening across the parking lot.
The Royals are nowhere near the playoff hunt, still. They’d need to win something like 20 in a row to get back in it, but you can’t win 20 in a row without first winning 3 in a row. Maybe they can take the next step on Sunday when Stephen Kolek (2.68 ERA, 12.1% K-BB%) faces off against the Cardinals’ Dustin May (3.75 ERA, 16.4% K-BB%) at 1:10 Kauffman time.
Jun 19, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy (36) walks out from the bullpen before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
Michael McGreevy did not have his best game Friday night in Kansas City. His outing started decent, but the latter innings not so much. Unfortunately, the St. Louis Cardinals offense didn’t accomplish much either as the Royals were too much for them again. You wouldn’t know that Kansas City has the sixth worst record in MLB so far this season based on how they’ve played St. Louis so far. The Cardinals would prove they never quit, though.
The St. Louis Cardinals have had the healthy habit of scoring early this season and Friday night was no exception. In the top of the 1st inning, Iván Herrera drew a one-out walk. Alec Burleson then ripped a double to right as Herrera advanced to third. Jordan Walker had a great team at-bat managing to lift a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Herrera giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
St. Louis would add to their lead in the top of the 3rd inning when Nathan Church drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second on a passed ball charged to Jensen (on a ball in the strike zone, no less). After JJ Wetherholt failed to advance Church when he flew out to left field, Iván Herrera came thru with an inside-out swing that drove a single to right field easily scoring Church and doubling the Cardinals lead to 2-0 which would stand until the bottom of the 4th.
About that bottom of the 4th inning…this is where a well-pitched game by Michael McGreevy would begin to come apart. Suddenly, the Kansas City Royals began hitting everything hard and often. Lane Thomas led off with a double and then scored on a double by Jac Caglianone cutting the Cardinals lead in half 2-1. McGreevy was able to get Perez to ground out which advanced Caglianone to third. Michael Massey followed that with a single to center scoring Caglianone and then advanced to second on a throwing error by Nathan Church as the game was then tied 2-2. Michael was able to get the second out as Loftin lined out to center, but Collins crushed a two-out double over Lars Nootbaar’s head in left scoring both Rave and Massey giving the Royals a 4-2 advantage.
Kansas City would add another run off in the bottom of the 5th inning when Jac Caglianone would show off his opposite field power hitting a McGreevy 92 mph four-seam fastball 404 feet into the fountains in left field making it 5-2 Royals. Manager Oli Marmol would remove McGreevy from the game after he completed the bottom of the 5th inning. His stat line for the night was 5 innings pitched getting tagged for 8 hits, 5 earned runs while striking out 2 and walking 1.
George Soriano was the Cardinals answer for the bottom of the 6th inning and he almost immediately ran into trouble, but it could have been worse. He walked Loftin to lead off the inning and then went on to prove that walks almost always come back to hurt you as Collins doubled to right over Jordan Walker as Loftin was held up at third which proved to be smart as he would score on a deep sacrifice fly to center by Tyler Tolbert as Kansas City started to pull away leading 6-2 after 6 innings.
Matt Svanson was solid taking care of the Kansas City Royals bottom of the 7th inning setting the heart of their order down 1-2-3 with 2 pop-outs to short and a groundout to first. He also did a fine job of managing the 8th inning for St. Louis, too. A nice defensive play by Blaze Jordan didn’t hurt his cause. JJ Wetherholt also made an incredible play on a ball that ricocheted off of Svanson’s leg throwing out Collins nearly from his back.
If you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned much about the St. Louis Cardinals offense, it’s because there isn’t much to talk about through the first 8 innings. They would have their chances, but couldn’t seem to string hits together. They almost did in the top of the 4th inning when Jordan Walker singled, but he was picked off of first by Seth Lugo right before Lars Nootbaar singled. In the top of the 5th inning, Nathan Church hit a two-out triple, but he was stranded when JJ Wetherholt’s sharp ground ball up the middle was nabbed by the pitcher. In the top of the 6th inning, Herrera drew a leadoff walk, but two groundouts and a flyout made that lead to nothing. The Cardinals didn’t even have any baserunners in the 7th or 8th innings.
The Cardinals did prove that they do not quit in the 9th inning. Jordan Walker managed a single, but was forced out at 2nd when Lars Nootbaar hit into a fielder’s choice. Lars would score, though, when Masyn Winn doubled to left making it 6-3 Royals. After Nelson Velazquez walked, Blaze Jordan came up as the tying run which led to Kansas City taking reliever Matt Strom out of the game. Jordan would face Alex Lange and would manage a two-out single to right which scored both runners after they had advanced on a wild pitch making it a real game at 6-5 Royals. Bryan Torres was brought in as a pinch-runner for Jordan as Jose Fermin came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run. He unfortunately grounded out in a fielder’s choice to end the game.
The St. Louis Cardinals will return to Kauffman Stadium Sunday after a day off thanks to World Cup activities in Kansas City on Saturday. The Cardinals will ask Dustin May to be the best version of Dustin May as he gets the start Sunday afternoon. He’ll be up against RHP Stephen Kolek who’s 4-1 on the season for the Royals. First pitch scheduled for 1:10pm central time and the game broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and center fielder Tyrone Taylor started their respective rehab assignments with Friday's Double-A game between the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and they wasted no time in making an impact while batting first and second.
In Binghamton's 5-2 win over New Hampshire, Lindor (left calf strain) and Taylor (right hip flexor strain) posted a combined 3-for-7 line with Lindor's leadoff single up the middle and Taylor's first-inning knock to center field starting the game strong.
Taylor's fifth-inning solo shot to center field was the rehabbing duo's biggest highlight with Taylor giving the Rumble Ponies a 3-1 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate.
"I feel good," said Taylor, whom the Mets placed on the 10-day injured list May 26. "Extremely thankful for all the work that I've put in with the PTs and athletic trainers, strength coaches with the Mets. Happy to be back on the field and thankful to be back out there."
Between Taylor's first-inning single and fifth-inning homer was his third-inning flyout to right field. He exited the game entering the sixth inning while Lindor left before the start of the seventh.
"The results were cool, man," Taylor said. "I haven't had as many at-bats recently. So, to feel like I wasn't too far behind some fastballs there was nice. But, really, I'm just thankful that my leg feels good and take it day by day."
Lindor's 1-for-4 night included a second-inning flyout to center field, a fifth-inning strikeout on a foul tip and sixth-inning flyout to right field.
"I felt really good," Lindor said. "I was excited. It's been a minute since I'm on the field and I felt like, overall, it went really good. To be able to be on my feet, move around, react to certain balls, react to certain pitches and then be able to swing a bat, it felt good."
Lindor has been on the Mets' 10-day injured list since April 23.
"You try to play the game as hard as you can, no matter what the circumstances are," Lindor said, "because, at the end of the day, there's guys that are trying to make it the big leagues here. So, try to avoid not going through the motions, making sure I go as hard as I can but understanding that it's my first game back. So, I try to go ... as close as I can to 100 (percent) and then, as the game went on, I started to ramp up a little bit and trusting your legs."
Does Lindor know what is next for him as he progresses through his rehab assignment?
"I don't," Lindor said. "I'm going to recover right now, go home, see my kids, see my wife and then tomorrow we'll figure out what I've got next."
Following his retirement from the NHL, former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard occasionally would serve as a studio analyst for Bally Sports Detroit.
But now, he's landed himself a new role with Detroit's newest expansion franchise. Howard has been chosen as the goaltending coach for PWHL Detroit, one of the newest expansion franchises for the Professional Women's Hockey League that will begin play at Little Caesars Arena this fall.
PWHL adds experience in goal – with ex-Red Wing Jimmy Howard as goaltending coach https://t.co/RtVbxW0AmU
Howard, whom the Red Wings selected with the 64th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, is ranked third all-time in Detroit goaltending history with 246 victories in a Red Wings uniform behind only Chris Osgood and Terry Sawchuk.
He played his first NHL game in the fall of 2005, and would spend four seasons with the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins before being promoted full time in Detroit in the fall of 2009.
Howard would eventually wrestle the title of starting goaltender away from Osgood during the 2009-10 season, and even put himself in the conversation for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender.
Reaching his 500th career NHL game in 2019, he became just the third Red Wings goaltender to achieve the feat, also behind Osgood and Sawchuk.
Upon his retirement in 2021, Howard had accumulated a record of 246-196-70 along with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage 24 shutouts. He also went 21-26 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs while posting a 2.58 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage with three shutouts.
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MIAMI — A ballclub is only as good as its bullpen, so it should come as no surprise, then, what a difficulty it has been for the Giants to build any semblance of momentum this season.
Just when they seemed to be on the verge of winning their fourth game in a row for the first time all year, they were sent right back to the starting line. Again.
“Obviously we want to win every game we play,” said Landen Roupp, who had them in position to do just that with six innings of two-run ball Friday night. “To not get over that four win [threshold], especially when we’ve been there multiple times this year and just not been able to win the fourth…”
This time, the tailspin in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins started as soon as Roupp left the game.
Sam Hentges, taking over in relief to begin the seventh inning, hit Estuary Ruiz to put the speedy pinch-hitter on base to lead off and allowed the second batter of the inning to reach, too.
Hentges had Ruiz down 0-2 and went too high and tight with a heater trying to put him away. He wasn’t able to complete the play when Javier Sanoja, the No. 9 hitter, dropped down a bunt.
“The ball [to Ruiz] was literally this far away from being over the plate,” manager Tony Vitello lamented. “It wouldn’t have been a strike, but he’s on top of the plate and it hits his elbow.
“We thought there was a possibility of [Sanoja] bunting, so we were yelling from the dugout. Sam moves around pretty well for a big guy, but I don’t know there was much we could do with that one.”
Just when they seemed to be on the verge of winning their fourth game in a row for the first time all year, they were sent right back to the starting line. Again. AP Photo/Lynne SladkyThe tailspin in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins started as soon as Landen Roupp left the game. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Rather than protecting the one-run lead handed over by Roupp, Hentges allowed both runners to score, flipping the score in favor of Miami. Leadoff man Liam Hicks laced a single through the right side of the infield and Owen Cassie, a triple away from the cycle, sent a deep sac fly to left.
The runs proved to be decisive in the Giants’ seventh loss in 30 games when leading after six innings.It was the fifth time this season they have had a chance to win a fourth in a row, falling to 0-5 in those contests.
“You’d like to go on a roll,” Vitello said. “I think it’d be good for maybe three, and then three, and then three. Maybe if there was more of that, we’d be in a happier place and not even worrying about it. But it’ll happen at some point with this group.”
Roupp had put the Giants in position to build on Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep with a bounceback performance. He surrendered a solo home run to Cassie in the first inning but only allowed one more run the rest of the way while completing six innings.
Their bats didn’t necessarily hold up their end of the bargain.
Traffic was no trouble for either team, as Roupp allowed runners to reach in all six of his innings and the Giants put six men on in the first three innings against a bullpen game from the Marlins.
Bryce Eldridge was one of only two Giants hitters not to reach base, snapping his 22-game streak that had been the longest by a San Francisco rookie since Buster Posey. The other was Luis Arraez as the top two spots of their batting order combined to go 0-for-9.
Daniel Susac came a few feet shy of a grand slam that would have been his first career home run, but he settled for a long sacrifice fly that ended up as the only run the Giants were able to cash in from their early opportunities.
Traffic was no trouble for either team, as Roupp allowed runners to reach in all six of his innings. Getty Images
Rafael Devers led off the sixth with a no-doubt home run to the upper deck in right field — his 11th of the season — and it again looked like the Giants were in business when Jung Hoo Lee followed with a double.
Casey Schmitt singled home Lee with one out to briefly put the Giants on top, 3-2, but the inning was over as quickly as it started, leaving two more runners stranded on the corners.
“I mean, we almost had four runs on one swing,” Vitello said. “It doesn’t guarantee a victory … but I do think it simplifies things for us, but you’ve got to combine defense with that and pitching as well. We’d like to win some games when we score three, or maybe even two.”
What it means
Vitello has circled four runs as a magic number of sorts — the Giants are 24-7 when reaching that threshold — but couldn’t get there despite no shortage of chances.
In the end, they needed more cushion for a bullpen that has been one of the seven worst in the majors since the end of April, with a 4.94 ERA.
They fell to 7-37 in an MLB-leading 44 times being held to three runs or fewer.
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Willy Adames collected his 1,000th career hit with a single to lead off the second inning, coming around to score on Susac’s sac fly.
The milestone came in Adames’ first at-bat since slugging his 12th and 13th home runs of the season in San Francisco’s doubleheader sweep of the Braves on Wednesday.
Ten of those home runs have come since May 18, second only to Juan Soto (11) for the most in the majors in that span. Yet, Adames admitted after Wednesday’s games that his swing “hasn’t been feeling the best” and that he was “trying to get more consistent.”
Adames had been 1-for-31 dating back to his last home run before homering twice Wednesday.
Willy Adames collected his 1,000th career hit with a single to lead off the second inning. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Who’s not
Roupp was 5-1 with a 2.55 ERA through his first six starts.
Since then, the Giants had lost all eight of his starts before Friday’s game, with Roupp allowing four or more runs five times to raise his season ERA to 4.24.
It was a different story this time around as Roupp pitched around traffic in every inning but left after six leading 3-2, having struck out seven, one away from matching his season-high.
He was more efficient than he had been of late, landing his sinker for strikes and generating swings and misses with his changeup, which even took him by surprise.
“When I looked up there in the fourth inning and saw only 65 pitches, I was kind of shocked,” Roupp said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that. I think I was just competing and getting down the mound better today — moving better.”
He was in line to earn his first win since the last time he faced the Marlins, on April 26, when he limited them to two runs over 7 ⅔ innings in his longest start of the season.
“I kind of found out early on that they were hunting the curveball, so I just went away from that,” Roupp said. “[The sinker] has been a lot better, even my last three starts. But definitely tonight I was locating on both sides of the plate and getting ground balls instead of pop flies.”
Up next
Trevor McDonald, originally scheduled to start the series opener, will get the ball Saturday in Game 2, with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m. ET. It could be his last chance to prove worthy of holding onto his rotation spot with Tyler Mahle set to return from a hamstring strain Wednesday.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 19: J.C. Escarra #25 and Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees react after the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium on June 19, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Cam Schlittler entered play on Friday with the fourth best bWAR among all pitchers in the sport prior to his scheduled start against the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener in Yankee Stadium. Safe to say, the burgeoning New York Yankees ace is going to find himself higher on that list come Saturday morning.
Schlittler hit the first batter of the game before settling in, and settle in he did. He fanned 13 Reds hitters across 6.0 IP – yeah, 13 of the 18 outs he recorded came via strikeout – and allowed nary a run as the Yankees eventually blasted their way to a 5-0 victory. He needed just 96 pitches to get that work done, scattering 4 hits and walking none while piling up his baker’s dozen of fans.
Jazz Chisholm, Jr. socked a solo homer off Reds starter Rhett Lowder to begin the damage, while Ben Rice later added a tattooed 433 foot homer off Lowder in the Bottom of the 2nd that put this game on complete ice with Schlittler on cruise control. That latter one was of the 3-run variety, which was quite unfortunate, but even a solo job would’ve been enough to bury the Reds on the night.
To Lowder’s credit, he settled down shortly thereafter and managed to clear 5.1 IP with just the 4 ER allowed, finding a way to fan 5 against a trio of walks. It was far from his best outing, obviously, but at least he is gradually beginning to command the corners of the strike zone far better than he did to begin the season even if, yes, he is still leaving way too many over the plate.
Blake Dunn was the lone semi-bright spot on the offensive side of things, being that leadoff HBP off Schlittler and adding in a pair of hits – one a double – while also getting thrown out trying to steal. That’s all it took to be an offensive standout for this lineup on the night.
Cincinnati will send Andrew Abbott to the mound on Saturday afternoon to try to dig their way back into this series, while New York will counter with righty Will Warren. It’s a 1:35 PM ET start time, so plan your afternoon accordingly even if it doesn’t include – or specificially does not include – watching this team try to play this sport.
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 19: Jorge Mateo #2 celebrates as Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves scores a run in the sixth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Truist Park on June 19, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves had not had a good time recently, especially in terms of hitting the ball. Jacob Misiorowski came into this game as the best pitcher in baseball. It seemed like a recipe for continued misery/Miz-ery. Well, I am happy to inform you that about two hours and thirty minutes after first pitch, the Braves prevailed by a score of 3-2. They did a bit of everything: they eventually wore down and punched out Misiorowski thanks to Mauricio Dubon’s two-run single, they hit a homer, Martin Perez pitched a really good game, and Eli White had a game-saving outfield assist in the ninth. Woo. Wow. Wooo!
Early on, the Miz was as advertised. Things felt unfair, even without the context of the Braves’ recent offensive struggles. After Martin Perez threw a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 first, Misiorowski sprung out of the dugout and hurled a nine-pitch frame of his own. Perez responded by striking out the side… and Misiorowski vaguely wobbled a bit.
Dominic Smith led off the bottom of the second with a bloop single, and Austin Riley took a two-strike approach in a zero-strike count and bounced a hopper through the right side to put two on with one out. Mike Yastrzemski hit a hard grounder that led to a bang-bang out at first, which brought up White. Misiorowski pumped in four fastballs, the first two at 103 and the next two at 104, White missed two of them (and fouled off one in the middle), and that was that.
Then, it was Milwaukee’s turn to kinda-sorta strike. This was, of all of them, the definite Perez pachinko inning. Blake Perkins led off the frame with a swinging bunt single. After a strikeout, Joey Ortiz turned a down-the-pipe fastball into a hard grounder up the middle. It could’ve been a double play if it were hit at an infielder, but it was not. A comebacker moved the runners up, and the Braves elected to walk Jackson Chourio so that Perez could face Brice Turang with the platoon advantage. That sorta worked, because Turang hit a down-the-middle sinker into the ground, but it also didn’t work because the ball was again hit nowhere near the Braves’ defensive alignment, and went for an infield single as it hobbled up the middle. The Brewers led, 1-0. It seemed imposing, given Misiorowski’s presence looming on the mound. (Perez got out of it as old friend William Contreras flew out on a 2-0 count.)
It was imposing, as Misiorowski faced the minimum in the third, fourth, and fifth. To his substantial credit, Perez didn’t fall apart either — the strikeouts went away but he and the defense kept the Brewers at bay. A two on, zero out situation was untangled as lefty-killer Andrew Vaughn hit a screamer right at Jorge Mateo at shortstop, giving the Braves a double play; Perez escaped he frame with a strikeout to end his outing.
And then, the stage was set for the Braves upending everything by tagging Misiorowski for a couple of runs. Mateo got things started with a weak bouncer infield single of his own. After Misiorowski once again got the better of Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies was able to take a first-pitch, down-the-middle 100 mph heater out to right center for a single. Matt Olson and The Miz then engaged in a legendary-feeling battle: three strikes in the zone (the third was a foul), then three balls out of the zone, then two fouls on wicked 96 mph cutters that Olson seemed to bend the laws of physics to be able to reach and fight off as they bore in on his knees, and finally, a cutter that Misiorowski mis-executed and hurled towards Olson’s shoetops, loading the bases. So, up came Dominic Smith… and not much later, he sat down. He missed one of those ogrish cutters for strike one, and eventually missed two balls (102, then 103) in the middle of the zone.
It was up to Mauricio Dubon. He came through. Misiorowski’s idea was clear: move horizontally and jam Dubon. After a ball outside, he threw a fastball in the up-and-in part of the zone, and got a foul. He darted a cutter off the plate away, and got a whiff. He came back in with a fastball in that same place as strike one, and… Dubon was ready:
There’s some world where Dubon hits this too hard, and the misery/Miz-ery continues. This is not that world. Woo. Misiorowski struck out Austin Riley to end the inning, but the damage was done.
And, finally, with a late-ish lead, it was time for the Braves’ overly-well-rested bullpen backend to get some high-leverage work. First up was Dylan Lee. A bloop single and a steal put the tying run on second, but Lee struck out Ortiz. Up next, Christian Yelich hit a deep drive into the left-field corner, but White made a nice running catch to snare it on the warning track. Rather than walk Chourio again to set up a lefty-lefty matchup, the Braves swapped Lee for Robert Suarez, who got a routine groundout to end the frame.
Abner Uribe came in for the seventh. The first Milwaukee non-Misiorowski pitch was promptly creamed into right field by Yastrzemski for a homer. Actually, it wasn’t really creamed — it was a Truist Park special cheapo homer to right, but it still counts, and gave the Braves some breathing room that they’d end up needing.
Suarez stayed in for the eighth and had some drama. There were two quick outs, but then a couple of well-struck balls that put the tying runs on base. The Brewers pinch hit with Jake Bauers to gain the platoon advantage. Suarez got ahead of Bauers with two strikes, including a silly-looking whiff on a changeup out of the zone, but then tried to get that same whiff four more times and ended up walking Bauers instead. Sal Frelick pinch hit with the bases loaded, and Suarez had a spot of trouble locating his fastball — but after pumping in two get-me-over ones to fill up the count, Frelick hit a hard comebacker on another get me over-ish heater. The ball bounced off Suarez but not very far, and the inning ended with the game still at 3-1.
The Braves got a Smith double in the eighth, but nothing else. So, it was up to Raisel Iglesias in the ninth. Fortunately, he ended up getting some help. After a groundout, Iglesias walked Yelich to bring the tying run to the dish. Chourio didn’t tie the game, but he did yank a changeup into the left-field corner to put the tying run in scoring position. Turang jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Iglesias and lined it to left, kinda in the same spot where Dubon came through earlier… and it would have tied the game, except… Eli White to the rescue! White threw a bullet to Baldwin, cutting down Chourio at the plate. The Brewers challenged because, well, why not — but the call was confirmed, with the perfect throw nudging Baldwin’s glove into Chourio’s leg ahead of his foot scraping the plate. The Brewers did, technically, now have the tying run on base with Contreras up, but Iglesias got ahead of him with a sinker and then ended the game with two changeups that Contreras could only flail at. Game over.
And what a game it was. The Braves haven’t had it easy, and tonight wasn’t either, but they came away with a win. Chris Sale gets the ball tomorrow. We’ll see what happens.
