Plenty of homers but not enough wins as both the Tower Buzzers and Loons got beaten at home.

Player of the day

For the first time this year, Zach Ehrhard recorded at least three runs and just as many RBI, courtesy of a couple of home runs that helped the Comets earn their 34th win of the season, narrowly beating the Express at home.

Ehrhard hadn’t gone deep in a game at home since the 12th of April, and he hadn’t hit two homers in the same game since June of last season, when he was still in Double-A for the Red Sox.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Having already covered Zach Ehrhard’s key role in this 5-4 win for the Comets, the other two runs were driven in by a newcomer, Alek Thomas—playing only in his second game with the Triple-A club, Thomas was moved to the cleanup spot. Shoutout to James Tibbs III, who didn’t record a hit but displayed outstanding patience, walking in three of his four PA.

Despite allowing four runs in six innings, River Ryan kept his undefeated record, earning a third win, while the highlight was Evan Phillips securing a hold already in his first rehab outing. Phillips recorded a couple of outs on 17 pitches, walking one, allowing a hit, and recording a punchout. Seeing the big league bullpen falter in a loss to the D-backs on the same day, it certainly made plenty of people miss Phillips, a potential big-time return in the not too distant future.

Double-A Tulsa

Out-homering the opposition four to none, the Drillers ran into minimal trouble securing a late lead and beating the Sod Poodles 7-3. The double play partnership of Elijah Hainline and Zack Gelof each secured a pair of RBI, and Josue De Paula carried on his on-base streak with a two-run shot in the sixth, which isn’t getting a ton of attention because it’s nowhere near Mike Sirota’s streak of 44 straight reaching safely.

Homering four times, the Drillers managed to win this game even though they didn’t record a single hit with a runner in scoring position, finishing 0 for 13. Speaking of baserunners, starter Peyton Martin delivered a quality start despite allowing 11 baserunners in six innings.

High-A Great Lakes

The Taylor show overpowered the Loons on both sides of the ball. While starter Zane Taylor tossed 7.2 scoreless innings, in which the biggest threat was the occasional walk (four of them to be exact), outfielder Devin Taylor delivered a couple of RBIs that would’ve been enough by themselves in this eventual 4-1 win for the Lugnuts.

Designated hitter Nico Perez hit his third triple of the year, and the only extra-base hit for the Loons in this one. Those three triples are already more than what Perez had in his entire minor league career coming into this season.

Single-A Ontario

Let down by their pitching staff, the Tower Buzzers couldn’t hold on to a four-run lead after three—Ontario was beaten 9-7 by a Ports team that ran at will, finishing the game with six stolen bases without getting caught once. Three of those stolen bases belonged to first baseman Jared Sprague-Lott.

While it wasn’t enough for the win, Harlan secured three of Ontario’s seven RBI without leaving the yard. Joendry Vargas and Landyn Vidourek were the ones to homer for the sixth and third time this season, respectively.

For his outstanding work in May, Harlan was elected not only the Tower Buzzers’ but also the California League’s Player of the Month.

Transactions

Right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips began a rehab assignment with the OKC Comets. Shortstop Bryan Gonzalez Garcia was sent to Single-A while catcher Francisco Espinoza was placed on the 7-day injured list.

Thursday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 5, Round Rock 4
• Amarillo 3, Tulsa 7
• Great Lakes 1, Lansing 4
• Ontario 7, Stockton 9

Friday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) vs. Lansing (Ryan Magdic)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (TBD) vs. Round Rock (TBD)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) at Amarillo (Adonys Perez)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Stockton (Cole Miller)

The New York Mets (27-35) say goodbye to the West Coast time zone with one final three-game set in California, this time against the San Diego Padres (32-29). This will be the first meeting between the two clubs in 2026 after the Padres took four of six last year, including all three at Petco Park. Since 2015, the Mets have lost 20 of 34 games they’ve played at Petco Park, although they’ve played San Diego to a .500 clip (16-16) overall in that stretch.

The Mets entered the series having lost five straight at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, while the Mariners entered on a six-game winning streak overall. All the ingredients were there for the Mets to have a bad time, and for the most part they did with losses in the first two games (3-2 on Monday in ten innings, 8-3 on Tuesday), but they salvaged the finale with an impressive 7-1 win on Wednesday to halt their Seattle losing streak and end the Mariners’ eight-game winning streak.

The offense was a real sore point in the first two games, with all five runs coming via the homer. In Game 1, they managed just two hits—a Marcus Semien solo homer and a Jared Young solo shot. On Tuesday, the lone positive was Carson Benge collecting the first two-homer game of his young career as he continues to impress since the start of May. New York, who managed just nine runs over their seven-game losing streak in Seattle—you may remember that the Mets were swept there in 2024 while scoring just one run across the three losses during their mid-August slump—erupted for seven runs in the lineup thanks to a balanced offensive attack that was led by Bo Bichette’s first four-hit game as a member of the team. It was one of the more complete efforts they’ve had in a while, with seven of the nine starters picking up at least one hit. In addition to Bichette’s great game, AJ Ewing picked up three hits, while Jared Young and Luis Torrens each contributed two hits in the victory.

It seems like every time Bichette hits a real rut, he puts together one big game to temporarily silence the doubters. Following an 0-for-16 stretch, the team’s (momentary) shortstop strung together four hits, scored a run, and drove in three. It was a nice reprieve, but he’s still been one of the biggest hindrances in the lineup. He remains in the two-hole despite the struggles, and it’s fair to wonder when it might be time to start moving him down, especially to give guys like Ewing (who has also struggled, to be fair) some more time near the top of the lineup. This could give a young kid with speed some opportunities to create more runs for the club, but it remains to be seen if anything changes with the lineup.

Semien, who homered again in the first game, has been red hot as of late, even after coming off an 0-for-5 in the win. The biggest strength in his game so far has been his ability to drive in runs, as his numbers with runners in scoring position have been better than most of his teammates. With men in scoring position, Semien is slashing .340/.379/.420 with a 127 wRC+ in 50 at-bats this season. Comparatively, he’s hitting just .181/.235/.268 with a 45 wRC+ with nobody on base. At the very least, Semien is capitalizing when presented with an opportunity to contribute, even if his overall numbers are not good for the year. Since the start of the weekend series against the Marlins, he’s hitting .286/.348/.619 with two homers and a 171 wRC+ in the six games. Hey, it’s progress?

One player who has made very little progress as of late is Mark Vientos, who is putting together another poor showing after a great 2024 campaign, which has proven to be an outlier in an otherwise unimpressive major league career. On the year, Vientos is hitting .219/.254/.380 with a 78 wRC+ and a -0.6 fWAR in 53 games. Overall, he has been one of the least productive players in the sport, as his fWAR is ahead of only Marcell Ozuna in terms of qualified hitters in 2026. With Jorge Polanco on the rehab trail and set to resume first base duties if all goes well, Vientos’ spot on the roster could soon be in doubt. Beyond his inability to hit, he is also very slow and does not play any position well on the field. For more on Vientos’ shortcomings, I would direct you to Lukas Vlahos’ tremendous and comprehensive piece.

As one final aside, this will be the final time this season that the Mets have to play on Pacific Coast Time. In fact, the team does not go beyond the Central Time Zone again in 2026, and won’t unless they make a miraculous run to the postseason. It’s been a grueling and confusing schedule for New York, who had a six-game swing in St. Louis and San Francisco immediately after their opening weekend series, then returned home for six before heading straight out to Los Angeles and Chicago. Following a nine-game home stand, they again went out west for nine with Los Angeles (of Anaheim), Colorado, and Arizona. Following some recent travels within their division, they again embarked out west for Seattle and San Diego. I can only speculate as to what the schedule-makers were thinking here, but whatever it was, it wasn’t smart! It’s no excuse for the team’s poor play, but the constant ping ponging across the country has done little to help their efforts when most other teams have made no more than two west coast trips so far in 2026. On the bright side, this means they should, theoretically be more well-rested for the “stretch run”, should they not be too far out of it.

Whereas the Mets played a team in Seattle that was on a winning streak, they find San Diego on a downward trajectory as they enter the series on a five-game losing streak. After losing their last two games in May to the Nationals, they started June by getting swept in a three-game series against the Phillies. San Diego has now dropped into a second-place tie with the Diamondbacks in the National League West, 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers. They also find themselves out of the playoff picture, a half-game back of the third NL Wild Card spot.

San Diego, as an offense, is not performing all that much better than the Mets have been this season. In fact, both lineups enter play today with an 87 wRC+, though the Mets have scored 16 more runs (251) than the Padres (235). The Padres, to date, have scored the fewest runs as a team in all of baseball.

Much of that is due to the underperformance of the team’s core of stars, headlined by Fernando Tatis Jr. He enters this series hitting .270/.340/.323 with just one home run and a 94 wRC+ in a team-high 60 games, though he leads the club with a 1.1 fWAR. Then there’s Manny Machado, who is really struggling, hitting just .174/.262/.357 with a team-low 76 wRC+ among qualified hitters. This is all despite leading the team with 11 home runs, 29 runs scored, and 34 runs batted in. The team also recently DFA’ed Nick Castellanos, who was dead last on the club with a -0.8 fWAR and had a 53 wRC+ before being jettisoned off the roster. On a positive note, Ty France has had a solid season in San Diego, slashing .286/.328/.527 with a team-high 141 wRC+ and a 1.0 fWAR in 41 games.

Their pitching hasn’t been doing all that much better. Their rotation has a 4.55 ERA and a 4.44 FIP ( both 22nd in MLB). Just about the one area they excel at is relief, so if they have a lead late, it’ll be hard to come back. Their bullpen enters action with a 3.18 ERA, which is fourth best in baseball. This is mostly due to Mason Miller’s incredible performance this year, as the closer sports a sparkling 0.72 ERA with 17 saves and 49 strikeouts in 25 innings. Earlier this year, he had a 34 2/3 inning scoreless streak, the eighth-longest scoreless streak for a reliever since 1961.

Friday, June 5: Christian Scott vs. Michael King, 9:40 PM EDT on WPIX

Scott (2026): 30.1 IP, 38 K, 16 BB, 1 HR, 2.97 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 75 ERA-

It was a long time coming, but Scott finally earned his first major league victory in his 16th major league start. Scott was solid once again in his victorious effort, matching his season high with eight strikeouts while walking two and allowing one earned run on five hits over his five innings. Scott has been really strong in his last two starts, allowing just the one run over 10 2/3 innings, but both came against an offensively-challenged Marlins team, and the Padres will present a bigger challenge for the right-hander.

King (2026): 68.0 IP, 65 K, 29 BB, 6 HR, 3.18 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 81 ERA-

King’s numbers overall on the season are quite strong—among qualified National League starters, he’s 12th in ERA, 13th in HR/9 (0.79), 16th in K% (23.8%), 17th in bWAR (1.1), and 18th in FIP. However, his last two starts have not been good, with both resulting in losses. His last time out, he allowed five earned runs on five hits over six innings against the Nationals, a start that saw him walk one and strike out a season-low two batters. Prior to that, he allowed four earned runs on five hits in a season-low 3 2/3 innings against the Athletics. In that outing, he matched a season high by walking four batters and struck out four. Walks have been an issue for King, who has the second-worst BB% (10.6%) among qualified NL starters, trailing only Robbie Ray of the Giants.

Saturday, June 6: Nolan McLean vs. Griffin Canning, 10:10 PM EDT on SNY

McLean (2026): 66.1 IP, 77 K, 24 BB, 8 HR, 4.21 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 107 ERA-

McLean’s last start was encouraging, in so far as he didn’t give up seven-plus runs. However, there were still some reasons for concern. He allowed just one earned run on two hits over five innings, with the one run representing the fewest he’s given up in a start since May 8. The issue is that he walked a season-high five batters and only struck out two, which is decidedly not what you want from your budding ace. The positive that he was able to limit the damage, but he was constantly battling traffic and throwing stressful pitches. McLean remains a work in progress but is still one of their better options.

Canning (2026): 27.2 IP, 27 K, 15 BB, 6 HR, 7.16 ERA, 5.59 FIP, 183 ERA-

Canning has had a rough year in San Diego after performing relatively well with the Mets last year before suffering an Achilles injury that prematurely ended his time in New York. He’s yet to win a game while picking up four losses in his six games since debuting on May 3 for the Padres. His best outing was his season debut, as he limited the White Sox to one earned run on three hits while striking out a season-best seven. Since then, he’s allowed at least three earned runs in each of his five starts, including back-to-back outings in which he was tagged for six earned runs. He’s given up 28 hits and been charged with 22 earned runs in 27 2/3 innings while walking 15 and striking out 27. His last time out, he lost to the Nationals while giving up three earned runs on six hits over five innings.

Sunday, June 7: TBD (Likely Sean Manaea) vs. Randy Vásquez, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Manaea (2026): 39.0 IP, 42 K, 16 BB, 4 HR, 5.08 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 129 ERA-

The Mets have not announced Sunday’s starter, which will likely be an opener with Sean Manaea taking on the bulk of the work in the middle innings. This worked well for the left-hander and the Mets his last time out, as he enjoyed more success than he has in any single outing this year. Manaea, who did not factor in the decision, allowed just one earned run on one hits, with one walk and four strikeouts. Aside from a solo homer, he was fairly spotless. The five innings also represents a season high.

Vásquez (2026): 65.1 IP, 50 K, 18 BB, 9 HR, 3.31 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 84 ERA-

Vásquez has been enjoying his best numbers since joining San Diego in 2023 as part of the Juan Soto trade. He’s had some mixed results, especially to end May, when he allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits over his final tow starts to the Dodgers and the Phillies, both resulting in losses. He rebounded his last time out to limit Philadelphia to two earned runs on five hits over five innings, though he did not factor in the decision in an eventual loss. He does have one start in which he shut out the Rockies for seven innings, and another where he shut out the Mariners over six frames. Arguably his best start of the year was his debut outing on March 28, when he scattered two hits over six shutout innings against the Tigers, a start that also saw him punch out a season-high eight hitters.

Happy Friday A’s Fans! Hope everyone’s week has been going well so far.

The Athletics have had more success this week, once again showcasing better performances on the road than at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. They got the weeklong road trip started with a series win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They were in prime opportunity to get the sweep, but suffered a bullpen collapse, resulting in a walk-off loss to end the series against the Cubs.

The majority of the A’s roster has performed better on the road. The pitching staff has performed particularly well, posting a noticeably lower ERA away from home. Take left-hander Gage Jump, for example. He surrendered four runs on nine hits in his first MLB start at home before tossing seven innings of one-run ball against the Chicago Cubs on the road. However, the team’s bullpen remains shaky regardless of where the A’s play.

 The A’s look to continue their stellar road form during this weekend’s three-game series against the division-rival Houston Astros. The last time these two teams met in Houston, Nick Kurtz launched four home runs in a historic performance that helped secure American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Right-hander Jack Perkins will make his first start of the season in the series opener. In 17 relief appearances, the 26-year-old is 2-2 with a 5.46 ERA and three saves. He has struggled recently and is now set to join the rotation following a series of injuries and ineffective performances among the club’s other starting pitchers. His performance will determine whether this is a one-time spot start or the beginning of a permanent role in the rotation.

On Saturday, A’s right-handed pitching prospect Kade Morris is lined up to make his first MLB start. He faces a stiff test against a lineup that includes Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve. Will Morris sink or swim?

Sunday, the A’s wrap up the road trip with left-hander Gage Jump on the mound, looking to follow up his quality start at Wrigley with another solid outing. From the other dugout, A’s hitters will face Astros right-handers Peter Lambert, Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows.

Can the A’s make it two straight series wins? What are your expectations for this upcoming series in Houston?

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Falter Late, Drop Finale To Cubs 7-6
• Wednesday Potpourri: What’s Up With Butler, Closer, June Plan?
• Bullpen, Late Rally Lift A’s to 10-Inning Win Over the Cubs
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In June
• Las Vegas is the home the A’s have been waiting for
• The A’s Inability To Play Well At Home Is Embarrassing
• A’s Unravel in Series and Homestand Finale
• A’s call up pitching prospect Kade Morris
• Road, sweet road? A’s ready for reset after rough homestand
• Arnold and Jump are both slinging … anyone else reminded of another A’s duo?
• Braves Acquire Austin Wynns, Adding Another Layer to A’s Catcher Connection
• Ginn’s glow-up: A’s hurler coming into his own at right time
• Three Dark Horse Trade Candidates for Athletics This Summer
• June update: 2026 top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams
• Athletics Early MLB Draft Preview
• The A’s may have finally found their new leadoff hitter
• Wilson takes swings in next step toward return from IL

MLB News and Interest:

• Jeff Passan’s early 2026 MLB trade deadline preview
• 7 reasons Ohtani might really be ‘the best player that’s ever walked this earth’
• Corbin Burnes Suffers Teres Major Strain, Likely Out Until September
• Judge to miss time with stress fracture in ribs but expected to return this season
• Blue Jays To Acquire Simeon Woods Richardson From Twins
• Twins’ Bailey Ober blames elbow woes on slick baseballs at Fenway
• Breaking down the All-Star Ballot position by position
• Altuve takes live BP, could return as early as weekend series vs. A’s
• Commissioner Manfred discusses exchange of initial proposals to begin CBA talks
• Padres designate Nick Castellanos for assignment; Taylor called up
• Latest mock draft: NCAA upsets shake up first-round scouting plans
• Reds Option TJ Friedl, Recall Noelvi Marté
• Giants reliever Matt Gage goes on IL with knee inflammation
• The Pirates Finally Have an Offense
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

With voting now underway for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, Athletics fans should get behind catcher Shea Langeliers as well as first baseman Kurtz, both of whom are emerging as legitimate All-Star contenders.

After playing three games against the Houston Astros this weekend, the A’s will spend next week in Las Vegas, hosting the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies at the stadium of the A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators.

Athletics’ 20-year-old left-handed pitching prospect, Wei-En Lin, has been dominant at Double-A. It will be fascinating to see how he handles the jump to Triple-A when he inevitably gets promoted, hopefully sooner rather than later.

The Atlanta Braves affiliates played four close games, all defined by impressive starting pitching and late runs deciding the outcome. Cade Kuehler had a particularly impressive day with eight strikeouts and 23 whiffs generated, but he was far from the only headlining pitcher. Herick Hernandez made his return to Columbus with a four inning masterpiece, and down in Augusta Derek Vartanian continued to be one of the fringe prospects who has impressed early this season.

(30-30) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (24-36) Norfolk Tides 4

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, 2B: 0-5, .304/.402/.439
• Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 0-3, BB, .262/.366/.488
• Anthony Molina, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4.37 ERA

The Stripers did a great job of opening up a lead against the Tides on Thursday, but failed to add on in the latter half of the game, leaving the bullpen with the tall task of protecting a slim lead. Gwinnett had a comfortable going early at the plate and opened up a lead on a double from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the second inning, a lead they would hold for most of the game. They added a couple of more runs on a single from Maverick Handley in the fourth inning, giving the pitching staff a solid lead to work with over the five innings, though that would dwindle quickly across the coming frames. Following the Handley single the offense completely disappeared for the last half of the game. Jim Jarvis had an 0-5 performance at the plate with three strikeouts, putting an end to a strong stretch of play for him over his past five games. Jarvis hadn’t had a multi-strikeout game in two weeks prior to this performance and hadn’t had three strikeouts in a game since May, but this was probably the worst he has looked at the plate in any individual game this season.

Anthony Molina started this game on a heater, because despite giving up some solid contact the Tides struggled to actually get the barrel to the ball consistently. Molina threw a ton of strikes and his secondaries were all effective at getting whiffs in this game, and he was particularly sharp in a stretch between the second and third innings where he recorded five strikeouts and a pop out across a six batter span. However Molina had some moments where he struggled to keep breaking balls down in the strike zone, and that bit him in a huge way in the fifth inning. Molina hung a curveball right over the heart of the plate to Tommy Pham, who hit an absolute tank for a three-run home run that spoiled an otherwise stellar start. Molina left after that fifth inning, and that was the start of the real trouble for the Stripers. Victor Mederos had all kinds of trouble with his command in this one, both missing badly out of the strike zone and right over the heart of the plate with concerning frequency. The Tides took advantage and notched three hits and the tying run in the game off of him in the sixth inning, though he managed to escape a jam thanks to a big strikeout of Sam Huff and he got a second opportunity to pitch in the seventh. Mederos kept it together for a few batters but made some mistakes with two outs and gave up another run that stuck him and the Stripers with the loss.

Swing and Misses

Anthony Molina – 17

Victor Mederos – 4

Connor Thomas – 3

(25-27) Columbus Clingstones 5, (27-26) Rocket City Trash Pandas 3

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 2-4, .253/.320/.420
• David McCabe, 1B: 2-5, RBI, .266/.370/.539
• Adam Zebrowski, C: 1-4, HR, .267/.343/.544
• Herick Hernandez, SP: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.52ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB. 2 K, 6.11 ERA

Herick Hernandez is finally back and healthy with the Clingstones, and once again he looked strong on the mound for them with four impressive innings. Hernandez’s command was shaky-though that may not necessarily be a sign of rust for him-yet he managed to continue his pattern of great pitching this year as Rocket City had no real answer to finding solid contact against him. Hernandez wasn’t sharp enough with his fastball to get the level of swing-and-miss we have seen out of him in past outings, but the carry on that four seam fastball led to a lot of lazy fly outs mixed with enough whiffs to keep the lineup moving and avoid too many balls in play. Hernandez’s command will continue to be the big red flag for his profile, but his stuff is so nasty it sort of hasn’t mattered yet. He’s managed to make this jump to Double-A and improve his strike-throwing and walk rate slightly while actually getting more whiffs than before, and there is a lot more consistency with his command on the field even if it’s not at the level it needs to be yet. The bullpen nearly got themselves into real trouble in the innings after Hernandez left, allowing three runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the fifth inning explosion by the offense was enough for them to hold on. Luis Vargas got back on track with one of his better relief appearances this spring, and even though the overall numbers are ugly he is missing bats and control is a bit better than last season, so progress is being made despite the glacial pace it seems to come at for him.

The Clingstones could not figure out Angels 2025 third-rounder Nate Snead the first time through the lineup, as he blanked them across the first four innings of this game to keep pace with Hernandez. Then the hits started to tumble out in the fifth inning and they did not stop until Snead was chased from the game with only one out recorded. Patrick Clohisy looked good at the plate and broke the scoreless tie with a base hit, and the Clingstones put up a four spot with five hits off of Snead. After he left they went right back to their quiet ways with the bats, though Adam Zebrowski did make a loud addition in the seventh inning. He showed off his strength with a long solo home run into the right-center field gap to add a bit of insurance on, and so far he has had a huge week at the plate since coming back down from Gwinnett. All four of his hits in the past three games have been extra base hits.

Swing and Misses

Herick Hernandez – 8

Luis Vargas – 5

(29-25) Rome Emperors 5, (21-31) Greenville Drive

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-5, 2B, .262/.339/.425
• John Gil, SS: 1-3, BB, RBI, .262/.373/.419
• Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, RBI, .291/.363/.558
• Cade Kuehler, SP: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 3.71 ERA

Cade Kuehler has made an impressive turnaround to his season over the past month, and delivered his most dominant start of the year despite having a rough command day relative to recent standards. Over his past five games Kuehler has turned it up, both getting a high swing-and-miss rate (33.5%) while not sacrificing strike-throwing or allowing the home runs that plagued him early in the season. Two of those did not carry over well into this game. Kuehler missed the plate more often than he has across his strong stretch of play, which did cause some trouble for him, but these hitters struggled to make any contact against him so it didn’t matter. The only exception to that was a rather huge one, when they tried to run him out for the sixth inning and he struggled. He walked the first hitter then left a breaking ball right over the heart of the plate which got crushed for a two-run home run, ending his no-hitter and shutout in one swing. Otherwise, Kuehler got 23 whiffs on 43 swings, was forcing a ton of infield pop ups, and mostly cruised even through the occasional walks.

No Emperor had a big breakout day at the plate, though with steady production throughout and one big swing from Cody Miller they put up enough runs to take the game in extra innings. Miller put the Emperors on the board in the fourth inning following a leadoff walk to Dixon Williams, taking a fat slider and pulling it for his sixth home run of the season. Miller is still struggling to find consistent impact at the plate but officially seems over the whiff issues that defined his early struggles this season, with a stretch now of nine games in which he only has six strikeouts. His current season numbers are the high water mark for him since May 12th, and given that he is hitting the ball harder and making consistent contact I expect to watch them continually drift up. Isaiah Drake led off in the fifth inning with a hot swing, hitting a hard line drive down the right field line that stayed fair and bounded over the wall for a ground-rule double. Drake would take advantage of a wild pitch to advance to third base, and John Gil lifted a fly ball that was deep enough to allow Drake to score and extend the lead to 3-0. The issue that faced the Emperors was a lack of ability to string hits together. That was the case throughout the game, but in the 9th inning Miller reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout, creating a sliver of hope in a game that had swung in Greenville’s favor and had them leading 4-3. It got down to two outs after a couple of ground outs, but with the last gasp of breath Colby Jones hit a pop up into shallow right field, which pittered off of the glove of the sliding right fielder and fell harmlessly for a lucky RBI double. In extra innings John Gil got himself on the board with a one out base hit, bringing up Eric Hartman who only needed to get one into the outfield to score Dalton McIntyre from third base. He did just that, walking the game off with a sacrifice fly.

Swing and Misses 

Cade Kuehler – 23

Riley Frey – 5

(30-24) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (19-35) Delmarva Shorebirds

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, SS: 2-3, BB, RBI, .302/.432/.508
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-4, .306/.353/.510
• Derek Vartanian, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.94 ERA

The GreenJackets put up a disappointing offensive performance, save for Tate Southisene who had a couple of hits in the game to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Southisene has been unquestionably fantastic for the GreenJackets at the top of the order, and really put them in a great position to win this game late. In the eighth inning Augusta only trailed 2-0, and Southisene came to the plate with a couple of men on and drove a sharp single through the right side. With still no outs in the inning and two runners on there was a huge opportunity for Augusta to at least tie the game. but it wasn’t meant to be. Luis Guanipa popped out into shallow center field keeping all of the runners at bay, and in a critical spot Juan Mateo popped out to the infield for the second out. Michael Martinez then grounded out and the Shorebirds put one out for two runs in the top of the ninth to seal the game. Nick Montgomery did add on with a home run in the ninth inning, but the bottom of the order didn’t have the firepower to drag Augusta back into the game.

It’s rather a shame, too, that Augusta’s bats had a down evening because Derek Vartanian 100% pitched well enough to deserve a win in this game. Coming off of his worst outing of the season Vartanian bounced back and commanded the ball much better, and the Shorebirds hit ground ball after ground ball to help him advance through the lineup with ease. He’s been consistently around the 25% whiff rate range, which is where he was today, and has produced loads of weak ground balls to keep offenses from being able to put up runs. In the first inning an errors by Luis Guanipa allowed a runner to get to third base and score a quick one against Vartanian, but other than that one unearned run he was in full control of this game for the first four innings. A bunt single in the fifth inning and an inside out double that rolled down the left field line accounted for the only other run he allowed.

Swing and Misses

Derek Vartanian – 10

Lewis Sifontes – 8

Diamondbacks News

(Burn City Sports) How Ketel Marte’s big swing vs. Dodgers puts him on the verge of D-Backs’ history

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, the All-Star wasted no time in his at-bat, connecting on Dodgers closer Tanner Scott’s 97-mph fastball low in the zone and launching a 431-foot home run to left field, securing the D-Backs’ 3-2 victory and a series split.

Marte now owns the most walk-off hits in MLB this season with three. He’s just one walk-off hit away from matching the franchise record of four, shared by Paul Goldschmidt (2013), Justin Upton (2011) and Alex Cintron (2005).

(SI.com) Ildemaro Vargas Received Gift From Max Muncy After Scary Collision

Vargas had been pulled from the game in the fifth inning, following a collision with Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy. A ground ball was hit down the right field line, and pitcher Ryne Nelson, assuming it was a foul ball, did not cover first.

That led to both Vargas and Muncy running full speed at the bag. They crashed into each other, and both spent time down on the ground being tended to by trainers. Thankfully, they both walked off the field on their own power.

(Sporting News) Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll creating MLB history vs. LHP

Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll continues chasing a unique MLB record.

In 1922, Hall of Famer George Sisler registered an all-time best .472 batting average during 153 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. Corbin entered Wednesday night’s matchup against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers batting .411 in 73 at-bats against left-handers.

(Sporting News) MLB insider reveals Diamondbacks trade plan involving specific type of hitter

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Diamondbacks are planning to target one specific type of hitter at the deadline.

“The Diamondbacks expect to pursue a left-handed first baseman/DH type at the deadline, people briefed on their plans say,” Rosenthal writes.

MLB News

(CBS Sports) Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has stress fracture in rib, expected to miss significant time

The New York Yankees will be without franchise slugger and two-time reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge for weeks and perhaps months. The club announced on Thursday that Judge — after multiple examinations and initial fears about the possibility of thoracic outlet syndrome — has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.

(Yahoo! Sports) Blue Jays’ Chad Dallas makes jaw-dropping behind-the-back snag to escape trouble in memorable MLB debut

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Dallas announced himself with an insane play in his MLB debut against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.

In the third inning, Dallas allowed an infield single to Ronald Acuna Jr., followed by a steal to second base. The pitcher gave up another single to Mauricio Dubon and Matt Olson’s sac-fly brought home Acuna Jr. Ozzie Albies flied out to right field. Dubon reached second as Dallas walked Michael Harris II. A wild pitch from Dallas put Dubon at third.

(ESPN) Manny Machado says Padres ‘frustrated’ amid offensive woes

“People are frustrated. The fans want us to win games. So do we. We’re more frustrated than anybody,” Machado told MLB.com after the Padres’ 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. “We want to turn things around. Everybody on this ballclub is trying to do that. So, we’re going to keep working, just knowing that we’re still in a good position, even though we’re playing like dog s—.

[Ed. Note] Good.

Good day everyone, and happy Friday!

The M’s play an early afternoon game today, facing off against the Tigers at 3:40pm PT — set your reminders!

Also, don’t forget to go vote for the Mariners in the first round of All-Star voting! Who’s got your vote on the National League side this year?

In Mariners news…

• Cal Raleigh will kick off a rehab assignment with the Everett AquaSox on Sunday before heading to Tacoma on Tuesday, where he will play at least all of next week. The team will reassess his progress at that point.
• The Mariners announced that they will host an alumni home run derby after August 7th’s game against the Rays. The group of participants sure is…something to behold.
• Daniel Kramer checked in with Colt Emerson to see how he’s adjusting to the big leagues in advance of the team’s east coast swing.
• Over on The Feed, Eric Sanford asked what you think Colt Emerson’s ceiling is as a big leaguer.

Around the league…

• The Yankees suffered a major blow yesterday with superstar outfielder Aaron Judge being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib. He is “expected to return this season.” Yikes.
• Struggling Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello was optioned to Triple-A.
• Former Mariner Josh Rojas has been called up by the Royals.
• Jeff Passan provided his early preview of the upcoming trade deadline, with an overview for each of the 30 clubs in the sport — and a bold declaration for the Mariners.
• After a rough 2025 season from both a health and performance standpoint, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman is bouncing back nicely, writes Michael Baumann at Fangraphs.
• Mets star Francisco Lindor was the main character in a recent trailer for Stephen Spielberg’s new movie Disclosure Day.
• Even Major League Baseball’s own appointed Fan Council, which is basically an initiative for the league to spread its pro-owner propaganda, is rebelling.

J.R. Towles is one of two Astros to have driven in 8 runs in a contest, sharing that distinction with Yuri Guerriel.  We catch up with the former catcher in our 22nd installment of our Legends Series.    

Q:  What do you remember about your debut on September 5th, 2007 against the Brewers in Milwaukee?

A:  I remember flying first class (laughs).  Honestly, I was just looking forward to it.   I didn’t know what number I would be, I was just looking forward to seeing the field.    It was a whirlwind event.    

It was awesome that my locker mate was Lance Berkman because I had been cheering him on for so long and now all of a sudden, I get to share a locker with him which was incredible at the time.   

Q:  Were you surprised you got into that first game late?

A:  Yeah.   I wasn’t expecting to get in but we were losing by several runs, so I went down to the bullpen to start getting familiar because I hadn’t caught any of those guys.   I didn’t have time to get nervous.   I was just there.    

I didn’t get nervous until they told me that I would start in five days and I would catch Wandy Rodriguez.    

Q:  Was Wandy an underrated pitcher?

A:  He was underrated, no doubt.    He was sneaky with his pitches, and his breaking ball was really good.   

Q:  A few weeks later, you drove in 8 runs in a game.  How crazy was that?

A:  I catch myself thinking about that.  It gets brought up every year, which is pretty cool.   My kids are a little bit older now, 15, 14 and 11, and they get to start seeing things and when they bring my name up on TV, it’s fun for them.    

Q:  How good was Roy Oswalt’s stuff when you caught him?

A:  Roy was electric.   I enjoyed catching him.   He was a small-town guy like me, so us country boys had a lot of good talks in the clubhouse.   His slow curveball was something else.   

Q:  You are still in the area, what are you up to now?

A:  Just north of Tomball, I’m coaching a team which I’ve been doing for a few years, and now I’m taking my national registry for an EMT, and I’ll be starting firefighting school on July 11th.    

I hope to get hired in the fall in Magnolia.    There are some similarities in terms of lifestyle, the firehouse and being around your teammates is similar to a clubhouse, having that camaraderie.    I’m looking forward to it.