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When a team that’s historically turned into terrified toddlers at the very name of one particular other team goes 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, it’s not generally going to end well. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: I don’t know this for sure, and I’m not going to check it, but it feels like Klobberin’ Kody Klemens hits a homerun every Friday, now. Good for him! Although hitting one now means he can’t later (he has a quota) and he won’t be able to stave off the inevitable late-inning Yankee comeback.

Or maybe not the late innings. Trent Gisham strokes a solo dong to right. Incidentally, on both the Clemens and Grisham home runs, radio guy Kris Atteberry called them “pop ups” at first, so maybe the sightlines from the press box at Yankee Stadium are weird. Tied 1-1

2: Royce Lewis has a leadoff double, and the Twins follow the sabermetric playbook to the letter and have no interest in moving him over/getting him in. Why waste a bunt on an out when you’ve got sluggers like Victor Caratini and Tristan Gray coming up?

A 1-2-3 inning for rookie Mike Paredes. I’m sure that Derek Shelton gave somebody in the media the standard speech about how he doesn’t care about the Twins’ sad history against the Yankees; how the players are different now and he doesn’t believe in curses. I’ve heard it from Gardy and from Molitor and Rocco. They all got their butts beat by the Yankees anyways. It’s a fact of life, like ear hair increasing when you’re older.

3: A 1-2-3 for Gerrit Cole, followed by a rain delay. “Other” radio guy Dan Gladden interviews former player Terry Pendleton, who was with St. Louis when they lost to the Twins in the 1987 World Series, and with Atlanta when they lost to the Twins in 1991. Pendleton was actually with three other World Series-losing teams; St. Louis in 1985, Atlanta in ‘92 and ‘96. Looks like Terry Pendleton was cursed. Not as cursed as the Twins against the Yankees, though.

An hour later, Trent Grisham hits a two-out grounder that bounces off third base, and then Ben Rice hits a fly ball that bounces off the hands of the fan who tries to catch it in the outfield seats.

Then Jasson Domínguez singles and steals, then Cody Bellinger walks. Bringing the Yankees’ best non-Judge hitter, Paul Goldschimdt, to the plate. Fortunately, he strikes out, but Paredes threw a lot of extra pitches in that inning. Yankees 3-1

4: Clemens with a leadoff double. Do you think the Twins will move him over this time? Sorry, but NO TEAM does that anymore. It doesn’t matter, because mighty slugger Victor Caratini (.711 OPS) gets the two-out RBI!

Paredes up to 81 pitches plus a rain delay. Done? Anyways, fine here, Yankee Highlanders 3-2

5: A one-out double for Luke Keaschall. Alas, no mighty slugger Caratini available here. Cole at 88 pitches.

Time for Derek’s Magical Arm Barn, Kody Funderburk your first sorcerer. It actually goes fairly smoothly, so far.

6: The Yankees bringing out their own bullpen, too, starting with legendary ex-Twin Brent Headrick. he dispatches the Twins easily. Incidentally, Ryan Jeffers made a rehab start for the Saints tonight and went 2-4. Matt Wallner has a .947 OPS in his 40 games since being demoted.

More smoothness for Funderburk, he’s pitching with Charmin.

7: Paul Blackburn for NYY. He is not related to Nick “gave up that one homer to Thome in Game 163” Blackburn.

New necromancer Eric Orze for the Twins. He immediately gives up the leadoff double and RBI; the RBIer, José Caballero, steals second and is bunted to third. He then scores on a sac fly. See, Twins? It’s possible to bunt a runner over with nobody out and then score! I’m just saying! Team that’s not the Knicks 5-2

8: Luke Keaschall gets a lucky-as-heck single off new reliever Fernando Cruz. Then Trevor Larnach walks. Then Brooks Lee out, Clemens out, Josh Bell walk… Royce Lewis up. Easy roller to third. Nice cRISPy LOBsters. (At one point during the Lee AB, a pitched ball went in the dirt and Larnach had a good break on it… but Keaschall didn’t. Getting one or two runs this inning wouldn’t have been enough, anyways.)

Derek Shelton is now taking the team aside and explaining, “all that stuff I said about there being no curse… it’s all a lie, the Yankees will own the Twins until the end of recorded time, abandon all hope ye who enter here.” Eric Orze says “OK” and, no longer trying, actually does fine.

9: Yawn, David Bednar strikes out the side. Twins lose.

Once again, Yankee Stadium is a haunted house that eats up all the Twins. Like this one.

Studs: Clemens (2-4, HR, 2B), Keaschall (2-3), Funderburk (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K). Duds: Every other Twin for being, as always, seized by The Fear when they enter the building

COTG go to Goose for recalling feudalism (which is more what Renaissance Fairs celebrate than they actually celebrate the Renaissance), norff for standing by his radio sensei, and nagurski for his water-making feelings. Thanks to everybody who participated in the GT, I know things went south after the rain delay.

Tomorrow’s game is at 12:35, featuring our own Eric Orze against the dreaded, mysterious TBA. (A minor-league callup; Carlos Rodon went on the IL today.) Catch y’all next time!

In the middle of June, you would have had a hard time convincing anyone, let alone Katie Bueller, the Rays were playing well. Even tonight, after the 3-1 victory that gave the Rays nine straight wins, she was still in total shock:

The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, and dweebies in Tampa Bay certainly enjoyed watching an expedient game which wrapped up in a crisp 2 hours and 21 minutes. The teams played this contest like a getaway game with just 10 hitters reaching base, but the Rays leveraged a big night from Nick Fortes along with a solo shot from Junior Caminero to best the Astros.

Nick Martinez threw a serviceable 5.1 innings blemished only by a meatball to Yordan Alvarez which was properly deposited over the right centerfield fence. Martinez has been flirting with homers his past few outings with several close calls, but Alvarez hit a no-doubter:

Martinez has enjoyed some favorable home run suppression this year, but he appears to be flirting with disaster in this area recently, but the indoor environments have helped preserve his good fortune. Kevin Kelly, Casey Legumina, and Bryan Baker got the final 11 outs of this contest without allowing anyone to reach base continuing their impressive work out of late.

The night belonged to Fortes, who drove in the game’s first run with a home run off Spencer Arrighetti to disrupt his excellent outing:

Fortes then came back up in the 8th and got one of those high fastballs he loves to tomahawk and took it high off the left centerfield wall:

Note that Yanier Diaz wanted a fastball out and away, but Enyel De Los Santos missed very high and Fortes was still able to get on top of a chin-level heater this high out of the zone:

This contest was textbook Rays baseball where the offense contributed just enough to support a stellar overall outing by the pitching staff. Martinez was pulled at 85 pitches before getting a third exposure to Cam Smith, who had already seen him well in his previous two plate appearances. Kelly earned his fifth win of the season while Baker nailed down his 23rd save with a 1-2-3 9th.

The Rays will go for a 10th consecutive win in what should be a fantastic matchup of starting pitching with Drew Rasmussen and Hunter Brown taking the mound for the two teams.

You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go

Jorge Polanco's fourth game of his Mets rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse is complete.

In Friday's 8-7 win over the Worcester Red Sox, Polanco batted second and was Syracuse's designated hitter.

Polanco's 0-for-3 night featured a leadoff walk in the sixth inning that sparked Syracuse's six-run frame, including Polanco scoring and putting Syracuse on the board.

Syracuse, which trailed 4-0, took a 6-4 lead before tacking on two more runs in the seventh that created enough padding for Friday's one-run edge.

Polanco (Achilles bursitis) has a 1-for-11 line with two walks through the four rehab games with Triple-A Syracuse.

The lone hit was a solo home run in Thursday's 7-5 loss to Worcester.

Polanco, 32, slashed .179/.246/.286 with one home run and two RBI through 14 games of his first season with the Mets this year.

He has not played for New York since April 14, a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers, subsequently landing on the injured list with a right wrist contusion.

On the eve of our Nation’s 250th birthday the Mets offered another dud of a ballgame losing by a score of 5-3 to open a new series in Atlanta.

This nation was founded 250 years ago with these words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” For 64 of this great nation’s 250 years the New York Mets have struggled with one of these fundamental rights. The pursuit of happiness is a futile journey year after year for those in the Mets’ orbit outside of two magical seasons. While the Mets may have the right to pursue happiness it is the execution of this pusuit that falls short year after year.

Atlanta especially has been a town where many a season’s hopes and dreams have ended. This season is an exception where hope died a long time ago, but unfortunately the games still need to be played. This isn’t a video game where you can sim to the end of the season. The Mets got down early in the second when Christian Scott gave up a two-run home run to Michael Harris II in the second inning. The Mets were able to tie it right back up with Juan Soto’s two-run shot in the third but the excitement was short-lived when the Braves took the lead in the bottom of the inning. This time is was an Ozzie Albies home run that gave Atlanta a lead they would never relinquish. Walks and the long ball were Scott’s downfall in this game but he still looks like a capable major league that should be a key piece of the rotation if they want to turn it around next season.

Scott was pulled after four innings in favor of A.J. Minter who gave up a home run in the fifth to make it 4-2 Braves. Kodai Senga finished off the game and gave up a home run to Matt Olson which was his second of the game.

Bo Bichette singled home a run in the ninth to pull the Mets closer but they were never really in any danger of actually winning the ballgame.

This country has a wonderouts history and is made up of many astonishing things. There is the awe and beauty of the Rockies, the stunning beaches of Hawaii, the majestic sequoias. We’ve put a man on the moon, Disney made us believe in magic. We’ve built soaring skyscrapers and have been the inspiration for countless pieces of art and music. It’s impossible to go anywhere in this country and not step into some sort of history. But this country that has also produced the New York Mets. A tragically flawed team that somehow has tricked it’s fans into believing year after year. Perhaps that perfectly captures the American Dream. The constant pusuit of happiness despite all the struggles and previous failures. It’s not going to happen this season but the pursuit will soon enough begin again. Happy 250 America.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Juan Soto +19% WPA
Big Mets loser: Christian Scott, -13% WPA
Mets pitchers: -18% WPA
Mets hitters: -32% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto home run in third, +18.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Michael Harris II home run in second, -16% WPA

That’s a pretty good start to the weekend! The Orioles picked up their second straight win tonight, a 3-0 victory to kick off their weekend road trip.

Trevor Rogers and Brady Singer were the starting pitchers today, and while neither pitcher was on the top of his game, Rogers came out on the better end. They both only lasted five innings and they both walked a bunch of guys. But while Rogers was able to work out of his jams, Singer didn’t get so lucky.

The Orioles took the lead in the top of the first. Two of the first three batters reached via a walk for Gunnar Henderson and a single for Taylor Ward. As Pete Alonso disappointingly struck out, Henderson and Ward pulled off a double steal. Reds’ catcher Tyler Stephenson threw the ball into left field, allowing Henderson to score the first run of the game.

Samuel Basallo followed with a walk, the second of the inning, but he was stranded. It was the only inning where the Orioles stranded multiple runners. The Reds had several of those.

Rogers got in on the walks game immediately. He walked Elly De La Cruz to start the bottom of the first, and also gave up a single. But he struck out three batters and kept the Reds off the board.

Rogers and Singer each walked another in the second inning, but no runs were scored. Samuel Basallo changed that in the third. After a leadoff double by Adley Rutschman and a walk from Taylor Ward, Alonso stepped to the plate. Before I even had time to wonder if he could knock in a run, he grounded into a double play. Come on, Pete! Frustrating.

With Rutschman on third base, Basallo stepped to the plate. Singer had gone 3-0 on Basallo in his first at bat and then walked him. He went 3-0 again, and probably would have rather walked him again. Instead, Basallo went the opposite way on a 3-1 sinker that didn’t do much sinking. The ball landed just over the fence in left field, a home run in just 16 out of 30 ballparks. That part doesn’t matter on the scoreboard, though. The Orioles were up, 3-0.

Rogers walked two more in the fourth inning and another in the fifth. Singer actually cleaned his act up a bit after the Basallo homer. He only allowed one baserunner in innings four and five, a walk to Henderson that was erased when Henderson got himself picked off. Another frustrating moment. Henderson reached base twice, stole a base, scored a run, and made some nice plays on defense. But I’ve watched him get picked off too many times this year.

After five innings, both starting pitchers were out, and it was up to the bullpens. Rogers’s final line: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB. He threw 93 pitches. It was good to see him prevail despite not having good control, but certainly frustrating to watch in the moment. Singer also threw 93 pitches and walked five batters, but he was on the losing end of this particular battle.

Rico Garcia took over for Rogers in the sixth inning. He has struggled a bit of late, and that continued in his first inning of work. He allowed two baserunners, a single and a walk, but got out of it. I was surprised to see him come back out for the seventh inning, but I guess Craig Albernaz knew what he was doing. Garcia looked fantastic, getting a quick 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.

Garcia was followed by Yennier Cano, who was good himself. Noelvi Marte was awarded an infield single on a ball that he chopped in front of the plate. Basallo couldn’t make a clean play and threw the ball away. But Henderson made a great barehanded play to get the final out.

The Orioles offense was unable to do much against the Reds bullpen. They had just one baserunner over the final four innings, a single from Alonso. He was wiped out on a double play. Thankfully, they didn’t need any more runs.

With Ryan Helsley on the IL, Tyler Wells came in to attempt the save. I was prepared for more drama, because I always am. This is the Orioles. But Wells was fantastic. He needed only 10 pitches to retire the side in order, a bottom of the ninth that lasted just a few minutes.

Orioles win, 3-0! They’ll be back in action tomorrow for an Independence Day game. Game time is 7:10 with Kyle Bradish scheduled to take the mound for the O’s.

The Mets started this weekend's four-game series at the Atlanta Braves with a 5-3 loss.

Takeaways

1. Christian Scott allowed two hits in four innings, but his mistakes were costly. He put the Mets (36-52) in a 2-0 hole after Mauricio Dubón's leadoff walk and Michael Harris II's home run. Scott (2-1, 3.49 ERA) surrendered a one-out solo shot to Ozzie Albies in the third inning that broke a 2-2 tie and put the Braves (51-35) back ahead. New York pulled Scott, who had seven strikeouts and four walks while allowing three runs, after 51 strikes on 82 pitches. The Mets' offense did not help Scott, but they also need more from their starters. Scott has not pitched five innings or more since June 5, a 5-0 win at the San Diego Padres, in which he went 5.2 IP while throwing 67 strikes on 98 pitches.
2. Juan Soto's 18th home run of the season, an opposite-field smack down the left-field line with one out in the third inning after A.J. Ewing reached first base on a fielding error, tied the 2-2 game and was a bright spot during New York's otherwise frustrating night at the plate. Soto's 2-for-4 evening included a successful challenge in the seventh inning, turning what would have been a 3-2 count into a five-pitch walk with two outs. Soto has 41 RBI through 69 games.
3. Ewing's first game as the Mets' leadoff batter saw him score a run, via Soto's aforementioned homer, but ultimately go hitless in three at-bats. Ewing flew out to center field twice before Tyrone Taylor's pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning.
4. Among the Mets' relievers after Scott,Kodai Senga pitched 2.2 IP. Senga allowed one run on two hits while striking out four with 44 pitches (26 strikes) from the sixth inning until exiting with two outs in the eighth.

Who's the MVP?

Matt Olson, whose two home runs -- respective solo shots in the fifth and eighth innings -- widened the gap for the Braves after Albies' aforementioned go-ahead homer.

Highlights

Juan Soto is called for a pitch clock violation by home plate umpire Malachi Moore after Soto appeared to have something in his eye

Soto was ruled to have not gotten back into the batter's box in time pic.twitter.com/prQ4YMXWhu

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 3, 2026

A 1-2-3 first inning on 10 pitches for Christian Scott 💪 pic.twitter.com/UCevSBJZJn

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 3, 2026

Juan Soto goes the other way for a game-tying two-run homer! pic.twitter.com/4lEua0qiFc

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2026

Christian Scott strikes out the side! pic.twitter.com/nmqs2WqKs3

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2026

Cionel Pérez caught Juan Soto's home run in his hat 👏 pic.twitter.com/w1uuaHusnH

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 4, 2026

Two strikeouts in the inning for Kodai Senga! pic.twitter.com/rLGp6T54qV

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2026

Bo BIchette keeps the game going!

The tying runs are on base in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/binVD3aaLm

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Braves continue their series with Saturday's 8:08 p.m. game.

LHPs Sean Manaea (1-3, 4.71 ERA) and Chris Sale (8-6, 2.10 ERA) are set to start.

The Dodgers (57-31) continue their four-game battle against the Padres (43-43) at Dodger Stadium Friday night. 

Shohei Ohtani (8-2, 1.58 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) makes his 14th start for the Dodgers in the series opener.

Michael King (5-7, 3.55 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) toes the rubber for the Friars.

Lineups

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Padres: pic.twitter.com/zPmzhpdNU3

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2026

Game 2. pic.twitter.com/6Guv7YyqbO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2026

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Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Padres
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

If you’re looking for a place to look at all of the Atlanta Braves’ home runs of the night in their 5-3 win against the New York Mets, you’ve found the place.

Because this might be the turnaround we discussed in the preview, we’re going to do something a little different.

Starting with a quick recap of pitching, tonight wasn’t a great outing from Grant Holmes, but a fair one. Throwing 82 pitches through his five innings pitched, Holmes finished his stat line with five allowed hits and two earned runs (which was a two-run homer from Mets’ Juan Soto).

What does this tell us? Well, not a whole lot on the improvement sector, but at least it’s not a setback.

Ok, before we get to highlights, let’s just acknowledge that though the offense improved, they can’t always rely on the big plays to get them out of a jam, or to get runs on the board in general. At the beginning of the season, the Braves did well combining their small ball strategy with their home runs, but now it seems they can only get ahead if multiple players can go yard.

Regardless, a win is a win, and the home runs were very much needed in tonight’s matchup to click the four-game series off.

So, without further ado, let’s enjoy some homers.

We started with Michael Harris II putting the Braves on the board with a two-run homer.

GOD SAVE THE KING@MoneyyyMikeeepic.twitter.com/p5XKXR4E8n

— BravesVision (@BravesVisionTV) July 3, 2026

Ozzie Albies followed up to take back the lead.

Ozzie for the lead! 💣@ozzie | #BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/oCUS3YQpMq

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 4, 2026

It’s not a homer night without adding one from Matt Olson.

MATT BLAST 🚀#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/kx3PMltATT

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 4, 2026

And yet another solo shot from him in the bottom of the eighth.

🚨 Not a replay 🚨

Matt Olson has homered again! 🥶#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/TFHskz81RE

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 4, 2026

And in that order, the Braves set the tone for a successful game one. Games two through four will need to pick up where they left off, or better yet, surpass tonight’s performance.

It is Friday night.

The Orioles have defeated the Reds, 3-0, to start their road trip off on a good note. Samuel Basallo hit a two-run homer. Gunnar Henderson played dazzling defense. And Tyler Wells earned his first save since 2023. Trevor Rogers struggled with walks but pitched five shutout innings to earn the win. The Reds left 10 batters on, so thanks for that one guys.

You know what must be done.

GIFS!

San Diego Padres (43-43) at Los Angeles Dodgers (57-31), July 3, 2026, 7:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Game 2. pic.twitter.com/6Guv7YyqbO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2026

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Padres: pic.twitter.com/zPmzhpdNU3

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2026

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Back to the grind – for both the D-backs and me. I’ve returned from a very pleasant week in Wyoming, Mrs. SnakePit and I visiting a friend in Jackson Hole. Expect pics of the places we visited to be appearing in the Gameday Threads for this series! It was a very pleasant trip: the air and scenery up there are both amazing. I also enjoyed the whole de-stressing thing. Getting off social media and, to a large extent, the Internet in general, for a few days is something I highly recommend. It’s tough initially: I kept wanting to reach for my phone. But after a while, I realized life elsewhere was going to continue, regardless of whether or not I was checking in on an hourly basis.

The D-backs went 2-2 in my absence, being swept by the Rays, before taking two of three from the Giants. Though losing even a single game to San Francisco feels like a defeat. That leaves them at a perfectly even 43-43 record, and a tough series beckons against the Brewers, who have the second-best record in all baseball, behind only (and this is my unsurprised face) the Dodgers. This season, LA has scored more runs per game and conceded fewer, than any other team in baseball. Milwaukee, however, are not exactly slouches – by the same metric, they rank fifth- and second-base respectively. Nope, it ain’t going to be easy. One win will be okay. Two? A triumph.

Arizona are still desperately short of production at 1B. Their seasonal OPS is a woeful .559, which remains the worst at the position by any team since 1920. It’s sixty-six points worse than anyone else. Mind you, center field is hardly any better at .587. At least that is ahead of someone: specifically, the Cleveland Guardians, whose CFs are collectively sixteen points below us. Designated Hitter, at .620, completes the trifecta of positional suck, ranked 28th (above the Tigers and Royals). With basically three positions – two of them generally considered offensively minded ones – acting as black holes, it’s kinda impressive the D-backs are still at .500. Whether they will be by Sunday night remains to be seen…