Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Reds:
Letâs talk about it.
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Reds:
Letâs talk about it.
Interim Mets manager Andy Green provided some injury updates prior to Tuesdayâs series opener against the RoyalsâŠÂ
For the first time since April 14, Jorge Polanco is back in the big leagues.
Polanco has been sidelined for the majority of the season with Achilles and wrist issues, but heâs been grinding his way back in the minors over the last few weeks.Â
After his latest rehab games with Syracuse, the club deemed him ready to return.Â
Polanco immediately jumps back into the starting lineup, batting sixth and serving as the DH for Tuesdayâs meeting with former Met Seth Lugo.
âWeâre all excited to have him there,â Green said. âHe had some nice games in rehab, homered in his last game, so we think heâs ready to DH for us and ready to get going here.â
Polancoâs playing time will be based on how he responds on a daily basis, but heâs expected to be available off the bench on the days he doesnât start.
His bat is the big thing Green values at the moment, but the team will see if he can get into the field at first base depending on how he feels.Â
âWe have guys we can slide to first, somebody is going to have to DH,â he said. âWeâre just happy to have his bat, and if he gets to first in the near future, weâll be thrilled about that.âÂ
Robert Jr. had his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Binghamton on Tuesday, where heâll continue to play to see exactly how far off he is.Â
The outfielder wonât be in the Rumble Poniesâ lineup Tuesday as he takes the day to workout, but the hope is that heâll be back out there Wednesday.Â
He reached base just twice across 10 at-bats over the past week with Syracuse.Â
Green hasnât figured how the team will handle the outfield mix when Robert is ready to return, but he continues to be impressed by youngsters Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.Â
Green said that Semien is progressing well in his recovery from a hip flexor strain.Â
The veteran ran up to 80 percent on Monday, and was spotted running and taking grounders again Tuesday.Â
Semien, still however, remains without a timeline for a return.
âHeâs a baseball player, he wants to be on the field,â the skipper said. âHeâs doing everything humanly possible to make that happen as fast as possible -- heâs progressing very well.â
Semienâs reported timeline called for him to miss at least 4-to-6 weeks.Â
Fresh off a sweep by the suddenly resurgent Miami Marlins, the Athletics take on the Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit today. The Tigers enter the game with a 40-50 record and sit in fourth place in the American League Central, while the visiting Aâs are 41-49 and are also in fourth place, but in the AL West.
The Aâs will welcome Jacob Wilson back from a short stint on the Injured List (IL) today with an inflammation in his right thumb. Heâll re-enter the lineup batting fifth and playing his usual shortstop position.
J.T. Ginn will get the start today against the Tigers. Ginn is 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA in nineteen 2026 appearances. He has 82 Kâs in 94.2 innings of work. Heâll go up against reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal for Detroit. The 29-year-old lefty is 4-4 this season with a 3.15 ERA in an injury-shortened sixty-five innings of work.
Skubal, the most coveted name tossed around as a trade deadline mover, will face this lineup for the Athletics this afternoon:
Ginn, who has emerged as the teamâs ace this season will go up against this lineup for the Tigers today:
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Well, itâs not quite over yet. Despite snapping their eight-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, the San Diego Padres went back to their unfortunate losing ways with an 8-0 shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night. The club couldnât manage a single run against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt and didnât reach second base until Jackson Merrill did so in the seventh inning.
San Diegoâs Walker Buehler went five innings but surrendered seven runs to the Dbacks. Itâs a worrying trend as Buehler has now given up 16 runs between his last two outings. Prior to that, the righty hadnât given up more than a run in each of his June starts. Now Buehler is barely a serviceable back-end starter. The Friars were out of the game before they ever came to bat. Theyâll need to turn things around in Game 2 tonight against Arizona. If they canât, it will worsen the tough stretch the club has found themselves in.
Itâs unfortunate, but Gallen has been one of the worst pitchers in the league. After re-signing with Arizona this offseason, he hasnât helped the club at all. The righty owns a 6.36 ERA through 92 innings and has just 56 strikeouts with an overblown 1.57 WHIP.
Gallen has had the worst season of his career this year. The Dbacksâ ace hasnât been able to put it together at any point this year. Heâs been even worse lately, with an 8.60 ERA in his last seven starts. The Friars should be able to tag Gallen for plenty of runs tonight.
MĂĄrquez is making his first start back after returning from the injured list earlier this week. The right-hander pitched three innings against Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. MĂĄrquez pitched in bulk relief after Randy VĂĄsquez exited the game early. With VĂĄsquez now on the IL, MĂĄrquez will be taking over for the righty.
He pitched decent against L.A. in his first outing back, giving up two runs on two hits while walking three. He struggled with his command, but showed flashes of the ace-like stuff he once had. The hope for San Diego is that MĂĄrquez can quiet Arizonaâs bats after a loud series opener (three home runs).
Apart from last nightâs mishaps, the San Diego lineup has been effective as of late. The offense produced 15 runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their most recent series against the division rivals. More than that, Manny Machado has had a recent power surge. The third baseman has three home runs in his last seven games.
Cronenworth went 2-for-4 last night against Pfaadt. The second baseman has a fantastic career when facing the Arizona righty. Heâs also hit well against Gallen, batting .300 with a .917 OPS against the Dbacksâ ace (30 at-bats). Hopefully, Cronenworth will be able to continue that successful streak.
Thankfully, Alek Jacob was able to cover three innings for the Friars. With Arizonaâs lead ballooned to seven runs by the time Jacob came in, the reliever was left on the mound for as long as possible. He threw 42 pitches, giving up just one run on a solo shot by Nolan Arenado. After him, Ron Marinaccio pitched the ninth inning. That outing from Jacob helped to salvage the bullpen for the remainder of the series.
That will allow San Diego to have plenty of options for Game 2. Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez will be available if MĂĄrquez struggles in his first start back. With no off day before the All-Star break, the club will be forced to rely on quality outings from their starters to save the âpen.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are returning home to take on the Atlanta Braves for the first matchup of a three-game set.
The Braves are handing the ball to Hurston Waldrop, who is making his second start of the season. Waldrop made his 2026 debut on June 26 against the San Francisco Giants, pitching two innings and giving up two hits and zero earned runs.
In his next appearance, he made his first start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals at home. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs, in an 11-5 loss at Truist Park. Now heâs making his first start on the road at PNC Park against the Buccos.
The Pirates will hand the ball to their ace, Paul Skenes, but he hasnât been pitching like one as of late. In his last start, Skenes pitched four innings, giving up six hits and seven earned runs in a 10-6 loss on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 1. The Pirates have lost nine consecutive games when Skenes takes the mound, which is a big surprise given how well he has pitched in his first two seasons.
Skenes still has the stuff to be one of the best pitchers in the league, but the Pirates havenât been able to put it together with him on the mound.
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Hurston Waldrep (0-0, 3.68 ERA) vs. Paul Skenes (6-8, 3.62 ERA)
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Claude Giroux looked around in NHL free agency and is returning to his 2025-26 team.
The Ottawa Senators announced on Tuesday, July 7, that they had re-signed the forward to a one-year deal that has $2 million in salary and up to $3 million in bonuses.
âClaude took his time to evaluate his options and his decision to re-sign with us shows his belief and commitment to our group,â said general manager Steve Staios. âHe is the consummate professional and brings veteran experience to our core on and off the ice.â
Giroux, 38, will return for a fifth season in Canada's capital. He signed with his hometown Senators in 2022 after spending most of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers, plus a short stint with the Florida Panthers.
He played all 82 games for the 10th time in his career and finished with 49 points as the Senators made the playoffs for the second year in a row. They were swept in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes.
âI chose to come back because I want to be here. Iâm excited to be an Ottawa Senator,â said Giroux. âBeing around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.â
Giroux is an alternate captain on the Senators, who need a captain after Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers.
With Giroux off the list, the top remaining free agents include Patrick Kane, Anthony Mantha and Vladimir Tarasenko.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claude Giroux re-signs with Ottawa Senators for one season
There are precious few things that Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler cannot defeat. That includes venous thoracic outlet syndrome, which shut him down in August of last season and cost him most of the month of April in 2026.
At age 36, you may have begun to wonder if the end was near for the three-time All Star. Oh, how far from the case that has been.
Through 13 starts since his return on April 25th, Wheeler sports a 2.36 ERA â a mark that would be his best over the course of a single season. His 3.30 FIP is right in line with his 3.29 career mark, and his 2.3 BB/9 is actually lower than his 2.5 per 9 mark across his brilliant 12 year career. The injury, it would seem, was merely a hiccup over which he would rise again to regain his elite form.
Wheeler will start for the Phillies in Tuesday nightâs series opener at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds. Fortunately for the olâ Redlegs, theyâll be sending out a starter whoâs been almost as hot as Wheeler for that period of time, too.
Andrew Abbott will toe the rubber in the series opener, the southpaw having pitched to a 2.71 ERA in his 12 starts dating back to the final week of April. The first four weeks of April were positively abysmal from the former All Star, but heâs once again regained the form that has him outperforming all of his peripherals through deception, precision, and an elite ability to induce soft contact. Thatâs what weâll hope to see from him again tonight as he faces a Phillies lineup stacked with hitters who mostly excel from the left side of the plate.
First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET. Hereâs how the Reds will line up to begin:
PITTSBURGH â The Pittsburgh Pirates will have to try to stay in postseason contention without rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin.
The club placed the 20-year-old rising star on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday due to an issue with the knuckle on the ring finger on his left hand. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Griffin is expected to miss 8-10 weeks.
Griffin, who made his major league debut in April before signing a lengthy extension, injured the finger in the early portion of a victory over Washington on Sunday. He remained in the lineup and finished with two hits before a postgame exam detailed the extent of the injury.
Tomczyk said the injury was to the sagittal band, which stabilizes the ring finger. Griffin will keep the hand in a splint for about six weeks before resuming baseball activities.
The injury is the second significant setback for Griffin during a promising rookie season. He missed most of June with a strained right forearm.
âHeâs really been a big part of our success,â Pirates manager Don Kelly said. âI think for him to learn through this, too, every single player goes through injuries. Heâs just had a couple tough ones at the beginning. I know heâll be stronger after going through it.â
When healthy, Griffin has been a revelation for the Pirates, looking every bit the franchise cornerstone they hoped heâd be after selecting him in the first round of the 2024 draft. Griffin is hitting .276 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 59 games.
Jared Triolo will primarily fill in at shortstop for Pittsburgh, which entered Tuesday at 46-45 and in the middle of a large swath of National League teams in the postseason mix.
Griffin joins an increasingly crowded injured list that includes center fielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz.
Pittsburgh called up infielder Jack Brannigan from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Griffinâs spot on the roster.
After nine seasons in the NHL, former Chicago Blackhawks forward David Kampf is heading overseas.
HC Litvinov of the Czech Extraliga has announced that they have signed Kampf to a three-year contract.Â
Kampf heading overseas comes after he posted two goals, six points, 45 hits, and a 52.3 faceoff winning percentage in 40 games last season split between the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. The Capitals traded his signing rights to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the sign-and-trade to land Alex Tuch, but Buffalo chose not to sign Kampf.
Kampf spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the Blackhawks from 2017-18 to 2020-21. In 235 games with the Blackhawks over that span, he posted 17 goals, 41 assists, and 58 points.Â
Following his time with the Blackhawks, Kampf had stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Capitals. In 576 career NHL games, he posted 50 goals, 99 assists, 149 points, and 498 hits.
Apr 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) gets the shot away against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first overtime in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
James Guillory-Imagn Images
OTTAWA, Ontario â Claude Giroux is returning to the Ottawa Senators after agreeing to terms Tuesday on a contract for next season with a $2 million salary that can be worth up to $5 million in bonuses.
âClaude took his time to evaluate his options, and his decision to re-sign with us shows his belief and commitment to our group,â Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. âHe is the consummate professional and brings veteran experience to our core on an off the ice.â
Giroux, 38, was linked in free agency to the Philadelphia Flyers this summer, but a reunion did not materialize. He spent his first 15-plus NHL seasons with them from 2008-22 before getting traded at the deadline to Florida.
The Hearst, Ontario, native played the past four seasons with the Senators. Going back to Ottawa makes Giroux a candidate to succeed Brady Tkachuk as captain, following his trade last month to the Panthers to play with his brother, Matthew.
âI chose to come back because I want to be here,â Giroux said. âBeing around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.â
Girouxâs 1,165 regular-season points rank 60th in league history and are the eighth-most among active players.
Itâs been nearly a month since Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with his second Grade One left hamstring strain across the span of two months and the Atlanta Braves have kept to their word when it comes to making sure that Acuña eases back into things following the latest strain.
As such, there werenât many expectations that the Braves would try to rush to get Acuña back in action before the break and he will indeed make his return after the All-Star break. The good news is that we may not have to wait long after the break to see Acuña make his return to action since Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that Walt Weiss believes that Acuña could go out on rehab assignment as soon as next week.
If thatâs the case then Iâd assume that Acuña could be back with the Braves by the end of the month. Iâm guessing that July 24-29 road trip to Baltimore and New York (Citi Field) would be a reasonable time to guess that Acuña could be back with the Braves, or they just might push it until July 30 when they come back home from that road trip to play the Nationals.
By then, it will have been nearly a two-month long stint on the IL but when it comes to that type of injury and potentially aggravating it again, itâs better to play it safe than sorry and the Braves are indeed planning on continuing to take their time bringing Acuña back into the fold.
Meanwhile, Robert Suarez is also eyeing a potential post-All-Star break return from his forearm issues. Suarez went on the IL back on June 26 with inflammation but apparently those issues werenât structural and all heâs needed is a bit of rest and recuperation to get his arm back in pitching shape. Even back when the IL stint was reported, Walt Weiss was reportedly âhopefulâ that their set-up man would be able to come back âshortlyâ after the All-Star break and Iâd say that a couple of extra weeks wouldnât be too bad.
With that being said, the bullpen does need him since cracks are starting to show in whatâs been a great season for the âpen as a collective so far. Maybe the break will do a lot of those guys some good since it means that the bullpen especially should be fully rested and ready to go once play resumes on July 17 in Cobb County against the Texas Rangers but for now, it appears as if the bullpen will have to hold on just a little while longer while Robert Suarez gets back in shape. The same goes for the outfield and having Ronald Acuña Jr. out there. Slowly but surely, the stars are coming back.
The All-Star break is a week away and we've settled on the fact that Shohei Ohtani and Jacob Misiorowski are the runaway favorites for MVP and Cy Young in the National League as we conclude the first half of the season.
For the American League, well, that is still up in the air. Cam Schlittler and Yordan Alvarez may be leading for now, but there are a pair of teammates making a run for each award. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings.
Jacob Misiorowski became the seventh pitcher in the NL to reach 10 wins after another dominating outing (4-3 win over St. Louis). Misiorowski has back-to-back games with double-digit strikeouts (10, 11) to widen his lead over the rest of the MLB by 30 Ks. There hasn't been a better pitcher in all of baseball as he enters the All-Star break as the only pitcher with a sub 2.00 ERA.
Cristopher Sanchez all but lost the Cy Young in his last start. While there is another half to the season, his showing against the Royals in a 15-1 loss was one he likely wishes everyone would forget about. Sanchez allowed nine earned runs on 12 hits over 3.1 innings (83 pitches), which all were season-worsts, along with one strikeout. The 29-year-old lefty has a 8.22 ERA over his last three starts and a .328 OBA. The All-Star break couldn't come at a better time for Sanchez.
Chris Sale had himself a July 4th off with a 14-3 win versus the Mets. Sale allowed three earned runs on seven hits and gave up two homers. His three strikeouts were tied for a season-low. Overall, Sale is having a great year. The 37-year-old has 13 games with two or less earned runs out of 16 and the same with walks, plus he's reached at least six innings in 10 starts.
Chase Burns has one start remaining in the first half of the year versus Philadelphia then he will be pitching in his first-ever All-Star game. Only five pitchers all-time have been drafted and made an All-Star game within two years of being drafted. Paul Skenes was the most recent before Burns achieved this. The 23-year-old is being slept on for Cy Young, but could easily be the No. 3 on this list and soon No. 2 if he keeps stacking wins as the ace for one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
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After giving up a season-high six runs against the Tigers, Cam Schlittler bounced back with one of his best outings of the season. Schlittler tossed 101 pitches over 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts to no walks, one earned run and four hits against the Rays (5-1 win). Schlittler enters his last start before the All-Star break leading the AL in ERA (2.01), and second in WHIP (0.93), OBA (.201), strikeouts (131), innings pitched (112.0), and wins (9).
Dylan Cease recorded his fourth game with no runs allowed this season and totaled nine or more strikeouts for the eighth time. Cease went 7.0 innings versus Seattle in a 2-0 win and gave three hits and zero walks. Cease leads all of baseball in strikeouts (137) and hasn't given up a home run in five straight games (5 on the year).
After having a terrific June with a 0.82 ERA, Drew Rasmussen allowed a season-high five runs and a season-low two strikeouts against the Astros. Rasmussen allowed three total runs over five games, so his recent performance came at a bit of a surprise. Rasmussen draws one more start before the break and it will come against the Yankees. In two starts versus New York, Rasmussen has a 0.00 ERA, .143 OBA, and 13 strikeouts to one walk over 13.0 innings.
Tarik SKubal might have turned the corner after his last start against the Yankees. Skubal tossed 87 pitches over 6.0 innings and recorded nine strikeouts, zero walks, one hit, and one earned run. Skubal now has 30 strikeouts to two walks in his four starts back from injury, but he's surrendered seven home runs and 17 hits over 22.1 innings.
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Yordan Alvarez is picking right up where he left off. In June, Alvarez hit .344 with 20 runs scored, 21 RBI, and six home runs. To start July, Alvarez is hitting .381 with three homers, seven RBI, and a 1.201 OPS through five games. If the Astros can nab a Wild Card or playoff spot, that would solidify his case, but as of now, Alvarez enters the break as the MVP candidate.
No one is hitting better than Junior Caminero right now. Caminero is hitting .309 with 11 home runs, 22 RBI, and 13 runs scored over the last 13 games. Caminero's climbed into the MVP conversation and with Tampa Bay in first place of the AL â Caminero is the hottest name in the MVP race.
Nick Kurtz is coming off his roughest month of the year. Kurtz hit .250 in June and had as many strikeouts (41) as walks (21) and runs (20) combined. The 23-year-old has struggled with a .178 batting average over his last 45 at-bats opening the door for Bobby Witt and others to creep back into the MVP race. Kurtz will need a big second-half to stay in consideration with how Alvarez and Caminero are playing.
Ben Rice and the Yankees are in a slump. Rice was once the second favorite in terms of odds for MVP, but he's started to fall off a cliff. Rice hit .196 in June and had 30 strikeouts to 11 walks. Without Aaron Judge, Rice has the opportunity to be the short-term face of the New York offense, but it hasn't worked out so far â Rice has been better with Judge.
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Shohei Ohtani had his best month as hitter in June. Ohtani batted .333 and he finished top five in the NL for OBP (.435), SLG (.656), and OPS (1.091). He hit eight homers, scored 23 runs, and knocked in 19 runs, which were all highs for a month this season.
As a pitcher, Ohtani had his worst month of the season, which wasn't saying much. He posted a 3.28 ERA, .222 OBA, and 25 strikeouts to seven walks over four starts (24.2 innings) â so not bad at all. Ohtani had a 3-0 record as well and no losses, so still a pretty dominant month overall.
On Rotoworld's Instagram, people were clamoring for Pete Crow-Armstrong to get some MVP love and they're getting it two weeks straight. PCA has climbed to my No. 2 spot as he continues to rake in July.
PCA hit .381 in June with 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 40 hits, and 21 runs scored over 26 games. Over the four games played in July, PCA has six hits, three RBI, three runs scored and batting .500. With how hot he is playing, PCA might be a sleeper to win the All-Star Game MVP.
Kyle Schwarber's main calling to win MVP is hitting home runs and he's slowed down in that department. Schwarber has one homer in the last 13 games and has gone seven consecutive games without a home run. To start July, Schwarber is batting .176 with three hits over five games, 10 strikeouts, and five walks with no runs or RBI â not exactly MVP-like numbers.
James Wood leads a list full of hopefuls for MVP that you could consider a long shot â Juan Soto, Jordan Walker, Bryce Harper, and Corbin Carroll â but the truth is, not of them will likely catch Ohtani, not this year at least.
As we close the chapter that was the first half of the MLB season, it's safe to Wood would have finished top five in voting for first half MVP. Washington is above .500 through 92 games and he's proving to be a franchise player worth building around. His 81 runs scored leads all of baseball (second closest is at 62) and his 24 home runs is tied for seventh. Wood was deservingly selected to his second consecutive All-Star Game, which will captivate the success he had in the first half of the season.
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Jorge Polanco has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the Mets announced this afternoon. Polanco has been sidelined for nearly three months due to lingering Achilles bursitis. After being shut down from his rehab assignment last month due to persistent soreness in his ankle, Polanco resumed playing in rehab games for Triple-A Syracuse on June 27. After a slow start, Polanco hit two home runs and drove in three in his past three rehab games. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old, who is in the first year of a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets, slashed .179/.246/.286 in a small 14-game sample in April. The Achilles injury has limited Polancoâs ability to play the field and he will be used solely as a DH for the Mets.
âFeeling good, feeling grateful and excited to be back,â Polanco said to reporters this afternoon.
To make room for Polanco on the roster, the Mets optioned Ronny Mauricio back to Triple-A Syracuse. In a separate move, the Mets added righty Matt Seelingerâacquired yesterday in a trade with the Tigers for cash considerationsâto the big league roster. âItâs a dream scenario for me,â the Long Island native said of the chance to pitch for the Mets. âI grew up 20 minutes from here. I used to come to games all the time as a kid.â
To make room on the 40-man roster for Polanco and Seelinger, the Mets have designated pitchers Alex Carrillo and Guillermo Zuñiga for assignmentâthe latter just one day after he made his Mets debut.
There have also been recent updates on a couple of other long-injured Mets. Luis Robert Jr.âs rehab assignment has been transferred to Double-A Binghamton as the Rumble Ponies begin a six-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats in Hartford. Robert had played in three games for Triple-A Syracuse and went 1-for-10 with a walk and two strikeouts. Meanwhile, outfielder Mike Tauchman, who suffered a torn meniscus at the end of spring training and has yet to play in a regular season game, began a rehab assignment today in the Florida Complex League. He went 0-for-2 with a walk in his first rehab game as the DH for the FCL Mets.
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Itâs been so long since the White Sox held the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, nearly every one of our readers were not fans when it last happened (1977, Harold Baines) ⊠even a âveteranâ fan like Brett, senior to all but one on the SSS staff, had just begun his fandom at that time.
Well, after months of anticipation, and the curious fall of UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky from no-brainer top pick to perhaps as low as No. 3 overall in the draft, Saturday marks the day of reckoning for the White Sox. The draft boasts as many as three apparent generational talents:
There is no clear pick here, which hopefully means there is no way for the White Sox to make a mistake with the choice. But we all know that these three players wonât end up with identical 20-year, 100-WAR careers and Hall of Fame elections. Chicagoâs recent high-pick past is no salve for our worries, as the club picked Nick Madrigal No. 4 overall and Andrew Vaughn No. 3 in back-to back drafts.
So, whoâs youâre guy on Saturday?
The Brewers picked up another win in the first game of Tuesdayâs doubleheader in St. Louis, as Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 across seven innings and Christian Yelich and Joey Ortiz each came up with three-hit days in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals.
After Matt Svanson worked around a leadoff ground-rule double by Yelich in the first, the Cardinals immediately came up swinging against Misiorowski. JJ Wetherholt took a hit by pitch on Mizâs second pitch of the day, and he then advanced on a groundout. Two batters later, Jordan Walker crushed a first-pitch cutter from Misiorowski for a two-run homer, putting St. Louis out to a 2-0 lead. Lars Nootbaar followed with a double on a misplay by Jackson Chourio in left, but Miz stranded him there.
Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings in the second before the Brewers broke through against left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the third. Zimmermann, who made a spot start for Milwaukee against the Padres last September, walked Cooper Pratt before allowing a run-scoring double to Ortiz. Yelich followed with a single to bring Ortiz in, and it was quickly knotted at 2-2, though Chourio followed with a double play and Brice Turang went down swinging.
The 2-2 tie wouldnât last long, though, as IvĂĄn Herrera hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, Mizâs second homer allowed in the game and fourth in his last two starts.
After those few shaky moments from Miz in the first three innings, he settled in nicely. He allowed no more baserunners through the seventh inning, setting down the last 14 in a row after the Herrera homer. He finished the day with seven innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits and no walks while striking out 11.
In a 3-2 hole, Milwaukee threatened with two more baserunners on a Jake Bauers double and a Garrett Mitchell single in the fourth, but they couldnât cash either in. They then went down in order in the fifth.
After a pair of outs to begin the sixth, Bauers slugged his second double of the afternoon and then came around to score on Mitchellâs second single. The play at home was close, but the call was confirmed upon review after a St. Louis challenge.
A brand-new ballgame entering the seventh, the Brewers forced a pitching change, with Ryne Stanek taking over for Zimmermann. He allowed a walk and a bunt single before being removed due to a scary injury, as he slid into first in an effort to get Ortiz out on the bunt. Hopefully heâs alright.
JoJo Romero entered in relief of Stanek and promptly gave up a double to Yelich, which gave Milwaukee a 4-3 lead and put runners at second and third with no outs. Looking for some insurance, the Brewers couldnât cash in, with Chourio grounding out, Turang striking out, William Contreras reaching on an intentional walk, and pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn grounding out to end the inning.
Justin Bruihl set Milwaukee down in order in the eighth, and Aaron Ashby took the ball from Misiorowski for the bottom of the inning. After recording the first two outs without a problem, he gave up a pair of singles to Wetherholt and Herrera, putting runners at the corners with Alec Burleson at the plate. Burleson mercifully grounded out, keeping Milwaukeeâs lead at 4-3 entering the final inning.
The Brewers, still looking for an insurance run, threatened against Bruihl in the ninth, with Ortiz singling and moving up on a passed ball and groundout. Turang also walked and stole second (without a throw), but Contreras grounded out to end the threat.
After Trevor Megill got his 14th save yesterday, it was Abner Uribe out of the bullpen for this one. He retired Walker on a pop-up but then fell behind Nootbaar, ultimately walking the veteran outfielder. Nootbaar was promptly replaced with the fleet-footed Masyn Winn, but Uribe bounced back with a strikeout of Bryan Torres and a groundout by Nathan Church, picking up his sixth save of the year.
While the Brewers finished with 10 hits, they came from just four players, as Yelich, Ortiz, Bauers, and Mitchell each had multi-hit days â Yelich had two doubles and a single, Ortiz had a double and two singles, Bauers had a pair of doubles, and Mitchell had two singles. Yelich added two RBIs, while Mitchell and Ortiz had one each. As a team, the Brewers went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position, which was just enough to get the win.
The Brewers are back at it this evening for the second half of their doubleheader, with both teamâs 27th man getting the start â Robert Gasser for Milwaukee and Hunter Dobbins for St. Louis. First pitch for that one is set for 6:45 p.m. See you then.