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In the first game of Sunday’s day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler and Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched wits on the mound. Schlittler ended his outing dejected and frustrated by a Los Angeles lineup which took no give-up at-bats all afternoon. Yamamoto ended his outing on the mound, tossing a complete game for the Dodgers in an 8-2 slog in the Bronx. Despite New York’s offensive futility, the game remained close until a five-run top of the eighth inning for the back-to-back champs put it on ice. Much like in the 2024 World Series which wrapped up in a tidy five games, Los Angeles simply outclassed the Yankees this afternoon.

This contest kicked off with one of the more rousing opening frames you could draw up. Schlittler faced down the top of the Dodger order and blew them away with his signature heat. Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages, and Freddie Freeman all went down by way of the K. Cam picked up six swings and misses in that first inning alone.

This Dodger lineup will make you work, though. That’s what they did to Schlittler increasingly as the game went on. Their effort began in earnest in the second, as they fouled off tons of pitches to jack up his pitch count over 40 after two innings. A sun-aided double from Max Muncy exacerbated matters, but Anthony Volpe offset the misplay by making a beautiful leaping catch up the middle to take a single from Kyle Tucker.

Yamamoto countered Schlittler with an eight-pitch bottom of the inning to help set the tone for the afternoon. He then needed just nine pitches to retire the Yankees in order. His efficiency is what makes him particularly dangerous. It doesn’t just deflate your lineup; it forces Schlittler to get right back on the mound with far shorter breaks.

The Dodgers saw 50 pitches in their first time through the order—which must have felt like 80 pitches by the time Ohtani came back up in the third. He was looking for revenge after the first-inning strikeout, and had Tommy Edman at first base to work with. Schlittler mislocated a cutter low and in, and Ohtani unleashed, driving the ball at 111 mph through the right-center gap. Edman raced home from first to score the opening run of the game.

Another long battle with Andy Pages set up an opportunity for the Yankees’ World Series nightmare, Freddie Freeman. Freeman was on a power kick during that Fall Classic; here, he did the other thing he does best. On two strikes, he shortened up and shuttlecocked an obnoxiously perfect little looper into left center field, scoring Ohtani for a 2-0 Dodger lead.

The bottom of the Bombers’ order provided as much resistance to Yamamoto as a wet napkin in the third, compelling Cam to take the mound in short order once more. Schlittler bounced back to grab three more strikeouts in the fourth, but as he walked off the mound you knew he had one full inning left, maximum.

The game flow reminded me of the game flow I’ve seen in some of the ugly football games I’ve commentated—in which one team goes three-and-out every drive while the other team runs twenty plays and chews up a whole quarter worth of clock when they get the ball. It’s almost irrelevant how much they score; as long as they score at all, the game is lost.

Well, the hope for a baseball team lies in the fact that no matter what, they’ll get nine chances to make something happen. At any point, someone can come up with a big hit. That’s exactly what Trent Grisham did, leading off the bottom of the fourth by grabbing the Yankees’ first hit and first run on one swing. His big blast into the second deck in right field got New York and their anxious fans right back in the game.

Los Angeles, however, wasted little time getting that run back against the increasingly frustrated Schlittler. You don’t often see a pitcher react with more anguish after hitting a batter than the batter himself, but Cam hunched over in frustration after plunking Edman in the fifth. A grounder from Ohtani advanced Edman to second, and he scored on a broken-bat looping double which settled along the right field line.

That bleeder marked the end of a supremely enervating afternoon for Cam. He brought his best stuff to bear against the back-to-back champs; they simply outwaited him, picked their spots, and cashed in on their chances. Yamamoto’s brutal efficiency only exacerbated matters, forcing him to throw more and more pitches in quick succession against an offense which had begun timing him up. It’s a testament to Schlittler’s stuff that LA only managed to coax three runs out of him with so many factors working in their favor.

Yamamoto finished the sixth inning on pace for a Maddux, with just 68 pitches and the one blip to Grisham representing the only man to reach base. Ben Rice became the second Yankee to get aboard when he doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh, but three straight Bombers came up as the would-be tying run and were foiled in quick succession. Schuemann put up a great fight with two outs, but his line drive on the payoff pitch shot straight to Pages in center field. Yamamoto survived his first true threat

The rest of the afternoon’s proceedings were not devoid of positives. Tim Hill finished up the fifth and began the sixth on the mound for the Yankees, then Angel Chivilli turned in a truly impressive performance, striking three of the four Dodgers he faced—including Pages and Freeman consecutively to finish the top of the seventh. Could Chivilli become an X-factor for this pitching staff in the second half? Time will tell, but the Dominican youngster was remarkably sharp today.

As soon as Chivilli departed, though, it was LA’s cue to put the finishing touches on this matinée against Jake Bird and Camilo Doval. Teoscar Hernandez began the bloodshed with a ground rule double which scored one and put two in scoring position. Dalton Rushing walked, loading the bases for Edman, who worked the count full and slapped a grounder through the right side of the infield for two more insurance runs. Ohtani followed with a base hit of his own, scoring Rushing, then a sac fly from Freeman added yet another tally for five in the inning and eight in the game for Los Angeles.

New York grabbed a pity run in the eighth inning thanks to another ball getting lost in sunshine—the Sun has no rooting interest—and a Volpe base hit. McMahon was doubled up to expunge thoughts of an extended rally, and Yamamoto completed eight innings.

In the top of the ninth inning, Dave Roberts, the same guy who thought challenging a call in the All-Star Game was a cool idea, challenged the final out of the top of the ninth in a game which was now meaningless. After five minutes of nothing, the call stood. Cool. Glad we have replay review for such important purposes. It also gave Yamamoto even more time to get ready for a breezy bottom of the ninth.

The Bombers themselves had the courtesy to keep it brief, going down in order to give Yamamoto the complete game he was looking for. One hundred and two pitches of brilliance for the Dodger ace, who left no meat on the bone in a comprehensive victory for the visitors.

The Yankees will get their chance to bounce back later this evening. Enjoy the World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina in the meantime to take your mind off another stiff performance from the pinstripers, then buckle up for another dose. If you want to. NBC has the broadcast for this one starting at 7:20 pm with LA deploying a bullpen game and the Yankees using Elmer Rodríguez as either the starter or “bulk guy” for an opener.

Box Score

The Mariners close up their series against the Giants today looking to win a series to kick off the second half of the season. Logan Gilbert will take the ball for the Mariners, countered by former Mariner Robbie Ray.

Lineups:

News:

Brendan Donovan is in Tacoma’s lineup today, playing second base. Donovan is batting leadoff, followed by Rob Refsnysder, who will serve as DH today.

Today’s game information:

Game time: 1:10 PT

TV: Mariners.TV with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

The Dodgers are using a bullpen game in the nightcap of Sunday’s split doubleheader, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto made sure that relief corps will be highly rested. The Dodgers ace was in complete control in his complete-game 8-2 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday morning.

Yamamoto retired 21 of 23 batters faced through the first seven innings, allowing only a fourth-inning solo home run to Trent Grisham and a seventh-inning leadoff double by Ben Rice, who was stranded. He allowed a run in the eighth inning thanks to a sun double that eluded Andy Pages in center field.

With seven strikeouts and no walks, Yamamoto was economical, needing only 102 pitches. It’s his first regular season complete game with the Dodgers, though Yamamoto did famously have two complete games during last postseason.

Sunday was the eighth time this season Yamamoto has lasted at least seven frames, and the third time he’s completed eight innings. On the season, Yamamoto leads the majors in averaging 6.65 innings per start.

Things didn’t go so smoothly for Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler, who has been either the best or second-best pitcher in the American League this season, carrying a 2.05 ERA and 3.00 xERA into Sunday. The Dodgers made the 6’6 right-hander work, extracting 98 pitches through just 4 1/3 innings, matching Schlittler’s shortest outing of the season.

The Dodgers plated three against Schlittler, with Shohei Ohtani’s RBI double and Freddie Freeman’s run-scoring single in the third inning, and Tommy Edman getting hit by a pitch in the fifth followed by an RBI double by Pages to chase Schlittler.

The Dodgers poured it on with five more runs off Jake Bird in the eighth, punctuated by a two-run double by Edman, who after his two-hit game is hitting .351/.429/.486 with a 157 wRC+ in 24 games since returning from the injured list.

Sunday particulars

Home run: Trent Grisham (11)

WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6): 9 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts

LP — Cam Schlittler (9-6): 4 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts

Up next

There’s still another game today, and we have some time before it starts. The split doubleheader concludes with another national TV game (4:20 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock). It’s a bullpen game for the Dodgers, which sure seems like Landon Knack will be a big part of that.

The St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their stay in the desert Sunday afternoon as they play a matinee game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Andre Pallante gets his first post-All Star break start for the Cardinals while the Diamondbacks will send Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound. First pitch is set for 3:10pm central time at Chase Park while the TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

In his postgame interview on Peacock today, Colson Montgomery was asked how the White Sox withstood a nine-K start from Toronto star Trey Yesavage to eventually break through and bounce him from the game: “Just be relentless.”

As is the wont of a rare national interviewer, that chat quickly came around to asking about the terrific chemistry of the White Sox clubhouse, and Colson offered up youth as the excuse, essentially saying that the players are all pretty much in the same place in their careers, experiencing things for the first time, and … fearless.

Being young, dumb and full of slug has benefited the White Sox thus far, and with a 3-0 win in the series finale remain in first place as they head with momentum to Texas, once again at a season-high six games better than .500.

Colson got the postgame shine but it was pitching that continued as the theme of this weekend up north, as Sean Burke and the White Sox outlasted Yesavage and the Blue Jays. Everything that Malachi Hayes laid out about Burke in the game thread today came to pass, and then some. The ascendant ace carved though the Toronto lineup, only punching out two Jays for the bulk of his game (he picked up another three late) but consistently crossing up hitters and inducing soft contact. All but one of the four hard hits Burke gave up in the game landed in White Sox gloves for outs, and you’ll take an 84.7 mph average exit velo any day of the week.

Burke pitched into the seventh, exiting after yielding only his second hit of the game — and first to leave the infield. From there, the well-rested White Sox pen employed two of its most devastating tools, Bryan Hudson and Grant Taylor, to finish what Burke had started.

The White Sox offense was a little soft on slug today, chiseling a run to draw blood in the fourth that was grindy as hell. Munetaka Murakami walked, Miguel Vargas forced him out at second but then scampered to third on Colson’s single. From there, it was Andrew Benintendi with another good at-bat (he was aces this game and had the second-most WPA among Pale Hose hitters), lofting a sac fly to ensure that three baserunners in the inning against the stingy Yesavage wouldn’t be wasted:

Slug reared its fearsome head with two outs in the sixth, as Colson thrwarted Yesavage’s game plan by refusing to bite on two 94 mph strikes inside and fouling another off before pouncing on a splitter that stayed together enough to groove over too much of the plate. Though Colson claimed postgame he was in two-strike protect mode, the youngster has enough raw power to turn protection into aggression, launching the ball 388 feet and over the wall with the hardest-hit ball of the day:

Hardest-hit ball of the day, that is, until Braden Montgomery stepped up and battled Yesavage even harder, two batters later. A Benny double the other way put a runner in scoring position, queuing Braden for an absolutely brilliant at-bat: After almost giving himself completely away waving at more 94 mph cheese up and outside, Braden regathered over the next five pitches by protecting on a fastball up and out of the zone, holding back on a heater that was close but a smidge too tight, and fighting off two more fastballs in and a splitter with movement low. Then, on the eighth pitch of the sequence, Braden turned on a 95 mph fastball that cut too much plate and slapped it 107.8 mph to center, scoring Benintendi and lobbing another insurance run onto the pile:

There were some nerves in the ninth, as closer Grant Taylor entered and the top of the Toronto order immediately fueled a rally, as Ernie Clement hustled out a single to third and Vargas got picked on back-to-back with a well-placed bunt single from Nathan Lukes. That brought up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., still yet to homer at Rogers Centre this year but licking his chops at the opportunity for a dramatic first to tie the game. Taylor carved Guerrero inside and Vladdy was first-pitch hunting, resulting in a flare to center that Braden made a superb sliding catch and return throw in on. Two pitches later, Taylor induced a game-ending 6-4-3 from Kazuma Okamoto to hold serve on first place for at least one more game:

The road trip that starts the second half doesn’t get any easier, as the White Sox line up for three in Arlington against the first-place Rangers beginning tomorrow night.

MVP
Sean Burke (RHSP): 6 2/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K, WIN (7-4), 69-of-98 strikes, 38.3% WPA

Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery (SS): 2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K, 18.5% WPA
Braden Montgomery (RF): 2-for-4, RBI, 2 K, 6% WPA
Andrew Benintendi (DH): 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2B, BB, SF, 7% WPA
Bryan Hudson (LHRP): 1 1/3 IP, K, HOLD (6), 12-of-15 strikes, 7% WPA
Grant Taylor (RHRP): IP, 2 H, SAVE (4), 7-of-9 strikes, 4% WPA

Cold Cat
Tristan Peters (CF): 0-for-3, 3 K, -6% WPA

Runners-Up
Sam Antonacci (2B): 0-for-4, K, -6% WPA
Miguel Vargas (3B): 0-for-4, R, K, -7% WPA

After the Nats kicked the A’s teeth in Friday night, beating them 23-4, the A’s returned the favor last night, with starter JT Ginn taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning and beating the Nats 15-1. The Nats will now look to take the rubber match of the series with Foster Griffin on the bump. Today’s game will go a long way in determining what kind of trade deadline the Nationals will have, whether it is full-on buying, full-on selling, or a mix of both.

The Nationals will run their standard lineup against left-handed pitching, with Andres Chapparo slotting in the 3-hole and Luis Garcia Jr. on the bench, and Harry Ford making his second Nationals start at catcher. Foster Griffin will get the ball for the Nats, as they look to win their first series out of the All Star Break and before they head to Colorado.

The Athletics will shake up their lineup a little against the left-handed Griffin, with Carlos Cortes, Lawrence Butler, Donovan Walton, and Jeff McNeil hitting the bench, and Colby Thomas, Tommy White, Henry Bolte, and Alika Williams joining the lineup. On the mound for the A’s is 28-year-old left-hander Jacob Lopez, who has been getting shelled in 2026, with a 6.83 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched.

Game Info:

Stadium: Sutter Health Park

Time: 4:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Going to be a little late to this one, since I’ll be watching the World Cup final. Should be over by around 2 pm, unless it goes to extra time, and possibly penalties, in which case… Well, whenever. 🙂 I’ll be cheering for Spain in this one, should you care. Meanwhile, the D-backs send their ace to the mound, Eduardo Rodriguez. He’ll be looking to extend a streak of six consecutive starts allowing two runs or fewer. Admittedly, one of those did last only 2.2 innings, because he needed a startling 85 pitches to get that far. But it’s still an impressive run, with a 1.78 ERA, although his FIP over that time is almost three runs higher, at 4.72.

The last D-back with a longer streak was Merrill Kelly. He had an eight-game run, although that was over a period of almost 11 months in 2023-24, due to the off-season and injury. But Kelly was also the last with a truly consecutive streak. From July 1 through August 6 in 2022, he had seven starts allowing a total of only nine runs. He also averaged almost seven innings per game, throwing 48.1 in total. Though that, inevitably, pales to a streak the Big Unit had in 1999. Over a spell of nine starts, he gave up just twelve runs in total. Five of those were complete games and he threw 73 innings – an average of more than eight innings per game. You won’t see that any more.

Rodriguez hasn’t exactly been dominant of late, his K-rate being afflicted by the same downturn as much of the D-backs rotation. Over his last three outings, covering nineteen innings, E-Rod has nine strikeouts. But he has walked just one of the 74 batters faced. The long ball has been responsible for almost all the damage of late. In that six-game span, he has allowed seven earned runs, all but one of them coming on home-runs. The good news is, the Cardinals he will be facing today are below-average overall in that category, despite the presence of Home-Run Derby winner Jordan Walker. Keep the ball in the park, and keep the streak going.

JustRonn will be your guest recapper today. Presumably he will not be watching the World Cup Final! 🙂

It’s series finale time! At the end of the day, the San Francisco Giants will have either won their series against the Seattle Mariners or lost it. Tune in to find out. Riveting drama, I know.

Taking the mound for the Giants in the rubber match is a former Mariner, lefty Robbie Ray. The two-time All-Star and former Cy Young Award winner is making his 20th appearance of the year, and almost certainly one of his final starts in a Giants jersey. He’s 8-6 on the season, with a 3.38 ERA, a 4.70 FIP, and 90 strikeouts to 52 walks in 106.2 innings. He’s been excellent lately, giving up just four earned runs in 33.1 innings over his last five starts.

He’s up against right-hander Logan Gilbert, a 29-year old one-time All-Star who is making his 20th start. Gilbert is 7-6 on the year, with a 3.32 ERA, a 3.37 FIP, and 119 strikeouts to 24 walks in 114 innings. In his final start before the break, Gilbert allowed four runs in 6.2 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Enjoy the game, ,everyone!

Game #99

Who: San Francisco Giants (42-56) vs. Seattle Mariners (49-50)

Where: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Washington

When: 1:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM