Worldwide Sports News

Meet the Mets

The Mets suffered another embarrassing loss to one of the teams they are chasing in the Wild Card standings. The pitching struggled all game, especially David Peterson, who gave up six runs out of the bullpen. The offense was again non-existent outside of Francisco Alvarez, who accounted for all their runs with one swing of the bat. They will now look to avoid a sweep in the series finale.

In other news, another blue and orange team managed to complete a thrilling comeback victory. Go New York, Go New York, Go.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, MLB.com, NY Post

Before the game the team called up Jonathan Pintaro and sent Joey Gerber to Triple-A.

With the Knicks captivating New York, Juan Soto is determined to bring that same energy to the Mets.

Kodai Senga will return to the mound in Double-A after getting scratched from his last start.

Around the National League East

The Braves dropped another close game to the White Sox despite a strong effort by Chris Sale.

Ronald Acuña Jr. was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and was placed on IL.

The Marlins blew out the Diamondbacks 8-0 to take the series against Arizona.

 Giants rookie Bryce Eldridge hit a walk-off grand slam against the Nationals, who were up 9-1 in the eighth inning.

Around Major League Baseball

The Pirates placed Oneil Cruz on the IL with a broken left hand that he injured sliding into home plate.

Toronto starter Max Scherzer reached the 3,500 strikeout milestone in the team’s loss against the Phillies.

Brandon Nimmo accidentally hit former teammate Seth Lugo in the head with a line drive, but thankfully Lugo seems to have avoided serious injury.

Shohei Ohtani gave up a season high four runs to raise his ERA from 0.74 to 1.06.

For the teams that miss out on Tarik Skubal at the deadline, Reid Detmers from the Angels could be an interesting backup option.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

On the latest episode of A Pod of Their Own, the emergence of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing was discussed.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2005, Marlon Anderson hit a pinch-hit inside-the-park game-tying home run in the team’s 5-3 win over the Angels.

It feels like Lars Nootbaar has been someone that could fit well on the Rays’ roster over the last few years. I think the timing could be right to acquire him this season if the Cardinals are willing to part ways with him. Nootbaar combines above-average on-base ability, defensive versatility, and multiple years of team control – traits the Rays consistently target. With Jonny DeLuca, Jake Fraley, and Jacob Melton all dealing with injuries, the fit between player and roster is stronger now than it has been at any point in recent years.

Nootbaar is a solid defender in a corner outfield spot and he is capable of playing center as well. His offensive profile is largely OBP driven (over .340 vs righties for his career) – making him a good fit to hit near the top of the lineup and potentially leadoff against right-handed pitchers. This could also give the Rays more flexibility with Chandler Simpson’s lineup placement. Whether Simpson remains in the leadoff spot or moves lower in the order, adding another high-OBP hitter would help lengthen the lineup against right-handed pitching.

Despite the fact that Nootbaar has been injured for a large part of the season, the cost to acquire him should be relatively high. The Cardinals are still in contention in a competitive NL Central race, and Nootbaar is under team control until 2028. So what could it cost the Rays to land Nootbaar?

Again, I think it starts with one of the players below in the third tier of prospects I mentioned in my previous write-ups. Flewelling and Hopkins would likely be unavailable for someone like Nootbaar; their potential and years of control are beyond Nootbaar’s value.

• SS Daniel Pierce
• C Caden Bodine
• RHP Michael Forret
• INF Cooper Flemming
• RHP Anderson Brito
• RHP Santiago Suarez
• RHP TJ Nichols

I could see the Rays also needing to offer a player from the group of upper-minors prospects who are going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter. This group includes names like:

• INF Cooper Kinney
• 1B/DH Xavier Isaac
• C Tatem Levins
• OF Brock Jones
• OF Homer Bush Jr.
• INF Brayden Taylor
• 1B Tre Morgan

This group contains prospects with varying levels of risk. Some project as role players or complementary pieces, while others still possess everyday upside but face enough uncertainty that the Rays may be willing to discuss them in the right deal. I think it would take a package of multiple players between the two groups listed above.

The NL playoff race will play a role in the type of package the Rays would need to offer. It would hurt a bit to lose a player from the first group and another from that second group, so that’s a good signal that it would be enough to land someone as valuable as Nootbaar.

A package built around one prospect from the first group and another from the second would sting, which is usually a sign that the deal is in the right neighborhood. Nootbaar is a controllable everyday player who fits the Rays’ current roster, and acquiring that type of talent generally requires giving up prospects with a legitimate chance to contribute in the majors.

The Dodgers took a big lump Wednesday in Pittsburgh, losing a close game that was an Ohtani start in which he surrendered his first inning of multiple runs. And as always, there are always more bumps in the road.

Will Smith will be hitting the injured list, after his lingering neck issue isn’t getting better fast enough to return to the field. The Dodgers primary backstop has been out of the lineup since he was pulled in Saturday’s game.

Daulton Rushing was already slated to pitch all three games in Pittsburgh, and the Dodgers cleared a roster spot on Wednesday by releasing utility player Tyler Fitzgerald.

The Dodgers have two options in Triple-A, Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson.

“We had Chuckie last year, and we had Eliezer all spring,” Roberts said. “So both those guys are confident. They’re kind of a little older, so they’ve been around, and we’re very familiar with both those guys, so it should be pretty seamless.”

The Dodgers chose Robinson, and he is expected to be in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times has more details on the logistics here.

Freddie Freeman collected his 2500th hit on Tuesday, and now has his sights set on 3000. But, he acknowledges that it might not be in the cards.

Three big things could stand in his way – his age, his want to spend more time with his family, especially now having a newborn at home, and that another certain player will be occupying the DH position for the Dodgers for quite awhile.

“Over the last year or two, 3,000 is a number that I would love to get to. But I have one more year under contract. There’s still a lot of other factors that go into it. I have four kids now. We have to see what’s going on there. But I would love to get to 3,000 hits. I would love to. I’m not going to deny that. But do I know if I’m going to get there? I don’t know. But we’ll start the trek tomorrow and we’ll see if we can get some more numbers and we’ll see if people still want me to play after 2027.”

Only 33 players currently have more than 3,00o hits. Bill Plunkett of the OC Register discusses other implications of chasing that number here.

Jack Harris of the California Post has some more quotes from the multi-time All-Star on where his head is at at this point in his career.

Good morning baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are off today, with the Chicago Cubs coming to town tomorrow to begin a weekend series.

In the meantime, I thought we could have some fun with a creative writing prompt. Because sometimes, reality just doesn’t make a lot of sense and it’s more fun to make up silly reasons for things. You know, things like the Giants’ inconsistent offensive capabilities.

So today’s creative writing prompt (which you are all encouraged to participate in down in the comments) is to come up with an explanation for this, but wrong answers only.

I’ll go first. My theory is that Buster Posey attended a farmer’s market with his family during the offseason, and this is what happened.

While his wife and children peruse the produce, Posey’s eye catches on a stand advertising rare and unique treasures. A wisp of an elderly woman sits behind the tables laden with strange and somewhat unnerving items.

She catches his eye and beckons him over, where she begins to pull out a dusty velvet box from underneath the tables.

“I know what you’re looking for, young man,” she insists, nodding to herself, as she pushes the box towards Posey. “Take a look.”

He gives her an appraising look, then carefully opens the box to reveal an amulet. The amulet looks suspiciously like one of his World Series Championship rings, but wrong somehow.

“This grants the wearer the power to make one wish and have it come true,” she says quietly. “I can see in your eyes that you’re looking for something, something that has eluded you for years. Take it.”

Posey looks at the woman dubiously. But she insists, and he figures that it can’t hurt.

Hours later, his puts the amulet on in the privacy of his own home once his family has gone to bed. He thinks to himself, “I wish my team would score more runs this season.”

There’s a flash of light and a burst of heat where the amulet rests on his chest. He finds the experience unsettling in a way he cannot articulate, but shrugs it off and goes to bed and promptly forgets the entire thing.

Months later, as the Giants teeter between scoring 19 runs and being incapable of overcoming the smallest deficits, he has a jolt of panic as he remembers the encounter and his wish.

He digs out the amulet from his bedside table to take a closer look. Only then does he realize that while he first believed it to hold a resemblance to one of his own World Series rings, it was actually one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rings.

He gasps, and races to his car, determined to return it to the woman who gave it to him. He scours the farmer’s market, looking for her. He finally spots her in the back and sprints in her direction but she sees him coming and begins cackling. As he approaches, she changes form before his very eyes, transforming into Dave Roberts.

Posey gasps and falls short, giving Roberts the chance to throw a smoke bomb and disappear into the crowd.

End scene.

Your turn! Give me your best, wrong answer to the cause of the Giants’ offensive inconsistencies this season down in the comments.

Man. What a season so far, huh? The Chicago White Sox are 35-31 after Tuesday’s victory over the Atlanta Braves. They’re only a half-game back of first place in the AL Central. They don’t just have a wild card spot, no sir, they have a firm grasp on a wild card spot.

There’s plenty of praise to go around the White Sox locker room. Munetaka Murakami’s power. Miguel Vargas’s All-Star leap. Ditto Davis Martin and his fiendish six-pitch mix. But none of those players is the White Sox MVP through the first third of 2026. The most important man on this roster has been a former Banana Baller who was bought with the change between Jerry Reinsdorf’s couch cushions: center fielder and bunting gremlin extraordinaire, Tristan Peters.

After a prolonged and painful will they/won’t they, Chris Getz executed what he believed would be a simple one-for-one trade. He traded his old center fielder, Luis Robert Jr., and acquired Luisangel Acuña as his replacement. Acuña had never played the position before, but the goal was to bring him up to speed quickly. Getz projected a center fielder’s glove onto Acuña’s range and athleticism. I’ll even admit that I can see his vision whenever Acuña fields his natural shortstop position. Center field is a different beast, however, and the early-season returns were disastrous for Acuña.

I only blame him so much. Acuña’s been on base just 29 times, and yet he’s managed to rack up 11 steals, so you can’t call him lazy.  I’m sure he worked hard at it, but he was put in an impossible position. Oneil Cruz struggled with the same transition, and he’s an athletic marvel. Acuña’s failure falls on Getz.

Had it not been for Peters, there’s no telling where the Sox would be in the standings. The Mune/Vargas/Martin Renaissance could have all gone for naught. It’s not a stretch to say that Peters saved the Sox from their opening swoon:

Now, I won’t sugarcoat it; I simply do not believe Peters is an .800 OPS monster. His Savant batting profile ranges from dark blue (bad) to gender reveal blue (respectably bad), except for a 67th percentile strikeout percentage. The one thing he’s shown is a supersized ability to pull the ball when he does launch it, as his pull percentage on fly balls is 8.4% above league average. Beyond that, the real Peters most likely resembles the man we saw in the first six weeks of this season: a respectable .280 average with a few walks, a smattering of extra base hits, plenty of sacrifice bunts, and an OPS+ hovering around the mid-80s.

I’m not mad about that. Peters’ real value comes in two areas that never slump: baserunning and fielding. The Statcast percentiles make that clear enough. As of the end of play on June 9 — henceforth to be known both as Braden Montgomery Day and as the first time Bob Costas got sick of seeing a team bunt — Peters is in the 89^th percentile of baserunning value and the 96^th percentile of fielding run value.

Peters’ baserunning pops off the screen. He makes smart decisions and commits to them full throttle, a perpetual motion machine fine-tuned for the 180 feet between first base and third. I shouted out a play on Sunday against the Phillies that won’t show up in his stats but exemplifies his baserunning skill. With Peters on first and two out, Drew Romo slashed a sharp grounder up the middle that second baseman Bryson Stott knocked down. He recovered in time to throw out Romo by a step. It was a great play by the Phils’ keystone man.

As Stott was still scrambling at the edge of the grass, Peters briefly appeared at the bottom of the TV screen. Peters hadn’t slowed down. In fact, he made the turn around second as though the ball had reached the right field wall. Had Romo managed to beat the throw, Peters would have gone first-to-third on an infield single.

And yet! If we’re ranking Peters’ skills, baserunning would still be in the A-tier alongside sacrifice bunts, drag bunts, and being your dad’s favorite player to the point where it’s a little uncomfortable. Above them all, in the S-tier, is the Gold Glove-level fielding he brings to baseball’s most important outfield position.

Peters has seven outs above average (OAA), according to Savant, ranking him fourth in all of baseball. I went ahead and checked some of the underlying metrics, something I had never done before. Definitions for reaction, burst, and route were oddly difficult to find on Baseball Savant’s website. Still, thanks to a Samford University abstract posted online in 2020 by a high school senior named Jake, I finally tracked down this handy infographic:

With that out of the way, I’ll now show you the top 10 leaderboard for OAA. Fair warning, these numbers are going to seem very complimentary of Peter Crow-Armstrong. I’ll try my best to twist them into a negative:

These numbers show that a good center fielder can go about their business in one of two ways. In both cases, burst is non-negotiable. The difference is in how you use that burst. Some guys use it, along with quick reaction time, to compensate for less-than-stellar routes. Like Crow-Armstrong. Looks like you’re just a fast dummy, Pete!

The second are the guys who may not react quickly, but they read the ball well off the bat and optimize their route to the baseball. That’s the smarter kind of outfielder. It’s the rarer kind. It’s more likely to age well:

Among the top ten, Peters and Steven Kwan are the best route runners. Unlike Kwan, Peters also has an acceptable (not exceptional) reaction time. I can’t help but feel like Robert Jr. for Peters would have been a pretty fair deal.

Hustle? Defense? The ability to make up for Getz’s worst decisions? That’s your 2026 White Sox MVP.

Seth Lugo was cruising along before taking a comebacker off the forehead in the 4th inning last night

In the fourth inning, Royals starter Seth Lugo was struck in the head by a 106.6 mph line drive off the bat of Rangers star Brandon Nimmo. It was a scary moment as both Nimmo and the Royals training staff raced out to Lugo.

Lugo was alert and able to walk off the field on his own power. The Royals would insert right-handed reliever Mason Black into the game.

Later in the game, the Royals did tweet this out on social media.

Before the game, Kyle Isbel was placed on the IL

It wasn’t long after Kyle Isbel exited Tuesday’s game against the Rangers in the seventh inning that the Royals also pulled outfielder Kameron Misner from the Triple-A Omaha game in anticipation of needing their center-field depth.

By Wednesday afternoon, that need was confirmed. Isbel was placed on the 10-day injured list with left plantar fasciitis, and Misner was recalled from Triple-A prior to Kansas City’s 6-4 loss in 10 innings at Kauffman Stadium.

Misner, 28, is slashing .276/.373/.547 in 59 Triple-A games this season and was just named International League Player of the Week after going 10-for-24 during the week of June 1-7. The left-handed batter recorded three doubles, five home runs, two stolen bases and four multi-hit games in the six-game series against Columbus (Guardians).

Jac Caglianone is unstoppable at the plate currently, Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep talked about it.

Blake Mitchell has been a fascinating case study in Quad Cities this season, Mike Gillespie of Royals Keep wrote about it

Preston Farr wrote about the Royals failure to develop hitters

Kameron Misner pinch ran in the 10th last night; however, Caleb Moody of Kings of Kauffman tells us why we should be excited about him as a whole

The White Sox, (yes really), are in first place in the AL Central after beating the Braves again last night

The Giants hit a walk off grand slam yesterday, and it was cool in a couple of different ways

Shohei Ohtani had a rough night in Pittsburgh last night

The New York Knicks overcame the largest deficit in NBA Finals history to go up 3-1 over the San Antonio Spurs

Patrick Mahomes becomes first half a billion-dollar NFL player

The Brendan Sorsby saga continues, here is a complete timeline of the events

Grand Ole Opry icon Bill Cody dies at 67

Today’s song of the day is Viva La Vida by Coldplay

Today’s Reflections

Today’s Reflections have no one to reflect positively on. I mean, PCA won NLPlayer Of The Week, but even he doesn’t want to talk about it (below). So the players listed in the title are SOME of the problem guys mentioned in the articles below.

The story below about Nico Hoerner’s problems is very interesting, with graphs and stuff. Some people drool in happiness when they see graphs; I just think, “Just tell me what it says.” But this time, I’m going to give this a re-read because it was so well presented and informative. Or at least, a very intriguing viewpoint of his situation.

That’s really all I got, other than the news of Matthew Boyd’s setback that dug the Cubs’ hole a little deeper.

Now, I didn’t jinx the Cubs! But I think it was early May when things were really rolling, I thought, “This is a lonnnggg season. Hurry up and get to the playoffs!” A month later, it’s, “The Cubs’ season is almost over.”

Gotta keep playing.

Before the links, a bit of news (Bluesky link):

Reports from Tuesday’s game:

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Cubs {$}): Chicago Cubs put in a big hole early by Colin Rea in 7-3 loss to Colorado Rockies: ‘We just didn’t do enough’. “Tuesday night’s performance certainly failed to deliver an inspiring performance or suggest a turnaround is on the horizon.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs take accountability for slump, but bats stay cold against Rockies. “Pete Crow-Armstrong was not in much of a mood to talk about any personal accolades sent his way on Tuesday afternoon — not when the Cubs as a team are trying to pull out of a persistent cold spell.”

Trade Talk:

• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs trade deadline plans have major Alex Bregman, Ian Happ problem. “….. the Cubs’ offense has three of the worst eight batters in RBIs below expectation, with Happ at minus-8.8, along with the two worst in MLB, with Seiya Suzuki at minus-12.7, and Bregman at minus-13.2. Those marks are a good example of the issue plaguing the Cubs right now, and it’s not only their starting rotation.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Jameson Taillon injury update could lead to shocking end to Cubs’ tenure. “Even if the Cubs aren’t a defined seller, if the rest of the pitching staff is in better shape by then, there’s an argument to make that trading Taillon would still be one of the better moves Jed Hoyer can make this summer.”
• Nick Halden (Da Windy City): Cubs should consider calling Braves to solve Dansby Swanson woes. “Atlanta may be one of the few teams capable of taking on Swanson’s contract if Chicago decides to move on.”
• Matt Johnson (Sportsnaut): 4 Trades to Help Rebuild the San Francisco Giants This Summer. “Robbie Ray Traded to Chicago Cubs.”
• Zachary Draves (Clutch Points): Cubs rumors: Farm system collapse could lead to trade of once-promising young star. “The Chicago Cubs may be poised to trade away Matt Shaw as the farm system collapses beneath them and amid underutilization.”

Assorted activity, chatter and complaints:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Nico Hoerner Has to Get Earlier Again. “It’s been a long, horrid stretch for the Cubs’ newly-minted long-term second baseman. To snap out of this funk, he has to stop settling for solid contact.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Sore shoulder sparks Cubs to ‘back off’ Matthew Boyd’s IL return, Javier Assad likely starter this weekend. “The team’s Opening Day starter won’t make his comeback from knee surgery this weekend after experiencing shoulder soreness during a recent bullpen session, yet another injury-related woe for the Cubs’ rotation.”
• Zachary Draves (Clutch Points): Cubs disappointing season gets even worse with White Sox reality. “The struggles of the Chicago Cubs are very real, compared to that of the White Sox, who are surprisingly strong.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): How Ben Brown Got Hitters Off the Barrel. “Last season, Ben Brown gave up too much hard contact and way too many home runs. He remade himself this winter, and now, he’s not just a bat-misser. He also limits damage.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Understand Job Requirements, Just Can’t Get Work Done. “If the Cubs have a sign tracking the days since their last workplace accident, it hasn’t gotten past two in over a month.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Struggles of Cubs’ offseason additions a major reason for their spiral. “Fans have been begging the team for years to be aggressive and complete a full offseason. But 65 games into the campaign, what looked like the Cubs’ desired path for the winter has not turned into success on the field.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Shaw Activated, Alcántara Optioned, Taillon to IL, Roberts Recalled. A lot of movement on the Northside.
• Zachary Cariola (Yardbarker): Matt Shaw’s return to the Cubs couldn’t come at a better time. “The Cubs could potentially use Matt Shaw at third base with Alex Bregman struggling.”
• Randy Holt (North Side Baseball): Cubs’ Recent Struggles Have Done Real Damage to Playoff Hopes. “It probably doesn’t come as a shock given the magnitude of their recent woes, but even in early June, the Cubs’ stumbling has their playoff positioning looking quite grim.”
• Jeff Vorva (Chicago Tribune {$}): 3 takeaways from the Chicago Cubs’ homestand, including Alex Bregman’s self-critique: ‘I’ve been terrible’. “Ryan Rolison is on a roll.”
• Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): Charting Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Evolution with the Cubs. “Pete Crow-Armstrong is still growing as a player, but he’s proving the Cubs right for their decision to extend him.”

Food For Thought:

Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, he has recorded albums for several major record labels and singles that have reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Country Songs charts.

Four of his albums have been number one on the blues chart, and another reached number two. McClinton has earned four Grammy Awards – 1992 Rock Performance by a Duo with Bonnie Raitt for “Good Man, Good Woman”, 2002 Contemporary Blues Album for Nothing Personal, 2006 Best Contemporary Blues Album for Cost of Living, and 2020 Best Traditional Blues Album for Tall, Dark, & Handsome.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides, Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) – PPD

Rain postponed the Wednesday night matchup at Harbor Park. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.

Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 10, Chesapeake Baysox 3

The Baysox got beat down by the Curve on Wednesday in Altoona. It was a quiet night for the affiliate’s offense, scoring all three of their runs in the seventh inning.

Tavian Josenberger was responsible for two-thirds of Chesapeake’s runs. He hit a two-run bomb in the seventh inning, his sixth homer of the season. Johnny Tincher had the other RBI, driving in Douglas Hodo III earlier in the seventh. Griff O’Ferrall had a nice game, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Ethan Anderson had a single and a walk.

Four pitchers made their way to the mound for the Baysox. Sebastian Gongora was the starter, and he got ambushed out of the gate, allowing three runs in the first inning. The righty settled in a bit from there, but lasted just four innings and gave up four runs on five hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. Jeisson Cabrera worked a scoreless fifth inning. Ben Vespi coughed up one run across his two frames. And then Daniel Lloyd had a tough outing, serving up five runs in just one inning of work.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 7, Frederick Keys 2

It’s tough to win a game when your lineup goes 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaves 10 runners on base. The Keys learned that in their 7-2 loss to the Cyclones on Wednesday night in Brooklyn.

Wehiwa Aloy and Ike Irish had one RBI each. Aloy homered and struck out four times. Irish doubled and walked once. Vance Honeycutt went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Elis Cuevas tripled for the second time this year, and had three strikeouts. As a team the Keys were punched out 14 times.

Kiefer Lord worked 3.1 innings a a starter, which included a brutal second inning that saw him allow five runs. only three of them were earned because of two errors in the inning by the Frederick defense. Honeycutt and Yasmil Bucce were both charged with throwing errors. Carson Dorsey was charged with the other two runs during his three innings of work. Ryan Cabarcas and Raimon Gomez combined to record five other outs in the game without allowing any runs.

Low-A: Columbia Fireflies (Royals) 8, Delmarva Shorebirds 5

The winless day on the farm was completed when the Shorebirds fell into a 6-1 hole that a late-inning rally was unable to make up for.

Anytime the Shorebirds were on defense, it was a nightmare. The team made four errors, which limited the number of earned runs charged to their pitchers from eight down to six. Even still, allowing six runs in nine innings isn’t good either! Starter Brayan Orrantia tossed four innings and allowed three runs (two earned) while striking out six and walking three. J.D. Hennen was first out of the ‘pen. He recorded three outs and allowed three runs. Kailen Hamson worked the final three innings and gave up two runs (one earned), striking out four in the process.

Delmarva smacked three home runs in this game. Raylin Ramos hit two of them, both solo shots. Andrés Nolaya hit the other (along with a double) as part of his 3-for-4 game. Braylon Whitaker had three hits out of the lead-off spot, scoring once and driving in one run.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: vs Memphis, Game 1, 12:05. Starter: Trace Bright (0-4, 6.75 ERA)

Norfolk: vs Memphis, Game 2, TBD. Starter: TBD

Chesapeake: at Altoona, 6:00 pm. Starter: Luis De León (1-5, 6.80 ERA)

Frederick: at Brooklyn, 6:40 pm. Starter: Caden Hunter (0-0, 3.24 ERA)

Delmarva: at Columbia, 7:05 pm. Starter: Stephen Still (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

Monday night’s offensive slugfest with the Athletics in Las Vegas was nothing short of wild. From Kyle Harrison’s random blowup, where the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning got taken for a ride, to the 15 overturned pitch challenges, or maybe the fact that despite giving up 14 runs as a pitching staff, the Brewers (who lead all of baseball in strikeouts as a team) still managed to strike out 20 hitters in a 12-inning affair.

If you’re a baseball nerd like myself, you love stats. Specifically, you love records and learning about where they compare to other memorable offensive shootouts or pitching dominations. Monday night’s game didn’t even crack some of the top offensive games in recent years, or even all-time as a franchise, but it sure did feel like it. With that, let’s take a look at some of the weirdest, fun, and most memorable games.

August 28, 1992 – Brewers 22, Blue Jays 2 (Box Score)

The most runs scored by the Milwaukee Brewers ever. With about a month left in the 1992 season, the Brewers were 4.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East division standings. The visiting Brewers went into Toronto and had an offensive explosion that hadn’t been seen in two years (when they scored 20 against the California Angels). In their 20-run victory, the Brewers’ eight and nine hole hitters, Kevin Seitzer and Scott Fletcher, both had five hits apiece, not to mention two other players with four hits in a game that featured 31 hits. That 31-hit outburst also set the mark for most hits in a game franchise history.

August 17, 2019 – Brewers 15, Nationals 14 (Box Score)

If you watched the game on Monday night, you most likely heard Jeff Levering and Tim Dillard reference this game a couple of times, for good reason, too. If you thought the 12-inning, 4:14 affair was long (definitely didn’t help with them playing on the West Coast), then let’s remind you of the old times. No, not that old — just before the pitch clock or the extra-inning runner rule was implemented, or even the designated hitter in the National League.

The Crew traveled to the nation’s capital and played a 14-inning, 5:40 game. This game was special for a couple of different reasons; not only was it the longest game ever played by the Brewers in this era, but it was also the most home runs hit by the team in a game (seven), which tied a record that was set by the 1980 squad. In their slugfest with the Nationals, former MVPs Ryan Braun and Christian Yelich had a multi-home run game with two apiece. Trent Grisham, Mike Moustakas, and Eric Thames also homered.

May 8, 1984 – White Sox 7, Brewers 6 (Box Score)

Sticking with the topic of the longest games in Brewers history, this game probably takes the title of craziest game in franchise history, and arguably, MLB history. We’ve heard the stories from Bill Schroeder over time, but it’s still one of those you’re shocked it happened. And quite frankly, the box score is one of my favorites to look back on.

A 25-inning game that took eight hours (across two days) and had two Brewers’ blown leads. Somehow, the Brewers only burned six pitchers in this game, which is fewer than they used in the game on Monday, and in way fewer innings. It featured four players getting at least 10 at-bats and all but three guys getting a base hit. There are a lot of zeros to be shown on the line score, but what I think is the most frustrating part of it all is that the Brewers had a two-run lead on two separate occasions and blew them both times. Most shockingly, a two-run lead was headed into the bottom of the ninth inning with Rollie Fingers as the closer. This game is one of those moments you wish social media was around for to see the reactions of both fan bases.

May 22, 2000 – Brewers 10, Astros 9 (Box Score)

It was the final year of baseball being played in County Stadium, and it featured the largest comeback in the ninth inning in franchise history. According to Baseball Reference, the Brewers had a 0.13% chance to win the game entering the final inning. But as Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” And that was truly how this game was summed up.

Entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the Crew were down 9-2 before the first seven batters of the inning reached base, bringing the score to 9-6 before recording their first out. Actually, their first two outs, seeing as how it was back-to-back strikeouts from James Mouton and Ronnie Belliard. But the party didn’t end there; the same three guys who began the inning kept it alive to force extra innings. After a scoreless top of the 10th inning, José Hernández walked it off with a home run to left field.

April 28, 2004 – Brewers 10, Reds 9 (Box Score)

Wrapping up our discussion of some of the wildest, jaw-dropping games in Brewers history, let’s end on the biggest comeback win in franchise history. This one’s a bit different, because the Crew found themselves down 9-0 at the top of the fourth inning, and used the whole rest of the game to complete their comeback.

Following an abysmal start from Matt Kinney and a relief appearance from Adrián Hernández, the pitching staff held its part of the bargain for the remaining six innings by allowing no runs on just two hits. Then, the offense broke into the scoring column with an RBI base hit from Lyle Overbay. After slowly chipping away at their deficit and bringing the game’s score to 9-6, Bill Hall came through, for just the first of two times that day, with a bases-clearing double that tied the game at 9-9. Later in the bottom of the 10th inning, he dropped a walk-off sacrifice bunt to win the game for the Brewers.

It’s only fitting that Pat Murphy wants his team to have the mindset of a woodpecker, because, to be honest, that’s just how the Brewers have been throughout time, despite maybe not being as consistent as they are today.

The Cleveland Guardians were swept by the New York Yankees at home yesterday. Nick has the recap of the frustrating loss. With said loss, the Chicago White Sox have taken first place of the AL Central. The Guards are off today and welcome the Detroit Tigers to Cleveland in a three game weekend series.

Quincy wrote about the state of this team this month. He highlighted a fact that many Guardians fans are keeping an eye on. The notable absence of Cooper Ingle and Kahlil Watson from the Clippers line up yesterday.

Instinct tells me we’re being unrealistic in expect either to get called up, but I’m choosing to continue to hope that the moves the front office has made thus far is a regularity, not a blip.

Luke Hill continues to garner the attention of MLB, being named Cleveland’s top performer from last year’s draft.

Around the League (and Beyond)

Max Scherzer recorded his 3500th career strike out.

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League kicked off its second season this week. MLB released a FAQ about the AUSL. The league can be watched on MLB.tv, ESPN, and MLB Network.

The Athletic recently compared Injured List stints of all MLB organizations since 2024, and the Rockies placement shocked me: They have had a total of 10,906 days lost to the IL throughout the entire organization in that span.

This seemingly huge number ranked them . . . seventh fewest in the league.

That’s counting the bulk of the rehab for the rash of Rockies pitchers needing Tommy John surgery in 2023, the lost 2024 of Nolan Jones and Jordan Beck, the significant time Ezequiel Tovar and Thairo Estrada lost in 2025, and Kris Bryant as a whole, of course. All that and yet the Rockies still fared remarkably well compared to most of the league.

That trend of comparatively few injuries, however, has not continued into this year.

In 2025, the Rockies had a total of 26 major league injured list stints. So far, roughly a third of the way into the 2026 season they already have 22.

At the start of play on Wednesday, the Rockies are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the league lead in players on the Major League injured list with 14. I guess it’s just nice to be tied with the Dodgers in something.

Digging deeper than that and looking at the organization as a whole, however, shows that the injury trend extends beyond the major-league club.

Of the 285 players in the Rockies organization, currently 54 of them are on the injured list. That means almost one-fifth of the entire organization’s entire player populace that is unavailable right now.

With publicly available information, it is impossible to forecast with an accuracy the total number of games these players will miss. But with some rough napkin math, it’s obvious that the Rockies will be much further up the games missed leaderboard this season than they have been the past couple.

Not all injuries impact teams equally. The New York Yankees losing Aaron Judge for an extended period of time will remove more total wins above replacement from their season than the Rockies losing Victor Vodnik for a few weeks. The players the Rockies are currently missing are, however, some of their best players, even if they aren’t household names around the league.

• Chase Dollander is generally considered the pitcher with highest ceiling in the entire organization, and he appeared to have turned a corner against major-league hitting to start the season.
• Mickey Moniak had been putting together a potentially all-star start to the season and was arguably the Rockies biggest trade chip this year.
• Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP) is has the most star potential of any player in the organization and was in the midst of a strong start to what would have been his first full season in professional baseball.

There are more injured players, but you get the point: Losing players to injury impacts both the short- and long-term future of the organization even in a season in which there are no real expectations to win.

The only solace that can be taken from this uptick in players getting hurt comes from taking another look at the research done in the The Athletic article that started this us down this rabbit hole.

Since 2024, six of the ten teams that lost the most MLB days to the IL have made the playoffs at least once in that time. Meanwhile, among the teams that had the fewest days missed are the Rockies and other recent poor-performing teams such, as the Los Angeles Angles, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Nationals.

This is not to say, that teams should be trying to have more injuries, just that the correlation between success and injuries is not simple.

For instance, there has been speculation in recent years that the Dodgers, and the Tampa Bay Rays before them, have specifically targeted pitcher archetypes that they believe have high injury risks and have pushed for higher velocity and spin in ways that they believe lead to more arm injuries. While I’m sure no executive would be willing to go on the record admitting to it, the crux of the argument is that because they have the resources and development acumen to assemble enough depth to cover for injuries, they are less averse to taking on the risk of high-performing characteristics that may also increase arm strain.

With the Rockies front office turnover this offseason, it’s fair to wonder whether this recent uptick in injuries could be tied to that changing of the guard.

Even if there is not some concerted effort towards more risky behavior, it’s possible that an uptick in injuries is a downstream effect of some innocuous process changes. Another possibility is that the new personnel are more aggressive with monitoring for injuries and officially utilizing the injured list in a way that the previous regime may have just unofficially benched players.

In a game fueled by numbers, it is tantalizing to try and ascribe meaning to them. It is natural to look at trends and formulate an explanation. When zooming in closer to the context of the individual events that those numbers and trends are collating, however, it is sometimes hard to reconcile those big-picture theories with the messiness of the small data.

Mickey Moniak landing awkwardly when making a catch against the outfield wall and hurting his ankle isn’t a the result of any process change. Tyler Freeman getting hit in the head by a fastball certainly wasn’t anything but awful luck.

The signal of an injury spike is messy and complicated both in its potential causes as well as its ramifications for the team. If the recent uptick in Rockies players getting hurt becomes a years-long trend, then we can responsibly try and find a cause. For now, we’re best off just taking the news of each injury in on its own merits and hoping for the best.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Tacoma Rainiers 11, Albuquerque 1

The Albuquerque Isotopes struggled to get anything going against the Rainiers (SEA) after the first inning tonight. 2B Vimael Machín singled to score Drew Avans with two outs, and that was it. The Topes were limited to five hits and struck out 11 times. Five players had one hit, but none had more than one. DH Kyle McCann went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

Pitching wise, Valente Bellozo threw three innings and gave up seven runs, all earned, on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He also gave up two home runs — a two-run show in the first and a three-run shot in the third. He took the loss, and is 0-6 with an 8.83 ERA on the season. Evan Shawver gave up another run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in three innings. Jimmy Herget made his first rehab appearance, and gave up two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in 0.2 innings. Both runs came on a two-run homer by Hogan Windish in the seventh inning. And TJ Shook made his first appearance since being optioned, pitching the final 1.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Double-A: The Yard Goats had a double header last night!

• Game 1: Hartford Yard Goats 4, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3 (F/7)
  • In Game 1 of the doubleheader, the Yard Goats came out on top. New Hampshire (TOR) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when catcher Aaron Parker hit a two-run homer, but the Yard Goats chipped away with one run in the third and then tacked on three in the sixth. The Fisher Cats scored again in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough.
  • Dyan Jorge hit a sac fly in the third to score the single run. In the sixth, things got going with a Zach Kokoska RBI groundout, then Benny Montgomery doubled to score Bryant Betancourt and Cole Messina (No. 26 PuRP). All three runs were charged to Konner Eaton (No. 28 PuRP), who came out on top after throwing 6.1 innings and allowing just two hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
• Game 2: New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Hartford Yard Goats 5 (F/7)
  • The Yard Goats weren’t as lucky in the second game, as they gave up taco’s. New Hampshire put up a four spot in the third — one run on an RBI single by Jay Harry, and the other three on a three-run homer by Victor Arias. Eddie Micheletti hit a two-run homer in the sixth to run up the score 6-0, but then Cole Messina doubled to score the Goats’ first run. Jose Torres then singled to score Jimmy Obertop and Messina, which cut the score in half. In the fifth, Jackson Hornung singled to score Arias, which was the final score for the Cats. Messina hit a two-RBI single in the sixth, but it wasn’t quite enough and the Goats fell 7-5.
  • Pitching wise, Davison Palermo took the brunt of it. He pitched three innings, allowing four runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Cade Denton came in next, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in two innings. Fidel Ulloa finished with a scoreless inning with a strikeout.

High-A:Spokane Indians 10, Eugene Emeralds 9

It was a back-and-forth affair in Spokane, but the Indians trounced the Emeralds (SF) 10-9. Spokane struck first when Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) homered. But then Zander Darby singled to tie things in the bottom of the second. Eugene scored again in the fourth and fifth, but then Kevin Fitzer hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put the Indians back on top. Lisbel Díaz homered to put Eugene up 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, and then Roynier Hernandez singled to tie things up in the seventh. Jack O’Dowd then followed that up with a three-run homer to blow it open 8-5, but then Jakob Christian hit a grand slam to put Eugene up again 9-8. In the eighth, Kelvin Hidalgo doubled to score Juan Castillo and tie it at 9, but then Tommy Hopfe singled to score Hidalgo and end the game.

Austin Strickland took the brunt of it on the pitching side, giving up six runs on seven hits with one strikeout in just two innings of work. But starter Niko Mazza gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits with six strikeouts in his 5.1 innings of work.

Low-A:Visalia Rawhide 5, Fresno Grizzlies 1

Visalia (AZ) jumped out to an early lead in the first three innings and never yielded. Carlos Virahonda homered in the first to put them up 2-0. In the second, JD Dix hit an RBI groundout and then Virahonda was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to put the Rawhide up 4-0. In the third, Pedro Blanco homered.

The Grizzlies scored just once in the fourth, when Roldy Brito (No 11 PuRP) grounded out to score Cameron Nelson.

Grizzlies’ starter Austin Nelson threw just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits with four walks and a strikeout. Bryson Van Sickle threw 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out four. And Jhon Medina allowed just one hit over two innings with a walk and two strikeouts.

Cole Carrigg triples in big league debut with Colorado – “He plays with his hair on fire” | Just Baseball

The most exciting Rockies related news this week has obviously been the call up of No. 4 PuRP Cole Carrigg. On Purple Row, Renee Dechert wrote up excerpts from Carrigg’s pre-debut media availability yesterday and Patrick Lyons follows that up with this piece in which he dives into Carrigg’s debut and the adjustments the team had him working on in the minors before the call up.

Rockies’ latest transactions have low-risk, but perhaps not high reward | SI.com

The Rockies made a couple of very low profile moves on Monday in order to increase depth at the minor league level. Matt Postins takes a look at the Rockies newest farmhands and digs into what they can reasonably be expected to provide moving forward.

Do catchers challenge well where they frame well? | FanGraphs

Davy Andrews looked into the connection between locations that catchers are able to frame pitches well and the locations that catchers have had ABS challenge success on. The basic conclusion is that there is potentially an inverse relationship between the zones where a catcher is better at framing vs challenging. It’s a quick, interesting read that I mostly call out because it sheds light on the fact that Hunter Goodman does his best pitch framing at the top and arm sides of the zone.

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