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PHILADELPHIA — When Brandon Marsh jogged back to left field at Citizens Bank Park in the second inning of this past Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he wasn’t just met with applause for his home run the inning before.

Fans greeted him with a vinyl banner reading "Marsh To The Polls," with several supporters sporting beards to match his own.

It marked the official start of the Phillies' final campaign push to send Marsh to the Midsummer Classic at The Bank on July 14, something he told USA TODAY Sports before the game he wasn’t letting himself think too much about.

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That doesn’t mean the All‑Star Game isn’t on his mind.

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about the All-Star Game," Marsh said. "But I try my best not to and enjoy the present."

Marsh's rise from a platoon outfielder to one of the Phillies' most consistent bats is one of this season’s great storylines.

The whole city is behind MARSHY! ⭐

🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhFpic.twitter.com/aEmeQlfZRN

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 29, 2026

He opened the year hitting .295 in April — a far cry from the .095 he posted through his first 17 games last season — and strung together a 13‑game hit streak from April 28 to May 12. He followed his strong month of April with a .333 average in May. That dipped only slightly to .315 in June.

Factor in that he’s tracking toward his first All‑Star nod, and the arc becomes even more impressive.

“It’s been a different season for sure, having to adjust with the body and having to adjust with playing every day,” Marsh said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Just enjoying the ride.”

To reach this point — where he’s sitting among MLB’s top 10 leaders in batting average — Marsh has ridden out his share of turbulence. Dealt from the Los Angeles Angels at the 2022 trade deadline for top catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe, Marsh was seen as an everyday outfielder for both the present and the future. But he sat against lefties to lose starting opportunities and has mustered only two total hits across the last two postseasons, so the potential never fully materialized until now.

His path, once that of the Angels’ former No. 1 prospect, simply developed on a slower burn. It took time, and now the moment has arrived. Inside the Phillies clubhouse, his 2026 breakout hasn’t surprised anyone.

It's a 3-hit night for Brandon Marsh 👏

🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhFpic.twitter.com/q9hxVC84mQ

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 14, 2026

"He’s always been a good player," Phillies shortstop Trea Turner told USA TODAY Sports in May. "... Other people are starting to recognize him and deserve to do so."

Marsh said his breakout season stems more from a different approach and finding consistency, both with his pregame routine and playing time, than from any physical changes he made in the offseason.

To build his pregame consistency as an everyday player, Marsh has zeroed in on how veterans like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Turner attack their work and how “stubborn” they are about sticking to their routines. He also mentioned he’s trying to keep his own routine simple, hoping that simplicity creates steady production. 

"May not be true, but if you think that way, I feel like it’ll help," Marsh said.

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Marsh finally got that consistent, everyday run when Don Mattingly took over as interim manager on April 28 after the Phillies’ 9-19 start under Rob Thomson. Since then, he’s hit .329, forcing Mattingly’s hand by penciling his name into the lineup every day, including some games at cleanup. 

"It’s definitely helped just with staying in the flow of the game" Marsh said of the consistency he’s received from Mattingly. "Because pinch hitting is one of the hardest things to do in this game. It’s harder than playing every single day. … So there's something to the consistency that Donnie's been giving me and I'm super thankful."

Mattingly said he’s always believed Marsh had a good swing, and even conceded after the Phillies’ April 30 win over the Giants that when he was the manager of the Miami Marlins, the Marlins tried multiple times to trade for Marsh. 

"He’s always been, for me, a good hitter. Been able to see this guy really young and probably just building confidence over time," Mattingly said in May when asked by USA TODAY Sports what he’s seen from Marsh. "Better game planner now (too), it sounds like. Knows what he wants to do with every guy (he’s facing)."

BRANDON MARSH HOMERS FOR THE THIRD DAY IN A ROW!

🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhFpic.twitter.com/njUInYKqrg

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 7, 2026

One contributing reason to Marsh’s platoon role under Thomson was his inability to hit against left-handed pitching. He’d either come off the bench as a defensive change late in the game once the opposing team’s left-handed starter was removed, or not play at all. 

Last season, Marsh hit .197 against left-handed pitching. He’s hitting .259 against southpaws this season. 

"You always knew he had it just by looking at his numbers based off right-handed pitching," Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said. "Now he’s getting his chance and probably one of the best hitters in the league. It’s been really fun to watch him."

In just the last week, Marsh has delivered in big moments. In the Phillies’ dramatic 14-9 come-from-behind win over the Washington Nationals on June 23, Marsh crushed a game-tying, two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

BIG TIME BIG DAWG

🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhFpic.twitter.com/TDumesAxch

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 24, 2026

Through the Phillies' first 88 games, Marsh leads the team with a .315 batting average and 97 hits while he’s third in home runs, only trailing Schwarber and Harper, who have combined for 50 home runs themselves. 

Marsh’s .315 batting average is good for the seventh-best among MLB hitters. He’s already surpassed his RBI total from last season, as he has driven in 46 runs thus far in the first half. 

"He’s always asking questions, always wanting to get better. He’s putting it together," Harper said to USA TODAY Sports in May. "But he’s also taking his hits, (which) I think that’s huge also. He hits the ball both ways from left-center to right-center."

Former Phillies shortstop and manager Larry Bowa believes a big part of Marsh’s success at the plate comes from not being as hard on himself as he used to be.

"Sometimes he used to worry about his previous at bat, what he did or didn’t do. He’s finding a way now, whether you get a hit or whether you make an out, it’s a different at bat," Bowa told USA TODAY Sports. “Once you get into that mindset, the game’s never going to be easy, but you can relax a little bit."

Marsh agreed with Bowa and pushed it further. He said he’s made it a point this season not to sulk or dwell on past at‑bats, something that he’s struggled with in the past, especially once he came up to The Show after his success in the minors in the Angels’ organization. 

"Learning how to honestly laugh at yourself a little bit without making a fool out of yourself,” Marsh said. “But (also) don’t be so hard on yourself because it’s already such a hard thing. It’s a game of almost impossible odds stacked against you as a hitter … Just have to know you’re going to fail."

He goes into the Phillies’ upcoming nine-game road trip to close out the first half of the season with 18 hits and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games to go along with six home runs, three of which came in the Pirates series. 

AN ALL-STAR SWING!

🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhFpic.twitter.com/NyPuzazDQv

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 1, 2026

For all the success at the plate this season thus far, Marsh said it’s made him appreciate the work that it took to get here "a lot more."

"It makes me respect the guys that show up and step in the box or toe the rubber every single day. I now know how physically taxing it can be, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I love everything that comes with it," Marsh said. 

Marsh ranked third among NL outfielders in Phase 1 of All‑Star voting with 668,191 votes, trailing only the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (800,496) and the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (693,472).

He’ll find out Saturday whether he’s been elected a starter for Dave Roberts’ NL squad. Starter or not, Marsh has more than earned the right to be considered for the Midsummer Classic, even if he’s too modest to say so himself.

“As a kid growing up, it's what everyone wants to be a part of, other than winning a World Series. Getting an All Star nod is pretty freakin cool,” Marsh said. “Hopefully this year I get to check it off of a bucket list. … It would mean the world, especially here in Philly playing for Philly.

“I'm getting chills right now thinking about it."

Happy Fourth of July! Or: Happy 43rd anniversary of Dave Righetti no-hitting the Red Sox at the old Yankee Stadium during another disgustingly hot day! And thank you to Rags for always giving us memories of that highlight every time Independence Day comes around.

There probably won’t be similar no-hit theatrics today, as the Yankees had to reach into the Triple-A cupboard to tap Brendan Beck for his second career appearance today with Carlos Rodón hitting the IL. On the bright side, Beck at least won’t have the pressure of snapping a losing streak, as the Yanks thankfully already did that last night by beating the Twins, 5-2. The seven-game skid is no more! So how about making it two wins in a row?

Today on the site, Nick will consider the rebuilding (but new-look) Rockies as a potential trade partner, Madison will run through the Rivalry Roundup, Jeff will celebrate what would have been the 88th birthday of our recently-departed dear friend John Sterling, and Josh will muse on how sports make us feel, particularly when our preferred team is playing such an ugly brand of baseball that it’s not even entertaining in a gallows humor-esque fashion.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Twins.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. How long do you think rookie Brendan Beck will pitch today? (The Yankees have confirmed that he will start.)

2. Do you have any fun July 4th barbecue plans?

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: By now you’ve heard that the team took another IL hit yesterday, with lefty Carlos Rodón will spend some time away from the team with elbow inflammation. The worst-case was avoided because his UCL his still intact, but this remains tough news. Although it doesn’t seem at this time that the Yankees are overly concerned, every missed game by the projected starters means someone not quite as good has to take over. The word is that Brendan Beck will come up for his second cameo of the season and get the start.

In other news on injured pitchers named Carlos, the Yankees formally announced Triple-A righty Carlos Lagrange’s injury. He has a “capsular sprain of the right shoulder” and won’t throw for six weeks. This is just us speculating now, but best guess is that in the most ideal scenario, he plays a big-league role when rosters expand in September. But we’ll see; shoulder woes can be very tricky and the safest course of action is probably to expect nothing beyond very faint hopes.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Cody Bellinger was an essential part of the three-headed dragon in the Yankee lineup to start the year, turning the team into an offensive force behind Ben Rice and Aaron Judge. However, as the Captain has gone down, Bellinger’s production has also trended downward, managing just a .357 OPS over the past two weeks. His comments to the Daily News, roughly summed up as “it f*****g sucks”, which, agreed, does seem to point to an overall frustration within the clubhouse that the team can’t seem to turn things around. The do get the Twins at home this weekend though, and a big series from Bellinger would go a long way to starting a run that doesn’t “f*****g suck”.

NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Without Aaron Judge it really does feel like the Yankees are looking around the room at each other waiting for someone else to grab the ball and run with it. With Cam Schlittler looking so vulnerable against the Tigers this week, maybe that guy is going to be Gerrit Cole. The veteran has had an up-and-down run as he’s returned from Tommy John surgery, but the respect he commands in the clubhouse and the track record he’s put up in MLB might just make him the pseudo-Captain it seems the team might need. Cole went last night against Minnesota; hopefully the comment section of this post will receive that positively.

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Alright, let’s end with something positive. FanGraphs has some tweaks to their teamwide-defense models, and a quick way to see if a model is valid is to see who the best are in a given metric. Here, the Dodgers and Cubs find themselves at the top of the table, and that makes sense to me. Fortunately, FanGraphs also ranks the Yankees as one of the top ten defenses in the game, which is not something you might guess based on the eye test of the team. Finally, something goes a little bit right.

As the legendary football coach Bear Bryant once said, “Defense wins championships,” and without it, the Milwaukee Brewers don’t take game one against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Crew takes care of business in an 11-inning affair by a score of 7-4.

Often known for his defensive abilities, Garrett Mitchell used his bat to sneak one over the center field wall to give the Brewers an early 2-0 lead. An inning later, Jake Bauers added another run to their tally with a base hit to right field to make it 3-0. It was nearly 4-0 before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took away another home run from Mitchell, holding the game at bay.

Later in the bottom half of the third, the Diamondbacks found themselves with bases loaded, two outs, and down to their final strike of the inning; with a chance to cut into the Brewers’ lead, Nolan Arenado ripped a double into left field to clear the bases, tying the game at 3-3, putting an end to Kyle Harrison’s night as well.

The Brewers’ starting rotation has seen a slight decrease in productivity, specifically from their top two arms over their last couple of outings. Tonight, it was Harrison who struggled, not making it out of the third inning. He completed his evening with 2.2 innings pitched, striking out three, while allowing three runs to score on five hits and a walk. His main issue outside of the runs scoring was his pitch count, as he threw 72 pitches on the night.

Brewers quickly responded on offense by forcing the Diamondbacks to pull their starting pitcher after 3.1 innings. In Jose Cabrera’s third career start, he allowed three runs, three walks, and six hits while striking out three batters. It’s his second start in a row allowing multiple runs to score and his first time not making it into the fifth inning.

Looking at tonight’s overall issue for the Crew, it was clear: baserunning blunders followed by the inability to hit in the clutch. Overall on the night, the Crew stranded 12 runners on base, while going 3-for-18 at the plate with runners in scoring position.

The Bottom of the ninth inning is where we saw the leather on full display for the Brew Crew, saving the game in the long run. During the first at-bat of the inning with Trevor Megill on the mound, Max Kepler was robbed of extra bases with a nice leaping grab from Mitchell. Tommy Troy experienced frustration in his second at-bat as Joey Ortiz dove and caught a line drive that could’ve turned into extra bases as well.

Extra innings bit the Brewers in the rear earlier this week in their homestand finale against the Cubs as they stranded the tying and winning run on base. Those woes continued into tonight’s 10th inning, as Bauers struckout and Mitchell and Blake Perkins ended the inning with a ground out each.

With all the high-leverage arms used up entering the bottom of the 10th inning, Grant Anderson was on the mound to push it to the 11th inning. He intentionally walked Corbin Carroll before forcing Gabriel Moreno into a double play. Gurriel Jr. then popped out to Cooper Pratt, extending the ballgame another inning.

Late-night happy hour woke up the bats in the top of the 11th inning as a swinging bunt from Chourio forced a throwing error made by Ryan Thompson to allow the runners to score, giving the Brewers their first lead since the third inning. Brice Turang then cleared the bases with a two-RBI base hit to extend their lead to 7-3.

The Diamondbacks would only muster one run across the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning, allowing the Brewers to lock in their seventh extra-innings win on the season, improving to 54-32 overall on the season.

Game Summary

Full recap to post shortly. In the meantime, feel free to vent in the comments! Or go to bed.

Loss Probability and Box Score

Outside the Box Score

• Jose Cabrera led off the game with a 4 pitch walk of Christian Yelich with none of the pitches all that close. He then threw strikes in 8 of his next 11 pitches to retire the side without the leadoff walk advancing a base. Nice job by the young fella!
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is still playing effective defense out there. Like Gimli, he’s dangerous over short distances as he showed a great jump and tracking of the ball through a feet first slide to reach a sinking line drive in left field in the second inning.
• The Brewers 2-run home run in the second inning had go to crew chief review to confirm it was indeed a roundtripper. A fan at the edge of the home run porch in centerfield appeared to reach over the wall, but it wasn’t conclusive where the ball made contact with the fan so the call of home run on field stood and the D-backs were down 2-0.
• Jose Cabrera got an error on a poor throw on a pickoff attempt at first, making Vargas reach too far toward the sliding runner. The carom off Vargas’ outstretched glove resulted in a free 90 feet and a runner in scoring position for the Brewers with 1 out. Cabrera cleaned up his own mess though by getting a ꓘ (after falling behind 3-0 in the count!) and an easy fly out to end the inning.
• Lourdes Gurriel made another golden play in the outfield to save his young pitcher in the third. With 2 on and 1 run already in, Lourdes tracked a deep fly ball into the left field bleachers, timed his jump perfectly, and reached over the wall to make the catch and record a huge out! Definitely needed that play right there to take a 6-0 game and keep it at 3-0 instead!
• Ketel showed some nice hustle to get an infield single in the 3rd (though it would’ve been an incredible play if the Brewers were able to complete the 4-3 putout). That was followed by a strange at bat where Perdomo ended up striking out swinging on a ball way below the zone that would’ve been Ball 4. Fortunately Carroll and Gabi both singled (through Gabi Lane, of course!) and got the Diamondbacks on the board.
• Nolan Arenado’s bases loaded double in the third looked like a grand slam off the bat to me, but it hit off the base of the wall in left and had to settle for a game-tying, 2-run 2-bagger and it chased the Milwaukee starter from the game.
• Gerry Domo threw his name into the Play of the Game contender list with a superb defensive play to bail his team out of a jam in the 4th. With runners at 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, the infield came in and a ground ball was hit right at Gerry who was able to tag the runner going to 3rd and then throw to first to get the speedy Jackson Chourio to keep a run off the board!
• After the Diamondbacks had an inning-ending double play all but wrapped up to end the fifth inning, tomfoolery struck! A sharp ground ball right to Ildemaro at first started things into motion and Vargas stepped on first before executing short rundown and throw to Domo who was closing in on the runner going to second. Thinking he was a dead duck, he stopped and waited for the inevitable tag from Domo, but when Domo slapped the tag on, the ball squirted out of his glove and resulted in the runner advancing to second. Fortunately, Jonny Lasagna did the business and struck out the next batter to pick up his defense and get out of the inning. Another note from the play that didn’t get the replay love of the No Tag was Arenado’s perfect execution of a pickle, then a pickle-gone-wrong. When Gerry advances to make the tag, Arenado assumes the spot at second base but as soon as the play was botched and the ball went rolling toward right field, Arenado didn’t hesitate and started running to third as he knew that there was no one there covering. Excellent fundamental execution by the Master.
• After reaching first with a strong leadoff walk in the 7th, Tommy Troy took big leads to bait the lefty pitcher into throwing over a couple times. Once he got the move down, Troy bolted and stole second base easily to get himself into scoring position for Gerry and Corbin. Unfortunately, they did nothing with the opportunity.
• Brandyn Garcia got into a little trouble to start the 8th. After the first 2 runners reached, the pinch-hitter chopped it toward the hole between first and second and Vargas made a great stab to field the ball and throw to second for one out but Garcia was slow to cover first so they couldn’t complete the double play. The next batter bunted with the runner on third, but the bunt was too close to Gabi who pounced on it and threw to third to catch the retreating runner for the out. Awesome defense again for the Diamondbacks!
• The defense gets another shout out to start the 9th. A relatively routine grounder to second nearly turned into a 3 Stooges sketch. First Ildemaro started toward the grounder, realized he wouldn’t make the play so tried to turn back to 1st but instead just looked like he was running in quicksand and fell to the ground on his face. With all that happening in front of him, Ketel booted the ball. Fortunately, the carom was only a few feet away and he jumped on it and fired a missile to Paul Sewald, who seemed to be the only one able to do his job without error on this play. The ball reached Sewald’s glove right as his foot touched first base and right before Yelich’s foot touched the bag. A real blood pumping start to the 9th!
• Tommy Troy’s lineout in the 9th was the result of an outstanding diving play by the Brewers replacement third baseman. Unfortunate.
• Ketel Marte got a 2 out single to provide a glimmer of hope, then stole second base without the Brewers closer throwing a pitch! He got such a huge jump, by the time Megill turned around and tried to throw to second, Ketel had already reached second. Too bad Domo weakly grounded out to end the threat and send the game to extras.

Comment of the Game

The GameDay Thread was well attended, though maybe less than you’d expect for an 11 inning slog of a game. The GDT reached a final tally of 371 comments at time of publishing with COTG going to kiln born and Snake_Bitten for the appreciation of Gabi and his well worn path to right field:

Coming Up

The Diamondbacks face the Brew Crew for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow evening with a 6:40pm first pitch Arizona time. The veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 2.59 ERA) is listed as the probable starter for Milwaukee and Merrill Kelly (5-8, 5.84 ERA) will get the ball for the good guys on Independence Day.

Tonight’s game began with a raucous ceremonial first pitch from head coach Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Men’s National Team. Canada would own the rest of the night.

The first inning was the canary in the coal mine, as J.P. Crawford biffed yet another throw from the hot corner in the top half, and in the bottom half, Randy Arozarena blew both ABS challenges in just the Mariners’ second at-bat of the game. The saving grace was Luis Castillo, who looked like he might have another great night, hitting 97.8 in a strikeout of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and seeming to surprise himself with a little extra movement on his slider early on.

But the wheels came off in the third inning. The bottom of the Blue Jays’ order got things started with a leadoff single from rookie Sean Keys, who scored on an atypically well-struck double from Andrés Giménez (who I will always hate). I thought the Mariners might be alright when sentient red ass John Schneider demonstrated his strategic genius with a sac bunt in the third inning. Alas, Vladito got the ball in the air enough to get over the infielders to score a second run. Things were really stacking up when Kazuma Okamoto reached as well. But the damage was limited to those two runs when Colt Emerson came up with what I think was his first potentially game-saving play to get the Mariners out of it. Even if it wasn’t his first and didn’t end up saving the game, it was good enough to get him his first career Sun Hat Award in tonight’s weak field.

Two runs, yet I said the wheels came off? Well, yeah. This was one of those games that never felt as close as the score suggested. Luis Castillo, despite only giving up two runs on five hits while walking just one, was not his prime self. He gave up 12 hard-hit balls out of 21 balls in play and only induced with eight whiffs. The velocity mostly held, but the battery was too tempted by that apparent movement on the slider, which did not hold.

On the other side, Dylan Cease sliced, diced, and spiced the Mariners, eventually putting the whole offense on ice. He was still pumping 98 to strike out Colt Emerson in the sixth, and that wasn’t even his best pitch. He was moving all over the zone, with his four-seamer up, his changeup and curveball down, his sinker and changeup arm side, and his slider glove side. I know we’ve all been frustrated by the Mariners offense, but this was genuinely a master class. Cease’s seven innings felt hopeless. An inside-out swing from J.P. that dribbled down the line was the only real threat. Seattle had a better showing against Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland in relief, but more of the noble-effort variety. Víctor Robles drew a hard-won walk, and Emerson and Crawford worked full counts against Hoffman. Dominic Canzone took Louis Varland’s 99 mph to school. (A single counts as taking a pitcher to school tonight.)

On the one hand, it’s not the biggest deal in the world for the Mariners to lose a game where the Jays threw their Cy Young candidate and the Mariners had their starter who’s struggled the most this year. On the other hand, the Mariners have scored one run since Tuesday.

The Cubs released outfielder Chas McCormick.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs cracked the eggs of the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 5-4. The win was the 1,500th in manager Marty Pevey’s career.

Ty Blach started and got the win. Blach pitched five innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Blach walked four and struck out six.

Luis Peralta came on to get the save in the ninth and he gave up a solo home run to the first batter he faced. Then after one out, he hit a batter. But the final two batters went out meekly and Peralta got the save. He struck out two.

DH BJ Murray came a double shy of the cycle as he was 3 for 4 with a walk, a triple and a solo home run in the fourth inning. It was Murray’s 11th home run of the year. He had two total RBI and he scored twice.

Left fielder Brett Bateman went 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal. He added a needed insurance run in the top of the ninth with an RBI single.

Center fielder James Triantos was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

Murray’s home run. Murray leads the International League in batting average at .336 and is second in OBP at .433. He’s seventh in slugging.

Triantos’s single.

Bateman’s insurance RBI.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were extinguished by the Columbus Clingstones (Braves), 9-1.

Starter Dawson Netz allowed just two runs on four hits over five innings, but that was enough to give him the loss. Netz struck out four and walked no one.

First baseman Ariel Armas tripled in a run with one out in the bottom of the ninth to break up the shutout. Armas was 1 for 4.

Catcher Owen Ayers went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were losing 1-0 after one inning when the game was suspended because of rain. They’ll try to finish the game tomorrow.

Jaxon Wiggins pitched the first inning of this game on a rehab assignment.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans cracked open the Hickory Crawdads (Astros), 4-2.

Starter Daniel Avita gave the Birds five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. He struck out four, walked one and hit one batter as he picked up the win.

Hayden Frank threw the next three innings and gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out five.

Sam Mettert pitched the ninth inning and collected the save. He did give up one run one one hit and one walk. He did not strike anyone out.

Three of the Pelicans runs came on a home run by center fielder Alexey Lumpuy in the third inning. It was Lumpuy’s fifth home run on the year. He was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez was 3 for 4 with an RBI double in the fifth inning. Hernadez also scored a run and stole a base.

Highlights.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Diamondbacks, 10-7.

The Athletics opened a three-game interleague series against the Miami Marlins on Friday night in West Sacramento. They could not overcome a 6-0 first inning deficit, allowing five home runs in a 12-5 loss.

Perkins’ Horrible Start

The A’s got off to a bad start, as the Marlins scored six runs in the first inning against A’s starting pitcher Jack Perkins. The first three batters of the game singled to load the bases. Perkins then walked Marlins’ second baseman Xavier Edwards to bring home the first run of the game. A second run scored on Athletics’ catcher Shea Langeliers sixth passed ball of the season.

The Marlins were not done. Left fielder Heriberto Hernandez hit his ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot to center. With two outs, center fielder Jakob Marsee slugged his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.

In the bottom of the first, the A’s put two runners on via singles from first baseman Nick Kurtz and right fielder Lawrence Butler, but Miami’s starter Tyler Phillips escaped the one-out, two-on jam unscathed.

The Marlins added the extra point in the second, courtesy of Edwards’ sacrifice fly.

Big Amish!

Perkins pitched a scoreless third inning, striking out the side. The A’s offense responded in the bottom of that inning. Shortstop Alika Williams led off with a double and scored on first baseman Nick Kurtz’s 20th home run of the season, a 457-foot shot to center field.

A’s left-handed reliever Jose Suarez replaced Perkins with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning. Perkins allowed seven runs on seven hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings pitched, but he recorded eight strikeouts, showcasing his appealing stuff. Suarez stranded the bases loaded by getting Marlins’ right fielder Griffin Conine to hit a line drive to Kurtz, who made a nice run-saving catch.

A’s Comeback Continues

In the last of the fourth, the Athletics loaded the bases with zero outs. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Carlos Cortes singled before Phillips walked Henry Bolte. Jeff McNeil hit a bases-clearing double to the left-center gap, trimming the A’s deficit to two runs.

Key Turning Point

A few batters later, Miami replaced Phillips with right-handed reliever Michael Petersen. Phillips allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. Langeliers exited the game with a left thumb injury. Peterson retired pinch-hitter Jonah Heim and then Colby Thomas to end the bases-loaded threat and persevere Miami’s lead.

After striking out with the bases loaded and two outs, Thomas responded with a diving catch in left field, helping Suarez pitch a scoreless fifth inning.

Marlins Re-Take Momentum

In the fifth, Cortes and Bolte hit two straight singles with one out against Marlins reliever Tyler Zuber. The rally ended there as the A’s failed to capitalize on a runners-in-scoring-position opportunity for the second consecutive inning.

Trying to halt the A’s comeback, the Marlins increased their lead in the sixth inning. Facing A’s reliever Justin Sterner, first baseman Kyle Stowers hit a solo home run to right field, his ninth of the season.

Stowers was not done punishing A’s pitchers. He collected his fourth hit and second home run of the game with one out in the eighth inning, connecting off Athletics’ reliever Mason Barnett to extend Miami’s lead to 10-5. Marlins’ designated hitter Owen Caissie made it 12-5 with a two-run home run off Barnett in the ninth, his 11th of the season.

The Marlins bullpen held the A’s scoreless over the final three innings after the visitors hit three more home runs, securing the series-opening victory. The Athletics will try to even the series tomorrow night behind starter Aaron Civale, who is seeking his first victory since returning from the injured list. The Marlins will counter with right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who is 9-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 18 starts this season.

Blue Jays 2 Mariners 0

The bad news? We only scored 2 runs, which is pretty normal.

The good news? They didn’t score 2 runs.

We got both our runs in the third inning. Sean Keys started it with a single. Andrés Giménez doubled him home. John had Nathan Lukes bunt Giménez to third. IN THE THIRD INNING. When he was already in scoring position. Nathan Lukes, the one guy in the lineup who has been hitting (well, not the one guy, but hyperbola works when ranting). Vlad Guerrero singled Andrés home (he would have scored from second too). Kazuma Okamoto singled, but Daulton Varsho lined out and Alejandro Kirk ground out.

We only had six hits on the day (four of them in the third inning). Sean Keys had two hits. Lukes, Varsho, Kirk, and Ernie Clement had 0 fors.

It wasn’t a great offensive showing. Luis Castillo pitched a very good game.

Dylan Cease pitched a better game. Seven innings, just three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts.

He was helped out by Randy Arozarena, who, in the second at bat of the game, challenged two pitches and was wrong on both. He used both their challenges in one at bat. And they were easily strikes. That was a turning point in the game.

Jeff Hoffman pitched the eighth, allowing a walk, while getting two strikeouts. He was great. That’s hold #9 for Jeff.

And Louis Varland, giving up just a single, got the save (18th). He was helped by a very nice play by Vlad at first. He knocked knocked down a hard hit ground ball, picked it up and beat Arozarena to the bag for the first out.

Jays of the Day: Clease (0.40 WPA) and Giménez (0.13). And let’s give Honourable Mention to Hoffman and Varland.

No one got the ‘Other Award’. Kirk had the low mark, -0.08. But then, he did a great job with Cease and the relievers.

Tomorrow it is a 4:00 Eastern start time. Shane Bieber (0-0, 6.00) vs. Logan Gilbert (6-5, 3.42).

It was very nice to give most of the bullpen the day off (after yesterday’s day off). Hoffman threw 24 pitches and Varland 16.