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The Detroit Tigers looked to follow up Monday night’s thrilling win with another on Tuesday night on the north side of Chicago. Instead, the Cubs pantsed the Tigers to the tune of an 11-2 drubbing.

Framber Valdez got the start for the Tigers, and after Monday’s game in which the bullpen pitched a total of six innings, the Tigers hoped Valdez could give them some length. He’d gone at least six innings in four of his previous five starts, and he was coming off seven sparkling innings against the A’s in which he’d given up a meagre three hits, surrendering a single run, walking nary a batter and whiffing nine. Of course, the Cubs are not the A’s. Spoiler alert: he absolutely did not give the Tigers length on Tuesday night.

Facing the Tigers was tall lefty David Peterson, who’s been with the Cubs for less than a month; he was traded to them by the Mets near the end of June for Cole Mathis. He broke into the major leagues in 2020 with the Mets, and was an All-Star in 2025; it’s been a rough year for him, though, and perhaps the Mets and Cubs both thought a change of scenery would do him good. His previous outing righted the ship a bit, though: he went five innings in Baltimore and gave up one run, but he walked four in the process.

It was a long, fateful first inning: Pete Crow-Armstrong led off by smacking a triple to the right-field corner; Seiya Suzuki walked and Alex Bregman wore a fastball to load the bases. Lefty-masher and Old Friend™ Carson Kelly followed, and he poked a two-run single through the right side; Michael Busch did the same to score Bregman for a 3-0 lead, and Nico Horner singled up the middle to reload the bases. A short fly ball to right field was blown in by the wind as the Tigers’ infield stared at it expecting it to head out to Malgeri in right. Instead, it fell like a stone into shallow right field and put the Cubs went up 4-0. After a popup and a strikeout, Valdez walked Crow-Armstrong and that was it for him, departing after two outs, a 5-0 score on the board, and the bases loaded. The recently-recalled Ty Madden came in, walked Suzuki but got Bregman to fly out to centre, and it was a 6-0 game.

Valdez’s final line: 2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K. Yikes.

The wind was blowing in and was knocking fly balls down, especially to left field, with extreme prejudice: a couple of fly balls hit by the Tigers in the top of the second inning alone, which probably would have been home runs on Monday night, were caught well short of the fence.

The Cubs added-on in the second with a walk, stolen base, and single for a 7-0 score. Madden was slogging through, walking a few guys; Peterson was having a relatively easy go of it, slicing through the Tigers’ lineup like a hot knife through a warm wheel of Brie.

In the fifth, Brenan Hanifee replaced Madden, and within three pitches he gave up a single and a home run for a 9-0 score. But he had a 1-2-3 sixth, so that was nice in terms of pacing.

In the seventh Dillon Dingler led off with a walk, and after a strikeout and flyout, Matt Vierling singled and Dingler got to third base. Would the Tigers finally get on the board? No, they would not! Crow-Armstrong made a nice basket catch in centre to end the inning.

The Tigers waved the white flag by putting Zach McKinstry on the mound to chuck some eephuses below 40 mph, but he zipped an 81-mph fastball in there too. The Cubs tacked-on a pair of runs to make it 11-0, and I was starting to think the Tigers might not win this one.

Jake Rogers and his knuckleball took to the mound for the eighth and he struck out two batters. Holy mackerel!

Our All-Star catcher managed to get the Tigers on the board in the ninth: Hao-Yu Lee singled to lead off the inning, and Dingler sliced a home run through the wind to narrow the gap to 11-2. With two outs the Tigers loaded the bases and had the tying run, well, firmly on his behind in the dugout, but McKinstry flew out to left and that was, mercifully, the game.

The finale and rubber match is Wednesday night at 8:10 pm EDT. It should have been a day game, but I guess the national-television powers-that-be decided the Tigers didn’t need to get home at a reasonable time after a road trip.

Final score: Cubs 11, Tigers 2

NINE-DART LEG ALERT

Magnificent. Cool as a cucumber. Look how tightly-clustered those triple-twenties are, too.

Numbers and Such

• In last night’s game, when Pete Crow-Armstrong took second base in the bottom of the ninth to put runners on second and third with one out, at that point the Tigers had a 16% chance of winning. So, roughly five times out of six in that situation, the Cubs win. But they didn’t!
• Spencer Torkelson has been famously terrible at the plate with the bases loaded; including last night’s two-run single, he has been 4-for-38 for a .105 batting average (.323 OPS).
• You know who the opposite of Torkelson is? Well, it may not be the exact opposite, but Pat Tabler comes close: .489 BA and 1.198 OPS in 109 plate appearances with the bases loaded over his career.
• Marshall McLuhan was born on this day in 1911. This writer and philosopher had insightful and informative views on media, and coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” As media continue to evolve and shape our views — sometimes in positive ways, sometimes not — I’d say his idea is as true now as it ever has been.

The Philadelphia Phillies (56-46) squandered another dominant outing by Zack Wheeler and a promising walk-off situation with a befuddling baserunning blunder to allow the Los Angeles Dodgers (64-38) to even the three-game set in a 2-1 loss.

Wheeler made one crucial mistake in the fourth inning, a cutter out over the plate that Max Muncy sent to straightaway center field for a two-run homer.

Max Muncy gives the @Dodgers the lead with a rocket to straightaway center! pic.twitter.com/vF3dph0AAr

— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2026

On the good, Wheeler had nine K’s across his seven innings and fell one short of becoming the second Phillie ever to throw 10+ strikeouts in four straight starts.

Zack Wheeler, 79mph Hammer. 🔨

9th K pic.twitter.com/FdRui54QxD

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 22, 2026

Dodgers’ lefty, Justin Wrobleski, went toe-to-toe with Wheeler, notching seven punch outs of his own.

The Phillies’ only run came courtesy of an Alec Bohm single in the first inning. Bohm saw six pitches on the night and ended with three hits, one of which was his 15th double of the season.

Alec Bohm delivers for the early lead vs. the Dodgers 👏 pic.twitter.com/PfZHthu35N

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) July 22, 2026

Jose Alvarado and Jonathan Bowlan held the line for Wheeler in the eighth and ninth, retiring their six charges in order.

Bohm’s third hit was a leadoff single to begin the bottom of the ninth. After a three-pitch strikeout of Edmundo Sosa, JT Realmuto smoked a 3-1 slider from Tanner Scott up the left field line to put runners on second and third with one out. Brandon Marsh grounded to third and caught Bohm’s replacement, Justin Crawford, in a rundown. Realmuto, safely at third while the rundown transpired, made the confounding choice to bolt back toward second base and was tagged out easily to end the game on a double play. Tanner Scott got a five-out save.

"OH NO, JT! Oh no."

John Kruk as J.T. Realmuto runs the Phillies out of the game vs. the Dodgers on a ridiculous double play. ⚾️🎙️ #MLBpic.twitter.com/9HUVUmy9vD

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 22, 2026

Trea Turner showed off his range and made a couple of impressive plays a night after having a rough go in the field.

THIS TREA TURNER PLAY 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/hKoQP2o6MB

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) July 22, 2026

Derek Hill made a great throw in the third inning that saved a run when Shohei Ohtani tried to stretch a single into a double and was tagged out just before his lead runner crossed the plate.

Derek “The Goat” Hill THROWS OUT OHTANI and the run DOES NOT score! pic.twitter.com/Cm0cOktClp

— SleeperPhillies (@SleeperPhillies) July 22, 2026

Aaron Nola is set to face lefty, Eric Lauer, in the series decider tomorrow night.

The Texas Rangers scored ten runs while the Chicago White Sox scored zero runs.

Coming into tonight’s game, the Rangers had allowed exactly 100 runs in the month of July in 13 games. That’s a ghastly 7.7 runs per game. There had been losses of 9-4, 13-1, 9-3, 15-1, 10-3 to list a few of the more unseemly blowout defeats this month. Here recently the Rangers had allowed 39 runs in four game since the start of the second half.

The Rangers were due for a little ass kicking of their own and they delivered with one of their more lopsided wins in recent memory.

Texas scored at least one run in the five of the game’s first six innings with four runs coming in the fifth. Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit. Brandon Nimmo had a four-hit night with a two-run dong that opened the scoring.

No. 9 hitter Alejandro Osuna went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Wyatt Langford had two more hits, scored twice, and hit a two-run home run that poured salt in the Chicago wound.

Meanwhile tonight’s starter Kumar Rocker allowed a leadoff single in the top of the fourth and then the White Sox didn’t collect their second hit of the night until former Rangers farmhand Luisangel Acuna singled in the top of the eighth. Acuna pitched the last inning for Chicago and they finished with just three hits.

Of course, even in a blowout win nothing is every perfect for the Rangers as No. 3 hitter Josh Jung exited with calf tightness. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the Rangers on this side of one of these kinds of games again after being victimized by them frequently in recent weeks.

The win keeps Texas above .500 with a shot at a series win against Chicago tomorrow night.

Player of the Game: The Rangers scored ten runs. They worked the White Sox’ pitching over for 18 hits. There was plenty to like from the lineup tonight, but what Texas really needed was an outing like the one they got from Rocker.

With the pitching sputtering of late, Rocker took the bump and allowed just one hit to division-leading Chicago — a team that scored ten runs off Texas last night — with two walks and six strikeouts over six innings of shutout ball.

It took Rocker an economical 75 pitches to make it through six innings. Rocker was the final rotation regular to make his first start of the second half and he saved the best for last.

Also, Marco Gonzales — pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2024 — made his team debut with the Rangers and pitched the final three shutout innings while picking up a quite Wes Littleton-esque save in the blowout win.

Up Next: The Rangers and White Sox close out this series with a rubber match featuring RHP Cal Quantrill for Texas against LHP Anthony Kay for Chicago.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Cubs have signed free agent outfielder Greg Jones and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa.

LHP Josh Fleming was activated off the Development List and assigned to Iowa.

RHP Connor Schultz was activated off the Development List and assigned to Double-A Knoxville.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs reeled in the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves), 7-4. It was Iowa’s first ever trip to Georgia and the lights went out in the sixth inning, leading to a 17-minute delay.

Grant Kipp started for Iowa and had a tough task as there were five veteran major leaguers in the Gwinnett starting lineup: Ronald Acuña Jr., Carlos Santana, Andrew McCutchen, Rowdy Tellez and Ha-Seong Kim. Kipp allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits over 3.2 innings. Kipp struck out five and walked one.

Josh Fleming pitched the final five innings, allowed one run on three hits, and got the win. Fleming struck out two and did not issue a walk.

Shortstop Ben Cowles doubled twice in a 3 for 5 night. He scored twice and drove in one.

Third baseman Owen Miller went 2 for 5 with a three-run double in the sixth inning that Acuña ironically lost in the lights.

Left fielder Jonathon Long was 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored two runs.

RBI double for Cowles.

Cowles ties it up! pic.twitter.com/8GXf2PMHQE

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 21, 2026

Owen Miller’s three-run double.

Owen Miller with yet another clutch hit! pic.twitter.com/znXgA6OOog

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 22, 2026

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies compacted the Montgomery Trash Pandas (Angels), 4-3.

Starter Connor Schultz got the win after pitching five innings and giving up two runs on three hits. Schultz walked five and struck out three.

Tyler Ras pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game and get the save. Ras allowed two hits. He struck out two and walked no one.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez homered in the first at bat of the game and homered again with two men on in the fifth. That accounted for all four Smokies runs. They were his 11th and 12th home run of the year. Ramírez went 3 for 4 with the four RBI.

DH Miguel Useche was 2 for 4 with a double.

The first one.

LIFT-OFF IN ROCKET CITY 🚀

Alex Ramirez homers to lead off game one, his 11th of the season to tie his career high pic.twitter.com/2LIxSCyrfI

— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 21, 2026

The second one.

Alex Ramirez x2 💣 💣 pic.twitter.com/wWSCe6emeQ

— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 22, 2026

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs defanged the Wisconsin TimberRattlers (Brewers), 5-2.

Starter Jostin Florentino pitched the first four innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Florentino struck out seven and walked just one.

Nate Williams threw a scoreless fifth inning and got the win because Florentino didn’t go five innings. Williams gave up one hit, walked no one and struck out two.

Jackson Brockett turned in an impressive three-inning save. He only allowed one baserunner, which came on an error in the ninth, but he erased him with a double play so he faced the minimum nine batters. Brockett struck out three.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and two stolen bases. Kepley scored three of the Cubs five runs and drove in one more.

Jose Escobar was 0 for 3 and drove home Kepley three times. Once on a fielder’s choice, once with a sac fly and once with a ground out. Escobar also stole a base.

Kepley’s RBI double.

Kane Kepley is just fine!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/yaLWLPDWgD

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) July 22, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were one-hit by the Hickory Crawdads (Rangers), 1-0.

Jordan Henriquez kept the Crawdads scoreless over the first three innings. Henriquez surrendered two hits and issued two walks. He struck out three.

Hayden Frank took over for the next three innings and got the loss with one unearned run. Frank gave up four hits. He struck out four and walked one.

Second baseman Jose Silva singled in the fifth inning for the only hit of the game for the Birds. He was 1 for 3.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Giants, 6-0.

The Mesa Cubs were no-hit in a seven-inning game.

It’s been a back-and-forth affair at Coors Field, with the Colorado Rockies currently leading the Washington Nationals 7-6. But since there are three whole innings left (or hopefully only 2.5!), it’s time for another OVERFLOW THREAD!

As a reminder, here are the lineups:

Let’s go Rockies!

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This time a year ago, the Mets were eagerly anticipating Brandon Sproat’s major league debut in the hopes that he would soon become a stalwart in the team’s rotation for years to come. Meanwhile, Zac Thornton (at the time carrying an extra H in his name) was not a name on the radar on anyone but the most diehard of Mets fans. Tonight, Sproat took the mound facing his former team following the trade that sent him to Milwaukee this offseason, and Thornton went up against him in his fourth major league start. And it was the crafty soft-tossing lefty who emerged victorious over the former top 100 prospect flamethrower, with the Mets evening up the series against the Brewers with a 4-0 victory.

The scoring started in the top of the second, when Jared Young came to the plate with one out and deposited a 2-1 pitch from Sproat into the bullpen in right field for a solo homer. And while that would prove to be the only run the Mets would score against their former farmhand for a while, they did an effective job at making him work all night, as they got at least one runner on base in every inning in which he pitched and utilized a patient approach to work four walks against him and balloon his pitch count.

The last walk Sproat issued was a two-out free pass to Bo Bichette in the top of the fifth, and that proved to be the final batter he would face this evening. Chad Patrick came on from the bullpen to replace him, and the Mets picked this moment to strike—with the help of some uncharacteristically shoddy defense from the Brewers. Francisco Lindor greeted Patrick by hitting a sharp grounder to second that bounced off Brice Turang and into center field; Turang then neglected to run after the ball, forcing center fielder Garrett Mitchell run in a long ways to field it and allowing Lindor to hustle into second. Carson Benge followed that by hitting a ground ball into the second base hole, and Turang paused while moving to field the ball, allowing it to sneak by him into right field and bringing two runs home (to make matters worse, Benge should have been thrown out trying to advance to second when the throw from right field was cut off by Andrew Vaughn at first base, but the throw to second sailed into the outfield). Patrick struck out Luis Robert Jr. to end the inning, but the defensive miscues put another earned run on Sproat’s ledger, giving him a fairly unremarkable final line (4.2 innings, 4 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, 2 earned runs).

Meanwhile, Thornton continued his impressive run with another strong start. As is usually the case with him, he was far from dominant with his stuff, as he recorded just two strikeouts on the night. But he also largely kept the Brewers off the basepaths—thanks in part to some help from his defense. With one out in the third inning, Joey Ortiz hit a soft liner to left field, and A.J. Ewing (playing his first game at the position with Robert in center) sprinted for it and made an impressive diving catch. Later, with two outs in the fifth inning, Luis Lara hit a sharp grounder towards the third base line, and Bichette was able to field it and make a strong throw to record the final out of the frame. Yes, you’re reading this right: the Mets’ defense came through tonight while the Brewers’ defense did not. We are as shocked as you are.

Thornton retired thirteen straight Milwaukee batters at one point before back-to-back leadoff singles from Cooper Pratt and Ortiz in the bottom of the sixth ended that stretch. The tying run was thus at the plate, and the young rookie lefty had to bear down with the top of the order coming up. He started by striking out Jackson Chourio for out number one, and then benefitted from yet another mental lapse on the part of the Brewers. A 1-2 pitch trickled past Luis Torrens behind the plate, and the runner at first base tried to advance while the runner at second stayed put before realizing his mistake and breaking for third late. Torrens recovered the ball and the Mets were able to retire Pratt at third base for the second out. Turang then followed that by hitting a long fly ball towards the left field warning track that Ewing took a wobbly route on before catching the ball to end the inning.

That also ended Thornton’s night after six scoreless innings (giving him eighteen straight scoreless innings over his past three outings) in which he allowed just three singles and one walk on 81 pitches. Again, there was a lot of decent contact against him, so he almost certainly benefited from some luck tonight. Still, we’re not looking at three straight quality starts for Thornton, and while there will continue to be concerns about whether his pitching profile can attain long-term success in the modern game, the Mets will happily continue to send him out there and see what he can do.

After Thornton’s exit, it was time for some trade deadline candidates to increase their value. Luke Weaver started by coming on for the seventh and tossing a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Then in the top of the eighth, Robert Jr. led off the frame by having his first memorable moment since returning from the injured list, hitting an absolutely towering (to the tune of a 112.2 MPH exit velocity and 451 feet) home run to left field to make it 4-0 Mets. Brooks Raley then continued the trade value express by throwing his own perfect inning with a strikeout. Get those offers in now, other teams.

After a scoreless top of the ninth for the Mets bats, Devin Williams took the mound at American Family Field for the first time since October 3, 2024, when he gave up the most devastating home run of his career against the team that’s now signing his paychecks. This outing was much less dramatic than that one, as he issued a leadoff single but nothing else and closed out the game for the Mets. The victory gave Zac Thornton the first win of his major league pitching career and even up the series for the Amazins. They’ll now go for the series victory tomorrow afternoon.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
Brew Crew Ball

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Zac Thornton, +33% WPA
Big Mets loser: Marcus Semien, -7% WPA
Mets pitchers: +43% WPA
Mets hitters: +7% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge two-run double in the fifth, +18.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Joey Ortiz single in the sixth, -7.8% WPA

Justin Wrobleski went deep yet again, as did Max Muncy in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, in a game delayed at the start by 80 minutes due to rain.

One week after striking out five in his All-Star debut in this same ballpark, Wrobleski struck out seven Phillies on Tuesday. He allowed two loud hits with two outs in the first inning, as a Bryce Harper double was cashed in by an Alec Bohm single. But that was the only run Wrobleski allowed in hia 6 1/3 innings, which actually lowered the left-handers average outing length this season from 6.422 innings per start to 6.417, third best in the majors.

Wrobleski has lasted at least six innings in each of his last five starts, and in 13 of 16 starts this season. He’s allowed zero or one run in 10 of his 16 starts.

Cey hey

Zack Wheeler has been a buzzsaw this season, with a paltry 2.16 ERA and 2.64 xERA after Tuesday night. He struck out nine and walked none in this one, with the only blemish coming in the fourth inning. One out after Andy Pages singled, Muncy homered, giving the Dodgers the lead.

Max Muncy gives the @Dodgers the lead with a rocket to straightaway center! pic.twitter.com/vF3dph0AAr

— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2026

Muncy’s home run was his 19th of the season, second on the team to Shohei Ohtani. But it was also Muncy’s 228th home run as a Dodger, tying third baseman Ron Cey for fifth place on the all-time franchise leaderboard. Those two are tied for second among Los Angeles Dodgers, trailing only Eric Karros.

Most home runs, Dodgers history

• Duke Snider 389
• Gil Hodges 261
• Eric Karros 270
• Roy Campanella 242
• Ron Cey 228
• Max Muncy 228

Wheeler back on May 29 at Dodger Stadium allowed four solo home runs, including one by Muncy. The Dodgers have handed Wheeler his only two losses this season, scoring six total runs against him. In his other 14 starts, Wheeler is 10-0 with a 1.86 ERA, and the Phillies are 13-1 in those games.

The pitcher who got the win in both Wheeler starts was Wrobleski.

Tanner Scott got his first two batters faced to finish the eighth inning, then got into a jam with runners on second and third with one out in the ninth. Brandon Marsh hit a dribbler up the third base line. Though the game was in Philadelphia, this was a play right out of Chicago, finishing things off with a bizarre 2-5-6-4 double play, thanks to an all-time brain fart by J.T. Realmuto.

GAME OVER. pic.twitter.com/0XDJDcnIwZ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 22, 2026

This was Scott’s second five-out appearance in nearly two seasons with the Dodgers, and his first such save.

Tuesday particulars

Home run: Max Muncy (19)

WP — Justin Wrobleski (11-2): 6 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

LP — Zack Wheeler (10-2): 7 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 9 strikeouts

Sv — Tanner Scott (15): 1 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 1 strikeout

Up next

One more game remains in Philadelphia, with Eric Lauer on the mound for the Dodgers on Friday night (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), and right-hander Aaron Nola going for the Phillies.

The Mets beat the Brewers 4-0 on Tuesday night at American Family Field.

Here are some takeaways...

-- Christian Scott and Nolan McLean dominated on the mound in Philadelphia, so tonight it was Zac Thornton's turn to follow suit. The 24-year-old left-hander was spectacular yet again, as he held the Brewers to just three hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts over six shutout innings to earn his first career victory. 

-- Thornton was in some trouble in the bottom of the first, but he turned a comebacker into an inning-ending double play. He went on to face the minimum through five innings, retiring the next 13 hitters he faced in order before the Brewers put together back-to-back singles leading off the sixth. The youngster sweat that threat off too with a strikeout, baserunning miscue, and a deep flyout to left. 

-- Thornton is now down to a stellar 1.93 ERA over his first four big-league starts, and he hasn't allowed a run in 18 consecutive innings, which is the longest stretch by a Mets rookie since Steven Matz in 2016.

-- The Mets' offense was able to get Thornton a lead to work with just two innings into this one, as Jared Young lifted his seventh homer of the season into the visiting bullpen in right-center. Young also had a single across his four plate appearances, bringing his OPS to .761 for the year. 

-- New York had plenty of other opportunities against old friend Brandon Sproat. They stranded runners in the first, third, and fourth but were able to break through after he was pulled in the fifth. After a two-out walk, a hustle double from Francisco Lindor and a two-run double from Carson Benge made it a 3-0 ballgame. 

-- Benge had a pair of knocks, Lindor had three hits for the second time in his last three games.

-- The Mets added an insurance run in a big way in the top of the eighth. Luis Robert Jr. had been hitless over his first seven at-bats since returning from injury until he absolutely demolished a second-pitch cutter 451 feet to the concourse in left for his third home run of the season. 

-- Luke Weaver pitched a scoreless seventh, Brooks Raley followed that in the eighth, then Devin Williams put the finishing touches on the victory in his first appearance back in Milwaukee. 

-- A.J. Ewing enjoyed another strong game on both sides of the ball. He had a hit and a walk across four plate appearances, stole his 11th base of the season, and also made a pair of outstanding plays to help Thornton in his first-ever big-league appearance in left field. 

-- Luis Torrens had two hits on the night; Marcus Semien had one but also booted a ball at second. 

Game MVP: Zac Thornton

The rookie southpaw was outstanding to earn his first career victory. 

Highlights

Jared Young hits a solo HR to give the Mets a 1-0 lead 🤩

His 7th of the year pic.twitter.com/Asc8B43mbd

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

A.J. EWING WITH THE DIVING CATCH IN LEFT FIELD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ek5IuJPq2z

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

A hustle double for Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/CyvVkll1fe

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

Carson Benge drives in two after Brice Turang can't get to it! pic.twitter.com/nNViA1EEBw

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

LUIS ROBERT JR. WITH A BLAST TO THE CONCOURSE 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OPNnCBCxRf

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

Francisco Lindor with his second three-hit game in his past three games! pic.twitter.com/IX208X04qU

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 22, 2026

What's next

Christian Scott takes the ball against Logan Henderson in the series finale Wednesday at 2:10 p.m.

Apparently the Rays needed to leave the country to get back on track.

Their offense perked up in their 7-1 win on Monday night, but it caught on fire – in a good, and not a dumpster way— tonight. Every player other than Taylor Walls had a hit, and even Walls still managed to score a run. After running through much of their bullpen, the Blue Jays ultimately brought in outfielder Myles Straw to get the last out.

The Rays started the game with a crooked number — 3 to be precise. Batting in the first against a surprisingly shaky Kevin Gausman, they scored three runs, all with two outs. Junior walked, and after that Cedric Mullins, Johnny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson all got hits account for the three runs.

In the bottom of the first, Rasmussen loaded the bases and I really thought we were back in the nightmare world of the Boston series where the Rays could never hold a lead for more than half an inning. But whatever wasn’t working — either with Rasmussen, or between him and Fortes (they seemed to take a while to get in sync) quickly got set right, and Rasmussen got out of the inning, and rolled through the Jays lineup until the sixth inning.

The Rays also threatened in the second and third innings, as Gausman’s pitch count mounted, although they did not manage to score. But I still want to focus on the third inning, when Chandler Simpson was nearly able to make runs happen. He successfully bunted for a single. The next hitter, Ben Williamson, hit a soft single to centerfield, which centerfielder Varsho bobbled so that Simpson could get to third. We could argue – and Brian Anderson did argue — that Simpson’s speed contributed to that bobble, because Vasho, worried about stopping Chandler at second, was too busy looking to second base to field the ball cleanly. Now Walls wasn’t able to get Simpson home, but nonetheless it’s an example of how his speed can become a weapon in a variety of ways. Unfortunately Simpson has a number of holes in his game; it’s not clear that his speed is enough to merit a starting outfielder role. But speed is a skill that is also so much fun to watch, so let’s enjoy it!

At any rate, the Rays drove Gausman from the game midway through the fourth, after Diaz reached on a single and Caminero on a walk. But the Rays still managed to score another run even with the new pitcher in place; Cedric Mullins, who had reached on a force play, stole second and the Jays (whose defense tonight was…not good!) threw the ball away trying to nab him. That was followed by another DeLuca single to score run number 6.

The Rays, whose offense was on life support a mere two and a half days ago, continued to pile on. Runs 6-8 came courtesy of Nick Fortes’ three-run homer in the fifth inning.

The Blue Jays ended the shut out in the bottom of the sixth inning that to some BABIP magic. Ernie Clement led off with a blooper that fell between DeLuca, Aranda and Williamson (and should have been caught, probably DeLuca needed to call off the others). George Spring hit a legit double, and then Varsho chopped a ball into the ground. It took a long time coming down to Aranda, playing behind first base, but still I think Aranda should have been able to beat Varsho to the bag. But he didn’t, and that chopped infield single ended Rasmussen’s otherwise strong outing.

The Rays bullpen — Sulser, Kimbrell and Cleavinger — were terrific, and the Rays offense continued to roll, adding another four runs in the ninth inning. The big hit there was Yandy’s three run homer, an appropriate way to celebrate his 1,000 major league game:

Of course Yandy’s home run was hit to the deepest part of the park, how emblematic of Yandy’s career.

Overall, the Rays got 21 hits, including four for Simpson and three for Fortes. Savor this dominant win!

The Atlanta Braves took an 8-3 loss against the San Diego Padres in game two of their four-game midweek series.

After an RBI single from San Diego’s Ty France to drive Fernando Tatis Jr. in for the first run, the Braves answered back with an RBI triple from Jim Jarvis to bring in Mauricio Dubón and Brewer Hicklen. This gave the Braves a 2-1 lead.

The Padres wouldn’t let that lead go on for too much longer as they responded with five more of their own, and set the tone with a homerun from Manny Machado in the top of the sixth inning for a 6-2 lead.

Hoping to clinch a come-from-behind victory like they did the previous night, another run from Jarvis off a balk gave the Braves one more run to advance to three total. It was too late, however, as they couldn’t muster a surge of consecutive runs to end the night.

The Padres finished with a 474-foot two-run homer from Tatis Jr. in the top of the eighth inning to seal the deal with an 8-3 win.

The focus shifts a bit to pitching. In Reynaldo López’s 10th start and 23rd appearance of the season, his consistency has been one of his upsides. Tonight showed differently (4.1 IP/ 9 H/ 5 ER/ 3 BB/ 6 K/ 2 HR). It doesn’t help that his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals also resulted in a shaky stat line.

Jr Ritchie came in to relieve López, pitching through 3.2 innings, but gave up three runs of his own with four total strikeouts.

Though pitching was a major aspect in the loss, the blame can’t all be put on that area. The bats were not ready today, and only Jarvis was awake to knock in some runs for the night.

The Braves will have to pull through in tomorrow’s start to build the momentum back and avoid dropping the series as they did in June with a clean sweep to send Atlanta out of Petco Park.

The offense looked solid coming after the break. Now it’s just consistency with execution that’ll have to stay in place.

The Jays haven’t, obviously, been good this season. This week has felt like the bottom finally falling out, though. They’re now equidistant between the third wildcard and last place in the American League. Their run differential is tied with the last place Angels. It hasn’t been fun to watch, but after months of thinking they might still pull something off in a weak league, at least now there’s clarity and they can focus on getting whatever they can before the deadline the Monday after next.

As a bonus, Daulton Varsho crashed hard into the wall chasing a ninth inning home run. He stayed in the game, but was in visible pain legging out a ground out in the next half inning. Hopefully it’s just a bruise.

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Kevin Gausman had another bad day at the office. He got the first two Rays in the first, but then a walk and three back to back hits, including a Cedric Mullins double, staked the Rays to a three run lead. It was all they’d need. Gausman got out of it and worked through jams with men on first and third in the second in each of the second and third innings to keep Toronto in range, but then a single and a walk knocked him out of the game with one out in the fourth. Mason Fluharty took over and got the second out, but then Yandy Diaz was able to come home on a Brandon Valenzuela throwing error trying to catch Mullins stealing second. A Jonny DeLuca single plated the Rays’ fifth and closed the book on Gausman. All told, he surrendered five runs, four earned, on nine hits and two walks, striking out just one. Not ideal for his trade value.

Lazaro Estrada took over and gave up three more runs in the top of the fifth on a pair of singles and a home run. With the game now firmly in mop up territory, he stuck around for the sixth, getting through it cleanly. Patrick Corbin pitched a couple of solid relief innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. In the ninth, though, the Rays decided to pour a few more on. Three singles and a Yandy Diaz home run scored four, making it 12-2. With the lead now at 10, Myles Straw was able to take over. He was the most effective pitcher of the night for Toronto, giving up just a soft line single and getting a pair of ground outs.

Meanwhile, the offence was on Drew Rasmussen but couldn’t capitalize. Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, and George Springer each singled in the first to load the bases, but a pop out and a strikeout prevented any runs. Valenzuela walked in the second. They couldn’t get anything done in the third or fourth, but Myles Straw added another single in the fifth. Finally, in the sixth, Clement got another hit, Springer doubled to move him to third, and a Daulton Varsho single plated the lead runner, knocking Rasmussen out of the game. Reliever Cole Sulser got Kazuma Okamoto to ground into a double play, but at leas that plated Springer.

At that point they went back to sleep, going down in order in the seventh, eighth, and ninth.

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Jays of the Day: Absolutely not, no.

Less So: Gausman (-0.20), Okamoto (-0.11 and an error), and really everyone else except Clement.

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Since we’re all having so much fun, we’ll play the Rays two more times. The next one is tomorrow at 7:07pm ET. Griffin Jax (5-7, 4.08) takes the mound for the Rays. The Jays haven’t announced a starter, but Spencer Miles (4-2, 3.52) will probably do the bulk of the pitching, either off the bat or following an opener.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to rebound from yet another tough loss Monday night with a Tuesday night clash versus the Los Angeles Angels. Matthew Liberatore will start for the Cardinals while the Angels will give the ball to Walbert Ureña. First pitch is scheduled for 8:38pm central time at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Game TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: LHP Kohl Drake (No. 58)
• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: RHP Gerardo Carrillo (No. 68)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following last night’s game: RHP Juan Burgos
• Placed on the 15-day injured list: RHP Drey Jameson (right hip inflammation, retro to July 20)

Another debutant on the 2026 Diamondbacks! That’s seven all told, so we’ve already crushed the line for that in Place Your Bets, which was originally set at a mere 4.5. Drake becomes the third starting pitcher to reach the majors this year for Arizona, following Jose Cabrera and Mitch Bratt. There have also been four position players: Jose Fernandez, Ryan Waldschmidt, Tommy Try and LuJames Groover. Drake was originally drafted by the Rangers, in the 11th round of the 2022 draft, but came over to the D-backs in the trade for Merrill Kelly – the same deal also gave us Bratt, and David Hagaman, who has a 3.19 ERA in High-A ball this year. Not a bad little haul.

To be fair, Drake has struggled a bit in Reno – though who doesn’t? His ERA with the Aces across 16 starts and one relief appearance is a meaty 6.92, with a K:BB of 60:31 across 66.2 innings in Triple A. But it’s perhaps significant that at home, he has a batting average against of .321, more than ninety points higher than Drake has posted away from Reno. He had a particularly good outing his last road game, tossing five shutout innings of one-hit ball in Tacoma, with no walks and six strikeouts. So there’s quality there. He just needs to tap into it more consistently. He turned 26 on Friday, so should be entering his prime.

Also, just before going to press, Drey Jameson was put on the IL with a hip issue, and Gerardo Carillo will consequently have a shot to become debutant #8! Finally, I’ll just leave this here:

From the A’s :
Kuroda-Grauer was injured last night after fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning. He underwent emergency surgery to repair a ruptured testicle last night at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix and is resting comfortably.

— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) July 21, 2026

Thoughts and prayers… [Shifts uncomfortably in his seat]