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Yankees 2 Blue Jays 1

Let’s talk about the eighth inning, because that’s the one that interests me.

• Kazuma Okamoto walked on six pitches to start it off.
• Jesús Sánchez walked on four pitches.

Now John decided to pinch run for Sánchez. Seemed weird, as he wasn’t the lead runner. But then Okamoto had a pretty good chance of hitting in the ninth. Personally, thought, I’d have ran for Okamoto or no one, but I guess having Straw running reduced the chance of a double play.

• Ernie Clement, asked to bunt, and popped it up for an out.

I HATE sac bunts. I wish I had the ability to underline things on this site, but I HATE THE SAC BUNT. To me, outs are the most precious thing in baseball, and handing one to the other team is dumb. Add in that Clement isn’t (apparently) good at bunting (well maybe he is, he had 7 last year) and that you just saw two guys walked, the last on four pitches…..I hate bunting after walks. Give the pitcher a chance to walk another. I know Ernie doesn’t tend to walk. But still, he does tend to make good contact.

To add to the issue of the bunt, you have rookie Brandon Valenzuela up next. Yes he’s been very good, but he would be in a tough spot. And he was still in a tough spot and he struck out. Might have been a good spot to pinch hit with Kirk? Maybe. I don’t know, Valenzuela’s been one of out best hitters.

• Valenzuela struck out.

Next up is Charles McAdoo is up next. Could, again, pinch hit with Kirk. That would cause a lot of issues in the defensive half of the inning. Tough call. I think I’d have used Kirk for Valenzuela. But I would have used him for McAdoo for sure and dealt with the defensive issues later.

• McAdoo popped out.

Another in a string of missed chances today.

Then, in the bottom of the inning Louis Varland comes in and gives up a single to Cody Bellinger and a home run to Paul Goldschmidt. Varland hasn’t giving up a home run this season, until today. And it is the first time Varland has given up more than a run in an outing.

The bottom of the ninth was three strikeouts, Giménez, Springer and Lukes.

Beyond that, we had 6 hits and 7 walks, so you would think we could score more than one run. Okamoto homered in the third.

We had chances:

• Loaded bases in the second (with two outs).
• We had runners on second and third, with one out in the fourth. Being fair, McAdoo hit a liner up the middle but Jazz Chisholm made a terrific catch.
• We had the first two batters walk in the fifth and got a double play (Okamoto) and a strikeout (Jesús Sánchez).
• A one out single in the sixth, then a double play.
• A one out bunt single by Giménez (who seemed to jam fingers diving into first. Generally, you should never dive into first, but Giménez may have wanted to avoid a possible tag on the play). But a ground out (Springer) and a strikeout (Lukes) ended that one.

And the eighth we talked about.

Cam Schlittler is a very good pitcher, who had a bad day, but we should have may him pay (by the way, had you gone to school with that last name when I went to school, you would have had to change it). We did seem to have a good game plan against him, until we got runners on base. 1 for 10 with RISP.

Kevin Gausman was terrific. 7 innings, 1 hit (a home run by Jasson Domínguez), 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

Tyler Rogers pitched the eighth, getting two quick outs and then had a very soft ground ball roll up the middle and into center field. That’s going to happen to a ground ball pitcher occasionally to a ground ball pitcher. Then a much harder ground ball to put runners on the corners. But McAdoo made a terrific diving play on the next ground ball that looked like it would be another single.

Jays of the Day: Gausman (0.31 WPA), Rogers (0.11, though he owes some of that to McAdoo), and Piñango (0.09, for a hit and two walks).

Other Award: Varland (-0.41), McAdoo (-0.23, but he had a couple of nice defensive plays), Giménez (-0.15) and Clement (-0.13, some of that on the stupid bunt, but if you are asked to bunt, put it on the ground).

Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-3, 4.55) vs. Will Warren (7-1, 3.41). A win please.

The San Diego Padres have placed Miguel Andujar on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and called up Nick Solak from their Triple-A affiliate, El Paso Chihuahuas, to replace him on the roster. 

Andujar strained his hamstring attempting to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning against the New York Mets on June 7. Immediately, the Padres removed him from the game and inserted Bryce Johnson as a pinch runner.

The Friars have lost their primary right-handed designated hitter option. The 31-year-old emerged as a key component of the Padres offense this season. Andujar was hitting .254 with 5 HR and 17 RBI, as his increase in production was driven by a strikeout rate (16.7%) well below the league average of 22.5%. He has become more selective at the plate, which allows him to pounce on pitchers’ mistakes. His timely hitting is invaluable and will be sorely missed.

No word on the length of his absence, as it will depend on the severity of the injury. 

Solak is a six-year major leaguer who will provide depth at second base, first base, and the corner outfield positions. The former New York Yankees second-round pick from the 2016 MLB Draft has bounced around several major league organizations (Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Pittsburgh Pirates) since making his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019. His best season was in 2021, as Solak batted .242 with 11 HR and 49 RBI in 127 games. 

He signed a minor league contract with the Padres last winter. Solak was hitting .333 with 9 HR and 40 RBI in 54 games before the big-league club selected him to replace Andujar.

In a game in which the inactive players on both teams could fill most of an All-Star Game lineup, two outstanding pitchers took full advantage. Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Trent Grisham, and Alejandro Kirk were just some of the names that weren’t featured in the starting lineups. So all Kevin Gausman and Cam Schlittler did was complete respective seven-inning, one-run performances. After that, it was a matter of seeing which bullpen would blink first. Mercifully, it was Toronto’s: Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run home run off Louis Varland in the ninth inning proved the backbreaker as the Bombers got their first win north of the border in almost 11 months.

Gausman had the better of the two outings, if we wish to split hairs. He cruised past the Yankee lineup all day with his signature splitter and all of his other pitches working like a charm. While Toronto threatened at various points throughout the early part of the afternoon, the Bombers only managed a single hit against the veteran—thankfully, said hit cleared the wall.

Per YES Network’s Jason Smyth, Jasson Domínguez arrived at Rogers Centre from his Triple-A stint at Lehigh Valley at 2 p.m. sharp, arrived to the ballpark, at 3, then homered to right field at exactly 4 p.m. in the fourth inning. A wonderful bit of timing for the Martian, who hooked the ball down the right field line to put the Yankees on the board.

That blast followed the opening salvo of the afternoon from Kazuma Okamoto, which came in the bottom of the third. Schlittler fired a 98 mph two-seam fastball up and in on Okamoto, but he still managed to turn it around and send a screaming liner down the left field line for his 15th homer of the season.

Schlittler’s command was not as airtight as Gausman’s; the young star had his issues with baserunners at several points throughout the afternoon. In the second inning, he loaded the bases with two out, but managed to retire Andres Giménez and the side on a grounder.

In the fourth, a double by Yohendrick Piñango put two runners on scoring position with only one out, at which point Jazz Chisholm Jr. put on his superhero cape. With the infield drawn in, he still had the reflexes and speed to make a diving catch on a line drive from Vlad Jr.’s mini-me for this ballgame, Charles McAdoo. A strikeout of Giménez once again rendered the Jays foiled.

But if you know how jays are in the avian world: they’re loud, persistent, and quite obnoxious. So there they were again, gathering around the feeder with two men aboard and none out after Schlittler’s waning command led to some free passes. No matter. Schlittler shooed them off by inducing a ground ball double play from Okamoto and blowing a fastball past outfielder Jesus Sánchez to walk off again unscathed.

Two innings later, Cam struck out Nathan Lukes swinging to finish his afternoon with another outstanding start in the books. It was another shining example of how dangerous Schlittler is: even with subpar command and having allowed ten runners to reach—six by hit and four by walk—the only run came on a solo homer, the kind of hit a pitcher can easily move past. Schlittler was certainly upset with himself at certain junctures, but he never let that frustration boil over into a big inning.

Gausman, of course, was utterly dominant. He completed his outing with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, finishing with seven strikeouts, two walks, and just the one solo homer.

In the top of the eighth it looked as if the mice would finally play with the cat away. J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice each singled off submariner Tyler Rogers to give the Yankees their first hit since Domínguez’ home run, setting up a two-out go-ahead RBI opportunity for… Domínguez. Jasson hit Rogers’ 2-1 delivery hard on the ground toward the right field line, but McAdoo sprawled to his right to corral the ball and save a run—possibly two.

If you were frustrated after that, I understand. But for once, the Jays and their fans had more reasons to be frustrated today. Fernando Cruz inherited Schlittler’s topsy-turvy command, working a pair of walks in quick succession to start the bottom of the eighth. But when Ernie Clement botched his sac bunt attempt, I’m sure some doubt began to creep in.

Cruz struck out Brandon Valenzuela before letting a third Jay aboard via walk, giving Toronto another tantalizing chance for a big hit. Instead, McAdoo popped a ball into foul territory, and Rice snagged it a few steps shy of the dugout. The Blue Jays had now stranded 10 runners on base.

Enter the ninth. The Yankees were searching for catharsis akin to Ben Rice’s big blast the last time they had won at Rogers Centre. They got it from Paul Goldschmidt.

If you didn’t think the ball was gone off the swing, Louis Varland’s hunched reaction probably gave it away. Varland hung a slider right over the heart of the plate, and Goldy provided a prime Paul Goldschmidt swing, obliterating it to the second deck for the decisive two-run blow.

Goldschmidt’s ninth home run of his thrilling age-38 season took all the remaining wind out of the Jays’ sails, as David Bednar struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory. It was the Yankees’ first win in Toronto since July 22nd of last season, and was it ever a sweet one.

Now they’ll look for something that hasn’t felt possible in a while: a series win in Rogers Centre. Will Warren is set to lead the charge against everyone’s favorite lefty, Patrick Corbin. First pitch is set for the extremely Canadian 1:37 timeslot on YES.

Box Score

BALTIMORE — San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts was struck in the helmet by a pitch and removed from the game two innings later Saturday, June 13 at Camden Yards. 

Baltimore Orioles starter Trey Gibson's 93-mph sinker struck Bogaerts near the left ear hole in the top of the fifth inning. He stayed on the ground several minutes, attended to by a Padres trainer. 

Bogaerts eventually got to his feet and, after a few tests, walked to first base. But he was removed from the game two innings later, replaced at shortstop by Sung-Mun Song with the Padres leading 6-2. 

Xander Bogaerts just got hit by a pitch in the head, let's hope he's ok. Steven Souza is LIVID#padres#forthefaithfulpic.twitter.com/IqlaeFxWok

— Padres Highlights (@LFGPads19) June 13, 2026

Bogaerts, 33, is batting .231 with eight homers and a .665 OPS this season. 

Moments after Bogaerts was lifted from the game, the Padres also lost starting catcher Freddy Fermin, who was injured when reliever Yuki Matsui bounced a warm-up pitch and the ball struck Fermin in the side of the head. Fermin was replaced by backup Rodolfo Duran. 

Yuki Matsui spikes one warming up and Freddy Fermin exits. Bogaerts also has left the game with Song replacing him pic.twitter.com/4fvvWxnmPE

— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 13, 2026

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Padres' Xander Bogaerts hit in head by pitch, exits game vs Orioles

Today, the Colorado Rockies announced a series of roster moves, most notably, the promotion of RHP Eiberson Castellano from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The 25 year old will be making his Major League debut with his first appearance, bringing to eight the total number of Rockies MLB debuts this season.

There was some hint of this move as Castellano was highlighted last weekend by president of baseball operations Paul DePodsta wheo said of the righty, “Eiberson Castellano made his first start last night in Triple-A. He had done really, really well in Double-A, had a terrific start last night, went six shutout in his first Triple-A game.”

Last week, Castellano was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after throwing those six scoreless innings DePodesta referred to. Castellano allowed one hit, two walks and seven strikeouts in that game against the Salt Lake Bees.

Prior to his promotion to Albuquerque, Castellano went 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA (53.0 IP, 16 ER) in 10 starts with Double-A Hartford. His was the second-lowest ERA in the Eastern League.

The native of Maracaibo, Venezeuala, was signed by Colorado to a Minor League contract on December 5, 2025 after spending the first five seasons of his professional career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. In 109 career Minor League appearances (48 starts), has gone 21-16 with a 3.78 ERA (333.1 IP, 140 ER), 137 walks and 390 strikeouts.

Castellano’s promotion was not the only news.

The Rockies also optioned right-handed pitcher Jeff Criswell to Albuquerque. As a reminder, Criswell is just coming off Tommy John surgery. In two innings pitched over two games, he has a 0.00 ERA

Finally, right-handed pitcher Valente Bellozo cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.

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The Yankees were stymied by Blue Jays pitching for eight innings, but Paul Goldschmidt's two-run shot in the ninth lifted New York to a 3-1 win over Toronto on Saturday afternoon.

New York had just one run and three hits until the ninth, but the veteran first baseman took Blue Jays closer Louis Varland deep for his ninth home run of the season. Varland entered Saturday having allowed two earned runs and no home runs. 

That long ball flipped the game on its head as the Yankees took the middle game of the three-game set. 

Here are the takeaways...

-- Cam Schlittler battled around six hits and four walks, allowing just one run on a homer over 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts.

He opened with a 1-2-3 first inning, including two strikeouts, and then found a way to escape a bases-loaded situation in the second inning to keep the game scoreless. Schlittler forced back-to-back groundouts in the third, but let up a two-out solo home run to Kazuma Okamoto as the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead.

The right-hander avoided more trouble in the fourth inning with runners on second and third base, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a spectacular diving catch and Andres Gimenez went down swinging. Schlittler's shaky openings of innings continued with two straight walks in the fifth, but once again evaded damage thanks to a double play and another strikeout. He got another double play to get through the sixth and closed the seventh with a strikeout.

-- Jasson Dominguez was reinstated from the IL earlier Saturday and returned to the lineup for the first time since May 7, starting in right field for the first time in his major league career. The former top prospect made his mark in the top of the fourth inning, launching a solo home run to right field off Kevin Gausman to tie the game at 1-1.

-- New York's bats were kept quiet by Gausman, as Dominguez's HR was the only hit the two-time All-Star allowed over 7.0 innings. He struck out seven Yanks and walked two.

-- Dominguez had a chance to give the Yanks a lead in the eighth with runners on first and third, but his hard grounder was somehow stopped by first baseman Charles McAdoo to end the frame. Dominguez finished 1-for-4 in his return to the club. 

-- With the lead, David Bednar struck out the side (Gimenez, George Springer, Nathan Lukes) to lock down his 14th save of the season. 

Game MVP: Paul Goldschmidt

Goldschmidt saved the Yankees from wasting a good Schlittler outing with his ninth-inning blast.

Highlights

Jasson Domínguez homers to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/axMiQzjLX6

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 13, 2026

Jazz Chisholm Jr. lays out for the run-saving catch! 💪 pic.twitter.com/nMKtXvZEAz

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 13, 2026

PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT HOMERS TO GIVE THE YANKEES THE LEAD IN THE 9TH! pic.twitter.com/aRnlyekn5B

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 13, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Jays wrap up their three-game series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:37 p.m.

Will Warren (7-1, 3.41 ERA) faces LHP Patrick Corbin (2-3, 4.55 ERA).

After last night’s improbable comeback-within-a-comeback-within-a-comeback-within-a-comeback, there was reason to believe the Twins could do it again after erasing an early 4-0 deficit.

The Cardinals, who scored two in the first on an Ivan Herrera homer, and another two in the second on RBIs from Pedro Pages and Masyn Winn, seemed intent on scheduling Connor Prielipp for an early exit. But that was before a resilient Twins offense geared up to level the score — and they used this week’s usual suspects to do so. After both went deep last night, solo shots from both Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis got Minnesota on the board in the fourth inning, and kept two of the Twins’ biggest bats rolling.

For Buxton, it was the 22nd homer in a season that seems destined to provide him with an overdue All-Star start in center field; for Lewis, it was the third homer and fifth extra-base hit since his call-up. It halved the St. Louis lead, until another bomb — this one Luke Keaschall’s — made it 4-4 in the fifth.

As this happened, Preliepp settled down into an eventual six-inning start, with the four early runs the only blemishes on his line, though he did give up seven hits and struck out just two hitters, as many as he walked.

But as is often the case, the starting performance was not the issue — it was the four earned runs that Justin Lawrence was charged with as part of a five-run seventh, a microcosm of what happens to the 2026 Twins the moment an SP leaves the game.

Not for nothing, Minnesota tried to mount a rally as improbable as last night’s. Kody Clemens singled home a run in the eighth, and the team loaded the bases on walks with nobody out in the ninth. However, the only run came across on a fielder’s choice, as a mostly uncompetitive sequence of at-bats from Keaschall and a pair of pinch hitters ended this one.

The Twins fall to 32-40, and will need to take home the Sunday matinee in order to avoid three consecutive series losses.

STUDS:

DH Byron Buxton (2-for-4, R, RBI, HR)

1B Royce Lewis (2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B, HR)

DUDS:

RP Justin Lawrence (0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 2 HR)

The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies are getting back at it after a thorough domination from Jacob Misiorowski on Friday night. The Phillies will certainly be eager to face anyone else on the mound for the Brewers.

But they will be tasked with facing Shane Drohan, who, while not as dominant as Misiorowski, has been very good his last couple of turns since being put back into the starting rotation. His last time out, Drohan made it a career-long 6.1 IP against the Rockies, allowing just three runs. Drohan’s sitting on a 3.11 ERA on the season and is just starting to hit his stride.

On the Phillies side, Aaron Nola will be going for them. He has not hit his stride this year, pitching to the tune of a 5.86 ERA so far. Nola is just two years removed from receiving Cy Young votes. He had an injury-riddled 2025 season where he made just 17 starts with a 6.01 ERA. The 33 year old may be starting to have his age and innings catch up to him.

The Brewers will have a string of lefties in their lineup once again to take on the right-handed Nola. Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Brice Turang make up the top of the order. Jake Bauers is in at first base and Sal Frelick is handling right field, which means Andrew Vaughn is back on the bench again. David Hamilton gets the duties at third base tonight over Luis Rengifo.

The Phillies lineup contains a lot of the same names from the night before. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper make up the top of their order. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh are two other big time threats in the middle of the lineup.

Can the Brewers keep the Phillies bats down once again? Can Drohan build on his success? First pitch is at 6:10 PM.

Shohei Ohtani is back like he never left.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star was a noticeable absence from the lineup on June 12 as he dealt with left knee inflammation. It came after he was pulled from the team's June 11 game and underwent an MRI, which came back clean.

Whether Ohtani makes his next start or not remains to be seen, but the two-way star was inserted into the lineup on June 13. Installed in the leadoff spot, Ohtani left no doubt about his health on the second pitch of the game from Chicago White Sox starter Sean Burke.

Ohtani deposited a rocket into the right field seats at a blazing 109.6 mph exit velocity. The ball landed 409 feet away from where the star made contact.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue a six-game road trip with the second game of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

RHP Mike Burrows will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite LHP Noah Cameron and the Royals.

ABOUT BURROWS: The 26-year old RHP Mike Burrows has been the only starting pitcher in the Astros Opening Day rotation to make every scheduled start this season, which has given him the team lead in starts (13), innings (73.1) and strikeouts (60).

Burrows is new to the organization in 2026, having been acquired from the Pirates this offseason as part of a three-team, six-player trade in which the Astros sent OF Jacob Melton and minor league RHP Anderson Brito to the Rays, while the Rays sent IF Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery to the Pirates.

ROAD TRIP: The Astros are in Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals.

Earlier this week, the Astros faced the Angels for a three-game series in Anaheim at Angel Stadium, where they went 1-2.

Houston is 16-20 on the road this season and went 7-3 on their last road trip.

PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has recorded a 2.59 ERA (27ER/93.2IP) with 87 strike- outs, a 1.02 WHIP and a .180 opponent batting average.

Among AL teams since May 15, the Astros bullpen ranks first in opponent batting average, first in WHIP and first in ERA.

The Astros are also 15-11 during since May 15.

LAST NIGHT’S GAME: The Astros defeated the Royals, 10-8 last night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Astros scored nine of their 10 runs in the first inning…DH Yordan Alvarez went 3×5 with two home runs, including a grand slam and six RBI.

Marked his 25th career multi-homer game, which ranks tied for second in franchise history, behind only IF Jeff Bagwell (31).

1B Christian Walker (1×5, HR) and PH-LF Brice Matthews (1×1, HR, RBI) each homered.

The Astros bullpen combined to allow only three runs in 8.1 innings.

ON THE MEND: DH Yainer Diaz went 1×5 last night against Sacramento in a rehab appearance with Triple A Sugar Land.

VOTING COMMENCES: MLB launched the 2026 Konami eBaseball MLB All-Star Ballot last week.

The Astros on the ballot: 1B Christian Walker, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Isaac Paredes, SS Jeremy Peña, C Yainer Diaz, DH Yordan Alvarez, OF Brice Matthews, OF Jake Meyers and OF Cam Smith.

MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros are tied for the fewest errors in the AL (28) with the Athletics.

Houston has posted the best fielding percentage (.989) in the AL, topping the Athletics (.988), Royals (.988) and Mariners (.988) by a few percentage points.

VS. THE ROYALS: The Astros and Royals are facing each other for the first time this season.

The Astros went 3-3 against the Royals last season, including a 1-2 record at Kauffman Stadium.

The Astros own a 59-49 record all-time record against the Royals, including a 30-24 record at Kauffman Stadium.

ON THE LEADERBOARD: DH Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in OPS (1.092), SLG (.659) and total bases (166) and is tied for the Major League lead in home runs (24).

In the AL, he ranks first in RBI (54), first in extra base hits (37), second in hits (81), second in OBP (.433), second in batting average (.321), fourth in walks (46) and fourth in runs (46)

HOMER HAPPY: DH Yordan Alvarez hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the first inning of last night’s game.

He became the third player in franchise history to record two home runs in a single inning, joining Lee May on April 29, 1974 and Jeff Bagwell on June 24, 1994.

RIBEYE STEAK: DH Yordan Alvarez also recorded six RBI in the first inning of last night’s game, becoming the first player in franchise history to record at least six RBI in a single inning, the last player in MLB history to record at least six RBI in a single inning was LAD OF Cody Bellinger on June 2, 2021 vs. STL.

He’s also the 17th player in MLB history to do so.

YORDAN’S SLAM: DH Yordan Alvarez hit his sixth career grand slam last night at KC.

Alvarez now ranks tied for fourth in franchise history in grand slams, trailing only 2B Jose Altuve (7), 3B Alex Bregman (7) and OF Carlos Lee (7).

AIR YORDAN: DH Yordan Alvarez is the first player in Astros franchise history with 24 home runs through the team’s first 71 games of a season.

He is on pace to hit 54 home runs, which would set the single-season franchise home run record, passing IF Jeff Bagwell’s 47 home runs in 2000.

Alvarez’s single-season career-high in home runs is 37, which he recorded in 2022.

ON BASE MACHINE: OF Yordan Alvarez is on a 19-game on-base streak.

During the streak, he’s batting .373 (25×67) with 18 runs, two doubles, nine home runs, 23 RBI, 15 walks and a 1.294 OPS..it is his second-longest on-base streak this season, behind a 22-game on-base streak from April 4-28.

BACK-TO-BACK: DH Yordan Alvarez and 1B Christian Walker connected on back-to-back home runs in the first inning of last night’s game at KC.

Marked the second time this season the Astros have recorded back-to-back home runs, other was on May 8 at CIN by OF Zach Cole and C Christian Vázquez.

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday, OF Yordan Alvarez was named the AL Player of the Week for the week of June 1-7.

For the week, he batted .476 (10×21) with six runs, one double, two HR, nine RBI, five walks and a 1.386 OPS.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: In the AL, 1B Christian Walker ranks tied for third in RBI (49), fifth in extra base hits (31), sixth in total bases (131), tied for sixth in home runs (17), and 12th in SLG (.500).

In the field, Walker has not committed an error in 69 games.

HIT PAREDES: IF Isaac Paredes is one double away from recording his 100th career double.

Is looking to become just the 4th Mexican-born player in MLB history with 500 career hits, 100 doubles and 100 home runs, joining IF Vinny Castilla, IF Jorge Orta and IF Aurelio Rodríguez.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, June 13, 6:10 p.m. CT

Location: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The St. Louis Cardinals struck early Saturday afternoon, but the Minnesota Twins offense responded. It ended up being a back-and-forth affair in Minneapolis, but the bats of Iván Herrera, Jordan Walker and Blaze Jordan would be the difference makers.

The St. Louis Cardinals offense would come out of the gate firing in the top of the 1st inning as Masyn Winn walked and Iván Herrera jacked a 417 foot shot into the upper deck of Target Field giving the Cardinals an immediate 2-0 lead. (Spoiler Alert: he would provide a crucial encore later)

St. Louis would add to their lead in the top of the 2nd inning as Blaze Jordan tripled off of the right field wall to lead it off. After Fermin fouled out, Pedro Pagés picked him up by doubling to right scoring Jordan.

After the Pagés double, Nathan Church would reach on an infield ground ball to second advancing Pagés to third. He would then score on a sacrifice fly by Masyn Winn making it 4-0 Cardinals and they would need those additional runs.

Stop me if you’ve heard me say this before, but Matthew Liberatore got off to a strong start for the first few innings before running into trouble in the middle of the game. Saturday, it was the bottom of the 4th inning when Matthew’s day would start to come apart as he gave up solo home runs to both Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis as the Twins cut the Cardinals lead in half ending the inning trailing 4-2.

The bottom of the 5th inning would be problematic for Liberatore, too. After he opened the inning with a walk to Kreidler, he grooved a 94 mph four-seam fastball to Luke Keaschall who turned on it and sent it 371 feet just to the right of the left field foul pole tying the game at 4-4. After Liberatore got Jackson to line out to center, manager Oli Marmol removed him from the game and brought in Matt Svanson. Matthew Liberatore’s final stat line for the game was 4 1/3 innings pitched giving up 4 earned runs on 5 hits striking out 4 and walking 1. The good news is Matt Svanson was sharp as he finished the 5th inning and also took care of the bottom of the 6th inning allowing no hits or runs while striking out 2.

To put this in a video game way, the St. Louis Cardinals powered up in the top of the 7th inning. After Church and Winn struck out to start the inning, Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker would destroy baseballs in consecutive at-bats. Herrera would slam an arching 403 foot shot into the left field stands followed by Jordan Walker absolutely destroying an 80 mph sweeper launching the longest home run at Target Field this season traveling 455 feet off of the third deck and knocking the hat off of a fan. Exit velocity? 117 mph! Cardinals grab the lead back at 6-4.

The Cardinals offense was not even close to done in the top of the 7th inning. After Walker’s cannon launch, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson singled which brought the new wonderchild Blaze Jordan up and he did not disappoint. He joined the home run party turning a 94 mph four-seam fastball into 3 more runs for St. Louis upping their lead to 9-4! This kid is a keeper!

The good news just keeps coming as Ryne Stanek rebounded from Friday night’s unfortunate circumstances pitching an uneventful bottom of the 7th for St. Louis keeping the Twins at bay with a strikeout and 2 flyouts. No sweat. Chris Roycroft made his first appearance since being called up from Memphis Friday to take care of the Twins in the bottom of the 8th inning. Oli Marmol decided to give us a flashback to the good ole days of Earl Weaver getting tossed out of games when the Minnesota Twins made a ridiculously-late ABS challenge and he went nuclear. Can’t blame him for being bent about the Twins being allowed to walk halfway toward the dugout before tapping the helmet. Absurd. That would accelerate Roycroft being removed from the game after the walk to Martin and then a dribbler single on the third base side of the pitcher’s mound giving the Twins two runners on with just one out. JoJo Romero was brought in by substitute manager Daniel Descalso and he gave up a single which scored one run making it 9-5 Cardinals, but he was able to get Lewis to ground into a double play to limit the damage.

Riley O’Brien opened the bottom of the 9th inning by walking the bases loaded. Are you kidding me? Interesting that the Cardinals brought in JJ Wetherholt who had been given the day off as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th. He would come in handy as he was responsible for getting the second out on a ground ball by Josh Bell after Keaschall struck out looking. The Twins did score a run on the play making it 9-6 Cardinals, but the tying run was still coming up to the plate in Caratini. Fortunately, Riley O’Brien was able to get the final out on a fly ball to Nootbaar in left field to lock down a badly-needed Cardinals victory.

The St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their stay in Minneapolis with a Sunday afternoon game against the Twins. Michael McGreevy will get the start for the Cardinals while the Twins will send Taj Bradley to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm central time and the game TV broadcast will be available at Cardinals.tv.

Detroit Tigers (29-41) vs. Cleveland Guardians (38-33)

Time/Place: 4:10 p.m., Progressive Field
SB Nation Site: Covering the Corner
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70 ERA) vs. LHP Joey Cantillo (4-3, 4.57 ERA)

Shohei Ohtani is back in the starting lineup as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers take on the White Sox.

Saturday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at White Sox
• Ballpark: Rate Field, Chicago
• Start time: 1:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

No, you’re not dreaming. At least not about what the White Sox have been doing lately.

Last night’s 8-2 bashing of the mighty Dodgers continued a streak of terrific performances against top teams in the tough stretch of schedule — and ran Chicago’s home winning streak to eight. It will be Sean Burke trying to run that streak to nine, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto trying to see that doesn’t happen.

Righthander Yamamato is the ace of the Dodgers staff among pitchers who don’t also DH, with a 2.68 ERA and 0.918 WHIP. He’s been particularly effective of late, allowing just three runs across 27 1/3 innings in his last four starts. He’ll face a lefty-heavy White Sox lineup, with Sam Antonacci starting things off:

Burke, who has a 3.88 ERA and 1.18 WHIP for the season, has been vulnerable of late, giving up 12 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings his last five times out. He had an opener against the Phillies last time, but that doesn’t appear to have helped much, because he proceeded to walk five in 4 1/3, so Will Venable has him with a traditional start this time. Burke will contend with a Dodger lineup that has Shohei Ohtani back in his customary leadoff spot after a one-game break to recover from a knee tweak on Thursday.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. Central, with the temps in the mid-80s and a stiff breeze out right to left. Usual broadcast suspects.

After the historic meltdown in San Francisco, the Nats came out flat and the Mariners made them pay. Now they need to prevent things from spiraling out of control. A win today would be a great way to move on from that Giants loss. The Nats need Cade Cavalli to be a stopper.

The Nats are making a few lineup alterations. James Wood is moving to right field, pushing Dylan Crews to center and Daylen Lile to left. Jose Tena will be the DH and Nasim Nunez will be back at second base. Drew Millas will do the catching in this contest to give Keibert Ruiz a breather. As mentioned, Cade Cavalli is starting, and this is one of the biggest starts of his young career.

With Randy Arozarena’s injury, the Mariners have to make a tweak. Old pal Victor Robles is in right field. Besides that, the only change is behind the plate, with veteran Mitch Garver doing the catching. Despite injuries to Cal Raleigh, Brendan Donovan, JP Crawford and now Arozarena, this lineup still has juice. Luis Castillo has had a tumultuous season, but he has been better lately and will be on the hill today.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 4:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

It would probably be a little too much to call this a must win game, but it is a contest the Nats could really use. They cannot let that Giants disaster fester much longer, and if they keep losing, that game will become a dark cloud. This has been a resilient bunch, but this is a test. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.