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Interim Mets manager Andy Green spoke with reporters ahead of Saturday's game against the Dodgers at Citi Field and hit on a few topics...

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Jorge Polanco to play more in Soto's absence

With Juan Soto landing on the IL with a Grade 2 calf strain, there will be everyday at-bats available for many on the Mets roster.

Green was asked about whether Luis Robert Jr. will receive the bulk of the DH at-bats in Soto's absence and the Mets skipper said it will likely go to Polanco, at least in the short term. 

"We’re still trying to get him back on the field and into rhythm," Green said. "In the last week, Juan has taken quite a few of the DH at-bats and that’s stunted Polo’s ability to find some rhythm. We’re going to try to get him back into rhythm. He’s a guy we believe a lot in. Hopefully, as time goes on, we’ll get him to first base and then we’ll see where the DH at-bats get divvied up at that point."

Polanco is in Saturday's lineup as the Mets' DH, which will be his position moving forward until, as Green said, he can tolerate his Achilles pain and play first base. 

In just 23 games, Polanco is batting .161 with an OPS of .456 to go with his one home run and four RBI. Polanco has only played first base twice this season after suffering chronic left Achilles bursitis and a right wrist contusion, the latter putting him on the IL for nearly three months.

Mets unlucky with injuries in 2026

Soto's latest IL stint is the third in which a Mets player had to miss time due to a calf injury.

Of course, Soto missed about three weeks with a Grade 1 right calf strain earlier in the year and Francisco Lindor missed nearly two months with a calf strain as well. 

"It's a frustrating set of circumstances," Green said of the injuries that have plagued the team this year. "It feels unlucky, to a degree."

Green was asked a number of ways about the organization's medical and training staff and how they have handled these calf injuries this season. Green backed the staff and believes they have done their best. 

"We look at every injury and my experience with the medical and training staff is that they are reflective," Green explained. "They look at ways to improve in every situation. Baseball has this tendency to have a rash of elbow injuries for one team in a given year, and then a rash of lower-extremity injuries in another year. Then another year you’re looking at shoulder injuries.

"None of these is to excuse our responsibility to limit those as much as humanly possible, but I think if you look across the game, those trends exist. They‘re troubling for those who give their lives to keep people in the field of play. I can promise you our group is incredibly introspective and they want to keep these guys on the field and they’ll look back, just like any year, to see if there’s any adjustments to be better in that space."

Latest on Clay Holmes

Fresh off his first rehab start, Holmes is set to throw a bullpen on Sunday and once he's done, they'll figure out the right-hander's next steps. 

While Green didn't announce how many pitches he'll throw in the bullpen session, he did hint that he believes Holmes will need at least one more rehab start before rejoining the team. 

Holmes tossed 2.1 innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, throwing 51 pitches in the process, but it seems the Mets will want to stretch Holmes out further this next time through. If Holmes does throw another rehab, he could potentially start for the Mets just before the trade deadline on Aug. 3, but with the trade rumors surrounding the veteran, he could be pitching for another team. 

The Dodgers conclude their nine-game road trip on Sunday, with Emmet Sheehan looking to rebound against the Mets at Citi Field.

Sheehan allowed six runs in a loss to the Phillies on Monday, one more run than he gave up in his previous three outings combined. Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta is coming off a bad start of his own, giving up seven runs in a loss to Milwaukee on Monday.

Among the 117 major league pitchers with at least 80 innings this season, Sheehan ranks 103rd in ERA (5.13) and 43rd in xERA (3.89), while Peralta is 99th in ERA (5.01) and 40th in xERA (3.86). Both have better peripheral numbers than their ERA shows, but it hasn’t yet translated to much success on the mound.

Sunday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Mets
• Ballpark: Citi Field, Queens
• Start time: 10:45 a.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Saturday notes…

• MILESTONE INCOMIMG: A win today will be the Cubs’ 600th at Pittsburgh since the rivalry with the Pirates began in 1887, when “Allegheny City” jumped to the National League after five seasons in the rival American Association. The Cubs have won more games at Pittsburgh than at any other city. Philadelphia is second, with 579. The Cubs have lost more games at Pittsburgh, 714, than anywhere else. St. Louis is second, with 677. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DEFEATING THE WINNERS: Last night’s game was the Cubs’ first in 13 against an opponent that took a winning record into the game. They had gone 7-5 in the 12 vs. teams at .500 or below. Based on current records, the Cubs’ next 12 games all could be against clubs with more wins than losses. The Cubs are 25-21 against such teams and 33-24 vs. all others. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DIVISION RIVALS: Last night’s win raised the Cubs’ record against their Central Division rivals above .500, at 14-13. The Pirates are 17-13 within the division; the Brewers, 19-10; and the Cardinals, 15-14. The Reds are 7-22. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs pounded out 19 hits, including a home run and four RBI from Augie Galan, and crushed the Phillies 17-4 in Philadelphia. They led the NL by three games. It happened 90 years ago today, Saturday, July 25, 1936.

Neither team’s lineup was available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the lineups.

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Paul Skenes, RHP

Shōta Imanaga continued his good stretch of starts his last time out with seven shutout innings against the Twins last Sunday at Wrigley Field. Over his last seven: 2.31 ERA, 1.179 WHIP, only five home runs in 39 innings.

Imanaga threw six no-hit innings against the Pirates April 10 at Wrigley Field. In fact, the Pirates are the team against whom he’s had his most success: Five starts, 32 innings, 0.28 (!) ERA (one earned run), seven walks, 32 strikeouts. And he will need that because his opponent is…

Paul Skenes, who’s done very well against the Cubs in his career — 2.77 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 39 innings.

This year’s Skenes, though, is not like the last couple of years. After getting off to a great start, Skenes has a 4.55 ERA and 1.347 WHIP over his last 12 starts covering 65.1 innings. He’s still striking out guys — 82 in those 12 starts — but teams are finding ways to score.

One of those starts was May 28 at PNC Park. The Cubs scored three runs (one earned) off him in 5.1 innings, really running up his pitch count (103). That seems to be a way to beat him, so do it again.

Also, his four-seamer velocity is down a bit this year. As you see in the chart below, it’s at 96.9 this year — last year it was at 98.2. That might be enough to make the difference.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around PNC Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. If you do go there to interact with Pirates fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Saturday's starters#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/xDShT1OsEp

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 25, 2026

For the Yankees:

Saturday Night Baseball. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/I4eriNx5hw

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 25, 2026

Let’s talk about it.

Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung has been placed on the 10 day injured list, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled infielder Josh Smith from AAA Round Rock.

Jung left Tuesday’s win against the White Sox due to a calf issue which, after the game, he reported was minor. He missed Wednesday’s game, with the team saying a scan showed a strain, and the hope at the time was that he would be back in the lineup Friday, after Thursday’s off day. Jung did not play Friday, and will now miss at least the next week or so.

Jung has had a history of being dogged by injury issues, but has generally been healthy and productive this season, slashing .294/.361/441.

Smith started the season as the team’s regular second baseman, but got off to a bad start, then went on the injured list with a glute injury. While on the injured list, he was hospitalized with viral meningitis. Since being off the injured list he has bounced up and down between AAA and the majors. He’s slashing .230/.312/.295 in the big leagues on the season.

All season, Royals fans have been waiting for Salvador Perez to smash his 318th home run and take over the franchise record from team legend George Brett. On a warm summer day in late July, Salvy did it. There’s something poetic about this one, as there always was going to be with home number 318. But he hit it in the same place where he hit his first career home run, Comerica Park in Detroit. He also did the thing he had done 36 times before, coming up clutch with a game-tying smash. His big play also sparked something in a Royals team that has, for more than a decade, looked to the big Captain for their drive, and led the Royals to do something that seemed impossible. Once upon a time, it was winning a playoff game when he yanked a grounder down the third base line in extras; today it was beating the Tigers in Detroit.

Yeah, the Royals won this one 3-2.

After a game like this, we could reasonably talk about how Michael Wacha did some Matrix-style bullet dodging for seven innings. We could talk about how Daniel “Danny Drips” Lynch IV and Alex Lange-xiety combined for two shutout innings at the end of the game to finish things off. We could talk about Vinnie Pasquantino smoking three singles, or Michael Massey blasting a ball to right-center that would have been out of 28/30 big league parks in service this year but served only as a sacrifice fly to score the game’s first run. We could – and will – talk about Nick Loftin continuing to flex his clutch gene by hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth inning.

But the only thing anyone is going to remember from today is Salvador Perez identifying the hanging slider, putting a good swing on it, and smashing a no-doubter down the left field line to set a record that will stand for years and years, if not decades.

A rare highlight posted by the Royals’ media account that lasts for more than the bare minimum to convey the play. Drink it in. Savor it.

Did you savor it?

OK, good. Let’s talk about the rest of the game.

So as noted above, Michael Wacha wasn’t exactly dominant in this one. He only struck out 3 while walking 2 and allowing 6 hits, including four extra-base knocks, in seven innings. But he ultimately allowed only a pair of runs. He was giving up hard contact all day, but he managed to get the Tigers to hit the ball to centerfield quite a bit, and Lane Thomas kept running them down. It’s the kind of start that makes you glad to have Michael Wacha right now and nervous about having him next year.

Danny Drips picked things up in the eighth inning and got the Tigers 1-2-3. He was asked to get Riley Greene out in the ninth after Loftin had given the team the lead, but allowed a leadoff single instead. Lange-xiety came in and struck out Hao-Yu Lee with a high heater, allowed a single to Zack McKinstry that put the go-ahead run on base, but struck out Matt Vierling after a couple of awkward bunt attempts and then induced a pop-up from pinch-hitting Spencer Torkelson to lock down the win.

Let’s look at Loftin’s smash, real quick.

I was amused in the moment by how much this looked like the dinger Salvy had hit two innings earlier. It’s a fastball instead of a slider, but it’s up and in, and you could tell he was just waiting for that location and ripped it to a very similar spot. I don’t think Loftin is ever going to challenge any of Salvy’s home run records, but it was nice to see him copy the Captain’s homework for a game.

The Royals will attempt to split the series tomorrow afternoon. The Royals currently list TBD as their starting pitcher, though it’s Luinder Avila’s turn. Perhaps they’re considering using an opener for him, as they did for Noah Cameron last night? I just hope it’s not another injury. We’ve had enough of those, thanks. The Tigers will use Framber Valdez (4.57 ERA, 4.35 SIERA). Don’t let the numbers fool you, though. He’s a lefty, so the Royals will have their work cut out for them. The game starts at 12:40 PM Central and will be on Royals.TV.

Posting this a little later, give Snake Bytes time to breathe. Besides, it’s not as if anyone reads these. 🙂 Bratt Summer continues, and we’ll see if he can perhaps pitch long enough to get a decision – he has yet to reach five innings in any of his three starts so far. But at least he did throw 84 pitches over 4.2 innings last time, so should be more or less fully stretched out. He does need to improve his K:BB ratio, which is only 7:6 so far. But we also need to remember he only turned 23 years old earlier in the month. The last time a player made more than one start for us in his age 22 season or younger, was Archie Bradley in 2015.

I do wonder if it’s time for the five-inning rule to be changed. It came in for the 1950 season, when starting pitching was a very different animal. There were almost a thousand complete games thrown that year (997, to be precise), compared to last season when there were… twenty-nine. And that was in almost twice as many starts, because there were only 16 teams in the majors at that point. So, we’re talking about a 98.5% reduction, and it’s likely more this year, with a mere eleven complete games. In 1950, there were only 570 starts shorter than five innings, about 23%. Last year, there were 1,410, about 29%.

The standard now should really getting an out in the fifth for a decision, rather than completing it. Last year, there were 1,159 of those, which is as close to 23% as we can get. Might not seem much, but that would be 251 more chances given to starters to get a win. I’m sure Randy Vasquez would be in favor, as he had nine starts last year in that 4.1-4.2 inning range. Among D-backs, Brandon Pfaadt had four such games. Though in none of those would the rule change have affected the decision. The two non-decisions Pfaadt got, were both because the bullpen took the L, rather than due to the five-inning minimum. So maybe it wouldn’t make much difference.

They’ve certainly been a frustrating watch at several points this season, but by definition, the Yankees are currently a contender in 2026. They’re neck and neck with the Rays for the lead in both the AL East and the AL in total. Now, you may have your doubts about whether that record will then translate into playoff success, but the fact of the matter is, putting up one of the best records in the league will get you into the playoffs — then you just have to have a couple things break your way, and who knows what happens after that.

The Yankees have also managed to accomplish all that while getting basically no offensive production out of one position in particular: catcher. Austin Wells has had his ups and downs, but he’s completely fallen off a cliff in 2026. None of the backups they’ve tried had fared much better either. As we near the Trade Deadline, the Yankees will likely target catchers for a platoon at the very least, which they wouldn’t have expected going into the year.

That being said, it’s not unheard of for one particular spot on an otherwise good team to yield bad results. In fact, even Yankees World Series-winning teams have carried a black hole in the lineup. To find the worst regular (which I’m counting as someone who qualified for the batting title by today’s standards) hitter to ever play on a Yankees World Series championship team, you can go right back to the first ever one in 1923.

After an eight-year career and three World Series wins with the Red Sox, the Yankees acquired shortstop Everett Scott in December 1921, along with pitchers Sad Sam Jones and Bullet Joe Bush. Scott was primarily known for two things in his career: his glove and his consecutive games played. It was his record of 1307 consecutive games played that was broken by Lou Gehrig and then eventually Cal Ripken Jr. Scott today still holds the third longest streak ever.

While he was considered one of the best shortstops in the game during his career, Scott was never much of a hitter. If you use the OPS+, which gets adjusted for era, Scott’s best career hitting season was 1920. That year, he hit .269/.300/.369, which equated to a 79 OPS+. His defense still led to him grading out as being a perfectly fine player according to WAR.

Scott’s first year with the Yankees saw them come up just short, as they fell in the 1922 World Series to the Giants. The following year, he was again the starting shortstop and a team leader as they made another run at the franchise’s first championship. He just didn’t always lead the team with his bat.

In the 1923 season, Scott hit just .246/.266/.325, which equated to a 54 OPS+. That season has gone down as the worst ever by a regular for a Yankees World Series-winning team. He actually did hit a little better in that year’s World Series victory over the Giants, posting a .636 OPS. Even then though, it was just him going 7-for-22 with all singles.

Scott’s hitting was a bit worse in 1924, and he posted just a .459 OPS in his first 22 games of 1925 leading to the Yankees selling him to the Washington Senators. He played for a couple more teams before hanging it up after 1926. Despite his light bat, he still ended his career with four World Series championships, and was well regarded enough in Boston to be posthumously inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

If the Yankees do end up winning the World Series, it would be difficult for them to do that while Wells breaks this particular “record.” It’s hard to see them actually pulling it off unless Wells manages to turn it around or they trade for someone who can hit better. That being said, it’s apparently not impossible to win the World Series despite carrying one particular putrid hitter.

COOPERSTOWN, NY — Carlos Beltrán’s emotions were in check throughout his press conference Saturday, but afterwards, taking a few more questions from Spanish-speaking reporters, he was asked what his Hall of Fame induction means to his homeland of Puerto Rico.

He began to talk, stopped, shut his eyes, and then hurriedly walked away as tears streamed down his face.

Beltrán, who turned down an opportunity to manage the New York Mets this summer, but would love to have the job if offered again after the season, spoke for 30 minutes about what his induction means to him.

He grew up in Puerto Rico, and believed one day that he’d become a professional baseball player, but never, ever, did he imagine that he’d be a Hall of Famer.

It never really dawned on him until July 26, 1999.

This was the day his Kansas City Royals were in Cooperstown playing a Hall of Fame exhibition against the Texas Rangers in honor of George Brett, who was being inducted along with Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount and Orlando Cepeda.

Beltrán, who was in his first season, was asked by Brett that day if he had ever met Cepeda, his hero.

Beltrán told him no, and that he was too shy to introduce himself, so Brett volunteered. Beltrán even brought a baseball for Cepeda to sign.

They walked up, Brett made the introduction, and says to Cepeda:

“Let me introduce you to the next Hall of Famer from Puerto Rico. His name is Carlos Beltrán."

Beltrán was speechless.

“I’m like, 'What are you doing?' You're introducing me as a Hall of Famer," Beltrán said. “I don't think that's a good statement, George. And George said, 'Well, Carlos, everything is possible in life if you play hard, and if you continue to play good, and if you continue to develop yourself. This is a chance that you could be here.'"

It stuck with Beltrán his entire career.

“That was always in the back of my mind," Beltrán said. “I always thought about what I need to do to get better. So, I always had the attitude of improving every single year. Every year I did an evaluation of how I did it and how I played the game and what I need to improve.

“I worked on it, got better, and here I am."

A Hall of Famer, and star-struck this week seeing Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench and Juan Marichal in the halls of the Otesaga Hotel.

“It's kind of overwhelming," Beltrán said. “And at the same time, it makes me feel proud about my journey as a baseball player to be able to end up in this position."

And hopefully, Beltrán says, his journey will lead others from Puerto Rico to follow in his footsteps.

“There's no doubt that every generation has responsibility," Beltrán said, “you know, not only to play the game, but also to promote the game and to try to impact the community that you come from. In my case, coming from Puerto Rico, I feel very proud because there were a lot of guys in front of me that really created a better path for me.

“Because of their effort, I hope that I have done the same for others. Being able to inspire them, being able to motivate them."

Beltrán is a hero in Puerto Rico not only because of his baseball career, but his charity foundation and baseball academy, including a high school that he built 15 years ago on the island.

“I feel very proud of the job that I do with my foundation,’’ he said. “We help a lot of people. We believe in the game. We believe in the sport. We believe in opportunities.

“The most important thing that I try to promote is education. It's so hard to have a long career in the game, but we all can have incredible career through education.’’

And when he talks about Puerto Rico in his speech, with his family gathered in front of him, it may difficult to keep his composure.

“I don’t know how it's going to be for me when I get to see my mom and my dad in front of me and get to talk about them," he said. “The Hall of Fame is something that doesn't happen to everybody. God chose me to be in this position, and to use the platform that he's giving me to continue to motivate others, to get involved more in the community, and to continue to promote the game.

“That’s what I care about the most."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carlos Beltran becomes Hall of Famer after years as scandal's scapegoat

Juan Soto is headed to the 10-day IL with a left calf strain, the same injury that kept him out for three weeks earlier this season. Eric Wagaman has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse with the corresponding move.

Soto left Friday night’s game with calf soreness and was replaced at DH by Jorge Polanco, as the 2026 Mets season continues to depress. Soto, an irreplaceable presence in the Mets lineup, was the lone All-Star for the club this season. Rejuvenated in the field and carrying a 163 wRC+, Soto can’t seem to shake problems with his calf. The left fielder has 15 RBIs and an OPS of .760 in 23 games played in July.

Wagaman has appeared in 28 games for the Mets this season, registering a 68 wRC+. He has DH’d and played the corner outfield spots as well as the corner infield spots.

Soto’s absence will make it easier for the Mets to audition possible trade pieces like Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. as the trade deadline quickly approaches.

The Mets play the Dodgers Saturday at 7:15 PM EDT on Fox. New York dropped the first game of the series 4-2, and now has to try to scrape out a win without their best bat.

Game #105.

After yesterday’s game, John said that Tyler Rogers wasn’t available for the game and that Louis Varland would only be used if there was a save situation.

It was nice to see them score more than one run. Today let’s shot for more than one run and a win. I know that is asking a lot, but that’s what I would like.

Though I’m ok with a loss if they put up an effort.

Beyond that, there isn’t much for news. Jesus Sanchez and Yimi Garcia are both starting rehab assignments. I’m thinking neither will be much longer than a week.

Lineups:

The Tigers looked to make it three in a row at home against the Royals in a four-game weekend series. It was a tight game all throughout, not unlike Friday night’s game, but a couple of solo home runs late in the game spoiled a solid pitching performance as the Royals won 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Casey Mize made his sixteenth start for the Tigers; his last one was cut short after getting hit by line drive but he ended up being alright. He’s also continuing to experience groin tightness from time to time, and that is not an ailment about which I’d ever make a lewd joke. Mize’s won-loss record coming into today was 4-6 but he had a 2.79 ERA, an even-better 2.62 FIP (Fielding-Independent Pitching, what his ERA would be if the defence had been average behind him), and a sensational WHIP of 1.029. In conclusion, win-loss records ain’t worth a hill o’ beans.

The veteran Michael Wacha took the hill for the visitors. He’s been Mr. Reliable since 2022: in every season he’s had an ERA between 3 and 4, kept his HR/9 innings between 0.8 and 1.3, and WHIP between 1.11 and 1.22. If there’s a knock on him, it’s perhaps that he’s fairly durable but gets put on the shelf for a short spell every year. Good so far in ‘26, though.

Vinnie Pasquantino led off the second with a single, was bunted over to second, took third on a wild pitch, and trotted home on a long sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. Early on, Mize wasn’t looking as sharp as one might hope; his fastball was topping out around 93 mph (4.2 cm/ms) and his command looked a little off. Wait… control? Command? I’ve seen that those are two different things, but I’ll be darned if I know the difference between ‘em.

Riley Greene turned on the first pitch of the bottom of the second and slammed a double off the left-centrefield wall, narrowly missing a home run. No matter; Hao-Yu Lee hit a line drive to right that was misplayed by Jac Caglianone, Lee ended up on second and Greene came home to tie the game.

(In that clip, there’s a guy in the crowd at the very end who’s wearing a boat captain’s hat and a sash that looks like it says “GROOM” on it. Best of luck to ya, bud!)

In the third Mize’s pitch speeds crept upwards, with his fastball reaching 95 mph (12.6 furlongs/min) at times, and he was also locating his pitches better. To wit, he ended the fourth with a perfectly-dotted 94-mph heater low and away to Nick Loftin who was, as Ernie Harwell might’ve observed, “Out for excessive window-shopping.” Maybe it just took him a couple of innings to fully warm up.

Lee kept on a-rollin’ in the bottom of the fourth, thwacking a high changeup into the left-field seats for a solo home run to put the Tigers up 2-1.

Mize’s day was done after six very solid innings: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K. He limited the hard contact and coaxed a whole lot of soft fly balls to left field from left-handed hitters. Even though he clearly isn’t at the top of his game, he figured out how to work with what he had and did a great job.

In the bottom of the sixth with one out Kerry Carpenter singled and Greene walked, bringing up Lee who grounded out to second, pushing the runners up to second and third with two outs. Alas, Zack McKinstry popped up harmlessly for the third out.

Kyle Finnegan took over for Mize to start the seventh, and on his second pitch Salvador Perez took the all-time lead in home runs as a Kansas City Royal with his 318th, passing George Brett on that list and tying the game at two. Let’s face it, Perez is gonna mash at least one home run per series against the Tigers, and there it was; merely a matter of time. After a single and a strikeout Finnegan was out and Tyler Holton was in, and a flyout and a groundout ensued.

Wacha carried on into the seventh, and he got the Tigers to go 1-2-3. There was some solid contact off Wacha all day but he managed to, for the most part, scatter it around enough to minimize the damage. The Tigers only struck out 5 times all game but they weren’t finding the outfield grass much either.

Holton carried on to the eighth, as he does so often, and gave up a single to Carter Jensen after a lineout. Jacob Waugespack took over and struck out Lane Thomas, but a wild pitch sent Jensen to second and a grounder booted by Gleber Torres allowed him to advance to third. But Waugespack coolly got Perez to bounce out and the game remained tied.

What wasn’t so cool was Loftin hitting an 0-2 up-and-in Waguespack fastball into the seats with one out in the ninth to put the Royals up 3-2.

So, it was up to the Tigers to get out of the one-run hole they’d dug, and Greene led off with a single on the second pitch to put the tying run on base. The Royals then called upon Old Friend™ Alex Lange to try to close things out; he hasn’t been that great, and he’s ditched the curveball that he used to use a lot with the Tigers. After striking out Lee, McKinstry singled to right and Greene advanced to third to put runners on the corners. But then Vierling tried a safety squeeze, failed to get a bunt down, and struck out, leaving things up to pinch-hitter Spencer Torkelson… who popped up to the catcher to end the game on the first pitch. That’s disappointing.

Final score: Royals 3, Tigers 2

Numbers and Observations

• With his second-inning double, Hao-Yu Lee has now hit safely in ten straight games.
• Coming into today’s game, Colt Keith’s July was going pretty well: 11-for-42 for a .262 batting average, but three of those hits were home runs, boosting his OPS to .800. That’s going to go up after today with his multi-hit game, of course.
• Riley Greene had ten putouts in left field. That’s one short of tying the all-time record of 11, shared by four people including Tigers great Willie Horton.
• On this day in 1837 the first commercially-viable electrical telegraph was demonstrated in England. The prefix “tele-” means “at a distance” (think telescope, television, telephone), and “graph” means “to draw.” So, telegraphs draw things far away; kinda makes sense. This has been Etymology Corner for today.

Salvador Perez has resume most baseball players would envy – All-Star appearances, Gold Gloves, Silver Slugger Awards, and a World Series MVP. Now he can add one more accomplishment to his list – all-time Royals home run champ.

Salvy jumped on a hanging breaking ball from Kyle Finnegan and deposited it into the left field stands at Comerica Park in Detroit, the 318th home run of his career.

“FOR THE RECORD!”

Salvador Perez passes George Brett to become the @Royals all-time home run leader 💪 https://t.co/s6t4FFHPoqpic.twitter.com/H66Xgnr2bb

— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2026

The home run surpasses George Brett for the most in club history. George needed 2,707 games to reach the mark. Salvy did it in 1,805.

After he hit the record, George had a message for hm.

Your new Royals All-Time Home Run King was kind enough to join the broadcast!

Congratulations, Salvy! pic.twitter.com/18kpJmR1qq

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) July 25, 2026

The nine-time All-Star is also just seven home runs away from passing Gary Carter and Lance Parrish for fifth-most home runs by a player who spent more than half his games behind the plate.

Here are some fun facts about his home runs:

• His first career home run came on August 29, 2011 in Detroit against Max Scherzer.
• He has hit 141 home runs at Kauffman Stadium – more than any other player.
• The other top stadiums he has hit home runs in are Target Field (23), Guaranteed Rate Field (20), Comerica Park (17) and Progressive Field (12). Nationals Park is the only active stadium he has played a game in but not homered.
• He has homered off Lucas Giolito and J.A. Happ the most, with five each.
• He has homered off 14 Cy Young winners.
• 225 home runs have come off right-handers, 92 against lefties
• He has 242 home runs as a catcher, 59 as DH, and 17 as a first baseman.
• The sixth inning is the inning he has hit his most home runs – 51.
• 162 home runs have come with the bases empty. He has six career grand slams.
• He has three career walk off home runs (September 15, 2012 vs. the Angels, September 14, 2018 vs. the Twins, April 17, 2021 vs. the Blue Jays)

From all of us at Royals Review, congratulations Salvador Perez, truly a Royals all-time great!

Last night was not your usual Nationals game. The pitching gave them a chance to win, but the offense could not deliver. That led to a frustrating 3-2 loss. Now, the Nats will need to win this contest to give themselves a chance at a series win. With Foster Griffin on the mound, they will be all in on getting this curly W.

With another lefty on the mound, the lineup is not too different for the Nats. There are only a couple changes. Andres Chaparro moves to first, which slides James Wood to DH, making room for Daylen Lile. Keibert Ruiz will also be behind the plate in this one. He will be catching the Nats ace Foster Griffin, who might be making his last start for the team.

folks

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/SO4L0Ma5Ik

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 25, 2026

The D-Backs are making a couple tweaks at the bottom of their order. Old friend Ildemaro Vargas will start at first base. James McCann will be behind the dish, while Gabriel Moreno is the DH. Rookie Ryan Waldschmidt will make his first start of the series as well. Another rookie will be on the mound, with Mitch Bratt taking the ball.

Let’s keep it going. pic.twitter.com/zNsvtpMhO0

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 25, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 4:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Last night was a tough loss, but the series is still up for grabs. With Griffin on the mound, this feels like a game the Nats need to win. However, the offense will have to be better if they want to do that. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!