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Hopefully the Nats did not get all of the runs out of their system in one night. After last night’s 23 run explosion, the Nats will look for a series win against the A’s tonight. As we saw last night, this is a hitter friendly yard and the A’s bullpen is also very hitter friendly.

With a righty on the mound, Blake Butera will make some tweaks. Luis Garcia Jr. will get his first start after the break. Dylan Crews is the only pure right handed hitter in the lineup, hitting 9th. Jose Tena, Keibert Ruiz and Jorbit Vivas will be in the lineup. Zack Littell will make his first start of the second half.

The A’s are also making a couple tweaks. Long time Met Jeff McNeil will be in the lineup in the 9 spot. Another veteran in Jonah Heim will be in the lineup, and he will be the DH. Otherwise, it is a lot of the same faces as last night. J.T. Ginn has had a breakout year and he is on the mound tonight.

Game Info:

Stadium: Sutter Health Park

Time: 10:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The late night Nats are back this evening, with a 10:05 start. If you stayed up last night, you got to see a show. Hopefully that will be the case again in this one. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Last night, the Athletics kicked off the second half the same way they finished the first half, suffering an embarrassing 23-4 defeat to kick off this three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

The team’s change at pitching coach did not provide an immediate boost, as several A’s pitchers combined to allow 18 runs in another disastrous performance at Sutter Health Park.According to OptaSTATS, during this 10-game skid, the A’s have made unwanted history, becoming the first MLB team to post an OPS that low (.575) while allowing an opponent OPS that high (1.019).

Tonight, the A’s can even this series and collect just their second win of the month. Before the game, the team made several roster moves following its latest humiliating loss.

Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner, who was one of two pitchers that allowed six runs yesterday, lands on the injured list with right knee chondromalacia, otherwise known as runners knee. If that was the cause of his recent struggles, hopefully his performance will improve once he returns from the injury.

The A’s recalled right-hander Geoff Hartlieb to take his place in the bullpen. First baseman Joey Meneses was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. The 34-year-old went 3-for-20 in nine games with the Athletics over the past few weeks. Now the club has five days to find a trade partner or place Meneses on waivers.

Speaking of trades, the A’s sent Aaron Civale, who had been designated for assignment a few days earlier, to the Chicago Cubs. The veteran pitcher returns to the team he finished the 2025 season with. In return, the “Green and Gold’ received minor-league pitcher Aiden Moffett, an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia. Moffett has struck out more than a batter per inning this season, but he has also issued 42 walks in just 22⅓ innings between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A.

Moving to tonight’s game, A’s right-hander J.T. Ginn will make his 19th start of the season. The 27-year-old enters his first outing of the second half with a 7-6 record, a 3.67 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP and 93 strikeouts over 103 innings.

Ginn ended his breakout first half on a sour note. He exited his start in Detroit after four innings because of an illness. A few days later, he imploded in the A’s final game before the All-Star break against the Chicago White Sox, allowing six runs in the bottom of the first inning and erasing his team’s early 1–0 lead.

This evening, the Athletics desperately need a quality start from Ginn. He must keep the ball down in the zone, trust his sinker to generate ground-ball outs and avoid mistake pitches. That will not be easy, as the Nationals have scored the most runs in the majors, but Ginn has proven to be the one starter the A’s can consistently count on when he takes the mound.

He will face off against Nationals’ right-hander Zack Littell, who is 7-6 with a 4.90 ERA through 19 appearances, including 12 starts, in his first season in the nation’s capital. Yesterday, the A’s offense struggled against Cade Cavalli’s overpowering arsenal. Littell presents a different challenge. With just 57 strikeouts in 90 innings, he relies on keeping hitters off balance and generating weak contact rather than overpowering them. That approach has paid off recently, as the 30-year-old has pitched well over his last three appearances, though he has earned just one win during that stretch.

Littell will face off against this A’s lineup:

While the team’s pitching has received most of the criticism, its offense has also failed to meet expectations.

Catcher Shea Langeliers needs to carryover his All-Star Game performance into games that actually matter. With Henry Bolte on the bench after a tough game in the series-opener,Lawrence Butler shifts to center field. Donovan Walton gets a second straight start at second base, while Jonah Heim and Jeff McNeil make their first starts of the series.

One of the club’s top prospects, Tommy White, is out of the starting lineup after making his MLB debut and collecting his first hit last night. Given the A’s record and the absence of Nick Kurtz, it is surprising to see Tommy Tanks not playing, but hopefully McNeil will prove the doubters wrong.

Ginn will go up against this lineup for Blake Butera’s Nationals:

For the A’s to have a chance to force a rubber match tomorrow, Ginn and the relievers who follow him must keep Washington’s offense in check.

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

The Mets' poor defense and lackluster offense continued to hurt them during Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, as the team committed three errors and had just three hits.

Francisco Alvarez's throwing error in the bottom of the fifth inning on a pickoff attempt moved Kyle Schwarber from first to third base, putting him in position to score on a single later in the frame. Then, in the sixth inning with Philadelphia up 6-1, Francisco Lindor's relay throw to third base went wild, allowing Bryce Harper to advance to second base easily and giving him his third straight game with an error.

Luckily, Lindor's mistake didn't add to the Phillies' lead, but it did continue the trend of poor defensive mistakes for the 2026 Mets as the star shortstop is already up to six errors in only 42 games this season. After the loss, he was asked if what interim manager Andy Green described as "sloppy play" is creating a mental block for the team across the board and took blame for his mistakes, saying his level of play needs to improve.

"I can't really speak about everybody else. From my point of view, he's right, it was sloppy. It's not to the level that I expect myself and it's not the level that people expect us to play here," Lindor said. "For me, defense, it's the most important thing and it's been not good, not good at all. I'm letting down the pitchers that have worked extremely hard. 

"Thankfully, tonight, my error didn't lead to a run. However, it lead to high-leverage situations. Where it was just we could have pitched with someone on first and third. Overall, just got to get better. When it comes to mental mistakes, yeah, that was a mental mistake today. I got a little fast and tried to make something happen and I wasn't fully aligned to go to third base."

Lindor, who owns a career .980 fielding percentage and had made just 55 errors in his first five seasons with the Mets, said the team needs to be better about "turning the page" after a mistake and continue to support each other when they happen.

"You got to focus on what you have in front of you," Lindor said. "And as soon as you make that error, try to focus on turning the page and then expect the ball to be hit back to you. It's one of those where per game, it's happened a little too much. But with that being said, everybody is working... you just got to rely on each other and have the mentality of picking each other up."

He added: "We know each other, we're here for each other and we know nobody's going to make the mistakes. At the end of the day, everybody cares for each other here. As a defensive player, I want to get it done for the pitcher. And in the same thing, the pitchers want to help us when we mess up. And when we're on offense, we want to score for everybody to have the lead and help the pitchers be a little more comfortable. Everybody trusts each other here and we're playing for each other.

After missing 57 games, it was expected that Lindor would take some time to reacclimate at the plate, but not on defense. When asked if there has been a bit of an adjustment period for him defensively since returning on June 24, Lindor said that either way, he needs to get back to his "standard."

"I've never really thought about it, but there have been some plays that have gone a little fast," Lindor said. "I don't know if it's missing time or if it's just, I got to just get better. The way I view it, bottom line, I just got to get better. 

"I don't know if it's a time thing, to me, that's not an excuse. I'm back on a major league field, I got to play like a major league player. I got to play to the standard that the New York Mets want and I got to play up to my standard as well."

Green and the team believe that Lindor can get back to that level this season, especially when they get "on the attack defensively." The 32-year-old noted that returning to full form is a "high mountain" he plans on climbing the rest of the season.

"He's a guy that we believe in, we'll continue to believe in," Green said. "He's got a long track record of being one of the absolute best shortstops in baseball. Have confidence that he will be that before this season is out."

The Orioles may or may not be a good team. But right now, they’re pulling off a heck of a lot of improbable wins.

The O’s stunned the Astros in Houston for a second straight game, somehow emerging with a 4-2, 11-inning victory to extend their season-best winning streak to six. It was a game the Birds seemingly had no business winning. Their offense was a no-show throughout regulation, squandering nearly every scoring opportunity, as the top five hitters in the lineup were a combined 0-for-19. The Birds faced certain doom in the bottom of the 10th when the Astros put the winning run on third base with nobody out. But Tyler O’Neill made a game-saving defensive play and later drove in the Orioles’ go-ahead run, and new reliever Cam Sanders locked it down with a perfect 11th for the save.

Let’s jump right ahead to the most unbelievable part of this ridiculous game, the Orioles’ Houdini act in the bottom of the 10th. The clubs were locked in a 2-2 tie and the Astros loaded the bases with nobody out against Andrew Kittredge. The O’s, for all intents and purposes, were screwed. Doomed. Destined for defeat. There’s no escaping this. The Astros didn’t even need a hit to win. A well-placed grounder or a deep fly ball. Or a walk, or a wild pitch, or a hundred other possibilities. The O’s had only two outfielders, with center fielder Leody Taveras coming in to give the Birds a five-man infield. Only a miracle would keep this game alive for the Orioles.

Apparently, folks, miracles do occur. Jose Altuve lofted a fly to center. Right fielder Tyler O’Neill had to range over to make the catch, and Nick Allen, the runner from third, tagged up and busted toward the plate. O’Neill fired the ball toward home with such force that he knocked himself off his feet. His throw sailed a bit up the third-base line, but catcher Samuel Basallo snagged it and made a great tag of Allen as he slid past. OUT! DOUBLE PLAY! Wow! I didn’t think O’Neill had any chance of cutting down the runner, especially with a somewhat off-line throw, but incredibly, it worked out.

The O’s weren’t done flashing great defense. Now with runners at second and third, the next batter, LaMonte Wade Jr., tried to catch the Orioles off guard with a bunt, laying it down the third-base line. This time it was Kittredge himself who dazzled defensively, racing over to barehand the ball and whipping a strong, accurate throw to first to just nip the runner. One false move — a bobble by Kittredge or an off-line throw — would’ve resulted in a hit and scored the winning run. Kudos to the veteran Kittredge for keeping his cool and making the play. The Orioles, amazingly, had escaped the jam unscathed and lived to play another inning.

The momentum back on their side, the O’s took the lead for good in the top of the 11th. With Gunnar Henderson on second base as the free runner, Taylor Ward drew a leadoff walk. Astros righty Enyel De Los Santos very nearly got out of it, striking out Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo, but once again it was O’Neill who played the hero. On his slow grounder to second, Altuve was late to get to the ball, and O’Neill — hustling down the line at an uncharacteristically speedy 29.3 feet per second — beat the throw to first. Henderson, who never stopped running, scored all the way from second base with the go-ahead run. Taveras followed with an RBI single to add some insurance, making it 4-2.

With the Orioles having already used all their high-leverage relievers, Craig Albernaz turned to newcomer Cam Sanders to secure the save in the bottom of the 11th. Sanders had made a fantastic first impression the previous night in his O’s debut, escaping a bases-loaded jam and notching the win, and he was no less impressive this time around. He coolly retired all three batters he faced, including a game-ending strikeout of Dezenzo that clinchde an outstanding O’s win. In his first two games as an Oriole, Sanders has earned both his first major league win and his first major league save. Can’t get much better than that.

What a victory. Before the extra-inning heroics, it seemed like this game was destined to be another of those frustrating Orioles defeats in which they only have themselves to blame. Their offense, specifically, was a source of constant frustration in the first nine innings. They failed to take advantage of Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti, who was a control-challenged mess, walking four batters and plunking another over the course of his five innings.

For example: in the third inning, Arrighetti issued back-to-back walks, bringing up Gunnar Henderson. You would think Henderson might take a pitch or two from a guy who couldn’t find the strike zone. You would think! Instead, Gunnar hacked at the first pitch and popped out to short. (He went 0-for-5 in this game and is hitless in the series. If you thought the All-Star break might cure what’s ailed Gunnar, sad to say he seems more lost at the plate than ever.) Taylor Ward then flied out on a 3-0 pitch, ending the inning.

The frustration only mounted in the fourth. Again, Arrighetti got himself into immediate trouble with an Alonso walk and Basallo HBP. Dylan Beavers followed with a produtive at-bat, lashing a double down the right-field line. Alonso scored, Basallo moved to third, and the O’s were up 1-0 with runners at second and third and nobody out, on the verge of a big inning.

But the next three Orioles put up some pathetic at-bats. Colton Cowser and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, making his Orioles debut, were each retired on the first pitch, failing to score the runner. And Jackson Holliday completed the trifecta of ineptitude by striking out. Ouch. Even after Arrighetti left the game, the O’s biffed another rally in the sixth when Cowser grounded into a double play with two runners on. Remember those two weeks or so when it seemed like Colton had finally figured things out? Those were nice. Now he’s 5-for-44 in his last 18 games, looking hopeless again.

Still, Trevor Rogers nearly made the slim one-run lead hold up. Rogers wasn’t perfect, but he was able to pitch himself out of nearly every threat the Astros tried to put together. One came right off the bat in the bottom of the first, when the Astros had three hits but didn’t score, thanks to a double play and a strikeout.

Rogers dodged a jam again in the fifth. A pair of singles put two aboard for the dangerous Yordan Alvarez, the American League’s best hitter in, oh, basically every category. Rogers made a big pitch when he needed to, retiring Alvarez on a grounder up the middle. The 1-0 Orioles lead was still intact.

But the O’s couldn’t count on Rogers to be flawless forever, and in the bottom of the seventh, the branch snapped. After retiring the first batter, Rogers gave up back-to-back singles that put runners at the corners, ending his night at 99 pitches. For Rogers, it was his fifth straight start of one or fewer runs allowed, lowering his ERA to 4.28. He’s been fantastic since the start of June.

Sadly, he wasn’t rewarded with a win. The Astros’ Nick Allen laid down a perfect squeeze bunt against Rico Garcia that plated Zach Dezenzo from third, tying the score. The Orioles really should have scored a few more runs earlier, huh? Garcia at least got out of the inning without further damage, starting an impressive couple of innings by the bullpens. Yennier Cano and Tyler Wells each worked a perfect inning for the Orioles, while Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader did the same for the Astros, sending the 1-1 tie into extra innings.

Briefly, the O’s got the upper hand in the top of the 10th. An Encarnacion-Strand single moved the free runner, Taveras, to third base, and pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson laid down a squeeze bunt to bring him home. It was the Orioles’ first run since the fourth inning, giving them a 2-1 lead.

The lead slipped away in the bottom of the 10th against Kittredge, which began with an Allen bunt single and an Alvarez game-tying RBI double, followed by a Henderson error. That set up the aforementioned bases-loaded, no-out jam and the wondrous escape that followed. The Orioles were facing defeat right in the face. And they said, “Not today.”

Who is your Most Birdland Player, Camden Chatters? Is it Tyler O’Neill for his game-saving throw to the plate and his go-ahead single? Andrew Kittredge for escaping a jam (albeit one of his own making)? Trevor Rogers for another strong outing? Let us know in the comments.

I barely have the words to describe my excitement with this streak and my amazement with this team. I’m going to try.

Boy, these Red Sox are winning in every way possible. Yesterday with a starting gem and powerful offense in Game 1, then a bullpen game holding the line in Game 2. This afternoon’s bout did something different.

The beginning of this game was back-and-forth-two runs for the Rays, Sox snatch it right back; Sox grab one, Rays get one very soon thereafter. Jahmai Jones, welcome to Boston with a two-run shot in his first start as a member of the Sox! Wilyer Abreu torched one over the center field fence, 435 feet, and that was the last time the Sox would have the lead for a bit. Yeah, the top of the 4th is when starter Patrick Sandoval collased, just dishing meatballs and giving the Rays a two-run lead. In the top of the 7th, Jonny DeLuca’s solo shot snuck into the Monster seats and it felt like the air deflated out of the crowd; it looked like this was the end.

Not so fast.

Andruw Monasterio opened the bottom of the seventh with a double. Jarren Duran reached on a fielding error by Rays first baseman Ryan Vilade combined with Cole Sulser not actually touching first base—a gift, but this team knows what to do with gifts. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit and grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Monasterio. That’s one. Anthony Seigler strikes out, now there are two outs. Then Ceddanne Rafaela, down to two strikes, lined a double to make it a one-run ballgame.

The Rays went to Garrett Cleavinger. Whether the thinking was to get a lefty on lefty look against Abreu is a question for their dugout, just my hypothesis. Either way, it didn’t work. Full count. Fenway on its feet. Abreu demolished a two-run shot to the bullpen and both the crowd—and Abreu himself—completely lost it. 7-6. This is the type of frame that has defined this win streak. Don’t go down quietly.

Whitlock threw a clean eighth. Chapman walked two in the ninth—and made everyone in the ballpark chew their fingernails—then slammed the door for save number 21.

49-48. Twelve in a row. And for the first time since March, the Boston Red Sox are above .500. This was the first time all season the Red Sox have won a game being down three runs or more at some point—they were 0 and 34 before this. At some point you stop calling it a hot streak and just BELIEVE.

Studs

Wilyer Abreu (2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB)

Four home runs in two games. The last Sox to have back-to-back multiple home run games was Mookie Betts in 2018. The solo shot in the third gave the Sox the lead. The two-run blast in the seventh won the game. Something has clicked for him over the last week that wasn’t completely there most of this season—harder contact, pulling the ball with authority, doing it against all types of pitching. The Sox need it to keep going. If you’re not watching Wilyer Abreu right now, you should be.

Jahmai Jones (1-for-1, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R)

Acquired this week for basically a bag of peanuts, pinch hit in Game 2 of yesterday’s doubleheader, and goes deep in his first start at Fenway Park. The two-run shot in the second off Seymour set the tone for the day, tying the game after going down 2-0 quickly. Walk into a clubhouse riding a 12-game win streak and maybe the nerves don’t hit the same way. Whatever the reason, Jones swung like he’d been there all summer. Well, for only one at-bat. T’is the life of a utility guy!

Ceddanne Rafaela (1-for-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R)

The line is quiet but the hit was enormous. Down two with two outs and two strikes in the seventh, Rafaela poked a double down the line to make it a one-run game and set up the Abreu moment. That’s not an easy spot. Cedd was not giving that at-bat away. Also he continues to define what it means to be a Gold Glove defending center fielder.

Duds

Patrick Sandoval (5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

Nine hits in five innings is a lot. He kept the Rays to five runs and struck out five, which is good enough to give his team a chance—and the offense did the rest—but that’s not the outing you draw up. Hopefully a one-off and not a sign that opposing lineups are starting to figure him out. The only good thing is he got long enough and the Sox pulled it back to where they didn’t need to use Brayan Bello!

Anthony Seigler (0-for-4, 3 K)

A golden sombrero on a day when the offense scraped together just six hits. Not the time. He did have an awesome reaction to Willy’s game-winning homer.

Play of the Game

Do I even have to explain it? Of course it’s Wilyer Abreu’s second homer.

The Rays continued their miserable play coming out of the break and extended their losing streak to four games with a 7-6 loss in Boston thanks to an all too familiar script of poor pitch execution and defensive miscues. The loss gave Boston its twelvth consecutive victory while reducing the division lead over the Yankees to two games.

There was hope early in this contest when the Rays scored two runs in the second thanks to a leadoff double by Ryan Vilade and a butcher boy single by Chandler Simpson that had the potential to knock out Willson Contreras who got this close to home plate before Simpson pulled back the bunt to swing away:

Nick Fortes would later drive in Simpson with a single of his own, but that lead would be short-lived as Rays pitching could not deliver a shut down inning. Every time the Rays have had a lead in this series until this moment, the Red Sox have come back to at least tie the game and the bottom of the second would be no different.

After a ten-pitch at bat to Andrew Monasterio which ended with an overturned strike three call, Jahmai Jones and his 23 OPS+ came in and deposited a hanging sweeper 407 feet to tie the game:

The game would remain tied until Wilyer Abreu jumped all over a misplaced 2-1 fastball from Seymour and drilled it out to dead center:

Seymour, coming into this game, had an OPS of .492 when ahead in the count, .644 when even in the count, and 1.156 when behind in the count. Those numbers got worse after this homer. Seymour would go on and retire Willson Contreras, who turns out, would be Seymour’s last batter of the game. Cash went to a quick hook with Seymour entrusting a well-rested A-pen to get 18 outs. The thought process could have been to go for the win here with the unfavorable matchup on Sunday. For three innings, the move looked like a stroke of genius as Kevin Kelly and Casey Legumina held the Red Sox to a single run over three innings. Fans were likely feeling pretty good with a 6-3 lead after a solo homer by Jonny DeLuca in the top of the 7th. Then, the bottom of the 7th inning happened.

The inning began with a legged out double by Andrew Monasterio, who took advantage of Simpson’s throwing arm and got into second because the throw was rushed, offline, and short of second base where an average throw nails him. Jarren Duran would then reach base because Ryan Vilade and Cole Sulser could not cleanly pull off a PFP play. Vilade’s lob was a little high, but Sulser still failed to touch the bag with either of his last two steps. Sulser nearly pitched his way out of it getting an RBI groundout from Masataka Yoshida and a fortunate strikeout of Anthony Siegler who swung through a misplace strike 3. Sulser’s night would be over after allowing a two-out double to Cedanne Rafaela, and Garret Cleavinger was brought into clean up the mess and face the red-hot Abreu.

Abreu has historically been terrible against lefties. Coming into 2026, he had hit .205 against them with a 62 wRC+ and two home runs in 145 plate appearances. Abreu has turned that around, and then some, in 2026 with a .345 average against lefties and a 162 wRC+ in 127 plate appearances and continued that success taking a full-count misplaced fastball into the bleachers for his second homer of the game and his second consecutive multi-homer game:

The Rays would mount a two-out rally in the 9th on back to back walks off Aroldis Chapman, but both runners would stay there and the club has now lost four consecutive contests while Boston simply cannot do anything wrong. Staff ace Sonny Gray takes the mound tomorrow as the Rays attempt to dig themselves out of a hole they’ve mostly constructed themselves with defensive and pitch execution issues.

This stretch of baseball coming out of the break has simply been about as unwatchable as this team has been in some time, and it could not come at the worst possible time.

On a day that started with so much bad news, Sal Frelick going on IL, Brandon Woodruff needing surgery, and Brice Turang getting scratched, the Brewers still continue to plug along and win ballgames as they secured an 8-6 win over the Miami Marlins.

Shane Drohan was excellent once more, completing 6 innings for this third consecutive start. Drohan ended up with a career-high in strikeouts with nine. He started the day with three punchouts in the 1st inning and also struck out the side in the 5th.

Drohan did have to work around a little trouble in the 2nd inning when the Marlins put on their best Milwaukee Brewers impression. They dropped in a medium-hit double, had two bunt singles, a hard hit single, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly to put three runs on the board.

The Brewers had to scratch and claw their way back after that. It started in the bottom of the 2nd, which began with a Garrett Mitchell single. He ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly from Braden Shewmake. Milwaukee would then scratch another run across in the 3rd inning. Jackson Chourio led off the inning with a walk, then stole second base, before William Contreras ripped a double off the top of the wall to bring Chourio home.

That stolen base was just one of seven steals on the day for the Brewers.

“I’m glad to be on this side of it because when I was in Houston, we were worried about that, cause you run wild over here. High percentage, pick good times to run, and it puts a lot of pressure on defenses. So being on this side, it’s a lot more fun.” Braden Shewmake said.

Jackson Chourio stole two bases to get up to 10 steals on the year. Shewmake, Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, and Christian Yelich all had steals. Luis Lara also stole a base, the first of his young career. Lara had 24 stolen bases for Triple-A Nashville this year and had 40+ each of the past two seasons.

The Brewers were still down by a run heading into the 6th inning. Shewmake led off the inning with a 110.4 MPH double to right, which was followed by walks from Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich. The bases were then loaded for Jackson Chourio, who immediately slapped a single to center to give the Brewers the lead.

A few batters later, Garrett Mitchell also delivered with a hustle double to bring home two more runs and the Brewers were up 6-3.

They’d get some insurance that turned out to be very crucial in the 7th when Christian Yelich drove an opposite field double that brought home two more runs to make it 8-3.

That would be much needed as Pat Murphy tried to squeeze a second inning out of Craig Yoho to get through the 9th without using another leverage arm. But Yoho put two runners on then gave up a three run blast to Griffin Conine and the game was within two.

“You want to preserve somebody that hasn’t pitched yet. You know Yoho’s down tomorrow anyways, right? Regardless. One inning today, eight pitches, and he’s going good. He’s not pitching tomorrow anyways, so why use another guy?” Pat Murphy said.

Murphy had to turn to Megill anyways, and Megill shut down the three batters he faced and the Brewers were able to secure an 8-6 win over the Marlins.

They have a chance to sweep the Marlins tomorrow with Robert Gasser on the mound. Eury Perez will be pitching for Miami.

When you have a game featuring one pitcher who was once a superstar but has been awful all year facing another who was a big star earlier in the season but hadn’t been for weeks, it could go either way — slugfest or pitchers’ duel.

Duel it was, and a good one. Fast one, too — the game started 40 minutes late due to a statue-unveiling ceremony by the Blue Jays but ended right when expected, because it only took two hours and seven minutes.

Turns out, extra rest over the All-Star break can pay off. At least for pitchers.

Davis Martin was terrific for the Sox, only needing 35 pitches to cruise through the first three innings, allowing just a broken-bat single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The fourth wasn’t as smooth. With one out, Guerrero hit the ball as far as you can at Rogers Centre without getting to trot around the bases. George Springer then snuck a grounder under Colson Montgomery’s glove, Guerrero came in, and that was it for the scoring in the game. Martin went 5 2/3 innings and Sean Newcomb and Jordan Hicks were solid in relief, despite Newcomb giving up a double to the first batter he faced and putting men on second and third.

Good as Martin was, Shane Bieber was better, looking like his old self despite a horrendous start to the season. He went six innings on 80 pitches, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out six. All three hits were doubles, two of them the opposite way by Munetaka Murakami and Braden Montgomery leading off innings. But the Sox went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, all through the first five innings.

Once the Blue Jays went to the pen, there was no problem about runners in scoring position, because there weren’t any. Andrew Benintendi drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, but that was followed by two Ks and a ground out. Chase Meidroth laid down a nifty leadoff bunt single in the eighth, but pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña was caught stealing.

Not only was the pitching really good on both sides, it was really efficient. The Sox only threw 108 pitches in eight innings, the Blue Jays 114 in nine.

The loss dropped the White Sox to 51-46 but left them still in first in the AL Central (at least for the moment) because the Guardians also lost the first game of a doubleheader to the Pirates. The series in Toronto ends tomorrow afternoon, with Sean Burke and Trey Yesavage doing the honors.

Brandon Pfaadt squared off against Dustin May and the St Louis Cardinals in this Saturday afternoon game, and a three-run frame for Arizona proved the difference maker, as the home team leveled the series.

Pfaadt pitched a 1-2-3 first, retiring the first three Cardinals in order, with Corbin Carroll making a great sliding catch to rob Ivan Herrera of a bloop single for the second out of the inning. In the bottom of the first inning, Ketel Marte led off with a walk, but Geraldo Perdomo hit into a double play, quickly erasing the lead runner. Corbin Carroll then struck out swinging for the third out, ending the first inning.

In the top of the second inning, Pfaadt got Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbar to ground out for the first two outs. Masyn Winn then lined a two-out single to left field, but Pfaadt struck out Nathan Church for the third out, stranding the runner at first. In the bottom half, Gabriel Moreno leadoff by lining a single into right field. Max Kepler popped out for the first out, but Nolan Arenado was able to reach on a groundball single, advancing Moreno to second. Tim Tawa struck out for the second out of the inning, but James McCann came through with another single to right, scoring Moreno to put the Diamondbacks up 1-0 over the Cardinals. Ryan Waldschmidt then struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the third inning, Pfaadt continued cruising through the Cardinals batting order. He’d get José Fermín to groundout for the first out, the strikeout Pedro Pagés for the second out, before getting JJ Wetherholt to groundout for the third out.

Arizona broke things open in the third, with some two-out offense. Ketel Marte lead of the bottom of the third inning with a single, Geraldo Perdomo followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Corbin Carroll unfortunately was unable to come through with a hit, instead grounding into a double play. Fortunately, that at least advanced Marte to third, who was then able to score on a wild pitch to make the score 2-0. A Gabriel Moreno single and Max Kepler walked to put runners on first and second for Nolan Arenado, who’d come through with a clutch two-run double (above), Kepler just beating the throw to put the Dbacks up 4-0. Tim Tawa then struck out to end the inning.

Pfaadt continued cruising through the Cardinals hitters, putting up a scoreless fourth inning while working around a one out single to Alec Burleson. In the bottom of the frame, Ryan Waldschmidt hit a one out double then scored on the Ketel Marte single that followed to put the Diamondbacks up 5-0. Corbin Carroll would draw a two-out walk later in the inning to put runners on first and second, but Gabi Moreno flew out to right to end the inning

In the top of the fifth, Pfaadt begin the inning by hitting Masyn Winn with a pitch. However, he’d set down the next three batters to once again get out of the inning without any real damage done. In the bottom of the fifth, Cardinals starting pitchee Dustin May finally had an easy innings, retiring all Kepler, Arenado, and Tawa in order.

However, Pfaadt started to run out of steam in the sixth. He gave up a leadoff single to JJ Wetherholt, and although Ivan Herrera popped out for the first out, the next batter, Alec Burleson, singled to put runners on first and second. A Jordan Walker single up the middle, scored Wetherholt to make the score 5-1, and a third consecutive single by Lars Nootbar, loaded the bases. That prompted Torey Lovullo to take Pfaadt out of the game and bring in reliever Ryan Thompson to face Masyn Winn. Winn then ground into a force out, erasing Nootbar at second, but scoring Burleson from third to make the score 5-2. He stole second base but Ryan Church popped out to end the inning.

The Cardinals also went to their bullpen in the home half of the sixth. Dustin May was replaced by RHP Gordon Graceffo, who’d strike out McCann and Waldschmidt, then get Marte to ground out for a 1-2-3 inning.

Ryan Thompson was relieved by Jonathan Loáisiga, who’d issue a leadoff walk in the seventh to José Fermín. Bryan Torres pinch hit for Pedro Pagés, but he’d line out to center for the first out of the inning. JJ Wetherholt singled to put runners on first and second. Ivan Herrera then struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Brandynn Garcia relieved Loáisiga to face Alec Burleson, and ended the threat by getting the Cardinal to line out to right.

The D-backs offense continued to remain quiet. A two-out walk by Moreno in the bottom of the seventh inning, was the only baserunner off LHP Justin Bruihl, who relieved Graceffo. Otherwise, Perdomo lined out, Carroll ground out and Kepler flew out to short to end the inning. The eighth was no better: Matt Svanson relieved Bruihl and had an easy 1-2-3 inning, getting Arenado to lineout to left field, followed by a pair of groundouts to second by Tawa and McCann.

Fortunately, the Arizona bullpen was good enough. Kevin Ginkel relieved Garcia for the eighth, Jorge Barrosa replacing Waldschmidt defensively in center, and immediately was needed to catch a Jordan Walker fly ball for the first out. Lars Nootbar struck out for the second out, but Masyn Winn drew a two out walk to keep the inning going for Nathan Church. Church would nearly hit a double with deep fly ball to center, but the change on defense paid off, with Barrosa there to grab it for the third out (above).

Paul Sewald took over for Ginkel to close out the ninth inning, Ildemaro Vargas also coming into the game to take over from Tawa at first base. José Fermín struck out for the first inning after unsuccesfully challenging the pitch. Jimmy Crooks then blasted a 443 foot, 108 MPH exit velocity solo homer to right-center field, making the score 5-3. However, after giving up his usual run, Sewald settled down. JJ Wetherholt struck out for the second out, and Ivan Herrera lined out to Corbin Carroll in right field, ending the game, as the Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals 5-3.

Click for details at Fangraphs.com
Blinded Me With Science: Ketel Marte, +16%
I Want Candy, Nolan Arenado, +16%
867-5309/Jenny: Corbin Carroll, -10%

Just shy of 200 comments in the GDT. Comment of the game to Snake_Bitten:

Same two teams tomorrow at Chase, with a 1:10 pm first pitch. Eduardo Rodriguez, after a successful appearance in the All-Star Game, will make his first start of the second half, so I’m hoping the D-backs can take the series.