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After a disappointing series loss to the Yankees featuring two very close defeats, the Tigers looked to right the ship in the opener of a four-game weekend series at home against the Houston Astros — and, yes, the Tigers just played them last weekend, who the heck is making this schedule anyway? Despite some incredible starting pitching, the Tigers couldn’t solve Houston’s pitching and dropped the series opener 2-1 on Thursday night.

Making his sixth start of the year for the Tigers was Troy Melton, who has been good-to-great so far this year. His last start featured six innings of one-run ball against the White Sox in the midst of that lovely sweep last weekend. Curiously, while his ERA is a sterling 2.56, his FIP (fielding-independent pitching; essentially ERA with average fielding behind him) is a bizarrely-high 5.41. But he also has a walks-plus-hits-per-inning-pitched (WHIP) of a sensational 0.947, so I can honestly say I have no idea what the heck is going on there.

Tatsuya Imai, in his first season in North America after a few excellent years in Japan, has been up-and-down. He still strikes out a lot of batters like he did in Japan, but his walk rate is an astronomical 5.3 per 9 innings. His previous start saw him strike out 11 in six innings, but in the one before that he didn’t get out of the first inning. Much was written about Imai describing how he was having trouble “adjust[ing] to the American lifestyle” and how that might have contributed to some arm fatigue early in the spring. (Remember, Japanese starting pitchers throw in about a game a week.)

A fun thing happened on the first pitch of the game: the pitch was delivered and called a ball, “Marshall” Dillon Dingler immediately challenged it, and the call was overturned. That guy, man — not only does he hit dingers, but he’s one of the best in MLB at getting calls overturned.

Both pitchers were crusing early on, and Melton’s fastball was really sizzling, touching 98 mph (44 m/s) early on. He mixed in cutters and sliders, and he also featured a much sharper splitter in this one to keep hitters honest. The whiffs and strikeouts are starting to arrive for Melton. Imai’s splitter-ish slider was used pretty heavily, and he certainly made Hao-Yu Lee look quite the fool on a third-inning strikeout.

The first hit of the game for either side appeared with two out in the bottom of the fourth, with Riley Greene poking a single to right field; Colt Keith lined out sharply to centre for the third out of the inning.

Through five innings Melton hadn’t allowed a baserunner and had struck out six, but was at 75 pitches. If he was going to, youuu knoooow, he needed some quick innings.

However, after retiring the first 16 hitters in a row, Melton hung a slider to Taylor Trammell in the sixth and he hit it a long way over the right-field fence for a 1-0 Houston lead. After a two-out single to Jeremy Peña, Melton got the dangerous Yordan Alvarez to fly out harmlessly to Greene in left field on one pitch.

Kyle Finnegan took over for Melton to start the seventh; Melton’s fantastic final line was 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Finnegan’s been no slouch himself recently: in the middle game of the Yankees series he pitched 1 1/3 innings and struck out all four batters he faced. Tonight he had a pleasantly uneventful seventh inning: groundout, flyout, strikeout.

The eighth brought Tyler Holton to the mound, and he’s been good lately too. Coming into tonight he’d had seven straight scoreless appearances (although he did allow an inherited runner to score in the Yankees series). He gave up a harmless single but otherwise had a clean sheet, to borrow a soccer term.

With two outs in the eighth, Lee punched a single into centre against AJ Blubaugh, bringing Kevin McGonigle up to the plate, but he grounded out to first and we were on to the ninth.

Kenley Jansen, who’s been pretty solid lately, came on for the ninth; he gave up a leadoff single to Peña, who stole second. Let’s just say that, if there are ten things on Jansen’s mind on a mound, holding runners close ain’t one of ’em — and that would prove to be very important, as Alvarez hit a grounder to second that advanced Peña to third with one out. Isaac Paredes hit a fly ball to score Alvarez and push the lead to 2-0, and that lack of attention to a runner may have ultimately cost the Tigers the game.

As he has done lately, Dingler put the team on his back and blasted a home run to centrefield with one out in the ninth to narrow the gap to 2-1.

Greene followed with a single to give the Tigers hope, but Keith hit a hot grounder right to first base — exactly where Christian Walker was, as he was holding Greene on. Walker threw to second, the throw came back to first, and that was the ball game.

Final score: Astros 2, Tigers 1

Notes and Whatnot

• Let’s talk about Dillon Dingler. His batting average (and OPS) by month: .247 (.800), .206 (.743), .361 (1.093). Whoa, he really likes June! (And so have the Tigers.)
• Another fun statistic about Dingler: coming into tonight he had led off an inning 65 times so far this year. In those plate appearances he’s hit five home runs, two doubles and two triples (amongst his 20 hits), walked five times and has an OPS of an astronomical 1.172. I know that’s a small sample, but holy mackerel, those are some numbers, small sample size or not.
• I’m not the only one who’s sweet on this Dingler fellow; Fangraphs likes him too.
• Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudí was born on this day in 1852. If you’ve ever been to Barcelona, you’ve definitely seen his work: the Sagrada Família cathedral, which has been under construction for about a century, was his design. He also designed Park Güell, which looks like it came out of a psychedelic drug-fueled dream, and is stupdendously cool.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Arizona Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

We asked you earlier in the week how the D-backs should approach the trade deadline. Of course, it’s something which is very much in flux. Even since the poll took place, the D-backs unexpectedly won a pair of games on the road, against a team ahead of them in the standings. They currently sit two games out of a wild-card spot, but it’s very much in a state of flux, as I noted in the original. Going into play today, only four games cover the eight teams who occupy between fourth and eleventh place in the standings. A good week could catapult anyone into a wild-card spot. Conversely, a bad week could drop you like a stone.

So, I’ve a feeling the answer to this question could change – probably multiple times – between now and the trade deadline on August 3. I imagine Mike Hazen and the Arizona front office will certainly wait until the All-Star break, and see how a potentially tricky section of the schedule plays out. But for now, here’s what you responded.

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Caution seems to be the order of the day, with the two “weak” options combining for 56% of the votes. “Buy” just edged out “Sell” there, though there’s a case to be made for both directions. Here are some comments from the poll thread which do just that, or go for the option in the middle.

• Sneeks – “I selected “weak sell” because I’m just not sure if we are a trade or two away from being a playoff team. I really wish we were. We show flashes, but against better teams, those flashes seem to occur fewer and fewer. … I also selected “weak sell” because… we just don’t have a lot of interesting pieces to shop?”
• LeftFieldCorNWer – “Weak buy for the right player at the right price. Not sure it makes sense to spend a lot for this season. They keep having to scramble to stay around .500. The only sustained success so far was that stretch against the cellar dwelling teams.”
• DbacksEurope – “Stand pat. Buying wouldn’t be wise. It is impossible to turn this mediocre team into a contender unless we somehow are able to get 3 ace starting pitchers, a complete new bullpen and we get 3 guys that can actually hit, and not just this season. No one is going to net a valuable return, look Suárez and Naylor. E-Rod would be a salary dump. The only situation I see is to just sit it out.”

Interestingly, enthusiasm for a strong anything was considerably more skewed towards the sell than the buy, at 24% vs. 10% (strong buy isn’t shown, but I did the math!). The fringey nature of the team’s status as a contender, plus perhaps concerns about the status of the 2027 season, may be a factor against the team pushing in all their chips right now. Which makes sense: it doesn’t feel like this team is a player or two from being a credible threat to the likes of the Yankees or Dodgers come October. Though you might have said the same thing at the start of the 2023 post-season as well…

Shohei Ohtani was the first Dodger to be named a 2026 All-Star, after leading the majors in Phase 1 voting for the All-Star game on July 14 in Philadelphia. Six other Dodgers were finalists through the fan ballot, giving them a chance to claim starting spots in Phase 2 of voting.

Ohtani locked down the starting DH spot for the National League squad, with 3,341,257 votes. The top vote-getters in each league bypass Phase 2. Second baseman Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays was the top vote-getter in the American League, with 3,232,932 votes.

Ohtani was the expected choice, despite a slow offensive start. His red-hot June boosted him up the leaderboards. He entered Thursday with the second-highest OPS in the National League (.963), barely trailing Mets outfielder Juan Soto (.965).

Read more:Shohei Ohtani takes control of Dodgers' win after miscommunication with Dalton Rushing

Pitchers aren’t chosen through the fan vote — hurlers and reserves have to wait for the player ballot (which includes votes from players, coaches and managers) and commissioners picks. But Ohtani has been just as impressive on the mound this year.

He has a 1.58 ERA, the fourth-best mark among NL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings this season.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (2,666,008 votes), third baseman Max Muncy (2,890,181) and outfielder Andy Pages (2,158,664) also led their respective NL position groups in voting. Other Dodgers finalists, who advance to voting Phase 2, include catcher Will Smith (1,871,805), shortstop Mookie Betts (1,762,343 ) and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (1,569,932).

The vote totals reset for Phase 2, which runs from next Monday through Thursday. The remainder of the All-Star starters are set to be announced on July 4 on Fox Sports.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A lengthy list of Virginia baseball alumni have been thriving in professional baseball this year, and national champion Ernie Clement sits at the very top. Following a breakout 2025 playoff run in which his record-setting 30 hits propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to game seven of the World Series, Clement has picked it right back up in the first half of 2026. As the American League leader in votes as of June 25, Clement has automatically qualified to start in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

As we stand, Clement is in line for career-best marks in batting average (.292) and slugging percentage (.437), and he is well under way towards his third consecutive 3+ WAR season, per Baseball Reference. That same contact-oriented approach under which he went down on strikes just 31 times in 745 UVA at bats has sustained in the big leagues, where his 10.4% strikeout rate ranks in the top three percent of MLB.

Clement’s defensive versatility has also carried over, as he has seen time in all four infield spots and even the corner outfield over the course of his six year career in Cleveland and Toronto. However, Clement has more recently settled into the every day second baseman spot, where he has spent over 75% of his innings in 2026.

In addition to his statistical output, Clement’s all-star nod comes thanks to an outpour of local support. His blue collar work-ethic and scrappy on-field play turned him into a fan favorite, even before his legendary postseason. It also helps that Clement grew up in Rochester, New York, a mere 175 miles from Toronto.

Virginia has now secured MLB All-Stars in two consecutive seasons, with Clement following Andrew Abbott, who qualified for his first Midsummer Classic in 2025. Other recent UVA alumni to earn this accolade include Chris Taylor (2021), Sean Doolittle (2014 and 2018), and Ryan Zimmerman (2009 and 2017).

There was a lot to like about the first six innings of Thursday’s Highway 80 Series finale for the San Francisco Giants. Then, the Giants’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad bullpen got involved and an empowering sweep turned into an embarrassing 9-6 loss to the Sacramento A’s.

Victor Bericoto showed off his arm and his bat once again, Willy Adames went deep, and Jung Hoo Lee battled a tough lefty reliever for a three-run triple, but it was all for naught when the team’s public relations/on-field disaster of a bullpen took over.

Caleb Killian (2-4) took the loss after giving up four runs in the 9th inning, but it was a team effort to blow this game. For a group of pitchers who seem extremely homophobic, they apparently have no problem with a group of men getting together to suck, as long as it’s on a baseball field.

Rainbow Warrior Ryan Walker got the implosion going in the 7th inning, relieving Cap Buddy Landen Roupp after the Giants starter gave up two runs and struck out six in his six-inning stint. Walker gave up two singles, who both scored when Shea Langeliers hit a two-out RBI single off Erik Miller.

Dylan Smith pitched the 8th and yielded an RBI single to second baseman Jeff McNeil, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, an RBI, and a hit-by-pitch Wednesday, avenging Zach Gelof’s spiked hand from Tuesday’s game. Then, in the 9th, an ABS challenge turned a 3-2 count on Tyler Soderstrom to a walk, putting two runners on with two outs and creating an IBS challenge for the fans. Still, all he needed was one more out! That’s not so much to ask.

(Narrator: It was too much to ask.)

Jonah Heim tied the game, singling on a fastball straight down the middle. Lawrence Butler singled in the go-ahead run on a knuckle curve straight down the middle. After Butler stole second, Max “We’re Starting To Resent Him As Much As The Other One” Muncy knocked in two more runs on a fastball just slightly off the middle of the plate. That was it for Killian, the rally, and the game, though Muncy rubbed salt in the wound by stealing second, the third Athletics baserunner to take second in the inning off a shell-shocked Eric Haase.

It’s kind of amazing that answering baseball questions about this horrendous bullpen is actually considered the easier option for Giants personnel, but that’s where we are in 2026.

Rainbow integrity aficionado Roupp started off strong, escaping a two-on, one-out situation in the 3rd by striking out Nick Kurtz (say his name slowly) and Langeliers. In the 4th, Bericoto threw out a runner at second and in the 6th, Roupp bailed himself out with a nifty behind-the-back grab and double play.

The rookie outfielder nearly had another assist in the 5th on Alika Williams’ double, but Willy Adames’ relay throw pulled Daniel Susac and his sore back up the line, and McNeil scored. The A’s got their second run two batters later when Kurtz just barely beat out a double play.

Casey Schmitt crushed one off the dinger-prone Jeffrey Springs (5.1 IP, 3R, 3H, 6K) in the 5th inning, but like mail-in votes in a Los Angeles mayoral election, it swung left at the last moment and went foul. Willy Adames had no such issue when Springs left a high fastball over the plate two batters later. He made like Bill Clinton in 1992 and crushed it just left of center field for the first runs of the game. Just call him “Slick Willy.”

The Victor Bericoto Show continued Wednesday, where the Giants left fielder once again showed off his arm and his bat. Last night, he threw out Jacob Wilson at home and hit a 445-foot walkoff home run. Wednesday, he gunned down a stunned Tyler Soderstrom at second base, on a play that looked like a clear double off the bat.

In the 6th inning, he capped off the Giants’ five-run inning by hitting another 445-foot homer, this time a two-run bomb. If you’re wondering, both dingers would have been home runs in 30/30 major league ballparks.

Bericoto is doing this in the aftermath of two devastating earthquakes that hit his native Venezuela Tuesday. Along with Jose Butto and Luiz Arraez, Bericoto is wearing a “VZ” patch on his cap, while awaiting news of his friends and relatives. If you want to help the relief efforts, a good place to donate is Global Empowerment Mission.

There’s also no truth to the rumor that the Red Cross has declared the Giants bullpen a disaster area, so do not donate to any GoFundMe’s that JT Brubaker emails you about.

Finally, we should show Lee’s commendable bases-loaded hit in the 6th inning, which followed a highly disrespectful four-pitch walk to Willy Adames, the definition of the intentional-unintentional free pass. He fought off two nasty 0-2 pitches to stay alive, then got a gift when Butler tried for an impossible diving catch of Lee’s liner and turned it into a triple.

Why are the Athletics’ hats always falling off? Kurtz loses his helmet every time he comes to the plate, and all he’s doing is swinging the bat. Clearly Drew Gilbert will be studying game tape to figure out how he can make his own cap fall off even more often.

The two-game win streak is over. The Atlanta Braves are coming to town Friday, carrying a four-game losing streak and Joey Bart, both terrible omens for the fortunes of the orange and black. And the A’s are going to receive a strongly-worded letter from Senator Josh Hawley about their unfair treatment of the Giants bullpen.

The St. Louis Cardinals game vs the Arizona Diamondbacks game Thursday night has been postponed because of weather and will be made up on July 23.

Five Atlanta Braves positions players have advanced to the second round of 2026 All-Star Game voting. Catcher Drake Baldwin, first baseman Matt Olson, outfielders Ronald Acuña, Jr. and Michael Harris II and second baseman Ozzie Albies all moved to the next round of voting, which begins on June 29, 2026, by finishing in the top two at each position, per league, in the first round of fans voting. The top six outfielders advanced.

Those two top players per positions – and top six outfielders – will go head-to-head to gain the starting assignment in this year’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. The exceptions are the top vote-getters in each league, who automatically advance as starters. Shohei Ohtani led the National League at the designated hitter position and Ernie Clement led the American League and draws the starting assignment at second base.

Pitchers are not part of the voting process.

Here are the match-up for each of the Braves players in the next round, which includes players from three of Atlanta’s top rivals:

Catcher: Baldwin vs. Will Smith (Dodgers)

First base: Olson vs. Freddie Freeman (Dodgers)

Second base: Albies vs. Bryson Stott (Phillies)

Outfield: Harris II and Acuña, Jr. compete with Andy Pages (Dodgers), Juan Soto (Mets), Brandon Marsh (Phillies) and Teoscar Hernández (Dodgers)

Voting ends on July 2 and can be done here.

Roster moves

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

• Reinstated from the restricted list and activated: OF Max Kepler (No. 22)
• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: RHP Juan Burgos (No. 52)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following last night’s game: OF Tim Tawa + LHP Mitch Bratt
• Transferred to the 60-day injured list: RHP Ryne Nelson (strained right elbow)

A fair bit to unpack here, though none of the moves are a particular surprise. Interesting to see Bratt sent right back down. He won’t be eligible to come up again for a bit, so we’ll need a different arm to start Monday’s game, back at Chase against the Giants. Will that be Brandon Pfaadt? Probably not. He hasn’t pitched since the 20th, and only threw 52 pitches. There’s no time to get another start in and then have him pitch again on Monday, except on very short rest (he’s not starting tonight for the Aces either). Oh, well. That’s an issue for Mike Hazen to figure out. We just report things.

Nelson goes to the 60-day IL, confirming what we largely knew, that he won’t be back until late August at the very earliest. That opens up the 40-day spot for Kepler, who replaces Tawa on the active roster. I find myself in two minds about the new arrival. Of course, he’s a Diamondback and I want him to do well. But he’s also a convicted PED user, and doesn’t seem to have made even the token noises about it. So I also want him to go into a slump of Fernando Tatis Jr.-esque proportions. Be also get the return of Juan Burgos, who kinda sucked last year, after coming over from Seattle at the trade deadline. A 6.59 ERA this year in Reno isn’t exactly encouraging.

The weather for this one looks distinctly iffy, so may be interrupted or not completed. Jack wrote earlier, “Looking at the radar from 6:45-8:00 it looks like VERY heavy rain with more coming in behind that” Given it’s a Zac Gallen start, perhaps “pray for rain”, as the old proverb went, might be the best option. Him going three innings, and the game being called as a no-content, sounds like a plan. If it needs rescheduled, common off days for the two teams are Thursdays July 23, August 13, September 10 + 17, and Monday September 21. September 10 might work: Arizona would be coming back from Kansas City and St. Louis from San Francisco. August 13 (AZ going to Atlanta, STL at home) is another possibility.