San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama needs to be very careful about flagrant fouls in the NBA Finals. And in Game 5, he may have gotten away with one.
Midway through the third quarter Saturday, June 13, Wembanyama jumped to contest a 3-point attempt from Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson. During Wembanyama’s closeout, he approached Brunson’s landing area, leading to Brunson landing on Wembanyama’s right foot.
Officials opted not to call a foul on Wembanyama, which normally would’ve induced a review to see if it constituted a reckless closeout.
Brunson was extremely upset with officials and ran over to argue. A closer look at the play, however, showed that Brunson kicked his leg out in a somewhat unnatural motion.
Wembanyama is currently sitting at 3 flagrant points, and any additional flagrant foul penalty — 1 or 2 — would trigger an automatic one-game suspension.
So, while it would seem Wembanyama may have skirted past a suspension, the NBA can still issue one retroactively, since it reviews prior games. If the NBA deems that the play indeed merited a reckless closeout and a flagrant foul, it can upgrade that play, which would result in the suspension.
The Spurs, of course, would need to hold on to win the game to extend the series, anyway.
San Antonio leads, 70-58, with 1:26 left to play in the third quarter.
It sure felt like Wembanyama committed a textbook flagrant foul in the third quarter of Game 5 for crowding Jalen Brunson’s landing spot on a made three-pointer, but the refs didn’t call it. The NBA can review and upgrade calls after the game, and if the league decides that this is indeed a flagrant, Wembanyama would miss a hypothetical Game 6.
This is the classic “Zaza Pachulia rule” — the league mandated that it’s a flagrant foul if a defender doesn’t give a jump shooter landing space after Pachulia injured Kawhi Leonard on a similar play in 2017.
The league already decided not to upgrade Wembanyama’s cheap shot on Brunson earlier in the series, and that sure felt like a flagrant, too. It would be a monumental bummer if Wembanyama missed a hypothetical Game 6 in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, but the rules are the rules. I think the four flagrant points is far too few for a suspension in the deep playoff run, but that’s how the rules are written.
It will be fascinating to see if this play is upgraded. If it is, Wembanyama won’t be playing if there’s a Game 6 in the NBA Finals.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 05: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts after striking out during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 05, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Is that enough for Yamamoto to start the All-Star Game? Probably not.
Is that enough to force Roberts into the uncomfortable position of picking one of his aces over another, like a father picking one of his sons over another? Maybe.
On Saturday, Yamamoto took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He did it last September too, and in between he painted an October — and a first day of November — for the ages.
We have heard so much about Shohei Ohtani, and why not? Ohtani decided he would win the Cy Young Award this season, and why not?
His earned-run average did not rise above 1.00 until June 10. He also leads the NL in on-base-plus-slugging percentage, well on his way to his annual most valuable player award.
The Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award sounds nice. Not just yet, but someday, how about the Shohei Ohtani Most Valuable Player Award?
But back to the issue at hand: Which NL pitcher should start the All-Star Game?
Ohtani could, of course. He has, in 2021. In a game that is all about the fans, he is the player fans most want to see.
And, if he does not start at pitcher, he could not start at designated hitter, come in later to pitch one inning and remain in the game at DH. (At least, not under the current rules, which major league officials could waive for the All-Star Game.)
For Roberts and the Dodgers, that would be the ideal: Let Ohtani pitch the first inning so he can follow his normal pregame routine, since he has a routine for both pitching and hitting. Or, since Ohtani is trying to complete his first full season as a pitcher since 2022 and win the Cy Young, he and the Dodgers could agree that he would skip pitching in the All-Star Game.
But Roberts figures to have two other very worthy options. In the category of “player everyone wants to see,” he could select Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, not so much for his league-leading 1.34 ERA — Ohtani, at 1.06, doesn’t have enough innings to qualify — but for the 104-mph fastballs he was throwing in the ninth inning of his one-hit, 15-strikeout shutout Friday.
Without worrying about pitching deep into the game, with the opportunity to throw one inning and rear back and fire, can you imagine how hard Misiorowski might throw in the All-Star Game?
Roberts also could select the ace of the home team, Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, who threw 50⅔ consecutive scoreless innings this season. No one had thrown 50 since 1988, when Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser set the record with 59.
Sanchez has a 1.54 ERA, and he and Misiorowski lead all pitchers in wins above replacement (WAR).
The hometown favorite would be the safe pick for Roberts, although Dodgers fans have long memories: They remember the New York Mets’ Matt Harvey starting over Clayton Kershaw at Citi Field in 2013, a decision that looked regrettable at the time and looks downright shameful in hindsight.
That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.
In his 13 starts this season, he has given up three or fewer earned runs all but once and pitched at least six innings all but twice.
In the regular season last year, he pitched eight innings once. This season, he has pitched at least eight innings in his last two starts.
In his last five starts, he has a 1.01 ERA, with five walks and 32 strikeouts. Keep that up for another month, and good luck telling him someone else is starting the All-Star Game.
Look at it this way: Who would you want if you had to pick someone to win you Game 7? You can’t go wrong with the guy who already did.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 04: Trevor McDonald #72 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the San Diego Padres in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park on May 04, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s time for Game 2 between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs! Welcome to weekend baseball!
Trevor McDonald takes the mound for the Giants, with the right-hander making his eighth start of the year. So far this season, the 25-year old is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA, a 3.51 FIP, and 37 strikeouts to 12 walks in 39 innings. His last start came against this Cubs team, when he held them to one run in five innings.
For the Cubs, it’s right-hander Ben Brown, who makes his seventh start, and 19th appearance of the season. The 26-year old is 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA, a 2.24 FIP, and 58 strikeouts to 16 walks in 57 innings. He’s been even better since transitioning to a starting role, including in his last start, when he matched up against McDonald and held the Giants scoreless in 5.1 innings.
Perhaps we’ll get another nice pitcher’s duel in this one. Enjoy the action, everyone. Go Giants!
Yamamoto sailed into the ninth inning with a no-hit bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Tristan Peters hit a leadoff homer for the Chicago White Sox. The Japanese right-hander had to settle for a dominant performance in a 7-1 victory on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Yamamoto also carried a no-hitter into the ninth at Baltimore on Sept. 6. He surrendered a solo homer to Jackson Holliday with two out, and Los Angeles went on to a frustrating 4-3 loss.
This time, Alex Vesia closed it out for the Dodgers. But Yamamoto was left to wonder about another close call.
“What I did, I didn’t make it, complete it, because of the ninth inning, the no-hitter,” Yamamoto said through a translator. “But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”
Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP when the Dodgers won their second consecutive championship, improved to 4-0 with a sparkling 0.94 in his last four starts. He has surrendered 14 hits and struck out 24 in 28 2/3 innings during his win streak.
“He can attack the plate on both sides from ball to strike probably better than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said.
Yamamoto retired his last 22 batters while pitching eight innings in a 9-2 win against the Angels in his previous start. Then he retired his first 23 batters against Chicago.
The streak — and Yamamoto’s bid for a perfect game — ended when shortstop Mookie Betts mishandled Chase Meidroth’s two-out grounder in the eighth inning for an error.
“I’m not making any excuses. I should have made the play,” Betts said.
Jacob Gonzalez bounced to second for the final out in the eighth, but Peters hit a drive to right on a 96.6 mph fastball from Yamamoto. It was Peters’ third homer of the season.
Yamamoto departed after Edgar Quero flied to center for the first out in the ninth. He was saluted with a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 37,832 as he made his way off the field.
“One of the best outings we’ve seen from an opponent this year,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “The stuff was outstanding. Lived on the edges. We didn’t have a ton to hit.”
Yamamoto struck out seven. He threw a season-high 109 pitches, 74 for strikes.
Before the ninth inning, Chase Meidroth had the best chance for a hit for the White Sox. He had a liner hook just foul before he struck out swinging for the final out of the fifth.
There was a short delay before the bottom of the sixth while the grounds crew worked on the area around the pitching rubber on the mound. But Yamamoto had no issues when the game resumed, striking out Gonzalez on a full-count cutter before Peters bounced to first and Quero fouled out to left.
“He was in the zone. He kept it out of the middle. I mean, kept them off balance,” Betts said. “I mean that’s just Yoshi being Yoshi, you know. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
DENVER, CO - JUNE 7: Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland #21 of the Colorado Rockies acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for pitching the most innings in Colorado Rockies history in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field on June 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Following last night’s loss to the Athletics, the Colorado Rockies enter a matchup built around uncertainty, as Kyle Freeland tries to find his footing against Joey Estes, who will make his 2026 debut after being recalled by the A’s from the minors. Jeffrey Springs was projected to start, but will now be pushed to Sunday with Estes taking the mound.
Last Sunday, Freeland made Rockies history, passing Aaron Cook to take the franchise lead in innings pitched. While a look at the final score doesn’t show it as the bullpen let the game get out of hand, Freeland had his best start in recent memory. He went five innings and although he gave up seven hits, he worked out of some jams and limited the damage to three runs. By comparison, he had given up up six or more runs in five of the six starts before that one, so the three runs surrendered marked a big improvement relatively.
On the year, Freeland is 1-6 in 11 starts. His lone win came way back on April 7th and his ERA has ballooned since May, reaching 7.81 now. He’s got 45 strikeouts and 16 walks across his 11 games. That said, he felt more reliable on the mound in his last outing and he’ll look to build on that against the A’s.
The Athletics will counter with Estes. He had a limited 2025, going 0-2 in two starts and three appearances, with a 9.82 ERA across 11 innings pitched. In his career, Estes is 7-12 with a 5.51 ERA across 30 games. He’ll make a spot start as the club shuffles it’s rotation a bit for the Vegas series.
While last night’s matchup in Vegas didn’t have quite as many fireworks as the insane 29-run game in Vegas early in the week, there were still some sparks. After four scoreless innings to start things off, Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, and Cole Carrigg all blasted homers. In a ballpark that has seen a lot of those and with two pitchers who are looking to find their groove this season, the steadier hand may prevail in game two of the series.
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 31: Joey Estes #68 of the Athletics pitches during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Monday, March 31, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Here we go again. The series against the league-worst Rockies continues tonight in the second of three weekend contests. The A’s came out on top last night but only thanks to a late two-run rally. They were close to blowing it last night so let’s hope for a more dominant performance tonight at Las Vegas Ballpark. A win tonight and the A’s are back at the .500 mark and coupled with the Mariners’ and Rangers’ earlier losses the team can make up some ground in the standings if they handle business. Plus, a possible four-game winning streak on the line. Plenty of motivation for a big performance in front of the future home fans.
Getting the start tonight for the A’s will be right-hander Joey Estes, who will be making his first start for the big league team since April 4th… of last year. It’s been a tough year-plus for the former top prospect. After showing potential in 24 starts as a rookie in 2024 the hope was the team had found a viable backend type of pitcher to help solidify things. Instead he regressed hard in his sophomore season, so much so that he was quickly optioned at the start of the season and remained in Triple-A for almost the rest of the year (outside of one relief appearance for the A’s at the end of August).
This season hasn’t gone much better for him in terms of run prevention down with the Aviators. In 12 starts he has a 5.95 ERA, allowing 39 runs in 59 innings of work. He’s seen his strikeout rate drop while walks have become a much bigger problem this year. With Aaron Civale returning soon this is likely just a spot start but who knows? Maybe a big outing puts him back on the team’s radar if and when they need to dip back into their pitching depth.
Now onto the starting lineup. Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay decided to order things up this evening looking for the team’s fourth straight win:
Shea Langeliers and Colby Thomas will swap spots with Thomas now leading off and “Bangeliers” in the three hole. Backup catcher Jonah Heim draws the second straight start as the DH and he’ll be batting cleanup. And why not ride the hot hand? He’s batting .389 with four home runs over his last seven games.
Jacob Wilson bats fifth and is back at shortstop for the second straight day since being activated off the IL. Rookie Henry Bolte is behind him in center. Kotsay will mix things up a bit more from here as Zack Gelof will grab his outfielder’s glove. Tyler Soderstrom is getting the night off against a left-handed starter on the opposing mound so Thomas will slide to left with Gelof opposite him in right field. Gelof will also be looking to extend his hitting streak to 17 games so hopefully going back to the grass doesn’t screw him up in the batter’s box. And Alika Williams will handle second base duties tonight, batting ninth.
Those bats will be facing veteran Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, shockingly already in his 10th big league season. Now 33, Freeland is having his worst season to date, which is saying something. In 11 starts the left-hander is sporting a bloated 7.81 ERA, with that mark over 10(!) in his last seven. He’s seemingly nearing the end of the line but he’ll try to tame the A’s bats. A tall task, especially in the band box that is Las Vegas Ballpark.
And the Rockies’ lineup for game two looks like this:
Lots of the same characters from last night but with some expected changes facing a different handed pitcher. Estes has good numbers against the three batters he has faced before (Goodman, Castro, and Julien). Who will that favor in this one?
Can the A’s make it four wins in a row? All signs point to yes. Take tonight’s game and we can secure the sweep tomorrow in the finale and climb up the standings a bit. Let’s go A’s!
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 13: Ceddanne Rafaela #3 of the Boston Red Sox looks on after hitting a two RBI single in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on June 13, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 Red Sox season will be made or broken over the next three weeks. So says team president Sam Kennedy, anyway, acknowledging that this floundering team doesn’t have much time to turn itself into buyers before the trade deadline. To that end, this afternoon’s game is exactly what the Red Sox needed.
Facing a tough pitcher but countering with a tough pitcher of their own, the pitching-and-defense Sox got just enough offense to pull out a win against Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers. The Sox scratched across two runs via four singles in the third while Ranger Suarez finessed his way through the Rangers lineup as usual. Then Ceddanne Rafaela said ‘Nuff Cedd in the seventh, knocking in two runners who, frankly, didn’t even deserve to be on base. This is probably the type of win that the Red Sox brass had in mind when they flew north from Fort Myers this Spring, the type of win there just hasn’t been enough of this year, particularly at Fenway, and the type of win they’ll need even more off for the rest of June if they’re going to salvage this season.
Three Studs
Ranger Suárez: Many people (hi, it’s me, one of the many) were critical of the Ranger Suárez signing this offseason. Not because he was a bad pitcher, but because he was a poor fit for a roster that had plenty of starting pitching depth but little offensive fire power. This season has mostly proven those skeptics right — the Sox have an exponentially greater need for a bat than an arm. But having said that, Ranger is a delight to watch on the mound, and I have a feeling he’s going to continue to be so for the length of his stay in Boston. I love having this dude on the team.
Ceddanne Rafaela: Speaking of a “delight to watch,” there is no better descriptor in the English language for the Red Sox centerfielder. Not only did he patrol center with his usual aplomb, but he also came through in the clutch in the seventh inning with the two-run knock that gave the Sox a lead they would not lose. Did Rangers pitcher Robby Ahlstrom help him out by inexplicably throwing a breaking ball in the zone after Ceddy chased two high fastballs? Yes, he did. But that’s not Ceddy’s fault.
The beautiful vagaries of baseball: The Red Sox are extremely fortunate that Rafaela even had two men on in the seventh to knock in, given that his plate appearance was preceded by two noncompetitive at-bats by Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer in that inning. But baseball is weird, and those two at-bats were surrounded by two successful swinging bunts by IKF and Carlos Narvaez. Baseball — like life — is just weird sometimes.
Two Duds
Caleb Durbin: But, yeah, that competitive seventh inning at-bat, which ended with Durbin looking at a fastball right down the pike, was pretty ugly. He went 0-4 on the day and was the only Red Sox starter to fail to collect a hit.
Tyron Guerrero: I’m not mad at Tyron— absolutely no one expected that he’d be called on to hold a lead in a high-leverage situation this year. But after Ceddy’s seventh inning knock, he did his best to give the game back to the Rangers, allowing a homer and hitting a batter before being lifted in the eighth.
Play of the Game
Can I give it to Bill Lee for his performance-enhanced in-booth appearance?
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the sixth inning of a 7-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. He homered in his first at-bat. (Zoe Davis / Getty Images)
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box at Rate Field for the first time this series on Saturday, greeted by a smattering of boos from Chicago White Sox fans.
He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubt homer, proclaiming that his availability no longer was in doubt.
Ohtani returned to the lineup for the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox, after exiting the game Thursday at Pittsburgh and missing Friday‘s game because of inflammation in his left knee.
“I felt good waking up in the morning,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after going one for three with a home run and three walks. “I feel good now. So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well.”
Ohtani also tested his knee playing catch before the game. And the Dodgers will continue to monitor him as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.
“It wasn’t 100% today,” Ohtani said. “But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”
Ohtani said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the swelling. But he has a theory.
“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”
Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled, the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their day off Thursday. They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order to have Wrobleski pitch Tuesday on regular rest.
That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker during his start Thursday. He left the game after that play in the fifth inning with a bruised right hamstring.
The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, manager Dave Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.
Shohei Ohtani leads off the game with a home run to spark the Dodgers to a 7-1 win over the White Sox on Saturday. (Matt Marton / Associated Press)
“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”
Ohtani returned Saturday without restrictions in his designated hitter role — except one request from his manager, after a couple of days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s inflammation.
Though they didn’t find a clear cause for it, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no base stealing.”
You'd be forgiven if you watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday and think it's being played at Madison Square Garden; that's how big a presence Knicks fans are trying to make themselves known in San Antonio.
Basketball fans know Knicks fans travel well, but this is different. The Knicks are one win away from capturing their first championship in 53 years and fans want to be a part of it.
"Our fans have been fantastic all year. And during the playoffs, they’ve tried to show up and show out wherever we are," Knicks coach Mike Brown said before Game 5. "Not just in the arena, we see them walking around the area we’re staying in. We see them at the hotel. Just to know they are as enthused and rowdy as they are, it’s second to none.
"We love having our fans, we love having them in the building, we love having them around. Hopefully they’ll be able to cheer just as loud as they are at home, here tonight."
Knicks fans were loud early on. As the Spurs had their pregame workouts, fans in their seats were booing Victor Wembanyama as he took his shots.
When the hometown Spurs took the court for pregame shootaround, Knicks fans booed San Antonio's team mercilessly. And they cheered for the Knicks as they took the court.
How could this be? Well, Knicks fans bought nearly 50 percent of the tickets to Game 5. by fans in the NY/NJ area, According to Kyle Zorn of Tick Pick, fans from the New York and New Jersey area bought 45 percent of the tickets.
And of course, the Knicks fan celebs are in attendance.
Fat Joe, Ben Stiller, Timothee Chalamet are in San Antonio and there's likely going to be more as we sit and wait to see if the Knicks can undo 50 years without a title on Saturday night.
Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet and Fat Joe are all in San Antonio for Game 5 of the NBA Finals ⭐ pic.twitter.com/qp7ca48Gi2
José Ramírez, the Cleveland Guardians' seven-time All-Star third baseman, fractured the hamate bone in his left hand Saturday, June 13, an injury that will likely sideline him well into the second half of the season.
Ramírez was removed from the Guardians' 3-1 victory over Detroit and the club announced the fracture after the game. His absence will be considerably longer if surgery is required to remove the bone, but the likely minimum absence is six weeks.
That's a harsh blow for the Guardians (39-33), who on Saturday pulled into first place, a half-game ahead of the Chicago White Sox. Ramírez leads the American League with 24 stolen bases and his .754 OPS trails only Brayan Rocchio's .762 mark on the Guardians.
Ramírez was the third Guardian to leave Saturday's game due to injury. Outfielder Chase De Lauter suffered a right ribcage contusion hitting the wall while making a first-inning catch, and Angel Martinez left the game with a left foot contusion shortly after fouling the first pitch of the game off his foot.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 13: Noelvi Marte #4 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park on June 13, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The list of things the Cincinnati Reds got on Saturday evening in Great American Ball Park amounts to a what’s what of things that have proven to be pitfalls for them so often over their last ~40 or so games.
First, they put together some back to back hits with 2-outs, as Matt McLain socked an early double and was immediately driven in by an Edwin Arroyo single. Hits with 2-outs, hits of any variety with a runner in scoring position have been so few and far between from this offense that the stranded runners on the bases might as well have bought real estate out there.
Then, they got a lockdown performance from a starting pitcher after an early foible. Rhett Lowder turned in his best start since the first week of April (5.2 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K) and did so even after serving up a homer to Corbin Carroll in the Top of the 1st that immediately put the Reds in a hole. He limited walks, finally, and showed once again how good he can be controlling all parts of the zone when his arm, body, experience, etc. are all in the right place.
That run Lowder allowed in the Top of the 1st? It proved to be the only run allowed by Reds pitchers all game, which is an endorsement of just how good the bullpen managed to be once Lowder yielded. Caleb Ferguson, Chase Petty (in relief!), and Tony Santillan combined to fire 3.1 IP of scoreless ball, and did so while only issuing a lone walk – that’s a marked improvement for a unit that’s been so maligned.
And while the offense on the day only managed to muster a pair of runs, the second one came on a big swing in a huge spot. Noelvi Marte swatted a homer for the second straight game, his coming with an out in the Bottom of the 8th to give the Reds a 2-1 lead that Santillan would hammer down with a save minutes later. It’s precisely the kind of momentum-changing swing that Cincinnati simply has not been able to muster of late, and the life it breathed into the dugout was palpable through the TV feed.
Cincinnati won, 2-1, and leveled the series with Arizona. On Sunday, they’ll send the red-hot Andrew Abbott to the mound to try to win a series and eschew the absolutely abysmal vibes they’ve been mired in during their four-series losing streak, a period of time that also saw them lose their face in Elly De La Cruz.
Maybe, just maybe, Marte’s homer ends up a demarcation point in this season where things began to finally, mercifully turn back towards the positive.
Barkley, during the postgame of "Inside the NBA" after the Knicks' 107-106 victory, which gave New York a 3-1 series lead, called the Spurs the "dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization."
"That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball," Barkley said. "When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help you. The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game by doing some of the stupid(est) stuff I've seen on a basketball court."
During the pregame show before Game 5, Barkley made it a point to say who he was directing his ire toward after he said a couple of NBA coaches had called him.
"When I said 'it was really dumb basketball' the other night, I was talking about the players," Barkley said. "I want to make it clear that I wasn't talking about Coach (Mitch Johnson)."
"When I said 'it was really dumb basketball' the other night, I was talking about the players.”
Johnson and his players were criticized for how they handled things in the second half, particularly their poor shot selection and lack of in-game awareness at the end.
Well, this was yet another game that the Diamondbacks should have won. Michael Soroka really seems to be back to the form that earned him second place in the 2019 Rookie of the Year vote. He pitched seven innings, only allowing two hits and one hit batsman while striking out 7. The Diamaondbacks, meanwhile, racked up seven hits, three walks, with three other baserunners reaching thanks to two hit-by-pitch incidents and one fielding error. Over the course of the game nine of those baserunners wound up in scoring position. Sadly however, if you saw those comparative numbers and expected that the team with so many more chances to score would win the game, you would be wrong.
There’s honestly not that much more to say about this one. Things started off well enough, with Corbin Carroll launching the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Rhett Lowder over the right field wall for a one-out solo dinger:
One out later, Nolan Arenado drew a five-pitch walk and, somewhat hilariously, stole second to make himself the first Diamondback of the game to get into scoring position. Pavin Smith, as one might expect, did Pavin Smith things, so Arenado remained where he was. 1-0 D-BACKS
Geraldo Perdomo was hit by a pitch to begin the second, and was left standing there after the bottom of the order did bottom-of-the-order things with a lineout to center and then consecutive strikeouts. Ketel Marte lined a single to right to lead off the third, and one out later Gabriel Moreno dropped a bloop single just inside the right field line to advance Marte to second (which is to say scoring position) with less than two outs. Arenado struck out, however, and Pavin Smith did another Pavin Smith thing, grounding out to first base.
Meanwhile, after cruising through his first two innings of work with only 27 pitches thrown after all, Soroka hit his first and only patch of trouble after striking out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the third. Matt McLain lined a double to deep left field, and then Reds’ leadoff hitter Edwin Arroyo blooped a single to shallow right that allowed McLain to score from second. 1-1 TIE
After that, it was smooth sailing for Soroka, who didn’t allow another baserunner as he proceeded to cruise through the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The Diamondbacks offense, meanwhile, continued to threaten: Marte hit a comebacker with one out in the fifth that hit Lowder and rolled away for an infield single. One out later Moreno lined a double to center that Reds center fielder Noelvi Marte dove for and missed. It looked like he might catch it, though, right up until he didn’t, so Ketel had to stay put at second and was only able to advance to third. So that was two more runners in scoring position, though with two outs this time. Nolan Arenado, who really sucked today at the plate, grounded weakly back to the mound, bringing the number of runners in scoring position who were left there to four. Perdomo walked with one out in the sixth and stole second base, but was left standing there (RISP #5) as Tommy Troy and Adrian Del Castillo struck out.
The Diamondbacks even managed to load the bases in the top of the seventh against the Reds bullpen, thanks to a one-out Marte walk (#6), a Corbin Carroll infield single (#7), and Moreno getting drilled in the arm by a pitch. However, Nolan Arenado struck out and Pavin Smith flied out to left on the first pitch he saw. Tommy Troy reached with one out in the eighth on an error by Reds third baseman Sal Stewart, and was able to advance to third (#8) on a two-out Ryan Waldschmidt double (#9). That flipped the lineup over for Ketel Marte, who, despite having reached base on three of his four trips to the plate to that point, only managed a weak grounder to second.
So onto the bottom of the eighth with the game still all tied up and Juan Morillo taking the mound. The good? He struck out three of the four batters he faced. The bad? The one batter he didn’t strike out was Noelvi Marte, to whom he hung a slider that Marte promptly sent into the left field seats. And given that Carroll, Moreno, and Arenado all grounded out on the infield in the top of the ninth, that’s yer ballgame right there. 2-1 CincinnatiFINAL
Kind of a slim Gameday Thread this afternoon, with only 162 comments at time of writing. The rec rationing, too, seems like it continues, as while several comments went “Sedona Red,” none of those got more than four recs. So I’m giving this one to gzimmerm, for saying something that, while it’s been said before, needs to be said again and again until it becomes a reality, or until reality changes:
Thanks to our win on Friday night, at least we still have a shot to take our first series in quite awhile. Unfortunately, Zac Gallen is taking the mound for the Diamondbacks, while the Reds send out lefty Adam Abbott, whose numbers aren’t that great (4.10 ERA) but who’s still performing far better than our guy. This will be an early one, as well, with first pitch scheduled for 10:40am AZ time. Hopefully you can join us for the rubber match.
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
