Go Rays!
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Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Pinstripe Alley
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Casey Mize (2-4, 2.58 ERA) vs. LHP Carlos Rodón (3-2, 3.50 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mize | 10 | 52.1 | 25.2 | 6.3 | 33.1 | 2.67 | 1.7 |
| Rodón | 7 | 36.0 | 27.2 | 13.2 | 42.0 | 3.66 | 0.6 |
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The Mariners kick off a road trip in Pittsburgh, returning them to the sweaty mid-Atlantic region they’d just escaped a week ago. George Kirby will take the mound against the famously right-handed Mitch Keller, and all the lefty bats in Seattle rejoiced. Get up to speed on the Pirates in the series preview here.
Lineups:
Roster moves and injury updates:
If you missed it in the lineup graphic, Randyland is back in the board game cabinet. Connor Joe has been returned to Tacoma, as the team continues to put off a decision about what to do with the struggling Rob Refsnyder. More on the impact of having Randy back from John here, and more on Refsnyder from Nick here.
Other injury updates: Dominic Canzone tested out that balky hamstring with some running today and reportedly felt good; he was planning to hit in the cages pregame and will be evaluated again postgame, but remains out of the lineup today.
Today’s game information:
Game time: 3:40 PT
TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Gary Hill and Shannon Drayer
June has, in general, been a good month for the Yankees. Despite losing multiple outfielders to injury, the team has not only kept its head above water, but has also surpassed the Rays for the AL East lead (which currently sits at two games). Despite some commendable play over the first three weeks, though, they enter tonight’s action in the Motor City on a three-game losing streak with Skubal Day looming tomorrow.
Carlos Rodón will look to put a stop to the skid in his eighth start of the season. Through his first seven, he’s pitched to a 3.50 ERA (120 ERA+) and 3.65 FIP in 36 innings. He’s been-well acquainted with the AL Central lately in particular, making his last three starts against the Guardians and White Sox. In each of his last five starts, he’s allowed three runs or fewer and pitched at least five innings, the epitome of steadiness.
Casey Mize will get the start for the Tigers, making his 11th start. With Tarik Skubal’s injury, he’s probably been their most effective starter of the season, pitching to a 2.58 ERA (168 ERA+) and 2.66 FIP in 52.1 innings. He’s potentially in line to make a second straight All-Star appearance, but could be limited by his struggles to go deep in games. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick has finished five innings in just 6 of his 10 starts.
Mize’s peripherals have improved significantly since 2025, as he’s giving up softer contact, striking out more batters, and continuing to be very stingy with walks. His big weakness this year has been a very low ground-ball rate, but it’s manageable when the fly balls you’re giving up are more popups than barrels. He has a four-pitch mix, throwing his fastball, slider, and splitter evenly against lefties while adding in his sinker against righties.
Ben Rice will lead off as the designated hitter, followed by Jasson Domínguez, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. Jazz Chisholm Jr. stays in the lineup despite Lollipop-gate, as Spencer Jones bats sixth in center field. José Caballero moves to third base in place of the ill Ryan McMahon and bats seventh, followed by Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe. In case you missed it, J.C. Escarra is back with the team backing up Wells with Ali Sánchez out on paternity leave.
The outstanding rookie Kevin McGonigle will lead off again for Detroit, followed by a lot of righty platoon bats. Dillon Dingler jumps up to second in the order, followed by Matt Vierling. After Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson in the heart of the order, former Yankee Jahmai Jones slides in at sixth. Hao-Yu Lee, Zach McKinstry, and rookie Ben Malgeri (making his MLB debut) round out the lineup.
How to watch
Location: Comerica Park — Detroit, MI
First pitch: 6:40 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, Detroit SportsNet
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), WXYT 97.1 FM, LaZ WDTW 1310AM/207.9 FM (DET)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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The Nats took game one of a massive 4 game set against the Phillies thanks to a dominant outing by Foster Griffin. Now, they will look to take full control of the series tonight in game two. A win tonight would be a true statement for the upstart Nats.
With a lefty on the mound, Blake Butera made some tweaks. Daylen Lile is getting the day off. Butera mentioned that Lile has been frustrated with himself lately, and with a tough southpaw on the mound, this was a good time to give him a breather. Curtis Mead will move to first, meaning Jorbit Vivas will play third. Andres Chaparro will be the DH. PJ Poulin will open and Zack Littell will follow him.
The Phillies are also making a few alterations to their lineup. We will see Justin Crawford and Gabriel Rincones for the first time this series in the outfield. Veteran catcher JT Realmuto will be back behind the plate tonight. He will be catching southpaw Jesus Luzardo, a former Nats draft pick.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
After dropping game one, the Phillies will be ready to roll tonight. Will the Nats have what it takes to hold off this veteran laden squad for a second straight night? We will find out shortly. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Jared Young – 1B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – 3B
MJ Melendez – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C
Kodai Senga – RHP
Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
Alex Bregman – 3B
Michael Busch – 1B
Seiya Suzuki – DH
Ian Happ – LF
Matt Shaw – RF
Nico Hoerner – 2B
Carson Kelly – C
Dansby Swanson – SS
Edward Cabrera – RHP
First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
The Kansas City Royals play Spring Training in Arizona, but here in St. Pete, Florida, the lineup they’re running out might as well be a Spring Training lineup. No Bobby Witt Jr., no Maikel Garcia, no Kyle Isbel, no Vinnie Pasquantino, no Jonathan India, no Cole Ragans. That’s because all of those players are injured. Instead, we get the privilege of watching Tyler Tolbert, Nick Loftin, Kameron Misner, Michael Massey, Lane Thomas, and Luinder Avila.
To be fair, a lot of Kansas City’s role players are doing pretty well. Loftin, Thomas, and Massey in particular have exceeded expectations, and Avila has been more or less what you’d expect as the, like, eighth-best starter in the org.
But still, it’s a bummer to not see Witt. At least we get to see the newly-bedazzled Tropicana Field, which looks significantly better thanks to a new roof. Amazing what a little light can do to the place—some, say, rays of light.
Ok, fine. Sorry. Actually, no I’m not.
TBD
On the plus side, the Cincinnati Reds got an excellent start from righty Brady Singer on Monday during the series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. After completely falling on his face to begin the 2026 season, the pending free agent has turned things around lately, pitching to just a 1.64 ERA in 22.0 IP across his most recent four starts, his 23/9 K/BB every bit as important as the overall results.
The bad news, of course, is that he’s pitching his way into prime ‘get traded’ form as the Reds continue to lose games they put themselves in position to win. Singer’s great start last night didn’t hold up as the Reds failed to score off Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff, and they eventually lost 2-1 in extra innings on a Tony Santillan wild pitch.
The Aristoreds!
Anyway, they’ll turn things over to another veteran who has struggled both with blisters this year and with overall success in Nick Lodolo. They need him now, more than ever, if they’re going to dig themselves out of last place in the NL Central and back into the playoff chase.
The news of the day, of course, is the return of Elly De La Cruz. He was activated this morning at Will Benson’s expense, and he’s in the lineup hitting 2nd for the Reds already. Notable in the roster shuffle was the team’s decision to keep Edwin Arroyo up despite a suddenly crowded middle infield, but it’s Arroyo in the lineup at 2B tonight over the struggling Matt McLain. Keep an eye on that going forward!
Brandon Sproat will start for Milwaukee, while it’ll be Lodolo throwing the game’s first pitch at 7:10 PM ET.
Lineups for both clubs below. Go Reds!
Don’t expect Cole Ragans back anytime soon for the Royals.
The All-Star left-hander has been out since May 6 with an elbow impingement, and the update provided by manager Matt Quatraro today was not exactly encouraging. The skipper indicated that they expect Ragans will need elbow surgery. The Royals will seek a second opinion, but Quatraro told reporters, “We anticipate it being surgical.”
Ragans exited after just three innings of a start against the Guardians on May 6 with the elbow injury. He made one rehab appearance for Triple-A Omaha in late May but did not respond well afterward and was shut down. The Royals sent him for an MRI last week, but the results were inconclusive.
Ragans has undergone Tommy John surgery twice, a procedure used to repair a torn UCL, a ligament in the elbow. He first had the surgery in 2018 while with the Rangers and underwent it again in 2019. The latest elbow injury does not necessarily mean he has re-injured the UCL, but it is another setback for the 28-year-old. He missed three months last year with a left rotator cuff strain.
The Royals’ pitching staff is already dealing with injuries to Kris Bubic, Ryan Bergert, Carlos Estévez, and Nick Mears. The Injured List also includes hitters Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Jonathan India, and Kyle Isbel, while Bobby Witt Jr. has missed the last few days with a knee injury.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
We’re currently about six weeks away from the trade deadline, but it’s never too early to try and gauge the direction in which the team will be going. That said, much will depend on the results between now and then. In particular, I suspect what the team does through the nineteen games remaining before the All-Star break will factor heavily into things. Right now, the D-backs sit at exactly .500, and you could easily imagine scenarios where the team’s record breaks sharply, in either direction. Perhaps they remember how to hit with runners in scoring position. Or, perhaps the rotation continues to fall apart.
With a tough schedule going into the break, I’d not be surprised to see the team fall below .500. But that doesn’t necessarily mean going into sell mode. Going into play today, just three games cover fifth down to eleventh place in the National League standings, and arguably, only the Mets, Giants and (inevitably) the Rockies are really out of the picture. There’s a case to be made that simply hanging around until the final month of the season, and making a September push, is all that Arizona needs to do. There’s a 16-game spell beginning August 27, where 13 games are against opponents currently with losing records.
But right now, what would you say the D-backs strategy towards the deadline should be? And if it’s still too early and with too mediocre a record to come to any conclusion, what benchmarks in terms of date and W/L position, would you need to see to make a decision? Poll is below, and as ever, explain your decision in more depth in the comments.
Right-hander Jason Flores became the ninth Texas Longhorns player to enter the NCAA transfer portal with the news of his departure from the Forty Acres breaking on Tuesday.
The 6’1, 240-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Out of Garland Naaman Forest, Flores was a well-regarded prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft, but chose to honor his commitment to Texas and play for head coach Jim Schlossnagle. Perfect Game ranked Flores as the No. 76 player nationally and the No. 22 right-handed pitcher.
A power hitter who played multiple positions around the diamond in high school, Flores focused on pitching in college thanks to a fastball that reaches into the mid-90s and a high-spin curveball.
In Austin, Flores wasn’t able to capitalize on his upside, struggling to command the run on his fastball on the way to hitting 14 batters in 32.1 innings as a freshman. Flores was hard to hit, though, as opponents batted .205 against the big right-hander, who notched a 4-2 record and 2.78 ERA in 14 appearances, including five starts.
As a sophomore, Flores struggled to make his stuff match up with his results, failing to earn a role as the midweek starter despite two opportunities and failing to factor into the weekend bullpen, as well. In 12 innings over nine appearances, Flores had a 6.75 ERA thanks to a 7-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and opponents hitting .333 against him with 16 hits allowed. Flores also hit four batters and threw two wild pitches.
Schlossnagle continued to speak glowingly about Flores and his upside, including superlative efforts in simulation games during practice, but in limited chances, Flores wasn’t able to translate that success into real games.
No longer considered an MLB Draft prospect, Flores will now look for an opportunity elsewhere.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter underwent surgery today to remove a loose body in his ankle, per the beats. While the expectation is that he will be back before the end of the season, exactly when he will be able to return is not clear, with Evan Grant indicating Leiter wouldn’t be back before August at the earliest.
The injury to Leiter’s ankle was suffered on April 22, when he tripped on the on-deck circle in an effort to back up a throw. He’s been pitching through it, but it apparently has been impacting him, and reports over the weekend said that a recent scan indicated that the ankle had gotten worse.
Cal Quantrill is filling in for Leiter in the rotation for at least the start today. Jose Corniell, who has been a starter throughout his career in the minors, was called up to take Leiter’s place on the active roster, and could be a rotation option as well.
The Rangers will no doubt be hoping that Jordan Montgomery, who started a rehab assignment this past weekend and pitched one inning for Frisco, will make good enough progress in his return from Tommy John surgery that he would be an option after the All Star Break.
After putting up a 3.86 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 2025, Leiter’s numbers have gone backwards in 2026, as he’s posting a 5.29 ERA and 4.76 FIP on the year. One would think that trying to pitch through the ankle injury contributed significantly to that.
Welcome back to our series on the innovations the Yankees pitching department is making with the sinker! They’ve dusted off the pitch from a period of league-wide dormancy and have a renewed focus on disseminating it across as much of their pitching room as are willing to use it. Last month, I kicked off the series by looking at the way Cam Schlittler has incorporated the sinker into his arsenal and how that decision helped launch him to the stratospheric heights he is now pitching at.
For our second entry in the series, I’d like to turn to one of Schlittler’s rotation mates in Ryan Weathers. Acquired in a trade from the Marlins over the winter, Weathers was seen as an able deputy in the rotation while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón recovered from their respective elbow injuries. Perhaps that is selling him a bit short, becuase with three years of team control and an enticing arsenal, it was easy to feel that Weathers was just scratching the surface of his abilities in his first five big league seasons and that he was someone the Yankees pitching coaches could mould into a rotation cornerstone for the present and future.
Weathers started off on a roll with a 3.00 ERA and 3.31 FIP across his first eight starts. But then he hit a serious rough patch giving up at least five runs in four out of five starts before steadying the ship a touch in his latest outing. The primary culprit for Weathers’ recent woes has been the long ball, the 26-year-old southpaw giving up ten home runs in his last six starts. He has allowed 16 on the year, which is sixth-worst among qualified pitchers. I believe the reason for this is his particular style of pitching.
Just looking at the raw metrics, you would think that Weathers’ four-seamer would be his most effective weapon coming in with an average velocity of 96 mph and over 15 inches of induced vertical break. However, it is tied for the 14th-worst four-seamer among the 571 pitchers who throw the pitch, worth -7 runs according to Statcast’s Run Value metric, which tells you how many runs a pitch is better or worse than average based on outcomes. Nine of the 16 home runs he has surrendered have come against the four-seamer, and I think I’ve discovered the reason why.
Generally when you throw a high-velocity, high-spin four-seamer, you want to target the top of the zone, particularly up and in to righties as a lefty pitcher. This keeps the pitch above the hitter’s swing plane, making it difficult to barrel and even harder to pull in the air with power. The problem for Weathers is that he likes to pitch his fastballs low in the zone, where it is much easier to do damage against the four-seamer.
Below is a heat map of all the four-seamers Weathers has thrown this season:
That hot zone down and in to righties is the problem area, as revealed when looking at all the home runs Weathers has allowed so far:
That is such a dangerous spot to throw the pitch to righties. Because it holds its vertical plane and remains flat through the zone, it becomes the perfect pitch to lift in the air when thrown there. It falls right in their natural swing plane whereas a sinker’s downward movement helps the pitch avoid the barrel low in the zone.
And that would be my prescription for Weathers: exchange out all those down and in four-seamers for down and in sinkers. The good news is it appears he is already starting to do that. Weathers is throwing the sinker a career-high 19.6-percent of the time as compared to just 3.1-percent of the time last year with the Marlins. This has come almost exclusively at the expense of the four-seamer, which is now sitting at a career-low usage rate of 27.8-percent, way down from 45.3-percent last season.
What’s more, the characteristics of the pitch have improved since he joined the Yankees. Last year with the Marlins, Weathers’ sinker averaged 20.6 inches of drop and 16.5 inches of arm-side movement. This year, it is averaging 21.8 inches of drop and 17.9 inches of arm-side movement, making it a top-30 sinker in the league when it comes to horizontal movement vs. average. This combined with Weathers’ ability to command the pitch at the bottom of the zone has made it his most effective pitch per Statcast’s Run Value at +3 runs. In addition, it is way better than the four-seamer at limiting damage, with a .400 SLG against as opposed to a .675 SLG against the four-seamer.
Finally, I believe further improvements with the sinker can facilitate a potential move to the bullpen. It’s between Weathers and Will Warren for demotion from the rotation once Max Fried returns from his elbow injury. Weathers and Warren have performed at a roughly similar level when looking at their expected metrics, but I just shudder at the though of Warren entering a game in the later innings with runners on base given his struggles pitching from the stretch.
Furthermore, I think Weathers’ stuff plays up way more in a bullpen role. Weather has triple digits in his arsenal when he pitches at maximum effort, whereas Warren hasn’t hit 96 mph since mid-May. The Yankees need more swing and miss in their bullpen, and Weathers narrowly edges Warren in that department. We’ve seen the way guys like Clay Holmes and Tim Hill have leaned on the sinker to limit damage coming out of the bullpen in recent years and I think a similar opportunity exists for Weathers should he find himself squeezed out of the rotation.
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Nationals:
Lets’s talk about it.
The Seattle Mariners have activated star outfielder Randy Arozarena from the 10-day injured list, where he’d been sidelined for the minimum number of days since a tweak that occurred while running hard for a bang-bang play at first base on June 13th. Arozarena has been an iron man by modern MLB standards, taking just two days off in 2025 despite dealing with some degree of hamstring discomfort a season ago, and having played 151+ games every season since 2022. It was his first trip to the injured list since 2021 and just his second as a pro.
The swift return of their left fielder is a massive boon for Seattle, whose pre-existing weaknesses against left-handed pitchers were exacerbated dramatically over the weekend against a few strong southpaws on the Boston Red Sox. Arozarena entered Tuesday as the 30th-best position player in MLB by fWAR (2.3) and 27th by bWAR (2.6) despite his 10 days shelved, making him a top-10-12 outfielder MLB-wide and top-5 in the American League. His .291/.377/.448 line and 139 wRC+ has been accompanied by 19 steals in 23 attempts. While at times he might need MapQuest in left field, Seattle’s first place positioning is due massively to their 31 year old free agent to be.
Arozarena is also back in time to build on those numbers, as he is sixth in American League All-Star voting just behind of his teammate in center, Julio Rodríguez. Ahead of him are deserving-but-injured superstars Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, as well as consistent standouts Byron Buxton and Cody Bellinger.
As a corresponding move, the Mariners optioned OF/1B Connor Joe to Triple-A Tacoma. Joe was pulled up frantically following Arozarena’s injury, but not able to make it swiftly enough to reach the ballpark initially. That led to the Moonlight Graham moment of Curtis Washington Jr., the 26 year old 19th-round pick who was plucked from High-A Everett for a night on the bench in T-Mobile Park. Seattle’s 40-man roster remains full at 40.