Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

It was a cool morning in Jupiter, Florida, this past February, and as was his custom, Brant Brown had arrived at the Cardinals training facility early enough to get in a workout before the chaos of spring training ensued. As Brown was about to enter the team’s redesigned weight room, he heard a faint thud in the distance. He stopped to listen and there it was again… An uneasy feeling washed over Brown as he set down his gym bag and cautiously made his way toward the mysterious sound. It seemed to be coming from the batting cages. As he got closer, the sound got louder and more distinct. Wishhhhhh, thud…. Then about 8 seconds of silence and another wishhhhh, thud. 

As Brown turned the corner, he was relieved to see the familiar face of Ivan Herrera standing in the batting cages facing the pitching machine. Before Brown could alert Herrera to his presence, another pitch was whistling toward Ivan. To Brown’s shock and dismay, the ball, traveling at over 90 MPH, slammed into his star pupil’s shoulder, producing that thud sound that had been echoing through the abandoned training facility. 

“Ivan!” Brown shouted. “Are you ok, man?” 

Herrera, obviously thinking he was alone, startled at the sight of the still sleepy bald man rushing toward him. “Oh, hey, coach,” he said, once he recognized it was Brown who was the cause of the interruption. “I didn’t hear you coming. Just trying to get some work in before the boys get here.” 

Brown, relieved that Herrera was ok, said, “My bad, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. You aren’t cleared for BP yet. If Oli and the training staff find you in here, you are gonna be in big trouble!” It was then that Brown had a chilling realization… Herrera wasn’t even holding a bat and did not seem to have even brought one with him to the cages. Brown felt a cold shiver run up his spine and instinctually took a step backward, wanting to put a little distance between himself and the now slightly menacing-looking slugger. 

“Are you in here practicing letting pitches hit you?” Brown asked, incredulous. 

Herrera stood silently for a moment like he was trying to think of a way out of this conversation. The seconds ticked by and finally, Herrera spoke. “Not practicing exactly… I…. I enjoy getting hit by pitches.” Seeing the look of confusion and concern on his coach’s face, Herrera continued. “When I was a kid, all my friends wanted to be major league baseball players. Some dreamed of hitting a walk-off home run in the World Series. Some dreamed of throwing no-hitters. All of them wanted to be stars in the big leagues. I never cared about any of that. I loved, and I mean, LOVED, getting hit by pitches. It didn’t matter if it was a fastball, slider, curveball, whatever. The feeling of getting a free base and knowing that my wRC+ was going up was all I thought about. The only reason I even wanted to keep playing baseball was the thought that one day I could get hit by the fastest fastballs and the wickedest breaking balls in the world…”

Herrera’s voice trailed off and Brown noticed that tears had started to form in his eyes… Tears of joy. Herrera had a far-off look in his eyes as he quietly wept, thinking about all the baseballs that would hit him in the upcoming season.

Brown was so shaken by the conversation that he could not formulate a response. He slowly turned and started walking back to the gym. As he left, he heard that sound again. Wishhhh, THUD. 

Ok, now that I have that out of my system, let’s get to the nonfiction portion of today’s program. 

Ivan Herrera is getting hit by pitches at an absurd rate. His 22 HBPs is six more than the next highest player in baseball. He is currently on pace for 45 HBPs, which would place him fifth all-time and second since 1900. The Cardinals’ record is 31 (as a reminder it is still June). Herrera’s mark is already the tenth most in a single season for any Cardinals player. 

The major league record for hit-by-pitches in a season is 51, set in 1886 by Hughie Jennings, and the post-1900 record is 50 by Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos in 1971. While these lofty totals may be out of reach, Herrera is getting hit A LOT. 

What is the impact of Ivan’s hit-by-pitches on his production? Currently, his xwOBA of .371 ranks 24th in baseball. If you were to normalize his HBP rate to the league average, it would drop to .356, which would rank 44th in MLB. 

Setting aside Herrera’s other wonderful qualities as a ballplayer and a human being, his willingness to endure this battering makes him one of my favorite players. As a fan, it is enraging to watch a batter dance out of the way of a pitch with the game on the line and the team badly needing a baserunner. Now, this isn’t a moral judgment against players who make more of an effort to avoid projectiles hurled at their bodies. Obviously, beyond the pain, getting hit introduces the risk of injury, so it is not a free lunch. I am not saying that my fondness for players who are willing to “wear it” is totally rational, but it is what it is. 

Appreciating the fact that Ivan gets hit so often is not sufficient. I want to know if there is an obvious reason as to why he is drawing so many HBPs. Perhaps he crowds the plate more than normal? Are pitchers throwing him an inordinate amount of pitches inside? Or maybe something with his exaggerated stance and stride toward the pitcher makes it harder for him to get out of the way? 

Baseball Savant has some very granular data on batters’ positions in the box that you can play with here. Looking at this data, there are a few things to note. Herrera starts with the third most open stance of any right-handed batter in baseball at 48 degrees. As he loads, his front foot goes from the back chalk of the batter’s box to hovering over the front chalk closest to the plate and then he strides forward opening back up to become almost perfectly square to the pitcher. He is essentially diving toward the plate as the ball approaches. The combination of a high leg kick and momentum coming toward the plate could make it harder for him to back away from pitches running inside. 

Baseball Savant also tracks batters’ distance from the plate defined by where each player’s center of gravity is while in their stance. On average, right-handed hitters stand 27.8 inches from the plate. Herrera is a little closer at 26.7. This is the 111th closest (out of 354 batters) among righties, so he crowds the plate a little but not in some outlier fashion. All things considered, Herrera’s setup and approach might have a little something to do with his HBP total, but it definitely isn’t the whole story. 

What about how pitchers are attacking him? Is he simply being pitched inside at a ridiculous clip? Fortunately for us, there is a wealth of data available at Baseball Savant that breaks down the exact location of each pitch. 

Location Matrix

This location matrix is from the catcher’s perspective so the left side is inside to a right-handed hitter. The Heart zone (1-9), as you would expect, are pitches in the middle of the plate. The Shadow zone (11-19) includes pitches just on or just off the plate. Chase and Waste are self-explanatory. 

I pulled all pitches thrown to right-handed batters that were inside in the Shadow, Chase, and Waste zones. Ivan Herrera has seen the fourth most pitches of any right-handed batter in these zones so far this year. Here is how the top five rank with HBPs added for context. 

20.5% of the pitches Herrera has seen this season have been in the inside zones compared to the leaguewide average of 16.2% (again, righties only). While Herrera has gotten more than his fair share of inside pitches, comparing his HBP totals to the other top-five players shows the stark contrast. Junior Caminero somehow avoiding a single HBP is truly impressive. He stands about 2.5 inches farther off the plate than Herrera, but his dodging ability is still truly remarkable. 

All right, let’s go a level deeper and see which specific zones are hotspots for HBPs and if Herrera is just being pitched in those zones more aggressively. To do this, I looked at all 33,821 pitches that have been thrown in the inside zones to righties this year and calculated the percentage of pitches that resulted in the 576 HBPs that they absorbed. Here is what the breakdown looks like: 

Percentage of pitches that hit batter

There are virtually no HBPs in the Shadow zone, although shoutout to Mike Trout who accounts for the .01% in the middle Shadow zone by virtue of being hit by a pitch that was actually a strike. In total, 14 HBPs have occurred in the Shadow zone. The Chase zone accounts for 135 HBPs with the majority coming on pitches up and in. As you would expect, the majority of hit batsmen are on pitches in the Waste zone where 427 have occurred. 

Here is how Herrera stacks up.

Percentage of pitches that hit Ivan Herrera

I have included Ivan’s total HBPs by zone in parentheses. Like the rest of the league, he is racking up most of his HBPs on pitches up and in. He has not done anything heroic like leaning into the Shadow zone, but on wasted pitches inside, he is getting hit two to six times more frequently than the league average. Just to be sure, I checked the types of pitches he is being attacked with, and the mix is essentially in line with the rest of the league. 

I will leave you with one statistic that quantifies just how much Ivan likes a free base. If you apply the league average HBP rate by zone to the number of pitches Ivan has seen in each zone, you get an expected HBP total of… 6.7. There you have it. Ivan Herrera is a certified lunatic.

Good morning, baseball fans!

We have reached the point of this San Francisco Giants season where it’s not really worth finding the silver linings. Everything about this season is crap in a crap sandwich that someone left outside in the heat.

So instead of highlights of the week, this week I thought we’d all pick our favorite lowlights. Because there have been plenty, both on the field and off.

But the one that has made the franchise the laughingstock of the rest of the sports world would have to be the press conference that Buster Posey called early in the week, in which he promptly refused to answer any questions or give any actual information, all while looking defeated and extremely out of his depth.

“Baseball questions only” has become a meme among the sports fans of social media. And rightly so. It was a pathetic display from a pathetic organization and they should be mocked for it. Both MLB and the Giants seem hell-bent on moving on. And that’s great for them, but I’m not interested.

So if you haven’t read Brady’s post from earlier this week, I highly recommend it. I haven’t weighed in on the topic this week because I have been ill, but Brady really hit the nail on the head. So instead of highlighting anything else that might have happened this week, I want us to revisit that excellent post and keep talking about this issue. Because they clearly don’t want us to.

What was your favorite lowlight of the week?

What time do the Giants play this weekend?

The Giants continue this weekend series against the Atlanta Braves, with Saturday’s game starting at 6:05 p.m. PT and Sunday’s game starting at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Aaron Boone didn’t have the same outburst as Willson Contreras, but he didn’t shy away from calling out the Red Sox first baseman for his reaction to an inside pitch that led to the benches clearing Friday night.

“I think that’s what he does a lot,’’ Boone said of Contreras’ reaction after the 6-1 Yankees’ loss, their second straight to begin this four-game set at Fenway Park. “His arms hang over the plate, so I don’t know where we’re supposed to go. I think there’s probably a method to what he’s doing, probably wants that. Obviously, nothing’s going on. We probably needed to do a better job of getting the ball in on him tonight and didn’t. The warnings and the barking seemed kind of ridiculous.” 

The throwback moment to the heated days of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry happened in the top of the fifth inning with the Red Sox leading, 4-0.

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Contreras had already tagged Warren for an RBI single and a solo homer when Warren fired a 1-0 pitch high and inside, before a 3-2 pitch again came close to Contreras.

The Red Sox first baseman flipped his bat and then began jawing at Warren, who said he responded, and the benches eventually cleared.

No punches were thrown nor were any players ejected.

Contreras downplayed the event, saying it’s “part of the game,” but the Yankees’ starting pitcher indicated some frustration, saying “no comment” when asked if he was surprised to hear remarks from Contreras.

“I’m making a pitch, being competitive,’’ Warren said. “He said something, so I said something back. I’m just trying to make a pitch.”

He added: “I’m trying to get in the zone, he’s playing games in the box.”

Both teams received a warning from home plate umpire Tyler Jones, with Boone unsure if the benches meant that a warning had to be issued.

Either way, he indicated he clearly disagreed with the ruling.

“I don’t know if it’s automatic, I kind of understand. I don’t know, 2026,” Boone said with a laugh. “I mean, honestly. Geez.”

Boone eventually shut down the line of questioning about Contreras when asked for a third time.

“I think we all see how ridiculous it was,” a then-testy Boone said, “let’s just leave it alone. Seriously.”

The Yankees have not played well to start this four-game set in Boston, losing the first two games against southpaws before facing a third straight Red Sox lefty Saturday afternoon in Jake Bennett.

Gerrit Cole looks to rebound after a bad start last time out against Detroit.

The Detroit Tigers evened up their four-game home series with the Houston Astros on Friday night with an 8-0 blowout victory over the visitors. Keider Montero tossed seven innings of shutout ball and the offense rallied behind home runs by Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith.

Climbing the mound for the Motor City Kitties on Saturday afternoon looking to take the series lead is left-hander Framber Valdez, who has had a strong June after a rough May. The 32-year-old has allowed just one run in three of his four starts this month and posted a 2.45 ERA and a 4.01 FIP over that stretch with two wins and a loss to show for.

One of those gems he threw came against the Astros the last time he saw them, surrendering an unearned run on six hits and three walks while striking out six in a no-decision at Daikin Park that Detroit ultimately lost, 4-2.

For Houston, right-hander Kai-Wei Teng will make his 10th start of the season as he comes off his second-best outing so far. The 27-year-old held the Cleveland Guardians to just one run over six innings of work on four hits and a walk while striking out four to earn his fourth win in a 4-2 final at home.

However, his prior start against the Tigers was not a pretty one. The native of Taiwan coughed up five runs on six hits (three home runs) and three walks while striking out a whopping nine — and hitting a pair of batters — to earn his sixth loss in a 9-3 final in Houston.

Here is a look at how the two match up on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Detroit Tigers (35-47) vs. Houston Astros (40-44)

Time (ET): 1:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 83: LHP Framber Valdez (4-5, 3.91 ERA) vs. RHP Kai-Wei Teng (4-6, 4.03 ERA)

VALDEZ

TENG

Yesterday was quite the bust day, wasn’t it? Lots of news, lots of great baseball being played. It was a great day for baseball. Right?

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Sam Fuld is going to be at the forefront of the Phillies in some capacity or another. The TV deal is likely his biggest piece of business ($).
• You won’t believe one of the names Jon Heyman mentions in this piece as a possible trade target for the Phillies.

MLB news:

• The biggest news of the day is the Mets doing away with Carlos Mendoza as their manager, hiring Andy Green on an interim basis.
• The Angels tried to one up them by firing their general manager and hiring an old one from the Cardinals on a consulting basis.
• The Player’s Association offered up a proposal to ban player prop bets to help with threats against the players.

When it comes to stolen bases, José Caballero ranks among the best in the business. In each of the past two seasons, the speedy shortstop/utilityman led the American League in steals, with 44 with Tampa Bay in 2024 and 49 between the Rays and Yankees last season. He accomplished this feat despite playing in only 265 games across the two seasons (roughly 80 percent of the available games).

To start this season, Caballero played the role of “elite basestealer” perfectly, successfully advancing on his first ten stolen base attempts to start the season. In the third inning on April 24th, however, Cabby was thrown out trying to steal third after successfully stealing second; since that play, he’s been downright bad, having been thrown out eight times in his last 15 attempts.

Now, the fact that Caballero is getting thrown out isn’t all that unusual. While he is fast, he lacks the overwhelming speed of players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Jorge Matteo, as his 28.3 ft/sec sprint speed ranks 105th in the league (the 76th percentile). Between that and his aggressiveness on the basepaths, he typically finds himself near the top of the caught stealing leaderboards. His 16 failed attempts in 2024 topped baseball (tied with Elly De La Cruz, who led baseball with 67 stolen bases), and his 11 failed attempts last year trailed only Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson.

What is strange this time around, though, is how streaky Cabby has been. After his first 10 successful attempts, he was nabbed in four of his next five attempts. Since then, he’s pretty much gone one-for-one, never going more than two successes or two failures in a row. For someone whose career stolen base percentage heading into the season was almost 80 percent, this seemed a little unusual, so I dove into the MLB Film Room to look at each of Caballero’s recent stolen base attempts. From this, I was able to categorize Caballero’s failed stolen base attempts.

Twice this season, Cabby successfully beat the throw, only to overslide the bag and get tagged out after he came off.

Caballero tends to slide to the center field side of the second base bag, as it increases the distance the ball needs to travel by a foot or two, and thus makes it more difficult for him to be thrown out. The flip side of this, though, is that only friction from the ground is slowing him down; if he starts his slide too late, or the dirt is particularly slick, his momentum will carry him past the bag, because let’s be honest, one hand covered in an oven mitt will not be able to latch onto a flat slab all that easily.

Unfortunately, this is going to happen. Elite base stealers do this to varying degrees. See, for example, this stolen base by Jazz Chisholm Jr. from back in April:

Even though Chisholm goes more directly at the bag than Caballero does – perhaps the result of his slightly faster sprint speed (28.5 ft/sec) – he still leans to the center field side of second base. Maybe Cabby could find a little bit more success if he does this more often, but at this point, if that extra few feet on the throw makes up for a handful of overslid bags during the season, you’ll take it.

Four attempts, meanwhile, required perfect throws from the catcher, and in three of them, for the play to be challenged by the defense. Two of them, furthermore, were in the same game, on April 25th against the Astros.

About these four, there’s not much that I can say with the footage we have. Maybe he got a bad jump? At this point, I wouldn’t know. All I can say is, sometimes, the defense makes a great play, and you tip your cap to them.

There is, in truth, only one play here that I am overly concerned about, and it’s this one:

The MLB Film Room labels it “Nick Martinez Pitchout to Ryan McMahon.” It’s not a traditional pitchout, which typically sees the ball thrown in the opposing batter’s box and the catcher jumping out to get clear of potential obstruction from the batter. But it is clear that the Rays knew Caballero was going to be running on the play. The catcher starts in a position to pop up and is moving well before the ball reaches home plate. Now the Yankees did acquire Caballero from the Rays, so they’re certainly familiar with his thinking, but honestly, I find Cabby predictable at times – and if I can find him predictable, I’m sure other teams can, too. This is, of course, anecdotal evidence, and I don’t like to make conclusions off anecdotal evidence, but in the absence of an easy way to reliably look at teams’ scouting reports, there’s not much else to do.

But is Caballero’s possible predictability a reason for concern? Honestly, not really. Of these seven times he was caught stealing, he was successful but fell off the bag twice, and was close enough three other times that, had the other team been out of challenges, he would have notched a stolen base. Based on what we can tell from our living rooms, it seems to me that Cabby is primarily a victim of sequencing: had all seven of his failed attempts been scattered among all 18 of his successful attempts, rather than bunched up within the last eight, then this wouldn’t be a story.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 8-3 at Indianapolis Indians

2B Marco Luciano 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-5, RBI, 2 K
CF Garrett Martin 1-5, K
1B Tyler Hardman 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, SB
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr. 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI, K – five-run seventh cinched the game, highlighted by his three-run double
3B Jonathan Ornelas 1-4, K
C Payton Henry 2-4, K
LF Duke Ellis 2-4, 2 K SB – make that 33 stolen bases already this year
SS Owen Cobb 1-4, K, two throwing errors

Elmer Rodríguez 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 6 BB, 4 K – whew, 90 pitches and just 46 strikes, Rodríguez’s control has seemed pretty off this year
Zach Messinger 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Yordanny Cruz 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K – good to see back-to-back solid outings from Cruz
Bradley Hanner 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Carson Coleman 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots: Postponed at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, makeup scheduled part of doubleheader today

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:W, 13-3 at Bowling Green Hot Rods

3B Kaeden Kent 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB
SS Core Jackson 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K
C Eric Genther 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K
1B Kyle West 2-5, K
LF Wilson Rodriguez 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 K, SF
2B Roderick Arias 4-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K, CS – sweet, sweet swing on the homer
DH Enmanuel Tejeda 1-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer 0-5, 3 K
RF Robbie Burnett 2-4

Rory Fox 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR (win) – one of the best pro outings from the 2025 sixth-rounder
Hansel Rincon 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:W, 6-2 at Dunedin Blue Jays

CF Brando Mayea 1-4, RBI, 2 K
3B Hans Montero 0-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
LF Luis Puello 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 0-3, BB, K
DH Engelth Urena 0-3, BB
2B Luis Escudero 0-2, 2 BB, K
1B David McCann 2-4, 2B, K
C Ediel Rivera 1-4, 2 SB
RF Gabriel Lara 0-3, BB, K

Henry Lalane 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K (win) – the huge left-hander has had a couple lost years, but maybe at last he’s putting it back together. Very good look at him below from Baseball America
Jose Martinez 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Pedro Rodriguez 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (save)

Florida Complex League Yankees:L, 7-5 vs. FCL Phillies

3B Richard Matic 1-4, BB, CS, fielding error
CF Wilberson De Pena 0-5
DH Queni Pineda 1-3, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K
2B Leni Done 1-4, 2 K
LF Jose Castro 0-1, BB, K, SB
RF Francisco Vilorio 1-4, 2 RBI, K
SS Dexters Peralta 2-4, 3B, RBI, K
C Justin Capellan 1-3, K
1B Christofer Reyes 0-4, 3 K

Omar Gonzalez 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (loss)
Marco Manzano 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Enixon Sanchez 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K
Austin Breedlove 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Dominican Summer League Yankees:L, 13-10 vs. DSL Rockies

LF Isaias Castillo 3-6, 2B, RBI, K, SB, CS
SS Stiven Marinez 1-4, RBI, SB
CF Yostin Pena 1-5, RBI, BB, 3 SB, throwing error
2B Juan Torres 2-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, K
C Juan Martinez 3-5, BB, SB
DH Cesar Lopez 3-4, 2 RBI, SF
3B Alfred Ciriaco 1-3, RBI, BB
RF Eliezer Adames 0-4, BB, K, three fielding errors
1B Jose Peralta 1-3, RBI, 2 BB

Victor De Leon 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 2 K (loss)
Freddy Lopez 1.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Brandon Rodriguez 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Jose Vargas 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 4 K
Emanuel Vargas 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Dominican Summer League Bombers:W, 6-1 (7) at DSL Marlins

DH Mani Cedeno 0-4, 2 K
SS Germayhoni Beltre 0-2, 2 RBI, BB, SF
2B Carlos Bello 1-4, 2B, K
RF David Carrera 1-4, 2B, RBI, K
1B Poly Ojeda 1-3, RBI, BB, SB
C Jesus Guerrero 0-2, 2 BB, K
CF Alfiery Matos 1-4, RBI
LF Sebastian Pinto 1-2, BB, CS
3B Adrian Feliz 1-2, RBI, SB

Jose Sanchez 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Higor Requena 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (win)

The Atlanta Braves bullpen took another hit as right-hander Robert Suarez has been placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. The move is retroactive to June 23. In addition, fellow righty Hurston Waldrep was recalled to Atlanta, and Carlos Carrasco has elected free agency. 

Suarez has been a huge asset to the bullpen this season. Through 31 games, he’s posted a 0.56 ERA and recorded 26 strikeouts. 

Waldrep appeared in Friday night’s contest, and though not his best stuff, he was able to work out of a jam. He ended the night with two scoreless innings, recording four walks and three strikeouts. 

With Suarez sidelined, the Braves will look to the rest of the bullpen to pick up the slack until one of their most dependable relievers returns.

More Braves News:

The four-game losing streak has been snapped after Friday’s 3-1 defeat of the San Francisco Giants. 

Briggs McKenzie and Alex Lodise each had productive days on the farm. More in the minor league recap. 

Grant McAuley caught up with prospect Eric Hartman to discuss his season in the minors.

MLB News:

The Boston Red Sox have placed shortstop Marcelo Mayer on the 10-day injured list with a bone stress reaction. Mayer has reportedly been dealing with the issue for two months. 

The Cincinnati Reds placed right-hander Tony Santillan on the 15-day injured list with an oblique strain. The move is retroactive to June 23.

After a 34-47 start, the New York Mets have fired manager Carlos Mendoza. Andy Green will serve as the interim manager for the remainder of the season.

From the Feed:

With the trade deadline approaching, should Alex Anthopoulos go all in?

Toledo Mud Hens 13, Worcester Red Sox 1 (box)

The Hens continue to beat up on the Red Sox, thumping them for their fourth straight and a series vicotry on Friday night. Carl Edwards Jr. handled a bulk role with ease, and the big bats did damage in this one.

Max Anderson sparked a two-out rally in the top of the first with an opposite field double. Eduardo Valencia singled him in, and Gage Workman and Corey Julks followed with a single and a walk, loading the bases for Jace Jung. Jung unloaded them with a grand slam to right center field.

Brenan Hanifee was the opener, and he allowed a run in the first. Edwards then dealt five innings of socreless ball, allowing just two hits and a walk.

Valencia cracked a solo shot in the third for his 13th on the year. In the top of the fifth, Max Clark singled and then stole second base. A wild pitch got him to third, and after Anderson walked, Valencia plated Clark with a sacrifice fly. Workman doubled in Anderson, and it was 8-1 Hens.

Matt Seelinger spun two good innings out of the pen, while Tanner Rainey closed it out.

The Hens tacked on five more runs in the top of the eighth to complete the rout. Two-out walks to Andrew Navigato and then Clark set the stage, and Trei Cruz singled in Navigato. Anderson singled in Clark, and Valencia crushed a three-run shot to left center field to make it 13-1.

Valencia: 4-4, 3 R, 6 RBI, 2 HR

Anderson: 3-4, 3 R, RBI, 2B, BB

Clark: 1-4, 2 R, BB, SB

Edwards Jr. (W, 3-6): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 4:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday as the Hens push toward a sweep.

Erie SeaWolves 6, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 0 (box)

Kenny Serwa was sharp, and Andrew Jenkins landed the big blow in this one as the SeaWolves bullied the Ponies on Friday.

The SeaWolves also stole six bases in this one, three of them by Peyton Graham, who now has a hilarious 42 stolen bases on the year. Right from the jump, Seth Stphenson walked and Graham singled. Graham stole second, and a balk scored Stephenson. A ground out from Thayron Liranzo brought in Graham for a 2-0 lead.

In the second, Max Burt led off with a walk and stole second base. He eventually scored on a ground out to make it 3-0 SeaWolves.

Serwa had it from there. The right-hander walked three over 5.2 innings of work, but Binghamton couldn’t square him up, notching just two hits while striking out four times.

Yoniel Curet and Tanner Kohlhepp took over from Serwa and were solid, with Kohlhepp earning his fourth save. Andrew Jenkins bashed a three-run shot in the eighth off former Tigers’ relief prospect Max Green to end Binghamton’s hopes of a comeback.

Graham: 2-3, R, BB, 4 SB

Stephenson: 1-3, R, BB, SB, CS

Jenkins: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR

Serwa (W, 3-6): 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start in Erie on Saturday with the SeaWolves up 3-1 in the series.

West Michigan Whitecaps at Dayton Dragons (postponed)

They’ll look to play two in Dayton on Saturday, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET after they were rained out on Friday.

Daytona Tortugas 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 3 (box)

Cale Wetwiska got a nice rehab outing in on Friday, but with Edian Espinal and Jordan Yost getting a day off, the offense didn’t quite have the juice to overcome a messy fourth inning.

Wetwiska is still building up his innings, but he gave the Flying Tigers 2.1 scoreless frames in this one. He only punched out one, but he looked at full strength and came out firing 97 mph repeatedly in the first inning.

The Flying Tigers opened the scoring when Jude Warwick and Beau Ankeney singled with Jesus Pinto already on first. He scored on Ankeney’s knock for a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, Antonio Florida walked three of the first four hitters in the bottom of the fourth. A Jude Warwick throwing error at shortstop prolonged the inning, and the Tortugas put up four runs to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

In the top of the sixth, the Flying Tigers did make a little push. Ankeney singled with one out, and after Carson Rucker struck out, Zach MacDonald walked, and a swinging bunt from Nick Dumesnil was thrown away by the Tortugas catcher, scoring two runs to make it 4-3 Daytona.

That was as close as they’d get, as Pedro Garcia allowed a solo shot in the eighth.

Ankeney: 2-4, R, RBI, K

Dumesnil: 2-4, RBI, K

Warwick: 2-5, 2 K, SB

Wetwiska: 2.1 IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, K

Coming Up Next: Daytona leads 3-1 in the series. It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday night.

FCL Blue Jays 5, FCL Tigers 4 (box)

The Tigers struck first with three runs in the first, as Steven Madero had a sacrifice fly and then Jose Dickson came through with a two-run double. Unfortunately, Paul Wilson leaked two runs in the second inning. Martin Tamara singled in Josue Quinonez in the third to make it a 4-2 Tigers lead, but they couldn’t tack on more runs.

Ryan Hall fired 1.2 innings of scoreless ball as he builds up after spending the first half on the injured list. Frenny Grant allowed three runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Blue Jays walked this one off.

Dickson: 1-3, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, K

Madero: 1-2, RBI, BB

Wilson: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K

Hall: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K

The Yankees came into Boston on the heels of a solid series win in Detroit, looking primed to bury their rivals, who entered in last place in the AL East. Instead, things are feeling a little June Swoony, with the Yankees’ offense looking like they miss Aaron Judge over the last week or so. The team’s starting rotation should be able to pick up the offense and keep them in it every night, but Will Warren and Cam Schlittler have faltered the last two nights. Now, it’s up to Gerrit Cole to try to keep this from turning into a three-game losing streak.

On the site today, get caught up on last night’s action with Andrew’s Rivalry Roundup, and check out Sam’s profile of an interesting player, right-hander Eric Reyzelman . Also, John analyzes José Caballero’s sudden struggles on the base paths, while Matt delivers his All-Birthday team for June, and Maximo compares Willson Contreras’ and Ben Rice’s similar journeys from backstops to hard-hitting first basemen.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

Time: 1:10 p.m. EST

TV: ABC/ESPN App

Venue: Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Questions/Prompts:

1. What version of Gerrit Cole will we see this afternoon?

2. Were you surprised to see the Mets let go of Carlos Mendoza, or had the writing been on the wall?

The MLB Draft Combine is a time to show off on the biggest stage. It’s the last chance to make an impression on scouts. And for many players, it’s the final chance to make your name known in hopes of hearing it called on draft day.

From June 23-26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, plenty of athletes made the most of that opportunity.

From newly 17-year-old Rocco Maniscalco showcasing elite arm strength to Noah Wilson setting a new Combine record in the 30-yard dash, the next generation of talent did not disappoint at Chase Field.

Among the 140 high school players in attendance, here are six players who stood out with exceptional performances.  

Genson Veras | OF | TNXL Academy

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound outfielder put on one of the most impressive power displays of the Combine during Day 2's batting practice. The son of former big league reliever Jose Veras launched three of the day’s 10 furthest home runs, highlighted by a 443-footer. He also produced elite exit velocities, becoming the only player to reach 114 mph on the day while recording three additional batted balls at 113 mph.

Another electric day at the MLB Draft Combine!

Here's who drilled the furthest homers: pic.twitter.com/DqqLl1CXLx

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 25, 2026

Rocco Maniscalco | SS | Oxford HS

Maniscalco came in as the youngest prospect at Combine, but you would never know by the talent he displayed. The shortstop, who turned 17 in May after reclassifying to become draft-eligible, stole the spotlight with a 97 mph throw from shortstop – one of the strongest infield throws of the week. The switch-hitter also showed off offensive tools, barreling 22 balls at 100 mph or harder.

Dominic Santarelli | 1B/OF | St. Joseph Catholic Academy

Santarelli’s power was impossible to miss this week. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound first baseman and outfielder led all participants with a 110.9 average exit velocity – more than 4 mph better than the next closest player. He also reached up to 115.1 mph, the fifth-highest exit velocity of the Combine. His strength allows him to generate effortless power to all fields.

Ethan Wachsmann | RHP | Grandview HS

No pitcher threw harder than Wachsmann this week. The Colorado native touched 100 mph twice, making him the hardest thrower at this year’s Combine. He averaged 98.8 mph on his four-seam fastball, leading the pitching group once again. The Wake Forest commit also recorded the top three fastball spin rates on Day 1, further cementing his status as one of the premier arms in the class.

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New York Post | Greg Joyce: Trent Grisham met the Yankees at Fenway Park Thursday to take the next step in his recovery from a hamstring strain. The center fielder took BP and did some fielding drills, a first step before a (likely brief) rehab stint to slated begin soon. Grisham, who’s been out since June 13, has been progressing at or ahead of schedule. “He’s doing really well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s been encouraging. He’ll probably hit the bases … a couple times this weekend while we’re here. But he’s getting close.” With Aaron Judge also on the IL, the Yankees have been shorthanded in Grisham’s absence, using youngsters Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones in the outfield as well as José Caballero and Max Schuemann, two utilitymen who have mostly played in the infield in the big leagues.

MLB.com | Mike Petriello: Paul Goldschmidt’s resurgence as one of the best hitters in baseball in his age-38 campaign is one of the biggest surprises of the season. Usually, this type of turnaround comes due to some combination of better hard-hit rate, higher bat speed, and fewer strikeouts. Goldschmidt’s got none of these. Instead, it appears he’s eschewed trying to be a successful all-around hitter for a more extreme approach, making both more very weak contact and more very hard contact. This may be a product of hunting heaters — Goldy’s posted an astonishing 12 run value against fastballs. He also has the widest platoon splits in baseball and has been facing the highest percentage of lefties of his entire career as Boone has been able to insert him into favorable matchups.

The veteran’s manager offers a more simplistic explanation. “Look, he’s just a Hall of Fame player,” said Boone. “Unbelievable hitter in his career. He’s in amazing shape. He’s incredibly prepared. And I think he just enjoys the game as much as you possibly can.”

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: For Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice, the Yankees’ two biggest breakout stars this season, this weekend’s series in Boston represents a homecoming. Both grew up in enemy territory not far from Fenway Park, with Schlittler a die-hard Sox fan and Rice a contrarian rooting for the Yankees. And, while the Red Sox spent time scouting Rice, they eschewed Schlittler, making the latter’s transition from Boston faithful to New York ace an easy one. Another key nugget from this profile: Rice wants in on the Home Run Derby, an event to which he should receive an invite given his 22 home runs rank third in the AL.

Former England fast bowler Liam Plunkett traded the cricket field for the baseball diamond as he made his professional debut for a minor league team in the United States.

Plunkett turned out for the Oakland Ballers against the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds in the Pioneer Baseball League on Friday night in the USA's west coast.

The 41-year-old threw five pitches and struck out the Freebirds' Josh Duarte in front of 1,878 fans at the Ballers' Raimondi Park, although he was unable to prevent the home side sliding to an 18-11 defeat.

Plunkett, who was part of the England team that won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019, emigrated to the United States five years ago and plays in Major League Cricket (MLC), the country's T20 franchise tournament.

He said his style from the mound was a "bit unusual" and a "mix between bowling and pitching".

"I've previously done the ceremonial first pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins as part of being an MLC ambassador, but this is obviously a little bit more serious," Plunkett told BBC Sport.

"I think I'm the first English cricketer to ever play a professional game of baseball. It's obviously a few rungs below Major League Baseball but it's still pretty cool to say I have played as a professional in two bat-and-ball sports."

Plunkett signed a contract to join the Ballers under the Pioneer Baseball League's marketing player exception, which allows clubs to bypass their standard roster eligibility limits.

It enables teams to sign one non-prospect player who is often a notable veteran or former Major League Baseball player to their 25-man active roster, though Plunkett's appearance is unlikely to prompt a permanent career change.

He is part of the San Francisco Unicorns squad for MLC but has yet to make an appearance for the franchise in this year's tournament.

Plunkett tried batting during a training session with the Ballers in the build-up to the game before deciding pitching was his stronger suit.

"The swing path when you bat is so different compared to cricket, especially when someone is pitching at 90mph," Plunkett added.

"I'd have loved to hit a monster home run because that would have gone viral!

"But to play my ​first game and get a ‌strikeout, I couldn't ask for more."

Plunkett played 13 Tests, 89 ODIs and 22 T20s for England, taking 201 wickets across all formats.

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SAN DIEGO –– It was a battle of Dodgers pitching phenoms at Petco Park on Friday night.

The former one, in Walker Buehler.

The current one, in Roki Sasaki.

In a 7-1 Padres win, there was no comparing their two performances.

While Sasaki took a major step backwards in his up-and-down sophomore season, walking five batters and giving up a three-run homer in a shaky four-plus-inning outing, Buehler tapped back into his dominant form of old for San Diego, cruising through 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball to hand the Padres the opening game of this pivotal mid-season rivalry series.

That Buehler was ready for the moment was no surprise.

Before the game, manager Dave Roberts was only half-joking when he said the former Dodgers ace would “love nothing more than to shove it up our you-know-what.”

Sasaki’s struggles, however, represented a more foreboding development in a campaign suddenly headed back in the wrong direction.

He lacked command from the start, walking three of his first five hitters while grinding through long, foul-ball-extended at-bats. Then, after getting Ty France to an 0-2 count with two aboard in the second inning, he threw a low slider that France launched to left for a no-doubt three-run blast.

The Dodgers would trail the rest of the way, failing to solve Buehler before squandering a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity after he exited in the top of the sixth. The Padres didn’t even have to go to lockdown closer Mason Miller, either, not after their offense tagged Dodgers reliever Jonathan Hernández with four runs in the eighth to pull away.

For Buehler –– now on his third organization since getting the last out of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series title –– the outing continued his recent turnaround, giving him a 3.81 ERA this season and a 1.71 mark since the start of June.

For Sasaki –– who has now allowed 13 runs in 14 innings over his last three starts –– the dud continued his recent regression, leaving him on Friday to be outshined by his current club’s former star.

What it means

The Dodgers’ division lead isn’t in danger. But, as they begin a seven-games-in-10-days stretch against the second-place Padres, it is worth monitoring.

With what remains the winningest record in the majors at 52-30, the Dodgers are still eight games up in the National League West on the Padres, who are 42-38. But the Padres have now won four games in a row, coming off an impressive sweep of the Braves, and are 11-7 since a woeful 1-10 rut over late May and early June.

Who’s hot

The Dodgers did lead briefly on Friday, courtesy of the hottest recent hitter in the lineup.

In the top of the second, Mookie Betts tagged Buehler with a solo home run on an elevated first-pitch fastball, continuing a torrid two-week stretch in which he has hit .375 with four home runs.

Nevertheless, even Betts eventually went quiet on a lackluster night from the Dodgers’ offense, hitting into two double-plays later in the game –– including one to end a two-on, one-out chance in the eighth.

Who’s not

Three weeks ago, Sasaki seemed to be on the ascent. He pitched seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a June 5 masterpiece against the Angels. He had a 1.49 ERA with 29 strikeouts and only five walks over an extended four-start stretch. And, most importantly, he was finally pairing triple-digit fastball velocities with an expanded arsenal and consistent command.

Alas, he has wasted no time squandering all that momentum.

Though he still averaged nearly 98 mph with his fastball, and topped out at 100 mph yet again, he reverted back to the wild command that dogged him earlier this season, issuing six free bases when accounting for a hit batter in the fourth.

As a result, Sasaki’s season ERA is back up to 4.88, the highest it has been in a month.

And it’s fair to wonder if his uptick in form earlier this year –– which included another seven-inning gem against the Angels –– was more the result of poor opposition and good batted-ball luck than a true turning point in his ongoing development.

Up next

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-5, 2.65 ERA) will take the mound Saturday opposite Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez (6-5, 4.17 ERA).

Box Score

Both the Brewers and Cubs came into this series hot, but it was the Brewers who kept that heat going. Despite a cold opening to the game, they turned on the burners late and defeated the Cubs 6-2. It was their 50th win of the season and fifth win in a row.

Jacob Misiorowski was fired up right from the start. On his third pitch of the game, he reached 105.5 mph with his fastball. That was part of a 13-pitch inning where he struck out the first two batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Brewers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but left them stranded.

The top of the second was quick as well, with Misiorowski striking out two more. Meanwhile, the Brewers offense was mostly quiet with one exception. Cooper Pratt hit a one-out double down the left-field line for his first career extra-base hit. Pratt moved up to third on a David Hamilton groundout, but was left stranded there.

Both starting pitchers, Misiorowski and Colin Rea, continued to pitch a scoreless duel until the fifth inning. Misiorowski gave up his only run of the night to Seiya Suzuki, who hit a low slider out for the first run of the day. After that, Misiorowski lost a bit of control as he walked Ian Happ and threw a wild pitch, but escaped the inning with no more damage.

As for the Brewers, Hamilton led off the bottom of the inning with a single, then stole second and got to third on a throwing error by catcher Carson Kelly. Despite having a runner at third with no outs, the Brewers could not score him. Christian Yelich and Brice Turang struck out, and Jackson Chourio flew out.

The sixth started well for Misiorowski with strikeouts of Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong. However, he struggled after that. Alex Bregman singled to left, then Michael Busch walked on five pitches. Another wild pitch from Misiorowski moved the runners up, and Suzuki walked to load the bases. Despite being over 100 pitches, manager Pat Murphy stuck with Misiorowski, who rewarded Murphy’s trust with a strikeout of Happ to end the inning.

Misiorowski finished the night with 107 pitches thrown over six innings. It was an uncharacteristically wild night for him, as he walked four batters and threw two wild pitches. However, he limited the Cubs to one run and two hits, and struck out eight in the game.

The Brewers’ offense kept trying to break through in the bottom of the sixth. They had a good start thanks to a William Contreras single and Jake Bauers walk. That ended Rea’s night, and Craig Counsell brought in Ethan Roberts. Andrew Vaughn was the first batter he faced, and almost got out of the inning on his third pitch. Vaughn hit a line drive right back at Roberts, who snagged the baseball for the first out. Both Contreras and Bauers were halfway off their bases, and Roberts threw to Nico Hoerner at second to try for a triple play. They got Contreras at second, but Bauers just made it back to first to keep the inning alive.

All that did was delay the Brewers by one batter. The next batter, Garrett Mitchell, hit a high 1-0 cutter out over the right-center field fence. It had an exit velocity of 109.1 mph and traveled 407 feet. All of a sudden, the Brewers had a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t it for the offense in the sixth. Pratt drew a walk on five pitches, then Hamilton extended the lead with a triple down the left field line that ricocheted off the left field wall. That increased the lead to 3-1.

Yelich finished the inning with a hard hit ball, but Matt Shaw caught it to end the inning.

After Abner Uribe kept the Cubs in check in the seventh inning, the Brewers added on. Chourio led off the inning with a double off new reliever Jayden Murray. Two batters later, Contreras hit a massive 449 foot home run out over the Brewers’ bullpen. It was now a 5-1 lead.

Aaron Ashby took the bottom of the eighth and did get into some trouble. He walked the first two batters of the inning, Crow-Armstrong and Bregman. The Cubs manufactured a run after that with fly outs from Busch and Suzuki that each moved Crow-Armstrong up a base. However, Ashby didn’t allow anything else, getting Happ to fly out to end the inning. The Cubs traded three fly balls for a run, but the Brewers still held a 5-2 lead.

However, the Brewers would get that run back in the bottom of the inning. Pratt drew another walk to start the inning, then recorded his fifth steal in 10 games to put a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, Yelich hit a low and away sweeper hard enough that it should have been a home run. Crow-Armstrong made a leaping attempt to catch it, and the ball was in his glove. He couldn’t complete the catch, but did prevent the ball from leaving the ballpark. It robbed Yelich of a home run, but still went for an RBI double that scored Pratt.

From there, Trevor Megill finished out the game in the ninth. He walked Kelly, but that was it as he locked down a 6-2 win, the Brewers’ 50th of the season.

Yelich, Chourio, Contreras, and Hamilton each had two-hit days for the Brewers’ offense. Pratt also jumped in with a double and two walks, and Bauers went hitless but walked twice. Contreras and Mitchell each drove in two runs. The only two starters who did not reach base were Vaughn (who went 0-for-3) and Turang (who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts).

After the game, Contreras talked about the game and his thoughts about Venezuela in the post-game interview.

This Brewers’ team is officially the fastest to 50 wins in franchise history, and still have two more games to add on to that before the halfway point. They will send Kyle Harrison to the mound, while the Cubs will start David Peterson, who they acquired from the Mets on Thursday. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m.