DETROIT, MI - JUNE 26: Spencer Arrighetti #41 of the Houston Astros looks to the outfield after giving up a three-run home run to James Outman of the Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning at Comerica Park on June 26, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The hopes of being a .500 ball club by Sunday Afternoon were blasted to smithereens like something out of the new SuperGirl movie. Tigers 8 Astros 0. If only MLB had adopted the mercy rule for this season.
Things would begin unraveling in the bottom of the third for Spencer Arrighetti (L, 7-4). James Outman started things with a walk. Kevin McGonigle followed with a single to right, sending Outman to third. McGonigle would steal second and a throwing error by Yanier Diaz, Outman would score the first of many runs. Moments later, Kerry Carpenter would homer to right and before you could blink, it was 3-0.
The Tigers would continue their offensive assault in the fourth. Zach McKinstry would walk, a single by Matt Vierling moved him to third and everyone would come home when James Outman would leave the yard.
Kevin McGonigle would walk next, steal second and come around to make it 8-0 on Dillon Dingler’s RBI single. Just like that in the span of less than 30 minutes, Arrighetti would be charged with 8 earned runs. That would be your final.
Nate Pearson would come on in relief and stop the bleeding, pitching three scoreless innings of relief. Jake Meyers pitched a 1-2-3 8th with dominating 52 MPH stuff.
Overall, it was a Motown K.O. that Joe Louis would’ve been proud of. Let’s see how the Astros respond at 12:10 CDT tomorrow.
Detroit Tigers center fielder James Outman (43) celebrates batting a three run home run against Houston Astros with second baseman Zach McKinstry (39) and left fielder Matt Vierling (8) during the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, June 26, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Now this is the kind of shutout we can get behind! The Tigers beat the Astros 8-0 on Friday night.
After dropping their first game of the series against the Astros, the Tigers were looking to even things up on Friday evening. They had Keider Montero on the mound to get the job done, and he was up against Spencer Arrighetti for the Astros. Montero was sporting a special “VZ” patch on the side of his cap for the game to honor his home country of Venezuela, still reeling after suffering through multiple earthquakes earlier this week.
Montero got things going with a 1-2-3 inning. If the Tigers took anything away from their Thursday loss, hopefully it would be that they needed to pad a lead, because good pitching goes only so far, and then a few bad luck pitches can overshadow the whole thing. In the bottom of the inning, they did not do that. Instead, they went down in order.
In the second, Christian Walker reached thanks to an error from Kevin McGonigle. He was very quickly removed, however, thanks to a double play off the bat of Jose Altuve. A third out followed to quickly end the inning. Arrighetti had some lengthy at-bats in the bottom of the inning as Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry worked back-to-back walks, but they were both ultimately left stranded.
Montero got through the side in order again in the third. In the home half, James Outman took a leadoff walk. McGonigle then singled, and it was deflected by the first baseman, allowing Outman to advance to third. Dillon Dingler struck out, but then a throwing error by the catcher gave the Tigers the opening they needed to score their first run. McGonigle also stole second. Kerry Carpenter came in and hit a homer, quickly building a nice little lead for the Tigers.
In the fourth, Isaac Paredes got a one-out single, but that was all the Astros would manage. Things broke wide open for the Tigers in the bottom of the inning. Colt Keith got things going with a leadoff home run.
McGonigle walked, and the Astros then dipped into their bullpen, with no outs. Nate Pearson came on, and McGonigle stole second. Dingler then singled a perfect little blooper behind second, scoring another run. It seems fairly clear at this point that the Tigers did, in fact, learn their lesson from last night.
A strikeout and double play ended the inning, but the Tigers were up 8-0 when all was said and done, and Montero was very well rested.
Jose Altuve hit a leadoff single in the fifth after facing a stadium-wide chorus of boos. Tigers fans certainly know how to hold a grudge. The next play was initially ruled a fielder’s choice with Altuve out at second, but the Tigers challenged the safe call at first and it was overturned, becoming an inning-ending double play. Spencer Torkelson took a leadoff walk in the home half, but was quickly eliminated in a fielder’s choice off the bat of Keith. The Tigers weren’t able to convert their baserunner, though.
In the sixth, Taylor Trammell got a one-out walk. Jeremy Peña then singled, but two outs followed to get the Tigers out of a potential jam. Minor rant… the Tigers should not wear these new orange jerseys against teams whose primary color is orange. It’s visually confusing. In the home half, McGonigle got a one-out walk. Dingler then hit into a double play to end the inning.
It was another single for Altuve in the seventh, this time after the first out of the inning. He got the second out after that. Montero was starting to lose the zone a little at this point, and gave up a double to Yanier Diaz. But he turned it around to get the final out of the inning and end the threat. That would be the end of the game for Montero, who looked good, especially through the early innings. His final line for the game was 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, on 96 pitches. After these last starts, I think Montero has more than demonstrated that he belongs in the starting rotation. Pearson was replaced in the home half by Bryan Abreu, who got the Tigers out in order.
Enmanuel De Jesus was the first Tigers’ reliever of the game, and like Montero, he was sporting the VZ on his cap for his home country. He followed right in Montero’s cleats and got the side out in order. Jake Meyers was the new reliever, and he got the Tigers out in order.
Raynel Delgado took a leadoff walk. With one out, Delgado advanced to second on defensive indifference. De Jesus then got the final two outs of the game to close out the all-Venezuelan shutout.
It's getting harder and harder to catch up to The Miz.
Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, firmly established as the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in major league history, established another high-water mark Friday, June 26, when he threw a personal best 105.5 mph pitch, breaking his own record for a starting pitcher.
Misiorowski's first-inning fastball to Chicago Cubs leadoff batter Pete Crow-Armstrong – he fouled the pitch off – tied Los Angeles Angels reliever Ben Joyce for the third-fastest pitch in the 18-year pitch-tracking era. Misiorowski's previous fastest pitch – set earlier this month against the Philadelphia Phillies – registered 104.5 mph.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on May 18, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Yuichi Masuda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One night after facing Walker Buehler, who got the final three outs to close out the Dodgers championship in 2024 at Yankee Stadium in New York, the Dodgers will turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who got the final eight outs to close out the Dodgers championship in 2025 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, facing the Padres in the middle game of the series at Petco Park in San Diego.
Yamamoto has a 2.01 ERA in his three June starts with this game to close out his month, during which he has 17 strikeouts and only two walks in 22 1/3 innings, which included a stretch of 45 consecutive batters retired. Yamamoto struck out eight Padres and allowed only one run in seven innings in a tough-luck loss at San Diego on May 18, part of a stretch during which the right-hander allowed seven total runs over his last six starts.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 23: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after a hit in the second inning during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on June 23, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Los Angeles Dodgers (52-29) at San Diego Padres (42-37), June 26, 2026, 6:45 p.m. PST
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No one who spoke about Carlos Mendoza’s firing at Citi Field on Friday seemed to believe it would change much for the 2026 Mets. David Stearns said he does not expect a switch to flip. Andy Green made clear he is under no illusion that his presence will transform them.
The consensus from those who spoke publicly and among members of the Mets organization who didn’t was that something had to change. They hope it will help. They also hoped they wouldn’t be here in the first place.
But because they are here, despite an offseason full of changes made to avoid a new version of the same old malaise, the path forward is not obvious: If getting back into contention will require total transformation, building a contender by 2027 will require another rigorous remodel.
Their starting pitching depth is not what they thought it was. Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. are no locks to contribute again this year, let alone next. And the stellar bullpen Stearns assembled is home to the assets most likely to bring back useful players at the deadline. If roster turnover delayed the blossoming of this 2026 team, Stearns and Co. will have to find better ways to navigate it next spring, because more turnover is the only thing that feels inevitable for the Mets at the moment.
There is so much unraveling and re-weaving to do, in fact, that Stearns on Friday completely brushed aside a question about what he might look for in his next full-time manager.
“I’m not going to speculate on that right now,” he said.
Who knows where this team will be by then and who will be on it. One could reasonably wonder about whether Stearns will even be the one making those decisions. Steve Cohen did say in spring training that making the playoffs was his minimum expectation for 2026.
Cohen pays attention to what people say about the Mets, and he is not single-minded. If there is a criticism levied at his baseball team, he usually hears it. And if it comes from someone he finds credible, he even entertains it. His mind can change.
But Stearns said Friday that he speaks to Cohen regularly and that “[Cohen] certainly indicated that I have his support.”
People familiar with Cohen’s thinking say that is true. After all, Cohen targeted Stearns for the position years in advance, in part with an eye on establishing a long-term plan and instituting stability. Cohen-as-owner does not have a Streinbrenner-esque history of reactionary decisions. And to someone taking a longer-term view, time can make even two bad seasons out of three look like aberrations – especially when injuries obscure the difference between a bad plan and bad luck.
As with Mendoza, who had Stearns’ public support as recently as last month, things can change. But if Stearns does get another year to validate Cohen’s faith, the next few weeks will be pivotal.
He said Friday he is “not thinking about the trade deadline at all” right now, and when asked if he is still trying to engineer a turnaround in 2026, he said, “we’re not turning the page.”
“We all remain very focused on doing everything we can to win as many games this year, while recognizing where we are in the standings,” he said.
Where they are in the standings is near the bottom, and if that does not change between now and the All-Star break, history suggests Cohen will allow Stearns to act rationally and trade current assets for future help.
But while many teams that are forced to sell hunt prospects in return, the Mets need more immediate help. While he is showing patience with Stearns, Cohen does not sound like someone willing to endure another long retreat. Given the amount of money they have committed to stars like Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, and Bo Bichette, the uncertainty posed by an offseason likely to include a lengthy lockout, and their many pitching needs, they likely need the deadline to bring them help for 2027, not 2030.
Then again, maybe a new voice will help. Maybe – as Green suggested while explaining that he wished it had not come to this – removing the concern about their manager’s job status will allow Mets players to play more freely. After an embarrassing week in an embarrassing season, Cohen and Stearns decided it was worth a try. Yet if there is anything they know after their first three seasons together, it is that turning the Mets into a contender is never as easy as it seems.
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 18: J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics pitches during the game between the Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Monday, May 18, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Tony Macon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The A’s have hit the road but it wasn’t a long trip. A quick hop on a flight down south to Anaheim has brought the A’s to the home of the Los Angeles Angels, where the two division rivals are set for a three-game weekend showdown. The Green & Gold managed to escape the Bay Area with at least one win and remain just a game and a half back of the AL West leading Mariners (along with the Astros and Rangers, crowded atop the division is putting it mildly). After splitting the four-game set last weekend the A’s need to clean up against the last-place Angels, and hopefully that starts tonight.
Taking the ball for the road team this evening will be right-hander J.T. Ginn. The righty has put together back-to-back quality outings since his real only bad outing of the year earlier this month. He’s coming off a performance where he pitched into the sixth inning and allowed three runs… to these very same Angels last weekend. With an absent offense behind him that was enough to saddle the emerging ace with his fourth loss of the season. He’ll be hoping for better results and better offense behind him this evening in a revenge game for the young starter.
Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay decided to line his squad up for the series opener:
It’s literally the exact same batting order as yesterday, and honestly why change things up a ton after a nine-run outburst? The only big difference is that Shea Langeliers will don the catcher’s gear this evening while Jonah Heim only has DH duties tonight. Again, no Jacob Wilson, who is still only considered day-to-day at this point as we all hold our breaths, which means Alika Williams back at short and batting ninth.
That lineup will be facing the Angels’ own up-and-coming righty in Walbert Urena. The 22-year-old rookie has dazzled in his first taste of the big leagues. Over his first 12 starts (plus two relief appearances), Urena has posted a sparkling 2.41 ERA spanning 67 1/3 innings pitched. After a fantastic May he’s come down to earth a bit in June but still has allowed just six runs in four starts this month. The A’s have now seen him twice already this season and have had little to no success: 11 innings, 8 hits, zero runs. We need to do better against him tonight. Hopefully seeing him so much in recent weeks will give the bats a better chance this evening.
And the Angels’ lineup, brought to you by old friend Kurt Suzuki:
Still no Mike Trout for the Angels, and now their also down their backup center fielder Jose Siri, who was placed on the paternity list this morning. Still some dangerous bats in that lineup though, all crowded around the top. If Ginn can take care of Neto, Adel, and not make a mistake to Soler, the A’s should be in business in this one.
Can the squad make it two in a row? Time to find out! Let’s go A’s!
Appearing as a guest on 97.3 The Fan, Buehler spoke about why the last eight starts have been better than his previous first seven.
“A lot of the stuff we’ve been working on being more in there. Obviously, the first six or seven weren’t kinda what we wanted,” Buehler said during an interview with Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan.
“Changing stuff takes time, and I feel like some of that stuff has settled in and been more natural. I feel like we’ve been doing the right things, and it’s nice for it to pay off.”
Over his last eight starts, Walker Buehler has looked reformed for the San Diego Padres. Getty Images
Walker Buehler spoke with @SammyLev about what's worked so well for him recently:
"Changing stuff takes time and I feel like some of that stuff's kinda settled in and been more natural. I feel like we've been doing the right things and it's nice for it to pay off."
Walker Buehler is regaining confidence while pitching with the San Diego Padres. Getty Images
Through his first seven starts this year, Buehler struggled for San Diego, pitching with a 6.75 ERA.
Since May 10, Buehler has had the fourth-best ERA [2.76] through his last eight starts with 36 strikeouts.
With all of the recent success, Buehler credits how he’s been throwing different kinds of pitches over the plate, instead of how he’s traditionally thrown.
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“Some improvement to the changeup, a lot more sinker, a lot less cutter, slider has improved a little bit,” Buehler said. “You know we’ve kind of taken a look at everything that I do and seen. Try to find something that we can kind of alter or fix and get myself a little more confidence to throw it on both sides of the plate.”
Buehler’s sinker usage has increased from 12.7% during April to 21.2% in May and 19.4% in June. Over the last two months, the pitch has seen 40 batters, and only 11 of them have landed hits, while 6 struck out.
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Whiff percentage from the sinker has also gone up, as he generated a 0.0% Whiff rate during April. In May, his sinker had a 12.5% whiff, and a 3.2% in June.
As Buehler has started to find his groove again while pitching for the Padres, Friday night will be a huge test for him, as he is scheduled to take on his former team, the Dodgers, when they come to Petco Park for a three-game series this weekend.
Jun 1, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy (36) reacts as he walks off the field after the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The St. Louis Cardinals series versus the Miami Marlins this weekend will start off with a bang. A compelling pitching matchup featuring Michael McGreevy for the Cardinals against Max Meyer for the Marlins. Meyer, in particular, has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors especially since June where he’s 4-0 with 28 strikeouts and just 9 walks over those 4 starts. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm central time at Busch Stadium and the game TV broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.
The Mets' firing of Carlos Mendoza reverberated through the baseball world on Friday and reached Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Mendoza, of course, was Boone's bench coach with the Yankees for four seasons before he was hired by the Mets in late 2023. The Yankees skipper was asked about Mendoza's firing ahead of the second game of New York's four-game set with the Red Sox.
"Surprised, I guess, but not surprised," Boone said about how he felt when he found out about Mendoza. "I talked to Mendy. Obviously, it’s a tough situation over there right now with what they’ve been going through this year and going back to last year.
"Mendy is in a good place. He’s really good at what he does. He’s a great leader that as time goes on, my expectation is that he’ll be in line for another job in a lot of different way, shape and form. And has earned a strong reputation in the industry, even through all this, it solidified that reputation."
Relieving Mendoza came after the Mets lost their sixth straight game on Thursday, dropping the team's record to 34-47. But the Mets' struggles date back to last season when their year took a tailspin in the second half of the season, resulting in an 83-win season and missing the playoffs.
Mendoza's managerial career started off great as the 2024 Mets went 89-73 and made it to the NLCS. Mendoza finished with a 206-199 record.
Boone was asked whether he was surprised by the timing of Mendoza's firing, and the longtime Yankees manager said he was and wasn't.
"It’s always surprising. Can I say that I’m really surprised this happened with what they’ve been through? No, not necessarily," Boone explained. "But still, when you hear the news, it catches you. He’s a great baseball man. He’s a really good leader and I think he’s a really good manager that will get another opportunity."
"I talked to Mendy. Obviously, it's a tough situation over there right now with what they've been through this year and even going back to last year. Mendy's in a good place."
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) celebrates the third out, Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) fouling out to left, during the fifth inning of the National League Division Series game at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Oct. 6, 2025. | Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It’s a rivalry weekend in Milwaukee. After a 4-2 road trip, the Brewers are back home to open a seven-game homestand against two division rivals. This also marks the beginning of 18 games in 17 days leading into the All-Star Break, and is the final homestand before the break.
Jacob Misiorowski is back on the mound to make tonight’s start. In his last game, Misiorowski was still strong but had his “worst” game in a while. He pitched just six innings, allowed two runs, and only struck out seven (his lowest strikeout total since April 14). That’s obviously still a very good start, but a step down from what he had been doing. This is his second start against the Cubs this season. In his previous start against them, he pitched six shutout innings on May 19.
For the Cubs, former Brewer Colin Rea starts tonight’s game. He is one of the few healthy arms in the Cubs’ rotation, but has been having a rough season. In 16 games (12 starts) he has a 4.99 ERA and 4.83 FIP. His last start came against the Blue Jays, where he pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings. The last time the Brewers faced him was in the 2025 NLDS. He mostly kept the Brewers in check then, allowing just one run over six innings in two appearances.
The Brewers made one roster move prior to today’s game. Yesterday, they optioned Craig Yoho back to Triple-A Nashville. That cleared a roster spot for Jared Koenig to be activated for tonight’s game. Koenig has missed 2 1/2 months with an elbow sprain, but is finally back in the bullpen.
It’s a pretty standard lineup for tonight. Christian Yelich is batting leadoff as usual, with Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras behind him. Jake Bauers is playing in right field with Andrew Vaughn manning first base. Garrett Mitchell, Cooper Pratt, and David Hamilton round out the lineup.
First pitch is at 6:45 p.m. The game will be exclusively on Apple TV, with the usual radio broadcast available on the Brewers Radio Network.
David Sandlin looks to build upon his recent success in Charlotte.
A weird and wacky season has continued for the Chicago White Sox, and only time will tell how this upcoming series with the lowly Kansas City Royals will play out. On the surface, the South Siders should be able to roll over Kansas City and at least take the series. With that being said, this is the same team that took four of five from the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers before getting swept by the Detroit Tigers last weekend.
Fortunately for the White Sox, they took their last series against the Cleveland Guardians, and all is even atop the AL Central once again. With Cleveland slated to match up against a tougher Seattle Mariners team this weekend, the South Siders have a great opportunity to retake pole position.
To do that, they’ll have to take down the Royals. While their record screams “fire sale,” they may have found their stride recently. In their last two series, the Royals took two of three from a good St. Louis Cardinals team before splitting four games with the AL second-best Tampa Bay Rays.
Both teams displayed a little gamesmanship today, as neither team released their probable starters until late in the day. Whether it was both teams trying to gain an edge or simply trying to figure out who’s going to be available to take multiple innings remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if either team switches up their starter last minute.
Taking the mound to try to keep some of K.C.’s success flowing is reliever Steven Cruz. He has started just four games in his career, all back in 2023. It’s important to note that all of those starts were as an “opener,” so it remains to be seen what pitchers the Royals throw to finish the game. As for Cruz, he started off the season extremely poorly, taking an 8.36 ERA into the month of June before settling down and allowing just three earned runs over his last nine innings. He leans heavily on his fastball (throwing it 58% of the time), so if Chicago can get the barrel to it, there could be plenty of runs early in this contest.
As for the White Sox, they are throwing out David Sandlin after recalling him from Charlotte earlier today. Sandlin has started in two of his three appearances for the White Sox, and the results have not been there so far. In just over 13 innings he has allowed 12 hits and 12 earned runs, along with an additional seven walks. In Charlotte, he’s been a completely different pitcher, posting a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings of work across six starts, although still a bit wild. It’s been a tale of two Sandlins so far, and it’s anyone’s guess as to which one shows up against the Royals.
For those of you who are looking for cheap game-used souvenirs, you may want to camp out in the outfield seats, as there will likely be plenty of free baseballs leaving the yard tonight.
Here is the starting lineup for the Chicago White Sox:
Here is the starting lineup for the Kansas City Royals:
First pitch is 6:40 p.m. CST. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000. Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 05: Robert Suarez (75) of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the Friday evening MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 5, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Despite getting reliever Tyler Kinley back from injury a couple of days ago, the Braves will now be without one of their best bullpen arms for the near future. Robert Suarez was unavailable during the Padres series due to what was being described as “right forearm tightness” and now it’s turned out that that ailment is enough to put him on the IL.
The #Braves today placed RHP Robert Suarez on the 15-day injured list, backdated to June 23, with right elbow inflammation, and recalled RHP Hurston Waldrep to Atlanta. The club also outrighted RHP Carlos Carrasco to Triple-A Gwinnett, and he elected free agency.
So far this season, Suarez was sitting on an ERA of 0.56 (13 ERA-) and. FIP of 2.45 (59 FIP-) across 32 innings of work. He’d also collected four saves in the process while teaming up as a dynamic duo with Raisel Iglesias when it came to dusting off late, high-leverage innings. In fact, Suarez held down the fort while Iglesias spent some time on the IL earlier this season after Iggy injured himself while sleeping (he’s 36, it happens). Now, Iglesias will have to return the favor now that the Braves are going to be without Suarez for however long it takes for him to get over it.
Meanwhile, Hurston Waldrep is finally back in action with the big league squad and apparently he’s going to be a man on a mission upon his return. Reynaldo López is starting tonight’s matchup against the Giants and according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves are intending on using Waldrep to come in after López is done so that the two can hopefully cover the vast majority of tonight’s game.
Suarez to the IL. We’ll learn more about how long he’ll miss when Walt talks shortly. Waldrep will likely follow Lopez tonight. How long he stays will depend on how he and Lopez both fare tonight. https://t.co/zFuU4Xp63d
As Bowman mentioned, this could be a strategy that the Braves employ going forward since that would kill two birds with one stone when it comes to filling a rotation spot and also giving the bullpen a day where most of the guys can rest up. That’s also assuming that López and Waldrep are effective in their roles so hopefully tonight’s experiment is the start of a good thing rather than yet another liability at a time when the Braves can ill-afford any further serious setbacks.
In other news, Carlos Carrasco is now a free agent after he has decided that he’s had enough of the DFA cycle for now. That’s not to say that the two parties won’t re-uinite again in the future since that’s very possible but for now, Carrasco and the Braves have gone their separate ways. Don’t be shocked if he ends up signing another minor league deal with Atlanta at some point down the road, though. We’ll see what happens.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 23: Mauricio Dubon #14 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated by Michael Harris II #23 after scoring a run during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 23, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There was a point, less than four hours from first pitch, when the Giants hadn’t announced a starter, and neither team had announced a lineup. Closer to three hours now, we have the lineups, but still no actual known Giants starter or opener.
In light of that, the Braves have this lineup going:
The top four in this lineup are the only Braves to have a .300+ wOBA in June. They’re also the only regulars to have an xwOBA above .300 in June, though Olson’s just barely there with a .301 mark. Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubon are the only guys with actual good offensive inputs for the month, and they’re first and second in this lineup, respectively.
As for the rest of the guys, they basically need to get back on track or whatever metaphor you want to use for the Braves to go anywhere. None of them have hit for about a month or longer. I know people will keep clamoring for Jorge Mateo, but he’s apparently still hobbled, which is why he tends to slot in at DH. I guess you could play Eli White over Ha-Seong Kim, but there aren’t too many appealing options this far down the depth chart.
It’s another novel lineup for the Braves, who will have run 67 in 80 games out there when this one begins.
The Giants’ lineup looks like this:
Some new faces from when the Giants visited Atlanta include Drew Cavanaugh, who will be making his MLB debut, and Victor Bericoto, who didn’t appear in that series but has homered in consecutive games.
Bryce Eldridge, Casey Schmitt, and Jung Hoo Lee are the only guys on the entire Giants’ roster hitting even moderately well for the season, but that didn’t stop them from prolonging the Braves’ misery in Atlanta, so… who knows.
Tonight’s Rockies starter is Tomoyuki Sugano, who, as you can guess from the name, is not Swedish. A six-time All-Star with the Yomiuri Giants, he was eligible to play for an American team in 2020, but none wanted him. So Sugano re-signed with the Giants for a few more years, before playing for the Orioles last season and having a so-so 4.64 ERA (it’s at 4.31 this year). He throws a low-90s fastball and sinker/shuuto, plus a cutter, slider and split. It’s his offspeed stuff that’s best.
I’ve always thought of the Rockies as one of our sister teams, like the Mets. With the Mets, it’s because they came into the league one year after the Twins came here, and while they’ve had some stirring championship seasons, they’re generally overshadowed by their Bronx neighbors. (I mean, they spend a ton of money now, so that might change, but historically, the Mets were usually underdogs.)
With the Rockies, it’s because Coors Field is a popular road trip / short(ish) flight destination for visiting Twins fans, and a number of well-liked Twins have played for the Rockies. Take this bunch, from 2014: Jason Pridie, Matt Belisle, and Wilin Rosario.
OK, Pridie only played for the Twins in 11 games from 2008-2009, Matt Belisle managed to have a 9.13 ERA for the Twins in 2018, and Rosario (no relation to Eddie) never played with the Twins at all. But, for some reason, his BRef page has him in a Twins cap. He did play for Rochester in 2019, so presumably he was an invite to spring training that year. But why not have him in a Rockies hat? He was with the team for five seasons. Got fourth place in ROY voting in 2012. Huh. He was actually quite solid his one year in Rochester, too, with a .843 OPS. But, if you’ll remember, that year, the Twins were actually pretty good, and maybe didn’t have room on the roster for a gritty backup September guy. Who knows?
Anyways, I kid, I kid, the ex-Twins Rockies we all love are Michael Cuddyer, LaTroy Hawkins, and Justin Morneau, all of who were with the team in 2014. And all of whom had decent seasons. It didn’t help the Rockies any; they went 66-96 (while the Twins went 70-92). But they still drew the fifth-biggest crowd in the National League. (We were eighth-biggest in the AL.)
Maybe the Rockies’ ability to consistently draw huge crowds (partly because they’re the only MLB team in their geographical vicinity) makes them virtually the one American professional sports team that isn’t constantly gouging taxpayers for more money by threatening to leave. Their stadium lease runs until 2047. In 2017, the Rockies got a land deal to develop some property next to the stadium. In return, they re-upped the lease. So far, so customary. (Neil deMause, as always, has the details.)
But here’s the weird part; the Rockies didn’t ask to be given the land for cheap/free, or to pay no property taxes on it — that’s how these things usually go. They’re actually paying fair market value for the property, and they do pay property taxes on it. What the heck?
It’s possible the Rockies owners, the Monfort brothers (who inherited their dad’s meatpacking fortune) are simply happy to have ENOUGH money, and don’t feel the need to play “who’s got the biggest, hairiest luxury boxes” with all the other sports owners. I mean, it is possible that non-horrible rich people might, in theory, conceivably exist.
But, nah. I’m just guessing their business people went into negotiations in an Altered State and weren’t exactly thinking clearly. They were, shall we say…
Also, since 2017, they have mostly hovered around the middle of MLB in spending (although payroll dropped some in 2025 and dropped a ton this year). So, for the most part, the team hasn’t reacted to their “aah we coulda got so much more free money if we’d played hardball” situation by totally dumping on salaries. Maybe they are, now? I duuno.
Of course, the team’s also mostly stunk for the majority of its existence, and hasn’t won a real playoff game since 2009 (if you don’t count the expanded wild-card rounds as real playoff games, and I don’t). But the Twins have only won one such game since 2004, so we’re mostly in the same boat.
Finally, a story about a Willful Hound…
We do a fair amount of dogsitting. Mrs. James loves dogs, and I don’t mind ’em. She’d prefer to own one, and I wouldn’t, so the compromise is we do monthly (or so) dogsitting.
As dog owners/lovers know, each dog has its own personality and own challenges. The dog we were sitting last week is extremely friendly to humans, and tolerates other dogs, so those aren’t problems.
The only problems are with what it likes to eat (a common challenge with dogs). This one likes to eat under-ripe fruits, like the raspberries and apples we currently have in the backyard. If she gets to eat a ton of these, she will have bad doggarrhea, so we don’t let her do it.
Sometimes, when she indicates she wants to go outside, it’s to tinkle or poop. Sometimes, it’s just to eat unripe fruit. You have to keep an eye on this.
By the end of this last 10-day stay, she’d fallen into a nice pattern. After dark, when Mrs. James is asleep and I’m winding my night down by watching a movie in the basement or reading and having some beers, the dog stays upstairs. When I go upstairs to use the restroom, I ask the dog if it wants to go outside. And if it does, it tinkles/poops and comes right back in. No problems!
But, things got weird Saturday night. I was downstairs watching a movie, and the dog actually came downstairs. Huh. That’s new. If it wanted to sit on a chair or something in the same room, that’s fine.
Nope, it was whining at me. So I went upstairs and let it outside. It went straight for the unripe fruit. I brought it inside, and went back downstairs.
Ten minutes later — same thing. It came downstairs, whined, I let it out, it tried to eat fruit. Ten minutes again — same thing.
Then, ten minutes after that, it came downstairs and just stared silently at me. “What?”, I asked.
Still staring at me, it squatted down and took a big ol’ giant dump on the basement floor.
I was thinking how to respond, kinda taken aback by surprise, when the dog then promptly turned around and gobbled up all the poop. Slurp slurp slurp! Then took one more look at me, then went upstairs, and that was that. No more contact for the rest of that night.
Now, some dog training experts like Steve Mann will tell you how a dog always/only reacts to stimuli and impulse. How, as this The Guardian article says, “‘Your dog is never “ignoring” you or “doing it on purpose.”‘
I dunno. It felt very much like this dog was sending me a pretty direct message.
