When the Jays dumped Trevor Richards on the Twins at the 2024 deadline, the return was an infielder who’d signed a way under slot deal in the sixth round of the previous year’s draft out of the decided non-baseball hotbed of Penn State University by the name of Jay Harry. Baseball America ranked him 426th among draft eligible prospects that year and promptly never wrote about him again. After the trade, Fangraphs’ rated him the 87th best prospect dealt at the deadline and described his likely peak as “a utility guy for a weak Double-A team.” Which is harsh, perhaps, but looked about right as his OPS last season, split between A+ and AA, started with a five.

I’m writing about him here, so you can guess that things have improved. And indeed they have, to the tune of a .327/.368/.591 line split between New Hampshire and Buffalo that makes Harry one of the best 40 or so hitters in the upper minors this season.

So what’s happened here? Harry was an ultra-contact-oriented hitter in college, with a swing geared just to try to poke line drives through the infield. You can see that approach carry over to his first taste of pro ball after the draft, where he struck out just 6.8% of the time in A ball but failed to generate much impact. His contact rate dropped, though, from 85% that season to 76% during his time with the Twins organization in 2024 and then 71% after his trade to the Blue Jays. At the same time he showed a little bit of game power, going from 1 home run in 129 PA in his draft season to 12 in 448 in ‘24. Last year he seems to have been caught in between, bringing his contact back to 77% but losing almost all of his impact. In 2026, his contact rate remains at 77%, but all of the power production has returned and then some. Normally with a left in New Hampshire, you can write some power jumps off as the product of park factors, but a) he was awful in the same park last season, and b) he’s hit even better since moving up to Buffalo.

On video, you can see his swing change a little over the course of the last three years, going from a very upright setup with almost no hand load and the bat starting upright in 2024 to a bit deeper of a load and more angle in 2025. His 2026 swing is back closer to 2024, very upright and with his hands starting out front to give him a super short path to the ball. These are all subtle differences, though, and I don’t see evidence that he’s reinvented his swing.

There are a couple of other changes to note. First, he’s just swinging a lot. He’s always been aggressive, but his 59.5% rate this season is among the highest in the league and would be in the top five in the majors. That’s resulted in a collapse in his walk rate, although without much change in his strikeouts.

He’s also pulling the ball a lot less often, 39% of the time down from an extreme 55-56% rate the previous two seasons. Normally you’d expect that to come with less power production, as hitters typically do their damage to the pull side. As we’ve seen, though, the effect for Harry has been the opposite. We don’t have comparative StatCast data, because A+ and AA don’t make that info public, but we can see that since the promotion to Buffalo he’s running a 90.0mph average exit velocity and a 41% hard hit rate, both of which are above average. His max exit velocity is 107.2, though, which is well below average. He might best that once he has more than 68 batted ball events in the register, but it seems like the scouting reports that noted a lack of raw power are still correct and that he’s doing this by just maximizing what he does have.

This is all a bit puzzling. Harry’s swing decisions appear worse, but he’s not making any less contact. He’s pulling the ball less, but producing more power. My best guess is that he’s just gone back to what’s comfortable. He’s ultra-aggressive on pitches inside, pulling the ball where he can but not forcing everything to the pull side. He’s using the swing that feels right to him, and trusting his strength to generate enough power.

Lacking a clear change that drive the breakout, I remain skeptical of how real it is. That said, you have to pay attention to the results, especially as players get close to the majors. Jay Harry isn’t likely to take the big leagues by storm, but his performance this year makes it easy to imagine him getting to the big leagues at all, which is a dramatic change in the course of three months. He can play all over (mostly short in the minors, but he’s not an everyday calibre glove there by big league standards), he gets the bat on the ball, and when he does there’s a chance he’ll do something with it. That’s not nothing. At the very least, I don’t think he’d have trouble cracking any AA lineup out there.

With their backs against the wall after 2 very disappointing losses, veteran Merrill Kelly stepped up into the roll this team needed him to so very badly and put this team on his back Thursday night. Kelly was dominant for 7 innings and the offense did just enough to finish the series with the Padres with a split.

As I mentioned, Kelly really looked like the vintage Merrill Kelly we know and love tonight as he gave this team length going 7 innings and needing just 94 pitches while allowing just a single run in the second inning and striking out 6 Padres batters.  As the game went on, Kelly was able to make big pitches and get some key double plays in big spots. He just seemed to get more and more comfortable as the game went on, and if Kelly has indeed regained his vintage form, that would be so huge for this team.

Paul Sewald also did a great job of coming in in the 9^th and slamming the door in dominant fashion striking out Fernando Tatis Jr and Xander Bogarts. He is now 21 for 22 on the season for save opportunities. I definitely didn’t see this level of success coming, but I am so glad to see it. Not only has it been huge for this team to have a stopper at the backend, but you love to see good things happen to good people and Paul is about as good as they come.

On the offensive side, the Dbacks were able to get all 3 of their runs in the middle innings scoring a run in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th. Geraldo Perdomo scored Tommy Troy in the 5^th with an RBI single. Nolan Arenado inched closer to the 2,000 hit mark golfing a pitch about a foot below the strike zone over the left field fence for his 11^th home run of the season. The offense did just enough tonight.

All in all, you definitely need to see this offense score more runs if they are going to go on the run this team needs to go on. Especially when you head to LA to face the Dodgers tomorrow and you are a game under .500. However, It was really good to see Merrill Kelly regain his form tonight and allow his team to win. The Dbacks need to get hot and get hot quickly heading into LA, and what a better time to do so?

Oracle Park continues to be a difficult venue for the Colorado Rockies, as the offense faltered in an 8-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night. The Rockies have now lost seven straight in San Francisco as the Giants put away a close game with a late-game rally.

An inconsistent start for Feltner

The woes of pitching at Oracle Park stung Ryan Feltner once again as he labored through 4.1 innings. From the start of the game, it was apparent that Feltner didn’t have the command he had shown over his last couple of outings. Despite long at-bats and big misses on his pitches, Feltner was able to mitigate trouble early on, however.

After retiring the first two batters he faced in the first inning, breakout star Casey Schmitt hit a solo home run to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead. Feltner then worked around two walks in the second inning and delivered a 1-2-3 third.

After the Rockies took the lead in the top of the fourth, the Giants answered back with another home run, this time courtesy of Bryce Eldridge, to tie the game. Feltner rebounded to escape the inning without further damage, but his luck was starting to run out.

Trouble would finally catch up to Feltner in the fifth inning as the Giants found some lucky swings. Catcher Drew Cavanaugh led off the inning with a towering single that bounced off the right-field wall. Heliot Ramos then chopped a ball on the infield grass for another hit. That set the table for Luis Arraez to reach up and tuck a ball down the right-field line for an RBI double to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

Feltner would then walk Schmitt to load the bases and Rafael Devers followed up with a single to keep the bases loaded and extend the lead by one run. Feltner then got Willy Adames to pop up on the infield for the first out of the inning but it signaled the end of his night. Victor Vodnik entered and got the next two batters to leave the bases loaded and close the book on Feltner.

The Rockies starter allowed four runs on six hits as he allowed four walks and had just three strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches and had 53 strikes, but found success with five groundouts. The Giants mainly took advantage of missed locations and the lapse in command to drive him from the game.

After the game, manager Warren Schaeffer said, “Felt looked like he didn’t have much feel for the ball early on; the command was a little shaky. But he reeled it in a little bit, battled through it and kind of held them at bay for a little while.”

Can’t fully wise up to Whisenhunt and company

The Rockies, on the other hand, struggled to piece together their offense against Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt.

The first opportunity of the game for the Rockies came in the third inning with two outs. Braxton Fulford narrowly missed a home run to center field as the ball hit off the wall. Jake McCarthy and Kyle Karros each drew walks to load the bases. Cole Carrigg then launched a ball to deep center field but didn’t get enough of it as it was caught on the warning track.

The following inning, Hunter Goodman singled to lead off and was followed by a walk to TJ Rumfield. Unfortunately, Tyler Freeman bounced into a double play that moved Goodman to third base. In danger of spoiling another scoring opportunity, Willi Castro came through with a two-run home run that gave the Rockies a short-lived 2-1 lead at the time.

Through 5.2 innings, the left-hander held Colorado to two runs on three hits with four strikeouts while also allowing four walks. The Rockies made plenty of contact, but he was able to induce enough mis-hit balls to leave with a lead after 87 pitches, 57 of which were strikes.

“I thought [Whisenhunt] attacked the strike zone well today,” said Schaeffer. “He kept us off balance.”

The Giants’ bullpen kept the Rockies in check as well. After the fourth inning, the Rockies only had one baserunner and no hits until Rumfield and Freeman both singled in the ninth inning. Colorado ended up with five total hits but struck out nine times while drawing four walks. They also went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Giants tack on late

The bullpen, which has been excellent of late, picked up some slack after Feltner’s early departure. After Vodnik escaped that fifth inning, he fired a quick sixth, ending his night with three strikeouts and just one hit allowed.

Looking to save some arms, the Rockies turned to rookie TJ Shook for a solid seventh inning. However, things started to unravel for him after he retired the first two batters of the eighth. Arraez singled, Schmitt doubled in the run, and then scored on a double for Devers to give the Giants a 6-2 lead. Adames then hit a two-run home run to break the game open 8-2.

Vodnik and Shook combined for six strikeouts, but Shook’s six hits allowed proved the most detrimental as the Rockies couldn’t close the gap in the ninth, suffering the loss.

Up next

The Rockies and Giants continue the series with the second game on Friday. Tanner Gordon (0-2, 6.95 ERA) takes the mound for the Rockies while the Giants send out Robbie Ray (8-6, 3.45 ERA).

First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 pm MDT.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Cubs signed left-hander Josh Fleming and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa.

Iowa right-hander Andrew Wantz went to the development list.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs condemned the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 21-7. Or maybe the Hawkeyes beat the Gopher by two touchdowns.

Josh Fleming made his Cubs debut and allowed two runs on four hits over four innings. Fleming walked two and struck out two.

Corbin Martin came on to pitch the fifth inning. The first batter he faced hit a solo home run, but he retired the next three in order. That was enough for the official scorer to award Martin the win.

DH Christian Bethancourt hit two home runs tonight. The first was a solo home run in the fourth inning and the second one was a three-run home run in the eighth off a position player. (Those were the only three runs not scored off a real pitcher.) Bethancourt now has 11 home runs this season. He finished the night 3 for 5 with a double and the two home runs. He also walked once. Bethancourt had five overall RBI and scored three times.

Shortstop Scott Kingery went back-to-back with Bethancourt in the fourth for his third home run on the season. Kingery went 1 for 6.

Left fielder Jonathan Long is putting his early-season struggles behind him and tonight he was a perfect 5 for 5 with a walk, two doubles and his tenth home run on the year. The home run came with the bases empty in the sixth. Long scored five runs and drove in two. Long is hitting .382 with three home runs so far in eight games in July.

Everyone in the lineup had at least two hits or a home run. Right fielder Brett Bateman went 3 for 6 with a double and a steal. He scored three times and drove in one.

First baseman BJ Murray went 3 for 5 with a walk. He scored three runs and drove home three. Murray is now hitting .334 with a .429 OBP on the season.

Second baseman James Triantos was 3 for 5 with a double and a walk. He drove in two and scored one run.

Third baseman Owen Miller doubled twice in a 2 for 5 effort. He had three RBI and scored twice.

Catcher Moisés Ballesteros was 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. He scored twice and drove in four.

Center fielder Chas McCormick was 2 for 6 with one run scored.

Bethancourt’s home run off a real pitcher.

Kingery goes back-to-back.

Mo Baller’s two-run double.

Jonathon Long’s tenth home run this year.

A great 3-6-3 double play.

Long doubles.

BJ Murray just missed a home run.

Bateman doubles off a lefty.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were extinguished by the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 11-2.

Nick Dean started and kept the Shuckers scoreless for the first 1.1 innings. Did did not allow a hit. He walked one and struck out two.

After Kenyi Perez tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Dean, Yenrri Rojas came on to pitch the fifth. Rojas got through the fifth OK, but then he couldn’t find the plate, gave up four runs in the sixth and he got the loss.

The final line on Rojas was four runs on just one hit over 1.2 innings. Rojas walked four and struck out four. Three of the four runs came after Rojas exited for Tyler Schlaffer, who gave up a grand slam to top overall prospect Jesús Made.

The Smokies managed just four hits. Shortstop Ed Howard had two of them, including a solo home run in the eighth inning. It was Howard’s second home run this year. Howard was 2 for 3.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs creamed the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 9-1.

Kevin Valdez gave the Cubs four strong innings, allowing just one run on two hits. Valdez struck out three and walked one.

Luis Rujano pitched the fifth and sixth inning, retired all six batters he faced and got the win because Valdez didn’t go five. Rujano struck out two.

Third baseman Matt Halbach went 3 for 5 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.

Second baseman Michael Hallquist was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Hallquist scored twice and had one RBI.

Right fielder Miguel Useche was 2 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. He scored one run.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda showing off his arm.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were tabled by the Fredericksburg Nationals, 6-3.

Starter Emilio Ramos only allowed one run on three hits over three innings, but that was enough to earn the loss. Ramos walked two and struck out three.

Shortstop Derniche Valdez didn’t hit a home run tonight, but he did go 2 for 4 with a double. Valdez scored twice.

Third baseman Ludwing Espinoza, in his first game for the Birds since April, was 3 for 5.

Right fielder Eli Lovich was 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a walk.

Left fielder Ethan Conrad, in his Pelicans debut, was 0 for 5 with two strikeouts. Hey, it was a better debut than Kris Bryant’s first game with Boise way back when.

Highlights.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Angels, 3-2.

Box Score

For the first time since the first half of Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Brewers took the first lead of the game early on and never looked back. Backed by Logan Henderson’s stellar first start since May 22, Jake Bauers had the decisive three-run home run in the top of the third inning to carry the Crew to an 8-4 win.

In a rare five-game series, the Brewers went into Busch Stadium and showcased a little bit of everything from comebacks to dominant pitching. And, for the first time since July 2008, the Brewers won four games in St. Louis, pushing themselves 18 games above .500.

Henderson came out firing in the bottom of the first inning as he struck out two of the top four hitters in the Cardinals lineup in Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson.

In the top of the second inning, the offense was jump-started by Bauers with a single to center field. After a wild pitch sent Bauers to second base, Andrew Vaughn then grounded into a fielder’s choice. During the play, Bauers pulled off an acrobatic move to prevent himself from being tagged out as the lead runner.

Because of the “Okie-Doke” move (name of the acrobatic play per Bauers in a postgame interview), Sal Frelick drove in the first run of the game to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Then, almost instantly, Cooper Pratt added another run with a base hit up the middle to extend their lead to 2-0. Pratt continues his hot stretch at the plate as he now has nine hits over his last 22 at-bats with four RBIs and six walks.

After Henderson’s clean 1-2-3 second inning, Garrett Mitchell and Jackson Chourio set the Brewers up for another big inning. Brice Turang drove in his first RBI of the game with a base hit himself to extend the Brewers lead to 3-0. A couple of batters later, Andrew Pallante missed with a curveball up to Bauers, and he ripped it to right field for a three-run home run to further extend the Brewer lead to 6-0.

Henderson continued to dominate in his first outing since returning from the injured list, as he retired 10 batters in a row before giving up a double to Burleson to give the Cardinals life. After a groundout from Walker, Lars Nootbaar singled on a base hit to center to put the Cardinals on the board for the first time tonight to make it 6-1.

After Henderson’s first blip on the radar in the bottom of the fourth inning, he hit JJ Wetherholt to lead off the bottom of the sixth, snapping a mini streak of four batters set down in a row. He then struck out Iván Herrera before walking Burleson, signaling the end of his return to the Brewers rotation.

Replacing Henderson was Chad Patrick, who instantly gave up a three-run home run to Walker, cutting the Brewers’ lead down to 6-4. That was the lone blemish on the night for Patrick as he settled in, retiring the next five batters he faced.

In an attempt to re-extend the lead, Turang homered to lead off the top of the seventh inning to center field to make it 7-4.

Aaron Ashby came in for relief in the bottom of the eighth inning, where he looked to end his streak of stressful outings. That did not happen tonight, as he allowed a base hit to Wetherholt and walked Herrera with no outs. Having to face the tying run at the plate for the rest of the way put fans and the players alike on edge, but Ashby prevailed as he forced a groundout to Burleson, struck out Walker, and got Nootbaar to pop out.

Team Venezuela helped add an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Chourio doubled to open the inning and William Contreras hit a sac fly — aided by aggressive baserunning and a nice slide by Chourio — to push the Brewers’ lead to 8-4.

Bauers, Frelick, Pratt, Turang, and Chourio each finished with a pair of hits as part of a balanced offensive attack tonight, with the Crew finishing with 11 hits and three walks as a team. Henderson worked 5 1/3 innings in his start, striking out four and allowing three runs, while Patrick, Ashby, and Abner Uribe were effective in relief to lock this one up.

The Brewers finish their time in St. Louis this season going 5-2 and 8-2 overall. They’ll have one final series against the Redbirds in Milwaukee to close out the season. Milwaukee is set to finish their long road trip in Pittsburgh, as they visit the Pirates for the first time this season. Tomorrow night will be the start of the final series before the All-Star Break as the Brewers face off against the Pirates, with first pitch at 5:40 p.m.

At one point Thursday, the Mariners theoretically had a chance to come away with a game from their three-game set against the Marlins. As it turns out, that chance was short-lived. The Mariners were swept away, losing the third and final contest in Miami 8-4.

The game came unraveled in the bottom of the fourth. After the M’s didn’t fully capitalize on some opportunities in the first couple of innings and fell behind a run, Bryce Miller walked his fourth hitter of the evening and allowed a single off the end of the bat by Leo Jiménez to put two runners on with one out. He was able to induce a ground ball from Liam Hicks for a chance at a double play, but Colt Emerson’s throw to first was in the dirt, allowing Jakob Marsee to score from second on the play. To make matters even worse, Emerson pulled his foot from second base early while attempting to turn it, and the Mariners ended up getting no outs from the play following a Marlins challenge.

The Marlins had no mercy and laid down the consequences. A triple down the left field line off of J.P. Crawford’s glove by Otto Lopez and a Kyle Stowers single to right brought in three more runs, ballooning the Marlins’ lead to 6-1 in the blink of an eye. Just like that, the game felt decided.

Believe it or not, things didn’t get off to a horrible start for the Mariners. Thanks to a pair of walks from Marlins righty Janson Junk to begin the game, both Crawford and Randy Arozarena were on base with nobody out in the top of the first. It felt like a golden opportunity to move on from Wednesday’s shutout and put up a crooked number early. Alas, the opportunity in the first wouldn’t come to fruition. Dominic Canzone grounded into an easy 6-3 double play, and even with a runner still on third with two outs, Cal Raleigh struck out to end the early threat.

Miller ran into some trouble in the bottom half of the first. He issued a one-out walk to Lopez, which at the time was his first allowed in four starts. The next hitter, Xavier Edwards, weakly chopped a grounder to the right side in front of the plate, which Miller was able to field but unable to properly deliver to first, pulling Josh Naylor off the bag to put two runners on. Despite a tough sequence, Miller was able to work back-to-back flyouts to get out of the jam.

All in all, it wasn’t the best day from Miller. He’d strike out only three hitters over five innings, allowing nine hits for six runs (four earned) while walking four. His velocity was down across the board.

The top of the second was when Naylor would briefly take over this game — he’d deposit a bloop single right between third and short for one of the cheapest hits you’ll ever see.

After Luke Raley struck out for the first out of the inning, Naylor stole second without a throw. Junk couldn’t throw another pitch before Naylor took off again with his sights set on third base. This time, Junk stepped off and Naylor looked doomed to run into an out on the basepaths — instead, the throw to third was airmailed into foul territory on the left field side, allowing Naylor to trot home and give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

Cole Young drew a walk and advanced to third on yet another throwing error by Junk on a pickoff attempt to first. After Víctor Robles struck out, Emerson also drew a walk and stole second to give the Mariners a chance with two runners in scoring position and two out. As I alluded to earlier though, they didn’t cash in — Crawford grounded out to end the inning on a ball that deflected off of Junk and over to the second baseman Edwards.

While the bulk of the damage came later, the Marlins did make the Mariners pay in the immediate aftermath of their missed opportunity in the second. Griffin Conine turned on Miller’s first pitch of the bottom half, a 95 mph four-seamer, for a solo homer that evened the score. Later in the inning, Hicks would deliver a double down the right field line to score a runner from first and give the Marlins the lead they would never relinquish.

The Mariners offense briefly showed some glimmers of life later on, even with the game appearing pretty much out of reach. Arozarena and Canzone both hit homers, with Dom’s being of the two-run variety.

With Thursday’s loss, the Mariners fall back to .500. It’s the 11th time this season the Mariners have been equal in wins and losses, excluding Opening Day. They are now in danger of heading into the All-Star break with a losing record; that’ll be the case unless they can earn a series win against the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays this weekend at Tropicana Field.

The St. Louis Cardinals played the final game of their 5 games in 4 days marathon against Milwaukee Thursday night and many of us are happy to see the Brewers leave town. Jordan Walker would homer, but that wouldn’t be enough for the Cardinals to avoid losing 4 of 5 from the Brew Crew.

There was a lot of early scoring in the game, but unfortunately the guys wearing the wrong uniforms scored them. Andre Pallante has given the St. Louis Cardinals some of the strongest starts over recent weeks. Thursday night’s game was not one of them. The Milwaukee Brewers started the scoring in the top of the 2nd inning when Jake Bauers connected for a one-out single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch by Pallante and then moved over to third on a fielder’s choice. A couple of two-out RBI singles, one by Sal Frelick and the other by Cooper Pratt gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

The Brewers added significantly to that lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Three consecutive singles to start the inning by Mitchell, Chourio and Turang upped the Milwaukee lead to 3-0 and then, one out later, Jake Bauers crushed a 391 foot line-drive homer into the right field pen elevating the Brewers lead to 6-0.

The St. Louis Cardinals would not just roll over and let the game get too far out of hand fortunately as their bats woke up in the bottom of the 4th inning. After Iván Herrera struck out, Alec Burleson squared up a 79 mph changeup and ripped it to the wall in right-center for a double. Two batters later, Lars Nootbaar smacked a 92 mph four-seam fastball into right-center for a RBI single making it 6-1 Brewers.

Andre Pallante’s stat line for the game was not a happy one. He exited after giving up an infield hit in the top of the 6th inning allowing 8 hits, 6 earned runs while striking out 2 and walking 2. Luis Gastelum took over for Andre and pitched himself out of a jam. With two on and no outs, he got Ortiz to foul out to Herrera, struck out Mitchell (his first career strikeout, congrats) and then Chourio on a ground out to keep the Brewers from piling on more runs. That would prove to be a bigger moment a half inning later.

In case you didn’t hear, Jordan Walker joined the lineup for the All-Star Game Home Run Derby next Monday. He celebrated that Thursday night by blasting a ball 406 feet into Big Mac Land with JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson on base in the bottom of the 6th inning to make a game of it cutting the Brewers lead to 6-4.

The Brewers unfortunately refused to stand still and allow the Cardinals to completely grab the momentum in the top of the 7th inning as Luis Gastelum served up a 93 mph four-seam fastball to Brice Turang who launched it onto Freese’s Landing in center increasing the Milwaukee lead back to 3 at 7-4. That shot resulted in Gastelum’s exit and Gordon Graceffo’s entry to try and lock down the Brewers and keep them within striking distance. Gordon was successful in that effort. Graceffo was also the Cardinals solution for the top of the 8th inning after the St. Louis lineup failed to generate any positive motion in the bottom of the 7th inning and he again kept the Brewers from scoring.

The St. Louis Cardinals would put together a threat in the bottom of the 8th inning. JJ Wetherholt beat out an infield single to leadoff the inning, his second hit of the game and third time on base. Iván Herrera drew a tough walk off of Brewers reliever Ashby. Alec Burleson hit into a fielder’s choice, but beat out the grounder to prevent the double play which meant new home run derby entrant Jordan Walker was the potential tying run. Jordan sadly whiffed on a sweeping curve for the second out. Lars Nootbaar ended the Cardinals scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 8th with a weak pop-out. Bummer.

For the Cardinals to have a prayer in the bottom of the 9th, Matt Svanson would need to keep the Brewers off the board in the top of the inning. The first batter he faced was Jackson Chourio that ripped the 3rd pitch he saw into the right field corner for a leadoff double. Chourio would advance to third on a flyout by Turang and then score on a sacrifice fly to right from William Contreras upping the Milwaukee lead to 8-4. Prayer for no more Brewer runs denied.

The Cardinals bottom of the 9th hopes would be carried by the bottom of the lineup. They’d have to overcome the arm of the flame-throwing Abner Uribe. They would go down relatively quietly as the Cardinals watched the Brewers bus pull out of town with 4 victories out of 5 for the week.

The St. Louis Cardinals begin the last homestand prior to the All-Star Game break with the Atlanta Braves coming to town. The Cardinals will hand the ball to Kyle Leahy while the Braves will put the formidable Chris Sale on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm central time at Busch Stadium and the TV broadcast will be handled by Apple TV.

Craig Counsell didn’t hide his frustration with the fact that Major League Baseball did not review what he felt was Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson blocking second base with his foot during a base-stealing attempt by Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner during the Cubs’ 3-2 loss to the Orioles on Thursday in Baltimore.

Trailing by one in the ninth inning, the Cubs were trying to even the score when Hoerner attempted to steal second. 

It looked as though Henderson’s foot was in the path of Hoerner and forced him to alter his slide going into second base. 

Hoerner was called out and when the play was challenged, the umpires focused on whether Hoerner was tagged when he was off the bag and not whether Henderson was blocking the bag. 

“There is a clear blocking the bag there. It’s very clear. The reason why Nico came off the bag is because the player is blocking the bag and he has to adjust his slide,” Counsell told reporters. “Then they go to review.

“They don’t even look at the blocking of the bag when that’s what caused the player to come off, it’s kind of illogical that you don’t look at blocking the bag when it’s what caused the player to come off the bag. They can’t look at it. He did come off the bag and he was tagged, but he came off the bag because Henderson had his foot right in the sliding lane, which is illegal. 

“New York is staring at it because [the umpire] didn’t call it on the field, they don’t call it. That makes no sense.” 

The Cubs ended up losing the game as the Orioles prevented Chicago from exiting the Charm City with a sweep during the three-game series. 

Dansby Swanson and Michael Conforto were the final two outs of the game as Baltimore secured the win.

When the city of Cincinnati was founded, the Passenger Pigeon was so numerous that a passing flock could blot out the sun. By 1907, the entire species was reduced to a single bird, residing at the Cincinnati Zoo. Tonight, offense faced a similar extinction, felled by merciless pitching.

Brady Singer, the Cincy starter, sent his foes down in order in the first on just 12 pitches; Jesús Luzardo, not to be outdone, did it in five. Singer allowed a hit (double, Bryson Stott) in the second, but incurred no further damage. Jesús Luzardo, again not to be outdone, allowed a less damaging hit (single, Tyler Stephenson), and incurred no further damage.

The pitchers’ duel remained in full effect through the fourth, neither team plating a runner. Those who like offense were briefly teased in the bottom of the fifth as a runner advanced as far as third via walk, groundout, and single— but it came to naught. Three hits, two from the Redlegs and one from the Phillies, were all that the game produced through five. And the Phillies had no more through six. The Phillies were getting sent back to the dugout faster than a Cincinnati chili parlor can dish up a bowl.

Speaking of dishing, Luzardo kept dishing out Ks. He had ten through six, and the Reds batters were left as bereft as a Bengals fan after any season in their recorded history.

Kyle Schwarber opened up the seventh with a hit, singling to center. The spirits of the Philadelphia faithful began to stir. Schwarber on base, Bryce Harper coming up next. Those names spell doom for pitchers as sure as the Ohio River flows to the southwest. But it was not so tonight; Harper grounded into a double play. The fans, perhaps getting a bit stir crazy, began to chant “take it off”, that “tarps off” thing in action. The fans must’ve decided to wear as many shirts as the two teams had runs. In a noble attempt to get some shirts back on, Brandon Marsh singled, and Alec Bohm got hit by a pitch, and the Phillies had something going with two away. But it soon ended with a fly out.

The Reds opened up their half of the seventh with a baserunner too, though via the free pass. The Phillies, trying to keep the game dreadfully symmetrical, almost turned a double play with the next baserunner; an excellent play from Trea Turner ensured they were able to get one out, though they couldn’t complete the twin killing.

Singer took the mound for the eighth, fewer than eighty pitches on his ledger. He hit Gabriel Rincones Jr. with a pitch to lead off the inning, He advanced to second on a groundout. And then, in a sudden and beautiful moment, a ball from Justin Crawford’s bat found the gap on the right side of the infield. Derek Hill, pinch running for Rincones, came tearing around the basepaths. A throw was made towards home, a last, desperate attempt by the forces of big Zero to keep the score at their favored figure. It did not work. The Phillies had their first lead.

The “take it off” chants continued. Reds skipper Terry Francona may have misheard them as “take him out”, as he pulled Singer after he walked Turner. His replacement, Sam Moll, finished the inning without further incident.

Luzardo, having made it through a full 7 unscathed (2 hits, 2 walks, no runs, 11 K), was thus the winner of the duel. Jonathan Bowlan came aboard in relief and picked up exactly where Luzardo left off, putting three Cincinnatis down in order.

The Phillies entered the bottom of the ninth with their 1-0 lead, and Jhoan Duran, All-Star closer, emerging from the bullpen. JJ Bleday battled Duran across nine pitches, ultimately winning the prize of a single. Bleday then stole second, and Spencer Steer took a base on a HBP. Duran recovered with a strikeout of Eugenio Suárez, and then one of Tyler Stephenson, and suddenly the Phillies were just an out away from victory. A Noelvi Marte chopper to Bohm became an easy game-ending out. Just like cinnamon is the secret ingredient in Cincy chili, pitching is the (not-so) secret ingredient in a Phillies victory.

The Phillies are 52-42. They’ll start their last series of the first half, a trio of games in Detroit, tomorrow at 6:40.