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As it happened: Relive stage 13 to Belfort
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They are mulling over the possibilities in the studio. “I like to see Jonus go for a stage win, be nice to see the underdog get one.” says Robbie McEwen. The panel think he should keep on riding for first place.
Meanwhile the battle for that third podium place is wide open.
Continue reading...Now that the media has had some time to take a closer look at the NHL schedule, Daily Faceoff podcast co-host Jason Gregor has pointed out an interesting tidbit. Out of the Montreal Canadiens’ 84 games, 19 will be played against opponents who are playing the second game of a back-to-back sequence. That’s the most of any team in the league. The Anaheim Ducks are second with 18 duels against opponents on the tail end of a back-to-back, and the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues share third place with 16 such confrontations. At the other end of the spectrum, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets will only be facing an opponent on the second game of a back-to-back five times.
On paper, it may mean the Habs’ opponent will be tired after playing a second game in as many days, but games are played on the ice, not on paper. It’s also worth noting that in four of those 19 games, the Canadiens will also be playing in the second game of a back-to-back, which means that they may be fresher in 15 of the 19 duels.
Number of games NHL teams have when they face an opponent on the second half of a back-to-back. Quite the difference from MTL to TOR and WPG. pic.twitter.com/yxoKwDaTrE
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) July 16, 2026
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Playing the second game of a back-to-back isn’t always a disadvantage, though. For instance, last season, the Habs played 16 back-to-back sequences, and their record in the second game of those back-to-back sequences was 9-5-2. Four other teams had nine wins in those circumstances, joining the Canadiens as league leaders in that department: the Buffalo Sabres (9-1-3), the Ottawa Senators (9-3-2), the Columbus Blue Jackets (9-5-2), and the New York Islanders. Which team had the worst record in those circumstances? The New York Rangers (2-10-1), the Red Wings (3-7-3), and the Utah Mammoth (3-7-1).
After skating in 16 back-to-backs last season, the Canadiens will play only 10 this season, which is not far from the fewest; the Calgary Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights have only 8, while Winnipeg has 9. The Pittsburgh Penguins get the short end of the stick with 15. Of course, the fact that there are no Olympics this season helps make the schedule somewhat lighter, and no one will complain about that.
Will the 19 duels against opponents on the tail end of a back-to-back favour the Canadiens? We’ll have to wait and see…
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The cloud of smoke streaming across the Great Lakes and east coast remained bad enough on Friday to postpone the first game of this series at Fifth Third Field. They’ll try to play two on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Et.
The SeaWolves got a solid effort from Kenny Serwa and the bullpen to take down the Squirrels and get this road set off to a good start.
With one out in the first inning, Peyton Graham singled and Josue Briceño drew a walk to get Graham in scoring position. Justice Bigbie followed with a single too sharply hit to score on, but Andrew Jenkins lifted a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. That was all they’d get, but Serwa took that slender lead and fired five scoreless frames.
Nothing changed until the sixth when Graham was hit by a pitch and Briceño, in his first game off the injured list, singled him to third. Bigbie struck out on a wild pitch, but Graham scampered home to make it 2-0.
Dariel Fregio gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth, but E.J. Exposito smacked a solo shot in the top of the seventh to make it 3-1 SeaWolves. Yosber Sanchez then surrendered a run in the bottom half to make it 3-2.
Eric Silva and Trevin Michael shut the Squirrels down for an inning apiece, the latter earning the save.
In the top of the ninth, Garrett Pennington lined a one-out single. Max Burt struck out, but Exposito and Joe Campagna both walked to load the bases. Seth Stephenson paddled a two-run single back up the middle to reach the final score.
Graham: 1-3, 2 R, BB
Exposito: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB, 2 K
Stephenson: 1-5, 2 RBI, K
Serwa (W, 4-7): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday.
They got a little rain in their blanket of ash up in Midland, and decided to save this one for tomorrow. They will also play two, starting at 5:35 p.m. ET.
The Flying Tigers staff got hit up despite multiple attempts at a comeback from the offense. Reliever Burch Smith, Gleyber Torres, and Thayron Liranzo were on rehab assignment in this one, Liranzo for a cut on his finger that required stitches and cost him the week prior to All-Star week.
Smith allowed two in the first in his first rehab outing. In the top of the second inning, Beau Ankeney singled to center field, and Nick Dumesnil followed with a single of his own. They both advanced ona balk, and Edian Espinal singled in both runs to tie the game.
Cash Kuiper gave the Flying Tigers four innings, but he leaked a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Andrew Pogue gave up a run in the sixth, and so it was 5-2 Fort Myers in the top of the seventh. Kuiper also got some help from Jordan Yost.
Gleyber Torres drew a one-out walk and was replaced by Jude Warwick as a pinch-runner. A wild pitch got Warwick to second and Hunter Dobbins walked, and then another wild pitch put runners on second and third. Ankeney struck out, but Dumesnil smoked an opposite field double to plate both runs.
Fort Myers went back to the pen, but getting Espinal out is not an easy task. He singled in Dumesnil to tie the game 5-5.
Unfortunately, Jan Carabello was then rocked for four runs, three earned in the bottom half to lose it.
Dumesnil: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K
Espinal: 3-4, 2 RBI, K
Torres: 0-3, BB, K
Liranzo: 0-1, 2 BB
Smith: 1.0 IP, 2 ER, H, BB
Kuiper: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday as the Flying Tigers look to bounce back in this three-game set.
Lighting cut this one short in the top of the fifth. We’ll see if they conclude it tomorrow before their regularly scheduled game. Things are different in the Complex League.
One great sign was that right-hander Kelvis Salcedo, who possesses arguably the best stuff in the whole system, threw an inning, beginning a rehab assignment. We’d had no word on his injury, but fortunately it appears he’ll only miss the last few weeks. He threw a perfect inning, striking out the side in the first.
Joey Wimpelberg gave up two in a short outing, and Ryan Hall two more in the fourth, but he did strike out four in two innings of work.
Michael Oliveto and Santiago Pinto each had a double in this one so far, while Cristian Perez continued his FCL reign of terror with two more knocks.
It’d be one thing to lose to a good team like the Dodgers to begin the second half after the good feelings of the sweep to end the first and the relaxing All-Star break. But the way the Yankees lost on Friday night? Hooboy. Managerial blunders, questionable baserunning decisions, and most damning of all, another lifeless showing on offense really sucked the air out of Yankee Stadium. You have to walk a tightrope to win a pitchers’ duel (credit to Gerrit Cole for doing well until being left out for too long) and they were not up to the task. Turns out, it’s harder to score runs when you’re not facing the Senior Circuit’s most hapless bullpen. Bad bad bad.
Whatever. Please figure out Emmet Sheehan? Or don’t. It’s fine! It’s fine.
Today on the site, John will look at the Trade Deadline relief market and consider the Rockies’ resurgent Antonio Senzatela as a potential target, Sam will have the Rivalry Roundup, and Jeff will celebrate old friend Joe Torres’s 86th birthday (wow). Later, Scott will give the live report from Max Fried’s rehab start in Triple-A Scranton and George Lombard Jr.’s triumphant return from his own Rookie ball rehab.
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Time: 8:08 p.m. EST
TV: FOX
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
1. Who was the biggest goat of yesterday’s loss: Aaron Boone, Gerrit Cole, Trent Grisham, Luis Rojas, or the Yankees’ offense as a whole?
2. Will you watch the France/England World Cup third-place match today, or is that only for True Sickos?*
*I say this with love. If there was a third-place game between the ALCS and NLCS losers, I would watch it.
Attendance across the NHL was up last season to record levels across the board. A rebound year on the ice meant improvements in Pittsburgh to fill the arena to 94% capacity in 2025-26, up from 91.5% in 2024-25.
That 94% figure still ranks near the bottom of the league, with only six teams in the NHL filling less of their buildings (Anaheim, Calgary, Ottawa, Columbus, Winnipeg and San Jose). 13 teams reported 100% or more by selling standing room tickets without a seat attached. The upturn in performance by the Pens gave a boost at the box office for a team that was once 31st in attendance during the season before selling more seats as the season went along.
There could be good news along the way on that front – the Penguins are reportedly slightly lowering prices on most season tickets from last year according to this research.
On the business side of operations, it will be interesting to see how pricing factors into attendance next season. The Penguins will benefit from snapping their previous three season stint of not making the playoffs and prices will be a little lower. That benefit is subject to fade depending on future performance. It’s a good sign that area construction around the arena has also subsided (though of course, Pittsburgh being Pittsburgh will not ever go away completely) and at least the completed project across the street that reduced the area to gridlock will abate. A lot of the shine has worn off for having a new building and a team that was a true championship contender from a decade ago, but better performance on the ice gave fans more of a reason to come and watch in person last year.
Despite the team’s performance going down during the 2020’s, under ownership from Fenway Sports, ticket prices dramatically increased in recent years. Premium areas like the relatively new Casamigos club have opened new revenue streams for the team to increase revenue despite the decrease in total attendance. The Pens lost a 633-game sellout streak that lasted 14 years in October of 2021 but can remain viable by drawing money (and making a ton of overall revenue) despite a lack of recent sellouts.
Based on the information above, season tickets to the Penguins are much more of value for similar seats in Washington and Philadelphia, two division rivals in larger markets. Those teams continue to raise prices for 2026-27, the Penguins have taken a different tactic in order to attempt and draw back in fans that may have felt priced out in recent years.
New Zealand 40-21 Ireland
Hosts unbeaten in 32 years at Auckland venue
Andy Farrell rued an error-strewn display after Ireland suffered a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand in round three of the Nations Championship.
The All Blacks scored four first-half tries through Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Asafo Aumua en route to stretching their remarkable unbeaten run at Eden Park to 53 Tests. Jack Conan crossed for Ireland in a punishing first half before Joe McCarthy and Hugo Keenan went over in an improved second period, with Sam Prendergast slotting all three conversions.
Continue reading...
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: In case you missed it, we got a bit of an update on the Captain on Friday. While recent imaging has shown some healing in Aaron Judge’s ribs, he’s still not cleared to begin baseball activities as of yet, although they’re still waiting on another opinion before mapping out a gameplan for Judge’s return. For more, check out Estevão’s write-up for Pinstripe Alley.
Baseball Prospectus ($): With the season over halfway done, the draft in the books, and the trade deadline coming up, now as about the time of year you see outlets released a midseason updated prospect rankings. Baseball Prospectus put out their mid-year Top 50, and from a Yankees’ perspective, that’s headlined by George Lombard Jr. The shortstop came in at No. 24 with his potential power a big selling point. (He drove the point home by homering at Triple-A last night in his return from injury.)
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Down in Triple-A, Max Fried was on the mound, making his first rehab appearance. He threw three innings, allowing two runs on five hits, including a homer, while also striking out three. He’ll make at least one more rehab start on Wednesday before the Yankees decide if he’s ready for activation or needs a third.
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: With Austin Wells falling off a cliff and the various backups not doing much more, catcher has become a position to look out for when it comes trade deadline time. Although there’s no red alerts for this year as of yet, in the past, the Yankees have shown an interest in the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman. With a 118 wRC+, Goodman has graded out as pretty solid both offensively and defensively so far in 2026. Now, is he available? He’s still pre-arbitration and currently wouldn’t hit the free agent market until just before 2030, so … we’ll see.
The Calgary Flames may have done most of their heavy lifting this offseason, but don't mistake the silence for inactivity.
General manager Craig Conroy isn't finished listening.
After reshaping much of Calgary's roster over the past several months, the Flames remain one of the NHL's most intriguing teams to watch on the trade market. According to David Pagnotta, rival clubs continue to check in regularly, with center Morgan Frost and defenseman Zach Whitecloud among the names drawing the most interest.
"Morgan Frost's name still out there. They have others they're willing to listen on. There are teams interested in Whitecloud still, and so on and so on. So this is going to be an interesting summer."
For Conroy, there's little incentive to force another move.
Calgary has already transformed its future by dealing Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights, MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth, Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche, and longtime leader Blake Coleman elsewhere. Those trades left the organization with an enviable stockpile of draft capital, including 30 selections over the coming years and two first-round picks in each of the next three drafts.
As The Hockey News previously reported, that puts the Flames squarely in the driver's seat. Conroy can afford to be patient, wait for the market to develop, and only make another move if the return genuinely strengthens Calgary's long-term outlook.
Frost has become one of the more logical trade candidates on Calgary's roster.
The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his contract after producing a career-best 22 goals and 43 points last season. Centers are always in demand around the league, and a productive middle-six forward on an expiring deal naturally attracts attention.
Earlier this summer, Frost's name also surfaced among Avalanche fans as a potential trade target if the club had been unable to reacquire Kadri. Once Kadri returned to Denver, however, that speculation quickly disappeared.
Acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers alongside Joel Farabee during the 2024-25 season, Frost has settled into Calgary's middle six while quietly raising his value around the league.
Zach Whitecloud has barely unpacked in Calgary, yet trade speculation has followed him ever since he arrived in the Andersson deal.
The 29-year-old right-shot defenseman checks a lot of boxes for playoff contenders. He plays a physical, reliable game, can comfortably handle top-four minutes, owns a Stanley Cup ring from Vegas' 2023 championship run, and carries an affordable $2.75 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season.
According to The Win Column, the Anaheim Ducks remain one of the teams showing significant interest as they continue searching for help on the right side of their blue line following the departures of John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Radko Gudas.
That's exactly why Calgary has no reason to rush. Whitecloud is cost-controlled, experienced, and fills a premium position. Unless another club presents an offer that clearly outweighs his value, the Flames can comfortably keep him in the lineup.
Jonathan Huberdeau's name has occasionally surfaced in trade conversations this offseason, but that's largely speculation more than anything grounded in reality.
The veteran winger carries a $10.5 million cap hit, is coming off major surgery, and still has significant term remaining on his contract. Simply put, this isn't the time to expect Calgary to move him. Finding a team willing—and able—to absorb that contract under those circumstances would be extraordinarily difficult, making a trade highly unrealistic at this stage.
With the free-agent market beginning to dry up and more teams turning toward trades to address roster needs, Calgary's phone is likely to keep ringing throughout the summer.
The difference is that Conroy doesn't have to answer with a deal.
Armed with one of the NHL's deepest collections of draft assets and no pressure to shed salary, the Flames can continue listening while holding firm on their asking prices. If another team gets desperate, Calgary is perfectly positioned to capitalize. If not, there's little downside to standing pat until the right opportunity presents itself.
Tij Iginla isn't shying away from the expectations that come with being a top draft pick.
After finally putting together a healthy season and taking another big step in his development, the Utah Mammoth prospect believes he's ready for the next challenge. With training camp a couple of months away, Iginla said his focus is simple: earn a spot in the NHL.
"It was great to be back for a full season and be healthy," Iginla said during Utah's development camp. "You never want to go through injuries, but hopefully that's behind me. I felt like it was a good season, and I got a lot better. That's always been my mentality, just to keep getting better and growing every day."
The 19-year-old isn't pointing to one major change that's elevated his game. Instead, he says it's been the accumulation of little things.
Iginla has spent part of his offseason skating with projected first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, paying close attention to the small details that can separate good players from great ones.
"Sometimes getting better isn't about something big," Iginla said. "It's picking up little things, whether it's a change of direction or another movement that a player does well. I'm just trying to keep adding those little details to my game."
Asked if he feels ready to play in the NHL after two years in Utah's system, Iginla didn't hesitate.
"I do," he said. "I think I'm ready. I'm looking forward to a big summer of training and pushing myself hard in the gym, but I feel ready."
That confidence comes from more than just his own progress. Watching players around his age make an impact in the NHL has only reinforced his belief that he belongs in that conversation.
"I believe in the work I've put in and how much I've improved," Iginla said. "You see some of the young guys around the league, whether it's teammates from World Juniors or guys you've played against, having success. It makes you feel like that could be you too."
Iginla isn't interested in sharing every goal he's written down for next season, but he had no problem revealing the biggest one.
"My goal is definitely to make the team," he said.
Before training camp arrives, he'll spend another week around many of the organization's top prospects during development camp, something he says has become one of his favorite parts of the summer.
"It's super fun to see the guys," Iginla said. "This is my third year now, so I know most of them, and it's great welcoming the new draft picks. You get to compete, learn from each other and have some fun away from the rink too."
The week was also memorable away from hockey. Just one day before speaking with reporters, Iginla watched his younger brother hear his name called at the NHL Draft.
"We were all really excited for him," Iginla said. "He's worked really hard, and it was great to see him have that moment."
With the Summer League winding down, allow yourself to dream a little bit. We’re heading into a stretch of the summer where actual basketball is few and far between. We’ll get glimpses of offseason workouts, maybe a Pro-Am here and there, but for the most part, sneaker-squealing and rock-pounding will be mirages in this basketball desert from late-July to mid-September.
But after a relatively successful stint out in Sin City, we’ve got enough actual tape to do some prognosticating with our young players. Sure, the Summer Cs didn’t make the Summer League playoffs, but we can dream a little and maybe, just maybe, project a more meaningful championship in their future.
In addition to Hugo Gonzalez’s strong showing in three games, it’s been rookie Chris Cenac Jr.’s game that has really opened the eyes of Celtics fans. The numbers don’t exactly jump off the page — 10.5 points and 8 rebounds per game — but you can see how given a little more time to develop, his physical skills and talent will translate quickly to the NBA game.
Already, he’s an excellent rim protector (2.8 blocks per game) and he’s tried to catch a body on several dunk attempts over the last week. He feels like a mix of Chris Bosh, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Shawn Kemp. What will make him a consistent contributor in the modern NBA is moving his mid-range game past the three-point line and being able to defend quicker players on the switch.
If you want to catch Cenac Jr. and our boys of summer in their last game on The Strip, our friends at FanDuel have the Celtics as +1.5 underdogs against the Orlando Magic later today at 4:30 pm EST.
The Utah Jazz won their final summer league game against the Portland Trail Blazers 83-79. It was a fun game that came down to the wire, with a few Jazz players showing promise that could help the team.
The player who surprisingly didn’t help as much as you’d hope was Blake Hinson, who shot just 1/9 from three. Hinson was a sharpshooter for the Jazz last season, and it’s too bad that he couldn’t show that shooting stroke in the summer league. It’s likely not a big deal, but it would have been nice to see that shooting continue in the summer league. It does make you wonder why all the players who played for Utah last season, or will be getting regular minutes next year, didn’t shoot well in Las Vegas. Is that a trend? Or is it just a coincidence? It makes you wonder if the Jazz have been running hard practices, or if the players are tired from enjoying their time in Las Vegas? There’s no way to really know, but it’s interesting.
Utah’s strongest performer, in terms of plus-minus, was Bez Mbeng. He was a team-leading +14 and, even though he didn’t shoot the ball well either, his defense and intensity really shows on the floor. In this one, Mbeng had 4 steals and handled the ball for a lot of the game. He was also one of the top players in minutes with 20 in this one. I personally really like Mbeng and I’m rooting for him to make the team. I do think he can be a defensive-focused do-it-all player who could really contribute if he keeps improving.
Justin Harmon scored the ball well, leading the team in scoring with a team-leading 21 points. He had 6 free throws in this one and was a positive contributor overall. Harmon could be a nice addition to the training camp roster and, if he can show out, maybe he can earn himself a roster spot. He’s worth watching going forward at the very least.
And with that, the summer league is now over, and we now enter a long summer that will lead into one of the most exciting eras of Jazz basketball I can remember. It will be led by the best prospect in Jazz history to actually suit up for the Utah Jazz, and I can’t wait to see him develop into a superstar wearing the purple and blue.
Of all the key Yankees currently on the injured list, Max Fried has a chance to be the first one back.
The left-hander took a significant step in making that happen Friday night when he started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — throwing 52 pitches across three innings while giving up two runs and no walks with three strikeouts — just over two months removed from landing on the IL with a left elbow bone bruise.
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Try it freeIf he recovers from Friday’s game without issue, Fried is expected to make at least one more rehab start Wednesday before the Yankees will discuss whether he is ready to rejoin the rotation, though he would not be fully built up at that point.
“Obviously, tonight’s another important step for him,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees fell to the Dodgers 2-1 to begin the season’s second half.
Fried presumably would get to around 60 pitches in his next start, making it possible he could return to the big leagues after that on a pitch count around 70 and finish off his buildup from there.
In the meantime, the Yankees will need to fill his rotation spot Tuesday against the Pirates, though Boone said they had not yet decided whether they would do so by calling up a fifth starter (à la Elmer Rodríguez) or throwing a bullpen game, like they did against the Rays before the All-Star break.
The Yankees have already used three of Rodríguez’s five minor league options this season, so they need to be deliberate in when they use the final two the rest of the season.
“It could be similar to what we did in Tampa with having the extra reliever, but we got to see how these handful of games unfold and then we’ll make a call as to what we need that second game against the Pirates,” Boone said.
Fellow lefty Carlos Rodón (left elbow inflammation) threw about 10 pitches off the bullpen mound Friday as he continued his throwing progression after being shut down for about a week.
Max Fried makes his 1st rehab start tonight with Triple-A Scranton!!
— Cai Rogers (@cai_rogers7) July 17, 2026
The Minor league appearance marks his first since July 29th, 2023, with Triple-A Gwinnett
Nasty sweeper earns Fried his 1st K of the night
(81.4 MPH, 2865 RPMs) pic.twitter.com/3zELWl1pJp
Clarke Schmidt is set to face hitters in a simulated inning Saturday for the first time in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.
“Itching, man,” Schmidt said Friday. “It’s been a little bit over a year now, just hit the year mark [July 11], so really excited to start somewhat getting close to competing.”
Giancarlo Stanton (right calf strain) has started his running progression outside, Boone said, but remains without a timetable for a return.
Boone said the Yankees were monitoring the air quality in The Bronx on Friday, due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, but it was clear for most of the game before getting slightly hazy in the late innings.
After a lovely vacation, many of us believe we will return to our jobs reinvigorated, with a fresh heart and a renewed passion for our professions.
Personally, I find the return to the office to be a definitive, draining reminder of how much I wish I never had to work another day in my life. How if I won the lottery or bought NVIDIA in my 401(k) account 6 years ago, I’d spend most of my days volunteering at an animal shelter (and DEFINITELY not adopt another animal) before going to watch the Mariners game at my local brewery.
(Well. Maybe not that last part.)
It seems like the Mariners would agree with me, as they returned from the All-Star Break looking limp and lifeless, losing listlessly to the Giants 7-0.
Off the bat, it seemed like the San Francisco Season of Humiliation was bound to continue, as the Giants blew through their two ABS challenges just four outs into the game on poorly-advised challenges from left fielder Kasey Schmidt and catcher Andrew Kavanaugh.
Bryce Miller also started hot, touching 97 in the first inning and recorded four straight strikeouts in the first/second innings. He showed some Nestorocity on his strikeout of Rafiel Dever with a little hesi in his windup.
There were a few great almost-hits in the early part of the game for Seattle. Cal nuked one that was loud enough that I woke up my cats, but fell just foul, and Luke Raley hit one right to the top of the wall in center field, but it took until the bottom of the fourth for the Mariners to earn the first of their two hits for the night off the bat of Josh Naylor.
My cats had the right idea, as the first four innings of this game were capital-S Sleepy. Unfortunately, the wake-up call for this snoozer did not come from the bats of the Mariners. Miller left a splitter too far up in the zone to Bruce Elderidge, and he was punished for the mistake to the tune of a 2-run homer.
The Mariners swiftly responded with some small-ball to manufacture some outs. After Raley hit a leadoff single, a poorly-executed sacrifice bunt by Robles saw him out at second. Robles soon followed suit, getting thrown out at second on a poorly-executed stolen base attempt.
Miller saw his chance at a quality start slip away after he plunked Drew Gibert with one on and two out in the fifth inning. Miller ended with a José Ferrer walked Andrew Kavanaugh before Louis Arroz did what Arroz does best – use annoying bat-to-ball skills to ruin pitcher’s lives.
A funky deflection off the glove of Ferrer saved the Mariners from another couple of runs, leaving the game at 3-0, but it didn’t take long for the Giants to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
Nick Davila brought shame upon our name in the seventh inning, loading the bases and allowing William Adams to hit a coffin-nail grand slam that put the game out of reach.
One of the few bright spots from this game was Cole Wilcox coming in for mop-up duty and absolutely cleaning up, hitting 98.2 on the gun and earning himself a couple of strikeouts.
The Mariners put up almost no fight in this game whatsoever. At no point did it feel like the offense was on the verge of threatening the show signs of life. The defense had as many errors as the lineup had hits. The post-vacation sluggishness comes for us all, it seems.
Ah, well. At least it’s baseball.
SEATTLE — If a reset was what the Giants were looking for, they couldn’t have asked for more than the way they began the second half Friday against the Mariners.
Jung Hoo Lee led a parade of a dozen hits, Bryce Eldridge and Willy Adames provided the power and Landen Roupp mowed through seven shutout innings for a convincing 7-0 win.
“It looked like we’ve been playing the last four days,” quipped Eldridge, who opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the fifth. “In all seriousness, I think the break was good for us.”
For the sixth time this season, San Francisco won its third game in a row.
Now, for the real test of whether or not this is just a mirage: Can they extend it to four for the first time all year?
It’s hard not to like their chances if they can repeat performances like Friday’s.
“We played really well tonight, but we only get one win for it,” manager Tony Vitello said. “Tomorrow is a new battle. … The challenge is on for the coaching staff, too, but for the players to bring the attitude they brought today, of a 66-game season, make it a fresh start.”
Logan Webb gets the ball Saturday, and Roupp gave him a good starting point with his second straight stellar showing.
He walked three and only struck out two but didn’t yield a hit until the fourth, surrendering only two all game. He traded swings and misses for a boatload of weak contact and some solid defense behind him.
After allowing only one run in eight innings in his last start before the break, Roupp lowered his ERA to 3.98 after it had climbed to a season-worst 4.55 two starts ago.
“I think if you look at his whole body of work, he’s been great for us all year long,” Vitello said. “It’s just been a couple outings where the pitch count gets high on him because he’s not in the zone. Ironically tonight, one more walk than strikeout … but the rest of the time was just pounding the zone.”
Now two innings shy of his previous career high (106 ⅔), the Giants skipped Roupp’s last turn through the rotation before the break. The 11-day layoff seems to have only helped.
“Yes and no,” Roupp said. “I felt a little sluggish today, just with so many days off in between. … I don’t really like to take breaks. It kind of just messes with my momentum.”
For once, it was the Giants who benefited from some sloppy play, with Seattle committing a pair of errors that led to Lee widening the Giants’ lead to 3-0 in the sixth.
Lee reached on a fielder’s choice after Heliot Ramos singled to lead off the inning, but made it to second when shortstop Colt Emerson threw into foul ground trying to turn two.
He then scored when second baseman Cole Young couldn’t handle a ground ball off the bat of Arraez.
Playing a key role in it all: Catcher Drew Cavanaugh, who reached base all three times he came to the plate and used his body to obstruct Young’s path to the grounder while going to second.
Lee (3-for-4), Cavanaugh (2-for-2), Ramos (2-for-5) and Casey Schmitt (2-for-5) all contributed multiple hits.
Maybe the most encouraging sign came from Adames, who blew the game wide open with San Francisco’s eighth grand slam of the year. The struggling shortstop had been 0-for-3 when he came up with the bases loaded in the seventh.
He lined an 0-1 slider over the wall in right-center, going with the pitch, to widen the lead to 7-0.
“It can’t just be Willy and [Matt Chapman] and [Rafael] Devers,” Eldridge said. “But when those guys are at their best, we’ve shown what the offense is capable of. This team’s unstoppable. … I even thought during batting practice, [Adames] looked good, he looked fresh.”
The marine layer had kept a couple of deep drives in the ballpark, with Schmitt and Seattle’s Luke Raley sending fly ball outs to the center field wall, but Eldridge’s power was the first to prove impervious. Eldridge caught a splitter on the outside corner off the end of his bat but still gave it enough oomph to sneak it over the wall — and out of the reach of leaping center fielder Victor Robles.
Eldridge’s ninth home run of the season produced the first runs for either team, opening a 2-0 lead in favor of the Giants in the top of the fifth. That, it turned out, would have been enough.
It’s now been more than a week since the Giants’ last loss, the longest they have gone all season without the number in the loss column going up.
Of all the Giants, Vitello believed few needed the All-Star break more than Lee.
It’s one reason why the skipper framed it as a positive when he had to break the news to the third-year outfielder that his breakout first half didn’t merit his first career All-Star selection.
Lee looked freshly rested while rattling off a pair of line drive singles in his first two at-bats. His only piece of contact that wasn’t hard-hit was a broken-bat single for his third hit of the night. He reached base for a fourth time when he was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Adames.
It was Lee’s 30th multihit effort of the season, trailing only Luis Arraez and Schmitt, but only his second since June 24. In 17 games before the break, Lee had been hitting .164 (10-for-61), with only one walk and three extra-base hits, resulting in a .404 OPS.
For a team looking for a fresh start in the second half, its biggest star didn’t get the message.
The only Giant kept off the bases in the 12-hit performance was Devers, who struck out three times while going 0-for-5. Devers went down swinging on three pitches in his first at-bat, then swung through another fastball at the letters for strike three his next time up.
Devers briefly raised his OPS over .800 for the first time all season in the Giants’ last series before the break, but the hitless performance sent it back down to .789.
Fresh off a restful few days representing the Giants at the All-Star Game in Philadelphia, Webb makes his first start of the second half against Seattle right-hander and Bay Area native Bryan Woo.
First pitch is scheduled for 5:08 p.m. PT, with Fox carrying the game nationally.
With 10 days since his last start, Webb will try to begin the second half on a better note than the way he went into the break, surrendering 12 runs over his final two starts.
The “Second Half” of the 2026 MLB season began tonight for the Athletics against the Washington Nationals at Sutter Health Park in West Sac. After finishing the first half on a nine-game losing streak, the team hopes to get off on the right foot against the Nats.
Gage Jump made the start for the A’s, his tenth of the season, against Cade Cavalli for the Nationals. Jump kept the Nationals bats at bay until the top of the third when a walk a single and two doubles, gave the Nats a 3-0 lead, all with 2 outs.
In the top of the fourth, harry Ford walked and Jacob Young hit a ground rule double, scoring Ford. That was it for Jump, who left after 3 2/3 innings having given up four earned runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out eight Nationals. José Suarez entered the game and got the final out of the inning.
Jacob Wilson singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Tyler Soderstrom followed that with a 415 ft. homer to straight away center field. That cut the Nats lead to 4-2.
The Nationals got those two runs back in the top of the fifth when Suarez gave up a monster two-run homer to Andrés Chaparro. That was all for Suarez, who was replaced by Justin Sterner with two outs. Harry Ford followed with his own 2-run homer to bring the score to 8-2.
With the score now 10-2, A’s reliever Yunior Tur made his Major League debut. Henry Bolte misplayed his second ball of the inning allowing two more runs to score. CJ Abrams hit a ball to deep centerfield that turned Bolte around and it fell for a double, scoring Chaparro for the 13th run of the night. Abrams scored on a Daylen Liles single. Tur struck out two but not before the Nationals scored six runs in the inning.
After the A’s went quietly in their half of the sixth, The Nationals picked up where they left off in the previous inning, giving up an RBI double and a two-run homer to bring the score to 18-2 with no outs. It was this seventh inning that things got so out of hand that the A’s announcers turned to talking about what pro wrestler they would be if they could. The conversation went downhill from there. Nuff said.
Brady Basso entered the game to pitch the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning with two K’s. In the bottom of the eighth, Tommy White got his first major league hit, a double to center field. He was stranded at second when the inning ended.
Carlos Cortes moved from right field to pitch the ninth. He gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. Headed to the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals led 23-2. Shea Langeliers greeted a position player on the mound for the Nats with a homer to deep left field. After two consecutive hits, the As scored one more. The final score was 23-4, not the start of the second half the team or its loyal fans were hoping for.
