Category: Baseball

The Astros Road trip began with a little extra flavor for all, going 10 innings from Anaheim and in the process, producing one of the bigger comebacks of the year.     From Jose Altuve’s daring baserunning to Brice Matthews one hop rocket throw to home plate, negating a slide by Mike Trout, it was late night heroics all around.    Houston would tie it in the 9th and ultimately win it in the 10th.     Astros 5.    Angels 4.     

Spencer Arrighetti entered Monday Night having never defeated the Angels during his career and although he didn’t get the win, the Astros picked up their 31st victory.    The win ultimately went to Josh Hader in relief.    Arrighetti cruised with a six-pitch opening frame, but then the wheels began to fall off in the second inning thanks to a series of miscues, rekindling flashbacks of Arrighetti’s hard luck fourth inning last week versus Pittsburgh.    

Jo Adell would lead off things in the second inning, reaching first base after being hit by an errant pitch.   He scored the game’s first run courtesy of ex-Astro Trey Mancini, who registered an RBI single in his first big league game in three years.   In total, nine different batters would come to the plate with a combination of walks and hits, even Logan O’Hoppe getting in on the action with a double that drove in a pair.    Final damage was thirty-six pitches thrown and three runs on the board.    It’s now six times over his last ten starts that Arrighetti has walked at least four batters.    

Houston would get on the board in the top of the fourth after Yordan Alvarez reached on an error by Mike Trout and scored thanks to Christian Walker’s RBI Double.   Doubles would be the theme of the night for Houston, as their first six hits would all be two baggers.   Lamont Wade Jr., in just his fourth game with the club, would register an RBI double, scoring Isaac Paredes in the 6th inning.    Wade would exit moments later with tightness to his right hamstring.     Brice Matthews would come in as a pinch runner and score when Cam Smith doubled him home, tying things at three.    

De Los Santos would come on in relief and give up a solo shot to Zach Neto in the 7th.    For Neto, it would be his 13th home run of the year.   However, Christian Walker would secure the Astros first single of the night, in a clutch moment in the top of the 9th, with a hit to center, scoring Jeremy Pena, tying things at 4-4.  In the 10th inning, on a fielding error by Logan O’Hoppe, Jose Altuve would score the winning run.  Bryan Abreu would come in and close the door earning his 4th save.     

Odds and Ends.   

Kai-Wei Teng will take the hill for the Astros in game two as they look to even the series.    He’ll be opposed by Walbert Urena who has an identical 3-4 record as Teng for the season.    

Christian Walker has now registered a hit in six of his last seven games.  Collin Price notched his first official career hit with a double in the top of the fifth inning.    

In what will undoubtedly be a theme this summer, Yordan Alvarez received yet another intentional walk.   He leads all of MLB with nine.  

Mark Bowman of MLB.com tackled the subject that has grown more popular over the past few weeks: a potential trade of Tarik Skubal by the struggling Detroit Tigers. For the Braves specifically, Bowman concluded that while the Braves would obviously love to acquire Skubal, the high prospect cost for a rental likely does not make sense. As an alternative, Bowman laid out some options that would be at more reasonable prospect costs and can be controlled beyond this year.

Make no mistake, the Braves have every reason to prioritize going after a starter with a bit more reliable outlook in playoff scenarios than Spencer Strider or Bryce Elder currently. Alex Anthopoulos likely agrees with this sentiment, as he has been in pursuit for that exact talent for years. However, he is going to have go to back to his Toronto days and outside his current comfort zone to pay the prospect price to get such a pitcher. One way to better the chances of Anthopoulos doing exactly that is for any acquired pitcher to have years of control. While there may not be many available options that fit that criteria as of now, Anthopoulos will explore all avenues to get another significant arm in the Braves rotation.

Braves News

The week ahead for the Braves includes the White Sox and the Mets, two teams going in opposite directions of their expected 2026 seasons.

Matt Powers looks at the top 200 prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft.

MLB News

Christopher Sanchez continued his incredible start to the season as the Phillies beat the Blue Jays.

Astros GM Dana Brown made it pretty clear the Astros do not intend to trade Jeremy Pena or Yordan Alvarez.

The Yankees won a June game with an October feel. Aaron Boone and Stephen Vogt managed Tuesday night’s contest like a playoff game. The Yankees emptied their bench, both teams had quick hooks on their relievers, and momentum swung back and forth throughout the evening before New York finally emerged with a 7-5 victory in 10 innings.

Paul Goldschmidt wasted no time getting the Yankees on the board. After Ben Rice reached base to begin the game, Goldschmidt jumped on a Gavin Williams offering and deposited it into a Yankees fan’s glove just as they emerged from the left-field tunnel for a two-run homer. The blast, his eighth of the season, gave New York an early 2-0 lead and continued a recent stretch of strong play from the veteran first baseman.

The Yankees added another run in the third inning, though this one came in far less conventional fashion. Trent Grisham crossed the plate when a throwing error by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio allowed Cody Bellinger to reach safely. Up 3-0 early, the Yankees appeared poised to seize complete control of the game.

However, Will Warren labored through his outing. The Guardians worked deep into counts and in the third inning things unraveled both in front of and behind him. A wild pitch allowed Steven Kwan to score before Rocchio redeemed himself with an RBI groundout. Cleveland eventually pulled even when José Caballero was charged with a fielding error that allowed José Ramírez to score. Of the three runs charged against Warren during the inning, only two were earned as defensive miscues once again proved costly for New York.

The Yankees reclaimed the lead in the fifth thanks to Ryan McMahon. After review, McMahon was awarded his seventh home run of the season when replay confirmed his drive had cleared the wall in left-center field. The solo shot continued what has quietly been a much-improved stretch for the Yankees third baseman and pushed New York back in front, 4-3.

That advantage held until the sixth. After Peter Blackburn entered in relief, Angel Martínez turned around a pitch and launched a two-run homer into the right-center field seats. The blast scored David Fry and gave Cleveland its first lead of the night at 5-4. The vibes quickly turned bad.

The Yankees, however, refused to go quietly into the Cleveland night. In the eighth inning, Grisham once again helped spark the offense and eventually came home when Goldschmidt beat out a slow roller that was a potential double-play ball. The run tied the game at five. The Bombers threatened again, but Cleveland closer Cade Smith was able to get a groundball that Rocchio turned into a slick double play to end the rally and kept the game deadlocked.

The Guardians threatened in the bottom of the eighth, putting two runners aboard with one out and had Travis Bazzana and Ramírez looming. Boone responded by calling on Tim Hill. The veteran left-hander got Bazzana to pop out on the infield before Ramírez lifted a fly ball to Spencer Jones in right, allowing the Yankees to escape the inning unscathed.

Hill and David Bednar were able to keep Cleveland off the board in the ninth and sent the game to extras. In the tenth, with Ali Sánchez serving as the automatic runner, Grisham was unable to advance him, but Cleveland elected to intentionally walk Ben Rice. Max Schuemann then worked a walk of his own after successfully challenging a strike call, loading the bases with one out.

That set the stage for Bellinger who is stepping up in the absence of the captain. The Yankees right fielder lined a single into left field that plated both Sánchez and Rice to give New York a 7-5 lead. Schuemann was caught trying to advance to third, but the damage had already been done.

Bednar had needed just seven pitches to get the final two outs of the ninth, so he stayed on for the 10th. Immediately faced with the tying run at the plate due to the automatic runner, thc Renegade made it even more tense by walking Martinez to bring the winning run up. But he stared down the challenge and retired the Guardians in order after that, getting a lineout from Kwan, burying Bailey on a three-pitch K, and coaxing a full-count groundout from Rocchio to end it on his 27th offering of the night.

The Rays won, so the Yankees needed this hard-fought win to keep pace with them in the relative share of first place. Game two between New York and Cleveland is set for 6:40pm ET again tomorrow as Gerrit Cole is set to face Slade Cecconi.

Box Score

The good thing about the punishing grind of an MLB season is it doesn’t allow a lot of time for wallowing. Just one day after the Mariners blew a winnable game in Detroit to drop a series against the lowly Tigers, they escaped with a win in Baltimore today in the series opener against the Orioles, 6-3. There were many aspects of this game that mirrored Sunday’s heartbreaking loss, but today the Mariners came out on top thanks to some timely challenges and a big blast from Josh Naylor.

Emerson Hancock was good, not great, today. The Achilles heel in Hancock’s breakout season – aside from some yucky peripherals on his fastball – has been his occasional command outages, something that’s plagued him since he was in the minors, although his struggles with command now seem to be more related to his expanded arsenal, especially the devastating but finicky sweeper.

That sweeper got away from Hancock in the third: he hit Blaze Alexander to lead off the inning before getting it back to strike out Sam Huff looking on the pitch. But Hancock then lost the handle on his sinker to Taylor Ward, walking him on five pitches, and losing an eight-pitch battle with Gunnar Henderson to walk the bases full. A sacrifice fly from Pete Alonso brought home the first run of the game, but Hancock was able to cap the damage there, getting Colton Cowser to fly out harmlessly to end the Orioles threat.

It wasn’t pretty – Hancock was at 69 pitches by the end of the third before bouncing back with a six-pitch fourth – with Hancock missing his good secondaries, needing to lean heavily on the sinker today, a pitch that has a propensity to get hit hard; he almost doubled up his usage of the pitch today, but also had some extra velo on the sinker, which helped keep the ball finding gloves. The only tick against Hancock was his search for command cost him about an inning of work, going just five innings a day after the Mariners got just 5.2 innings out of their starter yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Mariners hitters struggled against Orioles rookie Trey Gibson (not to be confused with umpire “Power” Tripp Gibson), making a start in place of the injured Chris Bassitt. Gibson poounded the bottom of the zone, eliciting a bunch of weak-contact groundball outs. Finally, in the fifth, Dominic Canzone led off the inning with a single, and then with one out Jhonny Pereda hit a solid line drive single (101.2 mph exit velocity). Ryan Bliss, getting a start after Colt Emerson was a late scratch with back tightness and J.P. Crawford was placed on the 10-day IL after being hit in the hand by Public Enemy #1 Framber Valdez – did his job, knocking in the run with a sac fly. Pretty good, considering Bliss had been ferried to the ballpark with such little fanfare his bags didn’t even arrive (leading to a very cute exchange postgame where similar Short King Brad Adam offered to loan Bliss some of his clothes). Cole Young, pressed into leadoff duty, kept the pressure on, cashing in his Dollar Token of the day (good for one (1) single per game).

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz didn’t want his rookie starter seeing the top of the Mariners a third time, and yanked Gibson for fellow rookie Anthony Nunez, who started off by walking Julio to load the bases for Josh Naylor. Right field at Orioles Park isn’t the friendliest in baseball, but it’s still pretty darn personable, as was the Orioles fan who helpfully stuck out a hat to catch Naylor’s grand slam, hit a mere 358 feet – out in 19 0f 30 parks.

With Hancock going short, Cooper Criswell handled the sixth, hanging a zero. Wilson attempted to get a seventh inning out of his long reliever, but the first two batters reached – a walk and a ground ball single, some more tough BABIP luck for Criswell – and moved to scoring position with a swinging bunt from Huff. With the lineup turning over, Wilson tapped Matt Brash to put out the fire and Brash didn’t so much put out the fire as he did pour gasoline on it, strike a match, and drain the local water supply just in case. Brash just did not have a handle on any of his pitches, immediately throwing a slider to the backstop, allowing the runner to score from third, before drilling Ward on the next pitch, a 98 mph sinker. Brash then walked Henderson, landing a few pitches on the plate but also missing wildly armside with his slider, to load the bases, bringing up Alonso in another RBI opportunity.

Jhonny Pereda has been an offensive lift to the club if not always Gold Glove level behind the dish – he ranks dead last in MLB in challenges won as a catcher among catchers with a minimum of 10 challenges – but what Pereda does understand is momentum swing challenges. He might not challenge the correct pitches, but he does pick the correct inflection points, if that makes sense. Here, potentially burning the Mariners’ final challenge in order to get a called strike three and not walk in a run, and create an out for a struggling pitcher, was the right inflection point challenge; it just also happened to be a good pitch to challenge on.

Brash would wiggle off the hook poised over barracuda-infested waters in the next at-bat, with Ryan Bliss cleanly handling a groundout to put down the Orioles threat.

After the excitement of that inning, the Mariners offense added another run in the top of the eighth – Naylor produced another hit, a single, took second on a wild pitch, and then hustled home on a ground ball single to right from Arozarena, giving Eduard Bazardo a four-run cushion for the bottom of the inning. But Bazardo wasn’t sharp, giving that run back immediately on a single, walk, and flyout that moved the runners into scoring position before giving up an RBI single to Blaze Alexander. The Orioles pinch-hit for Huff with lefty Samuel Basallo, who hit a deep sac fly that looked like it easily scored the runner from third – but wait! This wacky game was not out of wack just yet. Julio made a strong throw in from center that nailed Blaze Alexander at second. Dan Wilson then challenged that Alexander was out at second before Holliday crossed home plate, and on review, it was clear that Holliday’s foot was still mid-stride. Score one for Jake Kuruc and the replay room.

Score two for us getting the gift of Bazardo reverse Dirty Dancing Julio in the dugout:

Run off the board, back to a three-run lead for Andrés Muñoz. Would it be enough?

Like everything else in this game, it wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. Muñoz talked to the media postgame about how much it meant that his team had faith in him to go back out there and do what he hadn’t been able to do yesterday, acknowledging he’d let the team down a few times, but avowed that he’s working hard, and that’s all he can do, to navigate over the baches en el camino – the bumps in the road, team translator Freddy Llanos supplied. Emerson Hancock – always one to deflect praise – was quick to defend his teammate in his postgame interview.

“We’re a team. We are a team. We’re together,” declared Hancock. “There are going to be nights when we’re going to have to pick each other up…it’s a long season, and it’s about sticking together. When you know the guys behind you have your back, it can help you in those moments out there.”

“This game is about responding and tonight – huge moment for him, he put yesterday behind him and went out and had a huge save for our team.”

The Mariners responded tonight, not playing their cleanest game but securing a win nonetheless. They’ll need to continue responding in that fashion over the course of this lengthy road trip, their longest of the season to date, where the bumps in the road might be metaphorical and literal.

The Yankees gave up an early lead, but fought back to tie the game in the eighth inning and go on to beat the Cleveland Guardians, 7-5, in 10 innings on Monday night.

This is New York's first extra-innings win of the year.

Here are the takeaways…

-- Paul Goldschmidt got the Yanks on the board right away in the top of the first inning, blasting a two-run homer over the left field wall off of Gavin Williams to put New York up 2-0.

-- Cleveland should have gotten out of the third inning with a double play, but shortstop Brayan Rocchio's throw went wide, allowing Cody Bellinger to reach first safely and Trent Grisham to score as the Yanks took a 3-0 lead.

-- Will Warren opened the game by striking out the side and kept it going in the second inning. Despite issuing a 10-pitch walk to the leadoff man Kyle Manzardo, Warren forced a big double play and another ground out. 

The right-hander ran into some trouble in the third inning as he walked Steven Kwan and let up a double to Patrick Bailey, giving the Guardians runners on second and third with no outs. Kwan then scored on a wild pitch and Bailey scored on a ground out to make it a 3-2 game. Warren had a chance to get out of the frame after letting up two straight singles, but Manzardo made it three straight and tied the game at 3-3.

Warren plunked Rocchio to open the fifth inning and then struck out Travis Bazzana, but was pulled after 87 pitches. Overall, Warren allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 4.1 IP. Brent Headrick held onto the lead by getting the final two outs of the inning.

-- Thanks to the replay review, Ryan McMahon's "double" off the top of the left field wall in the fifth inning was changed to a home run, putting the Yanks up 4-3.

-- Paul Blackburn gave up the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against his first batter as Angel Martínez blasted a two-run homer to center field, making it a 5-4 game.

-- Needing to get something going, Grisham and Ben Rice hit back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth inning. With runners on first and third base, Goldschmidt came through with the game-tying RBI, beating out Rocchio's throw to first to avoid the double play. Bellinger then singled to keep it going, but Rocchio made an impressive diving stop to turn two and get out of the inning.

-- After the Yanks went down in order following Spencer Jones' leadoff single in the ninth, Tim Hill and David Bednar shut down the Guardians to send the game to extra innings tied up at 5-5.

Bellinger delivered the big hit in the 10th with the bases loaded, slapping it through the infield to left field to give the team a 7-5 lead. Bednar closed it out in the bottom of the inning, recording three straight outs after a leadoff walk.

Game MVP: Paul Goldschmidt

While Bellinger was the hero in extras, Goldschmidt had a big night. The veteran homered in the first and drove in the game-tying run in the fifth, finishing 1-for-4 with three RBI.

Highlights

Paul Goldschmidt home run!! Ben Rice scores, Yankees up 2-0 early pic.twitter.com/aeRpEHeYeK

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 8, 2026

Trent Grisham takes advantage of a bad Guardian throw and makes it 3-0 Yanks! pic.twitter.com/5L98U5m03W

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 8, 2026

After review, Ryan McMahon gives the Yankees the lead with a solo home run! pic.twitter.com/SBO1cqa5Op

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 9, 2026

Trent Grisham ties the game off a Paul Goldschmidt ground out! pic.twitter.com/ntvuaFuBaS

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 9, 2026

Ali Sánchez and Ben Rice score off a Cody Bellinger single! Yankees up 7-5! pic.twitter.com/vDJm8YyDS5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 9, 2026

What's next

The Yankees continue their series with the Guardians on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m.

Gerrit Cole (1-1, 2.00 ERA) makes his fourth start of the year, facing RHP Slade Cecconi (3-5, 4.92 ERA).

Phillies 5 Blue Jays 2

We knew this was going to be a tough one. Cristopher Sánchez came into the game with a 1.46 ERA and he’s allowed just 1 run in his last 5 starts, covering 38 innings. The most earned runs he’s given up in a game was 2 and, well, we got 2 off him. He went 7 innings allowed 4 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk with 10 strikeouts.

We scored one in the third. Myles Straw doubled and ground outs by Tyler Heineman and Yohendrick Piñango scored him. And in the fifth, Ernie Clement homered.

We had chances. In the sixth, Piñango led off with a double and got to third on an error. But George Springer, Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero all struck out. And we got two on in the eighth. Ernie Clement singled with one out and Miles Straw walked with two outs. Brandon Valenzuela (pinch hitting) ground one deep into the hole at short, for the third out.

Patrick Corbin had a rough night. 3 innings, 4 hits, 5 earned, 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. He game up two in the second. Bryson Stott doubled and Adolis Garcia homered. And three in the third. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. Alex Bohm singled home one. J.T. Realmuto singled home another. And Bryson Stott walked in the third. They would have had another run but Kazuma Okamoto made a nice play on a grounder and threw home to get the runnner.

Beyond that? Nathan Lukes made a great diving catch in right field. We turned a double play in the ninth, with two on and one out. Tyler Heineman threw out a base stealer.

Piñango had an error in the first, fly ball near the wall, that bounced out of his glove.

We only had 6 hits. Clements had 2 of them (with a homer). Myles Straw, Piñango and Giménez all had doubles.

The top of the order had a tough night. 1 for 12 with 8 strikeouts, Lukes hit a single. Okamoto did have a fairly deep fly out, but 2 strikeouts. Vlad also had a fairly deep fly, 343 feet, but also had 2 strikeouts. Springer had 3 strikeouts.

Our pen did a good job. Adam Macko allowed just a walk in his inning, with a strikeout. Simeon Woods Richardson was terrific in his first game with the Jays, 4 scoreless innings, 1 hit and 3 strikeouts. And Tommy Nance gave up 2 hits in the ninth, but got out of it with a strikeout and a double play.

Jay of the Day: Woods Richardson (0.08). If we weren’t getting Cease and Scherzer back, he would have a very good argument for a starter job.

Other Award: Corbin (-0.30), Springer (-0.13), Vlad (-0.12) and Okamoto (-0.11).

Tomorrow it is Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.31, it doesn’t get easier) vs. Dylan Cease (3-3, 3.05) making his first start after a stay on the IL.

Walking into Sunday’s game vs. the Brewers, my brother-in-law asked me a great question: Who is your favorite current Rockie? Most years, I have a pick right off the bat.

Sometimes it’s the superstars like Larry Walker, CarGo or Chuck Nazty.

Sometimes it’s the underdogs with the amazing stories like Conner Joe and Sam Hilliard.

Last year, perhaps due to my desire to have the first baseman of the future, it was Michael Toglia and then Warming Bernabel.

This year, I had to pause and think. But then the answer came.

Troy Johnston.

The hits and batting average are great, but it’s the joy. For years, the Rockies have needed the joy and laughter that a big personality can bring to the clubhouse. His defense leaves something to be desired, but his positive presence gets my vote.

My brother-in-law said Jake McCarthy for the hustle, the speed, the ability to make things happen and, of course, the mullet.

What about you? Who is your favorite current Rockie? And why?

Do you value the production on the field, the story behind the player, a chance meeting or autograph or something other random factor?

Let us know below.

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

Some years ago, I learned that Canada has a fast food chain known as New York Fries. I am from New York, and I do not know of any particular connection between that fair city (state? I assume it’s named for the city?) and fries. I have always been somewhat baffled by this. Sort of like how the Blue Jays were baffled by Cristopher Sánchez tonight.

The game started when Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner struck out and grounded out respectively. Turner wasn’t sent down on a force out, but rather on a tag, as an errant throw pulled Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off the bag. Bryce Harper made it to first when Toronto left fielder Yohendrick Piñango misjudged a fly’s trajectory just enough, with the ball bouncing off his glove for an error. Harper would’ve had more than one base, but he missed the bag as he rounded first, and had to turn back. Everyone was just a little off, a tad confused, like I was when I discovered that Canadian Smarties aren’t the same as American Smarties (they’re like M&Ms, but with a slightly thicker shell. Highly recommended, if you can find them). The bottom of the first, happily, was quite ordinary, as Sánchez handled the Jays with his usual efficiency.

The fireworks in the top of the second were of a more favorable sort. With two outs, Bryson Stott worked a double, and Adolis García sent a slider soaring swiftly into the SkyDome seats (Disclaimer: I am aware it is now the Rogers Center. For the sake of alliteration, I choose to ignore this). The third inning saw the Phillies load the bases without a hit: two walks and a hit by pitch. They got their first hit of the inning via Alec Bohm, who sent one through the gap on the left side of the infield to score one. Realmuto sent his pitch right up the middle to score another. Stott’s patience at the plate must make him frustrating for any pitcher; even more so when the bases are loaded for the third consecutive batter. Stott walked, and the Phillies had more baserunners in the inning than Saskatchewan has lentils (Saskatchewan is a leading producer of lentils). The Jays put Phillies out at home on the next two balls in play, and the Phillies ended the inning up 5-0, having thoroughly tortured the passerine pitcher.

The Jays put their first runner on via Myles Straw double to lead off the third, advanced him via groundout, then scored him via another. That was a good development for the Jays; but it was not accompanied by more. Cristopher Sánchez continued to stymie the Jays, who lost their hitting coach when he objected to a call a little too vociferously.

Corbin departed after the fourth, with Simeon Woods Richardson, winner of the prestigious “Pitcher With A Name That Absolutely Sounds Like A Character from Jeeves and Wooster” award five years running, putting the Phillies down in order. No doubt the Drones Club will be buzzing about that.

They’ll buzz even more about Ernie Clement’s solo shot against Sánchez in the bottom fifth, which narrowed the Philadelphia lead to three. It seemed like it would get narrower. Piñango lead off the bottom sixth by reaching third on a ball that bounced off the wall, and then slipped away from García. The slightest mistake would score him. But Sánchez decided to reassert his dominance with a three consecutive strikeouts. He celebrated like a man who had redeemed himself from the pits of defeat. It would be tough to describe the performance that had led up to that redemption as a failure, even if it was technically beneath the lofty standard he’s set for himself in 2026. But everyone needs a struggle to overcome, so that their work may have meaning, and when you’re as ludicrously effective as Sánchez is, you have to adopt a really loose definition of struggle.

If you’re a batter facing him, though, you get to go with the normal definition. Clement made it to base by singling against Sánchez in the seventh, and Straw walked, but no runs scored, because Sánchez is not particularly fazed by mortal concerns like “baserunners”. Afterwards, he took his 10 strikeouts back to the dugout and called it a day.

Brad Keller took over in the eighth. Like Sánchez in the prior inning, he allowed two baserunners, via walk and single, and like Sánchez, he did not grant them the luxury of a trip home. But turnabout is fair play, and Tommy Nance, coming in for the Jays in relief for the ninth, mirrored the accomplishment: Justin Crawford and Schwarber singled, but both were stranded.

The Phillies turned to Jhoan Duran to finish it. It was not one of his best performances; he didn’t record a single strikeout. But after all of the Ks produced tonight by Sánchez, he might’ve just wanted to give Phillies fans a change of pace. He allowed a double, but put the other three Jays he saw down on ground outs. That was the game.

The Phillies are 36-30. The series against the Blue Jays continues Tuesday at 7:07.

A whisker. An eyelash. The tiniest antenna on the tiniest fly. That’s the margin of difference that cost the Orioles their best chance to beat the Mariners in tonight’s series opener. A potential O’s comeback bid was ruined by an ABS-overturned call — and later, some baserunning stupidity — as the Birds fell to Seattle, 6-3.

Let’s set the scene. It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Orioles trailed, 5-2, but they were primed to rally their way back into the game. Against recklessly wild reliever Matt Brash, the O’s had already scored one run on a wild pitch, and they’d loaded the bases with just one out for Pete Alonso. One good swing could cut the Orioles’ deficit further. One great swing could give the Orioles the lead for themselves.

Brash had no command. He’d already thrown two pitches near the head of Taylor Ward, the second of which plunked him. He’d walked Gunnar Henderson. And he proceeded to fall behind Alonso 3-0, putting the O’s slugger in control of the at-bat. You couldn’t ask for a better run-scoring situation. Even the Orioles couldn’t blow this, right?

Yeah, uh…funny story. Alonso inexplicably hacked at a 3-0 pitch (which might have been in the strike zone, but that’s not the point, Pete) and fouled it off, then swung through a fastball for strike two. Then came the pivotal 3-2 pitch, a heater up. Alonso held off, plate ump Gabe Morales called ball four, and the O’s appeared to have a run-scoring, bases-loaded walk.

But: hold everything. Catcher Jhonny Pereda tapped his helmet for a challenge. As the ABS graphic popped up on the scoreboard, the Camden Yards crowd watched in horror as the teensiest, weensiest sliver of the animated ball, no bigger than Abraham Lincoln’s eye on the head of a penny, clipped the very top of the strike zone. The call was reversed. A bases-loaded walk had become a rally-crushing strikeout. Alonso, who had already made his way to first base, crumpled to his knees in disbelief.

Brutal. Just brutal. I’m as big a fan of anyone as the ABS system, but boy did it haunt the Orioles there. I guess you could argue that the pitch was too close to take, but it sure looked like a ball to me in real time, and to Alonso too. With the air totally deflated from the stadium, the O’s didn’t score, as Colton Cowser grounded out to leave ‘em loaded. The Mariners, against all odds, maintained their three-run lead.

Sadly, that wasn’t the only tremendously stupid way in which the Orioles squandered a late-inning rally. The very next inning — now down 6-2 after the M’s scored against Albert Suárez in the eighth — the O’s again had something cooking against reliever Eduard Bazardo. They began the inning with a single and a Jackson Holliday walk, and with one out, Blaze Alexander scorched an RBI single to left to make it a 6-3 game. Once again, the Orioles brought the tying run to the plate, and pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo strolled up to bat, bringing the Camden Yards crowd back to life.

On a 2-1 pitch, Basallo connected for a deep shot to center. He dropped the bat, certain he’d just delivered a game-tying homer. He had not. Julio Rodríguez tracked it down in front of the warning track. Still, the ball was plenty deep enough for Holliday to tag up from third base. As Holliday headed to the plate, Alexander foolishly tried to tag from first and advance to second. Rodríguez delivered an on-target throw and Ryan Bliss slapped the tag on Alexander. Double play, horrible baserunning, but hey, at least the O’s got one run out of it. …Right?

Yeah, uh…funny story about that, too. The Mariners requested a challenge, claiming that Alexander was tagged out before Holliday crossed home plate. And lo and behold, the replay proved them right. The run was wiped off the board, the would-be sac fly was just an inning-ending double play, and the Orioles, as Willy Wonka would say, get nothing. You lose. Good day, sir.

And lose they did, as the O’s went quietly in the ninth against struggling Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, who entered the day only nine for 14 in save opportunities but had no problem against a demoralized Birds team. A 6-3 loss went into the books as truly one of the dumbest of the year.

Other dumb things happened, too. Fill-in starter Trey Gibson, called up from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day when Chris Bassitt landed on the injured list, held the Mariners lineup in check for four scoreless innings, but they started to hit him hard in the fifth. They smacked three singles and a sac fly to tie the game at one (after the O’s had taken a 1-0 lead in the third on a sac fly of their own).

With two on and two out, manager Craig Albernaz made a fateful pitching change. Taking out Gibson wasn’t the problem; the rookie didn’t seem to be fooling hitters and hadn’t struck out anyone all game. But Albernaz’s choice to replace him was a head-scratcher. He went with Anthony Nunez, who has a 7.98 ERA since the start of May and has suffered several recent blowups in high-leverage situations. This is the guy you’re going to trust in a critical spot, in a tie game, with multiple runners on base, against the heart of the M’s lineup? How about Andrew Kittredge? Tyler Wells? I’d even accept Rico Garcia, even if it was only the fifth inning.

Nunez wasn’t the guy to go to, and he immediately showed why, walking Rodríguez to load the bases and then serving up a backbreaking grand slam to Josh Naylor. On one swing, the Mariners took a 5-1 lead. Sigh.

The game felt like it was over at that point. It wasn’t, exactly. The Orioles had plenty of chances to come back. But as we’ve seen, they all went horribly wrong.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (30-37) begin a six-game road trip with the first game of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels (25-41) tonight at Angel Stadium.

The May AL Pitcher of the Month, Spencer Arrighetti (7-1, 1.94) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite RHP Grayson Rodriguez (2-2, 9.50) and the Halos. The Astros have won 10 of their last 16 games.

HOT SPAGHETTI: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Spencer Arrighetti made his season debut on April 15 and has since gone 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA (11ER/51IP) and a .184 opponent average while allowing one-or-fewer earned runs in seven of his nine starts. Among AL pitchers with 50+ innings pitched, he’s posted the lowest opponent average, while ranking second in ERA and tied for third in wins.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH: RHP Spencer Arrighetti was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May after going 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA (3ER/29IP) and a .165 opponent average (16×97) in five starts in the month. In May, he posted the lowest ERA and opponent average among AL starters, while ranking tied for third in wins.

ROAD TRIP: Tonight is the first game of six game road trip for the Astros. The Astros will face the Angels for a three-game series before traveling to Kansas City to face the Royals for another three-game series. The Astros are 14-18 on the road this season but went 7-3 on their last road trip.

THE LAST 22: Since May 15, the Astros are 13-9 thanks in large part to their pitching, which has produced a 3.54 ERA (77ER/196IP) and a .194 opponent average, which ranks second in the Majors in that span. Their bullpen has been even better in those last 22 games, working to a 2.77 ERA (23ER/74.2IP) and posting a league-best .160 opponent average.

MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros have committed the fewest errors in the AL (25) and have posted the best fielding percentage (.989) in the AL, topping the Royals (.989) by a few percentage points. Among all Major League teams, only the Padres (20) and Dodgers (22) have committed fewer errors than the Astros.

VS. THE HALOS: The Astros and Angels will face off for the second time this season.. The last time was on Opening Weekend at Daikin Park, where the two teams split the four-game series.

The Astros went 8-5 against the Angels last season, including a 4-2 record at Angel Stadium. The Astros own a 140-90 all-time record against the Angels, including a 6646 record at Angel Stadium.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros placed IF Nick Allen on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain. To take his place on the active roster, the Astros recalled IF Shay Whitcomb from Triple A Sugar Land.

ON THE LEADERBOARD: DH Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in OPS (1.080), SLG (.650) and total bases (154) and leads the AL in home runs (22) and RBI (48).

Also in the AL, he ranks tied for first in extra-base hits (35), second in batting average (.316), second in OBP (.431), second in hits (75), fourth in runs (45), and tied for fourth in walks (44).

KEYSTONE FLIGHTS: 2B Jose Altuve hit the 260th home run of his career on Saturday and his 240th while playing the second base position, surpassing 2B Lou Whitaker for the 10th-most home runs by a second baseman in MLB history. Per Elias, Altuve now immediately trails 2B Ian Kinsler (246) and 2B Joe Gordon (246) on that all-time list.

YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez hit his 192nd career regular season home run on Saturday, which moved him into sixth in Astros history in home runs, surpassing 3B Alex Bregman.

EVERYDAY OKERT: LHP Steven Okert worked 1.0 scoreless innings yesterday, giving him 31 appearances this season, which ranks tied for sixth in the Majors. Since May 3, he’s recorded a 1.69 ERA (3ER/16IP) with 17 strikeouts, four walks, a 0.69 WHIP and a .130 opponent batting average.

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF Yordan Alvarez has been named the AL Player of the Week for the week of June 1-7. For the week, he batted .476 (10×21) with 6 runs, 1 double, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 walks and a 1.386 OPS. This marked his second AL Player of the Week award this season, also won for the week March 30-April 5.

DOWN ON THE FARM:RHP Javier Perez was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 1-7. Perez made one start for Single A Fayetteville on June 5, where he allowed two hits and struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings against Columbia. This season, Perez has posted a 2.82 ERA (17ER/54.1IP) with 64 strikeouts, a 0.83 WHIP and a .181 opponent batting average in 10 appearances .

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1990 – In a pitcher’s duel in the Dome, OF Glenn Wilson walks off the Reds with a 3-run HR in the 11th inning off closer Randy Myers for a 3-1 victory. Astros starter Mike Scott goes all 10.0 innings, tallying 10 K’s along the way to earn the win. Reds starter Tom Browning hurled 9.0 scoreless frames.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, June 8, 8:38 p.m. CT

Location: Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA

TV: Space City Home Network, SCHN2 (Spanish)

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Mariners 6, Orioles 3

Happy Andrés Muñoz: Josh Naylor, .33 WPA

Sad Andrés Muñoz: Patrick Wisdom, -.10 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

I can hear this comment

Side quest: What kind of music does each Mariner reliever make? For some reason I feel like Cooper Criswell makes Noah Kahan-style folk music.

It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by. We always like to see a friendly face. There’s no cover charge tonight. We still have a few good tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week I asked you which Cubs player was most deserving an All-Star nod. The vote had a pretty clear winner as Ben Brown received 45 percent of the vote. Nico Hoerner was in second place with 21 percent. Pete Crow-Armstrong got 16 percent of the vote and I suspect he’d get a lot more votes had I conducted the poll today.

Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Tonight we’re finishing up our tribute to the late, great Sonny Rollins, who passed away last month at the age of 95. Here is Rollins in 1975 playing the Duke Ellington tune “In a Sentimental Mood” along with pianist McCoy Tyner. There’s also an introduction from Chick Corea.

This is mostly pure Rollins and just his saxophone feeling the mood.

Helvetica (2007), directed by Gary Hustwit, is a documentary about the font that I’m currently using to write this essay, although what font you’re actually reading this in probably something else. The film does a great job at showing us how something that is so ubiquitous in our lives that we don’t even generally notice it has the capability to change the way we perceive things. It does less well trying to explain the context of Helvetica and the esoteric debates that graphic designers are so passionate about. 

Helvetica was a new sans serif typeface created in 1957 by Swiss graphic designers searching for a new font in line with the ideas of postwar modernism. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, the name was changed to “Helvetica,” a play on the Latin name “Helvetia” for Switzerland, to make it more marketable around the world. Helvetica was simple, clean and bold, which marked it as different than the fonts commonly used in design at the time. It made a statement.

Helvetica was quickly adopted by advertisers. The way the designers interviewed in the film explain it, the fancy typefaces used before Helvetica were harder to read and could blend into the background. They also came across as more of a polite request to the viewer. Helvetica, in contrast, was bold and bright. Rather than a request, Helvetica was more definitive and came across as a command. Helvetica was authoritative. Because it was quickly adopted by governments and big corporations for its legibility, it became associated with status and power. 

Hustwit interviews a lot of graphic designers and it seems like all of them have something to say about Helvetica. Some of them love it for its clean, powerful modernism. They love it because it is a blank slate that can serve so many different purposes. But as one designer points out, there’s a difference between being “legible” and having something to say, and according to some, Helvetica’s simplicity doesn’t say much. Others criticize it for being “fascist,” calling it a symbol of authority and a killer of creativity, which is why governments and corporations love it so much. Still more point out that anything that becomes as commonplace as Helvetica is will become boring and conformist over time. 

Hustwit intercuts these interviews with designers with a steady stream of signs, logos and advertising that use Helvetica. He really makes you notice something that may have passed over hundreds of times before.

Where Helvetica falls down, just a bit, is where it throws us into a passionate argument without really giving us the context to fully understand it. If you’ve ever come across a group of graphic designers angrily arguing about font choices on social media, you know the feeling. It’s kind of fun to watch them get all worked up, but you don’t quite understand why they’re so angry. One of the designers admits he spends most of his day thinking about fonts and typography, but he doesn’t really explain why to those of us who don’t. Which makes it harder to understand his passion for Helvetica.

Still, it’s an interesting watch, especially in the way is both shows and tells how Helvetica took over the world. It’s also illuminating in the way it shows that a mere font, something that most of us don’t even notice, can manipulate how we think and how we behave. 

Here’s the trailer for Helvetica. There’s no dialogue, but this will give you a good sense of how the font is everywhere.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

We’re one quarter of the way through the 21st century, so there have been a lot of “best of the quarter-century” articles over the past year or so. On top of that, the recent emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong had me thinking if the trade that brought him to Chicago ranks among the best trades in Cubs history.

So tonight, I’m asking “Which Cubs trade was the best one this century?” I have a few candidates. I guess I should have put “other” in there, but I can’t imagine any of you seriously voting for one that I didn’t list. You can mention other favorites in the comments.

The ones that I think are the candidates for best Cubs trade of the century (so far) are:

July 23, 2003: Aramis Ramírez and Kenny Lofton from the Pirates for José Hernández, Bobby Hill and Matt Bruback.

Lofton was a key member of the 2003 team down the stretch, replacing the injured Corey Patterson. He left at the end of the season as a fre agent. Ramírez, of course, became the Cubs’ starting third baseman for nine season, was a two-time All-Star with the Cubs and is now in the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.

Hernández played 58 games for the Pirates before they released him. Hill was the big prize prospect in this trade, but he never really established himself, playing just a year and a half in the majors before going down to the minors for good.

Bruback never made the majors.

November 23, 2003: Derrek Lee from the Marlins for Hee-Seop Choi and Mike Nannini

Lee broke Cubs fans hearts in the 2003 National League Championship Series, but he quickly became a fan favorite after his acquisition. He played seven seasons as the Cubs’ starting first baseman, made two All-Star teams and finished third in MVP voting in 2005 when he won the batting title with a .335 average along with 50 doubles and 46 home runs. Most years that’s easily good enough for the MVP, but Albert Pujols and Andruw Jones both had career years that year as well.

Choi spent one year in Miami before getting traded to the Dodgers, primarily for Paul Lo Duca. He only spent a year and a half in LA but played eight years in Korea before retiring. He never lived up to his potential, but you have to wonder how much the concussion that cost him the second half of the 2003 season player a role in that.

Nannini never made the majors.

January 6, 2012: Anthony Rizzo and Zach Cates from the Padres for Andrew Cashner and Kyung Min-Na.

I don’t think I need to tell any of you about Rizzo. He was the Cubs’ starting first baseman for eight full seasons and parts of two more. He made three All-Star Games, won four Gold Gloves and recorded the final put out of the 2016 World Series.

Cashner played five years for the Padres and in two of them, he was a pretty good starting pitcher. His first year in San Diego he pitched out of the bullpen and in the last two he struggled with injuries.

Neither Cates nor Kyung Min-Na played in the majors.

July 31, 2012: Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva from the Rangers for Ryan Dempster.

Both Hendricks and Villanueva were minor leaguers when the Cubs acquired them. Hendricks was considered a low-ceiling “pitchability” guy who someone managed to get more out of less stuff than any other pitcher through terrific control and a nasty changeup. He pitched 11 seasons in Chicago, won an ERA title in 2013 and finished third in Cy Young Award balloting that year. He started Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and allowed just two runs, one earned over nine innings in that curse-breaking series.

Villanueva never made the majors with the Cubs, but he did play a season and change in the majors with San Diego before a long career in Japan and Mexico that is still ongoing.

Dempster only started 12 games in Texas and had a 5.09 ERA. The Rangers made the Wild Card that year, but lost the one-game playoff to Baltimore. Dempster played one more year in Boston (where he got a World Series ring) before retiring.

July 2 2013: Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop from the Orioles for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.

Arrieta was a former top-five prospect in the Orioles system who flopped in the major leagues before getting dealt to the Cubs. He pitched on the North Side for five years before leaving in free agency. In that time, he won a Cy Young Award and threw two no-hitters. He won two games in the 2016 World Series.

Strop was a key member of the Cubs bullpen for seven years. He was mostly a setup man, but he did save 29 games in Chicago.

Feldman pitched a half-season in Baltimore. Clevenger bounced back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk for three seasons.

July 30, 2021: Pete Crow-Armstrong from the Mets for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams.

Crow-Armstrong had been the Mets 2020 first-round pick but only played six games before he missed the rest of 2021 with a shoulder injury. He quickly established himself as the Cubs’ top prospect. He made his major-league debut late in 2023. He won a Gold Glove and made the All-Star team in 2025. This year he leads the Cubs in both fWAR and bWAR

Báez had a very good half season with the Mets, but the rest of the team fell apart and they finished the 2021 season below .500. He then left for Detroit as a free agent where he’s struggled.

Williams pitched a year and a half with the Mets, totaling 12 starts and 28 relief appearances. He had a quite good 3.17 ERA for the Mets in that year and a half. The Mets did make the Wild Card Series in 2022, but Williams did not pitch in it.

So now it’s time to vote. What was the best trade for the Cubs in the 21st Century?

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