Category: Baseball

This afternoon, the San Francisco Giants announced that they placed Victor Bericoto on the 10-day IL “with an oblique strain” and taking his spot on the roster is 25-year old Grant McCray, in the majors for the first time in 2026.

McCray had surgery back in June to repair his left hamate bone and up to that point he’d been hitting just .237/.360/.370. He made just three starts since being activated, but he’s 4-for-8 with a homer, a double, a strikeout and a walk. He also stole 3 bases and didn’t get caught. McCray’s defense will come in handy. His bat remains the central question.

He’ll be taking Victor Bericoto’s roster spot. An oblique strain is a tough injury for a hitter and it’s a real shame to see such a young player have some quite positive momentum halted by the injury bug. Such is baseball, I suppose. Then again, it’s remarkable to consider how much these two players mirror each other. In 59 plate appearances, the 24-year old Bericoto had 15 strikeouts against just 1 walk but 4 homers and 3 doubles. In McCray’s debut age-23 season, he swatted 5 homers in 130 plate appearances and had 56 strikeouts against just 6 walks. Not exactly the same, but close enough in terms of those three true outcomes. Although, it’s absolutely worth mentioning that Bericoto’s line in a much smaller sample is much, much better than what McCray did in 2024: .293/.305/.552 vs. .202/.238/.379.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the outfield defense aligns late in games because McCray is an outstanding defender in center and right and with Jung Hoo Lee and Drew Gilbert on the roster (at least for now), his playing time seems a little fuzzy.

The bigger surprise is the return of Keaton Winn, who comes off the IL after being seemingly lost to the vagaries of Tony Vitello’s managing. But, nope. After hitting the IL on June 8th, he returned and rehabbed on July 3 and made 3 total appearances across the Giants minor leagues (who were playing home games in Northern California). He struck out 3 in three innings while walking 2 and allowing just a hit. He bumps Carson Whisenhunt back to the minors because, as Alex Pavlovic points out, “With the All-Star break, he wasn’t going to be in line to start for at least a week.”

Before Vitello used him three days in a row for reasons only understood by Tony Vitello, Winn had really settled into the season with a 2.40 ERA (3.21 FIP) in 30 IP. Replacing Ryan Walker’s putridness with Keaton Winn’s potential is the only logical move the team could make. Winn is probably a 20 on the 20-80 scale if they scored injury, but if he can rattle off 4-5 great appearances over the next couple of weeks then the Giants might be able to move the 28-year old for some prospects by the August 3rd MLB trade deadline. And at this point, the draft and the trade deadline are what this terrible, no good, very bad season is all about.

The Yankees are looking to end their first half on a high note this weekend in Washington, DC, when they face the upstart Nationals. Said Nats have been better than expected in their first full year with a new front office and skipper, which hadn’t been changed since their 2019 World Series-winning team fell apart. Ryan Weathers, Cam Schlittler, and Will Warren have a tough lineup facing them this weekend, and Weathers is slated to be the first to get a shot at them tonight. The Nats are sending out lefty Carson Palmquist as an opener with familiar starter Zack Littell likely to follow as the “bulk guy.”

However, we’ll have to wait a bit. The Nationals announced that there is “inclement weather” in the area and that first pitch—which had been scheduled for 6:45pm ET—was delayed. They put the news out there at 6:07pm ET and as of just a few minutes ago, the tarp was still on the field. Bummer.

The start of today’s game has been delayed due to inclement weather. We are monitoring the situation and will provide an update as more information becomes available.

Please visit https://t.co/bLSp7cYRr2 or text “JULY10” to 91347 for more information.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 10, 2026

We’ll keep you all posted with any updates on the first pitch time.

Go Rays!

The 41-52 Athletics take on the 47-45 Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago today. The Southsiders are in the midst of the most dramatic turn-around from last season, currently sitting in first place in the American League (AL) Central, while the visiting A’s are mired in a six-game losing streak and open the day in fourth place in the AL West.

Taking the mound this afternoon for the A’s is Jacob Lopez. The 28-year-old lefty is 4-3 in thirteen appearances with a 7.04 ERA. He has had forty-two strikeouts in 53.2 innings this year. He’ll go up against 26-year-old righty Sean Burke for the Pale Hose. Burke is 5-4 with a 3.56 ERA over the course of eighteen appearances this season. The White Sox will be thrilled to see rookie phenom Munetaka Murakami return to their lineup today after more than a month on the Injured List (IL) with a right hamstring strain.

Burke will face off against this lineup for Mark Kotsay’s Athletics:

Lopez will battle this lineup for Will Venable’s White Sox:

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

I really wish I could find a shirt like the one Luinder Avila is wearing in the photo I’ve attached to this piece in my size. If y’all see anything like that somewhere in a 4XL or 5XL and could let me know, I’d super duper appreciate it.

Oh yeah, we’re here to talk about baseball. The Royals are playing the Orioles in Baltimore tonight. Luinder Avila is going to start for KC. To say that his results have been mixed since he joined the rotation following a variety of pitching injuries would not be an overstatement. He has a 5.04 ERA, thanks in no small part to his wimpy 6.2% K-BB%. He needs to strike more guys out and walk fewer while starting. The curveball that was his bread and butter coming up through the system is now his fourth-most-used pitch out of five. His sinker and slider have been the only pitches he’s been able to throw with much effectiveness, but he still struggles to get them – or any – of his pitches in the strike zone. When a hitter chases a lot, he’s going to be streaky (see: Salvador Perez). When a pitcher struggles to throw strikes, even with stuff as good as Avila’s, he will also be streaky, and that’s what we’re seeing here. He’s going to need to improve if he wants to have a career as long as teammates Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, and the easiest way for that to happen is probably to move him to the bullpen, where he can simplify things. But the Royals are already relying on Randy Dobnak as a bulk reliever, so he’s stuck in the rotation for now.

The Orioles will use Brandon Young and I’ve got to be honest, I’d never heard of the guy before today. Young and Avila are remarkably similar in many respects, though Young’s stuff isn’t quite as good. Young throws a splitter instead of a changeup, and he’s been slightly better at getting it in the strike zone, so he’s generated a fair bit more chase when he leaves the zone. Young leans a lot heavier on his four-seam fastball than Avila. Despite its lower velocity and spin rate, it gets drastically more movement, which has allowed him to keep hitters from squaring it up as well. Oddly enough, they share an identical xwOBA, so Young has probably been on the luckier side. But he walks significantly fewer batters, so that helps too.

Lineups

As you likely saw earlier today, Vinnie Pasquantino has rejoined the Royals less than a month after suffering a hamate bone injury. That usually keeps guys out for longer, but he’s Vinnie, so he’s back. Inexplicably, he’s not in tonight’s starting lineup. Why is he back if he’s not playing? Salvador Perez is starting at first, and he is a downgrade both defensively and offensively. Nick Loftin is DHing and while he’s been hitting better the past few days, he’s not exactly you would usually see a manager feel like he has to get into the lineup. All in all, this makes pretty much no sense to me. Baseball!

The Orioles and Royals are both bad. Remember when they were both good? Those were the days. Well, until the playoffs came anyway. But let’s talk about something else.

Brandon Young is pitching for the Orioles tonight, AKA the Orioles ace. His last start against the Reds wasn’t great, but everyone’s allowed to have a bump in the road. Hopefully, he’s back on track after that.

Luinder Avila is starting for the Royals. He has a 5.05 ERA and a 1.587 WHIP, which makes me oddly nervous. You know what I mean. Avila started the year in the bullpen but has been in the rotation since June 1st. He doesn’t generally go more than five innings. Again, that makes me nervous. It’s hard being an Orioles fan.

Orioles lineup

Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Adley Rutschman (S) C
Taylor Ward (R) LF
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Samuel Basallo (L) DH
Dylan Beavers (L) RF
Colton Cowser (L) CF
Blaze Alexander (R) 3B
Jackson Holliday (L) 2B

Royals lineup

Carter Jensen (L) C
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS
Jac Caglianone (L) RF
Lane Thomas (R) CF
Michael Massey (L) 2B
Salvador Perez (R) 1B
Josh Rojas (L) 3B
Nick Loftin (R) DH
Isaac Collins (S) LF

Let’s go O’s!

Detroit Tigers (43-50) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (52-42)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site:The Good Phight
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (2-8, 4.60 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (3-6, 5.87 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Flaherty	17	76.1	26.5	10.7	30.8	3.76	1.5
Nola	18	92.0	23.2	7.2	39.7	4.74	0.8

orange you glad it's Friday

⚾️ 6:40 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Comerica Park pic.twitter.com/oeEIQYOpXw

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 10, 2026

Updated lineup:

Turner SS
Schwarber DH
Harper 1B
Marsh LF
Bohm 3B
Stott 2B
Rincones RF
Hill CF
Marchán C  

Nola P https://t.co/l0PdyahTXd

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 10, 2026

Mets lineup

1. A.J. Ewing – CF
2. Juan Soto – LF
3. Francisco Lindor – SS
4. Carson Benge – RF
5. Jorge Polanco – DH
6. Jared Young – 1B
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Brett Baty – 3B
9. Zack Short – 2B

Nolan McLean – RHP

Red Sox lineup

1. Anthony Seigler – 2B
2. Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
3. Wilyer Abreu – RF
4. Romy González – 1B
5. Masataka Yoshida – DH
6. Caleb Durbin – 3B
7. Jarren Duran – LF
8. Connor Wong – C
9. Tsung-Che Cheng – SS

Sonny Gray – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:15pm EDT
TV: Apple TV
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

At last we have arrived at the final series of the first half. In the Aaron Boone era we have generally been happy to see the All-Star break coming, and 2026 has been no different. The Yankees managed a split of their recent four-game battle with the Rays, for now their betters in the AL East. But the past month has seen a plethora of injuries, underperformance, and quite a bit of generally dull baseball.

It’s hard to believe this weekend series with the Washington Nationals will be dull. The young Nats, led by 34-year-old manager Blake Butera, ooze pure entertainment value. Their games are what a hockey fan might call ‘high-event’: they score a ton of runs while allowing just as many to come home. Their record entering this series is 48-46—a massive step forward from the Dave Martinez lame-duck period. Speaking candidly as a guy who was born in DC, readers, it warms my heart to see good vibes around that team again. Now let’s dive into this pitching matchup.

I saw a melodramatic post on Twitter—well, I wasn’t on Twitter, it was shown to me against my will—showing similarities in the recent performances of both the Yankees and Mets. That post labeled Ryan Weathers as a “failed pitching acquisition,” which caused me to roll my eyes and move on with my day. It is true that Weathers has been inconsistent in his first 17 starts, but his noisy ERA belies the fact that he has had plenty of dominant starts when he’s dialed in.

Now, when Weathers gets hit, he gets hit hard. xwOBAcon (expected weighted on-base average on contact) is a helpful little stat which shows just how hard pitchers get hit when hitters connect: his .425 xwOBAcon is a bottom-five-percent mark in MLB. At the same time, he has received little run support from his offense. The Yankees haven’t scored more than five runs in a game Weathers started since May 18th.

What makes the first point more worrisome: the Nationals have a 116 team wRC+ against lefty pitching, which ranks second-best in baseball behind the Cubs (117). Weathers will really have to thread a needle in DC tonight.

Carson Palmquist is a former Rockies draftee in 2022 who joined Washington after Colorado designated him for assignment in late May. Palmquist has appeared in four games, twice as the nominal starter, but has only thrown 6.1 innings in those combined appearances, allowing five runs on eight hits. In the last game he started, he served as an opener for Zack Littell, allowing four early runs in an eventual loss to the Pirates. That seems likely to be the Nats’ strategy again tonight.

Littell has had a rough year in Washington so far, pitching to an ERA just north of 5 this season. Struggles in April and June have overshadowed what was by all accounts a solid month of May in which he went 5-0 with a 2.35 ERA. His mop-up duty for Palmquist was quite strong though—he pitched six quality innings against Pittsburgh in that aforementioned loss.

With the southpaw Palmquist starting, Aaron Boone has opted to place Amed Rosario in the leadoff spot ahead of Ben Rice, shifting Trent Grisham to the three-hole. Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger will follow, with Jasson Domínguez getting bumped down to sixth. Jazz Chisholm, José Caballero, and Austin Wells make up the bottom of the order. Rice will DH; Goldschmidt plays first. Everyone else is playing where you’d expect.

How to watch

Location: Nationals Park — Washington, DC

First pitch: 6:45 pm ETdelayed

TV broadcast: YES, Nationals.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280; WJFK 106.7 The Fan

Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Friday in the Nation's Capital. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/R1OlByoEbq

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 10, 2026

wow ……………………………………………… lineup ………………………………………………

→ https://t.co/M7AONBLYL5pic.twitter.com/i67F1qqCwu

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 10, 2026

Did the Red Sox actually make it to Queens?! That was an ordeal a la Doug Mirabello over here!

Can Sonny Gray make another statement before the All Star break or will Nolan McLean send a hoard of Grimaces Boston’s way?

⚾️ First Pitch: 7:15pm

📺 TV: Apple TV (sorry)

📻 Radio: WEEI

First of 3 in New York! pic.twitter.com/XLuEl8ag5q

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 10, 2026

Friday night starters! ⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/8hSglWfCuu

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 10, 2026

The Nats have had a very successful first half. They have a chance to close it out in style against the New York Yankees. The Yankees have not been playing their best baseball lately, but did manage to split a series against the Rays. However, they still have a powerful lineup that will be tough to contain.

Blake Butera put together an interesting lineup against a left handed starter. Luis Garcia Jr. is in there, but he is hitting 8th. Dylan Crews is all the way up in the 3 spot and Jacob Young is hitting 5th. Andres Chaparro will serve as the DH and Daylen Lile will get the day off. Carson Palmquist will open for Zack Littell.

wow ……………………………………………… lineup ………………………………………………

→ https://t.co/M7AONBLYL5pic.twitter.com/i67F1qqCwu

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 10, 2026

With the lefty opener, old friend Amed Rosario will be in the leadoff spot. Aaron Judge is hurt, which makes Ben Rice the main man for the Yanks. Rice is coming off a homer-filled series against the Rays. The Yankees have a lefty heavy lineup despite Palmquist opening. Southpaw Ryan Weathers will get the start in this one.

Friday in the Nation's Capital. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/R1OlByoEbq

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 10, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV and Fox 5 WTTG

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

This is a high profile series for the Nats who head into the All-Star break with their best record in years. A series win against the Bronx Bombers would be a great way to cap off a stellar half of baseball. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

The Houston Astros announced today that they have reinstated All-Star SS Jeremy Pena from the IL.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/Dxzwj6mW3w

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 10, 2026

Pena is batting .295 this season with a .356 OBP and .799 OPS. He has 6 HR, 21 RBI and 34 runs scored.

Pena has dealt with 3 separate injuries so far this season. When healthy, he has been an offensive catalyst for a team that very much needs his bat and speed in it’s lineup.

The team designated IF Braden Shewmake for assignment to make room for Pena on the active roster. Shewmake is hitting .256 this season with a .272 OBP and .695 OPS. Should he clear waivers, he seems like a logical candidate to be brought back into the system with Triple-A Sugar Land. Shewmake’s defensive versatility has been an asset for a team that has been without it’s starting 3B for months and has twice put it’s start SS on the IL.

Ryan Clifford will be the Mets system’s sole representative at the 2026 All-Star Futures Game on Sunday afternoon.

Acquired with Drew Gilbert in exchange for Justin Verlander at the 2023 Trade Deadline, Clifford entered the season ranked the Mets’ No. 8 prospect by Amazin’ Avenue. He is currently ranked No. 2 by MLB Pipeline after the graduations of players like Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, and A.J. Ewing.

The 22-year-old first baseman has spent the entire season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s hitting .198/.286/.399 with 16 homers and 47 RBI through 85 games played. Clifford has also seen time at the corner outfield positions this season, getting 16 starts in left field and 13 in right to go with 48 starts at first base and six at designated hitter. But his calling card is his power, with 88 homers over the past four seasons. If Clifford goes deep in the Futures Game, he would be the first Met to homer in the event since Francisco Alvarez in 2021.

First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, and the game will air on NBC.

Last year at about this time, the Mariners got stomped by the Yankees and looked ready to limp into the All-Star break with a final series against the best team in baseball. Then they went to Detroit and beat the pants off the Tigers, setting up one of the most important second halves in team history. The Mariners will hope to find a bit of that do-or-die magic again in 2026, after getting swept by the Marlins earlier in the week and now facing the first-place Rays before the pause.

Former All-Star Luis Castillo takes the mound for the Mariners and faces current All-Star Nick Martinez of the Rays. For more on Martinez, Jake Mailhot has you covered in our series preview.

The biggest change for the Mariners today is Colt Emerson is not in the lineup. J.P. Crawford will instead play shortstop and Buddy Kennedy will play third base. Luke Raley also gets a day off in favor of Miles Mastrobuoni in right field.

Julio Rodríguez is not joining the team in Tampa Bay. Brendan Donovan is in Arizona getting ready for a rehab assignment.

Lineups:

Game Info:

First Pitch: 4:10 p.m.

TV: Mariners.TV

Radio: Ol’ Reliable

Spencer Steer has played just about everywhere across his college and professional careers. One place he has never played, though, is in CF.

On the same day that news broke that Matt McLain would be heading to the 10-day IL with a calf strain he picked up shagging balls in CF as a player who hadn’t played and CF since college, the Reds are going to roll out Steer as their CF in Friday’s series opener in Great American Ball Park against the Chicago Cubs.

That’s right!

Despite the Reds brass having touted Noelvi Marte’s athleticism and natural instincts as capable of playing some CF, Marte will instead start in RF on the night, with the decision to shoehorn Steer into CF the latest in a long, crumbling line of decisions made by the powers that be in Cincinnati. This all also coincides with the return of Ke’Bryan Hayes at 3B, so perhaps the front office is so convinced that Hayes’ defense is transformative at the hot corner that where anyone else plays defensively truly doesn’t matter.

That’s the headline, tonight, or at least the co-headline. The other is that Hunter Greene will make his second start since returning from elbow surgery with hopes that literally anything other than what happened in his first start is what we get to see.

First pitch against the Cubs is set for 7:10 PM ET. Starting lineups for both clubs are listed below.