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.
Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom celebrates with shortstop Jacob Wilson after hitting a two-run homer. | Scott Marshall-Imagn Images
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.
Nov 9, 2025; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Owen Ayers during the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Cubs have officially signed the following draft picks:
1st round—RHP Cade Townsend
3rd round—RHP Carson Jasa
4th round—RHP Dylan Marionneaux
7th round—LHP Cole Tryba
10th round—RHP Luke Alwood
Catcher Owen Ayers was promoted from Double-A Knoxville to Triple-A Iowa.
Right-hander Jace Beck was also promoted to Iowa from Knoxville.
Right-hander Kevin Valdez was promoted to Knoxville from High-A South Bend
Catcher Miguel Useche also went from South Bend to Knoxville.
Smokies right-hander Yenrri Rojas was transferred to the development list.
Iowa Cubs right-hander Liam Hendricks, right-hander Kyle Wright, left-hander Aaron Bummer and catcher Eric Yang have all been released.
Right-hander Jake Woodford has elected to become a free agent.
If I missed anyone, I apologize. I know there are a lot of announcements on amateur free agents, but none of those have been made official yet.
Jaxon Wiggins started this game and ran into a lot of trouble in the third inning, giving up five runs. The final line on Wiggins was five runs on two hits and five walks over 2.2 innings. Wiggins struck out three.
Iowa fought back and took the lead with a four-run fourth and a two-run fifth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Corbin Martin ended up getting the loss after giving up a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. Martin’s final line was one run on three hits over 1.1 innings. The run was unearned, but it was his own throwing error that caused it to be unearned, so he has no one to blame but himself. Martin walked two, one intentionally, and struck out one.
Iowa had 12 hits and ten walks in this game, but all 12 of the hits were singles.
Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 6 with three RBI and one run scored.
Third baseman Owen Miller was 2 for 5 with two RBI.
Second baseman James Triantos was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
DH Owen Ayers didn’t slow down in Triple-A. Ayers was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base in his I-Cubs debut.
Luis Martinez-Gomez was activated off the injured list and pitched the first four innings. Martinez-Gomez allowed one run on two hits, with one of those hits being a solo home run in the fourth. He walked two, hit one batter and struck out one.
Evan Taylor pitched the next two innings and got the loss after allowing one run on two hits. Taylor struck out one and walked no one.
The Smokies managed just three hits tonight. DH Andy Garriola was 1 for 2 with a sac fly. Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 1 for 4 with a double and he scored on the sac fly.
Starter Ethan Flanagan pitched 3.1 innings and surrendered two runs on two hits. The two hits were a triple and a home run though. Flanagan struck out five and walked no one.
Luis Rujano had a rough go of it and took the loss. Rujano got rocked for five runs on three hits and two walks over just one-third of an inning. He struck out one.
First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 2 for 3 with a walk. He had an RBI single in the third inning and later scored in that frame.
Jul 17, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen (22) celebrates with outfielder Kyle Isbel (28) after hitting the game-winning RBI single against the San Diego Padres in the tenth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Carter Jensen hit a two-run single to cap a four-run rally in the 10th inning that gave the Kansas City Royals a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Lane Thomas homered early for the last-place Royals, who stopped a five-game losing streak. Jensen and Michael Massey each had three of Kansas City’s 13 hits.
Ty France launched a solo homer for the Padres with two outs in the ninth, tying the score at 3.
The Royals had an excellent opportunity to win in the bottom half, when Jensen’s double helped them load the bases with nobody out against Mason Miller. But the All-Star closer struck out the next three batters, sending the game to extra innings.
San Diego took a 6-3 lead in the top of the 10th on Miguel Andujar’s RBI double, Fernando Tatis Jr.'s run-scoring single and Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly.
It was the third double of the night for Andujar. Tatis also finished with three hits.
Lucas Erceg (4-3) retired Manny Machado with Tatis on third to end the inning, and the Royals responded with four hits off Kyle Hart (0-2) in the bottom of the 10th.
Salvador Perez’s leadoff single sent automatic runner Vinnie Pasquantino from second to third. Pasquantino scored on Massey’s infield single, and Nick Loftin’s bunt single loaded the bases with nobody out.
A run-scoring groundout by Isaac Collins cut it to 6-5 and left runners at second and third. Jensen then bounced a single into left field for his first career game-ending hit, giving the Royals their first walk-off win since May 8.
Leading off the second, Thomas opened the scoring with a 445-foot drive into the left-field fountains. It was the first home run allowed by Padres starter Michael King since June 10.
An error by Massey at second base helped the Padres score twice for a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Massey’s first error since Sept. 18, 2025, ended his streak of 81 games without one.
The Royals tied it in the sixth on Bogaerts’ throwing error from shortstop and regained the lead in the eighth on Massey’s two-out single.
Kansas City turned three double plays to help starter Seth Lugo escape jams. In six innings, Lugo permitted two runs — one earned — and four hits.
King yielded one run and four hits in five innings.
Up next
Padres RHP Griffin Canning (1-7, 6.47 ERA) pitches Saturday. Kansas City had not announced a scheduled starter.
Jul 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas (6) dodges a foul ball in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
Game Summary
Full recap to follow shortly. Feel free to vent in the comments in the meantime!
Loss Probability and Box Score
Outside the Box Score
Ketel Marte got credited with a tough error to start things rolling for the Cards in the first. At first, it looked like Ketel just got gobbled up and let an easy grounder roll through his feet. Upon reviewing replay, Merrill deflected the ball as it came up the middle and Ketel got a little crossed up.
Gabi really helped Merrill out with the bases loaded and 1 out in the first by challenging a called Ball 4 and turning it into a Strike 3. Unfortunately, the Cardinals got an RBI single immediately following.
Tim Tawa made an excellent diving catch on a sinking line drive into center field to end the first inning and keep the Cardinals lead at 2-0.
Bob made a sarcastic comment after the Cardinals made an out on the first pitch of the game that Merrill was on pace for a 27 pitch ballgame. In reality, it took him 27 more pitches just to get out of the first inning.
Max Kepler dropped a surprise bunt for a base hit in the second to put runners at first and second with no outs and it was a beaut, perfectly parallel with the third baseline.
Kepler did another excellent job of situational hitting with Gabi at second and nobody out in the 4th when he yanked a grounder toward second, ensuring Gabi would make it to third with less than 2 outs. Lourdes undid that good deed by weakly grounding out to shortstop. Arenado made a good effort at shooting a single through the hole between short and third to score Gabi, but Masyn Winn made an excellent diving stop and throw (aided at least a little by the glacial foot speed of Arenado) to get the third out of the inning.
Taylor Clarke was fairly unfortunate in that he got 2 groundballs with a runner at first in the 6th inning, but both were hit too slowly for the D-backs defense to turn a double play. Then Clarke gave up a a hard grounder that nearly snuck through the middle but Ketel made an elite diving play to keep the ball on the infield and shoveled it to Domo for the third out.
Lourdes Gurriel was frozen watching a middle-middle fastball go by to strike him out and end the 6th inning. No one on so wasn’t a rally killer or anything, but a very disappointing pitch to let go by. Suppose that’s what happens when you’re slumping though, swing at pitches you shouldn’t and watch pitches you shouldn’t.
I thought it was a mistake watching Ildemaro turn second and head to third on his triple in the 7th, but he kept chugging and the relay throw was nowhere close. Awesome hustle and happy I was wrong.
Wild pitch by Morillo in the 8th led to a Cardinals run. Gabi got beat by a pitch in the dirt that just skidded along the ground instead of bouncing up, allowing runners to advance to second and third. Later in the at bat, the hitter hit a line drive to Kepler resulting in a run scoring sac fly.
Corbin’s game tying homer was a line drive that was just above the fence and hit off the right field foul pole netting!
Sewald’s night started to unravel right off the rip when he misplayed a grounder back up the box leading off the ninth. He stuck his glove out and was just under it, allowing the ball to deflect and die in the middle of the infield and resulting in an infield single.
Comment of the Game
The GameDay Thread was well attended with a final tally of 312 comments at time of publishing. Not many Sedona Red comments, but Mike Mono earns tonight’s honor with the most recs for this:
Coming Up
The Diamondbacks face the Cardinals for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow afternoon with a 1:10pm first pitch Arizona time. Right-hander Dustin May (5-6, 4.55 ERA) is listed as the probable starter for The Lou and Brandon Pfaadt (3-1, 4.70 ERA) will get the ball for the good guys.
Jul 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) hits a two RBI single in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
Baseball is back. More importantly, the St. Louis Cardinals are back. After the excitement of the Home Run Derby was enough to last us until Friday, it was good to see the full team back in action. The layoff did not hurt the offense early in the first game of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Cardinals took the lead in the first and, after a back and forth affair, scraped together their 51st win of the season.
Cardinals beat Diamondbacks 5-4
Ivan Herrera got things started against Merrill Kelly, reaching on a Ketel Marte error before moving up on an Alec Burleson single. Jordan Walker fell behind 0-2 in his first at-bat out of the break, but battled back and worked a walk to load the bases with one out. Lars Nootbaar took an ABS called third strike before Masyn Winn clutched up with a two-run single for an early lead. Michael McGreevy tossed a donut in the bottom of the first inning, retiring the side in order while flashing 94mph on the radar gun.
In the second, Jose Fermin looked to keep the lineup moving with a leadoff single but a foreshadowing pickoff took the wind out of the lineup. Kelly worked around a two-out walk to JJ Wetherholt before a nine-pitch at-bat ended in a strikeout of Herrera. When Arizona stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning, it was almost immediate chaos. Catcher Gabriel Moreno tomahawked an 0-2 single then moved up on a bunt single from Max Kepler. With no outs, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s bunt attempt confused Jimmy Crooks behind the plate and the passed ball allowed a free 90 feet.
Gurriel made the mistake hurt right away, driving in Moreno with a long sac fly that allowed Kepler to move up to third. McGreevy kept his composure and was able to wiggle out of the inning with no further damage. He was able to get Nolan Arenado to strikeout with a runner in scoring position (shocker… JK Nolan) and completed his first Houdini Act with a harmless grounder to second.
The offense did nothing in the top of the third in support of McGreevy and the one-run lead disappeared quickly in the home half. Because why not, Tim Tawa hit a 381 foot homer on a 2-1 changeup to bring the score back even before getting the next three in order going into the middle innings. Another 1-2-3 inning for Kelly began the fourth and more wizardry by McGreevy and Winn was needed to keep the score tied.
Moreno hammered a double off the center field wall to begin the home half of the fourth and moved up to third with a groundout. Gurriel Jr. found himself up again just needing a sac fly, but this time he grounded out to third and Fermin kept Moreno stuck at third. Luckily for the Cardinals (sorry again Nolan), Arenado came up with a runner on third on the other team and Winn made an unreal play in the 5-6 hole and sent the game to the fifth.
With one-out in the fifth, the $112.5 million second baseman JJ Wetherholt put the Redbirds back on top with a 402 foot bomb to right field for his 14th homer of the year. The Cardinals were unable to do any further damage against Kelly, but the long at-bats caused his pitch count to hit 87 through five innings of work.
The Cardinals got their opportunity for some insurance against the Diamondbacks bullpen in the sixth inning, but Arizona got their revenge. Jordan Walker legged out an infield single and was limping after the play, but a force out got him off the bases quickly. Winn drew a walk and broke up a double play ball from Nathan Church to give the Cardinals runners on the corners and two outs. Jose Fermin smoked a grounder right up the middle, but Ketel Marte made up for his earlier error with a stellar sliding play to get the out at second and end the threat.
Defense continued to be the trend in the seventh inning. The D’Backs used a double play to end the top half and the bottom of the inning had the Cardinals on the ropes again. McGreevy got Arenado to strike out (again) for his fifth punchout of the game, but Ildemaro Vargas tripled to on the last pitch of McGreevy’s 6.1 inning quality start. Oli Marmol went to George Soriano in relief and Winn did his thing at short again. He made a nice backhand play on a grounder to keep the runner at third before Soriano’s Bugs Bunny changeup got Marte swinging to keep the score 3-2 going into the eighth.
In the eighth, the Cardinals finally got their insurance run but it turned out to be much more important than that. Alec Burleson led off the inning with a walk and moved up on a one-out Nootbaar single, putting Winn at the plate with the opportunity to cash in a big run. Winn did just that, smoking a sac fly to drive in Burly for his third RBI and gave the Cardinals a 4-2 and Luis Gastelum coming in for the bottom of the inning.
JoJo Romero recovering from an appendectomy led to Gastelum getting the call thanks to his own filthy changeup against lefties, but it was his offspeed offering that came back to bite him. An ABS walk started the inning and as leadoff walks tend to do, scored on a line drive Corbin Carroll homer off of the foul pole. No further damage was done but the Cardinals once again would have to fight back after blowing a lead.
Clutch performer Jose Fermin did his best to get things started in the ninth and he reached on a bobbled comebacker by Arizona closer Paul Sewald. Crooks followed up with a four pitch walk to bring the top of the order up with plenty of chances to do some damage. With two strikes, the unflappable rookie JJ Wetherholt lined a 101mph single to center, but it was hit so hard that Fermin had to hold at third, loading the bases with nobody out.
After chasing two nasty sliders out of the zone, Sewald went back to the pitch and hung it enough over the middle of the plate to allow Ivan Herrera to hit a sac fly to center and drive in the go-ahead run. D’Backs manager Torey Lovullo had seen enough from his closer at that point and likely wanted to save him for later in the series so he went to the bullpen again. Lefty Brandyn Garcia took on Burleson to start his outing and the pitcher won the matchup with a strikeout before getting Walker to groundout and keep the score 5-4 heading into the ninth.
All-Star Riley O’Brien took the mound in the ninth and was unable to move past the command issues he saw at the end of the first half. He issued a leadoff walk to Arenado and was not really close on any of his offerings. Despite his inability to find the zone, Vargas fouled off a bunt on the first pitch of his at-bat before Arizona committed their own TOOTBLAN that overshadowed Fermin from earlier. Pinch runner Jorge Barrosa was picked off, which is really the only thing a running specialist cannot do when trailing in the ninth. Vargas then hit a harmless flyout before O’Brien gave up a double to, again why not, Tim Tawa with two outs.
The pick off proved to be massive for the Cardinals as the lineup moved to Ketel Marte at the top of the order. With the tying run on second, O’Brien got ahead 0-2 of the dangerous switch-hitter before Marte laid off a couple pitches. With a 2-2 count, O’Brien was apparently close enough to the strike zone for a called third strike to end the game. Marte did not challenge the pitch and it appears he may have had a fair chance at another offering.
In the win, Luis Gastelum picked up his first major league victory and Michael McGreevy dropped his ERA to a stellar 2.91. The save was O’Brien’s 25th of the season and with the Brewers beating the Marlins, the Cardinals are now back in Wild Card position.
The series continues tomorrow with a 3:10 game and Dustin May on the mound.
Jul 17, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry (39) makes a catch from a pickoff throw during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images
The Tigers avoided a shutout in their first game back after the break with a 2-1 win over the Angels, scoring both their runs in the ninth inning.
Welcome back from the break, everyone! Hopefully the Tigers are feeling refreshed and rested after their downtime, because we’re starting the second half on the West Coast. Perhaps it’s us, the viewers, who need to be well-rested in that case, because we have some late games coming down the pipeline. In our first game back, the Tigers are taking on the Angels and as we have recently observed, they actually do worse against struggling teams, so this could be a rough weekend. To open the series, the Tigers had Troy Melton on the mound up against Reid Detmers for the Angels.
In the top of the first, Dillon Dingler got a two-out single, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert the baserunner. The bottom of the first was rough on Melton. Zach Neto opened the inning with a single, then with one out, Nolan Schanuel walked. Jorge Soler walked behind him. Melton was throwing with heat, but his command wasn’t where it needed to be. Josh Lowe grounded out with the bases loaded to score the first run of the game. Melton did get out of the jam, but he used 27 pitches to get through the first inning. That said, the results could have been much worse given the jam he pitched out of.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the second. In the bottom of the inning, Vaughn Grissom took a leadoff walk. Then he finally got his first strikeout of the game, hopefully that might get his head back in the zone. Melton did indeed have better luck in this inning, getting the next three outs in order.
With two outs in the third, Matt Vierling singled, but the Tigers left him stranded. In the bottom half, Mike Trout got things going with a leadoff double. Schanuel walked. Melton once again pitched out of the jam, though, getting the next three outs in a row.
It was a case of deja vu in the fourth as Riley Greene hit a two-out double. But as with the previous instances of the Tigers getting a man on base, the team left him stranded. Grissom hit a leadoff single into left to start the home half. Logan O’Hoppe, with one out, grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Ben Malegeri got a one-out double in the fifth. But yet more RISPy business as the Tigers failed to capitalize on the baserunner. Neto kicked off the home half with a leadoff single that caused Zach McKinstry to literally slip on his butt stopping the ball, turning the fielding into a Buster Keaton routine that resulted in no outs. Mike Trout struck out, then Neto got caught in a rundown before getting tagged out.
The Tigers went out in order in the top of the sixth, but more importantly, Dan Petry got to put the glove he’s been keeping in the booth to use as he actually caught a wild foul. With two outs in the home half, Melton’s day was done, and Keider Montero came in to get the final out. Melton’s final line was 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K on 94 pitches. If not for the command issues and the walks, it would have been a really strong start. As it was, only giving up a single run was great. He’s got some work to do, but the raw potential is definitely there. He really turned things around in the later innings, so decidedly not worried about Melton.
Ryan Zeferjahn came in out of the Angels’ bullpen in the seventh, and he got the Tigers out in order. And, hey, Tigers, I don’t know if you considered it, but getting a single run at some point would be both cool and helpful. Montero got the Angels out in order in the bottom of the inning.
Sam Bachman was the new Angels pitcher for the eighth inning. Vierling got a two-out single. With McGonigle on a 3-2 count, Vierling stole second. The Angels challenged the safe call at second. By some miracle, the call actually stood (it looked very likely he was out, but not a certainty). It ended up not mattering because McGonigle struck out. Montero continued working in the bottom of the inning and just made the Red Sox look silly, going down in order. So good.
Kirby Yates came in for the ninth, and the Tigers were down to their last chance to make something happen. Dingler was hit by a pitch to start the inning. James Outman came in to pinch-run for Dingler. With one out, Outman stole second. Riley Greene walked. With two outs, Hao-Yu Lee came in to be the hero, hitting a double to score two runs.
Samy Natera Jr. came in and got the final out of the inning. In the home half, Montero was back on the mound, and hit Jorge Soler, putting the leadoff man aboard. Jose Siri singled after showing bunt multiple times. The second out of the inning led to a challenge, though it was a really great play between McGonigle and Torkelson. The call on the field was upheld for the second out. Montero kept it together despite the threat of two runners in scoring position and got the final out of the inning. The Tigers managed to sneak a win out of their first game back from the break.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 17: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts after hitting the game-winning single in the tenth inning against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field on July 17, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Milwaukee Brewers got their second half started with a thrilling pitcher’s duel walk-off victory over the Miami Marlins 2-1.
Most of the scoring was done in the fifth inning on a pair of solo shots. Griffin Conine took Logan Henderson deep to right-center to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. The Brewers then answered back in the bottom half of the 5th with a solo shot to left from Joey Ortiz off Sandy Alcantara.
There was essentially nothing else going on offensively for either team before or after that. Until the 9th inning, when the Brewers started to mount their rally. Joey Ortiz got things started with a two out single against Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks. He then stole second base, Christian Yelich drew a walk and put two runners on for Jackson Chourio.
Chourio ended up striking out looking on a pitch that was outside the zone, but even with two ABS challenges remaining, Chourio did not challenge. So this game went to extra innings.
Craig Yoho was handed the 10th inning and went three up, three down in a scoreless frame, even though he started with a runner on second. Yoho has continued to pitch well. That set the Brewers up perfectly for the bottom of the 10th with the heart of the order due up. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers punched out. They couldn’t put a ball in play, until Garrett Mitchell stepped up to the plate.
With two outs, Mitchell drove a single through the middle and Jackson Chourio was waved home. The throw from Jakob Marsee was up the first base line and the Brewers were able to walk off the Marlins 2-1.
That wasn’t the only heroic effort from Mitchell on the night. He made two incredible running, leaping catches deep in the gaps to rob the Marlins of extra bases and taking the lead late in the game.
And immediately after those catches was when Mitchell came up clutch at the plate.
“I kind of told myself the inning before, ’if I get up here, I’m going to end this game’ That’s just my internal thought process, so when I went up there I just kind of went up there free and trying to be aggressive.” Garrett Mitchell said.
Logan Henderson went five strong innings in this game. The athletic trainer checked on him in the 5th as he was dealing with a forearm cramp. He shooed the trainers away and was able to finish the inning, but was removed after that inning with just 73 pitches.
“He started messing with his arm and he said he threw a cutter and his forearm cramped. Well with his injury history, we weren’t going to take any chances. he said he wanted to continue but we wouldn’t want to take any chances” Murphy said.
The bullpen threw five shutout innings behind Henderson. Chad Patrick, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, and Craig Yoho each covered one inning apiece, with Yoho ultimately getting the win in the 10th for his first career MLB victory.
Also in this game, Sal Frelick exited in the fourth inning with right shoulder soreness. Murphy said postgame that they will get some imaging done, but “I suspect he won’t be able to go anytime soon”. So it sounds like an IL stint could be coming for Frelick. Frelick suffered the injury on a throw in from the outfield the inning before.
The Brewers have reached 60 wins in just 97 games played, the quickest time to reach 60 wins in franchise history. They are the second team in baseball to reach 60 wins this year, behind, of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Shane Drohan and Max Meyer will duel things out on Saturday afternoon as the series against the Marlins continues.
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 17: Spencer Steer #7 of the Cincinnati Reds slides and scores on an eighth inning inside-the-park home run against Hunter Goodman #15 of the the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Gabriel Hughes gave the Colorado Rockies a start they could win with Friday night.
The offense did not do enough with it, and the bullpen could not keep the game close once he left.
Hughes allowed two runs across 5.1 innings, but Colorado managed only six hits and no walks in a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
The Rockies fell to 39-60. Cincinnati improved to 44-52.
Colorado tied the game in the fifth and remained even into the sixth. The Reds then hit consecutive home runs against Jimmy Herget and scored in each of the final four innings.
Meanwhile, Brady Singer retired the first 12 Rockies and never allowed the offense to build sustained pressure.
Hughes continues to look like a big-league pitcher
Gabriel Hughes gave up a leadoff single to Elly De La Cruz and an RBI double to Sal Stewart before recording an out, but the inning did not get away from him.
JJ Bleday moved Stewart to third with a flyout. Hughes then struck out Spencer Steer and froze Eugenio Suárez with a called third strike to strand the runner.
Hughes retired eight straight hitters beginning with those final three outs of the first inning.
Cincinnati continued creating traffic, but Hughes repeatedly worked through it. Tyler Freeman threw Stewart out at third base to end the third inning after Bleday singled sharply to right.
Hughes stranded Suárez following a one-out double in the fourth, then picked De La Cruz off first to finish the fifth.
He opened the sixth by striking out Stewart with an 84.5 mph sweeper below the zone. Hughes walked Bleday on his 82nd and final pitch before the Rockies went to the bullpen.
Hughes finished with 5.1 innings, five hits, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. The second run charged to him scored after he left.
The pitch mix supported the line. Hughes used six pitches, led by 41 four-seam fastballs. The pitch averaged 92.3 mph, topped out at 94.6 and produced 12 called strikes and three whiffs.
He paired it with a slider and sweeper in the mid-80s and a curveball that averaged 78.7 mph. The separation gave hitters three distinct velocity bands to cover, while his breaking pitches accounted for five of the six strikeouts.
The arsenal worked because Hughes attacked the zone. He threw 63% of his pitches for strikes, put 59% in the zone and delivered first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 21 hitters he faced.
Cincinnati hit seven balls hard, but Hughes paired eight whiffs with 16 called strikes and did not allow a home run. More importantly, he continued showing that traffic does not have to become a big inning. He looked like a big leaguer.
“There is a lot to love with how he carries himself,” manager Warren Schaeffer said postgame. “It is a really difficult environment when you first get to the big leagues, and you are making your first two starts after putting in a lot of time in the minor leagues. So for him to show the confidence out there on the mound is a big deal.”
Singer keeps the Rockies quiet
Brady Singer controlled the game with a sinker-slider combination that accounted for 81 of his 96 pitches.
The sinker averaged 91.7 mph, while the slider sat at 82.4. That separation kept Colorado from settling into one speed, and the slider generated 11 whiffs on 26 swings.
Singer finished seven innings with four hits, two runs, no walks and six strikeouts. He generated 17 whiffs and posted a 31% called-strike-plus-whiff rate.
Colorado put 20 balls in play against him, but 11 were grounders and the average exit velocity was 85.2 mph.
TJ Rumfield finally broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single to begin the fifth.
Kyle Karros followed with a grounder that could have become a double play, but De La Cruz’s throw pulled Stewart off first. Karros ran hard and remained aboard.
Willi Castro then singled to right, moving Karros to third, and Troy Johnston tied the game with a sacrifice fly. De La Cruz later mishandled Freeman’s grounder, but Ezequiel Tovar grounded into a forceout to end the inning.
Colorado had tied the game, but it never forced Singer away from his preferred plan.
The sixth inning changes the game
The Rockies turned to Jimmy Herget after Hughes walked Bleday.
The game changed almost immediately.
Steer drove a 90.6 mph sinker 404 feet to left for a two-run homer. Suárez followed by sending an 80.3 mph sweeper over the left-field wall, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 deficit.
Herget retired the next two hitters, but the Reds had created the separation Singer needed.
Cincinnati added another run in the seventh after Tovar’s throwing error put Ke’Bryan Hayes on second. De La Cruz followed with an infield single off Victor Vodnik, and Stewart drove Hayes home with a sacrifice fly.
The run was unearned, but it widened a game Colorado was already struggling to chase.
Castro supplied the Rockies’ best answer in the bottom half. He lifted an 83.1 mph slider 382 feet to left for his eighth home run, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
The Rockies produced scattered opportunities after Singer’s early dominance, but none developed into a full rally.
Jake McCarthy singled to begin the sixth and stole second after Mickey Moniak flew out. Hunter Goodman struck out, and Rumfield flew out to leave McCarthy stranded.
Colorado threatened again against Brock Burke in the eighth. McCarthy reached on a hit-by-pitch, and Cole Carrigg lined a pinch-hit single to center.
Carrigg then made a nifty slide to avoid the force at second on Goodman’s grounder, leaving runners at second and third with two outs rather than ending the inning with a double play.
Rumfield flew out to right.
The Rockies finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, recorded no two-out RBI and did not draw a walk.
Steer opened the eighth with an inside-the-park home run after his drive kicked away from McCarthy in deep right-center. Freeman retrieved the ball, but Tovar’s relay came home on an in-between hop that Goodman could not handle.
De La Cruz added a 434-foot solo home run against Jeff Criswell in the ninth.
Johnston doubled with two outs in the bottom half, but Freeman grounded out to end the game.
Final notes
Castro led the Rockies by going 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. He was Colorado’s only player with multiple hits.
McCarthy went 1-for-3, was hit by a pitch and stole his 16th base. Carrigg singled in his only plate appearance and remained in the game in center field.
Goodman finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
The Rockies recorded six hits, struck out eight times and stranded six runners.
Steer drove in three runs and homered twice, including the inside-the-park homer. De La Cruz went 4-for-5 with two runs and his 16th home run.
Singer earned the win and improved to 4-9. Hughes fell to 0-1 despite delivering another encouraging start.
The offense was flat, and the bullpen allowed a close game to become a comfortable Cincinnati win. Still, Hughes gave the Rockies something meaningful to carry forward.
His arsenal had enough shape and velocity separation. He attacked the strike zone. He missed bats and managed traffic.
The result was disappointing.
The start was not.
Up next
The Rockies and Reds continue their series Saturday afternoon at Coors Field.
Cincinnati will start right-hander Chase Lowder, who enters at 3-6 with a 4.91 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
Colorado is expected to start right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, but the Rockies had not officially announced their starter.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. MDT. The game will be available on Rockies.TV and Reds.TV.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 17: Gunnar Henderson #2, Colton Cowser #17, and Leody Taveras #30 of the Baltimore Orioles react after a win against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on July 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re into the second half of the season now, folks (not numerically, just post All-Star break), a stretch where a bunch of contending teams are going to go head-to-head in an attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff.
So which one are the Orioles?
More chaff than wheat … but only for the first seven innings! The Orioles were playing catch-up the whole game, with Houston building a 1-0, then 2-1 lead off O’s starter Dean Kremer as the Birds were kept in check by Houston righty Peter Lambert over six one-run innings in which he struck out 10. But, just like a (hopeful) late season playoff run, they stormed ahead with two runs in the top of the eighth. Adley Rutschman hit a ground-rule double deep to the right corner off reliever Bryan King, and Taylor Ward homered (his seventh) into the stands to put Baltimore up 3-2, their first lead of the game.
And just like that, the Orioles are winning.
Adley Rutschman leads off the inning with a double off Astros LHP Bryan King, and Taylor Ward blasts a two-run homer to LCF.
Orioles lead 3-2 thanks to Ward's homer and reliever Cam Sanders escaping that jam in the 7th. pic.twitter.com/iXM4nIRFlS
And, despite a depleted bullpen asked to cover five innings, that lead held. Anthony Nunez covered two innings, Grant Wolfram was messy but didn’t blow it, and new guy Cam Sanders, acquired in a cash trade from Pittsburgh on Monday, pitched a critical inning of his own, entering in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out before whiffing Isaac Paredes and getting Christian Walker to pop out. Andrew Kittredge was steady in the eighth, and Tyler Wells held on in a crazy ninth.
As for the O’s Dean Kremer, look, this wasn’t his best start. He struggled with command all night and only lasted four innings on 83 pitches. But to his credit, he did one thing particularly well: keep the Astros from scoring bunches of runs. He allowed just two of those and gave his team a chance to write a late-inning comeback.
Kremer put his team in a one-run hole in the first inning. The O’s starter walked leadoff hitter Jeremy Peña and did what everybody said not to do before this series: he pitched to Yordan Alvarez [groan], a man hitting nearly 90 percentage points better than the rest of his team. Kremer left a low fastball in the middle of the zone and Alvarez doubled off the center-field wall, driving in Peña. Talk about a one-man wrecking crew.
We were still in the first with no outs, and Isaac Paredes singled. But Kremer fought. He got a big-boy strikeout of cleanup hitter Christian Walker, deploying a healthy amount of sinkers. Battling against José Altuve, Kremer went to a 3-2 count before he drew a bouncing double play ball. Inning over; further damage avoided.
It never got easy for him tonight, but Kremer kept limiting the damage. In the second inning, he threw 30 pitches and walked two. But he got out of it, aided by a Rutschman-to-Holliday caught stealing. Battling, Kremer sandwiched a walk of Lucas Spence, making his MLB debut, between two strikeouts. Laborious but scoreless.
For the better part of innings, Houston’s Peter Lambert shut the Orioles down with his nasty right-to-left stuff, sort of like the mirror image of a lefty. The Orioles got their first and only run off him in the third inning, as Lambert lost his finesse and walked three. Coby Mayo figured him out first, smacking a cutter with ease into the outfield. The next two hitters made quick outs. But Adley Rutschman and Taylor Ward worked a pair of walks, looking like tough ABs the both of them. Pete Alonso came up with the bases juiced. Lambert threw him a lot of junk, but he just missed with Pitch No. 7. It was his third walk of the inning, and it tied the game, 1-1.
Still no smooth sailing for Dean Kremer, but also no collapses. The Astros made it 2-1 in the third on two hits and a sac fly. But a stronger Kremer kept the Astros at bay with a quick one-two-three fourth. Looks like he’d found his stuff! Regrettably, we’d see no more of Kremer after that. He was pulled after 83 pitches and four innings.
In the fifth, the O’s turned to Anthony Nunez, and to their defense. Catcher Christian Vázquez hit a one-handed ball over the infielders, but Jackson Holliday, dancing and prancing like a deer, made a running over-the-shoulder catch. Peña hit a warning-track shot that Colton Cowser reeled in with ease. And after Alvarez walked (his third time on base), Paredes cued a foul ball towards first that Pete Alonso made a great running catch on.
Grant Wolfram took the baton in the seventh, and frankly, he made kind of a mess. He allowed a leadoff single and two walks. But, if you have a sense of drama, you can see that all Wolfy did was tee up a great chance for Cam Sanders’ early heroics with his new team. Sanders whiffed Isaac Paredes and got Christian Walker (really ineffective tonight) to pop out. It was a big escape.
What an Orioles debut for Cam Sanders.
Sanders, who was acquired from the Pirates in a cash trade Monday, enters with the bases loaded and one out in a 2-1 game. He then strikes out Isaac Paredes and gets Christian Walker to pop out.
That set the stage for the O’s late heroics off a new Houston reliever, Bryan King. Not King’s night, as Adley and Ward hit back-to-back extra base hits, putting the Birds up for the first and final time.
The Orioles don’t quite have a closer right now, but Tyler Wells impersonated one just convincingly enough in the ninth inning. It got dicey, though: with one out, he allowed a single, then a flyout, then a walk. But Christian Walker couldn’t come through with two men on, swinging through a Wells fastball instead.
The Orioles were behind all game, but they came out on top tonight. The wins count all the same. And with this one, the O’s have leapfrogged Houston in the standings, with only three teams currently separating them from a wild card spot. Time to start stacking more of these!
Who was your Most Birdland Player tonight? Taylor Ward, with the go-ahead home run? Cam Sanders, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in his Orioles debut? Adley Rutschman, with a double and a caught stealing?
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 17: Jeremy Peña #3 of the Houston Astros hits a single during the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Daikin Park on July 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The second half of the season is officially underway. Unfortunately for Houston, they’ve started off on the wrong foot, disappointing the assembled crowd of 31,867 with a late inning blown lead. Orioles 3 Astros 2. The Orioles have now won five in a row and have passed Houston in the wildcard standings.
Peter Lambert’s career high ten strikeouts would be wasted as reliever Bryan King’s struggles continued. In the top of the 8th, Adley Rutschman would double deep to right, moments later scoring on Taylor Ward’s homerun. King has now allowed three homeruns in each of his last three outings.
Jeremy Pena led off things with a walk and was brought home for the game’s first run on Yordan Alvarez’s 18th double of the season. For Alvarez, it would represent his 71st RBI.
In the third inning, the O’s would tie things up at 1-1. Pete Alonso would draw a bases loaded walk, sending home Coby Mayo. Lambert would walk three straight batters in the inning, his only real trouble during an otherwise fantastic outing. In the bottom of the frame, Pena and Alvarez would continue their 1-2 punch, each reaching safely on a pair of singles. Isaac Paredes would bring home Pena on a sacrifice fly, making it 2-1. That would be the score until King’s shortcomings.
Dean Kremer entered the night having a perfect career 4-0 record verses Houston. However, on this night, he’d last just four innings, throwing 83 pitches. Kremer allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five. Baltimore would utilize six different arms in victory.
Late on Friday night, the Astros would have plenty of chances. In the bottom of the seventh, they’d load the bases but failed to expand their lead. In the ninth, Pena and Paredes would reach, but once again, Christian Walker failed to deliver, striking out to end the game.
Odds & Ends:
Lucas Spence made his MLB debut. In his first AB, he drew a walk after completing a 9-pitch sequence. Spence would also single in the bottom of the seventh, notching his first hit in the major leagues.
Pete Alonso has now played in 514 consecutive games.
Saturday contest will be the 100th game of the 26′ season for the Astros. Spencer Arrighetti will take the mound; he’ll be opposed by Trevor Rogers. First pitch set for 3:10pm CDT. Game promotion will feature a Christmas in July theme.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 17: Taylor Ward #3 of the Baltimore Orioles runs the bases after a two run home run during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on July 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is Friday night.
The Orioles have won a fifth straight game. No, really! Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, helping the O’s in a game where they only got five hits. A parade of pitchers, starting with Dean Kremer and including brand new Oriole Cam Sanders, contributed to holding the Astros to just two runs in the game, capped by Tyler Wells getting through the ninth inning that included having to get out Yordan Álvarez, which he did! The Orioles passed the Astros in the wild card standings with this victory.
Jul 17, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen (22) doubles in the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
The Royals wasted opportunity after opportunity all night until, finally, they didn’t. Carter Jensen got his first walk-off hit as a Royal with a two-run single in the bottom of the tenth to give the Royals a 7-6 victory.
Seth Lugo had a really good bounce-back start tonight. He only struck out 3 while walking 2, but he also allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings. His first quality start since July 1st, and only his second since June. He gave up some hard contact in the first inning, starting things off by giving Jac Caglianone a home run-robbing opportunity (successful) in right, followed immediately by a leaping grab by Isaac Collins in left. As funny as it was to see the difference in how high the two guys can get when leaping, it was a bit scary for how the game would go.
Lane Thomas gave the Royals an early lead with the longest home run of his career leading off the bottom of the second.
The Royals wasted a further opportunity when Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch and Michael Massey singled. In the bottom of the third, Carter Jensen led off with a double and the Royals couldn’t advance him.
In the top of the fifth, the Padres got runners at second and third with one out, and the Royals chose to bring the infield in. Lugo did exactly what he wanted, forcing a groundball to second, but it clanged off of Massey’s glove into center to allow both runs to score and the Padres to take the lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Thomas led off again and singled to left. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a walk, and with runners on first and second, Salvador Perez hit a routine groundball to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop. Bogaerts double-clutched and then threw the ball into the outfield. That allowed Thomas to score and Vinnie to advance to third. But with runners at first and third, Massey struck out, and Nick Loftin gave them another double play opportunity that they didn’t screw up. Still, the game was tied.
It remained that way even after Steven Cruz pitched the seventh and John Schreiber pitched the eighth. Then Jac Caglianone led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right. Tyler Tolbert immediately pinch ran for him and then stole second, making sure to keep his hand on the bag at all times. Lane Thomas grounded to second, sending Thomas to third, and all Vinnie needed to do was get the ball in the air. Unfortunately, he hit a dribbler back to Adrian Morejon. The contact play was on, and despite Tolbert’s attempt to deek Morejon, he was thrown out at home. But the Royals weren’t done there.
Vinnie stole his fourth bag of the year, which led to a weird sequence where Morejon threw a strike to Salvy before the Padres decided to intentionally walk him and face the lefty, Massey. Massey watched two 100+ MPH sinkers to get down two strikes, but he wasn’t watching the third.
Alex Lange-xiety came on for the ninth inning and got two outs before, who else, Ty France whacked a game-tying home run.
The Royals weren’t done wasting opportunities, either. In the bottom of the ninth, the Padres went to Mason Miller. Miller is so good as a reliever that there was some buzz early in the year about him winning the Cy Young award. That seems unlikely as long as The Mis stays healthy for the remainder of the year, but he’ll get some votes. He came into the game with an ERA under 1.00, 2.5 fWAR as a reliever midway through the season, and he had struck out 72 in 49.2 innings – nearly 2 batters per inning!
Isaac Collins doinked a single just on the line in left field, then Carter Jensen ripped a double off the base of the wall in right. Miller intentionally walked Bobby to get to Tyler Tolbert, so the Royals pinch-hit Josh Rojas. He struck out. Lane Thomas struck out. Vinnie Pasquantino struck out.
In the top of the tenth, Matt Quatraro looked at his rogues’ gallery of a bullpen and, perhaps at random, chose Lucas Erceg to try to preserve the tie. Coming into the inning, the Padres had not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position. Most Royals fans, I think, knew that was about to end.
Erceg got some awkward swings from Miguel Andujar on sliders away, but eventually gave up a double bouncing down the first base line to give the Padres a lead they would not relinquish. To no one’s surprise, the pain didn’t end there. Erceg bobbled a Sung-Mun Song sacrifice bunt attempt into runners at first and third with no outs. Fernando Tatis Jr. smoked a single over the drawn-in infield to drive in another run with Song running to third. Song scored on a sacrifice fly by Bogaerts to give us our final score.
By rule, the Royals were set to send three batters up in the bottom of the tenth, even though everyone knew the game was over. The Padres knew it so well that they sent Kyle Hart – with a career 6.78 ERA – to earn his first career big league save.
Salvy managed to get one off the end of his bat into left to send Vinnie to third while Salvy went to first. Michael Massey got an infield single to give the Royals a pity run, but surely that would be the end. Nick Loftin attempted to bunt the tying run into scoring position, but his bunt was too good, and Kyle Hart made the mistake of fielding the ball. It seemed like it might go foul, but it definitely never had a chance of being an out. Collins went to the plate with the bases loaded and the tying run at second. He hit a slow roller to the right side, and the Padres could only get one out; the Royals had gotten the game within one for Carter Jensen. I was already telling my dad about how the Padres would walk Bobby again after they got Carter out to face Rojas and finish the game.
Carter watched a sinker down the middle and then swung at another, hitting a soft roller into left past the diving Bogaerts. It was a good thing the ball was hit so softly because it allowed Loftin to score the winning run from second.
Lucas Erceg gets an undeserved win, Seth Lugo and Mason Miller get nothing for their hard work. Alex Lange got his first blown save as a Royal. As noted at the top, Carter got his first walk-off hit. The Royals were 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position heading into the bottom of the tenth. They finished the night 5-for-20. It was one of the more improbable wins the Royals have ever earned. Perhaps the most improbable of this disappointing year.
The Royals can get a series victory tomorrow afternoon. Griffin Canning will pitch for the Padres; the Royals still have TBD as of this writing. It won’t be Stephen Kolek as the Royals want him to make a rehab start before returning to the big league club following his extended absence on the family medical emergency list. The game will start at 3:10 PM Central. See you then.
Gerrit Cole was dominating the Dodgers on Friday night through six innings, allowing just three singles and the Yankees staked him to a 1-0 lead.
However, Cole came out in the seventh with already 90 pitches under his belt. He battled with Mookie Betts, but the shortstop worked a walk, forcing manager Aaron Boone to come out.
Southpaw Brent Headrick was already warmed up in the bullpen to potentially face the left-handed Max Muncy, but Boone had a conversation with Cole, and he left the veteran out there.
Cole and Muncy battled, but a 90 mph slider over the heart of the plate resulted in a two-run shot, the decisive blow in a 2-1 loss.
"I was feeling the situation out," Boone said of the decision after the game. "Obviously, in hindsight, I probably should grab him there. Pitched so well. I felt like he was competitive back in the Mookie at-bat. I felt like he had enough to get Max and jumps out in front of him. But then [Muncy] got a mistake.
"I got Headrick teed up there. That's on me. I should probably get him there, even though it felt like he was in a good place and obviously threw the ball great tonight."
Boone asked Cole if he had one more batter in him, and Cole said he did, but the longtime Yankees skipper recognized his mistake and needed to take the decision out of his player's hands.
"That falls on me," Boone reiterated.
"I looked at the pitch. It's not where I wanted, but I looked at the swing and it was pretty excellent," Cole said of the Muncy at-bat. "But yea, it stinks."
The homer put a damper on what was Cole's best start since elbow surgery more than a year ago. He threw a season-high 103 pitches and struck out eight batters in that formidable Dodgers lineup.
Despite the loss, Cole and Boone are encouraged by the right-hander's performance and what it could mean as the Yankees start the second half of the season.
"Back-to-back outstanding outings for him. And tonight was really good," Boone said of Cole's outing. "I thought he was just really sharp. I thought he used all his pitches, his secondary well. The change up right away, especially for some of their lefties, was a factor. He spun the ball well, and then I thought he was really spotting his fastball, which had life to it. He threw the heck out of the ball."
"It's nice to push the stamina to, get back out there and, for an extra hitter and just keep going for it," Cole said. "Keep competing, so that's great. Learning opportunity physically and obviously, hitting deeper into the second half, a good learning opportunity as well that it's not over till it's over. You got to keep making pitches, especially against, a great team like the Dodgers."
Following Friday's start, Cole is now 3-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.93 and has now allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his 10 starts, including two runs or fewer in six of those starts.
The Yankees will look to bounce back when they take on the Dodgers again Saturday night.
Jul 17, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher CJ Van Eyk (58) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in his MLB debut during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Well, I guess the four day break didn’t solve everything that’s wrong with the Blue Jays. This one got out of hand early, with the eventual winning run scoring in the second inning. The pitching was bad, and while the offence managed three home runs they were still held to just seven hits by an unimposing White Sox pitching staff composed mostly of their own castaways.
17 days to the deadline, so if they’re going to get anything going it has to be now. Personally, I wouldn’t bet on it.
No need to go through all the details, but as a quick recap:
Spencer Miles had a 1-2-3 first inning, but Chicago jumped him for five in the second on three singles, a double, and a Sam Antonacci home run. He’d pull it together and keep the game within reach for two more innings, but a lead-off single in the fifth would knock him out.
Adam Macko allowed the inherited runner and two of his own to cross, on a single, a walk and a Colson Montgomery double.
Patrick Corbin had a decent sixth, working around a single, but a single, walk and error would load the bases in the seventh. Derek Fisher gave up a triple to Braden Montgomery, misplayed by Myles Straw in the right field corner, that scored all three inherited runners. A sac fly cashed Montgomery for the White Sox’ 12th.
CJ Van Eyk, in his MLB debut, mopped up with two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Welcome to the show CJ, it’s usually more exciting than this.
The Blue Jays’ first run came in the third. Ernie Clement was hit by Anthony Kay’s pitch, moved to third on a Vladimir Guerrero jr. line single, and after Kazuma Okamoto walked he scored on a George Springer ground out.
The second, third, and fourth were all solo home runs. Luis Urias went out to left in the fourth, Springer did the same in the fifth, and Brandon Valenzuela took it down the right field line in the sixth.
Other than that, Clement had a pair of hits, Alejandro Kirk chipped in one of his own and walked twice, Okamoto was hit by a pitch, and Sean Keys walked for Guerrero in the ninth.
Jays of the Day: Nobody qualifies, but Clement and Kirk each got on three times, it’s not their fault that it didn’t matter.
Less so: Miles (-0.32), Macko (-0.10), Varsho (-0.10)
We’re back tomorrow at 3:07pm ET. Shane Bieber (0-1, 7.64) will try to get his season going against Davis Martin (9-4, 3.41).
