Category: Baseball

Whenever someone asks why I’m a fan of sports, I often point to any number of reasons from the simple – it’s entertaining – to the more esoteric – it’s a matter of civic pride. I also often answer that sports can offer a kind of catharsis that you can rarely find in our everyday lives. That’s particularly true for baseball which inherently creates tension through a lack of action – only for the eventual resolution to provide a special kind of resolution. I suspect the entire D-Backs’ offense felt an incredible kind of catharsis this afternoon. After losing a frustrating game in the series opener and needing extra-inning magic to eke out a win last night, the Diamondbacks were staring down a series loss against an Athletics team that seems stuck in neutral. Instead, the offense erupted for their highest run total in nearly two years to take a crucial series win as the team attempts to convince the front office to buy at the Trade Deadline or at least convince them not to sell.

The first time through the lineup, the D-Backs failed to generate much offense against rookie Gage Jump, making just his eleventh career start. The young lefty utilized his excellent fastball to generate several weak swings and misses along with plenty of weak contact. But starting with the second time through the lineup, the batters clearly made some adjustments beginning with Corbin Carroll who opened the team’s scoring with a solo shot to left field while Nolan Arenado followed with his own one batter later to knot the score at 2-2. That was just the amuse-bouche however as the main course came one inning later when the game unraveled for the rookie. Ketel Marte began with a leadoff double and scored on a wild pitch, Gabriel Moreno took Jump deep with his own solo shot, Arenado worked a walk and moved to second on yet another wild pitch, and Ildemaro Vargas doubled him in to end Jump’s afternoon. Amazingly, the fun wasn’t over as James McCann took the very first pitch from reliever Yunior Tur into the left field bleachers to put the Snakes up by five. Ryan Waldschmidt even got the proverbial monkey off his back with his first career homer at the big league level to cap off the inning and turn the game into a rout. And if you weren’t already full, the dessert course was just as much fun as the rest of the dinner. Carroll collected his major league-leading 11th triple and scored on yet another wild pitch, the D-Backs loaded the bases on three consecutive walks and then cashed them all in with knocks by McCann and Tim Tawa to turn the game into a true laugher. In all, the offense scored 14 runs in three innings and did it in impressive fashion with plenty of power, timely hitting, and excellent at-bats up and down the lineup. Every starter except for Geraldo Perdomo had at least one hit and the team had the same number of walks as strikeouts for the game. It’s hard to encapsulate and the video may do it even more justice:

On the flip side, this felt like a perfect opportunity for Merrill Kelly to feel absolutely no pressure as his offense clearly had the game in hand and focus on trying to return to the form we know he can have. Instead, we saw much of the same type of struggles that have plagued him all season: an inability to put hitters away, a lack of command that leads to walks, and depending all too much on the changeup as a putaway pitch. The final line on the veteran for the afternoon (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) isn’t bad, but it masks some bad luck on the Athletics bouncing into two separate double play balls. Now that those pesky Athletics are out of the way, here’s hoping the team can quickly regroup for the latest in “most important series of the year” with about a week and a half until the Trade Deadline.

For weeks, Aaron Boone considered Paul Blackburn a secret.

Despite the right-handed reliever piling up zeroes out of the bullpen, he was going unnoticed.

That’s beginning to change.

“About a week ago, 10 days ago, somebody asked me about the job he had done,” Boone said after Blackburn delivered two innings of shutout relief to help the Yankees take Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader over the Pirates, 2-0, and salvage a split in The Bronx. “It had been about a month-plus of some really good work — whether it be a high-leverage situation, whether it’s giving you multiple innings on a given night.

“It’s been about six weeks where he’s gotten his stuff in a really good place. He’s another guy like [Brent] Headrick, you feel good about going through lefties and righties. He’s been big for us.”

The veteran righty is enjoying a terrific year, pitching to a 2.00 ERA after his latest performance. He has given up just one earned run over his past 14 appearances dating back to June 21 spanning 21 ¹/₃ innings.

After using high-leverage arms David Bednar, Fernando Cruz and Headrick in the opener, Blackburn’s two frames were integral to the victory. He inherited a runner on first base in the seventh, and when Jared Triolo stole second and went to third on catcher Ali Sánchez’s throwing error, the Pirates were set up to take the lead.

But Blackburn struck out Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna to escape trouble, and the Yankees broke through in the bottom half of the inning.

The 32-year-old veteran joined the Yankees last year after he was released by the Mets in August. He didn’t perform well, but he enjoyed his time in The Bronx and returned on a one-year deal. This year, he has taken off.

“Just when I showed up last year, I didn’t know what to expect,” Blackburn said. “I walked in, there was a plan for me from day one. It just seemed like they were interested in helping me and getting me back to where they thought I could be.”

One major factor: increased velocity. It is up across the board for Blackburn. He is averaging a career-best 94.2 mph on his sinker, up from 92.6 a year ago, and it has made his secondary pitches more effective.

“I had a full offseason this year,” Blackburn said. “I focused on little different things I needed to get stronger and [gain] more mobility. Just ran with it.”

The trade deadline fast approaches and (stop me if you’ve heard this before) the Braves HAVE to add at least one quality starting pitcher if they want to expect any serious postseason success (setting aside the performance on offense). Without adding a postseason-quality starter, they would need to operate a three or four man rotation that would involve at least two of Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, Reynaldo Lopez, Martin Perez, JR Ritchie, Owen Murphy, Didier Fuentes, Spencer Schwellenbach, and AJ Smith-Shawver. While you can squint in that list and see a pathway or two for passable postseason pitching, it’s certainly unlikely and only so much can be papered over by creative pitcher usage. Trades are hard to negotiate and this front office has been very firm on sticking to their value judgements, but this team simply cannot be a serious postseason contender (outside of general baseball variance) without adding at least one playoff-quality starter.

Braves News

The Braves brought back Martin Perez, sending down JR Ritchie, after he covered 3.2 innings Tuesday.

Scott discussed four trades that would make sense for the Braves, at least in terms of realistic player additions.

The Braves won a weird game against the Padres 7-6.

MLB News

Fangraphs continued their annual trade value rankings, with spots 30-21.

Red Sox’ ace Garrett Crochet is hoping to return from injury in time for the playoffs.

The Royals traded a pitching prospect to the Astros for Nate Pearson.

Bobby Witt is hitting the IL with lower back tightness, which hopefully is a short term ailment.

The mood in the clubhouse shifted as much as the sky, as the frustration of a matinee was overshadowed by the celebration of a nightcap. 

But there wasn’t much difference between the Yankees’ 2-0 series-clinching win over the Pirates and the 5-3 extra-inning loss that ended hours earlier, as their struggling offense was held without a run in 16 of 18 innings. 

The Yankees have been held to fewer than six runs in 28 of their past 30 games and have scored a total of 18 runs in the six games since the All-Star break, including eight in Monday’s win over Pittsburgh. 

“We gotta improve there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like I’ve said that a lot here over the last month. We know we gotta produce better offensively, and consistently, night in and night out. We’re working to get that done. For us to reach our peak we gotta get some guys going and be more consistent.” 

It will have to come from a lineup that has offered few reasons to believe — which has ranked 28th in runs, 30th in batting average (.206), 30th in on-base percentage (.262), 26th in slugging percentage (.366) and second in strikeouts in the past month. 

It will have to come without Giancarlo Stanton, who is “much closer” to returning, according to Boone, but not close enough to offer a timeline.

And it will have to come without Aaron Judge, who has been out since May 31, when the Yankees were 13 games over .500. 

Now, they are 12 games over .500. 

“It’s Aaron Judge, it’s a massive presence,” Boone said of the impact of the captain’s absence. “But again, he’s not there right now. Look at these names, we have a lot of good names here, capable, and we gotta step it up a little better.” 

Those names combined for 12 strikeouts and six hits (four singles) in the first game of the doubleheader, while batting 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. All three runs in Game 1 came on Ben Rice’s 30th home run of the season in the seventh inning. 

Game 2 offered even less optimism, as the Yankees recorded just two hits through the first six innings. Then, a pair of once-hyped prospects briefly inspired hope again. 

After Cody Bellinger worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, Jasson Domínguez brought the first run home with a two-out double to left. On the next pitch, Anthony Volpe ripped a hit to left — following a pair of defensive misplays — to record his second RBI since June 20. 

The struggling youngsters saved the day. 

But who will save the season? 

“We need everyone to step up,” Boone said. 

Clippers 0, Saints 9

This was all around a very tough game for the Clippers. They were held to just two hits with 7 strikeouts to just 1 walk.

Rorik Maltrud has been pretty solid this season, but he had arguably his worst start of the season today. He allowed 7 earned runs and 4 home runs in just 3.2 innings pitched. His ERA is now up to 4.31 on the season. Trevor Stephan still cannot seem to figure it out post surgery. He allowed two earned runs tonight in 1.1 inning pitched. Codi Heuer, Alaska Abney, and Jake Miller combined for 3 scoreless innings of relief.

RubberDucks 7, Curve 6

A huge performance from Alex Mooney helped the RubberDucks win in extra innings tonight. He went 3-4 with 2 RBIs and the game winning sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the 10th. Jaison Chourio hit an absolute BOMB to tie the game when pinch hitting in the bottom of the 9th. Nick Mitchell also went 2-4 with an RBI. Angel Martinez went 1-4 with a walk in his rehab performance, he looks to be close to his return to Cleveland.

It’s been a tough year for Dylan DeLucia, he had an ok start tonight. He allowed two earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. His ERA is now at 6.88 on the season.

Captains 9, TinCaps 1

Despite only having 6 hits, this was a dominant performance from the Captains. Tommy Hawke led the way, going 2-3 with two walks with a triple. Jonah Advincula went 1-3 with a walk and a two RBI single. Juan Benjamin also had a huge two RBI single in the top of the 4th inning.

The highlight of this game was easily Jacob Zibin’s performance. He tossed 4 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and zero walks. He has flown somewhat under the radar this year but he is a pitching prospect that is very intriguing. I think there is certainly potential there for a big league future if he can clean up some things. Jogly Garcia and Cam Schuelke combined for 5 scoreless innings of relief.

Howlers 6, Shorebirds 4

Dauri Fernandez led the way for the Howlers tonight, going 3-5 with a huge three RBI double in the bottom of the 8th inning. Cannon Peebles went 1-3 with two walks and an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. It’s been an injury riddled season for Riley Nelson but he went 1-2 with two walks and an RBI double tonight. Hopefully he is starting to feel healthy after all the injuries he has dealt with this season.

Nelson Keljo had one of his better performances of the season. He has had no issue striking out batters this year, but he has had an issue keeping runs off the board. Tonight he was effective at both, allowing just one run in 5 innings pitched with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks. His ERA is now down to 4.84 on the season.

After getting thoroughly humbled Tuesday night, the White Sox responded the way good teams do.

Chicago (54-47) scratched out timely hits, got a dominant performance from the bullpen, and knocked off the Rangers, 4-2, on Wednesday night to secure its 18th series win of the season. Even better, Cleveland fell to the Twins 10-6, pushing the Good Guys back into sole possession of first place in the AL Central by one game heading into Thursday’s off day.

Texas starter Tyler Alexander retired the first four White Sox hitters before Chicago finally broke through. Braden Montgomery drew a walk and raced to third on a wild pitch before Chase Meidroth lined an RBI single to center to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead. Andrew Benintendi immediately bounced into a double play, preventing the inning from becoming something bigger.

The advantage lasted only until the bottom of the second, when Anthony Kay surrendered a two-out solo homer to rookie Cam Cauley — his first major league home run after being called up on June 29 — tying the game at one.

Kay navigated traffic throughout his outing, escaping a first-and-third jam in the third by striking out former White Sox first-round pick Jake Burger.

The Good Guys rewarded Kay in the fourth. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery each worked walks before Braden grounded into a force out, putting runners on the corners. Meidroth once again delivered with an RBI single, and Benintendi followed with an RBI knock of his own to stretch the lead to 3-1. Edgar Quero, recalled from Charlotte on Monday, drew another walk to load the bases, but Tristan Peters popped out to end the threat.

Kay, however, continued to make life difficult for himself. Brandon Nimmo singled and Ezequiel Duran doubled to open the bottom of the fourth before Kay plunked Cauley, his MLB-leading 19th hit batter of the season, to load the bases. Elías Díaz grounded into a double play, allowing one run to score, but Kay escaped further damage by striking out Alejandro Osuna to preserve a 3-2 lead. He worked around another jam in the fifth by stranding two more runners.

Chicago’s offense added an important insurance run in the sixth. Braden knocked a one-out single, Meidroth collected his third hit of the night, and Benintendi delivered again with an RBI base hit to center to make it 4-2. Quero and Peters couldn’t cash in the remaining runners, but the extra run proved more than enough.

From there, the Sox bullpen slammed the door.

Jordan Hicks worked around a pair of defensive miscues in the sixth before Grant Taylor stole the show. The flamethrower struck out the side in the seventh on just 14 pitches, then returned to fan two more in a perfect eighth, punching out five of the six hitters he faced while touching 100.4 mph. Bryan Hudson handled the ninth, striking out Cauley and Díaz before getting Osuna to bounce out and seal the victory.

Meidroth led the offense with four hits and two RBIs, while Benny added two RBIs of his own.

Kay wasn’t at his sharpest, but he repeatedly escaped trouble and turned the game over to a bullpen that combined for four scoreless, hitless innings.

The White Sox are off Thursday before returning home Friday to open a weekend series against the Houston Astros.

MVP
Chase Meidroth: 4-for-4, 2 RBI, 26% WPA

Runners-Up
Grant Taylor: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 K, H, 17% WPA
Andrew Benintendi: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, 15% WPA
Bryan Hudson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, S, 9% WPA
Jordan Hicks: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K, H, 7% WPA

Cold Cat
Tristan Peters: 0-for-4, -11% WPA

Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas: 0-for-4, K, -7% WPA
Sam Antonacci: 0-for-4, -7% WPA
Edgar Quero: 0-for-3, BB, E, -6% WPA

Wednesday marked the second night in a row the Phillies committed a cringeworthy baserunning blunder.

With Trea Turner at the plate against Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer in the bottom of the fifth inning, Bryson Stott, who started the play at second base, ran into an out at third, where Max Muncy waited for him on the fielder’s choice.

The gaffe was so exasperating that Dodgers SportsNet commentators Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser were left bemused.

“What are these guys doing?” Davis said as Stott ran off.

“No clue,” Hershiser replied.

The very next frame, the Dodgers took the lead, one they would hold onto for the rest of the night in a 9-5 win in Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, the Phillies lost 2-1 on an embarrassing double play.

J.T. Realmuto was the last out after he failed to make it back to second base safely when he could have just remained at third base when Justin Crawford, the runner in front of him, got into a rundown between third and home.

His manager, Don Mattingly, didn’t mince words after the bizarre moment.

“I don’t know what JT was thinking,” Mattingly said.

The Dodgers took two of three in the series from the Phillies after the baserunning mistakes came on consecutive nights.

The Phillies won the first game of the series with a 10-7 win on Monday night.

Despite the mistake on the bases, Stott is still having a strong season for the Phillies. Through 96 games, Stott has hit .251 with seven home runs and 17 steals.

The Phillies will hope to be better on the fundamentals when they welcome the Yankees to Citizens Bank Park for a three-game set this weekend.

They’ll face the Bombers’ Will Warren, Cy Young contender Cam Schlittler and Ryan Weathers in the series.

It’s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. There are still a few 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 night I asked you if the Cubs should try to trade for Astros pitcher Josh Hader. Obviously the answer comes down to how much the Astros want back, but 57 percent of you think the Cubs should at least try.

Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies. You can skip ahead if you want. Or enjoy that and skip the baseball stuff. Or you can read all of it. Your call.

Tonight we’re featuring a performance from SFJAZZ from this past May. This is the Leon Russell song “This Masquerade,” which was made famous by George Benson’s 1976 hit single cover version. This is part of a tribute to Benson.

This performance features Isaiah Sharkey on guitar and vocals, Marcus Miller on bass, Richard Bona also on bass, Edward Simon on keyboards and Kendrick Scott on drums.

When documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit approached legendary musician/producer/artist Brian Eno about making a documentary of his own life, Eno was completely uninterested. But Hustwit was familiar with Eno’s experiments with “generative music” or music that was created by an artist creating an algorithm and letting a computer create a piece of music according to those parameters. Within those parameters, the music would be be different every time. So Hustwit proposed to Eno that they make a “generative documentary” that would use an algorithm to randomly create a different movie every time it was shown. Eno couldn’t resist participating in an artistic endeavor like that, and the result is Eno (2024), an innovative and groundbreaking documentary of one of the most creative and influential artists of the last fifty years.

Eno draws upon decades of archival footage and over 30 hours of interviews with Brian Eno and uses a generative algorithm to create a new film each time without the direct intervention of anyone. To be clear, Hustwit and Eno make clear that none of this is done with artificial intelligence. The way my simple mind envisions it as kind of a pachinko machine—the film randomly picks a spot to start and that leads to a fork in the road with two or more destinations, each of which has several different directions it could go in after that and so on and so on. The estimate is that there are over 52 quintillion possible different versions of Eno.

Eno is currently available on the Criterion Channel and while the limitations of the streaming format prevent it from being different every time you see it, Criterion and programmer Brendan Dawes change the parameters once a month, thus generating a new film for each month. I’ve now seen Eno twice—once in June and once in July. At the most basic level, it’s the same film. It’s a portrait of Brian Eno’s career and a plea for the importance of art and creativity. However, the way the film makes that point is completely different in each version. 

For example, anyone familiar with Eno’s career knows that he first entered the public sphere as the synthesizer player for Roxy Music. In the June showing, Eno talked about his time in Roxy Music and how he joined. (The way he put it, they had a synthesizer and while he didn’t know how to play it, he realized it was a brand new instrument and no one else knew how to play it either.) But in the July showing, Roxy Music is only mentioned in passing once. Instead, Eno talks about his musical education as a child listening to American Black music. He goes on and on about the impact The Silhouettes’ doo-wop classic “Get a Job” had on him as a child. 

The June showing had scenes with David Byrne talking about creativity and working with Eno whereas Byrne is mostly (but not completely) absent in the July showing. Meanwhile, David Bowie was just glossed over in the June version but much more present in the July version. Laurie Anderson was in both versions, but she’s mostly mute in July. 

Both versions show Eno as a producer in the studio, but they couldn’t be more different. In June, we got to see Eno and U2 as they recorded “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which is loud and a huge moment in rock history. In July, we got two very quiet studio scenes with Eno producing a John Cale album and one of his own solo efforts in the nineties. 

The July version has Eno hilariously explaining how he was hire to compose the startup tones for Windows 95. I don’t know if I knew he wrote that back in 1995, but if I did, I didn’t know it in 2026. 

Some things remain in both films. One is Eno’s use of his “Oblique Strategies” cards, which are notecards with phrases written on them designed to spark the creative process. (Anderson draws and reads one in both films. The July one is “Be quiet for as long as you can,” which explains her being mostly mute in that version.) There is also a scene where Eno gets awarded a Producer of the Year award in the nineties, with Bryan Ferry being the one to hand him the statue. There’s also a scene where Eno looks at beetles in his garden and another one where he visits a park and talks about his theories of creativity. Also dogs.

Eno’s pleas for art and creativity are the heart of the film, no matter which version you watch. Eno believes that music and art predate language and are as intrinsic to our existence as eating and breathing. He argues that imagination is what separates us from the animals. He also argues that creativity is produced when the unexpected happens. There are no mistakes in art. Rather, anything out of place is an opportunity for another road to follow. 

The whole “generative film” aspect of Eno is kind of a gimmick to get you to watch the film. More than once, even. To be fair, it’s a pretty damn cool gimmick. But the reason to watch Eno is the fascinating personality of Brian Eno, the art he has made and the career he’s had. In music and visual art, Eno says he always follows the unexpected turn to see where it leads him. He’s also done that over the course of his life. It’s a terrific journey. 

Here’s the official trailer for Eno. At least for now. Maybe there will be another one shortly.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

I don’t need to tell you that the Cubs need to add pitching. I also probably don’t need to tell you that the Angels are bad and should probably trade some players to rebuild their farm system. So tonight I’m asking whether you’d rather the Cubs trade for José Soriano or Reid Detmers?

I’ve always cautioned that the Angels are difficult to deal with because owner Arte Moreno tends to stick his noise into deals and veto any trades that would start a rebuilding process. But now that former Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is in charge of things in Anaheim, it’s possible to deal with the Halos on a more rational basis.

Soriano and Detmers are the Angels two best trade chips at the moment, assuming they want to hold on to young shortstop Zach Neto. (And Mike Trout, I suppose, who has said he doesn’t want to be traded from the Angels.) The two young pitchers have a lot in common. Both pitchers are 27. Both become free agents after the 2028 season, so neither one is a pure rental.

There are some differences, however. Soriano is a right-hander and Detmers is a southpaw. Soriano is much more of a ground ball pitcher whereas Detmers gives up a lot more fly balls.

Soriano was one of the best pitchers in the majors in April and was an early favorite for the Cy Young Award. Unfortunately, he then started to struggle in May and June, putting up a mediocre 5.34 ERA over those two months. However, he seems to have fixed whatever was wrong in those two months recently. For July, he’s made three starts and posted a 3.50 ERA. The underlying numbers are even better, holding opposing hitters to a .467 OPS in July.

Soriano’s numbers for the year are 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA. He’s struck out 122 and walked a way-too-high 54 in 118 innings. But his ground ball tendencies would play well with the Cubs infield defense.

Detmers has been much less streaky. One the year, he’s made 20 starts and gone 3-6 with a 4.16 ERA. Over 114.2 innings, Detmers has struck out 130 and walked 35.

Both Soriano and Detmers have allowed 12 home runs this season.

So tonight’s question is: Which Halos pitcher would you offer the Angels more for? Or in other words, if the Angels were willing to trade either one to the Cubs, which one would you take?

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We’re always glad to see you. Please get home safely. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Most casual observers felt the Astros would register their 50th win of the season well in advance of the All-Star Break.  Unfortunately, it took until July 22nd.   Better late than never.  Astros 5   Marlins 2.   

Although Yordan Alvarez’s two run blast will command the majority of headlines, the question remains, where would the Astros be without Peter Lambert?     Returning on just four days’ rest, Lambert would scatter six hits over the span of six innings, allowing just two runs in authoring another quality start, putting the Astros in position to win.    Wednesday night’s 89 pitch effort came on the heels of a 10 strike out performance in the opener of the O’s series last Friday.     

The night’s scoring would begin in the bottom of the second.   Yainer Diaz would lead off with a four-pitch walk, eventually coming around to score the game’s first run on a Nick Allen single.    The next frame, Houston would increase their lead 2-0 on the strength of Jeremy Pena’s solo shot.    For Pena it was a hat trick of sorts, as Pena homered in each of the three contests vs. Miami in a 72-hour span.   

In the fourth inning, the Marlins would tie things up thanks to a pair of two out hits from Javier Sanoja and Joe Mack.    The next time they’d threaten would be in the 7th when Esteury Ruiz would reach on a single and then proceed to steal second and third base.    Miami leads the majors with 21 successful steals of third this season. Ruiz would ultimately be stranded.    

In the bottom of the eighth, lightning would strike.   Jeremy Pena would reach for the third time and be driven home on Yordan’s 34th blast of the season.    Isaac Paredes followed that up for good measure, making the score 5-2 with a solo shot.    Paredes now has 14 home runs on the season.    For the Miami series, the Astros would register 8 home runs.    

Bryan Abreu would come on in the 9th to close the door earning his 6th save of the season.    

Odds & Ends:

Lucas Spence was caught attempting to steal home in the bottom of the second.    Spence will next make a homecoming of sorts at Rate Field on Chicago’s Southside Friday Night.    Spence grew up in nearby south suburb, Chicago Heights.    

Jose Altuve sat out Wednesday night with a rest day.   

After posting a mark of 20-6 in June, the Marlins have now dropped nine in a row.    

The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the Chicago White Sox scored four runs.

Because Cal Quantrill isn’t very good, the Rangers tried to get a little cheeky by having opener Tyler Alexander go a second inning but the White Sox scored the game’s first run off Alexander in the top of the second anyway.

Though Texas tied the game in the bottom of the second, the White Sox collected four hits with RISP on the evening, including three in their first four attempts. The Rangers, meanwhile, had the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the fourth after Chicago had taken a 3-1 lead and scored just once, with that run scoring via a double play ground out.

The Rangers only had one hit with RISP in six opportunities and that hit didn’t even score a run. They had just five hits total. They didn’t have a hit after the fourth inning. Seven of their final nine at-bats ended in a strikeout.

Texas is back at .500 after their second series loss in a row to open the second half.

Player of the Game: Cam Cauley homered in the bottom of the second, a solo home run for his first big league dong.

Up Next: The Rangers get to enjoy their final day off of the month before opening up a big series against Seattle in Arlington.

BOSTON — The last time the Boston Red Sox won 15 straight games, Ted Williams was putting together an MVP season in 1946 and leading them to an American League championship.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox matched that streak from 80 years ago, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the opener of a doubleheader.

The streak ended hours later when they dropped the nightcap 5-1.

“That was a great ride, a 15-game winning streak,” first baseman Willson Contreras in a quiet clubhouse. “There’s nothing to be sad about. We have to be happy. We should be proud of what we did and from now keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”

After the loss, interim manager Chad Tracy was ready to speak to the team but saw Contreras and pitcher Sonny Gray talking, so he let those veterans handle it.

“We just won 15 games in a row and I think all of us knew it was going to end at some point,” Tracy said.

After the earlier win, Tracy said he understood the historical significance.

“I’ve read some stuff. I know Ted Williams was around back then, so I’m aware of the year and how long it’s been,” he said. “It’s cool that they’ve accomplished something great.”

When the afternoon game ended, the Red Sox took a little more time than usual on the field to soak it in as The Standells’ song “Dirty Water” played in the background like it does after each victory in Fenway Park.

They also enjoyed the moment in the clubhouse.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely between the staff. We were realizing the guys were going crazy in the locker room — they always do — but even more emphasis right now with what we’re going through,” Tracy said. “Everybody enjoys it for sure.”

Boston fired manager Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and seemed to be in for a long season under Tracy. The Red Sox were 37-48 and last in the AL East on July 1 following a 10-2 loss to Washington.

Three weeks went by — a stretch including the All-Star break — before Boston (52-49) lost again.

Tracy is the first manager since the 19th century to lead a team to a win streak of 15 games or more who didn’t start the season in the job, according to MLB.

With a 6-3 lead after six innings, Caleb Durbin, who hit a tiebreaking homer in Monday’s win over Baltimore, started thinking about how many outs were left.

“I think in the seventh inning I’m counting them down a little bit,” he said, smiling.

After the final out, left fielder Jarren Duran said he was able to appreciate the cheering crowd when he met with center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu.

“When I get to go see (them), I take a look around and I get to enjoy that moment, that’s always fun,” he said.

With the organization in its 126th season, the streak has more meaning for some.

“You look back at it and think about where you’re doing it and how long this franchise has existed. It’s been incredible,” Durbin said.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, who grew up watching the Red Sox about 45 miles away in Fall River, Massachusetts, showed his respect.

“I mean, a 15-game heater is really impressive,” he said. “You know, its tough to win one game in the big leagues and them going 15 straight, it’s really impressive.”

And another one bites the dust as the Tigers collected a 5-1 win against the Cubs to close out their series at Wrigley Field.

After a bummer game on Tuesday, the Tigers were hoping to pivot back into winning mode and take the series win against the Cubs. They had Keider Montero on the mound, having moved him back to a starting rotation role, and he was up against Colin Rea for Chicago.

Things started with a whimper rather than a bang as the Tigers went down in order in the top of the first. It got worse in the home half, when Montero gave up a solo home run to Seiya Suzuki with one out. Michael Busch then singled, but Montero was able to work his way out of the jam only giving up the single run.

In the second, the Tigers managed to course correct with style. With one out, Spencer Torkelson hit his own solo home run.

The inning proceeded very much like the previous inning had for the Cubs, as Kerry Carpenter singled, but the Tigers were not able to bring him home. Montero had a nice inning in the bottom of the second, getting the Cubs out in order.

In the top of the third, James Outman got a leadoff single, then Kevin McGonigle singled right behind him, pushing Outman to third. With men on the corners, McGonigle got caught stealing for the first out of the inning. Two more outs followed, killing a pretty good opportunity to score another run. The Cubs went 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the third.

Riley Greene doubled to open the fourth, then Spencer Torkelson drew a walk. With two outs, Hao-Yu Lee homered to left, bringing three runs home.

In the home half, with two outs, Ian Happ doubled after the ball perfectly hit first base and bounced into the air over Torkelson. It would have been an impressive display of physics if it hadn’t been terrible. A strikeout ended the inning, though, so the double didn’t end up hurting.

The Tigers went three-up, three-down in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs did the same in the home half, so it was a draw.

Rea’s game was done after five, replaced by Ryan Rolison, who got the Tigers out in order. In the home half, Pete Crow-Armstrong reached on an error from Montero. After the first out of the inning, Montero’s day was done, he was replaced by Drew Sommers. He induced a double-play off the bat of Busch to end the inning, making Montero’s final line for the night 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR on 81 pitches. Fantastic outing with the only slip-up being the one home run. Glad to see him back in a starting role.

Gavin Hollowell was the new Cubs pitcher for the seventh and got the Tigers out three-up, three-down. Drew Anderson came in for the Tigers, and Happ hit a one-out single, but the Cubs left him stranded.

The Cubs went back to their bullpen once more for Caleb Thielbar. Dillon Dingler got a one-out single. Two outs would follow, though, leaving him on base. Kyle Finnegan was the new Tigers’ pitcher in the bottom of the inning and after getting two outs, he hit PCA in the toe with a pitch. Finnegan turned around and got Suzuki out, a major out to end the inning.

Tyler Ferguson came in for the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Torkelson. Zach McKinstry hit what should have been a little bloop single, but PCA failed to field it cleanly, allowing McKinstry to get to second and Torkelson to score. It was ruled a double. Two outs then followed but the Tigers had padded their lead.

Kenley Jansen was in for the ninth inning. With two outs, Alex Bregman walked, despite a solid ABS call from Dingler to get the second strike of the at-bat. It didn’t matter at the end of the day, as they got the final out of the inning to win the game and the series.

Final: Tigers 5, Cubs 1

Throughout the Red Sox 15 game winning streak, they leaned heavily on spectacular starting pitching. Unfortunately, they didn’t get that tonight.

Eduardo Rivera was given the opening role for the third time over the course of this heater, and this time, the cracks beneath the surface fully materialized in costly fashion. He gave up four runs before the national anthem was over, and had to the leave the mound after only recording two outs and throwing over 40 pitches. He had zero fastball command, which the Orioles quickly figured out, and then sat on his slider to deliver the knockout punch.

Sadly, that’s pretty much the story of the game. From there, Kyle Bradish kept the the Sox offense off balance, and there was never a real rally despite the lineup putting the ball in play most of the night.

The bigger story now is the conclusion of the winning streak and what it’s done for the season. In short, its ensured there’s going to be meaningful baseball here for August and September (and hopefully October too, but they still have to earn that).

It’s also going to be remembered as the signature run of this team. The stretch that propelled them from dead in the water while other clubs circled the ballpark like buzzards waiting to see what they could pick from the carcass at the trade deadline, to in possession of Wild Card spot. Incredible stuff!

Many fans gave the team a standing ovation after the final out was recorded, and even as underwhelming as this particular game turned out, it was well deserved. They may have squashed what could have been an all time crazy atmosphere tonight, but they’ve also ensured there’s going to be plenty more crazy atmospheres at Fenway for the rest of the summer, and after where they were a month ago, that’s all we can ask for.

Now the focus turns to Friday, the trade deadline, and the race to the playoffs. I can’t wait to see what the guys in that clubhouse do with the opportunity they’ve given themselves!

Three Studs

Brayan Bello: Once again, Bello was strong in the bulk relief role, registering 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball. His ERA is 10.35 as a starter this year and under 1.00 as a reliever. Unfortunately, the team was already in a hole the offense would not be able to dig out of when he entered the game, so other than the innings he ate, his work was largely wasted.

The Fenway crowd: Every time the Red Sox got even the slightest whiff of a rally going — and that’s all they got — the atmosphere at Fenway Park immediately sounded like the tying run was in scoring position. In reality, they never even got it to the on deck circle at any point in the entire game, which is too bad because we would have really seen the place turn into a madhouse if they made a true rally.

Dennis Eckersley back in the booth for half an inning: In the bottom of the sixth inning, Dennis Eckersley returned to the booth in a guest role, bringing back memories of the outstanding analysis he gave there over the years.

He also made a very interesting comment when he said “they’re gonna make a move here” in regards to the trade deadline. I wonder how informed that is given he seems to still keep up with the team.

Three Duds

Eduardo Rivera: No explanation needed here. The Red Sox just needed him to not be terrible in the opening frame, and instead he lit the game on fire.

Jarren Duran: Not only did he go 0-4 at the plate and make the final out, but he also made this lousy read on the Johnathan Rodriguez double in the first. If he just played it off the wall instead of trying to be a hero, the run probably doesn’t score on the play, and the maybe they get out of the inning at 3-0.

Carlos Narvaez: Hitless at the plate before being pinch hit for late, burned a horrible challenge on a ball three inches off the plate (probably one of the worst challenges in any game all year), and allowed a pair of balls to get to the backstop with a man on third base (the last of which he didn’t hustle after hard enough for my liking).

Play of the game:

It’s not so much a play, but more the storyline of the streak ending. With tomorrow’s day off, we can all take some time to reflect on how amazing it was and wonder if it might serve as the foundation to something even bigger going forward. Also, that was fun! Let’s not wait another 80 years to do it again.