Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres left on their current road trip three games over .500 and in contention for a Wild Card spot come playoff time. After the first six games of the nine-game road trip, playing against the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals, the Friars are three games over .500 and in contention for a Wild Card spot. In that sense, nothing has changed.

There was good and bad to be seen over the past week. There have been incremental improvements with the offense, especially with specific players. Some players who were hitting well have stopped. The current roster has a large contingent of El Paso Chihuahua players trying to support the organization through an especially trying time with injuries and roster upheaval.

Highlighting some of the good

Let’s take Fernando Tatis Jr. as an example. We all watched as his futility at the plate had piled up over the start of the season. Finally getting two home runs over the past two weeks has taken a bit of the pressure off, but the real accomplishment is in his overall performance. 

Tatis was definitely stuck in a rut. 

Swinging at bad pitches, chasing out of the strike zone, and especially vulnerable to the up and in, then down and away pattern that pitchers routinely used against him.

Manager Craig Stammen had already mentioned to him during spring camp that Tatis might be needed in the infield. He had been taking grounders there since February. 

On May 5, second baseman Jake Cronenworth went on the injured list with concussion symptoms. On May 12, Tatis made his debut as the Padres second baseman. Since that day, Tatis has hit .366/.420/.485 with two home runs and 11 RBI. He has acknowledged in the past that he loves playing in the infield (originally as a shortstop). Tatis has improved his defense at second base, and his offensive numbers have skyrocketed.

Over the past week, he has hit .320 with five RBI and a .757 OPS.

Third baseman Manny Machado had a horrible May, the worst month of his career. He hit .127 with a .526 OPS, which was only that good because he still hit home runs (6 HR, 14 RBI). 

June has been better, and the past week has shown some hope for Padres fans that the normal Machado will show up going forward. His .227/.333/.429 batting line isn’t great, but he has three doubles and a home run to go with three walks and two RBI.

Samad Taylor, called up to replace Nick Castellanos, has been a revelation as the everyday left fielder. Since joining the team on June 3, he has hit .343/.410/.457 with a double, a home run, eight RBI, four stolen bases and eight runs scored. He has also played excellent defense. Over the past week, Taylor has hit .350/.381/.500 with a home run, three RBI, and two stolen bases. 

The Padres’ bullpen has moved back up the rankings in MLB. After having a rough patch, the relievers’ ERA is 3.01, second in MLB and close to the Atlanta Braves’ 2.91 ERA. 

The Padres used both Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez as openers this week; both pitched a scoreless first inning in their respective games (Peralta for Giolito and Rodriguez for Canning against the Orioles).

Some of the bad

Padres starting pitchers are not getting the job done. Inconsistency has been the issue for all of the starters. Overall,  command of their pitches leaves a lot of room for improvement. 

In his start against the Orioles, Griffin Canning allowed seven runs on six hits and five walks over five innings. Even with a good offense, that would be a hard game to win. He was better against the Cardinals but only went 4.1 innings with four hits and one run allowed after Bradgley Rodriguez pitched as the opener.

Lucas Giolito started the first game versus St. Louis, going five innings, allowing seven hits and three runs with three walks.

None of the starters turned in a quality start because none could make it into the sixth inning.

The offense was stifled for two against St. Louis with Cardinals pitcher Dustin May pitching a complete game, one-hit shutout and the next day the Padres didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning. They went 5-for-57 over those two games.

Overall, the Padres have had 35 quality starts thrown against them, including eight shutouts.

First baseman Ty France, who has given a great defensive performance so far, has gone cold at the plate. Over the past week, France hit .071 with a .204 OPS. He has one hit, one RBI and seven strikeouts. For June, his average is .132 and he has dropped his overall line to .245/.294/.434. 

Outfielder Jase Bowen, who was leading the Triple-A Chihuahuas in many offensive categories, has had a difficult time adjusting to major league pitching. In 25 at-bats, he is hitting .120/.154/.274 with 11 strikeouts.

Roster moves and injury updates

Outfielder Bryce Johnson was designated for assignment when Xander Bogaerts returned from paternity leave and Will Wagner remained with the team. Johnson cleared waivers and was outrighted to El Paso.

DH Miguel Andujar went on the injured list with a left hamstring strain and utility player Nick Solak was promoted from Triple-A.

Catcher Blake Hunt was promoted from Triple-A and catcher Freddy Fermin was place on the injured list with a concussion.

RHP Ty Adcock was designated for assignment. Adcock cleared waivers and was outrighted to El Paso.

RHP Mason Miller was placed on family/bereavement leave and LHP Kyle Hart was called up from Triple-A.

RHP Ron Marinaccio began serving a two-game suspension (June 17-June 19) for intentionally hitting the Orioles’ Gunner Henderson.

Manager Craig Stammen also served a one-game suspension for the same offense.

Pitchers Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta have both advanced to long-toss in their throwing programs on rehab from arm injuries. Per a report from The Athletic’s Dennis Lin on 97.3 The Fan, Musgrove also has a bone spur in his right elbow. There is reportedly no issue with the bone spur at this time.

RHP Germán Márquez is progressing in his rehab with Triple-A El Paso. In four starts and 15.1 innings pitched, Márquez has a 1.76 ERA and just allowed his first runs in his fourth start. Per a report from MadFriars.com, he reached 95 mph on his four-seam fastball and reached 73 pitches on June 17.

Catcher Luis Campusano was seen with the team last week but is back in Arizona and ramping up his baseball activities. There is no rehab assignment yet (per manager Craig Stammen).

Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is also slowly ramping up baseball activities but is still experiencing some symptoms resulting from a concussion and there is no timeline for his return (per Stammen).

RHP Jhony Brito has completed his rehab and was optioned to El Paso. He has made two starts with a 2.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. He has reached the mid-90’s on his fastball and threw 71 pitches in his last start, per MadFriars.com reporting.

LHP Marco Gonzales, signed to a minor league contract before Spring Training began, was released by the Padres this past week. He had a 7.99 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched at Triple-A.

RHP Matt Waldron began his rehab from his right brachialis muscle injury with El Paso.

The A’s took the first game of their four-game series against the Angels on Thursday night, beating the Halos 5-0 on a warm evening in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park. The win moves the A’s back to just one game under .500 and the team remains a game and a half back of the Seattle Mariners for first place. Things are getting interesting.

A’s “Jump” out to huge lead

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started. The Angels sent right-hander Ryan Johnson to the mound this evening, recalling him from Double-A to start the first game of the series against the A’s. A tough spot to put him in. The rookie right-hander entered tonight with just one career start plus 17 relief appearances at the big league level, so expectations couldn’t have been too high on the Angels’ part.

Leading things off for the A’s was Zack Gelof. He didn’t wait around to extend his hitting streak, swatting a single off the third pitch from Johnson to extend his career-high hitting streak to 22 games and counting:

And to think, he was almost an afterthought for most A’s fans entering the season. He’s completely turned his fortunes around and now he seems as important a player as anyone on the team.

Nick Kurtz came right behind him with a double to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Up to the plate stepped Shea Langeliers, and did he what he’s been doing all year: hitting home runs, this one a three-run shot to give the A’s an early lead:

Then it was Tyler Soderstrom’s turn and he got in on the action with his own long ball, going back-to-back with Langeliers and making this a 4-0 lead before the A’s had even had an out:

That opposite-field shot was Sodey’s 13th of the year and he now has five homers over his last 10 games. We’re finally seeing the power that was missing from our left fielder all year and it’s going to make the A’s much more dangerous with Soderstrom hitting like we know he can.

The A’s kept things going after that with two more hits, with six straight hits to open up this contest. A pair of sacrifice flies brought home the Athletics’ fifth run of the frame. Another hit and the A’s had officially batted around, bringing Gelof to the plate for the second time this inning. He worked a walk to load the bases but Kurtz grounded out to finally end the rally. Plenty of runs to work with for the team’s starting pitcher though.

Jump dominates (again)

While the Athletics’ offense was having its way with the Angels’ pitchers in the early going, the arm on the mound for the A’s was quietly going to work. Rookie Gage Jump, making just his fifth career start, absolutely dominated the Angels’ lineup tonight. The 23-year-old only allowed a single and a trio of walks during seven scoreless frames, racking up seven strikeouts on top of a dominant performance.

• Gage Jump: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 107 pitches

Somewhat surprising to see Kotsay let one of the prime pitchers in the organization pitch deep into a blowout but everything worked out fine in the end. Jump lowers his ERA to 2.37 through his first five starts. He’s next lined up to go against the Giants next week, though we’ll wait and see which game he’s slated for. Do we finally have our ace in hand? Him and Ginn seem to be a formidable duo atop the rotation.

Once Jump was done it was Mason Barnett, who handled a scoreless eighth. Lefty Hogan Harris finished things off for the home team for the ninth. Uneventful, like like we like it.

A fantastic win against one of the worst teams in the sport. The A’s did what they needed to do tonight and have momentum for the next three contests to wrap up the homestand. Big homers from Langeliers and Soderstrom in the first was all that was needed. Paired with a fantastic outing from rookie lefty Gage Jump and the club is a mere game and a half back of the Mariners for the division lead.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. The Halo’s will have their best pitcher going for them in the second game of the series in right-hander Jose Soriano. The 27-year-old is having a career season as his 2.79 ERA ranks fifth in the entire American League. He faced the A’s almost exactly one month ago down in Anaheim, pitching into the seventh inning while allowing just a pair of runs. The A’s meanwhile will counter Soriano with veteran Jeffrey Springs. The left-hander has gotten hit hard in recent outings, allowing 15 runs in three June starts. The A’s need better results from him going forward and the hope is that tomorrow’s the day he can iron things out and look more like the arm that led the team through the first weeks of the season. We’ll have to wait and see which Springs shows up tomorrow.

I’m sure there will be an article on it after it is officially announced, but the Cubs transactions page notes that catcher Moisés Ballesteros has been demoted to Triple-A Iowa.

South Bend right-hander Mason McGwire was activated off the development list.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs lost to Indianapolis (Pirates), 11-8.

Will Sanders gave the I-Cubs a good start, giving up just one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked no one. Sanders fastball was sitting 92-93 miles per hour.

Yosver Zueleta did not make a great impression in his Cubs and Iowa debut. He relieved Sanders in the sixth and gave up five runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. Zueleta walked two, had two wild pitches and struck out just one. He was throwing 95-to-97 though.

Left fielder Jonathon Long hit a solo home run in the second inning, his fifth on the year. Long went 3 for 5 with a double and the home run. He scored two runs.

Right fielder Chas McCormick crushed a 467-foot home run in the sixth inning with a man on. It was McCormick’s eighth home run this season. He went 1 for 4 with a walk.

Later in the sixth inning, catcher Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run home run. It was his eighth on the season. Bethancourt was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

First baseman Casey Opitz then went back-to-back with Bethancourt for his first home run of 2026. Opitz went 1 for 4.

DH BJ Murray went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored once.

Everyone in the I-Cubs lineup had at least one hit.

Long’s home run went 433 feet.

McCormick’s blast.

Bethancourt’s home run was “only” 432 feet.

The Casey Opitz home run.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies moved back into a first-place tie with a 4-1 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds).

Dawson Netz started and got the win after giving up just one run on six hits over five innings. Netz struck out seven, walked three and hit one batter.

Erian Rodriguez then pitched three scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits. He struck out one and walked no one.

Marino Santy pitched the ninth inning and got the save. Santy gave up a walk and a single after one out, but then ended the game when he caught a hard comeback line drive to the mound and then threw to first base for the double play. Santy did not have a strikeout.

The Smokies took the lead with three solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, the first two of which were back-to-back. Third baseman Jefferson Rojas tied the game with his 11th home run of the year. Rojas also walked with the based loaded in the seventh inning, giving him two RBI on the game. Rojas went 1 for 3.

Next, catcher Owen Ayers went back-to-back with his 12th home run. Ayers was 1 for 4.

The next batter, Alex Ramírez, struck out, but then center fielder Andy Garriola hit his team-leading 13th home run. Garriola went 1 for 4.

Those three hits were the only hits the Smokies had in this game. They did draw six walks and were hit by a pitch.

The win moves the Smokies back into a first-place tie with the Lookouts for the first-half title with three games to play.

Here are all three Smokies hits and all three home runs.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs dropped a doubleheader to the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 4-3 in eight innings and 5-2.

Mason McGwire started and gave the Cubs three good innings, allowing just one run on two hits. McGwire struck out three and walked three.

Cole Reynolds then pitched the next four innings, allowing just one run on one hit, a solo home run. Reynolds walked two, hit one batter and struck out three.

After the Cubs scored a run in the top of the eighth, Adam Stone came in to get the save in the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately, Stone gave up two runs on three hits while retiring just one batter. One of the two runs was unearned, naturally. Stone also walked one and struck out no one.

South Bend had just three hits in game one, all singles. Catcher Justin Stransky was 1 for 2 with a two-run single and two walks. One of the two walks was intentional.

Stransky’s two-run single.

Jostin Florentino started game two and gave up just one hit and one run over four innings. The one hit, unfortunately, was a solo home run. Florentino struck out six and walked two.

Brayden Spears gave up four runs in the bottom of the sixth and took the loss. Spears’ final line was four runs on three hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two.

South Bend only had three hits in game two as well, but one of them was a solo home run by third baseman Matt Halbach in the fourth. It was Halbach’s sixth home run on the season. Halbach was 1 for 3.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went 1 for 3 with a walk and two steals in game two. He scored on a throwing error.

Josiah Hartshorn went 0 for 7 with zero times on base in this game. He’s human, I guess.

Halbach’s home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Mytle Beach Pelicans hunted down the Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles), 21-10 thanks to a 12-run top of the eighth.

Starter Hayden Frank got knocked around for five runs on three hits and five walks over three innings. He struck out three.

Yoendris Gonzalez got the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Gonzalez gave up just one hit and he walked one while striking out two.

The Pelicans sent 16 batters to the plate in the 12-run eighth and five of them hit home runs. The first one was shortstop Derniche Valdez, who hit his fifth home run with a man on. Valdez went 2 for 6 with a walk. He had the two RBI and scored three times.

The next home run came three batters later as catcher Henniel Alcala hit a three-run home run. It was his first home run with the Pelicans and second on the season. Alcala was 3 for 5 with a walk. He scored twice.

Next, center fielder Alexey Lumpuy connected for a solo home run, his fourth on the season. Lumpuy was 2 for 6 with a walk. Lumpuy also stole two bases. He scored twice and had two runs batted in.

The fourth home run of the eighth was hit with two men on by first baseman Michael Carico. It was Carico’s sixth on the season. He finished the night going 1 for 3 with three walks. He drove in four total runs and scored three times.

Finally, right fielder Geri Lubo cranked his fifth home run of the year with two men on. Lubo went 1 for 4 with two walks. Lubo scored three times and had the three RBI.

Second baseman Alexis Hernandez doubled twice in a 2 for 6 night. He also walked once and stole a base. Hernandez scored twice and had two RBI.

Left fielder Darlyn De Leon was 3 for 5 with two doubles. De Leon drive in three runs and scored three times.

None of the home runs were hit off of position players.

An RBI double for Hernandez.

De Leon with an RBI double.

Alcala’s home run.

Lumpuy goes deep.

Carico’s home run.

Lubo’s home run.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Reds, 7-5.

Despite having tonight’s scheduled series finale against the San Francisco Giants rained out well ahead of first pitch, the Atlanta Braves are still up burning the midnight oil while trying to figure things out with their roster. The latest bit of shuffling sees the Braves going back to addressing their catcher situation, as they’ve brought in another backstop to help fortify that spot.

Joey Bart is now a member of the Braves after being acquired in a straight swap with the Pirates for Hunter Stratton.

What makes this an interesting move for the Braves is that Bart is currently on the IL. With that being said, he appears ready to leave the IL imminently since he’d been on rehab assignment for a week now. It took him a month to recover from a foot infection (yikes) but apparently he’s healthy and ready to go now and as it turns out, he’ll be doing so in a Braves uniform instead of a Pirates uniform.

Bart hasn’t swung the bat particularly well this season, as he’s hitting .259/.290/.370 with a .294 wOBA and 82 wRC+ along with two homers but he did serve as a very reliable backup catcher for the Pirates over the past couple of seasons. Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Bart hit .257/.346/.398 with a .331 wOBA and 110 wRC+ with 17 homers to boot. That is perfectly fine plate production from a backup catcher and the Braves are obviously hoping that he’ll be able to tap into that vein of form while he’s here in Atlanta. Bart is also a Georgia Tech product who went to high school at Buford so maybe some home cooking will do him right, as well.

Hunter Stratton is actually heading back to Pittsburgh after the Braves picked him up in July 2025 in exchange for Titus Dumitru and cash considerations. Stratton made 12 appearances for the Braves, the bulk of which came in September when the season was quite clearly lost and they were just trying to end things on a high note as professionals. Stratton produced a 2.220 ERA and a 4.18 FIP during his 2025 stint with the Braves and only got one inning of work in for Atlanta during 2026 — a scoreless inning on May 2 against the Rockies.

Meanwhile, Sandy León is the latest Braves veteran to hop aboard the DFA cycle and considering how this stint went for León at the plate and where he was to start the season, it’s really anybody’s guess as to whether or not he’ll stick around with the Braves going forward. I’m certainly not going to speculate this late at night but here’s hoping that León does find a smooth landing spot no matter what happens.

Following the Mets' 6-4 win over the Phillies on Thursday night, manager Carlos Mendoza and certain players spoke about the happenings during the game...

Key to go-ahead seventh inning

With the score tied 3-3 heading into the seventh inning, it looked as though the frame would end without much doing after Bo Bichette and Juan Soto couldn't capitalize on a Carson Benge leadoff single. 

But then came Mark Vientos. The young slugger came up as a pinch-hitter to take on lefty Jose Alvarado. Vientos got behind 1-2 before Alvarado threw three straight balls to extend the inning. 

From there, Eric Wagaman hit a pinch-hit single to put the Mets in front and Marcus Semien broke it open with a two-run triple. But while there was a lot going on in that inning, Mendoza pointed to Vientos as the key.

"I thought Vientos’ at-bat there was the key of that whole inning," Mendoza said. "For him to go up there, control the strikezone and end up walking. And then Waggy there and Marcus to break it open. I’m going to back to that inning to the Vientos at-bat." 

Back to Semien's at-bat, the veteran second baseman almost struck out before his game-changing triple. On a 2-2 count, Semien swung through Alvarado's cutter in the dirt. The Phillies thought it was a strikeout, but home plate umpire Brian Walsh ruled it a foul tip, which gave Semien a second chance. 

One pitch later, and Semien rocketed a triple 99.6 mph off the left-center field wall.

"I saw it right away," Mendoza said of the foul tip. "Glad they were able to see it right away." 

“I’m glad that ball hit the dirt because I would have been walking back to the dugout and no runs would have scored," Semien said. "[Alvarado] has a really good cutter, down in the zone. I got him up in the zone, but I was short to the ball, got it into the wind and good things happened.”

Wagaman comes up big

Speaking of Wagaman, Mendoza was asked about pinch-hitting for rookie A.J. Ewing in that spot. The Mets skipper simply played the matchup game, trying to get the right-handed Wagaman a more favorable matchup. 

"Tough left-on-left matchup…you got a bullet understanding that’s a pretty good bullpen there and that might be the only chance," Mendoza said of the move. "Glad it worked out for us today."

Entering Thursday's game, Wagaman had just two hits in seven games with the big league club. So it was a risky move, but one Mendoza embraces. When asked how he felt when the move worked out, Mendoza couldn't help but joke.

"I look like a genius," Mendoza said of the move with a smile. "When it doesn’t work out, I’m the worst. That’s part of managing. My job is to put guys in position to have success and it’s baseball."

A pinch-hit single for Eric Wagaman off of Jose Alvarado to give the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/oP3Sdad7Je

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 19, 2026

Awaiting Lindor's return

Francisco Lindor is set to start his rehab on Friday with Double-A Binghamton.

After being away from the team since April 22 with a calf strain, Lindor's teammates are looking forward to getting their shortstop back soon.

"His defense and his bat is elite," Juan Soto said of getting Lindor back. "He has one of the defensive players in the game and it’s going to help a lot."

"It’s huge. It’s Francisco Lindor," Sean Manaea added. "He’s an integral part of this team. I can’t wait for him to be back and just have his presence again." 

“He’s one of the best in the game. We’ll take one of the best in the game in this lineup every time," Semien said. "Hopefully he’s being smart, getting ready and we’ll see how he’s feeling when he gets back. I know things will take time to get back into rhythm, but everyone is excited."

The Mets are hopeful Lindor could be back before the end of June.

The Mets took the first game of their first series of the season against the Phillies, winning 6-4 on a windy evening in Philadelphia in part due to two home runs from Juan Soto and another solid performance from Sean Manaea.

After Soto got things going for the Mets with a two-out home run in the first inning, Jared Young followed up by hitting a ball that Aaron Nola could not keep in his glove for the tag. Young reached first base on the error, and A.J. Ewing bashed an RBI double into right field, allowing Young to score. Unfortunately, Manaea started his outing by plunking Trea Turner on the back of the calf and followed up by allowing a single to Kyle Schwarber that moved Turner to second base. Bryce Harper grounded into a force out that allowed Turner to move to third, and Alec Bohm tapped an RBI single into right field to score the Phillies’ first run. However, the inning ended on a strikeout double play when Brandon Marsh struck out swinging, and Harper was caught stealing third base on a throw from Francisco Alvarez to Brett Baty, allowing the Mets to keep a 2-1 lead.

In the second inning, Alvarez and Carson Benge both hit two-out singles but were ultimately stranded when Bo Bichette grounded out. Manaea allowed a leadoff triple to Edmundo Sosa, who was also stranded after Manaea successfully induced outs from the next three hitters in succession. At the top of the third inning, Soto hit a second home run, this one carried by the wind to unexpected heights. Marcus Semien knocked a single into center field but was stranded when Baty popped out. At the bottom of the third, Schwarber struck out, but because of a passed ball and a subsequent throwing error to first base by Alvarez, he reached second base. After Soto made a great catch in left field on a fly ball from Harper, Benge could not duplicate it in right field on a fly ball from Bohm. Bohm came up with his second RBI of the night, a double that allowed Schwarber to trot in. Marsh grounded out to end the third inning with a score of Mets 3, Phillies 2.

At the bottom of the fourth inning, Bryson Stott tapped an infield hit to Bichette, who could not get it to first base in time. Stott then stole second base and scored when Derek Hill smacked a single to Ewing in center field. Ewing’s throw to home hit the mound and bounced hard, preventing any chance of getting Stott out, in part because Manaea was not backing up home plate. The inning ended on a ground out from Justin Crawford, but the score was now tied 3-3.

Soto walked at the top of the fifth inning, and Ewing smacked an infield hit for a single, but both were stranded again when Semien grounded into a force out. Manaea walked Harper, but then Bohm grounded into a double play to end the fifth inning and keep things tied. After striking out Marsh in the sixth inning, Manaea was replaced by Huascar Brazobán, who finished the sixth efficiently.

At the top of the seventh, Carson Benge hit a single on a line drive into center field off of José Alvarado. Benge stole second base and moved to third base on a wild pitch from Alvarado, and Mark Vientos walked while pinch-hitting for Young. Eric Wagaman pinch-hit for Ewing and came up with an opposite-field RBI single, scoring Benge. With two outs, Semien had a second chance at his at-bat when the umpire determined he had fouled instead of foul-tipping a pitch, and he made the most of it with a two-RBI triple that scored Wagaman and Vientos. Brazobán walked J.T. Realmuto to start the bottom of the seventh, but struck out Hill before A.J. Minter took over to dispatch the next two batters in the Phillies lineup and end the seventh inning, Mets 6, Phillies 3.

M.J. Melendez led off with a walk at the top of the eighth inning, but was the victim when Alvarez grounded into a force out in the next at-bat. Benge smacked his third hit of the night, a single into left field, but then Bichette grounded into a double play that ended the top of the inning. Luke Weaver came in for the bottom of the eighth to work a 1-2-3 inning, and Devin Williams took over for the ninth.

Williams allowed Stott to walk, and then Realmuto grounded into a force out. Realmuto advanced to second base on defensive indifference, and Gabriel Rincones, Jr, hit a single that allowed Realmuto to move to third when Bichette’s throw to Vientos was wide. Justin Crawford followed up with an RBI single that also moved Rincones to second and brought up Schwarber. After an injury delay for an unfortunate foul off of Alvarez, Schwarber lined out to Baty to end the game with a Mets win: Mets 6, Phillies 4.

Freddy Peralta will face off against Christopher Sánchez when the series picks up on Saturday after a break tomorrow for a World Cup match in Philadelphia.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Juan Soto/Eric Wagaman tied at +18% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette -17% WPA
Mets pitchers: +19% WPA
Mets hitters: +31% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s 2 RBI triple, +20.6%
Teh sux0rest play: Derek Hill’s single/A.J. Ewing’s throwing error, Bryson Stott scores, -13.5%

Former Tennessee Volunteers slugger Christian Moore is back in the show.

Per The Athletic MLB writer Sam Blum, Moore was the beneficiary of Los Angeles Angels star outfielder Mike Trout heading to the injured list with a hamstring injury. As a result, Moore got the call up from the Angels’ Pacific Coast League affiliate.

Moore has been having a tremendous season with the Salt Lake Bees, so beyond Trout’s injury, he’d pushed hard for a return to the Angels. So far this season at Triple-A, Moore has been knocking the cover off the ball. He is batting .333 with 9 home runs and 45 RBIs. He has a ridiculous 1.053 OPS with a .468 on base percentage.

The ex-Vol logged 53 games with Los Angeles last season, and there were certainly some growing pains. He hit just .198 last year, but he did hit 7 home runs in those 53 games (184 at bats), which is a fair clip.

This time, he’ll be coming up knowing what to expect and with MLB experience. He’s also coming up on a hot streak, with two multi-home run games in the last week.

Hopefully this becomes one of the last few times that Moore has to go from the minor league level to the big club. In any event, there should be a few more interested eyes in East Tennessee as far as what’s going on out in Anaheim late at night.

With 17 hits, including 11 for extra-bases, the Royals more than doubled up the Cardinals in the series opener, winning 14-6 to improve to 31-45 on the season.

The Royals found themselves in a hole early as Bobby Witt Jr. committed an error on a seemingly easy double-play ball that allowed one run to score. Starting pitcher Noah Cameron struggled in the first with two walks, but managed to get out of it only allowing two runs. Witt, to his credit, halved the Cardinals’ lead with a home run in the bottom of the first.

Salvador Perez, who went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run, started off Kansas City’s six-run second inning with a ball that nearly left the yard. Carter Jensen followed with a double of his own. After a Nick Loftin sacrifice fly, Isaac Collins added yet another double. After an error, Lane Thomas came up to bat, and then he doubled. Doubles for everyone! Witt, the bum, singled before Jac Caglianone grounded out. Starling Marte, batting cleanup, followed with the team’s fifth double of the inning, driving in Witt to make the score 7-2 and running Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore from the game.

The Cardinals never truly threatened again. For the game, the Cardinals offense put up 13 hits, including four doubles, but burned through a total of four pitchers, all of whom allowed at least one earned run.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Royals added another four runs, this time off a laser of a home run by Cags, his ninth of the season, and off a two-run double from Loftin that made the score 11-3.

Two innings later, Salvy nailed his 10th home run of the season, becoming the all-time leader in home runs at Kauffman Stadium with 137, passing George Brett. He received a nice ovation his next time up, which he followed with a single, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

But it wasn’t all peaches and roses for the Royals. In the top of the fourth, Witt dove to stop a Jordan Walker grounder from reaching the outfield. It looked like one of those marquee Bobby Witt Jr. web gems (are those still a thing?), but then Witt didn’t make the throw. Worse, he grabbed his right knee. Thankfully, he got up and finished the inning before the Royals smartly removed him from the game, inserting Tyler Tolbert.

As of this writing, I have not seen any further word on the seriousness of the injury.

In the end, Cameron picked up the victory, improving to 4-4 on the year with a 4.20 ERA. He didn’t exactly pitch a gem, but managed to get through five before turning it over to the bullpen. He gave up four hits, three walks, and hit a batter while striking out six. He was charged with three earned runs.

Mason Black and Beck Way both pitched two innings to close out the game. Black labored, allowing three hits, walking two and allowing two earned runs. Way allowed zero runs despite allowing two hits and two walks. He also struck out two.

The second game of the series is tomorrow evening before a rare open Saturday due to a World Cup game across the parking lot.

Behind an incredible 7 1/3-inning outing from Sean Burke and a grand slam Benny bomb, the White Sox (39-34) evaded the sweep in the Bronx, defeating the Yankees (45-28), 5-1. Both pitchers put on an excellent performance as each allowed a solo home run and struck out eight, but Burke outlasted Ryan Weathers with the help of Bryan Hudson, and the South Siders remain in first place.

The White Sox offense initially got off to a cold start (again), as Ryan Weathers struck out the side, bringing a sort of “here we go again” type of vibe to the night. Thankfully, Colson Montgomery kept his hot streak rolling to lead off the second inning, blasting his third home run of the series for the South Siders to take an early lead, 1-0. That was the 20th homer of the season for Colson, folks, and it’s only June.

Lefthander Bryan Hudson was the opener for the Good Guys ahead of Sean Burke, and he was rock solid in the first. Hudson rang up two of the three batters he faced, including Ben Rice to lead off the game and Cody Bellinger to close out the inning. The lefty returned for the second and quickly snagged two outs before giving up a double to Spencer Jones — his only hit allowed on the day. On a shorter leash as the opener, Will Venable turned to the bullpen for Burke to begin his outing, starting off on a high note by striking out José Caballero to end the inning.

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long, as Ryan McMahon took Burke deep to tie the game at one in the bottom of the third. With the tough segment of the New York lineup coming up to bat, Burke was able to buckle down and retire the next three batters in order, working through both Rice and Paul Goldschmidt to squash the momentum. Outside of the homer, Burke cruised through the rest of the game, continuously shutting the Yankees down anytime someone reached base, even picking off Caballero at second base in the sixth.

Back in the fourth, Burke had Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a 2-2 count, but he had to exit the game mid-at-bat after fouling a ball off a very sensitive area. Jazz wasn’t able to recover, so Anthony Volpe stepped in to take his place, and actually worked the 2-2 count to a walk to get on base. Volpe was subsequently thrown out at second base after attempting to steal, and despite a high throw from Quero, Luisangel Acuña placed a nice tag, jumping to catch the ball and get the tag down in one motion. The kicker is that the White Sox essentially did the exact same thing the next inning, as Acuña reached base but was caught stealing to end the inning on Junior Perez’s strikeout, which was overturned to an out after originally being called safe. It was quite a close play, so it was a little surprising that it was changed to an out, but it was fair enough. And with that, the game remained tied at one.

The Yankees’ bats were also relatively quiet until Volpe mashed a deep drive to left in the bottom of the seventh, but he made an interesting decision to stretch the double into a three-bagger, allowing Perez to throw him out at third and prevent the scoring threat. It was a great throw by the rookie for his first MLB putout, beating Volpe by a few steps after the ball first went over his head and off the wall. Burke remained in control for the final out and rang up Spencer Jones for his sixth K of the night. Through seven, the Yanks still had only mustered five hits and didn’t have many opportunities to score, having left only two on base to that point.

Weathers was also dominant for New York outside of the Colson home run, only allowing three hits against the South Siders while striking out eight in his 6 1/3 frames. Fernando Cruz was solid for the few batters he faced in relief of Weathers, but the eighth inning turned into a bit of a mess for New York. As Venable started subbing in some batters, Aaron Boone was also playing the matchup game, needing three arms to get through the inning.

Pinch-hitting for Luisangel Acuña, Sam Antonacci got a rally going for the Good Guys with a leadoff double, finally giving some life to the bats after several dead innings. Venable decided to pinch-hit Jacob Gonzalez for Perez, but Boone countered the White Sox’s move to put a lefty bat up at the plate by turning to our old pal, lefthander Tim Hill, out of the bullpen. Hill instantly made things worse for the Yankees by hitting both Gonzalez and Tristan Peters back-to-back to load the bases up for Meidroth, who sadly ended up striking out. Since we were already having a pinch-hit party, Andrew Benintendi came in for Randal Grichuk as the Yanks swapped in the third pitcher of the inning. On the very first pitch from Camilo Doval, Benintendi smashed a grand slam. A Bronx Benny bomb for the ages: a no-doubter to give the White Sox a four-run lead, 5-1.

Now with a bit of a cushion, Burke returned for the eighth and was the most efficient he had been all night. Using just eight pitches, Sean struck out Caballero for his seventh of the night and got two more quick outs, allowing him to go for the win and close out the game. Burke was nothing short of phenomenal tonight against the Bronx Bombers, limiting them to five hits and a walk while striking out eight and earning his fourth win of the season. While facing a series sweep, Burke kept the Sox in the game and gave the offense a chance to win, doing exactly what was needed to stave off the sweep. Sean was calm, cool, and collected throughout his entire outing, and he reduced his ERA from 4.15 to 3.89.

This was a much-needed W to close out the series and head to Detroit with some positive momentum. It also helped keep the Sox in first place, as the Guardians avoided a sweep in Milwaukee. The Sox are 3-0 against the Tigers so far this season, and if they can come back from the road trip with three or four wins, that would be a huge redemption after the first two games of this series.

With the Mets rotation in flux, they need Sean Manaea to be a stabilizing force.

And although he wasn't at his sharpest against the Phillies on Thursday night, the southpaw gave his team all he could, and it was enough in the Mets' 6-4 victory.

"He competed. He had to work; they made him work," manager Carlos Mendoza said of his starter's game. "And on a day where maybe he’ll tell you that he wasn't at his best with how crisp he was with his pitches, he found a way, for the first time, going back out for the sixth innings, over 90 pitches and he got the job done."

Thursday was just Manaea's second start of the season after beginning the 2026 campaign in the bullpen as a long man. It's the second time he pitched into the sixth inning -- he went six in his previous start -- but it was the first time the southpaw eclipsed 90 pitches in a game. And Manaea was quick to be critical of his evening, as Mendoza alluded to.

Manaea said only one pitch worked for him on Thursday, but he had to make do. 

"Sweeper was really good. I would say that," Manaea said semi-sarcastically. "Couldn’t get my fastball glove side, that was pretty annoying. And couldn’t get the cutter for a strike that was also annoying. But I thought the sweeper was really good today."

Manaea said that while he couldn't execute his pitches the way he wanted, they were effective enough to induce contact and get him through 5.1 innings. And he would need every out as the vaunted Phillies lineup had traffic on the bases early on. But Manaea would find ways to get out of it, allowing just two earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five.

"Gave us a chance, limited damage when he needed to," Mendoza said. "A couple of plays that didn’t go our way that could have helped him. But overall, he did a pretty good job for us."

“Sean’s been great. He’s made some adjustments. His velo’s up," Marcus Semien said of Manaea. "I’ve played behind him for a lot of years in Oakland and he’s looking more like that guy.”

Now that Manaea has started games twice in a row, he's getting into a routine that works for him. And he hopes that he can continue to be an effective starter as the Mets try and claw their way back to .500. 

With Thursday's win, they have now won two in a row and, despite their record (34-41), are playing better of late. Manaea feels that the team is in an upswing and he hopes to contribute to this run.

"We’re starting to play really good baseball," Manaea said. "I’m just really happy to help the boys who have responded this season."

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans which Brewer you’d most like to see join ace Jacob Misiorowski in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia come July. The results were pretty split:

Among the five options — Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, William Contreras, and Kyle Harrison — only Contreras has an All-Star selection to his name. Turang and Chourio, perhaps unsurprisingly, combined to garner more than half the vote, with Turang coming in at 36% and Chourio at 27%.

Turang, 26, is hitting .262/.378/.465 with 11 homers, 44 RBIs, 54 runs, and 12 steals this season, while Chourio is hitting .307/.360/.558 with 10 homers, 28 RBIs, 28 runs, and five steals (in just 38 games).

Bauers, 30, is having the best year of his veteran career, while Harrison’s stuff seems to be clicking this season. Lastly, Contreras remains a veteran presence on a young Brewer squad as a reliable everyday backstop, which has been especially valuable with Milwaukee’s very young rotation.

Do you agree with the results? Who did you vote for? Weigh in in the comments, and be sure to use FanDuel Sportsbook for all of your sports betting needs.

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

If only the first half-inning counted, Thursday night’s game would have gone well for the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, the other 8 1/2 innings were terrible as Matthew Liberatore had one of his worst starts of the year and the Kansas City Royals took advantage of that easily beating the Cardinals in the first game of this weekend’s awkwardly-scheduled I-70 series renewal.

If you’re a St. Louis Cardinals fan, Thursday night’s game wasn’t without his highlights, but they are far outnumbered by the disappointments. Let’s start with the very limited positives. In the top of the 1st inning, St. Louis got off to a fast start. JJ Wetherholt led off the game with a single to left followed Iván Herrera being walked (don’t worry, he’d predictably be hit by a pitch later). Jordan Walker then grounded a ball under Bobby Witt Jr’s glove allowing JJ Wetherholt to score giving the Cardinals a quick 1-0 lead.

Jordan Walker would advance to second on a wild pitch by Royals starter Matt Cameron and then former Royal Nelson Velázquez walked loading the bases for Alec Burleson. He would muscle a sacrifice fly to center scoring Herrera upping the St. Louis lead to 2-0. That’s it for most of the happy thoughts.

Matthew Liberatore’s bottom of the 1st inning wasn’t awful with the exception of a 419 foot home run from Bobby Witt Jr. St. Louis still maintained a 2-1 lead with one inning complete. The same can’t be said about the 2nd inning.

It’s hard to fully explain how bad the bottom of the 2nd inning was for Matthew Liberatore and the St. Louis Cardinals. He would not finish it which gives you some idea of how fast this game went downhill. The Royals would hit 5 doubles in the bottom of the 2nd inning alone. FIVE DOUBLES. Here’s the chronological order of events. Salvador Perez doubled. Carter Jensen doubled scoring Perez tying the game 2-2 which would be the last time the Cardinals weren’t losing Thursday night. The next batter, Loftin, flied out to center advancing Jensen to third. Isaac Collins would join the doubles party scoring Jensen and giving the Royals a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t lose. Massey would reach on an error by Nelson Velázquez scoring Collins upping the Royals lead to 4-2, but they weren’t even close to done. Lane Thomas would double scoring Massey followed by a single by Bobby Witt Jr. scoring Thomas. After a groundout by Caglianone, Starling Marte would (you guessed it) double scoring Witt Jr. By the time the 2nd inning was done, Matthew Liberatore would be removed from the game by manager Oli Marmol and replaced by Gordon Graceffo and the Royals would lead 7-2. Matthew Liberatore’s stat line was not pretty. 1 2/3 innings allowing 7 runs (5 of them earned) on 7 hits with 2 strikeouts and no walks.

To the Cardinals credit, they didn’t give up. St. Louis would rally in the top of the 4th inning. Blaze Jordan reached on an infield single followed by a single by Jose Fermin. Pedro Pages struck out and JJ Wetherholt lined out, but Ivan Herrera would get hit by a pitch again to load the bases. Jordan Walker then grounded deep to short, but Bobby Witt Jr. landed awkwardly and was unable to throw to any base allowing Blaze Jordan to score cutting the Royals lead down to 7-3. Bobby Witt Jr. would end up leaving the game with right knee discomfort, but no word on the extend of any injury yet.

The Royals would put the game out of reach in the bottom of the 4th inning when Gordon Graceffo walked Tolbert before Caglianone crushed an opposite field home run nearly hitting a camera in left field increasing the Royals lead to 9-4. Kansas City wasn’t done. Marte singled to left and then two batters later, Jensen doubled to right as Marte was held at third. This would lead to the Major League debut for Maxwel Rajcic who would give up a double to Loftin scoring Jensen and Marte giving Kansas City an 11-4 lead. Rajcic would get the final two outs of the bottom of the 4th, though.

In the top of the 5th inning, St. Louis would nick away at the huge Kansas City lead as Masyn Winn doubled and later scored when Jose Fermin singled making it 11-4 Royals. Maxwel Rajcic would impress in the bottom of the 5th inning setting the Royals down in order 1-2-3 which is the only inning that would happen tonight. Rajcic would pitch into the bottom of the 6th inning with the only other blemish being a 385 foot home run by Salvador Perez giving Kansas City a dozen runs. Congrats to Salvador as his dinger set the home run record for Kauffman Stadium. Well done, sir.

The Cardinals would threaten to make it an interesting game in the top of the 7th inning as Masyn Winn reached on an infield single and Blaze Jordan would double. Masyn Winn would score on a ground out by Fermin giving St. Louis its 5th run. Pedro Pagés managed a sacrifice fly to right scoring Blaze Jordan from third making it 12-6 Royals.

I wish I could say that the Cardinals bullpen kept the Royals from scoring anymore, but that wouldn’t be accurate. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Justin Bruihl would give up a single to Collins would steal second and then score on a single by Lane Thomas piling on the Kansas City lead to 13-6.

It’s been said often in the game discussion comments that the St. Louis Cardinals are fun to watch even when they lose and that can be said about Thursday night’s game, too. The Cardinals would load the bases in the top of the 8th inning again threatening to make it a competitive baseball game, but would get no runs after right fielder Marte would make a nice sliding catch.

Kansas City would add a somewhat humiliating 14th run in the bottom of the 8th inning as Marte and Perez both singled. Marte would eventually score on a passed ball charged against catcher Jimmy Crooks as Oli Marmol put a load of replacements into the game. 14-6 Royals win. Stuff happens.

There were several positives to take out of Thursday’s game. JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn each had 3 hits. JJ reached base 5 times which is a high in his still-young career. Blaze Jordan, Jordan Walker and Jose Fermin had a couple hits apiece. Maxwel Rajcic made his Major League debut. The Cardinals offense did its job by scoring 6 runs and hammering 13 hits. We won’t talk about the runners-in-scoring position, though.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to pretend Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals never happened as they’ll send Michael McGreevy to the mound for a hopefully different result Friday night. The Royals have Seth Lugo ready to go for Friday night’s game which will be watchable only on Apple TV+. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm central time.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. left Thursday night's game with right knee discomfort, the latest scare for a team that least afford to lose a franchise player.

Witt appeared to tweak the knee fielding an infield single in the fourth inning on July 18, landing awkwardly on his right leg. He stayed in for a few outs before exiting. It is the same knee that forced Witt out of a June 7 win over the Minnesota Twins with soreness, though he returned two days later and manager Matt Quatraro said there was nothing structurally hurt.

Depth behind Witt is thin

Maikel Garcia slid to shortstop when Witt exited in early June, but he left Tuesday night's game and is now on the IL with lumbrical muscle strain on the top of his left hand. Utility man Tyler Tolbert is the only other Royal to play the spot with any regularity, though Josh Rojas has recently joined the Royals roster and can cover short. Neither approaches Witt's production.

Witt is the Royals leader

Witt is the engine of the Royals' lineup and an American League MVP candidate. The 25-year-old is a two-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and the 2024 batting champion. He again leads the AL in stolen bases this season with 28 while hitting .294 with 10 home runs. Witt is signed long term on a deal that can keep him in Kansas City into the next decade.

More: MLB power rankings: Brewers and The Miz rise after conquering Philly

NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Benintendi launched a pinch-hit grand slam off Camilo Doval in the eighth inning Thursday night and the Chicago White Sox ended a nine-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium with a 5-1 victory over New York.

Benintendi batted for Randal Grichuk and was Chicago’s third pinch hitter of the inning. He snapped a 1-all tie by driving Doval’s first pitch, a 100 mph sinker, into the right-center seats.

It was the fourth career slam for Benintendi, who played 33 games for the Yankees in 2022, and his second pinch-hit homer.

Benintendi went deep after pinch-hitter Sam Antonacci doubled off Fernando Cruz (4-2). Tim Hill plunked pinch-hitter Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters with pitches before getting an out.

The White Sox won in the Bronx for the first time since June 8, 2023. Chicago was outscored 22-7 in the first two games of the three-game series and 58-18 during its skid in the Bronx.

Colson Montgomery also homered and made a key defensive play in the seventh before Chicago went ahead.

Montgomery tagged out Anthony Volpe trying to stretch a double. Volpe hit a ball over the head of left fielder Junior Perez, but he recovered to make a strong one-hop throw to Montgomery at third base and Volpe was out by several feet.

Ryan McMahon hit a tying homer in the third off bulk reliever Sean Burke (4-4), but the Yankees had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-5 since losing captain Aaron Judge to a fractured right rib.

New York also lost Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fourth when the second baseman fouled a pitch off the area near his groin.

Yankees starter Ryan Weathers allowed one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out eight and walked one.

Burke followed Chicago opener Bryan Hudson and permitted one run and five hits while striking out eight over the final 7 1/3 innings.

The White Sox won for the fifth time in their last 17 road games and finished 6-5 in an 11-game stretch against the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers and Yankees.

Up next

White Sox: RHP Erick Fedde (2-5, 4.50 ERA) opposes LHP Tarik Skubal (3-3, 2.81) in the opener of a three-game series Friday at Detroit.

Yankees: RHP Cam Schlittler (7-3, 1.82 ERA) faces RHP Rhett Lowder (3-3, 4.60) in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Cincinnati on Friday.