Category: Baseball

Charlotte Knights 7, Rochester Red Wings 6 (11 innings)
Jonathan Cannon had a rough four-inning start that included three unearned runs of the six scored, but the Knights (44-34) were able to claw back and walk-off the Red Wings (46-30) in extras, 7-6. Cannon made his 10th start and ended up allowing eight hits, and the unearned runs were attributed to a fielding error from Andy Weber. The righty also struggled with control by hitting a batter, tossing a wild pitch, walking three, and striking out four in comparison, but it didn’t outweigh the damage.

Dominance out of the Knights bullpen helped pave the way for Charlotte batters to stage the comeback. Caden Connor was the sole Knight with more than one RBI, driving in the two tying runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Korey Lee accounted for the the other two extra-base hits with a double and a homer, but Andy Weber ended up (mostly) redeeming himself from his previous error to walk it off and end the game … on an error from the second baseman, 7-6. Really, the second baseman probably should have made the play, but Lee was hoofing it the whole way and beat was still able to beat the throw.

Righthander Ben Peoples managed both of the extra frames, and was perfect while striking out two and earning his fifth win. Peoples has been excellent and has posted a 2.45 ERA in 28 appearances and 36 2/3 innings, but his walk rate could use a lot of work, hanging over 10% for this season which isn’t sustainable even with his increased 28.4% strikeout rate. Peoples could be another pitching prospect that we see rise to the bigs this season, but it’s unclear if that will be anytime soon.

Knoxville Smokies 5, Birmingham Barons 1
Lefthander Lucas Gordon tossed for six solid innings and allowed two runs on four hits, a home run, and struck out eight in the process, ultimately receiving his fourth loss of the season as the Barons (26-46) dropped their sixth straight today with the 5-1 loss to the Smokies (41-31). The Birmingham bats only had two fewer hits that Knoxville, 7-5, but they fumbled all of their chances to score runs by going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and leaving six on base.

Overall, the defense as a whole was having a bad day. Caleb Bonemer committed three errors at short, and the two relievers out of the Barons bullpen – Jackson Kelley and Morris Austin – each gave up at least one run. To be fiar, the Barons weren’t capable of scoring runs anyways, it didn’t end up making a difference. For the sole Birmingham run, third baseman Alec Briley mashed a solo shot to avoid the shutout, but the offense was otherwise flat. On to the next one.

Winston-Salem Dash 14, Hub City Spartanburgers 9
Winston-Salem had actually blown a five-run lead after giving up four runs to the Spartanburgers (36-36) in the third and fourth innings, but a six-run offensive explosion in the ninth led the Dash (41-31) to victory, 14-9. Not only did Winston-Salem put up 10 hits as a team, six of them were for extra bases and they also walked 13 times. Somehow even with scoring 14, they went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and ended up leaving 11 on base; not a great day for Hub City pitchers, but I’m not complaining.

Alex Ungar and George Wolkow combined to go 3-for-9, scoring three times and driving in nine: five from Ungar that included a grand slam in the ninth, and four from Wolkow, who mashed two homers on the night. Aside from these standouts, James Taussig and Ryan Burrowes also rounded up two hits with the latter scoring three times.

Righthander Max Banks gave up two earned (four total) in his 2 2/3 inning start, allowing the Spartanburgers to catch up and then take the lead in the fourth as Drew Conover ended up with a blown save before he was bailed out by the hot bats and the final three pitchers out of the Dash bullpen. Winston-Salem pushed through Jake Bockenstedt’s five walks, and righthander Madison Jeffrey wound up with his first win of the season.

Columbia Fireflies 7, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
The Cannon Ballers (35-37) are now riding a three-game losing streak after losing to the Fireflies (37-35), 7-3. Offensively, Kannapolis got rocked and were outhit, 11-3, but a pair of errors from Columbia helped the Ballers avoid the shutout. With ample chances, they went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position while leaving six on base. Jaden Fauske posted two of the three Kanny hits, and Matthew Boughton ripped a double for the third, both players scoring once.

Truman Pauley made his 14th start of the season, ultimately giving three (two earned) on six hits, two walks, and six strikeouts, but it’s been a rough year for him as this wound up being his seventh loss. The remainder of the bullpen wasn’t much to write home about, either. Anthony Patterson III acted as the long reliever, but immediately got into trouble in the sixth and gave up three, but was otherwise solid for his final two innings despite the lack of offense.

ACL White Sox 12, ACL D-backs 1 (7 innings)
It was great to see the ACL Sox (12-27) offense explode against the D-backs (21-19) Thursday, with a nine-run third frame as the main difference in the win for the Sox, 12-1. Jose Mendoza mashed a two-run shot in the second, and the bats popped off the next inning to give more than enough run support for the pitching staff to hang on and win the game. The third frame consisted of: four base hits, a double, four walks, two errors, a hit batter, and a wild pitch. Ouch, but thank you to the ACL D-backs for the morale booster. The Good Guys needed just two pitchers to get through the game, with righthander Justin Fuson earning his first win of the season while allowing just three hits and striking out five.

DSL Arizona Red 10, DSL White Sox 8 (7 innings)
Unfortunately the DSL White Sox (5-13) took another one on the chin, getting outhit, 8-4, by the DSL Arizona Red team (12-7) and losing, 10-8, despite going 3-for-5 with runners in scoring in scoring position. The Sox manufactured as many runs as the did by walking eight times, which was two more than they struck out (six), but the AZ Red squad went 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Both teams’ starters allowed six runs, but the Alexander De Los Santos surrendered four in his 2 2/3 frames and ended up with his second loss of the season.

The San Diego Padres welcomed Freddy Fermin back to the starting lineup after missing a little more than a week while recovering from concussion symptoms. He guided spot starter JP Sears to a victory and secured a series sweep over the Atlanta Braves. The lone negative is Fermin failing to make an impact from the bottom third of the lineup. 

He went 0-for-2 in his return, which dropped Fermin’s season batting average to .145 with a disappointing .505 OPS in 124 at-bats. The lack of offensive consistency has been a season-long issue. The Padres cannot go through another rough stretch of the bottom of the order struggling to score runs.

It is time for the front office to acquire a better hitting option at the catcher position. 

Padres reluctant to call-up Salas

At first when Fermin went out of the lineup, the Friars were reluctant to bring Ethan Salas to the majors. It seemed like a smart decision, as the organization wanted him to continue his development in Triple-A. But any thought of a promotion to the majors has been put on hold, as Salas has been put on the minor league injured list.

The organization seems to be at the crossroads, as acquiring another catcher seems inevitable. Fermin’s return should not deter the front office’s aggressiveness. It is time to find someone who can compete for playing time. Given the bleak state of the minor league system’s catching depth, it is wise for the Padres to look for answers on the trade market.

The lineup does not need a blockbuster move

Let’s forget the notion of a blockbuster move; the lineup does not need an impactful bat. But you want to deal for a catcher who can knock in runs from the bottom third of the order. 

You may see Colorado Rockies Hunter Goodman or Detroit Tigers Dillon Dingler become viable catching trade options as we get closer to the deadline. Both are good pitch framers who can provide a clutch hit late in close games.

The front office will need to do its due diligence on identifying the right addition to the roster. 

The Friars need an upgrade at the catching position. If they cannot secure the right fit for the lineup, it might limit their chances to clinch a postseason berth.

Rangers 6 Blue Jays 5

Well, they made it close.

A terrible night for Kevin Gausman, for the second start in a row. Tonight he gave up a run in the first and five more in the third, and that was pretty much the game. He did work his way through six innings.

And Simeon Woods Richardson pitched the last three innings, without giving up a run. Pretty soon he’s going to earn a change to be more than just a mop up guy. 10 innings and he still hasn’t given up a run as a Blue Jay.

Offensively? We didn’t score until the fifth inning, putting up three runs with back-to-back singled to start the inning by Kazuma Okamoto and Alejandro Kirk. A Nathan Lukes walk loaded the bases. Then a sac fly by Davis Schneider and a Myles Straw double brought in our runs.

And we got two more in the ninth. Ernie Clement singles and, after a Vladimir Guerrero strikeout, Okamoto hit his 18th home run of the season. But Kirk ground out and Brandon Valenzuela struck out and that was the game.

We only had six hits and one walk, so there weren’t many base runners. Clement and Okamoto had two hits each. Kirk and Straw had one each.

Just another one of those days where we didn’t hit enough. One for three with RISP but we didn’t have enough RISP. It seems to be the story of the season to this point.

Jay of the Day? Straw was the only one getting the number (0.10 WPA). Let’s give an honourable mention to Okamoto.

Other Award: Gausman (-0.29) and Vlad (-0.10).

Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-3, 4.73) against Nathan Eovaldi (7-7, 4.24). As I say too often, a win would be nice.

Good news! Apparently whatever ailment preventing the Red Sox from playing competent baseball at Fenway Park this year is contagious. The New York Yankees may have the best record in the American League, but tonight they put on a total clown shown and gifted away a rather amusing victory with a big, fat bow on it.

The Red Sox of course were still the Red Sox, going 1-12 with runners in scoring position and failing to score a single earned run, but for one night, their shortcomings were dwarfed by their opponent. If you go by official errors, the Yankees were charged with four, but it you watched the whole thing play out, it felt like they had twice that many.

It started early and often with two mistakes in the first inning: First Austin Wells got nailed on catcher’s interference, and then Cam Schlitter threw a ball into centerfield to set up a second and third situation for the Sox. Even though these two errors didn’t amount to anything, it was a major harbinger of things to come.

In the second inning, the Yankees started things off by letting this pop up drop (which was generously ruled a hit):

Then, later in the same frame, Cam Schlittler hit Carlos Narvaez on an 0-2 pitch.

Once again, the Red Sox didn’t score – And they even failed to score again in the third and fourth innings despite another pop up dropping in foul territory.

However, in the bottom of the fifth, the flood of mistakes finally caught up with New York and the game turned rather quickly. On another night, the ball below becomes an inning ending double play, but with the circus in town, it went right through Amed Rosario’s legs to get the Red Sox on the board.

Later in the inning, Jarren Duran recorded a sac fly on a shallow fly ball to left field thanks in part to a very unimpressive throw from Jose Caballero. (To be fair and give the Red Sox some credit, they fully expected a throw like this and challenged his arm.)

Then came the big blow. In an inning that should have been over, the Yankees proved the even against the 2026 Red Sox, if you keep making enormous blunder after enormous blunder, you’re eventually going to pay the piper in this league. Here, it happened in the form of a Caleb Durbin home run down the left field line. It was definitely a Fenway home run, but the Yankees fully earned this one with the way they played all night, and so did Durbin for that matter getting back in the lineup one day after dislocating his pinky.

That homer turned out to be all the runs the Red Sox needed, but the Yankees were not done handing out gifts. Here’s Yerry De los Santos trying to field a bunt in the eighth:

And here he is nearly gifting the Red Sox a run on a wild pitch:

Don’t worry, even though the Sox didn’t cash that check, they were handed the run on the next batter:

And just for good measure, the Sox got yet another insurance run on this failed double play attempt by Anthony Volpe:

On a day exactly on the opposite end of the calendar from Christmas, the Red Sox sure got quite the pile of presents.

Three Studs

Caleb Durbin: In addition to the home run and getting on base three times, Durbin also made this defensive play:

Connelly Early: This is the other main story from the game that kind of got buried in the Yankee calamity. Early survived a shaky first inning, showed steady improvement the deeper he worked into the outing, and his fastball was touching 95mph. Great night for him in both the micro and the macro.

Garrett Whitlock: Nice bounce back outing after some shakiness in Colorado. He put up an easy, stress free zero in the top of the eighth.

Three Duds

Marcelo Mayer: 0-4 with two strike outs that also included a pop up with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the eighth inning. If he had a halfway decent night with the bat, the Red Sox probably score ten runs given all the ducks he left on the pond.

Greg Weissert: Nearly set the game on fire in the seventh inning. Needed Danny Coulombe to get Ben Rice to clean up his jam.

Earthquakes: Normally, the third dud would go to either Wilyer Abreu or Willson Contreras, who went a combined 0-8 with three strikeouts from the three and four spots in the lineup. However, given what’s happening in their home country right now, they get a total pass for this one.

Play of the game:

Pick whatever Yankee error was your favorite. Their incompetency powered the Red Sox win with Boston failing to score a single earned run all night. Let’s just hope the Yankees saved some errors for the rest of the series.

For what felt like the millionth time this season, the Mets made some mistakes in Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Cubs that cost them the game.

Tied 0-0 entering the sixth inning, Freddy Peralta, who had been cruising over the first five innings, got Dansby Swanson to hit a routine grounder to shortstop Ronny Mauricio. The ball was hit right to Mauricio and all he had to do was make the throw to first base for the first out of the inning.

Instead, Mauricio made a low throw and the ball skipped to first baseman Mark Vientos, who couldn’t handle it for a throwing error charged to the shortstop.

The error paved the way for Chicago’s three-run inning, all of which were unearned, and forced Peralta to throw 30 pitches before getting pulled with two outs in the frame. 

Not only was manager Carlos Mendoza unhappy after the game with the error because of how routine the play was, the point in time at which it happened also bothered him, not to mention it came on the heels of a game where New York made six errors.

“Especially the leadoff one there – it’s a completely different inning, especially for Freddy’s outing there,” Mendoza said. “It’s just routine plays that are costing us. At this level, you expect to make plays like that, those are routine plays. You understand that they’re not gonna be perfect, but those are as routine as it gets and teams are making us pay for it, especially the past few nights.

Prior to the error, Peralta had kept the Cubs scoreless for five innings and pulled a complete 180 following his season-worst start against the Philadelphia Phillies the last time out. Of course, it’s impossible to say what would’ve happened had the error not happened, but at the very least, it forced Peralta to throw more pitches and ended his night prematurely.

Nevertheless, the right-hander knows mistakes are part of the game and felt he should’ve done more to pick up his defender.

“It happens. I was just trying to calm myself and make my pitches and try to get a ground ball for the double play,” he said.

The Mets, officially at the halfway point of the season, have now lost six straight games, are a season-low 13 games below .500 and their season is on life support.

So, what, if anything, can be done about it?

“I cannot speak for everybody, but what I can say and what I feel is just, losing is no fun,” Peralta said. “And at the end of the day, I know we need to win and that we have a team that is supposed to win. What I can say is we’ve been trying and we’ve been working really hard to get through this and trying to make adjustments. 

“Right now we just need to keep trying and play better, myself too. We all need to play better and just try to come back and remind ourselves that we are big leaguers and we are great at this game. We just need to put everything together and try to put up a W every day.”

Right-hander Grant Kipp was promoted from Double-A Knoxville to Triple-A Iowa.

Right-hander Kenten Egbert went back down to High-A South Bend after his one game in Iowa.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were trampled to death by the Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays), 15-1.

Corbin Martin started this game as a kind of hybrid opener/bullpen game and he got the loss after giving up two runs on one hit and one walk over 1.2 innings. Martin struck out two.

Iowa managed just six hits in this game and all of them were singles. Third baseman James Triantos singled home right fielder Kevin Alcántara with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Triantos was 2 for 4. Alcántara went o for 3 with a walk.

Here’s at least a defensive highlight, courtesy of center fielder Brett Bateman.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies defenestrated the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 5-1.

Dawson Netz kept the Barons off the board for six innings, giving up just two hits. Netz struck out two and walked just one.

Catcher Owen Ayers connected for a solo home run in the top of the first inning. It was Ayers’ 20th home run this year and 14th with the Smokies. Ayers went 2 for 3 with a walk.

In the seventh inning, shortstop Ed Howard smacked his first home run of the year off the scoreboard with a man on. Howard went 1 for 4.

Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle doubled twice in a 3 for 4 night. He scored twice and had one run batted in.

Ayers’ home run.

Ed Howard’s home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were hijacked by the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 8-1.

Mason McGwire got the start and the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits over four innings. McGwire walked two and struck out four.

South Bend managed just four hits. Third baseman Matt Halbach and left fielder Jose Escobar hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning for the only Cubs run. Both players were 1 for 4.

Escobar’s RBI double.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans domesticated the Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox), 5-4.

Kaleb Wing started this game, but only threw 18 pitches and one inning. Wing allowed no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out two. I didn’t see any injury on the mound, but who knows if he mentioned something in the dugout between innings. I didn’t see any hugs either, although it was the away broadcast and they weren’t focusing on the Pelicans dugout.

David Bracho threw the next three innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. Bracho walked two and struck out two.

Next up was Edwardo Melendez, who allowed one run on two hits over three innings. Melendez walked two and struck out three.

Emilio Ramos pitched the eighth and ninth inning, did not give up a hit or a run and got the win. Ramos did walk one while striking out two.

Second baseman Alexis Hernández had a big day, going 3 for 5 with two doubles. The second double, in the top of the ninth, scored Alexey Lumpuy which broke a 4-4 tie and ended up being the winning run. Hernández had two total RBI and he scored once.

Center fielder Lumpuy went 1 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. He also stole one base.

Catcher Jairo Diaz was 2 for 4. He scored one run and drove one in.

RBI single for Hernández.

The RBI double in the ninth.

ACL Cubs

Losing to the Brewers, 7-5 in the seventh inning.

Just when it seemed like the Mets might quiet the noise — around their manager, around their president of baseball operations, around everyone in the clubhouse associated with this dismal season spiraling toward the trade deadline — for one night, they still found a way to lose. Just when the offense was actually able to fix the latest mess that the defense made to give them a chance in extras, it still wasn’t enough.

This time, less than 24 hours after the Mets and Cubs made a trade in what might be a summer full of them, the centerpiece of the two clubs’ last major deal issued a reminder of why it aged so poorly for his former team. Pete Crow-Armstrong — the former Mets prospect sent to Chicago in the 2021 Javier Báez deal — doubled home the winning run for the Cubs in the 10th off Brooks Raley. Eric Wagaman, Brett Baty and Carson Benge couldn’t find a way to get Ronny Mauricio home in the bottom of the frame. And it sent the Mets to a 4-3 loss as their losing streak extended to six and they inched closer to the seemingly inevitable decision to sell at the deadline.

That’s the reality,” Carlos Mendoza said when asked about that after the season hit its official midway point one night after David Peterson was traded to Chicago. “Especially if we don’t start playing better. Obviously, we gotta be honest here. But we can’t be thinking about what-if. Our job is to do what we need to do now.”

This time, the Mets (34-47) found a way to punch back after a pair of errors by Mauricio — or, if the fans at Citi Field had any say in the official scoring, Mark Vientos — and Benge gave the Cubs a three-run lead. Wagaman first stepped into a fastball on the first pitch from Ethan Roberts and sent it over the left field fence and then, Jared Young sent a curveball from ex-Met Phil Maton over the right field fence.

But until that point, Thursday had started to unfold as the worst type of encore for the Mets one night after they committed six errors in a game. Mauricio one-hopped a throw that Vientos couldn’t scoop, leading to one Cubs run. After Mauricio’s error, fans at Citi Field brought back the “Pete Alonso” chants from Wednesday. They blamed Vientos for allowing Dansby Swanson to reach base more than Mauricio, who was starting at shortstop and playing in his first game since May 2. Swanson then advanced to second on a groundout and came around to score when ex-Met Michael Conforto lined a single to right field.

One out later, the Mets defense cratered again. Alex Bregman lined a ball up the right field line, but Benge couldn’t time the bounce off the wall. Conforto scored on the play. Bregman ended up on third, making it easy to score when Ian Happ singled. When it all added up at the end of the frame, Freddy Peralta — cruising to that point — had allowed three unearned runs.

“It’s just routine plays that are just costing us,” Mendoza said. “At this level, you expect to make plays like that. Those are routine plays. You understand that they’re not gonna be perfect, but those are routine as it gets.”

The Mets had their chances, though. They loaded the bases in the third inning before Vientos fouled out. Had runners on first and second the next frame, too, with Mauricio’s double keying it all, before Baty grounded out. Loaded the bases again in the sixth after Wagaman’s blast, with Juan Soto grounding out, too.

Peralta recovered from his 10-run outing to cruise through five innings before the defense ruined his final two-thirds of a frame. He struck out five batters, walked another one and allowed five hits in an outing that, if nothing else, could boost the pending free agent’s trade value when the end of July arrives.

“Everybody in here’s frustrated,” Wagaman said. “I think we know what our record is. … We can’t get all those wins back in one day. We just have to start stacking them and take it day by day.”

But then Crow-Armstrong delivered some more misery for his former team. And as the Peterson trade showed, the Mets could be rapidly running out of time with the current group.

The Mets continue to set records that nobody wants as they left 14 runners on base, a season high, and allowed four more unearned runs in tonight’s loss, 4-3 to the Cubs.

After allowing a leadoff single to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the first inning, Freddy Peralta retired the next ten hitters and seemed on track to keep his pitch count lower in the early innings. The Mets’ offense struggled more. After Juan Soto walked in the first, Francisco Alvarez walked in the second, and Carson Benge and Soto walked again in the third, they were stranded every time. Bo Bichette was also stranded in the third inning after tapping a single past Nico Hoerner. In the fourth inning, Michael Busch smacked a single that got away from Mark Vientos, who had to crawl after it to recover. A wild pitch moved Busch to second base, but Peralta was able to come back to strand him there as well. Ronny Mauricio was also stranded on a double that he into right field. Juan Soto also tapped a single into left field at the bottom of the fifth inning and then went nowhere.

At the top of the sixth inning, the Mets defense struck again as Dansby Swanson reached first base on a throwing error from Mauricio to Vientos. Michael Conforto drove an RBI single into right field, and Alex Bregman started with a double that bounced off the wall in right field, but it went through Benge’s legs, and Bregman reached third on the error that also allowed Conforto to score. Ian Happ followed up with another RBI single, bringing the total to three unearned runs, and Hoerner worked a walk before Austin Warren came in to replace Peralta. Warren struck out Pedro Ramírez for the final out.

A. J. Ewing walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, and after two outs, Eric Wagaman came in to pinch-hit for Melendez when the Cubs brought in left-handed reliever Hoby Milner. Wagaman, always here to surprise, drilled a two-run home run into left field. Baty was inspired, and hit a single, also into left field. Benge lined a single into center field to move Baty to third. The Cubs brought in Phil Maton next, who hit Bichette and loaded the bases for Soto. Soto grounded out, the first time he did not reach base in this outing, and the second time the Mets left the bases loaded. The inning ended with the score Cubs 3, Mets 2.

Mets’ pinch-hitting continued to come through in the bottom of the seventh, as Jared Young, hitting for Vientos, hit a home run into center field to tie the game. Ewing singled and stole second, but was once again stranded in scoring position. Luke Weaver came out for the top of the eighth and struck out the side. Devin Williams kept the game tied in the top of the ninth. Then, Jared Young walked, and Francisco Alvarez reached on an error by Swanson. Unfortunately, Ewing flied out for the second out to bring up Ronny Mauricio, who grounded out on the first pitch he saw to send the game to extra innings for the 13th time this year.

Miguel Amaya was the Cubs’ extra runner at the top of the tenth inning, and Brooks Raley was the Mets’ pitcher. Crow Armstrong ripped a double that bounced down to the right corner and drove in Amaya. Raley minimized the damage to just one run, and it was the Mets’ turn to try. Mauricio started the inning at second base, but even with the extra help, the Mets hitters could not get anywhere. The game ended there; the Mets endured their sixth loss as the Cubs swept the season series.

The Mets see the Phillies at home starting tomorrow at 7:10 PM ET. Zach Thornton is likely to face off against Zack Wheeler.

SB Nation GameThreads

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Bleed Cubbie Blue

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

Fangraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jared Young, +29% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge/Ronny Mauricio, tied at -18% WPA
Mets pitchers: +14% WPA
Mets hitters: -64% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young’s home run, +23.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI double in the 10th, -29.0% WPA

The Yankees and Red Sox entered this four-game series at Fenway Park on opposite sides of the spectrum, as they had the best record in the American League at 48-31 while Boston entered dead last at 32-46. Nonetheless, the script was flipped on Thursday night with New York looking the part of a shakier team for at least one night. Led by a tough game from Amed Rosario at third, the Yanks committed a season-high four errors. All of the six Red Sox runs were unearned, but they count on the scoreboard all the same.

Final score in the series opener: 6-3, Boston. The loss dropped New York to 4-2 against its longtime rivals this season with three games over the weekend still remaining.

Wasting no time, leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt doubled off Boston starter Connelly Early. It looked like the lefty might work around the early trouble, but with two outs Jasson Domínguez, batting from the right side, singled up the middle to score Goldschmidt and give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.

That score would hold for the next few innings as both starters sweated their way through a muggy summer night. Then, in the top of the fourth, José Caballero turned on a breaking ball and dropped it into the Green Monster seats in left field to double the Yankees’ lead to 2-0.

The Red Sox stranded four runners through the first three innings, but they made Cam Schlittler work. A catcher’s interference call on Wells, a pickoff error for Schlittler, and a missed popup between the batterymates all led to extra pitches.

In the bottom of the fourth, a ground-rule double off the bat of former Yankees first-round pick Anthony Seigler put runners on second and third with one out. Schlittler responded by striking out Carlos Narváez–another former Yankees prospect–and Marcelo Mayer, both swinging, to end the threat.

Boston again got the bases busy to start the bottom of the fifth when Masataka Yoshida walked and Ceddanne Rafaela singled up the middle. Wilyer Abreu popped one up on in foul territory that Rosario made a leaping attempt for, but it ticked off his glove (though it was not an error). Schlittler again responded, striking out Abreu looking for his eighth strikeout of the night. He then got the groundball he wanted, but it skipped through Rosario’s legs to score a run and put runners on second and third. This time, Rosario was charged with an E5.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Jarren Duran tied the game at 2-2. Then, yet another erstwhile Yankees prospect, Caleb Durbin, lofted a two-run home run off the top of the Green Monster down the left-field line to give Boston a 4-2 lead at the end of the fifth.

The fifth was Schlittler’s last inning as Paul Blackburn came on in relief. Schlittler’s final line was five innings, four runs, none earned, and nine strikeouts. I suppose it was not a full defensive meltdown, but it sure felt like the ball found all the wrong guys as intentionally as possible.

Boston relieved Early in the seventh with another former Yankee, Greg Weissert. The Yankees put two runners aboard after Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked and Austin Wells singled. Jazz then stole third, and after a lengthy at-bat, Goldschmidt grounded out softly to score him and trim Boston’s lead to 4-3. The Red Sox then turned to Danny Coulombe with two outs in the seventh, clinging to a one-run lead. Coulombe got Ben Rice to ground out to end the inning.

Keeping with the evening trend, Boston handed the ball to yet another former Yankees prospect, Garrett Whitlock. Whitlock worked a clean eighth inning, and the Yankees’ chances were fading faster than tea tossed into Boston Harbor.

The bottom of the eighth saw the wheels begin to come off as the Yankees handed the ball to Yerry De los Santos, who walked the leadoff hitter, gave up a single, and then committed an error on a sacrifice bunt. After recording one out–and nearly scoring another run on a wild pitch, which took a friendly carom and forced the runners to freeze–the Yankees turned to Ryan Yarbrough hoping to escape with a chance.

Yarbrough ran a pitch inside that hit pinch=hitter Nate Eaton. After review, it was determined that one stitch on the ball had clipped the button on his jersey just enough to give him first base and force in a run. Then a botched double play by Anthony Volpe that resulted in only one out made it 6-3 Boston.

Somehow, Boston still had more former Yankees in reserve and turned to another one, Aroldis Chapman, for the save opportunity. The Yankees brought the tying run to the plate with one out. Aaron Boone called on the right-handed Max Schuemann, but Chapman got him to fly out to right.

Down to their final out, the Yankees’ hottest hitter, Goldschmidt, put the ball in play and was rewarded with an infield hit to load the bases. However, the threat was for naught as Chapman fielded Rice’s swinging bunt and threw him out to end the game.

The Yankees dropped a game without allowing an earned run. Ugly. The good thing about baseball, though, is there is almost always tomorrow. New York will look to even the series on Friday night at Fenway, where Will Warren is scheduled to face Payton Tolle at 7:10 p.m. ET.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the rival Chicago Cubs this weekend, with three big games in store at American Family Field. The Brewers have found their groove over the last month-plus. After getting out to a somewhat slow, injury-riddled start, they’ve gone 33-15 since the beginning of May to expand their NL Central lead. At 49-29, they’re a season-high 20 games over .500, and they sit seven games ahead of the Cardinals and Cubs in the division entering Thursday’s play.

The Cubs, at 44-37, have had a rollercoaster season, including a pair of 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak. They’ve looked a bit better over the last couple of weeks, going 9-3 against the Giants, Rockies, Blue Jays, and Mets, including a four-game sweep of the Mets in New York leading into this series.

The Brewers are currently without pitchers Jared Koenig (expected to be activated ahead of Friday’s series opener), Carlos Rodriguez (late July), Logan Henderson (early July), Coleman Crow (early July), DL Hall (late July), Rob Zastryzny (late June/early July), Brian Fitzpatrick (TBD — meeting with Dr. Keith Meister to determine whether Tommy John surgery is needed on June 30), Quinn Priester (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). Outfielder Brandon Lockridge is the only position player on the IL, and after suffering a setback that will require arthroscopic knee surgery, he’s slated to be out until late July.

Chicago’s pitching staff is completely depleted, as they’re without Ben Brown (neck strain), Edward Cabrera (TBD), Justin Steele (late 2026), Jaxon Wiggins (TBD), Daniel Palencia (TBD), Jameson Taillon (second half), Riley Martin (July), Hunter Harvey (TBD), Porter Hodge (out for season), Cade Horton (out for season), and Shelby Miller (out for season). First baseman Tyler Austin has also been on the IL all season with a knee injury.

Milwaukee’s offense is led by Jake Bauers, who has 14 homers and 48 RBIs on the year, with Brice Turang at 11 homers and Jackson Chourio at 10. William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, Andrew Vaughn, and Garrett Mitchell have also played key roles offensively, with Cooper Pratt, Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz rounding out the position player group. Pratt, whom the Brewers signed to an eight-year extension before he even set foot in the majors, has looked solid in his first week-plus with Milwaukee, as he’s picked up seven hits in nine games and stolen four bases while providing above-average defense. After all, it couldn’t get much worse than the recently released Luis Rengifo (.205/.280/.254 with no homers and below-average defense over 57 games). The Brewers are hitting .254/.338/.391 (.729 OPS ranks 11th), with 70 homers (28th), 407 runs (third), and 77 steals (fifth).

Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the Cubs’ offense with 17 homers, as he’s hitting .287/.367/.521 with 18 steals. Ian Happ has 16 homers, while Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki are also in double digits. Michael Busch is having a bit of a disappointing season, but he still has a solid .370 on-base percentage thanks to a team-high 54 walks, adding nine homers. Alex Bregman is having the worst offensive season of his career after signing a massive five-year deal in the offseason. Carson Kelly, Nico Hoerner, and Matt Shaw round out the regulars, with Miguel Amaya, Michael Conforto, Justin Dean, and Pedro Ramírez serving as depth. The Cubs are hitting .244/.338/.406 (.744 OPS ranks fifth), with 95 homers (14th), 395 runs (tied for sixth), and 57 steals (15th).

Milwaukee’s bullpen has found its identity over the past few months, after some early-season struggles from players like Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe put things into question — they’ve both looked much better as of late. The bullpen is anchored by Megill, Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and Chad Patrick, with Grant Anderson, Craig Yoho, and Joel Kuhnel rounding things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.38 team ERA (second), including a 3.23 starter ERA (first) and a 3.56 bullpen ERA (eighth). They’ve struck out 769 batters (first) over 698 2/3 innings.

After all of the recent bullpen injuries, Chicago’s current bullpen consists of Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, and Hoby Milner in the high-leverage roles. Trent Thornton, Vince Velasquez, Ryan Rolison, and Ethan Roberts serve as the backend of the ‘pen. As a staff, the Cubs have a 4.30 team ERA (18th), including a 4.64 starter ERA (25th) and a 3.82 bullpen ERA (12th). They’ve struck out 629 batters (23rd) over 710 1/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, June 26 @ 6:45 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (8-3, 1.45 ERA, 1.66 FIP) vs. RHP Colin Rea (5-5, 4.99 ERA, 4.83 FIP)

Misiorowski, who has been a star all season for Milwaukee, is 8-3 with a 1.45 ERA, 1.66 FIP, and 138 strikeouts over 93 innings this season. He currently leads the league in ERA, FIP, WHIP, and strikeouts, though he’s coming off his worst outing in nearly two months. Over six innings against Atlanta last Friday, he allowed a whopping two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out seven in a 3-2 loss, his first loss since mid-April. Misiorowski is 1-1 in three career starts against Chicago, with a 3.21 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 14 innings. His last appearance, which came back in May of this season, he went six shutout innings, striking out eight to earn the win.

Rea, 36 next week, is in his eighth MLB season and third with Chicago (second during this stint — he previously pitched for them in 2020). The former Brewer hasn’t had a ton of success this season, with a 4.99 ERA and 4.83 FIP over 79 1/3 innings through 16 appearances (12 starts). He isn’t a huge strikeout guy, with just 59 this year and three or fewer in each of his last four starts. He took a no-decision last time out, though it was no fault of his own as he went 5 1/3 innings with no runs allowed on three hits and no walks, striking out three against the Blue Jays. Rea has made three starts against the Brewers, all while with the Cubs, with a 1-1 record, a 6.23 ERA, and five strikeouts over 13 innings.

Saturday, June 27 @ 6:10 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.50 ERA, 3.05 FIP) vs. TBD

Harrison, who would likely be considered the ace of most other teams, has also turned in a great season thus far, with a 2.50 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 87 strikeouts across 72 innings. Like Miz, he’s coming off a disappointing outing, though it was still a quality start — he went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out seven in a no-decision, as the Brewers would ultimately lose on a walk-off homer by Ozzie Albies in the ninth. Over eight career innings against Chicago, Harrison has allowed no runs on just two hits and a walk, striking out 13. That includes seven shutout frames back in May, when he struck out 11 in a win.

The Cubs haven’t announced a starter for the final two games of the series, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise after recent injuries to rotational arms, including Brown, Cabrera, and Taillon. Potential options for these last two games are few, with Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, and Matthew Boyd all having pitched either Wednesday or Thursday (the team had a doubleheader on Wednesday).

Sunday, June 28 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.00 ERA, 3.27 FIP) vs. TBD

Woodruff, who missed nearly two months before returning earlier this week, remains one of Milwaukee’s best pitchers when healthy, and a key veteran presence even when he isn’t. In seven starts this season, he has a 3.00 ERA, 3.27 FIP, and 35 strikeouts over 36 innings. He went six shutout frames against the Reds in his return on Monday, allowing just one hit and striking out 10. A familiar opponent for the Cubs, he’s made 19 appearances (17 starts) against Chicago, with a 2-3 record, 3.28 ERA, and 112 strikeouts over 90 2/3 innings. Due to injuries, however, he’s only made one appearance against them since the beginning of 2024 — he went 4 1/3 innings last August, allowing three runs and striking out six in a loss.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, June 26: Exclusively on Apple TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, June 27: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, June 28: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This should be a fun weekend series in Milwaukee. Give me the Brewers to take two of three.

BOSTON — Cam Schlittler played with fire for four innings and got away with it.

But then in the fifth, his defense added some lighter fluid, and his start went up in flames.

After Amed Rosario let a smoked ground ball go through his legs instead of turning a potential inning-ending double play, the first of four unearned runs came in on Schlittler to sink the Yankees in a sloppy 6-3 loss to the Red Sox on Thursday night at a sold-out Fenway Park.

Former Yankees prospect Caleb Durbin delivered the deciding blow before the fifth inning was over, taking Schlittler deep for a two-run shot just over the Green Monster to break a 2-2 tie.

The Yankees tried to mount a comeback in the ninth against their former closer, Aroldis Chapman, who loaded the bases with two outs before finally shutting the door.

It was a messy loss for the Yankees (48-32), who committed a season-high four errors — making all six of the runs their pitchers allowed the unearned variety — and wasted some chances to cash in offensively before the scuffling Red Sox (33-46) came alive.

“At the end of the day, I was giving them opportunities,” said Schlittler, who struck out nine across five innings. “Feel like I battled those first four [innings], getting myself out of those jams. Then I made a mistake there in the fifth.”

The offense, meanwhile, could not pick up the defense, going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position — including Ben Rice, the Yankees’ best hitter, going 0-for-4 in those situations and leaving seven men on base.

Schlittler stranded a pair of runners in each of the first, second and fourth innings. He might have been able to do it again in the fifth, until Rosario’s fielding error opened the floodgates.

“We just didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just not up to the way we’ve been playing or are capable of playing. Ultimately, it was too much to overcome.”

The Yankees led 2-0 entering the inning before Schlittler issued a leadoff walk to Masataka Yoshida and then gave up a single to Ceddanne Rafaela. He followed that up by striking out Wilyer Abreu on a 100 mph sinker for the second time of the night.

But Willson Contreras came up next and drilled a 112.8 mph ground ball to third base, where Rosario got his glove down but not far enough as the ball zoomed right underneath it, scoring Yoshida to make it 2-1.

“That’s definitely a play I got to make,” Rosario said through an interpreter. “You at least got to find a way to knock it down and at least get one out.”

Jarren Duran then lifted a sacrifice fly to medium-depth left field, as José Caballero — whose solo homer in the fourth made it a 2-0 game — got off a throw home that was up the first base line, allowing the Red Sox to tie it.

The hot-hitting Durbin, whom the Yankees sent to the Brewers in the Devin Williams trade (before the Red Sox acquired him this February), capped off the rally by crushing Schlittler’s cutter into the Monster seats for the 4-2 lead.

“Not [trying to go] down and in where he likes it,” said Schlittler, who lowered his ERA to 1.62 because all four runs were unearned. “He’s seen a lot of cutters today and makes a good enough swing to get it out there.”

The Yankees later made it a one-run game in the seventh when Paul Goldschmidt, on the 12th pitch of a battle with former Yankees reliever Greg Weissert, hit a chopper to third that allowed Jazz Chisholm Jr. to score from third.

But the Red Sox brought in lefty Danny Coulombe to face Ben Rice, who could not deliver the big swing in his hometown, instead grounding out to end the rally.

The Red Sox then added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth after Yerry De los Santos bobbled a sacrifice bunt and Anthony Volpe threw wide on the second half of a potential inning-ending double play.

“It happens sometimes, and it’s not fun going through that or fun when you make mistakes in a game, especially one that you have a lead and it’s a close game for most of that game,” Boone said. “But we didn’t play well enough.”

The Mets lost for the sixth straight game on Thursday night, losing 4-3 in extra innings to get swept by the Chicago Cubs in a four-game series at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Mets and Cubs were locked in a stalemate through five innings as Freddy Peralta and Matthew Boyd held their opponent scoreless for the first half of the game. Of the two pitchers, Peralta, following his worst start of the season and unveiling a new windup, looked the best and allowed just two hits while throwing 68 pitches over five innings. 

-- On the other side, Boyd, making his first start in nearly two months, managed to get in and out of trouble despite four walks. The left-hander loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning but escaped unscathed following a Mark Vientos popout. He exited after 4.2 innings.

-- After five terrific innings, the sixth inning was not kind to Peralta, starting with shortstop Ronny Mauricio’s throwing error to lead things off. Mauricio was activated off the IL on Wednesday and called up earlier in the day after Marcus Semien landed on the IL. 

-- The Cubs scored the game’s first run two batters later on Michael Conforto’s RBI single to right field. Carson Benge had a chance to throw out the runner at home plate, but he got little on the throw and the runner scored easily. 

-- Once again, two batters later, Chicago scored again on Alex Bregman’s RBI double that eluded Benge, going between his legs after skipping off the right field wall in foul territory. Had Benge gloved the ball cleanly, the runner likely would have been held up at third base. The next batter, Ian Happ, made it a moot point by singling through the hole between the first and second basemen to bring in the third unearned run of the inning. 

-- Peralta, exhausted after throwing 26 pitches already in the inning, walked Nico Hoerner on four pitches before getting pulled by manager Carlos Mendoza. The right-hander went 5.2 innings, allowed five hits and three runs, walked one and struck out five on 98 pitches (54 strikes). He lowered his season ERA to 4.53.

-- Now having to fight from behind, New York got two of those runs right back in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Cubs' bullpen thanks to pinch-hitter Eric Wagaman's two-out, two-run homer. The Mets went on to load the bases following two singles and a hit by pitch to bring up Juan Soto, but Soto grounded out to end the inning.

-- Still, New York's offense went right back to work in the seventh inning and tied things up on Jared Young's solo shot. It was Young's sixth blast of the season in 95 at-bats.

-- Meanwhile, the Mets' bullpen had quite the night, starting with Austin Warren's 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Peralta. Luke Weaver, with the game tied 3-3, entered in the eighth inning and struck out the side on 11 pitches to extend his scoreless streak to 22 consecutive innings. He has a 2.12 ERA. Devin Williams also had a scoreless inning in the ninth to give New York a chance to walk it off in the bottom half of the frame.

-- In fact, the Mets got the winning run to second base with one out, but were unable to drive him in and the game went to extra innings.

-- In extras, Brooks Raley struck out the first batter he faced before allowing a double that scored the free runner to former Mets top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who finished the game 2-for-5. Raley did well to limit the damage and leave the inning with just the one run scored, but New York came up empty in their turn to bat and were swept by the Cubs in a four-game series at home and have lost six straight. Chicago also swept the Mets earlier in the season at Wrigley Field.

Game MVP: Pete Crow-Armstrong

The youngster was the only Cubs player with multiple hits and his double in the 10th was the game-winner.

Highlights

A 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts for Freddy Peralta 🔥 pic.twitter.com/flGf9dZR9Q

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2026

Ronny Mauricio rips a double 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ug92BMHMtb

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

Five scoreless innings for Freddy Peralta! pic.twitter.com/G1LBPHtKuS

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

Eric Wagaman with a pinch-hit two-run homer! pic.twitter.com/RprbFvmzbi

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

Jared Young ties the game with a solo homer! pic.twitter.com/SD6rkSxSIk

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

Luke Weaver strikes out the side on 11 pitches!

He's thrown 22 straight scoreless innings 💪 pic.twitter.com/u50JXWrLVp

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

A 1-2-3 9th inning for Devin Williams 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7AgAUCvTXi

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2026

What's next

The Mets welcome in the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game weekend series at Citi Field starting on Friday night at 7:10 p.m.

Rookie LHP Zach Thornton (0-1, 8.31 ERA) will make his second career start and will face off against former Met RHP Zack Wheeler (7-1, 2.11 ERA).

Cam Schlittler struck out nine, but the Yankees couldn't overcome four errors as they fell to the Red Sox, 6-3, on Thursday night in Boston. 

Because of the defensive miscues, all six runs allowed were unearned. Still, New York had a chance in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman when it loaded the bases with Ben Rice up and two outs. The young slugger grounded out to end the game.

Here are the takeaways....

-Paul Goldschmidt continued his torrid stretch with a leadoff double against the southpaw Connelly Early. After being moved over to third on an Amed Rosario single, Jasson Dominguez came through with a two-out single to put the Yankees up 1-0. 

Jose Caballero added on in the fourth with a two-out solo shot over the Green Monster. Goldschmidt's RBI groundout in the seventh gave the Yankees their third run.

-Schlittler was on the mound and got into trouble early. After allowing a one-out walk, Wilyer Abreu reached on catcher's interference from Austin Wells. Schlittler bounced back by striking out Willson Contreras, but the young right-hander made an errant throw trying to get the runner leaning at second base, allowing both Red Sox runners to advance. Schlittler got Jarren Duran to ground out and end the threat. 

Schlittler pitched into another jam in the second after not fielding a pop-up and hitting a batter to put runners on first and second with one out. Schlittler got Marcelo Mayer to strike out swinging and Masataka Yoshida to ground out. After a 1-2-3 third, the Red Sox put two runners on in the fourth, but Schlittler struck out two to escape the inning.

Once again, the Red Sox threatened. This time in the fifth, putting runners on first and second and no out. Schlittler struck out Abreu before Contreras lined it to Rosario at third, but it went through Rosario's legs, allowing a run to score. Duran hit a sac fly to tie the game at 2-2. Caleb Durbin capped off the inning with a two-run shot just over the Green Monster.

Schlittler would make it through five innings, but was betrayed by Rosario's error. His four runs allowed on five hits and two walks were all unearned. He did strike out nine, however. His ERA actually dropped to 1.62. 

-After the Yankees cut the Red Sox lead to 4-3, Yerry De los Santos was called on for the eighth. He walked Dubrin and Anthony Seigler singled before Carlos Narvaez laid down a bunt that De los Santos bobbled for the Yankees' fourth error of the game. With the bases loaded, he got Mayer to pop out before Ryan Yarbrough came in. He hit pinch-hitter Nate Eaton -- grazing his jersey -- to push across the Red Sox's fifth run. Cedanne Rafaela hit a grounder to Anthony Volpe for a tailor made double play, but Volpe's throw took Rice off of first base, allowing Boston to take a 6-3 lead. 

Game MVP: Caleb Durbin

Durbin's homer got the Red Sox back into the game.

Highlights

Jasson Domínguez gets the Yankees on the board first! pic.twitter.com/RtpTnD0H7v

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 25, 2026

José Caballero doubles the Yankees' lead! pic.twitter.com/rIY0YIOId2

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 26, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Red Sox continue their series on Friday evening. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.

Will Warren (7-2, 3.45 ERA) will take the mound against Payton Tolle (3-5, 3.08 ERA). 

As you read the rest of this piece and remember the rest of this crazy game on a Thursday night before the Phillies head to Citi Field tomorrow, it is fair to ask what Nationals manager Blake Butera is supposed to do? Nothing worked. Nothing worked for the entire series as the Phillies paraded dingers and base runners all over the Nationals putrid bullpen to take three out of four on the road.

The craziness of Thursday night’s game began right away, when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper reached on a single and walk. After Brandon Marsh hit a groundball, Alec Bohm could not handle Nationals starter Cade Cavalli, going down on a 98.5 mph fastball to strand the runners.

In the bottom half of the first, the Nationals, like they have all series, attacked early. Curtis Mead was sitting on an inside sinker and got one, blasting it right over Marsh’s head in left field and into the stands for an early lead.

Andrés Chaparro then was hit by a backfoot slider and Dylan Crews punched a single into right to put two runners on. Daylen Lile then slapped a changeup right under Bryson Stott’s glove that brought in a second run.

With runners on first and third, Jacob Young was able to record a run on a groundout. With two outs and a runner on second, Nasim Nuñez capped off the inning with another single that gave the Nationals their fourth run of the inning.

In the bottom of the third, the Nationals clawed their way for a fifth run with some small ball. Crews chopped an infield single and then stole second base. After a Lile strikeout, Jacob Young was able to punch another single past Stott to score a run.

But since this is a Nationals Phillies series in the year 2026, things are not going to end normally. Even if Cristopher Sánchez could only slog through five innings, it was obvious this game wasn’t over.

The Phillies’ rally to a 10-5 win began in the sixth, as Cavalli cruised through five innings, facing the top of the order a third time is a different challenge.

After a Harper single, Cavalli’s changeup missed by maybe a few inches and that was all Marsh needed to elevate it for a homer.

In the seventh inning, Blake Butera, desperate for something to work, calls for Mitchell Parker against the bottom of the Phillies order. After a Derek Hill strikeout, Justin Crawford took a fastball to left field to start a rally.

On the very next pitch, Trea Turner punches a fastball to a vacated hole in right field to put runners on first and second with no one out.

Parker threw eleven pitches to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper before his night was over. Only three of them were strikes, and that was only because Harper chased a couple of breaking balls. After being unable to find the plate, and walking in a run to make it 5-3, Butera had to try someone else.

Clayton Beeter was that someone else and he immediately walked Brandon Marsh to force in another run. Alec Bohm stepped up, worked a two-two count but chopped a fastball into the ground. Luckily, it’s -40 degree launch angle deadened the ball enough that the only play second baseman Jordan Vivas had was a tagout to Marsh and the game was tied.

Gus Varland began the eighth with Butera’s plan being to have him finish the game because the Nationals have tried everything else. He gave up a single to Derek Hill but was able to get out of the inning after a strikeout, throw out double play.

Varland returned for the ninth after the Nationals’ offense stranded a leadoff double but once again, nothing worked. After a Schwarber single, Bryce Harper lifted an imaginary lid off Nationals Park by taking a rare Gus Varland changeup to left field.

It was Varland’s inning, no matter what happened, the damage was probably done but the Phillies put more salt on everyone’s wounds. With two outs, JT Realmuto smoked a double right over Dylan Crews in center field that brought Marsh home to score.

To put a true exclamation point on the night, Derek Hill decided that he wanted to hit another ninth inning home run, this time off a righty, catching a hanging slider and drilling it to the bullpen in left field.

It’s fair to remember that the Nationals were not supposed to be a team trying to win games and make the playoffs. They traded multiple pitchers in the off-season to begin a rebuild and will probably continue selling off whatever they can to build for the future.

Paul Toboni looks like a great hire for them with the entire organization making multiple players better. Just on the major league level, CJ Abrams might make the all-star game, James Wood is a superstar, Curtis Mead looks to be living up to his top prospect potential, and Keibert Ruiz is having the best year of his career.

But tonight, and this entire series, should tell everyone just how far they are from truly competing. The Phillies walked in, looked sluggish early, and feasted on a Nationals bullpen that has been costing them games all season.

Now, onto the New York Mets.

There’s just over one month to go until this season’s August 3rd trade deadline, but the time for moving players around might have already started. Late last night, the Chicago Cubs—desperate for pitching after another two starters landed on the injured list—acquired left-handed pitcher and Colorado native David Peterson from the New York Mets.

The rebuilding Rockies will be judged on what they accomplish at the trade deadline. However, it would likely benefit them to start seeking out deals now that the first domino has fallen.

From expiring contracts to crowded position groups to players who simply just aren’t part of the future in Colorado, the Rockies have plenty of players they could look to ship out.

The Athletic even had multiple Rockies on their top 50 trade board:

RHP Antonio Senzatela

After being converted to the bullpen last season, long-time Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career. In 23 appearances he has eight pitcher wins, three saves, a 2.13 ERA over 42.1 innings, and is worth 2.0 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. Quite simply, the 31-year-old’s value has never been higher.

Senzatela has a $14 million club option for 2027, which the Rockies seem unlikely to pick up.

OF Mickey Moniak

Former first overall pick Mickey Moniak has become a fan favorite in Colorado and seems to have finally found a home after his time with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. Moniak is hitting .282/.335/.596 with nine doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs this season and was a potential All-Star candidate before being sidelined for a month with right ankle tendonitis.

But is Moniak really a part of the Rockies’ future? The 28-year-old is part of an extremely crowded outfield group that has multiple prospects vying for playing time. He’s also only produced against right-handed pitching.

2B Willi Castro

The Rockies signed switch-hitting Puerto Rican second baseman and utilityman Willi Castro to a two-year deal this off-season. After a somewhat slow April, Castro has turned into both a solid second baseman and effective hitter for the Rockies. Through the first 81 games of 2026 he has hit .282/.356/.411 with 13 doubles and six home runs—including a grand slam—and is worth 1.1 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. Castro still has a year left on his deal, and the Rockies don’t really have big league ready options at second base. However, it might be worth exploring trades involving Castro when his value is potentially at it’s peak right now.

Final Thoughts

The Rockies have potentially valuable pieces for the trade market this season, but the deadline is still weeks away. Should they start making trades now? Who would you want to see the Rockies trade? Who should be considered untouchable?

We want to hear your predictions in the comments!

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