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On the 13th of July, Dave Roberts will reveal his selection for the National League‘s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.
On the 13th of June, Yoshinobu Yamamoto reminded his manager that he is the Dodgers’ best pitcher.
Is that enough for Yamamoto to start the All-Star Game? Probably not.
Is that enough to force Roberts into the uncomfortable position of picking one of his aces over another, like a father picking one of his sons over another? Maybe.
On Saturday, Yamamoto took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He did it last September too, and in between he painted an October — and a first day of November — for the ages.
Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirts with perfect game, MLB record in Dodgers' victory
We have heard so much about Shohei Ohtani, and why not? Ohtani decided he would win the Cy Young Award this season, and why not?
His earned-run average did not rise above 1.00 until June 10. He also leads the NL in on-base-plus-slugging percentage, well on his way to his annual most valuable player award.
The Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award sounds nice. Not just yet, but someday, how about the Shohei Ohtani Most Valuable Player Award?
But back to the issue at hand: Which NL pitcher should start the All-Star Game?
Ohtani could, of course. He has, in 2021. In a game that is all about the fans, he is the player fans most want to see.
And, if he does not start at pitcher, he could not start at designated hitter, come in later to pitch one inning and remain in the game at DH. (At least, not under the current rules, which major league officials could waive for the All-Star Game.)
For Roberts and the Dodgers, that would be the ideal: Let Ohtani pitch the first inning so he can follow his normal pregame routine, since he has a routine for both pitching and hitting. Or, since Ohtani is trying to complete his first full season as a pitcher since 2022 and win the Cy Young, he and the Dodgers could agree that he would skip pitching in the All-Star Game.
Read more:Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani returns with a bang after day off
But Roberts figures to have two other very worthy options. In the category of “player everyone wants to see,” he could select Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, not so much for his league-leading 1.34 ERA — Ohtani, at 1.06, doesn’t have enough innings to qualify — but for the 104-mph fastballs he was throwing in the ninth inning of his one-hit, 15-strikeout shutout Friday.
Without worrying about pitching deep into the game, with the opportunity to throw one inning and rear back and fire, can you imagine how hard Misiorowski might throw in the All-Star Game?
Roberts also could select the ace of the home team, Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, who threw 50⅔ consecutive scoreless innings this season. No one had thrown 50 since 1988, when Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser set the record with 59.
Sanchez has a 1.54 ERA, and he and Misiorowski lead all pitchers in wins above replacement (WAR).
The hometown favorite would be the safe pick for Roberts, although Dodgers fans have long memories: They remember the New York Mets’ Matt Harvey starting over Clayton Kershaw at Citi Field in 2013, a decision that looked regrettable at the time and looks downright shameful in hindsight.
That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.
In his 13 starts this season, he has given up three or fewer earned runs all but once and pitched at least six innings all but twice.
In the regular season last year, he pitched eight innings once. This season, he has pitched at least eight innings in his last two starts.
In his last five starts, he has a 1.01 ERA, with five walks and 32 strikeouts. Keep that up for another month, and good luck telling him someone else is starting the All-Star Game.
Look at it this way: Who would you want if you had to pick someone to win you Game 7? You can’t go wrong with the guy who already did.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
It’s time for Game 2 between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs! Welcome to weekend baseball!
Trevor McDonald takes the mound for the Giants, with the right-hander making his eighth start of the year. So far this season, the 25-year old is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA, a 3.51 FIP, and 37 strikeouts to 12 walks in 39 innings. His last start came against this Cubs team, when he held them to one run in five innings.
For the Cubs, it’s right-hander Ben Brown, who makes his seventh start, and 19th appearance of the season. The 26-year old is 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA, a 2.24 FIP, and 58 strikeouts to 16 walks in 57 innings. He’s been even better since transitioning to a starting role, including in his last start, when he matched up against McDonald and held the Giants scoreless in 5.1 innings.
Perhaps we’ll get another nice pitcher’s duel in this one. Enjoy the action, everyone. Go Giants!
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Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 7:05 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
CHICAGO — Yoshinobu Yamamoto was so close. Again.
Yamamoto sailed into the ninth inning with a no-hit bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Tristan Peters hit a leadoff homer for the Chicago White Sox. The Japanese right-hander had to settle for a dominant performance in a 7-1 victory on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Yamamoto also carried a no-hitter into the ninth at Baltimore on Sept. 6. He surrendered a solo homer to Jackson Holliday with two out, and Los Angeles went on to a frustrating 4-3 loss.
This time, Alex Vesia closed it out for the Dodgers. But Yamamoto was left to wonder about another close call.
“What I did, I didn’t make it, complete it, because of the ninth inning, the no-hitter,” Yamamoto said through a translator. “But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”
Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP when the Dodgers won their second consecutive championship, improved to 4-0 with a sparkling 0.94 in his last four starts. He has surrendered 14 hits and struck out 24 in 28 2/3 innings during his win streak.
“He can attack the plate on both sides from ball to strike probably better than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said.
Yamamoto retired his last 22 batters while pitching eight innings in a 9-2 win against the Angels in his previous start. Then he retired his first 23 batters against Chicago.
The streak — and Yamamoto’s bid for a perfect game — ended when shortstop Mookie Betts mishandled Chase Meidroth’s two-out grounder in the eighth inning for an error.
“I’m not making any excuses. I should have made the play,” Betts said.
Jacob Gonzalez bounced to second for the final out in the eighth, but Peters hit a drive to right on a 96.6 mph fastball from Yamamoto. It was Peters’ third homer of the season.
Yamamoto departed after Edgar Quero flied to center for the first out in the ninth. He was saluted with a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 37,832 as he made his way off the field.
“One of the best outings we’ve seen from an opponent this year,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “The stuff was outstanding. Lived on the edges. We didn’t have a ton to hit.”
Yamamoto struck out seven. He threw a season-high 109 pitches, 74 for strikes.
Before the ninth inning, Chase Meidroth had the best chance for a hit for the White Sox. He had a liner hook just foul before he struck out swinging for the final out of the fifth.
There was a short delay before the bottom of the sixth while the grounds crew worked on the area around the pitching rubber on the mound. But Yamamoto had no issues when the game resumed, striking out Gonzalez on a full-count cutter before Peters bounced to first and Quero fouled out to left.
“He was in the zone. He kept it out of the middle. I mean, kept them off balance,” Betts said. “I mean that’s just Yoshi being Yoshi, you know. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Following last night’s loss to the Athletics, the Colorado Rockies enter a matchup built around uncertainty, as Kyle Freeland tries to find his footing against Joey Estes, who will make his 2026 debut after being recalled by the A’s from the minors. Jeffrey Springs was projected to start, but will now be pushed to Sunday with Estes taking the mound.
Last Sunday, Freeland made Rockies history, passing Aaron Cook to take the franchise lead in innings pitched. While a look at the final score doesn’t show it as the bullpen let the game get out of hand, Freeland had his best start in recent memory. He went five innings and although he gave up seven hits, he worked out of some jams and limited the damage to three runs. By comparison, he had given up up six or more runs in five of the six starts before that one, so the three runs surrendered marked a big improvement relatively.
On the year, Freeland is 1-6 in 11 starts. His lone win came way back on April 7th and his ERA has ballooned since May, reaching 7.81 now. He’s got 45 strikeouts and 16 walks across his 11 games. That said, he felt more reliable on the mound in his last outing and he’ll look to build on that against the A’s.
The Athletics will counter with Estes. He had a limited 2025, going 0-2 in two starts and three appearances, with a 9.82 ERA across 11 innings pitched. In his career, Estes is 7-12 with a 5.51 ERA across 30 games. He’ll make a spot start as the club shuffles it’s rotation a bit for the Vegas series.
While last night’s matchup in Vegas didn’t have quite as many fireworks as the insane 29-run game in Vegas early in the week, there were still some sparks. After four scoreless innings to start things off, Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, and Cole Carrigg all blasted homers. In a ballpark that has seen a lot of those and with two pitchers who are looking to find their groove this season, the steadier hand may prevail in game two of the series.
First Pitch: 8:10 pm MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
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Here we go again. The series against the league-worst Rockies continues tonight in the second of three weekend contests. The A’s came out on top last night but only thanks to a late two-run rally. They were close to blowing it last night so let’s hope for a more dominant performance tonight at Las Vegas Ballpark. A win tonight and the A’s are back at the .500 mark and coupled with the Mariners’ and Rangers’ earlier losses the team can make up some ground in the standings if they handle business. Plus, a possible four-game winning streak on the line. Plenty of motivation for a big performance in front of the future home fans.
Getting the start tonight for the A’s will be right-hander Joey Estes, who will be making his first start for the big league team since April 4th… of last year. It’s been a tough year-plus for the former top prospect. After showing potential in 24 starts as a rookie in 2024 the hope was the team had found a viable backend type of pitcher to help solidify things. Instead he regressed hard in his sophomore season, so much so that he was quickly optioned at the start of the season and remained in Triple-A for almost the rest of the year (outside of one relief appearance for the A’s at the end of August).
This season hasn’t gone much better for him in terms of run prevention down with the Aviators. In 12 starts he has a 5.95 ERA, allowing 39 runs in 59 innings of work. He’s seen his strikeout rate drop while walks have become a much bigger problem this year. With Aaron Civale returning soon this is likely just a spot start but who knows? Maybe a big outing puts him back on the team’s radar if and when they need to dip back into their pitching depth.
Now onto the starting lineup. Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay decided to order things up this evening looking for the team’s fourth straight win:
Shea Langeliers and Colby Thomas will swap spots with Thomas now leading off and “Bangeliers” in the three hole. Backup catcher Jonah Heim draws the second straight start as the DH and he’ll be batting cleanup. And why not ride the hot hand? He’s batting .389 with four home runs over his last seven games.
Jacob Wilson bats fifth and is back at shortstop for the second straight day since being activated off the IL. Rookie Henry Bolte is behind him in center. Kotsay will mix things up a bit more from here as Zack Gelof will grab his outfielder’s glove. Tyler Soderstrom is getting the night off against a left-handed starter on the opposing mound so Thomas will slide to left with Gelof opposite him in right field. Gelof will also be looking to extend his hitting streak to 17 games so hopefully going back to the grass doesn’t screw him up in the batter’s box. And Alika Williams will handle second base duties tonight, batting ninth.
Those bats will be facing veteran Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, shockingly already in his 10th big league season. Now 33, Freeland is having his worst season to date, which is saying something. In 11 starts the left-hander is sporting a bloated 7.81 ERA, with that mark over 10(!) in his last seven. He’s seemingly nearing the end of the line but he’ll try to tame the A’s bats. A tall task, especially in the band box that is Las Vegas Ballpark.
And the Rockies’ lineup for game two looks like this:
Lots of the same characters from last night but with some expected changes facing a different handed pitcher. Estes has good numbers against the three batters he has faced before (Goodman, Castro, and Julien). Who will that favor in this one?
Can the A’s make it four wins in a row? All signs point to yes. Take tonight’s game and we can secure the sweep tomorrow in the finale and climb up the standings a bit. Let’s go A’s!
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The 2026 Red Sox season will be made or broken over the next three weeks. So says team president Sam Kennedy, anyway, acknowledging that this floundering team doesn’t have much time to turn itself into buyers before the trade deadline. To that end, this afternoon’s game is exactly what the Red Sox needed.
Facing a tough pitcher but countering with a tough pitcher of their own, the pitching-and-defense Sox got just enough offense to pull out a win against Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers. The Sox scratched across two runs via four singles in the third while Ranger Suarez finessed his way through the Rangers lineup as usual. Then Ceddanne Rafaela said ‘Nuff Cedd in the seventh, knocking in two runners who, frankly, didn’t even deserve to be on base. This is probably the type of win that the Red Sox brass had in mind when they flew north from Fort Myers this Spring, the type of win there just hasn’t been enough of this year, particularly at Fenway, and the type of win they’ll need even more off for the rest of June if they’re going to salvage this season.
Ranger Suárez: Many people (hi, it’s me, one of the many) were critical of the Ranger Suárez signing this offseason. Not because he was a bad pitcher, but because he was a poor fit for a roster that had plenty of starting pitching depth but little offensive fire power. This season has mostly proven those skeptics right — the Sox have an exponentially greater need for a bat than an arm. But having said that, Ranger is a delight to watch on the mound, and I have a feeling he’s going to continue to be so for the length of his stay in Boston. I love having this dude on the team.
Ceddanne Rafaela: Speaking of a “delight to watch,” there is no better descriptor in the English language for the Red Sox centerfielder. Not only did he patrol center with his usual aplomb, but he also came through in the clutch in the seventh inning with the two-run knock that gave the Sox a lead they would not lose. Did Rangers pitcher Robby Ahlstrom help him out by inexplicably throwing a breaking ball in the zone after Ceddy chased two high fastballs? Yes, he did. But that’s not Ceddy’s fault.
The beautiful vagaries of baseball: The Red Sox are extremely fortunate that Rafaela even had two men on in the seventh to knock in, given that his plate appearance was preceded by two noncompetitive at-bats by Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer in that inning. But baseball is weird, and those two at-bats were surrounded by two successful swinging bunts by IKF and Carlos Narvaez. Baseball — like life — is just weird sometimes.
Caleb Durbin: But, yeah, that competitive seventh inning at-bat, which ended with Durbin looking at a fastball right down the pike, was pretty ugly. He went 0-4 on the day and was the only Red Sox starter to fail to collect a hit.
Tyron Guerrero: I’m not mad at Tyron— absolutely no one expected that he’d be called on to hold a lead in a high-leverage situation this year. But after Ceddy’s seventh inning knock, he did his best to give the game back to the Rangers, allowing a homer and hitting a batter before being lifted in the eighth.
Can I give it to Bill Lee for his performance-enhanced in-booth appearance?
If not, then here’s ‘Nuff Cedd.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box at Rate Field for the first time this series on Saturday, greeted by a smattering of boos from Chicago White Sox fans.
He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubt homer, proclaiming that his availability no longer was in doubt.
Ohtani returned to the lineup for the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox, after exiting the game Thursday at Pittsburgh and missing Friday‘s game because of inflammation in his left knee.
“I felt good waking up in the morning,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after going one for three with a home run and three walks. “I feel good now. So I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy, and should be good to go tomorrow as well.”
Ohtani also tested his knee playing catch before the game. And the Dodgers will continue to monitor him as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.
“It wasn’t 100% today,” Ohtani said. “But with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident, with enough recovery, that I should be able to make the next start.”
Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirts with perfect game, MLB record in Dodgers' victory
Ohtani said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the swelling. But he has a theory.
“All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics weren’t quite great in terms of my pitching side,” he said, “so I believe that had something to do with this.”
Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled, the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their day off Thursday. They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order to have Wrobleski pitch Tuesday on regular rest.
That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker during his start Thursday. He left the game after that play in the fifth inning with a bruised right hamstring.
The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, manager Dave Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.
“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”
Ohtani returned Saturday without restrictions in his designated hitter role — except one request from his manager, after a couple of days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s inflammation.
Though they didn’t find a clear cause for it, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no base stealing.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
José Ramírez, the Cleveland Guardians' seven-time All-Star third baseman, fractured the hamate bone in his left hand Saturday, June 13, an injury that will likely sideline him well into the second half of the season.
Ramírez was removed from the Guardians' 3-1 victory over Detroit and the club announced the fracture after the game. His absence will be considerably longer if surgery is required to remove the bone, but the likely minimum absence is six weeks.
That's a harsh blow for the Guardians (39-33), who on Saturday pulled into first place, a half-game ahead of the Chicago White Sox. Ramírez leads the American League with 24 stolen bases and his .754 OPS trails only Brayan Rocchio's .762 mark on the Guardians.
Ramírez was the third Guardian to leave Saturday's game due to injury. Outfielder Chase De Lauter suffered a right ribcage contusion hitting the wall while making a first-inning catch, and Angel Martinez left the game with a left foot contusion shortly after fouling the first pitch of the game off his foot.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jose Ramirez injury timeline after hamate bone fracture
The list of things the Cincinnati Reds got on Saturday evening in Great American Ball Park amounts to a what’s what of things that have proven to be pitfalls for them so often over their last ~40 or so games.
First, they put together some back to back hits with 2-outs, as Matt McLain socked an early double and was immediately driven in by an Edwin Arroyo single. Hits with 2-outs, hits of any variety with a runner in scoring position have been so few and far between from this offense that the stranded runners on the bases might as well have bought real estate out there.
Then, they got a lockdown performance from a starting pitcher after an early foible. Rhett Lowder turned in his best start since the first week of April (5.2 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K) and did so even after serving up a homer to Corbin Carroll in the Top of the 1st that immediately put the Reds in a hole. He limited walks, finally, and showed once again how good he can be controlling all parts of the zone when his arm, body, experience, etc. are all in the right place.
That run Lowder allowed in the Top of the 1st? It proved to be the only run allowed by Reds pitchers all game, which is an endorsement of just how good the bullpen managed to be once Lowder yielded. Caleb Ferguson, Chase Petty (in relief!), and Tony Santillan combined to fire 3.1 IP of scoreless ball, and did so while only issuing a lone walk – that’s a marked improvement for a unit that’s been so maligned.
And while the offense on the day only managed to muster a pair of runs, the second one came on a big swing in a huge spot. Noelvi Marte swatted a homer for the second straight game, his coming with an out in the Bottom of the 8th to give the Reds a 2-1 lead that Santillan would hammer down with a save minutes later. It’s precisely the kind of momentum-changing swing that Cincinnati simply has not been able to muster of late, and the life it breathed into the dugout was palpable through the TV feed.
Cincinnati won, 2-1, and leveled the series with Arizona. On Sunday, they’ll send the red-hot Andrew Abbott to the mound to try to win a series and eschew the absolutely abysmal vibes they’ve been mired in during their four-series losing streak, a period of time that also saw them lose their face in Elly De La Cruz.
Maybe, just maybe, Marte’s homer ends up a demarcation point in this season where things began to finally, mercifully turn back towards the positive.
Well, this was yet another game that the Diamondbacks should have won. Michael Soroka really seems to be back to the form that earned him second place in the 2019 Rookie of the Year vote. He pitched seven innings, only allowing two hits and one hit batsman while striking out 7. The Diamaondbacks, meanwhile, racked up seven hits, three walks, with three other baserunners reaching thanks to two hit-by-pitch incidents and one fielding error. Over the course of the game nine of those baserunners wound up in scoring position. Sadly however, if you saw those comparative numbers and expected that the team with so many more chances to score would win the game, you would be wrong.
There’s honestly not that much more to say about this one. Things started off well enough, with Corbin Carroll launching the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Rhett Lowder over the right field wall for a one-out solo dinger:
One out later, Nolan Arenado drew a five-pitch walk and, somewhat hilariously, stole second to make himself the first Diamondback of the game to get into scoring position. Pavin Smith, as one might expect, did Pavin Smith things, so Arenado remained where he was. 1-0 D-BACKS
Geraldo Perdomo was hit by a pitch to begin the second, and was left standing there after the bottom of the order did bottom-of-the-order things with a lineout to center and then consecutive strikeouts. Ketel Marte lined a single to right to lead off the third, and one out later Gabriel Moreno dropped a bloop single just inside the right field line to advance Marte to second (which is to say scoring position) with less than two outs. Arenado struck out, however, and Pavin Smith did another Pavin Smith thing, grounding out to first base.
Meanwhile, after cruising through his first two innings of work with only 27 pitches thrown after all, Soroka hit his first and only patch of trouble after striking out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the third. Matt McLain lined a double to deep left field, and then Reds’ leadoff hitter Edwin Arroyo blooped a single to shallow right that allowed McLain to score from second. 1-1 TIE
After that, it was smooth sailing for Soroka, who didn’t allow another baserunner as he proceeded to cruise through the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The Diamondbacks offense, meanwhile, continued to threaten: Marte hit a comebacker with one out in the fifth that hit Lowder and rolled away for an infield single. One out later Moreno lined a double to center that Reds center fielder Noelvi Marte dove for and missed. It looked like he might catch it, though, right up until he didn’t, so Ketel had to stay put at second and was only able to advance to third. So that was two more runners in scoring position, though with two outs this time. Nolan Arenado, who really sucked today at the plate, grounded weakly back to the mound, bringing the number of runners in scoring position who were left there to four. Perdomo walked with one out in the sixth and stole second base, but was left standing there (RISP #5) as Tommy Troy and Adrian Del Castillo struck out.
The Diamondbacks even managed to load the bases in the top of the seventh against the Reds bullpen, thanks to a one-out Marte walk (#6), a Corbin Carroll infield single (#7), and Moreno getting drilled in the arm by a pitch. However, Nolan Arenado struck out and Pavin Smith flied out to left on the first pitch he saw. Tommy Troy reached with one out in the eighth on an error by Reds third baseman Sal Stewart, and was able to advance to third (#8) on a two-out Ryan Waldschmidt double (#9). That flipped the lineup over for Ketel Marte, who, despite having reached base on three of his four trips to the plate to that point, only managed a weak grounder to second.
So onto the bottom of the eighth with the game still all tied up and Juan Morillo taking the mound. The good? He struck out three of the four batters he faced. The bad? The one batter he didn’t strike out was Noelvi Marte, to whom he hung a slider that Marte promptly sent into the left field seats. And given that Carroll, Moreno, and Arenado all grounded out on the infield in the top of the ninth, that’s yer ballgame right there. 2-1 CincinnatiFINAL
Overachiever: Michael Soroka (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, +36% WPA)
Achiever: Gabriel Moreno (4 AB, 2 H, 1 2B, +10% WPA)
Underachievers: Juan Morillo (1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 3 K, -21% WPA), Pavin Smith (4 AB, 0 H, -23% WPA), Nolan Arenado (4 AB, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, -26% WPA)
Kind of a slim Gameday Thread this afternoon, with only 162 comments at time of writing. The rec rationing, too, seems like it continues, as while several comments went “Sedona Red,” none of those got more than four recs. So I’m giving this one to gzimmerm, for saying something that, while it’s been said before, needs to be said again and again until it becomes a reality, or until reality changes:
Thanks to our win on Friday night, at least we still have a shot to take our first series in quite awhile. Unfortunately, Zac Gallen is taking the mound for the Diamondbacks, while the Reds send out lefty Adam Abbott, whose numbers aren’t that great (4.10 ERA) but who’s still performing far better than our guy. This will be an early one, as well, with first pitch scheduled for 10:40am AZ time. Hopefully you can join us for the rubber match.
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
Well, the good times were bound to run into a blip eventually, and this blip happened in overwhelming fashion.
Sean Burke fed Shohei Ohtani an upper-zone fastball on the second pitch of the game and it ended up 409 feet away. Then, after a Mookie Betts single, Burke went 3-0 on Max Muncy, at which point Steve Stone warned Muncy would have the green light. Burke didn’t hear him and fed another fastball in the zone, this one deposited 415 feet away to make it three-zip.
After that, the only thing of interest in the game for the sellout crowd was whether Yoshinobu Yamamoto would throw a perfect game. That drama lasted through 23 Sox hitters, until Mookie Betts booted a routine grounder by Chase Meidroth:
(For those keeping track of such things, getting on via error does not extend an on-base streak, so Meidroth’s ended at 22 and his hitting streak died at 12.)
Yamamoto ended up losing the no-hitter and shutout when Tristan Peters led off the ninth with a 388-foot shot just inside the foul pole, but who’s to say whether Peters would have gotten a nice fastball right down the middle from a pitcher who hadn’t thrown such a thing all game if the perfect game was still in play?
Whilst the Sox were flailing — Yamamoto ended up with seven strikeouts — the Dodgers mainly just watched pitches go by. Burke ended up walking five and first reliever Joe Rock, just up from Charlotte, added five more in three innings and hit a couple of Dodgers as well.
The mighty L.A. lineup did little more to help itself until Muncy hit a second two-run shot in the eighth — Ohtani being given little chance to do anything because he was walked three times and Betts being the only other Dodger to do much (three singles to raise his average to a mighty .196). The Dodgers left 11 on base in the first six innings alone, and that was after hitting into rally-killing double plays twice, and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Save that, things could have been truly ugly.
The loss runs the White Sox record to 37-32 and puts them a half-game behind the Guardians, who beat the Tiges and Tarik Skubal this afternoon. But José Ramírez suffered a broken hamate in the game, so Cleveland may be in trouble.
Rubber match against the Dodgers is tomorrow afternoon, Erick Fedde vs. Emmet Sheehan, who couldn’t even make it through the second inning against the Angels last time out.
SAN FRANCISCO — Saturday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Giants lineup:
Ben Brown has been the Cubs’ best pitcher for a month now. That’s great for the team and great for him.
Since joining the rotation May 8: 1.44 ERA, 0.766 WHIP, 1.89 FIP, 34 strikeouts in 31.1 innings, and of course his great homerless streak, which is now 219 batters since the first hitter he faced this year (Jacob Young of the Nationals) homered off him.
Do good again, Ben.
Trevor McDonald threw five innings against the Cubs last Sunday at Wrigley Field and allowed one run in five innings, striking out six.
The Cubs will need to do better than that today to win.
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Oracle Park.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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When asked about the umpires' explanation for the controversial overturning of a solo homer hit by Juan Soto, Mendoza responded that "they didn't see the ball leave the ballpark.
Soto's homer would've been a much-needed shot in the arm for a Mets lineup that struggled all day against the Braves, and it came in a pivotal spot, as the slugger was leading off in the bottom of the ninth with the Mets down 3-1.
Given the lengthy review, and the presence of a fan reaching over the railing in right field to attempt catching the long fly ball (much to the frustration of Braves left fielder Mike Yastrzemski), many were wondering if the call of a ground-rule double was made due to fan interference. However, Mendoza clarified, "there was no fan interference" on the play.
"It was tough to tell from the big screen," the skipper lamented.
Today's loss was yet another instance of the Mets offense not being able to get going when it matters most.
The Mets have the fourth-worst OPS in all of MLB with runners in scoring position (.679), and today they were 0-for-3 with RISP.
Two of those opportunities came in the ninth inning, after the aforementioned double by Soto to lead off the inning. Mark Vientos struck out swinging, Marcus Semien walked, and Francisco Alvarez grounded into a double play to end the game.
"We created traffic," Mendoza said when asked about the team's inability to come up clutch. "We couldn't come up with the big hit, that's how good modern-day bullpens are, especially [Atlanta's], gotta give them credit."
Mendoza also called for a more disciplined approach from his hitters.
"We have to do our thing. Get better at-bats against good pitching... you have to be able to work some really good at-bats."
Occasionally there are games where a bad first inning is enough to make you consider doing something other than watching Orioles baseball that day. That was the case here as the Padres scored four runs before the O’s even got a chance to hit and eventually prevailed to a 9-3 win on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore.
It was a mixed day for rookie Trey Gibson. As mentioned, the first inning was brutal. He gave up two walks in the opening frame, and each one was shortly followed by a home run to get the visiting Padres out to an early four-run lead.
Gibson found his footing a bit after that, working three straight scoreless innings from the second through the fourth. But the fifth inning was trouble once again. He walked the lead-off hitter. Later, he hit Xander Bogaerts in the head with a wayward sinker. Craig Albernaz pulled him at that point, but his line wasn’t quite wrapped up as Keegan Akin came on and allowed both inherited runners to cross the plate.
When it was all said and done, Gibson tossed 4.1 innings and allowed six runs on three hits, five walks, and seven strikeouts. Missing bats had been an issue for him coming into this game. His 14.7% whiff rate was near the bottom of the league. He more than doubled that to 30% in this game, which was shown in the box score with the seven strikeouts. What he seemed to sacrifice to get there was control of the strike zone. The sky high walks and the bean ball to Bogaerts speak for themselves.
This is the sort of game that a rookie is going to have. He’s still figuring things out. The whiffs and strikeouts are good. The home runs and walks are bad. Sometimes you have to suffer through the growing pains and hope it all pans out on the other side.
The bullpen was not much better. Akin only recorded those two outs in the fifth inning, and while he wasn’t charged with any runs of his own, he failed to prevent any of Gibson’s runners from pushing the lead even higher. At least Albert Suárez was able to provide length. He worked the final four innings, but also allowed three solo home runs.
The Orioles lineup showed some early life. They responded in the bottom of the first inning with two runs. Pete Alonso hit a two-out homer. Samuel Basallo followed with a walk and then came in to score on a Leody Taveras triple to right field. Maybe we had a game on our hands after all?
Not really. The Orioles had runners on base throughout the afternoon. But time and time again they failed to cash in on them. As a group the team went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
Alonso and Blaze Alexander were the two most active on offense. They each had three hits. Alonso had the homer, a double, and two RBI. Alexander’s three knocks were all singles, but he added a stolen base on top of it all. Tyler O’Neill and Coby Mayo both had a double each, but were stranded.
Something to watch coming out of this game relates to Bogaerts being hit. The Padres, understandably, weren’t happy about it. Gibson had been wild all day, so there is no question about it being an accident. But it’s dangerous to pitch up in that area. If you don’t know where the ball’s going to that degree, you probably shouldn’t be in the game. Albernaz quickly pulling him was, at least in part, an acknowledgment of that.
San Diego was intent on retaliating, which probably would have been fine if they succeeded the first time. Bradgley Rodriguez went up and in on Gunnar Henderson twice in the seventh inning, but missed both times. Henderson eventually walked. Then, in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Ron Marinaccio successfully nailed Henderson in the ribs with a 94 mph fastball. That got the Orioles’ hackles up. Henderson gestured something about trying “three times” towards Marinaccio. The umpires quickly got together and decided the San Diego pitcher was gone. His ejection riled up the skipper Craig Stammen, who clearly wanted to be thrown out himself at the point, when there was essentially nothing to lose. Eventually, he got his wish and was sent to the showers about five minutes before the rest of his team.
Padres reliever Adrian Morejon came on to throw two pitches and get the final out without any additional fireworks. But it’s possible that more is brewing. The Padres got to throw at Henderson twice on purpose. The Orioles had only thrown at Bogaerts once, and it was by accident. Do they now get to throw at Manny Machado or Jackson Merrill in the series finale now? Hopefully not. The Padres are probably looking at suspensions for someone coming out of this. Intentional hit by pitches usually come with consequences.
The best comeback from the Orioles perspective would be to go out and win the series on Sunday. The Padres aren’t some division (or even league) rival. Just beat them and wrap this series up on a positive note.
Trevor Rogers (3-6, 6.15 ERA) will be on the bump as he continues to keep his encouraging June going. The lefty has a 3.18 ERA this month. He will be opposed by Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.33 ERA). Buehler has also been good recently, allowing just two runs over his last 10.2 innings. First pitch is set for 1:05 from Camden Yards.