Category: Baseball

Playing at American Family Field, the San Francisco Giants got six insurance runs in the 7th inning that included an Eric Haase grand slam. Their nine-run cushion, plus a home run robbery by Drew Gilbert in the bottom of the inning, proved to be just enough as the Giants held on for a 12-9 win and a series split.

DREW GILBERT RIDICULOUS HOME RUN ROBBERY pic.twitter.com/Ap94vXsWKD

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 4, 2026

On a day where the wind was blowing out hard to left field, Casey Schmitt hit a leadoff home run, Jung Hoo Lee had another four-hit game, and the Giants piled up 20 hits in a game that unexpectedly turned into a save situation for Caleb Killian (S 4). Adrian Houser hit the wall with one out in the 5th, so Sam Hentges picked up his first win of the season by escaping the inning.

Casey Schmitt clubs a first-pitch leadoff homer! pic.twitter.com/xph0LeFVUJ

— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2026

Not only did Schmitt establish a new career high with his 13th dinger, he made a very nice catch in left in the bottom of the inning, as well snagging a tough grounder with the bases loaded while playing first base in the 9th. At this rate, Schmitt will be taking over center field after the All-Star break and become the team’s emergency catcher around Labor Day.

The 5-6-7 hitters did the majority of the damage Thursday afternoon, combing for six runs, 10 hits, and four RBI. It started in the first inning, where the Giants got an RBI single from Bryce Eldridge (3-for-4, BB) and an RBI double from Matt Chapman (3-for-5) that knocked in Lee (4-for-5).

Eldridge extends the lead with a clutch hit 👏 pic.twitter.com/3Z7LvfFhwl

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 4, 2026

Lee has a 12-game hitting streak, during which he’s raised his batting average by 55 points. He has 19 hits in his last seven games, which no Giant has done since Bill Terry in 1932, a year where he was also managing the team. Watch your back, Vitello! Eldridge has a seven-game hitting streak where he’s raised his average 116 points and his OPS by 300 points, which is probably comparable do something Mel Ott did in 1932, right?

The trio struck again in the 3rd inning. Lee doubled in Willy Adames, who just missed a home run, Eldridge walked, and Chapman hit an RBI single. Schmitt made the game 6-1 with a sac fly.

Jackson Chourio hit the first in his pair of two-run homers in the 5th, during a six-pitch stretch where Houser gave aup a double, home run, and another double. Still, the Giants kept hitting and kept knocking out Brewers pitchers. Literally and figuratively.

The third-inning rally chased Crow. His replacement, DL Hall, might be heading to the IL after injuring his pectoral muscle. He had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat. Grant Anderson entered the game for him, only to leave when Eldridge lined a ball off his forearm in the 7th.

Jake Woodford came in and gave up a single to Chapman and Haase’s bomb to center field.

THE GIANTS CAN'T STOP HITTING GRAND SLAMS pic.twitter.com/En7BFLOrKP

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 4, 2026

Woodford gave up four more singles, including Lee’s second hit of the inning, and a sacrifice fly to make the game 12-3.

Everything nearly fell apart when the Giants’ Choose Your Own Adventure bullpen tried to protect their six-run lead. Chourios went deep again off Brubaker, one of two home runs that bounced off the top of the fence Thursday. David Hamilton hit his second home run off the season off Tristan Beck in the 8th. Still, Wilkin Ramos entered the 9th with a seemingly-safe six-run lead.

Then, as Shawn Estes so poetically said, the Giants and their fans “puckered” a little. Chourio reached on an infield single. Even though the Brewers had cleared their bench in the 8th to rest their 3-4-5 hitters, the replacements delivered in the 9th. Gary Sanchez singled. Joey Ortiz and Blake Perkins walked. That was it for Ramos, and Killian entered with the bases loaded and an improbable save situation.

Killian got a strikeout and an RBI groundout before Luis Rengfio took a break from robbing Giants of hits at third to deliver an RBI single. Then Hamilton delivered a scare, but his potentially game-tying home run died on the warning track.

The wind-aided game should prepare the Giants for a weekend at Wrigley Field, delighting the hitters and terrifying the bullpen. The lineup is looking great — Rafael Devers finally got his first hit of the series in his final at-bat — while the ‘pen remains a work in regress.

Ultimately, the series felt like knocking down the widest pins in a bowling alley

As the Braves go for a sweep of Toronto Thursday night, it doesn’t seem like a very fair pitching matchup on paper.

Atlanta is starting its ace, Chris Sale. Toronto is using an opener, Mason Fluherty, and then likely giving Chad Dallas his major league debut after he was promoted to the major league roster on Thursday.

Follow along once things get underway at 7:15 EDT at Truist Park to see if Atlanta can complete its first sweep since early May with what sure looks like a favorable setup.

Game Info

Preview

Lineups

FIRST PITCH: 6:40p Central

TELEVISION: Twins.TV, “presented by Progressive”

RADIO: ‘CCO 830 AM, KMNB 102.9 FM “The Wolf”, Treasure Island Baseball Network, Audacy Application

KNOW THE FOE: Royals Review

Your Minnesota Twins continue their stretch of games against American League Central enemies, hosting the Kansas City Royals for a four-game set tonight through Sunday before a much-needed day off on Monday. The last time these two teams met was in K. C. for the Twins’ second series of the season in late March/early April when the Royals took the series 2-1. They’ve fallen on hard times since then, limping to a 23-38 record, good for the cellar of the Central. The offense has been off to a slow start, but is starting to pick up steam. Their pitching, like the Twins, have been hit hard with injuries and has an ERA of 4.62, good for 25th in MLB.

The Royals will send veteran righty Seth Lugo to the mound. He’s got a lot of pitches, but throws his slider the most and will mix in his sinker, four-seam fastball, curve, and cutter as well. He’s also known to throw a change from time to time and – very rarely – a splitter. He had a rough-ish month of May but his overall numbers this season so far shows a dip in homers and walks allowed while giving up more hits compared to past campaigns.

With Minnesota’s injury woes to their starting rotation, Derek Shelton has opted for a bullpen game. Multiple beat writers have noted last night that not-veteran Andrew Morris will take the mound first for the Twins. However, the Twins submitted a lineup with newly-called-up right-hander Mike Paredes as the starting pitcher, so maybe everyone’s lying. Either way, someone will be pitching for the local nine tonight and it will be a bullpen effort.

Morris started the season as a long-reliver but he’s only gone more than one inning once in his last 11 outings. He’s started the lone bullpen game for the Twins this season back on May 10 in a 5-4 win against the Spiders in Cleveland, throwing a clean first frame before passing the baton. (Kendrys Rojas started a game for the Twins and maybe that was bullpen game too, but he went four innings. Does that really count as a bullpen game then? I don’t know.)

Paredes has been part of the new-age starting pitching method that Minnesota has been using in the minors. Starting pitchers will go only four innings and pitch every fourth day instead of every fifth day, usually with another starting pitcher piggy-backing or piecing it together with multiple “classic” relievers. Paredes has done a bit of both the starting and the piggy-backing in St Paul, leading to a 3.38 ERA in 34.2 innings of work. He also owns a 1.125 WHIP across his nine appearances.

As a side note, it’s been a while since I’ve written and I forgot that our real-deal names are in the bylines now, so I am Imakesandwichesforaliving and will be taking care of you on Thursdays. Please sit back, crack open a cold one, and GO TWIMS GO. Also, Happy Prince Night!

The Texas Rangers have activated shortstop Corey Seager from the 10 day injured list, per MLB.com. In addition, the Rangers have optioned outfielder Alejandro Osuna and infielder Cody Freeman to AAA Round Rock.

Seager last played on May 13. On May 16, he reported back spasms, and while it was initially hoped he would be day-to-day, he ended up on the injured list. He has played for Frisco on a rehab assignment the previous two days, and is apparently ready to go when the Rangers host the Guardians on Friday. Seager had been in a 6 for 61 slump when he went on the injured list, and the hope was that the i.l. stint would also provide him a mental break and a re-set once he returned.

The other roster spot that is now open will presumably go to either Wyatt Langford, who last played on April 21, and who has been on the injured list with a strained forearm, or Sam Haggerty, who is on bereavement leave. Langford has played a pair of rehab games with Round Rock and a pair with Frisco. It may be that he is going to be making another rehab appearance for Frisco tonight before he is activated tomorrow.

Whether Langford returns Friday or later in the weekend, his returning to the roster meant Alejandro Osuna was going to go back to AAA. Osuna has been playing left field against righthanded pitchers, and has slashed .253/.376/.275 in 110 plate appearances over 37 games. With the non-Langford outfield and DH spots manned by lefthanded hitters, Osuna, who is also a lefty, is not a fit as a fourth outfielder, particularly given that he’s more suited for a corner spot than center field.

Freeman was called up to take Haggerty’s place when Haggerty went on bereavement leave. There was some question as to whether Freeman, who was in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster, would stick even once Haggerty returned (along with Seager and Langford), but that appears to not be the case.

Thursday notes…

• STREAKING THE WRONG WAY: The Cubs have lost eight consecutive games at home. This is their 17th streak of at least eight straight losses at home since 1901. The most recent was a team-record 13 games July 27-Aug. 22, 2021. That eclipsed the 12 in a row to start the 1994 season, which had topped the 11 games July 25-Aug. 22, 1902. They have had two streaks of 10 games and three streaks of nine, two of them in 2006 and 2021. This is their ninth of eight. The most recent to end at eight was Aug. 6-20, 2010. The seven before then all were between 1938 and 1974. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• HISTORY, THE WRONG WAY: With their losses in the last the three games, the Cubs have fallen below .500 — since Opening Day of 2021, the first full season after the pandemic: 435 wins and 437 losses. They were: 71-91 in 2021 (20 games below .500); 74-88 in 2022 (14 below, total of -34); 83-79 in 2023 (4 above, total of -30); 83-79 in 2024 (4 above, total of -26); 92-70 in 2025 (22 above, total of -4); 32-30 in 2026 (2 above, total of -2). In 2015-20, the Cubs were 140 games above .500, with 505 wins, 365 losses and 1 tie, for a percentage of .580. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• STREAKING PCA: Pete Crow-Armstrong is on an eight-game hitting streak in which he is batting .343/.410/.600 (12-for-35) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI and six runs scored.
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Fergie Jenkins throws a three-hit shutout, striking out six, and the Cubs thrash the Braves 11-0 in Atlanta. Joe Pepitone goes 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBI. It happened 55 years ago today, Friday, June 4, 1971.

Cubs lineup:

Game three vs. the Athletics.

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/OAjelOxa1q

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 4, 2026

Athletics lineup:

Today's lineup vs. Chicago (NL) – June 4, 2026 at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/qAt5x3nmYG

— A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) June 4, 2026

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. J.T. Ginn, RHP

Didn’t we just do this Tuesday? Shōta Imanaga’s last three starts have been just awful. He’s allowed 21 hits and five walks (1.660 WHIP) in 15.2 innings, with 20 (!) earned runs (11.49 ERA) and eight home runs. He was striking out a lot of guys earlier in the season (28 percent K rate over his first nine starts) but that has plunged to just 13.7 percent over those last three starts, suggesting… I dunno, velocity drop? Injury? Both?

In any case, it’s not good.

His only career start vs. the A’s was Sept. 16, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He allowed two runs in seven innings (a two-run homer by Brent Rooker) and struck out 11.

It would be nice for Shōta to get back there.

J.T. Ginn has been the A’s best starter this year since he joined their rotation in mid-April. In 10 starts since then: 2.56 ERA, 1.139 WHIP, has allowed more than two runs just once in that 10-start span.

One thing he’s had a bit of trouble with is walks — his 24 walks among 213 batters faced as a starter this year is an 11.3 percent walk rate, which is kind of high. So maybe the Cubs can, for once, be patient?

Ginn has never faced the Cubs and only two Cubs (Alex Bregman, 1-for-2 and Carson Kelly, 0-for-2) have ever seen him.

One potentially good thing: Ginn is right-handed, the first RH starter the Cubs have seen in this series. They are 25-21 vs. RH starters this year, just 7-9 vs. LH starters.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Athletics site Athletics Nation. If you do go there to interact with A’s fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The vibes couldn’t have been higher for the White Sox in May, which sets the stage for Chris Getz to do almost anything he wants without upsetting fans. The crew went 18-10 and came out of the month with a positive run differential for the first time since last July, when Chicago went on a heater and came the closest to posting a winning month since May 2023. Everything was sunny for the South Siders, but let’s take a deeper look at the common threads that underlie this team’s performance.

One team’s benchwarmers are another team’s starters

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to player swaps. I hate to hand it to Getsz (in reality, the majority of the credit should go to the scouting and baseball operations departments), but the trades and free agent signings he cooked up during the last two trade deadlines and offseasons are turning out to be some of the smartest moves made to this day.

Giving up Michael Kopech for anyone but a proven major leaguer initially seemed ludicrous, but Miguel Vargas’ breakout campaign is proving the trade’s early critics wrong. Vargas recorded a hearty .250/.356/.510 slash line, seven home runs, 19 RBIs, and 14 walks in 100 at-bats. Although his productivity wasn’t as high as Munetaka Murakami’s, his reliability in the lineup came up clutch to tip the scales in Chicago’s favor multiple times. His latest two-run blast punctured the wounded Tigers and made a poignant statement that the Sox will do more than play spoiler in the AL Central.

MIGUEL VARGAS HITS A WALK-OFF HOMER! pic.twitter.com/D5oBGsKmHg

— MLB (@MLB) May 30, 2026

Similarly, former Banana baller Tristan Peters has quickly quelled worries about the outfield. His exceptional .293/.354/.415 slash line and stellar glove have prevented losses and saved several games that a 1.6 WAR doesn’t adequately reflect, but at least his 2.91 range factor in nine innings comes close. Drafted by the Brewers in 2021, Peters only played four games last year with the Rays, one of which was his MLB debut. The Sox paid cash for Peters in December, representing the only offseason move made by the Sox until the Murakami signing. Now, he’s a staple in the Sox’s outfield platoon.

Not every trade is a success, but it’s nice to see that the Sox are finally benefiting from some of these seemingly one-sided exchanges. These guys don’t need to become MVPs to provide value and be difference makers.

Talent dispersion outweighs concentration in small markets

For a team whose payroll wouldn’t meet MLB’s proposed $171.2 million salary floor, the Sox are serving as the poster child for why salary caps and floors won’t immediately solve MLB’s economic disparities. 

Although there’s no denying that Murakami was the most underrated free agent signing by the Sox or any smaller market MLB team this season, Murakami’s co-stars deserve a hand clap. In May, the Sox ranked fifth in runs (141), first in home runs (42), third in RBIs (141), seventh in batting average and on-base percentage (.252 and .328, respectively), and fifth in slugging percentage (.435). Murakami ranked in the top 10 in only two of those six categories. This proves that although he may be most often in the national spotlight, he isn’t the only one pulling the cart.

The same goes for pitching. Davis Martin may be a top-five contender for the AL Cy Young after publishing a 4-0 record, 2.05 ERA, 38 punchouts, and .188 batting average allowed in May, but this rotation and bullpen don’t rely on just one guy. Bryan Hudson, Grant Taylor, Sean Newcomb, and Anthony Kay combined for a sub-1.70 ERA and 77 strikeouts in nearly 78 innings in May. On most teams, those numbers would make them a major storyline.

To survive a trade deadline that is expected to be a seller’s market, with the CBA renewal negotiations going as expected, and to stay within playoff contention, everyone on the Sox needs to pull their weight. 

Summary Metrics

Trade Confidence (How many players traded for are making valuable contributions to the organization?): 30%

Average Innings Watched (Average number of innings fans have patience for): 9…? Wait, yes, that’s right

Rebuild Index (1 is full rebuild, 5 is sustaining current pace, 10 is aggressively pursuing a World Series): 6

Today’s first pitch was fairly representative of how most of today’s game ended up going. Brewers starter Coleman Crow threw a 90.7 mph sinker up and in to Casey Schmitt, who leads the Giants in home runs. Schmitt tagged it for his thirteenth of the year, and all of a sudden the Brewers were already behind just one pitch into the game.

Crow quickly got two outs, but also allowed singles to Luis Arraez and Jung Hoo Lee. Bryce Eldridge came up with two on and two out and singled into center field for the Giants’ second run of the inning. Matt Chapman then took a strike, fouled off three pitches, and ripped a line drive into left field. Lee scored, Eldridge made it around to third, and Chapman ended up on second with a double.

For a moment, it looked like the Giants were going to add to their lead again after Crow walked the next batter, Eric Haase, on four pitches that were all low and away. Luckily, nine-hitter Drew Gilbert grounded out to end the inning.

Crow would make it through the second inning unscathed, but allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in the third. He was eventually pulled with only one out in the frame and the bases loaded. DL Hall came in to try to get out of the jam and limited the Giants to a sacrifice fly.

Crow’s final line reflects how rough of an outing this was for him: 2 1/3 innings pitched, 9 hits, 6 earned runs, two walks. He had looked good through his first three appearances, but the Giants jumped on him early and often. Even during a 1-2-3 second inning, Rafael Devers hit a 107 mph liner that Luis Rengifo made a ridiculous diving play on to take away a base hit.

Rengifo robs ANOTHER 🤯 https://t.co/6t45j0D193pic.twitter.com/en1WEwCA3a

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 4, 2026

I still believe Crow can eventually become an effective part of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, but he’s a rookie who doesn’t throw particularly hard. Eldridge’s RBI single, an Adames double that almost cleared the outfield fence, and a Jung Hoo Lee RBI double were all on 87-88 mph cutters. His fastball, which he also gave up a couple big hits on, was sitting at 91-92 mph. As he learns how to navigate major-league hitters, outings like this are bound to happen. With that being said, one rough start isn’t an immediate red flag, especially if he follows it up with a few more strong performances.

On the offensive end, the Brewers got a run back in the first thanks to a Chourio walk, a Turang single (initially ruled an error on Adames), and a Contreras sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the fifth, Chourio followed a Christian Yelich double with a two-run home run that cut the deficit to three.

Jackson goes oppo to cut into the deficit

⭐️ https://t.co/ZGJNZU1cbnhttps://t.co/UxCU2EDLAGpic.twitter.com/8dMNFCRG2b

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 4, 2026

Since Crow exited so early, the Brewers were forced to lean heavily on their bullpen. Unfortunately, the story of the game quickly shifted from Crow’s struggles to a series of injuries among Milwaukee’s relievers.

Hall pitched 2 1/3 one-hit innings, but ended up leaving the game with a trainer. After throwing an 0-1 sweeper to Gilbert, Contreras — the catcher — saw something he didn’t like. He immediately called time out and went out to check on his pitcher. Brewers manager Pat Murphy, a couple pitching coaches, and the trainer all came out and, after conferring with Hall, took the ball from him.

Grant Anderson came on in relief, getting out of the fifth and pitching a scoreless sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, he allowed two straight singles, and the second was a comebacker off the bat of Eldridge that got Anderson on his right forearm. He looked to be in serious pain, doubling over immediately and remaining on the ground while talking to the training staff. Eventually, he got up — still clearly shaken up — and walked off the field with a trainer.

After a few warmup pitches, Jake Woodford quickly allowed a single to Chapman, loading the bases for former Brewer Eric Haase. Haase took the first pitch for a ball, then launched a grand slam 406 feet to pad the Giants’ lead even further. Before escaping the inning, Woodford gave up four more singles and two runs to bring the score to Giants 12, Brewers 3.

Milwaukee quickly got a couple runs back in the bottom of the seventh after Yelich led off with a single and Chourio again brought him home with his second two-run homer of the day. Andrew Vaughn almost added two more runs, but Gilbert robbed him of a home run.

Jackson Chourio with his third career multi-HR game

⭐️ https://t.co/ZGJNZU1cbnpic.twitter.com/o9b3nyd4k4

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 4, 2026

Sweet sassy molassy, Drew Gilbert took away a two-run homer from Andrew Vaughn. Would have pulled the Brewers within 12-7. pic.twitter.com/YPtUjf7JZn

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 4, 2026

Milwaukee would keep chipping away in the eighth courtesy of David Hamilton, who homered into the Brewers’ bullpen for his second of the season.

David Hamilton goes yard pic.twitter.com/1TM00McAla

— Brewers.TV (@BrewersdotTV) June 4, 2026

San Francisco brought in reliever Wilkin Ramos for the ninth to try and close it out. Ramos, pitching in his second career game after making his major league debut in the series opener, started the inning by allowing singles to Chourio and Gary Sánchez. Both Joey Ortiz and Blake Perkins worked the count full before walking, and the walk to Perkins brought home Chourio from third.

With the bases loaded and the tying run in the on-deck circle, Giants manager Tony Vitello didn’t want Ramos facing Vaughn. He turned to Caleb Kilian, who struck Vaughn out on a foul tip before getting Frelick to ground into an RBI force out at second.

Even down to their last out, the Brewers still weren’t done. With the score now 12-8 and runners on the corners, Rengifo floated a soft liner into left field to score Ortiz from third and keep the inning alive.

That brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Hamilton, who had already homered in the previous inning. After taking ball one, he got a sinker he could handle and drove it deep to right-center field. For a moment, it looked like it might have had the legs to get over the center field fence. Instead, the ball died on the warning track, just a few feet short of a game-tying three-run homer.

After today’s loss, the Brewers settled for a split in their four-game series with the Giants and have now dropped two straight games. They’ll head out west tonight for a six-game road trip against the Rockies and Athletics before their next scheduled off day. First pitch for tomorrow’s series opener in Colorado is set for 7:40 p.m.

The New York Yankees still do not have a firm diagnosis regarding franchise player Aaron Judge. But the circle of medical specialists aiming to get him right continues to grow.

The Yankees confirmed to news media after their Thursday, June 4 game that tests on Judge's rib and shoulder will be reviewed by Dallas-based vascular specialist Gregory Pearl, who specializes in "thoracic outlet syndrome management in high-performance athletes," according to his website.

Judge was initially diagnosed with a bone bruise near his right rib cage, which multiple tests have confirmed. Yet he was sent for more testing Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, and after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 2-1, the club confirmed to reporters that test results will be viewed by Pearl, the thoracic outlet syndrome specialist.

It's an unsettling development for Judge, as TOS has significantly impacted or ended careers, such as former World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg. It also ended the 2025 season of Cy Young Award hopeful Zack Wheeler, who underwent surgery to remove a rib in September.

What is thoracic outlet syndrome recovery time?

Wheeler recovered in time to make his 2026 debut April 25, and improved to 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA by beating San Diego on Thursday. Yet there's very little track record for hitters impacted by TOS.

The thoracic outlet is an area between a person's neck and shoulder, and TOS can result when its nerves or blood vessels are compressed. Wheeler suffered from venous TOS and had a blood clot near his shoulder surgically removed weeks before his rib surgery.

Longtime catcher Mike Zunino is perhaps the most notable position player to undergo TOS surgery, in 2022.

Judge, the three-time American League MVP, has hit 385 career home runs and already smacked 17 this season, with a .907 OPS, before he was sidelined after playing in their Sunday, May 31 game at Sacramento.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Judge injury update has MVP seeing thoracic outlet specialist

The Dodgers are back home ever so briefly, with a single-series homestand this weekend against the Angels at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Back in Anaheim from May 15-17, the Dodgers had their way with the Angels in a three-game sweep, outscoring the Halos 31-3. The Angels come to Los Angeles having lost 29 of their last 43 games, and are 11-21 on the road this season.

Roki Sasaki starts the series opener for the Dodgers.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KTTV channel 11 (Angels broadcast)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Sometimes you eat the road, and sometimes the road eats you. I’m not totally sure how relevant that is to today’s Orioles-Red Sox game, but what I mean is, this was a total inversion of Wednesday’s lopsided, 8-1 loss. As the O’s unsuccessful starter that night, Chris Bassitt, said after the game, “When your starter goes three innings and gives up three runs, that’s pretty much a recipe for disaster, so this one’s on me.” Today, however, Orioles starter Trevor Rogers looked just fine, thanks, and it was a recipe for a win.

An easy win, at that. Boston starter Brayan Bello has had a curiously bimodal 2026 season: when he starts games, he has a 9.68 ERA, but he’s under 1.00 when he comes in after an opener. Well, the Sox played with fate, and Bello got rocked in the first inning, to the tune of six runs. It wasn’t much of a nailbiter after that.

It started with the leadoff pitch, which leadoff hitter Taylor Ward did something predictable to—he doubled—and a Bello cutter hit Gunnar Henderson on the foot. Adley Rutschman singled to the gap, and Ward made it 1-0. Then, oh no!, Pete Alonso hit into a double play. I confess I thought the rally was over.

I was very wrong. Samuel Basallo took a very grown-up walk. Leody Taveras singled through the infield and Gunnar scored. 2-0, Birds. Still not done: Colton Cowser walked to load the bases for Coby Mayo. Bello threw him a bunch of sweepers—one too many: Cowser skied a ball three-fourths of the way off The Monster, and all the little Orioles came home.

Baltimore had one more trick up their sleeve, still with two outs: Jackson Holliday walked, and leadoff man Taylor Ward came back to the plate, and singled up the middle, his second hit of the inning. 6-0, Orioles, after one.

Then, an improbable lull—or, a streak, I guess, if you’re in the Brayan Bello fan club. I can’t say many of us on this blog are. The 27-year-old recovered after that disastrous first inning to retire ten Orioles in a row. It was a gutsy effort to get some length for his team, give him that. At one point in the fifth, Brian Roberts, from the booth, said, “You might think this was a 0-0 game considering how these guys have been pitching since [the first inning].” Ohhh, Classic Roberts. (I have no idea if Brian Roberts is a jinx.) Right then, Pete Alonso singled to left, after which Sam Basallo torched a ball, 112.4 mph to right field. Surprising to me, this was the hardest-hit ball of Basallo’s young career. The Polar Bear chugged home to make it 7-0. Basallo, on third base after a groundout, came home and scored when Cowser hit a deep sac fly. 8-0, Orioles.

An 8-0 score tells you that things were going pretty well for Trevor Rogers. The Orioles lefty, who’d struggled in his first ten outings this season but may be turning a corner, had himself an easy shutout through five innings, in fact a no-hitter until into the fifth. His control was pinpoint, and his fastball had movement!

The only sour note was it looked, if we’re being honest, that he seemed to lose gas after that. He allowed three straight singles in the sixth inning, plus his first run of the game, and he couldn’t close out that frame against the Red Sox. Instead, manager Craig Albernaz lifted Rogers for Yennier Cano, who got one out and called it a day. Still, overall, progress for Trevor Rogers, who’d had an era of nearly eight on the season: one run in 5 2/3 innings will do. As MASN pointed out, Rogers now has five-inning-shutout starts in back-to-back appearances.

Not much suspense after that. Andrew Kittredge had a five-outing scoreless streak entering this one, but he served up a home run to Willson Contreras. There are worse things one can do. The veteran righty kept it suspense-free after that.

Any team can look great or terrible on any given day. Yesterday was the Orioles’ turn to be cannon fodder; today they were … the cannon? Either way, this team been stacking more of the good days instead of the bad days. Let’s see if it continues north of the border against Toronto.

Who is your Most Birdland Player of the game? Trevor Rogers, with a stabilizing outing of 5 2/3 and one run? Coby Mayo, with a three-run double? Taylor Ward with a casual 3-for-5 day, including a double?

Not only are the days of Shohei Ohtani struggling with the bat in 2026 gone, but his overall production makes you question if that was ever an actual period of this season in the first place. Ohtani has particularly enjoyed this series against the Diamondbacks—recording multi-hit performances in each of the first three games, dominating in the leadoff spot, and on the mound on Wednesday—and why wouldn’t he? It’s hard to tell what is more impressive: that Ohtani has a slugging percentage above .700 in 21 games at Chase Field or that it is one of six ballparks in which he has a slugging percentage that high with at least 13 games. Now, the Dodgers will have to wrap up this series without their star hitter as Will Smith gets a day off from catching and moves to the DH spot with Dalton Rushing behind the plate.

Interestingly, Ohtani hasn’t had the best of luck against today’s Diamondbacks starter, Ryne Nelson, but a different Dodger has: Mookie Betts. In fact, out of all five Dodgers with at least a dozen at-bats against Nelson, Betts is the only one with worthwhile numbers, batting .357 with a home run. Struggling massively in 2026, Mookie will accept any advantage he can get against a pitcher who has a 2.72 ERA in 39.2 innings against the Dodgers.

More importantly, though, is the opportunity to give Dalton Rushing any plate appearances this team can. Rushing has done all that it could be asked of him and then some, but playing time is scarce even if Smith hasn’t matched his usual standards this year.

Thursday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Diamondbacks
• Ballpark: Chase Field, Phoenix
• Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Wade will wear number 31 and is active for tonight’s game.

The Houston Astros announced that they have signed OF LaMonte Wade Jr. to a Major League contract. Wade will be active for tonight’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wade, 32, was most recently in the Chicago White Sox system, playing at their Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. In Charlotte, Wade was batting .250 with a .420 OBP and .861 OPS. The left-handed hitter has experience playing both corner outfield spots as well as 1B.

Across 7 major league seasons, Wade Jr. is a lifetime .236 hitter, with a .341 OBP and .731 OPS across 1,617 AB. He last played in the majors in 2025, splitting time between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels.

Wade exercised an opt-out clause on Monday to secure his release with the White Sox in hopes of catching on with another team with a better path to the majors.

Astros Add Price, DFA Salazar

The team announced it was recalling C Collin Price from Triple-A Sugar Land. Price, 26, is a righthanded hitting C/1B. Price was hitting .235 with a .360 OBP and an .836 OPS for the Space Cowboys this season, with 10 HR and 26 RBI over 166 AB.

Last season, Price batted .235 with a .323 OBP and .757 OPS, with 18 HR and 60 RBI over 392 AB.

Price will replace Cesar Salazar on the active roster. Salazar was designated for assignment.

Astros Make OF Moves

Houston announced it was reinstating OF Joey Loperfido from the IL and optioned him to Triple-A Sugar Land.

The Astros also optioned OF Zach Cole to Triple-A Sugar Land.

OF Rhylan Thomas was designated for assignment.

Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is back out of the lineup for Thursday night’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays after a one-hit, one-RBI performance in Wednesday’s 7-3 win.

It’ll be the fifth time in the last seven games Kim has been out of the lineup. While Atlanta has largely ridden Jorge Mateo’s heat wave as Kim continues to struggle to generate momentum after his delayed start to the season, it’ll be Mauricio Dubon this time, starting at short and hitting second in the lineup.

While Toronto is using a left-handed opener in Mason Fluharty (3-0, 3.97 ERA), it’s expected that righty Chad Dallas (4.50 ERA over 36 innings at Triple-A Buffalo this season), called up ahead of Thursday’s game, will be the bulk pitcher for his major league debut.

Due to this expectation, the Braves aren’t taking the opener bait and will start Dominic Smith as designated hitter (sixth in lineup) and Mike Yastrzemski in left (eighth).

Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in right after a DH day and Sandy León is catching and will hit ninth, preventing new addition Austin Wynns from starting after he was acquired via trade and selected to the major league roster earlier in the day.

Series finale!#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/DG2lTNag52

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 4, 2026

Chris Sale, who spent time in the same division as Toronto when with the Red Sox, is 8-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 18 career games (15 starts) against the Blue Jays. He’s faced them just twice since 2019, though, meaning a number of current Toronto players haven’t faced him.

George Springer (.267 with one double, one homer and four RBIs) accounts for 30 of the current Blue Jays’ 48 career at-bats against him. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2-for-11, one homer, three RBIs) is the only other Blue Jay who has faced him more than three times.

Speaking of Springer, he’s back atop the lineup after getting an off day against a righty starter Wednesday night. Nathan Lukes and Yohendrick Piñango, who were in the top two spots of the lineup against Grant Holmes, fall into the sixth and ninth spots respectively against Sale.

Myles Straw also gets his first start of the series in Toronto (seventh) while Tyler Heineman gets his first start behind the dish (eighth).

One more before we return home! #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/wuyU7ppdaI

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 4, 2026

I ju— I just don’t understand…

Brayan Bello made his return to the starting rotation on Thursday. If you know anything about how this season has gone for the right-hander, you won’t be surprised to learn that it led to an atrocious first inning in which the Baltimore Orioles scored six runs in what would eventually become a 8-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

STUDS

Don’t piss me off.

DUDS

Brayan Bello: It’s quite literally impossible to explain what is happening with this guy — who was the last guy to have a 0.71 ERA as a reliever and a 10.35 ERA as a starter?

Taylor plates another as the O’s bat around! pic.twitter.com/pOFjGlUgll

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) June 4, 2026

Chad Tracy/Mike Brenly: Tracy had an opportunity to at least try to stop the bleeding in the first inning, as Wilyer Abreu made an impressive would-be-inning-ending throw to Caleb Durbin. The Red Sox passed up on the chance to challenge the close play at third base, with the score eventually ballooning from 2-0 to 6-0. NESN’s broadcast claims they wanted to challenge, but couldn’t make a decision in time.

“OH, HE HASN’T FIXED A THING” MOMENT OF THE GAME

One pitch.

The Orioles immediately started with a man on second base, as Taylor Ward smoked a ball over the head of Ceddanne Rafaela.

For the first time since May 17, the Philadelphia Phillies scored six runs in a game. It last came when Paul Skenes faced Zack Wheeler on a Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh as the Phillies looked to sweep the Pirates.

As the Phillies look to sweep another mediocre National League team, Wheeler once again takes the mound during a day game with an offense looking for answers.

Wheeler looked fully back, sitting 95.8 mph on his four-seam fastball over 104 pitches in his seven-inning start. Of the nine pitches he threw in the first inning, seven of them were four-seams including three that Manny Machado stared at to end the frame.

In the bottom of the first, Kyle Schwarber hit his 18th single of the year (update the Bluesky thread, Joe) and Trea Turner grounded into a fielder’s choice right after. Bryce Harper then took a changeup to shallow right field but Turner made up his mind, rounding second base as the ball was already caught and was doubled up.

Skipping to the fourth, Wheeler once again met Machado at the plate and once again offered a three-fastball sequence. Machado once again looked at the first one for a strike, looking like a hitter who wants to get a sweeper instead. He was late on the second fastball and looked at a third one right down the middle for strike three.

In the bottom half of the inning, the offense finally scratched and clawed. Bryce Harper worked a leadoff walk to start the inning, followed by Brandon Marsh taking a fastball to right field to put runners on first and second. Alec Bohm struck out looking and took a challenge with him to the dugout. Bryson Stott then beat the shift with about as soft of a RBI single that went into the outfield grass as there can be.

Bryson gets us on the board!@Toyota x #RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/b1lajAbDMa

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 4, 2026

The offense kept it going in the following inning with Adolis García, who entered today 8 for his last 75 but has hit a few balls hard in the prior two games. He got a hanging get-me-over breaking ball and did not miss it.

GarCYA! pic.twitter.com/6tW1h9iikW

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 4, 2026

After a Justin Crawford double, Schwarber walk, and Turner forceout, Padres left handed reliever Yuki Matsui made a pickoff throw to first base that wasn’t particularly close, allowing Crawford to walk home and Turner to go to third base.

After a Gavin Sheets walk to open the seventh, Wheeler and Machado met for their third and final time of the day. Once again, Wheeler started him off with a fastball for a strike that Machado didn’t look very interested in swinging at. He once again swung through a second one and the sequence was matching exactly as it did in the fourth.

Unlike the fourth inning, Machado geared up for a fastball and Wheeler threw one right down Broad Street.

That was mashed. pic.twitter.com/wQvHTCd1yC

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 4, 2026

In the bottom half of the seventh, the Phillies must’ve morphed into a different team during the stretch. Adrian Morejon entered the inning to try and keep the game at one. He threw two pitches in the strike zone to fall behind 2-0 and then eventually walked Crawford on five pitches. Crawford then stole second base and took third on a bad Freddy Fermin throw that went into the outfield.

After a Schwarber ground ball that forced Crawford to stay put, Trea Turner got a 2-2 fastball that he laced into right field for their fourth run of the game. He took second base and went to third after Harper hit a line drive right at Morejon’s ankle. With first and third with one out, Brandon Marsh grounded a ball to Ty France but Turner’s excellent slide beat the throw home that made it 5-2. Alec Bohm capped the inning off with a single to center field for their sixth run of the game as everyone was still wondering if they were really watching the 2026 Phillies on that diamond.

José Alvarado entered the ninth to try and protect their four-run lead but things got a little hairy quickly. He walked France and then allowed a two run homer off a two-strike sinker that caught too much of the plate.

After a Xander Bogaerts groundout to short and a Miguel Andujar flyout to center, Jase Bowen replaced Freddy Fermin to try and give the Padres one more base runner to put the tying run at the plate. With a 2-2 count and the game on the line, Bowen chased a cutter for strike three.

The Phillies played the Padres six times in less than two weeks and won all of them. They did not see Michael King or Nick Pivetta but they also never allowed the Padres to use Mason Miller. Every advantage counts when these teams cannot muster consistent offense.