Category: Baseball

1903
It was a tale of two games.

The first nine innings, played to a tie, was full of hitting and sloppy fielding (12 errors, six per team). The second nine, also played to a tie, featured a pitcher’s duel that ended in the dark.

The White Sox and Highlanders (Yankees) played the longest game in American League history (and just shy of the MLB record set a year earlier between the Colts and Pirates), squeezing in 18 innings in fewer than four hours.

The game was tied on a barrage of late hits from the Highlanders, and the White Sox only escaped the innings thanks to a deft catch by catcher Ed McFarland in foul territory that doubled up a New York runner.

From there, it was goose eggs, as White Sox reliever Roy Patterson and New York sub Jesse Tannehill ended up pitching longer than the starters in the game — Patterson giving up seven hits and two runs over 9 ⅔ innings, Tannehill nine and one over 11 frames.

The White Sox flubbed two chances to score in the final two frames. In the 17th, Frank Isbell led off with a double and was sacrificed to third — but Lee Tannehill hit a comebacker to the mound and Isbell was caught off of third, to be thrown out at home. And with two outs in the 18th, Ducky Holmes got on with a bunt and then moved to third on a hit-and-run with Fielder Jones. Jones stole second base, but Danny Green could muster only a weak tap to second base.

At approximately 7:15 p.m., umpire Jack Sheridan called the game, to objections from neither team. The White Sox were stalled at 25-24 and in fifth place in the AL, on their way to falling to 60-77 and seventh by season’s end.

1940
It was Bill Webb Day at Comiskey Park, honoring the Chicago native, longtime White Sox third-base coach and newly-promoted farm system director. Webb never played for the White Sox (over his 14-year pro career, Webb in fact appeared in just five MLB games, with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917) but spent the majority of his post-career time in Chicago.

Webb’s story has a sad end, however, as he died just three years later, at age 47, after suffering a heart attack while driving to work at 35th & Shields.

1953
White Sox manager Paul Richards was regarded as one of the smartest people ever to lead a baseball team.

With the Sox going for a series sweep of New York and leading 4-2 in the ninth inning, Richards brought in pitcher Harry Dorish to relieve Billy Pierce. Only Richardsdidn’t remove Pierce from the game — he moved him to first base! After Dorishfaced two hitters, Pierce was brought back to the mound to end the game — which he did, getting Johnny Mize to hit into a force out and then striking out pinch-hitter Bill Renna.

Richards pulled off this maneuver at least twice as the White Sox skipper, the first time on May 15, 1951 at Boston. In both cases, the pitchers involved were Dorish and Pierce. 

Years later, baseball writer Rob Neyer began tracking these moves in a historical database, and one of his readers termed the maneuvers “Waxahachie Swaps.” Richards, who also made these swaps twice as Baltimore Orioles manager, was known as the Wizard of Waxahachie (Texas).

1961
Completing a doubleheader sweep and four-game series sweep of the Washington Senators at Comiskey Park, the White Sox ended a long homestand with a 15-1 record, one of two (1906) in team history. Normally such a run, during these White Sox glory years, would have ended with the White Sox well better than .500 and leading the AL, but the 1961 team had started slow; the homestand began with the Pale Hose 21-33, 14 1⁄2 games out and flirting with the basement of the AL. By the start of the next road trip, Chicago had re-set itself, at 36-34, 9 1⁄2 games out and in fifth place.

The White Sox could only make it to fourth place in 1961, where they finished the year, at 86-76. It was their worst finish in the standings in 10 years.

1962
With the team stuck at .500 in a season that aspired to a pennant, the White Sox made two off-day trades, picking up reliever Dean Stone and left fielder Charlie Maxwell.

Stone came over from the Houston Colt .45s for Russ Kemmerer and finished out the season well as the part-time closer for the club. Over 29 games he tallied nine saves along with a 3.26 ERA/3.38 FIP and 0.7 WAR. The White Sox sold Stone to Baltimore in the offseason, where he played his final season. Kemmerer, a similar relief pitcher as Stone, actually ended up providing the same 0.7 WAR value for Houston in 1962, so this was a win-win deal. Incidentally, this was the first trade the White Sox had ever made with the Colt .45s.

Maxwell cost the White Sox outfielder Bob Farley and gave the White Sox a nice punch in the outfield for the rest of 1962, tallying 1.4 WAR over 69 games. Maxwell played one more season with the White Sox and was released very early in the 1964 season, ending his career. Farley fared poorly for Detroit (-0.5 WAR) in 1962 and was out of baseball after that season.

Ultimately, the White Sox fell short of the 1962 pennant, finishing 85-77 and fifth in the AL. It was Chicago’s poorest placing since 1950.

1964
An overflow crowd of 52,712 jammed Comiskey Park to watch the White Sox hammer the Cubs, 11-1, in the annual “Boys Benefit Game.” 

The Sox, who played as the “visiting” team that night, hit four home runs, including back-to-back-to-back shots in the third inning. The home runs were hit by Ron Hansen, Tommy McCraw and Jerry McNertney. Floyd Robinson also had a home run. 

What was significant, however, was the fact that fans were allowed on the outfield grass behind ropes, because there wasn’t any room left in the park. It was the last time fans have ever been permitted to stand on the playing field for a game. 

The game ranks No. 6 all-time in attendance at old Comiskey Park, which is by extension No. 6 all-time in White Sox and Chicago baseball annals.

1991
White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell fired the first shutout for the home team at new Comiskey Park, blanking the Mariners, 4-0. Jack was masterful on the day, and carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He’d end up with a three-hitter, and seven strikeouts. 

2006
With the White Sox trailing the Houston Astros, 9-2, in the eighth inning at U.S. Cellular Field, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi hit a three-run home run to narrow the deficit to 9-5. In the ninth inning, Iguchi connected again, this time for a grand slam to tie the game.

The Sox lost the game in the 13th inning, but Iguchi set a franchise record, as the White Sox had hit grand slams in three consecutive days. Scott Podsednik hit a grand slam two days earlier, and Joe Crede did so the day before.

2016
The White Sox tied the franchise record, first set in a 29-6 blowout in 1955, by blasting seven home runs in a single game. It took place against the Blue Jays at U.S. Cellular Field.

But there was one problem … they lost the game, 10-8.

It was only the third time in baseball history a team hit that many home runs in a game and lost (Detroit, in 1995 and 2004). The Sox players to hit home runs were Brett Lawrie (two), Dioner Navarro, J.B. Shuck, Tim Anderson, Alex Avila and Adam Eaton.

Feelings of deja vu in Triple-A and Double-A as the Comets and Drillers experienced similar results to those of the previous day.

Player of the day

Chase Harlan had been one of the standout performers not only with the Tower Buzzers but across the whole Dodger minor league system when he got promoted to High-A earlier this week. In the first game with the Loons, Harlan recorded half of the team’s six RBI in a win over the Lugnuts.

Through 58 games, Harlan has an OPS above 1.000 and nearly as many RBI (48) as he does strikeouts (52), looking like he won’t have much issue adjusting to the promotion.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Providing a sort of carbon copy of the previous day’s game, the Comets once again fell on the losing end of a game decided by one run in which the bulk of its offense came from the rehabbing Teoscar Hernández. The two-run shot in the third inning from Hernández accounted for all of the Comets’ RBI in a 4-3 loss, with the other run coming on an error.

Opportunities were there for a bigger output, but the Comets finished the game 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, wasting Alek Thomas’ three-hit effort, which accounted for a third of the team’s total hits.

Hernández might have had a big game, but other known big leaguers did not so much. Starter Landon Knack only recorded four outs before being removed in the middle of the second inning, and reliever Evan Phillips also allowed a run in the third.

Double-A Tulsa

What is it more rare, one might wonder: to lose a second consecutive game by a score of 10-1 or for a starting pitcher to allow four runs without conceding a single hit? All of this happened to the Drillers against the Hooks, as starter Peter Heubeck could not find the strike zone in the first inning, walking six hitters before being pulled in the opening frame.

Mike Sirota did not homer like the day before, but he did record a hit to take his on-base streak to a whopping 60 games. Other than that, there was very little to talk about concerning the offense that finished the game with just four hits.

High-A Great Lakes

Promoted after a phenomenal start to the year in Ontario, Chase Harlan started his Loons career on the right foot, recording a pair of hits and three RBI in the cleanup spot, the protagonist of a 6-2 win away from home against the Lugnuts.

The Loons took the lead with a first-inning home run from Emil Morales and never looked back, supported by five scoreless frames from starter Aidan Foeller. There was the potential to see a rare four-inning save from Isaac Ayon, but three solid innings were enough, and Alex Makarewich came out for the final frame.

Single-A Ontario

Eleven hits and 15 walks drove forward one of the Tower Buzzers more complete offensive performances of the season, beating the Rawhide 13-9. Freshly activated leadoff hitter Kendall George was one of the few who struggled before being removed for pinch-hitter Oswaldo Osorio, who hit an important three-run shot in the late innings. However, the Tower Buzzers had their secondary leadoff hitter cooking: second baseman Javier Herrera reached in all five of his plate appearances with a hit and four walks, scoring three of Ontario’s 13 runs.

After going through a homer drought between the end of May and the start of June, teenager Ching-Hsien Ko has once again found his power stroke. Ko was responsible for one of the Tower Buzzers’ three homers, his third in the last six games.

Transactions

Outfielder Kendall George was assigned from the Drillers to the Tower Buzzers, activated off the injured list, while starter Landon Knack began a rehab assignment with the Comets.

Wednesday’s scores

• Reno 4, Oklahoma City 3
• Tulsa 1, Corpus Christi 10
• Lansing 2, Great Lakes 6
• Visalia 9, Ontario 13

Thursday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jakob Wright) at Lansing (Samuel Dutton)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Christian Zazueta) vs. Corpus Christi (James Hicks)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Charlie Barnes) vs. Reno (TBD)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Visalia (Connor Foley)

JP Sears was called up to the majors to take the start for the San Diego Padres against the Atlanta Braves in their series finale at Petco Park in place of Lucas Giolito who landed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation earlier in the week. Sears might have been one of the few pitchers Padres fans did not want to see on the mound in place of Giolito, but he was the minor league arm who was available and he got the call. Sears answered the call and delivered just what the Padres needed in a 5-2 win which resulted in a three-game sweep of the Braves.

Sears lasted 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The two runs allowed by the left-hander came on a two-run home run by Joey Bart, which pulled Atlanta within a run of San Diego, making the score 3-2. The Padres provided an answer in the bottom half of the inning when Samad Taylor lobbed a ball over the outfield which dumped into shallow right field, allowing two runs to score to put San Diego ahead, 5-2.

The Padres bullpen was short due to Griffin Canning lasting just 0.2 innings on Tuesday night. San Diego needed just three pitchers, while working their typical game-winning formula, but with different personnel. David Morgan completed 1.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, Wandy Peralta completed one scoreless inning allowing a hit and Jason Adam pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save.

Ty France provided the offensive spark for the Padres. He opened the scoring in the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. He also hit a sacrifice fly and tacked on a double to finish 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and two RBI. Taylor and Bogaerts also had multi-hit games.

San Diego is off today, but will return to action against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday at 6:45 p.m.

Padres News:

• Which pitcher will be the first to be knocked out of the rotation? Based on their recent play, Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito are each making a case for why it should be them.

• There was a lot of movement throughout the San Diego minor league system and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball tries to sort through it to track everyone down.

Baseball News:

• The Philadelphia Phillies got their second comeback win in as many days over the Washington Nationals.

• It has been reported the Chicago Cubs are acquiring David Peterson from the New York Mets.

• Paul Goldschmidt hit two home runs and led the New York Yankees to a win over Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-3 win.

• The San Francisco Giants hit two ninth inning home runs to stun the Athletics.

• The Los Angeles Angels used two rallies to get a walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks topped the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-4.

• The Cleveland Guardians needed extra innings to beat the Chicago White Sox.

• The Colorado Rockies earned another comeback win over the Boston Red Sox.

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The Kansas City Royals will look for a second straight series win when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, June 25.

With a distinct pitching advantage, my Royals vs. Rays predictions and MLB picks have the AL Central bottom-dwellers coming up aces as the road dog against a Tampa side that’s struggling to string together wins.

Who will win Royals vs Rays today: Royals moneyline (+124)

The Kansas City Royals' offense has done heavy lifting this series, but pitching should carry them Thursday.

Seth Lugo has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his last four starts, and the Tampa Bay Rays have historically been kept off balance with his high-spin curveball with a sinking and four-seam fastball.

Tampa’s offense is batting .222 in the series with 26 strikeouts. On the mound, the Rays will use opener Casey Legumina and funnel innings into a taxed bullpen (4.59 ERA).

With the cleaner starting edge and a more stable path through nine innings, I’d back the Royals up to -120.

COVERS INTEL: Lugo has dominated the Rays in his career, going 3-0 in three starts with a 1.86 ERA and 15 strikeouts. He’s pitched into the sixth inning in each of those starts.

Royals vs Rays Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-103)

Even though Lugo has proven to shut the Rays down, Kansas City could be doing much of the heavy lifting to get to the Over themselves.

They’ve hit .283 collectively as a team in this series, pounding out 26 hits and 17 runs, and they’ll get to work over a not-so-great bullpen again Thursday.

For their struggles this series, totaling just eight runs in three games, the Rays are generally a better scoring team at home, where they own the best record in the AL.

They’re just outside the Top 10 in runs scored at home, at 4.69. The Over has hit in each of the last two games, and I like the trend to continue — though I would play it tight to that 8.5 line.

Royals vs Rays weather

Dome.

Royals vs Rays odds

• Moneyline: Royals +127 | Rays -133
• Run line: Royals +1.5 | Rays -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Royals vs Rays trend

Five of KC's last six games have gone Over the total. Find more MLB betting trends for Royals vs. Rays.

How to watch Royals vs Rays and game info

Royals vs Rays latest injuries

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I know that no one really wants to remember last year, but the trip to San Francisco was a bit of a fulcrum point. Or, maybe, not a fulcrum point, but the part where the Braves were flipped off the deep end by a lever atop a diabolically-positioned fulcrum. Or something.

Specifically, the 2025 Braves ended May at 27-30. Not good, but playoff odds were still at about 50 percent, given the roster, the expanded playoffs, yadda yadda yadda. When 85 wins can give you a playoff spot, winning seven more games than you lose over four months isn’t really that hard of a sell. They then lost four straight at home, including two one-run losses to the Diamondbacks — the latter of which involved giving up a seven-run ninth to turn an easy win into another disaster. Just like that, playoff odds went from 1-in-2 to 1-in-3, because, well, 27-34 is a lot harder to overcome than 27-30.

Then they got to San Francisco, and the bottom more or less dropped out. The Braves were swept, first with two consecutive walkoff losses, and then another one-run loss. Playoff odds were now down to 1-in-4. It was their fifth straight one-run loss; they wouldn’t have another one-run loss until the last game of June. Part of the kicker, too, was that after this visit to San Francisco, they went 11-8 for the rest of June — exactly the kind of improvement they’d have needed before the meaty part of the skid. But since that meaty part existed, it wasn’t near enough.

The Braves right now are… it’s not similar, but the vibes (which were near-immaculate for two months) are similarly doomer-ish. The Braves have lost 10 of 13, they’ve lost four in a row for the first time all season, they’ve been officially swept for the first time all season, and it goes on. The lineup is both injured enough to look like those random 2025 lineups with a bunch of warm bodies, but instead of the stories being about exciting resurgences from scrapheap pickups like Dominic Smith and Jorge Mateo, the only thing to really talk about is how nearly the entire team, including, say, Matt Olson, has gone from jumping all over hittable pitches to a revolting combination of staring at strikes, swinging at balls, and weak contact without any super-noticeable reduction in swing speed. Probably the biggest killer was rushing Drake Baldwin back because the Braves decided they couldn’t live with worse-than-a-pitcher offensive production from their fill-in catchers, only to have Baldwin hit like those catchers upon his return. Nothing has killed the team more than going from a best-in-class to a worst-in-class spot, and then keeping the worst-in-class stuff going even without Sandy Leon. Without the elite-ish hitting, the run prevention (or lack thereof) is more exposed, as the Braves have had to make tougher pitching management decisions while also taking the foot off the proverbial pedal in terms of actually orienting those decisions towards winning today’s game. Combine that with stuff like, “now is the perfect time to give Chris Sale more rest” and, yeah, it’s a mess.

But, this is about San Francisco and the Giants, who won two games (and had a third rained out) in Atlanta not long ago. The Giants aren’t good, and they followed their time in Atlanta by getting swept in Miami, though they have won their first two against the Athletics in a couple of very low-scoring games. If the Braves can’t recover here, it might just be that same early-June slide from 2025, just… much, much longer given how good April and May were.

On a related note, I’m of two minds about the press discussion (or lack thereof) regarding the team. Early on, before we knew what was going to happen, a lot of staffers and players were giving sound bites about how Walt Weiss differed from Brian Snitker because he was more vocal, animated, and willing to put himself in opposition to players to get a specific reaction. In other words, they were suggesting that he’d get steamed when things weren’t going his way. Of course, that was basically irrelevant for two months when everything was going his way… but we’ve heard nothing about any sort of steaming or internal boot-to-butt antics.

On the flip side, though, it may be disingenuous to expect any management impetus when the players could (but probably wouldn’t? probably?) point to management decisions as a contributing factor to the disharmony. I don’t think any players would come out and say it, but they’re as aware of the load management and the pushing Sale back as anyone. So, who knows — maybe we aren’t hearing anything about Weiss metaphorically spear-tackling his guys because really everyone needs a spear-tackle. But that’s really a side note.

Anyway, hope the things get better soon, but given that the Braves don’t seem very committed to making them better, we’ll see whether San Francisco is more of the same or a turnaround that is best described as fortuitous rather than some other adjective, because I’m not sure there’s much of a middle ground.

After missing over a month with a shoulder sprain, Walker Jenkins is back in Triple-A and just one step away from the big leagues. He played four rehab games between Single-A and High-A, going 9-for-16 with a pair of homers. A couple days later, he faced off against reds rehabber Hunter Greene in his first at bat since returning to Triple-A and blasted a 99 mph fastball to the center field wall for a 108.7 mph triple. The Twins’ prized outfield prospect is looking MLB-ready and could be just weeks away from his major league debut.

His sweet lefty swing generates an impressive blend of contact and power. At just 21 years old, his 112.3 mph max EV and 90th percentile in the 107 range are well above average and give him a chance to develop plus power as he continues to mature. His plus hit tool has translated seamlessly throughout the minors, and it is only getting better. With strong contact rates and high line drive rates, he could push close to the .300 batting average mark in the majors, although that may drop if he leans into more of a power-focused approach. With strong discipline and good spin recognition, Jenkins has more walks than strikeouts in Triple-A this season. He is a complete hitter with no considerable weaknesses and is remarkably polished for his age.

It’s not just the bat, though. The Twins are getting an asset in every aspect of the game. Jenkins probably won’t be an aggressive base-stealer, but he is a good runner and can provide value on the bases. Defensively, he is a capable centerfielder, but with Buxton in the way, he will slot nicely into right field, where his plus arm and good range are expected to be reminiscent of what Max Kepler did out there for so many years.

The Twins are trotting out Austin Martin, Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens, and Kyler Fedko in the corner outfield right now, all of whom have controllability beyond this season. At the same time, they have Emmanuel Rodriguez, Alan Roden, Matt Wallner, and Hendry Mendez waiting across the river along with Jenkins. This overcrowding issue in the outfield has been on the horizon for a couple years and the Twins have reached a position where they now have to deal with it. Something has to give. The consensus opinion is likely that Larnach or Clemens should be traded, but those two have been two of the Twins most consistently productive bats. Would the team be willing to trade one or two of the prospects for a big league pitcher?

There are countless potential outcomes, but if there is one certainty in this crossroads, its that Walker Jenkins is a franchise cornerstone, and a spot will undeniably be there for him when the team decides that its time for his major league career to begin.

I’ve always been a fan of Dansby Swanson. He plays elite defense and, up to this year, his bat always played well enough.

This season, Swanson got off to a very slow start. He had a decent run for a few weeks in April, then went into an extended slump that had him batting .175/.281/.306 after last Tuesday’s loss to the Rockies at Wrigley Field.

I’m not sure what’s gotten into Swanson over the last six games but let’s hope this hot streak sticks around. After driving in seven runs in the doubleheader opener Tuesday afternoon with a three-run homer and grand slam, Swanson went 3-for-5 with four RBI in the nightcap, helping lead the Cubs to a 10-5 win over the Mets and a doubleheader sweep.

Also, the Mets are a really, really bad defensive team. They made six errors in this game, making half the Cubs’ 10 runs unearned. It was the first time any team had made six errors in a game against the Cubs since the Pirates made seven errors Sept. 7, 2012, a game the Cubs won 12-2. In fact, this is so rare in modern baseball that it hadn’t happened in seven years. Before this game, the last time any team had made six errors in a game was… the Cubs, on April 1, 2019, in Atlanta.

Before I get to the facts of this game, you need to read this. A team record was set by Swanson in the doubleheader — details from BCB’s JohnW53:

Dansby Swanson’s 11 RBI on Wednesday are the most since 1901 by a Cub in a doubleheader.

Billy Williams had nine (two, then seven) on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 1968, at home vs. the Braves.
In the first game, he singled home one run each in the third and seventh. After the second one, Ernie Banks homered to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead, and that is how the game ended.

Williams hit a two-run homer in the third inning of the second game, added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to tie the score at 5, broke the tie with a two-run single in the sixth and doubled home two runs in the eighth to make the score 9-5. The Cubs won, 11-5.

That record stood for less than two years, until Monday, July 6, 1970, when Ron Santo drove in 10 (two, then eight) at home vs. the Expos. He smacked a two-run, fourth-inning homer as the Cubs won the opener, 3-2.

Then he knocked in eight in the rematch, with a grand slam in the first, a bases-loaded walk in the fourth and a three-run homer in the sixth. He came up in the seventh with runners on first and second, and one out, and grounded into a double play. The Cubs won, 14-2.

No Cub had more than seven after Santo until Swanson on Wednesday. Williams had seven on Aug. 8, 1971, and Ryne Sandberg had seven on June 13, 1990.

Now, let’s begin at the beginning.

The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the second on a pair of doubles. Nico Hoerner was first, then Carson Kelly drove in Nico [VIDEO].

The Mets came back with a three-run second off Shōta Imanaga. Unfortunately, all three of the runs scored on homers, which has been an issue for Imanaga all year. Francisco Alvarez hit a solo shot and after a single, A.J. Ewing hit a three-run blast.

The Cubs didn’t wait too long to take the lead back. In the top of the fourth, Hoerner doubled for the second time in the game. Kelly reached on the Mets’ second error of the game, with Hoerner taking third.

A single by Pedro Ramirez scored Nico [VIDEO].

A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. Swanson then singled in Kelly to tie the game 3-3 [VIDEO].

Ramirez took third on that hit and scored on this excuse-me bunt by Pete Crow-Armstrong [VIDEO].

As you will hear in comments from Swanson below, PCA was actually trying to do that — he’s been practicing it, according to Dansby.

The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with another home run off Imanaga, this one a solo shot by Mark Vientos. About all the homers given up by Imanaga, from John:

This was the 10th game in his three-season career as a Cub in which Shota Imanaga has surrendered at least three home runs.

That ties him with Steve Trachsel (1994-99) and Kyle Hendricks (2015-23) for the third most by any Cub since 1901.

Ferguson Jenkins did it 11 times in 1966-73 (never in his return in 1982-83) and Warre Hacker did it 12 times in 1950-56.
Hacker made 140 starts; Jenkins, 347; Trachsel, 190; and Hendricks, 270. This was just Imanaga’s 70th.

The Cubs took the lead back in the top of the sixth. Ramirez led off with a double and Swanson, again, came through, this time with a triple [VIDEO].

After PCA walked — that gives him eight walks in his last six games — Matt Shaw hit into a force play, scoring Swanson [VIDEO].

Imanaga was left in to face Francisco Lindor to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Shōta retired Lindor and then gave way to Gavin Hollowell to face Bo Bichette.

Didn’t matter. Bichette homered anyway, off Hollowell, to make it 6-5. Hollowell finished off the rest of the sixth without incident, and Hoby Milner threw a scoreless seventh.

The Cubs increased their lead to 7-5 in the eighth thanks to two Mets errors. Ramirez reached on the first one, by Bichette, then stole second. One out later, this happened [VIDEO].

The Mets defense was just awful. Just you wait, there’s more of that to come.

Trent Thornton threw a scoreless eighth and then the Cubs put the game away in the ninth. And all of it happened after the first two Cubs were routine outs.

Hoerner doubled, his third two-base hit of the game. This is, we hope, a good sign for Nico, who has been in a terrible slump for two months. His 21 doubles are now tied for third in MLB.

Kelly followed, reaching on an error by Vientos, with Hoerner taking third.

Another single by Ramirez scored Nico [VIDEO].

That wasn’t an error on Marcus Semien, but it could have been — that’s just poor defense. Kelly took third, and Ramirez moved up to second on his second steal of the game.

Swanson drove in both runners with this hit [VIDEO].

Jacob Webb threw the ninth. He issued a pair of two-out walks, then, appropriately, Swanson caught the ball for the final out [VIDEO].

Here are a couple of amazing run-scoring facts from John. First, on scoring six or more runs in consecutive games:

The Cubs have scored at least six runs in six consecutive games. They had not had a streak that long in more than 26 years, since they had six in a row April 22-28, 2000. That was the last of 10 previous streaks that ended at six.

Their last of more than six was eight, April 16-26, 1970. They had had eight three times before, in 1920, 1925 and 1930.

The team record since 1901 is nine, done twice: Aug. 31-Sept. 8, 1929, and June 29-July 5, 1937

And, on scoring in double digits in both games of the doubleheader:

The Cubs had not scored at least 10 runs in both games of a doubleheader in more than 82 years, since May 21, 1944, when they beat the Braves at Wrigley Field by 15-1 and 14-5. The second game was called after eight innings.

They had done it in only five earlier doubleheaders:
Aug. 21, 1935: lost, 13-12, and won, 19-5, at Philadelphia
Aug. 6, 1932: won, 10-9 and 10-8 in 11 innings, at Philadelphia
Sept. 2, 1929: won, 11-7 and 12-10, at home vs. Cardinals
Sept. 26, 1912: won, 11-10 and 10-0, at home vs. Reds (second game six innings)
May 30, 1908: won, 10-2 and 11-2, at St. Louis

So, Wednesday was the seventh time, fourth on the road and first sweep on the road in nine-inning games in 118 years and 27 days.

Wednesday’s doubleheader was the Cubs’ 858th since their last with two double-digit games and their 421st on the road.

Also, check this out. Seven hits with RISP is excellent for one game, but having 25 at-bats with RISP in one game is just an insanely large number.

Here’s Swanson on his big day and series [VIDEO].

And here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

I have written here before on how much defense matters. The Cubs have elite defense at almost every position. The Mets are, to be blunt, terrible. It showed in this game. Errors aren’t the only measure, either. You can read almost every defensive metric available and it will show how far superior the Cubs are to the Mets. Further, this elite defense might help David Peterson, who the Cubs just acquired from the Mets in trade. We’ll likely find out more about that this weekend in Milwaukee, because I suspect Peterson will start one of the games against the Brewers.

In the meantime, the Cubs can go for an unlikely sweep of the Mets Thursday evening at Citi Field. Matthew Boyd will be activated from the injured list to start this game for the Cubs. The Mets will counter with Freddy Peralta. Game time is again 6:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The Phillies came into the 2026 season with an almost unprecedented number of players returning to the team yet again for another year. However, one player that was new was Justin Crawford, as it was all but guaranteed that the top prospect would be the Phillies starting center fielder to begin 2026. And that’s exactly what happened, as Crawford made his MLB debut on Opening Day and is still with the Phillies as we creep closer to the All-Star break.

Crawford was and is a polarizing player. The merits of his skill set and approach have been hotly debated as he progressed through the Phillies minor league system. Some believed that his groundball heavy hitter’s profile and low walk rates coupled with moderately high strikeout rates would make it difficult for Crawford to be a productive major leaguer. Others believed that his speed and ability to make contact coupled with good exit velocities would make him into a regular for a contending team.

Well, we are now 73 games into Justin Crawford’s MLB career as of yesterday. He’s slashing .243/.301/.339 with two home runs and nine stolen bases. Crawford started the year off well enough, hitting .267 with a .700 OPS through his first month in the big leagues. But he cratered in May, hitting just .195 with a .565 OPS as the Phillies began to platoon him to keep him away from left-handed pitching, against which he’s hitting .143 with a .374 OPS and a strikeout rate of 23.1%. He’s had a better June, hitting .275 with a .648 OPS through 18 games played as of June 24th. When things have gone well, Crawford’s contact ability and speed have been a welcome addition to the bottom of the Phillies lineup. When things have gone poorly, Crawford has been an automatic out and a black hole of offensive production with uncompetitive strikeouts.

Defensively, Crawford has been uneven at best, as he still looks like an unfinished product in center. Defensive metrics have their own biases and limitations, especially at this point in a season, but Crawford currently grades out as one of the worst defenders in baseball by defensive runs saved (-6) while being below average in outs above average (-2) and fielding run value (-2). By the eye test, Crawford has made some spectacular plays in center but has also struggled with routes at times and missed balls that should have been caught, especially by someone who possesses his speed.

The book is far from written on Justin Crawford’s rookie season, let alone his MLB career. But we have now read the first few chapters and should have a better idea of the type of player he is and possibly could be. So, has your opinion of Justin Crawford changed since the season began?

Amid the flaming trainwreck that is the 2026 Red Sox season, there’s this very odd side note to consider. Specially, the Red Sox actually had a pretty solid offseason.

Now, “pretty solid offseason” is intentionally vague and highly subjective, but work with me here. As we approach the season’s halfway point, it’s worth exploring the moves the club did make last winter, and how much more maddening they makes everything that’s manifesting now.

Below is a list of the eight transactions I deem to be the most significant of the past offseason. For this exercise, I’m not interested in things like the Vaughn Grissom trade or signing Danny Coulombe and Tommy Kahnle for peanuts in the bullpen. I’m trying to stick to the headliners that have moderate to major impacts on the big picture. If you disagree with the list, feel free to let me know in the comments and we can hash it out there.

So without further ado, here we go in chronological order:

1)November 25, 2025: Traded Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts to the St. Louis Cardinals for Sonny Gray and cash.

Right out of the gate, this one looks like a win. Going into the winter, one of the biggest items on the Red Sox shopping list was a No. 2 starter after they had to go with Brayan Bello in Game 2 of the Wild Card series last year against the Yankees. Amazingly, it looks like they got one before Thanksgiving.

Gray is sitting at 9-1 and nearly a third of all Red Sox victories this year have come in his starts. The money gets complicated, and will continue to get more complicated if he is moved in the next six weeks, but I don’t think there are any Sox fans who would take back this trade.

2) December 4, 2025: Traded Jesus Travieso and Jhostynxon Garcia to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adonys Guzman, Johan Oviedo and Tyler Samaniego.

This looks like a mostly nothing deal right now and you could even argue it doesn’t belong on the list. Jhostynxon Garcia hasn’t found success in Pittsburgh and Johan Oviedo has spent almost the entire year on the IL. For now it’s a neutral, nothing deal, but I’d have to imagine we’re going to see a decent amount of Oviedo in the second half, so I thought it deserves mention as a deal that could become relevant in the coming months.

3) December 15, 2025: Traded Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals for Jake Bennett.

Another deal for the nerds but, so far, this one is going quite well for Breslow and the Red Sox. Jake Bennett fits the big lefty, long extension mold they covet, and he’s starting to settle into the back of the rotation after also posting a 1.60 ERA in nine starts with Worcester.

Perales still has a high ceiling, but has shown no signs of getting closer to reaching it yet in 2026. Long way to go here, but so far this is looking like another positive move.

4) December 22, 2025: Traded Blake Aita, Yhoiker Fajardo and Hunter Dobbins to the St. Louis Cardinals for Willson Contreras.

The craziest thing about the Willson Contreras acquisition is how much he’s exactly what the Red Sox needed on paper, and yet it hasn’t made a lick of difference in their record. He’s right handed, he mashes, he’s having the best season of his career slugging wise, he’s filled the hole at first base, he plays above average defense, he brings a veteran presence in the clubhouse, and he takes a good at bat in high leverage spots. How has this not mattered more?

In any case, the Red Sox desperately needed a big right handed bat, and Craig Breslow managed to get one at an extremely affordable price. Contreras has an .896 OPS, which is just 30 points off the highest OPS of any right handed bat in baseball thanks to the top seven guys all being left handed and some pretty interesting evidence starting to pile up that ABS is helping the lefties (each of the top seven OPS figures in the sport right now bat left handed).

Bottom line: This was a fantastic trade!

5) January 9, 2026: Signed Tyron Guerrero as a free agent.

A total reclamation project that’s blossoming before our eyes. The goods news is he’s throwing triple digit gas for the strikes. The bad news is he’s 35 and the prudent thing to do is likely move him for future value before the deadline. Still, this looks like another win for Breslow.

6) Mid January, 2026: Lost out on the bidding war for Alex Bregman to the Cubs and immediately pivoted to sign Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million deal.

Here’s the key moment of the entire offseason. Through some combination of misreading the market, not locking Alex Bregman up earlier, and just genuinely poor communication skills, the Red Sox didn’t land their man. This led to a pivot to spend the money that was going to go to Bregman on Ranger Suarez because at that point in the offseason, there wasn’t much else left on the shelves.

On one hand, Suarez has been another excellent addition, and there’s a good chance we’re going to look back on this move extremely favorably by the time his five year contract is over. However, this also left the Red Sox with a surplus of starting pitchers and a gigantic hole at third base, which leads us to this:

7) February 9, 2026: Traded Shane Drohan, David Hamilton and Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler.

Undoubtedly, this is the most bitter transaction of the winter. Craig Breslow moved on from a young, cost controlled left handed starter who has been outstanding for the Brewers for a third baseman who just started hitting this month. Losing Harrison hasn’t hurt the 2026 Red Sox all that much as their issue isn’t in the starting rotation, and you can kind of see how Durbin was supposed to fit into the puzzle with his defense, but there’s no way to classify this other than a huge loss at this stage.

They better hope Durbin keeps hitting!

8) February 10, 2026: Signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa as a free agent to a one year, $6 million deal.

It’s certainly not a move I would have made (they needed to shoot higher), but at that price and with this team’s holes, he’s been fine as a utility man. If he comes off the IL quickly, the front office will probably be able to get a lottery ticket return for him at the deadline.

Adding all that up, again I say, “pretty solid offseason.” The biggest issues here are the moves he didn’t make. Breslow didn’t move Jarren Duran for 80 cents on the dollar to clear the outfield logjam. He didn’t move on from Brayan Bello when the had the surplus of pitching following the Ranger Suarez signing, and he didn’t go aggressively enough after another right handed bat. (Although to be fair, the right handed bats available have proved incredibly underwhelming. Even if you wanted Pete Alonso at first base, that means no Willson Contreras.)

Still, despite those warts, it’s feels borderline impossible the Red Sox are having the season they’re having in 2026 with that offseason coming off 89 wins in 2025. Then again, if you watch them play every night, you know the real issue here is they just don’t know how to play baseball as a collective unit. They don’t come back in games, they don’t pick each other up, they don’t take good situational at bats, they’re downright dreadful in clutch situations, and despite being well above average overall defensively, they manage to make their errors at the most inopportune times and almost never make a highlight reel play to save a game.

Long-term, this characteristic is a complete disaster and enormous changes are needed throughout the organization since being able to play baseball as a cohesive unit is kind of the whole point of the sport. However, when it comes to just the 2026 trade deadline, that doesn’t really matter. Unlike in the offseason where piling up value on a roster where the pieces don’t fit will absolutely come back to bite you in the caboose, it’s pretty much the name of the game if you’re a seller at the trade deadline.

You can be picky, you can drive the price up, and you can wait out for offers that will make your counterpart squirm because you have all the leverage. This is exactly the type of negotiation Craig Breslow is made for. So instead of swapping everything else out in the next few weeks and letting somebody new handle this on the fly, isn’t it better to let Breslow have the deadline and then radically alter the organizational philosophy after August 3rd?

Again, take a look at the offseason he had. Breslow is good at collecting value. Despite the unmitigated disaster this club has been on the field in 2026, he’s probably still the best man for this job for at least six more weeks.

Beyond that though, it’s going to take a much bigger reclamation project to fix the issues that permeate deep inside the organization. While sellers at the deadline play a game on paper, the rest of the league, as this front office has learned the hard way, does not.

For Hickory, Michael Trausch struck out one in a scoreless inning. Louis Marinaro struck out both batters he faced.

Marcos Torres was 3 for 4 with a homer and two stolen bases. Yolfran Castillo was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Marco Argudin doubled and walked. Paulino Santana had a hit. Angel Arredondo had a hit and a walk.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter J’Briell Easley allowed four runs in 1.1 IP, striking out two and walking two. Owen Proksch struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings. Brock Porter struck out five and walked three in 2.1 IP, allowing one run. Case Matter struck out two and walked three in an inning, allowing two runs.

Hector Osorio had a hit and a walk. Maxton Martin went 2 for 4. Gleider Figuereo, Chandler Pollard and Eduardo Mejia each had a hit.

Hub City box score

For Frisco, Bryan Magdaleno struck out four in two shutout innings.

Malcolm Moore was 2 for 4 with a homer. Keith Jones II was 2 for 3 with a double, two walks and a stolen base. Rafe Perich drew a pair of walks.

Frisco box score

Spencer Adams started for Round Rock. He was a second round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2014 who, it appears, last pitched in affiliated ball in 2019. He didn’t pitch at all after 2019 until 2025, when he spent the season with Gary in the independent American Association. He was pitching for Gastonia in the Atlanta League before the Rangers apparently signed him so he could provide a body for Round Rock’s pitching staff.

Adams allowed six runs in 5.2 IP, including three homers, walking one and striking out two. Michel Otanez allowed five runs in 0.2 IP, striking out one and walking three. Ryan Lobus faced two batters, giving up a hit and retiring the other guy.

Cam Cauley homered. Aaron Zavala had a hit.

Round Rock box score

Meet the Mets

Well it was unsurpringly ugly yet again at Citi Field. The Mets gave up 20 runs in the doubleheader while scoring eight to get swept in the two games by the Cubs. The pitching was awful, the defense was atrocious, and the offense left a bit to be desired, but hey at least the Norwegians had fun.

Choose your recap Game 1: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, NY Post

Game 2:Amazin’ Avenue, Athletic, Daily News, MLB.com, NY Post

In what could be the start of a fire sale, the Mets traded David Peterson to the Cubs in exchange for prospect Cole Mathis.

About the only people having fun in the stadium, besides the Cubs, were the Norwegian World Cup fans who took in a baseball game while they are in town.

Nolan McLean looked like he actually might help the team win a ballgame but instead it all fell apart quickly, and it turned it yet another ugly loss in game one.

Keith Hernandez lamented the Pete Crow-Armstrong trade after watching him score against the Mets.

Before game two of the doubleheader, the team activated Francisco Lindor from the IL and designated Zack Short for assignment.

With his latest struggles, Carlos Mendoza announced that Kodai Senga will be moving to the bullpen for the foreseeable future.

Tyrone Taylor continued his rehab assignment in Triple-A as he works his way back from a hip flexor strain.

Around the National League East

The Braves were swept by the Padres with a 5-2 loss in the series finale.

Reynaldo López is returning to the Atlanta rotation after finding some success in the bullpen.

Eury Pérez outdueled Jacob deGrom in the Marlins’ 4-2 win over the Rangers.

The Phillies topped the Nationals by a score of 5-4.

Before their game against Philadelphia, Washington claimed reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Twins.

Around Major League Baseball

The Cardinals promoted Bill DeWitt III to chief executive officer after serving as the team’s president since 2008.

The Giants’ Pride Night cap controversy is forcing MLB to decide whether they truly want to be inclusive to everyone.

The Red Sox will likely be sellers at the deadline and they have a few players who could be on the move as the trade deadline approaches.

Left-handed hitting is on the rise around the league and it might stem from the new ABS challenge system.

Mookie Betts slugged his 300th career home run against the Twins.

This Date in Mets History

Happy Birthday Carlos Delgado!

Last year, the Yankees and Red Sox met in an AL Wild Card Series that seemed like it could easily go either way. Of course, it went to a decisive Game 3, where Cam Schlittler delivered a monster outing, and the teams have gone in opposite directions since.

This year, the Yankees — while you can have your qualms about their play and the roster construction — are again a contender and enter this weekend with the best record in the American League. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have fallen way off the pace and are last in both the division and the AL as a whole, recently crashing past the Angels. Interim skipper Chad Tracy’s club is still missing big-name players like Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony, and their offense has been appallingly anemic. Entering play yesterday, only the underachieving Padres had a worse hitting corps by wRC+ (86 to Boston’s 89), and the Red Sox were also second-worst by total homers (65 in 77 games).

However, the two teams are now set to meet this weekend at Fenway Park. While the “throw out the record books when rivals meet” is too much of a cliché, we’ve seen the Yankees put in some iffy performances of late and the Red Sox still do have talent. With four games coming over the next couple days, let’s take a look at the probable pitching matchups for this series.

Thursday: Cam Schlittler vs. Connelly Early (7:10 pm ET)

The opening game of the series will be a rematch of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last year. Schlittler began June with his first genuinely not-great start of the season, and has since responded by looking like his normal dominant self. He’s allowed just two earned runs combined over his last three outing, and struck out 13 batters during his last time out against the Reds. That’s a career best for him, besting even the aforementioned Wild Card Series Game 3.

Early was somewhat famously the man opposite Schlittler last year, as he was also notably a rookie getting a start in that massive game. His overall numbers in 2026 grade out as either side of average, depending on what stat you’re looking at. He has been hit by the home run bug a bit this year, having given up 14 in 15 starts, so that’ll be something the Yankees will hope they can take advantage of.

Friday: Will Warren vs. Payton Tolle (7:10 pm ET)

Warren’s numbers for the season are absolutely ones that you’ll take from a back-end starter; however, he often looks like he has the raw stuff to be even better than that. However, he just has too many starts like the last two, where he’s given up a total of 16 hits, even if he’s only been dinged for four earned runs in that time.

The Yankees have only gotten one previous look at the second-year Tolle, and it didn’t go well. Back in April, he struck out 11 batters while holding the Yankees to just one run on three hits. That being said, after a very good start — even beyond that outing — to his sophomore campaign, Tolle has struggled a bit recently. His ERA is 5.29 over his last three games, with his overall season mark going up nearly an entire run in the process.

Saturday: Gerrit Cole vs. Jake Bennett (1:10 pm ET)

Following a brilliant initial return from Tommy John surgery, Cole has looked a bit pedestrian of late. Returning from an injury that knocks you out for a full year is always going to produce some up-and-down results, but you’d like to see Cole fare better than the 5.95 ERA he’s produced over his last four appearances.

The Red Sox will be going with yet another youngster on Saturday, and this will be the Yankees’ first ever meeting with the rookie Bennett. He’s been decent so far in his career, and his coming off his best-ever major-league performance. Earlier this week against the Rockies, he shut out Colorado over six innings, allowing four hits, while striking out nine.

Sunday: Carlos Rodón vs. Sonny Gray (7:20 pm ET)

A 114 ERA+ with a FIP that suggests he could be a bit better is absolutely something worth taking from Rodón, especially considering that he’s probably the Yankees No. 4 when everyone is healthy. However, especially with his walks, he can often be a chore to watch. The Red Sox are one of the teams that walk the least in all of MLB, so theoretically, this is a chance to put in a good effort on that front.

The veteran and former Yankee Gray has been a bright spot for the Red Sox this year, with a 2.95 ERA over his 14 starts so far (and might already be on the trade block due to Boston’s spiral). One of those came against the Yankees back at the start of the month, where he and the Red Sox got the win. That wasn’t his best effort of the season, but he did manage to frustrate the Yankees enough for them to get just three runs despite eight hits.

The Mets conclude the four-game series with the Chicago Cubs with a nightcap on Thursday at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Mets Notes

• Francisco Alvarez, who homered in both games of Wednesday's doubleheader, is 7-for-22 (.318) in his last six games with a 1.075 OPS
• Bo Bichette, who homered in Game 2, has been swinging a hot bat: 21-for-58 (.362) with nine extra-base hits, 13 RBI, and a 1.067 OPS in his last 14 games
• Freddy Peralta looks to bounce back from a rough outing in Philadelphia, when he allowed 10 runs on 10 hits in 2.2 innings
• Chicago is sending out left-hander Matthew Boyd, who carries a 6.00 ERA over his first 24 innings of the campaign, but the veteran is coming off his best outing: two runs on four hits over six innings against Arizona

Today's Lineups

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