Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Postponed due to rain, doubleheader scheduled for Friday
Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 5-4 (10) at Portland Sea Dogs
LF Jackson Castillo 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB CF Garrett Martin 2-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB — solo shot in the fourth, two-run double in the ninth DH Jace Avina 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB 1B Nicholas Torres 0-5, 2 K, throwing error RF DJ Gladney 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K 3B Coby Morales 0-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K C Manuel Palencia 0-5 2B Connor McGinnis 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K SS Owen Cobb 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB
Xavier Rivas 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K — his longest outing of the year, and second-most strikeouts Michael Arias 0.1 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 BB (blown save) Will Brian 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 K Hayden Merda 1 IP, 0 R Ben Grable 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (win) Chris Kean 0.1 IP, 0 R (save)
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 1-2 at Rome Emperors
2B Kaeden Kent 1-3, 1 CS SS Core Jackson 0-4, 1 K C Eric Genther 0-4, 1 K 1B Kyle West 0-4, 1 K RF Wilson Rodriguez 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB DH Roderick Arias 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K 3B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB LF Josh Moylan 0-3 LF Luis Durango 0-0 CF Camden Troyer 1-3, 1 K
Luis Serna 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR — back-to-back quality starts, rebounding from a bad first start in June Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K Luis Velasquez 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (loss) Thomas Balboni Jr. 0 IP, 0 R, 1 H
Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 7-9 vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
SS Jackson Lovich 0-4, 3 K 3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, two fielding errors 2B Hans Montero 0-4, 2 K, missed catch LF Logan Maxwell 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB RF JoJo Jackson 3-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 K CF Willy Montero 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K C Engelth Urena 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, fielding error DH Ediel Rivera 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K 1B Austin Green 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 K
Thatcher Hurd 4.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K Pedro Rodriguez 1.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K Matthew Tippie 0.2 IP, 4 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K (blown save, loss) — an error kept the inning alive for all four runs, but he didn’t do himself any favors with two walks and a run-scoring wild pitch post-error Jose Martinez 2.1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 17: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter #24 reacts during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins on June 17th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Phillies simply couldn’t wait anymore. After another disastrous outing yesterday afternoon, the Phillies finally decided they’d seen enough and sent the struggling Andrew Painter to Triple-A. It’s been a rocky start to a career for the young right hander to say the least, as he owns a 7.06 ERA across his first 14 big league appearances. He will now try to find his command in Lehigh Valley in the hopes of possibly returning to the rotation later this year.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Eduardo Tait #20 of the Minnesota Twins catches during the first inning of a Spring Breakout game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Lee Health Sports Complex on March 19, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
With Ryan Jeffers set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and Victor Caratini on a moveable two year contract, there is plenty of uncertainty at the Twins catcher position going forward. While I would LOVE to see Ryan Jeffers get an extension, it is entirely possible that he hits free agency this winter or is even traded at the deadline if things don’t go well for the Twins over the next month and a half.
A major league baseball team’s plans for the future are in a constant state of change, and with questions rising about the catcher position going forward, the Twins have acquired a trio of intriguing catching prospects over the past 12 months, providing balance to their farm system and giving the organization some flexibility behind the dish.
Eduardo Tait
We begin with the most well-known of the catching prospects, 19-year-old lefty Eduardo Tait, who was acquired at last year’s trade deadline along with Mick Abel for Jhoan Duran. He is my 4th ranked Twins prospect and checks in at No. 42 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 MLB prospects.
Tait is one of just three teenage catchers to reach High-A this season, and while he is batting just .211 with a .712 OPS, there is elite power potential. Eduardo Tait posted a max EV of 113.8 MPH in Single-A last season, which is off the charts for his age. High fly ball rates and an ability to drive the ball to all fields give him the potential to be one of the most prolific power hitters in the world. Only three teenagers in all of minor league baseball are topping his 11 home runs this season.
Eduardo Tait is a free swinger who has ran extreme chase rates throughout the low minors. Hit tool development will be very interesting as Tait has shown flashes of strong contact skills over stretches of time, but lacks consistency in that area. As a hitter, Salvador Perez is the easy comp for Tait given the light-tower power and aggressive approach with solid contact skills.
He doesn’t run well, and defensively, the blocking and receiving is a work in progress. His arm is plus and he pairs it with strong pop times. It’s tough to tell how the defensive skills will develop at his age, but the bat looks like it will absolutely play. Tait is a long ways out, but with elite raw power already showing up in-game, he looks like a future big league slugger.
Enrique Jimenez
The offensive production of Enrique Jimenez has been a sweet surprise for the Twins since they acquired him in exchange for Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak last July. After putting up solid numbers in 2.5 seasons of rookie ball in the Tigers org, Jimenez made his Single-A debut shortly after joining the Twins system, and he exploded. He played 34 games in Fort Myers, slashing .283/.450/.540 with 8 homers and a 23.8% walk rate. At 20 years old, he just recently got the promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids, joining fellow catching prospect Eduardo Tait.
Enrique Jimenez is a stocky 5’9” catcher with limited athleticism but a well-rounded offensive profile. He has posted a max EV of 107.2 MPH this year and projects to develop average raw power while his lofty swing and strong pulled fly ball rates allow him to maximize his power output. With the amount of elevation he gets in his swing, some whiff is expected, but Jimenez ran well above-average contact rates in Single-A while his extreme patience and mature approach allowed him to walk more than he struck out.
Defensively, he has an average arm with promising defensive actions behind the dish, giving him a good chance to develop into a major-league caliber catcher if the bat can get there. There’s a more limited ceiling with Jimenez than there is with Tait, but he has already provided exceptional production for his age and has no significant concerns in his profile at the moment. Projects well as a number two catcher in the big leagues.
After signing with the Giants out of Venezuela in 2025 and posting a 135 wRC+ in his first pro season in the DSL, Miguel Caraballo was traded to the Twins in exchange for Daniel Susac, who was a Rule 5 pick by Minnesota earlier that day. At just 17 years old, Caraballo has continued his production in the Florida Complex this season, producing big power numbers as he pushes towards full-season ball.
Caraballo is more lean than the other two, possessing some playable athleticism behind the dish and on the bases. He has a quick-trigger swing with some big loft and good bat speed, very much geared for power. He has posted high walk rates in rookie ball despite some questions about his swing decisions. His hit tool is fringy at best, but the power has enough potential to carry his offensive profile.
Defensively, Caraballo’s receiving is a work-in-progress, but he has a good arm and plenty of time to develop the more technical aspect of the position. His athleticism gives him a higher ceiling there, and could potentially allow him to shift into a corner outfield spot if he doesn’t work out behind the plate. He is a long ways out, but nearing Single-A at just 17 years old. The excitement is beginning to build.
Nov 4, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias introduces Craig Albernaz as the Baltimore Orioles new Manager at Warehouse Bar. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Orioles aren’t a very good team. No, it’s true. Film at 11.
If this West Coast road trip turns out particularly poorly for the Birds and knocks them further out of the playoff picture, the O’s could be forced to reckon with the idea of being sellers at the trade deadline next month. It’s a grim prospect that most Birds fans certainly were hoping the team wouldn’t have to deal with for a second consecutive season.
Mind you, it’s not a decision that the Orioles’ front office has to make at this exact moment. They don’t even have to make it at the end of this road trip. But the baseball calendar is moving ever forward and the O’s have about six weeks to prove they’re not a lost cause before the Aug. 3 deadline arrives.
It’s too early to give up hope just yet. But just as a hypothetical, let’s say the worst case scenario plays out and it becomes obvious that the postseason math isn’t going to add up, making the Orioles sellers at the deadline. What exactly would an O’s sell-off look like?
Last year it wasn’t difficult to figure out ahead of time which players would be shipped away. The Orioles had a number of pending free agents, and nearly all of them were indeed traded at the deadline, including Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, and Charlie Morton. The O’s also flipped a few players who still had another season of team control — Ramón Laureano, Ramón Urías, and Andrew Kittredge — to increase their overall prospect haul. And perhaps the most out-of-left-field trade was the Orioles dealing their primary setup man, Bryan Baker, to the Rays, even with 3.5 years of team control remaining. Mike Elias was willing to move any non-core member of the roster if he liked the return enough.
It stands to reason that the O’s would like to follow the same trade recipe if they have another sell-off this year, but it’s complicated. Most of their pending free agents have some issues that might deflate their value. Taylor Ward has been OBP and doubles machine, but his 36-homer power from 2025 has dried up and he’s sitting on just three dingers this year. He’ll still have value and is probably the Birds’ most likely candidate to get dealt, but he’s not going to fetch the kind of prospect haul that will rebuild the organization.
Examining the other free agents to be, there’s Trevor Rogers, who’s sitting on a 5.86 ERA after a massive regression from 2025. He could continue to boost his value if he pitches well between now and Aug. 3, but his career has been so erratic that it’s hard to expect much in return. (Maybe Kyle Stowers. Too soon?) Chris Bassitt has next to zero trade value right now, thanks to his 5.27 ERA and his current back injury. In the bullpen, there’s closer Ryan Helsley, who has barely made an impact due to his month-and-a-half stint on the IL. He also has a $14 million player option for 2027 that the acquiring team might not want to get stuck with. Andrew Kittredge could be on the trade block again. Keegan Akin is a pending free agent, but right now he’s barely pitching well enough to avoid being DFA’d.
Other possibilities for trades are unheralded players who are a year or two away from free agency — your Yennier Canos, your Tyler Wellses, your Leody Taveri. Again, don’t expect any blue-chip prospects in return for those guys.
Would the Orioles dare make a shocking, gigantic trade at the deadline involving one of their heretofore core players, like Adley Rutschman or even Gunnar Henderson? Let me tell you now: it ain’t happening. It’s not necessarily that Elias would never trade those guys, but if he did, he’d almost certainly prefer to do it in the offseason rather than rush into a deadline trade with such seismic ramifications. (There’s also the question of how long Elias will even be the person making these decisions, but that’s a topic for another time.)
So if you’re expecting some kind of massive trade bonanza that will bring in a boatload of young talent to the Orioles, well, don’t get your hopes up. But if we’re lucky, the O’s will play so well leading up to the deadline that any thought of a sell-off will become a moot point.
Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan analyze some MLB players possibly on the move at the deadline, and Taylor Ward makes their list. They peg him as 75% likely to be traded, for whatever that’s worth.
In my mind the only thing that can realistically save the Orioles’ season is Gunnar Henderson returning to his All-Star form. If he’s planning to do so, he sure is taking his sweet time, though last night was a good start.
Turns out the Orioles do have a hot-hitting shortstop in their lineup. It’s just not the one they expected.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two ex-Orioles were born on this day: catcher Caleb Joseph (40) and first baseman Carlos Méndez (52).
On this date in 2001, Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. announced he’d be retiring at the end of the season, officially closing the book on an epic 21-year career that changed baseball forever. Cal’s farewell tour saw him lavished with gifts and praise at every ballpark he played in for the rest of the season, capped by his unforgettable finale in Baltimore on Oct. 6. Hard to believe it was 25 years ago.
And on this day in 2007, the O’s fired manager Sam Perlozzo after the team’s 29-40 start to the season. Perlozzo, who had taken the reins in 2005, amassed a 122-164 record during his managerial tenure. He was the fourth of six consecutive Orioles managers who failed to guide the team to any winning seasons. That was a pretty bleak time.
Random Orioles game of the day
On June 18, 2003, the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays, 6-2. Future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay limited the Orioles to two runs in seven innings, with a Jay Gibbons homer his only blemish. All three O’s pitchers — Omar Daal, Willis Roberts, and B.J. Ryan — gave up runs, including a two-run single by former Oriole Mike Bordick. The loss dropped the Orioles to 32-36.
Jacob Reimer of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies reacts before a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, United States, on June 12, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Syracuse and Norfolk traded leads early and often. The Mets got out to a 1-0 lead on a Cristian Pache steal and throwing error, but surrendered two runs in the second to go down 2-1. Ji Hwan Bae tied it with a sacrifice fly in the third, and Norfolk took the lead back with two in the fourth. Bae and Pache tied it up with RBI singles in the fifth, and Yonny Hernandez gave the Mets the lead back with a bases loaded walk. Norfolk answered again, for the final time, in the eighth, as Jud Fabian hit a two run home run to give them a 6-5 lead.
Bimghamton had leads of 1-0 (on a Vincent Perozo solo home run), and 3-1 (on a Nick Lorusso two run double), but they could not hold it through the middle innings. The Fisher Cats scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth, giving them a 5-3 lead that would hold. JT Schwartz added an RBI single in the fifth, but the offense dried up after that.
3B Jacob Reimer: 1-3, K
PR-2B Jaylen Palmer: 0-2, R, K, E (1)
RF Matt Rudick: 1-5, R, 2B
CF Jose Ramos: 3-4, R, K
DH Nick Lorusso: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
1B JT Schwartz: 1-4, RBI, K
C Vincent Perozo: 1-4, R, HR (6), RBI
SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, BB, 3 SB (8, 9 , 10)
2B Diego Mosquera: 0-2
2B-3B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-2, K, E (2)
LF Nick Lucky: 0-4, 2 K
RHP Bryce Conley: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, L (1-2)
RHP Zach Peek: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Saul Garcia: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Brian Metoyer: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
Well, Brooklyn surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first and that was (mostly) that. They sprinkled five hits across the game (two of which were by Mitch Voit, which is nice to see him continue to rebound after his rough start to 2026), went 0-7 with runners in scoring position, and left eleven on base. Simply put, you are not winning with that little offense.
SS Mitch Voit: 2-5, 2B, K
C Ronald Hernandez: 0-4, BB, K
1B Corey Collins: 0-3, BB, 3 K
DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-3, 2B, BB
2B Yonatan Henriquez: 1-4, SB (9), E (5)
CF John Bay: 0-3, BB, 2 K
3B Colin Houck: 0-4, 3 K
LF Trace Willhoite: 1-4, 2 K
RF Sam Biller: 0-2, BB, K
LHP Nicolas Carreno: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP, L (0-1)
RHP Ryan Dollar: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP
RHP Juan Arnaud: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Cristofer Gomez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
St. Lucie scored two in the third and never looked back. Julio Zayas and Branny De Oleo drove in both runs in that frame, on a single and double respectively. Trey Snyder added one in the third with a double of his own, making it 3-0. Daytona got one back in the next inning, but a five run sixth put the game away for the Mets. They homered three times in the inning, with Francisco Toledo, Antonio Jimenez and Yohairo Cuevas doing the damage.
SS Elian Peña: 3-5, 2 R, 2B
DH Trey Snyder: 1-5, 2B, RBI, K
3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, R, HR (2), 3 RBI, BB, 2 K
RF Yohairo Cuevas: 1-2, 2 R, HR (2), RBI, 2 BB
1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, RBI, BB, K
CF Branny De Oleo: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K
C Francisco Toledo: 1-4, R, HR (3), RBI
LF Simon Juan: 1-4, R, K
2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 0-3, R, BB, K
RHP Emilio Obispo: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, W (3-1)
RHP Miguel Mejias: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, H (3)
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) warms up before their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, April 25, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
I’m not breaking news by telling you that Jacob Misiorowski is having a good season. He has made 14 starts (a little less than half of a full season), and here are his numbers, with bolds indicating he leads the NL and bold plus italic indicating he leads the majors:
I want to look a bit deeper into those numbers, and contextualize them within the long history of baseball.
ERA and ERA+
18 qualified starters (meaning they threw at least one inning per team game) have finished a season with an ERA better than 1.34 in AL/NL history. 16 of those happened in the era we know as “Deadball,” between 1900 and 1919. Of the remaining two, one was in 1880 and shouldn’t count: Tim Keefe of the Troy Trojans technically qualified for the ERA title with just 105 innings pitched, in which he had a 0.86 ERA… but Keefe’s teammate, Mickey Welch, threw 574 innings that season, so you understand why I don’t think 105 innings should count as “qualifying.” Both Keefe and Welch are in the Hall of Fame, by the way.
The one pitcher remaining is, as you know if you’re at all a baseball history buff, Bob Gibson in 1968, when he had a 1.12 ERA.
Of course, Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in 1968 was not the same as a 1.12 (or 1.34) ERA in 2026. Let’s take the same parameters—qualified AL/NL pitchers—and sort by ERA+, which includes adjustments for league-wide offense of the era and the ballpark. When we do that, most of the Deadball guys drop out—the top 19, instead of including 16 Deadballers, includes only four.
Gibson is still on the list, at number 10. Keefe is there too, but we discussed him. Guess who jumps to number one in this set? Yes, that would be Misiorowski in 2026. His 307 ERA+ would be the best by any qualified starting pitcher… ever.
The season that should be considered the all-time record for ERA+ by a starter is one that many of you witnessed: Pedro Martínez in 2000. Martínez had a 1.74 ERA in 2000, which ranks “just” 104th all time. But since offense was so jacked up during the Steroid Era, Martínez comes in with a 291 ERA+, the highest single-season mark ever for a qualified pitcher who threw more than 105 innings.
Also near the top is another incredible Steroid-Era accomplishment. Greg Maddux doesn’t just hold the number seven spot on this list, but he holds the number eight spot, too—in back-to-back years. Maddux had a 271 ERA+ in 202 innings in 1994 and a 260 ERA+ in 209 innings in 1995.
Misiorowski, right now, has a better ERA+ than all of them.
FIP and FIP-
Misiorowski’s 1.68 FIP would rank 15th all time, but again let’s get rid of those pesky Deadball pitchers. Do that, and only two pitchers rank ahead of where Misiorowski is right now: Martínez, again, but this time in 1999, and one you’ll enjoy: Corbin Burnes, with a 1.63 FIP in his Cy Young campaign in 2021.
FIP- is FanGraphs’ answer to ERA+ but for FIP and in reverse (lower is better). I’m going to filter out the 1800s because things are weird there, so the record for FIP- after 1900 belongs to Martínez in 1999 at 30. Next is Burnes in 2021 at 38. Third would be Misiorowski, whose FIP- this season is 40.
WHIP, H/9, and HR/9
Misiorowski’s 0.736 WHIP would be the best ever for a qualified starter, a fraction ahead of Martínez in 2000 (0.737). The next-lowest in a post-Deadball, non-2020 season is Justin Verlander at 0.803 in 2019.
Likewise, Misiorowski’s 4.3 hits allowed per nine innings would be a record by far. The lowest total in a non-2020 season is Nolan Ryan’s mark of 5.3 in 1972, which is percentage points ahead of Luis Tiant in 1968, Martínez in 2000, Ed Reulbach in 1906, and… Ryan in 1991. (That Ryan has two of the top five, 19 years apart, is wild.)
For homers allowed per nine, it is important to note that we live in a high-home-run era, so this isn’t approaching any history. But to give a little more context, Misiorowski’s mark of 0.4/9 would be beaten only by Burnes in 2021 and Sonny Gray in 2023 among seasons since 2020.
Strikeouts
Misiorowski probably isn’t going to threaten any strikeout records—Ryan can feel safe that his 383 strikeouts in 1973 will continue to stand as the post-1900 record. (A quick shout to Old Hoss Radbourn and his 441 strikeouts in 1884, the AL/NL record. Of course, he did that in 678 2/3 innings, so his 5.8 K/9 that season are slightly worse than what Jose Quintana had as a Brewer in 2025.)
However, Misiorowski has an outside chance at becoming the first pitcher since Gerrit Cole in 2019 to strike out 300 batters, something that’s happened only nine times this century (Verlander in 2019, Max Scherzer in 2018, Clayton Kershaw in 2015, Chris Sale in 2017, Curt Schilling in 2002, Cole in 2019, and Randy Johnson each year from 2000-02).
But those guys all threw way more innings than Misiorowski will throw this year. Cole’s 212 1/3 innings pitched in ’19 are the least ever for a player who struck out 300 batters. If we sort by strikeouts per nine, Cole jumps to the top (again ignoring 2020) at 13.8 per nine innings, a remarkable number. After Cole, it’s another pitcher this season, Dylan Cease, who is tied with (technically slightly ahead of) Misiorowski at 13.6. Only three other qualified starters have ever finished a season with 13 or more strikeouts per nine: Martínez in 1999, Johnson in 2001, and Spencer Strider in 2023.
Since Misiorowski is merely “good” rather than “historic” at preventing walks, his 5.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio will have to live with being merely excellent; that would rank 80th all time among qualified starters.
But those are whole seasons. What about 14-game spans?
It would be fair to point out that Misiorowski is unlikely to keep this pace all season. So how good, really, are these 14 games, if they’re only 14 games?
There are 42 instances in baseball history of a player striking out 131 batters with an ERA of 1.34 or lower over 14 starts, but many of those are tied up in the same streak; for example, when sorted by strikeouts, eight of the top nine on this list of 42 14-game stretches are all between August 3rd, 1999 and May 17th, 2000 by Martínez, all within the same span.
There are essentially 11 different pitching runs that can match up with Misiorowski’s:
Jacob deGrom in 19 starts from 9/16/2020 to 8/8/2022 (this wraps around a season-ending injury in 2021)
Martínez in 23 starts from 8/3/99 to 6/8/2000
Martínez again, partially overlapping the other: 14 starts from 4/30/2000 to 7/28/2000
Kershaw in 19 starts from 6/6/2015 to 9/19/2015
Kershaw again in 14 starts from 6/18/2014 to 9/2/2014
J.R. Richard in 20 starts from 7/25/1979 to 4/30/1980
Dwight Gooden in 16 starts from 8/11/1984 to 5/10/1985 (the end of his rookie season into his sophomore season)
Ryan in 15 starts from 8/18/1972 to 4/18/1973
Bob Gibson in two overlapping 14-game stretches from 7/21/1968 to 9/22/1968 and 8/9/1968 to 4/19/69
Finally, Rube Waddell in 14 starts from 7/9/1904 to 8/29/1904
A lot of these occur over more than one season, which could allow pitchers to benefit from pitching to batters from non-contending teams who’ve checked out down the stretch.
With that in mind, I want to talk about the season that reminds me most of Misiorowski’s 2026 season thus far, and it is the year in which I have been in the most awe during my fandom: deGrom’s 2021 season.
deGrom didn’t finish 2021 healthy, and I’m going to knock on all the wood right now to ensure that part of his 2021 season does not align with Misiorowski’s 2026. When 2021 started, deGrom was considered the most dominant pitcher in the majors; over the previous two seasons, he’d collected 58 of 60 first-place NL Cy Young votes, and his 2018 season in particular was one of the best of this century. He was third in Cy Young voting in the shortened 2020 season, but he struck out 13.8 batters per nine innings that year, which matches Cole’s record for strikeouts per nine in a full season.
But in 2021, deGrom hit a different level. In 15 starts and 92 innings, he had a 1.08 ERA, which translated to an unbelievable 373 ERA+. He struck out 146 batters, or 14.3 per nine innings. Almost more remarkably, he walked only 11 batters. His 13.27 K/BB wouldn’t just be a record—it would blow away the previous record. Under modern walk rules, no starting pitcher has finished with more than 11.63 K/BB in a season.* Heck, only seven relievers have ever finished a season with a K/BB ratio that high.**
*This is a great trivia question: the record holder for K/BB by a starter is…Phil Hughes, pitching for the Twins in 2014. **One other all-timer actually bettered deGrom’s 13.27 K/BB in another injury-shortened season: Kershaw, in 149 innings in 2016, had 172 strikeouts to 11 walks.
deGrom had a 1.08 ERA, 1.24 FIP, 0.554 WHIP, and a microscopic 3.9 hits allowed per nine innings in those 15 games in 2021. I’d never seen anything like it. He was essentially pitching like the league’s best high-leverage reliever, except he was a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, that took a physical toll, and he managed only 20 starts over the next three years.
I don’t mean to be speculating on Misiorowski’s future health at all, so don’t read into that. The point is, deGrom’s 15-start 2021 season is the closest comparison that I can come up with for what Misiorowski has done in these 14 games, and when deGrom was pitching in 2021, I thought I was watching the most dominant starting pitcher in the history of the game.
What does it all mean?
We have no idea what the future holds for Misiorowski. Maybe he’ll pitch 20 years. Maybe he’ll get hurt. We have no idea.
But right now—not next year, not three years from now, but right now—Misiorowski is pitching like one of the best pitchers ever. And 14 games is a long time; I brought up those nine different pitchers who have had 14-game runs as good as Misiorowski for a reason. Martínez, Ryan, Waddell, and Gibson are in the Hall of Fame. Kershaw will be a near-unanimous selection. deGrom could yet make it, even if his status as a late bloomer and injury issues will make it a complicated case from an innings-pitched perspective. Only Gooden and Richard aren’t major Hall candidates, but there are extenuating circumstances in both cases. Richard’s career was cut short by a stroke suffered during his prime, mere weeks after his aforementioned streak ended. Gooden was considered one of the most talented players ever, but his career was derailed by substance abuse problems. (I could still make a Hall of Fame case, too.)
Misiorowski is a Hall-of-Fame talent. He is pitching at a Hall-of-Fame level, and the only players in the history of the game who’ve been as effective as him over a span this long are all either Hall of Famers or guys who make people say “you should’ve seen ______.”
We have no way of knowing how long this will last, but right now, we are not living in a hypothetical world where Jacob Misiorowski could pitch like Randy Johnson someday. Right now, the only difference between Miz and Johnson is that Johnson pitched for 20 years.
No matter how long it lasts, we should all revel in this, because someday we will say: “you should’ve seen Miz.”
As the Angels' stadium lease approaches its end, what does the future look like for the 150 acres the current stadium sits on? (Photo illustration by Tate Rudisill / Los Angeles Times; photos by Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images, Kirby Lee / Getty Images)
Civic pride, sure. But what is it really worth to the city of Anaheim to have its name on the hometown baseball team?
Hundreds of millions of dollars, the city has said. As the Angels’ stadium lease approaches its end, and as Anaheim prepares for negotiations either with Arte Moreno or a potential new owner, it’s worth keeping in mind.
So too is a concept floating around City Hall in Anaheim: What if we could put a new stadium and a youth sports complex next to one another?
It’s leverage: If the Angels’ owner wants to build atop the stadium parking lots, the city can pursue an exemption to a state law that currently restricts what can be built there, which could mean more money for the team and its development partners. In exchange for the exemption, the team name would revert to the Anaheim Angels.
If that’s the carrot, this is the stick: The city would have to approve the zoning changes that could make the land “two to three times more valuable than it is as a parking lot,” Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said.
Said Aitken: “There are no gifts. For an ownership to truly be a partner to the city in what that property could be, there is going to have to be some realization that Anaheim is not Los Angeles.”
The Angels’ stadium lease expires in 2032, and the team can extend it through 2038. A new owner could move the Angels — or at least leverage the threat of a move — but Anaheim offers a 150-acre site with what every owner in pro sports covets: land around the venue to turn the property into a year-round money-making operation.
The standard ballpark villages include restaurants, shops, hotels, homes, offices and entertainment venues. The Ducks are launching one, called OC Vibe, around Honda Center, and within walking distance of Angel Stadium.
Katie Wright, who books sports events for Anaheim’s tourism bureau, said there would be a market if her city built a sports park.
“The demand for, specifically, soccer, baseball and softball is tremendous,” Wright told the Anaheim City Council in April. “They would be filled every single weekend, I think.”
What Anaheim has that Ontario and Irvine do not: Disneyland down the street for visiting families, a variety of restaurants within walking distance, and hotel rooms aplenty. In Anaheim, 40% of the city’s general fund comes from taxes on hotel rooms.
“With Angels baseball right next to a youth sports facility, to have the synergy of hotels and restaurants, and players interacting with the Little League kids and soccer fields,” Aitken said, “I just think it’s a unique opportunity.”
Everything old is new again: In 1996, Anaheim pitched a youth sports center called the “Little A” in part of the stadium parking lots as part of a ballpark village that never materialized.
What might be in the best interest of the city now might not be in that of the developer, whether that turns out to be the Angels or a real estate partner. While a sports park might drive tax revenues to the city, a developer might pay the most for land used for hotel and retail properties, said Louis Tomaselli, the Irvine-based executive managing director at JLL, a nationally prominent commercial real estate brokerage.
“A youth sports complex would likely be at or near the bottom from a land value perspective,” Tomaselli said.
That’s all part of the negotiation, and for now the city of Anaheim has no party with which to negotiate. That leaves room for all sorts of brainstorming, including Aitken’s curiosity about flanking the development with high-rise residential buildings, similar to the condominiums that have risen next to Petco Park in San Diego. In some of them, you can watch the game from your balcony.
But let’s get back to the value of the Anaheim name on the baseball team.
“A lot of times, we get the question, ‘Exactly where is Anaheim?’” Wright, the Anaheim tourism official, told the City Council. “We’re always fighting to say, ‘We’re not L.A.’”
In 2005, when Anaheim sued the Angels after Moreno slapped the Los Angeles label on the team, the city commissioned experts that testified the name change would cost Anaheim nearly $200 million over the following decade and close to $400 million through 2029. The Angels dismissed both numbers as wildly high, but that is what the city presented in court.
I asked Sean Moran of Los Angeles-based Innovative Partnerships Group for an update. Moran estimated the worth of the Anaheim name at $26.5 million per year — or more than $500 million over the life of a 20-year deal — based on the value of references to the city on game broadcasts, digital and social media, highlight clips, betting sites, in fantasy leagues, and more.
“I don’t think you can put a monetary value on civic pride and respecting your fan base,” Aitken said. “So, if a new owner wants to come in and start fresh and really respect the fan base in Orange County, the name should not even be a negotiating point.
“It should be the first thing you do, out of respect for where this team is located, and the fan base that is so loyal in good times and bad.”
Perhaps. But, if I’m the new owner of the Angels and the city is on record saying its name on the team is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the first thing I say to the city in negotiations is: You can get your name on the team for that $500 million, which would help me build a new ballpark that could cost $1.5 billion.
Who else could benefit from that? Moreno, as the need for a new owner to pay for a ballpark could lower the sale price.
Even without that exemption from state law, a new owner could pursue a fair amount of development on land Anaheim has failed to develop for 60 years, on a site the city’s own land use plan envisions as “an exciting mix of high energy uses while providing additional housing.” Or a new owner could simply inherit the existing lease and deal with potential development later.
You can start to get the shape of what the bargaining might look like. Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), the assembly member who introduced the bill in Sacramento intended to spur the return of the Anaheim Angels name, included a provision that says resolution would take precedence over legislation.
“If there is another outcome that takes place, in negotiations or deal-wise, there would be no need for this, right?” Valencia said.
All of that could be years down the road, so no sense arguing all the finer points now. Aitken promises a series of community meetings first, so that Anaheim residents can share how they envision the future of the Angel Stadium property, with or without a baseball stadium.
This should come up for discussion too: The Anaheim Angels name might be ideal for the city, but what, if anything, should the city give up to get it? The last time the city asked, Moreno just said no. If a new owner would be willing, should the taxpayers of Anaheim consider subsidizing the name?
Rangers fans, we asked for your views on the departure of Danny Rohl and appointment of Derek McInnes as manager.
Here's what some of you said:
Heather: A true, dyed in the wool Rangers man. McInnes is in the mould of the great Walter Smith. I haven't been this excited for a Rangers team or season in years. Bring on the 2026/27 season.
Kenneth: Well he won't last long at Rangers as it's a different club, team and a different set of expectations. Rangers are expected to win, Hearts try to play to win. I doubt he will last till Christmas. He will be sacked because it's Rangers.
Matthew: Perfect appointment. He feels like the exact thing we've been missing, and his Scottish and Rangers identity is something we've been crying out for. He has proven in Scottish football that he can get the best out of his players, and that he is tactically astute. The most optimistic I've been in a long time.
John: Thanks to Rohl for his work and efforts. He appeared to be a good man and wish him well on his development. We now have a Scottish manager and a Rangers man. I personally would like to see a squad with a heavy Scottish core, the difficulty is offloading those who are surplus to our requirements. If this can be done, we will have a trimmer squad and the means to focus expenditure. Cannot wait.
Michael: Definitely the right man for the job and hopefully an appointment the fans will be patient with. I think he will hit the ground running but with so many squad changes needed, there could still be early issues but McInnes will get it right given a few transfer windows
Dave: The third manager in 12 months, time for someone to be given a good run at it. Lower the expectations of instant success and build a good team. Only then can Rangers hope to make a realistic challenge. I think McInnes could be the man to do it.
Rochester Red Wings 6, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (F/11)(box)
The Mud Hens battled through a bullpen game only to run out of pitching in the 11th inning, losing via walkoff to the Red Wings.
Woo-Suk Go got the start and went two innings. He surrendered a pair of runs on four hits and a walk, striking out five.
The Hens turned the tables pretty quickly. In the top of the fourth, Max Anderson led off with a walk and Eduardo Valencia doubled him to third with one out. Anderson scored on a Trei Cruz ground out, and Corey Julks singled in Valencia to tie the game.
In the fifth, Jace Jung led off with his 11th homer and two batters later, Cal Stevenson followed suit for a 4-2 lead.
Unfortunately the offense ran out of steam after that, and the bullpen leaked a run in the sixth and Matt Seelinger blew the save in the bottom of the ninth.
In the 10th, with Tyler Gentry starting at second base, Cal Stevenson flew out to right field, allowing Gentry to tag and take third, where he’d score on a wild pitch. That was all they’d get, and Seelinger couldn’t prevent the run in the bottom half. The Hens failed to push across a run in the 11th, and Gentry had to pitch, allowing a walkoff single on a 37 mph slider.
Jung: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, K
Valencia: 2-4, R, 2B, BB
Go: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: The series is tied up heading into a 6:45 p.m. ET start on Thurday.
Former Tigers prospect Josh Randall spun a solid game against the SeaWolves on Wednesday, while Lael Lockhart Jr.’s outing fell apart late and the bullpen collapsed.
The SeaWolves did strike first, as singles from Justice Bigbie, Izaac Pacheco, and Aaron Antonini produced a run in the second inning.
Meanwhile, Lockhart rolled through the first three innings without much trouble, but he allowed a solo shot in the fourth and then three more runs in the fifth. Chris Meyers answered back with his third home run in his last three games in the sixth, but Wandisson Charles allowed two runs in the bottom half for a 6-2 lead.
Chris Meyers’ power surge continues with a rocket of a solo home run to right. It’s his 3rd straight game with a homer, and it left his bat at 113 MPH. pic.twitter.com/Ec6Z5MPcHS
In the seventh, the SeaWolves made a bigger push as Antonini led off with a double and scored on a one-out triple to the wall in center from Brett Callahan. John Peck doubled in Callahan to make it a 6-4 game, but that was all they’d get.
Meyers doubled and scored in the eighth, and Peck tripled and scored on a Bigbie ground out in the top of the ninth, but Tyler Owens gave up a run in the seventh and then four runs in the eighth as the Senators pulled away.
Peck: 3-5, R, RBI, 2B, 3B, K
Meyers: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, 2 BB
Callahan: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B, K
Pacheco: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 K
Lockhart (L, 1-1): 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: The series is tied, with first pitch on Thursday set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Lansing Lugnuts (cancelled)
They were washed out in West Michigan on Wednesday and the game cancelled. It’s a 6:45 p.m. ET start on Thurday night.
Dunedin Blue Jays 9, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (box)
The Flying Tigers swung the bats pretty well on Wednesday, but the pitching wasn’t there as the Blue Jays made it two in a row.
Cash Kuiper got the start, and he gave up a run in the first and two more in the third. In the bottom of the second, Anibal Salas and Jack Goodman singled and both scored on Hunter Dobbins triple. Jordan Yost was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Nick Dumesnil single in the third.
So it was all tied up at that point and stayed that way until the sixth when Salas smoked a drive over the right field wall for his fifth home run.
Anibal Salas with a missile over the wall in right to give Lakeland a 4-3 lead. It’s his 5th home run of the year, and it left his bat at 111 MPH and traveled 406 feet. pic.twitter.com/ywve3FvIAZ
Unfortunately, in the seventh Antonio Florida and then Jan Carabello combined to surrender five runs as the Blue Jays seized control for good.
Beau Ankeney added a solo shot, his eighth on the year, in the eighth inning. Jatnk Diaz was wild in the ninth and gave up a run before this one ended.
Salas: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, K
Kuiper: 3.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: They’ll match up again at 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Jun 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher David Bednar (53) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Things are going well for the Yankees right now, all things considered. Even though the team is without their top hitter in Aaron Judge and one of their top pitchers in Max Fried, alongside a few other regulars in the lineup that could really be helping them out. Despite this, they’re sitting in first place in the AL East with the best record in the AL overall and have won four straight and eight of their last ten games. The team is rallying much like the 2019 team did when they were besieged by injuries, and they’ve gotten key improvements from some early slumpers.
One such area that the team has gotten a boost from has been the back of the bullpen, with David Bednar having not allowed a single run since exactly a month ago on May 18th. The Yankee closer has gotten into eight appearances since then, pitching 8.2 scoreless innings and striking out 11 while walking three and giving up four hits. His ERA has gone from north of five to a more stable 3.64 mark in the meantime, and outside of his multi-inning outing on June 8th Bednar has only been pushed into 20 pitches or more once during this stretch. The only knock you could give against his performance is that only three of these outings have been save opportunities, with one seeing Bednar enter in a tie game and the rest being big leads, but Bednar has converted all three of those saves and he earned the win in that tie game that went into extras.
The bullpen has been the weak spot of the roster all season, and Bednar’s sharp form would be a welcome reprieve from sweating out the Houdini acts he’s put the team through in the first couple of months on top of the other pain points in the ‘pen. One nice stretch of play might not be enough to shake the memories of Bednar’s tightrope act though, especially when shades of it could be seen in his last outing against Toronto when he was set up with a five-run lead but made it a little hairy with two loud pieces of contact to put runners on second and third. Bednar escaped that jam without any damage of course, but had that been a tighter contest I think it’s fair to say we’d all have been sweating as soon as the inning led off with a hit. On top of that, Bednar has only been put into back-to-back games twice during this run, and the second time it occurred is where the drama could’ve kicked off had the offense not erupted in the top of the inning.
There’s still a fair amount of pitchers in the bullpen that cause stress every time they take the mound this season, but as of late Bednar hasn’t been one of them. The team will be looking for reinforcements over the course of the next month or two, and the ‘pen is a prime candidate to see a couple of new faces, but Bednar’s recent play should keep him firmly in control of the closer’s role. Should the team be comfortable with that and look to add to their bridge to Bednar, or should they still consider swinging big for an arm that could step into the role should Bednar get into a funk again? Let us know what you think.
Before the Yankees go for the sweep tonight, we’ve got a full slate of stuff going on here. Josh starts us off with a look at the new AL MVP landscape with Aaron Judge all but guaranteed to fall short this time and Shohei Ohtani over in the NL now. Then Matt covers the Rivalry Roundup with the Rays crucially getting swept by the Dodgers, Jeff wishes one-time Yankee Félix Heredia a happy birthday, and Jonathan examines Gerrit Cole’s first five starts of the season to see how the former Cy Young winner has adapted post-Tommy John. John makes the case for Jasson Domínguez to hit leadoff for the Yankees, and Sam outlines what success would look like for Spencer Jones’ rookie season to round things out.
Jun 16, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Spencer Jones (78) hits a solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: Since being called up again on June 5th, outfielder Spencer Jones has given the Yankees a strong .318/.423/.636 line with a 193 wRC+ in 26 plate appearances. His playing time against lefties, however, has been fairly limited. It’s understandable, since he struggled to the tune of a .663 OPS vs. southpaws in Triple-A this year.
The young slugger didn’t start on Wednesday with the lefty Anthony Kay on the mound for the White Sox. Manager Aaron Boone says his time might come at some point. “Yeah, I think so,” the manager replied when asked if Jones would get more chances vs. southpaws. “I’m sure at some point I’ll do that.”
“It really came down to Kay just being so good against lefties, and he’s had some struggles against righties,” Boone explained. The Yanks might not have time for experiments, but the only way for Jones to improve in this particular platoon situation is by being exposed to tough MLB lefties.
NY Post | Greg Joyce: The New York Knicks secured their first NBA Finals victory in 53 years last week, beating the San Antonio Spurs and making an entire city happy and proud. To celebrate, stars Jalen Brunson (the Finals MVP) and Josh Hart tossed out first pitches at Yankee Stadium before Wednesday’s game vs. the White Sox, in front of thousands of cheering fans.
NY Post | Greg Joyce: George Lombard Jr. exited Scranton’s game against Columbus on Tuesday, and yesterday we learned the severity of the injury that forced his hand — literally. Lombard sprained a couple of his fingers trying to tag out a runner at second base. There’s currently no timeline for Lombard to return to the lineup down in Triple-A, but the sooner that the Yankees’ top prospect can return to the field the better. Lombard figures to compete for a starting spot next year, but continued adjustments leading to consistent production at the plate was giving Lombard a shot at factoring into this year’s playoff push in the majors. If he’s on the sideline for an extended period of time then that bid gets put in jeopardy, though it seems like the Yankees have avoided a major blow with this one.
NJ Advance Media | Bob Klapisch: Gerrit Cole’s return to the Yankees after Tommy John surgery last year has been nothing short of amazing. Klapisch says that while others struggle to regain their velocity and command, Cole is back to his best already. The right-hander feels amazing on the mound, and that’s the biggest and most important takeaway. “I’ve kept us in every game so far, so it feels pretty good,” he said. “I’ve gotten some good length (in innings pitched), and been able to continue to build pitch counts and sharpen some stuff while competing.” The Yanks’ ace boasts a 2.57 ERA in five starts in 2026. Even his teammate Cody Bellinger says it’s been “amazing to watch.“
The sample size is still small, just as it was during his first stint as a big leaguer.
But in his second go-around with the Yankees, Spencer Jones, who did not play in the Yankees’ 10-5 win over the White Sox on Wednesday night, is looking like he belongs while flashing the tools that have long made him a tantalizing prospect — and not just the power.
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With a runway for everyday at-bats in center field, as the Yankees try to hold the fort down without Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup, Jones is beginning to settle in and produce while using his first taste of the majors to his advantage.
“Seeing a mature hitter up there,” Ben Rice, who came up through the minor leagues with Jones, said Wednesday. “Slow heartbeat, looking for his pitch and going up there with a plan and just trying to execute.”
Take Tuesday’s win over the White Sox. After homering to the second deck in his first at-bat, a bullet that came off the bat at 111.6 mph, Jones came to the plate again with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning of a game the Yankees led 3-1. It might have been human nature for Jones to just swing for the fences again and try to deliver a knockout punch to White Sox righty Davis Martin, who entered the game as one of the American League’s best pitchers to date.
Spencer Jones hits a solo home run during the second inning of the Yankees blowout win over the White Sox on June 16, 2026 at the Stadium. Robert Sabo for New York Post
Instead, Jones worked a 3-2 count and then laid off a fastball just off the inside corner to take his walk, forcing in a run and keeping the line moving with his strong plate discipline.
“Everyone wants to talk about the power, the speed, the size,” Rice said. “But he has really sharpened that tool, especially over the last couple seasons.”
The 6-foot-7 Jones is going to strike out, no matter how many adjustments he makes as he gets used to facing big league pitching. But if he can do so at a respectable clip while putting together consistently tough at-bats along with the power displays, the strikeouts become much easier to live with.
“Even going back to his first [stint] when he didn’t get a lot of results, the at-bats were competitive,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Since coming back this last time, it’s gotten even better. It’s been game in and game out, I feel like he’s really putting together quality at-bats. Obviously you know the power is real. So when you have that kind of power and obviously the opponent’s aware of that, when you can control the zone with it, that’s a dangerous combination. It’s been great to see. Feel like he’s just in a really good frame of mind and going into the game with a good plan and executing.”
Across 10 games in his first stint as a big leaguer in May, Jones hit .167 (4-for-24) with a .426 OPS, 12 strikeouts, three walks and no home runs. He faced some tough pitching along the way — including making his debut against arguably the most dominant pitcher in the majors this season, Jacob Misiorowski — and put together some good at-bats along the way.
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But since returning earlier this month as a replacement for the injured Aaron Judge, Jones has looked even more comfortable at the plate. In eight games during his second stint entering Wednesday (when he was out of the lineup against White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay), he was batting .318 (7-for-22) with a 1.059 OPS, nine strikeouts, four walks and two home runs.
“You can visualize what the major leagues are going to be like, but until you’re in there and see it, expectation and reality don’t always match up,” Jones said. “That first go at it was a lot of new information, a lot of new things, different routines.
“I think having a couple weeks to meditate on the things that were going on from my first call-up and certain actions on the field, certain routine things, certain mentalities, certain approaches to the game, I was really able to focus on and know that next time I get an opportunity that I’ll make the most out of it.”
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 18: Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants looks on at Scottsdale Stadium on February 18, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Giants fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
This season has been an unmitigated disaster for the San Francisco Giants. The bulk of their offseason transactions haven’t paid off. The biggest moves from last year — signing Willy Adames and trading for Rafael Devers — are currently backfiring. And to this point, the splash move of the winter — hiring Tony Vitello straight from the college ranks — hasn’t really panned out.
On the one hand, it’s early. Buster Posey has only been President of Baseball Operations for a season and a half, and he’s approaching trade deadline season, which he aced a year ago. On the other hand, the Giants have been one of baseball worst teams this year, while also committing numerous unforced errors on and off the field. Things just aren’t right.
So we wanted to poll the community on the man at the top: Posey. How are you feeling about him halfway through his second season at the helm?
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Connor Joe #9 of the Seattle Mariners is forced out at third base in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Kevin Ng/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the most frustrating features of the 2026 Mariners has been their inconsistency. They’ll have a great homestand just to muddle through a poor road trip; work a hard-fought series win only to drop the next two; and most frustratingly, follow up a fun, vibes-cleansing win like last night’s game with a real stinker like tonight’s.
To be fair, the odds were stacked against them in this contest: the combination of the Mariners’ allergies to scoring runs when George Kirby is on the mound against the Orioles (averaging less than a run per game of support in his past eight outings!) plus Kyle Bradish and his deadly high-slot curveball plus some absolutely dogwater (hi Angie) BABIP luck for the Mariners made this game an exercise in misery – a misery that was compounded when Julio Rodríguez was lifted in the sixth inning for a defensive replacement. Dan Wilson clarified postgame that it was a hamstring spasm for Julio, tweaked on a leaping play in the sixth, and he’s currently day-to-day.
To be fair, Julio might have just wanted a mental break – the Mariners hitters suffered mightily against Bradish, who came an inning and an out shy of a complete game against a Mariners lineup missing a fair amount of its punch with Luke Raley and Josh Naylor still out and the recent loss of Randy Arozarena to the 10-day IL.
Sometimes the Mariners have bad and brutal at-bats, and we may shame them for that; but sometimes you just get beat by a pitcher who’s really on his game. That was Kyle Bradish tonight, whose bemused, befuddled, and downright bedeviled the Mariners hitters. Some hitters did a better job laying off the pitch, especially in two strike counts, but it was a lot of flailing after curveballs that showed on Gameday as subterranean but must have looked very different in the batter’s box, judging from the quality of swings.
Some of the Mariners did have some success laying off the pitch as the game wound on, and managed to scrape a run off Bradish in the fourth thanks to an adjustment from Julio, who laid off the curveball that gave him trouble earlier and was rewarded with a sinker in the fat part of the plate that he clobbered for a double. He was then knocked in on a well-struck single from Dominic Canzone, who took advantage of a first-pitch sinker at the top of the zone, shooting it right back up the middle.
But that’s all the Mariners would work off Bradish tonight, who departed the game with two outs in the eighth and a runner on (Miles Mastrobuoni, doing his daily Useful Thing by hitting a single), giving way to Yennier Canó. Canó walked Cal, who had just missed a homer earlier – robbed at the wall by former Mariner Tyler O’Neill, adding indignity to indignity – to get to Rob Refsnyder, pinch-hitting for Julio. Refsnyder popped out to end the inning, because that was the only way that at-bat was going to end.
The Orioles, meanwhile, got all they needed in one swing of the bat. George Kirby was good but not perfect, and unfortunately, given that the offense stubbornly refuses to score runs in support of him whenever the team plays Baltimore, that wasn’t enough for a win. Like Logan Gilbert did last night, Kirby found success leaning on his fastball, using it to get ahead in counts, and then would dial up the sweeper as a putaway for both whiffs and weak-contact outs.
Kirby made two mistakes that cost him: the big one came early, in the third, when with two outs he left a four-seamer directly in the lefty loop zone for Gunnar Henderson, who punched the ball over the right-field wall for a two-run shot. It was a two-run shot because nine-hole hitter Blaze Alexander was on with a seeing-eye single off a well-located pitch from Kirby – a bit of bad BABIP luck but magnified by the poor pitch to Henderson.
With the Mariners offense unable to do anything against Bradish, that would have been enough, but Kirby made one more mistake on the day, in his last inning of work. It was almost a mirror image of the previous score: with two outs, Pete Alonso made contact on what might have been a check swing and rolled a snowball down the third-base line, allowing even the slower-footed Polar Bear to reach first. Kirby then got into a protracted battle with former Mariner Leody Taveras and in a full count left a sinker on the plate that Taveras demolished over Julio’s head into the deepest part of the park for a triple. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise solid outing for Kirby, who expressed frustration postgame with the mistakes and said he just had to be better.
“There are two pitches I’d like to have back,” he said.
Three runs over six innings shouldn’t be a prison sentence for a pitcher, although the bullpen couldn’t keep it there: Alex Hoppe issued a leadoff walk to Jackson Holliday, who later came around to score, and in the eighth Michael Rucker allowed a solo homer to Holliday, continuing to roll out the Mariners welcome mat for the struggling second baseman. (The bright spot sandwiched in here is another scoreless appearance by Nick Davila, who has not allowed an earned run over his first 11 appearances with the club.)
The due of Dominic Canzone and Cole Young tried valiantly to turn around the vibes in the bottom of the ninth, going back-to-back off Ryan Helsley, recently re-activated from the IL.
But it was too little, too late, and the Mariners once again find themselves searching for consistency with a bruised and busted roster and a pitcher who wears three runs over six as a personal failing. It’s somehow both inconsistent, and the same old story.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 17: Corbin Carroll #7 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates while running the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Chase Field on June 17, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In baseball, we often like to talk about “flushing” a bad game and mentally preparing for the next one – usually the very next day – as one of several stock phrases to describe the ability to move past failure and try to visualize the next success. It’s a particularly appropriate phenomenon in baseball when failure is such an integral part of the sport. But just like the rest of us, baseball players are human and can struggle psychologically to push past particularly difficult instances of failure. Last night’s game, in which the D-Backs were thoroughly outclassed, certainly qualifies as a failure, but today, the team looked much closer to the team that went a combined 29-24 in April and May than the one that’s gone 6-9 in June coming into today’s game.
Unsurprisingly, the team’s fortunes are tied to their starting pitching and today was no exception. Eduardo Rodriguez continues to beat out all of the expected statistics and underlying red flags to maintain the most unlikely Cy Young candidacies of the season. He had just one blemish on the night – a Zach Neto ambush on the fifth pitch of the game that the young shortstop drove out to the home run porch in centerfield that gave the Angels an early lead. Outside of that drive, Rodriguez was spectacular. There was certainly some hard contact throughout his outing, but he did what so many fans and players clamor for: he let his defense do most of his work, generating three separate double plays to eliminate several threats before they started. He also collected an impressive 11 swings and misses while throwing 62 strikes and allowing 9 baserunners (three walks and six hits) over seven innings.
Of course, it never hurts a starting pitcher’s confidence if his offense provides some run support and the Arizona bats delivered plenty of fireworks this afternoon to give Rodriguez more confidence than he might have had already. After a scoreless first inning in which they worked starter Sam Aldegheri around, the bats exploded for five runs starting with a leadoff walk to Ildemaro Vargas who scored on a Tommy Troy triple after a couple outs. But the team then loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and a hard-fought walk to Geraldo Perdomo for a suddenly scuffling Corbin Carroll who turned on an inside changeup and deposited it into the right field bleachers for his fifth career grand slam. In all, the team sent nine batters to the plate in the inning in an impressive offensive showing, but they weren’t done either. The team tacked on another run in the next inning through a Jordan Lawlar double and a single from Troy as well as a two-run double from Ketel Marte that just snuck by first baseman Vaughn Grissom down the right field line. It was great to see exactly the kind of dynamic offense the team is capable of bringing to the ballpark every day after a few series of lackluster offensive results.
This series win is the team’s second straight after a rough stretch to begin the month of June. And while the Angels win-loss record on the year is nothing to write home about, they’ve been playing better as of late (if you can believe it) with an exactly .500 record over their last 20 games. Additionally, if we’re being honest, the D-Backs are desperate enough in an extremely competitive National League playoff picture that they’ll take every win they can possibly get. Next on the docket after an off day tomorrow: another losing team in the Minnesota Twins, their last such opponent before re-entering the fray with consecutive series against the Cardinals, Rays, Giants, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, and Cardinals again heading into the All-Star Break. It should be a fun couple of weeks – especially if the team plays up to its standards like they did today.
