Category: MLB

After a tense afternoon that saw the Tigers forced to come back repeatedly to keep pace with the Mariners, they reached the ninth inning still down a run. The Mariners ran themselves into a pair of dumb outs on the bases with Will Vest on the mound, and that set the stage. The back of the Tigers’ order did a nice job waiting out a wild Andrés Muñoz to draw a pair of walks, and managed to turn the lineup over to star rookie Kevin McGonigle, who had already homered in the game. The kid delivered with a two-run, walkoff single into right field to send the home crowd home in thrilling fashion. What a game.

Jack Flaherty and Luis Castillo locked up in a duel of starters who have struggled this season to date. The Tigers’ right-hander popped up Cole Young to open the game, then dropped a curveball in on Julio Rodriguez for strike three. After Josh Naylor was announced and the crowd booed, a 2-2 fastball locked him up for strike three. It was called a ball, but Dillon Dingler challenged it successfully.

AJ Hinch had Kerry Carpenter in the leadoff spot and he worked Luis Castillo through a long at-bat but flew out. Kevin McGonigle struck out after a foul ball down the left field line that brought Randy Arozarena to the netting, where a Tigers fan offered him a snack in a moment that reminded me of Prince Fielder snatching a tortilla chip from a fan’s nachos. Gleyber Torres, getting a day as the DH, then blew a challenge contesting a called strike three, but he was wrong, striking out and burning a challenge.

Flaherty gave up some hard contact in the second inning, but other than a Luke Raley double off the left field wall, nothing dropped in, and a good fastball whiffed Patrick Wisdom to end the inning.

For all Luis Castillo’s struggles this year, we weren’t seeing any signs of them here. He couldn’t spot the changeup, but the slider was sharp and the right-hander was hitting 96-97 mph with good fastball location. Riley Greene struck out on a fourseamer up to start the bottom of the second. Dillon Dingler hammered a drive out to Rodriguez in center field and Colt Keith lifted a slider to right field but didn’t square it up, sending us to the third inning.

Colt Emerson started the third by drilling an 0-2 slider to right for a double. Jhonny Perada grounded out, moving Emerson to third. Cole Young followed with a hot ground ball into right field for an RBI single, and it was 1-0 Mariners. Flaherty tied up Rodriguez with a high fastball and got a routine fly ball to Carpenter in right field. That left it up to Naylor who popped out to Colt Keith in foul territory.

News came through prior to the game that Casey Mize would make a rehab start on Tuesday with the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers. Meanwhile, Tarik Skubal was getting underway in West Michigan in a High-A rehab outing against the Dayton Dragons. The left-hander struck out two in the first inning, getting a grounder for the third out. He needed just nine pitches, sitting 96-97 mph.

The Whitecaps roster was having a good day courtesy of the two-time AL Cy Young award winner.

Good morning from @LMCUBallpark, where mysteriously, someone has hired a local coffee shop to hand out drinks to players and staffers as they enter the building.

Coincidentally, @tigers pitcher and coffee enthusiast @TarikSkubal is here to make a rehab assignment for the… pic.twitter.com/jdNlKIWV6V

— Dan Hasty (@ThatDanHasty) June 7, 2026

Spencer Torkelson flew out to start the bottom of the third and Zach McKinstry struck out. Wenceel Pérez fought off a bunch of two strike pitches, including one that he chopped right back into the family jewels. That required a little time to shake off. Eventually he dug back in and drilled a single that Wisdom couldn’t handle, but Carpenter popped out to end the inning.

Jack Flaherty’s slider was coming around, and as he dialed it in the whiffs piled up. He got Arozarena swinging over the slide piece for strike three to start the fourth. Raley suffered a similar fate, and Dominic Canzone grounded out to McKinstry at second base.

Kevin McGonigle led off the bottom of the fourth, and he got a 1-0 slider up in the zone and crushed it to right field for his fourth home run of the season. Tie game.

Gleyber Torres grounded out for the first out of the fourth. Riley Greene gave the ball a ride to deep right center field, but Raley ran it down. Dingler grounded out to third, and we were onto the fifth.

Wisdom opened the fifth inning with a line drive over Colt Keith at third, positioned toward second base, for a leadoff single. A high fastball from Flaherty dusted Emerson for his sixth strikeout on the day. Perada lined out to Carpenter, and Cole Young whiffed on a high fourseamer for strike three. Nice job stranding the runner after a leadoff single.

Colt Keith grounded out and Spencer Torkelson struck out to start the bottom of the fifth. A Zach McKinstry grounder to Wisdom was thrown wide of Naylor at first and he couldn’t pick it as the ball skipped into foul territory. McKinstry never stopped running, cruising into second base. Unfortuantely, a soft liner from Pérez went right to Naylor for the final out of the inning.

Julio Rodriguez lined a single into left field to start the sixth. Riley Greene picked it up, spun, and tried to fire to second to prevent a double, but Rodriguez had actually started to hold up. The throw was wide, and so Rodriguez was handed second base on the throwing error. Naylor pulled a hot grounder off the glove of a diving Torkelson and down the right field line for an RBI double. The Tigers were down a run again. Arozarena worked a full count, and Flaherty bounced a curveball to walk him, and so his day was done with no outs, a run in, and runner on first and second in the top of the sixth.

Lefty Drew Sommers took over from Flaherty against Raley. Mariners’ manager Dan Wilson elected not to pinch-hit, and instead had Raley bunt the runners over. He did so, with Keith making the play for the first out on the inning. Sommers has shown much better command so far this year, albeit in a very small sample, and he carved up Rob Refsnyder for the second out. Hinch called for the intentional walk to the right-handed hitting Wisdom to load the bases. Wilson gave them a gift with the sac bunt, but it turned out that the intentional walk was the gift to the Mariners, as Sommers hit Colt Emerson with a 2-2 sinker, forcing in a run. 3-1 Mariners. Arrgghh.

That ended Sommers outing. Kyle Finnegan was warm and he took over to face Perada. Fortunately, he flew out to Pérez to strand the bases loaded, but the damage was done and the Mariners had re-captured the lead.

Castillo was still on the mound in the bottom half of the sixth as Jose A. Ferrer was warming up in the bullpen. Carpenter grounded out to start the inning, but McGonigle drew a one-out walk. Torres got into a 2-0 count, but popped out to Raley in foul territory down the right field line. That was the end for Castillo as Ferrer took over.

Ferrer gave up a walk to Riley Greene to put two on with two outs for the red-hot Dillon Dingler. The Tigers catcher challenged an 0-1 pitch that was called a strike. He was correct, and Ferrer eventually walked him as well to load the bases. Hinch then pinch-hit Jahmai Jones for Colt Keith against the hard-throwing lefty. Instead, Jones popped up a 99 mph sinker to shallow center field to strand three. Woof.

That move caused Zack Short to enter the game at shortstop, pushing McGonigle to third base. Finnegan got Cole Young to fly out to start the seventh. Dillon Dingler burned the Tigers last challenge against Julio Rodriguez, but was incorrect and the center fielder drew a walk. He then stole second base with ease as Naylor took ball one. Finnegan popped up Naylor on a high fastball after setting him up with a couple of splitters. That left it up to Arozarena. Finnegan wasn’t paying Rodriguez any attention, and he stole third base on him without a throw. Arozarena singled in the run, and it was 4-1 Mariners.

Tyler Holton took over to get Raley, and he failed as the outfielder flicked a sweeper into right field for a single. Arozarena went first to third, and Refsnyder dug in looking to expand the Mariners’ lead. He failed, grounding out to McGonigle at third.

So it was 4-1 and the Tigers were running out of time. They seemed to take some urgency, as Torkelson and McKinstry started the inning with singles off of right-hander Cooper Criswell. Wenceel Pérez stepped in and flicked a low changeup into the right field corner for a two-run triple, and it was 4-3 Mariners with Pérez on third and no outs. A tie seemed imminent, but we had to reckon with the Tigers bench.

Dan Wilson turned to lefty Gabe Speier to replace Criswell. Matt Vierling pinch-hit for Carpenter, who as you’ll all recall homered off of Speier in Game 5 of last year’s ALDS Game 5, and Vierling grounded out to Wisdom at third. The third baseman tried to tag Pérez as he got back to the bag, and still had just enough time to throw out Vierling anyway. McGonigle hit a routine fly ball to left field, too shallow to score Pérez. Speier climbed the ladder with a fastball against Torres in a 2-2 count and blew him away. The Tigers had scored two, but stranding Pérez at third with no outs was infuriating.

Drew Anderson took over from Holton in the top of the eighth inning. He quickly struck out Wisdom and Emerson. McGonigle couldn’t handle a chopper from Perada, and Young slapped a curveball into right field as Perada moved to third. The Tigers absolutely had to have an out here to snuff a two-out rally. They got it, as Rodriguez grounded out sharply to McKinstry.

Right-hander Eduard Bazardo entered for the Mariners in the bottom of the eighth. Greene grounded out, and Dingler was locked up by a tough backdoor sinker for strike three. That left Short hitting against a tough right-hander and he flew out to end the inning.

So the Tigers needed two runs to win, and they would have only three outs to come back. They would have Torkelson, McKinstry, and Pérez up in the bottom of the ninth before the lineup turned over, so things looked pretty bleak for a team that cannot afford to lose a series right now. First they needed to keep the Mariners from answering back.

Will Vest took the mound in the top of the inning. In a 1-2 count, Vest tried to go well above the zone, but Naylor was ready and paddled a single to left field to start the inning. Naylor tried to get a walking lead and then broke for second. Vest did a nice job holding and stepped off to fire to second base for the out. The home crowd enjoyed that, at least. Vest then turned the cheers to groans by hitting Randy Arozarena. On an 0-1 pitch for a strike, Dingler tried to backpick Arozarena and fired a strike to Torkelson. A nice swipe tag got the out, though it took a challenge to overturn the initial safe call. Nice work from Dingler and Torkelson there. Vest dropped in a slider for strike three against Raley, and it was last call for the Tigers, needing one to tie and two for a walkoff victory.

The task would be very difficult against closer Andrés Muñoz. Torkelson quickly popped out to Emerson and that did nothing for Tigers fans’ optimism. Muñoz was firing 98-99 mph heaters in there. McKinstry did a nice job taking a couple of close pitches and drew a walk. Muñoz remained a little wild, falling behind 3-0 to Pérez. The Tigers’ outfielder took a heater on the outer edge for a strike, but the next one was again quite wide of the mark and Pérez took first base. So, two on, one out for Vierling and Muñoz missed badly with two more pitches. However, the Mariners closer pulled it together with two good heaters to get back in the count and Vierling chopped one to third. Wisdom could only get the out at first, and so both runners were in scoring position for McGonigle.

Fortunately, Dan Wilson decided not to walk McGonigle. The stage was set. Muñoz missed with a slider first pitch. He came back with a triple digit heater on the inner edge, and the rookie smoked it off the tip of a leaping Emerson’s glove at second base and into right field for a walkoff two-run single. Holy cow. Kevin forever!

The Tigers really needed this one to keep some momentum going, and the rookie delivered in dramatic fashion. They’ll have an off day on Monday before welcoming in the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. After that three game set they’ll head to Cleveland for three against the Guardians, and based on Tarik Skubal’s rehab outing in West Mchigan, they may well have their ace back on the mound in that series.

With a couple of exceptions, Michael McGreevy gave the St. Louis Cardinals a good start Sunday. Fortunately, the St. Louis Cardinals woke up in time to complete the sweep of the Cincinnati Reds Sunday.

My fear is that the narrative of this game would be all of the runners the Cardinals stranded on base Sunday. Through the first several innings, St. Louis had left 11 runners on base including a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the 1st inning. That combined with Michael McGreevy leaving two pitches right in the middle of the zone in the top of the 3rd inning resulting in home runs from McLain and Stephenson giving Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.

The St. Louis bats would greet the Cincinnati Reds bullpen in the bottom of the 5th inning as Alec Burleson slapped a double down the left field line followed by Jordan Walker smoking a 93 mph four-seam fastball to the left-center field wall scoring Burleson and cutting the Reds lead in half at 2-1.

Bryan Torres would eliminate that lead altogether giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game when he crushed a 92 mph four-seam fastball into the right field stands making it 3-2 Cardinals.

Michael McGreevy’s outing was a successful one. He gave St. Louis 6 solid innings allowing just 5 hits, 2 earned runs with 5 strikeouts and no walks.

George Soriano came in to take care of the 7th inning for the Cardinals. Unfortunately, McLain would connect with one of his 96 mph sinkers for his second home run of the day tying the game at 3-3. Soriano would only get 2 outs before being removed in the 7th inning as JoJo Romero came in to settle down a runners on first and second threat from the Reds which could have been worse if not for a fine defensive play from JJ Wetherholt getting a force out at 2nd base. JJ also made a leaping grab to end the inning keeping the game tied going into the bottom of the 7th. JoJo would hang in there through the first 2/3 of the 8th inning, but was removed by manager Oli Marmol after Myers singled into center. Ryne Stanek introduced himself by throwing a wild pitch to the backstop advancing Myers into scoring position at second, but he’d strike out Benson to end the Reds half of the 8th inning.

The Cardinals offense would threaten in their half of the 8th inning as José Fermín led off with a single. Instead of Nolan Gorman being allowed to change his 0-3 day, Nelson Velázquez pinch-hit instead. He ripped a single to left field to the delight of the tarps off crowd in right field giving St. Louis runners on first and second with no out. Victor Scott II, the team’s designated bunter dropped down a beauty which the Reds pitcher Moll decided to throw into left field which was a great decision (for the Cardinals) which scored Fermin giving St. Louis a 4-3 lead.

That spectacular effort was followed by a 8-pitch walk to JJ Wetherholt to load the bases. Ivan Herrera then hit a ball to McLain at short who was playing in. The ball caught him on an in-between hop and he botched it allowing Velazquez to score giving St. Louis a 5-3 lead. After 2 force-outs at home plate, Reds relief pitcher Santillan would get Lars Nootbaar to fly out to left field with the bases loaded to end the Cardinals 8th inning. Thank you again, Reds bullpen. We are going to miss you when you leave town. However, the Cardinals stranded WAY too many runners Sunday. Those extra runs would have been nice to make the 9th inning less stressful.

The St. Louis Cardinals would bring in Riley O’Brien to handle the Reds in the top of the 9th. Riley would face the 7-8-9 hitters at the bottom of the Reds lineup, but one of them was McLain who already had two homers Sunday. Unlike Saturday, O’Brien came in throwing strikes that included a 2-2 heater for the first out of the 9th. Stephenson would then double down the right field line bringing up Arroyo as the tying run because St. Louis just can’t bear winning the easy way. Fortunately, Arroyo flew out to center for the second out of the 9th bringing up Blake Dunn as the Reds final hope. That hope would be dashed as he also flew out to center for the final out of the game.

After a successful homestand against the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals begin a road trip in New York Tuesday night taking on the Mets. The Cardinals starter is to be determined while the Mets are expected to start Stephen Kolek. First pitch scheduled for 6:10pm central time with the TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

For the first six innings, the Atlanta Braves were looking like they were going to be denied another sweep as the Pirates did just enough to Bryce Elder to salvage a win. But a huge theme of this season is how this team continues to find different ways to win from different contributors, and the stars of this one? 1) Someone who was NOT in the starting lineup 2) bullpen arms coming up absolutely huge in high-leverage situations who aren’t our usual 7-8-9.

Elder grinded through six innings of two-run ball after being greeted rudely by a leadoff homer by Spencer Horowitz to start the afternoon. He only gave up the two hits, but Elder matched a season-high in three-ball counts and some walks came back to bite him in the third. Two walks and a pesky infield single loaded the bases with no outs. Nick Gonzales’s double play minimized the damange, but it did allow Jared Triolo to score and make it 2-0 Pirates.

And so the score would remain through six innings. The Braves had a promising first inning versus the opener Mason Montgomery with a walk from Mauricio Dubón, a double from Ozzie, and a walk from Dominic Smith to put a Brave on every base. But Austin Riley’s late swing on a 99 mph fastball would end the threat.

Scheduled starter Bubba Chandler entered in the second inning for the Pirates with Mike Yastrzemski leading off. The only damage done would be a single from Sandy León (!); the Braves were set down in order in the third, fourth, fifth, AND sixth. For someone known to walk guys and regularly only last five innings, Chandler racked up seven K’s from the Braves lineup in his 5.1 innings of work. 

But that lack of command reared its head in the bottom of the seventh, teeing up a wild sequence. Please don’t forget that all of this is happening with a light but constant little rain shower that would continue until the game concluded. The rally would begin with Dom Smith reaching on a throwing error by rookie Tyler Callihan, giving the Braves their first baserunner since Sandy’s single in the second. Yaz finally worked a walk off of Chandler, and then Jorge Mateo saw four straight balls. The bases were loaded for Sandy León. 

Except it wasn’t Sandy León, and it was never going to be. Sound operator, hit shuffle on the Michael Harris II walk-up songs playlist, please. Walt Weiss has pulled the lever.

In response, the Pirates did the most slow-walking I’ve ever seen that resulted in Chandler’s departure to give way to reliever Evan Sisk. But it didn’t matter. Pinch-hitter Money Mike is a cheat code, and he delivered by smoking the second pitch he saw 109.5 mph to right field for a bases-clearing double to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. Absolutely nuts.

Reynaldo López came out of the bullpen and worked a much-needed scoreless frame in the seventh to wash the taste of his Thursday appearance out of our mouths. But eyebrows raised across Braves Country when he was left in to pitch in the eighth with this tenuous lead. It was understandable to some extent – the bullpen has been taxed this week, particularly the big three of Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, and Raisel Iglesias. He recorded one out, allowed a single, and walked Braves menace Horowitz. That would end his day. Tyler Kinley came in, got a lineout, walked Bryan Reynolds, and got a massive groundout to preserve the lead. No insurance runs would be added in the bottom of the eighth, so we all collectively strapped in for the top of the ninth. 

Out of the bullpen jogs Didier Fuentes, who is ten days shy of turning 21 and on for the first save opportunity of his career at any level. 

Reports of Brandon Lowe’s death (read: knee injury after yesterday’s game) were greatly exaggerated – they Michael Harris’d us right back with a pinch-hit maneuver that worked beautifully. Lowe ripped a double to right to start the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Oneil Cruz. Cool cool, Cruz is very fast. Our collective anxiety could power a small city. Fuentes struck out Callihan for out #1. Jake Mangum’s eight-pitch at-bat resulted in an infield single, putting runners at the corners. Triolo popped out for a huge second out. But thankfully, it would end with Endy – Endy Rodríguez’s strikeout secured Didier’s first career save and the Braves officially swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. They may be a little damp at this point, but break out your brooms, y’all. It’s been a minute, which makes it all the sweeter.

Thus concludes a 5-1 homestand as the Braves now sport a 45-21 record. That, some have said, will play. After the off day tomorrow, the Braves will embark on a two-city road trip to Chicago to face the Pope’s own White Sox and then to Queens for the first series of the season vs. the New York Mets.

The Yankees scored a couple of late runs to come away with a 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.

Here are the takeaways…

-- Cody Bellinger gave the Yankees the late lead, and they never looked back. With the game knotted 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, Bellinger unloaded on a Justin Slaten pitch, demolishing a solo home run to right to give the Yankees a 2-1 edge. 

The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge for some time, so it was good to see Bellinger have a big moment. 

-- After Bellinger's bomb, the Yankees did a good job of tacking on more insurance runs. Amed Rosario singled, stole second, and came around to score on a Trent Grisham single. Grisham had three hits on the afternoon. Then, with the lead 3-1, Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had been 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, crushed a three-run homer of Joe La Sorsa, breaking the game wide open.

-- Sunday’s matinee featured a pitchers’ duel between Cam Schlittler and Ranger Suarez. Schlittler struck out four over his first three scoreless innings, while Suarez went nine-up, nine-down the first time through the order. 

-- The Yankees had a good chance to get to Suarez when they loaded the bases in the fourth, but Anthony Volpe flew out to center fielder on a 3-1 pitch to end the threat. 

Finally, the Yankees scratched across a run in the fifth inning. After a Jose Caballero double, Paul Goldschmidt came through with a two-out hit to right, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

-- The Red Sox answered back in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Willson Contreras. On the play, Ceddanne Rafaela scored from first base, but he likely would have been out at the plate if not for a poor throw from Volpe. The shortstop had plenty of time to cut down the run, but his throw was way off the mark.

That ended Schlittler's afternoon, as he went 5.2 innings allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Suarez, meanwhile, went 6.1 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts. 

-- Volpe had another tough moment in the bottom of the sixth, when he popped up on the first pitch with the potential go-ahead run in scoring position and two outs. Volpe has not a hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position since he was called up earlier this season. He went 0-for 3 with a walk at the dish.

-- The Yankees are now 2-3 since Judge went down with his rib injury.

Game MVP

Bellinger, who put the Yankees ahead for good in the eighth inning.

Highlights

Goldy gets us on the board 👏 pic.twitter.com/iv5GatZtJK

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 7, 2026

Cody Bellinger gives the Yankees the lead! pic.twitter.com/IYtON3aPgL

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

Trent Grisham singles to send Amed Rosario home! 3-1 Yankees lead!pic.twitter.com/REwhgPc3KI

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

Three-run home run for Jazz Chisholm Jr.!! pic.twitter.com/YDM1LmXtWj

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

What's next

The Yankees start a three-game series in Cleveland against the Guardians on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m.

Will Warren will face righty Gavin Williams.

The Orioles appeared to be cruising toward a series win before a missed call and some shoddy defense resulted in a five-run sixth inning. The Blue Jays rode a bizarre stretch to a come from behind 6-4 victory, leaving the O’s to return to the United States with a bad taste in their mouths.

The disaster inning started with an absolute moon shot from Yohendrick Piñango. Baz entered the inning with five zeros and less than 65 pitches, but he left a changeup up to the Blue Jays number two hitter. Piñango sent the ball 423 feet from home plate, but the Orioles still held a three-run advantage.

Baz retired Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but Jesús Sánchez lined a ball out of Tyler O’Neill’s reach in right field. Baz generated a ground ball from Ernie Clement, but Gunnar Henderson committed a fielding error to place runners on the corners with one out.

Baz, in need of a double play, induced a grounder from Brandon Valenzuela. The bouncer took Henderson to the right side of second base, and the shortstop set his sights on a tag and throw double play. Clement made a clear and obvious attempt to run away from the tag toward the outfield grass, which prompted Henderson to throw the ball to first. However, second base umpire Nic Lentz ruled that the runner did not stray from the baseline, so Clement reached safely and the second run scored.

Alonso and Baz immediately expressed their objection to the call, and Craig Albernaz left the dugout for an explanation. After a discussion, the call stood. The Blue Jays had cut the lead in half, and Clement remained at second base.

Baz, potentially still bothered by the error and controversial call, allowed a base hit to Kazuma Okamoto. Clement raced home to score the third run, and Okamoto avoided being caught straying too far from first base. Andrés Giménez followed with a double down the right field line, and suddenly the game was tied.

Despite entering the inning with a low pitch count and a four-run advantage, Baz failed to complete the sixth. Albernaz summoned Yennier Cano from the bullpen, and Baz voiced his displeasure toward the second base umpire before he entered the dugout.

Cano entered and got Nathan Lukes to put the ball on the ground, but the ball deflected off the mound and to the right side of the infield. Holliday, with no time to transfer the ball to his throwing hand, flipped the ball directly from his glove to first base. Unfortunately for Holliday, he never stood a chance with either type of play. Instead of eating the throw, his lollipop attempt allowed Giménez to break for home. Alonso bounced the ball to the plate, and Samuel Basallo aggravated his wrist on a late tag attempt. The Blue Jays stole a 5-4 advantage as Baz continued to steam in the dugout.

The Orioles should have escaped the inning with only one run allowed, but Baltimore was done in by more than just one blown call. Henderson should have made the play on Clement’s grounder, and he could have made a more aggressive effort to tag Clement to prevent a runner from reaching scoring position with a multi-run lead. Jackson Holliday never should have flipped the ball to Alonso, and a better throw home may have nailed the go-ahead runner.

The Orioles squandered a golden attempt to bounce back in the top of the seventh. Tyler O’Neill and Holliday reached on a single and walk, but the hot-hitting Blaze Alexander decided to lay down a bunt. Alexander failed to push the bunt far enough beyond home plate, and the Blue Jays got the lead runner at third base. Taylor Ward stepped in with the tying run in scoring position, but Ward bounced into a tailor-made double play to end the inning.

The Blue Jays added an insurance run when Valenzuela tagged a solo shot off of Rico Garcia.

The Orioles attempted to start a rally in the ninth when Colton Cowser reached on an infield single. Holliday bounced a ball to the right side and attempt to dodge the tag when running to first base. Holliday was called out for running outside of the basepaths, which added insult to injury to Albernaz and his squad. Blaze Alexander struck out looking to end the game.

The Orioles jumped out to their early advantage with a four-run fifth inning. Colton Cowser got the party started with a solo shot, and the Birds used some two-out lightning to extend their advantage. Holliday tripled off the wall, and Alexander drove him in with a double to right-center. Kevin Gausman left a splitter up to Taylor Ward, and Ward cleared the fence for his third homer of the season.

The Orioles will return home with a 31-35 record. The team has officially listed tomorrow’s starter as TBA. Chris Bassitt would be on turn, but he left his last start early with back tightness. Trey Gibson remains an option at Triple-A.

Today, the Marlins played a sort of game that felt familiar. Their pitching, from starter to bullpen, was outstanding. Their defense possibly robbed Cedric Mullins of a home run and was sharp across the board.

They ran the bases well, making just one mistake (Heriberto Hernandez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single to a double) but otherwise stole four bases, including a double steal that led to two runs.

I realized, this style of play felt familiar for a reason: this had been the way the Rays were playing until about a month ago.

But now that is gone. They have lost their good luck but also lost some of their basic ability to play clean baseball.

Griffin Jax started and pitched five shutout innings, bouncing back after his last (four inning, six run) start. And the Rays got on the board early as well, piecing together a hit, a stolen base, and an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Things were looking up!

But their offense, after that, was AWOL. They scored just one run on six singles, and managed to lose two runners who were caught stealing.

And their relievers struggled to avoid walking people (Rays pitchers gave up six walks altogether), with several of the batters they walked ultimately scoring.

Catcher Hunter Feduccia had an especially terrible day. He blew the Rays two ball/strike challenges early on. Now, I have been frustrated in the past when the Rays DON’T use their challenges — you can’t save them up for a rainy day! But if you have lost your first challenge and it’s not even the fifth inning I would be very very cautious about using another.

But his biggest error? Following that double steal, with Miami runners on second and third base, Joe Mack hit a weak grounder that was fielded by Taylor Walls. Walls fired to Feduccia and the throw was in time to get the runner out….but Feduccia muffed the catch, the ball bounced away, and not just run but two runners scored. Was it a difficult throw to corral? Sure. Should he have held on to it? Yes! Here’s the video, what do y’all think?

The Rays continue to disappoint on both sides of the ball, although at least in this series we got some decent starting pitching. Now it’s up to Boston, and it would be really nice to win that series and NOT give the Red Sox any glimmer of hope.

Emmet Sheehan faces José Soriano as the Dodgers look to win every contest against the Angels this year.

Today’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Angels: pic.twitter.com/KUT26IAncp

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 7, 2026

SUNDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 1:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Last week the Cubs were the Sunday Night game of the week on NBC against the Cardinals. It did not go well for the North Siders with the Cardinals winning 5-1. But the broadcast was pretty good, albeit a little crowded sometimes. And it turns out that Bingo is good on any network for a weekly showcase, so with that in mind, here’s another edition of Cubs Sunday Night Baseball Bingo!

Jason Benetti is always on point and NBC is fortunate to have one of the best in the business anchor this Sunday Night showcase. The Cubs’ own Jim Deshaies gets a chance to shine on national TV. JD has been a gem on the Cubs broadcasts for years with his deadpan humor, well-timed one-liners and knack for spotting an egregious strike call or quality baby from the press box. Add in a loved player from both teams and you’ve got yourself an excellent combination of commentary. Last week we heard from Albert Pujols on the Cardinals side plus Cubs World Series Champion Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo will join again tonight and pair his always great vibes with the eccentric musings of Giants World Series Champion Hunter Pence.

All in all, it should be a fun night at the Friendly Confines. As always, if you really want to challenge yourself make it a blackout game. I don’t recommend making it a drinking game unless you are personally trying to black out.

There was a Tarik Skubal party in Comstock Park on Sunday. The Detroit Tigers’ ace took the mound for a rehab outing against the Dayton Dragons, the Cincinnati Reds’ High-A affiliate. Huge crowds turned out on a beautiful, sunny day, and Skubal did not disappoint. He appeared fully on track to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation for his next start, which should be on Friday or Saturday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians. All that’s left is to recover normally from the outing, throw a bulllpen this week, and make sure all systems are go.

A rehab start from a major leaguer is generally a good day for the team. Skubal took care of the boys, getting a mobile coffee bar for the clubhouse, and planning to treat them all to a nice dinner after the game. Meanwhile, Dan Hasty and the Whitecaps’ staff got a break from a brutal six-week stretch of baseball with the Tigers’ High-A affiliate to call a Skubal game and see the park packed to the gills.

Good morning from @LMCUBallpark, where mysteriously, someone has hired a local coffee shop to hand out drinks to players and staffers as they enter the building.

Coincidentally, @tigers pitcher and coffee enthusiast @TarikSkubal is here to make a rehab assignment for the… pic.twitter.com/jdNlKIWV6V

— Dan Hasty (@ThatDanHasty) June 7, 2026

This whole recovery story has been pretty incredible. Skubal felt some discomfort in late April, and during a start against the Atlanta Braves in early May, his elbow was locking up on him. The diagnosis was bone chips in the elbow, which typically requires arthroscopic surgery to remove the loose bodies from the joint. Instead, Dr. Neal ElAttrache offered Skubal the option to try a new nanoscope procedure that could cut the recovered time in half. Everything went well in the May 6 surgery, and almost exactly a month later, Skubal took the mound for his first game action.

He looked 100 percent. Skubal punched out two in the first inning, sitting 96-97 mph with his fastball. He needed just nine pitches. A flyout and another pair of strikeouts followed in the second, and by then Skubal was reportedly up to 99 mph per Jason Beck. A two-run shot from Tigers’ center field prospect Jackson Strong, Strong’s third homer in as many days, gave him an early lead to work with, but he wouldn’t need much assistance.

Victor Acosta got a single off of Skubal in the third, earning bragging rights among his Dragons teammates. Otherwise, Skubal cruised through the third and fourth innings, needing just 46 pitches and punching out six to that point. The goal was to get him through five innings to show he’s 100 percent ready to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation, and Skubal managed that without breaking a sweat.

He collected the first two outs of the fifth and was still only at 50 pitches. Jacob Friend reached on an infield single for the second hit against Skubal. Third baseman Alfredo Alcantara hit the hardest ball of the day as the next hitter up, but Jackson Strong hauled it in to end Skubal’s fifth inning of work.

That was all that Skubal needed to accomplish. He threw 44 of 54 pitches for strikes, and there was really just one hard hit ball. He struck out six without a walk, and appears set to return on schedule. The Tigers will see how Skubal recovers, and have him throw his usual bullpen mid-week, and as long as nothing goes wrong, we should see him back on the mound next weekend in Cleveland.

Here’s hoping.

Tarik Skubal on when he’ll return to the #Tigers: “That’s a good question that I’m not gonna answer.” pic.twitter.com/7V0Vr0sabe

— Tony Paul | Detroit News (@TonyPaul1984) June 7, 2026

Mets lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Juan Soto – DH
4. Jared Young – 1B
5. A.J. Ewing – CF
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. Brett Baty – 3B
8. MJ Melendez – LF
9. Luis Torrens – C

Huascar Brazobán – RHP

Padres lineup

1. Fernando Tatís Jr. – 2B
2. Jackson Merrill – CF
3. Ty France – 1B
4. Manny Machado – 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts – SS
6. Miguel Andújar – DH
7. Jase Bowen – RF
8. Samad Taylor – LF
9. Freddy Fermin – C

Randy Vásquez – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 4:10pm EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

New York Mets (28-36) at San Diego Padres (33-30), June 7, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Sunday matinee. pic.twitter.com/wQoPlDURwK

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 7, 2026

Series finale ⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/qT6ajGWTK0

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 7, 2026

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Sweeps have been hard to come by for the Nats in recent years. They only have one this season, and that was back in April against the Brewers. The boys have a chance for their second sweep of the season this afternoon against a D-Backs team they have beaten comfortably in the first two games.

With a righty on the mound, Blake Butera is making some lineup adjustments. Luis Garcia Jr. is back in at first base to nobody’s surprise. James Wood is moving from DH to left field, trading places with Daylen Lile. Jose Tena will get the start at second base this afternoon. Cade Cavalli will look to lead his team to a sweep.

today's cast 🍿 pic.twitter.com/OdCWbbmS0p

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 7, 2026

The Diamondbacks actually have the same nine players as yesterday. There are a couple tweaks in the actual order, but it is almost an identical lineup. The Snakes have been quiet, but Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte are constant threats. Old pal Michael Soroka will be on the mound, and he is actually having a very good year in the desert. Soroka has a 3.49 ERA in 67 innings this season.

Series finale. pic.twitter.com/8N8yKzEXlB

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 7, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Chase Field

Time: 3:15 PM EST

TV: Peacock and NBCSN

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Finishing off a sweep on a national broadcast would be a big statement for the Nats. It would show that they have the killer instinct and can truly finish a team off. The D-Backs will be desperate today, but if the Nats play like they have, this is a winnable game. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Discuss the Guardians-Rangers rubber match below

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Reinstated from the family medical emergency list: RHP Taylor Clarke
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno: LHP Philip Abner (following yesterday’s game)

Abner didn’t exactly cover himself in glory, during his brief stay on the big-league roster. When he came into Friday night’s game, it was already out of hand, the D-backs trailing 7-1 in the top of the sixth. Seventeen pitches from Phil later, it was really out of hands, the Nationals have scored five runs on two home-runs, one of them a grand-slam. He has pitched 3.2 innings in the majors this year, with an ERA of 17.18. That kind of performance is more likely to get you a ticket to DFAville. To be fair, Abner only turned 24 last month and being a lefty, also gives him a longer leash. His 5.12 ERA over a large sample size in Reno is also better than team average (5.56).

But to illustrate something I said in the GDT yesterday: the performances of Abner, Kade Stroud and Drey Jameson since getting called up illustrate\ the lack of depth in the D-backs bullpen. All told, Arizona’s relief corps is firmly in the middle of the pack. Their overall 4.13 ERA ranks 16th, and at the risk of flogging a deceased equine, that’s considerably better than we’ve managed in most of Mike Hazen’s tenure. But there’s a huge gulf between the regular guys and the ones we’ve asked to fill in. Below is a breakdown of all the relievers used by Arizona this season, in descending order of innings pitched.

Excluding Brandon Pfaadt – who was only in the bullpen as a failed starter, and is now down in Reno – the top eight all have an ERA below 3.50. Small sample sizes, but the ones below them have all have an ERA of 5.40 or worse: and the best among them is actually third-string catcher Adrian Del Castillo. If you add up all the work by those two groups, here’s what you get:
A-bullpen: 157.2 IP, 111 H, 50 R, 44 ER, 11 HR, 43 BB 142 SO, 2.51 ERA
B-bullpen: 30.1 IP, 48 H, 41 R, 38 ER, 8 HR, 23 BB, 23 SO, 11.27 ERA

Obviously, every bullpen is going to have its weak links. But it’s striking that if you exclude the position players from the B-bullpen, the overall ERA of the remaining pitcher would go up. So far, we’ve been remarkably lucky in terms of the A-pen being almost entirely healthy. If that doesn’t continue, it could pose major problems over the next few months.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering. This is not an early Gameday Thread, it’s an early game. A 12:15 pm start, because it’s on Peacock. I wonder how many people will show up at Chase expecting the usual 1:05 pm first pitch?

The Dodgers are off on Monday before opening a road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Tuesday night, and will face off against Paul Skenes in the first game.

Skenes has a 3.09 ERA and 2.29 xERA this season, though has allowed 15 runs (13 earned) in 20 innings over his last four starts, all Pirates losses. Pittsburgh has won only six of Skenes’ 13 starts this season, though he’s left with a lead eight times.

We narrowly missed a Skenes vs. Shohei Ohtani pitching matchup in this series, with Ohtani starting on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Left-hander Eric Lauer starts for the Dodgers. We’ll still get to see Skenes vs. the Ohtani the hitter, one of the sport’s best individual matchups.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Pirates
• Ballpark: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
• Time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)