Following the Mets' 7-0 loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday night, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about several aspects of the game...
Cardinals' play at the plate
In the third inning with the Mets down 3-0 with runners on second and third and one out, Lars Nootbaar grounded the ball to Marcus Semien at second base. Semien looked the runner at third base back, but Ivan Herrera took off for home as Semien threw to Jared Young at first base for the second out of the inning.
Young threw it home to Alvarez, but Herrera made a nifty swim move to avoid the tag and give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
The Mets skipper was asked about the play and if his infielders could have done anything differently, but Mendoza said he believes the St. Louis baserunners made a mistake and they got away with it.
"They kinda messed it up, because the runner at third base was not going on contact," Mendoza explained. "It was a play that took Marcus to the gloveside. He can’t see the runner on second base, who was playing it like they were going on contact. Looking at the video there, once the ball came out of Marcus’ hand, he took off. At that point, you see JY, you play catch. Looking back, I’ll have to talk to [bench coach Kai Correa] and all that, it was kind of a messed up play there."
At the time, it was a big run, as it was still early in the game. Unfortunately, Cardinals starter Dustin May held the Mets hitters down.
Why May was unhittable
May entered Tuesday's series opener with a 4.59 ERA and a WHIP of 1.29, but he looked like the young arm the Dodgers hoped he would be when he was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft.
The 28-year-old pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk. It was May's best start of the season, and he didn't give the Mets many chances -- the Mets had just two batters reach second base against him.
"The sinker was good against righties today. Had a lot of movement," Mendoza said of May. "The cutter against lefties and he was finishing them off with fastballs at the top of the zone. You get down 4-0, it’s different at-bats. This guy is working ahead and he’s going to attack. Once we got down, we couldn’t do much with him."
What happened with Gerber?
Joey Gerber allowed one run on three hits across two innings after taking over for Freddy Peralta on Tuesday.
Mendoza was hoping Gerber could finish the game and save his bullpen, but the right-hander was removed in the ninth inning. It seemed as if the 29-year-old was picking at one of his fingers and Mendoza confirmed that Gerber is still dealing with a blister.
"Same blister he went on the IL," Mendoza said. "Started to flare up again. Not going to risk it there."
Gerber was placed on the IL back in mid-April and didn't return to the Mets until mid-May. After being recalled and optioned a couple of times, Gerber finally had a chance to stick with the big league club. Tuesday was his second appearance this month, pitching a scoreless inning back on June 3 against the Mariners, and third overall this season.
In his three appearances, Gerber has pitched to a 1.80 ERA, striking out six batters across his 5.0 innings of work.
Jun 9, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker (47) reacts after the final out against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
The Rays were the kings of the two-out rally on Tuesday night in a 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay put Payton Tolle to the test early when Yandy Díaz lined a single to right, Junior Caminero followed by smoking a ball to the wall in center, and suddenly Tampa Bay had runners on second and third with nobody out to get the game started.
Well, sort of suddenly.
Caminero got to second, but not before giving us one of the less graceful slides you will see from a professional athlete. It was part stumble, part survival tactic, part “please just let the bag still be there when I arrive.” He made it, and the Rays were in business.
Then Caleb Durbin ruined the fun.
Chandler Simpson hit a hard liner to third, and Durbin made a terrific reaction play, snagging it and doubling Yandy off third before the Rays could cash in on the scoring position. It was the kind of play that flips an inning in one blink. Tampa Bay had Tolle wobbling, had a chance to grab an early lead, and came away with nothing.
The baseball gods did briefly offer them a second chance when a popup in foul territory near the mound turned into a three-person Red Sox game of “not it” for the baseball. Tolle dropped it while multiple Boston defenders stood around as if catching the ball were not the object of the game. Sometimes big leaguers look like little leaguers. The Rays still could not take advantage, even after Ryan Vilade singled and a passed ball moved him into scoring position. Austin Slater grounded out, and the first inning became a collection of missed chances.
Thankfully for the Rays, Nick Martinez was doing his part to keep the game settled.
Martinez worked a clean first, then started the second by striking out Willson Contreras swinging. He kept Red Sox hitters uncomfortable and did not let Boston stack together the kind of loud inning that can make a game feel uphill early. Masataka Yoshida grounded out, Mickey Gasper popped out, and Martinez had the Rays right where they needed to be.
Boston broke through in the third when Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled to left, Marcelo Mayer moved him to third with a groundout, and Jarren Duran lined a single to center to make it 1-0 Red Sox. Annoying, but effective baseball from the Red Sox is doing the boring things that matter.
The Rays, meanwhile, had to get to Tolle before the game got away from them. After going quietly in the third, they finally cracked him in the fourth, with quite the two-out rally.
Vilade started it with a double to left with one out. Slater popped out, and it looked like another inning where another runner might be stranded. Then Cedric Mullins put a hard grounder through the infield and into right. Vilade rounded third, Wilyer Abreu came up throwing, and Vilade beat the play at the plate to tie the game. It was a welcome pressure release valve after the Rays had let Tolle off the hook earlier.
Then Ben Williamson followed with a shot to the wall in left center for a stand-up double, scoring Mullins and giving the Rays the lead. Nick Fortes kept things moving with another double, bringing Williamson home for a 3-1 lead.
Three doubles in the inning. Three runs. All scored with two outs.
Tolle had spent the first few innings bending but not breaking. In the fourth, the Rays finally found the weak spot and pushed through it.
Martinez took that lead and protected it. In the fifth, Austin Slater helped him out with a leaping catch in right field, robbing what could have been an extra bae hit off the bat of Mickey Gasper. Instead of a leadoff problem, Martinez had an out. He followed with two more lineouts to Chandler Simpson, and the Red Sox were back in the dugout.
The sixth was more of the same. Martinez got Mayer on a flyout, struck out Duran, and then retired Rafaela.
Tampa Bay added what felt like an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Ben Williamson singled with two outs, Fortes was hit by a pitch, and Richie Palacios lined a single to center to score Williamson and make it 4-1. Again, it came with two outs. Again, it showed the kind of inning extension that has not always been easy for this lineup. A three-run lead with Martinez dealing felt comfortable.
Baseball enjoys mocking comfort.
The Rays had a chance to push for more in the seventh after Vilade singled and Slater reached on a soft grounder to third. For a moment, it looked like another two-out rally was forming. Instead, Vilade got caught in a rundown between second and third, and the inning ended. The Rays still led by three, but leaving extra runs out there always has a way of becoming relevant later.
Sure enough, the eighth inning arrived with trouble attached.
Durbin singled. Kiner-Falefa singled. Then Mayer pulled a ground ball down the right field line that stayed just fair, scoring both runners and cutting the Rays’ lead to 4-3. The barely fair ball left the Rays barely leading. Martinez’s night ended there, and despite the late damage, it was still a strong outing.
Kevin Kelly entered with the tying run at second and nobody out, which is a lovely little stress test for a reliever. He got Duran to ground out, moving Mayer to third, then retired Rafaela and Abreu to escape with the lead intact, which was huge in this game.
The bottom of the eighth offered one more weird twist. Mullins reached on a strikeout and passed ball, giving Tampa Bay a needed baserunner. Williamson then lined a ball to center, but Rafaela made a great play and an even better throw to double Mullins off first. It was impressive for the Red Sox and inconvenient for the Rays.
So the Rays carried a one-run lead to the ninth, because of course they did. Thankfully, the Red Sox had no plans of ending their winless streak when trailing after eight innings this season.
Bryan Baker handled it with no drama, which felt like a generous gift at that point. Contreras popped out, Yoshida grounded out, and Gasper grounded out to finish a 4-3 Rays win.
The Rays look for the sweep on Wednesday with Drew Rasmussen slated to take the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm EDT.
Jun 9, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone (14) runs the bases after hitting a two run home run against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Don’t look now—but the Kansas City Royals officially have themselves a win streak. The Royals secured their third consecutive win (and fifth of their last six games) with a gutsy, impressive come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
The first few innings of the game were not particularly kind to the Royals. Texas starter and longtime veteran Nathan Eovaldi was initially excellent, navigating the first four innings without allowing a hit. Meanwhile, though Kansas City starter Stephen Kolek was plenty competent, the Rangers were able to chip away. They scored one in the second inning from a Wyatt Langford walk and back-to-back hits by Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger. The Rangers—or, well, Evan Carter—scored in the fourth inning with a single, some baserunning gumption, and bad Royals defense. Afterwards, it was 2-0, Rangers.
By the fifth inning, you started to wonder if Eovaldi would be able to shut out the Royals offense and send Kansas City sports fans home sad yet again; they only scored four runs total in their previous series at Kauffman Stadium against the Yankees, after all.
Fortunately, Jac Caglianone said no. After working a wildly impressive 11-pitch walk his first time up, it was time to hit. And Cags did, uncorking a beauty of a home run to right field for a solo shot to disassemble Eovaldi’s no-hit bid and put the Royals on the board.
Though the Royals wouldn’t score that inning, Cags’ home run broke the seal. The Royals started making hard contact on Eovaldi left and right. Carter Jensen led off with a ringing double in the sixth inning, and scored two batters later off a Maikel Garcia triple. Vinnie Pasquantino summoned the right field Pasquatch by launching a ground rule double to center field. That gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.
Then, Cags came up to bat against a brand new pitcher, lefty Jalen Beeks. Jac saw one pitch. He hit one pitch. And thus, a two-home run game was his. That gave the Royals a 5-2 lead.
The Rangers would claw another run back following a Joc Pederson triple in the seventh inning. Fortunately, that was the last run they would score. For a minute there, it sure looked like the Royals would need that extra insurance. Alex Lange came out of the bullpen to secure a save in the ninth inning and uncorked seven consecutive balls—well, six, and then a generous “strike” that the Rangers fortunately did not challenge. Two passed balls skipped by Jensen’s, which put Burger at third base. But Lange struck out Pederson to end the inning and the game.
One thing to keep an eye on after tonight’s contest is Kyle Isbel. Isbel rounded first base a little gimpy, and he was immediately taken out of the game to be replaced by Tyler Tolbert on the bases and then in center field. Hopefully it’s nothing too major.
Regardless, this was an impressive win for the Royals. It was the type of game two weeks ago that would have gotten out of hand, but Kansas City fought their way back. Caglianone finished the night with another single, putting him on base four times. The sooner he can get ahead of Salvador Perez in the lineup (who went 0-4 to lower his on base percentage on the year to an even .250), the better it will be for everyone. And just like that, the Royals are 4.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot.
Jun 9, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Jesus Sanchez (12) congratulates catcher Brandon Valenzuela (59) on his game winning walk off RBI single against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Phillies 2 Jays 3
Man, baseball is great.
In the top of the ninth, Louis Varland gave up his first run since Jesús (Sánchez) was a boy (yes, I’m going to hell). Well, since April 25th. Varland walked Bryce Harper to lead off the inning. Then got Brandon Marsh to strike out. Alec Bohm ground out, moving Harper to second and Bryson Slott doubled. A ground out (great play by Charles McAdoo at first base) ends the inning, but it seemed too late.
In the bottom of the inning:
Sánchez singled to start the inning (his homer was the Jays only run of the first eight innings). Myles Straw came in to pinch run (good move John). Yohendrick Piñango singled on a hit and run (our hardest hit ball of the game 103.9 MPH). I really don’t like the hit and run, but it looks so good when it works (it might have been a straight steal, and a hit by Lips). Runners on the corners. Daulton Varsho pinch ran for Lips. Varsho stole second. Pretty brave of the Jays. A wild pitch scored Straw.
And then Brandon Valenzuela played hero again, lining one over the drawn in infield. That was Jhoan Duran’s first blown save of the season. His ERA jumped all the way to 2.00 from 1.25.
Dylan Cease was amazing in his first start back after being on the IL. He went 6 innings, allowing just 3 hits, 1 earned (he gave up a pair of doubles in the first inning), a walk with 11 strikeouts. Sportsnet tells us he set a new Jays record with 29 whiffs. He was amazing.
Jeff Hoffman allowed a hit in the seventh, with two strikeouts. Before Bryson Stott’s single, he popped one up to near the Phillies dugout, Valenzuela and McAdoo both were close but it seemed neither called it and Brandon made a less second lunge towards it but missed. Plays like that really need to be made. Then, the ‘hit’ was a ground ball to short (not an easy play) but Andrés Giménez seemed to be a little slow in throwing it, and Stott was barely safe. Called out on the Phillies’ Challenge,
Mason Fluharty had a very quick eighth. Two lineouts and a strikeout.
The Phillies Zack Wheeler also had a terrific start. 6 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned, no walks and 5 strikeouts. Sánchez’s solo homer (he had a game) was the run against.
We had nine hits. Sánchez had 3, single, double, homer. Piñango 2. Ernie Clement, Giménez (with a hit by pitch) and McAdoo had 0 fors.
Jays of the Day: Sánchez (0.35 WPA), Piñango (0.27), Cease (0.19), Fluharty (0.11) and Hoffman (0.09). It also has Straw at 0.28 (for running the bases???) which I’m thinking is a typo of some sort.
The Other Award: Varland (-0.30 for the run in the ninth, the lead off walk was costly), Clement (-0.13) and McAdoo (-0.10). It has Valenzuela at a -0.13 but he had the game winning hit, so I think that must be an error.
Tomorrow we have game 3 of this series. Jesús Luzardo (4-4, 4.56) vs. Max Scherzer (1-3, 9.64) back from the IL.
I really enjoyed the GameThread again tonight. I will say that, you can call a player’s performance lousy, but if you (over and over) insult a player in a way that gets your comment deleted, don’t be surprised when the system bans you. A player’s play can be bad, but don’t make your complaints about him personal. If you do, I won’t miss you.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JUNE 09: Randy Arozarena #56 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with Julio Rodríguez #44 after hitting a two-run home run in the tenth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 09, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Over a two-week stretch from May 22 to June 5, the Orioles won ten of fourteen games, and looked to be edging their way back into a playoff position. Well, just a few days later, those good vibes seem pretty distant. It’s not that, numerically, the Orioles have dug themselves into an impossible hole, but that the on-field play looks so uneven that even if they did play themselves into a Wild Card, you doubt they’d do much with it.
Tonight’s 6-5, ten-inning loss was ridiculous in a couple of ways. Start with the offense making Seattle’s Logan Gilbert look like a sitting duck in the first inning (he had to throw 31 pitches and gave up a run to break his 17.2-inning scoreless streak), then disappearing for six innings, during which Gilbert retired fourteen in a row. Equally ridiculous: the Birds mounted a two-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth (against a lefty!), but they had to do it after Leody Taveras struck out by automatic violation after losing track of the count. Likewise ridiculous: after tying it, 4-4, to go to extras, the game-winning home run was a two-run bomb hit off Rico Garcia by Randy Arozarena on a slider that was half a foot off the plate. Finally, really ridiculous: the Birds were thrown out at the plate three times tonight. Tyler O’Neill accounted for two of them, including in the bottom of the ninth, with the game tied, 4-4. Blaze Alexander was the other one, in the bottom of the tenth, with his team down, 6-5, a run that would have staved off a loss.
I’m still processing through my feelings on this one. It felt, first and foremost, like offensive opportunities were wasted, both at the plate and on the basepaths. As I said, if you watched just the first inning, you’d have thought the O’s were on their way to an easy win. Five of the first nine O’s hitters reached off Gilbert, who, true to his scouting report, looked like his fastballs are a weakness.
That run, which feels like it was ages ago, came on two singles by Taylor Ward (solid as DH tonight) and Pete Alonso, who lost his bat in the stands before hitting a single the other way, a great walk by Colton Cowser, and a sac fly by Leody Taveras that would have been a hit but for M’s centerfielder Julio Rodríguez running to gobble it up.
At that point, I would have been stunned to hear that the O’s would rack up one hit and no more runs against Seattle’s starter, or that the latter would go six. But that’s exactly what we got. Stupid baserunning “helped,” as it has with the Orioles of late, when O’Neill, standing at third with two on and one out in the second, tried to score on a grounder. He failed, and the Orioles’ best chance for the first six innings evaporated.
After that: bupkis. After third-string catcher Sam Huff hit a one-out double in the second, Gilbert kept the O’s hitless between the second and seventh innings.
As for Trevor Rogers, he feels like an afterthought today. This start was [shrug]. His line—three runs in 5 2/3 innings—isn’t terrible, and he had just one bad inning, the fourth, when he gave up an Earl Weaver Special to Mitch Garver.
But more concerningly, this makes his third straight start in a row with obvious stamina problems. And he had just three strikeouts, none before the fourth inning. This might be the most concerning thing about Rogers this season (although I’d be open to other suggestions): his strikeout rate, which was a ludicrous 12.54 per game in a brief rookie debut in 2020 and an admirable 10.62 in his All-Star 2021, is down to 6.60 this year.
Back to the blow-by-blow. Andrew Kittredge was summoned to help Rogers close out the sixth inning, which he did nicely, but then he allowed a fourth run in the seventh, all on two outs, when with one on, Julio Rodríguez murdered a Kittredge sinker—I mean it, that thing left his bat at 115 mph—and Arozarena dumped a run-scoring single into left, making it 4-1. This felt insurmountable, and ultimately, it was, but not in the way you expected.
The Orioles got the run back in the bottom of the seventh, though I can’t say they made impressive contact doing it. Coby Mayo reached on an error and Jackson Holliday just legged out a bunt (it was fun to see him flaunt the speed). But then, whomp whomp, Tyler O’Neill hit into a double play. A buzzkill, but not a total rally-killer. Mariners reliever Alex Hoppe uncorked a dreadful curveball, and Mayo trotted home.
Keegan Akin and Tyler Wells pitched competent innings each of them, Wells, especially, with a pickoff of Victor Robles at first. Nice to see for the big guy.
Then came the fireworks. The Orioles had one more chance at a comeback in the ninth, although the odds felt long against a lefty in José Ferrer. Longer, even, when Leody Taveras led off the ninth by striking out in the stupidest way imaginable, losing track of the count with two strikes, and stepping outside of the box so long he got rung up for an automatic third strike.
The Birds weren’t deterred, though, and Coby Mayo, next man up, worked a great at-bat, fouling off a bunch of outside fastballs until he got a meatball down the middle. It was a beaut, the O’s’ biggest big blast of the game, and here is a link to balance out the bad with some good:
Now 4-3, the M’s probably still weren’t breaking a sweat, but maybe they started to when Jeremiah Jackson legged out a swinging bunt. Nothing seemed likely to happen with Tyler O’Neill up next, but O’Neill got a fastball from a lefty and did what we hoped he’d do all year: smack it. The ball went for a ground-rule double, but Jackson scored when pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo bounced a grounder to the right side of the infield. The game was tied, 4-4. There was a chance for more, as Taylor Ward walked (of course) to load the bases, but unfortunately, Gunnar (bad game for him today), hit a quick grounder, and lead runner O’Neill was thrown out at the plate for the second time tonight. We went to extras.
With a man on and reliable Rico Garcia on the mound, Randy Arozarena got this pitch and still managed to send it, oppo-style, to the flag court. Garcia looked amazed. So, if you’d seen me on my couch, did I.
Could the O’s counter?? Almost, is the answer. More shenanigans sunk them. Their ghost runner was Pete Alonso, exactly the last person you’d want. But he was actually fine. Blaze Alexander, who’s already done everything humanly possible for this team, took an HBP and then, with two on, no out, Leody Taveras made up for his boneheaded strikeout in the ninth, serving a single to right to score the Polar Bear. The lead was down to one. But Mayo hit a weird pop-out that Seattle second baseman Ryan Bliss fully laid out for. A stupid first out. More stupidity next: Jeremiah Jackson hit a grounder, and the speedy Blaze took off from third. Blaze wasn’t fast enough, and became the third Oriole to get cut down at home plate tonight. The comeback stalled, and the score stayed right there, 6-5 Seattle.
What a weird game. Give the Birds credit for rallying, down two in the ninth, against a lefty. So there’s some gumption here. But my sense, with three runs left at home plate, is that their baserunning game stinks. Just a thought. They’ll try to salvage what they can of this series tomorrow with Brandon Young facing George Kirby at 6:35 Eastern. Sheesh.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 15: Starting pitcher Yu Darvish #11 of the Chicago Cubs delivers the ball in the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on September 15, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hopping hot spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat. The vibe in here is cool. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We’ve still got a few tables available. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night I asked you for your opinion of the best Cubs trade of the 21st Century. (Some of you missed the “21st Century” part and made a plea for the Sandberg trade.) Among the trades actually made this century, you went with the deal that brought Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to Chicago with 53 percent of the vote. The trade for Anthony Rizzo came in second with 22 percent.
I think it’s possible in 25 years that we’ll say the Pete Crow-Armstrong deal was the best, but we still have to wait to see that play out.
On Tuesday nights, I don’t write about movies. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s start the music now. You can skip ahead if you want.
We’ve got one final performance from saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who left us last month to go on to the next gig. This is “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Camelot in 1962. Jim Hall is on guitar, Bob Cranshaw plays bass and Ben Riley is on drums.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.
Yesterday’s topic of what was the best Cubs trade of the 21st century got a lot of reaction, so I’m going to have to go on and ask you what was the Cubs’ worst trade of the 21st Century.
I really hate to ask these kinds of negative questions because being a fan is supposed to be fun and it’s no fun to be going over the Cubs’ failures. But I think we need to be objective and acknowledge that every team in baseball has made good trades and bad ones. These are the bad ones.
Here are the candidates for the Cubs’ worst trades of the 21st Century and some explanation as to why the Cubs made them.
July 7, 2008. Josh Donaldson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson to the Athletics for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.
The thinking behind this trade was clear. The Cubs needed a starting pitcher down the stretch in 2008. Rich Harden, who had a reputation as the American League’s Mark Prior for both his talent and his injury issues, was available.
Harden was actually very good for the Cubs down the stretch, going 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 starts. Gaudin was a good reliever in Oakland, but he was very poor for the Cubs in 2008, posting a 6.26 ERA.
The Cubs won 97 games that year and finished with the best record in the NL. But Harden lost Game 3 of the Division Series as the Dodgers completed the three-game sweep.
Sean Gallagher was the big name going back to Oakland when the deal was announced. Gallagher had an undistinguished four-year MLB career. But the second name in the deal was the Cubs’ first-round supplemental pick from the year before: Donaldson. He had destroyed short-season Boise in his first professional season, but was struggling in low-A Peoria in his second season when the deal happened. There were also many doubts he could stay as a catcher.
Those doubts about him as a catcher were correct, but he turned into a solid third baseman. Donaldson went on to play 13 years in the majors, make three All-Star teams and was the 2015 MVP.
Murton didn’t do much after leaving Chicago. Patterson was a decent utility infielder for a few years, but nothing special. The big loss here was Donaldson.
July 30, 2009. Josh Harrison, José Ascaino and Kevin Hart to the Pirates for Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow.
The Cubs were a game under .500 in 2009 when this trade was made and they were desperately trying to turn around a bad month of July and make the playoffs for the third-straight year. But they were 5.5 games behind the Giants for the final Wild Card and they would end up finishing far out from a playoff spot. Gorzelanny didn’t help much, posting a 5.63 ERA in seven starts and 13 appearances after the deal. He was better in 2010, but the Cubs were so poor it didn’t matter.
Grabow was a decent reliever in 2009, but he played two more years with the Cubs in 2010 and 2011 and was bad in both seasons. After that, he retired.
Neither Ascaino nor Hart did anything that would make the Cubs miss them. But Josh Harrison was having a great year with Peoria when traded and had just been promoted to High-A Daytona before the trade went down. Harrison went on to be a two-time All-Star with the Pirates and played 13 years in the majors and was a very good second baseman.
December 8, 2011. DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin to the Rockies for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers.
This was the first trade that Theo Epstein made as President of Baseball Operations for the Cubs and it was the worst trade he ever made. On top of it being a bad deal, there was no real reason for it other than the Cubs wanted a third baseman and thought Ian Stewart could be the guy. It’s not like they were dumping a contract or anything. This was a pure talent-for-talent trade and it was a terrible one.
LeMahieu would go on to a 15-year career in the majors. He’d win two batting titles, make three All-Star Games and win four Gold Gloves. Colvin didn’t do much of anything after the trade, but LeMahieu would go on to be one of those guys whom people would say that “Real fans know how good he is.”
Stewart was not only terrible with the Cubs, but he had a bad attitude and ended up getting released after blasting the front office on social media. Weathers never made the majors.
July 31, 2017. Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes to the Tigers for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson.
The Cubs got off to a bad start to the 2017 season as they tried to defend their title, but by the Trade Deadline they were firing on all cylinders and had crawled back into first place. But the Cubs had a backup catcher problem. Willson Contreras had established himself as the starting catcher in 2017, but David Ross had retired and Miguel Montero was unhappy about being on the bench and got traded after publicly complaining.
So without a real backup catcher, the Cubs made a deal for Avila, with Wilson to shore up the pen. Avila was a decent backup catcher for two months before he left as a free agent. Wilson was bad down the stretch in 2017 with a 5.09 ERA, although he was solid in 2018 with a a 3.46 ERA in 71 games. No matter, the Cubs lost the Championship Series to the Dodgers in five games.
With Kris Bryant firmly ensconced at third, the Cubs felt they could deal away two minor league third basemen: Candelario and Paredes. Candelario was a solid starting third baseman for the Tigers for six year and is still bouncing around the majors and is with the Angels right now. The Tigers would end up dealing Paredes to Tampa Bay, where he turned into a quality third baseman, making the All-Star Game with Tampa in 2024 and with Houston in 2025.
Ironically, the Cubs would end up trading back for both Paredes and Candelario after Bryant left.
December 29, 2020. Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini to the Padres for Owen Caissie, Zach Davies, Ismael Mena, Reginald Preciado and Yeison Santana.
You all know the reason for this trade. After the cut in revenue that the Cubs suffered after the COVID-19 pandemic kept all fans out of the ballpark in 2020, ownership ordered the front office to cut payroll. The Padres were one of the few teams willing to take on payroll that winter, so the Cubs had little choice but to get whatever they could out of San Diego.
Darvish pitched five seasons for the Padres and signed an extension that covers him through the 2028 season. That extension was probably a mistake by the Padres as it looks like Darvish’s career is over. He’s definitely out for the year this year.
But before age and injuries brought him down, Darvish made one All-Star Game with the Padres and had very good years there in 2021 and 2022. Since then he’s either been ineffective or battling injuries.
Caratini was Darvish’s personal catcher and played one OK season with the Padres.
Zach Davies had one bad year with the Cubs before leaving as a free agent. Of the four prospects, Mena and Santana washed out. Preciado is still with the Cubs in High-A South Bend, although he’s currently on the 60-day injured list. Caissie made the majors with the Cubs are was traded to Miami for Edward Cabrera. So the trade has basically broken down to Darvish for Cabrera.
December 17, 2024. Cody Bellinger to the Yankees for Cody Poteet.
This deal was also a pure salary dump, although it was one that didn’t need to happen if the Cubs hadn’t traded for Kyle Tucker. I considered putting the Tucker trade on this list, but we really don’t know how the players the Cubs traded to Houston are going to work out. Paredes is Paredes. After a strong start for Cam Smith with the Astros, he’s been pretty so-so since. He’s also been a right fielder, which was and is a problem for the Cubs.
But we know Poteet never played for the Cubs and was sold to the Orioles for cash before the 2025 season even started. We also know that Bellinger was about as good for the Yankees last year as Tucker was for the Cubs. Yes, he took advantage of Yankee Stadium and he might not have been as good in Chicago, but the upgrade from Bellinger to Tucker wasn’t huge. And Bellinger has certainly been a better player than Tucker in 2026, although both were free agents after last year so that doesn’t really play a role here.
So the Bellinger trade gets listed here because it was a salary dump, bringing back nothing, to make room for a player who turned out to be not much better than Bellinger was.
So now it’s time to vote.
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JUNE 09: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers can't catch a ball hit by Maikel Garcia of the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 09, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Kansas City Royals scored five runs.
At one point, as we were entering the bottom of the fifth inning of this game, the Rangers had collected eight hits and the Royals had collected zero. Man, the Rangers must have been destroying the AL’s worst team right? Well, no. Because of a bad batch of sequencing, and a dearth of extra base hits, the Rangers led only 2-0 at that point.
Aside from a two-bagger from Ezequiel Duran in the top of the second, the other seven of Texas’ initial eight hits were singles and worse, a great majority of those came with two outs. That required the Rangers to sustain long rallies with little wiggle room, which simply didn’t manifest for the most part.
The Rangers scored their first run on their best rally of the night, but one that was ultimately wasted if the goal was to bust the game open and take a big lead. After Wyatt Langford walked to lead off the second, Duran hit his double, and then Jake Burger singled Langford home. But with two on and still no one out, the Rangers hit two ground balls in a row with the second one a double play that allowed tonight’s KC starter Stephen Kolek and the Royals to escape the inning with Texas up just 1-0.
The Rangers didn’t even need a run-scoring hit to plate their second run thanks to Evan Carter using his legs to menace Kansas City into a couple of throwing errors. After Carter singled with two outs in the top of the third, he reached second on an errant pickoff throw and then scored when KC catcher Carter Jensen threw the ball away attempting to throw Carter out on a steal attempt at third base.
However, with eight hits, the Rangers wasted plenty of chances for that elusive bases-clearing extra base hit that could have broken open the game. Turns out, they were saving them all up for the Royals. How kind. By the end of the sixth inning it was 5-2 Royals as Kansas City collected the next six hits of the game. All of them went for extra bases. All but two of those came off tonight’s starter Nathan Eovaldi who was a tad wild early with three walks but mostly cruising along.
Ironically, Texas’ next and only other hit of the night was a triple by Joc Pederson and the Royals’ only two hits the rest of the way were a couple of singles that did no damage.
Overall, that was a pretty annoying experience and just the latest of several chances for Texas to move back to .500 that went to waste.
Player of the Game: Josh Jung and Brandon Nimmo led the way with a couple of hits apiece. All four of those hits were singles, however.
Up Next: The Rangers will resume the climb back to .500 with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Seth Lugo for Kansas City.
The Wednesday evening first pitch from Kauffman Stadium is again scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 9: Brandon Valenzuela #59 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates behind Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies after hitting a walk-off RBI single during the ninth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 9, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Toronto Blue Jays (32-35) got some help from Jhoan Duran’s faulty PitchCom as they walked it off against the Philadelphia Phillies (36-30) by a score of 3-2 in game two of the series.
Zack Wheeler and Dylan Cease went punch for punch as two of the best starters in the game, each allowing one run across six innings of work. It was Cease’s first start back after two weeks on the injured list and he showed no signs of rust, striking out 11 Phillies hitters.
Both bullpens held serve bridging the gap to their closers, with Orion Kerkering going an inning plus and Jose Alvarado shutting the door in the eighth. Jeff Hoffman also pitched a scoreless seventh inning after struggling much of the year for the Jays.
Louis Varland and Duran will both likely take the mound at or near the end of the All Star Game in July, but tonight they were unextraordinary.
Varland came into the game with a 0.26 ERA and doubled it with his second earned run allowed of the season in 36+ innings when he walked Bryce Harper on four pitches to open the inning and Harper later came home to score on an inside out punch shot RBI double by Bryson Stott down the left field line to give the Phillies the 2-1 advantage.
Duran had been perfect in save opportunities on the season but after allowing a lead-off single to Sanchez to begin the bottom of the inning, he began complaining of issues with the PitchCom receiver in his hat. It was clearly not resolved during his next at bat against Yohendrick Pinango, as he crossed up JT Realmuto on a pitch that caught JT near the wrist and caused the Phillies staff to bring out a replacement receiver. Up 0-2 against Jays’ catcher, Brandon Valenzuela, a breaking ball got away from Duran and Realmuto and the tying run came home on the wild pitch. Valenzuela turned on a fastball down the middle on the next pitch to end it.
Jesus Luzardo takes the mound in the rubber match against Max Scherzer who is also making his first start back from the injured list after being sidelined since late April.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 09: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run for his first Major League home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on June 09, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Spencer Jones experiment has been extremely interesting over the first few weeks we’ve seen it. Yankee fans have been wondering aloud how a player with such titanic power, but such concerning holes in his swing, would fare against big-league pitching.
The early results have been mixed. He’s kept up his reputation as someone who usually gets a hit whenever he makes contact and he hasn’t looked too overmatched, but he’s also still running a gigantic strikeout rate. It probably doesn’t help that he keeps facing flamethrowers.
We’ve all been wondering, though, when we’d see that titanic power. It turns out, all we needed was to see him get a mistake from a softer throwing righty, as he pummeled a cutter left over the plate by Slade Cecconi for his first major league home run in the second inning to give the Yanks an early lead. A later home run by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and an impressive five-out save by Fernando Cruz finished off a 3-2 win over the Guardians to secure a series victory.
The game started innocently enough on both sides. Paul Goldschmidt was the only baserunner in a scoreless first for Slade Cecconi, while Gerrit Cole sat down the Guardians 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
That ended as soon as the second inning started. Chisholm worked a six-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2 before Cecconi grooved an absolute cookie down the pipe on 1-0 to Jones, who demolished it 443 feet to dead center field for his first career home run, giving the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead.
Cole got into trouble in the bottom half after a single by Rhys Hoskins and a catcher’s interference call, but worked out of it. Trent Grisham and Goldschmidt both hit singles in the third to threaten further, but a heads up play by Kyle Manzardo cut down on Grisham at the plate on a potential double play ball.
Things unraveled for Cole in the third. After two quick outs, he gave up a single to perennial Yankee killer José Ramirez, who then stole second. With two outs and a runner on second, Chase DeLauter smoked a ball up the middle that Anthony Volpe completely misread, jumping out of the way instead of knocking it down, leading to an RBI single.
While that play could’ve ended the inning, it’s hard to put full blame on Volpe for the rest of the inning. Cole lost Manzardo, plunked Hoskins, and failed to cover first on a play that will give you major flashbacks to tie the game at two. Did all of these extra pitches and baserunners happen because Volpe didn’t make the play? Sure, but if any pitcher should be able to pick up his defense, it’s Cole.
The Yankees had a chance to respond in the fourth after singles by Jones and Ryan McMahon, but stranded them. Cleveland had a chance to take the lead on a laboring Cole with a long single by Austin Hedges and a walk by Travis Bazzana, but the former Cy Young gritted his way through the end of a difficult, four-inning outing.
After Cecconi worked around a two-out walk in the fifth, the Guardians threatened again off Paul Blackburn, putting runners on the corners with one out. The struggling Steven Kwan tried to safety squeeze Manzardo home, but Blackburn made a head’s up play off the mound to tag him out trying to score.
Cecconi finished up his outing with another scoreless inning in the sixth, putting a bow on a second consecutive quality start against the Yankees. Blackburn, Tim Hill, and Camilo Doval were able to get the next six outs to send this game into the eighth, still tied at two.
Tim Herrin, who tossed a scoreless seventh, got to start the eighth and jumped ahead of Chisholm 0-2. For the second time today, a Guardians pitcher was unable to execute a pitch to put away the Yankees’ second baseman, running the count full before hanging a slider that was demolished into the right field seats for a go-ahead home run.
Herrin was pulled for Matt Festa with one out, who got out of the inning after allowing a single to McMahon. With the bullpen depleted, Aaron Boone went to Jake Bird to start the eighth, and just like yesterday, a Yankees’ reliever failed to get outs against their lane. With two on and one out, Boone pulled him for the only fresh reliever on the roster, Fernando Cruz, who did his usual sorcery to get out of the inning with a strikeout of Bazzana and a flyout from J-Ram.
Shawn Armstrong put up a quick 1-2-3 inning for the Guardians in the top of the ninth, setting up Cruz to go for the five-out save. Walking DeLauter on four pitches wasn’t a great start, but he got a pair of swords to strike out Manzardo and Hoskins. Angel Martinez was the last man standing, and he was equally helpless against the deadliest splitter in the game, as Cruz locked down just his second save as a Yankee.
The Yanks will go for the sweep in another mid-week matinee against the Guardians tomorrow at 1:10 pm EST on YES. It’ll be Carlos Rodón up against lefty Parker Messick.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 09: Andy Pages #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on June 9, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Eric Lauer held his own against Paul Skenes into the sixth inning, then the Dodgers broke loose against Not Paul Skenes in a 12-3 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
A tie game entering the seventh inning quickly became untied as Pirates reliever Wilber Dotel allowed five hits and a walk to his six batters faced, and all of them scored. Andy Pages hit a two-run home run to break things open.
It took 10 Dodgers to bat in the seventh before the Pirates bullpen recorded its first out. And they weren’t done yet. Two games after a nine-run inning against the Angels that was the Dodgers’ best in five years, they scored 10 runs in the seventh inning on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
PNC Park stands at the confluence of three rivers in Pittsburgh, so perhaps adding a fourth River into the mix might represent a Roberto Clemente Bridge too far. So while River Ryan is in Charlotte and set to start on Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Lauer remains in the rotation, and thus far has basically done exactly what was asked of him when the Dodgers acquired the left-hander from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17.
What was an uphill battle facing Skenes was smoothed out a bit by Lauer pitching as deep as he did, and the Dodgers giving themselves several chances against the Pirates ace.
In five starts against Skenes, the Dodgers have 25 total hits (in 112 at-bats), but 13 are for extra-bases. Mookie Betts got one of those with a double to lead off the second inning, and scored the first run for Los Angeles. Max Muncy doubled with one out in the fourth, but Skenes struck out Kyle Tucker and Ryan Ward to end that threat.
But the Dodgers kept threatening against Skenes, reaching base in every inning from the second through the sixth, including a one-out double in the sixth by Freeman, his 2,499th career hit. One out later, Max Muncy grounded a ball that took a hop past second baseman Brandon Lowe for his third hit of the game, scoring Freeman with the equalizer.
As good as Skenes has been this season — a 3.08 ERA, 2.29 xERA — the Pirates have managed to lose eight of his 14 starts, despite having a winning record (34-33) overall. Seeing the bullpen makes that more understandable.
Two sides of aggression
Dalton Rushing walked to open the fifth, but his slide into second base on a grounder might have been acceptable 50 years ago, well off the bag and into Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo. Instead, he was rightfully called for interference, turning a forceout into a double play, neutering a potential scoring opportunity.
Rushing channeled that aggression more productively in the seventh inning, with a single and going from first base to third on a single to left center. Then on a pickoff throw by catcher Henry Davis, Rushing went back into the bag standing up, remaining in the way of third baseman Nick Gonzalez. The throw hit Rushing and caromed into foul territory, allowing him to easily score the go-ahead run.
That run seemed important at the time, but got washed away under the avalanche of runs during the frame.
Tuesday particulars
Home runs: Andy Pages (15); Bryan Reynolds (7), Ryan O’Hearn (10)
The Dodgers and Pirates are back at it on Wednesday (3:40 p.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network), with Shohei Ohtani on the mound for the middle game of the series, and Jared Jones pitching for the Pirates in his third start back from the injured list. Weather permitting, of course.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JUNE 09: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with Cole Young #2 after hitting a three-run home run in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 09, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mariners 6, Orioles 5
Craig from Richland: The Seattle Mariners 100% WPA
Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit homers and the Yankees bullpen delivered five scoreless frames as New York grabbed a 3-2 win over the Guardians on Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Jones’ two-run home run was the first of his big league career as the Yanks (40-26) grabbed the first two games of the series over Cleveland (37-32).
The Yanks, who only got four innings from starter Gerrit Cole in his fourth start of the season, scored all their runs on the homers and went 1-for-5 with RISP (a non-RBI single) and left nine runners on base.
Here are the takeaways...
- Jones put the Yanks ahead in the second with a two-run home run that got out of the park in a hurry. The big lefty got a center-cut Slade Cecconi 87 mph cutter and unloaded on it: 443 feet, 112.2 mph off the bat to straight away center. The 25-year-old, who had 13 homers across 43 games at Triple-A this year, got his first big league big fly in his 33rd career at-bat and finished the night 2-for-4.
- Chisholm, who was once again using injured slugger Aaron Judge's bat, put the Yanks back ahead to start the eighth, getting just enough of a 3-2 slider from Tim Herrin for a high 360-foot homer to right (107.3 mph with a 41-degree launch angle).
Earlier in the at-bat, Chisholm got a big gift from home plate umpire Jacob Metz, who struggled all night behind the plate. The second baseman took an 0-2 slider low-and-away that caught the corner and the bottom of the zone, but Metz called it a ball and Clevleand didn’t challenge.
He finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Chisholm is now 7-for-39 in his last nine games with four home runs, seven RBI, four walks, and 12 strikeouts.
- The first three men out of the Yanks bullpen kept the game tied, with Paul Blackburn allowing three hits over 1.2 innings, Tim Hill adding an out, and Camilo Doval allowing a single before erasing it with a 4-6-3 inning-ender.
Blackburn got out of a first and third jam in his first inning as he made a great play fielding Steven Kwan’s safety squeeze, tagging the runner 15 feet from the plate before ending the threat with a pop out.
Protecting a one-run lead, Jake Bird got the first man in the eighth, but a single and a walk saw him lifted for Fernando Cruz, who got Travis Bazzana fishing and Jose Ramirez to fly out to center to strand two.
With David Bednar presumably unavailable after throwing 27 pitches in Monday's win, Cruz got the ninth and walked the first batter he faced. The right recovered for his five-out save, getting Kyle Manzardo swinging over a splitter as the Yanks got the benefit on a close check swing call, Rhys Hoskins swinging over a splitter, and Angel Martínez swinging over a splitter to end it.
- Cole got close to a dream start with a pair of strikeouts in a perfect first, the second came when a pitch clock violation ended an eight-pitch battle with ChaseDeLauter. Cole allowed his first hit with one down in the second and a catcher’s interference put two on with two down, but avoided any damage.
With two down in the third, Cole got stung: Ramirez lined a knuckle curve up the middle and, after stealing second without a throw, came around when DeLauter lined a changeup right through Anthony Volpe for an RBI single. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, and despite a great diving stop by Paul Goldschmidt down the line, Martínez beat Cole, who didn’t get a great jump, and slid headfirst to the bag to beat the pitcher, who slid feet-first. The righty left them loaded, but needed 29 pitches, with 21 to get the final out.
The 19-foot high wall in left field saved Cole a homer to start the fourth as Austin Hedges had to settle for a 374-foot single that would have been gone in 26 MLB parks. A walk put two aboard with one down as the veteran didn’t look pleased with himself, as pitching coach Matt Blake made a second visit in as many innings. This time, the visit did the trick as Cole closed his tough day by leaving two on base.
His final line in his fourth start of the season: 4.0 innings, two runs on five hits and two walks (one HBP) with four strikeouts on 83 pitches (53 strikes).
- Goldschmidt singled in each of his first two times at the plate, the latter gave the Yanks runners at the corners with one down in the third, as it was ripped too hard into right to score Trent Grisham from second. That proved costly as Cody Bellinger’s tapper to first saw the runner gunned down at the plate and Chisholm then popped up to center to strand two.
Goldschmidt finished 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and made a few nice plays at first.
Bellinger went hitless in over three at-bats, reaching once with a walk.
- The Yankees got another chance with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth after singles by Jones and Ryan McMahon. But again failed to score as J.C. Escarra struck out swinging for the second time in two times up and Grisham’s grounder was gloved by the Guardians' second baseman, Bazzana, deep on the grass.
Grisham finished with one hit in four times up with a strikeout swinging.
Escarra extended his hitless run to 13 at-bats with four strikeouts as he failed to reach base in four chances.
McMahon ended up 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Volpe’s struggles at the plate continued as he went down swinging and went down looking in his first two at-bats and finished 0-for-4. He is now in a 6-for-37 funk with eight strikeouts in his last 10 games.
Volpe, who got the start at shortstop on Tuesday ahead of Jose Caballero, wasn't charged with an error for the ball he couldn't field that led to Cleveland’s two-run third, as he never touched the ball, but it was a play the former Gold Glove winner should have made. The ball wasn't struck particularly hard (96.6 mph exit velocity), but it appeared the flight and bounce fooled him.
- Ben Rice went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
Game MVP: Yankee pitchers
The Bronx haulers surrendered 10 hits, four walks, and a hit batter, but limited Cleveland to two runs as the Guardians went 2-for-10 with RISP and left 13 on base and tallied nine strikeouts.
New York goes for the sweep in Wednesday's matinee with first pitch set for 1:10 p.m.
Carlos Rodon (2.88 ERA, 1.200 WHIP in 25 innings) gets the ball for the Yanks. The home side will send out their own southpaw in Parker Messick (2.40 ERA, 1.067 WHIP in 75 innings).
Jun 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) reacts in front of New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) after a double during the third inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The Mets began their homestand on a sour note, falling the the Cardinals 7-0 at Citi Field. Six of those seven runs were surrendered by Freddy Peralta (four of them in a single inning), who had one of his worst starts of the season. Meanwhile, the Mets failed to get anything of substance going against Dustin May, failing to capitalize on opportunities, as has been the case so often this season.
After a relatively easy first inning for both pitchers, AJ Ewing laced a one-out double in the second to become the Mets’ first baserunner. Ewing would go on to be the only Met to have a multi-hit game this evening. A passed ball by rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks advanced Ewing to third, but May struck out Marcus Semien and Brett Baty back-to-back to neutralize the early threat.
The Cardinals then proceeded to drop a four spot on Freddy Peralta in the third. Peralta walked Nolan Gorman to lead off the inning and then Nathan Church doubled to put runners at second and third and nobody out. Rookie JJ Wetherholt then laced a single to score both runners and put the Cardinals on the board. Peralta then hit Iván Herrera with the a pitch before finally striking out Alec Burleson for the first out of the inning. But Jordan Walker then doubled to score Wetherholt and extend the Cardinals lead to 3-0. Lars Nootbaar then hit a grounder to second and Marcus Semien appropriately looked the runners back before throwing to first base, but Iván Herrera broke home on the throw anyway and beat out the play at the plate to make it 4-0 Cardinals.
The Mets had at least one runner on base in each of the next two innings, giving them a chance to chip away, but failed to capitalize each time. In his first at-bat back from the injured list, Francisco Alvarez singled with one out in the third, but was unfortunately promptly erased on a double play by Carson Benge. Juan Soto broke an 0-for-16 skid with a one-out single in the fourth for the Mets’ third hit. Jared Young threatened to end that rally with a double play as well, but the Mets challenged the out call at first base and the call was overturned, placing Young safely at first base. Marcus Semien then gave one a ride, but Nathan Church made an excellent basket catch on the warning track in center field after getting turned around multiple times before the ball found its way into his glove.
The Cardinals added to their lead further in the fifth when Iván Herrera blooped a one-out single in front of A.J. Ewing, who broke back initially and then couldn’t recover in time as the ball dropped in front of him—a rare miscue for Ewing in center field. Alec Burleson made the Mets pay by launching a two-run homer over the left-center field wall to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 6-0. Despite elevated pitch counts, both starting pitchers got through six innings. The Cardinals tacked on yet another run against Joey Gerber in the seventh in the form of back-to-back doubles by Herrera, who reached base five times on the night for the first time in his career, and Burleson. The Mets clearly intended to ask Gerber to finish the game, but after coming out to the mound for his third inning of work in the ninth, he returned to the dugout with the trainer to tend to what appeared to be a blister. Cionel Pérez pitched the top of the ninth for the Mets instead and he delivered a scoreless frame.
Justin Bruihl pitched two scoreless innings in relief of May and Matt Svanson finished things off with a scoreless ninth for the Cardinals, as the Mets were shut out for the fourth time this season.
Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +9% WPA Big Mets loser: Freddy Peralta, -29% WPA Mets pitchers: -29% WPA Mets hitters: -21% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing’s one-out double in the bottom of the second, +4.4% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Nathan Church’s double in the top of the third, -11.9% WPA
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been rolling lately and took their momentum into Pittsburgh to test themselves against the Pirates and starting pitcher Paul Skenes.
Skenes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season, tied for fifth with 89 strikeouts. Teams hardly score when's on the mound, his WHIP at 0.91, third best in MLB.
The 24-year-old, Southern California native grew up in Orange County as a Los Angeles Angels fan. Historically, whenever Skenes goes against the "Boys in Blue," he's dominated. Skenes entered Tuesday with a 3-1 career record in four appearances against the Dodgers with an ERA of 2.70 and 33 strikeouts.
During their June 9 meeting, Skenes delivered seven strikeouts, including one against Shohei Ohtani. In six innings, he allowed six hits and two runs in 103 pitches.
The Pirates took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on back-to-back solo home runs from Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O'Hearn. Reynolds went yard, sending it 422 feet out of the park, while O'Hearn blasted his 355 feet.
The Dodgers' first score of the game came in the second inning. The sequence began with Mookie Betts, who hit a double to center field. Max Muncy followed with a single to right field as Betts advanced to third. LA scored a run thanks to a sacrifice fly that Kyle Tucker hit to center field.
The Dodgers later tied the game after a Muncy single found a gap and bounced right past Pirates' second baseman Brandon Lowe straight into right field. Muncy was awarded an RBI as Freddie Freeman scored in the sixth inning.
That inning marked the end of Skenes' night. He was relieved for Wilber Dotel. The score was tied 2-2 as Skenes left the game.
Dodgers light up Pirates bullpen in closing innings
The Dodgers were relatively quiet throughout the game with Skenes on the mound. But LA began to find motion at the plate once Skenes was relieved. It was open season and Dotel was the victim.
The Dodgers exploited the Pittsburgh bullpen with 10 runs in the seventh inning.
Among the highlights of the inning: Freddie Freeman hit a milestone, cracking his 2,500th hit.
Dodgers missing starting catcher
The Dodgers were without starting All-Star catcher Will Smith against Pittsburgh.
Smith remained out of the Dodgers' lineup during Tuesday's matchup with the Pirates. He has been out since Saturday's game against the Angels with a stiff neck, according to Sports Illustrated's Noah Camras.
Dave Roberts said he was expected back on Sunday but Smith didn't play. The Dodgers had a day off Monday.
Paul Skenes stats vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Here is the final look at Paul Skenes' pitching performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers:
