LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 14: Tomoyuki Sugano #11 of the Colorado Rockies gets set to throw a pitch in the fifth inning during a regular season game against the Athletics at Las Vegas Ballpark on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a game that got a little too close for comfort in the later innings, the Colorado Rockies escaped with a series-opening 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. The second game of the series and the homestand provides the Rockies with another shot at Paul Skenes this season in a top notch pitching matchup against Tomoyuki Sugano.
The Rockies last faced Skenes back on May 12th in a 3-1 loss out at PNC Park. Skenes dominated in that one, working six hitless innings to start the day before ending things after eight innings pitched with 10 strikeouts to just two hits. Michael Lorenzen held his own, but the Rockies offense couldn’t overcome a Skenes masterpiece.
Things have taken a turn for the worse for the Pittsburgh ace since that point in the season. That win against Colorado in May put Skenes at 6-2 on the year with a 1.98 ERA. A month and a half later, he now sits at 6-6, including three straight losses after the Rockies matchup. He’s still finding strikeouts, averaging over seven a game in that span, but he’s also giving up his fair share of hits, averaging nearly six a game during that same stretch, a noticeable jump up from his early season outings.
Skenes’ “struggles”, relatively, highlight his dominance. Even during this winless stretch where his numbers aren’t up to par, he still boasts a 2.85 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP on the year, with the latter good enough for fifth-best in the majors. His 99 strikeouts are top-10, as is his .199 batting average against. Although the Pirates are struggling and the pitching wins aren’t coming, he remains ever dangerous.
Sugano is riding a different wave of fortune into tonight’s matchup, logging wins in his last three starts. Aside from surrendering eight runs in a weird 23-9 win over the Athletics out in Las Vegas, Sugano has looked sharp as of late and has limited runs, giving up three or fewer in five of his last six starts. He enters tonight with a 7-4 record in 14 starts, a 4.54 ERA, and a 1.336 WHIP.
With two strong starters scheduled for this game, and with last night’s affair being decided by one run, the Rox and Bucs could be in for another tight one. Sugano looks to keep things going, while Skenes looks to turn things around. Both have the ability to keep runs off the board early. Like May’s Skenes vs. Lorenzen battle, tonight may come down to whichever offense can string together a slight edge first.
Elmer Rodriguez of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders enters the field before a Minor League Baseball game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, United States, on May 23, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
We don’t get an ace-off after all. With the Yankees trying to manage a pitching rotation that’s both played at its highest level and seen its share of injuries, Gerrit Cole will be pushed back a day and make his start with an additional day of rest on Monday in Detroit. The club is trying to avoid three straight turns the the rotation on five days’ rest, especially with a careful eye on Cole’s surgically repaired elbow. Rookie Elmer Rodríguez will be called upon to make his third start of the season in the finale with the Reds tomorrow.
ERC looked every bit the part of a rookie starter during his two previous outings in May, in particular demonstrating a lack of control that needs to be his primary focus in order to be a full timer in the big leagues. A 14.1-percent walk rate is a jump from his already-high 11-percent mark with Triple-A Scranton. Getting the ball in the strike zone will be his task against the Reds.
Boone said Elmer Rodriguez will start Sunday. Desire is to give each of the starters an extra day so the rotation doesn’t go three straight turns on five days rest. Cole will start Monday in Detroit. Jake Bird optioned as the Rodriguez move
The corresponding move for Rodríguez is that the ever-scuffling Jake Bird goes down to Scranton, and frankly that just means that Aaron Boone will no longer be tempted to put him into a game. It’s a win all around as far as I’m concerned.
These kinds of moves are one of the perks of being a first-place team. Everyone in baseball is trying to figure out how to manage the health of their pitching staff, and the Yankees have a chance to inject an extra bit of rest into the group. Losing on Saturday makes things a little more stressful for young ERC, because you want to win series too, but giving a veteran a little extra time isn’t a bad idea in my book.
Jun 18, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) is tagged out while trying to steal by New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
NEW YORK (AP) — Sal Stewart tied a career high with six RBI and the Cincinnati Reds pulled away for a 10-2 rout of the New York Yankees on Saturday.
The rookie gave the Reds the lead with a two-run double in the third off Will Warren (7-2) and lifted a sacrifice fly during a four-run fifth that followed a fielding error by New York first baseman Ben Rice.
Stewart capped his day with a bases-clearing double in the eighth that expanded Cincinnati’s lead to 9-1.
He also drove in six on April 15 against the San Francisco Giants.
Spencer Steer hit a three-run homer in the fifth as the Reds won for the sixth time in 17 games without Elly De La Cruz, who began a minor league rehab assignment on Friday.
Rookie Edwin Arroyo had four hits and reached base five times as the Reds finished with 15 hits.
Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (4-5) allowed one run and five hits in five-plus innings.
The Reds scored four unearned runs in the fifth off Warren after Rice could not catch shortstop Anthony Volpe’s throw to first base on Arroyo’s grounder.
After the error and Stewart’s fly ball, Steer hit a 2-1 sinker into the left field seats for a 6-1 lead.
Abbott loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the fifth but got out of the inning by getting a called third strike on Paul Goldschmidtthat was upheld via ABS after the Yankees challenged.
Goldschmidt homered in the first for the Yankees, who fell to 10-6 since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured right rib.
New York went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position in its most lopsided loss of the season.
Warren allowed six runs -- two earned -- and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.
Up Next
Cincinnati RHP Chase Burns (8-1, 2.01 ERA) faces New York RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57) on Sunday.
We are roughly 3 weeks away from the 2026 MLB Draft, where, after being locked out of the top 9 picks of the draft like they were in 2024, the Nationals will be picking 11th overall, with picks 42nd, 78th, and 106th overall coming on the rest of day one as well. It will be the new front office’s first draft for the Nats organization, as great baseball minds from the Red Sox, Pirates, and other ballclubs come together to form the Nationals draft war room.
There haven’t been many rumors about the Nats’ preferences in this draft class, with the only prevalent player rumor being how they have been digging deeper than most clubs on two-way prepster Jared Grindlinger. What has also come out, and perhaps could be deduced from the front office’s draft history, is that there is a good chance the Nats will take a college hitter with their first-round pick if they do not select Grindlinger. It makes sense, as barring an unexpected slide from one of the top 3 prep bats, there aren’t really any prep hitters worthy of going borderline top 10, and grabbing college pitching in the first round has never been a focus of this front office with their former ballclubs.
There is a plethora of college bats in the range of the Nationals’ pick worth considering, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s analyze 8 of their most likely candidates and find out which one stands out above the rest for the Nationals.
Burress is the least likely of this group to be available at the Nationals’ pick, but if he is, he would be a slam-dunk pick for the Nats. After being one of the best hitters in the country his first 2 years, Burress’ offensive numbers took a slight step back in 2026, but for him that still means a 1.130 OPS in one of the toughest conferences in college baseball. Despite his 5’9 stature, Burress contains easily plus raw power, with a 97th percentile average exit velocity, and he knows how to maximize it, with a 90th percentile barrel rate and 92nd percentile pulled flyball rate.
Burress has some swing and miss to his game, with a 53rd percentile whiff rate in 2026, but he doesn’t chase a lot and takes his walks, with a walk rate 2% higher than his strikeout rate. He has some speed to his game, which allowed him to swipe 10 bags this season, but it benefits him most in centerfield, where he is a solid defender with a plus arm. Burress knows how to hit, and grades out as at least a solid defender in centerfield at the next level, making him a home run pick for the Nationals if they get a chance at him.
Lebron is a very divisive player in this draft class, as while his tools are loud and the reward for fixing his issues is huge, those issues may also prevent him from ever being a plus big leaguer. In back-to-back seasons, Lebron dominated to begin the year, before seeing his numbers plummet in SEC play. His 19th percentile in-zone contact rate is terrifying when considering taking a prospect 11th overall, and his chase rate isn’t elite enough where you can see him working counts enough to minimize it, only 53rd percentile.
While the hit tool is very suspicious, Lebron has just about every other tool you could ask for. His raw power is plus, with a 94th percentile average exit velocity; his speed is elite, with 42 stolen bases in 61 games; and his defense was up and down in 2026, but projects to be above average long term. It’s easy to see how, even if Lebron is only an average big league hitter, he would be one of the most valuable big shortstops in baseball. If you can tolerate the risk of Lebron’s bat preventing him from reaching the bigs, he would be a solid pick for the Nationals.
Plain and simple, Hacopian can hit. In maybe the toughest conference in all of baseball, Hacopian posted a 92nd percentile whiff rate, 88th percentile chase rate, and 84th percentile average exit velocity, the best mix of those 3 numbers in all of college baseball. His surface-level numbers aren’t quite at the level of a few other hittersin the class, but if you are trying to project who will be a plus hitter at the professional level, Hacopian’s performance data is as good as anyone’s, and if he starts pulling the ball in the air a little more (40th percentile in 2026), he could take it to a whole other level.
Defensively, Hacopian bounced around the infield for the Aggies in 2026, but is probably a second or third baseman long-term, where he grades average to below average. He isn’t the speediest guy in the world either, with just 6 steals over 3 college seasons, but if you’re drafting Hacopian, it’s for his bat, and he could potentially find his way into the Nationals’ big league lineup as soon as 2028 if he were their pick.
Curiel had a rough start to his 2026 season, which had me thinking of him more as a Nationals 2nd round option than a first-round one, but he rebounded excellently in SEC play and is certainly in the discussion to go 11th overall. Curiel may have the best bat-to-ball skills in the draft class, with a 95th percentile whiff rate in 2026, and a decent 68th percentile chase rate to go along with it. The in-game power has not quite arrived for Curiel yet, but there is some raw power in there, with an 86th percentile average exit velocity, and he knows how to lift the baseball, with an 87th percentile barrel rate. He will need to work on his 21st percentile pulled flyball rate if he wants to get into more home run power at the next level.
Curiel has a chance to stick in center field professionally, but if he does not, he should be a solid defender in left field. Curiel’s profile is very reminiscent of Daylen Lile, a left-handed outfielder with elite bat-to-ball skills and enough raw power to drive the ball out of the park consistently when he is hot, and he could be a strong pick for the Nationals in the first round.
Few hitters have progressed as much as Helfrick has in his time at Arkansas, and now the power-hitting catcher has a chance to become a top 10 pick in this year’s draft. Helfrick has plus raw power, with a 92nd percentile average exit velocity in 2026, and he knows how to use it, with a 93rd percentile barrel rate and 66th percentile pulled flyball rate this season. The hit tool was the primary concern entering the season, but it looked much improved this season, jumping from 11th percentile in-zone contact rate in 2025 to 52nd percentile in 2026. Helfrick also has great plate discipline, with his 79th percentile chase rate resulting in an excellent 19.1% walk rate.
Defensively, Helfrick is very well regarded behind the dish, with a strong arm and excellent framing ability. He even has some sneaky speed, stealing 8 bags and being caught just once in 2026. As long as the power and defense remain great, Helfrick should end up being at least an average big league catcher, and would be a great pick by the Nats 11th overall.
Strosnider has some of the best raw power in this draft class, but the hit tool could potentially limit how much he gets to it in pro ball. He posted an excellent 93rd percentile average exit velocity in 2026, and he excels at lifting the ball, with an 86th percentile barrel rate, but he’ll need to improve on an 18th percentile pulled flyball rate at the next level. Strosnider’s 35th percentile whiff rate is concerning, but the 26th percentile chase rate may be just as scary (and has me wondering how he was able to draw walks 18.4% of his plate appearances in 2026).
Strosnider has mainly played right field for the Horned Frogs because another draft prospect, Chase Brunson, has manned center field, but he is athletic enough to at least be given a shot out there full-time at the next level. There is some speed to his game as well, swiping over 10 bags in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Strosnider would not be my preference with the Nationals’ first-round pick, as the hit tool has some glaring red flags, but if it’s for a solid discount, I could trust that the Nats front office has a plan for him.
If you were to ask me which non-top 10 prospect in the class I thought was the most likely to be a productive big league hitter, there is a good chance my answer would be AJ Gracia, who lit up the ACC once again in 2026 after following his head coach from Duke to UVA. Gracia’s batted ball profile is remarkably clean, with a 79th percentile whiff rate, 68th percentile chase rate, and 79th percentile average exit velocity. Gracia doesn’t have the highest exit velocity numbers, but he makes as much consistently hard contact as anyone, and he knows how to work the count, with an excellent 18.4% walk rate.
Gracia is likely limited to a corner outfield in pro ball, where he is probably an average defender with a good, not great, arm. The bat is the calling card here, and it is very good, making Gracia one of my favorite options for the Nationals 11th overall.
Bell missed a chunk of the 2026 season with a shoulder injury, but put up dominant numbers despite missing most of the non-conference portion of the season, where many guys can inflate their overall season numbers. Bell is a switch-hitter with excellent raw power, posting a 92nd percentile average exit velocity in 2026. There is some swing and miss to his game, with a 42nd percentile whiff rate, but he makes up for it with an elite eye, with a 98th percentile chase rate this season. Bell has struggled against sliders in his 2 years at Kentucky, and will need to improve against breaking balls as a whole in pro ball.
Defensively, Bell is still improving at Shortstop and projects as a strong defender there long-term. Bell has some speed to his game as well, swiping 10 or more bags in both of his seasons with the Wildcats. Bell is one of my favorite options for the Nationals 11th overall, as he mitigates swing and miss concerns with elite plate discipline and plus raw power from both sides of the plate.
My Rankings
OF Drew Burress Georgia Tech (Tier One)
C Ryder Helfrick Arkansas (Tier Two)
SS Tyler Bell Kentucky (Tier Two)
OF AJ Gracia UVA (Tier Two)
OF Derek Curiel LSU (Tier Three)
2B/3B Chris Hacopian Texas A&M (Tier Three)
SS Justin Lebron Alabama (Tier Three)
OF Sawyer Strosnider TCU (Tier Four)
There is likely even more college hitters than this, such as catcher Daniel Jackson from Georgia, in play for the Nationals in the first round, but most likely, the discussion will come down to 5 or 6 hitters from this group if the preference is a college bat on draft day. Drew Burress would be an A+ pick by the Nats if he is available, which is unlikely, and any of Helfrick, Bell, or Gracia would make me a happy camper on draft day. The tier three names, Curiel, Hacopian, and Lebron, are all interesting options as well, and if they came at a discount, would be a solid choice by the Nats.
The Nationals are picking the farthest back in the draft they have been since 2021, when they selected Brady House with the 11th overall pick, and they have a plethora of interesting options, both on the prep and collegiate side, in front of them. I am excited to see how this Nationals front office approaches their first draft together as a group, and the types of prospects they will be targeting.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Will Warren #29 of the New York Yankees reacts after giving up a 3-run home run to Spencer Steer #7 of the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium on June 20, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the biggest assets for a starting pitcher is to maintain composure when facing adversity, and that is not a skill that Will Warren has fully developed yet. Perhaps the biggest knock on the young pitcher is the way he lets innings spiral when something goes wrong, particularly when his defense makes an error behind him. Indeed, a misplay between Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice on a routine groundball to open the fifth led to Warren quickly unraveling and allowing four runs in the frame — already the third time in 15 starts that he has allowed at least three runs to score in an inning following an error. You just don’t give your team a chance to win the game when you implode at the first sign of trouble, and indeed the Yankees couldn’t claw back this deficit as they fell to the Reds, 10-2.
You always want to score early for your starting pitcher and Paul Goldschmidt has made something of a habit of doing so in the first inning lately. He stayed through a 2-2 four-seamer on the outer half from Andrew Abbott and lined it to the opposite field over the wall in right for his 12th home run in 50 games this year after managing just 10 all of last season in nearly three times as many.
The last week has been ridden with metal errors for José Caballero and that only continued today. After walking and stealing second, Caballero was picked off to end the second inning. It’s the fifth time he’s been picked off this year, which is second-most in the majors. There’s really no benefit to taking such an aggressive lead off second with two outs as any base hit from Volpe would have scored him anyway, and it’s just another example of Caballero not understanding the situation.
From the jump, Warren looked noticeably sharper than in his previous handful of starts. A lot of his recent stumbles have come from failing to put guys away after getting to two strikes, and early on, he found a workable adjustment from his previous outing. He struck out the side in the first, the first two batters on wicked sinkers that Warren aims at the lefty batter’s box and allows the foot-and-a-half of arm-side movement to carry it back to the edge of the strike zone. He tallied another on the same type of pitch in the second to navigate around a Nathaniel Lowe double. I’d like to see him trust his pair of breaking balls and changeup more in two-strike counts and not have to rely on in-zone fastballs to punch guys out. However, this is certainly a roadmap for success for one turn through the order, and hopefully the second and third times through, guys will be fearful of that called strike sinker which should magnify the chase potential of his off-speed pitches.
Unfortunately, Warren couldn’t maintain this effectiveness into the third. He surrendered a double to Edwin Arroyo and walked Blake Dunn with one out, and his defense let him down a bit, as despite a nice catch from Jasson Domínguez in right, he made the decision to throw to third too quickly, missing a chance to double up Arroyo too far off of second. That would’ve ended the inning; instead, both runners came around to score on a two-out double to the wall in left by Sal Stewart and Cincy was in front, 2-1.
In the fourth, Arroyo reached on a missed-catch error by Rice after Volpe lawn-darted a throw to first on about as routine a grounder as you could ask for, though Rice absolutely should have gloved it.
JJ Bleday followed with a double to right to put runners on second and third with one out for Stewart, who continued to account for all of the Reds’ runs with a sac fly to left to make it 3-1, Cincinnati.
The implosion only accelerated from there. Warren walked Lowe on five pitches before serving up a middle-middle 2-1 sinker to Spencer Steer that the first baseman crushed over the wall in left for a three-run homer and a 6-1 Cincy lead.
It’s amazing how different a pitcher Warren looks with no one on vs. when there is traffic on the basepaths. He loses all precision with the fastball, and it’s just not a good enough pitch stuff-wise to become wild in the zone. It makes me wonder whether the issues stem from Warren pitching out of the stretch rather than the windup, or whether it is more a mental response to having to navigate a stressful situation. He was allowed to go back out for the sixth and got two quick outs, but served up a pair of singles to Arroyo and Dunn, forcing Aaron Boone out of the dugout to call on Tim Hill to face the lefty Bleday. Bleday put a charge into a ball to left, but Caballero made a stunning sprinting catch in the gap to save two runs and cap off Warren’s final line at six runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
The Yankees gave themselves plenty of chances to get back into the game, but unlike the Reds, they could never find that killer hit with runners on. They loaded the bases in the fifth on consecutive one-out singles from Volpe and Ali Sánchez followed by a two out Amed Rosario walk, but Goldschmidt struck out looking on a 3-2 backdoor sweeper that he unsuccessfully challenged to leave them with no more ABS challenges for the rest of the game. They put another pair on with no outs after Cody Bellinger and Domínguez smacked a pair of singles to open the sixth, but back-to-back popups by Caballero and Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a Volpe can of corn stranded them in place. That allowed Abbott to complete five-plus innings of one run ball, meaning he has held the Yankees to one run in both his career starts against them.
By the time the eighth inning rolled around it was time to wave the white flag and get a body in there to eat the final two innings. Ryan Yarbrough proved why he is reserved for this role, giving up singles to Matt McClain, Arroyo and Dunn to load the bases for Stewart, whose two-out double into the left-center gap cleared the bases and gave him six RBIs on the day. Pinch-hitter Dane Myers followed with a double of his own to plate Stewart and make it 10-1 Reds.
In the bottom of the eighth, Bellinger and Domínguez again led off an inning with a pair of singles, Jasson’s two base knocks batting right-handed further proof of his improvements to that part of his game. Caballero hit an RBI groundout to plate Bellinger and a throwing error from Arroyo allowed him to advance to second, but Jazz and Volpe couldn’t bring him home.
It was a little surprising to see super utilityman Max Schuemann pitch the ninth rather than let Yarbrough soak up the final frame. However, he pitched a scoreless ninth in his first major league pitching appearance, which is better than Warren or Yarbrough can say today. The offense went down quietly in the ninth to bring an end to a humbling 10-2 loss, the bats going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10.
The Yankees still have a chance to win four out of four series on this long homestand tomorrow afternoon. It was originally supposed to be a marquee matchup in the rubber game with Gerrit Cole taking on Chase Burns, but after today’s game, Aaron Boone announced that Cole and the rest of his starters will get an extra day of rest, with No. 45 moving back to Monday to face Detroit instead. Elmer Rodríguez will come up from Triple-A to face Burns. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm ET with the broadcast remaining on YES.
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 20: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds looks on during the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, June 20, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart has certainly slumped since his breakout month of April, but that hasn’t stopped him from stepping into big situations and picking up timely hits for the club. Manager Terry Francona has stuck with him in the heart of the order despite his recent slide, and Tito was rewarded in spades by the rook on Saturday afternoon in Yankee Stadium.
Stewart doubled twice and picked up a sac fly, to boot, in the process driving in 6 runs as the Reds raced past the New York Yankees 10-2 to even the series in the Bronx. His first double – of the 2-run variety – flipped the scoreboard after Reds starter Andrew Abbott had yielded a 1st inning solo homer to Paul Goldschmidt, and Sal’s second came with the bases loaded in the Top of the 8th – clearing them to put Cincinnati ahead 10-1 at the time.
For the season, Sal now has 53 ribbies to his name, which leads the Reds and would’ve ranked 7th in all of baseball at the start of today.
Edwin Arroyo chipped in with his first big day as a big leaguer, going 4 for 5 with a double and a pair of runs scored. All of a sudden, he’s got a .308 OBP as a Red that doesn’ tlook too dissimilar to the .309 mark posted by one Matt McLain. Spencer Steer had the big mid-game swing in the Top of the 5th off Will Warren, a 3-run homer that helped assuage the current slide he’s been on in a big way, too.
That was more than enough to back Abbott, who pitched around trouble for 5+ IP of 5 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K ball. He allowed the final two batters he faced to reach, but Tejay Antone (2.0 IP, K) came on to bail him out of that jam before continuing on himself. Chase Petty pitched a scoreless 9th and looked pretty good doing so once again.
This all sets the stage for a pretty blockbuster matchup on Sunday in the series finale, as Cincinnati will send ace Chase Burns to the mound to face 6x All Star and former Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. Cole has looked good since returning to the mound following a lengthy absence getting over Tommy John surgery, and Burns has looked, well, just about as good as any pitcher to ever wear a Reds uniform all season. First pitch in that one is slated for 1:35 PM ET tomorrow, so get your popcorn pre-ready.
Another longball for Slammin’ Sammy today. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Though it’s hard to be surprised, the deflation continues. For the second straight day, the White Sox couldn’t hold on to an early lead, ultimately losing their fourth game in their last five tries, and second straight against the last-place Detroit Tigers. Another early homer — this time from Sam Antonacci on the second pitch of the game — and a stellar opener performance from Sean Newcomb just wasn’t enough, and the team’s record now sits at 39-36 following the 4-1 loss.
It shouldn’t be surprising in the slightest that Antonacci’s homer wasn’t enough to get it done alone. Will Venable’s use of an opener in more than half of the team’s games over the past few weeks is somewhat indicative of where the pitching staff is as a whole. They just don’t have the manpower. It doesn’t matter how effective the first leg of a bullpen game is if you wind up with inexperienced rookies like Tyler Davis and Joe Rock taking high-leverage innings against a division rival.
As is increasingly becoming a pattern this year, opener Sean Newcomb was brilliant. He threw a season-high three innings as today’s opener, and was nothing short of perfect: Nine up, nine down, just 42 pitches to get it done. It was more than enough to hold a lead after Antonacci’s smoked home run got them going:
Davis has some good traits on the mound: His four-seam fastball sits at 96 mph, and it’s got a ton of ride to it. But as of now, Davis’ slider is relatively unexceptional, and his only other pitch is a splitter that he almost never uses. Good control is imperative if he’s going to be a solid MLB reliever. With a slightly subpar 11% walk rate, it’s been spotty so far.
Davis did not have good control today. While Newcomb didn’t allow a basreunner, Davis oozed them, issuing a four-pitch walk to Kevin McGonigle and then handing out two more to Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson. Usually I have to give at least some breakdown of why a particular pitch location chart is good or bad. I suspect that won’t be necessary here.
It’s frankly a miracle that Chicago’s 1-0 advantage made it to the fifth inning, given the deja vu that must have been hitting the dugout: bases loaded, two outs, Kerry Carpenter at the plate. Fortunately, Rock’s appearance in relief chased Carpenter from the game, and a huge strikeout of pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones kept the lead intact.
On the other side of the ball, Troy Melton was brilliant for Detroit as Newcomb was for the Good Guys, though Melton managed to do it with a few more innings on his line. Antonacci’s leadoff homer remained the only hit in the game heading to the bottom of the fifth, with Melton reaching back to touch the high-90s when he needed to multiple times:
Unfortunately for the South Siders, the Tigers were very much able to smell what the Rock was cooking from that point on. Just like yesterday, a few walks, dinks and dunks wound up being Chicago’s undoing, and it was a 3-1 Tigers lead by the time Rock departed the game after the sixth. The state of the bullpen isn’t ideal right now in any case, but Venable will surely face scrutiny for his decision to leave Rock in for a third inning of work.
The game slipped further out of reach an inning later, when Dillon Dingler took Trevor Richards deep for his 17th longball of the year, first among all MLB catchers by a healthy margin.
I projected pregame that Grant Taylor’s lack of action this week indicated he’d be taking the bulk of today’s innings. I was dead wrong, and the late-game, high-pressure situation that calls out for him never materialized.
Meanwhile, Melton left the game after six sparkling innings, failing to allow a single hit after the first hitter of the game. The White Sox were similarly unable to do much with soft-tossing lefty Tyler Holton, who retired six out of eight hitters faced to keep the Pale House off the board until the Kenley Jansen could close things out in the ninth for his 485th career save. That’s good for third all-time, though he remains more than 100 shy of Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera at the top of the leaderboard.
Beyond Newcomb, Antonacci was the true bright spot for the Sox offense today. He reached base all four times he came to the plate, putting up some kind of benign baseball equivalent to a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, getting on via homer, single, walk, and hit-by-pitch. Call it an Antonacci Cycle. His .293 batting average and .392 on-base are both tops among MLB rookies (minimum 200 plate appearances).
Tomorrow’s series conclusion is also a matinee matchup, with first pitch scheduled for 12:40 p.m. CT from Detroit. Davis Martin will attempt to get the Sox off the schneid, facing righthander Keider Montero. We’ll see you there!
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Jonathan Aranda #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jun 14, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kyle Harrison (52) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Yesterday’s series-opening loss between the Brewers and Braves was a pitchers’ duel, with Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski squaring off against veteran left-hander Martín Perez. Unfortunately for hitters on both sides, today’s contest will feature another marquee pitching matchup: Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.47 ERA) against Braves ace Chris Sale (8-5, 2.30 ERA).
Harrison has been consistently dominant in his first season with the Brewers. The lone blemish on his resume came on June 8 against the A’s, when he was tagged for eight runs in 2 1/3 innings. Outside of that outing, he has not allowed more than two runs in any start this season.
Sale, now in his sixteenth season in the big leagues, has aged like a fine wine. The nine-time All-Star captured the pitching Triple Crown and his first Cy Young Award in 2024, then followed that campaign with a 2.58 ERA and 1.066 WHIP across 20 starts in 2025. If both pitchers perform as expected, today’s game should be another low-scoring affair.
Jake Bauers (.765 OPS vs. LHP, .916 OPS vs. RHP) is out of today’s lineup against the left-handed Sale. The top of the order features Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras, with designated hitter Gary Sánchez hitting cleanup. Andrew Vaughn (1.429 OPS vs. LHP, .691 OPS vs. RHP) is hitting fifth and playing first base. Rounding out the bottom of the order are right fielder Blake Perkins, center fielder Garrett Mitchell, shortstop Cooper Pratt, and third baseman Joey Ortiz.
In some news unrelated to today’s game, MLB.c0m Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy reported this morning that manager Pat Murphy will be undergoing surgery for a ruptured disk in his back on Thursday. Thursday is an off day for the Crew, so Murphy doesn’t anticipate missing any time. Per McCalvy, Murphy will also be undergoing hip surgery on the first day of next month’s All-Star break.
How are you planning to spend the Brewers’ off day on Thursday? Pat Murphy will spend it having surgery for a ruptured disc in his back.
As usual, today’s game will be televised on Brewers.TV, with radio broadcasts available on WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Trevor McDonald #72 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Chicago Cubs in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park on June 13, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s time for Game 2 between the San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins. And it’s time for weekend baseball! It’s a battle of right-handed pitchers, as Trevor McDonald (2-4, 4.64 ERA) faces off with Max Meyer (7-0, 2.75 ERA).
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JUNE 19: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with third base coach Victor Estevez #7 after hitting a home run in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 19, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Nats dropped the first game of the Rays series in a fairly sleepy contest. In each of the last two games, the Nats ferocious offense has been quiet. They will look to bounce back and avoid a rare series loss. As we saw last night though, this Rays team is a tough nut to crack.
With a lefty opener, Blake Butera is making some lineup changes. Curtis Mead and Andres Chaparro are both in the lineup at third and first base. James Wood will move to DH, meaning Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews will be in the outfield. After being scratched due to illness yesterday, Cade Cavalli feels better and will toe the rubber this afternoon.
The Rays only have one personnel change. We will see Victor Mesa Jr. for the first time. He will replace Jonny DeLuca. Other than that it is the same group, though Cedric Mullins will be higher in the lineup. It will be a bullpen game for the Rays, with Ian Seymour starting things off.
Rays 6/20
Y. Díaz DH J. Aranda 1B C. Mullins CF J. Caminero 3B R. Palacios 2B C. Simpson LF V. Mesa Jr. RF H. Feduccia C T. Walls SS
The Nats have done a good job staying consistent and not having many large losing streaks. They will look to stay resilient today and get back in the win column. To do so, they will need to take advantage of their chances. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.
CJ Kayfus hit a three-run homer in the first game but Steven Perez got lit up in relief.
Bo Naylor went 2 for 4 with two homers including an inside-the-parker to walk it off, where the Railriders’ outfielder seemed to forget what the score was. Oops. Franco Aleman had another scoreless outing.
Ralphy Velazquez has raised his Triple-A OPS to .700… now to see if he can take the next step.
DETROIT, MI - JUNE 9: Pitcher Troy Melton #52 of the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park on June 9, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Troy Melton gave the Tigers six innings of one-hit ball on Saturday, leading them to a 4-1 victory and a series win over the Chicago White Sox. Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers both had great games by their respective standards, and contributions from Kevin McGonigle, Spencer Torkelson, James Outman, and Tyler Holton were key in this one. Kenley Jansen locked up his 485th save to finish this one off.
Things did not begin well for Troy Melton, but they would get much, much better after the first batter. The second pitch of the game was a fastball on the inner half of the strikezone and Sam Antonacci lifted it to right field for a solo shot. Melton retired Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, and Colson Montgomery without difficulty from there, though the only thing he was commanding decently was the fourseamer early on.
Antonacci robbed Dillon Dingler of a flare single with a leaping grab at second base in the bottom half. That helped lefty Sean Newcomb to a 1-2-3 bottom of the first.
The White Sox continued to take their hacks at first pitches from Melton in the second, but it only led to two quick outs. Melton started to find the handle on his cutter and slider, but still had zero feel for the splitter. Braden Montgomery waited out a few errant splitters and drew a two-out walk. Jake Rogers tried to backpick him and Torkelson couldn’t handle the throw. Montgomery took second while Melton challenged the pitch correctly as Rogers was otherwise occupied. Rogers got the error despite the ball being right to Torkelson. It ultimately didn’t matter as Melton carved up Tristan Peters with a good curveball for a swinging strike three and his first strikeout of the game.
Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter, getting a rare start against a lefty, grounded out weakly in the bottom of the second, while in between them, Spencer Torkelson whiffed on a Newcomb fastball to strike out. The lefty wasn’t showing much beyond a good, well located fastball, but early on that was plenty.
Drew Romo flew out to start the third. Melton, trying to get inside on Antonacci, hit him, but Miguel Vargas flew out to center field, and Benintendi grounded out to first in another quick inning for Melton. The right-hander finished the third at 39 pitches.
Hao-Yu Lee flew out to right to open the bottom of the third and Jake Rogers took a called striked three. The White Sox had their bullpen warm as Newcomb was only scheduled to throw around 45 pitches, but things were going well, and Will Venable stuck with Newcomb against Zach McKinstry, who whiffed on 96 mph up to complete three perfect frames.
Melton got a weak fly out from Colson Montgomery to open the fourth, mixing in some good curveballs now. Grichuk bounced a cutter to McGonigle at third for the second out. Jacob Gonzalez bounced out to Lee at second just as Melton’s pitch count topped 50.
Will Venable did turn to RHP Tyler Davis in the bottom of the fourth. He walked Kevin McGonigle on four straight pitches, and the Tigers had the leadoff man on. Dillon Dingler got tied up with a good fourseamer and popped out on the first base side in foul territory. Vierling pulled a pair of two strike pitches just foul of third base, and battled his way back to 3-2 and through a 10 pitch AB before Davis yanked a fastball wide to issue a walk. Davis then fired three straight balls to Riley Greene. Greene swung at a fastball on the inner edge, pulling it foul, and then got jammed, blooping one to Montgomery at shortstop for the second out. That left it up to Torkelson, and Davis continued to be pretty wild, walking him on five pitches.
And so, Kerry Carpenter stepped into a perfect matchup for him, and Venable wanted none of it, turning to lefty Joe Rock instead. And after starting Carpenter with Newcomb facing him the first time, AJ Hinch now turned to fan favorite, Jahmai Jones. He fouled a ball off his shin and was in obvious pain, and then struck out on a slider that backed up and never broke into the zone as boos rained down from the crowd.
Good times.
James Outman took over for Jones, playing center field as Vierling moved over to right field. Melton got Braden Montgomery to open the fifth, but then walked Peters on four straight. That brought Chris Fetter out for a quick factory reset. It worked, as the right-hander carved up Romo with a nasty curveball for a swinging strike three and his second punchout. Melton fell behind against Antonacci, worked it back to 3-2, and then missed the lower outside corner to walk him. It was initially called a strike three, but Antonacci correctly challenged it. So it was Melton versus Vargas, and the Tigers’ starter came after him, blowing him away with 98 mph to strand both runners in the first stress of the outing.
Rock got a weak flyout to right from Lee in the bottom half, then a grounder from Rogers. McKinstry hung in there to draw a walk and turn the lineup over. Rock slung a pair of sliders in for strikes to get ahead of McGonigle, but the rookie eventually got a fastball and lined it up the middle for a single and the Tigers first hit of the game. Dingler followed suit, inside outing a fastball in and lining it for an RBI single to right field. McKinstry scored and McGonigle went first to third with ease. Tie ballgame. Vierling popped up a slider to shallow center field, and we were onto the sixth in a 1-1 game.
Melton was at 71 pitches to start the inning, so this was probably his final frame. Hao-Yu Lee made a nice diving stop to get Benintendi on a hard grounder to start things off. Melton dusted Colson Montgomery with a good slider for the second out, and then did the same thing to the right-handed Grichuk for his fifth strikeout of the game on his 84th pitch.
The breaking stuff really came around as the game progressed and they ditched the splitter. As usual, Melton’s strength is the mix of stuff he can throw, and the fact that he rarely makes a mistake over the middle. He issued three walks as a result, but only allowed one hit, Antonacci’s solo shot which started the game. He racked up 11 whiffs, getting one or more with six different pitches.
6.0 IP, ER, H, 3 BB, 5 K.
Riley Greene made an opposite field bid on a Rock slider as the lefty continued to pour them in, but it fell shy on the warning track for the first out of the bottom of the sixth. Torkelson got a sinker and smoked it to the wall in right center field for a one-out double. Outman got a breaking ball first pitch and torched a hard grounder through the right side of the infield for an RBI single. Nice job there, and the ball was thrown away by right fielder Braden Montgomery so Outman beat feet to second base. Lee lifted a deep sac fly to right field, allowing Outman to tag and take third, but that left it up to Jake Rogers. If I don’t sound confident there, it’s because I was not at all confident. Instead, Rock fired an 0-1 fastball in there and the Tigers backup catcher ripped an RBI single to left center field. 3-1 Tigers. That move to take second from Outman paid dividends.
Rock was clearly shook, and then Tigers fans decided to serenade the airwaves with Take Me Home, Country Roads, perhaps learning from the absolutely epic World Cup invasion of fans who know how to produce chants, sing songs together, and generally live it up. Of course, the John Denver staple has recently spread well beyond West Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains. As a result, Rock walked Zach McKinstry. Unfortunately, McGonigle smoked a line drive right to Gonzalez at first, ending the inning.
Tyler Holton took over in the seventh, and Venable pinch-hit Chase Meidroth in for Gonzalez. He bounced out, but Braden Montgomery bounced one down the first base line for a double. Junior Perez then hit for Tristan Peters. Holton carved him up with a backfoot cutter for the second out of the inning. Drew Romo grounded out to McGonigle, and that was that. Still 3-1 Tigers.
It was quickly 4-1 Tigers, because Dillon Dingler was up first against RHP Trevor Richards. A 1-1 fastball got vaporized 430 feet to straightaway center for the best catcher in baseball’s 17th home run of the season. DING DING.
Vierling, Greene, and Torkelson went in order from there, and we were onto the eighth with a 4-1 lead.
Hinch stuck with Holton against Antonacci, and the left-handed hitter ripped a leadoff single to right to open the inning. Vargas lifted a shallow fly ball to right field to Greene. The wind was blowing the ball toward the foul line, but Greene caught it and then dropped it on the transfer. Third base umpire Rob Drake thought otherwise and ruled a no catch, but Greene immediately fired to second to get Antonacci, who had no chance. Edgar Quero hit for Benintendi, and Holton popped him out to Lee at second. That left it to the dangerous Colton Montgomery, but Holton absolutely carved him up despite Rogers missing a call that should have been challenged. A sweeper that started at the shortstop’s head dropped in for strike three to end the top of the eighth.
Outman pulled another sharp grounder ball to the right side to open the bottom half against lefty Chris Murphy. Antonacci slid for it but couldn’t hang on, and it bounced away for a leadoff single. Lee flew out to center field, but Outman got a big jump and swiped second base easily. Rogers struck out, and McKinstry lifted a fly ball to center to end the inning.
So, it was Kenley Jansen time again. The big right-hander notched his 484th save on Friday night, but the three hitters he faced wouldn’t be seeing him again in this one.
Grichuk grounded out to McKinstry at shortstop to start the inning. Chase Meidroth dropped down a perfect bunt down the third base line on the first pitch he saw for a single. Jansen got right in Braden Montgomery’s kitchen, and he popped out to McGonigle. That left it to Perez, as the Tigers led Meidroth take second base. Jansen got a little wild and walked Perez, and no one liked that as Drew Romo came to the plate as the potential game-tying run, but he lifted a fly ball out to Outman to end the game.
Nice to get a series win. Melton and Dingler were great. Outman and Rogers had good games. Tyler Holton did a great job. And Jansen gets save number 485. The Tigers will hunt the sweep of their AL Central foes on Sunday.
RHP Keider Montero will take on a tough right-hander in Davis Martin at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday.
MIAMI — With Tyler Mahle’s pending return to the rotation, the Giants faced a coming logjam of starting pitchers. The odd man out, despite his objections: Adrian Houser.
“I mean, I’m not going to be happy with it, but I understand,” Houser told The California Post after manager Tony Vitello delivered the tough news Saturday. “I signed here to be a starter. I didn’t sign here to be in the bullpen.”
With Tyler Mahle’s pending return to the rotation, the Giants faced a coming logjam of starting pitchers. The odd man out, despite his objections: Adrian Houser.
Yet, that is precisely where the 33-year-old right-hander will find himself only three months into his Giants tenure, at least for now. In 14 starts, Houser was 2-6 with a 5.73 ERA with a 1.573 WHIP, the highest of his career and the third-worst mark of any starter with at least as many innings.
“He wants the same thing as everybody else,” Vitello said. “He wants to do better.”
Houser, in particular, has struggled against lefties and in the first inning. Left-handed hitters are responsible for nine of the 12 home runs Houser has allowed while batting .339 with a 1.042 OPS, compared to right-handers’ .218 average and .540 OPS.
In his last start, Houser served up a 473-foot home run to the Braves’ Drake Baldwin in the first inning, raising his ERA in the first frame to 9.64. His ERA in the fifth, when the lineup typically turns over for a third time, swells to 12.46. But in between, he owns a 2.79 mark.
“He’s really found a rhythm in the middle of outings,” Vitello said. “The first inning has given him trouble. Third time through the order has given him trouble. Those are things he’s done well before in the past.”
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
That track record, most recently featuring a 3.31 ERA in 21 starts last season for the Rays and White Sox, led president of baseball operations Buster Posey to award Houser a two-year, $22 million contract to round out their starting rotation with Mahle, another free-agent addition.
Mahle hasn’t been any better — 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA in 11 starts — but could be a trade piece at the deadline. He is only under contract for the rest of this season at a rate of $10 million.
Houser, on the other hand, will attempt to convince Vitello and the Giants brass that he belongs in the rotation. Of his 187 career appearances, 139 have come as a starting pitcher.
Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
“I proved last year that I’m a starter, and I’ve done it in years past, too,” Houser said. “At the end of the day, it’s still the same goal — you’ve got to get outs. I’m gonna do everything I can to get back in the rotation because I signed here to be a starter, not a bullpen guy.”
Houser talked with The Post following a “good day of catch play,” where he was getting hands-on advice from director of pitching Frank Anderson. The team believes his struggles against left-handers has more to do with pitch selection than mechanics.
“The sinker’s been getting damaged a little bit, and that’s kind of been the root cause,” pitching coach Justin Meccage told The Post. “So a little more four-seam usage. Really, a true mix of all four pitches. And moving the fastball around the different quadrants.”
Because of his release point, lefties tend to see the ball better out of Houser’s hand than a typical righty, Meccage said. Too predictable of a pitch mix makes it even easier to tee off on.
Houser talked with The Post following a “good day of catch play,” where he was getting hands-on advice from director of pitching Frank Anderson. The team believes his struggles against left-handers has more to do with pitch selection than mechanics. Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
“So you’ve got to disguise pitches to create an unpredictable look,” he said. “Make that [swing] decision really hard as long as possible. That’s where the sequencing comes into play.”
Houser has started to incorporate his four-seamer more, but teams still have stacked lefties at the top of the lineup, leading to his troubles in the first inning.
A simple solution, it would seem, would be to use a left-handed opener in front of Houser if and when he returns to the rotation. The idea has been bandied about among Giants coaches, but Houser said he hasn’t been approached about it.
He would be about as receptive to it as he was about his new assignment in the bullpen.
“I’m not big on it,” Houser said. “I like to stay in my routine.”
So much for that routine, at least for now.
Houser, having only thrown one inning before his last start was interrupted by rain, will be available in the bullpen beginning Saturday, Vitello said. How he will be used remains to be determined, though they expect to need some length behind Mahle in his return Wednesday.
Given Houser’s objections and his status as a player Posey handpicked to fill a role that has suddenly changed, it made for a test for how the rookie manager would deliver hard news.
“There’s no real easy way to tell somebody they’re being demoted or moving to the bullpen or someplace they don’t want to go to,” Houser said. “He handled it the best he could.”
