Category: MLB

The Colorado Rockies are opening a six-game road trip tonight with three games against the Athletics in Las Vegas, where the A’s are playing a rare ‘home’ series away from their temporary home in Sacramento. After this series, the Rockies head to Wrigley Field for three against the Chicago Cubs.

The nomadic Athletics enter at 33-35, and only two games out of first place in a middling AL West. They are 5-4 to start June and are coming off taking two of three from the same Milwaukee Brewers team that swept the Rockies last week.

The A’s are not a complete team, but they can hit.

They rank seventh in baseball with a .735team OPS, led by Nick Kurtz (162 OPS+) and Shea Langeliers (135 OPS+). The pitching and defense have lagged behind, with Oakland ranking 27th in starter ERA, 21st in relief ERA, and 25th in Defensive Runs Saved.

Colorado enters the Vegas series at 26-43, but the Rockies are 4-5 through nine June games after taking two of three from the Cubs. That was a needed bounce-back after the Brewers series.

There has also been recent prospect intrigue. Cole Carrigg, the Rockies’ No. 4 PuRP, was called up and clubbed his first big-league homer, and now left-hander Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) has been promoted to make his MLB debut tonight.

Sean got the call and he's getting the start! pic.twitter.com/8WLbPXu72P

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 12, 2026

Sullivan, 23, has made 11 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque this season, posting a 5.60 ERA over 54.2 innings with 50 strikeouts, 19 walks.

Sullivan is not a power lefty. He works from a funky delivery and leans on a broad pitch mix: a four-seam fastball (40.1%), sweeper (25.6%), cutter (17.2%), changeup (14.3%), and occasional slider (2.7%). The fastball generally lives around 88-90 mph, with the cutter in the 85-87 mph range, the changeup around 78-80 mph, and the sweeper closer to 76-78 mph.

Sullivan has not missed bats at the same rate he did earlier in his minor-league career, and hitters have made frequent contact against him, especially in the zone. The contact has not been especially loud, though. His hard-hit rate is 30.1%, and his xERA is 4.81, which is more forgiving than the traditional ERA suggests.

He has limited hard contact and kept the walk rate manageable, but the lower strikeout rate and 10 home runs in 11 starts leave real questions about how thin the margin is. Tonight gives the Rockies a first look at how the pitch mix, deception, and contact-management traits translate against big-league hitters.

The Athletics will counter with another rookie left-hander in Gage Jump. Jump came into the year ranked as the No. 38 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline and the No. 3 prospect in the Athletics system. The 23-year-old southpaw is making just the fourth start of his major-league career.

Jump enters at 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 13 strikeouts, and five walks across 18.1 innings. After allowing four runs in his MLB debut, he has settled in quickly. He held the Cubs to one run on three hits over seven innings on June 2, then shut out the Astros over 6.1 innings on June 7, allowing just three hits while walking three. Across those two starts, he has allowed one run on six hits over 13.1 innings, though the strikeout total has been modest at five.

Jump brings more traditional left-handed power stuff than Sullivan. He has leaned on a four-seam fastball (49%) at 96.4 mph, while mixing in a slider (24%) at 87.7 mph, a changeup (10%) at 88.2 mph, a sweeper (9%) at 84.5 mph, and a curveball (9%) at 82.3 mph.

Jump’s xERA sits at 3.47, and hitters have not made a ton of loud contact against him, with a 30.2% hard-hit rate. His strikeout rate is only 17.8% in the majors with a 21.3% whiff rate, so the swing-and-miss has not fully carried over yet. That said, he struck out 56 batters in 38 Triple-A innings this season.

Sterlin Thompson and Carrigg both faced Jump earlier this season in Las Vegas on May 20th. Thompson went 1-for-3 with a single and a strikeout, while Carrigg went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and a flyout. Albuquerque eventually scored six runs in the ninth inning to stun Las Vegas, 6-5.

Gage could create a tough matchup for a Rockies lineup that has had trouble with left-handed pitching. As a team, Colorado is hitting .239 with a .644 OPS against lefties this season. Jump has the velocity, five-pitch mix, and prospect pedigree to make this difficult if the Rockies let him settle in.

So, can Sullivan give the Rockies a useful debut, can the offense do enough against another talented rookie lefty, and can the Rockies pull out a late-night win in Las Vegas?

Now for the details…

First Pitch: 8:05 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150

Athletics SB Nation Site:Athletics Nation

Lineups:

UPDATED LINEUP:

Castro SS
Karros 3B
Rumfield 1B
Goodman C
Johnston RF
Carrigg CF
Thompson LF
Fulford DH
Stevens 2B

S. Sullivan SP https://t.co/B35EvuIvaH

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 13, 2026

Friday night in LV 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VC8QYXErJX

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 12, 2026

---

---

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

After a day off yesterday the A’s are back at it tonight, welcoming the Colorado Rockies to Las Vegas Ballpark for a three-game weekend series against the worst team in the National League. The Rockies sit at 26-43 and are already gauging the upcoming trade market to see what they can offload on contenders. A big weekend in a minor league, hitter-friendly ballpark could help boost some of their trade chips’ values but the A’s will be hoping for a dominant weekend against a lesser opponent.

Tonight’s starting pitcher for the Athletics will be rookie Gage Jump. The left-hander is set to make his fourth career start and first of many in Las Vegas. So far in the early going he’s been as advertised, especially in his last two contests. After having some debut jitters he’s fired off seven innings of one-run ball against the Chicago Cubs before pitching 6 1/3 shutout baseball against the Houston Astros. He’ll be tasked with keeping that going against a Rockies lineup that is short on big bats.

The starting lineup for tonight’s series opener looks like this:

Friday night in LV 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VC8QYXErJX

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 12, 2026

The team welcomes shortstop Jacob Wilson back to the starting lineup for the first time in a month after he was activated off the IL earlier in the day. The team did lose usual DH Brent Rooker to the IL in exchange for Wilson though. Backup catcher Jonah Heim draws the first start without Rook and he could get plenty of at bats while the regular DH is down. The rest of the lineup looks about as you’d expect versus an opposing lefty. Colby Thomas over Lawrence Butlsr in right, and Zack Gelof over Jeff McNeil at the keystone. The only lefties in the starting lineup are Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom (though Heim is a switch-hitter).

That lineup will be facing Colorado rookie Sean Sullivan, who will be making his big league debut this evening. It’s a rough assignment for your first big league start as he’ll be pitching in a minor league ballpark where the ball absolutely flies. Add in he’s facing a hot A’s lineup and the expectations can’t be too high for the young left-hander, a former second-round pick and considered a top-10 prospect in a weak Rockies farm system. In 11 starts in Triple-A this year Sullivan has a 5.60 ERA in the hitter-friendly PCL.

And here’s how the Rockies will line up tonight against Gage Jump:

Rolling with this group! pic.twitter.com/N6WYv5QfxJ

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 12, 2026

The Rockies don’t have much in the way of big bats. Catcher Hunter Goodman has 18 long balls and rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield is hitting well in his first big league action while outfielder Troy Johnson is holding his own, but they also come into this series down one of their better hitters in Mickey Monika. Jump can handle these guys but we’ll see how Las Vegas Ballpark plays tonight.

We gotta take all three of these games this weekend. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

SAN FRANCISCO — Friday notes…

• MAYBE TRY WINNING THE SERIES OPENER?: The Cubs have lost the first game in each of their last seven series and eight of their last nine. Since winning the final game of their second 10-game streak at Texas on May 8, their only first-game win was at the White Sox on May 15. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MAYBE THIS WILL HELP?: The Cubs are 8-14 in all first games and 3-8 on the road. But they are 3-3 in first games on the road after having won the final game of their previous series. They are 11-11 in second games, 13-9 in third games and 3-0 in fourth games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THE UNFRIENDLY CITY BY THE BAY: The Cubs went 1-6 at San Francisco the past two years, winning the last of four games in 2024. They lost the first game in six of their last seven visits to the Bay Area. The lone first-game win was in 2023, the only year they won a series there since 2013, when they swept three games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• STILL A HOT HITTER: Pete Crow-Armstrong is on a 15-game on-base streak in which he is batting .359/.423/.688 (23-for-64) with four doubles, a triple, five home runs, nine RBI, 12 runs scored and three stolen bases.

Cubs lineup:

The road trip continues.

Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/rD2GFJaOsX

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 12, 2026

Giants lineup:

Pride Night at the ballpark 🏳️‍🌈

⌚️: 7:15 p.m. PT
📍: @OracleParkSF
📺: @NBCSGiants | KNTV
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaColapic.twitter.com/iD8mTg3YDR

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 12, 2026

Javier Assad, RHP vs. Landen Roupp, RHP

Javier Assad was magnificent against the Giants last Sunday — 6.1 innings of one-hit relief. He retired the last 15 Giants he faced.

Maybe it’s a bit much to ask but… Javier, can you do that again tonight?

Landen Roupp threw 5.1 innings against the Cubs last Saturday at Wrigley Field and allowed three hits and one run.

So you’d think maybe this will be a low-scoring game. But that’s not the way baseball works, right? Roupp got hit pretty hard in his previous start, June 1 vs. the Brewers.

As always, we await developments.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Oracle Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Giants site McCovey Chronicles. If you do go there to interact with Giants fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

After taking 2 out of 3 from the New York Mets, the St. Louis Cardinals travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins. Friday night, it’s Kyle Leahy on the mound for the Cardinals as he’ll do battle with Joe Ryan, the starter for the Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm central time at Target Field. The broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv. It’s the major league debut for Blaze Jordan tonight.

The start of the weekend series between the Mets and Atlanta Braves at Citi Field will be delayed due to bad weather, the team announced.

Just under half an hour after Friday's original 7:10 p.m. start time, the Mets announced first pitch would be at 8:30 p.m.

New York was set to have Nolan McLean take the mound. The young right-hander has pitched to a 3-4 record and a 3.98 ERA. McLean is coming off a strong start against the Padres, when he allowed just one run on three hits across six innings of work.

The Braves were set to have Spencer Strider take the mound. The flamethrowing right-hander is 4-01 with a 4.00 ERA this season. Strider allowed three runs on five hits across 5.0 innings against the Pirates his last time out, and has allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts. 

The Royals start the final series of their Texas homestand tonight, hosting the Houston Astros. Most analysts figured the Royals needed to go 4-2 on this homestand if they wanted to continue to work their way back from the depths they sank to with all their early-season losing. That’s still technically on the table if they can sweep Houston. A sweep would start with a win tonight in what might be the most difficult pitching matchup of the series.

Luinder Avila has been much better in his second stab at starting at the big league level, but there are still a lot of questions. Like whether a 1.80 ERA is sustainable with an 8-7 K-BB ratio. Or whether he can ever pitch into the sixth inning. There’s no doubt he has the stuff to be a successful big league pitcher, but the biggest question is whether he can ever harness it well enough to be a consistent big league starter. He’s going to have at least a couple more weeks to try and show it.

Tatsuya Imai has had a weird start to his career with the Astros, who were determined to land one of the three Japanese stars that were posted last off-season to go with their Japanese-company-named ballpark. Since they had too many infielders already, they got the starting pitcher. He had a bit of a rough start, but he has pitched much better his last three times out. That includes the first six innings of a combined no-hitter against the Rangers on May 25.

Technically, Imai has a 6-pitch mix, but he primarily throws his goofy slider (meaning it’s thrown like a slider, but moves backwards from how they normally do), closely followed by a four-seam fastball. He struggles to throw his pitches in the zone – even in that no-hitter, he walked 4 while striking out 2 – but the slider can get chase and whiffs. His fastball averages 94.8 MPH, which is downright reasonable in modern baseball. He throws a sinker about 9.8% of the time, but it can get hit pretty hard. He’s thrown 14 splitters, 14 changeups, and 6 curveballs all year, so you can probably just ignore those pitch types.

Lineups

If you’ve been wondering what it would take for the Royals to bat Salvador Perez lower than fifth, you finally have your answer. All it took was Salvy with a .245 OBP and .135 ISO (the absolute lowest of his career, even when he came up with no power.) Plus Jac Caglianone hitting better than Bobby Freaking Witt Jr. (Jac has an .808 OPS to Bobby’s .799.) I still wish Michael Massey was ahead of him, too, but I guess we should be grateful for what crumbs the team will give us in this regard. For all people have been furious with the underperformance of Isaac Collins – batting ninth today – his second-worst-in-the-lineup OPS is still 60 points higher than Sal’s. What a disaster.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (31-39) continue a six-game road trip with the first game of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals (28-41) tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

RHP Tatsuya Imai (3-3, 5.24 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite RHP Luinder Avila (1-2, 4.02 ERA) and the Royals.

ABOUT IMAI: RHP Tatsuya Imai is set to make his ninth career Major League start tonight and his fifth since returning from the IL after a bout with right arm fatigue.

He’s performed better since his return, particularly in his last four starts in which he’s posted a 2.91 ERA (7ER/21.2IP) with a .176 (13×74) opponent average and a 1.02 WHIP.

In January, the Astros signed Imai to a three-year deal. In 2025, he was an All-Star for the Seibu Lions in the NPB in Japan, where he went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA (35ER/163.2IP) in 24 games.

ABOUT THE NO-NO: On May 25 at TEX, RHP Tatsuya Imai st arted the Astros 17th regular season no-hitter and their 18th no-hitter overall in club history. Imai worked the first 6.0 hitless innings before giving way to LHP Steven Okert (1IP) and RHP Alimber Santa (2IP).

The no-hitter was the Astros seventh since 2019, which is the most in the Majors in that span. Additionally, the Astros 18 no-hitters overall are the most in the Majors since the franchise was born in 1962.

ROAD TRIP: The Astros traveled to Kansas City on Wednesday night after facing the Los Angeles for a three-game series.

The Astros went 1-2 in Anaheim. The Astros will continue their six-game road trip tonight with the first game of a three-game series against the Royals. The Astros are 15-20 on the road this season and went 7-3 on their last road trip.

PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has recorded a 2.53 ERA (24ER/85.1IP) with 82 strikeouts, a 1,00 WHIP and a .169 opponent batting average.

Among AL teams since May 15, the Astros bullpen ranks first in opponent batting average, first in WHIP and first in ERA…the Astros are also 14-11 during since May 15.

HIT PAREDES: IF Isaac Paredes is one double away from recording his 100th career double. He is looking to become just the 4th Mexican-born player in MLB history with 500 career hits, 100 doubles and 100 home runs, joining IF Vinny Castilla, IF Jorge Orta and IF Aurelio Rodríguez.

ON THE MEND: RHP Hunter Brown allowed two runs (one earned run) on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in five innings on Wed. night in a rehab start with Triple A Sugar Land.

C Yainer Diaz went 0x3 with a walk and caught seven innings last night in a rehab appearance with Triple A Sugar Land.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: Following Wed. night’s game, the Astros optioned IF Shay Whitcomb to Triple A Sugar Land. To take his place on the active roster, the Astros selected IF Raynel Delgado (#29) to the Major League roster today. To make room for Delgado on the 40-man roster, the Astros designated RHP Ryan Weiss for assignment today.

MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros are tied for the fewest errors in the AL (28) with the Athletics. Houston has posted the best fielding percentage (.988) in the AL, topping the Athletics (.988), Royals (.988) and Mariners (.988) by a few percentage points.

VS. THE ROYALS: The Astros and Royals are facing each other for the first time this season. The Astros went 3-3 against the Royals last season, including a 1-2 record at Kauffman Stadium. The Astros own a 58-49 record all-time record against the Royals, including a 29-24 record at Kauffman Stadium.

ON THE LEADERBOARD: DH Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in OPS (1.066), SLG (.636) and total bases (157) and leads the AL in home runs (22). Also in the AL, he ranks tied for first in extra-base hits (35), second in OBP (.430), second in batting average (.316),tied for third in RBI (48), third in hits (78), fourth in walks (46) and tied for fifth in runs (46).

ON BASE MACHINE: OF Yordan Alvarez is on a 18-game on-base streak. During the streak, he’s batting .355 (22×62) with 16 runs, two doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, 15 walks and a 1.207 OPS.. It is his second-longest on-base streak this season, behind a 22-game on-base streak from April 4-28.

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday, OF Yordan Alvarez was named the AL Player of the Week for the week of June 1-7. For the week, he batted .476 (10×21) with six runs, one double, two HR, nine RBI, five walks and a 1.386 OPS.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker ranks tied for third in the AL in RBI with teammate DH Yordan Alvarez (48). Walker also ranks tied for fifth in the AL in extra-base hits (30), tied for sixth in total bases (127), tied for seventh in home runs (16) and 11th in SLG (.494).

In the field, Walker has not committed an error in 68 games.

MOVIN’ ON UP: RHP Bryan Abreu recorded his 343rd career appearance on Wed. night at LAA surpassing RHP Ryan Pressly (342g) for the sixth-most relief appearances in Astros franchise history.

Abreu is five appearances shy of tying LHP Joe Sambito (348g) for the fifth-most relief appearances in franchise history.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – The Astros set a franchise record with 24 strikeouts in a 14-inning, 6-3, loss to the Brewers in Houston. The game is played in a crisp four hours and 16 minutes. RHP Justin Verlander does most of the work, striking out a career-high 15 batters in 7.0 innings pitched. This start was one of many excellent starts for Verlander in 2019, en route to earning his second career Cy Young.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, June 12, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Kaufmann Stadium, Kansas City, MO

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

TGIF & #VoteStros ⭐️

⚾️: 7:10 PM CT
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 & 740 AM | Spanish: 102.9 HD2https://t.co/SrLH3jUBPE x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/cJKjOmKOAL

— Houston Astros (@astros) June 12, 2026

Avila opens the series vs. the Astros. pic.twitter.com/FLvqDOrNzY

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 12, 2026

A weekend trip to the south side of Chicago. No Shohei Ohtani in this one, after suffering knee inflammation Thursday night.

Today's #Dodgers starting lineup for the series opener against the White Sox: pic.twitter.com/dpj5Sq86kI

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 12, 2026

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at White Sox
• Ballpark: Rate Field, Chicago
• Time: 4:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

For the first time in four years your Chicago White Sox are atop the AL Central, after two impressive wins over the Atlanta Braves. With the team getting a rainy Thursday night off, the South Siders had a breather before another big series, this one with the reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

This series with the Dodgers is the third of four matchups that will test the team’s ability and give fans an indication if this year’s team is for real or not. So far, so good for the White Sox as they went 3-2 combined against the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. With this series against the Dodgers being the final one at home before a road trip to New York and Detroit, a win against Los Angeles would put them in a great position.

Just as he did against the Phillies last week, Anthony Kay will lead off as the first starter against the Dodgers. Kay entered last week’s game after a sizzling month of May, going 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA. Unfortunately, the Phillies knocked the southpaw out of the game early, as he could only manage four innings and allowed six earned runs along the way. Tonight, his task doesn’t get much easier with a Dodgers team that ranks first in the majors in runs scored. With that said, Kay has been on another level at home this year, sporting a 4-0 record and an ERA of three at Rate Field.

As for the Dodgers, they will throw Roki Sasaki out on the mound, and it’s anyone’s guess how he will fare. Sasaki has flashed his elite talent this season, but has struggled mightily with consistency. After a solid start in March, Sasaki had an ERA of more than seven in April, before getting back on track in May. Most recently, Sasaki pitched a seven-inning gem against the Angels, allowing just two hits over seven innings of work and punching out 10 in the process. Sasaki seems to either pitch very well, or completely fall apart, so early on we should be able to tell what kind of outing the White Sox will be facing.

With just a half-game separating the White Sox and Cleveland Guardians at the top of the division, taking even two out of three against a team like the Dodgers would do wonders with the Guardians currently in freefall. No matter what happens tonight, there is no doubt that Rate Field will be ready to go and rocking early.

Here is the starting lineup for the White Sox:

Here is the starting lineup for the defending champions, with one notable omission, as Shohei Ohtani tweaked a hamstring on Thursday:

First pitch is 6:40 p.m. CST. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000. Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!

Time: 7:10 Central

Weather: Increasing chance of sky water, 79°

Opponent’s SB site: Viva El Birdos

TV: Twins TV. Radio: Do you have batteries for yours in case of emergency? DO YOU?

You’ll be forgiven if today’s Cards starter, Kyle Leahy, sounds like one of those guys the Twins had for like eight days in 2021. Nope, he was drafted by the Cards in 2018, and converted full-time to a starter this season. For now, the Cards are using a six-man rotation, and Leahy’s at the back end of it. His fastball sits at around 94, down a tick from when he was a reliever. He throws about 60% offspeed pitches, and has a lot of “extension,” meaning (I think) that his best skill is batters have a teensy bit less time to pick up which pitch he’s using.

Sadly, I must introduce you to the “Tarps Off” trend that’s been happening in St. Louis.

What it is is this:

Sigh.

Yes, this is a thing that’s been happening in right field at Cardinals games this season. A bunch of guys take off their shirts (or don’t wear them to begin with). Some wave the shirts like rally towels. They call themselves the “Tarps Off” fans.

Per MLB.com’s Max Ralph, this trend started in college football, which makes sense because college football is one of the dumbest things on the planet. (Let’s take an institution devoted to higher learning and have it play a sport that causes massive brain damage.)

I suppose this is essentially harmless fan idiocy, so I shouldn’t complain. But wowza, am I sick of the whole “dude bro let guys be guys” thing; I’ve been sick of it my whole dang life. (And I realize baseball’s signature move is crotch adjustment.)

Also, it’s easy to take your shirt off and show that pasty white-a** chest nobody wanted to see when a bunch of other people are doing it. Yet I will credit this guy:

That’s Bryce Bradford, one of the Tarps Off bunch, letting his Dad Bod hang out there for all the world to see (or, what will be a Dad Bod when he has kids in a few years. Maybe he does now, I dunno). That takes a little more guts, don’t you think?

And worthy of the former Cards great, Nick Punto. Who earned himself the nickname of “Shredder.” Because he shredding opposing pitchers with his fearsome swatting stick?

Naw, folks. He got the nickname because, after walk-off wins, or just any moment when he felt suitably Pumped Up, Nick Punto would go up to other Cards players and start ripping their jerseys apart. The ones they were wearing as clothes.

If you like, you can see a TubeYous example here, but it’s less visually interesting than it sounds. You’re better off reading Jason Hill’s account at Viva El Birdos here. Go Shredder Go.

What do you remember about the 1987 Twins/Cardinals World Series? I don’t remember a thing, I wasn’t watching it. But former Blog Pope myjah summoned 10 weird facts about the Series you may not have known, like the time someone threw a bizarre little paper plane onto the field. Very fun post.

Do the Cardinals want free taxpayer money? Of course they do. They might get part of the money that’s prolly gonna be handed out to the Royals. You know, the money which voters rejected in a referendum. The Cards might get $380 million of it. Neil deMause has you covered as usual.

Last week, I mentioned that Some Guy from the Twins was trying to sell me super-premium tickets because I was given tickets in a spendy seating area by one neighbor for one game. Well, the same guy emailed me again:

Hello James,

I’ve reached out a few times to share details about our $3,000 Choice Membership and how we can get you discounted tickets in our Thrivent Club. I understand if now isn’t the best time to connect, and I want to be respectful of your schedule.  

Before I pause my outreach, I wanted to highlight another option. Since you’ve enjoyed some of our premier offerings at Target Field, you might be interested in our private suites available for single-game rentals. Additionally, our upcoming calendar is packed with exciting single game ticket promotions, giveaways, and events happening all summer long – Check out single game ticket opportunities here! 

Thank you so much for your time and have a wonderful day!  

CJ

You have a wonderful day too, CJ!

Finally — wuz you ever bit by a dead bee?

That’s the line Walter Brennan keeps repeating in the Bogart/Bacall classic To Have and Have Not, a movie which solves the problem of “how do you film Hemingway’s worst novel” by chucking the novel’s plot entirely. When Brennan asks Bacall about the dead bee, she suggests biting it back, and wins Brennan’s approval thusly.

Well, I wuz bit by a dead bee. Kind of.

The other day, I was outside, and I felt something go into the back of my shirt through the neckhole. There were box elder bugs flying around, and they won’t hurt you, so I just shook myself around a little and figured it was gone. Then came inside and headed for the bathroom.

As I started removing my pants, I felt a major stinging sensation on my butt, and then I saw there was a wasp in my boxer shorts. It was dazed, yet not dazed enough that it couldn’t sting me in the a**. I immediately got it to the floor and squished it, of course. I try not to kill God’s creatures, but wasps are Satan’s.

The thing was? I was hesitant about going to the bathroom the rest of the day. Even though I didn’t go back outside, I just remembered the sight of finding a wasp in my boxers, and it made me Spooked.

If you’re gonna get stung by a wasp, though, that’s probably the best place for it. On the fleshy part of yer butt. What really stinks is getting a wasp sting on your knuckles, or someplace ELSE in your boxers.

Possibility of getting a wasp sting in the Metrodome? Practically zero. Possibility of getting one in the seats CJ keeps wanting me to buy? Larger than zero. I’ll take my Dome memories, thank you very much.

I really figured Canada would win this afternoon.

Well, let’s win tonight.

Schneider and Kirk (who says his thumb is getting better all the time) are back and in the lineup.

Heineman (DFA) and Varsho (IL) are gone.

My wife will be sad that Heineman won’t be around to be shirtless.

Apparently Daulton got a cortisone shot, so he will be a couple of days before he can do much with that wrist, but they say he’s going to be traveling with the team and likely won’t need a rehab assignment.

---

The Yankees roll into Toronto fresh off a day off and a sweep of the Guardians. It was an even affair the last time the two sides met at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers taking the first two games before allowing the Blue Jays to salvage a series split, all contests decided by two or fewer runs. Despite the Jays getting a bit healthier, New York is catching them during a vulnerable moment, with Toronto 4-7 in their last 11 games. But by no means can the Yankees afford to take for granted an opponent who has had their number over the last 14 months. At Rogers Centre in particular, the Yankees went a dismal 1-8 in 2025, including losses in the first two ALDS games. That can’t happen again.

Ryan Weathers has stumbled of late, surrendering seven home runs across his last four starts. He has given up five runs in three of those four starts including a May 18th outing against the Blue Jays where the Yankees rallied late to come from behind and win, 7-6. It comes at an inopportune time for the southpaw with Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole back in the rotation and Max Fried making progress in his elbow injury rehab. To that point, Weathers was seen warming up on Wednesday with Aaron Boone confirming after the game that he was in play as a reliever with the bullpen a bit gassed. This perhaps hints at the Yankees viewing him as the first name on the chopping block for demotion from the rotation once Fried returns, so there is added incentive to perform in his remaining starts. In 12 starts, Weathers is 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA (108 ERA+), 4.12 FIP, and 79 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Trey Yesavage is the newest Yankee killer to emerge in the league. Combining his ALDS Game 2 start and May 20th outing this year, Yesavage has pitched 11.1 scoreless innings allowing just two hits and a walk with 19 strikeouts. Between his rising four-seamer, devastating splitter, and underrated slider, he just seems to have the special sauce to completely silence the Yankees lineup. He’s coming off his worst start of the campaign — six runs in 5.2 innings against the Orioles — but otherwise has looked sharp after the start of his season was delayed by a month by a shoulder impingement. In eight starts, Yesavage is 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA (141 ERA+), 3.05 FIP, and 44 strikeouts in 42.2 innings.

In this period without Aaron Judge, the biggest lineup decision for Aaron Boone concerns having three players for two positions. One out of Anthony Volpe, José Caballero, and Spencer Jones will be the odd man out on a given day while the other two start at short and in right. It will be interesting to monitor whether this becomes an even rotation or whether one player gets more playing time at the expense of another — today it’s Volpe on the bench, Caballero at short, and Jones in right. The first five spots in the lineup are pretty much set in stone with Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all posting a 124 wRC+ or better since May 1st.

Alejandro Kirk and Davis Schneider return to the Blue Jays lineup, the former from a wrist injury and the latter from Triple-A, called up as the corresponding move for Daulton Varsho’s placement on the IL. The Yankees managed to keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. mostly quiet in May. He’s still trying to find his power, his .365 SLG more than 120 points below his career average while a 109 wRC+ would be the lowest mark since his rookie year. Instead, George Springer and Ernie Clement were the Yankees’ principal tormentors in May and they unsurprisingly occupy the first two spots in the batting order.

How to watch

Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON

First pitch: 7:37 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Sportsnet, SN1, TVA Sports

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | SN590 THE FAN (TOR)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

New series up North. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/JUFJASX52T

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 12, 2026

Captain Kirk returns! #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/1N5SR5ya9W

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 12, 2026

The first instance of Braves vs. Mets will have to wait a little longer, as the Mets have announced that first pitch (originally set for 7:15 pm ET) will be delayed. These northeast thunderstorms, man.

The start of tonight’s game will be delayed.

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2026

We’ll have updates here as we have ‘em!

In the meantime, Demetrius put a fun prompt up in the feed – feel free to chime in there or in the comments below.

UPDATE: The Mets have announced that tonight’s game will start at 8:30 pm ET. Spencer Strider vs. Nolan McLean coming up on Apple TV! Follow along in tonight’s game thread to chat and discuss.

Tonight's game will start at 8:30 PM.

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2026

Detroit Tigers (29-40) vs. Cleveland Guardians (37-33)

Time/Place: 7:10 p.m., Progressive Field
SB Nation Site: Covering the Corner
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31 ERA) vs. RHP Tanner Bibee (1-7, 4.09 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Flaherty	14	62.2	26.3	11.3	31.0	4.13	1.0
Bibee	14	77.0	19.9	7.6	38.2	4.64	0.6