In a span of 24 hours, the Yankees went from optioning J.C. Escarra to Triple-A and calling up Ali Sánchez to placing Austin Wells on the injured list shortly before Saturday’s game with “cervical headaches” and calling Escarra back up.
When Aaron Boone spoke to reporters two and a half hours before the scheduled first pitch between the Yankees and Red Sox on Saturday, there was no indication that Wells was dealing with something physically, other than him struggling mightily at the plate for most of the season.
The right-handed hitting Sánchez was in the lineup on Saturday night, but that was believed to be only because the Red Sox were starting lefty Ranger Suárez.
Austin Wells reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ June 5 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
Now, the Yankees will have to figure out how to split the workload between Sánchez and Escarra while Wells — who had started 45 of the Yankees’ 63 games before Saturday — is on the 10-day IL.
If the Yankees had known that Wells’ physical issues were serious enough for an IL stint, they presumably would not have gone through the hassle of telling Escarra he was being demoted to Triple-A on Friday night.
J.C. Escarra (r.) is pictured during the Yankees’ May 7 game. Bill Kostroun for the NY Post
“It just felt like, with our catchers struggling a little bit offensively obviously, just felt like the opportunity exists for Ali to get up here and give us a different look, and give J.C. a chance to go down there and play a little more regularly,” Boone had said before the Yankees changed course.
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“There’s some things he’s working on offensively that I really — not only has he already done a great job behind the plate, but I do feel like there’s an offensive player in there at this level. But I think some regular reps down there hopefully will serve him well and hopefully Ali can come up here and provide a little bit of a spark and a different look too.”
Jun 6, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters (29) reacts next to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) after hitting an RBI double during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Andrew Painter’s rocky rookie season was beginning to turn a corner in the middle of May when he put together a strong three-start stretch between the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Guardians. He finished six innings in two of those starts and allowed two runs or less in all three. He then met the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodgers Stadium and hit another bump in the road, allowing four runs on seven hits in less than four innings of work.
This start was sort of a new defining mark for a young pitcher that is trying to find his way. Painter entered today with an ERA well over 5 and a FIP well over 4. The fastball has been getting hammered but the slider and splitter have shown promising results when he has good feel for them.
In the first, Painter hit Sam Antonacci in the elbow guard and walked Miguel Vargas on eight pitches before Caleb Cotham walked up to the mound.
That early mound visit did not help. Andrew Benintendi slapped a single into left field for a run and then Colson Montgomery walked on six pitches. First four batters up, each of them reached base.
Painter was able to get a pair of outs but did not put hitters away. He got to two strikes against Chase Meidroth but the White Sox second baseman put a sweeper in play to move the runners and drive in a run. Painter got to two strikes again to Jacob Gonzalez but hung a splitter enough for a ground ball instead of a strikeout. 3-0.
It got worse when Drew Romo took a two-strike slider down the right field line for Chicago’s fourth run of the inning as boos began to roar that the television broadcast couldn’t hide.
After a better second inning, Painter returned to the third and ran into more issues. Montgomery crushed a fastball to leadoff the inning. Then, it was Jacob Gonzalez who crushed his first career home run on a hanging splitter that still hasn’t landed.
The rookie right-hander was able to push things to 4.2 innings with no remaining damage but it’s once again another concerning start. In 11 big leagues starts and 12 appearances overall, Painter has a 6.21 ERA and a FIP over 5. Given the lack of other starting pitching options, the Phillies might be forced to let him figure things out but this is the kind of beginning that at least warrants a conversation of being demoted.
Again, things are tricky because the Phillies next best option is probably Alan Rangel, someone with just 14 innings of big league experience as a 28 year old journeyman.
The White Sox did not need anything else as Tanner Banks, Tim Mayza, and Chase Shugart combined for four and a third innings of work. Banks specifically gave them two and a third which probably saved the bullpen an extra arm for tomorrow.
Alec Bohm caught a hanging Sean Burke cutter in the fourth and then Brandon Marsh crushed a fastball a couple of innings later. With the game at four runs, the Phillies began to make things interesting in the middle of the sixth.
JT Realmuto worked a seven-pitch walk, then Bryson Stott won a challenge that allowed him to reach first base on five pitches. Adolis García kept his hot streak going by slapping a down-and-away slider to right-center for an RBI single.
Mattingly then called for Edmundo Sosa to hit in Justin Crawford’s place when Will Venable went to left handed reliever Sean Newcomb in a high-leverage spot. Sosa struck out looking on a slider.
The Phillies would not get the tying run to the plate the rest of the way and the game fizzled out.
Aaron Nola gets the ball tomorrow against David Sandlin, who is making his third career start and has a 8.10 ERA in his first ten innings of work.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JUNE 6: Shane McClanahan #18 of the Tampa Bay Rays reacts in the dugout after exiting the game against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot park on June 6, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sam Navarro/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For ‘tis the sport of baseball to have the engineer of infield hits and great defense hoist with his own petard. The Marlins stole the Rays’ playbook and beat them at their own game with infield hits, excellent defense mixed around some timely extra base hits while employing a Jonny Bullpen plan to stifle the Tampa Bay offense.
The Marlins were led by Javier Sanoja who went 3 for 4 with a home run and Esteury Ruiz who drew 3 walks in 4 plate appearances thereby doubling his season walk total over his first 54 plate appearances with Miami.
Shane McClanahan was cruising through the first four innings until he rolled an inside first-pitch slider to Javier Sanoja, who was able to get his hands in just enough to yank the pitch over the left field wall for a home. Those frustrations leaked into a walk to Esteury Ruiz, who easily stole second base and advanced to third on the wild throw. McClanahan was able to strike out Connor Norby, but another hanging breaking ball resulted in a double to the opposite field gap by Joe Mack. That was quickly followed up by two infield singles to load the bases, but a beautiful 6-4-3 double play turned by Taylor Walls and Ben Williamson kept it at a two-run game.
Things just fell apart for McClanahan after his emotions got to him in the 5th, and then the first four batters in the 6th reached base. The linescore could have been much worse had Liam Hicks had an extra biscuit at breakfast, as Dave Wills used to say, as Hicks just missed a grand slam off Casey Legumina:
The Rays had their chances in the middle innings, but failed to execute while Nick Fortes and Taylor Walls went 1 for 3 in challenges leaving the club without any challenges after the 6th inning. That would come back to haunt the team in the 9th. The 5th inning began Richie Palacios becoming the first baserunner for the Rays after Norby was unable to cleanly pick a throw from Sanoja. Kevin Cash then tried to use Ben Williamson’s bat to ball skills for a hit and run, but the contact hitter was shut down on three pitches. Cedric Mullins was hit by a pitch just ahead of Walls grounding into an inning-ending double play.
The Rays had a chance to tie the game after the Marlins big 5th inning with Victor Mesa Jr and Yandy Diaz each singling around a Nick Fortes strikeout. Fortes was called out on strikes twice in the at bat, but replay saved him the first time while he then burned the last team challenge on an obvious strike. The hit by Mesa Jr broke up the no-hitter before that, and Diaz hit the ball so hard to right that Mesa Jr could only advance one base. This set things up nicely for the Rays with Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero up, but both had terrible at bats against former Rays reliever Calvin Faucher.
Aranda swung at one pitch the entire at bat, and it was a curveball down around his ankles after taking a first-pitch fastball and a well-tunneled curveball for the first two pltches of the plate appearance:
Caminero then followed that up by chasing a sweepter well out of the zone which went harmlessly off the end of his bat into an easy 4-3 putout to end the inning. This same duo was again given the chance to plate multiple baserunners in the 8th innings, but Aranda struck out on three consecutive 99-mph fastballs from Michael Peterson while Caminero was once again pitched up and in by Miami and got Caminero to swing at three consecutive fastballs that were not in the zone to ogo from a 2-0 count to a strikeout:
The Rays tried to make a game of it in the 9th against former teammate Pete Fairbanks with a leadoff walk by Williamson and then a one-out and two-strike bunt by Taylor Walls bringing Victor Mesa Jr to the plate with his dad in attendance, but Mesa Jr’s seeing eye single was snagged by Liam Hicks just before it got into right field who got it over to Fairbanks at first in the nick of time. Chandler Simpson was called onto pinch hit for Nick Fortes and fought off some tough pitches to go from 0-2 count to draw a walk and bring Yandy Diaz to the plate. Diaz singled before Simpson could even have a chance to steal a base providing Aranda with an opportunity for redemption from his previous two at bats. Aranda earned a nine-pitch walk after spoiling off several tough fastballs. Fairbanks was then pulled after 39 pitches to have Tyler Zuber come in and face Junior Caminero with the bases loaded.
Caminero quickly fell behind with a well-placed first pitch fastball up and then one a bit higher that was called strike two but could not be challenged. It was all for naught as Caminero would strike out chasing yet another pitch out of the zone after fouling off a hanging slider that should have been crushed:
Simpy put, while the offense mostly failed to show up until the 9th inning, the 2-3-4 hitters in this game went 0 for 13 with 7 strikeouts and left 13 runners on base is why this game ended up as it did. Perhaps it was the challenge of facing a different pitcher each time they came up, but the quality of at bats from the heart of the order was simply not there when the opportunities came up. The rubber match is Griffin Jax against Sandy Alcantara, who held the Rays down the last time the two teams tangled back in St. Pete on May 16th.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 19: Will Warren #29 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on May 19, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Will Warren versus Ranger Suárez represents the perfect pitching matchup to highlight the difference between these two teams in the success of developing starting pitchers in-house. While the Red Sox felt compelled to go outside the organization and spend big on a mid-level starter—in other words, someone who wasn’t necessarily signed to anchor the rotation—the Yankees filled out their staff with the likes of Warren and are way better off for it.
The pitcher with the best winning percentage in the AL this season, entering this game with seven wins and just one loss, Warren has benefited from outstanding run support, such as the 13 runs the Yankees scored at the A’s in his last start. Accustomed to pitching on the road as of late, this will only be Warren’s second start at home in the last 30 days. Normally that wouldn’t warrant mention, but the splits in 2026 are stark enough for Warren that it is worthwhile bringing it up. Warren enters this game with a 3.96 ERA in 36.1 innings at home, nearly two runs higher than the 2.25 mark he has on five starts away from Yankee Stadium. This difference hasn’t affected Warren’s record (4-1 at Yankee Stadium), but that has more to do with the level of support from the offense than anything else.
The emphasis on run support for Warren is even more pertinent when you consider that the Yankees will be facing a left-hander without their two lefty mashers, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton’s been out for quite some time, but Judge’s recent injury dramatically affects this offense in a way that can’t possibly be overstated. The production Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger have brought to the table against southpaws increases its importance tenfold with the lineup’s current construction.
The positive side about this specific matchup is that Suárez has reverse splits, allowing way more damage against left-handed hitters. While righties have an OPS below .600 against the Red Sox starter, lefties are up to a .770 mark. These splits show up in the track record against individual hitters. Back from their NL East days, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has a .300 batting average in 20 at-bats against Suárez. Ryan McMahon also has terrific numbers in a sizeable sample size against the Red Sox starter, but one couldn’t pass up Amed Rosario and his two homers in nine at-bats against the southpaw.
Please note that we are in a rain delay to start the game. Also, the catching situation is a mess with Austin Wells suddenly going on the IL and J.C. Escarra already back after being demoted following last night’s loss. Former big leaguer Ali Sánchez was expected to make his team debut behind the plate regardless, but just know that it’s all strange.
[Update: They postponed tonight’s game. See the linked story for more.]
After the Padres lost their sixth straight game in a 5-0 loss to the New York Mets, Manny Machado met with reporters and was asked if the team needs to find a sense of urgency.
“You guys want to hit the panic button, you guys have all been talking about it, you have all been negative about everything we’ve been doing, and we already know what we’ve been doing,” Machado said.
“We haven’t been really playing well. …Try to keep out the negative stuff out of our heads and again like I said, you just gotta try to stay positive going forward.”
"You guys want to hit the panic button…have been negative about everything we're doing… There's nobody more frustrated than everyone in here."
Manny Machado on Nick Castellanos, Padres struggles and why there's too much analytics in baseballhttps://t.co/YAvxLWAMwD
On May 18, the Padres were 29-18 and just got ahead of the Dodgers for first place in the National League West. But since they dropped the series winning just one out of two games, they’re 32-30 and are just hanging on to stay above .500.
Over their last 13 games since the Dodgers series, the Padres are 3-10.
Their struggles are primarily due to the team’s lack of offense as they are ranked at the bottom in almost every hitting category, including batting average [.215], on-base percentage [.289], slugging [.356], runs [235], and RBIs [229].
The only hitting category they are close to being in the middle of the pack with the rest of the league is in home runs [63], sitting tied at 18th with the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers.
“We don’t wanna go 0 for 20, we don’t wanna go 0 for 40,” Machado said. “We were two games, three games from winning a division last year. So every game matters.”
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Castellanos was in the middle of the worst season in his career, slashing .191/.221/.339 while hitting just 4 home runs and striking out 34 times.
Another reason for their struggles is also due to the slow start of Fernando Tatis Jr., who finally hit his first home run of the season on May 30, against the Nationals.
Ironically, while the Padres have been stuck in this cold stretch, Tatis Jr. has started to heat up at the plate, hitting .380 with 19 hits and 3 RBIs.
Padres Gavin Sheets and Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrating after they both scored. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
But like the rest of the Padres lineup, Machado has also been caught in a slump, hitting .175 with a 73 OPS+.
“There’s nobody more frustrated than everyone in here,” Machado said. “At the end of the day, stay positive, keep going forward, we have a lot of baseball to be played still.”
We zoomed through the first third of the season and now the St. Louis Cardinals have just 100 games to go in this rebuild season. Unlike most rebuilds, this one has been fun and honestly, maybe we are spoiled by being fans of the Cardinals. That was one of the topics of conversations on Cardinals on My Time with Cardinals Twitter Vibe King @JandySTL.
In our talk about this fun campaign, we both had to take stabs at the Pittsburgh Pirates wondering how their fans can be so upset about rebuilding if this is how easy it is. The meat of our conversations, though, centered around the vibes and energy that can be seen and felt in Busch Stadium these days. It is a different team than fans our used to and this refreshing injection of youth in St. Louis has engaged fans and lost many a shirt.
The Cardinals 2026 season is already a major win
Seemingly every game, Jordan Walker makes us believe a little bit more in his resurgence. With 100 games to go, we are no longer discussing small sample sizes and have moved into end of the year awards. JJ Wetherholt appears to be the real deal for the long-term and while the rest of the roster may have some holes or uncertainties, the Cardinals are in an intriguing spot as a franchise. The trade deadline, some eight weeks away could bring decisions for Chaim Bloom and company, but the main thought is that he will remain future-focused rather than looking to clinch a 2026 postseason berth.
That could spell the end of Cardinals tenures for players like free agents to be JoJo Romero, Dustin May, Ryne Stanek or for older players like Lars Nootbaar and Riley O’Brien. Assuming that at least a couple of those guys are dealt to World Series hopefuls, the Cardinals will look to replace them from the minor leagues or in the trade return. What that means will differ, as Chaim could try to toe the line of competing and retooling like he did by acquiring major league arms Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts among prospects.
Without getting too far into trade possibilities, Jandy and I discussed what a realistic trade deadline looks like for this iteration of the Cardinals. We came to the conclusion that, even if we see those guys go, the drop off at the major league level may not be too tough to swallow.
As we hit the summer months, my podcasting schedule gets a little wonky. I will continue to record as often as possible, but make sure you follow and subscribe to the channel for the latest episodes. Keep the feedback and comments coming. Thanks as always!
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 06: Dominic Smith #8 of the Atlanta Braves bats during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Saturday, June 6, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves took on the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon looking to win yet another series after only losing two series all season long up to this point.
Spencer Strider came to the mound to face Braxton Ashcraft who has an ERA of 1.77 in away games. Strider was looking to continue to develop his pitching coming back from a long recovery from injury. His biggest issue so far this season has been giving up too many hits and HRs, but other than that has looked solid.
In the top of the first inning Strider gave up a leadoff single, but then settled down to pick up a strikeout of Brandon Lowe, arguably the best hitter for the Pirates this season, and then two routine fly out. In the bottom half of the first it appeared that the Braves did not care that Ashcraft has been excellent in away games. Ronald Acuña led off with a single, Mauricio Dubón singled to put runners on the corners with no outs, and after a Matt Olson strikeout, Albies hit a sacrifice fly to center to put the first run on the board. Dominic Smith then singled followed by a much needed Austin Riley double to make the score 2-0.
Yastrzemski challenged a pitch, but lost and struck out to end the first inning.
Outside of a walk to Cruz, Strider looked solid in the second inning. He struck out Endy Rodríguez on a pitch that was close enough to be challenged, and induced a ground out and fly out. In the second, the Braves could not keep the momentum going, Wynns in his first at-bat for the Braves grounded out, and then there were two straight pop ups.
The offense was almost exactly the same for the Pirates in the third. Strider was able to induce a line out and two straight pop ups. The Braves were able to plate another run in the third. Dubón continued his hot streak with a single and after another Olson strikeout Albies got hit by a pitch. Smith moved the runner over to third on a deep fly that Cruz had to jump for at the wall. Albies stole second for his first steal of the season and then Dubón was able to score on the bad throw to second. It technically was scored a steal for Dubón since he was running when the ball was thrown. You be the judge.
The fourth is when things started to fall apart for Strider. He gave up a double to Reynolds to lead off the inning, then after a fly out gave up another double, this time to Nick Gonzales to make the score 3-1. He walked Cruz for a second time and after a strikeout got saved by Acuña when he gave up his third double of the inning but the speedy Cruz was thrown out at home. For the Braves in the fourth they were at the bottom end of the lineup and you can guess what happened, Yastrzemski, Wynns, and Kim were all sat down in a row.
Strider looked to till be shaken up in the fifth. He gave up a lead off single and then had a wild pitch to move the runner to second. He induced a ground out, but that moved the runner over and then Lowe hit a sac fly to tie the game at three. Fortunately, Strider was able to retire Reynolds via a fly out to end the top half of the fifth. We got to see some fun base running for the Braves in the fifth. Acuña led of with a single and after a Dubón strikeout, Matt Olson singled. Then Acuña and Matt Olson had a double steal. That was not a typo, Matt Olson had his second steal of the season. Albies then helped the Braves take the lead when he hit a sac fly to score Acuña. Dominic Smith then continued to add to his Braves legend status by smacking a two run home run to the opposite field to double the Braves lead to 6-3.
Riley then had his second hit of the night with a single, but Yastrzemski could not get out of his slump with a ground out to end the inning.
Dylan Dodd then came in to relieve Strider in the sixth. Strider ended his day with 5.0 innings pitched, three earned runs on five hits (three doubles), three strikeouts, and two walks. It was not his best outing, but certainly not his worst either. Dodd was able to strike out three of the four batters in the sixth with Cruz picking up his third walk of the game. Ashcraft was also relieved in the sixth inning, which appears to be the right move because the Braves were sat down in order.
Dylan Lee came in to pitch the seventh and struggled out of the gate when he walked Tyler Callihan who then stole second for his first steal of the year. Lee then settled down and after a hard hit line out, struck out two to end the top of the seventh. The Braves could not get anything going in the seventh with the heart of the order sitting down in order.
Tyler Kinley got the nod for the eighth inning in what could be considered a bit shocking, but he made it work. He got Reynolds to fly out, but then gave up back-to-back singles to O’Hearn and Gonzales to put runners on first and second with the tying run at the plate. He was able to finally get Cruz out on a strikeout that Cruz challenged and lost, and after a mound visit induced a fly out to end the top of the inning. Smith walked, but that was the only offense for the Braves in the eighth.
Raisel Iglesias came in to close it out in the ninth with a three run lead, and shocker alert, got the job done. He did give up a single, but that was it. We did have something we don’t see everyday happen. When Brandon Lowe was up to bat with two outs he got injured and had to be replaced mid at-bat. On a 1-2 count, Jhostynxon Garcia struck out to end the game.
In what is becoming common place, the Braves’ bullpen was elite and shut down the opponent. The Braves were able to put up six runs on a starter who had a 1.77 ERA in away games previous to today. Dominic Smith continued to show why he needs at-bats with two hits to include a HR and a walk. The Braves had four different players with two hits today.
With the series in the bag already, the Braves look for a sweep of the Pirates tomorrow at 12:35 pm EDT when Bryce Elder is scheduled to take the mound against Bubba Chandler.
San Diego, California - June 05: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres walks back to the dugout as Bo Bichette #19 and Marcus Semien #10 of the New York Mets celebrate after defeating the Friars at Petco Park on Friday, June 5, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Going into Friday night’s game the San Diego Padres hoped for a turnaround to their recent stroke of misfortune. It was not to be, as the Friars dropped Game 1 to the New York Mets, 5-0.
It was a game full of lowlights, with Michael King surrendering four runs in six innings, while the Padres combined for a measly three hits against Christian Scott and company. They’ll face New York’s ace tonight with a much lower margin for error in a moment where they simply need a win.
The Padres have now gone a full week without winning a game (their last win came on May 29 against the Washington Nationals). The brown and gold simply need to show that they’re capable of outscoring an opponent. Once they do that, the wheels may start turning again.
Taking the mound
Nolan McLean (NYM) v. Griffin Canning (SD)
McLean has looked like an ace despite not pitching like one. He had a rough start to the year before posting a 2.37 ERA in April. His last few starts haven’t been great, raising his ERA back to a modest 4.21 mark.
His one major advantage is that he’s yet to face the Friars. None of San Diego’s batters have faced the right-hander, so they’ll need to figure him out quick. McLean will be sure to rack up some strikeouts, recording 77 through 66 1/3 frames this year.
Canning has rebounded a bit but has not gotten any help. He’s been saddled with a 7.16 ERA but doesn’t deserve it (for the most part). Canning’s certainly been roughed up, but he’s kept the Friars in games. Since giving up six runs to the Milwaukee Brewers in just 1 2/3 innings, he’s allowed no more than three runs in each of his last three starts.
The righty has yet to face most of New York’s lineup, though Marcus Semien has faced him quite a lot (30 at-bats) after their shared time in the American League West. The second basemen owns a career .300 batting average and .856 OPS against Canning.
Batter up!
There’s not much good to say about last night’s lineup. The lone bright spot was catcher Rodolfo Durán walking in two of his three plate appearances. That should tell you everything you need to know about Friday’s loss.
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Gavin Sheets, LF
Manny Machado, 3B
Ty France, 1B
Jackson Merrill, CF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Miguel Andujar, DH
Sung-Mun Song, 2B
Freddy Fermin, C
With the news that Ramón Laureano will likely be out for the remainder of the regular season, the Padres will be forced to tinker with their lineup a bit. Recent call-ups Jase Bowen and Samad Taylor will get some longer looks than they would have if Laureano was returning soon.
Relief corps
After not pitching since last Friday’s win against the Nats, Mason Miller came into the ninth without a lead to protect for the first time this season. He followed a resurgent two innings from David Morgan and promptly gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning before Yuki Matsui pitched the final out.
That leaves the Padres with plenty of options tonight. Morgan was called up last night after Jeremiah Estrada was sent to the injured list. That means Jason Adam, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez will all be available out of the ‘pen.
"Austin came in late last night and just complained about some neck stuff that was leading to headaches, so we got today with the neurologist just to put him through all the battery of tests and everything," manager Aaron Boone said after the game's postponement. "[He] checked out negative for that, but we wanted to look into the neck and how that is affecting things, so another battery of tests tomorrow."
Boone clarified that Wells came back negative for a concussion as part of the initial tests, but that the team will look into more possible reasons for the headaches on Sunday.
Wells, like Escarra, had been struggling mightily at the plate.
Hitless in his last 11 at-bats, Wells' average has dropped to .166 on the season (24-for-145) with a .533 OPS (51 OPS+, 54 wRC+) in 47 games.
"This complaint is new so whether it’s something that happened last night or a cumulative thing, it’s tough to say," Boone said.
As for how long Wells is expected to be out, the skipper said he hopes it's not long, but with the injury being around his neck, it was something they didn't want to "mess around with."
"Hopefully it’s short," Boone said. "That’s the expectation, but, again, he’ll have testing tomorrow morning."
Ali Sanchez, who was called up by the Yanks after Friday's loss to Boston, was in Saturday's starting lineup.
In 40 Triple-A games this year, Sanchez has posted a .227/.327/.375 slashline (.702 OPS) with six home runs and 11 RBI in 128 at-bats. He has 18 walks to 28 strikeouts.
Sanchez, who signed with New York on a minor league deal in December, has 50 games of big league experience to his name, across four seasons with five different clubs. In that time, the now 29-year-old has 22 hits in 120 at-bats (.183) with a .454 OPS.
Jun 6, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Royce Lewis (23) reacts with teammates after a walk against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Close and late situations are not the friend of the 2026 Minnesota Twins.
After a leadoff homer made it 1-0 Royals, Joe Ryan settled down for six innings of one-run ball, as Royal righty Luinder Avila matched him with five two-hit frames, walking three and allowing one run in a bases-loaded, no-out situation that the Twins mustered in the home fifth.
From there, it was a bullpen battle. Guess how that turned out?
A combination of Taylor Rogers and Yoendrys Gomez got the Twins to the bottom of the eighth still in a 1-1 deadlock; the efforts of Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg did the same for Kansas City. Then, with two outs and Matt Strahm on the bump, Derek Shelton sent pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia to the plate. Arcia, not so much known for his power anymore, smashed his first bomb of the year into left, staking Minnesota to a late 2-1 lead.
I guess Eric Orze is a vegetarian. (“Staking/steaking” joke).
If you remember Yostball fondly, the ninth inning was a blast from the past. After Isaac Collins found his way aboard with a groundball single, pinch-runner Tyler Tolbert swiped second and advanced to third after a Kyle Isbel sacrifice bunt. From there, a sac fly tied the game, but not for long! Bobby Witt Jr’s 400th career RBI — a single into left — brought home a third and final run for the Royals, and handed Orze his third blown save of the season.
The Twins, in true Twins fashion, made it as frustrating as possible in the bottom of the ninth. Kody Clemens’ 13th double of the year led off the inning against Alex Lange, but Josh Bell and Austin Martin both went down on strikes. After Victor Caratini reached on a HBP, it was a storybook setup for Royce Lewis (who played second and first in this one.) But on a 3-2 pitch, Royce was called out on a cutter on the corner to lock it up for Kansas City.
The Twins will play for the split tomorrow afternoon. Heck, they might even try their hardest!
May 19, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
UPDATE: The game was delayed, then ultimately postponed due to heavy rain. It will be made up in a day-night doubleheader on August 29.
It’s a new-look lineup tonight, with a new guy (Anthony Seigler at second), a still-kinda-new-ish guy (Mickey Gasper behind the dish), Marcelo Mayer at a new-ish position (settled at short), and a guy we don’t see very often (Masataka Yoshida starting at DH). We want to see Ranger Suárez get back on track. Let’s see what Caleb Durbin (back at third base, but newly—possibly—charting a path toward respectability at the plate) gets up to today. Away-game vibes, everybody. Let’s go.
Jun 5, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers fans cheer between innings against the Cleveland Guardians at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images | Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
That wasn’t the usual way to come back from an 18-3 thrashing the previous day, but the Cubs will certainly take it, I’m sure.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-out game-tying homer in the ninth sent the game to extra innings and when Giants right fielder Victor Bericoto fumbled Michael Busch’s single in the 10th, Dansby Swanson scampered home and the Cubs won 3-2, their eighth walk-off win of 2026.
Let’s rewind to the beginning of this back-and-forth game.
Ben Brown, who’s been just outstanding since joining the starting rotation, continued his excellence Saturday afternoon. He’s got to be the closest thing the Cubs have to an ace right now. And in my view, it’s all because he added more effective pitches to his repertoire. Good for him for putting in the work needed to step up his game to the next level. Here’s Brown’s pitch mix for this one [VIDEO].
Brown allowed just one hit and two other baserunners in his 5.2 innings of work Saturday in a game that was started on time and then had some fairly heavy rain fall in the first two innings. After that it cleared up and it was a lovely afternoon with a lake breeze. No Giants runner got past first base against Brown, who struck out five.
More on Brown’s day from BCB’s JohnW53:
Ben Brown today became only the fifth Cubs pitcher since 1901 to pitch exactly 5.1 scoreless innings. The others all gave up at least three hits.
Ferguson Jenkins did it in relief on April 23, 1966, vs. the Dodgers (four hits)
The later three, all starters: Jake Arrieta, May 3, 2014, vs. the Cardinals (four) Justin Steele, April 25, 2023, vs. the Padres (three) Javier Assad, Sept. 28, 2025, vs. the Cardinals
Jenkins walked none; Assad and Browns, one; and Arrieta and Steele, two.
That was the last batter Brown faced. Caleb Thielbar entered the game to face Rafael Devers, the right move, as Devers hits left-handed.
Unfortunately, Devers took Thielbar deep fot a 1-0 Giants lead, before Thielbar struck out Luis Arraez and Willy Adames to end the inning.
Meanwhile, the Cubs could not do anything with Giants starter Landen Roupp. They had two runners on via walks with two out in the first, but Ian Happ flied out. They had just two other baserunners through five, and one of those runners, PCA on a leadoff single in the third, was erased on a double play.
So the game went 1-0 Giants to the bottom of the sixth. PCA was the leadoff hitter in the inning. Roupp ran an 0-2 count on PCA.
Both teams had chances to score in the seventh and eighth. The Giants got two on with one out against Jacob Webb, but he got two fly balls to Suzuki to end the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, the Cubs loaded the bases on a PCA single, Miguel Amaya hit by a pitch and an infield hit by Busch.
Alex Bregman was the next hitter. He struck out to end the inning, and scattered boos came out of the Wrigley Field stands.
In the eighth, Webb retired the Giants in order. He has become one of the most reliable relievers Craig Counsell has, after a rough start to his season.
The Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth, and Daniel Palencia entered to throw the ninth. Unfortunately, a couple of singles and a sac fly by Matt Chapman gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Pedro Ramirez grounded out. Carson Kelly hit a line drive — right at Adames.
The Cubs have hit six solo homers this season that tied the score.
Two by Alex Bregman, two by Michael Busch . . . and the two today by Pete Crow-Armstrong.
They hit 16 such homers last year, three by PCA. He also hit one in 2023. His five are tied with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki for the most by any Cub since 2022.
Ryan Rolison, another scrap heap pickup who’s done a good bullpen job, threw the top of the 10th. He issued a one-out walk, then struck out Devers and got Arraez to hit into a force play to end the inning — after the ball took a bounce off the mound [VIDEO].
So the game went to the bottom of the 10th still tied. Dansby Swanson had been told by Craig Counsell that he’d be getting a couple of days off (today, and presumably Sunday as well). But with Moisés Ballesteros scheduled to be the placed runner, Swanson was sent out to be that runner instead.
So the Cubs even up the series with the Giants — and it’s PCA’s day. He’s now on an 11-game hitting streak, and this was his second four-hit game during the streak. He’s got five home runs in the 11 games and overall during the streak is now batting .413/.490/.822 (19-for-45) with three doubles, five home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored. I’m not sure how he got locked in this way, but he’s hitting the way he was during the first half last year. Keep that up — and get some of the other Cubs bats going — and maybe they can dig themselves out of this hole.
The Cubs go for the series win Sunday evening at Wrigley Field. They’ll be on NBC’s featured Sunday Night Baseball game (full national broadcast, no blackouts, also streaming on Peacock). Announcers will be Jason Benetti, Jim Deshaies and Hunter Pence. Jameson Taillon starts for the Cubs and Trevor McDonald will go for the Giants. Game time Sunday is 7:30 p.m. CT.
They looked well on their way, or at least well-positioned, to win their fourth straight for the first time all season Saturday afternoon after Rafael Devers put them ahead with his eighth homer while Landen Roupp cruised through the first five frames in a strong bounce-back effort.
The Giants’ Rafael Devers rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Cubs on Saturday. AP Photo/Paul Beaty
It all fell apart thanks to a familiar culprit.
Their bullpen.
Roupp allowed Pete Crow-Armstrong to tie the score on a mammoth home run to lead off the sixth, and after escaping two bases-loaded jams in the sixth and seventh, San Francisco’s relievers couldn’t hold on any longer.
One out from securing a 2-1 win that would have been their fourth in a row, Crow-Armstrong did it again. He demolished the first pitch he saw from Keaton Winn and sent it toward the scoreboard in right field, sending the game to extra innings.
The Cubs sent the Giants onto the streets of Wrigleyville 3-2 losers with their MLB-leading eighth walk-off win of the season when Victor Bericoto booted a line-drive single by Michael Busch in the 10th that allowed Moises Ballesteros to score from second.
Ballesteros was initially held up at third until Bericoto failed to field the ball cleanly.
Bericoto entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Winn, the pitcher, who was due up in the order in the top of the 10th because manager Tony Vitello pinch-ran for designated hitter Bryce Eldridge with Jonah Cox and opted to keep Cox in the game for defense over Casey Schmitt, who was in left.
It resulted in the Giants playing without their slugging top prospect or their team leader in home runs the rest of the game, with the inexperienced Bericoto in right.
“I mean, we got where we wanted,” Vitello said. “Their best player did what he did and from that point on, you’re chasing your tail a little bit on the road. … Schmitty, I don’t think can be labeled just an infielder anymore, he’s spent plenty of time out there. But obviously with the lead, we want our best defense out there in the outfield.”
Winn was attempting to record his fifth out after entering the game in the eighth, a similar task he executed to secure his first career save in the Giants’ 1-0 win against the Brewers earlier this trip.
“Same deal tomorrow with Keaton — still have faith in him,” Vitello said. “What he did in Milwaukee was tremendous.”
After banging out 19 hits and 18 runs a day earlier, the Giants were held to five hits by Ben Brown and the Cubs’ bullpen, with their only offense until the ninth coming on Devers’ solo shot.
Two of their hits came from Jung Hoo Lee, who extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games. He and Eldridge ignited a rally against Cubs closer Daniel Palencia to give them a brief 2-1 lead in the ninth. But they were unable to advance, let alone score, the automatic runner on second base in the top of the 10th.
“I don’t think you’re ever OK with a loss, but … we’re playing good ball,” Vitello said. “We played good today. They absolutely battled their [rear ends] off.”
The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong watches one of his two home runs Saturday against the Giants. AP Photo/Paul Beaty
What it means
The Giants didn’t invest in their bullpen this offseason, and Saturday’s loss was just the latest instance of it coming back to bite them.
Without a clear closer, Vitello burned through Caleb Kilian and Erik Miller before handing a tied game over to Winn, who retook the mound in the ninth holding a 2-1 lead.
Since ending April with the second-best bullpen ERA in the majors, the Giants’ patchwork bullpen has regressed to the league’s fourth-worst group, with a 5.22 ERA.
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Roupp looked no worse for the wear after dealing with back tightness in his last start.
After laboring through 96 pitches to complete four innings while surrendering eight runs in his last start, Roupp’s velocity was back to normal, and he cruised through 5 ⅔ frames.
“I felt good today,” Roupp said. “I thought today was a step in the right direction for me.”
The only damage the Cubs did against Roupp came on Crow-Armstrong’s first homer that tied the score at 1 to begin his final inning, but after putting the next batter on with his third walk, Roupp responded by getting Busch and Alex Bregman to swing through off-speed pitches at the knees for the next two outs.
“Overall, I think I made a lot of good pitches,” Roupp said. “Really one mistake all day was the fastball to PCA.”
The Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee and his teammates saw their three-game winning streak snapped Saturday. Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Who’s not
Eric Haase lost a low-leverage ABS challenge, leaving the Giants with just one for the rest of the game, when he tried to overturn a ball below the strike zone in the first inning with nobody on and two outs.
It wasn’t the first time this trip the Giants chose a poor time to deploy their challenges. They were forced to protect a 1-0 ninth-inning lead against the Brewers without a challenge remaining Wednesday when Drew Gilbert lost their last one on an upheld strike in the top half of the inning.
On the season, the Giants have been one of the majors’ least effective teams using the ABS system — one of six teams to lose more than they win (48%) with 16.5 fewer overturns than expected, according to Statcast.
Up next
The Giants and Cubs are scheduled to square off at 5:30 p.m. PT on NBC’s nationally televised “Sunday Night Baseball.”
With an expected 4 a.m. arrival back in San Francisco and a date with the Nationals later that evening, the Giants sent Logan Webb, their scheduled starter, home ahead of the team.
“The travel,” Vitello said, “will be a little bit of a kick in the groin.”
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 6: Ernie Clement #22 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the third inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 6, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tara Walton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a feel-good win yesterday, the Orioles put up a clunker today. As is often the way, they were unable to score much until the late innings, and this time it was too little, too late. And the recently very steady Kyle Bradish struggled and lasted just four innings. It was not a winning combo and the Orioles fell, 6-4.
Bradish came into this game on a five-game tear that had us all hoping he was back to the vintage Bradish we knew from before his Tommy John surgery. His first start of June did not go so well. He fell behind early and often today and struggled with his control.
The Orioles blew a two-on, no-out situation in the first inning, but got on the board in the second. Taylor Ward started the game with a walk, as he does, and Gunnar singled behind him. Adley Rutschman moved the runners up with a groundout, but Pete Alonso and Coby Mayo struck out to end the inning.
After the first, the Blue Jays replaced opener Braydon Fisher with Spencer Miles. Miles faced the Orioles inlast Sunday in Baltimore and gave up six runs in three innings, three of which came in on a home run by Colton Cowser. Wouldn’t you know it, Cowser faced Miles in the second inning today and hit another bomb. Unfortunately, it was just a solo shot and was not the start of a rally.
In fact, after the Cowser home run, Miles retired nine straight batters. The next Oriole to reach base was Blaze Alexander when he walked with one out in the fifth. He was stranded when Jackson Holliday and Tyler Ward struck out.
While the Orioles’ batters flailed against Mile, Bradish was falling apart. The Blue Jays tied the game at one in the bottom of the second inning, but it felt like they should have gotten more. Three of the first four batters reached on two singles and a double, but Bradish got a big strikeout and then a groundout to escape.
The third inning was…bad, especially when you take into account that Bradish got the first two batters out. He went 3-0 on George Springer before getting him to ground out, then struck out Nathan Lukes. Vlad Guerrero walked and Jesús Sánchez singled on a ball that Jackson Holliday probably should have gotten to. That set up a three-run, no-doubt homer by Ernie Clement. It put the Blue Jays up, 4-1, and they weren’t finished.
Bradish just needed one more out, but he couldn’t get it. Brandon Valenzuela, Kazuma Okamoto, and Andrés Giménez all singled. Valenzuela came in to score on the Giménez hit, but luckily for Bradish, Okamoto got himself thrown out at third to end the inning.
Bradish labored through a scoreless fourth inning but got a little help from George Springer who was running on a pitch but got thrown out by a mile. He did not return for the fifth inning. His final pitching line: 4 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Let’s hope it was just an off day and he’ll be back on track next time.
Keegan Akin came on in relief to pitch two innings, and immediately gave up run of his own. Of course he did. He followed with a scoreless second inning so his ERA actually went down to 8.64. Great job?
Spencer Miles started the sixth inning for the Jays, but exited after giving up Gunnar Henderson’s second hit and getting Rutschman to fly out on a ball he just got under a bit. With a five-run lead, Toronto manager opted to go with Jeff Hoffman.
When last we saw Hoffman, he was blowing the game for the Jays in the bottom of the ninth in Baltimore. Hoffman was charged with five runs back on May 30th in the Orioles walk-off win. It wasn’t quite as bad today, though he did immediately allow a two-run homer to Pete Alonso. That cut the score to 6-3, but Hoffman got out without other trouble.
The Orioles cut into the lead a bit more in the seventh. Mason Fluharty replaced Hoffman. Fluharty struck out pinch-hitter Tyler O’Neill, which is not a surprise. But he could not retire Alexander, who hit his second home run of the season. That made the score 6-4, but the Orioles couldn’t take it any further. Fluharty struck out both Jeremiah Jackson and Ward.
Henderson started the eighth inning with his third hit of the game, an infield hit up the third base line. But none of his teammates could bring him in. Louis Varland, the closer with a minuscule 0.28 ERA, retired the side 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game. Samuel Basallo pinch-hit, which was good to see after he left yesterday’s game injured. Of course, the cynic in me is worried that they sent him in there to ground out and reaggravate his injury for nothing.
Shout out to Albert Suárez, who the Orioles just keep DFA’ing and re-signing. He pitched two scoreless innings today and worked around a leadoff double that Leody Taveras should have caught in center field. I think maybe Taveras is afraid of the wall because he has a lot of trouble near it. I would be afraid of the wall, too, but nobody pays me to play center field.
Orioles lose, 6-4. They can still get the series win tomorrow, but they will have to beat former Orioles Kevin Gausman to do so.
