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Is this team honestly worth staying up late for? I salute you if you’re watching this on the East Coast like this writer is too.
NOTE: IFK was in the original lineup and was scratched with left forearm inflammation, so Marcelo shifts to SS and Monasterio comes in at 2B.
⚾️ First Pitch: 10:10pm ET – T Mobile Park
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
The Rays hopefully hit reset, returning to Tropicana Field with a welll-played win.
Six of the runs scored by both teams came via the long ball. The Nationals managed two solo home runs in the second and third inning against Griffin Jax. Poor Brian Anderson and Dewayne Staats came with a ton of stats showing how well Jax has done as a starter, and each time they launched into that conversation, Jax would give up a home run (or in one case a very deep fly ball that would have been a home run in 22 ball parks, that was caught by Johnny DeLuca).
The Rays didn’t let that go unanswered, however. Hunter Feduccia walked, Yandy Diaz singled, and then Jonathan Aranda, who has been struggling, unleashed a far from overwhelming home run — 95 mph, 334 feet, hitting off the foul pole. But you don’t get fewer points just because your home run was a little wimpy, so the Rays took a 3-2 lead to close out the third inning.
After giving up the two solo homers, Jax kept the Nationals off the board, but he was nonetheless done after five innings. I had thought Jax has generally been limited to four or five innings as he ramps up to starter, but we learned from tonight’s broadcast that in fact he’s had problems with a chronic blister that apparently returns after an inning or two of pitching, and he tries to push through the discomfort. Hopefully that gets resolved soon, he’s been pitching well as a starter and it would be nice if his starts didn’t become a de facto half bullpen day.
Jax was replaced by Steven Matz, and I’ll admit my stomach lurched as he entered the game, because he’s been something of a disaster since returning from the IL. But tonight he did his job, pitching 1.2 innings and giving up just one hit.
Meanwhile, the Rays were adding to their lead. In the fourth inning, Richie Palacios doubled and then scored on a Taylor Walls single. And in the eighth, Jonny DeLuca, just off the IL, got all of a hanging breaking ball and homered to left field, to give us the final score of 5-2.
Overall, this game felt like a return to earlier season normal, with good pitching, mostly clean defense (Aranda was charged with an error as he dropped the ball while making a tag at first), and a mix of long ball and small ball. Chandler Simpson even laid down a lovely bunt and beat it out, just like in the old days (of May).
Let’s keep this going! Game 2 of this series is tomorrow afternoon, and the Rays will go with the ever impressive “TBD” on the mound.
The Orioles have struggled when facing winning teams this season. Here we are with them opening a three-game series, on the road where they’re also bad, against the team with the best record in all of baseball, the Dodgers. The on-paper stuff doesn’t point to an Orioles series victory, or perhaps to any Orioles victories at all.
All that the Orioles need to do is play better than they have been playing. The frustrating big picture thing about them this season is that doesn’t seem like it should be so hard, and yet, they keep on not playing better, or at least not playing better for long enough to really prove anything. The thing that I keep coming back to is how they’ve yet to win more than three games in a row. You know who else never won more than three games in a row? The 52-110 Orioles of 2021.
It would behoove the Orioles to play well tonight, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto lurks tomorrow and there’s probably not an “end the no-hitter in the ninth inning and still win” miracle waiting for them – certainly not as a walkoff win, since they’re on the road. Another Japanese pitcher is up for the Dodgers in this one: Roki Sasaki, a 24-year-old righty who’s veered between good and bad outings this year. His last one was bad and he has a 4.76 ERA for the season. Hit some homers against this guy.
Game recap note: This game will not be recapped until after your recap writer (that is, me) has gone to sleep and woken up on Saturday morning. I’m hoping to wake up and need to find things to say about an awesome game. Don’t wait up for the recap!
Trey Gibson is the starting pitcher tonight. He’ll have to make do with an infielder in the outfield.
Note the lack of Adley Rutschman in the starting lineup. Manager Craig Albernaz said the Orioles are giving Rutschman a full day off after he took a thrown baseball in his ear while running to first base in Sunday’s game against the Mariners. They will re-evaluate him tomorrow.
The Dodgers turn to their ace on Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto coming off two gems in a row.
Yamamoto retired his final 22 batters faced to beat the Angels on June 6 at Dodger Stadium, then retired his first 23 in a row against the White Sox in Chicago, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning last Saturday. After pitching eight innings against the Angels and 8 1/3 frames against the White Sox, Yamamoto this Saturday will try to be the first Dodgers pitcher with three straight starts of eight or more innings since Hyun-jin Rui from May 1-12, 2019.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers starts for Baltimore.
Things just can’t seem to go right for Justin Verlander this season.
Verlander, 43, strained his left hamstring during a bullpen session on Wednesday, an injury that will likely cause him to miss “weeks,” Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch said, according to The Athletic.
The nine-time All-Star has been on the injured list since April with left hip inflammation, and was set to make his first start back on Sunday before his most recent injury.
“This is not a matter of days,” Hinch said. “It’s a matter of weeks. We’re going to need a full rehab process to get him back to throwing again.
“Obviously, frustrating news for him and for us, given the excitement that was building around his start on Sunday.”
Verlander told reporters that his hip is starting to feel good, and called his strained hamstring “unfortunate.”
“My hip actually feels fairly good,” Verlander told reporters, according to MLB.com. “All of a sudden, my hamstring was bugging me and I had to cut my bullpen short. Anytime I’m not able to get my work in, it means something’s definitely off, so we decided to get it looked at, and there’s a strain.
“Just really unfortunate, man. It just sucks. I don’t know how else to say it.”
In his only start this season, Verlander gave up five earned runs and walked two batters in 3⅔ innings pitched.
Verlander, who is currently the oldest active MLB player, signed a one-year, $13 million deal to return to Detroit, which drafted him with the No. 2 pick in 2004.
After being called up in 2005, Verlander spent 13 years with the Tigers, earning both a Cy Young and MVP award for his stellar 2011 season, which saw him win the pitching Triple Crown.
Verlander was then traded to the Astros midway through the 2017 season, where he won two more Cy Young awards in 2019 and 2022.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Verlander signed a historic two-year, $86.6 million contract with the Mets but made just 16 starts for the Amazin’s before being dealt back to Houston.
After a less-than-stellar trip to Houston, the Tigers home and had an off day to sit there and think about what they’ve done, mister. But, since the sport rolls on, the American Central-leading Chicago White Sox came to town (and yes, that looks weird to me too) for the opener of a three-game weekend series on a windy Friday night which promised to make fly balls an adventure. After the lead changed hands a couple of times, a well-timed, well-placed, 2-run blooper was the difference in a 4-3 Tigers win.
Tarik Skubal made his second start since coming off the Injured List; his first one wasn’t great, but there must have been some rust that he had to shake off. When healthy this year he’s usually been the same ol’ Cy Skubal, with an ERA of 2.81 (154 ERA+), a WHIP of 0.979, and seven walks given-out in 48 innings coming into tonight’s game.
Brandon Eisert was an opener for Erick Fedde; Eisert’s in his second full season in the major leagues, after spending a bit of time with the Blue Jays in 2024. He’s opened a few times this year, so this wasn’t anything new for him. Fedde was drafted by the Nationals and spent several ho-hum years there; he then went to South Korea in 2023 and had an ERA of 2.00 with a 20-6 record. He came back to North America after that season and hasn’t been able to duplicate the success he had in Korea; maybe he can’t find any good japchae here.
Randal Grichuk, who is only in the major leagues because he hits lefties, hit a lefty: a solo home run in the top of the first put Chicago up 1-0.
Matt Vierling got that run back and added one with a two-run home run after a Dillon Dingler single, putting the Tigers up 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the fourth Junior Pérez, in his fourth major-league at-bat, hit a single — his first major-league hit — to right field. Who fielded it? Trei Cruz, making his major-league debut tonight. That’s always nice to see. But then Pérez tried to steal second, forgot it was Dingler back there, and was thrown out stealing. Whoops! Pérez wasn’t done yet, though.
Skubal got into a little trouble in the fifth: a pair of singles to start the inning put runners on the corners. Tristan Peters then hit a ground ball to second base; an on-the-field call of a 4-6-3 double play would have traded two outs for the runner from third scoring, but upon review the out at first was overturned, tying the game with only one out instead. A single and a walk loaded the bases; a grounder was hit to Colt Keith at third who came home with the throw for the second out. Skubal had Colson Montgomery at a 1-2 count and he pulled the string on a low changeup for strike three. A fired-up Skubal — always a sight to see — was seen shouting at the White Sox dugout after the strikeout, and I don’t think he was exchanging chocolate-chip cookie recipes.
Pérez, in his fifth major-league at-bat in the sixth, took Skubal deep to the left-centrefield seats for a solo home run to put Chicago up 3-2, which was surprising. With two outs in the sixth Skubal gave way to Drew Anderson, who got Luisangel Acuña to strike out looking. Skubal’s final line: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Not bad, but not very Skuballish.
Meanwhile, Fedde was mowin’ ‘em down, retiring nine straight before a Dingler leadoff single in the sixth. A one-out Riley Greene walk put two runners on base for the first time all night for the Tigers; Spencer Torkelson popped up to second base for the second out. But Kerry Carpenter hit the bloopiest of bloopers to short centrefield, scoring both Dingler and Greene to put the Tigers up 4-3.
I mean, that was a really bad decision for Peters to dive for that ball, but I will absolutely take it ten times out of ten.
Anderson carried on and had a decently-uneventful seventh inning, and Will Vest came on for the eighth. He’s been shaky lately, and walking the leadoff batter in a one-run game isn’t quite what we all had in mind, but it happened (especially since Vest got ahead of him 0-2 first). Vest then got Edgar Quero to hit a perfect grounder to second base, and a crisp double play was turned to erase the baserunner. Another grounder to second base precipitated the third out of the inning, and whadda ya know, Vest got the job done.
After failing to get any insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, Kenley Jansen was brought in to try and nail down the save against the bottom of the order. He got a ground ball to first (and covered the bag himself), got a ground ball to second, and ended things with swinging strikeout of Peters. That’s how you do it, folks.
Final score: Tigers 4, White Sox 3
The A’s came away with the first W in the first game of the series last night, riding a fantastic outing from their rookie starting pitcher to their 37th win of the season. They’ll have a chance to bump that number up a digit and get back to the .500 mark tonight. First they’ll have to take care of business against their division rival, the Los Angeles Angels.
The team will turn to lefty Jeffrey Springs this evening, hoping the veteran can turn things around. It’s been a rough June so far for Springs as he’s allowed 15 runs over his past three starts.
Here’s how the team will line up tonight:
Why make major changes after yesterday? It’s the same batting order as last night, though with one change. Lawrence Butler returns to the starting nine, playing right field. That’ll send Carlos Cortes to the DH spot and send Jonah Heim to the bench. Other than that, same lineup as yesterday. Let’s hope for the same early result.
Los Angeles will counter with their ace in Jose Soriano. The right-hander, now in his fourth season, has dominated this year and will bring a 2.79 ERA into this contest. He’s already successfully faced the A’s once this year so they’ll be hoping for some revenge tonight.
And the Halo’s lineup this evening looks like this:
Let’s go A’s!
Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA
Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Well, that was an unexpected surprise this afternoon. There had been no apparent word of any problem with Nelson after his last start. He went a solid seven innings and 95 pitches on June 15th, getting the win against the Angels. However, Nelson said the issue popped up in the third inning, but he was able to pitch through it at the time. It’s a problem affecting a flexor tendon, the ones which let you curl your fingers. According to Jack, it’s “strained but not torn,” and he will be shut down for at least 4-6 weeks, before getting another MRI. There will also need to be significant time thereafter to get him back up to starting length. September seems likely for a Nelson return.
For now, Yilber Diaz returns from the wilderness, for his first appearance in the majors since a solitary game last year, on April 25. He allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over three innings, which largely sums up the control issues Diaz has had. He had an excellent winter in the Venezuelan league, with a 1.08 ERA over 16.2 innings, with a K:BB of 23:8. Reno hasn’t been quite as kind: a 4.50 ERA and a 43:21 K:BB across 32 innings. It’s really a question of whether or not he can throw strikes. Major-league hitters are going to be more patient than the ones in Triple-A. Although Diaz’s time here is likely to be relatively brief.
That’s because the team will need a starter to replace Nelson’s spot in the rotation. That should have been – as noted in ish95’s preview – on Sunday. Presuming the team sticks with that (and the off-day yesterday gives them a bit of flexibility), that will probably mean the return of Brandon Pfaadt from Reno. It might still be a relatively short outing, because Pfaadt was still very much getting stretched back out down there. He last outing lasted only 3.1 innings and 45 pitches. I’d therefore expect something around 60 pitches on Sunday, so hopefully the rest of the bullpen will be lightly used tonight and tomorrow. They might be busy in the series finale.
And, no, I will not be discussing the World Cup at this time… 🙁
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Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was away from the team Friday for the birth of his second child.
He was out of the lineup for the series opener against the Orioles, but the Dodgers did not opt to put him on the paternity list, temporarily playing down a player instead. The team said it expects Ohtani back at some point this weekend.
Ohtani pitched Wednesday, so he should be back with the team well before his next turn in the rotation.
With Ohtani out, rookie Ryan Ward served as the designated hitter Friday, batting seventh. And right fielder Kyle Tucker moved up to the leadoff spot that Ohtani usually occupies.
Read more:Dodgers' walk-off stuns Orioles as Dalton Rushing helps cap wild comeback
Entering Friday, Ohtani owned the second-highest OPS (.962) in the National League, among qualified hitters. And his 1.47 ERA ranked No. 2 among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings, despite giving up seven combined earned runs in his past two starts.
Ohtani has been pitching through a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. And last week he missed a game to address a bout of inflammation in his left knee, which he thinks may have stemmed from mechanical problems in his pitching delivery.
Catcher Will Smith (stiff neck) will get an injection to address his neck injury, manager Dave Roberts said. Recent imaging came back “fine,” Roberts said, and didn’t reveal anything “really bad.”
Smith said last week, before undergoing imaging, that he was diagnosed with an “inflamed disk.”
Smith — remaining on the injured list past the minimum stint, despite the Dodgers’ initial optimism — will be sidelined through the weekend, and he may not make the trip to Minnesota on Monday, which kicks off a three-city trip.
Closer Edwin Díaz (elbow surgery) has progressed to throwing off the mound. He threw a 15-pitch bullpen on Friday, all fastballs, at 91-93 mph, Roberts said.
“Really positive day for Edwin,” Roberts said.
When Díaz underwent the procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow in late April, the Dodgers eyed a post-All-Star break return. And they won’t push for an aggressive build-up, with the long-term in mind.
Left fielder Teoscar Hernández (strained left hamstring) is on track to begin a minor-league rehab assignment early next week, Roberts said. ... Left-hander Blake Snell (elbow surgery) is progressing in his throwing program after undergoing a NanoNeedle scope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow in mid-May. He is close to throwing off a mound, Roberts said.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Your Diamonbacks starter tonight is one Michael Soroka, a Canadian from Calgary who was a goalie in youth hockey because OF COURSE he was. Soroka throws a low-90s fastball, a sinker, and a breaking ball that Savant calls a slurve, FanGraphs a curve. All three of them are effective pitches. An All-Star before injuries derailed him for a few years, Soroka was coming off two so-so seasons when the Diamondbacks signed him to a one year, $7.5M contract. So far it’s working out pretty darn well.
United Here Local 17 will be holding a concessions strike on Monday for the Twins/Dodgers game at Target Field. They’re asking fans to bring their own snacks. Here’s a reminder of what you can/can’t bring, by Kamie Roesler.
At issue are the fact that many concession workers are paid minimum wage ($16.37/hour in Minneapolis) and none have employer-provided health insurance. They’re also upset that Delaware North uses several volunteer vendors at the stadium. (Charities can provide volunteer staff and get a percentage of their sales.)
They’re also upset that Delaware North just fuquing sucks and always has. Remember, this is the company that, after they lost their contract to provide services at Yosemite National Park, SUED THE PARK SERVICE for the rights to names like “Yosemite National Park.” (It was a shakedown, and Delaware North got $12 million from it.)
Delaware North had the gall to issue a statement blaming the union’s “greed” in complaining about the free labor. Oh, I think we know who’s got the “greed” going on here. (For one thing, since Delaware North IS using volunteer labor, they could then take that savings and pay their regular workers more!)
This company has sucked since forever, Matt’s mentioned it here and Zach here and I did years ago but I can’t find it. Of course TEAMS could demand that companies pay players a certain amount, but TEAMS aren’t going to do that because they are all bast***s.
So I wish the strikers well, although I don’t think they’ll get anything. The poor never win in ‘Murica.
Are the Diamondbacks asking for massive amounts of public money? Are they a professional American sports team? The latest giveaway is at least $500 million, and could be more. Neil deMause, as usual, has you covered.
Some minor-league baseball players in York, PA, got snippy and refused to play in Pride-themed uniforms. Apparently also, some Giants players recently prayed away the gay by writing Bible quotes on their Pride-themed hats. Which quote? Was it this one?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Nah, I doubt it was that one.
The recently-swept Rangers remain the only MLB team that doesn’t have a Pride night. They do, as of this year, have a statue based on a guy who loved posing for despicable photos to stand against integrating public schools. FanGraphs’ Davy Andrews has a very thorough story here.
Finally, not baseball, but Minnesota sports-related: the Lynx have a rookie, Olivia Miles, who is absolutely dazzling the heck out of everybody in the league. Here’s a The Guardian piece on Miles. Here’s one from our siblings at Canis Hoopus. I liked this summation of sports fandom by Thilo Latrell Widder:
“Being good when you expect it is standard, and stressful. Being bad when you’re anticipating good is soul crushing. Being bad when you could see it coming is an exercise in futility. Only being good when you thought you’d be awful is fun.”
Futility, thy name is 8:45 on Apple TV.
Shohei Ohtani was not in the Dodgers’ lineup on Friday night, with the team announcing he was away on paternity leave for the birth of his second child.
The two-way star is expected to rejoin the club later during this weekend’s series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers added in a statement.
Because of that, Ohtani is not being placed on the official paternity list for now, leaving the Dodgers’ roster a man short for Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium.
The leave signifies the arrival of Ohtani’s second child, after he and his wife, Mamiko, welcomed a daughter last April.
A new baby will only be the latest significant development in what was already shaping up to be an historic season for the four-time MVP.
Entering Friday, Ohtani ranked second in the National League in OPS as a hitter, trailing only Juan Soto with a .963 mark to go along with 15 home runs, 42 RBIs and a .296 batting average.
On the mound, the right-hander has also been one of the best pitchers in the sport, owning a 7-2 record and 1.47 ERA. While Ohtani isn’t qualified as a pitcher (with only 73 2/3 innings through the team’s first 75 games), only Milwaukee Brewers flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski has a lower ERA among pitchers with at least 70 innings.
Lately, Ohtani has been playing through some minor physical issues.
In his last several starts, he has battled a blister on his right middle finger. While he has insisted it hasn’t impacted him, it has become visibly bloody on several occasions.
More concerning was the left knee inflammation that Ohtani forced Ohtani out of one game early last week, and sidelined him for another game a day later.
Ohtani said he believed the knee issue was the result of flawed pitching mechanics during a June 10 start in Pittsburgh, the day before his knee began to swell up on him.
But, even with manager Dave Roberts saying this week that the issue wasn’t completely behind the 31-year-old superstar, Ohtani made his next pitching start as scheduled on Wednesday, when he tossed six innings and took an at-bat late in the game after not starting as DH.
Turns out, behind the scenes, he had even more important matters to attend to.
The Mariners announced today they have selected INF/OF Weston Wilson from Triple-A Tacoma and designated INF/OF Miles Mastrobuoni for assignment.
Wilson, who’s played parts of seasons in the big leagues since 2023, was signed to a minor-league contract by the Mariners five days ago, on June 14, and played just two games with the Tacoma Rainiers before coming up. His most significant big-league experience came with Philadelphia in 2025, when he appeared in over 50 games for the Phillies. Like Mastrobuoni, Weston is a true superutility player who can play both infield and outfield – he’s largely played third base and left field – but unlike Mastrobuoni, he is a right-handed hitter. Boston will be throwing three lefties over the series in Seattle, prompting the move. Wilson will be in the lineup tonight, giving J.P. Crawford a rest day as he continues to work back from a stint on the IL with an injured hand.
It’s a really tough break for Mastrobuoni, who like Jhonny Pereda before him, was simply a victim of the numbers game. The Mariners are incredibly lefty-heavy as a roster and team are deliberately stacking left-handed starters against them for that reason, relegating players like Luke Raley, who struggles against lefties, to the bench.
It’s especially tough for Mastrobuoni – who my phone’s transcription app refers to as “Mister Bunny” or “Master Boney” depending on who’s speaking – as he played a pivotal role in the Mariners’ series win yesterday, making a spot start in left field – a position he doesn’t know well – and contributing at the plate. I have written before about how Mastrobuoni was one of the rare productive pinch-hitters for the Mariners last year, something he was working his way back to for brief time with the team after being recalled on June 10. Postgame yesterday, Mastrobuoni received praise from his manager, Dan Wilson, as well as his teammates, many of whom spoke on the importance of the role players like Mastrobuoni have on a team as decimated by injuries as the 2026 Mariners.
Starter Bryan Woo, who was helped out by several plays made by Mastrobuoni in the outfield, praised Mastrobuoni as a reflection of team health overall:
“It’s just the DNA of a good team and also close-knit clubhouse that you have guys that go down, and the next guy comes up and does his job and helps the team run, and that’s all you can really ask for, regardless of whether you see the results on the field or not. Like Mastro coming out and playing the left field that he did today – I don’t know if he’s played left field since coming up, he’s played first and third, also positions that he’s not comfortable at, and he goes out in left field and makes play after play after play. So it’s just, staying ready, and then when the opportunity comes, taking advantage of it.”
Colt Emerson was even more direct.
“Guys like that are the reasons why we succeed and we win games.”
Now it will be up to Weston Wilson – not to be confused with Will Wilson, another third baseman who stepped in at times to help the Mariners before going on the 60-day IL with his own injury, a fractured thumb – to continue that streak of role players who help the team win games while several players remain on the shelf.
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said he was “chastised” by Major League Baseball last year, after writing Charlie Kirk’s name on his hat in a game following the conservative political activist’s killing.
During an outing against the San Francisco Giants last September, Treinen had “Charlie Kirk” written between two cross symbols on the side of his Dodgers hat days after Kirk was assassinated at an event on a college campus in Utah.
As he first told the Los Angeles Times, and later confirmed to The California Post, Treinen received a warning from a league official following the outing regarding an MLB policy against putting messages of any kind on game uniforms.
“They called me and said that they have issues with people writing stuff on the hats,” Treinen told the California Post on Friday.
The league’s uniform policy has been in the spotlight again this week, after MLB issued similar warnings to four Giants pitchers who wrote bible verses on their hats during that club’s recent Pride Night game.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB said in an initial statement that was widely released to media outlets Monday.
“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” the league added in a follow-up statement on Tuesday.
In Treinen’s case from last year, he said he was not otherwise disciplined, but was told by MLB that he could be fined for putting any message on his uniform again.
During the Dodgers’ own Pride Night game earlier this month, Treinen did not wear the team’s Pride-themed hat when he took the mound for a ninth-inning appearance against the Angels on June 5.
“My job is to abide by the rules,” Treinen told the LA Times regarding that decision. “Ultimately, the only rule we have is to wear our team-issued uniform. So that’s what I chose to do.”
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (35-41), who have won three of their last four series, will open a three-game weekend series with the Cleveland Guardians (40-35) tonight at Daikin Park.
RHP Tatsuya Imai (3-3, 6.43 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season tonight for the Astros opposite RHP Tanner Bibee (2-7, 3.96 ERA) and the Guardians.
ABOUT IMAI: RHP Tatsuya Imai has proven to be tough to hit at the Major League level, as he’s held opponents to a .227 (29×128) average with 37 strikeouts in 35.0 innings…he’s had flashes of brilliance, including starting a no hitter on May 25 at TEX (0ER/6IP) and fanning nine on April 4 at ATH (0ER/5.2IP)…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.
VS. THE GUARDIANS: The Astros and Guardians have played each other in the regular season 100 times in their franchise histories, with the two teams splitting those matchups with 50 wins apiece…those games have also been evenly split in Houston (25-25) and Cleveland (25-25), which includes a 22-22 record at Daikin Park.
MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros have committed the fewest errors (29) and own the best fielding percentage (.989) in the AL…1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in 75 games and 529 total chances.
ON ASSIGNMENT: RHP Ronel Blanco, who’s recovering from right elbow surgery, began a minor league rehab assignment for the FCL Astros earlier today…he worked 3.0 scoreless innings in his start, allowing one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.
WEISS OUTRIGHTED: Announced on Wednesday, RHP Ryan Weiss cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple A Sugar Land…Weiss was designated for assignment by the Astros on June 12.
ON THE LEADERBOARD:DH Yordan Alvarez leads MLB in OPS (1.070), SLG (.642), and total bases
(176), and ranks tied for first in extra-base hits (39)… in the AL, he ranks first in batting average (.325), first in hits (89), first in homers (24), second in RBI (55), second in OBP (.428), fourth in walks (46) and seventh in runs (50).
ON-BASE MACHINE: OF Yordan Alvarez is on a 24-game on-base streak (dating back to May 22), in which he’s batting .371 (33×89) with nine homers, 24 RBI, 15 walks, a .462 OBP and a 1.181 OPS…this ranks as the fifth-longest streak of his career and his longest since he posted a 26-game streak from Aug. 2-Sept. 2, 2024.
WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker ranks third in the AL in RBI (52), behind only 1B Nick Kurtz (57) and teammate DH Yordan Alvarez (55)… he also ranks tied for sixth in the AL in extra-base hits (33) and in total bases (139), and tied for seventh in homers (18).
BACK WITH A VENGEANCE:SS Jeremy Peña is batting .288 (30×104) with four doubles, four home runs, 21 runs scored, 15 RBI and an .801 OPS in 28 games since being activated from the IL on May 18…the Astros are 16-12 since his return.
SEÑOR CIEN: IF Isaac Paredes, who recently reached 500 career hits and 100 career homers, recorded his 100th career double on Tuesday vs. DET…he is now just the fourth 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.
WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader is 1-0 with four saves and a 1.29 ERA (1ER/7IP) in seven appearances this season…he’s allowed just three baserunners (one walk, two hits) and has fanned 11…
Hader had a delayed start to the season, missing the first two months with left biceps tendinitis.
ON THE FARM: Astros No. 10 prospect OF Lucas Spence had the first two-homer game of his career last night for Double A Corpus Christi…Spence is having a strong season with the Hooks, hitting .270 with 10 doubles and 30 RBI in 41 games…in 14 games in June, Spence is hitting .377 with five doubles, four homers, 19 RBI and a 1.115 OPS.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1972 – RHP Larry Dierker makes history with a one-hit, 3-0 shutout over the Mets in the ‘Dome…Dierker’s gem gave the Astros one-hitters in back-to-back games for the first and only time in franchise history as Jerry Reuss had one-hit the Phillies, 10-0, the day before…the back-to-back one-hitters also tied an MLB record, which has only happened 12 times in modern MLB history.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Friday, June 19, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Well, the slump is on. While it’s not surprising for any team to slump for a few games, and even less surprising for an injury-laden squad to do so, it’s still been quite a turnaround for a team that held baseball’s best record for quite a while. After going 1-6 in their last seven games, with three consecutive series losses (two shortened by rain), the Braves are now a full game behind the Dodgers in the best record race. They’re a half-game ahead of the Brewers, who come to town for a holiday weekend series.
If you were hoping that maybe the Braves could change their fortunes with a new series, well… uh… maybe shunt those hopes onto tomorrow. Because, tonight, the pitching matchup involves Martin Perez and Jacob Misiorowski.
The Miz, as he is affectionately called these days, has basically been eating MLB batters for dinner. He already had an impressive debut in 2025, putting up 1.2 fWAR and a 104/88/89 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) in 15 appearances (14 starts), but 2026 has been worlds apart. Through 14 starts, Misiorowski has completed 87 innings with a 33/40/49 line. We used to talk about Chris Sale and Spencer Strider video game numbers, and, honestly, these are even better than those numbers. The Miz has 3.9 fWAR and it’s not even July yet; he leads MLB in pitching fWAR, FIP-, and xFIP-, and is second by a smidge in ERA- to boot. While his April was very good, things have taken a turn for the sublime when the calendar turned to May. In his last eight starts, Misiorowski has an 80/9 K/BB ratio, and a 4/18/38 line. Those don’t even seem like real numbers.
He’s coming off one of the greatest MLB pitching performances ever, a near-perfect game where he faced the minimum (but had a hit off him) and threw just 95 pitches while striking out 15 Phillies. Those Phillies weren’t mired in terrible offensive doldrums and the Miz diced ‘em up. What will happen to the Braves? Well, watch and witness, I guess.
To do battle against Misiorowski, the Braves will deploy Martin Perez. At one point, this was tabbed as a Chris Sale-Miz matchup, but the Braves are definitely not yet (or ever?) in the “give Chris Sale as many starts as humanly possible” operating mode, so… Perez it is. To his credit, Perez has taken over the “unexpectedly pretty good starter” position from Bryce Elder, and his season line now sits at 0.8 fWAR and a 70/93/94 line in 62 total innings, which is certainly way better than anyone was expecting out of him. Due to the phenomenon I still think of as Perez pachinko, it’s pretty hard to know exactly what you’re going to get out of him other than a relatively short outing, but maybe he can help keep the score fairly close if nothing else.
Game Date/Time: Friday, June 19, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: BravesVision
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan