Jul 19, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) reacts after hitting game winning three run home run in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Welcome to week 17 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (62-37); 3-0 this week; 99.2% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers swept the Marlins coming out of the break, as they completed a trio of come-from-behind victories with a pair of walk-offs.
William Contreras had the biggest hit of the weekend, as he launched a three-run walk-off homer in Sunday’s series finale, sending Milwaukee home with a 3-1 victory. Garrett Mitchell also had a big weekend, leading the team with five hits and driving in the winning run in Friday night’s walk-off win. Joey Ortiz had the only other homer, while the team combined for nine steals in 10 attempts, including a pair from Christian Yelich, Ortiz, and Jackson Chourio.
Shane Drohan had the longest start at six innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine in a winning performance. Robert Gasser and Logan Henderson had nearly identical lines in their starts, as each went five innings with one run allowed on three hits and no walks. The only difference was that Henderson struck out four while Gasser struck out five. Craig Yoho was the only bullpen arm to allow a run (and even he picked up his first career win with a shutout 10th inning on Friday), as Grant Anderson, Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, and Abner Uribe combined for 10 shutout innings and 14 strikeouts.
Milwaukee stays home this week as they’ll host the Mets and Rockies through next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (56-43); 2-1 this week; 79.6% chance to make postseason
The Cubs dropped their series opener against the Twins on Friday but bounced back to win the series with a pair of wins on Saturday and Sunday.
Alex Bregman and Michael Busch both homered this weekend, while Nico Hoerner led the team with eight hits in just 13 at-bats, driving in five. Pedro Ramírez and Seiya Suzuki added four hits each, with both picking up a pair of doubles.
Matthew Boyd worked six strong innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts, while Shota Imanaga turned in the best performance of the series with seven shutout frames, striking out four. Tyler Ferguson, Gavin Hollowell, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton, and Jacob Webb combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Chicago wraps up the homestand to begin the week with three games against the Tigers. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll visit the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48); 2-1 this week; 47.7% chance to make postseason
The Pirates visited Cleveland this weekend, taking two of three as they split a doubleheader on Saturday (after Friday’s game was canceled due to air quality) and won 7-1 on Sunday.
Esmerlyn Valdez continues to swing the bat like Babe Ruth, as he picked up three hits this week, all of the extra-base variety with a pair of homers and a double, driving home five. Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez both homered as well, with four other players adding three hits apiece.
Jared Jones and Paul Skenes both made strong starts, with Jones going five innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts and Skenes allowing one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Mason Montgomery also worked as an opener for Khristian Curtis, with Curtis going five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Montgomery, Gregory Soto, and Yohan Ramírez all had scoreless weekends for the bullpen.
The Pirates now head to New York to face the Yankees before they return home to host the Cubs over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (51-47); 1-2 this week; 27.3% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals dropped two of three in Phoenix this weekend, winning Friday’s series opener against the D-backs but dropping both Saturday and Sunday’s games.
Jimmy Crooks and JJ Wetherholt both homered this week for the Cards, with Alec Burleson leading the team with six hits and scoring four runs. José Fermín added four hits, and Jordan Walker picked up three hits, including a double.
Michael McGreevy had the lone quality start of the weekend, going 6 1/3 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) and five strikeouts. Justin Bruihl, Riley O’Brien, and Matt Svanson had a scoreless inning each in relief.
St. Louis will stay out west with a visit to the Angels to begin the week. They’ll then return home to host the D-backs for a makeup game on Thursday before welcoming the Reds to town.
5. Cincinnati Reds (45-53); 2-1 this week; 1.2% chance to make postseason
The Reds visited Colorado this weekend, taking two of three against the Rockies.
It was a homer-heavy weekend in the high altitude of Denver, as the Reds had 10 homers as a team, including a pair from Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino. Elly De La Cruz added a homer and led the team with six hits, while Sal Stewart also homered and led the team with five RBIs.
Brady Singer and Hunter Greene both earned wins with quality starts, as Singer went seven innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, and Greene went six innings with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts. Tejay Antone, Brock Burke, Julian Garcia, and Pierce Johnson combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Cincinnati will continue the road trip with visits to Seattle and St. Louis through the coming weekend.
Jul 19, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws in the outfield before the second game of a double header against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The original plan was for Shohei Ohtani to start on Wednesday’s series finale in Philadelphia, putting him in the sixth rotation spot after the break, maximizing his time off from pitching to rest his left knee, while also pitching directly before an off day. But those plans changed over the weekend, after Ohtani felt discomfort while throwing off flat ground on Friday.
“He was on the schedule when we broke for the All-Star break,” Roberts said. “And then it was more of the training staff talking to him about, ‘Hey, coming out of the break, how does Wednesday look? How do you feel? If you don’t feel 100 percent, we have the opportunity to just kick the can.’
As with Blake Snell, who has already started a rehab assignment, and Tyler Glasnow, the goal for the Dodgers is to have them all ready to pitch in October. But unlike the others, Ohtani is also the team’s best hitter. From Katie Woo at The Athletic:
“A lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts explained. “Could he probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.
“I think that’s why we’re trying to be a little bit more on the proactive side … so we don’t have to worry about it throughout the end of the season.”
Ohtani this season has a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts with 95 strikeouts against 26 walks. Among major league pitchers with at least 80 innings this season, he ranks second in ERA and third in xERA (2.70). Ohtani’s last pitching start was July 3 against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
“In one game, it’s great,” Roberts said. “But the exponential effect that it has on everybody else, it is huge, and it’s hard to really nail down how valuable that is.
“If you have a guy that not only puts you in a position to win a game, but also saves a lot of arms, that goes hand-in-hand with the top end of the rotation guy.”
Yamamoto leads the majors this season averaging 6.65 innings per start.
Trey Gibson had the start today and pitched well despite taking the a loss. He allowed a run on a walk and a triple, but covered four innings and allowed just the one run. The game remained 1-0 until the seventh inning, when three runs came in against Hans Crouse before Crouse had retired a single hitter. On the other hand, Yaramil Hiraldo, Nick Raquet, Yaqui Rivera and Enoli Paredes all had scoreless outings.
Norfolk had just two hits on the day, a single apiece from Silas Ardoin and Enrique Bradfield Jr.
Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Baysox stormed back with four late runs, their second comeback win of the weekend
Brandon Butterworth got the scoring going for Chesapeake with a home run in the fourth. In the seventh, Willy Vasquez knocked in a two-run double. In the bottom of the eighth, Thomas Sosa hit a two-run homer, scoring himself and Aron Estrada.
Luis de León pitched well, with 4.2 one-run innings where he struck out five. He was followed by Zane Barnhart, who allowed two runs in under an inning. Micah Ashman threw 1.2 scoreless, Christian Heberholz allowed one run, and Jeisson Cabrera got the save.
High-A: Frederick Keys 17, Greenville Drive (BOS) 6
A day after scoring 12 runs on 20 hits on in Greenville, Frederick blasted six home runs in a 17-run, 25-hit donnybrook. This was a lot of hits. RJ Austin went 4-for-6. Ike Irish 4-for-7 with two home runs and six RBI. Creed Willems, in High-A rehabbing, finished 3-for-6 with a homer. Wehiwa Aloy went 4-for-5. I’ll put it this way: the top six Keys hitters each had two or more hits, and three each had four.
Starter J.T. Quinn gave up four runs in 2.2 innings on a three-run home run. Following Quinn, the bullpen pitched a solid 6.1 one-run innings. That comprised Todd Kniebbe, Riley Cooper, Cohen Achen, Trent Turzenski, Chandler Marsh, and Braeden Sloan.
Low-A: Salem RidgeYaks (BOS) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
Starting pitcher Dalton Neuschwander got jumped on early, allowing three runs on a first-inning home run. He’d pitch into the fourth and allow one run after that.
The Shorebirds got two runs back in the second inning on a Junior Aybar RBI single and a double steal!
It was a three-hit day for Perez and a two-hit day for Mejía. DJ Layton hit a double. Jordan Sanchez, Andrés Nolaya, Elvin García, Miguel Rodríguez and Aybar each had a one-hit day.
The pitchers who followed Neuschwander kept it together: Adrian Heredia threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Brendan Parks threw 1.1 scoreless, and Zac Lampton each threw an inning-plus without letting in a run.
CORAL GABLES - MAY 09: Louisville outfielder Zion Rose (32) bats in the fifth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Louisville Cardinals on May 9, 2026, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, FL. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“It stinks for everybody to be out there in that situation,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You never want to be in that spot (late in the game), but that’s the spot we put ourselves in. And you know, with seven more games before an off-day, you’ve got to get a position player out there to keep people fresh to pitch tomorrow.”
There will be interest in relievers John Schreiber, Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange, too. But the most intriguing part of this Deadline will be what the Royals decide to do with their two veteran starters, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, the latter of whom is probably the Royals’ best trade chip this year. But trading them away is not so simple.
“Those [are] two guys we’re going to count on,” Picollo said. “We already have needs in our rotation. We’ll be open-minded to anything. But we have to be very, very pointed in what we want to get out of any one of those two. And also, they made a commitment to us. I think that’s important to the morale of the team. Where you have two guys that have done what they’ve done in their careers, and they want to be here.
“With that being said, teams want to talk about them — it’s never going to hurt to at least listen. I think those guys understand that.”
“You know, every day I hear somebody tell me about that,” Perez said of the record. “So it’s hard not to think about it. I don’t try to think about it when I’m hitting. I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself, you know.
“I try to see the ball and hit the ball. When it happens, I’m happy. Hopefully, I can do that quick.”
“He said he didn’t feel great playing catch, but then as he got on the mound, he felt better,” manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday morning. “The first couple of innings were pretty good. In the third inning, he felt more aggressive discomfort. They thought it was best to get him out of there.”
“I’m grateful to be here, with an organization that cares about their players, cares about their development, cares about the team,” Rose said. “A city that backs their team. I’m excited to get going.”
“I hate losing and I hate losing against people,” Rose said. “And I feel like, in this game, everything is a competition.
“It’s so great because it’s a team game, but in the box it’s one on one. So it’s me versus the pitcher. You know, I could care less who’s up there (pitching), and that’s the great part about it.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 12: Liam Doyle #12 of the St. Louis Cardinals on the National League Team pitches during the 2026 MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today, I’m only going to cover the Memphis Redbirds and the starting pitching prospects at Springfield. On Thursday, the relievers at Springfield and the lower minors, but not the rookie leagues. I gave the update on the rookie leagues earlier this month. But there really aren’t that many interesting rookie league pitchers so it wouldn’t have added a ton to this post.
The problem Quinn Mathews is currently facing is that he has not managed to string many starts together where he seemed to have control. He walked four guys in his first start this season, and then over a period of three consecutive starts, the best he did all year was 5 walks. But you could only find one three-start period where he did that. His next highest was 6 walks over 3 games. Same thing. You were more likely to look at his last three starts and see 9 or 10 walks than 5 or 6.
Good news however: his most recent three starts involved just 3 total walks, for a BB% of 4.4%. I’m not sure what kind of sample the Cardinals are looking for, I kind of think they’d walk better control over a longer period than just three starts. But he might get called up next week. It is important to note that might actually have more to do with the no off-days in the schedule than them actually thinking he’s ready. But that’s his big thing right now: if only he walked less, he’d be in St. Louis already.
Speaking of inconsistency, Hence has not managed to find a rhythm this year at all. His ERA is updated, but his other stats will get worse because he threw 0.1 IP with a BB and HR allowed yesterday. Moved to the bullpen for what I would have assumed were innings concerns, there are now performance concerns. He seems to be facing an entirely different problem than he has in the past, when it was pretty much purely injury concerns. The good/bad news is that something has changed in his delivery or mechanics. And that’s good news because you change mechanics or delivery back to what it was before. The bad news is that if he never finds it again, he doesn’t have a future MLB career. He’s still just 23.
Tekoah Roby, RHP – 24 (VEB’s #11 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Thomas Saggese and John King for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton
Stats: N/A
Roby underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season and is not likely to pitch this season.
I feel like Mathews has gotten plenty of headlines about how much he has struggled with control, but Mautz is really getting much attention and he’s been worse. He has a good ERA, somehow, but every other stat is not good. He isn’t striking out a lot of hitters and he’s walking a ton of them. The Cardinals are clearly avoiding calling up Mautz – they’ve had chances and they went with journeymen – and looking at these stats, I understand why.
So obviously rehab appearances are not about stats, but I would call these numbers concerning. My first instinct is that he’s still not healthy. He could just as easily be rusty. Certainly if his whole rehab goes like this, I would imagine he’s shut down again.
Hunter Dobbins, RHP – 26
Acquired: Traded with Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aitia for Willson Contreras
Last season, Dobbins threw just 78.2 IP all year. This year, he’s already at 84 innings. With over two months left to play, I think it’s pretty clear the Cardinals aren’t going to seriously restrict his innings, but I also think they’re trying to do minor stuff here and there to keep his innings lower than his full potential. Because he’s made 18 appearances across both the majors and minors, he’s one start behind all the MLB guys, and he’s thrown 24 less innings than McGreevy, 14 less innings than both May and Pallante, and 4 less innings than Kyle Leahy – who has also made 18 starts, but is making his 19th start tonight. He did throw 125 innings in 2024, so I assume the Cardinals hope he’ll reach that at least.
Pete Hansen, LHP – 25
Acquired: 3rd round pick, 97 overall in 2022 draft
I’ll give Pete this: he’s hanging in there. I haven’t really been a believer of his, because he’s always been okay while never being the young guy. He’s never been old for his level necessarily, just a guy posting okay stats at AA at 24-years-old is not going to get my attention. But he’s mostly maintaining his production at each stop. He struck out 21.1% of people in Springfield, so far it’s even gone up a bit. He’s been worse because of the walks, but as you can see with Mautz and Mathews, it’s apparently hard to not walk guys in Memphis and 8.5% is perfectly respectable. While his stats remain okay, this is probably the first time I can squint and see him with an MLB career.
Sem Robberse, RHP – 24(VEB’s #13 prospect in 2025)
Acquired: Traded with Adam Kloffenstein for Jordan Hicks
See, now this, this is the kind of performance I want to see in rehab. Who cares about the ERA in 9 IP? He has not walked a single batter and almost everything is being hit on the ground. Great sign. He only threw 14.2 IP last season, so I’m not sure how much they’re going to ramp him up cause obviously it’s going to be pretty easy to beat 14.2 IP with any kind of health.
The Cardinals traded two months of Phil Maton and one of the pieces they got back, who had made 7 appearances in High A at the time of the time, is in AAA less than a year later. Here’s some more fun news: Mason Molina was originally drafted by the Brewers, who traded him to the Rangers for Grant Anderson, a perfectly cromulent but whatever reliever. Molina will probably have to get groundballs at some point to be a starter though – not a lot, but he’d allow too many homers with anything lower than 30%.
Not really stats that make you think he belongs in the big leagues, actually I would describe those stats as good enough for exactly the role he has now – bullpen shuttle reliever.
Hancel Rincon, RHP – 24
Acquired: Internatonal amateur free agent signing of the Dominican Republic in 2019
That’s about as clear-cut of a multi-inning reliever as you’ll get. His three starts were not actually starts, at least not 5 IP starts. He has walked give guys in his two most recent appearances so I don’t think he’s close to getting called up.
Love ended up with not particularly impressive numbers in Springfield despite a fantastic start. The Cardinals promoted him anyway and I guess it shouldn’t be a shock that he has struggled. I was kind of hoping he was going to be an effective reliever, but given his age, it does appear to be a true longshot, despite him being on the door step to the big leagues.
I got to tell you, sharing the pitching stats are a real bummer. I’m pretty sure the offensive environment is a little bit crazy, so understand that a decent or even seemingly below average looking line is actually fine. But that is not an argument that these are good stats. These are an improvement over his performance last season in AAA, although it’s mostly just because he’s getting a lot of groundballs.
Well bad news: Winquest got rocked yesterday. I updated the ERA, not the other stats. And the other stats will get worse, mainly because he allowed a homer and didn’t strike anybody out. Good news though is that the K/BB ratio certainly suggests he’s very close to being MLB ready.
Murphy is a good example of how an injury can derail a career. Murphy had 11 good starts in AA – albeit a little over 3 innings per start – and then he essentially missed his the rest of that season and the next season (which was mostly spent on rehab appearances). So the Cardinals grabbed him up and ploppped him in the bullpen. And there might be something here with his GB rate being so high.
We probably should have expected some growing pains with Doyle. It was known he needed to work on his secondaries. And sometimes that leads to games like yesterday, when he walked 5 guys and struck out just 3 guys. Yesterday’s stats are not reflected in his FIP or xFIP, so those will be worse when you read this. But he is still missing quite a few bats, balls are maybe falling more often than they would in the majors, and I really don’t think the Cardinals care about Doyle’s specific stats.
Jurrangelo Cjintje, RHP – 23 (VEB’s #5 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Tai Peete in 3-team trade for Brendan Donovan
Yes, I am aware Cjinjte is now in Memphis. He made his first start for Memphis yesterday, and wasn’t very good, allowing 6 ER in 3.2 IP and more walks than strikeouts. This is really not surprising because his stats at Springfield weren’t very good. So interesting move to promote him. I think the Cardinals are not looking at the same stats we are, or at least he’s doing something they are encouraged by that isn’t necessarily reflected in the stats themselves.
Brandon Clarke, LHP – 22 (VEB’s #9 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Richard Fitts and Patrick Galle for Sonny Gray
You would have legitimately no clue that Clarke actually pitched pretty poorly on Saturday, because the attention was rightfully on the fact that he threw 103 mph. But he walked two and struck out 1 of the 7 batters he faced while giving up two runs. It also speaks to the fact that rehab appearances don’t really matter. When the Cardinals deem him ready for Springfield, that’s when I’m going to care that he’s walking more than he’s striking out.
As good as Hjerpe’s stats are so far…. he is not beating the reliever allegations with them. I’ve pitched it before, but certainly someone who is striking out 44% of batters could probably be an MLB reliever right now. I wouldn’t promote him right now, but I definitely would like to see him get innings in September. I don’t think this is a giving up on starting move – he didn’t throw an inning last season, so I don’t think the Cardinals are going to have him throw more than a few innings per start anyway. If the Cardinals are still in contention, try using him as a lefty weapon out of the bullpen. That’s just my hope.
Chen-Wei Lin, RHP – 24 (VEB’s #11 prospect in 2025)
Acquired: International amateur free agent signing out of Taiwan in 2023
While these are certainly not what I wuld call good stats, he is striking out 27% of batters while having a greater than 50% GB rate. There’s a starter toolkit here and considering injuries restricted him to 50.1 IP, it’s good to see he has been healthy.
I know Chaim Bloom has a reputation for taking things slow with pitchers, but there are kind of lot of pitchers in this system that were seemingly promoted aggressively and who don’t have particularly great stats at that aggressive placement. Davis made 8 total starts last year and missed a lot of bats and missed the strike zone a good amount. If they repeated Davis in High A, I’m sure they were confident he would have good stats, so they wanted to push him. I just kind of get the feeling that the Cardinals don’t want their starters to be too dominant because then they aren’t being challenged enough.
Blake Aitia, RHP – 23
Acquired: Traded with Yhoiker Fajardo and Hunter Dobbins for Willson Contreras
Davis is followed by another pitcher who honestly proves my point more. It does not feel like Aita gets promoted in an organization that promotes its pitchers too slow. It could be an entirely AAA to majors reputation that Bloom got here. It feels like pitchers are promoted aggressively honestly.
Thompson is currently in Springfield, hence why he isn’t in the Memphis section. Props to Randy Flores on picking this guy up in the 17th round, regardless of how far he ends up making it, Thompson looks more like a potential MLBer than the vast, vast, vast majority of 17th rounders ever do and that alone makes it a good pick.
And that’s where I’m going to stop. It felt kind of awkward, because I reached the end of Memphis and noticed that covering all of Springfield would actually make this a fairly long post, but I didn’t want to ignore Springfield completely, so today you get the starters, and on Thursday, you get the relievers plus the lower minors. Covering all the bullpen pitchers really adds up. Thankfully, I can pretty much ignore the bullpen guys in the lower minors. So I will get the pitching section finished on Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
It’s a full week of interleague play for the San Francisco Giants this week.
First up, the Giants take a quick trip east for a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals starting tonight. After that, they head back to Oracle Park to welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town for a weekend series.
As usual, it’s time to pick which series we’re most interested in this week. And I am met with a difficult decision, because the Royals and the Angels are (as of the time this is being written) two of the only teams in baseball with worse records than the Giants. They are also both former World Series adversaries. And I have much fonder memories of the 2014 World Series than I do the 2002 World Series. So I’m going to go ahead and pick the Royals.
Which series are you most interested in this week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants play the first of three against the Royals tonight at 4:40 p.m. PT.
Jul 19, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; A Detroit Tigers fan holds a sign urging pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) to remain with the team before the MLB game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Happy Monday, everyone! We’re fully into the second half of the season now. With that, we will be hearing a lot about the trade deadline and which teams seem poised for a potential postseason run. It’s wild to think that we are already thinking about that, but such is the course of the season. We wait and wait until the baseball season starts, and then before we have a chance to even think about it, the season is halfway over.
To lead off our Monday, we’re looking at some injury updates from Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, a sad update from what was meant to be a very happy weekend in Toronto, and looking at some trade deadline questions and speculation.
It is with profound sadness that the Blue Jays mourn the passing of pitcher Duane Ward
Duane arrived in Toronto on Friday alongside his 1992 and 1993 teammates but was absent from Saturday’s ceremony … He passed away in Toronto of natural causes
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 19, 2026
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 19: Hunter Goodman #15 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates with teammate Mickey Moniak #22 after his two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field on July 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies have begun the second half of their season with a series loss against the Cincinnati Reds at home. Tonight, they begin a three-game set against the Washington Nationals and then set out on the road to face the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.
There are 61 games left in the season, and there are a few storylines worth watching as we look to the second half.
The trade deadline
The first, and perhaps most important, storyline of the second half is what the Rockies will do ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. They are clearly in line to be sellers — if they want to be. Historically, the Rockies have not been terribly active at the trade deadline, but that could change this year under a new front office.
There are some interesting potential trade chips this year. The most likely players to be traded will be a combination of veteran players, as some of the younger players such as TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros and Cole Carrigg, are seen as part of the team’s future. These could include the following:
Antonio Senzatela
Jake McCarthy
Mickey Moniak
Willi Castro
However, it’s also possible that the Rockies move some of their younger non-rookies:
Hunter Goodman
Juan Mejia
Brenton Doyle
Ezequiel Tovar
The Goodman question is, perhaps, the most intriguing one — Do you keep your 26-year-old, back-to-back All-Star and build the next contending Rockies team around him? Or do you trade him for what could potentially be a massive haul for the next contending Rockies team?
Moving on from Moniak and/or McCarthy would open up a space for Charlie Condon and/or Zac Veen (more on that later), while moving on from Senzatela during his renaissance season could bring back a good return as well.
The rookies
The three rookies mentioned above — Rumfield, Karros and Carrigg — have all made their marks in the early season. Rumfield is making a Rookie of the Year case for himself, while Carrigg might be sneakily making his own under-the-radar case.
Through July 18, Rumfield is slashing .302/.384/.485 with 35 extra-base hits through 97 games. He took the bull by the horns in his first game and hasn’t turned back. Sure, he’s had some stretches where he’s struggled a little bit, but Rumfield made adjustments as the league has adjusted to him. And he’s been a defensive wizard at first base, which is not something that’s happened in a long time.
Carrigg has so far lived up to his “hair on fire” reputation. After making his MLB debut on June 9, Carrigg has played in 33 games and slashed .288/.371/.529 with 14 extra-base hits. He has only stolen two bases, but that should tick up as he stole 30 in Albuquerque before his call-up. Carrigg has also brought a spark to this team, as they have gone 15-18 since his debut.
Karros started off slow, slashing just .215/.316/.319 with 11 extra-base hits through May 31. Somewhere in early June, Karros made some swing adjustments and has hit .319/.409/.588 with 18 extra-base hits.
This trio of young players is likely part of the next Rockies’ core, and is showing the characteristics that the Rockies are looking for. Rumfield has the slugging capability; Carrigg has the speed on the basepaths and the “never say die” attitude; and Karros has the plate discipline and high OBP. All three have defensive prowess. They will certainly be players to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Call-ups
If players are traded, that should make room for some prospects to get promoted. We’ve already seen eight players make their MLB debuts for the Rockies:
Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) made his MLB debut last year and struggled mightily. Behind the scenes, there was a bigger story behind his struggles. But now that Veen is clean and sober, he has been absolutely tearing up the Pacific Coast League. Through July 18, Veen has slashed .314/.389/.578 with 48 extra-base hits (27 doubles, 5 triples, 16 home runs) and 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts. In his first cup of coffee, Veen played in just 12 games and went 4-for-34 with a double and a home run, but also struck out 14 times (41.2%). Perhaps with a new perspective (and a new body), Veen would be more successful in a second stint.
Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) has also been demolishing Triple-A and knocking on the door for his debut. The 2024 first-round pick also participated in the Futures Game for the second straight year, and probably won’t be long for Albuquerque. In 81 games, Condon is slashing .287/.409/.573 with 42 extra-base hits (16 doubles, 6 triples, 20 homers). He has just six stolen bases in eight attempts, but that’s less a part of his game than Veen’s. While Condon competed with Rumfield for first base in spring training, it looks like that position is locked up for the foreseeable future, so Condon would likely slide into the outfield once he’s called up. He’s spent about equal time at first base (47 games) and right field (37 games), so he could serve as a right-handed platoon bat at either position.
The others on the above list will likely make at least another cameo, except for Herrera who is recovering from a torn UCL. And there may be other call-ups. We just won’t know until the dust settles after the trade deadline.
The rotation
The Rockies’ rotation is filled with question marks once again, as the veteran signings haven’t quite panned out like they hoped they would, and Chase Dollander suffered a season-ending elbow injury in May that resulted in internal brace surgery.
The biggest questions will be who they keep at the end of the year, and if they trade anyone at the deadline. Of the Opening Day Five — Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano, José Quintana and Ryan Feltner — the first four are on expiring contracts, though Freeland and Lorenzen have options for the 2027 season. Feltner is entering his third year of arbitration, while Gordon is still under full team control until 2029 when he becomes arbitration eligible.
However, they have been auditioning younger guys — namely Sean Sullivan and Gabriel Hughes — to mixed results. Sullivan made his MLB debut on June 12 against the Athletics in Las Vegas, where he gave up just two hits and struck out two batters across three innings before being lifted due to illness. Unfortunately, it has all been downhill from there, as he has given up 22 runs across his last four starts (19.1 innings). Hughes, meanwhile, made his debut on July 3 (after being called up on July 1) and earned a three-inning save in the 15-3 victory. He’s since made two starts — one on the road at Dodger Stadium and the other at home — and has allowed five runs on nine hits with four walks and 13 strikeouts across 11.1 innings of work.
There will be a lot of decisions coming in the next few weeks to determine the outlook of the 2027 (and even the 2026) rotation.
Final record
The Rockies are on pace for about a 64-98 final record. That would be a 21-win improvement from 2025. For comparison, the Chicago White Sox improved by 19 games in 2025 after their historically bad 2024, so it’s not out of the question. And considering where this team has been the last few years, I will go on the record to say if they lose fewer than 100 games this year, Warren Schaeffer deserves Manager of the Year consideration (though he — like Rumfield, or any other Rockie in the last few years — won’t get it).
Closing thoughts
The final 61 games of the 2026 season are going to be a wild ride unlike any we’ve seen from the Rockies in recent years. It’s been an interesting year so far, and it will just get more so as we get to the trade deadline and through the final stretch.
Which storylines will you be watching most closely? Let us know in the comments!
The Isotopes struggled at the hands of the River Cats (Giants). They were held scoreless for the first six innings before Jordan Beck finally broke through in the seventh with a solo home run. Unfortunately, that was the only scoring of the game. Ryan Ritter, playing shortstop, went 2-for-3 with a walk. Beck, Charlie Condon, Conner Capel and Drew Avans each recorded a hit to total six for the lineup.
Andrew Baker started the game, pitching two innings and allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Eiberson Castellano then pitched the next five, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts over five innings of work. Seth Halvorsen then pitched a scoreless inning, but Victor Juarez allowed one final run in the ninth.
The Yard Goats fared a little bit better than the Isotopes, but they blew a late lead by giving up four runs in the seventh and eighth innings to the Baysox (Orioles). Jose Torres got things started for the Goats with an RBI single in the second to put them up 1-0. But Brandon Butterworth answered back in the fourth, belting a solo homer off (pitcher) to tie things up. Dyan Jorge singled in the sixth two score Torres and Andy Perez, but then Willy Vasquez hit a two-run double in the seventh to tie things once again. Mike Antico singled to score Torres in the eighth, but Thomas Sosa belted a two-run homer in the eighth to seal the victory for the Baysox.
Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) had a solid outing, allowing just the one solo homer on four hits with six strikeouts. But Carlos Torres and Sam Weatherly struggled in the late innings, each giving up two runs in one inning apiece. Weatherly gave up the two run homer to Sosa, earning him both his third blown save of the year as well as saddling him with his fourth loss.
It was a football-scoring game in Spokane, as the Indians managed just a field goal against the three touchdowns scored by the Aquasox (Mariners). They mustered seven hits, but the scoring went quiet after the fourth inning. The three RBIs came from Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP), Tanner Thach and Kelvin Hidalgo.
The Indians ran out six different pitchers, and none of them recorded a clean inning. Only two — Ismael Luciano and Francis Rivera — escaped without giving up a home run. Hunter Omlid took the worst of it, though, allowing seven runs on four hits with two walks and three homers across just one-third of an inning. In total, the pitching staff gave up 17 hits, 21 runs (all earned), 13 walks and six home runs.
The Grizzlies were the only victorious affiliate tonight, as they held the Rawhide (Diamondbacks) to just one run scored in the second inning. The Grizzlies scored their two runs in the fourth and sixth, respectively.
The Visalia run came off a homer by Adrian De Leon in the second inning. But Derek Bernard answered back with a homer of his own in the fourth, while Kyle Fossum singled to score Bernard in the sixth and put the Grizzlies back on top. Riley Kelly pitched an outstanding game, going six innings and allowing just the one run with one walk while racking up 11 strikeouts. Yanzel Correa relieved him, pitching two scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out four. Dylan Crooks earned his sixth save of the year by allowing just one hit and striking out one in his singular inning of work.
Kyle Newman writes about how Hughes has been adjusting to the majors, as well as his journey to get there. He also writes about how Hughes can potentially fit into a staff filled with “C-list veterans” as they haven’t been able to field many good homegrown starters. Perhaps Hughes can start the next wave of that.
It’s been no secret that Ezequiel Tovar has struggled mightily in 2026. At the beginning of the season, after the World Baseball Classic, it looked like Tovar might take a big step forward after a down 2025. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. But Thomas Harding caught up with the shortstop about how he hopes to take a step forward after the All-Star break.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 19: Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves hits a solo home run during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Truist Park on July 19, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Colin Hubbard/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley both delivered in big ways as the Braves once again beat the Rangers in a big series and Sunday win. While there were a few pitching concerns, the bats showed they are more than capable of producing wins. That is certainly a great sign for Atlanta, especially with the return of Ronald Acuna Jr. drawing near. If the offense is ready to be among the best in the game again, that will certainly make winning a bit easier.
There was some clarification on the plan for Spencer Schwellenbach. He currently is in Florida throwing bullpen sessions and working his way toward live BP.
The salary cap proposal was coming anyway. The Dodgers did play through wildfire smoke at Yankee Stadium last Friday. No locusts, at least not yet.
But no one foretold that the star to whom the Dodgers agreed last winter to pay an average of $60 million each year would be, well, average.
Over the first half of the season, Tucker’s OPS+ was 100, making him a player defined by that metric as “league average.”
He is batting .240, 30 points below his career average. He is on pace for full-season career lows in home runs (11) and OPS (.702).
His WAR is 0.9, below the 1.3 of Tyler Glasnow. By that metric, Tucker has contributed less to the Dodgers’ success this season than Glasnow, who has pitched in seven of the team’s first 100 games.
Hardly anyone outside Los Angeles has noticed, and hardly anyone in Los Angeles has gotten all worked up about it.
“I appreciate that our fan base, compared to some others, gives a lot more grace to players,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I know he sees that as well.”
Here is what Tucker’s trials have cost the Dodgers: Absolutely nothing.
He had two hits, both singles, in 13 at-bats as his team won the weekend series against the New York Yankees. The Dodgers remain the owners of the best record in the major leagues.
Tucker’s four-year contract, lucrative as it is, was not accompanied by a withering spotlight. He does not need to lift his team into the postseason, a burden often borne by marquee free agents signed to put their team over the top.
With the Dodgers?
Shohei Ohtani is the face of baseball. Freddie Freeman’s son walked around the All-Star Game in a T-shirt that read “My Dad Has 2,500 Hits.”
Mookie Betts last played here as a World Series-winning, Gold Glove-winning right fielder; he returned as a World Series-winning, Gold Glove-caliber shortstop.
“I think it certainly helps being around a lot of other guys who have high expectations,” Roberts said.
Neither rain nor smoke nor heat can keep the Dodgers from their appointed October rounds. They need Tucker to prosper then.
Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker singles during the second inning against the New York Yankees on Friday. (Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)
“Obviously, we all want to play well all year,” Betts said. “It’s not like we’re kicking the can and nobody cares. Even then, we’d love to be ready in October.
“It’s really just about playing. You never know. You could have a great October and get one hit, and it could be the biggest hit.”
Said Tucker: “Everyone here is very talented. Everyone is here to help each other out. Everyone here just wants to get back to another World Series, and win it. So I’m trying to do my part and just play baseball.”
He insists he is not weighted down by the external expectations that accompany his contract.
“I think that’s the beauty of it, the thing that’s refreshing,” Betts said. “I don’t think he cares about any of that. He just wants to play well and do his thing and help the boys.
“I don’t think he really cares about the expectations.”
You may think “$60 million” when he comes to the plate. He does not.
“I try, regardless of what my situation is,” Tucker said. “Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve just got to try and do better.”
His strikeouts are up significantly this season. His bat speed is down slightly. His hard contact rate is down significantly.
He’s working on fixing his swing. He’s been working on it. He’ll keep working on it.
Roberts said the quality of Tucker’s at-bats have looked better over the past couple weeks, even if the results may not show it.
“The thing that I’ve appreciated since Day 1 is, he hasn’t run from his struggles,” Roberts said. “He’s owned it.”
Tucker made the All-Star Game in each of the four years preceding this one. The Dodgers are betting his level of performance will at least approach that in the second half.
Betts said he does not see anything specific to worry about with Tucker.
“I don’t see anything at all,” Betts said. “He’s a competitor. He’s already come through a bunch during the year. It’s not like he’s not doing anything.
“He’s not hitting .330 with 30 [home runs], like we all would dream we were doing, right? But, as a team, we’re doing OK.”
For now, the Dodgers are. Their true season starts in a little more than two months.
From Tucker, the accountability is appreciated. Production would be better.
1907 – Chicago’sCarl Lundgren and New York’sChristy Mathewson are stingy today with the Cubs twirler allowing just four hits while the Cubs scratch three off Matty as the Giants win, 1-0. Joe Tinker is hitless against Matty, the only time this year that Mathewson shuts down his nemesis.
1938 – Johnny Mize of the Cardinals has three home runs in a game for the second time this season, in a game against the Giants.
1958 – Jim Bunning of the Tigers pitches a 3-0 no-hitter over the Red Sox and fans 12. Only two walks and a hit batsman mar Bunning’s performance as he wins his sixth game in seven decisions.
1962 – Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Co. overpower Roberto Clemente‘s Pirates with a devastating aerial assault. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle writes: “Chuck Hiller led off with a single. Mays then hit a line drive, 420-foot home run for 2-0. With two down in the third, McCovey belted a memorable shot over the left-field scoreboard. It was one of the few ever ripped into that area by a lefthander in the more than half a century existence of ivy-cloaked Forbes Field. The McCovey smash stood up for the victory. The Bucs started to move in the fourth, when Bill Mazeroski singled home Clemente, who also contributed a dazzling throw from right field to cut down the sliding McCovey at the plate in the sixth.”
1969 – San Francisco’sGaylord Perry connects for his first hit of the year, and his first major league homer, to beat the Dodgers, 7-3. Last year, Alvin Dark had remarked to sportswriter Harry Jupiter about Perry’s hitting, “They’ll put a man on the moon before he hits a home run.” Perry’s homer comes about 20 minutes after the clubhouse receives word that Neil Armstrong has set foot on the moon.
2004 – At Wrigley Field, Albert Pujols goes 5 for 5, including three home runs and five RBIs, as the Cardinals beat Central Division rivals the Cubs, 11-8. The Redbird first baseman’s first career three-homer game helps St. Louis to erase a six-run deficit.
2012 – Chipper Jones becomes the all-time leader for RBIs by a player who was primarily a third baseman with a two-run single in the 8th inning; he was tied with George Brett at 1,598; Mike Schmidt continues to hold the record for RBI collected when actually playing at the hot corner.
1749 – Earl of Chesterfield says “Idleness is only refuge of weak minds.”
1793 – Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completes the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico.
1801 – Elisha Brown Jr presses a 1,235-pound cheese ball at his farm.
1921 – Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives.
1964 – First surfin’ record to go to No.1-Jan & Dean’s “Surf City.”
1965 – Columbia records releases the Bob Dylan single “Like a Rolling Stone.”
1968 – Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-gadda-da-vida” becomes first heavy metal song to hit charts; it comes in at No. 117.
1968 – Judy Garland headlines concert also featuring Count Basie and Jackie Wilson at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; her last US concert
1969 – NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar module, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, lands on the surface of the Moon. Seven hours later, Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the moon at 10:56 pm EDT, and Aldrin joins him shortly after. Michael Collins remains in orbit in the command module.
1975 – Bruce Springteen and the E Street Band kick off the Born to Run Tour at the Palace Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island; Steven Van Zandt debuts as a full-fledged member of the group.
The Syracuse Mets slipped back to .500 in the second half, falling short in a sloppy slobbernocker that saw both teams log 9 hits and slug 2 home runs apiece. Coming into the ninth, Syracuse was still losing, but the score was a much more palatable 4-3. In the ninth, Ben Simon and Guillo Zuniga combined to allow 4 runs on 3 hits and a pair of walks. Not what you want to see, especially in the ninth.
Jonathan Santucci pitched a lot better than his final line suggests. He gave up 6 hits and a pair of walks over 5.2 innings, allowing just one extra base hit, but every hit seemed to come at a bad time, hence the four earned runs. On the bright side, the left-hander struck out a career-high 13 batters, the second time in three July starts that he reached double-digit strikeouts (he struck out 10 Baysox batters on July 5th). Nick Lorusso added two more hits to a very quiet solid season and Jose Ramos hit a double, but the Binghamton offense continues to not get it done.
Early on, things didn’t look too bleak for Brooklyn. Frank Camarillo had allowed three runs over three innings, yes, but the offense had kept pace, with Daiverson Gutierrez driving a run in with an RBI double in the second and Corey Collins doing the same with a single in the third. Calvin Ziegler came in to pitch the fourth, and all hell broke loose from thereon in. His inning began with a runner reaching base via catcher’s interference and that really set the tone for things. The former top prospect then walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, walked another batter, threw another wild pitch, walked the next two batters, and then allowed a triple, allowing four runs to score all without recording a single out. By and large, the relievers following him weren’t any better, with Tanner Witt and his 1.1 innings of scoreless relief being the only stretch of success for the Brooklyn bullpen.
St. Lucie jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first, and continued adding on. The pitching, meanwhile, was cooking, with Ethan Lanthier, Tyler McLoughlin, and Jonathan Jimenez combining to throw five scoreless innings. The bullpen finally gave in in the later innings, with Luis Alvarez allowing a run in the sixth and him and Ernesto Mercedes combining to allow five more in the seventh, but Mercedes threw a clean eighth and Miguel Mejias locked down the ninth, preventing further damage. Trey Snyder had himself an exceptional game, going 4-5 with a triple and a homer, and may be working himself back into top prospect consideration.
· REHAB ALERT SS Marco Vargas: 0-2, R, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (1)
Jul 19, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Dylan Beavers (12) and center fielder Colton Cowser (17) and right fielder Leody Taveras (30) celebrate after the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Three weeks ago, if you had told me that the Orioles/Red Sox series in mid-July would be a crucially important one for both teams, I’d have looked at you like you had three heads. “Important for what, draft positioning?” I’d have replied derisively, then laughed at my own joke. I’d have said you were crazy, and that you clearly weren’t paying attention to baseball, and that maybe you should find another hobby, like canasta. Oh man, would I have been obnoxious.
The point here is that I’m kind of a jerk. But the bigger point here is that the Orioles and Red Sox have both pulled off incredible turnarounds for seasons that once appeared to be dead and buried. At the start of July, the O’s were nine games under .500. The Red Sox were 10 under. Both teams were getting lambasted by their home fans, who had nothing to look forward to but the inevitable trade deadline sell-off. It was a shambling footrace to the bottom of the AL East for the two massively disappointing clubs.
Well. Would you look at them now?
The O’s and Red Sox are now the hottest teams in baseball, carrying the league’s two longest winning streaks. The Orioles have ripped off seven victories in a row, a streak they extended yesterday by completing a three-game sweep of the Astros in Houston. The Birds are 10-3 in July and have been getting incredible performances in particular from their starting rotation, which has a 2.40 ERA during the streak. The O’s are even winning without meaningful contributions from their star hitters, as Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson were a combined 1-for-22 in the Astros series and Adley Rutschman is 2-for-15 during the winning streak. That’s arguably a cause for even more optimism, because if and when those star players heat up, the Orioles will have more weapons at their disposal.
And yet the Orioles’ hot stretch pales in comparison to that of the Red Sox, who have strung together an incomprehensible 13-game winning streak. The Sox swept three consecutive series on the road to end the first half, then opened the second half by sweeping the division-leading Rays in four games. It’s Boston’s longest winning streak since 1948! Interim manager Chad Tracy, who inherited a woeful club from the fired Alex Cora in April and initially did little to improve its fortunes, suddenly seems to have the magic touch. Absolutely everything is clicking right now for the Sox, who had come-from-behind wins in three of their games against Tampa Bay. The Sox, like the Orioles, have delivered some stellar pitching. Only twice during their 13-game streak have they allowed more than two runs.
The Red Sox surge has vaulted them into playoff position, currently holding the third and final AL wild card spot. The Orioles, now within two games of .500, are just two games back of Boston. The O’s leapfrogged the Astros in the wild card race, and also pulled into a tie with the Twins and a game back of the Mariners.
Which brings us to the, yes, crucially important series that begins tonight at Fenway Park. If the Orioles can manage to slow down the sizzling hot Sox and maybe even win the series, they’ll chip away further at their wild card deficit and make a big statement that maybe they’re for real after all. But if Boston’s surge continues and the Orioles lose the series — or worse, get swept — the O’s will again be left scrambling to stay relevant in the postseason chase as the clock ticks down toward the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Everything is on the line for the Orioles and Red Sox these next three nights, and I never thought it would come to this. Sorry for calling you crazy.
Brandon Young, a Texas native, just loves pitching in Houston. I’m already circling Aug. 10-12, 2027 on my calendar for his next masterpiece at Daikin Park.
Tough break for Cam Sanders, who was demoted despite retiring all five batters he faced and earning both a win and a save in his first two games as an Oriole. But I suppose it’s a good thing the O’s had Huff on hand yesterday, considering that both of their regular catchers ended up injured.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with five former Orioles: catchers Pedro Severino (33) and Charles Johnson (55), infielder Alexi Casilla (42), outfielder Jake Fox (44), and left-hander Mark Lee (62).
On this date in 1983, Orioles leadoff man “Disco” Dan Ford almost single-handedly defeated the Mariners, hitting three solo home runs to lead the Birds’ 4-2 victory in Seattle. It was a weird offensive performance for the Orioles, who had 10 hits that were split between just three hitters: four apiece by Ford and Cal Ripken Jr., and two for Rick Dempsey. The rest of the lineup was 0-for-21.
In 2021, the Orioles’ game against the Rays was broadcast entirely by women for the first time in baseball history. MASN’s own Melanie Newman was the play-by-play announcer, joined by analyst Sarah Langs, on-field reporter Alanna Rizzo, and pregame/postgame hosts Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner. That was cool! What’s way less cool is that it’s never happened again since then.
And on this day in 2023, the Orioles took over sole possession of first place for the first time that season by defeating the Rays, 4-3, in 10 innings. Colton Cowser’s sac fly in the top of the 10th brought in the go-ahead run, and closer Félix Bautista worked both a scoreless ninth and 10th to seal the victory. The Rays had started the season 13-0 and at one point held a six-game lead over the Orioles, but the 2023 Orioles were simply too good to be contained. It marked the latest date in a season that the O’s had been in first place since 2016.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 19: Alan Rangel #57 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the game between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 19, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Phebe Grosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Dodgers are in town today, but Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch in the three game set. Seems like the Dodgers are playing coy with an injury here.
Jul 17, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell (5) celebrates after driving in the winning run during the tenth inning against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Last Week’s Results
Monday: Off Day
Tuesday: Off Day (AL All-Stars 4, NL All-Stars 0)
Wednesday: Off Day
Thursday: Off Day
Friday: Brewers 2, Marlins 1
Saturday: Brewers 8, Marlins 6
Sunday: Brewers 3, Marlins 1
Division Standings
Brewers: 62-37
Cubs: 56-43 (6.0 GB)
Cardinals: 51-47 (10.5 GB)
Pirates: 52-48 (10.5 GB)
Reds: 45-53 (16.5 GB)
Last Week
Brewers: 3-0
Cubs: 2-1
Cardinals: 1-2
Pirates: 2-1
Reds: 2-1
Top Pitching Performance of the Week
There was a lot of solid pitching from the staff. Logan Henderson only allowed one run over five innings on Friday, striking out four. Shane Drohan allowed three runs in his start, but also recorded a career-high nine strikeouts. Robert Gasser also allowed just a single run in five innings on Sunday. Chad Patrick pitched three innings out of the bullpen, striking out four. Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, and Abner Uribe also had two scoreless innings each out of the bullpen. Craig Yoho also earned his first career win in Friday’s game with a scoreless inning.
Top Hitting Performance of the Week
Garrett Mitchell remained hot coming out of the All-Star Break with another strong series, this one against the Marlins. He went 5-for-12 over the weekend with three RBI. The biggest hit came on Friday, when he hit the walk-off single in the 10th inning to end the Brewers’ three-game losing streak.
Honorable mentions go to Joey Ortiz, whose home run on Friday tied the game and sent it into extra innings. He went 2-for-8 in the series with three walks, two stolen bases, and two runs scored. Also, William Contreras only had one hit over the weekend, but it was a walk-off home run on Sunday afternoon.
Following his DFA last week, the Brewers traded Easton McGee to the Royals for cash on Tuesday.
The Brewers made another trade with the Astros on Wednesday as the trade deadline gets closer. They acquired RHP Lance McCullers Jr., LHP Colton Gordon, and cash from the Astros. They sent OF Jadyn Fielder to Astros for their side of the deal. Gordon was optioned to Triple-A Nashville, and McCullers Jr. joined the Brewers in the bullpen. McCullers Jr. has not made his Brewers debut yet. The Brewers also moved Rob Zastryzny to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster space.
Greg Jones cleared waivers on Thursday following his DFA. He was outrighted to Nashville, but elected to become a free agent.
Jared Koenig was optioned to Triple-A Nashville when McCullers Jr. was activated Friday. Koenig has struggled since his return from the IL and will get some work down there.
On Saturday, the Brewers placed Sal Frelick on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain. The severity is not known right now, and he will get an MRI to determine next steps. The only indication so far from manager Pat Murphy is he “won’t be able to go anytime soon”. Blake Perkins was recalled to fill Frelick’s roster spot.
Brandon Woodruff is officially done for the season after he decided to undergo another shoulder surgery to repair the capsule in his right shoulder. His last shoulder surgery kept him out 20 months, and the timeline on this one will be similar. Though 2027 is a possibility, he likely won’t be ready until 2028.
Kyle Harrison underwent a precautionary MRI during the All-Star Break, and the results were “all good”. He threw a bullpen session on Saturday and is on track to return shortly after the minimum IL stint on July 24.
DL Hall threw 15 pitches in a scoreless inning for High-A Wisconsin on Sunday. He allowed one hit and struck out one, and was pleased with his performance.
David Hamilton and Brandon Lockridge are both scheduled to begin rehab assignments on Tuesday at Triple-A Nashville.
