Category: MLB

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were chicken against the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 8-4.

Rough start for Jordan Wicks, who took the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings. Two of the hits were home runs. Wicks walked two and struck out five.

Left fielder Chas McCormick hit a solo home run in the second inning, his seventh on the year. McCormick was 1 for 4.

First baseman Jonathon Long cranked a solo home run in the seventh inning, his third on the year. He was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Third baseman James Triantos tied the game 3-3 with a two-run double in the bottom of the third. Triantos went 2 for 4.

Matt Shaw played the whole game in center field and went 1 for 4 with a walk. He also scored on Triantos’ double.

Triantos’ home run.

Triantos’s two-run double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies usurped the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 8-7 in 11 innings.

Starter Dawson Netz threw the first three innings and allowed one run on three hits. Netz walked four and struck out two.

Marino Santy had 2.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run—the automatic runner in the tenth—on no hits. Santy walked three (one intentionally) and struck out three.

Tyler Santana relieved Santy in the bottom of the tenth with the bases loaded and two outs. He got a fly out to end that threat and then went on to pitch the eleventh, where he gave up one run. But the Smokies scored twice in the bottom of the eleventh and got the win. Santana’s final line was one run (which was earned) on one hit over 1.1 innings. Santana struck out one and walked no one.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh. Rojas was 2 for 6 in this game with a double and a steal. He scored three times.

Catcher Owen Ayers hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, his eighth of the season. Ayers went 3 for 4 with a double and the home run. He also walked and stole a base. Ayers had five total RBI tonight.

Shortstop Karson Simas was 3 for 5. He scored once and drove in one.

An automatic double for Ayers.

Ayers’ three-run home run.

An RBI triple for Hayden Cantrelle, who went 1 for 4 with a walk.

Ayers’ fifth RBI of the night came in the tenth.

Rojas’ walk-off.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs split a doubleheader with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), losing game one 13-8 and winning the second one 4-3.

The River Bandits hammered South Bend’s Jostin Florentino for four runs in the first inning. Florentino was finished after only one inning having allowed the four runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out one.

Brayden Spears then gave up five runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach. Spears allowed five runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings. Spears struck out two, walked two and hit one.

South Bend trailed 9-0 after two innings and almost tied it up with an eight-run third inning. DH Kane Kepley went 1 for 3 with a walk and a double. He scored once and had one run batted on.

Second baseman Alex Madera tripled home two in the third. He was 1 for 4 and scored one run.

Here are the highlights of the eight-run third.

Mason McGwire made his first start for South Bend in game two and got his first Midwest League win. McGwire pitched five innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits. McGwire struck out four and walked one.

Kenyi Perez pitched the final two innings without allowing a run for the save. Perez did not give up a hit, but he walked one and hit one batter. Perez struck out five.

Catcher Miguel Useche hit a two-run home run in the second inning. It was his fifth of the season. Useche went 1 for 3.

Left fielder Jose Escobar was 2 for 3 with a double and one run scored.

Center fielder Miguel Olivo was 2 for 2.

Useche’s home run.

A diving catch for center fielder Olivo.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got kenneled by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 9-8.

The Pelicans wasted a strong start from Noah Edders, who gave the Birds five scoreless innings on just two hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Jordan Henriquez got called upon for the two-inning save. The eight inning went fine when he retired the side in order. But he went in the ninth with an 8-5 lead and he gave up four runs to take the loss. The final line on Henriquez was four runs on four hits over 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Catcher Logan Poteet hit a solo home run in the third, his eighth on the year. Poteet went 2 for 4 with the home run, a walk. and a stolen base. He scored twice.

Right fielder Eli Lovich cracked a two-run home run in the seventh, also his eighth of the year. Lovich was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored one run.

ACL Cubs

Got rocked by the Rockies, 15-4.

Too often this season, the New York Mets have been the slumping team that opponents are looking to beat up on. Those roles were reversed Friday night in a 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

San Diego has now lost 10 of its last 11 games, while the Mets have won six of their last eight, thanks in large part to New York’s starting pitcher Christian Scott. The Florida product pitched five 2/3 shutout innings against a Padres lineup that is last in baseball in runs scored. Jared Young and Luis Torrens each hit home runs to lead the Mets’ offense.

Scott allowed a base runner in each of the first three innings but was able to keep San Diego off the board. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled in the first, Ty France singled in the second, and Rodolfo Durán walked in the third. All three Padres were stranded as Scott appeared to settle in as the game went on.

Scott retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings, then ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth. He walked Durán before striking out Tatis Jr. and getting a popout from Gavin Sheets. Manny Machado singled to center, advancing Durán to third base and ending Scott’s night at 98 pitches. Huascar Brazobán entered in relief and struck out France, ending the threat and securing Scott’s shutout appearance. Scott, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, has allowed just one run across his last three starts.

Brazobán, Luke Weaver, and A.J Minter were solid out of the bullpen for the Mets, combining with Scott for the team’s third shutout win of the season.

Young started things for New York’s offense with a solo home run off San Diego starting pitcher Michael King to lead off the second inning. Young worked a full count before hitting King’s center-cut changup 422 feet. That’s Young’s third home run in his last six games.

The Mets were back for more in the third inning with multiple extra-base hits and another run scored. Torrens doubled off the wall before advancing to third base on a flyout from Carson Benge. Bo Bichette tripled to the right-field corner to score Torrens. Tatis Jr. fumbled the ball in the corner, and Bichette’s good read allowed him to easily get to third. The Mets could have added another run when Juan Soto grounded the ball to second baseman Sung-Mun Song, who didn’t field the ball cleanly. Soto put his head down in frustration before realizing Song’s mistake had given him a chance to beat out the throw, score Bichette, and keep the inning going. None of that happened as New York settled for the 2-0 early lead.

New York went up 4-0 with Torrens’ two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning. Brett Baty reached on a single before Torrens took King deep to centerfield. The homer was Torrens’ first of the season.

Bichette added a double with two outs in the eighth inning, but Padres reliever David Morgan struck out Soto to strand him. Bichette is showing signs of awakening from his season-long slumber with six hits combined in his last two games. He had six hits in the nine games previous to his current outburst. Soto finished hitless for the 11th time in 46 games played this season.

The Mets tacked on in the ninth inning against San Diego’s closer, Mason Miller, who was only in the game to get his first work in a week due to the Padres skid. AJ Ewing knocked a one-out single, then stole second and third base. Baty brought him home with an RBI single.

Saturday’s game (10:10 PM ET) sets up nicely for New York. The Mets have Nolan McLean on the mound going against former Met Griffin Canning, who has a 0-4 record and a 7.16 ERA through six appearances this season.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Christian Scott +25% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, Marcus Semien -6% WPA
Mets pitchers: +34% WPA
Mets hitters: +16% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens home run in the fifth, +13.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Marcus Semien grounds into double play in the fourth, -3.8% WPA

SAN DIEGO — Christian Scott’s reemergence is among the Mets’ most positive developments in this so far disappointing season.

A rotation in need of arms, preferably powerful ones, has found a potential keeper in Scott, who Friday night posted a third straight tantalizing start, helping the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Padres at Petco Park.

In winning their second straight, the Mets (28-35) received much of the offensive firepower they needed on home runs from Jared Young and Luis Torrens, giving Scott the space he needed for his second straight win after going 15 starts to begin his major league career without one.

“My body feeling good is a huge part of it,” said Scott, who missed last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. “It’s easy to have confidence when things are going well, but it’s tough to have that when the stuff starts to hit the fan. It’s just keeping the confidence as best I can for the good ones and bad ones.”

Scott came within an out of completing six innings for the first time this season, but was removed following Manny Machado’s single with two outs. Scott pitched 5 ²/₃ scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks over 98 pitches. His ERA dropped to 2.50.

“I was hoping he would get Manny because that was his last batter,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “[Scott] executed a sweeper there and he was able to foul it off and then [Machado] got a fastball that he hit it up the middle, but it was like, ‘He’s done his job.’ ”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

In Scott’s previous two outings, both against Miami, he combined to work 10 ²/₃ innings, allowing only one earned run. Scott’s start was his 17th straight to begin his major league career with four or fewer runs allowed, extending his franchise record. Eight of those starts have occurred this season.

“He commanded pretty much all of his pitches,” Torrens said. “He attacked the zone with the same type of game plan that we prepared with, but also he’s been able to just prove the type of pitcher that he is.”

Young’s homer leading off the second against Michael King gave the Mets their first run. The homer was Young’s third in his last six games — he began the night with an .899 OPS since returning from the injured list May 26.

Bo Bichette’s RBI triple in the third extended the Mets lead to 2-0. Torrens doubled with one out before Bichette hit a shot just inside first base that reached the right field corner, where Fernando Tatis Jr. had trouble fielding the ball. Bichette raced to third.

Bichette was coming off a 4-for-4 performance Wednesday in Seattle. The Mets are still waiting for Bichette’s bat to arrive with a flurry following a disappointing two-plus months to begin the season. Bichette finished the night 2-for-4, but still owns an anemic .609 OPS for the season.

Torrens’ two-run blast in the fifth gave the Mets a 4-0 lead. Brett Baty singled leading off the inning, and Torrens cleared the center field fence with one out for his first homer of the season. This could be Torrens’ final weekend as the starting catcher, with Francisco Alvarez potentially set to conclude his minor league rehab and rejoin the Mets on the next homestand following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Scott walked Rodolfo Duran leading off the sixth and got two outs before Machado’s single to center spurred a pitching change. Huascar Brazobán struck out Ty France to end the threat. The Mets received a scoreless seventh from Brazobán before Luke Weaver and A.J. Minter finished it.

Weaver extended his streak of scoreless appearances to 14. He has pitched 16 innings over that stretch and allowed only nine hits and four walks.

Baty stroked an RBI single in the ninth after A.J. Ewing singled and stole both second and third base.

A less-controlled-than-usual Matthews manages to last longer than we (or I) expected, and he’s helped by some Cuddyer/Rosario-style cannon shots from the outfield. Inning-by-inning notes:

(Rain Delay): Hey, remember when rain delays might have Kris Atteberry interviewing a baseball book author or something interesting like that?

No. It’s a 1991 game. I like hearing Herb Carneal and John Gordon as much as anybody, but this is LAZY, WCCO.

1: Apple’s game preview has “U Got The Look” for Zebby (he doesn’t walk a lot of guys) and “When Doves Cry” for the bullpen ‘cuz it sucks.

Original choice on one Prince title, kinda cliched on the other.

Zebby promptly walks Bobby Witt, Jr., only the fastest guy on the team. He steals but didn’t need to; he would have scored on the subsequent Vinnie Pasquantino double anyways. Then it’s Jac Caglianone’s turn to put one in the gap.

Two stung liners to second, and a two-out Klobberin’ Kody Klemens single. He doesn’t score because all the Twins fell asleep during the boring rain delay radio filler. Royals 2-0

2: Apple tells us that during the “rain delay,” no actual rain fell at Target Field. I know none did where I am in Saint Paul. So thanks, Twins, for 75 minutes of Stoopid provided by whatever AI bot is making your weather decisions.

Zebby walks the #8 hitter with one out and realizes “I’m pitching to the #8 and 9 guys” and gets the GIDP.

Another two-out hit, this an Austin Martin double. He doesn’t score either. I told you the Twins are all sleepy like me they should call it a Royals win now so we can all go to bed

3: Short delay when Bux hits the wall after catching a long hard fly. He is OK, we think.

Zebby finishes this inning with 41 pitches thrown, a nice rebound after the earlier wildnessyness.

Bux maybe not OK. Tristan Gray now pinch-hitting. He drops a bunt down the third base line, and Alex Jackson (who led off with a single) takes third on a Wacha airmail throw to first. He’ll score on a Brooks Lee FC. Visiting fans’ team 2-1

4: Apple graphic shows that in Royals history, the only player to make it to the majors faster than Caglianone was Bo Jackson. Boy, THAT takes me back. Anyways, BoJac knows Zebby; he takes the 3-2 walk after the earlier double. Then Isaac Collins singles. Then Michael Massey does… but Martin’s throw beats Caglianone by a millimeter. Wow, can’t believe Zebby got out of this one.

1-2-3 for the Twins. We so TIRED

5: 1-2-3 for Zebby too. I have to get a sammich. I so hungered.

AND for the Twins, too. They also hungered. For BED.

6: Another good frame for Zebster.

OH NO! A Brooks Lee leadoff homer! I mean, yay for him, but if this game goes to extra innings I will curse his favorite hamster. Clemens follows with a double. So does Josh Bell! Then Orlando Arcia singles to right, and Caglianone’s throw to the infield is WAY offline, so Bell scores and Arcia takes second. A Keaschall lineout. Then a passed ball sends Arcia to third. Wacha has Martin down 1-2… and Sal Perez lets another one get by! (He’s a very good catcher, this usually doesn’t happen.) Arcia scores!

Actually, those were officially scored as wild pitches and not PBs, but that’s because a bad person instead of me is the official scorer. Hard-throwing Steven Cruz finishes the inning, but it’s Twins 5-2

7: Zebby still in there, and he walks Collins on four pitches. He gets the next hitter, then steps off/throws to first one too many times, and it’s an automatic balk. (I hate this rule.) Gets Nick Loftin, then Kyle Isbel singles to right… and Martin throws out the runner at home! Again! Crazy!

Tristan Gray has a one-out double but does not score because the Twins are sleepy again.

8: Here we go bullpen time. Anthony “The Last Waltz” Banda pitching. Boy does he love throwing sliders. It works on Starling Marte but not Witt, Jr., who doubles into the right-center gab. Then it works on PH Lane Thomas, and Perez goes down on one pitch. Yay!

RHP Beck Way making his MLB debut at age 26. His debutante inning goes fine.

9: Travis Adams in for the Twins with his 8.18 ERA in 11.0 IP. Leadoff hit by Caglianone, one-out hit by Michael Massey, sending Caglianone to third and putting the tying run at the plate in PH Maikel Garcia. He groundout RBIs, and Isbel pops out. Whew! Twims wim! (Yes we spell it wrong on purpose here sometimes.)

Studs: Zebulon, Martin (duh), two hits apiece for Gray and Clemens, 2 RBI for Lee. Duds: the Twins’ fuggin’ weather department.

COTG to Minnesota1952 and nagurksi for food / mob movie references, and me for predicting that Zebby couldn’t possibly go seven innings (which we call in the sports-scribing business an “intentional reverse jinx”). Thanks everyone who was at least adding something from time-to-time; I know this one went late.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10 and features something called a Luinder Avila against our own Joe Ryan. Byron Buxton T-shirt giveaway, he may be playing or not. (It’s a “shoulder contusion,” day-t0-day.) Catch ya next time!

The Mets opened their series in San Diego with a 5-0 win over the Padres on Friday night.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- In a game where the Mets totaled nine hits, they made sure to make them count, with four of them accounting for all five of New York’s runs. 

-- Jared Young kicked things off with a second-inning solo home run against Michael King that traveled 422 feet and had an exit velocity of 111.1 mph to put the Mets ahead, 1-0. The cleanup hitter finished 2-for-4 and has been taking full advantage of his increased playing time since returning from the IL, hitting .313 with a .945 OPS on the season.

-- Fresh off his four-hit game against the Seattle Mariners, Bo Bichette stayed hot with two more hits, including a run-scoring triple in the third inning and a double in the eighth. Bichette is up to .230 at the plate with a .609 OPS.

-- The biggest night offensively, though, belonged to No. 9 hitter Luis Torrens, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run while driving in two and scoring two runs. His double came before Bichette’s third-inning triple and his home run, a two-run shot to straightaway center for his first bomb of the year, happened in the fifth inning to double New York’s lead. 

With Francisco Alvarez potentially returning from the IL on the next Mets homestand, Torrens is doing what he can to make manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision at catcher that much more difficult.

-- Brett Baty tacked on a run in the ninth inning, scoring A.J. Ewing, who singled and stole second and third base, with his second hit of the game. Baty became the fourth player of the game to have a multi-hit night and also made a nice play in the field, diving for a popped-up bunt attempt in the second inning.

-- Meanwhile, Christian Scott shut out the Padres for 5.2 innings to match his season-high and has allowed one earned run over his last three starts (16.1 IP). 

Scott made quick work of the Padres, allowing just three singles and two walks while throwing a season-high 98 pitches (67 strikes). He was pulled after Manny Machado’s single, which was San Diego’s last hit of the game.

The right-hander struck out only three and instead relied mostly on weak contact to get the job done. New York also turned a double play behind Scott to help him go deeper in the game. Scott’s ERA is now at an impressive 2.50 through eight starts, and after earning his first career win in his last start, he’s now won back-to-back games to go to 2-0 on the year.

-- The Mets’ bullpen matched Scott’s zeros for 3.1 innings as Huascar Brazoban (1.1 IP, 2 K), Luke Weaver (1 IP) and A.J. Minter (1 IP) didn’t allow a hit in their appearances. Baty’s fielding error with one out in the ninth ended a string of eight consecutive batters retired, but Minter got the final two outs with ease and gave New York a series-opening win

Game MVP: Mets pitching

Mets pitchers were on point on Friday and shut out their opponent for just the third time all season.

Highlights

Jared Young hits his third home run in nine games!

Mets take a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/qZK1ZyAYrA

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

Brett Baty makes the diving catch! pic.twitter.com/2iOH2rapqX

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

Bo Bichette brings home Luis Torrens with a RBI triple! pic.twitter.com/AlUhivLhQQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

A 1-2-3 inning for Christian Scott💪 pic.twitter.com/ZHlCNkPUu7

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

TWO RUN HOMER FOR LUIS TORRENS!

HIS FIRST HOME RUN OF THE SEASON!! pic.twitter.com/B4HTO6uGfp

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

What's next

The Mets continue their three-game set with the Padres on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Nolan McLean (3-4, 4.21 ERA) will face off against former Met RHP Griffin Canning (0-4, 7.16 ERA).

Despite a rain delay of over an hour, the game started off so well for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. took a one-out walk, Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double, then Jac Caglianone drove him in with his own double. The Royals wouldn’t score again until a weak groundout in the ninth brought home Caglianone again in a 5-3 loss.

As you might imagine, Michael Wacha didn’t have one of his stronger starts of the season. But what you also need to realize is that this game featured two Royals errors and three wild pitches. The Royals played really crappy defense. On the other side, Byron Buxton was everywhere in centerfield until he crashed into the wall to rob Carter Jensen of extra bases. Austin Martin in right field gunned down two runners at home with assists from catcher Alex Jackson making excellent tags.

Of the five runs, four were earned, but the Royals’ lack of speed in the corners led to at least three different hits, and two of the wild pitches took a runner from second all the way home. Again, let’s not pretend it was only the defense. Wacha threw fewer than 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth but gave up a home run and then back-t0-back double to surrender the lead before the poor defense helped put the game out of reach.

Austin Martin will be the story from the Twins’ side. In the top of the fourth, Caglianone took a one-out walk, advanced to second on an Isaac Collins single, and then Michael Massey crushed one on the ground into right. I was yelling at my TV, begging them not to send Caglianone home, but home he went on a no-signal from third-base coach Vance Wilson. Martin had everything lined up for him, and, despite Caglianone making it closer than I had dreamed possible, he was clearly out. That is at least the second time this season a runner has been thrown at home when he probably shouldn’t have gone but didn’t get a signal from his third base coach. That certainly won’t quiet the calls for coaches’ heads to roll from the Royals faithful.

Isaac Collins led off the seventh with a walk of his own, then advanced to second when Zebby Matthews disengaged from the mound for a third time without recording a pickoff. This time, the hard-hit ball into right was off the bat of Kyle Isbel, and Martin had to move laterally a bit to field it. Vance Wilson actually signalled to Collins he should head home, and that seemed more reasonable to me, but he was thrown out by even more than Cags.

Those of us who recall the 2014-2015 Royals remember that running on guys and hoping they make a mistake can be a terrific gamble, but it absolutely didn’t pay off tonight, despite how Mickey Mouse the Twins’ defense looked in the first series these two teams played. You can blame the runners – both of whom chose to slide feet-first instead of using a head-first slide to give them an opportunity to swim around the tag. You could absolutely blame the coaches, too, and I wouldn’t argue with you either way. But there’s also an element of the other team being good at their jobs that’s involved here, too.

There were certainly some bright spots in this one. Steven Cruz pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Beck Way made his big league debut and struck out a pair of his own, including the first batter he faced, in a scoreless eighth inning. The Royals can use any help they can get from their bullpen.

Michael Massey continued his hot hitting with a pair of hard singles on the night. Vinnie only went 1-for-3, but he tattooed a lineout in the sixth inning. Jac went 2-for-3 with a walk, and his only out was a similarly smoked lineout in the sixth.

At this point, moral victories mean even less than they did earlier this year when you hoped they’d might lead to better play before things got out of hand. Things are out of hand. The season is lost until and unless the Royals have the kind of ridiculous winning stretch that simply doesn’t feel possible with this club, which was built to be solidly above-average with a high floor. The floor fell out, and they don’t have the top-end potential to make up for it. But I’ll take all the bright spots I can get that tell me that they might be able to find some guys to help them do better next year.

Anyway, tomorrow’s game is an afternoon match; it will start at 1:10 Central. Luinder Avila (4.44 ERA) will face off against Joe Ryan (3.20 ERA). We’ll just have to hope KC can hammer Ryan for the third straight time.

As ridiculous as it sounds, figuring out a punny name to properly capture the Giants recent power surge was a bit of a pressing matter for announcers Hunter Pence and David Flemming after Matt Chapman lifted a grand slam in the 4th inning off Cubs starter Edward Cabrera. The opportunity was too good to pass up. Baseball had become fun again. The improbable occasion had to be christened.

Pence, ever the wordsmith, stumbled over the syllables as he proposed the blocky Slam Cancisco.

Flemming, ever the editor, simplified it to a much more sensible, if unimaginative, Slam Francisco. 

They’re both wrong.

Considering how many of these four-run, four-baggers the Giants have packed into such a short period of time, the proper nickname is obviously Slam Slamcislamco. 

Say that six times fast — one for each blast. The Giants are the seventh team in MLB history to hit six grand slams in a span of 18 games (including the 2020 Slam Diego Padres). Chapman’s shot that landed in the basket over the ivy was the team’s third of the road trip and broke a 5-5 tie with the Angels for the Major League lead. 

Turns out this odd beast of a line-up was just getting started.

Three batters later Casey Schmitt rocketed  a flat 3-2 change-up 411 feet to left-center. A no-doubter that at the time felt a little superfluous at 8-0, but would prove to not reach be half of the run total of what the team would eventually score in their 18-3 blowout at Wrigley. 

San Francisco hitters just kept feeding the bleacher creatures. They peppered seven total homers in all, the most for any team in a single game all season, and the most for a Giants order since April 2023 — a 12-3 win also played in Chicago, just on the Southside. 

Willy Adames followed up his 427-foot, 2-run shot in the 1st with another off sidewinder, Hoby Milner, in the 6th.

A couple of beats passed before Chapman capped the 7-run frame by demolishing a hanging curveball from reliever Ethan Roberts into the NUTRL sign floating above the left field seats. The 3-run homer earned him his sixth, seventh, and eighth RBIs on the day, tying a San Francisco-era single game record most recently matched by Wilmer Flores’s 3-HR performance against the Athletics in early 2025.

Not to be out done by the veterans, Schmitt claimed his pair of homers with a 9-iron shot off of position player Carson Kelly — a pitch after recent call-up Jonah Cox had done the same.   

Over the past week, the Giants’ offense has posted hit totals of 25, 20, and 19, and run totals of 19, 12, and 18 — and they’ve won those three games too! Call it trying to make up for lost time, blowing off steam — whatever is happening, it’s excessive and over-the-top and pretty dang fun to watch.

Many were skeptical of the 20-run outburst in Colorado and were then vindicated by the early returns in Milwaukee, and yet here we are on the following weekend back to stuffing ourselves on loaded taters. It’s obviously not sustainable — but it feels slightly less ridiculous than it did back in Colorado. 

I wrote last week how it wasn’t the offense that worried me, it was the pitching. The game following the 20-run win, the San Francisco arms gave up 16 runs to the Brewers. A poor ability to challenge hitters and attack the zone allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the 9th in a game the Giants once led 12-3 thanks to a Eric Haase grand slam.  

But the bullpen did end up holding on in that one. The night before, Logan Webb took a no-hitter into the 7th inning in a 1-0 win. And today, the all-around pitching performance didn’t want coaches and fans to pull at their eye sockets in exasperation. 

That’s not to say the arms were perfect. Pitching with a lead for his entire outing, Robbie Ray was as inefficient as ever. He walked 5 hitters and only struck out 4 while needing nearly 100 pitches to do it. He did, however, allow just two inconsequential singles and managed to get through that pesky fifth frame for the first time since May 8th, logging his 14th and 15th outs of the game on his 97th and final offering. 

Back in May, the relationship between Giants line-up and Giants starter was completely flipped. The toothless offense had handed Ray losses in five starts in which he allowed 3 earned runs or fewer. Now they’ve hit grand slams in each of his last three games, it’s just the veteran hadn’t managed to hang around the mound long enough to qualify for a statistical win until Friday’s scoreless outing. 

Bullpen reinforcement in Carson Seymour may have been still jet-lagged from the last-minute red-eye from Sacramento, and was far from “lights-out” in his 2026 debut, but the right-hander managed to relieve the beleaguered pen with three innings of work.

A double play ball, closing out frames — these are small feats compared to what the offense did today, but its those types of in-game victories that the pitchers need a lot more of if this team wants to really make strides getting back to .500.

The Athletics began a pivotal three-game series at the surging Houston Astros, who are closing in on them in the American League West. The Astros jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, winning the series-opener between these division rivals 5-1. The A’s appeared to carry over the effects of yesterday’s ninth-inning collapse, struggling to capitalize on their limited scoring opportunities.

Astros Strike First

Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert worked a scoreless first inning, though A’s catcher Shea Langeliers and first baseman Nick Kurtz each hit balls hard to left field that were tracked down by Yordan Alvarez.

Houston took the lead in the bottom of the first inning against A’s starting pitcher Jack Perkins, who made his first start of the season. Astros’ designated hitter Isaac Paredes launched his ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left center field that gave hosts an early 3-0 advantage.

A’s Waste Golden Opportunity

The Athletics attempted to respond the next inning. With one out, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom walked and then center fielder Henry Bolte and third baseman Zack Gelof hit soft singles to load the bases. Lambert escaped the jam unscathed, striking out Jeff McNeil and Darell Hernaiz to keep the momentum on Houston’s side. McNeil started the season strong, validating the A’s offseason trade for him. However, he has since fallen into a significant slump, and the team needs him to turn things around sooner rather than later.

That was a big chance for the Athletics to get back in this game, but the bottom of their lineup let them down. Thankfully, Perkins pitched better in the second inning, retiring the side after opening the frame with back-to-back strikeouts.

Astros Add On

The Astros extended their lead in the third inning. Alvarez singled with one out and later scored on Christian Walker’s triple to right field, another line drive misplayed by A’s right fielder Carlos Cortes. Of the 84 players with at least 10 attempts in right field, Cortes ranks last with -5 outs above average. His poor defense has hurt the A’s on multiple occasions this week, a trend that must be corrected if they want to remain in the division race.

Walker crossed the plate moments later on Paredes’ sacrifice fly, giving the Astros a 5-0 lead through four innings.

Bolte was the lone bright spot for the A’s offense in the game’s early goings, recording singles in his first two at-bats. The rest of the lineup, meanwhile, was stifled by Lambert, who held the A’s scoreless through five innings.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay removed Perkins after he issued a leadoff walk in the fifth. The right-hander allowed five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out six over four innings. Right-hander Mason Barnett replaced him and set the next three Astros hitters down in order.

A’s Won’t be Shut Out

The Athletics finally got to Lambert in the sixth inning. With one out, Brent Rooker hit his ninth home run of the season, a solo blast to left field. Soderstrom drew a walk, and Bolte followed with his third hit of the game, a double that advanced Soderstrom to third base.

A’s Fail to Inch Closer

That was all she wrote for Lambert. Astros’ right-hander Enyel De Los Santos replaced him with runners on second and third and one out. As they had earlier in the game, the A’s failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. De Los Santos retired Gelof and McNeil to escape the jam and preserve his team’s four-run lead. If the A’s scored during those two prime scoring opportunities, this game could have been tied or much-closer.

As the A’s offense went quietly the rest of the night against Astros’ relievers, Barnett kept the Astros from further increasing their lead. He worked four scoreless innings in long relief, striking out seven while allowing just one hit. Not only did Barnett pitch well, but by finishing the game, he ensured that everyone else in the Athletics’ bullpen will be fresh to pitch tomorrow and/or Sunday.

A’s Hope to Have More Success Tomorrow

This was an uninspiring performance by the Athletics to open this series. Aside from Bolte and Barnett, there were not many positives to take away from this game.

The A’s will try to bounce back and even up the series tomorrow afternoon. Right-hander Kade Morris will make his first MLB start for the “Green and Gold”. He will be opposed by Astros’ right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who has been pitching better as he gets more acclimated to competing in MLB. In his second-to-last start, he pitched the first six innings of the Astros combined no-hitter.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m., see you all there!

Kyle Leahy’s finish was better than his start and the St. Louis Cardinals bats were more than enough to overcome the Cincinnati Reds Friday night at Busch Stadium with an honorable mention going to the Reds bullpen for a big assist during the latter half of the game.

Trying to explain what happened in both halves of the 1st inning is similar to describing the plot of a very twisted soap opera. Let’s start with the Reds top half of the 1st. The game began with what looked like Kyle Leahy trying to improve Cincinnati’s barrel rate. Blake Dunn led off the game with a solid single to center. Bleday followed that with a lineout to Jordan Walker in right. Kyle Leahy then walked Spencer Steer giving Cincinnati runners at first and second with just one out. Sal Stewart cracked a double to center scoring both Dunn and Steer giving the Reds a 2-0 lead. Cincinnati wasn’t done yet. Eugenio Suarez singled to left scoring Steward making it 3-0 Reds.

The St. Louis bottom of the 1st inning was almost as lively as Lars Nootbaar celebrated his return to the lineup by beating out a ball to shortstop and advanced to 2nd on an errant throw. Ivan Herrera grounded into a fielder’s choice where Lars made the unfortunate decision to try and reach third making the first out of the inning there. That did not kill the Cardinals rally, though, as Alec Burleson drilled a single to right with Herrera advancing to third. After Jordan Walker struck out, Herrera scored when Bryan Torres was called safe at first on an error by Sal Stewart who review confirmed came off of the base for what would have been the last out of the inning giving the Cardinals their first run of the game making it 3-1 Reds. Reds manager Terry Francona got tossed out of the game after arguing with the umpires after their challenge failed. Alec Burleson then scored on a wild pitch by starter Brady Singer allowing the Cardinals to creep closer at 3-2 Reds. Nolan Gorman struck out to end the Cardinals 1st.

Kyle Leahy would settle down after the extremely shaky 1st inning giving the Cardinals 4 innings allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs while striking out only 1 and walking 2. Hunter Dobbins would come in from the pen to handle the Reds for the rest of the game and I’m not even kidding about that. He would even get the win, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Cardinals would tie the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Alec Burleson delivered a 387 foot Burly bomb into the bullpen in right field making it 3-3.

The next bit of excitement would happen in the Cardinals bottom of the 5th when Ivan Herrera walked followed by Alec Burleson hitting into a fielder’s choice. He would move up to second base when he was caught leaning by relief pitcher Brock Burke, but Burke’s throw went flying into right field. Whoops. Jordan Walker made the Reds pay by smoking a double over the center fielder’s head scoring Burleson and giving St. Louis its first lead of the night at 4-3.

I was one of many looking forward to the energy Lars Nootbaar would bring as he returned from injury to the St. Louis Cardinals lineup and he did not disappoint. After Victor Scott II reached on an infield single, Lars put a charge 99 mph four-seam fastball doubling to center and easily scoring Victor all the way from first increasing the Cardinals lead to 5-3. He would then score on a single by Herrera to right making it 6-3 St. Louis. NOOT!

St. Louis would break the game wide open after Herrera’s RBI single with several assists by Cincinnati Reds blunders. Alec Burleson walked which led to a pitching change where Luis Mey would come in and give the “Tarps Off” crew plenty to chant about in right field. After Jordan Walker barely missed crushing a home run flying out to left, Mey made sure that wouldn’t matter as he walked everyone but the ushers in Busch Stadium. Torres walked. Masyn Winn was hit in the back of his left shoulder blade with the bases loaded making it 7-3 Cardinals. Jose Fermin reached on an infield single scoring Burleson then Jimmy Crooks walked and then (stop me if you’ve heard this before) Victor Scott II walked. By the time Mey was taken out of the game, it was 10-3 Cardinals which would end up being the final score. Thank you for that 30-minute half-inning, Reds bullpen.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds will play the second game of the weekend series Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium that will hopefully be as fun for the Cardinals as the first one. For the Cardinals, it’s Matthew Liberatore on the mound as he’ll take on Reds starter Nick Lodolo. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm and the TV broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

The Yankees have gotten almost nothing offensively from the catching position, with Austin Wells in a season-long slump and J.C. Escarra yet to prove he can hit in the majors.

After another hitless night from Wells in a 5-3 loss to Boston, and with the Red Sox scheduled to start lefties the next two games, Escarra was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game and Ali Sánchez will be called up from SWB, a source confirmed. 

The righty-hitting Sánchez is not expected to be a long-term solution, but carrying two catchers that hit from the left side — and not well — hasn’t worked.

Sánchez, 29, has played 50 games in the majors after coming up through the Mets system.

Prior to the game, general manager Brian Cashman didn’t rule out Ben Rice potentially being used at the position later in the season, once Giancarlo Stanton returns from his calf strain.

Asked if Rice — another lefty hitter — could catch, with Stanton at DH and Paul Goldschmidt at first, Cashman said, “It’s a fair question.”

“It’s something I’ll defer to down the line,” Cashman said. “Rice has been fantastic and is certainly capable of going behind the plate. We’ll kick it around down the line. It’s not something that’s on the radar now.”

Rice started 26 games at catcher last season, but now that he’s emerged as one of the top hitters in the majors, the Yankees have been more reluctant to use him anywhere but at first base and DH. And with Goldschmidt hitting well, Rice has been a regular at DH.

Putting him behind the plate could take a toll on Rice, who they need to produce even more now with Judge out.

Instead, the Yankees will add Sánchez.

Wells is 1-for-18 with no extra-base hits, two walks and six strikeouts since his three-hit game May 26 and was booed after a seventh-inning strikeout.

Cashman ruled out looking for an upgrade outside the organization for third base as well, for now.

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Ryan McMahon, at third base, has hit better of late, 11-for-38 with four extra-base hits in his last 11 starts.

“Hopefully they saved all their bullets for now,” Cashman said of the players he has at catcher and third base. “They’re more than capable. They’re good players and we do believe in them. … Hopefully the best is yet to come from those positions.”

But he wouldn’t rule out making changes there if necessary.

“I’m always open-minded to ways of trying to figure things out,” Cashman said.

Since the Yankees say they expect Judge back at some point this season, Cashman added he doesn’t think the injury will impact his actions prior to the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“We’ve got to hold down the fort,” Cashman said.

Trent Grisham has started to heat up at the plate.

He homered Friday and is 18-for-52 (.346) with six extra-base hits in his last nine games. … Goldschmidt had a nine-game hitting streak snapped.

The Padres, in the midst of a skid, have been dealt a big blow to their outfield.

Manager Craig Stammen revealed Friday that Ramon Laureano could be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for a torn labrum in his right hip.

Laureano’s hip has caused him problems in the past five seasons, but he has usually been able to play through it.

During the Padres’ series in Washington last weekend, Laureano informed the team that his condition had worsened, and he opted for surgery on Friday.

Laureano’s performance at the plate has seemingly been impacted by his hip.

In mid-April, he was batting .292 with a .921 OPS. When placed on the injured list on Tuesday, his numbers had dipped significantly to a .203 average with a .660 OPS.

Should San Diego make a deep playoff run, it’s possible we haven’t seen the last of Laureano this season.

Stammen stated that the typical timeline for return is “that four-to-five month range.”

For the Padres to really make an impact this year, it is critical that their superstars make up for Laureano’s absence. Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. have all underperformed thus far this season, though they’ve looked better lately.

Entering Friday, the Padres have scored the fewest runs in the major leagues.

They’ve lost nine of their last 10 entering the weekend series with the Mets, and their loss in Philadelphia on Thursday took them out of the playoff picture for the first time since April.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Cleveland Guardians scored two runs.

The Rangers had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

In what was shaping up to be a familiar game that you’ve seen a dozen times at The Shed this year, the Rangers found the switch to flip and came through with a crooked number inning that just happened to be the exact digit that was as many as they needed to find the win column tonight in the series opener against Cleveland.

After a day off yesterday, Texas returned home and greeted us like an old friend as the Guardians took a 1-0 lead three pitches into the game when former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana took former two-time first round pick and 2022 No. 3 overall selection Kumar Rocker deep.

With the first inning blues playing once more, Texas was in a hole before they’d even stepped up to the plate. That started to seem like the least of their problems as they came to bat in the fourth inning without a hit. By that point, it was 2-0 Guardians when World Series-winning legend Austin Hedges singled in Steven Kwan with two outs in the top of the fourth.

Cleveland reached to lead off an inning in four of the first five frames but Rocker prevented the big inning throughout his start. One of the key moments in the game came with the Guardians already up 2-0 when Bazzana tripled to lead off the fifth. Rocker buckled down and prevented Bazzana from scoring to keep it close.

Overall Rocker went five innings on 94 pitches where he allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Cleveland starter Parker Messick would make it to two outs in the bottom of the fourth before Josh Jung singled for Texas’ first hit of the night. The Rangers would be held off the board until a few innings later when catcher Kyle Higashioka smacked a solo home run to give Texas some hope as the Cleveland lead was halved.

With the looming threat of a shutout off the table, returning lineup reinforcement Wyatt Langford doubled to put the tying run in scoring position. Also returning was Corey Seager and he followed Langford not just with an RBI hit to tie the game but with a two-run dong that suddenly gave the Rangers a lead as the game exited the middle innings.

Despite the fact that the Rangers snoozed through the first half of the game, they held the lead and turned things over to their bullpen. A combination of Peyton Gray, Jalen Beeks, and Jacob Latz tossed the final four innings with Latz collecting a six-out save that proved a bit laborious.

The trio of relievers struck out six and held Cleveland to just a ninth inning Hedges single that had us sweating a little before Latz finished off the comeback victory on his 35th pitch of the night.

Player of the Game: Seager had been chained to the longest, most dreadful slump of his big league career before hitting the IL with back issues. After missing over half of May, Seager returned and immediately made an impact with his go-ahead and eventual game-winning two-run home run that put Texas up by the eventual 3-2 final score.

Welcome back, Corey!

Up Next: The Rangers and Guardians hit the national airwaves with RHP Jack Leiter expected to pitch for Texas opposite RHP Tanner Bibee for Cleveland.

The Saturday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:35 pm CDT and you can watch the game on FOX.

There’s a baseball cliche when a pitcher has an OK night but still takes the L: “He just made the one mistake, and it got punished.” It’s tempting to tag that to Bryan Woo in tonight’s 7-3 loss to the Tigers, but I’m not so sure it’s true.

The pitch you’d want to pin that canard to is the slider that Kerry Carpenter took into the seats in the bottom of the third. After all, Woo left it right in the lefty loop zone.

The thing is, though: despite being a modern lefty slugger, Carpenter isn’t really a lefty-loop-zone guy. He’s more dead red, with his power output declining in nearly perfect concentric circles the farther you get from middle-middle. If anything, he’s a little better up and out rather than down and in. So I’m declaring this pitch not a “just the one mistake” pitch from Woo, notwithstanding the result.

What’s more, I no longer hold Mariners pitchers responsible for what Kerry Carpenter does to them. Including the postseason, Carpenter has a .346 wOBA against all the other 28 clubs for his career. That’s Brandon Lowe’s career number. After today’s game, he’s at .475 against the Mariners. That’s Lou Gehrig. For whatever reason, it’s his manhandling of Seattle’s pitchers that’s propping up the Kerry Bonds nickname.

So that pitch is off the hook. How about the other 89? In one sense, they went pretty well, with seven strikeouts and no walks. And the Tigers’ ten hits benefited from some good BABIP fortune, including a ball that Julio Rodríguez let drop in front of him, which is at least an excuse to link to Ryan’s excellent piece from this morning. The rub came in Woo’s last inning. Trying to get through a full seven innings, he just had to get through the bottom of the lineup for a third time. But he couldn’t do it, leaving the game with the bases loaded on a triplet of singles, two of which were hard hits off the sinker.

I know I’m becoming sort of obsessive about this—and that Woo’s been great lately—but it gives me pause. He only used three sinkers in his first time through the order. As he ran out of tricks the third time through, he went to it more often, and the Mariners paid the price. He did get three whiffs on the 13 sinkers he threw over the course of the game, but those final ones leave an aftertaste that infects my impression of the whole performance. I don’t want to overstate the issue, and it felt worse because Eduard Bazardo allowed two of those inherited runners to score. If he’d induced a double play, I’m sure I’d have an easier time letting this go. But until Woo’s sinker comes back, I’ll still be nervous. The situation is less “one mistake pitch” and more “one mistake pitch type.”

Tonight’s Sun Hat Award goes to J.P. Crawford, his first since 2023. He was the early favorite for kicking off a string of opposite-field singles—precisely the way to get to Tigers starter Framber Valdez—that scored the Mariners a run in the first half inning. Still, I grimaced when he scored that run on an uncomfortable-looking slide into home plate and hobbled back to the dugout. No matter! His body held up enough to pull off a web gem in the second inning. I don’t know what to make of it, but it’s undeniable at this point: J.P. has been playing his ass off at shortstop since he volunteered to eventually move over to third base. 

Still, I grimaced when he was slow to get up, and not in an I’m-milking-this way. No matter! His body held up well enough for him to work a full count in his next at-bat and win the battle by getting on base a second time. Still, I grimaced when the reason he reached was that he took a pitch to the hand. Matter! He did not return to the game. Mercifully the x-rays came back negative. (The HBP was probably unintentional, but please just kick Framber out of the league already.)

The Mariners threatened a few more times: Colt Emerson hit an oppo taco, checking off another first in his young career, but with nobody aboard. And Josh Naylor laid down a cheeky little bunt, but was left stranded. Maybe the Mariners will have more luck behind Bryce Miller, unshackled from the piggyback, tomorrow.

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy will return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Saturday for the second game of a three-game series against the Angels, manager Dave Roberts said.

Before the series opener on Friday, Roberts said Muncy was still sore from his head-on crash at first base with Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas in the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss at Chase Field the previous night.

“He’s doing well,” Roberts said. “He got a little bruise on his nose. He’s a little sore overall, but feels good. Says he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

The collision in question occurred with two outs in the fifth inning when Muncy hit a grounder to Vargas up the first-base line. From there, it was a footrace to bag.

Muncy reached the base first but couldn’t avoid the oncoming Vargas.

“As I’m running down the line, I saw him in foul territory, so I got to the inside of the bag, and I thought he was going to stay on that [other] side,” Muncy told reporters in Phoenix. “It felt like neither of us knew which direction we were going to go, and then we both went the wrong direction. And yeah, bang.”

Roberts said he was uncertain whether Muncy would be available to pinch hit on Friday — he said that would be determined after Muncy tries warming up — but was confident the third baseman could be treated like any other player starting Saturday.

Muncy is also expected to play on Sunday.

The Dodgers don’t have a game on Monday. They will travel to Pittsburgh that day.

Haters and doubters take note: The Orioles are still doing this thing. It is easier to feel like they might be able to keep doing it after games like this one. The Birds rallied from a 3-1 deficit heading into the sixth inning to take the lead and blow past the Blue Jays, piling on all the way to a 13-3 blowout to start the series in Toronto. The Orioles have now won 10 of their past 14 games.

Adding to the excitement from this comeback-turned-blowout win is that the Orioles turned this thing around against a pretty good Jays starter in Trey Yesavage. Last year’s postseason revelation had an “effectively wild” kind of game against the O’s last Saturday, walking seven guys in five innings while giving up just one run. The O’s had to win that one in walkoff fashion against kiss-blower Jeff Hoffman. This time, they were able to pile it on against Yesavage. It just took them a while to do it.

The teams traded first inning runs before settling in for what looked like it might be a low-scoring affair. Adley Rutschman got the Orioles on the board with a two-out solo home run. Is he back? More on that later. The Jays knotted the score back up in the bottom of the inning, with George Springer starting things off with a double and turning that into a run after a groundout and a sacrifice fly. The quest for the shutdown inning, putting up a zero after one’s own team scores a run or runs, can sometimes be elusive.

The score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth inning. Neither team threatened the other all that much in the meantime. The closest thing to excitement in the meantime came with a pair of two-out singles by the Jays in the second inning, which came to an end when Andrés Giménez was cut down trying to steal second base. Thanks for that, guys. Yesavage and Orioles starter Brandon Young were doing a decent job of cruising through the opposing lineups.

Young hit a rockier patch facing the bottom of the Jays lineup in the fifth. After third baseman Kazuma Okamoto led off the inning with a single, #9 batter Brandon Valenzuela was all over a middle-middle slider, driving the ball over the high right-center field wall to give the Jays a 3-1 lead. There’s something about getting burned by the bottom of the lineup that stings extra hard.

Perhaps a month ago, that would have been the end of it. The current version of the Orioles offense, however, still had four more innings to have their say, and they used them well, starting right away in the top of the sixth. Yesavage probably thought he had them figured out, especially after he was able to keep them off the scoreboard even while struggling with his command last weekend.

Then, almost in the blink of an eye, Jackson Holliday doubled, Gunnar Henderson walked, and Rutschman hit a game-tying double. Pinch hitter Jeremiah Jackson came off the bench and drove in Rutschman for a fourth Orioles run, and then, for good measure, Coby Mayo punctuated the whole inning with a sky-high two-run home run. Suddenly, the Orioles led, 6-3. Yesavage could not finish the sixth inning. He was tagged for six runs in 5.2 innings.

Staked to that lead, Young did not waste it, retiring the next four Jays batters he faced. That got him through to a 6.1 inning start with three runs allowed on seven hits. He did not walk a batter. Young continues to make the most of the opportunity he’s been given this season. His ERA sits at 3.47 after his nine starts.

Over the last two innings, the Orioles managed to turn it into a laugher. Four singles and an RBI groundout turned into three runs scored in the eighth off reliever Connor Seabold. Uncurable Orioles sickos will remember that Seabold was a 19th round pick by the Orioles in 2014. He did not sign. They racked up four more runs in the ninth, with Rutschman cashing in a pair of RBI after Taylor Ward and Henderson singled in front of him. The Jays needed to use a position player to pitch and get the last out of the game.

This was an impressive day for Rutschman. The Orioles catcher had four hits, coming the classic triple shy of the cycle. He was on base all five times he came to the dish, adding a walk as well. He scored four runs while driving in five. He threw out a runner. Is he back? The question comes up often. For tonight, the status is: Back. Now let’s hope he stays for a while.

Rutschman didn’t hog ALL the offense for himself. The team had 13 hits and seven of the nine guys in the starting lineup had a hit. Colton Cowser had a two-hit game, as did Jackson, coming off the bench. A better version of the 2026 Orioles than we saw in May is going to need all of these guys to do good things. This game is a good indication of what that might look like, if they are able to keep doing it.

One unfortunate subplot coming out of the game: Rookie Samuel Basallo exited the game early after taking a pair of at-bats. The team announced during the game that Basallo was dealing with right abdominal discomfort. After the game, manager Craig Albernaz called this “precautionary” and said there will be further evaluation on Saturday. I hope we don’t hear about ongoing oblique soreness. I also hope there’s not oblique soreness that we don’t hear about.

Can the Orioles make it two good games in a row against the Jays tomorrow? That would be fun. Kyle Bradish will look to keep mostly rolling in the 3:07 afternoon game. The Jays do not have a starter listed currently. The MASN broadcast indicated some kind of opener strategy may be employed.

At 31-33, the Orioles currently sit a half-game out of a playoff spot in the American League.