Category: MLB

Wow. Just wow. Just last night I talked about the perils of falling in love with walk-off victories. Not that I think the Cubs were sitting back and waiting and thinking that they could just flip a switch at the last minute. And yet, the game played out that way anyway. Your mileage may vary, but this “shape” of game frustrates me more than say Friday’s loss. Oh, it’s embarrassing to lose 18-3, don’t get me wrong. But when the pitching is bad on this team, I kind of expect that. I’m not interested in exploring that thought just now. But that’s where my baseline is. But on a night like Sunday? A night when the bullpen gives the Cubs eight innings of relief with no runs allowed? That’s frustrating.

I know Javier Assad is a starter and I know he’s stretched out. So when I say “relief” outing, I see a few eyes rolling. But to be fair, Assad might have been told to be ready for a multi-inning outing Sunday. I’m sure that thought was maybe Javy would be called upon to throw two or three innings to bridge the gap between an underachieving starting rotation and an overworked bullpen resulting from those short comings. But he surely wasn’t guaranteed to get those innings tonight. Jacob Webb and Daniel Palencia both threw in this game and surely would have been available if (say) Jameson Taillon had gotten deep in the game. If Jameson gives them six innings and leaves say a 5-2 game, does Assad even pitch? So it’s not like he was sitting there ready to go. No one expected to see him in a competitive second inning.

But there was Assad on no notice, Webb for a couple of batters and Palencia for the ninth inning. All of that before Trent Thornton’s rough 10th inning in a tough spot. But I give Thornton credit. I will always think the reliever did a decent job if he holds the team to a single run in the top half of an extra inning. The whole setup is turbo charged, designed for run scoring. It’s superior if they hold a team scoreless and a disaster if they allow two or more. Again, your mileage may vary. So I don’t hold this against Thornton in any way. I do think differently about the bottom of the inning, particularly after you get a run in the top of the inning. It changes the way the inning plays once you have that lead. The pressure alone helps the road team once they get that run.

So my ire here is where it largely is with this team. These hitters have lost their way. It’s so bizarre. I’ve gotten to the point where I pretty much only want to see Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Ian Happ bat. I will give a nod to Moisés Ballesteros for a really great plate appearance tonight and the only run driven in. But that performance like so many of his teammates has been so few and far between for the last month. In this one, that was compounded by a couple of questionable baserunning decisions. A team shouldn’t slump for a whole month. Nico Hoerner. Alex Bregman. Seiya Suzuki. To differing degrees, these guys have track records. I don’t even know what you do with this.

I mean that’s not entirely true. The real answer is that you look yourself in the mirror. I’m not a big fan of ultimatums. I don’t think you go fire and brimstone from the front office. You just do your job. I know combing the back fields is quite the way amateur scouting goes anymore. At least not to the extent that it once did. But whatever amateur scouting looks like, whatever minor league scouting looks like, whatever international scouting looks like, you turn your attention there. It’s not over, but this team is heading towards lost cause. You start doing your homework on how to make this team better in 2027 and beyond. There’s no magic button that is going to fix this. Either these hitters are going to come back to life and find the magic they had earlier, or you are going to drift into oblivion.

The efforts are best served looking to the future. Not that an organization can’t “walk and chew gum at the same time.” But, I’m certain the tenor of phone calls and planting seeds is different when you are looking to add bodies than when you are looking to subtract them. Certainly if you think that another Edward Cabrera-type addition could add for 2026 and into the future, incremental help could help this year. The draft isn’t valuable enough to reward tanking in baseball. So I don’t think you go full youth movement or anything. But I do think you maybe at least start signaling that certain veteran players might become available, say by visibly scouting high level prospects from contending organizations.

It makes me sick that we are here. But it is what it is. I realize the Giants also just took two out of four from the Brewers. But I think of it like a piece I wrote earlier in the week about getting shut down by an A’s pitcher making his second major league start. In both situations, on a one off basis, of course that can happen. But this team hasn’t won a series in a month. Getting to easier competition hasn’t helped. The Cubs won two games this week. One was a fluky ninth inning comeback and one was an individually heroic performance behind the most effective Cubs starter. The offense had three good games on the road last week and got three wins out of it. But it’s just not enough. Two of six at home this past week. Three of seven the week before against two division rivals. No wins the week before.

Not. Good. Enough. Not. Acceptable.

Three Positives:

• Javier Assad threw 6.1 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed a hit, a walk and hit a batter. Even in the era of occasional use of openers, that has to be one of the longest and most effective relief outings in Cub history.
• Moisés Ballesteros had a hit, a walk and an RBI in his three plate appearances. A very nice day at the plate for the rookie. Very encouraging as one of the guys who has struggled a lot over the last month.
• Ian Happ had a triple. The only extra base hit by the Cubs.

Game 66, June 7: Giants 2, Cubs 1 (34-32)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Javier Assad (.456). 6.1 IP, 21 BF, H, BB, 0 ER, 5 K
• Hero: Moisés Ballesteros (.148). 1-2, BB, RBI
• Sidekick: Daniel Palencia (.134). IP, 3 BF, K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Alex Bregman (-.545). 0-5, DP
• Goat: Michael Busch (-.202). 1-5, DP
• Kid: Carson Kelly (-.195). 1-4, R

WPA Play of the Game: Alex Bregman lined into a double play with runners on first and third and no outs in the eighth inning. With all due respect to the rest of the game, this is where the potential Cub win died. You can see that in the chart above. (.301).

Cubs Play of the Game: Michael Busch singles with no outs and a runner on first and the game tied in the eighth inning. After a throwing error, the runner Kevin Alcantara went first to third. (.181)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 65 Winner: Pete Crow-Armstrong received 237 out of 254 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Busch +20
• Ben Brown +11.5
• Pete Crow-Armstrong/Michael Conforto +10
• Carson Kelly/Ian Happ +8.5
• Ryan Rolison/Phil Maton/Jameson Taillon -8
• Caleb Thielbar -9
• Matt Shaw -10
• Dansby Swanson -11
• Seiya Suzuki -26.5

Up Next: An off day on Monday. On Tuesday, the Cubs start a three game series in Colorado. The Rockies aren’t as woeful as they’ve been recently, but they are 24-42 with a -99 run differential. That run differential points to an expected 24-42 win loss record. So, you could say that they are who they are. By OPS, the Rockies are 17th in MLB (Cubs still hanging in there at ninth). By ERA, the Rockies are 30th (Cubs are 19th). One might expect, looking at those numbers, that the teams would have a high scoring series. The Rockies are 12-19 at home (12-23 on the road).

Colin Rea (5-3, 4.59, 64.2 IP) makes his 11th start of the season. He’s allowed seven earned runs over his last three starts, covering 17.2 innings (3.56 ERA). 36-year-old righty Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.98, 63.1 IP) gets his 13th start of the year. He’s 3-2 with a 4.50 in five home starts this year.

Two or even three wins in Colorado isn’t going to reignite my excitement about this team. But again, tanking doesn’t have a ton of value in baseball, so might as well go win these games.

*Side notes, Javier Assad and Alex Bregman’s Sunday night performances appear to both be among biggest WPA values by Cub players this year (one positive, one negative). Additionally, Pete Crow-Armstrong’s game Saturday and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s game Thursday were all notable WPA games for the season. Look for a comment from me on Monday regarding where those performances stack up with others this year. Or in the case of the PCA Saturday heroics, how it fits in amongst performances in recent years (by WPA).

2026 MLB Draft Preview: Liam Peterson scouting report.

The 2026 is about a month away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at University of Florida righthander Liam Peterson.

Liam Peterson is a 6’5”, 225 lb. righthanded pitcher for the University of Florida who turns 21 later this month. Peterson attended high school at Calvary Christian in Clearwater, Florida, and was a consensus top 100 guy for the 2023 MLB Draft, but was not selected due to signability issues. He has been a starter for the Gators all three years he’s been there.

Peterson is considered, if not having the best stuff in this draft class, to be near the top. Baseball America did an extensive write-up on him in October, profiling him as potentially the top pitcher in the draft class. His fastball sits in the mid-90s, and can reportedly get up to 98-99 mph. He throws both a slider and a curveball, with the slider being his primary out pitch. Peterson also has a changeup that is relatively advanced, and the changeup can be a weapon against lefties.

The knock on Peterson is his command, with Keith Law, for example, noting that he gets hit too hard for the type of stuff he has, and Fangraphs noting that Florida has had a history of not developing their pitchers as well as they should. The October write-up from BA says that he has a quality fastball, but not one that he can just blow batters away with, saying that Peterson “will be reliant on command to avoid damage.”

As a freshman, Peterson had a 6.43 ERA in 63 innings over 16 starts and two relief appearances, striking out 77 of 301 batters while walking 44 and giving up 15 homers. He took a step forward in 2025, lowering his ERA to 4.28 in 69.1 innings over 15 starts and a relief appearances, increasing his K total to 96 (out of 305 batters) while lowering his walks to 32 and reducing his homer count to 9.

In 2026, Peterson put up a 4.59 ERA in 16 starts covering 84.1 IP, with 111 Ks, 36 walks and 11 homers, facing 368 batters. He ended the 2026 season on a down note, giving up nine runs in five innings to Troy in the Gainesville Regional. Florida was eliminated by Troy in the next game.

Baseball America has Peterson at #21 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Peterson at #14 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Peterson at #13 on his top 150 list. Keith Law’s rankings have Peterson at #8 on his board. Fangraphs has Peterson at #13 on their board. Baseball Prospectus does not have Peterson on their top 30 draft board.

In the most recent Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Peterson going to the Rangers at #16. Jim Callis’s June 4 mock draft has Peterson going to the Diamondbacks at #15, but also mentions him in connection with several teams ahead of Arizona. Keith Law’s May mock draft has Peterson going to the Cardinals at #13. Kiley McDaniel’s May 29 mock draft has Peterson going to the Rockies at #10.

I decided to start the MLB Draft preview write-ups with Peterson, since he was who BA has going to the Rangers in the mock draft they released today. The current mocks have him generally off the board before the Rangers pick, so at this point it would be mildly surprising if he dropped to them, but a lot can happen between now and draft day, and things are always fluid once you get past the first handful of picks.

The Rangers hit a home run with the selection of Alejandro Rosario in the 5th round in 2023, whose results in college didn’t match his stuff, though Peterson has had much more success than Rosario did. Its the same idea, though, grabbing a guy with great stuff with the belief that you can refine things and get better results from him. In addition, the Rangers used premium picks in back to back years on Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, two guys who were seen as being hit harder in college at times than they should have been, given their stuff. Getting Peterson at #16 would be a major coup if the organization could have the same sort of success with him that the organization did with Rosario.

Alright, that is how the team should be playing at home. Going 5-1 against some good competition was a nice salve for the home issues they have had and before you say the Padres and White Sox aren’t good competition, they were both over .500 coming into this week. The bats woke up a bit while the starting pitching, for the most part, held serve.

Three up

Brandon Marsh – One of the interesting developments with the season is the continued improvement of Brandon Marsh. One of the only consistent hitters in the lineup this season, Marsh has put up numbers worthy of a selection to the All-Star Game, something that could be tough with the need for each team to have a representative. He’s definitely deserving, so finding a spot should be a priority among the coaching staff.

Adolis Garcia – A regular of the trio found in the section below this, let’s give credit to where it’s due for Garcia. He had a good week for the team, getting six hits on the week, two of them leaving the yard as home runs. It’s been good to see some right handed pop in the lineup, so let’s hope he can continue. Interesting note: for a player that has had it drilled into his head to take a few more walks, be a little more patient during his time here, Garcia’s best week in about a month and a half came in the week he didn’t take a single walk.

Jhoan Duran – I mean, what else should we say? Duran is about as lockdown a reliever as the league has this season. Each time he comes in, you simply expect a 1-2-3 innings to happen. Even when a batter makes contact, it’s honestly shocking that it happens.

Three down

Justin Crawford – Listen. The kid is struggling. With Steward Berroa here, possessing the ability to even stand in centerfield, it would maybe be a good idea to give the kid a day off to get himself right. Going back to May 4, he’s hitting .186/.239/.291. He’s slumping, badly. He needs a breather.

Andrew Painter – Speaking of struggling rookies. Painter’s job isn’t in question, that much is for sure. He’s a big part of this team’s present and future. But man, has it been disappointing to watch him this year. You wish the team had an alternative to him, someone who could also give him a skipped start or something along those lines. They just have….nothing. In the end, he’ll be fine as his stuff is just too good to see him continue being as up and down as he is. It’s just tough to watch at times right now.

J.T. Realmuto – We knew the decline would be tough, but Realmuto just doesn’t have it right now at the plate. We could talk about the need for days off with him as we do every year, but we all know it’s not going to happen.

The Boston Red Sox, ranked fifth in the AL East with a 27-36 record, face the Tampa Bay Rays, who are first in the AL East with a 37-25 record. The game is essentially a pick'em, with Boston at -115 and Tampa Bay at -105. Starting pitchers are Connelly Early for Boston, with a 3.26 ERA, and Ian Seymour for Tampa Bay, with a 5.23 ERA.

How to watch Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays

• Date: Monday, June 8

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET / 3:40 p.m. PT

• Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

• TV Channels: Rays.TV, NESN

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Boston Red Sox: 27-36 (fifth in AL East)

• Tampa Bay Rays: 37-25 (first in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: Boston Red Sox -1.5

• Moneyline: Tampa Bay Rays -105 / Boston Red Sox -115

• Over/Under: 8

Starting pitchers

Boston Red Sox: Connelly Early (5-3, ERA: 3.26, K: 63, WHIP: 1.18)

Tampa Bay Rays: Ian Seymour (3-0, ERA: 5.23, K: 33, WHIP: 1.35)

Series: Game 1 of 3 (series tied)

Weather: 91°F at first pitch

Mike Burrows is the only Astros starter to make every turn in the rotation through the first 67 games of the season, but after another rough outing Sunday against the A’s, and with Hunter Brown due back later this month, Burrows’ spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy.

Burrows allowed five runs, four earned, over five innings in Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the Athletics. He has a 5.77 ERA through his first 13 starts with the Astros, who are 3-10 when he takes the mound. It’s hardly what the team envisioned when it acquired the right-hander in December.

The 26-year-old was the victim of the Crawford Boxes, poor defense, and a .378 opponent BABIP through his first five starts, which led to his FIP being almost two runs lower than his 6.75 ERA. Burrows got his ERA down to 5.04 after throwing seven scoreless innings in Cincinnati on May 8, but he has posted a 6.91 ERA in his last five starts, to go with a 7.50 FIP and .289 BABIP against, suggesting his underlying performance has actually been worse than his results during that stretch.

Keeping the ball in the ballpark has been Burrows’ biggest issue this season. He allowed two more home runs on Sunday, bringing his total to 17. Only Jameson Taillon has allowed more this season. Eleven of those homers have come against Burrows’ four-seam fastball, including both he allowed against the A’s on Sunday.

Burrows arrived in Houston with one of baseball’s best changeups, but his other pitches needed refining, most notably his four-seam fastball, which opponents batted .326 against last season with a .529 slugging percentage. That pitch has been worse this season.

After Sunday’s start, opponents are batting .315 against Burrows’ four-seam this season, with a .781 slugging percentage. Baseball Savant has assigned that pitch a -9 run value, the sixth-worst mark among 300 qualified pitchers.

The Astros acquired Burrows with the hope he could build on the 111 ERA+ he posted last season in his first taste of Major League action, and that he could be a “pillar” of their rotation for the next half decade. That possibility can’t be ruled out after just 13 starts, but the Astros are sure to be experiencing some buyer’s remorse at the moment.

Burrows will make his next turn in the Astros rotation this weekend in Kansas City, but things could get complicated after that. If all goes well Wednesday in Sugar Land, Hunter Brown will rejoin the Astros rotation next week. A stretch of 13 games in 13 days will allow the Astros to utilize a six-man rotation, but that won’t be the case when the calendar flips to July.

Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, and Tatsuya Imai are rotation locks, while Peter Lambert and Kai-Wei Teng are performing at a much higher level than Burrows. Teng could slot back to the bullpen where he was excellent at the start of the season, but would that be best for the team if Burrows continues to struggle over the next couple of weeks? Also, Cristian Javier could be back by that point as well.

He has pitched out of the bullpen before, but a trip down to Sugar Land could be more beneficial. It would allow him to work out some of his issues while keeping him on a starter’s routine. The Astros took a similar approach with Arrighetti at the start of the season, and he has since authored an All-Star-caliber first half.

Burrows has flashed the upside that appealed to the Astros over the winter, and there’s no reason to think he’s a lost cause at this point. But the Astros are just 4.5 games back of Seattle for first place in the AL West and three games back of Texas for the American League’s final wild-card spot. The 2026 season is not a lost cause despite a 30-37 record.

Every game matters, and the Astros cannot afford to keep running Burrows out there if better options are available.

Thirteen Years Ago

The Blue Jays and Rangers played 18 innings; best of all, the good guys won. I miss these kinds of games.

It was one of those games that felt like it would never end.

Early on, we scored three runs in the third inning. Edwin Encarnacion singled. Adam Lind walked, moving Edwin to second. Then Colby Rasmus hit a line drive to right-center field. Edwin ran home and scored easily. Lind also tried to score, but the relay throw from Jurickson Profar, the Rangers’ second baseman, was wide of home, so both Lind and Colby scored.

After that initial burst, we put up zeros for the next 14 innings.

Mark Buehrle started strong. Just a month earlier, he allowed a seven-run inning against the Rays, but his season turned around after that. In the five starts between then and this game, Mark posted a 3.38 ERA.

On this day, he pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 earned run (a Jeff Baker home run in the seventh), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts, with 92 pitches thrown. He deserved a win for that outing.

Though I don’t remember much about Baker, he had a solid season at the plate, hitting .279/.360/.545 with 11 home runs. Despite playing 11 seasons, he only appeared in over 100 games once, with 104 for the Rockies in 2008.

Buehrle should have secured the win, but after Steve Delabar pitched a scoreless eighth, Casey Jansen gave up 2 runs in the ninth for his first blown save of the season. Since he finished with 34 saves and just 2 blown, we can give him a pass.

After that, our bullpen pitched nine scoreless innings. From the recap:

Dustin McGowan entered in extras for his first appearance since 2011, walking the leadoff batter. After getting a double-play ball that Mark DeRosa booted, a hit batter loaded the bases, but Dustin grabbed a strikeout to escape.

Juan Perez replaced him and allowed a medium fly to right, but Jose Bautista’s strong throw cut down the runner at the plate. Perez pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 walk, and recording 1 strikeout.

Neil Wagner followed, getting 2 outs to close the 12th.

Next up, Brett Cecil pitched a clean 12th with one strikeout.

Brad Lincoln then pitched four strong innings: he allowed 1 hit, walked 1, hit 2 batters, and struck out 3. I figured Gibby would stick with him until the game ended or his arm fell off. But instead…

Aaron Loup came in, gave up a hit and hit a batter, but escaped the 18th without allowing a run.

Brad Lincoln was terrific. Despite pitching four excellent innings, he was sent to the minors the next day. It felt unfair.

On the Rangers’ side:

• Yu Darvish threw 7 innings, giving up 2 earned and 1 unearned run. We had 6 hits against him.
• Neal Cotts went 1.1, allowing just a hit.
• Jason Frasor, a former Blue Jays reliever, went 1 inning, allowing a hit.
• Robbie Ross: 1.2, with a hit and a walk.
• Ross Wolf threw 6.2 innings, constantly working himself in and out of trouble. And then, in the 18th:

With one out, Maicer Izturis lined out, then Emilio Bonifacio singled—one of his 47 singles out of 57 hits that year. After Josh Thole popped out (he hit .175/.256/.242 that season, but pinch-hit for DeRosa in the 16th), Wolf threw wide on a pickoff, and Bonifacio took third. Rajai Davis then singled him home for the walk-off win.

From the recap:

Jays of the Day: Lincoln (.570 WPA), Perez (.499), Buehrle (.297), Cecil (.143), Loup (.143 and the win), Wagner (.142), Davis (.223) and Rasmus (.141).

Suckage: Janssen (-.280), Izturis (-.367), DeRosa (-.183, plus the error), Thole (-.132)

Three guys had the number for possible Suckage Awards, but I’m not giving them out: McGowan (-.213), though the error was DeRosa’s fault; Bautista (-.155), but his throw from right redeemed him; and Bonifacio (-.147), but he drew the wild pickoff and scored the winner.

Home sweet home. After going .500 on their six-game road trip, the O’s return to Baltimore, where their most recent homestand resulted in a 7-3 record and some of their most inspired baseball of the season. This time it’s going to be a tougher task, with all seven games coming against winning teams, starting with the AL West-leading Mariners.

The M’s have been red hot of late. They were four games under .500 as recently as May 24, but then they rattled off an eight-game winning streak to take control of their underwhelming division. They were the preseason favorites to win the West and, after a sluggish start, they’re now on track to do so.

The Mariners always seem to have a quality pitching staff, and this season is no exception. Seattle’s 3.50 team ERA is second only to the Yankees among American League teams. That includes their usual stable of quality starters as we’ll discuss below, but their bullpen has been particularly effective with a 3.15 mark that leads the AL. That’s even despite a rocky performance from All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz, who has given up 15 runs in 23.1 innings and has blown five of his 14 save opportunities. The latest one came just yesterday, when Muñoz coughed up two runs in a walkoff loss in Detroit.

But the crew setting up Muñoz has been stellar. Right-hander Matt Brash has allowed only one earned run in 16 innings. Offseason acquisition Jose A. Ferrer — the A is for Awesome, I guess — has a 1.55 mark in 32 games, teaming with Gabe Speier (2.16) to form a potent lefty duo. And former O’s washout Eduard Bazardo, who made three terrible appearances with the Birds in 2023, is now one of Seattle’s most reliable relievers. Go figure.

On offense, the Mariners have been steady but unspectacular. They were surely expecting more from Cal Raleigh, last year’s 60-homer-hitting AL MVP runner-up. Raleigh has a miserable .560 OPS this season and is currently on the injured list with a right oblique strain. The M’s also haven’t gotten much from first baseman Josh Naylor (.682 OPS), whom they re-signed to a five-year, $92.5 million extension this past offseason.

But the Mariners’ outfield has picked up the slack. Luke Raley and Julio Rodríguez lead the team with 13 homers apiece, and Randy Arozarena leads all M’s position players with a 2.6 WAR. Designated hitter Dominic Canzone (144 OPS+) and shortstop J.P. Crawford (10 homers) have also been big contributors offensively. The Mariners also called up top prospect Colt Emerson to play third base, and he’s performed well so far. The Mariners’ lineup skews very left-handed, with all of their regulars except Rodríguez and Arozarena swinging from the left side. That could be a problem for the Orioles, who have three right-handed pitchers starting in this series.

Game 1: Monday, 6:35 PM, MASN

RHP Emerson Hancock (4-2, 2.80) vs. TBD

The Mariners’ rotation features five above-average, homegrown hurlers under the age of 30. Not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous. They’ll start the series with Hancock, who’s been the best of them all so far. The 27-year-old, who’d had only middling results in three seasons since debuting in 2023, has put it all together in 2026. In addition to his impressive ERA, he’s carrying a sub-1.00 WHIP and is striking out a batter per inning. Hancock faced the Orioles once last season, holding them to one run in 5.2 innings, with an Adley Rutschman dinger his only blemish.

As of this writing, the Orioles still don’t have a starter listed for the opening game. It’s Chris Bassitt’s turn, but he left his last outing early with lower back tightness and his status for tonight is unclear. If Bassitt can’t go, the O’s presumably will call up Trey Gibson, who last started June 3 for Triple-A Norfolk and would be on regular rest.

Game 2: Tuesday, 6:35 PM, MASN

RHP Logan Gilbert (4-4, 3.79) vs. LHP Trevor Rogers (3-6, 6.29)

At 29, Gilbert is the graybeard of the Mariners’ rotation (not counting veteran Luis Castillo, who’s been moved to long relief). The 2024 All-Star is continuing to limit walks and rack up strikeouts, though he’s among the lowest percentile of pitchers for hard-hit %, barrel %, and average exit velocity, so batters have been squaring him up a decent amount. The O’s offense will need to be aggressive and attack pitches in the zone. The only Orioles who have faced Gilbert frequently are his former AL West opponents Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras. Ward is 6-for-22 with a homer against him, while Taveras is just 2-for-17, but both hits are home runs.

Meanwhile, Rogers might be creeping his way back to being a solid pitcher, if not his dynamite 2025 self. In each of his last two starts, he’s begun the game with 5+ scoreless innings, only to hit the wall and lose effectiveness around the 70-pitch mark. It’s progress, for sure. This is a good matchup for Rogers, as the lefty-heavy Mariners are batting just .209/.290/.336 against southpaws this year.

Game 3: Wednesday, 6:35 PM, MASN

RHP George Kirby (5-5, 4.04) vs. RHP Brandon Young (4-1, 3.47)

Could Brandon Young be the first successful Mike Elias-signed and developed Orioles pitcher? It’s shaping up that way. The 27-year-old has rattled off three straight quality starts and now has the best ERA of any Orioles starter. Young has been a huge boost to an O’s rotation that’s been wracked by injuries, and his spot seems more than secure right now. This will be his first career start against Seattle.

Kirby, a former first round pick, began his career with three strong seasons from 2022-24 before slipping a bit last year. This season he hasn’t quite returned to form, with a career-worst K/9 of 7.4 and the highest WHIP and H/9 rate of his career. Still, that could just be small-sample-size noise. For whatever reason, he’s seen the Orioles a lot; his eight career starts against them are his most against any non-division opponent, though he’s just 2-5 with a 3.26 ERA. Ward, the former Angel, has tagged Kirby for three career homers.

Game 4: Thursday, 7:05, ESPN

RHP Bryan Woo (5-4, 3.74) vs. RHP Kyle Bradish (3-7, 3.89)

Bradish seemed to have reclaimed his ace status after a stellar May, but he got roughed up by the Blue Jays in his first start of June. Hopefully it was just a one-off. Overall he’s pitching with the same kind of stuff and swagger that he displayed in his great 2023 season, looking fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2024. Bradish will need to be careful with Arozarena, who has homered twice against him in his career.

Woo, 26, is the youngest Mariners starter and the one coming off the best 2025 season, when he was an All-Star and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young vote after posting a 2.94 ERA in 30 starts. Woo worked six or more innings in his first 25 starts of that year, which seems like a herculean task in this day and age of baseball. He hasn’t quite matched that durability this year, already with three starts in which he failed to last six innings. Woo has had four outings of six or more shutout innings, but also four outings in which he allowed four or more runs, including his most recent start in Detroit. This might be a good time to give Taylor Ward a day off; he’s 0-for-13 with five strikeouts lifetime against Woo.

How many games do you think the Orioles will win in this series, Camden Chatters? Let us know in the comments.

Worcester: W, 5-3 (BOX SCORE)

If Triple-A baseball borrowed hockey’s “three stars of the game”, the WooSox’s pick for first star in the finale against Buffalo (Blue Jays AAA) would be easy. They had two extra-base hits; both came from lead-off guy Braiden Ward, and one of those doubles drove Tsung-Che Cheng in to make it a 5-2 ball game. The bullpen was then pretty nails following Michael Sansone’s five innings of work where he allowed just two runs. Worcester now has four consecutive wins.

It’s pretty clear that Ward, the return for Brennan Bernardino, sees the ball well more often than not and is a strong backstop for the depth of the outfield in the minor league organization, and while primarily an outfielder, he’s also logged time at second base since being drafted by the Rockies in 2021. Ward finished off that series with a .522 slugging percentage in the month so far and his OBP is nearing .400 on the season. He’s a step below the rest of the outfield options currently in Boston for sure, but the last person trusted with the distinction of Worcester’s regularly leadoff guy (Nick Sogard) ended up on the Major League roster before his new stint on the injured list.

Now, while we’re discussing trends Worcester buys into… anyone care to explain this e-mail I got from them?

Portland: W, 3-1 (BOX SCORE)

Gage Ziehl, who started his 2026 campaign in a rough spot, again looked awesome after initially giving up a run in the first, going five scoreless after that giving the Sea Dogs a really good chance to put Hartford (Rockies AA) away with his six total innings of one-run, eight strikeout ball. The offense wasn’t too pretty, as, through seven, the Sea Dogs were clinging on to a 2-1 lead. It was then that Franklin Arias’ team OPS crown, which was thought to be untouchable as he ran through May with it hovering around 1.3, was relinquished when Brooks Brannon had a solo shot over the “Maine Monster” in left in the eighth inning, and that sealed it for Portland. Oh, silly me, I’m forgetting the important part. That mammoth ball travelled 464 feet with an exit velocity of 115 miles per hour. Brannon, ironically enough, is pictured above with David Sandlin, who we know as the prospect in “fine, damn, here’s a prospect too, just get Jordan Hicks off of this baseball team” trade, in which the Sox acquired Ziehl. He now has nine home runs on the season. Here that absolute rocket is.

Look, I’m going to be honest: amidst people wondering why the 20-year-old Arias isn’t getting a call up to Triple-A, I’m actually pretty confounded on why Brannon, who plays first as well as catcher, isn’t getting a shot at playing first base in Worcester. (Brannon has been DH’ing the majority of games this season as Ronald Rosario and Johanfran Garcia have been splitting time on the bump.) I’m a Matt Lloyd fan, sure, but the upside is limited there. Brannon is 22, has a few years in the minors now having been drafted in 2022, put on 25 pounds over the winter and has really established his power tool in the process. Now that his OPS has eclipsed 1.000, time to make the call.

Greenville: Cancelled, Rain

The finale with Rome (Braves High-A) is scrapped entirely.

Salem: L, 9-11 (F/11) (BOX SCORE)

The finale in Wilson (Brewers A) was over almost before it began as Salem ends the series having won just 1 of 6. Any night you commit four defensive errors, you don’t stand a good chance at winning, but the offense kept up with the defensive shortcomings. Shortstop Avinson Pinto celebrated his 19th birthday (it was on May 29th…. close enough) with a triple and a home run. Unfortunately, though, the triple and Kleyvar Salazar’s grand slam happened in the midst of Salem being scored on in four consecutive innings; the game was 11-5 at its worst and even the 4-spot from Salazar couldn’t draw the game any closer than a two-run deficit. It’s nice, though, to see catchers slugging up and down the organization.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Gavin Williams has pitched lights out this season, especially on home soil.

My Yankees vs. Guardians predictions and MLB picks expect more of the same from him against an Aaron Judge-less New York lineup. 

Who will win Yankees vs Guardians today: Guardians moneyline (-125)

Gavin Williams and Will Warren have similar counting stats, but the underlyings indicate the Cleveland Guardians have an edge on the mound.

Williams enters in great form, sporting a 2.80 xFIP, 27.2 K%, and 3.2 BB% over the last 30 days. He's played his best at home, where he has allowed more than two runs only once through six starts.

New York Yankees starter Will Warren has shown some red flags of late, posting an xFIP (5.01) nearly double his ERA (2.78) the past 30 days. Back the Guardians to -135.

COVERS INTEL:Gavin Williams ranks in the 84th percentile or higher in chase rate, whiff rate, and strikeout rate.

Yankees vs Guardians Over/Under pick: Under 8 (-115)

The Yankees have predictably slowed down offensively without Aaron Judge in the lineup. They’ve scored 20 runs over five games, and were held to four or fewer in four of them.

Williams is allowing an average of just 1.70 runs per start in Cleveland, so this is not a spot we should see a spike.

While Warren is not pitching as well as Williams right now, the Guardians rank 29th in average and 26th in OPS vs. righties at home. They're not a team that should blow the doors off anyone. I'd play this to -130.

Yankees vs Guardians odds

• Moneyline: Yankees +105 | Guardians -125
• Run line: Yankees +1.5 (-200) | Guardians -1.5 (+165)
• Over/Under: Over 8 (-105) | Under 8 (-115)

Yankees vs Guardians trend

The Guardians have cashed the moneyline in 16 of their last 25 games for +6.6 units and a 21% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Guardians.

How to watch Yankees vs Guardians and game info

Yankees vs Guardians latest injuries

Yankees vs Guardians weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Paul Toboni and the Nationals front office must have been in a giving mood last night because they made all sorts of promotions. Several prospects, including some of the biggest names in the organization rose up the ranks. Eli Willits, Devin Fitz-Gerald and Ethan Petry were among the players to be promoted.

This is a monster day for the organization. Willits and Fitz-Gerald are two of the Nats top five prospects, and now they are moving up. Fitz-Gerald is headed to Double-A, while Willits takes his place in the High-A infield. None of these promotions were overly surprising, just all of them happening at once was a bit of a shock to the system.

The biggest promotion of the day was Eli Willits, the former number one overall pick. Willits got off to a slower start, but has picked it up in a huge way. After a monster series this week, Willits is now hitting .300 with a .918 OPS in Low-A. Of course, Willits also brings elite defense and base running to this quality offensive game. 

So far this season, Willits has been a slightly different hitter than expected. His 23.3% strikeout rate is a little bit higher than anticipated. However, he has shown more power than evaluators were expecting, especially this early in his career. Willits already has 6 homers and 14 extra base hits on the season. He is also one of just ten 18 year olds to have at least a 150 wRC+ at Low-A, with some impressive names on that list.

Having seen Willits, he just looks like such a safe bet to be at least a solid big leaguer, which is a crazy thing to say about an 18 year old. Everything he does on the field is so smooth and natural. He is an incredibly sure handed fielder, with just one error all season. Willits could probably play a quality big league shortstop tomorrow. He is also like the energizer bunny on the bases. The youngster is always looking to make plays, as shown by his 29 steals.

He will be in for a fun matchup to start his High-A career though. The Blue Rocks head to Greensboro, where an elite pitching prospect resides. Seth Hernandez was the 6th overall pick in last year’s draft and has established himself as an elite pitching prospect already. He absolutely tore through Low-A before his promotion. Now the two blue chip prospects will likely face off sometime this week.

Willits is the biggest name to be promoted in this spree, but there are plenty of other movements on the farm. Talk Nats was all over this, so a major shoutout to him. One promotion that was a long time coming was Ethan Petry’s move to Double-A. 

As a productive SEC hitter, it just felt like High-A was too easy for Petry. Now, he will be tested at the Double-A level. I will be looking to see if his contact rates stay strong. Petry was making in zone contact at an above average clip in High-A despite being known as a power over hit guy. If those contact skills translate to AA, he could be a potential top 100 prospect.

Speaking of top 100 prospects, Devin Fitz-Gerald got called up to Double-A as well. The timing on this one is intriguing because DFG was in the midst of a major slump. He just snapped an 0 for 22 skid in his most recent game. However, before this cold streak, Fitz-Gerald was one of the hottest bats in all of minor league baseball. There was a time last month where it felt like he was homering every game.

While Fitz-Gerald has cooled off, his season OPS is still above .900. That is highly impressive for a 20 year old who plays his home games in pitcher friendly park. There is also a chance that his slump may have actually led to his promotion. That home run frenzy may have led to some bad habits forming. By getting to a new level, Fitz-Gerald is going to have to focus on making contact rather than swinging for the fences on every swing.

Those home runs might have made Fitz-Gerald’s swing a little too big. He has a great ability to pull the ball in the air, which leads to homers, but DFG should not be trying to be a home run hitter. Fitz-Gerald is at his best when he is trying to hit line drives to right field and then swinging for the fences when he gets the right pitch. Once he remembers that he is a pure hitter with power and not a slugger, the results will come.

One other promotion I wanted to shout out is Jack Moroknek, who dominated in Low-A. He was a joy to talk to when I chatted to him for my story when I went down to Fredericksburg. Moroknek is a self aware guy, who knows he is not some mega prospect. He is just really happy to be playing professional baseball and being teammates with guys like Eli Willits. The 11th rounder still has a long way to go, but I am keeping my eye on him.

These are the only promotions we know for now, but there could be more coming. With Petry and Fitz-Gerald coming to Double-A, a Cayden Wallace promotion would make a lot of sense. Wallace is 24 and has been performing in Double-A. The Triple-A infield is crowded, but his versatility makes it easy to find him a spot in a lineup. Sam Petersen has also been hitting the ball well lately, but the AAA outfield is even more crowded.

This is a big day for the organization, especially with Willits being called up. After he was drafted, Eli Willits said his goal was to be in the big leagues by the time he is 20 years old. He will be 18 for all of this season, and has already made it to High-A. Willits is on track to be in the big leagues as a 20 year old, and could even get a cup of coffee as a teenager if he has a monster year next season.

While the big league team is making more noise than expected, the farm system is still a massive priority for the new regime. The farm has more depth than I can ever remember, and these promotions are a good example of that. In the past, a lot of players got promoted too quickly, with Seaver King being a good example. However, it is tough to say that any of these guys did not earn these promotions. I am excited to watch these guys perform at the next level and march to the big leagues.

It was a day of completing series for the minor league teams. How did the team’s youngsters do?

Rochester 7, Lehigh Valley 6

Part of a looming issue facing the big league team right now is depth. What if there was a major injury of some kind, particularly to the pitching staff? Is there someone there that you would feel good about bringing to the major leagues? While the pitching staff would be a problem, what about the outfield? We know that Gabriel Rincones would likely be the initial choice, but outside of that? Keaton Anthony (2-5, RBI)? Dylan Carlson (2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Binghamton 4, Reading 2

Speaking of looming things, the trade deadline is coming. The team has a good amount of prospect capital playing in Reading right now, some of it performing quite well. Aroon Escobar (0-3, K) is one of those prospects that might attract attention, as is maybe Bryan Rincon (1-4) and Raylin Heredia (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI). The pitching prospects? Maybe not so much.

Brooklyn 5, Jersey Shore 3

Pedro Leon (2-3, R, 3B, HR, 3 RBI) is an interesting player. Originally signed to give them some outfield depth at the major league level, he got hurt in spring training and has had to rehab and various parts of the minor leagues. Now in High-A, he’s been mashing the ball….but why isn’t he moving up the ladder? They have Dante Nori at Reading, which is who they’d like to get regular at bats at that level, but what about Lehigh Valley? Why not go there and see if he can be an option in centerfield there? Is Dylan Carlson too much to overcome? Do they like Leon enough to just let him hit the ball hard in Lakewood? I have questions.

Clearwater 11, St. Lucie 8

Nathan Humphreys, have a day. The young DH went 4-4 with two home runs and five RBI, leading the Threshers to victory. He wasn’t alone in the offensive explosion either. Juan Villavicencio and Jonathan Hogart each had three hits on the day, both hitting a home run. Sean Youngerman was pretty bad on the mound, allowing six runs in two innings, but when offenses are doing things like that, you can look past the mound struggles.

Good morning! A tough ending to their game against the Detroit Tigers yesterday handed the Mariners a series loss.

The Mariners will continue their road trip with a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles beginning this afternoon, with Emerson Hancock taking the mound for the 3:35 PM start.

In Mariners news…

• Cal Raleigh reflects on his first rehab start with the Everett AquaSox as he progresses back from an oblique strain.
• Infielder Ryan Bliss has joined the Mariners’ taxi squad as J.P. Crawford remains out of the lineup due to a sore right hand.

Around the league…

• The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Max Kepler amid his 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
• Chicago Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon will be placed on the IL after leaving the team’s game yesterday with a left hamstring strain.
• The Los Angeles Angels have placed RHP Jack Kochanwicz on the 15-day IL due to right elbow inflammation.
• Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal threw five scoreless innings in his first rehab start yesterday.

(25-38) Norfolk Tide 6, (32-31) Gwinnett Stripers 0

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-for-5, .293/.389/.422
• DaShawn Keirsey Jr., CF: 2-for-5, SB, .263/.298/.387
• Brewer Hicklen, RF: 1-for-5, SB, .324/.389/.530
• Aaron Schunk, 1B: 0-for-1, 3 BB, SB, .240/.308/.387
• Luke Williams, 3B: 0-for-1, 3 BB, .227/.305/.367
• Owen Murphy, SP: 5IP 6H 5R 4ER 1BB 6K, 4.91 ERA

Box Score

The Stripers dropped a hard one, getting shut out by the Norfolk Tide and losing 6-0 while splitting the series at three games a piece.

Owen Murphy got the start and had an interesting game as he changed his pitch mix, nearly dropping his curveball entirely, in increasing his cutter usage significantly throughout the outing. Typically, Owen is primarily a fastball pitcher, thanks to his unique fastball that has an IVB that averages 18-22”, but those numbers were way down as he featured his cutter more. Overall, Owen generated 17 whiffs, and most of his trouble came off of a grand slam he allowed to Tommy Pham, also on a cutter. Connor Thomas (2IP 2H 1ER 1BB 1BB 0K) came in relief for Owen and allowed a run of his own across two innings of work. With the offense struggling and still being shut out, Daysbel Hernández (2IP 0H 0R 2BB 2K) worked the final two innings and kept the Tide scoreless.

Unfortunately, the offense struggled throughout the game. They faced six different arms, drew a staggering nine walks, but only had one extra-base hit while going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and stranding 13 on base. Every time the Stripers would threaten with runners on base they either hit into double plays, or struck out in clutch situations – including the first and second innings when they had runners on but hit into double plays each time. DaShawn Keirsey Jr., fresh off being added to the forty man roster, was the only hitter to collect more than one hit, however three players (Brett Wisely, Aaron Schunk, and Luke Williams) all got on base three times each, drawing three walks a piece.

(26-28) Columbus Clingstones @ (28-27) Rocket City Trash Pandas – Canceled/Rain

(22-32) Greenville Drive @ (30-26) Rome Emperors – Canceled/Rain

(22-35) Delmarva Shorebirds 4, (30-27) Augusta GreenJackets 0

• Conor Esssenburg, CF: 1-for-4, .246/.373/.449
• Juan Mateo, 3B: 1-for-4, .280/.325/.347
• Cooper McMurray, DH: 2-for-3, BB, .212/.361/.364
• Davis Polo, SP: 6IP 4H 2R 1ER 0BB 8K, 3.22 ERA

Box Score

The GreenJackets just couldn’t get things started offensively as they struck out 11 times as a team, while collecting just four total hits all while failing to draw a single walk. They went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while stranding 10 on base. To put the cherry on top of it all, they also committed three errors in a game they will want to forget.

Davis Polo got the start for Augusta and turned in another strong start generating an astounding 20 whiffs on 84 pitches. The return from a shoulder injury has gone fantastic for Davis as he has leaned into his three pitch mix to great results. The first run he gave up came in the second inning when a triple turned into an inside the park home run, after an error by catcher Nick Montgomery. The second run came in the third inning when he hit Shorebirds catcher Nolaya, who then stole second, and took third on a throwing error by catcher Nick Montgomery. He then scored on a single with one out – that was the final run given up by Davis. Kendy Richard (3IP 4H 2ER 0BB 3K) replaced Davis Polo and gave up a pair of runs himself, one in the seventh and one in the ninth.

Offensively, the GreenJackets were unable to overcome the defensive mistakes as they struggled to get anything done with the bat. Cody Miller, now finding himself at the top of the lineup in Augusta, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts – continuing his difficult 2026, though he did pick up a pair of stolen bases. Cooper McMurray got on base three times as he picked up a pair of singles and drew a walk. With just six total bases, it was a game to forget for Augusta offense.

Game Recaps

[Dbacks.com] ‘Pretty dominant’: Soroka’s latest gem salvages D-backs’ homestand – Behind another good outing from Michael Soroka, the Diamondbacks beat the Nationals, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon to avoid a sweep in the three-game series. They finished up their week at home with a 3-4 mark. “Probably an incomplete grade,” manager Torey Lovullo said when asked to assess the homestand. “Nothing overly alarming, and nothing to get overly excited about. I want to come home and win baseball games. “It’s been a bit of an up-and-down stretch for the Diamondbacks. They dominated a run of 13 straight games against the NL’s two worst teams, going a combined 11-2 against the Rockies and Giants. They got swept in Seattle before coming home to face the Dodgers for four games.

[AZ Central] Michael Soroka’s career revival continues with 8th win of season – Michael Soroka’s last winning season was 2019, when he went 13-4 for Atlanta and was a National League All-Star. Seven years later, he’s headed toward more wins than losses; he’s 8-3 after holding the Nationals to a run on three hits over seven innings on Sunday, June 7, at Chase Field. Soroka matched his season high for most innings pitched in a game, and also struck six. He recorded his first seven-inning game with one or fewer runs allowed since August 2019. “It says a lot about how the team’s played,” Soroka said, asked what eight wins says about how he’s pitched in 2026. “I’ve been on the other end of the wins stat in my career. I went 0-and-10 in 2024. I didn’t pitch well for a good chunk of that. But these guys have supported me with some runs and some good defense.”

Team news

[MLB Trade Rumors] Diamondbacks Sign Max Kepler – News broke last January about Kepler’s positive test for the PED known as Epitrenbolone, and with Kepler still on the free agent market, his camp and Major League Baseball worked out an agreement for Kepler to serve his 80-game suspension even if he didn’t land a new contract. Since Kepler didn’t sign until now, he has been serving his 80-game suspension as if he was still a member of the Phillies (his former team). This makes June 25 the first day Kepler is eligible to take part in the 2026 season, so he’ll get a couple of weeks of ramp-up time in the minor leagues before making his D’Backs debut. Even before the suspension, Kepler was likely facing a tough market given his lack of production with the Phillies last year. He hit .216/.300/.391 with 18 home runs over 474 plate appearances, and even those modest numbers now come under the cloud of the PED suspension.

[SI] What D-backs’ Ugly Series Loss to Nationals Told Us — And What It Didn’t – After being blown out 14-1 in game one, the D-backs picked up just two hits against Zack Littell in game two. Littell had an ERA north of 5.00 coming in to Saturday’s game. But more critically, Arizona could not find a way to bring runners home once on base. They turned in a dismal 1-for-12 performance with runners in scoring position in this series, including an 0-for-7 day in game three’s 5-1 win. That game might have been a blowout victory with a semblance of improved RISP hitting. It’s a problem that the Diamondbacks only had 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position. It’s a worse problem only one resulted in a hit. This will have to change very quickly.

[Arizona Daily Star] Early signs point to progress in Diamondbacks’ pitching pipeline – “It’s good to see progress, but it’s too early to necessarily say what the long-term progress is going to be in that area,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said. “It’s going to take some time.” Hazen said some of the improvements can be traced to philosophical changes and processes implemented by Jeremy Bleich, the club’s new assistant general manager, who was hired in December to revamp the team’s pitching infrastructure. Hazen said Bleich has made a “major impact” on improving strike-throwing from a mentality standpoint. He said the club’s changes to add velocity are still taking shape. “We’re obviously trying to build the engines of our pitchers safely, engines that can drive higher average velocities and I think they’re doing a good job of that,” Hazen said.

[MLB] Tommy Troy on his training, his father’s influence

Not THIS again department…

[Arizona Sports] Report: D-backs 2B Ketel Marte continuing to frustrate segments of organization with absences – Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte has continued to frustrate segments of the organization for taking days off, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Marte missed the Diamondbacks’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. The decision was a combination of Marte and Arizona’s medical staff due to lower back and hamstring issues, and they did not want to risk further injury, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro. Marte’s absence was a talking point last season as there was some drama off the field due to absences and days-off requests around the All-Star break, which reportedly rubbed teammates the wrong way given the timing of the requests. He later apologized.

And, elsewhere…

[MLB] Top 10 Plays of the Week

[AP] Kyle Freeland now Rockies’ all-time innings pitched leader – The Denver native got Luis Rengifo to fly out in the fifth inning to take over the top spot. That first out to center put Freeland at 1,312 2/3 innings for his career and one-third ahead of Aaron Cook, the sinkerball specialist who notched 1,312 1/3 innings for Colorado from 2002 to ’11. Freeland received an ovation and made sure to appreciate the moment — just like former Rockies manager Bud Black once instructed.”I kind of thought of Buddy, that he’d love for me to tip the cap,” Freeland said after the Brewers finished off a three-game sweep with a 12-4 win Sunday. “I know that he would have probably told me, ‘Hey, make sure you tip your cap to the fans out there for their support of you over the years.’ I made sure I found my family to tip my cap to them, too.”

The War Between (2025)

• Rating: C+
• Dir: Deborah Correa
• Star: Damian Conrad-Davis, Sam Bullington, Wayne Charles Baker, Essa O’Shea

We’re familiar with the location in which this takes place. Picacho Peak is just off to the right of I-10, as we head down to Tucson. By our marriage vows, I am required to refer to it as “Pikachu Peak,” every time we pass it, and Chris is obliged to roll her eyes and snort derisively. In 1862, it was the site of the second-most Western conflict of the Civil War, though the “Battle of Picacho Pass” hardly deserves the name, since it was more of a ninety-minute skirmish. There was barely a dozen men on either side, with the Confederate group prevailing and able subsequently to warn Tucson of the approaching Union army. It’s in the wake of this event that the film begins.

Read more