Category: MLB

SAN FRANCISCO — The towering pop-up off Bryce Eldridge’s bat had no business leaving the ballpark, a fitting end to a game the Giants had no business winning.

He stood there, watching its trajectory, an absurd 44 degrees.

He waited until it barely crossed the plane of the brick wall in right field, only 326 feet in total.

And then he sent his bat airborne so high it practically caught the apex of the ball.

“I’m just walking, watching, hoping it’s gonna go out,” Eldridge said. “I’m just glad it did. I barely remember what happened after that.”

Here’s the gist: When the ball landed, the Giants had completed the unlikeliest of comebacks, down eight the previous inning, and Eldridge had become the youngest player in MLB history to end a game with a grand slam, just 21 years, 233 days.

Final score: Giants 11, Nationals 10.

“I was just screaming,” Eldridge said of his reaction as he rounded the bases behind Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee, all of whom reached without making an out after Luis Arraez started the ninth-inning rally with a double down the right field line.

It was Chapman who started the improbable comeback an inning earlier, with the Giants trailing 9-1, with his second solo shot of the afternoon. Devers went back-to-back to cut the deficit to 9-3, and the Giants rallied for three more in the eighth off Paxton Schultz to make it 9-6.

Reiver Sanmartin, in his season debut, allowed a solo home run in the top of the ninth that gave the Giants another run they needed to make up and put himself in line for the win in the process.

Everything, it turned out, was just setting the table for what promises to be the first of many heroics in Eldridge’s promising young career.

“Man, what a crazy game,” mused Robbie Ray, who was bailed out of taking the loss by the grand slam after allowing five runs over 5 ⅔ innings in his deepest start since May 8.

“It kind of felt like he was going to do something like that.”

It might have felt that way because Eldridge has been one of the Giants’ most-hyped hitting prospects in recent memory who has looked like he belonged from his first big-league at-bat.

Or maybe, it’s because Eldridge had been envisioning an opportunity just like this.

“I always want to be the guy in that situation,” Eldridge said.

He had a chance to be the guy just two days earlier but struck out against Gus Varland to end the Giants’ 4-3 loss Monday. He represented the winning run but chased a fastball above the letters to end the game.

“The only thing I could think about the last two days was Monday and how I just wasn’t pleased with how I ended the game,” Eldridge said. “I was talking with a lot of people about that. I wanted that opportunity back. I don’t know if I’m going to get that opportunity again for a while. And then, like two days later, I got the same opportunity.”

As the Giants started to rally in the eighth, Eldridge began to do the math in the batting cage behind the dugout. He would get his chance at redemption. It looked like it would come against the same pitcher, too, until Varland failed to retire any of the first three batters of the ninth.

Instead, Eldridge was the second batter to step to the plate against Mitchell Parker. This time, he didn’t chase a fastball. He looked at two off-speeds out of the zone and before he got a slider he liked. The pitch broke at his belt and caught the inner-third of the plate.

Eldridge made sure it didn’t travel any farther in his direction.

In just his 38th game, he lived out the exact scenario he played out in his backyard growing up, even when he was still playing both ways through the end of his high school career.

“That was always what I wanted to do — I wanted to have the big home run,” Eldridge said. “That was something I thought about more than having the big strikeout.”

Chapman spoke it into existence when he got back to the dugout from his first home run trot that got the Giants on the board and made it 6-1 in the sixth.

“Chappy stated it as soon as he hit his first home run,” manager Tony Vitello said. “Stranger things have happened.”

But not much stranger.

What it means

The Giants had been 0-34 when trailing after the eighth inning this season, and they picked a heck of a way to earn their first ninth-inning comeback.

Only six teams since 1969 have come back to win when trailing by eight or more in the eighth inning or later, and just once before by a Giants team — in 1947.

It hadn’t been done by any team in the majors since Cleveland on May 25, 2009.

Who’s hot

Consider it the official arrival of the Eldridge era in San Francisco.

“I think about it every day,” Eldridge said. “That I’m just gonna keep working hard because I want to be the face of this franchise.”

Here he is, the face of the franchise: Over his past 13 games, dating back to the start of the Giants’ last road trip, Eldridge is batting .426 (20-for-47) with three homers, seven doubles and eight walks to only 10 strikeouts — good for a 1.266 OPS.

He was batting .170 with a .541 OPS when the Giants hit the road May 29. His average is up to .296, and his OPS has crossed .900.

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Who’s not

Ray took advantage of an aggressive Nationals lineup to not issue a walk for only the third time in 14 starts this season. He had walked 22 total, at least two per outing, over his past six starts.

But the comeback was almost too far out of reach by the time it began thanks to a relief corps that allowed the Nats to score both of Ray’s runners it inherited with two outs in the sixth, plus four more before the Giants came to the plate for the final time.

Up next

The Giants enjoy their first day off since May 28 before regrouping to host the Cubs for three games to finish a brief homestand. San Francisco hopes to have shortstop Willy Adames back in the lineup to begin the series Friday after getting him his second day off this season Wednesday to nurse discomfort in his upper leg.

The Dugout Radar is not looking fantastic for tonight’s start time of 7:40 pm ET… we’ve dealt with so much weather lately.

ICYMI

Roster moves:Braves place Ronald Acuña Jr. on IL, add Rowdy Tellez to roster, JR Ritchie recalled, James Karinchak selected to major league roster

Pitching matchup: Braves turn to Chris Sale to even things up in Chicago

Lineups: Michael Harris II leads off, Austin Wynns starts second straight game in Game 2 vs. White Sox

After a late-night/early-morning victory on Monday night, the Brewers lost the second game of their series against the Athletics in Las Vegas on Tuesday, meaning Wednesday night’s game is a rubber match.

On the mound for the series finale is Brandon Sproat, who continues to struggle to put together multiple consistent innings. Sproat, 25, is now 16 appearances (14 starts) into his MLB career, and he sports a 5.79 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 71 strikeouts, and 11 homers allowed over 74 2/3 innings. He’s allowed at least three runs in five consecutive appearances, allowing a homer in four of those five games. He went five innings against the Rockies on Friday night, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out two in a no-decision as the Brewers came back to win in extras.

Opposite Sproat is 26-year-old righty Jack Perkins, a fifth-round pick out of Indiana in 2022. Perkins, in his second major league season, made his first 17 appearances this season out of the bullpen, but is coming off his first start of the year. Across those 18 appearances, he has a 6.19 ERA but a 2.88 FIP, as he’s struck out 39 over 32 innings. In his lone start, which came on Friday in Houston, he allowed five runs on five hits and two walks, striking out six over four innings in a 5-1 loss.

With those two guys on the mound, I’d expect another high-scoring, homer-filled night — the current over/under in this game is a whopping 14.5 runs.

Christian Yelich leads off for Milwaukee as today’s DH, followed by Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and Andrew Vaughn. Jake Bauers bats fifth and starts in left, with Gary Sánchez batting sixth and starting behind the plate. Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz round out the bottom third of the order.

While no major league roster moves were made today, the Brewers did make a minor league trade, as they sent right-handed pitcher Jacob Waguespack to the Tigers for cash considerations. Waguespack, who appeared in major league camp this spring, has spent the entire 2026 season with Triple-A Nashville.

Additionally, Brandon Woodruff is expected to rejoin the team this weekend in Milwaukee, with a potential return in next week’s series against the Guardians.

First pitch is set for a slightly earlier 8:05 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series against the New York Mets Wednesday night as Andre Pallante takes the mound for St. Louis. The Mets will ask Christian Scott to try and stop the Cardinals. Good luck with that, Mr. Scott. You’ll need it. First pitch is set for 6:10pm central time as the game broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.

Kansas City has a chance to win three series in a row for the first time this season. All they need to do is win tonight or tomorrow to keep the ball rolling. Texas is not a great team, which is something that can be said about basically all the teams in baseball this year, so take care of your home field.

Kyle Isbel is headed to the IL and Kameron Misner will be joining the team so Lane Thomas will be manning center field most days for a while. Today he will be leading off as well.

It is going to be Seth Lugo versus MacKenzie Gore today. Lugo got beat up a bit in Minnesota, but he handled this Rangers lineup well back at the end of May. Gore is an interesting player with high prospect pedigree who at times looked like he might become the ace that everyone thought he could be. Last season he was a Cy Young contender through the first couple months of the season before falling off to have another fine, if unspectacular, season. That level of okay has continued into 2026. However, he is left-handed and lefties have been the bane of the Royals’ offensive existence.

Texas Rangers @ Kansas City Royals

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 6:40 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Kauffman Stadium

LHP MacKenzie Gore vs. RHP Seth Lugo

Go Rangers!

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing is slowly becoming baseball's biggest villain. And he's only in his second MLB season.

For one to take such a role, a few things need to be in order. Said players have to stir up a little controversy, have to be pretty dang good and on at least a really good team.

Rushing checks all those boxes. The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions. Although the 25-year-old Rushing made his debut with the Dodgers in 2025, he's already swiftly becoming recognized as one of the better backup catchers in baseball. He might be starting if the Dodgers didn't already have Will Smith committed to a long-term deal.

Now, on to the controversy that makes Rushing appear to be disliked across the league. Whether intentional or not, he has an awareness issue when it comes to base sliding. It was on display during the Dodgers' blowout, 12-3, victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 9.

Rushing drew a walk in the top of the fifth inning as the Pirates held a narrow 2-1 lead. The ensuing batter, Alex Freeland, hit a ground ball to Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe, who grabbed it and spun, making a throw to Jared Triolo, who made a late throw to first. Freeland was deemed safe, but Rushing was called for runner's interference.

He attempted a slide to make it safe at second base, except he was feet away from the bag and collided with Triolo. The rule, according to MLB, states that fielders have a right to occupy any space needed to catch or field a batted ball and also must not be hindered while attempting to field a thrown ball. Additionally, runners have to make a reasonable attempt to touch the bag and avoid the fielder.

It appears Rushing did not.

More: Shohei Ohtani vs. Pirates: Hitless vs. Skenes, two-way star takes mound

Wednesday notes…

• 7 AND 21 ARE NOT LUCKY NUMBERS: The Cubs are 7-21 in their last 28 games. The only other National League team to go 7-21 this year was the Rockies, April 28-May 7. The Tigers have had nine overlapping 7-21 spans, April 23-June 3, and the Angels had four, April 15-May 22. The Angels also had three 6-22 spans during that period. The Tigers were 6-22, May 1-31. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RISPy BUSINESS: The Cubs were 0 for 8 last night with runners in scoring position. It was the 17th of their 67 games, slightly less than one quarter, in which they made no hits with RISP. They are 3-14 in those games, including seven straight losses. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WALK THE WALK: Four Cubs batters walked last night for their fourth straight game with at least four. They had not had four in a row with four or more walks since May 6-9, the last of 13 straight. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Rick Monday homered in each of the first two innings and the Cubs defeated the Reds 9-7 at Wrigley Field to maintain a six-game lead in the NL East. It happened 53 years ago today, Sunday, June 10, 1973.

As was the case yesterday, the Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Not sure what’s going on with this, but please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

Rockies lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Michael Lorenzen, RHP

A tale of two Imanagas.

First seven starts: 2.40 ERA, 0.852 WHIP, three HR allowed in 41.1 innings
Last six starts: 7.53 ERA, 1.356 WHIP, 14 (!) HR allowed in 34.2 innings

Now you explain that to me. He doesn’t seem injured. How could that much good pitching completely fall apart?

If you know, please tell Tommy Hottovy and Craig Counsell.

Imanaga’s only career start vs. the Rockies was his very first MLB start, April 1, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He threw six shutout innings and struck out nine. Again, a lot of those guys aren’t on the team anymore — hey, even Kris Bryant played for Colorado in that game!

So, Imanaga’s never pitched at Coors Field before. Good luck, Shōta.

And if you think Imanaga’s year is bad, oh my gosh, look at Michael Lorenzen’s numbers.

Lorenzen was once a decent back-of-the-rotation guy, but this year has been just terrible. His ERA has been under 6 — once (at 5.97), after he threw seven good innings against the Mets April 24. Since then: seven starts. 9.84 ERA, 2.125 WHIP, seven home runs in 32 innings.

Seriously, if the Cubs can’t hit this guy…

Ian Happ has homered twice off Lorenzen. Do that again, Ian.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Coors Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row. If you do go there to interact with Rockies fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Still buzzing from last night? Yeah, me too. So let’s just run it back for fun!

Braden Montgomery’s big-league debut last night was just about perfect. The kid showed up, swung big, and helped grab the W in one of the wildest wins of the year. He’s right back in there tonight, hitting fifth, as the Sox try to stack another victory on top of Monday’s fireworks against the best club in baseball.

However, the challenge this evening gets considerably tougher.

On the mound: two arms having monster years, but all eyes are on the guy coming home. Chris Sale, back in Chicago. Hard to believe it’s been almost ten years since the Sox shipped him to Boston for the Yoán Moncada-Michael Kopech lottery ticket (plus Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz, remember them? Yeah, me either). Moncada and Kopech were supposed to change everything. A decade later, Sale is still out there, doing exactly what he’s always done, and Moncada and Kopech are long gone.

The southpaw, now 37, is 8-4 with a 2.23 ERA and a WHIP barely over one in 72-plus innings. His Baseball Savant page? Still bleeding red. He’s in the 95th percentile for chase rate, 89th for strikeouts, and 91st for keeping hitters from barreling him up. The slider is still pure filth, making hitters look foolish from both sides.

For the White Sox, the formula is simple in theory and difficult in practice.

Do not chase.

Sale’s whole deal is that he feasts on hitters who can’t lay off junk. Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas might be the antidote, since they’ll actually take a walk and grind out an at-bat. The Sox have to force Sale into the zone, wait for a mistake, and pray they don’t end up behind in the count where the slider turns into a magic trick. The silver lining? Sale’s looked a little human lately, getting tagged in two of his last three outings.

On our side, it’s Davis Martin, Chicago’s ace, and built from a totally different mold.

Martin isn’t blowing anyone away with heat. He survives on command, mixing pitches and a nasty bag of offspeed tricks. His breaking stuff is among the best in the league, and it’s turned him into a breakout story this year.

The problem? The opponent.

Atlanta’s lineup is stacked with guys who don’t do pitchers any favors. Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, the whole crew — they spit on borderline pitches and crush mistakes. Martin’s got a red flag because his hard-hit rate is in the basement, 13th percentile. He’s dodged bullets so far, but against a lineup like this, that’s playing with fire.

Martin’s best shot is to get ahead early. If he’s living in 0-1 and 1-2 counts, he can let the breaking stuff eat. If Atlanta flips the script and puts him in hitter’s counts, he’ll have to serve up the fastball, and that’s a recipe for disaster against this bunch.

After last night’s fireworks, everyone’s eyes will be watching Montgomery for an encore. But if the Sox want to steal another from the Braves, they’ll need patient at-bats against a Hall of Fame arm and another gem from their own rising ace.

First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT on CHSN, with radio coverage on ESPN 1000. Hopefully, the weather holds out, and the Good Guys can take a half-game lead on the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central with a win!

Detroit Tigers (28-39) vs. Minnesota Twins (30-38)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (3-4, 4.21 ERA) vs. TBD

Earlier today, the Atlanta Braves moved both Tyler Kinley and Ronald Acuña Jr. to the IL in a pair of separate roster moves. Acuña’s injury is the most recent one for what’s turning into a serious concern when it comes to him and lower-body injuries and now we have a clearer idea of what was going on with him as he attempted to leg out an infield single against the White Sox.

He’s officially been diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain. Wiley Ballard of BravesVision reported the severity of the injury along with the fact that there’s currently no stated timeline for a return for Acuña.

I will just copy and paste what I wrote in last month’s article on Acuña’s first hamstring strain of 2026 concerning the prognosis for this particular grade of strain:

Of course, how long Acuña ends up being out depends on the severity of the strain. If it’s a Grade 1 strain then this should just be a straight-up 10-day stint on the IL. We know it’s probably not a Grade 3 strain since that likely would’ve qualified as a tear and Grade 2 might require a somewhat extended absence with a rehab stint involved. So yeah, here’s hoping that it’s just Grade 1 since that wouldn’t be too awful — and also another truly severe leg injury the last thing Acuña needs in his career at the moment.

Acuña ended up missing just over two weeks during his last go-around on the IL and I’d imagine that it’ll be another two weeks until we see him again. Although both Acuña and Walt Weiss have insisted that this time isn’t as bad or painful as the first time, I think that they’re going to give Acuña plenty of time to rest and heal up in order to get back onto the field while trying their best to ensure that he’s not just right back on the IL in July.

While I’m sure that Acuña will be champing at the bit to get healthy again, it’s probably for the best to just give him as much time as he needs to really heal up instead of rushing him back. Things would be different if the Braves weren’t in their current position position of dominance in the NL East and the National League as a whole. They’re nine games ahead of the Phillies for the divisional lead and two games ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL. While we’d all like to see the Braves keep putting pedal to the metal, if they can get Acuña some rest that could potentially ensure that he’s ready to go for the latter portion of the season (and hopefully the Postseason as well) then I don’t think anybody can argue against that at this point.

It’s a long season and sometimes you’ve got to play the long game, so the best course of action might be to give Acuña time to rest and heal up to where he’s completely 100% ready to go. Hopefully that doesn’t take too long but there’s no need to rush it. The frustration is palpable but it’s manageable.

Shohei Ohtani faces Jared Jones as the Dodgers look to take the series.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Pirates
• Stadium: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
• Time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

What we learned as Jesús Luzardo's road mastery conquers old tipping site originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

370 days ago, Jesús Luzardo was in the toughest stretch of his professional career.

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to Luzardo’s struggles last year until the Phils headed to Toronto.

The first-year Phillie was coming off a home start on the final day of May against the Brewers. He surrendered 12 runs in 3 1/3 innings to Milwaukee, the most runs allowed by a Phillies starter since 1947.

At Rogers Centre on June 5, Luzardo was not any better.

Eight runs on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.

That capped off 20 earned runs in two starts.

He was tipping, they later found out. It was something Luzardo, pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the rest of the pitching coaches worked tirelessly to fix.

By the end of the season, his ERA was 3.92. Without those outings? 3.03. One of the best seasons by a left-hander in the sport in 2025, and he earned a contract extension in March to go with it.

On Wednesday, he returned to Toronto and looked like a completely different southpaw from the one who pitched there a year earlier.

The Phillies’ lefty delivered 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts, pairing well with the club’s offensive success against future Hall of Famer and Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer in a 7-4 win.

Luzardo’s start was symbolic in other ways, too. He outmatched Scherzer, a fellow Floridian whom he works out with in the offseason. It also further proved to Phillies fans what the top of the rotation, with Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler, is capable of producing against a tough lineup in a rowdy road environment.

To begin the week, the Phillies’ big three combined for a 1.93 ERA over 18 2/3 innings.

THE INSANE SPLIT

It also continued one of Luzardo’s stranger splits of the season.

He has been one of the best starters in baseball away from home. At Citizens Bank Park, it has looked completely different. A roller coaster.

Luzardo now has a 1.55 ERA in seven road starts. At home? The southpaw has a 7.34 ERA.

That 5.79-run gap between his home and road ERAs leads all pitchers in 2026, with Logan Gilbert next at 4.56. It would also be the third-largest gap by a left-hander since those splits began being tracked in 1976, minimum 10 total starts.

The biggest difference has been where he has lived in the zone.

At home, Luzardo has allowed seven home runs and 43 hits in 38 innings. On the road, he has allowed 37 hits in 40 2/3 innings and just one homer.

It will be important for Luzardo to right the ship at home. But nights like Wednesday show why his upside remains so intriguing.

PHILS GO BOOM — PLUS AN INJURY

The Phillies’ offense went berserk to back up its starter.

For the second time in the series, they knocked out a Blue Jays starter in the fourth inning. Patrick Corbin and Scherzer sandwiched a dominant Dylan Cease outing Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the Phillies swung and missed 29 times against Cease. Scherzer, who notched his 3,500th career strikeout Wednesday, still generated 13 swings and misses.

But the Phillies worked his pitch count to 82 in 3 1/3 innings.

Scherzer likes to live in the zone, and that pushed the Phillies to be more aggressive. It worked in their favor.

In the first inning, Bryce Harper hit his fifth career homer off his former teammate. The Phillies’ first baseman let a fastball travel and drove it out to left field.

An opposite-field homer in a season where Harper entered Wednesday going the opposite way at the lowest rate of his career, 22.4 percent.

They stayed aggressive.

In the top of the third, more former Scherzer teammates got things started. Kyle Schwarber jumped on the first pitch for a single. Trea Turner followed with another single.

Scherzer responded with two outs.

Then Alec Bohm got ahead 1-0. Scherzer came back with a slider, but left it in the middle of the zone. Bohm did not miss the mistake, driving it deep into the left-field seats for a three-run homer.

A lot of Bohm’s recent power success has come to his pull side. For a hitter known for his swing to right-center, it is encouraging to see him find that kind of damage to left field, similar to the pull-side success he showed in spring training.

After knocking out the Cooperstown-bound right-hander, Schwarber tagged Blue Jays lefty Mason Fluharty for a long two-run homer that gave the Phils a 6-0 lead.

In games where the Phillies have gotten homers from Schwarber and Harper, they are now 25-8 all-time.

Adolis García, in the Blue Jays’ three-run seventh inning, left the game with a pulled muscle in the area of his right shoulder, attempting to throw out a runner trying to score on a sac-fly. They would take him out of the game immediately. 

Philadelphia does not have a great deal of right-field options. Still, it has the flexibility to move Brandon Marsh to right field — which could open the opportunity for Otto Kemp, Felix Reyes, or even Bryan De La Cruz, all at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

TIP THE CAP, DON

Philadelphia picked up its 10th series win under interim manager Don Mattingly out of the 13 series it has played. He became the first Phillies manager to win that many series in that span to begin his tenure in franchise history.

His 28-12 record also ties Steve O’Neill in 1952 for the best first 40-game stretch by a Phillies skipper.

The club has played like a different group since the managerial change.

They will face another tough road test this weekend in Milwaukee. The Brewers have continued their success from the last two seasons and lead the NL Central with 41 wins.

The Phils will face NL Cy Young hopeful and flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski (7-2, 1.50) on Friday at American Family Field. They can improve Sánchez’s case (8-2, 1.54) and even Wheeler’s (5-1, 2.22) with a big day against the other pitcher in the race.

For the first time this season, Shohei Ohtani watched his manager walk out of the dugout to pull him mid-inning.

On a humid night at PNC Park, in a 9-8 loss, Ohtani pitched into the seventh inning against the Pirates. But Brandon Lowe’s two-out, two-run double cut the Dodgers’ lead to three.

And as manager Dave Roberts gathered the Dodgers infield around him, Ohtani made the long walk to the dugout, pushing up his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow on the way.

Ohtani’s performance was enough to leave the mound with the lead, which the Dodgers bullpen surrendered. But in a near-flawless season on the mound, it was his worst start of the year.

Ohtani gave up three earned runs for the first time all season, along with a season-high six hits. That took his ERA from 0.74 to 1.06 And his ninth-inning home run came too late to save the day. It was his third time homering in a game he pitched this season.

Ohtani also came inches away from homering in the third inning. The opposite-field drive sent Pirates left-fielder Bryan Reynolds leaping into the padded wall. As the fans beyond it jumped to their feet with their hands raised, Reynolds reached over and squeezed his glove shut around what would have been the go-ahead home run.

That’s how much of Ohtani’s day went — solid by most standards, but not his.

Ohtani infamously has another level he can reach in leverage situations. And he demonstrated that ability in the first three innings, though he allowed baserunners in each.

After giving up a single and walking a batter to begin his start, Ohtani struck out Reynolds on a 100.2-mph fastball. And after hitting Reynolds with a sweeper in the third inning, he induced Ryan O’Hearn to line out on a 100.3-mph fastball.

Ohtani successfully navigated traffic, despite a wide throw to second on a comebacker in the second inning, without allowing a run until the fourth.

With two out, Ohtani challenged 25-year-old Tyler Callihan with a first-pitch fastball. Callihan sent it not only over the Clemente wall, but soaring all the way over the right-field stands for his first major-league home run.

It was only the third home run Ohtani has surrendered this season. The other two came in his start in Houston a little over a month ago.

The Dodgers (43-25) responded with a first for rookie Ryan Ward.

The Dodgers had a narrow lead after a two-run rally in the fourth, powered by the heart of the order. But Ward made it more far more comfortable when he stepped up to the plate with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, jumped on a first-pitch sweeper, and recorded the first grand slam of his major league career.

The Dodgers, it turned out, would need more than that wiggle room.

Ohtani’s seventh inning got off to an inauspicious start. He battled Callihan for eight pitches and walked him to lead off the frame.

Then a looping curveball got Jake Mangum to bounce a swinging bunt up the third-base line. But by the time Ohtani got to it, Mangum was almost to first. Ohtani held the throw.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: Random thoughts and stats for the season so far

Ohtani buckled down, throwing mostly breaking stuff to Jared Triolo and Spencer Horwitz to strike out both looking. But Ohtani didn’t quite make it out of the inning. Lowe stayed aggressive in a 3-0 count, and it paid off, trimming the Dodgers’ lead to 6-3.

Reliever Alex Vesia finished the inning for Ohtani, but not before a fielding error by third baseman Max Muncy gave the Pirates another run.

The game unraveled in the eighth, as Callihan homered again — this time off reliever Kyle Hurt for three runs and the lead — and Horwitz added a two-run blast off lefty Jack Dreyer.

Ohtani’s two-run homer the next inning cut the lead to one.

Will Smith update

The Dodgers are likely to put catcher Will Smith on the injured list Thursday, as the stiffness in his neck continues to linger.

“There’s been some improvement,” Roberts said. “We’ll have to make that decision at some point in time [Wednesday] after the game.”

The Dodgers’ game against the Pirates on Wednesday was the fourth Smith had missed since being scratched from the lineup Saturday with a stiff neck. Teams can backdate IL moves a maximum of three days.

Dalton Rushing is scheduled to catch all three games in Pittsburgh, Roberts said, but the Dodgers will likely add a backup to the roster on Thursday. In the meantime, Smith could catch in an emergency situation.

Read more:Freddie Freeman reaches career milestone in Dodgers' rout of Pirates

The Dodgers have already cleared a spot on the 40-man roster, releasing utility man Tyler Fitzgerald on Wednesday. He had a .998 OPS in 24 games with triple-A Oklahoma City.

Unless the Dodgers bring in additional catching depth from the outside, their options in triple-A are Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson. Roberts downplayed the challenge of integrating a catcher midseason.

“We had Chuckie last year, and we had Eliezer all spring,” Roberts said. “So both those guys are confident. They’re kind of a little older, so they’ve been around, and we’re very familiar with both those guys, so it should be pretty seamless.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mets lineup

Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Alvarez – DH
Brett Baty – 3B
Luis Torrens – C

SP: Austin Warren – RHP

Cardinals lineup

JJ Wetherholt – 2B
Ivan Herrera – C
Alec Burleson – 1B
Jordan Walker – DH
Lars Nootbaar – RF
Masyn Winn – SS
Nelson Velazquez – LF
Nathan Church – CF
Jose Fermin – 3B

SP: Andre Pallante – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2