Category: MLB

The latest in a long line of disgraceful factoids surrounding the 2026 Red Sox remained in tact on Tuesday night: Since Chad Tracy took over as interim manager back on April 25th, the Red Sox have not won a single game at Fenway Park in which the opponent scored more than one run. They’re 4-12 overall in Tracy’s 16 home games at the helm, have lost every single series started east of the Appalachians during that time, and continue to stumble into inefficient oddities at the plate on a near daily basis not seen since one of the Roosevelt administrations.

Speaking of which, Tom Caron announced on the NESN postgame show that this is the Red Sox’ worst home record to start a season (9-20) in 94 years. In case you’re wondering, that 1932 Red Sox team lost a franchise worst 111 games, and also fired their manager (Shano Collins) just after he reached double digit wins.

Combine all the ingredients in this sobering stew of suck, and isn’t it rather appropriate that Chad Tracy’s pet project, Mickey Gasper, made the final out of this game? On the surface, Gasper is a feel good story making the most out of his callup, batting .333 and seizing the majority of the starts behind the plate in recent days. Breaking it into even more detail, he’s collected 18 hits in just 60 plate appearances since getting the nod. All of this sounds nice, until you realize exactly zero of those hits have come in his 12 highest leverage plate appearances on the season.

There’s a reason for this: Mickey Gasper can’t hit high leverage arms! He’s not good enough, and he shouldn’t be taking the final at bat of a game at Fenway Park for the Red Sox down by two in the ninth inning. This isn’t meant to be a knock on him, because to his credit, Gasper’s actually taken some of the better looking at bats on the team in recent weeks against low and medium leverage guys (that is meant to be a knock on everybody else). But if you’re a big market team and your roster is weak enough that Mickey Gasper is getting the lion’s share of the plate appearances when his bat comes up in high leverage moments, something went seriously wrong when constructing the roster.

He’s a 30-year-old who has nearly ten times as many minor league plate appearances (a shade under 2,000) as major league ones (less then 200). Despite this, he’s both clearly the hottest hitting catcher of the three underwhelming backstops on the roster, and the right guy to bat in that spot thanks to a hideously undermanned bench.

And you know what’s specifically frustrating about this roster construction tonight? This is exactly the type of game the “run prevention Red Sox” should be winning if the formula is going to work. Connelly Early didn’t have it on the mound, but he battled enough to keep the team in the game before the bullpen froze Baltimore’s run total at four. With just a little bit thump at the plate, this is the type of Fenway fray where if Red Sox string together even a couple of consecutive good at bats against a mediocre opponent, you get the crowd buzzing, and probably end up kicking the door down in an ugly but satisfying 5-4 win. No dice with this listless lineup.

Instead, we got to watch some of the thump that was on the free agent market last winter show up to Fenway in a road uniform and prove that yes, it’s still possible to hit home runs here from right handed batter’s box. Here’s Pete Alonso with some of that sweet, sweet right handed pop the Red Sox so sorely lack launching a ball Over The Monster:

Meanwhile, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a right handed bat the Red Sox did sign over the winter, had this to say following the game when asked about the discrepancy between the home and road records for the club:

“I just feel like on the road we’re a very close-knit team. When we come home, there’s just a lot of people. It’s different. It’s just a different vibe at home. We’ve got to figure out a way to make it small like how it is on the road. I just feel like at home we see a lot of people we don’t know that are around this area.”

I’m sure there’s more layers coming from these comments in the coming days because that’s a statement that feels ripe with details waiting to be unearthed. If anything, we need more people in the clubhouse tomorrow, not less.

Three Studs

Ceddanne Rafaela: 2-4 at the plate, and the only man in the Sox lineup with multiple hits tonight. He continues to blossom by being more selective at the plate.

Greg Weissert: Faced five batters, got all of them out, and struck out three. Since he only seems to pitch well without men starting on base, maybe he should open for Brayan Bello?

Tyler Samaniego: Certainly not the sharpest he’s looked, and he got some serious help from the umpires on that call that went to New York and wasn’t overturned, but he sucked up two innings of work and didn’t allow a run. If the Red Sox offense didn’t suffer from narcolepsy when it’s time to rally, there’s a version of this game where he might have gotten the win.

Three Duds

Masataka Yoshida: 0-4 with three strikes outs and an OPS down to .683. And this is from a guy you pretty much have to use at DH because he’s a terrible fielder, can’t throw, and has below average speed on the bases. If he’s not going to start hitting, I’m not sure what he’s still doing here.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Came to the plate three times tonight and made four outs.

Lengthy Replay Reviews: Another bad night for replay as the process not only failed to get a call right that could have cost the Orioles the game, but it took several minutes just to incorrectly let us know that the following call stands.

As you might imagine, Orioles Twitter wasn’t pleased in real time:

Play of the game:

It’s Pete Alonso’s two run jack (as seen above). Not just because it shoved the right handed power the Red Sox don’t have in their face, but also because it gave the Orioles the lead and provided what turned out to be the winning run.

After hitting four home runs in Spring Training with the San Diego Padres, outfielder Jase Bowen was a late option to Triple-A El Paso from spring camp. He then settled in to make an impression with the organization that resulted in getting his first major league call-up on Monday.

Bowen hit his 13th homer for the Chihuahuas on May 31. He has a 45.5% hard-hit rate and his max exit velocity for one of those hard hits was 112.6 mph. Bowen possesses all five tools, and if he can improve his 26.2% K rate, he could be a long-term solution in left field for the Padres. For now, he will replace Ramón Laureano, who was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation.

Lake Elsinore Storm

The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm went 5-1 for the week in their series against the Inland Empire 66ers and extended their lead in the California League South to two games over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Their overall record stands at 30-21.

Catcher Ty Harvey, who just returned after having a hamstring strain earlier in the season, has now been lost until July with a broken hand that was hit by a swing while he was catching.

Infielder Luke Cantwell was also injured last week, allowing Kerrington Cross to get more playing time, and he has taken advantage. Cross is hitting .307 with a 1.040 OPS, tops for the Storm. He has eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 24 RBI in his 114 at-bats. The 24-year-old should be seeing Fort Wayne soon.

Outfielder Ryan Wideman is only 22 but he could also be pushing for a promotion to the TinCaps. Selected in the third round of the 2025 draft, Wideman is an excellent defensive centerfielder and has shown that he can hit too. His .314/.376/.500 line with 16 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 36 RBI. He leads the Storm in RBI by eight. But his 36 stolen bases in 45 attempts tops all of minor league ball. He might not ever develop significant power, but his other tools are very loud.

There are many offensive stars on the Storm roster who have stepped forward with the loss of outfielder Kale Fountain for the year. Outfielder Connor Westernburg, infielder Bradley Frye, and outfielder Qrey Lott, all undrafted free agents, will be interesting to follow through the season as they try to show why they should have been drafted.

The Storm pitching staff is not as impressive as the offense, but they are doing enough to keep Lake Elsinore in the top spot. Starter Winyer Chourio has a 3.38 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched over eight starts with 56 strikeouts to 19 walks and leads the staff in strikeouts.

Reliever Nick Falter has a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched in 17 appearances, and he has 36 strikeouts to 11 walks.

Lefty Kruz Schoolcraft, the Padres first-round pick in 2025, has had a rocky start to his professional career, battling with his command over the early part of the season. In his last start on May 29, Schoolcraft pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and three runs with nine strikeouts to two walks. He has an overall 8.03 ERA in nine games started and 24.2 innings pitched.

Last season, the Padres attempted to make Sean Barnett a two-way player. The experiment did not succeed and he was converted into just a pitcher during the second part of the season. That didn’t go too well either. The organization will now give him a chance to succeed as a reliever with his upper-90s fastball and plus-slider. He struggled in his first few appearances but has allowed just one run over his past 8.1 innings pitched (report per MadFriars.com).

Fort Wayne TinCaps (23-28 record, 4th in Midwest League East)

The TinCaps played to a 1-5 record this past week with a combination of offensive and pitching issues. Outfielder Jake Cunningham is their best hitter with a .301 average and .988 OPS. He and fellow outfielder Alex McCoy lead the team with 14 home runs each. Cunningham has 24 RBI and McCoy has 32 RBI. That is most of the offense for Fort Wayne, with no other hitters over .226.

Lefty Kash Mayfield had a hiccup in his May 29 start and only lasted 0.1 innings while giving up three hits, six earned runs, two walks, and a HBP in 32 pitches before being removed. He still has a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings pitched with 43 strikeouts to 16 walks.

Carson Montgomery has eight starts and 36.1 innings pitched with a 1.98 ERA with 33 strikeouts to 18 walks. Struggling with his command but still limiting the damage has been the highlight of his season so far.

Sidewinder Clay Edmondson keeps racking up the saves and now has the league best 10 in 21 innings pitched with a 0.43 ERA.

San Antonio Missions (20-31 record, last in Texas League South)

The Missions played to a 3-3 record against the Corpus Christi Hooks this past week. Outfielder Leandro Cedeno, 27, was released after not playing since May 15 after suffering an injury.

Catcher Ethan Salas continues to impress with his consistent play. His defensive skillset is still considered major league-ready per all reports. Offensively, he is showing why the Padres were unwilling to consider trading him in the past.

Salas is hitting .311/.359/.503 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBI over 44 games and 161 at-bats. He is catching in tandem with Chris Sargent and is the DH on most days when not catching. He also has 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts; a good runner and base stealer for a catcher.

His success makes a promotion a good possibility later in the season. Where he is promoted to is the question. With the struggles of Padres catcher Freddy Fermin continuing, it would be tempting to give Salas a look at the major leagues after the All-Star break. Bringing him up sooner is probably not an option, as he missed all of last season and should be allowed to get in a solid amount of repetition before being stressed by major league pitching.

Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had a horrible 2025. He was taken off the Padres roster, spent a good portion of the season injured, and couldn’t hit when he wasn’t injured. The Padres gave him an offseason to rework his swing and brought him back this year with the Missions. To his credit, he has performed much better. Ornelas has a .272 average and .783 OPS. He still lacks power with only five home runs but has 13 doubles and 22 RBI.

RHP Jhony Brito will be completing his rehab soon and should be ready if the Padres need him. He does have a minor league option remaining. In four starts and 13.1 innings, Brito has a 2.03 ERA. Starter/reliever Eric Yost has 29.1 innings pitched and a 3.07 ERA with 35 strikeouts but also has 19 walks.

Both Francis Peña and Andrew Moore have pitched in 14 games. Peña has a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 innings and Moore has a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 innings.

LHP Jagger Haynes leads the team with 49 strikeouts but he also has 21 walks and a 4.65 ERA. RHP Victor Lizarraga is struggling with command this season and has the most walks with 25 and a 5.95 ERA as well.

El Paso Chihuahuas (25-32 record, 3rd in Pacific Coast League East)

The Chihuahuas played to a 2-4 record for the week against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Their best hitter is now with the Padres and Tirso Ornelas might be the most likely replacement.

Infielder Pablo Reyes is hitting .331 with a .973 OPS. Outfielder Nick Schnell has 10 home runs and 22 RBI and infielder Mason McCoy continues to hit for slug with seven doubles, two triples, six homers and 36 RBI.

Outside of starter Evan Fitterer, the El Paso pitching staff is having problems with the conditions in the Eastern division of the PCL. Fitterer has a 2.81 ERA in 10 games started and 41.2 innings and has 32 strikeouts with 22 walks. JP Sears leads the team with 52 strikeouts but has a 6.93 ERA.

Kyle Hart and David Morgan are on the Padres roster, but neither looks to be promoted anytime soon. Both are struggling with command, with Hart carrying a 10.38 ERA and Morgan a 6.97 ERA.

That’s the story for the whole of the staff, for the most part.

ACL Padres (10-11 record, 3rd in West)

The ACL team played four games and split its games 2-2. Infielder Yimy Tovar was promoted to Lake Elsinore. The team continues to host several rehabbing players from other parts of the minor league system.

Outfielder Moises Valdez leads the team with a .382 average. Infielder Dawson Willis has a .346 average and 1.164 OPS.

RHP Lan-Hong Su has started three games for seven innings pitched and has a 1.29 ERA. Reliever Bernard Jose has pitched in eight games over 12.1 innings with a 0.73 ERA.

Dominican Summer League (DSL)

The DSL has begun play and the Padres have two teams again this year. The DSL Padres Brown and the DSL Padres Gold. The first games were Monday with both teams in action. Next week, the update will feature some players to watch and the results from the first week of action.

The Mets made two errors and gave up three home runs in an 8-3 loss to the Mariners in Seattle on Tuesday night.

They managed just five hits and have now dropped two straight games.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Huascar Brazoban worked around a leadoff walk and got through the first inning after 20 pitches thanks to some help from Mark Vientos' defense at first base. But instead of just a one-inning outing, Carlos Mendoza kept him in to pitch the second inning and the move backfired. 

Brazoban let up a two-run home run to Patrick Wisdom with one out as Seattle took a 2-0 lead. He then allowed a two-out double to top prospect Colt Emerson, ending his night after 1.2 IP. Overall, the righty allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over 33 pitches.

-- In the top of the third inning, A.J. Ewing doubled to the right field wall for the team's first hit of the night (and his first career double) against Logan Gilbert.The Mets got the runs back as Carson Benge tied it up at 2-2 by blasting a cutter over the RF wall for a two-run home run. The ball had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and traveled 394 feet.

-- New York's gloves caused them problems two plays in a row in the third inning. Marcus Semien nearly made a great leaping catch on Randy Arozarena's liner, but he dropped the ball and then rushed the throw past first base, allowing Arozarena to advance to second. A similar play then happened with Vientos at first, as Luke Raley's liner went off his glove and rolled beyond the base for the run to score, making it a 3-2 game.

Vientos had another rough play in the fifth inning on a hard grounder with one out, allowing a baserunner and eventual run.

-- Jonah Tong took over on the mound in the second inning and struck out J.P. Crawford to avoid further damage. He allowed an unearned run in the third after the two errors and ran into more trouble in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out and letting up a sacrifice fly to Julio Rodriguez as the Mariners took a 4-2 lead. Tong needed nearly 30 pitches to get through the frame.

The young righty's pitch count caught up to him in the fifth inning. He gave up back-to-back singles and then surrendered a two-out, three-run home run to Jhonny Pereda on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Benge helped Tong out by making a running catch in right to end the inning, keeping it a 7-2 game. Overall, Tong tossed 83 pitches over 3.1 IP, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

-- Benge blasted his second home run of the game in the top of the sixth inning, cutting the Seattle lead to 7-3. It's Benge's first career multi-homer game.

Juan Soto singled and Jared Young walked to keep the line moving, but Vientos spoiled the rally attempt by grounding into the inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

-- The bullpen woes continued in the sixth inning as Cionel Pérez, making his Mets debut, allowed a solo home run to Rodriguez and Seattle went up 8-3. Pérez settled and retired six out of the next seven batters through the seventh inning, allowing two hits and a run over 2.0 innings pitched. A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Game MVP:  Logan Gilbert

Besides allowing two homers to Benge, Gilbert kept the Mets bats quiet with just four hits and eight strikeouts over 5.1 IP.

Highlights

Mark Vientos sticks with it and tosses it to Huascar Brazobán covering for the out pic.twitter.com/N2Ev9B0u7D

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

A.J. Ewing gets his first MLB double in Seattle pic.twitter.com/HvypuvgBX6

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

Carson Benge rockets one outta here to tie the game at 2-2! pic.twitter.com/Mw8YFKyVnB

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

A 2-homer night for Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/PfMoQywxPm

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Mariners wrap up the series on Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. on SNY.

Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.55 ERA) faces RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.77 ERA).

Angels outfielder Jo Adell has made some impressive plays this season. 

On Tuesday night, he did not have one of them. 

Adell had himself a true Jose Canseco moment against the Rockies in the top of the fourth inning of an 8-2 loss when a fly ball was hit to right field by T.J. Rumfield and bounced off the Angel outfielder’s head and over the wall for a home run. 

The bizarre moment seemed to match the way the night was going for the Angels, who were trailing 7-0 at that point in the game, only to fall behind by eight after the homer. 

Rumfield sent the 0-2 pitch from Grayson Rodriguez high into the air, and Adell seemingly was able to chase the ball down. 

Nevertheless, he did not line his glove up correctly, and the ball clipped the top of it and bounced right off his head, going over the wall. 

Initially, everyone thought the ball had stayed in play, and Rumfield held up at second. 

The blunder was the opposite of some of the impressive catches that Adell has made this season, which included one just the night before. 

In the Angels’ 9-8 loss to the Rockies on Monday night, Adell made a catch in a similar spot despite Mike Trout running into him trying to chase the sixth-inning fly ball down. 

Adell robbed three home runs in a single game on April 4 against the Mariners when he made catches on would-be dingers by Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor and J.P. Crawford. 

It was believed to be the first time that a single player had robbed three home runs in a single game in MLB history. 

The play on Tuesday brought baseball fans back to May 26, 1993, when Carlos Martínez hit a ball to right field to then-Rangers outfielder Canseco. When the slugger tried to catch the ball, it hit off the top of his head and went over the wall for a home run in one of baseball’s most memorable bloopers.

Blue Jays 3 Braves 4

That wasn’t Kevin Gausman’s best game. 6 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts and a home run. Of course, when you get 18 outs and 8 of them are strikeouts, it seems like it should be a good game. But, he gave up 2 in the first (a walk, a double and a sac fly), 1 in the third (double and a single) and 1 in the sixth (a Matt Olson home run).

Our bullpen put up two scoreless innings.

On offense, we had 9 hits, with a Kazuma Okamoto two-run home run and a Vladimir Guerrero double. You would think we could have scored more than 3 runs.

We got two hits each from Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Yohendrick Piñango and Okamoto. But then there were 0 fors from George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Andrés Giménez and Brandon Valenzuela. Being 0 for 6 with RISP is a recipe for a loss.

Jays of the Day: Okamoto (0.31 WPA), and Lukes (0.12).

The Other Award: Giménez (-0.23). Gausman (-0.19), Jesús Sánchez (-0.14, all for a ninth inning out to end the game), Springer (-0.12), Piñango (-0.12), and Valenzuela (-0.10).

Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.65) going against Grant Holmes (3-2, 3.95).

I did have a nice evening, with three beers and nice conversation. All it needed was a win.

Iowa Cubs RHP Yacksel Rios was released.

Shortstop Alex Madera was demoted from Double-A Knoxville to Single-A South Bend.

Right-hander Jhon Rosario was promoted from rookie ball ACL Cubs to Low-A Myrtle Beach.

The Dominican Summer League started on Monday. As always, I don’t report on the comings and goings of the DSL because I can’t think of much that’s more worthless to player evaluation than DSL stats. Or at least the daily comings and goings of a bunch of 17-year-olds. But I did want you to know that the DSL is underway.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs laid an egg against the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 16-1.

Starter Ty Blach got hammered for ten runs, nine earned, on ten hits over 4+ innings. Three of those hits were home runs including a grand slam in the fifth to the final batter Blach faced. Blach walked one and did not strike anyone out.

The I-Cubs bats were stymied by rehabbing Justin Verlander, who went five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits. It was the first Triple-A win for Verlander in his career. Iowa only had six hits total.

Three of those six hits came off the bat of second baseman James Triantos, who was 3 for 4 with a double and the only Iowa run scored.

Shortstop Scott Kingery was 2 for 2 and was hit by a pitch.

Matt Shaw played six innings in center field in a rehab assignment. He was o for 3.

Triantos’ double off of Verlander.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were feudalized by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 7-6.

The Smokies went with an opener and Frankie Scalzo Jr. pitched the first inning without allowing a run. Scalzo did give up one hit and one walk. He struck out one.

Yenrri Rojas pitched the next three innings and took the loss. Rojas allowed seven runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out three.

The Smokies then got three scoreless. innings of relief from Tyler Santana and two from Marino Santy.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.

DH Owen Ayers was 1 for 3 with two walks. He scored once.

A nice outfield assist from Ramírez.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs arrested the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 8-4.

Starter Alfredo Romero put South Bend in a hole by giving up four runs on two hits and five walks over three innings. Romero struck out one.

Jackson Brockett pitched the next four innings, didn’t allow a run, and got the win. Brockett surrendered just two hits and one walk. He struck out two.

Kenyi Perez got a two-inning save. He faced seven batters. He walked one of them. He struck out the other six. That’s pretty good, right?

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn hit his third home run in the Midwest League in the first inning with the bases empty. It was Hartshorn’s eighth overall home run. He finished the night going 3 for 5 with a double and the home run. His single in the ninth drove in two, so he had three total RBI. Hartshorn scored twice.

First baseman Drew Bowser was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the fourth. He scored once.

Third baseman Matt Halbach was 2 for 5 with a double and one runs scored.

Right fielder Miguel Olivo was 2 for 4. He drove in a run with a single in the ninth and scored on Hartshorn’s single.

I’m pretty sure Hartshorn’s home run bounced into the the Mississippi.

RBI doubles for Miguel Useche and Bowser. Useche was 1 for 4.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were bitten by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 4-3 in ten innings.

Starter Edwardo Melendez gave up two runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. Melendez walked three and struck out two.

Daniel Avitia threw the next 3.2 innings and didn’t allow a run. He surrendered one hit and walked four. He struck out two.

Aiden Moffett went the rest of the way, gave up two runs in the bottom of the tenth and got the loss. Moffett allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit over 1.2 innings. He struggled with control as Moffett walked two (including walking in the winning run) and threw three wild pitches.

Second baseman Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored one run.

Edward Vargas drove in the automatic runner in the tenth with a single. He was 1 for 4.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Guardians, 13-6.

Jo Adell made history with a trio of home run robberies earlier this year. Now, the Los Angeles Angels right fielder joined Jose Canseco in a most embarrassing fraternity — outfielders who have bounced balls off their head and over the fence for a home run.

Adell's moment of ignominy occurred Tuesday, June 2 when Colorado Rockies designated hitter TJ Rumfield hit a fly ball to right center field in the top of the fourth inning; Adell seemed poised to catch it easily in stride.

But he apparently lost the ball in Angel Stadium's twilight sky. As he reached to catch it, the ball instead glanced off his glove and bounced off his cap — and over the yellow line signifying a home run.

It was a near carbon-copy of the fly ball Cleveland's Carlos Martinez sent to right field at old Municipal Stadium on May 26, 1993. Canseco, once a decent outfielder but by then a large and stiff specimen addled by years of steroid use, chased it down yet missed it entirely, the ball bonking off his dome and over the wall, a viral video before the phrase even existed.

Adell is no Canseco. He set what's believed to be a modern record by robbing three home runs in a single game on April 5 against Seattle. This time, he simply missed.

After Rumfield rounded the bases, the last-place Angels trailed the Rockies 8-0. The Rockies went on to win the game, 8-2, dropping the Angels to 23-39, the worst record in the American League.

The White Sox have lost back-to-back games to the Twins, falling 6-4 tonight. Davis Martin fought with his command all night, unable to make it through five innings. While the offense didn’t provide, the poor pitching performance certainly was a catalyst for a tough loss. The bullpen took control in the late innings, but loading the bases and leaving them stranded moments later also hurt the momentum this team carried into Minnesota.

There was not much action in the game until the third inning, just a pair of Twins singles that went nowhere. Connor Prielipp gave up a leadoff walk to Luisangel Acuña in the third, who stole second and third before reaching home on a throwing error, putting the first run of the game on the board. With one out, Chase Meidroth singled, and Randal Grichuk followed up with a double. Miguel Vargas would be the decision-maker, plating two runs with a single. Edgar Quero also singled, but two outs would quickly follow, including an unfortunate two-out bunt decision from Derek Hill.

Martin would also face a little trouble on the base paths in the bottom of the third. Tristan Gray singled and advanced on a questionable balk call. Alex Jackson singled, and Brooks Lee’s sac fly would send a run in. Martin was able to work through the rest of the inning, only giving up the one run despite some sloppy defense from his teammates.

Martin struggled again in the bottom of the fourth. Trevor Larnach doubled, and he gave up a walk to Austin Martin. Luke Keaschall doubled, giving the Twins another run with two on base and only one out. Gray gave the Twins the lead with an RBI single, sending in two runs before then getting to second base. Gray stole third and got home after a single from Jackson. Another base hit, this time from Byron Buxton, would get the bullpen stirring after Martin surrendered five hits in the inning. A double play would thankfully end any additional threat.

The Twins kept the White Sox in check for two straight innings, and Martin continued to wrestle with his command. Despite starting the fifth with a strikeout, he gave up back-to-back walks right after. Those free passes would haunt him when Keaschall singled, and Sam Antonacci couldn’t get the ball home in time. After the run, Martin stepped out for Sean Newcomb to take over and end the fifth. Alas, the Twins were up 6-3.

The seventh would start with back-to-back singles, a wild pitch, and then an RBI single from Meidroth, putting the Good Guys within two.

Colson Montgomery, who came in to face the righty once the bullpen arrived, was plunked to load the bases, but Antonacci left them stranded with a strikeout. The eighth would see two runners on base, but no runs would cross, and the ninth fell flat for the South Siders. They stranded nine runners on base tonight and 16 over the last two nights, costing them the series.

That off day can’t come soon enough.

As far as Tuesdays in June go, this one wasn’t pretty in The Bronx.

Not only did Aaron Judge miss his first game of the season with the bone bruise near his right shoulder that was diagnosed a day earlier, Cam Schlittler, who started the day as the American League Cy Young favorite, delivered his worst outing of the season.

It ended with a bullpen in need of reinforcements getting knocked around, as the Yankees fell to Cleveland 9-4 and have lost nine of their 12 games against teams above .500.

“His stuff was down just a tick,” Aaron Boone said of Schlitter. “The past couple of times it’s been a little bit down. … He lacked some of his normal power and location.”

Boone added he wasn’t concerned about Schlittler being off and the right-hander acknowledged, “I just didn’t have my stuff [and] they had a good approach and made me fight.”

Schlittler, so important to the rotation while the Yankees were without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, said he wasn’t pleased with his four-seam fastball and his mechanics were affected.

It was a rare slip for Schlittler after the Yankees entered the game having won six of their past seven and came back to the Stadium to face the Guardians, leading the AL Central despite the second-lowest payroll in the majors ($88 million).

Cleveland got the better of Yankees pitching time and time again, and after the Yankees scored four runs off lefty Joey Cantillo in just four innings, Cleveland’s bullpen shut them down.

It all started with Schlittler’s clunker, as he allowed a career-high five runs, four earned, in just 4 ¹/₃ innings.

He retired the first seven batters he faced before light-hitting catcher Patrick Bailey tripled to center with one out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brayan Rocchio.

The Yankees went ahead in the bottom of the inning on Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run homer, as Goldschmidt played with a tight back.

He had three hits through four innings before the Yankees went cold.

Cleveland’s offense made them pay, as Kyle Manzardo took Schlittler deep to right to put the Yankees in a 3-2 hole in the fourth.

Goldschmidt delivered again in the bottom of the inning, this time with a two-run single to right to put the Yankees up, 4-3.

But the Guardians got to Schlittler again in the fifth.

The bottom of the lineup loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth with a Steven Kwan single, a costly error by Amed Rosario at third on Bailey’s grounder and a hit by pitch by Rocchio.

Following a visit from pitching coach Matt Blake, Travis Bazzana’s sacrifice fly tied it and José Ramirez doubled to right to drive in another run, as the Yankees fell behind and Schlitter’s night was over.

Brent Headrick got out of the inning, but Cleveland added to their lead in the seventh against the struggling Tim Hill, as Rocchio singled, stole second and then swiped third by taking off from second and beating Hill to the bag, with Rosario far from the base.

Ramirez doubled in Rocchio to make it 6-4.

Cleveland tried to give the Yankees new life in the bottom of the frame.

Cody Bellinger was on first base with two out when Trent Grisham popped up in front of the plate down the third base line.

Ramirez bumped Bailey, the catcher, who dropped it to extend the inning, but Volpe grounded out.

Camilo Doval allowed a three-run double to Bazzana to seal it for the Guardians.

“We didn’t hold them down enough,” Boone said. “Especially with Cam, you put four [runs] on the board, you’re usually gonna be in position to win, but it got away from us late.”

MILWAUKEE — The Giants got a taste of what they gave up, and it had to be a bitter pill to swallow with the way Kyle Harrison mowed through their meager lineup Tuesday night.

San Francisco had no answers for its former top prospect in an 8-3 loss to the Brewers.

Facing his former team for the first time since he was traded last summer for Rafael Devers (and again this winter, to Milwaukee), Harrison held the Giants scoreless for 5 ⅔ innings and departed to a standing ovation after matching a career high in strikeouts.

Besides a solo shot from Willy Adames with two outs in the sixth, the best piece of contact the Giants put on any of Harrison’s pitches might’ve been a foul ball from Jonah Cox that landed in the second deck — only on the wrong side of the foul pole.

Cox came up empty on his next swing, going down as Harrison’s 11th of 12 strikeout victims.

It proved to be quite the contrast to the performance the Giants got from their starting pitcher.

By the time he took the mound for the second inning, Harrison had already been spotted a three-run lead by Trevor McDonald, his former minor-league teammate.

McDonald walked the first two batters he faced and, after getting two outs, served up a 412-foot home run off the batter’s eye in center field to Jake Bauers that scored all three.

That was more than enough support for Harrison, who hasn’t allowed three runs in any of his 11 starts this season. He hadn’t surrendered any for 23 consecutive innings until Adames snuck a line drive over the left field wall.

His 1.57 ERA is the second-best in the majors.

What it means

Starting pitching problems have plagued the Giants all season, only becoming more glaring in contrast to Harrison. McDonald became their first starter in three games to complete five innings, but he still buried them in a hole they couldn’t climb out of after just the first inning.

San Francisco fell to 9-29 when allowing its opponent to score first.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey made the bold move to trade away Harrison, but he didn’t replenish the pitching depth — and it has shown.

The Giants’ 4.94 ERA from their starters is the second-worst in the majors — ahead of only the Rockies, who have to play half their games at Coors Field. It doesn’t help that their bullpen, which lost Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval and Randy Rodriguez, has surrendered 13 runs to the Brewers the past two games, including a four-spot in the eighth inning after the Giants had rallied to cut the deficit to one.

Who’s hot

Hardly anybody right now for the Giants, who fell to 5-14 over their past 19 games, tied with the Cubs — who lost 10 straight at one point — for the worst record since May 13.

The highly paid left side of their infield is at least showing signs of life.

Adames’ homer was his second in the past three games, and he’s batting .294 with an .852 OPS since the start of May after reaching base three times Tuesday night.

A night earlier, third baseman Matt Chapman ended the longest homerless drought of his career with his second long ball of the season — after slapping doubles the previous two games.

Who’s not

Let’s call it for what it is: Tony Vitello.

With the lefty Harrison on the mound, the manager removed two of the team’s hottest hitters from the lineup, opting to go with journeyman utilityman Buddy Kennedy over Bryce Eldridge as the designated hitter and rookie Victor Bericoto over Jung Hoo Lee in right field.

Vitello explained that the decisions had to do with matchups.

But Eldridge has never had dramatic left-right splits, and Harrison has even exhibited reverse splits with lefties posting an OPS 50 points higher against him than righties.

Kennedy, a career .177 hitter, was a non-factor with two strikeouts and a weak pop-up in three at-bats. Bericoto, at least, contributed one of the Giants’ 10 hits.

Eldridge and Lee each contributed pinch-hit RBI singles in a two-run rally in the eighth, but Drew Gilbert flew out to end the threat, which proved to be too little, too late.

The questionable lineup decisions come on the heels of back-to-back games where Vitello allowed his starting pitcher to exhaust 96 pitches over just four innings.

Up next

Losers of seven of their past eight, the Giants still have two more games against the NL Central-leading Brewers. On the bright side, they won’t have to face Jacob Misiorowski.

The schedule doesn’t get any lighter: San Francisco’s opponents for the rest of the month have a combined .562 winning percentage, the toughest slate for the month of any team in MLB.

Box Score

Jacob Misiorowski has been incredible over the last month. The attention that he has been paid is warranted. But the Brewers have another pitcher who has been killing it lately, one who boasts a lower ERA on the season than Misiorowski. And if you won’t remember how good Kyle Harrison has been, the San Francisco Giants, who traded him away last season, certainly will.

Though the 18-inning scoreless inning streak Harrison brought into today’s game finally ended, he struck out 12 Giants in just 5 2/3 innings while allowing just one run. A big early hit and a late rally were all the Brewers needed to take the second game of this four-game series.

The Giants tried to muster a two-out rally against Harrison in the first inning. After impressive strikeouts of Casey Schmitt and Rafael Devers, Luis Arraez lined a ball into the right-field corner that turned into a triple after Sal Frelick had a little bit of trouble getting it to the infield. Willy Adames then walked (though the fourth ball should’ve been a strike), but Matt Chapman popped out down the right-field line on the first pitch he saw and Harrison had a scoreless first inning.

Yelich started the night for the Brewers’ offense with a five-pitch walk off of Giants starter Trevor McDonald. With Jackson Chourio batting, Yelich broke for second; a perfect throw from Giants catcher Daniel Susac might’ve gotten Yelich at second with a great throw, but he was called safe on a very close play. San Francisco challenged, and after a long review, it was determined that there wasn’t enough to overturn the call, and the Giants had lost their challenge in the first inning. McDonald, who was ahead of Chourio 0-2 when the review came in, threw four straight balls, none of which were close, after the lengthy break.

That put two on with no outs for Brice Turang. Turang, though, struck out looking (on a changeup up that was not remotely where it was meant to be thrown, but which caught him off guard), and William Contreras grounded out on a ball right in front of the plate that functioned as a sacrifice bunt. It looked like McDonald was going to get out of the inning, but he left a 2-2 sinker right down the middle to one of the hottest hitters in the league, and Jake Bauers launched a three-run homer to straightaway center field.

That 3-0 score would stick around for several innings, though there was plenty of traffic on the bases. Harrison worked around a one-out single in the top of the second. Frelick led off the bottom of the inning, but nothing came of it. Harrison struck out the side in the top of the third. A Chourio infield single was erased by a double play in the bottom of the second. Willy Adames led off the fourth with a single, but Harrison struck out the next three, too, and he was up to 10 strikeouts in just four innings. Garrett Mitchell hit a one-out double in the bottom of the fourth and he advanced to third on an errant throw by Susac on a pickoff attempt, but Frelick struck out with Mitchell on third, and Rengifo popped out to end the inning.

Harrison had another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth, and by this point he’d extended his scoreless inning streak to 23 innings. (Imagine what we’d be saying about Harrison if Jacob Misiorowski wasn’t on the Brewers.) Milwaukee got another single, this one from Yelich, in the bottom of the fifth, and Turang walked with two outs, but nothing came of it.

Finally, in the sixth, someone broke through. After Devers struck out (which he did four times in the game) and Arraez grounded out, Adames got Harrison for a solo homer, his ninth of the season. That made it 3-1, and finally put an end to Harrison’s scoreless inning streak. After a Matt Chapman walk, Pat Murphy fetched Aaron Ashby from the bullpen, and he struck out Buddy Kennedy for the third out.

Harrison had another extremely impressive start. He finished with 5 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and one run on two walks and 12 strikeouts, matching a season (and career) high. Technically, his ERA went up today, by fractions of a point (it was 1.57 at the start of the game and a very slightly higher 1.57 at the end of it).

McDonald was replaced by Erik Miller in the bottom of the sixth. The Brewers kept their streak of “get a hit every inning” alive with a one-out Mitchell single, but Frelick bounced into a double play to end the inning. Ashby gave up back-to-back singles to start the top of the seventh, but Jonah Cox popped up a bunt for the first out, Schmitt grounded out, and Devers grounded out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Milwaukee added an important insurance run. David Hamilton started things with a one-out walk, and Yelich kept things going with another walk. Chourio flew out for the second out, but Turang hit a hard grounder up the middle, just past Arraez, for a two-out RBI single to make it 4-1.

A good thing, too, as San Francisco’s offense finally got something going in the eighth. Arraez led off with a double to right, which prompted another pitching change as Abner Uribe came in for Ashby. After an Adames groundout and a Chapman pop-up, it looked like Uribe might get out clean. But pinch-hitter Bryce Eldridge smoked a two-out RBI single into right that scored Arraez, and then Susac and another pinch-hitter, Jung Hoo Lee, got back-to-back weakly hit ground ball singles to score another. Murphy stuck with Uribe, though, and he got another pinch-hitter, Drew Gilbert, to fly out to Mitchell to end the inning with the score 4-3.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers were looking for more insurance (off of new reliever Tristan Beck) to re-establish the more comfortable lead they had heading into the eighth. They started well: Mitchell walked, and Frelick blooped a single down the left field line. After a sac bunt from Rengifo, Hamilton had a golden opportunity to drive in another run, but he struck out. Beck was on the verge of getting out of it, but the Brewers weren’t done. In a 2-2 count with two outs and two men in scoring position, Yelich banged a single through the right side of the infield to score two runs. Two pitches later, Chourio whacked a high fastball and nearly hit it out to center field; instead, Gilbert couldn’t quite come up with it and it bounced off the wall for a double that scored Yelich. The next batter, Turang, shot a single through the middle to score Chourio. Suddenly, the Brewers lead was up to 8-3; all four runs in the eighth were scored with two outs.

Trevor Megill had been preparing to enter a one-run game, but he was in need of some work so he entered with a five-run lead anyway. He had no trouble: Schmitt flew out, Devers struck out, and Arraez flew out.

Harrison was the star today, but for the second straight night, the Brewers put a big number on San Francisco’s pitching staff with a balanced attack. Milwaukee had 11 hits (and at least one in each of the eight innings they came to the plate for the second night in a row) and five players with two: Yelich, Chourio, Turang, Mitchell, and Frelick. Bauers had the game’s biggest hit when he hit the three-run homer in the first, and Mitchell and Chourio added doubles for the Brewers’ other extra-base hits.

The Brewers have already guaranteed a split in this four-game series, but they’ll go for a victory tomorrow. Milwaukee has not announced a starter for either of the remaining games in the series, so we’ll see what happens there, but the Giants will come back with Logan Webb, their nominal ace, though he has struggled a bit this season. First pitch on Wednesday night is at 6:40 p.m.

The White Sox got on the board first in this game, with assistance from the Twins catcher. In the 3rd inning, Connor Prielipp walked Luisangel Acuna, who proceeded to steal 2nd, then 3rd, and come home on an errant throw from Alex Jackson, scoring the first run of the contest. Chase Meidroth hit an infield single, then, after Randal Grichuk doubled, Miguel Vargas hit a 2-run single to push their lead to 3-0. Prielipp was able to limit the damage to that, getting a fly-out and ground out to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the 3rd, Tristan Gray singled and then was balked to 2nd. Jackson tried a sacrifice bunt but got a hit instead, advancing Gray to 3rd. Brooks Lee would later get the Twins on the board with a sac-fly RBI, with Kody Clemens lining out to end the inning.

In the 4th, Prielipp settled down and tossed a clean inning, then the Twins bats went to work against Davis Martin. Trevor Larnach hit a 1-out double, then Austin Martin walked. Luke Keaschall hit an RBI single to left, advancing to 2nd base on the throw. Now with 2 runners in scoring position, Tristan Gray would bring them both home with a single. Then Jackson would make up for his error earlier tonight with an RBI single, giving the Twins a 5-3 lead.

In the 5th, Keaschall came up with a 2-out RBI single to make it a 6-3 game, and everything was looking great for the home team. It looked even better after a perfect 6th inning from Connor Prielipp, who earlier looked destined for a short start but was now poised to pitch into the 7th inning for the first time in his career.

However, just as in the 3rd, Acuna got on base to lead off the 7th, and chaos ensued. Jacob Gonzalez singled to right, with Acuna going to 3rd, ending Prielipp’s night. Andrew Morris came in and threw a wild pitch, giving us runners at 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs. Meidroth dribbled a ball down the 3rd base line to Brooks Lee, who threw to 1st but Clemens couldn’t pick it, and a run scored.

Morris’ wild tendencies continued, as after Grichuk struck out looking, another wild pitch moved the tying run, Meidroth to 2nd. A 9 pitch battle with Miguel Vargas ended with a 100mph fastball that Vargas couldn’t catch up to for the 2nd out. The White Sox pinch-hit Colson Montgomery for Edgar Quero, and the wild Morris hit him on the knee with a slider, loading the bases. Anthony Banda came in to face lefty Sam Antonacci, and struck him out with a slider to end the threat. Despite 3 singles, a hit batter, and 2 wild pitches, the Twins escaped the 7th with a 6-4 lead.

In the top of the 8th, Acuna would get on base yet again and steal his 3rd bag of the game, but Yoendrys Gomez came in and got Meidroth to strike out to end the threat. He stayed in for the 9th inning, tossing a 1-2-3 inning to get the save as the Twins secured a series win.

Studs:

Connor Prielipp (W, 2-3): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Maybe should have been taken out after 6 though.

Anthony Banda: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

Yoendrys Gomez (S): 1.1 IP, 2 K

Tristan Gray: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB

Luke Keaschall: 2-4, 2 RBI

Brooks Lee: 1-3, RBI

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN!

The Texas Rangers scored seven runs but the St. Louis Cardinals scored four runs.

Player of the Game: Kyle Higashioka had three hits tonight so kudos to him for bringing some productive to the bottom of the order from the catcher position but it’s Pederson who doubled twice and drove in two runs, including the go-ahead and eventual winning run with an RBI single in the top of the ninth.

The Rangers tacked on two more insurance runs in the inning to pick up the win and thwart a would-be come back attempt from the Cardinals after rallying from a 2-0 deficit themselves early on in this one.

Up Next: The Rangers and Cardinals close out this series with Texas eyeing a second straight sweep. LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas in the finale against RHP Andre Pallante for St. Louis.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Busch Stadium is set for 6:45 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Dustin May did his part by giving the St. Louis Cardinals a quality start Wednesday night against Skip Schumaker’s Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, Nathan Eovaldi was just a little bit better. In the end, it would be so many missed opportunities that would cost the Cardinals dearly. A terrible relief effort in the top of the 9th wouldn’t help either. More on that later.

The Cardinals bats were actually put to good use Tuesday night (unlike the previous night) as St. Louis was first on the board in the bottom of the 2nd inning. After Bryan Torres walked, Masyn Winn singled to center which brought up Jimmy Crooks who dumped a ball into short right field scoring Torres and giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Not getting any additional runs in the 2nd would sadly be a sign of things to come Tuesday night.

The next Cardinals run would come from a player that all of us collectively hope is a sign of good things to come. Nolan Gorman showed his largely unrealized power by going the opposite way on a 93 mph four-seam fastball and elevating it 373 feet into the left field seats giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals 2-run lead would not stick as the Rangers strung together hits in the top of the 5th inning as Evan Carter reached on an infield hit where Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt partially collided. Kyle Higashioka followed that with a single of his own moving Carter to third. Lopez grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Carter cutting the St. Louis lead in half 2-1. Joc Pederson would then rip a double down the right field line which scored Lopez tying the game 2-2.

The Rangers would take the lead in the top of the 6th inning when Jake Burger drew a one-out walk. He then was moved over to second on a groundout from Duran. Alejandro Osuna singled to right which scored Burger making it 3-2 Texas. That would end Dustin May’s night. He gave St. Louis 5 2/3 innings allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs with a stellar 9 strikeouts and just 2 walks. JoJo Romero would come in from the pen and get the last out in the Ranger’s 6th. After the Cardinals failed to take advantage of another Masyn Winn hit in the bottom of the 6th, JoJo would return to the mound to try and keep the Rangers close in the top of the 7th inning. He was only partially successful as the Rangers managed to double their lead on a combination double, successful sacrifice bunt, questionable hit-by-pitch and then sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 Rangers. The hit-by-pitch call of Joc Pederson was challenged by St. Louis, but the review officials in New York didn’t see enough to overturn it and it stood.

The Cardinals were not done, though. JJ Wetherholt, who had 2 hits on the night, led off the bottom of the 7th with an opposite field single past the shortstop. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Iván Herrera was then hit by a pitch which gave St. Louis runners on first and second with none out. Alec Burleson would make the Rangers pay as he smoked a single to left field scoring JJ making it 4-3 Cardinals as Herrera advanced to third on Burleson’s hit. Jordan Walker then did something he hadn’t done all night. He made contact with a 76 mph curve from Eovaldi muscling it out to left field for a single scoring Herrera and tying the game 4-4.

That ended Nathan Eovaldi’s night as Skip Schumaker turned to lefthander Jalen Beeks in relief. Manager Oli Marmol called on Nelson Velázquez to come off the bench and give the Cardinals the lead. He unfortunately struck out as did Masyn Winn who followed. Marmol called on José Fermín to pinch-hit for Nolan Gorman, but he lined out to left field which means the Cardinals had runners on first and third with no one out, but could not bring in any additional runs. Disappointing.

George Soriano was the Cardinals 8th inning answer out of the bullpen. His first pitch resulted in a ground ball deep into the hole at short, but Masyn Winn came up with an absolutely dazzling play throwing out Jake Burger with his rifle arm. That wasn’t his only act of incredible glove work against Burger as he also robbed him with an excellent play in the top of the 4th inning.

Jimmy Crooks had a good night at the plate. His second hit of the night was a double down the right field line to lead off the bottom of the 8th for St. Louis. Thomas Saggese would pinch-run for Crooks as Victor Scott II would unsuccessfully try to bunt him over popping out to third base instead. JJ Wetherholt was also unable to advance Saggese as he popped out to short. The Rangers would bring in Cal Quantrill to face Iván Herrera to try and keep the game tied. One pitch later, Herrera grounded out to short to squander a great chance to take the lead going into the 9th. Disappointing. Again.

Riley O’Brien was brought in to keep the game tied in the 9th, but he would invite trouble by walking the first man he faced which was Evan Carter. He would make matters worse by throwing a wild pitch as Carter advanced to second. Kyle Higashioka singled to right giving Texas runners at first and third with no outs. O’Brien would turn to a disappearing slider to strike out Lopez for the first out, but Joc Pedersen dumped his third hit of the night into left field giving the Rangers a 5-4 lead. That bloop hit would be followed by another one for Jung doubling the Texas lead to 6-4. Nimmo added a sacrifice fly to compound our misery making it 7-4 Rangers.

Andre Pallante will lead the charge Wednesday night as it’s game 3 of the St. Louis Cardinals series versus the Texas Rangers to try and avoid a sweep. MacKenzie Gore is scheduled to make the start for the Rangers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time and the game broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.