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The first two games of this series have been a real bummer, but the Nats have a chance to salvage things this afternoon. They will look to avoid a sweep at the hands of a Marlins team that has given them all sorts of trouble. Hopefully the bats can wake up today.
Blake Butera is making a couple changes to the lineup. Dylan Crews will be all the way up in the 2 spot. James Wood will DH and Daylen Lile will be in left field. Luis Garcia Jr. will be in the 8 hole, while Nasim Nunez will be back in the lineup as the second baseman. Andrew Alvarez will get the start, but Brad Lord should be ready when needed.
The Marlins are going righty heavy with their lineup. Christopher Morel, Javier Sanoja, Esteury Ruiz and Connor Norby will be in the lineup after not appearing yesterday. Kyle Stowers and Joe Mack are the only left handed hitters in the lineup, which sets up well for Brad Lord. Max Meyer has been great for the Fish this year and will get the ball today.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 1:05 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
A sweep to fall under .500 would be very demoralizing, which makes today a big game. The Nats go on a west coast trip after this, so they will want to have some good vibes heading on to that long flight. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
The Colorado Rockies’ rookie first baseman, TJ Rumfield, was honored on Wednesday morning as Major League Baseball named him the National League Rookie of the Month for May. He’s the eighth Colorado player to win the award since its inception in 2001, and the first since Nolan Jones in September 2023.
Rumfield, 26, slashed .310/.400/.483 with an .883 OPS and a 139 wRC+ while swatting four home runs and collecting 12 RBI, leading all qualified NL rookies in nearly every category.
The trade with the New York Yankees to acquire Rumfield has continued to pay dividends for the Rockies, as he has cemented himself as a staple in the Rockies’ lineup thanks to his keen approach and ability to make contact. May was just another step forward after an already impressive start to the season in April.
In 25 games last month, Rumfield failed to collect a hit in just six games. He had six multi-hit games, including four three-hit games. His power stroke arrived early in the month, with three home runs through his first 10 games, but tapered off as the month progressed.
His vision at the plate was on full display as he led the Rockies with 10 walks during the month while also striking out just 14 times in 100 plate appearances. Rumfield had only two games in which he struck out more than once.
Rumfield is now batting .286/.361/.456 on the season with eight home runs and 30 RBI over 59 games and is already off to a strong start to protect his title in June.
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The White Sox limp into the finale of this three-game set looking to avoid a sweep before finally getting a much-needed off-day. The timing couldn’t be better, because after Minnesota, the schedule turns downright cruel. Chicago’s next 12 games come against the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, and Yankees. Every one of those clubs is above .500, and Atlanta currently owns the best record in baseball.
Oddly enough, offense hasn’t been the biggest problem this week. Even without Munetaka Murakami in the lineup, the Sox have shown they can still score enough runs to compete. The pitching staff, however, has been another story. David Sandlin was knocked around in Monday’s opener, and Davis Martin endured his roughest outing of the season in Tuesday night’s loss. That leaves Erick Fedde with the task of stopping the skid.
Which version of Fedde shows up will go a long way toward deciding this game. The veteran righthander enters at 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA, but those numbers hide two very different seasons. In April, Fedde looked like a reliable mid-rotation arm, posting a 2.86 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while consistently giving at least five innings. May, on the other hand, was a disaster. He reached five innings only once, was tagged for a 9.00 ERA, and opponents hit .360 against him. With Noah Schultz expected back at some point, Fedde needs to start showing signs of life, or he may find himself on the waiver wire.
The Twins counter with righthander Taj Bradley, who has rebounded nicely after a rocky finish to last season following his arrival from Tampa Bay in the Griffin Jax trade. Bradley is 5-1 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, though he is coming off his shortest outing of the year after allowing four runs in four innings against Pittsburgh last week. Bradley attacks hitters with a power four-seamer that sits 96-97 mph, along with a cutter, splitter, and curveball. The White Sox would be wise not to go hunting that fastball. Bradley’s breaking-ball metrics are far less impressive than his fastball numbers, so the recipe is simple: stay disciplined, don’t chase, force deep counts, take the walks when they’re there, and make him throw secondary pitches in the strike zone. When the Sox get a mistake, they need to elevate it.
The lineup reflects that approach. Sam Antonacci gets another shot atop the order after continuing to provide quality at-bats and speed on the bases. Miguel Vargas remains one of the club’s hottest hitters and will bat second, while Andrew Benintendi slides into the DH spot. Colson Montgomery hits cleanup, and Chase Meidroth’s on-base ability will be important against a strikeout pitcher like Bradley, while Jacob Gonzalez, Tristan Peters, Drew Romo, and Rikuu Nishida round out a lineup that will need patience as much as power this afternoon.
For Minnesota, Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee headline a lineup that has already done plenty of damage in this series. The Twins have scored 15 runs over the first two games and will be looking to keep the pressure on Chicago’s pitching staff, searching for answers.
One more game before the off day. The Sox would like nothing more than to head home to face Atlanta with a win and avoid carrying a sweep into what may be the toughest stretch of their season.
First pitch is set for 12:40 p.m. CT on CHSN, with radio coverage on ESPN 1000.
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CHICAGO — Athletics manager Mark Kotsay is looking at his options for his rotation after Luis Severino was sidelined by a strained right shoulder.
The A’s brought up right-handers Kade Morris and Mason Barnett from Triple-A Las Vegas before a 2-1 victory at the Chicago Cubs. Right-hander Michael Kelly and left-hander Jacob Lopez were sent down, and right-hander Brooks Kriske was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Morris, one of the team’s top pitching prospects, is looking to make his major league debut. Barnett pitched two scoreless innings for the A’s on April 19 against the Chicago White Sox.
“We’ve worn the bullpen down a little bit,” Kotsay said. “But they’ll provide some length right now and we’ll make a decision, you know, which one of them gets an opportunity going forward to fulfill one of the vacancies in our rotation right now.”
Severino, 32, was placed on the 15-day injured list after he pitched one inning in an 8-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Kotsay said Severino will be out for “a minimum four to six weeks at least and if not more.”
The A’s also are playing without right-hander Aaron Civale, who went on the 15-day IL because of shoulder tendinitis. Gage Jump was brought up from Las Vegas, and the left-hander pitched seven solid innings against the Cubs for his first career win in his second major league start.
“Tonight, you know, they just put swings on the ball and missed the barrel,” the 23-year-old Jump said. “The fastball was good, but I got to be able to land the breaking balls when I need them. That’ll bring more swing and miss, and that’s what I need right now. But I’ll take going deep in games.”
Lopez started a 13-8 loss to the Yankees, surrendering seven runs in two-plus innings. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 starts and two relief appearances for the A’s this year.
Following their series against the Cubs, the A’s begin a weekend set at Houston. Their next off day is on June 11.
Morris, a third-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft out of the University of Nevada, was acquired in a July 2024 trade with the New York Mets for Paul Blackburn. Morris went 5-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 11 starts for Las Vegas before his promotion.
“I think he’s throwing the ball well,” Kotsay said. “He’s a pitcher that pitches with a lot of emotion. I’m sure when he steps on that mound for the first time, there’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. ... The Triple-A season has gone pretty well for him. He has been performing at a pretty good clip.”
While the A’s are dealing with some injuries in their rotation, All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson is making his way back from a left shoulder injury. He is with the team in Chicago and could begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend.
“Obviously, Jacob feels good about where he’s at right now,” Kotsay said. “You know, this will be a couple days of pretty good work here, pregame.”
It’s a Paul Skenes Wednesday as the reigning CY Young Award winner takes the mound for the Pirates as they continue their three-game series against Yordan Alvarez and the Astros in Houston.
The Pirates brought their offense to the series opener scoring ten runs against former Pirate Mike Burrows (3-7) and four Houston relievers enroute to a 10-6 win. Oneil Cruz (15) and Brandon Lowe (14) each launched three‑run homers, while Endy Rodríguez (1) added a two‑run shot to help Pittsburgh erase an early deficit and roll to their fourth straight win and their seventh in their last ten games. Bubba Chandler (2-6) was not sharp, allowing four runs (three earned) over five innings and struck out but three but it was enough to earn the win. For the Astros, Yordan Alvarez continued his torrid power stretch with his 21st homer and three RBIs, but Houston couldn’t keep pace offensively.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been fueled by several hot hitters over the last 10 games. Endy Rodríguez leads the club with a .375 average, followed closely by Jared Triolo (.364) and Nick Gonzales (.357). Spencer Horwitz (.321) and Konnor Griffin (.317) have also been steady contributors, while Brandon Lowe (.275 with 3 HR) and Oneil Cruz (.244 with 4 RBI) have been their most reliable home run threats. As a result of this offensive surge, the Bucs have outscored their opponents in their last ten games by 13 runs.
For Houston, the problem has not been their bats. The offense has been steadier than their record suggests, and their top hitters over the last 10 games reflect that. Yordan Alvarez has been the centerpiece, going 11-for-35 with six home runs, continuing to sniff a run at the Triple Crown. As a team, the Astros have gone 6–4 over their last 10, posting a .227 average but outscoring opponents by 17 runs thanks to timely hitting.
Tonight’s pitching matchup features Paul Skenes (6-5, 2.89 ERA) and Spencer Arrighetti (7-1, 1.34 ERA). Skenes has yet to find his groove this season. He has been close to elite but at the same time almost pedestrian compared to his previous campaigns. Arrighetti, however, has been even better than the flame-throwing Skenes. He has been the bright spot on a dismal Astros’ staff, posting a 1.13 WHIP with 43 strikeouts.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
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NEW YORK — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was out of the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game against Cleveland because of a bone bruise in his upper right rib that he feels in his right shoulder, and he might miss a few days.
“He’s been kind of the last couple of weeks kind of dealing with some shoulder soreness, just kind of more nagging,” manager Aaron Boone said before the series opener against the Guardians. “Then over the weekend, the last couple of games in Sacramento, I think it became a little more than just that, where I noticed with some swings and stuff. It became a little more than just nagging. I think it was affecting him.”
Boone said tests on the team’s off day revealed the bruise. Judge met with team physician later Dr. Christopher Ahmad and following the 9-4 loss, Boone said Judge will see a specialist.
Judge had an rib injury in March 2020 when doctors discovered a stress fracture in his right rib. The injury occurred when he dove for a ball in September 2019, but Judge did not miss any time because of the injury because the 2020 season was delayed due to the pandemic.
“Tough to say,” Boone said. “We’ll look at it and that’s why we want a specialist to look at it too and just try and rule out anything or see if there’s something else to see.”
In March 2020, doctors discovered a stress fracture in his right rib, stemming from a dive he made in a game the prior September. He was shut down for two weeks, but the season was delayed until July due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Judge is hitting .248 and 17 homers and 38 RBIs. The three-time AL MVP has one homer in his last 18 games since May 10 and ended an 11-game homer and RBI drought with a game-ending, two-run drive in the ninth inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay on May 24.
Judge entered the game against Tampa Bay in a 1-for-24 slump that dropped his batting average to .246. He was hitless in 15 at-bats before singling in the first inning.
“I think probably something that’s been affecting him a little bit here recently, especially this weekend,” Boone said. “So, hopefully, it is something that we just get calmed down here and put it behind us.”
Judge won the batting title last season when he batted a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26-Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow sustained on a throw to home July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich injection and did not require offseason surgery, though he did not return to the outfield until Sept. 5.
When Judge was hurt last season, Giancarlo Stanton played 17 games in the outfield. Stanton has been out since April 24 with a strained right calf.
José Caballero made his 22nd career start in right field and third since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline.
Judge had started 52 of New York’s first 59 games in right field. Rookie Spencer Jones made four starts in right field before getting sent down May 23 and Cody Bellinger has started two games.
The Yankees said prospect Carlos Lagrange is being moved to the bullpen at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to possibly provide relief help at the major league level later this season.
“We definitely view him long term as a starter,” Boone said. “But in the 2026 lens, there’s a chance for him to potentially impact us out of the bullpen while not really disrupting anything moving forward.”
Lagrange is rated as New York’s fourth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and the No. 2 pitcher.
Lagrange is 0-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts. Across 49 innings, he has allowed 40 hits and 25 walks, striking out 63 while holding opponents to a .215 batting average.
The 23-year-old is averaging 98.9 mph on fastballs this season and has topped out at 103.0 mph on a fastball after spending time with the Yankees at spring training.
“It’s electric stuff,” Boone said. “The exciting thing for me was, really being around him for the first time, seeing the person and the competitor.”
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Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement has a knack for making contact at the plate, and he is poised for another productive day offensively with Grant Holmes on the mound tonight for the Atlanta Braves.
That makes Clement Over 1.5 total bases my favorite play for today’s Blue Jays vs. Braves predictions and MLB picks for Wednesday, June 3.
Ernie Clement enters Wednesday's matchup leading the American League with 70 hits while recording a hit in 14 of his last 15 games with a 1.041 OPS.
His hitting profile matches up well against Atlanta Braves starter Grant Holmes, who relies on his slider with a 48% usage rate against right-handed hitters.
Clement owns a .348 average and a .432 slug-rate against the slider.
Additionally, Holmes relies on getting consistent whiffs and chases on that slider to get his outs.
That’s hard to do against Clement.
Clement chases pitches outside the zone more than almost any hitter in baseball at a 44.9% clip; however, Clement sits in the 94th percentile in whiff and 99th percentile in strikeout rating. Which means he’s able to get to balls outside the zone and put them in play, which is why he owns a 75.3% chase-contact rate.
I’d play Clement Over 1.5 bases up to +120.
COVERS INTEL: Clement’s consistency at the plate has resulted in a 190 WRC+ over his last 15 outings, averaging 2.3 total bases per game. Nathan Lukes owns a .440 batting average and a 195 WRC+ in his last 29 at-bats since returning from the IL for Toronto and has cleared his 0.5 hits total in seven straight outings.
Another value bet is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Under 0.5 strikeouts. He’s cleared this total 12 times in his last 15 outings and ranks in the 97th percentile in strikeout rate this season, with just a 13% K-rate against the slider.
Holmes has given up 11 home runs this season, including four in his last two starts.
He’s allowing a lot of hard contact this year, ranking in the 17th percentile in hard hit rate this season, with six homers coming off his fastball.
Enter Kazuma Okamoto, who leads the Jays with 13 home runs, most of which off four-seamers, and has the hardest hit rate on the team, ranking in the 95th percentile in baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Under in 20 of their last 30 away games (+10.35 Units / 29% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Braves.
| Location | Truist Park, Cumberland, GA |
| Date | Wednesday, 6-3-2026 |
| First pitch | 7:15 p.m. ET |
| TV | BravesVision, SN1 |
| Blue Jays starting pitcher | Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.65 ERA) |
| Braves starting pitcher | Grant Holmes (3-2, 3.95 ERA) |
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Jonah Tong is heading back to Triple-A Syracuse.
The Mets are optioning Tong following his rough outing on Tuesday night in Seattle. The Mets are in need of a fresh arm out of the bullpen, making Tong an obvious choice to be sent down.
In a corresponding move, Joey Gerber was recalled.
Pitching in a bulk reliever role on Tuesday, Tong allowed five runs (four earned) in 3.1 innings, striking out four and walking two while throwing 83 pitches to record 10 outs.
The young right-hander has made three bulk reliever appearances for the Mets since getting called up in late May, pitching to a 3.60 ERA in 10.0 innings.
The Mets' rotation is still in a state of flux, with David Peterson and Sean Manaea bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. So Tong could theoretically get called back up to pitch again in the near future, though he must remain in the minors for at least 10 days unless he's replacing an injured player.
With just over one-third of the 2026 MLB season in the rearview, the Mets find themselves in the same position they were in at the end of the 12-game losing streak that sent their season into a spiral they haven't emerged from.
They were nine games under .500 ahead of play on April 22, and they're nine games under .500 ahead of play on June 3 -- with a record of 26-35.
The Mets were better in May, going 16-12. But even amid a relatively positive month, they mixed in a five-game losing streak against the Marlins and Reds. And New York has started June by dropping two games to the Mariners, with the first loss due to a lack of offense and the second one due to poor pitching and sloppiness in the field.
So it goes.
It feels like the Mets have rescued their season from the brink a few times already, and it won't be a surprise if they do it again.
But the most important question isn't whether they can avoid slipping hopelessly out of it before June ends. Rather, it's whether the Mets can string together enough wins before the trade deadline to avoid becoming sellers in a year where they were expected to be World Series contenders.
As the Mets try to do that, let's assess what put them in this spot...
Underperformance and injuries have been the two key factors, but the one that has been the most glaring is the sloppiness.
The physical errors, including a leaky right side of the infield consisting of Mark Vientos and a badly regressing Marcus Semien, have been bad enough. But the mental ones, including being out of position, not backing up home plate, forgetting how many outs there are, or not coming forcefully enough through the bag on double plays, have been hard to figure.
In addition to the mistakes has been a seeming lack of accountability at times.
Not to pile on Vientos, but after going 0-for-4 on Tuesday (dropping his OPS to .633) and making a costly error at first base, he cited "bad luck" for his offensive struggles while noting he's got to give himself "a little bit of props." Regarding his defensive issues, Vientos said he feels he's been doing "pretty good" at first base. In actuality, he's been in the 8th percentile when it comes to OAA.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player being positive and believing in himself. But Vientos' comments seemed peculiar given the circumstances -- and given his remarks earlier this season after he ran through a stop sign at third base.
When it comes to underperformance, it has hit a number of the Mets' key offensive pieces, with Bo Bichette's difficulties being the most painful.
Bichette, who entered this season with a career OPS of .806, has a .570 OPS this season. It isn't rare for a player to have an adjustment period in his first season in New York and/or his first year with a new team after signing a big deal, but the drop-off from Bichette has been hard to fathom.
Brett Baty (83 OPS+ this year after a 110 OPS+ in 2025) has also regressed. Meanwhile, even though Francisco Lindor started to turn it on before going down with a serious calf injury on April 22, his OPS+ is just 91.
About those injuries...
The Mets have been decimated, with Lindor and Juan Soto being in the lineup together just 11 times this season -- Lindor suffered his injury during the game when Soto returned from a three-week absence due to his own calf injury that coincided with New York's big losing streak.
New York also lost Francisco Alvarez to a torn meniscus he sustained while swinging the bat, and has been without Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. for the majority of the season.
Both Polanco and Robert have checkered injury histories, making it fair to question David Stearns' team-building strategy. But it's also fair to note that the Mets being without four of their regular offensive players at the same time for a huge chunk of the season was not possible to forecast.
Also impossible to forecast was losing Clay Holmes to a fractured fibula after getting hit by a liner on May 15. At the time, Holmes had been New York's best starting pitcher and one of the best pitchers in baseball, with a 2.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 52.2 innings.
Holmes' absence, in addition to the struggles and injury issues of Kodai Senga and the inability of David Peterson to succeed in a starting rolehas thrown a rotation that already wasn't providing enough innings into a bit of disarray.
Soto has been tremendous, slashing .296/.385/.574 with 13 homers in 44 games. His .959 OPS is tops in the National League.
Carson Benge, who essentially replaced the traded Brandon Nimmo in the lineup, has been terrific since getting acclimated to the majors.
In 37 games since April 23, Benge is hitting .309/.378/.475 while working impressive at bats, smacking the ball to all fields, and starting to hit for more power.
Benge's defense in right field has also been a plus, with him in the 72nd percentile in OAA and the 98th percentile in arm strength.
Speaking of defense, the emergence of A.J. Ewing in center field has been a sight to see. Ewing has been a flash in the outfield, laying out for improbable catches while being fearless going back on balls that result in him having to crash into the wall.
Jared Young (142 OPS+ in a small sample size) has also been a bright spot as he fills in at first base and DH.
In the rotation, Nolan McLean began the season on an All-Star track before hitting a two-game hiccup. But he started to right the ship his last time out, and is one of the most important players for the Mets going forward.
Christian Scott (2.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 11.3 K/9) has excelled in what is his first year back after having Tommy John surgery, and is emerging as a potential long-term answer in the rotation.
The bullpen has also been solid, especially Luke Weaver (who hasn't allowed a run since April), Brooks Raley (1.61 ERA), and Huascar Brazoban (2.35 ERA).
It's been a bit of a mixed bag for Devin Williams, but his ERA is badly skewed by a performance against the Marlins on May 24 when he allowed four runs in just one-third of an inning. Aside from that outing, Williams has been unscored upon in 13 appearances dating back to April 26. Overall, he has struck out 31 batters in 20 innings -- a rate of 14.0 per nine.
The Mets should get Polanco back in a few days and could have Alvarez in the fold soon after.
As far as calling up more prospects, New York has pushed nearly all of those buttons.
When Polanco returns, he'll be mainly a DH, which could lead to a configuration where Young gets the bulk of the time at first base.
Lindor has been progressing and could theoretically be back in a few weeks, which would provide an enormous jolt to the offense.
Will the Mets still have a season to salvage by the time Lindor gets back?
If they're able to survive their current road trip and rise to the occasion when they return home to face the Cardinals and Braves, the Mets can still make something of this season. At the very least, they would make things interesting this summer and avoid a trade deadline sell-off.
If not?
This year would likely resemble the 2023 campaign, when the Mets traded Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and others ahead of the deadline when they determined they were unlikely to reach the playoffs.
What that kind of sell-off would look like in 2026 is unclear, but it's fair to believe every pending free agent would be available. That includes Freddy Peralta and potentially Holmes, who has a player option for 2027.
In our current data-driven era of baseball, pitch framing has emerged as the single most impactful facet of catcher defense. Stealing strikes by presenting borderline pitches in the zone is a skill that far outweighs blocking dirtballs or stopping the run game in terms of overall impact. It took a while for front offices to fully realize that fact, but those who watched José Molina behind the plate probably had a good sense of the defensive revolution that had yet to come.
Molina was more than your average backup catcher and brother of possible Hall of Fame Yadi and eldest Bengie: he was a masterful framer and pitch-caller who helped teams win a few subtle nudges at a time. While he only played 181 games in pinstripes, his impact outweighed that modest total—and his tenure concluded with a World Series win.
José Benjamin Molina
Born: June 3, 1975 (Bayamon, PR)
Yankees Tenure: 2007-09
Molina was the middle child of three boys born into a baseball obsessed family—all of whom would grow up to become catchers in Major League Baseball. Bengie, the oldest, graduated high school the first year Puerto Rican players became draft-eligible, but ultimately went undrafted through both high school and college, leaving him disillusioned and ready to quit baseball in 1993. But José, whose own star was rising, intervened. José was set to try out for a pair of scouts for the Angels, and convinced Bengie to join him.
While José and Yadier had found their home behind the plate early on, Bengie only switched to the catching position as a result of this tryout. He didn’t have the footspeed to hack it as an outfielder or left-side infielder, but he’d shown promise as a catcher and the Angels signed him to a contract a few days after they had gotten a look at him. He had his younger brother to thank.
The same year he helped Bengie get into professional ball, José was drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round out of high school in Vega Alta. By the time the youngest brother Yadier was in his senior year of high school six years later, José had finally made the show with Chicago. He picked up his first two MLB hits in his debut against the Reds on September 6, 1999, then followed with his first RBI the following day.
Molina spent 2000 in Triple-A with the Cubs and was released at season’s end. Not content to finish with just 10 MLB games to his name, he signed with his brother’s organization, the Angels, in July of 2001. After earning another brief stint in the Majors that year, José would settle in as Bengie’s backup in July of 2002. Together, the Molina brothers would help the Angels capture their first and only World Series title in franchise history. José got into six playoff games, though he only received one at-bat.
José remained with the Angels mostly in a backup role for the next four full seasons and part of a fifth, even as Bengie departed to Toronto and the bat-first Mike Napoli succeeded him as starter. Despite a lack of thunder at the plate (he peaked in Anaheim with a 76 OPS+ in 2004), José’s defense made him sought after by other clubs seeking extra depth behind it. That included the Yankees, who, ahead of the 2007 Trade Deadline, acquired Molina for minor league pitcher Jeff Kennard. Molina would back up fellow Puerto Rico native Jorge Posada for the remainder of the year, while also hitting .318 in 29 games—not too shabby for a guy who usually didn’t hit much.
The Yankees fell painfully to Cleveland in the ALDS, then endured a down year by their lofty standards, missing the playoffs in 2008. That meant that the home run Molina hit on September 21st against Baltimore’s Chris Waters in the Yankees’ home finale would wind up as the very last home run in the history of The House That Ruth Built.
Molina played 100 games in 2008, the first time he had done so as a big leaguer, and he led the majors with a 44-percent caught-stealing percentage, nabbing an AL-best 33 of 42 baserunners.* Posada missed much of the year with a shoulder injury, and 36-year-old Iván Rodríguez only came aboard after the Trade Deadline. Pudge struggled and was not retained by the Yanks, but Molina continued on in the Bronx for 2009.
*More celebrated for his framing, Molina also had a good arm behind the plate, throwing out 36.8-percent of baserunners in his 15-year career.
Posada, of course, returned with a vengeance, hitting to a 125 OPS+ as the Bombers took aim at the Fall Classic. Molina, meanwhile, started serving as the personal catcher to new free agent acquisition A.J. Burnett—Burnett’s ERA with Molina behind the plate was over a run and a half better than with Posada, with whom he struggled to get on the same page. Manager Joe Girardi valued Posada’s bat, but he knew that to get the best out of his No. 2 starter, he had to sit the proud longtime Yankee in favor of the framing savant Molina.
The Burnett-Molina battery was up-and-down in their ensuing run to the World Series, but there were a few outstanding performances from A.J. In their first playoff game together, Burnett worked around erratic command to post six innings of one-run ball against the Twins in Game 2 of the ALDS. In Game 2 of the ALCS against the Angels, Burnett stifled the Halos to the tune of two runs on three hits over 6.1 frames.
Then came the duo’s finest work: World Series Game 2. Cliff Lee had overpowered the Bombers the previous night to give the defending champion Phillies a 1-0 series lead. The Yankees found themselves trailing in a series for the first time all postseason, and needed a big performance on the mound. They would get one from Burnett. Despite surrendering the initiative on an RBI single from Matt Stairs in the second, Burnett ensured the Phillies would get nothing more from him the rest of the night, striking out nine and completing seven dazzling innings. Four of those punchouts, including the pair he picked up in the seventh, came on pitches on the corners beautifully framed by Molina. The defensive whiz got an out on his own in the fourth as well, picking Jayson Werth off first base in the fourth.
Backed by that remarkable effort on the mound and behind the dish, the Yankees won Game 2 to tie the World Series. They went on to take Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia and withstood a Game 5 blowup from Burnett on short rest to clinch their 27th title on their home field.
Molina would go on to play five more seasons in MLB—but he had played his last game with the Yankees. Those five years would, however, come with fellow AL East teams, giving the Yankees and their fans regular reunions with good ol’ José. First, the Blue Jays had him as a backup in 2010 and 2011 (peaking on offense in the latter with a 104 OPS+), then he finished up his career with three seasons (and almost 300 games!) with the Rays. This was right around the time that pitch framing became a little easier to quantify behind the scenes, and Tampa Bay felt that even though Molina was in his late thirties and would simply never hit much, he was still such a superb defender that it was worth making him their de facto starter.
Perhaps the best way to acknowledge what Molina brought to the table is to compare his annual Baseball Reference WAR to his FanGraphs WAR and Baseball Prospectus WARP. Baseball Reference does not incorporate framing, but the latter two sites have both done so since 2008.
Your mileage on framing might vary, but there’s no denying that Molina had a seismic defensive impact whenever he stepped behind the plate, especially in comparison to his non-fraternal contemporaries.
Molina featured on the second-place Team Puerto Rico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic—where he finally got to play with Yadi, now an All-Star with the two-time champion Cardinals—before retiring at the end of the 2014 campaign. He spent several years coaching in the Angels organization under GM Billy Eppler, who had helped bring him to the Yankees during his previous role as an assistant general manager. Since leaving in 2021, he’s skippered in the Mexican League and is currently the manager of Saraperos de Saltillo.
Molina’s defensive style was not totally of a piece with the framers of today. These days, MLB catchers are rather blatant with their frame jobs; since the strategy is so widely adopted now, one needn’t be overly subtle about it. Catchers like current Yankee starting backstop Austin Wells are quite proficient at stealing strikes. But they don’t quite do it as artfully as José Molina did. As Ben Lindbergh once detailed at Grantland, Molina was a true artisan of his craft, always positioned in the right spot to perfectly frame a borderline pitch, without having to move his glove more than a few inches. Growing up watching the Yankees clubs that Molina played on, I learned from early on that you can never have too many quality backstops.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
Today marks Munenori Kawasaki’s 45th birthday.
Kawasaki spent two full seasons and part of a third with the Blue Jays, appearing in 201 games and posting a .242/.326/.301 slash line with a 1.6 bWAR.
He also spent time with the Mariners and Cubs, and, of course, enjoyed 12 seasons in Japan’s Pacific League.
But what truly made him a fan favourite wasn’t his play—it was his infectious personality.
Happy birthday, Munenori.
Today, Jose Molina celebrates his 51st birthday.
Molina was the quintessential good-glove, light-hitting catcher.
Over 15 big league seasons with five teams, Molina spent 2010 and 2011 with the Jays, appearing in 112 games and hitting .263/.323/.396 with 9 home runs—his best offensive numbers with any club (94 OPS+ compared to his career mark of 64). Maybe Cito’s coaching helped.
Across 947 MLB games, Molina hit .233/.282/.327 with 39 home runs, playing for the Cubs, Angels, Yankees, Jays, and Rays. His defensive prowess kept him in the majors—he threw out 37% of base stealers and was highly regarded by pitchers. His brothers, Yadier and Bengie, were also major league catchers. (Bengie, who arguably drew the short straw with names, also had a brief stint with the Jays.)
Happy birthday, Jose.
Nelson Liriano turns 62 today.
Liriano played for the Blue Jays from 1987 until midway through the 1990 season.
In his rookie year, he appeared in 37 games, hitting .241/.310/.342, and somehow even received a Rookie of the Year vote—perhaps for rescuing a writer’s cat from a tree.
In 1988, he played 99 games, hitting .264/.297/.333. The following year, he appeared in 132 games and played 3 more in the ALCS loss to the A’s. In 1990, after 50 games with the Jays, he was traded to the Twins for John Candelaria at the end of July.
Overall, Liriano appeared in 318 games for Toronto, batting .251/.311/.345 with 11 home runs, 44 stolen bases, and a 2.2 bWAR.
After leaving Toronto, he played for the Twins, Royals, Rockies, Pirates, and Dodgers. Over 11 seasons, he hit .260/.324/.366 with 25 home runs and 26 triples—an unusual feat to have more triples than homers over such a long career.
Liriano was essentially a replacement-level player: average defensively, a bit below average with the bat, but his reliability earned him 823 major league games.
That stretch of light-hitting second basemen—Garth Iorg, Manny Lee, and Liriano—helped explain why the Jays eventually traded for Roberto Alomar.
Happy birthday, Nelson.
It’s also Eric Lauer’s 31st birthday.
Lauer had a very good 2025 season but a terrible start to 2026, which led to his DFAed. The Dodgers picked him up, and he’s had two good starts for them. I see that he had a couple of his fastballs up to 94 mph, but was normally in the 92 range.
Happy birthday, Eric.
The Dodgers (39-22) tied up the series with a 6-5 win on Tuesday, but have two games left with the Diamondbacks (32-28). Shohei Ohtani and Zac Gallen take the mound for game three of the four game series between the NL West opponents.
Los Angeles is 4-1 versus Arizona this season and have outscored the Diamondbacks, 23-17 in that five game span. The Dodgers are 2-2 in the past four games, but 8-2 in the last 10 as a bigger picture. If you go a little bigger to the previous 12 games, the Dodgers offense is hitting .270 as a team (5th) with 20 home runs (T-3rd) and 68 runs scored (4th). Los Angeles has scored at least four runs in eight of the last 12 contests.
Arizona is 1-4 in the last five games, but 6-4 in the past 10. The Diamondbacks are currently in a slump offensively. In that five game span, Arizona is hitting .207 (29th) with 18 runs scored (24th) and ranks 29th in OBA, SLG, and OPS. On the other hand, the pitching staff has held up their end of the bargain with a 3.83 ERA (12th) and 1.32 WHIP (15th).
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
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2026 stats: 59.1 IP, 3-4, 5.16 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 42 Ks, 18 BB
2026 Stats: 55.0 IP, 5-2, 0.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 61 Ks, 17 BB
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Nothing could possibly generate a headline Tuesday night when the worst American League team — the Angels — played host to the perhaps the worst National League team — the Colorado Rockies.
Except. . .
This.
A fly ball conked Angels right fielder Jo Adell on the head and bounced over the fence for a home run, reminding fans of José Canseco’s similar gaffe 33 years ago.
Adell chased TJ Rumfield’s fourth-inning drive onto the Angel Stadium warning track and reached up to catch it. The ball grazed his glove before bouncing squarely on his noggin and over the wall.
The ball caromed back into the outfield and Rumfield momentarily stopped at second base. But the umpires confirmed the home run, coupling Adell with Canseco in numerous social media posts.
Off his glove, off his head, and out!
— MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2026
One of the strangest home runs you've ever seen 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KaPpp1r9Cx
Canseco, the steroids-fueled, defensively challenged left fielder of the Texas Rangers, made a similar blunder on May 26, 1993, when a ball hit by Cleveland’s Carlos Martínez bounced off his head and over the wall.
Mike Trout presumably has witnessed every possible blooper, blunder and boo-boo in 16 seasons with the woeful Angels. The center fielder stood only a few feet from Adell when this one occurred and did not make himself available for comment afterward.
To his credit, Adell faced reporters.
“It looks like I’ve never played in the field before, which is disappointing, because it’s beyond the truth,” he said. “I’m the only one that really knows what happened. I was out there, and it happened to me, so it is what it is.
“It was kind of the icing on the cake, because I was [expletive] all the way around the whole day today.”
Read more:Plaschke: Memo to Arte Moreno: Sell your fallen Angels
Adell was hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice, in the 8-2 loss that dropped the Angels to 23-39, the worst record in the AL.
The play was emblematic of Adell’s seven-year career with the Angels, who made him a first-round draft pick in 2017. At first blush, his lifetime Wins Above Replacement of 0.3 would indicate that he’s little better than the fictional minor league “replacement player” to which MLB players are compared in calculating the statistic.
Yet Adell’s physical tools and occasional highlights scream stardom. He shouldn’t be an ordinary Jo. The antithesis of the embarrassing episode Tuesday night came less than two months ago when he robbed the Seattle Mariners of three home runs in one game.
“It was the Jo Show,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said at the time. “This guy works as hard as anybody I’ve ever been around. His work ethic, attention to detail, his desire to improve every single day. To see him do that, I don’t believe you’ll see that again.”
Suzuki, who was Adell’s teammate in 2021 and 2022, likely never thought he would see a fly ball bounce off the outfielder’s head and into the stands, the Jo Show shifting to Oh, No!
“I saw the play, but for me, Jo’s made great strides defensively from when I played with him,” Suzuki said Tuesday. “And obviously, he had the night he robbed three home runs. It was a tough play tonight, but at the same time, the strides that he’s made defensively have been great.”
Adell was considered a defensive liability early in his career and was saddled with a four-base error in 2020 when a fly ball hit his glove and went over the fence. But he steadily improved and became a Gold Glove Award finalist in 2024.
That didn’t stop the “Tarps Off” throng of shirtless fans at Angel Stadium from chanting Adell’s name after the gaffe against the Rockies. For his sake, they likely will revert to imploring Angels owner Arte Moreno to “sell the team” soon enough.
Adell might have to stay away from social media forever, but he would like to forget the ball bouncing off his head as soon as possible.
“That’s what we have to do,” he said. “I mean, there’s really no other way around it. Let it fester and tumble over, but these are plays I’ve made hundreds and thousands of times. I’ve got to just keep going, and as a team, we’ve got to keep going.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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The New York Yankees are favored again at home tonight, but my Guardians vs. Yankees predictions believe this number looks too heavy.
Gerrit Cole has been excellent in two starts back from elbow surgery, but the Cleveland Guardians bring a contact-heavy approach that will make him work.
Here are my free MLB picks for Wednesday, June 3.
I’m backing the Cleveland Guardians moneyline and would play it to +120.
This is the same matchup idea I used last night against Cam Schlittler: New York is lining up another arm whose success leans on chase, command, and swing-and-miss.
Gerrit Cole has opened with just over 12 scoreless innings, but that level is not sustainable while he rebuilds after elbow surgery.
Again, Cleveland has the second-lowest whiff rate at 22.9% and rarely chase, so the Guardians can again put balls in play, lengthen at-bats, and make a taxed favorite uncomfortable.
COVERS INTEL:Cleveland’s lineup has four projected hitters with strikeout rates of 13% or lower: Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, Brayan Rocchio, and David Fry.I see this as good to -110.
Cole is still Cole, and even though the Guardians will make him labor, this is still a guy who has allowed zero barrels since returning, with a 2.19 expected ERA. Cleveland’s contact profile is more annoying than explosive, after all, last night was the first time they scored more than four runs in 13 games.
On the other side, Gavin Williams’ contact quality is the concern, but his power stuff (88th percentile run value fastball) gives him a cleaner path against a less dangerous Yankees lineup as Aaron Judge remains sidelined.
The Guardians have hit the moneyline in 10 of their last 14 away games (+7.60 Units / 49% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Yankees.
| Location | Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY |
| Date | Wednesday, June 3, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:05 p.m. ET |
| TV | YES Network, CLEGuardians.TV |
| Guardians starting pitcher | Gavin Williams (8-3, 3.07 ERA) |
| Yankees starting pitcher | Gerrit Cole (1-0, 0.00 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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