Category: MLB

These clubs have appeared in 5 of the last 9 World Series.   Each have run into various road blocks in 2026, but the winner of this upcoming series could potentially springboard to new life in the second half of the season.   

Blue Jays Play By Play Man Dan Shulman joins us to discuss the Astros upcoming series at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.   

Q: Let’s start with George Springer.  Could he be turning the corner?  

A: George has looked better lately.  He fouled a ball off his toe earlier this season, fractured it, missed 17 games, and it seemed to take him a while to get his timing back when he returned.  But lately there have been signs that he is turning it around.  He is drawing a lot of walks lately, and if the power stroke returns too, that would really help the Jays. 

Q: For the Astros, injuries have drastically hindered their season thus far.   What have been the biggest hurdles for the Blue Jays?

A: They have been decimated by injuries too.  Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk both suffered injuries very early in the season.  Barger sprained his ankle, returned for one game, and suffered an elbow injury on a throw. He has only appeared in 9 games.  Kirk fractured his thumb in early April and just returned last week. 

As mentioned, Springer was on the IL and so was Nathan Lukes.  Daulton Varsho is on the IL now with a wrist issue. 

On the pitching side, Jose Berrios underwent Tommy John surgery, Cody Ponce tore his ACL, Dylan Cease was on the IL for 15 days, Max Scherzer missed more than a month and Shane Bieber is just now nearing a return after some arm fatigue following his Tommy John surgery.  So they have had more than their fair share of bullpen games as they try to find 5 starters.  They’re getting healthier now but it’s been a huge part of their struggles. 

Q: If you had to predict, which Jays “will” or “should” make the All Star Game next month in Philadelphia?

A: I think Ernie Clement should and will.  He’s had a very good season, and in my mind, deserves to be the starter at 2nd base for the American League.

Louis Varland has been one of the best relievers in the majors, he should be there and I think he will be.  I think Dylan Cease should as well, and likely will.  Even with a brief stint on the IL, he’s been one of the better starting pitchers in the AL. 

Even though he’s not having an All-Star caliber season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could get voted in. 

Q: Lastly, it’s been a roller coaster with the pitching rotation which Astros fans can relate to.    What’s the latest?

A: They need to find 5 healthy, effective starters.  Cease and Gausman are a great 1-2 punch. Trey Yesavage has had his ups and downs this year but still gives them a quality starting pitcher.  A healthy Bieber would be a great addition.  The bullpen has been worked hard, Fluharty and Fisher are among MLB leaders in appearances.  But for the most part, it is a strong bullpen.

Happy Monday, everyone! We hope you had a restful weekend and are ready to take on the week ahead. We’ve got lots of fun little news bites from over the weekend to ease you into your Monday grind. On the good news side of things, Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka welcomed their second child and announced the birth over the weekend. In true Ohtani fashion, he then his a massive home run on Father’s Day Eve to help the Dodgers win.

The Phillies continue to have an unprecedented resurgence that should honestly make any team that has struggled in recent months (not naming names…) realize that there is room to turn things around still. This time, they did it with crazy performances from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. On the less cheerful side of things, Justin Verlander was scratched from his scheduled Sunday start due to a hamstring injury and will be heading right back to the injured list.

We’ve got all that and more below, so let’s get right into it!

• Michael Baumann looks at the Tigers’ strange and perhaps misguided use of their bench players when it comes to pinch-hitting.
• Matt Martell weighs the ins and outs of whether or not to use the ABS challenge.
• Rafael Devers tried to wave away a pinch-runner and the Giants were forced to respond after the fact. Story by Perla Paredes.
• Making some bold trade deadline predications. (SI)
• Justin Verlander was meant to make his return to the majors this weekend, but his start was scratched after a hamstring issue appeared during a bullpen session. It now appears he’ll be out several more weeks. (ESPN)
• Oh what a night! Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs in an inning and Bryce Harper hit for the cycle. Remember when the Phillies were struggling? Because they don’t. (AP)
• Matt Gelb looks at whether it was a heavier bat that helped Harper pull off that cycle. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Some sweet Father’s Day insights from MLB dads.

• Dan Szymborski looks at some interesting potential call-up candidates.
• Shohei Ohtani just became a dad for the second time, and wasted no time at all celebrating that fact with a massive home run. On Father’s Day Eve no less. (MLB)
• Kenley Jansen may be the MLB active saves leader, but that doesn’t mean he was chill when it came to his best friend setting a saves record for the World Cup. Story by Jason Beck.
• Robert Gasser is feeling great after his first win since 2024. (AP)
• Eric Koreen has a touching post about what his father’s love of the White Sox taught him about baseball and life. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Weird stats gonna do their weird stat thing.

• Michael Baumann assesses whether the end has finally arrived for Salvador Perez.
• Martin Gallegos offers a contender for the catch of the year.
• Got beef? Tarik Skubal and Mike Vasil got into a verbal altercation this weekend, now we have more details on what went down. Story by Tim Capurso.
• The Marlins have DFA’d the struggling Christopher Morel. They also moved Liam Hicks to the IL. (AP)
• Ken Rosenthal looks at what all the suitors for Tarik Skubal have in common. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• I don’t care if we shared this in a million posts, it’s the best thing ever and I’m subjecting you to it again.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and their ace Paul Skenes are in the midst of an all-time bad string of losses as after Saturday’s contest against the Colorado Rockies the club dropped their seventh straight with Skenes on the mound.

Skenes has been the center of criticism in this stretch with many questioning if he’s slipping in his third big league season. Many have cited his velocity being down, as his four-seamer averaged 98.8 mph as a rookie and 98.2 last season. This season Skenes is averaging 97 mph on his fastball. So there certainly has been a downtick, but the third year pitcher believes that he’s pitching better overall than he has in years past.

“I don’t think I’m necessarily the same pitcher I was my rookie year and last year,” Skenes said. “I do think I’m throwing better. I’m very happy with how I’ve been throwing. I think I’ve evolved. If you’re not getting better in this game, you’re getting worse. I feel I’m better than I was last year. I think there are some numbers that show that; others don’t. But the gut feeling is I’m better.”

In this stretch of losses Skenes certainly has not been dominating opposing hitters the way that fans have grown accustomed to, especially the third time through a lineup where his efficiency starts to slip severely. The commentary team during Skenes’ outing against the Houston Astros suggested that team’s game plans for trying to hit against Skenes could also be why the righty has struggled lately. When Skenes is on the mound, no matter what the count may be, batters are instantly going into protect mode. By taking this approach at the plate the opposing offense is effectively playing a game of attrition. In a batter’s first and sometimes even second time at the plate they’re not necessarily looking for base hits first as much as they’re looking to wear Skenes down by making it longer at bats, where they’re getting six or more pitches.

Skenes stylistically already racks up a lot of pitches because of the swing and miss work that he implements into his game. That aggressive style compounded with batters looking to draw out long at bats has Skenes getting into high pitch counts early and often. In his last five starts Skenes has thrown 103+ pitches in each contest and gave up two earned runs in each but one of those last five outings. Aside from his games against Philadelphia and Toronto in the last seven starts, Skenes has been fairly efficient in not giving up a lot of runs, but he is certainly being pushed to his limits on the mound.

The team as a whole has largely not been great at supporting Skenes when he’s on the mound. The team’s offense is often dormant in these matchups, and the lack of run support has not helped. Against Philly on May, 17 the Pirates scored zero runs. Against Toronto on May, 23 the Pirates scored two runs and repeated the same low on May, 28 against the Cubs. In Skenes’ start against the Astros the Pirates did a decent job on offense by scoring nine runs, but lost the lead once Skenes came out of the game. Against Houston Skenes gave up one earned run, and three runs were scored during his time on the mound, but the Pirates lost 11-9, so that one is on the bullpen which is it’s own disaster zone right now. This trend of no offense continued in Skenes’ starts against the Dodgers, Marlins and Rockies.

Don Kelly seems to always field the worst possible lineup on nights that Skenes pitches, which isn’t helping matters either. Ryan O’Hearn is regularly missing from the lineup, while poor performers like Marcell Ozuna and Jared Triolo are consistently getting at bats. Henry Davis always catches for Skenes and he is mostly an offensive liability as well. The amount of prospects and random call ups that are on the field for Skenes starts is laughable too. While Skenes has had his own fair share of struggles this season, it’s fair to say that the best product is not always being put on the field to support him either.

Defensively the Pirates are not nearly as sound this year as they were last year either. O’Hearn is being asked to play mostly outside of his natural position, and there have been some shortcomings with him in right field. Oneil Cruz is still not a great defender in center field and to this point has not been able to make the out of the ordinary plays that a Gold Glove defender is capable of. The rotating cast in the outfield has not helped either, and the right side of the infield is average at best but certainly not great.

All things considered it could be a lot worst, as Skenes is still statistically right up there with the best pitchers in baseball, but there’s definitely a different feel around him and his most recent starts. Still though his Pirates’ teammates are confident in his abilities with Brandon Lowe saying he’s still pitching incredibly.

“That’s one of the things that everybody in baseball has been clouded by: how great Paul has been in his first two years,” Lowe said. “When you can look at a guy who has a (2.85) ERA, and the media says he’s having a down year … it’s pretty incredible, the numbers he’s been able to put up and what he’s been able to do, for people to question his ability at this point in the season.”

Some have also pointed to Skenes’ involvement in the World Baseball Classic and the hangover period that many players from the tournament have experienced, but Skenes stands by his conditioning and the work he continues to put in, and is not concerned by a perceived slip or downtick in velocity on his pitches.

“I mean, you can still blow it by them with 97 compared to 98,” Skenes said. “I’m feeling better after starts compared to the last couple years. If it weren’t for a couple short outings, I’d have more innings under my belt. I’m conditioned to throw more innings than I have been throwing.”

Kelly echoes his confidence in the work that Skenes does to keep his body in top shape during the season.

“I think we are trying to keep it in perspective,” Kelly said. “I think Paul has still done that, given us a chance to win, even though he hasn’t been maybe at the exceptional level he has been all of his career. He’s had stretches where he hasn’t been like that throughout the last two years. I think the one thing that we do know: The preparation, the work ethic, the man and how he goes about it, he’s always going to give everything he’s got.”

Skenes is scheduled to start against the Cincinnati Reds in a three game home stand following the team’s next series against the Seattle Mariners.

Hello, friends.

The confusing Orioles have done it again. They wrapped up their weekend series against the MLB-best Los Angeles Dodgers, who also happen to be two-time defending champions, by putting a 12-1 thumping on their opponent. They head to a different part of the metro area to face the AL-worst Angels with a series victory under their belts. They blew Friday’s game while looking like a team that could surely lose 100 games and battled back from that, staving off another almost-morale-draining loss on Saturday before delivering the Sunday beatdown for the series win.

As I listened to the Orioles radio broadcast wrapping up the win, Brett Hollander commented that the Orioles have been on the verge of grasping momentum a number of times this season and they have never quite managed to actually do it. Here they are again, with a real chance to do it. They can feel good about themselves after what they did against the Dodgers overall, even if we still feel bad about them losing that Friday game, and they only have to keep their foot on the gas against the Angels to keep the momentum going.

One thing I keep coming back to is that they’ve yet to win more than three games in a row. Five different times this year, they’ve won three straight and failed to stack a fourth. Right now, they haven’t even won three in a row! They just won the last two against the Dodgers. Maybe they’ll play well tonight against the Angels – it’s another late night game, a 9:38 start, hopefully a better version of Kyle Bradish shows up. If they do that, maybe they’ll make it three in a row. Then they’d still have to win Tuesday to get four.

The Dodgers had not lost consecutive games in more than a month before the Orioles did this to them over the weekend! It is not a meaningless thing that the Orioles managed to win the last two games of the series over this weekend.

A frustrating thing about the 2026 Orioles is this never quite grasping momentum. Another way I’ve seen it put stands out to me from The Baltimore Banner’s Jon Meoli, who remarked that the team keeps getting back up after it gets knocked down, but they’d be a lot better off if they stopped getting knocked down in the first place. They sure would! They are just good enough and resilient enough to battle back after disappointment. They aren’t good enough to avoid the disappointment. This year, that keeps you in the AL Wild Card race, at least up til now.

I still think they need to find a strong run later to make it. The only thing stopping them from being in the middle of doing that right now is… them. Perhaps most likely the bullpen, though there are also questionable parts of the rotation, and the offense remains enigmatic in the aggregate. It is nice to see so many players surging who struggled early on. We are going to need to see a couple more guys join that club to really solidify the possibility of a strong stretch of play.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

The Orioles outplayed the best team in baseball. Now what? (The Baltimore Sun)
This is the roughly $160 million question.

Dean Kremer and Cade Povich start rehab assignments (Baltimore Baseball)
These guys have been out for long enough that they should probably get the full length allowed for rehab assignments. It’s easier to imagine Kremer reclaiming his spot than Povich right now.

Father’s Day ‘very special’ for Alby – O’s manager, son and dad of 3 (Orioles.com)
Easier to post a feel-good Father’s Day story after the Orioles won their game on Father’s Day.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2022, Austin Hays hit for the cycle against the Nationals, managing to do so in a game that was called off in the sixth inning due to rain. The most recent cycle for the Orioles came when Cedric Mullins got his on May 12, 2023.

One current Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 31st to Tyler O’Neill. There are also former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018 infielder Engelb Vielma, 2001 outfielder Willie Harris, 1996 pitcher Brian Sackinsky, 1978 outfielder Mike Anderson, and 1961-67 outfielder Russ Snyder. Today is Snyder’s 92nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: explorer George Vancouver (1757), soldier and author Erich Maria Remarque (1898), author Octavia Butler (1947), actress Meryl Streep (1949), singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper (1953), basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler (1962), and pro football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (1971).

On this day in history…

In 1633, Galileo Galilei was forced by the Catholic Church to recant his accurate statement that the Earth orbits the sun, rather than the other way around.

In 1812, Napoleon’s France declared war on Russia. This did not turn out to be a good idea for him.

In 1941, Nazi Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa, a surprise attack and invasion against Russia, with whom it had a non-aggression pact. Over a longer timeframe than Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, this did not turn out to be a good idea for the invaders.

In 1969, a section of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire, with one factor being the amount of pollution in the water. This is one of the substantial stories that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 22. Have a safe Monday. Go O’s1

Last Week’s Results

• Tuesday: Brewers 2, Guardians 1
• Wednesday: Brewers 9, Guardians 4
• Thursday: Guardians 4, Brewers 2
• Friday: Braves 3, Brewers 2
• Saturday: Braves 4, Brewers 3
• Sunday: Brewers 9, Braves 4

Division Standings

• Brewers 46-29
• Cardinals 41-34 (5.0 GB)
• Cubs 40-37 (7.0 GB)
• Pirates 39-39 (8.5 GB)
• Reds 37-39 (9.5 GB)

Last Week

• Brewers: 3-3
• Cardinals: 3-3
• Cubs: 3-3
• Pirates: 3-3
• Reds: 4-2

Top Pitching Performance of the Week

As usual, the Brewers got good starts this week from Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. But I’m going to give the week’s Brew Crew Ball honor to Robert Gasser, the only starter who pitched twice this week. On Tuesday, Gasser went 5 2/3 innings, allowed only two hits, and didn’t allow a run in a game the Brewers won 2-1. On Sunday in Atlanta, Gasser was gifted an early lead and pitched to six solid innings in which he allowed two runs on four hits and matched a season high with seven strikeouts. In total, Bobby Gas had a 1.54 ERA with 12 strikeouts, allowing three walks and six hits in 11 2/3 innings.

Top Hitting Performance of the Week

It wasn’t an especially explosive week for the Brewer offense, which scored three runs or fewer in four of six games. But there are a couple of people worth mentioning: William Contreras, on the back of a four-hit Sunday, hit .350 with a .935 OPS in 20 at-bats. Andrew Vaughn had a smaller workload but led the team in OPS after going 4-for-12 with two doubles and three walks. Sal Frelick, working on turning around a poor start to the season, went 4-for-11 (.364) with two doubles and four RBI.

But for the sake of the big picture, I’m going to give this week’s honor to the new guy, Cooper Pratt. Pratt will still encounter his struggles this year, surely, but given that he was expected to start as a low-offense, high-defense guy, he couldn’t have asked for a better start at the plate. Pratt is still looking for his first extra-base hit, but he went 7-for-19 (.368), knocked in a couple of runs, and walked twice. More importantly, he doesn’t really look overmatched.

Injury Notes & Roster Moves

• The week’s biggest injury news was not good: it was determined that Quinn Priester, who has been dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome since spring training, will need season-ending surgery. He’ll be out 8-10 months, giving him a chance of being ready for spring training next season.
• In happier injury news, Brandon Woodruff made a successful rehab appearance for High-A Wisconsin on Tuesday, and it was announced that his next appearance will come in the majors. He is expected to start against the Reds on Monday.
• Before Tuesday’s game, last weekend’s news that Pratt was being promoted became official. To make space on the roster, Luis Rengifo was designated for assignment. If he goes unclaimed and the Brewers are unable to make a trade, he has accrued enough service time that he can refuse an assignment to Triple-A Nashville and become a free agent.

On Deck

• Monday: @ Reds (6:10 p.m.)
• Tuesday: @ Reds (6:10 p.m.)
• Wednesday: @ Reds (6:10 p.m.)
• Thursday: Off Day
• Friday: vs. Cubs (6:45 p.m.)
• Saturday: vs. Cubs (6:10 p.m.)
• Sunday: vs. Cubs (1:10 p.m.)

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37)

SYRACUSE 5, NORFOLK 3 (BOX)

Fresh off his solid outing earlier in the week, Xavion Curry tossed another five respectable innings, allowing a pair of runs. Both runs came in the top of the fifth, giving the Tides a 2-1 lead, but Syracuse responded in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own, both on a Tyrone Taylor single into left. Heyden Senger and Nick Morabito both added insurance runs, the former on an RBI double and the latter on a solo homer, his eighth of the year.

Syracuse came into this one at an even 37-37, and because yesterday’s game was the conclusion of the first half of the International League season, Syracuse becomes the only minor league affiliate to end their respective first half above the .500 mark.

·  REHAB ALERT SS Francisco Lindor: 0-4, R, BB, SB (1)

·  REHAB ALERT 3B Ronny Mauricio: 1-3, BB, K, CS (1)

·  REHAB ALERT CF Tyrone Taylor: 1-3, 2 RBI, K

·  RF Sam Biller: 0-1, K

·  1B Ryan Clifford: 0-4

·  LF Nick Morabito: 1-3, R, HR (8), RBI, BB

·  RF-CF Cristian Pache: 0-3, BB, 2 K

·  2B Yonny Hernández: 3-4, 2 R, 3 2B

·  C Hayden Senger: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K

·  DH Kevin Parada: 2-4, 2B, RBI

·  RHP Xzavion Curry: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, W (2-0)

·  LHP Nate Lavender: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, H (3)

·  RHP Daniel Duarte: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (2)

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent CF Tyrone Taylor on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent SS Francisco Lindor on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42)

NEW HAMPSHIRE 5, BINGHAMTON 4 / 11 (BOX)

Through eight innings, Binghamton managed just a single hit- a Wyatt Young double- and four walks, failing to score. Luckily for them, for eight innings, New Hampshire had the same problem, logging a whopping four hits and three walks but failing to score. Eddie Micheletti Jr. changed that in the top of the ninth, leading off the inning with a grueling at-bat against Saul Garcia that went 10 pitches and ended with a solo home run into right-center. In the bottom of the ninth, Nick Lorusso singled sandwiched around outs by Jose Ramos and JT Schwartz, bringing the fiery-hot Vincent Perozo to the plate with a man on second. The backstop attacked the very first pitch he was and drove a line drive into right center to bring Lorusso home, tying the game up 1-1 down to their last out. After Wyatt Young popped out, into extra innings we went. From there, all hell broke loose. Both teams, who had trouble scoring for virtually the entire game, went crazy, with both teams scoring three runs apiece in the tenth. In the top of the eleventh, the Fisher Cats were able to score a run off of the erstwhile Wyatt Young, who switched in from shortstop to the mound, while Binghamton failed in the bottom of the inning; ballgame.

·  C Chris Suero: 0-1, R, 3 BB, HBP, SB (19)

·  RF Matt Rudick: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB

·  CF Jose Ramos: 1-5, 2 RBI, K

·  3B Nick Lorusso: 1-5, R, K

·  1B JT Schwartz: 0-5

·  DH-LF Vincent Perozo: 1-5, RBI, 2 K

·  SS-P Wyatt Young: 1-5, R, 2B, K

·  LF-2B Jaylen Palmer: 0-3, BB, 3 K

·  2B Nick Roselli: 0-4, 3 K

·  SS Kevin Villavicencio: 0-0

·  RHP R.J. Gordon: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Douglas Orellana: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Zach Peek: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, WP

·  RHP Wyatt Young: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, L (0-1)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/0-3)

WILMINGTON 5, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)

Neither team was able to do much for most of this contest, with both teams failing to score in the first five innings of the game and then both teams managing just a run each in the sixth. That pattern changed in the bottom of the eighth, when Gregori Louis and Bryce Jenkins combined to allow four runs, all charged to Louis. Suddenly down by a substantial margin with just three outs to play around with, Brooklyn went down meekly in the top of the ninth to end the game.

·  SS Mitch Voit: 1-3, R, BB, SB (24)

·  C Ronald Hernandez: 1-4, 2 K

·  DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-3, RBI, BB

·  CF John Bay: 0-3, K, HBP

·  2B Colin Houck: 0-4

·  RF JT Benson: 1-4, K, CS (3)

·  1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4

·  LF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3, BB, K

·  3B Taylor Darden: 0-3, BB

·  RHP Dakota Hawkins: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Tanner Witt: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Gregori Louis: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, L (1-1)

·  RHP Bryce Jenkins: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

ROSTER ALERT: 2B Taylor Darden assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/1-1)

DAYTONA 14, ST. LUCIE 5 (BOX)

The Tortugas scored eleven runs in the seventh inning. And that’s all I have to say about that.

·  SS Elian Peña: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K, HBP

·  CF Trey Snyder: 1-5, 2 K

·  3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, RBI, BB, K, SB

·  1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, R, RBI, BB

·  LF-2B Branny De Oleo: 1-4, RBI, K

·  C Chase Meggers: 0-4, 2 K

·  DH Simon Juan: 1-4, R, 3B, K

·  2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-3, RBI

·  LF Jackson Hauge: 0-1

·  RF Heriberto Rincon: 1-4, R, K

·  LHP Conner Ware: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Christian Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Elwis Mijares: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, WP, HBP, L (3-4), BS (2)

·  RHP Joe Scarborough: 0.0 IP, 0 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, W 2P

·  RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Joe Charles: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (14-19)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Tyrone Taylor

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Elwis Mijares, Joe Scarborough, Gregori Louis & Bryce Jenkins

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Jason Motte, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1914 – The Giants shade the Reds, 3-2, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th off Red Ames. Christy Mathewson gives up seven hits and no walks as the Giants increase their lead over the National League to four games. For the second year in a row, Matty will end the season with fewer walks than victories, the only pitcher ever to accomplish that, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 – Honus Wagner gets hit No. 2,000 in the 8th against Jake Weimer of the Reds, who win 4 0 over the Pirates.
• 1947 – Ewell Blackwell just misses pitching back-to-back no-hitters when Eddie Stanky of the Brooklyn Dodgers singles with one out in the ninth inning.
• 1951 – 20-year-old Willie Mays hits a 10th-inning home run, the first of his 22 extra-inning home runs, off 42-year-old Dutch Leonard of the Cubs.
• 1959 – At Kansas City, Mickey Mantle drives in six runs with a triple and two homers to lead New York to a 13-6 win.
• 1961 – Roger Maris leads the Yankees on an 8-3 thrashing of the A’s by belting his 27th homer of the year. Maris has now hit 20 homers in the past 30 days (May 24th to today), to tie the mark set by Ralph Kiner in 1947.
• 1962 – Stan Musial becomes the all-time total bases leader, raising his total to 5,864, in the first game against the Phillies. 
• 2002 – The scheduled game between St. Louis and the Cubs is postponed after 33-year-old pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead in his Chicago hotel room of an apparent heart attack.
• 2022 – One day after setting a personal best as a hitter with eight RBIs, Shohei Ohtani sets another one on the mound as he racks up 13 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over Kansas City.

Cubs Birthdays:Jason Motte*, Brant Brown, Jim Asbell. Also notable: Carl Hubbell HOF.

Today in history:

• 1934 – John Dillinger is informally named America’s first Public Enemy Number One.
• 1937 – Challenger Joe Louis KOs James J. Braddock in the eighth round at Chicago’s Comiskey Park for the world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1938 – Joe Louis scores a stunning 1st round KO of German Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium, NYC to retain his world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1949 – Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for National Boxing Association world heavyweight title, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1961 – Beatles record “Ain’t She Sweet”, “Cry for a Shadow”, “When the Saints Go Marching In”, “Why”, “Nobody’s Child” & “My Bonnie”, in Hamburg, Germany.
• 1963 – “Little” Stevie Wonder, aged 13, releases his first single “Fingertips” (first live non-studio recording to go to No. 1 on Billboard).
• 1969 – Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catches fire due to pollution.
• 1971 – Reprise Records releases “Blue”, Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell‘s 4th studio album.
• 1979 – Larry Holmes TKOs Mike Weaver in 12 rounds for heavyweight boxing title.
• 1981 – John McEnroe‘s famous “You cannot be serious” rant in first-round win over Tom Gullikson at Wimbledon.
• 2007 – Patrick Kane is selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
• 2011 – After hiding for 16 years, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California.

*pictured.

For the third time this month, the Detroit Tigers have won a series against a first-place team — this time, a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park punctuated by a 5-4 walk-off victory in extra innings on Sunday afternoon. The win bumped AJ Hinch and Co.’s home record to a robust 21-16 overall and 11-6 in June.

There is still a way to go before the team is back in the wild card race, but at least they no longer inhabit the American League Central cellar, which is now occupied by the Kansas City Royals.

The Motor City Kitties look to continue their home-field magic this week when the New York Yankees come to town for a three-game series starting on Monday. With a series win, they can make it four over first-place teams as the Yanks have overcome the Tampa Bay Rays to hold the top spot in the AL East.

Opening things up on the mound for Detroit is left-hander Framber Valdez, who posted his eighth quality start of the season last time out on the road against the Houston Astros. The 32-year-old gave his team six frames of one-run ball — which was unearned — on six hits and three walks while striking out six in what turned out to be a 4-2 loss.

For the Yankees, right-hander Gerrit Cole will climb the hill looking to tame the Tigers in his sixth start of the year. The 35-year-old got a late start to the 2026 campaign as he worked back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in March 2025. Three of Cole’s five appearances so far were quality starts, while both of his non-QS came against the Cleveland Guardians.

Here is how Valdez and Cole match up on Monday evening.

Detroit Tigers (33-44) vs. New York Yankees (46-30)

Time (ET): 6:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Pinstripe Alley
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 78: LHP Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57 ERA)

VALDEZ

COLE

The Dodgers won the World Series last year, and the year before that. Their lead is the largest in any division this year. That success, and the money that nourishes it, has battalions of fans beyond Los Angeles all but marching outside ballparks with picket signs reading “SALARY CAP NOW.”

It’s a reasonable thought: The Dodgers can’t possibly keep winning if they can’t keep outspending the competition.

Or can they?

“There are a lot of little things that happen behind the scenes that people don’t see,” pitcher Will Klein said. “I understand where people are coming from. It’s easy to be a fan of a smaller team and get mad at other teams outspending you.

“But I think there’s a level of care here, and wanting to win, that exceeds other groups.”

Read more:Emmet Sheehan struggles in the haze in Dodgers' first consecutive loss since May

The obvious disclaimer: Any team would be better with Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, at a combined price of $1.6 billion. The counter argument: The Angels had Ohtani and Mike Trout and, well, you know.

It takes a roster. In Klein and pitcher Eric Lauer, the Dodgers have done something they do well besides spend: develop valuable contributors out of players discarded by other teams.

The Dodgers grabbed Lauer last month, desperate to fill a hole in their starting rotation. The Toronto Blue Jays had cut him, and he would be joining his seventh major league organization. The logical thought: The Dodgers had found a healthy arm to eat up some innings until they could find someone better.

That still might happen. But Lauer, who is scheduled to start Monday, has put up a 3.22 earned-run average in four starts with the Dodgers. Four starts is a small sample size, but in that time, Lauer is a career league-average pitcher performing 28% above league average.

“They got me immediately,” Lauer said. “They figured me out right away, and they knew exactly what was going to help me.”

For Lauer, the changes affected his delivery, but the specifics were not as important as finding a kindred spirit in Connor McGuiness, the Dodgers’ assistant pitching coach.

“I’ve always had a really hard time explaining myself and what I do, because I think a little differently,” Lauer said.

“When I was with the Brewers, it was running joke that it was ‘the language of Lauer,’ because I would describe things so differently and feel things so differently that, if you weren’t close to me and you didn’t know how I operate, it was very hard to understand what I was trying to do.

“Connor just immediately got it. It was like he’s been speaking it forever.”

At one point in his career, Lauer said, he struggled to explain the sensation of catching his heel on the mound as he completed his delivery toward home plate.

“I would describe it as, ‘I was falling backwards and I would catch myself,’ and it’s a really weird concept to think somebody was falling backwards when it doesn’t look like you’re falling at all,” he said. “It looks like you’re just moving forward.

“So they were like, ‘That’s not what you’re doing’ and I was like, ‘That’s what I’m feeling.’ We have to make the connection between the feel and the real so that we can understand each other.”

Klein, who joined his fourth organization when the Dodgers acquired him in a minor league trade last June, is in his first full major league season. He has a 2.37 ERA, and his 0.7 wins above replacement is better than any Dodgers reliever besides veteran closer Tanner Scott.

Klein said other teams had made suggestions on how to improve his game, and with the Dodgers, he has added a sweeper and dumped a slider. But what he needed to do most was throw more strikes, trusting that his lively fastball and curve were good enough to beat the best players in the world.

In the minors, Klein issued 6.9 walks per nine innings. This season, he has issued 3.6 walks per nine innings.

The credit, he said, should be shared with the Dodgers’ mental skills coaches.

“It’s easy to see the guys in the batter’s box, especially when you come up watching baseball and being fans of these guys,” Klein said. “It’s easy to see them being above yourself.

“But you’re on the mound with them, so you have to see that too. There’s a lot on the mental side that’s helped me here.”

The Dodgers did not include Klein on their postseason roster for the first three rounds last year, but he said coaches at all levels — in the majors, at triple-A and at the Arizona training complex — never stopped checking in on him, during the season and throughout October.

“When you’re down there, they don’t forget about you up here,” he said. “That kind of commitment and care was levels above what I had experienced.”

When the Dodgers added him to the World Series roster, Klein saved the season, with four scoreless innings to close out an 18-inning victory in Game 3.

Lauer called the communication in the Dodgers’ organization “miles ahead” of any other organization in which he has played.

“The training room, the weight room, the coaching staff, the players to each other,” he said. “Every form of communication is so seamless. Everybody knows what’s going on all the time. There’s no gray area.

“It’s all: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, this is how we’re going to make it happen,’ instead of: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, figure out a way to make it happen.’”

Read more:Dodgers’ Andy Pages strengthens All-Star selection bid with defensive gems vs. Orioles

Klein raved about how the Dodgers treat player families, and about a high-tech pitching machine so lifelike that he could see what it would be like to bat against him. Lauer reflected on his experience as a first-round pick turned journeyman who went to South Korea to revive his career.

“I have a hard time saying anybody has done a better or faster job of helping me than the Dodgers,” Lauer said.

What Lauer and Klein say substantially echoes what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at last year’s World Series about turning the team into a preferred destination for players, and not just because the team wins and spends.

“Communication, being honest, having a really strong player development group in place at the major-league level, and how you treat families and treat the players,” Friedman said then, “I think matters a lot in that.”

To be clear: There is no indication the players’ union is willing to consider, let alone approve, a salary cap.

But, if that were to happen, Klein believes the Dodgers would be just fine.

“Our owners want to win, so they want to get the best product on the field, so they go and spend money,” he said, “and then everyone is mad that they want to win.

“I think they’ll find ways to win more if they can’t spend as much money. Friedman was with the Rays when they weren’t spending as much money and still had success there.

“I think they’re just better at wanting to win than some other people.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

No starter named as of yet for tonight’s game, but I’ll bet that we see Alan Rangel throw some bulk innings for the team with Kyle Backhus returning to open the game and face James Wood.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• To hit for the cycle on Saturday, Bryce Harper used a heavier bat in batting practice. It sure did help him.
• The Phillies can make all the trades they want. Their success from here on out is going to depend on Trea Turner ($).

MLB news:

• The Rangers have been playing well lately, but they’ll be down a starter with Jack Leiter going to the injured list.
• Tarik Skubal is probably going to be traded this deadline, so what they’ll want in return is starting to become clearer.
• The Marlins designated Christopher Morel for assignment to clear roster spots. Maybe someone to consider on a minor league deal?

The San Francisco Giants are on the verge of a low they haven't reached since 2018.

And that doesn't even include their myriad off-field dramas.

The Giants were swept in three games at Miami this past weekend and once again fell 15 games below .500, at 31-46. They haven't been 16 games underwater since the final day of the 2018 season.

The Giants are also firmly ensconced at No. 29 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings - and No. 30 Colorado isn't too far from dropping them to the cellar. While the Giants franchise is known for its June swoons, this one is unique.

The club has lost five of eight games since starting pitcher Landen Roupp and two relievers scrawled a Bible verse on their caps on the Giants' Pride night, a story that grew into more than a weeklong news cycle, despite the pitchers claiming they simply want to "play ball."

But that's not going so hot either. Rafael Devers publicly protested his removal from their Sunday, June 21 game at Miami by wagging his finger at manager Tony Vitello and then cursing into his helmet; shortly thereafter, the Giants hit into a game-ending double play. Adrian Houser, one of Buster Posey's offseason pitching signings, is ticketed for the bullpen and not happy about it.

And the Giants are on pace for 65 wins, fewest since 2017. This might not be bottom, either.

A look at our updated rankings:

1. Atlanta Braves (-)

• Bryce Elder has given up five, six and eight earned runs in a five-start span.

2. Milwaukee Brewers (-)

• Brandon Woodruff returns Monday after two-month siesta due to shoulder inflammation.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)

• Shohei Ohtani now a two-way player at home, too.

4. New York Yankees (-)

• Paul Goldschmidt has four homers in his last seven games and 12 for the year, two more than 2025 total.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (-)

• Chandler Simpson finally snaps a 30-game drought without a stolen base.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (+3)

• Still that guy: Kyle Schwarber's three-homer night gives him seven more dingers than anyone in NL.

7. St. Louis Cardinals (-)

• Michael McGreevy's K rate, ERA slide a good bit in June.

8. Cleveland Guardians (-2)

• Travis Bazzana is happening: Posts first multi-homer game on 4-for-4 night.

9. Chicago White Sox (-1)

• Seranthony Dominguez blows his fourth save.

10. Chicago Cubs (+1)

• Pete Crow-Armstrong's 19-game heater: 36-for-80 (.450), 10 homers, 1.432 OPS. Wow.

For whatever reason, the Yankees just haven’t been able to shake the Reds of all teams. Since MLB changed its schedule to allow all teams to play at least one series against each other on an annual basis in 2022, the Yankees have now lost four of five series to the Reds, who even at their best this decade have only been fringe NL Wild Card contenders. The lone series win came in 2023, a Yankees sweep despite being at their most recent nadir. Go figure. The primary culprit this time around was a 2-for-32 series with runners in scoring position — though that hasn’t generally been an issue for the Yankees in 2026.

Now, the Yankees will play a slightly resurgent Tigers club, who just swept the White Sox and are 11-6 in June following a dreadful May that almost put them out of the mix entirely. Sam will preview the three-game set from Detroit that kicks off tonight, Kevin will run through the Rivalry Roundup, and Jeff will celebrate the 147th birthday of an original Yankee from the 1903 team. Later on, Madison will put out the call for your mailbag questions.

Also, in case you missed it, check out this survey I put in the Feed last night about Giancarlo Stanton. I’ll be curious about your thoughts!

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

Time: 6:10 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Detroit SportsNet

Venue: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI

Questions/Prompts:

1. How much of the Yankees’ play over the past couple days is more concerning and how much is it simply “That’s baseball, Suzyn?”

2. Did you watch any of the U.S. Open this weekend and Wyndham Clark’s win at Shinnecock?

It’s always nice to beat the Mets.

It’s even nicer to beat them in back to back games.

It’s even nicer to beat them by hitting home runs and pitching well like they did Sunday night. Playing the game on Sunday Night Baseball for a national audience, the offense clicked into gear yet again, riding the wave of home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to take the series from New York.

The scoring started in the first when Mets starter David Peterson walked the first two hitters in the lineup, struck out Harper, then allowed an infield single to Alec Bohm. On that single, Brett Baty threw the ball away, allowing Trea Turner to score the opening run. Edmundo Sosa followed that with an infield single to score Schwarber and the Phillies had a 2-0 lead by hitting the ball a total of about 120 feet.

Zack Wheeler settled in nicely, even if he was a bit off with his command. He had a jam in the second when he allowed singles to lead off the inning by Jared Young and A.J. Ewing, but retired the next three batters in order. That allowed the Phillies to tack on in their half of the inning when Bryson Stott and Turner singled with one out for Schwarber.

A second night in a row with a monster shot and the lead was at five. Wheeler would give one back in the third when emerging pest Carson Benge homered on an opposite field shot to cut the score to 5-1. The Mets might have started a rally later when Juan Soto hit a ball that he believed was a perfect opportunity to stretch into a double, but Derek Hill gunned him down with relative ease.

Ok then.

In the fourth, Bryce Harper hit his 17th home run of the year to push the lead back to five.

New York threatened yet again in the sixth when Wheeler walked the bases loaded with one out before a visit from Don Mattingly. The ace was left in the game to try and get a double play, but only managed to get one out on a force out, giving the Mets another run, but keeping runners on the corners for Marcus Semien. Jonathan Bowlan was summoned from the bullpen to put the fire out and did so with ease, striking Semien out and ending the threat.

From there, the Phillies’ bullpen trio of Jose Alvarado, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran doused any other flames and gave the Phillies a win to send them seven games over .500. They’ll head to Washington for an interesting showdown with one of the top offenses in the game.

New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Austin Wells made his return yesterday after a two-week stint on the IL due to cervical headaches. Wells went 0-for-2 and was lifted in the sixth inning, but said he felt good about his first day back. “I felt solid,” Wells said afterward. “I saw the ball well, so I feel good.” The Yankees are relying on better health getting Wells back to his prior standards. Though he’s never been a great hitter in the majors, Wells combined fringe-average offense with quality defense at catcher over his first few seasons, before cratering to a 50 OPS+ in his first 47 games this year.

In some good injury news (also in the Sblendorio article), Trent Grisham appears to be progressing well in his recovery from a hamstring injury. The center fielder performed agility drills on the field yesterday ahead of the Yankees’ 4-1 loss to the Reds. “We’re really encouraged by how well he’s doing,” Aaron Boone said. Grisham missing minimal time would be a boon to a Yankee offense that, though it’s done well on the whole since Aaron Judge went down, could use a little more depth.

New York Post | Dan Martin: The Yankees have been deploying Jasson Domínguez in right field in light of Aaron Judge’s injury, and the Martian is still a work in progress out there. He’s made a couple nice plays, but also had some adventures, overrunning a ball on Friday night, while also having trouble with a fly ball down the line yesterday. The Yankees have high hopes for Domínguez, who they hope will adapt to the new position. “I’m very confident in him feeling very comfortable quickly,’’ outfield instructor Luis Rojas said. “Obviously, you want more experience for him there. Our right field [at Yankee Stadium] plays a lot different than a lot of other places in the big leagues, but with his tools… I think it’s gonna work well for him.”

Bryan Hoch via X/Twitter: For the second time this month, J.C. Escarra will likely see a quick return to the majors following a demotion. The Yankees optioned him when Wells was activated from the IL, choosing to keep Ali Sánchez as the backup catcher. However, Sánchez will soon go on the paternity list, opening the door for Escarra to report back to the team — though there will again be a clock ticking on how long that will last. Escarra was optioned with a .188/.239/.271 triple slashand a a 42 OPS+ in 32 games.

PHILADELPHIA — Francisco Lindor’s next stop could be Citi Field but perhaps not to rejoin the Mets roster just yet.

After the shortstop played in a rehab game for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, manager Carlos Mendoza indicated there is a possibility Lindor will play in a simulated game before the Mets open their series against the Cubs on Monday — serving the purpose of giving Lindor back-to-back “games” given the minor league schedule is dark.

The earliest Lindor would likely play for the Mets is Wednesday — he would receive a day off after the back-to-back outings.

Mendoza was encouraged that Lindor, who is rehabbing a right calf strain that has kept him sidelined since April 22, played a full game for Syracuse. Lindor played a rehab game for Double-A Binghamton on Friday before receiving a day off Saturday.

“He’s getting close,” Mendoza said before the Mets lost 6-2 to the Phillies on Sunday night.

Mendoza gave Luis Torrens a second straight start at catcher with Francisco Alvarez as the DH, allowing the Mets to play their best defensive option behind the plate while keeping Alvarez’s higher-upside bat in play. Torrens went 1-for-3 with a strikeout while Alvarez was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Luke Weaver has a 20-inning scoreless streak over his previous 18 appearances. Over that stretch, he allowed 10 hits with four walks and 25 strikeouts.

Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen will throw out a ceremonial first pitch before Monday’s game at Citi Field. The Yonkers native and Fordham alum — a longtime Mets fan — has been the voice of the NBA Finals for the past two decades.

Sunday was the 62nd anniversary of Jim Bunning’s Father’s Day perfect game for the Phillies against the Mets at Shea Stadium.