Category: MLB

After a brief delay, the Mets lost against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field on Friday night, 6-2, the final score.

With just two games to go before the All-Star break, the team's record is now 40-55.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Mets got off to a rough start to begin the game. Red Sox leadoff hitter Anthony Seigler reached second base on an error in left field by Juan Soto chasing down his looping fly ball towards the foul line. Mets starter Nolan McLean walked Wilyer Abreu two batters later, and with two outs, Boston DH Masataka Yoshida took advantage, roping a line drive down the left field line, which scored both Seigler and Abreu, aided by the ball getting stuck in the roll of tarp. Neither run was earned.

-- With the Mets still down 2-0, Brett Baty extended his hit streak to 10 games with a single to lead off the third. He promptly stole second base to give the Mets a runner in scoring position with nobody out in the inning. With runners on third base and first base for New York and one man out, Juan Soto delivered a sacrifice fly which scored Baty, and after a throwing error from cutoff man Caleb Durbin attempting to gun down A.J. Ewing, tagging to second from first base, the ball skittered into the outfield, allowing Ewing to move up to third base. Francisco Lindor flew out to end the inning.

-- Mets right fielder Carson Benge saved a run in the fourth inning, keeping the score 2-1 for Boston by gunning Red Sox catcher Connor Wong at home plate, who tried to score from second base on a broken-bat single by Tsung-Che Cheng. Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez did an excellent job applying the tag. Benge led off the bottom half of the inning with a ground ball base hit, and with one out, he stole second base, an eventful frame for the rookie.

-- McLean stranded runners on second and third with one out, battling back by striking out Romy Gonzalez and forcing Yoshida into a groundout to end the top of the fifth. For the bottom of the fifth, key member of the 1986 World Series-winning Mets squad Mookie Wilson joined the Apple TV booth to talk about his legendary career in Queens, and he took the time to praise the "energy" he's seen from Benge and Ewing during their head-turning rookie seasons thus far.

-- McLean completed six innings for the fifth straight start. Relieved by A.J. Minter in the seventh, McLean was excellent tonight, striking out seven batters while allowing just five hits and zero earned runs.

-- The Mets notched their third leadoff single of the game thanks to Lindor, but Baty grounded into a double play to neutralize the early threat, and Jorge Polanco grounded out to end the sixth inning. Red Sox right-handed starter Sonny Gray kept the Mets bats at bay all game long. Gray, arguably snubbed of an AL All-Star selection, pitched to the tune of six full innings tonight, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out three.

-- Minter allowed an infield single (via bunt) to Cheng before Seigler snuck a two-run home run just inside the left field foul pole and just over the wall, increasing the Mets' deficit to three runs. The inning ended with New York down 4-1 after Minter worked through some more trouble.

-- Kodai Senga handled the eighth inning for the Mets, and the righty retired the side in order with two flyouts and a strikeout.

-- Ewing reached base to lead off the bottom half of the eighth with a comebacker off the foot of Red Sox right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock. Soto scorched a liner off the glove of Boston's first baseman, a single which moved Ewing to third base with nobody out, the team's first hit with a man on base in the game. Three straight shallow fly balls couldn't bring Ewing home on a sacrifice, and the inning ended with the score still 4-1.

-- Abreu detonated in the ninth, putting the game out of reach with a two-run shot off of left-handed reliever Cionel Perez. In the ninth, Baty stayed red-hot with a solo shot, his third hit of the night, but the game ended as a 6-2 loss for the Mets one out later.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

McLean's strong start wasn't rewarded with run support, but the young starter continues to eat innings to alleviate the pressure on a struggling Mets bullpen.

Highlights

A.J. Ewing leaps to make the catch at the wall! pic.twitter.com/htTb99MN60

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 11, 2026

Juan Soto's sacrifice fly brings home Brett Baty

A.J. Ewing advances to second and then to third on an error pic.twitter.com/KdqvLss6P3

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 11, 2026

After review, Carson Benge throws out Connor Wong at home! pic.twitter.com/6C7G4b1pEZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 11, 2026

"I love these young kids. They have an energy... it reminds me, when we came up, that we were changing the culture a little bit"

Mookie Wilson talks about the Mets' young players as A.J. Ewing gets a base hit pic.twitter.com/XptFZJGbtR

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 11, 2026

Nolan McLean goes six or more innings for a fifth consecutive start tonight pic.twitter.com/Mb839Xs1PL

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 11, 2026

Brett Baty's third hit of the night is a solo homer pic.twitter.com/8Sn091Pxd6

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 11, 2026

What's next

The Mets play their second game of this home series against the Red Sox tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

For the Mets, Freddy Peralta (4.68 ERA, 1.42 WHIP in 100 innings) will toe the slab.

The Red Sox starting pitcher is yet to be determined.

The Texas Rangers scored seven runs while the Houston Astros scored three runs.

Two first inning runs, a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning, and Cal Quantrill of all people cruising through six strong innings. All of those positives made it seem like the Rangers were in for an easy evening. Nothing is coming easy but the Rangers are earning victories nonetheless.

Right now, reliable leverage arms are running thin for Texas and with Houston starter Hunter Brown keeping the score close, the Astros evened the game immediately after Quantrill exited. Chris Martin was once again called upon to try to show that he hasn’t aged himself out of being a trusted member of the bullpen. It went basically the same as every other appearance has gone for him this season.

Like last night, the Rangers were in danger of blowing it against a team below them in the American League West standings. Instead, they again turned to the weapon they’ve been missing for chunks of this season with Wyatt Langford coming through with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give Texas a 4-3 lead.

Three batters later, it was 7-3 as Jake Burger hit a three-run blast to allow us to not have to sweat whomever would pitch the ninth with Jacob Latz unavailable.

That pitcher would be Tyler Alexander and his scoreless ninth finished off the series-opening win for Texas as they climb back into the hunt for the Silver Boot.

Player of the Game: While Langford’s eventual winner was cathartic, and Burger’s blast was a relief, the Rangers likely don’t make it to that point without Quantrill providing six innings of one-run ball to out-duel Brown.

With Jack Leiter on the shelf, the Rangers needed someone to step up and, after ramping up over his last few appearances, Quantrill is now fully making starts that are providing length and quality. In his four outings since joining the rotation, Quantrill has allowed four runs in 17 innings.

Up Next: The Rangers and Astros are back at it tomorrow with RHP Kumar Rocker set to make his final start of the first half for Texas opposite RHP Peter Lambert for Houston.

The Saturday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Coming into Friday Night, the Astros needed just two wins to capture their 10th consecutive Silver Boot Series from the Rangers.    They still need two wins.    Rangers 7 Astros 3.      

On this night, Wyatt Langford would be the hero, albeit late.   In the 8th, Langford would deposit the second pitch offered by reliever Bryan King into the left field seats, breaking a deadlocked 3-3 affair.    Jake Burger would follow that up with his 16th blast of the season and just like that, King would allow 4 runs in a dreadful showing.     

Aside from King’s errant outing, the focus lies front and center on Hunter Brown.    In short, Brown isn’t right.    The evidence continues to mount, from a 23-pitch opening inning to the issuing of lead off walks time and time again.   The “ace” who was once dominant is now struggling with mechanics and attacking the zone.   At one point in the fourth inning, Brown would scrap the wind up completely and actually deliver from the stretch to multiple batters.    It would mark Brown’s fifth start since returning from a shoulder strain and now the question is “if” the mound dominance which placed him third in last year’s Cy Young Award voting will ever return this season full throttle.      Brown’s final stat line would read:       6 IP, 4H 3 ER 5 BB and 4 K’s.   

The five walks would tie a career high.

The Rangers would start the scoring, putting up a pair of runs in the first.    Brandon Nimmo’s double would score Wyatt Langford.    Josh Jung would cross home plate shortly thereafter.    

Joc Pederson would homer off Brown in the bottom of the 5th.    For Pederson, it would be the fourth time this season that he’d leave the yard against Astros pitching.    Pederson’s solo shot made it 3-0.   However, the Astros would respond.   Yordan Alvarez would finally get Houston on the board with his 200th career home run to center field in the 6th.    It would travel 455 feet and make the score 3-1.    Yainer Diaz would do one better, bringing home LaMonte Wade Jr. the next inning with his 6th HR of the year, which at the time tied things up 3-3.     That would be the score, until the 8th when the Rangers did their final damage.   

The Astros have now dropped 50 games on the season and 3 of 4 on this current road trip.   

Odds & Ends:

Jeremy Pena returned from the IL and led off the game and reached safely his first AB.       

Alvarez’s home run on Friday Night traveled the longest distance of any he’s hit this year.    He now has 7 home runs off Rangers pitching this season.    

Peter Lambert will take the hill Saturday Night with a mark of 7-5.    He’ll be opposed by Kumar Rocker, who will be seeking just his third win of the season.    First pitch is set for 6:05 CDT.

Nashville Sounds 11, Charlotte Knights 9
Everything that went wrong with the Knights’ loss to the Sounds can be traced back to Jacob Gonzalez’s exit in the third inning. Despite firing an RBI double off in the first to help give Charlotte a 2-1 boost early, he was pulled during the game, as the Sounds were stitching together a seven-run third inning. While his brief stint in the majors was underwhelming, to say the least, the idea that Gonzalez has been traded definitely makes the No. 1 overall draft pick murkier than it’s ever been.

After Gonzalez departed Shane Murphy, who hasn’t been able to find a foothold all season, gave up a grand slam to put Nashville back in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game. Murphy couldn’t finish the third, and did more than enough damage by yielding four home runs before he was yanked. His ERA now sits at 5.99 and his WHIP at 1.44. What a wild and unfortunate turn for a guy who maintained a sub-2.00 ERA and held batters below the Mendoza Line just a season ago.

Although Ryan Galanie’s two-run bomb and Riley Unroe, Korey Lee, and Mario Camilletti’s multiple RBIs helped make up some ground, it wasn’t enough. Charlotte spoiled their own chances to beat Nashville, stranding nine on base and hitting 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Birmingham Barons 10, Columbus Clingstones 1
Birmingham’s stars shone bright against Columbus in a victory that seemed all-too-easy. Favorites Colby Shelton and Boston Smith put five on the board with home runs in the fifth to stake their claim for game MVP. And Anthony DePino supplied his own solo shot in the seventh to push the Clingstones deeper in the hole. A few other RBIs filled in the cracks, but they were overshadowed by Bham’s own mini home run derby.

Jake Palisch rebounded from his stretch of subpar starts, looking like his 2025 self. Although control was an issue, he navigated nearly six innings while holding Columbus to a run off four hits and four walks. For the Barons, it was the best of both worlds: Palisch got the security and support needed to go back to autopilot, and his strong start will hopefully fuel his confidence and fuel better starts this season.

Winston-Salem Dash 7, Asheville Tourists 3
What seemed like a slog of a game rapidly turned into a thrilling, comeback win, as the Dash waited for eight innings to unload a fury of runs on the Tourists.

Five hits and a walk earlier in the game failed to yield any runs, but Ryan Burrowes and Jeral Perez’s leadoff walks in the ninth changed everything. An errant throw by Asheville’s Jackson Wells advanced both, putting them in scoring position with no outs. George Wolkow’s strikeout and hitting coach Adam Sinkoe’s surprising ejection slowed the momentum, but Winston-Salem resumed their comeback with another walk drawn from Kaleb Freeman. Five straight hits, including two for extra bases, and a bases-loaded double play plated seven before Asheville could realize what happened. By then, the damage was done.

For not getting any run support, Grant Umberger managed to make do. Although he was on the bump when Asheville scored all their runs, he managed to stretch his outing to 5 2/3 innings and walk off with four strikeouts. Winston-Salem continues to puzzle Umberger, but at least the 24-year-old can say he’s on a winning team.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 3 (7 innings)
Kanny took the first game of their doubleheader against Delmarva thanks to Jaden Fauske and Alexander Albertus’ heavy hands (and bats). A four-run first, led by Fauske’s walk, powered the CBs through most of the game. Fauske must have been inspired by rumors that the White Sox would be trying to trade for former high school teammate Landon Thome, since Fauske made a point of standing out: He ended the night with a hit, two runs, two walks, and a stolen base. Albertus himself had a perfect evening, going 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs, a walk and a home run.

Stiven Flores also rose to the occasion, scoring one run and knocking off two hits. The bats played the heaviest role in Kanny’s win, while the arms rested up enough for the second game in the doubleheader.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2, Delmarva Shorebirds 1(7 innings)
The Ballers secured the first winning doubleheader of the season. Gabe Tanner held the Shorebirds scoreless through five frames, allowing just three hits and a walk. Marco Barrios and Choyce Differy worked together to escape a rocky sixth inning, as having the bases loaded with one out could’ve been devastating. Jesus Mendez didn’t get as lucky when he served Delmarva high hopes for a walk-off win by handing a solo home run to Junior Aybar on a silver platter, but at least he closed out the inning to earn the save.

Rookie Leagues

DSL Rangers Blue 11, DSL White Sox 9
Errors were costly for the DSL Sox. Tied at three apiece, Dionys Medina’s throwing error with one out and a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth turned what should’ve been a scoreless inning into a 6-3 Rangers lead. A second error committed by Sebastian Romero allowed the top of the seventh to stretch out and the Rangers plenty of time to tack three additional runs on. It’s a shame, because aside from those fumbles the Sox managed to hang in the game, recording 11 hits and batting 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position. That’s probably why the DSLers are 10-18.

A brawl broke out at Oracle Park in San Francisco after a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, July 9. The incident took place just after 9:45 p.m. PT.

San Francisco police officers who were working the game responded to reports of a fight involving multiple people, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Several people were detained. and four were arrested and booked into the San Francisco County Jail.

Video shared on social media showed people at the game exchanging punches in the lower bowl of Oracle Park while nearby spectators tried to intervene.

The arrested individuals range in age from 21 to 29. One was charged with suspicion of assault and public intoxication, while the other three were arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and disturbing the peace.

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle Friday, July 10, a Giants spokesperson said arrests were made after stadium security contacted police assigned to the ballpark. The team said everyone involved will be banned from the stadium.

The 41-52 Athletics took on the 47-45 Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago today. While the A’s are struggling, the Southsiders are amid the most dramatic turn-around from last season.

Jacob Lopez took the mound as today’s opener, going up against 26-year-old righty Sean Burke for the White Sox. Lopez took on the first five Pale Hose batters before turning the game over to Aaron Civale. Civale cruised up until the bottom of the fifth when things began to unravel. Chase Meidroth doubled on a sharp line drive to left field. Andrew Benintendi doubled, driving in Meidroth. Civale walked Kyle Teel. Tristan Peters singled, driving in Benintendi. Sam Antonacci singled to right fielder, scoring Kyle Teel. Elvis Alvarado relieved Civale with no outs in the fifth. Miguel Vargas hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Henry Bolte, scoring Tristan Peters. That gave the White Sox a 4-0 lead. In the meantime, Sean Burke had given up just two hits leading up to the seventh inning. But Tyler Soderstrum got the A’s on the board with a solo rocket to right field. That was number 14 for Soderstrom.

Justin Sterner got rocked in the bottom of the seventh. Kyle Teel walked and Tristan Peters homered, scoring Teel. Sam Antonacci walked, and Munetaka Murakami doubled, driving in Antonacci. Miguel Vargas hit a ground rule double, scoring Murakami. Mason Barnett replaced Sterner with a score of 8-1 and no outs in the inning. Andrew Benintendi doubled, scoring three more Sox. Tristan Peters tripled, completing the cycle for him tonight. The last White Sox batter to hit for the cycle was José Abreu, who hit for the cycle on September 9, 2017, against the San Francisco Giants. That brought the score to 12-1.

Carlos Cortes came in to pitch the eighth. He struck out Murakami, but Miguel Vargas homered to left field. Chase Meidroth singled, driving in Montgomery to mercifully end the scoring for the White Sox. The final was 14-1 and continued the A’s slide at seven games in a row.

Sometimes, one small play in a game ends up ruining it. When Adley Rutschman didn’t challenge a pitch in the eighth inning that was called a ball, I thought that was the small ruining play. The batter went on to homer. The game was tied, and I assumed the Orioles would soon fall behind. But that didn’t happen! Instead, the stage was set for Samuel Basallo to come along and serve up some heroics. He did just that, with a home run to put the Orioles ahead and give them a 5-3 lead to start their series with the Kansas City Royals.

The Orioles started scoring early but were held to just three runs for most of the game. They got the scoring started in the second inning with a singles party. Dylan Beavers, Blaze Alexander, Jackson Holliday, and Gunnar Henderson all singled. Beavers and Alexander came in to score on hits from Holliday and Henderson. It was a nice start against Royals’ starter Luinder Avila, who allowed his share of baserunners in his five innings pitched.

Taylor Ward led off the third inning with a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second base with Pete Alonso at the plate. Ward got a good job and could have beaten the throw, but appeared to try the swim move to avoid the tag. Instead, he avoided the bag just long enough to get tagged out. Not great, Taylor! Alonso walked not long after, which made it seem even dumber. They did not score.

The Orioles had just one baserunner in the fourth inning, but it was a Blaze Alexander bomb to put the team up 3-2. It was already Alexander’s second hit of the game and he played good defense as well.

Unfortunately, the Orioles did not score again off Avila. They had two more baserunners in the fifth but couldn’t capitalize, and Avila left the game after five innings. The Royals’ bullpen held strong until they didn’t, but more on that later.

For much of the game, it looked like three runs would be enough. Brandon Young was solid. He wasn’t perfect; he allowed baserunners in the first and second innings but got out of it. In the second inning, he got great defense from Henderson, who made a sliding stop in the hole to start a double play.

The Royals briefly tied the game in the fourth inning before Alexander’s home run. Jac Caglianone hit his 15th home run to make it 2-1, then a walk and a double tied the game.

Isaac Collins got thrown out at second to start the fifth. He popped off the bag on the slide and Henderson held the tag. It was called safe, then overturned on replay. The result was a 1-2-3 fifth. Another runner reached to start the sixth, but this time it was Alexander who turned a great double play to keep it a three-batter inning.

The seventh inning was Young’s best inning of the night. It might have been his best inning all year. He needed just five pitches to get two ground balls and a flyout. It seemed like the seventh was going to be his final inning, but the quick turnaround gave him the chance to come back for the eighth. That didn’t go so well.

Collins started the inning for the Royals. He had just four home runs on the year and an OPS barely over .700. So naturally, he worked an eight-pitch at bat that resulted in a game-tying home run. The real kicker is that Young started the at-bat at 0-2, and threw a pitch that nicked the strike zone that was called ball one. That’s the pitch that Rutschman didn’t challenge. Instead of a strikeout, we got a tie game. It was the eighth inning, Adley! If not then, when?

That was Young’s last batter, and what a disappointing end to another solid start. His final line was 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Rico Garcia took over and pitched a quick rest of the inning.

The good news was that we didn’t have to wait long for the Orioles to come back, and they did it in an exciting way. Alonso started the bottom of the eighth with a single, then Basallo absolutely smoked a ball. It went off the bat at 105,9 mph and the only question was if it would stay fair. It did stay fair! As soon as it was for sure, Basallo flashed his winning grin at the dugout and heaved his bat towards his teammates before circling the bases. Orioles were up, 5-3.

Basallo continues to be exciting and I am always affected by the joy with which he plays. The smile on his face said it all.

Andrew Kittredge came in to lock down the win, and he did so without too much drama. Michael Massey doubled on a ball that a better right fielder may have caught, but Tyler O’Neill couldn’t catch up to. O’Neill had pinch-hit for Beavers in the eighth, but I don’t think Beavers would have made that catch either. Aside from that, easy peasy. Josh Rojas struck out to end the game and Kittredge had his third save of the season.

Orioles win! Brandon Young pitched seven-plus good innings. Blaze Alexander had an all-round solid game. And of course, Samuel Basallo had the game-winning home run. It was not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

It is Camden Chat tradition to name a Most Birdland Player after every win. Please put your pick in the comments below, and tell us why you chose Samuel Basallo.

The Dodgers (61-33) take on the D-backs (46-47) at Dodger Stadium Friday night for a NL West clash.

Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his start due to continued left knee irritation.

Kyle Hurt will open a bullpen game for the Dodgers in the series opener.

Eduardo Rodriguez (7-3, 2.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) goes for the D-backs. 

Lineups

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

What a splendid eve this was. The sun was shining through the blinds, perfect weather, partly cloudy. Picturesque. And, the Guardians won. It’s nice to write about a win every once in a while — as a treat.

The Guardians actually sort of got to a starting pitcher today! They tagged Sandy Alcantara for 3 runs in the first 5 innings. Both Messick and Alcantara were pitching shutouts through 3, and then Rocchio singled to start the 4th. Then, our sweet Chase DeLauter hit a rocket. A moonshot. A nuke. A blast. 430’ to right-center on a genuinely unreal swing.

Homer no. 10 on the year. wRC+ up to 124 on the season.

In the 5th, the Guardians had Hedges (single) and Kwan (long single) at the corners with one out. Bazzana did his job, and drove Hedges in with a sac fly. 3-0. That would be it for the Guardians offense on the evening.

Messick was decent tonight. 6 innings of 1-run ball. 4 walks and nearly as many balls as strikes thrown was a little concerning, but the end result was great.

Sabrowski was, well, not great. Again. Gave up a 407 foot homer to Leo Jimenez and then walked Esteury Ruiz (who recorded 3 walks and, by the way, was showing bunt up 2-0 and took all the way on 3-1). (Esteury Ruiz who, by the way, is an atrocious hitter). That was it for Sabrowski in another extremely disappointing outing since returning from the injured list.

Holderman relieved Sabrowski, and gave up a single (that got just past Bazzana). First and second, one out. He then struck out Joe Mack in an extremely gritty 9-pitch at-bat. And then got Otto Lopez (batting .345 going into today, .890 OPS) to ground out. Fantastic.

Gaddis pitched the 8th and gave up a bloop-y single to Xavier Edwards, but didn’t concede any runs.

Cade Smith pitched a clean 9th, and that was it!

Not much fanfare to tonight’s game. Which, for what it’s worth, is a welcome change of pace.

It’ll be Bibee vs. Eury Perez tomorrow night.

Clay Holmes pitched to a batter in the batter’s box Friday afternoon, the first time he saw a hitter since Spencer Jones broke his leg with a line drive in May.

The batter in the box was Marcus Semien, who is also out with injury. He did not swing at a single pitch. But through two innings’ worth of pitches with a break in between, Holmes was finally on the Citi Field mound again, a signal that he is moving nearer to returning from the injured list. What is not clear as of Friday is whether he will still be a Met when he does.

Holmes told The Athletic this week that he is open to an extension, and a person familiar with the front office’s thinking told SNY the Mets are open to an extension with him, too. Neither Holmes' agent nor president of baseball operations David Stearns immediately responded to inquiries about whether the two sides have had any conversations about a deal. If they are going to complete one, they should probably do so soon.

Because even though Holmes is not yet close to pitching in games – he said Friday he will likely face actual swinging batters in his next outing, and that it might have to come in Port St. Lucie because the major league staff will be off during the All-Star Break – he is one of the Mets’ more appealing trade deadline assets.

With an expiring contract, a strong start to the season, and a relatively fresh arm given the injury, Holmes would be an appealing top-end starter for any contending team. He could likely bring the Mets a worthwhile return, even as a rental who might not be fully built up by the deadline itself. The Blue Jays sent a top pitching prospect to the Guardians for Shane Bieber last year, even though he was not going to be healthy until late August. Top-end starting pitching is coveted in all its forms.

Holmes would seemingly never have more time to dedicate to deal-making than he does right now, when he is still working his way back from injury and is therefore removed from the daily regular season grind. But Holmes said he finds his mind does not have much time to wander – though of course, few players are willing to admit contract speculation or trade deadline talks are causing them distraction.

“[Rehab] stuff grabs a lot of my attention, getting healthy and checking those boxes. I want to be healthy. I want to be helping this team win as many games as possible,” Holmes said Friday. “How long that is, I’m not totally sure. Hopefully things will work out. But a lot of that is out of my control.”

Holmes and the Mets have the makings of a successful long-term partnership. It was the Mets who stretched him into a starter, setting him up for bigger contracts in the second half of his career than he would have been able to secure as a career reliever. And Holmes has become a sturdy, well-regarded presence in their clubhouse, particularly on a pitching staff with young starters like Nolan McLean and Christian Scott who can benefit from a veteran sounding board.

Plus, as he pitched to a 2.39 ERA in his first nine starts of this season, Holmes transformed from the solid starter he was last year to one who looked like he might be elite. With his history of relieving, Holmes has fewer innings on his arm than most elite 33-year-old starters. For a Mets team that will need to improve its pitching depth in 2027, Holmes would be a familiar keystone to have in place before what seems likely to be a chaotic offseason.

Exactly when the Mets would need to decide whether to deal Holmes is unclear, though it is possible that waiting long enough for suitors to see him make a rehab start could help solidify or boost his value. The Mets, however, do not need Holmes to hurry back. They know what value he could bring to their rotation in the years to come. And after the way the last two summers have gone, they also know as well as anyone that reliable starters like Holmes can be very hard to find.

Hunter Greene spent over three months on the shelf following his March surgery to cleanup loose bodies in his prized right elbow. Safe to say, when he returned for his season debut last weekend, things went about as poorly as they could have possibly gone.

On Friday, though, the Reds officially got their ace back.

Greene struck out 12 in 7.0 scoreless, brilliant innings against the Chicago Cubs in the series opener in Great American Ball Park, and did so while yielding just 3 hits and a lone walk. He routinely topped 100 mph on the radar gun on a hot night at the park, and there was never a moment when he was on the mound where he looked anything other than one of the best pitchers on the planet once again.

If that’s what the Reds get back for the last half of the season, well, there’s at least a chance they can miraculously pick themselves up off the mat.

Elly De La Cruz socked yet another homer from the right side of the plate, Sal Stewart had a pair of hits (and another ribbie), and JJ Bleday provided the back-breaker with a 2-run homer off Jake Woodford in the 8th inning to give Cincinnati a thorough 4-0 victory in the opener of the final series before the All Star break.

(Elly tripled, too, and Sal plated him with a sac fly. That’s a cool part of the order, I say!)

It was Cincinnati’s first win against the Cubs this season after having dropped each of the first four against their division rivals. Emilio Pagan provided a rare stress-free save for Cincinnati as the nail in the coffin tonight.

Nick Lodolo will attempt to lead the Reds to another win on Saturday in his start opposite righty Javier Assad, with first pitch set for 7:10 PM ET once again.

Aaron Nola was serviceable again but Tim Mayza had one of the worst innings of his nine-year big league career as the Philadelphia Phillies (52-43) unraveled late in a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Tigers (44-50).

Derek Hill led off the third inning with his seventh home run of the year for the game’s first run against Tigers’ starter, Jack Flaherty.

Delco legend and Rookie of the Year hopeful, Kevin McGonigle, got the Tigers on the board and gave them the lead with a two-run homer off Nola in the bottom of the third to make it 2-1.

An Alec Bohm hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks issued to Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott loaded the bases for Hill, who singled home Harper to bring the score level.

Nola left after five innings and 84 pitches, striking out eight and gave way to Mayza for the sixth. Riley Greene and Matt Vierling walked to set the table for Eduardo Valencia who singled home Greene to retake the lead. Next Zach McKinstry dragged a bunt on the first base side that Mayza hesitated on, eventually throwing to first too late to get McKinstry and allowing Vierling to score from third. One pitch later, James Outman tripled to the gap in right-center to score both runners and extend the lead to four. Three pitches after that, Mayza balked home Outman to complete the damage. The five runs allowed tied Mayza’s career high, which he previously surrendered to the Yankees on June 28, 2024 without recording an out.

Max Lazar didn’t fare much better in the seventh, giving up a lead-off solo home run to Colt Keith and a two-run homer to Spencer Torkelson to finish the scoring at 10-2.

Garrett Stubbs threw a 1-2-3 four-pitch eighth inning in which his fastest pitch clocked in at 46 mph.

Hill got his third hit of the night with a one-out single in the seventh inning. The only other Phillie to get a hit was Brandon Marsh, a hard-hit single in the eighth. Per the broadcast, it’s the 38th time since 1901 that a player had a three-hit game while the rest of his team only had one.

Cristopher Sanchez will face Casey Mize tomorrow night in the second-to-last game before the All Star break.

The San Francisco Giants continue this four-game series against the Colorado Rockies tonight from Oracle Park.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be left-hander Robbie Ray, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.45 ERA, 4.70 FIP, with 86 strikeouts to 46 walks in 101.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 6-4 win over the Rockies on Saturday, in which he allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks in six innings.

He’ll be facing off against Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon, who enters tonight’s game with a 6.95 ERA, 5.03 FIP, with 46 strikeouts to 10 walks in 45.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rockies’ 7-6 win over the Giants on Sunday, in which he allowed five runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Game #94

Who: San Francisco Giants (39-54) vs. Colorado Rockies (38-57)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 7:15 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Royals fell 5-3 after another very Luinder Avila start and one too many trips to the bullpen. Matt Strahm gave up the final blow, a two-run home run to Samuel Basallo. Before that, it was a pretty close game.

As noted above, Luinder Avila got the start in this one for KC. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks. It was a real grind for Avila as it seemed like he was always pitching with a full count even with only the 3 walks. That meant it took him 96 pitches to get through those 5 innings.

Avila gave up two of the runs with two outs in the second inning. The Royals managed to tie it in the fourth thanks to a Michael Massey walk (he’s been doing that a lot lately) and a Josh Rojas double. But before that, Jac Caglianone smoked his first home run since that two-home run game in Tampa Bay almost two weeks ago.

Avila got Blaze Alexander down 0-2 with one out in the bottom of the inning, which caused the booth to praise him for his good work following the offense tying the game. He promptly hung a slider that went a long way. The score remained 3-2 until the eighth inning, with Steven Cruz pitching a clean sixth with a strikeout. Daniel Lynch IV did the same in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, Isaac Collins led off the inning with a home run to dead center. Which I wasn’t entirely sure he could do.

In the bottom of the eighth, having already used Lynch, Matt Quatraro went fellow Matt Strahm for the eighth. The broadcast played a clip of Strahm getting his first strikeout in the big leagues to help celebrate Strahm reaching his 10 years of service time. That’s a big deal for MLB players because it’s when their pensions fully vest, and it also just signifies a pretty dang long MLB career.

Unfortunately, Strahm celebrated by giving up a single to Pete Alonso and a line drive home run to Samuel Basallo. Michael Massey ripped a double off the wall in the top of the ninth, but he was the only Royal to reach in that inning.

The Royals have lost three straight. They also had a baserunning blunder in the top of the fifth when Isaac Collins ripped a ball off the right field wall but overslid second and allowed Gunnar Henderson to tag him out. They’ve got two more games before the mercy of the All-Star Break. Though I wouldn’t blame any of you if you focused more on the Draft tomorrow and Sunday, as well as the Futures Game Sunday. If you are still interested, though, they’ll play tomorrow night at 6 PM central. Noah Cameron will face Kyle Bradish.

Jacob deGrom will get an extended All-Star break.

The Rangers right-hander will miss his final start before the All-Star Game against the Astros with “mild left glute strains,” manager Skip Schumaker told reporters Friday. 

DeGrom pitched just five innings in his last outing against the Angels on Tuesday because of hip and leg issues, though at the time he felt he would be good to go against the Astros. 

“I think I’ll be fine,” deGrom told reporters on Tuesday. “I think we’ll manage in between. Honestly, I think sometimes off-days make you feel a little funny. I think we’ll stay on top of it this week, and I think I’ll be good to go.”

That injury has lingered, however, and he will now not pitch until after the break. 

DeGrom has not been placed on the injured list since he underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2023 season. Schumaker did say it is a possibility, but the hope is that the two-time Cy Young winner will avoid it.

“You never want any of your players to feel anything, especially Jacob deGrom,” Schumaker said. “I think, obviously, if there’s anything with the hip or lower half or arm, you’re definitely concerned. Having a conversation with him, the way he’s feeling today is better. 

“You never know until a couple more days of rehab and how he feels. So I think the All-Star break is at the right time for him to recover, and hopefully it’s shorter right after the All-Star break than longer.”

DeGrom holds an 8-5 record and 3.49 ERA across 18 starts in 2026. He has recorded 122 strikeouts and a 1.01 WHIP in just over 100 2/3 innings. 

The former Mets ace joined the Rangers in 2022 after signing a massive five-year, $185 million free-agent contract. 

He’s in his fourth year of the deal, which includes a sixth-year option that would increase the total value to $222 million.