Category: MLB

Tigers 3, Rangers 0

• That was not exciting.
• Or fun.
• Three hits, a walk, and an HBP. That was the extent of the runners on base that the Texas Rangers had.
• Evan Carter got on base three times — he had the walk and HBP, as well as one of the three hits.
• And see, the problem with that is that, if you’re going to have this paltry number of baserunners, then, if you’re going to score runs, you are generally going to have to bunch them together.
• The same player getting on base three times, and the rest of the team just twice, pretty well means you aren’t bunching the “getting on base” events together in an inning. That’s just science.
• It is unfortunate because the Rangers pitchers did an awfully good job overall. They allowed just nine baserunners, with one of those nine being the result of an error by Alejandro Osuna.
• Alejandro Osuna has had a series of unfortunate events in the outfield this year. I’m not entirely sure as to why — his reputation coming up in the minors was that he was a good corner outfielder who could play center if need be.
• The numbers back up the eye test on Osuna in the outfield this year — he’s at -6 fielding runs for the year, per Statcast, and both his range and his arm value are in the bottom 10%.
• An error in the second by Osuna led to the Tigers scoring an unearned run, which would be more angst-inducing if it weren’t for the fact that the Rangers did nothing offensively, and Riley Greene had already hit a two run homer in the first inning, giving Detroit all the runs they would need in the game anyway. That third run was just something a little extra to upset us with.
• Credit to the Rangers pitchers, who generally did their jobs. Cal Quantrill gave the Rangers five innings on 66 pitches, and but for the Greene home run pitched quite well.
• Tyler Alexander threw a scoreless inning. Ben Peoples made his major league debut and logged a couple of shutout innings, so that’s cool.
• Chris Martin made his triumphant return from the injured list with a scoreless inning. He went strikeout, hard hit single, hard hit ground out, soft flare to shortstop.
• I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Rangers’ bullpen has a lot of guys injured right now. If Chris Martin could be a functional, decent bullpen arm going forward, that would be extremely helpful.
• Is hoping for Chris Martin to stay healthy for the next few months unrealistic? Is it too big of an ask? Might as well I be asking for rainbows and butterflies to shoot out of my butt?
• Maybe, but hope springs eternal, at least until mathematical elimination.
• Hope springs eternal even when the Rangers offense does its doodle bug routine and curls up into an impenetrable ball until we walk away and leave it alone. Joc Pederson singled to lead off the first, which is always an encouraging way for things to start.
• Leadoff hits make it more likely you’re going to win the game, right? Than if there’s not a leadoff hit?
• The Rangers had just two more hits the rest of the game.
• The only Ranger batter to reach second base was Josh Jung, who had a two out double in the sixth. Brandon Nimmo ended up being the only Ranger to hit with a runner in scoring position when he came up after the Jung double. He grounded out.
• So that was no fun. And the Mariners won, so the Rangers are back in second place, and we don’t like that, either. Let’s do something about that.
• Cal Quantrill touched 94.9 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.0 mph. Tyler Alexander reached 92.4 mph with his fastball. Ben Peoples topped out at 96.8 mph with his fastball. Chris Martin’s fastball maxed out at 95.1 mph.
• Elias Diaz had a 104.6 mph groundout. Joc Pederson had a 104.0 mph single and a 103.3 mph groundout. Josh Jung had a 102.9 mph double and a 101.9 mph groundout. Brandon Nimmo had a 102.4 mph fly out. Josh Smith had a 101.1 mph fly out.
• Let us set this aside now.

The Mets continue their four-game series in Atlanta against the Braves on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

Mets Notes

• Nolan McLean (5-5, 3.78 ERA) looks to win second straight outing after tossing six scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on June 30
• Juan Soto, who earned his first All-Star selection as a Met on Saturday, is slashing .320/.460/.580 with three HRs and seven RBI in his last 15 games
• Prior to Sunday's game, the team promoted reliever Guillermo Zuñiga from Triple-A and optioned RHP Joey Gerber to Syracuse

Today's Lineups

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The Atlanta Braves will look to make it three in a row over their divisional rivals as they host the New York Mets this afternoon.

Atlanta is a -113 favorite heading into this game, and I’m backing the home team to continue New York’s misery in my Mets vs. Braves predictions. Read on for a complete analysis of this matchup and to get my free MLB picks for Sunday, July 5.

Who will win Mets vs Braves today: Braves moneyline (-116)

The already poor New York Mets offense has been floundering lately, averaging just 2.6 runs per game over their last five outings.

New York can hit the ball hard when they make contact, but Atlanta Braves starter Martin Perez has an excellent 48.2% ground ball rate while only allowing batters to barrel the ball up 6.8% of the time.

The Braves hit Nolan McLean well the first time they saw him this year. While Atlanta has an issue with chasing bad pitches, McLean only generates a 27.9% chase rate. I’m taking the Braves at -120 or better.

COVERS INTEL: The Mets pull balls in the air just 10.8% of the time against sinkers and changeups thrown by lefties — the fourth-worst mark in MLB — pitches that Perez throws 64% of the time.

Mets vs Braves Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (-131)

While I do think the Braves are better equipped to take advantage of this pitching matchup, McLean does a lot of things well. He’s striking out 28.5% of batters, ranks in the 95th percentile of qualified pitchers in fastball run value, and is coming off six shutout innings against the Blue Jays. He won’t let this game get out of hand.

Meanwhile, the Mets only managed one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings the last time they faced Perez. I’m backing the Under, and I’d be willing to do so at a flat 9-run total as well.

Mets vs Braves weather

Mets vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Mets -108 | Braves -116
• Run line: Mets +1.5 (-200) | Braves -1.5 (+165)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+105) | Under 9.5 (-127)

Mets vs Braves trend

The Mets are just 2-12 over their last 14 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Braves.

How to watch Mets vs Braves and game info

Mets vs Braves latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Last place teams don’t really have the right to complain about All-Star snubs. Nevertheless, Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Sonny Gray are free to feel at least a little aggrieved in being left off the American League All-Star team, the roster of which was revealed last night. Ranger Suárez and Aroldis Chapman — both worthy enough selections — will represent the Sox. Rafaela, though, is second in the American League in fWAR amongst all centerfielders, just a shade behind Byron Buxton, who was elected as a starter. Contreras leads American League first basemen in that category. Sonny Gray is just 20th in fWAR among AL starters, but is second in ERA. Here are the full rosters. (MLB.com)

And given that he’s a veteran who has seen it all at this point, you might be wondering whether Sonny Gray even cares about going to the ASG. But he absolutely does. “I was disappointed for sure,” he said. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

Contreras may or may not be disappointed about the All-Star snub, but he’s got other things on his mind: mainly, the seven-game suspension he’s facing. And, yesterday, he spoke through tears in offering an apology. “Those situations could have been avoided and controlled and handled better,” he said. “It’s been a really tough week, emotional week for me. I hope that they understand how emotional it has been, and I’ll prove myself with my actions on the field from here moving forward and show the kind of person that I truly am.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

No one can complain about Aroldis Chapman’s selection, particularly in light of the fact that he just set the all-time strikeout record for relievers. “That’s great, that reflects on what I’ve done throughout my career,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “On the other side, just want to be out there every time I can to help the team win and to save games.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

In light of the record — but acknowledging the very short tenure — the question must be asked: where does Chapman rank on the list of all-time Red Sox relievers? (Daniel Yanofsky, NESN)

Any time it would like to stop raining in the Chicago area would be fine with me.

Saturday’s 3-0 Cubs loss to the Cardinals was delayed 59 minutes before it began by yet another heavy rainfall that drenched the north side of Chicago, then delayed another 15 minutes after the end of the sixth inning when it became impossible for players to see the ball due to heavy fog that blew in off Lake Michigan after the rain ended.

What month is this, anyway? April? November?

This is what it looked like from my perch in the left field bleachers (Bluesky link):

But they couldn’t see much from the press box, either:

And neither could the folks watching at home:

The fog finally lifted about 10:20 p.m. and the teams finished the game. There’s not much to talk about here from a Cubs point of view, though.

Shōta Imanaga’s first pitch of the game was sent into the left-field bleachers by JJ Wetherholt. After that Imanaga settled down and threw fairly well, though he walked three, and one of those walks led to the Cardinals’ second run in the third inning. Imanaga did strike out eight [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Imanaga’s evening [VIDEO].

Tyler Ferguson, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton and Caleb Thielbar attempted to keep things close. The four relievers combined for 4.1 innings in which they allowed four hits and one run, with five strikeouts.

It didn’t matter because the Cubs offense was moribund. They had five hits and four walks off five Cardinals pitchers, but got just three runners past first base. The tone seemed to be set when Pete Crow-Armstrong, who walked to lead off the first for the Cubs, was thrown out trying to steal. In the third, Michael Conforto led off with a single and two outs later advanced to second when PCA walked again. A force out ended that inning. Conforto singled again in the fifth and two outs later went to second when PCA was hit by a pitch. That inning ended on a foul popup.

In the eighth, PCA led off with a single. That’s one good thing — PCA reached base in all four of his plate appearances. Alex Bregman followed with a walk. Two on, nobody out! All that did was result in an 0-for-3 with RISP, because the inning ended on a ground out and two strikeouts.

PCA’s season OBP has reached .380, nearly 100 points higher than the .287 he posted last year. The .380 figure ranks 10th in the National League (and is only .007 behind Freddie Freeman, who is sixth).

Any time the Cubs offense would like to wake up again would be okay by me. After the 23-run outburst Wednesday, the Cubs have scored one run total in their last 18 innings.

Now, about that fog. It was so bad that the ABS challenge system failed to work [VIDEO].

That was in the bottom of the sixth. When that inning ended, play was halted [VIDEO].

Fifteen minutes later play resumed, but it wasn’t any different for the Cubs, who stranded eight runners.

Fog fact from BCB’s JohnW53:

On May 20, 1960, at Milwaukee, the Cubs played their first abandoned game that was scoreless after more than 2 innings. It remains their only 0-0 unofficial game halted in the fifth inning — and their only abandoned game of any length that was stopped because of fog.

“The Cubs and Braves tried valiantly Friday night to win a running battle with the elements,” said the Tribune.
“Maybe they are gaining on the fickle weather man, for they did play four and a half scoreless innings during a weird three and one-half hour program.

“After a light rain caused a 1 hour, 28 minute delay in the first inning, a fog blew in from Lake Michigan, and the athletes sparred their way into the fifth inning with two slick pitchers, Warren Spahn and Don Cardwell, refusing to yield a run.

“But Plate Umpire Frank Dascoli, finally convinced when he could barely make out the outfielders and Shag Crawford, umpiring at second base, that baseballs no longer could be detected in flight, called another halt.

“After a half hour wait, the game was proclaimed no contest.”

And facts about this game from John:

This was the 181st game since 1901 in which the Cubs were shut out by the Cardinals. It was the 2,409th between the teams.

Only 75 of the shutouts have been at Wrigley Field, including just three of the last 13. The previous two were by 3-0 on June 14, 2024, and by 1-0 on Aug. 22, 2022.
…..
The Cubs had failed to score in only 12 of 226 previous games on the Fourth of July, three of them vs. the Cardinals. They had been blanked in seven of 136 games at home, twice by the Cards.

The reason for the large number of games on July 4 is, of course, that for many decades holiday doubleheaders were common.

Also, yes of course I know it doesn’t matter what TV channel the game is on, but the Cubs have not done well in games carried on various national channels this year:

Marquee Sports Network: 47-33
Fox: 1-2
NBC/Peacock: 0-2
ESPN/ABC: 0-1
Apple TV+: 1-2

The Cubs lost no ground to the Brewers in the NL Central race, as Milwaukee lost at Arizona. The Cubs still trail the Brewers by six games, but are now just half a game ahead of the Cardinals.

The Cubs will attempt to salvage the final game of this series Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Javier Assad will start for the Cubs and Matthew Liberatore goes for St. Louis. Game time is 1:30 p.m. CT (yes, 1:30, not 1:20) and TV coverage will be streaming on Peacock (full national broadcast, no blackouts). Today’s game preview will post at 12 noon CT.

Despite another season where the St. Louis Cardinals struggled in June, the team still sits in postseason contention as the second half begins. The past two weeks of the month made things feel worse than they actually are, but being five games above .500 in a rebuild season, things are not too bad in St. Louis.

*Disclaimer: I am writing this on Thursday afternoon due to the holiday so some stats/thoughts may be outdated by Sunday’s post*

The entire offense struggled at the same time which was unfortunate as the starting pitching started to right the ship at times. Series losses to the Marlins and Diamondbacks made the vibes a little worse for the Cardinals. As we continue to discuss buy vs. sell at this year’s deadline, the end of June made it clear that the best course of action is likely subtraction from the 26-man roster. While disappointing, Chaim Bloom committing to the plan he set out since being named POBO will still create plenty of exciting storylines for the rest of the season, even if the postseason slips out of grasp.

A sell off will create opportunity for Cardinals prospects to flourish

To avoid going too far into the “buy or sell” conversation that we continue to beat into the ground, I am going to guess that at least three spots on the major league roster will be opened up via trade. While a rebuild usually entails Johnny No-Name getting playing time after the deadline, the Cardinals’ farm system has talent that is close enough to the major leagues to warrant a look. With Chaim Bloom creating excitement and optimism among fans with his work in the front office, even a losing second half could be fun to watch, for lack of a better word.

According to FanGraphs, the Cardinals have the 10th-best farm system and a lot of that talent is at Double-A or better already. If and when Bloom makes deals from the major league roster, the returns will hopefully continue to push that ranking into the single digits. Assuming the players coming to St. Louis are not established big leaguers, Bloom is more likely to give the big league promotions to the minor leaguers with a track record in the organization. The first of these would likely be one of Bloom’s offseason acquisitions in Hunter Dobbins.

Dobbins has been solid overall this season, notching a 6-1 record and an ERA under 4.00 in 16 games between Memphis and St. Louis. The righty profiles as a mid-rotation arm who can have some spectacular outings mixed in with a consistent run of quality starts. There will be plenty of innings available next season and Dobbins will have one of the lengthier auditions for a role heading into the 2027 season.

If the injury luck continues for the Cardinals’ rotation, then seeing prospects like Brycen Mautz and Quinn Mathews make a prolonged major league stay may only happen in a relief or swingman role. JoJo Romero is my pick for most likely to be dealt, creating an instant need for a lefty option alongside Justin Bruihl. Mautz is on the 40-man already and has one game under his belt while Mathews would need to be added to the roster count. Mathews must be added to the 40-man this offseason to be protected in the Rule 5 draft. Trades for minor leaguers will keep those roster spots open, so there would be no issue with activating the lefty to the roster.

Before moving to the position player side, it would be plausible to see Cooper Hjerpe get a late season opportunity. The lefty was just activated from the 60-day IL and will be pitching in Double-A as he works his way back to full strength. Along with Hjerpe, I would like to see Tink Hence get a shot, but that could be wishing against hope. When we asked Chaim Bloom about Tink, it was not very encouraging to hear his uncertainty with what the former top prospect needs to fix. The clock is ticking on his time with the organization and a relief role is the only way he is going to get a call.

To the hitters, we all know about Joshua Baez and what he has done to minor league pitching this year. The outfielder slugged his 28th homer of the year but has yet to move past the chase rate concerns that are constantly brought up. Focusing on what he can do, Baez provides pop the lineup is missing, the speed to cause chaos on the bases, and a decent enough fielding tool to play all three outfield spots. I do not personally know if he is “ready” for the bigs, but it makes sense to see what the guy can do against major league pitching, even if it is just to give him exposure like the organization did with Masyn Winn and Jimmy Crooks.

In my less exciting but still fun category, I expect to see Luis Gastelum in this disaster of a bullpen at some point before the end of the season. His strong season has continued in Memphis as his season ERA sits at 2.38 while striking out more than a batter per inning. Mason Molina was just bumped up to Triple-A and he could earn consideration for a promotion, but he is further down the pecking order than the other arms.

And finally, how the demoted Cardinals handle the last half of the season will be another note I will be keeping an eye on through September. Victor Scott II, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese were all demoted to provide new opportunity for others on the roster and their path to returning to St. Louis is cloudy at best. Of the trio, unfortunately Saggese has been the best thus far in Memphis, but that is nothing to brag about at this point. I want all three of them to become regular contributors on the Cardinals’ major league roster, but they need to make something happen in Triple-A first.

While there are times where the team has been frustratingly flat, I am really most excited about watching a Cardinals team that seems to care on a nightly basis. That is an immeasurable observation and surely every player on every team wants to win every night, but with a roster of young guys who still need to prove their worth, we are more likely than not to see a hard nine innings of baseball.

Let me know what you’re most excited about for the second half. If you think its a deep playoff run, great! If you want to see an endless cycle of prospects getting a cup of coffee in the majors, also cool! I’ll be seeing the Cardinals up close these next two weekends. Sunday, I will unfortunately head to Wrigley to take advantage of a friend’s company tickets behind home plate. Then I will be heading to St. Louis next weekend for our annual family trip and hope to see some good baseball from the stands. I will likely go Tarps Off.

Thanks as always!

This is a simple question of the day: who is your favorite all time Phillies player and why?

I’m interested in the mix that we get with current and former players.

MLB.com | Bill Ladson: The Yankees’ rotation took a hit the other day with Carlos Rodón hitting the IL, but they got some good news yesterday. Max Fried, on the IL since the middle of May with a bone bruise, is ready to start facing live batters. He threw a bullpen session on Friday, and after getting the go-ahead that everything felt good will throw live batting practice today with a pitch limit of about 35 pitches. He’s still a while away from returning to the big league team, with roughly a month to go in his rehab, but the team is excited with the form he’s displayed and Fried has even taken the time off to work on his mechanics as he was never able to settle in this year despite good overall stats.

NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: The All-Star rosters for the American League were announced and the Yankees will have four representatives locked in. Aaron Judge earned his way onto the starting lineup via fan vote despite missing the last month with his rib injury, and though he’ll obviously miss out on playing in the festivities this will be his eighth time being honored as an All-Star. Meanwhile, his fellow stars in the lineup Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger will earn their way into the Midsummer Classic, and Cam Schlittler will join them from the pitching staff with a shot at starting the game outright.

MLB.com | Marino Panchano: Jasson Domínguez didn’t make the Opening Day lineup for the Yankees, but he always figured to be in their plans. A freak injury interrupted his return at the start of May, but now the runway is wide open for him to make his mark as the team is without Aaron Judge for the foreseeable future. Domínguez will start alongside Bellinger and Trent Grisham as the trio in the outfield with Spencer Jones demoted, and they’ll need him to show that the improvements he made down in Triple-A while he waited for his shot weren’t marginal — the team is desperate for offense, and a Martian sighting could do wonders to kickstart the lineup.

NY Daily News | Bill Maddon: The June Swoon has fully hit, and with it the annual clamoring for Aaron Boone’s firing have commenced. It would be a major surprise for the Yankees to do this, especially with no particular clubhouse favorite to succeed him, but the fact of the matter is that the Yankees have gone into a major slide and don’t have any cavalry coming to support them for at least another month or two without Brian Cashman totally revamping this team via trades. If the improvements have to come from within, it’ll also have to come on quick as the Rays have charged ahead into the lead in the AL East with reinforcements of their own coming with one of their top prospects pushing for a major league promotion.

NY Post | Steve Serby: Jose Caballero is the guy that you love when he’s on your team and you hate when he’s on the other team, and he knows that fully well. The utility player sat down for a lengthy Q&A with Serby and dished plenty of details on how he fights for every at-bat and takes a winning mentality onto the field, as well as breakdowns of several of his Instragram quotes.

On paper, I think this was the toughest of this weekend’s matchups against the Milwaukee Brewers, who came into yesterday with the second best record in the Major Leagues. Brandon Woodruff took the mound for the Brew Crew (2-1, 2.59 ERA before today) while Merrill Kelly, who has not been great this year, was going for us. His ERA coming into tonight was an unappealing 5.84, he was carrying 5-8 record, and for the first time in his career he had lost five consecutive starts. So, yeah. Ulp, basically.

Things didn’t start off terrifically for Merrill tonight, either, as Brice Turang lined a double down the left field line to lead off the top of the first. He advanced to third on a Christian Yelich groundout to first, so again, ulp. No worries, though, as it turned out, as Kelly buckled down and struck out the next two batters to end the inning with Turang stranded at third.

In the bottom of the frame, it looked like Woodruff was going to make short work of us, as Ketel Marte grounded out to first on the third pitch he saw, and Geraldo Perdomo struck out on three pitches. Corbin Carroll, thankfully, put up a much more patient at bat, working a six-pitch walk. Gabriel Moreno, tonight’s designated hitter, had himself a very patient at bat to follow, and sent the seventh pitch he saw down Gabi Lane into right field for a two-out single. That brought Adrian Del Castillo, who was handling the catching duties tonight, to the plate, and while he swung at the first pitch he saw, he did not miss it:

So that was fun, putting up a crooked number and taking a multi-run lead in the first inning of a ballgame! 3-0 DBACKS

And you’re going to have to savor that video highlight for awhile, because after the first inning, the Diamondbacks basically folded up their tents and absconded into the night. We didn’t even manage another baserunner until the bottom of the eighth, which not unreasonably led a lot of folks in the Gameday Thread to start expressing intense interest in seeing the “Deserve-to-Win-O-Meter” after the game, because while we had three runs, we only had two hits through seven innings. Meanwhile, the Brewers continued to do Brewers things and get hits and get into scoring position and pretty much constantly threaten.

To his credit, Merrill Kelly held the line, for the most part. He retired Milwaukee in order in the top of the second for his only clean inning of the game, and then wriggled off the hook in the third (runners on second and third with one out) and the fourth (bases loaded with two outs) to put up zeroes and keep the shutout in play. That ended in the top of the fifth, as Brice Turang led off the inning with another double, and was driven in by a Christian Yelich moonshot into the pool area in right. He then walked a batter, and allowed another double to put Brewers on second and third again, but managed to record the last two outs with no further damage done. 3-2 DBACKS

After that, our bullpen got to work, and once again, our bullpen did a bang-up job. Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a scoreless sixth, Brandyn Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh, and Juan Morillo pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, setting up a save situation for Paul Sewald in the ninth. Bear in mind that all three of those relievers had worked last night, as had Sewald, so I for one was feeling a bit nervous.

Never mind that, though, as the Diamondbacks offense slunk back out of the desert night in the bottom of the eighth to give us a little bit of insurance. Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., who had an off-day today, pinch hit for Max Kepler to lead things off, and he grounded a single into shallow left. Jorge Barrosa pinch ran for Lourdes, and Ildemaro Vargas came to the plate and doubled down the left field line. Lourdes would not have been able to score from first on that, but for Barrosa it was no problem, and all three of them wound up being big damn heroes.

Never mind that the lineup turned over and the top of the lineup was able to do absolutely nothing further. 4-2 DBACKS

So it was Sewald for the top of the ninth, as expected, and he quickly struck out both Brice Turang and Christian Yelich. It turned out he needed the extra insurance, though, as he surrendered a solo shot to Jackson Chourio that leaked over the wall in left center to bring Milwaukee to within a run. Happily, however, he induced a William Contreras groundout to short to put this one in the books for the good guys! 4-3 DBACKS

Win Probability, courtesy of FanGraphs

Fireworks: Adrian Del Castillo (3 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 1 K, +21% WPA)
Apple Pie: Juan Morillo (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K, +12% WPA), Brandyn Garcia (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, +10% WPA)

We had a charmingly lively Gameday Thread tonight, especially for a Saturday, with 272 comments at time of writing. A lot of comments went Sedona Red, too, which is always nice to see. Tonight’s Comment of the Game might not have had the most recs, but it came close, so I’m giving this one to Smurf1000 for this late offering that I think perfectly captures the image of what you want a Fourth of July Diamondbacks game day experience to be:

Hear, hear!

So stop by and join us tomorrow as we go for the series win (!!!) against Milwaukee. Hologram Eddie is going for us, while Brandon Sproat takes the mound for the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm AZ time, but I will warn you that it might prove difficult to watch, as it is a “Peacock Plus” exclusive.

See, NBC/Peacock decided to throw a “Star-Spangled Sunday” tomorrow, and they apparently decided that the best way to help America and the world celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday was to buy up the broadcast rights for every single MLB game being played tomorrow, and to gate all of them except the Mets @ Braves (9am AZ time) and Padres @ Dodgers (4pm AZ time) behind the Peacock Premium paywall. Lovely, huh? It really makes one proud to be an American. Gee.

Anyway. Listen to it on the radio, watch the MLB Game Day for live updates, stop by tomorrow and keep returning guest recapper LeahAZFan company in the Gameday Thread.

Wow. It was really pleasant to recap a Saturday night win. Those have been few and far between this season. As always, thanks so much for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

This was a pretty underwhelming game from the offense. They faced a good pitcher in Burke, but boy did they make him look great. A solo HR from Hedgey in the 5th is the only thing that kept this one from being a shutout. Hedges is now hitting .281 with a .756 OPS on the season. I don’t know how long this will last, but it’s been incredibly fun to see him have this kind of production offensively this season, I really hope he can keep it up.

You know the expectations for Parker Messick have changed when I feel underwhelmed seeing him throw 5 innings of one run ball. He is just so fricken good, and this was a perfectly fine outing, but he wasn’t at his best today. Is Tim Herrin the least reliable 3.16 ERA reliever ever? I find myself with no confidence anytime he comes into a late inning situation. I know we have been spoiled with bullpens over the last few years, but they have been so disappointing this season.

The Guardians will look to take the series tomorrow at 2:00 pm ET. It will be Tanner Bibee vs Chris Murphy.

Following an 11-15 June, the Colorado Rockies kicked off July with three straight wins. They entered the Saturday holiday matchup with back-to-back 14+ run games. On a day that got a little wonky between injuries, weather delays, umpire injury delays, and more, the Rockies weren’t able to secure a fourth straight win, as the San Francisco Giants took game two of this three game series.

“You look like the Fourth of July…”

After severe weather in the area delayed the game for 45 minutes, the sun came through at Coors Field, the Rockies took the field decked out in their stars-and-stripes studded caps and jerseys, and a nice Independence Day baseball game got underway in front of a packed ballpark. Things finally looked like the Fourth.

But it was one of those days where nothing started according to plan. On top of the weather delay, the Rockies’ projected starter Tomoyuki Sugano was scratched with an injury in the morning and added to the 15-day injured list, giving way to an unexpected Sean Sullivan start against Robbie Ray. The series of unfortunate events carried into the early portion of the game.

Sullivan found himself in trouble immediately. After sitting the leadoff hitter down on strikes, he gave up a single to Luis Arráez followed by a double to Casey Schmitt and then a walk to Rafael Devers to load the bases. Jung Hoo Lee grounded into what was nearly an inning ending double play but beat the ball to first, scoring Arráez and extending the action. Willy Adames came through for San Francisco with a two-run double. Bryce Eldridge hit the third two-bagger of the inning to add another run. The Giants took a 4-0 lead very quickly.

Still, manager Warren Schaefer remained positive about Sullivan’s start, saying, “I think Sally’s still settling into the big leagues. I thought he battled big time tonight and got us at least into the sixth. He threw over 100 pitches tonight, so almost got us through six.”

“Makes me want a hot dog real bad.”

Like Joey Chestnut’s craving for hot dogs, the Rockies were hungry for runs themselves, responding in the bottom of the first. Ray was able to secure the first two outs of the inning, but Hunter Goodman stayed hot with a single. Tyler Freeman then drew a walk, setting the stage for Cole Carrigg. Carrigg blasted a three-run shot to left, bringing the game within one run at 4-3.

Carrigg wasn’t done with the fireworks, this time putting on a display on the defense side of the ball. Eric Haase tried to spark the second inning for the Giants, but Carrigg made a wonderful diving grab to secure the first out.

After that, though, the Giants got another double, this time off the bat of Heliot Ramos. Arráez followed that with a single to right to bring Ramos home, extending the lead to 5-3. Sullivan got the next two outs to escape the second and limit the damage.

Bombs bursting in air (followed by silence)

Hits and homers were flying for both sides early. After Carrigg’s first inning dinger, Eldridge drove one to center field to extend the Giants’ lead to 6-3.

San Francisco logged eight hits for those six runs through just the first three innings. It was the storm before the calm as the two teams put up nine runs early until the offenses were quieted in the middle innings.

Both pitchers threw an efficient fourth inning. Sullivan only allowed a single to Devers but got out of the inning on 10 pitches and Ray worked a 1-2-3 inning on only nine pitches. In the fifth inning, Sullivan gave up another double and a walk but got out of the jam. Ray logged another three straight outs.

Sullivan found himself in another pickle the following inning. Arráez singled to kick things off, before Sullivan responded for the next two outs. Lee hit a double and moved Arráez to third. Manager Warren Schaeffer pulled Sullivan there, ending his day at 105 pitches thrown over 5.2 innings, with six earned runs on 12 hits and his ERA moving up to 8.87.

Juan Mejia, celebrating his 26th birthday, came in to relieve Sullivan. He walked Adames to load the bases before getting a noisy fly out to escape. It was smooth sailing for Mejia in the seventh as well, getting two strikeouts (one thanks to a Goodman challenge) and a line out.

For the Giants, Ray was pulled to start the bottom of the seventh inning. His day wrapped with 88 pitches thrown over 6.0 innings, three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks. San Francisco turned to Sam Hentges, Dylan Smith, and Caleb Kilian to close out the game.

“We will not go quietly into the night!”

The Rockies did not vanish without a fight, but unfortunately it was not quite enough to celebrate their Independence Day.

Colorado didn’t manage any hits in the eighth, which didn’t help. They tried to mount a comeback and eat into the three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth. With a successful challenge, Carrigg led things off with a single. Jake McCarthy came up next with a ground out that moved Carrigg to second. Mickey Moniak came in to pinch hit but struck out swinging.

The Rockies gave it one last go, pinch hitting TJ Rumfield for Ezequiel Tovar. That worked out, as Rumfield singled to left field to drive in a run and cut the lead to 6-4 Giants. But then Troy Johnston struck out to end the game there.

Final Thoughts

The Rockies offense wasn’t as putrid as it has been in some games this season, but it also didn’t reach the heights seen recently. Enough guys went o-fer, stalling momentum for Carrigg, Goodman, and the other batters who looked sharp. The bullpen was another bright spot, as Mejia, Antionio Senzatela, and newcomer Jordan Romano worked their innings without giving up any runs.

Moreso, in another rough start for Sullivan, the Rockies pitching was chipped away at consistently throughout the night, giving up 14 hits, seven of which were doubles. The Giants were able to gash them steadily and surely, taking an early lead and not looking back.

Up Next

The Rockies and Giants wrap up the holiday weekend with a Sunday afternoon rubber match.

Tyler Mahle is expected to take the mound for the visiting Giants, bringing with him a 1-8 record, 5.67 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 29 walks. The Rockies are projected to start Tanner Gordon, entering Sunday with an 0-2 record, 6.69 ERA, 39 strikeouts, and seven walks.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm MDT.

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DENVER — There were some inauspicious signs that Saturday, like so many this season, might not be the Giants’ night. They lost an ABS challenge on the first pitch and were all out by the end of the first inning. Robbie Ray just about faceplanted while covering first base.

All was forgotten once the Giants’ bats began to rev their engines against an overmatched rookie making a spot start in the favorable offensive confines of Coors Field.

The same way the Rockies jumped all over Logan Webb in the opening game of the series, the Giants returned the favor against Sean Sullivan on their way to a 6-4 win to even the series.

Bryce Eldridge doubled in a run and launched a 458-foot home run to the second deck in right field. Victor Bericoto smacked a pair of doubles down the left-field line. Heliot Ramos, Casey Schmitt, Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee got in on the brigade of two-baggers, too.

Eldridge, who had been stuck in a 7-for-45 rut since his last homer 12 games ago, broke his own record for the longest home run by a Giants hitter this season.

That one traveled 453 feet. The ballpark? Coors Field.

“Last time I came here I was kind of scuffling a little bit at the plate and I kind of snapped out of it here,” Eldridge said. “I feel like that’s starting to happen now, too, this time around.”

The Giants’ seven doubles were tied for their second-most in a game this season, only two off their output from the 25-hit win last time they visited the cavernous mile-high setting.

They became the first visiting team in Coors Field’s 31-year history to record more than one game of seven or more doubles, something the Rockies have only done in five seasons.

San Francisco pounded out 14 hits in total, including three from Luis Arraez on the same day he was named one of the Giants’ two All-Star representatives (along with Logan Webb).

Still, Colorado brought the tying run to the plate against closer Caleb Kilian in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter T.J. Rumfield singled home Cole Carrigg to cut the Giants’ lead to 6-4 and brought up Troy Johnston.

But in a setting where no lead is safe, that was as much drama as there was in three innings against San Francisco’s maligned bullpen, as Kilian got Johnston to chase at strike three for his eighth save.

What it means

The Giants caught somewhat of a break when Tomoyuki Sugano was scratched from his scheduled start with back spasms and replaced with Sullivan.

The 23-year-old soft-tossing southpaw had made four previous career starts with an 8.64 ERA. With the slowest average fastball velocity in the majors (87.8 mph), the Giants didn’t see a single pitch above 90 until Sullivan left the game with two outs in the sixth.

“He’s tough because it’s a deceptive look,” manager Tony Vitello said. “I think guys look up at the radar gun and don’t realize the fastball’s got a little jump to it, and then on top of it you maybe get a little greedy.”

No such issues for the Giants, who racked up all seven of their doubles off Sullivan and gave Ray a 4-0 lead to work with before the Rockies came to bat.

“At least looking at prior videos, it looked like teams that got him took good, compact swings. Other guys maybe got a little too aggressive,” Vitello said. “Our guys have been guilty of that this year, but not tonight. They were really, really good in a bunch of situations. I think the compact swings paid off.”

Who’s hot

Ray briefly looked out of sorts after tripping and falling while covering first base in the bottom of the first. Somehow, he managed to catch the toss from Rafael Devers and step on the bag to record the second out of the inning before stumbling onto his hands and knees in foul ground.

“You know, it didn’t feel great,” Ray said. “I’m not in my 20s anymore. But I’m all right.”

What followed were the first earned runs allowed by Ray since June 10. He had been the first Giants starter since Matt Cain in 2006 to go at least 22 innings over three starts without an earned run.

Ray surrendered a single to the next batter and put another man on base on four pitches. Then, he hung a changeup to Cole Carrigg, who roped it around the left-field foul pole.

That, however, was all the Rockies mustered against Ray.

“I’m not so sure there wasn’t something aggravated a little bit, judging on a couple winces,” Vitello said. “I was trying to be serious out there, but those guys couldn’t stop laughing so I started laughing.

Again relying on the four pitches besides his signature four-seamer, Ray didn’t yield another basehit until his final frame and finished six strong innings for his fourth straight quality start.

Who’s not

It didn’t come back to bite them, but the Giants didn’t win any prizes for strategy in the way they deployed their ABS challenges. Ramos tapped his helmet on the very first pitch of the game, a heater that scraped the inside corner, immediately leaving them with only one left.

That didn’t deter Bericoto from going for it on the last pitch of his at-bat to end the inning. That one, at least, would have turned a strikeout into a full count with a runner in scoring position.

But, once again, the Giants’ batter’s instincts were wrong, leaving them at the whim of the home plate umpire for the remainder of the game.

Up next

Tyler Mahle (1-8, 5.67) gets the ball in the rubber match against Tanner Gordon (0-2, 6.69). Beware, as part of MLB’s Fourth of July weekend celebration, every game will be carried nationally on NBC/Peacock with first pitch set for 1 p.m. Pacific on the dot.

Giants fans will still get to listen to Dave Flemming and Hunter Pence on the call.

They shouldn’t book their trips to Cancun for the All-Star break just yet.

At the same time, the many overqualified ballplayers who failed to earn selections to the American or National League All-Star teams when rosters were announced Saturday, July 4 shouldn’t have to play the waiting game.

But that’s life in the big leagues, where limited roster spaces and occasional mess-ups by fan or player voting can leave deserving players frozen out of the Midsummer Classic, played this year on July 14 in Philadelphia. Many players, of course, will be named as injury or starting-pitcher replacements.

For now, though, they are the legion of the snubbed, deserving but for now losers in the numbers game. Let’s explore eight players who should be Philly-bound one week from now:

Fans of round numbers enjoyed Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s masterful performance to lead a second straight low-scoring win for the Dodgers against the Padres, this one finishing 3-0. It was with his 100th pitch that Yamamoto secured a 10th strikeout to wrap up seven scoreless innings—Yamamoto tied a career-high in punchouts and delivered his best outing against the Padres, a team that prior to this season had caused him problems.

While runs were at a premium on both sides, the Dodgers didn’t need much to feel good about their chances in this one. Just three runs were more than enough to hold off an offense that had no response for Yamamoto, and it could’ve been more if not for the Padres’ defense. The Dodgers squandered a chance to open the scoring in the first inning when Mookie Betts hit what could’ve been a two-out RBI double, but Freddie Freeman got gunned down at the plate. Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts combined for a nice play to preserve the 0-0 on the board at least until the third inning.

It’s pitching 101 that a starter is leaving room for the disastrous if he doesn’t open up an inning against the bottom of an order with dominance, particularly if you’re facing an offense as strong as the Dodgers. Griffin Canning replaced opener Wandy Peralta after the first, and with hitters number eight and nine reaching base in the third inning—in this case, Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland—it felt like a given that Los Angeles would get on the board. That’s exactly what the Dodgers did with an Andy Pages RBI knock, filling in as the designated hitter with Shohei Ohtani on the bench.

You wouldn’t know it from his performance tonight—as he ended up holding the Dodgers to just one run in four innings as the bulk man, but it’s been a disastrous campaign for Canning. The Padres’ right-hander lowered his ERA to 6.71 and took a sixth loss in his seventh decision.

However great Yamamoto was from start to finish, creating this feel of an insurmountable lead as soon as the Dodgers got on the board, they still felt pressed to add to it. That only came in the sixth inning when Freddie Freeman made up for faltering with a runner in scoring position earlier in the game by hitting a solo shot, only his 15th on the season and third at home since the beginning of June.

Still, any night that Freeman doesn’t deliver with a runner in scoring position doesn’t feel complete, and so he did in the eighth. The Dodgers first baseman drove in Tommy Edman on one of his patented line drives to center field for a single.

Back to Yamamoto, though, despite allowing five base runners with three hits and five walks, the Dodgers starter only had one at-bat against him with a runner in scoring position, responding well to any setback, no matter how rare—speaking of, that final pitch to secure the seven scoreless had a bit of it, considering Yamamoto was facing a full count against Merrill because of a pitch-clock violation at 2-2.

The only dicey moment in the two innings of relief following Yamamoto came in the eighth when Dave Roberts called on Alex Vesia to face Jake Cronenworth with a runner on and a 2-0 lead. Vesia got the strikeout and didn’t even come back for the ninth, leaving the save to Will Klein.

Game particulars

• Home run: Freddie Freeman (15)
• WP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-5): 7 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
• LP— Griffin Canning (1-6): 4 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
• SV – Will Klein (2): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The possibility for a four-game sweep awaits on a late start on Sunday afternoon on the West Coast, as the Dodgers and Padres play with first pitch scheduled for 4:20 P.M. (PT). Emmett Sheehan will start for the home side and be opposed by J.P. Sears, making only his third start in 2026.

Struggles with clutch hitting haunt the Milwaukee Brewers yet again, as they strand nine runners on base on their way to a 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Entering tonight’s game, the Brewers’ main focus was to get a deep outing from their starting pitching and clean up the runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, neither issue was solved, despite one of them being out of the team’s control.

Hopes were high for a deep outing, as Brandon Woodruff was making his third start since coming off the injured list. But after getting the first two batters of the bottom of the first inning out, Woodruff allowed a walk and a single to set things up for Adrian Del Castillo. He then hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Diamondbacks a 3-0 lead.

Things quickly turned for the worse for the Brewers after Woodruff’s velocity dropped drastically in the fourth inning. Curt Hogg reported that his changeups were sitting at 75 mph, seven ticks below his average speed on that pitch. Following that realization from the coaching staff, Woodruff was quickly pulled from the game. It’s the second time this season that Woodruff has left the game due to injury against the Diamondbacks.

At that point in the ballgame, we saw a masterclass from the rookie right-hander Craig Yoho, who threw 2.2 innings of perfect baseball, striking out just one batter. It was his longest appearance out of the bullpen in two years, when he did it with Triple-A Nashville.

Following the departure of Woodruff, Christian Yelich broke out of his struggles at the plate with his first home run since June 17, as he smoked a two-run home run to right-center field. His home run snapped an 0-for-12 stretch at the plate.

After Yoho was pulled from the game, Jared Koenig came in for a relief appearance, as he was the lone pitcher to not appear out of the bullpen in last nights 8.1 inning work load. Getting the final two outs of the seventh inning, Koenig allowed the Diamondbacks to pick up an insurance run to extend their lead to 4-2.

Yelich’s two-run home run was the lone offensive production on the night until Jackson Chourio sent a ball over the left field wall with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to bring the Brewers within one run. Unfortunately, that was it for the Brewers offense, as it was another night of kicking themselves in the foot. The Brewers bats combined for 12 hits on the night, but once again, it was the struggles with runners in scoring position that were the kicker. Tonight, the Crew stranded nine runners in scoring position, finishing the night 1-for-10.

On top of it all, the Diamondbacks collected just four hits as a team, riding the three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning throughout the entirety of the game. Merrill Kelly continued to dominate the Brewers as he went five innings, allowing two runs, two walks, eight hits, and struck out six batters. It was Kelly’s best outing on the mound since June 11 against the Miami Marlins when he didn’t allow any runs through six innings.

The Brewers will go for the rubber match and season series tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., as they play in their third primetime game of the season, as they make their season debut on Peacock.