Category: MLB

Remember when Ozzie Albies bopped those two big fly balls just over the big wall in right field at Truist Park in order to help push the Braves to a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers? Yeah, that was back on June 20 and that was the last time the Braves won a series. Ever since then, they got swept by the Padres (in Petco Park so what else is new), they dropped a series to the Giants, they came up short against the Cardinals and then somehow managed to split a four-game series at home against the Mets.

I’m saying that to say that it’s been a rough stretch for the Braves since they toppled the NL Central-leading Brewers. Still, they’ve shown signs of continuing to improve so they can potentially scratch and claw their way out of this rough patch and the most encouraging thing in particular was the offense showing signs of life. If that continued then the Braves would be in good shape and they’d be able to compete against Pittsburgh and their high-powered offense as well. Now it’s time to see how well the Braves fared against the Buccos.

Tuesday, July 7

Pirates 12, Braves 4

Ryan O’Hearn hit three homers and had 10 RBI in this one. That’s it folks, that’s the ballgame!

It’s kind of hard to win when one guy has 10 RBI by himself! Indeed, O’Hearn became the first person to reach double-digit RBI in a single game since Shohei Ohtani did it back in 2024. In fact, O’Hearn had a legitimate shot at four dingers in one game but unfortunately for him, shutdown reliever Jorge Mateo held him to a single in his final at-bat so O’Hearn was unable to make it four homers in one game. Still, Cooperstown accepted his helmet while the Braves accepted that it was a bad night at the office for Hurston Waldrep and Connor Thomas in particular.

Wednesday, July 8

Braves 3, Pirates 0

Fortunately, the Braves appeared to flush the bad memories of Tuesday night and proceeded to absolutely clamp down on Pittsburgh’s lineup in the middle game of this three-game series. We ended up getting a serious pitchers’ duel between Grant Holmes and Jared Jones and while Holmes was impressive in his five innings of shutout ball, Jones was even better as he carried a perfect game through six innings.

Jones was not given the opportunity to go for that perfect game because Pirates manager Don Kelly pulled Jones from the game after he was done in the sixth and sure enough, that ended up being the spark that got Atlanta’s offense going. Ozzie Albies ruined the perfect game in the seventh and then Joey Bart marked his return to PNC Park with a two-run dinger in the eighth that gave the Braves the lead and broke the deadlock.

An insurance run was added in the ninth and that meant that Raisel Iglesias was in line to bounce back from his blown save on Monday. Iglesias did give up a hit this time around but he otherwise had little trouble finishing off the Pirates and getting another save while helping push the Braves over the finish line for a series-tying win.

Thursday, July 9

Braves 10, Pirates 5

This one started off encouragingly enough for the Braves as they put up three runs in the first three innings at Mitch Keller’s expense and actually ran him from the game during those three innings. However, that was when Bryce Elder fell into some old bad habits and served up two of his vintage hanging sliders to Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez, who went back-to-back to get the Pirates back into the game.

The fourth inning saw the Braves get comfortable again in the lead as they plated three runs in their half of the inning (including a two-run dinger from Jim Jarvis — his first as a big leaguer) before Elder got tagged for a dinger again in the bottom half of the fourth. This time, it was a two-run shot from Jake Mangum and while the pitch wasn’t as bad as the other two, the result was the same and the Braves had to hold on to a two-run lead heading into the middle frames.

Mangum added an RBI double in the fifth to bring the Pirates within one run and then the bottom of the eighth inning saw James Karinchak and the Braves tenuously holding on to that lead as Pittsburgh had a runner in scoring position. Fortunately, Karinchak escaped with the lead following a strikeout, a ground out and a bullet that was smacked directly into Matt Olson’s glove for the final out. That ended up being crucial because Mike Yastrzemski ended up coming through with a massive grand slam against Dennis Santana that gave the Braves the breathing room they needed to saunter to a 10-5 series win.

Remember when it felt like this team just couldn’t find any sort of power at the plate? Those days appear to be in the rear view mirror for the Braes now because it certainly appears that this Braves team is really starting to do some serious slugging again. Joey Bart and Mike Yastrzemski both came up absolutely huge with their well-timed dingers during this series and it was also nice to see Matt Olson keep it going at the plate with a dinger in the series finale.

Even Jim Jarvis got in on the fun and congratulations are in order for him for his first big league homer — and he nearly had his second one a few innings later! It may have been tempting to think that Atlanta was just taking advantage of a beleaguered Mets pitching staff over the weekend but it really does feel like the bats have come back to life for the Braves. That’s huge since as we’ve seen from this series, the pitching is still in a spotty position at the moment.

With that being said, it was certainly encouraging to see Grant Holmes successfully navigate a second trip through the order in his start and Raisel Iglesias took the opportunity to bounce back from an extremely rare blown save earlier this week by dusting off one of the victories during this season. He didn’t even have to pitch in the series-clincher and that was due to the fact that guys like Danny Young, James Karinchak and Victor Mederos were able to step up and live up to the standards that the rest of the bullpen has set for this season.

All in all, it’s a solid series win on the road and hopefully the Braves will be able to carry this mojo with them to St. Louis for the final series of the first half. We’ve been saying for a while that they desperately need the break to regroup and while that may still be true with the Phillies and now also the Marlins creeping up on them, it sure would be nice to see the Braves take that opportunity to regroup while going into the clubhouse turn (so to speak) off the heels of a successful road trip. They’ve finished off the first leg in strong form and now it’s time for the second part. We’ll see what happens.

What we learned as Bryce Eldridge blasts first career Splash Hit in Giants' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe there’s still a little fight left in the Giants after all.

Less than 24 hours after a frustrating, chaotic loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that seemed to deepen the depression hovering above Oracle Park, the Orange and Black bounced back with a crisp and clean 8-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night.

They did it with some strong at-bats and a steady evening on the mound from Carson Whisenhunt, the final result being a vibe around China Basin that was vastly different than it had been on Wednesday.

It helped big time that the Giants didn’t have to spend most of the game without a hit, as was the case the day before.

San Francisco came out swinging and swinging hard.

Casey Schmitt hit another home run, his 18^th of the 2026 MLB season, to get things going. Bryce Eldridge got his first taste of McCovey Cove, where he deposited his eighth home run of the season. Then, for good measure, Willy Adames added a two-run blast in the eighth.

In total, eight of San Francisco’s starters had at least one hit while beating Colorado for a seventh straight time at Oracle Park, dating to May 1 of last season.

Whisenhunt, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento before the game in a corresponding move to Ryan Walker being sent down, pitched through some traffic and worked around a hiccup fourth inning to improve to 2-0 this season.

Whisenhunt had some control issues with four walks while throwing only 57 of 87 pitches for strikes. He allowed three hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

JT Brubaker retired four batters, Erik Miller set down three and Caleb Kilian worked the ninth to seal the victory.

Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s win:

Schmitt Shines Again

It seems like every game Schmitt does something to get the fan base buzzing. He did exactly that against the Rockies with his bat and glove, becoming the first Giants player to hit seven home runs before the 95^th game of a season since home run king Barry Bonds had eight in 2001.

Caught up in an 8-for-53 funk over his previous 14 games, Schmitt destroyed the ball for his 18^th home run of the year, a solo shot that easily cleared the fence in left-center.

Schmitt added an RBI double in the eighth.

Then, following up on a few defensive gems he made in the past week, Schmitt made a great play going into foul territory to grab Hunter Goodman’s sharp grounder then made a strong throw across the diamond to get the out.

Bericoto with the Sweet D

Victor Bericoto has shown plenty of gumption at the plate since his arrival, but the 24-year-old Venezuelan can play some pretty good defense as well.

The Giants left fielder flashed some of his glove work in the first inning when he made a diving catch to rob Colorado’s No. 3 hitter, Cole Carrigg, of a hit.

San Francisco’s defense has been a mixed bag this season, so seeing Bericoto lay out to make the catch is a sign that maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Return of the Whiz

Whisenhunt and everyone in the Giants organization was hoping for a better return when the 6-foot-3 pitcher came back from the minors instead of the middle-of-the-road performance they saw Thursday.

Whisenhunt was sharp in the beginning, setting down the first eight hitters he faced, three by strikeout. After he pitched out of bases-loaded jam in the third, Whisenhunt nearly escaped again in the fourth before giving up a go-ahead, two-out two-run home run to Willi Castro in the fourth.

Given how this season has played out, there’s no guarantee that Whisenhunt will get another shot in the rotation. Giants manager Tony Vitello said before the game that the entire starting rotation will be reevaluated during the MLB All-Star break.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

As a rule, only scoring two runs in a three-game series isn’t a successful strategy, and this series wasn’t the exception that proved that rule.

The White Sox fell behind 2-0 in the fourth when starter Anthony Kay issued a dreaded leadoff walk, followed by a 379-foot shot into the left-field stands by Caleb Durbin. Those would be the only costly mistakes in Kay’s 5 1/3 innings of work, but they were enough, given the feeble state of the offense.

Facing a middish lefty for the third straight game, the Chicago offense sputtered once again, this time against Patrick Sandoval in his first major league game after an injury hiatus of more than two years. Didn’t get shut out this time, though, like last night. Not at all.

Instead, the mighty power lineup that’s fourth in the majors in homers scored an actual run by playing a ball so small it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Luisangel Acuña led off the fifth with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, then to third on another wild pitch — though he was given credit for a stolen base because he might have been headed that way when the pitch went through — and scored when pinch hitter Andrew Benintendi checked his swing and dribbled the ball toward third at an awesome 42 mph.

That would be the only White Sox hit with a runner in scoring position, though, to be fair, they only had three other chances, because they advanced a runner as far as second only four times, with the rest of the offense consisting of six singles and one walk.

One more run would have been key, since relievers Jordan Hicks, Grant Taylor and Tyler Davis — temporarily up from Charlotte while Trevor Richards is on emergency family leave — shut down the Wrong Sox for 3 2/3 innings without even a hit.

The Red Sox had almost all the hard-hit balls, with Wilyer Abreu alone having three over 106 mph. The Right Sox did have a couple of possible extra-base shots, the first by Miguel Vargas leading off the eighth, which Jarren Duran negated.

The other was by Braden Montgomery in the ninth, wiped out by center fielder Ceddane Rafaela.

The sweep sends the White Sox to 47-45 and into a virtual tie with the Guardians, who beat the Twins this afternoon. The last series before the All-Star break begins tomorrow night against the A’s, with Sean Burke facing Aaron Civale.

Here are the lineups for the final game in Cincinnati, let’s discuss!

For the Phillies:

For the Reds:

The MLB Draft starts in less than 48 hours, and there has been a lot of speculation as to who the Rockies might take 10th overall. We asked you to make your best guess between RHP Liam Peterson (Florida), RHP Cameron Flukey (Coastal Carolina), C Vahn Lackey (Georgia Tech) or C Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas).

The most popular answer among those given was Peterson, but the majority of folks believe the Rockies will take someone completely different:

Some of the responses included:

• LHP Hunter Dietz, Arkansas
• SS Tyler Bell, Kentucky
• OF Derek Curiel, Louisiana State
• LHP Mason Edwards, Southern California
• OF AJ Gracia, Virginia
• OF Drew Burress, Georgia Tech
• LHP Carson Bolemon, Southside Christian

In addition to pick no. 10, the Rockies also have 37 and 38 on the first day.

Do you agree with the results? Do you stand by your original vote? Let us know in the comments!

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

When/Where is the MLB Draft, & how do we watch it?

The MLB Draft this year is Saturday, July 11th and Sunday, July 12th. Coverage will begin on NBC and Peacock at 1PM ET on Saturday, with rounds 1-3 being completed on day one. On Sunday, NBC/Peacock rounds 4-20 is at 1 PMET. Both days will also have live coverage on MLB Network and MLB.com

The MLB Futures Game will occur on Sunday, starting at 9 AM PT/12 PM ET, also to be broadcast on NBC. The home run derby is Monday night 8PM ET on Netflix and the All-Star game is 8PM ET Tuesday. The weekend’s festivities will begin with Friday night’s Historically Black College/University Swingman Classic Game on July 10th at 7 PM ET on MLB Network and MLB.com.

What Do I Need to Know About the Guardians’ Picks?

The Guardians’ first four picks are #19, #59, #95 and #123. You can read up on some potential names they might be considering here. Brian Hemminger is reviewing the last four drafts for the Guardians ahead of time, and Matt Dallas added some additional scouting of pitchers here, as did Matt Seese here.

Who is eligible to be drafted?

Anyone residing in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories who has never signed a previous MLB/MiLB contract and is either

• A high school graduate, OR
• Attending a junior/community college, OR
• Attending a four-year college/university which they have attended for at least three years/have reached their 21st birthday

What Can We Expect from Covering the Corner?

We will have an open thread on draft days to discuss selections and analysis of each pick as they occur posted after picks are made.

Takeaways as Luzardo deals again, Phillies manufacture enough to win series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CINCINNATI — Jesús Luzardo has been the true middle of the Phillies’ rotation in 2026.

Entering Thursday, Philadelphia was 25-8 in starts made by Zack Wheeler or Cristopher Sánchez this year. The Phillies were 12-6 in Luzardo’s starts, while all other starters were 14-28.

The Phillies’ Peruvian-born southpaw has had his dominant outings. He has had his blow-up outings.

More recently, though, his starts have been cut from the same cloth. A dominant one.

When Wheeler, Sánchez and Luzardo are all rolling at the top, it makes it feel like this club can handle just about anything in front of them.

If all three are doing this come postseason time, look out. There is always a way to October baseball, but the Phillies are getting a glimpse of their rotation’s ceiling as those three continue to one-up one another.

On Thursday, the Phillies and Reds both struggled mightily at the plate. But one late run was all Philadelphia needed in a 1-0 win, clinching the series at Great American Ball Park.

LUZARDO’S SURGE

It is hard to find a starting pitcher more locked in than the newly named first-time All-Star Luzardo.

Over his last five outings entering Thursday, the lefty registered a 1.78 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings.

Two-thirds of those strikeouts, 30 of them, came against his otherworldly sweeper. No matter who he faces, that pitch remains one of the toughest in baseball. He showed that again against the Reds.

Luzardo racked up 11 strikeouts Thursday. Eight came with the sweeper.

What allowed him to remain so effective with it late in counts was his ability to get ahead with his other pitches.

Five of seven first-pitch strikes with his four-seamer. Three of four with his changeup. Three of six with his sinker.

Make it six straight dominant starts. A 1.45 ERA. A 13.5 strikeouts per nine, the highest rate in the National League across that span. And he has produced a 1.38 ERA on the road.

Remarkable.

He finished his night with seven scoreless innings. The Phillies now have double-digit games with 10 strikeouts, the second most in MLB.

The next time Luzardo takes the ball will very likely be in the 96th Midsummer Classic at his home ballpark.

SCRATCHED ONE ACROSS

Reds starter Brady Singer was almost as good.

He was efficient as ever. Through his first five innings, he threw 10 pitches or fewer in each frame.

Singer was through seven scoreless before the Phillies were able to do just enough.

The athleticism at the bottom of the order has become a separator from years past. Gabriel Rincones Jr. was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth. Don Mattingly called on Derek Hill, who would replace Rincones defensively as well, to pinch run.

That was the right call.

J.T. Realmuto then chopped one to short, but Hill’s speed allowed him to get to second. That forced Elly De La Cruz to take the out at first.

So when Justin Crawford came up next and bounced one through the right side on a low-and-in sinker, Hill’s speed allowed him to score.

That was all the Phillies needed.

HEATED UP

In the second inning, as Luzardo walked off the mound, he pointed into the Reds’ dugout after the frame ended.

The competitor in him comes out on the mound at times. With the way Luzardo is rolling, that edge is working for him.

And for the Phillies, being able to hand the ball from Luzardo to Jonathan Bowlan and then Jhoan Duran to lock down a 1-0 win in the middle of a nine-game road trip to end the first half is massive.

More to come.

Since announcing that he will be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby during the All-Star break, Ben Rice has been on a power surge for the Yankees. 

After hitting a home run on Tuesday, the same day of his commitment to partake in the event, Rice added two more on Thursday in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays to help lead a 12-4 win for New York to secure a series split.

In fact, Rice finished the four-game set against the division-rival 7-for-16 with four home runs and nine RBI. The 27-year-old is now up to 28 homers on the season, second in the AL, and already two more than he had in 138 games during his breakout campaign in 2025.

What’s incredible is the slugger is showing no signs of slowing down and spoke about his unbelievable season so far and what he’s done to compound on last year’s offensive explosion.

“Just sticking with it overall,” he said. “Like I’ve said in the past, it’s such a long year. You’re bound to go through the ups and downs. Just leaning on the guys in the clubhouse and the locker room and go out here and just have an approach, stick to it, be convicted in it and hopefully good things will happen.”

Whatever approach Rice is utilizing, it’s certainly working which has the Yankees very excited as they continue to play without Aaron Judge who is out with a fractured rib and who will get re-imaging on that rib during the All-Star break.

Speaking of the All-Star break, Rice will likely stick to that same approach during his participation in the Home Run Derby that takes place on July 13 to try and take home the hardware in his first time in the event.

One of Rice’s competitors will be Junior Caminero, who also went yard on Thursday and is right behind Rice with 27 home runs. Actually, at the time, the home run put Caminero in front of Rice, but that didn’t last long as two innings later Rice tied it before overtaking him with his second of the game.

Of the five confirmed participants this year, Rice and Caminero are the top-2 in total home runs which, as of right now, could make them two of the favorites to come out on top. In last year’s competition, Caminero was a surprise runner-up to Cal Raleigh so his experience could give him the slight edge over Rice.

Regardless, Rice seems ready to prove his numbers this season are no fluke and that the hard work he’s been putting in since his MLB debut in 2024 is paying off.

After Thursday’s game, though, all Rice was thinking about was his team and how they were able to pull out a series split while putting up 12 runs on 14 hits.

“It’s big time. It’s big for the morale heading into this last series before the break,” he said. “Just kinda getting everyone rolling again and firing on all cylinders feels good.”

Okay, so the first two games haven’t gone our way and the club is now riding a 5-game losing streak. That just means it’s time for a win to get us back in the win column and rolling again. It’s time.

The A’s will be going with an opener/bulk pitcher strategy today, giving left-handed reliever Jose Suarez the ball for the first inning. He’ll be followed by right-hander Jack Perkins. The 26-year-old has struggled mightily in his return to starting duties, posting a ghastly 8.10 ERA over his six starts. The season is quickly slipping away from the A’s so it’s getting to the point where they might as well let it ride with the young right-hander. Maybe today is the day he puts it all together and finally figures it out. We’ll see though as he’s coming off an appearance where he allowed seven runs to cross home plate. Hard to win when your starter does that. Fingers crossed switching roles can spark something.

Here’s how the A’s will line up this afternoon in Detroit for the finale:

The squad gets first baseman Nick Kurtz back after he departed the game last night. Seems he’s healthy enough to get back into the starting lineup, though he’ll handle DH duties while first base will be covered by Jonah Heim. Kurtz will bat second behind today’s third baseman and lead off man Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and our middle infield duo will be Jacob Wilson and Alika Williams tonight, playing shortstop and second base respectively.

And while the team welcomed Tyler Soderstrom back from the IL yesterday he gets the day off this evening, making way for Zack Gelof to get the start on the grass out there in left. He’ll be flanked by Henry Bolte in center and Colby Thomas in right field.

The Tigers meanwhile will send high-priced lefty Framber Valdez to the bump for what will be his 19th start of the season. The first-year Tiger hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations that his big contract came with but he’s still been serviceable with a 4.29 ERA for the AL Central squad.

And a look at Detroit’s starting nine today:

1-9 in our past 10 games. Currently holding the 3rd-worst record in the American League. A five-game losing streak, and now five games back of a playoff spot. Desperate times. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
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Athletics – NBCSCA

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Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

Lefty Jesus Luzardo signed a massive $135 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Phillies over the winter, and promptly started the 2026 season by falling completely flat on his face. He yielded 6 ER in his first start of the year, and his first four starts of the year featured a startling line: 22.2 IP, 28 H, 21 R (20 ER), good for a terribly unsightly 7.94 ERA.

Within that, though, sat an impressive 30/5 strikeout to walk ratio, and that fueled the 2.85 FIP he recorded through those surface struggles.

I cite that as a reference point as that encompassed the bad part of his year. Four starts of 2.85 FIP ball, and regression came coming for him quickly. In the 14 games he has started since that bad luck beginning to his extension, he’s been simply brilliant. Across 80.2 IP, he’s pitched to a 2.57 ERA and 2.99 FIP, and he’s struck out 95 more batters in that time.

In other words, he looks exactly like the pitcher who warranted said extension when the Phillies front office sent the contract his way.

He’ll start against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday opposite Brady Singer, who is desperately trying to pitch his way into a contract a third as valuable as Luzardo’s when he reaches free agency this winter. Singer got off to a much more prolonged struggle to begin 2026, but to his credit he has pitched to a 3.16 ERA with a 35/14 K/BB over his last 6 starts (even if the Reds have gone just 1-5 in those games).

It’s a 7:10 PM ET start time for this series finale. Turn on, tune in, drop out.

The Red Sox are hot. Take that statement as you will.

Boston has rolled through this coast-to-coast road trip in impressive fashion, regardless of the competition. The Red Sox have momentum entering the All-Star break, honestly as they have in recent seasons. What will the outcome be this time? 

Here’s three takeaways from Thursday’s win. 

CALEB DURBIN COMPARISONS ARE HILARIOUS
Boston’s third baseman homered to make the difference with a two-run blast on his ninth long ball of the season.

It’s unfair to play revisionist history against Alex Bregman, but here are their numbers on the season entering play Thursday. 

SANDOVAL SOLID
All things considered, Sandoval looked solid in his first start since 2024. 

The left-hander exited after 65 pitches in the fifth inning. He allowed just one earned run in 4 ⅓ innings with five strikeouts on the day. Sandoval got up to 96.1 MPH on his fastball on the day. 

ARE YOU BUYING IN? 

The Red Sox entered the day just three games out of the final wild card spot in a horrible American League. More importantly as followed in recent weeks, there are now just three teams in between Boston and the final wild card spot with the Blue Jays, the Astros and the Twins. 

That was the larger issue even recently. The Red Sox haven’t had a massive deficit in terms of games back, rather they’ve faced too many teams separating them from a playoff spot. 

Can Boston truly overcome and sustain the field to produce in unlikely fashion?

My track record is quite clear on Gabriel Arias… so someone has to tell me if I can celebrate the Guardians’ win today over the Twins, 5-2.

I have emphasized that Arias being a bottom 10 hitter in MLB since his debut makes him an expendable player. I lost my mind when he struck out five times and didn’t bother to run to first recently, and similarly when he lolipopped throws to first base. Since June 29th, entering today’s game, Arias had a 109 wRC+ and he hit an absolute bomb today to start off the scoring:

I don’t think Arias is a player you reserve a roster spot for on a playoff team. However, these hot streaks are great and his power is a welcome addition when it shows up for this team. He also made a great play on a bunt in the 8th, showing off that laser cannon of an arm.

Props to you, Arias. Please continue to make me look like an absolute idiot. Also, I regret not giving more grace for the mental strain you must be dealing with regarding the earthquakes in Venezuela.

Gavin Williams was very good today, perfect through four, and then seemingly rattled when Royce Lewis attempted to break up the perfecto with two straight bunt attempts and a bloop hit. That is fair play. But, Williams doesn’t have to LIKE it, and he clearly did not. Though he gave up a run, he got out of it allowing only one, and screaming to himself as he left the mound. I appreciated the competitive fire. Williams allowed a home run in the 7th to Lewis, and Lewis robbed Travis Bazzana of a two-run double, cementing further his status for me of “Most Hated AL Central Rival Player.” I do not enjoy watching him. Williams struck out 11 and I hope this is a sign that he is ready for a good second half. The Guardians will need it.

The Guardians also had home runs from Chase DeLauter who appears locked in:

And Patrick Bailey of all people!

And a two-run double from Brayan Rocchio:

Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith gave us a resumption of normal bullpen excellence and the Guardians left town still ahead of the Twins and able to put those first two terrible games behind them. Now, to the incredibly hot Marlins and then the All-Star break. Long live Arias.

When Mark Vientos left Thursday afternoon's game against the Kansas City Royals after getting hit on the hand, the Mets responded by pulling A.J. Ewing in from center field to play second base, his first time playing the infield at the big league level.

Interim manager Andy Green said that when asked Ewing about moving to second for the start of the third inning, the 21-year-old expressed nothing but willingness.

"I can't use the words here that he used, but he was more than eager to stand there and play defense at second today," Green said in his postgame media availability after the Mets' 7-3 win.

“I was fired up about it; I was excited to go there,” Ewing said about the conversation with Green, breaking into a wide smile. “I wish I got a groundball.”

Ewing did get one ball hit up the middle that he made a diving stop on, but had no chance to get the runner at first.

First baseman Jared Young said he didn’t have any surprise about seeing Ewing to his right: “He’s a crazy athlete, so wherever you put him he’ll be fine.”

How did he look over there? “Great,” Young added. “Like a natural.”

Ewing’s work at second had been “sprinkled in” during his time with the big leagues, but Green said you kinda “triage the best you can” when making the decision after losing Vientos to what ended up being a broken hand that will see him land on the IL.

The answer was to shift Brett Baty from second to third base and bring Tyrone Taylor in to play center.

“I do believe that A.J. is capable of playing that position well,” the interim skipper said about second, but that center will remain his focus. “We were trying to figure out what it might look like in the minor leagues for him. You have limited reps, you have a guy flying through the system, and we genuinely believed he could be the center fielder of the future, so we invested heavily there and very lightly at keeping the second base somewhat viable. 

“I wouldn’t doubt him figuring out how to do whatever we asked him to do, but we still A.J. as a center fielder, who was a wonderful safety net for his teammates today.” 

Ewing added that the timing of his preparation is a bit different, but as far as the shift from center field, “you’re still reading the ball off the bat the same way.”

“I mean, I grew up playing there every single day since the I the time I was four years old, ‘til 18, 19 years old,” he said about playing second. “It felt pretty normal.”

The Milwaukee Brewers will wrap up the unofficial first half of the season this weekend, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates for just the second time this season (and first time on the road). The Brewers sit at 58-34 entering Thursday night’s finale in St. Louis, 6.5 games ahead of the Cubs atop the division and 12 games up on the 47-47 Pirates, who have had an up-and-down season.

The Pirates, who have had one of the better pitching staffs in recent seasons, have completely flipped the script in 2026. While they still have solid arms in Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, and Bubba Chandler atop the rotation (all three of whom will pitch this weekend), they haven’t performed quite as well as expected. Instead, the offense, which has been among the league’s worst the last few years, has picked up the slack — they’re currently led in homers by two of their offseason pickups, Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. More on them below.

Milwaukee’s injured list currently includes pitchers Brandon Woodruff (TBD return), Joel Kuhnel (late July/early August), Coleman Crow (late July), DL Hall (late July), Carlos Rodriguez (mid-July), Rob Zastryzny (mid- to late July), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), Quinn Priester (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). The position player group is currently without outfielder Brandon Lockridge (late July) and David Hamilton (mid- to late July).

Pittsburgh is without pitchers Wilber Dotel (All-Star break), Evan Sisk (TBD), and Chris Devenski (late July). They’re also without a few top position players, including Spencer Horwitz (mid-July), rookie Konnor Griffin (September), Oneil Cruz (late July), and Endy Rodríguez (late July).

Jake Bauers continues to set the pace for Milwaukee’s offense with 16 homers, as he’s hitting .265/.365/.495. Jackson Chourio has cooled off a bit after a red-hot June, but he’s still hitting .282/.337/.502 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs in 58 games this year. Catcher William Contreras is Milwaukee’s lone All-Star Game rep (after Jacob Misirowoski was replaced due to his scheduled start on Sunday), and the backstop is hitting .284/.349/.401. Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich, Gary Sánchez, Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz, Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara, Andrew Vaughn, and Greg Jones round things out. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .255/.337/.397 (.734 OPS ranks ninth), with 84 homers (28th), 468 runs (fifth), and 85 steals (tied for seventh).

As I mentioned above, the Pirates are led by their offseason additions of Lowe and O’Hearn. Lowe is hitting .243/.315/.490 with 21 homers, 20 doubles, and 64 RBIs, while O’Hearn is hitting .289/.346/.490 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs. Bryan Reynolds has also had a nice bounce-back season, hitting .281/.395/.477 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs to go with a perfect 7-for-7 on steals. Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Jake Mangum, and Marcell Ozuna round out the regulars, with Esmerlyn Valdez, Billy Cook, Tyler Callihan, Jack Brannigan, and Rafael Flores Jr. serving as depth. As a team, the Pirates are hitting .262/.340/.423 (.763 OPS ranks second), with 120 homers (tied for seventh), 492 runs (third), and 88 steals (fifth).

The trio of Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, and Abner Uribe lead Milwaukee’s bullpen, with Chad Patrick serving as a multi-inning option. Grant Anderson has also put up a respectable 3.32 ERA, with Craig Yoho, Jared Koenig, and Drew Rom completing the bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.32 team ERA (first), including a 3.24 starter ERA (first) and a 3.43 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 896 batters (second) over 825 2/3 innings.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen has been a bit of a weakness this season, as they’re just 17-for-34 in save chances as a team. Gregory Soto leads the way with 11 saves, though he has a 4.15 ERA and four blown saves. Dennis Santana leads the ‘pen with 41 appearances, but he’s been dismal, with a 5.95 ERA and a pair of blown saves. Carmen Mlodzinski (3.24 ERA) and Yohan Ramírez (3.38 ERA) have been the best of the bunch for the Bucs, while Isaac Mattson (4.66 ERA), Mason Montgomery (4.25 ERA), Cam Sanders (8.68 ERA), and Hunter Stratton (7.71 ERA) have not impressed on the stat sheet, though Sanders’ and Stratton’s ERAs are inflated by the fact they have just 11 2/3 total innings between them this year. As a staff, the Pirates have a 4.32 team ERA (19th), including a 4.16 starter ERA (11th) and a 4.53 bullpen ERA (23rd). They’ve struck out 858 batters (fourth) over 839 2/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, July 10 @ 5:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.13 ERA, 4.93 FIP) vs. RHP Braxton Ashcraft (9-3, 3.24 ERA, 3.16 FIP)

After a very rough start to the season, Sproat, 25, has seemingly figured some things out over his last several starts. While his season ERA still sits at 5.13 and his FIP is at 4.93, he’s allowed two runs of fewer in four of his last five starts, with a 2.88 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 25 innings in that stretch. He went four innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four against the D-backs on Sunday. He missed the Pirates when these teams faced off back in April, meaning this is his first career appearance against Pittsburgh.

Ashcraft, 26, was just named as an NL All-Star replacement, subbing in for teammate Paul Skenes. This is his second major league season and first as a full-time starter, as he made 26 appearances (eight starts) in 2025. HE has a 9-3 record, 3.24 ERA, 3.16 FIP, and 122 strikeouts over 108 1/3 innings this year, and he’s picked up the win in each of his last four appearances. In those games, he’s totaled 23 2/3 innings, allowing nine runs (eight earned for a 3.04 ERA) with 32 strikeouts. Ashcraft’s only appearance against Milwaukee came last June, when he went three innings with no runs allowed on a hit and no walks, striking out a pair.

Saturday, July 11 @ 3:05 p.m.: LHP Shane Drohan (4-2, 2.97 ERA, 3.21 FIP) vs. RHP Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.82 ERA, 4.71 FIP)

Drohan, 27, continues to impress in his first major league season. He’s now made 18 appearances (eight starts) with a 4-2 record, 2.97 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and 61 strikeouts across 63 2/3 innings. He picked up the win on Monday in St. Louis, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks, striking out two over six frames. Drohan’s lone appearance against the Pirates came in relief back in April, when he went four innings with three runs allowed (one earned) on four hits and a walk, striking out two.

Chandler, 23, is also in his second major league season, as he made seven appearances (four starts) last year, maintaining rookie status into 2026. He’s made 18 appearances (17 starts) this year, with a 3-8 record, 4.82 ERA, 4.71 FIP, and 79 strikeouts over 89 2/3 innings. He also leads the majors with 52 walks, with 5.2 walks/9. Ouch. He’s gotten roughed up in each of his last two outings, totaling 10 1/3 innings with nine runs allowed on 13 hits and six walks, striking out six against the Phillies and Nationals. Chandler’s only appearance against Milwaukee came last September, when he allowed nine runs on nine hits and three walks over 2 2/3 innings, striking out three in a 10-2 loss.

Sunday, July 12 @ 11:15 a.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62 ERA, 2.11 FIP) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (7-8, 3.58 ERA, 2.99 FIP)

We’ll get spoiled with another Misiorowski-Skenes matchup in the first-half finale on Sunday, after we saw these two face off last June. Miz got the win in that one, going five shutout frames with eight strikeouts opposite Skenes’ four runs allowed over four innings. This season, the 24-year-old righty is 10-4 with a league-leading 1.62 ERA, 2.11 FIP, and 167 strikeouts over 111 innings. He’s had a few shaky starts recently, but he still turned in a solid line against the Cardinals in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, going seven innings with three runs allowed on three hits (two homers) and no walks, striking out 11. Including the aforementioned start last June, Miz has made three career starts against Pittsburgh, with a 2.00 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 18 innings. He went six innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine in a no-decision against them back in April of this season.

After a sub-2.00 ERA in each of his first two seasons, Skenes, 24, hasn’t been quite as dominant this year. He still has a respectable 3.58 ERA and 2.99 FIP over 103 innings, and he’s struck out 123 batters, but his WHIP and HR/9 rates are up a tick from the last couple of years. Even so, he earned his third consecutive All-Star selection last week. His last outing against the Braves was his first win in a while, as he went six frames with two runs allowed on eight hits and a walk, striking out four in a 12-4 victory. Skenes has become a common foe for Milwaukee, as he’s made five starts against them for his career (including the aforementioned matchup against Miz last year). He’s 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 28 innings. That includes a stellar start back in April of this year, when he went 6 2/3 perfect innings before giving up a single in the seventh. He totaled seven innings in that one, allowing just the one hit and striking out seven in a 6-0 Pirates win.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, July 10: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, July 11: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, July 12: Exclusively on Peacock/NBCSN Extra; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This is a series with a trio of fun pitching matchups, with all six starting pitchers 27 or younger. Give me the Brewers to prevail with a 2-1 series victory.

These are the games that make you want to tear your hair out.

The Cubs fashioned a late-inning lead, a lead most bullpens should be able to hold. This Cubs bullpen did not do that. And some questionable baserunning decisions — and questionable replay review calls — didn’t help either. The result was a 3-2 Cubs loss to the Orioles, ending their brief three-game winning streak.

Cubs nemesis Tyler O’Neill did it again. After homering twice in Wednesday’s game, O’Neill homered in the second inning off David Peterson to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead. That gave him homers in three consecutive at-bats and 14 home runs in 56 career games against the Cubs, by far his most against any team. Let’s just hope the O’s don’t trade O’Neill to a team the Cubs play later in the year.

The score remained 1-0 Baltimore through five innings. That, in part, was due to Questionable Baserunning Decision No. 1. In the top of the fourth, Michael Busch hit a two-out single.

That was followed by a double by Nico Hoerner and oh, no, Quintin Berry, don’t send Busch! [VIDEO].

In fairness, it did take two perfect throws from Taylor Ward and Gunnar Henderson to get Busch, and the play did go to replay review, and it was very, very close.

Still. If Busch holds at third, you have two runners in scoring position and Ian Happ up next. I’d rather have taken my chances with that.

Apart from the homer given up to O’Neill, Peterson threw a nice game. He completed five innings with just the one run allowed and only one other hit given up. He did walk four, but managed to pitch himself out of trouble. That makes two good outings and one bad one for Peterson as a Cub, and so I think with the All-Star break to reset, he’ll still be a valuable part of the rotation.

Here’s more on Peterson’s outing [VIDEO].

And more, from BCB’s JohnW53:

David Peterson’s start was the 17th by a Cub this season of exactly 5.0 innings. His two hits tied for the fewest with Colin Rea, at Tampa Bay on April 8, and Shota Imanaga, at Colorado on June 10.

Imanaga gave up no runs. Peterson and Rea gave up one, as did Imanaga on April 5, at Cleveland (3 hits), and Ben Brown on June 13 at San Francisco (7 hits).

The Cubs were 8-8 in the previous 16 five-inning starts.

Seiya Suzuki tied the game up with this monster home run in the sixth [VIDEO].

That ball was absolutely demolished! [VIDEO]

The Cubs bullpen did okay, for a couple of innings. Gavin Hollowell and Caleb Thielbar combined to throw two scoreless innings, the sixth and seventh, though Hollowell did issue two walks.

The Cubs then took the lead in the eighth. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a double, extending his hitting streak to nine games. He advanced to third on a fly ball by Alex Bregman, and scored on this double by Suzuki [VIDEO].

Suzuki was in scoring position with one out, but Carson Kelly struck out and Busch grounded out to end the inning.

Could the Cubs bullpen get six outs without giving up two runs?

Well, you know the answer to that. Tyler Ferguson struck out Taylor Ward to begin the eighth, but then hit Henderson and Pete Alonso. A left-handed pinch-hitter was sent up, so Ryan Rolison was summoned. The Orioles flipped and put in the right-handed hitting Jeremiah Jackson. This is a swap you don’t see too often in modern baseball, what with four-man benches.

This time it worked, as Jackson doubled to deep right-center, with both runners scoring, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead. Alonso, not a fast runner, just barely beat Hoerner’s relay [VIDEO].

That also went to review and was ruled “call confirmed.” Rolison finished up the inning without further incident, so the Cubs trailed by just one going to the ninth, where they faced old friend Andrew Kittredge.

Nico led off with a routine ground ball that Henderson booted for an error.

Then Hoerner took off for second, and here’s what happened [VIDEO].

This play also went to review. To me, it looks like Hoerner was either a) blocked by the fielder or b) pushed off the base or c) both, and you can’t do that. But the call on the field was upheld and he was out, instead of being in scoring position with nobody out.

Ian Happ followed with a single, but he was forced at second by Dansby Swanson. Now there are two out, but Swanson stole second, putting the tying run in scoring position after all.

Michael Conforto batted for Miguel Amaya. Conforto’s been really good as a pinch-hitter this year. Coming into this game he was batting .348/.400/.870 (8-for-23) as a PH, with three home runs.

As rain began to fall pretty hard in Baltimore, Conforto hit the ball hard but right at Ward in left to end the game [VIDEO].

So they made the right call moving this game to an afternoon start, as it appears there are several hours’ worth of waves of storms heading through the Baltimore area for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Ferguson and Rolison have had their moments for the Cubs, but remember these guys are scrap heap pickups and they’re starting to show that. The Cubs need a) the guys on the injured list back, or b) to go out and get some help by trade, or c) both.

A couple of notes from John to wrap this up:

This was the 49th consecutive game in which the Cubs have allowed at least one run, since a 2-0 win at Atlanta on May 14.

Since 1901, the Cubs have had 45 longer shutout droughts, including ones of 50 in 1934 and 2009.

Their longest was 101 games, in 1901, then 91 in 1953 and 88 in 1958.

This is their longest since 55 games in 2021.

…

The Cubs had won the previous 10 games in which they had erased a lead, beginning June 11, when their current surge began. For the season, they are 25-12.

They had won the previous three games and five of the previous six in which they blew a lead. They are 15-16 for the season.

They have both erased 40 total deficits and blown 40 leads.

This loss isn’t the end of the world, of course, not with 69 games remaining. Nevertheless, it was winnable, and the Cubs will simply have to pick up and try to take two or three in Cincinnati, where they head to open a three-game series Friday evening. Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener against Reds right-hander Hunter Greene. Game time Friday is 6:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.