Category: MLB

Bryan Bello’s demotion to Triple-A hit him hard.

The 27-year-old was sent down to Worcester after his latest rough outing for the Red Sox, in which he gave up eight earned runs over five innings in a lost to the Orioles on June 4.

“It was a really tough day,” Bello told reporters via translator. “I had a bad outing as you all know. We were getting ready to travel, and the trip right now in New York is a family trip and we were all set up to get ready to go up there. So, when I got the unfortunate news, I even shed some tears, got a little emotional because like I said before, I have so much love and passion for this game and to get that bad news was really tough. But we’re better today.”

Bello, in the midst of a six-year, $55 million deal signed before 2024, put together a 2-6 record record with a 6.34 ERA — the worst mark of his career — and a 1.67 WHIP.

The Dominican Hurler seemed to be turning the corner before the disaster outing against Baltmore. He was sent to the bullpen, operating as a long reliever following an opener, allowing just two earned runs in 25 1/3 innings (0.74 ERA) in the role.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporter he’d asked Bell to “fall in love with baseball” again.

Brayan Bello said he “shed some tears” after receiving news of his demotion to Triple-A Worcester. pic.twitter.com/atzawHAn0t

— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) June 7, 2026

The hope is, a start with the Woo Sox on Thursday can help set a key rotation arm back on track.

In Bello’s place, the Red Sox have called up left-handed reliever Joe La Sorsa.

But that call-up could be temporary, as the Red Sox now have a vacant starting-rotation spot. Pitching prospect Jake Bennett is the leading candidate to take Bello’s spot. Bello was slated to make his next start on Tuesday, meaning the Red Sox might make their decision then. 

The Red Sox need some help anyway they can get it. They sit dead last in the AL East, having a record of 27-36 entering Monday’s slate.

The Red Sox have struggled in the pitching department after ace Garrett Crochet went on the 15-day IL on April 29; a setback during a live throwing session saw him go onto the 60-day IL. 

BALTIMORE- The Baltimore Orioles, already struggling in their quest to reach the .500 mark, placed starting pitcher Chris Bassitt on the 15-day injured list with a back injury Monday, June 8, as he and the club continue seeking answers for his malady.Bassitt, 37, visited a back specialist in Baltimore while the team was in Toronto last weekend before rejoining the club. He refused comment before the team’s Monday night game against the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards.Rookie Trey Gibson was summoned to make Bassitt’s start Monday, with some doubt about the veteran’s return date."He’s looking at his options and kind of seeing what his best course of action is," Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Monday.

Bassitt was signed to a one-year, $18.5 million contract in March, is 4-4 with a 5.27 ERA in 12 games, including 10 starts and two outings as the “bulk pitcher.”

After posting a 6.75 ERA in his first five starts, he has pitched better of late, including two six-inning, one-run outings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Orioles' Chris Bassitt out with back injury, goes on injured list

Good evening, folks! I hope everybody’s had a lovely start to their day. The Braves may not be in action but sometimes it’s just nice to take some time to look at the standings and relax a bit. Things are looking good for the Braves and days like this are nice to just take it all in. Let’s hope that they continue to keep the pedal to the metal as this season progresses.

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of options for baseball this evening if you still need your fix. If you’re trying to do a hate-watch then the Phillies are going to have a pretty interesting matchup with the Blue Jays tonight. Cristopher Sánchez has been having an incredible season so far and Toronto is countering that with Patrick Corbin as their starting pitcher, so we’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Guardians will be locking horns about 20 minutes before the game in Toronto starts and both of those teams have been looking good in the standings so far. The Yankees are learning how to navigate without Aaron Judge after the pain of playing with an injured rib was finally too much for him, so we’ll see if New York can topple the Guardians. The game will be on FS1 too, so that might be the easier choice for you if you’re reading this and you don’t have MLB.tv or live in Philadelphia or Canada.

I wished I could’ve been here to talk about what happened between my Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Georgia Bulldogs during Game 3 of their Super Regional but we (sadly, IMO) won’t be getting a Game 3 because the red-and-black Bulldogs out-slugged the maroon-and-white Bulldogs and punched their ticket to the College World Series. If you’re following the NCAA Tournament, tell us who you got winning it all now that the field for Omaha is revealing itself. Or you can tell us who’s going to win tonight in the two big league games I mentioned above. Or you can tell me what you’re having for dinner. It’s all on the table. The floor is now yours.

Two more winning opponents faced, and the Diamondbacks saw more realistic results. Was the sweep at the hands of the Mariners or the split with the Dodgers more indicative of where the team is in reality?

Spencer: I think it shows we are mercurial. If we can beat horrendous teams the rest of the year, we might sneak in.

DBacksEurope: I think both. The Diamondbacks aren’t one of the best teams in the league, nor will they be, but on any given day they can battle fiercely against the top teams, because there is some superb quality on this team in the form of Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte. For that to happen, we need to take advantage of a solid pitching performance, which is more than likely not to happen with this rotation, but if everything clicks, then this team could beat any given opponent. This happens on 2 out of 7, say 25% of the time each time we meet one of the top teams in this league? Yeah, that doesn’t sound that crazy to me.

James Attwood: Probably the series against the Dodgers. Mostly, I think the big takeaway is that, for the most part, the team has largely found ways to remain in games and to lose them by the narrowest of margins. A bit more roster depth might have salvage two extra wins in that stretch of seven games.

Makakilo: In the two series against the Mariners and Dodgers, most games were close and hard fought. Four of seven games were decided by 1-run. The two low-scoring 1-run games were split (win vs Dodgers and loss vs Mariners). The two high-scoring games were lost. Contention possibilities were shown by the awesome 4-1 win over the Dodgers. Bust possibilities were shown by two games with a combination of almost no runs scored and weak starting pitching.

1AZFan1: The split with the Dodgers. The Mariners hit HRs at an outlier rate that series. D-backs pitchers are not going to give up homers at that rate all year, though the Nats appear to be testing that theory.

Dano_In_Tucson: I don’t think it’s a simple “either-or” choice. As such, I would say both, but in different ways. Unfamiliar teams with good pitching are going to give us trouble. They’re going to give anyone trouble–that’s what good pitching does–but our offense, while feasting sometimes on more substandard starting pitching and bullpens, can’t seem to really compete convincingly at this point against rotations that are in the upper tiers. As for the Doyers, we know them a lot better, especially their bullpen, and their lineup, and they are less fearsome at the end of the day than their reputation might suggest. FTD are in some respects paper tigers, and I do expect that we’ll see that more clearly as the season progresses.

The LuJames Groover era begins. Do you see this youth movement as the correct path towards a winning season, or is it showing a focus towards the future?

Spencer: I think it’s leaning future with the small hope of catching lightning in the bottle. I wouldn’t reject the idea that some of these promotions are showcases for trades. But competition within the organization is most likely.

DbacksEurope: It is probably the only “correct” way we are able to achieve a winning season because Hazen didn’t do anything this past off-season to replace the batting champions we lost during the 2025 season. So, I think it is his way to try and scrap some necessary wins in so he isn’t on his way out after this season. Could be that it is also with an eye towards the future but in this case I think Troy, Waldschmidt, Groover and whomever Wesley thinks who might get a call up any time soon are all here to try and boost that offence to get wins now.

James Attwood: Both is good.

Makakilo: MY VIEW. The Diamondbacks are focused on reaching the playoffs more than the future. Any move to younger players was made to make the team better now rather than the future.

MY POINTS. First, the opening day roster was older than the MLB average (for each of batters and pitchers) per a Baseball America article from 26 March 2026. Second, my estimated average age for yesterday’s roster of pitchers is unchanged from opening day (30.7 years old). Third, my estimated age of batters got younger (29.8 years old got younger by maybe 2 years); batters are now possibly about the seventh youngest in the Majors. The Diamondbacks traded away Alek Thomas (age 26), resulting in two younger players in center field: Ryan Waldschmidt (age 23.7) and Jorge Barrosa (age 25.3). Also, the Diamondbacks called up younger players (Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy, and LuJames Groover).

1AZFan1: It’s the correct path towards a winning season this year when the veterans who were in front of them are Carlos Santana, Pavin Smith, and Alek Thomas.

Dano_In_Tuscson: Again, I can’t really buy into the “either-or” construction here. Again, my answer is “both,” because while I’m not sure we come to the end of 2026 with a winning season, calling up Waldschmidt and Troy and Groover seems like it’s our best path forward right now, and it gives us our best shot, right now. It also has the added benefit for giving a lot of our AAA prospects an extended audition, so we can get a better sense of who we’ve got down on the farm who can contribute at the major league level in future and plug some holes that we’d otherwise have to look to free agency or trades to fill.

Who has been the most surprising team, either good or bad, to you so far this season?

Spencer: I think the Nationals offense needs to be here. But both the White Sox success and Tigers utter uselessness deserve an honorable mention. Cardinals too but I don’t buy it throughout the season.

DBacksEurope: I certainly didn’t expect the Giants to be this bad and I didn’t expect the Diamondbacks to be this good, with a 33-29 record before the series against the Nationals. Outside of the NL West, maybe the strength of the NL Central in general surprises me, especially the Cardinals. In general we still have more than 50% of the games left. Blue Jays can easily slip back into the wild card, just like the Astros.

James Attwood: While I always expected the Mets to struggle more than the roster indicated they should, I certainly did not expect them to spend time as the worst team in the game after more than a week’s worth of games had been played. They are still one of the four worst teams in the National League. The Tigers are surprising for the same reasons. Neither team should be as bad as those two have been, though losing Tarik Skubal certainly has not helped Detroit any.

Makakilo: BACKGROUND. Preseason, I projected 85 wins for the Diamondbacks. My 4 May article argued that 85 wins gives a 50% chance to make the playoffs. In games through 5 June, they are on-pace for 85 wins, albeit FanGraphs shows only a 42.6% chance of playoffs.

THE SURPRISE. There is a strong possibility that the Diamondbacks will end the season in second place in the NL West, ahead of the Padres. The Diamondbacks, after 40 consecutive games in third place (11 April to 26 May), now are in second place. Tankathon and FanGraphs show the Padres will play stronger teams through the rest of the season. What is really exciting is that the Diamondbacks can decide their fate because they will play the Padres 11 times in July/August/September. Finishing the season in second place in the NL West would be a nice consolation prize, should the Diamondbacks fall short of the playoffs.

1AZFan1: Gotta go with my NL West bias and say the Giants. Fully expected them to be right in the thick of the Wild Card race next to us and the Padres instead of cellar dwelling.

Dano_In_Tucson: Honestly, I think probably the Tigers. They nearly made it to the World Series last year, and now they’re tied with the Royals and the San Francisco Giants for the second-worst record in the major leagues. When it’s coming up on mid-June and you’re 13 games under .500, I’m pretty sure not going to climb back into contention. For Detroit, that was certainly not on my bingo card. Sure, Skubal got injured and that has hurt them, but when you’re rocking a 26-39 record on June 6, you’ve got way more problems than one ace can solve or be held responsible for.

If the Diamondbacks had never existed, who would you be following now?

Spencer: Cubs or Phillies. I was born on the north side and my mom made me a baseball fan and she was a Phillies fan growing up. But realistically, not a single sportsball team. As a family, we struggle to enjoy any sport outside baseball.

DBacksEurope: Atlanta Braves

James Attwood: Cubs and Mariners with some love for the Tigers and Giants.

Makakilo: Perhaps, instead of baseball, I would watch women’s volleyball, which is big in Hawaii. On the other hand, when I attended a game with a group of people, our seats were so high and so far from the game that I regretted not bringing binoculars.

1AZFan1: The Cubs. Before the D-backs existed, I watched a ton of Cubs games because we had WGN. I really don’t have much of a soft spot for them anymore, though. I wasn’t even rooting for them in the ’16 World Series.

Dano_In_Tucson: I honestly have no idea. Maybe, at the outside of maybe, the Phillies, because they were my team when I was a kid in southern New Jersey? But probably none….finding the Diamondbacks at the direction of my mom when I was living in NYC in 2001, and then moving back to Arizona in 2005 and watching games every night with her while I was living with her in Prescott Valley, and later discovering the Snake Pit and all you lovely people and eventually starting to write about baseball here from time to time is what got me back to being a baseball fan again after many years of not really following it. So thanks, everyone!

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin in the lineup for the past week, and it looks like they will be without the young star for longer than anticipated. 

Griffin went on the 10-day injured list back on May 31 after suffering a right arm flexor strain. The injury took place in the series against the Minnesota Twins at home.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that they’re going to be “more conservative” for when Griffin returns, following his flexor mass muscle strain, which the location of which is causing them to give Griffin more time.

Pittsburgh doesn’t want to rush the young player which makes sense to me. He is the future of the team, and you don’t want him to be rushed back just to get injured again or make the injury worse.

Although the 10-day IL is turning into a long stay for Griffin, it is important to make sure his injury fully heals. So I don’t really disagree with Cherington and the rest of the organization in keeping a close eye on the situation.

Griffin has improved from the plate, slashing .270/.327/.402 for an OPS of .729 in 51 games, with 51 hits, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 22 RBI and 14 stolen bases on 15 attempts.

The Bucs signed Griffin to a nine-year, $140 million contract extension on April 8 and his future with the team is a big part to them turning themselves into a winning franchise, after more than a decade out of the postseason.

Cherington said that of all the things that Griffin will do in his injury rehab, throwing will come at the end, likening it to a pitcher building back up. 

“Obviously given the injury, that’s the part that we’re going to be the most cautious about,” Cherington said. “He can take ground balls, he can run, he can hit, it’s the throwing that we’ll be the most careful about and that’s the part I don’t expect would happen until No. 1, he’s fully asymptomatic and No. 2, there’s probably some progression he goes through in terms of like a pitcher would almost, you’re going to go through a progression of exercises, stretching, plyo ball, programming, stuff like that before he can pick up a ball.”

Hearing from Cherington and the rest of the community has me confident that they are taking this Griffin injury very seriously. That is important because without Konnor Griffin, I don’t see Pittsburgh make a deep run this season.

There is no official timetable yet for Griffin’s return. He has not been cleared to throw yet, and there is no timeline for when he will resume a throwing program or get back oin the field.  

The Toronto Blue Jays have designated Yariel Rodriguiez for assignment to make room on the roster for the addition of Tommy Nance:

Rodriguez was initially DFA’d in December. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the AAA Buffalo Bisons. Things went pretty well for him there, as he revamped his pitch mix to lean more heavily on his splitter and struck out 25 batters in 13.2 innings with a 2.63 ERA. That performance earned him a recall to Toronto last month. Things haven’t gone as well at the big league level. Rodriguez has posted a 7.71 ERA across 10 appearances, striking out just 6 of 45 batters faced against a dozen hits and seven walks. He’ll most likely clear waivers again, as he’s still owed the remainder of a $5 million salary this season and $6 million in 2027, with a player option for $6.3 million in 2028 that’s all but certain to be picked up. Most likely, he’ll go back to Buffalo to continue to serve as depth and hope he can finally figure out how to apply his stuff effectively against big league hitters.

Nance returns after missing nearly a month with forearm discomfort. The team leaned heavily on the 35 year old righty early in the season, to the tune of 20 appearances and 21 innings in their first 45 games. He was delivering, with a 3.86 ERA and peripheral stats that suggested he deserved significantly better than that, but the heavy usage evidently took a toll. It doesn’t appear to have been a major issue, though, as he was back on a mound within a couple of weeks and now returns to Toronto after just one rehab outing in Buffalo. He’ll bring sorely needed support to a bullpen that’s had to come up with a league leading 62 innings over the past two weeks.

Hopefully that’s just the beginning of the cavalry arriving, as Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer seem likely to rejoin the club this week. The Jays have fared better than could reasonably have been expected since Cease’s injury forced them to work with what amounts to a three man rotation, going 7-6 over the two week span, but “Kevin and Trey and pray for off days” can only work for so long.

Welcome back Tommy, and happy trails probably not for the last time Yariel.

Major League Baseball announced today that Astros OF/DH Yordan Alvarez has been named American League Player of the Week for the week of June 1-7. Alvarez hit .476 (10×21) in six games last week, recording six runs, one double, two home runs, nine RBI and five walks while posting a 1.386 OPS.

Alvarez leads the Majors this season in OPS (1.080), slugging percentage (.650) and total bases (154). He also leads the American League in home runs (22) and RBI (48) and is tied for first in extra-base hits (35). Additionally, Alvarez ranks second among AL players in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.431) and hits (75), while ranking fourth in runs scored (45) and tied for fourth in walks (44).

This marks the fifth career AL Player of the Week Award for Alvarez and his second this season, having also earned the honor for March 30-April 5, the second week of the season. Alvarez has also won three AL Player of the Month Awards in his career, including for March/April earlier this season.

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros are preparing to place IF Nick Allen on the IL.

Source: the Astros are going to place IF Nick Allen on the injured list with a hamstring injury and IF Shay Whitcomb will be called up from Triple-A Sugar Land to join the team tonight in Anaheim.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 8, 2026

The slick-fielding Allen is batting .262 this season with a .304 OBP and .648 OPS. He had seen more duty of late with IF Braden Shewmake and 2B Jose Altuve both on IL recently. Altuve rejoined the lineup 3 days ago.

Whitcomb, 27, put up strong seasons at Triple-A Sugar Land the past 2 seasons but has struggled this year, batting just .231 with a .266 OBP and .646 OPS.

Across 331 games at Triple-A, Whitcomb is a .260 hitter with a .337 OBP and .819 OPS with 77 HR and 60 SB.

Whitcomb has never fared well at the MLB level although he has never really been given any kind of consistent opportunity either. Across 3 seasons, Whitcomb only has 90 AB across 54 G with the Astros. Whitcomb has batted .167 with a .219 OBP and .485 OPS with 2 HR and 10 RBI.

Whitcomb will likely serve as emergency insurance, with Brice Matthews filling in at 2B if Altuve should be unavailable or need a day.

If the San Francisco Giants have been too much of a bummer for you this season such that you’ve limited the amount of information you’ve taken in about them, then you probably missed how for the past month they’ve been the best offense in Major League Baseball. It’s a shocker for those of us who’ve been watching every game, too, believe it or not, and I’m going to try to make some sense of it.

The easy answer is that a group of guys started hitting to their career averages and 2026 projections and that simple regression to the mean timed out to look like an offensive explosion. Top that off with the franchise’s top hitting prospect in Bryce Eldridge and Orange-o, Black-o you’ve got the best lineup in baseball for a month. Except, looking at the numbers, it sure does seem like the Giants changed their approach in the offseason and needed two months to translate that approach to the regular season.

Overall, this collection of guys is walking well below their career averages. The team will probably wind up with the lowest walk rate in the sport come the end of the season (it currently stands at 5.9%, 1.6% behind the next-lowest team, the Toronto Blue Jays), which is incredibly impressive feat (derogatory) when you consider the offensive environment of the 21st century. Indeed, just seven teams since 2000 have ended a season with a walk rate of 6.5% or lower:

• 2002 Tigers, 6.1 BB% — record: 66-96
• 2005 Tigers, 6.3 BB% — record: 71-91
• 2007 Mariners, 6.3 BB% — record: 88-74
• 2008 Royals, 6.4 BB% — record: 75-87
• 2006 Cubs, 6.4 BB% — record: 66-96
• 2006 Mariners, 6.5 BB% — record: 78-84
• 2009 Giants, 6.5 BB% — record: 88-74

But I digress! Walks are evil in this new Giants era and earlier in the season the low walk rate was evidence of opposing pitchers gleefully throwing the ball right down the middle (basically) knowing that Giants hitters couldn’t do any damage. Right?

Well… yes. The data only points to this unfortunate fact.

Through May 6th and the first 37 games of the season, the Giants saw the most pitches in the strike zone (43.6%) of any team. The Dodgers, Brewers, and Nationals were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th about a percentage point behind the Giants in this respect. When you look at the other plate discipline statistics, the Giants aren’t such an obvious outlier that it would explain why they had scored the fewest runs and done the least damage except that once Giants made contact it was weak.

Team	Zone %	Swing%	SwStr%	O-Swing%	O-Contact%	Z-Swing%	Z-Contact%	Contact%
GIANTS	43.6%	49.2% (4th)	10.4% (21st)	34.9% (6th)	66.1% (5th)	67.7% (10th)	87.2% (9th)	78.8% (7th)
DODGERS	42.6%	45.8% (18th)	9.6% (26th)	29.9% (25th)	64.9% (8th)	67.3% (12th)	87.4% (7th)	79.0% (5th)
BREWERS	42.5%	42.9% (12th)	8.7% (29th)	27.5% (30th)	64.1% (11th)	63.6% (29th)	88.8% (2nd)	79.7% (2nd)
NATIONALS	42.2%	46.8% (30th)	10.7% (18th)	31.9% (18th)	61.9% (21st)	67.2% (14th)	87.0% (12th)	77.1% (14th)

As a reminder, the Nationals were 4th in runs scored (205), the Dodgers 5th (196), and the Brewers 9th (181). The Giants were last (30th — 115) by a good measure (Mets, 29th — 134).

But look at that chart. The Giants were comparable to some of the better lineups in the sport through the first 6 weeks of the season or so in terms of swinging the bat. The only real difference — and it’s significant to be sure — is that the Giants, on top of seeing lots of pitches in the strike zone, were swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone at a really high rate. Given the results, it’s probably a decent enough conclusion that the Giants were making subpar contact on the good pitches and making plenty of the same quality of contact on the bad ones.

I’ll show that here with the expected weighted on base average. According to Statcast, the league average for that figure (the weighted on base average based on the quality of contact) is .320. Through 5/7/2026, only 3 Giants in the top 5 of hitters (and out of 18 who had an at bat) reached that threshold:

1. Jesus Rodriguez (9 AB), .391
2. Daniel Susac (23 AB), .386
3. Casey Schmitt (115 AB), .370
4. Heliot Ramos (134 AB), .318
5. Jung Hoo Lee (133 AB), .312

For comparison, 10 of 15 Dodgers were above that .320 mark, 8 of 18 Brewers crossed the threshold, and 6 of 14 Nationals did it, too. What a nightmare! What a disaster!

But you’re reading this a month after that mark and quite a lot has changed. The Giants have scored the most runs in the sport over their last 29 games (since May 8th: 157 runs) ahead of the White Sox (155), Dodgers (149), Brewers (148), Pirates (148) and Nationals (147). But beyond that, they’ve just been a good lineup: a 126 wRC+ that also leads the sport with a triple slash of .277 (1st) / .331 (5th) / .480 (1st). Their 6.5% walk rate is 29th (only Boston is worse at 6.4%), but their 19.9% strikeout rate is tied with the Dodgers for second behind the Diamondbacks (18.2%) and ahead of the Nationals (20.0%). And, by the way, the team’s season-long strikeout rate (21.1%) has kept them top 10 all season long with the Dodgers (20.2%) and Brewers (20.4%) and even Atlanta (20.7%) — the Nats are 11th (21.3%). The mark of a good lineup when the quality of contact is there, which it hasn’t been until right now.

But why has the contact gotten better? Have the players simply improved their timing? Are they jumping at the first pitch more often? Laying off those pitches outside of the zone?

Giants split	Zone %	Swing%	SwStr%	O-Swing%	O-Contact%	Z-Swing%	Z-Contact%	Contact%
Games 1-37	43.6%	49.2%	10.4%	34.9%	66.1%	67.7%	87.2%	78.8%
Games 38-66	42.9%	50.0%	10.8%	35.9%	66.2%	68.7%	87.0%	78.5%

The only real differences here are that the Giants are seeing fewer pitches outside the strike zone but they’re swinging even more and swinging more in the strike zone. That hasn’t changed the amount of contact in the zone, but as I’m about to show you with this other list, the quality of that contact has improved dramatically.

Over their last 29 games, 8 Giants have hit better than the league average in terms of xwOBA:

1. Jonah Cox (9 AB), .530
2. Bryce Eldridge (73 AB), .397
3. Eric Haase (34 AB), .364
4. Jung Hoo Lee (87 AB), .364
5. Heliot Ramos (31 AB), .356
6. Willy Adames (116 AB), .344
7. Rafael Devers (118 AB), .329
8. Casey Schmitt (116 AB), .326

And you can play around with the start date a bit if you want, too. If you adjust it to start on the Dodgers series in Dodger Stadium, then Luis Arraez becomes one of the 8. If you start it at the A’s series, then Matt Chapman becomes one of the 8 (Luis Arraez drops down to .315). If you narrow it down to the last 2 weeks then you still get about 8 guys who are hitting at or better than the league average just based on the quality of contact. All they’re doing is swinging slightly more and at pitches in the strike zone.

But it’s pretty clear that they’re getting off better swings. The team’s groundball rate through those first 37 games (44.8%) was the fifth-highest in the sport. Their 10.9% infield flyball percentage was 13th. A 6.6% HR/FB rate (lowest in the sport, of course). 23rd in pulled ball rate (38.7%). I know there’s a deep, unyielding group of baseball fans who can’t accept that the game has changed, but hitting the ball in the air in the modern game is more conducive to scoring runs and being a successful team. Over their last 29 games, their groundball rate has dropped to 38% (26th), their infield flyball percentage is 9.7% (20th), a 12.7% HR/FB rate, and a pulled ball rate of 40.2% (19th).

It probably helps that they’re seeing more fastballs than any other team in the National League (51.2%). That rate has gone down a bit since those first 37 games (52.3%), and even better: the average fastball velocity has dropped to 93.9 mph from 94.7 mph earlier in the season. Save for two notable exceptions, the Giants have gotten better against some average-to-bad pitching. A list of their opponents over these past 29 games with season ERAs:

• Pirates, 4.06 (15th)
• Dodgers, 3.17 (1st)
• Athletics, 4.58 (23rd)
• Diamondbacks, 4.19 (17th)
• White Sox, 4.38 (20th)
• Rockies, 5.60 (30th)
• Brewers, 3.26 (3rd)
• Cubs, 4.29 (19th)

This isn’t damning with faint praise! Good lineups are supposed to feast on bad pitching. This isn’t to say that the Giants do have a good lineup, but it’s plausible that they have an average enough lineup that if they could actually get their act together on the pitching side then 2027 could wind up being a really special season. But for this season, despite missing the playoffs, the Giants have actually started to realize the lineup they touted in the offseason. I think it’s sustainable based mainly on the fact that it is a bunch of guys hitting to their projections.

That should make for a summer that’s slightly more fun than the one we were pitched in April. So, if you’re wondering, the tl;dr version is that the Giants have hit better because their good hitters are hitting better. Bryce Eldridge coming in as the top hitting prospect and hitting like it with consistent playing time has not been a replacement for a lacking part, he’s been a huge addition. It’s so obvious but fun to see.

The Cincinnati Reds (31-33) face the San Diego Padres (33-31). San Diego has lost 11 of its past 13 games. Scheduled starting pitchers are Andrew Abbott for Cincinnati, with a 4.06 ERA, and Walker Buehler for San Diego, with a 4.53 ERA.

How to watch Cincinnati Reds vs. San Diego Padres

• Date: Monday, June 8

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET / 6:40 p.m. PT

• Where: PETCO Park, San Diego, CA

• TV Channels: Padres.TV Presented by UC San Diego Health, Reds.TV, Gray Media, WXIX FOX19

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Cincinnati Reds: 31-33 (No. 5 in NL Central)

• San Diego Padres: 33-31 (No. 3 in NL West)

Odds

• Spread: San Diego Padres -1.5

• Moneyline: San Diego Padres -138 (55.5%) / Cincinnati Reds +115 (44.5%)

• Over/Under: 8.0

Starting pitchers

Cincinnati Reds: Andrew Abbott (4-3, ERA: 4.06, K: 47, WHIP: 1.44)
San Diego Padres: Walker Buehler (3-3, ERA: 4.53, K: 49, WHIP: 1.28)

Weather: 69°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 40,222 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The Nationals came back nicely after getting swept by the Miami Marlins, taking 2 of 3 from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a weekend set. They still find themselves sitting at .500 with an even 33-33 record, looking to get back over the hump to begin the week. Pitching and offense were firing on all cylinders in the first two games in Arizona, before the lineup went silent in a 5-1 loss to narrowly miss a sweep.

San Francisco has been a large disappointment so far, with much of their roster underperforming, leaving them currently 12 games under .500. They are however, coming off a handful of good showings against the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. Washington faces the top of their rotation heading into Monday, making for a series that could go either way.

Game 1 – Monday 9:45 PM EST

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39 ERA)

SFG: RHP Logan Webb (3-4, 4.25 ERA)

Mikolas was riding a pretty decent streak throughout May, but that came crashing down in his first June outing. He allowed 6 runs with 3 long balls across 6.0 innings against the Miami Marlins as a bulk reliever, with 4 of them coming in a crooked 4th inning. An opener is likely for the veteran righty again on Monday night, where he looks to bounce back and avoid falling into a similar scuffle that plagued the start of his season.

Some blowup outings have tanked the Giants ace’s ERA in 2026, but his most recent outing, a dazzling 7.0 innings of shutout baseball against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 3rd looked much more like the Logan Webb the league is used to seeing. He missed some of May with an injury, and the Nats will try to push him back into the bad habits that has his season ERA almost a full point above his career mark.

Game 2 – Tuesday 9:45 PM EST

WSH: LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.54 ERA)

SFG: Adrian Houser (2-5, 5.29 ERA)

The southpaw is lined up to make his second start of the year on Tuesday night, and he produced a solid start his first time out there. His only run across 4.1 innings was a solo shot, and the Miami offense was neutralized even with some prolonged command issues. Length will once again not likely be in the cards for the swing starter, but another decent appearance could give the Nats time to jump on a struggling Adrian Houser.

Houser got torched in April but settled down for a respectable month of May where he posted an ERA just below 4. He’s also not given San Francisco much length and opposing lineups have worked his pitch count early and kept him from being truly effective. The impressive Washington offense could smell blood in the water early, and with the relatively unproven Alvarez on the bump, it’s paramount that they can jump on Houser quickly.

Game 3 – Wednesday 3:45 PM EST

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.63 ERA)

SFG: LHP Robbie Ray (4-6, 4.12 ERA)

Not much has seemed to faze Griffin to this point in the season, separating himself as by far the most reliable option in the Washington rotation. His arsenal continues to fool hitters and while the box scores aren’t elite, he’s doing enough for the Nats to stay in games. The goal should be for more of the same out of Griffin, and the Giants’ offense doesn’t pose a particularly elevated threat on paper.

Most of Ray’s outings have been adequate enough, with one 9-run collapse severely hindering his ERA. The veteran has looked decent enough to get outs without completely carving up teams, and Washington needs to put the pressure on him in the first few innings to continue riding Griffin’s hot streak.

The Philadelphia Phillies, second in the NL East at 35-30 record, face the Toronto Blue Jays, who are third in the AL East with a 32-34 record. This is the opener of a three-game series between the teams. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be Cristopher Sánchez for Philadelphia (1.46 ERA) and Patrick Corbin for Toronto (3.98 ERA).

How to watch Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays

• Date: Monday, June 8

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT

• Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON

• TV Channels: Sportsnet, SN1, TVA Sports, NBCSP

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Philadelphia Phillies: 35-30 (No. 2 in NL East)

• Toronto Blue Jays: 32-34 (No. 3 in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: Toronto Blue Jays +1.5

• Moneyline: Toronto Blue Jays +154 (37.7%) / Philadelphia Phillies -186 (62.3%)

• Over/Under: 7.5

Starting pitchers

Philadelphia Phillies: Cristopher Sánchez (7-2, ERA: 1.46, K: 103, WHIP: 1.09)
Toronto Blue Jays: Patrick Corbin (2-2, ERA: 3.98, K: 37, WHIP: 1.38)

Weather: 65°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 49,282 | Roof: Retractable | Surface: Artificial Turf

The New York Yankees (38-26) open a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians (37-30). The game is essentially a pick'em, with Cleveland at -117 and the New York Yankees at -103. Scheduled starting pitchers are Will Warren for the Yankees, with a 3.22 ERA, and Gavin Williams for the Guardians, with a 3.20 ERA.

How to watch New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians

• Date: Monday, June 8

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET / 3:40 p.m. PT

• Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

• TV Channels: FS1, Guardians.TV Presented by Progressive, YES

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• New York Yankees: 38-26 (No. 2 in AL East)

• Cleveland Guardians: 37-30 (No. 1 in AL Central)

Odds

• Spread: Cleveland Guardians +1.5

• Moneyline: Cleveland Guardians -117 (51.5%) / New York Yankees -103 (48.5%)

• Over/Under: 7.5

Starting pitchers

New York Yankees: Will Warren (7-1, ERA: 3.22, K: 70, WHIP: 1.20)
Cleveland Guardians: Gavin Williams (9-3, ERA: 3.20, K: 94, WHIP: 1.08)

Weather: 80°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 34,788 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass