PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 22: Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After dropping two straight, the Dodgers are now in the midst of a two-game winning streak, as they came away with a 9-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.
For a second straight game, Alec Bohm was responsible for starting the scoring in the first inning. He accounted for the lone Phillies run on Tuesday, but this time launched a two-out, two-run home run against Eric Lauer in the first.
Aaron Nola entered Wednesday with 5.68 ERA, but just like Zack Wheeler on Tuesday, he made easy work of the Dodgers lineup by retiring eight in a row to begin his night. Dalton Rushing broke through against Nola with two outs in the top of the third by launching a home run to deep center field, snapping an 0-19 slump and trimming the deficit to one run.
Nola was unable to sustain the quick work he had against the Dodgers his first time through the order, as he combined for 34 pitches over the third and fourth innings after tossing just 18 over his first two. The Dodgers added two straight singles against Nola in the fifth, and Rushing came in clutch with a two-run double to give his team a one-run lead.
Eric Lauer managed to keep the Phillies in line after the Bohm home run, as he allowed just one walk over his next three innings while retiring eight in a row. Bryan De La Cruz made his Phillies debut on Wednesday, and after working the walk against Lauer, he crushed his first home run at the big league level since 2024 in the bottom of the fifth, evening the score at 3.
Freddie Freeman began the sixth inning by roping his second double in as many at-bats, and he is now tied with Robinson Canó and Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez for 26th on the all-time doubles list with 572.
Max Muncy reclaimed the lead once again, this time launching a two-run home run to left-center field to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead. Muncy now has home runs in two straight games, three over his last six, and with his 229th home run as a Dodger, he passes Ron Cey for second most home runs hit in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Muncy now joins Shohei Ohtani as the only Dodgers with at least 20 home runs this season.
Muncy’s home run also put Lauer in line for the win, as the southpaw matched his counterpart with 5 1/3 innings. Lauer now has a 4-0 record with the Dodgers, and the team has won all eight games he’s appeared in so far.
Kyle Tucker finished the series hitless in Philadelphia, but he added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly to make it a three-run Dodger lead.
After having his nine-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, Tommy Edman bounced back with a three-hit game, including a bases clearing three-run triple in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers four runs in the eighth and increase the lead to six.
The Phillies responded with an RBI single from Bohm in the bottom of the eighth, giving him his fourth RBI over his last two games. The Phillies added another run in the ninth with an RBI single from J.T. Realmuto, but that’s all the scoring they could collect against the bullpen.
After winning just three regular season games against the Phillies the last two years, the Dodgers have won the season series against Philadelphia for the first time since 2023, finishing with a 4-2 record. Even with the Milwaukee Brewers defeating the New York Mets, the Dodgers maintain a half game lead over them for the best record in baseball.
Game particulars
Home runs— Alec Bohm (13), Bryan De La Cruz (1); Dalton Rushing (11), Max Muncy (20)
The Dodgers are off on Thursday but will head back up to the Empire State, this time stopping in Queens for a three-game set against the New York Mets beginning Friday (4:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Roki Sasaki faces Sean Manaea.
Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler entered this game with a 4.77 ERA and the highest walk rate (13.1-percent) of any starter in baseball. Of course, that means the Yankees got blanked and drew just one walk in his 6.1 innings of work. Fortunately, Max Fried was even more dominant in his first start back from injury in over two months, the two starters trading zeroes long enough for the Yankees to strike against the Bucs’ bullpen. A Jasson Domínguez RBI double and Anthony Volpe RBI single in the seventh proved the decisive blows as the Yankees did just enough to win, 2-0, to split the doubleheader and win the series.
Fans of sharp defensive execution were in for a treat in the first inning. Fried looked to have given up a surefire double down the line in left to leadoff batter Nick Gonzales, but Cody Bellinger played the carom off the sidewall perfectly and fired an inch-perfect throw to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, who barely had to move his glove to apply the tag to Gonzales’ foot. The next batter Jared Triolo got down a decent bunt to the left, but the four-time Gold Glover Fried was quick off his mound to field it and fire a strike to first. Fried finished the inning with a swinging strikeout of Bryan Reynolds on an elevated 98.3 mph four-seamer, his fastest pitch of the season. That high water mark wouldn’t last long, as the next inning he punched out Marcell Ozuna looking on a 99 mph four-seamer.
Perhaps a side effect of Fried being on a pitch count of just 60 pitches — the amount planned for a second rehab start that got scrapped in lieu of him starting this game — Fried’s fastball was coming out hot the whole outing. It averaged over 96 mph this afternoon, which is almost two mph above his season average. It is particularly encouraging given that the bone bruise Fried suffered manifested itself as significantly reduced pitch velocity in the May 13th start against the Orioles that he was forced to depart after three innings. That’s a roundabout way of saying that Fried now appears fully healthy.
Fried’s day was finished after five scoreless innings allowing just one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts on 57 pitches, efficiently using nearly all of those 60 pitches he was allotted for this start. The four-seamer was as good as I’ve seen from him in pinstripes, and it wasn’t just the velocity. He was able to consistently paint the top ledge of the zone with the pitch, creating ample opportunity for chase and swing-and-miss against the secondaries which resulted in a 37-percent whiff rate on the day.
It’s almost a miracle that Fried managed to be this untouchable after such a long layoff, and very much needed considering how anemic the offense was while he was in the game. They managed just two hits and a walk off Chandler, for the most part unable to catch up to his high octane heater. What’s more, the faultless defense would only last until the seventh inning with Anthony Volpe at the heart of a pair of blunders. He double clutched on a sharp grounder from Jared Triolo resulting in a late throw and safe call at first. He then completely whiffed a throw from Ali Sánchez to second on a steal attempt by Triolo, the ball rolling into center field and Triolo advancing to third. However, Paul Blackburn continued his stellar streak of relief appearances by striking out Ryan O’Hearn and Ozuna to strand runners on the corners.
Volpe had a chance to make up for these stumbles in the bottom half of the frame and he certainly did that. It started with Bellinger drawing a one-out walk against lefty reliever Brandon Eisert, just out of the Pirates’ bullpen in relief of Chandler. Jasson Domínguez then roped a double down the line in left that got deadened underneath the padding in the corner just long enough to allow Bellinger to score all the way from first. Like Domínguez, Volpe wasted no time ambushing Eisert, jumping on a first-pitch hanging slider and lining it to center to score the flying Domínguez from second and make it 2-0, Yankees.
Proper credit has to be paid to the Yankees’ relievers, the bullpen seriously short on arms after pitching their second doubleheader in three days. Angel Chivilli continued his faultless stretch since his most recent call-up by pitching a scoreless sixth. Blackburn’s legend as the new bullpen ace grew with another scoreless two innings and three strikeouts. Will Warren was called upon for the ninth to make his first relief appearance since the utter disaster of the six runs he surrendered in Game 2 of the 2025 ALDS against the Blue Jays. He recorded a pair of outs but gave up a single to Gonzales and walked Esmerlyn Valdez, and thankfully Tim Hill was able to mop up by inducing the game-ending ground out from O’Hearn.
Exceptional pitching continues to keep the Yankees in games as their offense sputters in a low gear, Fried providing an immeasurable upgrade from the rotation to catalyze the doubleheader split and series win. The Yankees have tomorrow off before traveling to Philadelphia for a three-game set. Warren is slated to start the series opener (though we’ll see how this relief appearance affects things) against Jesús Luzardo. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EST with the broadcast moving to Apple TV.
Max Fried made a triumphant return, pitching five scoreless innings and the Yankees' lineup woke up late to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0, in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Here are the takeaways...
-Fried faced the minimum in the first thanks to Cody Bellinger gunning down Nick Gonzales trying to stretch a single into a double to lead off the game. The southpaw was locked in from there, allowing just a walk across the next two innings. Fried got through five innings against a formidable Pirates lineup, allowing just one hit and one walk.
The plan was for Fried to throw 60 pitches, and he wound up tossing 57 (37 strikes) while striking out seven batters.
-Unfortunately, the Yankees lineup was anemic once again for most of the game.
Against young right-hander Bubba Chandler, the Yankees mustered just two hits and got just two base runners in scoring position through the first four innings.
Chandler entered Game 2 with a 4.77 ERA. He also entered the game with a 13 percent walk rate, but the Yankees could only work one walk against him. The youngster pitched 6.1 scoreless innings on 84 pitches, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five batters. His ERA lowered to 4.47.
-The Yankees lineup would finally break through against the Pirates bullpen in the seventh. AfterBellinger walked, Jasson Dominguez -- hitting from the right side -- lined a double to score the game's first run. Anthony Volpe followed up with a single, scoring Dominguez from second. Both hits came with two outs.
-The Pirates had their best chance in the seventh after Volpe's miscue allowed the leadoff hitter to reach against Angel Chivilli. Paul Blackburn came in after and worked around an error from catcher Ali Sanchez -- not helped by Volpe not blocking -- and a walk to keep the game scoreless by striking out Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna.
Blackburn would pitch a scoreless eighth before Will Warren, Friday's probable starter, came out for the ninth. After allowing a leadoff hit, Warren retired the next two batters but walked Esmerlyn Valdez. Manager Aaron Boone called on Tim Hill to face the lefty O'Hearn. O'Hearn grounded to Jazz Chisholm Jr., who double-clutched before slinging it to first. It was called an out on the field and after a review, the call on the field stood, ending the game.
Game MVP: Paul Blackburn
The veteran right-hander not only kept the game scoreless, but also delivered two innings for a bullpen that needed the length.
The Yankees essentially asked for perfection from Gerrit Cole.
The former Cy Young winner made it seem like he might deliver it.
Making another start with dreadful run support from the Aaron Judge-less lineup, Cole retired the first 14 batters he faced, en route to throwing a season-high seven innings and 11 strikeouts, but the 35-year-old’s dominant showing couldn’t help the Yankees overcome a 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Pirates in The Bronx.
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The Yankees, who scored a total of one run in Cole’s previous two starts, are now 4-7 this season in games he started. Cole (3-5, 3.92 ERA), who has earned one win in his past six starts, took a no-decision Wednesday after allowing three runs, four hits (two home runs) and no walks before exiting with the Yankees still scoreless.
“I thought Gerrit was really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He had everything kind of going. Both slider and curveball were a factor. Changeup was good. He was efficient … you’d like that to be the story of how good he was again, if we could’ve got it going a little more offensively.
“I think he’s in a really good place and getting back his competitive sea legs.”
Cole, now two months removed from his return from Tommy John surgery, looked like the ace who teased a no-hitter in the 2024 World Series, appearing untouchable as he struck out eight hitters and moved more than halfway to pitching a perfect game against the team that drafted him first overall in 2011.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) throws a pitch during the second inning when the New York Yankees played the Pittsburgh Pirates in game one of a doubleheader Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
But just like the infamous Game 5 against the Dodgers, Cole’s storybook start began crumbling in the fifth inning, as Nick Gonzales ripped a two-out single, followed by a two-run home run by Jacob Gonzalez.
Gonzales then put the Pirates up 3-0 after hitting a solo shot in the seventh inning. It was Cole’s 11th homer allowed in his past nine starts.
“I felt like I gave it a chance out of the hand, but it stayed too close to him,” Cole said of the first homer. “The second homer from the other Gonzalez was a challenge fastball in a 1-0 count and a beautiful swing. Look, you gotta be filling up the strike zone, you gotta be aggressive and sometimes you make the aggressive mistake. Both of those were aggressive mistakes.”
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) reacts after giving up a home run during the 7th inning. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Cole generated 21 swings and misses — his most in 24 starts — while recording his most strikeouts since Aug. 25, 2023. Cole also recorded his franchise-best 29th double-digit strikeout game, along with his 24th start recording at least 10 strikeouts and no walks, which ranks fifth in MLB history.
“It was a good step forward for sure,” Cole said. “All things considered, it’s been really good throughout the whole year. But we’re always trying to fine-tune and keep getting a little better.”
The 23-year-old social media personality and former LSU gymnast wore custom Paul Skenes black boots paired with jean shorts and a black T-shirt to the eventful day in The Bronx.
The boots featured her boyfriend’s last name and No. 30.
Livvy Dunne shows off her game day outfit on Wednesday. Instagram @livvydunneLivvy Dunne shows off her custom boots after her boyfriend and star Pirates starter Paul Skenes. Instagram @livvydunne
Dunne showed off the boots while getting into a car to take her to the game. She also reposted a photo of the boots with Yankee Stadium in the background, featuring a can of Miller Lite.
“Game dayyyy!” the Instagram story read.
The Pirates ace was not slated to play since he pitched on Sunday against Cleveland in a 7-1 win.
Yet, Dunne did get to watch home runs from Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez that powered Pittsburgh to the win.
Dunne and Skenes have been together since 2023 after meeting while attending LSU.
Livvy Dunne shares a post on her custom Paul Skenes boots for Wednesday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Instagram @livvydunne
They were also featured in an interview with MLB Network while on the red carpet, where Dunne talked about her investment in the game that can often get sprinkled with some profanity.
It called back to a moment when Dunne was caught on the broadcast saying “f–k” twice before leaning back in her seat, frustrated, during a game between the Pirates and Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto in May.
Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Livvy Dunne arrive on the red carpet at the 2026 MLB All-Star Red Carpet Show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Laurence Kesterson/UPI/Shutterstock
She also commented on what it was like standing in the batter’s box against her boyfriend in what was a “scary” experiment.
At the time of writing, the second game of the day was scoreless by the seventh inning.
Across 21 starts this season, Skenes has held a 3.43 ERA.
The Philadelphia Phillies continue to make questionable decisions while running the bases during this week's series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Trea Turner reached first base on a fielder's choice out in the bottom of the fifth ... only because Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy tagged out Bryson Stott, who for some reason decided to run from second to third with one out.
The game had just been tied 3-3 during the inning on a Bryan De La Cruz home run. But Stott's blunder halted the momentum with Kyle Schwarber popping out to end the inning.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 22: Tony Vitello #23 of the San Francisco Giants talks with umpire Alfonso Marquez #72 during the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 22, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the top of the 7th, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino pulled a fastball from Landen Roupp into the right field corner. Jung Hoo Lee got to the baseball quickly and fired an accurate throw into Willy Adames at second base as a hard-charging Pasquantino slid into the bag, beating the throw by plenty. But the momentum generated hustling to second made for an uneasy stop. Pasquantino struggled to brake, his upper half kept moving forward as his limbs strained to remain safely in contact with the base. During the awkward stumble, Adames applied a tag at what looks like the brief moment when one could see daylight between Pasquantino’s finger and second base.
Umpire Mike Estabrook ruled Pasquantino safe on the field, and Adames adamantly gestured towards the bench to take a closer look and challenge it.
As players, coaches, and fans prepared for what looked to be an exhaustive, frame-by-frame review, the weight of the moment settled over the crowd. This was a pivotal play given the game’s context: an old-fashioned, back-and-forth, pitcher’s duel between Roupp and Kansas City starter Seth Lugo. The Giants offense had just extended their lead to three-runs by capitalizing on lead-off walk and a 2-out extra base knocks by Lee and Adames. Those knocks were just their second and third earned off Lugo in the start, and the first since Rafael Devers’s lead-off double in the 2nd. Kansas City’s veteran right-hander had faced the minimum through 5 complete innings, and as he walked off the mound after another soft groundout, Dave Flemming, in all seriousness, remarked that Lugo was “just mowing them down.” Ironic considering Lugo’s four-seam fastball averages less than 92 MPH, and his 9-pitch mix boasts a 76 MPH curveball, already 5 clicks slower than the league average, and an even slower “slow curveball” that moseys across the plate on its own time. But hitting is timing, and pitching is disrupting that timing — Lugo had effectively done this by throwing the kitchen sink, toaster, blender, microwave at San Francisco hitters.
The 3-0 lead, like most things this year, was hard-earned and impossibly delicate, and Pasquantino’s double had it on the brink of shattering. Roupp had similarly cruised along with Lugo through the prior six frames. That double was just the Royals’ third hit and their first for extra bases. Just as things were supposed to get comfortable, a threat emerged from nothing. The heat of recent failures caused them to sweat. Necks were still sore from the whiplash of Logan Webb’s blown-gem against Seattle on Saturday — a loss that launched San Francisco’s embarrassing road trip. Four consecutive games in which a lead was forfeited. Four games in which the offense stalled out at three runs. Four straight losses – this ignoble streak’s beginnings traced easily back to Saturday’s 7th inning.
Wednesday’s 7th had to be different. Roupp was the last Giant starter to earn a win, and he looked just as he good as he did last Friday against the Mariners. Surely he’d lead the team to a much-needed victory — and Pasquantino’s base running gaffe appeared to be proof that God’s light shines brightest on the right-hander…
But that perceived gift didn’t just get taken away from the Giants, it blew up in their faces when umpire Estabrook ruled that Adames had pushed Pasquantino off the base.
A bold claim, which, of course, was unreviewable.
The call’s initial ludicrousness — which was robust at the time — has grown with each passing hour. Considering that he had beat the throw by plenty, Pasquantino being off balance was exactly what prompted Adames to tag him in the first place. Therefore, the tag could not have pushed Pasquantino off the base. Also, Pasquantino is 6’3’’ and 245 pounds, tagging him would be like tagging a redwood if he had been legitimately rooted.
It’s not like Estabrook is out of position to make a reasonable call here. Unless he was in the middle of a prolonged blink or those sunglass lenses are actually painted black, he sees the play happen. So what gives???
The most damning element here is the fact that Estabrook makes no gesture to signify that Adames unfairly pushed the runner immediately after the play. He and Adames even exchange some pleasantries in the aftermath. The challenge is assumed, and it is not until the crew chief is already walking over to the middle of the field with his ear piece in his hand that Estabrook drops the bomb.
The tag-turned-shove is a fabrication, cooked up in the moments between the tag and when Tony Vitello gestures to challenge. It’s clear that the umpire himself isn’t quite sure what he was thinking. On the Royals broadcast — which has better coverage of the incident than NBC Bay Area — the umpire fidgets as Adames pleads his case. Estabrook can’t really look at him straight. He weirdly keeps touching his face, wiping his mouth with his shirt as if his lips suddenly started to sweat uncontrollably.
Whether Adames’s tag stayed on Pasquantino when he came off the base is besides the point. Nothing definitive could be reached due to their inability to have it be reviewed, and right when the team were at their most vulnerable, Estabrook’s phantom push call caught them in the gut and keeled them over.
The collapse — that was absolutely definitive. The second pitch thrown after the lengthy pause (in which Tony Vitello was ejected) was launched over the wall by Salvador Perez. Roupp, who likes to work fast, and established a breezy cadence with Lugo through the first six innings, had lost his rhythm. The delay, the obstructed justice had him steaming. He was hot and bothered and cursin’ like a sailor as acting manager Jayce Tingler pulled him from the game.
The 7th had become a delicate and fraught situation. Tensions were high, players felt picked on — but there was still a lead to protect and a ballgame to win. Tasked with safely navigating and preserving the slim one-run lead, San Francisco’s relief corps took the field like bulls in a china shop.
Sam Hentges came off the mound to field a bunt and threw a pond-skipper past Devers into right field. He had tossed one-pitch, which was bunted, and somehow the tying run had found its way to scoring position. Hentges recorded just one out while giving up two singles compounded by his error before he was replaced by Keaton Winn, who served up this right-down-the-gosh-dang-middle-of-the-plate pitch
which knocked in the tying run; and this pitch
which subsequently scored Kansas City’s winning run.
By the time the 7th concluded, the Royals line-up had batted around, scoring five runs against three different Giants arms.
That did it. A 5-4 loss. Different day, different details — same ending.
Casey Schmitt’s solo homer with two outs in the 9th unclogged the offense, forever blocked at three runs, but his 20th shot of the year didn’t change much else. The Royals are last in the American League Central, and they left the Giants grasping at their coattails. The sweep, all one-run losses, was San Francisco’s sixth of the season. They are now 18 games below .500.
The phantom push in the 7th was the shove that sent this team over the edge and into an uncontrollable free fall — yet even that comparison is off considering we don’t get to experience the blissful sensation of weightlessness, that sense of pure “freedom” implied by the name. The failures on this display in this loss, and the recurring failures of this team, feel more like the “endless fall” sequence in the excellently stupid 2007 movie “Hot Rod,” in which Rod, in the process of angrily dancing away his suffocating feelings of inadequacy in the middle of a forest (to the song “Never” off the “Footloose” soundtrack), trips over a tree trunk and begins to tumble down a hill — a tumble that lasts longer than a full minute of runtime, with the idea that the longer Rod improbably rag-dolls down this frictionless slope, the more grunts and groans he makes as he roughly collides with more and more objects, the stupider, and “funnier,” the gag becomes.
This Giants season is already stupid — so when does it become funny?
PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers narrowly avoided a disastrous moment Wednesday, when Mookie Betts took a glancing blow off his head from a foul ball in the on-deck circle.
As the second hitter due up in the top of the second inning during the Dodgers’ game against the Phillies, Betts had stepped out on-deck during an at-bat by Max Muncy.
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts was OK after taking a glancing blow off his head from a foul ball while in the on-deck circle. Getty Images
Moments later, the star shortstop was sprawling to the ground.
With a check swing from the left-handed batter’s box, Muncy had deflected a foul ball straight back toward the Dodgers’ third base dugout. Standing in the line of fire was Betts, who had only a split-second to turn his head and avoid a potentially scary outcome.
Max Muncy's check swing foul ball lined directly at Mookie Betts' head, who luckily gets it glancing off his helmet. pic.twitter.com/ObXCb5ytLy
The Dodgers’ Max Muncy fouled off a ball that grazed teammate Mookie Betts on Wednesday. Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
The ball ricocheted off Betts’ helmet but did not hit him straight on.
As Betts dove to the dirt, the ball deflected up and over the Dodgers’ bench.
Manager Dave Roberts and a member of the team’s training staff immediately ran onto the field to check on Betts. But the former MVP quickly bounced back up and signaled he was OK.
He went on to take his at-bat, flying out to center.
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Jul 22, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Dominic Canzone (8)watches a home run go over the wall during the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
It wasn’t a start to the second half that the Mariners could afford to have.
After Eduard Bazardo allowed the bottom two hitters of the Reds order to reach in the top of the seventh Wednesday, Sal Stewart punished him with a two-out, three-run homer just over the wall in right field to give Cincinnati a 5-3 lead and deliver a back-breaking blow to a Mariners team that is, for a lack of a better way to say it, running out of time to figure things out.
The homer proved to be decisive. With the loss, the Mariners once again fall below .500 — this time over 100 games into a season where they were viewed by many to be a favorite in a weak American League. For months now, I’ve lived with a mindset that things will turn. However, as more days pass and the results fail to improve, I’m forced to confront the reality that maybe this is who the 2026 Mariners are. Underperformances from stars, terrible injury luck, and a failure to make the most of their opportunities — it could all be too much to overcome.
It’s not over, but the turning point is going to have to come soon.
All of the sudden, pressure mounts as the M’s head to Arlington for the biggest series of their year thus far. They’ll face the Texas Rangers in a four-game wrap-around series starting Friday that could swing the top of the AL West standings drastically. As it stands, the Mariners could fall behind 1.5 games if the Rangers win Wednesday evening.
“Every game down the stretch here is big, and there’s a lot of baseball in front of us yet and a chance to find that consistent stride…We just need to concentrate on that as we get onto the road trip,” Wilson said postgame. “I don’t think we need any more extra pressure. I think there’s plenty of that. We just need to find our way and get ourselves consistent, and play the brand of baseball we know we’re capable of.”
For some periods Wednesday, it seemed like the Mariners could eke out a victory to secure an acceptable 4-2 homestand against two opponents that were plenty beatable. Cal Raleigh got the Mariners off to solid start in the bottom of the second. He lined a RBI single into right to score Josh Naylor, who had just stolen second to move into scoring position after blooping a single to center off of Elly De La Cruz’s glove.
It turned out this was a start to a volatile couple of innings where the lead went back-and-forth between the two teams. To lead off the top of the fourth, JJ Bleday turned on a 86 mph cutter from Emerson Hancock for a towering solo shot into the seats in right field, tying the game at one.
Hancock spent some of the All-Star break resting the sore hand he got on a comebacker in the final game of the first half. He said it was a little difficult coming back from the break because it’s hard to simulate major league pitches. Hancock forced a couple of ugly swings and misses with his sweeper — when he was landing it.
“There’s certain cues and adjustments that I feel like I’ll make with that pitch throughout the game,” Hancock said. “I just keep throwing it, keep trusting it, and you’ll find a really good feel for it. We were able to execute a couple good ones today.”
That said, he lost the handle on a couple of them in the early going, including a wild pitch in the fourth that moved Tyler Stephenson to third after a two-out double. The mistake proved costly; even though Cole Young was able to make a diving stop on a subsequent grounder from Dane Myers, he couldn’t quite get the handle on the ball to make the throw to first, and the runner scored from third to give the Reds a 2-1 lead on a play that could’ve ended the inning.
The Mariners had a quick response in the bottom half of the fourth, with Luke Raley driving in a couple with a hard-hit liner into the gap in right-center on the first pitch he saw from Brady Singer. Both Naylor and Randy Arozarena came around, making the score 3-2 in favor of Seattle.
After running into trouble in the fourth, Hancock was able to settle down and retire the next six hitters to turn in a decent outing. He only struck out three hitters and forced nine whiffs, but outside of the homer by Bleday, he was able to limit the hard contact and keep the Reds offense in check. He notched a quality start, allowing only the two runs on five hits over six innings of work.
The opportunities for the Mariners offense were few and far between after Raley put them in front. The only baserunner to reach second after this point was Julio Rodríguez, who doubled to the wall in the left-center gap to bring the tying run to the plate in the eighth. In the end though, Arozarena and Dominic Canzone would both ground out to extinguish their last scoring threat of the day.
As it turns out, the Mariners dropped the series against the Reds and will have to settle for a 3-3 split of their six games to open the second half at T-Mobile Park. In and of itself, it could obviously be worse than 3-3 — but given the 1-5 stretch into the All-Star break and a tough schedule upcoming, this is certainly not what they had in mind.
In Seattle, we’ve become accustomed to the late-season surge. The Mariners are going to have to find one, yet again.
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter Dillon Dingler (13) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Detroit Tigers (47-54) vs. Chicago Cubs (57-44)
Time/Place: 8:10 p.m., Wrigley Field SB Nation Site:Bleed Cubbie Blue Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. RHP Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 17: Peter Lambert #38 of the Houston Astros warms up before the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Daikin Park on July 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (49-54) will go for a sweep of the Miami Marlins (52-50) tonight in the finale of their three-game series at Daikin Park in Houston, TX.
RHP Peter Lambert (8-5, 3.03 ERA), who’s posted a 1.02 ERA (2ER/17.2IP) in his three starts this month, will get the start for the Astros tonight opposite RHP Sandy Alcantara (10-5, 3.89 ERA) and the Marlins.
RIDING THE LAMBO: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Peter Lambert leads the Astros in wins and among AL pitchers he ranks second in opponent average (.197) and sixth in ERA (3.03) (min. 90IP). Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 starts.
MOVING UP THE LIST:Manager Joe Espada has 224 managerial wins as the Astros skipper, which ties him with Terry Collins (224 wins) for 10th all-time in managerial wins in club history. The two immediately trail Hal Lanier (254 wins) for ninth on that all-time list.
GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros rank first in the AL and second in the Majors in 1st-inning runs (68). Overall, the Astros rank 11th in the Majors in runs (468), two spots ahead of the Marlins (455), who rank 13th.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros rank second in the AL in fielding percentage (.988) and their 43 errors are the second-fewest in the AL. 1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 98 games played at 1B. Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 126 games at 1B (last error was Aug. 23, 2025 at BAL).
TODAY’S TRADE: Earlier today, the Astros acquired RHP Max Martin from the Royals in exchange for the recently DFA’d RHP Nate Pearson. Martin, 22, owns a 6-2 record with a 2.01 ERA (9ER/40.1IP) in 26 relief appearances across two levels of Class A ball in the Royals organization this season.
MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez is a strong AL MVP candidate as he enters tonight as the AL’s Triple Crown leader, ranking first in batting average (.326), HR (33), and RBI (75). He currently leads all of baseball in OPS (1.081), OBP (.432), SLG (.649), and total bases (239), and in the AL, he ranks first in hits (120), first in XBH (53), tied for second in runs (68), and fourth in walks (66).
LEVELED UP: DH Yordan Alvarez is playing on another level, as he’s riding an eight-game hitting streak in which six of those eight games have been multi-hit games. He’s batting .517 (15×29) with six runs scored, four doubles, four homers, eight RBI, seven walks and a 1.680 OPS during the streak.
HIT PAREDES: Since June 3, 3B Isaac Paredes is batting .297 (44×148) with 20 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, seven homers, 29 RBI, 18 walks and an .893 OPS in 40 games. He enters tonight with an active 15-game on-base streak and an active seven-game hitting streak.
TAP FOR SUCCESS: Astros hitters have won an MLB-best 72 ABS challenges and lead the Majors in challenge success rate (60%). 2B Jose Altuve has been successful on 15-of-23 challenges (65%), ranking third in the Majors in challenges won. 3B Isaac Paredes (11-for-12) has been the most efficient regular challenger for the team and was successful in his first 11 challenges this year.
WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader is 3-1 with 11 saves (in 11 chances), has a 1.47 ERA (3ER/18.1IP), 29 strikeouts in 18.1 innings, a .154 (10×65) opponent average, and a 0.98 WHIP in 20 appearances. He has not allowed a hit in 14 of his 20 appearances.
DOWN ON THE FARM: The Triple A Sugar Land Space Cowboys picked up a 3-2 win in 10 innings last night on a walk-off single by 1B Cavan Biggio, who’s hitting .300 (12×40) with a 1.107 OPS in 13 games this month. Down at Class A Fayetteville, the Woodpeckers earned a rain-shortened 7-0 win thanks in part to top prospect CF Kevin Alvarez, who hit his eighth homer of the season.
ASTROS SIGN TOP TWO PICKS: The Astros have officially signed both of their first-round picks from the 2026 MLB Draft: OF Logan Hughes (17th overall) from Texas Tech and RHP Jack Radel (28th overall) from Notre Dame.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1986 – The Astros allow just one hit in a 1-0 walk-off win vs. the Expos in the Astrodome. This marks the only one-hit, extra-inning shutout in franchise history. A solo homer in the bottom of the 10th by 1B Glenn Davis is the difference. RHP Nolan Ryan throws 9.1 innings in the start, tallying 14 strikeouts, while allowing that one hit. RHP Dave Smith earns the win for the Astros in relief.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: SCHN, SCHN2
Radio: KTRH 740 AM; KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
PHILADELPHIA –– It remains unclear exactly how aggressive the Dodgers will be ahead of MLB’s Aug. 3 trade deadline.
But next week, the team is expecting to get a couple key internal reinforcements back from injury.
Closer Edwin Díaz is on track to be activated next Tuesday, when the Dodgers return home from their current nine-game, East Coast road trip. The $69 million offseason signing has been out since April, when he underwent a surgical procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow. However, he is set to follow up his latest rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday afternoon with two more minor-league outings on Thursday and Sunday. After that, he should be ready to return for Tuesday’s series-opener against the Mariners.
2/19/26 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz #3, poses for a photo on a back field at Camelback Ranch Glendale, the Los Angeles Dodgers Spring Training complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
“We feel very confident right now if he continues to trend the way he has, the back-to-back to check that box, to then go Sunday, we feel like he’d be in a good spot,” Roberts said of Díaz, who had an ERA over 10.00 while battling his elbow injury earlier this year.
Utilityman Kiké Hernández is also nearing the end of his recovery process from an oblique strain, which sidelined him in May just two games into a return from offseason elbow surgery.
Hernández began his own rehab stint in OKC at the start of this week, and is also on track to return during the Dodgers’ upcoming homestand –– though it remains unclear if he will be ready to be activated as soon as Díaz.
“He’s in a good spot,” Roberts said. “So Tuesday could probably make sense. I just don’t know for certain.”
Kike Hernandez #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California Getty Images
The returns of Díaz and Hernández will represent a mid-season boost to the Dodgers, who have gone closer-by-committee without Díaz (Tanner Scott has gotten the most save opportunities in his stead) and have missed Hernández’s defensive versatility and veteran bat (Alex Freeland has effectively served in that role off the bench).
As long as they perform as hoped, the Dodgers will likely not have any deadline needs in the bullpen or their lineup.
Their rotation, however, remains another question, with the club still waiting to see how soon Shohei Ohtani (who threw a bullpen session Wednesday as part of his recovery from a knee injury), Blake Snell (who had his own loose-body removal in May but is also on a minor-league rehab assignment in OKC right now) and Tyler Glasnow (who has yet to face hitters since suffering a back injury) will be able to return.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 19: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 19, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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These days, it’s all the rage in the Majors to extend young, budding stars. Even with the impeding lockout and revised CBA, teams are still doing it, such as the recent news of the Cincinnati Reds locking up 23-year old pitcher Chase Burns for seven years and $105 million.
The deals make sense for both sides, by buying out the player’s arbitration years and a year or two (or occasionally more of free agency). For the player, they get guaranteed generational wealth, even if their performance slips or they suffer a catastrophic injury. For the team, they get to extend team control for a price that will likely end up being a discount, and usually won’t break the bank if the player underperforms.
Needless to say, the San Francisco Giants have a prime candidate for such an extension, in the form of first baseman/designated hitter Bryce Eldridge, who casually has a .265/.358/.469 line in his age-21 season, while showing mammoth power. That said, the Giants have not historically been an organization to make this type of move. So … will that change this year?
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 21: Alejandro Osuna #19 of the Texas Rangers celebrates after hitting a two RBI single during the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Globe Life Field on July 21, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
