Category: MLB

As Ha-Seong Kim has been perhaps the worst player to play as much as he has in baseball this season, Walt Weiss made a number of changes including Matt Olson playing right field to avoid Kim hitting in the eighth. Kim’s performance and Weiss’ clear lack of faith in the Korean makes it fair to wonder if he will make it all season on the roster the way things are going, much less receiving regular playing time. He has been a catastrophe at the plate and not much better in the field. While I do think it remains a worthwhile contract to hand out in the offseason, it has gone about as poorly as possible, starting with his offseason injury.

Braves News

Atlanta is expecting to miss Ronald Acuna for a while, as they will slow-play his return from his second injury to the same hamstring this season.

The Braves transferred Spencer Strider to the 60-day IL in a flurry of mid-day transactions.

The Braves’ losing skid continued with a loss in the afternoon and a loss at night, each featuring sub-par pitching and less-than-sparkling offense.

MLB News

The Phillies optioned top prospect Andrew Painter back to triple-A, as he has been quite poor in his 65.0 major league innings this year.

The Guardians put promising rookie Chase DeLauter on the IL with a fractured rib, calling up former top draft prospect Kahlil Watson to make his MLB debut.

Tigers’ Gleyber Torres is hitting the IL with an oblique strain that appears to be a reoccurrence of an injury he suffered earlier this season.

For a while now, Carson Whisenhunt has been targeted as a key part of San Francisco’s second-half rotation. It’s been quite a long time since anyone who isn’t employed by the Giants thought the team could make a competitive run this year, and as the season becomes more and more fleshed out — and the deadline grows ever closer — even the Giants are forced to reckon with reality.

Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, respected veterans who represent 40% of the team’s Opening Day rotation, will almost surely be traded, even as they slog through difficult seasons. Adrian Houser will be dangled, with Buster Posey hoping he’s not the only person on the planet who thought the mediocre veteran deserved a multi-year deal.

Add in the recent struggles of Trevor McDonald, who has temporarily stolen Mahle’s spot, and the picture couldn’t be any clearer: sooner or later, Whisenhunt will find himself slotted into the rotation, with a leash of indefinite length as the team shifts their focus to 2027.

Wednesday offered a sneak peak of that future. It may have also accelerated the timeline.

After Tuesday’s game was postponed in the second inning — meaning the starting pitcher, Houser, was limited to just one inning — the Giants needed to cover 17 innings on Wednesday. They learned from their mistake during the season’s first doubleheader, when they called up McDonald to be the allotted 27th man, but never used him, opting instead for a bullpen game and the scheduled starter. This time, Ray — initially scheduled to start the evening game — was pushed up to the early afternoon, to cover the rest of the series opener, which he did brilliantly. And Whisenhunt was brought up for his season debut, and handed the steering wheel for the full-length evening game.

He wasn’t excellent, but he was very good, which is more than Mahle and Houser can claim at virtually any point this season, and more than Ray can claim for most of it. And with that, Posey, Zack Minasian, and Tony Vitello have a decision on their hands. The Giants are 16.5 games out of the division lead, and 7.5 games out of the third wild card, while at no point looking like a competent baseball team (on or off the field, sadly). How can Whisenhunt return to Sacramento, where he’s already spent more than 280 innings honing his craft? How, after the way he pitched on Wednesday?

It was hairy at the start, admittedly. He fell behind 3-0 to the leadoff hitter, former Giant Mauricio Dubón, and eventually issued a walk to him. With two outs, he allowed a single to Ozzie Albies. It took him 21 pitches to get through the inning — efficiency has been a struggle for him this year — and even at that, it came with a scare, when Austin Riley’s third-out fly ball died at the warning track.

The second inning offered more of the same. Seen through one lens, Whisenhunt wasn’t at his sharpest, as he worked through a leadoff single and a one-out walk, throwing 18 pitches and once again escaping when the final out — a fly ball from Dubón that traveled 376 feet — died on the track. Seen through another lens, he showed his mettle, and was unfazed by danger from a great team. He looked like he’d been there before. He looked like he was never worried.

After those two stressful innings, Whisenhunt settled right in. He needed just seven pitches to cruise through the heart of Atlanta’s order in the third, striking out Drake Baldwin on three pitches, working a mild grounder from Matt Olson, and getting the laziest of fly balls from Albies. He gave up a leadoff single in the fourth, then retired the next three batters on eight pitches. He set down the side in order in the fifth inning.

It helps, of course, when your offense gives you a cushion, and the Giants did exactly that. They once again struck in the first inning — what a lovely sight — albeit with a little help from the Braves. Luis Arráez, who had drawn a leadoff walk, attempted to steal second on what would be strike three — and out No. 2 — to Matt Chapman. The thrown from Sandy León was excellent, and easily beat Arráez, save for one little issue: Albies forgot to catch the ball.

With that, life was gifted to the Giants, who did what good teams do in such situations: take advantage. Rafael Devers slapped a double the other way, scoring a run and keeping the line moving. That would be the only run of the inning, but it helped push rookie JR Ritchie’s pitch count up to 27.

It was the second inning where the Giants gave Whisenhunt a big enough lead that he would have no problem protecting it. It began when Willy Adames, who had homered in the first game, went deep on the second pitch of the inning, hitting a majestic shot exactly 400 feet.

But that was just the start. After a strange sequence — Casey Schmitt singled, Drew Gilbert replaced him on a fielder’s choice, and then Gilbert was thrown out stealing second on a play where it looked like he was only half-heartedly trying to steal the base — a new rally was started when Eric Haase drew a walk.

What followed could not have been predicted: Arráez, who has a reputation for both not hitting home runs and not swinging at the first pitch, swung at the first pitch … and hit a no-doubt home run, just the 39th of his eight-year career.

But if Arráez’s home run was a shocker, Bryce Eldridge’s was not. For the second time on the day, Giants lefties went back-to-back (in the first game it was Devers and Jung Hoo Lee), and with that, the game was broken open.

That was all the scoring the Giants would do until the ninth inning, when they scored a few desperately needed insurance runs. Whisenhunt had stayed in for the sixth inning, but given up three straight singles to open the frame, scoring a run and putting an Atlanta rally firmly in full force. JT Brubaker relieved the youngster and allowed one of the inherited runs to score (Whisenhunt’s final line: five innings, six hits, two walks, two runs, and two strikeouts), before getting out of the inning. The Giants continued with the drawing-headlines-for-the-wrong-reasons relief group, with Sam Hentges and Ryan Walker combining to pitch scoreless seventh and eighth innings, giving San Francisco a 5-2 lead into the ninth.

That’s where they added on, with a familiar man in the middle of it: Arráez. It was a small ball rally at the back of the lineup, with Schmitt knocking a leadoff single. He was then replaced by Jonah Cox, who promptly stole second … a move that was impressive, but ultimately meaningless, as Gilbert was immediately hit by a pitch. After Haase moved both runners over with a delightful bunt, Arráez brought them home with an opposite-field single … the quintessential Arráez hit.

It turned out to be a pretty critical one, too. The Giants had pushed their lead from three runs to five, which was mighty important when they proceeded to give up three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Matt Gage, who was activated off the Injured List in between the games, didn’t have his sharpest stuff. He ceded a one-out double to Jair Camargo (the first hit of his career), and then, after having two deep fly balls die on the track, Dubón finally pushed one over the fence for a two-run blast.

Back-to-back singles by Baldwin and Olson brought the tying run to the plate, and knocked Gage out of the game. In came the unlikely hero, Tristan Beck. He let one of the inherited runners score on a wild pitch, but induced a weak grounder from Albies, before striking out Riley to end the game, and granting the Giants a 7-5 victory.

The Giants haven’t had a lot of good days lately, but Wednesday was certainly one. A dominant showing from Ray, followed by an encouraging peak to the future with Whisenhunt. Six home runs on the day. Two wins against one of the best teams in baseball.

That’ll do.

Despite a valiant comeback effort fueled by four home runs, the Colorado Rockies couldn’t overcome a disastrous second inning by the Chicago Cubs as they dropped the series finale 8-6 to lose the series. They finish their road trip with a 2-4 record.

A mixed night for Sean Sullivan

After an impressive, albeit short, outing for his Major League debut, the Rockies hoped to see more of Sean Sullivan in his second start.

The night started promisingly as Sullivan allowed just one walk as he faced four batters and retired the side on 12 pitches. The top of the Cubs’ order looked off balance as he continued to be deceptive. However, the second inning proved to be a nightmare for the young lefty.

Alex Bregman led off the inning with a walk. Ian Happ blooped a single to right field that fell perfectly in a spot that no fielder could cover. Matt Shaw then tripled to center field to get the Cubs on the board with an early 2-0 lead. An RBI double from Carson Kelly followed to make it 3-0. The struggling Dansby Swanson then stepped up to the plate and hit a fly ball to left field that the wind pushed out for a two-run home run to make it 5-0 and complete the team cycle in the inning.

Sullivan finally got the first out of the inning by getting Pete Crow-Armstrong out on a fly ball. The Cubs remained aggressive as Nico Hoerner singled to right field, followed by Seiya Suzuki’s RBI double to make it 6-0. Michael Busch then singled to put runners on the corners, and Bregman flew out to left field for the second out of the inning to drive in a run and make it 7-0. Happ flew out to right field to end the inning. By the end, Sullivan had thrown 42 pitches in the inning alone.

He rebounded nicely in the third inning with back-to-back strikeouts and a borderline catch by Tyler Freeman in right field. Sullivan then allowed a lead-off home run to PCA in the fourth inning that held up after a lengthy review by the umpire crew to make it 8-1, and then got through the inning without further damage.

His night ended after four innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He pounded the zone, throwing 56-of-82 pitches for strikes, but he managed just two swing and misses. It was a start reminiscent of Sullivan’s starts in Tripe-A Albuquerque, where the margin of error isn’t large, leading to one ugly inning surrounded by a lot of things to like about him. He’ll likely get another start next week, this time at Coors Field against the Boston Red Sox.

“He got behind in counts and had to come over the plate with his heater,” said manager Warren Schaeffer. “But he came back out and got 1-2-3 in the third and got us through four innings. He knuckled down and did what he had to.”

Sterlin Silver

The Rockies weren’t quite as successful against Cubs starter Javier Assad as they managed just two runs on five hits (more on that in a second) while also striking out just once with no walks. Assad managed an even split of groundouts and flyouts with six apiece while he threw 56 strikeouts of his 92 pitches.

Sterlin Thompson had quite the night as he was the Rockies’ main proprietor of offense for most of the game. In his first at-bat, he collected his first career home run by sending a ball the opposite way to get the Rockies on the board.

The Rockies threatened with a couple other runners following the home run but nothing came of it. As Thompson stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning, he turned on a ball to right-center field for his second home run of the game to make it 8-2.

He added a two-out double in the top of the seventh but struck out in the ninth to end up going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. He became the first rookie in Rockies history to have a multi-home run game at Wrigley Field.

Zach Agnos steadies the ship

After Sullivan managed to grind through four innings, the Rockies turned to Zach Agnos with the hopes of getting a few good innings out of him. Despite the mixed-bag of results on the year, Agnos did exactly what they wanted him to do.

Of course, no pitcher is expected to do it all by himself, and Agnos was the beneficiary of some help from his defense in his first inning of work. Happ led off the inning with a double to right to bring Shaw up to the plate. Agnos managed to get him to fly out deep to center field, where Cole Carrigg made the catch. Happ tagged up and tried to move up 90 feet, but Carrigg fired a laser to third base to cut him down for a double-play. The throw came in at 99.8 mph, the fifth-hardest throw by a player in MLB this season.

Agnos closed out the inning and worked around two walks through his next two innings of work. In a game that could have quickly spiraled out of control, Agnos went three innings, allowing just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

He gave way to Jimmy Herget in the ninth for his first appearance after being activated from the injured list. The Cubs managed a couple of bunt hits, but he escaped the inning unscathed.

Late game rally

The Rockies’ offense managed to make things a bit more interesting with a rally in the eighth inning against reliever Ethan Roberts. Jake McCarthy led off with a walk and was followed by a Freeman single. Both runners then moved up on a passed ball with TJ Rumfield at the plate. Rumfield grounded out a ball to first base for the first out, which allowed McCarthy to score and make it 8-3.

Hunter Goodman then stepped up to the plate and blasted his 21st home run of the season, 14th on the road, to straightaway center to make the game 8-5. For Goodman, his 21 home runs are the most by a National League catcher before the All-Star break since Javy Lopez hit 23 back in 2003.

The Rockies couldn’t add on in the eighth but tried to build more momentum in the ninth inning. Facing Jacob Webb, Kyle Karros connected on a first-pitch fastball over the heart of the plate for his fourth home run of the season to make it 8-6. Unfortunately, that is all the Rockies could muster as Webb closed it out for the save.

On the night, Colorado had nine hits, including four home runs, while striking out just three times. However, they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“The Boys keep fighting, they keep fighting every night,” said Schaeffer about the comeback effort. “It’s no secret, the league has to know that we keep fighting until the end. It’s what we do and I’m proud of them for that.”

Up next

The Rockies head back home to Coors Field for a six-game homestand starting Friday. The Pittsburgh Pirates roll into town first for the weekend with Bubba Chandler (2-7, 4.76 ERA) scheduled to make the start for the Buccos. Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.98 ERA) will take the pill for the Rockies.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm MDT.

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The Padres have arguably one of the most aggressive president of baseball operations in the sport.

A.J. Preller isn’t afraid to take the leap when it comes to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. Last summer, the Padres made the deal of the deadline when Preller acquired Mason Miller from the Athletics.

The return package was perhaps the most shocking part of the trade; the Padres sent top prospect Leo De Vries and three other prospects to the Athletics. The move signaled the Padres’ desire to make a deep playoff run, and several insiders believed that would also be the case in 2026.

A few weeks ago, the Padres were considered early favorites to land Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in a blockbuster trade. But San Diego’s slumping offense has given the Skubal speculation reason to pause.

The Padres’ offense ranks last in batting average, OPS, runs and total bases. Though Preller is an aggressive GM, his pursuit of Skubal may be futile if the lineup remains stagnant.

MLB insider Jeff Passan believes the lack of offensive production could hinder the Padres’ deadline plans.

“I think the Padres’ deadline is going to be fascinating this year because when you are in the same league as the Dodgers and the Braves and the Phillies and the Brewers… the National League is stacked. It’s an impressive group of teams. If you’re A.J. Preller and you see the way that your offense has operated this year and you look at the top of your rotation, do you go get Tarik Skubal?” Passan said on “Foul Territory.”

“I think if Ethan Salas is in a trade, at very least, Scott Harris and Detroit, the president of baseball operations there, has to listen because he might potentially be the best prospect that gets offered. But is it worth renting Tarik Skubal for a team like this? A team that has flaws. Or do you look at it and say, you know what, the truth is if we have Tarik Skubal, if we have Michael King, if we have this bullpen, we can go out and beat anybody. But the Padres have mortgaged their farm system so much in recent years.

“I just don’t know if this is the Padres team that’s going to go out and chase.”

Despite winning the deadline last summer, the Padres made an early postseason exit in 2025 with a loss in the wild-card round to the Cubs. As the trade deadline draws closer, it remains to be seen whether Preller will go all in as the Padres’ bats search for answers this summer.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers had the lead right from the jump and never gave it up as they cruised to a 9-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians, giving them a chance to sweep tomorrow.

Christian Yelich led this game off with an opposite-field home run off Gavin Williams, taking a curveball down and away to the Brewers’ bullpen for a 1-0 lead. They weren’t done in that first inning, however. William Contreras and Jake Bauers drew two-out walks, and Sal Frelick drove them both home with a booming double to right-center.

In the second, Cooper Pratt delivered the first hit of his major league career, shooting a single through the right side of the infield.

“I heard the crowd, and it was sick,” Pratt said postgame as he retold the story of his first career hit.

David Hamilton bunted Pratt over, and Yelich drove him in with a single to left center. Yelich would later score on a Brice Turang double, and very quickly it was 5-0 Brewers after two innings.

Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat was cruising along, facing the minimum through three innings. But then he ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing a walk, a single, and another walk to load the bases. He then hung a curveball right down the heart of the plate to Daniel Schneeman, who did not miss it and crushed a grand slam.

A few pitches later, the athletic trainer was coming out to check on Sproat, and he exited the ballgame. The Brewers later said Sproat left with a right hamstring cramp.

“Just a cramp, he’s fine. He’ll be able to make his next start,” Pat Murphy said.

The Brewers’ offense picked him up with some additional insurance runs in the bottom half of the fourth when Jackson Chourio lifted his fourth home run of the homestand and 10th of the year.

Chad Patrick, who came on in relief of Sproat, proceeded to absolutely shove. He struck out seven over 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit. It’s been a struggle for Patrick his last few times out, but he made an adjustment to the cutter and found much more success.

The Brewers were able to add some insurance in the eighth inning with singles from Contreras and Frelick, followed by an RBI double from pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn. Pratt then tallied his first career RBI with a single over the first baseman’s head to make it 9-4.

Grant Anderson closed the door for the Brewers, and they’re now lined up to potentially sweep the Guardians on Thursday afternoon. Shane Drohan will get the start for Milwaukee in that game, with Parker Messick starting for Cleveland in a southpaw-on-southpaw matchup. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

The Home Run Derby is getting a makeover.

One of the premier events of MLB’s All-Star week is ditching the clock and going with a set number of swings instead, The Athletic reported Wednesday.

In the first round, contestants will get 20 swings before going down to 15 in the second and third rounds.

In a fun twist, hitters will continue to swing if they homer on the final hack in each round until they produce an out.

For example, if a player hits a homer on the 20th swing of the first round, they keep taking swings until they record an out.

The top four finishers of the eight-player pool from the first round will advance to the second round, where the top first-round finisher will face the player with the fewest homers in the first round.

The second and third seeds also will face off to decide the championship matchup.

One of the biggest reasons for the change, according to The Athletic, was the new viewing experience for fans. This year’s derby will be the first on Netflix, and the streamer’s personnel asked for feedback from MLB and players for ways to improve the competition.

With the previous structure utilizing a timer, players said they would get tired trying to take as many swings as possible before the clock expired. Players will now have the ability to build drama and anticipation between swings.

The Home Run Derby has undergone several rule and format changes since the event’s introduction in 1985. From that year through 2014, the competition used some form of an outs-based system. In 2015 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, MLB introduced the clock to great fanfare.

Fans will see the newest setup in action in the 2026 Home Run Derby, scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern on July 13 at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

None of the eight participants has been announced, though Yankees slugger Ben Rice said this week that he “would love” to be part of the homer show.

Cubs 8, Rockies 6

Leverage index and box score

Graphics via FanGraphs.

Shaw-some: Matt Shaw, +0.17 WPA

Second-inningblowout: Sean Sullivan, -0.37 WPA

Game thread comments of the day

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The White Sox owe the Guardians a fruit basket because after another Bronx beatdown, Chicago is barely clinging to first. The Sox got thumped, dropping to 38-34 and torching their positive run differential on the way out.

The night started with some promise. Miguel Vargas, still glowing from his MLB Network cameo with Mark DeRosa, ripped a two-out double in the first.

Then Colson Montgomery battled for 12 pitches, only to pop out. Cue the Yankees: Anthony Kay got two quick outs, then Amed Rosario doubled, and Cody Bellinger smashed a two-run shot to right-center. Just like that, 2-0 hole.

The Sox had their shots, but the clutch hits never came. In the second, Everson Pereira drew a leadoff walk and Edgar Quero singled, only to watch Braden Montgomery bounce into a rally-killing double play. Meanwhile, Kay continued struggling with his command. José Caballero reached after being hit by a pitch in the second, Anthony Volpe tripled him home, and Ali Sánchez added an RBI single, and suddenly it’s 4-0 Yankees. Kay burned through 52 pitches just to escape two innings.

Finally, some life in the third. Chase Meidroth and Randal Grichuk singled, then Colson yanked a pitch from Carlos Rodón into the short porch for a three-run bomb. Suddenly it’s 4-3.

Kay battled in the bottom half, managing to strand Bellinger at third after a leadoff double, getting a groundout, a strikeout, and a popped-up bunt to escape.

But missed chances for the South Siders were the story. Quero singled in the fourth and got left. Meidroth doubled to start the fifth and went nowhere. Five innings in, plenty of hits, nothing to show for it.

Then everything unraveled.

Sean Newcomb took over in the fifth and immediately lit the fuse. Bellinger singled, Jasson Domínguez doubled, and Caballero drove in two. Then Volpe smoked a liner off Newcomb’s chest at 98.6 mph, sending him to the showers with a contusion. Tyler Davis came in and poured gasoline on the fire: single to Sánchez, then veteran Paul Goldschmidt obliterated a three-run homer. Suddenly it’s 9-3, and the game is toast.

Brandon Eisert finally put up a zero in the sixth, but Trevor Richards coughed up a solo shot to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh, pushing the Yankees into double digits. The inning also brought another scare when Everson Pereira made a highlight-reel catch in center, then hit the wall before crumpling to the ground. He ended up leaving the game, though he walked off on his own.

Chicago kept swinging, even down big. Braden picked up a two-out single in the sixth, then Colson notched his first career multi-homer game in the eighth with his 19th of the year.

Tristan Peters kept the line moving by drawing a pinch-hit walk, Quero slapped his third hit, but again, no dice. Sam Antonacci led off the ninth with a homer for some window dressing.

The maddening part is that the offense actually showed up. Eleven hits, three from Quero, two bombs from Colson. But the Good Guys went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left a small village on base. The bullpen blowup didn’t help, but when you rack up 11 hits and five for extra bases and still trail all night, that’s a special kind of aggravating.

On the eve of one of the city’s biggest celebrations in years — a parade for the NBA champion Knicks — the Yankees got the party started early.

With Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in The Bronx to throw out the ceremonial first pitches and then watch from a suite, the Yankees put on a show Wednesday behind another relentless offensive attack.

Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit for the second straight night as the Yankees pounded the White Sox yet again, 10-5, in front of 38,558, including two freshly crowned champions.

Brunson and Hart were the main attraction for many of those fans at the start of the night and whenever they came into sight following their first pitches, but the Yankees (45-27) gave them plenty to watch on the field, too, as they won for the eighth time in their last nine games.

Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all homered as the Yankees raced out to an early lead and then piled on from there, scoring 22 runs through the first two games of this series against one of the other four American League teams who entered the night with a winning record.

“That’s at its best right there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “When everyone’s playing a role and you’re getting meaningful contributions from everyone and you’re winning baseball games, that leads to good times and good vibes. You love it that way. You know you’re going to go through your challenging moments, so you try to embrace this and keep it going as best you can.”

Carlos Rodón struck out seven while grinding through five innings, with all of the damage he allowed coming on one swing: Colson Montgomery’s three-run homer in the top of the third inning, which pulled the White Sox (38-34) within 4-3.

But that was as close as it would get, as the Yankees blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning capped by Goldschmidt’s three-run home run to the short porch off righty reliever Tyler Davis.

The Yankees are playing without two former MVPs in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but still have two more playing like their best versions in Bellinger and Goldschmidt.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

With his 11th home run of the year, the 38-year-old Goldschmidt surpassed his home run tally for all of last season (10 in 146 games), doing so in just 47 games to help the Yankees withstand the losses of Judge and Stanton.

“It’s been unbelievable,” Bellinger said. “Lefty, righty, pull-side homers, oppo homers, hitting singles and playing great defense, he’s been tremendous. Obviously a future Hall of Famer. Just been really fun to watch with my own eyes.”

Bellinger, meanwhile, finished a triple short of the cycle as he continued to do everything well. He is hitting .304 with a .941 OPS across his last 43 games.

The Yankees, who improved to 18-6 when facing a left-handed starter this season by beating up on White Sox southpaw (and former Mets prospect) Anthony Kay, have just kept plugging along even as the injuries have piled up, now missing nearly half of their Opening Day lineup.

“We have a good mindset about it,” Rodón said. “We go out there every day trying to win a baseball game. There’s no excuses in this room. Obviously, it’s tough when G is out, Judgey’s out, and those guys are so dynamic at the plate. But it’s great that our guys are still going out there and putting together good at-bats, still scoring a lot of runs. This team’s very capable.”

After clubbing four home runs in Tuesday’s 12-2 win, the Yankees picked up where they left off by racing out to a 4-0 lead.

After Montgomery’s first of two homers made it 4-3, the Yankees put the game out of reach in the fifth, honoring Brunson and Hart by delivering another win.

“That was cool,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, we were all super tuned into the [NBA Finals] and the postseason. Saw them pregame and what they were able to accomplish is pretty amazing. It was cool to see them.”

ATLANTA — So homer-happy were the Giants on Wednesday that even Luis Arraez got in on the power party aided by the balmy conditions in the Braves’ bandbox. 

The contact-hitting second baseman put one over the wall for only the third time this season — his first in any setting besides the hitter’s paradise that is the A’s temporary home — and that was only the beginning of a historic homer barrage on their way to a doubleheader sweep.

“I didn’t know there was any elevation here, so I guess the ball flies here a little bit,” said first baseman Bryce Eldridge, who came away with his seventh homer of the season in his first game at Truist Park.

No kidding.

The Giants hit three home runs on their way to a 7-2 win in the early game. They slugged that many in the second inning alone of the nightcap. Final score: 7-5.

“It was a good day at the ballpark for us,” manager Tony Vitello said, complimenting his team for improving from its first doubleheader of the season, when they lost both games to the Phillies.

“I think if you look at the last time we did this, it serves as a little bit of practice for this year’s team. We’ve gone through a day like today. … No matter what your circumstances are, you’ve got to make them the best that you can.”

The rare homer from Arraez came with two outs in the second, finding a landing spot in The Chophouse in right field, after Willy Adames lined one over the left-field wall to lead off the frame.

Arraez stood in the batter’s box for a moment and stared toward his teammates in the third-base dugout.

“We were giving him crap in the dugout because he pimped it,” Adames laughed. “When he knows, he knows. When he hits it, he hits it.”

Eldridge immediately followed Arraez with a shot to center, giving the Giants three in an inning for the first time this season and their second set of back-to-back homers of the day.

Jung Hoo Lee and Rafael Devers provided back-to-back blasts in the first game.

Devers was contained to the field of play in the second game but used it like a pinball machine to record his MLB-leading 23rd and 24th doubles of the season, including one he snuck down the left-field line in the first that drove in Arraez and opened a 1-0 lead.

Arraez finished with a season-high four RBIs, poking a two-run single in front of Mike Yastrzemski in left field to pad the Giants’ lead in the top of the ninth.

The Giants had manufactured three runs before play was suspended in the first game Tuesday night. From the time they resumed play Wednesday afternoon, the Giants’ six home runs were responsible for eight of the 12 runs they scored the rest of the day.

On the topic of homering in bunches, nobody clumps them together like Adames, who also went deep in the first game. Five different Giants homered on the day, but only Adames did so twice.

The last time Adames homered, he also hit two in one day. In between the multi-homer games, however, the shortstop managed just one single with 11 strikeouts in 31 at-bats. Of his last five hits, four have gone over the fence.

“I don’t feel the best right now,” Adames acknowledged. “I’ve had some good contact, but not results. Obviously when you get some [results], it feels great. … Hopefully I can get hot and end the first half the way I want to.”

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The Braves, on the other hand, weren’t able to do much of anything against Carson Whisenhunt, called up from Triple-A to make a spot start in the second game of the twin bill.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Vitello said. “He put on a clinic for how to handle traffic because there weren’t very many moments where it was easy, or he just breezed.”

Nonetheless, Whisenhunt limited Atlanta to two runs on six hits and two walks over five-plus innings in his first start of the season. Both of Whisenhunt’s walks came in his first two frames, and he settled down to retire 11 of 12 until allowing the first three batters of the sixth to reach base.

“Felt really good,” said Whisenhunt, who arrived as the 27th man for the doubleheader on about four hours of sleep and will rejoin to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday. “Obviously not the best it could have been, but for what I had to work with there, I felt pretty solid.”

It wasn’t enough to earn a permanent spot in the major-league rotation, but it made Vitello a believer that Whisenhunt, who struggled in five starts last year, will be back at some point.

“I just think he’s got the ability to be at this level,” Vitello said.

With 6 ⅓ scoreless innings from Robbie Ray in the first game and strong work from their relievers, Giants pitchers held Atlanta to two runs over the first 16 innings they played Wednesday.

Matt Gage, in his return from the injured list, wasn’t able to finish the job, recording only one out in the ninth, surrendering a two-run homer to Mauricio Dubon and handing the game over to Tristan Beck with two on and the tying run at the plate.

Caleb Kilian, their closer, was not available for the sudden save situation after Vitello used him to record the final two outs of their five-run win earlier in the day.

What it means

The Braves began this series with the best record in the majors, 17 ½ games ahead of the Giants, with a 3.32 staff ERA that trailed only the Yankees for the best in MLB.

None of that seemed to matter to the Giants, who unloaded against a bullpen game and a rookie making his sixth big-league start, JR Ritchie. In a roundabout way, San Francisco has reeled off three wins in a row. The Giants haven’t won four games in a row all season.

Who’s hot

The power strokes of the Giants’ hitters, who look like a completely transformed group from the one that ranked last in the majors in home runs through the first week of May.

San Francisco became the last team to reach 20 home runs on May 4. Since then, they’re tied with the Nationals for the most in the majors, with 59 after slugging six more Wednesday.

And consider this: Their 122 wRC+ in that span leads the league, meaning the offensive awakening hasn’t just been a product of the long ball, nor is it merely a result of favorable foes.

Who’s not

Just about everyone has participated in the Giants’ power surge.

But not catcher Daniel Susac.

Susac started behind the plate in the first game of the double header and went hitless in four chances, bringing the Rule 5 pick over 100 plate appearances without a homer.

Susac continues to be a reliable receiver and singles hitter, but just six of his 26 hits this season have gone for extra bases. Since returning from the injured list May 15, Susac is batting .221 with a .550 OPS, putting his OPS on the verge of dropping below .700 for the first time this year.

Up next

With more rain in the forecast for Thursday, the teams have discussed moving up the start time of the series finale from 7:15 p.m. ET. For now, that’s when Braves starter Martin Perez will toe the rubber, opposed by Landen Roupp in his first start since Pride Night in San Francisco.

Blue Jays 3 Red Sox 0

It seems weird to get a shutout in a game that the Jays pitchers really didn’t look great

An impromptu bullpen day, with Max Scherzer scratched with back tightness (landing him on the IL), Jays pitchers walked seven and allowed seven hits. You’d imagine one of those baserunners would have come around to score. The Red Sox were 0 for 12 with RISP.

We did get some good defense. Kazuma Okamoto made a couple of terrific plays (two in the eighth in particular) and Vladimir Guerrero had just an excellent night with the glove. Davis Schneider also made an excellent catch in left field.

On the pitching side:

• Braydon Fisher got the first four outs, giving up two walks in the process.
• Simeon Woods Richardson, the forgotten man in the pen, played bulk guy, going three innings, with three hits and three walks with one strikeout. He was helped by the spectacular catch in left field by Schneider. SWR was awarded the win.
• Mason Fluharty only got one out, with one walk, one his and one strikeout.
• Spencer Miles came in with Fluharty’s two runners on base and left them there, getting four outs, with one hit and one walk, with a strikeout.
• Jeff Hoffman pitched the seventh and was the first Jays pitcher not to walk someone. He gave up a one-out single, but got out of the inning with three ground outs. It took him 25 pitches to throw that scoreless inning, but put up a zero.
• Tyler Rogers had his usual inning, giving up a single, but getting three ground outs.
• And Louis Varland was untouchable in the ninth, three strikeouts on ten pitches. He was amazing. Save number 14.

We only got three runs, but it was enough:

• Two in the third: Davis Schneider hit a double off the left field wall. After Myles Straw (one of Spencer Miles or Myles Straw has to change the spelling of their name, I keep forgetting which is which. Add in all the variations on Brandon on the team and it is too much for a bear of very little brain) struck out, Andrés Giménez singled Davis in. Giménez then stole second. George Springer was hit by pitch (it looked like he got it off the foot again). The pair pulled off a double steal and Andrés scored on a Guerrero ground out. I thought IKF could have come home on the play, but I’m not going to complain.
• One in the eighth: Giménez singled and stole second. Springer flied out, moving up the runner. and Vlad popped one up just out of the reach of the Red Sox second baseman Andruw Monasterio.

We had eight hits (but no walks) on the day. Vlad and Andrés had two each. Springer (with a hit by pitch), Okamoto (2 k), Kirk (2 k) and Clement (2 k) had 0 fors. We were 2 for 9 with RISP, infinitely better than the Red Sox.

Giménez had 3 steals and Springer had 2 which set a new Jays single game record with 5 steals in a game.

Beyond that, the English soccer fans gave a bit of atmosphere to the game. They had fun. I’ve been to a few soccer games in England and the fans are half the fun of the game.

Jays of the Day: Spencer Miles (0.18 WPA), Giménez (0.17), Woods Richardson (0.15) and Hoffman (0.09). I’d give honorable mention to Davis, Kazuma and Vlad for their defense.

No one gets the number for the Other Award. Straw had the low mark at -0.08 but he did make a nice catch too.

Tomorrow is a day game. 1:30 Eastern, which messes with my day. Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.78) and Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.03) are the starters. I’d say runs will be hard to get, but I said that you should take the ‘over’ on runs scored today and only three runs were scored.

Sportsnet says we are 7-1 on bullpen days. Of course, we were over-using the arms in the pen.

And Tyler Heineman was traded to the Angels for the ever famous ‘cash considerations’. No word on what uniform number cash will be wearing with the Jays. Yeah, bad joke.

Left-hander Victor Zarraga was sent to the rookie ball ACL Cubs from Low-A Myrtle Beach.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs snuck past Indianapolis (Pirates), 6-5 in ten innings.

Paul Campbell gave the I-Cubs five strong innings, allowing just one run. Unfortunately, he came out for the sixth and gave up three runs before getting pulled. The final line on Campbell was four runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Tyler Ferguson blew a save in his first game back with Iowa, but to be fair to him, it was on an unearned run. To be fair to the truth, the error was his own bad pickoff throw at first base. Ferguson allowed one unearned run on three hits over two innings. He walked one and struck out no one.

Vince Reilly pitched the top of the tenth, kept the automatic runner from scoring and got the win. Reilly allowed no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Second baseman James Triantos singled home BJ Murray in the bottom of the tenth to win the game. Triantos went 2 for 4 with a double.

Most of Iowa’s runs came on a fourth inning grand slam by shortstop Ben Cowles. It was his fourth home run of the eyar. Cowles was 2 for 3 with a walk.

The Cowles grand slam.

Vince Reilly gets out of the tenth.

Here’s Murray scoring on Triantos’ single. They could have given an error on this. A clean catch and Murray is out by a mile.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were identified by the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 5-2. The loss drops Knoxville a game behind the Lookouts with four to play in the first half.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. started, gave up a three-run home run in the second inning and got the loss. Scalzo’s final line was three runs on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings. He struck out one.

Tyler Santana gave the Smokies three strong innings of relief, allowing no runs on just two hits. He struck out five and walked no one.

The Smokies managed just five hits, all singles. Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle was 2 for 2 wth a walk and one run scored.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas had an RBI single. He was 1 for 4.

South Bend Cubs

I regret to inform you that Josiah Hartshorn did not reach base today. That’s because the South Bend Cubs were rained out. Doubleheader tomorrow in Ft. Wayne.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans washed the Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles) out to sea, 8-6.

Noah Edders tossed the first two innings and did not allow a run. He permitted just one hit. Edders walked no one and struck out four.

Riely Huntsaker pitched the next four innings and got the win. Hunsaker allowed one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Jhon Rosario pitched the final 2.2 innings, gave up two runs in the ninth but got the save. Rosario allowed two hits and hit one batter, all in the bottom of the ninth. Rosario did not walk anyone and struck out one.

Myrtle Beach scored five runs in the top of the second and never trailed afterwards. Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 1 for 2 with three walks and three steals. He scored once and drove in one run.

First baseman Michael Carico went 2 for 5 and scored twice.

DH Edward Vargas went 1 for 3 with a two-run single in the third. He was also hit by a pitch, stole a base and scored one run.

RBI infield single for Geuri Lubo, who was 1 for 4.

RBI single for Alexis Hernandez, who went 1 for 4 with a walk.

The two-run single by Vargas.

ACL Cubs

Beating the Angels 4-2 in the third inning.

The Braves’ offense waited a little too long to wake up on Wednesday.

After they managed just two runs in the first 16 innings against a San Francisco Giants pitching staff which entered the day 22nd in ERA (4.52), they found themselves in a 7-2 hole entering the ninth inning staring down another series loss.

Although delayed, the awakening was real for Atlanta’s bats, plating three runs with one out to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, as Mauricio Dubon hit a two-run homer after two previous flyouts to the warning track and another run came across on a wild pitch.

But Ozzie Albies grounded out and Austin Riley struck out, bringing the comeback bid up short in a 7-5 loss which completed what was essentially a doubleheader sweep after the majority of Tuesday’s 7-2 loss was played on Wednesday afternoon.

Dubon’s homer prevented the fifth time in the last six the Braves have scored three or fewer runs. But the Braves were unable to avoid their second three-game losing streak in the last seven games after they had just one through the first 66 games of the season.

Not to pile on, but it also clinched the Braves’ third straight series loss after they dropped just two of their first 21 series this season.

They had chances throughout, as they were set down in order just twice in nine innings and put the leadoff runner on base five times while outhitting the Giants 12-9

But they couldn’t convert frequently enough, finishing 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranding nine runners.

That only hit with RISP before the Braves were in a 7-2 hole in the ninth inning came from Riley. He led the offensive effort with his first three-hit game since Opening Day and broke a 13-inning shutout streak with his sixth-inning RBI single. Dominic Smith plated the other in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.

Along with Riley, the rest of the middle of the lineup did much of the lifting as Matt Olson and Albies, the two hitters ahead of Riley, had three and two hits, respectively, while Eli White, hitting after Riley, had one as well.

Jair Camargo, called up as the 27th roster member for the doubleheader nightcap, had a ninth-inning double which was his first career major league hit in his Braves debut.

Until it was basically too late, the offense didn’t do much to help JR Ritchie in his return to the starting rotation. Now, it bears mentioning the rookie didn’t exactly help himself early in his outing.

Rafael Devers gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead in the first with a two-out RBI single to left.

The wheels then really came off in the second, when he allowed three home runs. Willy Adames led off the inning with his second homer in as many games. After a walk of nine-hole hitter Eric Haase, Luiz Arraez followed with a two-run homer. Bryce Eldridge came up next and he also homered off the fellow rookie, who was tagged for five runs on five hits over the first two innings.

The nature of the pitching staff after a bullpen game to begin the day meant that Ritchie had to wear his struggles. Thankfully for him, he steadied himself well after the very rocky start. After a leadoff walk and wild pitch to begin the third, Ritchie retired the final nine batters he faced, working through five innings with no more runs allowed.

Carlos Carrasco, called up before the second game of the day, threw the final four innings, starting with three shutout frames before he was tagged for two runs which wound up being PRETTY IMPORTANT in the ninth on a two-run single by Arraez, who had a four-RBI game.

The Braves will look to salvage a game from this series and avoid being swept by the team with the second-worst record in the National League in Thursday’s series finale. There’s a big asterisk on that one, though, as the forecast looks…rough.

If it happens, Atlanta’s Martin Perez (5-3, 2.90 ERA) is slated to start against Landen Roupp (5-7, 4.24) for the Giants.

The champs are in the building. That’s one heck of a motivator.

Before Wednesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart came to the mound to throw ceremonial first pitches. The duo will join the rest of their Knicks teammates at the Canyon of Heroes, a spot the Yankees have populated frequently in years past, for their championship parade. The city will be bloated to burst with euphoric fans, celebrating the end of a long drought and an incredible postseason run which united all five boroughs.

The Yankees will never be able to unite the whole city behind them—they’ve been villains for far too long. But seeing the ovation Brunson and Hart received has to light a fire under you. The Yankees indeed put together a spirited performance, dropping double-digit runs against the White Sox for the second consecutive game en route to a 10-5 victory. It continues an appropriately strong start to a week in which plenty of revelry still awaits in NYC.

It’s always pretty amusing when both teams face the same scenario in the same inning, but one squad ultimately succeeds and the other doesn’t. Both the Yankees and White Sox had a run-producing opportunities after a two-out double in the opening frame. The White Sox’ Colson Montgomery worked a 12-pitch at-bat but ultimately failed to come through. Cody Bellinger, master of the left-on-left matchup, had no such trouble. His two-run homer put the Bombers ahead early.

After Brunson and Hart stopped by the YES—er, Amazon Prime booth, the Yanks got right back to work against lefty starter Anthony Kay with the bottom of their order. José Caballero took a ball off his shoetop, but was still able to race all the way home from first base on an Anthony Volpe triple. Ali Sánchez then singled Volpe home with a simple base hit to right field to give Rodón plenty of early breathing room against the team that drafted him out of NC State.

Unfortunately, the room got cramped again real quick. Montgomery must have felt a little rankled when Rodón outlasted him in the first, so with two aboard and two out in the third he got his revenge. On an 0-2 count, Carlos’ slider caught far too much plate and the young infielder jolted it over the right field wall to put the Pale Hose back within one run.

The Yankees subsequently failed to bring home Cody Bellinger on three tries in the bottom half following his leadoff double and advancement to third on a wild pitch. At this point, my Recapper’s Intuition(TM) told me we wouldn’t be seeing any more scoring for a while.

Thankfully, the Yankees got to work to foil my prediction against new pitcher Sean Newcomb to open the fifth inning. Bellinger’s third hit of the evening started the rally, then Jasson Domínguez lashed an opposite field double to give the middle of the order a prime opportunity for some insurance. Jazz Chisholm Jr. blew his chance on a first-pitch foul pop, but Caballero had his teammate’s back. He stayed back on a letter-high fastball and raked it the other way to score both runners.

They weren’t done. Volpe and Sánchez collected their second respective hits in their second respective at-bats, flipping the lineup card over for Paul Goldschmidt. Continuing the opposite-field theme, Goldy clocked a line drive towards the short porch, and it zipped into the stands for a three-run home run to break the game wide open.

Bellinger and Goldschmidt now have 11 homers apiece on the season.

Rodón struck out the side after the Sox got the leadoff man aboard in the fourth, then he worked around a double in the fifth to finish his night. A couple long stanzas limited his outing to a five-and-dive, but given last night’s 10-run victory and the six-run margin the Yanks had already built, it wasn’t paramount that he go deeper. Paul Blackburn handled matters in the sixth, seventh, and a slice of the eighth.

Following the seventh-inning stretch, Jazz decided to get in on the act with a home right to right field, giving the Yankees double-digit runs for the second straight night. That blast gave him 10 on the year—still a long way to go if he wishes to reach the 50/50 club. But hey, at least the homers have been coming pretty consistently of late.

The Southsiders grabbed a few late runs on solo homers: another from Colson Montgomery in the eighth, then a long drive from Team Italy legend Sam Antonacci against Jake Bird in the ninth. But they went down in order after that final loud sound to secure a fourth straight Yankee victory, nine of their last ten, and 15 of their last 20. Meanwhile, the Dodgers completed a sweep of the Rays to give the Bombers yet another game of cushion in the standings.

The Yankees will aim for a sweep of their own tomorrow night against the White Sox, who have been flattened to the tune of 22 runs during their sojourn in the Bronx. Ryan Weathers will be tapped to start against 26-year old righty Sean Burke.

Box Score.

Up-and-down game (emotionally and, well, on the field) tonight. Gavin was bad tonight. Probably the worst start he’s had since 2024 (not fact-checked). Certainly the worst of the season. He gave up 5 runs in the first 2 innings, walking two and giving up a long ball.

But then, in the fourth, Daniel Schneemann came up with the bases loaded and one out (Bazzana walk, Manzardo single, Rocchio walk, Hoskins strikeout).

That would end up being the high water mark of the evening for the Guardians. Gavin gave up 2 more runs on a 2-run homer from Jackson Chourio right after this.

The highlight of tonight, by far, is Daniel Espino’s debut. It was truly something special to watch. He struck out 2 and induced a weak flyout for the last out of the inning.

To come out throwing that kind of stuff in your major league debut is extremely special.

The Guardians ended up losing 9-4. It’ll be Messick vs. Drohan tomorrow afternoon for the finale.