Category: MLB

I feel for Tony Santillan at the moment. He’s been such a vital part of the Cincinnati Reds bullpen, when healthy, for several years now, but it’s undeniable that he’s been struggling for weeks now to no avail.

Problem is, the more he struggles, the more that’s still being asked of him. Simultaneous with his foibles have come the injuries to Emilio Pagan, Pierce Johnson, and Graham Ashcraft, as well as the latest derailment of Connor Phillips. In other words, opportunities keep falling on his lap based on his reputation at a time when he, like so many relievers before him, needed just a bit more time to work things out.

The Cincinnati Reds have been worse for it, sadly. There just aren’t enough other good options down there to whom Terry Francona can turn.

Cincinnati clawed their way back to a 2-2 tie against the Kansas City Royals thanks to a late 2-run homer by Blake Dunn, a swing that leveled the score after Chase Burns turned in yet another stellar start (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 K). The problem, though, is that the more that was asked of Cincinnati’s beleaguered bullpen, the worse things got.

I hate to pile on Santillan here, but the facts are what they are now. In 23.0 IP this season, he’s pitched to a 6.65 ERA while yielding an impossible nine homers in that time. Seven of those dingers have come since May 5th alone. Yet here the Reds were in the 9th inning of a game against a club that was just 23-38 on the season coming in with Santillan on the mound with the game on the line, and things once again simply collapsed in real time.

Short of swinging a major deal for an entirely new bullpen, I’m not sure exactly where the Reds go from here. We saw in April how vital a fully-functioning Cincinnati bullpen was going to be for the way this roster was built, with thin margins and wins in close games paramount given their lack of obvious ways to win games in blowouts. Now, we’re seeing just how penalized the roster building can be when banking on such thin margins, as the relievers of the Reds are seemingly just out of relief right now.

Thursday is a day off, and Sunday will see Rhett Lowder return to the starting unit. I just wonder whether or not either will be enough of a jolt to get this thing back on track with so many key arms still weeks away from rejoining the roster at any strength, let alone full.

Since franchise legend Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants, he’s preached one thing. Well, he’s preached many things, but one has stood taller than the rest: pitching and defense.

Pitching and defense, just as the ballpark was built for.

Pitching and defense, just as they leaned on during their dynastic run that Posey was at the helm of.

Pitching and defense, just as they did in The Good Ol’ Days.

Pitching and defense and pitching and defense and pitching and defense and juuuust enough hitting to prop it all up.

You can say it hasn’t worked, as evidenced by the fact that they entered Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers with the worst record in the National League. Or you can say that it simply hasn’t actually been executed, as evidenced by the fact that the Giants, in the last year and a half, have made no efforts to add to their bullpen, have made only the most meager efforts to improve their rotation, have traded the best defensive player in the sport, and have invested nearly half a billion dollars in a trio of sluggers, only one of which has ever won a Gold Glove.

But on Wednesday, it worked. For one glorious day, the Giants won as the prophecy foretold: with pitching and defense. Pitching and defense and just enough offense to keep you from pulling your hair out and pleading with Posey to trade Logan Webb simply to free him from this cursed existence.

Webb took the mound for his second start since returning from the Injured List, and it was clear early on that this was our first 2026 glimpse of the real Webb, the one who has earned Cy Young votes in each of the last four seasons, as opposed to the one sporting a 4.82 ERA when the game began.

He opened the first inning with a four-pitch strikeout of former MVP Christian Yelich, staying in the strike zone on all four pitches. He followed it up with his signature groundout (courtesy of Andrew Vaughn), and a flyout from Brice Turang.

The second inning? Groundout, lineout, strikeout No. 2.

The third? Groundout, groundout, groundout. 13 pitches, 10 strikes, 3 grounders. Vintage Webb.

He opened the fourth by striking out Yelich, again, and getting Vaughn to ground out, again.

And then came the first moment that made it feel like the game could be special. A moment that felt like it could be A Moment. With two outs, Turang chopped one sharply down the third base line. Matt Chapman, shifted over against the lefty hitter, ranged back towards third, plucked the ball out of the air, and threw across his body while falling across the third base line.

A perfect strike to Rafael Devers. A third out in the inning. A 12th out for Logan Webb in as many attempts.

It wasn’t quite Gregor Blanco diving to keep Matt Cain’s perfect game afloat, or even Hunter Pence awkwardly sliding to preserve Tim Lincecum’s first no-hitter. But it was the type of play that makes you feel like something special is brewing; like the baseball deities who have firmly abandoned the Giants this year have remembered the team’s existence.

With that, the watch was on. Once you make it past the fourth inning and the first defensive gem, suddenly the (admittedly still very slim) chance of no-hitter becomes worth paying attention to.

There was just one issue. The Giants offense had proven incapable of supporting Webb. And try as you may, you couldn’t shake the image of the Giants ace carrying a perfect game into the ninth inning, knowing that the 27th out wouldn’t bring a celebration, but instead a 10th inning.

Lefty Robert Gasser, in just his third appearance of the year, had kept San Francisco’s hitters off the bases in the first and second innings. The third had provided the sort of Giants-esque rally that makes you resell those tickets you bought a few months ago. The kind of rally we’ve grown far too comfortable with over the last decade.

It began when Bryce Eldridge reached first on a swinging bunt that traveled that magical distance where both Gasser and catcher William Contreras could have gotten it, but each decided to say “no, you first” until the moment was lost (even at that, the moment was only barely lost, as Eldridge was only ruled safe after the Giants challenged the call). The fortune continued when Daniel Susac hit what felt like a double play off the bat, but was just far enough away from shortstop David Hamilton to ricochet off his glove and trickle into left field.

Just like that, the Giants had two runners on, with no outs. After Victor Bericoto struck out, Casey Schmitt ripped one up the middle. It had RBI single written all over it, but Hamilton dove behind the bag to knock the ball down, holding the Giants’ top hitter to an infield single, and loading the bases.

With less than two outs. Their kryptonite. And indeed, Devers meagerly popped out, and Luis Arráez hit an inning-ending grounder.

They tried again in the fourth, when Jung Hoo Lee lifted a one-out soft liner to the outfield (extending his hitting streak to 11 games), and Eldridge drew a two-out walk. But no dice. It would be that kind of day.

Until the fifth inning.

Just three pitches after Chapman’s defensive heroics, Gasser threw a get-it-in sinker in a 2-0 count to Bericoto. The pitch was on the outer half of the plate and the Giants’ rookie, as he does so well, used that to his advantage, inside-outing it all the way over the right field wall for the first home run of his career.

It’s always special to reflect on what it took for a player to get where they got when such a monumental moment occurs. The 24-year old Bericoto signed with the Giants on July 2, 2018, almost a full eight years ago. It was the same day that the Giants signed Marco Luciano and Luis Matos. He played 569 games in the Minor Leagues before getting his chance. He hit 78 home runs in the Minor Leagues before getting to hit one in the Majors.

And he sure made it count.

With the lead firmly in hand, and visions of the most brutal Caining in history now pushed from our imaginations, Webb got back to work in the fifth. He struck out Contreras, then got Jake Bauers to ground out (in a 3-0 count, no less), and got Garrett Mitchell to lazily fly one to left field.

The perfect game followed him to the sixth inning, where it finally met its match. Facing Sal Frelick to open the inning, Webb missed the zone on three straight pitches. Frelick, unwilling to make the mistake that Bauers had, forced Webb to throw three straight strikes, and while Webb happily obliged for the first two, the third time was not the charm. Frelick took his free jog to first base, and we switched over from perfecto watch to no-no watch.

Even with the tying run lurking, Webb was game. As Frelick took off for second, Webb worked a grounder out of Luis Rengifo for out No. 1. Hamilton grounded out for the out No. 2, as Frelick moved to third. And there at third, 90 feet away from tying the game, he would stay, as Webb worked his third ground ball of the inning, this time from Yelich.

And so the no-hitter followed Webb into the seventh inning, where Vaughn led off with a flyout.

Finally, in a 1-2 count, Turang — the hitter whom Chapman had robbed of a hit — had seen enough. Webb threw a perfect two-strike pitch, whipping a backdoor sweeper below the zone and off the plate. Turang, in Sandovalian fashion, cared not for the location, and golfed it just over the head of a leaping Willy Adames for Milwaukee’s first hit of the game.

History was off the table, but excellence was not. After a brief flirtation with disappointment, Webb tightened his belt and got back to work, getting Contreras to fly out and Bauers to ground out.

With that, his night was over. It was, after all, just his second game since his injury, and with the chance of a no-hitter no longer there, 95 pitches was enough for Tony Vitello to, rightly, decide that it was bullpen time.

But first, an interlude for the Giants to once again age you in double time. This time it was Arráez hitting a one-out single, and Lee with a two-out knock. There was no blown situational hitting attempt this time around, but with the Giants clinging to a 1-0 lead, it felt equal parts fitting and indefensible that they couldn’t give Webb a cushion before handing things over to a bullpen known for implosions.

So the hard way would have to work. And the Giants treated us all to a little dose of torture.

Erik Miller took the mound for the eighth, and promptly gave up a leadoff single to Jackson Chourio. After the gift of all gifts — a popped-up bunt by Blake Perkins — Miller issued a four-pitch walk to Rengifo, moving the tying run into scoring position with just one out.

Vitello, who has developed a bit of a habit for leaving relievers in until all four wheels come careening off, instead of making a switch after the first one exits the vehicle, was decisive this time around, promptly removing Miller and turning to Keaton Winn. Four pitches later, Winn had induced an inning-ending double play from the bat of Gary Sánchez.

But that wasn’t quite enough drama given the circumstances. The Giants were still in prime position to lose the game, and squander not just the best Webb start of the year, but one of the best of his career. It would have been very fitting for the season, so you wouldn’t really even be able to blame them.

And so it felt as though we were headed that way when Winn gave up a leadoff double to Yelich in the ninth. The Brewers had the tying run in scoring position, and the walk-off run at the plate, and they still had all three outs to play with.

A grounder by Vaughn supplied the first out, but moved Yelich to third. It was unclear whether that was the good news or the bad news.

Winn, who appears primed to take over the closer spot that multiple relievers have abandoned this year, showed his merit for the role in striking out Turang, a left-handed hitter who has a .991 OPS against righties this year (Susac deserves an assist for the strikeout, as he sensationally plucked a would-be wild pitch out of the air after it collided with the dirt in front of the plate).

With the sacrifice no longer in play, Winn settled in to face Contreras, needing an out in any old way. Three pitches and one ground ball later, the game was over. The very cool and memorable game, I might add.

Pitching and defense. Pitching and defense and pitching and defense and pitching and defense and juuuuust enough offense to make it all work.

Logan Webb and Matt Chapman and Logan Webb and Daniel Susac and Logan Webb and Keaton Winn and Logan Webb and juuuuuust enough Victor Bericoto.

Sometimes it works just as it should.

The Athletics battled the Chicago Cubs in the second game of this three-game midweek series. The road-warrior A’s took an early lead and then gave it up. Up 4-2 for most of the night, it looked like the Cubs would hold on to even up the series. Yet, the A’s came back in the eighth to tie and wound up winning 5-4 in ten innings.

A’s Score Right Away

Athletics’ right fielder Carlos Cortes led off with an infield single and first baseman Nick Kurtz walked against Cubs’ starting pitcher Collin Rea. On consecutive ground balls by catcher Shea Langeliers and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the Cubs attempted to turn double plays, but both runners beat the relay throws to first. Cortes scored on Soderstrom’s groundout, giving the A’s a 1–0 lead.

Jeffrey Springs kept momentum on the A’s side with a scoreless bottom of the first inning. The A’s added another run in the second. With one out, third baseman Zack Gelof doubled, extending his hitting streak to eight games. He scored on shortstop Alika Williams’ two-out RBI single.

Cubs Roar Back

The Cubs immediately got one back. After making a nice catch in the top of the inning, right-fielder Seiya Suzuki led off the bottom of the second with his eighth home run of the season, a solo blast to the left field bleachers. That was Springs’ 13th home run allowed this season. He wiggled out of trouble following Dansby Swanson’s one-out double, keeping his team’s lead intact.

Chicago took the lead the next inning on center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run home run to right-center field, his eighth of the season. The blast came after Soderstrom’s defensive misread on a line drive that turned into a double for Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner.

Through three innings, Jeffrey Springs again struggled with a familiar issue—giving up too many home runs, which has been a recurring problem during his ongoing winless streak. Meanwhile, Rea completed a second straight scoreless inning for the hosts in the top of the fourth, preserving their slim lead.

The Cubs scored their fourth run in the fourth inning. Ian Happ doubled, and Michael Busch followed with an RBI triple. Cortes misplayed both hits in right field, especially the triple.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay pulled Springs after 3 2/3 innings. The A’s starter allowed four runs on seven hits, with those two home runs doing most of the damage, although he was not helped by the poor outfield defense behind him. A’s right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel came in and got Nico Hoerner to end the threat, escaping a two-on, two-out jam.

Bullpen Time

Kuhnel and left-hander Jose Suarez each turned in 1 1/3 scoreless relief appearances out of the A’s bullpen, keeping the team’s deficit at two.

With one out in the sixth, the Cubs went to their bullpen, pulling Rea from the game despite the starter allowing only two runs on four hits on just 69 pitches. Left-handed reliever Hoby Milner got the final two outs of that inning. In the seventh, right-handed reliever Jacob Webb held the A’s to one hit.

A’s Tie The Game!

Cubs’ left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar entered to pitch the eighth. Kotsay countered by bringing Colby Thomas off the bench to pinch hit for Cortes. Thomas, who crushes left-handers, delivered by hitting his second home run of the year, a solo blast crushed deep to the left field bleachers.

Langeliers lined a double to the left-center gap with one out, positioning himself as the game-tying run. Soderstrom followed with a hit down the right field line, scoring Langeliers to tie the game. The A’s left fielder tried stretching that hit into a double. Suzuki made a nice throw to nab Soderstrom at second.

The next batter, designated hitter Brent Rooker hit a long single to center. If Soderstrom had stopped at first, he would have likely made it to third with one out on that hit, putting the visitors in prime position to take the lead. Alas, A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler failed again, hitting an inning-ending line out after fouling off multiple potential ball four pitches.

Athletics hard-throwing right-hander Luis Medina pitched the bottom of the eighth, walking Alex Bregman to start the inning before inducing a double play from Seiya Suzuki. He gave up Happ’s two-out double, but then struck out Swanson to keep the game tied.

The A’s went down in order in the ninth against Cubs’ closer Daniel Palencia. Chicago did the same in the last of the ninth as A’s reliever Hogan Harris sent this game to extra innings.

Extra Innings!

Athletics pinch-hitter Jonah Heim led off the tenth with a groundout to first, advancing the ghost-runner Williams to third. Kurtz singled to left, scoring Williams to give the A’s their first lead since the third.

Right-hander Justin Sterner pitched the tenth for the A’s, seeking the save. Hoerner led off with a fly out, advancing the Cubs’ ghost runner to third. Sterner struck out Crow-Armstrong for a big second out and then retired Bregman to end the game and seal the Athletics comeback series-clinching victory.

The series ends tomorrow evening, same time, same place. The Athletics will send right-hander J.T. Ginn to the mound as they go for the series-sweep at Wrigley. The Cubs will counter with left-hander Shota Imanaga.

Pat Murphy said it perfectly on Tuesday night about Logan Webb, “I know the kid pitching tomorrow has shoved it up our (expletive) many times.”

And shove it, he did. Webb didn’t allow a baserunner until the 6th inning and didn’t allow his first hit until there was one out in the 7th inning. The Brewers offense was held completely in check. Webb went seven shutout innings, striking out five, and allowing just five hard-hit balls all night. Four of those five that were “hard-hit” (95+ MPH exit velocity) were groundouts.

That left the Brewers basically no margin for error for their pitching staff. Robert Gasser, freshly called up from Triple-A Nashville, took a big step forward from his previous outings. Gasser dealt with traffic on the bases in the 3rd and 4th innings, but was able to get out of those jams with nothing across.

However, in the 5th inning, Gasser allowed a leadoff home run to 9-hole hitter Victor Bericoto that just made it to the Giants bullpen. That was all the Giants got and it was all they needed on Wednesday night.

“He didn’t miss very many spots, at least I know during my at bats. I got like one pitch over the heart of the plate, that was about it. When you got command and movement like he does, it’s tough” Brice Turang said.

The Brewers were able to get into the Giants bullpen in the 8th and 9th innings and they had opportunities to scratch a run across. Pinch-hitter Jackson Chourio led off the 8th with a single. Then Blake Perkins pinch-hit for Sal Frelick and popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt.

“Perk didn’t get the bunt down, that’s inexcusable.” Pat Murphy said.

Luis Rengifo followed with a walk to put two runners on base. Murphy brought in Gary Sanchez to pinch-hit for David Hamilton. The Giants countered with right hander Keaton Winn. Winn got Sanchez to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Perkins is now 0-for-his-last-17 and his last hit came on May 10th. Sanchez is 4-for-his-last-36 dating back to April 29th.

Then in the 9th inning, facing Winn again with the top of the order due up, the Brewers had another great chance. Christian Yelich led off the inning with a double. Andrew Vaughn hit a ground ball to the right side to get Yelich to third base with less than two outs. Brice Turang couldn’t put the ball in the air and struck out. Then William Contreras grounded out to end the game.

It was a tough night for the Brewers offense, getting no-hit through six innings and having numerous opportunities late that they couldn’t cash in on.

Credit must also be given to Chad Patrick, who came on in relief of Gasser and threw four shutout innings to finish the game. He kept the Brewers in it and didn’t let that Giants lead grow.

Still, the Brewers fell short and need to bounce back in Thursday’s finale to secure the series win. They’ll have to do so against an old friend in Adrian Houser. Coleman Crow will start for the Crew.

Columbus Clippers 9, Omaha Storm Chasers 8

Clippers improve to 32-25

The Columbus Clipper blasted off for nine runs on 11 hits and 10 walks Tuesday.Leading the charge offensively was Juan Brito, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored.Bo Naylor also had a huge game, going 1-for-2 with a three-run home run, three walks and a stolen base. Angel Genao went 2-for-5 and slugged his fourth home run as well.

Cooper Ingle doubled and walked while Nolan Jones went 2-for-5 with a double, George Valera went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base and C.J. Kayfus walked three times.Daniel Espino served as the opener in this game and he was tagged for two runs on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in 1.0 innings. Unfortunately, that one hit was a two-run home run. Rorik Maltrud followed with four runs allowed on eight hits in 4.0 innings while striking out seven and walking two.

Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich both finished off the game with 2.0 innings apiece while both allowing one run.

Akron RubberDucks 12, Bowie Baysox 15

RubberDucks fall to 28-24

Akron’s offense did its damndest, scoring 12 runs on 14 hits, but poor pitching and defense betrayed it. Jaison Chourio had one of the best games of his career, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Nick Mitchell reached base safely three times, going 2-for-4 with a walk while Jacob Cozart went 2-for-4 with a home run and Wuilfredo Antunez also homered. In his Double-A debut, Luke Hill went 2-for-5 with a run scored, although he committed two errors at second base. Alex Mooney also went 2-for-5. Starting pitcher Khal Stephen had a rough day, allowing eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 4.2 innings pitched. He struck out just one batter and didn’t walk any. Carter Rustad followed by allowing six more runs, although none of them were earned in 2.0 innings.

Lake County Captains 5, Fort Wayne TinCaps 6

Captains fall to 5-6

Nolan Schubart had a strong performance, going 2-for-4 with his 10th home run of the season.Tommy Hawke had the other multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

Bennet Thompson homered as well, while Dean Curley went 1-for-3 with a walk. No one else reached base safely twice or had an extra base hit.Starting pitcher Franklin Gomez allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5.0 innings. Logan McGuire allowed another run in 1.1 innings while Cam Schuelke allowed one run with the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning to take the loss, although he had pitched 2.1 innings before that.

Hill City Howlers 2, Fredericksburg Nationals 3

Howlers fall to 25-27

Juneiker Caceres and Ty Howard both went 2-for-4 with a double while Johan Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. This team needs to get some of its young injured talent back in action. Gabriel Rodriguez should hopefully be back soon.

Starting pitcher Ryan DeSanto, a 12th round pick out of Penn State, had a strong performance. He allowed one run on one hit with seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings, although he did walk five.Miguel Flores added 3.2 scoreless frames with four strikeouts and Luke Fernandez unfortunately couldn’t hold the lead, allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to let the Nationals walk off.

ACL Guardians 13, ACL Cubs 6

Guardians improve to 15-9

Alejandro Blasco is making one heck of a first impression. In his 2026 debut, the 19-year-old Venezuelan prospect went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk on May 30. On Tuesday, he went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double and a walk. His OPS through two games is a ridiculous 3.500. Not bad for someone who spent two season in the DSL already.A rehabbing Gabriel Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with two walks. A rehabbing Welbyn Francisca went 1-for-4 with two walks and a stolen base.

Gustavo Baptista went 2-for-4 with a double and two stolen bases, Angel Abreu went 3-for-5 with a double, Randy Martinez went 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base and Estivel Morillo went 2-for-5 with a double. A rehabbing Yorman Gomez tossed 2.0 shutout innings. He struck out four, walked one and allowed two hits. Evan Chrest added a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the St. Louis Cardinals scored five runs.

The bad omens just kept piling up for the Rangers tonight and it ended with them losing for the first time in nearly a week as they saw their season-best five-game winning streak snapped in the finale from St. Louis.

Bad omen No. 1: The Rangers had scored in the first inning to take a lead in three of their five wins during the winning streak. Tonight, however, they trailed after one inning as the Cardinals got a two-out RBI single that followed a glacial attempt at a potential inning-ending double play.

Bad omen No. 2: Tonight’s starter MacKenzie Gore walked two in the first inning and needed 30+ pitches to make it out of the first frame. In fact, Gore collected his fourth out overall tonight in the bottom of the second inning on pitch No. 41. Ten pitches per out is not what we’d call economical.

The left-hander had a string of solid outings to close out May but was first inefficient tonight and then, ultimately, pretty subpar as overall. Gore allowed four runs on nine hits with three walks over 4.2 innings which took him exactly 100 pitches to wade through.

Bad omen No. 3: The Cardinals kept scoring a run here and a run there throughout the night and it kept pushing Texas’ comeback chances further out of reach but the most frustrating thing was three of St. Louis’ five runs came with two outs. An extra out to squash even one of those rallies could have potentially changed Texas’ fate.

Bad omen No. 4: Despite being mired in a massive slump, former Rangers prospect Thomas Saggese collected two hits, including a triple that scored one of those two-out runs that eventually proved the difference.

All those bad markers layered throughout the game and, despite the winning streak, the Rangers still have a pretty thin margin for error on any given night. Texas got to within a couple of runs late but in the end they finally succumbed to a team from Missouri and now they’ll have to wait for another shot at returning to .500 ball.

Player of the Game: In lieu of a batter, of which no Rangers hitter had more than one hit tonight, how about 26-year old Robby Ahlstrom making his MLB debut tonight and tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief? The lefty struck out two Cardinals and didn’t allow a baserunner as he kept the game close after entering in the seventh.

Ahlstrom, who was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2021 but never actually suited up for any of their affiliates, was the second guy in the 2022 trade that sent Jose Trevino to New York. The Rangers have been all that Ahlstrom has known as a professional and after toiling in the Texas system for the last four seasons, he finally got the call earlier this week.

Congratulations, Robby!

Up Next: The Rangers return home to enjoy their first day off in two weeks before opening up a series at The Shed against the Cleveland Guardians beginning on Friday night.

Another fun one tonight. Guardians really got to Cole (for what felt like the first time ever) and tagged him for 4 runs in 5.1 innings. Manzardo continued his hot streak with a homer in his first AB today.

Chisholm homered off Gavin (who was a little shaky tonight) in the bottom of the second, and Hoskins gave the Guardians the lead in the 4th.

Caballero homered in the bottom of this inning to bring the Yankees back within a run (a homer that had questionable fan interference, although a crew chief review deemed the interference insufficient to overturn the homer).

Jose, too, stayed hot with a homer in the 6th (his 2nd of 3 hits tonight).

A Bellinger sacrifice fly brought the Yankees back within a run, but Hoskins tacked on (another) insurance run in the top of the 8th with an RBI single. This followed after Jose singled (to the wall in right) and Manzardo doubled (a 409’ flyball to the deep part of Yankee Stadium).

Cade Smith was a little shaky in the 9th, but managed to close out the game. He gave up a leadoff double to Goldschmidt, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Bellinger sacrifice fly.

Some fun tidbits:

Jose last 10: .307/.368/.547, 8BB:8K, 3 HR, 5 SB.

Manzardo last 20: .306/.403/.629, 5 HR, 8 RBI.

Hoskins last 20: .229/.375/.500, 13BB:17K, 3 HR, 11 RBI.

The Guardians look to secure the sweep tomorrow. It’ll be Cecconi vs. Rodon.

The St. Louis Cardinals needed a game like they had Wednesday night at Busch Stadium to turn around their recent downturn. Andre Pallante gave the Cardinals a great start and many bats in the lineup were productive including Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Nelson Velázquez as St. Louis beat Texas.

The Cardinals did not waste any time getting the offense going as Masyn Winn walked to open up the Cardinals bottom of the 1st. After Ivan Herrera popped out, Jordan Walker hit into a fielder’s choice, but St. Louis managed to put together a 2-out rally anyway. Nelson Velázquez walked and then Alec Burleson turned on a 97 mph four-seam fastball and drove it into right field giving the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead.

The Texas Rangers would pull even (temporarily) in the top of the 3rd inning as Kyle Higashioka singled to center and then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Pallante. Two batters later, Josh Jung singled him in tying the game 1-1.

The Cardinals would retake the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning after Jordan Walker singled and then Nelson Velázquez crushed a double giving St. Louis runners at second and third with no one out. Alec Burleson added his own double giving the Cardinals their lead back at 3-1. It could have been more, though, as Alec Burleson was stranded at third base after a fielder’s choice from Jose Fermin and strikeouts by Nolan Gorman and Thomas Saggese. Saggese would redeem himself just two innings later.

The Cardinals offense would put more runs on the board in both the bottom of the 5th and 6th innings. After Jose Fermin doubled in the Cardinals 5th, Thomas Saggese did him one better by cracking a triple to right giving St. Louis a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the 6th, the Cardinals would start another two-out rally when Jordan Walker singled and then stole second. Nelson Velázquez would strike again singling to right and scoring Walker giving the Cardinals a somewhat secure 5-1 lead. Or, so they thought.

Andre Pallante had his best stuff working Wednesday night as he tossed 5 2/3 allowing only 1 earned run while striking out 5 and walking 2. He would be relieved by JoJo Romero who got the final out of the 6th inning getting out of a jam created by Andre, but would run into trouble himself in the top of the 7th inning. Pinch-hitter Justin Foscue doubled and then JoJo walked Higashioka. Joc Pederson made him regret it by driving a triple into the right-center field gap scoring both runners making it just 5-3 Cardinals. Fortunately, Ryne Stanek would come into the game and strikeout Josh Jung and get Brandon Nimmo to pop out stranding Pederson at third base. Stanek would stay in the game and pitch a solid top of the 8th inning that was refreshingly almost drama-free with just one single allowed.

Riley O’Brien came in to close out the top of the 9th inning in an effort to post a positive bounce-back from the disastrous Tuesday night effort. He unfortunately struggled with his control again walking the first batter he faced, Kyle Higashioka. The Rangers made the interesting choice to have Michael Helman lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Higashioka to second base. That brought up Joc Pedersen as the potential tying run. He made all of us hold our breath as he flew out to very deep left-center for the second out. Whew. The final Rangers hope, Josh Jung, popped out on the first pitch he saw to lock up a Cardinals victory at 5-3.

The Cardinals have a much-needed day off Thursday to rest up before starting a weekend homestand against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. Kyle Leahy is the scheduled starter Friday night with Brady Singer the expected starter for the Reds. First pitch scheduled for 7:15pm central time with the TV broadcast available on Cardinals.tv.

The streak is over.

After 50 2/3 innings, Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez finally surrendered a run in Wednesday’s 3-2 win.

Sanchez, 8 1/3 innings away from Orel Hershiser’s MLB record of 59 scoreless frames set, gave up a two-out, seventh-inning single to the Padres’ Jackson Merrill, which brought home Ty France.

When the run crossed home, the Philly faithful gave their hurler a standing ovation.

Sanchez kept his composure and completed the inning, ending his night.

Sanchez’s scoreless streak began in the second inning of the April 30 matchup with the Giants, a span of five starts.

The crazy run is the longest ever by a left-handed pitcher and the fourth longest of all time, behind Hershiser (1988), Don Drysdale (58 innings, 1968), Walter Johnson (55 2/3 inning, 1913) and Jack Coombs (53 innings, 1910).

It beat out Hall of Famer Grover Alexander’s Phillies mark of 41 innings set in 1911. 

“It was incredible,” Sánchez said after breaking Grove’s record. “It’s really special what we have here as a group, as an organization as a whole — the players, the staff, the medical staff. So it’s just really special to share things like this with this tremendous group that we have here.”

The streak has coincided with the Phillies’ resurgence from last place in the NL East. Since that April 30 start, the Phillies have gone 21-11 and sit in second place after Wednesday’s win. 

They will look for the series sweep of San Diego on Thursday as they try to claw back into the playoff picture. 

It is a the second coming of Simeon Woods Richardson. You will likely remember that the Jays picked him (along with Anthony Kay) up from the Mets for Marcus Stroman back in 2019. I remember it mostly because I was in Toronto at the time and was at a game with Matt W and we discussed the trade (my memory says were were fairly pleased with the return).

Then we trade SWR to the Twins (with Austin Martin) for José Berríos. Woods Richardson never did pitch for us.

After getting in a game in each of 2022 and 2023, for the Twins, he made 50 starts (and one relief appearance) over 2024 and 2025 with a 12-9 record and a 4.11 record. This year hasn’t go so well, he pitched in 12 games with a 7.74 ERA in 47.2 innings. Batters hit .330/.409/.543 against him. And so the Twin DFAed him.

The Jays are sending cash back.

I’m thinking Richardson has been picked up to start instead of us doing two bullpen days every five games. SWR might not be great, but he can go more than 3 innings (I hope) and might allow us to save some bullpen arms.

I’m thinking that, when some of our injured starters are ready to come back, Woods Richardson will either move into our bullpen or get DFAed again, depending on how he does.

Welcome back, Simeon. Just a tip, if you want a win, don’t give up more than a run.

For the first time since his return, Gerrit Cole looked human. For the first time since completing his comeback from Tommy John surgery, Cole surrendered a run — four of them — and was hurt by the long ball.

And against an Aaron Judge-less lineup, that was more than enough for the Guardians.

The Yankees lost to Cleveland 5-4 on Wednesday for their second consecutive defeat with Judge sidelined as they awaited a final diagnosis on the bone bruise near his right rib. Cole, after opening his 2026 ledger with 12 ²/₃ shutout innings, allowed the four runs across 5 ¹/₃ frames, with Cleveland’s three home runs accounting for most of the damage.

He still flashed his vintage, pre-surgery form, an encouraging sign for a banged-up Yankees team clinging to its remaining healthy stars.

But their offense managed just five hits — two of those solo homers — and didn’t come close to cobbling together nearly enough production with Judge’s status looming.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought located pretty well. They pressured him. They were aggressive with him, put the ball in play on him. … But obviously, the long ball was the difference tonight.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Even after eight innings of inconsistency, the Yankees had a chance in the ninth while trailing by two. Paul Goldschmidt doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Cody Bellinger’s deep sacrifice fly to pull them within a run. Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out and José Caballero flew out, though, to end the comeback attempt.

Cole breezed through the first inning with just eight pitches, but Kyle Manzardo sent a ball over the right-field fence on what Boone and Cole both described as an “impressive swing” on a knuckle curve to lead off the second — giving the Guardians a 1-0 lead.

Rhys Hoskins crushed a slider over the left-field fence two frames later, giving Cleveland the advantage back after Chisholm evened the game with a solo homer of his own. And to lead off the fifth, José Ramírez added the Guardians’ third homer of the night.

The pitch to Hoskins was a mechanical mistake, Cole said, and outside of those swings, he mostly gave the Yankees a chance to win. He kept them within striking distance. He only struck out two batters after recording 10 in his last outing, but he was still mostly efficient.

“Clearly, they’re good pitches,” Cole said, “but they’re better swings. Sometimes, that’s baseball.”

Cole’s offense left him little margin for error, though. As the Yankees braced for the final diagnosis on Judge, a process dragging from imaging Monday all the way into Thursday, they issued a reminder of just how much they need their superstar. Chisholm’s homer was a promising sign from the infielder who has struggled during a contract year, and Caballero — starting in right field in place of Judge — kept making a case to remain in the Yankees lineup with a solo homer off Gavin Williams and a single in the second.

But only Ben Rice and Goldschmidt managed extra-base hits outside of that. There were harmless grounders and fly outs that strung together. The Guardians added a run in the eighth inning when Hoskins drove in a run with a single off Paul Blackburn, who inherited a pair of runners as Tim Hill’s struggles continued.

And when the Yankees needed a response in the eighth, Anthony Volpe, Trent Grisham and Rice all flew out against Hunter Gaddis.

If the Yankees needed another reminder of just how much they needed Judge, and just how much they might struggle without him, that captured it perfectly.

“It sucks not to have him here,” Chisholm said, “but at the same time, we’re still a team. I feel like we have really great players on this team, you know what I mean. Judge is great and everything, but he couldn’t do it by himself.”

MILWAUKEE — Everything, down to the littlest detail, was working in the Giants’ favor.

Even the jug of orange Gatorade in the dugout.

“Sometimes they mix it too strong or too weak,” remarked Ron Washington, who’s been in the game long enough to be a connoisseur of the sports drink. “Today, it’s just right.”

You could say it was perfect.

And you could say the same about Logan Webb. Almost.

In a 1-0 over the Brewers, the Giants ace didn’t allow a base runner until issuing a walk to start the sixth inning and took a no-hitter into the seventh, when a flare off the bat Brice Turang snuck inches over the glove of a diving Matt Chapman, who extended as far to his left as he could. 

“Around the fifth inning, there were a lot of voices going on in my head,” Webb said. “It was like, ‘You have a no-hitter, you have a no-hitter.’ I know there’s like a jinx thing, but I was already saying that anyway.

“But I’m going to blame [manager Tony Vitello] because he did call down right before I gave up the hit and said have someone ready, so I’m going to blame him for that.”

Webb had to settle for one of the most sterling showings of his career — by far his best of the season — and a much-needed performance to flip the Giants’ fortunes after dropping seven of their past eight to enter the game with the worst record in the majors.

“I think even by his incredibly high standards, it was just a tremendous outing,” Vitello said. “Just the one [walk] probably got away from just because of fatigue, but he was relentless in the zone.”

It didn’t end without drama: Christian Yelich doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and reached third with one out, but Keaton Winn got Turang to swing through a fastball above the letters for the second out and stranded the tying run 90 feet away with a groundout of William Contreras to preserve the spectacular effort by Webb.

He finished seven shutout innings, surrendering just the one walk and one hit while striking out four and using his sinker to induce a dozen mostly soft ground-ball outs.

The no-hit bid risked overshadowing another feel-good moment that ended up being just as decisive in determining the outcome. 

Up until the seventh, the only activity in the Giants’ bullpen came when they were at the plate in the top of the fifth, as rookie outfielder Victor Bericoto’s first home run landed among the group of relievers and bounced into the stands, providing the only run San Francisco would need.

Bericoto became the first Giants player to have his first home run be the difference-maker in a 1-0 win since Darren Lewis in 1991.

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What it means

Webb’s season, like the Giants as a whole, has been a frustrating one to this point. His 4.82 ERA is the highest since he established himself in the majors in 2021. The Giants were just 2-7 behind him in his first nine starts, and a knee issue forced him to the IL for the first time.

Turns out, the time off was a good thing. Really good. Just what Webb needed. Almost perfect.

Who’s hot

Webb, perhaps, was extra motivated by watching his close friend and former teammate, Kyle Harrison, dominate the Giants the previous night. Or maybe he looked at the 4.94 ERA the Giants’ rotation took into the game and decided something needed to be done about it.

He could just like facing the Brewers.

In seven previous starts against them, Webb was 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA. The only team he’s had more success against in as many starts is the Reds, who happened to be the victims of the Giants’ last no-hitter, thrown by Blake Snell at Great American Ballpark in 2023.

Who’s not

Webb was back to normal form in his second start back from the first stint on the injured list of his career. Unfortunately for the Giants, so was their lineup.

Robert Gasser, a left-hander called up from Triple-A before the game, matched zeros in the run column — if not the hit column — for the first four innings, and the Giants weren’t able to provide any insurance following Bericoto’s home run in the fifth.

They were held to three or fewer runs for the sixth time in their past nine games, stranding at least eight men on base for the fourth time during that stretch.

Up next

Adrian Houser will look to build on Webb’s effort in the series finale as the Giants try to salvage a split in the four-game series against the NL Central leaders before finishing their road trip with three games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Right-hander Erian Rodriguez was promoted to Double-A Knoxville from the rookie ball ACL Cubs

Right-hander Sam Mettert was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were swarmed by the Toledo Mud Hen (Tigers), 10-2.

Javier Assad started this game and pitched just one inning. He retired the side in order, striking out one. He threw just six pitches and all six of them were strikes.

Zac Leigh came on to pitch the second inning and got the loss after he gave up a solo home run in the third inning. Leigh allowed one run on one hit over two innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Gavin Hollowell, whom I was touting for a major league look, came on to pitch the eighth inning, faced six batters and retired none of them. Hollowell allowed three hits and walked three. Five of those six baserunners came around to score.

The I-Cubs avoided a shutout when left fielder Chas McCormick hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was his sixth home run of the year. McCormick was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Matt Shaw played the entire game at DH and was 2 for 4.

A hit by Shaw.

McCormick’s home run.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were subjugated by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 2-0.

Grant Kipp gave the Smokies four good innings, but not good enough to not take the loss. Kipp allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits over the four innings. One of the four hits was a solo home run Kipp struck out four and walked three.

Tyler Ras had three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit. Ras struck out three and walked no one.

The Smokies managed just five hits, which is actually the same number they allowed. Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle went 2 for 3.

Left fielder Carter Trice was 1 for 4 with a triple.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs brought the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals) to justice, 4-3.

Kevin Valdez pitched the first five innings and had a solid start by allowing just one run on six hits. The one run came on a solo home run in the fourth. He struck out five and walked one.

Grayson Moore pitched the ninth inning and got the save. He walked a batter with one out, but otherwise gave up nothing. Moore struck out two.

South Bend scored all four runs in the first inning and hung on the rest of the way.

Left fielder Jose Escobar hit a two-run single in the first. He was 1 for 4.

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn went 1 for 3 with a walk. He scored once.

A great outfield assist by Escobar.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were hunted down by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 9-5.

Good start for Kaleb Wing, who went 3.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits. He still got the loss. Wing struck out six and walked just one.

Sam Mettert’s Pelicans debut didn’t go as well. Mettert gave up three runs, two earned, on one hit and three walks over 1.2 innings.

The Pelicans scored all five runs in the top of the eighth inning. The big blow was a three-run double by third baseman Yahil Melendez. Melendez was 1 for 5.

Catcher Logan Poteet got the Birds on the board with an RBI double earlier in the fifth. Poteet went 2 for 4 with a walk and a double. He scored on Melendez’s double.

Second baseman Darlyn De Leon was 2 for 5.

Melendez’s double.

ACL Cubs

Off day.

With the 2026 season now wrapped up for Mizzou Baseball, Kerrick Jackson & Co. currently find themselves navigating a heavy wave of departures. To date, a dozen Tigers have officially entered the portal.

The list of talent includes five pitchers and seven position players, featuring several notable names who saw extensive action this season. Names like Blaize Ward and Kaden Peer, alongside key players such as Chris Patterson and Sam Parker. For a detailed, player-by-player look at everyone who entered the portal, check out our complete offseason post here.

New Talent Arises

With that being said, the focus in Columbia is already shifting to the wave of exciting new talent coming in to play for the Tigers.

Leading the charge for the incoming transfers is Florida Gulf Coast University shortstop Wilfred Gonzalez, who officially became Mizzou’s first portal commitment on Wednesday, June 3. The Miami, Fla., Gonzalez brings an elite bat to the Tigers’ lineup after putting together a stellar season for the Eagles.

He managed to bat an impressive .323 while racking up 74 hits, 11 doubles, 2 home runs and 30 RBIs. As an incoming senior, Gonzalez provides Mizzou with a a heavy approach that will hopefully translate well against elite SEC arms.

Securing a capable infielder will be the first vital step in rebuilding from what has been lost. This ultimately proves that the Tigers are moving in the right direction to reload just as fast as they lose talent.

We’ll be using this landing page to provide all the additions to the Tigers’ roster.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that team captain and star outfielder Aaron Judge is set to undergo further imaging on his injured ribs as well as his chest.

Yesterday, Boone said that Judge was dealing with a bone bruise in his upper right ribcage. The skipper called Judge's injury, which had been lingering for a couple of weeks, a "day-to-day situation."

The three-time (and currently reigning) American League MVP has not featured in their current home series against the Cleveland Guardians. In his absence, the team has begun to falter, losing 9-4 on Tuesday and 5-4 on Wednesday. His status for the weekend's three-game tilt against the Boston Red Sox remains uncertain, but few would be surprised to see him miss out on that crucial rivalry matchup entirely.

Following Wednesday's loss, Boone told the media that he expects to learn more about Judge's condition "later tonight or tomorrow," explaining that because the organization doesn't yet know "what exactly [Judge is] dealing with", there is still no timeline or expectation for Judge's return to the lineup.

To this point, Judge's slash line reads .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI. It speaks to Judge's greatness that a .907 OPS is the mark of a "down year."

The last time Judge missed significant time was 2023, when he missed 52 games due to torn ligaments in his right big toe and a hip strain.