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The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Kansas City Royals scored four runs in ten innings.
Remember the second game of the season when the Rangers literally dropped the ball multiple times in Philadelphia and turned what looked like an easy victory into an extra innings game that they eventually did hold on to win? It might be difficult to recall because it was all the way back in March.
I bring that game up because it was, remarkably, the only other time that the Rangers played extra innings this season before tonight’s game. But getting from entering the game adverse to free baseball to the final score was an adventure in and of itself, to say the least.
Here’s just a smattering of the obscene things that happened in this one:
Designated hitter Joc Pederson left the game after injuring himself drawing walk.
Tonight’s Kansas City starting pitcher Seth Lugo was forced to leave tonight’s game after 3.1 innings because he took a 106 MPH comebacker directly off his forehead off the bat of former teammate Brandon Nimmo.
The Rangers lost a replay on a play at the plate in a game that went to extras that the players involved (including Kansas City catcher Sal Perez) seemed pretty certain would go Texas’ way all because maybe there wasn’t a single camera angle that showed anything useful.
The Royals scored a run apiece in two separate innings that materialized via hits that all came after there were two outs. The Rangers probably haven’t accomplished that twice all season.
Both teams struggled with runners on base ultimately. The Rangers went 3-for-10 with RISP and left 14 runners on base, including several wasted bases loaded opportunities. The Royals, meanwhile, went 4-for-13 with RISP and left 13 on base.
The teams combined to use 13 pitchers with five from Texas and a whopping eight from Kansas City after Lugo was forced to exit.
The go-ahead run was scored when Elias Diaz doubled in Texas’ Manfred Man despite him only being in the game because tonight’s starting catcher Kyle Higashioka was lifted for a pinch runner. Texas’ insurance run scored via a bases loaded walk. The Royals then loaded the bases in their half of the tenth with zero outs but then borrowed a page from the Rangers and didn’t score.
Anyway, like back on March 28, despite some hellish baseball the Rangers won. They’re now 2-0 in extra innings games.
Player of the Game: Former Royal and No. 9 hitter Nicky Lopez doubled, singled in a run, drew a tenth inning walk, and was hit by a pitch to ignite another bases loaded opportunity in which the Rangers scored the tying run in the eighth.
Up Next: The Rangers and Royals finish off this series in a matinee affair tomorrow afternoon with RHP Kumar Rocker set to pitch in the finale for Texas opposite RHP Michael Wacha for KC.
Thursday’s finale matchup from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.
3 ties, 4 lead changes, 24 hits, 13 pitchers, and a partridge in a pear tree. This game had it all, except for a Royals win that is. Texas pulled out a 6-4 extra inning affair on a wild night of baseball.
The first three innings only had three major events before the game really shifted. In the 2nd inning Jac Caglianone doubled to left field and then came home on a bloop single from Isaac Collins. There was also a fun double steal of Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnnie Pasquantino that got Witt a tie for the major league lead in stolen bases. Finally, there was an injury to Joc Pederson on ball 4. I do not know how to explain tweaking something on ball four, but he managed it and Jake Buger took over DHing duties later in the game. Then in the 4th inning the Royals plan for the day shifted rather drastically when Seth Lugo took a Brandon Nimmo 106.6 mph line drive off of his head. See video below. It was very scary in real time.
Seth was obviously pulled and the bullpen was called on with one out in the third. Mason Black was first up. I think we should all give him some grace for having to warm up and jump in with no warning like that. He struggled for the first few batters. Wyatt Langford was first up and singled off of Bobby Witt’s glove while he leaped to try and snag it. That moved Nimmo to second as well. Then Eziquiel Duran was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Evan Carter was also walked to score the first run for Texas on the night. It was looking like Black might blow up and the Royals would be in a lot of trouble. Then he found the zone managed to strike out Kyle Higashioka to get the second out and keep them loaded. Next up was Royal killer Nicky Lopez, who has been raking against his former club. His streak continued with a single to right scoring Langford from third to take the lead, but it also ended the inning because Duran followed him and was gunned down by Jac. Texas challenged saying Salvador Perez did not get the tag on him. It was upheld and you can watch below to see why.
The Rangers exited the top of the 4th with a 2-1 lead. It could have been worse and there was still a lot of game left and what a game it was.
Kansas City took a couple of innings to tie things back up. After two strikeouts to start the 5th, Vinnie walked to start something up. Then Starling Marte advanced him with a single through the right side. That is when Jac Caglianone decided he was not done causing problems for Texas after last night’s theatrics. He willed a seeing-eye single just past the diving Nicky Lopez at second base. It was not traveling very fast so Pasquantino made it home easily to tie the game. After ending the 5th having given up 2 runs, that would be the end of Mackenzie Gore’s night was over after throwing 87 pitches. He was replaced by Peyton Gray who the Royals got to in the 6th. Collins led of the 6th with a double to the left field corner and was brought home on a Lane Thomas single. Collins got a bad read off the bat. It looked like the throw might have got him but the Rangers cut it off and KC took a 3-2 lead.
Texas responded to that immediately when Jake Burger took his second plate appearance to lead off the 7th after replacing the injured Pederson. By this time Black had given way to Stephen Cruz who escaped a messy 6th and Matt Strahm was on for the seventh. His first offering to Burger was a very high slider that was lifted over the left field wall to tie the game at 3 runs apiece. In the bottom of the 7th the Royals started off with two groundouts to set up another 2-out rally. Caglianone grabbed his 3rd hit of the night with a single. Then Nick Loftin brought him home on what was ruled a triple and sure looked like an error to me. Either was the one run lead was back, Royals 4 and Rangers 3.
Lucas Erceg was given the 8th. He has been struggling and it was nice to see him strike out Duran to start the inning. Unfortunately, that was the only good part of his outing. After walk, walk, HBP loaded the bases, Erceg was pulled and Daniel Lynch IV came on to try and put out the fire. Jake Burger was next up and Lynch got him to fly out to center. It was deep enough to score Evan Carter and tie the game 4-4. The Royals had now surrendered three separate leads on the night. Lynch then walked Corey Seage to re-load the bases before getting Josh Jung to lineout to right and end the threat.
Old friend Jakob Junis took over in the 8th for the Rangers and he plunked Lane Thoms to begin the inning and was pinch run for by Tyler Tolbert. Tolbert stole second but came off the bag with his hand before the leg got to the base and he was called out on replay. Witt and Garcia went down too and we headed to the 9th still tied.
Matt Quatraro went John Shreiber out for the 9th, the sixth bullpen arm of the night. He took care of business one two three. Junis returned for 9th in the bottom half and followed suit. It was the calmest inning of the night with no baserunners to be seen. It would be decided in extras with the Royals needing to end it sooner rather than later. They came into the game with a rested bullpen but the early exit from Lugo meant they were down to Alex Lange and Beck Way.
Lange would take the 10th and start the inning with a fly ball to center. Then the third former Royal of the night would sting them. Elias Diaz who played for Kansas City just 21 days ago hit the ball hard to the right and Cags misplayed it into a double allowing the Rangers to take the lead for the second time on the night. This was followed by a walk to Nicky Lopez and a Jake Burger infield single. Alex was in some trouble with the bases loaded. He struck out Seager with a beautiful sinker to get the second out and bring up Josh Jung. Lange got ahead 0-2 before throwing four consecutive balls and walking in an insurance run, Royals down 6-4. Nimmo hit a scary liner to center that was tracked down by Tolbert and get him out of the jam.
Last chance for the Royals would come against Jacob Latz, the 13th pitcher of the night. Jac took the first pitch up the middle for his fourth hit of the game, another single. Starling Marte was the zombie runner and had to hold on the hit, so he only made it to third. Kameron Misner came in to pinch run for Caglianone and make his Royals debut after being called up this afternoon. Nick Loftin decided that the bases should be loaded in the bottom of the 10th too by taking a walk and bringing Collins up. Ball three was challenged by Diaz though it was a ball, so Texas lost its extra inning challenge too. Isaac battled but was struck out watching a 98 mph fastball at the knees. This is back to the top of the lineup though that meant Tolbert who took over for Lane Thomas after he had been hit by a pitch in the arm earlier. Tolbert hit it straight to third. Step on third throw to first, double play ends the game.
It was a tough loss. It was also a thrilling game. Back at it in about 15 hours to see who will win this series.
The Mets confirmed after Wednesday's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals that Kodai Senga will return to the mound on Thursday for Double-A Binghamton.
Senga is now set to continue his rehab assignment that had been derailed after he was scratched from his start on Tuesday with ulnar nerve irritation.
The news is not surprising, as Senga "felt good" after playing catch on Tuesday and Wednesday with manager Carlos Mendoza saying pregame that he "wouldn’t be surprised if [Senga] was pitching in a game tomorrow or the next day.”
New York hopes Senga's brief setback doesn't prevent the right-hander from returning to the team once his rehab assignment is over, and that Senga can get back on track in the minors after a bumpy start to the season, which saw lumbar spine inflammation force him onto the IL.
Senga is 0-4 and has a 9.00 ERA in five starts in 2026 and his rehab numbers haven't been great either, pitching to a 5.25 ERA in three starts between Double-A and Triple-A.
The Tigers were unable to pull off another win against the Twins as they lost game two 6-4.
Today’s game started with some questions. After a brief delay due to potential impending weather, it was determined the game should go ahead and start. The starters for the game were slated to be Framber Valdez for the Tigers and Mike Paredes as the start of a bullpen day for the Twins. The Tigers were hoping to ride their win from Tuesday, but what they weren’t anticipating was bringing the weather delay from Tuesday’s game with them as well.
Things got started in the first. Byron Buxton got a one-out walk, but then Brooks Lee grounded into a double play, and even as the inning was winding down the Jumbotron was advising fans to seek shelter immediately. As soon as Framber had gone through the side, the tarp was out on the field and the game was in a delay. An hour later, the game was back on and the Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
Despite his lengthy downtime, Valdez was back out for the second, and with two outs, he gave up a home run to Royce Lewis. He got the final out of the inning, but the Twins were on the board first. Spencer Torkelson took a two-out walk in the home half, but he was the only baserunner for the inning and the Tigers weren’t able to bring him home.
Ryan Kreidler got a leadoff walk in the top of the third. Alex Jackson singled behind him. Both runners advanced a bag on a groundout from Austin Martin. Byron Buxton then hit into a fielder’s choice, where Kreidler was tagged out sliding into home. Props to Kreidler, who slammed into Dillon Dingler pretty hard at the plate and immediately checked on him as soon as he got to his feet. You don’t see that a lot in on-field play. Buxton stole second, then Brooks Lee walked. Thankfully after a mound visit, Valdez got back in the zone and got the final out of the inning. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle took a two-out walk, then Gleyber Torres hit a ball deep into the outfield that Byron Buxton narrowly missed catching on a diving play. It was an RBI double, bringing McGonigle home to tie up the game. Kerry Carpenter was hit by a pitch, taking a free walk, but no additional runs scored.
The Twins managed one baserunner in the fourth with Luke Keaschall getting a two-out single, but they weren’t able to bring him home. In the bottom of the inning the Twins dipped into their bullpen for Taylor Rogers and he got three outs in a row.
Alex Jackson was hit by a pitch to start the fifth. Then Austin Martin was hit by a pitch. This was followed by Byron Buxton hitting a three-run homer. So pretty much the worst-case scenario to start the inning. Brooks Lee singled, but then a double play and a pop-out ended the inning. The damage was done, though, and the Twins were up 5-1. Andrew Morris was the next pitcher in for the Twins’ bullpen day gave up a leadoff single to Zach McKinstry, with an assist from Keaschall who is new to playing first and couldn’t keep his foot on the bag. With one out, Morris was called for a balk, putting McKinstry into scoring position. McGonigle worked a walk. Torres then singled, loading up the bases. A Carpenter single brought two runs in. Two outs followed to end the inning, but the Tigers were now within one.
Brenan Hanifee was in from the Tigers’ pen for the sixth. Valdez had clearly started to falter in the fifth, so this didn’t come as a surprise. His final line for the game was 5,0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR on 75 pitches. With two outs a pinch-hitting Kody Clemens doubled. Hanifee did get out of the jam, though. Travis Adams was the new Twins pitcher in the home half, and he got the Tigers out in order.
Ty Madden replaced Hanifee and gave up a leadoff walk to Martin. Buxton then singled. A Brooks Lee groundout eliminated Buxton and moved Martin to third. That was it for Madden, after the second out, and he was replaced by Drew Sommers. A Josh Bell single scored Martin. Royce Lewis walked to load the bases, then a wild pitch allowed Lee to score. By the time S0mmers got the final out, the Twins were up 6-3. In the bottom of the seventh with one out, McGonigle got another walk. Torres then singled. Anthony Banda came in from the Twins’ pen and he got the final two outs of the inning.
With one out in the eighth, S0mmers was replaced by Beau Brieske. A comebacker deflected off of Brieske, allowing Jackson to get safely to first for a single. Austin Martin then singled. A double play off the bat of Buxton was a huge lifesave for the Tigers, getting them out of the inning without any extra runs scored. Brieske owes Kevin McGonigle a big hug for getting that double play turned. Riley Greene took a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning. With a lot of effort from Buxton in the field, the Tigers were out of the inning with Greene left stranded.
Brooks Lee got a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth, followed by a single to Orlando Arcia. Brieske got really lucky with a double play, followed by a flyout to end the inning. The Tigers were down to their last chance to make something happen. Yoendrys Gómez came in for the Twins and gave up a single to Wenceel Perez. With one out, Torres walked. Matt Vierling hit a deeeeep flyout to center that was snagged by Buxton. For a hot second it looked like it could be something but it died short of the wall. Dingler singled, bringing Perez home. Alas, Greene struck out to end the game. Better luck and less rain tomorrow, Tigers!
It sometimes shocks me how quickly the “vibe” around a baseball team can change. Just two weeks ago, the Diamondbacks finished off a road sweep of the Giants in a solid, all-around effort. That win put the team a season-best seven games over .500 heading to Seattle. Since that game, they’ve gone 3-9 and haven’t won a series since then. The offense has completely disintegrated, averaging just three runs a game, hitting a miserly .205, and averaging just one homer a game. If you combine that disintegration with an ugly downturn in the pitching, it’s not that surprising to see the team’s fortunes fall all the way to just one game over .500 on the season.
There are times watching a pitcher perform that a big inning seemingly comes out of nowhere. That was not the case tonight for Ryne Nelson. The Marlins quickly identified that Nelson did not have command of most of his arsenal, attacking early and often, creating a lot of hard contact while Nelson struggled to generate much swing and miss. Thankfully, early in the game that hard contact turned into outs with some excellent defense behind Nelson – one of the few highlights for the D-Backs all night. Of course, that kind of luck couldn’t hold forever, and the dam broke in the fourth. Nelson allowed a leadoff single to Heriberto Hernandez, but responded with a couple quick outs to put himself on the precipice of escaping again. Owen Caissie had other ideas though as he blasted the first pitch he saw into the first row of the right field bleachers for a 3-0 lead. It clearly bothered Nelson as he followed the blast with a single, a hit batter (his second of the night), an RBI single, and then a big three-run no-doubter to last year’s breakout star Kyle Stowers. When the dust settled, the Marlins had firmly taken control of the game with a six-run frame and knocked Nelson out of the game.
I don’t want to imply the D-Backs offense was completely lifeless. They may have been shutout, but they created a few scoring opportunities for themselves with six hits and four walks, but they never found a way to cash in, stranding 10 runners and going a woeful 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. There were two different innings when the team had a runner at third with less than two outs – the second time including a bases loaded situation – but were unable to score. It’s useless to direct blame at a single player or even a single part of the team for this current swoon. There’s very little that’s going correctly for the team right now and it’s incumbent on Torey Lovullo and the team’s leaders to find ways to change the dynamic before everything starts to spiral out of their control. That change has to start tomorrow with Merrill Kelly finding some way to keep a rocking Miami offense (18 runs on 25 hits in the series) down and avoid the sweep.
Royals pitcher Seth Lugo left Wednesday’s game against the Rangers after taking a line drive off the head from his former Mets teammate, Brandon Nimmo.
Nimmo ran to first, but then immediately ran to check on Lugo.
The pitcher joked he would rather have him hit a home run next time.
The 85-mph pitch, which resulted in the line drive, happened in the top of the fourth inning with the Royals leading the Rangers 1-0.
There was already a large lump forming on Lugo’s forehead as he walked off the field.
Three innings after the incident, the Royals posted to X that “Lugo is doing well and will go through the appropriate protocol and testing.”
Lugo was playing well before being taken out, having thrown 3 1/3 scoreless innings with 29 strikes on 44 pitches.
Royals reliever Mason Black came into the game after Lugo’s exit and gave up two runs — one charged to Lugo when Nimmo scored — before getting out of the inning.
Lugo has started in 13 games this season and has a 3.91 ERA, 1.0 WAR and 64 strikeouts, and earned a no-decision Wednesday night
Nimmo and Lugo were drafted together by the Mets in 2011, and both made their first appearances in the 2016 season.
They shared the clubhouse for seven years together before Lugo moved to the Padres for the 2023 season.
Nimmo was traded to the Rangers for veteran second baseman Marcus Semien this offseason.
Well, look who’s sitting atop the American League Central.
Behind six gritty innings from Davis Martin, another electric performance from Braden Montgomery, and a lockdown bullpen, the White Sox knocked off the mighty Braves. The win pushed the Sox into first place, and if you’re keeping score at home, that’s consecutive nights of making one of baseball’s best teams look decidedly mortal.
Martin came out firing. The righthander needed just 13 pitches to carve through the first inning, striking out two along the way. Atlanta kept threatening throughout the evening, but every time the Braves put runners aboard, Martin found another escape hatch.
The second inning was his biggest tightrope act. Mauricio Dubón singled, Austin Riley wore a pitch, and Mike Yastrzemski’s infield hit loaded the bases with one out. Martin responded by punching out Jorge Mateo and getting Austin Wynns to line out harmlessly.
The Braves put runners at the corners in the third and got a two-out double from Mateo in the fourth, but Martin kept slamming the door. By the time he finished six scoreless innings, he’d scattered six hits, struck out six, and generated 13 whiffs while repeatedly winning the biggest moments of the game. Unfortunately, the Sox were denied a shutout line thanks to some seventh-inning misfortune.
The South Side offense finally broke through against old friend Chris Sale in the fourth. Montgomery continued his remarkable first week in the majors by leading off the inning with a double into left. Derek Hill followed with a sharp RBI single to center, bringing home the rookie and giving the Sox a 1-0 lead.
The Sox weren’t finished. Jacob Gonzalez moved Hill to third with a ground out, and Luisangel Acuña cashed him in on a ground ball that made it 2-0.
That would be all Chicago could squeeze out of the veteran southpaw, who was vintage Chris Sale for much of the night. The former White Sox ace struck out six and repeatedly escaped trouble despite Chicago forcing him to work. The Good Guys managed just one hit in 10 opportunities with runners in scoring position, but on this night, two runs proved enough.
Sean Newcomb inherited the lead in the seventh and immediately ran into trouble when Mateo singled to open the frame. After two outs, a Miguel Vargas fielding error down the line allowed Mateo to score, cutting the lead to 2-1 and saddling Newcomb with the lone run, albeit unearned, against the pitching staff.
The Sox had a golden opportunity to answer in the bottom half. Acuña singled and advanced all the way to second after an error, but a bizarre sequence followed: Tristan Peters’ bunt attempt popped out, and a successful challenge overturned an out call on Acuña’s steal of third. But Chase Meidroth’s grounder resulted in Acuña being tagged out at home, and Andrew Benintendi struck out to end the threat.
No matter.
Seranthony Domínguez handled the eighth with a clean 1-2-3 inning, and Bryan Hudson took the ball for the ninth.
Hudson retired Mateo, walked pinch-hitter Eli White, then got Michael Harris II to pop out. One final out remained. Ozzie Albies lifted a pop-up into shallow right-center, where Meidroth ranged out and made the grab to seal it.
Ballgame.
The White Sox are in first place.
And Braden Montgomery? The kid followed up his storybook debut by collecting two more doubles and scoring a run. Safe to say the curtain call wasn’t a one-night thing.
First place. Against the Braves. On back-to-back nights.
Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday.
We’re all acutely aware this is the third series loss of the season, but it is unfortunately the first one where the Braves have dropped the first two games. The fact that it took until June 10th to happen… I’m holding onto that really tight with both hands.
Chris Sale’s outing was reminiscent of his last one versus Toronto: soft hits, navigating traffic, and the bats doing very little to bail him out. The White Sox made him work; he threw 103 pitches in his 5.2 innings of two-run ball. He was still reaching back to fire that fastball 98 mph on his very last pitch (which unfortunately came in and hit Jacob Gonzalez), because Christopher Allen Sale is a madman.
Sale put up zeroes the first three innings and ran into trouble in the fourth. I, for one, am ready to be done seeing Braden Montgomery. Defensively, he was at the scene of the crime of every Braves ball caught at the warning track. Offensively, he laced a leadoff double to start the fourth inning and would come home to score immediately on a Derek Hill single. The White Sox would tack on another one with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0 White Sox. That would be all the damage, but it was enough to sink the Braves. Alas, the insurmountable two runs.
Sale was outdueled by Davis Martin, who spun six scoreless innings with six hits and six strikeouts. The Braves had the bases loaded with one out in the second after a Dom Smith lineout, a Mauricio Dubón single, an Austin Riley hit by pitch, and a Mike Yastrzemski single. But it wasn’t to be – a Jorge Mateo strikeout and Austin Wynns lineout would end the inning. There were a ton of hard-hit balls the whole game, but nearly every single one managed to find a Sox glove to end a rally or strand a pair of runners.
Didier Fuentes came out to get the last out in the bottom of the sixth, which was quickly taken care of by a Wynns pickoff.
It was probably a relief for both the Braves and those watching at home to see Davis Martin out of the same in the seventh. Instead, old friend Sean Newcomb was tasked with holding down his former team. Jorge Mateo, with no such sentimentality, led off the inning with a single. Wynns hit one on the screws but right to Chase Meidroth, followed by Michael Harris II striking out swinging at a slurve. But Ozzie Albies gave the Braves a sign of life with a hit that had the ball skittering past the third baseman Miguel Vargas to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Matt Olson worked a walk, but Dom popped out to end the inning.
Luisangel Acuña was doing Acuña things to the Braves, wreaking havoc with a single, advancement to second, and stolen base, with a Tristan Peters bunt pop out in the middle of all of it. But he’d be out at home on a fielder’s choice play by Riley. Andrew Benintendi came in to pinch-hit, Walt Weiss countered with Dylan Lee, and Lee got him on three pitches.
The Braves had nothing going against Seranthony Domínguez in the eighth, with Dubon, Riiley, and Yaz going down in order.
Braves debut alert – #00 James Karinchak entered in the eighth to make his first big league appearance since 2023 with Cleveland. Other than a double to Montgomery (who else?), he threw 19 pitches (12 for strikes) to get a Vargas flyout, Edgar Quero lineout, and Hill strikeout. How we feeling, Karinchak Collective?
Eli White (pinch-hitting for Wynns) worked a one-out walk off of reliever Bryan Hudson in the ninth, but no late magic for Atlanta in this one. Final score: 2-1, White Sox. It’ll be the same time and same channel for the Braves tomorrow as they look to salvage the series finale.
Phillies 7 Blue Jays 4
That was bad in a lot of ways.
Might as well get the congratulations out of the way first, Max Scherzer got his 3500th strikeout, just the 11th pitcher to get to that number. He’s at 3503 now. Number 10 in the list is Walter ‘Big Train’ Johnson at 3509. But I really don’t care if Max passes him. It very much appears that Max has aged out of being a useful MLB pitcher.
Max threw 3.1 innings, allowed 5 hits (with 2 home runs ), 5 earned, 3 walks with the 4 strikeouts.
When Shane is ready to come back, I’d likely hand Max his gold watch.
And the offense did very little. There are a couple of moments I’d like to mention. In the third inning, with two out, George Springer walked on five pitches (it could have been four, he swung at one off the plate) and then Vladimir Guerrero walked on four pitches. Next up Ernie Clement, who, one would imagine, would have seen the two at bats before him and thought ‘maybe I should take a strike’. Nope swung at the first pitch, that was outside and almost bounced. And he swung at the second pitch, but it was a strike. And then he swung at the third pitch, which was a little further outside than the first.
I know that Ernie is like that (though he did walk later in the game), but we were down by four. I mean, I can see going up and thinking ‘I’m likely to get a first pitch fastball down the middle’ and then sit on that, cause the pitcher doesn’t want to walk the bases loaded. But anything else, he should have kept the bat on his shoulder.
Sorry Ernie, you are having a great year, but that could have been our chance to get in the game.
And in the fifth, we had runners on first and second (Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes hit singles) with one out. A pitch was bounced, Straw got a bit of a jump off second, but the ball bounced off the catcher and up the third base line. Straw saw he’d be out and went back to second, but Lukes saw Straw take the couple of steps and headed to second. He didn’t see Straw retreat and Lukes was an easy out, ending the inning.
You gotta be watching the guy ahead of you.
We did get some runs:
In total, we had eight hits and seven walks. Straw had 3 hits. Vlad and Springer each had a hit and two walk. . Lukes a hit and a walk. Piñango and Charles McAdoo were the only starters not to reach base.
With Scherzer coming out early, we used a bunch of relievers, thankfully tomorrow is an off day.
Jay of the Day: No one, the high mark was Springer (0.05).
The Other Award: Max (-0.24) and Clement (-0.08).
Tomorrow is an off-day. I can use it.
Jun 10, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Jordan Walker (18) runs out an RBI single against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Gregory Fisher/Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Jordan Walker homered and drove in four runs, his latest big game in a breakout season, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 9-2 on Wednesday night to match a season high with their sixth straight victory.
St. Louis starter Andre Pallante (7-4) allowed two runs and three hits in six innings. Pallante earned his third straight win and surpassed his win total from 2025 when he finished 6-15.
Walker knocked in the first run with an RBI single off New York opener Austin Warren (1-3) in a two-run first. Walker gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead in the fourth by hammering David Peterson’s fastball into the center-field seats for a three-run shot.
Walker’s single and 401-foot drive gave him 52 RBIs, one more than his previous career best set in his rookie season. He also surpassed his previous high by hitting his 17th homer, and he has at least one RBI in five straight games.
The 24-year-old Walker had multiple hits for the fifth time in six games and is batting .424 over his last seven games.
Nelson Velázquez preceded Walker’s homer with a two-run shot in the third to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. Alec Burlerson homered for the second straight night in the ninth and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
St. Louis has outscored the Mets 16-2 in the first two games of the three-game series.
Masyn Winn added an RBI and reached base three times. José Fermín provided an RBI single as the Cardinals won a sixth straight game for the second time this year.
Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run homer in his second game back after missing four weeks with a torn meniscus in his knee, but the Mets were held to three hits. Juan Soto was 0 for 3 and is mired in a 3-for-30 skid.
Warren threw 33 pitches to seven hitters in his second appearance as an opener. Peterson was tagged for six runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.
St. Louis RHP Hunter Dobbins (1-0, 2.77 ERA) faces New York RHP Christian Scott (2-0, 2.50) in the series finale Thursday afternoon.
Over the course of his long, illustrious career, future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer has had many dominant performances against the Phillies.
Tonight was not one of them.
The Phillies victimized the 41-year-old Scherzer in his first start back from the injured list, teeing off for five runs and two home runs off of their old nemesis while Jesús Luzardo delivered 5.2 strong innings and the Phillies bullpen avoided disaster to deliver a series win in Toronto with a 7-4 victory in the finale.
Bryce Harper opened the scoring in the first, taking the first pitch he saw from Scherzer to deep left field, and it kept on carrying right over the head of Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Piñango for Harper’s 15th homer of the year.
Scherzer needed 47 total pitches to get through the first two innings. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner then led off the third inning with back-to-back singles before Harper grounded out to put runners on the corners with one out. Brandon Marsh then popped up to shortstop, putting the scoring threat in jeopardy, but Alec Bohm blasted a hanging slider from Scherzer into left for a three-run home run to push the lead to 4-0.
Bryson Stott then drew a five pitch walk and stole second, but J.T. Realmuto grounded out to end the inning. Scherzer was already at 75 pitches through three and the knockout blow would come in the fourth. That inning started with an Adolis Garcia strikeout before Justin Crawford singled on an infield hit to third base that chased Scherzer from the game. Mason Fluharty entered in relief and Schwarber greeted him with a two-run homer, his MLB leading 24th home run of the season, and gave the Phillies a 6-0 lead.
Jesús Luzardo entered tonight with a drastic split in his home/away ERA, with a 1.54 ERA in six road starts and a 7.34 ERA in seven starts at Citizens Bank Park. That trend continued as he went 5.2 and allowed one run on four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. Luzardo looked to be headed for trouble in the third following back-to-back two-out walks, but a mound meeting with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and catcher J.T. Realmuto seemed to do the trick, as Luzardo then struck out Ernie Clement on three pitches.
He couldn’t quite finish his strong outing though, as Luzardo again walked two in the sixth, this time with one out, and then allowed a two out single to Brandon Valenzuela to get the Blue Jays on the board and end the night for the Phillies lefty after 96 pitches. Jonathan Bowlan replaced Luzardo and quickly retired Andrés Giménez to end the sixth. Stott meanwhile singled in Harper in the top of the seventh to get the run back that Luzardo surrendered.
Chase Shugart was then tasked with giving the Phillies leverage relievers some much needed time off with a 7-1 lead, but he couldn’t get the job done. Shugart allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh before issuing three straight walks, forcing a run in and cutting the lead to 7-2. Clement followed with a sacrifice fly, finally getting the first out but bringing in yet another run. Brad Keller was called upon to clean up Shugart’s mess and he allowed another sacrifice fly, this time to Kazuma Okamoto that cut the lead to 7-4 before getting a groundout to end the inning. To add injury to insult, Adolis Garcia was injured making the throw on Okamoto’s sac fly and had to be replaced by Steward Berroa.
José Alvarado pitched around a two out single to throw a scoreless eighth, but the three-run lead once again led to Jhoan Duran entering for a save situation, making his 17th appearance in 33 games since returning from the injured list and fifth in a back-to-back over that span. He erased a leadoff single with a double play off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. but surrendered a two-out single to Ernie Clement. An ABS-assisted strikeout of Okamoto ended the game and gave the Phillies the lead, but Duran added 10 more pitches to his recent workload.
The Phillies will head to Milwaukee to face Jacob Misiorowski (7-2, 1.50) on Friday night. Andrew Painter (1-7, 6.21) will once again search for consistency on the mound for Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm.
The bullpen has largely been a strength of the Mets this season, but it was a weak spot Wednesday night.
Allowing at least seven runs to the Cardinals for the second straight game — as well as the 18th time overall this season — the Mets relievers struggled to contain St. Louis in a 9-2 loss that was exacerbated by another meek team performance at the plate.
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Try it freeIn front of a sparse crowd at Citi Field, the four Mets pitchers who took the mound combined to give up 11 hits, four walks and three home runs in the Mets’ third loss in their past four games.
“Obviously, the last two nights, not the way you want it,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said following the loss. “It starts on the mound with starting pitching. We haven’t done that the past couple of nights. And then you get in a hole and then offensively, it’s going to be a challenge. We need starters. We need the offense. We need to play defense. We need to play consistent games.”
It took the Cardinals until the third inning to break through in the series opener Tuesday, but the visitors wasted no time Wednesday.
As a result, the Mets, who continue to ride these periodic bullpen games, trailed 4-0 by the third inning for the second game in a row.
Austin Warren required an early mound visit after giving up a run four batters into the game.
Finishing with two earned runs, two walks and one strikeout on 33 pitches through the first inning, Warren had the Mets chasing the game from the get-go before another night of cold bats ensured the team was never able to recover.
While David Peterson replaced Warren and pitched for the majority of the game (3 ²/₃ innings), the 6-foot-6 hurler was not at his sharpest either. With two outs and two strikes on Masyn Winn in the third inning, Peterson ultimately fumbled the leading count with three straight balls and walked him.
On the very next pitch, Nelson Velázquez blasted a 92.4 mph sinker right over the plate for a two-run homer.
“It’s hard to describe, [Peterson is] a good pitcher and we’ve seen flashes, especially coming out of a bullpen,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s just outings where whether it’s a walk, whether it’s pitch selection, not executing, and today was one of those. I look at him as a guy that we’re going to need to get big outs for us, and I’m confident in Peterson even though it’s been hard for him. Continue to trust him and continue to work with him.”
The Mets managed to load the bases in the bottom of the third, largely thanks to Brett Baty’s leadoff single and stolen base. Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante then hit Luis Torrens and walked Juan Soto.
Jared Young, however, grounded out to end the inning and strand all three.
While Peterson wasn’t trusted enough to make it to the end of the fifth, finishing with seven hits, six earned runs, two walks, two homers and one wild pitch, the Mets got a couple of scoreless innings out of Cionel Pérez and Jonathan Pintaro before the latter gave up a home run to Alec Burleson in the ninth inning.
Despite being requested by the media, Peterson left the clubhouse before reporters entered the locker room.
When Francisco Alvarez was asked if he’s sensed any frustrations from Peterson over what has been a rough start to the season, the Mets catcher denied the notion.
“No, no, Petey is a strong-minded person,” Alvarez said through a translator. “There have been points in his career where he’s had tough stretches, but he always finds a way to get out of there. I know as long as he continues to work, he’ll get out of it and by the end of the season, he’ll have the numbers that he wants to have.”
It may have started on time and finished without interruption, but Wednesday night’s game was rain-delayed in spirit for the Mariners. They could never really get the engine to start for their offense as they dropped the third game of their series in Baltimore, 7-2.
Orioles starter Brandon Young cruised as the Mariners struggled to get the ball in the air. He induced 12 ground-ball outs — a recipe for success against a Mariners team that leads baseball in percentage of runs scored via the home run. At one point, he set down 12 consecutive hitters. When all was said and done, Young worked seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out five and walking two.
Both offenses struggled to get much of anything going through the first half of the evening. The biggest threat of the early-going came in the third, when George Kirby pulled off quite the escape act. After the Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out to begin the inning, Kirby was able to force a shallow fly ball and strike out a pair to leave all three base runners stranded and keep the score 0-0.
After five innings, the game was scoreless. As it turns out, that was as long as Kirby could hold off the Orioles. To lead off the bottom of the sixth, Pete Alonso drove a 97 mph four-seamer over the wall in right-center to open up the scoring.
The O’s saw the crack in the armor, and they took advantage. Following the Alonso dinger, Colton Cowser drew a four-pitch walk and promptly stole second on the first pitch of the next plate appearance. Leody Taveras, who was briefly a Mariner in 2025, drove him in with an RBI double into the gap, making the score 2-0.
For a moment, it looked as though Kirby might stop the bleeding there; he was able to strike out both Jackson Holliday and Tyler O’Neill to get the first two outs of the inning. However, Blaze Alexander brought in Taveras with a ground-rule double, extending the lead to 3-0. Since the Mariners are dealing with a taxed bullpen, Kirby finished out of the sixth anyway. He’d end the night at 104 pitches, just shy of his career-high at 106.
When all was said and done, Kirby finished with a line that probably doesn’t accurately represent his performance. His velocity was up all evening, topping out at 99 mph with both the sinker and four-seamer, and he struck out 10 Orioles hitters. He also notched a quality start, going six innings and allowing three earned runs, but was given no breathing room by his offense. Eventually, the floodgates opened.
Down several runs, Domingo González was brought in to pitch in relief in the seventh, having been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier today. He allowed a single and walked a pair of hitters before surrendering a grand slam to Holliday, breaking the game wide open.
If there’s a silver lining to this one, González was allowed to eat the final innings, giving the rest of the bullpen a much-needed breather. The Mariners also avoided a shutout by scratching across a couple of runs in the eighth with the result no longer in much doubt.
A series win is still on the table for the Mariners as they close out the four-game set against the Orioles tomorrow with a 4:05 p.m. PDT first pitch. As a quick programming note, tomorrow’s game is available exclusively on ESPN and will not be broadcast on Mariners.TV, so plan accordingly.
The Mets were routed for a second straight night by the St. Louis Cardinals, losing 9-2 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.
The Cardinals have outscored the Mets 16-2 in the two games to start this six-game homestand.
-The Mets’ offense continues to be woefully inconsistent. After a strong series in San Diego seemed to give them some momentum, they’ve managed only eight hits in two games against the Cardinals, including three on Wednesday night. The Mets did manage to get runners into scoring position six times tonight, but went 0-for-6 in those situations.
-The only real good news offensively for the Mets was Francisco Alvarez’s two-run home run in the third inning, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 7-2. It was Alvarez’s second game back from the IL after his remarkably fast recovery from meniscus surgery on his right knee. After catching on Tuesday, Alvarez was in the lineup as the DH tonight, as the Mets want to both ease him back into action as well as give Luis Torrens the playing time behind the plate he has earned.
-It was also notable that A.J. Ewing walked ahead of Alvarez’s home run, making it a two-run shot. The rookie continues to show remarkable plate discipline in working counts and laying off tough pitches.
-The Mets couldn’t do much with Cardinals’ righthander Andre Pallante, who gave up only three hits over six innings, including the Alvarez home run. Pallante has been solid for the Cards, pitching to a 3.88 ERA, but he has a statistical quirk, with a 9.00 ERA in the first inning this season, tied for the highest of all qualified starters. However, the Mets couldn’t take advantage, going 1-2-3 in the first inning.
-Rookie right-hander Jonathan Pintaro had a strong outing for the Mets, pitching three innings in relief, allowing only one hit and one run, a home run by Alec Burleson.
-David Peterson’s run of dominance out of the bullpen as a bulk reliever came to an end as the lefty gave up six runs in 3.2 innings, including a three-run home run to Jordan Walker that blew the game open.
-Coming into tonight, Peterson had a 1.88 ERA in six appearances as a reliever, spanning 24 innings, compared to a 7.56 ERA in seven starts. He also had a whopping 1.950 WHIP as a starter. But this relief outing didn't follow this trend. Peterson never looked sharp, giving up seven hits and two walks, and on the home run to Walker, his 1-1 fastball was left hanging agonizingly over the plate. For the season, Peterson now has a 5.75 ERA.
-The Mets used an opener tonight, using reliever Austin Warren to start the game. Warren couldn’t command his signature slider/sweeper, which he throws on nearly 50 percent of his pitches, and gave up two walks and two hits, which led to two first-inning runs for the Cardinals.
Jordan Walker delivered the biggest hit for the Cardinals, a three-run home run in the fourth inning that made the score 7-0 at the time.
After failing to live up to huge expectations for a few years, Walker appears to be emerging into a star slugger.
The home run was Walker's 17th of the season. He’s also hitting .304 with a .929 OPS.
Francisco Alvarez's first homer back from the IL!
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2026
His 5th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/QJtOrJGZU5
The Mets look to salvage a game in this series as they host the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.
Christian Scott (2-0, 2.50 ERA) will take the mound against Hunter Dobbins.