Jermain Defoe urged Dan Neil to join Rangers before the midfielder signed a three-year contract at Ibrox.
Neil, 24, had revealed he sought advice from former Rangers forward Defoe, who had similarly advised Mikey Moore, the Tottenham winger who spent last season on loan at Ibrox.
"It's a special football club to be honest," Defoe told Sky Sports.
"I always knew that Rangers was a big club but I didn't know how big.
"Before he even spoke, it was 'you've got to go'. You have to go. If you want a challenge, I said you have to go."
Defoe helped Rangers win the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership and Neil joins an Ibrox team coming off a disappointing season in which they finished third.
Derek McInnes has replaced Danny Rohl in the dugout and former Sunderland midfielder Neil joins Ben Godfrey, Ross McCrorie, Ivor Pandur and Lawrence Shankland in becoming a Rangers player this summer.
"For Rangers, they're signing a top player," said Defoe, who also played for Sunderland. "A top young player that is a good character. He works hard.
"And that's sort of one of the demands up there, you have to run around and work hard and give everything when you wear that shirt."
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 20: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Tampa Bay Rays prepares to throw against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on June 20, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After being interested in Craig Kimbrel for what feels like a decade, the Rays finally brought him into the organization. Before you jump to any conclusions, no they haven’t made any dramatic changes to the shapes of his pitches aside from adding a tick more velocity to both breaking balls, but they have noticeably altered how he attacks hitters.
Below are his pitch usage rates against right- and left-handed hitters before and after joining the Rays:
Pitch Type
RHB Usage Mets
RHB Usage Rays
LHB Usage Mets
LHB Usage Rays
Four-seamer
81.3%
67.3%
75.1%
64.3%
Two-seamer
–
5.1%
–
–
Knuckle Curve
8.3%
4.1%
9.7%
23.8%
Sweeper
11.3%
23.5%
18.2%
2.4%
Change-up
–
–
0.6%
9.5%
Right away, a few meaningful changes stand out.
Against right-handed hitters, Kimbrel has reduced his four-seam fastball usage by more than 10% while introducing a two-seam variant roughly 5% of the time. Overall, his fastball usage has dropped by about 9%.
That adjustment makes sense. Even the best fastballs tend to be the easiest pitches for hitters to damage, so relying on them less should improve Kimbrel’s run prevention over a larger sample. He’s also throwing his sweeper much more frequently against righties. While it may not grade as well as the knuckle curve that made him famous, the sweeper’s horizontal movement creates a more uncomfortable angle for same-handed hitters. The curveball is still part of the mix, but it’s now used primarily to keep righties from sitting on the fastball or sweeper.
The Rays have also significantly changed Kimbrel’s approach against left-handed hitters. Fastball usage is down by roughly 10%, curveball usage has more than doubled, and sweeper usage has been cut dramatically. The curveball’s shape plays more neutrally against lefties than the sweeper, making it a better fit in those matchups.
Surprise! There is a new pitch!
In true Rays fashion, Kimbrel has also added an offspeed pitch — and he’s not simply flashing hitters the pitch — he’s throwing it nearly 10% of the time against left-handed hitters.
It resembles a kick change with solid vertical separation off his fastball. It may only grade as an average offering, but it’s another pitch left-handed hitters must respect, making both his fastball and curveball more effective.
The Rays have built a plan that gives Kimbrel a better chance to succeed against modern hitters than the approach he used over the last few seasons. The results haven’t fully followed yet, but it’s early in his Rays career, and these usage changes should give Kimbrel a better chance to recapture some of the effectiveness he showed during his prime.
Whether that translates into a permanent high-leverage role remains to be seen. If Manuel Rodriguez, Edwin Uceta, and Steven Wilson all return healthy, the bullpen crunch could eventually cost Kimbrel his roster spot.
But even if his stay in Tampa Bay is brief, there’s value in having a veteran with his baseball and life experience alongside any bullpen during a postseason race.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 16: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox smiles after a play in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 16, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TV: NESN
First Pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET
The Red Sox play their final home game before the All-Star break while still waiting for any potential punishments from Tuesday’s scuffle with the Nationals. Willson Contreras, who was ejected in each of the last two games, is in Boston’s initial lineup in search of a second series victory of the homestand. Payton Tolle takes the ball for the Red Sox after seven brilliant innings over the weekend against the Yankees with just one hit allowed.
Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate behind him Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Nationals counter with left-hander Andrew Alvarez, who pitched to a 3.44 ERA in his first 10 outings of the season for Washington. You can check out the Washington lineup here.
CLEVELAND — Rookies are prone to mistakes. Cooper Ingle made a big one he may never forget.
Cleveland’s left fielder lost track of the number of outs in the seventh inning and threw the ball into the stands, allowing the Texas Rangers to score the go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory over the Guardians.
“Obviously, I feel terrible,” Ingle said, his face flushed red on a warm, humid night. “It’s a pretty embarrassing feeling.”
With a runner at second base and one out in the seventh, the 24-year-old Ingle, making just his second major league start as an outfielder, caught a routine fly ball hit by Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna off Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee for the second out.
Thinking it was out No. 3, Ingle briefly glanced at the ball in his glove before throwing it over the protective netting to fans as a souvenir.
The umpires immediately ruled the ball was dead and Osuna was awarded home plate.
It wasn’t until then that Ingle realized his mistake and he walked back to his position in shocked disbelief. He was charged with an error.
“Yeah, honestly when I threw the ball out, I heard a bunch of yelling,” Ingle said. “Happens sometimes, but just got to learn from it and not make the same mistake.”
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who has had to plug rookies into his starting lineup all season, offered his unwavering support to Ingle.
“These things happen,” Vogt said. “Rookie. Nonrookie. It’s happened to Hall of Famers. They’ve done it. We’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep getting better.”
Vogt was proud of the way Ingle’s teammates quickly rallied around him following the bone-headed play.
“It’s a mistake. Lost track of the outs. Pretty big spot,” he said. “We’ll learn from it and can’t control it once it happens. That’s why I was like, flush it. And I just want to give a credit to the dugout. Every one of his teammates, when he came back in, same messaging.”
One of the first to talk to Ingle was Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, who told him to keep his chin up.
“I’ve made so many mistakes,” Hedges said. “I can’t even remember half of them. I’ve embarrassed myself a billion times on the field. I mean, just check my offensive numbers for my career. It’s not super easy to go through that, but that’s the big leagues.”
After his mistake, Ingle said he immediately apologized to Bibee (2-9), who went toe to toe Jacob deGrom for seven innings. Bibee’s response to his teammates was to try and make things right.
“I just told him to go tie the game right back up,” Bibee said. “Obviously, we all make mistakes. Everyone in this locker room has made multiple mistakes in the big leagues, whether you’re (rookie) Khalil (Waston) or me or Hedgie. It’s tough.”
Ingle was brought up from Triple-A Columbus. He made his big league debut on June 26 and got his first major league hit the next day, a two-run single against Seattle.
After his fielding foible, Ingle came up in the bottom of the seventh and grounded out. He got another chance in the ninth to avenge his gaffe but struck out looking for the game’s final out.
What’s most important now is that he move forward.
“Obviously learn from it and think about it,” he said. “It’s not something that makes you feel great, but things like that happen for a reason and learning from those things and moving on and getting better from them, it’s pretty much the only thing you can do.”
Vogt said the mistake doesn’t affect his belief in Ingle.
“We’re going to help him through it. That’s what we’re here for,” he said. “You’re playing in your second game in the outfield in the big leagues and a mistake like that. Let’s learn. So what? It’s over. Flush it. We’re not going to be mad at him.
“We’re not going to hold it against him. He’s going to be right back out there the next time it’s his turn to play outfield. This was a mistake. This isn’t a judgment or anything like that, but we know how good of a player Coop is and we’re going to stick with him and we’re going to keep helping him.”
Jun 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) reacts after allowing a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
There are no easy answers with this one.
Aaron Nola is perhaps the worst pitcher in baseball.
For a long time, Nola was a very good and, at times, great pitcher.
Only two players have ever started more games than Aaron Nola’s 302 games in a Phillies uniform: Steve Carlton (499) and Robin Roberts (472). His 1,963 strikeouts are 2nd-most in team history (Carlton, 3,031), and he is 7th all-time in innings pitched and WHIP.
He has been a postseason hero and will certainly be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame one day.
All of which makes his performance over the last two years so sad and difficult to reconcile.
Sure, Nola has always been frustrating. But there were far more outstanding outings than lackluster ones, until 2025.
In an injury-plagued season, Nola made 17 starts and put up a ghastly 6.01 ERA, by far the worst of his career. The thinking was Nola’s ankle sprain and fractured rib a season ago made it impossible to truly judge his performance. Hopes were high after he dominated in the World Baseball Classic in March.
But after Nola’s performance against Pittsburgh on Monday (4.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 Ks) pushed his already awful ERA up to 6.04, he matched last season’s start total with nearly an identical ERA.
If it wasn’t clear what kind of pitcher Nola had become last year, his 2026 season should leave little doubt.
Aaron Nola is broken. No one seems to know how to fix him.
He’s already given up 19 HRs this season, including another two after being handed a 5-0 lead in the 3rd inning. Nola’s stuff was dancing all over the place in the first three innings, generating 23 swings and misses, the 2nd-most in his career. That’s an insane statistic when you consider he only recorded 13 outs in the game. In the 4th inning, Nola appeared to tire and began leaving his knee-buckling curveball out over the plate, forcing him to turn to his very hittable fastball as he fell behind in counts.
The Pirates know how to hit. And they bludgeoned him.
But again, none of this is new. Since the start of last year, Nola has been worse than Taijuan Walker was in his final two years with the Phillies.
Everyone can see Nola cannot get anyone out right now. But what can be done?
The mantra seems to be the Phillies will be forced to ride it out all season for two reasons: his contract, and the lack of options to replace him.
Both are valid arguments. But given the $300+ million payroll and World Series expectations, can the Phils afford to keep running Nola out there, even given those headwinds?
It’s clear adding another starting pitcher sooner rather than later in a trade is a must for Dave Dombrowski. Andrew Painter’s struggles further complicates the matter, and there is literally no one else in the minors who can be called upon. Some names to potentially watch as the trade deadline grows closer are the Royals’ Michael Wacha, Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers, the Mets’ Clay Holmes, the Reds’ Brady Singer, and the Royals’ Seth Lugo.
The Phils are unlikely to go shopping for a top-of-the-rotation starter like Tarik Skubal, Robbie Ray or even Sandy Alcantara, given their lack of quality prospects and the need to also supplement the roster with additional relievers and possibly a right-handed hitting outfielder.
Nola still has four years and $98 million due him after this season. They certainly will not release him in the same way they did Walker, who they finally bid adieu while in the last year of his contract. The Phillies are already spending $50 million to pay Walker, Adolis Garcia and Nick Castellanos to not play for them.
Should they acquire a decent starting pitcher over the next few weeks, the only option seems to be trying Nola in the bullpen. Perhaps allowing him to give max effort for one or two innings per outing will allow his fastball to play up a bit, or allow him to exclusive feature his secondary pitches more.
But the mission for these Phillies is clear. They have to win the World Series this season. And while their best chance of doing so is for Nola to figure it out, enough of a track record has been established over the last two years to make that prospect seem desperately optimistic.
Among 109 starting pitchers since the start of last season with at least 170 innings pitched, Nola’s 6.02 ERA is 2nd-worst. Only Anaheim’s Jack Kochanowicz is worse (6.58).
If this continues, the Phillies won’t have a choice. They’re going to have to take him out of the rotation, no matter what anyone else is telling you right now.
This team’s only mission is a World Series. You cannot be a contender and continue to run out a pitcher who has posted an ERA over 6.00 consistently for the better part of two seasons. It’s unfair to the rest of the roster.
There will come a moment when a very difficult decisions is going to be made.
Trying to pretend like it’s not does no one any good.
Last things first, I thought maybe Javier Assad would coast to the finish line and become the 10th different Cub with a save. How is that stat even possible? Not just that 10 different guys have saves. But that there are only 14 total saves. If it were someone like the Rays with 32 total saves, it would feel different to me. But there just haven’t been many saves and two of them were of the three innings in a blowout variety.
Assad didn’t reach the finish line and didn’t become that lucky number 10. Then it was Tyler Ferguson who picked up some very large outs. At some point in time, I’m going to try to determine exactly who Tyler Ferguson is and why he is on my favorite team. I think maybe he is a visitor from the 70’s. Or maybe that’s just his hairdo. He’s definitely not the guy from a Saturday Night Live skit that used to wear an oversized hat. All joking aside, but he’s struck out eight of the 20 batters he’s faced so far. So the former sixth rounder is at least a little interesting.
Thus it was actually Ryan Rolison with the infamous one-batter save. I was starting to make a joke about matching a record for fewest batters faced in a save. Then I realized one of you really smart people was probably going to find someone who was summoned from the bullpen and picked someone off to close out a save without retiring a hitter. I mean it has to have happened, right? Kudos to Rolison who has been quite good. He’s 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA over 27 appearances and 32 innings and is part of the illustrious group of players who have started and finished games for this year’s Cub team.
Look, I see and I understand the reasons people get frustrated with Jed Hoyer. Ironically, one of the single biggest reasons to be frustrated with him this year is that NOW he went and splurged on some relievers after basically refusing to do it in the past. And he got Phil Maton, who has been one of the least effective Cub pitchers this season. Dodgers style thinking for one minute, Maton still has time to get healthy and record key outs in the postseason where it really matters most.
The point is, Jed has generally not been willing to pay relievers for past success. And when you see guys like Ferguson and Rolison having success, you can understand why. He gets a lot of mileage out of scrap heap relievers. Every single year. I also get that the game is more and more reliever intensive every year and that if we’re thinking like the Dodgers, it is those innings in the postseason where elite arms matter the most. It’s hard to reconcile. This strategy works. It has worked nearly every single year since the Cubs brought Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer to town. Year in and year out they’ve consistently had a top 10 bullpen. The rub is that it’s never a top 5 pen. And sometimes it is those top 5 pens that win championships.
Amazingly, I’ve filled out 500-plus words talking almost exclusively about the bullpen and bullpen strategy. I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. The Cub offense slugged five homers and scored nine runs in the first six innings of this game. This could have been an easy one. The Cubs were well on their way to checking off another item on their in season shopping list. Winning the season series from another Wild Card contender. They already got it from the Phillies and they needed a win in this one or the next one to get it from the Padres.
In the end all that matters is that they got it. They got the season series. They won their fourth straight. They completed their third non-overlapping and compact stretch of games at 10 over .500. They have two 10-0 stretches and one 14-4 stretch. It is absolutely frustrating how hot and cold this team runs. Three stretches of games that would run out to a 34-4 stretch if placed end-to-end. And just 14-35 in all of the not peak periods of the season. Cue national media pointing out at some time later in the season during a broadcast that no one wants to face this Cub team in the playoffs. I can’t imagine, even in my wildest dreams, this team winning a championship. But you better believe that I think this team could beat any team in the league in a series.
I know they don’t have that kind of bulldog starter that you want. I know that the flurry of no-name relievers is just not intimidating. But you know it happens when your hitters just all start hitting the ball in the general direction of a very good player and the other team finds a few holes. This team looks lost when they are out of their groove and like world beaters when they are in it. I would not fall over in shock if this team won a series from the Dodgers or Braves and I would totally get it if they play in a Wild Card series and don’t score a single run. That’s this team.
Anyway, it’s a shame that this piece wasn’t about two Dansby homers, a much needed Bregman homer, a Busch bomb and one more Pete Crow-Armstrong homer to finish an insanely productive month. Pete interrupted his newly deployed patience to launch another majestic shot to remind us how many weapons he has. He now reminds me of vintage peak Sammy. They didn’t want to walk him because of his tendency to get anxious and chase. They go after him. They’d pound pitch after pitch just out of the zone. He leaned to take them. And as he started working longer counts, every now and then, even a very good pitcher would just lose one in the zone. And then there was the hop and the trot. With Pete it is that long swing, tossing the bat away and then the electric tour of the bases. He’s so fun to watch play.
I’m going to get back to Jed again before wrapping. I see some of you talk about that man like he’s forced you to watch the original Ishtar on loop with the Barney soundtrack in the background. I get the things he isn’t. I see the perception that his career just follows the coattails of Theo Epstein. This team has won a lot of games on Jed’s watch. A ton of them when he was #2 and a not insignificant while he’s been #1. He’s made a lot of very good moves. Have some of them failed? Yeah. Some of them quite spectacularly.
Remember a few things. First, it used to suck to be a Cubs fan. Maybe that shouldn’t be part of the grading scale, but seriously do you remember waiting around and hoping that this would be the year that they’d catch lightning in a bottle and sniff the playoffs? I realize the expanded playoffs makes it easier, but this team is competitive nearly every year. Second, what did the championship core teach us? To win a modern championship, you have to pull together a special group of guys and THEN they have to get lucky along the way. That 2016 team, as great as it was, was on the ropes at one point in every round.
Am I disappointed that this era of Cub baseball has only produced one championship? Absolutely. Do I think it is the most amazing thing in my lifetime that I’m disappointed by ONLY one Cub championship over any period? There was basically no real expectation of anything before Theo and Jed came to town. Do I think he should get an infinite honeymoon period as a result? No. Also, I think they won a playoff series just last year. I’m not going to blame him for the abomination that is (checks notes) 13 pitchers on the injured list today. A whole damn pitching staff on the IL at once. And yeah, that number includes Shelby Miller who actually came that way.
Do I want to see them ask some questions as to if there are any non-bad luck causes of all of the injuries? Absolutely. I actually think the team has done a better than usual job of not carrying injured players this year. They’ve generally pulled the trigger. Along those lines, they seem to be erring on the side of caution. Are some of these IL stints preventive like the Dodgers have been doing for years? I don’t know the answer to that and I’m not making that excuse for them. This whole thing is definitely curious.
Also, Matthew Boyd, Shōta Imanaga and a whole lot of guys casual baseball fans have never heard of are coming soon to an MLB stadium near you and they just might beat whoever they’re playing. Jed was the man at the helm when virtually every one of them was brought here and they have tied for the fifth-most wins in baseball and look headed back to the playoffs.
Three Positives:
Dansby Swanson had a three-hit, two-homer game. That’s going to put him up here. He wasn’t there tonight, but my favorite team’s nine hitter is on a bit of a tear.
Alex Bregman had a three-run homer and drew a pair of walks.
I thought Tyler Ferguson recorded the three biggest outs of the game, starting with an inning-ending strikeout of Manny Machado representing the tying run. That would have been a disheartening loss if it had gotten away.
Game 86, June 30: Cubs 9, Padres 7 (48-38)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Alex Bregman (.200). 1-3, HR, 2 BB, 3 RBI, R
Goat: Matthew Boyd (-.041). 5 IP, 24 BF, 8 H, 0 BB, 3 ER, 2 K (W 3-1)
Kid: Nico Hoerner (-.035). 1-5
A quick couple of WPA notes. Carson Kelly just missed the top three. Also, looking at the shape of this game, the Cub offense poured it on early. Boyd took hits for giving away some of the lead and for departing with runners on base. Assad had a big, late lead when he gave up late runs. So WPA was quite a bit harder on Boyd. Only four Cubs even had negative WPA numbers in this game because despite the final score, the Cubs controlled this one more or less wire to wire.
WPA Play of the Game: Alex Bregman’s three-run homer with one out in the second extended the early lead to four. (.184)
Padres Play of the Game: Manny Machado’s homer with two outs and a runner on third in the fifth to get the game back to two. (.118)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 85 Winner: Seiya Suzuki (178 of 199 votes)
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Pete Crow-Armstrong +17
Michael Busch +15
Ben Brown +13.5
Trent Thornton +12.5
Carson Kelly +11.5
Edward Cabrera -9.5
Phil Maton/Dansby Swanson -10
Caleb Thielbar -13
Seiya Suzuki -14.5
Up Next: The Cubs can complete a three-game sweep of the Padres Wednesday afternoon. They have an off day Thursday and didn’t use much pen in this one. Colin Rea (5-5, 4.80) squares off with Walker Buehler (5-3, 3.81). Another tough matchup, but no tougher than some of the wins these Cubs pulled off this past weekend.
This is a plus series regardless, but it sure would be sweet to cap this one off.
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 28: Members of the Texas Rangers celebrates after the Texas Rangers defeated and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Sunday, June 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Colton Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
PHOENIX — San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman left the Giants’ loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks because of an abdominal strain that he suffered in the sixth inning.
The five-time Gold Glove winner is scheduled for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
The 33-year-old Chapman charged in on a ground ball, fielded it cleanly with his bare hand and threw out Gabriel Moreno at first to end the sixth, but was in obvious pain as he gingerly walked to the dugout.
Chapman said his abdominal area had been bothering him some over the past several weeks, but the pain had been manageable until the incident.
“It’s been hot and cold where I’m trying to figure out what’s going on,” Chapman said. “I made that bare-handed play and that was the first time that one specific play made me cringe and go down a little bit, where I was actually in a lot of pain.”
He batted in the seventh and was retired on an infield pop out before leaving the game.
Chapman is batting .235 this season with seven homers and 42 RBIs.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 19: Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners makes a diving catch during the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at T-Mobile Park on June 19, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rick Rizzs Happy Totals: 13 Dan Wilson Tough One Tonights: 14 Run Differential: -17
Beef Boy Bombs: 1 Josh Naylor SB: 3 for 4 Julio HR-SB: 2-7 Ty France Memorial HBP Counter: Randy Arozarena, 4
Luke Raley wOBA rank: 235 of 236 (May was 1 of 260) Dominic Canzone Barrel%: 16.1% (15th) J.P. Crawford Innings Played at 3B: 104 Colt Emerson OAA at SS: -1 Rob Refsnyder PA: 33
Piggyback starts: 1 Logan Gilbert Fastball%: 50.9% Emerson Hancock ERA/xERA: 5.19/5.01 Bryce Miller K%-BB%: 38.1% (1st, min 20 IP (2nd place is 31.8%))
BOSTON — Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras was tossed for a second straight game after throwing his helmet toward Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli during a heated exchange that ended with the benches clearing and multiple ejections.
Cavalli struck out Contreras looking on a full-count pitch in the top of the fourth of what eventually became an 8-1 victory by the Nationals. The 27-year-old right-hander then shouted at Contreras as Contreras made his way back to the Boston dugout.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said he heard Cavalli yell “Sit down, boy” after fanning Contreras.
Asked what his specific words to Contreras were, Cavalli told reporters, “I don’t know. I just lose my head in it. I’m competitive. I just told him to sit down.”
The term “boy” has a racially charged history in the U.S.. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli’s word choice.
“To be honest, I don’t know,” Contreras said, later adding he plans to “let MLB handle that.”
Contreras, who hit a three-run homer off Washington’s Miles Mikolas and celebrated with a massive bat flip that he later apologized for, then approached Cavalli on the mound. The two jawed at each other as both dugouts emptied.
“He struck me on a good pitch, I was walking back to the dugout, and then he did what did, and the rest was history,” Contreras told reporters afterward, later adding, “He was like, instigating, and I snapped.”
Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez tried to hold Contreras back, but Contreras broke loose long enough to leap and throw his batting helmet in Cavalli’s direction.
Things settled down quickly after that, though the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Tracy, Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Mikolas being ejected.
Cavalli pointed to an incident at the end of the top of the first when Contreras nearly ran into the pitcher as both exited the field as the spark that set things in motion.
“He’s just been doing stuff,” Cavalli said of Contreras. “In the first inning, he just runs past me and brushes me. It’s just something you don’t do in baseball. I think he knows that. I didn’t say anything. I just looked at him. And a few words were said after the strikeout. It’s part of the game. And he’s going to let everybody run out there and try and do whatever he does, throw a helmet and get himself tossed.”
Cavalli stayed in the game and allowed one run on one hit with 13 strikeouts over seven innings in what became an 8-1 romp.
“After everything that happened, the people that they chose that were going to leave the game, I just felt like the other pitcher should have been one of them too,” Tracy said. “That was my biggest complaint.”
The early exit was the second in as many nights for Contreras, the first time that’s happened to a Red Sox player in the club’s 126-year history. The 34-year-old Venezuela native — who acknowledged he is having a difficult time while his native country tries to recover from a pair of devastating earthquakes — was ejected in the second inning at the start of the series for mimicking an appeal call after striking out on a checked swing.
“I feel like everything is against me right now,” Contreras said. “I got ejected last night from nothing. I got ejected today even though I was walking back to the dugout.”
With summer baseball in full swing as the All-Star Break looms, the game's next generation is preparing for its moment in the limelight with July's MLB Draft, Futures Game and HBCU Swingman Classic. Amid the excitement, fans can look forward to a behind-the-scenes journey following six of baseball's top prospects and draft hopefuls with MLB Road to the Show, a new five-part docuseries streaming on Peacock.
The series, produced by MLB Network and narrated by content creator and YouTuber Dan Sarmiento, follows these players through Spring Training and right into the season. Fans can expect the series to highlight breakthrough performances, setbacks and personal milestones.
Get everything you need to know below with the series' featured players, full episode release schedule, and how to watch information.
Which MLB prospects and college players will Road to the Show follow?
MLB prospects
Jesus Made, SS, Brewers (MLB.com's No. 1 prospect)
After becoming just the fifth player in MLB history to hit a walk-off HR in their debut, Braden Montgomery looks to be the latest wave in the White Sox’s emerging youth movement, with a “new guy stepping up every night.”
MLB Road to the Show episode release schedule
Episode 1: Wednesday, July 1 Episode 2: Friday, July 10 Episode 3: Sunday, July 19 Episode 4: Sunday, July 26 Episode 5: Sunday, August 2
How can I watch MLB Road to the Show?
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Junior Caminero knows the All-Star Home Run Derby doesn’t begin for a couple of weeks.
The Tampa Bay slugger is ready to go anyway.
Just hours after committing to participating in the event in Philadelphia on July 13, Caminero homered in his fifth straight game, a three-run shot off the Royals’ Noah Cameron. It was his eighth in the past seven games — something nobody in club history ever has accomplished — and it sent Tampa Bay to a 10-4 rout of Kansas City in the opener of their three-game series.
Asked to put Caminero’s hot streak in perspective, Rays manager Kevin Cash replied: “I don’t know if I can.”
“He’s really seeing the ball well,” Cash said, “and when he gets a ball to hit, he’s doing it.”
Caminero, the AL player of the week after launching seven homers and piling up 15 RBIs, put on a show last year in the Home Run Derby. With his multicolored bat sending social media ablaze, Caminero advanced to the final round before losing a close contest to Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh. The final was 18-15 in a long-ball hitting showcase.
Caminero, who is set to turn 23, went on to hit 45 homers last season, finishing sixth in Major League Baseball.
He may beat that number with ease this season. Caminero already has 23 for the AL East-leading Rays.
“I’ve feel really comfortable the last two weeks,” he said. “I’m trying to be aggressive in the zone.”
The only other players in Tampa Bay history to have homered in five consecutive games are Jose Canseco in 1999, Carlos Pena in 2010 and Mike Zunino in 2021. Pena’s streak extended to six straight games, the franchise record.
Caminero will try to match that against Kansas City.
“I mean, thank God he’s on our team,” Rays pitcher Griffin Jax said with a smile. “The way he’s doing it with the power and the not chasing and the not whiffing is just so impressive.”
In an era of faster-paced games thanks in part to the implementation of a pitch clock, MLB has decided to eliminate a similar clock from its Home Run Derby this summer. Each hitter will have 20 swings in the first round of this year’s contest. The change coincides with a switch in broadcaster to Netflix.
Any player who homers on his 20th swing will keep on swinging until he doesn’t connect for home run. The top four hitters advance, with the distance of the longest homer being used as the tiebreaker if necessary.
The way he’s been swinging the bat, Caminero has a good shot at being there at the end.
“He gets a pitch to hit and he’s not missing,” Rays catcher Nick Fortes said. “I’ve never experienced it so I don’t know how to describe it.”
The Cincinnati Reds are +144 underdogs when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers (-150) tonight, with Shane Drohan looking to continue his impressive form.
My Reds vs. Brewers predictions and MLB picks are targeting Drohan to pitch well, while Milwaukee will jump on the struggling Andrew Abbott.
Who will win Reds vs Brewers today: Brewers -1.5 (+134)
Shane Drohan is throwing the baseball well for the Milwaukee Brewers. While his 5.03 FIP over his last two outings doesn't jump off the page, the underlying metrics suggest he's in line for another quality start. The left-hander has allowed just 0.96 home runs per nine innings during that span while limiting opponents to a 32.4% hard-hit rate over the last month.
As for Cincinnati Reds starter Andrew Abbott, he owns a 5.34 FIP across his last five outings while allowing 1.98 home runs per nine innings and a 41% hard-hit rate. Across Abbott's last two starts alone, he has an alarming 6.98 FIP.
Drohan holds the edge, and Milwaukee's 140 wRC+ over its last six games makes this a favorable matchup.
I'll play this pick up to -110.
COVERS INTEL: This Brewers lineup has a .227 ISO in the last week, compared to a .142 mark overall this season. That's a recipe for success against the home run prone Andrew Abbott.
Reds vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-126)
The Over offers value. I expect Milwaukee to do damage against Andrew Abbott, while Shane Drohan has been capable of allowing a few runs himself. A 4-2 or 5-3 type game before the starters exit is certainly on the table, but the bullpens could push this total even higher.
Milwaukee's relief corps owns a 5.22 xERA over the last week while walking an alarming 7.43 hitters per nine innings.
Cincinnati's bullpen hasn't been much better, posting a 7.96 FIP across its last 20 innings while allowing 2.70 home runs per nine. That's a dangerous combination against a Brewers lineup swinging the bats well.
I'll play this pick up to -140.
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 32-29, +0.62 units
Over/Under bets: 34-26, +3.40 units
Reds vs Brewers weather
Conditions at American Family Field should be favorable for hitters tonight. Temperatures will remain warm, starting around 92°F before cooling into the mid-80s, while 13-15 mph winds could give well-hit balls a little extra carry. With virtually no chance of rain, the weather shouldn't interrupt play and may provide a slight boost to offense.
Reds vs Brewers odds
Moneyline: Reds +144 | Brewers -150
Run line: Reds +1.5 (-138) | Brewers -1.5 (+133)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-122) | Under (+117)
Reds vs Brewers trend
The Brewers have covered the run line in 30 of their last 50 home games for +15.70 units and a 27% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Brewers.
How to watch Reds vs Brewers and game info
Location
American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
Date
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
First pitch
8:10 p.m. ET
TV
ESPN
Reds starting pitcher
Andrew Abbott (5-4, 3.90 ERA)
Brewers starting pitcher
Shane Drohan (3-2, 3.12 ERA)
Reds vs Brewers latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
TORONTO, ON - JULY 1: Mason Fluharty #68 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up ahead of playing the New York Yankees, in front of Canadian flags for Canada Day celebration, ahead of their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on July 1, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 30: Joc Pederson #3 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Alejandro Osuna #19 in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run to tie the game in the third inning during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Sean Finucane/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Rangers 4, Guardians 2
Another kind of weird win.
Wyatt Langford on the injured list. Brandon Nimmo out of the lineup with an injury. Corey Seager in the lineup, only to be pinch hit for immediately because he couldn’t get his back loose.
No problem, right?
Jacob deGrom did his thing, despite allowing a two run homer to the third batter he faced.
deGrom has allowed 16 homers this season. 8 of them have come in the first inning.
Weirdly, he’s allowed 5 homers in the fourth inning.
But while he has allowed only 6 runs, total, in the fourth inning despite allowing those 5 homers, deGrom has allowed 17 runs in the first inning of games this year. He’s allowed 20 runs in every other inning, total.
I usually don’t buy the “you have to score runs on Pitcher X early or else you won’t score on him at all” cliche that announcers often use, but in the case of deGrom, it has been true this year.
deGrom ended up going 7 innings, striking out 9 and not walking anyone. After allowing a Daniel Schneemann single to start the second, he retired the next 17 batters in a row. Schneemann broke the streak with another single and then stole second, which didn’t matter, because deGrom struck out Gabriel Arias to end the inning.
With those nine strikeouts, deGrom passed Aaron Nola for 103rd on the all time strikeout list, with 1966, though Nola, who is just three Ks behind him, will likely move back ahead of him in Nola’s next start.
Ahead of deGrom are Kenny Rogers (1968 Ks), Bob Welch (1969), Al Leiter (1974), Livan Hernandez (1976), and then John Clarkson and Ervin Santana (1978).
Unusually, the Guardians were on deGrom’s slider — he got just 5 whiffs on 21 swings on his slider. However, he was blowing his fastball past them, getting 10 swings and misses on it.
Peyton Gray and Jacob Latz handled the eighth and ninth, with Latz getting his 18th save of the season, putting him third in the A.L. in saves.
deGrom going seven innings is also big in terms of getting most of the bullpen a day of rest, though Latz will likely be unavailable for the series finale on Wednesday after pitching two days in a row.
The lineup, perhaps not surprisingly, didn’t put many baserunners on, but if you hit homers and time those homers well, you don’t necessarily need to have a lot of baserunners.
Joc Pederson tied things up with a two run homer in the third after Nicky Lopez had singled.
Josh Jung homered off of Shawn Armstrong in the eighth for the Rangers’ insurance run.
Incidentally, Armstrong, whose departure caused such angst this offseason, has a 4.74 ERA and 4.73 FIP this year, with his walk rate almost doubling from 2025 and his home run rate more than doubling.
Armstrong had a 4.86 ERA in 2024 and a 4.38 ERA in 2022, compared to a 2.31 ERA in 2025 and a 1.38 ERA in 2023. Maybe you should just sign him in odd numbered years.
As for the third run…man, I’m reluctant to even talk about it, due to the secondhand embarrassment.
Ezequiel Duran singled to start the seventh, and went to second on an Evan Carter U3 grounder that caused much discussion on the broadcast as to whether or not it should have been called a foul ball.
Alejandro Osuna then hit a routine fly ball to left field. Cooper Ingle, playing in just his fourth major league game, made the catch.
Then, apparently forgetting how many outs there were, he started trotting in, and threw the ball into the stands.
That would have been fine if it was, as Ingle apparently thought, the third out. But since it was the second out, throwing the ball in the stands meant that Duran advanced two bases, scoring the go ahead run.
The Rangers benefited from that play, but even so, I was cringing. I felt bad for Ingle. I was, honestly, relieved when Jung homered — I didn’t want that play to be the difference in the game.
Ingle ended up striking out to end the game, as well. Honestly, I feel for that dude right now.
That Osuna fly out was the only at bat the Rangers had with a runner in scoring position in the game. The Guardians had just two — Kyle Manzardo’s home run off of deGrom in the first inning, and the Arias strikeout after Schneemann stole second in the seventh.
The win keeps the Rangers in first place in the A.L. West, a half game up on Seattle, two games up on Houston, and four games up on that team in Sacramento.
Jacob deGrom hit 100.5 mph with his fastball, averaging 98.7 mph. Peyton Gray’s fastball topped out at 93.7 mph. Jacob Latz reached 96.4 mph with his fastball.
Jake Burger had a 108.1 mph groundout. Evan Carter had a 104.0 mph fly out. Joc Pederson’s homer was 102.7 mph off the bat. Josh Jung’s homer was 101.0 mph.
COVERS INTEL: This Brewers lineup has a 
