Category: MLB

The Yankees offense continued to roll on Wednesday night in the Bronx, making life easy for starting pitcher Carlos Rodón in the team's fourth straight win, 10-5 the final score.

For the second straight night, all nine starters in the New York batting order got at least one hit.

Here are the takeaways....

-New York Knicks stars Josh Hart and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson threw out the first pitch for tonight's game to celebrate the team's NBA title.

-Rodónallowed a two-out double to potential All-Star corner infielder Miguel Vargas, but bounced back to win a 12-pitch at-bat against Colson Montgomery to strand Vargas at second base and end the top of the first inning.

-Amed Rosario responded in the bottom half of the first with a two-out double of his own, and Cody Bellinger compounded the damage with a home run into the right field seats, giving the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.

-Rodóngot himself into some trouble in the top of the second inning, allowing a walk and a single before recording an out. He worked out of the jam without allowing a run, forcing a ground ball double-play before recording a strikeout for the third out.

-Left-handed White Sox starter Anthony Kay lost control of a breaking ball, which struck Jose Caballero on the right foot. Yankees manager Aaron Boone left the dugout to check on his left-fielder, who remained in the game.

-Shortstop Anthony Volpe was keen to test out Caballero's legs, bringing the speedy utility player all the way around to score from first base with an RBI triple into the gap in left-center. Then, catcher Ali Sanchez poked a soft single into right-center to score Volpe from third, increasing the Yanks' lead to 4-0.

-The White Sox immediately responded to keep the ballgame within touching distance in the third inning. With two men on base, Montgomery took a hanging Rodón slider deep with two outs and two strikes in the count, changing the scoreboard to 4-3. Rodón was visibly frustrated on the mound, but got out of the inning one batter later.

-Bellinger led off the bottom of the third with a stand-up double, his second extra-base hit of the night. Still with nobody out, Bellinger advanced to third base on a wild pitch, but a Jasson Dominguez groundout, a Jazz Chisholm Jr. strikeout, and a Jose Caballero infield pop-out on a hapless bunt attempt squandered the run-scoring opportunity.

-Rodón was resilient in his final inning of work, unfazed by a leadoff double allowed to Chase Meidroth, by recording three straight outs to hold the 4-3 lead. He exited the game having pitched five full innings, allowing seven hits and three walks, but while striking out seven batters. All three runs allowed for the lefty came on Montgomery's aforementioned homer.

-The Yankees bats continued to sizzle in the bottom of the fifth, knocking around lefty reliever Sean Newcomb. Cody Bellinger led off with a line drive single, putting him a triple away from the cycle. Dominguez's double into the right field corner put runners on second and third, and two batters later, Jose Caballero singled them both home to extend the lead to 6-3. Anthony Volpe drilled Newcomb with a comebacker that struck the pitcher on his left arm, forcing him to exit the game, while Volpe reached first base on a fielder's choice. 

-Newcomb's replacement, rookie right-hander Tyler Davis, was unable to limit the damage for Chicago. The Yankees have been ruthless at the plate with two outs all season, and it was no different in this instance, as Ali Sanchez singled Volpe to third base before Paul Goldschmidt joined the hit party with an opposite-field frozen rope that left the yard for a three-run home run. The fifth inning ended with the score 9-3 in New York's favor.

-Chisholm Jr. was the final Yankee in the order to record a hit tonight, but came through in a big way, clobbering a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning and pad the lead to 10-3.

-Ben Rice sent a jolt into one with runners on the corners and two outs, but former Yankee Everson Pereira made a spectacular leaping grab on the run in left-center field. Pereira was shaken up after the play, as he collided with the outfield wall, but the White Sox center fielder held onto the ball for the third out, ending the seventh inning. He was quickly removed from the game.

-Colson Montgomery added another home run to his tally in the top of the eighth, his 19th of the season, a long drive to center field off of Yankees reliever Paul Blackburn, bringing the score to 10-4.

-Sam Antonacci took Yankees righty Jake Bird deep in the ninth inning, but Bird retired the next three White Sox batters in order to secure the 10-5 win.

Game MVP: Cody Bellinger

It was Cody Bellinger who stole the show with a stellar 3-for-4 night plus a walk, racking up eight total bases and two RBI.

Highlights

Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/xobyrLm3b9

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 17, 2026

Anthony Volpe drives in a run with a triple! pic.twitter.com/IuSoUNcc9v

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 17, 2026

PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT OH MY pic.twitter.com/mZUQ0IDFix

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 18, 2026

Cabby tacks on two! pic.twitter.com/CbB9L7AncQ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 18, 2026

🎷 pic.twitter.com/PIXfXuTAiB

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 18, 2026

What's next

The Yankees, who now lead the AL East by 3.5 games at 45-27, will go for the three-game sweep of the White Sox on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

LHP Ryan Weathers (2-5, 4.36 ERA) and RHP Sean Burke (3-4, 4.15 ERA) will square off on the mound.

CINCINNATI — Bo Bichette was just getting started when he singled in the first inning Wednesday.

As has been the case lately, a Bichette hit spawns at least another from the veteran infielder. On this day he finished 3-for-4 with a walk, leading the offensive attack in the Mets’ 9-1 victory over the Reds.

It was a sixth straight multihit game for the sizzling Bichette.

“I am just competing and the ball is finding grass,” said Bichette, who owns a 1.039 OPS in June.

Bichette’s multihit game streak is the third longest in franchise history. Steve Henderson had eight straight such games in 1979 and David Wright had seven in 2011.

But Bichette said he’s not exactly in a zone where he believes a hit is forthcoming with each plate appearance.

“I think there’s a lot of at-bats right now that I can still have better at-bats,” Bichette said. “It’s not perfect. I think I am just making good adjustments from at-bat to at-bat and I think I can make adjustments better from pitch to pitch, but I am not going to complain too much.”

Juan Soto had a three-hit performance batting behind Bichette, giving the Mets another sampling of a tantalizing 1-2 punch.

“That’s what I envisioned,” Bichette said. “He’s a great hitter. I’m a great hitter, so it’s my vision. It’s fun scoring runs.”

Bichette’s resurgence has fueled a lineup still awaiting Francisco Lindor’s return from a left calf strain.

“[Bichette] is a really good player, and it was just a matter of time,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Now we are starting to see that consistently.”

A.J. Ewing’s diving catch in center field in the third inning helped Nolan McLean escape with only one unearned run allowed. The Reds had the bases loaded with one out

“It kept a lot of runs off the board and I think it gave us momentum going into the later parts of the game,” McLean said.

Ronny Mauricio is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend, according to Mendoza. The infielder has been sidelined since May 3 with a left thumb fracture.

The Mets have scored at least five runs in each of their past 10 victories, dating to May 29 against Miami.

The Red Sox got a fairly effective outing from Jake Bennett in his fourth MLB start, which didn’t eventually matter with a zero on the board from Boston’s offense. The Blue Jays secured the series victory in a 3-0 win. The Red Sox fell to 13 games under .500 for the first time since 2015 (162-game season) and 10 games under .500 against the American League East, letting another low-scoring game fade away. 

Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday’s loss. 

NO SCHERZER, NO PROBLEM

Max Scherzer had been slated to start for Toronto before he landed back on the injured list with back spasms just a week after being activated from the injured list. The future Hall of Famer gave up three runs in 3 ⅔ innings against the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester in a recent rehab outing before the latest setback. 

That didn’t seem to matter for the visitors as the Blue Jays shut out Boston with seven arms holding the often-scuffling lineup off the board. 

OFFENSE FALLS FLAT AGAIN
Boston’s lineup can’t say it didn’t have more than enough chances in the middle game of the three-game set. Toronto pitchers walked seven hitters, though the Red Sox failed to take advantage and left 13 runners on base for the second consecutive night. 

The Red Sox rank in the bottom third of baseball in runners left in scoring position (RISP) per game.

ANOTHER DAY OF CONFIRMATION

Sell at the deadline. Just like this. 

The Royals announced today they have acquired pitcher Randy Dobnak from the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations. The move comes just days after the team acquired pitcher Connor Seabold from the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league pitcher Denis Samudio and cash considerations. Both players will be added to the 40-man roster, and to make room for them, the Royals transferred pitchers Carlos Estévez and Cole Ragans to the 60-day Injured List. Estévez has already been out for more than 60 days, while the move means Ragans will be out until at least July 7.

Dobnak had an impressive stretch his rookie year, with a 1.59 ERA in 28.1 innings with the Minnesota Twins, but has struggled since then. He has a career 4.86 ERA in 140.2 innings with just 5.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings, and has pitched just six MLB games since 2021. He had a 4.24 ERA in 13 starts at Triple-A this year, but had an “upward mobility” clause in his minor league contract that required the Mariners to offer him to other teams to be placed on another 40-man roster. Dobnak has options remaining and has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals acquired Seabold on Tuesday and he made his team debut that evening against the Nationals. The 30- year old is out of options, and is pitching for his third team this year. He has pitched in parts of five seasons with the Red Sox, Rockies, Rays, Braves, Tigers, and Blue Jays, and has a 7.25 ERA in 139 innings. He has been better this year, however, with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings after his outing with the Royals. Samudio is a 21-year-old pitching at Low-A Columbia, where he had a 4.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings. He was not ranked on top Royals prospect lists for Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs listed him in “honorable mention”, noting he can throw 95 mph.

The Royals’ pitching staff has been hard with injuries lately. Ragans was shut down after experiencing discomfort this week, and is getting a second opinion on an MRI, according to Anne Rogers. Bubic had a setback after one rehab start, but he had a clean MRI last week, according to Joel Goldberg. Seth Lugo missed his start on Monday after being placed on the 7-day concussion Injured List, but he is expected to return for his start on Friday. Reliever Nick Mears has been out since late May with a shoulder impingement, but could begin a rehab assignment soon. Estévez has been throwing and could return in July.

The moves this week just highlight how important it is to have organizational pitching depth. The Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers have a 5.74 team ERA, second-worst in the International League, with the most walks in the league. The Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals have a 6.15 ERA, worst in the Texas League. The acquisitions of Dobnak and Seabold may not move the needle much at the big league level, but they underscore how thin the Royals’ pitching depth has become. With multiple members of the major league staff sidelined and few obvious internal alternatives emerging from the upper minors, Kansas City is being forced to scour the trade market for reinforcements.

The hottest topic in baseball is whether it’s OK for MLB players to have Bible verses written on their rainbow-inspired hats when the team is celebrating Pride Night.

Appearing as a guest on “The Will Cain Show” on Wednesday, former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens suggested players should be able to vote whether they wear the special hats.

“I think if you took a vote amongst the players if they were wanting to wear this or that, it would have been a different outcome of what would have been said,” Clemens said. “Alter our uniforms all the time with numbers or somebody that’s passed away. I know that one time in Boston, Larry Bird retired, … they put 33 on in a silver marker on the hat so I could honor Larry Bird.”

“I did it for my Mom and my grandmother. I mean, they were the reason why I was there, and I love it that these guys show that the blessings the Lord has given them. To be out there on that field. That’s the way it was for me.”

Clemens is correct; modified uniforms have always existed in baseball. The Angels’ uniform this season features a patch that says “GA” honoring Garret Anderson, who passed away in April. During last year’s World Series, Dodgers and Blue Jays players wore modified hats that featured the number “51” in honor of Alex Vesia, who was away from the Dodgers in what was later revealed as a sudden loss of his newborn daughter.

On Monday, MLB issued a warning to Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker after they altered their Pride Night hats and added Bible verses.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen was the first pitcher to enter a game this year with a Pride Night hat with a Bible verse written on it.

Last season, Treinen was in the public eye after paying tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk by having his name written on his hat after Kirk was assassinated.

Tonight the Mariners will play their sixth game against the Orioles in the last ten days. I will be filing a complaint. Also filing a complaint: George Kirby, who has received six runs of support in his past eight outings against the O’s – not per game; combined.

Lineups:

News:

Sadly, emergency call-up Curtis Washington Jr. wasn’t able to get in the game last night. He’s been optioned back to Everett, with INF/OF Connor Joe recalled to take his place.

Tonight’s game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink, and Ryan Rowland-Smith as sideline reporter

Radio: 710 Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Shannon Drayer

So, that was annoying. Last night, the Orioles kept us up late just to get one total hit after the first inning, going quietly into the Seattle night.

You joining us for another round?

Look, it’s possible that George Kirby makes for an easier target for O’s hitters. After debuting in 2022, the Rye, NY native and first-rounder posted three consecutive sub-4 ERA seasons, but 2025 and 2026 haven’t been as good. He dealt with shoulder inflammation in 2025, but nothing announced this year. His fastball continues to be a very effective pitch, but something is the matter with his curveball, which has a negative run value for the first time ever, and an expected .336 BA against.

Kirby faced Baltimore in the last series, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings with three walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts. Gunnar loves hitting off of him: he’s .444 in 18 trips to the plate. Pete Alonso is 4-for-8 against the righty. Taylor Ward has hit three career homers off him.

It’ll be a nicer game to stay up late for if Kyle Bradish can keep building back to his pre-Tommy John form. Statcast data suggests his pitches are not quite back: his slider has a career-worst -7 run value, whereas in his ridiculous 2023 it was a +12, behind only his +16 curveball (that’s ridiculous).

Earlier this season, Bradish had a successful May, the ERA trending down in consecutive starts, but in June he’s allowed five runs in two straight starts. That included a clunker against this Mariners lineup, where he got homered on by Cole Young, Luke Raley, and Dominic Canzone in just four innings.

Orioles lineup

1. Taylor Ward LF
2. Gunnar Henderson SS
3. Adley Rutschman C
4. Pete Alonso 1B
5. Samuel Basallo DH
6. Leody Taveras CF
7. Tyler O’Neill RF
8. Jackson Holliday 2B
9. Blaze Alexander 3B

Mariners lineup

1. J.P. Crawford 3B
2. Cal Raleigh C
3. Julio Rodríguez CF
4. Dominic Canzone DH
5. Cole Young 2B
6. Victor Robles RF
7. Colt Emerson SS
8. Connor Joe LF
9. Miles Mastrobuoni 1B

The A’s have split the first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That’s set up tonight’s rubber match, with one team getting a series win in Sacramento. The Athletics dropped back below .500 with last night’s loss so a win this evening would get them back to even, and depending on how Seattle does tonight the A’s could be within a half-game of first place in the AL West. Can the A’s get back in the win column on Pride Night at Sutter Health Park?

Before tonight’s contest, the A’s announced a minor roster move, activating tonight’s starting pitcher Aaron Civale while optioning righty Luis Morales:

The move doesn’t have major implications but does remove an option from the bullpen for Mark Kotsay. Morales didn’t make an appearance during his brief callup and now he’ll return to Las Vegas and continue trying to fix things down there.

Back to the game at hand. As said above, Civale is the Athletics’ starting pitcher tonight. The veteran right-hander spent just over three weeks on the injured list with shoulder tendinitis in his pitching arm. Everyone held their breath when that was the diagnosis but it seems that the A’s are getting the best-case scenario with Civale’s shoulder. With that short of a layoff he didn’t need more than the one rehab start he made. In that appearance he looked awesome, firing 4 1/3 perfect innings with seven strikeouts against Triple-A hitters. Looks good to go. He got hit hard in his last two appearances before landing on the IL so the hope is that the shoulder was the cause of those rough outings and he can get back to the pitcher he’s been for the majority of the year.

Here’s how the bats will line up behind their starting pitcher for the series finale:

The typical top of the lineup, with Kurtz and Langeliers (DH’ing tonight) batting back-to-back to start things. They’re followed by Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson, repeating the same top four as last night’s batting order.

With Langeliers DH’ing that means Jonah Heim will be catching Civale and he’s right in the middle of the order batting behind Wilson. Zack Gelof is back at third for the third consecutive night, leaving Max Muncy riding the bench. You can’t take Gelof out of the lineup when he’s riding a 20-game hit streak, and with a right-hander on the mound Kotsay is going with McNeil instead of Muncy tonight. Lawrence Butler is in right field versus the right-handed starter, and Henry Bolte will be patrolling center field this evening in Sacramento.

That lineup will be going up against Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft. The 26-year-old sophomore has been fantastic for the Pirates this season, his first as a full-time starter at the big league level. In 14 games he has a great 3.30 ERA thanks to his strikeout stuff. He’s also been stingy with the walks, issuing just 19 in 84 innings of work. The A’s will need to take advantage of any and every opportunity they get against the ascending Ashcraft.

And the Pirates’ starting nine tonight:

Not much different from last night’s lineup, aside from two small changes. Former #1 overall pick Henry Davis is back behind the plate batting ninth, while veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna is in the DH role this evening.

Gotta get this win tonight. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

The Braves got some bad news on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s hamstring injury. 

The star outfielder is a “long way” getting back on the field, according to Atlanta beat writer Mark Bowman, who added that the “Braves will be more cautious than they were” last month when Acuña went down with a Grade 1 strain in the same hamstring in May.

When he hit the IL last month, Acuña missed nearly three weeks. 

Acuña re-injured the left hamstring trying to run out a ground ball in a June 9 loss to the White Sox in 10 innings.

Braves manager Walt Weiss had previously suggested that the injury wouldn’t be long-term. 

“Grade 1, so it’s not terrible, but enough where we had to IL him,” he said last week. “We’d be waiting around a while, playing shorthanded if we were waiting for it to heal. So we went ahead and put him on the IL.

“Like I said, I don’t think it’s as severe as the last one, but still going to need some time.”

The injury is just the latest in a long list of leg issues Acuña has dealt with throughout his career. 

He played in just 144 regular season games in 2024 and 2025 combined after tearing his ACL in May 2024. 

Three years earlier, Acuna tore his right ACL, which took him out for about a year. 

Lower body injuries aren’t the only thing plaguing Acuña this year after having suffered a bone bruise in his left thumb in late May, though he opted to play through the ailment. 

When on the field this season, Acuña hasn’t quite looked like his MVP-like self. 

In 52 games, Acuña, a five-time All-Star, has hit .251/.373/.421 with seven home runs and 15 stolen bases. 

Despite Acuña’s hamstring issues, the Braves remain the class of the National League East. 

After Wednesday’s loss to the Giants, Atlanta sits at 46-26, seven games up on the Phillies for first-place in the division.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Athletics, June 17, 2026, 9:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing in the series finale against the Athletics in the capital of California.

The Pirates are handing the ball to Braxton Ashcraft, who is looking for his first win in June. Ashcraft has made two starts so far this month, but lost to the Atlanta Braves on June 6 by giving up six runs in five innings. He was given a no decision in his last start against the Miami Marlins, where he pitched five innings and gave up two runs, but the Pirates could not hold on late to pull out a win.

Veteran right-hander Aaron Civale is pitching for the A’s. Civale has played for six teams in the last four years but has found a bit of a rhythm with the A’s this season. Civale is 5-2 with a 4.20 ERA, but has been on the injured list for the past couple of weeks due to shoulder tendinitis. Civale is back on the mound today for the first time since May 25 and is looking for his first win in over a month as he is brought back to the lineup to face the Pirates.

Going into the off day, the Pirates want to make sure they finish the series out strong.

Location: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.30 ERA) vs. Aaron Civale (5-2, 4.20 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

At the start of the year, and through the early weeks of the season, it felt like Arizona could almost have assembled a full roster of players on one of the injured lists. However, it now feels like the tide may have turned, and the team are now looking to get these players back and available again. For this week’s question, I want to take a look at one player who returned this week, and three who should be returning in future, and see which one you think will have the most impact. To that end, I purposely excluded Corbin Burnes and A.J. Puk, because they are really going to be back in September, if at all. That’s a little too far out for purposes here.

But here are the four candidates, in alphabetical order.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

He’s already back, having rejoined the team on June 15, and contributed a key RBI hit in that night’s 4-3 win over the Angels. Gurriel had missed the least amount of time of the four candidates, having been out for 21 games with a left hamstring strain. But he also missed the first twenty games this year recovering from ACL surgery in his other leg. The results have been underwhelming so far, with just a .563 OPS and worth -0.4 bWAR. He’ll need to pick up the pace significantly – and also, avoid further IL stints – if he wants the team to pick up his $14 million option for next season.

James McCann

McCann has been out for almost exactly a month, hitting the IL on May 19 with a strain of his right quadriceps – not something you want as a catcher. However, Torey Lovullo said on Monday that James will start playing in the Arizona Complex League next week. While the backup catcher spot is perhaps not particularly important, the fact that in his absence, the role has been filled by Aramis Garcia (OPS+ 28) and Adrian Del Castillo (55) mean there’s definite room for improvement. That’s in addition to McCann’s good reputation for calling games and working with the pitching staff. And besides, we need his arm out of the bullpen. 🙂

Justin Martinez

We haven’t heard much about J-Mart of late. He was originally expected to be the last of our three big pitching pieces back, but it now looks like he’ll beat Puk and Burnes. The last update was on May 10, when Torey Lovullo said Martinez had started throwing bullpens, and was already hitting 99 mph. It is his second Tommy John procedure, so caution is to be expected. But an August return would potentially be a valuable addition to the bullpen for the Diamondbacks, if they are looking to make a second-half push for a postseason spot. The bullpen, while much better than some years, still ranks only mid-table by most metrics.

Carlos Santana

Yeah, I know… However, the bar for the D-backs at 1B has been so incredibly low, that he might still actually be of help. Going into today’s game – where LuJames Groover went 0-for-4, so didn’t help – Arizona’s OPS at 1B was just .569. That is the lowest at the position for a season, by any major-league team since 1920. If Santana could simply hit, not even at his career average, but simply the figure he posted over 124 games last year for the Guardians and Cubs, the resulting ..633 OPS would be a clear improvement over what we’ve received in his absence. With Groover’s OPS now starting with a “3” after today, I suspect he’ll be the move made.

So, which of the players listed above, do you think will have the biggest impact on the team when they return? Here’s a poll, and as ever, feel free to explain yourself in the comments below!

After Wednesday’s 12-4 defeat to the Miami Marlins where Andrew Painter surrendered six runs in just two innings of work, the Phillies will be shaking up the back of their rotation by optioning Andrew Painter to AAA.

The Phillies have tried everything with Painter. They’ve tweaked his usage in certain starts to limit fastball damage, they’ve used an opener, and they gave him 14 appearances to figure this out. With a 7.06 ERA in 65.0 innings pitched, nothing stuck long enough.

Through roughly the first two and a half months of the season, the Phillies have cycled through their number five and six starting pitching options from the big league roster. They went into the season with Taijuan Walker making starts with Zack Wheeler injured but he was released after just 22.2 innings of work because he had an ERA over 9.

Now with Painter out, there is no clear answer for what the Phillies will do on the rotation’s fifth turn. Matt Gelb wrote that former Atlanta Brave and Chicago White Sox Bryse Wilson had triggered his upward mobility clause in his minor league contract, which could force the Phillies to add him to the roster. In 54.1 innings with the Iron Pigs, Wilson carries a 6.29 ERA with 2.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Alan Rangel is already on the 40-man roster and pitched for the Phillies earlier this year when they had Kyle Backhus open for the aforementioned Walker in the middle of their ten game losing streak. Rangel has looked solid, albeit not super inspiring with the Pigs, carrying a 3.74 ERA in 65.0 innings.

Maybe the Phillies try bullpen games to patch things until the trade deadline. The bullpen lost a key leverage arm in Brad Keller to the injured list but have built up plenty of depth through minor league signings and waiver claims. They have the options to make it work even if it’s not an ideal scenario to go through every fifth day.

Whatever path the Phillies go down, it will be without Andrew Painter, as he heads down to Lehigh Valley to figure out who he is moving forward.

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Here’s the Brewers’ lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

Before they take a ride down the Canyon of Heroes on Thursday morning, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart made a pit stop at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.

The newly crowned NBA champions threw out the ceremonial first pitches before the Yankees hosted the White Sox, and the two Knicks received a loud ovation from the crowd as the city continued to soak up the franchise’s first title in 53 years.

“I know [Thursday’s] just going to be otherworldly as far as a parade goes,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But it’ll be great to see those guys tonight. I’m sure they’re having a pretty good week.”

Brunson, the Finals MVP, threw to J.C. Escarra while Hart threw to Max Schuemann. 

Boone, a 76ers fan at heart, described the Knicks’ 16-3 showing in the playoffs as “a captivating run” that will have a lasting impact.

“I think it’ll be one of the historic teams that we talk about when it comes to the NBA,” Boone said. “Every championship is obviously memorable and going back to [Michael] Jordan and that run and the Lakers and the Celtics, what the Warriors [did], on and on, however you want to look at it. I think this team, in the annals of the NBA, will be talked about for a long, long time.”

After throwing all of his pitches “with good intensity” Tuesday in his first full bullpen session since going on the injured list with a left elbow bone bruise last month, Max Fried reported feeling good on Wednesday, the latest positive sign in his comeback.

The left-hander will still need to show improved healing in his elbow before he is cleared to fully ramp up towards a return, but assuming he continues to bounce back well in the coming days, Fried will throw another bullpen session this weekend. 

“Just talking to him today, he said, ‘I felt great during it and then feel good coming into today,’” Boone said. “So it’s been encouraging, really every step of the way, since even the couple days after the Baltimore start when he went on the IL. He’s responded well to everything, which I’m hoping is a really good sign for him and for us long-term.”

Facing White Sox lefty Anthony Kay (who had drastic left/right splits) on Wednesday, Boone started José Caballero in left field, Cody Bellinger in center field and Jasson Domínguez in right field.

Bellinger moving to center for a day opened up left field for Domínguez, but instead Boone opted to keep him in his new home in right to get him a steady dose of reps there to see if it can work moving forward.

Boone did not have an update on George Lombard Jr., the club’s top prospect who left Tuesday’s Triple-A game early after getting his left wrist/hand jammed while covering second base on a steal. … Austin Wells (cervical headaches) came through his first rehab game Tuesday without issue and was scheduled to start at catcher again on Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before its game got rained out.