Category: Baseball

In Shohei Ohtani, who on Tuesday became the first Japanese player to hit 300 home runs in MLB, the Dodgers had the first National League All-Star voted in this year.

They still have a chance for a late addition.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been lobbying for two members of his pitching staff to be named replacement players: left-handed starter Justin Wrobleski and left-handed reliever Tanner Scott.

“There’s going to be some changes and some talks here,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. “There’s continual talks about both guys.”

Earlier Tuesday, MLB announced replacements for three NL pitchers who won’t be eligible to appear in the All-Star Game. Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft, Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo and St. Louis’ Riley O’Brien claimed spots as Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Miami’s Max Meyer bowed out.

“Obviously it’s disappointing,” Wrobleski said after holding the Rockies to one run through seven innings. “You want to be an All-Star. It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal. It’s something I wanted to do. It’s frustrating to not get that nod. But like I said before, it’s just more reason to try and keep getting better. Hopefully I can gain the respect of players and everybody else and maybe be in there next year.”

There should continue to be movement on the All-Star roster, especially on the pitching side, with rotation schedules limiting which starters can participate. Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, for example, is lined up to start Saturday, which may take him off the table for the All-Star Game next Tuesday.

That could open the door for Wrobleski and Scott.

Read more:'I wish she was alive.' Eliezer Alfonzo has emotional day as Dodgers lose to Padres

Asked to make his pitch for Wrobleski, Roberts pointed to his ERA (2.69, No. 8 among qualified NL pitchers), average of more than six innings per start and 10 wins.

“We run a six-man rotation, and I just don’t want him to get dinged for not making a couple more starts that he potentially could have had,” Roberts said. “I just think that he’s performed enough to earn that opportunity.

“And also, Tanner had a rough one [Monday], but I still think that … he’s one of the elite relievers in the National League.”

Scott, after notching just his second blown save Monday, compared to his 12 saves and 2.70 ERA, didn’t have an opening to improve on his All-Star campaign Tuesday.

Wrobleski, however, strengthened his.

He stayed true to his identity, pounding the strike zone and inducing weak contact to go with nine strikeouts. The only run he gave up came on a groundout in the sixth inning with runners on the corners.

In a nod to Wrobleski’s new nickname, “The Shark,” coined by Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez, Dodger Stadium organist Dieter Ruehle played a snippet of the “Jaws” theme to punctuate Wrobleski’s punchouts, and as he walked off the mound for the last time.

Once Wrobleski’s job was done, he paced in the dugout, interrupted once in a while by a hug or handshakes from a teammate. Catcher Dalton Rushing held his hand up to his forehead like a shark fin.

The name and attacking reputation had stuck. Would it be enough for an All-Star nod?

“If it happens, great,” Wrobleski said. “If it doesn’t happen, some time off and just chill for a couple days. Either way, I’m all good.”

On the offensive side, Ohtani’s leadoff homer made him the first player to notch 300 home runs and 100-plus stolen bases in his first nine MLB seasons, according to ESPN Insights. Tuesday was his 1,101st game with at least one plate appearance. By that measure, he was the fifth-fastest to 300 home runs, according to mlb.com and Elias Sports Bureau, behind only Aaron Judge (953), Ralph Kiner (1,086), Ryan Howard (1,091) and Juan González (1,093).

“It was quite the homer,” Roberts said. “I mean, it was [112 mph] off the bat, low launch angle. It was squared up, got out in a hurry. And 300 — he got there pretty quickly for us. I just marvel at him every day.”

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: Dalton Rushing, Dave Roberts and a bunch of All-Stars

Defense unravels late

The Dodgers widened their lead to two runs but gave it up in the eighth on a pair of errors, including one on a sacrifice bunt.

Shortstop Miguel Rojas, who botched a grounder to his left earlier in the inning that enabled a run to score, was late breaking to cover third, leaving the bag wide open. Second baseman Alex Freeland tried to hit Rojas in stride with his throw and was charged with an error when it got away and the go-ahead run scored.

“Physical errors happen, and I’m OK with that,” Rojas said. “I’m not perfect, and I’m going to make errors, and physical errors are OK. But mental errors are the ones that are disappointing. I should have been on third base, I shouldn’t be putting Alex Freeland in the situation of throwing the ball with me on the run there. That’s the one that I kick myself for.”

Said Roberts: “This guy’s as dependable as they come. So that it happens, we don’t like it, doesn’t feel good, but you know that player. I give him a lot of grace, because he is very dependable.”

Right-hander Evan Phillips made his first major-league appearance in 14 months, after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer, and had two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning. But the Dodgers offense didn’t muster a comeback, as the top of the batting order went down in order with two runners on.

Ohtani on track

Ohtani is still in line to pitch Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Roberts said.

The right biceps issue that flared in Ohtani’s final at-bat last Friday, and sidelined him Saturday, raised the question of whether he should skip his last start before the All-Star break. But Roberts said Ohtani’s catch play has been normal and he hasn’t reported any concerns with his biceps.

“As he goes through the next couple days, if he doesn’t feel great, we’ll pivot, and we’re prepared to pivot,” Roberts said. “But as we sit here, I don’t see that changing.”

Roberts said he doesn’t think Ohtani will pitch in the All-Star Game or participate in the home run derby. But he does expect him to take an at-bat or two as the NL’s starting designated hitter.

“He understands the responsibility he has,” Roberts said. “So I do think that there’s a middle for what’s best for him, what potentially could be downside, but also what’s best for the game.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

LOS ANGELES— The Dodgers were close to adding another walk-off win against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, but instead came up short in a 4-3 defeat.

Shohei Ohtani reached yet another milestone on Tuesday night, teeing off for his 300th career home run and leadoff homer run no. 25 as a Dodger to give his team an immediate cushion. Ohtani is now the 18th active player in baseball with at least 300 career home runs— 129 of them coming with the Dodgers.

Offense would be an unusually challenging feat against Lorenzen throughout his night, with the Dodgers producing an additional run on a bases-loaded walk to Andy Pages in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Dodgers scratched across another run in the bottom of the fifth inning with an RBI single from Alex Freeland, Unlike how they fared against Lorenzen in April, three runs was more than efficient for the Dodgers’ starter.

Tuesday was another spectacular night for the southpaw Justin Wrobleski, as he only made Colorado’s struggles against left-handed pitching more agonizing. Wrobleski managed to complete seven full innings allowing just one run and striking out nine. Although he still has a 6.55 strikeout per nine innings rate, the left-hander now has 20 strikeouts across 14 innings over his last two starts.

While Wrobleski was excellent yet again, the bullpen failed to secure a winning decision for him. Will Klein was the first man in relief, and immediately ran into trouble after putting two men on base with just one out. Tyler Freeman brought in the runner from third, and Klein was subsequently replaced by Jack Dreyer. Jake McCarthy was thrown out on a sacrifice bunt, but the relay throw from Alex Freeland sailed past Muncy into the Dodger dugout, allowing two runs to score as the Rockies took a one-run lead.

After two scoreless innings from Juan Mejia, Jordan Romano was called upon to try and close things out. The Dodgers looked to be mounting another walk-off after Freeland and Teoscar Hernández reached base with nobody out. Romano got both Ohtani and Andy Pages to fly out before striking out Freddie Freeman to give Colorado their first win at Dodger Stadium this year.

Evan Phillips made his return from Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, marking his first appearance since May 2025. Phillips tossed a scoreless ninth inning while allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out two.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (20)
• WP:Juan Mejia (2-6): 2 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
• LP:Will Klein (3-3): 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 3 runs (0 earned), 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
• SV:Jordan Romano (6): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers wrap things up against Colorado on Wednesday (7:10 p.m. PT). Roki Sasaki faces Ryan Feltner.

The Atlanta Braves made a series of roster moves ahead of Tuesday’s contest in Pittsburgh. Most notably, right-hander Owen Murphy was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. In addition, the club selected the contract of lefty Connor Thomas, released righty Daysbel Hernández, recalled righty James Karinchak, and placed righty Tyler Kinley on the paternity list. 

22-year-old Murphy made his debut on Monday evening, where he was put in a difficult extra-inning situation against the New York Mets. He threw just one inning but allowed the game-winning runs. 

The remaining moves are refreshing Atlanta’s bullpen as the club continues the final road trip before the All-Star break. Thomas gives the Braves a fresh left-handed arm, while Karinchak returns after a brief stint in Triple-A to help cover innings with Kinley away on the paternity list.

More Braves News:

Hurston Waldrep struggled and the Braves suffered a 12-4 beatdown from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is reportedly nearing a rehab assignment. It could begin as soon as next week. 

MLB News:

The Minnesota Twins have placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list with a right hip strain. The move is retroactive to July 6. The injury will cause Buxton to miss the All-Star Game.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin will miss eight to ten weeks due to a torn tendon in his left hand. 

From the Feed:

Rowdy Tellez has rejoined the Braves on a minor league deal. 

A.J. Ewing is one of the bright spots for the Mets this season, and Tuesday night against the Royals showed exactly why.

The rookie outfielder went 4-for-4 -- his first four-hit game -- including a two-run shot and a career-high three RBI. It was an overall impressive game for Ewing, who has picked it up offensively recently. 

Over his last 22 games, since June 14, Ewing has a .311/.400/.568 slashline with five home runs, four doubles, 16 RBI, 12 runs and a .968 OPS. 

"I feel comfortable in the box right now. That’s pretty much it," Ewing said after Tuesday's game. "When I say comfortable in the box, I mean it. I’m relaxed." 

When asked specifically about his growing power numbers, five of his six home runs this year have come in the last month, Ewing reiterated his comfort at the plate, but emphasized that he's not intentionally going for the long ball.

"That's not really something I'm pushing for," he said. "It's more just line drive stuff, but the fact that I'm getting the ball in the air to the pull side, it's cool."

Tuesday was also the third time Ewing batted leadoff with the big league club. Although the series opener with the Royals was the first time he picked up a hit in that spot, the outfielder is accustomed to it. In 33 games batting leadoff with Syracuse before his call-up, Ewing slashed .342/.448/.525 with a .973 OPS.

Through 52 games, Ewing's OBP (.359) is ranked ninth among rookies and his 22 walks are 13th. Should be noted that only one rookie, the Giants' Bryce Eldridge, has more walks in fewer games, with the majority of the players ahead of Ewing having already played in at least 60 games.

Ewing was asked how his skillset fits with batting leadoff, and the 21-year-old gave a concise response.

"Naturally, I see a lot pitches," he said. "That's going to suit me well in that spot."

The Royals have right-hander Steven Cruz scheduled to start Wednesday's game as the opener. There's a good chance we'll see Ewing hitting leadoff and whether he can continue to use his particular skillset as the Mets' table-setter. 

Jays 9 Giants 3

Before the game, I asked the Jays to score and not just one run. And they did….I should have asked earlier.

The Jays scored:

• Three in the second: Brandon Valenzuela led off with a single. An out later, Sean Keys singled (108.5 mph). Then Jonatan Clase homered (362 feet, homer in 22 of the 30 MLB stadiums).
• Five in the third: Vladimir Guerrero started it off with a single to the opposite field. Kazuma Okamoto followed his lead, singling to the opposite field. Valenzuela singled to center, scoring one. A Daulton Varsho ground out put runners on second and third. Keys singled again, scoring both. Clase singled putting runners on the corners. Andrés Giménez singled one home. And Ernie Clement hit a sac fly.
• One in the ninth: Clement led off with a single. Lukes singled to give us runners on the corners. Then Vlad hit into a double play, which brought in the run, but it was a crappy swing.

We did go five inning there without getting a baserunner. But let’s focus on the nine runs instead.

We had 13 hits. Clement (leading off) had three hits. Valenzuela, Keys, and Clase had two each. Varsho was the lone member of the batter order not to get a hit. He did have a 102.7 mph lineout, .650 expected BA. But his other at bats were pretty sad.

And we were 4 for 10 with RISP, so a good day.

Spencer Miles got the start and wasn’t great. He gave up 7 hits in 4 innings, with just 1 strikeout. He was lucky to get through the four innings with just 2 earned.

Patrick Corbin gave up a run, going 2.1 innings. He started his 2.1 innings with a single and double allowed. Both of which I thought Nathan Lukes likely should have caught. The single, Nathan kind of ran parallel to, instead of going after. I guess he was playing it safe, but I though he should have made the catch. And the double was just over Lukes head, and again, I thought he could have made a better effort. So Corbin allowed one run in his 2.1.

Jeff Hoffman got the last two outs of the seventh, with a strikeout.

Mason Fluharty pitched a quick eighth. And Louis Varland pitched the ninth on 19 pitches. More than I would have liked him to throw, but he didn’t allow a baserunner.

And our pitchers didn’t give out a walk.

After the defense was so awful yesterday, it was pretty good today.

Jays of the Day: Clase (0.25 WPA) and Keys (0.09).

No one gets the other award, tho Vlad came close at -0.08.

We have a day game tomorrow. 3:45 Eastern start time. I was out in the sun all day today, so I might just about be up by that time. Dylan Cease (5-4, 2.79) vs. Logan Webb (5-6, 3.66).

Maybe we could score again tomorrow.

Whatever momentum seemed to have been gained by the offensive outburst last night was immediately lost 24 hours later. We are right back in the same spot we were in when we got here yesterday. Really a frustrating night for a team that was hoping to turn a corner after last night and get some momentum going.

The team turned as they have done all season to their former ace to be a leader and put this team on his back, but Zac Gallen faltered once again. He allowed 4 runs in the first inning and his team seemingly shut down behind him. Gallen was able to keep the Padres at 4 for the next 5 innings which was kind of nice, but the damage had already been done. Overall, the line for Gallen wasn’t terrible going 6 innings and allowing 4 runs, however allowing all 4 of them in the first inning seemingly really killed this team’s momentum. The Dbacks TV commentary was really trying to push the narrative that tonight was somehow an improvement for Gallen, however I am not really buying it.

As for the Dbacks offense what else can really be said at this point? Nobody hit. Pavin Smith should’ve been DFA’d 3 weeks ago but is still somehow inexplicably getting starts. And guess what? He went 0-3. Shocker!

Corbin Carroll appears to have a hole in his swing again at the top of the zone that pitchers have been exploiting the past couple of weeks and it doesn’t look good. It took him quite a while last season to make an adjustment on that pitch and the Dbacks really need him now.

Really not an approach that is going to allow you to score runs when you cant avoid the groundball with runners on base. After the Marte double in the first inning, After loading the bases with 0 outs in the first inning, a fielders choice, a walk to score the lone run, Nolan Arenado lined into an inning ending double play. Definitely a missed opportunity. This would be the first of 3 inning-ending double plays on the night for the Dbacks offense, 2 of which by Arenado. After the first, the Dbacks managed only 3 hits the rest of the game, all singles. Especially frustrating after getting the Padres starter Marquez to over 30 pitches in the first inning.

Like I said, there’s not much that can be said that hasn’t already. This offense got outslugged by the worst offense in the league tonight. Something needs to change.

The Dbacks will look to rebound in a big way tomorrow and get back to .500. They will turn to the youngster Jose Cabrera and the offense will have their hands full facing Michael King. These games over the coming weeks are too important to be handing them away like they seemingly did tonight. If the Dbacks are going to be buyers, we need to see something quick.

Tuesday's game between the Mets and Royals will be one to forget if you're in New York's bullpen. 

Before the Mets' rollercoaster 16-12 loss, they had never lost a home game when scoring 11 or more runs. Their 12 runs scored is also tied for the franchise record for the most runs scored in a loss, period.

And those marks fell on the Mets bullpen.

After two straight games in Atlanta that required a lot of pitchers, interim manager Andy Green was short on the pitching side Tuesday. It didn't help that he had to deploy a bullpen game in their series-opener with Kansas City. Despite that, the Mets pushed on.

Cionel Perez was the opener with Kodai Senga allowing four runs in his three innings of work. The Mets' offense blitzed the Royals' pitching staff and overcame Senga's performance, grabbing a 9-4 lead heading into the fifth inning. That's when Austin Warren took the mound and allowed five earned runs on four hits and one walk without recording an out.

"It was a tough day for us. No other way around it," Green said of the pitching staff after the loss. "Perez got us off to a good start. [AJ] Minter had a really good inning in there. [Huascar Brazoban] came in and did some decent stuff. Everything else just was a tough day. Austin Warren’s been somebody we’ve relied on all year long; he’s been very very good for us. It wasn’t his day today."

Green explained that they hoped Warren would pitch a few innings, but since he didn't they had to use recently-acquired RHP Matt Seelinger in the seventh with the score tied at 9-9. Seelinger, a 31-year career minor leaguer, was making his major league debut and allowed seven runs in the frame, essentially putting the game out of reach. 

"As a group, have a ton of confidence in Austin Warren. He had a night that was really tough. We looked at it pretty confidently, he would give us a couple of innings tonight. It didn’t turn into that," Green said. "It was at that point we knew we had to put Seellinger in a tough debut spot you prefer not to. We believe in Austin, we’ll continue to believe in him. He’s been great for us all year. That’s where we tripped up a little bit. And that happens."

"We were light today, I knew I needed to cover some innings," Warren said of his performance. "Doesn’t change the way I go about my business. Just didn’t work out. Bad outing." 

Warren has been great for the Mets this season, but his last two outings have been subpar. On July 4 against the Braves, he allowed four runs in two innings of work. And after giving up five on Tuesday, Warren has now allowed nine runs in the last two times on the mound (2.0+IP), which equals what he allowed the entire season leading up to that (33.0 IP). Warren chalks it up to missing his spots, but doesn't want to make excuses, just find a way to get the job done.

With the Mets playing five days in a row before the All-Star break, New York needs Warren and the rest of the pitching staff to pick up the slack or more games like Tuesday will happen.

Charlotte Knights 8, Nashville Sounds 2
Munetaka Murakami kicked off his Charlotte (47-41) rehab with a single in his first trip, putting two on with nobody out. That set up a first-inning run, courtesy of a Ryan Galanie fly out and a Caden Connor sac fly. Mune stuck around for five innings at first, finishing 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Galanie blew the game open in the second with a grand slam, Knights up 5-1. Nolan Jones chipped in with a two-run double in the sixth, and Andy Weber kept the line moving with an RBI knock in the seventh. The pitching held up, too. Tanner McDougal, fresh off the IL, tossed one inning with a walk and two punchouts.

Columbus Clingstones 4, Birmingham Barons 3
The Barons (31-51) looked ready to steal one late, but the Clingstones had the final word. Alec Briley launched a first-inning solo homer to put Birmingham ahead, but starter Lucas Gordon surrendered a game-tying blast on just his fourth pitch and another solo shot in the fifth that gave Columbus the lead. Dylan Campbell answered with a solo homer in the sixth to knot things up, and the Barons appeared to have the winning run when Samuel Zavala drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and raced home on T.J. McCants’ clutch RBI double. But the lead disappeared just as quickly, as Jonathan Clark allowed the tying run before the Clingstones walked it off with a game-winning single in the bottom of the frame.

Asheville Tourists 11, Winston-Salem Dash 3
The Dash (47-35) got on the board first thanks to George Wolkow’s two-out RBI double in the opening frame, plating Ryan Burrowes, who had singled. But then came rehabbing Shane Smith, who promptly served up three runs in the second. His line: 2 2/3 innings, three runs, three hits, two walks, but hey, six strikeouts, so not a total wash. The bats had a few more tallies in them, one on a Burrowes solo blast in the fifth and a Wolkow bomb in the eighth, but the bullpen? Woof. Seven earned over 5 1/3 innings. That’s a mess.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
Kannapolis (41-41) got things rolling in the second, slapping three runs on the board thanks to Jurdrick Profar and Efren Teran coming through with RBI singles. The Shorebirds made it interesting, tagging Ballers starter Truman Pauley for two tallies in the third, but the Ballers answered in the fifth with Stiven Flores plating Nick McLain, who had doubled. At 4-2, Kanny wasn’t done, squeezing two more in the eighth on a wild pitch and a McLain sac fly. The bullpen shut the door, holding the Birds scoreless for the last five-plus.

ACL White Sox 9, ACL Mariners 8 (7 innings)
The ACL White Sox (14-34) jumped out early, thanks to Osniel Castillo launching a two-run bomb in the third. Then, Jose Mendoza and Landon Hodge smacked back-to-back doubles in the fourth for another run. In the fifth, the wheels fell off as Sox pitching surrendered five runs, handing the Mariners a 5-3 lead. Yordani Soto tried to spark a rally with a solo shot in the bottom half, but the Mariners punched right back with three more in the sixth. The Sox, undeterred, broke through with a five-run haymaker in their half of the sixth with doubles from D’Angelo Tejada and Hodge, and RBI knocks from Alejandro Cruz and Soto, the works. That 9-8 edge held, with Felix Doroteo sweating through a single and a walk in the seventh but getting it done for the win.

DSL Blue Jays 5, DSL White Sox 3 (7 innings)
The DSL White Sox (10-17) had chances all afternoon but couldn’t deliver the clutch hit, stranding plenty of traffic and going just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Felix Lebron did his part, driving in two runs with an RBI double in the second and an RBI single in the fourth after Orlando Patiño’s one-out triple. The Dodgers built a 5-2 cushion before the Sox pushed across an unearned run in the seventh, but the late rally fizzled, leaving too many missed opportunities.

ACL Dodgers 4, ACL White Sox 1 (July 6 — 7 innings)
The ACL Sox mustered just two singles and five baserunners through the entire contest. The Dodgers practically begged for trouble with three errors, but the Sox bats couldn’t take advantage of a single one. Dodger arms mowed down the first 13 Sox hitters before D’Angelo Tejada finally reached on a throwing error in the fifth. Marcelo Ácala and Jefrank Silva managed the only hits. On the mound, Fidel Montero was nails, tossing five shutout innings, allowing five hits, a walk, and three strikeouts.

DSL White Sox 7, DSL Twins 3 (July 6 — 7 innings)
The DSL White Sox got all their business done early, hanging a seven-spot by the end of the fourth. They got on the board in the first on a little chaos with a leadoff single, stolen base, wild pitch, and dropped third strike. The second inning was more of the same with two walks, a couple of singles, Sox up 3-0. The Twins tried to make it interesting with two unearned runs in the third, but the Sox just shrugged and piled on three more in the bottom half. Ronald Cordoza ripped a two-run triple, and Orlando Patiño lofted a sac fly. Hector Hernandez added the exclamation point with a solo shot in the fourth. Yordany Marte got the start, three innings, just the two unearned, with one walk and three punchouts. Job done.

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Is that a competent baseball team I see?

9-2 in their last eleven games. A young flamethrower bouncing back from a bad outing with six shut out innings. Solid defense, every single person in the lineup reaching base at least once, and a big win on the road against a White Sox team who entered the evening 24-6 in their last 30 home games. Who the hell is this team and where have they been all year?

In what very much felt like a make or break road trip regarding trade deadline decisions for the 2026 season, the Red So have started it 4-0 and continue to climb back into the Wild Card hunt. Not only that, but tonight they did it largely behind Payton Tolle shutting down a spunky White Sox lineup, which in the grand scheme of things is the gift that keeps on giving.

Retiring 15 of the last 16 hitters he faced, Tolle cruised once he was handed a 3-0 lead in the second inning. In doing so, he displayed a pair of characteristic you want to see if you’re looking for a future ace. One, he bounced back from a terrible outing against the Nationals (great pitchers rarely have two stinkers in a row), and two, he seemed to get stronger the deeper he worked within this game. The second item is something that’s not only encouraging to see in general, but especially awesome from Tolle who has shown signs of running out of gas in some of his outings this year. Tonight, the tank looked full even as he reached his finish line.

In a series opener that felt like it was just asking to be about a former Red Sox farmhand they traded away, it instead was about the dominant performance of a guy they kept.

Here’s all six of his strikeouts:

Three Studs

Payton Tolle: Duh! Six shutout innings in a bounce back beauty for the big man!

Andruw Monasterio: A pair of hits and a walk, but most importantly, he also got the scoring started with a solo home run in the second.

Ceddanne Rafaela: Like Monasterio, Rafaela had a pair of hits, and also like Monasterio, he hit a home run in the second inning. This time, it was a two-run shot that gave Boston a 3-0 lead.

Three Duds

Danny Coulombe: There was one brief moment where it felt like the Red Sox might blow this game, and it came in the bottom of the seventh shortly after the bullpen door swung open for Coulombe. He walked the first batter he faced (always a good sign), and allowed the tying run to come to the plate with nobody out. While he did get Kyle Teel for the first out of the inning, Justin Slaten had to clean up his mess.

Failing to land a knockout punch earlier: If we’re going to nitpick, and we have to in the duds section on a night like this, the Red Sox had baserunners in every single one of the first six innings. They also left the bases loaded in the opening frame. If they were able to cash in just a couple more runs while Tolle was dealing, they would have been able to stay away from Slaten and Whitlock in what turned into an 8-1 blowout, leaving them in an even better position going into the final tow games of the series.

The umpiring crew: Home plate umpire Charlie Ramos lost his first five ABS challenges, many on strikes where the ball was almost completely in the zone, and he didn’t even have the most memorable performance from an umpire this evening. Instead, that award goes to:

Play of the game:

Third base umpire Nestor Ceja, who made this amusing pair of calls on Contreras’ ninth inning double down the left field line.

At least it was entertaining and fun, which certainly were the themes of the night for Red Sox fans. Jake Bennett goes tomorrow to try and keep the party bus rolling.

Coming off three consecutive losses, the Tampa Bay Rays were needing to bounce back against the Yankees on Tuesday night and they did just that behind a stellar performance by Ian Seymour and production from the bottom of the lineup.

Having dropped game one of the four game set on Monday night, the Rays sent southpaw Ian Seymour to the bump looking to even the series. He answered the bell and struck out a career-high 12 batters while allowing three runs over 5.1 innings of work. The three runs came on one swing of the bat. In total he faced 21 batters and struck out more than half. He scattered five hits and walked only one. He earned his 6th win of the season to move to 6-1.

The Rays staked Seymour to an early lead scoring two runs in the bottom of the second inning. He quickly surrendered that lead the following half inning when he allowed a two-out, three run homer to Ben Rice who went 3-4 on the day.

Before and after that one swing, he was solid. Five of the first six outs were via the strikeout. He then punched out a pair in the fourth and the side in the fifth. He was sharp and the Rays offense returned the favor and countered the Yankees three run third with a four run fourth.

With one out, Walls singled to right. Palacios followed with a RBI double to the gap in right-center to tie the game. Then, Feduccia got into one and sent his second homer of the year over the wall in right-center to give the Rays a 5-3 lead. Yandy followed with a homer of his own and with the back to back blasts, the Rays had opened a 6-3 lead.

The six runs were all the Rays would need. After Seymour departed, Kelly, Booser, Cleavinger, and Baker combined to record the final 11 outs. Kelly allowed the only other run of the game in the 6th inning to cut the lead to 6-4. The pen struck out five more Yankee batters and helped the Yankees make history in doing so. With 17 Ks on back-to back nights, they became the first team in history to accomplish such a feat.

While striking out 34 batters over the first 18 innings, the Rays staff has walked only 2.

On a night where the Aranda and Caminero were quiet, combining to go 0-7 with a walk, the bottom of the lineup did its job. Mesa Jr., Walls, Palacios, and Feduccia combined to go6-12 with four RBIs and a pair of homers (Feduccia and Mesa Jr.).

The Rays will look to guarantee a split with a win tomorrow and will send Shane McClanahan to the bump opposite Gerrit Cole. With the win, the Rays moved back to four games up in the standings with a five-game cushion in the loss column.

The White Sox (47-43) took one on the chin to open the six-game homestand with the Red Sox (41-48), getting outhit, 11-4, and blown out, 8-1. Only two batters actually got a hit for the Good Guys, with Sam Antonacci snagging three hits, and Kyle Teel driving in the sole run for the South Siders. The Italians at least represented themselves all right on Italian Heritage Night at the park. The only real good news coming out of this game is that the Twins also beat the Guardians, so the one-game lead in the AL Central still holds up.

Noah Schultz got off to a rocky start, immediately getting into a bases-loaded jam in the first that set the tone for the ballgame. The lefty needed 33 pitches to get through it, but he was able to regain control and survive the bases-loaded jam, but that didn’t stave off the chaos for the remainder of his outing. The main problem for Schultz in this five-inning, 92-pitch outing, however, was that he continuously worked into deep counts that ran up his pitch count, on top of the two home runs and three walks. Noah allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out three, two of them by our old friend Romy Gonzalez.

Not only were the Red Sox jumping all over him, but Schultz wasn’t getting as many whiffs, averaging just a 20% called-strike-plus-whiff rate (CSW). His sinker was thrown 25% of the time tonight, and also drew the highest CSW (26%) of all his pitches. Schultz’s ERA has now increased slightly to 6.00, but he’s still extremely young and can continue to work on his command issues with more experience. In his defense, you can’t exactly win a game without the offense scoring any runs, so he wasn’t the only one at fault there.

The first frame for Schultz nearly spun out of control. Both Anthony Seigler and Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a pair of bloop hits to lead off the game: one that dropped in no man’s land, shallow center field, and the other was a strange swinging bunt situation that ended up in the Bermuda triangle between Schultz, Miguel Vargas at first, and Chase Meidroth at second. Willson Contreras walked to load the bases, adding a fresh layer of stress to the situation, but thankfully, Schultz buckled down and struck out Romy Gonzalez before inducing a line out to end the inning.

Schultz began the second frame on a high note after striking out Jarren Duran, but things quickly snowballed from there. On the very next batter, Andruw Monasterio took Schultz deep to left to give Boston their first run of the game. Connor Wong then caught Colson Montgomery playing back and decided to drop a bunt that ended up (generously) being ruled a base hit. Schultz forced a fly out, but then allowed his second homer of the inning to give the Red Sox another couple of runs, 3-0.

With the help of Teel, Schultz worked through the third without issue, cutting Contreras’ time on the basepaths short after his leadoff hit, getting thrown out at second to end the inning. That would be the first of two that Teel caught stealing on the night, as he made another great throw in the fifth to catch Wilyer Abreu. That momentum didn’t hold through the fourth, however, as chaos ensued to give another run to the Red Sox. A double, wild pitch, walk, and a squeeze bunt all happened in consecutive order, with Wong getting his second bunt down to tally an RBI, 4-0.

Truly a wild sequence of events:

On the other end of the ball, Payton Tolle was having a much easier time with the South Side offense than Schultz had with the Red Sox. Tolle worked through six shutout innings and gave up just two hits, one walk, and struck out six. He walked Miguel Vargas to lead off the game, and Antonacci was really the only player who showed up for the White Sox offense with two hits off Tolle and three on the day. The Good Guys were getting carved up by his fastball and cutter, averaging a 34% and a 31% CSW for his outing and racking up 15 swings and misses; for reference, Schultz had eight in comparison.

Until the seventh frame, the Good Guys only mustered two hits — both from Antonacci. The White Sox loaded the bases in the seventh to get a bit of a rally going, with Meidroth drawing a walk to lead off the inning, and Antonacci followed that up by snagging his third hit of the day. Finally, someone not named Sam got a hit, as Junior Perez singled to load the bases for Teel. In another timeline, Kyle blasts a game-tying grand slam against his former team, but instead we get an RBI ground out and back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat, 4-1.

The bullpen was solid through the eighth once they replaced Schultz, with three relievers combining for just one hit. That is, until the ninth, when the Red Sox ended up breaking the game open, but not without the help of the umpiring crew. Seranthony Domínguez took over in the sixth, and though it was a little dicey to start the inning, with a deep fly to left and two batters reaching base, he made it through unscathed by striking out both Anthony Seigler and Ceddanne Rafaela to end the scoring threat for Boston. In the seventh, Jordan Hicks looked as good as ever, striking out two of the three batters he faced for a clean frame, handing the final two over to Brandon Eisert in an attempt to maintain the three-run deficit so as not to make things worse.

In the ninth, Eisert walked two batters but needed just one more out. He had Contreras down to his final strike on a full count, until Contreras ripped a line drive down the left field line that the umpire originally called foul … before changing his mind mid-play to call it fair, which allowed two runs to score. Personally, I don’t understand how Will Venable didn’t make a way bigger deal out of this situation. Once a fielder sees the foul called, they ease up because they think the play is over. Apparently, the play was not reviewable for an unknown reason. This will likely make me lose sleep tonight, and it’s not like the bats did anything at all to help themselves, but that is just an unacceptable sequence of events that led to four Boston insurance runs.

To throw salt in the wound, Romy Gonzalez ripped almost an identical ball down the right-field line, also causing a slightly delayed fair call to drive in the seventh run for the Red Sox. Finally, Venable called it a day for Eisert, but Trevor Richards came in for the garbage time and walked Caleb Durbin before giving up a base hit to Duran for the eighth and final run.

It didn’t really matter up to that point, but the White Sox went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, finally putting us all out of our misery. You’re not going to win them all, of course, but the bats snoozed through this one after an off-day. The Good Guys will aim to bounce back tomorrow with Davis Martin on the mound, and hopefully the South Siders (and umps!) get a good night of rest and get ready for the next one.

Two Smokies got honored today. Catcher Owen Ayers was named Southern League Player of the Month for June. Over the past month, Ayers hit .451/.554/.824 with 13 doubles and seven home runs. Ayers led the league in average, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging. He was second in runs scored with 23 and fourth in the Southern League for June with 21 RBI.

Smokies right-hander Jace Beck was similarly named Southern League Pitcher of the Month. Over five appearances and three starts, Beck went 2-0 with an 0.47 ERA. Over 19 innings, Beck struck out 36 and walked nine. He also allowed just nine hits and a .138 average.

Left-hander Pierce Coppola was promoted to High-A South Bend from Low-A Myrtle Beach.

Baseball America gave the 30 farm systems a mid-season re-ranking today. (sub. req.) The Cubs moved up to 16 from a preseason ranking of 22.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were excommunicated by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 7-4.

Jordan Wicks started and took the loss after he got rocked for seven runs, six earned, on six hits over three innings. Wicks struggled with control as he walked four and hit one.

Paul Campbell and Jayden Murray both had three scoreless innings of relief.

Left fielder BJ Murray hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, his 12th on the season. Murray was 1 for 5.

Right fielder Brett Bateman was a perfect 4 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice.

Catcher Moisés Ballesteros doubled twice in a 2 for 5 game. He scored one run.

RBI double for Jonathon Long, who was 1 for 5.

Murray’s blast went 416 feet.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies shelled the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 9-4.

Starter Connor Schultz gave up two solo home runs, but otherwise kept the Shuckers in check and got the win. Schultz’s final line was three runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked no one.

Tyler Ras pitched two innings, allowed no runs on one hit, and got the save. Ras walked one and struck out one.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his 14th on the year. Rojas was 2 for 4 with the home run, a double and a walk. Rojas also stole a base and scored twice.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez connected for a three-run home run in the sixth inning. That was his tenth on the campaign. Ramírez was 2 for 5 with the home run. In the eighth inning, Ramírez singled, stole second, stole third and after Rojas walked, stole home as part of a double steal.

Second baseman Drew Bowser singled home a run in the sixth inning and then scored on Ramírez’s home run. Bowser went 2 for 4.

Left fielder Carter Trice went 2 for 5 with a double and a steal. He scored once.

The Rojas home run.

And the Alex Ramírez home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs detasseled the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 7-5 in ten innings.

Solid start for Mason McGwire, who allowed just one run on three hits over four innings. McGwire struck out three and walked one.

Adam Stone pitched the eighth and ninth innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Stone gave up two hits. He walked two and struck out two.

After South Bend scored twice in the top of the tenth, Grayson Moore retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth for the save. He struck out one.

South Bend had already taken a one-run lead when automatic runner Justin Stransky scored on an error, but first baseman Josiah Hartshorn added an insurance run with a solo home run later in the tenth. It was Hartshorn’s 15th home run and tenth with South Bend. He was 2 for 5 with a walk. Hartshorn scored twice and drove in two.

Hartshorn had been in a mini-slump the past week after tearing up the minors to start his career. Today was a good night to get back on track.

Left fielder Jose Escobar stayed hot, going 2 for 6 with a double. He scored one run.

Third baseman Matt Halbach went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Halbach had one RBI and one run scored.

Right fielder Miguel Useche went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Here’s the play that scored Stransky. Good job getting picked off!

And Hartshorn’s blast.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans vetoed the Fredericksburg Nationals, 11-9 in ten innings on a walk-off grand slam by Derniche Valdez.

David Bracho pitched the first 3.1 innings and surrendered five runs on three hits. Bracho walked three and struck out six.

Edwardo Melendez pitched the final three innings and got the win. He was in line for the loss after he allowed a two-run home run in the top of the tenth, but the Pelicans struck back with the grand slam. Melendez’s final line was two runs, one earned, on four hits over three innings. Melendez struck out three and walked on.

Shortstop Valdez sent the home fans home happy when he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth. It was Valdez’s sixth home run this season. Valdez went 4 for 6 with five RBI. He also stole two bases and scored twice.

Earlier in the sixth inning, catcher Jose Silva hit a solo home run. It was Silva’s first home run with the Pelicans and third overall. Silva went 1 for 3 with two walks.

Second baseman Alexis Hernández was 3 for 6 with a double and a steal. He scored once.

Right fielder Eli Lovich went 1 for 3 with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. He scored two runs and drove in three.

Valdez’s walk-off grand slam.

Lovich’s two-run triple.

Silva’s home run.

ACL Cubs

Beating the Angels 10-2 in the eighth.

Ethan Conrad is in right field and is 2 for 3 so far.

Yesterday, Kohl Franklin pitched four scoreless innings for the ACL Cubs in his season debut. Franklin had Tommy John surgery early in 2024, right after making his Iowa debut. He missed the rest of 2024 and made one appearance in 2025 where he had a setback in his recovery. A recovery by Franklin would be a big boost to the Cubs farm system.

The Houston Astros (46-48) didn’t get the start they hoped for from Tatsuya Imai, but they got a terrific performance from 6 relievers as they took the second game of this series 6-3 over the Washington Nationals (47-46) at Nationals Park.

Imai only lasted 3.2 IP, impacted by a cut on the ring fighter of his pitching hand that impacted his ability to grip the baseball and execute pitches. At one point in the second inning, a trainer had to come to the mound to put a cold towel on his hand to try to help him get him get a proper grip on the ball, as his velocity dropped during the inning but it rebounded to normal level after the trainer came out.

The cut impacted his execution, and his pitch count racked up as a result, throwing 84 pitches in his 3.2 innings. Imai was charged with 2 ER, 4H, 3BB, and 3K.

Steven Okert (W, 2-1) was called on to finish the fourth, as he has essentially become the team’s stopper, and the pitcher manager Joe Espada is most comfortable going to when he brings in someone to get out of a jam, particularly when the Astros have a lead. Okert went 1.1 IP scoreless allowing 1 hit and striking out 3.

As Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, Alimber Santa and Josh Hader (S, 10) held the Nationals potent offense in check, it was the Astros bottom of the order that did the majority of the damage for Houston this evening.

A second inning sac fly from Nick Allen drove in the Astros first run to tie the game at 1 in the top of the 2nd.

Allen then ripped a 2-run single in the 4th to give the Astros a 3-2 lead, driving in Christian Walker and Zach Dezenzo. A Christian Vazquez sac fly drove in Brice Matthews to make it a 4-2 game.

In the 6th, Vazquez struck again with an RBI single to score Dezenzo, and increase the lead to 5-2.

An 8th inning solo HR from Jose Altuve pushed the lead to 6-2.

The Nationals got 1 run in the 9th before Josh Hader was summoned to close the game out.

Tomorrow the Astros will send Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA) to the mound looking to win their 7th series in their last 8 against Washington lefty Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87 ERA).

Raise the white flag.

As if a matchup of two last-place teams on a crummy night in Queens wasn’t enough, the Mets had perhaps their sloppiest, ugliest loss of the season against the miserable Royals, 16-12, in a wild game to open a homestand at Citi Field on Tuesday night.

After opening a five-run lead in the fourth, the Mets gave up a dozen straight runs before getting back on the scoreboard.

It came on a night that saw the Royals hand the Mets a three-run Little League homer in the bottom of the first, thanks to three throwing errors on one play.

It came on a night that saw the Royals hand the Mets a three-run Little League homer in the bottom of the first, thanks to three throwing errors on one play.

That proved to be just an appetizer for a bizarre night, and it still couldn’t propel the Mets to a victory, as their ragtag pitching staff was no match for the Royals.

The Mets, short in the bullpen after taxing their pitching staff in back-to-back wins in Atlanta the previous two games, were forced to pitch Kodai Senga on three days’ rest for the first time in his career and then saw Austin Warren fail to retire a batter in the fifth.

That led to Long Island’s Matt Seelinger making his MLB debut in a tie game after a decade in the minors.

Interim manager Andy Green acknowledged the rough condition of the staff and said the team was “forced to make some of those triage decisions along the way.”

A truer statement probably couldn’t be made about this Mets season — until Green followed by saying the game “turned into kind of a perfect storm.”

The aftermath included the Mets falling to 200-2 in franchise history when scoring 12 or more runs, as they wasted a breakout offensive night from A.J. Ewing and a three-run homer by Juan Soto, his 20th of the season.

It began to fall apart when Senga allowed two runs in the second and a pair more in the fourth.

After Soto gave them a five-run lead in the bottom of the inning, Austin Warren entered to start the fifth and allowed all six batters he faced to reach base — and five of them to score, as Kansas City tied the game 9-9.

Warren called his outing “terrible” and noted his poor location.

Instead of the right-hander eating innings, he forced Huascar Brazobán into the game earlier than planned, which left Seelinger to make his MLB debut in a tie game, and the right-hander allowed seven runs.

The Westbury native immediately ran into trouble, as he walked Lane Thomas on four pitches and then gave up an RBI double to Salvador Perez.

Nick Loftin tagged Seelinger for a two-run shot later in the inning.

He survived and pitched a scoreless eighth, but it didn’t matter.

Coming off back-to-back close wins in Atlanta, the Mets returned to Queens, where they’d lost six of seven in their last homestand.

Looking to win a third straight game for the first time since their four-game winning streak at the end of May, the Mets instead suffered another brutal defeat.

“The season presents these challenges,’’ Green said before the game of the team’s depleted bullpen.

He couldn’t have foreseen this one coming, though.

And it doesn’t figure to get much better anytime soon for a Mets team that is already staggering to the All-Star break with seemingly no answers on the horizon.

Do you like offense? I hope you like offense. One day after scoring 15 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Kansas City Royals topped that by scoring even more in a 16-12 win over the New York Mets.

So much happened tonight that it would be a very long and very boring blog if I recounted what happened inning by inning. Instead, we’ll approach this in a series of vignettes, accompanied by video highlights.

One of the worst defensive plays, well, ever

The United States Men’s National Soccer Team proved yesterday that highly skilled, trained, and motivated athletes can and do screw up bigtime even when they really shouldn’t. Before any of the run-scoring shenanigans, the Royals channeled their inner USMNT and completely botched some defense.

In the above play, Seth Lugo made a throwing error to first base. Then, Jac Caglianone made a throwing error to…somewhere. Finally, Nick Loftin made a throwing error to home plate. It was truly a travesty of a play. But thankfully, it wasn’t all.

Tyler Tolbert takes over

Two days ago, Tyler Tolbert got a hit. His next time up, he got another yet. Yesterday, Tolbert got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit.

Today, Tolbert stepped up to the plate in the second inning. He got another hit, a home run, for his eighth consecutive hit.

Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the fourth inning, he collected his ninth consecutive hit, an opposite field single. In the top of the fifth inning, Tolbert notched his 10th consecutive hit, an infield single. Things were reaching ridiculous heights. In the top of the sixth inning, Tolbert notched yet another consecutive hit, another infield single. It was his 11th straight hit.

But Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the seventh inning, Tolbert notched his 12th consecutive hit, tied for the most all time in MLB history. Like, ever.

While Tolbert wouldn’t be able to get a 13th consecutive hit, he matched the record—first set by Johnny Kling in 1902 and then Pinky Higgins in 1938, Walt Dropo in 1952, and Jose Miranda in 2024.

Rally rally rally rally

My first title for this recap was not exactly kind, as a poor start by Seth Lugo put the Royals in a colossal hole. And yet, they persisted. After the Mets scored three in the bottom of the first inning, the Royals scored a pair on the aforementioned Tolbert home run. After the Mets scored two more of their own in the bottom of the second, the Royals scored another pair in the top of the fourth on the above Lane Thomas hit.

And after the Mets scored another quartet of runs in the bottom of that very inning to put them up 9-4, the Royals tied it up in the fifth with a five-run frame that included doubles by Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins, and Michael Massey.

Another scoring spree to put the game away

Royals pitching was very bad, and on most nights it would have done Kansas City in. Lugo gave up six earned runs, let alone the other three that were partially due to the Errortastrophe from earlier, of which he contributed. John Schreiber gave up two more. And Matt Strahm gave up one of his own, punctuating a thoroughly disappointing year for the returning Royal.

But gosh darn it, it didn’t matter. With the game knotted at nine-all, Kansas City hung another seven runs on the Mets. A Salvy double. A Nick Loftin homer. Another Thomas double. Walks and more walks. It was a bloodbath, with poor Matt Seelinger wearing the whole inning on his own.

What a game. Anything can happen in nine innings, after all. And for Tolbert, maybe another nine and change.