NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. found a way to keep Aaron Judge’s bat in the New York Yankees’ lineup.
After lumbering through the early innings, Chisholm borrowed lumber from the injured Yankees captain. His three-run homer with Judge’s model capped a five-run eighth inning in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
“When I pick up his bat I know I can’t swing as hard as I can or else I’ll tear an oblique like last year,” Chisholm said. “It just helps me to just go out there and just control the barrel and just try to touch the ball.”
“I probably use almost everybody’s bat in here, except probably Goldy and Stanton,” Chisholm said, referring to Paul Goldschmidt. “They’re a little bit extra big.”
While Chisholm swings a 34-ounce, 31-inch version, Judge’s timber is a 35/33, also carved by Chandler.
“It’s a heavy bat but doesn’t feel that heavy,” said Cody Bellinger, whose solo homer off Justin Slaten broke a 1-all tie in the eighth. “I didn’t even know he used Judge’s bat. It’s hilarious.”
Judge has a fractured rib and will be limited in his activity for a while. He will have additional imaging in about four-to-six weeks.
Stanton hasn’t played since April 24 because of strained right calf, and catcher Austin Wells joined them on the injured list Saturday because of cervical headaches.
New York is confident it can win without Judge, its three-time AL MVP.
“I’m already a little tired of answering the question and we’re only a couple of days into this,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We got grownups in the room, for sure.”
New York is 2-3 without Judge, batting .226 with 19 runs.
“Everybody just, it feels like they’ve got to find a way to contribute as best they could in his absence,” Chisholm said.
Chisholm struck out leading off the third, fifth and seventh against Ranger Suarez, then hit his eighth home run this season on a first-pitch cutter from Joe La Sorsa, who had just replaced Slaten.
“I was swinging and missing when I thought I was hitting the ball,” Chisholm said. “Sometimes you need a little bit more weight and a little less on your swing.”
He started slowly this season but is hitting .306 with four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 19 games, raising his average to .234.
Judge also began poorly — for him — and is batting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs.
“Just having his name in that lineup is a presence,” Bellinger said. “Aaron being out is just such a huge loss.”
Stanton could return soon. He’s been hitting on the field and running.
Wells, hitting .166 with seven RBIs in 47 games, said he feels pressure at the top of his head and headaches. He is to have scans Monday and will switch to a hockey-style catcher’s mask when he returns behind the plate.
“Hopefully rule out anything serious,” he said. “In my mind it’s just the cumulative buildup over the last couple weeks.”
New York (38-26) gained a split of the rain-shortened, two-game series and moved within percentage points of first-place Tampa Bay (37-25), which has led the AL East since May 10.
Chisholm surely will purloin more paraphernalia during the pennant race. He’s just not sure what.
Jun 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) celebrates after hitting a one run home run during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images
The Mets beat the Padres 7-3 at Petco Park to take the series in San Diego and end this West Coast roadtrip on a high note. Carson Benge made Mets history, going 5-for-5 with a home run, a triple, two RBIs, and three runs scored in the best offensive performance by any Met so far this season.
The Mets got things started right away when Carson Benge and Bo Bichette logged back-to-back hits off Padres starter Randy Vásquez with Benge lacing a single and Bichette pulling a double to left field with authority. The Mets seemed poised for a big inning, but settled for just one run on a Juan Soto RBI groundout that scored Benge for the game’s first run. Vásquez struck out Jared Young and retired A.J. Ewing on a fly out to keep the Mets from putting up a crooked number.
The Padres threatened in the bottom of the inning against opener Huascar Brazobán when he issued back-to-back walks to lead off the inning, but he induced a double play grounder off the bat of Ty France and got Manny Machado to fly out to navigate out of trouble and keep the Padres off the board. Marcus Semien doubled the Mets’ lead in the top of the second by launching a solo homer—his fifth long ball in the past 12 games. Sean Manaea then came in the game for the Mets and was assisted through the second inning by a highlight reel worthy diving grab by MJ Melendez in left field on a sharp fly ball off the bat of Miguel Andújar.
Manaea really settled in after that, at one point retiring eight straight batters. Meanwhile, the Mets granted him some extra cushion in the form of two more runs in the fifth. Benge singled to lead things off—his third hit of the game. Bichette followed with a single of his own and then Vásquez walked Juan Soto to load the bases with nobody out. The Padres got their bullpen moving quickly, but not before Jared Young laced single to score Benge and extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0. Vásquez then made way for lefty Yuki Matsui to face A.J. Ewing, who hit a deep enough fly ball to right field to score Bo Bichette from third and make it 4-0 Mets. However, Juan Soto was thrown out trying to tag up to third, so two outs were recorded on the play. Marcus Semien then threatened for his second home run of the afternoon, but Samad Taylor, who flashed the leather multiple times in this contest, made a nice catch up against the wall to end the inning and keep the Padres within striking distance.
And strike they did. After Taylor followed his strong defensive work with a one-out single in the fifth, Freddy Fermin continued his sudden resurgence with a two-run homer to cut the Mets’ lead in half to 4-2. Fernando Tatís Jr. quickly doubled down the left field line for the third straight hit off Manaea, who had been cruising until that point. But luckily after Jackson Merrill flew out to left for the second out, Tatís foolishly tried to steal third base with two outs and was thrown out to get Manaea out of the jam and keep the Mets in front.
The Mets piled on against Matsui, who came back out to pitch the sixth. Matsui, who had only given up one earned run all season prior to this afternoon’s outing, yielded two earned runs today in the form of solo homers by MJ Melendez and Carson Benge that extended the Mets’ lead to four runs once more. That home run by Benge represented his fourth hit of the afternoon, raising his wRC+ back over 100 for the season.
Brooks Raley delivered a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning, complete with two strikeouts. A.J. Minter contributed a scoreless seventh, working around a leadoff infield single by Miguel Andújar, who had to depart for a pinch runner after appearing to tweak something running to first base to beat out the throw. In Ron Marinaccio’s third inning of work, he issued a leadoff walk to Brett Baty and then with two outs, who else but Carson Benge laced a triple to right field to drive in the Mets’ seventh run—an exclamation point on a 5-for-5 afternoon for the rookie. With that triple, Benge became the first Met to log a five-hit game since 2023 when both Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo did it and just the fourth Mets rookie to have a five-hit game that included a home run.
The Padres managed to get runners on first and third against Luke Weaver in the eighth in part due to a throwing error by Brett Baty that prolonged the inning. Xander Bogaerts then clobbered a ball that seemed destined for the gap in left-center, but A.J. Ewing turned on the jets and tracked it down, making an impressive running catch. The Mets loaded the bases against Wandy Peralta in the ninth, raising the possibility of getting Benge a sixth at-bat, but it was not meant to be and the Mets did not score in the inning. Devin Williams, who hadn’t pitched since Monday, came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth despite the lopsided score and gave up a run on a walk and an RBI double by Freddy Fermin (who else), but still was able to seal the victory for the Mets. This was the first road series victory for the Mets in a month and they now return home for a tough stretch of games against the Cardinals and Braves.
Big Mets winner: Carson Benge, +17% WPA Big Mets loser: A.J. Ewing, -9% WPA Mets pitchers: +20% WPA Mets hitters: +30% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette’s first inning double off Randy Vásquez, +10.6% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Freddy Fermin’s two-run homer off Sean Manaea in the fifth, -13.0% WPA
The Mets closed their road trip with a 7-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
Here are some takeaways...
-- After being held to just two runs during the middle-game on Saturday night, the Mets' offense was able to breakthrough against right-hander Randy Vásquez and the high-powered Padres' bullpen in this one, striking for seven runs on four walks and 13 hits to secure the series victory.
-- New York's biggest catalysts were at the top of the order. Carson Benge put together a tremendous performance, going 5-for-5 and finishing a double shy of the cycle. The rookie homered left-on-left, then tripled in the eighth after singling in each of his first three at-bats.
-- Bo Bichette also stayed hot with another multi-hit game. Bichette immediately followed a first inning Benge single with his third extra base-hit of the road trip off the left-field fence, then ripped a base-hit and scored a run of his own as the Mets pieced together a rally in the top of the fifth.
-- Marcus Semien continued swinging a good bat too, homering for the second straight day. The veteran infielder jumped all over a third-pitch hanging slider leading off the second, crushing it 360 feet to deep left to give him eight home runs on the season and a .273 average over his last seven games.
-- MJ Melendez received the start in left, and he made his presence felt on both sides of the ball. He made a tremendous diving catch to rob the Padres of extra-bases with a man in the bottom of the second, then lifted a left-on-left solo homer a few batters before Benge followed suit in the sixth.
-- Melendez's catch helped Sean Manaea piece together another strong outing. The lefty retired eight batters in order before San Diego was able to get to him with three straight hits in the eighth, with the big blow being Freddy Fermin's second two-run homer in as many days.
Fernando Tatis Jr. followed that with a double to left, but he helped Manaea off the hook, inexcusably getting gunned down trying to steal third to end the inning. Manaea allowed just the two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three across four innings of work, giving him a 3.43 ERA over his last seven appearances.
-- Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and Luke Weaver worked through three scoreless innings, Devin Williams gave up a two out run-scoring knock to Fermin in the ninth.
-- Weaver was helped out by A.J. Ewing's stellar outfield defense to keep his scoreless streak alive, as the youngster raced back into deep left-center to rob the Padres of extra-bases. Ewing also pushed his hitting streak to five games with a ninth inning single.
-- New York closed the final West Coast swing of the regular season 3-3 against the Mariners and Padres, and they are now 7-3 over their last 10 games.
Game MVP: Carson Benge
The youngster continues to do a tremendous job setting the table atop the Mets' lineup.
DENVER, CO - JUNE 7: Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland #21 of the Colorado Rockies acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for pitching the most innings in Colorado Rockies history in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field on June 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On a hot and windy day, Sunday’s finale started off promising but ended looking incredibly lopsided. A fitting end to a series in which the Rockies made each game feel close in a way that would be difficult to understand simply by looking at the final scores.
The Rockies were ahead 3-1 heading into the sixth on the back of one of Kyle Freeland’s best starts of the season only to see it all unravel in a flash. Eventually the Brewers would come around to score eleven more times to finish off a series sweep with a final 12-4 score.
Freeland makes Rockies history
When Kyle Freeland induced an easy fly out from Luis Rengifo in the fifth inning, he officially passed Aaron Cook to become the franchise leader in innings pitched. It came on a day in which Freeland’s results on the mound were as good as they had been all season and the fans in attendance greeted the moment with an ovation that briefly stopped play.
Leading up to that moment in the fifth, the only trouble Freeland had run into was a laborious second inning that got off to a bad start when a ten-pitch battle against Andrew Vaughn ended in a single. Vaughn would eventually come around to score on a double by Rengifo before Freeland was able to get out of the inning by inducing a ground out from Blake Perkins.
Freeland followed that second inning up with three scoreless frames featuring five ground outs. These grounders stopped Jackson Chourio, who had Freeland’s number all day, from scoring after doubling in both the third and the fifth.
Coming back out for a third time through the order in the sixth turned out to be a mistake. Freeland lasted only an additional seven pitches and allowed a loud line drive single to William Contreras who would be driven in by a triple by Vaughn that Jake McCarthy just missed on a diving play.
That was enough for Jaden Hill to be called in from the bullpen. Hill would promptly allow a home run to Brewers catcher Gary Sánchez leaving Freeland’s final line as a solid but less noteworthy three runs allowed on seven hits over five innings pitched. Todays performance lowered Freeland’s ERA on the season to a still unsightly 7.81.
An uneven offensive performance
It did not take long for the Rockies to capitalize on some shaky defense from the Brewers. In the bottom of the first, Willi Castro reached base on an infield popup that was lost in the sun before Ezequiel Tovar drove him in on a double to right center that Garrett Mitchell overran.
Tovar himself eventually came around to score on a sacrifice grounder from Hunter Goodman that Vaughn bobbled at first.
The Brewers defense tightened up and starting pitcher Shane Drohan settled down for relatively uneventful next three innings. In that span, Drohan struck out four and the only Rockies to reach base were Kyle Karros on a one out walk in the fourth and Troy Johnston who led off the third with a warning track double.
Then came the fifth where Braxton Fulford just missed a homer with a double to left center. Some old school situational hitting followed with Chad Stevens grounding out to the right side of the infield allowing Fulford to get to third. Johnston followed that up with a fly ball to Brewers left fielder Chourio who attempted, and just barely failed, to throw out Fulford at home.
After the sixth came and went in the blink of an eye, the Rockies were finally able to chase Drohan out of the game in the seventh after a McCarthy single. The Brewers bullpen was able to strand McCarthy to end the seventh. A similar story played out in the eighth when Castro plopped a bloop single but was promptly out on a Tovar initiated double play directly after.
In the bottom of the ninth, before McCarthy struck out to end the game, Goodman gave the remaining fans at Coors one last parting gift in the form of his 17th home run of the season, a solo shot to dead center.
Jaden Hill continued his recent struggles with a performance that ultimately led to the Rockies loss. Hill came in for Freeland in the fifth, allowed a home run to Sánchez on his very first pitch, and was only able to get a single out with his 22 pitches.
After the home run, Hill allowed a barrage of four more runs on a double to Mitchell, walks from both Rengifo and Joey Ortiz, and singles from both Perkins and Brice Turang. When it became clear Hill was not going to be able to get out of the inning any time soon, he was replaced by Keegan Thompson.
Thompson took the ball and was tasked with finishing out the remainder of the game regardless of how ugly things got. For the first two and two thirds innings, he managed to keep the Brewers right where they were with the only blemish being a double by Mitchell in the seventh.
Then came the ninth and, not coincidentally, Thompson’s second time through the lineup. Contreras and Vaughn opened up the frame with back-to-back singles that likely would have spelled the end of Thompson’s day if the game had been close. Instead, Thompson stayed in and went on to allow a four runs via a triple from Mitchell and doubles from Sánchez and Ortiz.
By the time Thompson was able to strike Chourio out to end the inning, the Brewers had pushed their score for the day up to 12.
Some sloppy fielding
The two-run rally in the first was kicked off when Turang lost what would have usually been an easy pop up in the sun.
Later in the game both teams began challenging pitch calls left and right. Goodman was three for five in challenges behind the plate while Sánchez, his counterpart on the Brewers only managed one success on three attempts.
In the outfield, McCarthy almost made a couple of spectacular plays thanks to his range… but didn’t manage to make the grab on either and ended up allowing a pair of triples instead. The game very well could have played out very differently if McCarthy had been able to convert these into outs.
Tomorrow the Rockies will have an off day before the Chicago Cubs come to town on Tuesday.
The starters for that Tuesday game have yet to be announced, however, it would be both Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野智之) and Colin Rea’s natural turn in their respective rotations.
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 06: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after getting the save during the MLB game between the Pittsburg Pirates and the Atlanta Braves on June 6, 2026 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
I mentioned in the series recap for the Toronto Blue Jays series that the relative lack of sweeps for the Atlanta Braves in the midst of this excellent season so far was the definition of complaining about first-world problems as far as baseball was concerned. It’s difficult to complain about anything when Atlanta has both the best record in baseball and the largest divisional lead as well and pointing out a lack of sweeps felt like the textbook definition of making a nitpick.
Well, the Braves decided to shush that particular nitpick with the performance that they delivered over the course of this weekend series. While it certainly helped matters that the Braves lucked out by avoiding Paul Skenes during this series, the pitching matchup still figured to be a tough one for Atlanta since Pittsburgh’s pitching staff has been effective for them all season. As such, the Braves were going to have to lock in at the plate in order to get the job done across all three games. As it turned out (and as you’d expect with the way this team has performed so far), Atlanta was up for the challenge and now it’s time to take a closer look at how it all went down.
This has been a pretty big week for Mauricio Dubón — you know that’s the case when you’re in the podium twice during a homestand. That was the case for Dubón, who earned some more praise from the media with his performance in the series-opening win for the Braves over the Pirates. Dubón went 2-for-4 with three RBI and as you can imagine, all of those hits and RBI came in very big moments for the Braves. When the Braves were down 3-1 in the third, Dubón came through with a homer on a two-strike count against Mitch Keller to tie the game up. He then delivered another two-strike hit on Keller with an RBI double in the fifth that put the Braves ahead.
As it turned out, the Braves went ahead for good after Dubón’s big hit. Dominic Smith hit a deep sacrifice fly to give the Braves some breathing room and then Austin Riley hit a double off the bricks in right field for another RBI that pushed the lead to 6-3. Following another solid outing from Martín Pérez, the back-end of Atlanta’s bullpen delivered another strong performance and while Raisel Iglesias did have to deal with two baserunners in the ninth, he held them where they stood on the base paths and the game ended 6-3 for Atlanta.
The Braves paid tribute to the French Open by throwing a couple of 6-3’s on the scoreboard this weekend. Of course I’m kidding but it was still lovely to see the Braves take the series in “straight sets” of sorts with another big win. Braxton Ashcraft got the nod for this one, which meant that there was an expectation for there to be tough sledding for Atlanta’s lineup in this one. As it turned out, Atlanta ended up giving Ashcraft his worst lashing since back in April, which is when he gave up six runs in 4.1 innings against the Cardinals.
This time, Atlanta got him for six runs in five innings as the Braves hit him early and often. Ozzie Albies got Atlanta on the board with a sacrifice fly and then Austin Riley continued his productive weekend with an RBI double that gave Atlanta a quick two-run lead in the first inning. Mauricio Dubón actually got credit for stealing home in the third inning, though it was less of him being like Jackie Robinson and more of Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez essentially giving the Braves a run on a terrible throw attempt to second while trying to catch Ozzie Albies stealing. Atlanta was up 3-0 and life was good.
Life got less good once Spencer Strider eventually gave up the only three runs that both he and the pitching staff would give up on this day. Strider gave up three doubles in the fourth inning that turned into two runs for the Pirates — though Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson combined for one fantastic relay play to get Oneil Cruz out at home in order to make sure that Tyler Callihan’s RBI double was worth just one run instead of two. Pittsburgh then tied the game in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly from Brandon Lowe (who exited this game in scary fashion in the ninth inning after he fouled a ball off of his knee. Thankfully, he ended up being okay and played on Sunday) and just like that, the Braves were in need of some timeline hitting to get the game back under control.
Fortunately, it is extremely difficult to keep this Braves lineup quiet for long stretches and Braxton Ashcraft was unable to do so. A Ronald Acuña Jr. leadoff single followed by a one-out Matt Olson single and a double steal for the two of them eventually turned into Ozzie Albies putting Atlanta back in front with a sacrifice fly. That type of good ol’ fashioned baseball must have pleased the baseball gods because we got another Big Dominic Smith Moment right after Ozzie’s sacrifice fly. Smith hit a bullet out to left field that looked like it was hooking foul right up until it didn’t, as it stayed far and cleared the short fence in left for a two-run dinger that made it 6-3. The bullpen once again kept Pittsburgh’s offense quiet from that point forward and the Braves were able to celebrate their 18th series win in 21 attempts!
We’ve been here before. The Braves have had their chances to pull off a sweep only to trip up at the last hurdle. Shoot, we saw it earlier this week when the Blue Jays essentially received all the good fortune that had eluded them in the first two games doled out upon them in the final game. At first glance, this appeared to be more of the same for the Braves in sweep attempts as the Pirates led this one 2-0 after six innings. Bryce Elder did a bang-up job of throwing yet another six solid innings but Pittsburgh’s combination of Mason Montgomery as an opener and Bubba Chandler as the bulk guy seemed to be too much for the Braves on this day.
Alas, a hero ended up emerging from the dugout once the Braves had a golden chance to turn things around in the seventh inning. Michael Harris II had left Friday’s game in the ninth inning due to back tightness and sat out Saturday’s game as a result. We’ve been through this before with Money Mike as well, where he’s been banged up but was able to avoid an IL stint while also contributing off the bench despite his ailments. As such, he got called upon to pinch hit for Sandy León with the bases loaded and one out in this frame.
With all due respect to Sandy (who actually got a hit during this game!), the Braves needed some real firepower in this situation and Money Mike delivered. The second pitch Harris saw from reliever Evan Sisk got shot out to the wall in right field for a bases-clearing, three-RBI double that sent the fans in Cobb County on a wet and dreary day into delirium at the fact that Money Mike had cashed in another pinch-hit opportunity.
With Atlanta’s bullpen having been pushed to its limits in the first two games, we got an unusual-but-still-effective trio of relievers who came in to finish things off. Reynaldo López made sure that the Braves stayed within striking distance of the Pirates and then Tyler Kinley got out of a mini-jam in the eighth inning in order to ensure that the Braves went into the ninth with the lead. Didier Fuentes was tasked with protecting that lead and he ended up pulling it off with two strikeouts and a pop out. Fuentes picked up his first career save, the Braves picked up their first sweep since early-May (their third overall and their first home sweep as well) and made it 45 wins on the season so far. Not too shabby, eh?
There you have it! The Braves have finally swept someone at home and now that the Phillies have kept their resurgence going (and this following stat only brings me small solace that that particular development), two of Atlanta’s three sweeps this season have come against teams who are over .500. At this particular point in time, it doesn’t matter if a team is flying high or scraping the bottom of the barrel; the Braves are are going to give their opponents a bad time for at least two of those games.
12 runs in the first two games against the Pirates is pretty impressive, especially considering that Pittsburgh had Braxton Ashcraft going in the second game. In terms of fWAR, Ashcraft had been essentially running even with Paul Skenes and had been looking primed for a breakout season. That might still happen but at least the Braves were able to make sure that they served as a very nasty speed bump for Ashcraft to navigate over the course of his potential breakout season. Atlanta’s pitching staff also came up pretty big and a special shoutout goes to the bullpen for making sure that Pittsburgh had a tough time in the latter stages of these games. The Braves’ bullpen has been very effective over the course of this season and this may have been one of their finest hours, yet.
While I think we were all hoping to see Ronald Acuña Jr. keep up his performance after he went off in Boston and Cleveland, I’m sure that we’re all pleased with seeing guys like Mauricio Dubón and Dominic Smith continue to come up big when they’re asked to do so. Money Mike also proved that he’s got an incredible knack for coming up big in pinch-hitting situations (and it was huge that he’s avoided another IL stint, to boot). It’s those type of performances that have allowed the Braves to not just succeed this season but to thrive. YOu never know who’s going to be the hero on most nights, which is a great place to be since that means that this team is getting positive production from everybody on the roster. Even Sandy León is contributing to the cause with his reliable defense behind the plate and his own knack for nailing ABS challenges.
In summation, the Braves continue to make sure that they’re in a lovely place at the moment. The White Sox will surely provide a serious challenge in Atlanta’s next series and while the Mets may be in last place, New York always tends to make things tough for the Braves so this next week will provide its own set of unique challenges. With that being said, this is some type of run that the Braves are on and it’s tough to envision it ending any time soon.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 07: José Tena #6 of the Washington Nationals turns a double play on a ground ball hit by LuJames Groover #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks as Geraldo Perdomo #2 is forced out at second base during the fourth inning at Chase Field on June 07, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Nationals dominated the first two games in Arizona, but they were not able to truly chop the head off of the snakes. This lack of killer instinct has become a pattern for the Nats this season. In the last month, the Nats have had four chances to sweep a team, and have been unable to each time.
In the past month the Nationals have had 2-0 series lead vs the:
Reds Orioles Guardians Diamondbacks
They have failed to get the sweep every time…#Natitude
For the Nats to truly separate themselves from the .500 mark, they are going to have to sweep some series. Given the talent on the roster, I just don’t think that is very likely. When opposing teams desperately need a win and throw everything they have, it is usually enough to overcome the Nats. As more talent is added to the roster, hopefully that will change.
This phenomenon is mostly a talent issue in my opinion, but you also have to look at the mentality. It did not feel like the Nats were playing with the same sort of urgency in this one. They were giving away at bats more often than they usually do, and just looked lethargic in the field. That play where Jose Tena took too much time to turn a double play summed up the Nats afternoon. They were one step behind the Snakes all game.
The Nats were behind the 8 ball right from the jump. In the first two games, the Nats were the ones hitting homers in the first inning. However, it was Corbin Carroll doing the slugging today. Cavalli threw an 0-2 pitch that caught way too much of the plate, and the D-Backs star made him pay.
However, the Nats responded quickly via a CJ Abrams homer. He pounced on a pitch from former teammate Michael Soroka and sent it into the right field bullpen. Abrams has mastered the art of pulling the ball in the air. It is a big reason why he is hitting so many homers despite average raw power.
That would be all the offense on the day for the Nats though. They made a few good cuts, but it always seemed like a D-Backs defender was in the perfect spot. On the other side, it felt like every Diamondbacks bloop was falling. For the most part though, the Nats offense was being shut down by Soroka.
You have to give Soroka a lot of credit. This is not an easy lineup to tame, and that is exactly what he did. Soroka’s command was super sharp today, and that breaking ball had plenty of bite. Unlike last year, Soroka’s stuff stayed strong deep into his outing. If you know Soroka’s story, he is an easy guy to root for, so it is nice to see him having success.
— Goldschmidt Happened (@GoldyHappens) June 7, 2026
For Cade Cavalli, I did not think he looked awful, but was not at his best. He was so close to getting out of his start with 2 runs through five innings, but threw a terrible pitch to Gabriel Moreno. That two run homer was the back breaker in this game.
After Cavalli exited, Riley Cornelio came in the game. Similar to his first big league outing, Cornelio did not look comfortable out there. He got out of a second and third nobody out jam in his first inning, but surrendered a run in his second frame. Cornelio’s command was all over the place and the confidence still did not look there.
This was a pretty lifeless game for the Nats, who only had three hits on the day. Next up is a trip to San Francisco where they matchup with an underperforming Giants team. Another series win would be a big step in the right direction.
CUBS vs. GIANTS AT WRIGLEY: The Cubs lost the rubber game of last year’s series at home against the Giants, after winning the first and losing the second. Two years ago, they won the third game after losing the first and winning the second, as they did this year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
RUN SCORING NOTES: When the Cubs have scored at least three runs, as they did yesterday, their record is an impressive 30-15. They are 2-5 in games with exactly three and 4-16 with two or fewer. They are 18-4 when they have allowed no more than two and 20-6 with no more than three. With at least four, they are 14-25. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER: The Cubs’ last five games have been decided by one, one, one, 15 and one run. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
WINNING WHEN COMING FROM BEHIND: The Cubs erased two deficits yesterday, 1-0 and 2-1. It was the third game this season in which they have come from behind twice and they have won them all. The previous two both were walk-offs against the Reds, on May 4 (behind 3-0 and 4-3 before winning in the ninth, 5-4) and May 6 (behind 1-0 and 6-4 before winning in the 10th, 7-6). The Cubs have erased 27 total deficits in 24 different games. They are 15-9 in those games, having won three of four following five straight losses. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Jameson Taillon has had a rough year, but also has made some very good starts, including last time out, last Tuesday against the A’s. Hope that continues.
Current Giants are batting .169 (11-for-65) against Taillon, though with four home runs (two by Rafael Devers, one each by Matt Chapman and Willy Adames). That should not surprise you.
Keep the ball in the yard tonight, Jamo.
Trevor McDonald is making his ninth MLB start. Of the previous eight, six have come this year, so he comes in with just 52 innings of MLB experience. He was the Giants’ 11th round pick out of George County High School in Lucedale, Mississippi in 2019, and I mention the specific school because that’s the same school that produced Justin Steele.
Of his six starts this year, five were decent to good, he got pounded in the other one May 22 by the White Sox (seven runs in 3.2 innings).
McDonald has never faced the Cubs. The only Cub who’s seen him is Michael Conforto (1-for-3).
Today’s game is on NBC (full national broadcast, no blackouts). It’s also streaming on Peacock. Announcers: Jason Benetti, Jim Deshaies and Hunter Pence. Anthony Rizzo is the dugout reporter.
Please visit our SB Nation Giants site McCovey Chronicles. If you do go there to interact with Giants fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Jun 7, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) steps on home plate to score a run after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Athletics took on the Houston Astros this morning, seeking to avoid being swept by their division rivals. The A’s salvaged the series finale with a 5-0 victory, ending the road trip on a high note. Jump lived up to his top-100 prospect pedigree, as his second straight quality start resulted in his second MLB win. Meanwhile, his teammates provided more than enough run support.
Both Teams Waste Early Scoring Chances
The A’s went down quietly to start the game against Astros’ starting pitcher Mike Burrows. In the bottom of the first, the Astros got two runners on base. However, Athletics’ starting pitcher Gage Jump escaped the jam by getting Houston’s third baseman Isaac Paredes to ground into an inning-ending double play.
A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom led off the second by drawing a walk, extending his on-base streak to 17 consecutive games. With one out, center fielder Lawrence Butler got a much-needed base hit up the middle. Nevertheless, Burrows retired the next two A’s hitters to escape the two-on, one-out jam without allowing any damage.
A’s Put Up A Three-Spot
The Athletics took the lead in the top of the third. Shortstop Alika Williams singled and then first baseman Nick Kurtz crushed his 12th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right-center that left the bat at 114 mph.
The A’s were not done that inning. With one out, catcher Shea Langeliers blooped a single to right field, then stole second—his first stolen base of the season—before scoring on designated hitter Brent Rooker’s two-out RBI double down the left-field line.
A’s third baseman Zack Gelof opened the fourth with a double to left, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. With two outs, Gelof scored on Astros’ shortstop Jeremy Pena’s fielding error, a play that should been made for the third out of the inning.
Kurtz, who hit the grounder that was misplayed, proceeded to steal his seventh base of the campaign. A couple batters later, Burrows got Langeliers to pop out, ending the inning.
Rooker and Butler Standing Out
Rooker stayed hot, following up his RBI double by crushing his 10th home run of the season, a solo blast to the left-field seats with one out in the fifth inning. After Rooker’s home run, Butler collected his second single of the game, a positive sign for the struggling but talented outfielder.
The Astros went to their bullpen in the sixth inning, bringing in left-hander Steven Okert to replace Burrows, who allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings. Okert pitched Houston’s first scoreless inning since the second.
Jump pitched into the seventh inning, exiting after allowing a single and a walk. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. While Jump recorded only three strikeouts, he did a good job of keeping Astros hitters off balance, inducing seven groundouts and four fly outs.
A’s Bullpen Seals the Victory
Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner replaced Jump, inheriting the two Astros baserunners. Sterner wiggled out of that jam unscathed, helped by Butler’s nice running catch on Astros’ pinch-hitter Lamonte Wade Jr’s line drive that seemed ticketed for the right field corner.
Fellow right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. tossed a scoreless eighth inning, keeping the A’s shutout hopes alive while extending his scoreless innings streak to 11 2/3 innings. Left-hander Hogan Harris completed the shutout, recording the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth to seal the A’s 5-0 victory.
This win was exactly what the doctor ordered, snapping the A’s losing streak and enabling the team to finish its road trip at .500 rather than with a losing record.
Las Vegas Series Preview
Now, the team heads to “Sin City” for six home games at its Triple-A affiliate’s ballpark. Tomorrow evening, the Athletics will begin a three-game series against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers at the launching pad known as Las Vegas Ballpark.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who has struggled recently, will make his 14th start of the season for the A’s. Springs is still searching for his first win since April, a drought he hopes to end in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in the minor leagues. The Brewers will counter with left-hander Kyle Harrison, the latest pitcher to benefit from Milwaukee ‘s pitching development magic. The Bay Area native is 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA through his first 11 starts with the Brewers.
PHOENIX — Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run homer, Michael Soroka threw seven effective innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a series sweep with a 5-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks’ bats came to life after losing the series’ first two games by a combined score of 20-2.
Corbin Carroll hit a solo homer in the first inning off Cade Cavalli (3-4) and Moreno added his two-run shot off the right-hander in the fifth.
Pavin Smith hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put Arizona up 5-1.
Soroka (8-3) gave up a leadoff homer to CJ Abrams in the second inning and two other hits. He struck out six and walked two.
It was Soroka’s first start of at least seven innings and one or fewer runs allowed since Aug. 10, 2019.
Washington finished with three hits after bashing the Diamondbacks for 24 the previous two games combined.
The Diamondbacks were held to two hits in Saturday’s 6-1 loss, but had more than that by the second inning against Cavalli.
Carroll hit an 0-2 breaking ball onto the pool deck in right-center in the first inning, and Ryan Waldschmidt put Arizona up 2-1 with an RBI groundout in the fourth.
Moreno made it 4-0 in the fifth with his fourth homer, a two-run shot off the back of Arizona’s bullpen in left.
Cavalli allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
Up next
Nationals RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at San Francisco on Monday.
The Diamondbacks have a day off before RHP Zac Gallen (3-5, 5.32) pitches against Miami on Tuesday to open a three-game series.
DENVER, CO - JUNE 7: Center fielder Jake McCarthy #31 of the Colorado Rockies collides with the wall on a two RBI triple off the bat of Garrett Mitchell of the Milwaukee Brewers in the ninth inning at Coors Field on June 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
DENVER, CO - JUNE 7: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a two RBI triple in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For five innings on Sunday afternoon, the Brewers looked on their way to a disappointing afternoon. They were hitting the ball okay, but they weren’t stringing hits together. Some early defensive lapses gifted the Rockies an early lead, which held at 3-1 through five innings. But in the sixth, the dam burst, and Milwaukee commenced an offensive assault on a series of Rocky relievers. Milwaukee scored seven in the sixth and added four more in the ninth, and another solid day for Shane Drohan and the Brewer pitching staff gave the Brewers a comfortable victory and just the second sweep Milwaukee has ever achieved in Denver.
Jackson Chourio led off the game with a single to right off of starter Kyle Freeland, but Brice Turang struck out and William Contreras grounded into a double play. In the bottom of the first, the Brewers were let down by some sketchy defense. Willi Castro, the Rockies’ leadoff hitter, hit a pop-up on the right side of the infield. Vaughn gave way to Turang, but Turang lost it in the sun, and it dropped on the infield dirt. Castro was awarded a single. Next up was Ezequiel Tovar, and he hit what should’ve been a single to center field… but Mitchell misplayed it, and it got past him. Blake Perkins recovered it and threw to the infield, but not before Castro scored and Tovar made it to second. The official scorer ruled it a double, so through two batters, the Rockies had a single and a double, though they should’ve had a pop-out and a single.
Tovar moved to third when TJ Rumfield flew out to right, and he scored when Hunter Goodman hit a weak grounder to first. Kyle Karros flew out to end the inning, but they had an early 2-0 lead, and Drohan had two extremely tough-luck earned runs on his line.
Milwaukee got half the runs back in the top of the second. Andrew Vaughn led off with a hard single at the end of a 10-pitch at-bat. Gary Sánchez flew out, and Mitchell struck out, but an unlikely source came through with two outs: Luis Rengifo crushed a line drive at 109.2 mph into left-center that rolled all the way to the wall, and Vaughn scored from first. A Perkins groundout ended the inning, but the score was 2-1.
Rengifo doubles in a run to cut the deficit in half
Drohan had a much nicer second inning, 1-2-3 with a strikeout. In the top of the third, Chourio hit a one-out double on a hard grounder down the left-field line. But Turang flew out and Contreras grounded out, and Milwaukee was unable to capitalize. Troy Johnston led off the bottom of the third with a double, but Drohan worked out of it with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to end the inning.
Freeland worked a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth with consecutive groundouts from Vaughn, Sánchez, and Mitchell. Drohan walked Karros with one out in the bottom of the inning, but Jake McCarthy grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Perkins walked with one out in the top of the fifth, and after Joey Ortiz flew out to center, Chourio jumped on the first pitch and lined another double into the right-field corner — on just the third pitch he’d seen on the day, he had his third hit. Unfortunately, Chourio hit it hard enough that Perkins couldn’t score from first and had to hold at third. Turang hit a ground ball to first and nearly beat Freeland to the bag, but he didn’t quite beat him, and the inning ended with two runners stranded in scoring position.
Braxton Fulford lined a double to the wall to lead off the bottom of the fifth and moved to third on a Chad Stevens groundout. Johnston hit a fly ball to medium-shallow left field, and Fulford tested Chourio’s arm — a perfect throw would’ve gotten him, but the throw was a couple of feet up the first-base line, and Fulford slid in underneath Sánchez’s swipe tag. Castro grounded out to end the inning, but the Rockies’ lead was up to 3-1.
A looping Contreras single started the sixth. Vaughn, who followed, hit a fly ball to right-center; it held up long enough that McCarthy thought he could catch it, but he was mistaken. He dove and missed, Contreras scored, and Vaughn ended up at third with a triple.
That ended Freeland’s afternoon, as he was pulled for righty Jaden Hill. Hill’s first pitch was a sinker in to Sánchez, who got around on it and crushed it into the seats in left field, a 447-foot shot that was Sánchez’s sixth homer but first since April 14. Mitchell was next, and he got a 2-1 fastball right down the middle that he hit 403 feet off the high wall in right field for a double. Rengifo walked, and then Perkins laid down a bunt — meant to be a sacrifice — but he beat Hill’s throw to first, and the Brewers had the bases loaded with nobody out for Ortiz.
Ortiz walked, the Brewers were up to 5-3, and Hill had failed to retire any of the first five batters he faced. And now he had to face Chourio, who was 3-for-3 with two doubles. But Chourio hit a fly ball about a mile in the air to shallow left field, and Hill had the first out without surrendering another run, as it was not deep enough for Rengifo to tag. Milwaukee wasn’t done, though: Turang got an 0-1 hanging slider and pounded it into right field for a two-run single.
The Milwaukee Brewers have once again plated six runs in an inning…
Hill was pulled after retiring just one of seven batters that he faced and allowed four earned runs, plus an inherited runner from Freeland. The new pitcher, Keegan Thompson, started against Contreras, who’d led off the inning. Thompson retired him this time, but on a ground ball that scored Ortiz from third for Milwaukee’s seventh run of the inning. Vaughn grounded out to second to finally end the inning, but the Brewers had turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead.
With 65 pitches and a career-high (in the majors) five innings to his name, Drohan was back out for the sixth. Eleven pitches later, Drohan had another 1-2-3 inning. Sánchez hit another deep fly ball to start the top of the seventh, but this one hung up on the warning track for Castro (who took a bit of an adventurous route to the ball). Mitchell was next, and he also hit one deep toward Castro — this one got over his head, though it stayed in the ballpark, and Mitchell had his second double. After Rengifo grounded out, Sal Frelick was on to pinch-hit for Perkins, and he popped out on the first pitch to end the inning.
Drohan was back out for the seventh; he’d already thrown a major league career-high 76 pitches, though he’d gone as high as 89 pitches earlier this season when pitching for Triple-A Nashville. Drohan got the first out on a grounder to shortstop, and should’ve had the second on a high chopper back to the mound, but Drohan’s underhand throw to first wasn’t quick enough to get the speedy McCarthy, and that was the end of the line for Drohan. Pat Murphy called for Chad Patrick, and with the help of a Sánchez challenge, he struck out Edouard Julien looking and got a groundout from pinch-hitter Sterlin Thompson to end the inning.
Drohan went a career-best 6 1/3 innings and had four strikeouts to one walk. He allowed three runs, though two of those should’ve been unearned. It was a solid day at the office for the rookie lefty.
In the top of the eighth, Ortiz struck out looking in an at-bat where both the second and third strikes were pitches that the catcher Goodman successfully challenged. Chourio hit another ball over 100 mph, but it was a groundout to short, and Turang struck out swinging to end the inning. Castro hit a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth, but Patrick got Tovar to hit into a double play that ended the eighth.
Contreras smoked a single at 112 mph to start the ninth, and Vaughn followed with his third hit of the day, a single to right field. Sánchez was next, and he lined a ball into the left-field corner for a double that scored Contreras. On the first pitch Mitchell saw, he hit one to deep center — McCarthy, running back on it, got a glove on it but couldn’t make what would’ve been an impressive leaping catch. Mitchell ended up with a triple, and he scored when Rengifo hit a sac fly to left. The first four batters of the ninth scored, and Milwaukee’s lead was suddenly up to 12-3.
Frelick crushed a ball, too, but the first baseman, Rumfield, fielded his 106-mph grounder and made the second out. Ortiz hit a ball into the right-field gap and had a two-out double, but Chourio struck out to end the inning.
Craig Yoho was summoned from the bullpen to finish the game for the Brewers. He struck out Rumfield, but with one out, Goodman got a ball just over Mitchell’s outstretched glove and over the fence in straightaway center field for his 17th home run of the season. Yoho recovered to get a flyout from Karros and a strikeout of McCarthy, and the game was over.
Milwaukee’s offense was as potent today as it has been in any game this season. They erupted for 17 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. The highlights included Mitchell, who was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, two runs scored, and two RBIs; Sánchez, who was 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, and three RBIs; Vaughn, who was 3-for-5 with a triple, three runs scored, and an RBI; and Chourio, who was 3-for-6 with two doubles. Every Brewer starter picked up a hit today, and all of them except Chourio and Perkins had at least one RBI.
Drohan had a solid pitching line — he had a quality start, with three earned runs allowed in 6 1/3 innings — but he pitched even better than that line suggested, with the defensive miscues covered above. He got up to 83 pitches today, too, and surpassed his previous career-best single-game innings total by two full innings. Patrick calmly picked up five outs in relief, and Yoho was able to close the door despite the Goodman homer.
This was a nice sweep for the Crew, punctuated by an offensive explosion for a team that has, at times, struggled on offense this season. Milwaukee is back in action tomorrow night, as they wrap up their six-game road trip with a series in Las Vegas against the Athletics. That first game is a 9:05 CT start, so we’ll see you late tomorrow night.
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - APRIL 18, 2026: Carson Coleman #38 of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders pitches during the sixth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium on April 18, 2026 in Syracuse, NY. (Photo by Leah King/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Pitchers Brendan Beck and Carson Coleman made Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders history when they combined to no-hit the Syracuse Mets, 4-0, on June 5th at NBT Bank Stadium in upstate New York.
Beck, the New York Yankees’ No. 21 prospect who made his MLB debut on May 7th, went seven innings, walked three and struck out six. He threw 93 pitches, 63 for strikes. He issued a one-out walk to Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the first inning, then retired the next 10 batters before walking Christian Arroyo with two outs in the fourth. But Beck got Andy Ibáñez to pop out to first baseman Seth Brown to end the inning. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, the 2021 second-round pick issued a leadoff walk to Matt Rudick in following frame, but retired the next three batters. Beck then pitched a perfect seventh inning, ending his outing with a strikeout of Yonny Hernandez.
Coleman relieved in the bottom of the eighth and fanned the final two batters to close out a perfect inning. After retiring the first batter in the bottom of the ninth, Nick Morabito, on a groundout, Coleman walked Polanco. But Kevin Parada grounded Coleman’s first pitch to him to shortstop George Lombard Jr., who flipped to second baseman Jonathan Ornelas, who threw to Brown at first for the game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Abrahan Gutierrez, in his first game with the RailRiders after being promoted earlier in the day from Double-A Somerset, was the catcher.
It was the seventh no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history and the third nine-inning no-no. The other four were done in seven innings.
Here is a look back at the previous six no-hitters, dating back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s time as a Phillies affiliate as well. Two of them have interesting connections to this year’s RailRiders team:
July 25, 1992: Ben Rivera, Red Barons(7 innings)
In the first game of a doubleheader against the Pawtucket Red Sox at Lackawanna County Stadium, Rivera retired the final 20 batters he faced in a 2-0 victory for the first no-hitter in franchise history. A three-year big leaguer with the Braves and Phillies, Rivera walked the first batter of the game, and got the next batter to ground into a double play. He finished with six strikeouts.
As the cherry on top, the Red Barons also won the second game to sweep the doubleheader.
July 4, 1993: Tyler Green, Red Barons (7 innings)
Two years before Green made the NL All-Star team as a rookie with the Phillies, he provided the fireworks on the Fourth of July in a 3-1 victory in the opener of a doubleheader against the Ottawa Lynx. He allowed an unearned run, walked three (one intentionally) and struck out four.
Ottawa actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Curtis Pride walked, advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt by Green and scored on a sacrifice fly by future Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Green ignited a Red Barons rally with a leadoff single. (Back then, when two National League affiliates played each other, the pitcher batted). An error on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Stocker put runners at second and third. Scranton legend Greg Legg had a RBI groundout and Tony Longmire hit a RBI single to make it 2-1. Pat Brady’s home run in the bottom of the sixth capped the scoring.
June 6, 2004: Robert Ellis, Red Barons (7 innings)
Ellis was acquired in a trade from Buffalo three days earlier. He pitched in 29 major league games, including 17 starts in 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat the Yankees in the World Series that season.
Making his first start for the Red Barons in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Louisville Bats, Ellis was almost perfect. He walked one — pinch-hitter Bobby Darula with two outs in the top of the sixth inning — and struck out two. He was working with a slim margin for error since Louisville starter Jesus Sanchez gave up just one hit — a home run in the bottom of the second inning to Mark Smith for the game’s lone run in a 1-0 Red Barons victory.
It is interesting to note that Robert Ellis is the father of current RailRiders outfielder Duke Ellis, who had a triple, home run and two RBIs in the no-hitter against Syracuse.
Sept. 3, 2006: Jeremy Cummings, Red Barons (9 innings)
Cummings threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history in the penultimate game of the regular season against the Rochester Red Wings, 5-0, at Frontier Field in New York. He walked four, struck out nine and hit one batter. He threw 137 pitches, 84 for strikes.
He retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing consecutive one-out walks to Terry Tiffee and Kevin West. However, he got Alex Romero to ground into an inning-ending double play. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, he hit West with a pitch, but again got Romero to hit into a double play to end that inning. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he walked Andres Torres, but struck out Gil Velazquez to finish off the no-hitter. Velazquez is the current RailRiders bench coach.
The catcher was Jason Jaramillo, who was making his Triple-A debut.
July 21, 2021: Luis Gil/Reggie McClain/Stephen Ridings, RailRiders (9 innings)
Against the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field, the three pitchers combined for a no-hitter in an 8-0 win.
Just a few weeks away from his impressive MLB debut, Gil went six innings for the RailRiders, walked two and struck out nine. He walked Adrian Sanchez with one out in the top of the first inning, then retired the next 14 batters before giving up a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth to Jakson Reetz, but got two groundouts and a strikeout to end the inning.
McClain pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth with two strikeouts. In the ninth, Ridings—oh-so-briefly a 2021 sensation in New York—needed only nine pitches to complete the no-hitter, sandwiching two groundouts around a fly out.
The Bronx’s own Andrew Velazquez provided offensive support with two hits and one RBI. Brandon Wagner also had two hits, catcher Donny Sands drove in two runs and Socrates Brito had a solo home run.
Aug. 19, 2021: Sean Boyle, RailRiders (7 innings)
Twenty-nine days after Gil, McClain and Ridings combined on a no-hitter, Boyle threw one in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park in Massachusetts, 5-0, to complete a sweep of the twinbill.
Making his Triple-A debut (he hadn’t even pitched at Double-A), Boyle threw 95 pitches. He walked one — Franchy Cordero with two outs in the bottom of the first — struck out six and hit one batter — Jeremy Rivera in the bottom of the sixth.
Brito backed Boyle’s effort by going 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
As a final note, Wally Ritchie of the Red Barons almost had the distinction of throwing the first no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history. On May 25, 1990, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Syracuse Chiefs at Lackawanna County Stadium, Ritchie didn’t allow a hit for the first seven innings. However, the game was scoreless and went to extra innings. Pedro Munoz broke up the bid with a leadoff double in the top of the eighth. The Red Barons wound up winning in the bottom of the eighth, 1-o.
Jun 7, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Noah Cameron (65) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Last time out, Noah Cameron pitched a one-hitter and allowed only a single run in seven innings, but his team lost because Lucas Erceg blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Today, Cameron pitched six innings and allowed no earned runs. He struck out seven and walked no one. Thanks to an offense that put in some more work, they were able to survive Erceg’s ninth-inning struggles to complete a 6-5 victory. That finishes their series in Minnesota with three wins to only one loss, and results in a .500 road trip.
Almost exactly a month ago, Noah Cameron seemed on the verge of being demoted to the minor leagues due to his struggles on the mound after his arm angle shifted drastically this season. To that point, he had a 5.55 ERA, and while his 12.8% K-BB% last year had been a cause of mild concern, it had dropped all the way to 11% this year. Since then, he has lowered his ERA to 3.84, and his K-BB% has spiked all the way up to 16.7%! That fits him firmly in the top 50 starting pitchers in MLB in both categories. Last year, he was surprisingly good, and we hoped he could continue to be mostly that good. This year, he dipped down to being quite bad and has ascended to basically ace-level pitching, even when you include the awful starts.
If the Royals do accomplish some sort of miracle comeback in this season’s playoff hunt, a lot of it is going to be because Noah Cameron is able to join a healthy Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans in pushing this team forward. That’s a lot of ifs, but at least Cameron is doing his part, bless him.
The offense showed up today, too, thankfully. Through the first three innings, it looked like in the previewed battle of the immovable baserunners versus the unstoppable run-giver, the Royals were going to be defeated by simply not putting any runners on. Then, with two outs in the fourth, Vinnie Pasquantino went the other way for a two-out double, and Nick Loftin mirrored him to tie the game. Things got really exciting in the fifth inning, though, though it didn’t immediately look good.
Carter Jensen managed a lead-off single from the 8-spot, but Tyler Tolbert missed a bunt with two strikes and was sent back to the dugout. Tolbert needs to get much better at bunting if he’s going to find a way to stick in the big leagues beyond his pre-arb years. Lane Thomas singled! Yay! Bobby Witt Jr. struck out. Boo! Things were looking dire with the injured Maikel Garcia coming to the plate.
The Royals had a lead! And you’d be justified in wondering if that’s all they were going to manage, given their season and who was up next, Starling Marte.
Marte seemed to sell out his power for the ability to hit singles early in his Royals’ tenure; he wasn’t using his legs very much. He started incorporating them more into his swings of late, and while that didn’t lead to any more power, it did lead to fewer hits and more strikeouts. He had started today with a pair of strikeouts and I began wondering if it might be time for the Royals to move on from him.
Maybe he can stick around for a little bit longer.
The Royals added another run in the eighth on what has become a patented bases-loaded sacrifice fly; this one was performed by Carter Jensen, who just might be heating up. At the time, it extended the Royals’ lead to 6-1 and hardly seemed necessary. At least, if you hadn’t watched the 2026 Royals’ bullpen.
Now, to be fair, John Schreiber pitched a clean seventh. And Mason Black had a clean eighth with a strikeout. Beck Way was tasked with finishing the game, staked to that five-run lead. I had been hoping to see the rookie after his dazzling debut Friday night while behind. Three batters later, the Royals had only a two run lead off a Josh Bell three-run blast and I was reminded we must always be careful what we wish for.
Way got the next batter out, but then allowed a double, and Matt Quatraro knew he had no choice but to go back to the bullpen. Alex Lange-xiety had closed three of the last four games, so he wasn’t available. Danny Drips had done the same. Matt Strahm had only pitched three of the last five, but he’d also not gone back-to-back days since returning from the IL and had given up a run in two of those appearances, including yesterday afternoon. Schreiber, Way, and Black had already pitched. That left Quatraro with basically Lucas Erceg and Steven Cruz. Given those choices, he went with Erceg and you can argue that it was the wrong choice, but I don’t know that there was a right one.
Erceg gave up a lineout, a pair of singles to allow one to score, and put the go-ahead run on, but Brooks Lee hit a deep flyout to left that Isaac Collins was able to corral to finish the game. Suffice to say that Erceg may have earned the save, but he did little to convince anyone he should resume the closer’s role.
More bad news in this one, as the Royals, who couldn’t blame injuries for their earlier struggles, might be able to blame near-future struggles on them. They lost yet another key player to injury. As you know, Ragans and Bubic are still on the IL and progressing toward rehab assignments. During the broadcast, Joel Goldberg indicated both would likely need to at least two rehab starts and that Bubic is a hair closer to starting his than Ragans. Closer Carlos Estévez is still nowhere near his own rehab. Garcia is playing through two different injuries. The Royals lost Salvador Perez and Jac Caglianone to injuries sustained in Friday night’s contest. And today Bobby Witt Jr. left early with right knee soreness. Fingers crossed it was mostly precautionary with a moderately-sized lead and a day off tomorrow because the Royals aren’t going anywhere without Bobby in the lineup.
As I said, tomorrow is a well-earned day off for KC. They’ll play the Rangers Tuesday night. Stephen Kolek (3.32 ERA, 12.8% K-BB%) will return from the family emergency list, and one of the Rangers’ aces, Nathan Eovaldi (4.10 ERA, 18.2% K-BB%), will pitch for them. The game will start at 6:40 p.m. Central.
Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh put yet another walloping on Pale Hose pitching today | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Has there ever been an MLB game in which a run was scored in all 17 or 18 half-innings of play? If there has, it wasn’t this one, but it sure felt like it for a few innings there.
Brandon Marsh’s scorching-hot series and season continued in the final game of the three-game set between the White Sox and Phillies, a 9-5 win for the latter that boosted the latter’s record to 35-30 and dropped the former’s to 34-31.
Using an opener is a perfectly sound strategy. The Sox have had plenty of success using it this year, and they did last year as well. This was not one of those days, as the combination of Tyler Gilbert and David Sandlin allowed four earned runs over four innings, rendering the time-through-the-order advantage of the opener strategy totally moot.
A few particularly cantankerous veterans notwithstanding, most starters these days don’t seem to take much issue by being used behind an opener now and then, but I’m willing to bet most starters don’t like the idea of not entering the game with a clean inning. That’s what happened to Sandlin, who wound up entering the game probably a little sooner than Will Venable intended when opener Gilbert allowed a run and two hits within the first four batters of the game. Sandlin limited the damage, but he never quite managed to get into a rhythm, ultimately finishing with three earned runs over three innings of work, another somewhat disappointing follow-up to his brilliant MLB debut.
Sandlin wasn’t terrible at locating his pitches, throwing 63% strikes and punching out six hitters, but as I noted in the game thread, Philadelphia is not a team that allows many mistakes to get past them. One could argue that the pitch that Rafael Marchán launched into the right field seats wasn’t even a mistake, as it looked like he simply got the pitch he was looking for on the two-run homer that put the Phillies back in the lead in the second inning:
On the other side of the ball, Tristan Peters just continued to do his thing. Another solid day at the plate left him hitting .307/.365/.448 at game’s end, and he now leads the team with 15 doubles and is playing at a remarkable 5-WAR pace on the year.
From the No. 7 spot in the order, Peters served as the sparkplug and engineer for Chicago’s first three runs of the day, first on a second-inning double that moved Jacob Gonzalez to third base, where he later scored before Peters himself came around on Sam Antonacci’s single. An inning later, Peters was the beneficiary of the kind of play the Sox are used to being on the wrong side of: His jammed two-strike swing resulted in a ball in play at just 82 mph, and while Aaron Nola might have recovered from the ball dropping between shortstop Bryson Stott and left fielder Marsh, but he didn’t get the chance. Marsh overran the ball, letting it squirt past him, opening a window for Chase Meidroth to motor around the bases and tie the game at three:
Of course, Marsh took the run right back the next inning, launching his eighth homer of the year to give the Phillies the lead for third time in three innings. So remains the way of the White Sox.
Nola’s stuff was zig-zagging like an alligator was chasing it, but he just wasn’t able to throw enough fastballs in the strike zone to avoid getting himself into trouble nearly every inning. It’s been quite a rough ride for Nola this season, as the 33-year-old entered the afternoon was a 5.55 ERA despite throwing six and five innings of two-run ball over his last two starts. After a nightmare-fuel 2025 resulted in a career-worst 6.01 ERA, Nola hasn’t been able to quite get the juice back on the knuckle curve that made him one of the most reliable workhorses in baseball between 2017 and 2024. Nola’s locations were actually pretty good, but the Sox chased at just 36% of the curveballs he threw, which makes it impossible to work with any kind of efficiency when you throw as many of them as Nola does.
Nola was chased from the game at the 93-pitch mark in the fifth inning. He was ultimately charged with the two runners he left on base, as lefty reliever Tim Mayza allowed pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk powered the fifth lead change in the first five innings of the game with a sharp single the other way. Grichuk is now hitting .308/.333/.692 as a member of the Sox, driving in a hefty 17 runs in just barely more than 50 trips to the plate.
I’m trying to find ways to bring this game alive without resorting to a simple blow-by-blow recap, but the bullpens did not make it easy today. By the time the fifth inning concluded, neither starter remained in the game, and a series of hits from the bottom end of the Philadelphia order pushed them to snatch a lead for the fourth time in five innings.
Even in blowing leads, though, this 2026 White Sox team is showing more and more promise by the game. Though the Phillies ended that fifth inning with a 7-5 advantage, it likely would have been a lot worse were it not for a brilliant inning-ending double play among Meidroth, Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery that kept the game within reach:
The alignment shuffling triggered by Grichuk’s pinch-hit appearance saw Meidroth finish the game with his fourth appearance at shortstop this season. While he simply doesn’t have the arm to play the 6-spot on any kind of regular basis, his ability to spell Montgomery if need be gives Venable the option to move Sam Antonacci into the infield while keeping all three of them in the lineup, flexibility that ought to be quite useful moving forward.
The crux of the game may have come in the fourth at-bat of the sixth inning, an impressive nine-pitch battle between Phillies reliever José Alvarado and pinch-hitter Edgar Quero. Trailing 7-5, a Sox rally — spurred by what else but an Antonacci hit-by-pitch, his league-leading 15th of the year — brewed with runners on first and second with one out. Quero battled valiantly against the high-octane lefty, fouling off six pitches and coming mere feet away from changing the lead yet again with a would-be home run. On the very next pitch, he kept his drive in fair territory, but a brilliant catch from who else but Marsh kept everyone where they were.
When Montgomery proceeded to strike out to end the inning, Chicago’s comeback momentum seemed to have stalled. Bryan Hudson took over for Tyler Davis, allowing an additional two runs in his partial inning of work, and Orion Kerkerinf took over for Alvarado, keeping a clean scoresheet as the Sox went down in the seventh.
Righthander and former starter Trevor Richards came on to soak up the remaining innings for the Sox, who went down more or less without a fight on the offensive side of the last three innings. You can’t shock the world every day, I suppose.
With a 2-4 road trip now in the books, the South Siders are off tomorrow before showing up at home for a three-game bout with the NL-best Atlanta Braves. Erick Fedde gets the ball for the series opener, with Davis Martin potentially getting a bit of an extra breather after his first genuinely rough start of the campaign. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!
Jun 7, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) watches his RBI single against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The series against the White Sox was not a strong one for the Phillies’ starting rotation. All three of their starters struggled, including Aaron Nola on Sunday. Fortunately, the Phillies’ lineup – particularly Brandon Marsh – did not struggle. For the second time in three days, the offense was able to overcome shaky pitching and lead the team to a win, this time by a score of 9-6.
The Phillies got the scoring started in the first inning with consecutive doubles against the Sox’s opening pitcher Tyler Gilbert. But the lead was short lived. Nola pitched out of a two-on jam in the first, but he did not escape unscathed in the second. Thanks to three hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly, the Sox took a 2-1 lead.
The Sox similarly did not enjoy their lead for very long. In the bottom of the second, Rafael Marchan sent a ball over the fence in right center to make it 3-2.
Once again, Nola gave it right back. For the second straight inning, he walked the leadoff hitter, and for the second straight inning, it proved costly. Tristan Peters hit a double to tie it up at 3.
The Phillies immediately went back on top when Brandon Marsh led off the bottom of the third with a home run. Marsh – who has homered in three straight games – is as hot a hitter as there is in baseball right now. With two hits in the game, he improved his league leading average to .338. And if that wasn’t enough, he also made a leaping catch at the fence. (Vote early and often!)
That lead actually lasted an entire inning with both teams going in order in the fourth. But in the fifth, Nola was back on his BS, once again walking the leadoff hitter. Apparently not satisfied with just one walk, Nola walked the next batter as well. Then for some reason, on a day when they were hitting well against a struggling pitcher, the Sox chose to give up an out with a sacrifice bunt.
While the Phillies got the out, manager Don Mattingly had seen enough and pulled Nola in favor of Tim Mayza. Randal Grichuk greeted Mayza with a two-run single, putting the Sox back in front 5-4. Mayza was fortunate to escape further damage thanks to a great defensive play by Bryson Stott.
Reliever Tim Davis entered the game for the White Sox, and on a day when a lot of pitchers struggled, he was no exception. Bryce Harper started the inning with a single, Marsh walked, and then Alec Bohm hit a double to tie it up at five. Bryson Stott followed with a single to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead. After an Adolis Garcia strikeout, Justin Crawford hit a ground ball that scored a run but thanks to some questionable baserunning by Bohm, ended with a double play.
The Phillies’ pitching staff cleaned things up after that, but only barely. Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering both allowed two runners in their innings of work but were able to strand them. Sox reliever Bryan Hudson was not so fortunate. In the sixth, he walked two batters and they came around to score on singles by Marsh and Bohm to give the Phillies a 9-5 lead.
With a four-run lead, Mattingly turned to Jonathan Bowlan to retire the final six batters of the game, and he did so capably, only allowing one hit which was promptly erased by a game-ending double play.
It’s nice to see that the offense is capable of carrying the team to a series win. With Cristopher Sanchez scheduled to start on Monday, they probably won’t have to do as much work as they did on Sunday. On the other hand, if they want to give the ace a little bit of extra run support, I don’t think anyone would complain.
