Category: Baseball

Fernando Tatis Jr. was in a slump. Home runs were tough to come by.

As of nearly two weeks ago, Tatis finally ended his home run drought and got his first of the season against the Washington Nationals on May 30.

Fast forward to June 10 where the San Diego Padres' big-time slugger just dropped off a walk-off bomb against the Cincinnatti Reds.

The Padres trailed 4-2 going into the bottom eighth inning where Jackson Merrill got things going with a double to left field. Merrill scored after Gavin Sheets hit a double at right field, giving him an RBI. Jase Bowen went in as pinch runner for Sheets. Bowen scored after a single from Samad Taylor allowed him to cross home.

The score was 4-4 going into the ninth inning. And with two outs on the board, Tatis took a swing of his bat, ate the pitch and left no crumbs in a walk-off fashion as his teammates embraced him and the victory at home plate.

The Padres won, 5-4.

Tonight, the Athletics will take on the Brewers in the series finale of the first of two series at Las Vegas Ballpark this week. After dropping the opener 15-14 in the highest scoring game of the season so far, the A’s rebounded last night with a 7-5 victory, hitting five more home runs and getting strong relief outings from Elvis Alvarado and Mason Barnett.

Having launched 12 home runs through their first two games in Las Vegas, the A’s powerful offense looks well-positioned to keep the long-ball barrage going in another matchup that figures to produce plenty of runs.

Making his second start and 19th appearance of the season, A’s right-hander Jack Perkins brings a 2-3 record, 6.19 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 32 innings into today’s matchup. The 26-year-old struggled in his first start against the Houston Astros, allowing five runs on five hits over four innings while taking the loss.

Like Ginn, Perkins is very familiar with this hitter-friendly ballpark. He made nine starts for Triple-A Las Vegas last season and three more appearances with the affiliate this year before earning his promotion to the majors. Perkins’ high-velocity arsenal gives him the ability to miss bats and limit damage, even in a venue that tends to favor hitters.

However, inconsistency and occasional command issues have plagued him during his brief MLB career, which is not uncommon for a young pitcher. If Perkins can trust his stuff, pound the strike zone, and keep the ball on the ground, he should have success this evening. Otherwise, the Brewers’ lineup could capitalize on his mistakes the way the Astros did in his previous outing.

Here’s the Athletics’ lineup for this series-deciding contest:

This is an interesting lineup that A’s manager Mark Kotsay has put together for tonight’s game. Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom, the team’s two hottest hitters in this series, occupy the first two spots in the order. Meanwhile, Carlos Cortes is making his first start of the series as the designated hitter and is surprisingly slotted into the cleanup spot rather than leading off.

Given how well Kurtz has been swinging the bat, it would seem to make more sense to flip him and Cortes in the lineup to maximize Kurtz’s RBI opportunities with runners on base. Another notable development is Brent Rooker’s absence from the starting lineup for a second consecutive game. The A’s have not indicated any issues, but they can ill afford to lose one of their most dangerous hitters to another stint on the injured list.

Cortes is not the only A’s player making his first start in Vegas. He is joined by outfielder Lawrence Butler and second baseman Jeff McNeil, two players who have had their playing time drastically reduced lately due to major offensive slumps. Zack Gelof moves back to third base with Max Muncy getting the night off, while Alika Williams earns his third straight start at shortstop.

That starting nine will be facing Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat, who was involved in one of the biggest trades of the offseason. The New York Mets sent Sproat and a minor league infield prospect to Milwaukee in exchange for Freddy Peralta.

The 25-year-old has gone 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA through his first 12 appearances with the Brewers, including ten starts. In his most recent outing against the Colorado Rockies, Sproat received a no-decision after allowing three runs on seven hits over five innings.

Only A’s backup catcher Jonah Heim, who is not in tonight’s lineup, has previously faced Sproat. While the element of unfamiliarity could work in the young right-hander’s favor against A’s hitters, the A’s may benefit from the fact that Sproat has likely never pitched in this ballpark before. If the hosts can repeat the approach and offensive execution they displayed over the first two games, they should have opportunities to score against this talented but inexperienced pitcher.

And Milwaukee’s lineup for tonight’s contest:

The Brewers’ lineup features most of their regulars, with the lone exception coming behind the plate, where Gary Sànchez gets the start in place of William Contreras. The top of Milwaukee’s order is especially dangerous now that Andrew Vaughn is back in the lineup after appearing as a pinch-hitter last night.

As a result, Perkins will need to be careful when attacking the strike zone and do his best to keep the ball in the ballpark, something his teammate J.T. Ginn handled well in yesterday’s outing.

Time to win the series and head into tomorrow’s off day with good vibes. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

Well that sucked. Just when it looked like the Nationals had a sweep in the bag, the bullpen completely melted down. The Giants rallied from 9-1 down to stun the Nats. DMV product Bryce Eldridge hit a walkoff grand slam to finish off a humiliating defeat for Blake Butera and the Nats.

What happens after this game will be telling. For a more traditional front office and coaching staff, heads would absolutely roll after this kind of loss. However, I am not sure whether this analytically minded front office will deviate from their plan. As we have seen this season, there is a long term vision in place and we are seeing that translate on the field.

After this one though, I think it is time for some old school behavior. Blake Butera and Paul Toboni need to send a message to the players and the fans that what happened this afternoon was not acceptable. The two primary culprits of this bullpen meltdown were Mitchell Parker and Paxton Schultz, and their places on the team need to be examined.

For Parker, I honestly have no idea what this braintrust sees in him. The results have not been there, his stuff is below average and he does not seem to have the mentality to be a high leverage arm. Despite all of this, Parker constantly gets thrown into big spots, rarely succeeding. In the past month, Parker has an ERA over 8, and has allowed 7 homers in 16 innings. 

This is not a team that is in the gutter, and the front office needs to act that way. When guys aren’t producing, they should be let go. Parker has been consistently terrible for over a year now. Since May 1st of 2025, he has a 6.44 ERA in 159.1 innings. What more do you need to see from this guy? As the saying goes, insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Mitchell Parker pitching on this upcoming home stand would give fans a pretty good indication that this front office and coaching staff has no interest in winning this season. Going all in on 2026 is not logical either. This team is still in year one of a new era. However, we know what we have in Mitchell Parker. It is unfair to the fans and the pitchers in Rochester to keep trotting this guy out there.

The other culprit of this meltdown requires a more nuanced conversation. Paxton Schultz has had a very strange season. He has been solid in 18 of his 20 outings. However, in the other two appearances, he has had some of the worst meltdowns you will ever see. He has shown the ability to be a quality arm, he has just been completely unable to stop the bleeding. 

On the one hand, if you can’t be trusted to protect a 9-1 lead, you should not be on the roster. However, I think Schultz has some traits to be a fine reliever. In the heat of the moment, you would like to see a change, but I would understand if they stuck with Schultz. Today was absolutely dreadful, and he is arguably the biggest reason for the collapse, but you cannot be overly reactionary.

What happens next will tell us a lot about this new regime. They have some very important decisions to make heading into this home stand. This team has a playoff caliber offense, but the bullpen can explode at any time. Will this front office send a message or will they continue to only look at whatever numbers are telling them Mitchell Parker is a major league caliber pitcher? The roster moves or lack thereof will tell Nationals a lot about Paul Toboni and Blake Butera.

The San Francisco Giants pulled off a major comeback, walk-off win against the Washington Nationals after being down eight runs in the final two innings on Wednesday.

Giants' young prospect Bryce Eldridge was the man of the hour, putting the nail in the coffin with a triumphant walk-off grand slam in the bottom ninth inning, giving San Francisco an 11-10 victory.

Eldridge finished the game with a stat line of 1-for-4, including two runs and 4 RBIs. The 21-year-old rising star was the organization's top prospect in 2025, and he's proving why he was worthy of the ranking.

During the 2026 MLB season, Eldridge has steamed up a batting average of .298 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. His OPS is .907 through 28 games played.

Bryce Eldridge is the youngest player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam. The previous youngest was Roberto Clemente.

More: 3 moves the San Francisco Giants must make to salvage their season

When Shohei Ohtani is pitching − as he is against the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday, June 10 − it's simply mano a mano, Ohtani vs. the batter, with Ohtani prevailing the vast majority of the time.

This time, though, the Dodgers are also letting him serve as designated hitter, which means Ohtani vs. the opposing pitcher – along with eight other defensive players.

And on this night one of them thwarted him.

Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds robbed Ohtani of his 12th home run, ranging to his right and hopping above the short left field wall to snag the ball before it could land among a group of sun-splashed patrons.

REYNOLDS ROBBED OHTANI.

V⭐️TE B-REY: https://t.co/IOlzWVglnWpic.twitter.com/xZ3pHR6nC8

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 10, 2026

Ohtani drove a Jared Jones full-count 99 mph fastball the opposite way, 101.7 mph off the bat. According to Statcast, the 383-foot drive would have been a home run in 25 of 30 parks.

Well, probably 26 of 30, were it not for Reynolds’ well-coordinated leap to keep this game scoreless.

Ohtani did hit a two-run home run in the ninth, but it was not quite enough as the Dodgers lost 9-8.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bryan Reynolds robs Shohei Ohtani home run in Dodgers vs Pirates game

The Colorado Rockies’ series opener victory against the Chicago Cubs was a resounding success. They got pitching and hitting, and played an overall great game to shake off the mess of the Milwaukee Brewers series. Granted, the Cubs are not in the best of places at the moment, but victories like that have hopefully set the stage for the Rockies to secure another series victory.

Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 8.01 ERA) continues his quest for answers in 2026 for the Rockies. Lorenzen once again struggled in his last outing against the Los Angeles Angels, as he allowed eight runs on 10 hits over 3.1 innings of work. The majority of damage came in the second inning, where he just couldn’t throw strikes, and the Angels were punishing mistakes over the plate. He has been left floundering, trying to tweak mechanics and get comfortable on the mound, but those answers have eluded him thus far. The key for Lorenzen seems to be finding a way to mitigate the “one bad inning” trope that has plagued many Rockies pitchers, and a great way to do that is by throwing quality strikes and establishing his command early.

Unfortunately, Lorenzen has a 9.67 ERA at home this year hanging over his head as well as a career 7.36 ERA against the Cubs. However, he Will tonight be a moment that Lorenzen can start to change the narrative of his season?

Meanwhile, the Cubs will send out Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.74 ERA) to make the start. The Japanese veteran has been reliable since making his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2024, where me posted a 2.91 ERA. 2025 wasn’t as crisp, but he still managed a sub-4.00 ERA and decided to accept a qualifying offer from the Cubs for this season. His third big league season has been a little tougher, but Imanaga is still a quality pitcher not to be taken lightly. He has recorded six quality starts and will attack the zone with a current tally of 74 strikeouts against 19 walks. He’s more prone to give up the long ball, having allowed 17 this season after allowing 31 last year. He was roughed up by the Athletics at Wrigley Field in his last start, giving up six runs on six hits, including four home runs, over six innings.

In his lone career start against the Rockies, Imanaga fired six shutout innings, allowing just two hits. This will be his first start at Coors Field.

First Pitch: 6:40 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

SB Nation site: Bleed Cubbie Blue

Lineups:

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Two of the big boppers on whom the Cincinnati Reds are depending with Elly De La Cruz sidelined stepped up late and did their parts in big, big ways, respectively. JJ Bleday, who deserves to be on the National League All Star team at this juncture, smashed a 391 foot solo homer off San Diego Padres starter Michael King in the Top of the 7th to give the Reds a 3-2 lead, and Eugenio Suarez followed with a 365 foot sand wedge into the seats beyond left field to give Cincinnati an insurance run at 4-2 in the Top of the 8th.

All that remained to be taken care of was holding on to a 2-run lead for the game’s final pair of innings. You know, the classic task asked of bullpen arms all over the sport.

Unfortunately, this is the Cincinnati Reds bullpen we are talking about, or at least what remains of it.

Caleb Ferguson was wholly unable to retire the left-handed bats the Padres sent up to face him in the Bottom of the 8th, and Tony Santillan couldn’t bail him out of the jame he’d created. That sent the game to the 9th with the game tied at 4, and though the Reds got a leadoff single from Matt McLain and a later walk from Sal Stewart, the Reds couldn’t find a way to score a run to take the lead.

Devoid of other fresh options, Terry Francona turned to the recently recalled Chase Petty, who was just brought back to the team after Zach McCambley was optioned on the back of his 30+ pitch outing earlier in the series. That’s Chase Petty the starter, who was tasked with pitching in an extremely high-leverage relief role that’s almost completely unheard of for him at this juncture of his career.

He looked mostly fine out there, to his credit. He pounded the zone. He threw strikes. The problem is, though, that despite the walk problems that have plagued the entire pitching staff over the course of this borderline-miserable season, this was an instance where he might well have been better off nibbling than humming balls right over the plate to some of San Diego’s best hitters.

One of those, of course, is Fernando Tatis, Jr. He’s found his swing again after a mammoth gap between homers, socking his first of the year earlier in the week and posting a 4-hit game earlier this series. So, when Petty spun an 89 mph slider right into the middle of the strike zone to the Padres star, it was hard to envision anything other than what happened.

That laser from Tatis just cleared the LF wall, and that was that. Cincinnati hemorrhaged yet another late lead, lost their fourth straight series, and sunk to just 32-35 on the season overall. They’ll have Thursday off to think about it while traveling back across the country to think about it, and on Friday they’ll welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to Great American Ball Park.

What a brutal game. What a brutal month. What a brutal, brutal sport.

The Dugout Radar is not looking fantastic for tonight’s start time of 7:40 pm ET… we’ve dealt with so much weather lately.

ICYMI

Roster moves:Braves place Ronald Acuña Jr. on IL, add Rowdy Tellez to roster, JR Ritchie recalled, James Karinchak selected to major league roster

Pitching matchup: Braves turn to Chris Sale to even things up in Chicago

Lineups: Michael Harris II leads off, Austin Wynns starts second straight game in Game 2 vs. White Sox

After a late-night/early-morning victory on Monday night, the Brewers lost the second game of their series against the Athletics in Las Vegas on Tuesday, meaning Wednesday night’s game is a rubber match.

On the mound for the series finale is Brandon Sproat, who continues to struggle to put together multiple consistent innings. Sproat, 25, is now 16 appearances (14 starts) into his MLB career, and he sports a 5.79 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 71 strikeouts, and 11 homers allowed over 74 2/3 innings. He’s allowed at least three runs in five consecutive appearances, allowing a homer in four of those five games. He went five innings against the Rockies on Friday night, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out two in a no-decision as the Brewers came back to win in extras.

Opposite Sproat is 26-year-old righty Jack Perkins, a fifth-round pick out of Indiana in 2022. Perkins, in his second major league season, made his first 17 appearances this season out of the bullpen, but is coming off his first start of the year. Across those 18 appearances, he has a 6.19 ERA but a 2.88 FIP, as he’s struck out 39 over 32 innings. In his lone start, which came on Friday in Houston, he allowed five runs on five hits and two walks, striking out six over four innings in a 5-1 loss.

With those two guys on the mound, I’d expect another high-scoring, homer-filled night — the current over/under in this game is a whopping 14.5 runs.

Christian Yelich leads off for Milwaukee as today’s DH, followed by Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and Andrew Vaughn. Jake Bauers bats fifth and starts in left, with Gary Sánchez batting sixth and starting behind the plate. Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz round out the bottom third of the order.

While no major league roster moves were made today, the Brewers did make a minor league trade, as they sent right-handed pitcher Jacob Waguespack to the Tigers for cash considerations. Waguespack, who appeared in major league camp this spring, has spent the entire 2026 season with Triple-A Nashville.

Additionally, Brandon Woodruff is expected to rejoin the team this weekend in Milwaukee, with a potential return in next week’s series against the Guardians.

First pitch is set for a slightly earlier 8:05 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series against the New York Mets Wednesday night as Andre Pallante takes the mound for St. Louis. The Mets will ask Christian Scott to try and stop the Cardinals. Good luck with that, Mr. Scott. You’ll need it. First pitch is set for 6:10pm central time as the game broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.

Kansas City has a chance to win three series in a row for the first time this season. All they need to do is win tonight or tomorrow to keep the ball rolling. Texas is not a great team, which is something that can be said about basically all the teams in baseball this year, so take care of your home field.

Kyle Isbel is headed to the IL and Kameron Misner will be joining the team so Lane Thomas will be manning center field most days for a while. Today he will be leading off as well.

It is going to be Seth Lugo versus MacKenzie Gore today. Lugo got beat up a bit in Minnesota, but he handled this Rangers lineup well back at the end of May. Gore is an interesting player with high prospect pedigree who at times looked like he might become the ace that everyone thought he could be. Last season he was a Cy Young contender through the first couple months of the season before falling off to have another fine, if unspectacular, season. That level of okay has continued into 2026. However, he is left-handed and lefties have been the bane of the Royals’ offensive existence.

Texas Rangers @ Kansas City Royals

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 6:40 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Kauffman Stadium

LHP MacKenzie Gore vs. RHP Seth Lugo

Go Rangers!

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing is slowly becoming baseball's biggest villain. And he's only in his second MLB season.

For one to take such a role, a few things need to be in order. Said players have to stir up a little controversy, have to be pretty dang good and on at least a really good team.

Rushing checks all those boxes. The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions. Although the 25-year-old Rushing made his debut with the Dodgers in 2025, he's already swiftly becoming recognized as one of the better backup catchers in baseball. He might be starting if the Dodgers didn't already have Will Smith committed to a long-term deal.

Now, on to the controversy that makes Rushing appear to be disliked across the league. Whether intentional or not, he has an awareness issue when it comes to base sliding. It was on display during the Dodgers' blowout, 12-3, victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 9.

Rushing drew a walk in the top of the fifth inning as the Pirates held a narrow 2-1 lead. The ensuing batter, Alex Freeland, hit a ground ball to Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe, who grabbed it and spun, making a throw to Jared Triolo, who made a late throw to first. Freeland was deemed safe, but Rushing was called for runner's interference.

He attempted a slide to make it safe at second base, except he was feet away from the bag and collided with Triolo. The rule, according to MLB, states that fielders have a right to occupy any space needed to catch or field a batted ball and also must not be hindered while attempting to field a thrown ball. Additionally, runners have to make a reasonable attempt to touch the bag and avoid the fielder.

It appears Rushing did not.

More: Shohei Ohtani vs. Pirates: Hitless vs. Skenes, two-way star takes mound

Wednesday notes…

• 7 AND 21 ARE NOT LUCKY NUMBERS: The Cubs are 7-21 in their last 28 games. The only other National League team to go 7-21 this year was the Rockies, April 28-May 7. The Tigers have had nine overlapping 7-21 spans, April 23-June 3, and the Angels had four, April 15-May 22. The Angels also had three 6-22 spans during that period. The Tigers were 6-22, May 1-31. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RISPy BUSINESS: The Cubs were 0 for 8 last night with runners in scoring position. It was the 17th of their 67 games, slightly less than one quarter, in which they made no hits with RISP. They are 3-14 in those games, including seven straight losses. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WALK THE WALK: Four Cubs batters walked last night for their fourth straight game with at least four. They had not had four in a row with four or more walks since May 6-9, the last of 13 straight. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Rick Monday homered in each of the first two innings and the Cubs defeated the Reds 9-7 at Wrigley Field to maintain a six-game lead in the NL East. It happened 53 years ago today, Sunday, June 10, 1973.

As was the case yesterday, the Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Not sure what’s going on with this, but please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

Rockies lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Michael Lorenzen, RHP

A tale of two Imanagas.

First seven starts: 2.40 ERA, 0.852 WHIP, three HR allowed in 41.1 innings
Last six starts: 7.53 ERA, 1.356 WHIP, 14 (!) HR allowed in 34.2 innings

Now you explain that to me. He doesn’t seem injured. How could that much good pitching completely fall apart?

If you know, please tell Tommy Hottovy and Craig Counsell.

Imanaga’s only career start vs. the Rockies was his very first MLB start, April 1, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He threw six shutout innings and struck out nine. Again, a lot of those guys aren’t on the team anymore — hey, even Kris Bryant played for Colorado in that game!

So, Imanaga’s never pitched at Coors Field before. Good luck, Shōta.

And if you think Imanaga’s year is bad, oh my gosh, look at Michael Lorenzen’s numbers.

Lorenzen was once a decent back-of-the-rotation guy, but this year has been just terrible. His ERA has been under 6 — once (at 5.97), after he threw seven good innings against the Mets April 24. Since then: seven starts. 9.84 ERA, 2.125 WHIP, seven home runs in 32 innings.

Seriously, if the Cubs can’t hit this guy…

Ian Happ has homered twice off Lorenzen. Do that again, Ian.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Coors Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row. If you do go there to interact with Rockies 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.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Still buzzing from last night? Yeah, me too. So let’s just run it back for fun!

Braden Montgomery’s big-league debut last night was just about perfect. The kid showed up, swung big, and helped grab the W in one of the wildest wins of the year. He’s right back in there tonight, hitting fifth, as the Sox try to stack another victory on top of Monday’s fireworks against the best club in baseball.

However, the challenge this evening gets considerably tougher.

On the mound: two arms having monster years, but all eyes are on the guy coming home. Chris Sale, back in Chicago. Hard to believe it’s been almost ten years since the Sox shipped him to Boston for the Yoán Moncada-Michael Kopech lottery ticket (plus Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz, remember them? Yeah, me either). Moncada and Kopech were supposed to change everything. A decade later, Sale is still out there, doing exactly what he’s always done, and Moncada and Kopech are long gone.

The southpaw, now 37, is 8-4 with a 2.23 ERA and a WHIP barely over one in 72-plus innings. His Baseball Savant page? Still bleeding red. He’s in the 95th percentile for chase rate, 89th for strikeouts, and 91st for keeping hitters from barreling him up. The slider is still pure filth, making hitters look foolish from both sides.

For the White Sox, the formula is simple in theory and difficult in practice.

Do not chase.

Sale’s whole deal is that he feasts on hitters who can’t lay off junk. Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas might be the antidote, since they’ll actually take a walk and grind out an at-bat. The Sox have to force Sale into the zone, wait for a mistake, and pray they don’t end up behind in the count where the slider turns into a magic trick. The silver lining? Sale’s looked a little human lately, getting tagged in two of his last three outings.

On our side, it’s Davis Martin, Chicago’s ace, and built from a totally different mold.

Martin isn’t blowing anyone away with heat. He survives on command, mixing pitches and a nasty bag of offspeed tricks. His breaking stuff is among the best in the league, and it’s turned him into a breakout story this year.

The problem? The opponent.

Atlanta’s lineup is stacked with guys who don’t do pitchers any favors. Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, the whole crew — they spit on borderline pitches and crush mistakes. Martin’s got a red flag because his hard-hit rate is in the basement, 13th percentile. He’s dodged bullets so far, but against a lineup like this, that’s playing with fire.

Martin’s best shot is to get ahead early. If he’s living in 0-1 and 1-2 counts, he can let the breaking stuff eat. If Atlanta flips the script and puts him in hitter’s counts, he’ll have to serve up the fastball, and that’s a recipe for disaster against this bunch.

After last night’s fireworks, everyone’s eyes will be watching Montgomery for an encore. But if the Sox want to steal another from the Braves, they’ll need patient at-bats against a Hall of Fame arm and another gem from their own rising ace.

First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT on CHSN, with radio coverage on ESPN 1000. Hopefully, the weather holds out, and the Good Guys can take a half-game lead on the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central with a win!