Category: Baseball

The Atlanta Braves affiliates played four close games, all defined by impressive starting pitching and late runs deciding the outcome. Cade Kuehler had a particularly impressive day with eight strikeouts and 23 whiffs generated, but he was far from the only headlining pitcher. Herick Hernandez made his return to Columbus with a four inning masterpiece, and down in Augusta Derek Vartanian continued to be one of the fringe prospects who has impressed early this season.

(30-30) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (24-36) Norfolk Tides 4

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, 2B: 0-5, .304/.402/.439
• Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 0-3, BB, .262/.366/.488
• Anthony Molina, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4.37 ERA

The Stripers did a great job of opening up a lead against the Tides on Thursday, but failed to add on in the latter half of the game, leaving the bullpen with the tall task of protecting a slim lead. Gwinnett had a comfortable going early at the plate and opened up a lead on a double from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the second inning, a lead they would hold for most of the game. They added a couple of more runs on a single from Maverick Handley in the fourth inning, giving the pitching staff a solid lead to work with over the five innings, though that would dwindle quickly across the coming frames. Following the Handley single the offense completely disappeared for the last half of the game. Jim Jarvis had an 0-5 performance at the plate with three strikeouts, putting an end to a strong stretch of play for him over his past five games. Jarvis hadn’t had a multi-strikeout game in two weeks prior to this performance and hadn’t had three strikeouts in a game since May, but this was probably the worst he has looked at the plate in any individual game this season.

Anthony Molina started this game on a heater, because despite giving up some solid contact the Tides struggled to actually get the barrel to the ball consistently. Molina threw a ton of strikes and his secondaries were all effective at getting whiffs in this game, and he was particularly sharp in a stretch between the second and third innings where he recorded five strikeouts and a pop out across a six batter span. However Molina had some moments where he struggled to keep breaking balls down in the strike zone, and that bit him in a huge way in the fifth inning. Molina hung a curveball right over the heart of the plate to Tommy Pham, who hit an absolute tank for a three-run home run that spoiled an otherwise stellar start. Molina left after that fifth inning, and that was the start of the real trouble for the Stripers. Victor Mederos had all kinds of trouble with his command in this one, both missing badly out of the strike zone and right over the heart of the plate with concerning frequency. The Tides took advantage and notched three hits and the tying run in the game off of him in the sixth inning, though he managed to escape a jam thanks to a big strikeout of Sam Huff and he got a second opportunity to pitch in the seventh. Mederos kept it together for a few batters but made some mistakes with two outs and gave up another run that stuck him and the Stripers with the loss.

Swing and Misses

Anthony Molina – 17

Victor Mederos – 4

Connor Thomas – 3

(25-27) Columbus Clingstones 5, (27-26) Rocket City Trash Pandas 3

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 2-4, .253/.320/.420
• David McCabe, 1B: 2-5, RBI, .266/.370/.539
• Adam Zebrowski, C: 1-4, HR, .267/.343/.544
• Herick Hernandez, SP: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.52ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB. 2 K, 6.11 ERA

Herick Hernandez is finally back and healthy with the Clingstones, and once again he looked strong on the mound for them with four impressive innings. Hernandez’s command was shaky-though that may not necessarily be a sign of rust for him-yet he managed to continue his pattern of great pitching this year as Rocket City had no real answer to finding solid contact against him. Hernandez wasn’t sharp enough with his fastball to get the level of swing-and-miss we have seen out of him in past outings, but the carry on that four seam fastball led to a lot of lazy fly outs mixed with enough whiffs to keep the lineup moving and avoid too many balls in play. Hernandez’s command will continue to be the big red flag for his profile, but his stuff is so nasty it sort of hasn’t mattered yet. He’s managed to make this jump to Double-A and improve his strike-throwing and walk rate slightly while actually getting more whiffs than before, and there is a lot more consistency with his command on the field even if it’s not at the level it needs to be yet. The bullpen nearly got themselves into real trouble in the innings after Hernandez left, allowing three runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the fifth inning explosion by the offense was enough for them to hold on. Luis Vargas got back on track with one of his better relief appearances this spring, and even though the overall numbers are ugly he is missing bats and control is a bit better than last season, so progress is being made despite the glacial pace it seems to come at for him.

The Clingstones could not figure out Angels 2025 third-rounder Nate Snead the first time through the lineup, as he blanked them across the first four innings of this game to keep pace with Hernandez. Then the hits started to tumble out in the fifth inning and they did not stop until Snead was chased from the game with only one out recorded. Patrick Clohisy looked good at the plate and broke the scoreless tie with a base hit, and the Clingstones put up a four spot with five hits off of Snead. After he left they went right back to their quiet ways with the bats, though Adam Zebrowski did make a loud addition in the seventh inning. He showed off his strength with a long solo home run into the right-center field gap to add a bit of insurance on, and so far he has had a huge week at the plate since coming back down from Gwinnett. All four of his hits in the past three games have been extra base hits.

Swing and Misses

Herick Hernandez – 8

Luis Vargas – 5

(29-25) Rome Emperors 5, (21-31) Greenville Drive

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-5, 2B, .262/.339/.425
• John Gil, SS: 1-3, BB, RBI, .262/.373/.419
• Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, RBI, .291/.363/.558
• Cade Kuehler, SP: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 3.71 ERA

Cade Kuehler has made an impressive turnaround to his season over the past month, and delivered his most dominant start of the year despite having a rough command day relative to recent standards. Over his past five games Kuehler has turned it up, both getting a high swing-and-miss rate (33.5%) while not sacrificing strike-throwing or allowing the home runs that plagued him early in the season. Two of those did not carry over well into this game. Kuehler missed the plate more often than he has across his strong stretch of play, which did cause some trouble for him, but these hitters struggled to make any contact against him so it didn’t matter. The only exception to that was a rather huge one, when they tried to run him out for the sixth inning and he struggled. He walked the first hitter then left a breaking ball right over the heart of the plate which got crushed for a two-run home run, ending his no-hitter and shutout in one swing. Otherwise, Kuehler got 23 whiffs on 43 swings, was forcing a ton of infield pop ups, and mostly cruised even through the occasional walks.

No Emperor had a big breakout day at the plate, though with steady production throughout and one big swing from Cody Miller they put up enough runs to take the game in extra innings. Miller put the Emperors on the board in the fourth inning following a leadoff walk to Dixon Williams, taking a fat slider and pulling it for his sixth home run of the season. Miller is still struggling to find consistent impact at the plate but officially seems over the whiff issues that defined his early struggles this season, with a stretch now of nine games in which he only has six strikeouts. His current season numbers are the high water mark for him since May 12th, and given that he is hitting the ball harder and making consistent contact I expect to watch them continually drift up. Isaiah Drake led off in the fifth inning with a hot swing, hitting a hard line drive down the right field line that stayed fair and bounded over the wall for a ground-rule double. Drake would take advantage of a wild pitch to advance to third base, and John Gil lifted a fly ball that was deep enough to allow Drake to score and extend the lead to 3-0. The issue that faced the Emperors was a lack of ability to string hits together. That was the case throughout the game, but in the 9th inning Miller reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout, creating a sliver of hope in a game that had swung in Greenville’s favor and had them leading 4-3. It got down to two outs after a couple of ground outs, but with the last gasp of breath Colby Jones hit a pop up into shallow right field, which pittered off of the glove of the sliding right fielder and fell harmlessly for a lucky RBI double. In extra innings John Gil got himself on the board with a one out base hit, bringing up Eric Hartman who only needed to get one into the outfield to score Dalton McIntyre from third base. He did just that, walking the game off with a sacrifice fly.

Swing and Misses 

Cade Kuehler – 23

Riley Frey – 5

(30-24) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (19-35) Delmarva Shorebirds

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, SS: 2-3, BB, RBI, .302/.432/.508
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-4, .306/.353/.510
• Derek Vartanian, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.94 ERA

The GreenJackets put up a disappointing offensive performance, save for Tate Southisene who had a couple of hits in the game to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Southisene has been unquestionably fantastic for the GreenJackets at the top of the order, and really put them in a great position to win this game late. In the eighth inning Augusta only trailed 2-0, and Southisene came to the plate with a couple of men on and drove a sharp single through the right side. With still no outs in the inning and two runners on there was a huge opportunity for Augusta to at least tie the game. but it wasn’t meant to be. Luis Guanipa popped out into shallow center field keeping all of the runners at bay, and in a critical spot Juan Mateo popped out to the infield for the second out. Michael Martinez then grounded out and the Shorebirds put one out for two runs in the top of the ninth to seal the game. Nick Montgomery did add on with a home run in the ninth inning, but the bottom of the order didn’t have the firepower to drag Augusta back into the game.

It’s rather a shame, too, that Augusta’s bats had a down evening because Derek Vartanian 100% pitched well enough to deserve a win in this game. Coming off of his worst outing of the season Vartanian bounced back and commanded the ball much better, and the Shorebirds hit ground ball after ground ball to help him advance through the lineup with ease. He’s been consistently around the 25% whiff rate range, which is where he was today, and has produced loads of weak ground balls to keep offenses from being able to put up runs. In the first inning an errors by Luis Guanipa allowed a runner to get to third base and score a quick one against Vartanian, but other than that one unearned run he was in full control of this game for the first four innings. A bunt single in the fifth inning and an inside out double that rolled down the left field line accounted for the only other run he allowed.

Swing and Misses

Derek Vartanian – 10

Lewis Sifontes – 8

Happy Friday A’s Fans! Hope everyone’s week has been going well so far.

The Athletics have had more success this week, once again showcasing better performances on the road than at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. They got the weeklong road trip started with a series win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They were in prime opportunity to get the sweep, but suffered a bullpen collapse, resulting in a walk-off loss to end the series against the Cubs.

The majority of the A’s roster has performed better on the road. The pitching staff has performed particularly well, posting a noticeably lower ERA away from home. Take left-hander Gage Jump, for example. He surrendered four runs on nine hits in his first MLB start at home before tossing seven innings of one-run ball against the Chicago Cubs on the road. However, the team’s bullpen remains shaky regardless of where the A’s play.

 The A’s look to continue their stellar road form during this weekend’s three-game series against the division-rival Houston Astros. The last time these two teams met in Houston, Nick Kurtz launched four home runs in a historic performance that helped secure American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Right-hander Jack Perkins will make his first start of the season in the series opener. In 17 relief appearances, the 26-year-old is 2-2 with a 5.46 ERA and three saves. He has struggled recently and is now set to join the rotation following a series of injuries and ineffective performances among the club’s other starting pitchers. His performance will determine whether this is a one-time spot start or the beginning of a permanent role in the rotation.

On Saturday, A’s right-handed pitching prospect Kade Morris is lined up to make his first MLB start. He faces a stiff test against a lineup that includes Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve. Will Morris sink or swim?

Sunday, the A’s wrap up the road trip with left-hander Gage Jump on the mound, looking to follow up his quality start at Wrigley with another solid outing. From the other dugout, A’s hitters will face Astros right-handers Peter Lambert, Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows.

Can the A’s make it two straight series wins? What are your expectations for this upcoming series in Houston?

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Falter Late, Drop Finale To Cubs 7-6
• Wednesday Potpourri: What’s Up With Butler, Closer, June Plan?
• Bullpen, Late Rally Lift A’s to 10-Inning Win Over the Cubs
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In June
• Las Vegas is the home the A’s have been waiting for
• The A’s Inability To Play Well At Home Is Embarrassing
• A’s Unravel in Series and Homestand Finale
• A’s call up pitching prospect Kade Morris
• Road, sweet road? A’s ready for reset after rough homestand
• Arnold and Jump are both slinging … anyone else reminded of another A’s duo?
• Braves Acquire Austin Wynns, Adding Another Layer to A’s Catcher Connection
• Ginn’s glow-up: A’s hurler coming into his own at right time
• Three Dark Horse Trade Candidates for Athletics This Summer
• June update: 2026 top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams
• Athletics Early MLB Draft Preview
• The A’s may have finally found their new leadoff hitter
• Wilson takes swings in next step toward return from IL

MLB News and Interest:

• Jeff Passan’s early 2026 MLB trade deadline preview
• 7 reasons Ohtani might really be ‘the best player that’s ever walked this earth’
• Corbin Burnes Suffers Teres Major Strain, Likely Out Until September
• Judge to miss time with stress fracture in ribs but expected to return this season
• Blue Jays To Acquire Simeon Woods Richardson From Twins
• Twins’ Bailey Ober blames elbow woes on slick baseballs at Fenway
• Breaking down the All-Star Ballot position by position
• Altuve takes live BP, could return as early as weekend series vs. A’s
• Commissioner Manfred discusses exchange of initial proposals to begin CBA talks
• Padres designate Nick Castellanos for assignment; Taylor called up
• Latest mock draft: NCAA upsets shake up first-round scouting plans
• Reds Option TJ Friedl, Recall Noelvi Marté
• Giants reliever Matt Gage goes on IL with knee inflammation
• The Pirates Finally Have an Offense
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

With voting now underway for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, Athletics fans should get behind catcher Shea Langeliers as well as first baseman Kurtz, both of whom are emerging as legitimate All-Star contenders.

After playing three games against the Houston Astros this weekend, the A’s will spend next week in Las Vegas, hosting the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies at the stadium of the A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators.

Athletics’ 20-year-old left-handed pitching prospect, Wei-En Lin, has been dominant at Double-A. It will be fascinating to see how he handles the jump to Triple-A when he inevitably gets promoted, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Over the past week, the San Diego Padres lost five of the six games played. The Philadelphia Phillies just swept the season series 6-0, while the Padres have only won four of their last 15 games; losing five in a row. Some of those losses were by one run, but a loss is a loss. They now sit with a 32-29 record, in third place and 7 games behind the Dodgers.

Roster changes

Bench player Nick Castellanos was designated for assignment while outfielder Ramón Laureano was placed on the injured list with hip inflammation. The two best hitters at Triple-A El Paso were called up to provide some power potential and defensive flexibility, per manager Craig Stammen. 

Jase Bowen, 25, has the potential to exhibit five tools but must show he can hit at the major league level. He can play all three outfield spots. Samad Taylor plays all three outfield spots and can play second base. Taylor has previous MLB experience with two other teams, but his experience is limited to 39 games.

More than one problem

The offense, which remains either the worst in baseball or the second worst in all offensive averages, is not the only problem for the Friars. Over the past nine games, in which the Padres lost eight, there have been two quality starts from the pitchers.

Griffin Canning lost 3-0 in the first game of the Phillies series at home despite going 6.2 innings with three runs allowed. Then seven games later, Walker Buehler pitched six innings against the Phillies in Philadelphia with one earned run allowed. Eventually losing 3-2, the Padres saw reliever Jason Adam allow two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings in the seventh inning.

The bullpen has seen some hiccups as well, dropping from its top slot. With a 3.18 ERA, the bullpen now sits fifth in the major league rankings. The only bright side to all the losing is that closer Mason Miller has worked once in the past nine games and should be well-rested.

Another award for Mason Miller

Speaking of Mason Miller, he won Reliever of the Month for May. This is his second time winning the award.

Manny Machado

Despite hitting .174 with a .619 OPS in 214 at-bats, Manny Machado remains on pace for his season norms for home runs and RBI. Machado has hit 11 home runs with 32 RBI despite striking out 58 times in 241 plate appearances (24% K rate). He doesn’t appear to be seeing the ball well and is uncharacteristically watching strikes pass through the center of the zone.

A shortened lineup

The bottom of the Padres lineup features hitters who have been below the Mendoza line (.200) for the season. Before his release, Castellanos was a participant at the bottom of the order and was hitting .191. Catchers Freddy Fermin (.126) and Rodolfo Durán (.083) are practically automatic outs with OBP percentages below .300. 

Catcher Luis Campusano remains on the injured list with a broken toe and hasn’t begun his rehab yet. Catcher Blake Hunt, who has a better bat than either Fermin or Durán, just finished his rehab stint and has rejoined El Paso. There will still be some time before this situation can improve.

Before his injury, second baseman Jake Cronenworth was hitting .144 with a .272 OBP. When he plays, Sung-Mun Song hits in the bottom of the order with his .154 average and .290 OBP. 

The two newly promoted bench players, Bowen and Taylor, will be hitting in the bottom third. The team can hope that they will settle in and improve on some of these numbers.

Fernando Tatis Jr.

OF/2B Fernando Tatis Jr. got his first home run of the season on May 30 against the Washington Nationals. Over the past 15 games, Tatis is hitting .379/.438/.466 with three RBI, five walks and three stolen bases. 

After making almost constant adjustments during his hitting slump, Tatis seems to have found something that has unlocked his swing. He has also resumed his spot as the leadoff hitter, even though his OBP is .321 leading off. He swings at a lot of first pitches and his average as a leadoff hitter is .243.

Injury updates

RHP Germán Márquez began his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday. He threw 2.1 innings with a hit and three strikeouts while hitting 96 mph with his fastball. He has a 30-day rehab window.

RHP Nick Pivetta has begun a throwing program by playing catch. There is no timetable for his return.

RHP Joe Musgrove began his throwing program on Wednesday. He is also just playing catch at this point and there is no timetable for his return.

Cronenworth is progressing slowly with his baseball activities. Stammen has reported that Cronenworth is swinging a bat, throwing, doing some light running, and staying under medical care as his concussion symptoms begin to subside. There is no timetable for his return.

Campusano is in Arizona, working through his baseball activities in order to resume his work as a catcher. There has been no announcement on when he will begin his rehab assignment.

Two of my all-time favorite announcer calls are “Do you believe in miracles… Yes!” and “I don’t believe what I just saw.” Iconic quotes of iconic moments made by Al Michaels and Jack Buck, two of the all-time greats. With all due respect to both of them, despite the insane improbability of a Cubs team going through what it has the last three weeks, this comeback was actually the least surprising thing in this game to me.

Some thoughts I’ve had on social media tonight for discussion. This felt like a month’s worth of two-out runners in scoring position hits for the Cubs, all in one inning. For those not counting at home, there were three separate two-out runner(s) in scoring position hits for the Cubs in the ninth inning. There was an additional hit with two outs and a runner not in scoring position.

The other thought I had on social media was to wonder if a team can hit rock bottom in a game that they ended up winning? The team had two hits through six innings, four hits through seven (and eight) and then seven hits in the ninth inning. What even is that? I noted before the series that the A’s bullpen has been a bottom 10 bullpen in major league baseball this year. They had represented excellently in the first two games of the series. Your starter getting deep in all three games can make them look so much better. But then the A’s bullpen immolated in the ninth inning. I will say this, for all of the struggles of the Cubs, the Cub defense would not have let all seven of those hits find grass. We take it for granted, but this Cub defense makes a ton of plays others just can’t.

On top of the not hitting, there was a caught stealing in the middle of the rally. I know the conventional wisdom is that you don’t make the first or the third out on the bases in an inning. But I don’t really know how you can get caught stealing down two in the ninth either. I think you take second if they are giving it to you, but the A’s were in no way giving it to you. I love Nico, but I didn’t like the strategy there. I thought sure the rally was doomed there.

Then there was the missed fly ball. I love Pete Crow-Armstrong. Absolutely, the Cubs don’t win this game without his bat. But boy was that a tough watch. I saw someone say it and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone miss one so bad. He had to have picked up something else off of the bat and ran to completely the wrong spot on the field. In those spots, I have trouble getting mad directly at the player. The Cubs have benefitted from so many high flys at Wrigley this year that were lost in some combination of lighting and the elements. It happens. If you ever played much outfield, or probably even infield, I suspect this has happened to you somewhere along the way. But as brutal a play as you’ll ever see.

Shōta Imanaga threw quite well early in this game, but after the missed fly, he seemed to unravel. If things weren’t bad enough, that missed fly looks like a booming homer on his line. The three he allowed that left the park were not cheapies. You had to know that it was pretty dicey seeing Imanaga pitching on a night when the wind is blowing out pretty good. Simply not ideal. If there is any rebound in the Cubs, I have to imagine that in some order Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd are their top three pitchers. You then just have to hope you can pick spots adequately with all of your depth pitchers. But if Imanaga, Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon are starting key games, this team is probably in trouble.

For math purposes, the Cubs had 3.9 percent chance of winning heading to the bottom of the ninth. Happ’s RBI double with one out had it up to 11.5 and Hoerner’s single sent it to 20.9 percent. But it cratered to 4.6 percent with the caught stealing. Seiya Suzuki’s single sent it to 16.7 percent. Dansby Swanson’s single sent it to 63.5 percent. A giant Wheee! And the Cubs walk it off for the seventh time this season. Incredible.

Three Positives:

• I’ve never singled out a stat for a slot here, but the Cubs were 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position, left just four men in base and had three two-out RBI, all in the ninth inning.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had two hits, one a homer, was hit by a pitch, stole a base and delivered the walk-off winner for his first such hit of his MLB career. Kudos to a very alert Clark who located the ball in the outfield and grabbed it for PCA’s souvenir collection and almost fell over trying to scoop it up while holding the W flag.
• Ian Happ double, homer, three runs driven in, two runs scored. I laughed because one fairly recognizable Cub fan on twitter called the two-run homer a meaningless homer in a losing cause. I’m sure he’s happy to be wrong. You never know. That’s why you keep playing.

An additional hat tip to Trent Thornton and particularly Ryan Rolison. 12 batters between them — Rolison recorded five outs on five hitters, striking out three — and holding the line. Again, it looks like they were just holding the line, but it turned out they kept it just within reach. Though PCA’s single probably scores two with two out.

Game 63, June 4: Cubs 7, A’s 6 (33-30)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.448). 2-4, HR, HBP, 2 RBI, R, SB
• Hero: Dansby Swanson (.397). 1-4, RBI
• Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.072). 1-1, R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Shata Imanaga (-.191). 6 IP, 6 H, BB, 6 ER, 5 K
• Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.152). 1-4, CS
• Kid: Alex Bregman (-.082). 1-4, 2B, R

WPA Play of the Game: Dansby Swanson’s two-out, game-tying, RBI-single in the ninth inning. (.468)

A’s Play of the Game: Jonah Heim throwing out Nico Hoerner trying to steal second with a nice tag by Alika Williams at second. (.163)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 62 Winner: Colin Rea nudged Ian Happ 46-42 (131 votes)

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Busch +21
• Nico Hoerner +111
• Ian Happ +10.5
• Michael Conforto +10
• Ben Brown +9.5
• Ryan Rolison/Phil Maton/Jameson Taillon/Caleb Thielbar -8
• Matt Shaw -10
• Dansby Swanson -11
• Seiya Suzuki -29.5

Win Pace: 84.9

Up Next: The Giants (25-38) come to town fresh off of winning two games in a row in Milwaukee to take that three game series. But they are 3-7 in their last 10. Edward Cabrera (3-2, 4.00, 54 IP) comes off of the injured list after a minimum stay there for blisters on his throwing hand. He was 0-2 with a 5.79 in May. Hopefully, this was exactly the kind of reset he needed.

How about another lefty starter? The Cubs have been struggling to win games started by left-handed starters recently. Robbie Ray is 3-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 62.2 innings. The former 12th-round pick of the Nationals back in 2010 is having a tough season. He had a decent start last time out against the Rockies, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks in four innings. He hasn’t completed five innings since May 8.

The Giants bullpen is 28th in strikeouts, 25th in WHIP, but 16th in ERA. They only have a collective seven losses, tied for second best in baseball. So all of the losing is actually happening while the starter is still in there. Even with the series win in Milwaukee, the Giants are just 13-22 on the road.

I know it is a big ask, but the Cubs need to sweep this team.

The Yankees managed to salvage a win and avoid a sweep by the Guardians at Yankee Stadium on the back of strong solid pitching from Carlos Rodón, shutdown bullpen work, and some clutch hitting by Ryan McMahon. With the win, the Yankees climb to within a half-game of the Rays, who had the day off. The win came as a much-needed positive boost in an otherwise troubling day in Yankees universe, the team finally confirming that Aaron Judge has been dealing with a stress fracture in his ribcage that will sideline the captain for a minimum of four-to-six weeks.

It was an otherwise quiet day around the league, with only the Blue Jays in action among the Yankees’ AL rivals. They themselves avoided a sweep with a hit parade in the final game against the Braves in Atlanta, Toronto amassing seven runs on 16 hits against the best team in baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays (30-33) 7, Atlanta Braves (42-21) 2

The ageless Chris Sale continues to defy Father Time, but the Blue Jays lineup appeared to be seeing the ball as well as any team that has faced him this season. They put him to the sword early and never let up that constant pressure. Sale was lucky to escape the first two innings unscathed. George Springer doubled and Ernie Clement singled to lead off the first, but Sale got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fly out and struck out the next two batters to strand the pair. An inning later, Nathan Lukes drew a leadoff walk and Tyler Heineman singled with one out to put another pair on, but Sale once again stranded the runners in place.

He would not be so fortunate in the third with Toronto continuing to press forward. Vladdy doubled with one out and Kazuma Okamoto reached on an infield single to put runners on first and second for the third straight inning. This time, Charles McAdoo — called up to replace the injured Lenyn Sosa and handed his MLB debut last week — broke through, lining a single up the middle to plate Vladdy and advance Okamoto to second. Sale then hit Lukes with a first-pitch sinker to load the bases for Myles Straw, whose ground ball single up the middle allowed Okamoto and McAdoo to score, though Sale avoided further damage by getting Heineman to ground into the inning ending double play that included Lukes getting thrown out at the plate.

The Blue Jays had to love this early production against Sale considering they countered the Braves ace with a bullpen game. Opener Mason Fluharty recorded the first four outs before handing the ball to bulk man Chad Dallas making his MLB debut, and the 25-year-old righty held the potent Atlanta offense to a run on two hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. He backed himself into a corner in the bottom of the third, yielding a leadoff single to Ronald Acuña Jr., who then stole second and advanced to third on a Mauricio Dubón single. Matt Olson plated Acuña with a sac fly that also advanced Dubón to third, and a two-out walk of Michael Harris Jr. put runners on the corners. However, Dallas made a slick behind-the-back grab on a Dominic Smith grounder up the middle to end the threat.

From there, the game settled into a pitchers’ duel in the middle innings, the Blue Jays continuing to apply pressure without finding the timely hit that would put the game to bed. Sale allowed a pair of singles to Vladdy and Lukes in the fifth but induced a Straw line out to end the frame. A Springer two-out walk followed by a Clement single knocked Sale from the game in the sixth, but reliever Didier Fuentes got Vladdy to ground out to strand another pair of Toronto base runners and wrap up Sale’s final line at three runs on ten hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

It looked like these wasted opportunities would come back to haunt the Blue Jays when Dubón crushed a no-doubter solo shot in the eighth off a hanging 1-0 Braydon Fisher slider to pull within one. However, they erupted for four runs in the ninth inning off reliever-turned-starter-turned-reliever Reynaldo López to arrive at a 7-2 scoreline that didn’t flatter them in the slightest. Clement and Vladdy clubbed a pair of singles to leadoff the inning, but López quickly retired the next two hitters and came within a strike of escaping the jam to send his offense to the bottom of the ninth trailing by just a run. However, Lukes kept fouling off pitches until he was able to line a single to right to plate Clement and move Vladdy to second. From there, the floodgates opened, Straw singling Vladdy home and Heineman doubling to score both Lukes and Straw. In the blink of an eye, the Blue Jays turned a one run lead into an insurmountable five run lead to salvage a win from this series despite stranding 12 base runners on the day.

Does it feel like you just read the preview for a series with the Toronto Blue Jays? That’s because you did. These two teams just played each other last weekend, although then it was in Baltimore. This weekend it is in Toronto. The two teams split that series. The Blue Jays took the first two games and the Orioles took the last two.

The Orioles and Blue Jays have the same record, 30-33. It would be really cool to leave Toronto with the Orioles ahead of the Blue Jays in the standings. I haven’t been paying much attention to the AL East standings, what with the Orioles so far behind the Rays and Yankees, but it would still be fun to have a better record than the defending AL champions.

One good thing about the Orioles is that in their last 11 games, they have gone 8-3. The thing is, two of those losses came to the team they are playing this weekend.

Before heading into the series matchups, I am going to shamelessly steal two paragraphs from my colleague, Alex Church. He wrote the series preview for last weekend’s series. And let’s be honest, not much enough time has passed for much to change.

Here’s Alex:

The Jays have been trying to overcome early injuries to several key players. The team lost Dylan Cease, José Berríos, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer from its rotation. Alejandro Kirk is out with a left thumb fracture, and our old pal Anthony Santander has yet to make an impact for his new team after undergoing left shoulder labral surgery.

Former international free agent Kazuma Okamoto leads the team with 11 home runs. Vlad Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Daulton Varsho, and Jesús Sánchez remain offensive threats. Louis Varland (2-1, 0.31 ERA) has taken over the closer job from near Orioles Jeff Hoffman (3-3, 4.81 ERA). I can’t imagine Hoffman will find much pity in the comment section.

Game 1: Friday, June 5th, 7:07 PM

RHP Brandon Young (8 GS, 43 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.372 WHIP) vs RHP Trey Yesavage (7 GS, 37 IP, 2.19 ERA, 1.162 WHIP)

This is a rematch of game three of last week’s series. The Orioles won that one, but only because Jeff Hoffman and Connor Seabold blew the game in the ninth inning. The Orioles managed just one run in five innings against Yesavage, even though he walked seven batters. Hopefully, the Orioles take better advantage this time. Although Yesavage is a pretty good pitcher so I wouldn’t expect seven walks again.

Brandon Young’s ERA is down to 3.35! So far, his 2026 is turning out a lot better than I expected. He is coming off back-to-back starts in which he went 6.2 innings with two runs allowed. I will take that every start of his for the rest of the season. Against the Blue Jays last week, Young struck out seven and walked one. He allowed seven hits, two of which were doubles.

Game 2: Saturday, June 6th, 3:07 PM

RHP Kyle Bradish (12 GS, 65.1 IP, 3.44 ERA, 1.423 WHIP) vs TBD

It seems the vintage Kyle Bradish is back, and the Blue Jays saw it for themselves last Sunday. He pitched seven innings with just one unearned run allowed. He walked three and allowed four hits. Since giving up five runs in four innings to the Yankees on May 2nd, Bradish has made five starts and has pitched at least six innings in four of them. He has allowed 3, 0, 2, 1, and 1 runs in those starts. Keep it up, Kyle!

In the game last Sunday, Bradish faced Spencer Miles, who is not a regular starter. Miles was not good, so the matchup will not repeat. As of this writing, there is no word on who will get the ball.

Game 3: Sunday, June 7th, 1:37 PM

RHP Shane Baz (12 GS, 71.1 IP, 4.29 ERA, 1.374 WHIP) vs RHP Kevin Gausman (13 GS, 75 IP, 3.36 ERA, 1.093 WHIP)

Old friend alert! Former Oriole, Kevin Gausman, is scheduled to pitch the series finale. The Orioles missed Guasman in the last series, but couldn’t avoid him forever. Gausman is in the last year of his five-year contract with the Jays, and he has given them their money’s worth. He has not only been effective, with a 3.47 ERA over five seasons, but he has been durable. He made at least 31 starts every year from 2022-25, and is on track to do so again this season.

The overall numbers haven’t caught up yet, but Shane Baz is starting to turn things around. Over his last four starts, he has looked like the kind of guy you sign to a friendly extension. He has pitched seven innings in three of his last four starts, and is pitching confidently. Baz missed the Blue Jays last week but pitched seven innings against the Red Sox instead.

So what do you think? How will the Orioles do this weekend against the Blue Jays? Put your answers in the comments below!

Another good night for Clearwater was the only saving grace among the Phillies system last night, as the Threshers were the only one of the Phillies’ affiliates to win their game. Even still, there were some standout performances in those other losses. 

Rochester 7, Lehigh Valley 1

The Iron Pigs managed just one run on four hits against the Red Wings’ pitching staff led by starter Jackson Kent while Lehigh Valley’s Nolan Hoffman and Gabriel Barbossa surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits in just three combined innings. The only run of the game for the Pigs came in the second when catcher Paul McIntosh singled to left with two outs to bring in Keaton Anthony. Anthony continued his impressive hitting, collecting two of the Pigs’ four hits and bringing his season average to .333 with a .968 OPS. 

Binghamton 2, Reading 1 (10)

Gage Wood impressed again for the Fightin’ Phils, going four innings and allowing one run, a home run in the first inning, on four hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts. He threw 56 pitches, 39 for strikes on the night. But the Reading offense couldn’t back him up, as they scored just one run on three hits which came in the fifth on a Cade Fergus bases loaded sacrifice fly. The game was tied at 1-1 heading into extras, but the Fightin’ Phils couldn’t plate their ghost runner in the top of the inning while the Rumble Ponies did with a single from D’Andre Smith to walk it off against Daniel Harper. 

Brooklyn 5, Jersey Shore 2

The Blue Claws continued the theme of the night across the system, as they managed just 2 runs despite totaling 8 hits. They went 1-6 with runners in scoring position and plated their runs with a Luis Caicuto home run in the eighth and a Trent Farquhar RBI double that scored Devan Saltiban in the ninth. The aforementioned home run was part of a three hit day for Caicuto, as the catcher/DH now sports an .848 OPS. Jersey starter Mavis Graves racked up 7 strikeouts in just 4 innings of work but allowed three runs on just three hits including a home run. 

Clearwater 10, Mets 4

The Threshers saved the night with another good win against the Port St. Lucie Mets, this time with an offensive explosion as every hitter in the starting lineup except Juan Villavicencio had at least one hit and four starters had at least two. One such two-hit game was for Alirio Ferrebus, as the bus kept chugging along with a 2-5 showing including an RBI and two runs scored. His average is now up to .339 with a .928 OPS. Cade Obermueller started on the mound for Clearwater and punched out six in three innings of work with one run allowed. Tegan Cain however allowed three runs in the eighth on a two-out, bases-loaded double after allowing the bases to become loaded with a single, a hit-by-pitch, and a walk. 

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will renew a rivalry with a weekend series in the Bronx starting this evening.

The Yankees swept Boston earlier this year already and will look to extend their winning streak over their fierce foe to six tonight. The Bronx Bombers are favorites tonight, and we expect them to show why against a Red Sox arm that’s due for regression.

Read all about it in myYankees vs. Red Sox predictions and MLB picks for Friday, June 5.

Who will win Red Sox vs Yankees today: Yankees moneyline (-140)

Despite their struggles in the wake of AL MVP Aaron Judge's injury, the New York Yankees should take care of business tonight, and I'd play this to -165. 

Sonny Gray is due for negative regression. His 4.39 expected ERA is nearly a full run and a half higher than his actual ERA. Pulling these metrics down the most is a barrel rate that sits in the Bottom 33% of the sport.

Judge's absence is felt, but the Yankees still rank first in baseball in both barrel and hard-hit rate, built to expose Gray's contact profile.

COVERS INTEL: Sonny Gray drops his four-seam usage to 9% against right-handed hitters, forcing him into a cutter-heavy mix against a Yankees lineup that leads the league in barrel rate.

Red Sox vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-120)

This is a two-unit play on the Over, my seventh of the season. I made this number 8.3 and would play it to 8. 

We've talked about Gray and why this Yankees lineup can cause him problems, even without Judge. The other side is the Boston Red Sox offense, and I feel good about them in this matchup.

Ryan Weathers' nearly 30% strikeout rate is impressive, but a Bottom-15 percentile barrel rate cannot be trusted with a total this low, especially against a Boston lineup with four starters in the Top 30% of those metrics.

Red Sox vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Red Sox +125 | Yankees -150
• Run line: Red Sox +1.5 (-170) | Yankees -1.5 (+145)
• Over/Under: Over 8 | Under 8

Red Sox vs Yankees trend

The Yankees have cashed the Over in six of their last eight games for +3.75 units and a 43% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Red Sox vs. Yankees.

How to watch Red Sox vs Yankees and game info

Red Sox vs Yankees latest injuries

Red Sox vs Yankees weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Brayan Bello — the man some once called “Little Pedro” — is headed to Worcester. What a long strange trip it’s been. (Not the trip to Worcester — that’s pretty straightforward, though I don’t envy him making the drive on the Friday of a beautiful summer weekend).

I never really bought into the “mental” explanation of why he performed so much better with an opener this season. It just doesn’t seem to make much sense that someone who has pitched in 112 MLB games in his career would all of a sudden be freaked out by the first inning. But he is human, and the yips are real, and we could be witnessing some kind of fulfilling cycle of first inning doom here. It’s a fascinating thing to watch, really.

So what do the Red Sox do now? Garrett Crochet is not particularly close to returning. The Sox roster isn’t exactly well set-up for bullpen games. And the Sox have 9 games in the next 10 days. Trading Caleb Durbin for Kyle Harrison probably isn’t an option at this point, so is Jake Bennett going to be in the rotation for the foreseeable future, or would you like to see the Sox go another route?

Talk about depth starters, weird mental hangups, and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.

Texas Rangers outfielder Hector Osorio and infielder Rafe Perich were named the Player of the Month for the month of May for the Carolina League and the South Atlantic League, respectively.

Osorio — who we did a Q&A with earlier this week — put up a .339/.449/.598 slash line for the Hickory Crawdads in the month of May, with 15 walks against 13 Ks in 87 plate appearances. The 21 year old is slashing .291/.427/.547 in 50 games for Hickory this season, and would seem to be poised to be promoted to high-A Hub City in the not-too-distant future.

Perich, a corner infielder who turned 24 last month, was the Rangers’ 7th round pick out of Lehigh in 2024. Prior to his being promoted to AA Frisco late in the month, Perich had a .345/.448/.747 slash line for Hub City in May in 105 plate appearances, including 10 homers. Overall this year, Perich slashed .303/.394/.606 at high-A before being promoted.

Jackson Merrill ripped a two-run home run to right field that banged off the advertising on the face of the second deck and ricochetted back down onto the field as he rounded the bases en route to home plate where he completed his trip and pulled the San Diego Padres within two runs of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Padres trailed 6-4, but with no outs and Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado having already allowed two runs, there was a glimmer of hope that San Diego could pull off some late-inning magic and avoid the series sweep. Alvarado would not allow another run, in fact, he did not allow another baserunner, before closing out the game and securing the win for Philadelphia.

The Padres continued to struggle at the plate and saw six of nine batters who were in the starting lineup finish their day without a hit. San Diego amassed just four hits in the game with two of those hits accounting for the four runs scored. Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, which made the score 3-2 before Adrian Morejon took the ball in the bottom of the inning and allowed three runs on three hits with one walk. He was replaced on the mound by Wandy Peralta after 1/3 of an inning and the Phillies enjoyed a 6-2 lead.

Merrill drove in Ty France who walked to open the ninth inning, and the only other hits in the game for San Diego came from the No. 9 hitter, Bryce Johson. He singled in the sixth and singled in the eighth. Johnson moved to second in the eighth inning after a Gavin Sheets walk, but with two on and two out in the inning, Machado grounded to third to end the top half of the frame.

The Padres return to Petco Park to host the New York Mets today at 6:40 p.m. still looking to find some kind of offensive identity. The problem for San Diego now is the bullpen faltered multiple times on the road trip and are showing signs of wearing down and being less affective.

Padres News:

• The Padres catching tandem of Freddy Fermin and Rodolfo Duran have provided nothing at the plate recently, but minor league catcher Blake Hunt is hitting homers for El Paso.

• A.J. Preller is always one of the general managers the baseball world keeps an eye on at the trade deadline and this season could have an interesting deadline according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees are without their biggest bat in Aaron Judge, but they were able to squeak out a 2-1 win against the Cleveland Guardians to avoid a sweep.

• Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello was beat by the Baltimore Orioles, 8-2 and was optioned to Triple-A after the game.

• The San Francisco Giants split their series with the Milwaukee Brewers with a 12-9 win Thursday.

Hickory starter Jesus Lafalaise walked five and struck out three in 4.1 IP, allowing three runs.

Paulino Santana homered. Yolfran Castillo was 2 for 5. Josh Springer was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Dewar Tovar was 2 for 4 with a homer.

Hickory box score

Kamdyn Perry started for Hub City and struck out two and walked three in 4.2 shutout innings.

Gleider Figuereo and Patton Kling each had a hit.

Hub City box score

Frisco starter Winston Santos allowed three runs in five innings, striking out three and walking one. Bryan Magdaleno walked two and struck out two in an inning of work, allowing one run. Eric Loomis struck out two in a shutout inning, lowering his ERA on the year to 0.60. Ryan Lobus allowed a run in two innings, striking out one and walking one.

Dylan Dreiling was 3 for 4 with a homer and a walk. Arturo Disla and Rafe Perich had a hit apiece.

Frisco box score

For Round Rock, Thomas Ireland struck out out one in 1.1 shutout innings. Joe Ross struck out one in two scoreless inning.

Cam Cauley had a hit, a walk and a stolen base. Jarred Kelenic had a hit. Aaron Zavala had a hit. John Taylor doubled and walked.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

Earlier this week, All-Star voting for the 2026 season opened up. Over the next several weeks, fans will have the opportunity to make their choices for the starting lineups for the American and National League teams for this year’s edition of the game, taking place in Philadelphia to coincide with various celebrations for the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

It is, of course, a sacred duty for Orioles fans to vote for all Orioles, going back to the days of when these things were actual punch card ballots that got handed out by ushers in the stadiums. All those Yankees fans and Red Sox fans and whoever else would be voting in their assorted jabronis, so you better try to counter their ballot stuffing.

The punch cards have been gone for quite some time in favor of less-charming digital ballots. This year’s ballot is sponsored by a video game company known for giving the gaming world the ultimate cheat code: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start. Mike Elias puts in that code and he thinks he’s going to get his choice of waiver wire relievers and one-year contract starting pitchers. It probably won’t help him beat Contra and it hasn’t been great for the AL East lately either.

There have been fun years in recent memory where there was a deserving Oriole at a great number of positions and you didn’t have to be a ridiculous homer to vote for mostly or entirely Orioles ballots. Last year wasn’t one of those years. This year is also not looking like one. Even if several players go on a tear between now and the end of the voting period, people’s minds are largely made up before voting begins. Below is an attempt to carefully consider the case for each Oriole at each position and how they stack up to the competition.

Designated hitter

• The Oriole: Samuel Basallo
• Should you vote for him? Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Probably

There’s a Yordan Alvarez-sized problem for Basallo getting in as the starter in the American League. The Astros nearly-full-time designated hitter is, going into Thursday’s games, the best hitter so far in all of MLB, dropping a 1.075 OPS on the league. He’s hit 21 home runs already.

Even so, we can all be excited about what Basallo has done so far this season, particularly the way he rebounded after a tough first few weeks of the season to become one of the better young hitters out there. It’s nice that the Orioles have finally noticed and are lately playing him nearly every day, even against lefties. And he definitely deserves to be a reserve over just about anybody else you could name among AL designated hitters.

First base

• The Oriole: Pete Alonso
• Should you vote for him? Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Unfortunately, yes

Based on reports, the Orioles actually attempted to sign Kyle Schwarber the day before they signed Pete Alonso, but (this is my speculation) Schwarber just used the Orioles to drive up the price to return to the Phillies. I mention this because Schwarber has 23 home runs and Alonso so far only has 12. That’s not going to get anybody into the All-Star Game or probably even back into the Home Run Derby. As of this writing, Alonso is 8th in fWAR among primary first basemen, trailing people like Munetaka Murakami and Jonathan Aranda.

There were a lot of intangibles that the Orioles hoped they were getting in signing Alonso and it seems like they are getting those with veteran leadership and all that jazz. Some more tangibles would be nice too. There are four more years to get Alonso into the All-Star Game as an Oriole. People other than me might find this thought reassuring.

Second base

• The Oriole: Jeremiah Jackson
• Should you vote for him? Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Yes

Jackson was a fun story last year after arriving with little fanfare and having a good month of August. That feels very far away now. After a fantastic March/April where he had six home runs and drove in 24 runs, Jackson hasn’t homered yet in May or June and he’s OPSing under .500 since April turned to May. It’s too bad, because there’s not an overwhelming AL favorite here; it’s close between four guys, currently led in fWAR by Texas’s Ezequiel Duran. Maybe next year, Jackson Holliday can be a guy who deserves support.

Third base

• The Oriole: Coby Mayo
• Should you vote for him? Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Yes

The last 28 days split for Coby Mayo is .281/.359/.526. That might get him in the conversation for being a starter if he’d been doing that for the whole season. However, he had an OPS under .500 as recently as May 9. That’s not going to do it, particularly against a field that includes seven-time All-Star/likely future Hall of Famer José Ramírez. Might still be a good time to buy some Mayo stock anyway.

Shortstop

• The Oriole: Gunnar Henderson
• Should you vote for him? Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Yes

Even in the month of April, when he hit nine home runs, Henderson still didn’t manage to get his OBP over .300 or his SLG over .500. He’s only hit four home runs since and he isn’t hitting for average or getting on base while not hitting the homers either. I’m bummed about him, friends. This is the shortest entry because I don’t want to say any more.

Catcher

• The Oriole: Adley Rutschman
• Should you vote for him: Yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for him? Mostly

One aspect of being a sports fan is veering continually between “It is so over” and “We are SO back.” This dynamic may be exemplified most clearly by Rutschman, about whom my Camden Chat colleague Stacey and I are always asking, “Is Adley back?” And the thing is that, often, he is back. But the reason that he’s back is because he went away for a while and that kind of sucks. His most recent status is “not back,” refreshing the cycle yet again while probably not winning him very many neutral votes.

Outfield

• The Orioles: Leody Taveras, Dylan Beavers, Taylor Ward
• Should you vote for them? Yes, yes, and yes
• Are you a total homer for voting for them? Yes, yes, and yes

Confession: If Tyler O’Neill was listed here, I was going to break from the bit and say no, you should not vote for him. The Orioles have saved me that trouble by not even listing him. It is, actually, pretty sad that Beavers, who’s been on the IL for a month, gets a spot here over either O’Neill or Colton Cowser. That’s the way the season’s gone for those other guys. A guy I follow on Bluesky called The Dishwasher has lately pointed out this remarkable fact: O’Neill has batted 27 times in the first two innings of a game this year and he has zero hits in that time. Sheesh.

Taveras carried the Orioles offense, such as it was, through roughly their first 25 games and since that time has returned to hitting like Leody Taveras. This is not complimentary. Other outfielders are bad enough at hitting lately and Taveras is okay enough defensively to still make it worth playing him, but come on, it’s a tough field for the outfield, led by Mike Trout, who may actually be back. That’s a fun story.

Then there’s Taylor Ward. First impressions stick in the mind and my first impression of him was that Opening Day play where he misread a carom about as badly as you can do. He has continued to play poor defense in the field, worse than I think even the Orioles could have reasonably expected based on Ward’s career to date. He had not hit the dingers that we had all expected, instead carving out a strange new niche as a “gets on base a lot and hits a bunch of doubles” guy that has some value, if not quite the value the Orioles were expecting. Grayson Rodriguez has a 10 ERA after four starts with the Angels.

Pitcher

Fans don’t vote for pitchers, either starting pitchers or relievers. That stuff all gets sorted out behind the scenes while trying to juggle between actually deserving players and making sure that at least one player from each team is able to be named to an All-Star roster. We certainly shouldn’t expect any Orioles starting pitchers to make the cut. Although some are trending better lately, that’s going to be no competition against guys who’ve been getting it done all year.

Since the above was largely a bummer, I do want to shout out the one guy on the Orioles who probably deserves to make an All-Star roster, and if things are more or less the same in about a month as they are right now, he probably will be the only Orioles All-Star this year. That’s Rico Garcia. He went 11 straight outings to start the year without allowing a hit and even now, batters are hitting just .083/.172/.155 against him for the season. That’s a 0.68 ERA and 0.608 WHIP. Good stuff.

It won’t be great if Garcia is the only Orioles All-Star. Hopefully June and onward go better for the team, such that by season’s end it looks silly that they only had one All-Star.

The Yankees are calling up prospect Spencer Jonesto takeAaron Judge's spot on the roster, reports Jack Curry of YES.

Judge has been shut down for four-to-six weeks due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. He will be reimaged after the end of the shutdown period to determine his level of healing and appropriate next steps, with the expectation that he'll return this season.

With Judge on the shelf, Jones figures to play nearly every day in the outfield along with Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham.

Jones, 25, struggled earlier this season in his first taste of the majors, hitting just .167/.259/.167 with 12 strikeouts in 27 plate appearances over 10 games.

Strikeouts have been an issue for Jones throughout his minor league career, overshadowing the prodigious power he possesses.

In 43 games this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Jones is hitting .269/.378/.571 with 13 homers, but he has struck out 60 times. 

Jones fanned 179 times in 116 games last season as he split time between Triple-A and Double-A Somerset.