Category: Baseball

NEW YORK –– The Dodgers beat the Mets at Citi Field again on Saturday.

And this time, their hosts offered them plenty of help.

On a night Yoshinobu Yamamoto grinded through six innings of one-run ball, and Kyle Tucker opened the scoring by clanking his second home run in as many days off the right-field foul pole in the third inning, the Mets made sure to give the Dodgers just enough breathing room in their 4-3 win, committing a comedy of errors after Tucker’s homer in the third to leave themselves too big a hole to climb out of it.

With one out in the inning, a Dalton Rushing single was followed by a ground ball from Shohei Ohtani that could have gone for a double-play. First baseman Brett Baty, however, couldn’t avoid Rushing with his throw to second, grazing the catcher’s helmet to send the ball ricocheting into the outfield.

Andy Pages came up next and hit another potential double-play grounder to Baty, who this time managed to complete his throw to second base. But as Francisco Lindor zipped the ball back across the diamond, pitcher Nolan McLean couldn’t find the bag while trying to cover first, allowing a run to score and the inning to continue.

With Max Muncy at the plate two batters later, McLean threw an outside sweeper that catcher Francisco Alvarez flat-up booted behind the plate. The ball bounced out of his glove and skipped away from the plate. Pages scored standing up to make it a 3-0 game. 

Come the end of the night, those extra runs would be crucial.

While Yamamoto tip-toed in and out of danger in his five-hit, three-walk outing –– stranding two runners on base three different times –– the Dodgers bullpen nearly coughed up what had become a 4-1 lead after Andy Pages and Bo Bichette traded RBI singles in the fifth.

In the eighth, Edgardo Henriquez hit his first batter then walked the next. While he followed that with back-to-back strikeouts, he could only watch from the dugout as Tanner Scott relieved him and yielded a two-run double to pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor.

For the briefest of moments, hope was pulsating through Queens again.

Alas, the middling Mets couldn’t complete the comeback, with Scott striking out AJ Ewing to escape the eighth and Brock Stewart getting his first save of the season in the ninth.

What it means

The Dodgers (67-38) clinched another series win on Saturday, making it three-for-three coming out of the All-Star break on this East Coast swing against the Yankees, Phillies and Mets.

Now, the Dodgers will go for their first series sweep in a month, trying to finish the nine-game road trip with a 7-2 record in Sunday’s series finale.

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Who’s hot

Of the many problems that have plagued Tucker’s mediocre debut season with the Dodgers, a lack of power had been near the top of the list.

Before this weekend, the $240 million slugger had hit only seven home runs all season. Going back to April 19, he had just four long balls in 76 games, posting a .348 slugging percentage over that stretch.

In this series, however, Tucker has gone deep in back-to-back games for the first time this year, following up a key two-run blast late in Friday’s win by sending his solo blast Saturday high off the foul pole.

“There’s some times where I like to see the ball coming in, put a swing on it, and I can visualize the ball coming off the bat and doing what I want with it, but it doesn’t really go that way, which is a little frustrating,” Tucker said Friday night, when asked about his lack of power. “But at the same time, I just gotta battle for the next pitch and just continue on with the at-bat.”

This weekend, that approach has finally led to some encouraging results.

Who’s not

Henriquez had the best month of his young career in June, giving up just two runs in 11 appearances while striking out 14 batters and –– most importantly –– walking only two.

Since then, however, the flame-throwing right-hander’s command issues have returned.

In his last seven outings, he has issued seven walks, plus his hit batter on Saturday. He has also given up three earned runs in that stretch. Still, his ERA on the season remains just 2.81. 

Up next

The Dodgers’ two-week road trip will finally come to an end on Sunday, when Emmet Sheehan (4-7, 5.13 ERA) faces right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-9, 5.01 ERA).

With the Arizona Complex League now over, the following players have been promoted from the ACL Cubs to Low-A Myrtle Beach.

Right-hander Geovanny Vazquez

Right-hander Julio Valdez

Right-hander Freddy Rodriguez

Shortstop Fernando Cruz

Everyone loses today. The four affiliates even managed to lose five games between them.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were swept in a doubleheader by the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves), 8-0 and 5-3.

Jordan Wicks started game one and got chased in the second inning. The final line on Wicks was five runs on four hits and three walks over 1.2 innings. Wicks struck out one.

Catcher Owen Ayers was 2 for 3.

In game two, Ty Blach allowed four runs in the bottom of the first inning and the I-Cubs never caught up. The final line on Blach was four runs on six hits over three innings. One of the hits was a two-run home run by former Cub Carlos Santana. Blach walked three and struck out one.

Iowa had just three hits in game two. Left fielder Chas McCormick went 2 for 3 with two doubles and a steal.

Center fielder Brett Bateman made a nice catch, at least. He was 1 for 2 with an RBI single and a run scored. He was also hit by a pitch.

WHAT A CATCH BRETT BATEMAN pic.twitter.com/NFUrQpVKop

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 25, 2026

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were trashed the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 5-0.

Brooks Caple technically had a quality start, but he still took the loss after giving up three runs on six hits over six innings. Two of the hits were solo home runs. Caple struck out four and walked no one.

Left fielder Andy Garriola was 2 for 4 with a double.

Third baseman Alex Madera was also 2 for 4 with a double.

First baseman Ethan Hearn went 2 for 4.

Knoxville had ten hits tonight, but went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were bitten by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 6-4. The loss snapped South Bend’s winning streak at six.

Kohl Franklin started tonight’s game on a rehab assignment and allowed one run on four hits over 4.1 innings. Franklin walked one and struck out one. He also hit a batter.

Ethan Bell allowed two runs on three hits over 1.1 innings and took the loss. Bell struck out one and did not walk anyone.

First baseman Michael Carico went 1 for 3 with two-run single and a bases-loaded walk for three total runs batted in.

Carico’s two-run single.

Michael Carico is getting hot!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/78v7l24ZzM

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) July 25, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were boiled by the Hickory Crawdads (Rangers), 4-3 in ten innings.

Starter Noah Edders allowed just one run on four hits over four innings. Edders struck out four and walked no one.

Emilio Ramos gave up just one run over the next three innings with the one run coming on a fifth-inning home run. Ramos surrendered four hits total. he struck out five and walked one.

After the Pelicans scored one run in the top of the tenth, Emilio Melendez surrendered two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning to take the loss. Melendez allowed the two runs on two hits and one walk over 2.1 innings. He also hit a batter. Melendez struck otu three.

Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy hit a solo home run in the third inning, his seventh on the season. Lumpuy was 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. He also stole a base.

Lumpuy’s home run.

LUMPUY WITH A LONG BALL💪 pic.twitter.com/71mEnt7mce

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) July 25, 2026

The Athletics matched up against the Minnesota Twins in the second game of their three-game series, looking to build on their series-opening victory. This game played out the inverse of Friday night’s contest, as the A’s struggled with runners in scoring position in a 2-0 loss that sets up Sunday’s series finale to be the rubber match.

Both Teams Waste Scoring Chances

The Twins’ scheduled starter Michael Paredes was a late scratch, so Kendry Rojas made the start for the hosts. The left-hander got his outing off to a strong start with a scoreless first two innings. A’s opener, left-hander Brady Basso, matched Rojas, keeping the Twins off the board through two frames.

A’s center fielder Henry Bolte walked to begin the third inning and then advanced to second on right fielder Lawrence Butler’s sacrifice bunt. Rojas escaped the jam as the Athletics stranded Bolte at third base, wasting their first scoring opportunity of the game.

Basso’s day was done after 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and a walk, while recording three strikeouts. Right-hander Mason Barnett replaced him out of the A’s bullpen, inheriting a runner on second and one out. He did his job, preventing that runner from scoring.

Pitching Duel Continues

The Twins removed Rojas from the game after he completed four scoreless innings, only allowing one hit and one walk and striking out five.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers entered to pitch the fifth. Seeking to break the deadlock, A’s first baseman Jeff McNeil was awarded a one-out double to right field after fan interference. With two on and two out, Jacob Wilson grounded out, failing to come through with runners in scoring position for the second time in the game.

While the A’s offense struggled to get going, its pitching staff continued to keep the Twins off the board. Barnett picked up where Basso left off, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the game scoreless through five innings.

Twins Score First

Barnett ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth. A walk followed by a double put two Twins runners in scoring position at second and third with one out. With two outs, Twins’ right fielder Alan Roden lined a two-run single, giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead and ending Barnett’s outing. The hero of last night’s game, left-hander Jose Suarez, entered and recorded the final out of the inning, limiting the damage to two runs.

Twins’ reliever Tommy Nance protected his team’s lead, working around McNeil’s second double of the game to pitch a scoreless seventh inning. Once again, the A’s could not come through with a two-out RBI hit as Bolte flew out to center to end the threat.

A’s Offense Woeful!

The Athletics offense failed to capitalize on a prime opportunity to at least tie the game in the eighth inning. Facing Twins’ right-hander Andrew Morris, Butler drew a leadoff walk. He advanced to third base as Wilson reached second on Morris’ throwing error.

Minnesota’s reliever escaped the jam by striking out Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom on pitches nowhere near the strike zone before getting Jonah Heim to ground out. Kurtz should have gone on a rehab assignment as he struck out four times in his first game off the injured list.

Not scoring there took the wind out of the A’s sails. The visitors went down quietly in the top of the ninth against Yoendrys Gómez, who secured his 13th save in the Twins 2-0 series-evening victory.

The A’s finished the game 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven on base in a disappointing offensive performance. The “Green and Gold” will aim to get the bats back on track in tomorrow’s series finale, which will pit Athletics’ veteran left-hander Jeffrey Springs against Minnesota’s young lefty Connor Prielipp.

After a lackluster week heading into the All-Star break, the Dodgers have won all three series on the long road trip through the Eastern time zone. That was secured with Saturday night’s 4-3 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Kyle Tucker went 80 plate appearances and nearly four full weeks without a home run before his blast on Friday. Then in his first at-bat on Saturday, Tucker opened the scoring with another blast, in the third inning.

King Tuck homers in back-to-back games! pic.twitter.com/4641PiGGJN

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 25, 2026

One out after the Tucker homer, Dalton Rushing singled. Shohei Ohtani grounded into a potential double play, but Brent Baty — playing first base this season for the first time in the majors — threw a ball that caromed off Rushing’s helmet, not getting any out and instead putting runners on the corners. Andy Pages beat a return throw to first base to prevent an inning-ending double play for one run, and a passed ball brought home another for a three-run frame.

Teoscar Hernández in the fifth inning doubled for a second straight game, then scored on a two-out single by Pages.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked three Mets, just the third time in 19 starts he’s issued more than a pair of free passes. He needed 52 pitches to get through the first three frames, but still finished with a typically solid outing, allowing just one run in six innings.

He allowed five singles, three of them bunched together in the fifth inning for New York’s only run against him. Yamamoto struck out five and completed six innings for the 17th time in 19 starts.

Yamamoto has earned a decision in each of his last 13 starts — nine wins, four losses — the longest in-season streak of decisions by a Dodgers pitcher since Chad Billingsley had 14 straight games with a decision in 2012.

Edgardo Henriquez hit a batter and walked another in the eighth, and both scored on a double off Tanner Scott later in the frame to get New York within a run.

After Scott got the final out of the eighth inning working on his second straight day, Brock Stewart pitched a clean ninth with two strikeouts for his third career save and first since 2023 while with the Minnesota Twins. It’s Stewart’s second career save for the Dodgers, along with a three-inning save on June 20, 2017, also against the Mets.

Saturday particulars

Home run: Kyle Tucker (9)

WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-6): 6 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

LP — Nolan McLean (7-7): 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

Sv — Brock Stewart (1): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers long odyssey comes to a close on Sunday morning (10:40 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before returning to Ithaca Dodger Stadium. Emmet Sheehan starts the series finale, with Freddy Peralta on the mound for the Mets.

The Mets were defeated by the Dodgers 4-3 on Saturday night at Citi Field.

Here are some takeaways...

-- Nolan McLean picked up right where he left off over his last few outings, retiring the first six Dodgers he faced over the first two innings. That stretch and his unearned run streak were broken up in the third, though, as Kyle Tucker crushed his second homer in as many nights off the right-field foul pole. 

LA added two more runs in the inning thanks to some shoddy Mets defense. New York failed to execute two potential inning-ending double-plays, one thanks to a Brett Baty throwing error, and Francisco Alvarez allowed his eighth passed ball of the year to force in the third run of the game.  

McLean rebounded with a scoreless fourth, but the Dodgers struck again for a two-out run in the fifth. The youngster loaded the bases with just one out as he began running out of gas in the sixth, but a lineout double play helped him escape without further damage on his line. 

Overall, he allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. 

-- The Mets' offense had plenty of opportunities of their own against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who wasn't exactly at his sharpest. They went a combined 0-for-3 with RISP in the early going, stranding a pair in both the first and third innings, and were set down in order during the other two frames. 

New York almost squandered another opportunity after getting a pair of singles to open the fifth, but Bo Bichette dumped in his second two-out hit of the game to get them on the board. They got the leadoff man on again in the sixth with a six-pitch walk, but the next three were set down. 

Yamamoto ended his night with just the one run allowed on five hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. 

-- Daniel Duarte threw well in relief of McLean. He worked around a two-out single in the seventh, then used a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play to evade a hit by pitch in the eighth. Duarte has yet to allow a run across five big league appearances this season. 

-- The Mets were awfully close to failing to deliver one more time after getting a walk and HBP to open the eighth, but this time it was the red-hot Tyrone Taylor who came off the bench and lined a two-run double off closer Tanner Scott to cut the deficit down to one. 

-- Taylor became their 11th man left on base, and after a quiet ninth, they finished 2-for-11 with RISP.

Game MVP: Andy Pages

 The All-Star outfielder had just one hit, but drove in two of LA's four runs on the night. 

Highlights

Bo 💪 pic.twitter.com/fVKjpU49Y8

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 26, 2026

Tyrone Taylor makes it a one-run game! pic.twitter.com/j2JhGJsucL

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2026

What's next

Freddy Peralta faces off with Emmett Sheehan in the series finale Sunday at 1:40 p.m.

The Texas Rangers scored seven runs while the Seattle Mariners scored one run.

The Rangers came into tonight’s game apparently with the worst starters ERA in the Majors this month with a pitcher who had most recently allowed three home runs in his last start and with a lineup featuring, at first blush, about a handful of actual big league-quality batters.

Their task was beating the hated once American League-favorite Mariners to return to the two games above .500 mark that they enjoyed at the All-Star break, which would also bring them to a season-best two and a half game lead in the American League West.

Done and done.

Thanks to great work from those big league-quality batters, the Rangers jumped out ahead 3-0 in the first inning with an assist from some extremely poor outfield play from the Mariners. Seattle opted to give regular center fielder Julio Rodriguez a half day as their designated hitter and moved professional corner outfielder Luke Raley to center field.

That move immediately backfired on Seattle manager Dan Wilson as Raley dove for an Ezequiel Duran flare to the right field gap at medium distance that most average center fielders glide over and catch and allowed Wyatt Langford — who had doubled ahead of Duran — to score the game’s first run with Duran ending up at third base.

After Brandon Nimmo worked an 0-2 count into a walk, Duran scored on an Evan Carter double and then Nimmo scored on a Nicky Lopez ground out. An inning later, the Rangers would score a couple more runs in an inning that featured a Joc Pederson stolen base, another Langford double, and and RBI single from Duran.

Just about the only demerits for the Rangers in the early goings was letting Mariners starter Bryan Woo off the hook with an opportunity to turn the game into a blowout and expend some bullpen bullets with a long weekend yet to go between these two squads.

But that’s nitpicking, really. The Rangers had a bottom of the order with no one featuring an OPS above .650 and were integrating career journeyman backup catcher Austin Wynns into the lineup batting ninth.

Scoring five runs early was a major boon for Texas and they made great use of it despite Woo ultimately going five innings and the Rangers waiting until the seventh to get back on the board when Alejandro Osuna, one of those bottom of the order guys, delivered a two-run double to put this one to bed.

With the win, the Rangers have positioned themselves to take the series with one more victory and will leave this series with the Mariners no worse than atop the division. Though, the Rangers will not be facing a second place team tomorrow as the Astros have now passed Seattle in the standings.

Player of the Game: The lede has been buried a bit as the main story from this game was Nathan Eovaldi coming up large, as is his specialty.

Eovaldi was that guy who allowed three home runs in a loss to Atlanta in his first start of the second half and the Rangers needed him to be more vintage Eovaldi against the team that came into the game behind Texas in the standings. He delivered as he nearly always does.

Eovaldi tossed seven innings with just the one run allowed on three hits and a walk while striking out eight in a crisp 91 pitches. Eovaldi was in total control in that special way where he turns a game you’d really like to see your team win into a cozy affair because you know he’s not going to relent.

I really hope I never take Eovaldi’s ability to dominate in the biggest moments for granted. Thanks for always being your nastiest when we really need you, Nate.

Bonus hat tips to Langford and Duran for delivering when the Rangers had chances in the early innings as two of Texas’ few prime threats to do so. Langford finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI.

Unfortunately Langford also fouled a couple of painful looking pitches off his foot before one of his doubles and later left the game after six innings so hold your breath on that. You can only take so many questionable quality batters in one lineup so the Rangers need Langford.

Up Next: The Rangers face their first of two consecutive Ranger Killer hurlers with RHP Jacob deGrom set take the mound for Texas against RHP Logan Gilbert for Seattle.

The Sunday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be back on the Rangers Sports Network.

Box Score

The Brewers have traditionally had trouble with Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, a generally mediocre pitcher in his six-year career. But tonight, led by a couple of 21-year-olds and aided by some poor Rockies defense, Milwaukee finally figured him out. Robert Gasser also befuddled Colorado hitters for most of the night, and after a frustrating loss on Friday, the Brewers evened the series with a mostly comfortable win.

Gasser started nicely with three consecutive groundball outs in the top of the first. In keeping with yesterday’s game, Christian Yelich flew out to the warning track in his first at-bat. The Brewers got a couple of baserunners when Jackson Chourio snuck a single through the infield and Brice Turang laid down a perfect bunt for a hit, but Contreras grounded into a 1-6-3 double play that ended the inning.

Hunter Goodman became Gasser’s first strikeout leading off the second. TJ Rumfield was next, and Gasser nearly got hit by a comebacker, but he got out of the way, and Cooper Pratt made the play for the second out. A Willi Castro popout ended the inning, and Gasser was perfect through two.

Jake Bauers drew a walk to start the second, and on the first pitch to the next batter, Garrett Mitchell, he stole second. Mitchell grounded out on the next pitch, but that at least got Bauers to third with one out. Luis Lara was next, and he just missed his first career homer — instead, he had a sac fly to the right-field corner. Pratt, who just hit his own first career homer on Monday, followed with his second career homer, a solid shot out to left on the first pitch of the at-bat. David Hamilton nearly got in on the action, too, but flew out to the warning track to end the inning with the Brewers ahead 2-0.

WE'D LIKE TO REPORT A COOPER PRATT NUKE https://t.co/vOq9mekUFtpic.twitter.com/EAccECH7Yk

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 25, 2026

Gasser kept his perfect game going through the first two outs of the third, but gave up a two-out single to Ezequiel Tovar before Jake McCarthy struck out to end the inning. Feltner came back in the third with his first 1-2-3 inning of the game against the top of the Brewers’ order.

Colorado got their first rally of the game in the top of the fourth when Kyle Karros led off with a single to center (one that Mitchell might’ve been able to catch with a better jump) and Cole Carrigg followed with a double down the left-field line. Colorado’s best hitter, Goodman, was next, and he hit a broken-bat single into left, and he advanced to second on Chourio’s (ill-advised) throw home. Just like that, the game was tied, on batted balls of 80, 93, and 70 mph.

Gasser got the first out of the inning on the next pitch, when Rumfield grounded out to short, and one pitch after that, Castro flew out to right. Braxton Fulford also flew out to right, and Gasser was out of the inning, but the Brewer lead had vanished.

Contreras burned a challenge while striking out looking to start the fourth. Bauers followed with a single to center, and Mitchell just missed a homer with a 383-foot drive to deep center that became yet another ball caught on the warning track. With two outs, a couple of Brewer rookies came through to restore Milwaukee’s lead: Lara lined a single to left, and Pratt followed with a hard grounder that deflected off of Castro’s glove and into right, scoring Bauers in the process. A Hamilton strikeout ended the inning, but Milwaukee was back on top at 3-2.

Annnnnnnd Coop drives in another run pic.twitter.com/fiN9FVxtYB

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 26, 2026

Tyler Freeman hit a solid single to center to lead off the fifth, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tovar. McCarthy hit a hard line drive toward the gap in right, but Lara got a good jump and made a nice jumping catch to steal a double (and a run). Karros was out on a soft liner to third, and Freeman was stranded at second.

Yelich led off the bottom of the inning with a jam-shot fly ball to center which should’ve been caught but wasn’t — Carrigg, in center field, got a bad jump and dove and sort of trapped the ball, but it ended up on the grass, and Yelich was credited with a double. Chourio followed with a strikeout, and Yelich then made an out on the bases when he tried to take third when Karros was playing a ways off of the base, but not far enough. Turang was then robbed of a hit by Carrigg, who made up for his mistake earlier in the inning by making a diving catch for the third out.

Gasser had given up some hard contact in the fifth, but he’d only thrown 70 pitches, so he kept going in the sixth with a quick, seven-pitch, three-up three-down inning. Contreras, of all people, started the bottom of the sixth with an infield hit, and Bauers followed with a single into left, which got him on base for the third time in three plate appearances. With two on and nobody out in the sixth, Feltner’s day was over, as the Rockies turned to the right-handed flamethrower Juan Mejía.

Mejia got off to a poor start by walking Mitchell on four pitches to load the bases. Lara hit a pop fly to left, but it dropped into no-man’s land, and McCarthy misplayed it on the bounce, which allowed a second run to score and got Lara to second base for a bloop double. Pratt was up next and hit a fly ball to left—it looked like it had a chance to drop, but Pratt settled for a sac fly that made it 6-2, instead.

Our 21-year-old rookies have driven in 6 runs tonight pic.twitter.com/nvmbIOxHBM

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 26, 2026

Hamilton had the next chance for the Brewers, and he popped a single over the outstretched glove of Tovar for another hit. Lara had to freeze to make sure it got down, so he held at third, and the lineup turned over with runners on the corners and one out. Yelich struck out, but with two outs, Hamilton took off for second, and Ashcraft faked a throw to second then threw back to third to try to get Lara leaning too far off the bag—the throw, though, went off of Karros’s glove and into left field, allowing Lara to score. Chourio grounded out to end the inning, but the Brewers were up 7-2.

After the long inning, the Brewers went to Chad Patrick in the top of the seventh, even with Gasser at just 77 pitches. Patrick had no trouble and put up a 1-2-3 inning, and capped off Gasser’s nice day: six innings, two runs (on weak hits), five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts.

Turang greeted the new Colorado pitcher, Tanner Gordon, rudely, by hitting a double into the right-field corner. Contreras struck out looking on a pitch that he wanted to challenge, but Contreras had already burned both Brewer challenges, so he couldn’t. Bauers also struck out on a pitch he wanted to challenge (for the record, both pitches looked like balls on Gameday), but those are the breaks. Garrett Mitchell struck out, too, but he at least swung. (This would’ve been a very frustrating inning in a close game, but we can deal with it with a five-run lead.)

Lance McCullers Jr. was on for his second outing as a Brewer in the bottom of the eighth. After getting the first two outs, he walked back-to-back hitters in front of Goodman and his 31 homers. That prompted a visit from pitching coach Chris Hook, but McCullers won a long battle by getting a pop-up (which he fielded himself) on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

The Brewer Boy Wonders both reached to start the bottom of the eighth, Lara on a walk and Pratt on an error by Karros at third, an error which allowed Lara to reach third. Pratt stole second on the next pitch, setting the Brewers up for another chance at a big inning. Gordon did a decent job working out of it, with a strikeout by Hamilton, a sac fly RBI by Yelich, and a pop out by Chourio, but the Brewers tacked one on and led 8-2.

McCullers walked Rumfield to start the ninth, but struck out Castro. A ground ball from Brett Sullivan to Bauers could’ve ended the game, but his throw to second sailed past Pratt and into left field and there were two on with one out. Turang made a nice catch on a pop-up in shallow right field, but the third out remained elusive when McCullers walked Tovar to load the bases. After a mound visit, McCarthy jumped on the first pitch and blooped a two-RBI single to center, which brought Pat Murphy out of the dugout to retreive McCullers in favor of Trevor Megill, who came into the game needing one out but in a save situation.

The Brewers surely didn’t want Megill to have to pitch tonight. He got ahead of Karros, but the Colorado third baseman fought off and 0-2 fastball way above the zone and dumped it into center for another RBI single. Improbably, Carrigg came to the plate as the tying run, but Megill struck him out to finally end the game.

The kids led the way in this one. Lara was 2-for-2 with a walk, a sac fly, and three RBI. Pratt was 2-for-3 with a solo homer, a sac fly, and a stolen base. Turang also had multiple hits including a double. On the mound, Gasser had his nice night, Patrick had a good scoreless inning. McCullers battled wildness and a Bauers error, but Megill was able to clean up the mess.

The Brewers will try to secure the series tomorrow with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound. That game is at 1:10 p.m. If you’re interested in this kind of thing, the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony is also tomorrow, starting at 12:30 on MLB Network.

Rangers 7, Mariners 1

Sitting poolside on a nice day: J.P. Crawford, .05 WPA

Falling asleep in the sun and getting a nasty sunburn: Bryan Woo, -.29 WPA; Cole Young, -.05 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

The Braves were going for a series win on Saturday, in a matchup of back-of-the-rotation starters.

As one might expect, given the pitchers involved, there were baserunners scattered throughout the early innings. The Orioles struck first in the third, as Jim Jarvis committed an error and didn’t make another play on a hard line drive, allowing a run to score. Bryce Elder’s first fly ball of the game allowed a second Baltimore run in the fifth on a Gunnar Henderson homer. It was a very unusual start for Elder as he struck out 8 batters and walked 4, but ultimately completed 5.0 innings with only the 1 earned run on the homer, which the Braves will take any day. Matt Olson correctly challenged a strike 3 call, turning it into ball 4, and ended up scoring on a Michael Harris double for the Braves’ first run, making that challenge pretty huge.

Victor Mederos was first out of the bullpen in the sixth and looked like he had completed 2.0 scoreless innings when he induced a pop-up to shortstop from Pete Alonso, but Jim Jarvis again dropped the ball, landing runners on the corners still with two outs for Gunnar Henderson. Mederos struck out Henderson and was fired up leaving the game, as he had struck out 3 Orioles over 2.0 scoreless innings and continues to look like a nice bullpen find. His outing became even bigger as lefty Ozzie cranked a homer over the right field wall to lead off the eighth inning, tying the ballgame up at 2 runs.

Ozzie Albies ties the game for the @Braves! pic.twitter.com/VL7anEXvnE

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2026

That was all the offense was able to do in the eighth, so Didier Fuentes took over and cruised his way through the eighth with two strikeouts and a soft lineout. After a quiet frame from the bottom of Atlanta’s lineup vs the back of Baltimore’s bullpen, Fuentes was sent back out to hopefully shut down the ninth and send the game to extra innings. Jackson Holliday doubled with one out to create a threat and moved to third on a deep flyout for the second out. A soft single from Beavers in the leadoff spot ended the game, handing the Orioles a 3-2 victory.

Join us tomorrow for the rubber-match in Camden at 1:35 PM ET.

Anticipating a fine pitchers duel on a fine afternoon, I asked who had it better than us at the start of today’s game. The answer ended up being Blue Jays fans.

Dylan Cease, in the midst of a season that is going to end with Cy Young votes if not the award itself, held up his end of the bargain. He threatened to throw a perfect game, in fact, not allowing a single Red Sox baserunner until Caleb Durbin walked in the fifth, and ultimately finishing off a virtuoso complete game performance with 12 strikeouts.

Sonny Gray, on the other hand, did not look so great. Remember the Sonny we saw early in season, the guy who, even when he finished with a perfectly cromulent line, struggled to put hitters away? He was back today. In fact, Gray would get to a two-strike count five times in the third inning alone, failing to retire the hitter each time as the Jays plated five runs and effectively ended the game.

We all know how taxed the Red Sox rotation is going to be down the stretch. Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett are going to run up against innings limits. Connelly Early will, too, when he returns. Patrick Sandoval has looked shaky and Brayan Bello continues to mystify. Garrett Crochet’s arm may or may not be attached to his body — team messaging has been inconsistent on this point. If the Sox are going to make the playoffs, they are going to need Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez to carry them there. Let’s hope this today represents a minor blip in what will otherwise continue to be a strong campaign for Sonny

The Lonely Stud

Alec Gamboa has now made seven appearances for the 2026 Red Sox. He has allowed hits in only three of those, and runs in only two. In throwing four one-run innings today, he saved the bullpen on what could’ve turned into a much uglier day for the Sox. This is the type of performance that could net the Sox an extra W in the week ahead.

Duds

Pretty much everyone else.

Play of the Game

Hey, at least we got yet another Ceddanne web gem.

Andre Pallante did what the St. Louis Cardinals asked him to do. He was lights out sharp again, but something unusual happened. For once, the Cardinals offense gave him some run support, but it took awhile. Misplays by the Reds didn’t hurt either.

The Cardinals got off to a fast start in the bottom of the 1st inning, but they frankly should have had more to show for it. JJ Wetherholt reached on an error from Elly De La Cruz on a ball up the middle that he mishandled. Jordan Walker reached on another ball that was misplayed by Cruz although this one technically was a single as it soared just barely above Cruz into short left field. Alec Burleson then singled to left which surprisingly scored JJ Wetherholt as he and the Reds appeared surprised that he got the go sign from Pop Warner at third base giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

That would sadly be the only runs the Cardinals would get in the 1st as Iván Herrera struck out and then Lars Nootbaar hit into a double play. It was another moment of Déjà vu as St. Louis scored, but left a lot of runners in scoring position on the table. They would redeem themselves later, though.

The game would cruise along with the Cardinals hanging on to their narrow 1-0 lead while Andre Pallante was dealing. Through the top of the 6th inning, Andre only allowed 2 Reds hits while striking out 7 and walking just 1. This was as good as it gets for Pallante.

His offense would finally wake up in the bottom of the 6th inning. It started when JJ Wetherholt drew a leadoff walk. After Jordan Walker fouled out, the St. Louis offense erupted. Alec Burleson singled and then Iván Herrera doubled which scored both Wetherholt and Burleson giving the Cardinals some breathing room at 3-0.

Fortunately, they were just getting started. Lars Nootbaar walked followed by a single from Masyn Winn to right to load the bases. Bryan Torres got in on the fun as he singled to right making it 4-0 St. Louis. Blaze Jordan added his own single scoring Nootbaar and Winn giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. The final tally of the Cardinals 6th was a sacrifice bunt by Nathan Church which scored Bryan Torres upping the St. Louis lead to 7-0. It’s been way too long since I’ve been able to include such a large crooked number for the Cardinals. FINALLY.

The only remaining question Saturday night was whether the Cardinals bullpen could protect Pallante’s great start. Gordon Graceffo took over in the top of the 8th inning. He kept the game refreshingly drama-free keeping the Reds from mounting a threat in the 8th. The 9th inning was a bit more eventful with Gordon giving out a leadoff walk to De La Cruz followed by a single from Sal Stewart. The boo birds started raining down on Graceffo when he walked JJ Bleday to load the bases. He fortunately struck Suarez out looking with a nasty 88 mph changeup for the first out. That same changeup also fooled Stephenson for the second out. All Gordon needed to do was shut down Marte which he did getting a groundout for the final out and barely preserving the shutout.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series Sunday afternoon as Kyle Leahy will start for the Cardinals. Lefty Andrew Abbott will take the mound for the dastardly Reds. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium with the TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

There was a bizarre moment during Saturday night’s middle game between the Braves and the Orioles. Eli White was pinch-hitting for Mike Yastrzemski in the seventh inning and hit one down the line for what was presumably going to be a double for the outfielder.

Well, it did end up being a double but White stumbled while turning towards second and eventually fell down halfway towards the bag. Fortunately, the throw from Dylan Beavers in right field wasn’t fielded cleanly and White was able to make it into second base with a double after all.

Still, the Braves training staff checked on White and while he did stay in the game, he eventually gave way to Brewer Hicklen once it was his turn to bat.

We’ll have more on the situation as it develops but I suppose you can just chalk this up as yet another bizarre injury moment for the Braves in recent years. Hopefully Eli White is okay going forward.

July has been tough on Jung Hoo Lee.

Tough, especially after a June in which he hit .340 with an .858 OPS and peaked with a two hit night against the Athletics that raised his batting average to a season high .333 on June 23rd. Knocks were coming off his bat like water from a hose. Grounders found holes, flares frolicked in open fields, liners hugged the lines. But for many high contact, low hard-hit guys like Lee the spigot can close just as easily as it can open. The seventh month wasn’t so lucky.

Over 67 at-bats prior to Saturday, he hit just .224 with a .541 OPS. Last night’s 0-for-4 performance saw his batting average drop below the .300 mark for the first time since May 31st. In his first at-bat against Angels’ starter Ryan Johnson, Lee seemed like a completely different person to the hitter he was during his 18-game hitting streak. The right-hander’s two-step motion and sling-y delivery had him flailing. He unhinged a swing on an elevated 2-1 sweeper and the bat nearly flew out of his hands. Next pitch, his helmet flew off whiffing at an inside cutter. Grandson of the Wind? More like Generator of the Wind! It’s jokes like that which made Lee into one of the greatest hitters in recent KBO history. He had had enough. His typically stoic expression turned stony as he walked back to the dugout. It wasn’t the missed cutter that irked him — that was a good pitch — but the breaking ball, lazily flipped out over the plate. Instead of getting off his best swing, he nearly ripped his shoulder out of his socket. That was unacceptable.

An inning later, the offense had Johnson on the ropes. The inherent funk of his motion had bought him a free pass first time through the order, but once the line-up flipped back over for second licks, the situation had changed.

Both Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos singled. With runners at the corners and one out, Johnson got Eldridge to strikeout, but didn’t have the same success against Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt. Back-to-back RBI singles got the Giants on the scoreboard and encouraged LA pitching coach Mike Maddux to chat with the 23 year old starter. 

The transcript from mound visit probably went something like this: Hey, man, deep breath, you’re doing fine, just take a deep breath, calm down, one more out and you’re through this inning, just trust your stuff, stick to your game plan, don’t over think anything, stick to your game plan, okay, trust the preparation, you know what you got to do, remember how bad Lee looked  on that sweeper in the last at-bat, jumping out of his shoes, he looked like s*** swinging at that thing, grandson of the wind, more like generator of the wind, haha, like a fan, yeah, so do that again, that’s the game plan,he’s not looking for your breaking ball, you stole a strike with it to start the at-bat, you made him look bad with it for strike two, then you got him with the cutter, pitch him backwards, start with the sweeper, throw that sweeper, trust it, it’ll be awesome, okay, the umpire is coming so I gotta go, you’re gonna do great, I’m so proud of you, sweeper, throw it, okay, see you in a bit, bye. 

The takeaway for Johnson: Throw the sweeper because my coach says so and he believes in me. 

What happened: Johnson threw the sweeper. First pitch. Lee knew he would.  

The 3-run homer was Lee’s sixth of the year, his first since June 23rd, and jump-started a pretty dang pleasant afternoon. He collected a double off lefty reliever Brent Suter in his next at-bat, tracked down an over-the-head liner to end the 4th, and recorded a Dolly Parton assist (9-5) in the 6th.   

Lee wasn’t the only one who enjoyed their day. The deliverer of walk-offs, Rafael Devers, came up a triple shy of the cycle. He picked up Eldridge after his strikeout with a 2-out RBI single in the 3rd, and with two outs again, he ripped a gorgeous line-drive over the wall in left-center. 

A 106 MPH punch like that is not something Suter gives up often. His 29.8% hard-hit rate is in the 95th percentile of pitchers. Like Tyler Rogers, he’s a master of dead-fish contact. He’s also a lefty, and for whatever reason, Devers has been completely baffled by southpaws in 2026. Before his homer, he was batting .181 with .530 OPS and a 49 wRC+, which is about as ineffective as you can get in that split. For most of the at-bat, right up until the end, that season-long struggle was evident. Devers waved over two of Suter’s slow-mo change-ups, and fouled off another with an awkward emergency swing. He didn’t look particularly comfortable at the plate. Suter could’ve kept spinning that offspeed, and eventually, Devers would’ve swung through one — but the reliever decided to get cute and tried to sneak a 90 MPH four-seam fastball by him. Devers clocked it and then CLOCKED it. 

Another three-run swing that pumped up the lead to 9 runs, putting the game out of reach of Los Angeles bats and more importantly, Giants relievers. While the offense efficiently piled up 9 runs on 9 hits over the first four frames, starter Robbie Ray quietly went about his business. The extended time on the bench between halves didn’t bother him. He wasn’t dominant, nor was he batted around. Five of the six hits he scattered across his six shutout innings were singles. He needed just 80 pitches before Tony Vitello elected to give Tristan Beck and eventually Keaton Winn some low-leverage, no-pressure reps.

It wasn’t pretty, nor did it look easy at times — they walked three, hit a batter, gave up three hits and two runs, but they got through it.

9-2 final. Proud of you boys.

Todd Frazier believes the Los Angeles Angels have reached the point where another quiet trade deadline would only delay the changes the franchise already needs.

With interim general manager John Mozeliak now leading the front office, the former MLB All-Star said the Angels should use the Aug. 3 deadline to begin reshaping a roster that again sits at the bottom of the American League West.

“I think now more than ever there’s pressure,” Frazier said on Foul Territory. “I’m not gonna say it’s make-or-break pressure, but it’s go time.”

Team owner Arte Moreno fired Perry Minasian in late June and turned to Mozeliak, who spent three decades with the St. Louis Cardinals and helped oversee one of baseball’s most consistent organizations.

The situation he inherited is far less stable.

The Angels entered the week with an MLB-worst 39-61 record and have not reached the postseason since 2014. Frazier argued that continuing to patch the roster without establishing a stronger foundation would only produce more of the same.

“What’s the difference if you get a bunch of prospects and you gotta wait three or four more years?” Frazier said. “It’s gonna be the same old progress that, ‘Oh yeah, look at the beginning of the year, they’re doing pretty good,’ then it falls off.”

Mozeliak has already acknowledged the organization must consider significant moves.

“We know things have to change,” he said. “And what that looks like, who that looks like, that’s to be determined.”

Starting pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano are expected to attract considerable interest because both are under team control through 2028. Either could bring back the type of young position-player talent the Angels lack, though moving them would signal a more aggressive reset.

Zach Neto, Jo Adell and several relievers could also draw calls, but Mozeliak must balance collecting prospects with maintaining some hope of competing next season.

Frazier believes the larger issue goes beyond individual trades. The Angels need tougher players, a stronger identity and someone capable of eventually replacing Mike Trout as the face of the franchise.

“I love Mike Trout, but he’s not getting any younger,” Frazier said. “So, who’s gonna be that next guy that they’re gonna look to be the leader of this team?”

Mozeliak may not have enough time to answer every question before the deadline.

Frazier’s message is that he cannot afford to avoid them.

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