Category: Baseball

The Athletics dropped their final game of their mid-week series against the Pirates on Wednesday evening, falling to Pittsburgh 12-4. Nothing went right tonight as the A’s were losing big from the get-go, and never really mounted any sort of comeback attempt. The loss drops them to 36-38 but on the bright side the division-leading Seattle Mariners lost tonight so the A’s remain just a game and a half back of them for the lead in the AL West. New series starts tomorrow!

Things were rough from the jump for the Athletics tonight. Right-hander Aaron Civale was on the mound for the A’s, making his first start since going on the IL a few weeks ago. Though he looked sharp in his lone rehab assignment he did not look like himself tonight. Pittsburgh plated three early runs against the veteran right in the first inning, then added two more in the second. The Pirates were up 5-0 before half of the fans had found their seats.

Civale bounded around a pair of singles in the third to post a zero for the frame, but a leadoff walk in the fourth ended his day after just 71 pitches, putting the bullpen in charge for a majority of tonight’s innings.

• Aaron Civale: 3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 71 pitches

Not a great return appearance for Civale, who didn’t look comfortable at all tonight. Maybe the biggest thing is that he made it through tonight without any sort of aggravation of the shoulder injury. He’s lined up to take on the San Francisco Giants next week.

Left-hander Jose Suarez replaced Civale for the frame and allowed a two-run home run to push this game to 7-0 Pirates.

Meanwhile on offense, the A’s bats were struggling against Pittsburgh rookie Braxton Ashcraft. The right-hander held down the offense, issuing just two free passes and one meaningless single through the first five innings.

By now it felt out of reach but at least the bats kept working. Jacob Wilson smacked a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to get the A’s on the board, avoiding the shutout:

That was as close as the A’s would get to a comeback tonight. Just a half inning later Pittsburgh got those two runs back and then some, adding on five runs in the top of the seventh to blow this game wide open.

All that was left to do was get through these final few frames. They weren’t totally without entertainment. Rookie center fielder Henry Bolte went yard in the bottom of the seventh for his second career home run and first in Sacramento:

Then, in the final frame, Zack Gelof, who entered tonight on an MLB-leading 20-game hit streak, extended it at the last second with a ninth inning home run for the Athletics’ fourth run of the night:

21 game hit streak now. After that the A’s went down 1-2-3 to finish this game.

Tough loss. The A’s need to flush this one though and get ready for a big series against a division rival. The A’s welcome the Los Angeles Angels to Sacramento for a four-game series, one that the A’s need to clean up in. It’ll be Gage Jump for the home team, though the Angels have yet to announce their starter for the series opener. Stay tuned…

If you’re an eagle-eyed consumer of random Orioles stats, you might have seen that the Orioles are 7-3 on Wednesdays, so this game was pretty much in the bag before a pitch was thrown. Or was it that incredibly involved handshake Pete Alonso and Adley Rutschman tried out in the dugout? Or was it … Kyle Bradish being awesome?

Chalk it up to luck, or skill, or what, this was an excellent all-around win for the Orioles. After a deflating offensive performance on Tuesday night, the team hitters managed a solid eight-hit, three-run effort against Seattle’s George Kirby, a solid competitor with a great fastball. As for Baltimore starter, Kyle Bradish, what to say other than that this was arguably his finest start of the year. The right hander pitched into the eighth inning (7.2 IP), allowing just one run on five hits while punching out twelve. His curveball was sick.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Tommy John survivor, but if he’s snapping off breaking balls like this, hitters, beware. He’s finding his ace form again.

The two starters traded zeros for the first two innings. Kirby was throwing heat, with 98 dotted on the corners, and he retired Taylor Ward, Gunnar Henderson, and Adley in order.

Bradish got through a clean first inning himself, largely because Adley Rutschman is a good catcher. Bradish struck out J.P. Crawford on a third strike call that Adley challenged from behind the plate, ABS revealing that the ball was in by a millimeter. Gutsy challenge! Cal Raleigh singled. A couple of pitches later, the Seattle catcher then took off for second on a wayward curveball that bounced in front of Adley, but he underestimated his fellow backstop, because Adley slid to the left, grabbed the ball and fired to ring up Raleigh at second. Then Julio Rodríguez went fishing on a curveball.

The Bradish breaking ball claimed a couple more victims in the second. After whiffing Dominic Canzone with another, Bradish walked Victor Robles, a man who is difficult to walk, but Colt Emerson swung over another curve.

The Orioles’ first rally began with one in out the third. Blake Alexander managed an inside-out swing and then, with two outs and a 1-1 count, George Kirby tried to sneak an inside fastball by Gunnar Henderson. He failed. Henderson got all of it, driving the ball 370 feet to center-right, one of the prettiest home runs I’ve seen an Oriole hit this year. See if you agree.

After Gunnar put his team up 2-0, Kyle Bradish managed a shutdown third inning. Battling, he finished off J.P. Crawford with a fastball at the top of the zone, and then he caught Miles Mastrobuoni staring at a slider.

The Mariners got one run back off Bradish in the fourth. Cal Raleigh kept fouling off balls, but he flew out on a 3-2 fastball. But Julio Rodríguez got an outside fastball, and he drove it over the head of Tyler O’Neill in right. I know what you’re thinking, but it wasn’t a makeable play. Then Dominic Canzone singled through the middle, plating Rodríguez. The Mariners were down by just one.

In the meantime, two Orioles hit singles were stranded, of a fashion. Samuel Basallo got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, and Blaze Alexander and Taylor Ward hit back-to-back singles in the fifth, Alexander’s second of the game.

Bradish got through a scoreless fifth, courtesy of a breaking ball so deceptive that he bounced one in front of Colt Emerson and still got him swinging through it, and again, his defense. With one out, Connor Joe hit a single that bounced in front of Leody Taveras, who muffed it, letting the ball roll behind him in center while Connor Joe circled the bases. Then, another turn: the relay hit Gunnar Henderson, who fired a perfect throw to third, just in time to catch Joe. Then Adley challenged another non-call, and again, he was right: three outs. Adley really loves that ABS challenge.

How long could Bradish go? Through the sixth? No problem, it’d turn out, again through a combination of curveballs and great defense. Big Bopper Cal Raleigh hit a ball to deep right, going, going, and… caught by a leaping Tyler O’Neill, taking away at least extra bases! You saw it coming all along, right? Then Bradish racked up his season-high tenth strikeout. Snazzy.

I was kind of surprised to see Kyle Bradish come back out for the seventh—at a tidy 77 pitches, no less—but he sure did. And despite walking the leadoff man, he got two quick popouts and a ground ball. And even more surprised to see Bradish out for the eighth, but out he came and struck out Connor Joe, and wow, was this a nice sight to see. He allowed a single, but then racked up his twelfth strikeout. Wow, Bradish.

Last night, the Orioles couldn’t buy a hit after the first inning. Tonight, the cavalry made it With Pete Alonso aboard with a single, Leody Taveras hit a triple off a tiring Kirby. Alonso duly chugged home and made it 3-1.

With Kirby out after six, the Orioles scored a quick fourth run against right-hander Alex Hoppe put Jackson Holliday and Blaze Alexander aboard with no outs, Blaze hitting his third single of the day to move Holliday to third. There would be no RBI for Taylor Ward, who hit into a double play, but in that situation the run still scores, anyway, and 4-1 felt like a nice cushion.

It wasn’t enough of a cushion—but it didn’t have to be, as Jackson Holliday homered to make it 5-1 before closer Ryan Helsley, just off the IL, allowed two back-to-back home runs to make it 5-3. OK, a bit of rust. Then, he started pitching: groundout, swinging K, swinging K. That’s good to see!

This was an elegant, all-around win for a team that alternates between bad and good, depending on the day. I don’t want to prejudge the Most Birdland question, but perhaps most excitingly, Kyle Bradish looked like a fricking ace again. If you somehow hate starting pitching, then give your consideration who Gunnar Henderson, who got the scoring started (that’s important) with a two-run jack off Kirby and had a crucial play to nab a runner at third. Or Blaze Alexander, quietly crushing it in the nine-spot with a 3-for-3 day and a walk.

The Birds face Bryan Woo and the M’s at 4:10 ET tomorrow with Shane Baz countering in hopes of a series win.

Orioles 5, Mariners 3

Back-to-back solo shots in the ninth: Dominic Canzone, +.15 WPA

While down by four: George Kirby, -.12 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Considering how it looked in the moment, George Lombard Jr. may have avoided the worst.

The Yankees’ top prospect “sprained a couple fingers” on his left hand, a team spokesman said Wednesday night, a day after Lombard left Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s game after jamming his left hand into a base stealer while covering second base.

Lombard underwent tests Wednesday that came back negative, though it remains to be seen how long the sprained fingers will sideline him.

The 21-year-old shortstop is hitting .231 with a .765 OPS and eight steals through 42 games at Triple-A, though he has been better of late after a slow start following an early-season promotion from Double-A.

Lombard has a chance to play his way into the Yankees’ plans this season depending on how he performs.

The organization already believes he is big league-ready defensively — he has also mixed in third base and second base — but the question will be whether he can hit consistently enough to arrive in The Bronx this year.

Of course, that also depends on how José Caballero and Anthony Volpe handle splitting shortstop duties for the Yankees.

After throwing all of his pitches “with good intensity” Tuesday in his first full bullpen session since going on the injured list with a left elbow bone bruise last month, Max Fried reported feeling good Wednesday, the latest positive sign in his comeback.

The left-hander will still need to show improved healing in his elbow before he is cleared to fully ramp up towards a return, but assuming he continues to bounce back well in the coming days, Fried will throw another bullpen session this weekend.

“Just talking to him today, he said, ‘I felt great during it and then feel good coming into today,’ ” manager Aaron Boone said. “So it’s been encouraging, really every step of the way, since even the couple days after the Baltimore start when he went on the IL. He’s responded well to everything, which I’m hoping is a really good sign for him and for us long-term.”

Austin Wells (cervical headaches) came through his first rehab game Tuesday without issue and was scheduled to start at catcher again Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before its game got rained out.

Facing White Sox lefty Anthony Kay (who had drastic left/right splits) on Wednesday, Boone started Caballero in left field, Cody Bellinger in center field and Jasson Domínguez in right field.

Bellinger moving to center for a day opened up left field for Domínguez, but instead Boone opted to keep him in his new home in right to get him a steady dose of reps there to see if it can work moving forward.

As Ha-Seong Kim has been perhaps the worst player to play as much as he has in baseball this season, Walt Weiss made a number of changes including Matt Olson playing right field to avoid Kim hitting in the eighth. Kim’s performance and Weiss’ clear lack of faith in the Korean makes it fair to wonder if he will make it all season on the roster the way things are going, much less receiving regular playing time. He has been a catastrophe at the plate and not much better in the field. While I do think it remains a worthwhile contract to hand out in the offseason, it has gone about as poorly as possible, starting with his offseason injury.

Braves News

Atlanta is expecting to miss Ronald Acuna for a while, as they will slow-play his return from his second injury to the same hamstring this season.

The Braves transferred Spencer Strider to the 60-day IL in a flurry of mid-day transactions.

The Braves’ losing skid continued with a loss in the afternoon and a loss at night, each featuring sub-par pitching and less-than-sparkling offense.

MLB News

The Phillies optioned top prospect Andrew Painter back to triple-A, as he has been quite poor in his 65.0 major league innings this year.

The Guardians put promising rookie Chase DeLauter on the IL with a fractured rib, calling up former top draft prospect Kahlil Watson to make his MLB debut.

Tigers’ Gleyber Torres is hitting the IL with an oblique strain that appears to be a reoccurrence of an injury he suffered earlier this season.

For a while now, Carson Whisenhunt has been targeted as a key part of San Francisco’s second-half rotation. It’s been quite a long time since anyone who isn’t employed by the Giants thought the team could make a competitive run this year, and as the season becomes more and more fleshed out — and the deadline grows ever closer — even the Giants are forced to reckon with reality.

Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, respected veterans who represent 40% of the team’s Opening Day rotation, will almost surely be traded, even as they slog through difficult seasons. Adrian Houser will be dangled, with Buster Posey hoping he’s not the only person on the planet who thought the mediocre veteran deserved a multi-year deal.

Add in the recent struggles of Trevor McDonald, who has temporarily stolen Mahle’s spot, and the picture couldn’t be any clearer: sooner or later, Whisenhunt will find himself slotted into the rotation, with a leash of indefinite length as the team shifts their focus to 2027.

Wednesday offered a sneak peak of that future. It may have also accelerated the timeline.

After Tuesday’s game was postponed in the second inning — meaning the starting pitcher, Houser, was limited to just one inning — the Giants needed to cover 17 innings on Wednesday. They learned from their mistake during the season’s first doubleheader, when they called up McDonald to be the allotted 27th man, but never used him, opting instead for a bullpen game and the scheduled starter. This time, Ray — initially scheduled to start the evening game — was pushed up to the early afternoon, to cover the rest of the series opener, which he did brilliantly. And Whisenhunt was brought up for his season debut, and handed the steering wheel for the full-length evening game.

He wasn’t excellent, but he was very good, which is more than Mahle and Houser can claim at virtually any point this season, and more than Ray can claim for most of it. And with that, Posey, Zack Minasian, and Tony Vitello have a decision on their hands. The Giants are 16.5 games out of the division lead, and 7.5 games out of the third wild card, while at no point looking like a competent baseball team (on or off the field, sadly). How can Whisenhunt return to Sacramento, where he’s already spent more than 280 innings honing his craft? How, after the way he pitched on Wednesday?

It was hairy at the start, admittedly. He fell behind 3-0 to the leadoff hitter, former Giant Mauricio Dubón, and eventually issued a walk to him. With two outs, he allowed a single to Ozzie Albies. It took him 21 pitches to get through the inning — efficiency has been a struggle for him this year — and even at that, it came with a scare, when Austin Riley’s third-out fly ball died at the warning track.

The second inning offered more of the same. Seen through one lens, Whisenhunt wasn’t at his sharpest, as he worked through a leadoff single and a one-out walk, throwing 18 pitches and once again escaping when the final out — a fly ball from Dubón that traveled 376 feet — died on the track. Seen through another lens, he showed his mettle, and was unfazed by danger from a great team. He looked like he’d been there before. He looked like he was never worried.

After those two stressful innings, Whisenhunt settled right in. He needed just seven pitches to cruise through the heart of Atlanta’s order in the third, striking out Drake Baldwin on three pitches, working a mild grounder from Matt Olson, and getting the laziest of fly balls from Albies. He gave up a leadoff single in the fourth, then retired the next three batters on eight pitches. He set down the side in order in the fifth inning.

It helps, of course, when your offense gives you a cushion, and the Giants did exactly that. They once again struck in the first inning — what a lovely sight — albeit with a little help from the Braves. Luis Arráez, who had drawn a leadoff walk, attempted to steal second on what would be strike three — and out No. 2 — to Matt Chapman. The thrown from Sandy León was excellent, and easily beat Arráez, save for one little issue: Albies forgot to catch the ball.

With that, life was gifted to the Giants, who did what good teams do in such situations: take advantage. Rafael Devers slapped a double the other way, scoring a run and keeping the line moving. That would be the only run of the inning, but it helped push rookie JR Ritchie’s pitch count up to 27.

It was the second inning where the Giants gave Whisenhunt a big enough lead that he would have no problem protecting it. It began when Willy Adames, who had homered in the first game, went deep on the second pitch of the inning, hitting a majestic shot exactly 400 feet.

But that was just the start. After a strange sequence — Casey Schmitt singled, Drew Gilbert replaced him on a fielder’s choice, and then Gilbert was thrown out stealing second on a play where it looked like he was only half-heartedly trying to steal the base — a new rally was started when Eric Haase drew a walk.

What followed could not have been predicted: Arráez, who has a reputation for both not hitting home runs and not swinging at the first pitch, swung at the first pitch … and hit a no-doubt home run, just the 39th of his eight-year career.

But if Arráez’s home run was a shocker, Bryce Eldridge’s was not. For the second time on the day, Giants lefties went back-to-back (in the first game it was Devers and Jung Hoo Lee), and with that, the game was broken open.

That was all the scoring the Giants would do until the ninth inning, when they scored a few desperately needed insurance runs. Whisenhunt had stayed in for the sixth inning, but given up three straight singles to open the frame, scoring a run and putting an Atlanta rally firmly in full force. JT Brubaker relieved the youngster and allowed one of the inherited runs to score (Whisenhunt’s final line: five innings, six hits, two walks, two runs, and two strikeouts), before getting out of the inning. The Giants continued with the drawing-headlines-for-the-wrong-reasons relief group, with Sam Hentges and Ryan Walker combining to pitch scoreless seventh and eighth innings, giving San Francisco a 5-2 lead into the ninth.

That’s where they added on, with a familiar man in the middle of it: Arráez. It was a small ball rally at the back of the lineup, with Schmitt knocking a leadoff single. He was then replaced by Jonah Cox, who promptly stole second … a move that was impressive, but ultimately meaningless, as Gilbert was immediately hit by a pitch. After Haase moved both runners over with a delightful bunt, Arráez brought them home with an opposite-field single … the quintessential Arráez hit.

It turned out to be a pretty critical one, too. The Giants had pushed their lead from three runs to five, which was mighty important when they proceeded to give up three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Matt Gage, who was activated off the Injured List in between the games, didn’t have his sharpest stuff. He ceded a one-out double to Jair Camargo (the first hit of his career), and then, after having two deep fly balls die on the track, Dubón finally pushed one over the fence for a two-run blast.

Back-to-back singles by Baldwin and Olson brought the tying run to the plate, and knocked Gage out of the game. In came the unlikely hero, Tristan Beck. He let one of the inherited runners score on a wild pitch, but induced a weak grounder from Albies, before striking out Riley to end the game, and granting the Giants a 7-5 victory.

The Giants haven’t had a lot of good days lately, but Wednesday was certainly one. A dominant showing from Ray, followed by an encouraging peak to the future with Whisenhunt. Six home runs on the day. Two wins against one of the best teams in baseball.

That’ll do.

Despite a valiant comeback effort fueled by four home runs, the Colorado Rockies couldn’t overcome a disastrous second inning by the Chicago Cubs as they dropped the series finale 8-6 to lose the series. They finish their road trip with a 2-4 record.

A mixed night for Sean Sullivan

After an impressive, albeit short, outing for his Major League debut, the Rockies hoped to see more of Sean Sullivan in his second start.

The night started promisingly as Sullivan allowed just one walk as he faced four batters and retired the side on 12 pitches. The top of the Cubs’ order looked off balance as he continued to be deceptive. However, the second inning proved to be a nightmare for the young lefty.

Alex Bregman led off the inning with a walk. Ian Happ blooped a single to right field that fell perfectly in a spot that no fielder could cover. Matt Shaw then tripled to center field to get the Cubs on the board with an early 2-0 lead. An RBI double from Carson Kelly followed to make it 3-0. The struggling Dansby Swanson then stepped up to the plate and hit a fly ball to left field that the wind pushed out for a two-run home run to make it 5-0 and complete the team cycle in the inning.

Sullivan finally got the first out of the inning by getting Pete Crow-Armstrong out on a fly ball. The Cubs remained aggressive as Nico Hoerner singled to right field, followed by Seiya Suzuki’s RBI double to make it 6-0. Michael Busch then singled to put runners on the corners, and Bregman flew out to left field for the second out of the inning to drive in a run and make it 7-0. Happ flew out to right field to end the inning. By the end, Sullivan had thrown 42 pitches in the inning alone.

He rebounded nicely in the third inning with back-to-back strikeouts and a borderline catch by Tyler Freeman in right field. Sullivan then allowed a lead-off home run to PCA in the fourth inning that held up after a lengthy review by the umpire crew to make it 8-1, and then got through the inning without further damage.

His night ended after four innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He pounded the zone, throwing 56-of-82 pitches for strikes, but he managed just two swing and misses. It was a start reminiscent of Sullivan’s starts in Tripe-A Albuquerque, where the margin of error isn’t large, leading to one ugly inning surrounded by a lot of things to like about him. He’ll likely get another start next week, this time at Coors Field against the Boston Red Sox.

“He got behind in counts and had to come over the plate with his heater,” said manager Warren Schaeffer. “But he came back out and got 1-2-3 in the third and got us through four innings. He knuckled down and did what he had to.”

Sterlin Silver

The Rockies weren’t quite as successful against Cubs starter Javier Assad as they managed just two runs on five hits (more on that in a second) while also striking out just once with no walks. Assad managed an even split of groundouts and flyouts with six apiece while he threw 56 strikeouts of his 92 pitches.

Sterlin Thompson had quite the night as he was the Rockies’ main proprietor of offense for most of the game. In his first at-bat, he collected his first career home run by sending a ball the opposite way to get the Rockies on the board.

The Rockies threatened with a couple other runners following the home run but nothing came of it. As Thompson stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning, he turned on a ball to right-center field for his second home run of the game to make it 8-2.

He added a two-out double in the top of the seventh but struck out in the ninth to end up going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. He became the first rookie in Rockies history to have a multi-home run game at Wrigley Field.

Zach Agnos steadies the ship

After Sullivan managed to grind through four innings, the Rockies turned to Zach Agnos with the hopes of getting a few good innings out of him. Despite the mixed-bag of results on the year, Agnos did exactly what they wanted him to do.

Of course, no pitcher is expected to do it all by himself, and Agnos was the beneficiary of some help from his defense in his first inning of work. Happ led off the inning with a double to right to bring Shaw up to the plate. Agnos managed to get him to fly out deep to center field, where Cole Carrigg made the catch. Happ tagged up and tried to move up 90 feet, but Carrigg fired a laser to third base to cut him down for a double-play. The throw came in at 99.8 mph, the fifth-hardest throw by a player in MLB this season.

Agnos closed out the inning and worked around two walks through his next two innings of work. In a game that could have quickly spiraled out of control, Agnos went three innings, allowing just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

He gave way to Jimmy Herget in the ninth for his first appearance after being activated from the injured list. The Cubs managed a couple of bunt hits, but he escaped the inning unscathed.

Late game rally

The Rockies’ offense managed to make things a bit more interesting with a rally in the eighth inning against reliever Ethan Roberts. Jake McCarthy led off with a walk and was followed by a Freeman single. Both runners then moved up on a passed ball with TJ Rumfield at the plate. Rumfield grounded out a ball to first base for the first out, which allowed McCarthy to score and make it 8-3.

Hunter Goodman then stepped up to the plate and blasted his 21st home run of the season, 14th on the road, to straightaway center to make the game 8-5. For Goodman, his 21 home runs are the most by a National League catcher before the All-Star break since Javy Lopez hit 23 back in 2003.

The Rockies couldn’t add on in the eighth but tried to build more momentum in the ninth inning. Facing Jacob Webb, Kyle Karros connected on a first-pitch fastball over the heart of the plate for his fourth home run of the season to make it 8-6. Unfortunately, that is all the Rockies could muster as Webb closed it out for the save.

On the night, Colorado had nine hits, including four home runs, while striking out just three times. However, they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“The Boys keep fighting, they keep fighting every night,” said Schaeffer about the comeback effort. “It’s no secret, the league has to know that we keep fighting until the end. It’s what we do and I’m proud of them for that.”

Up next

The Rockies head back home to Coors Field for a six-game homestand starting Friday. The Pittsburgh Pirates roll into town first for the weekend with Bubba Chandler (2-7, 4.76 ERA) scheduled to make the start for the Buccos. Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.98 ERA) will take the pill for the Rockies.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm MDT.

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The Padres have arguably one of the most aggressive president of baseball operations in the sport.

A.J. Preller isn’t afraid to take the leap when it comes to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. Last summer, the Padres made the deal of the deadline when Preller acquired Mason Miller from the Athletics.

The return package was perhaps the most shocking part of the trade; the Padres sent top prospect Leo De Vries and three other prospects to the Athletics. The move signaled the Padres’ desire to make a deep playoff run, and several insiders believed that would also be the case in 2026.

A few weeks ago, the Padres were considered early favorites to land Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in a blockbuster trade. But San Diego’s slumping offense has given the Skubal speculation reason to pause.

The Padres’ offense ranks last in batting average, OPS, runs and total bases. Though Preller is an aggressive GM, his pursuit of Skubal may be futile if the lineup remains stagnant.

MLB insider Jeff Passan believes the lack of offensive production could hinder the Padres’ deadline plans.

“I think the Padres’ deadline is going to be fascinating this year because when you are in the same league as the Dodgers and the Braves and the Phillies and the Brewers… the National League is stacked. It’s an impressive group of teams. If you’re A.J. Preller and you see the way that your offense has operated this year and you look at the top of your rotation, do you go get Tarik Skubal?” Passan said on “Foul Territory.”

“I think if Ethan Salas is in a trade, at very least, Scott Harris and Detroit, the president of baseball operations there, has to listen because he might potentially be the best prospect that gets offered. But is it worth renting Tarik Skubal for a team like this? A team that has flaws. Or do you look at it and say, you know what, the truth is if we have Tarik Skubal, if we have Michael King, if we have this bullpen, we can go out and beat anybody. But the Padres have mortgaged their farm system so much in recent years.

“I just don’t know if this is the Padres team that’s going to go out and chase.”

Despite winning the deadline last summer, the Padres made an early postseason exit in 2025 with a loss in the wild-card round to the Cubs. As the trade deadline draws closer, it remains to be seen whether Preller will go all in as the Padres’ bats search for answers this summer.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers had the lead right from the jump and never gave it up as they cruised to a 9-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians, giving them a chance to sweep tomorrow.

Christian Yelich led this game off with an opposite-field home run off Gavin Williams, taking a curveball down and away to the Brewers’ bullpen for a 1-0 lead. They weren’t done in that first inning, however. William Contreras and Jake Bauers drew two-out walks, and Sal Frelick drove them both home with a booming double to right-center.

In the second, Cooper Pratt delivered the first hit of his major league career, shooting a single through the right side of the infield.

“I heard the crowd, and it was sick,” Pratt said postgame as he retold the story of his first career hit.

David Hamilton bunted Pratt over, and Yelich drove him in with a single to left center. Yelich would later score on a Brice Turang double, and very quickly it was 5-0 Brewers after two innings.

Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat was cruising along, facing the minimum through three innings. But then he ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing a walk, a single, and another walk to load the bases. He then hung a curveball right down the heart of the plate to Daniel Schneeman, who did not miss it and crushed a grand slam.

A few pitches later, the athletic trainer was coming out to check on Sproat, and he exited the ballgame. The Brewers later said Sproat left with a right hamstring cramp.

“Just a cramp, he’s fine. He’ll be able to make his next start,” Pat Murphy said.

The Brewers’ offense picked him up with some additional insurance runs in the bottom half of the fourth when Jackson Chourio lifted his fourth home run of the homestand and 10th of the year.

Chad Patrick, who came on in relief of Sproat, proceeded to absolutely shove. He struck out seven over 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit. It’s been a struggle for Patrick his last few times out, but he made an adjustment to the cutter and found much more success.

The Brewers were able to add some insurance in the eighth inning with singles from Contreras and Frelick, followed by an RBI double from pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn. Pratt then tallied his first career RBI with a single over the first baseman’s head to make it 9-4.

Grant Anderson closed the door for the Brewers, and they’re now lined up to potentially sweep the Guardians on Thursday afternoon. Shane Drohan will get the start for Milwaukee in that game, with Parker Messick starting for Cleveland in a southpaw-on-southpaw matchup. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

The Home Run Derby is getting a makeover.

One of the premier events of MLB’s All-Star week is ditching the clock and going with a set number of swings instead, The Athletic reported Wednesday.

In the first round, contestants will get 20 swings before going down to 15 in the second and third rounds.

In a fun twist, hitters will continue to swing if they homer on the final hack in each round until they produce an out.

For example, if a player hits a homer on the 20th swing of the first round, they keep taking swings until they record an out.

The top four finishers of the eight-player pool from the first round will advance to the second round, where the top first-round finisher will face the player with the fewest homers in the first round.

The second and third seeds also will face off to decide the championship matchup.

One of the biggest reasons for the change, according to The Athletic, was the new viewing experience for fans. This year’s derby will be the first on Netflix, and the streamer’s personnel asked for feedback from MLB and players for ways to improve the competition.

With the previous structure utilizing a timer, players said they would get tired trying to take as many swings as possible before the clock expired. Players will now have the ability to build drama and anticipation between swings.

The Home Run Derby has undergone several rule and format changes since the event’s introduction in 1985. From that year through 2014, the competition used some form of an outs-based system. In 2015 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, MLB introduced the clock to great fanfare.

Fans will see the newest setup in action in the 2026 Home Run Derby, scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern on July 13 at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

None of the eight participants has been announced, though Yankees slugger Ben Rice said this week that he “would love” to be part of the homer show.

Cubs 8, Rockies 6

Leverage index and box score

Graphics via FanGraphs.

Shaw-some: Matt Shaw, +0.17 WPA

Second-inningblowout: Sean Sullivan, -0.37 WPA

Game thread comments of the day

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The White Sox owe the Guardians a fruit basket because after another Bronx beatdown, Chicago is barely clinging to first. The Sox got thumped, dropping to 38-34 and torching their positive run differential on the way out.

The night started with some promise. Miguel Vargas, still glowing from his MLB Network cameo with Mark DeRosa, ripped a two-out double in the first.

Then Colson Montgomery battled for 12 pitches, only to pop out. Cue the Yankees: Anthony Kay got two quick outs, then Amed Rosario doubled, and Cody Bellinger smashed a two-run shot to right-center. Just like that, 2-0 hole.

The Sox had their shots, but the clutch hits never came. In the second, Everson Pereira drew a leadoff walk and Edgar Quero singled, only to watch Braden Montgomery bounce into a rally-killing double play. Meanwhile, Kay continued struggling with his command. José Caballero reached after being hit by a pitch in the second, Anthony Volpe tripled him home, and Ali Sánchez added an RBI single, and suddenly it’s 4-0 Yankees. Kay burned through 52 pitches just to escape two innings.

Finally, some life in the third. Chase Meidroth and Randal Grichuk singled, then Colson yanked a pitch from Carlos Rodón into the short porch for a three-run bomb. Suddenly it’s 4-3.

Kay battled in the bottom half, managing to strand Bellinger at third after a leadoff double, getting a groundout, a strikeout, and a popped-up bunt to escape.

But missed chances for the South Siders were the story. Quero singled in the fourth and got left. Meidroth doubled to start the fifth and went nowhere. Five innings in, plenty of hits, nothing to show for it.

Then everything unraveled.

Sean Newcomb took over in the fifth and immediately lit the fuse. Bellinger singled, Jasson Domínguez doubled, and Caballero drove in two. Then Volpe smoked a liner off Newcomb’s chest at 98.6 mph, sending him to the showers with a contusion. Tyler Davis came in and poured gasoline on the fire: single to Sánchez, then veteran Paul Goldschmidt obliterated a three-run homer. Suddenly it’s 9-3, and the game is toast.

Brandon Eisert finally put up a zero in the sixth, but Trevor Richards coughed up a solo shot to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh, pushing the Yankees into double digits. The inning also brought another scare when Everson Pereira made a highlight-reel catch in center, then hit the wall before crumpling to the ground. He ended up leaving the game, though he walked off on his own.

Chicago kept swinging, even down big. Braden picked up a two-out single in the sixth, then Colson notched his first career multi-homer game in the eighth with his 19th of the year.

Tristan Peters kept the line moving by drawing a pinch-hit walk, Quero slapped his third hit, but again, no dice. Sam Antonacci led off the ninth with a homer for some window dressing.

The maddening part is that the offense actually showed up. Eleven hits, three from Quero, two bombs from Colson. But the Good Guys went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left a small village on base. The bullpen blowup didn’t help, but when you rack up 11 hits and five for extra bases and still trail all night, that’s a special kind of aggravating.

On the eve of one of the city’s biggest celebrations in years — a parade for the NBA champion Knicks — the Yankees got the party started early.

With Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in The Bronx to throw out the ceremonial first pitches and then watch from a suite, the Yankees put on a show Wednesday behind another relentless offensive attack.

Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit for the second straight night as the Yankees pounded the White Sox yet again, 10-5, in front of 38,558, including two freshly crowned champions.

Brunson and Hart were the main attraction for many of those fans at the start of the night and whenever they came into sight following their first pitches, but the Yankees (45-27) gave them plenty to watch on the field, too, as they won for the eighth time in their last nine games.

Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all homered as the Yankees raced out to an early lead and then piled on from there, scoring 22 runs through the first two games of this series against one of the other four American League teams who entered the night with a winning record.

“That’s at its best right there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “When everyone’s playing a role and you’re getting meaningful contributions from everyone and you’re winning baseball games, that leads to good times and good vibes. You love it that way. You know you’re going to go through your challenging moments, so you try to embrace this and keep it going as best you can.”

Carlos Rodón struck out seven while grinding through five innings, with all of the damage he allowed coming on one swing: Colson Montgomery’s three-run homer in the top of the third inning, which pulled the White Sox (38-34) within 4-3.

But that was as close as it would get, as the Yankees blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning capped by Goldschmidt’s three-run home run to the short porch off righty reliever Tyler Davis.

The Yankees are playing without two former MVPs in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but still have two more playing like their best versions in Bellinger and Goldschmidt.

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With his 11th home run of the year, the 38-year-old Goldschmidt surpassed his home run tally for all of last season (10 in 146 games), doing so in just 47 games to help the Yankees withstand the losses of Judge and Stanton.

“It’s been unbelievable,” Bellinger said. “Lefty, righty, pull-side homers, oppo homers, hitting singles and playing great defense, he’s been tremendous. Obviously a future Hall of Famer. Just been really fun to watch with my own eyes.”

Bellinger, meanwhile, finished a triple short of the cycle as he continued to do everything well. He is hitting .304 with a .941 OPS across his last 43 games.

The Yankees, who improved to 18-6 when facing a left-handed starter this season by beating up on White Sox southpaw (and former Mets prospect) Anthony Kay, have just kept plugging along even as the injuries have piled up, now missing nearly half of their Opening Day lineup.

“We have a good mindset about it,” Rodón said. “We go out there every day trying to win a baseball game. There’s no excuses in this room. Obviously, it’s tough when G is out, Judgey’s out, and those guys are so dynamic at the plate. But it’s great that our guys are still going out there and putting together good at-bats, still scoring a lot of runs. This team’s very capable.”

After clubbing four home runs in Tuesday’s 12-2 win, the Yankees picked up where they left off by racing out to a 4-0 lead.

After Montgomery’s first of two homers made it 4-3, the Yankees put the game out of reach in the fifth, honoring Brunson and Hart by delivering another win.

“That was cool,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, we were all super tuned into the [NBA Finals] and the postseason. Saw them pregame and what they were able to accomplish is pretty amazing. It was cool to see them.”

ATLANTA — So homer-happy were the Giants on Wednesday that even Luis Arraez got in on the power party aided by the balmy conditions in the Braves’ bandbox. 

The contact-hitting second baseman put one over the wall for only the third time this season — his first in any setting besides the hitter’s paradise that is the A’s temporary home — and that was only the beginning of a historic homer barrage on their way to a doubleheader sweep.

“I didn’t know there was any elevation here, so I guess the ball flies here a little bit,” said first baseman Bryce Eldridge, who came away with his seventh homer of the season in his first game at Truist Park.

No kidding.

The Giants hit three home runs on their way to a 7-2 win in the early game. They slugged that many in the second inning alone of the nightcap. Final score: 7-5.

“It was a good day at the ballpark for us,” manager Tony Vitello said, complimenting his team for improving from its first doubleheader of the season, when they lost both games to the Phillies.

“I think if you look at the last time we did this, it serves as a little bit of practice for this year’s team. We’ve gone through a day like today. … No matter what your circumstances are, you’ve got to make them the best that you can.”

The rare homer from Arraez came with two outs in the second, finding a landing spot in The Chophouse in right field, after Willy Adames lined one over the left-field wall to lead off the frame.

Arraez stood in the batter’s box for a moment and stared toward his teammates in the third-base dugout.

“We were giving him crap in the dugout because he pimped it,” Adames laughed. “When he knows, he knows. When he hits it, he hits it.”

Eldridge immediately followed Arraez with a shot to center, giving the Giants three in an inning for the first time this season and their second set of back-to-back homers of the day.

Jung Hoo Lee and Rafael Devers provided back-to-back blasts in the first game.

Devers was contained to the field of play in the second game but used it like a pinball machine to record his MLB-leading 23rd and 24th doubles of the season, including one he snuck down the left-field line in the first that drove in Arraez and opened a 1-0 lead.

Arraez finished with a season-high four RBIs, poking a two-run single in front of Mike Yastrzemski in left field to pad the Giants’ lead in the top of the ninth.

The Giants had manufactured three runs before play was suspended in the first game Tuesday night. From the time they resumed play Wednesday afternoon, the Giants’ six home runs were responsible for eight of the 12 runs they scored the rest of the day.

On the topic of homering in bunches, nobody clumps them together like Adames, who also went deep in the first game. Five different Giants homered on the day, but only Adames did so twice.

The last time Adames homered, he also hit two in one day. In between the multi-homer games, however, the shortstop managed just one single with 11 strikeouts in 31 at-bats. Of his last five hits, four have gone over the fence.

“I don’t feel the best right now,” Adames acknowledged. “I’ve had some good contact, but not results. Obviously when you get some [results], it feels great. … Hopefully I can get hot and end the first half the way I want to.”

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The Braves, on the other hand, weren’t able to do much of anything against Carson Whisenhunt, called up from Triple-A to make a spot start in the second game of the twin bill.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Vitello said. “He put on a clinic for how to handle traffic because there weren’t very many moments where it was easy, or he just breezed.”

Nonetheless, Whisenhunt limited Atlanta to two runs on six hits and two walks over five-plus innings in his first start of the season. Both of Whisenhunt’s walks came in his first two frames, and he settled down to retire 11 of 12 until allowing the first three batters of the sixth to reach base.

“Felt really good,” said Whisenhunt, who arrived as the 27th man for the doubleheader on about four hours of sleep and will rejoin to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday. “Obviously not the best it could have been, but for what I had to work with there, I felt pretty solid.”

It wasn’t enough to earn a permanent spot in the major-league rotation, but it made Vitello a believer that Whisenhunt, who struggled in five starts last year, will be back at some point.

“I just think he’s got the ability to be at this level,” Vitello said.

With 6 ⅓ scoreless innings from Robbie Ray in the first game and strong work from their relievers, Giants pitchers held Atlanta to two runs over the first 16 innings they played Wednesday.

Matt Gage, in his return from the injured list, wasn’t able to finish the job, recording only one out in the ninth, surrendering a two-run homer to Mauricio Dubon and handing the game over to Tristan Beck with two on and the tying run at the plate.

Caleb Kilian, their closer, was not available for the sudden save situation after Vitello used him to record the final two outs of their five-run win earlier in the day.

What it means

The Braves began this series with the best record in the majors, 17 ½ games ahead of the Giants, with a 3.32 staff ERA that trailed only the Yankees for the best in MLB.

None of that seemed to matter to the Giants, who unloaded against a bullpen game and a rookie making his sixth big-league start, JR Ritchie. In a roundabout way, San Francisco has reeled off three wins in a row. The Giants haven’t won four games in a row all season.

Who’s hot

The power strokes of the Giants’ hitters, who look like a completely transformed group from the one that ranked last in the majors in home runs through the first week of May.

San Francisco became the last team to reach 20 home runs on May 4. Since then, they’re tied with the Nationals for the most in the majors, with 59 after slugging six more Wednesday.

And consider this: Their 122 wRC+ in that span leads the league, meaning the offensive awakening hasn’t just been a product of the long ball, nor is it merely a result of favorable foes.

Who’s not

Just about everyone has participated in the Giants’ power surge.

But not catcher Daniel Susac.

Susac started behind the plate in the first game of the double header and went hitless in four chances, bringing the Rule 5 pick over 100 plate appearances without a homer.

Susac continues to be a reliable receiver and singles hitter, but just six of his 26 hits this season have gone for extra bases. Since returning from the injured list May 15, Susac is batting .221 with a .550 OPS, putting his OPS on the verge of dropping below .700 for the first time this year.

Up next

With more rain in the forecast for Thursday, the teams have discussed moving up the start time of the series finale from 7:15 p.m. ET. For now, that’s when Braves starter Martin Perez will toe the rubber, opposed by Landen Roupp in his first start since Pride Night in San Francisco.