Category: Baseball

On this Barbie Day afternoon at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins said “Ken-ough is Ken-ough!” and decided to take the series from the St. Louis Cardinals!

The Twins looked to do some damage off St. Louis SP Michael McGreevy right out of the gate when Byron Buxton doubled & Royce Lewis drew a walk, but a Josh Bell ground-out to second base thwarted the B1 threat. Similarly in B3, base knocks from Trevor Larnach & Kody Clemens placed two on with two outs—and again came away scoreless when an oppo-drive from Lewis died underneath the limestone overhang in RF.

Instead, it would be the Red Birds who activated the scoreboard first. After three solid innings, Twins SP Taj Bradley left a middle-middle breaking ball to Alec Burleson and the burly St. Louis slugger put it out onto the plaza. 1-0 STL.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the Twins to finally get into the offensive action: a B4 Bell base hit was brought home on a Victor Caratini poke to the plaza of his own! 2-1 MIN.

The long ball provided the next scoring as well, with a Taj T6 leadoff free pass to Nathan Church immediately haunting on a JJ Wetherholt whammer. 3-2 STL.

A developing Twins threat to tie the game in B6—Bell single, Caratini walk—was snuffed when a Brooks Lee liner was snagged by Cards 1B Blaze Jordan and turned into an unassisted twin killing.

Taj would hit the showers after 6.2 innings of 3-run ball—but also two Birds on base. You know the story from here: a Twins reliever—today being Anthony Banda—entered and the lead increased (bloop single from Wetherholt). At least Burleson was retired with the bases juiced. 4-2 STL.

Much like Friday night, however, Twins’ bats didn’t let a middle relief meltdown shut them down. In B7, a Luke Keaschall BB & Ryan Kreidler pinch-hit single set up Buxton at the dish. Buck of course delivered an RBI single. A Clemens single loaded the bases for Lewis—who cracked his own single to tie the game at 4-4!

Alas, a Bell whiff & a Caratini warning track fly-out prevented a lead change.

After Andrew Morris entered and K’d the STL side in T8, Keaschall’s 2-out double down the LF line set the stage for that much-anticipated lead change, with Kreidler doubling off the bullpen fence! 5-4 MIN.

Yoendrys Gomez would enter in T9 and provide that rarest of rare occurrences for the ‘26 Twins: a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save!

Your Final: Minnesota Twins 5, St Louis Cardinals 4.

A really nice series victory over a strong St. Louis club. It wasn’t pretty Friday night or this afternoon, but the Twins battled all weekend and sent the strong contingent of Cardinals fans back down I-35 unhappy.

Zach’s Zealot

• Buxton: Basically a perma-entry in this category right now. Three more hits today & five All-Star ballot-punches garnered from this writer. Let’s make sure Buck is under the Liberty Bell in Citizen’s Bank Park come mid-July!

Zach’s Zombie

• Me, for reseting my Safari web browser yesterday and having an anxiety attack trying to remember how to get back into the WordPress admin dashboard (you are reading this, so man prevailed over tech—if barely).

Egg-cellent Elocution

• gintzerconfirming another tall drink of water walking a dog in the Twin Cities area (not me, surprisingly)

Who’s Got Next

• Two-stepping down to Texas for a 3-game series with the Rangers (Mon. night, Tues. night, Thurs. afternoon). Yes, a rare mid-series off day due to World Cup activity in Dallas on Wednesday.

After the homer-happy St. Louis Cardinals blasted past the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, the bats were relatively silent in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon until later in the game, but it wasn’t enough to win the series against the Twins.

Both starters did their teams big favors on Sunday by going deep into the game. Michael McGreevy kept the Cardinals in the game into the 6th inning and Taj Bradley did the same (almost) for the Minnesota Twins. The early game was really just two more or less isolated blasts. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Josh Bell singled and then scored when Victor Caratini crushed a home run into the right field stands giving the Twins a 2-1 lead after Alec Burleson launched another towering home run in his flaming hot streak in the top of the 4th inning.

The Minnesota Twins lineup was making hard contact against Michael McGreevy, but they had very little to show for it which allowed the Cardinals bats to eventually wake up and make it a game. After Nathan Church walked to lead off the top of the 6th inning, JJ Wetherholt did what JJ Wetherholt does which is give the Cardinals the kind of hit exactly when they need it. In this case, it was a clutch 2-run homer to right giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 lead, his 10th of the season.

Several moments that won’t show up on many scorecards or highlight reels, but need to be shouted out. First, early in the game when Michael McGreevy got Byron Buxton out, manager Oli Marmol walked down the length of the dugout and gave the Cardinals gold Amazon home run chain to pitching coach Dusty Blaze. Classic. Another stellar defensive play in the bottom of the 6th inning when the Minnesota Twins had a runner on first base with just one out, Blaze Jordan made a diving catch on a line drive and then dove back to the base and tagged the runner out for an inning-ending double play. You’re going to be wearing those birds on the bat for a long time I predict, Mr. Jordan.

Michael McGreevy gave the Cardinals a full 6-inning quality start Sunday giving up 7 hits (some of them very loud), but only allowing 2 earned runs while striking out only 2 and walking 2. The hard hit rate from Michael can be unnerving, but the simple fact is the Cardinals tend to win games he starts and that’s really one of the best things you can say about a Major League starter.

The St. Louis Cardinals would get a valuable insurance run in the top of the 7th inning after José Fermín’s two-out single (which extends his now 8-game hitting streak). Nathan Church followed that up with another single which caused the Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton to remove Bradley so he wouldn’t face JJ Wetherholt again. Didn’t matter as JJ did another JJ thing by gracefully placing a single just over the shortstop scoring Fermín making it 4-2 Cardinals.

What was the Cardinals bullpen solution for the late innings after Michael McGreevy’s exit? In the 7th inning, it was JoJo Romero. The first batter he faced was Martin who not only struck out, but used the Twins final challenge of the day. The second batter was Keaschall who JoJo felt the need to walk. The third hitter was pinch-hitter Kreidler who smacked a single into left field giving Minnesota runners at first and third with just one out and Byron Buxton at the plate. (*shudder*) He lined the second pitch he saw into left field cutting the Cardinals lead in half making it 4-3 with the Twins still having runners on first and second with only one out. Clemens also singled to right which loaded the bases and inspired Oli Marmol to remove Romero from the game. George Soriano entered this hornet’s nest and gave up yet another annoying single which tied the game at 4-4 bringing up the very dangerous Josh Bell to the plate. Fortunately for St. Louis, Josh also strikes out a lot which is what he did in the Twins 7th giving St. Louis a badly-needed second out. They weren’t out of the woods yet, though, as the very hot Caratini nearly unloaded the bases flying out to very deep left field as Lars Nootbaar grabbed it before stumbling up against the left field wall. Whew.

George Soriano was also the Cardinals answer for the bottom of the 8th inning with the goal of keeping the game tied. He was almost successful. With two outs, he gave up back-to-back doubles to Keaschall and Kreidler giving the Twins a 5-4 lead. It could have been worse, but Soriano was able to strike out the fearsome Byron Buxton keeping St. Louis just one run down.

The Twins sent Yoendrys Gómez to the mound to try and lock up the series win for Minnesota. After a successful challenge of what was called an infield hit for José Fermín, it was up to Nathan Church and JJ Wetherholt. Church struck out by chasing two pitches that were very much not in the strike zone. JJ Wetherholt hit a ball deep to center, but just got under it a little too much flying out to end the game.

The St. Louis Cardinals return to Busch Stadium Monday night as they’ll host the San Diego Padres. Dustin May will make the start for the Cardinals while the starter for the Padres is to be determined. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

The Royals shut out the Astros on Sunday after allowing 18 runs the first two games. Stephen Kolek was great in the Royals 4-0 victory. The Royals record moves to 29-43 on the series after a 2-4 homestand.

The Royals got on the board early and often against Spencer Arrighetti, who is having a great start to his season. In the bottom of the first, Bobby Witt Jr. singled and stole second with one out. Maikel Garcia drove him in with a laser to left field to put the Royals up 1-0 immediately.

Maikel drives in Bobby to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/3aTy9ITC80

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

Witt turned 26 today and he was doing everything. On the day, he went 2-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Oh, and he added this diving catch to his long resume of nearly impossible plays.

Birthday Bob's putting on a show. 🤩

Vote Bobby: https://t.co/fEY1ycYg48pic.twitter.com/gc8dKG3C5I

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 14, 2026

The Royals tacked on 3 runs in the bottom half of the 3rd inning. Isaac Collins walked on 4 pitches to start the inning; he went to third on Carter Jensen’s single. After Witt popped out, Jac Caglianone came through, lining a single into right. Garcia just got one past the third baseman down the line (ala Salvy in 2014) to bring Jensen and Jac in on the double, 4-0 Kansas City.

Jac and Maikel add on to the lead in the 3rd! pic.twitter.com/ZbzPpl8hvo

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

That was all that Stephen Kolek needed as he was untouchable all day. Kolek went 7.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, no runs, walking 1 and striking out 4. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.68. He also made this nice play to start a huge double play to get him out of a jam.

Stephen Kolek starts the 1-4-3 double play to end the 7th! pic.twitter.com/1Qj4Z5aci5

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

A one out walk and single chased Kolek in the 8th inning. Steven Cruz came in and got a strike out and a weak groundout to end the inning. Cruz continues to look more and more like the 2025 version of himself after being called back up.

Daniel Lynch IV got the 9th, and it was uneventful. A quick 1-2-3 inning for the Royals most consistent reliever this season.

The Royals will take a quick road trip to the nation’s capital to play a 37-35 Nationals team. They return home for the Cardinals next weekend. First pitch for tomorrow is set for 5:45 p.m. CT.

The headline says it all.

Giving New York another reason to celebrate, the Atlanta Braves fell 8-1 to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Bryce Elder’s outing resulted in him only pitching through four innings, allowing two hits, six earned runs, two walks and only two strikeouts.

Bryce Elder charged with six earned runs on 10 hits and two walks Sunday in New York.

In his last four starts, Elder has allowed 16 earned runs on 27 hits and walked six over 20 innings (a 7.20 ERA)

— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) June 14, 2026

Four of the runs came in the first inning, which set the tone early against the Braves, who scored one run in the same inning on a sac-fly by Dominic Smith to bring in Michael Harris.

Which leads us to the offense. Today was a down game for Elder, but he can’t take all of the blame. Though Mets’ Freddy Peralta had a solid outing, pitching through five innings and allowing four hits and one earned run, he only accomplished two strikeouts, giving the Braves ample opportunity to take advantage, despite being down so early.

Back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth by Mets’ A.J. Ewing and Marcus Semien with no outs resulted in Elder getting relieved by Dylan Dodd soon after.

Juan Soto decided to close out the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run hit to drive in Carson Benge and Bo Bichette for a seven-point lead, 8-1, also ending the game with a series win.

The Braves have an off day tomorrow, and after coming off two disappointing series, will need to reevaluate their game plan as they return home to face the San Francisco Giants with Grant Holmes on the mound.

The Mets scored four first-inning runs and rolled to an 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday at Citi Field. As such they took two out of three games to win the series in this first meeting of the season with the NL East-leading Braves. 

The Mets are still seven games under .500 at 32-39 but they have played better in recent weeks, going 10-6 over their last 16 games, and 22-18 over their last 40 games. 

The Braves still have the best record in MLB at 46-25. 

Here are the top takeaways from the win...

--Freddy Peralta pitched a strong five innings to get the win, allowing one run on four singles and a walk. It was a big bounce-back start after he allowed six runs vs. the St. Louis Cardinals last Tuesday, as he got his ERA back under 4.00, to 3.90. 

The only knock was his inability to get deep into the game, which has been Peralta’s biggest flaw this season. It took him 90 pitches to get through five innings, and Carlos Mendoza apparently decided not to push him any farther. 

The right-hander didn’t seem to have his best fastball, striking out only two Braves’ hitters, but he did a good job mixing all his pitches, getting some key outs with off-speed stuff that had hitters out in front.

--The Mets got all the runs they needed in a weird first inning that saw Juan Soto attempt a sacrifice bunt after the first two runners reached base. Mendoza surely didn’t want Soto bunting there, and to make things worse, the star left fielder bunted barely in front of the plate, where catcher Sandy Leon could field the ball and throw to third for a force-out.

Yet the Mets rallied from there, as Jared Young singled home a run and A.J. Ewing doubled to the opposite field, down the left field line, driving in the second run of the inning. A third run scored when Mike Yastrzemski’s throw from the left-field corner hit the pole supporting the on-field netting and caromed toward center field. 

Finally, Brett Baty singled home Ewing to complete the rally and give the Mets a 4-1 lead. 

-Back-to-back solo home runs by Ewing and Marcus Semien knocked starter Bryce Elder out of the game in the sixth inning, giving the Mets a 6-1 lead. 

Elder came in with a 2.66 ERA, having an outstanding season for the Braves. This was the first time this season he has given up as many as six earned runs in a start, and only the second time he’s given up more than three. His ERA jumped to 3.15. 

--Ewing had a big day, going 3-for-5 with a single, double, and home run. He scored two runs and drove in two as well, while raising his batting average to .269. 

Ewing had a shot at hitting for the cycle, needing only a triple when he batted in the seventh inning, but he grounded out to first on the first pitch of the at-bat against right-hander Reynaldo Lopez. He also struck out in the eighth. 

--Bo Bichette had his sixth multi-hit game in his last 10, going 2-for-5 with a couple of singles. He’s hitting .390 over those 10 games with three HRs and 12 RBI. 

--The Mets’ bullpen continues to excel as four relievers, Cionel Perez, Daniel Duarte, AJ Minter, and Huascar Brazoban combined to deliver four scoreless innings.

Coming into the game the Mets’ pen had a 3.35 ERA, which ranked fourth in MLB. 

Game MVP: A.J. Ewing

Ewing's opposite-field double in the first inning was the key to the four-run rally that put the Mets in front for good. 

The rookie continued to show his ability to hit to all fields as contact hitters, doubling to left, singling to center, and homering to right, as he jumped on an inside slider, as part of his 3-for-5 day.

Highlights

Jared Young with an RBI single ties the game! pic.twitter.com/RziKpetcuM

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Two runs come home with an AJ Ewing line drive and throw that hit the pole by Mike Yastrzemski! pic.twitter.com/2wUg9hywu7

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Brett Baty brings home AJ Ewing for the Mets fourth run of the first inning! pic.twitter.com/dYd0z30MKV

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

AJ Ewing adds to the lead with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/KBb5K1RurL

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

ANOTHER ONE!

Marcus Semien goes back-to-back with AJ Ewing 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H7GzGC2rxj

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Juan Soto brings in two more! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/J4SYwTCnnX

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets hit the road for six games, starting with three in Cincinnati against the Reds. 

David Peterson is expected to pitch in some capacity for the Mets on Tuesday, with Chase Burns going for the Reds. First pitch on SNY at 7:10 p.m.

A lot of things went wrong in today’s 10-1 loss to the Nationals. You’d think so with a score like that. But the one I want to focus on is pitch selection.

Emerson Hancock got the start today, and while he’s been having a breakout year, some people have been arguing that while he’s improved, it’s not quite as good as it looks. Big day for those people, whoever they are. In particular, Hancock has been struggling since tossing that 14-strikeout all-timer in the Randy Johnson number-retirement game. Between then and today, he had six starts in which he kept his ERA under 3.00, but did it while riding a .200 BABIP and kicking a K%-BB% of just 12.0%, down from the 25.2% star turn in his first seven starts.

In other words, it seemed that the league had adjusted to the new Hancock. He’d have to adjust back.

He’d take that adjustment into his own hands after the debacle in Baltimore in his last start when he screamed at catcher Jhonny Pereda during a mound visit. Today, Hancock had a pitchcom on his belt, and would call his own game. I actually love that the Mariners did this rather than simply having Hancock pitch to Garver today. This managed to solve the tension while still standing behind Pereda.

But the pitches Hancock called were not the right ones.

To be sure, it worked at first. Other than leaving a cutter in the lefty loop zone to James Wood, who did what he does, Hancock was fine the first time through the order. The big change he went to was throwing his sinker to all of Washington’s lefties. On the season, Hancock had been mostly using his four-seamer and cutter to lefties while leaving his sinker and sweeper on the shelf. That makes sense as a strategy. Sinkers and sweepers, with their horizontal movement, generally have some of the biggest platoon splits.

Today though, Hancock caught the lefties off guard, throwing 10 sinkers to lefties in the first time through the order, 36% of his pitches to them. That’s double his season average.

The problem was that the Nats noticed and were not caught off guard the second time through. They stacked five hits in a row to open the bottom of the fourth. Add in an errant pick-off throw and a missed fielder’s choice, and the hometown team put up a five spot in what Aaron Goldsmith says was less than four minutes. It turns out the element of surprise only works when it’s actually surprising.

Hancock eventually got out of the inning, but did not come back for the fifth. I don’t think the understaffed and overworked bullpen needed the extra pitches. Only nine of Hancock’s 59 pitches were something other than a fastball. Maybe the Mariners could have tried seeing if doing something other than aping Bryan Woo would work before pulling the plug.

To their credit, the bullpen did mostly hold it down. The exception was Andrés Muñoz, who came in for the ninth, despite the lopsided score, just to get some work. But he gave up a walk and a double and left after the trainer came to the mound. The broadcast speculated it was just about the heat, a problem he’s had in the past, but Adam Jude reports it was back tightness. That’s a vague diagnosis, but vagueness is unfortunately all you can do for that malady, which might be fine tomorrow or linger for the rest of his life. (Josh Naylor also left the game after fouling a ball on the shin, but his x-rays were negative.)

In a game lacking in good news, at least Cole Young made a web gem in the sixth inning (tragically, no video yet). For those not following the storyline, LL’s Managing Editor Kate Preusser has committed that if Young wins a Gold Glove, she’ll get a tattoo that says, “I was so wrong about Cole Young.” So every good play gets me thinking about font choices to recommend. Young gets the Sun Hat Award today for that play and for scoring the Mariners’ lone run.

Talk about recapturing the vibes! The Nats have now fully put the San Francisco meltdown in the rear view mirror after taking the series against the Mariners with a 10-1 win. After the Mariners scored a run in the first inning, this was a comprehensive beatdown by the Nats. 

On the one year anniversary of the infamous “never on coaching” line from Davey Martinez, the Nats are now 37-35. In the past that Giants loss may have derailed the season, but not for this team and not for this coaching staff. The way this team has responded the last two games is so encouraging, and makes their success seem more real.

Final: Nationals 10, Mariners 1

One year after the “it's never on coaching” claim, the Nats rout Seattle and claim their 8th series win in the last 10 series. Mikolas goes 7 scoreless, while Wood, Ruiz, Young, Crews and Lile all have extra-base hits.

Record: 37-35

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 14, 2026

There were a lot of star performers in this game, but the biggest one was Miles Mikolas. Simply put, Mikolas looked cooked in his first few outings of the season. He was getting shelled and became the face of the Nats pitching woes. However, Mikolas has turned his season around. In his last 11 outings, the veteran has a 3.38 ERA and a WHIP under 1. 

He has had plenty of good performances lately, but this was the best one. Mikolas’ command was absolutely impeccable, dotting corners all day long. The velocity was also up for the right hander. His 4-seamer and sinker were both up 1.6 MPH today, with the 4-seamer averaging 94.9 MPH. This was the first time Mikolas has tossed 7 scoreless innings since 2024.

Miles Mikolas tonight vs. Seattle:

7 IP
3 H
0 R
0 BB
3 K

It's his first outing of 7+ shutout innings since 2024 👀 pic.twitter.com/DwhYSWU2Uj

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 14, 2026

When Mikolas did that, he was used as a traditional starter. In this outing, he came in after an inning of work by opener PJ Poulin. Mikolas has done well following an opener this year, and has been totally open to the idea despite having over 200 starts under his belt. Despite being in this league for a long time, all Mikolas wants to do is pitch and help his team win.

The offense made things easier for Mikolas today by giving him plenty of run support. That run support came early and often. The Mariners struck first blood in the top of the first, but James Wood immediately answered back in the bottom of the inning. It was his second pull side homer of the series, and a majestic shot.

James Wood crushes home run No. 20! pic.twitter.com/QY4QwiyOpx

— MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2026

Wood is just on a whole different level right now and is an MVP candidate. With three hits today, Wood is now hitting .281 with a .972 OPS. Perhaps the craziest stat is that Wood has scored 66 runs on the season, and the next closest player has only scored 53. This shows you how great Wood is at getting on base, but also how prolific the Nats offense is behind him.

The big inning for the Nats came in the 4th, where things just unraveled for Mariners starter Emerson Hancock. In just 17 pitches, the Nats batted around and scored 5 runs. Nats hitters were hunting the first pitch all inning long, with 7 of the at bats that frame ending on the first pitch. One of those at bats was Daylen Lile’s RBI double, which was an absolute rope.

DAAYYly double pic.twitter.com/SeraNAATwt

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 14, 2026

This whole season, or at least most of it, has been such a fun ride so far. We went into the year with zero expectations, but this team is surprising us game after game. Whenever we think this team will cool off, they just rip off another series win like they did against the Mariners today.

So many different players have stepped up this season for the Nats and today was a perfect example of that. Every Nationals hitter got at least one hit in this one. On the mound, Miles Mikolas, who was left for dead at the beginning of the season, was the hero. The Nats were at their scintillating best in this 10-1 demolition of the Mariners. 

Next up, the struggling Royals come to town. At times, the Nats have played down against weaker teams, so they will need to keep the intensity high this week. This was a great win though, and these last two games were a big statement by this young and hungry team.

Texas Rangers lineup for June 14, 2026 against the Boston Red Sox: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Connelly Early for the Red Sox.

The last game of the road trip. The Rangers look to avoid a sweep.

The lineup:

Langford — DH

Jung — 3B

Nimmo — RF

Duran — SS

Burger — 1B

Foscue — 2B

Freeman — LF

Higashioka — C

Osuna — CF

6:20 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.

Nationals 10, Mariners 1

When you toss a game so bad we won’t list the highest WPA in the chart: Emerson Hancock, -0.33 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

Texas Rangers outfielder Michael Helman has been placed on the 10 day injured list due to a fractured hand, the team announced today. The team has recalled outfielder Alejandro Osuna to take his place on the active roster.

Osuna seemed to be a candidate to be recalled yesterday, when Evan Carter went on the injured list with an oblique strain, though Cody Freeman ended up getting the nod instead, due at least in part to Corey Seager being unavailable. Once it was reported yesterday that Helman, whose role had been to be the fourth outfielder and play against some lefties, had suffered a multiple fractures in his hand on a hit by pitch, it was apparent that Osuna would be up to take his place.

Helman will likely be out of action for at least the next six weeks. Osuna, meanwhile, will get regular playing time in the outfield, at least until Carter returns.

Osuna has a .253/.376/.275 slash line for the Rangers in 110 plate appearances over 37 games this season, playing primarily left field.

The Dodgers are back home to begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Eric Lauer starts for the Dodgers. Right-hander Nick Martinez goes for the Rays.

Monday will be an exclusive telecast by ESPN, with Jon Sciambi and David Ross on the call, so no SportsNet LA for this one.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rays
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: ESPN (Jon Sciambi, David Ross)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Well, there’s more baseball today, I guess. If you’re into that sort of thing. The San Francisco Giants have given us no reason to watch them lately, both with their play and their bigoted messaging. For some people, that’s reason enough to stop watching; for others, they need the respite that baseball provides, even when it’s baseball causing the pain.

There’s no right way to fan. If what you’re deciding to do with the day is get some joy out of baseball by watching the Giants face the Chicago Cubs, then welcome. Come talk about the game with us!

Logan Webb takes the mound for the Giants as he tries to build on his momentum. The two-time All-Star has made 11 starts this year, and is 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA, a 3.18 FIP, and 58 strikeouts to 19 walks in 67.1 innings. After a brutal start to the year, Webb has been lights out lately: in his last two starts, he’s allowed just one run in 15 innings.

The Cubs are using an opener, lefty Ryan Rolison. The 28-year old has made 20 appearances this year (this is his first start), and is 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA, a 4.23 FIP, and 24 strikeouts to 12 walks in 24 innings. The bulk innings are expected to go to right-hander Colin Rea, who is 5-4 with a 5.19 ERA, a 4.86 FIP, and 54 strikeouts against 25 walks in 69.1 innings.

Enjoy the game, everyone. Or at least, enjoy your Sunday.

Lineups

Giants

1. Matt Chapman — 3B
2. Luis Arráez — 2B
3. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
4. Rafael Devers — DH
5. Casey Schmitt — LF
6. Willy Adames — SS
7. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
8. Daniel Susac — C
9. Drew Gilbert — CF

RHP. Logan Webb

Cubs

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong — CF
2. Alex Bregman — 3B
3. Michael Busch — 1B
4. Ian Happ — LF
5. Michael Conforto — RF
6. Pedro Ramírez — 2B
7. Carson Kelly — C
8. Moisés Ballesteros — DH
9. Dansby Swanson — SS

LHP. Ryan Rolison

Game #72

Who: San Francisco Giants (28-43) vs. Chicago Cubs (37-34)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 12:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: ABC/Watch ESPN

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

This afternoon, the Athletics seek to wrap up their week in Las Vegas by completing a sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The past two nights, the A’s emerged victorious in back-and-forth contests, overcoming blown leads to retake the advantage and fend off the Rockies over the final few innings.

A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who was originally scheduled to start yesterday’s contest, will instead get the ball for the last game of the series. The 33-year-old will be the lone A’s starter making his second start of the week, and he will face the added challenge of pitching in what is expected to be triple-digit heat.

Springs enters his 15th start of the season with a 3-6 record, a 4.68 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 75 innings pitched. He started the first game of the Las Vegas series, which the Milwaukee Brewers ultimately won 15-14 in 12 innings. In that game, Springs received a no-decision after allowing five runs on eight hits across five innings.

Today marks two months since the A’s southpaw last earned a win, a streak he hopes to snap in this series finale. A big reason why Springs has not pitched well lately is because he has struggled limiting home runs. The ball is likely to carry in the extreme heat, creating an additional challenge for A’s and Rockies pitchers. Springs will need to be efficient and precise to avoid another short, less-than-ideal outing. Even if he pitches well, the A’s may be reluctant to let him work deep into the game given the oppressive temperatures and the associated health concerns.

Keeping that in mind, the A’s made a roster-move this morning to add a fresh arm to their bullpen. Joey Estes was serviceable as the starter yesterday, but failed to complete five innings. He was optioned back to Triple-A, with left-handed reliever Brady Basso recalled as the corresponding roster move.

We have made the following roster moves. pic.twitter.com/XvoKiqgkrh

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 14, 2026

Now onto the starting lineup. Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay decided to order things up as his team seeks its fifth straight win:

Day baseball in LV ☀️ pic.twitter.com/3kbCFyqXdi

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 14, 2026

This lineup is certainly an interesting one. Center fielder Lawrence Butler is batting leadoff, a notable departure from the inconsistent hitter’s usual spot in the lower half of the order. Meanwhile, Nick Kurtz will serve as the designated hitter, getting a break from defensive duties. Veteran infielder Jeff McNeil will man first base instead. Butler and McNeil are not the only Athletics making their first starts of this series. Carlos Cortes will also make his first start, playing right field and batting fourth.

Today’s A’s lineup is without starting catcher Shea Langeliers and shortstop Jacob Wilson. Langeliers gets the day off following two straight days behind the plate, while Wilson is not starting because he needs a rest day after recently returning from a stint on the injured list with a shoulder injury.

Ninth-place hitter Alika Williams, starting at shortstop, has been an unexpected contributor. He accumulated three hits and a walk last night in his best offensive game as a major leaguer. The A’s will need the likes of McNeil, Williams and Butler to get on base and create RBI opportunities for Kurtz, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and hot-hitting second baseman Zack Gelof.

Those bats will be facing Rockies’ right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano. The 36-year-old Japanese native is 6-4 with a 4.08 ERA and 39 strikeouts over his first 13 starts, spanning 68 1/3 innings with the Rockies.

He has won his past two starts, most recently limiting the Chicago Cubs to three runs on six hits over five innings pitched. Sugano has allowed 12 home runs, while Springs has given up 16, setting up a series finale that could feature plenty of power at the plate.

And the Rockies’ lineup for game three looks like this:

Freeman's back! pic.twitter.com/bXLc77tbUr

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 14, 2026

Springs has only faced one of Colorado’s starting nine before, so that could give the A’s starter the initial advantage in this matchup. Rockies’ shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who sat out the previous two games, returns to his team’s lineup this afternoon. The visitors’ lineup is not as intimidating as some others the Athletics have faced this season, yet the Rockies have shown an ability to score in bunches through the first two games of this interleague series.

Should the A’s finish off the league-worst Rockies, they would conclude their Las Vegas residency with a 5-1 record, and more importantly, return to West Sacramento one game over .500. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

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

After two night games where the ball flew far in the Nevada heat, the Colorado Rockies and the Athletics will play their third and final game of the series in the afternoon under the searing desert sun. Temperatures are expected to be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit at first pitch at Las Vegas Ballpark roughly 20 minutes northwest of the famous Strip.

The heat may prove an issue for Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) and his penchant for giving up solo home runs, but overall the veteran Japanese righty has remained one of the most consistent members of the Colorado rotation. Sugano carries a 4.08 ERA into today’s contest and he has failed to make through five innings just twice across his 13 starts this season.

His last time out, Sugano pitched five innings against the Chicago Cubs and gave up three earned runs on six hits—including a home run—with two walks and three strikeouts.

On the bump for the Athletics is left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs, now in his second season with the team. Springs has a 4.68 ERA through his 14 starts this season with 63 strikeouts over 75 innings. He’s coming off of a start against the Milwaukee Brewers in Las Vegas where he gave up five earned runs on eight hits—two of which were home runs—with two walks and three strikeouts.

This will be Springs’ first appearance against the Rockies in his nine-year MLB career. His primary pitch is a four-seam fastball that averages just 91.4 MPH and he backs it up with a slider and a changeup. The changeup is his best pitch for generating whiffs, while the slider is currently his best put-away pitch. Springs also throws a sweeper and a cutter.

First Pitch: 1:05 pm MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

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

AthleticsSB Nation Site:Athletics Nation

Lineups:

Freeman's back! pic.twitter.com/bXLc77tbUr

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 14, 2026

Day baseball in LV ☀️ pic.twitter.com/3kbCFyqXdi

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 14, 2026

---

---

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!