Category: Baseball

June was a bad offensive month for the Braves. The first 12 games of July were a mixed bag: some good outputs, but questionable inputs. Still, it got the Braves to a 6-6 record. Then the All-Star Break came and went, and the Braves started the “second half” with a home series against the Rangers.

Good news! The bats not only showed up, they went more or less ham on Texas pitching. The Braves won the series and pushed their division lead back to three games. The Braves hit three homers in the series-opening win, followed with two more in the Game Two loss, and then hit four more in the rubber game. It was the fourth time (two of those were overlapping) that the Braves had three multi-homer games in a row. The nine homers in three games is the third time they’ve done that (they actually had four in a three-game stretch earlier in July). While it’s not clear if the Braves can keep this up (three homers a game is a very tall order), Drake Baldwin looks back and even Austin Riley went off in this series. Things may not be sanguine yet, but this outcome was way better than a loss.

The Rangers also came into this series with a decent pitching staff, and two of the starters they deployed have been having pretty good seasons (the third was Cal Quantrill…), so this series was less the Braves beating up on patsies all weekend, and more one patsy and some pretty good offensive performances in the summer Atlanta heat.

Friday, July 17

Braves 15, Rangers 1

The Braves started the second half with a good ol’ fashioned clobberfest, courtesy of Cal Quantrill, who participated in some clobberfests of his own while eating innings with the Braves last year.

The box score in this one was ridiculous: Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, and Austin Riley all homered, Baldwin had three hits and a walk while driving in five, every Braves starter had at least one hit, and even Victor Mederos got in on the action with a two-run hit… against a position player pitching. Meanwhile, Chris Sale, whose prior start was shortened by rain and who sat on the bench during the All-Star Game, came out firing and hurled seven scoreless frames with a 6/0 K/BB ratio.

This one was Braves all the way, a palate cleanser for much of the Braves’ struggles over the past five-ish weeks. And if you figured that Drake Baldwin was back after his rushed-back-from-injury slump after this one, well… you weren’t wrong.

Saturday, July 18

Rangers 7, Braves 6

…And all the good vibes of the first game post-Break came crashing down in this one. Temporarily, but crashing down nonetheless.

Most one-run games are kind of weird, and this one definitely fit the bill. The Braves were done in by bad defense, of all things — as they couldn’t stop the Rangers from rallying with a bunch of grounders. This has been a good defensive team even when it hasn’t been a good pitching team or a good offensive team, so having the defense fail to show up and condemn the team to a one-run loss is kind of lame.

It was also kind of lame because the Braves tried hard to win this game. Owen Murphy made his first career start and had it go pretty blah-y, with a 2/2 K/BB ratio and a homer allowed (to old pal Joc Pederson, the first batter of the game) while getting just eight outs. The pitching management was fairly aggressive, especially as a miscommunication in left field started a Rangers rally that Murphy and the gloves couldn’t really staunch, but despite all that, the game was ruined in the sixth. There was a double that Mauricio Dubon (part of the miscommunication earlier) couldn’t snag on a dive, and that was immediately followed by a thanks, short porch homer off Tyler Kinley that tied the game. After a walk, the Braves summoned Dylan Lee to at least try to preserve the tie, but… ball-hit-too-weakly-to-be-double-play, ball-hit-weakly-and-Ozzie-Albies-didn’t-throw-it-for-some-reason, hard-grounder-that-Jim Jarvis-couldn’t-snag-on-a-dive, and seeing-eye-single-to-score-two-runs did the Braves in.

The Braves threatened a few times afterwards and even scored another run, but couldn’t find the grass needed to re-tie the game. Michael Harris II and Eli White had the homers in this one; Baldwin had two hits, but also ended two innings late with outs, even though one was a liner that would’ve really helped were it not hit right at the third baseman.

Sunday, July 19

Braves 8, Rangers 5

Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley both hit a pair of dingers; Riley also came through with a pull-away two-run single late, as the Braves took the rubber game. The Braves jumped ahead early, scoring a single run in each of the first four frames against Nathan Eovaldi.

Amazingly, Grant Holmes managed to get by relatively unscathed two whole times through the order… which meant that the Braves more or less stood by and let him struggle through a three-run fifth. Fortunately, that decision didn’t end up hurting in the standings, as there was no bullpen-and-defense-based heartbreak in this one. Instead, a couple of defensive miscues set up a bases loaded situation in the seventh, and Riley unloaded the bags by singling up the middle. Brewer Hicklen got in on the action with an RBI double of his own.

The Rangers managed to score a couple of runs off Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias, but it wasn’t enough to deny the Braves a series win.

With the Phillies dropping a series to the Mets (somehow), the Braves have at least a tiny bit of breathing room as the Padres come to town. That’s kind of a good thing, because A) the Braves were swept by the Padres earlier this season, but also B) the Braves haven’t won a series against the Padres in two years, and haven’t won a home series against the Padres since 2018. They’ll have that chance this week, though.

The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the second of three series during their current homestand, as they’ll welcome the New York Mets to town for three games beginning Monday evening. The Brewers currently sit at 62-37 and in first place in the NL Central after sweeping the Marlins this weekend, six games ahead of the second-place Cubs. The Mets sit in dead last in the NL East and with the fourth-worst record in baseball at 42-58, and they’ve already fired their manager. They’re coming off a nice series win in Philadelphia, though, as they took two of three from the Phillies.

The Brewers are currently without pitchers DL Hall (on rehab assignment), Kyle Harrison (late July), Rob Zastryzny (late July), Joel Kuhnel (late July or early August), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), Brandon Woodruff (out for season), Quinn Priester (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). Outfielders Brandon Lockridge and Sal Frelick, along with infielder David Hamilton, are also shelved, with Lockridge and Hamilton expected to return in late July and Frelick’s return TBD, as he’ll undergo imaging on his shoulder injury this week.

New York is without pitchers Clay Holmes (late July), Austin Warren (late July), Justin Hagenman (late July or early August), Tylor Megill (the younger brother of Trevor) (out for season), Reed Garrett (out for season), and Dedniel Núñez (out for season). First baseman Mark Vientos is out until late August with a fractured hand, and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. may be activated for this series after missing the last two-plus months with a lumbar spine disc hernia.

Jake Bauers continues to set the pace for the Brewers with 18 homers, followed by Brice Turang (14), Jackson Chourio (13), and William Contreras (10). Garrett Mitchell has been the Crew’s best hitter over the last month or so, and Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, Joey Ortiz, Andrew Vaughn, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt, Blake Perkins, and Braden Shewmake round out what has been a balanced offensive attack for the Brewers. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .253/.337/.396 (.733 OPS ranks 10th), with 91 homers (last), 502 runs (tied for fourth), and 98 steals (fourth).

Juan Soto has easily been New York’s best hitter, slashing .290/.409/.552 with 21 homers. Francisco Alvarez and Carson Benge have 11 homers apiece, while Bo Bichette has added 10. Jared Young, Marcus Semien, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, A.J. Ewing, and Jorge Polanco round out the regulars, with Eric Wagaman, Brett Baty, and Luis Torrens providing depth. As a team, the Mets are hitting .234/.304/.382 (.686 OPS ranks tied for 27th), with 117 homers (16th), 409 runs (25th), and 49 steals (24th).

Aaron Ashby sets the pace for Milwaukee’s bullpen with 47 appearances this year, pitching to a 3.43 ERA with 78 strikeouts over 57 2/3 innings. Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill have been the most effective arms in the back end of the ‘pen, with Chad Patrick, Grant Anderson, Craig Yoho, Lance McCullers Jr., and Bryse Wilson rounding out the lower-leverage arms. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.45 team ERA (second), including a 3.38 starter ERA (second) and a 3.54 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 960 batters (second) over 886 2/3 innings.

Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, and Luke Weaver lead the Mets in appearances, and each of them has an ERA in the low- to mid-2.00s. Former Brewer Devin Williams has 14 saves in 17 opportunities this year but has a 4.68 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. Kodai Senga has been moved to the bullpen as he has a dismal 8.85 ERA and 0-7 record this year, while A.J. Minter has been solid with a 1.80 ERA over 20 frames. Cionel Pérez (5.14 ERA) and Xzavion Curry (2.70 ERA) round things out. As a staff, the Mets have a 4.23 team ERA (17th), including a 4.44 starter ERA (21st) and a 4.00 bullpen ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 918 batters (third) over 891 2/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, July 20 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62 ERA, 2.09 FIP) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (5-8, 4.66 ERA, 4.39 FIP)

A matchup of the former ace vs. the current ace. Misiorowski, who has had a lengthy layoff to give him a bit of extra break, hasn’t pitched since July 7 against the Cardinals. He’s 10-4 this year with a 1.62 ERA, 2.09 FIP, and 167 strikeouts across 111 innings. He picked up the win in that game against St. Louis, allowing three runs on three hits and no walks while striking out 11. Misiorowski’s lone start against the Mets came last July in New York, when he took the loss as he allowed five runs on five hits and three walks, striking out two over 3 2/3 innings.

Peralta, 30, is in his first season with New York after being traded by the Brewers in the offseason. The nine-year veteran has had his worst full season to date, as he’s pitched to a 4.66 ERA, 4.39 FIP, and 104 strikeouts over 104 1/3 innings this year. He got hit for two runs on three hits and five walks, striking out six over just 4 1/3 innings in his last outing against the Red Sox, a 4-0 loss. This marks Peralta’s first career start against his former team.

Tuesday, July 21 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.16 ERA, 5.11 FIP) vs. LHP Zac Thornton (0-1, 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP)

Sproat, who was acquired in the aforementioned Peralta trade with the Mets, made his debut with New York last season. He’s shown flashes of his potential but hasn’t fully put things together just yet, with a 5.16 ERA, 5.11 FIP, and 87 strikeouts over 82 innings. Walks and hit batters have plagued the young right-hander, as he has 39 free passes to go with nine hit batters. That was exactly what gave him fits in Pittsburgh last weekend, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, two walks, and three hit batters, striking out three over three innings. This marks Sproat’s first start against his former squad.

Thornton, 24, ranks as the Mets’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Winona, Minnesota product was drafted in the fifth round in 2023 out of Grand Canyon University, and he’s made three starts in the majors thus far, pitching to a 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP, and 15 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings. He started last weekend against the Red Sox in what was his best start yet, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks, striking out five over seven innings on just 82 pitches, though he took a no-decision as the Red Sox went on to win in extras. This marks Thornton’s first career start against Milwaukee.

Wednesday, July 22 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (3-1, 2.97 ERA, 2.71 FIP) vs. RHP Christian Scott (3-1, 2.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP)

Henderson continues to impress, as he now has 12 MLB starts across parts of two seasons, pitching to a 2.45 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and 71 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings. He went five innings in a no-decision against the Marlins in Friday’s series opener, allowing one run on three hits and no walks, striking out four on 73 pitches. This will mark Henderson’s first career start against New York.

Scott, 27, is in his second major league season after making nine starts for the Mets back in 2024. In 13 starts this year, he’s pitched to a solid 2.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP, and 72 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings. He’s looked great in each of his last two appearances, totaling 10 2/3 innings with no runs allowed and 12 strikeouts against the Royals and Phillies. This marks Scott’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, July 20: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, July 21: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, July 22: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

These are two teams with completely opposite philosophies — the Mets like to spend money and lose; the Brewers like to save money and win. Give me the Crew to win two of three.

The Houston Astros continue to shuffle the deck with their pitching staff.

SP Ronel Blanco, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 18, 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, will return to the roster on Monday and get the start against the Miami Marlins at Daikin Park.

Blanco has pitched well on his rehab assignment. In 5 games covering 17 innings, Blanco is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA. He has allowed 2 runs on 12 hits, walked 6 and struck out 13 in that time. Blanco’s velocity has also mirrored that of his pre-injury days.

After today’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Astros optioned RP Bryan King to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Since joining the team in 2024, King has been a solid reliever for the Astros, but has been in a bad rut of late. Not only has he allowed runs in each of his last 4 outings, but he has allowed at least 1 home run in each of his last 4 outings. In his last 4 outings, covering 5 innings, he has allowed a total of 5 home runs. He has allowed 8 runs overall in that time on 10 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4.

King’s strikeout rate is down notably this season, sitting at 7 K/9 entering today’s game. It was 9.1 K/9 last season and 10.9 K/9 in 2024.

Multiple Astros pitchers this season have been optioned to Sugar Land, only to be later have that option cancelled and be placed on the MLB 15-day IL instead. Whether King has an injury at this time is unknown, but he is in the middle of the worst stretch of his career.

The potential swap of King for Blanco still leaves the Astros with only 12 pitchers, and 14 position players. Teams can carry up to 13 pitchers, but not more than that.

It’s been a long and exhausting season for the Angels, but it appears the team has helped at least one fan rediscover his love for baseball.

New York Times award-winning sports author Jeff Pearlman released a video on TikTok, revealing the Angels have rekindled his passion for the sport.

“In the last [month] I’ve gone to probably like five games, three of the five just by myself, and you may think, ‘What kind of loser goes to a baseball game by himself?’ It’s [the] best,” Pearlman said during the TikTok video. “I buy a ticket really high up. … I get free parking because I park offsite, and I just love it.”

“I love the feel of the ballpark, I love the look of the ballpark, I love the green, I love the national anthem, the seventh-inning stretch, I love that the Angels always do these really cheesy giveaways.”

Despite the Angels having a poor record (39-61), Pearlman said he enjoys being able to watch baseball at an affordable price and called it the “cheapest, best bang for your buck ever.”

Pearlman went on to compare how cheap the Angels tickets are compared with Dodgers tickets. He said he’s happy not having to spend $40 to park and spending over $100 for a ticket.

Pearlman is a New York Times best-selling author who writes about football, baseball and basketball. He also wrote a biography on Tupac Shakur.

Some notable books Pearlman has written about LA sports in his career include “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” and “Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty.”

Now attending Angels games for the experience to watch baseball in its purest form, Pearlman said he’s been taking photos with fans in attendance and leaving free copies of his books across the stadium. He enjoys getting a cold brew coffee from the Rise Espresso Bar in the stadium that includes cold foam and Cocoa Puffs.

The 2026 season has been another tough one for Angels fans, and the franchise might lose 100 games in a season for the first time.

Fans at Angel Stadium have been voicing their frustrations toward ownership this year. Earlier this season, they organized protests toward owner Arte Moreno, urging him to sell the team due to another losing season.

The protests have also been happening inside the stadium as fans have been participating in the Tarps Off movement, which has included regular chants of “Sell the team,” echoing from the right field seats.

Pearlman admitted he has mixed feelings about Tarps Off but called it “entertaining.”

“My new happy place is going to Angels games, parking for free, knowing I have a $5 ticket, watching the game, presuming the Angels are probably going to lose,” Pearlman said. “Just relishing in the moment.”

The Tampa Bay Rays did not allow a hit in the third inning Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

The Boston Red Sox scored three runs anyway.

A walk, a hit batter, another walk, a passed ball, an error, and a groundout turned a tied game into a three-run Boston lead, sending the Rays toward a 6-1 loss and a four-game sweep. The defeat extended Tampa Bay’s season-high losing streak to five games while Boston won its 13th straight.

Before the third-inning unraveling, Victor Mesa Jr. provided the Rays with one of the more exciting ways imaginable to take a lead.

Mesa opened the second by driving a ball into the right-center-field gap and never stopped running, racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. It was his seventh homer of the season and gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead without the ball ever leaving Fenway Park.

The Rays threatened to add more. Richie Palacios singled and stole second. Taylor Walls followed with a walk, but Sonny Gray retired the next three batters to strand both runners.

Boston immediately answered.

Caleb Durbin opened the bottom of the second with a single, stole second and advanced to third when Hunter Feduccia’s throw bounced away into centerfield. Andruw Monasterio then doubled into left field to tie the game. Feduccia recovered by throwing out Jarren Duran attempting to steal second, helping Shane McClanahan escape without further damage than a 1-1 tie.

The Rays created another scoring opportunity in the third. Cedric Mullins walked, and Chandler Simpson doubled, placing runners at second and third with one out. Gray responded by striking out Mesa after an unsuccessful Rays challenge and retiring Palacios on a fly ball.

Those missed opportunities became more costly during the no-hit blunder of the third inning.

McClanahan walked Jahmai Jones before retiring Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu was then hit by a pitch, and Willson Contreras walked after a Red Sox challenge confirmed ball three.

With the bases loaded, a passed ball by Feduccia allowed Jones to score the go-ahead run. Durbin followed with a grounder to Junior Caminero, but Caminero’s throw hit Abreau as Abreau scored, Contreras moved to third, and Durbin advanced to second.

Romy Gonzalez completed the damage with a groundout that brought Contreras home. Boston had turned three free baserunners and two defensive mistakes into a 4-1 lead without recording a hit.

Gray made sure the lead held.

After allowing Jonathan Aranda’s leadoff single in the fifth, the right-hander retired Caminero, Mullins and Simpson in order. Another opportunity disappeared in the sixth when Walls grounded into an inning-ending double play after Palacios walked.

Contreras then supplied Boston’s only necessary insurance. Rafaela singled to open the bottom of the fifth, and Contreras drove McClanahan’s next pitch into the right-center-field seats for his 22nd home run, extending the lead to 6-1.

McClanahan finished with six runs allowed, four earned, on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three, matching his season low, but the line reflected an afternoon when missed locations and defensive mistakes compounded one another.

The Rays finished with eight hits to Boston’s six but went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even after Feduccia doubled in the seventh and Walls and Feduccia reached to begin the ninth, Tampa Bay could not push across another run.

With this series in the books, the Rays look to get back to winning baseball as they finish their road trip in Toronto. Nick Martinez is scheduled to start against the Blue Jays with a 7:07 pm first pitch.

The Mariners have played 100 games. 50 of those games have been wins. 50 of those games have been losses. Eight of the wins came in a heady run in late May to early June that made it feel like the team had turned a corner and was poised to claim a commanding lead in the AL West, only to be followed by a string of losses that suggested that no, actually, this was the same inconsistent, frustrating team that’s been playing since March. High expectations have made the losses sting, badly, making the record at times feel worse than it is – the 2026 Mariners have at no point been worse than five games under .500, and that was back in the very early days of the season. But it hasn’t felt like that. The play has been so inconsistent that even this 50th win, a 6-3 triumph over the Giants to start off the second half with a series win, doesn’t necessarily feel like a turning point so much as Lucy lowering the football for Charlie Brown once again.

Maybe blame Friday night’s abysmal 7-0 shutout loss against the drain-circling Giants, but even yesterday’s joyful Julio-fueled walkoff win seemed to pale in the harsh light of the series finale, with former Mariner Robbie Ray on the mound for the Giants – recently off back-to-back eight-inning shutout performances – against Logan Gilbert. It was a rough start to the game for Gilbert, who walked off the mound in the first having surrendered two runs: one on a no-doubter Bryce Eldridge home run where he pounced on a first-pitch fastball at 98 mph and pummeled it over the wall, and another on a ground ball base hit off the bat of Casey Schmitt that split J.P. Crawford and Colt Emerson; Schmitt would advance to second and score on another ground ball base hit from Heliot Ramos past a diving Cole Young.

Dan Wilson spoke pregame about the necessity of being patient against Ray and forcing him to get in the zone and wait for your pitch, but that message appeared lost on many of the Mariners hitters for the first few innings. The Mariners got some pressure on Ray in the second inning by following the Wilson 14 Point Plan (all 14 points involve waiting for Ray to throw the ball in the zone): J.P. Crawford singled with two outs, rapping a sharp slider past the second baseman, and then Julio worked a very good at-bat, fouling off and taking pitches before walking on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Unfortunately, that brought up the lefty Cole Young with two outs, and Young was not on message:

Progress: sometimes it is linear, and sometimes, not so much.

The Mariners got on the board in the fourth thanks to some good old-fashioned chaos. Arozarena hit a ball right at Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt who decided it would be nice to send the ball on a scenic tour of Seattle, allowing Randy to get to second; he advanced to third on a Cal Raleigh flyout and scored easily on a Josh Naylor single. Naylor then stole second, because he is a chaos demon wearing polyester pants, and then scored on a game-tying single from Weston Wilson. It is important to have a niche, and in this inning everyone was tucked snugly inside their own personal niches: Randy being a Grade A Annoyance in the box and on the bases, trailing a cloud of chaos behind him like Pigpen; Josh Naylor singling on a pitch located at eye level and causing every Little League coach watching to wail in agony; and Weston Wilson being Professionally Right-Handed.

The Mariners weren’t able to add on but did keep the pressure on Ray, as Colt Emerson followed with a single and J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases for Julio Rodríguez. Julio flew out to end the inning, but the Mariners had managed to put 79 pitches on Ray by the end of the fourth.

Unfortunately, Logan Gilbert wasn’t able to deliver a shutdown inning in the fifth. Maybe it was the long layoff, but Gilbert wasn’t sharp when he came out for thie fifth, walking leadoff hitter Willy Adames on some not close pitches. Adames advanced to second on a bunt and scored on a go-ahead RBI double from Luis Arraez, who got on a slider that didn’t slide enough. Gilbert rebounded to strike out Eldridge on a slider, but the Giants now held the lead.

The Mariners were able to tie it back up in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a tiring Robbie Ray. Ray spammed Young with sliders off the plate again, like he had in the first at-bat, but this time Young made an adjustment, getting a slider on the plate and pulling it sharply (101.3 EV) into right field for a leadoff single. Randy followed him with a single of his own, this one at 105.7 mph off the bat, taking over the honorary Dom Canzone big brother role of “anything you can do, I can do better.” The Giants pulled Ray for righty Sam Hentges, who got Cal Raleigh to ground into a double play on a curveball, but the run still scored, tying things back up. But with two outs, the Mariners couldn’t continue to add on.

However, this time Gilbert was able to deliver the shutdown sixth, capping his day at 95 pitches and ten strikeouts – pretty good work, considering how the day had started. Also of note: Gilbert delivered contact-monster Luis Arraez back-to-back strikeouts in his first two at-bats, the first time Arraez had struck out more than once in a game all season, a fact eagerly shared by Bryce Miller when Logan came into the dugout. When informed actually Miller was underselling it and that this was the first time that’s happened to Arraez in two years, Gilbert couldn’t contain a look of wonder and an involuntary “golly.”

The Giants sent righty Adrian Houser out to the mound for the sixth, allowing Luke Raley to step in for Weston Wilson and immediately make his presence known. This is just the Mariners’ second pinch-hit home run of the year, and I’d forgive you for not believing who hit the first. Hilariously, this is Raley’s second pinch-hit homer, and they both have come against the Giants. Again, it’s important to establish your niche.

With the Mariners clinging to a one-run lead, Eduard Bazardo took over on the mound for Gilbert. Jung Hoo Lee immediately hit the most annoying BABIP flyball single ever off the Bazardvark, which must have really ticked him off because he then rattled off about as filthy a string of strikeouts as I remember from him this year: first he put Willy Adames in a blender on a sweeper, then nailed Grant McCray on the same sweeper for a three-pitch strikeout. Nine-hole hitter Drew Cavanaugh actually made Bazardo work, getting ahead 3-1 and then fouling off a couple pitches, but he too was subject to the bite of the Zard Dog, who punched Cavanaugh out looking on an absolutely filthy sinker.

Everybody has a niche, but Cole Young’s has been harder to pin down this season. Sometimes it’s Gold Glove Cole; sometimes it’s Clutch Cole when there’s runners in scoring position; quietly it’s been Iron Man Cole, playing in every game this season, a feat only accomplished by five other players in MLB. Lately, though, it’s been Cole Power. With Julio aboard on a leadoff single, Young saw a first-pitch changeup from Houser he liked the look of and promptly sent it over the right-field wall for two very important insurance runs. Even more importantly for me, people who enjoy symmetry, this made three runs scored via small ball/chaos ball vs. three runs scored via home run, the optimal mix for this lineup.

With the bullpen breathing a little easier, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz combined for two shutout innings to keep the Giants pinned in place. Speier had to do a little wiggling to get around a four-pitch walk to Eldridge, but posted a zero. Muñoz, by contrast, pitched maybe one of the most dominant innings he has all season, striking out Heliot Ramos on three pitches (heater-slider-slider), getting Jung Hoo Lee to ground out on a slider, and then striking out Willy Adames on three pitches – two heaters at 100 followed by another wicked slider. Muñoz has looked much, much sharper of late, but the effort from the bullpen today was superb, something Dan Wilson says is partly due to the willingness to attack that having a multi-run lead offers.

“It helps guys to get into the ballgame and have confidence that we’re going to take home a victory…anytime you can give them an extra run, an extra two runs, it makes all the difference in the world, because then they’re able to attack. In a one-run or a tie game, these guys are nails. But you give them a little extra lead, they’re going to make you pay.”

I might not be convinced these Mariners have turned a corner, but I’m not the one who needs to be convinced. Postgame, Logan Gilbert expressed confidence in not only the team’s recent record, but also how they’ve gotten there.

“We know where we’re at. It hasn’t been exactly what we wanted up to this point, but Dan keeps talking about how everything’s right in front of us. Division’s wide open. Won three of the last four, so that’s huge, and the way we’ve done it too, any time in the past I feel like we’ve gone through it a little bit – it’s kind of like a walkoff win is huge, with the momentum, so we got that walkoff hit, we came from behind today, clawed back, the offense did great, so those are two really scrappy wins. I think that’s what kind of gets us going.”

Luke Raley echoed Gilbert’s sentiments.

“We know the talent that’s in the clubhouse. It’s pretty clear we haven’t put it all together, but we know it’s there, and we know how we can play. We’ve seen flashes of it, but the consistency hasn’t been there. But we all believe that it’ll show up. We’re going through it a little bit right now. But the way to look at it is, we’ve won three out of our last four, and hopefully we can start getting some momentum and run with it…It’s kind of a cliche answer, but I feel we’ve had some good at-bats where we’ve hit balls hard and they’re outs and we just haven’t come up with the big hit. And Cole [Young] had the big swing yesterday, and it can be as easy as one swing. Just change the momentum, change the confidence, the the team starts rolling. That’s all it takes in baseball. And I hope that was the swing, and I hope we can roll from there, but if it isn’t, we’re going to keep working to get to that point.”

It can be as easy as one swing. It can also be as difficult. But it’s a lot easier when everyone knows their niche, and after today, where the Mariners stacked 11 hits up and down the lineup and scored on balls both small and long while striking out seven times against three walks, it feels like maybe – maybe – they’re starting to find it.

PHILADELPHIA — Francisco Lindor has been a shell of himself since returning from the injured list, but Sunday he was the whole player.

The Mets shortstop homered in his first plate appearance and didn’t stop until he had reached base five times in his team’s 6-1 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Lindor began the day with a .594 OPS since his return from the IL on June 24 (he missed two months with a calf strain).

His defensive play has been just as shaky.

So, are the Mets about to receive a dose of the Lindor who has been a key figure in this lineup since 2021?

“I am extremely confident, and there’s no other option,” Lindor said when asked about returning to his All-Star level. “I have to play to a higher standard. I have to play to the level that the organization wants me and I have to play to the level that I expect myself to be.”

Lindor delivered a 3-for-3 performance with three RBIs from the cleanup spot.

He also walked twice, allowing him to reach base five times in a game for the fifth time in his career.

“I’m putting in the work, and the coaching staff here is helping me a lot,” Lindor said. “We have three hitting coaches and they are all sending me videos and all putting in the time. And [bench coach] Kai [Correa], we all know Kai doesn’t stop.”

Lindor committed a throwing error a day earlier.

Last Sunday he failed to turn a potential game-ending double play on a routine grounder, costing the Mets a victory.

Correa, who oversees the team’s defense, told The Post that Lindor is still trying to catch up from the time he’s lost this season.

Before his calf injury, Lindor missed most of spring training due to hamate bone surgery.

“The biggest thing for him is he’s trying to close the gap on the lack of a normal offseason, the lack of a normal spring training,” Correa said. “The multiple serious issues, injuries, consecutively, without continuous play or a rehab assignment. Some of the things you see are mental mistakes that manifest as physical mistakes. It comes from the lack of game flow, where he’s out there and not doing things without thought.”

The Mets can only hope to receive a steady flow of production from Lindor as they attempt to avoid finishing as a complete embarrassment.

“We know who [Lindor] is and he has a long track record of being really good,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The day before the All-Star break, that ended up being a tough day [on the botched double play], but he was swinging the bat really well, and made a ton of good plays that day. It’s good to see him come out, enjoy playing baseball, play it really well and lead us to a win.”

The St. Louis Cardinals were ready to play the waiting game with the Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star starter Eduardo Rodriguez, but Andre Pallante and the bullpen would eventually blow a 7-run lead late in the game to make it a nail-biter which would end in heartbreak fashion.

Andre Pallante has a history of baffling the Diamondbacks and that trend continued for the first 5 innings of Sunday’s game in Arizona. More about the awful 6th inning later. While he was keeping the Diamondbacks hitless, the St. Louis Cardinals had a smart approach to wait out Eduardo Rodriguez and make him throw strikes. That would lead to a big breakthrough in the top of the 3rd inning.

Lars Nootbaar was the first example of Cardinals patience as he worked a walk to lead off the top of the 3rd inning. He would score on a triple from Blaze Jordan into the left-centerfield gap giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

Blaze would score on a smart at-bat from JJ Wetherholt as he guided a single past Nolan Arenado doubling the Cardinals lead to 2-0.

The Cardinals weren’t done doing damage in the 3rd as Iván Herrera singled and Jordan Walker kept his 10-game hitting streak alive smashing a double off of the left field wall scoring Wetherholt and making it 3-0 Cardinals.

But wait, there’s more. Alec Burleson hit a 92 mph Rodriguez sinker into left center scoring both Herrera and Walker giving the Cardinals a commanding 5-0 lead.

The St. Louis Cardinals would continue to pile onto their lead in the top of the 5th inning as Alec Burleson would begin the rally with a one-out single. After Masyn Winn flied out for the second out, Jose Fermin and Lars Nootbaar walked to load the bases. Blaze Jordan would come through with a clutch two-strike single to right scoring Burleson and Fermin and giving the Cardinals a huge 7-0 lead.

Andre Pallante with an assist by the Cardinals bullpen would allow the Diamondbacks to climb back into the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Del Castillo would lead off with a double followed by a single by Waldschmidt. Ketel Marte then singled in Del Castillo to get the Diamondbacks on the scoreboard subtracting from the Cardinals lead making it 7-1 with runners on first and third with none out. Pallante then walked Perdomo to load the bases and then two batters later walked Moreno to push another run across making it 7-2 St. Louis. That would result in manager Oli Marmol removing Pallante and bringing in Ryne Stanek. He would get Kepler to pop out to shortstop, but would walk Locklear with the bases still loaded and getting Arizona back within striking distance as the Cardinals lead was down to 7-3. Stanek would get out of the inning when Blaze Jordan made a diving grab on a ground ball from Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson made a fine scoop at first to end the Diamondbacks long bottom of the 6th inning.

After Ryne Stanek gave up a leadoff single to Del Castillo in the bottom of the 7th inning, it was George Soriano to the rescue (or at least that was the hope). He successfully got Waldschmidt and Marte out, but Perdomo slapped a single to left field that Jose Fermin misplayed which not only allowed Del Castillo to score, but Perdomo, too as he circled the bases for a little league home run cutting the Cardinals lead down to a nerve-racking 7-5.

The Cardinals narrow lead would disappear in the bottom of the 8th inning. After St. Louis reliever Gordon Graceffo got the first two outs, Locklear singled bringing up Nolan Arenado. Gordon unfortunately grooved an 88 mph slider and Arenado jolted it over the left field wall tying the game at 7-7.

Arenado’s 2-run homer would make the 9th inning a 7-7 shootout. In the top of the 9th, Masyn Winn grounded out to lead off the Cardinals 9th, but Jose Fermin followed with a single and Lars Nootbaar then drew his 4th walk of the day. Blaze Jordan then flew out to center for the second out which brought up JJ Wetherholt. He would face Diamondbacks reliever Juan Morillo. He would ground out to end the top of the 9th inning.

For the Cardinals to reach extra-innings, it would need the arm of Luis Gastelum to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring. He would strike out Ketel Marte and get Perdomo to ground out bringing up Jorge Barrosa who Gastelum would strike out also. Very impressive bottom of the 9th for Luis.

The Cardinals would start extra innings with JJ Wetherholt as the designated runner on second base. After an errant bunt attempt and nearly being hit in the head by a pitch, Ivan Herrera would guide a single into left field which would advance JJ to third base bringing up Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker with Bryan Torres pinch-running for Herrera at first. In a play that really must be seen to be believed, Byran Torres would be doubled off first when Jordan Walker broke his bat popping out to short. That bonehead baserunning blunder would mean the Cardinals would not score in their half of the 10th inning after Nathan Church grounded out. Playoff-caliber teams can’t make mistakes like this, but stuff happens.

Luis Gastelum would remain in the game for the bottom of the 10th to try and replicate his excellent 9th inning effort. This time, though, he’d start the inning with Barrosa as the free runner at second. He’d get Moreno to line out to Nootbaar in right without advancing the runner for the first out. That would bring up Max Kepler. He would clobber a double over Lars head in right field off the wall for a walk-off Diamondbacks winner. A stunning defeat.

The St. Louis Cardinals continue their westward trip with a stop in Anaheim to compete with the Los Angeles Angels. Kyle Leahy will start for the Cardinals while the Angels will give the ball to José Soriano. First pitch scheduled for 9:10pm central time at Angel Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

The Nats are back to their series winning ways to open the second half. As they have been all season, the Nats were road warriors in Sacramento, winning two out of three. This felt like a must win game for the Nats, who are on the outskirts of the playoff race. With their ace on the mound, the Nats got a curly W.

Speaking of the Nats ace, Foster Griffin was brilliant yet again today. He went seven innings, allowing just one run. Griffin did this despite not having his sharpest stuff, at least in my opinion. He only struck out two, but he had A’s hitters beating the ball into the ground. The Nats All-Star lefty allowed one run or fewer an 8th straight time, which is a Nats record.

Getting a Nationals pitching record is no easy feat despite the franchise being young. Max Scherzer set the bar so high for Nationals pitchers, and doing something that even he could not do is special. Griffin lowered his season ERA to 2.68 in what has been a truly remarkable season. When Griffin arrived from Japan, my hope was that he would be an average starting pitcher. He has been so much more than that this season.

Griffin also did Nats fans a solid by going 7 innings, meaning we only got to see two innings of the bullpen. The basepaths were crowded in the 8th and 9th innings, but the Nats ended up getting the job done with Clayton Beeter shutting the door, albeit in somewhat unconvincing fashion.

On the offensive side of the ball it took the Nats a few innings to figure out the A’s crafty lefty Jacob Lopez. However, by the time the middle innings rolled around, the Nats started to get to him. They scored a run in the third, largely manufactured by Nasim Nunez. After the A’s tied the game in the bottom of the frame, the Nats offense got to work.

Following a Dylan Crews hit by pitch, the new guy, Harry Ford continued his strong start with the Nats. Ford ripped a double into the gap, scoring Crews from first. The Nats top catching prospect was really starting to heat up in AAA, and that has translated to the big leagues so far. I will also point out that Ford stole a strike at the bottom of the zone that made things much less stressful in the 9th inning.

With what he is showing so far, Ford has a strong chance of sticking around even when Drew Millas is healthy. The 23 year old looks confident at the plate and has not put a foot wrong in the field so far. It took a while for him to get going, but it seems like we are finally getting the version of Harry Ford that was expected when he arrived from the Mariners.

Ford delivered in the 4th, but the 5th inning was the Nats big inning. They put up three runs to give them some separation. CJ Abrams hit a monstrous two-run homer to straight away center. That homer gave Abrams a career high, and we are still in the middle of July. Abrams is such an important player for this team, and he wants to prove that he can hold up for a full season. With a .298 average and .886 OPS in July, the early returns are strong.

Dylan Crews quickly made it back to back jacks, to make it 5-1 Nats. This was a much needed homer for Crews, who has really been struggling lately. Even after the homer, I remain unconvinced with Crews, but he has to start somewhere. Now, the goal will be for him to string together good games and start to find his footing in the big leagues.

As we have discussed, this is a huge second half for Crews, who could be running out of opportunities in the nation’s capital. Today was a good start, but we need to see consistency before we anoint Crews.

The Nats just passed the 100 game mark, and they are an even 50-50. As you would expect from a .500 team, there have been ups and downs. However, this season has smashed expectations, and has been so much fun, especially when the bullpen isn’t in the game. The Nats now have a big opportunity in Colorado to win another series and start to build momentum entering the second half. This team will have to show Paul Toboni that buying is the right path, and this series was a good start in that mission.

The Dodgers look to sweep the Yankees in the Bronx on Sunday.

SUNDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Yankees
• Stadium: Yankee Stadium
• Time: 4:20 p.m. PT
• TV: NBC; Streaming: Peacock
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

SEATTLE — So much for that second-half reset.

A strong end to the first half gave the Giants a rare dose of good vibes to enjoy over the All-Star break, and a convincing win when play resumed gave them something to dream on.

Reality returned over the weekend, which ended in a second straight defeat and a series loss to the Mariners, a team that looked totally overmatched in their first meeting just 72 hours earlier.

“It’s not ideal, obviously,” said Robbie Ray, who was out of the game by the fifth inning in his shortest start since May. “All we can do is come out tomorrow and put our best game forward.”

Ray didn’t record an out in the fifth inning, Casey Schmitt committed a pair of errors and Tony Vitello’s questionable managerial decision set up Luke Raley for a pinch-hit home run that ultimately proved decisive in Sunday’s 6-3 loss.

The Mariners are one of the majors’ worst teams against left-handed pitching (85 wRC+), and besides a two-run rally started by one of Schmitt’s errors, things had mostly gone smoothly using the combination of Ray and fellow southpaw Sam Hentges.

Everyone enjoying an immaculate summer afternoon at T-Mobile Park could have predicted that Seattle would sub in Raley or Dominic Canzone, two righty mashers with huge platoon splits, once the Giants went in the other direction with their pitching assignments.

Presumably that includes Vitello, who called on Adrian Houser to begin the sixth inning nonetheless. All 14 of Raley’s home runs entering the game had come against right-handed pitchers, and it took only two pitches for that number to increase to 15.

“We thought it’d be Canzone,” Vitello said.

Houser, one of the majors’ most homer-prone pitchers (1.63 per nine innings), took over a tied ballgame and served up a pair of home runs over two innings, putting the game out of reach for the Giants.

He recorded one hard out, then left a changeup over the middle of the plate that Raley smashed over the 380-foot sign in right-center field. Cole Young, who hit the go-ahead homer the previous evening, blew the game open with a two-run shot to right the following inning.

Bryce Eldridge opened the scoring in the first inning with his second home run of the series — his 10th of the season — to straightaway center, and Heliot Ramos drove in Schmitt to give Ray a 2-0 lead when he toed the rubber for the first time.

Seattle tied the score at 2 in the fourth when Schmitt airmailed a throw to first base. The ball careened off the padding in foul territory and back onto the infield dirt, but nobody was at second base to contest the runner from advancing. Earlier, Schmitt let a slow, spinning grounder roll under his glove.

“If you look at today, I know he’s frustrated with it,” Vitello said of the typically surehanded Schmitt, who is filling in at third for the injured Matt Chapman. “But if you look at it in totality, he’s been really good.”

The Giants immediately responded to retake a 3-2 advantage in the top half of the fifth when Luis Arraez doubled home Willy Adames, who drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed into scoring position.

But just as it did less than 24 hours earlier, the lead evaporated, and so did any positive momentum the Giants had built before boarding their charter flight to Kansas City.

“Right now, it’s a bad day,” Vitello said. “Get on the flight and pouting on the flight isn’t going to change anything, so you do what you do on the flight — play cards, take a nap, whatever — and then when we land, it’s go time against the Royals.”

What it means

Ray’s first time failing to complete five innings since May 31 came at a poor time, with only two more turns through the rotation to go until the Aug. 3 trade deadline, when he should be one of the top arms available.

He was at only 86 pitches when Vitello lifted him for Hentges, but he had surrendered his sixth and seventh hits of the game to begin the fifth, prompting the change.

“I thought he was good,” Vitello said. “… At the time it looked like a fresh arm would be better.”

Who’s hot

Eldridge spent his All-Star break at Disneyland, but he might think Seattle is the happiest place on earth after hitting at the typically unfriendly T-Mobile Park for the first time.

The rookie slugger gave the Giants their first runs of the second half with a homer in Friday’s 7-0 win, reached base three times with a pair of hits in Saturday’s 4-3 loss and bested the marine layer again in his first at-bat Sunday afternoon against Logan Gilbert.

“It was impressive what he did in the first inning, just where he hit it [dead center], the location of the pitch [down and in], how hard he hit it [107 mph] how loud it sounded [very],” Vitello said. “Just kind of picking up where he left off.”

Eldridge is riding a modest five-game hitting streak and has hit safely in six of his past seven games, with three homers and a 1.172 OPS over that stretch.

Who’s not

Two things you haven’t seen much of from Arraez: errors and strikeouts.

That is to say, it’s been an uncharacteristic start to the second half for the Giants second baseman. Arraez kept on hitting, with one apiece in all three games of the series, but flubbed a grounder for only his fifth error Saturday and, a day later, did something even more uncommon.

Arraez was 1-for-9 in his career against Gilbert, who got him to go down swinging in both of his first two trips to the plate. The contact artist had only struck out 16 times this season; it had been more than two years since he last struck out multiple times in one game — July 3, 2024.

Of course, Arraez wasn’t going to be held quiet for long, and he got his revenge in his third at-bat, lining a double down the left field line that gave the Giants a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth.

It was a good reminder that one or two at-bats won’t have any impact on how teams view him going into the trade deadline, when he is widely expected to be on the move.

Up next

The Giants jet to Kansas City, where they begin a series against what should be an angry Royals team Monday night. The home team ought to be out for vengeance after it was handed a 19-2 loss by the Padres while the Giants were closing out their series in Seattle.

Trevor McDonald and Tyler Mahle will make their first starts of the second half in the first two games of the series before the rotation flips back to Landen Roupp for the final game of the road trip. They’ll face All-Star Michael Wacha in the opening game of the series.

Casey Mize didn’t have a great outing, but he was victimized a bit by his teammates in this one as well. A Jo Adell comebacker caught him in the wrist in the fourth inning and he had to leave the game. We’ll hope it’s nothing too serious. The bullpen did a pretty solid job the rest of the way, though it was dicey in spots, but the Tigers just did not swing the bats well as the Angels avoided the sweep with a 3-2 victory. The Tigers head to Chicago now to battle the Cubs.

This started off quite well, actually. Ryan Johnson, a low arm slot right-hander who was the Angels comp pick for losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency, fell behind 2-0 to Kevin McGonigle as the game’s first batter. His next offering was a sinker that got launched to left center field for the rookie’s ninth home run of the year.

Dillon Dingler followed with a pop-up. Colt Keith, coming off a four-hit night, took a 2-2 pitch that nicked the handle of his bat and was caught for an unintentional foul tip strike three. Weird. You can watch baseball forever and you still see something strange happen with regularity. Riley Greene walked on four straight balls, and so it was Spencer Torkelson up with one outs and Greene on first. Tork, coming off a two homer night, whiffed three breaking balls off the edge of the plate away and struck out.

Casey Mize, despite fighting through a recurring groin strain, is having the most effective season of his career. The strikeouts are up, he’s finally getting consistent whiffs off the splitter, and he’s also dialed in the best pair of breaking balls in his career with a firm slider and then a more sweeperish edition at slower speed. The splitter in particular has helped him to smother left-handed hitters almost entirely in the power department. The Angels stacked up right-handed hitters as four of the first five at the top of their order to deal with Mize, so the breaking stuff would be key early on.

Mize quickly got ahead 0-2 with a pair of breaking balls. He missed down with the split as Zach Neto hunted the fastball. Another splitter hung up and was pretty well hit, but Greene caught it right in front of the warning track. Mize whiffed Trout with a firm slider down on the corner. Nolan Schanuel, the lone lefty early on, put up a good fight, fouling off some good 3-2 pitches and finally flicking a little single just over a leaping Kevin McGonigle for a soft serve single. So that made for a longer inning in terms of pitches, but Mize blew Jorge Soler with a well located heater to send us to the second inning.

Kerry Carpenter and Hao-Yu Lee made quick outs to start the frame and James Outman struck out. Mize gave up a leadoff double from Vaughn Grissom. Josh Lowe sacrificed Grisson to third with a bnnt for the first out. Jo Adell flew out to shallow right. So Mize was almost out of it, but Oswaldo Peraza pulled a sharp ground ball and after making a nice diving stop, Keith popped up and airmailed the throw to first in his haste. That scored Grissom and tied the game up. Tyler Heineman was down 1-2, but Mize left a splitter middle-middle, and it got flared into shallow left field for a single that got Peraza to third as he was running on the play. This was less than idea, as it turned the lineup over to Neto.

Mize got ahead 1-2 but Neto laid off a good splitter. Mize lost a slider that ended up right in the upper corner of the zone. Jake Rogers missed the opportunity to challenge and get a strike three. The mistakes were piling up a bit and Mize’s pitch count climbed towards 50 pitches as Neto fouled off foul straight sliders down and away. It felt like it was time to try something else, but Rogers quintupled down and the final slider away drew a whiff to turn away a potential rally. 1-1 game.

Rogers grounded out to open the third, and that turned the Tigers lineup over and brought Mr. McGonigle to the dish. The rookie fouled off a pair of hittable sinkers and eventually popped out as Johnson and his jerky, marionette with tight strings delivery was giving the Tigers some timing issues despite the mediocre stuff. Dingler, the DH in this one, grounded out to third to end the frame.

Mize walked Mike Trout to start the bottom half and his pitch count stood at 54 pitches already. Schanuel ripped a single to right as Mize continued to struggle with his command. He bounced back to put Jorge Soler down 0-2 and got a pop-out to McGonigle for the first out. A double play ball was advised but instead, Grissom made for a lengthy at-bat before whiffing on a splitter for the second out. Trout had a read on Mize and easily stole third on the pitch. After getting ahead of Lowe, Mize missed with a slider and then a high splitter and was visibly getting irritated with himself, but his 72nd pitch was a nasty split that drew a whiff and turned the Angels away. Still, it was going to be tough for Mize to go even five in this one, and Keider Montero was not available after closing out Friday’s game and due to start on Wednesday against the Cubs.

Keith lifted a 350 footer to center for the first out of the fourth. Greene struck out and Torkelson flew out. This what not what Casey Mize needed. He didn’t need a sharp 109 mph comebacker that caught his left wrist above the glove off the bat of Jo Adell either, but that’s what happened to start the bottom half. Mize collected it and made the play, but AJ Hinch and the trainer came out and Mize was flexing his wrist as they took him out of the game. Hopefully there’s nothing broken. It didn’t look that serious but it was a pretty short conversation too. Drew Anderson began warming in the bullpen to take over.

Anderson dropped an evil changeup in for strike three to punch Peraza, beginning his outing in style. The Tigers would need a few innings from the right-hander. Heineman grounded out to Hao-Yu Lee to end the inning. Nicely job on short notice there from Anderson.

Kerry Carpenter was out front on a changeup and popped out to start the fifth. Lee lifted a routine fly ball, and that was 12 straight retired for Johnson. Outman tried to check his swing with two strikes and instead tapped a swinging bunt towards third for a single. Rogers fell behind but stayed patient and drew a walk as Outman danced off base, perhaps occupying a bit of space in Johnson’s head. So McGonigle stepped in for his third plate appearance, this time with a runner in scoring position. Kurt Suzuki had a lefty warming up, but apparently he wasn’t ready yet. Johnson and Heineman absolutely refused to let Kevin extend his arms and threw everything inside, eventually issuing the walk to load the bases for Dillon Dingler.

Johnson’s pitch count was rapidly running up to 90 and this seemed like his last batter. He didn’t give in, spinning a slider off the plate 2-2 to draw a tentative whiff from Dingler and escape the bases loaded jam. Rats.

Anderson fell behind 3-0, worked his way to a full count, and then missed badly with a curveball in a 3-2 count to walk Neto. He then missed with three four straight to Trout. After missing a bases loaded opportunity, this did not bode well for this game. Chris Fetter went out to chill Anderson out. He fired a fastball for a first pitch strike to Schanuel, but a second one in the same spot got labeled for a soft single to center field, and the bases were loaded with no outs. With no choice but to throw it in there, Anderson got ahead of Soler and he just bounced one softly enough to shortstop to get Neto in as McGonigle threw out Soler. 2-1 Angels. Anderson turned to the curveball a little more, and Grissom ripped a hot one-hopper to third. Keith handled that with no chance for Trout to score on it. Anderson got ahead of Lowe but then missed twice for a full count and then yanked a fastball to issue his third walk of the inning. That was it for the mercurial Anderson. The bases were loaded with two outs, and Brenan Hanifee entered. He quickly got Adell to ground out, and the Tigers were very fortunate to end the inning down just a run through five innings.

Lefty Samy Natera was in for the Angels in the sixth, and so Matt Vierling entered to pinch-hit for Colt Keith. Vierling swung over a slider and struck out. So did Riley Greene, and Torkelson lifted a routine fly ball to end the inning.

Peraza started off the bottom half with a grounder up the middle for a single off of Hanifee. Peraza stole second base with Heineman at the dish. A ground out moved Peraza to third. Neto paddled a single through the right side, and it was 3-1 Angels. Neto then stole second as Rogers made an errant throw. Trout grounded out to Lee for the second out. Tyler Holton took over at that point against the left-handed hitting Schanuel and got him to ground out to Vierling in his first chance at third base on the year.

So, the Tigers had really struggled at the plate on getaway day. They were fortunate to be down just two runs. Coming back to steal this one would be great, and the Angels bullpen is not the toughest of tests around. Right-hander Chase Silseth came on for the Angels in the seventh.

Carpenter grounded out to Neto to start the inning. Lee got a 1-2 heater at the top of the zone and slashed a shot into right field for a single. Lee ran with Outman at the plate and slid into second base as the center fielder lifted a routine fly ball to left. Lee had to beat feet back to first base and there were two outs. Zach McKinstry pinch-hit for Rogers but he grounded out.

Eduardo Valencia took over behind the plate for Rogers. McKinstry entered at shortstop, moving McGonigle to third and Vierling to center field. Holton struck out Soler but allowed a single to Grissom. Holton clipped Jose Siri, who pinch-hit for Lowe, but he bounced back to punch out Adell on a good changeup. Peraza popped out to end the inning.

Right-hander Sam Bachman took over for the Angels in the eighth and got McGonigle to fly out to Trout. Dingler grounded out to third, and Vierling tapped one back to the mound. Pretty weak effort there, guys.

Kenley Jansen came on in the bottom half to try and hold the score. He walked Heineman without throwing much close to the zone, but after a lengthy battle he whiffed Neto on a cutter. He spotted another good 2-2 cutter up and away to whiff Trout as well. Heineman stole second on a first pitch to Schanuel that was called a strike but was not really close and correctly challenged, but Schanuel flew out weakly to right. Solid effort from Jansen, but the Tigers needed to wake up immediately at the plate.

Ryan Zeferjahn entered the game looking for the save. He got ahead of Riley Greene but then was scared to give him something to hit as Greene worked a full count and then launched a solo shot just into the seats in right field. 3-2 Angels. Torkelson popped out to second base for the first out, and Kerry Carpenter lined out to left field, so it was up to Hao-Yu Lee. Unfortunately, tonight there was no one on base for him and he popped out as well to end it.

The Tigers are 24-15 since the beginning of June, but of course that just got them back into the conversation. They’ll need to keep up the pace against the Cubs, and then they’ll come home to face the Royals and Orioles before a big west coast swing takes them to the trade deadline.

After the game, Casey Mize was reportedly dealing with a recurrence of groin tightness as well as the shot to the wrist. Not great.

The club dropped the final game of their weekend series to the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, falling 5-2 to drop the A’s to 42-57.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez got the ball for today’s start, his first real starting assignment at the big league level since being removed from the rotation in mid-May. He looked in control early putting up two scoreless frames to start things off.

Things tailed off from there for Lopez. Washington was first on the board this afternoon thanks to their speed on the basepaths. A single, two stolen bases, and a RBI groundout was all it took for their first run of the day.

The A’s bats meanwhile were facing Washington left-hander Foster Griffin, an emerging young piece for the Nationals. Like Lopez he held down the A’s for the first couple of frames before the squad broke through in the third. A double, productive out, and RBI double off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom got it done for the first run of the day:

Unfortunately the tie game was to be short lived. Lopez gave up another run in the top of the fourth, failing to provide a much-needed shutdown inning. He finished the frame and started the fifth but departed after one batter, ending his day earlier than hoped.

• Jacob Lopez: 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 84 pitches

Overall a solid enough start from the lefty in his first real look back in the rotation. The club would have liked more length out of their starter this afternoon but considering it was his first start back it’s fair to ease him back in. Plus he was about to go through the lineup a third time so it was a good time to get him out of there. He’ll take on the Twins in Minnesota next time out.

After Lopez manager Mark Kotsay turned to right-hander Elvis Alvarado first. Though he’s been mostly solid for the club this year he didn’t have it today. Washington was able to score three times off Alvarado, a two-run homer and a solo shot back-t0-back to make it 5-1.

Over the final few frames the bats were absent. They collected hits in every inning but failed to do anything with them. They were able to plate one more in the bottom of the ninth off a Jacob Wilson RBI single but it was far too little too late for the Green & Gold in this one.

Bummer. Well, that wraps up the quick homestand and the A’s will now hit the road. They won’t have far to go as the Arizona Diamondbacks await for a three-game series beginning tomorrow. It’ll be lefty Jeffrey Springs on the mound for the Athletics while the D-backs will counter with their own lefty in Mitch Bratt, who will be making his third career major league appearance. Need to nab some wins!

NEW YORK — This has become more than a precautionary measure. This has become a problem.

The Dodgers’ season is riding on Shohei Ohtani’s left knee, and the discomfort felt by the two-way player in that knee is severe enough to where he won’t be able to pitch for “some time,” according to manager Dave Roberts.

“It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing,” Roberts said.

In other words, it’s more of a week-to-week thing, which could make it a championship-threatening thing.

As much as Roberts sounded certain Ohtani would pitch again this season, what can the Dodgers count on him to do on the mound in October?

As much as Roberts insisted that Ohtani was unaffected by his knee problems when hitting, how certain could they be that it won’t impede him in the batter’s box at some point?

Considering Ohtani’s importance to the team, every aspect of this development was alarming.

Roberts made a valiant effort to downplay Ohtani’s injury, but he wasn’t entirely convincing.

“Honestly, a lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts said. “Could he probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season.”

But just a couple of weeks ago, after his most recent start, Ohtani said that as frustrated as he was to pitch with knee pain, he was satisfied to be able to make each of his scheduled starts.

“I always want to play when I can,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “It’s not as if you can be in perfect condition every time you play.”

So, has the condition of his knee worsened since?

Ohtani skipped his previous turn in the rotation. He didn’t play in the All-Star Game. Roberts said his knee was injected with a lubricant after the Dodgers’ final game leading into the All-Star break.

The decision to shut down Ohtani from pitching was made before he had a chance to throw a bullpen session.

Feeling what he felt playing catch this week, Roberts said, “was enough for him to talk to the trainers and feel that there was no need to test it with a bullpen [when] he already knew the answer.”

While Roberts said the Dodgers were “erring on the side of caution,” he couldn’t offer clarity on when Ohtani would pitch again.

“Don’t know yet,” he said.

Asked if there was a chance Ohtani might not pitch again this season, Roberts replied, “No. I guess anything is possible, but I just don’t think that’s a possibility.”

Let’s take Roberts at his word.

Let’s assume the Dodgers have temporarily removed Ohtani from their rotation out of extreme caution.

Their situation is disconcerting nonetheless.

If Ohtani doesn’t pitch for a month, how will he throw when he returns?

Ohtani thinks of himself as a natural hitter and self-taught pitcher, meaning he would likely want to be pitching regularly entering the postseason.

The Dodgers would have to strike a balance between getting him enough repetitions on the mound without overworking him to where he breaks down again.

And make no mistake: The Dodgers need Ohtani on the mound, regardless of whether they acquire Tarik Skubal or any other starter before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Blake Snell has just started a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Tyler Glasnow still hasn’t pitched to hitters. 

The greater concern is that Ohtani could also be impaired as a hitter by his knee.

Ohtani was the designated hitter in the Dodgers’ series opener at Yankee Stadium on Friday and again in the two games of a doubleheader Sunday.

“He did this pitching,” Roberts said. “When he does swing the bat, it’s the back knee versus the land knee.”

But Roberts used to talk about Ohtani pitching like that, saying the knee problem was something he could pitch through.

Roberts was right — until he wasn’t.

In the days leading up to the All-Star break, Ohtani revealed that the discomfort he was experiencing was in his kneecap — the same kneecap on which he underwent surgery seven years ago.

Playing the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a weakened left knee, Ohtani batted a career-worst .190 for the Angels.

For what it’s worth, he’s continued to look like a capable offensive player.

In the early game Sunday, Ohtani doubled in a run and scored from second base on a single by Freddie Freeman in the third inning of an 8-2 victory over the Yankees. He drove in another run on an eighth-inning single.

But in the fifth inning, he grabbed his ailing knee after fouling a pitch off it. He grounded out in that particular at-bat, after which he jogged back to the dugout gingerly.

Breaths were held. 

Between now and the end of the season, many more will be. This will be the new normal for the Dodgers, who will spend the coming weeks fearing the worst and praying for the best.

This marquee matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers always felt like it was going to be a litmus test to open the second half, and the Yankees are failing that test rather resoundingly through the first two games. They’ve scored just three runs in the first 18 innings of the series. And while Friday was down to an error in judgment by Aaron Boone, they were thoroughly outclassed by superior opposition in the first game of today’s doubleheader. It’ll be a bullpen game for both teams in the second game of the doubleheader — hopefully the Yankees are up to the task after falling woefully short earlier this afternoon.

The doubleheader forced the Yankees to rearrange their rotation, meaning they will go with Ryan Yarbrough as an opener of sorts, followed by Elmer Rodríguez as the bulk reliever after he was called up as the doubleheader’s designated 27th man. (Kervin Castro is also up following Jake Bird’s demotion.) I imagine they will try to get five outs from Yarbrough with three lefties in the first five batters for the Dodgers. Maybe Yarbrough will channel some of his surprise Sunday excellence from last year, when he threw six innings of one-run ball at Dodger Stadium on June 1, 2025.

After that, they’ll pin their hopes on the rookie Rodríguez, making just his fifth MLB appearance. He last pitched in the bigs on June 21st when he gave up three runs in four innings in a loss to the Reds. Command has been the biggest issue with a 13.3-percent walks rate and more free passes (11) than strikeouts (10). It’ll be ERC’s first relief appearance at any level since 2025 — in four big league starts this year he is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA (90 ERA+), 5.16 FIP, and 10 strikeouts in 17 innings.

The Dodgers bullpen is fully rested after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game earlier today. Will Klein will open the game for them, as he has done on two prior occasions this year. He’s a hard-throwing righty who I imagine will have license to go full tilt in a short outing. He throws his four-seamer over half the time and it’s clear to see why with the pitch averaging 98 mph. He’s an atypical blend of high velocity and damage limitation, sitting in the 94th percentile or better in barrel rate and ground-ball rate. Los Angeles have not announced a bulk reliever yet. In 32 total appearances, Klein has pitched to a 2.41 ERA (174 ERA+), 2.94 FIP, and 43 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. If his name sounds familiar, he was a folk hero for LA in the World Series last year, firing four scoreless innings for the win on short rest during the 18-inning marathon in Game 3.

The Yankees make three changes to the lineup that managed just four hits against Yamamoto. Paul Goldschmidt comes in to play first, moving Ben Rice to DH, Jasson Domínguez to right, and Max Schuemann to the bench. José Caballero replaces Ryan McMahon at third and Austin Wells subs in for Ali Sánchez behind the plate.

The Dodgers meanwhile make just two changes to their lineup after scoring eight in the first game. Miguel Rojas gets the start at second over Tommy Edman while Eliezer Alfonzo subs in for Daulton Rushing at catcher. ERC will have to pitch the game of his life against by far the toughest lineup he has faced in his career.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:20 pm ET

TV broadcast: NBC

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | Dodgers Radio AM570, KTNQ 1020 (LAD)

Streaming: Peacock

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