Baseball News
Time/Place: 1:10 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: South Side Sox
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Sign up for a user account and get:
Last night was a little bit of a clunker. You wouldn’t know it from the one-run, 4-3 final score, but it did sting just a little more than usual, because it felt like those are the types of games this White Sox team has been improbably winning all season. But I suppose the operative word there is improbable. The 32-19 record they posted from April 17th to June 14th works out to a .627 winning percentage. I love this team as much as the rest of us, but they’re not a .600 club just yet. Games like yesterday were bound to happen with a bit more frequency than they have been.
The Sox had their chances to win yesterday’s game. They put a baserunner on against Tarik Skubal in all five innings he pitched, a rare feat against a back-to-back Cy Young winner with a sub-1.000 WHIP over his last 600 innings. They loaded the bases with one out in a tie game against him, and came away with nothing. Skubal doesn’t even give teams the chance to get there, most of the time. If you fail to capitalize in the rare moments in which he does, you’re probably not going to win. They took a lead in the back half of a game and their piecemeal bullpen just couldn’t hold it. There are some pitchers you can only give so many high leverage innings to before it bites you.
Sean Newcomb is being given the ball to start this one, and as far as I can tell about an hour and a half before first pitch, we’re not entirely clear on who will be working behind him as a bulk man. This is the rotation spot previously occupied by Noah Schultz, and though last Monday’s off day allowed them to skip it their last time through the rotation, they’ll have to find an alternate option today.
Given the mystery, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at the fact that Grant Taylor hasn’t emerged from the bullpen in nearly a week.
Taylor has pitched two innings in four of his last five appearances, and his innings total is still on pace to check in a little below their stated preseason goal of 100 for the year. I could be completely wrong, but if Will Venable thinks he can get two innings out of Sean Newcomb — a pretty reasonable proposition, given how he’s pitched lately and the quality of Detroit’s lineup—then I suspect this may be the day we get to see Taylor try at a third inning of work. Let’s just see what happens.
Needless to say, Tigers fans are becoming restless with A.J. Hinch’s decision-making. Here’s what he’s putting out as he looks to take the series:
We’ve got an early one today, as first pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CT at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. You know, Comerica might be a big corporation like any other sponsor, but at least they have a long history in Detroit and the Ilitch family hasn’t sold those naming rights out from under them to UltraCryptoMaxx LLC like the rest of the world. Boy is the bar low, huh? Anyhow, if you want to join us, broadcasts are available on CHSN (TV) and WMVP AM 1000 (radio), like always!
Sign up for a user account and get:
Saturday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Blue Jays lineup:
Colin Rea had made some decent starts early this year but the last seven, yikes. In those seven: 6.75 ERA, 1.556 WHIP, eight home runs in 36 innings. His season ERA is 5.35, the highest it’s been since it was 6.00 after his first season outing (two runs in three innings).
Okay, so what can we find in his record vs. Blue Jays hitters? Not much, 3-for-17 in a very small sample size. One of those three hits was a home run by Alejandro Kirk.
Good luck today, Colin.
Patrick Corbin signed a six-year deal with the Nationals after six pretty good years in Arizona.
Well. He had one good year there (2019) and got himself a World Series ring but the rest of his time in Washington was just awful — 137 starts with a 5.62 ERA and he led the league three times in runs allowed, hits allowed and losses.
In Toronto he’s been… okay. Positive bWAR (0.8), for whatever that’s worth. This month, though, in three starts, it’s gone back to bad: 8.49 ERA, 1.971 WHIP, K rate down, BB rate up… maybe this is a good time for the Cubs to face him.
Current Cubs are batting .316 (49-for-155) against Corbin. Michael Conforto, in particular, has hit him well: .333 (12-for-36) with five home runs. Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson have also both homered twice off Corbin.
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter. If you do go there to interact with Jays fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Sign up for a user account and get:
Every Dodgers game in the 2026 season has been decided in nine innings, and the lack of extras hasn’t been for lack of trying. The Tampa Bay Rays loaded the bases in the ninth inning, coming dangerously close to bringing home the equalizer. On Friday, Dalton Rushing’s RBI single should have tied the game with two outs in the ninth.
“With the base hit, I was thinking about extra innings. I was thinking the play was going to be made, and I actually didn’t see it get by the catcher,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday night. “I wasn’t in tune, I was kind of moving to the next play.”
But the ball did get by Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo, allowing a second, winning run to score, and the Dodgers decided yet another game before having to deal with the automatic runner on second base.
The Dodgers are nearly at the halfway point of their season, as Friday was their 76th game of the campaign, and have still not played in extra innings in 2026. The Texas Rangers have played in two such games and the San Diego Padres in three. Every other team has played in at least four extra-inning games by now, with the MLB average about six per team. Last year the Dodgers played in 15 extra-inning games in the regular season, tied for seventh-most in the league, including nine games by this point in the year.
Seventy-six games is the longest Dodgers stretch at any point in any season they have played without an extra-inning contest, dating back to at least 1898 (the earliest year for which Baseball Reference has full play-by-play data). The previous longest streak in franchise history was 73 games by Brooklyn from May 27-August 27, 1899.
To start a season, the Dodgers’ streak of 76 games with none in extra innings is the second-longest in MLB history. They trail only the 2005 Boston Red Sox, who went 98 games into that year before playing in extra innings.
The Dodgers are 4-0 on this homestand, with all four wins coming by one run, narrowly missing extra innings, the longest MLB streak since the San Francisco Giants pulled off six straight one-run wins from June 4-10, 2025.
Four games is the Dodgers’ longest streak of wins all by one run since May 30-June 2, 2010 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers on Saturday have a chance to tie their franchise record for longest streak of one-run victories. They’ve had three such five-game streaks, the last coming 32 years ago:
Friday evening’s debacle in the Bronx would have, in a just world, been the kind of thing that would have pissed off a wide swath of Cincinnati Reds fans. They gave up big hits early on bad pitches. They looked positively overmatched all up and down their lineup. They lost, they didn’t score, and looked defeated throughout the entire process.
It somewhat went over without so much as a groan, though. This is the Reds we have come to know for oh so long after all, and losing games like that in ways like that have become so predictable that you see them coming from weeks away. So, by the time it materializes in perfect form, you’ve already checked out.
A couple dozen strikeouts later, and the Reds are back in action again today in Yankee Stadium, this time with lefty Andrew Abbott on the mound. At the rate he’s been pitching (2.47 ERA in 51.0 IP over 9 starts dating back to April 30th) and at the rate the Reds have been precipitating down the standings, Abbott should probably get traded this summer for something the Reds can use down the road. That’s a compliment, Andrew.
Will Warren will start for New York as they look to clinch the series over Cincinnati. He’s 7-1 with a 3.47 ERA on the season, and while I long ago moved past the idea that a pitcher’s record was worth more than a cold slice of dirt, the idea that a pitcher could actually be 7-1 for a team means that team has actually won enough games to make that happen, and that’s foreign enough for me to sound cool right now.
First pitch in today’s matinee action is set for 1:35 PM ET as the Reds – who will be in last place through the weekend regardless of how the next two games play out – look to figure out how to play baseball once again.
Lineups for both clubs listed below.
The San Diego Padres couldn’t cash in on one of their most productive nights at the plate all season. The Friars slugged out five runs in the first inning against Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom. Randy Vásquez couldn’t back up the squad, surrendering six to Texas in the bottom frame.
San Diego stayed in it the whole way, thanks to Ty France and Gavin Sheets solo shots in the fourth and eighth. But the club fell short, 9-7, in the end and couldn’t capitalize on a few key opportunities. The fault certainly lies with Vásquez, who gave up seven runs (six earned) through just 3 1/3 innings.
After turning in the best season of his career in 2025, Eovaldi has looked rough in ‘26 with a 4.23 ERA across 14 starts. Pair that with a 1.17 WHIP through 87 1/3 innings and it’s been tough for the righty.
Eovaldi’s looked better in his last seven starts, pitching to a 3.78 ERA, but it’s still been tough. He’s given up 10 runs across his last 18 2/3 innings. The Padres will hope to beat the Rangers’ starter to force the rubber match.
Buehler has had an incredible turnaround as of late. Despite a 4.14 ERA this season, he’s posted a 2.92 mark in his last seven starts. In his last three starts, he’s surrendered just one run apiece across 15 2/3 innings.
San Diego will need that form of Buehler to pitch tonight. The righty has been resurgent and he’ll need to limit a Rangers lineup that just slugged nine runs against the Padres’ pitching staff.
Despite the loss, it was an incredibly productive night for the Padres’ lineup. The offense went 10-for-37 with three walks. France was the player of the game, with a three-hit night and 10 total bases. He slugged two homers, including a grand slam in the top of the first.
Catcher Rodolfo Durán took a few pitches to the head and exited the game early. Nick Solak pinch-hit for Durán in the eighth before Blake Hunt made his major league debut behind the dish. Hunt might start today’s game to give Durán a day off.
With Vásquez exiting early, the San Diego bullpen was tasked with covering 4 2/3 innings of work. They did so well, but gave up some key runs that would have turned the tide for the Friars. Yuki Matsui, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Jason Adam finished out the game. If Adam hadn’t given up a home run to Wyatt Langford in the bottom of the eighth, the game could have been taken into extra innings.
The Padres will hope for another great start from Buehler. Behind him is Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon and the returning Mason Miller. Miller came back off the bereavement list on Friday, with San Diego sending Bradgley Rodriguez to the Arizona Complex League.
Ian McCall has described new Rangers manager Derek McInnes as a "total control freak" and expects him to be "hands on" in how the club is run.
Having led Hearts to within minutes of the title last season, McInnes was this week appointed Ibrox boss after Danny Rohl's move to Red Bull Salzburg. It is McInnes' sixth club as a manager.
And former Rangers midfielder McCall told BBC Sportsound: "Derek McInnes, I think, as the new manager - I hope he doesn't mind me saying - is a total control freak. He'll want to be in control of all the things that are going on.
"He wants his hands on everything. I do think that Derek is very, very hands on in all aspects of management.
"He's exactly what they're looking for. They need a manager and that's what Derek is. The way he manages best is he likes to have a print on all over the club.
"The biggest thing he's got to get right is who he signs. His signing record is very good. He won't be scared of it. There is no chance he'll be scared of it. He'll embrace it all."
Retired midfielder Andy Halliday played for Rangers from 2015-20 and later turned out for Hearts.
And he sees need for further significant change at Ibrox this summer.
"It'll interesting in terms of recruitment," said Halliday. "They have so much work to do. I still think they've got glaring holes within their squad."
However, Halliday believes Rangers are "already in a stronger position" after recruiting Lawrence Shankland and appointing McInnes, both from Hearts.
"It gives them a stronger edge than if it was Danny Rohl," Halliday said.
"It's almost been 10 years in the making. How many times has McInnes been linked with the Rangers job? It's probably been the best time for McInnes and I think it's been the best time for Rangers.
"He's been a part of the club before, he obviously lives in Scotland, he knows what it's all about.
"It's a positive appointment. "They're already in a stronger position going into next season.
"Lawrence Shankland's the best striker in the country and they've got him as well."
A week ago today, a long, city-wide nightmare finally came to an end. At 11:30 pm on June 13, 2026, the New York Knicks won the NBA Finals, securing their first title in 53 years. Thursday’s parade was a sight to behold.
As I left New York City in the aftermath of the Knicks’ first-ever journey down the Canyon of Heroes, I was listening to WFAN, where a host who I do not remember the name of got a call from a very old gentleman who started by talking about just long he had waited for this moment and how much it meant to him.
But the part of his call that raised a good bit of discussion in the studio was where he said that he no longer cared about how the Mets did in 2026, which is probably a good thing given their struggles deep into June. That opinion fostered an interesting debate on whether New York baseball fans will give more leniency overall to their teams throughout the season and as we head into October.
The consensus opinion over the airways was that it wouldn’t, and it might even work in the opposite direction of adding more pressure onto them, because of the manner in which the Knicks did it.
It’s an interesting thought, especially because of the natural pressure on the Yankees to win the World Series every year. After all, they always have a top-three payroll in the sport, haven’t had a losing season since the year Aaron Judge was born, and make it clear every year that it’s “championship or bust”.
The last New York Big 4 professional sports team to win a championship before the Knicks was the Giants over 14 years ago in Super Bowl XLVI. That drought was the longest the city had seen since before the Yankees won their first World Series back in 1923. It brought a level of angst towards all of the teams when they made the postseason, with the weight of the largest city in the country on their shoulders.
The close calls weren’t even that close, either. The Rangers, Mets, and Yankees all made it to their respective championship rounds, but all lost in five games. The Islanders and Knicks had gotten as close as the conference finals, the Nets made it to Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Giants made it to the 2022 Divisional Round, and the Jets haven’t even made the playoffs.
The title drought wasn’t technically 14 years. New York teams have won in the PLL, NWSL, WNBA, and MLS, all since 2020, but you can tell from the way the city reacts to one of the Big 4 teams that it’s another level (well, maybe except for those Nets).
But as Yankees fans can certainly attest to, once you finally get a taste of that victory champagne, you get addicted to it. It’s easy to say that finally seeing a team you’ve loved your whole life winning a title can be good enough, but that feeling eventually fades away. I’m sure Knicks fans will not be as distraught if next year doesn’t end in a championship, but ask how Celtics fans felt losing the way they did the last two years. It’s never easy to lose.
Ultimately, from a fan perspective, it might just come down to the way you feel about your teams. If the Knicks are the team you’ve loved more than any other, and you’ve lived through all the bad years like that WFAN caller, it might truly be good enough for now. Nothing will match the joy of what you saw last week, so the pain of feeling defeat won’t feel as bleak.
But if you don’t watch much basketball or your fandom of the Knicks doesn’t match up as much as yours with the Yankees, it’s entirely fair to say that this doesn’t affect the mission statement at all. If the Yankees don’t win, it’s another catastrophic failure.
But regardless of what the Knicks did, the pressure on the Yankees has never been about an entire city hanging on them to end a miserable title drought, it’s always been about the legacies of both the franchise and the talent they possess.
The Yankees are two years away from their longest title drought since they were referred to as the Highlanders, before the time of Babe Ruth. Aaron Judge is 34 years old and is getting closer and closer to going down as one of the greatest players of the modern era to never win a ring, and unlike when Barry Bonds had to backpack underwhelming Giants and Pirates teams, he’ll have done it playing exclusively for the sport’s biggest brand.
The pressure is as much internalized as it is exuded by the fans. This is the New York Yankees. Every year the franchise is stuck on 27 World Series championships is an injustice to the brand itself. You see the Dodgers looking to redefine the sport and make it their own in the way that the Lakers did to basketball, ripping it away from a Celtics team that dominated the first couple of decades of the sport.
So my answer to this thought experiment is that it depends based on who you’re talking to. In the grand scheme of things, it changes nothing. The Yankees are the best team in the American League. They should win the AL East. They’ll be favorites to make the World Series for the second time in three years. Their success and the Knicks’ success are independent of each other.
The one thing I worry about in the other direction, where the pressure actually increases on them, is that people take the wrong lessons away from what the Knicks did and try to apply them to the Yankees.
The Knicks won it all one year after firing Tom Thibodeau, a very respectable coach whose limitations were obvious. Mike Brown gave them the extra edge they needed to get over the top. The WFAN host suggested maybe the same could happen with Aaron Boone if 2026 ends without a title, and while I wouldn’t rule it out, it fundamentally misunderstands why the Knicks made the move and what the jobs are of coaches in these two sports.
There are parallels between Boone and Thibodeau, but not many. The main knock against Thibs was that he was stubborn and played his starters too many minutes. Can you imagine an MLB manager sitting out their stars for more than a few days per year? The two sports are just totally different in that regard. Brown was also instrumental in changing the team’s offensive scheme, something you won’t see with a managerial change in baseball.
There was also the discussion of how the Knicks went all in with an owner in James Dolan that had an addiction to winning (a take that I disagree with, considering how his meddling tanked the team for 20 years), but Hal Steinbrenner refuses to show the same desire, and Brian Cashman refuses to go the extra mile to build a juggernaut. The sports are just entirely too different to make these comparisons directly.
The Knicks winning the championship is a seismic event for New York sports. All of us Yankees and Knicks fans should bask in that glory this summer and use it as an opportunity to not be too bothered if a summer swoon makes those July and August Yankees games a bore, but when October comes around, the mission statement remains. We want a second parade down the Canyon of Heroes this November.
Hours after the Department of Justice announced an investigation into Major League Baseball and after the league warned four San Francisco Giants pitchers about altering their caps on the team's Pride night, three of the pitchers said they did not feel discriminated against by MLB.
Relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote a Bible verse on the rainbow Giants logo, while Sam Hentges did not wear the hat at all for the team's June 12 game at Oracle Park. The three told the San Francisco Chronicle that they didn't feel a warning from MLB for defacing their uniform constituted discrimination.
The DOJ announced its investigation Friday, June 19, and the players issued their remarks before their game at Miami that evening.
"At the end of the day I don’t think it’s discrimination,” reliever JT Brubaker told the Chronicle. "It’s just people getting a hold of something and turning it into something."
Brubaker and Ryan Walker, joined by starting pitcher Landen Roupp, wrote the 9:12-16 verse near the rainbow “SF” logo and received warnings for violating MLB's uniform rule. Roupp, who pitched Friday at Miami, declined to comment, the Chronicle said.
"I don’t feel discriminated against,” Hentges told the Chronicle. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They can feel how they want about me or what I have done, but it wasn’t out of hate. I don’t hate the community. It’s gotten bigger than anticipated and drawn more attention than everybody thought.”
Walker said, when asked if he felt pressured to wear the Pride cap: "I wouldn’t say I necessarily felt pressured by anybody, necessarily. It was more so questioning myself and what does my faith mean to me. More like, I have my beliefs in myself and what am I going to do to make sure I stand for my faith in myself versus feel pressured to wear this because such-and-such."
The Chronicle reported that Giants players discussed the Pride night actions weeks in advance among themselves and staffers.
The particular Bible verse was first scrawled on a Pride cap by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in 2025; LGBTQ supporters say the verse is an attempt to reclaim the rainbow symbol from their movement.
The Giants players have received significant criticism nationally and particularly in San Francisco's LGBTQ community; the Giants were the first team to hold a promotion specifically geared toward the community, beginning in 1994 with their "Until There's A Cure" day, designed to raise funds and awareness for AIDS victims.
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow was among those criticizing the players.
"I think when you’re a player and you come into this environment, it’s your responsibility to know just how sensitive this city is in regards to that cultural freedom and religious freedom, and just the way that you live your life,” Krukow said in a talk-show sequence on the club's flagship radio station. "And I think they were in for a rude awakening with the response, and it wasn’t just from the gay community; it was from the Northern California community that supports the gay community.
"It hurt me because I saw in 1994 that they were the first team to ever take on the challenge of going against public opinion and the outrage of even associating with the gay community, and they openly went out and said, ‘We support the gay community. We support Until There’s a Cure day. We are going to raise money to fight AIDS. We support the community.’ And they did it with love."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants pitchers say MLB Pride cap warning wasn't discrimination
Team Ohtani has a brand-new member.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani announced on social media Saturday, June 20, that his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, has given birth to their second child.
"We are again overjoyed to experience this wonderful day in our lives together," Ohtani wrote in a post on Instagram. "Thank you for being born safely.
"We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported us throughout this journey."
Ohtani was not in the Dodgers lineup for Friday's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Shortly afterward the team announced he was taking paternity leave.
However, the team issued a statement saying he's expected to return "sometime this weekend."
Ohtani previously went on paternity leave last April when his wife delivered their first child, a daughter.
The couple did not reveal any information about their new baby.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, wife announce birth of second baby
The Guardians lost a game where the hitting was bad and the bullpen was worse. Too bad they don’t have any hitting or relief help in Columbus!
Oh, what’s that? They have Cooper Ingle who has a 165 wRC+ and Franco Aleman has a 0.56 ERA in the past 16 innings? Shhhh, no one tell Chris Antonetti.
Stephen Vogt used Matt Festa as a fireman yesterday and it blew up in his face. Now, in Vogt’s defense, coming into yesterday, Festa had a 2.76 FIP in high leverage spots and a 2.90 FIP with runners in scoring position. Now, of course, his xFIP’s in both spots were over 5.
Festa’s K/BB is still good. The problem, of course, is that he is giving up a 14% HR/FB rate. That hurts. And it’s why I think they need to try to get Aleman up and get Festa through waivers. He’s getting crushed.
The Guardians hitters were horrific against Imai and the Astros pen who are, frankly, awful. They struck out 15 times and had 0 walks. Gabriel Arias remains a player who cannot hit major league pitching and whose defense does not justify his place on the roster.
AROUND MLB:
Tigers beat the White Sox, the Royals won and the Twins lost.
Imagine the scene.
October.
Playoffs.
Roki Sasaki on the mound.
Not as a reliever. As a starter.
What would have sounded like pure fantasy just a month ago is shaping into an actual possibility.
This isn’t to say Sasaki has an inside track to be part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation.
The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. They are expecting back Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.
But if any of them are unavailable for any reason, and if the Dodgers don’t acquire Tarik Skubal before the trade deadline, Sasaki is a legitimate option to start games for the two-time defending champions in October.
Sasaki’s seven-run disaster in Chicago last week was an anomaly.
He was back on track on Friday night, the unpleasant finish to his start notwithstanding.
Sasaki pitched five scoreless innings against the Orioles at Uniqlo Field, only to give up back-to-back home runs in the sixth that wiped out a three-run lead and cost him a decision.
The Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth inning to win the game, 6-5.
The game showed Sasaki what he had to work on, but it also offered evidence that he was on the right path.
“I thought he was great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I liked the way he competed. He was fantastic tonight.”
Unlike in his previous start, Sasaki had better control of his splitter and slider.
“I worked a lot on my breaking balls,” Sasaki said in Japanese. “Especially my slider.”
But his fastball was his primary weapon.
He averaged close to 99 mph with his fastball again. Five of his pitches were clocked at 100 mph or faster, making this the fourth consecutive start in which he touched triple digits.
He was able to throw the pitch down the middle of the plate and not be punished for it.
He used his fastball to get ahead in counts. He used it to finish hitters, recording the third strike on three of his six strikeouts with it.
He was able to pitch efficiently as a result, his pitch count at just 54 through four innings. He faced the minimum number of batters until the fifth inning when he walked Colton Cowser with two outs.
Sasaki started the game by giving up a hit to Taylor Ward, who was thrown out attempting to stretch his single into a double, and didn’t give up another hit until the sixth inning.
His only regret of the night was a splitter he threw in the sixth inning that was launched for a two-run homer by Gunnar Henderson.
“The forkball cut [inside],” Sasaki said. “It didn’t move the way it usually does.”
Sasaki also gave up a homer to the next batter, Pete Alonso, but he didn’t think the fastball he threw him was a bad pitch. The 98 mph fastball was on the inside edge of the plate against the right-handed-hitting Alonso.
“I threw the ball where I was asked to throw it, and it was hit,” Sasaki said. “Judging by the results, I think the pitch selection was a mistake.”
If his goal last week was to be more consistent with his off-speed pitches, his objective between now and his next start will be to figure out how to attack hitters as he enters the later innings, particularly in his third time through the order.
As disappointed as he was in how Alonso’s homer resulted in his removal after 5 ⅔ innings, Sasaki sounded encouraged by the start.
“On the whole, I was able to do what I wanted,” he said. “I thought I threw a lot of good pitches.”
Which could explain his demeanor after the game.
He has changed over the first 2 ½ months of the regular season.
The once-gloomy Sasaki has become more sociable. He even smiles.
Shortly after the Dodgers completed their ninth-inning comeback Friday night, Sasaki learned that Japan was playing in the World Cup the next day.
“Oh, really?” he asked in Japanese.
Realizing he’d inadvertently revealed that he wasn’t paying any attention to the tournament, Sasaki chuckled.
“I have some time tomorrow, so I’ll cheer them on,” Sasaki said.
Told Japan’s game would overlap with the Dodgers’, Sasaki laughed again.
“Then I can’t,” he said.
Well, he probably could watch part of it.
Yamamoto was scheduled to deliver his first pitch against the Orioles at 7:10 p.m. The game between Japan and Tunisia was set for a 9 p.m. start.
“I’ll ask Yoshinobu-san to do his best,” Sasaki said.
Another laugh.
Glimpses of this side of Sasaki’s personality appeared last October. A surge in confidence relaxed him enough to be more open.
Last year, that self-assurance helped him close games in the postseason. This year, it could help him start them.
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post SportsFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.
The Texas Rangers will look to make it two in a row over the San Diego Padres as they continue their interleague series on Saturday afternoon.
San Diego has been the worst offensive team in the majors this season, and I like Nathan Eovaldi to shut its lineup down again in my Padres vs. Rangers predictions.
Read on for a closer look at this matchup and to get my free MLB picks for Saturday, June 20.
One of the major problems facing this inept San Diego Padres lineup is the fact that they chase on 31.9% of their swings.
That plays right into Nathan Eovaldi’s hands, as the Texas Rangers starter is inducing chases on an elite 36.2% of swings while also generating a 29.5% whiff rate.
The Padres are dead last in MLB in runs per game (3.88), OPS (.656), and wOBA (.290). Eovaldi is a nightmare matchup for a lineup struggling this badly.
I’m taking the Rangers to win outright, and would stick with them at -140 or better.
COVERS INTEL: Eovaldi throws his splitter 37% of the time, a pitch the Padres are hitting for line drives just 16.7% of the time off of righties.While the Padres might be the undisputed kings of bad offense, the Rangers aren’t much better. Texas averages 4.01 runs per game and a .313 wOBA, which ranks in the bottom 10 in MLB.
San Diego starter Walker Buehler has gotten a lot out of his cutter/fastball combo, as his fastball run value rates in the 95th percentile of all pitchers this season.
Buehler hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last seven starts, posting a 2.92 ERA in that span. I like the Under here as long as it stays at 7.5 runs or higher.
Notes on the weather and its impact.
The Under is 4-1 in San Diego’s last five games overall. Find more MLB betting trends for Padres vs. Rangers.
| Location | Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX |
| Date | Saturday, June 20, 2026 |
| First pitch | 4:05 p.m. ET |
| TV | Padres.TV, RSN |
| Padres starting pitcher | Walker Buehler (4-3, 4.14 ERA) |
| Rangers starting pitcher | Nathan Eovaldi (6-7, 4.23 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
Earlier this week, we asked you a question about who should be the Phillies’ third All-Star, assuming that both Cristopher Sanchez and Kyle Schwarber are locks to make you. You responded:
Marsh has had an outstanding season, hitting .323/.357/.500 through Wednesday’s games. Having been platooned for most of his tenure in Philadelphia, Marsh has enjoyed consistent playing time for the first time in his career, playing in 70 of the team’s 75 games this year and even posting some of the best numbers against left-handed pitching he’s ever had (.279/.318/.410 through Wednesday).
It’s more than enough to be considered an All-Star.
His issue, of course, will be the crowded group of National League candidates for the outfield spots the league has. A simple search of outfielders in the National League based on fWAR puts Marsh way down at 16th best thanks to many metrics not liking his defense this season. Yet the All-Star Game isn’t about how well you play defense. It’s about how you hit the ball and Marsh’s 131 wRC+ is 21st in the NL. He’s been great at the plate and should be rewarded by staying home and playing at Citizens Bank Park in July.
Kendrys Morales, Yankees legend.
Okay, that is a stretch for a player who appeared in only 19 games for the franchise, a number only slightly larger than the group that accompanied him when he escaped Cuba. However, the second part of that sentence is what makes his story legendary. Like many of his fellow countrymen of the time, and those now after the 2018 agreement between Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation was revoked after just one year in existence, Morales had to defect from Cuba to another country before coming to America to chase the dream of playing baseball at the highest level.
Kendrys Morales Rodríguez
Born: June 20, 1983 (Fomento, Cuba)
Yankees Tenure: 2019
Born Kendrys Morales Rodríguez in Fomento, a city less than 300 air miles south of Miami, Morales quickly rose to fame as a promising switch-hitter. Growing up on the island, Morales played mostly third base or outfield. The Cuban national team saw so much promise in Morales that he made the team as a teenager.
Making the team as a teenager came with plenty of pressure, but playing in the politically charged country of Cuba added further layers that are hard for an outsider to understand. With the pressure of a looming global baseball tournament in America, the Cuban government ramped up efforts trying to catch players attempting to defect from the country.
At the age of 20, Morales found himself in the middle of that unrest. After several people he trusted approached him about defecting for a chance to play in the United States, he finally agreed to discuss the possibility further. One of those trusted contacts reported Morales to the government, resulting in a ban from the national team.
Feeling betrayed, hurt, and who knows what else, Morales made it his new goal to get out of Cuba and chase the professional dream in the states. After a baker’s dozen of failed attempts, Morales and at least 15 others finally made it to the Dominican Republic. After establishing residency Morales was able to turn his attention to the next part of the plan, securing a professional contract.
The then-Anaheim Angels were game, signing Morales to a six-year deal.
The Angels viewed Morales as a first baseman and had him play there when not leaving the glove on the bench altogether and letting him be the designated hitter. Morales made his debut on May 23, 2006. Against Vicente Padilla and the Rangers, he recorded three hits, including the first of what would be 213 long balls of his career. Morales bounced between the majors and Triple-A from 2006 through 2008, looking like a classic Quad-A player. He dominated the minors while struggling to establish himself in the majors, though flashes of power remained evident.
Mostly position-less, and needing a chance to get his opportunity, the Yankees would be the ones who helped Morales get his break when they signed Angels first baseman Mark Teixeira, opening a spot for the soon to be 26-year-old. In that first full year of playing time Morales slashed .306/.355/.569, good for a .924 OPS with a career-high 34 home runs and 139 OPS+ as the Halos won the AL West. He finished fifth for AL MVP, trailing only Teixeira and a trio of future Hall of Famers: Derek Jeter, Miguel Cabrera, and winner Joe Mauer. The Angels fell to the Yankees in the ALCS, New York pitching keeping him in check with a .522 OPS in the six-game triumph.
Morales was enjoying some similar success to start the 2010 season until he brutally broke his left ankle while jumping onto home plate to celebrate a walk-off grand slam in May. The break required multiple procedures and complications caused Morales to miss the entire 2011 season. It is also worth noting that Kendrys was known as Kendry Morales up until the 2010 season due to a spelling error on his paperwork, a mistake he did not correct until the season he missed recovering from injury.
Morales picked up right where he left off when he returned in 2012, hitting .273 with 22 bombs. Following the year the Angels traded him to the Seattle Mariners. Morales kept right on hitting. In his last year before free agency, he hit .277 with 23 home runs. Morales reached free agency but got a qualifying offer from Seattle and teams did not want to give up a draft pick to sign the veteran designated hitter. Due to this, Morales waited until the June deadline passed to sign with Minnesota. Then just over a month later the Twins traded him back to Seattle.
After a weird and disappointing season Morales needed a fresh start and signed a two-year deal with the Royals prior to the 2015 season. The Royals proved right to add the veteran hitter, as he was one of just three Kansas City hitters to top the 20-homer threshold, joining mainstays Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas. He would win the first and only Silver Slugger of his career thanks to a 127 OPS+. Morales hit two homers in the playoff opener against the upstart Astros and would bat .268/.311/.561 through the first couple round as the Royals successfully defended their AL pennant. He was more quiet in the Fall Classic against the Mets and was limited to pinch-hit duty once the series shifted to Queens, but he nonetheless won the only World Series of his career.
Following the 2016 campaign, Morales again hit free agency and got a deal in Toronto to replace their own slugging DH Edwin Encarnación. In two years up north, Morales posted a .249 average and hit 49 home runs as the Jays’ competitive window came to a close..
Right before the start of the 2019 season the Blue Jays traded Morales to the Oakland Athletics, who needed a stopgap after their rising star first baseman Matt Olson got injured. Morales struggled in Oakland and after 34 games and only one big fly, the A’s traded Morales to the injury-plagued Yankees, who were at the forefront of their “Next Man Up” year and in need of a 1B/DH type with Giancarlo Stanton and Greg Bird on the shelf.
It started off decently enough, as Morales registered hits in his first three games, including a homer off Ryne Stanek on May 17th in a 4-3 walk-off win.
It didn’t stick. Morales had an appalling 5-for-47 showing with no extra-base hits across his next 15 games, and though he broke out with a three-hit game in the doubleheader opener against the Mets on June 11th, that would turn out to be his swan song. He suffered a calf injury, went on the IL, and never returned. In a somewhat-amusing twist of fate, Morales was once again replaced by Encarnación, as New York swung a trade with the Mariners to bring the veteran aboard on June 15th. Once Morales was healthy again, the Yankees designated him for assignment, releasing him on July 2nd.
Morales retired following the 2019 season after failing to find another opportunity. A true professional hitter, he finished his career with a .265/.327/.453 slash line and 213 home runs across 13 big-league seasons. Not bad for a kid from Cuba who had to risk everything just for a swing at the game he loved at the highest level.
Happy birthday, Kendrys!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.