Major League Baseball chose Saturday evening to announce this year’s All-Star teams — an odd time, in my view, the evening of a holiday — and Pete Crow-Armstrong made the NL All-Star team for the second straight season. Last year he was an elected starter; this year he’ll be a reserve outfielder.
“Nice to get the nod from the baseball world,” Crow-Armstrong said after the Cubs’ 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at foggy Wrigley Field. “Having the fan vote get me in last year is obviously special, just felt like I was able to reach the baseball world as a whole.
“But when it’s internal like this, knowing how hard this game is and how hard a lot of guys are working on a daily basis, that means a lot to me just ’cause first and foremost I want their respect as much as I want to go and compete and beat everybody. The best compliment you can get as a baseball player is someone in the other uniform’s respect. … I don’t want to compare this year to last year, but it really means a lot coming from this stage of the voting.”
And some praise from his manager, also quoted in that article:
“In Pete’s case, what’s fun to watch is that there’s something in every part of the game that he’s able to do,” manager Craig Counsell said Saturday. “And he also does it — he’s not some huge person that does it. He’s a pretty normal-sized person that can do it. I think that also creates a connection with fans. And he’s an entertainer. … He loves that part of it. He’s good at it. He’s naturally wired to do it. So you get a lot of it.”
In 26 games in June, PCA batted .381/.468/.781 (40-for-105) with five doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 21 runs scored, 17 walks and eight stolen bases (no caught stealing).
He was also named NL Player of the Week twice during the month.
The 2026 All-Star Game will be played Tuesday, July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and will be televised on Fox-TV.
In a corresponding move, RHP Joey Gerber was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Zuñiga, 27, signed a minor league contract with New York on May 5 and has pitched to a 3.29 ERA over 14 appearances in Double-A and Triple-A.
He was dominant with Binghamton over nine games (1.93 ERA), but had a 6.23 ERA in five games (4.1 IP) with Syracuse.
The right-hander last played in the majors in 2024 with the Los Angeles Angels. He appeared in 15 games with the Angels, owning a 5.09 ERA with two saves over 17.2 IP.
For his MLB career, including two games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, Zuñiga has a 5.03 ERA with 16 strikeouts and two saves over 19.2 IP.
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 3: Gabriel Hughes #43 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates the win after pitching in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants in his major league debut against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on July 3, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Gabriel Hughes (PuRP No.12) was back in his hotel room in Round Rock, Texas, done for the night, when his phone rang. It was 11:30 p.m. On the other end was Pedro Lopez, his Triple-A manager in Albuquerque, calling with news that would change the trajectory of Hughes’ summer – and maybe his career.
“He said, ‘Hey, I need you to head back to the stadium and start packing your bags. You’re going to the big leagues,’” Hughes recalled.
He called his parents. He called his brother. By the next morning, he was on a flight out of Austin, landing in Denver around 10 or 11 a.m. — hours before he’d put on a Rockies uniform for the first time.
A setback that became a reset
It was the conclusion of a monthlong stretch that began, of all places, on the injured list.
Hughes missed time earlier this year with a left oblique injury, and while no pitcher wants to lose time to the IL, he says the setback doubled as a reset button.
“Every time it happens, it’s always an opportunity to kind of take stock of where you’re at,” Hughes said. “It was an opportunity for me to go back to Arizona, talk with a lot of the people there, get ideas on mechanics, on pitch usage, on kind of a bunch of things, and then come back with a lot more ideas and things to try out.”
He returned by way of a rehab stint with High-A Spokane before rejoining Triple-A Albuquerque’s rotation, and whatever he found in Arizona worked. Over his final three Triple-A starts, Hughes didn’t allow a run.
The sweeper that changed everything
The centerpiece of that stretch has been a pitch that Hughes has thrown for only a few months. He picked up a sweeper in the middle of spring training — almost on a whim, after asking veteran Michael Lorenzen how he grips his own version on a back field one day. Hughes started experimenting in his next bullpen session, with mixed early results.
“I threw the first one about 10 feet over the catchers head and said ‘Hey, I’m done with it,” Hughes said, laughing.
Assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas encouraged him to throw a few more, and the pitch stuck.
Hughes said learning any new offering comes with a learning curve — getting comfortable with the grip, the thought process, locating it for strikes — and this one was no exception, especially since he went straight from picking it up to using it in games. He credited Rockies Director of Pitching Matt Daniels with helping him refine the shape when it wasn’t quite where he wanted it.
Beyond the swing-and-miss value against right-handed hitters, Hughes said the sweeper has given him a new way to tunnel his other pitches. He described most of pitching as changing speeds, locations, and looks — and said the sweeper lets him do exactly that, playing off his two-seamer, curveball, changeup, and traditional slider to give hitters a different picture out of the same release.
Simplifying the game
The approach has been shaped as much by a mental shift as a mechanical one. Colorado’s new pitching staff this year installed a simplified three-part framework.
Get ahead. Stay ahead. Kill.
“Pre-two strike, I’m filling up the zone. Two strikes, I’m getting a little outside the zone for swing and miss, and for weak contact,” Hughes said. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing. It’s just really simplified my thinking. I’m filling up the zone, and then I can’t control anything that happens after that.”
Hughes has also leaned on that same instinct for simplicity to manage the mental side of pitching — staying in the moment rather than replaying the last pitch or bracing for the next one. He pointed to an outing this spring against Team USA in Scottsdale as an early proving ground. Facing a lineup that included Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Schwarber, Hughes said the nerves the night before gave way to a simple realization once he took the mound.
“I don’t know what better lineup I’m going to face than that one,” Hughes said. “So it’s always in the back of my mind, knowing, hey, I’ve already done that, and I’m going to take that for where I’m going.”
Learning altitude, and learning to rest
Altitude, too, has become less of a mystery.
Hughes said the bigger adjustment isn’t how his pitches move differently in the thinner air — he doesn’t throw anything with the kind of movement that would create a drastic split — but simply learning where he has to locate the ball to be competitive at altitude compared to sea-level parks.
“I think a big part of it is understanding how your pitches are going to move and working with that, instead of wishing you had something else,” he said. “It’s just learning what you have and then working to maximize it the best you can.”
He’s also revamped his between-starts routine, trusting recovery as much as work. After a lesson learned late last season, Hughes says he’s scaled back the instinct to fill every day with extra reps in the gym, instead balancing high-output days with some genuinely light ones.
“Sometimes doing less is more,” he said. “I’m always the guy who wants to be in the gym, wants to be doing a ton of exercise. I think something I learned really at the end of last year is that sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back and let your body recover”
A new role, and a familiar face
Now that routine gets rebuilt on the fly.
Hughes has started 48 of his 50 minor league appearances, but he’ll begin his major league career in the bullpen, working as a length option for a Colorado relief corps that is often thinned out.
It’s uncharted territory — outside of a handful of spring training outing, he’s never really come out of the pen — and he say’s he’s leaning on teammates who’ve made the same jump, including Antonio Senzatela, with whom he trained this offseason.
“A lot of it’s just keeping it the same — it’s the same game, keep doing what I’m doing, and just go out there, have fun, and be loose, don’t over complicate it,” Hughes said of Senzatela’s advice.
As for who he wanted to see first walking into the Coors Field clubhouse, the answer came without hesitation: Jaden Hill, who’d known Hughes going back through the system, ran across the room and pulled him into a hug.
Hughes debuts with a save
On Friday night, the wait ended. Hughes was summoned from the bullpen in the seventh inning of what had become a rout, and tossed three scoreless innings, closing out a 15-3 win over the Giants. Under the rule that credits a reliever who finishes a game with three or more effective innings, it went down as a save — the first of his career, in the first game of his career.
“I didn’t know that was a save until after the game, honestly,” Hughes said. “I’m not really familiar with the rules for saves, but hey, I’ll take it. Senza just told me it took him 10 years to get one. I got mine in my first game.”
He could not, he said, have drawn it up any better.
“There’s no way to describe it,” Hughes said. “It seemed packed, and I could not draw up a better scenario for my first big league game than tonight. There are no words to describe the experience. It was incredible. It was life-altering. And I’m so excited that I was able to debut here at home, in front of so many people.”
Chills under the lights
The moment that stayed with him came in the ninth. With the game long decided and a crowd of over 47,000 people on hand, the Coors Field lights dimmed and the stands filled with the glow of phone flashlights on a fireworks Friday. Hughes, going through his pre-inning routine, looked toward center field and stopped.
“Can confirm that’s the first time that’s ever happened in my life,” he said. “The lights are going, everyone’s waving their flashlights, and I got chills. I took a second to be like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe how much this is affecting me right now — in such a good way, in such a positive way.”
He’d been active since Wednesday, waiting for the opportunity, and had spent each pregame the same way.
“Every day I’ve been on the mound before the game, doing some visualization, doing some breath work,” Hughes said, “because I knew when the moment got here it was going to be big. And I thought I was prepared — and I got out there, and it was still, wow.”
The people he wanted there most had made it just in time. Hughes found out about the call-up so late Tuesday night that none of his family could reach Denver for Wednesday. His father and grandparents arrived Thursday, and by Friday the whole group — his mother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and his girlfriend — was in the stands.
“Knowing that I would not be here without my parents and my entire family, the support system that they’ve given me — I’m getting emotional now just thinking about it,” Hughes said, his eyes welling. “This was absolutely a collective endeavor. I’m so excited to go out and see them, and just thank them.”
There was one rite of passage waiting before that reunion. Asked whether his teammates had given him the traditional postgame ambush, Hughes grinned.
“It was a lot more than shaving cream,” he said. “It ended with an ice bucket being dumped on me. I’m very glad it was in the shower when it happened.”
One word, he said, kept surfacing for all of it.
“Special. That’s the word that keeps coming to mind.”
The Minnesota Twins can win a series on the road against the New York Yankees for the first time since 2014 with a win this afternoon. Minnesota blew out New York yesterday, sending the Yankees deeper into a spiral.
The Twins have an All-Star on the mound and yet are still the underdogs. My Twins vs.Yankees predictions and MLB picks look for a Minnesota win.
Who will win Twins vs Yankees today: Twins moneyline (+119)
The Minnesota Twins scored 11 on Saturday, two days after plating eight in Houston. Minnesota has won two of three and four of six, while the Yankees have lost eight of nine.
The New York Yankees have the better overall record, but they're just 13-16 since Aaron Judge went down and had four or fewer hits five times this week. The Yankees are also struggling on the other end, giving up 27 unearned runs in the last 14 games.
I’d take the Twins at anything above +100. They’re starting newly named All-Star Joe Ryan, who's in the 95th percentile in pitching run value.
COVERS INTEL: In addition to struggling against left-handed pitchers, the Twins are unfamiliar with Ryan Weathers. Only four players on the Twins roster have ever faced him, and they’ve combined for just 11 plate appearances and one RBI.
Twins vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-107)
The Yankees scored five runs in Friday’s win. That’s the only time in the last 13 games they’ve reached that mark, despite playing Red Sox, Tigers, Reds, and Twins, all sub-.500 teams, including two last-place squads. Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Paul Goldschmidt are all hitting below .150 over the last two weeks.
Ryan is in the 85th percentile in strikeout rate, and only four A.L. teams have whiffed more than the Yankees.
New York starter Ryan Weathers has struggled lately, but he’s a southpaw. Minnesota hits 36 points lower with 101 points less OPS against left-handers and has an OPS+ 11% below league average.
Shawn Krest's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 24-32, -5.15 units
Over/Under bets: 31-29, +1.3 units
Twins vs Yankees weather
Twins vs Yankees odds
Moneyline: Twins +117 | Yankees -122
Run line: Twins +1.5 (-178) | Yankees -1.5 (+170)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+100) | Under 8.5 (-104)
Twins vs Yankees trend
The Yankees have cashed the Under in 10 of their last 16 games for +3.45 units and a 20% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Twins vs. Yankees.
How to watch Twins vs Yankees and game info
Location
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Date
Sunday, July 5, 2026
First pitch
1:35 p.m. ET
TV
Peacock
Twins starting pitcher
Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.61 ERA)
Yankees starting pitcher
Ryan Weathers (3-6, 4.08 ERA)
Twins vs Yankees latest injuries
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.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 30: Martin Perez #33 of the Atlanta Braves reacts during the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park on June 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a dismal June, July has started pretty well for the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves have started the month with three wins in four games, clinching at least a split of their four-game series against the New York Mets with a 14-3 demolition Saturday night.
But considering Atlanta lost six of its last seven series before this one, it’s safe to say just a split isn’t what anyone is looking for. It can clinch the series in Sunday afternoon’s series finale (12:30 p.m. EDT) at Truist Park.
The Braves turn to Martín Pérez (6-5, 3.27 ERA), who has been amongst the team’s most consistent starters but is looking to bounce back from one of his worst starts of the season. The fact that he gave up a season-high-tying four runs on five hits over five innings speaks to how effective the southpaw has been this season for a rotation desperately in need of exactly that.
He gave up two homers in his last start, as many as he had allowed in his prior six starts combined.
Pérez faced the Mets less than a month ago, giving up one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in Atlanta’s 3-1 road win on June 13. In fact, he’ll put his perfect 5-0 record and 2.94 career ERA over 11 appearances (seven starts) against New York on the line Sunday afternoon.
The Mets will counter with rookie righty Nolan McLean (5-5, 3.78) on the hill. Like Pérez, McLean has never lost to the Braves. However, he’s just 1-0 in two starts, winning his second career start against Atlanta last August.
The last time he faced them didn’t go as well as he gave up two runs on three hits, striking out six but also walking four as the Braves forced him to throw 93 pitches to get through nine innings in New York’s 7-5 win on June 12. That was his only June start that wasn’t six-plus innings.
Facing McLean could be a test of sorts for the resurgent power the Braves have discovered in this series, hitting nine total homers in the first two games. After McLean allowed six home runs in as many May starts, he allowed just two homers in five June starts.
This early Sunday start will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock instead of the usual TV and streaming places you can find the Braves. Matt Vasgersian will be on play-by-play, joined by Braves legend Andruw Jones — mere weeks before he’s set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — and former Mets infielder Todd Zeile as color commentators.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 04: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets runs off the field during the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets were clobbered by the Braves 14-3 in another all-around embarrassing effort on national television that included poor pitching, poor defense, and poor hitting. The Mets are now 17 games under .500 and have lost 12 of their last 14, as they continue to free fall, despite a managerial change.
After being snubbed in 2025, Juan Soto has been selected via fan vote as the starting left fielder for the National League All-Star team, surging at the last minute to come in second among outfielders in fan balloting. It is his fifth career All-Star nod and his first as a Met. “They really voted a lot. Mets fans are unbelievable,” Soto said when he heard the news. “I really appreciate everything that they’ve done for me…I think it’s great seeing where I (started) I the votes and then seeing where I finished is incredible.”
Soto also said he is considering participating in the Home Run Derby this year.
Speaking of Clay Holmes, interim manager Andy Green gave a positive update on Holmes prior to last night’s game, saying that he is “doing well” and will throw a bullpen on Monday in Atlanta as the Mets wrap up their series against the Braves. Green also provided updates on Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert, who are both on rehab assignments. Though he said that nailing down an exact return date for Polanco is “premature,” he continues to take “big steps forward” as he continues to play in rehab games for Triple-A Syracuse. Meanwhile, Robert went hitless yesterday in the third game of his rehab assignment in Syracuse.
Freddy Peralta was supposed to provide stability to the Mets’ rotation, but has been anything but consistent. So what gives? Mario Delgado Genzor of Baseball Prospectus looks into some possible reasons behind Peralta’s struggles in 2026, which don’t have a straightforward answer.
Around the National League East
The Braves and Phillies are each sending a crop of five players to the All-Star Game.
Jesús Luzardo threw a gem as the Phillies beat the Royals 6-1.
Jackson Stone of MLB.com explores what is going wrong for Phillies reliever José Alvarado, who currently holds a career-worst ERA north of six, and what the Phillies can do to fix it.
The Phillies traded minor league right-hander Ryan Degges to the Guardians in exchange for $250,000 in international bonus pool money, which helped them to sign 17-year-old right-hander Ho Hua out of Taiwan.
The Pirates scored early and often to soundly defeat the Nationals 7-1 in Washington DC on Independence Day.
But in a full circle moment, the two players that headlined the Juan Soto trade for the Nationals are now All-Stars themselves.
Sandy Alcantara threw eight brilliant innings in the Marlins’ 7-2 victory over the A’s.
The Braves placed shortstop Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 1 with right middle finger inflammation. Infielder Kyle Farmer was activated from the injured list and recalled to take Kim’s place on the roster. The Braves also optioned righty Anthony Molina to Triple-A and recalled JR Ritchie.
Veteran Rowdy Tellez, who the Braves designated for assignment on Thursday, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. Tellez has enough service time to reject the assignment and elect free agency if he chooses.
Around Major League Baseball
The full All-Star rosters for the NL and AL were announced last night. Juan Soto is (unsurprisingly) the Mets’ sole representative. The Braves, Dodgers, and Phillies have the largest representation with five players each. Mike Trout leads all players with his 12th time being selected.
“One thing that I want to add on the record for you guys,” an emotional Willson Contreras said through interpreter Daveson Pérez before Saturday’s Red Sox game against the Angels, “is just an apology for all of the events from last week. All of the things that occurred with the Nationals are things that were very hard and a very emotional time for me.”
This Date in Mets History
On July 5, 1962 the Mets signed Cleon Jones for $1,000. Jones went on to be one of the most valuable members of the 1969 championship squad.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 04: A large-scale beer mug is shown outside of the ballpark prior to the game between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field on July 04, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tigers 3, Rangers 0
That was not exciting.
Or fun.
Three hits, a walk, and an HBP. That was the extent of the runners on base that the Texas Rangers had.
Evan Carter got on base three times — he had the walk and HBP, as well as one of the three hits.
And see, the problem with that is that, if you’re going to have this paltry number of baserunners, then, if you’re going to score runs, you are generally going to have to bunch them together.
The same player getting on base three times, and the rest of the team just twice, pretty well means you aren’t bunching the “getting on base” events together in an inning. That’s just science.
It is unfortunate because the Rangers pitchers did an awfully good job overall. They allowed just nine baserunners, with one of those nine being the result of an error by Alejandro Osuna.
Alejandro Osuna has had a series of unfortunate events in the outfield this year. I’m not entirely sure as to why — his reputation coming up in the minors was that he was a good corner outfielder who could play center if need be.
The numbers back up the eye test on Osuna in the outfield this year — he’s at -6 fielding runs for the year, per Statcast, and both his range and his arm value are in the bottom 10%.
An error in the second by Osuna led to the Tigers scoring an unearned run, which would be more angst-inducing if it weren’t for the fact that the Rangers did nothing offensively, and Riley Greene had already hit a two run homer in the first inning, giving Detroit all the runs they would need in the game anyway. That third run was just something a little extra to upset us with.
Credit to the Rangers pitchers, who generally did their jobs. Cal Quantrill gave the Rangers five innings on 66 pitches, and but for the Greene home run pitched quite well.
Tyler Alexander threw a scoreless inning. Ben Peoples made his major league debut and logged a couple of shutout innings, so that’s cool.
Chris Martin made his triumphant return from the injured list with a scoreless inning. He went strikeout, hard hit single, hard hit ground out, soft flare to shortstop.
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Rangers’ bullpen has a lot of guys injured right now. If Chris Martin could be a functional, decent bullpen arm going forward, that would be extremely helpful.
Is hoping for Chris Martin to stay healthy for the next few months unrealistic? Is it too big of an ask? Might as well I be asking for rainbows and butterflies to shoot out of my butt?
Maybe, but hope springs eternal, at least until mathematical elimination.
Hope springs eternal even when the Rangers offense does its doodle bug routine and curls up into an impenetrable ball until we walk away and leave it alone. Joc Pederson singled to lead off the first, which is always an encouraging way for things to start.
Leadoff hits make it more likely you’re going to win the game, right? Than if there’s not a leadoff hit?
The Rangers had just two more hits the rest of the game.
The only Ranger batter to reach second base was Josh Jung, who had a two out double in the sixth. Brandon Nimmo ended up being the only Ranger to hit with a runner in scoring position when he came up after the Jung double. He grounded out.
So that was no fun. And the Mariners won, so the Rangers are back in second place, and we don’t like that, either. Let’s do something about that.
Cal Quantrill touched 94.9 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.0 mph. Tyler Alexander reached 92.4 mph with his fastball. Ben Peoples topped out at 96.8 mph with his fastball. Chris Martin’s fastball maxed out at 95.1 mph.
Elias Diaz had a 104.6 mph groundout. Joc Pederson had a 104.0 mph single and a 103.3 mph groundout. Josh Jung had a 102.9 mph double and a 101.9 mph groundout. Brandon Nimmo had a 102.4 mph fly out. Josh Smith had a 101.1 mph fly out.
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The Atlanta Braves will look to make it three in a row over their divisional rivals as they host the New York Mets this afternoon.
Atlanta is a -113 favorite heading into this game, and I’m backing the home team to continue New York’s misery in my Mets vs. Braves predictions. Read on for a complete analysis of this matchup and to get my free MLB picks for Sunday, July 5.
Who will win Mets vs Braves today: Braves moneyline (-116)
The already poor New York Mets offense has been floundering lately, averaging just 2.6 runs per game over their last five outings.
The Braves hit Nolan McLean well the first time they saw him this year. While Atlanta has an issue with chasing bad pitches, McLean only generates a 27.9% chase rate. I’m taking the Braves at -120 or better.
Meanwhile, the Mets only managed one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings the last time they faced Perez. I’m backing the Under, and I’d be willing to do so at a flat 9-run total as well.
Ed Scimia's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 13-22, -9.84 units
Over/Under bets: 13-20, -7.96 units
Mets vs Braves weather
Mets vs Braves odds
Moneyline: Mets -108 | Braves -116
Run line: Mets +1.5 (-200) | Braves -1.5 (+165)
Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+105) | Under 9.5 (-127)
Mets vs Braves trend
The Mets are just 2-12 over their last 14 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Braves.
How to watch Mets vs Braves and game info
Location
Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Date
Sunday, July 5, 2026
First pitch
12:30 p.m. ET
TV
NBC
Mets starting pitcher
Nolan McLean (5-5, 3.78 ERA)
Braves starting pitcher
Martin Perez (6-5, 3.27 ERA)
Mets vs Braves latest injuries
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.
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 29: Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday, June 29, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Natalie Reid/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Last place teams don’t really have the right to complain about All-Star snubs. Nevertheless, Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Sonny Gray are free to feel at least a little aggrieved in being left off the American League All-Star team, the roster of which was revealed last night. Ranger Suárez and Aroldis Chapman — both worthy enough selections — will represent the Sox. Rafaela, though, is second in the American League in fWAR amongst all centerfielders, just a shade behind Byron Buxton, who was elected as a starter. Contreras leads American League first basemen in that category. Sonny Gray is just 20th in fWAR among AL starters, but is second in ERA. Here are the full rosters. (MLB.com)
And given that he’s a veteran who has seen it all at this point, you might be wondering whether Sonny Gray even cares about going to the ASG. But he absolutely does. “I was disappointed for sure,” he said. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
Contreras may or may not be disappointed about the All-Star snub, but he’s got other things on his mind: mainly, the seven-game suspension he’s facing. And, yesterday, he spoke through tears in offering an apology. “Those situations could have been avoided and controlled and handled better,” he said. “It’s been a really tough week, emotional week for me. I hope that they understand how emotional it has been, and I’ll prove myself with my actions on the field from here moving forward and show the kind of person that I truly am.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
No one can complain about Aroldis Chapman’s selection, particularly in light of the fact that he just set the all-time strikeout record for relievers. “That’s great, that reflects on what I’ve done throughout my career,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “On the other side, just want to be out there every time I can to help the team win and to save games.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
In light of the record — but acknowledging the very short tenure — the question must be asked: where does Chapman rank on the list of all-time Red Sox relievers? (Daniel Yanofsky, NESN)
Any time it would like to stop raining in the Chicago area would be fine with me.
Saturday’s 3-0 Cubs loss to the Cardinals was delayed 59 minutes before it began by yet another heavy rainfall that drenched the north side of Chicago, then delayed another 15 minutes after the end of the sixth inning when it became impossible for players to see the ball due to heavy fog that blew in off Lake Michigan after the rain ended.
What month is this, anyway? April? November?
This is what it looked like from my perch in the left field bleachers (Bluesky link):
But they couldn’t see much from the press box, either:
You can no longer see the centerfield scoreboard from the broadcast booth at Wrigley Field because of the fog during this Cubs and Cardinals game pic.twitter.com/9AjjcXAEHI
The fog finally lifted about 10:20 p.m. and the teams finished the game. There’s not much to talk about here from a Cubs point of view, though.
Shōta Imanaga’s first pitch of the game was sent into the left-field bleachers by JJ Wetherholt. After that Imanaga settled down and threw fairly well, though he walked three, and one of those walks led to the Cardinals’ second run in the third inning. Imanaga did strike out eight [VIDEO].
Tyler Ferguson, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton and Caleb Thielbar attempted to keep things close. The four relievers combined for 4.1 innings in which they allowed four hits and one run, with five strikeouts.
It didn’t matter because the Cubs offense was moribund. They had five hits and four walks off five Cardinals pitchers, but got just three runners past first base. The tone seemed to be set when Pete Crow-Armstrong, who walked to lead off the first for the Cubs, was thrown out trying to steal. In the third, Michael Conforto led off with a single and two outs later advanced to second when PCA walked again. A force out ended that inning. Conforto singled again in the fifth and two outs later went to second when PCA was hit by a pitch. That inning ended on a foul popup.
In the eighth, PCA led off with a single. That’s one good thing — PCA reached base in all four of his plate appearances. Alex Bregman followed with a walk. Two on, nobody out! All that did was result in an 0-for-3 with RISP, because the inning ended on a ground out and two strikeouts.
PCA’s season OBP has reached .380, nearly 100 points higher than the .287 he posted last year. The .380 figure ranks 10th in the National League (and is only .007 behind Freddie Freeman, who is sixth).
Any time the Cubs offense would like to wake up again would be okay by me. After the 23-run outburst Wednesday, the Cubs have scored one run total in their last 18 innings.
Fifteen minutes later play resumed, but it wasn’t any different for the Cubs, who stranded eight runners.
Fog fact from BCB’s JohnW53:
On May 20, 1960, at Milwaukee, the Cubs played their first abandoned game that was scoreless after more than 2 innings. It remains their only 0-0 unofficial game halted in the fifth inning — and their only abandoned game of any length that was stopped because of fog.
“The Cubs and Braves tried valiantly Friday night to win a running battle with the elements,” said the Tribune. “Maybe they are gaining on the fickle weather man, for they did play four and a half scoreless innings during a weird three and one-half hour program.
“After a light rain caused a 1 hour, 28 minute delay in the first inning, a fog blew in from Lake Michigan, and the athletes sparred their way into the fifth inning with two slick pitchers, Warren Spahn and Don Cardwell, refusing to yield a run.
“But Plate Umpire Frank Dascoli, finally convinced when he could barely make out the outfielders and Shag Crawford, umpiring at second base, that baseballs no longer could be detected in flight, called another halt.
“After a half hour wait, the game was proclaimed no contest.”
And facts about this game from John:
This was the 181st game since 1901 in which the Cubs were shut out by the Cardinals. It was the 2,409th between the teams.
Only 75 of the shutouts have been at Wrigley Field, including just three of the last 13. The previous two were by 3-0 on June 14, 2024, and by 1-0 on Aug. 22, 2022. ….. The Cubs had failed to score in only 12 of 226 previous games on the Fourth of July, three of them vs. the Cardinals. They had been blanked in seven of 136 games at home, twice by the Cards.
The reason for the large number of games on July 4 is, of course, that for many decades holiday doubleheaders were common.
Also, yes of course I know it doesn’t matter what TV channel the game is on, but the Cubs have not done well in games carried on various national channels this year:
The Cubs lost no ground to the Brewers in the NL Central race, as Milwaukee lost at Arizona. The Cubs still trail the Brewers by six games, but are now just half a game ahead of the Cardinals.
The Cubs will attempt to salvage the final game of this series Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Javier Assad will start for the Cubs and Matthew Liberatore goes for St. Louis. Game time is 1:30 p.m. CT (yes, 1:30, not 1:20) and TV coverage will be streaming on Peacock (full national broadcast, no blackouts). Today’s game preview will post at 12 noon CT.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Quinn Mathews #60 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Despite another season where the St. Louis Cardinals struggled in June, the team still sits in postseason contention as the second half begins. The past two weeks of the month made things feel worse than they actually are, but being five games above .500 in a rebuild season, things are not too bad in St. Louis.
*Disclaimer: I am writing this on Thursday afternoon due to the holiday so some stats/thoughts may be outdated by Sunday’s post*
The entire offense struggled at the same time which was unfortunate as the starting pitching started to right the ship at times. Series losses to the Marlins and Diamondbacks made the vibes a little worse for the Cardinals. As we continue to discuss buy vs. sell at this year’s deadline, the end of June made it clear that the best course of action is likely subtraction from the 26-man roster. While disappointing, Chaim Bloom committing to the plan he set out since being named POBO will still create plenty of exciting storylines for the rest of the season, even if the postseason slips out of grasp.
A sell off will create opportunity for Cardinals prospects to flourish
To avoid going too far into the “buy or sell” conversation that we continue to beat into the ground, I am going to guess that at least three spots on the major league roster will be opened up via trade. While a rebuild usually entails Johnny No-Name getting playing time after the deadline, the Cardinals’ farm system has talent that is close enough to the major leagues to warrant a look. With Chaim Bloom creating excitement and optimism among fans with his work in the front office, even a losing second half could be fun to watch, for lack of a better word.
According to FanGraphs, the Cardinals have the 10th-best farm system and a lot of that talent is at Double-A or better already. If and when Bloom makes deals from the major league roster, the returns will hopefully continue to push that ranking into the single digits. Assuming the players coming to St. Louis are not established big leaguers, Bloom is more likely to give the big league promotions to the minor leaguers with a track record in the organization. The first of these would likely be one of Bloom’s offseason acquisitions in Hunter Dobbins.
Dobbins has been solid overall this season, notching a 6-1 record and an ERA under 4.00 in 16 games between Memphis and St. Louis. The righty profiles as a mid-rotation arm who can have some spectacular outings mixed in with a consistent run of quality starts. There will be plenty of innings available next season and Dobbins will have one of the lengthier auditions for a role heading into the 2027 season.
If the injury luck continues for the Cardinals’ rotation, then seeing prospects like Brycen Mautz and Quinn Mathews make a prolonged major league stay may only happen in a relief or swingman role. JoJo Romero is my pick for most likely to be dealt, creating an instant need for a lefty option alongside Justin Bruihl. Mautz is on the 40-man already and has one game under his belt while Mathews would need to be added to the roster count. Mathews must be added to the 40-man this offseason to be protected in the Rule 5 draft. Trades for minor leaguers will keep those roster spots open, so there would be no issue with activating the lefty to the roster.
Before moving to the position player side, it would be plausible to see Cooper Hjerpe get a late season opportunity. The lefty was just activated from the 60-day IL and will be pitching in Double-A as he works his way back to full strength. Along with Hjerpe, I would like to see Tink Hence get a shot, but that could be wishing against hope. When we asked Chaim Bloom about Tink, it was not very encouraging to hear his uncertainty with what the former top prospect needs to fix. The clock is ticking on his time with the organization and a relief role is the only way he is going to get a call.
To the hitters, we all know about Joshua Baez and what he has done to minor league pitching this year. The outfielder slugged his 28th homer of the year but has yet to move past the chase rate concerns that are constantly brought up. Focusing on what he can do, Baez provides pop the lineup is missing, the speed to cause chaos on the bases, and a decent enough fielding tool to play all three outfield spots. I do not personally know if he is “ready” for the bigs, but it makes sense to see what the guy can do against major league pitching, even if it is just to give him exposure like the organization did with Masyn Winn and Jimmy Crooks.
In my less exciting but still fun category, I expect to see Luis Gastelum in this disaster of a bullpen at some point before the end of the season. His strong season has continued in Memphis as his season ERA sits at 2.38 while striking out more than a batter per inning. Mason Molina was just bumped up to Triple-A and he could earn consideration for a promotion, but he is further down the pecking order than the other arms.
And finally, how the demoted Cardinals handle the last half of the season will be another note I will be keeping an eye on through September. Victor Scott II, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese were all demoted to provide new opportunity for others on the roster and their path to returning to St. Louis is cloudy at best. Of the trio, unfortunately Saggese has been the best thus far in Memphis, but that is nothing to brag about at this point. I want all three of them to become regular contributors on the Cardinals’ major league roster, but they need to make something happen in Triple-A first.
While there are times where the team has been frustratingly flat, I am really most excited about watching a Cardinals team that seems to care on a nightly basis. That is an immeasurable observation and surely every player on every team wants to win every night, but with a roster of young guys who still need to prove their worth, we are more likely than not to see a hard nine innings of baseball.
Let me know what you’re most excited about for the second half. If you think its a deep playoff run, great! If you want to see an endless cycle of prospects getting a cup of coffee in the majors, also cool! I’ll be seeing the Cardinals up close these next two weekends. Sunday, I will unfortunately head to Wrigley to take advantage of a friend’s company tickets behind home plate. Then I will be heading to St. Louis next weekend for our annual family trip and hope to see some good baseball from the stands. I will likely go Tarps Off.
Jun 21, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley waves to the crowd after his retirement ceremony before the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-Imagn Images
This is a simple question of the day: who is your favorite all time Phillies player and why?
I’m interested in the mix that we get with current and former players.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 30: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees throws a live bullpen session before a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on June 30, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com | Bill Ladson: The Yankees’ rotation took a hit the other day with Carlos Rodón hitting the IL, but they got some good news yesterday. Max Fried, on the IL since the middle of May with a bone bruise, is ready to start facing live batters. He threw a bullpen session on Friday, and after getting the go-ahead that everything felt good will throw live batting practice today with a pitch limit of about 35 pitches. He’s still a while away from returning to the big league team, with roughly a month to go in his rehab, but the team is excited with the form he’s displayed and Fried has even taken the time off to work on his mechanics as he was never able to settle in this year despite good overall stats.
NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: The All-Star rosters for the American League were announced and the Yankees will have four representatives locked in. Aaron Judge earned his way onto the starting lineup via fan vote despite missing the last month with his rib injury, and though he’ll obviously miss out on playing in the festivities this will be his eighth time being honored as an All-Star. Meanwhile, his fellow stars in the lineup Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger will earn their way into the Midsummer Classic, and Cam Schlittler will join them from the pitching staff with a shot at starting the game outright.
MLB.com | Marino Panchano: Jasson Domínguez didn’t make the Opening Day lineup for the Yankees, but he always figured to be in their plans. A freak injury interrupted his return at the start of May, but now the runway is wide open for him to make his mark as the team is without Aaron Judge for the foreseeable future. Domínguez will start alongside Bellinger and Trent Grisham as the trio in the outfield with Spencer Jones demoted, and they’ll need him to show that the improvements he made down in Triple-A while he waited for his shot weren’t marginal — the team is desperate for offense, and a Martian sighting could do wonders to kickstart the lineup.
NY Daily News | Bill Maddon: The June Swoon has fully hit, and with it the annual clamoring for Aaron Boone’s firing have commenced. It would be a major surprise for the Yankees to do this, especially with no particular clubhouse favorite to succeed him, but the fact of the matter is that the Yankees have gone into a major slide and don’t have any cavalry coming to support them for at least another month or two without Brian Cashman totally revamping this team via trades. If the improvements have to come from within, it’ll also have to come on quick as the Rays have charged ahead into the lead in the AL East with reinforcements of their own coming with one of their top prospects pushing for a major league promotion.
NY Post | Steve Serby: Jose Caballero is the guy that you love when he’s on your team and you hate when he’s on the other team, and he knows that fully well. The utility player sat down for a lengthy Q&A with Serby and dished plenty of details on how he fights for every at-bat and takes a winning mentality onto the field, as well as breakdowns of several of his Instragram quotes.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 04: A fireworks display after a game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Kansas City Royals at Chase Field on July 04, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On paper, I think this was the toughest of this weekend’s matchups against the Milwaukee Brewers, who came into yesterday with the second best record in the Major Leagues. Brandon Woodruff took the mound for the Brew Crew (2-1, 2.59 ERA before today) while Merrill Kelly, who has not been great this year, was going for us. His ERA coming into tonight was an unappealing 5.84, he was carrying 5-8 record, and for the first time in his career he had lost five consecutive starts. So, yeah. Ulp, basically.
Things didn’t start off terrifically for Merrill tonight, either, as Brice Turang lined a double down the left field line to lead off the top of the first. He advanced to third on a Christian Yelich groundout to first, so again, ulp. No worries, though, as it turned out, as Kelly buckled down and struck out the next two batters to end the inning with Turang stranded at third.
In the bottom of the frame, it looked like Woodruff was going to make short work of us, as Ketel Marte grounded out to first on the third pitch he saw, and Geraldo Perdomo struck out on three pitches. Corbin Carroll, thankfully, put up a much more patient at bat, working a six-pitch walk. Gabriel Moreno, tonight’s designated hitter, had himself a very patient at bat to follow, and sent the seventh pitch he saw down Gabi Lane into right field for a two-out single. That brought Adrian Del Castillo, who was handling the catching duties tonight, to the plate, and while he swung at the first pitch he saw, he did not miss it:
So that was fun, putting up a crooked number and taking a multi-run lead in the first inning of a ballgame! 3-0 DBACKS
And you’re going to have to savor that video highlight for awhile, because after the first inning, the Diamondbacks basically folded up their tents and absconded into the night. We didn’t even manage another baserunner until the bottom of the eighth, which not unreasonably led a lot of folks in the Gameday Thread to start expressing intense interest in seeing the “Deserve-to-Win-O-Meter” after the game, because while we had three runs, we only had two hits through seven innings. Meanwhile, the Brewers continued to do Brewers things and get hits and get into scoring position and pretty much constantly threaten.
To his credit, Merrill Kelly held the line, for the most part. He retired Milwaukee in order in the top of the second for his only clean inning of the game, and then wriggled off the hook in the third (runners on second and third with one out) and the fourth (bases loaded with two outs) to put up zeroes and keep the shutout in play. That ended in the top of the fifth, as Brice Turang led off the inning with another double, and was driven in by a Christian Yelich moonshot into the pool area in right. He then walked a batter, and allowed another double to put Brewers on second and third again, but managed to record the last two outs with no further damage done. 3-2 DBACKS
After that, our bullpen got to work, and once again, our bullpen did a bang-up job. Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a scoreless sixth, Brandyn Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh, and Juan Morillo pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, setting up a save situation for Paul Sewald in the ninth. Bear in mind that all three of those relievers had worked last night, as had Sewald, so I for one was feeling a bit nervous.
Never mind that, though, as the Diamondbacks offense slunk back out of the desert night in the bottom of the eighth to give us a little bit of insurance. Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., who had an off-day today, pinch hit for Max Kepler to lead things off, and he grounded a single into shallow left. Jorge Barrosa pinch ran for Lourdes, and Ildemaro Vargas came to the plate and doubled down the left field line. Lourdes would not have been able to score from first on that, but for Barrosa it was no problem, and all three of them wound up being big damn heroes.
Never mind that the lineup turned over and the top of the lineup was able to do absolutely nothing further. 4-2 DBACKS
So it was Sewald for the top of the ninth, as expected, and he quickly struck out both Brice Turang and Christian Yelich. It turned out he needed the extra insurance, though, as he surrendered a solo shot to Jackson Chourio that leaked over the wall in left center to bring Milwaukee to within a run. Happily, however, he induced a William Contreras groundout to short to put this one in the books for the good guys! 4-3 DBACKS
Fireworks: Adrian Del Castillo (3 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 1 K, +21% WPA) Apple Pie: Juan Morillo (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K, +12% WPA), Brandyn Garcia (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, +10% WPA)
We had a charmingly lively Gameday Thread tonight, especially for a Saturday, with 272 comments at time of writing. A lot of comments went Sedona Red, too, which is always nice to see. Tonight’s Comment of the Game might not have had the most recs, but it came close, so I’m giving this one to Smurf1000 for this late offering that I think perfectly captures the image of what you want a Fourth of July Diamondbacks game day experience to be:
Hear, hear!
So stop by and join us tomorrow as we go for the series win (!!!) against Milwaukee. Hologram Eddie is going for us, while Brandon Sproat takes the mound for the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm AZ time, but I will warn you that it might prove difficult to watch, as it is a “Peacock Plus” exclusive.
See, NBC/Peacock decided to throw a “Star-Spangled Sunday” tomorrow, and they apparently decided that the best way to help America and the world celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday was to buy up the broadcast rights for every single MLB game being played tomorrow, and to gate all of them except the Mets @ Braves (9am AZ time) and Padres @ Dodgers (4pm AZ time) behind the Peacock Premium paywall. Lovely, huh? It really makes one proud to be an American. Gee.
Anyway. Listen to it on the radio, watch the MLB Game Day for live updates, stop by tomorrow and keep returning guest recapper LeahAZFan company in the Gameday Thread.
Wow. It was really pleasant to recap a Saturday night win. Those have been few and far between this season. As always, thanks so much for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
COVERS INTEL: In addition to struggling against left-handed pitchers, the Twins are unfamiliar with Ryan Weathers. Only four players on the Twins roster have ever faced him, and they’ve combined for just 11 plate appearances and one RBI.
