Category: Baseball

It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hot spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. Come on in and cool off for a while. There’s no cover charge. Come as you are. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you to choose between for possible draft picks, which I left anonymous but you quickly figured out were Mason Edwards, Hunter Dietz, Zion Rose and Daniel Jackson. I meant it as a philosophical exercise rather than a pick of which player you wanted. But in any case, you seemed to want risk adverse pitching as 45 percent of you picked player one (Edwards). Another 33 percent of you would roll the dice on player two, the oft-injured but very talented Dietz.

Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies You can skip that if you want.

Tonight we’re featuring saxophonist Chris Potter joining pianist Emmett Cohen and paying tribute to the late, great “Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins. The two are joined by John Patitucci on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums.

This is a song written Sonny Rollins, “Airegin.”

Between the World Cup and preparing for the Draft, I haven’t had time to watch any movies this week. I haven’t even got the chance to rewatch Eno on the Criterion Channel now that they’ve “regenerated” it with the start of the month.

So to throw something out for discussion, I’m going to ask you for your five “desert island” movies. If you’re stranded on a desert island and were allowed to take five films with you, which five would you take?

I’m not quite sure how you’re going to get the electricity to watch these five films on a desert island, nor do I know what you’d watch them on or in what format. You can give yourself a private theater with a portable generator that runs on seawater in this fantasy situation if you want.

So if you ask me tomorrow, I may give you a different answer. But today, here are the five movies that I’d spend my exile on a desert island with.

Double Indemnity

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Dr. Strangelove

Heathers

Mad Max: Fury Road

Maybe I should have picked movies I haven’t seen ten times or more already, but I think the point of this exercise is to pick the films that would mean the most to you. Maybe not the “best” films, but the ones that speak to you personally. The ones you want to kill time with.

So what are your five “desert island” films?

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

Cubs Vice-President of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz has been making the rounds this week in anticipation of Saturday’s MLB Draft. Mostly he hasn’t revealed the Cubs hand much, nor should he. But he did address the elephant in the room, which is the the Cubs farm system is very position-player heavy.

It’s not much of a surprise why the Cubs’ farm system is weak in pitching: they haven’t drafted many pitchers, and the ones they have drafted have tended to be in the later rounds and either are extremely risky or have very low upsides. Kantrovitz would insist that it’s not the Cubs’ philosophy to draft position players over pitchers. He says they’ve just been able to find more value when they’ve picked in position players. Position players are also much more likely to stay healthy, which is another reason the Cubs have more position player talent than pitching.

But the facts are this. Since the 2022 draft, when the Cubs took Cade Horton in the first round and took pitchers with 16 of their 20 draft picks, the Cubs have concentrated on hitters. Over the last three drafts, only four of the 15 players taken in rounds 1 through 5 have been pitchers. Only one of the six players taken in the top two rounds was a pitcher, second-rounder Jaxon Wiggins in 2023. Wiggins also not coincidentally happens to be the Cubs’ best pitching prospect.

Now the Cubs did go for quantity over quality in the later rounds last year. Eleven of their final 14 draft picks in the most recent draft were pitchers. But only two of the first six draft picks were pitchers and one of them, third-round pick Dominick Reid, was an underslot pick so the Cubs would have bonus money to sign sixth-round pick, high school outfielder Josiah Hartshorn. (To be fair, the Cubs fourth-round pick in 2025, Kaleb Wing, was also an overslot signing of a high school pitcher.)

Things were even more oriented towards position players in 2024. While the Cubs did load up on pitchers in rounds 11 through 20, only two of their first ten picks were pitchers and the first one, Ryan Gallagher, came in the sixth round.

But Kantrovitz seems to be softening his “best player available” at all times stand. You never draft for need because most drafted players take two-to-four years in the minors before reaching in the majors (if they ever do) and no team knows what their needs will be that far in the future. Except that we know that teams always need pitching these days and if somehow a team gets lucky and doesn’t, you can always trade young pitching.

Here’s one quote that Kantrovitz game Marquee this week.

It’s no secret we’ve invested less in pitching in recent drafts, so there’s probably more scrutiny on that position than historically …. You can’t take good pitching if you don’t take pitching. One thing we’ve looked at the last few years is how to allocate more of our draft pool to pitching without leaking wins or overall draft value – that’s always been our north star. . . This year, the reality is we’re probably going to be a little less dogmatic about sticking to that, and realize that practically, to get more good pitching, we just might have to take more pitching . . .

What Kantrovitz seems to be saying is that the Cubs aren’t going to reach for a pitcher if there isn’t one they like at that position, if they have one position player and one pitcher that are close in value, they may take the pitcher even if they have the position player ranked slightly higher.

So what do you think the Cubs should do? Should the Cubs take a pitcher in the first round, even if he’s ranked slightly less highly than an available position player? Should they stick to their guns and just take the best player available, no matter where they play? Or should they just admit that they struggle to develop pitching and concentrate on position players, knowing that they can always trade top prospects for pitching later?

Please note when I say “favor,” I don’t mean take a pitcher even if you have a position player ranked much higher. I mean if they’re close in your eyes, you would take the pitcher even if a position player is ranked slightly higher.

Thank you for stopping by this week. We’ve enjoyed having you. Please get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tell your friends about us. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

San Diego Padres General Manager and President of Baseball Operation A.J. Preller is known as an uber aggressive front office executive. He seems to live for the trade deadline when he can use the players from the San Diego minor league system to find players to fill holes in the major league roster. Preller will not have the same type of player pool to deal from at the 2026 deadline, but that does not mean he won’t have opportunities to make deals, but the question is, “Should he?”

The Padres just completed a miserable eight-game losing streak and followed the win to break up the streak with another lifeless loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, losing 8-0 in the first game of their four-game series to start the week. The loss dropped San Diego two games below .500 and had them on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. The losing streak saw the Padres, who had been the top Wild Card team throughout the majority of the season, slip out of playoff contention while falling behind the division leading Los Angeles Dodgers by double digits.

The offense was the problem for San Diego throughout the season with the team ranking last in MLB in several categories. The thought at the time was the Padres could look to add to the offense at the trade deadline especially after losing Ramon Laureano for the season. In recent weeks, and especially during the eight-game losing streak, the starting pitching for San Diego has become erratic and problematic with multiple starters failing to complete five innings in an outing. The struggles of the rotation accentuated the laundry list of starters on the injured list. Yu Darvish was lost for the season prior to the start of Spring Training. Joe Musgrove landed on the IL before the end of Spring Training and Nick Pivetta joined them both on the IL not long after the season started. Matt Waldron, German Marquez and now Randy Vasquez have missed time with injuries.

Despite all of that, the Padres entered the game against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night just a game below .500 and were looking to win their second game of the series in back-to-back days. Considering their current record and their current level of play, the trade deadline could prove tenuous for the Friar Faithful. San Diego could go on a run and play itself into the playoffs, but the Padres could just as easily continue to slide and play themselves out of the playoff picture. The Gaslamp Ball Padres Reacts Survey question this week is, “What should the Padres do at the trade deadline?” There is still a lot of baseball between now and the deadline, but it’s never too early to start planning for the future. Whether or not that future is in major league talent for this season or in prospect capital for the future remains to be seen.

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Since this is my last pre-draft article, I’ll take a minute to discuss what I’d like to see in the Braves’ upcoming draft class. The franchise has a huge opportunity to add talent this weekend, picking in the top 10 and again at 26, thanks to Drake Baldwin’s Prospect Promotion Incentive pick for winning NL Rookie of the Year. Starting at pick 9, I want an underslot pick. It doesn’t seem like there is going to be a talent that I would want to pay at or above slot for at the #9 pick, with a tier drop-off after the top 6 players and then no super clean prep archetype or college player without red flags in that range. That said, prep lefty Gio Rojas is my preferred pick at 9 on an underslot deal. Beyond that, spread the money around, pick up a handful of high upside players that the franchise thinks they can develop. They’ve worked really well with pitchers who haven’t spent a ton of time developing themselves as pitchers, whether due to splitting their time with hitting or with another sport. Grab a few position players with real upside too if possible. This could be the most fun draft for the Braves in a while.

Braves News

The Braves weathered the storm of being the victim of a perfect game through 6.1 innings to ultimately shut out and defeat the Pirates 3-0.

The Braves swapped depth relievers as they continue to manage their bullpen.

MLB News

An MRI revealed an injury to Brandon Woodruff’s shoulder and he is seeking a second opinion.

The Cardinals DFA’d former Braves’ first round pick Jared Shuster.

Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season.

Brett Baty’s resurgence continued in a win over the Royals on Wednesday.

The third baseman came up clutch, extending the Mets’ lead to 4-1 with a two-run single in the eighth inning of a 6-2 victory at Citi Field.

It was Baty’s eighth game in a row with a hit, the best span of games for him this season, coming right from an awful June when he hit .147.

Entering Wednesday’s game, he was slashing just .218/.296/.306 for the season.

Mets interim manager Andy Green credited the coaching staff for helping Baty get “more action to the pole side” for his hot streak.

He said adding doubles to the pole side while continuing to show power to the opposite field has made him more dangerous.

However, when asked about it, the 26-year-old disagreed with his coach, crediting better pregame work and just “trying to hit balls hard.”

Baty said his power has been one of his best abilities his whole career, but he lost sight of that at the beginning of the season. He is currently in a home run drought dating back to May 18.

Baty also said clearing his head and not caring where the ball goes as long as it’s a hit has helped him.

“He’s allowing himself to swing and miss and not change who he is,” Green said following the game. “I think baseball’s the kind of game where you just have to take some bad swings sometimes and he’s maintaining aggression.

“I really feel like he’s letting it go at the plate and trusting himself. That’s ultimately how you have to hit at this level, you can’t hold anything back.”

Baty’s clutch hit and subsequent Mets win could be exactly what the team needs heading into the All-Star break and with the trade deadline right around the corner.

The third baseman said the win brings “good momentum” as the Mets have a chance to win the series against the Royals on Thursday.

Baty added that momentum has been building since getting Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto back in the lineup together.

“This whole season we’ve known what we can do on offense,” Baty said. “It’s just about going out there and doing it every single night.”

That offensive power was finally on display in the eighth inning as the Mets put up five runs and five hits to break open what had been a 1-1 game.

A fan in Cubs gear ended up on the field in the bottom of the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s game between the Orioles and Cubs at Camden Yards in Baltimore, resulting in the woman being escorted off by police. 

Former Mets slugger and current Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso was at the plate with two outs when home plate umpire Adrian Johnson had to pause the game after noticing the fan on the field along the left field warning track. 

It wasn’t clear from the broadcast footage how she ended up there, but at first she seemed to be as confused as just about everyone else before she started to jokingly dance around and raise her arms. 

The act did not sit well with the fans at Camden Yards, who started to boo her. 

Video shot by the Baltimore Sun and a photo from the Associated Press showed the fan being walked off the field by a member of the ballpark’s security team, with his arm around her shoulders, before she was handed off to a uniformed police officer who escorted her off the field behind home plate. 

She received further boos and jeers as she walked toward the exit behind home plate.

“Everybody’s gonna leave the ballpark tonight, and you’d rather not leave it in handcuffs, but that will be the case for one fan at least,” Orioles play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown said during the incident. 

The game was only briefly delayed, and after play resumed, Alonso hit a roller along the first base line that was caught by Cubs first baseman Michael Busch for the final out of the game in a 9-7 Chicago victory. 

Clippers 8, IronPigs 5

It was a good day for the Clippers offense. Angel Genao went 2-4 with a walk, Kody Huff went 2-5 with a 430 foot HR. Ralphy Velazquez also had a 3 run HR hit at 109.1 mph off the bat. CJ Kayfus went 1-4 with a HR of his own.

Yorman Gomez continues to rack up strikeouts despite giving up some runs. His ERA is 5.06 but he has 24 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. I think that ERA is going to go down at some point.

RubberDucks 8, Baysox 2

This was a dominant win from the RubberDucks. Nick Mitchell had a huge game, going 3-4 with a triple and RBI double. The trio of Chourio, Rosario, and Thompson all had one hit each. Jonah Advincula went 1-3 with a walk and a two run HR. Jose Devers went 1-4 with a 2 RBI triple.

Josh Hartle had a solid outing. He allowed just two runs in 5 innings pitched with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks. His ERA is down to 4.58 on the season.

Captains 6, Lugnuts 1

The Captains scored 6 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks. Jace Laviolette led the way going 2-5 with a two run HR. Tommy Hawke, Esteban Gonzalez, and Tyler Howard all had multi hit games. Aaron Walton went 1-3 with an RBI single and a walk. Nolan Schubart extended his crazy on base streak to 39 games with a double in the bottom of the 7th inning.

It was an excellent outing for Will McCausland tonight. The 22 year old tossed 6 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts to just one walk. His ERA is down to 6.46 on the season.

Howlers 2, RiverDogs 9

The bad news in this game was that the Howlers only had 5 hits, the good news is that those 5 hits came from 3 of the top prospects on the team. Dauri Fernandez and Juneiker Caceres both went 2-4. Fernandez homered and Caceres hit a sharp line drive double to CF. Caceres is now hitting .321 with a .940 OPS as an 18 year old in Single-A. It is beyond time for them to promote him to High-A. He has shown that he is ready for it.

After a hot start to the season, we’ve seen more than a few rought starts from Nelson Keljo, and this was another one of them. He was still able to strike out five batters in the 4 innings he pitched, but he also walked 3 and gave up 4 runs. His ERA is now up to 5.13 on the season.

Somehow, every game recap I write manages to be about an even more abhorrent game than the last. Tonight might take the cake for by far the worst game I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Just an unbelievably awful game start-to-finish. On the bright side, since coming to Minnesota, the Guardians seem to be at least losing a new type of game. Not just your average 1-run loss anymore, we’ve ascended to a new plane of suffering.

This game had everything!

Do you like lackluster starting pitching? Come on down!

Do you like walks? We’ve got a near unlimited supply at a discounted price!

Do you like using every single reliever in your bullpen but one? Stop on by!

Do you like walkoff losses? We’re running a 2-for-1 special!

Fan of all the above? Then come on down to the Chris Antonetti and co.’s House of Horrors! Unfortunately located on a television set near you.

I’m just going to do everyone a favor and eschew the video evidence that I usually attach to my recaps so that those who either missed the game or wanted to rewatch a pivotal moment could catch up. No one deserves to experience this game once, let alone twice. We’re going to stick to just good old words tonight.

Cecconi was bad today! That’s about all I’m going to say.

The Guardians scored 3 runs in the top of the 4th on back-to-back homers from Rocchio and Hoskins. If you’ve watched more than 3 Guardians games this year, then I’m sure you can guess what happened next.

Speaking of the 4th inning, Cecconi didn’t manage to get out of it! Final line: 3.2IP 6H 3ER 4K 1BB. Gave up the lead right after the Guardians took it.

Holderman had to pitch in the 4th (yes, fourth) inning to clean up his mess. Holderman was fantastic, and is one of four (I’ll get to the other three in a second) players today who are blameless. He cleaned up Cecconi’s garbage, and then pitched a scoreless 5th on 6 pitches.

Herrin pitched a relatively uneventful 6th, but unfortunately left the game when he was hit on the elbow off a comebacker from Royce Lewis. Shawn Armstrong got the last out of the inning.

All was quiet until the 7th, when beautiful, sweet Chase DeLauter had his 2nd of 2 hits and 2nd of 3 appearances on base tonight. He drove in the go-ahead run with that hit. Then, Rocchio squeezed home Kwan on a great surprise bunt, and even managed to get to first off bad defense from the Twins.

Then, Armstrong pitched again! Our beloved Armstrong walked Keaschall and Kreidler, only recording one out in between the walks. Sabrowski came in in relief. In what is maybe the worst relief outing I have ever witnessed with my own two eyes, Sabrowski walked THREE batters. Included in 3 of those walks are TWO RBI walks. TWO (2). Dos. Deux. Zwei. Due. Two. TWO. Two of THREE RBI walks issued by the Guardians tonight. Three. Tres. Trois. Drei. Tre. THREE. I cannot emphasize how abhorrent of an evening Sabrowski had tonight. He threw 14 pitches, 2 of which registered as strikes. None of his other 8 pitches were close. He did not record an out. Him being broken isn’t something this team can overcome so he needs to figure it out.

Hunter Gaddis came in and cleaned up that mess, but then left a mess of his own with runners on 2nd and 3rd two batters into the 8th. Enter Cade Smith who had to clean up that mess. And, as a matter of fact, he did so. Brilliantly, I might add. Came in with Twins on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and did not surrender a run. Not a one.

Anyway, we headed to the 9th tied. The Guardians didn’t score. Shocker. So, because of how empty the bullpen was (Aleman having never pitched in back to back days), Matt Festa pitched. In what was, truly, a “put me out of my misery inning”, Festa almost wiggled out of it but, luckily, the defense behind him had our back for a short night. I’m not even mad at Festa. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… Bazzana misplayed a rough hop in the rain and the dirt, and Hoskins failed to scoop what could only be characterized as a play my late 100-year-old grandmother could make. Once again, the Guardians defense gave away easy outs to the Twins. Alan Roden walked it off for the Twins later that inning.

Quick recap of the pitchers used tonight, along with their final lines:

Cecconi: 3.2IP 6H 3ER 4K 1BB

Holderman: 1.1IP 0H 0ER 0K 0BB

Herrin: 0.2IP 0H 0ER 0K 0BB

Armstrong: 0.2IP 0H 2ER 0K 2BB

Sabrowski: 0.0IP 0H 0ER 0K 3BB

Gaddis: 0.2IP 2H 0ER 0K 0BB

Cade: 1.0IP 0H 0ER 2K 1BB

Festa: 0.2IP 3H 1ER 1K 1BB

Cade, DeLauter, Rocchio (1/4, HR, 3 RBI), Hedges (2/4), and Holderman are the only Guardians that I’m not presently pissed at. Everyone else should try meditating, or yoga, or solidcore, or literally anything to prevent this game from ever happening again.

Hope you enjoyed this recap. Goodnight and good riddance to this awful game. See you Friday!

Jose, please come back.

With the Mets not having an off day until the All-Star break, New York is calling up right-hander Dan Hammer ahead of Thursday's series finale with the Royals, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

Hammer, 28, has made 27 appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He's pitched to a 2.16 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP while striking out 38 batters across 33.1 innings between the two levels. With Syracuse, Hammer has pitched to an impressive 1.77 ERA across 17 appearances with the Triple-A club. 

Before signing a minor league contract with the Mets this spring, Hammer spent six seasons in the Orioles and Rays systems. After being drafted by Baltimore in the 13th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Tampa Bay selected him in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft. 

Whenever Hammer takes the mound for the Mets, it will be his big league debut. 

As for whose spot Hammer will take, it's currently unclear. The Mets recently recalled Xzavion Curry from Triple-A on Wednesday and the right-hander tossed 22 pitches in his one inning of work in the Mets' win, so it could be him.

Hammer's recall and the corresponding move will be official shortly before the Mets wrap up their series at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday. 

Brett Baty entered the eighth inning of Wednesday's game with the Royals with the bases loaded and two outs, and his team up only 2-1. 

As we saw in Tuesday's rollercoaster affair, a one-run lead was a precarious place for the Mets, so tacking on more runs was imperative for Baty and his team. The left-handed swinging infielder was already 0-for-3 on the day -- his hitting streak in jeopardy -- and was down in the count 1-2 to Alex Lange. The Royals' right-hander threw a changeup down that caught too much plate and Baty made him pay, lacing a single that drove in two.

"It was huge," Baty said of his hit after the Mets' 6-2 win. "It was awesome to come through in a big spot like that."

Baty is not having the season he or the Mets hoped he would. While defensively he's helped the club play multiple positions, including some he's never played before this year, his offense has left a lot to be desired. 

He entered Wednesday's game hitting .218 with a .603 OPS. But that two-run knock extended his hitting streak to a career-best eight games. Over this hitting streak, Baty is batting .300 (9-30) with four doubles and four RBI.

"Coaching staff is doing a nice job with him right now," interim manager Andy Green said of Baty. "There’s much more action to the pull side with him right now than it was for the majority of the season. He’s lacing doubles in the gap to the pull side, he’s allowing himself to take a swing and miss and not change who he is… He’s maintaining aggression. Really encouraged with that. 

"Really feel like he’s letting it go at the plate and trusting himself. That’s ultimately how you have to hit at this level, you can’t hold anything back. He’s winning to the pull side more frequently than he was earlier in the year."

Baty was asked about whether he's done anything different at the plate during his hitting streak and the 26-year-old said he's taken a simple approach: hit the ball hard.

"My pregame work is really good right now. Trying to just clear my head and trying to hit balls hard," Baty said. "I’ve always been good at that. And the first part of this year, I was terrible at it. Just trying to hit balls hard again."

With Jorge Polanco and Francisco Lindor back from injury, Baty is encouraged by what he's seen from the offense, especially in that five-run eighth inning. In fact, the Mets have scored six or more runs in their last four games and are 3-1 in that span.

"This whole season, we’ve known what we could do as an offense. It’s just about going out there and doing it every single night," Baty said. "We got guys that specialize in getting on base, scrappy at-bats, and we got guys that can put it in the seats too. It’s a complete lineup when we’re firing on all cylinders." 

The White Sox bats have gone comatose.

Four singles. That was it. Chicago never seriously threatened a rally in a 5-0 snoozer against Boston, snapping its winning streak of 10 straight home series. The offense has seemingly vanished, producing just one run in 21 innings dating back to the Cleveland series. (Thankfully, the Guardians bailed the South Siders out by getting walked off in Minnesota.) The All-Star break can’t get here fast enough.

Davis Martin came out dealing, mowing down Boston on 10 pitches in the first with two loud fly outs and a K. Jake Bennett matched him, and Martin tossed another clean frame in the second. Early hope, quickly dashed.

Chicago squandered its best scoring opportunity in the second when Chase Meidroth singled and Sam Antonacci walked to put two on, with nobody out. Cue the collapse: Braden Montgomery whiffed on a high heater, Junior Perez watched strike three zip by, and Kyle Teel dribbled one to kill the rally before it started.

Boston cracked Martin hard in the third. A leadoff walk to Jarren Duran, a sac bunt by Carlos Narváez and a single by Tsung-Che Cheng put Boston on the board. Chen then scooted to third on a Teel miscue. The mess continued with another walk, this time to Anthony Seigler, then Ceddanne Rafaela laced a double to make it 2-0. A wild pitch uncorked by Martin allowed Seigler to race home before Perez ended the mess by colliding with the center-field wall.

Luisangel Acuña tried to spark something with a leadoff single in the third, but the next three Chicago hitters went quietly on a fly out, line out and ground out. Story of the night.

The Red Sox padded their lead in the fourth, collecting four singles to plate two more runs. The five-run home outing was particularly uncharacteristic for Martin, who had allowed just four total earned runs across his previous seven Sox Park starts combined. His night ended after four innings, as Will Venable gave him the hook to bring out Chris Murphy for the fifth.

Murphy danced out of trouble after a leadoff double and a hit batter, while Seranthony Domínguez worked around a walk to Cheng in the sixth after Teel erased the would-be thief at second:

None of it mattered.

Antonacci singled in the fourth only to be wiped out by a double play. How about Acuña’s hit in the fifth? Nothing. The Sox went quietly the rest of the way, four straight innings with three up, three down. Four base hits, zero clutch — 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

Defensively, the White Sox did themselves no favors either. Acuña booted one, Teel let a ball get by, and Martin spiked a pitch. Sloppy all around, as Boston coasted to the shutout.

Even though he tossed five scoreless innings in Wednesday's win over the Kansas City Royals, Mets starter Christian Scott believes there's still lots of room for improvement.

The 27-year-old told reporters after the game that he didn't have his "best stuff" and credited catcher Francisco Alvarez for calling a strong game against a Royals squad that had scored 31 runs in their last two games.

"I felt good about it. I didn't have my best stuff today, but I thought Alvy called a heck of a game to keep the hitters off balance," Scott said. "It's a team that scored a lot of runs recently. I'm just trying to mix speeds and do my best to stay in the strike zone, out of the strike zone, help them expand a little bit. But yeah, I thought Alvy called a great game, defense played great, and obviously A.J. [Ewing] leading off gave us a boost there. I'm just riding that wave."

Scott noted how he had to battle through the first two innings and was able to hold the Royals scoreless despite throwing 49 pitches. He thought his cutter was strong, especially against left-handed hitters, and his slider was working well, too, in tough counts.

Overall, Scott allowed three hits and struck out five with a walk over 90 pitches, lowering his season ERA to 3.17. Looking ahead, the right-hander knows there's more he can accomplish.

"There's always something to get better at," Scott said. "For me, I know it's going deeper in games. I take that to heart; I take that personally. Being able to go out and do that consistently is my goal. I'm always throughout my career going to be trying to get better at something. For me, right now, that's what I'm going for.

"Going deeper in games can help this bullpen out, help the team out. Being able to do that hopefully gets us more wins. That's my goal going forward and I'm excited to do it."

Interim manager Andy Green agreed, saying the two spoke after Scott's night was done and believes "he's better" than he was Wednesday night.

"It's a great outing, you go five scoreless innings, right on 90 pitches. It's a great outing. He's better than that, too, at the same time," Green said. "...He can step on the neck of the other team when he gets two quick outs. That's how he's going to get deeper into the baseball game. It was great. I don't want to take anything away from it. Knowing what someone has inside of them and what they're capable of... the process stuff for Scotty can get better and better.

"And part of that, he's coming back off of TJ, he's pitching in his first full major league season. He's doing a lot of great things, but the bar is going to be held really high for him because we think he can reach it; we know he can reach it. We're just going to keep talking about those things... There's another level there and even with five scoreless, we're going to keep asking for more."

With the team's support behind him, the future looks bright for the righty. He will have to wait until after the All-Star break for his next start, but will certainly be looking to complete at least 6.0 IP for the first time this season when he does.

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Anaheim Angels scored 13 runs.

Well, you might not see a more definitive baseball game than that, I reckon.

The Rangers are 1-4 against the Angels on the year now. The Angels, of course, are quite literally the worst team in the sport. The Rangers meanwhile have like a 60% shot at the playoffs. Imagine what that would look like if they could beat teams like the Angels.

The Rangers had a scant three hits tonight. Were it not for pinch hitter Kyle Higashioka hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning, they would have been shut out.

Also, Higashioka pitched the ninth.

Texas waited until the eighth to get their one run despite drawing five walks off Anaheim starter Walbert Urena, who they knocked out after four innings.

Meanwhile, MacKenzie “For Five Prospects” Gore allowed seven runs in five innings as Chris Young’s great hope has become the league’s worst starter among arms who have tossed at least 100 innings this season.

After Gore exited, the Angels scored four more runs off actual Texas relievers. They scored twice off Higashioka, which doesn’t count.

The Rangers are .500 again. At least the Mariners lost.

Player of the Game:

Up Next: The Rangers and Angels close out this series in a rubber match where RHP Nathan Eovaldi is expected to make the start for Texas opposite LHP Reid Detmers who will instantly be on Perfect Game watch for Anaheim.

The Thursday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

It takes a lot to overshadow a 4-for-4 night from Yandy Díaz. Eleven strikeouts, zero walks, and another dominant performance from the Rays’ pitching staff did just that in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Yankees.

This time it was Shane McClanahan setting the tone, followed seamlessly by Cole Sulser and Bryan Baker, as the Rays carved through New York’s lineup for a 3-0 victory. The Yankees drew no walks, struck out 11 times, and spent most of the evening chasing a moving target.

The game nearly took a different turn in the second inning.

Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe opened the frame with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners with nobody out and giving the Yankees an early chance to build momentum. Instead, McClanahan delivered a defensive play that defined his night. Max Schuemann bounced a comebacker that turned into a frantic scramble, but McClanahan calmly fielded it, flipped home to Nick Fortes, and erased Domínguez trying to score. What could easily have been a Yankees run became the second out, and when Austin Wells popped out moments later, New York walked away empty-handed.

Yandy Díaz got things rolling in the third with a double into left, his second hit in as many trips. Jonathan Aranda followed with a line drive single to right, bringing Díaz home for the night’s first run and a 1-0 lead.

McClanahan made quick work of the Yankees over the next three innings. The left-hander mixed his fastball and breaking pitches beautifully, generating weak contact early and strikeouts whenever he needed them. By the middle innings, New York hitters looked increasingly uncomfortable, often walking back toward the dugout after another late swing or frozen take.

The Rays added breathing room in the fifth, and Díaz had his fingerprints all over that rally, too.

Nick Fortes singled, Díaz followed with yet another base hit, and Aranda ripped a double into the gap to score Fortes and send Díaz racing to third. Tampa Bay looked poised for an even bigger inning before José Caballero made an outstanding defensive play for the Yankees, cutting down Díaz at the plate on Junior Caminero’s ground ball. The Rays had to settle for just one run, but the lead had doubled to 2-0.

The sixth inning delivered another reminder of how crisp Tampa Bay played defensively. After José Caballero reached on a bunt single, Fortes erased him trying to steal as McClanahan struck out Paul Goldschmidt, completing a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play. The sequence and call frustrated Yankees manager Aaron Boone enough that his argument eventually earned him an ejection, followed shortly afterward by bench coach Brad Ausmus joining him for a BOGO ejection.

The delay did nothing to cool off McClanahan, who promptly struck out Ben Rice to finish his evening.

McClanahan was efficient and dominant: 6.1 scoreless innings, five hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. The strikeout total was modest compared to the bullpen that followed, but his greatest accomplishment may have been refusing to give the Yankees free baserunners. Every hitter had to earn everything, and very few did.

McClanahan came into the game 7-0 this season and 41-4 on his career when he received at least three runs of support. The Rays found one final insurance run in the seventh. Taylor Walls worked the club’s lone walk, Díaz collected his fourth hit of the night with a sharp single, and Aranda lifted a sacrifice fly to center, pushing the lead to 3-0. Aranda finished with all three Tampa Bay RBIs, adding to an excellent season so far.

From there, the bullpen slammed the door.

Sulser inherited two runners in the seventh and escaped without allowing a run, striking out three over 1.2 scoreless innings. Baker handled the ninth with little drama, fanning all three outs around a harmless single to collect his 25th save.

By night’s end, the combined pitching line told quite a story. Eleven strikeouts, zero walks, six hits allowed, and zero runs. Dominant.

For the Yankees, there was not much to build on. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, stranded their few opportunities, and watched every flicker of momentum get extinguished before it could ignite.

The Rays look to win the series tomorrow, with Drew Rasmussen scheduled to start.

Pirates manager Don Kelly said no-no to Jared Jones’ no-no bid, pulling the starting pitcher out of Pittsburgh’s 3-0 loss to the Braves after he threw six perfect innings. 

The Pirates played it safe with Jones, who is just getting back after recovering from an internal brace elbow surgery, pulling him despite the fact that he struck out eight of the first 18 batters he faced and didn’t allow a single base runner. 

But after six innings and 77 pitches on Wednesday night, he was pulled, even as he tried to sneak by Kelly after coming off the field, much to the amusement of the Pirates skipper. 

“Yeah, I was messing around,” Jones said with a smirk about it. “Coming into the game we thought we were going to get five [innings] and the pitch count was low, so they sent me back out there for the sixth. That was all I had tonight. I was just messing around.” 

Jones acknowledged the pitch count aspect “does suck” in an instance like this, but said that he “completely understands” the decision to pull him out of the game.

Kelly called the decision to take Jones out of the game a “tough one,” however, the health of a player was at the top of his list of priorities. 

“Wanting guys to stay healthy is the number one thing with these guys because we need Jared for the rest of the season throwing the ball like that,” Kelly said. “Trying to push him right now when he’s only had five ups –  there’s just no way.” 

After Jones exited the game, the perfect outing came to an end, and the shutout ended in the eighth when Joey Bart hit a two-run home run off Dennis Santana. 

The Braves added another run in the top of the ninth.

A season in which the Mets are playing out the string before even the All-Star Game arrives belongs in the trash. 

But in that garbage can, there are items that can be dusted off and preserved for a future that looks far less rancid than the present. 

In A.J. Ewing, the Mets might have discovered their leadoff hitter and center fielder — a remarkably valuable combination — for the better part of the next decade. 

In Carson Benge, the Mets are watching a promising rookie blossom into something greater, each at-bat stronger than the last. 

And Ewing and Benge may spend years tracking down fly balls to help out Christian Scott, who has bounced back from surgery to look like a fixture in the Mets rotation. 

The three youthful standouts stood out in Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over the Royals, during which the Mets rode a five-run eighth — the run-scoring work all coming with two outs, courtesy of a bases-loaded drilling of Jared Young, a Brett Baty single, a wild pitch and a Francisco Alvarez single — to win just a second game at Citi Field in their past nine. 

Ewing continued to look more than comfortable both against big league pitching and atop a lineup, stepping up as the Mets leadoff hitter in the first and redirecting a fastball 420 feet to center for the only run the Mets would score until the 11-batter eighth, in which Ewing helped the cause by serving a double to left-center. 

During a breakout minor league campaign last year, Ewing totaled three home runs in 124 games. On Wednesday he homered for a second straight night and third time in four games. 

“I’m super comfortable in the box right now,” said the 21-year-old, who has launched seven in 53 games. 

“There continues to be evolution in every aspect of his game,” said interim manager Andy Green, who had previously watched that evolution in his role atop player development. 

One of Ewing’s partners on the grass is the 23-year-old Benge, who singled in the fourth and sixth to make it three straight games with multiple hits. At the end of April, the rookie owned a .525 OPS and was the subject of questions regarding whether he would be optioned. That OPS is now .737. 

His most impressive plate appearance came in the eighth, when he extended the two-out rally by turning a 1-2 count into a 10-pitch walk. 

Ewing’s other partner on the grass is the signed-through-2039 Juan Soto. 

It looks as if at least one aspect of the Mets is settled. 

“It’s a dynamic outfield with young kids playing alongside the best hitter in the game, and the young kids play the game the right way,” Green said before the Mets (39-54) won a third game in their past four. “I think a lot of people, from the scouts that found them to the people that coach them, helped those guys take steps forward, and now they belong in the outfield. They know it.” 

Scott, meanwhile, might have been forgotten about last year, when the trio of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong teased that they might be the future of the rotation in Queens. McLean will be, Sproat is in Milwaukee and Tong in Triple-A Syracuse, while Scott, fully rehabbed from 2024 Tommy John surgery, has asserted once again that he belongs. 

On Wednesday, the 27-year-old threw five shutout innings in which he let up just three hits and walked one while striking out five, slicing his ERA to 3.10 in 12 starts. 

By just about any measure, Scott enjoyed a great night. Yet this great night was not enough for an organization that sees a higher ceiling and longer nights of work in Scott’s future. 

“It’s a great outing. You go five scoreless innings, right on 90 pitches,” Green began, before adding the but: “He’s better than that.” 

The righty needed 90 pitches to record 15 outs because of lapses such as the second inning, when he got two quick outs before falling behind Nick Loftin, 3-0, for an eventual walk. He fell behind the next batter, Isaac Collins 3-1 and allowed a hit. 

In motivating one more piece for the future, Green said Scott must learn to “step on the neck of the other team.” Scott heard him. 

“There’s always something to get better at,” said Scott, who has not yet completed the sixth inning this season. “For me, it’s going deeper in games.”