Category: Baseball

With the 2026 season now wrapped up for Mizzou Baseball, Kerrick Jackson & Co. currently find themselves navigating a heavy wave of departures. To date, a dozen Tigers have officially entered the portal.

The list of talent includes five pitchers and seven position players, featuring several notable names who saw extensive action this season. Names like Blaize Ward and Kaden Peer, alongside key players such as Chris Patterson and Sam Parker. For a detailed, player-by-player look at everyone who entered the portal, check out our complete offseason post here.

New Talent Arises

With that being said, the focus in Columbia is already shifting to the wave of exciting new talent coming in to play for the Tigers.

Leading the charge for the incoming transfers is Florida Gulf Coast University shortstop Wilfred Gonzalez, who officially became Mizzou’s first portal commitment on Wednesday, June 3. The Miami, Fla., Gonzalez brings an elite bat to the Tigers’ lineup after putting together a stellar season for the Eagles.

He managed to bat an impressive .323 while racking up 74 hits, 11 doubles, 2 home runs and 30 RBIs. As an incoming senior, Gonzalez provides Mizzou with a a heavy approach that will hopefully translate well against elite SEC arms.

Securing a capable infielder will be the first vital step in rebuilding from what has been lost. This ultimately proves that the Tigers are moving in the right direction to reload just as fast as they lose talent.

We’ll be using this landing page to provide all the additions to the Tigers’ roster.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that team captain and star outfielder Aaron Judge is set to undergo further imaging on his injured ribs as well as his chest.

Yesterday, Boone said that Judge was dealing with a bone bruise in his upper right ribcage. The skipper called Judge's injury, which had been lingering for a couple of weeks, a "day-to-day situation."

The three-time (and currently reigning) American League MVP has not featured in their current home series against the Cleveland Guardians. In his absence, the team has begun to falter, losing 9-4 on Tuesday and 5-4 on Wednesday. His status for the weekend's three-game tilt against the Boston Red Sox remains uncertain, but few would be surprised to see him miss out on that crucial rivalry matchup entirely.

Following Wednesday's loss, Boone told the media that he expects to learn more about Judge's condition "later tonight or tomorrow," explaining that because the organization doesn't yet know "what exactly [Judge is] dealing with", there is still no timeline or expectation for Judge's return to the lineup.

To this point, Judge's slash line reads .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI. It speaks to Judge's greatness that a .907 OPS is the mark of a "down year."

The last time Judge missed significant time was 2023, when he missed 52 games due to torn ligaments in his right big toe and a hip strain.

The Diamondbacks won’t be getting Corbin Burnes back any time soon.

The Arizona ace, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, suffered a shoulder strain during his rehab and will pause his throwing program, manager Torey Lovullo said, according to The Arizona Republic.

Burnes, 31, underwent surgery last June and had been attempting to return by August, but will now likely have to wait until September, per Lovullo. 

“It’s a blow,” Lovullo said. “It’s something that we’re going to have to deal with. It’s just what we do in this game. We’ve got very qualified players in that clubhouse that are going to get some opportunities. We’ve got five really good starting pitchers right now and they’re doing a good job. I want that to continue.”

Lovullo said Burnes felt “something was a little tight” in his throwing shoulder and underwent an MRI on Monday that showed a strain.

He added that it will be “weeks, not days,” until Burnes can begin throwing again. 

The latest setback is a major blow for the D’backs and Burnes, who signed a six-year, $210 million deal before last season. 

Burnes was one of the top starting pitchers in baseball before coming to Arizona, making four All-Star teams and posting a 2.94 ERA from 2021-24. It was the fifth-lowest ERA in baseball among pitchers with at least 400 innings on the mound over that stretch.

He looked the part during his brief stint with the Diamondbacks in 2025, posting a 2.66 across 11 outings before going down.

Despite Burnes’ absence, Arizona is sitting at 32-28, which is tied with the Padres for second place in the National League West heading into Wednesday’s action.

Tonight, the Yankees were a cat that couldn’t catch the mouse. To be fair, the mouse in question was capable of dealing mighty blows to the cat. The Guardians grabbed their well-earned series win in the Bronx by flexing their muscles, clubbing three home runs off Gerrit Cole and always finding the timely hit to keep the tardy Yankee offense from responding with enough pop of their own. Gavin Williams was far from terrific on the mound for Cleveland, but the bullpen was able to stifle the Bombers just enough for a 5-4 final.

Cole’s scoreless streak to begin his season was snapped by a single swing in the second. Kyle Manzardo scooped a tumbling curveball — far from the worst offering of the game from Cole — and elevated it high and far to the facing of the second deck for a 1-0 Cleveland lead. We saw that power from him a few postseasons ago; his seventh long ball of the year gave the Guards the initiative.

Thankfully, the Bombers bashed back. Jazz Chisholm Jr. probably wasn’t consciously trying to clock a ball further than Manzardo did, but that’s what he did to lead off the second against Williams. Jazz turned on a belt-high heater from the tall right-hander and launched it 409 feet to reach the second deck. Of course, with nobody aboard, the homers counted the same; we were back to even.

The Cleveland offense which was in a groove last night found their stride again in the top of the fourth inning. It started with a hot line drive off the wall from José Ramírez that a strong throw in from José Caballero limited to a single. Ramírez would be able to trot home thanks to a two-out thunderstrike from veteran power bat Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins seized on a hanging slider from Cole and kept his blast fair down the left field line to make it 3-1 Cleveland.

Once again, the Yankees were able to respond quickly, albeit not with a two run shot. Still, a homer is a homer, and Caballero was more than willing to provide with a skyscraping fly ball to left that eluded the Guardians’ Angel Martínez and nestled into the glove of a Yankee fan and brought the Bombers within one.

Martínez lobbied for fan interference, but let’s face it; he’d have to be Victor Wembanyama’s height to snare that one. Or perhaps Mitchell Robinson’s — this is Knicks country, after all.

Unfortunately, Cole continued to struggle to keep the ball in the ballpark. The Guardians are not known for their proficiency against velocity, but it’s still unwise to give a center-cut offering of any speed to José Ramírez. The superstar third baseman continued his excellent career performance against Gerrit with a solo shot to right, restoring the two-run advantage at 4-2.

Manzardo continued the extra-base hit parade by smacking a double to the gap, then a walk to Hoskins spelled the end of Cole’s night. It wasn’t entirely fair to say Cole didn’t have his stuff per se, but every mistake he made was punished in a timely fashion. His breaking pitches routinely caught too much plate for a lineup that was suddenly geared to do damage, especially down the foul lines. Gerrit departed in line for the loss, replaced by Fernando Cruz.

Cruz did his job to strand the duo on base, but the Yankees had work to do against Williams, who was operating on cruise control aside from those solo homers. Ben Rice jostled him a bit with a leadoff double to start the home sixth, then advanced to third on a productive out from Paul Goldschmidt. That was sufficient to chase Williams from the mound.

Steven Vogt brought in lefty Tim Herrin to face Cody Bellinger, but the left-on-left matchup never daunts Cody. He made quality contact to center field for a lineout, and Steven Kwan airmailed the throw home to allow Rice to score easily on the sac fly. Herrin, who was in the game just as much to face Jazz as he was to face Bellinger, retired the Yankee second baseman to hold the lead at 4-3.

But the scuffling Yankee bullpen backpedaled. Tim Hill’s recent funk continued: he surrendered some more loud noises as Ramírez collected his third hit, and Manzardo nearly scored him on a booming double off the center field wall. Ramírez’s helmet flew off and obstructed him in a rare twist of good fortune, forcing him to retreat to third. Naturally Paul Blackburn entered and promptly wasted the lucky break by serving up a perfect batting practice ball to Hoskins, who scored Ramírez on a simple single to left. Once again, the Guards led by a pair.

Like last night, the Yankees bats were unable to solve Hunter Gaddis, who put up a zero in the bottom of the eighth, then a clean ninth from Blackburn brought this irritating game of cat-and-mouse to its final frame.

Goldschmidt came to the dish ready to hit against closer Cade Smith, rapping a double into the left field corner to immediately bring up Bellinger as the tying run. A lawn dart from Smith immediately moved Goldschmidt up 90 feet, Cody repeated his sixth-iunning act by grabbing a sac fly, but it seemed to have ultimately done Smith a favor. He roared back to strike out Chisholm, then got Caballero to pop out to end the night.

The Bombers continually played from behind tonight, and never found the big hit they needed to flip the script. They fell 5-4.

The Yankees will seek to salvage the final game and ward off a sweep at the hands of the AL Central leaders. Carlos Rodón will toe the slab, giving this Cleveland lineup which has found success against the Yankees’ righties a different look. Slade Cecconi will oppose Rodón, with the Thursday matinée kicking off at 1:35 PM on YES.

Box Score

Both starters were dealing tonight. Despite that, the Royals were able to get on the board early. Vinnie Pasquantino turned on a fastball in the first inning and drove it out of the park down the right field line. Bobby Witt Jr. had walked on four pitches right before that, so the Royals had a 2-0 lead just three batters into the game.

After that, Chase Burns only allowed a few Royals on base and when he did, he would just strike everyone out to prevent them from coming around to score. He struck out 9 Royals across his six innings before turning it over to the bullpen.

Stephen Kolek also felt like striking out a lot of batters today. Through four innings he was straight up dominant before it seemed his command started to wane a bit. In the 5th inning this got him into a little trouble. Will Benson led off that inning with a bunt single because the defense was back and shaded to pull leaving the third base line a long way from any defenders. That ended up not mattering because Kolek rolled up a double play and looked like he was going to get through five without any runs, but Matt McLain had a seeing eye single to keep the inning going and get it back to the top of the lineup. Blake Dunn then saw a slider break into the middle of the zone and drove it out to tie up the game. Kolek still managed to get through 7 innings and struck out 8 for the second time in his career. The final line was 7IP, 6H, 2BB, 2ER, 8K. He had 7 Ks through three innings though, so his slider that was dominant early lost some of its power the 2nd and 3rd time through Cincinnati’s order.

In a year that has mostly gone wrong, Stephen Kolek has been a bright a spot. He now has a 3.32 ERA and four of his six starts have been quality starts. Not bad for a guy who was 7th on the depth chart for the rotation.

With the starters out, it was a new game all tied up. Daniel Lynch was the first out of the pen for the Royals. Other than a load double off the wall from pinch hitter Dane Myers, Lynch looked in control. The Reds’ relievers only allowed a single to Pasquantino in the 7th and 8th. The Royals then got something going in the 9th. Jac Caglianone led off the inning with his second single of the night, which brought in Tyler Tolbert as a pinch runner. Isaac Collins then sac bunted him to get a runner in scoring position with Michael Massey coming up. Tony Santillan was having his attention divided watching Tolbert on base and trying to pitch to Massey until finally, on the 8th pitch of the plate appearance, Michael singled to right and got the Royals back ahead 3-2. There was still only one out and a runner on. Nick Loftin came up to try and get some insurance runs. Ryan Lefebvre then said, “Loftin has not hit a home run yet this year”. Two seconds later he did just that and the Royals’ lead was extended to 3.

Lane Thomas, who pinch hit for Kyle Isbel in the 7th, walked and that ended Santillan’s night. Zachary McCambley was next up and had his major league debut. He struck out Carter Jensen and started heading for the dugout, which his teammates are going to have some fun with I am sure given that there were only 2 outs. And the Royals kept making things interesting with a Bobby Witt single and then an intentional walk to Vinnie after Bobby took second on defensive indifference. Bases loaded, Salvador Perez coming to the plate, but it was not to be as he struck out and the lead stayed 5-2.

The Royals have blown multiple saves through this bad stretch of baseball. Lucas Erceg was not given the opportunity to have a fourth consecutive blown save and Alex Lange came in to try and close it out. Spencer Steer immediately doubled into the left field corner and that sinking feeling started to creep in. The Reds did have their 7, 8, and 9 hitters coming though. Benson struck out on a check swing and Cincy decided to pinch hit with Edwin Arroyo and his 1 career hit after making his debut on Monday. He was called out on a slider that hit the top of the zone for strike three. Noelvi Marte was up and things got a little weird. He checked his swing on the first pitch for a ball, but then said it hit his arm, so the Reds decided to challenge. They did not win the challenge and Marte returned to the batter’s box. The next pitch was called a strike and Marte challenged that turning it into a ball and eventually leading to a walk. Dunn was back up with a chance to hit a second game-tying home run of the day, but then he bunted the first pitch foul? Bunting with 2 outs and runners on first and second was a strange choice. He then hit a fly ball to center than Lane Thomes caught ending the threat, giving the Royals a win for the game and the series.

That was an uncomfortable ninth inning, but the bullpen did its job tonight. Thanks to Kolek they only needed to take care of two innings and they did. Next it is off to Minnesota for four games against a division rival who is not very good, though their record is still quite a bit better than Kansas City’s.

Blue Jays 3 Braves 7

We got more than 2 runs!!!!

They should have scored a few runs in the first inning. It started single (Nathan Lukes), single (Yohendrick Piñango) and walk (Vladimir Guerrero). The walk included Vlad challenging a called strike, which, the review showed, was easily a strike. I hate blowing a challenge in the first inning.

Anyway, I digress…..

Bases loaded, no outs, you start to hope for a big inning.

Nope.

Jesús Sánchez hit into a double play (scoring a run) and Ernie Clement struck out.

We got the other run in the third, Lukes homered.

Patrick Corbin wasn’t good. He gave up a run in the second and three more in the third (Mauricio Dubón homered). He ended up allowing four earned in five inning.

Yariel Rodríguez pitched a quick sixth and got one out in the seventh, with a walk. Adam Macko came in and gave up a single and a home run, before getting out of the inning.

Hayden Juenger had a 1, 2, 3 eighth.

Brandon Valenzuela crushed a home run in the ninth, 399 feet. But that was it for ninth inning fun.

I thought the Braves organist deserved points for playing ‘if I only had a brain’ when Myles Straw came to bat in the ninth.

We had 8 hits and 3 walks. But an 0 for 4 with RISP didn’t help (though it says a lot that we only had four runners in scoring position).

Joe did a rant about the Jays not catching a popup, saying it would the little things that were killing them. I respectfully object. They are losing because they aren’t scoring, But your mileage may vary.

Jays of the Day? Well, there wasn’t any. Lukes had the high mark at 0.07 WPA.

Other Award: Corbin (-0.24), Sánchez (-0.12), and Macko (-0.9).

Tomorrow we have game three of this series. And it is a bullpen day, while the Braves will start Chris Sale (8-3, 2.01). That should be fun.

In a game that seemed to speed up within each inning, the Atlanta Braves secured a 7-3 win against the Toronto Blue Jays to secure the three-game mid-week series.

Looking at the highlight of the night first, Mauricio Dubón’s three-run homer is what forced a stop to Patrick Corbin and the Blue Jays.

After a grounded double-play by Jays’ Jesús Sánchez to kick the game off, Ha-Seong Kim hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second to bring in Eli White for the Braves’ first run of the night. Blue Jays Nathan Lukes answered back in the top of the third with a homer off Grant Holmes’ slider (2-0).

That put Atlanta on notice and brought Dubón out for his go-ahead three-run home run to drive in Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies for a two-run lead (4-2) against Toronto.

The Blue Jays stayed stuck for the remainder of the game as Corbin tried to get settled in his five innings, while keeping his team in the contest, but it only amounted to one strikeout and four earned runs off of the six hits and two walks he gave up.

Tonight was Corbin’s 22nd career start and 24th total appearance against the Braves, and the loss marked his 12-game losing streak against the team dating back to September 2019.

The story didn’t end there, however. The Braves decided they wanted to extend their stretch towards the end, so Ozzie Albies hit a three-run homer of his own in the bottom of the seventh to drive in Dominic Smith and Olson for a five-run lead, 7-2.

Fun fact: all of the Braves’ runs were scored with two outs against them.

The Blue Jays not only could get a runner in scoring position, but also couldn’t get a hit until a single from Ernie Clement in the eighth, yet it didn’t amount to a productive result until the ninth, where Brandon Valenzuela homered in an attempt to climb back in contention (7-3).

That would be the final run of the night before Tyler Kinley closed out with a string of sliders to strike out Blue Jays’ Myles Straw and seal the win.

As for Holmes, he ran into a bit of trouble with bases loaded and no outs in the top of the first inning, but ended with a quality start (6 IP/ 2 ER/ 5 H/ 2 BB/ 4 K) on 89 pitches to keep the Braves’ defense in the game and hold the Blue Jays scoreless for the remainder of his outing.

Tomorrow, the Braves look to close out their series finale with Chris Sale on the mound. Tune in at 7:15 p.m. EDT to see if the Braves pick up where they left off with the left-handed ace to back them up.

The Yankees offense never kicked into high gear and Gerrit Cole's white-hot start to life back on the mound ended in a 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium.

New York drops to 36-25, and is now a full game (1.0) back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East division lead.

Here are the takeaways...

-Team captain and star outfielder Aaron Judge missed his second straight game due to a nagging rib injury. He is still considered day-to-day for the time being, with the organization awaiting further clarity on the severity of the issue.

-Yankees middle infield duo Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jose Caballero dealt the only damage to Guardians righty Gavin Williams with a solo shot for each. Williams posted a strong start despite those two runs allowed, striking out six Yankees while allowing just four hits and one walk through 5.1 innings.

-Yanks ace Gerrit Cole, who hadn't given up an earned run through his first two stellar starts back from his lengthy absence due to injury, finally looked mortal on the mound. He was tagged for four earned runs, all of which came on three home runs, across 5.1 innings. He struck out just two Cleveland batters and allowed six hits before Boone called on trusty reliever Fernando Cruz, who answered the bell by retiring all four batters he faced tonight, striking out three.

-Tim Hill dug a deeper hole for the Yankees in the top of the eighth, allowing one run on two hits before Paul Blackburn relieved him to limit the damage and keep the score 5-3.

-Despite a Paul Goldschmidt leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth, eventually coming around to score and cut the lead to 5-4, standout Cleveland closer Cade Smith handled the heart of the Yankees batting order and picked up his 21st save of the season.

Game MVP: José Ramírez

J-Ram was 3-for-4 with a homer tonight, showcasing to the New York crowd why he'll very likely wind up in Cooperstown one day.

Highlights

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homers to right field to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/USSKHwOCWs

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 3, 2026

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homers to right field to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/USSKHwOCWs

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 3, 2026

What's next

The Yankees close out their three-game series against the Guardians tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:35 pm. Carlos Rodón (3.32 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season for New York, squaring off against Cleveland righty Slade Cecconi (5.25 ERA).

Headed into the weekend, the Bronx Bombers will extend their home stand with another three-game set, this time against the archrival Boston Red Sox. 

SEATTLE — Jonah Tong received a parting message from Mets brass after Tuesday night’s game: throw strikes.

The right-hander was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse after a rough outing as a bulk reliever, allowing the Mets to add a fresh bullpen arm for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners.

In 10 innings over three appearances following his recall, Tong walked seven batters. That included two over 3 ¹/₃ innings in his latest outing, in which he surrendered four earned runs on five hits.

“Go down there, continue to work on some of the things that he needs to work on, especially throwing strikes, competing in the strike zone,” manager Carlos Mendoza said as the Mets avoided the sweep with a 7-1 blowout win over the Mariners. “This is a guy, he’s too talented and obviously we need to see consistency with him throwing strikes and we need him to go down there and develop.”

The Mets recalled reliever Joey Gerber from Syracuse.

As for Tong’s rotation spot of sorts — he was pitching behind an opener — Mendoza indicated the built-in off days Thursday and Monday allow the team to leave it vacant the next turn through the rotation.

Kodai Senga threw 91 pitches over five innings in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse.

He allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

The right-hander could potentially return to the Mets next week, but also may be asked to start again in the minor leagues.

Jorge Polanco played first base in a rehab game for Syracuse, but Mendoza said it hadn’t been decided whether the veteran infielder will rejoin the Mets this weekend in San Diego.

Once he rejoins the Mets, the switch-hitting Polanco is expected to serve primarily as a DH.

Jared Young went 2-for-5 with an RBI double, giving him three multi-hit games this season. … The Mets’ three stolen bases matched a season high. Juan Soto, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing each swiped a base, giving the Mets three players with a stolen base in a game for the first time this season.

SEATTLE — Freddy Peralta hadn’t resembled much of an ace over the last few weeks, but Wednesday he gave the Mets a reminder of why he was so coveted for this season.

But first, Peralta had to overcome the sting of allowing a homer to J.P. Crawford leading off the bottom of the first inning for the Mariners.

“In my career it’s happened a lot,” Peralta said after the Mets’ 7-1 victory at T-Mobile Park. “It just gave me an alert like, ‘This is the only one you should get today and keep fighting and forget about that one.’ ”

Peralta proceeded to record 18 outs without allowing another run. Overall, he lasted six innings and surrendered six hits and two walks with six strikeouts. It was needed length from Peralta following a 4 ²/₃-inning stint against the Marlins last week.

“Six innings from him and he had to work — they had some traffic, but he made some pitches when he needed to,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought the fastball played at the top [of the strike zone] and he threw some real good sliders. It was good overall up and down, but it started with Freddy and we needed that one.”

Peralta got Randy Arozarena to ground into a double play to end the third inning.

Josh Naylor grounded into a double play to end the fifth. Peralta then fired a perfect sixth, concluding his afternoon at 101 pitches.

The pitch count matched his second-highest total of the season.

“Coming from a bad outing, I knew that I had the responsibility today to do my best and just give [the team] an opportunity to win,” Peralta said.

The right-hander, who signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Mariners in 2013 — he was later traded to the Brewers — was on the mound for the first time in this ballpark.

Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Joey Gerber combined for three hitless innings behind Peralta.

Peralta called this win “huge” — it allowed the Mets to avoid getting swept.

“Now we are going to San Diego with fresh minds and just trying to at least win the series over there,” Peralta said. “Hopefully we win three [games].”

The Orioles have played better baseball over the last few weeks, but they laid an egg tonight. Chris Bassitt labored through three innings before leaving with a possible injury, and the Red Sox broke the game open with a five-run fifth. Baltimore dropped the game 8-1 at Fenway Park.

This was the type of game that the Orioles should just flush and put behind them. The immediate attention will turn to Bassitt and any potential injury. The starter allowed a run on a single by Wilyer Abreu in the first inning, and would have allowed another if Taylor Ward hadn’t thrown out Abreu at the plate on a double by Wilson Contreras.

Bassitt retired the side in order in the second, but the Red Sox wore him out in the third. The 37-year-old picked up a pair of outs after a leadoff single, but Abreu pulled a two-run homer down the left field line. The Red Sox then proceeded to load the bases on a single and a pair of walks, but Bassitt got Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ground out to keep the deficit at three.

Bassitt had only thrown 56 pitches, but Albert Suárez entered in the fourth inning. Suárez struck out Abreu to leave runners on the corners, but he ran into some serious trouble in the fifth. Contreras got the rally started with a leadoff double, and Suárez walked Masataka Yoshida to place two on with nobody out.

Suárez generated what should have been a harmless fly ball for out number one, but Blaze Alexander never saw the ball in center field. The ball eventually found the grass, and both runners came around to score. Kiner-Falefa followed with a double off the green monster, and the game quickly fell out of reach. Boston added its seventh and eighth runs on a double by Caleb Durbin and a single by Ceddanne Rafaela.

Alexander has less than 10 major league starts in center field, but the Orioles felt comfortable sending him out to play a difficult center field at Fenway tonight. To be fair, Boston shortstop Marcelo Mayer lost a ball in the sky just one inning prior.

Suárez allowed five runs in two innings. We’ll now wait to see if the Orioles designate the veteran reliever for assignment for the umpteenth time. Suárez threw 53 pitches, but he could be saved if the Orioles place Bassitt on the injured list. Trey Gibson tossed 6.1 innings at Norfolk earlier today, so he would be on regular rest if the Orioles need him for Bassitt’s next turn in the rotation.

The Orioles wasted some early opportunities before the game was fully out of reach. Taylor Ward walked and Adley Rutschman singled in the first, but Rutschman was thrown out on a double steal attempt. Pete Alonso struck out swinging to end the inning with Ward at third base.

Jackson Holliday and Ward both singled in the third, but Gunnar Henderson and Rutschman came up short with runners in scoring position. Boston gave Baltimore an extra out when Mayer failed to catch a pop fly in the fourth, but Rutschman flew out to leave runners on second and third.

Rutschman eventually drove in Baltimore’s only run with a stand-up triple in the seventh.

Anthony Nunez tossed two scoreless innings and Grant Wolfram kept the Sox off the board in the eighth.

The Orioles fell to 29-33. They can still take the series with a win tomorrow afternoon when Trevor Rogers takes the mound. The Red Sox have yet to announce a starter for Game 3.

The Red Sox should really try to replicate this performance all the time at home to change their Fenway Park fate in 2026. 

Boston earned a long-desired 8-1 win at home and controlled the game from the jump to set up a matinee rubber match for the second consecutive series at Fenway. 

Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday’s win. 

TOLLE THRIVES

Payton Tolle continues to throw the ball exceptionally well.

The young Red Sox flamethrower tallied six shutout innings Wednesday night and had plenty of run support to work with. Tolle struck out five batters and set a career-high with 99 pitches. 

He had fun doing it. 

EVERYBODY HITS!

The entire starting lineup recorded a hit for the Red Sox in a satisfying offensive performance.

Boston exploded for a five-run fifth inning in cruise control as the Red Sox passed the baton with power. The lineup tallied seven extra-base hits on the night. 

The Red Sox have hammered Chris Bassitt the last two times they faced him, scoring 11 earned runs in five innings. 

FINALLY!

The Red Sox were still the only team in baseball without 10 home victories on the season entering play Wednesday night. 

Start the party! That club is now empty in 2026.

The scorching days of summer still aren’t upon us, but for Carlos Mendoza, things were getting hot amid the Mets’ struggles early this season. 

The Amazin’s have won five of their last seven games, including a victory on Wednesday to prevent a Mariners sweep, but during a 12-game losing streak in April and as other MLB managers were being canned, Mendoza acknowledged his seat felt warm. 

“I understand the situation, I know where I’m at, I know my seat, especially when you’re managing a team with high expectations, big payroll, and not having the results,” he said during an appearance on “The Show” with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman.

“I know questions like that, especially when you’re not playing well, as you mentioned a couple of weeks ago when the seat was hot and other teams are making managerial changes.”

Mendoza said that he understood that baseball is a business and that he has good relationships with Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns. 

“I spend all my energy day in and day out to be the best version of myself,” the Mets skipper said. “Whatever happens, that’s out of my hands, but I enjoy working for Steve and Alex. I enjoy working with David. I love managing the team. I love what I do, it, but I also understand that I have a responsibility here.

“Then questions like this are going to come up when the team is not playing well, and that’s part of it. You just got to embrace it, and you got to get results, that’s the bottom line.”

The Mets broke out of an offensive slump with Wednesday’s win, having scored just two runs in the previous two games, compared to the seven they scored on in the finale. Bo Bichette had arguably his best day as a Met by going 4-for-4 with sac fly.

Mendoza’s Mets are 14 ½ games back of the top of the National League East and six games back of a wild-card spot.

Shohei Ohtani faces Ryne Nelson as the Dodgers look to take two straight against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks
• Stadium: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
• Time: 6:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

All legends come to an end. If the hero fulfills his task with dignity through the end, even his defeat has something beautiful and proud in it. If he surrenders to the vice of pride before his time is over, then his defeat is only a defeat. Hercules was killed by poison, yet ascended to Mt. Olympus in death. Jason lived long enough to anger the gods who had once seen his Argonauts through many dangers, and so was killed ignominiously by falling debris from the wreck of his own ship. Cristopher Sanchez’s streak is over. Even in losing it, he found a form of nobility. There is far more of Hercules than Jason in him.

But before we can discuss the end of the legend, we must discuss how we reached it. Cristopher Sánchez entered the game with his scoreless streak at 44.2 innings, and set himself to work against the visitors from San Diego.

First on the agenda: Fernando Tatis Jr. He struck out, swinging fruitlessly at a changeup. Then Miguel Andujar. He grounded up the middle; Bryson Stott displayed his full range in grabbing the ball and tossing it smoothly to first, where it arrived just in time to send Andujar back to his teammates. The Padres challenged, the call stood. The last barrier between Sánchez and the longest consecutive scoreless innings streak any southpaw has ever produced, at least in this era, was Manny Machado. He went down 0-2 (the Padres losing an ABS challenge along the way), grounded to Trea Turner, and Sánchez etched his name in the history books.

The Phillies half of these innings, it must be said, lacked the high drama of Sánchez’ chase. Still, they dutifully lined up against Walker Buehler, and tried to produce some excitement of their own. Bryce Harper walked, Marsh lined one to right for his fifth consecutive hit, and the Phillies had runners on the corners, with two away; it came to naught.

Speaking of naught, that’s what the next three San Diegos produced. So too, unfortunately, did the next three Phils.

In the third, Sánchez faced Jackson Merrill (lined out to short), Jase Bowen (struck out swinging at a cambio), and Rodolfo Durán (walked), and Tatis Jr (grounded to short, ball tossed to second for the out). As the ball left Turner’s glove and entered Stott’s, the name “Sánchez” rose above that of Bob Gibson in the immortal ledger’s consecutive scoreless column.

In the fourth, Andujar made good contact on the first pitch he saw. A momentary chill ran through the hearts of those watching, but the ball found Justin Crawford’s glove, and all was well. Machado slapped one through the right side of the infield for a hit. But the next two Padres made outs, and the mood of the Phillies faithful resembled that of their pitcher: calm, unflappable.

He was back on the mound sooner than said fans would’ve liked. The Phillies went down in order in the fourth, with just a pair of baserunners to that point.

Ty France singled to open the fifth. No other Padre was able to follow his example in that frame.

The Phillies, playing a game of one-upmanship, opened their half of the fifth with a double from Bryson Stott. They really rubbed it in when he scored as Adolis García sent a sinker swiftly out to center. Kyle Schwarber was given the honor of an intentional walk (two nights in a row), but Turner couldn’t make them pay for it.

No Padres batter did anything productive in the sixth.

A streak is defined by an odd sort of dual inevitability: there is an ever-present sense that it will continue, must continue, and yet an ever-present sense that every sign of danger is the crack that must surely end it. In the seventh, France hit a ball up the third base line for his second hit of the night. It was a great hit, frustrating in its perfect placement, and it produced, at least in me, a dread that was greater that it ought to have been: something about the way it was hit, just inches away from being a harmless foul, made me think that something in the heavens had shifted. Shortly afterwards, Merrill received a sinker up in the zone, inside, and sent it past a diving Turner and into left. Marsh’s throw couldn’t beat France, and the streak was over. The number that will accompany Sanchez’ name through the decades was thus locked into place: 50.2.

The Phillies offense, unwilling to let Sanchez’ night be tainted by a loss, immediately went to work. Realmuto homered to left, and Schwarber homered to right, and the Phillies had a 3-1 lead.

Brad Keller replaced Sánchez. That would be a tough task on any night, and an especially unenviable one on this night. He ran into trouble, loading the bases via singles to Tatis Jr. and Andujar and a walk to Gavin Sheets. He plunked Xander Bogaerts to plate a run in particularly unpleasant fashion, but allowed no further damage.

Marsh singled to lead off the eighth, but the Phillies could not extend their lead. Jhoan Duran was thus asked to bring the night to a just conclusion: only a victory for the home club could be proper on this occasion. Let his flaming fastball light the pyre. And it did. Jhoan made Merrill line out, struck out pinch hitter Bryce Johnson, then punctuated the affair with a swinging strikeout of Samad Taylor.

Sánchez thus leaves tonight’s game without his streak, but with his bona fides as an ace, an All-Star, a conquering hero, more polished than ever. And with a win, too.

The Phillies are 32-29. They’ll conclude their series against the Padres on Thursday at 1:05.