Category: Baseball

Perspective Check: Four teams with more wins than the Cubs, 91.6 win pace. The Cubs and Phillies had been matching each other, seemingly daily. But the Phillies finally lost on a day when the Cubs won and so the Cubs now lead them by 1.5 games for the top Wild Card spot (though they own the tiebreaker with the Phillies anyway). The Cubs are 3.5 games clear of the Cardinals who sit fourth in the WC race. The Cub run differential sits fifth, behind the three NL division leaders and the Yankees. The Yankees largely gave up on winning games a couple of weeks ago, so it’s hard to imagine they will stay up there. Of course, the Cubs have no pitching, so it’s hard to imagine them staying up there either.

This game was a familiar “shape.” The two most common types of wins for the Cubs this year are late team at-bat wins and games where they score nine or more. So this was another nine or more run outburst. The Cubs are now 15-0 when they score nine runs (and 21-1 when they score at least 8). The story isn’t how good the record is, even at seven runs, you should win the overwhelming majority of the time. The story is how often they’ve had these huge games. The Cubs are 29-3 when scoring seven or more runs. So 32 of 92 games, more than a third, have seen seven or more runs. They are 36-4 when scoring six or more. You get the picture. When the offense finds that higher gear, the team wins. But you can flip it, if the team doesn’t score six runs, they are just 16-36. You want that equilibrium point lower. But that’s a sign of how shaky the pitching staff is.

This game displayed so much of 2026 baseball. Colin Rea got knocked around a little bit, though he was only charged with three runs. He ends up coming away with a win because the offense was outstanding, riding a barrage of homers to a win. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two of those homers, becoming the first 20/20 player in 2026 and looking like a near lock for 30/30 if he’s healthy. I saw someone describe PCA as the highest ceiling Cub player he’s ever seen. I find no faults in that argument. We have seen some amazing Cub seasons through the years. But we haven’t really seen an all-around gifted Cub player like PCA is, maybe ever. And I say that with someone who was whole heartedly on the Kris Bryant bandwagon a decade ago.

When asked, I’ve said this on social media. I do think at some point there is a path for PCA to be in the MVP conversation. It will always be Shohei Ohtani’s to lose. When you are a once in several generations player, you should probably win the MVP every year. I hated it when they used to pass around the MVP in the NBA when it was clear that Michael Jordan was the best player on the planet every year. At some point, being able to hit and field has to have some measurement against being able to hit and pitch. That said, Ohtani has been a very good pitcher and one of the best hitters on the planet for a while. I feel like the “at some point” involves Pete getting way beyond Ohtani’s hitting numbers. People generally don’t go beyond Ohtani’s hitting numbers, but if he could do that and play platinum glove defense, I would think it isn’t crazy to have the discussion.

At the end of the day I don’t care. I mean I’d love for Pete to grab some hardware along the way. But I want to see the Cubs win championships. An MVP trophy does nothing to make that happen. I do very much want to see Pete play the next two and a half months the way he’s played the last month and a half. What should be a 35/35/100/90 type of season helps buoy an entire offense. Besides, Platinum Gloves and Silver Sluggers are hardware too. Go get those awards.

Getting back to the game, Cub lefties had a rough night. Drew Pomeranz allowed two runs on three hits, one a homer. Caleb Thielbar allowed a pair of homers. I know they were both in strike throwing mode with a growing lead. But any way you slice it, not optimal. The two lefties combined to face 13 batters, allow six hits, four runs, three homers. Ouch. Most nights, that gets your brains beat in.

The Cubs only had eight hits, though they drew four walks. The offensive output was what it was because the team slugged five homers. Rough night for Alex Bregman after coming away with a couple of RBI in the series opener. But he did hit two very long, loud outs. You do ultimately need to see his power effect games, so I’ll take the loud outs.

Three Positives:

• Obligatory Pete in the top spot. Two hits and a walk. Three runs scored. Oh yeah, both hits were homers.
• Jacob Webb had a very mundane ninth inning, getting three ground outs for his third save to tie the team lead.
• Carson Kelly had a homer and a walk, scored twice.

Game 92, July 8: Cubs 9, Orioles 7 (52-40)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.296). 2-4, 2 HR, BB, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Hero: Carson Kelly (.129). 1-3, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
• Sidekick: Jacob Webb (.091). IP, 3 BF (Sv 4)

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Colin Rea (-.049). 5.1 IP, 22 BF, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 2 K (W 7-5)
• Goat: Ian Happ (-.040). 1-4, K
• Kid: Caleb Thielbar (-.031). IP, 6 BF, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K

WPA Notes: Thielbar’s inning is a reminder of how improbable large comebacks are. He allows two homers, cutting a four run lead to two. That feels like a massive swing, but in the eighth inning, that moved a 4 percent chance to win to 7.2 percent.

WPA Play of the Game: Pete Alonso’s two-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Orioles a brief two-run lead. (.190)

Cubs Play of the Game: A minor oddity in that this is the third straight game where the Cubs have won and not recorded the biggest WPA play. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s tie-breaking, fifth inning homer. (.150)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 91 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 97 percent of 73 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +24
• Carson Kelly +16.5
• Michael Busch +14
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Trent Thornton +12.5
• Dansby Swanson -9
• Edward Cabrera -9.5
• Phil Maton -10
• Caleb Thielbar -15
• Seiya Suzuki -16.5

This is what this list looks like when you have one dominant player and a wide supporting cast.

Up Next: The third and final game of the series was moved to this afternoon (12:35 p.m. CT) due to anticipated evening storms in the Baltimore area. The Cubs can pick up another sweep. A battle of lefties. Newcomer David Peterson (4-7, 6.75) tries to bounce back from getting rocked last time out (10 ER in 3.2 IP). Former 2017 first round pick of the Marlins (13th overall) Trevor Rogers (6-7, 4.70) goes for the Orioles. Trevor has really turned things around, he is 4-1 with a 2.38 over his last seven starts (41.2 IP). For the third straight game, I’ll note this is not am optimal matchup on paper.

It was a very busy day down on the farm with a mixed bag of results from Gwinnett down to Augusta. There were plenty of homers and strikeouts to go around, so let’s get into it.

(42-45) Gwinnett Stripes 3, (54-35) Memphis Redbirds 7

• Sandy Leon, C: 1-3, HR, RBI, R
• Brewer Hicklen, CF: 1-5, HR, RBI, R
• Garrett Baumann, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Box Score

Garrett Baumann got roughed up in his fifth start for Gwinnett, as the righty gave up five runs on seven hits while being handed the loss in this one.

Wednesday’s outing marks the fourth straight start in which Baumann has allowed five or more earned runs as he currently carries an ERA of 10.38 across 21.2 innings of work at the triple-A level. While he’s kept the walks under control for the most part, Baumann has been giving up a ton of loud contact to the tune of 10 homers across those 21.2 innings. That’s simply not going to cut it at any level, much less triple-A.

One has to wonder how long the leash for Baumann is with Gwinnett before he’s sent back down to double-A to correct a few things.

At the plate, the Stripers actually almost matched Memphis hit for hit in this one, but ultimately came up short.

Two of the bright spots offensively came courtesy of Sandy Leon and Brewer Hicklen who launched their first and 15th homers of the season, respectively, to pace the offense.

(37-41) Columbus Clingstones 3, (31-52) Birmingham Barons 2

• Luke Waddell, SS: 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 2-3, 2B, R
• Lucas Braun, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 12 K

Box Score

While their triple-A counterparts struggled on the mound, the same could not be said for Columbus as the Clingstones rode an absolutely dominant and record-setting performance from Lucas Braun to their 37th win of the season.

To date, Wednesday’s start was the best of the season for Braun, who struck out an even dozen batters in seven innings of work while holding Birmingham to just two runs on six hits. The 12 strikeout mark sets a Clingstones’ franchise record.

It’s the sixth straight solid start for Braun. Dating back to June 6, Braun has tossed 35.1 innings while giving up just six runs in the process. He has also struck out a dominating 40 batters across that span as well.

It appears as though Braun has made some serious corrections since being demoted from Gwinnett. Now the only question is: when will he rejoin the Stripers?

Getting back to Wednesday’s action, while Braun’s offense was almost as stymied, the Clingstones scratched out enough at the plate to get the win — thanks in large part to the bat of Luke Waddell.

With a pair of homers on the night, Waddell both paced the Columbus offense while also tallying his best start of the season thus far while also driving in all three of the Clingstones’ runs as well.

Patrick Clohisy also had a solid night at the plate, going 2-3 with a double and a run scored on one of Waddell’s homers.

(40-40) Rome Emperors 2, (39-42) Hudson Valley Renegades 7

• Tate Southisene, SS: 1-3, HR, RBI, R
• John Gil, 2B: 0-3
• Eric Hartman, CF: 0-4, K
• Ethan Bagwell, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Box Score

Rome came up on the short end of things on Wednesday to drop the high-A squad back down to .500 on the season.

Ethan Bagwell made his second start of the season for Rome on Wednesday and while it wasn’t as good as his first — in which he tossed six scoreless frames — it was still a somewhat decent outing for the righty. Across five innings of work, Bagwell surrendered eight hits, two of which were homers, and four runs while walking a pair and striking out three.

Offense was hard to come by in this one for Rome as the Emperors were limited to just two runs on three total hits across nine innings.

Colby Jones registered a double and John Estevez singled, but the biggest swing of the night came courtesy of Tate Southisene who took a backdoor breaking ball and pulled it over the left center field wall for his third homer of the season with the Emperors.

(47-36) Augusta GreenJackets , (46-35) Hickory Crawdads 7

• Luis Guanipa, CF: 4-5, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Conor Essenburg, RF: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Alex Lodise, SS: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Cooper McMurray, 1B: 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI, R
• Michael Martinez, DH: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Carter Holton, SP: 4 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K

Box Score

In an offensive-dominated game, the GreenJackets ultimately rode five home runs from five different players to victory on Wednesday night.

Both offenses got going in a hurry as six total runs (three apiece) were scored in the first inning.

Trailing 3-0, Luis Guanipa homered in the GreenJackets first at-bat of the game to put Augusta on the board. Then, after a Conor Essenburg walk, Alex Lodise launched a an absolute rocket of a two-run shot to tie things up at 3-3.

The month of July has been very good to Lodise who has seen a power surge at the plate. In seven games and 27 at-bats since July 1, Lodise has homered three times while driving in six along the way. He has also posted an OPS of 1.049 for the month as well.

Starter Carter Holton didn’t have his best stuff as he gave up four runs on nine hits across four innings in his fourth start (fifth total appearance) with Augusta.

While that wasn’t great, his offense luckily came out to play.

In the bottom of the fifth, Conor Essenburg decided to get in on the fun by launching a solo shot — his seventh of the season — to cut the deficit to 5-4. In the next frame, Michael Martinez smashed a two-run homer of his own to give Augusta the 6-5 lead.

As if that wasn’t enough, Cooper McMurray — who doubled earlier in the game — followed up with a solo shot in the very next at-bat to extend the GreenJackets lead to 7-5.

Essenburg came through with a much-needed insurance run later in the inning — an RBI-single — to make it an 8-5 advantage for Augusta, which proved to be critical.

As for the rest of the GreenJackets pitching staff, Logan Forsythe, Daniel Brookes and Adiel Melendez — who recorded the win — combined to toss five innings of three-run ball while striking out five.

Hubie Brooks is our 3rd entry in our continuing series chronicling the upcoming 40-year anniversary of the 1986 ASG at the historic Astrodome.     

Brooks would play 15 seasons in the majors, with his first All-Star Selection occurring for this very matchup.  

Q:  You had some amazing teams in Montreal, loaded with talent.  What stood out to you about those teams?

A:  It was something.  Tim Wallach, Tim Raines, Andres Galarraga, Andre Dawson, Vance Law, I could go on and on.  We had some great players.   

The problem was at the time, the Mets were really good also (laughs) and in 1986 in particular, they ran away with things.    

Q:  You were on a tear during the opening half of the 1986 season.  You were batting cleanup.  You had 14 HR and 54 RBI.  Did you enjoy batting cleanup?   

A:  I would do anything to win.  So whatever capacity they could utilize me, that’s what I was going to do.  My job was to produce runs when guys were in scoring position.   I was fortunate because it felt like Tim Raines and Andre Dawson were on base a bunch ahead of me.  That’s why I had an opportunity.   

Q:  Let’s talk about July 15th at the Astrodome and the Mid-Summer Classic.  What was that night like for you?

A:  It was my first one and I just tried to soak it all in.  I sat in my locker before the game and just observed and took it all in and all of those great players around me.  You know what was crazy was at the time they had this guy running around (Barry Bremen) called  “The Great Imposter” and he tried to crash the team photo.     

Tommy Lasorda saw this and ran over to him and gave him the most profanity-laced tirade I had ever heard in my life (laughs).  You’ll remember at the time, this guy was crashing events everywhere.  Tommy gave him the riot act and he was removed from the field and taken away.   

Q:  So late that night, the National League begins mounting a comeback, you put up two runs in the 8th inning.  You reached base.  Did you feel you were going to come back and win that thing?  The N.L. had a reputation at the time for dominating that event back in those days.

A:  Yeah.  100%.  I thought we were going to win.  I really thought we could, and we had our chances but give them credit because they made more plays.

Q:  The next year, you’d return to the All-Star Game, and your teammate Tim Raines would join you and be named MVP that night out in Oakland.  Why do you think it took so long for Raines to be elected to Cooperstown? 

A:  I honestly don’t know.  I can remember that Andre Dawson, who is Tim’s best friend, would always tell him to just be patient and that one day it would happen and then it happened.  That was a great moment.   

The Royals have not historically been a great organization at identifying and developing hitters with strong plate discipline. Since 2000, the Royals swing at more pitches out of the strike zone than any team and rank dead last in walk rate. Too often, the Royals have leaned toward toolsy hitters with athletic upside that come with swing-and-miss concerns, rather than prioritizing hitters whose value is anchored in strike-zone control, contact quality, and good swing decisions.

That may be changing under scouting director Brian Bridges. A common theme in the last two draft classes has been hitters who have a plan when they step up to the plate, with less of an emphasis on speed burners or guys with raw power.

The upcoming draft provides an opportunity for the Royals to improve their stock of hitters in the farm system with some players who can work the count and find a good pitch to hit. Here are some college hitters who may be available after round one that have exhibited some good plate discipline.

OF Logan Hughes, Texas Tech

Baseball America rank: #45

Hughes is a power hitter who has smashed 37 home runs over the last two seasons for the Red Raiders. He hit .375/.510/.735 with 18 home runs and 50 walks in 55 games this year, earning Baseball America second team All-American honors. They write he is a “patient and selective hitter who does a nice job staying within the strike zone” with a “penchant for putting the barrel on the ball even on the rare occasions when he does expand the zone.” Despite his prodigious power, he wasn’t a swing-and-miss guy, with a terrific 12.2 percent strikeout rate in his career. Hughes doesn’t offer a lot of size or athleticism, and will likely play in the corners, but he brings elite bat speed, a terrific hit tool and good eye to the plate.

OF Ty Head, North Carolina State

BA rank: #52

Head brings a great approach with solid tools as a left-handed hitter. His 88% overall contact rate and 91% in-zone contact rate put him among the better pure hitters in the class. He hit .291/.460/.556 with 57 walks and just 23 strikeouts in 56 games with the Wolfpack this year, and posted similar strikeout and walk numbers last year. There is some swing-and-miss risk in his timing and a tendency toward a “slap” approach that can limit damage, but evaluators believe there is real hit-tool upside if the swing is refined. Head is a plus runner who could handle centerfield at the pro level, and he developed some decent power this year with 14 home runs.

OF Caden Bogenpohl, Missouri State

BA rank: #110

A native of the Cape Girardeau area, Bogenpohl is physically imposing at 6’5”, 245 lbs. His exit velocities were among the best at the MLB Draft Combine with Baseball America describing his batting practice as exhibiting 80-grade power. On the other hand, Bogenpohl hit just six home runs for the Bears, hitting .274/.427/.413 with 52 walks in 55 games and a higher groundball rate than you’d like for a guy with his profile. At the combine, he had a more upright stance with a “simpler pre-swing load” so he could unlock more power with good instruction at the pro level. While he does walk, he can have issues with secondaries, and scouts wonder if his plate judgment will translate at the pro level.

OF, Brayden Dowd, Florida State

BA rank: #178

Dowd began his career at USC, but ended up at Florida State, hitting .293/.456/.527 with 51 walks in 51 games last year. Standing at just 5’10”, he is far from a toolsy hitters, but has a compact left-handed swing with excellent fastball recognition. Baseball America notes that against high velocity (93+ mph) pitches, he has a terrific 96% contact rate. He has some pop, smacking ten home runs last year, but scouts wonder if he will have any power with wood bats. He did struggle last summer in the wood bat Cape Cod League. The Michigan native has above-average speed, and may be able to stick in centerfield.

3B/OF, Brayden Martin, Maryland

BA rank: #225

Martin stands out for elite contact ability rather than loud offensive production. His contact rates are exceptional- 95.6% overall and 97.1% in the zone – and his approach is defined by extreme selectivity at the plate, including a very low swing rate. He struck out just 20 times in 286 plate appearances, while drawing 56 walks.

The question isn’t whether he can put bat to ball, it’s whether the passivity and lack of impact contact limit his ceiling against better pitching. He hit just five home runs in three seasons with the Terrapins, and isn’t likely to develop more pop on his small frame.

2B Joe Tiroly, Virginia

BA rank: #238

Tiroly is a polished college hitter whose value starts with his approach rather than his tools. The Virginia infielder consistently controls the strike zone with excellent swing decisions and strong bat-to-ball skills, rarely expanding the zone and projecting for an above-average on-base percentage. He hit .319/.408/.576 with 30 walks and low strikeout rate of 16 percent. He hit 16 home runs, but is more of a line-drive hitter who makes solid contact. He’s a right-handed second baseman, a profile that isn’t widely coveted, but if he can continue to hit, he’ll make teams regret not choosing him.

Others:

Jaylon Lucky, Southern

Kent Schmidt, Georgia Tech

Kai Wagner, Pitt

Greetings folks, and a happy Thursday to you.

The Mariners lost a snoozer to the Marlins yesterday, falling 2-0 with another hapless performance from the offense.

A question for you to ponder on this fine morning in advance of the series finale: who is the most Mariner-like Marlin, and who is the most Marlin-like Mariner?

In Mariners news…

• Ryan Divish at The Seattle Times wonders if the Mariners should have more than one All-Star this year.
• Emma Cortes Ellendt at Forbes went behind-the-scenes to learn more about the Mariners’ new influencer strategy.

Around the league…

• Veteran right-hander Justin Verlander announced that he will retire at the end of the season. Verlander was also just selected to the All-Star team as a “legend pick.”
• Bradford Doolittle eulogized the amazing and unique career Verlander has enjoyed.
• We have some new Home Run Derby participants, with the Royals’ Jac Caglianone and the Red Sox’s Willson Contreras each announcing they will compete.
• Former Mariners righty Gregory Santos has elected free agency. Santos has had a rough season between the majors and Triple-A in the Giants organization.
• The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) unveiled the names and logos of its four teams in advance of its inaugural season, set to begin on August 1.
• Carlos Collazo at Baseball America provided his penultimate mock draft with less than a week to go until the first round begins. ($)

Anders’ pick…

• This is gonna hit so hard in December.

As has been the case more often than not of late, it was not the Yankees’ day on Wednesday. In an important divisional match with the first place Rays, the Bombers were shut out, and will be forced to try for a split in the series’ fourth game on Thursday. Now five games out of the top spot in the East, New York has plenty of work ahead them as we march closer to the All-Star break.

Regardless, there was plenty of other important baseball going on around the Junior Circuit on Wednesday. Amid some blowouts, gems on the mound, and the narrowing of standings, let’s take a look at what went down.

Boston Red Sox (42-48) 5, Chicago White Sox (47-44) 0

In a battle of the Sox, those of the Red variety had control over Wednesday’s game for much of its duration. After a pair of scoreless innings on both sides to begin the game, Boston jumped out to a five-run lead in a hurry. In the third, RBI knocks from Tsung-Che Cheng and Ceddanne Rafaela helped to plate three, while the same from Carlos Narváez and Cheng scored two more in the following inning.

The outburst in the middle innings was actually the extent of the scoring on either side, as the Red Sox cruised to victory in Chicago. The story of their day, however, was the pitching. Starter Jake Bennet had his best stuff working on Wednesday, as he tossed seven scoreless innings, while striking out four and walking just one. It was his fourth consecutive start of six or more innings, as the lefty continues to pitch well for the Sox.

Boston’s win gets them to within a few games of the final wild card spot, while Chicago’s loss only tightens the situation in a rather close American League Central. With three different teams within two games of first place, the division could once again remain close for much of the season.

Other Games

Toronto Blue Jays (44-49) 10, San Francisco Giants (38-54) 0:

On the topic of top-notch pitching, Dylan Cease was about as good as it gets in San Francisco on Wednesday. The highly talented righty took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Giants, and although he lost the no-no to the first hitter of that frame, Cease finished with a pristine line of eight scoreless innings with eleven strikeouts racked up. All the while, the Toronto bats backed up their starter with double-digit runs, fueled by Kazuma Okamoto’s grand slam, and homers from Vlad Guerrero Jr. and George Springer. The Jays creep back to within 2.5 games of a wild card berth with their dominant win by the Bay.

Miami Marlins (51-42) 2, Seattle Mariners (47-46) 0:

Remaining on the theme of shutouts, the Mariners dropped a tough one on the road against the Marlins. Early runs for Miami, thanks to extra-base hits from Kyle Stowers and Xavier Edwards gave them the lead, while another excellent effort on the mound allowed them to keep it. Miami’s Tyler Phillips along with three relievers kept Seattle out of the run column wire-to-wire, as the Fish continue to impress, holding onto the last wild card spot in the NL. With the disappointing loss, the Mariners shrink their lead in the West to just a half-game, as their situation becomes a bit troubling as we head toward the second half.

Minnesota Twins (46-47) 6, Cleveland Guardians (47-46) 5:

In the closest game on our docket for the day, the Twins walked it off in the ninth to close the gap between them and the Guardians. It was a close battle throughout on Wednesday, as both clubs matched each other with three runs in the fourth inning, and two in the seventh to knot things up at five. The big hit came from Alan Roden in the bottom of the ninth, with his walk-off “single” that hit about half-way up the big wall in right-center sending the Twins and their fans home happy. The dramatic wins gets the surprising Twins a bit closer to the action in the Central, as they now sit just two games out of first place.

As we all know by now, the Washington Nationals are scoring a lot of runs. They are the only team in baseball to cross the 500 run threshold, and also lead baseball in home runs and stolen bases. James Wood is a massive part of this run scoring machine, not just due to his 25 homers and .948 OPS, but also due to just how many runs he is scoring. 

James Wood has scored 85 runs this season. I am going to try and contextualize just how crazy that is. He leads all of baseball in runs scored, and it is by an absolute landslide. The Nationals right fielder has scored 21 more runs than the player in second place, which is jarring if you ask me.

The gap between James Wood and second place Bryan Reynolds is the same as the gap between second place and 86th place. It goes to show how potent the Nats offense has been, and also how productive Wood is. You have to give a lot of credit to Blake Butera for sticking Wood in the leadoff spot.

At first it seemed like a bit of a wonky fit, but it has been a stroke of genius. Wood is constantly on base, with a .402 OBP. His intimidating presence also forces pitchers to show their whole arsenal right from the jump. If you make a mistake to Wood to start a ball game, he will make you pay, as shown by his 8 leadoff homers. 

We have seen power hitters leadoff before, and it is becoming more common in the game. Davey Martinez famously moved Kyle Schwarber to the leadoff spot, and that propelled a massive home run binge for him. However, Wood is an even better fit for the leadoff spot because of his athleticism.

When Schwarber got on base, he would clog up the basepaths. Despite being a massive human, Wood is an above average runner, and a threat to steal bases. Wood has 15 stolen bases on the season, which is actually the same amount as CJ Abrams. Between the on base ability, and Wood’s athleticism, it is no shock that he scores a lot of runs.

Runs scored is obviously not a purely individual stat though. You need your teammates to drive you in. That is exactly what Nats hitters have been doing. Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams are second and third in RBI this season. James Wood is the runner they are driving in on many occasions. 

A July 7th post said that Wood was on pace for 142 runs, a number that will be higher after he’s scored 4 runs in the last 2 games. If he breaks the 140 run barrier, he will join Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Alex Rodriguez as the only players 23 or younger to score that many times.

As Dan Kolko said on the broadcast last night, Nats fans are almost used to seeing their young outfielders be in that kind of company. Between Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and now James Wood, this franchise has had so many record setting superstars. Hopefully we will be able to keep this one around.

Another crazy stat was shown that had Wood in the same breath as Bonds. However, it might not be the Bonds you are thinking of. Wood joined Bobby Bonds as the only players to have 85 runs, 25 homers, 60 RBI and 15 steals before the All-Star Break. Talk about filling up the statsheet.

This James Wood runs scored stat might be my favorite statistic of the season. It not only tells you about Wood’s dominance, but it also shows how elite the offense has been as a whole. There are other players with high on base percentages, but none of them come close to Wood’s 85 runs because they don’t have the type of protection he does.

James Wood is the engine of the Nationals offense, but a car has many parts. You need an exterior, an interior, and a driver. The Nats have that as well with players like CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead. Watching this offense has been such a blast this year. Remember when we were worried about the offense coming out of Spring Training?

So much has changed since the beginning of the season, and most of it has been for the better. I am at the point where I really think the Nats should buy at the deadline to try and take advantage of this offense. The offense is likely to be good moving forward, but there is no guarantee it will be this dominant again. They should not sell off the farm or anything, but it would be a disservice to this group to not go after a controllable arm or two.

They do not need to make a Mason Miller type trade to make this bullpen better. All they need to do is bring in a couple solid arms. Even if they simultaneously sell off a piece or two, I still think the Nats need to be on the hunt for arms.

I got a little sidetracked there, but James Wood is having a truly historic season. Nats fans have seen a few generational talents roam their outfield, and James Wood is the next in line. In a perfect storm season, James Wood not only leads baseball in runs scored, but he is lapping the field when it comes to touching home plate.

Could you imagine scoring 22 runs and coming within one hit of losing a game? That’s what happened to the Ontario Tower Buzzers, but all is well that ends well in a day of no defeats in the Dodgers minor league system.

Player of the day

While the hitting candidates were plentiful as the Tower Buzzers put up 22, no hitter in that game secured multiple home runs in the same important manner as did Zyhir Hope. The Drillers’ outfielder basically carried the team’s entire offense on his back in a 7-2 win.

Although it is only July 9th, it is already the fourth game securing at least five total bases for Hope this month, who hadn’t homered twice in the same game since the start of June. The lefty-hitting outfielder is already up to 76 RBI on the season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

It’d be tough to ask for much more out of Zach Ehrhard, who has now passed the 60-RBI mark on the season—Ehrhard hit one of the Comets’ four homers, an inside-the-parker at that, to lead the way for a win over the Chihuahuas by a score of 9-2. Alek Thomas left the yard twice, and Noah Miller had the other home run.

In a game in which both sides combined to allow more hits than strikeouts, the work of veteran Cole Irvin got the job done for OKC. Irvin covered six innings of two-run ball, handing it off to a bullpen that tossed three scoreless without allowing a single hit.

Lastly, Ryan Ward needed just one single to become the all-time hits leader in the OKC’s Bricktown era, reaching 463 total and leaving behind Drew Avans, now second on the ranking.

Double-A Tulsa

Any Hope of winning this game against the Cardinals went through Zyhir, who homered twice and drove in five of the Drillers’ seven runs with those key long balls, his only hits in the game. In fact, considering Chris Newell also left the yard, the only Tulsa run that didn’t come via the long ball came on a Mike Sirota RBI triple, the man who can’t stop reaching base safely.

Pitching, only one of the three runs let across by Adam Serwinowski was earned, as the southpaw managed to earn his seventh win of the season. While they ran into a bit of trouble in the ninth inning, Kelvin Ramirez came in to secure a two-out save, carrying Tulsa to their 56th win in 83 games.

High-A Great Lakes

Working well with runners in scoring position (5 for 11), the Loons overcame a 4-1 deficit in the fifth inning to beat the Dragons 8-4 at home. The combination of Charles Davalan and Eduardo Quintero at the top of the order had a great performance, responsible for half of the team’s RBI, with Quintero hitting the team’s only home run, a solo shot in the first.

Because the Loons only took the lead after Aidan Foeller left the mound, having covered 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts and allowing three runs across, the win was left for Matt Lanzendonfer, his third on the season.

Single-A Ontario

One occasionally hears of football scores in a baseball game, but nothing quite as shocking as this 22-21 by the Tower Buzzers over the 66ers. In this game both sides combined for 33 hits, six errors, and four half innings with at least six runs scored.

It was by the thinnest of margins that Ontario escaped one of the all-time minor collapses in this one, considering they scored the game’s first 16 runs through three innings. Mairoshendrick Martinus and Ching-Hsien Ko combined to strike out five times, but each had an outstanding game of their own, responsible for 10 of the team’s 22 RBI. On top of those two, Jaron Elkins and Joendry Vargas also left the yard with multi-run homers.

Jholbran Herder tossed a couple of scoreless innings to begin the game, but then virtually any reliever that the Tower Buzzers sent to hold this sizeable lead seemed intent on giving it up. With the most alarming of appearances coming from Dailoui Abad in a ninth inning in which he allowed six runs to come across. The game ended with the tying run in scoring position and Jecsua Liborius punching out Ryan Piccolo, who had reached base all three times up at the plate before that at-bat.

Wednesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 9, El Paso 2
• Tulsa 7, Springfield 3
• Great Lakes 8, Dayton 5
• Ontario 22, Inland Empire 21

Thursday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Sean Patick) vs. Dayton (Kyle McCoy)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Davis Martin) vs. Springfield (Chen-Wei Lin)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Jackson Ferris) vs. El Paso (Evan Fitterer)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Inland Empire (Jose Romero)

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Another busy slate across the majors presents value in my MLB same-game parlay predictions. 

Today's selections will include the likes of Jesus Luzardo, Nathan Eovaldi, and the red-hot Jo Adell. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Thursday, July 9.

Today's best MLB SGP picks

Game	SGP Odds
SEA vs MIA	+335
PHI vs CIN	+675
LAA vs TEX	+1200

Mariners vs Marlins SGP: Another gem from Miller

Bryce Miller continues to dominate for the Seattle Mariners. The righty owns a 2.17 FIP over his last two starts, and he hasn't allowed a single walk during that span.

Miller has also held opponents to a 30.9% hard-hit rate over the last month. He's cashed the Under in earned runs allowed in two of his previous three outings. 

The strikeout prop for Miller is also a no-brainer tonight. His total is set at a modest 5.5, and the 27-year-old has easily surpassed that in six straight. He's struck out 11.57 hitters per nine innings across his last four starts. 

Cal Raleigh is in the midst of a four-game hitting streak, and he has an impressive 50.3% hard-hit rate over the last week. 

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Mariners.TV, Marlins.TV

Phillies vs Reds SGP: Luzardo quiets Reds

Jesus Luzardo has been inconsistent at times this season, but he's improving a lot lately. Over his last two starts, the Philadelphia Phillies lefty has posted a terrific 1.56 xERA, and he's hit the Under in earned runs allowed in both outings. 

Luzardo is also consistently pitching deep into games. He's lasted into the sixth inning or longer in three of his last four. Over the last month, opponents have only had a 31.3% hard-hit rate. 

Youngster Justin Crawford has multi-hit games in back-to-back appearances, and he's batting .353 over the last six games. He'll face Cincinnati Reds starter Brady Singer tonight, who has an alarming 44.4% hard-hit rate and 14.8% barrel rate in his last two outings.

This is a clear chance for Crawford to stay hot. 

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Reds.TV, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Angels vs Rangers SGP: Adell keeps raking

Nathan Eovaldi certainly hasn't been dominant this season, but as always, he's still racking up the Ks. The veteran has struck out 10.57 hitters per nine innings across his last five starts.

The righty has easily surpassed tonight's total in three straight outings, posting nine Ks in each. 

Jo Adell is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. He has seven hits in his last three games, and Adell just went 2-for-4 on Wednesday with two homers. Eovaldi has allowed a 39.3% hard-hit rate over his last two outings.

There's some vulnerability that Adell can capitalize on. 

Mike Trout has collected a hit in nine consecutive games. While he just returned from the IL, the veteran has continued to make quality contact, producing a 45.8% hard-hit rate over the last month. 

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ABTV, Rangers Sports Network

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Michael King was pulled with a 3-0 lead after 75 pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start, which ultimately became a 4-3 loss after an error and a grand slam followed his departure. He came into the contest between the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks looking to replicate the success from his previous start and he did just that allowing one run on four hits over six innings of work. King limited the walks in his outing, allowing two free passes, and struck out four on 92 pitches as the Padres earned a 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks at Petco Park on Wednesday.

The Padres offense supported King’s effort with runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-1 lead. San Diego then added two runs in the fifth inning and four runs in the sixth inning to take a comfortable 8-1 lead. Arizona added two runs to its total in the top of the seventh inning when Tommy Troy connected on a two-run homer against reliever Ron Marinaccio which made the score, 8-3. San Diego immediately responded in the bottom of the inning, adding two runs to its total to give the Padres a 10-3 lead. The Diamondbacks tacked on a run in the top of the eighth inning,

San Diego got contributions from the majority of the lineup with only Gavin Sheets being held without a hit. Miguel Andujar recorded three doubles and Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Luis Campusano each had two hits in the game with Campusano recording his first home run of the season.

Padres News:

• The San Diego farm system has seen several changes over recent days, and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides details on who moved up, who moved down and who was released.

• The Padres have had a first half of the season to forget when comes to their pitching staff. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball looks ahead to what the rotation could look like following the All-Star break.

• The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching, and Gaslamp Ball asks readers how they would handle that time on the baseball calendar.

• Samad Taylor is the latest Padres player to land on the IL and Luis Rengifo was recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster.

• Manny Machado got the day off following a game in which he fouled a ball off his big toe.

• Jake Cronenworth has returned to the San Diego lineup and has supplied much needed power to the bottom of the order.

Baseball News:

• Dylan Cease came close to his second no-hitter, but the San Francisco Giants played spoiler breaking up the no-no in the ninth.

• The Miami Marlins knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies.

• Mike Trout returned to the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels and homered in his first game back.

• The Chicago Cubs knocked off the Baltimore Orioles.

The Cubs’ 9-7 win over the Orioles Wednesday evening, their third straight and 18th in their last 24, had a little bit of everything the 2026 season to date has provided.

Lots of homers? Check.

Some great defense? Check.

Some dodgy relief work, pointing out the need for bullpen improvements? Double-check, because the Cubs came close to blowing a six-run seventh-inning lead, yikes.

All right, since that didn’t happen, let’s begin at the beginning.

Neither team scored in the first two innings, though the Cubs might have on this drive by Alex Bregman in the first [VIDEO].

That was a tremendous catch by Taylor Ward. It’s not totally clear from the clip, but Ward might have stolen a home run from Bregman. At least Bregman is starting to drive the ball again. Good things should follow.

Then the Cubs got on the board in the third, thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 20th homer of the season [VIDEO].

For PCA, that makes him the first MLB player this year with a 20/20 season and also gives him this accomplishment:

Pretty, pretty cool, I’d say. PCA’s going to be a candidate for Player of the Week again if he keeps this up. One more fact about PCA’s third-inning homer from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs went 157 plate appearances without a homer from the last of the eight vs. the Padres on July 1 until Pete Crow-Armstrong’s in the third inning Wednesday night.

The Orioles tied the game off Colin Rea in the bottom of the third, scoring a run on a double play. Then Rea gave up a two-run homer to Pete Alonso in the fourth that gave Baltimore a 3-1 lead. For Alonso it was his 16th career homer off Cubs pitching, the most off any team not in the NL East, where he used to make his home.

The Cubs came roaring back to take the lead in the fifth with three more long balls of their own.

Michael Conforto led off the fifth with his eighth of the year on the first pitch of the inning [VIDEO].

That made it 3-2 and on the very next pitch, Carson Kelly tied the game with his fifth [VIDEO].

Two pitches, two runs, pretty efficient! More on these two homers from John:

The homers by Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly were just the Cubs’ second back-to-back blasts this season. The previous pair were by Alex Bregman and Ian Happ on March 29, at home vs. the Natiionals.

The Cubs hit 16, 12, 20, 10 and 10 pairs in the last five seasons. They have homered back-to-back 408 times in the regular season since 1876, plus 11 sets of back-to-back-to-back, for a total of 419 sets of consecutive homers.

After Dansby Swanson grounded out, PCA went deep again for No. 21 [VIDEO].

And just like that, the Cubs had the lead again.

Rea was removed with one out in the sixth with another decent outing, the only real mistake the home run pitch to Alonso. Drew Pomeranz finished up the sixth without incident and then the Cubs blew the game open — or so we thought! — with a five-run seventh.

With one out, Carson Kelly walked and Dansby Swanson singled. The O’s called on Grant Wolfram, who had faced 113 batters before this game and walked four of them. Of course that meant he walked the first hitter he faced, PCA. (And you think the Cubs have bullpen issues. Well, yes, they do, but so do a lot of other teams!)

That loaded the bases for Bregman [VIDEO].

The sac fly made it 5-3, and both trailing runners moved up. Michael Busch walked to load the bases again — that means within three batters, Wolfram had walked half as many as he had for the entire season before this game.

Then Wolfram gave the Cubs another run on this wild pitch [VIDEO].

This was Grant Wolfram’s night to do stuff he hadn’t done all year. Before this game he had not allowed a single home run, as noted, among 113 batters faced. That streak reached 116 with the three batters faced in this game up to this point.

Seiya Suzuki ended that streak by launching this monster three-run shot [VIDEO].

That ball: Crushed! [VIDEO]

The Cubs had a six-run lead heading to the bottom of the eighth. You would think that would be enough.

My friends, it almost wasn’t. Pomeranz, left in to throw the seventh, allowed a home run to Tyler O’Neill that made it 9-4, and then two more singles before he was replaced with Trent Thornton. Thornton finished off the inning, but not before he gave up an RBI single, the run charged to Pomeranz. Still, it’s 9-5 going to the eighth. What could possibly…

Don’t finish that question and don’t answer it. Two more O’s homers off Caleb Thielbar — who’s really not having a good year at all — made it 9-7. That included O’Neill’s second homer of the game, and the fourth Orioles long ball to add to the Cubs’ five homers on the evening. And things could have been worse. After the homers, with two out Jackson Holliday doubled, bringing Gunnar Henderson to the plate as the potential tying run.

Henderson hit a line drive up the middle… and Swanson made this spectacular diving catch to end the inning [VIDEO].

Right there, that could have saved the game.

But could the Cubs record three outs in the ninth without giving up two runs?

Well, you now know the answer to that. Jacob Webb, who’s done a decent job filling in as closer for Daniel Palencia, recorded the first two outs of the ninth, both ground balls, on just four pitches. Then he ran a 1-2 count on Alonso… at which time some idiot ran onto the field. As is normal policy for TV channels, Marquee correctly didn’t show this, though Boog and JD said this person was wearing Cubs garb. Don’t do that. Just don’t. Seriously.

Anyway, when order was restored Webb got Alonso to hit a dribbler to end the game [VIDEO].

For Webb, that was his, uh, team-leading fourth save. So, yay?

Sure, yay. Someone’s got to do the job. But clearly, in addition to needing some rotation help, the Cubs need bullpen reinforcements. Some might come when injured relievers (including Palencia) return. But Jed Hoyer should also be exploring the trade market for relief pitchers.

Here’s PCA on his homers and Dansby’s defense [VIDEO].

One last note, this one on the Cubs’ five-homer game, from John:

After hitting five home runs in a 6-0 win over the Red Sox at Wrigley Field on July 19, 2025, the Cubs did not hit five again in 149 consecutive game. Now they have done it in three of their last seven: five on June 30, eight on July 1 and five vs. the Orioles — with none in the four games between the last two.

The Cubs picked up a game on the Brewers, who lost Wednesday to the Cardinals, and trail Milwaukee by six games, while still leading the third-place Cardinals by 3.5 games. The Cubs also lead the Phillies by 1.5 games for the top wild card spot.

All’s well that ends well, though, and the Cubs continue to find ways to win. They’ll go for the series sweep Thursday afternoon — and that’s a change, the game’s been moved up to 12:35 p.m. CT due to impending weather in Baltimore Thursday evening, as noted here last night. David Peterson gets the start for the Cubs and Trevor Rogers goes for the O’s. TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network and the BCB game preview will post at 11 a.m. CT.