Category: Baseball

Box Score

Both the Brewers and Cubs came into this series hot, but it was the Brewers who kept that heat going. Despite a cold opening to the game, they turned on the burners late and defeated the Cubs 6-2. It was their 50th win of the season and fifth win in a row.

Jacob Misiorowski was fired up right from the start. On his third pitch of the game, he reached 105.5 mph with his fastball. That was part of a 13-pitch inning where he struck out the first two batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Brewers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but left them stranded.

The top of the second was quick as well, with Misiorowski striking out two more. Meanwhile, the Brewers offense was mostly quiet with one exception. Cooper Pratt hit a one-out double down the left-field line for his first career extra-base hit. Pratt moved up to third on a David Hamilton groundout, but was left stranded there.

Both starting pitchers, Misiorowski and Colin Rea, continued to pitch a scoreless duel until the fifth inning. Misiorowski gave up his only run of the night to Seiya Suzuki, who hit a low slider out for the first run of the day. After that, Misiorowski lost a bit of control as he walked Ian Happ and threw a wild pitch, but escaped the inning with no more damage.

As for the Brewers, Hamilton led off the bottom of the inning with a single, then stole second and got to third on a throwing error by catcher Carson Kelly. Despite having a runner at third with no outs, the Brewers could not score him. Christian Yelich and Brice Turang struck out, and Jackson Chourio flew out.

The sixth started well for Misiorowski with strikeouts of Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong. However, he struggled after that. Alex Bregman singled to left, then Michael Busch walked on five pitches. Another wild pitch from Misiorowski moved the runners up, and Suzuki walked to load the bases. Despite being over 100 pitches, manager Pat Murphy stuck with Misiorowski, who rewarded Murphy’s trust with a strikeout of Happ to end the inning.

Misiorowski finished the night with 107 pitches thrown over six innings. It was an uncharacteristically wild night for him, as he walked four batters and threw two wild pitches. However, he limited the Cubs to one run and two hits, and struck out eight in the game.

The Brewers’ offense kept trying to break through in the bottom of the sixth. They had a good start thanks to a William Contreras single and Jake Bauers walk. That ended Rea’s night, and Craig Counsell brought in Ethan Roberts. Andrew Vaughn was the first batter he faced, and almost got out of the inning on his third pitch. Vaughn hit a line drive right back at Roberts, who snagged the baseball for the first out. Both Contreras and Bauers were halfway off their bases, and Roberts threw to Nico Hoerner at second to try for a triple play. They got Contreras at second, but Bauers just made it back to first to keep the inning alive.

All that did was delay the Brewers by one batter. The next batter, Garrett Mitchell, hit a high 1-0 cutter out over the right-center field fence. It had an exit velocity of 109.1 mph and traveled 407 feet. All of a sudden, the Brewers had a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t it for the offense in the sixth. Pratt drew a walk on five pitches, then Hamilton extended the lead with a triple down the left field line that ricocheted off the left field wall. That increased the lead to 3-1.

Yelich finished the inning with a hard hit ball, but Matt Shaw caught it to end the inning.

After Abner Uribe kept the Cubs in check in the seventh inning, the Brewers added on. Chourio led off the inning with a double off new reliever Jayden Murray. Two batters later, Contreras hit a massive 449 foot home run out over the Brewers’ bullpen. It was now a 5-1 lead.

Aaron Ashby took the bottom of the eighth and did get into some trouble. He walked the first two batters of the inning, Crow-Armstrong and Bregman. The Cubs manufactured a run after that with fly outs from Busch and Suzuki that each moved Crow-Armstrong up a base. However, Ashby didn’t allow anything else, getting Happ to fly out to end the inning. The Cubs traded three fly balls for a run, but the Brewers still held a 5-2 lead.

However, the Brewers would get that run back in the bottom of the inning. Pratt drew another walk to start the inning, then recorded his fifth steal in 10 games to put a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, Yelich hit a low and away sweeper hard enough that it should have been a home run. Crow-Armstrong made a leaping attempt to catch it, and the ball was in his glove. He couldn’t complete the catch, but did prevent the ball from leaving the ballpark. It robbed Yelich of a home run, but still went for an RBI double that scored Pratt.

From there, Trevor Megill finished out the game in the ninth. He walked Kelly, but that was it as he locked down a 6-2 win, the Brewers’ 50th of the season.

Yelich, Chourio, Contreras, and Hamilton each had two-hit days for the Brewers’ offense. Pratt also jumped in with a double and two walks, and Bauers went hitless but walked twice. Contreras and Mitchell each drove in two runs. The only two starters who did not reach base were Vaughn (who went 0-for-3) and Turang (who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts).

After the game, Contreras talked about the game and his thoughts about Venezuela in the post-game interview.

This Brewers’ team is officially the fastest to 50 wins in franchise history, and still have two more games to add on to that before the halfway point. They will send Kyle Harrison to the mound, while the Cubs will start David Peterson, who they acquired from the Mets on Thursday. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m.

Introduction

In the latest example of the linear passage of time, it’s already the halfway point of the baseball season as the D-Backs played their 81st game today in their loss against the Rays. This first half of the season has featured some high highs and some even lower lows. It’s also continued the mystifying trend of key players being hobbled by injuries that have kept the D-Backs from reaching the potential they’ve shown sporadically. Amongst that team inconsistency though, there have been plenty of exciting individual results – from electrifying individual plays to intriguing MLB debuts. And given that at 41-40, the team finds itself at exactly the same place as they were last year after 81 games, I thought it might be a good time to instead check in on the personal milestones I detailed back at the beginning of the season.

Ketel Marte’s Chase for 200 Homers

Like the rest of the team, the club’s unofficial team captain has had an uneven first half. He started the season very slowly at the plate with his OPS bottoming out at .619 at the end of play on May 15th after an 0-for-5 effort in a win against the Rockies. Even more alarming, he had hit just five home runs and only 12 extra base hits in 41 games. Since that point however, Marte has been among the league’s best hitters with a .329/.381/.580 slash line, eight roundtrippers, and 20 extra base hits in 35 games. That extended hot streak gets him at least within shouting distance of his career norms of a .280/.349/.472 slash line, 23 home runs, and 65 extra base hits. That streak also means that he still has an outside chance at reaching the 28 homers necessary to hit 200 for his career. It would require sustaining and slightly increasing it over the second half of the season, but I’m certainly not counting him out after the turnaround he’s executed already this season.

Nolan Arenado’s Pursuit of 2000 Hits

When Mike Hazen traded for Arenado this past offseason, I thought it was a pretty astute move. It shored up what was a mediocre defense last year, brought in some needed veteran leadership, and while he wouldn’t bring MVP-level offense, the team would take whatever it could get from him. Instead, Arenado has seemingly found the Fountain of Youth in the desert as he’s brought the first two elements and has been surprisingly able to contribute at the plate too. He was always going to reach 2000 career hits unless he completely cratered at the plate or he got injured and was unable to play, but he’s already at 61 knocks for the season and could get to 2000 by the All-Star Break if he gets hot over the next couple weeks. After he reaches that milestone, he can next look to his bWAR milestone of 60 which is currently just 0.9 away and he’s already accumulated 1.1 so far this season. If he were to reach that second milestone, it would make him just the 132nd position player in baseball history to reach 60 career bWAR and would likely indicate further movement towards his resurgent season with the D-Backs and even more good news for the club.

Paul Sewald Securing His 100th Save

Paul Sewald etched himself into Diamondback legend during that magical 2023 World Series run with an incredible eight game, eight-inning scoreless streak that helped the team reach that World Series. He was significantly less effective in 2024 with his ERA jumping from 3.12 to 4.31 and his ERA+ dropped from 132 to 98 (although he did secure 16 saves), prompting the D-Backs to let him walk in the offseason. Those trends continued in 2025 even if he was slightly better after getting traded, leaving Sewald in one of the lower tiers of relievers this past offseason. But given the decimated nature of the Arizona bullpen, it wasn’t a difficult ask to pencil Sewald into the closer role until some combination of AJ Puk and Justin Martinez were back from injury – something the team is still waiting to see. Under the radar, Sewald had amassed 86 saves over the past five years so this was a very reasonable milestone to reach that he actually accomplished at the end of May so the next milestone of 125 saves would only be possible if he maintains his closer status and the team continues to lean on him through the rest of the second half.

The Braves used six pitchers on Friday night to snap their four-game losing skid and finally get a west coast win, taking down the San Francisco Giants, 3-1, at Oracle Park on a foggy night.

Reynaldo Lopez started the game and was shaky in the first, allowing San Francisco’s lone run to score. Despite decreased velocity and a lot of hard contact, Lopez was able to work through three innings in his first start in nearly two months. We’ll see if he gets another turn in the rotation next week.

Dylan Dodd covered an inning effectively and gave the ball to Hurston Waldrep, who was effectively wild — to be nice — over 2+ innings. Waldrep, who was called up to the majors on Friday after a couple of shaky rehab starts, had little command of the strike zone (55 pitches, 28 strikes) but was able to work through it with four strikeouts and a couple of weak-hit grounders. Similar to Lopez, we’ll see what next week brings for the talented righty.

Dylan Lee was masterful for the seventh in relief of Waldrep, stranding two runners and making quick work of San Francisco’s middle of the order. Lee then recorded two outs in the eighth before giving way to Didier Fuentes, who promptly struck out Matt Chapman on a perfectly located fastball to send it to the ninth. Raisel Iglesias worked a perfect 9th on just 10 pitches to close it out.

The Braves didn’t exactly put on a show with the bats, but they managed to squeeze out three runs. Dominic Smith singled home Austin Riley in the second, Ozzie Albies singled home Mauricio Dubon in the third, and Albies was able to hit a deep fly ball to score Dubon again in the fifth. In total, the Braves recorded just seven singles and a double.

Saturday’s pitching matchup will feature Bryce Elder against Logan Webb. It would be swell if Bryce could find himself again. First pitch is at 9:05 p.m. ET.

The New York Rangers made their first significant move of the offseason, acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev in exchange for the 26th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a 2026 third-round pick (92 overall), and a 2028 top-10 protected first-round pick. 

This move offers insight into the direction Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury wants to take the team.

In January, Drury issued a letter to fans outlining the Rangers’ intention to “retool” the roster. 

Despite implicitly saying that the team will not be rebuilding, Drury also stated that the Rangers would prioritize “obtaining young players, draft picks, and cap space to allow flexibility moving forward,” which sent mixed messages about the franchise's exact direction.

At the surface, early signs pointed toward the Rangers looking to rebuild with the trade of Artemi Panarin, but a closer look will show otherwise.

Drury opted to acquire forward prospect Liam Greentree instead of a highly valued draft pick due to Greentree’s readiness to take the professional leap.

Following a disappointing 2025-26 season, Drury gave no indication of his outlook on the future. 

“I’m not going to get into the timelines,” Drury said during his exit interview about how close the Rangers are to being a playoff team. “I said it before, and feel the same right now, I think we have a lot of good players, we have a lot of talented players. I do like a lot of our pieces, and I'm excited to begin the offseason and take a deeper look at it and try and figure out how to be better.”

The big question leading into the offseason was whether or not Drury would look to continue tearing down the existing veteran group of players and follow suit in a rebuild or look to add younger players who could make an instant contribution and complement the “core” of players, including Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, J.T. Miller, and Mika Zibanejad.

Those core players, specifically Fox, who once seemed uneasy about the Rangers' future, spoke optimistically about the road ahead after a late-season surge, indicating their confidence in the team’s trajectory and willingness to stick around for whatever this apparent retool had in store. 

“For me, it was just, we’re still in a unique situation,” Fox said via The Athletic. “Not many people have been through a retool letter and kind of what that means, so I think that’s kind of where the figuring out stuff was from. It was never really about belief in the guys. It was just kind of direction and where it’s going. I think that’s where I was at. But obviously there’s been some promising signs of the possibilities of the kind of team we can be.”

The Rangers’ trade for Dorofeyev proves that Drury is looking to propel the Rangers into a competitive state sooner rather than later and has no appetite to sit through a prolonged rebuild. 

Dorofeyev, a 25-year-old left winger, gives the Rangers immediate top-six help and offensive explosiveness they lacked. 

Shortly after the completion of the trade, the Rangers signed Dorofeyev to a seven-year, $77 million contract extension, showing their confidence in the young forward. 

Instead of centering the deal around established players on the roster like Alexis Lafrenière or Will Cuylle, the Rangers gave up a slew of draft picks, further establishing the message that while the team is looking to get younger, they’d rather add immediate impact players as opposed to building through the draft and starting fresh. 

Drury’s willingness to give up a 2028 first-round pick, although it’s top-ten protected, is a sign that he hopes the Rangers are a competitive team in two years’ time, further fast-tracking this retool process.

There are still questions left unanswered. What exactly does this all mean for Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider’s futures, and will they still be traded this offseason? That remains unclear.

While the Dorofeyev trade does not answer every question, it does paint a clearer picture for what the Rangers’ immediate future may look like and how the years ahead will possibly take shape. 

The home run that Roki Sasaki gave up to San Diego’s Ty France was more dramatic than the two walks he issued to open the inning. But it was the free passes that really hurt him.

In the Dodgers’ 7-1 loss to the Padres on Friday, Sasaki was out of the game before he could record an out in the fifth inning. He gave up only three hits but issued five walks, tying his season high, and hit a batter.

“I actually felt different than I ever felt before, mechanically,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo, noting that his lower body felt a little off. “So I need to go over it and see what was really happening.”

Read more:Shaikin: Did Padres curse themselves by messing with that anti-Dodgers FTD burger?

Sasaki successfully pitched around traffic for much of his outing, other than the three-run homer to France in the second inning. But the inefficiency sent his pitch count past 80 before he exited with runners on first and second in the fifth.

“I’m not going to have it every time out, so that’s something I have to improve,” Sasaki said. “And also the game plan. I was able to execute some of the pitches, but some of the pitches I couldn’t, so that’s something I have to go through before next start.”

Earlier this month, when Sasaki held the Angels scoreless through seven two-hit innings, it seemed as if he’d had a breakthrough. But in three starts since, including a seven-run dud against the Chicago White Sox two weeks ago, he has yet to pitch through the sixth inning.

“I am a little surprised, because there was such good momentum going on,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Hopefully we can get him back to throwing the way he did in May.”

Sasaki’s command issues Friday showed up almost immediately. After striking out Padres leadoff hitter Fernando Tatis Jr., Sasaki walked Samad Taylor on 10 pitches. But Sasaki bounced back by inducing a double play.

The next inning, there would be no such escape. Sasaki walked both Manny Machado, whom he also battled for 10 pitches, and Gavin Sheets to open the frame. Then Xander Bogaerts’ sharp line drive to center field found leather.

France’s long fly ball to left field, however, found the seats.

Sasaki’s only clean inning, the third, was made possible by catcher Dalton Rushing’s successful challenge of a called ball four against Tatís, flipping a walk into a strikeout.

“I know that there’s confidence in there,” Roberts said. “But when you feel good and you don’t feel good mechanically and can’t execute pitches, then the results are walks, and 1-2 [count] homers, and things like that. But I do think that we can kind of tackle the mechanical things that he’s probably looking for right now.”

The Padres piled on in the eighth inning against reliever Jonathan Hernandez, as the sold-out crowd chanted “Beat L.A.!”

Read more:Roki Sasaki is no longer lost in translation, finding his swagger and delivering wins

Mookie Betts hit a home run off former teammate Walker Buehler for his second homer in as many games. Betts seems to have come out of his offensive funk, entering Friday with a 1.061 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the previous 11 games.

Buehler earned the win, delivering five strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.

“[Buehler] is reinventing himself,” Roberts said. “He’s throwing the kitchen sink at you. Cutter, slider, changeup, two-seamers. He doesn’t just try to bully you, and he’s finding ways to just get guys out. So yeah, he’s gonna still go up there and compete.”

The Dodgers went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and squandered a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the sixth inning after chasing Buehler. Max Muncy popped out and Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after exiting Monday’s game because of back spasms, flied out.

The Dodgers have built such a big lead in the division that the loss barely made a dent. The Padres, in second place, trail by eight games.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers (52-30) scored only once against old friend and World Series hero Walker Buehler and the San Diego bullpen, dropping the series opener 7-1 to the Padres (43-37) Friday night at Petco Park.

The game remained close, within two runs, for most of the game. The Dodgers failed time and time again to drive in runs with runners in scoring position (0-for-4), and they left six men on base. They also hit into three double plays. It was a testament to how good San Diego’s pitching is, including Buehler, who impressed against his former team for the win.

Shohei Ohtani rolled a leadoff single into right field off Buehler to open the series between the NL West rivals. Andy Pages bounced into a Fielder’s Choice. While Freddie Freeman struck out at the plate, Pages was gunned down by Rodolfo Durán at second on a steal attempt for a strike ’em out, throw e’m out play to end the first.

The Dodgers also used their defense to turn a double play to end the first and prevent San Diego from cashing in a walk.

Mookie Betts continued to be hot at the plate with a leadoff home run in the second off his former teammate.

The Betts home run would be the sole offensive highlight of the night for the Dodgers who were shut down therafter by San Diego pitching.

A 10-pitch walk and a wild pitch put old friend Manny Machado into scoring position in the bottom of the second with nobody out. He also walked Gavin Sheets which spurred a visit to the mound by Mark Prior.

Ty France got the Padres their big hit with a three-run homer off a bad Sasaki slider to give San Diego a 3-1 lead.

A rare miscue from Pages near the center field wall allowed Machado to reach second to lead off the bottom of the fourth. After Sasaki walked Will Wagner to load the bases with two outs, the Dodgers bullpen began to stir. It was the fourth free pass allowed by Sasaki on the night. Betts made a good defensive play to retire Rodolfo Durán and end the bases-loaded threat.

Freeman doubled to the left field corner off left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui with one out. Betts was intentionally walked to load the bases for Max Muncy. Muncy popped up the first pitch for the second out, and Kyle Tucker flied out to leave the bases loaded…again.

Machado allowed the ball hit by Muncy to fall, and it nearly bounced foul despite the infield fly rule call on the field. Manny…still being Manny.

The Padres took advantage of the nine walks allowed by Dodgers pitching on the night. They broke the game open and scored four more runs thanks to two more walks and four hits in the bottom of the eighth against Jonathan Hernández. Tatis Jr. knocked in the final run on a RBI single to make it 7-1.

The Padres didn’t need to use Mason Miller with a six-run lead and gave the ball to Wandy Peralta to close things out. Alex Call managed a single in the top of the ninth, but the Dodgers offense wasn’t able to muster anything else.

The second-place Padres move up to 8 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West standings.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Mookie Betts (10); Ty France (10)

WP — Walker Buehler (5-3): 5 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts (74 pitches)

LP — Roki Sasaki (3-5): 4 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, 2 strikeouts (81 pitches)

Up next

The series down south continues Saturday night at (5:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-5, 2.65 ERA, 0.87) and Randy Vásquez (6-5, 4.17 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) starting. 

The A’s took the first game of their weekend series against the Angels on Friday night, winning in Anaheim by a 9-3 final to make it two in a row for the Green & Gold. The club won its 40th game tonight and remains just a game and a half back of the Mariners in the division.

The first four innings

The offense did not show up at all through the first four frames in tonight’s game. Facing the Angels’ top young starting pitcher Walbert Urena, the A’s went down 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 in this one (four perfect innings).

On the bright side of things, the A’s had their own young rising ace in J.T. Ginn on the mound tonight. While he wasn’t as perfect as his counterpart, Ginn did his job with three scoreless innings in going toe-to-toe with his mound opponent.

Los Angeles did strike first tonight. A double and passed ball put an Angels baserunner on third base but with two down all Ginn needed was any sort of soft contact. Alas, a line-drive single plated the first run of the game to give the Angels the first lead of the night.

The fifth inning

That lone run really woke up the A’s bats. After getting perfected for the first four innings the offense got to work against the rookie right-hander that had had their number for the past 15+ innings dating back to his previous two starts.

It all started with, of course, a walk. Followed by a force out at second. Nothing too crazy. Then a walk. Then a single to load the bases, the first domino. Then the hit that gave the A’s the lead, another single from Jeff McNeil:

Then another single from Alika Williams brought in another run to make it 3-1. After him the lineup flipped over and it was lead off man Henry Bolte’s turn to get in on the action with his own base knock, this one driving in a pair to make it 5-1 A’s:

Urena’s unraveling continued as Nick Kurtz followed Bolte with another single to drive home the A’s rookie center fielder. And finally, to cap off the 7-run inning was the likely AL starting catcher Shea Langeliers and he hi his own single to bring home Kurtz:

It was only after that final hit did Halos manager Kurt Suzuki come to get his starting pitcher. Five straight singles was what it took to knock him from this game. The Angels reliever then quickly got the next two outs to escape the frame but the damage was done. A 7-spot to give Ginn plenty of room to go on cruise control.

The Angels did not provide the A’s with a shutdown inning. A single and home run off the bat of Jo Adell cut the lead from 6 to 4, but Ginn was generally in control tonight. He pitched one more inning to put a bow on his performance this evening.

• J.T. Ginn: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 89 pitches

An overall solid night from Ginn as he held the Angels to just three runs. One mistake cost him two off that Adell home run but other than that he more or less held down a Los Angeles lineup that doesn’t have many bats of recognition. He’s set to take a 3.15 ERA into his next scheduled start against the Miami Marlins next Friday.

The final frames

The A’s quickly got back two of those runs in the top of the seventh. Kurtz brought Bolte home on an RBI single, moved to second on a hit from Shea, then came home himself off a ground-rule double from Jonah Heim:

That made it 9-3 with just nine outs to go.

Luis Medina and Hogan Harris combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth. Then, maybe hoping to get him right in a lower pressure situation, Mark Kotsay sent Elvis Alvarado out for the ninth. It was an uneventful 1-2-3 inning to finish off the game, which is probably exactly what Kotsay was hoping for from the young righty reliever. Lock in win #40.

A great win by the A’s tonight. A huge fifth inning against a rookie starting pitcher that had already bested them twice this year was the perfect formula for tonight’s victory. Ginn was of course fantastic with run support and the A’s now have a 2-game winning streak and have started this series off on the right foot.

The series continues tomorrow night. Right-hander Jack Perkins is slated to get the ball for what’ll be his fifth start since joining the rotation. It hasn’t been a smooth or easy transition for the starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter again as he sports a 7.50 ERA in those four starting assignments, the last of which came against these very same Angels last weekend. The A’s will be hoping for better results and who knows how long his leash is if he falters against the Angels tomorrow.

Speaking of Anaheim, they’ll counter the Athletics’ righty with left-hander Reid Detmers, who will be looking to continue a solid season in his own return to starting duties. Overall he’s had a great season but he’s coming off one of his worst starts of the year, when he allowed five runs in six innings of work in an eventual Angels victory in Sacramento. We’ll all be hoping for a better outcome than that, but let’s have more of that offense show up against the lefty!

Iowa right-hander Tyler Beede has elected free agency.

Right-hander Zac Leigh goes from the ACL Cubs to Triple-A Iowa.

Right-hander Anhuar Garcia was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs.

Everybody won!

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs skinned the Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays), 12-1.

Andrew Wantz gave up a run in the top of the first inning on three singles, but then settled down for the next three in his first start for Iowa. Wantz’s final line was one run on four hits over four innings. He struck out three and walked one.

Ty Blach pitched the final five innings, did not give up a run and got the win. Blach gave up five hits, but they were all singles and he didn’t walk anyone. He struck out six.

First baseman Jonathon Long hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his seventh on the season. Long also had a two-run single, an RBI double and an RBI groundout to give him six runs batted in tonight. He was 3 for 5 and scored twice.

DH Christian Bethancourt connected for a solo home run in the sixth inning. It was his eighth on the year. Beathancourt went 1 for 4.

Second baseman Owen Miller had two doubles and a triple in a 4 for 5 game tonight. Miller scored once and had two RBI.

Right fielder Kevin Alcántara was 4 for 5 with two doubles. The Jaguar scored twice and drove in one.

Left fielder BJ Murray went 2 for 4 with a double and he was hit by a pitch. He scored twice.

RBI double for Moisés Ballesteros, who was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Long’s RBI double.

A nice caught stealing for Mo Baller.

RBI double for Miller.

Jonny Long is starting to look like his old self.

The Bethancourt home run.

Miller’s RBI triple.

A double for The Jaguar.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies overthrew the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 3-2. After winning the first half, the Smokies are now 4-0 in the second half.

Jace Beck may have turned in the best Cubs start this year in the minor leagues tonight. At least he had more strikeouts than anyone else. Beck pitched six innings and allowed just one run on five hits. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and walked two.

Tyler Santana gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth, but hung on to get the save. The final line on Santana was one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out one and walked no one.

Left fielder Carter Trice doubled twice in a 2 for 4 night. Trice also stole a base. He scored one run and drove in one.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas was 2 for 4.

Here’s Beck’s final strikeout.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs rounded up a posse and brought the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals) to justice, 4-3.

Nazier Mulé gave up a three-run home run in the first inning to the third batter of the game. The River Bandits didn’t score again and only had two more hits. Mulé final line was three runs on three hits over 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Jackson Brockett went the rest of the way and got the win. Brockett retired the first 14 batters he faced before giving up a one-out single in the top of the ninth. But then he got a game-ending double play out of the next hitter. Brockett struck out five over 5.1 innings.

Catcher Justin Stransky hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his fourth. Stransky went 1 for 3.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda put the Cubs up for good with a two-run single in the eighth. Cepeda was 1 for 3 and he was hit by a pitch.

DH Kane Kepley went 1 for 3 with a double, a steal and a sacrifice fly. He also scored one run.

Stransky’s blast.

Cepeda’s two-run single.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans yoked the Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox), 8-1.

Starter Pierce Coppola went four innings, allowed just one run on two hits and got the win. (Not sure how he got the win despite only going four.) Coppola struck out six and walked two.

Daniel Avitia threw a three-inning save, allowing no runs and just one hit. He walked three and struck out three.

Shortstop Alexis Hernández is heating up and for the second-straight night, he had three hits. Hernández was 3 for 4 with an RBI triple and two walks. Hernández had two RBI overall.

Center fielder Darlyn De Leon had a two-run double in the second inning. De Leon was went 1 for 3 with a walk, a hit by pitch and a stolen base. He scored three times.

The Birds scored three runs in the fifth inning on three bases-loaded walks. In fact, the Pelicans did not have a hit in the fifth.

De Leon’s two-run double.

The triple for Hernández.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Rockies, 11-7.

Liam Hendricks made his Cubs and season debut in this game. He pitched the first inning and retired all three batters he faced, striking out two of them.

In a banner day in Metsland, our beloved Metropolitans lost yet another game, despite the managerial change that saw Carlos Mendoza fired and replaced with Andy Green.

The 2-1 loss was a genuine pitcher’s duel from a rather unsuspecting place — at least from the Mets side of things. Old Friend Zack Wheeler was his typically excellent self. The now-veteran righty has shown no signs of slowing down, despite the off season thoracic outlet syndrome surgery that delayed the beginning of his season, as he lowered his season ERA to 2.03 after his outing. He surrendered one run over seven innings, with the one run coming by way of a Jared Young single in the fourth, though he was lucky to not have surrendered two more. Derek Hill made an absolutely stunning catch in center field to rob Juan Soto of a two run home run, which would prove to be game winning, considering the final score of 2-1.

The Mets, to their credit, pitched well in the loss. Not that moral victories matter, really, but Zach Thornton deserves his flowers on the day. Thornton, who was called back up to the bigs after the Mets traded David Peterson away to the Cubs, matched Wheeler at every turn. He surrendered a first inning RBI single to Bryce Harper, but was nails after that, surrendering five hits, striking out seven, and walking one over six innings. With the season trending towards being lost, it is nice to see a young player put together a quality performance. Again, this is a strict no moral victory household, but facts are facts.

That 1-1 score was erased in the seventh, when Trea Turner singled a run home off of Huascar Brazoban. The Mets put runners on in the seventh and the ninth, but they simply could not scratch a run across to prevent the loss. It was a telling loss in regards to the story of the 2026 season, up until now: frustrating, and coming up short.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Zach Thornton, +22% WPA
Big Mets loser: Juan Soto, -16% WPA (this is a Derek Hill stat)
Mets pitchers: +15% WPA
Mets hitters: -65% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young’s RBI single, +7.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Trea Turner’s RBI single in the seventh, -20.8% WPA

It’s not every day you see your favorite team score 10 runs in a game. It’s even more rare to see them score 10 runs in a single inning, but that’s what the Chicago White Sox did Friday night. In a rare game that was over by the end of the third inning, the White Sox came roaring back to life after a tough stretch that saw them go just 3-6 over their last nine games, destroying Kansas City, 22-1.

The 22 runs tied for the second-most in White Sox history, joining the woebegone 1970 White Sox (22-13 win at Boston) but falling short of the all-time mark, coming in Kansas City (against the Athletics) in 1955, in 29-6 win. However, the 21-run margin of victory now ranks second all-time in club history, trailing just that 23-run win in K.C. in 1955.

Usually, when you score 10 runs in a game, everybody’s eating good like a college kid on Thanksgiving. For the White Sox, the entire lineup had scored at least one run by the end of the sixth inning. The party didn’t stop there, as the White Sox started tacking on runs so fast it’s a wonder the scoreboard was able to update in time. It was one heck of a jolt from an offense that has struggled to score runs consistently as of late.

It all started in the third inning, with the score knotted 0-0 and Chicago had seen seven of their first eight batters go down. A Jacob Gonzalez walk started a party that just wouldn’t stop, as 10 of the next 11 batters got on base for the White Sox and the game was over before the Royals could even cry “uncle.”

The Royals got a run back in the fourth, aided by three straight walks from starter David Sandlin, but a Benny Bomb to lead off the bottom of that same inning kept the party vibes flowing. That party continued in the fifth, sixth, and seventh as well before they showed some mercy to the Royals with a scoreless eighth. In truth, the Sox dented the scoreboard in every inning between the second and eighth. White Sox fans were treated to a fireworks display even more explosive than we’ll see at the lakefront next week.

Honestly, there aren’t many words that can be used to sum up the White Sox on Friday night, at least that are appropriate to use on this site, other than phenomenal. These games are incredibly rare, so it’s vital to enjoy them when they come around.

One part of the win that shouldn’t fly under the radar is the pitching. While it’s certainly easier to pitch when you have a huge cushion, it’s still not easy to give up just one run and three hits over six innings. Sandlin was outstanding tonight, and deserves a lot of credit for how he looked on the mound. His wildness beyond the three consecutive walks was corralled, as the Royals were held to just three free passes in the game, and four hits total.

A big reason the White Sox have enjoyed such a big resurgence this year is due to their pitching. Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, Bryan Hudson, Sean Newcomb and even Erick Fedde as of late have become incredibly reliable options. It would be foolish to believe this is the pitcher Sandlin will be for the rest of his career, but if he can give the South Siders even a sliver of what he was able to tonight, Chicago suddenly has a much-different looking rotation, and a solid option in the No. 5 slot.

With the win, the White Sox improved to 27-13 at home. Oddly enough, they sit at just 15-25 on the road. Usually that would be cause for concern, but with the way the White Sox have looked overall this season, it’s hard not to buy in to this team. The fans are buzzing, the arms and bats are back, and there is life among the fan base once again. The best part may actually be that Jerry Reinsdorf is probably livid with how much he’s having to spend on fireworks this season. With the All-Star break approaching, there’s only two things left to do: Take the division and win the whole dang thing.

Why not us?

The Colorado Rockies were buried early, somehow took the lead late, and still left Target Field with one of their tougher losses of the season.

Colorado fell to 32-50 with a 9-8 loss in 10 innings to the Minnesota Twins, who improved to 39-44 with their first walk-off win of the season. The Rockies trailed 7-0 after five innings, scored eight runs across the eighth and ninth, took an 8-7 lead, gave it back in the bottom of the ninth, and failed to score in extras before Minnesota ended it.

It was a comeback good enough to matter. It was not quite good enough to win.

Sugano’s mix does not hold up

Tomoyuki Sugano’s final line was ugly, but the start was not as simple as a pitcher showing up without anything working.

Sugano used seven different pitch types, and the movement profile was more functional than the final line suggests. His sinker had more arm-side run than usual, his four-seamer had extra ride, and his splitter created real separation underneath the fastballs. But Minnesota still saw him well enough to do damage.

The game tilted early. After Taj Bradley retired the Rockies in order on six pitches in the top of the first, Sugano got Trevor Larnach to fly out before Byron Buxton singled to left. Kody Clemens followed by driving an 86 mph splitter to right field for a two-run homer. The ball left the bat at 102.5 mph and traveled 380 feet, giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead.

Sugano recovered enough to get Josh Bell to pop out and Victor Caratini to strike out swinging, but Minnesota had the early lead.

The second inning pushed it further. Royce Lewis opened with a single, and Brooks Lee followed with another two-run homer, this time on an 85.9 mph slider after Sugano had worked the count to 2-2. It was not one of Minnesota’s loudest swings at 93.9 mph off the bat, but it carried 348 feet to right field and made it 4-0.

Sugano settled briefly with clean innings in the third and fourth, but the fifth changed the line. After Tristan Gray lined out to open the inning, Jake McCarthy made a sliding catch in right field against Luke Keaschall for the second out.

Larnach then doubled to extend the inning, and Buxton followed with a 106.1 mph double down the third-base line to score Larnach and make it 5-0.

That was where the inning got away. Clemens walked, Sugano’s first free pass of the night, and Bell followed by driving a 93.5 mph sinker to center field for a two-run double. Buxton and Clemens both scored, stretching the lead to 7-0.

Sugano finished with five innings, eight hits, seven earned runs, one walk, two strikeouts, and two home runs allowed. He threw 85 pitches, generated only five whiffs on 33 swings, and allowed seven hard-hit balls on 20 balls in play. The pitch shapes were there. The swing-and-miss was not.

Bradley keeps Rockies quiet

Taj Bradley controlled the game for seven innings, even if the command was not perfect.

Bradley worked seven-plus innings, allowing three hits, two runs, three walks, and no home runs while striking out seven. He threw 92 pitches, generated 14 whiffs on 45 swings, and leaned heavily on a fastball that averaged 97.0 mph and reached 99.5 mph. His four-seamer made up 61% of his pitch mix, while the splitter and cutter came in at 18% and 16%, respectively.

Bradley threw 50 pitches out of the strike zone and walked three, but the Rockies did not turn those misses into enough pressure. When he came back into the zone, his fastball and splitter were good enough to keep Colorado from building an inning.

The first chance came in the second. TJ Rumfield walked to open the inning, and Troy Johnston followed with the Rockies’ first hit, a hard single to right field. But the inning ended with runners on the corners after Ezequiel Tovar struck out. Tovar had taken a 99 mph fastball for a ball earlier in the at-bat, but Bradley got him to chase well out of the zone to end the threat.

That became the pattern. Colorado had baserunners, but not enough of them in sequence.

Rumfield walked again in the fourth, but the Rockies could not turn it into anything. In the fifth, an ABS challenge turned a ball into strike three against Edouard Julien, giving Bradley another clean inning.

McCarthy had the loudest swing against Bradley in the sixth, jumping a first-pitch 94.5 mph four-seam fastball for a double to right field. The ball left the bat at 108.6 mph, but it was only Colorado’s second hit and came with the Rockies trailing 7-0. Bradley stranded him.

Bradley came back out for the eighth, but Tovar opened with a double and Julien followed with a walk after an ABS challenge confirmed the call. Minnesota went to Kody Funderburk with two aboard and nobody out. Both runners eventually scored, putting two earned runs on Bradley’s line, but the rally changed the box score more than the shape of his start.

Rockies storm back before falling in extras

The Rockies’ bullpen gave the offense a chance to make the game matter again.

Seth Halvorsen replaced Sugano in the sixth and worked a scoreless inning, striking out Lewis and pitching around his own missed-catch error. Juan Mejia followed in the seventh, allowed a leadoff single, then got out of the inning when Clemens grounded into a double play. John Brebbia handled the eighth, giving up a two-out double to Lewis but stranding him.

Together, Halvorsen, Mejia, and Brebbia combined for three scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one strikeout. It did not erase Sugano’s line, but it kept the score at 7-0 long enough for Colorado to make a real push.

The comeback started in the eighth. After Funderburk entered with two runners aboard and nobody out, McCarthy singled to load the bases. Mickey Moniak brought home Tovar with a groundout to make it 7-1. Hunter Goodman followed with a sacrifice fly to score Julien, and Rumfield lined a single to center to bring in McCarthy, cutting the deficit to 7-3.

Willi Castro added another single, but Tyler Freeman struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the inning with two runners on.

Then the ninth changed the game.

Cole Carrigg opened the inning with a walk against Eric Orze, and Julien doubled to center after a flyout, scoring Carrigg to make it 7-4. McCarthy followed with a two-run homer to right-center field, turning a four-run deficit into a one-run game.

Minnesota went to Anthony Banda, but Colorado kept going. Kyle Karros came off the bench and doubled to left, with Braxton Fulford entering as the pinch-runner. Goodman followed with the swing that completed the comeback, launching his 22nd home run of the season to left field. The ball left the bat at 116.2 mph and traveled 451 feet. Goodman knew it immediately, dropping his head and heading toward first as Fulford scored ahead of him.

The Rockies led 8-7.

Rumfield followed with a pop-up double into short center/right field that several Twins converged on and none of them caught. It was the visual summary of a Minnesota inning that had fully unraveled.

But Colorado could not close it.

Antonio Senzatela entered for the bottom of the ninth and struck out Gray for the first out, but Austin Martin and Ryan Kreidler followed with back-to-back singles. Buxton then chopped a 78.3 mph ground ball toward third. Castro waited on the hop, but the ball jumped over him and into left field. Martin scored, and the lead was gone.

Senzatela still got the game to extras. He got Clemens to fly out to left, then got Bell to lift a short flare to center at 72.7 mph. Carrigg raced in to make the catch, sending the game to the 10th tied 8-8.

Colorado had the first chance in extras and came up empty. With Freeman starting the inning at second, Carrigg grounded out and moved him to third. Tovar followed with a grounder to short against a drawn-in infield, and Freeman was cut down at the plate after breaking on contact. Julien grounded out to first to end the inning.

Minnesota did not miss its chance. Jimmy Herget came on for the bottom of the 10th with Bell starting at second before Kyler Fedko entered as a pinch-runner. Colorado intentionally walked Caratini to create force plays around the diamond, but Herget uncorked a wild pitch that moved Fedko to third. With the infield in, Lewis punched a single back through the middle, scoring Fedko and giving Minnesota a 9-8 walk-off win.

Final notes

McCarthy and Rumfield were at the center of Colorado’s comeback. McCarthy finished with three hits, including a double, a single, and the two-run homer that made it 7-6 in the ninth. Rumfield reached multiple times, drove in a run in the eighth, and added the strange pop-up double that captured the Twins’ ninth-inning collapse.

The Rockies went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position, matching Minnesota’s 4-for-10 mark. Colorado finished with 11 hits, eight runs, and one error. Minnesota finished with 14 hits, nine runs, and no errors.

Colorado scored three runs in the eighth and five runs in the ninth after being shut out through the first seven innings. Minnesota had three two-out RBIs, including Bell’s two-run double and Buxton’s RBI double in the fifth.

Andrew Morris earned the win for Minnesota, improving to 3-2. Herget took the loss for Colorado, falling to 0-2.

Up next

The Rockies and Twins continue the series Saturday night at Target Field as Colorado looks to shake off one of its more painful losses of the season. Michael Lorenzen is scheduled to start for the Rockies, entering at 2-9 with a 7.11 ERA and 65 strikeouts. Minnesota will counter with Mike Paredes, who enters at 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA and 11 strikeouts.

First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. MT.

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Derek Shelton’s Magical Arm Barn managed to quickly cough up a seven-run lead, but heads-up baserunning and a nice hit by Lewis sends the fans home happy. (Or starts off tonight’s postgame Ludacris concert with good vibes.) Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Do we get good Taj or bad Taj tonight? Well, six pitches and three outs. That’s certainly effective Taj.

Buxton has a one-out single. Radio guys Kris Atteberry and Dan “Answer Man” Gladden debate whether Buxton’s yellow shoes mean he’ll run or not. They come to the conclusion that green shoes would mean “go,” but yellow means “caution.” This is what happens when you’ve broadcast a few thousand baseball games.

At any rate, Buxton doesn’t steal, and it doesn’t matter because two pitches later, a good thing happens.

Klobberin’ Kody Klemens, folks. Good grief! Over the top of the sandstone overhang in right. In his first four seasons and 265 games, Clemens had an OPS of .666 (the number of the Least) and a 1.1 bWAR. In his age-30 season, he’s currently at .784 and 1.2. Tell me he doesn’t have his dad’s old “special pharmacy” phone number. Twins 2-0

2: Well… here we get Lucky Taj. He walks one and gives up a hit, but fortunately with two outs the batter is Ezeqiuel Tovar (no relation to César). Tovar is batting .208 on the season with 81 strikeouts; make it 82.

Royce (he’s all fixed now) Lewis has the leadoff single. Brooks Lee decides to bounce one off the top of the right-field wall.

Tristan Gray puts down a good bunt, and pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano makes a terrible throw to first. Gray assumes second will be his on the overthrow, but Edouard Julien (we remember him!) makes a solid grab-and-throw to nail Gray by ten feet at second. So, a heads-up play followed by a TOOTBLAN, or a HUTOOTBLAN. Still, ex-Senators 4-0

3: A pretty easy inning for both pitchers, but Rockies CF Cole Carrigg has an exciting moment when he falls on his buttbutt going for a fly ball. He’s young, though, and gets up in time to go catch it. I’d probably still be on my buttbutt.

4: Second walk of the game for Bradley; second strikeout of the game for old friend Willi Castro. Gladden says the Rockies have been around for “about 25 years” which is only off by 27%, so we’ll call it a dart that misses the board but at least doesn’t put anybody’s eye out.

5: Bottom of the lineup, and it takes Taj eight pitches to get right through ’em. We shouldn’t get TOO excited — the Rockies have the worst record in baseball. But they’re only tied for eighth-worst in MLB on offense (with a 94 OPS+, where 100 is league average, adjusted for ballpark). They’re second-worst in pitching.

To wit: back-to-back two-out doubles by Trevor Larnach and Buxton. Clemens takes a nine-pitch walk, and Josh Bell doubles both runners home. The 830-ft.-high City 7-0

6: The Rockies’ second hit! Jake McCarthy, starting Bradley’s third time through the lineup with a leadoff double. A flyout to left means McCarthy can’t tag up and advance, and the next dude strikes out. Then a long pop fly that new RF Luke Keaschall calls everybody off for. (Not BRAND new; Keaschall has played one inning in RF before.)

Seth Halvorsen replaces Sugano. I think I recognize Halvorsen’s name from somewhere. I look at his player page, and no, I don’t know him. Maybe my alternate-timeline self is Halvorsen’s best friend, or he beat me half to death with a flounder one time.

7: Bradley gets ’em 1-2-3 and sits at 91 pitches. He’s never recorded an out in the eighth inning, so we’ll see.

Larnach singles and Buxton ALMOST knocks one out, but doesn’t because Clemens stole all his ‘roids.

8: Bradley still hasn’t recorded an out in the eighth; a double and walk end his night. In comes LHP Kody Funderburk. Per the Twins’ wesbsite, Kody’s entrance song is AC/DC’s “Thunderstaruck,” sadly without new vocals singing “Funderstruck.” An infield hit, groundout and flyout score two runs. TJ Rumfield, who’s 26 and looks 17, singles home another. Still, it’s the Millers Saints 7-3

9: Eric “Small Pasta” Orze in for the Twins. Hey, how about some Drama! A walk, flyout, Julien double and Jake McCarthy homer. Oops.

Anthony Banda in. First-pitch double by Kyle Karros. The Rockies’ best hitter, Hunter Goodman, up.

Aaaaand… the Rockies lead. Homer.

No more damage afterwards, but this is pretty hilariously bad stuff.

Antonio Senzatela trying to save it for Colorado. A one-out Austin Martin hit, a Ryan Kreidler hit, and that brings Buxton up. He grounds it to third and…

It bad-hops over Castro’s head! Tie game. Clemens pops one up, and Bell flies out, so FREE MANFREDBALL!

10: RHP Andrew Morris pitching. A FC (to Morris) pushes the runner to third. Then a slow Tovar roller to short, and Kreidler throws it home. Yer out! No scoring occurs.

Kyler Fedko (who?) pinch-runs for Josh Bell at second. The Rockies intentionally walk not-great hitter Victor Caratini to (I guess) set up the double-play possibility. Royce now up. On reliever Jimmy Herget’s second pitch, the ball barely gets away, and Fedko scampers to third. Then…

Lewis with a nice plain single! Twims walkoff wim! (We spell it wrong on purpose here sometimes.)

Studs: Bradley (7.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 SO.) Royce walkoff! The Bash Brothers in Clemens and Lee, doubles duo in Buston and Bell, Keaschall for not embarrassing himself in RF. Duds: no duds, Twins win!

(except the bullpen management was really dudley do-wrong)

COTG go to SooFoo for “Are we secretly playing at Coors?” (because nobody made much noise rooting for the Twins), Nagurski for a bullpen management criticism that turned out to be prophetic, Zach for some blockbuster trade ideas, falcontimmy for reviewing the new Shakopee ampitheater, Matt for immoral support, and JustAnotherMinnesotan for “This is Ludacris” (referring to the bullpen and the postgame concert performer).

Thanks for everyone who joined in, I know it’s more fun to be outdoors on a lovely summer evening. (For people who like the outdoors, which is Not Me.)

Tomorrow’s game is at 6:10, featuring Michael Lorenzen’s Oil pitching against our own Mike Paredes. Catch ya next time!

That’s two in a row where the Jays have fallen behind big early, rallied late, and fallen a single run short. Add to that Tuesday’s loss, in which a successful comeback was blown in extra innings, and it’s been an extremely frustrating week of Toronto Blue Jays baseball, in a season where frustration is the signature.

Patrick Corbin was bad from the start today. Wyatt Langford opened the game with a single. Corbin then hit the next batter, gave up a double to Brandon Nimmo, a single to Justin Foscue, and another to Ezequiel Duran. That put the Jays in a 3-0 hole before they recorded the second out of the ball game. He rallied for a clean second, but the walked Jake Burger with one out in the third to set up a two run Justin Foscue homer, extending Texas’ lead to 5. He’d work around a double in the fourth and record one out in the fifth before being pulled. His ultimate line was 4.1 innings pitched, five runs (all earned) on seven hits and a walk against five strikeouts.

Spencer Miles took over to finish the fifth, and stuck around for the sixth and seventh. He was excellent, allowing just one hit and striking out three. Adam Macko handled the eighth, walking a pair but avoiding runs. Louis Varland, for some reason, was called to work the ninth. He worked around a single for a clean frame.

So five runs was the hill the Jays offence had to climb. They couldn’t find any purchase against Nathan Eovaldi. Their first base runner was a Daulton Varsho walk in the third, and they didn’t get a hit until Vladimir Guerrero jr.’s one out single in the fourth. The first Jay to reach scoring position was Andres Gimenez, who doubled to open the sixth. He advanced to third on a Nathan Lukes line single, but a Guerrero double play stranded him.

They again had a little something going in the seventh. Singles by Kazuma Okamoto and Ernie Clement put a pair on with one out. Eovaldi rallied to strike out the next two batters, though, and they couldn’t break the shutout.

They were able to get to the bullpen in a way they couldn’t the starter. Gimenez singled and Springer walked to put two on with one out off Robby Ahistrom. The Rangers swithched to Jacob Junis, who advanced both runners on a wild pitcha nd then gave up a line single to Guerrero, plating both. Kazuma Okamoto followed with his 19th home run of the season, cutting the deficit to one. Junis got two of the next three Jays swinging, though, preventing them from tying it up.

Down to their last three outs, Brandon Valenzuela worked a walk off Jacob Latz to put the tying run on base. A pair of pop outs and a fly out wasted that final opportunity.

Jays of the Day: Okamoto (0.13), Valenzuela (0.10)

Less So: Corbin (-0.29), Springer (-0.13), Straw (-0.13)

Game 3 goes tomorrow at 3:07pm ET. Dylan Cease (4-3, 2.75) represents the forces of goodness and light, while Cal Quantrill (3-0, 3.73) represents the Texas Rangers.

Needless to say, it’s been a bad week in Mets land.

Perhaps the moment that best sums it all up is an extremely awkward moment on the team’s PIX 11 pregame show Friday night.

The Mets were swept away by the Cubs in four games to start the week. Injury woes continued with Marcus Semien hitting the injured list and Juan Soto experiencing back discomfort early in the week. The morning after that Cubs series ended, news broke that they had fired manager Carlos Mendoza.

On Friday night, despite a great performance by rookie starting pitcher Zach Thornton in interim Mets skipper Andy Green’s debut, they dropped their seventh game in a row with a 2-1 loss to the rival Phillies.

On Friday night before the game, though, an awkward moment on the TV broadcast with Steve Gelbs and Mr. Met put a weird note on the week.

The sideline reporter was doing a live hit on the field discussing Mendoza’s firing when Mr. Met appeared behind him in frame…and began dancing.

With such a somber topic being discussed, it was an uncomfortable moment as Gelbs discussed the rough state of the franchise. But Mr. Met just wouldn’t disappear.

Gelbs, in a professional manner, continued the segment, pretending like nothing was happening behind him.

When asked about their emotions surrounding Mendoza’s firing, several players — including Francisco Lindor — placed the blame on themselves and discussed their close relationships with their former manager.

President of baseball operations David Stearns seemed somber in his pregame availability as well, but did express optimism for the future.

“I believe that we are building the foundation of an organization that can deliver what we all want,” Stearns said, when asked why he hasn’t considered stepping down. “I don’t believe that our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advancements that we have made in the organization, but clearly our record is nowhere good enough.”

With their loss Friday night, the Mets fell to 34-48, a season-worst 14 games under .500. They’re 10 games out of a National League wild-card spot.

If you’re hoping to see highlights of a lot of offense at Busch Stadium Friday night, you’ll have to wait awhile as both Michael McGreevy and Max Meyer were determined to have an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel and they were both successful…for awhile. But, the Cardinals bullpen would eventually lose it to the Marlins.

Let’s start with a lack of offense, shall we? The St. Louis Cardinals only had 2 hits and no runs going into the bottom of the 6th inning. Based on that, you would rightly imagine that the Cardinals chances of winning would not be high. However, the Miami Marlins only had 5 hits through the first 6 innings and they had no runs to show for them either. The stories of the night were the Marlins Max Meyer and the Cardinals Michael McGreevy. The problem is that the Cardinals were losing the pitch count battle as Meyer completed the first 2/3 of the game with only 66 pitches. Michael McGreevy’s pitch count after 6 full innings was 94 which is why he was relieved by JoJo Romero entering the 7th inning.

The only offensive play worth mentioning in the first 6 innings was Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins who wins the award for the worst ABS challenge in history (or that I’ve seen) where the replay showed the ball could not have gone any more directly through the strike zone if it tried. A defensive play worth highlighting was a lightning-fast pickoff by Michael McGreevy as he nailed Ruiz at first in the top of the 5th inning.

In a shocking development, Iván Herrera was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the 7th inning and yes, that’s sarcasm. That’s a Major League-leading 22 hit-by-pitches for Herrera. After that, Max Meyer experienced a rare moment of wildness as he walked Alec Burleson on 5 pitches to bring up Jordan Walker who had one of the Cardinals only 2 hits on the night leading up to that at-bat. Jordan was charged with a pitch clock violation before Meyer even threw him a pitch which was odd. Walker grounded into a fielder’s choice with Burleson being forced out at 2nd giving the Cardinals runners at first and third with just one out. That gave Lars Nootbaar the opportunity to finally help the Cardinals break through Friday night’s scoring drought. He worked the count full before drawing a walk to load the bases which brought up Masyn Winn. He unfortunately grounded out to the other shortstop who forced out Herrera at home. He was slow to get up after sliding hard into home as the replay appeared to show him roll over his ankle somewhat, but he eventually retreated into the dugout. It was up to Nathan Church to try and save the Cardinals from another RISP disaster. I wish I could say he was successful, but he lined out to left field to end the bottom of the 7th with the game still deadlocked at 0-0. The Cardinals would not get another great opportunity to score the rest of the night.

JoJo Romero was successful keeping the Marlins scoreless in the top of the 7th inning. For the top of the 8th, it was George Soriano‘s turn. He gave up a sharp single to Ruiz who led off the top of the 8th. What had been a scoreless battle suddenly became a Marlins lead when Graham Pauley ripped a double down the right field line scoring Ruiz making it 1-0 Miami. And then the rains came…and we as Cardinals nation had 15 minutes to contemplate our lives. Meanwhile, George Soriano had to return to the mound and figure out how to hold the Marlins to just 1 run with a runner on second with nobody out. Soriano was able to get Marsee to pop out to shortstop for the first out, but then he walked Conine and Edwards to load the bases. The next play would be pivotal. Stowers hit a ground ball that Alec Burleson grabbed, stepped on first and then fired the ball home to Herrera who tagged Pauley. The ump called him out on the field and after a long review from New York, the call was overturned giving the Marlins a 2-0 lead which would be the score after the LONG top of the 8th was done.

The good news for the St. Louis Cardinals was the fact that Max Meyer did not go out to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning. His impressive stat line for the night was 7 innings pitched allowing just 2 hits and no runs while striking out 5 and walking 2. Michael Petersen was his replacement for the Marlins. He would get Blaze Jordan to ground out leading off the 8th, but José Fermín cracked a ground rule double into the left-center field stands although a fan did not make a good play on the ball. JJ Wetherholt then lined out hard to left-center which brought up Iván Herrera with two outs. He struck out to end the St. Louis hopes of going into the 9th inning with anything other than 0’s on the board.

Max Rajcic was not able to hold the Marlins at bay in the top of the 9th inning. After getting the first out, he walked Mack and Ruiz. He was able to get Pauley out on a deep flyball to right which sounded like a home run off the bat, but Nathan Church was unable to make a diving catch on a single from Marsee which scored both Mack and Ruiz giving the Marlins a commanding 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the 9th inning.

For the Cardinals to pull off a miracle comeback win, they’d have to get through the Marlins Calvin Faucher. Unfortunately, they didn’t. The grand total of St. Louis Cardinals offense Friday night was a very disappointing 3 hits and nothing but bagels on the scoreboard.

After a pitcher’s duel Friday night, the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins will tangle again Saturday night. The expectation was that Dustin May would get the start for the Cardinals, but there is a report that he has back tightness and may skip his next start. The most up-to-date lineup for Saturday shows Andre Pallante starting for St. Louis Saturday. The Marlins have not officially announced a starter either, it could be that Ryan Gusto will take the mound for Miami. First pitch is set for 6:15pm central time at Busch Stadium. The game TV broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.