Category: Baseball

Go Rays!

San Diego Padres (48-50) at Kansas City Royals (40-59), July 19, 2026, 11:10 a.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City, MO

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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The Dodgers eastern time zone road trip continues to Philadelphia, a return trip for several who were at last Tuesday’s All-Star Game. But on Monday it’s the series opener against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Emmet Sheehan starts for the Dodgers on Monday, while Phillies ace and All-Star starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez goes for the home team.

This is an exclusive ESPN telecast, with Karl Ravech on play-by-play alongside analysts Eduardo Pérez and David Ross, plus reporter Buster Olney.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Phillies
• Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
• Start time: 4:10 p.m. PT
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Today, the Astros announced they have recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A Sugar Land and have designated RHP Nate Pearson for assignment.

This comes on the heels of both SS Jeremy Pena and 1B Christian Walker coming out of yesterday’s games with injuries.

Delgado’s calling card is his defensive versatility, though he represented himself fairly well at the plate in limited time as well. In 30 AB across 16 games, he batted .267 with a .313 OBP and .713 OPS. He’s hit 1 2B, 1 HR and driven in 4.

Pearson is one of the hardest throwers in the Astros bullpen, but his propensity for walks has been his biggest issue. in 20 IP across 16 appearances, Pearson has a 3.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP while walking 12 and striking out 16.

Pearson could find himself back in the organization should he pass through waivers.

Of note: Neither Pena nor Walker are in the lineup today. Delgado is starting at 2B.

The 2026 season is down the drain, and the Mets are sellers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun coming up with trades ahead of the deadline. Let’s consider some of the more obvious pieces that are likely to be moved here in Part 1, before moving on to to the bigger names in Part 2.

A.J. Minter to the Twins

Twins receive: LHP A.J. Minter
Mets receive: OF Jhomnardo Reyes, RHP Matt Barr

The Twins surprisingly find themselves one game out of a playoff spot at the time of this writing in the very weak AL, and have already begun begun adding to their bullpen when they traded for Tommy Nance. A.J. Minter would be a legitimate late-inning option in Minnesota who helps against left handed batters—Twins southpaw relievers have a 4.66 ERA and a 10.6% K-BB%.

As we discussed in the trade primer, we’re looking for something like a reduced version of the Ryan Helsley return from last season. Jhomnardo Reyes is the Jesus Baez stand-in, a recent Twins IFA ($300K in 2025) who had a nice DSL debut and is bashing to the tune of .291/.406/.547 in the complex as an 18-year-old this season. He’s the good version of the stereotypical Dominican right field prospect, with all the positives and negatives that entails.

As for Barr, he was a very interesting 2025 draft pick out of Junior College (SUNY Niagara) who hasn’t put it together yet in his debut season. He’s got a big, lanky frame with interesting fastball traits and feel for spin. In other words, a ball of clay to throw in the dev system and see what happens.

Brooks Raley to the Mariners

Mariners receive: LHP Brooks Raley
Mets receive: LHP Mason Peters, IF/OF Diego Contreras

Similar to the Twins, the Mariners could really use some left-handed relief help, and the Mets can push for a similar return to the Minter deal above. Mason Peters is one of the more interesting breakout arms this season, dominating Single-A (1.41 ERA, 32.4% K-BB%) in his debut season out of Dallas Baptist. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and works well up in the zone. His best offspeed pitch is a curveball in the high 70s, a pitch that doesn’t always work as guys move up the ladder but perhaps a potential starting point for further shape refinement going forward.

Contreras is a less heralded IFA out of Colombia who posted a good triple slash in the DSL in 2025 with an overly passive approach and has shown a bit more in the complex this season. Consider him a stand in for the sort of low-minors flier piece that would round out this deal which the Mets (who have orders of magnitude information and aptitude) could more effectively pick out.

Tyrone Taylor to the Pirates

Pirates receive: OF Tyrone Taylor
Mets receive: RHP Carlos Mateo

The Pirates should be adding more than this but do you really expect them to? Yeah, me neither. Adding some marginal OF depth to push Billy Cook back to Triple-A is a very Pirates move. The Mets can take a flier on Mateo, a 20-year-old with very interesting fastball traits but highly questionable command while clearing the way for Nick Morabito to get some run down the stretch. The Pirates can say they added at the deadline and move an arm they’ll likely never notice is gone. Everyone wins.

Huascar Brazobán to the Rays

Rays receive: RHP Huascar Brazoban
Mets receive: RHP TJ Nichols

For some reason, Brazobán just feels like a guy the Rays would appreciate. He gets it done in any role—opener, fireman, late-inning guy—and does it with an arsenal and shape of production that isn’t exactly typical. You can just see Tampa, who sit atop the AL East currently but could probably use some reinforcement in their pitching staff, valuing that unconventional piece more than some other teams. They also probably value Brazobán’s cheap control after this season.

Trading with the Rays is always dangerous, but it also presents a distinct opportunity. Because the Rays always have a crowded 40-man situation, they might be more willing to move talent that, on paper, is a bit rich, but who they’d be forced to leave exposed to Rule 5 in the offseason anyway. There’s a number of names you could pick out for this, but let’s go with right hander TJ Nichols, who will need to be added to the 40-man this offseason.

Nichols has not been particularly good this season in Double-A, with an undisclosed early season injury seemingly derailing his 2026. His 2025 season, however, was electric, and he at one point seemed ticketed for top-100 prospect status. He could be a #3 starter, more of a back-end guy, a reliever, or nothing at all, but this is the sort of higher upside dice roll you’d like to see the Mets take if it’s available to them.

Luis Robert to the Astros

Astros receive: OF Luis Robert Jr. (remainder of 2026 salary covered by New York)
Mets receive: RHP Bryce Mayer

The Luis Robert gamble has not worked out for the Mets (though they gave up basically nothing to roll the dice here). Lumbar spine inflammation has kept Robert out since late April, and he’s now been effectively supplanted by A.J. Ewing in center.

But the Astros may very well channel their inner Tobias Fünke and convince themselves that Robert might work for them. After all, he was quite good in the second half of 2025 for Chicago; who’s to say he doesn’t have another second half run in him? Houston desperately needs outfield help and is still very much in the playoff hunt on the back of Yordan Alvarez’s MVP-caliber season.

The return is Bryce Mayer, a 24-year-old righty with big extension, high spin, and a low release height, all the key fastball ingredients…except the most important one, velocity. Even though he sits in the low 90s, the pitch plays up. He’s still working on refining his secondaries and improving his command (more than 5 walks per 9 in Double-A this season) but there are a lot of appealing modern ingredients here worth taking a shot on. The cost may seem high based on ordinal team lists, but when you account for how weak the Astros’ farm is it’s much more reasonable, particularly with the Mets kicking in some money for the cash-strapped Astros.

Here we are once again preparing for another Braves rubber match.

Friday’s dominant showing was followed up by an unlucky 7-6 Saturday loss, leaving the Braves’ first series of the second half of the season against the Texas Rangers level at a win apiece.

Surely that means the Braves will have some form of luck on their side for Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. ET finale at Truist Park, right? If only baseball worked that way.

Follow along and share your thoughts below as the Braves look to keep the Phillies (who will be in a simultaneous rubber match with the Mets Sunday afternoon) at arm’s length.

The Cincinnati Reds got spanked by the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon on a toasty day in Coors Field. Rhett Lowder simply couldn’t find a way to throw a ball past a single Rocky, eventually exiting after just 2.1 IP having allowed 11 hits and 8 earned runs.

As a result, the Cincinnati bullpen got an early taxing right out of the gate in the second half. So, they’ll be hoping that the Hunter Greene they get on Sunday is the same guy who fired 7.0 IP of scoreless, 12 strikeout ball in his most recent outing against the Chicago Cubs.

The bullpen needs it. The team itself needs it, as they sit just 44-53 and in obvious seller mode with the MLB trade deadline just two weeks away. If they can’t get things rallied immediately, well, we’re going to see this team torn apart and rebuilt in what’s become a fine tradition with this front office.

Ryan Feltner will start for the Rockies in Sunday’s series finale, with first pitch set for 3:10 PM ET. That’s just about the exact same time as the World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina, but certainly you’ll be watching a Reds/Rockies game in July instead.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to begin this one:

Here’s the Pirates’ lineup:

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cleveland Guardians, July 19, 2026, 1:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are finishing off their first series of the season’s second half as they take on the Cleveland Guardians in a Sunday afternoon game.

The Battle of the Aces in today’s matchup, as Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pirates. He is struggling this season with an 8-8 record, but his 3.57 ERA is still relatively sound. Skenes has won his last two starts, including his most recent game against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 12. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs in Pittsburgh’s 14-5 victory over Milwaukee. A 10-run fourth inning gave the Pirates everything they needed to coast. He only logged 82 pitches, so he could have gone further if he needed to.

The Guardians are going with their opening-day starter, Tanner Bibee, who has also struggled this season. Bibee is 3-9 with a 3.90 ERA, but he grabbed a win in his last start against the Miami Marlins on July 11. He pitched 6.2 innings, gave up five hits and one earned run in a 4-1 victory. The Guardians are 6-14 in games where Bibee pitches, which is not what you want from your best pitcher. The Pirates will try to continue that trend against the Guardians this afternoon.

Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Paul Skenes (8-8, 3.57 ERA) vs. Tanner Bibee (3-9, 3.90 ERA)

BD community, this is your gameday thread. Chime off in the comments section below.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks host the St. Louis Cardinals in the rubber match of a three-game weekend series in Phoenix. Heading into the final series before the All-Star break, Arizona was 13-28 against winning teams, getting outscored by 1.9 runs a game.

However, they outscored the Dodgers 23-8 in a three-game sweep and now look to win a series over the Cardinals as -117 moneyline favorites to start the stretch run. 

My Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks predictions and MLB picks call for Arizona’s hot streak to continue with a win on Sunday, July 19.  

Who will win Cardinals vs Diamondbacks today: Diamondbacks -1.5 (+176)

The Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t winning games these days. They're beating teams up. 

Saturday’s win over the St. Louis Cardinals was the fourth time in five games that the Diamondbacks have scored five or more runs. Meanwhile, they’ve allowed three or fewer in five of six.

They’ll be facing Andre Pallante, who has allowed opponents to hit .313 over the past month.

Four of the 10 Diamondbacks batters to face Pallante have career OPS’ over 1.000 against him, and combined, Arizona’s roster has hit .341 against him.

The Cardinals aren’t scoring enough to keep up. The run-line odds seem very favorable. I’d give up the runs as long as I’m better than +150.

COVERS INTEL: After throwing his fastballs 55% of the time last year, Eduardo Rodriguez is below 48% this season. Not being able to count on seeing it has made it harder to hit. Opponents are hitting .196 against the four-seamer, down 91 points from last year.

Cardinals vs Diamondbacks Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (-137)

Even with the Diamondbacks reaching five runs fairly regularly, neither team has been posting many Overs. Arizona has done it just three times in the last 10, while the Cardinals have gone Over just twice in that span.

Arizona lefty Rodriguez just made his first All-Star team in his eleventh MLB season. His fastball, breaking stuff, and offspeed pitches are all in the top quartile in MLB for run value.

He’s throwing his changeup 27% of the time, up from 20%, and foes are hitting .195 against that. The curve (.212 average against) has also seen a big jump in usage.

Like Pallante, Rodriguez avoids solid contact rather than overwhelming batters. Arizona and St. Louis both have above-average ground-ball rates, so this should be a low-scoring, low-pitch count clash.

Cardinals vs Diamondbacks weather

The Chase Field dome will be closed today, so weather will not be an issue in this game.

Cardinals vs Diamondbacks odds

• Moneyline: Cardinals +113 | Diamondbacks -117
• Run line: Cardinals +1.5 (-186) | Diamondbacks -1.5 (+178)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+127) | Under 9.5 (-133)

Cardinals vs Diamondbacks trend

The Arizona Diamondbacks have only hit the Game Total Over in 15 of their last 50 games (-19.00 Units / -34% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks.

How to watch Cardinals vs Diamondbacks and game info

Cardinals vs Diamondbacks latest injuries

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Texas Rangers @ Atlanta Braves

Sunday, July 19, 2026, 12:35 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Truist Park

RHP Nathan Eovaldi vs. RHP Grant Holmes

Go Rangers!

I’ve been with you the first three games of this weekend, let’s finish it out, shall we?

⚾️ First Pitch: 1:35pm — Fenway Park, Boston MA

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – CF
Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Francisco Lindor – SS
Carson Benge – LF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – RF
Luis Torrens – C

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Phillies lineup

Trea Turner – SS
Kyle Schwarber – DH
Bryce Harper – 1B
Brandon Marsh – LF
Alec Bohm – 3B
Bryson Stott – 2B
J.T. Realmuto – C
Gabriel Rincones – RF
Justin Crawford – CF

SP: Alan Rangel – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:35 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Sunday notes…

• SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE: This is the 15th of the Cubs’ 32 series in which they have split the first two games. They are 7-7 in third games, including 5-4 after losing, then winning. But they lost the only two such previous games at Wrigley Field, to the Nationals on March 29 and to the Giants on June 7. They won the two rubber games at home after having won, then lost, vs. the Angels on April 1 and the Rockies on June 17. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• SERIES NOTE: The Cubs are 15-14-2 in series before this one. They have won the last two and are 7-1-1 in the last nine. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THE LONG BALL: The Cubs won yesterday despite giving up two homers and hitting one. They are 15-25 when they have hit fewer homers than their opponent, 20-12 with the same number and 20-6 with more. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Four Cubs home runs (Shawon Dunston, Gary Matthews, Dave Martinez and Ryne Sandberg), three of them off former Cub Mike Krukow, led the team to an 11-6 win over the Giants at Wrigley Field. It happened 40 years ago today, Saturday, July 19, 1986.

Cubs lineup:

Twins lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Zebby Matthews, RHP

As I wrote in the mid-season grades article, Shōta Imanaga’s year can be split into three parts:

First nine starts: 2.32 ERA, 0.902 WHIP, 59 strikeouts and only five HR allowed in 54.1 innings
Next four starts: 10.80 ERA, 1.524 WHIP, 12 (!) home runs allowed in 21.2 innings
Next six starts: 2.81 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 31 strikeouts and five HR allowed in 32 innings

Now you tell me which one is the real Shōta. He’s been pretty good apart from that four-start interregnum. Hopefully he can continue the good pitching he’s had over the last six.

Last year against the Twins, July 8, 2025 at Target Field, Imanaga held them to five hits and two runs in six innings. That’d work today, I think.

Fun fact: Zebby Matthews’ full name is Daniel Zebulon Matthews.

This is Matthews’ first full year in the Twins’ rotation. He has had his moments of success this year, but over his last two starts he’s allowed eight runs in 10.2 innings, with six walks and three home runs allowed. Warm up your bats, Cubs hitters!

Matthews has never faced the Cubs or anyone on their active roster. So it should be an interesting afternoon.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Twins site Twinkie Town. If you do go there to interact with Twins fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are slight road favorites against the New York Yankees, and I’m staying with the better offense.

Cam Schlittler is Cam Schlittler, but this is a brutal test against a Dodgers lineup built to punish his main flaw. I’m also taking the Under with two starters capable of limiting free traffic.

Here are my Dodgers vs. Yankees predictions and MLB picks for July 19.

Who will win Dodgers vs Yankees tonight: Dodgers moneyline (-115)

Cam Schlittler has shown few weaknesses, but barrel damage is one that has started to appear. For strikeout-heavy aces, there is always a tradeoff for all of the high velocity stuff you've shown and that's usually hard-hit balls.

Schlittler has allowed an 8.3% barrel rate (bottom 40 percentile), and that issue has surfaced in two of his last three starts: eight earned runs and six homers against the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers, two top-five barrel-rate offenses.

You don't need me to tell you that this could be a big issue against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto counters with a 6.5% barrel rate and low hard-hit rate against New York’s homer reliant offense. I'd play this to -140.

COVERS INTEL: Cam Schlittler’s walk rate sits at just 5.3%, a key reason I prefer the full-game Under.

Dodgers vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 9 (-110)

I like the Under. Schlittler’s 29% strikeout rate and low walk rate gives the New York Yankees a way to manage traffic, even against baseball’s most complete offense.

Yamamoto is the bigger reason I like the number. He has allowed a .280 xwOBA with a 6.5% barrel rate, and his pitch mix makes it tough for hitters to sit on one shape.

The Yankees can hit mistakes (they are the Yankees after all), but sustained rallies are less likely if Yamamoto keeps them guessing. Good to -120.

Dodgers vs Yankees weather

Dodgers vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Los Angeles -115 | New York +100
• Run line: Los Angeles +1.5 | New York -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9

Dodgers vs Yankees trend

The New York Yankees have hit the Team Total Under in 18 of their last 25 games (+10.20 Units / 33% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Yankees.

How to watch Dodgers vs Yankees and game info

Dodgers vs Yankees latest injuries

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.