Category: Baseball

Good morning, baseball fans!

As the San Francisco Giants were losing Tuesday night’s game, I predicted that the Colorado Rockies would win their game and push the Giants back into fifth place. And they did just that.

Now, I’m writing this before Wednesday’s games, so things might change between now and the time this publishes (as they are wont to do). And I absolutely do hope this was just a brief stop at the bottom. But the fact remains that as of the time this is being written, the Giants are in last place in the NL West.

I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. I guess I’d gotten so used to the Rockies just being a non-factor that I assumed fourth place was the floor. I hate being wrong.

Anyway, let’s get the vent session going. How are we feeling about this development? Personally, it doesn’t really matter if this is just a brief stop at the bottom of the division. Falling below the Rockies feels like a bridge too far.

My dad and I had a conversation after Tuesday’s loss, and he predicted that either Tony Vitello won’t last the season, or Buster Posey won’t. I pointed out the fears I shared at the time of Posey’s appointment. Huge upside if it goes well. But if it doesn’t…how could they possibly part ways with a franchise icon that has such goodwill in the fanbase?

Personally, I think the first to go will be Vitello. And I think I have to agree with my father, that he will not make it through the season. I don’t know how much of that would be deserved vs. being a convenient scapegoat. But that’s just how things have tended to go over the last few seasons.

How are you feeling about the Giants’ falling to fifth place?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants wrap up this four-game road series against the Milwaukee Brewers this morning at 11:10 a.m. PT.

The Guardians took game 2 from the Yankees last night after the Guards offense got Garrit Cole for 3 home runs, the only home runs Cole has allowed this season. Nick has the recap.

After taking the series from the Yankees in the Bronx, it is the perfect time to remind everyone to VOTE GUARDS. Yes, All-Star Voting is already here with the Midsummer Classic fast approaching. The Guardians are 9 games above .500 and there are multiple Guardians that are more than deserving to go. You can vote 5 times a day, per email here.

Voting for the 2026 All-Star Game is now LIVE!

Cast your vote here ➡️ https://t.co/ozExOgIEBi#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/friAy6Eu7l

— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) June 3, 2026

Cade Smith was bestowed the honor of American League Reliever of the Month for the month of May with his league leading 13 saves.

Heckuva month for Agent 36. 😤

Cade Smith has been named the American League Reliever of the Month.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/woHE9xliRH

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 3, 2026

The K'D Crusader was absolutely lights out in May.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/X3J7TNdoys

— GuardsTV (@GuardsTV) June 4, 2026

Luke Hill, who was recently promoted to AA Akron RubberDucks, was named the Guardians hottest hitting prospect by MLB. In his short time with the RubberDucks, Hill hit a double for his first AA RBI.

The new guy is pretty good!!

Luke Hill with a two-out, two-strike RBI double for his first Double-A RBI!#QuAkronpic.twitter.com/Dp73v0hXNP

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) June 3, 2026

Around the League

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Christopher Sánchez had his historic streak come to a close last night. After pitching 50 and 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, the lefty gave up a game tying hit to the Padres. Sánchez takes the honor of the fifth-longest single-season streak since 1893.

The Angels gave up a home run on just about the closest thing to a double doink you can see in baseball.

Off his glove, off his head, and out!

One of the strangest home runs you've ever seen 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KaPpp1r9Cx

— MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2026

The month of May has only added more intrigue when it comes to the Yankees. With two full pages of the calendar behind us, the Bombers are still fighting to reclaim first place, with the Rays playing some good baseball to wrap up the spring.

Regardless of any team success or struggle, another month in the book means a new slate of defensive highlights to look back on. New York ranks as a roughly league-average defensive unit up to this point based on Outs Above Average, but that doesn’t mean they can’t flash the leather now and then. Here’s a look at May’s best.

May 3rd: Judge tracks it down

In a tied game in the third inning, the Orioles began to threaten when Taylor Ward slashed a ball towards the wall in right field. With the ball tailing and carrying all the way to the wall, Aaron Judge raced back and used every bit of his 6-foot-7 frame to reach and snag the ball. His jump took him into the wall fairly hard, but he held onto the ball, and secured the second out of the inning.

May 4th: Ryan McMahon goes full extension

Despite his flaws, which can grow tiring, Ryan McMahon’s calling card has always been his glove. Since his arrival, almost every edition of this series has featured some spectacular play by the Yankees’ third baseman, and May of ‘26 was no different. Later in the O’s series, with the Yankees leading in the seventh, Tim Hill induced a chopper down the line, which McMahon was fairly far from. This didn’t stop him from stabbing the grounder in a fully-extended dive toward foul territory planting his feet and firing a laser over to first base.

May 7th: Jasson Domínguez gives his all

In the very first at-bat in a game against the Rangers, Brandon Nimmo swatted a ball deep into left-center, destined for extra-bases. That was before Jasson Domínguez charged all the way back to the wall, and snagged the fly ball just a beat before crashing into the fence. It was a spectacular play to kick off the game, but certainly came at a cost, as he has not seen the field since then, with a fairly significant sprain of his AC joint on this play.

May 15th: Schlittler bounces back with a beauty

This is a bit of a two-for-one from the mid-May Subway Series. First, with one out in the third inning, Cam Schlittler took a low liner off the shoe, before Anthony Volpe redirected to collect the ball and make a slick play to record the out at first. An inning later, Schlittler showed his athleticism, when he pounced off the mound to barehand a soft chopper before making a terrific fadeaway throw over to first for the out. It was an eventful few innings for the righty, but was certainly a defensive highlight of the month.

May 20th: Bellinger uses every inch of the leather

Later in the month, in a 0-0 ballgame with a the Blue Jays, the Yankees once again benefitted from some fancy glovework. With Schlittler on the mound once again, the righty induced a slicing fly ball toward the left field wall off the bat of a lefty. Cody Bellinger got a good jump and was immediately headed toward the wall, and was forced to used all of his lengthy wingspan to bring in the second out of the inning. Like some of his teammates, a month of Yankees baseball is not complete without a highlight from Bellinger.

Hello, friends.

The short-lived winning streak is over. The Orioles have a remarkable talent this year of really putting up a crushing loss right after putting something positive together for a few days. They’ve yet to win more than three games in a row this season. That will continue to be the case for at best several days more. The latest three-gamer came to an end with last night’s 8-1 loss to the Red Sox. Check out Alex Church’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.

The game was a return to some of the rougher parts of this season. Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt labored through three innings; there was clear concern about something to do with his health. After the game, manager Craig Albernaz indicated that Bassitt was dealing with lower back tightness. I’m sure trying to pitch through that was tough. There have also been plenty of games this year where Bassitt pitched badly and there was no indication of any kind of injury.

There was no immediate sign from the team whether that might be an ongoing concern for Bassitt. If they think he needs the injured list, they’ll probably pull the trigger on that immediately, so they can get an extra reliever for the next few days and bring up somebody who might be within the window where they can’t come back to MLB except if replacing an injured player.

Another unfortunately familiar thing about last night’s game was the downsides of playing the infielder Blaze Alexander in center field. There was at least one supremely botched play from Alexander that led to further Red Sox offense within an inning. Stop putting infielders in the outfield! It shouldn’t be hard. But the apparent fanatical devotion to trying to press the platoon advantage has continuing downsides. At least Alexander is hitting a little better lately, so he’s not a total lost cause out there, only most of one.

All of this came while the offense was facing a left-handed starting pitcher in young Red Sox starter Payton Tolle. The Orioles broke the winless curse against lefty starters a while ago, but they haven’t gotten themselves back to a good place just yet. It doesn’t feel a whole lot better with the knowledge that, unlike many of the lefties who’ve worked the O’s over this year, Tolle has actually been good. He has a 2.28 ERA following last night’s outing. Must be nice to just draft a guy like that in the second round and have him turn into a solid major leaguer within two years.

After last night’s loss, the team is 7-14 when facing a lefty starter. This is another enduring challenge for the team, represented most dramatically in the person of Tyler O’Neill. The right-handed batting O’Neill is hitting .106 against lefties this year. It’s unreal. He sits at -1.1 bWAR through 92 games as an Oriole.

As with any other loss, last night’s setback was just one game. The Orioles have a chance to make us feel better as soon as today if they can play a better game. Taking a road series by winning today in Boston would ease the sting of what happened on Wednesday. The problem with hoping for this outcome is Trevor Rogers, who has spent the 2026 season getting punished for every bit of good fortune he had in 2025. Or, more likely, he just hasn’t been pitching well. The recent improvement from much of the starting rotation has left him behind.

Don’t show up at 7 o’clock for the game. It’s a 1:35 start time in the getaway day. As of this writing, there’s no listed Red Sox starting pitcher. They may use an opener or something. I don’t know. I try not to spend unnecessary time thinking about the Red Sox.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Samuel Basallo says one plate appearance led to his breakout. Here’s how. (The Baltimore Banner)
In Basallo’s recounting, drawing a walk on April 20 was the start of something great. From that game through the start of last night’s game, he was OPSing over 1.000, so the story checks out.

“No elephants in the room”: Orioles players detail the value of Pete Alonso’s leadership (The Baltimore Sun)
I’ll feel better about the $31 million a year once he hits some more dingers. But, everyone seems to agree that this sort of leadership is what the Orioles were lacking, and that’s worth something.

Next step for the Orioles: Play better on the road (Steve on Baseball)
The Orioles are 19-15 at home, and after last night, are 10-18. If they were .500 on the road, they’d be 33-29 instead. Things would probably feel better if they’d managed four more road wins.

Frederick outfielder RJ Austin’s calling card is versatility (Baltimore Baseball)
The draft picks ahead of last year’s third rounder have understandably gotten a lot of attention. This Vanderbilt product could still make an impact.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

In their 62nd game last year, the Orioles lost to the Athletics, 5-4, leaving their record at 25-37 for the season. Dean Kremer gave up five runs in 5.1 innings, which meant home runs by Dylan Carlson and Jackson Holliday weren’t enough. The 2026 Orioles are currently 29-33. They continue to remain four wins better than last year’s team. They’re going to need more improvement eventually or this thing will end up at 79 wins.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2009-10 pitcher Cla Meredith, 2012 pitcher J.C. Romero, 1986 infielder Ricky Jones, and 1954 infielder Billy Hunter. Hunter passed away in Lutherville last year at age 97.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: revolutionary war loser George III (1738), actor Keith David (1956), and actress Angelina Jolie (1975).

On this day in history…

In 1411, French king Charles IV granted a monopoly to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon for the process of ripening cheese in nearby caves. The legally distinct Roquefort cheese continues to exist in European Union law today.

In 1745, Prussian monarch Frederick II led his forces to victory over the Austrians in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg, part of the War of the Austrian Succession. This decisive victory was one of those that led to Frederick getting “the Great” appended to his name.

In 1919, Congress approved the Nineteenth Amendment, which would guarantee suffrage to women. The amendment was then sent to the states for approval.

In 1942, Japanese carriers began to attack an American base at Midway Island, the start of a four-day battle where the American navy sunk all four Japanese carriers.

In 1989, protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were violently suppressed by the Chinese army, leaving as many as 10,000 dead.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 4. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!

Nick Loftin chose a really good time to hit his first home run on the season.

The Royals found their resilience to go with a few desperately needed bullpen answers Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park.

Nick Loftin belted his first home run of the season in a three-run ninth as the Royals claimed the rubber game of the three-game series with a 5-2 win over the Reds.

It was just the sixth series-finale win in 20 tries this season for the Royals, who won their first road series since sweeping the Mariners in Seattle from May 1-3.

Loftin’s home run came after Michael Massey’s 10-pitch at-bat that ended with a tiebreaking single to right, scoring pinch-runner Tyler Tolbert – who was attempting to steal third on the pitch – to make it 3-2. All three runs in the ninth came off Cincinnati fill-in closer Tony Santillan (1-3), who took the loss.

Lucas Erceg is finally being moved out of the 9th inning… somewhat

As a result, Royals skipper Matt Quatraro announced before the series finale Wednesday that he will be making a change to the closer’s role.

“I think there’s two separate answers to that. In the short term, we’re going to match up, just based on who’s available that night and where we think the best avenue for us to get the win is,” Quatraro said. “But in the long term, I do think Erceg is a guy that we’re going to use in the ninth.”

Quatraro was careful to frame Wednesday’s announcement, making it clear that he won’t hesitate using the right-hander in higher-leverage situations. It just likely won’t be in the ninth if he feels he can use him earlier in the game. Erceg is 3-3 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP in 24 appearances covering 22 1/3 innings this season.

Yandel Ricardo is tearing it up in Columbia currently.

It’s telling when a player goes 1-for-23 over a seven-game stretch and still has undeniably an impressive month. That’s what happened for Ricardo with Single-A Columbia, where he ran hot from May 2-13 (.325/.372/.675) and picked up a full head of steam of late (.455/.520/.864, two homers in eight games since May 24). The switch-hitting shortstop has already doubled his career home run high with four through 45 games for the Fireflies and is gaining plenty of momentum in his age-19 season.

Also in Columbia, Kendry Chourio continues to dominate as well.

The Royals’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 77 overall, Chourio turned in 5 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday in a 3-1 win over Fayetteville at Segra Stadium. The stellar outing lowered his season ERA to 1.46.

It’s well known the Royals need to change it up in the bullpen, Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep spoke on it.

Luinder Avila had his best MLB start on Monday, O’Brien also talked about how he may be vital for KC

The Royals got outfielder Matthew Lugo, Caleb Moody of Kings of Kauffman talked about the acquisition.

MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand talked about the Royals trade deadline intentions after the slow start

Shohei Ohtani lowered his season ERA under 1.00

Christopher Sánchez’s long scoreless inning streak finally was snapped by the Padres

All-Star Voting is already happening

Mauricio Dubón has an interesting charm, and it’s working lately

CBA talks with Rob Manfred are happening

Aaron Judge to get more testing on rib cage

The Knicks took game one of the NBA Finals in San Antonio against the Spurs last night

Today’s song of the day is Hells Bells by AC/DC

What else is there to say about Cristopher Sánchez at this point? The streak may have ended at 50.2 innings, but he’s still the record holder for the longest streak as a left handed pitcher and is one of five pitchers ever to have a scoreless streak of at least 50 innings. We will likely never see something like this again in our lifetimes.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• We finally have some more clarity on Aidan Miller’s injury, except that its bad news, as Miller will undergo a back procedure and will be out of action for roughly 6-8 weeks.
• As may have been expected, Cristopher Sánchez has been named NL pitcher of the month for the month of May, beating out Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski.
• The Phillies are winning despite their poor offense thanks to pitching and the efforts of their big three lefty hitters in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh. ($)

MLB News:

• Well, it looks like Nick Castellanos won’t be getting his chance for a revenge game after all, as it was announced he was designated for assignment yesterday by the Padres.
• The Yankees are holding their collective breath as Aaron Judge sees a specialist for a bone bruise in his rib that is causing discomfort in his shoulder.
• Tarik Skubal figures to be the biggest name bandied about trade rumors this summer. Here are 7 possible locations he could get dealt to. ($)
• I regret to inform you, but it looks like the Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki is putting it all together.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (30-29)

GAME ONE: SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 6, SYRACUSE 3 / 7 (BOX)

Syracuse surrendered three in the third and three in the seventh, which put them in a tough 6-0 hole for the bottom of the seventh (and final) inning. They scored three — two on a Ben Rortvedt home run and one on a Matt Rudick single — but the six run deficit was too much to make up.

The big story of this one is that of Kodai Senga, who is continuing his rehab assignment. He was not particularly good, surrendering three runs and six hits over five. He struggled with his command, walking two, hitting two, and throwing two wild pitches. Jorge Polanco also continued his rehab, which may be coming to an end soon.

• RF Nick Morabito: 1-4, R, 3B, K
• REHAB ALERT: 1B Jorge Polanco: 0-2, K
• LF Matt Rudick: 1-1, RBI, BB
• DH Christian Arroyo: 0-3, BB, K
• LF-1B Ryan Clifford: 0-3, 3 K, E (6)
• 2B Ji Hwan Bae: 0-2, BB
• 3B Yonny Hernández: 1-2
• CF Cristian Pache: 0-2, R, 2 K
• C Ben Rortvedt: 1-2, R, HR (3), 2 RBI
• SS Jackson Cluff: 0-3, 3 K
• REHAB ALERT: RHP Kodai Senga: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 WP, 2 HBP
• RHP Danis Correa: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

GAME TWO: SYRACUSE 13, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 2 / 7 (BOX)

Well, this game went much better for the Mets. They scratched a run home in the first on a throwing error by the RailRiders’s. Nick Morabito stole third and scored on the aforementioned throwing error. They made it 5-0 in the third, with Christian Arroyo and Andy Ibáñez drove in runs, and Ryan Clifford stole home on a double steal with runners on first and second.

The game broke open even moreso in the sixth, as they scored eight runs en route to a split double header.

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 K, SB (16)
• LF Ji Hwan Bae: 1-4, 2 R, BB, K
• 2B Christian Arroyo: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, K
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 2-3, 2 R, BB, SB (5)
• 3B Andy Ibáñez: 1-3, 2 RBI, K
• DH Yonny Hernández: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K, SB (6)
• SS Jackson Cluff: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
• C Kevin Parada: 1-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K, E (2)
• RF Matt Rudick: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
• RHP Zach Peek: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• LHP Matt Turner: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Daniel Duarte: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• LHP Nate Lavender: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Jonathan Pintaro: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (18-34)

BINGHAMTON 16, READING 11 (BOX)

Binghamton came out firing after surrendering a run in the top of the first, going up 4-1 on RBI singles by JT Schwartz, Vincent Perozo and Wyatt Young, with a Jaylen Palmer RBI ground out for good measure. They kept in going in the second, as Schwartz, Perozo and Palmer combined to drive in five runs in the inning, making it 9-1 after two. Reading would actually come back, scoring seven over the third and fourth innings, and even took a 10-9 lead after seven.

Chris Suero would tie it at ten in the seventh, and a JT Schwartz grand slam made it 14-10. Reading would add one more in the eighth, but a two run TT Bowens home run would put the game out of reach.

• DH Chris Suero: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K
• CF Jose Ramos: 0-5, 2 R, BB, 2 K, E (5)
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 2-4, 3 R, K
• 1B JT Schwartz: 3-4, 3 R, HR (6), 7 RBI, BB, K
• C Vincent Perozo: 2-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, K
• LF Jaylen Palmer: 2-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K, SB (5)
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, K
• RF TT Bowens: 2-5, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 K
• 2B Kevin Villavicencio: 2-5, R
• RHP R.J. Gordon: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP, E (1, 2)
• RHP Douglas Orellana: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, H (1)
• RHP Guillo Zuñiga: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, BS (2)
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, W (3-1)
• RHP Saul Garcia: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 WP
• RHP Brian Metoyer: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (18-34)

JERSEY SHORE 5, BROOKLYN 4 / 10 (BOX)

Brooklyn struck first, as Colin Houck and Trace Willhoite drove in runs with a single and double respectively, making it 2-0 Cyclones. Jersey Shore would get one back, but a Diego Mosquera sacrifice fly and Grae Kessinger double made it 4-1 in the fifth. It would fall apart from there for Brooklyn, as they surrendered three runs in the seventh to tie it, and a walk off single in the tenth to lose it.

• SS Mitch Voit: 1-5
• DH Grae Kessinger: 1-5, 2B, RBI, 3 K
• 1B Corey Collins: 0-3, BB, 2 K
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 2-4, R, 3B, K
• CF John Bay: 0-4, 4 K
• 3B Colin Houck: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K
• LF Trace Willhoite: 2-3, R, 2 2B, RBI, BB
• RF Sam Biller: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 K
• 2B Diego Mosquera: 0-2, RBI, BB, K
• RHP Jose Chirinos: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP
• RHP Bryce Jenkins: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, H (4)
• LHP Gregori Louis: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, BS (2)
• RHP Parker Carlson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Hunter Hodges: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, L (0-2)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (24-29)

GAME ONE: CLEARWATER 2, ST. LUCIE 0 / 7 (BOX)

St. Lucie got no-hit. Clearwater used three pitchers, who surrendered two walks, no hits, and struck out 12. That about sums it all up. Oh, and Cam Tilly was pretty good and the bullpen gave up both runs.

• SS Elian Peña: 0-2, BB, SB
• 3B Antonio Jimenez: 0-3, 3 K
• 2B Trey Snyder: 0-3, 2 K
• 1B Randy Guzman: 0-2, BB, K, E
• CF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3, 2 K
• RF AJ Salgado: 0-2
• LF Branny De Oleo: 0-2, 2 K
• C Chase Meggers: 0-2, K, E
• DH Jeremy Rodriguez: 0-2, K
• RHP Cam Tilly: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP
• RHP Christian Rodriguez: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, L (2-1)

GAME TWO: CLEARWATER 5, ST. LUCIE 3 / 7 (BOX)

If a no-hitter in game one was frustrating in one way, game two’s loss was frustrating in a different direction. St. Lucie took a lead after trailing 1-0 going into the fifth, with Elian Pena doubling home a run and Antonio Jimenez singling home a run. That 2-1 lead would hold until the seventh, where Clearwater put four runs on Josh Blum, handing the Mets a double header sweep.

• DH Elian Peña: 1-2, R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K, SB (17)
• SS Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, RBI, 2 K, SB (3)
• RF Randy Guzman: 1-2, RBI, BB, K
• 1B Yohairo Cuevas: 0-4, K, 2 E (1, 2)
• LF Jackson Hauge: 0-3, K
• C Francisco Toledo: 0-3, K
• 3B Branny De Oleo: 0-3, K
• 2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-3, 2 K
• CF Sam Robertson: 0-1, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB (24)
• LHP Conner Ware: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP
• RHP Zack Mack: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Josh Blum: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, L (0-1), BS (1)
• RHP Miguel Mejias: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (9-9)

FCL METS 8, FCL NATIONALS 7 / 8 (BOX)

• CF Wyatt Vincent: 1-4, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, K
• LF Bohan Adderley: 2-4, R, 2 K, 3 SB (13, 14, 15)
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 1-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
• DH Josmir Reyes: 0-4, K
• RF Heriberto Rincon: 0-4, R
• 3B Roybert Herrera: 2-2, 2B, RBI
• PH Vladi Gomez: 0-0, R, SB (9)
• SS Anthony Frobose: 0-3, RBI, K
• 1B Yeider Mindiola: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, K, SB (4)
• 2B Diover De Aza: 0-3, 2 K
• RHP Jose Guevara: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• RHP Omar Victorino: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Jean Brito: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, BS (1)
• RHP Yoralbert Cadiz: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-1)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

JT Schwartz

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Gabriel Rodriguez

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 6-3 (7) and L, 2-13 (7) at Syracuse Mets

Game 1:

2B George Lombard Jr. 0-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
CF Spencer Jones 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera 0-3, 1 RBI, throwing error
DH Tyler Hardman 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
1B Seth Brown 3-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
C Ali Sánchez 1-4, 1 R, 1 K
RF Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
3B Jonathan Ornelas 1-4
LF Duke Ellis 1-3, 1 R, 1 K

Rafael Montero 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K
Carlos Lagrange 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 7 K (win) — stellar first outing in the ‘pen, though it was more of a bulk start
Bradley Hanner 1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (hold)
Peter Strzelecki 0.2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 1 HR
Yerry De los Santos 0.1 IP, 0 R (save)

Tyler Tank 💪#RepBXpic.twitter.com/h48OlE53jd

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) June 3, 2026

Game 2:

SS George Lombard Jr. 0-2, 1 BB
CF Spencer Jones 1-3, 1 2B, 1 K
RF-3B Oswaldo Cabrera 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr. 0-3, 2 K
3B-C Tyler Hardman 1-3
2B Jonathan Ornelas 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 K
1B Seth Brown 0-3
LF Kenedy Corona 0-3
C-P Edinson Duran 0-2, 1 BB, throwing error

Zach Messinger 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 4 K (loss)
Eric Reyzelman 0.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K
Dylan Coleman 2 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Danny Watson 0.1 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
Edinson Duran 1 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 2 BB — if there’s a game to wind up having to punt, a doubleheader where you already won the first game ain’t the worst

Ornelas outta here! 💣#RepBxpic.twitter.com/l4ulpk35ts

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) June 4, 2026

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 4-2 at Harrisburg Senators

LF Jackson Castillo 3-5, 2 2B, 1 RBI
CF Garrett Martin 1-5, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 SB
DH Nicholas Torres 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 K
RF DJ Gladney 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
2B Connor McGinnis 2-4, 1 R, 2 K
1B Abrahan Gutierrez 2-4, 1 RBI
C Miguel Palma 1-4, 1 RBI
3B Kevin Verde 1-4, 1 R, 1 K
SS Owen Cobb 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, throwing error

Cade Smith 5 IP, 1 R, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR (win)
Chris Kean 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 K (hold)
Matt Keating 1 IP, 0 R, 1 K (hold)
Michael Arias 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB (save)

WHAT AN AT BAT FROM JACKSON CASTILLO 🤯

Castillo fouls off SEVEN pitches, before roping an RBI double on the 11th pitch he sees to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/Zb1f2lT9oh

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 3, 2026

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 3-10 at Frederick Keys

2B Kaeden Kent 1-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 K
SS Core Jackson 0-2, 3 BB, 1 SB
C Eric Genther 1-5, 2 K, throwing error
1B Kyle West 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K, fielding error
RF Wilson Rodriguez 2-5, 1 2B, 1 K, fielding error
DH Roderick Arias 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
3B Enmanuel Tejeda 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
LF Josh Moylan 1-3, 1 2B, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer 0-4, 1 R, 1 K

Luis Serna 3.1 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, pickoff error (loss)
Bryce Warrecker 1.2 IP, 0 R, 2 K
Tony Rossi 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H
Brandon Decker 1 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 K

Kaeden Kent sends this one over the wall for a 3 run homer!😎 pic.twitter.com/7seifNllGw

— Hudson Valley Renegades (@HVRenegades) June 4, 2026

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:W, 14-5 vs. Palm Beach Cardinals

SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 3-6, 3 R, 2 K, 1 SB
3B Hans Montero 5-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 BB
C Luis Puello 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB
LF Logan Maxwell 2-4, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
RF JoJo Jackson 0-4, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
CF Willy Montero 1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
DH Engelth Urena 3-4, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SB
1B John Cristino 1-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
2B Luis Escudero 0-5, 1 K

Wyatt Parliament 4.2 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
J.T. Etheridge 3.1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K (win)
Jose M. Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 K

GRAND. SLAM. JOHN CRISTINO. 💥🚀#tampatarpons#MakingWavespic.twitter.com/wqtSLpg9S7

— Tampa Tarpons (@TampaTarpons) June 3, 2026

Florida Complex League Yankees: Off-day

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Off-day

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Off-day

On Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates took down the Houston Astros 10-6 on the road. Third baseman Nick Gonzales was a huge part of the Bucs offensive success against Houston. 

Gonzales went 3-4 with 3 hits and walked once. He has done a great job getting on base and producing in the middle of the lineup. 

 Gonzales leads the team with 65 hits after getting two more on Wednesday night, inlcuding a homer. He also has a batting average of .314 which is sixth in the Major Leagues. Gonzales may not show the most power, but he’s hit impressively well and held down third base this season. He now has 2 home runs and 29 RBIs, but with the high batting average and an OPS of .759,he has been a sneaky massive piece for Pittsburgh.

Players like Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, and Brandon Lowe are getting a lot of attention, but Nick Gonzales has to be the most underrated player so far. The Pirates are 33-29 and tied for second in the NL Central, and Gonzales deserves credit so far. 

Gonzales recorded his second three-hit game over his last three contests and added a season-high three runs scored in the Tuesday victory. On Wednesday, he extended his hitting streak to a modest five games and is hitting .476 (10-for-21) during the stretch.

The Pirates haven’t really needed Gonzales hitting as many home runs, as their 73 home runs shows, thanks to players like Cruz, second baseman Brandon Lowe, right fielder Ryan O’Hearn, left fielder Bryan Reynolds, first baseman Spencer Horwitz and others.

Gonzales has stayed consistent with his approach at the plate, and the Pirates are good with him and his performance, which isn’t hard to understand why with his strong hitting numbers so far.

The 27 year old deserves a lot more credit for the success of the team. The Buccos’ offense is much better this year than last year’s team, and Nicky G is a big reason because of that. If the Pirates want to be a playoff team this year and snap that 11 year playoff drought, they need him to continue to produce. 

Toledo Mud Hens 10, Iowa Cubs 2 (box)

Max Clark homered for the second straight day and the Hens crushed the Cubs again with a strong effort from the bullpen as well.

Troy Watson made a short start and did quite well against a pretty good Cubs lineup. He blanked them on three hits and a walk over 3.2 innings of work with four strikeouts.

Tyler Gentry opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third. Eduardo Valencia launched home run number 11 on the year to open the fifth, and it was 2-0 Hens.

In the sixth, Max Anderson led off with a walk and stole second base. Hao-Yu Lee smoked a sharp single to left that scored Anderson and took second on the play. A Trei Cruz single plated Lee for a 4-0 lead.

Ricky Vanasco took over from Watson for four outs, striking out two. Woo-Suk Go followed that up with a pair of perfect innings and three punchouts of his own. Tyler Mattison handled the eighth without allowing a baserunner either.

In the seventh, Max Clark cracked a 420 foot shot to right that left the bat at 108 mph. Yesterday he homered off a lollypop from a position player, but this was a no-doubter and over the past two weeks Clark has started pulling the ball with more authority. Good signs from the top outfield prospect in baseball.

Here’s a look at Max Clark’s solo bomb from earlier. Left his bat at 108 MPH and went 420 feet. It’s his 4th home run of the year, and his 2nd in as many days. pic.twitter.com/YbEgqXAb7E

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 3, 2026

Hao-Yu Lee doubled in Ben Malgeri and Gage Workman in the eighth. After walks to Cruz and Valencia, Jace Jung doubled in two and scored on groundout later in the inning to make it 10-0. Scott Effross allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Lee: 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B

Clark: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, BB, K

Valencia: 1-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB

Watson: 3.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:38 p.m. ET start on Thursday.

Erie SeaWolves 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 2 (box)

Kenny Serwa put together his best outing of the season, but it took a late rally for the Flying Tigers to comeback and win this one.

Serwa gave up a run in the third, but otherwise the knuckleballer was in full control. He fired five innings of one-run ball with a walk allowed against seven strikeouts. Wandisson Charles handled the sixth and seventh innings without allowing a run.

The SeaWolves had the leadoff man on repeatedly in this one, but couldn’t break through until the eighth. Bennett Lee led off the inning with a solo shot that tied the game at 1-1. Seth Stephenson followed with a single and stole second base. Brett Callahan flew out, but John Peck reached on an error and Thayron Liranzo walked to load the bases. The Dragons’ Mitch White walked Justice Bigbie to force in a run, and a Peyton Graham single made it 3-1.

Tyler Owens wild pitched in a run in the bottom of the eighth, so it was 3-2 Erie heading into the ninth. Stephenson walked with one out, and the speedy center fielder had no trouble scoring on a Callahan drive to center that got down for a double. Luke Taggart struck out three in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save, but only after allowing a pair of two-out singles that brought the go-ahead run to the plate.

Brett Callahan with a big RBI double in the 9th that puts the SeaWolves up 4-2. pic.twitter.com/9QQkCuxa7p

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 4, 2026

Stephenson: 2-4, 2 R, BB, SB, CS

Callahan: 2-5, RBI, 2B, 2 K

Graham: 1-3, RBI, BB, K

Coming Up Next: The series is tied up heading into Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. ET matchup in Richmond.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Dayton Dragons 4 (box)

Ben Jacobs had a rough outing, but the Whitecaps rallied with a three-run eighth inning to win on Wednesday and even the series.

Andrew Sears started things off with a rehab start. He gave up a run in the first, but only one hit and no walks, with four strikeouts over three good innings of work. He looks close to heading back to Double-A Erie soon.

Jacobs succeeded him, allowing three runs in five innings of work with six strikeouts. Jacobs wasn’t hit hard other than a Jacob Friend solo shot, but three walks and some wildness in the fourth especially helped the Dragons out quite a bit.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Whitecaps took advantage of leadoff walks to Jackson Strong and Luke Shliger. Cristian Santana struck out, but Juan Hernandez walked as well, loading the bases. Woody Hadeen singled in Strong, while Andrew Sojka singled in Shliger and Hernandez to make it a 3-3 game.

Dayton scored one in the seventh to take a one-run lead, but in the bottom of the eighth, Hadeen and Penngton walked and Bryce Rainer strafed an opposite field doubled to score Hadeen. That tied the game, and then the Dragons couldn’t handle a Clayton Campbell pop-up and Pennington scored. A Strong ground out allowed Rainer to score and make it 6-4 where it ended. Jalen Evans tossed a perfect ninth to earn his first save with the ‘Caps.

Bryce Rainer lines an RBI double to left to tie the game for West Michigan in the 8th inning. @ThatDanHasty on the call. pic.twitter.com/LN4oAYaRtA

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 4, 2026

Hadeen: 2-3, R, RBI, BB

Sears: 3.0 IP, ER, H, 0 BB, 4 K

Jacobs (W, 1-0): 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, HBP

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 11, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 5 (box)

A six-run rally in the eighth blew open a close game as the Flying Tigers took down the Mighty Mussels on Wednesday.

They jumped out to an early lead in the first as Jordan Yost led off the bottom half with an opposite field single and took second on a passed ball. Jude Warwick walked, and with one-out, Edian Espinal smoked a drive into the right field corner for a two-run triple. Espinal remains a very interesting story as the Tigers teach him the catching position while he continues to rake, now holding a .915 OPS on the season. Jesus Pinto, the other fast riser in Lakeland, reached on an error as Espinal scored to make it 3-0.

Edian Espinal hits this into the right center gap for a triple. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/zdmsOrewqg

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 3, 2026

Meanwhile, Cash Kuiper was crusing through three innings. In the fourth, he couldn’t quite corral a comeback from Enrique Jimenez, last seen being traded by the Tigers to the Twins for Chris Paddack. An error by Carson Rucker followed, and then Hunter Dobbins took a catchers interference call. Kuiper wasn’t hit hard, but a three-run inning for Fort Myers followed from those mistakes, including another one from right fielder Anibal Salas, tying the game. Fort Myers added one in the fifth as Kuiper’s outing came to an end.

The Flygers answered back in the bottom of the fifth. Salas singled, and Yost walked before Warwick tripled them both in to re-capture a one-run lead. Warwick got a little greedy heading down the third base line and got tagged out, but they had the lead. Jan Carabello allowed Fort Myers to tie things up again in the seventh, but in the eighth Lakeland took control for good.

Jude Warwick puts Lakeland ahead 5-4 with a sharp 2-run triple down the line, but he gets tagged out after starting too far from the base. pic.twitter.com/9MnVhVTYoL

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 4, 2026

Yost was hit by a pitch and stole second base to start the inning. Warwick singled, and Beau Ankeney doubled them both in after a pretty epic 10 pitch battle. Fort Myers went back to the pen, but the new reliever hit Espinal before striking out Pinto. Nick Dumesnil grounded out, moving both runners into scoring position, and Rucker walked. Hunter Dobbins followed with a grand slam to left center field to put this one in the bag.

Hunter Dobbins turns on this slider and crushes a grand slam to left to put Lakeland up 11-5. @AaronArnstein would have called it, but the microphone is angry at him. pic.twitter.com/sNSasex9qo

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 4, 2026

Warwick: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB

Yost: 1-2, 3 R, BB, SB

Kuiper: 4.2 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, K

Coming Up Next: The series is even at a game apiece heading into a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Thursday.

Apologies for the old school Today on PSA, but the editing night ran into morning rather quick this time around. The Yankees gave us a classic “just out of reach the whole time” type of game, giving up a run and then clawing it back just to give up another and stay barely behind. The series might be lost, but they could still salvage the finale and get a little momentum back for their upcoming matchup with their archrivals.

We’ve got a busy morning with a matinee getaway game, so let’s get into what’s in store beforehand. Sam starts us off with a look at the best defensive plays the Bombers made in the field in May, and then comes back to go through the Rivalry Roundup as the Tigers delivered a surprise sweep of the Rays. Jeff gives Phil Linz his flowers on his birthday and remembers his infamous harmonica story, Jonathan examines Ryan McMahon’s play in the last month and where he’s managed to make improvements, and Peter has the At-Bat of the Week featuring Paul Goldschmidt.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Guardians.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. Who outside of the usual top of the lineup candidates can step up with Aaron Judge out?

2. Will Big G be able to hit the ground running when he comes back, or are you expecting a slow start?

MLB.com | Jason Foster: We’re six weeks out from the 2026 All-Star Game, taking place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The official voting opened yesterday, and the Yankees feature a trio of strong candidates to start in Aaron Judge (if he’s healthy), Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger. A desperately weak second base field may even open up a spot for Jazz Chisholm Jr., despite his own best efforts (last night notwithstanding). Pitching isn’t chosen by the fans but it’s hard to argue that the Yankees won’t have at least one starting pitcher included in the group as well.

SNY | Ben Pawlak: The course is not yet clear for the Captain. Aaron Judge will undergo further imaging on his chest and ribs to best identify the course of treatment for this bone bruise that has upended his season. Suffice to say Judge will not be in the lineup for Thursday’s finale with the Guardians, and I would put his status for this weekend’s brush with the Red Sox in doubt too.

The Athletic | Brandon Kuty ($): The Yankees announced they were moving Carlos Lagrange to the bullpen for Triple-A Scranton on Tuesday, seeming to put him on a fast track to debut with the big league club this year. With the performance of the Yankee bullpen, especially the higher-leverage arms needed to navigate the seventh or eighth innings, Lagrange’s success as a reliever becomes more of a need than a want. Camilo Doval doesn’t seem to have the consistency necessary for a high-leverage spot, and while Lagrange can hit the same velo, hopefully he can be more reliable as he gets tuned up for MLB.

Evidently, Lagrange’s 2026 bullpen debut went quite nicely.

First relief appearance of the season for Carlos Lagrange:

4 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 2 bb, 7 k, 1 hbp.

Max velo: 101.4 mph.

— Conor Foley (@ConorFoleyYES) June 3, 2026

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: In all our Gerrit Cole excitement, it’s worth remembering that Clarke Schmidt is also rehabbing from Tommy John, and the right-hander has begun throwing bullpens at Yankee Stadium. Schmidt underwent surgery on July 11th of last year and will likely be able to face live hitters before the 12-month anniversary of the procedure. What his exact role with the Yankees will be is to be decided, but you always need more pitching.

At the beginning of this series, Mark Grace remarked that the Diamondbacks needed to take advantage of the starting pitching matchups in the first two games because – on paper at least – they favored the D-Backs. The first game featured a resurgent Eduardo Rodriguez against youngster Emmet Sheehan while the second one pitted the reinvented Michael Soroka against journeyman Eric Lauer. Grace’s recommendation was certainly heeded in the first game when Rodriguez went six innings and allowed just one run, but Soroka wasn’t quite able to take the baton the next night even if he ended stronger than he started. Frustratingly, the script flipped on starting pitching beginning with Shohei Ohtani and his otherworldly 0.82 ERA going tonight while Justin Wrobleski and his excellent 2.87 ERA will round out the series. As expected, the D-Backs ran headlong into the buzzsaw that Ohtani has been on the bump this season while Zac Gallen labored through just five innings and gave up five runs. There were essentially no highlights for the D-Backs tonight, just lowlights. Seriously, if you’re a Diamondbacks’ fan, go read a book or talk to a friend instead.

The vibes for the night started off poorly with Ketel Marte being scratched from the lineup late with “full body fatigue” that was later clarified to be more focused on his hamstring as Torey Lovullo explained that he would prefer to give him a day off today than push him through the pain. They did not improve through the night. After a scoreless first, Mookie Betts leadoff the second inning by reaching on a slightly off-target throw from Geraldo Perdomo that was immediately cashed in on a mammoth home run from Kyle Tucker off a flat Gallen fastball that sat middle-middle. The third also started with a pair of leadoff base runners with a walk to Ohtani, a double from Andy Pages, and a two-run single from Freddie Freeman. Max Muncy would add another run on a single that somehow eluded Gallen and Perdomo to reach the outfield and allow Freeman to motor around for a fifth LA run. Brandon Pfaadt came into the game in relief and failed to provide much confidence in his role moving forward. After collecting a couple quick outs, he loaded the bases on a Muncy double, a Will Smith walk, and an Alex Call hit by pitch that was again quickly cashed in by an Alex Freeland single up the middle that once again eluded the infield defenders.

Meanwhile, the Ohtani show was in full effect tonight. He extended his no-hit streak another 3.2 IP until Gabriel Moreno broke up his no-hitter with a two-out double in the fourth – one of just two hits and three baserunners the Japanese ace allowed over six innings of work. The D-Backs would muster just two more baserunners for the remainder of the game with a two-out walk to Jose Fernandez and a fielding error on a ball Moreno put into play on the left side of the infield. They did little to generate any baserunners and continued to struggle to find any kind of offensive rhythm after their latest sweep of the Giants. The team is now just 1-5 since leaving San Francisco and looking for answers on both sides of the ball. Thankfully, regardless of how ugly a loss might be, they count the same as a a big blowout. Hopefully the boys are able to shower and relax before going for a series split tomorrow.

PHOENIX –– Shohei Ohtani isn’t supposed to be making it look this easy.

Not after a second career Tommy John surgery. Not in his first full two-way season in three years. Not with the eyes of the baseball world watching his every move, wondering exactly how long he can keep this level of dominance up.

And yet, there Ohtani was on Wednesday night at Chase Field, looking every bit the part of “the best player that’s ever walked this earth,” as catcher Will Smith put it.

In a 7-0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers’ unicorn talent continued what has become a magical campaign thus far. 

He delivered a scoreless six-inning outing on the mound that lowered his ERA to 0.74 through his first 10 starts –– third-lowest that deep into a season since earned runs first became a stat in 1913.

If that wasn’t enough, he also went 3-for-4 as a hitter while drawing two walks, pushing his batting average back above the .300 mark for the first time since opening day.

“I’m pleased with where I’m at right now,” Ohtani, understated as ever, said through an interpreter.

There’s no debating Ohtani’s status as the game’s preeminent superstar right now.

After Wednesday, the bigger question is whether he’s also baseball’s best current pitcher, as well.

Granted, he doesn’t have –– and will not finish the year with –– as many innings as some of the game’s other top arms. He is still technically below the minimum innings threshold to be considered a qualified pitcher, albeit by only one.

Still, no one is preventing runs as clinically as he is at the moment.

At no point this season has his ERA even reached 1.00.

“I’ve noticed with Shohei, every run is a premium,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s literally trying to throw a shutout every time out there.”

He did once again on Wednesday, mowing through the Arizona lineup in a two-hit, one-walk, six-strikeout gem.

The right-hander retired the first 11 batters he faced, extending his hitless streak to 9 ⅔ innings dating back to last week’s six-inning start against the Colorado Rockies. He stranded a double that Dbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno poked down the first-base line with two outs in the fourth, in one of his rare moments of stress all night.

The Dbacks wouldn’t put another runner aboard until the sixth, when Tommy Troy walked and Geraldo Perdomo hit a single. But then, as if dialed up on command, Ohtani got Corbin Carroll to immediately hit into a double-play grounded that ended the inning.

He punctuated his pitching performance with a calm fist pump as he walked off the mound for the final time.

“He just has a really good feel for the game,” Smith said.

All that, and Ohtani also reached base five times (all three of his hits were singles) on a night the Dodgers jumped to an early five-run lead on Kyle Tucker’s two-run blast in the second and run-scoring singles from Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy in the third.

It isn’t supposed to be this easy.

Ohtani is making it look so anyway.

“I don’t throw 100, so I can’t relate or know what he goes through,” Tucker quipped. “But he’s given us everything he has every single time he goes out there, every single day. So he’s done a phenomenal job.”

What it means

The Dodgers (40-22) have won 16 of their last 20 games, and are in position for a sixth-straight series win entering Thursday’s finale of this four-game set.

Unsurprisingly, that run has coincided with Ohtani’s best stretch of the season.

For all he’s done as a pitcher, the four-time MVP has also rediscovered his swing as of late.

With Wednesday’s 3-for-4 performance, he is now hitting .435 over the team’s last 20 games with 16 RBIs, 12 extra-base hits and an OPS of 1.254.

For the season, it has raised his batting average to .301 (ninth-best in the National League) and his OPS to .941 (representing the league’s third-best mark).

“Honestly, I think his at-bats the last three weeks have just been better in total,” Roberts said.

Who’s hot

Ohtani, obviously.

The only real question is whether that’s more true of his bat or his arm.

On the mound, Ohtani has still yet to allow more than two runs in any of his starts this year. Wednesday was the fifth time he didn’t give up any.

Even more encouraging this time was his improved command in an efficient 89-pitch outing, which was only cut short because the score had gotten so out of hand.

After eight combined walks in his three previous pitching starts, he issued only the one free pass on Wednesday.

“Today was definitely a lot better than last time,” he said.

Ohtani still didn’t even seem to be at his absolute best with his arsenal. He leaned mostly on fastballs and sweepers, and only got nine total whiffs.

No matter. With pitch speeds ranging from 100.4 mph all the way down to 68 mph, he kept the Dbacks (32-29) off-balance, out-of-rhythm and unable to do much of anything.

He might have company in the Cy Young race. But he’s already well on his way to another MVP honor.

Who’s not

This category had belonged to Tucker over the past few days.

But after a three-hit showing Wednesday, it no longer applies for now.

Tucker’s home run in the second inning came on what he said was his best swing of the year: A 424-foot blast over the pool in deep right-center with a season-best 107.6 mph exit velocity.

“That’s kind of the swing I’ve been searching for the whole time,” he said. “It’s good to get that off and kind of carry that over for a few at-bats after that.”

Indeed, he lined a single on a low curveball in the third inning, then another on a low slider in the fifth.

It marked Tucker’s fourth three-hit game of the year, and got his average up to .243.

“I just felt he looked much more comfortable tonight,” Roberts said.

Up next

The Dodgers conclude this four-game series on Thursday, when Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.87 ERA) faces right-hander Ryne Nelson (2-4, 4.82 ERA).