Category: Baseball

It’s been a dream of a past week for Owen Carey, who is showing power we’ve never seen from him before while maintaining an lengthening hitting streak. The pitching on the minor league side also had much intrigue, with Garrett Baumann pitching in Gwinnett and Lucas Braun posting his best start of the season for Columbus. Add in yet another home run from Alex Lodise and the day was full of exciting moments and big performances.

(42-41) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (35-49) Durham Bulls 6

Box Score

Statcast

• DaShawn Kiersey Jr., RF: 3-5, 2B, .262/.311/.373
• Garrett Baumann, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 11.49 ERA

Even with a rough start from Garrett Baumann and a lackluster performance by the offense the Stripers still had a sniff of a chance to steal this game late, but always came up just short with two-out RBI chances. The Stripers left 11 men on base in this game, but that doesn’t fully encapsulate that eight of those came in just the final three innings of this game. With the bases loaded in the eighth inning the Stripers, by some miracle, had a chance to tie the game, but Jair Camargo flew out lazily to end that opportunity. An error in the ninth inning put Adam Zebrowski on base, kicking off a rally that saw the Stripers fall tantalizingly short. DaShawn Kiersey hit a bouncer off of the back of the pitcher that would go for a single, but as the ball trickled into left field Zebrowski tried to score from second and a combination of his sub-20 speed and an admittedly impressive play from Carson Williams to get to the ball in shallow left field saw Zebrowski cut down trying to score. It probably wasn’t smart to send him, and after a single, a hit batter, and a walk scored Kiersey and left the bases loaded with two outs it seemed even worse in retrospect. Jose Azocar finished off the game with a grounder straight at Williams that would have been a routine double play if there were only one out, stranding the bases loaded for the second straight inning.

All six of the runs Garrett Baumann allowed in this game were driven in via home runs, which is an issue that has exploded over the past three outings for him. Baumann allowed seven home runs in his first 12 starts this season (11 COL, 1 GWN) but in the past three outings has allowed eight of them. While the Bulls hitters took advantage of the mistakes Baumann made and he left a few too many pitches over the plate, he didn’t really pitch that poorly. He made good pitches with his splitter, located his fastball at the top of strike zone fairly consistently, and mixed his pitches well. He ran out of steam a bit in the final inning which contributed to the middle-middle fastball that got hit for his third home run, but overall he wasn’t glaringly bad in any particular way. He got beat a few times by hitters making good swings, but this was not nearly on the level of his prior two starts when he was making too many mistakes with his command. He looked better in this outing even if the results weren’t there, and if he comes out in future outings and pitches like that the results should follow.

Swing and Misses

Garrett Baumann – 16

Connor Thomas – 5

(33-40) Columbus Clingstones 0, (45-33) Knoxville Smokies 1

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 0-3, BB, .264/.337/.448
• Lucas Braun, SP: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 3.30 ERA

With the run environment up across minor league baseball there haven’t been too many of these true pitchers’ duels, but we got one in Tennessee on Thursday night and it was a masterpiece from Lucas Braun. It didn’t immediately look like it was going to be one of those nights for Braun. He struggled with his command to the first couple of hitters and gave up hard contact, including throwing a sinker middle-middle in a 2-0 count that got hit off of the wall in the deepest part of the park for a double. He fell behind 3-1 to the next guy before getting him to pop out and then got a ground out on a slider he hung, but after catching a series of breaks he locked in and started putting in good work. He dialed the slider in with a swinging strikeout to end the second inning, then started to dot the fastball up, slider down sequence to great success. That was the formula for the rest of the game, and his combination of being on with his command and the Smokies being willing to chase on sliders below the zone gave him the tools to get through eight scoreless innings.

The Smokies managed to match Braun with zeroes, and the Clingstones running up strikeouts undid the advantage they had with getting runners on base. Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning Columbus had gotten ten runners on base to the Smokies two, but thanks to strikeouts in key moments with runners in scoring position and a couple of outs on the basepaths they never managed to push anyone home. Shay Schanaman had an unfortunate bit of luck when he jammed the leadoff hitter but gave up a single on a slow roller to third base, but he also struggled to throw strikes. He walked two hitters to load the bases up with only one out in the inning, then gave up a walkoff single on a hard hit ball that went off of the glove of Jordan Groshans at third base.

Swing and Misses

Lucas Braun – 16

Shay Schanaman – 3

(38-38) Rome Emperors 8, (28-49) Jersey Shore BlueClaws 4

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, SS: 1-4, 2B, BB, .205/.340/.361
• John Gil, 2B: 1-4, BB, .263/.357/.418
• Eric Hartman, LF: 0-3, 2 BB, .291/.361/.557
• Owen Carey, DH: 1-4, HR, BB, .269/.336/.471
• Zach Royse, SP: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.96 ERA

The Owen Carey fan club is eating well these days. Carey only had one hit in this game to extend his hitting streak to nine games, but he did it in a big way with a missile for a home run in the fifth inning. Carey has three home runs in his past four games with that hit, and already has beaten his total for home runs last season in just 37 games. Carey is really making solid contact in the air on the pull side early in this season, which was the biggest criticism you could have of him last season. He is maintaining his ability to hit hard line drives all over the field and make contact at a high rate while adding to his power output, and the Emperors have yet another breakout candidate making waves for them. Overall this offensive performance was mostly not driven by the elite-tier prospects for the Braves, though they’ll certainly be happy to see Dixon Williams add another to his total. Williams had a no-doubt shot in the first inning to put Rome up 3-0, banging the ball off of a billboard well past the fence in left field. Williams has homered in two straight games, and after that nasty slump he has really been crushing the ball over his past 15 games. He has five home runs and a .321/.415/.661 slash line during that timeframe, though his poor contact rates do remain a red flag.

Zach Royse had a couple of poor games in his adjustment to High-A, where he was not missing bats at the rate he was in Single-A, but this game was a quick reversal of trends as he looked strong once again. Royse’s slider was on full display as he kept going back to it until each individual hitter proved they could hit it, and some of the guys in the lineup never showed that they could. Royse’s only issue in the game is that he had a whole lot more trouble commanding his fastball, but he was able to work around that the first time through the order. The next time through the BlueClaws had a better feel for him and his velocity really started to drop off, so the earlier success he had at getting whiffs didn’t carry over. Royse did enough and his slider was good enough that Jersey Shore never got comfortable in the game, but the velocity dip and the command of his fastball are more fuel to the opinion that Royse’s future is likely in the bullpen. The quality of that slider is good enough to carry a major league middle relief pitcher’s career, but there’s certainly no reason to move him out of the starting role just yet even if it’s just to give him extra reps.

Swing and Misses 

Zach Royse – 15

Jacob Kroeger – 5

(44-34) Augusta GreenJackets 10, (30-47) Salem RidgeYaks

Box Score

• Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-5, 2B, 5 RBI, .320/.378/.483
• Conor Essenburg, RF: 0-5, .253/.385/.442
• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, .254/.342/.369
• Jeremy Reyes, SP: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 3.25 ERA

It was a disappointing outcome for the GreenJackets on Thursday night, but they still received big contributions from the top prospects in the lineup, especially from Alex Lodise. Lodise has yet again hit a spell where the strikeouts are piling up — he has nine over the past six games — but it hasn’t slowed down his power production one bit. He hit his 16th home run of the season and eighth over the past 14 games while adding in a double. Most of the damage Lodise has done during this hot streak has come with him lighting up the lower half of the strike zone, but this time he took a fastball in the upper half and hit it the other way. Early in this game Augusta went on a run at the plate that allowed them to open up a 6-1 lead, and a big part of that came courtesy of the Carolina League batting leader Luis Guanipa. With the bases loaded in the second inning Guanipa shot an inside sinker into the opposite gap for a bases-clearing double, netting him the first three of five RBI on the day. In another bases-loaded chance in the fifth inning Guanipa again came through with an opposite field single, helping Augusta open up a lead of 9-6 that would also eventually get blown by the pitching staff. While Guanipa has maintained his contact numbers throughout this season he hasn’t seen the home run power that he showed earlier in the season and that double in the first inning is an example of a pitch we were seeing him drive to the pull side in April and May. Guanipa’s bat speed makes it so he tends to never get beaten on the inner half, but he has shown a tendency to drift back towards getting his front foot down a bit late and shooting pitches the opposite way, which has robbed him of some of the impact he showed in the early months. Conor Essenburg added an 0-5 performance to his recent struggles, and has been locked in his worst stretch of the season for the past couple of series.

With his recent demotion you would hope for better results from Jeremy Reyes, but right now what Reyes is putting on the field is concerning for his future. His velocity is down significantly and he just doesn’t have the command to overcome that limitation, and even though his slider has had success generating whiffs at the Single-A level there just isn’t much indication of growth from him. Should the velocity return to his baseline there is a chance for him to fit in as a relief arm, but the electric potential he showed last season has not been there at all in 2026. He’s getting hit hard right now in addition to not being able to throw strikes consistently, and it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon when his sweeper is the only thing showing anything right now and that’s a pitch he can’t land near the strike zone consistently.

Swing and Misses

Jeremy Reyes – 13

Kendy Richard – 6

Happy Friday A’s fans,

Earlier this week, the Athletics began a six-game stretch at home by losing two of three to the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Tonight, they welcome the Miami Marlins for the opener of a three-game series. The Marlins, who have an even lower payroll than the A’s, posted an MLB-best 20-6 record in June to jump into the National League Wild Card picture.

Miami’s pitching staff, which has the 11th best ERA in the sport, played a major role in the club’s stellar performance over the past few weeks. While the A’s will not have to face standout right-hander Max Meyer, they’ll still draw the Marlins’ Dominican duo of Sandy Alcántara and Eury Pérez on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Meanwhile, only the Colorado Rockies have a higher ERA and have given up more runs than the Athletics’ much-maligned pitching staff. Yes, the team is playing in a hitter-friendly minor league park for a second straight season. However, that does not change the fact that these are major-league pitchers league pitchers who have earned their way to baseball’s highest level. As a result, they should be capable of making the necessary adjustments to limit the damage in a hitter-friendly environment.

Currently, it seems like the Athletics can only count on J.T. Ginn and Gage Jump to consistently deliver quality starts. On Wednesday night, Ginn shut down the Dodgers for six innings, helping his team avoid the series sweep.

Two nights prior, Jump endured his first rough outing against a Dodgers’ lineup loaded with star power, so the result was not entirely surprising. The promising rookie left-hander will look to bounce back in Sunday’s homestand finale. Before that, the A’s will turn to right-handers Jack Perkins and Aaron Civale to start tonight and tomorrow night.

Offensively, the Marlins are the opposite of the Athletics. Miami relies on speed to manufacture runs, leading the majors with 94 stolen bases this season. In contrast, the A’s have some speed, most notably center fielder Henry Bolte, but their offense is still driven primarily by the long ball.

The Marlins won’t make it easy, but there would be no better way for the Athletics to celebrate the Fourth of July than by putting their June struggles behind them and taking the series.

A’s Coverage:

• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In July
• Julyeball Scout Report As Hopes, Like The Sun, Sink Slowly In The West
• Thoughts And Well Wishes For A’s Prospect Ryan Lasko
• A’s Take Series Finale, Beat Dodgers 7-1
• Dodgers Overwhelm A’s Once Again
• A’s roster moves: Massive Shakeup
• A’s To Trade Brett Harris To Red Sox
• It’s Harder To Win When You Don’t Understand Your Own Personnel
• Fun Parallels To 2012 Emerging
• What Kade Morris’ Role Will Look Like for A’s in Future
• Some Easy Fixes Rocket Science Aren’t
• Athletics’ Devin Taylor Emerges As All-Around Talent
• From celebratory pool dip to the A’s, Meneses’ journey back to Majors a memorable one
• Athletics Could Deal Hottest Triple-A Bat This Summer
• Status Report: Uncertainty Persists In 5 Places On The Diamond

MLB News and Interest:

• How will the logjam in AL postseason race impact Trade Deadline?
• MLB 2026: Player every team should trade or trade for in July
• MLB’s Labor Philosophy: A Reader’s Guide
• The Draft Top 250 is out! For the 1st time all year, there’s a new No. 1
• The Draft is just over a week away! Find out if the landscape has changed with our latest mock
• Rangers’ Corey Seager back on IL with lower back inflammation
• Red Sox Place Connelly Early On Injured List
• 2026 All-Star Futures Game rosters revealed
• Mets owner says changes need to be made, but Stearns is staying
• MLBPA seeks larger roster sizes, demotion protection in proposal
• Trade rumors: Skubal, Angels, Yankees, starting pitchers
• Dodgers’ Dave Roberts fastest manager to reach 1,000 career wins
• Cavalli, Contreras receive 7-game suspensions after benches-clearing incident
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Ryan Lasko injury update:

Funny exchange between these two A’s players. Lawrence Butler would greatly benefit from listening to Shea Langeliers’ advice as Butler’s batting average is still below the Mendoza line.

The American League West remains up in the air with only the Los Angeles Angels out of the divisional race at this point in the season.

Injuries have taken a toll on this team and could be one reason behind its June swoon. The return of several key players over the next two months could fuel a rise back up the standings.

As we inch closer to the All-Star Break, we continue our 40-year anniversary of the game’s 57th Summer Installment which took place at the iconic Houston Astrodome on July 15th, 1986, in front of a capacity crowd of 45,774.    

Don Aase would come on for the American League and notch the save on this night.    Don reflects with us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes.   

Q:  I went back and watched this game in its entirety, and it appears that Willie Hernandez thinks that he’s actually going in to close out the game when manager Dick Howser makes the move.  What happened there exactly?    

A:  Yeah, it was funny.  Willie went to go running in there and then he stopped, dead in his tracks. It was mix up, kind of strange there, but I went in and did the job.

Q:  So, you earn the save in your only All-Star appearance.  What did that night at the Astrodome mean to you personally?

A:  Oh man, that was something that you can only dream about.  I couldn’t believe I got a save in that situation.   I don’t know if anything can ever beat that feeling.  That was a high point of my career.    

Q:  What did you think of Roger Clemens outing that night?  He had a little extra going on being back home and it being his first ever ASG appearance.  

A:  He had it going no doubt.  You know, all of the pitching was really good.  I remember Fernando also doing his thing.  It was just a great thing to watch really, and it got extra exciting towards the end.    

Q:  You were on fire to get there.  You posted 23 saves in the first half of the 1986 campaign and the O’s weren’t even a legit contender that season.  What do you remember most about that season?    

A:  We were in a ton of games early on and they were all close and we started off well and I was closing games it felt like daily.   We tailed off because I hurt my back and I had to miss a few weeks.   I still think about that and the season we could’ve had.

Q:  What do you think about the closers today?

A:  It’s just really amazing how big and strong these guys are now.  This is coming from somebody who spends most of his time these days watching the grandkids, but it’s impressive seeing how hard everyone throws these days.  It seems like everyone today throws it 10 mph faster than we did.

The 2026 season has become all about finding a few reasons to crack a smile during arguably the worst Red Sox campaign of the 21st century. 

Those would include the remarkable work of the starting rotation as well as the unexpected yet rather pleasant four-game sweep of the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Boston reminded everyone that these rare positives are just that when they immediately lost that momentum as the Washington Nationals took two of three from the Red Sox to end the homestand. 

The next expected small victory on the schedule would be the rare chance the team gets solid returns across the board for the pieces they should still be selling at the trade deadline. But if you need a small shot of better Red Sox vibes to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, recent history says you should be in luck. 

The Red Sox are 10-1 on Independence Day since 2013, trailing only the Athletics for the most wins on the holiday in that span. Boston’s only loss in that 13-year run (excluding the game’s absence in 2020) came in 2023 with a 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers at Fenway. Other than that, Boston is a wagon with the stars and stripes in full swing with a +40 run differential (72-32) and a 6-0 road record. 

That will come up again as Boston visits Anaheim for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, who sit 15 games under .500 in last place in the American League West. What a matchup for baseball! 

Boston will not be at full strength beyond the widely-discussed injuries after Willson Contreras earned a seven-game suspension for his role in Tuesday’s scuffle with the Nationals. Nonetheless, the Red Sox are in position to keep this patriotic streak in rhythm.

Sonny Gray takes the ball Saturday night in Anaheim in the midst of sensational starting pitching from the veteran. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Yankees on Sunday night baseball and struck out 11 against the Colorado Rockies before that. Entering with a 2.69 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his last three starts, Gray should pick up where he left off and have the Red Sox in position for another Independence Day victory. 

Even if Boston does slip up in another frustrating loss, the 9:38 p.m. first pitch pushes that well out of the way of enjoying hot dogs, fireworks and nationwide celebrations for a historic day for the United States.

The San Diego Padres staked starter Randy Vasquez to a 6-0 lead after the first two innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he quickly allowed four runs and was followed by Wandy Peralta who also allowed four runs as the Padres suffered their sixth consecutive loss with a 12-7 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night.

The San Diego rotation has been atrocious recently and that appears to now be affecting the bullpen. Vasquez had another poor outing, lasting just three innings while allowing four runs on seven hits with a walk and no strikeouts. He allowed one home run, which started the scoring for Los Angeles when Dalton Rushing hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. Vasquez allowed two more runs in the bottom of the third inning before he gave way to Wandy Peralta in the fourth.

Peralta had a terrible night on the mound, allowing four runs on six hits with two strikeouts in just one inning. The Padres watched what was a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning become an 8-6 Dodgers lead by the end of the fourth inning. The following San Diego pitchers were not spared by Los Angeles hitters. Yuki Matsui allowed two runs on two hits with two walks and a strikeout in one inning and German Marquez allowed two runs on two hits with three walks in his three innings of work.

Throughout the six-game losing streak, Padres pitchers have allowed 66 runs. The San Diego offense has scored 24 runs over that same span for an average of 4.0 runs per game. Three to four runs a game will not ensure wins, but it should mean they are in most games. That is not the case when the pitchers are allowing an average of 11 runs per game.

The Padres jumped all over Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki. Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and was followed by a Jackson Merrill solo home run and a Jake Cronenworth three-run home run in the top of the second inning, which gave them their six-run lead.

San Diego will have a tall task trying to rebound against Los Angeles and starter Shohei Ohtani, but will need to do so if the Padres want to end their current losing streak today at 7:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• The MLB owners and the MLBPA continue to trade proposals with the latest exchange coming Wednesday.

• Jason Adam landed on the IL with a shoulder strain and will miss time. German Marquez was called up from Triple-A and will work out of the bullpen.

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the starting pitching is a major concern for the Padres as they enter July.

• Samad Taylor sat down with Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune to talk about how he made his way onto the Padres’ roster.

• Catcher Freddy Fermin took another foul ball off his mask and left the game early against the Dodgers.

Baseball News:

• The Cleveland Guardians walked off the Chicago White Sox on a Brayan Rocchio home run.

• The St. Louis Cardinals used a seven-run seventh inning rally to get an 11-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.

• Junior Caminero did not homer, but the Tampa Bay Rays still won to sweep the Kansas City Royals.

• Milwakuee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski proves he is human in 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

• Cade Cavalli of the Washington Nationals and Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox were each suspended seven games for their parts in a benches clearing brawl last week.

It is easy to forget with all that is going on, but the Nats have a potentially impactful arm who is rehabbing right now. The Nats signed Max Kranick in May, and have helped him out in the final steps of his recovery from flexor tendon surgery. Now, the righty is rehabbing in Harrisburg and showing strong stuff.

After his first rehab outing, the media actually got to talk with Kranick. It was very clear that he was excited to be back on a competitive mound. He told us that his live BP sessions in West Palm Beach were beginning to get “stale”. With the competitive juices flowing, he said his stuff looked better than he thought it would. In that outing, Kranick got up to 97, and was sitting about 95.

Kranick said that the velocity and shapes were not at that level when he was throwing his live BP’s. However, with the adrenaline flowing, he thought his stuff was nearly identical to where it was last season.

Back in 2025, Kranick was impressive for the Mets, combining stuff and command. His fastball averaged 95.6 MPH. He combined that with a 90 MPH slider, a 79 MPH downer curve and an 82 MPH sweeper he would mix in occasionally. In 37 innings, Kranick had a 3.65 ERA for the Mets in a multi-inning relief role. If the Nats can get that version of Kranick, it would be a big boost for them.

With the quality of his stuff, I think there could be some room for improvement from a strikeout standpoint. Last year, he only struck out 16.7% of hitters, which is low for a guy with quality stuff. He was clearly focusing on pounding the zone in 2025, with a 4.7% walk rate. 

During his rehab assignment, Kranick has shown that he has not lost his strike-throwing ways. Kranick has not walked anybody in 5.2 innings across 4 outings. Having that kind of command after missing a year due to elbow surgery is very impressive. It shows a level of sharpness that proves that Kranick can be big league ready soon. 

Kranick has also shown some swing and miss, with 6 strikeouts in those outings. However, most of the K’s came against A ball hitters. Once he got up to AA, Kranick has only K’d one hitter in 3 innings. Overall, the effectiveness has been there, with the righty posting a 3.18 ERA across his four outings. 

After his first rehab appearance with the Fred Nats, Kranick had an interview, where he went into how he felt and what was next. He mapped out a process that has since been followed. The next step for him should be to start throwing on back to back days. 

Once he does that, and makes some outings in AAA, he should be ready to roll in the big leagues. Kranick has not been talked about much, but he could be a really nice addition to this bullpen. He has the ability to be a multi-inning guy or a higher leverage arm, which is nice. 

With the Nats having a shot to make a playoff push, they need all hands on deck. The bullpen has been an obvious weakness for this team. Max Kranick is obviously not going to fix this all by himself, but he can be part of the solution. Hopefully the Nats are in position to make some additions to this bullpen at the trade deadline as well.

This is going to be the most exciting second half of Nats baseball we have had in a long time. However, to truly make a push, this bullpen has to be better. Max Kranick can be a part of that fix.

Following their success at college-level baseball, two former LSU Tigers continue to carve out names for themselves in the upper ranks of professional baseball. Pitchers Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson have both been named to the American League roster for the 2026 MLB All-Star Futures Game.

Anderson, now a member of the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A affiliate, Arkansas Travelers, was dominant on the mound for LSU during his two seasons in 2024-25. Anderson led LSU to its second National Championship in three years in his stellar ’25 campaign. The lefty delivered a 12-1 record and would go on to win the Most Outstanding Player award for the 2025 College World Series.

Kade was selected third overall by the Mariners in last year’s draft and has transitioned flawlessly to the next level. Anderson is 8-0 with just a 1.22 ERA through 13 starts with the Travelers. He has earned nearly 100 strikeouts and has walked just ten batters.

Anthony Eyanson, also playing at the AA level, is a member of the Portland Sea Dogs, part of the Boston Red Sox organization. Anthony was a third-round pick from LSU, in the same class as Anderson. Eyanson, a right-handed pitcher, is currently 2-0 with the Sea Dogs and owns a 1.07 ERA.

Eyanson played just one season with the Tigers, but he was an impactful transfer from UC San Diego for Jay Johnson and crew. Anthony pitched to a 12-2 overall record, amassing 150 strikeouts and walking just 36. The righty reached a career high 15 strikeouts versus North Alabama in March of 2025.

Although neither prospect has yet to be called up to “The Show,” their inclusion as some of the top young players in the league bodes well for their elevation to come soon. Eyanson and Anderson are just a couple of former Tigers making noise around the diamond, and there will be plenty more to follow in their footsteps.

Rangers 10, Tigers 4

• Really?
• This lineup was the one to score doubt digit runs for the first time since June 7?
• This lineup being one that featured just two regulars from your Opening Day roster, two bench players, three guys who were in the minors to start the season, two guys who were not in the organization on Opening Day and were signed off the street, with one of the two street guys being your backup catcher who got the start at DH.
• June 7 — a 10-0 win against Cleveland — was also the last time the Rangers won a game by more than three runs.
• Prior to this, the Rangers last 12 wins all were by three runs or less, and all had someone earning a save.
• Its nice to have a game where the late innings don’t involve stress and drama.
• Nathan Eovaldi got the start and pitched really great until he stopped pitching really great.
• After four innings, Eovaldi had allowed no hits, had walked just one batter, had struck out seven, and you were thinking to yourself, hey, there’s a no hitter going, maybe Texas can notch one of those for the first time this century…
• Then Detroit started hammering the ball in the fifth. A leadoff homer by Colt Keith, a two run, two out homer by Hao-Yu Lee, and a couple of singles after that before Kerry Carpenter grounded out to end the inning.
• A Riley Greene double to start the sixth ended Eovaldi’s night, though it took two relievers — Tyler Alexander and Peyton Gray — to finish the sixth, as well as two relievers — Gray and Robby Ahlstrom — to wrap up the seventh.
• Cole Winn was given the eighth in a blowout and allowed a run, as has been the case too often of late with him. Winn is now rocking a 7.07 ERA, and as we have discussed before, you never want your ERA to be a plane.
• A Gavin Collyer ninth inning finished things off. I know we were all hoping new addition Ben Peoples would pitch the ninth, but it was not to be.
• Eovaldi ended the day with nine Ks, which moved him past Ron Darling, Steve Trachsel, Rube Marquard, Doug Drabek and Jose DeLeon on the all time strikeout list. With 1597 for his career, Eovaldi is now 199th all time, with Ken Holtzman (1601), Jim Maloney (1605) and Jose Rijo (1606) next in his sights.
• The patchwork lineup, meanwhile, put up 17 hits in the game. 17!
• I wasn’t counting on 17 hits from this group either. I figured more like 7.
• Alejandro Osuna and Nicky Lopez had three hits apiece. Josh Jung, Elias Diaz and Ezequiel Duran each had two hits. Evan Carter and Josh Smith each came off the bench once Framber Valdez was out of the game and put up a single and a homer apiece.
• I’m thinking about how, if you’re a Tigers fan, sending your high priced free agent pitching acquisition out there against the spring training looking lineup the Rangers had and seeing him give up five runs must sting. It would be one of those instances where, if it happened to the Rangers, we’d be asking, “Why can’t we do this to other teams?”
• Sadly, the Mariners also won, so the Rangers are still tied with Seattle for the American League West and Wild Card 3. They are 2.5 games up on Houston, though, with the Astros being the next closest team for both the division lead and WC3.
• Nathan Eovaldi reached 96.3 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.0 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball reached 92.0 mph. Peyton Gray hit 94.4 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom touched 95.4 mph with his fastball. Cole Winn’s fastball maxed out at 95.6 mph. Gavin Collyer touched 97.7 mph with his fastball.
• Elias Diaz had a 112.0 mph line out and a 102.3 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had 109.0 mph single and a 103.6 mph single. Evan Carter had a 104.4 mph home run. Josh Smith had a 104.1 mph home run. Kyle Higashioka had a 104.0 mph fly out and a 102.2 mph fly out. Cam Cauley had a 101.7 mph fly out. Alejandro Osuna had a 100.1 mph single.
• No game on Friday because of the World Cup. I know, it feels weird to me, too.

Alan Rangel has been the first one tasked with filling Andrew Painter’s spot in the Phillies rotation. So far, Rangel has appeared in three games, and Tim Mayza was utilized as an opener in two of them. Rangel has fared relatively well in his limited action, although the Phillies are 0-3 in those games.

He pitched five innings of one run ball in his first game with five hits and four strikeouts, but the Phillies lost 4-1 to the Nats due to a quiet offense and Seth Johnson allowing a late two-run homer to Curtis Mead. Rangel was charged with the loss in his second appearance against the Mets, but he was pitching quite well through his four innings of work heading into the sixth but hit a wall after allowing back-to-back singles and then a two-run triple. His day was done after allowing another baserunner and Jonathan Bowlan couldn’t clean up the mess, as he allowed both inherited runners to score, bringing the runs charged to Rangel total up to 4. His third appearance yesterday was his first MLB start, and although he lasted only four innings, Rangel did not allow a run despite allowing three hits and four walks.

Rangel is not being asked to do much, as the Phillies just need him to be a competent fifth starter. So far, he’s looked the part but perhaps requires a faster hook as evidenced by his second appearance. Regardless, Rangel has largely given the team a chance to win which is all you can ask of a fifth starter. So, what do you think of Alan Rangel so far?

The Orioles have had a lot of things go wrong in 2026, but let’s just pause to appreciate the fact that, for one sweltering July afternoon at Camden Yards, something finally went right. Dean Kremer, back after a nine-week absence with a right quad strain, threw six innings of one-run ball to snap his team’s four-game skid and beat the White Sox, 6-1. It was vintage Kremer: unspectacular stuff, with four strikeouts, one walk, a lot of soft contact. And just the stopper outing that the Orioles needed, as their staff and their team struggle with injuries and inconsistencies.

Unspectacular but dependable has been the story of Dean Kremer’s career (his hair is spectacular, but that’s another story). Last year was typical, as he posted a 4.19 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 142:45 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 31 outings and a team-leading 171.2 innings. Over his career, pretty similar: a lifetime 4.23 ERA and 1.281 WHIP across parts of seven seasons. Kremer is, almost to a T, the definition of league average (a 96 ERA+ suggests he’s just a notch below).

But maybe we’ve underappreciated Dean Kremer. It was a shock, to me at least, when the multi-year veteran was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk at the start of this season, deemed unworthy of a rotation spot by the front office what with newcomers Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt on the team, and Zach Eflin and Kyle Bradish back and ready to pitch. We’re rarely excited to see the name “Kremer” penciled in for the start that day, but considering what Baltimore’s rotation has been through this year, I think we should roll out the orange carpet for him.

Consider the state of things around here, pitching-wise. Zach Eflin’s season ended after a single start. Chris Bassitt is on the 15-day IL after having a bone spur removed from his back. Kyle Bradish, back from Tommy John surgery, has been maddeningly uneven, capable of stringing together the kind of dominant stretches (back-to-back gems in mid-June, including eight scoreless innings in Anaheim) that recall his 2024 near-Cy Young form, but also clunkers where he suddenly loses control. Shane Baz keeps flashing the upside that made him a four-prospect return but he, too, is frustratingly inconsistent. Trevor Rogers started the season with an ERA above 10.00 in May. Improbably, Brandon Young, an undrafted 27-year-old who started the year in Triple-A, may quietly be turning the best season of any Orioles starter, sitting on a 3.11 ERA with a 6-2 record across thirteen starts. And Trey Gibson, a well-regarded prospect, is carrying an ERA north of 7.00 in eight appearances (seven starts).

So where does Kremer fit in, now that he’s been reactivated? Kremer’s activation came with two corresponding moves: catcher Dom Keegan was designated for assignment, and, more relevantly for this conversation, the 24-year-old Gibson was optioned back to Norfolk, along with lefty Josh Walker. Gibson seems like he just isn’t ready: that answers the immediate question. Kremer didn’t push out Brandon Young, who’s been one of the best stories on the pitching staff all season. He pushed out the struggling Gibson based on performance, which makes that call an easy one.

The more interesting question is what happens next, once Bassitt himself is back in the mix. Baltimore has flirted with a six-man rotation before, and the appetite for it hasn’t gone away. Elias himself left the door open on it back in spring training, framing the five-man start to the season as “a calendar decision rather than a capability verdict.” Orioles beat writers have been thinking along the same lines: one recent SI analysis argued that “a six-man rotation when Kremer comes back makes all the sense in the world,” noting that trying to squeeze 180 innings out of a pitcher who spent two months hurt would be needlessly risky.

My guess: expect a soft six-man look before a hard one. The O’s don’t have to commit to it formally: they can simply use built-in off-days to space Kremer’s next couple of starts out, buying him extra rest without officially subtracting a bullpen arm. But if Bassitt returns healthy in the next few weeks, the numbers game becomes unavoidable: Rogers, Bradish, Baz, Bassitt, Young, and Kremer make six established arms for five spots, and Baltimore would be stupid to non-tender or bury any of them.

Then there’s the W-L record issue, too. So far, Orioles public faces are insisting that the team still sees itself as a buyer, but at 40-48, that gets harder and harder to justify. A formal six-man rotation, at least for a stretch, feels like the path of least organizational resistance—especially for a team that doesn’t need to squeeze every marginal inning out of a thin roster before the July 31 deadline sorts out who’s actually staying and who’s going.

For now, though, the answer is simpler than the six-man speculation suggests. Albernaz called Kremer on his return a “steadying” presence, someone who can “navigate the game and control his emotions, slow heartbeat,” the kind of veteran presence the club had missed. Kremer didn’t take anyone’s job so much as reclaim his own, and maybe for that, we should be glad.

The Braves are decidedly not blowing anything up. They were last in homers in June and got outhomered 5-1 by the Cardinals, hitting their sole homer in the game they won.

But, what about you? Risking your fingers (maybe), staring up at the sky, or maybe a mix of both?

Just about everything that can go wrong lately for the Yankees has. Losing games? Well, obviously. Injuries? Unfortunately, yes. Offense going cold? You know it. Pitchers who’ve been having good years having unexpected off days? That too. Defensive lapses? Duh.

However over the years, there’s always been one thing that can help the Yankees get some wins: playing the Minnesota Twins. Well, that’s who’s up next so this weekend, we’ll see how big the slump truly is.

Having traded away a lot of their notable players at the trade deadline last year, the Twins are in something of a rebuild. While Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, and some others you know are still around, they’re a different team than they’ve been in recent years. They’re still somewhat in the playoff race, but that’s more a product of the AL Central than anything else.

With the two teams starting a three-game set later tonight, let’s take a look at the probable pitching matchups for the next few days.

Friday: Gerrit Cole vs. Mike Paredes (7:04 pm ET)

Upon first coming off the injured list, Cole hit the ground running, throwing two 6+ inning shutout performances, including striking out 10 in one of them. However over the five starts since, he has a 6.12 ERA and a 5.95 FIP. His main issue in that time has been home runs, allowing seven in those five games. Hitting home runs has not been the issue for the Twins, as they were ninth in MLB with 110 going into Thursday’s games.

This will be the Yankees’ first ever meeting with the rookie Paredes. This will be just his fifth career start and seventh game in general, having gotten called up in late May. He’s been okay so far, with a 4.26 ERA and a 103 ERA+. However, his FIP is noticeably worse, 5.44, as he really doesn’t strike many hitters out.

Saturday: Carlos Rodón TBD vs. Zebby Matthews (1:35 pm ET)

Rodón can often be a tedious watch. His 4.6 BB/9 rate is quite high, and only 61 percent of his pitches on the season have gone for strikes. That being said, he’s been effective. He has a 3.30 ERA and a 3.45 FIP. The issue is always just, will walks burn him and how deep into the game can he go?

Update: Actually, Rodón is going on the IL with left elbow inflammation, so… that’s great. Elmer Rodríguez pitched last night at Triple-A, so he’s unavailable for a spot start. Maybe it’ll be Brendan Beck, who made a spot-start cameo back in May and was supposed to go tonight for Scranton (he will at the very least be up tomorrow as a potential “bulk guy” in front of an opener). Or maybe you!

Matthews is another fairly inexperienced pitcher, but in this case, the Yankees have seen him a couple times before and have gotten to him. They faced him last year in August and September, and in the second of those meetings the Yankees’ offense got him for nine runs on 11 hits in just three innings. His nine starts this year have generally been right around league average.

Sunday: Ryan Weathers vs. Joe Ryan (1:35 pm ET)

Weathers is another pitcher that’s a bit of a taxing watch, but unlike Rodón, his numbers don’t quite grade out as “pretty good.” His ERA (4.08) is technically better than average (104 ERA+), and his FIP (4.13) isn’t atrocious either, but when he’s bad, he tends to be bad enough to pitch the Yankees way out of games. In his last start, he lasted just 1.2 innings, having allowed five runs to the Tigers. The defense hurt him, as only two of the runs were earned, but he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory that day.

After a borderline ace-type season in 2025, that saw him in trade rumors during the Twins’ deadline sell-off, Ryan has taken a bit of a step back so far this year, at least if you just look at his ERA. However, his 2.95 FIP is the best of his career, and his 0.9 HR/9 rate is by far his best ever. If the Yankees’ offense are in one of their moods, he could very well breeze through them, even if a casual glance at his stats makes it look like he’s not as good this year.

Well, we now have (temporary) closure on the Willson Contreras/Cade Cavalli incident. Major League Baseball has suspended both players for seven games, with Contreras’s suspension being specifically linked to behavior “during and following” the episode, meaning, i.e., that he’s being punished both for the helmet throw and for his subsequent social media post. Nate Eaton has received an additional three game suspension, whille Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas received a five-gamer. Of course, Cavalli is a starting pitcher, meaning that a seven-game suspension is really just something that bumps his regularly scheduled start a few days. If MLB actually wanted send a message about his remarks, they would’ve given him at least nine games. Both players have the option to appeal the suspension, during which the suspension will be put on hold. Otherwise, Contreras, easily the Red Sox best overall player this season, is set to miss most of a crucial nine-game road trip that will likely be the last chance the Red Sox have of getting back into the playoff race before the trade deadline. (Jen McCaffrey Spencer Nussbaum, The Athletic)

Being in the middle of an on-field controversy isn’t anything new for Contreras, who is known for playing the game with more passion and verve than the typical Major Leaguer. “To be honest, there’s not a lot of people that like me, and that’s fine,” Contreras said recently. “There have been a lot of teammates that, when they’re on the other side, they hate me, but when they’re on your side, they love me, because they know what I’m willing to do. I’m willing to do anything to win for them. It’s a survival game. You have to survive. At the same time you might make people uncomfortable. To survive, you have to make people uncomfortable. That’s how I see it.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Contreras isn’t the only important piece the Sox will be without for the foreseeable future, as lefty Connelly Early was placed on the IL on the same day as the Contreras-Cavalli fight. Thankfully, though, an MRI revealed no structural damage to Early’s elbow. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

It’ll likely be Patrick Sandoval who will take Early’s place in the rotation. It’s been just over two years since the lefty has stepped on a big league mound. “I don’t want to speak too soon,” Sandoval said, “but I feel good right now.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Hopefully Sandoval fares better than Payton Tolle did during his most recent start, which was the worst start of of the precocious pitcher’s young career. In Tolle’s defense, it was so hot that catcher connor Wong claims to have lost six pounds during the game. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Outside of a measly one-run showing on Wednesday in Sacramento, the Dodgers offense has been rolling over their last six games.

Against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, they overcame a six-run deficit while tying a season-high with 17 hits in a 12-7 victory, marking the second time over their last three meetings that the Dodgers put up 17 hits over San Diego. One of the unsung heroes of Thursday was Kyle Tucker, connecting for four hits after walking four times in the finale against the Athletics and having reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances.

While Tucker hasn’t yet lived up the expectations that his contract demands, Tucker has been finding his stride over his last seven games, slashing .417/.548/.583 with a home run and five RBI. Tucker spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about his four-hit performance following Thursday’s win, where he noted that he’s starting to play at the level that fans had been expecting from him.

“The last four games feel a lot better… Swing feels a lot better, and even my takes have been a lot better, so I’m happy with those.”

Dalton Rushing was the other Dodger with a four-hit game on Thursday, adding a home run to his credit and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

The last 10 games have produced a whirlwind of results for Rushing, from having to be consoled by his manager to adding another huge night against San Diego, and he spoke with Watson about how Thursday’s performance gave him a boost of confidence in setting the table for the top of the lineup.

“It’s a boost of confidence. You feel ready for the next however many [games] you get. Anytime you can get your game started like that, it’s going to be a good game.”

The Dodgers offense had to do the heavy lifting after another frustrating start from Roki Sasaki, who tossed 89 pitches over three innings while allowing six earned runs and three home runs.

While Sasaki showed flashes of brilliance, especially in his two starts against the Angels, the right-hander has not only fallen back down to Earth, but cratered on the landing. Sasaki spoke with Watson about his rough performance, noting that while he felt his stuff wasn’t bad, there’s still some tinkering in store.

“They fouled off a lot of pitches, but maybe because my intensity of my fastball or maybe my command issues. I feel like I have to work on those things to improve.”