Category: Baseball

Occasionally there are games where a bad first inning is enough to make you consider doing something other than watching Orioles baseball that day. That was the case here as the Padres scored four runs before the O’s even got a chance to hit and eventually prevailed to a 9-3 win on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore.

It was a mixed day for rookie Trey Gibson. As mentioned, the first inning was brutal. He gave up two walks in the opening frame, and each one was shortly followed by a home run to get the visiting Padres out to an early four-run lead.

Gibson found his footing a bit after that, working three straight scoreless innings from the second through the fourth. But the fifth inning was trouble once again. He walked the lead-off hitter. Later, he hit Xander Bogaerts in the head with a wayward sinker. Craig Albernaz pulled him at that point, but his line wasn’t quite wrapped up as Keegan Akin came on and allowed both inherited runners to cross the plate.

When it was all said and done, Gibson tossed 4.1 innings and allowed six runs on three hits, five walks, and seven strikeouts. Missing bats had been an issue for him coming into this game. His 14.7% whiff rate was near the bottom of the league. He more than doubled that to 30% in this game, which was shown in the box score with the seven strikeouts. What he seemed to sacrifice to get there was control of the strike zone. The sky high walks and the bean ball to Bogaerts speak for themselves.

This is the sort of game that a rookie is going to have. He’s still figuring things out. The whiffs and strikeouts are good. The home runs and walks are bad. Sometimes you have to suffer through the growing pains and hope it all pans out on the other side.

The bullpen was not much better. Akin only recorded those two outs in the fifth inning, and while he wasn’t charged with any runs of his own, he failed to prevent any of Gibson’s runners from pushing the lead even higher. At least Albert Suárez was able to provide length. He worked the final four innings, but also allowed three solo home runs.

The Orioles lineup showed some early life. They responded in the bottom of the first inning with two runs. Pete Alonso hit a two-out homer. Samuel Basallo followed with a walk and then came in to score on a Leody Taveras triple to right field. Maybe we had a game on our hands after all?

Not really. The Orioles had runners on base throughout the afternoon. But time and time again they failed to cash in on them. As a group the team went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Alonso and Blaze Alexander were the two most active on offense. They each had three hits. Alonso had the homer, a double, and two RBI. Alexander’s three knocks were all singles, but he added a stolen base on top of it all. Tyler O’Neill and Coby Mayo both had a double each, but were stranded.

Something to watch coming out of this game relates to Bogaerts being hit. The Padres, understandably, weren’t happy about it. Gibson had been wild all day, so there is no question about it being an accident. But it’s dangerous to pitch up in that area. If you don’t know where the ball’s going to that degree, you probably shouldn’t be in the game. Albernaz quickly pulling him was, at least in part, an acknowledgment of that.

San Diego was intent on retaliating, which probably would have been fine if they succeeded the first time. Bradgley Rodriguez went up and in on Gunnar Henderson twice in the seventh inning, but missed both times. Henderson eventually walked. Then, in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Ron Marinaccio successfully nailed Henderson in the ribs with a 94 mph fastball. That got the Orioles’ hackles up. Henderson gestured something about trying “three times” towards Marinaccio. The umpires quickly got together and decided the San Diego pitcher was gone. His ejection riled up the skipper Craig Stammen, who clearly wanted to be thrown out himself at the point, when there was essentially nothing to lose. Eventually, he got his wish and was sent to the showers about five minutes before the rest of his team.

Padres reliever Adrian Morejon came on to throw two pitches and get the final out without any additional fireworks. But it’s possible that more is brewing. The Padres got to throw at Henderson twice on purpose. The Orioles had only thrown at Bogaerts once, and it was by accident. Do they now get to throw at Manny Machado or Jackson Merrill in the series finale now? Hopefully not. The Padres are probably looking at suspensions for someone coming out of this. Intentional hit by pitches usually come with consequences.

The best comeback from the Orioles perspective would be to go out and win the series on Sunday. The Padres aren’t some division (or even league) rival. Just beat them and wrap this series up on a positive note.

Trevor Rogers (3-6, 6.15 ERA) will be on the bump as he continues to keep his encouraging June going. The lefty has a 3.18 ERA this month. He will be opposed by Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.33 ERA). Buehler has also been good recently, allowing just two runs over his last 10.2 innings. First pitch is set for 1:05 from Camden Yards.

Is Sean Manaea…back?

The left-hander certainly appeared to be as he made his first official start of the season in Saturday afternoon’s middle-game of a huge weekend set with the Braves. 

While he ended up taking the loss, Manaea was able to keep the high-powered NL East leaders in check, completing six innings of work for the first time since the 2024 playoffs.

The lone damage against him came off the bat of righty-hitting outfielder Eli White.

White struck against Manaea for an RBI double to open the scoring in the top of the second, then lifted his third homer of the season to increase the advantage just two innings later. 

Other than that, the 34-year-old southpaw was in complete control the rest of the way, allowing just those two runs on four hits while striking out six and issuing no free passes.

Most importantly, his velocity was up a few ticks from his season-average, again.

“That was huge,” Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s the guy we’re going to need -- for him to go out there and give us a chance today, he was very solid today against a pretty good lineup over there.

“He used all of his pitches, competed in the strike zone, got swing-and-misses, and had a good pitch mix -- that’s the guy we saw a lot in 2024 -- big picture, that’s the guy we need moving forward.”

After a brutal start to the season that saw him relegated to an inning-eating low-leverage role out of the bullpen, Manaea has now pitched to a solid 3.33 ERA over his last eight appearances. 

He’s given up just three homers and has struck out (28) four times as many batters as he’s walked (7) over that span, fighting his way back into a regular spot in the Mets' starting rotation. 

“I feel good,” Manaea said. “I'm excited with where I’m at and just want to keep this train rolling.”

“He continues to earn the opportunity,” Mendoza added. “To go out there and have that type of outing today, he just puts himself in a way better position, and he’s going to only make us better moving forward."

Shohei Ohtani is back; he homered to open the scoring in what turned out to be a 7-1 Dodgers win, and yet he takes a backseat in the storyline of this game as Yoshinobu Yamamoto toyed with perfection—not allowing a single baserunner through the first 7.2 innings—carrying a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before Tristan Peters took care of it with a solo shot. Dating back to his previous performance against the Angels, Yamamoto went as far as retiring an absurd 45 straight batters, and for the second straight appearance, tossed eight innings of one-run ball, allowing a combined three hits.

Forget recording a hit; even lifting the ball in the air was a massive challenge for the White Sox, who, through the first seven innings, recorded only a pair of flyouts. Specifically for this game, Yamamoto found himself with a little extra zip on the fastball with an average velocity 1.2 MPH higher than his season average, and he took advantage of it. The Dodgers’ starter defaulted to his four-seamer far more regularly than he has in 2026, and the success behind his performance evidently justified that choice. Although it should be noted that Peters’ home run in the ninth came on a poorly located fastball with not enough zip to miss his bat, as the Dodgers starter was already over 100 pitches at that point.

Shortly before that home run, though, the perfect game bid ended in brutal fashion—there were two outs at the bottom of the eighth when the White Sox would put their first man on via an error. Chase Meldroth hit what was by all accounts a routine grounder to short, and Mookie Betts couldn’t collect it cleanly, allowing the White Sox’ second baseman to reach base. Going back to the events in Baltimore a year ago, Yamamoto is establishing similarities with Dave Stieb as a bit of a no-no specialist, well before eventually recording one.

For the Dodgers offense, much like it was the case against the Angels, once again they rewarded Yamamoto’s outstanding performance with a slugfest that left no doubts about the winner of this game. As stated at the top, the scoring began early when Ohtani knocked one out of the yard to lead off the game.

Lacking in the power department on what are the inhuman standards he has set for himself, Ohtani briefly tied Max Muncy for second place in homers on the team with 14. However, it was Muncy’s day to shine, hitting not one but two long balls, one in the first and one in the eighth. In doing so, Muncy overtook Andy Pages for the team lead in homers, with 16, and became the main driving force behind this seven-run effort on the road.

What’s even more impressive is that had the Dodgers supplemented their power output with a bit more quality with runners in scoring position—finishing the game 1 for 11 in such instances—they could’ve easily gotten into the double digits. In the end, they didn’t need much with Yamamoto dismantling the White Sox lineup, leaving the game to a standing ovation after recording the first out in the ninth.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (14), 2 Max Muncy (16)
• WP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-4): 8.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 7 strikeouts
• LP— Sean Burke (3-4): 4 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts

Up next

Emmett Sheehan and the veteran Erick Feede will be the protagonists in an early Sunday matchup for West Coast viewers as the Dodgers and White Sox will meet for the final time in Chicago this season, first pitch at 11:10 a.m. PT.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Boston Red Sox scored six runs.

The Rangers had four opportunities with the bases loaded today and went 0-for-4. The Red Sox had one opportunity with the bases loaded after two infield dribble hits and a walk and went 1-for-1 with the eventual winning hit.

The Rangers have gone 1-for-10 with the bases loaded on this road trip, which they now need a win tomorrow to avoid being a losing road trip after clinching their first losing series of June with today’s loss.

Player of the Game: Jacob deGrom allowed two runs on six hits in six innings while walking zero and striking out five Red Sox batters. He was pretty good.

After the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, deGrom’s big sin today was pitching to Wilyer Abreu with a runner in scoring position after Boston had tied the game at one apiece which, if you’ve ever seen Wilyer Abreu hit against the Rangers, that meant the game did not stay tied.

A bigger sin, though, was being a member of the Texas Rangers when the lineup backing him went 1-for-9 with RISP. That hit did not even score a run.

Up Next: The Rangers and Red Sox close out this series with RHP Nathan Eovaldi set to pitch for Texas against LHP Connelly Early for Boston.

The Sunday evening first pitch in the series finale from Fenway Park is scheduled for 6:20 pm CDT time and will be back on Peacock.

Nationals 8, Mariners 3

Day baseball nap: Colt Emerson, .17 WPA

Day baseball nap, on the cap: Luis Castillo, -.37 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

A White Sox hat waved in the air. Fans clad in Chicago’s black pinstripes and Dodger blue alike rose to their feet.

Rooting interests didn’t matter as they watched Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto embrace his teammates on the mound. The brilliant performance they’d just witnessed deserved to be celebrated.

In the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox on Saturday, Yamamoto carried a perfect game into the eighth inning until Mookie Betts booted a grounder at short, and a no-hit bid into the ninth before Chicago’s Tristan Peters homered to end it.

Perhaps even more astounding, dating to Yamamoto’s previous start against the Angels, he retired 45 straight batters, one shy of the major league record set by Yusmeiro Petit in 2014.

In an eventful game, which included Shohei Ohtani returning to the lineup to homer in his first at-bat, a two-homer performance from Max Muncy and a team bounce-back after getting blown out the night before, Yamamoto’s performance on the mound stole the show.

“I do feel a little bit [of regret], because I went into the ninth inning and I was not able to achieve a no-hitter,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”

It marked the second time in about nine months that Yamamoto fell just short of his first major league no-hitter. Last September, he was one out away in Baltimore when he surrendered a solo homer to Jackson Holliday.

“Every time he takes the mound we feel he’s got a pretty good chance to do something special,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.

That feeling only grew stronger as Yamamoto cruised through seven innings. The only thing that slowed his roll was the mound itself. Yamamoto asked for the grounds crew to fix it in the sixth. And then he kept rolling.

“He can attack the plate on both sides from ball-to-strike better than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Prior said. “He has that ability to do that when he’s on. And that makes it tough on hitters. You don’t know if the ball is coming at them, from the right side or the left side, and going in. He did a lot of really good things to keep guys off balance.”

Read more:Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani returns with a bang after day off

Yamamoto also had help from a steady defense behind him for much of the game.

The sixth inning included two highlight plays. Peters hit a sharp ground ball up the line, and first baseman Freddie Freeman made a sliding stop, tossing the ball to Yamamoto at the bag to get the out. Then left fielder Alex Call ran into the retaining wall in foul territory to catch Edgar Quero’s fly ball for the final out of the inning.

The hardest contact against Yamamoto came the third time through the lineup. In the seventh inning, he pumped a heater to the top rail against Miguel Vargas, who stayed on top of the pitch to send a line drive to left field — and right to Call.

In the eighth, Yamamoto fell behind Colson Montgomery 3-and-1. But Yamamoto worked back to a full count. Montgomery then scorched a line drive up the first base line — into Freeman’s glove.

Yamamoto’s perfect game ended two batters later.

“I’m not making any excuses,” Betts said. “I should have made the play.”

It looked like Yamamoto had tied the record for consecutive batters retired when he got Chicago’s Chase Meidroth to chase a slider and hit a routine grounder to Betts.

But the last hop was higher than Betts expected. The ball ricocheted off him to his left, where second baseman Santiago Espinal made a last-ditch effort to salvage the play but couldn’t pick up the ball cleanly.

“I thought I got him, but that was kind of an irregular bounce,” Yamamoto said. “So it was just what it is. I didn’t really think much.”

An inning later, the no-hit bid was next to fall.

Peters led led off the ninth, and on a 1-and-0 count, Yamamoto put a high fastball over the plate. Peters turned on it and drove it into the stands in right, craning to see it stay to the left of the foul pole.

“I was a little heated in the ninth inning,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Jumped on a pitch that was really decently executed.”

Yamamoto stayed in for one more batter, inducing Quero to fly out, before handing the ball to manager Dave Roberts.

Yamamoto wasn’t the only one feeling mixed emotions on the mound as he embraced Rushing, tapped Muncy on the back in a side hug and bumped fists with the rest of the infielders.

“I was still frustrated,” Rushing said. “He’s such a great teammate, he’s one of my good friends. You can talk to him just about anything, and he’s just a good dude. So you want to see good things happen to guys like that.”

Rushing made a prediction: “I know we’re going to have more opportunities with Yoshi like that, and I’m looking forward to it.”

After coming so close to a no-hitter twice, maybe the third time will be the one Yamamoto completes.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

CHICAGO — Earlier this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believed Yoshinobu Yamamoto would throw a no-hitter this year.

Deep into Saturday’s game at Rate Field against the White Sox, it seemed like that prediction might not be bold enough.

On a mild Chicago afternoon, in which the Dodgers’ understated staff ace nearly topped his World Series MVP-winning form from last October, Yamamoto carried a perfect-game bid all the way into the bottom of the eighth inning and a no-hitter into the ninth.

That close, the Japanese right-hander was to making history.

Instead, in the Dodgers’ eventual 7-1 win, both achievements were lost on a pair of stunning moments.

With two outs in the eighth — and Yamamoto also one out away from matching an MLB record of 46 consecutive batters retired in a row, going back to the seven-plus perfect innings he threw at the end of a start against the Angels last week — White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth hit a seemingly routine chopper to shortstop.

Standing there, ready to make the play, was 2025 Gold Glove finalist Mookie Betts.

The last hop, however, looked bigger than he expected, sending the ball booting off the heel of his mitt for a perfecto-snapping error.

“Just a routine ground ball that I missed,” Betts said afterward. “Not making any excuses.”

Yamamoto temporarily recovered, retiring the side in the next at-bat to keep the no-hitter intact.

Back in the dugout, he was also one of several Dodgers players to pick the downtrodden Betts up with a pat on his back.

“It took a tough hop, even from my view,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “That’s a tough ball to make a play on. And at the end of the day, it didn’t lose him a no-hitter, so we weren’t beating him up about it. But obviously, Mookie being the competitor, the athlete that he is, he was pretty hard on himself about it.”

Thus came the ninth, with a sold-out crowd rising to its feet in anticipation as Yamamoto returned to the mound.

Two pitches later, though, White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters — a rookie left-handed hitter with only two home runs previously this year — squared up a fastball that Yamamato left over the middle and hooked it inside the right-field foul pole for a home run.

It was the second time in the last two years that Yamamoto — who would get one more out before finishing an 8 ⅓-inning, 109-pitch, seven-strikeout gem — had lost a no-no on a ninth-inning long ball.

“I do feel a little bit regrettable, because I went into the ninth inning and I was not able to achieve a no-hitter,” he said through an interpreter afterward. “But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”

What it means

Just like in Baltimore last September, when Yamamoto was one out from a no-hitter before Jackson Holliday hit a home run that triggered a stunning Orioles comeback, the Dodgers’ ace had looked untouchable right up until Peters’ blast sailed past the foul pole.

“He’s surgical with all his pitches,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “I think from a hitter’s perspective it’s gotta be really hard to zero in on a specific pitch or a specific location.”

Indeed, Yamamoto mixed and matched with his six-pitch arsenal. He got two strikeouts each with his fastball (which played up a tick at 97 mph), splitter (which only got one whiff but kept White Sox hitters off balance) and cutter (a chance-of-pace weapon that keyed his success in last year’s playoffs).

The home run to Peters wasn’t perfectly located. But at 97 mph, Rushing noted, “that’s usually a pretty good pitch.”

At least, unlike last year’s other close call in Baltimore, the Dodgers had no trouble holding on to win this time.

“I know we’re gonna have more opportunities with Yoshi like that,” said Rushing, who admitted some frustration at how close his batterymate came. “And I’m looking forward to it.”

Who’s hot

One key in Yamamoto’s outing: He was pitching with a big lead.

The Dodgers’ offense scored three times in the first, on home runs from Shohei Ohtani (who returned to the lineup after battling knee inflammation the past couple days) and Max Muncy. They stretched it to 5-0 by the sixth. And then in the eighth, Muncy added more insurance with his second two-run blast of the day, giving him a team-high 16 home runs this season.

Who’s not

Miguel Rojas exited the game in the seventh inning after hopping awkwardly out of the way of an inside pitch. His status was not immediately clear postgame, with manager Dave Roberts departing before speaking to reporters to travel to his daughter’s college graduation on Sunday. Bench coach Danny Lehmann will fill in for him in the series finale.

Up next

The Dodgers will go for a series win Sunday to punctuate this road trip, with Emmet Sheehan (3-3, 4.70 ERA) slated to face right-hander Erick Fedde (1-5, 4.69 ERA).

On a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, the Mets bats were ice cold as they lost to the Braves, 3-1 the final.

Sean Manaea put together his best start in quite some time, but the Mets offense never really got going against a very strong Braves pitching staff.

The Mets record now sits at 31-39, a handful of games out of an NL Wild Card place.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Braves opened the scoring in the second inning when Eli White laced a two-out double, bringing home Matt Olson all the way from first base. Despite the fact that White moved up to third base, Sean Manaea stranded him there by getting Ha-Seong Kim to pop out and end the inning with the score 1-0 in Atlanta's favor.

-- Vidal Bruján made his first appearance for the Mets since May 31st against the Miami Marlins, and it was a bit of a revenge game for the shortstop, as he was designated for assignment by the Braves this past offseason.

-- Carson Benge turned a strikeout looking into a walk in the third inning with a successful challenge of the umpire's call. He was left stranded after Bo Bichette's hard hit line drive to left field was caught.

-- Eli White got the better of Manaea once again in the fourth inning, this time clobbering a solo shot over the left-field fence to double Atlanta's lead (and his RBI tally for the day).

-- Juan Soto opened the fourth inning with a single, but Mark Vientos grounded into a double play and Marcus Semien ended the inning with another groundout.

-- In the sixth inning, Carson Benge got on his horse and flashed the leather with a running, leaping catch on the warning track, hanging on as he crashed into the center-field wall to rob Ozzie Albies of an extra-base hit. An inning later, Benge took away a bloop hit to shallow center off the bat of Austin Riley with a spectacular diving catch.

-- Bo Bichette continued his hot streak at the plate with a multi-hit game, notching New York's first extra-base hit of the day in the sixth inning with a one-out double. In something of an early hook, Braves manager Walt Weiss decided to pull Pérez despite the fact that he had thrown just 71 pitches and had been pitching very well.

-- Mark Vientos put the Mets on the board with a two-out single off of lefty Dylan Lee, bringing Bichette home and cutting Atlanta's lead to 2-1. Pérez was tagged with the earned run, meaning his final line read one run, four hits, and one walk allowed through 5.1 innings. He struck out four batters.

-- For the first time since September of 2024 (Game 3 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies), Manaea pitched for six full innings. He allowed four hits and two runs, both earned, across 84 pitches. He struck out six Braves batters and walked none. His command was excellent all afternoon, tunneling his sweeper and four-seam fastball very well, and his velocity was a noticeable tick up across the board.

-- 20-year-old highly touted Braves prospect Didier Fuentes struck out the side in the eighth inning, sitting down Mets hitters Francisco Alvarez, pinch-hitting Jared Young, and MJ Melendez in order.

-- Austin Warren relieved Manaea in the seventh inning, and after Braves right fielder Eli White doubled yet again, Warren bounced back to strand him, retiring former Met Dominic Smith and Ha-Seong Kim. 

-- Manager Carlos Mendoza trusted Warren to handle the eighth inning as well. However, after striking out two Braves batters, the righty reliever hung a slider slider to lefty slugger Michael Harris II who promptly hammered a solo homer to right field, making it 3-1 Braves. He finished the inning without allowing any further damage to the scoreboard.

-Daniel Duarte sat down the side in the top of the ninth for the Mets.

-- Juan Soto led off the bottom of the ninth with a double. Initially, it looked like a home run, but the umpires determined that the ball never left the ballpark and sent Soto back to second base after a lengthy review. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias shut the door, striking out Vientos, walking Semien, but then getting Alvarez to ground into a double play.

Game MVP: Eli White

White was 3-for-4 with two RBI, a solo homer and two doubles. Typically not known for his bat, the speedy outfielder had an outstanding day at the plate for the Braves.

Highlights:

Juan Soto's long fly ball, initially ruled a home run on the field, is overturned to a double pic.twitter.com/IugJ8fZzbZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 13, 2026

Stay hot, Bo!

Bo Bichette's second hit of the day is a double pic.twitter.com/bu5JMd6IVk

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 13, 2026

Mark Vientos cuts the Mets' deficit in half! pic.twitter.com/G1jL2Tu78D

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 13, 2026

MR. PULCHRITUDINOUS.

Carson Benge makes the diving catch! pic.twitter.com/QDhjrAQOUQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 13, 2026

What's next

This home series against the Braves comes to a close tomorrow, with first pitch set for 1:40 p.m.

For the Mets, Freddy Peralta (4.04 ERA, 1.32 WHIP in 78 innings) will take the mound.

Right-hander Bryce Elder (3.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP in 82.2 innings) is slated to start for Atlanta.

The Mets have one more win this season than last when trailing after eight innings, but that isn’t saying much.

Last year’s number was 0-70 in such instances. It was 1-31 this season entering Saturday, and even with the middle of the Mets lineup front and center for the team’s final at-bat, that wasn’t about to change.

Juan Soto doubled leading off the ninth against Raisel Iglesias, but the Mets were still left empty-handed in a 3-1 loss to the Braves at Citi Field.

Soto’s shot to left field was originally ruled a home run but changed to a double after replay officials determined the ball caromed back into play off the top of the left-field fence and wasn’t touched by a fan.

Francisco Alvarez’s double-play grounder ended it, after Mark Vientos struck out and Marcus Semien walked.

“Nowadays you have two elite guys throwing the eighth and ninth so it’s never easy,” Soto said. “It’s no excuse for us to keep losing after trailing after eight, but it’s not easy.”

The Mets received a solid performance from Sean Manaea, in his first start this season. The left-hander, who has been used in various relief roles, pitched a season-high six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts. He threw 84 pitches.

Eli White’s RBI double in the second delivered the game’s first run. Manaea allowed a leadoff single to Matt Olson before White’s shot (he took third on the throw) brought in the run. Manaea recovered to get the next two outs without an additional run scoring.

White cleared the left-field fence with two outs in the fourth to extend the Mets’ deficit to 2-0. The homer was the third Manaea allowed in his last three appearances. But Manaea was finished allowing runs for the day.

Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated that Manaea may have shed the training wheels and will be allowed to continue as a starter.

“He continues to earn that opportunity and for him to go out there and have that type of outing, it puts himself in a way better position and he’s going to only make us better,” Mendoza said.

Vientos stroked an RBI single in the sixth that brought in the Mets’ only run. Bo Bichette doubled and Vientos delivered after Soto was retired by reliever Dylan Lee. Vientos snapped an 0-for-17 skid with the hit.

The scuffling Vientos began the day hitless in June with strikeouts in six of his 12 at-bats. Vientos’ chase rate of 37.5 percent for this season — placing him in MLB’s 13th percentile — is a strong indicator of where he needs improvement.

Vientos was asked before the game if he’s received any words of encouragement from the Mets’ field staff.

“I don’t think we’re at a level where people need to boost your spirits,” Vientos said. “This is either perform, or don’t. I don’t think any type of ‘go get them’ out there is going to fix anything. It’s just either you do it or you don’t.”

Austin Warren allowed a solo homer to Michael Harris II in the eighth that gave the Braves a 3-1 lead. It was a third straight appearance in which Warren allowed at least one run. The right-hander surrendered a go-ahead, two-run homer in San Diego on the Mets’ last road trip and followed that with a shaky inning (two earned runs allowed) against the Cardinals as an opener.

The Mets still can earn a series victory and .500 homestand with a win on Sunday, but a 31-39 team needs much more than the ability to tread water.

“We have been having a lot of tough times with the injuries, so I feel we have been good,” Soto said. “We have been having the rookies play great baseball, we have the guys playing good games, so it’s really cool to see.”

The Tigers’ ace returned to the mound looking healthy, but a little rusty as well. The lineup stranded a bunch of runners, and then largely went to sleep in the middle innings as the Guardians took the game 3-1, clinching a series victory on Sunday.

Tarik Skubal returned the mound just five weeks after hitting the injury list for a nanoscope procedure to take a bone chip out of his elbow. It’s a remarkable story, but it will still take some time to see if Skubal can get back to fully dominant Tarik Skubal form.

The Tigers staked him to a little lead before he even got into the game. Gleyber Torres swung at Joey Cantillo’s first pitch and smoked it off the right field wall for a double as right fielder Chase DeLauter crashed into the wall. Kevin McGonigle was first pitch swinging too, and pulled a broken bat ground out to move Torres to third. A pretty ugly Matt Vierling AB followed with a ground out to third that couldn’t score the run, but Dillon Dingler smoked a single into right field for a 1-0 lead. Riley Greene followed with a single to move Dingler to third, but Jahmai Jones grounded out on a nice play from Jose Ramirez to send us to the bottom half.

The first pitch Skubal threw was a 97.9 mph sinker that Angel Martinez fouled cruelly off the top of his foot. It took a bit to shake that one off. The next pitch saw him chop one to Torkelson for the first out. Jose Ramirez flew out to Riley Greene. Chase DeLauter did a nice job taking a 100 mph heater and lining it to left field, particularly as his side was still killing him, and the Guardians decided to pull him from the game. Daniel Schneemann pinch-ran for him. Skubal punched out Rhys Hoskins, and apart from feeling for his changeup, the Tigers’ ace looked great.

Cantillo carved up Torkelson and Wenceel Pérez in the second. Hao-Yu Lee, just back up from Toledo, flared a single into left field to turn the lineup over. Cantillo was wild with his fastball, but he was spotting curveballs, changeups, and cutters just fine, and got Torres to ground out to end the frame.

In his second inning of work, Skubal showed some effects of the off time. He gave up a one out single to Travis Bazzana, and then hit Stuart Fairchild. The duo pulled off a double steal, and Dingler fired high to Lee at third and down the left field line, scoring Bazzana. Austin Hedges chopped one high to third, but Lee leapt and snared it, firing home to cut down Fairchild. That was a heck of a play. Skubal punched out Bryan Rocchio to end the inning in a tie game.

Steven Kwan took over for Martinez in left to start the third inning, as the latter was still dealing with the effects of fouling a pitch off his foot in the first inning.

McGonigle opened the third with a line drive single to right center field. Vierling pulled a grounder through the left side for a single of his own. Dingler swung through a changeup for the first out. Greene flew out to right field, with McGonigle tagging and taking third. Jones remained a study in futility, chasing curveballs down and striking out to strand two.

Ramirez flicked a dying quail into right field and hustled it into a one-out double in the bottom of the third. Schneemann got an 0-2 heater on the inner edge and launched it to right field for a two-run shot. 3-1 Guardians. Skubal punched out Hoskins and David Fry, but his pitch count was already over 55.

The Tigers went in order in the fourth, and Skubal walked Bazzana to open the bottom half. Fairchild dropped a bunt to Skubal’s left, but Spencer Torkelson charged it, and once Skubal made the play Torres had to come too far to cover first and everyone was safe. Hedges dropped down a bunt to Lee at third, who fired to first for the out. Rocchio grounded sharply to third, but Lee picked it and again fired home to cut down Bazzana. That’s two runs saved by Lee already in this one. Rocchio stole second with Skubal not paying him much attention. Kwan flew out to center to end the inning. Still 3-1 Guardians.

The Tigers made three quick outs on contact in the fifth, making it nine straight retired by Cantillo after allowing six hits early on. Skubal racked up two easy outs in the bottom half, but as he hit 80 pitches, his outing was over. The 0-2 fastball to Schneemann was a mistake, at least in the location it ended up, but otherwise Skubal looked healthy and his velocity was better than before the injury. There was a little rust present in terms of command, but overall pretty impressived that he’s back to full strength. Kyle Finnegan came on to retire Rhys Hoskins to end the inning.

So, with Cade Smith lurking at the end of the line, the Tigers had three innings to make something happen.

RHP Colin Holderman took over from Cantillo in the sixth, and for some reason, Jose Ramirez came out of the game with Kyle Manzardo taking over at third and Kwan moving to center field. That put Rhys Hoskins in left field, and Dillon Dingler greeted Holderman with a drive off the wall in left that Hoskins completely lost. The ball bounced away from him as Dingler raced around to third. An unproductive out from Riley Greene followed as he struck out swinging wildly at three straight curveballs down. Kerry Carpenter hit for Jahmai Jones and took an 0-2 breaking ball off the foot. Torkelson couldn’t make contact, as he chased a breaking ball a foot out of the zone. Great work. Colt Keith hit for Pérez, and it really felt like the game was going to come down to this at-bat. Keith drilled one deep to center, but Kwan caught it at the warning track, and again the Tigers couldn’t score a run from third.

Finnegan got the first two outs in the bottom half, with James Outman taking over in center field in Keith’s spot with Pérez out of the game. Fairchild paddled a single up the middle, and Hedges pulled a 1-0 fastball for a single over Lee into left field. Bryan Rocchio was up, and Chris Fetter came out for a meeting about how to handle him. The plan worked, as he grounded out to Torres.

Hunter Gaddis took over for the Guardians in the seventh. Torres drew a one out walk, but McGonigle offered at a high slider and popped out. That left it to Vierling, who lined one softy to Bazzana to end the inning.

Tyler Holton took over for the Tigers with a set of lefties coming up and the Guardians bench largely exhausted by injuries. He got Kwan on a shallow fly ball, but Manzardo singled. Schneemann grounded one to Torkelson, who fired to second, and since Schneemann didn’t bother to run it out, McGonigle fired it back to first for an inning ending double play.

Tim Herrin struck out Dingler and Greene to start the eighth. Kerry Carpenter handled Herrin’s breaking stuff better, lining a single to right and taking second when it got away from Fairchild. Steven Vogt wasn’t going to let Herrin face Torkelson, and turned to closer Cade Smith to slam the door with a four-out save. Smith quickly got ahead 0-2, and then Torkelson got a mistake fastball that was supposed to be above the zone, but he just fouled that one off and ultimately struck out.

Kenley Jansen took over in the bottom of the eighth to get his feet wet after two weeks on the injured list. He popped up Hoskins for the first out, then froze Fry with a 95.1 mph cut fastball. Bazzana whiffed on a good slider, and it was last call for the Tigers in this one.

The Tigers were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in this one, stranding 9 different runners.

Outman worked a full count against Smith, and then appeared to take a called strike three. However, he challenged it and was correct. The Tigers had a leadoff walk. Would magic follow? Well, not from Zach McKinstry, who struck out on 98 mph on the outer edge. Torres got a few gift calls with the Guardians having already blown their challenges. He eventually spanked a single through the right side, and now things were getting interesting as Kevin McGonigle dug in and I begged for a first pitch heater down the middle.

Smith missed with a cutter away first pitch, though McGonigle had to challenge to get the call correct. The rookie fouled off a pair of fastballs and worked the count full, and fouled off a few more heaters as Smith’s pitch count hit 30. Ultimately, McGonigle hit a slow chopper and Rocchio just threw him out. So, runners at second and third, two outs, and Matt Vierling up. He grounded out to third on the first pitch. Game over.

It won’t get any easier tomorrow, as Casey Mize returns from the IL to duel a tough starter in Gavin Williams at 1:40 p.m. ET.

On the first mini-skid of the season, missing Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuna from the lineup, the Braves were hoping to level the series in Flushing behind Martin Perez.

The opening inning was a bit strange, as Sean Manaea threw 19 pitches, only 3 of which were in the strike zone, and was rewarded with a 1-2-3 frame. Matt Olson hit a single to lead off the second and Eli White brought him around with a double that could have been plausibly been scored a triple, with White ending up on third.

Things were pretty quiet for a couple of innings, as each team was puzzled by the other team’s veteran innings-eater. Eli White came back up to the plate with the game still at 1-0 in the fourth inning and hit a solo homer over the left field wall. Another couple of startlingly quiet innings later and Martin Perez got the first out of the sixth before exiting the game for Dylan Lee, leaving a man on second. Lee allowed an RBI single but got out of the inning with a 2-1 Atlanta lead. It’s another solid outing for the veteran Perez, with 5.1 innings of 1 run ball with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk. That’s a huge result to keep the Mets to 1 run and hand things over to the back of Atlanta’s bullpen though, as Atlanta’s offense is severely depleted at the moment.

Manaea exited to to start the seventh, as only Eli White and Ozzie Albies were able to hit him hard (though Ozzie’s were unrewarded). Eli White hit another double with one out in the seventh, presenting a chance for Atlanta to pull that run back, albeit for the sub-par hitters that currently comprise the back end of the lineup. Predictably, those bats were unable to deliver that run. Fortunately, the Braves had a fresh bullpen, giving themselves the best chance to convert that one run lead into a win. Didier Fuentes got the seventh against the back of the Mets’ lineup and struck out the side on 13 pitches, as the 20 year old is thriving in his bullpen role. Michael Harris II hit a solo homer with two outs in the eighth to give Atlanta a huge insurance run late.

That run was important, as Raisel Iglesias allowed a leadoff homer to Juan Soto in the bottom of the ninth… or so we thought, as a strange replay involving potential fan interference, a potential home run robbery by Yastrzemski, and a very borderline home run that ended up being ruled a double. Frankly it looked like a homer to me, but it was a couple inches away from being a clear homer, fan interference, and an out, so a double seems like a fair result on balance, with the uncertainty.

Iglesias made the lead stick with a strikeout, a walk, and a double-play.

Join us again for the rubbermatch at 1:40 PM ET tomorrow and enjoy the World Cup in the meantime!

The Royals are going to take the field again tonight, and there’s nothing you or I can do to stop them. So we might as well see if they can find a win.

The good news is that Noah Cameron is pitching for the Royals. After being so bad early that fans were ready to demote him, release him, or fire him into the sun, Cameron has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last month. He’s tied with Reid Detmers (another surprising entry) for third-most SP fWAR in MLB over that span behind only the sensational NL duo of Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez. He’s tied for sixth in K-BB% and SIERA. He’s tied for third in FIP and xFIP. He barely edges The Mis for first in xERA. The point is, he hasn’t just been good, he’s been great, and the underlying numbers say it has little to do with luck. And most of that is Royals being lucky enough to watch him pitch every fifth day while the guys we all thought might be the aces take turns starting and stopping their rehab assignments.

The Astros will send Mike Burrows to the mound. This is also Burrows’ second full season, but it’s not going nearly as well for him. He’s got a 5.77 ERA and a pitiful 9.8% K-BB%. He’s got a pretty standard five pitch mix, all of which he’ll use liberally. A four-seam fastball, slider, curve, changeup, and sinker. Only the slider gets in the zone more often than not. Only the changeup generates any amount of whiffs, and only the changeup gets weak contact. Basically, as with many pitchers, most batters would be better served to leave the bats on their shoulders and let him do himself in. The Royals, despite their new, more patient approach, have proven time and time again that even with their more patient approach this year, they still aren’t as good at it as a lot of other teams that consistently punish the local squad for nibbling too much.

Lineups

The Royals are using a very similar lineup to last night, with Lane Thomas in left and batting eighth ahead of Kameron Misner instead of Isaac Collins batting ninth. That lineup produced eight runs, so it’s hard to find too much to criticize. I was a bit worried the Royals were going to yank Jac Caglianone back below Salvador Perez since Jac had a poor night last night and Salvy had three hits, but the Royals weren’t quite that reactionary today.

Yankees 2 Blue Jays 1

Let’s talk about the eighth inning, because that’s the one that interests me.

• Kazuma Okamoto walked on six pitches to start it off.
• Jesús Sánchez walked on four pitches.

Now John decided to pinch run for Sánchez. Seemed weird, as he wasn’t the lead runner. But then Okamoto had a pretty good chance of hitting in the ninth. Personally, thought, I’d have ran for Okamoto or no one, but I guess having Straw running reduced the chance of a double play.

• Ernie Clement, asked to bunt, and popped it up for an out.

I HATE sac bunts. I wish I had the ability to underline things on this site, but I HATE THE SAC BUNT. To me, outs are the most precious thing in baseball, and handing one to the other team is dumb. Add in that Clement isn’t (apparently) good at bunting (well maybe he is, he had 7 last year) and that you just saw two guys walked, the last on four pitches…..I hate bunting after walks. Give the pitcher a chance to walk another. I know Ernie doesn’t tend to walk. But still, he does tend to make good contact.

To add to the issue of the bunt, you have rookie Brandon Valenzuela up next. Yes he’s been very good, but he would be in a tough spot. And he was still in a tough spot and he struck out. Might have been a good spot to pinch hit with Kirk? Maybe. I don’t know, Valenzuela’s been one of out best hitters.

• Valenzuela struck out.

Next up is Charles McAdoo is up next. Could, again, pinch hit with Kirk. That would cause a lot of issues in the defensive half of the inning. Tough call. I think I’d have used Kirk for Valenzuela. But I would have used him for McAdoo for sure and dealt with the defensive issues later.

• McAdoo popped out.

Another in a string of missed chances today.

Then, in the bottom of the inning Louis Varland comes in and gives up a single to Cody Bellinger and a home run to Paul Goldschmidt. Varland hasn’t giving up a home run this season, until today. And it is the first time Varland has given up more than a run in an outing.

The bottom of the ninth was three strikeouts, Giménez, Springer and Lukes.

Beyond that, we had 6 hits and 7 walks, so you would think we could score more than one run. Okamoto homered in the third.

We had chances:

• Loaded bases in the second (with two outs).
• We had runners on second and third, with one out in the fourth. Being fair, McAdoo hit a liner up the middle but Jazz Chisholm made a terrific catch.
• We had the first two batters walk in the fifth and got a double play (Okamoto) and a strikeout (Jesús Sánchez).
• A one out single in the sixth, then a double play.
• A one out bunt single by Giménez (who seemed to jam fingers diving into first. Generally, you should never dive into first, but Giménez may have wanted to avoid a possible tag on the play). But a ground out (Springer) and a strikeout (Lukes) ended that one.

And the eighth we talked about.

Cam Schlittler is a very good pitcher, who had a bad day, but we should have may him pay (by the way, had you gone to school with that last name when I went to school, you would have had to change it). We did seem to have a good game plan against him, until we got runners on base. 1 for 10 with RISP.

Kevin Gausman was terrific. 7 innings, 1 hit (a home run by Jasson Domínguez), 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

Tyler Rogers pitched the eighth, getting two quick outs and then had a very soft ground ball roll up the middle and into center field. That’s going to happen to a ground ball pitcher occasionally to a ground ball pitcher. Then a much harder ground ball to put runners on the corners. But McAdoo made a terrific diving play on the next ground ball that looked like it would be another single.

Jays of the Day: Gausman (0.31 WPA), Rogers (0.11, though he owes some of that to McAdoo), and Piñango (0.09, for a hit and two walks).

Other Award: Varland (-0.41), McAdoo (-0.23, but he had a couple of nice defensive plays), Giménez (-0.15) and Clement (-0.13, some of that on the stupid bunt, but if you are asked to bunt, put it on the ground).

Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-3, 4.55) vs. Will Warren (7-1, 3.41). A win please.

The San Diego Padres have placed Miguel Andujar on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and called up Nick Solak from their Triple-A affiliate, El Paso Chihuahuas, to replace him on the roster. 

Andujar strained his hamstring attempting to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning against the New York Mets on June 7. Immediately, the Padres removed him from the game and inserted Bryce Johnson as a pinch runner.

The Friars have lost their primary right-handed designated hitter option. The 31-year-old emerged as a key component of the Padres offense this season. Andujar was hitting .254 with 5 HR and 17 RBI, as his increase in production was driven by a strikeout rate (16.7%) well below the league average of 22.5%. He has become more selective at the plate, which allows him to pounce on pitchers’ mistakes. His timely hitting is invaluable and will be sorely missed.

No word on the length of his absence, as it will depend on the severity of the injury. 

Solak is a six-year major leaguer who will provide depth at second base, first base, and the corner outfield positions. The former New York Yankees second-round pick from the 2016 MLB Draft has bounced around several major league organizations (Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Pittsburgh Pirates) since making his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019. His best season was in 2021, as Solak batted .242 with 11 HR and 49 RBI in 127 games. 

He signed a minor league contract with the Padres last winter. Solak was hitting .333 with 9 HR and 40 RBI in 54 games before the big-league club selected him to replace Andujar.

In a game in which the inactive players on both teams could fill most of an All-Star Game lineup, two outstanding pitchers took full advantage. Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Trent Grisham, and Alejandro Kirk were just some of the names that weren’t featured in the starting lineups. So all Kevin Gausman and Cam Schlittler did was complete respective seven-inning, one-run performances. After that, it was a matter of seeing which bullpen would blink first. Mercifully, it was Toronto’s: Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run home run off Louis Varland in the ninth inning proved the backbreaker as the Bombers got their first win north of the border in almost 11 months.

Gausman had the better of the two outings, if we wish to split hairs. He cruised past the Yankee lineup all day with his signature splitter and all of his other pitches working like a charm. While Toronto threatened at various points throughout the early part of the afternoon, the Bombers only managed a single hit against the veteran—thankfully, said hit cleared the wall.

Per YES Network’s Jason Smyth, Jasson Domínguez arrived at Rogers Centre from his Triple-A stint at Lehigh Valley at 2 p.m. sharp, arrived to the ballpark, at 3, then homered to right field at exactly 4 p.m. in the fourth inning. A wonderful bit of timing for the Martian, who hooked the ball down the right field line to put the Yankees on the board.

That blast followed the opening salvo of the afternoon from Kazuma Okamoto, which came in the bottom of the third. Schlittler fired a 98 mph two-seam fastball up and in on Okamoto, but he still managed to turn it around and send a screaming liner down the left field line for his 15th homer of the season.

Schlittler’s command was not as airtight as Gausman’s; the young star had his issues with baserunners at several points throughout the afternoon. In the second inning, he loaded the bases with two out, but managed to retire Andres Giménez and the side on a grounder.

In the fourth, a double by Yohendrick Piñango put two runners on scoring position with only one out, at which point Jazz Chisholm Jr. put on his superhero cape. With the infield drawn in, he still had the reflexes and speed to make a diving catch on a line drive from Vlad Jr.’s mini-me for this ballgame, Charles McAdoo. A strikeout of Giménez once again rendered the Jays foiled.

But if you know how jays are in the avian world: they’re loud, persistent, and quite obnoxious. So there they were again, gathering around the feeder with two men aboard and none out after Schlittler’s waning command led to some free passes. No matter. Schlittler shooed them off by inducing a ground ball double play from Okamoto and blowing a fastball past outfielder Jesus Sánchez to walk off again unscathed.

Two innings later, Cam struck out Nathan Lukes swinging to finish his afternoon with another outstanding start in the books. It was another shining example of how dangerous Schlittler is: even with subpar command and having allowed ten runners to reach—six by hit and four by walk—the only run came on a solo homer, the kind of hit a pitcher can easily move past. Schlittler was certainly upset with himself at certain junctures, but he never let that frustration boil over into a big inning.

Gausman, of course, was utterly dominant. He completed his outing with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, finishing with seven strikeouts, two walks, and just the one solo homer.

In the top of the eighth it looked as if the mice would finally play with the cat away. J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice each singled off submariner Tyler Rogers to give the Yankees their first hit since Domínguez’ home run, setting up a two-out go-ahead RBI opportunity for… Domínguez. Jasson hit Rogers’ 2-1 delivery hard on the ground toward the right field line, but McAdoo sprawled to his right to corral the ball and save a run—possibly two.

If you were frustrated after that, I understand. But for once, the Jays and their fans had more reasons to be frustrated today. Fernando Cruz inherited Schlittler’s topsy-turvy command, working a pair of walks in quick succession to start the bottom of the eighth. But when Ernie Clement botched his sac bunt attempt, I’m sure some doubt began to creep in.

Cruz struck out Brandon Valenzuela before letting a third Jay aboard via walk, giving Toronto another tantalizing chance for a big hit. Instead, McAdoo popped a ball into foul territory, and Rice snagged it a few steps shy of the dugout. The Blue Jays had now stranded 10 runners on base.

Enter the ninth. The Yankees were searching for catharsis akin to Ben Rice’s big blast the last time they had won at Rogers Centre. They got it from Paul Goldschmidt.

If you didn’t think the ball was gone off the swing, Louis Varland’s hunched reaction probably gave it away. Varland hung a slider right over the heart of the plate, and Goldy provided a prime Paul Goldschmidt swing, obliterating it to the second deck for the decisive two-run blow.

Goldschmidt’s ninth home run of his thrilling age-38 season took all the remaining wind out of the Jays’ sails, as David Bednar struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory. It was the Yankees’ first win in Toronto since July 22nd of last season, and was it ever a sweet one.

Now they’ll look for something that hasn’t felt possible in a while: a series win in Rogers Centre. Will Warren is set to lead the charge against everyone’s favorite lefty, Patrick Corbin. First pitch is set for the extremely Canadian 1:37 timeslot on YES.

Box Score