Category: Baseball

The universe is cold and unfeeling, but also apparently has a bit of a twisted sense of humor. How’s that for a paradox? This is my way of saying that once again, I have game coverage for a Martin Perez start… something I’ve enjoyed less than most things the Braves have devised to put on our screens over the last eight years or so.

If you haven’t heard me talk about Perez Pachinko yet but are somehow reading this sentence, I apologize, but here it goes again: Perez starts tend to have a soporific effect on me because they just feel like ubiquitous winds on which game results blow hither and yon — regardless of anything that really happens. Why is this the case?

• Perez doesn’t have good stuff. His pitches all rate from woefully bad to below average in stuff models, both this year and throughout his career. The only exception, and only by one model, is a slider that he no longer throws. This largely comports with my own estimation, where only his sinker is even notable, and it’s notable in the “yeah it sinks and runs a bit more than an average” sinker sense and nothing else.
• Perez doesn’t have good command. The stuff models evaluate location, and yeah, his location is somewhat above-average, but in terms of repeating mechanics and getting the ball where he wants it… well, actually! I’m not sure he generally wants it in any specific place. That’s kind of the issue. His changeup at least appears to have a purpose (low, armside edge), but the cutter? It’s just fire and forget and hope you don’t get punished.
• Perez has no discernible times through the order split (probably because of the two bullets above), so there’s no usage stuff to watch for.

Basically, a Perez start is one where you hope that your offense rolls a die with a higher value than the die that the opposing offense rolls against Perez. Fun! But also not fun.

Anyway, the Braves were without Perez for a while, as he hit the shelf after being beaned by a comebacker on the forearm on July 5. The situation looked worse than it ended up being, as it looks like he avoided anything beyond a few weeks of layoff, and will now be coming back to a rotation spot.

On the season, Perez has 0.6 fWAR and a 83/106/100 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) in 81 1/3 innings. That aggregate line in some ways obscures a bunch of microclimates — but in the spirit of Perez Pachinko, I’m not sure any of those microclimates really matter. He was terrible in his first three starts of the year (7/6 K/BB ratio in 16 innings), but then really picked it up over his next six outings (28/7 K/BB ratio in around 20 innings), which included a few shorter relief stints. Then he struggled for a couple of starts, was good for a couple of starts, and had a really tough time in his last three outings (6/9 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3). One of those poor recent starts came against the Padres, with a 4/4 K/BB ratio in four frames.

Maybe the layoff will be useful and he’ll be refreshed, but I wouldn’t bank on anything like that. It’s just gonna be Perez Pachinko, godspeed, Braves offense.

Speaking of that offense — after a weird and ineffectual game yesterday against a still-struggling Walker Buehler, they’ll now take aim at Michael King for the second time a month. King has had trade rumors swirl around his name and being as a fairly productive starter on a team whose season isn’t playing out particularly well. He has player options for the following seasons, which makes him not-quite-a-bargain, but he’s been decent (1.7 fWAR in 113 1/3, 82/97/106) and the potential for monetary downside could make him relatively cheap, prospect-wise, to acquire.

King dominated the Braves back in San Diego, with a 5/0 K/BB ratio in seven innings, one of his best starts of the year. He hasn’t pitched all that well since — 83/91/126, but he’s kept the homers at bay and the runs haven’t accumulated either. In some ways, the fact that he’s struggled for a few weeks seems especially irrelevant, if you recall that King had an absolutely horrendous 158/153/132 line in the five starts before facing the Braves… then dominated them, and then has gone back to being okay-ish. So, yeah. The Braves will need to hit better, and hope Perez Pachinko works out in their favor. It’s a tall order against a team they haven’t taken a series from in Atlanta since 2018, but what are you gonna do?

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22, 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: None

Streaming: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos

The Cubs have played 101 games and have scored 519 runs.

Just what does this have to do with MLB’s Trade Deadline, which comes up in just 12 days?

Let’s look at some numbers from this season and then I’ll explain further.

That run total of 519 ranks fourth in MLB, behind the Dodgers (526) and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the Pirates (538) and Nationals (559).

You did not have “The Nationals will lead MLB in runs in late July” on your 2026 MLB Bingo card, I’m pretty sure.

The 519 runs are probably a larger total than you might have expected from this Cubs team at this juncture of the season, too. The Cubs scored 793 runs in 2025, 4.895 per game. That’s up this year; the current Cubs average per game is at 5.14.

If they were to keep up that pace, they’d score 832 runs, and if they do that, it would be the fifth 800+ run season for the Cubs since 2016 — after doing it just once between 1971 and 2015 (855 in 2008, which is the most for any Cubs team since 1930).

The 519 runs is also nine more than the division rival Brewers have scored, which is a very good thing. The main reason, then, that the Cubs find themselves six games out of first place entering today’s action is pitching.

The Brewers pitching staff has allowed 378 runs, third-fewest in MLB, close behind the Dodgers and Red Sox (both at 373). The Cubs staff ranks 14th in that category with 450 runs allowed. That makes Milwaukee’s expected W/L record based on runs scored and allowed 64-37, one game better than their actual record. The Cubs’ expected W/L record based on runs scored and allowed is exactly what their actual record is at 57-44. The Cubs are also second-worst in most homers allowed (155; the A’s lead with 158). The Brewers rank tied for third-fewest homers allowed: 100.

So it’s clear — the Cubs do have a chance to overtake the Brewers for the division title if they can get the pitching staff improved. That will require one or more of the following to happen in the 61 games remaining:

• Bettr performance by the guys already on the team
• Returns to action from injured pitchers and quality performance from them
• Trades for quality starters and/or relievers

The MLB Trade deadline comes up one week from next Monday. I believe the Cubs will acquire some pitching talent, and the bats will continue to produce. This is what Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer said recently about trades:

“I think you have to go into the deadline thinking about it analytically,” Hoyer said last Friday. “Thinking about OK, getting a bye is effectively winning a series and weakening your opponent in the next series. That’s a really big deal. So if the odds say that you can do that, then that’s a different equation than if not. I think you have to be aware of those things.”

Which tells us… not much, really. And so, as always, we await developments.

Diamondbacks News

Vargas Walks Off Athletics in Extra Innings
The hot streak is well and truly behind him, almost feeling like a season ago, but Ildemaro Vargas still found a bit of magic and salvaged a win for the Diamondbacks after Paul Sewald suffered only his second blown save of the season.

Diamondbacks Move Demetrio Crisantes to AAA Reno
Reno is starting to get stacked with most of the best prospects in the organization. Next spring is going to be awfully interesting, (whether that is in 7 months or 19 months).

Demetrio Crisantes Gets Surprising Promotion
While Crisantes has indeed been raking in the minors, his stint with AA Amarillo was a brief one overall.

Other Baseball News

Ranking the Top 50 Players On the Block By Trade Value
The Diamondbacks feature lightly in here. Eduardo Rodriguez is the only name on the list, with Kevin Ginkel getting an honorable mention and Ketel Marte listed under the No Trace Clause quagmire section.

Five Hitters Who Need a Second-Half Turnaround
As much as we at the Pit like to give the stick to the Arizona offense, none of the members of that unit make this list.

Tigers Ignoring ‘Year of the Bunt’
Twenty different individual players have bunted more than the Tigers, this despite a marked increase in bunting this year.

San Diego Padres Sale Nears Finish Line
The San Diego Padres are on the verge of a historic ownership change.

How Boston’s Streak Impacts the Trade Deadline, Playoff Picture, and More
After Monday’s victory the streak stands at fourteen in a row, one win away from tying the longest winning streak in franchise history set in 1946, a year Ted Williams hit .342 and won MVP honors as the Red Sox won the American League pennant.

MLBPA Calls to Preserve Current Draft System
While owners are trying to shorten the draft and limit entrants, the MLBPA is looking to expand the draft pool substantially, but still only domestically.

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We've got a loaded MLB Wednesday slate, and our experts present their top MLB picks for the evening.

Check out our MLB expert picks for July 22, including Tampa Bay making life a bit more miserable for the Blue Jays.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Jason Wilson: LAD/PHI o9.5	+100
Josh Inglis: TB ML	-104
Colby Marchio: DET/CHI o7.5	-125

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Jason Wilson's expert pick: Dodgers vs. Phillies Over 9.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

Any hopes of an Aaron Nola rebound season seem dashed thanks to a 5.68 ERA (which, technically, is better than last year) and a career-worst 2.01 HR/9. He's getting barreled far too often (10.1%) as opponents are squaring his fastball up more than ever.

That was his bread-and-butter pitch as recently as 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't been an overwhelming offense of late, but Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and others can measure up well against Nola, who has a worse home ERA (6.50) than road one (5.06).

While that has me tempted to take the Dodgers on the run line at +138, SP Eric Lauer gives me pause. He's improved his fortunes since arriving from Toronto, but that 3.12 ERA is a mirage, and he's still giving up way too many home runs while missing zero bats.

Take the Over.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: SNLA, NBCSP

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Rays moneyline

Price: 49¢ (-104) at Polymarket

Go ask any Toronto Blue Jays fan how the season is going, and you'll likely get the same negative response. Toronto can't score coming out of the break, and the offense has been one of the worst in baseball all season, ranking dead last in wOBA, ISO, and runs scored while sitting in the bottom five in nearly every other offensive category not named K%.

Braydon Fisher will open the game before handing things off to Spencer Miles, who is coming off a six-run outing against the White Sox last Friday. This is a defeated Toronto lineup getting nothing from its biggest bats, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Dalton Varsho, and Kazuma Okamotocombining to hit just .186 over the last two weeks.

I can't see how a bullpen game against the Tampa Bay Rays — a team that has won seven of the last eight meetings — makes Toronto the favorite. Griffin Jax already faced the Jays once this season and needed just 66 pitches to throw five shutout innings.

This is a low point for the Blue Jays, and this is an offense worth fading after scoring just eight runs through five games since the All-Star break.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Rays.TV, SportsNet

Colby Marchio's expert pick: Tigers vs. Cubs Over 7.5

Price: 47¢ (-125) at Polymarket

Typically, a team coming off a ten-plus run outburst suggests a natural offensive regression that favors the Under, but tonight’s matchup presents a prime spot to shatter that.

Standing in the way of a quiet evening is Colin Rea, whose recent outings have featured an alarmingly high WHIP and elevated home run rate. Throwing hittable, middle-middle pitches to a Detroit Tigers lineup primed to bounce back makes a low-scoring affair unlikely.

With Rea vulnerable to hard contact and the bats on Chicago Cubs are already in a groove, expect early offensive fireworks to push this game over the 7.5 total with ease.

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ESPN

More MLB best bets for today

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – LF
Jorge Polanco – DH
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – RF
Francisco Alvarez – C

Christian Scott – RHP

Brewers lineup

Christian Yelich – DH
Jackson Chourio – LF
Brice Turang – 2B
William Contreras – C
Garrett Mitchell – CF
Andrew Vaughn – 1B
Jake Bauers – RF
Cooper Pratt – SS
Joey Ortiz – 3B

Logan Henderson – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 2:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

The opener of the three-game series between two streaking teams was a disappointment for the Orioles. Now they’ll get two chances today to redeem themselves.

After the Birds’ four-error, one-run loss on Monday snapped their seven-game winning streak — and extended Boston’s to 14 — last night’s rainout has led to a split doubleheader to finish the series. Dean Kremer and Jake Bennett, who were originally slated to start the regularly scheduled 7:10 game, have both been moved up to the afternoon contest. Kyle Bradish will make his second-half debut in the nightcap.

If Kremer hopes to cool down the red-hot Red Sox, he’ll need to work a little further into the game than he has recently. He went just four innings in Houston last Friday and five against the Cubs the week before. He has pitched well in his most recent outings against the Sox, working 5.1 scoreless innings against them last season and 7.1 frames of one-run ball in 2024. Kremer has held Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela in check (1-for-8 each) but has struggled against Masataka Yoshida (5-for-10) and Jarren Duran (5-for-11).

The Orioles will get their first look at Bennett, a 25-year-old who was Boston’s second-round pick in 2022. He’s had a fantastic introduction to the majors, posting a 2.35 ERA in nine starts since debuting May 1. With the O’s facing a lefty for the second straight game, Craig Albernaz is running it back with the same lineup he used against Payton Tolle on Monday, except with Jackson Holliday starting at second instead of Jeremiah Jackson.

Can the Orioles find enough spark to snap Boston’s epic streak? It would help if the O’s could actually play defense today.

Orioles lineup:

LF Taylor Ward
1B Pete Alonso
SS Gunnar Henderson
RF Tyler O’Neill
DH Coby Mayo
CF Leody Taveras
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
2B Jackson Holliday
C Sam Huff

RHP Dean Kremer

Red Sox lineup:

DH Masataka Yoshida
CF Ceddanne Rafaela
RF Wilyer Abreu
1B Willson Contreras
3B Caleb Durbin
2B Romy Gonzalez
LF Jarren Duran
C Connor Wong
SS Tsung-Che Cheng

LHP Jake Bennett

1928
Hall-of-Famer Red Faber could do it all — and on occasion, he could hit.

Up to bat in the top of the eighth at Yankee Stadium, with two outs and runners at second and third and the game tied, 4-4, Faber was down two strikes. The righty Faber then jumped across the plate to finish the at-bat left-handed — and knocked in the eventual game-winning runs with a single!

The hit raised Faber’s average to .088 on the season, and pushed home his first two runs of the year. Oh, and Faber went the distance for the win.

1954
The only home run Mickey Mantle ever hit as a shortstop in the major leagues was a back-breaker, coming with two outs in the bottom of the 10th off of Don Johnson to beat the White Sox, 4-3.

It was a long shot, down 3-1 in the eighth, when Casey Stengel pinch-hit Enos Slaughter for shortstop Willy Miranda. But Eddie Robinson homered and later in the inning Mantle singled in the tying run. Shortstop Phil Rizzuto then entered the game — to play second base, while Mantle moved in from center field to man shortstop (Mantle came up through the Yankees farm as a shortstop, but had played just one career inning in the majors there.

With Rizzuto and Mantle back at the normal positions, the second-place Yankees won the nightcap, 11-1, to complete the sweep and move six games ahead of the third-place Sox.

1962
White Sox outfielder Floyd Robinson got six singles in six at-bats, with one RBI and one run, in a 7-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He was the third player in franchise history to get six hits in a game.

The game raised Robinson’s average 12 points, to .319. Robinson would end the season at .312, with 11 homers and an impressive 109 RBIs.           

1987
After the Baltimore Orioles struck for three runs in the third inning at Comiskey Park, the White Sox punched back with five. The burst began with a leadoff homer from Ken Williams and continued later on with a two-run shot from Harold Baines and a back-to-back jack from Iván Calderón.

The clout from Baines was his 155th career long ball, moving him past Bill Melton for the all-time franchise lead.

As for the game, Baltimore struck right back with five runs of its own in the top of the third, sending José DeLeón to the showers in an eventual 10-5 loss.

As for the home-run record, Baines would end up as a brief caretaker of the title between longtime holders Melton and Frank Thomas, who passed Baines in 1996 and with 448 in his career remains the all-time round-tripper leader on the South Side. Baines remains fourth all-time (221), also later passed by Paul Konerko (432) and José Abreu (243).

1991
Former White Sox owner Bill Veeck was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Veeck also owned Cleveland and St. Louis Browns. He revolutionized the way baseball marketed its product, and he was decades ahead of his time in his thinking on revenue sharing and baseball’s option clause — which caused other owners, in some cases, to despise him. But he was beloved by fans, especially in Chicago, where he’d often walk around the stands during games interacting with the patrons.

1994
Did you know that three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin ended his playing career with the White Sox? On this day, the Angels swapped him to the Sox for pitcher Jeff Schwarz. Melvin got into just 11 games and had three hits, none for extra bases, giving him a -0.3 White Sox WAR. He was granted free agency after the season, and never played in the majors again.

Nine years later, he assumed the stewardship of the Seattle Mariners and guided them to 93 wins. He’s managed in the majors in every year since, taking 2010 off. He’s currently the skipper of the San Francisco Giants.

1995
In a game in Chicago, Brewers manager Phil Garner and White Sox manager Terry Bevington got into a fist-swinging brawl near the third-base bag. The brawl was touched off when Ozzie Guillén shoved Jeff Cirillo on a play at third base.

Garner, who managed Milwaukee from 1992-99, had incidents with the Sox before. Many of those were prompted by some of his acerbic comments, including refusing to refer to the Sox by name, using the moniker “big city.”

The Sox won the game, 4-2.

Kansas City has come out of the All-Star break 4-1 and are going for the sweep today. Unfortunately, everyone is getting hurt and the run differential is still negative over those five games because of the blowout on Sunday. Jac Caglianone is out after hurting his shoulder last night and Bobby Witt Jr. is going to the injured list. The season of attrition continues. Replacing Bobby is Andrew Velazquez who has been bouncing around the majors and minors for a long time and will make his debut for the Royals. He is an okay defensive shortstop with a career wRC+ of 48, so please heal quickly Bobby!

Seth Lugo will take the mound today trying to build off of a strong start against San Diego Last time out. He will face Landen Roupp. Roupp is a 27 year old righty who has been pretty solid for the Giants the last three years. He does have a proclivity for walking some batters and he has struggled with runners on base this season.

Do the owners of Major League Baseball like baseball? Unclear. Sure, the league has been “listening” to its fans during this Collective Bargaining Agreement, but only because “the fans” agree with them about the “need” for a salary cap. When it comes to something like, say, the minor leagues, the league seems completely disinterested in what you and I have to say.

The latest SB Nation Reacts poll focuses on the prospect component of the just-completed All-Star festivities in Philadelphia. First, it’s important note that MLB moved the draft to coincide with the All-Star Game as a way to boost interest and elevate it into a higher strata that competed with the NBA and NFL drafts.

But a funny thing has happened with those intentions: they got thrown in the trash.

Now, maybe it had something to do with America 250 or the World Cup, but the draft in Philadelphia was completely downplayed, almost to the point of being an afterthought. First, it was very difficult to just sit down and watch it.

The first day of coverage was sliced up into one of the strangest viewing experiences this long-time couch potato has ever seen:

Day 1 (Rounds 1-4)
Saturday, July 11:

1 p.m. — picks 1-10 on NBC and Peacock
2:30 p.m. — picks 11-40 on MLB Network, Peacock, MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+
4:30 p.m. — picks 41-135 on MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+

Day 2 (Rounds 5-20)
Sunday, July 12:

11:30 a.m. on MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+

That’s six total platforms and on day 1 you’ll be forced to change your channel twice just to keep watching. An absurd bit of scheduling that demands an explanation. Did NBC have Rob by the Manfreds and he had no choice but to slice it up like this? Peacock is a streaming platform that could’ve ran the whole thing. MLB Network is the league’s own cable channel that could’ve covered whatever their broadcast partner couldn’t or wouldn’t.

So, it was tough to track just from a viewing experience. It was even difficult for, say, FanDuel users to follow along in order to bet on who would be drafted next. In the room, the draft itself wound up being in the way.

From Baseball America:

After the Dodgers made the 40th pick, the live show portion of the draft was over. Quite quickly, the draft rolled on into the second round, which, again, aired on MLB.com. But in the convention center, the draft was effectively over. The remaining fans trickled out. Picks were being analyzed a floor up on the broadcast desk, but they weren’t being announced to anyone remaining in the arena.

[…]

While the remaining picks were being streamed online for those fans still watching, arena crews began disassembling the stage and seating area that only a few hours earlier had housed one of the most important days on the baseball calendar. Workers on lifts could be seen pulling down the lighting trusses and doing other work to tear down the stands and lighting.

And because the Baseball Draft is actually different from the drafts it’s being forced to compete with for some reason, the league doesn’t fly out a crop of prospects to be there in the room. So, why are they making a show of this at all if the show they plan to put on stinks at the concept stage? I’ll admit that my interest in the Giants’ pick of Jackson Flora was generated only after the fact while reading about him. I can’t imagine what the people who actually care beforehand were being put through during this streaming telecast mess.

Anyway, while fans are being used to crush one of the most powerful unions in the world (which should be an example of what makes unions great rather than why they are bad), they’re probably going to be flatly ignored when it comes to everything else.

The fans and traditionalists have it right here. The draft should be held in June. The baseball calendar had been shaped around a June draft for years and years, primarily for practical reasons. But beyond that, making it A Thing hasn’t really worked, because that was only a marketing decision. The league wanted to do… something… even if it was bad.

Speaking of marketing, though, the other poll question had a predictable response:

I think this desire is good and pure and true, and it’s another example of the league wanting a win in a press release but not in reality. The game aired at 9am Pacific and in the course of a regular schedule of MLB games. I would’ve liked to have seen Dakota Jordan’s double when I was more awake!

So, it seems like the easy call here is to put it in Prime Time a la the Home Run Derby.

But here’s the thing: it’s not a given that the league is invested in the minor leagues. In fact, the latest CBA proposal regarding the draft is a continuation of the Jeff Luhnow plan to shrink the minor leagues:

The goal is to push off as much development as possible onto college baseball programs. There is also the growing control by private equity funds of minor league teams. It seems like a good collision of “ruthless efficiency” that will almost certainly be good for the players and fans, right?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Texas Rangers are currently in first place in the American League West, up a half game on the Seattle Mariners. Texas is a game back of the Boston Red Sox, who are in Wild Card 3, 2.5 games back of Wild Card 2 (which is either the White Sox or the Guardians, who are also tied for first place in the American League Central), and 5.5 games back of the New York Yankees, who have the Wild Card 1 spot.

Our question for today is…where do you think the Texas Rangers end up at the end of 2026, vis-a-vis the playoffs?

Cast your vote below…

The A’s just can’t catch a break in the health department. The club announced that right-hander J.T. Ginn is the latest member of the squad to land on the 10-day IL, landing there because of a blister on his right middle finger:

The loss hurts for the short-term but on the bright side this shouldn’t be a long-term absence for the righty. In fact it could be a blessing in disguise: Ginn has already surpassed his career-high in innings pitched and a breather, even after the All-Star Break, isn’t the worst thing in the world. It certainly makes the team’s decision for them regarding slowing down the righty in what is his first full big league season as a starting pitcher. Don’t want to blow out his arm during the final stretch of a lost season.

Ginn’s absence will presumably allow right-hander Mason Barnett a chance at starting for the next couple of weeks. The well-regarded righty hasn’t quite found his footing at the big league level yet but with where the A’s are in the standings maybe giving him an extended look against big league hitters as a starting pitcher isn’t the worst way to use the final couple months of the season.

There remains no known timetable for Giancarlo Stanton, but based on what Aaron Boone is seeing, the return of the designated hitter “shouldn’t be too far off.”

The Yankees manager wanted to correct the record on Stanton on Tuesday, telling the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast that Stanton is closer to rejoining the club than reports had indicated.

Asked Wednesday, Boone said that the lack of a public and known timeline does not mean Stanton is a great distance away from playing again.

“I feel like he’s moving in a good direction,” Boone said before a doubleheader in The Bronx against the Pirates. “I just don’t know if [his return is] a couple of weeks from now, a few weeks from now, whatever it is.

“But he is getting much closer to that point.”

Stanton has not played since suffering a right calf strain on April 24.

He appeared on the verge of a return in mid-June, when he had progressed to running the bases, but then felt something in his calf that Brian Cashman later clarified was “a whole new injury,” rather than a setback.

Since that point, Stanton has not run the bases, and the Yankees have not offered much detail about when the powerful but oft-injured slugger could return.

In what is probably the most optimistic update yet from Boone, the manager said Stanton “is running, and so I think based on that, it shouldn’t be too far off.”

Stanton has been in his running progression for several weeks. Boone said Stanton is at the stage of reaching “certain speed points” and then “obviously bouncing back and recovering.”

There is still little clarity about the exact details of Stanton’s daily workload, but the club says he is making progress and has been hitting.

Stanton generally prefers skipping rehab assignments, feeling he can be ready by swinging off the Trajekt machine, but a return-to-play plan, too, is unknown.

“I don’t have a timeline,” Boone reiterated. “I don’t know when he gets to the end of that and then what we do to get him back.”

During the Roarin' Twenties, when the Yankees dominated baseball and the Rangers had won their first (1928) Stanley Cup, Frank Boucher was the Blueshirts star and a good baseball player.

This was proven one day when Babe met Frank on the ball field.

As it happened, on one sunny Ottawa day in the summer when The Sultan of Swat and The Raffles Boucher actually faced each other in an intense baseball game that also featured Yankees' legend Lou Gehrig.

This was in the very late 1920's before the Rangers opened their training camp but after the baseball season had ended. In those days it was normal for The Babe and Lou to travel across America and Canada picking up extra cash playing exhibitions. 

"This particular game happened to be played in Hull," said Boucher, "across the river from my home town of Ottawa. Our Canadian team was composed of amateur ball players from Montreal and Ottawa. Not surprisingly Babe and Lou drew an overflow crowd.

"As it happened Ruth and Gehrig were on the same team and I played shortstop in Gehrig's infield. My brother Buck Boucher was on the home team in centerfield which was a mistake.

Buck was a terrific catcher but he never played center in his life."

Just to make the game even zanier for Buck, he had brought his catcher's mitt to the game and didn't have a fielder's glove. Frank had to loan his brother his fielder's glove every time the sides changed.