Category: Baseball

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It's Jacob Misiorowski day, which means the Milwaukee Brewers are predictably monstrous -260 moneyline favorites.

With a massive pitching advantage, my Cubs vs. Brewers predictions and MLB picks are attacking the Brewers on the run line. 

Who will win Cubs vs Brewers today: Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (-115)

The Milwaukee Brewers have advantages everywhere in this game.

They’ve had a more potent offense than the Chicago Cubs over the course of the season, and the recent numbers are better as well.

Milwaukee ranks fourth in wOBA and OPS against right-handed pitching in June. Even with recent improvements, Chicago sits 16th and 18th over the same period.

The Brewers have a massive pitching edge with Jacob Misiorowski starting opposite Colin Rea. Misiorowski ranks in the 100th percentile in Pitcher Run Value and has allowed only three earned runs over his last nine starts.

Back Milwaukee on the RL to -135.

COVERS INTEL:Colin Rea ranks in the 10th percentile in xERA.

Cubs vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-125)

Misiorowski has allowed 0.33 runs per start since May 1, making it impossible for any offense to get going in the slightest.

He faced the Cubs during that stretch and pitched six innings of shutout ball while striking out eight batters. Predictably, that game went Under 7.5 runs.

I don’t see the Cubs scoring more than a run or two here, which puts a lot of pressure on the Brewers to score in bulk.

I expect a 5-1 type of game, and see plenty of value on an Under of 7.5 runs. Bet to -140.

Cubs vs Brewers weather

Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected tonight with temperatures dipping into the mid-fifties tonight. 

Cubs vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Cubs +210 | Brewers -260
• Run line: Cubs +1.5 (+100) | Brewers -1.5 (-120)
• Over/Under: Over 7.0 (-125) | Under 7.0 (+105)

Cubs vs Brewers trend

Milwaukee has hit the run line in 23 of the last 40 home games (+10.25 units, 22% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Brewers.

How to watch Cubs vs Brewers and game info

Cubs vs Brewers latest injuries

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The Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday morning, and named Andy Green his interim replacement.  

Here's everything you need to know about Green...

His most recent role

Green comes down from the Mets' front office, having served as the team's vice president for player development since before the 2024 season. In that role, he oversaw the entire farm system and minor league operations. 

Past managerial experience

Green does have some experience in the managers' seat, having previously served as the head man for the Padres for close to three seasons until he was fired late in the 2019 campaign. 

San Diego was in the midst of a rebuild during his time there, and he led them to a 274-366 record. 

Following his departure, he joined David Ross' staff as the Cubs' bench coach, a role that he filled until Chicago decided to bring in Craig Counsell to replace Ross, ultimately bringing him to the Big Apple. 

Playing career

Green was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 24th round of the 2000 MLB Draft. He was a consistent .300 hitter throughout his journey through the minors, and ended up making his big league debut during the 2004 season.

Green, a utility man, never quite stuck as a regular in the majors and ended up taking his talents over to Japan, where he played for the Nippon Ham Fighters for a year. 

He spent time in the Reds organization upon his return to the U.S., then ended up back at the big league level with the Mets for a very brief stint during the 2009 season. 

Green had 46 hits in 230 at-bats during his four MLB seasons. 

Trever Miller pitched 13 seasons in the majors.   He’d appear in 230 games as a reliever for the Astros and was a member of the 98′ squad that won 102 games.   Trever joins us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes.     

Q:  You came to Houston as part of a big trade.    Where were you when you heard the news?   

A:  I remember exactly where I was.   I was in the hospital; my son was born the day before that.   I was actually holding him and taking the phone call, and they told me I was traded.   At the time, I could care less, I was just caught up in the emotions of welcoming my son into the world.    I was a proud papa at the time.    

Q:  How much did you know about Houston?

A:  I didn’t know anything, really.   I had never been there before.   I was east coast, brought up through the Tigers organization so I had never really been over there but once I got there, I fell in love with the town and the people.   

Q:  You came to a good situation as well.    That 1998 team was one of the greatest assembled in franchise history.  What do you most remember about that season?

A:  1998 was fantastic.  We had a lot of future Hall of Famers, and we won lots of ball games.   That was my first experience in the playoffs and focusing on the playoff picture.   

I was the long man that season coming out of the bullpen, and I went 18 days without getting into a ballgame.   That’s how good our starters were.   I had to go and do short bullpen sessions with the burn rule just to try to stay sharp.    

Q:  What happened when you finally got in after such a long layoff?

A:  We were playing in Montreal.   I’m going back to the hotel with Sean Bergman, who’s scheduled to start the next day.   I said to him “tomorrow, you go six innings and get the win by a score of 10-0, and I’ll come in the final three innings and close it out to get my first save.”      

Well, it turns out that he pitched six innings, the score was actually 8-0, he left in the 7th with the bases loaded, I came in and got out of that jam by some miracle (laughs) and I pitch two more innings to get the save.  In the process, I also got my first big league hit.    I hit a double, and that wound up being the 10th run scored.   I got my first hit and my first save in the same game!     I also pitched for the first time in 18 days!

Q:  Did you like playing for Phil Garner? 

A:  I did.   Phil used me a ton.   The end of one year I had like 76 appearances.    

At the end of that season, Phil looked me right in the eye and said, “I rode you pretty hard this last month, didn’t I?”    I was like “yes you did, I did my best.”    

So, I get home, and I go to do my first off-season workout, and I can barely even lift a 10 lb. dumbbell to curl.    My arm was fried and I spent that whole offseason just trying to get back to neutral.    

Q:  What do you think of pitching today?

A:  The fans seem to love it, so I like it for them.   I think there’s too many reviews and I hate the pitcher’s clock.  My wife thinks that the clock has created a deal where the romance of baseball is gone.   I tend to agree with that.   

I don’t see pitching anymore, I see guys trying to throw it as hard as they can.   I don’t think I’d get a look from a scout if I only threw in the low 90’s which is what I threw back then.    

Q:  Final question.  Jose Lima was one of your teammates.   Do you have a favorite story about Lima? 

A:  We came up together with Detroit.   We had a guy that would serve soup to us in the fall league.   Jose was always loud and boisterous.    We all loved him, but he irked some of the older people.    

So, we are going through the soup line one day, and the man pours soup into our bowls and Lima says something that the man doesn’t like and he takes the giant soup spoon and hits him right over the head with it!   (laughs).   Soup went flying everywhere.

Jose wanted to fight him, we had to hold him back, we were all dying laughing.    It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.  

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The Houston Astros were able to grind out a 2-1 win in the series opener Thursday night.

While Detroit is slightly favored to even things up Friday, my Astros vs. Tigers predictions and MLB picks see value in backing the road team.

Who will win Astros vs Tigers today: Houston Astros (+100)

Spencer Arrighetti was borderline untouchable the first couple of months despite rocky numbers beneath the surface. 

The pendulum has swung a little too far the other way over the last month, with Arrighetti posting a 5.79 ERA despite a respectable 3.89 FIP.

He is poised to get back on track against the Detroit Tigers, who sit 26th in wOBA vs. righties the past two weeks.

The Houston Astros rank 16th in wOBA and eighth in ISO during the same period. They should cause trouble for Keider Montero, whose 4.68 xFIP signals regression is coming. 

Back Houston to -115.

COVERS INTEL:Montero ranks in the the 13th percentile in K%, which should lead to a lot of balls put in play by an Astros attack sitting eighth in hard hit rate vs. righties the past two weeks.

Astros vs Tigers Over/Under pick: Under 9.0 (-115)

The Astros have struggled to deliver ceiling-level offensive performances, scoring four runs or fewer in eight of their last 10 games.

It’s been a similar story for the Tigers. They plated just 28 runs over the last nine games (3.11 per), eight of which came Under the pre-game total.

While Arrighetti and Montero have both pitched worse than their season outputs suggest, these are not the offenses to truly take advantage.

The bullpens are also in great shape, and each team sits Top-3 in bullpen FIP during the month of June.

Bet the Under to -125.

Astros vs Tigers weather

Temperatures in the high 60s are expected with slight winds blowing inwards. Small boost to the pitchers.

Astros vs Tigers odds

• Moneyline: Astros -105 | Tigers -115
• Run line: Astros +1.5 (-210) | Tigers -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 9.0 (-105) | Under 9.0 (-115)

Astros vs Tigers trend

Houston has won 12 of the last 18 away games (+7.50 units, 40% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. Tigers.

How to watch Astros vs Tigers and game info

Astros vs Tigers latest injuries

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Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (35-42) won 11-0 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got on the board in the first inning scoring 2 runs on a Dezenzo RBI single and Ferreras RBI groundout. McCullers got a rehab start for Sugar Land and went 3 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. The offense got 2 more runs in the 7th on a Biggio RBI triple and Whitcomb RBI single. Sugar Land blew it open in the 8th scoring a run on a wild pitch, a Brooks grand slam, Cole walk and Spence walk. Hendrickson tossed 5 scoreless innings in relief and Fleury had a scoreless 9th to close out the 11-0 win.

Note: Biggio has a .858 OPS this season.

• Cavan Biggio, LF: 1-for-4, 2 R, 3B, RBI, BB, SB
• Shay Whitcomb, 3B: 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB
• Trenton Brooks, DH: 1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB
• Zach Dezenzo, 1B: 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB
• Pascanel Ferreras, SS: 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB
• Zach Cole, RF: 0-for-2, R, RBI, 3 BB
• Lucas Spence, CF: 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB
• Riley Unroe, 2B: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, SB

• Lance McCullers Jr., RHP: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• Josh Hendrickson, LHP: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (WIN)
• Jose Fleury, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (33-39) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE)

Blanco made a rehab start for the Hooks and went 3.1 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts. The offense got on the board in the 6th inning on a Brutcher bases loaded walk. They got another run in the 8th inning on a Schiavone RBI single. Hertzler went 4 innings in relief allowing 1 run with 3 strikeouts. The Hooks took a 2-1 lead into the 9th but Swanson allowed 2 runs as Tulsa walked it off.

Note: Hertzler has a 2.03 ERA in Double-A.

• Jason Schiavone, C: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
• Drew Brutcher, RF: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• Jax Biggers, 2B: 1-for-2, R

• Ronel Blanco, RHP: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Julio Rodriguez, RHP: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Cole Hertzler, RHP: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• Nic Swanson, RHP: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (19-52) won 7-6 (BOX SCORE)

The Asheville offense got on the board in the first inning on a Powell groundout. They got 2 runs in the 2nd inning on a Daudet 2 run home run. Oakes started for Asheville and while he struck out 8 over 3.1 innings, he also allowed 4 runs. The offense got another run in the third on a double play and then 3 runs in the 4th on a Moss RBI double and Walker 2 run single. Cruz allowed 2 runs in relief but the rest of the pen was scoreless as they tossed 4.1 innings to close it out.

Note: Moss is hitting .353 in High-A.

• Kyle Walker, 2B: 3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, RBI, SB
• Caden Powell, LF: 0-for-4, RBI
• Cesar Hernandez, DH: 0-for-3, R, BB, SB
• Jack Moss, 1B: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI
• Zach Daudet, 3B: 2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI

• Kellan Oakes, RHP: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
• Anthony Cruz, RHP: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Raimy Rodriguez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K (WIN)
• Bryce Collins, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Conor Steinbaugh, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (SAVE)

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (36-35) won 5-1 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers got on the board in the first inning thanks to a Flores 2 run home run, his 10th home run of the season. Shoemaker started for the Woodpeckers and pitched well allowing 1 unearned run over 4.2 innings. The offense added a run in the third on a Luciano RBI double and another in the 4th on a Vasquez sac fly. The offense got another in the 8th on a Nigh RBI single. Weber tossed 3.1 scoreless in relief and Mathiesen closed the door with a scoreless 9th inning as the Woodpeckers won 5-1.

Note: Flores has a .836 OPS this season.

• Hector Salas, 2B: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
• Arturo Flores, 1B: 2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Waner Luciano, RF: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
• German Ramirez, SS: 2-for-4, R
• Kenni Gomez, LF: 1-for-4, R, SB
• Brandon Nigh, 3B: 2-for-2, RBI, 2 BB

• Adam Shoemaker, LHP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
• Charlie Weber, RHP: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (WIN)
• Ryan Mathiesen, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: TBD – 7:05 CT

CC: TBD – 7:00 CT

AV: Parker Smith – 5:45 CT

FV: TBD – 6:05 CT

I don’t often struggle to write series previews. In fact, it’s often my favorite article to compile for Amazin’ Avenue. But I’m going to be honest, I’m struggling to even think about where to begin with this one. But here goes…after a truly horrific stretch of baseball, the New York Mets (34-47) welcome the division rival Philadelphia Phillies (45-36). The two teams squared off last weekend, with Philadelphia taking two out of three on their home turf, and the Mets will look to return the favor.

The Mets enter this series on a six-game skid, a losing streak which began against the Phillies and was exacerbated as the Mets endured a truly embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Cubs at Citi Field. The Mets ended up losing all seven games they played against the Cubs this year, including their three games at Wrigley Field in April.

Losing games is one thing, but these games were borderline noncompetitive, and each game had its own embarrassing component. After a Monday night rain out, the series kicked off in earnest on Tuesday with Kodai Senga putting the final nail in his own coffin by getting rocked once again. Senga, whose ERA now sits at 10.08 after seven starts, has found himself relegated to a bullpen role following his putrid season, but given his performance, you can excuse any Mets fan for being skeptical that this move will pay off.

Following their 9-6 loss on Tuesday, the team was swept in a double header on Wednesday. The winners of the day game (besides the Cubs) were the Norwegians, who captured the hearts and minds of New Yorkers everywhere. The losers, of course, were the Mets and Mets fans everywhere, who are subjected to watching this team. The Mets actually led 3-0 thanks to back-to-back homers from Jared Young and Francisco Alvarez, but the Cubs went on to score 10 unanswered runs. In the nightcap, the Mets’ infield made six (6!) errors en route to a 10-5 loss which was as demoralizing as it was deeply embarrassing.

The series concluded with the closest of the four matches, an extra innings loss on Thursday. The Mets were once again plagued by bad defense, which directly resulted in three unearned runs charged to Freddy Peralta’s final line. The first error came on a routine play that Ronny Mauricio, who was called up earlier that day, could not make, which kicked off a three-run inning for the Cubs. As Carlos Mendoza (now former manager of the Mets) said post game, the errors the team has been making, specifically the ones in this game, were extremely routine plays. Despite a two-run homer from Wagaman and another dinger from Young, the Mets fell in extra innings and ended up leaving a season-high 14 runners on base in the sweep-clinching defeat.

Dansby Swanson had a series for the ages against the Mets, driving in 15 home runs and hitting three homers across the four games. In fact, he was held hitless in the fourth game, so all of that offensive production came in the first three games. In the first game of the doubleheader alone, he hit two homers, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs for Chicago, matching a career high.

On the bright side, Francisco Alvarez has begun to heat up offensively, hitting three homers in the series. He now has eight home runs and a .258/.326/.436 slash line on the season, with a 115 wRC+ and a 0.9 fWAR. Since returning from the IL on June 9, he’s hitting .294/.345/.529 with four homers and a 145 wRC+ in 14 games. At the very least, from the crop of youngsters that includes Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos, and Bretty Baty, Alvarez has at least provided you with something to feel good about, and he figures to be the only one from that group to factor into the future.

Any dreams of chasing a Wild Card spot have all but been dashed with this losing streak, as the vibes are literally lower than I can ever remember with this club. At the exact halfway point of the season, the Mets reside at 34-47, meaning that they’re on pace for 68 wins. If these trends continue, they would fail to win 70 games for the first time since the 2003 season, and it’s never a good thing to be compared to the Art Howe years. The Mets are currently 9.5 games back of the final playoff spot in the National League, but only two games ahead of the Rockies for the worst record in the league. They currently are tied for the sixth-worst record in baseball, which is important for MLB Draft Lottery odds, because if they snag a top-six spot of the MLB Draft order, they won’t be dropped ten spots due to the payroll penalty.

While David Stearns said he will evaluate the team’s situation with respect to them being buyers or sellers up until the August 3 deadline, the team has seemingly already made it known to the league that they are open for business with their first big move, which was moving on from long-time pitcher David Peterson. The club sent him across to the visitor’s clubhouse after Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep while acquiring an infield prospect in return. Peterson was a free agent so moving on made sense regardless of the team’s situation, but it does at least show that the club seems to be leaning towards the sellers route. With little left to play for on the field, all eyes will be fixated on the trade deadline as the Mets look to extract some value and build up their farm system to help build towards a (hopefully) better future.

And as we publish this article, the team announced “the departure of Carlos Mendoza”, meaning they will have yet another new manager. Andy Green will take over as the interim skipper for the remainder of the 2026 season. A lot more will be discussed about this in the coming days, you can be sure.

The Phillies are in a completely different spot from the Mets. They come in to this series as winners of seven of their last ten games and hold the top Wild Card spot in the National League, one game clear of the Cubs, who just walloped the Mets this week. After a really sluggish start, they are only four games behind the Braves for first place in the National League East. After firing their manager, Rob Thomson, following a 10-19 start, and inserting Don Mattingly into the interim role, Philadelphia is 35-17. After losing their first game to Washington in their recent four-game set, they won the last three, with each of them coming thanks to a ninth inning rally. In the two middle games, they were down to their final strike before erupting to steal the game from the Nats. Must be nice.

Friday, June 26: Zach Thornton vs. Zack Wheeler, 7:10 PM EDT on WPIX

Thornton (2026): 4.2 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 8.31 ERA, 6.10 FIP, 207 ERA-

Thorton is making his second spot start for the Mets this season in place of the recently-departed David Peterson. In his one outing, he allowed four earned runs over 4 2/3 innings while striking out three and walking two against the Nationals on May 20, which resulted in a loss. In seven outings in Triple-A so far this season (including six starts), he owns a 4.80 ERA. He has struck out 29 and walked 14 across his 31 innings in Syracuse.

Wheeler (2026): 68.1 IP, 69 K, 18 BB, 8 HR, 2.11 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 50 ERA-

Wheeler’s last start came against the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball, and he picked up his seventh win of the 2026 campaign against just one loss. In that outing, he allowed two earned runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, and he struck out seven while walking three batters. In the month of June so far, he has three wins and has posted a 1.82 ERA and a 3.55 FIP in 24 2/3 innings. Opposing batters have managed just a .165 batting average and .559 OPS against him during this stretch, and he’ll look to finish the month off strong against his old club.

Saturday, June 27: Christian Scott vs. Alan Rangel, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY

Scott (2026): 40.2 IP, 47 K, 19 BB, 4 HR, 3.10 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 77 ERA-

This will be Scott’s first start in 15 days after he landed on the injured list with a right hip impingement. Perhaps the injury could help explain Scott’s trouble with the long ball in his last start, which came against the Cardinals on June 11 in a game the Mets eventually won. After surrendering just one home run across his first eight starts, he gave up three in the first two innings against the Cardinals, but was able to hold them at bay after that rough start. He ended up going 4 2/3 innings, allowing a season-high seven hits while striking out six and walking one. He did keep his streak of 18 starts allowing four runs or fewer to begin his major league career, which remains a Mets record. Scott has been the Mets’ best starter this year since making his return to the majors, leading the club with a 3.10 ERA.

Rangel (2026): 8.0 IP, 9 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 2.25 ERA, 2.85 FIP, 53 ERA-

Rangel is a journeyman pitcher who made his major league debut with 11 innings across five outings for the Phillies last season. He signed as an international free agent in 2014 and bounced around from the Braves to the Angels to Philadelphia, where he finally got a chance at major league action. Saturday will mark his first major league start after making seven relief appearances over the past two season with the Phillies. He enters play having allowed two earned runs over eight innings pitched. His last time out, he pitched five innings and limited the Nationals to one run on five hits. He threw 72 pitches in that one (a career high in the majors), so he is probably in line to pitch between 70 and 80 pitches in this start.

Sunday, June 28: TBD vs. Jesús Luzardo, 1:40 PM EDT on SNY

TBD

The Mets could turn to Tobias Myers or a bullpen game on Sunday, unless they want to promote someone from the minors.

Luzardo (2026): 92.1 IP, 110 K, 30 BB, 9 HR, 4.39 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 104 ERA-

Luzardo has had a bit of an up-and-down year for Philadelphia, and June is a perfect encapsulation of his struggles. In two of his outings this month, he’s allowed five earned runs. In the other two, he’s allowed one earned run and two earned runs. In the latter, he matched his season high by going seven innings. Despite that, the club has won each of his last six starts and eight of his last ten. In his most recent outing, he settled for a no decision but did strike out a season-high 13 batters while allowing five earned runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings against the Nationals. He is currently seventh among NL starting pitchers in innings pitched, and can be relied upon to give the team length, even when he is struggling.

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I like the underdog Boston Red Sox to make it two out of two when they meet up with the New York Yankees tonight as +101 home underdogs.

They took the series opener last night and now see a pitcher who is both exploitable and familiar to them.

Here are my Yankees vs Red Sox predictions and MLB picks for Friday, June 26.

Who will win Yankees vs Red Sox today: Red Sox moneyline (+101)

Will Warren is a pitcher I've successfully faded all season, and there's reason to do the same here. I'd play the Boston Red Sox down to -108.

The issue with Warren has always been that when he's not getting strikeouts, his average hard-hit rate gets exploited by his high-velocity stuff. He also generates whiffs mostly in the zone, pairing a 24% strikeout rate with a bottom-30 percentile chase rate.

The more often you see him, the more success you have. Boston ranks fifth in MLB in doubles, gap-to-gap power that benefits from Fenway Park

COVERS INTEL:Payton Tolle posted a 39% whiff rate on his four-seamer between the majors and minors in 2025.

Yankees vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-116)

I like the Over.

Payton Tolle has walked 10.8% of hitters across varied with a hard-hit rate over 38%. I expect him to be slightly better than his counterpart because of his strikeout stuff, but that doesn't mean it will come without any struggle.

A hard-hit issue against this New York Yankees lineup is a problem, even without Aaron Judge, as they've ranked in the top five of barrel rate and hard-hit rate league-wide all season. Play to 9.

Yankees vs Red Sox weather

Yankees vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -105 | Red Sox +104
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 | Red Sox +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Yankees vs Red Sox trend

The Boston Red Sox have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline in 5 of their last 7 games (+4.25 Units / 48% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Yankees vs Red Sox and game info

Yankees vs Red Sox latest injuries

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

Baseball scouts love bloodlines, and for good reason. Growing up around the game often provides a head start that can’t be taught, as Bobby Witt Jr. has demonstrated. Jacob Lombard is one of the top prospects for the MLB draft to be held on July 11 during All-Star Week, and he comes from one of baseball’s most accomplished families. He is the son of former major leaguer and current Tigers bench coach George Lombard and the younger brother of Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr., but many evaluators believe the younger Lombard possesses even greater upside.

Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep High School (FL)

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Draft rankings:

• The Athletic: #17
• Baseball America: #5
• ESPN: #8
• MLB Pipeline: #4
• Perfect Game: #5

Standing 6’3” with an outstanding blend of athleticism, speed, and power, Lombard has long been one of the most closely watched players in the 2026 draft class, earning attention on the showcase circuit since his early teens. Scouts consistently praise not only his physical gifts but also the polished instincts and baseball IQ that come from growing up around the game.

Lombard’s ceiling is driven by one of the loudest toolsets in the draft. Keith Law of The Athletic describes him as possessing “some of the best pure tools in the draft class,” highlighting his 70-grade speed, plus raw power, and the athleticism to remain at shortstop long term. Baseball America similarly notes that his profile is “littered with 60s,” calling him one of the best defensive shortstops in the class with graceful actions, excellent footwork, and the ability to become a plus defender. MLB Pipeline echoes those assessments, praising his outstanding range, hands, instincts, and speed while projecting him to stick at shortstop for years. All three outlets agree that if everything comes together offensively, Lombard has legitimate superstar potential.

The biggest question is whether his bat will fully develop to match his exceptional physical tools. While evaluators praise his quick bat speed, low-maintenance swing, and advanced approach, each publication also points to swing-and-miss concerns. Law notes that Lombard struck out on 39 percent of his swings during tracked showcase events in 2025, struggling particularly against sliders and premium velocity. Baseball America identifies his bat-to-ball skills as the biggest question in his profile despite solid pitch recognition, while MLB Pipeline notes he occasionally struggled with elevated fastballs. They also write he is a “people-pleaser”, which may make him more coachable, but they suggest he may have been guilty of making too many mechanical adjustments while trying to incorporate advice from various instructors on the showcase circuit.

If Lombard proves he can make enough consistent contact against elite pitching, there are few players in the class who can match his overall upside. His combination of size, speed, defensive ability, power potential, and baseball instincts has made him a consensus top-ten talent, with some evaluators believing he has the tools worthy of consideration near the very top of the draft. The risk is centered almost entirely on the hit tool, but the reward is a true five-tool shortstop capable of impacting the game in every facet.

Keith Law had a mock draft with the Royals taking Lombard at #6, writing that the Royals were “heaviest” on Lombard and Booth. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN writes that the Royals prefer Lombard over prep outfielder Eric Booth Jr. and pitcher Gio Rojas.

The Royals need more offense, regardless of position. By the time Lombard is ready for the big leagues, Bobby Witt Jr. will be able to opt out of his current contract – and even if the Royals bring him back, Lombard has the athleticism to move to another position. He is the kind of toolsy coachable kid the Royals tend to love, but the questions about his contact skills should give fans a bit of pause. The upside is high with Lombard, but the organization’s track record on developing good plate discipline is spotty, at best.

On the other hand, the last time the Royals selected a toolsy shortstop whose dad played in the big leagues, it worked out just great. But can Lombard be a generational player like Bobby Witt Jr. or another prep star that struggled to hit professional sliders?

The news broke last night that Cooper Ingle is getting the call for the Guardians.

Cleveland Guardians Prospective was the first I saw with the move on Twitter:

It will be interesting to see what move is made to get him on the 26-man. (To get him on the 40 seems easy enough with the various injuries the team has sustained). One would assume it is a Petey Halpin demotion. But, what if it isn’t? …A Gabriel Arias or a Stuart Fairchild being DFA’d? A shock David Fry demotion? An even more shocking Rhys Hoskins DFA?

I am sure it’ll be Halpin.

Meanwhile, Ingle has a 150 wRC+ with a 22/18 K/BB% in Columbus. I checked his Baseball Savant for performance against various fastballs – .464 wOBA/.418 xwOBA – breaking balls – .361 wOBA/.301 xwOBA – and offspeed – .349 wOBA/.333 xwOBA. He seems ready for a big league challenge. He also has a 1.112 OPS in Columbus and a .865 OPS on the road. The biggest issue with Ingle is that he hasn’t been able to hit LHP very well… but, hey, join the club here. He has a .611 OPS vs LHP this year and his career numbers are solidly in the mid 600’s range.

But he’s here, he’s real and he’s spectacular. Ingle was ranked the 7th best Guardians prospect by this site, 4th in the Guardians system by Baseball America, 3rd by MLB Pipeline, 10th by FanGraphs, 5th by ESPN and 7th by the Athletic.

Drafted as a catcher, recently, Ingle has seen a bunch of time in left field. It will be interesting to see if the team mostly abandons him catching or if he mixes in occasionally with Patrick Bailey and Austin Hedges. It certainly cannot hurt to have him hanging out with those two.

I applaud the Guardians for their aggression with promotions. Would have been nice to have Ingle in Chicago… but I should not complain. I am very excited to have tickets for his likely debut tonight. Bringing my 3 year-old daughter for Ingle and fireworks as the Mariners come to town. Now, if the rain will just hold off…

AROUND MLB:

The Royals and Tigers lost.

The Pope says he is following the White Sox’ season. Explains a lot tbh.

MLB and MLBPA are still exchanging CBA ideas and insults.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers held on for a win against the Blue Jays yesterday.

Shawn McFarland says the sluggers gave the pitchers just enough breathing room, for once.

Kennedi Landry writes about Joc Pederson’s 11-pitch at-bat which ended in the first of 3 Rangers homers.

Corey Seager returned to action after recovering from a concussion.

Evan Carter, meanwhile, is still working his way back from a strained oblique.

Elsewhere MLB Pipeline has another mock draft.

Evan Grant’s weekly Rangers stock report continues its troubling pattern.

And Kevin Sherrington says don’t expect Ray Davis to loosen the purse strings any time soon with a labor dispute on the horizon.

That’s all for this morning. The Rangers play the Blue Jays again tonight at 6:07 with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound for Texas.

Happy Friday!

Four games, four wins, three of them by no more than two runs. There was plenty of drama and excitement when the Dodgers’ minor league affiliates took the field on Thursday.

Player of the day

It’s a shame the Tower Buzzers offense didn’t show up early enough to help Brady Smith secure his first win of the season. Still, at least they didn’t waste the magnificent start from this right-hander, who has been an absolute strikeout machine for Ontario, with 81 punchouts in fewer than 50 innings of work, eventually winning the game 6-2.

Smith delivered, easily his best outing of the season, allowing just one hit in six masterful innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Prior to this game, four innings had been the longest performance from Smith this season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

One hit and four RBI. Austin Gauthier made the most out of his third home run of the season by hitting a grand slam to help the Comets beat the Aces 9-8.

Oklahoma City had quite the scare in this game by allowing six unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh, but the offense had enough cushion to barely outlast the opposition. James Tibbs III had quite the game batting leadoff, reaching base four times with a pair of knocks and two walks.

While Charlie Barnes and subpar defense were responsible for keeping this one close, with the Comets starter having allowed seven of the Aces’ eight runs, three of them earned, the bullpen had little to no margin for error. Chayce McDermott recorded the most important out of the game by inducing a bases-loaded double play in the bottom of the seventh with no one out. Evan Phillips wrapped up that inning with a strikeout.

Double-A Tulsa

Through the game’s first five innings, neither team scored, and the only moment the Drillers led in this one was when Frank Rodríguez crossed the plate to walk things off, delivering Tulsa a 3-2 win at home, their 47th on the season.

Strong starting pitching with five one-hit innings from Christian Zazueta and timely home runs, one from Mike Sirota, whose on-base streak remains active, and another one from Kole Myers, proved to be enough offensively for the Drillers. Sirota is now at 61 games reaching base in a row.

High-A Great Lakes

For only the second time this season, left-hander Jakob Wright had a scoreless appearance, tossing 5.2 innings before handing it off to the bullpen en route to a 2-0 shutout win with the whole staff allowing just three hits. Wright now has a 4-3 record on the season.

While Eduardo Guerrero was the standout hitter for the Loons, securing three of the team’s seven hits, including a solo shot, the go-ahead hit came from Logan Wagner on an RBI single in the fifth. Wright got the win, but the Lugnuts starter deserves some praise—Samuel Dutton caught the short end of the stick, moving to a 1-5 record with his seven innings of one-run ball.

Single-A Ontario

Between the second and ninth innings, the Tower Buzzers scored a total of zero runs, but thanks to strong pitching, all they needed was that one in the first and another five in the tenth. Right-hander Brady Smith had one of the more dominant outings by a starter in the Dodgers minor league system this season, striking out 11 through six scoreless innings, allowing just one base runner.

The offensive outburst in the tenth to take control of what was then a 1-1 game came through the long ball. Ching-Hsien Ko hit his fourth home run in the last seven games, and Mairoshendrick Martinus also left the yard, securing his fourth hit of the game.

Transactions

Outfielder Kendall George was assigned from the Drillers to the Tower Buzzers, activated off the injured list, while starter Landon Knack began a rehab assignment with the Comets.

Thursday’s scores

• Reno 8, Oklahoma City 9
• Tulsa 3, Corpus Christi 2
• Lansing 0, Great Lakes 2
• Visalia 2, Ontario 6

Friday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Sean Patick) at Lansing (Zane Taylor)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Adam Serwinowski) vs. Corpus Christi (Cole Hertzler)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Cole Irvin) at Reno (Brandon Pfaadt)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Visalia (Chung-Hsiang Huang)

There were some outstanding performances across the system for the Atlanta Braves affiliates, none more impressive than the dominant outing from Briggs McKenzie. McKenzie was moved to High-A aggressively and had two lackluster starts after that, but put it all together in the third of those with eight strikeouts and no earned runs allowed. Meanwhile Alex Lodise is the hottest hitter in the system and he went deep for Augusta again, then went and had the go-ahead hit for the GreenJackets in extra innings. Even in Columbus Patrick Clohisy had three extra base hits and Cedric De Grandpre struck out seven. It was a top-to-bottom collection of notable performances on an exciting day in the system.

(39-38) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (45-33) Nashville Sounds 3

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, .307/.403/.462
• Brett Wisely, 2B: 1-3 .307/.409/.467
• Owen Murphy, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.31 ERA
• Elieser Hernandez, RP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 4.96 ERA

Owen Murphy had his worse start in over a month, but given the standards he has set for himself in recent weeks that still wasn’t a terrible day at the office for most pitchers. The offense absolutely let him and Elieser Hernandez down, however. The team managed just two hits across the lineup and were putting up pitiful contact quality, so the times that Murphy slipped were magnified in the outcome of the game. Cal Conley gave the team the best chance to scratch out a run of any of the hitters and was part of the two early scoring chances that went to waste. He lined a single into center field to lead off the third inning and advanced around to third after a stolen base and a ground out, but a check-swing soft liner over to third had him between bases and he was doubled off to end a promising inning. In the fifth he was one of three Stripers to draw walks and load the bases, but DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit a hot ground ball within range of the second baseman and Gwinnett came up empty again.

Owen Murphy’s command in this game was a little bit shakier than it has been in recent history, and without the higher levels of refinement in his location he didn’t miss as many bats and got hit harder than we’ve been seeing in recent weeks. He also had a matchup against a Sounds team that as a unit does not swing and miss very often, with the least number of strikeouts in the International League, and it was across the board that his whiff rates dipped. All of his pitches sort of compressed into the middle to top third portions of the strike zone, wth his fastball not getting on the top edge and his slider staying over the middle of the plate. His changeup and curveball lacked enough control to really be effective pitches in this game for him, leaving him with even less leeway with his offerings. In the end though he threw enough strikes to at least keep the team in the game, and if this is the worst we’ve seen of him over the past month and a half that’s not a particular bad version of him as a pitcher. He made some mistakes and didn’t have his A game, but still managed to find a lot of strikes with his fastball and kept the ball off of barrels.

Swing and Misses

Owen Murphy – 8

Elieser Hernandez – 5

(30-37) Columbus Clingstones 9, (37-34) Rocket City Trash Pandas 4

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 3-4, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .264/.331/.449
• Luke Waddell, SS: 1-4, RBI, .200/.333/.300
• Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 11.57 ERA

Patrick Clohisy had by far the best game of his season and extended his hot streak to round out June with a three extra base hit performance and his second home run in as many days. In the fourth inning Clohisy got a breaking ball that spun right into his wheelhouse and waited on him to get to it, and he hit that ball further than I’ve ever seen him hit a ball in a game. Patrick Clohisy no-doubters are not a common sight but he got every single stitch on that swing. He was also responsible for sparking a rally in the first inning with a leadoff ground-rule double. Columbus would go on to score three runs to open up a good early lead, with the biggest swing being Jordan Groshan’s two-run double. After a pretty slow start to the season in regards to his power Clohisy has turned it up in a big way in the recent weeks, and is starting to elevate his hard hit balls like he did towards the end of last season. For parts of the season the timing of his swing was off and he was getting open to soon and swinging over balls, but right now he has his swing locked in and is absolutely drilling the ball on his pull side. The Braves have been placing an emphasis on getting Clohisy to pull the ball more to start to dip into the power and even with his ups and downs over the past couple of seasons that has manifested with a guy who I think has still been the best he has in his career this season even during the times he wasn’t having as much batted ball luck. He is almost certain to cruise to a career-high in home runs (though I imagine Triple-A will call on him and give him a test at some point) and add in that he is on pace to clear 50 stolen bases again and he has certainly continued to give the notion that he has enough value to fit either as a depth piece at the upper levels or a fourth or fifth outfielder.

Cedric De Grandpre was welcomed rudely to Double-A last week, but turned it around and had a solid start this week. Walks were the big issue for De Grandpre, but that is something expected for him at this point given where his control development is. The important fact was that he missed a lot of bats and his slider is starting to take shape, and even though his strike-throwing hasn’t taken a leap forward this season his command is. He has started to land his slider at or below the bottom of the strike zone with much more regularity, and if he is going to carve out a major league career that is the pitch that is going to get him there. At times since Tommy John surgery his slider just was not in the form it was prior to surgery but it was in peak condition for sure on Thursday evening, and with as good as the pitch was it made his fastball play even better. Hitters were looking for the slider in strikeout counts and De Grandpre was able to sneak some fastballs by them that made them look foolish. I’m still of the opinion that De Grandpre’s future is best served in the bullpen, though that’s developed from concerns about his changeup pre-surgery to worries about command now, and that slider is a pitch that is good enough for him to use at a high rate and still get major league hitters out. If he can find more consistent command of that pitch like he had on Thursday night he could be a guy we start talking about heading into next season.

Swing and Misses

Cedric De Grandpre – 16

Isaac Gallegos – 7

(35-35) Rome Emperors 2, (45-27) Greensboro Grasshoppers 3

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, SS: 1-3, 2 BB, .204/.377/.296
• John Gil, 2B: 1-4, 2B, BB, .274/.368/.436
• Eric Hartman, CF: 0-4, BB, .297/.359/.560
• Isaiah Drake, LF: 2-4, RBI, .251/.332/.406
• Briggs McKenzie, SP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4.66 ERA

After a two-start adjustment period Briggs McKenzie seems to be enjoying Rome. He had a brief period in the first inning where he was having a bit of trouble locking in his command of his secondaries and he coughed up a run (which was generously considered unearned), but that was the only sign of trouble all game. McKenzie was a big prospect coming out of high school but I’m still astonished at how quickly he has developed his game at the professional level, and a guy who can locate three MLB quality pitches at this stage in his career is considerably rare. His changeup is better than I expected, though if I had some criticism of McKenzie it’s that he tends to speed up his arm on his fastball in late count situations which does hurt both his command and how deceptive his changeup is. Most of McKenzie’s success at getting swinging strikeouts, even against right handed hitters, has come on his breaking balls, but it’s the best curveball in the system so that’s just using what works. We only have two starts from McKenzie and two of those weren’t good, but still it’s looking like he might just be one of those guys. The athleticism and body control is impressive, he already has an arsenal of pitches that could have success at the big league level, and he’s improving everything rapidly. There’s a lot of work left to do in refining his command, and pitching prospects have a lot of speed bumps they could hit, but this is about as good as it gets for a guy this young. He’s ticked every box I look for early on.

The offensive production this game left much to be desired, though the Braves still got production from the top five in the order which is all we’re really looking for. Among those only Eric Hartman came away without a hit, though he did thankfully draw a walk. Hartman has looked great this month and every month and has done a great job of continuing to improve his contact rates, but he’s been a bit aggressive at the plate and only drawn four walks so far in June. Not a major concern yet as he has up to this point never been a guy who is too aggressive for his own good, but it would be nice to see him be a tiny bit more selective working ahead. John Gil didn’t hit the ball very hard today and got lucky on his double that it managed to find some grass, though he’s earned a bad game or two with how well he has hit everything this month. Tate Southisene drew two more walks in this game, and he has been on a crazy walk binge with eight over his past five games. His contact quality at High-A has taken a major hit and he is also striking out more often, with that patience at the plate maybe playing against him just a little bit, but this is the same pattern we saw for him at Augusta. It took him a couple of weeks there to really lock in his approach and start hitting the ball hard all over the field, and with as good as his at bats have started to look I wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat of that trend in the near future for Rome.

Swing and Misses 

Briggs McKenzie – 13

Jarret Whorff – 4

Logan Samuels – 3

(40-32) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (40-32) Charleston RiverDogs 3

Box Score

• Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-5, .322/.376/.491
• Conor Essenburg, RF: 2-5, 2B, .264/.399/.473
• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, .254/.347/.457
• Derek Vartanian, SP: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.78 ERA

Alex Lodise continued his wild hot streak for the GreenJackets with another home run, putting Augusta up early in this game. For Lodise that is his sixth home run over his past eight games, but he wasn’t done making an impact on this game. Both teams held on with three runs after nine and went through the tenth scoreless, bringing up the top of the order for Augusta in the top of the 11th inning. Lodise had a matchup against a lefty with an extreme sidearm delivery but showed a good approach on a sinker tailing away from him on the outer edge and was able to shoot a hard liner through the right side of the infield for a go-ahead single. Lodise’s explosion at the plate has been triggered partly by a much more patient approach at the plate. Early in the season Lodise was swinging at everything and his lack of selectiveness really hurt his contact quality, but lately he has really been chasing power contact early in counts. His whiff rates mean that’s going to come with the downside of more strikeouts, but with his power if he can just draw more walks these sorts of results are what will happen. Prior to that Lodise long ball Conor Essenburg made his biggest mark on the game by shooting a fly ball into the right center field gap for a double as part of his two-hit evening. Essenburg added a couple of strikeouts to his ever-increasing total and that’s still the major red flag in his profile, but it’s really not as dire as the recent results may indicate. His contact rate is steadily climbing after being pretty rough early in the season, but like Lodise he has settled down and been drawing a lot more walks over the past couple of weeks and that has just put him into more deep counts that lead to strikeouts. The process behind the scenes for Essenburg is churning and he seems to be caught in a bit of an approach transition right now, but there are some positive signs for him and overall he has obviously been very impressive with how hard he hits the ball. Essenburg has shown an aptitude for adjustment even in the limited sample size we’ve seen from him so I’m bullish on him for the second half of the season and expect things to click into place fpr him a bit more on the strikeout front.

Swing and Misses

Derek Vartanian – 11

Kade Woods – 5

Jaylen Paden – 4

The Yankees lost some ground in the American League East on Thursday. A tough loss in Fenway, combined with a dominant win by the Rays brings New York’s division lead down to 2.5 games. The day’s short schedule still provided plenty of pop, excellent pitching, and plenty to pay attention to around the American League. Let’s take a look at how it all shook out.

Tampa Bay Rays (45-33) 13, Kansas City Royals (34-48) 2

The Rays jumped ahead early on Thursday, and they never looked back in a convincing win over the Royals in St. Pete. Tampa Bay took that early lead in the bottom half of the first, when Junior Caminero belted a two-run home run, his 17th on the season, giving his club a lead they’d never surrender.

It was also the beginning of big-time day for the Rays’ slugger, as he stayed hot with a solo home run in the fifth inning. In the eighth, Caminero put a bow on his massive night, when he launched his third home run of the game, this one extending their lead well into blow-out territory.

Shortly after that first homer, the Rays turned to their bulk pitcher for the evening, Ian Seymour, who was terrific in his outing. Entering in the second inning, and working 6.2 frames in total, the lefty kept the Royals scoreless and hitless, while striking out seven in a sparkling appearance.

Beyond Caminero’s damage, plenty of other Rays got in on the action on Thursday. Victor Mesa Jr. blew the game open with a three-run shot in the fourth, while Johnathan Aranda tallied three hits, and Richie Palacios and Cedric Mullins each had a pair. With a multi-run lead for almost the entire game, Tampa Bay put the nail in the coffin with a five-run eighth inning, which was punctuated by Caminero’s third homer.

On the pitching side, the Rays actually had a combined no-hitter going into the ninth inning, as the Royals had little to say with the bats. There would be some late life, however, when Carter Jensen simultaneously ended the no-no and the shutout with a two-run homer in the ninth off of Craig Kimbrel. Nonetheless, it was a dominant win for the Rays from all angles, and it helps them gain some ground in the East with the Yankees’ loss.

Other Games

Pittsburgh Pirates (41-40) 5, Seattle Mariners (41-41) 1:

With a loss on Thursday, the Mariners drop to .500 on the season, but still hold first place in the underwhelming West. Brandon Lowe swatted his 19th homer of the season in the first for the Pirates, and they held that lead until the end. Seattle’s lone run came in the fifth thanks to an RBI from J.P. Crawford, but it wasn’t enough as the Buccos countered with a pair of runs in each of the fourth and eighth innings. Bubba Chandler was excellent for Pittsburgh in his 5.1 innings, setting up a spotless evening for their bullpen after his departure.

Texas Rangers (39-42) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (39-42) 5:

The Rangers did much of their damage in just one inning to scrape a win on Thursday. In the third inning, up 1-0, a three-run shot from Wyatt Langford and a two-run blast from Jake Burger plated five runs in the inning, and had Texas up 6-0 early on. The Jays weren’t dead in the water, however, as a Myles Straw double helped cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning, and Kazuma Okamoto’s two-run homer in the ninth cut it to just one run. It ultimately wasn’t quite enough, as the Jays fell just short in their comeback effort.

Diamondbacks News

(Burn City Sports) Diamondbacks’ Paul Sewald calls out Cardinals after rainout costs Arizona an off day

The Diamondbacks and Cardinals were scheduled to conclude their four-game series Thursday, but with rain in the forecast, St. Louis announced on its X account that the game would be rescheduled for July 23. According to Sewald’s post on X, Arizona had asked the home club to move the game earlier in the day to avoid the postponement.

“No you’re right thank you @Cardinals for not moving our game up to this afternoon when we politely asked given the whole world knew it was going to rain tonight. I actually was really hoping we could lose an off day and turn it into a 4 city road trip.”

(Arizona Sports) Diamondbacks-Cardinals series finale at Busch Stadium postponed due to weather

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ road game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday has been postponed due to inclement weather, the Cardinals announced.

The game was scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. MST, but the forecast provided doubt that baseball would be played.

(ESPN) Diamondbacks activate Max Kepler after 80-game suspension

The Arizona Diamondbacks activated outfielder Max Kepler from the restricted list Thursday following his completion of an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Kepler, who signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks on June 7, hit .333 with two home runs in 10 minor league games. He was fifth in the batting order and set to play left field for the Diamondbacks against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night, but the game was postponed by rain.

MLB News

(Bleacher Report) MLBPA Reportedly Proposes Ban on Prop Bets on Individual Players in CBA Talks

With the rise of legalized sports betting in recent years, several MLB players have spoken about the criticism that they’ve received from people blaming them for failed bets.

As part of Thursday’s proposal, the MLBPA also asked MLB to clarify that players are permitted to engage in endorsements and sponsorships from legal betting operators and prediction markets (via Purdum and Passan).

(Yahoo! Sports) MLB makes big push for salary cap, floor with public statement outlining labor negotiations with MLBPA

That changed Thursday, when MLB put out a league-approved campaign making a hard push for a salary cap and salary floor. The campaign, which is titled “Leveling the Playing Field,” makes the argument that the spending gap between teams has reached a breaking point and that a salary cap and salary floor are necessary to fix the game.

In an effort to spread the word about the campaign, MLB launched a website dedicated to the cause, which features five tabs explaining why the league believes the sport needs a salary cap.

(CBS Sports) How Jacob Misiorowski got this good: Inside the Brewers ace’s transcendence into one of MLB’s best pitchers

If young Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski were part of the Greek or Roman pantheon, then he’d probably be pulling double duty right about now. Among the elemental gods, Misiorowski was already in charge of fire — this, after all, is a pitcher whose first three pitches in the majors were in excess of 100 mph. Now, though, Misiorowski has expanded his jurisdiction to include earth — mound dirt, to be more specific. Indeed, the 24-year-old primal force known informally as “The Miz” is throwing harder than ever (and harder than any starting pitcher ever), and he’s also harnessed that fiery stuff to go from occasionally dominant but flawed to just plainly overwhelming. The best pitcher in the world is right now equal parts thrower and pitcher, equal parts fire and earth.