Category: Baseball

Dodgers left-hander Jack Dreyer rubbed a new baseball between his hands as he walked back to the mound, a sold-out Rate Field coming alive around him.

Fireworks crackled over the center-field scoreboard. Digital pinwheels spun. Dreyer had just surrendered his second home run of the inning, transforming a low-scoring battle into a lopsided White Sox advantage.

The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan. The Dodgers tried to come back in the ninth, but fell short.

“We’ve gotten bit by the long ball, obviously in Pittsburgh, and here tonight,” said bench coach Danny Lehmann, filling in Sunday for manager Dave Roberts while he attended his daughter’s college graduation. “But overall, it’s more the strike throwing and just getting ahead of guys and doing what they’re supposed to do.”

The Dodgers dropped the series 2-1, marking their first series loss since May 8-10 against the Braves.

Sheehan was charged with three runs in five-plus innings, a massive turnaround coming off the second-shortest start of his career, only rivaled by a planned one-inning outing at the end of last season.

Read more:The hardest days are when calls don’t go through: Andy Pages opens up about family in Cuba

Against the Angels last week, Sheehan threw 49 pitches and recorded just four outs before being pulled.

On Sunday, he didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning.

“He got strike one and then understood when to leave the zone when he needed to,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “He did a great job of that. I think a couple of those guys picked up on tendencies, jumped on a pitch. I felt they were good pitches. I thought he did his job today and gave us a chance to win.”

Sheehan’s velocity has been an indicator of how synced up his delivery has been on any given start this season.

On Sunday, his 95.1-mph average fastball velocity was 0.7 mph above his season average, according to Statcast — a promising sign. Results followed.

Sheehan retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, just a hit batter away from perfection. With two outs in the fourth, he gave up a double to Colson Montgomery, on a low line drive up the first-base line, just out of reach of Freddie Freeman as he made a diving attempt.

Then against Braden Montgomery, Sheehan worked back from a 2-1 count for an inning-ending strikeout.

Out of Sheehan’s hand, the pitch looked like it was going to cross the plate on the inside corner, about belt high. But as Montgomery started his swing, the firm changeup veered away from his bat at a sharp downward angle.

Montgomery swung over the pitch. A fired-up Sheehan buried his fist in his glove and shouted. With that strikeout, he preserved the Dodgers’ one-run lead.

Freeman provided that run with a solo homer in the first inning. And Sheehan gave the Dodgers plenty of time to extend that lead. In the sixth inning, however, the White Sox finally got to him.

“I definitely felt better early,” Sheehan said. “And then more of the same towards the end. Just pretty frustrating.”

Sheehan’s fastball to Sam Antonacci wasn’t in a bad spot. But in an 0-2 count, he could have put it a little higher or further inside. Antonacci drove it over the right-field fence.

Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirts with perfect game, MLB record in Dodgers' victory

A single, a stolen base and an RBI double later, Sheehan walked off the mound, the Dodgers trailing 2-1.

Just a few weeks ago, turning the ball over to the Dodgers’ bullpen was a promising move. They were still riding a franchise-record streak of 38 consecutive scoreless innings.

Lately, however, it’s been a rocky ride. The bullpen entered Sunday with a 6.71 ERA since ending that scoreless streak on May 25. Only the Giants and Rockies produced a worse mark over that stretch.

None of the Dodgers’ relievers have been dominant in recent games. Tanner Scott has been credited with three saves but also two losses. Kyle Hurt’s ERA has risen from 0.60 to 4.22. Dreyer, who went 10 straight games without giving up a run before landing on the injured list with left shoulder discomfort, has surrendered five home runs in seven appearances since returning on May 31.

Dreyer gave up three runs and three hits. Then Blake Treinen and Jonathan Hernández held the White Sox the rest of the way.

The Dodgers tacked on three more runs, on a sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Alex Freeland, and a solo homer from Mookie Betts. They stranded runners at the corners in the ninth.

Read more:Shaikin: Would Dave Roberts snub Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start Shohei Ohtani in All-Star Game?

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

On this Barbie Day afternoon at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins said “Ken-ough is Ken-ough!” and decided to take the series from the St. Louis Cardinals!

The Twins looked to do some damage off St. Louis SP Michael McGreevy right out of the gate when Byron Buxton doubled & Royce Lewis drew a walk, but a Josh Bell ground-out to second base thwarted the B1 threat. Similarly in B3, base knocks from Trevor Larnach & Kody Clemens placed two on with two outs—and again came away scoreless when an oppo-drive from Lewis died underneath the limestone overhang in RF.

Instead, it would be the Red Birds who activated the scoreboard first. After three solid innings, Twins SP Taj Bradley left a middle-middle breaking ball to Alec Burleson and the burly St. Louis slugger put it out onto the plaza. 1-0 STL.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the Twins to finally get into the offensive action: a B4 Bell base hit was brought home on a Victor Caratini poke to the plaza of his own! 2-1 MIN.

The long ball provided the next scoring as well, with a Taj T6 leadoff free pass to Nathan Church immediately haunting on a JJ Wetherholt whammer. 3-2 STL.

A developing Twins threat to tie the game in B6—Bell single, Caratini walk—was snuffed when a Brooks Lee liner was snagged by Cards 1B Blaze Jordan and turned into an unassisted twin killing.

Taj would hit the showers after 6.2 innings of 3-run ball—but also two Birds on base. You know the story from here: a Twins reliever—today being Anthony Banda—entered and the lead increased (bloop single from Wetherholt). At least Burleson was retired with the bases juiced. 4-2 STL.

Much like Friday night, however, Twins’ bats didn’t let a middle relief meltdown shut them down. In B7, a Luke Keaschall BB & Ryan Kreidler pinch-hit single set up Buxton at the dish. Buck of course delivered an RBI single. A Clemens single loaded the bases for Lewis—who cracked his own single to tie the game at 4-4!

Alas, a Bell whiff & a Caratini warning track fly-out prevented a lead change.

After Andrew Morris entered and K’d the STL side in T8, Keaschall’s 2-out double down the LF line set the stage for that much-anticipated lead change, with Kreidler doubling off the bullpen fence! 5-4 MIN.

Yoendrys Gomez would enter in T9 and provide that rarest of rare occurrences for the ‘26 Twins: a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save!

Your Final: Minnesota Twins 5, St Louis Cardinals 4.

A really nice series victory over a strong St. Louis club. It wasn’t pretty Friday night or this afternoon, but the Twins battled all weekend and sent the strong contingent of Cardinals fans back down I-35 unhappy.

Zach’s Zealot

• Buxton: Basically a perma-entry in this category right now. Three more hits today & five All-Star ballot-punches garnered from this writer. Let’s make sure Buck is under the Liberty Bell in Citizen’s Bank Park come mid-July!

Zach’s Zombie

• Me, for reseting my Safari web browser yesterday and having an anxiety attack trying to remember how to get back into the WordPress admin dashboard (you are reading this, so man prevailed over tech—if barely).

Egg-cellent Elocution

• gintzerconfirming another tall drink of water walking a dog in the Twin Cities area (not me, surprisingly)

Who’s Got Next

• Two-stepping down to Texas for a 3-game series with the Rangers (Mon. night, Tues. night, Thurs. afternoon). Yes, a rare mid-series off day due to World Cup activity in Dallas on Wednesday.

Hours after the Knicks clinched their first title in more than half a century, the Mets were back at Citi Field in their latest attempt to salvage their season.

At times, the park seemed transformed into Madison Square Garden East, complete with plenty of Knicks organ melodies taken straight from the World’s Most Famous Arena.

And against the Braves on Sunday, the strategy seemed to work, as the Mets beat their first-place rivals 8-1.

“It’s huge,” Freddy Peralta said of the series win. “It reminded ourselves how good we are.’’

That remains debatable, as the Mets are still seven games under .500 (32-39) and a ways away from threatening for a playoff spot.

But they at least held their own against Atlanta, thanks to a bounce-back start from Peralta, a breakout game at the plate from A.J. Ewing and solid work out of the bullpen.

Now, the Mets will look to build on this little bit of success as they head out on the road, where they haven’t played well.

They’ll face the Reds — one of the seven teams they have to pass to get into the playoffs — in Cincinnati beginning Monday then visit the resurgent Phillies.

“I’ve been saying, for us to turn this thing around, we have to start winning series consistently,’’ Carlos Mendoza said. “It doesn’t matter the schedule [or] the teams, we have to control what we can control and start playing our best baseball here going forward without getting too far ahead. It was good to see the guys playing well against a very good team.”

The Mets used a four-run first inning and five solid innings from Peralta en route to the victory, as Peralta was much better than in his previous outing, when the right-hander allowed a season-worst six runs.

He allowed three straight singles to start the game, as Atlanta loaded the bases with no one out for Ozzie Albies, who whiffed for the first out.

Ex-Met Dominic Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to left that drove in Michael Harris II for the first run of the game.

Austin Riley popped out to second to end the 28-pitch inning after just one run scored.

The Mets knocked around right-hander Bryce Elder in the bottom of the inning to go ahead.

Carson Benge led off with a walk, and Bo Bichette singled to left. Juan Soto followed with a bizarre bunt attempt that turned into a force-out at third, as he left it just in front of the plate.

Jared Young helped make up for Soto’s mistake with a run-scoring single to center to tie the game. Ewing gave the Mets the lead with a double to left that scored Soto. It was the first of his three hits on the day.

On the double, Mike Yastrzemski’s throw from the left field corner hit the pole in front of the netting down the third base line. The error allowed Young to score and Ewing to move to third.

With two outs, Brett Baty singled to make it 4-1. Baty reached base four times.

Peralta, meanwhile, recovered to retire 14 straight after allowing those first three batters to reach.

Ewing’s strong day continued in the fifth, as he opened the bottom of the inning with a homer to right. Marcus Semien followed with a homer to center; Harris grabbed the ball as he leaped above the wall, but it bounced out to his apparent astonishment, making it 6-1.

A two-run single by Juan Soto sealed the win.

Cionel Pérez took over for Peralta to start the sixth and combined with Daniel Duarte, A.J. Minter and Huascar Brazobán to close out the game with four scoreless innings.

“We’re just trying to win games,’’ Ewing said. “No matter who we play.”

CHICAGO — The Dodgers have developed a bad habit over the past week.

And on Sunday, in a 6-4 loss to the White Sox, it cost them their first series loss in more than a month.

Entering the sixth inning at Rate Field with a one-run lead, the Dodgers appeared to be safely in control. Their offense hadn’t scored since Freddie Freeman’s home run in the first inning. But Emmet Sheehan had been almost flawless over five innings, allowing four hits and recording eight strikeouts.

Alas, as has been the case recently, the Dodgers couldn’t find an answer once things began to spiral.

In a six-run inning keyed by three back-breaking home runs, they watched an opponent put just the latest crooked number up on the scoreboard.

“I definitely felt better early,” Sheehan said. “And then, yeah, more of the same toward the end. Just pretty frustrating.”

It was the fifth time in their last seven games that the Dodgers had allowed at least four runs in an inning. It was the fourth time out of those five games that they were unable to rally and salvage a win.

The implosion started with Sheehan, who gave up a leadoff home run to Sam Antonacci on a high 0-2 fastball that didn’t climb the ladder enough. Two batters later, he was chased from the game following an RBI double from Andrew Benintendi. Then, as soon as he got back to the dugout, he watched his replacement, Jack Dreyer, yield a two-run homer to Colson Montgomery.

“They got to a couple heaters,” said bench coach Danny Lehmann, who filled in for manager Dave Roberts while he was away at his daughter’s college graduation. “And it kind of spiraled from there.”

Indeed, Dreyer would give up another two-run shot, this time to Chase Meidroth, before finally recording the inning’s first out.

And by the time it was all over, the Dodgers were too far gone for a comeback — clawing within two runs after scoring in each of the final three innings but ending the game with the tying runs on base.

What it means

Just like on Friday night (when the White Sox won on the back of a seven-run fifth), and Wednesday night (when the Pirates stormed back with a five-run eighth) and last Sunday (when the Angels pulled away with a six-spot in the seventh), the Dodgers capitulated beneath an inability to limit slug or contain damage, with a recently scuffling bullpen looming large once again.

“We’ve gotten bit by the long ball, obviously in Pittsburgh, and here tonight,” Lehmann said. “But overall, it’s more the strike throwing and just getting ahead of guys and doing what they’re supposed to do.”

The loss left the Dodgers (45-27) with a .500 record on this Pittsburgh-Chicago road trip and marked their first series defeat since the MLB-leading Braves came to Los Angeles in early May.

The upstart and first-place White Sox (38-32) have been an unexpectedly tricky opponent, with Dodgers coaches repeatedly praising their energy and athleticism this week.

Still, Sunday’s game should have been winnable. Instead, the team’s latest ugly inning came back to haunt them, as their ninth-inning comeback flamed out with runners on the corners.

Who’s hot

Mookie Betts’ weekend will be remembered for the perfect-game-snapping error he made Saturday.

But at the plate, the scuffling shortstop finally showed some life, following up a three-hit performance on Saturday with two more knocks — including an eighth-inning homer — in Sunday’s loss.

As a result, Betts raised his batting average to .204, marking the first time since the opening weekend of the season he has finished a day hitting over .200.

“I think over the last three or four games, Mookie’s been trending the right way, for sure,” Lehmann said. “Just the quality of contact is way up. Even some of his outs in this series were really good, really hard-hit barreled balls to the outfield. So it’s really encouraging for us, for Mookie, to get back to where I know he wants to be, and we all know that he can be there.”

Who’s not

After a promising rookie season in 2025, and a strong couple months to open this campaign, June has not been friendly to Dreyer, especially when it comes to keeping the ball in the park.

With Sunday’s pair of long balls, Dreyer has now allowed five home runs in seven appearances this month.

That has nearly doubled his ERA on the season, from 2.08 at the end of May to 3.77 after Sunday’s meltdown.

And it has made him one of many culprits for the Dodgers’ recent bullpen struggles, after the unit already entered Sunday with the third-highest ERA in the majors during June.

Up next

The Dodgers return home on Monday to open a series against the Rays. Eric Lauer (2-5, 5.47 ERA) will take the mound opposite right-hander Nick Martinez (6-2, 2.43 ERA).

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After the homer-happy St. Louis Cardinals blasted past the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, the bats were relatively silent in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon until later in the game, but it wasn’t enough to win the series against the Twins.

Both starters did their teams big favors on Sunday by going deep into the game. Michael McGreevy kept the Cardinals in the game into the 6th inning and Taj Bradley did the same (almost) for the Minnesota Twins. The early game was really just two more or less isolated blasts. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Josh Bell singled and then scored when Victor Caratini crushed a home run into the right field stands giving the Twins a 2-1 lead after Alec Burleson launched another towering home run in his flaming hot streak in the top of the 4th inning.

The Minnesota Twins lineup was making hard contact against Michael McGreevy, but they had very little to show for it which allowed the Cardinals bats to eventually wake up and make it a game. After Nathan Church walked to lead off the top of the 6th inning, JJ Wetherholt did what JJ Wetherholt does which is give the Cardinals the kind of hit exactly when they need it. In this case, it was a clutch 2-run homer to right giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 lead, his 10th of the season.

Several moments that won’t show up on many scorecards or highlight reels, but need to be shouted out. First, early in the game when Michael McGreevy got Byron Buxton out, manager Oli Marmol walked down the length of the dugout and gave the Cardinals gold Amazon home run chain to pitching coach Dusty Blaze. Classic. Another stellar defensive play in the bottom of the 6th inning when the Minnesota Twins had a runner on first base with just one out, Blaze Jordan made a diving catch on a line drive and then dove back to the base and tagged the runner out for an inning-ending double play. You’re going to be wearing those birds on the bat for a long time I predict, Mr. Jordan.

Michael McGreevy gave the Cardinals a full 6-inning quality start Sunday giving up 7 hits (some of them very loud), but only allowing 2 earned runs while striking out only 2 and walking 2. The hard hit rate from Michael can be unnerving, but the simple fact is the Cardinals tend to win games he starts and that’s really one of the best things you can say about a Major League starter.

The St. Louis Cardinals would get a valuable insurance run in the top of the 7th inning after José Fermín’s two-out single (which extends his now 8-game hitting streak). Nathan Church followed that up with another single which caused the Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton to remove Bradley so he wouldn’t face JJ Wetherholt again. Didn’t matter as JJ did another JJ thing by gracefully placing a single just over the shortstop scoring Fermín making it 4-2 Cardinals.

What was the Cardinals bullpen solution for the late innings after Michael McGreevy’s exit? In the 7th inning, it was JoJo Romero. The first batter he faced was Martin who not only struck out, but used the Twins final challenge of the day. The second batter was Keaschall who JoJo felt the need to walk. The third hitter was pinch-hitter Kreidler who smacked a single into left field giving Minnesota runners at first and third with just one out and Byron Buxton at the plate. (*shudder*) He lined the second pitch he saw into left field cutting the Cardinals lead in half making it 4-3 with the Twins still having runners on first and second with only one out. Clemens also singled to right which loaded the bases and inspired Oli Marmol to remove Romero from the game. George Soriano entered this hornet’s nest and gave up yet another annoying single which tied the game at 4-4 bringing up the very dangerous Josh Bell to the plate. Fortunately for St. Louis, Josh also strikes out a lot which is what he did in the Twins 7th giving St. Louis a badly-needed second out. They weren’t out of the woods yet, though, as the very hot Caratini nearly unloaded the bases flying out to very deep left field as Lars Nootbaar grabbed it before stumbling up against the left field wall. Whew.

George Soriano was also the Cardinals answer for the bottom of the 8th inning with the goal of keeping the game tied. He was almost successful. With two outs, he gave up back-to-back doubles to Keaschall and Kreidler giving the Twins a 5-4 lead. It could have been worse, but Soriano was able to strike out the fearsome Byron Buxton keeping St. Louis just one run down.

The Twins sent Yoendrys Gómez to the mound to try and lock up the series win for Minnesota. After a successful challenge of what was called an infield hit for José Fermín, it was up to Nathan Church and JJ Wetherholt. Church struck out by chasing two pitches that were very much not in the strike zone. JJ Wetherholt hit a ball deep to center, but just got under it a little too much flying out to end the game.

The St. Louis Cardinals return to Busch Stadium Monday night as they’ll host the San Diego Padres. Dustin May will make the start for the Cardinals while the starter for the Padres is to be determined. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

The Royals shut out the Astros on Sunday after allowing 18 runs the first two games. Stephen Kolek was great in the Royals 4-0 victory. The Royals record moves to 29-43 on the series after a 2-4 homestand.

The Royals got on the board early and often against Spencer Arrighetti, who is having a great start to his season. In the bottom of the first, Bobby Witt Jr. singled and stole second with one out. Maikel Garcia drove him in with a laser to left field to put the Royals up 1-0 immediately.

Witt turned 26 today and he was doing everything. On the day, he went 2-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Oh, and he added this diving catch to his long resume of nearly impossible plays.

The Royals tacked on 3 runs in the bottom half of the 3rd inning. Isaac Collins walked on 4 pitches to start the inning; he went to third on Carter Jensen’s single. After Witt popped out, Jac Caglianone came through, lining a single into right. Garcia just got one past the third baseman down the line (ala Salvy in 2014) to bring Jensen and Jac in on the double, 4-0 Kansas City.

That was all that Stephen Kolek needed as he was untouchable all day. Kolek went 7.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, no runs, walking 1 and striking out 4. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.68. He also made this nice play to start a huge double play to get him out of a jam.

A one out walk and single chased Kolek in the 8th inning. Steven Cruz came in and got a strike out and a weak groundout to end the inning. Cruz continues to look more and more like the 2025 version of himself after being called back up.

Daniel Lynch IV got the 9th, and it was uneventful. A quick 1-2-3 inning for the Royals most consistent reliever this season.

The Royals will take a quick road trip to the nation’s capital to play a 37-35 Nationals team. They return home for the Cardinals next weekend. First pitch for tomorrow is set for 5:45 p.m. CT.

The headline says it all.

Giving New York another reason to celebrate, the Atlanta Braves fell 8-1 to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Bryce Elder’s outing resulted in him only pitching through four innings, allowing two hits, six earned runs, two walks and only two strikeouts.

Four of the runs came in the first inning, which set the tone early against the Braves, who scored one run in the same inning on a sac-fly by Dominic Smith to bring in Michael Harris.

Which leads us to the offense. Today was a down game for Elder, but he can’t take all of the blame. Though Mets’ Freddy Peralta had a solid outing, pitching through five innings and allowing four hits and one earned run, he only accomplished two strikeouts, giving the Braves ample opportunity to take advantage, despite being down so early.

Back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth by Mets’ A.J. Ewing and Marcus Semien with no outs resulted in Elder getting relieved by Dylan Dodd soon after.

Juan Soto decided to close out the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run hit to drive in Carson Benge and Bo Bichette for a seven-point lead, 8-1, also ending the game with a series win.

The Braves have an off day tomorrow, and after coming off two disappointing series, will need to reevaluate their game plan as they return home to face the San Francisco Giants with Grant Holmes on the mound.

The Mets scored four first-inning runs and rolled to an 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday at Citi Field. As such they took two out of three games to win the series in this first meeting of the season with the NL East-leading Braves. 

The Mets are still seven games under .500 at 32-39 but they have played better in recent weeks, going 10-6 over their last 16 games, and 22-18 over their last 40 games. 

The Braves still have the best record in MLB at 46-25. 

Here are the top takeaways from the win...

--Freddy Peralta pitched a strong five innings to get the win, allowing one run on four singles and a walk. It was a big bounce-back start after he allowed six runs vs. the St. Louis Cardinals last Tuesday, as he got his ERA back under 4.00, to 3.90. 

The only knock was his inability to get deep into the game, which has been Peralta’s biggest flaw this season. It took him 90 pitches to get through five innings, and Carlos Mendoza apparently decided not to push him any farther. 

The right-hander didn’t seem to have his best fastball, striking out only two Braves’ hitters, but he did a good job mixing all his pitches, getting some key outs with off-speed stuff that had hitters out in front.

--The Mets got all the runs they needed in a weird first inning that saw Juan Soto attempt a sacrifice bunt after the first two runners reached base. Mendoza surely didn’t want Soto bunting there, and to make things worse, the star left fielder bunted barely in front of the plate, where catcher Sandy Leon could field the ball and throw to third for a force-out.

Yet the Mets rallied from there, as Jared Young singled home a run and A.J. Ewing doubled to the opposite field, down the left field line, driving in the second run of the inning. A third run scored when Mike Yastrzemski’s throw from the left-field corner hit the pole supporting the on-field netting and caromed toward center field. 

Finally, Brett Baty singled home Ewing to complete the rally and give the Mets a 4-1 lead. 

-Back-to-back solo home runs by Ewing and Marcus Semien knocked starter Bryce Elder out of the game in the sixth inning, giving the Mets a 6-1 lead. 

Elder came in with a 2.66 ERA, having an outstanding season for the Braves. This was the first time this season he has given up as many as six earned runs in a start, and only the second time he’s given up more than three. His ERA jumped to 3.15. 

--Ewing had a big day, going 3-for-5 with a single, double, and home run. He scored two runs and drove in two as well, while raising his batting average to .269. 

Ewing had a shot at hitting for the cycle, needing only a triple when he batted in the seventh inning, but he grounded out to first on the first pitch of the at-bat against right-hander Reynaldo Lopez. He also struck out in the eighth. 

--Bo Bichette had his sixth multi-hit game in his last 10, going 2-for-5 with a couple of singles. He’s hitting .390 over those 10 games with three HRs and 12 RBI. 

--The Mets’ bullpen continues to excel as four relievers, Cionel Perez, Daniel Duarte, AJ Minter, and Huascar Brazoban combined to deliver four scoreless innings.

Coming into the game the Mets’ pen had a 3.35 ERA, which ranked fourth in MLB. 

Game MVP: A.J. Ewing

Ewing's opposite-field double in the first inning was the key to the four-run rally that put the Mets in front for good. 

The rookie continued to show his ability to hit to all fields as contact hitters, doubling to left, singling to center, and homering to right, as he jumped on an inside slider, as part of his 3-for-5 day.

Highlights

Jared Young with an RBI single ties the game! pic.twitter.com/RziKpetcuM

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Two runs come home with an AJ Ewing line drive and throw that hit the pole by Mike Yastrzemski! pic.twitter.com/2wUg9hywu7

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Brett Baty brings home AJ Ewing for the Mets fourth run of the first inning! pic.twitter.com/dYd0z30MKV

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

AJ Ewing adds to the lead with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/KBb5K1RurL

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

ANOTHER ONE!

Marcus Semien goes back-to-back with AJ Ewing 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H7GzGC2rxj

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Juan Soto brings in two more! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/J4SYwTCnnX

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets hit the road for six games, starting with three in Cincinnati against the Reds. 

David Peterson is expected to pitch in some capacity for the Mets on Tuesday, with Chase Burns going for the Reds. First pitch on SNY at 7:10 p.m.

A lot of things went wrong in today’s 10-1 loss to the Nationals. You’d think so with a score like that. But the one I want to focus on is pitch selection.

Emerson Hancock got the start today, and while he’s been having a breakout year, some people have been arguing that while he’s improved, it’s not quite as good as it looks. Big day for those people, whoever they are. In particular, Hancock has been struggling since tossing that 14-strikeout all-timer in the Randy Johnson number-retirement game. Between then and today, he had six starts in which he kept his ERA under 3.00, but did it while riding a .200 BABIP and kicking a K%-BB% of just 12.0%, down from the 25.2% star turn in his first seven starts.

In other words, it seemed that the league had adjusted to the new Hancock. He’d have to adjust back.

He’d take that adjustment into his own hands after the debacle in Baltimore in his last start when he screamed at catcher Jhonny Pereda during a mound visit. Today, Hancock had a pitchcom on his belt, and would call his own game. I actually love that the Mariners did this rather than simply having Hancock pitch to Garver today. This managed to solve the tension while still standing behind Pereda.

But the pitches Hancock called were not the right ones.

To be sure, it worked at first. Other than leaving a cutter in the lefty loop zone to James Wood, who did what he does, Hancock was fine the first time through the order. The big change he went to was throwing his sinker to all of Washington’s lefties. On the season, Hancock had been mostly using his four-seamer and cutter to lefties while leaving his sinker and sweeper on the shelf. That makes sense as a strategy. Sinkers and sweepers, with their horizontal movement, generally have some of the biggest platoon splits.

Today though, Hancock caught the lefties off guard, throwing 10 sinkers to lefties in the first time through the order, 36% of his pitches to them. That’s double his season average.

The problem was that the Nats noticed and were not caught off guard the second time through. They stacked five hits in a row to open the bottom of the fourth. Add in an errant pick-off throw and a missed fielder’s choice, and the hometown team put up a five spot in what Aaron Goldsmith says was less than four minutes. It turns out the element of surprise only works when it’s actually surprising.

Hancock eventually got out of the inning, but did not come back for the fifth. I don’t think the understaffed and overworked bullpen needed the extra pitches. Only nine of Hancock’s 59 pitches were something other than a fastball. Maybe the Mariners could have tried seeing if doing something other than aping Bryan Woo would work before pulling the plug.

To their credit, the bullpen did mostly hold it down. The exception was Andrés Muñoz, who came in for the ninth, despite the lopsided score, just to get some work. But he gave up a walk and a double and left after the trainer came to the mound. The broadcast speculated it was just about the heat, a problem he’s had in the past, but Adam Jude reports it was back tightness. That’s a vague diagnosis, but vagueness is unfortunately all you can do for that malady, which might be fine tomorrow or linger for the rest of his life. (Josh Naylor also left the game after fouling a ball on the shin, but his x-rays were negative.)

In a game lacking in good news, at least Cole Young made a web gem in the sixth inning (tragically, no video yet). For those not following the storyline, LL’s Managing Editor Kate Preusser has committed that if Young wins a Gold Glove, she’ll get a tattoo that says, “I was so wrong about Cole Young.” So every good play gets me thinking about font choices to recommend. Young gets the Sun Hat Award today for that play and for scoring the Mariners’ lone run.

Talk about recapturing the vibes! The Nats have now fully put the San Francisco meltdown in the rear view mirror after taking the series against the Mariners with a 10-1 win. After the Mariners scored a run in the first inning, this was a comprehensive beatdown by the Nats. 

On the one year anniversary of the infamous “never on coaching” line from Davey Martinez, the Nats are now 37-35. In the past that Giants loss may have derailed the season, but not for this team and not for this coaching staff. The way this team has responded the last two games is so encouraging, and makes their success seem more real.

There were a lot of star performers in this game, but the biggest one was Miles Mikolas. Simply put, Mikolas looked cooked in his first few outings of the season. He was getting shelled and became the face of the Nats pitching woes. However, Mikolas has turned his season around. In his last 11 outings, the veteran has a 3.38 ERA and a WHIP under 1. 

He has had plenty of good performances lately, but this was the best one. Mikolas’ command was absolutely impeccable, dotting corners all day long. The velocity was also up for the right hander. His 4-seamer and sinker were both up 1.6 MPH today, with the 4-seamer averaging 94.9 MPH. This was the first time Mikolas has tossed 7 scoreless innings since 2024.

When Mikolas did that, he was used as a traditional starter. In this outing, he came in after an inning of work by opener PJ Poulin. Mikolas has done well following an opener this year, and has been totally open to the idea despite having over 200 starts under his belt. Despite being in this league for a long time, all Mikolas wants to do is pitch and help his team win.

The offense made things easier for Mikolas today by giving him plenty of run support. That run support came early and often. The Mariners struck first blood in the top of the first, but James Wood immediately answered back in the bottom of the inning. It was his second pull side homer of the series, and a majestic shot.

Wood is just on a whole different level right now and is an MVP candidate. With three hits today, Wood is now hitting .281 with a .972 OPS. Perhaps the craziest stat is that Wood has scored 66 runs on the season, and the next closest player has only scored 53. This shows you how great Wood is at getting on base, but also how prolific the Nats offense is behind him.

The big inning for the Nats came in the 4th, where things just unraveled for Mariners starter Emerson Hancock. In just 17 pitches, the Nats batted around and scored 5 runs. Nats hitters were hunting the first pitch all inning long, with 7 of the at bats that frame ending on the first pitch. One of those at bats was Daylen Lile’s RBI double, which was an absolute rope.

This whole season, or at least most of it, has been such a fun ride so far. We went into the year with zero expectations, but this team is surprising us game after game. Whenever we think this team will cool off, they just rip off another series win like they did against the Mariners today.

So many different players have stepped up this season for the Nats and today was a perfect example of that. Every Nationals hitter got at least one hit in this one. On the mound, Miles Mikolas, who was left for dead at the beginning of the season, was the hero. The Nats were at their scintillating best in this 10-1 demolition of the Mariners. 

Next up, the struggling Royals come to town. At times, the Nats have played down against weaker teams, so they will need to keep the intensity high this week. This was a great win though, and these last two games were a big statement by this young and hungry team.

Texas Rangers lineup for June 14, 2026 against the Boston Red Sox: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Connelly Early for the Red Sox.

The last game of the road trip. The Rangers look to avoid a sweep.

The lineup:

Langford — DH

Jung — 3B

Nimmo — RF

Duran — SS

Burger — 1B

Foscue — 2B

Freeman — LF

Higashioka — C

Osuna — CF

6:20 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.

Nationals 10, Mariners 1

When you toss a game so bad we won’t list the highest WPA in the chart: Emerson Hancock, -0.33 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

Texas Rangers outfielder Michael Helman has been placed on the 10 day injured list due to a fractured hand, the team announced today. The team has recalled outfielder Alejandro Osuna to take his place on the active roster.

Osuna seemed to be a candidate to be recalled yesterday, when Evan Carter went on the injured list with an oblique strain, though Cody Freeman ended up getting the nod instead, due at least in part to Corey Seager being unavailable. Once it was reported yesterday that Helman, whose role had been to be the fourth outfielder and play against some lefties, had suffered a multiple fractures in his hand on a hit by pitch, it was apparent that Osuna would be up to take his place.

Helman will likely be out of action for at least the next six weeks. Osuna, meanwhile, will get regular playing time in the outfield, at least until Carter returns.

Osuna has a .253/.376/.275 slash line for the Rangers in 110 plate appearances over 37 games this season, playing primarily left field.

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The Boston Red Sox will welcome the Texas Rangers to Fenway Park tonight for one last matchup, looking to secure a dominant series sweep.

The weekend started with a statement on June 12, as Boston cruised to a lopsided 10–1 victory behind an explosive offensive display that left the Rangers struggling to find answers.

Boston’s momentum carried right into June 13 for a much tighter, more dramatic battle. Texas ace Jacob deGrom turned in a strong six-inning performance, leaving the game tied at 2–2, but the Red Sox depth proved too much. A two-run single with two outs in the seventh by Ceddanne Rafaela broke the deadlock, and a late home run from Jarren Duran helped secure a 6–3 Boston victory.

Following today’s contest, the Red Sox will continue their homestand with three against the Blue Jays, while the Rangers return home for three games against the Twins.

Rangers vs. Red Sox start time

Tonight’s (June 14) Rangers vs. Red Sox game is scheduled to begin at 7:20 p.m. ET.

How to watch Rangers vs. Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball

Tonight’s Rangers vs. Red Sox matchup is streaming on Peacock and airing on NBC, but if you don’t have cable, Peacock is the best way to stream the game.

Peacock currently offers two subscription types: Premium with ads and Premium Plus ad-free. Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month, while Premium Plus costs $16.99/month.

You can also save a bit by subscribing to one of Peacock’s annual plans, which give you 12 months for the price of 10. These cost either $109.99 with ads or $169.99 without ads.

Rangers-Red Sox probable pitchers

Nathan Eovaldi (5-7, 4.26 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rangers; Connelly Early (5-4, 3.30 ERA) gets the start for the Red Sox.

MLB Sunday Night Baseball 2026 schedule

MLB Sunday Night Baseball airs on NBC and Peacock this season. Check out the full season slate below.

• June 14 at 7 p.m. — Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox (NBC and Peacock)
• June 21 at 7 p.m. — New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies (NBC and Peacock)
• June 28 at 7 p.m. — New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (NBC and Peacock)
• July 5 at 12:30 p.m. — New York Mets at Atlanta Braves (NBC and Peacock)
• July 5 at 7 p.m. — San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers (NBC and Peacock)
• July 19 at 7 p.m. — Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees (NBC and Peacock)
• July 26 at 7 p.m. — New York Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies (NBC and Peacock)
• August 2 at 7 p.m. — Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers (NBC and Peacock)
• August 9 at 8 p.m. — Houston Astros at San Diego Padres (NBC and Peacock)
• August 16 at 7 p.m. — Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros (NBC and Peacock)
• August 23 at 3 p.m. — San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox (NBC and Peacock)
• August 30 at 3 p.m. — Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (NBC and Peacock)
• August 30 at 7 p.m. — Houston Astros at New York Mets (NBC and Peacock)
• September 6 at 3 p.m. — Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies (NBC and Peacock)
• September 6 at 7 p.m. — Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals (Peacock)
• September 7 at 8 p.m. — St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants (NBC and Peacock — special Labor Day MLB presentation)
• September 13 at 7 p.m. — San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants (Peacock)
• September 20 at 7 p.m. — Milwaukee Brewers at Baltimore Orioles (Peacock)