Category: Baseball

Three games down in what has shaped up to be a very exciting series against the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Guardians took the field behind Tanner Bibee in search of a series victory.

Bibee wasn’t able to go as long as he, Vogt, and the bullpen would have preferred. After a rain delay set the start time back about 30 minutes, the warning track was not draining properly and forced another delay. This was after Bibee had already taken his warm up pitches, so he had to sit and then get back out there for a start. Unfortunately the White Sox did get to him, putting up six runs in four innings of work. Bibee gave up three home runs.

Franco Aleman pitched the fifth, walking one and striking out one. Colin Holderman had a rare, bad outing. He did not record a single out and loaded the bases. Vogt turned to Erik Sabrowski to face the current division rival with no outs and bases loaded. Despite the high leverage situation, Sabrowski remained even-keeled, only allowing one of the inherited runners to score and intentionally walking one batter.

Hunter Gaddis had a clean seventh inning, striking out one and turning things over to Shawn Armstrong for the eighth. Armstrong struggled, having been used a lot this series, he got two out, but loaded the bases. Vogt had to turn the bullpen again to get out of this inning. Tim Herrin struck out the next batter and retired the side. Cade Smith pitched the ninth and did his thing. All three batters faced hit into an out.

The offense did a great job at answering each of the White Sox runs. In the bottom of the first, down two, Travis Bazzana hit a lead off double to left. Chase DeLauter slapped his first homer since May 17th to right center.

Kyle Manzardro drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gabriel Arias hit a single to third and, with two outs, Daniel Schneemann hit a single to center to score Manzardo.

In the bottom of the second, while no runs were scored, it is worth highlighting some impressive base stealing efforts from Kahlil Watson. Watson hit a single to right and stole second and third base to put himself in scoring position with two outs.

Before the bottom of the fifth inning, the White Sox came back and went up three runs on Cleveland. Chase DeLauter hit a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Kyle Manzardo reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed DeLauter to reach second base on a fielding error. Gabriel Arias decided to be good in one at bat today and hit a towering 446 foot home run to the bleachers to tie it up again.

The White Sox pulled ahead by one run, which ultimately proved to be insurmountable by the Guardians offense. Cleveland unloaded the bullpen, unloaded the bench, but were only able to split this series with Chicago. This was a critical series in the AL Central. The Guardians find themselves still 1.0 games back from the White Sox and only three games above .500. Tomorrow is an off day for the club as they travel to Minnesota to face the Twins for three, then head to Miami to face the Marlins for three before heading into the All Star Break.

Tampa Bay came to Daikin Park with the best record in the American League, winners of 8 straight games.

They will leave Daikin Park still with the best record in the AL, but on a 2 game skid.

Peter Lambert (W, 7-5) went 5.2 IP scoreless, backed by Steven Okert, Bryan King and Josh Hader (S, 9) to combine for a 4 hit shutout of the Rays (52-35) 2-0.

The Astros (45-47) got solo homers from Christian Walker (20) and Isaac Paredes (12), which proved to be the only runs of the game, and all Astros pitching would need to take the series from the Rays. Houston has now won 6 of its last 7 series.

The Astros are currently 2 GB of Seattle in the AL West (pending tonight’s action) and 1GB Texas for the final Wild Card spot.

Lambert was terrific, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. He threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes and got 5 ground ball outs.

Walker got the Astros on the board in the 4th when he took a four-seamer from Mason Englert (L, 0-2) opposite field for a solo shot.

Paredes got Englert 2 innings later when he blasted a changeup 401 feet to left.

Josh Hader struck out 2 in the 9th for his 9th save of the season.

Houston will now travel to the nation’s capital for a 3 game series with the Washington Nationals starting tomorrow.

Astros-Nationals probables:
Mon: RHP Mike Burrows (4-8, 5.58 ERA) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (2-7, 5.44 ERA)
Tue: RHP Tatsuya Imai (5-4, 6.14 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-1, 3.o5 ERA)
Wed: RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87 ERA)

The Cubs offense, seemingly lost for two days against the Cardinals in which they scored a total of just one run, suddenly appeared on a cloudy July afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Two first-inning runs appeared they might be enough until a bullpen meltdown in the sixth gave St. Louis the lead. But the Cubs came back and re-took the lead, in part with key hits and in part due to some sketchy Cardinals defense, and hung on to win 6-4 and salvage the final game of the series. They finished the homestand with a 4-2 record and get to 50 wins on the season. Just five other MLB teams (Rays, Braves, Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers) have won 50 or more games so far this year.

After Javier Assad threw a 1-2-3 first inning, the Cubs got right to work in the bottom of the inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong inside-outed a ball toward third base that took a weird spin and went for a hit.

Alex Bregman followed with this RBI double [VIDEO].

After Seiya Suzuki struck out, Carson Kelly walked and Michael Busch was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Nico Hoerner hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Bregman:

Assad struggled through the second inning, issuing a leadoff walk to Jordan Walker, but then picked him off. That was important, because after getting Lars Nootbaar to fly to left, Assad loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. This seems to be a common theme among Cubs starters lately — inability to put away the third out with two out and no one on.

But Assad got out of that inning with a popup to short right that was caught by Dansby Swanson.

That was the first of nine straight hitters Assad retired. He was lifted at 80 pitches with two out in the fifth. About that, from BCB’s JohnW53:

This was the ninth game of the season in which Craig Counsell lifted the starter after exactly 4.2 innings.

It was the third of the nine in which the starter had no allowed a run. The first two were Jameson Taillon, on March 31 vs. the Angels, and Matthew Boyd, on June 25 vs. the Mets at New York.

The six other starters gave up two to seven runs.

Counsell did it seven times all of last season, after having done it 13 times in 2024.

That lifting of Assad led to the Cardinals’ first three runs. Ryan Rolison finished the fifth without incident, then allowed hits to two of the first three St. Louis hitters in the sixth. So Counsell called on Tyler Ferguson, whose second pitch was hit out of the yard by Walker for a three-run homer and a Cardinals lead. Ferguson did get out of the inning with no further damage.

The Cubs wasted no time getting those runs back and more. Carson Kelly led off the sixth with a walk and Busch singled him to third. This single by Nico scored Kelly, tying the game [VIDEO].

Busch stopped at second on that hit and that’s when the defensive miscues began for the Carinals. Ian Happ popped into short left for the first out of the inning.

Dansby Swanson was the next hitter. He hit a ground ball to third and… well, watch [VIDEO].

Busch scored to give the Cubs the lead and Hoerner took third. Pedro Ramirez made it 5-3 with this sac fly:

Swanson, who had wound up on second, scored on that play as well when Walker’s throw went into the Cubs dugout. So the Cubs had a 6-3 lead heading to the seventh.

Drew Pomeranz, just re-signed, threw a 1-2-3 seventh, then allowed a leadoff single to JJ Wetherholt in the eighth. That brought on Jacob Webb. Wetherholt advanced to second on a ground out, to third on a single and scored on a sac fly, cutting the Cubs’ lead to 6-4.

Webb finished off the eighth with no further St. Louis runs scoring, and remained in the game to throw the ninth after the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth. He issued a leadoff walk to Masyn Winn in the ninth and, well, those are never good. But he recovered to get the next two outs on a foul popup and strikeout. Winn took second on defensive indifference, and that brought up former Cub Nelson Velázquez.

Dansby ended the game with this spectacular catch of a sinking line drive [VIDEO].

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why this recap is more text-heavy than usual, it’s because, well, basically the video clips here are all I had available, and some of the Cubs highlights only via the social media posts you see here.

Before I get to a couple more game facts from John, I did want to say something about Counsell’s pitcher management today. Yes, it’s easy to criticize and usually I don’t, but this time I think Counsell outsmarted himself. Assad was on a roll, having retired nine straight hitters. Yes, I get pitch counts but… in this case he couldn’t have faced one more hitter? Rolison got that guy, but then gave up hits to the two left-handed Cardinals hitters he was left in the game to face, and then Ferguson, who was sent in to face a right-handed hitter, served up a three-run homer.

Yes, I get the platoon advantage, etc. etc. etc. But sometimes I think managers do that too reflexively and don’t “feel” the game situation, for lack of a better term. Fortunately, in the end it didn’t matter in this game.

Here’s more on Assad’s pitch selection in this game [VIDEO].

Now, fun facts from John!

Four Cubs were hit by a pitch today, making this only their 12th game with at least that many since 1901.

The previous one was on June 22, 2022, at Pittsburgh, with four.

Their team record is five, set in 2020 at Cincinnati and tied the next year at St. Louis. That was the only previous game in which Cardinals pitchers hit at least four Cubs.

…..

With today’s win, the Cubs are 64-63 in games vs. their Central Division rivals in their three seasons under Craig Counsell.

…..

The Cubs overcame a deficit for the 38th time this season, in 35 different games. They are 24-11 in those games and have won nine in a row, beginning with a win over the Rockies on July 11.

Before rallying, the Cubs had blown a lead for the 38th time, in 29 different games. They are 14-15 in those games, including back-to-back wins and four of the last five.

One note from me: PCA singled twice and was hit by a pitch in five plate appearances. That raised his season OBP to .383 and his season OPS to .910.

One more note: This is a game in which the pitcher of record when the Cubs took the lead (Ferguson) was not given the win because he pitched “briefly and ineffectively” — a scorer’s discretion. Thus the win was given to Pomeranz.

At this writing the Brewers are leading the Diamondbacks 3-1 in the seventh. If that score holds up the Cubs will remain six games back in the NL Central and the Cardinals will be 7.5 behind Milwaukee. The Cardinals head home to open a five-game set vs. the Brewers Monday in St. Louis. That includes a doubleheader Tuesday, one of the games a make-up from a rainout May 5.

The Cubs will enjoy their off day Monday and then open a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore Tuesday evening. Matthew Boyd will start the series opener for the Cubs and Shane Baz will go for the Orioles. Game time Tuesday is 5:35 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Casey Mize wasn’t at his sharpest, but he got great defensive work behind him to put together a quality start. Meanwhile, Riley Greene did it all in this one, showing off power and great defense to lead the Tigers to a 6-3 win, and a series victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.

Kumar Rocker took the mound for the Rangers, finally settling in as a pretty solid depth starter at age 26. Kevin McGonigle greeted him with a battle that ended in a single to center field. Dillon Dingler followed with a grounder into a double play. A high cutter drew a whiff from Kerry Carpenter to end the top of the first.

Casey Mize, in the midst of a breakout campaign, was on the bump today for the Tigers, with Jake Rogers behind the dish. Joc Pederson greeted him with an opposite field single. Mize responded by dusting Jake Burger on three straight fastballs. Mize fell behind against Brandon Nimmo, but back-to-back well located fourseamers locked Nimmo up as he hunted something softer. Ezequiel Duran popped out to send us to the second inning.

Rocker has good stuff, but he tends to nibble when ahead, leading him to a lot of inefficiency like many young starters. He got ahead of Riley Greene, but the Tigers left fielder worked back to a full count and then flared a leadoff single into left field. Spencer Torkelson bit on a good 2-2 cutter away to strike out. Another lengthy at-bat ended in a deep drive from Colt Keith, but Evan Carter had no trouble hauling it in near the warning track in center field. Rocker was already closing in on 40 pitches five outs into his outing, but he coaxed a weak fly ball to center from Zach McKinstry.

Mize punched out Evan Carter with a high fourseamer to open the bottom of the second. That was his third strikeout already on the outing. Elias Diaz smoked a line drive but McGonigle dove gloveside and snared it with a great play. Josh Smith fouled off several well located two-strike splitters, and then battled Mize through a 10-pitch AB that ended with him smashing a fastball to the wall in right center field and racing to third for a two-out triple. Rookie infielder Cam Cauley, a right-handed hitter, was up next and Mize fell behind 3-1. He stepped off to compose himself, but fired a slider that missed up to walk him. After that slider that didn’t slide, Chris Fetter came out to hit the reset button on his right-hander. It worked, as Nicky Lopez grounded out on a splitter to end the inning.

Rogers and Outman flew out to start the third. Outman’s was a towering drive that floated out deep to center field, but it was still a comfortable play for Carter. McGonigle fouled off a slew of pitches, but then got a sinker right down the middle and grounded out sharply to second.

Mize got Pederson on a grounder to McGonigle to start the bottom half. However, a first pitch slider to Jake Burger stayed up and got crushed to left for a solo shot. 1-0 Rangers. Nimmo got a splitter away that didn’t quite fade off the plate, and smoked an opposite field line drive but Riley Greene laid it all out and made a brilliant diving catch in the left center field gap for the second out. The Tigers were flashing the leather early on, while Mize was still struggling to locate the slider and splitter consistently. Instead, he spotted a fourseam at the bottom of the zone for strike three on Duran to end the inning.

This might be the defensive play of the year for the Tigers so far, although the consequences were minor. What a catch though.

The Tigers were still struggling with Rocker’s cutter, and Dingler popped out to open the fourth. Kerry Carpenter finally broke through, lining a cutter to right for a single. Riley Greene worked a 2-1 count and then killed a fastball for his 13th shot of the year. It was a majestic no-doubter to right field for the All-Star outfielder, who was doing it all in this one and now has nine homers since the beginning of June. 2-1 Tigers.

Torkelson struck out. Keith fouled off a couple of cutters and then a fourseamer before working the count full. Rocker walked him on his 75th pitch of the day. McKinstry hit one hard, but right to Burger at first.

The Rangers went into swing mode against Mize in the bottom of the fourth. As a result he needed just six pitches to pop up Carter, get Diaz on a grounder to McGonigle, and then Smith grounded one to Torkelson, who fed Mize the toss to close out the fourth inning. By contrast, Mize only needed 56 pitches to this point.

Rogers struck out to open the fifth, but James Outman beat out an infield single on a grounder to first. That was it for Rocker as Skip Schumaker turned to lefty Robbie Ahlstrom against McGonigle. Outman was dancing off first and Ahlstrom fell behind the Tigers’ rookie 2-0. A solid single through the right side of the infield followed, with Outman cruising from first to third on the knock. Dingler got a 2-2 changeup away and Dingler ripped an RBI single to center field. 3-1 Tigers, and McGonigle easily went first to third as well, and so they had runners at the corners with one out and a run in for Kerry Carpenter. You’ll note Jahmai Jones’ services were not called upon once again, and Carpenter stayed in against the lefty.

Ahlstrom stuffed a pair of fastballs inside to start things off against Carpenter. The first was called a ball but challenged into a strike. The second drew a swing and was well inside, but Diaz interfered with Carpenter on the play and so he took first, and the bases were juiced as Riley Greene stepped into the box. The first pitch of the at-bat was a breaking ball that went right through Diaz’s wickets for a wild pitch to score McGonigle. In a full count, Greene launched a slider high to the opposite field and just off the wall in the left field corner. Smith couldn’t handle it and the ball bounced all the way over toward center field where Carter had to corral it to hold Greene to a two-run triple. 6-1 Tigers.

Spencer Torkelson followed by drawing a walk. AJ Hinch, with Pink Floyd’s On the Turning Away playing mournfully for Jahmai Jones in the background, pinch-hit Hao-Yu Lee in for Colt Keith. That just prompted the Rangers to go back to the pen for hard-throwing right-hander Gavin Collyer. He got Lee to pop out and blew McKinstry away with 99 mph to finally end the inning, but the damage was done.

McGonigle moved over to third base, with McKinstry to shortstop, and Lee in as the second baseman for the bottom of the fifth. Casey Mize had a long rest during the top half, but he picked up where he left off, getting Cauley to ground out first pitch. Nicky Lopez lined a single to left field, and so the lineup turned over to the top for the third time. Mize bounced a splitter to walk Joc Pederson, and suddenly things got a little bit tense again. Mize unclenched the situation by popping up Burger on a high fastball for the second out. He got ahead of Nimmo with two high fastballs that were fouled off, but the next one was a little liner just over McKinstry and off the tip of his glove for an RBI single. 6-2 Tigers. Duran lifted a fly ball to left to end the inning.

Collyer locked up Rogers for the first out of the sixth. Outman was victimized by a good fastball on the outer edge for a whiff. McGonigle fouled off a host of good two-strike pitches and ultimately drew a two out walk to reach base for the third time in this one, but Dingler popped out to end the frame.

Mize quickly got Carter and Diaz to ground out. His 85th pitch drew a lazy fly ball to left to send us to the seventh inning.

Right-hander Cole Winn took over from Collyer to face Carpenter, Greene, and Torkelson in the seventh. This was a very favorable matchup, but you never know. Carpenter whiffed on a splitter and struck out, while Greene flew out. Torkelson lined a single to get Lee to the plate, but he popped out down the third base line.

Matt Vierling took over in right field from Carpenter for defensive purposes, while Mize came back out for the seventh but on a short leash. Cauley lifted a drive to right field, finding Vierling immediately for the first out. Mize’s 94th pitch got Nicky Lopez on a little fly out to left, and that ended Mize’s day as the lineup turned over again. Left-hander Drew Sommers got the call to take on the top of the Rangers’ order. The lefty dispatched Pederson with a sinker that tied him into knots to end the inning.

Winn took care of the last third of the Tigers order with no difficulty, and so we were onto the bottom of the eighth with the Tigers defending a 6-2 lead. With Keider Montero unavailable, Will Vest injured, and Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan pretty iffy, how would Hinch try to get through the final six outs? As expected, the first answer was Drew Anderson with the right-handed Burger up to start the inning.

Anderson leaned into the fastball early on, with Burger grounding out to third and Nimmo flying out to Vierling for the second out. That left to Duran, who ambushed a slider that leaked back on the inner half rather than bending away and launched a solo shot over the center field wall. 6-3 Tigers. Anderson’s changeup and slider continue to be pretty mashable when left up in the zone, despite the copious whiffs he’s generating off the two pitches. Carter quickly grounded out on a changeup to send us to the ninth.

Right-hander Peyton Gray handled the ninth for the Rangers. He got a McGonigle pop up into shallow left field to start things off. We were hoping to get Greene back to the dish with a shot at the cycle with a double. Unfortunately, Dingler lifted a routine fly out to center. So, it was up to Vierling and he delivered, ripping a screaming drive up the left field gap for a two-out triple. And so, Greene had a shot at the cycle. The Tigers haven’t had a cycle hit for since Carlos Guillen in 2006. Unfortunately, Schumaker wasn’t interested in seeing Greene hit again in this one, and so they intentionally walked him. Boooooo. Yeah it’s a three-run game and not totally out of hand, but that was a bummer. Torkelson grounded into a force of Greene to end the half inning.

And so, it was Kenley Jansen time. He promptly popped up Diaz to Torkelson, staying at the top of the strike zone or higher. Smith also popped out to Torkelson, this time on a 1-2 slider. Alejandro Osuna pinch hit for Cauley, and he lifted a little pop fly to Vierling to end this one.

That was save 486 for Jansen’s career.

A 5-1 road trip feels pretty good after the Tigers’ first half struggles on the road. The 40-50 Tigers now come home for three against the Angels starting on Tuesday night. The six-game homestand will also see the Phillies come to town for three, and that will take us into the All-Star break. The Tigers are currently seven games back of the White Sox in the AL Central, and five games outside the final Wild Card spot.

Box Score

The Mets opted to sit A.J. Ewing in a tough left-on-left matchup with Braves ace Chris Sale on Saturday. 

The youngster was back in there with another southpaw, Martin Perez, on the mound on Sunday afternoon though. 

Ewing was ready for the opportunity. 

With the Mets trailing by a pair after an eventful first inning, Ewing stepped to the plate and lifted a 3-2 sinker at the top of the zone 408 feet to right for a solo shot. 

It was his fifth homer of the season, and his second against a lefty. 

The next three batters reached, as well, as the Mets pushed themselves back in front with a four-run inning. 

Ewing struck out in his other two at-bats on the day, but also lined a single back up the middle in another left-on-left matchup with former Met Danny Young in the top of the sixth. 

“It was great to see,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The home run left-on-left, the single up the middle against a down lefty, that’s just really exciting to see.”

Ewing came into the day hitting just .190 in those situations thus far in his career. 

The 21-year-old outfielder has certainly shown he's capable of handling lefties in the past, though, as he hit a strong .313 against them in the minors last year. 

“We’ve believed he’s going to hit lefties in the long run,” Green said. 

“I’ve always been comfortable against lefties,” Ewing added. “Obviously blips happen, but I’m comfortable facing whoever is on the mound.”

Ewing's hitting .265 with a triple, five homers, seven doubles, and a .756 OPS on the year. 

The biggest moment of Eliezer Alfonzo’s professional career came amid the darkest moment of his personal life.

Ahead of Alfonzo’s MLB debut on Sunday, reports from Venezuela confirmed that his stepmother Patricia and 16-year-old little sister Eliana –– who had both been missing in the wake of last month’s devastating earthquakes in the country –– had been found dead in the rubble of a collapsed hotel.

The news came a day after Alfonzo said his family was still holding out hope of finding the two alive.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna see her again or not,” Alfonzo told the California Post on Saturday of his sister, whom he said had been as anxious to see him reach the majors as he had. “But I’m pretty sure God’s gonna give me the blessing to let her see me play here in the big leagues.”

Instead, when the rookie catcher took the field for the first time as a big-leaguer, he honored his late family members by writing “E y P, RIP” on his hat.

“I don’t really know what to say about it, outside of my heart goes out to him and his family,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “He is in there. He’s going to play today. But obviously, heavy heart is not even justifying. So, yeah, I don’t really want to go too far because I’ll get emotional. I don’t know. I know it’s tough. It’s very tough.”

The 26-year-old son of former MLB veteran catcher Eliezer Alfonzo Sr., Alfonzo had spent almost a decade in the minors awaiting his first big-league opportunity.

A longtime farmhand of the Minnesota Twins who signed with the Dodgers as a minor-league free agent this offseason, Alfonzo’s first career call-up came after hitting .313 with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.

Upon arriving in the Dodgers clubhouse on Saturday, he expressed gratitude for the support he had received from the organization and his teammates.

“I’m not gonna lie to you,” Alfonzo said. “Last week was probably one of the toughest weeks of my life.”

During Sunday’s game, veteran teammate and fellow Venezuelan native Miguel Rojas –– whose wife and kids survived the earthquake while staying at a hotel in the capital of Caracas –– also had a message of recognition for the Alfonzo family written on his cap.

“I’ve had the support from the team, from the day that everything happened,” Alfonzo said Saturday.

Alfonzo’s family had been staying at the Hotel Eduards in Macuto, along Venezuela’s northern Atlantic coast, where Eliezer Sr. was managing a game in the Venezuelan league.

While he was already at the ballpark when the June 24 earthquakes hit, Patricia and Eliana were still at the hotel, along with other family members of the team.

For the last week and a half, Eliezer Sr. had overseen a search-and-rescue effort looking for them. On Friday, they were handed a glimmer of hope when their family dog was pulled from the carnage alive.

But then, in the lead-up to Sunday’s game, local reports announced that both Alfonzo’s stepmom and sister had not survived.

The most heart-wrenching of developments, on what should’ve been the most celebratory day of his career.

“I know it’s difficult with everything that is happening right now,” Alfonzo had said the day before. “But at the same time, I got my country, my family, on my heart, on my mind. Everything I do is because of them. So I’m gonna make them proud.”

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Detroit Tigers scored six runs.

The Rangers are an American League-best 22-17 against teams with records above .500 this season. The Rangers are a .500 team exactly. The Detroit Tigers came into today’s game 39-50. The Rangers lost to the Tigers for a second consecutive game to lose the series to Detroit.

There’s some unpleasant math here.

The Rangers actually scored the first run of the game and the final two runs of the game. Between those two runs, the Tigers scored twice in the fourth and four more in the fifth when Texas succumbed to poor pitching and even worse defense.

Player of the Game: Jake Burger hit a team-leading 15th home run.

Up Next: The Rangers remain at home but have tomorrow off for their final day off of the first half before opening a series against the Anaheim Angels beginning on Tuesday.

San Diego Padres (43-45) at Los Angeles Dodgers (59-31), July 5, 2026, 4:20 p.m. PST

Watch: NBC

Location: Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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It’s been another busy afternoon on the board as the Colorado Rockies attempt to mount a comeback against the San Francisco Giants on Peacock.

And it’s been another busy day on the board, so here’s another overflow thread for the final 2.5 innings!

As a reminder, here are the lineups:

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Veteran Major League Baseball umpire C.B. Bucknor will retire at the end of the 2026 season, bringing to a close a three-decade career that was as controversial as it was lengthy.

Bucknor is one of seven umpires who accepted Major League Baseball’s voluntary buyout offer as he chooses to step away before the league’s full implementation of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today,

The other umpires taking the buyout include Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo and Andy Fletcher.

Nightengale notes that the retirements could make way for Jen Pawol to become the first woman to be a full-time umpire in MLB during the 2027 season.

Bucknor, 63, debuted as a National League umpire in 1996 before joining the full MLB staff in 2000.

Over the course of his career, he worked more than 4,000 regular-season games, earned assignments to the 2005 and 2021 All-Star Games and officiated multiple division series.

Despite those accomplishments, he became one of baseball’s most polarizing umpires because of his strike zone and several highly publicized missed calls, which have become more notable in recent years.

During Opening Week, Bucknor had six ball-strike calls overturned through the ABS challenge system while working behind the plate during a game between the Reds and Red Sox.

Umpire scorecards later credited him with missing 26 ball-strike calls in that contest, one of the highest totals recorded during the season’s opening week.

Only days later, he missed an obvious call at first base during a game between the Brewers and Rays, a decision that was quickly overturned on replay and drew laughter from both dugouts.

Bucknor often found himself at the center of criticism over his work behind the plate. Many routinely questioned his consistency, and for good reason. His accuracy behind the plate is said to be 92 percent, well below the MLB average, according to UmpScorecards.com.

In player surveys conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2003 and 2006, he was voted the worst umpire in MLB.

An ESPN survey of active players in 2010 reached the same conclusion.

With ABS expected to play a larger role in future seasons, the veteran umpire elected to walk away on his own terms, which may be a sigh of relief for baseball players, fans and others moving forward.

Willson Contreras fought back tears as he publicly apologized for his role in a turbulent week that included two bench-clearing incidents.

These incidents led to multiple ejections and a seven-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

Speaking to the media before the Red Sox’s 8-1 win over the Angels on Saturday, Contreras said he felt it was important to take responsibility for his actions, even though his suspension was still under appeal.

“One thing I want to add, on the record, is an apology for all of the events from last week,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “All of the things that occurred with the Nationals and Yankees are very hard. It was a very emotional time for me.”

The veteran first baseman added, “People won’t understand why I’m apologizing now, but I think it’s something that’s important for me to do because I feel that it was an emotional time and those situations could have been avoided and controlled and handled better.”

Contreras’ statement came after a week in which he repeatedly found himself involved in the middle of on-field confrontations.

The first incident occurred during Boston’s weekend series against the Yankees.

After exchanging words with Yankees starter Will Warren following an inside pitch, Contreras flipped his bat, and both benches emptied.

Two days later, we had another incident involving the Nationals, when right-hander Cade Cavalli struck him out looking in the fourth inning, and television cameras captured Cavalli yelling, “Sit down, boy.”

Contreras immediately turned back toward the mound after hearing the racially charged insult, and the confrontation quickly escalated into another benches-clearing incident.

Contreras threw his helmet in Cavalli’s direction before he was ultimately restrained.

For his troubles, he was ejected from the game, as well as Cavalli, who also received a seven-game suspension.

Cavalli apologized the following day, saying he never intended his words to carry racial meaning and acknowledging the historical significance of the phrase.

“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” he said. “Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that.

“My teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me. I couldn’t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. that sees that — that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn’t intended the way that it came out, and then he’s not looking up to me anymore — that hurts my heart.”

Contreras acknowledged how difficult the past several days had been.

“It’s been a really tough week, an emotional week for me,” he said. “I hope that people understand how emotional it’s been. I’ll prove myself with my actions on the field moving forward and show them the kind of person that I truly am.”

The Venezuelan slugger has previously spoken about the emotional toll of devastating earthquakes in his home country, suggesting the tragedy had weighed heavily on him while he continued to play.

Contreras homered in the Red Sox’s Fourth of July victory. Despite the distractions, he has been one of Boston’s most productive hitters this season.

He entered Sunday batting .285 with 19 home runs and 56 RBIs with a .914 OPS.

The three-time All-Star most notably starred on the Cubs from 2016-2022 and started at catcher during the team’s curse-breaking 2016 World Series title.

Eliezer Alfonzo will make his major league debut Sunday, July 5, catching and batting ninth for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres, the culmination of a lifelong dream for the 26-year-old.

That moment, though, will come with an unspeakable burden as his sister and stepmother remain missing amid earthquake rubble in Venezuela.

Alfonzo's family members had been missing since a pair of earthquakes – magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 – rocked an area of northern Venezuela, west of Caracas, on June 24. Alfonzo's father of the same name, a former major league catcher, spent that time attempting to locate his wife, Patricia and daughter Eliana.

Alfonzo is still in the lineup for Sunday night's game.

"I don't really know what to say about it, outside of my heart goes out to him and his family," Roberts told reporters in his pregame briefing, per the California Post. "I don’t really want to go too far (into it), because I’ll get emotional. I know it’s tough. Very tough."

Alfonzo, signed by the Detroit Tigers out of Venezuela in 2017, joined the Dodgers organization this year as a minor league free agent. He batted .319 with an .813 OPS in 49 games at Class AAA Oklahoma City and joined the major league club as incumbent Will Smith will remain on the injured list with a neck injury through at least the All-Star break.

The elder Eliezer Alfonzo played parts of six seasons with the Giants, Padres, Mariners and Rockies.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers' Eliezer Alfonzo to make MLB debut as sister, stepmother missing in Venezuela

ATLANTA — After getting bludgeoned the previous night, the Mets were off to a rough start Sunday, with their best starting pitcher unsteady.

But the long afternoon that appeared to await Nolan McLean and the Mets never materialized, as the rookie right-hander recovered to help lead a 10-9 victory over the Braves.

This one got dicey late as Huascar Brazobán and Devin Williams combined to surrender six runs in the ninth. But Williams struck out Dominic Smith with runners on second and third base to end it.

Both Mets wins on this road trip have been in games started by McLean, a bright spot in a rotation that has been besieged by underperformance and injury.

McLean allowed three runs (one unearned) in the first inning and then nothing over the next five. Overall, he surrendered five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

“I’m satisfied with it,” McLean said. “We’ll take the wins any time we can get them. You want to shut guys out every time you go out there, but we’ll definitely take the win.”

The adjustments for McLean after scuffling through the first inning were minor. He cited discovering his changeup later in the game as providing a boost.

“He’s a competitor,” interim manager Andy Green said. “Falling behind in the first, he didn’t really have the feel for the zone like he did for the rest of the game. He settled in incredibly well. It was just really a control game, where he was moving through the lineup for most of the day.”

The Mets, who won for only the third time in 15 games, will try to escape with a series split Monday before beginning a homestand that will take them to the All-Star break.

As badly as the Mets (37-53) have played against most opponents, they are 3-3 against the Braves, leaders of the National League East.

Bo Bichette’s RBI single in the first got the Mets started after Francisco Lindor reached on Austin Riley’s error and Juan Soto singled — and subsequently was thrown out attempting to stretch the hit into a double.

McLean’s rough first inning included four hits allowed, and he didn’t help himself with an errant pickoff throw that led to an unearned run. Michael Harris II continued his big series with a two-run single and reached third when McLean’s pickoff attempt sailed past Mark Vientos. Mauricio Dubón’s RBI single extended the Braves lead to 3-1. Drake Baldwin was hit by a pitch leading off, and Ozzie Albies doubled him to third. Both run-scoring hits were grounders.

“I feel like I had some pretty good stuff in the first; just some unfortunate things happening,” McLean said. “The ground ball base hits are never fun, when I am a ground ball pitcher usually. It’s always good when those can find gloves.”

A.J. Ewing homered leading off the second against lefty Martín Pérez, but the Mets were just getting started. Luis Torrens walked and Brett Baty doubled before Lindor’s RBI single tied it 3-3. Soto followed with a two-run single, giving him 43 RBIs this season.

Vientos’ fielding error on Jim Jarvis’ grounder gave the Braves a leadoff baserunner in the fifth, but McLean overcame the miscue by recording three straight outs.

Tyrone Taylor homered in the ninth — his second straight game with a blast — to give the Mets a 6-3 cushion. Taylor went deep against former Met Carlos Carrasco. Before the inning was complete, Bichette and Jared Young each delivered a two-run double, extending the lead to 10-3.

Brazobán got only one out in the ninth before he was removed. The Braves scored five runs against the right-hander, highlighted by Baldwin’s grand slam. Williams allowed another run before the Braves got runners to second and third. Williams’ strikeout of Smith ended the drama.

It was a sloppy victory for the Mets, who committed three errors: Brazobán had one, in addition to McLean and Vientos.

“It’s talented individuals on the baseball field; we can play cleaner baseball,” Green said. “We should hold ourselves responsible to that and that’s to each individual man and to us collectively.”