Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, Jacob Misiorowski named co-NL Players of the Week

Jerseys for Jackson Chourio and Jacob Misiorowski hang in the Milwaukee Brewers team store. | Curt Hogg / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers became the first team since August 2024 to have a pair of teammates named as co-Players of the Week on Monday, as outfielder Jackson Chourio and right-hander Jacob Misiorowski both took home the NL Player of the Week Award.

Chourio, 22, earns his first such award, while this marks the second career award for Misiorowski, 24, who earned his first in the final week of May earlier this year.

Chourio batted 13-for-29 with five homers, 10 RBIs, and eight runs scored across the Brewers’ six games this week, as he hit safely and drove in at least one run in each of those games.

Not to be outdone, Misiorowski put together one of the best pitching performances we’ve witnessed, perhaps ever. In a complete game shutout against the Phillies on Friday night, Misiorowski allowed just one hit and no walks, striking out 15 on 95 pitches (58 of which came in at 100-plus mph) while facing the minimum thanks to a fourth-inning double play.

Chourio and Miz both seem like solid bets to make the All-Star Game in Philadelphia next month, even with Chourio having missed the first month-plus of the season.

Across 35 games this year, Chourio is hitting .322/.370/.572 with nine homers, 11 doubles, 26 RBIs, 27 runs, and five steals, totaling 2.0 bWAR, which nearly matches the 2.2 bWAR he put up across 131 games in 2025.

Misiorowski, who currently seems like the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, has made 14 starts and leads the majors in ERA (1.34), strikeouts (131), FIP (1.69), and WHIP (0.736), among other stats. He’s also compiled 3.9 bWAR over 87 innings.

Minnesota’s Byron Buxton took home the AL Player of the Week Award, while Cleveland’s Brayan Rocchio won Play of the Week.

Washington Nationals vs Kansas City Royals Game Thread

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Nasim Nuñez #26 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with Andrés Chaparro #87 and James Wood #29 after winning a game against the Seattle Mariners at Nationals Park on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Nats were able to put the San Francisco meltdown behind them, and now have another chance to go 3 games over .500 for the first time since 2019. A 29-43 Royals team will stand in their way. This season has been a major disappointment for the Royals, who had so many stars at the WBC. The Nats still can’t take them lightly.

Blake Butera is making a couple tweaks to his lineup. Curtis Mead will be back at third base after not playing yesterday. The outfield will consist of Daylen Lile in left, Jacob Young in center and Dylan Crews in right. James Wood will be the DH. Nasim Nunez is the preferred option at second and Keibert Ruiz is back behind the plate. Andrew Alvarez will look to bounce back from a walk filled outing last time out.

This Royals offense has struggled this season, but there are still some big names. Old pal Lane Thomas will be leading off against the left handed Alvarez. Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will follow him. Familiar faces like Starling Marte and Salvador Perez will be in the lineup, though Perez is at first and not behind the plate. Mitch Spence got lit up in his lone MLB outing this year, but gets the start tonight.

Join the conversation!

Sign up for a user account and get:

  • Fewer ads
  • Create community posts
  • Comment on articles, community posts
  • Rec comments, community posts
  • New, improved notifications system!

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

After the big series win against the Mariners, the Nats have a chance to keep the momentum rolling. While the Royals have one of the best players in the league, the team as a whole has struggled. On paper, this should be another series win for the Nats, but the games are played on the field. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

Mets Injury Notes: Francisco Lindor plays another simulated game, Ronny Mauricio nearing rehab assignment

On a busy day of roster moves, manager Carlos Mendoza, who announced Kodai Senga would come off the IL to start on Tuesday, provided injury updates on several Mets players ahead of Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds...


Francisco Lindor plays another simulated game

Lindor, who has been out since April 22 with a calf strain, played in another simulated game on Monday, Mendoza said.

"I haven't had the latest report because it was this afternoon," the manager admitted, but added, "he was scheduled to go three innings."

"Pretty much getting at-bats, playing defense, running the bases," Mendoza said. "I think he'll get the whole week of doing that, and then we'll revisit after that."

As far as Lindor needing a rehab assignment, Mendoza said the Mets "haven't discussed that" as of right now.

The All-Star shortstop took at-bats against pitchers from High-A Brooklyn and played two innings in the field during a simulated game Friday.

In 24 games this year before the injury, Lindor got off to a slow start with 21 hits in 93 at-bats (.226) and posted a .669 OPS (88 OPS+, 93 wRC+).

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday that he expects Lindor to get back into big-league games this month.

Tyrone Taylor, Ronny Mauricio progressing

The centerfielder is currently doing "baseball activities," Menodza said.

"He's running, hitting – I think he got up to like 90 percent sprinting-wise," he continued. "He's progressing."

Taylor was placed on the injured list in late May with a right hip flexor strain. He posted a .186 average (18-for-97) with a .530 OPS (47 OPS+, 45 wRC+) across 43 games before the injury.

Much like Taylor, the infielder is "feeling a lot better" as he continues to progress.

"Doing a lot of baseball activity, hopefully he's playing – I want to say at [Port St. Luice] towards the end of this week if everything goes well, he's gonna start playing rehab games for us," Mendoza said. 

Mauricio, who landed on the IL with a right thumb fracture in early May and was expected to miss six to eight weeks, appeared in 10 games with the Mets and posted a .531 OPS in 32 at-bats. In 15 games at Triple-A, the 25-year-old posted a .293 average and a .987 OPS with six home runs and 13 RBI.

Jorge Polanco day-to-day, despite IL move

Polanco was transferred to the 60-day IL in a flurry of roster moves on Monday that saw right-handerChristian Scott land on the 10-day IL with right hip impingement, Tobias Myers and Jonathan Pintaro called up, righty reliever Daniel Duarte optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, and infielder Zack Short claimed off waivers.

However, Mendoza said there was "nothing new" to report about Polanco on the injury front.

"I heard he had a good day today, as far as like swinging the bat and all that," the manager said. "This is a day-to-day type deal."

The manager said it is "still on the table" that Polanco could return for a rehab assignment this week, but "we'll see."

The move for Polanco to the 60-day IL, as he hasn't played since April 14, makes this more of a paper move than anything else. 

Polanco made 14 appearances with the Mets this season, with 10 hits in 56 at-bats (.179) and a .532 OPS.

Mets at Reds: Lineups, broadcast info, and open thread, 6/15/26

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 22: Tobias Myers #32 of the New York Mets delivers during the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on May 22, 2026 in Miami, Florida.

Mets lineup

Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Jared Young – 1B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – 3B
MJ Melendez – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C

Tobias Myers – RHP

Reds lineup

Blake Dunn – CF
JJ Bleday – LF
Sal Stewart – DH
Spencer Steer – 1B
Eugenio Suarez – 3B
Noelvi Marte – RF
Matt McLain – SS
Tyler Stephenson – C
Edwin Arroyo – 2B

Chase Burns – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Join the conversation!

Sign up for a user account and get:

  • Fewer ads
  • Create community posts
  • Comment on articles, community posts
  • Rec comments, community posts
  • New, improved notifications system!

Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies preview, Monday 6/15, 7:05 CT

Today’s Cubs transaction: The team acquired right-handed reliever Yosver Zulueta from the Mariners for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. Zulueta pitched in 19 games for the Reds in 2024 and 2025 but had been at Triple-A Tacoma this year. To make room for Zulueta on the 40-man roster, left-hander Doug Nikhazy was designated for assignment.

Monday notes…

  • TRY TO WIN THE FIRST ONE, PLEASE: The Cubs are 5-6 in first games of series at home. Last season, they finished 19-8. They are 9-14 in first games of all series and just 1-8 in first games after having lost last games of previous series. They are 1-3 at home following losses. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
  • AND BEAT THE GUYS WHO AREN’T WINNING: The Cubs’ last 12 games have been against teams that were below .500 going into each game. The Cubs won six and lost six. Their next 10 games will be against teams with losing records as of Sunday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
  • RUNS SCORED AND ALLOWED: In their 37 wins, the Cubs have scored 242 runs and allowed 104, for an average score of 6.5 to 2.8. In their 35 losses, they have allowed 211 and scored 86, for an average score of to 6.0 to 2.5. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
  • TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Steve Lake’s RBI single in the 11th inning gave the Cubs a 4-3 walk-off win over the Cardinals. Leon Durham and Shawon Dunston had homered in the eighth to tie the game and both teams scored in the 10th before Lake’s hit. It happened 40 years ago today, Sunday, June 15, 1986.

Cubs lineup:

Rockies lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Michael Lorenzen, RHP

This is a pitching rematch of the game last Wednesday at Coors Field. Shōta Imanaga threw well, allowing no runs in five innings, striking out seven. Michael Lorenzen, who came into that game with an 8.01 ERA, allowed only one Cubs run in five innings. The Cubs wound up losing in a walk-off.

Hopefully, this one will be better.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row. If you do go there to interact with Rockies fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Join the conversation!

Sign up for a user account and get:

  • Fewer ads
  • Create community posts
  • Comment on articles, community posts
  • Rec comments, community posts
  • New, improved notifications system!

Mets' Kodai Senga to start Tuesday's game against Reds

With Christian Scott heading to the 15-day injured list due to a right hip impingement, the Mets needed to figure out who would start Tuesday's game against the Reds in Cincinnati. 

Carlos Mendoza told reporters ahead of Monday's game that the club will turn to Kodai Senga, who has been out since the end of April with lumbar spine inflammation and, also, ulnar nerve irritation.

"Kodai Senga is going to start for us tomorrow, and is going to be followed by Nolan McLean on Wednesday," Mendoza said. 

Senga last pitched in the big leagues on April 26 against the Colorado Rockies, but struggled mightily while on the active roster, going 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA over five starts.

The 33-year-old has since made four rehab starts across all three levels of the minors, including six strong innings with five strikeouts on June 11 for Double-A Binghamton. 

"We've been saying that we wanted to see results, which we had with his last outing," Mendoza said. "But with him, not only the result, just how he feels after he pitches. While we were waiting for him to throw his bullpen yesterday, he was scheduled to throw his bullpen yesterday in Citi Field, which he ended up throwing it. Felt good today and then we decided to go with him. 

"He's ready to go. He's telling us that he feels 100 percent. He was on board with, 'Hey, if you guys want me to go in the minor leagues and pitch again, I'll do it, but I'm ready to compete at the big league level.' For him to be very vocal about it is a good sign."

Overall, during his rehab assignment, Senga went 0-1 with 17 strikeouts, a 4.00 ERA, and a 1.17 WHIP over 18.0 innings.

Senga returning and being a productive arm would be a huge boost for New York, as the starting rotation has been in flux over the last month. Clay Holmes went down with a fractured fibula on May 15, Sean Manaea and David Peterson have recently swapped bullpen and opener roles, and Tobias Myers is back up from a brief stint in the minors to start Monday night's game vs. the Reds.

Kansas City Royals vs Washington Nationals Live Discussion

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 18: Mitch Spence #54 of the Kansas City Royals in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 2026 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Royals 13-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images

As Argentina and Algeria prepare to take over the sports complex on Tuesday, the 29-43 Royals find themselves on the road for a single series against the surprising 37-35 Washington Nationals, who are in third place in the NL East.

James Wood and CJ Abrams provide the thump in the lineup, and they both remain quite young. It feels like I’ve been hearing about those guys for a decade, but Abrams is 25 and Wood is 23. That Juan Soto trade returned Wood, Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore among others. The Nationals traded Gore prior to the 2026 season. Seems like that trade worked out pretty well for the Nationals I guess. Soto himself is still not yet 28. Having said all that, if you asked me to name anyone besides Wood or Abrams in their starting lineup, I would have struggled mightily.

The projected starter is Andrew Alvarez, who just turned 27 a couple days ago. He’s a ground-ball specialist not unlike Brady Singer. Alvarez gives up a few more walks but not as many homers as Singer. At least so far – he’s got only 47 and 2/3 MLB innings under his belt.

On the Royals side, Vinnie Pasquantino hit the IL. John Rave is up for him. Cole Ragans is still not rehabbing well. Kyle Isbel is out for a long time. Seth Lugo is on the concussion IL. The Royals are stashing outfielders on the bench like they’re going out of style. The Royals scheduled starter is Mitch Spence, who was last seen giving up six runs in four innings against the Yankees in April. In AAA on May 26, he gave up 13 runs in 3 innings on 4 homers. Bobby’s having an MVP season and Cags seems to be heating up, but the Royals don’t have much else to feel good about.

In other words, these teams are not going in the same direction. And that’s a shame. The Royals are basically out of time to right the ship. They are in last place in the AL Central. Eat Arby’s.

The game starts at 5:45pm US Central time. You can watch on Royals.tv or listen on 96.5 The Fan/The Royals Radio Network.

Lineups:

Brown, Diaz to be Activated by Astros Tomorrow

HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 19: Yainer Diaz #21 congratulates Hunter Brown #58 of the Houston Astros on striking out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners in the sixth inning at Daikin Park on September 19, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Maria Lysaker/Getty Images) | Getty Images

While it has been known for some time that the Astros had planned to activate SP Hunter Brown for Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, it turns out that the Astros also intend to activate C Yainer Diaz as well according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart:

This would give the Astros back their Opening Day battery and 2 more key contributors to the team in their ace starter and number one catcher.

Astros would reduce the number of players on their IL list from 12 to 10.

Adrian Rodriguez hits for third cycle in CWS history in 14-2 Texas win over Alabama

The red-hot postseason for sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez continued on Monday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha as the No. 6 Texas Longhorns extended their stay in the College World Series with a convincing 14-2 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In the seventh postseason game for Rodriguez, the Flower Mound product recorded his seventh straight multi-hit performance, going 5-for-5 with seven RBI in hitting for just the third cycle in CWS history after a scoring decision review turned a second-inning double into a triple.

Rodriguez combined with the two batters in front of him — freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. and junior designated hitter Ethan Mendoza — to go 11-for-14 (.786) with six runs and 13 of the 14 RBI recorded by the Longhorns. In recording 13 hits overall, Texas went 8-for-17 (.471) with runners in scoring position and 9-for-21 (.429) with runners on base, evidence of the extent to which the Horns improved their mental process at the plate after getting sped up in Saturday’s loss to the Diamond Dogs.

Texas also got a quality start from senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, the third straight from the 6’0, 195-pounder after battling shoulder tendinitis last month. Riojas threw 105 pitches over six innings, allowing two runs on six walks with seven strikeouts and two walks, putting the Horns in a positive to win without extending the bullpen after the offense gifted him three runs in the first inning and four runs in the second inning.

To open the game, Riojas worked off his lively fastball at 95 to 96 miles per hour, mixing in two different breaking balls to keep Alabama hitters off balance. Shortstop Justin Lebron did record a one-out single up the middle and a two-out stolen base, but the depth on a 1-2 breaking ball from Riojas induced the third strikeout in the frame.

Texas quickly looked threatening in the first as junior right fielder Aiden Robbins bounced back from his 0-for-4 performance against Georgia by smashing a 1-0 breaking ball down the left-field line for a leadoff double. Junior catcher Carson Tinney worked a full-count walk and Pack got to 3-2, too, but flew out to left field. Battling through a right shoulder injury and elevated to the four spot in the lineup, Mendoza took advantage of an elevated breaking ball to shoot a double through the left side and drive in Robbins.

So with only one out in the first inning, the Horns had already scored more runs against Adams than they did in the Texas product’s scoreless, six-inning outing in Austin two months ago. Rodriguez quickly added another double, pulling a 1-0 pitch down the right-field line to drive in two runs.

Adams recovered to strand Rodriguez on third by retiring redshirt senior second baseman Temo Becerra on a groundout to third and striking out junior first baseman Ashton Larson.

Despite getting ahead 0-2 against designated hitter Josh Lemm, Riojas issued a leadoff walk in the 11-pitch at bat as the Texas starter lost some velocity on his fastball and started to get some arm-side run on it, losing the strike zone entirely on an ensuing four-pitch walk. Trying to bunt, diminutive second baseman Brennan Holt got down 0-2 and suffered some bad luck on a hard-hit liner to first base that turned into a double play.

Dropping down for an 0-1 breaking ball, Riojas gave up a bloop single to left field that got one run back for Bama and extended the inning, but only for one more batter as Riojas recovered his command enough to get ahead and force a groundout to shortstop.

Junior third baseman Casey Borba opened the second inning with a leadoff single into the left-center gap, setting up a bunt situation for redshirt senior center fielder Dariyan Pendergrass, who finally got it down with two strikes to advance Borba into scoring position and turn the lineup over for Robbins. A strikeout on three pitches brought Tinney to the plate. Borba advanced to third on a wild pitch as Tinney drew his second walk.

Down 1-2, Pack slapped his own bloop single to left to score Borba before Mendoza pushed the lead to four runs on an opposite-field single through the right side.

Rodriguez blew the game open, hitting a ball into the left-center gap that was misplayed by the Tide outfielders as the ball rolled to the warning track, allowing Rodriguez to advance to third on the two-run double eventually reclassified as a triple for a 7-1 lead as the Horns keyed in on Adams tipping his pitches, negating the effectiveness of his high-level changeup.

After walking Becerra on a full count, Adams departed with two outs in the second inning and runners on the corners, but Alabama escaped without further damage as left-hander Matt Heiberger recorded the final out to strand both runners.

Riojas appeared to settle in with a 1-2-3 third inning and a strikeout to start the fourth before spinning a breaking ball onto Lemm’s barrel for a solo home run and then giving up two straight singles. On a hard-hit ball into right-center, Pendergrass was able to track it down with a good jump for a big second out. Reaching 81 pitches, Riojas left two runners on base with a swinging strikeout to get out of the fourth.

As assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki implored his hitters to work deeper in counts in the wake of a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 third inning, Tinney drew his third straight walk, but Pack grounded into a double play on the second pitch he saw from Heiberger. Mendoza was able to work a longer at bat before his own groundout that ended with his favoring his injured shoulder on the way back to the dugout.

Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle was able to get some length with Riojas out for the fifth and sixth innings, which went quickly as the Texas starter extended his streak of consecutive batters retired to eight to finish his outing.

In the bottom of the sixth, two home runs turned the game into a blowout as Pack sent a two-run shot into the bullpen in left field, his fifth postseason homer, but his first since the Austin Regional, and a two-run bomb by Rodriguez at 106 miles per hour off the bat that traveled 418 feet.

It was only the fifth home run of the season for Rodriguez, who hasn’t had his typical power since breaking his right hand almost 16 months ago.

On in relief for Riojas, freshman right-hander Brody Walls helped preserve the Texas bullpen, which only threw 31 pitches on Saturday, striking out two and allowing only a single base runner over two innings.

In a heartening development for Schlossnagle and Tulowitzki, the Horns kept the pressure on the Tide at the plate, taking advantage of a fielding error by Lebron in the eighth when Tinney drew his fourth walk and Pack recorded his third RBI with an opposite-field single. After redshirt sophomore pinch hitter Blake Peterson notched his first career RBI, Rodriguez added another run on his second double of the game.

Redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker came on to retire the first batter of the inning before giving way to redshirt senior right-hander Cody Howard, who only needed seven pitches to get the final two outs.

Texas advances to face another elimination game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central on ESPN against the loser of Georgia and Oklahoma, Monday’s late game at Charles Schwab Field.

Rep the OmaHorns.

Adrian Rodriguez hits third-ever cycle at the College World Series

Texas baseball's offense did not slow down in Monday's College World Series elimination game against No. 7 Alabama, and neither did Adrian Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who has been on the Longhorns' hottest bats this postseason, went 5-for-5 at the plate in the Longhorns' 14-2 win over the Crimson Tide to extend their stay in Omaha by at least one additional game.

In the process of his multi-hit performance, the Longhorns' shortstop made history by becoming the third player to hit for the cycle on college baseball's grandest stage — and he got some help from the official scorer to reach that mark.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, ESPN announced that Rodriguez's hit in the second inning had been rescored to a triple by the official scorer after it was scored as a double with the ball falling between Alabama's Eric Hines and Bryce Fowler in left center field.

Rodriguez's third triple of the game brought in two of his seven runs driven in on the day — two more RBI than his former season-high of five RBIs against Oregon in Game 1 of the Austin Super Regional.

Rodriguez began the day with a two-RBI double down the right field line in a three-run bottom of the first inning for the Longhorns. He'd tack on two more RBIs in the sixth inning when he got hold of a 91 mph pitch from Haegan Banks that sneaked into the corner of the Longhorns' bullpen in left field. His single came in the fifth inning.

He capped off his day with a double down the right field line to push his RBI count up to seven, matching a College World Series record.

Here's what to know on Rodriguez's big day:

College World Series cycles

  • Adrian Rodriguez (Texas): Monday, June 15 vs.
  • Christian Moore (Tennessee): Friday, June 14, 2024 vs. Florida State
  • Jerry Kindall (Minnesota): Monday, June 11, 1956 vs. Ole Miss

Rodriguez joins the University of Minnesota's Jerry Kindall and Tennessee's Christian Moore as the three hitters to have hit for the cycle in the history of the College World Series. His cycle comes two years and a day from when Moore hit the cycle against Florida State in what was one of the craziest CWS games played in recent memory.

Kindall first reached the feat back in the 1956 CWS in a 13-5 victory against Ole Miss during the Golden Gophers run to their first College World Series title.

Why was error on Adrian Rodriguez triple rescored?

ESPN’s Mike Monaco noted on the broadcast that the scoring change came after the official scorer reviewed the footage of Rodriguez’s triple. According to the scorer’s explanation, Rodriguez briefly eased up after rounding first base before then accelerating again and maintaining that momentum all the way to third.

Here's a look at the now triple:

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fastDownload for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College World Series cycles: Texas' Adrian Rodriguez joins list with 7-RBI day

Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Mets – Chase Burns vs. Tobias Myers

The Cincinnati Reds are back in action on Monday night in Great American Ball Park after dropping Sunday’s series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That loss canned the series for them, and they’ve now dropped five straight series overall as their precipitous fall down the NL Central standings continues.

They’ll look to get back on the winning side of things with Chase Burns on the mound, as he’ll fire the first pitch of tonight’s series opener against the New York Mets. Righty Tobias Myers – a reliever by trade – will be the nominal starter for the Mets this evening, though given he’s only topped 36 pitches once all season it will undoubtedly be an early bullpen game for New York.

The Mets come to town fresh off a series victory over the Atlanta Braves, so that’s fun.

First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET this time around, and the game will be televised on Reds.TV and MLB.tv.

Lineups for both clubs are listed below. Go Reds!

Today’s Lineups

METSREDS
Carson Benge – RFBlake Dunn – CF
Bo Bichette – SSJJ Bleday – LF
Juan Soto – LFSal Stewart – DH
Jared Young – 1BSpencer Steer – 1B
A.J. Ewing – CFEugenio Suarez – 3B
Marcus Semien – 2BNoelvi Marte – RF
Brett Baty – 3BMatt McLain – SS
MJ Melendez – DHTyler Stephenson – C
Francisco Alvarez – CEdwin Arroyo – 2B
Tobias Myers – RHPChase Burns – RHP

Atlanta Braves off day chat and discussion: June 15

ATLANTA, GA - MAY 14: Carles Puyol poses with FIFA World Cup Trophy before the game between the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on May 14, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Today is a much-needed off day for the Braves, who are back in Atlanta and hoping to get things back on track with a win tomorrow against the Giants. They got some, well, mixed news with Spencer Strider’s evaluation, as he’s been shut down for a month and will be reevaluated further. We did get some good news about Drake Baldwin so things may be looking up much sooner rather than later for the first-place Braves.

What I’m Watching

I’m not going to lie (and you probably guessed this from the featured image): I will be watching the World Cup this evening. If you’re insistent on watching baseball, though, there’s a good hate-watch opportunity going on this evening as the Marlins and Phillies will be locking horns. For the sake of the standings I think we all wouldn’t mind a Marlins win but either way, we all win when an NL East team loses so if that’s your choice then enjoy the hate-watch.

There are some intriguing matchups going on out West, though. It’s pretty interesting to see the Pirates and the A’s both being not-terrible this deep into the season and it’ll be very interesting to see how OaklandSacramentoLasVegas the A’s bounce back after getting walloped for 23 runs on Sunday against the Rockies.

Meanwhile, the Rays and the Dodgers will be locking horns on ESPN so that oughta be interesting off of the records alone. Can the Rays go into Dodger Stadium and lay down a marker of intent? Will the Dodgers bring back memories of 2020 with their performance tonight? We’ll see what happens.

For now, I hope everybody enjoys their evening, no matter if you’re watching baseball, soccer, or some show you’ve watched 3850 times already.

Drake Baldwin reinstated, Austin Wynns outrighted to Triple-A

ATLANTA, GA - MAY 16: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a home run in the first inning during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Truist Park on May 16, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Rejoice, one and all. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year returns.

Sensing we needed some good news after the recent skid and mixed Spencer Strider update, the Braves have made an off-day move to reinstate Drake Baldwin from the IL and outright Austin Wynns to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Baldwin went down on May 19 with a strained right oblique. Sent on his rehab assignment on June 13, he played one (1) rain-delayed game in Jacksonville for the Stripers and went 1-for-3 with a solo homer. “That’s enough, bring him back,” we all joked. But the Braves clearly agreed.

Baldwin’s rehab homer made his hit total the exact same as Austin Wynns’ in his six games / 14 at-bats with the Braves. That lone hit was a single in the extra-innings loss in Chicago last week.

Baldwin is also in first place in NL All-Star voting for catchers in the first batch of votes released today. He’s poised to make and start his first All-Star game. As much as “Send your Braves to Philly” sounds like a threat, make sure you’re voting for Drake and the Braves 5x a day at braves.com/vote.

Texas Rangers lineup for June 15, 2026

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 14: Brandon Nimmo #24 of the Texas Rangers hits a two run RBI double during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 14, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Texas Rangers lineup for June 15, 2026 against the Minnesota Twins: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Mike Paredes for the Twins.

Texas returns to Arlington to begin a six game homestand, with the first three coming against the Twinkies. Corey Seager is still not in the lineup.

The lineup:

Pederson — DH

Jung — 3B

Langford — LF

Nimmo — RF

Burger — 1B

Osuna — CF

Freeman — 2B

Lopez — SS

Diaz — C

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -160 favorites.

Ben Rice, Aaron Judge in contention for MLB All-Star spots after first ballot update

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Aaron Judge #99 high fives Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees after hitting a home run during the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 15, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images

MLB has released its first All-Star voting update, and a number of Yankees are in contention, with Ben Rice and Aaron Judge in good position to secure spots. As a refresher on how All-Star voting works, we’re currently in Phase 1, which runs through June 25th; the top overall vote-getter in each league after Phase 1 will automatically earn a starting spot at their position in the All-Star Game. The top two vote-getters at every other position proceed to a run-off in Phase 2.

Despite going down with a right rib stress fracture, Judge is still tops among AL outfielders, and trails only Yordan Alvarez for most votes in the American League. His lead over the number-two outfielder, Mike Trout, is narrow, with Judge leading by 977,460 votes to 926,601 votes. Alvarez, a DH, isn’t far ahead of Judge at 1,015,768 votes, but Judge faces an uphill climb to catch Alvarez and earn an automatic slot, given he’ll be on the shelf at least the rest of the month.

Ben Rice is one of two other Yankees in position to proceed to Phase 2, as he’s second to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, trailing by about 96,000 votes. Guerrero’s star power keeps him in the top spot, with Rice thoroughly outplaying the Blue Jay, Rice’s 172 wRC+ dwarfing Guerrero’s 108. The other is Cody Bellinger in the outfield, in third behind Judge and Trout. The top six outfielders advance in the voting, so Bellinger, in the midst of what’s been his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign, looks to be in a good spot.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is also within striking distance of qualifying for the Phase 2 run-off. He’s only in fifth place among AL second basemen, but he’s not far behind the second slot, with the Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran in second at 287,996 and Chisholm at 230,846. After a terrible start, Chisholm has looked much more like himself the last several weeks, and could move up in the standings if he stays hot. Giancarlo Stanton is in fourth in the DH rankings, but has slim odds to catch up after suffering a setback in his recovery from a calf injury.

Other Yankees that received enough votes to show up in the rankings for their respective positions: José Caballero, in ninth at shortstop, Ryan McMahon (amusingly) at tenth at third base, and Austin Wells (even more amusingly) at tenth at catcher. You can check out the full lists, as well as the voting for the National League, here.