Category: Baseball

Typically, there’s no such thing as a big head-to-head series over a 162-game schedule until the very end.

But this is Major League Baseball, 2026-style, where a landmass of mediocrity has made it remarkably challenging to separate contenders from those planning for better times in a future year.

Yet we may have finally reached shakedown week.

With two weeks remaining until the trade deadline, several matchups should elevate fringe contenders into the true believers, while knocking some fence-sitters into sell mode as Aug. 3 approaches.

USA TODAY Sports examines five series with significant deadline ramifications this week:

Orioles (49-51) at Red Sox (50-48)

Monday-Wednesday

Standing: Red Sox lead Orioles by two games for final AL wild-card berth

Outlook: Something has to give – the Red Sox have won 13 games in a row to salvage a disastrous season, while the Orioles finally pieced together a four-game win streak, then decided to stretch it to seven, for good measure.

Baltimore has already captured a key series this week, sweeping the Houston Astros in a battle of wannabe contenders. Now, the Orioles can, at least right now, be firmly in the buying column.

Big picture: Can either team catch the Rays? Boston just took four in a row off Tampa Bay yet still trails the division leaders by six games, with the Orioles eight back.

The MLB trade deadline is just a little more than two weeks away, but the biggest questions still have an abundance of uncertainty.

Several teams remain caught between buying and selling, a number of contenders are hunting for impact upgrades, and front offices are eagerly waiting to see which clubs finally signal their intentions. Until then, speculation continues to swirl around who will be available.

With the market in flux and pressure mounting by the day, every injury, losing streak and team decision could alter the deadline landscape.

Here's a look at the latest trade rumors, buzz and noteworthy developments from around baseball:

MLB TRADE TARGETS: Ranking the top 25 deadline candidates

Toledo Mud Hens 6, Gwinnett Stripers 5 (box)

Toledo avoided the three-game sweep with a 6-5 win on Sunday thanks to a walk-off homer from Jace Jung.

Jung crushed a sweeper to lead off the bottom of the ninth, wearing the Charlie Brown jersey.

It’s been a decent year for Jung, who passed his 2024 home run total of 14. He’s one off last year’s 17 homers, and there’s still plenty of baseball to play.

Jung came into this game with a .205 ISO, the highest it’s been since his first full professional season (2023), when he mashed 28 home runs and finished with a .237 ISO. Of course, that was in High-A and Double-A. He’s still not ready to be an everyday big leaguer, but there’s some value in him if the Tigers are buyers at the deadline and want to include him in a package.

The walk-off opportunity wouldn’t have come if not for a four-run seventh inning. The first three batters reached, loading the bases for Max Clark. The Tigers’ top prospect struck out, one of three on the day, but Jung walked to bring in a run and keep the bags juiced.

Max Anderson tied the game up with a bases-clearing double after a pitching change.

Bennett Lee had a three-hit day and drove in the first run of the day for Toledo. It came on a bloop single, but those still count in the box score. Brett Callahan had the other multi-hit day with a pair of singles, one coming off the bat at 107 mph.

On the mound, Sawyer Gipson-Long got the start, giving 3.2 innings of four-run ball. He gave up a pair of bombs, but Gwinnett hit him pretty well overall, notching four hits on the day.

Tyler Mattison was first out of the bullpen, working through the fifth. He dealt with light traffic on the bases — a hit and a walk — and struck out a pair. Andre Granillo loaded the bases before recording an out in the sixth. He managed to escape the jam, allowing just one run on a sac fly.

Yilber Diaz and Tanner Rainey worked a combined three innings without giving up a hit. Diaz walked on over two innings of work, and Rainey got the win since he was the pitcher of record in the ninth.

Clark: 0-4, BB, 3 K

Anderson: 1-4, 2B (14), 3 RBI

Jung: 1-3, HR (16), 2 R,2 RBI, 2 BB

Gipson-Long: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 5 K, 2 HR

Coming Up Next: Toledo is at home next week against the Louisville Bats, starting Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET

Erie SeaWolves 10, Richmond Flying Squirrels 5 (box)

Erie took the three-game series against Richmond, 2-1, with a 10-5 victory on Sunday.

Let’s not bury the lede here. Jackson Jobe threw the first three innings for Erie, and he looked pretty darn good. The fastball sat around 98-99 mph, touching 100 three times. Location was there for the most part, except for a hit batter on a curveball. He drew a nice whiff on a slider for one of three strikeouts.

You can see all 44 pitches below, thanks to the guys over at Tigers ML Report.

The lone run that came across against Jobe was unearned, due to an errant throw by E.J. Exposito. He made up for it by being part of a five-run frame in the top of the third, driving in two of those five runs. Garrett Pennington also had an RBI single in the inning, and Peyton Graham kickstarted it all with an RBI ground-rule double.

Although the final score was 10-5, things got pretty interesting in the final few innings. Richmond tacked on a run in the fifth and two in the eighth to make it a 6-4 game. Graham homered in the seventh for the sixth SeaWolves’ run.

There was an hour-long delay in the seventh, too, which can always change the momentum of things. Fortunately, Josue Briceno put things away with a grand slam in the top of the ninth. Richmond patched together a run in the ninth, but they couldn’t get four more to force extra innings.

After Jobe, Erie threw Yoniel Curet for a 1-2-3 fourth. Andrew Sears got the next 2.2 innings, giving up a run on a wild pitch, but otherwise working around four hits. Dariel Fregio took over after the rain delay and was responsible for the two-run eighth. Eric Silva closed things out in the ninth, giving up one unearned run.

Graham: 3-4, 2B (14), HR (5), 3 R, 2 REBI, BB

Briceno: 3-5, GS, R, 4 RBI, 2 K

Exposito: 2-4, 2 RBI, K

Jobe: 3.0 IP, 3 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: Erie is on the road next week against the Chesapeake Baysox, starting Tuesday at 12:05 p.m. ET

West Michigan Whitecaps 8, Great Lakes Loons 6 (box)

West Michigan scored eight runs in the first two innings and held off a comeback bid from the Great Lakes Loons to win 8-6 and secure the series win.

Most of the offense came early for the Whitecaps. Clayton Campbell opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single, following a pair of walks. Samuel Gil and Stephen Hrustich followed up with back-to-back RBI doubles, scoring runs on three straight hits.

Almost the same thing happened in the second. Three batters walked to load the bases, and Campbell singled in a pair. Gil couldn’t find a base knock this time around, but Hrustich hit another double to make it 8-0. Oddly enough, Bryce Rainer was the first out in each of the first two frames, which isn’t something you’d expect when the offense is grooving.

Things settled down after that. West Michigan only had three more hits on the day, but the Loons walked 10 batters overall, so there was plenty of traffic on the bases all night. The Whitecaps ended the day 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Pitching-wise, things were fairly calm for the first half of the game. Zack Lee threw three shutout innings, allowing just two hits along the way. Ryan Harvey was next and was perfect through two frames.

Juanmi Vasquez ran into the first bit of trouble in the sixth. He got the first two batters just fine, but a two-out single led to a small spiral. A wild pitch, a walk and another single were compounded by a fielding error from Cristian Santana in left, scoring two runs.

Eliseo Mota took over in the seventh and faced similar issues. Two walks, a single and a wild pitch set up a bases-clearing double, and Preston Howey had to come in before the end of the inning. Howey gave up another run (charged to Mota) on a single, but he retired seven of the next eight batters to close out the game.

Rainer: 0-4, BB, 2 K

Campbell: 3-4, 2B (12), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Hrustich: 2-4, 2 2B (5), 4 RBI, BB, K

Lee: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Coming Up Next: West Michigan is on the road next week against the Peoria Chiefs, starting Tuesday at 7:35 p.m. ET

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 3 (box)

Lakeland took the series against Fort Myers with a 4-3 win on Sunday.

Zach MacDonald delivered the decisive blow, a two-run homer in the top of the sixth. Carson Rucker also drove in two runs on a single in the first to give the Flying Tigers an early lead.

Despite having eight total hits, the offense was a bit remarkable otherwise. The leadoff man got on in five innings, and Lakeland had a baserunner in all but two, but the runs never came across. MacDonald’s homer was the only extra-base hit of the day.

A 2-for-8 day with runners in scoring position was good enough, thanks to a good day from the bullpen.

Caleb Leys made his second start since coming off a brief stint on the 7-day injured list, and it was a bit of a mixed bag. He gave up a homer to the first batter he faced and left before getting the final out of the second. Let’s assume a 35-pitch limit is the reason, because he was striking out batters at a decent pace with three and no walks.

Donye Evans took over for him and gave up a single. It would have been nice to see Leys work himself out of that earned run. Evans pitched through the third, giving up a solo homer in the process, but that’s where Fort Myers’ scoring stopped.

Joe Miller worked around two hits and a walk over the next two frames, striking out four along the way, and Connor Fenlong came in for the final four innings. Fenlong only gave up one hit and struck out four en route to his first save. It’s his fourth straight outing of four or more innings, and two of those have been shutout performances.

Rucker: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB, K

MacDonald, HR (15), R, 2 RBI, BB, K

Fenlong (S, 1): 4.0 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: Lakeland is at home next week against the Jupiter Hammerheads, starting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET

Offense was hard to come by again for the Yankees this weekend against the Dodgers, as they scored just five runs in total across the three games. Meanwhile, Los Angeles scored eight yesterday afternoon alone. Thankfully, Johnny Wholestaff came up with a gem on Sunday night to help the mostly-punchless Yanks eke out a win and avoid a sweep. Ryan Yarbrough was the opener and went a little deeper than expected, covering eight outs before departing with two down in the third and two men on. Paul Blackburn got the last out there and then got the next two innings before turning it over to Brent Headrick for two of his own. The 1-0 lead went “poof” under Fernando Cruz, but David Bednar picked him up and got the last five outs himself, becoming the winner when Jazz Chisholm Jr. went yard in the eighth. Good team effort!

Today on the site, Jeff will preview the upcoming three-game series against the Pirates (who thankfully will not be pitching Paul Skenes), Kevin will run through the Rivalry Roundup, and Jonathan will follow with a one-two punch — first on the 149th (!) birthday of a forgotten New York Highlanders catcher and then a trade target post on long-shot Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, fresh off a big three-homer day to reach 30 in 2026. Later, Madison will have the weekly mailbag prompt.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. Who was yesterday’s Yankees pitching MVP?

2. What did you think of he World Cup Final? Did you watch it between games of the doubleheader?

It has spanned 17 days and two halves of this Major League Baseball season, hatched during the World Cup's round of 32 and lasting all the way through the awkward handshakes and trophy lifts in the Meadowlands.

So, where do the Boston Red Sox go from here now that their 13-game winning streak - second-longest in their storied history - is knocking on August's door?

For now, they're zooming right up USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.

The Red Sox began this streak July 3, at 37-48 and in last place in the American League East. It is still going and now, after sweeping the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox are 50-48, in wild card position in the AL and firmly not going to break up the squad at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

They've won 18 of their last 20 and predictably enough, the backbone of this run has been pitching. They "pivoted to run prevention" after getting outbid on Alex Bregman and despite the absence of left-handers Garrett Crochet and Connelly Early, Red Sox starters have recorded a quality start in 19 of their last 27 games, going 14-2 with a majors-best 2.27 ERA in that span.

Now, after powering up four more spots to No. 15 in our power rankings? Six more games against division rivals, Baltimore and Toronto.

A look at our updated rankings:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)

• Is it time to have a conversation about best allocation of Shohei Ohtani's resources?

2. Milwaukee Brewers (-)

• Garrett Mitchell's OPS up to a career-high .827.

3. Atlanta Braves (+1)

• Roar out of the gate with 29 runs in three games against Rangers.

4. Tampa Bay Rays (-1)

• A season-high five losses in a row after four-game sweep at Fenway.

5. Chicago Cubs (+1)

• Offense is back, and better yet, so is Shota Imanaga, it seems.

6. New York Yankees (-1)

• More imaging, but no baseball activities for Aaron Judge. Not great.

7. Philadelphia Phillies (-)

• Forget right field. A No. 4 and No. 5 starter have to be top deadline priorities.

8. Chicago White Sox (+1)

• These dudes have lost just one series since June 21.

9. Miami Marlins (-1)

• Rough start to second half compounded by Otto Lopez tweaking his finger.

10. Pittsburgh Pirates (+2)

In a tie for a wild-card spot. Now fix that bullpen.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (-1)

• Very quietly, losers of eight of their last 12.

12. Cleveland Guardians (-1)

• Bullpen has multiple reinforcements nearing return.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (+3)

• Stunning comeback from seven runs down tempered by potential loss of Corbin Carroll.

14. Texas Rangers (-1)

• Ugly second half opener at Atlanta, but at least their broadcast limbo kept folks from watching it.

15. Boston Red Sox (+4)

• Hottest team in baseball still not selling out Fenway consistently.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Outside of a Tarik Skubal all-in move, it wasn’t looking like there was a flashy upgrade for the Yankees to pursue this deadline. The team has a number of needs, but given that they’re mostly at catcher and the bullpen getting a big move to line up there just doesn’t happen all that often, let alone with the Yankees involved. That may change if Mason Miller is actually on the market though, and AJ Preller might be enough of a wild card to consider it.

The Padres’ wheeling and dealing GM acquired Miller at last year’s deadline for a package centered around Leo De Vries, now the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, but with San Diego underperforming and with an offense that looks largely underwater he may need to recoup as much as he can from the ace reliever with few leads for him to protect. The Yankees had scouts out at this weekend’s San Diego/Kansas City series, but I can spoil the findings for you: Miller is incredible. The best reliever in the game, he’s pitched to a 0.89 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 40.2 innings.

Scouts say that the Yankees have a shot at affording him a year removed from him drawing one of the best prospects in the game, but if they want to hold onto their own top prospect in George Lombard Jr. and send a horde of options instead they may need to offer a major leaguer like Will Warren instead. Could it make sense for the Yanks to deal from the bottom of their rotation in exchange for a monster 1-2 combo in the back of the ‘pen? Perhaps, though they’d also likely lose another arm from their depth that would otherwise fill that hole like Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange as well.

NY Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Hunter Dietz ended up as the Yankees’ first-round pick this year, but they’ve done their homework on him for a while. He played high school ball close to the Yankees’ Tampa facilities, and stayed on their radar as he went to college and wound up breaking out this past season. Now in the organization, the team sees a top of the rotation ceiling for the big left-hander and were thrilled to land the Arkansas Razorback ace where they stood at No. 35 when he ranked much higher on some scouting boards. Dietz talked about recovering from his earlier elbow injury at the start of his collegiate career as well as meeting current Yankee starter Carlos Rodón in an introductory press conference.

Newsday | David Lennon: The Yankees managed to salvage the finale of their series against the Dodgers on Sunday winning the second game of a day-night doubleheader, but the way in which they won did little to dispel the concerns that this opening bout of the second half has recast on the offense. After scoring just one run on Friday in a 2-1 loss and getting just two more in the first game of the doubleheader, the Yankees again blew a 1-0 lead late but managed to get it right back with Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s bomb in the bottom of the eighth. Before that game Lennon tore into the Yankees’ deadweight sections of the lineup, and they did little to argue his points — in the fifth inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs and watched as Jasson Domínguez struck out, Chisholm popped out in foul territory immediately, and Anthony Volpe flailed through another strikeout to strand them all. They walked away with the win thanks to Jazz’s long ball later on, but a solo shot here and there isn’t going to get the job done more nights.

NY Post | Dylan Hernandez: Cody Bellinger faced off against his old team this weekend, but he could’ve been in the other dugout had the offseason gone a little differently. Bellinger contemplated rejoining the Dodgers over the winter before ultimately choosing the long-term deal he got with the Yankees to stay in pinstripes. Bellinger’s star shone fast and bright in LA, winning an MVP in 2019 and a title with the team in 2020 before he burned out leading to being non-tendered from the organization, but even though he’d been let go he still had fond memories with the team. At the end of the day, it seems like LA only wanted a shorter-term deal like the (more expensive) one they handed to Kyle Tucker, and Bellinger preferred securing his roots a little more with his daughter becoming old enough to start school.

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

The San Diego Padres came out of the All-Star break with a .500 record, staring at 16 games before the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3. The hope was that San Diego would carry the momentum it built up before the break with back-to-back wins against the Toronto Blue Jays as they headed to Missouri to take on the Kansas City Royals. The momentum the Padres had built apparently missed the flight and was left somewhere in San Diego.

The Padres dropped the first game of the series in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 10th inning. San Diego tied the game in the ninth with a solo home run from Ty France and Mason Miller was somehow able to load the bases with no outs before striking out three batters in a row to strand the runners in the bottom of the ninth and send the game to extra-innings. The Padres scored three runs in the top of the 10th, but Miller did not pitch the bottom of the inning after throwing 16 pitches in the ninth. Sure, he threw four pitches to strikeout Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox in the All-Star game last Tuesday, but 20 pitches over four days does not seem to be too taxing for a guy who is 27 years old, stands 6-5, weighs 200 pounds and is arguably the most dominant reliever in the game.

San Diego manager Craig Stammen chose to keep Miller in the dugout and call on Kyle Hart to attempt his first MLB save in a game the Padres needed to win. Hart imploded, although none of the hits he allowed were struck extremely well, and the Royals earned a walk-off win with four runs in the bottom of the 10th. While Hart allowed all four runs, only three of which were earned because of the Manfred Man on second base to start extra-innings, the loss should not fall solely on him. The loss can and should be attributed to Stammen. He was asked after the game why he went to Hart and he said he and the staff liked the matchups and felt good about Hart in that situation. Miller is better than Hart against every batter the lefty matched up well with. Mille should have remained in the game.

Stammen seems to fail to understand where his team sits at this point in the 2026 season. Before the break, he told reporters he cannot manage every game like it is Game 7. That is fair to say. But you should manage a game you need to win with a three-run lead with the urgency the situation and the season calls for. The Padres looked lifeless in a 6-1 loss on Saturday before they salvaged the series and avoided a sweep with a 19-2 win on Sunday. San Diego should have been 2-1 to start the second half and had the Padres won on Friday night, Saturday could have played out completely different, and they might have started 3-0.

While the offense has started and stopped and struggled throughout the year and the pitching, which was solid to start the season, has fallen off as of late, it is decisions by Stammen and the way the rookie manager handles his players and his team that will determine the fate of the 2026 season for the Padres. If he continues to limit the ability and opportunity of his greatest commodity in Miller the respondents from this week’s Padres Reacts Survey will be saying, “I told you so!” at the end of the year. Players have to play and they have to execute, but the manager has to understand that his team needs him to have a win-now mentality if they are going to find their way back into a postseason position.

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Cam Schlittler chose not to pitch in the All-Star Game, but in his first start since then, he faced a lineup that was certainly star-studded.

The Yankees ace had swing-and-miss stuff, just not enough in the right spots as the Dodgers made it a frustrating day for him and forced him out of the game by the fifth inning in an 8-2 loss Sunday afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader.

Schlittler racked up a career-high 20 swings-and-misses and eight strikeouts, but at the same time, the Dodgers fouled off 27 pitches — including 16 with two strikes — as they made him throw 98 pitches across 4 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up three runs.

“As a starter, [if] you can’t get through five, that’s not a good sign,” Schlittler said. “I think that’s the most frustrating part.

“I feel like the miss was there, the strikeouts are good, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t put a competitive outing together. They made me battle.”

Schlittler came out firing, striking out the side in the top of the first inning on 17 pitches — including whiffing Shohei Ohtani on a 100 mph fastball, Andy Pages on a 99 mph fastball and Freddie Freeman on a 96 mph cutter.

But the Dodgers began hiking up his pitch count in a 27-pitch second inning, which included Max Muncy reaching on a double after skying a pop fly to right field that Max Schuemann and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both appeared to lose in the sun.

Ohtani then put the Dodgers ahead for good in the third inning when he scalded a 111.1 mph RBI double to the gap to go up 1-0.

Freddie Freeman added an RBI single to make it 2-0 before another 27-pitch inning was over.

Schlittler racked up three more strikeouts in the fourth inning before hitting Tommy Edman on an 0-2 fastball to lead off the fifth inning.

Edman came in to score on Pages’ bloop double down the right field line that ended Schlittler’s day, leaving with a 3-1 deficit.

The short outing was less than ideal in the first game of a doubleheader.

“They put a good swing on pretty much everything,” catcher Ali Sánchez said.

While Schlittler’s 20 swings-and-misses surpassed his previous career high of 19, they did not translate to the kind of success he is used to having because of the relentless Dodgers approach.

“I thought Cam was really good, but they did [have] a lot of heavy at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He had a ton of swing-and-miss going, which was getting him into 2-2 and 3-2 counts, and then they did a pretty good job of extending some at-bats with a lot of foul balls. So it was kind of death by a thousand cuts. I thought he was on his game. They just had a ton of long at-bats, so it didn’t enable him to get deep in the game.”

The worst of the Yankees bullpen turned a close deficit into a blowout in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.

But the best of it won them the nightcap.

Five relievers combined for nine innings of one-run ball against arguably the best lineup in the majors, quieting the Dodgers in a 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium.

Ryan Yarbrough (2 ²/₃ innings), Paul Blackburn (2 ¹/₃ innings), Brent Headrick (two innings), Fernando Cruz (one-third of an inning) and David Bednar (1 ²/₃ innings) delivered about as much as the Yankees could have hoped for — aside from Cruz allowing a solo home run to pinch hitter Tommy Edman in the eighth inning — to help stave off a series sweep.

“Yarbs getting almost three innings … he was great and efficient,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And then Blackburn being able to get seven outs for us. That was huge. That gave us a chance then to leverage it at the backside of the game.”

After the Dodgers forced Cam Schlittler to throw 98 pitches across 4 ¹/₃ innings of Game 1, Yarbrough (36 pitches), Blackburn (25 pitches) and Headrick (22 pitches) were all much more efficient. Headrick, the unsung MVP of the bullpen to date, has not allowed a run in 41 of his 49 relief appearances, which leads the majors.

Boone sacrificed the end of Game 1 to make the nightcap possible.

The Yankees trailed only 3-1 entering the eighth inning when Boone used Jake Bird and Camilo Doval, who combined to allow seven straight Dodgers to reach as their lead ballooned to 8-1.

Bird, who was charged with all five runs, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game, as his ERA reached 5.93 across 36 games and 30 ¹/₃ innings this season.

The Yankees called up Kervin Castro to take Bird’s spot in the bullpen in time for the nightcap, trying to see if another internal option could give them some better relief before they likely bring in reinforcements at the trade deadline.

Saturday’s rainout allowed the Yankees to rearrange their rotation to try to make it through the rest of Max Fried’s injury absence without a fifth starter.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

They pushed Ryan Weathers (Saturday’s scheduled starter) to Monday against the Pirates and called up Elmer Rodríguez to be the 27th man for the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, though they ended up not needing him on a night when they pieced together a bullpen game.

The Yankees have been trying to pick their spots with Rodríguez because he only has two of his five options to the minor leagues remaining this season, but being sent down after coming up as the 27th man does not count against that.

So instead of likely throwing a bullpen game on Tuesday — or potentially burning another option for Rodríguez — they got by with Rodríguez just offering length in reserve.

Weathers will go Monday, followed by Will Warren and Gerrit Cole against the Pirates.

The Yankees then have an off day Thursday, which could allow them to keep their four starters on normal rest and then slot Fried back in next week after one more rehab start if everything goes well.

After throwing 10 pitches off the bullpen mound on Friday, Carlos Rodón (left elbow inflammation) received a second round of shots (including a PRP injection) the same day.

He was already feeling good enough to play catch on flat ground Sunday, and the Yankees are hoping he will advance to throwing a full bullpen session at some point this week.

After hitting a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning on Sunday night to lift the Yankees over the Dodgers, you'd expect Jazz Chisholm Jr. to be buzzing.

Instead, the 28-year-old was open about his rough 2026 when asked to describe his season prior to the clutch HR.

"It sucked. I've sucked all season," Chisholm said.

"The numbers speak for themselves."

Chisholm is hitting just .224 with 14 home runs over 94 games this year, which would be his lowest batting average in a full major league season. Following a tough April and better month of May, the second baseman hit just .177 in June across 79 at-bats as that trend has continued in July. 

Manager Aaron Boonesaid earlier Sunday after the Game 1 loss that Chisholm is a player they "expect a lot of" and are hopeful he can turn it around to get back on track. Following the Game 2 win, Boone credited Chisholm for stepping up in the moment after the Yanks squandered a bases loaded opportunity earlier in the game.

"That's a bomb right there," Boone said. "Obviously we have that inning where we're bases loaded, up one, no outs, and a chance to really take the game there in a lot of ways. Aren't able to come up with a big hit. It turned into a real big hit. Where he went there as a lefty, that's a pretty good shot.

"Big at-bat. Every win is precious."

Despite dropping the series to the Dodgers, Chisholm expressed confidence that the Yankees can match up against anyone when they lock in their focus. He knows that's something they'll need to be more consistent with if there will be a rematch of the 2024 World Series later this fall.

"I feel like we match up against any team in the league," Chisholm said. "I feel like we beat ourselves a lot. I feel like that stuff, we're going to clean up as it goes."

Heading into Sunday night's second game of a doubleheader, Yankees manager Aaron Boone knew he was going to have to scrap together a pitching plan.

But turning to five different pitchers who were able to hold the always dangerous Los Angeles Dodgers offense to one run on four hits? That wasn't as expected.

"You're not sure exactly how you're going to piece together the night game," Boone said after New York's 2-1 win. "A lot of people did a really nice job to allow us to get that victory."

Ryan Yarbrough got the start as the opener, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings before handing the ball to Paul Blackburn. The right-hander kept it going, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings and then Brent Headrick posted two scoreless frames of his own to keep LA off the board. Fernando Cruz gave up the lone run on a solo home run in the eighth inning, but David Bednar stepped up to seal the victory over the final 1.2 innings.

Bednar entered in the eighth with runners on first and second base, but struck out Shohei Ohtani and got Andy Pages to fly out, keeping the game tied at 1-1. After getting through the ninth to record the save, the veteran has pitched 17 consecutive scoreless appearances, having last allowed a run on May 18 as his season ERA is down to 2.59.

"Huge," Boone said. "Didn't really want to go five outs, but just felt like Cruzer, after losing a couple, and then I know Ohtani is probably going to control the strike zone pretty well. Just felt like Beds the right guy there. He was efficient enough to where it didn't drive him two up and I felt like I he was sharp at the end of even the second inning."

He added on Bednar: "Obviously he's a really good pitcher, but really good competitor, really good person, teammate. There's no ego involved with it. It's like whatever we got to do to win a game. And we have a number of those guys who are like that down there, and Bed's one of the leaders. I love his makeup, I love what he brings and the example he sets. He just wants to win, and that's apparent."

Overall, Boone was very pleased with the bullpen game and credited Yarbrough for setting the tone early on against Los Angeles.

"Yarbs getting almost three innings, the swinging bunt cost him the third inning completing it, but he was great and efficient," Boone said. "And then Blackburn, being able to get, I think he got seven outs for us. That was huge. That gave us a chance then to leverage it at the backside of the game. Those two getting it started off. And then Headrick being really efficient through the top of the order for two innings, obviously set us up really good.

"But it started with Yarbs. Really being, not only good, but efficient."

Boone went on to explain what makes the 6-foot-5 left-hander a difficult pitcher to face, noting his arm angle and ability to change speeds throughout the game.

"Well I mean he's always been tough on lefties and he got a fair amount of lefties that he's facing there," Boone said. "He's different really than anything you see. Obviously not a hard thrower, but he moves the ball around, really changes speeds well. He's really tall and long limbed so it's kind of a unique angle and delivery that creates a little bit of deception for him. 

"Tonight he did a really good job with the strike throwing and I thought was really unpredictable throughout... It's just a different look than guys are used to seeing. So when he's throwing strikes with all his different pitches, he can be a problem for you."

Boone also praised Headrick for rebounding from a couple rough outings early in the season. After his scoreless outing Sunday, the lefty has not allowed a run in 41 of his 49 relief appearances this year -- the most in the majors.

"He's been outstanding, really," Boone said. "I feel like he did a good job too when he went through a little bit of adversity. He had that week where he had two or three outings in a row that weren't great and he bounced back from that. You've got off to a good start now as really his first full-time role at it in the big leagues. He got off to a really good start, hit a little bump in the road there for a couple few outings, how do you respond? Really well. 

"He's pitched with a lot of confidence. Just the fact you feel good about him against both-handed, he's just got that neutral quality about him that he can go through a lot of different parts of the lineup."

After avoiding getting swept at home, the Yanks will look to string a couple of wins together and reclaim first place in the AL East (1.5 GB of Tampa Bay). They'll hand the ball to Ryan Weathers on Monday in their series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

PHILADELPHIA — Juan Soto’s precautionary placement into the DH spot for the past two games left the Mets without a spot for one of their key offseason additions.

Such is the predicament team officials face on a daily basis trying to keep Jorge Polanco in the lineup.

Polanco is limited to DH duty in his return from the injured list and likely won’t be considered for first base action until at least next month.

Soto left Thursday’s game with calf discomfort, and the Mets weren’t about to push him to play left field Saturday and Sunday.

“We just want to ensure he’s not carrying it with him past these couple of games,” interim manager Andy Green said before the Mets’ 6-1 victory over the Phillies. “We would have liked to get [Polanco] back in the lineup today, but this is more about just ensuring this is behind [Soto].”

Polanco is 3-for-21 (.143) in six games since returning from the IL.

Luis Robert Jr. is expected to rejoin the Mets at some point during the next series (the Mets are in Milwaukee for three games), according to Green.

The outfielder has spent the last 2 ½ months rehabbing a lumbar spine disc herniation.

He will be returning from the 60-day injured list.

Clay Holmes is on track to pitch in a minor league rehab game later in the week.

Holmes threw 45 pitches in a simulated game Saturday after his scheduled rehab start for Single-A Brooklyn was canceled due to rain.

Holmes has spent two months rehabbing a broken right fibula.

The series victory was the Mets’ first at Citizens Bank Park since August 2022, when they won three of four games against the Phillies.

The Mets won their first road series since June 7 in San Diego.

A.J. Minter allowed a seventh-inning homer to Alec Bohm, giving the left-hander a second appearance in his past three in which he surrendered at least one run.

Minter has allowed a homer in three of his past six appearances after starting the season with 14 straight appearances without one allowed.

While I do typically create a story for each guest recap, so I can add them to our stream of recaps, I usually do it a few days later. But if ever a game deserved to be front paged immediately, it’s this one. The D-backs tied a franchise record, coming from 7-0 down against the Cardinals to walk it off on Max Kepler’s double (below). The win moved them to one-half game back in the wild-card race, and also clinched the season series against St. Louis. That could be key, come the end of the season. Just ask the 2024 D-backs…

Please go through the guest recap to leave any comments.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to starting pitcher Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers as a potential trade target with the trade deadline approaching, but those priorities might need to change.

The Dodgers might need to address the catcher position.

Will Smith has served as the Dodgers' primary catcher since 2019.

He has played at least 110 games in each of the past five seasons, but might not be available to reach that mark again this season. Smith has played 52 games this season, but is currently on the injured list. He has not played since June 5.

There’s a level of uncertainty around Smith’s status for the rest of the season due to an inflamed disk in his neck.

“He's taking a week of doing no activity to hopefully calm his neck down,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday, July 17. “… he hasn't been able to get over the hump. ... It just wasn't recovering. It was flaring up.”