Baseball News
Texas Rangers @ Cleveland Guardians
Monday, June 29, 2026, 6:10 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / ESPN)
Progressive Field
LHP Tyler Alexander into RHP Chris Paddack? vs. LHP Parker Messick
Go Rangers!
It’s been almost four full years that I’ve been an Over The Monster staff writer, and true story: I’ve never written a pre-game thread. That is, until Bryan Joiner called to the bullpen late, and I “accepted the trade for a player to be named later” or “cash considerations.” Two different metaphors, I know. But, starting one metaphor after another may be something of a symbolic gesture with these Red Sox. But, to quote some Bostonians, “I never had to knock on wood, but I know someone who has.” That’s to say, this team isn’t good. I don’t subscribe to the “we’re four and a half games out of the wild card spot” or the success of this weekend being any sort of start to a rally catapulting this team into contending conversations. But I wouldn’t blame anyone who gets a bit hopeful after watching the last four games. Unless this series goes well.
Fortunately, they’ll have a guy who’s found his stride on the mound. Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83) . He has not had a decision win at home yet this season. He took a no-hit bid into the seventh in Seattle, and had a little more turbulent outing in hitter-friendly Colorado but still emerged from six innings having given up just three runs, and only one of those earned (sadly, the Sox would implode that game). His ERA in 4 starts (24.0 IP) in June is 1.50.
As Mike Carlucci diplomatically put it in this series’ preview article, the Nationals also suck are having their own challenges keeping things balanced this year, having inverse problems that the Red Sox face. Their offense is awesome, the biggest of those worries being Luis Garcia, the reigning NL Player of the week who’s hit six home runs in as many games, including two just yesterday in Baltimore. They rank at the very top of the league in runs scored and are tied for fourth in home runs, which would usually find you at the top of many standings, unless your pitching is horrible having some trouble keeping runs off the board, to the tune of being the third-worst in baseball. Miles Nikolas (2-6, 5.24 ERA) is tonight’s starter for Washington. At one time he was a very serviceable pitcher. At 37, those days may be behind him, as he’s experienced some stark declines in the ability to strike guys out as well as to generate swings and misses in general, ranking in the lowest three percentile via Baseball Savant this season.
See you back here after.
Carson Benge – RF
Juan Soto – LF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Francisco Lindor – SS
Jared Young – 1B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Mark Vientos – DH
Brett Baty – 2B
Francisco Alvarez – C
SP: Sean Manaea – LHP
George Springer – DH
Nathan Lukes – RF
Vladimir Guerrero – 1B
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Ernie Clement – SS
Brandon Valenzuela – C
Luis Urias – 2B
Yohendrick Pinango – LF
Myles Straw – CF
SP: Trey Yesavage – RHP
First pitch: 7:07 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
When the whole NHL world was finding out about the trade that sent Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings, Liam Greentree, who was dealt to the New York Rangers as part of the deal, was sitting in the back of a bus, playing video games.
“I was on my way to North Bay, midway through the season last year, and I was actually playing Chell (NHL video game) at the back of the bus, and couple of my buddies were just asking if I got traded,” Greentree said recounting when he found out he was traded from the Rangers to the Kings.
“My buddies were asking about me, and then I obviously called my agent. That's how it went.”
Greentree, who was the centerpiece of the return for Artemi Panarin, hit the ice in Rangers gear for the first time on Monday for the team’s development camp.
The 20-year-old forward spoke about his emotions since being traded in February and his excitement to join a franchise like the Rangers.
“It's been awesome. New York is such a historic franchise; it’s an original six franchise,” Greentree said about being traded to the Rangers. “It's just really cool to be a part of it. This is the first time I've worn the jersey, so it's a pretty cool experience.”
Selected by the Kings in the first round with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Greentree flashed off his potential during the 2024-25 season as the captain of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, as he recorded 49 goals, 70 assists, and 119 points in 64 games.
Despite his numbers decreasing during the 2025-26 campaign, Greentree still posted a more than respectable 38 goals, 36 assists, and 74 points in 52 games.
Some would say Greentree has big shoes to fill, given that he was essentially traded straight up for Panarin, a player many consider to be the Rangers' greatest free agent signing in NHL history.
However, Greetree does not view it that way.
“It’s the business of it,” Greentree said. “I’m going through the process of it, and trying to make my career a good one. I want to play my game, and I just want to be a Ranger one day.”
Greentree is expected to make the jump to the professional hockey level this upcoming season, whether that means playing in the American Hockey League or for the Rangers.
After spending four total seasons in the OHL, Greentree emphasised that he feels prepared to take the professional leap and begin a new chapter of his hockey career.
“I feel good, I feel ready, and I feel strong,” Greentree said. “I'm here to get better and to learn a lot, and try to see what it takes to actually make it to the next level.”
Once again the Orioles are at risk of spiraling completely out of contention. Next up on the schedule is a three-game set with a surprisingly solid White Sox squad. Fortunately for the Orioles, these games are at Camden Yards. The Orioles actually having a winning record (23-21) at home, while the White Sox have been quite poor on the road (15-25). Sooo maybe they actually have a chance?
Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off for the Orioles despite being in the midst of a 1-for-18 stretch that has included zero walks and three strikeouts. Why? Nothing more than Craig Albernaz’s intuition, it would seem. It’s not like the Orioles offense has been firing on all cylinders anyway, so whatever.
Perhaps more important is Shane Baz on the mound for the Birds. He’s coming off of a poor showing against the Angels, where he allowed five runs over five innings. The 27-year-old has shown flashes this season, but has looked more like an innings eater than the potential frontline starter we were promised. A start of six innings or more would push Baz over 100 innings on the season. That is valuable even if the ERA isn’t quite as low as the Orioles front office probably hoped it would be.
Orioles lineup
RHP Shane Baz (4-8, 4.31 ERA)
White Sox lineup
RHP Sean Burke (5-4, 3.71 ERA)
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Today’s roster move: Here
Monday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Padres lineup:
Shōta Imanaga again got bit by the home run bug in his last start, serving up three to the Mets, though the Cubs won the game anyway.
He’s got a worse home run rate at home (12 in 53 innings) than on the road (eight in 39 innings), though neither of those is any good.
He did manage to allow just one to the Padres in Game 2 of last year’s Wild Card Series, and in the 2025 regular season he allowed just one earned run to the Padres in 12.1 innings. He has not faced them yet this year.
Do good, Shōta.
Griffin Canning had been in the Padres rotation starting in May after returning from an Achilles injury last year, but after he allowed seven runs to the Orioles June 12 (third time in eight starts he’d allowed six runs or more), he was moved to the bullpen. He hasn’t really been any better there. In his last relief appearance, vs. the Braves June 23, he allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning.
His last start against the Cubs was May 11, 2025, while he was with the Mets. He allowed one run in six innings.
Alex Bregman is 8-for-17 vs. Canning with two home runs. Maybe this will get Bregman going.
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.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Padres site Gaslamp Ball. If you do go there to interact with Padres 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.
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With the Mets in need of some fresh arms in the bullpen, the club recalled right-hander Joey Gerber from Syracuse. To make room on the roster, the team options Tobias Myers to Triple-A.
This move was necessary because the club used Cionel Perez, Tobias Myers, and Kodai Senga yesterday, and it was unlikely that any of the three would be available for today’s game. With Senga not an option to be, well, optioned, Myers made sense to get a ticket back to Syracuse. The right-hander had gotten off to a strong start this season, posting a 2.33 ERA and a 3.25 FIP through 19 1/3 innings by the end of April.
However, May was far less kind to Myers, as he pitched to a 6.43 ERA and a 6.24 FIP in 13 innings in the month before he was eventually demoted the first time with the team in need fresh arms and the club hoping to stretch him out a bit. His return from the minors has been an unmitigated disaster, however. He’s appeared in four games, including one start, and has allowed multiple runs in each outing. He finished June with a 14.54 ERA and a 6.44 FIP in 8 2/3 innings across those four appearances. It remains to be seen what the club plans to do with Myers now that he’s returning to Syracuse.
Joey Gerber returns to the Mets to lend a helping hand to the bullpen. He’s made three relief outings so far across two stints. To date, he has allowed one earned run on five hits, with one walk and six strikeouts in five innings.
The Pirates are going to be without their first baseman for a while.
Spencer Horwitz tweaked his hamstring running out a ground ball in the Pirates’ 11-1 win against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
Appearing on his weekly radio show on Sunday on flagship 93.7 The Fan, general manager Ben Cherington gave a bleak assessment of Horwitz’s injury.
Horwitz is expected to be out “weeks, not days” and will likely not be back until after the All-Star break.
The Pirates return from the All-Star break against the Cleveland Guardians on July 17, which would sideline Horwitz for nearly a month.
One of the most underrated players in baseball this season, Horwitz is fifth in the NL with a .386 on-base percentage. He is two spots below Bryan Reynolds (.402), who is third behind Shohei Ohtani (.412) and Juan Soto (.406). Ivan Herrera (.387) is in between the two teammates.
In 246 at-bats over 74 games, Horwitz is slashing .280/.386/.455 with an .841 OPS. His 10 home runs before July are the most in his career and are two away from tying his career high (12) in 2024.
An improving defender whom the Pirates relied on in the leadoff spot, Horwitz provided timely hits and drove in 33 runs through the first three months. He also owns an even strikeout-to-walk total (40).
The Pirates will play a gauntlet of NL contenders over the next two weeks, beginning with four against the cross-state Philadelphia Phillies.
In a cool scheduling move, the Pirates play in the nation’s capital against the Washington Nationals on Fourth of July weekend.
Pittsburgh will face the Phillies, Nationals, Braves, and Brewers before the All-Star Game, all of whom are either in a playoff spot or ahead of the Pirates in the race to the playoffs. This stretch could define the season.
Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday as he works his way back from a lumbar spine disc herniation, the team announced.
Robert has been sidelined for more than two months with the injury and last played on April 26.
New York acquired Robert in the offseason, trading Luisangel Acuña to the Chicago White Sox for the outfielder and took on the remaining $20 million in the final year of his contract to be the Mets' every day center fielder. However, Robert was not off to a great start for his new team, slashing .224/.327/.329 with two home runs, two steals and a .656 OPS in 24 games.
Throughout his career, Robert has been injury-prone and played just 210 games over the past two seasons with the White Sox with middling results. A year earlier, though, the 28-year-old slashed .264/.315/.562 with a career-high 38 home runs, 36 doubles and an .857 OPS in 145 games.
The Mets took a gamble and were hoping to get that version of Robert, suspecting a change of scenery could help the slugger. Even if he didn't hit to his full capability, New York believed his defense in center would be worth it.
Yet, a month into the season Robert went down with an injury which resulted in the Mets promoting top prospect A.J. Ewing. Since then, the rookie has been the every day center fielder and has been quite impressive in the field and in the batter's box, slashing .279/.359/.422 in 44 games.
Once Robert is ready to return to the team, New York will have an interesting decision to make in the outfield with Ewing as well as rookie Carson Benge playing well.
The start of another series, and all I’m thinking is ‘don’t be swept’.
That stuff about Addison Barger being back soon? Not so much. He has a ‘stress reaction in his back’. I guess that means stress fracture, but he’ll be shut down for two more weeks. So let’s hope that he might be back at the end of July.
Beyond that Yimi Garcia is ‘feeling a little better’ and playing catch. And Max Scherzer is playing catch, too.
This is nice. I want to say something snarky about any Met player would be sad if they thought they could be playing for Toronto.
There was also this:
Today’s lineups:
The Pittsburgh Pirates are back out on the road as they travel to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ashcroft is looking for his third straight victory after wins in back-to-back starts. In his last appearance on June 24 against the Seattle Mariners, Ashcroft pitched six innings, giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out 10 Mariners in an 11-1 rout over Seattle. This is the second time Ashcroft has pitched against the Phillies this season. He also started on May 15 against the Phillies at PNC Park. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up seven hits and four earned runs. The Pirates lost 11-9 in 10 innings.
The Phillies are countering with former ace Aaron Nola, who is in his 12th season with the franchise. So far this season, Nola is 3-4 with a 5.58 ERA. He has not been part of a decision in the month of June, but in his last start against the Washington Nationals on June 24, he pitched five innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs as Philly won 5-4 in D.C. Nola also pitched on May 15 against Ashcraft at PNC Park. The Pirates got the better of Nola as he pitched 3.2 innings, giving up six hits and six earned runs.
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Braxton Ashcraft (7-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.58 ERA)
BD community, chime off in the comments section below.
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Pirates:
Let’s talk about it.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Through the first couple months of the 2026 MLB season, New York Yankees starting pitching was elite. Cam Schlittler breaking through to become perhaps the best pitcher in the American League thus far is already established, but it was more than just him.
As a unit, their starters led MLB in FanGraphs WAR, with both Will Warren and Ryan Weathers looking sharp and competitive in their bid to remain in the rotation once it’s back to full health (Max Fried has been on the IL since mid-May). And on the subject of health, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón had each pitched well in May since making their long-awaited 2026 debuts.
June, however, has been a bumpier story. Warren and Weathers have regressed, Cole has proved that Tommy John surgery recovery is not an instantaneous process, and though his numbers have been better, Rodón remains a bit of a wild card, prone to innings occasionally spiraling on him.
So just based on your gut feeling, who are you most concerned about? We’ve left Schlttler out since even a regression to modest pitching will mean he’s very good, but there are more reasonable flags on each of the other four arms. Vote in the poll below and we’ll check out the results later in the week.
The White Sox are back at it after a week that went their way, snagging four wins in six tries. Now comes the real test — a three-game set with the Orioles, then straight into Cleveland for four. The catch? The Sox are allergic to road games. Their .375 road winning percentage is dead last among playoff hopefuls, and the bats shrivel up away from Rate Field (.231 on the road, .252 at home). The pitching? A sparkling 3.25 ERA at home turns into a horror show (5.39) on the road. Sure, everyone plays better on their home turf, but if the Sox want to hang around in the AL Central, they have to stop treating every road series like a vacation and start winning more than just one out of three.
Sean Burke gets the nod, rolling in at 5-4 with a 3.71 ERA and a tidy 1.21 WHIP. He’s been nails lately, allowing only two runs over his last 13 2/3, 14 punchouts, and just one walk each time out. The numbers say this isn’t a fluke as Burke’s got a legit breaking ball that’s been a weapon, and his fastball plays up thanks to some sneaky extension. The Orioles can mash, so Burke’s night comes down to fastball command, spinning that breaker in two-strike counts, and not leaving anything up for Baltimore’s big bats to launch. He doesn’t get many grounders, so if Chicago wants to start this series with a win, Burke has to keep the ball in the yard.
Baltimore throws Shane Baz at the Sox, and he’s been a mixed bag, going 4-8 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. The righthander is coming off a clunker against the Angels (five runs, eight hits in five innings). The stuff is there as he can touch 96 mph, but the results are not. His breaking ball and offspeed pitches have been more rumor than weapon, and his whiff rates are nothing special. The South Siders’ game plan should be to make Baz work, put the ball in play, and not go fishing for his fastball. Get him behind in counts, wait for a mistake, and there’s offense to be had.
As far as the bats go, Miguel Vargas has been on a heater, slashing 435/.519/.913 over the last seven days with a 1.432 OPS, and home run number 19 in the books. If the Good Guys want to flip the script on the road and survive this gauntlet, Vargas has to keep the fire burning. Here’s how skipper Will Venable will send them out against Baz.
And the lineup for the O’s.
First pitch is 5:35 p.m. CST. Watch on CHSN or catch the call on ESPN Chicago AM 1000.
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Texas Rangers lineup for June 29, 2026 against the Cleveland Guardians: starting pitchers are Tyler Alexander for the Rangers and Parker Messick for the Guardians.
The Rangers continue their long-ass road trip today in Cleveland, where they are playing the first of three. Tyler Alexander is the opener, though newly signed Chris Paddack apparently could be used as the bulk guy behind Alexander. Cam Cauley, just called up, will play in his first major league game. Corey Seager, recovering from a concussion, gets the day off, as does Brandon Nimmo, who has undergone an MRI after crashing into the wall on the final play of last night’s game. Evan Carter and Alejandro Osuna get rare starts against a lefthanded pitcher.
The lineup:
Foscue — DH
Jung — 3B
Duran — RF
Burger — 1B
Higashioka — C
Osuna — LF
Cauley — 2B
Lopez — SS
Carter — CF
6:10 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +133 underdogs.