Category: Baseball

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Houston Astros starter Mike Burrows should be in for a tough day against the pesky Toronto Blue Jays batters, who profile well against him, making Over 2.5 runs allowed my favorite play of the day. 

Read on for my Astros vs. Blue Jays predictions and MLB picks for this Wednesday, June 24 matchup.

Astros vs Blue Jays predictions

Astros vs Blue Jays best bet: Mike Burrows Over 2.5 earned runs (-150)

The Toronto Blue Jays' offense is turning a corner, averaging 4.6 runs per game with a 113 WRC+ over their last 10 games. 

They also profile well against Mike Burrows, who throws a heavy dose of the four-seamer, with the changeup as his main secondary pitch. The Houston Astros' hurler owns a 5.89 ERA this season, allowing 4.3 runs per game over his last six full starts. 

Toronto handles his pitch mix well with a league-leading .263 average against the four-seamer and changeup with a .440 slug rate.

The Jays have seen a power uptick lately as well, with 15 home runs over their last 10 games, which is a big reason why they’ve been able to score more runs lately. 

I’d bet this to -160.

COVERS INTEL: Burrows gives up a lot of contact, ranking in the 22nd percentile in xBA, and decently hard contact with a high air-ball and line drive rate. 

Astros vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

Kazuma Okamoto has a hit in four of his last five games and profiles well against Burrows’ pitch mix, owning a .346 average against them since June 1. He’s recorded at least one hit in 14 of 19 games this month.

The Astros own a 32% strikeout rate against the splitter with a 38% whiff rate. Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage uses the splitter as his out-pitch and generates a 40% whiff rate on it.

Astros vs Blue Jays SGP

• Mike Burrows Over 2.5 earned runs
• Kazuma Okamoto Over 0.5 hits
• Trey Yesavage Over 5.5 strikeouts

Astros vs Blue Jays home run pick: Kazuma Okamoto (+265)

Okamoto profiles well against Burrows, who’s a contact pitcher that gets barreled up at a 9.1% rate and ranks in the 54th percentile in hard-hit rate 

The Jays slugger barrels the ball better than any other Blue Jays and makes hard contact with a .300 average and a 56.8% hard-hit rate against Burrows’ top pitches. 

Additionally, Burrows has surrendered 18 home runs through 14 starts this season, including at least one in eight of his last 10 outings. 

Despite the favorable matchup, I’ll make this a half-unit wager due to the volatility of the home run market. 

Astros vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Houston +120 | Toronto -140
• Run line: Houston +1.5 (-160) | Toronto -1.5 (+140)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-110) | Under 8.5 (-110)

Astros vs Blue Jays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the first five innings (F5) run line in seven of their last 10 games (+3.65 Units / 31% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Astros vs Blue Jays and game info

Astros vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Astros vs Blue Jays weather

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TV: NESN

First Pitch: 3:10 p.m. ET

The Red Sox should be playing for a sweep of the Rockies in the series finale, but we’ll finally let go of a rare Aroldis Chapman dud from Monday night. Boston got an exceptional start from Sonny Gray with 11 strikeouts in Tuesday’s win and could see another strong outing from Ranger Suárez on Wednesday. The lefty took a no-hitter into the seventh inning last time out against the Mariners and allowed two earned runs or less in each of his last three outings. 

Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate behind him Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field. 

The Rockies counter with lefty Kyle Freeland, who earlier this season set the franchise record for innings pitched in a Colorado uniform. 

The Mets are moving Kodai Senga to the bullpen, manager Carlos Mendoza announced before Wednesday’s doubleheader. Mendoza said that Senga could be used in a variety of roles, including multiple-inning bulk relief or high-leverage spots on back-to-back days. 

Senga has struggled to the tune of a 10.08 ERA in seven starts this season. Since returning from the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation on June 16, Senga has allowed eleven runs in 7.2 innings. Tuesday night’s start got off to a scintillating start, with Senga touching 98.9 mph and striking out a pair in the first inning — but things swiftly came crashing down, as the Cubs pounced for five runs in the second and two more in the fourth. That seems to have been the final straw in pushing Senga out of the rotation.

“We saw what he’s capable of doing,” Mendoza said in a press conference before Wednesday’s games. “We’ve seen flashes of it. You see the first inning yesterday, and he comes out throwing 98, 99, just throwing the fastball by people.”

With Christian Scott on the cusp of returning from an IL stint with a right hip impingement, Senga’s next turn in the rotation is likely accounted for. Scott, Freddy Peralta, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, and David Peterson will be the Mets’ starting five — at least for now. If Senga can replicate Tuesday night’s high-velocity, high-command first inning a few times per week, perhaps he’ll be a valuable piece of the 2026 Mets’ pitching puzzle once again.

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup at the halfway point of the MLB season today, game 81:

Here’s the White Sox lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

I’ve never been a pitcher— unless we count a few Be a Pro save files in various editions of MLB: The Show —, but I have to imagine it’s something of a relief to throw a fastball. You don’t have to torture your arm with some tendon-twisting, movement-generating motion, you don’t have to worry that your offspeed pitch will get sniffed out and given one-way airfare out of the park. You just get to rear back, and throw it as hard as you can. Just like you did when you were first messing around in the backyard.

Pitchers who face the Phillies don’t always have the opportunity to do so. They first have to work their way past Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, whose faces appear annually on the “WARNING: Do Not Throw These Men a Fastball” list thoughtfully distributed to pitchers league-wide. After that, though, they probably want to toss a bunch of heaters to whoever’s up next. Alec Bohm? He’s got a pretty slow bat. Yes, why not toss him some fastballs? It must be tempting to do so, because he’s seeing a greater percentage of fastballs than any Phillie besides Justin Crawford.

Opposing pitchers reading this, please read the following carefully: do not throw fastballs to Alec Bohm. I know he ranks in the 28th percentile for bat speed. I know he was really bad against fastballs in the first month of the season. He is not bad at hitting them anymore. By telling you this, I have done my due diligence. If you ignore me, I can’t be held responsible.

I really hope they didn’t read that, though. Because I would like pitchers to keep throwing fastballs to Bohm. And so would he, I’d imagine. (All stats prior to Tuesday’s game). His tremendous struggles at the plate in March and April were a result of his dismal performance against fastballs (wOBA of .177) and breaking balls (.191). And so it came as no surprise when he kept seeing a steady diet of the same in May. But as the weather heated up, so did his bat. His performance against both fastballs and breaking balls improved in the fifth month, but much more so for the former: his wOBA against the fastball leapt up to .347, nearly double what it had been. His wOBA against the moving stuff went up from .191 to .260; notable, but comparatively modest. In June, his wOBA against breaking balls dropped, but his performance against fastballs just kept rising: wOBA of .423. And yet, he’s seeing a slightly greater percentage of fastballs in June than he did in May, which in turn was a slightly greater percentage than he saw in April. Hence the warning above.

But how’s Bohm doing it? His BABIP against fastballs just keeps rising: it was a dismal .113 across March and April, more than doubled in May, and now sits at a whopping .395 in June. That only gets us part of the way there, though. What’s behind the change in BABIP? Some luck, surely, both good and bad: he underperformed his expected stats against the fastball in April, and he’s overperforming against them in June. But there’s something real there, too. He’s changed the way he’s attacking against fastballs.

Firstly, he’s swinging at them more. He started out the season with a tremendous reluctance to swing at fastballs: 43% swing rate, the second-lowest in a month across his career. But that changed fast: in May his swing rate against fastballs was 48.9%, and it June it was 52%. And his contact rate has followed the same pattern, having gone from 84.7% in March/April to 92.2% this month. Swinging more isn’t necessarily good, but if you’re pairing it with hitting more of the pitches you swing at, well, that alleviates some of the concerns. And it should be noted that this is fastball-specific—he hasn’t increased his swing rate for breaking pitches to an appreciable degree over the course of the season, and he’s swinging less at offspeed pitches.

He’s not swinging at just any fastballs, though. He’s more selective than that. Here’s his swing rates on fastballs, by month, and by Attack Zone.

He’s swinging more at fastballs over the heart of the plate, where he can do the most damage.

And the nature of the hits he’s getting on those fastballs have changed. In March/April, 15.7% of his hits on fastballs were line drives, and 51% are ground balls. In May, the split was 25.5%/41.8%, and in June it’s 32.5%/42.5%. That’ll get you better results.

But opposing pitchers just haven’t taken notice. As mentioned above, they’re throwing him more fastballs now than at the beginning of the season. Maybe they’re not believers in what he’s doing, thinking that he’ll regress to the mean sooner rather than later. Maybe they’re just really itching to throw some fastballs after having to avoid tossing them to Schwarber and Harper. If Bohm keeps this up, eventually pitchers are going to stop throwing him so many heaters. But no rush, enemy hurlers— take your time.

As if the Cubs didn’t have enough problems, right-hander Ben Brown was placed on the 15-day injured list today with a neck strain. The move is retroactive to Sunday.

Here are all the roster moves made by the Cubs today, per press release from the team:

The Chicago Cubs today selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez and recalled right-handed pitcher Gavin Hollowell. In corresponding moves, right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, right-handed pitcher Ben Brown has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a neck strain (retroactive to June 21) and right-handed pitcher Eduarniel Nunez was designated for assignment. Additionally, right-handed pitcher Tyler Ferguson was appointed as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

What we know is that Matthew Boyd is going to be activated from the injured list to start Thursday’s game against the Mets in New York.

Brown would have been on target to start Friday against the Brewers in Milwaukee. That start likely now goes to Colin Rea, who last pitched Saturday against the Blue Jays at Wrigley Field.

Beyond that I have no idea what the Cubs will do for starters for the Saturday and Sunday games in Milwaukee. With both Javier Assad and Shōta Imanaga going in the doubleheader today, neither would be available until at least Monday. That means likely another recall, or a bullpen game, or both.

As always, we await developments.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the first two games from the Minnesota Twins, but will face their best starter in Wednesday night’s game.

Joe Ryan was pushed back from Tuesday’s start to give him a few days to rest after an illness. Ryan threw 97 pitches in his last outing, striking out seven and only walking two batters. However, that outing only lasted 5.0 innings. The Dodgers offense beat up on the Twins bullpen on Tuesday night, so the Twins would like to see him go much deeper into the game.

Over his last seven games, Ryan has only allowed 12 earned runs, walked five, while having a 0.96 WHIP. Overall, he has a 2.99 ERA on the season and could be making one of his last home starts for the Twins, as trade deadline rumors swirl around him.

It’s Wednesday, so of course that means its Shohei Ohtani Day on the mound. Ohtani took a pitch off his pitching hand on Tuesday, is still dealing with knee inflammation, and had a blister develop in his last start. Still, manager Dave Roberts said that he is good to go in both his capacities, as he will be hitting as well as pitching Wednesday.

Ohtani sits at a 1.47 ERA, and his last two outings have been a little rough. He had only allowed seven earned runs across his first 10 starts of the season but has allowed seven total over his last two outings.

The Dodgers offense finally erupted on Tuesday night, with each batter having at least one hit, and scoring 12 runs as a unit, as the Dodgers are still missing a bunch of their roster to assorted injuries.

Kyle Tucker will not be in the lineup on Wednesday, giving him more rest with the off day on Thursday and the hope is he will be ready for the Padres series this weekend. Tucker was removed from Monday’s game when Roberts noticed him wincing when he arrived at second base, and he is dealing with lower back pain. He could resume swinging a bat on Wednesday.

Dalton Rushing could return to the backstop on Wednesday, as he told Roberts he was good to go before Tuesday’s game.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Twins
• Ballpark: Target Field, Minneapolis
• Time: 4:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

With six games on the docket there was plenty of action to examine on Wednesday, so let’s dive into it all.

(38-37) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (44-32) Nashville Sounds 12

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 2-4, 2 2B, R, BB
• Brett Wisely, 2B: 4-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Drue Hackenburg, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Box Score

Despite leading this one 4-2 at one point, the Stripers bullpen faltered late as Gwinnett lost by a staggering 12-5 final on Tuesday.

Drue Hackenburg got the start and while he tossed five innings while striking out seven, Nashville tagged the righty for three runs earned on seven hits in the process. Across two starts at the triple-A level, Hackenburg has spun 10.1 innings while five earned runs and striking out 10 batters in the process.

At the plate, Jim Jarvis led the charge with a pair of doubles and a run scored and a walk to his credit. With his pair of doubles on Tuesday, Jarvis has tallied at least two hits in seven of his previous 11 contests.

Meanwhile the biggest swing of the night for Gwinnett came in the fifth inning as Brett Wisely — who went 4-4 on the night with a double — singled up the middle to plate a run.

Unfortunately, Nashville tagged the Stripers’ bullpen for five runs in the eighth inning to extend their lead to 12-5, which proved to be more than enough to keep Gwinnett at bay and secure the win.

(29-36) Columbus Clingstones 1, (36-33) Rocket City Trash Pandas 4

• J0rdan Groshans, 3B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• Luke Waddell, SS: 1-4, R
• Herick Hernandez, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K

Box Score

It was a rough go of it for Columbus on Tuesday, as the Clingstones didn’t get much production on the mound or at the plate in their 4-1 loss to Rocket City to move to seven games under .500 on the season, thus far.

Herick Hernandez got the start and got roughed up in what was a rare occurrence for the lefty. Across four innings of work, Hernandez was tagged with four earned runs on six hits and five walks in the process in his roughest start at the double-A level this season. Hopefully it’s just a blip on the radar for a guy who has been a welcomed surprise among Atlanta’s arms in the minors through the first few months.

At the plate, Hernandez didn’t exactly get a ton of support as the Clingstones were held to just one run on four hits on the night — with Jordan Groshans, who also tallied the lone RBI for Columbis and the only extra base hit — were limited to just one run in the process.

Groshans RBI in the bottom of the fourth was the only meaningful offense in this one as Columbus was held scoresless for the next five at-bats in the loss.

(35-33) Rome Emperors 14, (43-37) Greensboro Grasshoppers 5

• Dixon Williams, DH: 2-3, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB
• Eric Hartman, CF: 2-5, 2 RBI, R
• John Gil, 2B: 2-4, 2 RBI, R, BB
• Owen Carey, RF: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Cam Caminiti, SP: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Box Score

While Gwinnett and Columbus combined for just six runs, Rome’s offense came out in stellar fashion on Wednesday as the Emperors plate 14 runs on just 10 hits to take the dominant win.

Before we get to the offensive performances, let’s take a look at Cam Caminiti who got the start in this one.

Across 4.1 innings of work, the lefty scattered three runs on three hits and walking three batters. However, he also struck out six across that same span. So far at high-A this year, Caminiti has not exactly been stellar. He has shown the ability to get outs when put into a pinch, but he hasn’t been that dominant either. Hopefully he finds more of his elite stuff that made him a first-round selection in the near future.

At the plate, four Emperors registered at least two hits on the night with Dixon Williams leading the way — more on him late.

Eric Hartman totaled a pair of RBI on the night, as did John Gil who also doubled on Wednesday as well. Owen Carey also had an underrated night as he drove in a pair of runs and scored twice in the process as well for Rome.

The bigges offensive blow of the night — which ultimately sealed the deal in this one — came off the bat of Williams, who took a 1-0 fastball down and in and pulled it over the right field wall for a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth, putting the Emperors up 14-5, which was more than enough to seal the deal.

(38-32) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (40-30) Charleston RiverDogs 9

• Cody Miller, 2B: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-4, RBI, BB
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-5, 2B
• Cooper McMurray, 1B: 3-3, 2B, BB
• Carter Holton, SP: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 K

Box Score

Augusta just didn’t have it on Wednesday as the GreenJackets fell by a 9-2 final on the night.

Carter Holton made his third start of the season for Augusta and things went from bad to worse for the lefty. In his second start on June 16, the lefty gave up five earned runs on just four innings pitched in what was hoped to be just a fluke after returning for a rehab stint.

However, Holton followed that outing up with a 4.2 inning performance of six earned runs allowed on eight hits on Wednesday. Hopefully he just needs a bit more time to tune back up following his injury, but it’s not a great sign for the 2024 second round pick.

While they only scored two runs on Wednesday, there were a handful of significant offensive performances from the GreenJackets in the loss.

Luis Guanipa went 2-4 with an RBI and a walk, while Cooper McMurray went 3-3 with a double and a walk to his credit as well.

However, the largest swing of this one for Augusta came courtesy of Cody Miller who launched his sixth homer in eight games for the GreenJackets. With the offensive output, Miller raised his season OPS to .868 on the year for Atlanta’s low-A squad thus far.

(11-27) FCL Braves 7, (20-17) FCL Twins 8

• Diego Tornes, CF: 2-5, 2B, RBI
• Juan Elejandro, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
• Johan Rodriguez, 1B: 2-4, RBI, BB
• Victor Duarte, SP: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K

Box Score

Victor Duarte somehow spun a decent start in this one.

Despite giving up five runs and two walks in 3.1 innings, Duarte managed to strikeout seven batters in the process for the FCL squad.

At the plate, Diego Tornes went 2-5 with a double and an RBI, while second baseman Juan Elejandro also doubled but drove in three RBI to his credit as well.

The other significant offensice performance came from first baseman Johan Rodriguez who walked and drove in a run in the process as well.

(4-13) DSL Braves 15, (7-10) DSL LAD Bautista 2

• Sherrintley Da Costa Gomez, LF: 2-3, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• Jose Manon, 3B: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 4 R, BB
• Starlyn De La Cruz, CF: 2-2, RBI, R
• Edelson Cabral, SS: 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 BB
• Martires Polanco, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB, 4 K

Box Score

The DSL Braves notched just their fourth win of the season on Wednesday by routing the Los Angeles Dodgers Bautista squad by a 15-2 final.

Starter Martires Polanco gave the team a fighting chance despite giving up five walks in three innings pitched. He also gave up three hits but struck out four as well.

At the plate, Sherrintley Da Costa Gomez continued to impress with his approach as he went 2-3 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored and a pair of walks as well to his credit. With Wednesday’s outing, Da Costa Gomez raised his OPS to 1.191 which leads the entire DSL sqad.

Top international signee Jose Manon tallied three hits in the process while scoring four times in the process as well.

All in all it was an incredibly successful offensive performance from the DSL hitters in this one as the squad registered just their fourth win of the season to this point.

1914
In a telegram discovered in 2012, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey told scout George Mills that the asking price for pitcher Babe Ruth was too high at $16,000.

At the time, Ruth was playing for the minor league Baltimore Orioles. Comiskey had sent Mills to scout the best Orioles players on June 9. Mills gave Comiskey a list of six players he thought were the best, with Ruth among them. He later revealed that Jack Dunn, the Orioles owner, said Ruth could be had himself for $16,000 cash. In the telegram, Comiskey replied, “Do not need pitchers bad enough to go that high price.” 

The White Sox thus joined the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia A’s in turning down chances to get Ruth, who was eventually was sold to the Red Sox. Comiskey later would try to get Ruth before the start of the 1920 season, offering Joe Jackson and cash to Boston —to no avail, as the Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees.

1915
The White Sox outlasted Cleveland, 5-4, in 19 innings. Red Faber pitched 11 innings of three-hit, shutout ball — IN RELIEF — to earn the win. The White Sox took the lead with two outs in the top of the 19th, as Buck Weaver singled and Eddie Collins doubled him home.

After going down, 2-0, in the first and trailing all game, the White Sox had struck for three in the eighth and then invited this extra-innings odyssey when Guy Morton walked Happy Felsch with two outs in the ninth, forcing the tying run home.

This game tied with 19-inning affairs in 1951 and 2006 for fifth-longest in White Sox history. The White Sox have won all three 19-inning games they’ve played, and this was the only such game that didn’t come against the Boston Red Sox.

1956
It was probably the biggest White Sox weekend of the 1950s.

Two days earlier the White Sox had started what was an unheard-of four-game sweep of the Yankees, winning on Friday, 5-4, in 12 innings. On Saturday, the Sox shut out the Bombers, 2-0. Then on Sunday, before almost 48,000 fans, the Sox took a pair, closing to within one game of first place. 

Larry Doby would hit a pair of three-run shots in the twin bill, helping to account for the 14-2 and 6-3 wins. He went 5-for-7 with six runs and six RBIs.

Fans by the hundreds poured on to the field during the second game, simply to get the chance to shake players’ hands and run around the outfield. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley came out and said that the Sox would be in the World Series that fall. Of course, they weren’t … but the White Sox did finish the season at 85-69, good for third place.

1963
Going 2-for-2, including a solo home run that tied a game the White Sox would end up winning, 5-2, rookie Pete Ward extended his hitting streak to 18 games. It would end up being the longest hitting streak in the American League that season.

Ward kept his string going in front of a packed crowd of 42,748 at Comiskey Park watching the second-place Sox try to catch the AL-leading Yankees. With another win the next game, on June 25, the White Sox did just that in spite of Ward going 0-for-3.

During the streak (from June 7-24, hitting .382), Ward raised his batting average from .277 to .303, as the White Sox won 11 of 18. At the time, the rookie’s hitting streak was tied for the 22nd-longest in team history, and today it still ranks in a tied for 36th.

1969
In the second game of a doubleheader in Seattle, White Sox third baseman Bill Melton slugged three consecutive home runs (in the second, fourth and sixth innings) in a 7-6 win. All were solo blasts. Ed Herrmann’s home run in the top of the ninth was the deciding factor. As a club, the White Sox hit five homers in the game.

The Sox took the first game as well, winning 6-4, with relief pitcher Wilbur Wood picking up wins in both games. Wood allowed only two hits in 5 2⁄3 innings of work between the two games.

Amazingly, this marked the second game (in less than three months) in which the White Sox hit five homers at Seattle’s Sick Stadium, in the only year it was used as a major-league ballpark.

1972
Behind the inspired play of Dick Allen, Wilbur Wood, Stan Bahnsen, Rich Gossage, Terry Forster and Carlos May, the Sox were in the middle of a pennant chase when the bizarre injury curse struck again. 

During the previous offseason third baseman Bill Melton had fallen off of a ladder, damaging his back. The defending American League home run champion had been playing in pain ever since, and on this day was put on the injured list and lost for the rest of the year when it was discovered he had a herniated disk. For the season, he only played in 57 games with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.

The reason he was on the ladder? Somehow his young son got up on the garage roof!

The Sox would finish 5 1⁄2 games behind the Oakland A’s, with a record of 87-67. 

1973
It almost tied a club record: In the second game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park, White Sox catcher Ed Herrmann drove in seven runs in a 11-1 win over the A’s. Herrmann went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, two-run double and two-run single.

1977
It was an embarrassing moment for White Sox outfielder Ralph Garr and, as it turned out, a costly one for the team. In the third inning of a game in Minnesota, Garr hit what appeared to be a three-run home run. However, as he was running the bases, he passed catcher Jim Essian, who waited at first base to make sure the ball was in fact a home run. Garr was watching the ball, and got called out for passing the runner and awarded a two-run single.

The Sox wound up losing the game, 7-6.

1990
In another example of the upstart White Sox not going away any time soon, Dan Pasqua blasted a 10th-inning homer in Oakland off of A’s ace (and chief Chicago agitator) Dave Stewart. The win improved the White Sox to 41-25 and within one game of Oakland in the AL West.

After Bobby Thigpen blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth on a Dave Henderson homer with two outs and two strikes to send the game to extras, Pasqua led off the 10th with his blast, going the other way and deep to left field. Stewart would end up going the distance in taking the loss by throwing all 10 innings and using 134 pitches, in case you thought former White Sox skipper Tony La Russa wasn’t taking his former team seriously.

Melido Perez was even more brilliant than Stewart in the game, outpacing him with a 79 game score and eight scoreless innings. The win was a fourth of eight straight for the White Sox, and also completed a full sweep of two West Coast series (needs to be confirmed, but this could be the only full sweep of two or more West Coast series in White Sox history).

1991
Holding a 2-1 lead over Seattle in the eighth inning, the White Sox iced the game with a grand slam from Frank Thomas — the first of 11 he would hit in his career. Thomas added a double in the game, going 2-for-4 with five RBIs.

The White Sox had been lingering around .500 for about a month despite a strong start to the season and expected division title-contention in 1991. This win got the White Sox back on a roll, although they ended the season in second place and at a disappointing 87-75, eight games out.

2017
It was Mark Buehrle Day at Guaranteed Rate Field, as the White Sox honored the lefthander by retiring his No. 56. 

Buehrle played 12 seasons with the Sox, winning 161 games including a perfect game against Tampa and a no-hitter against Texas. He also won two postseason games and saved another. He was a three-time All-Star, who won the 2005 contest. 

Buehrlealso was a model of consistency, with 11 straight years with the White Sox winning in double figures, starting 30 or more games and throwing at least 200 innings.

In the July 2025 during ceremonies for the 2005 World Series anniversary, a statue of Buehrle to cement him as an all-time team legend would be revealed.

In the game played on that day, three Oakland A’s hit their first career home runs (Franklin Barreto, Matt Olson, Jacob Brugman) — the first time that had happened in MLB since 1914.

With 41 days remaining until Major League Baseball’s Aug. 3 trade deadline, the market will remain remarkably fluid, with teams dipping in and out of contention, injuries creating unforeseen needs and player performance greatly affecting market value.

The big prize? There might be no big prize, so long as the Detroit Tigers remain sentient and free-agent-to-be Tarik Skubal remains in Motown. The Tigers crawled within 10 games of the .500 mark this week, making it more than conceivable they’ll be at least treading water come deadline time.

USA TODAY Sports will keep track of the latest rumblings in the market all the way until the buzzer sounds Aug. 3:

Mets lineup

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

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Cubs lineup

Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
Michael Conforto – RF
Michael Busch – 1B
Seiya Suzuki – DH
Ian Happ – LF
Nico Hoerner – 2B
Pedro Ramirez – 3B
Miguel Amaya – C
Dansby Swanson – SS

SP: Javier Assad – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

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Will the trends be our friend this evening? 

We have a ton of value to attack this evening, so here are my favorite MLB player props for June 24, led by Ketel Marte and Nick Kurtz.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Ketel Marte	Over 1.5 total bases	-126
Nick Kurtz	Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI	-123
Brice Turang	Over 1.5 total bases	+106

Ketel Marte Over 1.5 total bases (-126)

• Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CARD, ARID

Nick Kurtz Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-123)

Get ready to drool all over yourself as I lay out some delicious numbers on the Athletics' young star Nick Kurtz.

He checks in with an elite rating on Batters-Box, including 100% arsenal coverage against San Francisco starter Tyler Mahle. In 48 elite road ratings, Kurtz clears this prop nearly 71% of the time, while also leaving the yard 25% of the time in those spots.

Mahle leans heavily on his fastball at nearly 50% usage, a profile that should have hitters salivating. Even more concerning, roughly half of his pitch mix grades below league average.

Left-handed hitters have also given him issues of late, with the last 60 he has faced elevating the ball 60% of the time while posting a .505 expected slugging.

Kurtz has been on a tear all season, and over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he is sitting at a .346 average, .615 slug, 1.048 OPS, with a 53.3% hard-hit rate and a 13.3% barrel rate.

Get the best number and do not lay anything past -130 on this prop.

• Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSBA, NBCSCA

Brice Turang Over 1.5 total bases (+106)

I may just be fading future country singer Rhett Lowder to kickstart that career, or this may just be the right spot to back Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang to go over his bases prop this evening in the small park.

The Cincinnati Reds' starter has been allowing a 60% elevation rate to lefties at home. Over his last 60 left-handed hitters faced, he has allowed a 40% hard hit rate, 15% barrel rate, and 65% elevation rate, while also carrying a .311 xBA, .627 xSLG, and .397 xwOBA in that split.

Turang enters with an elite rating in Batters-Box’s current season dataset, and he also brings 86.2% arsenal coverage against Lowder’s pitch mix, which sits 46% below league average, per FanGraphs.

The 26-year-old has shown strong percentage gains across key underlying metrics in this current stretch, which only sharpens the appeal of this matchup.

Take this down to even money, no need to pay any juice.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: BREW, CINR

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Mets recalled Jonathan Pintaro to be the 27th man on their roster ahead of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Cubs at Citi Field.

The right-hander has now been promoted to the majors four times in the past five weeks, but he’s only appeared in four games this season, posting a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched with nine strikeouts and one walk. His most recent outing came on June 15, when he ate 3.2 innings of the Mets’ 12-0 blowout loss in Cincinnati before being optioned the following day. Prior to that appearance, Pintaro had allowed just one hit in 6.2 innings of work.

According to the 27th-man doubleheader rule, Pintaro will be optioned following Wednesday night’s game. Typically, a pitcher can’t be recalled for 15 days after being optioned, but that 15-day window doesn’t apply in this case – so Pintaro could still be eligible to return to the major league roster at any point in the coming weeks.

Pintaro last pitched in Syracuse on Saturday, so he should be able to provide multiple innings for a Mets bullpen forced to cover 5.1 innings in Tuesday night’s loss. Nolan McLean will start Game 1 at 1:10 p.m. ET, while Sean Manaea will start Game 2 at 7:10 p.m. ET.