Category: Baseball

Just a year after the San Diego Padres traded for Mason Miller during the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, he could be on the move again.

ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” and said Miller is “definitely available,” but added that the asking price will be steep.

“Now does that mean A.J. Preller, who is one of the most prolific traders of all executives in baseball, is going to flip him? Just a year after acquiring him for Leo De Vries, who’s one of the best prospects in baseball,” Passan said. “Not necessarily.”

The news that Miller might be on the move comes four days after it was reported the Padres are open to moving him, and also a day after MLB Insider Bob Nightengale suggested the Padres move him as a way to fix their depleted farm system.

Passan went on to say that the Padres’ need for “Major League-ready starting pitching” could be what moves Miller.

The Padres’ starting rotation this season has been plagued by injuries and poor performances by veteran pitchers.

The team was expecting Joe Musgrove to rejoin the starting rotation after missing all of last season due to Tommy John Surgery. During a spring training game this year, he had a setback by hurting his elbow and has yet to throw.

Nick Pivetta has only made four starts this season due to a flexor strain. His injury comes a year after he had career-bests in ERA (2.87) and strikeouts (190) in 31 starts.

Before the year began, San Diego also found out they would be without Yu Darvish, who had Tommy John Surgery in the offseason.

San Diego’s starting rotation has also featured veteran pitchers Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning, and Germán Márquez, who are competing on one-year, prove-it deals. All three of them hold an ERA above 5.00

The future isn’t looking too bright either for San Diego, as their farm system ranks dead last in all of baseball.

“If you’re a team like the Seattle Mariners that has a deep rotation already in Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson,” Passan said. “Two of the best pitching prospects in baseball on the cusp of being ready for the big leagues, it’s something you have to consider.”

Passan went on to list the Yankees as another potential trade partner, by creating a package that includes David Bednar, Tim Hill, Brent Headrick and relief pitcher Fernando Cruz.

The Padres and Yankees have a history of making trades together in the past, notably in 2023 when San Diego swapped Juan Soto and Trent Grisham for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and Kyle Higashioka.

Trading Miller could be the best avenue for the Padres to fix their depleted farm system that needs pitching, as he is considered one of the best closers in baseball, having a 0.89 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 39 games this season.

The Red Sox 14-game winning streak didn’t end tonight, but it was put on pause thanks to Mother Nature. Here’s the announcement of split double header tomorrow at 1:35pm and 7:10pm straight from the team:

The #RedSox-Orioles game scheduled for tonight, July 21, has been postponed due to significant rainfall and thunderstorms in the Fenway area expected to continue throughout the evening.

Tonight’s game has been rescheduled as the 1st game of a split doubleheader on July 22, at… pic.twitter.com/JJZ8ZJ15E9

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 21, 2026

With this arrangement, the Red Sox could tie and break their all-time franchise winning streak of 15 straight games in the same day. It may also once again alter their starting pitching plans as they could start Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett in these two games, especially with an off day on Thursday meaning they wouldn’t need to start either of them on short rest the next time their slot in the rotation comes around.

Either way, tomorrow promises to be a very busy day at Fenway. Let’s hope it’s also a historical one!

The Milwaukee Brewers have surged not only to the top of the NL Central standings, but they now sit atop MLB’s standings with the best record in all of baseball. Their four game winning streak post-All Star Break has helped the surge and they will look to make it a five game streak tonight.

The Brewers did offer some injury updates ahead of tonight’s game. David Hamilton is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville and will play five innings tonight. Kyle Harrison has a 4-up live BP scheduled for Saturday and will start a rehab assignment on July 31st. DL Hall will move his rehab to Nashville and throw two innings tomorrow. Brandon Lockridge will also soon be on his way to join Triple-A and will travel there tomorrow to start his rehab assignment.

Joel Kuhnel is throwing his first bullpen session today. Sal Frelick, who had been placed on the IL with shoulder soreness underwent an arthrogram today to establish a diagnosis and a timeline to return to play.

For the game tonight, another starting pitcher will be facing his old team. This time it’s Brandon Sproat, who was acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade over the offseason. Sproat has a 5.16 ERA on the year, which is right around where Peralta has been this season as well. His mound opponent tonight will be left-hander Zac Thornton, who is making just his fourth career start in the majors. Thornton has a 2.60 ERA.

Because it’s a left-hander, the Brewers are going to have some extra right-handed hitters in the lineup. Christian Yelich gets the night off, which allows William Contreras to slide into the DH spot, batting third. That means of course that Gary Sanchez is behind the plate tonight for Sproat. Jackson Chourio will lead off, followed by Brice Turang. Garrett Mitchell mans centerfield while Luis Lara is in right field, batting seventh. Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz hold down the left side of the infield and the bottom of the order.

The Mets will continue to roll out their underperforming, high-priced lineup that includes Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert, and Marcus Semien. Young rookies AJ Ewing and Carson Benge are mixed throughout New York’s lineup as well.

With a win tonight, the Brewers can secure a series victory over the Mets and keep the momentum rolling even further.

Let's roll

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ

→ https://t.co/mvGXoRMTFSpic.twitter.com/ylq7Rdcbbs

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 21, 2026

⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/0OkTs8m7EE

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 21, 2026

Tuesday notes…

• SIX RUNS DOESN’T WIN: The Cubs’ loss last night was just their second of the season in which they scored exactly six runs. They have won nine. In all games with at least six runs scored, they are 39-5. When they have allowed at least six runs, they are 8-21, including 0-4 when yielding eight, as they did last night. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• HOMERS WITHOUT WINNING: The Cubs lost despite hitting three home runs. They are 9-4 when they have hit at least three and 10-8 when they have allowed at least three. Last night’s loss was their first when they both hit and allowed at least three. They had won four previous such games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MILESTONE: The seventh run scored by the Tigers last night was the 100,000th surrendered by the Cubs in their 22,517 regular-season games since 1876. They became the second team to reach six digits in runs allowed. The Phillies are at 102,961, in 21,911 games since 1883. The Cubs have scored the most runs, 103,731. The Giants are second, with 101,570. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, PCA?: Pete Crow-Armstrong, last seven games: .077/.250/.115 (2-for-26) with 11 strikeouts (though also six walks).

Cubs lineup:

Got some baseball to play tonight.

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/27IiG4nwLQ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 21, 2026

Tigers lineup:

back at it in Chicago

⚾️ 8:05 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/3AvyXxdexD

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 21, 2026

David Peterson, LHP vs. Framber Valdez, LHP

David Peterson has made two starts with the Cubs in which he’s thrown at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs.

Oh, yes. There’s that other start he made where he got pounded for 10 runs in 3.2 innings, the worst start of his career.

I’ll just figure that was the aberration and Peterson can continue to put up good outings.

This is Peterson’s first-ever start against the Tigers, and only two current Tigers have ever seen him. Perhaps that will be to his advantage.

There was some controversy over Framber Valdez last year when it was said he intentionally threw at his catcher because he thought the catcher had crossed him up. That delayed his free agent signing a while but eventually he signed a multi-year deal with the Tigers.

The results have been “meh.”

He’s made 19 starts with a 4.10 ERA and his K rate is down from last year, as is his average fastball velocity. His last start against the Cubs was June 29, 2025 in Houston and he threw six shutout innings. Thus most current Cubs have not seen him much, a combined 4-for-32 with 12 strikeouts.

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

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

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

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Tigers site Bless You Boys. If you do go there to interact with Tigers 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.

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

The first half for the D-backs was definitely a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. Focusing purely on the first of these, the positive side of performances came from players both expected and surprising. But who was the team’s MVP? That’s what this week’s poll is designed to determine. I’ll leave the exact definition of “MVP” entirely up to you to decide. Factors you may – or may not – decide to include in your assessment include things such as playing time, production, salary, intangible contributions and expectations. Here’s a quick run down of the five candidates…

Corbin Carroll

Despite a late slump at the plate. Carroll still finished the first half with the highest OPS of any Diamondback (min 50 plate-appearances). His 42 extra-base hits also led the team, and he was responsible for almost half of all Arizona’s triples before the break: Carroll = 10, everyone else combined = 11. He set the all-time franchise mark for three-baggers, passing Stephen Drew’s career total of 52, in almost eight hundred fewer PAs. Carroll started 93 games in the first half, most on the team.

Gabriel Moreno

What’s impressive about Moreno’s season is no just that he ranks close to the top of the club by both bWAR and fWAR. It’s that he is doing so, despite missing three weeks and sixteen games with a strained left oblique. He has been incandescent at the plate. Over the two months (and almost 200 PA) leading up to the All-Star break, Moreno had a slash of .341/.434/.479 for an OPS of .913. He also had more walks (27) than strikeouts (25) in that time. All that, plus managing the pitching staff and making ABS challenges too.

Geraldo Perdomo

Expecting Perdomo to live up to his MVP-caliber season of 2025, was probably optimistic. But after a slow start – through his first 20 games he was hitting below the Uecker Line, with an OPS in the five hundreds – Perdomo has got things back on track. His plate-discipline remains as stellar as ever, with his 59 walks leading the team, and compared to only 49 strikeouts. He continues to be well-rated by the defensive metrics: Fangraphs Def currently has Geraldo at +11.3, sixth-best in the majors.

Eduardo Rodriguez

Expectations for Rodriguez were low, despite his high salary. After all, in both 2024 and 2025, his ERA was above five. But this year has been a revelation. His 2.29 ERA for the first half was the lowest by a qualifying Arizona pitcher since 2009, when Dan Haren had a 2.01 ERA. That and Randy Johnson’s 1.80 in 2000 are the only better first halves in franchise history. It led to an unexpected, yet entirely merited, first appearance in the All-Star Game for Rodriguez, now in his eleventh season.

Paul Sewald

A closer is measured, above everything else, by his ability to close games. And there, Sewald had a first half which was basically unprecedented in team history. Over the 96 games up to the break, he had 22 saves and just one blown save. No other D-backs pitcher has had even fifteen saves through 96 games, without blowing multiple save opportunities. The last with 22 saves? That was Fernando Rodney in 2017 – and he had five blown saves. Regardless of struggles elsewhere, Sewald has got it done.

Poll below, feel free to explain your choice in the comments, or provide a write-in vote for a candidate not listed here!

First Pitch: 5:40 PM CDT

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com

Know thine enemy:Covering the Corner

After getting back to .500 for the first time since April, the Twins dropped the last two games to the Cubs and now the first of a four game set against the Guardians. Abandon all hope etc etc. Today’s match is a battle of lefty starters Kendry Rojas and Parker Messick.

Messick features an excellent 4-seam fastball, a sinker he throws mainly against lefties, a changeup, curveball, cutter, and slider. That arsenal has carried him to an 8-5 record with a 2.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP this season.

For Rojas, it will be his 3rd career start, as he’s mostly been used out of the bullpen. He has shown swing-and-miss stuff, but also a tendency to walk a lot of batters, as he’s struck out 22 and walked 16 in 19.1 IP.

Here are the lineups for game two against the Dodgers. Let’s discuss!

For the Phillies:

Ready for round 2#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/ttgPDdhgSb

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 21, 2026

For the Dodgers:

Today's #Dodgers  lineup at Phillies: pic.twitter.com/7MYSC7yT7S

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 21, 2026

With it being a day ending in Y, the Mets have made another roster move. The team has called up right-handed pitcher Daniel Duarte from Triple-A Syracuse and optioned fellow right-handed pitcher Xzavion Curry to Syracuse. Both pitchers have been part of the team’s roster churn at the fringe of its major league bullpen this year.

Duarte has thrown five innings for the Mets at the major league level, and he has a 0.00 ERA and a 2.50 FIP in that extraordinarily small sample. He’ll presumably get sent back to Syracuse before long, and in 30.1 innings at that level this year, he has a 4.75 ERA and a 4.96 FIP.

As for Curry, he’s thrown six innings over the course of four appearances for the Mets, and he has a 3.00 ERA and a 4.94 FIP. He’s thrown 49.1 innings for Syracuse this year, working almost exclusively as a starter, and he has a 4.74 ERA and a 5.67 FIP there.

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

Welcome back to another edition of our Brewers Reacts Survey! In this week’s survey, we’re asking fans which Brewer prospect they’d be LEAST willing to part with at the trade deadline.

It seems like top prospect Jesús Made is all but untouchable, and fellow prospects Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara are both in the majors and locked into long-term deals. That left me curious: among the other top prospects in the Brewer organization, who would you least like to see moved?

Luis Peña, 19, is currently at High-A Wisconsin and ranks as Milwaukee’s No. 2 prospect (MLB No. 18). Signed in the January 2024 international class out of the Dominican Republic, he’s hitting .314/.415/.430 with a homer, seven doubles, two triples, 17 RBIs, 30 runs, and 21 steals across 35 games this year. He was also one of two prospects named to the NL Futures squad for last week’s All-Star festivities (alongside Made).

Jett Williams, 22, was drafted in the first round of the 2022 draft by the Mets and was sent to Milwaukee in the Freddy Peralta trade. Ranked as the team’s No. 5 prospect (MLB No. 78), he’s had a bit of an up-and-down season, hitting .234/.341/.385 with nine homers, nine doubles, five triples, 41 RBIs, 60 runs, and 21 steals across 80 games with Triple-A Nashville.

Josh Adamczweski, 20, is one of the quickest risers in Milwaukee’s system. A 15th-round pick in 2023, he’s with Double-A Biloxi and ranks as Milwaukee’s No. 6 prospect (MLB No. 90). He’s hit over .320 in all three of his minor league seasons (not counting the three games he played in in 2023), and he’s slashing .327/.444/.553 with 12 homers, 18 doubles, two triples, 56 RBIs, 55 runs, and 13 steals over 74 games between High-A and Double-A this year.

Lastly, Andrew Fischer, 21, is the only one of these players not ranked in MLB’s top 100 prospects, but he’s ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 7 prospect. The third baseman was the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2025, and he’s hitting .286/.432/.674 with an incredible 29 homers, 14 doubles, three triples, 67 RBIs, 75 runs, and nine steals in just 79 games between High-A and Double-A. The main reason he isn’t ranked higher is his strikeout rate, as he’s struck out 118 times in 276 at-bats.

Which of these prospects would you least like to see dealt at the deadline? Weigh in below and stay tuned for results later this week!

The stage is set as the Atlanta Braves look for a second win in this four-game series against the San Diego Padres.

Mike Yastrzemski has been added to the lineup after being reactivated coming off a forearm injury.

Against San Diego’s Walker Buehler, Yastrzemski averages a .646 OPS and .240 batting average. But, if he takes advantage of Buehler’s constant struggles at landing his pitches in the zone, Yastrzemski, along with the rest of the Braves’ offense, have the tools to come out with a win.

Matt Olson, Michael Harris II and Austin Riley have previously put up some good numbers against Buehler, all averaging over an .800 OPS, but will need to be consistent in striking while the iron’s hot. The silent bats won’t cut it, if they want to put the game away early with a qualified offensive production.

As for the Padres’ offense, they might not be as dominant as the Braves, but they sure have a variety of players on the roster who love hitting against Reynaldo López.

López’s last start against the St. Louis Cardinals wasn’t a great showing, but he does have a knack for consistency. If he can get ahead early with run-support to back him up, he’ll manage just fine.

Tune in at 7:15 p.m ET for first pitch.

The Dodgers conclude the second stop on their three-city road trip on Wednesday night, taking on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Eric Lauer starts for the Dodgers, who have won all seven games in which he’s pitched for them.

Aaron Nola starts for the Phillies..

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Phillies
• Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
• Start time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

It’s been somewhat less than a great season for the San Francisco Giants, who seem determined to alienate their supporters of all stripes. The players created a Pride Night controversy and pissed off local fans. Prospect watchers don’t love how the team has actively blocked some of the best young hitters. Old-school traditionalists hate how many defensive and base running mistakes the Giants make. Fans of musicals aren’t thrilled with the team’s purchase of the Curran Theatre. The front office hired a college baseball coach and alienated, well, mostly just Joe Maddon.

So instead of focusing on which hatemongering pitcher blew the most recent game, or which highly-paid infielder looked at strike three with the bases loaded, or how much Buster Posey’s lip quivered while facing basic questions from the media, let’s look at some of the other wonders of baseball. Namely, the incredible strikeout production of Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who is chasing history this season.

Suarez is one of the most prolific home run hitters of his generation, smacking 49 dingers in both 2019 and 2025. He has 337 career home runs, 10th among all active players and 117th all time. But where he really shines is as one of the most prolific whiffers of all time.

Sunday, Suarez passed the century mark for the season, striking out for the 100th and 101st time this season. He moved into a tie for 16th on the all-time strikeout list with Giants legend Andrew McCutchen. Look, he still hits the ball a long way when he does connect, like this 9th-inning bomb one strike away from defeat last month.

EUGENIO SUAREZ THREE-RUN HOMER FOR THE LEAD WITH THE REDS DOWN TO THEIR FINAL STRIKE pic.twitter.com/GKL0bY4p48

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 27, 2026

But it’s exciting to see him chasing so many strikeout legends, too. He started the season in 27th place, one strikeout ahead of should-be Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez. Since then, he’s moved past this illustrious list of players:

Dave Kingman (442 home runs, three strikeout titles)

Derek Jeter (Hall of Fame, struck out on unanimous induction by one vote)

Bobby Abreu (good career K numbers, unimpressive strikeout peak)

Ryan Howard (two-time strikeout champ, five seasons of 180+ whiffs)

Chris Davis (two seasons leading the league in strikeouts, two 200+ seasons and five above 190)

Tony Perez (Hall of Fame, racked up strikeouts through his age-44 season)

Fred McGriff (Hall of Fame, promoted defensive drills videos that never mentioned contact hitting)

Mike Schmidt (greatest third baseman of all time, led the league in homers eight times, walks four times, strikeouts four times)

Mike Cameron (led the league in K’s, 2002)

He’s surging this season, sitting only one whiff behind Curtis Granderson and Nelson Cruz with 63 games to play. Next is strikeout prodigy Mark Reynolds, who led the league for four straight seasons from 2008-11, setting the single-season record with 223 in 2009.

Suarez is likely to pass Alameda’s own Willie Stargell, along with Oakland Bash Brother Jose Canseco. It’s going to be tough to break into the top 10 by passing Justin Upton (1971), sitting just shy of the 2K-K club.

9th place is Andres Galarraga, who had 110 strikeouts and 19 homers in two stints in San Francisco, notching his 2,000th career strikeout in a Giants uniform. Should the Giants have added Eric Young to their postseason roster so he could pinch-run for J.T. Snow, instead of a 43-year-old man? Maybe, but that would have prevented Galarraga from notching his 20th playoff strikeout.

Why is it important to pay attention to Suarez now? Because he’s been one of the worst players in baseball this season, slashing .208/.280/.392 and playing below average defense at third base. Suarez is beloved by fans and clubhouses alike, but age 34, this could be his last chance at extending playing/strikeout time.

The World Cup showed us it’s important to appreciate greatness while it’s still in front of us. Eugenio Suarez is making history this season. Plus, if you’ve watched Giants baseball all season, you’re used to seeing a ton of strikeouts.

Suarez is striking out for the record books. He already owns the single-season record for strikeouts by a right-handed hitter. If Geno can hit just a few more dingers this season, he’ll have a chance at another contract, and a chance to chase down Miguel Cabrera (2,105 Ks). He deserves a chance to fulfill his swing-and-miss destiny.

The MLB Draft was just over a week and a half ago at this point, and the good news for the Yankees is that they’ve already signed all 20 of the players they selected. All information on the signing details, player backgrounds, and bonuses can be found in the linked tracker.

The most eyes were on the draft in Day 1 on Saturday, July 11th, when the Yankees made their first four picks: Arkansas southpaw Hunter Dietz, Canadian prep lefty Sean Duncan, Oklahoma catcher Brendan Brock, and Cal State Fullerton outfielder Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II. When that day came to a close, we put out a poll in the Feed asking fans to grade it.

The results were probably about as high as Yankees fans have been on a draft class in years:

The “A” grade nearly earned an outright majority, settling for a still-great 47-percent plurality. And 41 percent still gave the Yankees a “B,” meaning that only 12 percent thought this was a middling class or worse.

We also had a separate poll asking fans to just grade the Dietz first-round selection alone, and a commanding 70 percent gave him an “A,” with not a single respondent hitting him with a “D” or “F.” The talented Razorback earned acclaim from draft experts around the sport, as the consensus opinion was that he was normally the kind of arm who would’ve gone within the first 20-30 picks, and the Yanks landed him at No. 35. And while part of the reason for his fall was that a stress fracture had limited his college experience prior to 2026, that’s a different beast than Tommy John or shoulder surgery.

Check out some of the fan responses on Pinstripe Alley to the Dietz pick:

Some other fans debated the Dietz pick with a popular name that had occasionally been linked to the Yankees in mock drafts around this spot: Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson, who won both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award as college baseball’s best player. He ended up going to the Rockies at No. 37 overall.

As ultramod2 noted, Jackson might be the flashier name, but the Yankees’ third-round pick was another college catcher who should be no slouch.

Although Brock has some questions about his bat, he did just help lead the Sooners to their first national championship in 32 years, and the Yankees have a reputation around MLB for developing backstops who make it to The Show. They ended up getting another well-regarded college catcher in the fifth round as well, Bear Harrison of Texas A&M, giving New York two of the top nine catchers selected in the entire draft. It should be interesting tracking all three of these players to see who ends up having the best career — though all may end up in the shadow of Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey, who the Twins took with the third overall pick.

BetweenthePinstripes thought the Yankees’ overall draft strategy was sound, praising the team’s willingness to make sensible rolls of the dice while perhaps not deviating too much from conventional wisdom (à la Trey Sweeney):

Finally, a few community members bantered about scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, who has largely had autonomy from general manager Brian Cashman in running most of the team’s drafts for the past couple decades. It can be a tough assignment, given changing draft bonus rules and the Yankees always picking beyond the first 10 selections. Has he been as good about uncovering diamonds in the rough as, say, Zach Fitzpatrick and Billy Gasparino with the Dodgers? No, but the Yankees have done a fair job at finding prospects who have either become All-Star names (Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler) or who developed into key trade chips (Drew Thorpe, Ken Waldichuk, Josh Smith).

The San Diego Padres took plenty of momentum into their series opener against the Atlanta Braves after beating the Kansas City Royals, 19-2, on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The club fell short versus the Braves despite Manny Machado and Ty France slugging two solo shots against Atlanta.

Multiple poor decisions by manager Craig Stammen regarding the pitching staff hurt the Padres in their eventual one-run loss. Starter JP Sears was taken out after five stellar innings. He had thrown just 55 pitches to that point and seemed ready to enter the sixth. Instead, Wandy Peralta came in and gave up the eventual game-winning run on an Ozzie Albies homer to right field. Stammen has had plenty of question marks surrounding the remaining length of his tenure in San Diego. Moves like that only exacerbate the problem for the Friar Faithful. 

Taking the mound

Reynaldo López (ATL) v. Walker Buehler (SD)

López has been one of the most consistent starters in all of baseball this season. The veteran right-hander owns a 3.50 ERA through 61 2/3 innings pitched this season. The righty has missed some time due to injury as well as his suspension earlier this season. But the Padres will still be facing a formidable opponent tonight.

That said, the Friars have had some success against him in the past. Chief among them is Jackson Merrill, with a career .375 batting average in eight at-bats. Other stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Machado? Not so much. The two have a combined .222 average against López.

Buehler has yet to find a cure for his July woes. After a ridiculously good June that saw the righty post a 1.71 ERA across five starts, Buehler has surrendered 20 runs in his last three starts. That would mean something if he had pitched six innings in each, but he’s only pitched 11 innings in total. It’s been an historic decline for Buehler.

Thankfully, none of the Braves have much experience against the right-hander. Hopefully, that will give Buehler a slight edge when facing them today. If he can get through five or six quality innings of work, San Diego can consider that a rousing success for their starter.

Batter up!

Despite some pop from France and Machado, the offense fell short against Atlanta starter Bryce Elder. The club went 0-for-3 with RISP, failing not only to create scoring opportunities but not capitalizing on the few they did have. With the Trade Deadline looming, every game is must-win for San Diego. They’ll need more from their offense to earn the win tonight.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Jackson Merrill, CF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Gavin Sheets, DH
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Luis Rengifo, LF

Rengifo came on as a pinch-hitter for Sheets in yesterday’s game. He went 2-for-2 and played left field quite competently. Since joining San Diego, the veteran has gone 5-for-9 across three games. If he can help spark this offense back to life, it would be a major turning point for the Friars.

Relief corps

Apart from Peralta’s lone mistake pitch, the bullpen locked it down. Bradgley Rodriguez and Kyle Hart pitched two scoreless innings to close it out, giving San Diego a chance to come back. Unfortunately, they never did. 

But that usage will leave the Friars primed for a bullpen duel tonight. San Diego has Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Randy Vásquez and Matt Waldron to turn to in Game 2. Vásquez and Waldron are starters who have been working out of the bullpen but should be making a start sooner rather than later.