Category: Baseball

Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, July 7, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are returning home to take on the Atlanta Braves for the first matchup of a three-game set.

The Braves are handing the ball to Hurston Waldrop, who is making his second start of the season. Waldrop made his 2026 debut on June 26 against the San Francisco Giants, pitching two innings and giving up two hits and zero earned runs.

In his next appearance, he made his first start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals at home. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs, in an 11-5 loss at Truist Park. Now he’s making his first start on the road at PNC Park against the Buccos.

The Pirates will hand the ball to their ace, Paul Skenes, but he hasn’t been pitching like one as of late. In his last start, Skenes pitched four innings, giving up six hits and seven earned runs in a 10-6 loss on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 1. The Pirates have lost nine consecutive games when Skenes takes the mound, which is a big surprise given how well he has pitched in his first two seasons.

Skenes still has the stuff to be one of the best pitchers in the league, but the Pirates haven’t been able to put it together with him on the mound.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Hurston Waldrep (0-0, 3.68 ERA) vs. Paul Skenes (6-8, 3.62 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Well, it’s not quite over yet. Despite snapping their eight-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, the San Diego Padres went back to their unfortunate losing ways with an 8-0 shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night. The club couldn’t manage a single run against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt and didn’t reach second base until Jackson Merrill did so in the seventh inning.

San Diego’s Walker Buehler went five innings but surrendered seven runs to the Dbacks. It’s a worrying trend as Buehler has now given up 16 runs between his last two outings. Prior to that, the righty hadn’t given up more than a run in each of his June starts. Now Buehler is barely a serviceable back-end starter. The Friars were out of the game before they ever came to bat. They’ll need to turn things around in Game 2 tonight against Arizona. If they can’t, it will worsen the tough stretch the club has found themselves in.

Taking the mound

Zac Gallen (AZ) v. Germán Márquez (SD)

It’s unfortunate, but Gallen has been one of the worst pitchers in the league. After re-signing with Arizona this offseason, he hasn’t helped the club at all. The righty owns a 6.36 ERA through 92 innings and has just 56 strikeouts with an overblown 1.57 WHIP.

Gallen has had the worst season of his career this year. The Dbacks’ ace hasn’t been able to put it together at any point this year. He’s been even worse lately, with an 8.60 ERA in his last seven starts. The Friars should be able to tag Gallen for plenty of runs tonight.

Márquez is making his first start back after returning from the injured list earlier this week. The right-hander pitched three innings against Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. Márquez pitched in bulk relief after Randy Vásquez exited the game early. With Vásquez now on the IL, Márquez will be taking over for the righty.

He pitched decent against L.A. in his first outing back, giving up two runs on two hits while walking three. He struggled with his command, but showed flashes of the ace-like stuff he once had. The hope for San Diego is that Márquez can quiet Arizona’s bats after a loud series opener (three home runs).

Batter up!

Apart from last night’s mishaps, the San Diego lineup has been effective as of late. The offense produced 15 runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their most recent series against the division rivals. More than that, Manny Machado has had a recent power surge. The third baseman has three home runs in his last seven games.

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

Cronenworth went 2-for-4 last night against Pfaadt. The second baseman has a fantastic career when facing the Arizona righty. He’s also hit well against Gallen, batting .300 with a .917 OPS against the Dbacks’ ace (30 at-bats). Hopefully, Cronenworth will be able to continue that successful streak.

Relief corps

Thankfully, Alek Jacob was able to cover three innings for the Friars. With Arizona’s lead ballooned to seven runs by the time Jacob came in, the reliever was left on the mound for as long as possible. He threw 42 pitches, giving up just one run on a solo shot by Nolan Arenado. After him, Ron Marinaccio pitched the ninth inning. That outing from Jacob helped to salvage the bullpen for the remainder of the series.

That will allow San Diego to have plenty of options for Game 2. Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez will be available if Márquez struggles in his first start back. With no off day before the All-Star break, the club will be forced to rely on quality outings from their starters to save the ‘pen.

There are precious few things that Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler cannot defeat. That includes venous thoracic outlet syndrome, which shut him down in August of last season and cost him most of the month of April in 2026.

At age 36, you may have begun to wonder if the end was near for the three-time All Star. Oh, how far from the case that has been.

Through 13 starts since his return on April 25th, Wheeler sports a 2.36 ERA – a mark that would be his best over the course of a single season. His 3.30 FIP is right in line with his 3.29 career mark, and his 2.3 BB/9 is actually lower than his 2.5 per 9 mark across his brilliant 12 year career. The injury, it would seem, was merely a hiccup over which he would rise again to regain his elite form.

Wheeler will start for the Phillies in Tuesday night’s series opener at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds. Fortunately for the ol’ Redlegs, they’ll be sending out a starter who’s been almost as hot as Wheeler for that period of time, too.

Andrew Abbott will toe the rubber in the series opener, the southpaw having pitched to a 2.71 ERA in his 12 starts dating back to the final week of April. The first four weeks of April were positively abysmal from the former All Star, but he’s once again regained the form that has him outperforming all of his peripherals through deception, precision, and an elite ability to induce soft contact. That’s what we’ll hope to see from him again tonight as he faces a Phillies lineup stacked with hitters who mostly excel from the left side of the plate.

First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET. Here’s how the Reds will line up to begin:

It’s been nearly a month since Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with his second Grade One left hamstring strain across the span of two months and the Atlanta Braves have kept to their word when it comes to making sure that Acuña eases back into things following the latest strain.

As such, there weren’t many expectations that the Braves would try to rush to get Acuña back in action before the break and he will indeed make his return after the All-Star break. The good news is that we may not have to wait long after the break to see Acuña make his return to action since Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that Walt Weiss believes that Acuña could go out on rehab assignment as soon as next week.

If that’s the case then I’d assume that Acuña could be back with the Braves by the end of the month. I’m guessing that July 24-29 road trip to Baltimore and New York (Citi Field) would be a reasonable time to guess that Acuña could be back with the Braves, or they just might push it until July 30 when they come back home from that road trip to play the Nationals.

By then, it will have been nearly a two-month long stint on the IL but when it comes to that type of injury and potentially aggravating it again, it’s better to play it safe than sorry and the Braves are indeed planning on continuing to take their time bringing Acuña back into the fold.

Meanwhile, Robert Suarez is also eyeing a potential post-All-Star break return from his forearm issues. Suarez went on the IL back on June 26 with inflammation but apparently those issues weren’t structural and all he’s needed is a bit of rest and recuperation to get his arm back in pitching shape. Even back when the IL stint was reported, Walt Weiss was reportedly “hopeful” that their set-up man would be able to come back “shortly” after the All-Star break and I’d say that a couple of extra weeks wouldn’t be too bad.

With that being said, the bullpen does need him since cracks are starting to show in what’s been a great season for the ‘pen as a collective so far. Maybe the break will do a lot of those guys some good since it means that the bullpen especially should be fully rested and ready to go once play resumes on July 17 in Cobb County against the Texas Rangers but for now, it appears as if the bullpen will have to hold on just a little while longer while Robert Suarez gets back in shape. The same goes for the outfield and having Ronald Acuña Jr. out there. Slowly but surely, the stars are coming back.

Jorge Polanco has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the Mets announced this afternoon. Polanco has been sidelined for nearly three months due to lingering Achilles bursitis. After being shut down from his rehab assignment last month due to persistent soreness in his ankle, Polanco resumed playing in rehab games for Triple-A Syracuse on June 27. After a slow start, Polanco hit two home runs and drove in three in his past three rehab games. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old, who is in the first year of a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets, slashed .179/.246/.286 in a small 14-game sample in April. The Achilles injury has limited Polanco’s ability to play the field and he will be used solely as a DH for the Mets.

“Feeling good, feeling grateful and excited to be back,” Polanco said to reporters this afternoon.

To make room for Polanco on the roster, the Mets optioned Ronny Mauricio back to Triple-A Syracuse. In a separate move, the Mets added righty Matt Seelinger—acquired yesterday in a trade with the Tigers for cash considerations—to the big league roster. “It’s a dream scenario for me,” the Long Island native said of the chance to pitch for the Mets. “I grew up 20 minutes from here. I used to come to games all the time as a kid.”

To make room on the 40-man roster for Polanco and Seelinger, the Mets have designated pitchers Alex Carrillo and Guillermo Zuñiga for assignment—the latter just one day after he made his Mets debut.

There have also been recent updates on a couple of other long-injured Mets. Luis Robert Jr.’s rehab assignment has been transferred to Double-A Binghamton as the Rumble Ponies begin a six-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats in Hartford. Robert had played in three games for Triple-A Syracuse and went 1-for-10 with a walk and two strikeouts. Meanwhile, outfielder Mike Tauchman, who suffered a torn meniscus at the end of spring training and has yet to play in a regular season game, began a rehab assignment today in the Florida Complex League. He went 0-for-2 with a walk in his first rehab game as the DH for the FCL Mets.

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It’s been so long since the White Sox held the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, nearly every one of our readers were not fans when it last happened (1977, Harold Baines) … even a “veteran” fan like Brett, senior to all but one on the SSS staff, had just begun his fandom at that time.

Well, after months of anticipation, and the curious fall of UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky from no-brainer top pick to perhaps as low as No. 3 overall in the draft, Saturday marks the day of reckoning for the White Sox. The draft boasts as many as three apparent generational talents:

• Cholowsky, a collegiate superstar and right-handed bat apparently close to plugging directly into the White Sox lineup
• Vahn Lackey, a Georgia Tech catcher who the White Sox front office apparently now favors
• Grady Emerson, a prep shortstop out of Fort Worth who is three years younger than the two collegians, bats from the left side, is purportedly as MLB-ready as the other two and is said to be the preference of the White Sox scouting corps

There is no clear pick here, which hopefully means there is no way for the White Sox to make a mistake with the choice. But we all know that these three players won’t end up with identical 20-year, 100-WAR careers and Hall of Fame elections. Chicago’s recent high-pick past is no salve for our worries, as the club picked Nick Madrigal No. 4 overall and Andrew Vaughn No. 3 in back-to back drafts.

So, who’s you’re guy on Saturday?

Box Score

The Brewers picked up another win in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in St. Louis, as Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 across seven innings and Christian Yelich and Joey Ortiz each came up with three-hit days in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals.

After Matt Svanson worked around a leadoff ground-rule double by Yelich in the first, the Cardinals immediately came up swinging against Misiorowski. JJ Wetherholt took a hit by pitch on Miz’s second pitch of the day, and he then advanced on a groundout. Two batters later, Jordan Walker crushed a first-pitch cutter from Misiorowski for a two-run homer, putting St. Louis out to a 2-0 lead. Lars Nootbaar followed with a double on a misplay by Jackson Chourio in left, but Miz stranded him there.

Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings in the second before the Brewers broke through against left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the third. Zimmermann, who made a spot start for Milwaukee against the Padres last September, walked Cooper Pratt before allowing a run-scoring double to Ortiz. Yelich followed with a single to bring Ortiz in, and it was quickly knotted at 2-2, though Chourio followed with a double play and Brice Turang went down swinging.

The 2-2 tie wouldn’t last long, though, as Iván Herrera hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, Miz’s second homer allowed in the game and fourth in his last two starts.

After those few shaky moments from Miz in the first three innings, he settled in nicely. He allowed no more baserunners through the seventh inning, setting down the last 14 in a row after the Herrera homer. He finished the day with seven innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits and no walks while striking out 11.

In a 3-2 hole, Milwaukee threatened with two more baserunners on a Jake Bauers double and a Garrett Mitchell single in the fourth, but they couldn’t cash either in. They then went down in order in the fifth.

After a pair of outs to begin the sixth, Bauers slugged his second double of the afternoon and then came around to score on Mitchell’s second single. The play at home was close, but the call was confirmed upon review after a St. Louis challenge.

A brand-new ballgame entering the seventh, the Brewers forced a pitching change, with Ryne Stanek taking over for Zimmermann. He allowed a walk and a bunt single before being removed due to a scary injury, as he slid into first in an effort to get Ortiz out on the bunt. Hopefully he’s alright.

JoJo Romero entered in relief of Stanek and promptly gave up a double to Yelich, which gave Milwaukee a 4-3 lead and put runners at second and third with no outs. Looking for some insurance, the Brewers couldn’t cash in, with Chourio grounding out, Turang striking out, William Contreras reaching on an intentional walk, and pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn grounding out to end the inning.

Justin Bruihl set Milwaukee down in order in the eighth, and Aaron Ashby took the ball from Misiorowski for the bottom of the inning. After recording the first two outs without a problem, he gave up a pair of singles to Wetherholt and Herrera, putting runners at the corners with Alec Burleson at the plate. Burleson mercifully grounded out, keeping Milwaukee’s lead at 4-3 entering the final inning.

The Brewers, still looking for an insurance run, threatened against Bruihl in the ninth, with Ortiz singling and moving up on a passed ball and groundout. Turang also walked and stole second (without a throw), but Contreras grounded out to end the threat.

After Trevor Megill got his 14th save yesterday, it was Abner Uribe out of the bullpen for this one. He retired Walker on a pop-up but then fell behind Nootbaar, ultimately walking the veteran outfielder. Nootbaar was promptly replaced with the fleet-footed Masyn Winn, but Uribe bounced back with a strikeout of Bryan Torres and a groundout by Nathan Church, picking up his sixth save of the year.

While the Brewers finished with 10 hits, they came from just four players, as Yelich, Ortiz, Bauers, and Mitchell each had multi-hit days — Yelich had two doubles and a single, Ortiz had a double and two singles, Bauers had a pair of doubles, and Mitchell had two singles. Yelich added two RBIs, while Mitchell and Ortiz had one each. As a team, the Brewers went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position, which was just enough to get the win.

The Brewers are back at it this evening for the second half of their doubleheader, with both team’s 27th man getting the start — Robert Gasser for Milwaukee and Hunter Dobbins for St. Louis. First pitch for that one is set for 6:45 p.m. See you then.

On paper, the St. Louis Cardinals were overmatched in game 1 of a day/night doubleheader at Busch Stadium Tuesday. However, baseball games are played on fields and Jordan Walker proved that the unbeatable are really not invincible as he homered against Jacob Misiorowski giving the Cardinals an early lead over the Brewers in game 1 Tuesday afternoon. The problem would be the Brewers would still overtake the Cardinals in the late innings.

The Cardinals didn’t delay to jump on likely All-Star game starter Jacob Misiorowski. After he hit JJ Wetherholt with a pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning, two batters later Jordan Walker strolled to the plate and immediately destroyed a 95 mph cutter sending it 386 feet into the left field stands giving the Cardinals an unexpected 2-0 lead.

The St. Louis Cardinals start by committee worked fine – for 2 innings – as Matt Svanson covered the top of the 1st inning and new call-up from Memphis Bruce Zimmermann handled the middle innings. His second inning in relief would not go well as he walked Cooper Pratt to start the inning who then scored on a double by Ortiz. He scored next when Christian Yelich singled to center evening the game at 2-2. To his credit, that was Zimmermann’s only inning where he ran into trouble…until the 6th inning. More on that later.

The relentless Cardinals offense lived up to its reputation in the bottom of the 3rd inning as they again proved Jacob Misiorowski is at least partially human as Iván Herrera connected with a 102 mph four-seam fastball from the wonder kid and launched it 378 feet giving the Cardinals their lead back at 3-2.

Bruce Zimmermann faced a Milwaukee Brewers rally in the top of the 6th inning. Jake Bauers cracked a 2-out double followed by a single by Mitchell which scored Bauers at home on a close play that was held up by review tying the game at 3-3.

Ryne Stanek was given the reins for the top of the 7th inning with the task of keeping the Milwaukee Brewers right where they were. He did the thing that Bruce Zimmermann did in the top of the 3rd inning that got him into trouble as he walked Cooper Pratt to start the inning. Joey Ortiz then laid down a sacrifice bunt that led to 3 players lying on the field. Stanek hurt his right ankle and Pratt and Bryan Torres collided at first base as Pratt was called safe on the play. Fortunately, Pratt and Torres ended up being uninjured and able to continue. Stanek, on the other hand, had to leave the game complicating an already difficult Cardinals bullpen situation. JoJo Romero was tasked with tossing buckets of water on the 7th inning dumpster fire as he faced Christian Yelich who was 1-7 against JoJo Romero in the past. Unfortunately, he became 2-8 with his RBI double scoring Pratt giving the Brewers their first lead Tuesday at 4-3 with Milwaukee still having runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. After JoJo struck out Turang, he intentionally walked William Contreras. The Brewers pinch-hit for Jake Bauers with Andrew Vaughan. Romero got him out on a nice play by JJ Wetherholt who was playing short in place of Masyn Winn for game 1 as he wanted to throw to third for the force out, but it was uncovered by Fermin so he made a throw across the diamond to get Vaughan out at first to end the top of the 7th.

After the Cardinals failed to do anything to Jacob Misiorowski’s pitches in the bottom of the 7th inning, it was Justin Bruihl’s turn in the top of the 8th inning as the St. Louis bullpen merry-go-round continued to spin. It was a bit of a surprise to see Justin in the game after he rolled his ankle during Monday night’s game. He was able to set down the Brewers 1-2-3 without issue to keep the Cardinals within striking distance.

Despite the two Cardinals home runs, Jacob Misiorowski proved why he is one of the elite National League arms. He gave the Brewers 7 full innings only allowing 3 hits while striking out 11 and walking nobody. It was a relief to see the Brewers bring in Aaron Ashby in the bottom of the 8th inning. JJ Wetherholt was able to beat out an infield single with two outs and then advanced to third on a single by Iván Herrera giving St. Louis runners at first and third. That brought up Alec Burleson with a chance to tie the game or more. Unfortunately, he grounded out to end the bottom of the 8th with the Cardinals still trailing 4-3.

Justin Bruihl would remain in the game to keep the Cardinals deficit at just 1. He would give up a leadoff single to Ortiz who advanced to second on a passed ball charged to Pedro Pagés. Bruihl was able to get Yelich to fly out to left and Chourio to ground out to Wetherholt at short which advanced Ortiz to third. After Turang walked, Bruihl was able to get out of the jam as Contreras grounded out to end the top of the 9th.

The Cardinals would face Brewers reliever Abner Uribe in the bottom of the 9th. Jordan Walker was first up in the Cardinals 9th. All Jordan could manage was a popup to third for the first out. Lars Nootbaar was next up and ran the count full before drawing a walk. Masyn Winn pinch-ran for Nootbaar as the potential tying run while the potential winning run came to the plate in the form of Bryan Torres. He struck out looking which left Nathan Church as the Cardinals last hope. He grounded out to end the game and give the Brewers the first game of the doubleheader.

The St. Louis Cardinals will play game 2 of their day/night doubleheader Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers with Hunter Dobbins getting the start for the birds. The Brew Crew will assign night pitching duties to Robert Gasser who’s 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA. First pitch scheduled for 6:45pm central time with the game broadcast available again on Cardinals.tv.

For the first time since April 14, Jorge Polanco is back with the Mets.

The team made a number of roster moves on Tuesday prior to its series opening game against the Kansas City Royals, including returning Polanco from his rehab assignment and reinstating him from the 60-day injured list.

Polanco has been sidelined for most of the season due to left Achilles bursitis and a wrist contusion, but has been working his way back to the majors since the end of May. He played in 11 minor league games during his rehab assignment over the past month-plus with Double-A Binghamton (three games) and Triple-A Syracuse (eight games), hitting .148 with three home runs over 27 at-bats across both levels.

The team has said throughout Polanco's rehab that he will likely return in a DH role, something he played in 12 of the 14 games he was active for at the beginning of the season. He owned a .179 batting average with one home run and two RBI in 56 at-bats prior to his injury.

In corresponding moves, New York optioned infielder Ronny Mauricio to Triple-A, selected RHP Matt Seelinger to the major league roster, and designated both RHP Guillermo Zuniga and RHP Alex Carrillo for assignment.

Mauricio got the start at shortstop and went 1-for-4 in Monday's win over the Braves, but is just 9-for-50 (.180) in 17 games this season. 

Seelinger, 31, was acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Monday in exchange for cash considerations. The right-hander is a career minor leaguer with a 3.89 ERA at Triple-A in 2026.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers won a thriller over the Colorado Rockies last night and now look to secure the series on Tuesday.

My Rockies vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks back the home side to keep rolling, with Los Angeles covering the run line behind a favorable matchup against struggling right-hander Michael Lorenzen.

Who will win Rockies vs Dodgers today: Dodgers -1.5 (-137)

Michael Lorenzen is having an abysmal season, and this is a terrible matchup for him — but a great one for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That's because Lorenzen is getting tagged hard by left-handed hitters. On the season, lefties are slashing .365/.423/.640 against him while posting a 1.94 HR/9 rate.

Lorenzen owns a 5.07 xFIP versus left-handed hitters over the past month, but that number could be even worse. He's surrendered a HR/FB rate of only 4.8% despite allowing a 37.5% fly-ball rate.

The Dodgers' left-handed bats should do plenty of damage as Los Angeles covers the run line.

I'm betting this to -150 as my best bet.

COVERS INTEL: Lorenzen's hard-hit rate of 51.8% vs. left-handed hitters over the past month is the second-highest mark among starting pitchers who have faced at least 30 left-handed batters.

Rockies vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (-103)

Lorenzen will get us close to the total, but two overworked bullpens should carry this game Over.

Last night's 11-inning contest further taxed a Colorado Rockies bullpen that's thrown the fifth-most innings (32 2/3) of any club over the past week.

During that stretch, the Rockies own the lowest strikeout rate (14.4%) in baseball. An inability to miss bats against the Dodgers is never a recipe for success.

Colorado's .566 slugging percentage leads the majors over the past month, and the Rockies should tack on a few runs after Justin Wrobleski exits against a Dodgers bullpen that has logged the same number of innings over the past week as Colorado.

I'm playing this to -115.

Rockies vs Dodgers weather

Expect ideal hitting conditions at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. Clear skies, temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s at first pitch, and little to no wind mean weather should have virtually no impact on the game.

Rockies vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Rockies +261 | Dodgers -266
• Run line: Rockies +1.5 (+127) | Dodgers -1.5 (-138)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+100) | Under 9.5 (-104)

Rockies vs Dodgers trend

The Colorado Rockies have hit the game total Over in eight of their last 12 games (+4.70 units, 35% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rockies vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Rockies vs Dodgers and game info

Rockies vs Dodgers latest injuries

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.

Tuesday notes…

• STREAKING THE WRONG WAY: Surprise! The Cubs are mired in another 10-game losing streak. They have lost the first game of each of their last 10 series. The Cubs started the season by winning the opener of their first 11 series. Then they lost six in a row and won two, May 4 at New York vs. the Mets and May 8 at home vs. the Padres, before beginning their current double-digit streak on June 12 at Pittsburgh. They Cubs are 13-16 in all first games. They are 15-14 in second games, 18-10 in third games and 4-0 in fourth games. They are 13-14-2 in winning, losing and splitting series. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• AGAINST SUB-.500 TEAMS: The Cubs are 26-19 against teams that had a losing record on the day of games they played them. They are 24-21 vs. teams that were at .500 or had winning records. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• POWER OUTAGE: Last Wednesday, the Cubs hit eight home runs at home against the Padres, tying their team record, in a span of 45 plate appearances. They have hit none in their last 109. Three straight games without a homer is their second-longest streak of the season, after four in a row, March 31-April 5. They have had back-to-back homerless games five other times. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs trail the Nationals 8-0 at Washington entering the sixth inning. They score 10 runs over the next four innings, including home runs by Blake DeWitt and Carlos Pena, and win 10-9. It happened 15 years ago today, Thursday, July 7, 2011.

Cubs lineup:

Orioles lineup:

Matthew Boyd, LHP vs. Shane Baz, RHP

In two starts since returning from the injured list, Matthew Boyd has allowed 12 hits and three runs in 9.2 innings, with four walks and six strikeouts.

If you squint you can see the form of last year’s Boyd struggling to get out. Hopefully he finds it in Baltimore.

Boyd hasn’t faced the Orioles since 2023 so many of the current O’s weren’t on the team then. Current Orioles are a small sample size 7-for-33 (.212) against Boyd with no home runs and 13 strikeouts.

Shane Baz was supposed to be the Orioles’ big starting pitcher acquisition this year and he’s been decidedly average, posting 0.8 bWAR with a 4.19 ERA.

He was a first-round pick (12th overall) in 2017 out of high school in Texas by the Pirates, who traded him to the Rays in the Chris Archer deal in 2018 (now there’s a blast from the past!).

Baz started against the Cubs for the Rays Sept. 12, 2025 at Wrigley Field and they hit him hard — six hits and five runs in 2.1 innings. Alex Bregman is 5-for-9 lifetime against Baz with a home run.

As you can see below, Baz throws hard, but his K rate is down from last year.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Camden Yards.

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 Orioles site Camden Chat. If you do go there to interact with Orioles 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.

One of the bigger questions looming on the trade deadline horizon for the Phillies whether or not they can get another bat. They have been riding out a platoon of Gabriel Rincones, Jr. and Derek Hill, with Hill filling in at time for Justin Crawford and Edmundo Sosa taking some reps in left field against left handed pitching, options that are probably more appealing in theory than they are in practicality. The more urgent need, if there was one, was finding a more permanent solution to the right field platoon. Rincones has had a decent few games lately, but has generally looked as though more seasoning in the minor leagues was in order rather getting regular time in the majors. Hill is fine as a fourth/fifth outfielder or platoon option, but for a team that is looking to win a World Series, an upgrade is probably best for all.

As we know though, it takes two to tango on the trade front and finding acceptable solutions is going to be tricky. Getting that player on the Phillies will require them to make a deal for someone that is an upgrade over what they currently have, something they may not have the trade capital to do. If not, then the platoon will remain.

In that case:

Who knows what will happen, but we do know the fallback is the current iteration of the roster as is.

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What began as a promising rookie season for baseball’s No. 1 prospect has taken another turn for the worse.

Pirates star shortstop Konnor Griffin is going to be out for likely the next two months with a torn tendon in his left ring finger, according to multiple reports. 

Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Tom Tomczyk told the media that Griffin’s finger will be in a splint for six weeks. 

Griffin’s estimated return is in 8-10 weeks, lining him up to miss considerable time in the Pirates’ race to the playoffs. 

Griffin suffered the injury against the Washington Nationals on Sunday in our nation’s capital. Griffin made two diving catches into shallow left field for highlight-reel plays, but appeared to injure his left hand on one of the plays.

He was seen in the dugout getting his fingers checked out by the training staff. Griffin also appeared to be stepped on by Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams while stealing second base in the fourth inning and could be a contributing reason for the injury, which feels like a snowball effect of multiple causes.

It’s a crushing blow for the 20-year-old face-of-the-franchise, who just returned from an elbow injury that kept him out a month.

Griffin hit .306 in eight starts back off the IL with four multi-hit games and the game-winning hit on Sunday.

In 59 games during his rookie year, Griffin is slashing .276/.332/.404 with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 25 RBIs. Griffin homered in his first at-bat against the Reds on June 26.

Already missing center fielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz until after the All-Star break, the Pirates will need to survive another injury to an impactful player for their offense and defense. 

Pittsburgh hosts the Braves and Brewers to close the unofficial first half of the season. The Pirates are 46-45 and three games back of the Marlins for the final wild card spot. Buckle up, everyone.