Category: Baseball

Wheewwwww. Everyone relax, have your drink of choice, and take a deep breath. It may not feel like it, but the Twins did, indeed, win that game.

Things were actually going quite well for 90% of this game. Let’s start on the mound where Zebby Matthews delivered another very solid start. I remain a bit skeptical of how long he can keep this up given all the hard contact he allows, but you can do a lot worse for a fourth/fifth starter (see: Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Shoemaker, Dallas Keuchel, the starter version of Louie Varland, Josh Winder, or any other “remember some guys” guys over the past half decade).

Zebby and the coaching staff came in with a clear plan: let anyone except Yordan Alvarez beat you. And it worked quite well! Alvarez came to the plate with runners on just once all night and Matthews essentially intentionally walked him, with all his pitches staying far clear of the strike zone. The only hit the Twins’ starter allowed through four innings was a bloop single by shortstop Nick Allen. And the only run came on a hanging slider that was, unquestionably, his worst pitch of the night. Cam Smith deposited the ball, if my estimates are correct, about a mile out of the stadium (don’t check Statcast, I’m sure my math is right).

Since being recalled on May 14, Matthews has gone 6+ innings in eight of his nine starts, including his past five straight. The results have been mixed and he’s given up a staggering 11 home runs already, but it’s hard to overstate how helpful a steady arm like Zebby is when you have a bullpen like this. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The offense was equally absent for the Twins in the first third of the game, but things finally started moving in the fourth when Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini popped back-to-back two-out homers to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. Speaking of good signs, that is now Royce’s fifth homer since his infamous “reset” demotion after having just three in the entire first two months of the season, while the spirit of Ryan Jeffers seems to have infected Caratini who sports a robust 182 wRC+ in the month of June. Those two are a big reason the Twins suddenly have the most runs scored in the American League.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, another resurgent June bat got in on the action for the Twins. Josh launched a two-run moonshot in the sixth, while a little small-ball action got the Twins one more in the seventh for a 5-0 lead that they took into the ninth inning. And then things got weird.

Travis Adams came back out for the ninth inning after pitching a clean eighth. Things started off well when he got Alvarez to ground out to open the frame. Adams then walked Isaac Paredes on five pitches, none of which were anywhere close to the strike zone. And as the Metrodome always says: walks will haunt. And in fact, they would have haunted even more if not for a bizarre ABS situation.

With Paredes on base, Astros first baseman Christian Walker came up and home plate umpire Brennan Miller called a first pitch strike that was a solid 3-4 inches outside which Walker did not challenge. Then, seven pitches later with a full count, Miller called Walker out on strikes on a pitch that was a solid 3-4 inches above the zone. Walker tried to challenge this pitch but Miller wouldn’t allow it, claiming Walker had looked into the Astros dugout and either saw a replay or a coach gave a signal to challenge. Everyone from me, to my wife next to me on the couch, to Cory Provus, to Adams and Caratini knew that was ball four but Miller apparently thought Walker was trying to pull a fast one.

And as an avid Twins fan I just have to say…. I really think the Twins got away with one there.

And it’s a good thing too! Taylor Trammell followed with a two-run bomb to bring the Astros within two runs and force Yoendrys Gomez into the game. Gomez started his outing with an odd situation, where he was charged with a pitch clock violation after forgetting his PitchCom device during a mound visit with Caratini. It took the umps at 10 minutes of deliberating to come to that conclusion. Cam Smith then got his second hanging breaking ball of the night and demolished it into the stands to bring the score to 5-4 and what would have been a tie game if Walker was allowed his challenge. Then, just to make sure we were really sweating, the game ended on a soft grounder that Kody Clemens had to throw with his glove to get the final out.

Somehow, the Twins squeezed out a victory and and have a great chance to take the series tomorrow with Joe Ryan back on the mound.

STUDS

• Royce Lewis, Victor Caratini, Josh Bell: a dong apiece
• Zebby Mathews: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

DUDS

• Me: “watching baseball” to “wind down” and “relax”
• JK NO DUDS TWINS WIN!

Box Score

For much of the night, the Brewers consistently put runners on base but couldn’t cash them in. Despite going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight runners on base, timely home runs from Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz, a solid start from Robert Gasser, and quality relief work from Chad Patrick and Aaron Ashby helped Milwaukee sneak away with a late victory.

Gasser opened tonight’s game by striking out Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, but Spencer Steer kept the inning alive with a single to right. Gasser then walked cleanup hitter JJ Bleday, putting two runners on with two outs.

The next batter, Dane Myers, lined a double down the left field line, scoring Steer and moving Bleday to third. Thankfully, Gasser limited the damage from there, freezing Noelvi Marte with a called third strike on the bottom edge of the zone to end the inning.

Neither team was able to score until the fifth inning, when Cincinnati added to its lead after De La Cruz turned on a 90 mph fastball up and in, sending it over the fence in left-center for his thirteenth home run of the season.

While the Brewers managed just one hit — a Sal Frelick double — through the first five innings, Nick Lodolo wasn’t quite as sharp as he had been in his outing last week. Despite recording just the lone hit, the Crew were able to consistently put pressure on Lodolo — putting at least one runner on base in every inning except the fifth.

Lodolo walked four batters and hit William Contreras over five innings, but the Brewers couldn’t capitalize, going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position through the first seven innings. Their lone hit with RISP through seven innings finally came in the sixth against reliever Chase Petty. After Andrew Vaughn doubled and Christian Yelich walked, Jake Bauers lined an RBI single into right to score Vaughn with Milwaukee’s first run of the night.

Frelick then worked a walk on a pitch that would have hit him had he not jumped out of the way. The ball skipped past catcher Tyler Stephenson for a wild pitch, allowing Yelich to score from third and trim Cincinnati’s lead to 3-2. David Hamilton, pinch-hitting for Cooper Pratt, and Joey Ortiz were both retired to end the inning, but the Brewers had suddenly pulled within a run.

In the seventh inning, Patrick — who came in to relieve Gasser with two outs in the sixth — worked around a couple of baserunners to keep the Reds scoreless. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Brice Turang came up and hit a monster home run to center field to bring the score to three runs apiece.

With the game tied, Aaron “The Vulture 2.0” Ashby came in and pitched a scoreless eighth, working around an infield single by Marte and a throwing error by Ortiz that advanced him to second.

Bauers flew out to start the bottom of the eighth against Sam Moll, who came in to get the last out of the seventh. Frelick singled into left field to give the Brewers a baserunner, and Hamilton bunted him over to second to put yet another runner in scoring position for who else but Joey Ortiz.

Reds manager Terry Francona played the matchup, pulling the left-handed Moll in favor of right-hander Tejay Antone. Ortiz, who had struck out with runners on the corners to end the sixth inning, watched a strike and a ball before Antone threw a sweeper down in the zone. Ortiz didn’t miss it, launching the pitch 412 feet over the center-field wall for a go-ahead two-run homer, his second of the season. Chills.

Trevor Megill slammed the door in the ninth, retiring the Reds in order and punctuating his save with a swinging strikeout of Elly De La Cruz. Ashby picked up his 11th win of the season as the Brewers moved back to 20 games over .500.

While the Brewers’ struggles with runners in scoring position made for a frustrating afternoon, the offense came through when it mattered most. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but this Brewers team has shown time and again that it doesn’t go away quietly. Even when things look kind of bleak, Milwaukee finds a way to keep itself in games. More often than not, they find a way to win them.

After winning the first game of this week’s four-game series against the Reds, the Brewers will get a chance to make it two straight tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. Brandon Sproat will get the ball opposite Rhett Lowder (3-5, 4.81 ERA).

In six career appearances against Cleveland, Chris Paddack has a 3.14 ERA. In 114 appearances against every other team in MLB, Chris Paddack has a 4.95 ERA. He led the Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Guardians tonight.

After the game, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Paddack’s changeup and cutter give their lefties trouble. Join the club, Chris. Every pitcher gives this team trouble.

Oh yeah, the game. Parker Messick competed his butt off tonight but there was zero room for error as always. Texas decided to start slapping balls to the opposite field after making an in-game adjustment. Has anyone on the Guardians ever tried to do either of those things, or to coach anyone to be able to do either of those things?

Maybe, maybe not, but we do know they have been coaching Guardians hitters not to forget the power of a good sacrifice bunt. With two on and nobody out against Chris Paddack in the fourth inning, David Fry popped out on a bunt attempt. Hitting behind Fry was Steven Kwan with his OPS nearing .600 and Austin Hedges, mind you. I heard Stephen Vogt reply to Zack Meisel asking about these insane bunts saying that it was intended to be a sac bunt, but I will have to re-listen to the postgame to see if Vogt says it was the dugout’s call to see if I need to set myself on fire outside his office in protest.

Kwan ALSO popped out a bunt attempt in the eighth. I heard Vogt looked mad about that to which I would only say “Stevie, baby, you need to be mad at yourself. You simply need to tell your guys not to bunt unless you put the bunt sign on… then never put the bunt sign on.” STOP GIVING THE OTHER TEAM OUTS! ARE WE NOT DOING THAT ENOUGH ALREADY??!! PLEASE, SPARE MY LAST REMAINING SHREDS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND STOP BUNTING.

Oh, also, our Sabrowski is broken. He doesn’t look right. Sigh.

Ok, Kahlil Watson had a big hit, again, as did Chase DeLauter. And Gabriel Arias crushed a homer just as I was ready to assume our hitters wouls never homer again. Thank you, Gabby!

Back at it tomorrow. I’m sure Jacob deGrom will be so much easier to hit.

Marlins 10, Rockies 7

Leverage index & box score

Graphics via FanGraphs.

Grinnin’ Griffin: Griffin Conine, +0.30 WPA

Not Senzational: Antonio Senzatela, -0.28 WPA

Game discussion comment of the day

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As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Mets, who committed six errors in a game and fired their manager across two different days last week they seem to find new ways to embarrass themselves. 

Facing his first batter of the game, Mets starter Sean Manaea gave up what should have been a routine single to George Springer, only to watch Juan Soto misplay the ball and then A.J. Ewing fumble it — allowing him to score on a Little League home run on Monday.

Springer’s bloop single bounced into left field, and Soto stretched out his glove to grab the ball, only to misjudge it and allow the ball to go past the Mets outfielder and toward the wall. 

Ewing then raced in to try and make a play after it bounced off the wall, but the scoop went horribly wrong and when he went to transition the ball from his glove to his hand, the ball came flying out.

Soto sprinted toward the loose ball, but before he could get a throw off, it became apparent that Springer was nearly home as the crowd at Rogers Center erupted over what they had just witnessed. 

The scorer ruled the play a triple and an error on Ewing, which prevented Springer from being awarded a home run. 

If it had been ruled a leadoff home run, it would have given Springer his 66th and put him just 15 off tying Ricky Henderson’s 81. 

The moment did little to make already-ailing Mets fans feel any better, many of whom took to social media to voice their frustration. 

“Every day I wake up I hate myself for being a Mets fan,” one person wrote.

“Was that the Soto shuffle everyone talks about?” another person mockingly asked. 

“Brought to you by Juan Soto and the New York Mess,” a third fan added. 

The Mets ended up losing 2-1 to the Blue Jays and dropping their ninth game over their last 10.

Juan Soto had a busy first inning in the Mets’ series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

After ripping a double in his first at-bat in the top of the first and getting stranded at third base, Soto was immediately put to the test in the bottom half of the inning when George Springer lined one to left field.

Playing aggressive on the artificial turf that can sometimes be tricky at Rogers Centre, Soto charged in on the ball thinking he had a chance to catch it. After realizing the ball was going to drop, Soto pulled back and was ready to play it on a hop, except the ball bounced over his glove and trickled towards the left-field wall.

“I was actually trying to think right before that [play] to come through the ball because weird hops and everything,” Soto said. “Just took a weird hop on me and bounced a little differently.”

To make matters worse, A.J. Ewing, who was backing up on the play, got to the ball in a hurry but had it pop out of his glove on the exchange which allowed Springer to run around the bases and score the game’s first run.

And while only Ewing was charged with an error, the play began with Soto who spoke about what went wrong on the play and his thought process after the game.

“When you have an outfield like that [where the ball] bounces a lot, you have to be aware because you can give up extra-base hits really easily,” he said. “You just gotta be aggressive, that was my mindset. Just be aggressive, come through the ball instead of trying to play back and maybe bounce over my head, but I actually just stopped.”

Despite the misplay, interim manager Andy Green came to the defense of Soto who made some nice plays in the outfield after the first inning blunder.

Just like Soto said, Green saw his outfielder trying to be ultra aggressive on the play and mentioned it’s actually a common occurrence at this stadium.

“I think he’s playing it aggressively on the outset hoping to get to it because he made a lot of really good catches out there today,” Green said. “... I think he’s playing it aggressively hoping to get to it and sometimes on turf if you get caught in between -- I think every single time I’ve come to Toronto I’ve seen that particular play, not necessarily the finish of that play, A.J. usually makes that transfer fine, but that play happens frequently here and it got us in the first.”

The comedy of errors made it a 1-0 game in the first inning and Sean Manaea did a good job of keeping it there until he allowed a second run in the fifth. Unfortunately for the left-hander, other than a Francisco Lindor solo shot in the seventh, the Mets’ offense couldn’t get much going all night and lost 2-1, making the run scored in the first inning the difference in the game.

“I thought I had a chance and then it just kept dying,” Soto said. “Definitely thought [I had] a good first step, but the ball just kept dying.”

Texas catcher Andrew Ermis, a junior who recorded a .353 batting average and a .571 on-base percentage over 14 games with the Longhorns this season, will be coming to Fort Worth. Zachary Symm of Orange Bloods reported that Ermis will be transferring to the TCU Horned Frogs for his senior season. Ermis, who started seven games during the 2026 campaign, posted six hits and five RBIs over his 17 at-bats with the Longhorns. Prior to Texas, Ermis spent two seasons at Temple College, where he led the Leopards in batting average (.338), home runs (10), RBIs (41), on-base percentage (.479) and slugging percentage (.588) as a sophomore in 2025.

Ermis played in 98 games with 91 starts at Temple College before signing with the Longhorns. His commitment continues a scorching hot recruiting run for the Horned Frogs, who’ve added several talented position players including Saint Mary’s outfielder Tanner Griffith, UW-Milwaukee catcher/outfielder Dominic Kibler, Midland College infielder Bammer Maes and catcher Caleb Eagar, Coastal Carolina infielder Trace Mazon, Mississippi State outfielder James Nunnallee and Flagler College outfielder/infielder George Gilson.

The Twins came into Monday Night leading the American League in runs scored for the month of June.  Unfortunately for the Astros, they kept the hot bats going, launching multiple homeruns in a 5-4 win before an announced crowd of 22,969.  

Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini would go back-to-back with solo blasts in the 4th inning, providing the initial run support for Zebby Matthews.   They would represent the first two hits of the night.   Matthews would go 7 innings, striking out 7 with only 1 run allowed.    

Peter Lambert, in his first career outing against Minnesota, would go 5 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits, 4 runs with three walks.  He would strike out four on the night, two of which came in the first inning.    

Cam Smith finally put Houston on the board with his blast in the 5th.  That would be Cam’s fifth homer for the month of June, and his 10th for the season, cutting the deficit in half.    

However, in the sixth, Josh Bell would get in on the long ball party, launching his 10th homer of the season, which brought home Brooks Lee, making it 4-1.   Lee began the frame with a single.   For Bell, he continues to feast on Astros pitching, it’s his 7th career homer against Houston.   Isaac Paredes would have a chance in the bottom of that inning to cut into the lead with Alvarez and Altuve on base, but he grounded out.      

In the seventh the Twins would add to their lead when Kody Clemens brought in Luke Keaschall who led off things with a walk off of Nate Pearson.   Pearson made his 12th relief appearance for the year.  

Despite being down 5-1, the Astros would not quit.  

Taylor Trammell blasted a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 9th of Travis Adams, chasing him from the game.

Yoendrys Gomez then entered the game to get the final out for Minnesota against Cam Smith, but Cam blasted his 2nd HR of the game (11th of season), a solo shot to make it 5-4. However, that would be as close as they would get as Joey Loperfido would ground out meekly to end the rally and the game.

Odds & Ends:

Jeremy Pena was held out of Monday’s game with discomfort in his left leg.

After going hitless in Detroit, Yordan Alvarez continued his mini funk, reaching only on a walk.   

Miguel Ullola would make his Astros debut.  He’d provide some much-needed “juice” striking out a pair of batters in his first inning pitched.   Royce Lewis and Ryan Kreidler would be on the receiving end.   He’d add two more K’s in the 9th, for a total of 4 in his 2 innings.  

With the defeat, Houston and Minnesota each have 45 losses.   

On Tuesday Night, Houston will send Mike Burrows to the hill in search of his fourth win.    He’ll be opposed by Joe Ryan.  Ryan has registered 108 k’s this season.   

While there hasn’t been a ton of action in the later innings of this Rockies-Marlins game, there’s been so much action in the comments that we decided it warranted an overflow thread for the final three innings!

In case you forgot, here are the lineups:

Continue to keep it civil, friends, and please remember the Purple Row Community Guidelines as you’re commenting!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Another Mets moment has hit the internet.

In Monday’s game in Toronto, the Mets had yet another injury scare — this one of their own making.

Ronny Mauricio was warming up in the on-deck circle to pinch-hit for Eric Wagaman when he hit Francisco Alvarez on a practice swing.

Alvarez appeared to avoid getting injured and took his at-bat right after Mauricio, but it was a feeling of dread all too familiar for Mets fans, especially after the week they’ve had.

Mauricio immediately went to check on his teammate as Alvarez grimaced and bent over in pain.

Alvarez appeared fine after a few seconds, but the moment was concerning nonetheless.

Alvarez has had a history of hand and wrist injuries since he debuted in the major leagues in 2022.

Last year, he sustained a fracture in his left pinky finger, which was his fourth hand injury in the past four years.

He’s also dealt with a fracture in his thumb and in his hamate bone in the past.

Beyond the hand and wrist issues, Alvarez only recently returned from a torn meniscus in mid-June.

The injury kept him out nearly a month.

Needless to say, the Mets can’t afford many more injuries.

They lost Marcus Semien to a hip flexor strain last week and have been missing Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. for substantial periods of time.

Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor have each missed significant time with calf issues, with Lindor returning just last week after missing two months.

This Mets team seems to come up with a new struggle with each passing day after losing 2-1 to the Blue Jays on Monday.

And the moment with Mauricio and Alvarez was just the most recent.

Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is in concussion protocol, manager Aaron Boone said after Monday's 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

"Just saw him right now," Boone said. "He's in concussion protocol, so we'll kind of see how he's doing tomorrow."

Chisholm has not been diagnosed with a concussion, Boone added.

"No," Boone said when asked if Chisholm was diagnosed with a concussion. "No, he's just in the protocol."

Chisholm left the game after colliding with Jasson Domínguez in shallow right field on Hao-Yu Lee's fly ball, which Domínguez caught for the second out.

"Looks like he kind of got smoked there," said left fielder Cody Bellinger. "I haven't watched it yet, but hope he's doing good. I haven't seen him yet, so, obviously, probably get an update tomorrow on it."

Domínguez's left arm made contact with Chisholm's head after Chisholm did not peel off the route to the ball while Domínguez charged in.

"It was really unfortunate," Domínguez said. "I mean, they were playing infield in. So, as soon as he hit the ball, in my mind, I decided, 'I've got to go catch that ball.' I called it, but obviously I didn't call it loud enough. But really unfortunate, what happened."

Chisholm, who is slashing .222/.305/.398 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI through 81 games, struck out in the second inning -- his only at-bat of the game -- while batting from the cleanup spot.

He was replaced by Oswaldo Cabrera, whose 0-for-3 evening included two strikeouts.

The Orioles’ recent funk continued on Monday night as they dropped their series opener with the visiting White Sox 8-2. The Birds have now lost three in a row and five of their last six.

This game was close as could be through the first seven innings. Shane Baz was wild but effective, allowing just two runs over seven innings of work. Meanwhile, the Orioles offense blew the few chances they did create, which left no room for the bullpen to maneuver. It may not have mattered anyway since those relievers would fall apart, serving up six runs (four earned) over the final two innings of the night.

The Orioles were actually the first ones on the board. Gunnar Henderson, hitting out of the lead-off spot in this one, began the bottom of the first inning with a double. Taylor Ward moved him to third on a fly out to center field, and then Adley Rutschman got the RBI with a sac fly to left.

Baz sailed through the first two innings before running into some trouble in the third. He issued a lead-off walk to Chase Meidroth, who then scored on a Jacob Gonzalez double. The next three hitters went as follows: flyout, walk, and strikeout to put two runners on base with two outs. The O’s starter nearly limited the White Sox to just the one run, but a Kyle Teel flair that came off the bat at just 43.7 mph got past Baz and spun out of Henderson’s hand as he tried to barehand it. That allowed the runner from third to score and give the White Sox a 2-1 lead at the time.

The Birds returned fire in the bottom of the third. Blaze Alexander led off with a walk and scooted around to third on a Jackson Holliday single into right field. Henderson followed with a walk to load the bases with no one out. Surely the Orioles would break the game open here, right? Not a chance. Ward lined out, and Rutschman got his second RBI of the day with another sac fly. But that is as much as they would get with Pete Alonso striking out to end the threat with the score knotted at two runs apiece.

That would end up being the last Orioles run of the day. From the fourth inning through the end of the day, the O’s scattered a few more baserunners on walks and singles, but they couldn’t string anything together. And they went particularly quiet in the late innings, as the final 10 O’s hitters of the game went down in order.

Henderson had himself a nice night atop the order. He went 2-for-3 with a double (the Orioles’ only extra-base hit), a walk, and a run scored. Rutschman had the two RBI. Colton Cowser walked twice and also made a nice defensive play to potentially steal a home run in the fifth inning. That was really it. As a team, the Orioles went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. On the whole, it was a pitiful performance.

Baz was the bright spot, though he wasn’t without his warts. He gave the Orioles length with his seven innings, crossing the 100-inning threshold on the season. And he showed some grit to toss 109 pitches to get to the finish line, his highest pitch total of the season. But he also issued four walks and yet again posted mediocre whiff numbers (22%). There is no doubt that Baz has been a valuable member of the staff, but not exactly the frontline arm we were promised.

Things got ugly for the Orioles once Baz was lifted. Grant Wolfram hit the first batter he faced in the eighth inning. After a flyout to Miguel Vargas, he gave up a double to Colson Montgomery to drive in the White Sox third run of the day. Wolfram struck out Teel to end his night. Rico Garcia followed and continue his latest struggles. His fist batter, Randal Grichuk, singled to make it 4-2 before Garcia wrapped up the inning. That single nearly turned into an out at the plate when Cowser threw a perfect strike from center field, but Rutschman failed to hold onto the ball.

Yennier Cano came on for the ninth and made it even worse. The first four batters of the inning went: single, double, single, double to extend the White Sox lead to 6-2. Josh Walker would come on later in the inning and should have gotten out of the inning without allowing any more runs, but an error by Blaze Alexander on a soft liner to third base scored two more runs to give us our final score, 8-2.

This was not a completely terrible game. Baz was good on the mound. Henderson had a nice night at the plate. Cowser showed some patience and flashed in the field. But man, the stink of the bullpen really overwhelmed everything. And the offense’s general ineptitude didn’t help. Could this be the downward spiral that finally dashes the hopes of the 2026 Orioles? The trade deadline is only a month away.

This series will continue on Tuesday night in Baltimore. Trey Gibson (1-2, 5.64 ERA) is scheduled to duel with Erick Fedde (2-6, 4.34 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:35 from Camden Yards.

The June swoon that was promised arrived late, as it often does—but it is unmistakably here. The Yankees took their butts home to Yankee Stadium after an excruciating four-game sweep at the hands of the reviled Red Sox and performed in a similarly moribund fashion en route to a 7-3 loss to the Tigers. To add injury to insult, Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited the game in the top of the fourth inning after colliding with Jasson Domínguez on a popup, and entered concussion protocol.

This may seem like an awfully apocalyptic way to begin a recap of a 7-3 game, but Amed Rosario’s pinch-hit three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning is carrying the world on its shoulders with that scoreline. Because I like you, dear readers, I will let you watch that homer first before we get into anything else. Believe me, there’s plenty of anything else to last us a tick.

Just like in Boston, the Yankees fell behind the 8-ball near instantaneously. I cannot stress enough how important a clean first inning is to a struggling team, but Ryan Weathers would not listen, coughing up a double to Tigers terror Dillon Dingler. The slugging Detroit backstop advanced to third on a passed ball, the first of several unforced mistakes tonight, before Spencer Torkelson’s two out knock brought him home for the opening tally. A conventional, if frustrating early setback.

What followed in the top of the second was a parade of silliness enabled and exacerbated by a careless throwing error from José Caballero. Had Cabellero’s throw from third base hit Paul Goldschmidt square, the runner who was already on third would have scored anyway, but the ensuing sacrifice fly from Dingler would have been a harmless final out to leave the score at 2-0. I will not fully excuse the rest of Weathers’ performance, but it is worth noting both this detail and the unfortunate fact that Weathers receives significantly less run support than his teammates. The Yankees were one-hit over seven innings by the ascendent Casey Mize in the meantime; candidly, they have done Weathers few favors, and he responded in kind.

The worst part about the frame, in which the Tigers scored four runs on five hits (and the aforementioned error), was that all but one of Detroit’s base hits (all singles) were under the 95-mph exit velocity threshold as a hard-hit ball. To be fair, all were at or above 90 mph, so they were solidly struck.

But like the penalties that decided Paraguay vs. Germany in Boston earlier in the evening, this was more of a placement rally than a power rally. There’s nothing quite like seeing five potential double play balls squeak through without being touched. Either the Yankees’ index cards need an update, or the baseball gods really had it out for Ryan Weathers. He hit the showers before the frame concluded.

By the bottom of the second inning, I was already showing my friend the ‘dibigah’ video while only keeping one eye on the game. (Please comment below what you think that fine young man is eating.) I know the recapper is not supposed to let the audience behind the curtain like this, but you have my heart, humble citizens of Pinstripe Alley. You are not alone in your suffering. Protect your peace.

Unfortunately, the worst had yet to come. Not on the scoreboard, but on the implications this baseball game may have on the remaining 78 games of the regular calendar.

First of all, Cody Bellinger dropped a fly ball. I’ll let you sit with that one.

Then, it got worse.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. must have thought he’d narrowly avoided disaster when he collided with Kevin McGonigle on a throw to second base in the top of the fourth inning. I certainly did, and surely most of the 40,506 sad saps in attendance. McGonigle had flapjacked a single to score a pair of runners—one of whom may have been thrown out at the plate had Caballero not cut off the throw in a vain attempt to throw out the precocious rookie. Like with his error in the second, they got nothing; and Chisholm got tangled up with McGonigle in the process.

Thankfully, Jazz was okay to stay in the game. Two batters later, Hao-Yu Lee hit a lazy popup toward right field. Chisholm backed out, and Domínguez traveled in from right field. Domínguez failed to communicate that he had a path to the ball, and while he caught the ball, his elbow also caught Chisholm right in the face. Jazz tumbled on his back and stayed down, eventually being led off the field by the training staff to enter concussion protocol.

The Tigers never scored again, but the damage had been done. The Yankees were down a man. Chisholm’s week-or-so from hell continues. Hopefully he does not miss an extended period of time; while his season has fallen short of expectations, he’s still a critical player for this team.

Nothing of note really happened the rest of the way with the exception of Rosario’s home run, an off-the-bench jolt in the place of Austin Wells, who is setting an ignominious kind of history.

Irritatingly, the Yankees blew through their bullpen, stapling together appearances from seven different pitchers in an attempt to hold the Tigers back for a heroic final push that was never coming. You need to be able to save your bullets in a bad stretch like this, and I’m not sure that holding the Tigers scoreless from the fifth inning onward was a wise use of ammo. I doubt it’ll be something to build upon for tomorrow, since morale can’t be high after Jazz’s early exit.

In tonight’s game thread, I asked the hypothetical question: if you were the Yankees, would you prefer a day off or a game right after the four-game sweep in Boston? It would appear the Bombers really could have used a reset day. Baseball, though, offers such favors only when it deems them necessary. This great march of steamrollers rolls on, or whatever James Earl Jones said in that stupid movie.

Same time, same place tomorrow? Yeah, sounds fun. Okay, to cut the sarcasm, a Cam Schlittler-Tarik Skubal pitching matchup is exactly what you dream for as a baseball fan. Nobody get hurt okay? That’s first pitch at 7:05 PM on Amazon Prime Video.

Box Score

What had been metaphorical became literal when Jasson Domínguez clotheslined Jazz Chisholm Jr. right out of the game.

It was that kind of Monday for the Yankees, whose pain was self-inflicted during a contest in which the blaring speakers in The Bronx could have opted for Benny Hill.

The Yankees bungled far too many plays to compensate for an offense that has grown historically silent — held to three hits for a fourth straight game for the first time in franchise history — in what became a 7-3 loss to the Tigers for a fifth straight defeat and the eighth in 10 games.

There are myriad injuries that probably explain the struggles more accurately than a June swoon, but the recent issues defensively are not the fault of replacement players from Triple-A.

“That was a bad one,” said Cody Bellinger, whose dropped fly ball and 0-for-4 night added to the issues. “No sugarcoating that one.”

The defense was not the only issue: The offense totaled one hit in seven innings against Casey Mize before Amed Rosario stroked a three-run home run in the eighth to apply a bit of lipstick to this pig, virtually the only moment the 40,506 on hand could cheer.

There were plenty of moments to boo on an evening the Yankees (48-36) allowed five more unearned runs, making it 14 in their past five games.

Ryan Weathers turned in the shortest start of the Yankees’ season — 1 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk — but the defense behind him (and in front of him, Austin Wells with a passed ball) helped ensure his day was brief.

“Just gave up a lot of singles, back-to-back,” said Weathers, who bemoaned not being able to put Tigers hitters away with two strikes. “Just couldn’t really stop the bleeding.”

Neither could his defense.

Perhaps Weathers’ night would have been different if Anthony Volpe could have reached a ground ball from Spencer Torkelson that became an RBI single in the first.

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Or if third baseman José Caballero had not thrown wildly to Paul Goldschmidt in the second, the first baseman unable to snowcone the ball for what would have been the inning’s second out.

Instead, a fly ball from Dillon Dingler became a sacrifice fly rather than the inning’s third out.

Two singles, a walk and three runs later, Weathers was gone and the bullpen merry-go-round began spinning.

An ugly, two-run fourth inning — in which Bellinger dropped a fly ball at the wall and Chisholm and Domínguez converged on a shallow fly ball, Chisholm smacking into Domínguez’s elbow, exiting the game and entering concussion protocol — all but sealed it.

“Couple really good defenders that didn’t complete plays today,” Aaron Boone said of the misplays that arose from generally reliable fielders.

The manager was less understanding of an offense that mustered one hit against Mize — a third-inning leadoff double from Spencer Jones, who would finish the inning on second — and has not totaled more than three hits in a contest since the opener in Boston (in which they scored just three runs).

There is no Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham or Ryan McMahon — the latter two expected back this week — and there is no one picking up the slack.

Ben Rice is 0-for-18 in his past five games.

Bellinger is in a 2-for-27 rut.

It’s 0-for-12 for Goldschmidt.

“We’ve got to do a better job, obviously,” Boone said. “We’ve run up against some tough pitching for sure over these last several days, even going back to the Detroit series. But we’ve got to get some guys putting a little more pressure [on opposing teams].”

Several Yankees denied feeling extra pressure given who is not around.

But whatever the cause, both their offense and defense are in poorly timed slumps.

“Especially when we’re not swinging it like we’re going to typically, you got to take care of the ball,” Boone said, “and we haven’t done a good enough job of that.”

The Red Sox entered the game having just swept the Yankees. They faced the Nationals who have one of the best offenses in baseball, but who have the same run differential coming into Monday’s game as the Red Sox (+5). Ranger Suarez looked to continue Boston’s streak of pitching that has been absolutely nails in this hot streak. 

James Wood didn’t waste any time getting out of the park – three pitches, to be exact. This is a daunting way to start against the offense with the most runs scored in 2026. But, Ranger would then meet nine consecutive batters with a first pitch strike and stayed clean. Even when that streak ended in the fourth inning, he struck out two and got out of the inning unscathed. 

 It also didn’t take long for the Red Sox to answer, when Willson Contreras hit a ball waaaay back for his 18th home run of the season. It was incredible to see him overcome with emotion given everything happening in his home country right now. And no sooner did I type that than Caleb Durbin also took a Mikolas pitch into the Monster. Before the Nationals even recorded five outs, the Red Sox had five runs to go with eight hits. Nikolas would hang in there for seven innings even despite giving up six runs, so it was a resilient start, and I’m sure the Nationals didn’t mind him staying in for 100 pitches saving the bullpen. 

And of course, as umpires do, they ruined the whole game’s mood by later ejecting Contreras, who had made a positive headline with his emotions, following the REPREHENSIBLE and UNTHINKABLE (note the obvious sarcasm) crime of tapping his helmet mimicking an ABS challenge in dismay of being rung up on a third strike. I mean, have we EVER had an umpire eject someone based on a first base ruling on a swing? To make matters worse, in the top of the seventh, the crew chief needed to come in relief of the crew to check the count. Guess umpires can’t count to four? When robots do finally take over officiating this game, it won’t be too soon.

The game continued to be 6-1 until Suarez ran into some real trouble when the Nationals got a bit more patient and drove in a few runs. But Suarez got out of the jam and continued the trend of the rotation always giving the team a chance to win (we won’t talk about the rest of the team itself, though). The Red Sox now have twelve straight quality starts.

But, of course, this is the dynamic National’s offense, so at 6-3 the game was far from over. Luckily, Danny Coulombe and the Red Sox got the benefit of that disgraceful umpiring and got the benefit of a ground ball turned into a double play to get out of the seventh. After a rough night against his former team in the pinstripes, Aroldis Chapman had the night off as Garrett Whitlock came in to slam the door.  Nationals manager Blake Butera threw the kitchen sink at Whitlock with two pinch hitters, but the door was indeed slammed. The Red Sox are now winners of six of their last seven (six seven, six seven), eight of their last eleven, five straight, are nine games under 500 and even less of a step below whatever we consider to be a fight for the last playoff slots in a year when a sub-.500 record might capture a dance in October. (But hey, let’s still be realistic, right?) 

Three Studs

Ranger Suarez: 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 K

Willson Contreras: 1-2, HR and a funny helmet tap. 

Anthony Seigler: 2-3, 2B, R. Kyle Harrison may be awesome this year, but I kinda like this guy and Durbin!

Two Duds:

Jarren Duran: 0-4, 2 K.
Even this is being nitpicky given that he came through last night and the strikeouts were inconsequential, anyway.

And, of course, the umps (namely, Nic Lentz) who really showed their ass tonight. Luckily, it didn’t really become a factor in this one.

Play of the Game:

I mean, how can it not be that Contreras home run? Especially given the yell for his home directly after. Cool stuff. Durbin’s home run was a close second. “Home Run Durbin” really is different guy offensively in the last month, to pair with his very serviceable defensive play.