Category: Baseball

Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the player I hoped would be my favorite Rockie by now.

Hope can be an unfair thing to put on a prospect. Prospects are projections, not guarantees. Their timelines are rarely clean, and prospects should not become stand-ins for what we wish our baseball team was.

But fans do this anyway.

I did it with Veen.

And it was easy. The Rockies drafted him ninth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft as a first-round talent out of high school, and the tools flashed enough during his early minor-league days to make the hype feel reasonable.

There were warning signs, too: High-velocity fastballs, chase, and injuries all complicated the path. But for a franchise desperate for anything resembling a future, Veen became an easy place to put that hope.

Spring training 2025 put the hype on full display, bat flips and all. The disappointment when Veen did not break camp with the Rockies was real, but he went to Triple-A, kept hitting, and quickly got the call.

Veen hit .118/.189/.235 with a .424 OPS and a 37.8% strikeout rate across 37 plate appearances, and the pitch-level shape was not much kinder. Fastballs beat him, breaking stuff neutralized him, and pitchers had a clear path through the zone. Veen was soon optioned back, and while he finished the year with a measured rebound in Albuquerque, the timeline had split from the dream.

By the end of 2025, Veen was no longer the same prospect.

Spring 2026 showed he was not the same person either. 

Physically, Veen looked almost unrecognizable. This was not the same wiry kid. He showed up built out. The energy was still there, but the body was different: thicker, stronger, and more physically mature.

If spring 2025 was about hype, spring 2026 was about transformation. And the unseen transformation mattered more.

“Definitely one of the bigger, main things was sobering up,” said Veen. “I had a pretty big substance abuse problem for a few years. But I’m completely clean and sober. 

“There were times last year where it was out of hand. Coming home in the offseason, I had to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I definitely got closer to God, and it made me want to be the best version of myself in every aspect.” 

Scouting reports describe the machine. Stats show the output. But they cannot show what it means to look in the mirror and decide something has to change. 

For a little while, the baseball gave that change some joy.

Then the momentum was stopped by another injury. Veen landed on the 10-day IL on March 25 with a right knee contusion, went on a rehab assignment on March 31, and was activated and optioned to Triple-A on April 4.

The Rockies have not handed him anything. The new body, the honesty, the spring moment — all of it has to become baseball evidence.

And now, Veen is giving us reason to pay attention to the baseball again.

The present-tense case 

Across 192 at-bats in Triple-A this year, Veen is hitting .318/.416/.489 with an .927 OPS, seven home runs, and 37 RBI. If the season ended today, his .505 slugging percentage would be his highest since 2021 with Fresno. Veen also has 13 stolen bases, second on the team.

The PCL and Albuquerque always demand some skepticism, but his overall line still grades out at a 122 wRC+, and he is hitting .360/.452/.562 with a 1.014 OPS away from Isotopes Park.

Against lefties, Veen is hitting .318/.396/.529 with a .925 OPS. Against righties, the slugging is lighter, but the on-base skill is carrying the profile at .318/.440/.486 with a .926 OPS.

For a left-handed corner outfielder, handling lefties creates a cleaner path to starts instead of protected usage.

But the surface line is not the most interesting part.

The real case is in the underlying shape: improved approach, more walks, and evidence that the fastball question is becoming less glaring.

Profile repair, not power breakout 

Veen is not simply bigger now and therefore hitting the ball harder. His average exit velocity is roughly the same, and his 2025 Triple-A contact quality was stronger in several places: a .393 xSLG last year compared to .368 this year, and a 47.9% hard-hit rate compared to 43.4%.

The difference is the offensive shape. The walk rate has nearly doubled from 8.4% to 15.5%, the OBP has jumped from .359 to .422, and the strikeout and whiff rates have stayed in the same range. He is getting to a better line without needing every improvement to come from raw contact quality. 

May showed the adjustment 

May was the eye-opener outside the strike zone. 

Veen saw more pitches outside the zone in May than he did in April and swung at far fewer of them. That was the adjustment: stop helping pitchers, force more pitches into the zone, and let the strength and athleticism play from better counts.

The results moved with it. As the strikeout rate dropped and the walk rate climbed, the production followed: Veen went from a .353 OBP and .393 slugging percentage in April to a .495 OBP and .617 slugging percentage in May.

Over the past two weeks, Veen has swung at 55% of the pitches he has seen, and there has been regression in the approach. He is still producing, hitting .444 with a .714 slugging percentage to start June, but a hot streak is not the same thing as development fully holding.

The approach gains need to show up more consistently because big-league pitchers already know how to beat him — even if there is progress there, too.

The fastball question 

Veen’s first major-league look gave pitchers a clear plan, which makes the Triple-A fastball data meaningful. 

The fastball data is encouraging because the worst version of the problem has started to recede. In 2024, Veen was underwater against four-seamers across the board, with a .274 xwOBA, .158 xBA, and 25.5% whiff rate. The contact quality started to recover in 2025, but the approach remained aggressive: he swung at four-seamers 51.2% of the time.

This year looks more like a hitter choosing better fastballs to attack. That swing rate has dropped to 43.9%, while the .354 xwOBA and .279 xBA are both his best marks of the three-year sample. The whiff rate has also fallen to 19.7%. The .371 xSLG is not as loud as last year’s .437, so seeing that slugging return toward 2025 levels would be a logical next step if the improved discipline holds.

If the fastball progress is the green light, the slider remains the warning label. Veen is still swinging at sliders 60.6% of the time, with a .200 xBA and 36.0% whiff rate against the pitch in 2026. That gives big-league pitchers a clear place to test him.

Veen’s 21.8% Triple-A strikeout rate is playable, but Triple-A strikeout rates usually climb in the majors. Based on the typical FanGraphs translation, his rough major-league expectation is closer to 26–27%.

Still workable, but the margin gets thinner. The walks have to come with it, the power has to show up, and the chase cannot balloon.

That is the line between progress and arrival.

The development is showing up in the right places: better decisions, better fastball results, more walks, and usable production. Veen is doing enough damage to start making another major-league look feel realistic.

The old version did not arrive on schedule. This one might.

Different timeline, different hope 

The baseball case is stronger than it has been in a while, but this is where I keep coming back to Veen’s words.

He talked about looking in the mirror, making adjustments, getting closer to God, and wanting to become the best version of himself. None of that fixes chase rate. None of it guarantees another big-league role.

But the person matters.

Getting sober is hard. Not being sober is harder.

I know.

And maybe that is why the hope feels different now. The old hope was mine. It was about the player I wanted Veen to become for the Rockies.

Now the hope feels different. It is less something I am putting on him and more something I want for him.

I want Veen to feel hopeful about himself — not just about another call-up or a role with the Rockies, but about the life he is building.

The baseball still matters, and it is interesting again. But maybe the best part is that baseball no longer has to carry the whole story.

Different timeline. Different hope.

On the farm

Triple-A: Salt Lake Bees 1, Albuquerque Isotopes 0

The Albuquerque Isotopes (33-28) got strong pitching performances but lost 1-0 to the Salt Lake Bees (31-29).

Blake Adams was excellent despite taking the loss. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits over five innings, walking one and striking out nine on 86 pitches. His only walk came in the first inning, and that runner scored on Josh Lowe’s RBI double for the game’s only run. Mason Green followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings and three strikeouts, keeping Albuquerque within one.

Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the standout on offense, going 3-for-4 with two singles and his second triple of the season. The triple came off a 95.6 mph fastball and left the bat at 109.8 mph. Drew Avans added two singles and Vimael Machín had the other hit, but the Isotopes could not turn the traffic into runs, going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base.

Albuquerque had more hits, more stolen bases, fewer errors, and one fewer strikeout than Salt Lake, but the one run was enough. Isotopes pitchers also walked four batters, one more than the Bees, and the first of those walks came around to score.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 8, Portland Sea Dogs 7

The Hartford Yard Goats (29-24) scored six runs in the ninth inning to beat the Portland Sea Dogs (28-26), 8-7.

GJ Hill carried the offense. He went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored. His solo shot in the second gave Hartford a 2-0 lead, and his three-run homer in the ninth cut Portland’s lead to 7-5. Hill is now hitting .220 with a .738 OPS, seven home runs, and 24 RBI.

Bryant Betancourt finished the comeback with a two-out, bases-clearing double in the ninth to put Hartford in front. It was his 12th double of the season, and he is now hitting .257 with an .810 OPS and 33 RBI. The Yard Goats had only five hits but drew 11 walks and turned their biggest chance into the deciding inning.

The game nearly got away from Hartford in the sixth, when Griffin Herring (No. 10 PuRP) allowed all seven Portland runs while recording just two outs. His ERA jumped to 14.85 after the outing. The bullpen recovered from there, with Cade Denton throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Andrew Baker striking out the side in the ninth for his fourth save. Baker now owns a 2.57 ERA.

High-A: Spokane Indians 12, Hillsboro Hops 5

The Spokane Indians (23-32) piled up 13 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a 12-5 win over the Hillsboro Hops (24-31).

Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP) led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, two runs, a walk, and his eighth stolen base of the season. He is now hitting .262 with a .729 OPS. Jack O’Dowd also had a big night, going 2-for-5 with his fourth home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. O’Dowd is hitting .412 with a 1.245 OPS.

Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) added the biggest swing of the sixth inning with a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, and finished with three RBI. Roynier Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and is now hitting .306 with a .827 OPS. Alan Espinal also reached four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a stolen base.

Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) got the win after striking out 11 over five innings. He allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits, did not walk a batter, and has a 4.23 ERA on the season. Austin Emener handled the final four innings for his first save, allowing one run with two strikeouts. Spokane pitchers struck out 13 and did not issue a walk.

Single-A: Lake Elsinore Storm 9, Fresno Grizzlies 4

The Fresno Grizzlies (29-26) gave up seven runs in the fifth inning and lost 9-4 to the Lake Elsinore Storm (32-23).

Marcos Herrera took the loss after allowing nine runs on 11 hits over 4.2 innings. He walked four, struck out four, gave up two home runs, and his ERA rose to 9.28. Bryson Van Sickle kept the game from getting further out of hand, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout. He lowered his ERA to 2.84.

Carlos Renzullo had the biggest swing for Fresno, going 2-for-3 with his fourth double of the season and three RBI. He is now hitting .280 with a .725 OPS. Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) went 2-for-4 with his 15th double and two runs scored, pushing his average to .332 with an .883 OPS. Tanner Thach added a hit and is hitting .357 with a 1.008 OPS.

Fresno had eight hits and went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, but Lake Elsinore had 14 hits, two homers, and 26 total bases. The fifth inning decided it.

Scoring on ball that bounced off Adell’s head changed from HR to four-base error | MLB.com

On MLB.com, Thomas Harding explains the scoring change that took a home run away from Rockies rookie TJ Rumfield and turned it into a four-base error on Jo Adell. It is a tough break for Rumfield, who now has seven homers instead of eight, but the play gives him a pretty strange story about the homer he had for three days before MLB took it off the board.

Rockies Pitching Staff Showing Signs of Life, Feltner Returns and Reinforcements Near | SI.com

In a Rockies On SI piece, Laura Lambert looks at the state of Colorado’s pitching staff as Ryan Feltner returns from the IL and Jimmy Herget and Victor Vodnik move closer to rehab outings. The article does not frame the Rockies as suddenly fixed, but it does point to a little more stability with Feltner returning to a decimated rotation and bullpen reinforcements on the way.

Breaking Down the Diamondbacks’ 5 Potential Trade Options | SI.com

On Arizona Diamondbacks On SI, Alex D’Agostino looks at five possible left-handed bats Arizona could consider if it buys at the deadline, including Rockies first basemen TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston. The piece notes both would fit the Diamondbacks’ need for a first base/DH bat, while also acknowledging the complication of trying to make an intra-division trade with Colorado.

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Today’s Reflections

I could post more PCA stories (and I probably did too many), but after I went through and posted the supportive and the mixed stories about his play, I came across a couple of closed-minded, well, fellows, who were looking for a new target for the shooting range. One guy’s title was “The rollercoaster Pete Crow-Armstrong experience is becoming far too much for Cubs.” He was below the “mixed” line, but only because his title was harsher than what he wrote. I do think that he either didn’t absorb what was happening or totally missed it with this short paragraph: “Even with the heroics on Thursday, PCA needs to reminded that he can’t give up on the play the way that he did once he realized the fly ball landed behind him. There’s no excuse, that was a bad look for Crow-Armstrong. Not the first he has had this season.”

Yes, PCA stood there in one spot, but he didn’t give up on the play. Running the video back few times, Happ and Suzuki were even with PCA at full speed, and as fast as he is, I don’t think he could have run them down in the next 60-70 feet. Plus, you don’t want three hands reaching for the ball. So, I think this author was “reaching’” in an attempt to match his tough-guy title.

However, there’s no walking-the-line on this article, “How Do Cubs Fans Still Defend This Bum” – MLB Fans Are Laughing At Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Worst Play Ever”. Ever? Wowwww. I think with 950 career chances in his MLB career (up to Friday’s game), he can be allowed to lose a ball at dusk once. And, yes, it probably is his worst play ever. By a lot. Because he’s PCA.

“Athletics slugger Shea Langeliers hit one deep to center, and PCA could track the ball. Instead, he stood with open arms in the field trying to locate it. To make things worse, the ball landed way behind him.“ 1) Hopefully the first phrase was a typo because he couldn’t track the ball, or he would have made the catch. 2) I’m not an authority or a coach, but I was under the impression the main thing to do (other than scream ”I lost it!!!“ in front of 40,000 fans) is to hold your arms out in a non-waving position to signal to the other outfielders that he’s in trouble — that’s how Happ and Suzuki got the jump on getting to the ball. I mean, he could have dropped to the ground in a fetal position and waited out the play.

Here’s more: “MLB fans never hesitated to troll the slugger for his mistake.”

“How do Cubs fans still defend this bum?” one fan asked.

“Bro completely lost the ball in the lights and just stood there like it was someone else’s problem. Brutal,” wrote another fan.

“Then he just stares at it like a kid in t-ball,” another fan commented.

That’s only part of the comments IN the story. It doesn’t seem professional to use several comments by trolls to support your weak story. So it is a rather empty article without clear or original thought.

I’m sorry — I don’t think I’m here to critique other writers’ stories in detail, but I couldn’t let these two go as regular links below.

In much better news, I went to the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game Thursday night. Folks, you know how bad Dansby Swanson has looked at the plate? That is nothing compared to what I saw from Kyle Tucker — off-balance swings, weak contact on bad pitches, taking strikes. Beyond clueless. Dave Roberts seems to be one the nicest guys in baseball, but for him to say this about Tucker, “I think that it speaks to his toughness and fight to still try to perform,” Roberts said. “But it still wasn’t right, as far as not even close to being locked in.” That was almost a public flogging compared to his usual upbeat comments. TUCKER. LOOKS. BAD. That simple.

And I got a walk-off, too — Ketel Marte HR inside the foul pole. And that collision between little Vargas and the brick wall of Muncy? THAT was brutal. And no, I’m not becoming a D-Backs fan — I’m just passing the time until the Cubs come to town.

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• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Jason Benetti mends fences with White Sox, makes first Chicago visit for NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’. And he will be calling the game at Wrigley with Jim Deshaies — as it should be (just my thoughts).

Analysis of PCA’s night (and a bit about Swanson):

• Andrew Wright (Yardbarker): Pete Crow-Armstrong redeems himself for blunder with first career walk-off in Cubs’ comeback. “The Chicago Cubs may have secured the win that will turn their season around in front of an electric Wrigley Field crowd on Thursday night.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Redemptions for Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson as Cubs return to walk-off ways: ‘This is who we are’. ”Swanson, who’s been the biggest target for frustrated fan complaints thanks to the .183 batting average he carried into Thursday, got his own moment of redemption, delivering a two-out RBI single that tied the game in the ninth.“

• Kevin Druley (Deadspin): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Redemption Could Be Exactly What Chicago Cubs Needed. ““In the past I might have dwelt on that, and that always ends up affecting how you go about the rest of your day,” Crow-Armstrong said. “People having my back, me not hiding from the next at-bat, yeah, I’m growing up a little bit and I’m proud of that, but I’ve got to keep it going for the rest of the year.”“
• Shaan Donahue (Just Baseball): Who Is Pete Crow-Armstrong as a Hitter? “It’s time to dive into the ever-fascinating Pete Crow-Armstrong and figure out exactly who he is as a hitter.”
• Zoe Grossman (Chicago Cubs On SI): 3 Takeaways After Pete Crow-Armstrong Walks It Off for Insane Cubs Comeback. “The Cubs plated four runs in the 9th in an improbable comeback to salvage the series finale against the A’s in a 7-6 victory.”
• Brent Maguire (MLB.com): Lucky charm? Cubs legend spotted going Tarps Off before Cubs’ wild comeback. “Who’s to say if Rizzo’s presence in the ballpark helped spark a dramatic Cubs win that featured many twists and turns?”

Let’s continue to talk trades:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Jed Hoyer Reminds Us of the Other Major Consideration for Major Trades at the Deadline. “The World Series odds are such a driving force when it comes to doing harm to the future of your organization (which is, by definition, what these trades are: some level of long-term damage in exchange for near-term help).”

• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs urged to pay whatever price it takes to acquire Tarik Skubal. “ESPN’s Jeff Passan is urging the Cubs to acquire Skubal for whatever price the Detroit Tigers ask for. It would be a bold move, but for the Cubs, with a struggling rotation, Skubal is just what they need to become a legitimate World Series contender.”
• Patrick McAvoy (Chicago Cubs On SI): Cubs-Tigers Tarik Skubal Trade Would Flip NL Central On Its Head. “If the Cubs were to land Skubal, they would immediately be viewed as the favorites in the division, even over the Milwaukee Brewers.”
• Jon Conahan (Sporting News): Cubs have to fix biggest issue and can do so by making non-Tarik Skubal trade with Tigers. “One name in particular that they should keep an eye on is Casey Mize, with one CBS writer recently saying he should be traded.”
• Patrick McAvoy (Boston Red Sox On SI): Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman Floated for 2 NL Central Clubs. “Two of Chapman’s former teams stand out as contenders that need bullpen/closer help.”
• Joey Mistretta (Clutch Points): Cubs’ perfect trade offer for Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman. “Breaking down the perfect trade proposal the Chicago Cubs could offer the Boston Red Sox for star reliever Aroldis Chapman.” (**Uh-no.**)
• Casey McAleer (Da Windy City): Ian Happ reaches 1,000 career hits as Cubs veteran adds another milestone. “The longest-tenured Cub continues building a legacy that spans multiple eras of baseball on the North Side.” (**GIVE HIM HIS MONEY!**)

Hitting and Pitching thoughts:

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): As Cubs’ downward spiral continues, this brand of baseball ‘makes you sit in discomfort’. “As much as you want to put your finger on it and say, ‘Change it,’ the game makes you wait,” Craig Counsell said. “It makes you sit in discomfort for a little while.”
• Jared Wyllys (Allchgo.com): Cubs’ skid won’t end until offense comes back to life. “Though the pitching staff has suffered myriad injuries, none of that matters all that much when the team isn’t scoring runs. In May, the Cubs ranked 27th in OPS, with or without runners in scoring position.”
• Carson Wolf (Just Baseball): Alex Bregman Needs To Be Who the Cubs Paid Him To Be. “After a slow start to the 2026 season, Alex Bregman needs to return to form and help get the Cubs’ season back on track.”

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Just like he did with Astros, Alex Bregman making presence felt with behind-the-scenes impact for Cubs. “Bregman, who got a $175 million free-agent contract last winter, brought a reputation as a strong clubhouse presence. And a former Astros teammate is seeing that with the Cubs.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): How Two Returning Starters Could Strengthen the Cubs Rotation. “This has linked Chicago to potential trades for starters, but if these veterans could return at a strong level, then they may be able to keep some of their top prospects.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A Certain Power-Hitting Cubs Prospect is Up to Number 67 in Baseball. “Josiah Hartshorn’s breakout this year has been so impressive – so complete – that I think it’s useful to highlight the REALLY WILD stuff when it happens, even if it keeps happening.”

Food For Thought:

Samuel McClain (April 15, 1943 – June 15, 2015), better known as Mighty Sam early in his career, and later billed as Mighty Sam McClain, was an American soul blues singer and songwriter. He was born in Monroe, Louisiana.[2] As a five-year-old, he began singing in his mother’s Gospel Church. McClain left home when he was thirteen and followed local R&B guitarist, Little Melvin Underwood through the Chitlin’ Circuit, first as his valet and then as lead vocalist himself at 15.

While singing at the 506 Club in Pensacola, Florida, he was introduced to the record producer and DJ, Papa Don Schroeder and in 1966, McClain recorded a cover version of Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams”. Several recording sessions at Muscle Shoals produced the further singles. For 15 years, first in Nashville, Tennessee, then in New Orleans, McClain worked at menial jobs. McClain toured and recorded in Japan in 1989.

That’s at least three hours south of me. A friend saw one two hours to the northeast. Maybe they are closing in!

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

The Red Sox probably shouldn’t be buying with this roster, but if they choose to, there’s a mystery for us to pick apart. 

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on the “Just Baseball” podcast that the Red Sox were actively seeking a right-handed bat to upgrade the offense, even at the expense of taking on a bad contract to do so. 

Should that really be the case when Boston probably has a few bad contracts to offload on its own end (i.e. Masataka Yoshida, etc.)? No, especially since this team still wouldn’t have enough to magically craft a postseason path. 

Nonetheless, for whatever motives the front office has, should the group pursue a bat that fits that description, here are five names to consider.

NOLAN ARENADO – Diamondbacks

Arizona just acquired Arenado in the offseason, but never say never to another transaction months later.

The Red Sox were constantly linked to the third baseman two offseasons ago before they signed Alex Bregman early in spring training. The 35-year-old is under contract through the end of the 2027 season and he’s been fairly serviceable with an OPS just under .800 with his new team. 

MATT CHAPMAN – Giants

The Red Sox traded a hefty contract to San Francisco with Rafael Devers last summer. Will the Giants celebrate the anniversary by returning the favor? 

Chapman makes $25 million annually through the 2030 season, giving Boston a new staple at third base if the team moves on from the concept of Caleb Durbin filling that stop. Unlike Arenado, Chapman has been brutal this season with a .652 in his age-33 season with regression over the last two years in San Francisco. 

MIKE TROUT – Angels

Rumors from 98.5 The Sports Hub went crazy about this last month. It WILL NOT happen, but we’ll throw it in here to be fun. 

ISAAC PAREDES – Astros

Paredes swirled through the rumor mill in connection to Boston all offseason before the Durbin trade that sent Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros are terrible and could revisit the idea. 

KETEL MARTE – Diamondbacks

Easily the most dynamic bat discussed in the Red Sox realm last winter, he’s a switch-hitter that instantly elevates the unit. This move would clearly be for beyond 2026 and require young pitching going back to Arizona. 

Worth it now to start building a functioning offense for 2027? 

What is the bare minimum you are expecting from Adolis Garcia the rest of this season? My hopes of his breaking out at any point have effectively been dashed by his poor play on the field, but I still reserve hope that he can at least be a threat in the box at any given time.

Maybe that’s the actual floor to what to expect.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Adolis Garcia has been searching, searching, searching for answers. Has he finally stumbled on the right formula for success ($)?
• Cristopher Sanchez has been a machine during his run of scoreless innings. His pregame routine has been a big part of that ($).

MLB news:

• The owners had a meeting this week to talk about the CBA negotiations. What can be gleaned from that meeting?
• One of the only good things to possibly come out of the negotiations could be the end of the local blackout rules ($).
• Looks like Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas both avoided a serious injury after a pretty bad collision at first base.

When Shohei Ohtani pitches, the chances are that his opponents won’t score.

Ohtani hasn’t allowed a run in five of his 10 starts this season. In another, he limited the damage to a solitary unearned run.

Only one run has been charged to him in the 25 innings he’s pitched over his last four starts.

Ohtani has been close to perfect.

He will have to remain that way until the end of the season if he is to have any chance to win the National League’s Cy Young Award.

As spectacular as Ohtani has been, this isn’t enough.

Not enough starts.

Not enough innings.

With the Dodgers using a six-man rotation to better manage their starters’ regular-season workloads, Ohtani has pitched only 61 innings this season.

The season isn’t even 40% complete and Ohtani is already 25 ⅓ innings behind the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez, who has started three more games than he has.

In starts and innings, Ohtani is also behind other Cy Young Award contenders such as Jacob Misiorowski (12 starts, 71 innings), Chris Sale (12 starts, 72 ⅔ innings) and Paul Skenes (13 starts, 70 innings).

Overcoming such a deficit in quantity will require Ohtani to maintain a sizable advantage in quality.

Even the greatest pitchers are due for an occasional stinker, but Ohtani can’t afford to have one.

Sanchez was pounded by the Cubs for six runs in 5 ⅓ innings on April 23.

Misiorowski’s ERA in April was 3.58.

A game like Sanchez’s or a stretch like Misiorowski’s will likely end Ohtani’s Cy Young Award candidacy.

Ohtani is pitching as if he knows that’s the case.

“I think a lot of starting pitchers, you feel your way into the game, give up a couple (of runs) early and you bear down,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I’ve noticed with Shohei, every run is a premium. He’s literally trying to throw a shutout every time out there where I don’t know that every starter has that mindset.”

In Roberts’ view, Ohtani doesn’t just bear down with runners on base. 

“He’s not trying to sit back and let the stress be created,” Roberts said. “He’s doing a good job of minimizing it from the onset.”

To Roberts’ point: Ohtani allows an average of 0.79 walks plus hits per inning pitched.

Now, it should be pointed out here that in the one year in which Ohtani was a qualified pitcher, in 2022, he pitched better and better as the season progressed.

He made a career-high 28 starts that season, pitching 166 innings for the Angels to finish fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting.

By season’s end, he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. In his last 12 starts of the year, Ohtani’s ERA was 1.73. In his last seven, it was 1.00.

Ohtani thinks he’s trending upward, saying he felt better in his win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday than he did in his previous start when he pitched six no-hit innings against the Rockies.

“Well, I think it was better than last time,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I don’t know if it was really good, but I think it was definitely better than last time.”

Ohtani has completed seven innings in two of his starts this season, but performances like that should become increasingly common for him. He should be a qualified pitcher. 

Even then, Sanchez will have him beat in innings pitched by a substantial margin. Ohtani’s challenge is to make his ERA look equally small by comparison.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo and David Schoenfield: In light of Aaron Judge’s rib fracture, the whole baseball world is now wondering what the captain’s absence will mean for the Yankees. Most immediately, it presses Spencer Jones into duty, but it will also open up ample opportunity for Jasson Domínguez and Giancarlo Stanton once healthy. It places the spotlight on Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham, two talented players who have had uneven seasons thus far. And it also influences their trade deadline plans, though don’t expect the team to rush out and try to find an outfield replacement, especially considering Judge is likely to return at some time in the second half.

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: The Yankees made a surprising move after last night’s loss to the Red Sox, optioning backup catcher J.C. Escarra and calling up Ali Sánchez from Triple-A. Signed to a minor-league deal prior to the start of 2026, Sánchez has a .702 OPS for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2026, and has struggled in limited time in the majors, posting a .454 OPS in 50 games for five different teams this decade. That being said, the Yankees have been interested in getting a righty-hitting option at catcher, and the lefty/lefty tandem of Escarra and Austin Wells has been downright anemic in 2026. So even though Sánchez doesn’t have much of a track record either … well, why not roll the dice in the short term? They’ll be browsing the trade options regardless. Sánchez could be in the lineup tonight with the lefty Ranger Suarez ready to go for Boston.

MLB.com | Max Ralph: Judge’s injury primarily affects the Yankees, obviously, but it also sends shockwaves throughout the league. Ralph looks at some of the ways Judge’s absence will affect the whole baseball landscape, from the ways it could affect the trade deadline, to how the AL MVP race is now wide open, and will presumably have a winner that isn’t Judge or Shohei Ohtani for the first time since 2020.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner*: After days of speculation, Judge’s prolong absence is a reality. The question now is: do the Yankees have what it takes to withstand it? As devastating as Judge’s injury is, there is reason to believe the club is better equipped to weather the storm than they were, say, in 2023, when Judge missed a total of 56, with the Yankees putting up a 25-31 record in those games. Now, they have two other MVP candidates in Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, not to mention bats like Stanton and Domínguez on the mend. That said, the Yankees will need some of the hitters towards the bottom of the order to step up; Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, and Ryan McMahon can’t be zeroes all at once if the Yankees want to stay towards the top of the AL.

*We shared this article yesterday as well, but it’s a good assessment and worth a re-up in case you missed it yesterday.

FanGraphs | Michael Baumann: The Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324-million contract in December of 2019, likely committing him to the Yankees until he turned 38-years-old. When a contract like that gets inked, the end of the term feels infinitely far in the future; at the moment Cole and the Yankees put pen to paper, a contract running through 2028 seemed like it might as well run until the end of time. But Baumann notes that for Cole, and a whole lot of other stars who signed mega deals, we are closer to the end than it may seem. Cole is tethered to the Yankees for just 2.5 more seasons, Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year contract expires next year, and even Bryce Harper’s 13-year deal, which runs from 2019 through 2031, is on the back nine.

Luis Torrens had gone 101 at-bats to begin the regular season without a home run this season, but he unloaded a 413-foot blast to straightaway center field for a two-run shot in his 102nd at-bat that put the Mets up 4-0 against the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Although Torrens isn’t necessarily a power hitter, he’s a backup catcher after all, he does have some pop, even hitting 15 homers one year as the everyday catcher for the Seattle Mariners in 2021.

In his third season in New York Torrens has been playing regularly as of late with Francisco Alvarez on the IL recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee. The veteran has always been a defensive whiz behind the plate, but he’s had some big hits this year for the Mets -- none bigger, or at least farther, than Friday’s home run.

“Finally I got my first homer,” he said after the 5-0 win. “It’s always good when you’re available to help the team win games and tonight was one of those times.”

Not only did Torrens go deep for the first time this year, he also had a double, drove in two and scored two all from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. He also caught Christian Scott’s 5.2 scoreless innings as well as the following 3.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen.

“It was good to see the offense, especially Luis, have a really good game there,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Not easy to hit that ball to dead center on a night like that in San Diego. Overall, I thought we played a pretty good game.”

As for Scott’s performance, Torrens attributes the great start to executing their game plan against the Padres who entered the game losers of nine of their past 10 games and an offense that has been reeling.

“Tonight was a great example of execution of a game plan,” Torrens said of Scott. “We attacked the zone, threw all the pitches.”

Scott’s fastball, in particular, had San Diego uncomfortable all night and he used it to set up his other pitches like the sweeper, cutter and changeup.

“I thought I did a good job with my fastball in the strike zone,” Scott said. “I thought LT called a great game. I didn’t have my best stuff today but [just to] go out there and compete with the fastball and fastball location was huge for me today and I thought the defense played great, too.”

“He kinda set the tone there, attacking hitters,” Mendoza added. “I like how he moved the fastball around the plate. The sweeper was a good pitch for him.”

Scott has been on an incredible stretch recently, allowing one earned run over his last three starts and lowering his ERA to 2.50. But Friday’s gem was the first of the last three starts that Torrens has behind the plate.

In fact, entering Friday, the right-hander owned a 5.40 ERA in six starts with Torrens, the worst mark with any catcher but also the most starts with any catcher. With Torrens an important part of the team, it’s imperative he and Scott get on the same page and it looked like on Friday they were finally able to do that.

“He was able to command pretty much all of his pitches and he’s been able to attack the zone kind of with the same type of game plan that we’ve prepared with,” Torrens said. “But also he’s been able to just prove the type of pitcher that he is.”

“He’s a really nice guy to catch,” Torrens added. “He’s easy and the fastball is different and when he’s [able] to throw it for strikes it’s special.”

Introduction

Incredibly, the calendar has already flipped its way to June despite it still feeling like it’s early May. As part of that calendar flip, the All-Star Ballot is officially open for the first phase of voting by fans that will run until the end of the month. Remember that you can vote up to five times a day – one of my mom’s favorite pastimes during this time of year. While there are plenty of worthy candidates in a stacked National League, I thought the opening phase was as good a time as any to review some of the possible candidates for our favorite team. Even though some of the big-city teams have a built-in advantage with the size of their respective fanbases and some of the usual All-Stars (like Manny Machado or Mookie Betts) are having down seasons, there are some interesting openings for lesser-known players to step in. This group is an interesting mix of perennial All-Stars, upstarts, and bounceback candidates, highlighting exactly what has made this Arizona team as successful as it’s been through the first two-plus months of the season.

Corbin Carroll

The team’s present and future, Carroll moved himself from the “very good” tier to “MVP-caliber” tier last year when he created the 30-30 club for the D-Backs. That momentum has continued so far this season as he’s already accumulated a major league-leading eight triples, has nearly reached double digits for both stolen bases and homers, and continues to make excellent defensive plays in right field on a nearly nightly basis. If you zoom out to the National League outfield, Carroll has the fourth-best bWAR (2.7), the third-highest OPS (.937), and the third-highest OPS+ (160) which normalizes OPS across the major leagues. Who wouldn’t want to watch Carroll take his 98th percentile speed out for a spin in Philadelphia? It would be the 25 year old’s third All-Star selection already and might be one of the most deserved.

Nolan Arenado

From a youngster just starting his career to a near-lock Hall of Famer, this D-Backs team features a wide range of experience and Arenado’s resurgent campaign certainly accounts for a significant amount of the year-over-year improvement for the team. We’re only about 40% of the way through the season, but he’s having his best season in nearly three years with more bWAR (1.6) accumulated in just over half the number of games played from last year, almost the same number of doubles from last year, and almost two-thirds of the RBI from last year. What’s most impressive – he’s been able to do all of that offensive damage while continuing to act as a leader and mentor to the team as well as making excellent defensive plays every night. Among third basemen in the NL, he ranks third in bWAR, second in OPS (.795) and OPS+, and third in home runs. It would be his first selection to the MidSummer Classic since 2023 among an incredibly restorative season.

Eduardo Rodriguez

I think if you had told me in February that E-Rod would be on this list of All Star candidates, I likely would have laughed you out of the room. He was coming off consecutive seasons with an ERA north of five and a WHIP above 1.5 while demonstrating exactly why so many baseball front offices are reluctant to commit multiple years to a starting pitcher over 30. Instead, since his championship run with Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Rodriguez has been a different pitcher. He owns a 2.24 ERA in 12 starts and a WHIP under 1.2, accumulating 2.6 bWAR – good enough for sixth-highest in the NL. There’s clearly some room for some negative regression considering the gap between his actual and expected ERA as well as the abnormally high hard hit rate he’s allowed so far, but that level of analysis is unlikely to figure into the average voter’s consciousness. It would be the 33 year old’s first selection to the All-Star game and would be particularly gratifying given how badly he was struggling through the last two years.

Game Summary

The Diamondbacks were coming off a draining victory the night before against their arch rivals and, possibly as a result of that, they just didn’t seem to have any life on either side of the ball on what was apparently Pride Night at Chase Field. Merrill Kelly had his worst start in over a month and the hitters couldn’t find any open grass against the surprisingly stiff Nats defense.

The game seemed to get off to a weird start when we were delayed because Merrill Kelly just wasn’t around in the dugout. My first thought was there was an injury during warm-ups, but I was thankfully wrong. Well, sort of thankful. When Merrill finally did take the mound and the game got underway, he did not look sharp, spraying pitches all over. Many pitches were not even close to the strike zone, and many of the pitches that did find the zone ended up getting smoked into the seats or into the outfield grass. A leadoff walk followed by a 2-run homer set the tone for the night and it did not let up from there as Merrill ended up giving up 6 hits, 3 BB and 3 HR.

The bullpen’s performance wasn’t much more inspiring. Philip Abner and Kade Strowd made their first appearances after being recalled on Thursday from Reno and both went poorly. Abner loaded the bases and then gave up a Grand Slam before recording a single out, but he was eventually able to record 4 outs (while also allowing another homer). Kade Strowd, making the first appearance by any of the returns from the Blaze Alexander trade, started off well enough, getting the final 2 outs of the 7th inning including striking out James Wood looking on a cutter at the knees, but then it all went downhill. Strowd was extremely wild when he came back out in the 8th and loaded the bases while recording only one before leaving with the trainer and handing the ball off to Adrian Del Castillo to finish off the laugher. For ADC’s part, he only allowed one of the inherited runners to score in the 8th and allowed 1 run to score in the 9th. Better than the average for tonight’s crew!

Finally, we come to the offense. I won’t say they were awful, but they just couldn’t find any open grass at all. The Nationals are a middle-of-the-pack defense or worse by all metrics I could find, but on this night, they looked like a lineup full of Gold Glovers. Several plays looked like possible hits, but instead were turned into harmless outs by some outstanding athleticism and glove work. It wasn’t necessarily bad luck and hitting right into the defensive positioning, but more like a night where you just tip your cap to the other side and admit they outplayed you.

Geraldo Perdomo had his second night hitting down in the order, and for the second night in a row he got results like the Perdomo of old. Domo finished the night with 2 hits and hit the ball with authority. I won’t say that the move down the lineup made some sort of mental change and freed him up to play looser because he was still hitting the ball well before, it just seemed like he always hit it right at the defense. Tonight, he was the only one who didn’t get hit with some sort of amazing play to rob him of a hit. Aramis Garcia hit his first home run since 2022 for our only run of the night and Tommy Troy contributed 2 hits (one the benefit of some hometown scoring on a should-be error by CJ Abrams) and that was about it for the offense on the night.

This was a frustrating game to watch. Maybe they’re just out of gas after a 4 game set against Guggenheim’s Billions and playing their 21st game in 22 days. Hopefully they snap back and win out to complete a series win.

Loss Probability and Box Score

Outside the Box Score

• Start off with the question likely on everyone’s mind, Groover was not using Santana’s now famous purple first baseman mitt tonight.
• The home run Merrill Kelly gave up in the first inning didn’t appear to be a bad pitch. A fastball several inches inside but credit to Luis García Jr. turning on it and just sneaking it fair into the visitor bullpen.
• Merrill recorded the first out of the game with an unconventional ‘kick save’ on a groundball up the middle. He stuck foot out behind him and the ball miraculously hit his cleat and stuck right there, allowing Merrill to easily bend down, pick up the ball and throw the runner out at first.
• Ryan Waldschmidt looked to hit a sure double into the right field corner in the 1st inning, but James Wood covered a ton of ground and turned it into a routine fly out. That defense was then one-upped by an incredible line drive snag by the Nationals second baseman to rob Corbin Carroll of a 2-out knock. The defender was fully airborne and parallel with the ground when he caught the liner and then was able to corral it without touching the ground when it squirted out of his glove.
• Ryan Waldschmidt returned the defensive favor by recording the first out of the second inning by laying out to catch a fly ball to shallow left. The defense in this game has been crazy and we’re only 7 outs in!
• Merrill gave up 4 runs in the third inning and it wasn’t some defensive miscues or seeing eye singles getting strung together that came back to bite him. The Nats were just all over Kelly. Merrill wasn’t sharp with his command, missing the zone badly when he missed; then when he came in the zone, the Nats were drilling the ball. On top of 2 walks, exit velocities that inning were: 106, 66, 108, 84, 103, 103. 
• Tommy Troy’s sharp grounder just under the glove of the Nats third baseman in the 5th was the Diamondbacks first hit through the defense on the night. Aramis Garcia hit a home run in the third, but every ball hit into the field of play somehow found the glove of a Washington defender. Some nights, it’s just not your night.
• Philip Abner came on in the sixth for his first action after getting recalled Thursday from Reno and got bushwhacked. 2 homers, 1 of them a Grand Slam, and other assorted hits. Exit velocities included 114, 104, 106 and 101. Not exactly making a strong case to stay with the club past Taylor Clarke’s return to the active roster.
• Ildemaro Vargas made an appearance in tonight’s contest thanks to the lopsided score, and of course, one night after leaving the game because he ran into a dumptruck, he gets hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance. How is he still walking at this point?

Comment of the Game

The GameDay Thread was definitely light tonight. Understandable considering the rout was on early. A final tally of 146 comments at time of publishing, but since no comments went red after the crews nightly introductions, we’ll just chalk this up as a total loss and not name any COTG.

Coming Up

The Diamondbacks face the Nats for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow afternoon with a rare Saturday 1:10pm first pitch at home. Righthander Zack Littell (5-4, 5.01 ERA) will take the mound for Washington and The Hologram (5-1, 2.24 ERA) takes the ball for the good guys.

Manager Craig Stammen met with the media before the San Diego Padres versus the New York Mets game on Friday and announced that outfielder Ramón Laureano had surgery in the morning for a torn labrum in his hip. Laureano went on the injured list on Tuesday with right hip inflammation. He was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Reliever Jeremiah Estrada was also placed on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation, retroactive to June 3.

In corresponding moves, reliever David Morgan was recalled from El Paso and RHP Jhony Brito was activated from the 60-day IL. Brito was not placed on the active roster at this time and was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.

Laureano’s injury originated in 2021, per Stammen, and was treated with an injection at that time. His testing showed a recurrence, and he opted for surgery this time around. The normal timeline for recovery from labrum surgery is four to five months.

With the release of Nick Castellanos on Friday, the Padres still have four outfielders on the roster. Samad Taylor, brought up when Castellanos was released, is both an outfielder and a second baseman. Both Taylor and outfielder Jase Bowen distinguished themselves with Triple-A El Paso leading up to their promotions.

Outfielder Bryce Johnson has more experience than Bowen and will probably get the bulk of the starts to begin with. He starts in left field to begin the series against the Mets on Friday. All three of them are good baserunners and play good defense.

Stammen also gave an update on catcher Luis Campusano. He is still in Arizona and working toward a rehab assignment next week or soon after.

Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is progressing with activities as tolerated but still has no timeline for his return.

With two starters who have struggled with keeping the ball in the park this season, it felt like we were going to see another offensive shootout, as we saw in the series against the Giants. But that certainly wasn’t the case; then it was, as the Milwaukee Brewers bats scored eight runs between the ninth and 10th innings to beat the Rockies 9-7.

Christian Yelich opened up the game by getting hit by a pitch, and with the heart of the order, it was shaping up to be a great first inning for the Crew. Unfortunately, the rest of the inning was just foreshadowing what was to come for the rest of the game, as Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang went back-to-back with groundouts. William Contreras followed with a first-pitch popout to end the inning, stranding Yelich in scoring position.

The Rockies have been swinging the bat at a successful rate over the last week of play, and that continued in the home half of the first inning as Jake McCarthy doubled. Rockies gave the Brewers a taste of their own medicine by stealing bases and using the small ball to take an early 1-0 lead.

In his first plate appearance of the night, Jake Bauers continued to be one of the biggest consistencies in the lineup as he smashed his 11th double of the season. Following a groundout, then a walk, Luis Rengifo drove in Bauer to tie the game at 1-1 with a groundout of his own. The double by Bauers wound up being the lone hit of the evening for the Brewers as they struggled to find any success against the right-hander Ryan Feltner.

Feltner was making his second start since coming off the 15-day injured list, and boy did he look dominant. Throwing six innings of one-run ball and struck out four batters while allowing just two walks. His offense helped him get into a groove early as Edouard Julien singled to drive in a run to give the Rockies the lead at 2-1. Hunter Goodman followed up an inning later with a solo shot to make it 3-1.

Brandon Sproat continued to struggle on the mound this evening as he finished the night with three runs allowed on seven hits. He has now allowed at least three runs in each of his last five outings, and in that span he has given up four home runs. Entering tonight, the words of Pat Murphy rang through many Brewers fans’ heads, thinking the chances of Sproat being sent down were high if he had another outing like this. Though, with the injuries beginning to rack up for the pitching staff, Sproat will most likely stay with the big league club.

Following his departure, the game went into a stalemate. The injury bug was back, and it bit the Brewers yet again, as Brian Fitzpatrick, who was just called up from Triple-A, departed the game during his warm-ups entering the bottom of the seventh inning. It had appeared that it was something with his throwing arm, and it was instant. Though no official announcement has been made yet, chances are Fitzpatrick will become the fifth left-hander to land on the injured list for the Crew.

The Brewers entered the bottom of the ninth with just one hit and one run on the board, and no signs of life at the plate. That was, until Turang led off the inning with a single. It was the first of many more hits to come for the Brewers. With two on and no outs, Bauer continued his hot night at the plate as he zipped a single into the outfield to bring them within one. Then, Sal Frelick made his presence felt with an RBI double that tied the game at three. After the tying hit, Andrew Vaughn came through by driving in a pair of runs on a single to give the Brewers their first lead of the night at 5-3.

Trevor Megill came in seeking his first save opportunity since last weekend in Houston, and instead earned a blown save, his first since April 10th against the Nationals. With bases loaded and Megill’s command lacking, he walked Chad Stevens to bring the Rockies within one. Then Goodman came through again with a sacrifice flyout to send the game into extra innings.

The pesky, gritty Brewers were back and stronger than ever entering the top of the 10th inning. Back-to-back walks to lead off the inning allowed Bauers to smash his second double that drove in two runs to give them back the lead at 7-5. For good insurance, Garrett Mitchell and Frelick singled, driving in a run each, to extend the Brewers’ lead to 9-5.

Known win vulture Aaron Ashby came on in the bottom of the 10th inning to shut down the Rockies. Despite loading the bases and giving up a couple of runs, he used a game-ending double-play to lock in the come-from-behind win for the Brewers.

After a late night at the ballpark, the Brewers will be back in action tomorrow night as they will look to lock in the series win against the Rockies. Jacob Misiorowski will take the ball as he makes his first career start at Coors Field.

Charlotte Knights 4, Durham Bulls 3
Eager to post double-digit runs for the third straight night, Dru Baker got the night started with his sixth bomb this season against his former team to break open the game in the third:

Charlotte and Durham traded three runs apiece over the next three innings, which included a Braden Montgomery three-run blast to balance Jonathan Cannon’s three allowed runs:

The scoring held there, and while the Knights didn’t break 10 runs, they at least secured a series win, as they continue to own the Durham Bulls this season.

Riley Gowens deserves a lot of credit for his three stellar relief innings that held the Bulls scoreless for the rest of the game.

Knoxville Smokies 8, Birmingham Barons 7 (11 innings)
The Barons went toe-to-toe with the Smokies in a match that tested the arms and bats’ endurance. Knoxville went up 1-0 in the first, but Bham matched the score with an Anthony DePino sac fly. The Smokies tried pulling away with a three-spot in the third, but the Barons responded with their own three-run tally in the fifth. The wait-an-inning-then-score saga continued for the rest of the game. The schtick was all fun and games until the 11th, when the Barons finally fell off the keep pace after Phil Fox gave up an extra-base hit to allow Knoxville to walk off the game.

Jordan Sprinkle and Drake Logan stood out from the rest in the lineup, with Logan by far the most productive player, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and two walks. On the other side, Nick Altermatt came through once again for the Barons, tossing two scoreless innings along with four strikeouts.

Hub City Spartanburgers 8, Winston-Salem Dash 5 (11 innings)
Unfortunately, the first game in this Dash-Spartanburgers series with more than three total runs scored ended unfavorably for our friends down in Winston-Salem. Starter Justin Sinbaldi gave Winston-Salem a gift by allowing just one run and four hits in six frames, and could’ve and should’ve gone longer. Up 3-1, Trey Cooper came in for the seventh and saw the lead shaved down by one run in a matter of minutes by giving up two straight hits, throwing a wild pitch and walking the No. 4 and 5 batters. Cooper then punctuated the seventh with a two-run double that handed the Spartanburgers the lead for the rest of the game.

Although giving up three runs didn’t help, Winston-Salem’s lineup didn’t dazzle, either. After leaving 12 on base and going 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, it was shocking to see the Dash put the puzzle together at the last minute. Down to their last out, Boston Smith singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Alex Ungar and T.J. McCants capitalized on an error from Hub City’s Ben Hartl, drawing two free passes to first to knot the contest at four apiece.

The Dash clung onto the game through the 10th, but Pierce George’s return to the mound in the 11th was a costly mistake. He gave up a two-run homer that essentially slammed the door on the game.

Hickory Crawdads 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2
There’s no nice way to slice and dice this game in a way that doesn’t completely put the shortcomings on the lineup. After collecting four hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts, the CBs should be grateful they even put a run on the board. Abraham Núñez basically put the team on his back, scoring the only run that came from a ball in play and tallying almost half his team’s hits with a dinger in the fourth. Yeesh. Conversely, Riley Eikhoff is solely to blame for Hickory’s earned runs. Although he managed to punch out eight, he gave up two home runs and eight hits before exiting. He has truly been hit or miss in 2026, with the majority of his games leaning towards hit. The arm barn did its best to clean up the mess, but with a lackadaisical offense, the effort was moot.

ACL White Sox 5, ACL Guardians 4 (7 innings)
In what is hopefully a harbinger of games to come in the major leagues, the Complex Sox beat back the Clevelanders on Friday, and this in spite of four errors squeezed into just seven frames.

Better still is that our ACL heroes fought back from an early deficit, especially important in a shortened game; Cleveland was ahead, 4-1, through the second inning — and the Complex Sox shut them down from there.

Although Jurdrick Profar had the biggest blow of the contest, a two-run shot in the fourth inning that tied the game, 4-4, it was pesky D’Angelo Tejada who made the difference two innings later. Tejada doubled to lead off the frame, was bunted over to third by Jordan Rich, and proved distracting enough at the hot corner to induce a balk from Guards hurler Harrison Ruiz.

That proved the difference-maker, and the ACL Sox move to 9-16; their two straight wins have pushed them ahead of both the ACL Cubs and ACL Dodgers for the 13th-best record in the 15-team ACL. Baby steps!

For a variety of reasons, significantly that the Dominican Summer League has no media coverage and players who often are en masse released before even getting to U.S. play, we no longer cover the daily doings of our DSL White Sox. However, given that today we saw the San Francisco Giants drub the Cubs, 18-3, it was an odd coincidence that the DSL Giants crushed our White Sox, 21-7.

The DSL White Sox were 2-1 heading into this mauling, but did manage to shut out the Giants in two of the game’s seven innings; problem was that the other four innings for the home team saw five, seven, one and eight runs tallied. Unfortunately, all four DSL Sox pitchers (five threw in the game, with shortstop Nestor Perez mopping up the last out and giving up three runs in the process) will now spend their entire short season trying to winnow down their four-digit ERAs.

Roki Sasaki delivered the best start of his MLB career Friday night against the Angels (24-40) in what became a scoreless pitcher’s duel through the first eight innings. Freddie Freeman walked off with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Dodgers the 1-0 win against the Angels in the series opener.

With his newfound confidence, Sasaki pitched a gem for the Dodgers (41-23). He allowed just two hits and struck out a career-high 10 batters in seven scoreless innings.

Sasaki looked sharp and confident to start the game and series. He struck out Mike Trout and Wade Meckler with nasty splitters in the 1-2-3 first inning.

Sasaki didn’t receive any run support, but his defense had his back. Miguel Rojas made a ridiculous bare-hand throw to get Nick Madrigal out at first. Freeman stretched at first base on the other side of the play to finish it. The Dodgers challenged the safe call on the field, and it was overturned to give the Dodgers the second out of the inning in spectacular defensive fashion.

Sasaki was cooking through three innings, and hit 100.4 mph again on the radar gun with his fastball. The young right-hander looked wickedly good through four no-hit innings against the Angels lineup.

On the other side, the Dodgers were struggling to collect a hit against the lefty Detmers until Freeman singled with one out in the fourth. It would be Freeman’s bat which would ultimately win the game for the Dodgers and prevent a second straight extra-innings game.

Mookie Betts drew a walk to give the Dodgers their first base runner in scoring position, but Detmers used a backdoor breaking ball to strike out Will Smith looking and strand both runners.

Nick Madrigal roped a double to left field with one out in the fifth, the first base hit surrendered by Sasaki. The Angels weren’t able to muster anything else, and the scoreless pitcher’s duel continued.

Andy Pages singled against Detmers with one out in the bottom of the sixth. He tried to get something going for the Dodgers but was thrown out on a steal attempt of second base.

Sasaki picked up his 10th strikeout, a career high, utilizing that deadly splitter to send Nick Madrigal down swinging in the bottom of the seventh.

Max Muncy pinch-hit for Rojas to start the bottom of the eighth. Muncy was not in the starting lineup after the much-talked about collision at first base with Ildemaro Vargas the night prior. Muncy went down on strikes against Angels reliever Sam Bachman, and his offensive frustrations continued.

Alex Freeland was hit by a pitch on his thigh with one out in the bottom of the eighth, but Bachman also struck out Pages for a scoreless inning of his own.

It only takes one swing of the bat to win the deadlocked game in the bottom of the ninth. Freeman accepted the challenge and ended the 0-0 pitcher’s duel with a solo home run against old friend Kirby Yates to walk it off for the Dodgers. It was Freeman’s 20th career walk-off home run.

Friday particulars

Home run: Freddie Freeman (10)

WP — Blake Treinen (3-1): 1 out to end the 8th

LP — Kirby Yates (0-2): gave up walk-off HR to Freeman

Up next

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-4, 2.86 ERA, 0.995 WHIP) takes on Jack Kochanowicz (2-4, 5.23 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) Saturday night in the second game of the series (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA).

Freddie Freeman battled in the batter’s box.

No stranger to coming through in a big moment, the Dodgers star was hoping to see a fastball up in the zone from Angels reliever Kirby Yates.

So Freeman stayed patient, working his way into a full count.

Then Yates gave him what he wanted — and Freeman delivered the 20th walk-off hit of his career.

The Dodger Stadium crowd erupted in celebration as Freeman watched the ball soar over the right-center field wall in the ninth inning of a 1-0 victory over the Angels.

Freeman grinned as he rounded the bases. He threw a thumbs up at his teammates before they swarmed him in celebration. He finally had given the Dodgers something to cheer for after being held to just two hits over 25 at-bats.

“I’ve been feeling good lately,” Freeman said. “I was tweaking things early on, just trying to find a consistent feel for things. Sometimes it’s just get a couple of hits, get confidence and get going. Nothing really crazy. It’s the same routine, hitting some soft line drives at the shortstop, and things have been working.”

Through most of the game, the excitement was contained to a pitcher’s duel — a chess game of defensive plays, waiting to see who flinched first.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki was red hot in what would tie for his longest outing of the season. Sasaki, for the first time this season, threw triple digits in back-to-back appearances, topping 100.6 mph. The Japanese pitcher threw all three of his pitches harder than his yearly average.

“I’ve been experiencing a lot of good and bad since 2024,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “But I feel like I’m able to maintain this velocity. I think I’m confident about that, but I’m just keeping working on it to make sure I’m in a better place.”

With the speed uptick, Sasaki has also seen an inverse downtick in the earned runs column on his statline. His monthly ERA reached its zenith at 7.23 in his April starts, descending to its current 4.03 ERA.

In Sasaki’s best starts, the elevated velocity and pitch mix makes the right-hander lethal, giving him extended runway to pitch further into the game. Against the Angels (24-40), the elevated velocity allowed him to throw 4⅓ hitless innings in his career-high 11th appearance of the season. He pitched seven innings, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out 10.

It’s a return to how Sasaki looked when he played in Japan, manager Dave Roberts said. Confidence might be the clearest sign things are clicking. Sasaki thumped his chest after striking out Adam Fraizer in the fifth inning, a rare show of emotion.

“I certainly think we can all agree that the floor for Roki is much higher, and the expectation every time he takes the ball is high, and he’s earned that,” Roberts said. “If you look at the last six or seven stats, it’s been as good as any starter in the big leagues in the consistency of performance. So really proud of him and I know that he wants more, and the floor has just been raised.”

Some quick thinking from second baseman Miguel Rojas also helped preserve Sasaki’s strong start. On Nick Madrigal’s sharp line drive in the third inning, the pitcher reached for the ball and popped it up with the tip of his glove. The ball ricocheted off its intended course, but Rojas nabbed it with his bare hand, throwing it to first where a lunging Freeman caught it. The play was initially ruled as an infield single, but it was overturned on review.

“When it hits off a pitcher — you’re already going, committed to one way, then you gotta make another,” Freeman laughed. “The old guy’s still got it.”

Madrigal would break the Angels’ hitless run in the fifth with a double off the left-field wall. But, he was left stranded when Sasaki induced a groundout before his strikeout of Frazier.

The Dodgers (41-23) didn’t fare much better against Angels starter Reid Detmers. In the fourth, Freeman singled and moved to third on a forceout on Kyle Tucker. But, with two outs on the board, Will Smith struck out.

Andy Pages squandered a potential scoring opportunity when he was caught stealing in the sixth. The center fielder, who went one for four, has struggled at the plate in recent games. Against Arizona this week, Pages batted .176, collecting only three hits.

As the innings dragged, both the Dodgers and the Angels failed to find momentum. Reliever Chase Silseth took over in the seventh for Detmers, who gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out six. Silseth silenced the opposing batters, issuing only a walk to Smith.

Read more:Roki Sasaki is no longer lost in translation, finding his swagger and delivering wins

Edgardo Henriquez took over in the eighth, striking out the first two batters he faced. Then, he hit Zach Neto with a pitch, and after Neto stole second, the Dodgers found themselves in a precarious position with Mike Trout at the plate. Not for long, though, as Henriquez struck out Trout.

Roberts, who had watched Rojas and Santiago Espinal go a combined 0 for 4, pinch-hit for both in the eighth. To a roaring applause, Max Muncy entered the batter’s box, his first plate appearance since a scary collision with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas on Thursday. Muncy, though, went down swinging.

Tanner Scott took the mound in the ninth a day after he gave up a walk-off home run to Arizona’s Ketel Marte. Jo Adell hit a one-out single then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Donovan Walton. Roberts then put Blake Treinen into the game, and he got Oswald Peraza to ground out to first.

With Freeman’s sixth career walk-off home run, the Dodgers beat the Angels for the fourth consecutive time this season.

“Freddie just has aura,” Roberts said. “There’s not too many guys in baseball that you’d want in a game-winning situation, and Freddie does it once again.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The margin against the Brewers was thin Friday night, and the final innings showed why.

The Rockies had a 3-1 lead, had allowed one hit through eight innings and were three outs away from taking the opener against the first-place Brewers.

They still lost.

Colorado fell 9-7 in 10 innings Friday night at Coors Field, dropping to 24-40 while Milwaukee improved to 38-23. The Rockies got one of Ryan Feltner’s best starts of the season, early offense against Brandon Sproat and Hunter Goodman’s 16th home run, but went scoreless from the fourth through the eighth before the game turned late.

Milwaukee scored four runs in the ninth to take a 5-3 lead. Colorado answered with two runs in the bottom half to force extras, but the Brewers came back with four more in the 10th. The Rockies scored twice in the bottom of the inning before the comeback ended.

Feltner settles in after high-pitch second inning

Ryan Feltner looked sharp Friday, giving the Rockies six innings of one-run baseball against a first-place Brewers lineup. He allowed one hit, walked two, struck out four and needed 81 pitches. The outing lowered his season ERA to 4.22.

Feltner hit Christian Yelich to open the game, but the only real trouble came in the second inning. Jake Bauers led off with a double, and Milwaukee used a walk, two stolen bases and Luis Rengifo’s soft groundout to tie the game. David Hamilton followed with another walk and a stolen base, giving the Brewers two runners in scoring position with Yelich at the plate.

Feltner ended the inning with one of the game’s biggest pitches: an 86.8 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout. The pitch stranded both runners and kept the game tied at 1-1.

From there, Feltner controlled the game. He did not allow another baserunner after Hamilton’s walk, retired his final 13 batters and finished the sixth at 81 pitches.

The command was a big part of it, the second inning aside. Feltner threw 56% of his pitches in the zone and finished with a 63% strike rate, using the full mix without letting Milwaukee back into counts after the second.

The pitch data backed up the line. Feltner used six pitches, led by 27 sliders, 23 four-seam fastballs and 17 changeups. The changeup produced three of his four strikeouts and four whiffs on seven swings. His four-seam fastball averaged 94.5 mph and topped out at 97.4 mph.

Rockies get to Sproat early, but fail to add on

Brandon Sproat brought plenty of velocity, but the Rockies built their lead by scoring in each of the first three innings against him.

Sproat allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings, walking two and striking out two on 87 pitches. His ERA rose to 6.17.

Jake McCarthy opened the bottom of the first with a double, stole third and scored on Tyler Freeman’s RBI groundout. McCarthy, who entered the game hitting .289 with an .805 OPS, finished 2-for-6 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.

The Rockies answered Milwaukee’s second-inning run with one of their better offensive sequences. Ezequiel Tovar hit a 103 mph ground-rule double, Sterlin Thompson moved him to third after an eight-pitch at-bat, and Edouard Julien lined a single to left to put Colorado back in front.

McCarthy followed with a 101.4 mph single to right, prompting a mound visit before Freeman ended the inning with a flyout.

Goodman added the Rockies’ final early run in the third. After falling behind 1-2 and working the count full, he got an 81.5 mph curveball and drove it to left field for his 16th home run of the season. The ball left his bat at 106.4 mph and traveled 411 feet, giving Colorado a 3-1 lead.

Goodman, who entered the game hitting .245 with an .831 OPS, finished 1-for-3 with a homer, a walk, a stolen base and two RBI. Thompson went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, while Tovar and Willi Castro also doubled.

Sproat averaged 95.9 mph with his four-seam fastball and 96.1 mph with his sinker, topping out at 97.8 mph. He used six pitches, led by 24 four-seam fastballs, 20 cutters, 17 changeups and 13 curveballs.

The Rockies finished with seven hits against Sproat, including four extra-base hits. Sproat generated six whiffs on 42 swings, finished with a 59% strike rate and threw 44% of his pitches in the zone.

Ninth inning undoes strong pitching stretch

The Rockies were in good shape after Ryan Feltner exited. Jaden Hill handled the seventh, working around a two-out walk with a strikeout and a forceout.

Senzatela struck out David Hamilton, Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio in order in the eighth, pushing Colorado within three outs of a win. He entered the ninth with a 1.26 ERA, but the inning changed quickly.

Milwaukee opened the ninth with a single, then reached again on a comebacker and a throwing error by Senzatela. Instead of recording at least one out, the Brewers had runners at the corners with nobody out.

Jake Bauers followed with a 111.8 mph RBI single to center to cut the lead to 3-2.

Senzatela got the first out by striking out Garrett Mitchell with a 92.3 mph cutter, but Sal Frelick followed with a 106 mph double to tie the game.

Andrew Vaughn then came off the bench and bounced a single through the drawn-in infield, scoring two runs and giving Milwaukee a 5-3 lead.

Senzatela finished with 1.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits with four strikeouts. His ERA moved to 1.98. Brennan Bernardino entered and got Yelich to ground out to end the inning.

Rockies answer in bottom of ninth

The Rockies did not let the game end in the bottom of the ninth against Trevor Megill.

Colorado loaded the bases after Thompson reached on a strange play near first base, Kyle Karros followed with a 101.7 mph single to right off a 96.6 mph four-seam fastball, and Freeman singled to left.

Chad Stevens worked a bases-loaded walk to score Thompson and cut Milwaukee’s lead to 5-4. Goodman followed after an ABS challenge overturned a ball call and made the count 0-2. He still got a 98.5 mph four-seam fastball in the air, hitting a sacrifice fly to right at 96.6 mph and 323 feet to score pinch-runner Braxton Fulford and tie the game at 5-5.

Troy Johnston came up with runners on the corners and two outs, but flew out to left to send the game to extra innings.

Brewers take control in extras

Juan Mejia took over in the 10th with Yelich starting the inning at second as the automatic runner. Mejia got the first out by striking out Chourio, but back-to-back walks to Brice Turang and Gary Sánchez loaded the bases.

The walks set up the inning. Bauers doubled to center to give Milwaukee a 7-5 lead, and Mitchell and Frelick followed with run-scoring singles to make it 9-5.

Mejia allowed four runs, three earned, on three hits and two walks in one-third of an inning. His ERA rose to 6.67.

“Walks kill you. Especially late in the game. Walks always kill you,” Warren Schaeffer said after the game.

Seth Halvorsen entered with runners on first and second and one out, but walked Joey Ortiz on four pitches to load the bases again. He avoided further damage, striking out Hamilton on three straight sliders after starting him with a ball, then getting Yelich to ground out on a 96.7 mph four-seam fastball after falling behind 3-0.

The Rockies had one more push in the bottom of the 10th against Aaron Ashby. Johnston started the inning at second, Castro was hit by a pitch and Tovar walked to load the bases. Thompson followed with a two-run single to center, scoring Johnston and Castro to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 9-7.

That was as close as Colorado got. Brett Sullivan grounded into a double play, moving Tovar to third but clearing the bases, and McCarthy struck out on a foul tip to end the game.

Interesting notes

Feltner has allowed one run over 12 innings in two starts since returning from the injured list, with six strikeouts and two walks.

Goodman’s homer was his 16th of the season. It came off an 81.5 mph curveball from Sproat and traveled 411 feet with a 106.4 mph exit velocity.

The Rockies finished 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, while the Brewers went 6-for-15.

Milwaukee had the edge in stolen bases, finishing with three to Colorado’s two.

The Rockies had three two-out RBI, while the Brewers had four.

Colorado scored in each of the first three innings, went scoreless from the fourth through the eighth, then scored two runs in both the ninth and 10th.

Milwaukee scored eight of its nine runs in the ninth and 10th innings.

Up next

The Rockies and Brewers continue the series Saturday at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. MDT.

Milwaukee is scheduled to start Jacob Misiorowski, who enters with a 6-2 record, 1.65 ERA and 108 strikeouts. Schaeffer declined to name Colorado’s starter after Friday’s game, saying, “Not yet,” though Zach Agnos could be part of the pitching plan.

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