Category: Baseball

Good morning Birdland,

It’s officially July, which means trade season will soon be open. Last year, the Orioles traded away reliever Bryan Baker on July 10, when they were 10 games under .500. and seven games back of the final wild card spot. While dealing away a middle reliever isn’t necessarily a sign of surrender, that’s exactly what it would be for the 2025 Orioles.

Right now, the 2026 version of the Orioles are 9 games under .500, five games back of the final wild card spot, and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. This year’s AL is worse than it was a season ago, so perhaps there is some reason for optimism in the organization. More likely, there is pressure within the front office to just make this roster work, no matter what. The team’s on-field play is making that a tough case to prove.

The Orioles 9-3 loss on Tuesday night was just the latest disheartening performance. Some of that was another tough start for rookie Trey Gibson, which is frustrating but understandable for such a young player. More annoying was yet another weak offensive showing. They had nine hits, but scored just three runs, and did not hit any home runs. It’s just not good enough, and while their have been moments of brilliance, and some good weeks mixed in, the squad has just generally been a disappointing. There are no signs to indicate that will change.

That doesn’t mean the Orioles need to get to selling right now. Maybe a miracle happens, they forget who they are, and they string together a bunch of wins by the end of the month. That would be fun to see. But we shouldn’t hold our breath. And considering the times that Mike Elias has given up on solid-but-not-great teams, it would be pretty frustrating to see him pick THIS team as one worth doubling down on come the deadline.

Stay cool out there today, Baltimore. It’s gonna be a hot one. And we have an Orioles game right in the middle of it. First pitch is 12:35 from Camden Yards. Stay in the shade. Drink water. And get inside when possible.

Links

‘They have every right to boo’: Albernaz, Orioles confront struggles as Deadline looms | Orioles.com
The thing is that Orioles fans do NOT have championship expectations for their baseball team. These guys don’t need to be the Dodgers or Yankees in order for fans to be pleased. But they should be competitive and in the mix for a playoff spot. Instead, they are a nightly disappointment.

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
Some Mike Elias quotes from over the weekend are in here. He spoke about injuries, how they have impacted the team, and the upcoming trade deadline. It is fair to say that injuries have been a problem for the Orioles, but come on. The team doesn’t stink because Jordan Westburg and Zach Eflin have been out. They should have been able to absorb those losses and still been an 85-90 win team. The issues go deeper.

Jon Meoli: If the Orioles even give Mike Elias a trade deadline choice, buying is the only one | The Baltimore Banner
Eh, I’m not sure I agree with the premise. The roster is flawed and hasn’t shown the sort of upside that, to me, feels worth doubling down on. They do have a few weeks to go on some sort of magical run. We’ll see.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Nelson Cruz turns 46 today. The slugger spent just one season in Baltimore, but it was a good one. He led the league with 40 home runs and helped the Orioles capture the 2014 AL East title.
• Jamie Walker is 55 years old. He pitched out of the Orioles bullpen for parts of three seasons from 2007 through ’09.

This day in O’s history

1957 – Orioles pitcher George Zuverink and catcher Frank Zupo form the first “Z” batter in major league history in a 3-2 loss to the Yankees.

1967 – Orioles pitcher Mike Adamson makes his major league debut, becoming the first draftee to bypass the minors and go straight to the majors. However, he will play in the minors in 1968.

1982 – Orioles manager Earl Weaver moves Cal Ripken Jr. from third base to shortstop.

1994 – The Orioles and Angels combine to hit a major league record-tying 11 home runs in a 14-7 win for the O’s.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/4-3)

WORCESTER 15, SYRACUSE 5 (BOX)

The Woo Sox creamed Syracuse. Nick Morabito concluded his red-hot June with three more hits- one of which was a double- but there really isn’t anything positive to say about this drubbing. Luis Robert Jr. went 1-3 while Jorge Polanco went hitless in three trips to the plate.

·  REHAB ALERT CF Luis Robert Jr.: 1-2, BB

·  CF Cristian Pache: 0-2, R

·  REHAB ALERT DH Jorge Polanco: 0-3

·  PH-DH MJ Melendez: 1-2, R, HR (3), 2 RBI

·  LF Nick Morabito: 3-5, 2B

·  1B Ryan Clifford: 0-5, 3 K

·  RF Jared Oliva: 1-4, R, BB, 2 K, SB (3)

·  2B Vidal Bruján: 1-3, R, HBP

·  PR-2B Yonny Hernández: 0-1

·  3B Grae Kessinger: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, E (1)

·  C Hayden Senger: 1-3, BB

·  SS Zack Short: 0-3, RBI, K

·  RHP Daniel Duarte: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Jack Weisenburger: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Adbert Alzolay: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

·  RHP Ofreidy Gómez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

·  LHP Matt Turner: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, WP

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent CF Luis Robert Jr. on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets activated SS Zack Short.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/2-5)

BINGHAMTON 5, CHESAPEAKE 3 (BOX)

It took a while thanks to a two-and-a-half hour rain delay, but the Rumble Ponies took the opener in their series against the Baysox, their second win of the second half. Binghamton scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, but before they could take their next turn at bat, the rain came. Jonathan Santucci initially took the mound for Binghamton, but because of the torrential downpour, only ended up throwing 29 pitches over two innings. After things cleared up, the Rumble Ponies plated three more runs. The Baysox scored a pair of runs in the top of the third and one more in the top of the fourth, but Felipe De La Cruz, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Saul Garcia held things down in the later innings.

·  C Chris Suero: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, K, SB (21)

·  CF Jose Ramos: 1-4, R, K, SB (7)

·  3B Nick Lorusso: 1-3, R, RBI, BB, K, SB (5)

·  1B JT Schwartz: 0-3, RBI, BB, 2 K

·  DH Matt Rudick: 1-4, 2 K

·  SS Wyatt Young: 0-3

·  LF Jaylen Palmer: 0-3, 2 K

·  2B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-3, K

·  RF Nick Lucky: 0-2, R, BB, K

·  LHP Jonathan Santucci: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, E (2)

·  RHP Jordan Geber: 0.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

·  RHP Danis Correa: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

·  LHP Felipe De La Cruz: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (1-1)

·  LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, H (4)

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, S (2)

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Danis Correa assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: LHP Felipe De La Cruz assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Syracuse Mets.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/6-4)

BROOKLYN 5, FREDERICK 3 (BOX)

The reigning, defending, undisputed Pitcher of the Week Daviel Hurtado instantly put himself in the running for a repeat, following up one his six scoreless inning, two-hit performance with one walk and six strikeouts by throwing six scoreless innings, allowing a single hit, walking one, and striking out eight; Acknowledge him. Ronald Hernandez put Brooklyn on the board just before Hurtado left the game with a solo homer, and in the top of the seventh, the Cyclones scored three more. Gregori Louis almost ruined things for the Cuban left-hander by allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the bullpen settled after his blip of an inning.

·  SS Mitch Voit: 2-5, R, HR (9), 3 RBI, 2 K

·  CF Yonatan Henriquez: 1-5, K

·  1B Ronald Hernandez: 1-4, R, HR (7), RBI

·  DH Corey Collins: 1-3, BB, K

·  C Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-4

·  LF John Bay: 0-4, K

·  RF JT Benson: 0-3, BB, K

·  3B Colin Houck: 2-4, 2 R

·  2B Jamari Baylor: 2-4, R, RBI, K

·  LHP Daviel Hurtado: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (4-1)

·  LHP Gregori Louis: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Parker Carlson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, H (1)

·  RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (1)

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Parker Carlson assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Tanner Witt assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from Syracuse Mets.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/2-6)

TAMPA 6, ST. LUCIE 0 (BOX)

Emilio Obispo contained the Tarpons once though the order, but in the middle innings, they tagged him for four runs. Zack Mack allowed two more, but ultimately those and every other run outside of Tampa’s first were meaningless, as the Tarpons blanked the Mets. St. Lucie managed only three hits, doubles from Antonio Jimenez and Taylor Darden and a Jack Scanlon single.

·  SS Elian Peña: 0-4, K, 2 E (15, 16)

·  2B Trey Snyder: 0-4, K

·  3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, 2B, 3 K

·  DH Julio Zayas: 0-3, K, HBP

·  RF Branny De Oleo: 0-3, K, HBP

·  C Chase Meggers: 0-3, K

·  CF Simon Juan: 0-3, K

·  1B Jack Scanlon: 1-3, K

·  LF Taylor Darden: 1-3, 2B, K, E (1)

·  RHP Emilio Obispo: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Zack Mack: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, BLK, HBP

·  RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Luis Alvarez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, WP

ROSTER ALERT: St. Lucie Mets released RHP Joe Charles.

Rookie: FCL Mets (16-24)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Daviel Hurtado

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Adbert Alzolay

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Mike Montgomery, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1958 – The Cubs’ Tony Taylor hits a ball inside the third base line that falls into the rain gutter in fair territory at Wrigley Field. San Francisco rookie OF Leon Wagner chases the ball, but is fooled by Cubs relief pitchers staring intently under the bench. Wagner does not look for the ball in the gutter 40 to 50 feet further down. Taylor reaches home on the hit, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1916 – At age 42 years and 4 months, Honus Wagner is the oldest player to hit an inside-the-park home run. 
• 1920 – Washington Senators pitching legend Walter Johnson no-hits Boston Red Sox 1-0 at Fenway Park, the only no-hitter of his illustrious career.
• 1941 – Joe DiMaggio has two hits in the first game and one in the second to tie Willie Keeler‘s major-league hitting streak of 44 games.
• 1951 – Veteran Bob Feller pitches the third no-hitter of his career, tying the record of Cy Young and Larry Corcoran, as he beats Detroit’s Bob Cain, 2-1.
• 1972 – Roberto Clemente‘s fourth and fifth (out of six) career home runs off Ferguson Jenkins provide the Pirates with a 4 – 3 walk-off win against the Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium. Clemente hits Fergie’s first pitch in the 7th inning over the left field fence to tie the game. After the Bucs fall behind, 3-2, his second homer is a game-ending blast with none out in the ninth.
• 1973 – The Twins’ Jim Kaat fires a one-hitter to beat the Angels, 2-1. Frank Robinson‘s home run in the 2nd is the only hit. This is the second time in his career that Robby hits a home run to break up a no-hitter.
• 1973 – Luis Aparicio of the Red Sox steals the 500th base of his career in a 9-5 loss to Milwaukee. It is the highest total in the American League since Eddie Collins retired in 1930.

Today in Cubs history:

• 1906 – Righthander Jack Taylor, 8-9 with the St. Louis Cardinals, returns to the Cubs in exchange for second-string C Pete Noonan, rookie P Fred Beebe and cash. Taylor will help the Cubs by going 12-3 the rest of the year.
• 1912 – At Pittsburgh, Chicago’s Wildfire Schulte breaks up a scoreless pitching duel between Marty O’Toole and Jimmy Lavender by legging out an inside-the-park homer in the 12th inning. Lavender and the Cubs win, 1-0.
• 1950 – The Reds’ Ewell Blackwell has to go ten innings but finally beats the Cubs, 5 – 3, striking out 14 and allowing just two hits. One of the hits is Andy Pafko‘s three-run home run in the 9th.
• 1973 – At Wrigley Field, the Mets edge the Cubs, 6-5, in the first game of a doubleheader. Then it is the Cubs’ turn, as Randy Hundley bangs a ninth-inning three-run homer to give Chicago the 6-5 edge. Ron Santo has seven hits for the afternoon, five in the nightcap.

Cubs Birthdays:Chris Flexen, Colin Rea, Mike Montgomery*, Dick Drott, Frank Baumann, Hersh Freeman, Fred Holmes, John Clarkson HOF. Also notable: Ben Taylor HOF. Roger Connor HOF.

Today in history:

• 1200 – Sunglasses are invented in China [approx. date].
• 1731 – Benjamin Franklin and members of his ‘Junto’ community improvement club draw up articles of agreement to found the Library Company of Philadelphia, the first public library in British America.
• 1776 – First vote on Declaration of Independence for Britain’s North American colonies.
• 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, Union forces halt Confederate General Robert E. Lee‘s Army of Northern Virginia.
• 1898 – Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders charge up San Juan Hill during US’s successful assault on the city of Santiago.
• 1963 – ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Codes are introduced for United States mail.
• 1967 – The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” goes to No. 1 in the United States and stays there for 15 weeks.
• 1997 – Nevada Athletic Commission suspends Mike Tyson indefinitely and withholds $20 million purse for biting Evander Holyfield‘s ear during their heavyweight title fight 28 June.

*pictured.

BALTIMORE – On the day Sam Antonacci played his first professional baseball game, going 2-for-4 for Class A Kannapolis in a Carolina League contest Aug. 8, 2024, the Chicago White Sox fired their manager with a 28-89 record, mired in a stretch of losing 48 of 54 games, on their way to a record-setting 121-loss season.

Sometimes, it’s advantageous to be young and oblivious.

From that moment in time, a gaggle of players like Antonacci methodically worked their way through the White Sox’s system, were culled from the waiver wire, imported en masse in a blockbuster trade or drafted, developed and tossed into the fire.

And in less than two years, baseball’s most depressing outpost has become its most surprising story.

“When I got drafted, when I first got to the Arizona complex,” Antonacci, a fifth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina in 2024, tells USA TODAY Sports, “it didn’t feel like a 121-loss team.

“I knew it was going to change quickly. It was a matter of when.”

How about… now?

These 2026 White Sox are 45-39, will begin the month of July atop the American League Central and, in a year of leaguewide mediocrity, have an 80% chance to reach the playoffs. It is a stunning climb for a club that saw the fading presence of Tony La Russa give way to three consecutive 100-loss seasons, the utter chaos of the Pedro Grifol managerial era and, finally, a place in the record books nobody wanted.

Yet for so many of the players assembled this year on the South Side, there’s a certain eternal sunshine of the rookie mind that joyfully prevails.

Antonacci did not debut until April 15, yet as the club’s leadoff hitter and left fielder, ranks sixth in the AL with a .391 on-base percentage, a 5-foot-11 doubles hitter residing among giants named Yordan and Trout and Kurtz. Tristan Peters, an erstwhile Savanna Banana rescued via cash considerations after the Tampa Bay Rays designated him for assignment, is playing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field, rarely strikes out and reaches base at a .345 clip.

Munetaka Murakami, of course, was a member of Japan’s Yakult Swallows back in 2024, only to arrive this year and pound 20 homers in 57 games before a hamstring injury sidelined him. Still, he's a joyous presence around the club as he works his way back to a July return, secure in knowing the club has maintained a 15-12 clip without him.

And then there is Miguel Vargas, whose steady climb these past three seasons at both third base and the plate has him on the verge of a rare journey: Discarded Dodger mega-prospect to All-Star.

“It’s been really impressive,” says second-year White Sox manager Will Venable. “And it starts with players that, regardless of their opportunity in the past or where they are in their career, they’re really special guys. Guys who want to go out and compete and play hard, and make adjustments.

“That’s really what’s required to stay in this league and perform at a high level.”

Even if getting there can be a circuitous journey.

PHOENIX — They will be proudly representing their teams at the 96th All-Star Game in two weeks in Philadelphia, but once the festivities are over, and they travel back home for the second half of the MLB season, they soon may be wearing different uniforms.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is Aug. 3, less than three weeks after the All-Star Game, and there are seven potential All-Star players who could be on the trade block and switching uniforms.

The biggest question is not whether two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers will be traded, but whether he will be one of the 12 American League pitchers selected to the All-Star Game by the players, managers and coaches. He’s just 4-4 with a 3.15 ERA after missing five weeks after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery. Still, he’s one of the finest pitchers on the planet who could be the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history this winter.

Here are this year’s potential All-Star candidates, led by Skubal, who will find themselves subjected to intense trade rumors at the All-Star festivities:

Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers, 37-49, have been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments, but as badly as they’ve performed, the American League stinks to the high heavens, and they are just 6.5 games out of a wild-card berth. Do they ride it out and hope that Skubal’s return gets them back into contention, or do they sell him to the highest-bidder and stock their farm system, knowing they’re not going to re-sign him as a free agent, anyway? If nothing else, Skubal has quieted any doubts that he’s fully recovered from his elbow surgery, striking out nine while yielding just one hit and one earned run in six innings in his last start Tuesday against the New York Yankees, hitting 99 mph on the radar gun.

Prediction: Skubal will go, with Atlanta being the favorite according to rival executives, but this decision likely will go down to the final days, if not hours, before the deadline.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 3-2 vs. Norfolk Tides

SS Jonathan Ornelas 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI
C J.C. Escarra 0-2, BB, RBI, HBP — finally playing in Triple-A after those very brief demotions earlier in June
2B Marco Luciano 1-3, RBI, SF
RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-4
3B Tyler Hardman 0-4, 2 K
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 0-4, K
DH Payton Henry 1-3, K, HBP
CF Duke Ellis 0-1, BB, K, outfield assist
LF Kenedy Corona 0-2, sacrifice

Adam Kloffenstein 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K
Zach Messinger 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K (win)
Carson Coleman 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (save)

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 5-2 vs. Hartford Yard Goats

RF Jackson Castillo 3-4, HR, RBI, SB
CF Jace Avina 0-3, BB, K, outfield assist
3B Coby Morales 3-4, 2 2B
LF DJ Gladney 1-3, BB, RBI, K
C Tomas Frick 0-3, BB, K, GIDP
1B Josh Moylan 3-4, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI — helluva day in the 23-year-old’s seventh game at Double-A; two-run shot put Patriots ahead in the fourth, 3-1, and then hit another in the sixth
DH Miguel Palma 0-4, 3 K
SS Kevin Verde 0-4, 2 K
2B Connor McGinnis 0-4, 2 K

Cade Smith 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, HR (win)
Kelly Austin 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Matt Keating 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K — struck out all three hitters he faced
Harrison Cohen 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, HR — gave up a dinger to old friend Roc Riggio

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 0-5 vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks — shut out on two hits

2B Kaeden Kent 0-4, BB, 2 K
SS Core Jackson 0-4, BB, K, SB
RF Wilson Rodriguez 0-1, 3 BB, K, 2 SB — no-contact day but hey he got on base
DH Eric Genther 0-2, 2 BB
1B Kyle West 0-4, 3 K
3B Roderick Arias 0-3, BB, K, fielding error
C Josue Gonzalez 1-4, K — singled in the fourth
CF Camden Troyer 0-3, BB, K
LF Luis Durango 1-4, 2 K — single in the ninth was just the Renegades’ second hit

Bryce Cunningham 5.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 1 K, HR, WP (loss) — the Arias error hurt but he didn’t pitch well anyway
Aaron Nixon 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Tanner Bauman 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, WP
Bryce Warrecker 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K — struck out the side

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:W, 6-0 at St. Lucie Mets — pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout

SS Jackson Lovich 1-5, 2 K
2B Hans Montero 0-5, K
C Luis Puello 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI — two-bagger doubled the Tarpons’ lead to 4-0 in the fifth, later got ejected for arguing a call at third
C Ediel Rivera 0-2, 2 K
LF Logan Maxwell 1-3, BB
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 0-3, BB, K, SB
CF Brando Mayea 1-3, BB, RBI
RF JoJo Jackson 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
1B David McCann 2-2, HR, BB, RBI, HBP — clubbed his first homer above Rookie ball, perfect day at the dish
DH Engelth Urena 0-4, GIDP

Justin West 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, HBP (win) — 2025 18th-rounder set the tone nicely
Jose M. Rodriguez 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP
Parker Seay 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, WP
Pedro Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Florida Complex League Yankees: Postponed vs. FCL Tigers due to lightning and inclement weather; will make up in doubleheader today

Dominican Summer League Yankees:W, 10-4 (7) vs. DSL Tigers 2

CF Isaias Castillo 2-4, 3B, HR, RBI, 2 K — very good game!
SS Stiven Marinez 1-4, 2B, fielding error
RF Yostin Pena 3-4, 3 RBI — single drove in one during the four-run first
2B Juan Torres 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB — went yard in the four-run sixth
1B Juan Martinez 1-3, 2B, BB, K, SB, throwing and fielding errors — did swipe home on double-steal in the fifth
C Cesar Lopez 1-3, BB, RBI, 2 SB, CS
DH Kenneth Melendez 1-2, RBI, K, SF — pro debut for May 29th signee
LF Manuel Aguilar 0-2, BB, 2 K, SB
3B Abrahan Pichardo 1-3, 2 K

Dalvin Taveras 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 3 K, HBP
Angel Salazar 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, HBP, throwing error (win)
Varis Villarreal 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Dominican Summer League Bombers:L, 5-10 at DSL Rangers Blue

SS Mani Cedeno 2-5, RBI, 2 K, SB
2B Carlos Bello 1-3, RBI, SB, HBP
DH Alessandro Rodriguez 2-4, 2 RBI
RF David Carrera 0-4, 2 K, outfield assist
3B Germayhoni Beltre 0-4, 3 K
C Poly Ojeda 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, CS
C Jesus Guerrero 0-0
CF Alfiery Matos 2-3, 3B, BB, K
1B Stalen Ramirez 0-3, RBI, SF
LF Sebastian Pinto 1-4, 2B

Junior Tavera 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 6 BB, 4 K, WP
Oscar Vasquez 2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, WP
Ronald Tejada 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 0 K (loss)
Chaury Gomez 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 0 K, WP, HBP — ouch
Lenin Caceres 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, balk

Iowa Cubs 3, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)

Hens pitching was pretty good on Tuesday, but the bats faltered in the 90 degree heat of this cruel, noon start time.

The Mud Hens did get on the board first. Brett Callahan singled with one out in the top of the second inning. He stole second as Trei Cruz struck out, and the throw from Moises Ballesteros was wild to second, and Callahan took third. A bloop single from Jace Jung brought him home as the Hens only run on the day.

Dylan File put together a pretty mediocre outing, giving up three runs in 4.1 innings of work. He did strike out five against two walks.

Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Mattison, Tanner Rainer, and Nick Sandlin were all effective in relief, but the Hens only managed four hits on the day. Cubs right-hander Will Sanders put together a strong outing against them.

Callahan: 1-4, R, K, SB

File (L, 4-5): 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start at Fifth Third on Wednesday.

Erie SeaWolves 6, Akron RubberDucks 4 (box)

Hayden Minton and Carlos Peña split this start, with each going four innings and allowing two runs. That was plenty as Peyton Graham and the SeaWolves pounded out the hits in this one.

Minton gave up two runs in the first before settling in for three scoreless frames.

In the top of the third, Seth Stephenson and Graham lined back-to-back doubles and Garrett Pennington singled in Graham to make it a 2-2 tie.

In the fourth, E.J. Exposito singled with one out. With two outs, Stephenson singled, and Graham doubled in both runs with his second double on the day. 4-2 SeaWolves.

Exposito added his 12th home run of the season to open the sixth. That made it 5-2, and a nice relay from Stephenson to Graham to third ended the bottom half of the inning, avoiding a jam for Peña.

Chris Meyers is on a multi-week heater and he continued it with a solo shot to center field in the seventh to make it 6-2.

Peña leaked a pair of runs in the eighth, but Trevin Michael locked down the save.

Graham: 3-5, R, 3 RBI, 3 2B

Stephenson: 2-5, 2 R, 2B

Exposito: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, K

Minton: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.

Lake County Captains 20, West Michigan Whitecaps 11 (box)

Neither team’s pitching staff could find the strike zone on a scorching, humid night in West Michigan. Typically under those conditions, home plate umpires call a loose strike zone and force hitters to swing the bats. Not in this one. A tight zone, sweaty hands, and position players pitching by the end of this led to a high scoring game, but it wasn’t entertaining as 24 walks combined were issued in this one.

On a bullpen day, Logan Berrier gave up five runs, and Ryan Harvey and Thomas Bruss each gave up four.

The two clubs started exchanging blows in the third, as the Captains scored five runs. In the bottom half, Patrick Lee was hit by a pitch with one out and Woody Hadeen walked. Bryce Rainer smoked a 114 mph single to center to plate Lee.

Ricardo Hurtado then doubled in Hadeen and Rainer and took third on throwing error on the play. A Jackson Strong sacrfice fly made it a 5-4 game.

Unfortunately, the Captains scored single runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 7-4 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the ‘Caps came roaring back. Samuel Gil led off with a single, and after Luke Shliger struck out, Patrick Lee singled, and both scored on a Woody Hadeen double. Rainer walked on four pitches, as the strike zone contined to look extremely tight for the home plate umpire. Hurtado singled in Hadeen and Rainer, and it was 8-7 Whitecaps.

That’s where Harvey and Bruss melted down. The Captains scored eight runs in an unending inning of pain in the top of the seventh.

In the bottom half, Lee walked and then scored on another Hadeen double. Beyond that, this game just got stupid as the Whitecaps turned to position players, and the Captains relievers couldn’t throw strikes. The walks and homers piled up on the Captains side.

Hurtado: 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B

Rainer: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K

Hadeen: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB

Lee: 1-2, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB

Zack Lee: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 1 (box)

The Flying Tigers got a little help from a rehabbing slugger, and the pitching staff did a nice job as they returned home with a comfortable victory on Tuesday night.

The one thing that didn’t go right was Grayson Grinsell’s start. The lefty allowed three singles and a walk in the first, but managed to manuever through the inning without allowing a run. He did throw 33 pitches, so the Tigers pulled him.

Pedro Garcia took over for the second inning and he gave the Flying Tigers three scoreless frames to save the rest of the pen.

In the third, Jude Warwick and Nick Dumesnil led off the bottom half with singles. They’d only get one run, as Zach MacDonald and then Jordan Yost walked to force in a run. Beau Ankeney struck out and Josue Briceño popped out to end the inning.

In the third, Carson Rucker led off with a single and Edian Espinal walked. There was a delay for an injury as the Cardinals had to go to the bullpen. The new reliever walked Dumesnil, and Rucker scored on a Jesus Pinto ground out. MacDonald hit one 400 feet to center field, but it was run down to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Briceño, rehabbing his preseason wrist surgery, smoked an opposite field shot for his first homer of the year. 3-0 Lakeland.

Right-hander Colin Fields, also on a rehab assignment, gave up a solo shot in the fifth to make it 3-1, but it was all Lakeland the rest of the way. Pinto mashed a three-run homer in the seventh to make it 6-1. Dumesnil singled in Rucker in the bottom of the eighth for the final run of the game.

Yost: 2-3, RBI, 2B, 2 BB, SB

Rucker: 2-3, 2 R, BB, K, SB

Dumesnil: 3-3, R, RBI, 2 BB

Garcia (W, 2-4): 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.

Welp. Last night was more of the same for the suddenly-helpless Yankees, who closed out June with their sixth loss in a row — appropriately their longest skid since … last June. The Aaron Boone Era Yankees are nothing if not consistent in their frustrating patterns.

For last night in particular, nothing went right. Their ace got bombed, they weren’t crisp in the field, and their offense was held to two hits until the ninth. It ain’t swell around these parts.

There’s plenty of pressure to go around, but who do you think bears the most right now? Ben Rice is a candidate, as until a solo shot yesterday, the likely All-Star had been very quiet with the bat in the past week and change. Could he be feeling the heat to keep up his torrid production from the first few months, given the wider struggles of the offense of late? Might it be Cody Bellinger, a likely fellow All-Star who has cooled off as well and carries a big contract that comes with responsibilities, particularly with Aaron Judge out? Or maybe it’s someone else, like impending free agent Jazz Chisholm Jr., one of the starting pitchers trying to keep the opponent at bay, or the bleakly anemic Austin Wells. There’s no shortage of options, unfortunately.

Today on the site, it’s a rapid-fire schedule before the matinee this afternoon. Peter will run our monthly GM poll, Madison will tackle the Rivalry Roundup, John remember the extremely mysterious Jack Quinn for our Yankees Birthday series, and then he and Kento will do the monthly check-ins on the AL Central and AL West, respectively.

Today’s Matchup*

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

TV: YES, Detroit SportsNet

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

*This is not the matchup, and feel free to ignore me if you don’t care about the World Cup. But the soccer fan in me is compelled to mention that Team USA faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara, CA tonight on Fox. Check it out and see if the USMNT win a game in the knockout round for the first time in 24 years!

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After almost a month of uncertainty, the Yankees have finally provided a return timetable. Judge indicated that he is targeting an August return, but first has to undergo follow-up imaging in a couple weeks. Judge last played on May 31st and was diagnosed with a fractured first right rib on June 4th, the team then only setting a four-to-six week timetable for re-imaging, but no indication of a return to play. The captain has not been doing any baseball activities but has gotten in lower body weight training. Hopefully the upcoming imaging reveals healing and a potential ramp-up in rehab given the way the Yankees offense has slumped in the second half of his absence.

AP News | Larry Fleisher: Max Fried faced live hitters for the first time since suffering a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. He threw 30 pitches in a 20-minute, two-inning simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Fried faced fellow IL inhabitants Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon and tallied a pair of strikeouts while throwing all the pitches in his arsenal. Fried was among the AL’s best starters at the time of his injury on May 13th against the Orioles (departing that game after three innings with his velocity noticeably down), pitching to a 3.21 ERA in his first 10 starts. The 32-year-old lefty’s return will be a huge boon to a rotation that regressed significantly in June.

Also contained within are injury updates on a trio of Yankees position players. Grisham and McMahon are both expected to be activated from the IL on Friday, Grisham out since June 12th with a strained right hamstring and McMahon absent since June 21st with a throat infection. Grisham would be a significant reinforcement to their struggling offense while McMahon would shore up what has been a defensive train wreck at third in his absence. Finally, we received confirmation that Jazz Chisholm Jr. has cleared concussion protocol and was available off the bench in their loss to the Tigers on Tuesday, Jazz departing Monday’s game in the fourth after colliding with Jasson Domínguez’s elbow on a shallow fly ball.

New York Post | Jake Nisse ($): Yovanny Cruz was called up on Tuesday to reinforce the bullpen as the corresponding move for Yerry De los Santos’ optioning to Triple-A. Cruz flashed tantalizing stuff in his two game cup of coffee in May, striking out three in 2.1 scoreless innings with a fastball that touches triple digits and a wipeout slider. However, the Yankees have opted to keep him in Triple-A to work on his strike throwing, and indeed his walk rate improved from 12.2-percent to 7.1-percent with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since getting sent back down at the end of last month.

Cruz got into last night’s blowout at the hands of the Tigers and threw two scoreless innings, striking out three.

Aaron Judge is “starting to feel better,” Aaron Boone said, though that feeling has not yet translated into concrete progress toward a return.

Thursday will mark four weeks since the Yankees announced their captain had suffered a stress fracture of a rib and would undergo additional medical imaging in “approximately four to six weeks.”

He will not be reexamined on the shortest end of the given spectrum, Boone saying Tuesday that Judge is weeks away from a scan that would check for healing.

But in his dealings with Judge, Boone said the feedback has improved.

“He was uncomfortable there for a while,” the Yankees manager said before his team’s 9-3 blowout loss to the Tigers on Tuesday at the Stadium, their sixth consecutive defeat. “It seems like the normal stuff is starting to feel better, so hopefully that’s a good sign of hopefully some healing.”

Judge believed he suffered the stress fracture during a dive in Houston on April 26, and he struggled for weeks trying to play through it before opting for tests in early June.

Since then, the best hitter in baseball has not been “able to do much,” Boone said, “and certainly not able to do any baseball activities.” Judge has been able to work out in the weight room and strengthen his lower body.

Any return timetable remains elusive.

“It does seem like this week he is starting to feel better, which is encouraging,” Boone said.

After crashing into Jasson Domínguez a day prior, Jazz Chisholm Jr. said he felt better and believed he would be available off the bench, though Boone said the second baseman only would be used in an emergency.

Chisholm believed he would be cleared from the concussion protocol. Boone said he didn’t know whether Chisholm would play Wednesday, and José Caballero started at second base Tuesday.

Chisholm left Monday’s loss in the fourth inning after he chased a shallow fly ball and was clotheslined by Domínguez, who made the catch.

“Felt like I got punched in the face,” Chisholm said.

Cody Bellinger, who had played in 83 of the first 84 games this season, sat for a second time amid a deep slump.

In his previous 12 games, Bellinger had gone 5-for-41 (.122) with a .396 OPS.

“He’ll get corrected and get it going here,” Boone said. “Hopefully giving him at least the start off tonight kind of lets him take a step back for a second and hopefully get it going.”

Call-up Yovanny Cruz pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.

He threw five pitches above 100 mph and maxed out at 101.5 mph.

Against lefty Tarik Skubal, Max Schuemann started in left field, Spencer Jones in center and Domínguez in right.

TORONTO — Clay Holmes is progressing to a mound in his rehab, but still weeks away from rejoining the Mets.

The right-hander will throw a bullpen session this week, according to interim manager Andy Green, in his rehab from a broken right fibula.

“I would love to say he’s ahead of schedule, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself and make that declaration,” Green said before the Mets beat the Blue Jays 3-0 on Tuesday at Rogers Centre. “But it’s going well and we’re encouraged by that.”

Holmes, who can opt out of his contract after this season, is among the pitchers the Mets could like to deal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Holmes was the Mets’ most effective starter before his injury, pitching to a 2.39 ERA in eight starts.

Luis Robert Jr. began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse, where he joined rehabbing Jorge Polanco.

Green was asked what the Mets lineup could become with Robert and Polanco as options. Both players have been sidelined since April.

“In Robert’s case it’s a right-handed bat that we have missed pretty obviously against left-handed pitching,” Green said. “It would be great to have Polanco — he really rounds out a lineup with an ability to hit from both sides, so the lineup gets lengthened.

“I think some of the at-bats we have had late in games, when you have those guys you have more options, even if they are on the bench on a given day you have got more choices that work really well and I think it’s just a longer, more diverse lineup.”

Though A.J. Ewing has taken grounders, Green downplayed the idea the rookie could shift to the infield following Robert’s return.

“You are talking about somebody adjusting to the big leagues and being locked in out in center field right now, which is where he’s been,” Green said.

The Mets signed outfielder Christopher Morel to a minor league contract, according to an industry source.

Morel, 27, had a .425 OPS in 22 games with the Marlins this season.

Cam Schlittler’s night started off badly, and it quickly got even worse.

The Yankees ace coughed up three home runs in a nightmare first inning, and another in the third, as he was ultimately charged with six earned runs and put his team in a hole against Detroit’s reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

The hole he dug was too deep for a team with a struggling offense, resulting in a 9-3 loss.

“It’s my job to come in here and try and stop that bleeding, and I couldn’t get that done,” Schlittler said as the Yankees slumped to a sixth consecutive defeat and nearly had a franchise record fifth straight game with three or fewer hits before a pair of ninth-inning singles spared them that infamy.

“So [to] put the team down four [runs] in the first — it’s not encouraging, especially against a guy like that [Skubal].”

Schlittler retired the first two batters he faced but saw an attempted home run robbery by Spencer Jones on Kerry Carpenter bounce off the outfielder’s glove and over the center field wall.

From there, Schlittler unraveled, even if manager Aaron Boone later insisted there was no mental letdown from the slightly unlucky start.

Homers by Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson followed despite Schlittler getting them both to two strikes, and the normally steady arm looked deflated after finally getting out of the inning.

He was taken deep again by Greene in the third inning and was finally removed from the firing line in the fifth after a double off the center field wall by Dillon Dingler.

“If he’s not good with his location, he doesn’t usually necessarily pay like that,” Boone said, as he also credited Torkelson for battling during a long at-bat prior to his bomb. “Confident that with Cam, he’ll grow from this, and this will be something that kind of fuels him and allows him to see where he can make adjustments, too, moving forward.”

The 25-year-old has admittedly fared slightly worse against lefties this season (which Carpenter and Greene both are), but this blowup was plain uncharacteristic for Schlittler, who has generally been dominant dating back to his days in college and in the minors.

That success has translated to the majors, where he still has a 2.08 ERA this year even after Tuesday’s blip.

Schlittler was unsurprisingly critical of his performance but found a positive spin — he established his curveball in his second time through the Tigers’ order.

“It’s taken a while to experience an outing like that,” he said. “So I just got to take what I can from it and get ready for next week.”

✅ Cleveland Guardians score runs in just 1 of 9 innings
✅ Tanner Bibee gives up the exact number of earned runs he leads by
✅ Bibee gets ridiculous and completely undeserved Loss
✅ Shawn Armstrong enters and allows home run

It was another infuriating game of baseball for Guardians fans to watch last night. 2 runs for Grant Fink’s offense. Both in the 1st inning. Bibee gave them back in the third. Cooper Ingle blew the lead in the 7th by not knowing how many outs there were. And Armstrong gave up the dinger in the 8th.

On the bright side, Chase DeLauter looked awesome against Jacob deGrom.

And Braylon Doughty got promoted to AA. My favorite pitching prospect since Biebs.

How bad is that Guardians offense?

• The pitcher who shut them down on Monday night, Chris Paddack, was immediately DFA’d after he completed the only task Texas signed him for. They know Paddack sucks—he has an ERA near 10 against the rest of baseball—but he consistently dominates Cleveland because Grant Fink’s offense never adjusts to anything.

I expect another team to employ this same strategy before the season ends. Could the White Sox do it this weekend?

Baseball great and former Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez weighed in on the current state of affairs of the Amazins’, who have been in a free fall this season even after grabbing a 3-0 win on Tuesday over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night in Toronto. 

While the Hall of Fame hurler was optimistic the Mets still could turn their season around, he said the biggest issue for his former ballclub was that it lacks any sort of identity. He also believes there’s no leadership among the group. 

The Mets’ ugly season cost manager Carlos Mendoza last week, and the team has had a number of embarrassing moments, which included giving up a Little League home run to George Springer on Monday. 

“The Mets lack personality, they lack identity, they lack leadership. The Mets must find their identity,” Martinez said on TNT on Tuesday. “It gets me mad, because when I was there from 05 to 08…our team was recognized by probably unity, and that’s what made us be successful. We did not achieve our goal, which was to win the World Series, but we were pretty good.

“We were giving the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves a lot to think about every time we took the mound, whether we were hurt — a little bit hurt — or a little banged up, but we were all together, and we played together.” 

Martinez’s tenure with the Mets produced just one playoff appearance, which was the team’s run to the NLCS in 2006. 

The Mets famously lost to the Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS and fell out of the playoff race on the final day in each of the next two seasons after squandering division leads. 

“We were going at it in the best way possible,” Martinez continued. “You don’t see that with the Mets. It’s like everybody’s playing their own game on their own. They need to be together in order for them to be successful. Everybody can achieve a little bit, anybody can give a little bit of something positive for the next guy coming up.”

The baseball great did add that the Mets have the talent that should make them a competitive team, but again pointed to the need for accountability. 

“They need to find their own identity, and they need to be accountable and responsible for the money they’re being paid,” he added.

Like a rollercoaster built by a particularly unimaginative person, tonight’s Mariners game was slow and boring for the first two-thirds, then suddenly rocketed into being fun late. By the time it was over the score was 8-3 and the Mariners offense had somehow not only blown past their former three-run-per-game cap (Rest in Pieces, hopefully never to be seen again), but managed to score all those runs without a homer for the first time in four years. For a team that’s built on on-base and slug, tonight was a lot of death by papercuts inflicted on the Angels bullpen, appropriately ending what’s been a weird June in a weird way – and yet also not, because with this win the Mariners end June at 13-14 for the month, the exact same way they ended June of 2025. Could this boring back-loaded rollercoaster metaphor bear out over the whole season? Reader, we shall see.

Bryan Woo turned in another solid start in what’s been a fairly uneven season for him so far, bobbing and weaving through some bad-luck BABIP hits and fielding miscues behind him; he didn’t have to deal with more than one baserunner until the fifth, when perpetual thorn in Mariners side Jo Adell reached on a throwing error from Colt Emerson and then Woo , maybe shaken, walked his next hitter, Josh Lowe, who is currently running a robust 4% walk rate. Woo rebounded to get out of trouble, getting three straight weakly-hit outs, and then roared through the sixth with a quick 1-2-3 inning against the top of the Angels lineup.

But the Mariners offense limped through those first five innings, tonight missing both Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone, both getting in an extra day of rest before tomorrow’s off-day. The Mariners couldn’t get anything going off Jose Soriano, putting him in a time machine and transporting him back to his early dominant days of the 2026 season despite some wandering command. Soriano struck out nine Mariners over five innings, as they chased after both cutters up and curveballs down, scattering just three hits across the first five frames.

The Mariners finally broke the deadlock in the sixth, finally stringing together some hits against Soriano, and we’re saying finally twice (thrice!) because that’s how finally it felt. Julio Rodríguez, leading off the inning, jumped on the first pitch he saw, a slider, for a single. Josh Naylor then worked a slightly longer at-bat before getting a fastball he could dump up the middle for a single of his own. The Mariners got their first run of the day – and the first run of the game – on a third consecutive single from Randy Arozarena, who took Soriano’s splitter and scorched it into left field, bringing in Julio from second easily.

That * explosion of offense * caused Angels manager Kurt Suzuki (curséd sentence) to call upon Chase Silseth, who sounds like if a Star Wars character went to a fancy boarding school, to face Cal Raleigh. It’s been a struggle for the Big Dumper, and while we would have loved to see a refreshing rainmaking Dump in the form of a home run, Cal’s smug face here on an overturned strike three that flipped to a walk – a challenge that risked what would have been the Mariners’ last challenge of the day after an ill-considered challenge by Naylor in the first – is pretty sweet succor.

Cole Young was the hero of last night’s game with his two-homer effort and he continued to produce at the plate today, smoking a splitter from Silseth (say that three times fast) at 101 mph into right field, bringing in Naylor from third. A wild pitch brought home another run and suddenly the Mariners had hit their three-run cap. After the next two batters made outs – Colt Emerson struck out on a borderline pitch challenged by Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe, and Victor Robles struck out on seven pitches, nary a one of which approached the plate – it seemed like that’s where the inning, and possibly the run-scoring, would grind to a halt, with Weston Wilson – owner of two strikeouts already on the day – due up. But Wilson got a sinker on the plate and was able to just knock it over the head of a leaping Nolan Schanuel to bring in another pair of runs.

It’s a good thing the Mariners did add on, because the Angels did their own version of breaking the game open in the seventh after Bryan Woo exited the game with one out, having given up another bad-luck leadoff single on a changeup to Wade Meckler and, a batter later, losing a nine-pitch battle to pesky Josh Lowe that ended in a single on the slider.

Eduard Bazardo was called upon to stop the bleeding and he did not, giving up an RBI single to the first batter he saw, Logan O’Hoppe, on a poorly-located sinker. Bazardo then worsened the situation by walking nine-hole hitter and former Mariner Donovan Walton, bringing up Zach Neto, who tattooed a sinker right back up the middle for a two-RBI single, drawing the game to 5-3. Sinkers? More like stinkers on this part of the rollercoaster (bad, pejorative, creaky).

Things could have gotten worse from there, as Vaughn Grissom dunked a pitch shallowly into right field that Weston/Wilson – who has played some outfield but almost exclusively in left field – couldn’t quite get to, diving but having the ball pop out of his glove. WesWil smartly came up firing, though, and was able to get the ball in for a force on Neto, caught between second and third as Walton remained at second, having to hold up to see if the ball was caught. Bazardo was able to get Schanuel to fly out harmlessly to end the inning, but things were considerably tighter than they had been, with just two runs left to ensure that another strong start from a Mariners starter wouldn’t be squandered.

However, here’s where the rollercoaster (fun, complimentary, whoo-hoo-hands) gets cranking again. The Mariners were able to open up the lead again the seventh against veteran lefty Brent Suter. Julio led off with a hard-struck single up the middle, moving to third on a one-out double by Arozarena. But Cal had a tough at-bat against Suter, going down on three pitches for the second out, putting the onus on the two young lefties at the bottom of the lineup – Cole and Colt, whose ages combined are a mere six years older than Suter. Cole started off by working an excellent ten-pitch plate appearance culminating in a walk, fouling off pitch after pitch and refusing to expand against the veteran. Hooray for Cole. Then Colt, not to be outdone, parachuted a little fly-ball single on the first pitch he saw into left field for another two runs of insurance.

It was a particularly nice moment for Emerson, who struggled yesterday, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. But Emerson immediately gave all the credit to his teammate Young for working a long at-bat and forcing Suter to show his hand.

“Cole Young having the 10-pitch at-bat against Suter – that’s a really great pitcher, and seeing him do that gave me all the confidence in the world to go up there and be myself,” Emerson said. “Kind of saw everything Suter had to throw at that point – Cole got multiple changeups, you know no one practices lefty-lefty changeups, so seeing that fitght was just outstanding. I’m so happy for him.”

With a five-run lead, Dan Wilson opted to give Michael Rucker a chance at redemption against the middle part of the Angels order. Rucker walked the first hitter he saw, Jorge Soler, and then fell behind his next hitter 1-0, but was able to get Meckler to ground into a double play on the second pitch, a well-located four-seamer at the top of the zone, and then got another ground ball out off the bat of Adell for a scoreless inning. Andrés Muñoz, in to get a little work before the off-day, shut the door in the ninth with authority, and that was that. A solid team win, and they didn’t even have to homer about it. Now the calendar flips to July, and the All-Star Break, and hopefully some hotter Mariners hitting to go with the warmer temperatures.