Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres suffered several scares regarding starting pitcher Randy Vasquez after their 12–7 road defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 2, with the most frightening one happening after the game.

News broke postgame that Vasquez had fainted while he was escorted to the X-ray room to get his right ankle checked.

Vasquez started for San Diego Thursday, giving up four earned runs in three innings pitched after staying in the game despite Mookie Betts hitting him in the ankle with a comeback in the first inning.

He reportedly lost consciousness while walking to the X-ray room, and was thankfully caught by a team trainer before falling to the ground. He was then taken to a local hospital for precautionary testing.

The 27-year-old Vasquez was said to be in stable condition and responsive at the hospital. And Padres manager Craig Stammen provided a positive update regarding his status Friday morning.

“The only thing I got [on Vasquez] this morning was that he’s all clear, and that they were heading back to the hotel. So that’s great news in what could’ve been a really scary situation,” Stammen said, per a July 3 X post from MLB Network Radio.

“But glad Randy is doing well, and X-rays were negative, and all tests came back pretty clean. So we’re in good shape,” Stammen added.

It’s great to hear that Vasquez is doing well after having fainted. And while there’s no definitive update on his ankle, the fact that he remains in the game for several more innings after the comeback hit him and that the X-rays came back negative is a good sign.

Vasquez has a 6–6 record with a 4.71 ERA through 16 starts (of 17 appearances) this season. The Padres will hope he’s available and healthy to make his next start.

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The Yankees made a flurry of roster moves on Friday, most notably, placing star LHP Carlos Rodon on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. 

The move is retroactive to June 30, two days after he last pitched against the Boston Red Sox on June 28. Rodon allowed just one hit in the outing, striking out six and walking four over 5.0 IP.

Over nine starts this season, Rodon has gone 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 52 strikeouts through 46.1 IP.

Prior to Friday's game, Rodon said that his UCL is intact and he's dealing with heavy inflammation in the elbow, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.

Additionally, New York reinstated both Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon from the 10-day injured list. Grisham has been out since June 12 with a right hamstring strain, while McMahon was out since June 21 due to a throat infection.

The team also optioned Oswaldo Cabrera to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after bringing him up with McMahon sidelined. He went hitless with four strikeouts in nine at-bats over three games.

The Yanks will look to snap their seven-game losing streak on Friday night in the Bronx when they open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins.

On what was supposed to be a day of injury relief around the Yankees, yet another concern emerged for a club struggling both with health and performance.

The Yankees officially activated Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon on Friday but placed Carlos Rodón on the 15-day injured list with what the lefty called “heavy inflammation” — but nothing worse — in his pitching elbow.

Rodón had been bothered by the elbow “on and off” for “the last couple weeks,” he said, and was having issues with recovery that escalated this week.

He underwent an MRI exam on Thursday that found the inflammation and, most notably, found a UCL that was still intact.

“I think it’s a pretty big exhale,” Rodón said before the Yankees opened a series against the Twins in The Bronx.

Rodón will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and be shut down for a time — “at least a few days, maybe a week,” manager Aaron Boone said — before building up again.

Neither team nor player offered a timetable, but it is possible he returns within the month if the inflammation clears and recovery goes as planned.

At least at the moment, there is no long-term concern regarding Rodón’s elbow, which underwent a procedure in the offseason to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur.

Still, the Yankees will be without another capable starting pitcher — the 2025 All-Star has pitched to a 3.30 ERA in nine starts this season — at a time when they lugged a season-high, seven-game losing streak into play.

Even with an elbow that became increasingly tricky to handle, Rodón allowed two unearned runs on one hit in five innings on Sunday in Boston.

“I really feel like Carlos was throwing the ball well and doing some really good things,” Boone said. “Hopefully this is something that gets cleaned up and gets him in a better place so that he can return for the stretch drive and be even more of a factor for us.”

Also available for the stretch drive, the Yankees hope, will be Max Fried, who has been building up from a bone bruise in his elbow and is now facing hitters again.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

But as the Yankees stand today, the club’s rotation has hit its first adversity with Cam Schlittler coming off his worst major league start, Gerrit Cole proving human, Ryan Weathers’ ERA spiking from 3.14 to 4.08 in his past six starts and Will Warren letting up 13 runs in his past 16 ²/₃ innings.

They lack a true fifth starter and plan to summon Brendan Beck from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to either start or pitch several innings out of the bullpen on Saturday.

In his major league debut on May 7, the righty prospect allowed two runs in three innings during a win over the Rangers.

The higher-ranked Elmer Rodríguez was not an option after pitching Thursday, and Luis Gil (shoulder inflammation) has yet to begin a rehab assignment.

Hitting has loomed as the team’s biggest issue — the Yankees have badly missed Aaron Judge, who still does not know when he will receive further imaging much less when he can return, and the absence of Giancarlo Stanton has grown more significant.

The club hoped Grisham and even McMahon could provide a spark in the lineup and in the field.

But the rotation, which had been the Yankees’ greatest strength until just a couple weeks ago, added a bit more uncertainty Friday.

“I want to be back as soon as I can, whenever I’m ready,” Rodón said.

The Rockies rolled into May with a surprising record of 14-18, but since then they’ve gone a much more familiar 21-35 to really dig into last place of the NL West. Of course, all season long, the Giants have been burrowing at the edges trying to breach their trench. The teams are separated by 2 games for last place in the division. So, this 3-game series could be pivotal from an embarrassment standpoint.

Sure, the Rockies are inured to win-loss embarrassment by now, but if the Giants came into town and delivered a whoopin’, they might smart a little bit because the Giants have already lost a series in Coors and have been the Diamondbacks’ doormats this season. Meanwhile, the Giants could fall to last place! The last time they were last place on July 5th was… okay, well, not that long ago. In 2019, they were 39-48 on July 5th. But still! Not where the team expected to be this season!

The Rockies might be right on schedule for a 2030 renaissance, though. Hunter Goodman has carried his All-Star 2025 into this season (27 HR, 1.7 fWAR in 340 PA), while prospect Kyle Karros has developed quite nicely in his first full season amassing 1.4 fWAR in 279 PA and a season wRC+ of 96. But in June (81 PA), he led the team with a line of .357/.444/.586 (167 wRC+). He’s performing well alongside trade pickups like T.J. Rumfield (125 wRC+) and Jake McCarthy (112 wRC+). They didn’t add a lot from the outside but have simply managed to improve some of the players on the roster.

Yes, for the Rockies it will always come down to the pitching. That’s still bad. But this Fourth of July weekend, they welcome a team that was as bad as they were in June. For the month, the Rockies had a team fWAR of 4.9 (23rd) while the Giants were 21st with 5.0 fWAR. Now, that team performance for the Giants is buoyed by Logan Webb & Robbie Ray’s dominance (1.4 fWAR & 0.7 fWAR, respectively). But here’s where the comparison gets wacky:

The Giants had a great starting pitching performance throughout the month while the Rockies were stellar in the bullpen. The Giants’ -0.4 fWAR (4.36 ERA in 295.1 IP) was the fifth-worst value in relief pitching for the month. Colorado’s +2.1 fWAR in 375.2 IP was squarely in the middle of the pack (15th). The teams had virtually identical bullpen FIPs (4.45 for SF, 4.46 for COL) but the key difference between the two was that the quality of contact against the Rockies relievers was slightly worse than what hitters could do against the Giants’ silly relief corps.

So, we have our eyes to tell us that the Giants’ bullpen has been bad, but just comparing to the Rockies’ ‘pen really adds an extra layer of despair. A lot of us will be seeing fireworks this weekend, but before the season began you might’ve expected that because of the Fourth of July holiday and not because of an explosively bad reliever group.

Series overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (36-50) at Colorado Rockies (35-53)
Where: Coors Field | Denver, Colorado
When: Friday & Saturday at 5:10pm PT, Sunday at 1pm PT
National broadcasts: Peacock (Sunday)

Projected starters
Friday: TBD vs. Ryan Feltner (RHP 2-2, 4.42 ERA)
Saturday: TBD vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (RHP 8-4, 4.80 ERA)
Sunday: TBD vs. Tanner Gordon (RHP 2-2, 6.69 ERA)

Giants to watch

Bryce Eldridge: His June overall looks really impressive (.295/.385/.474 — 4 HR), but the second half of the month paints a different picture. Since June 15 (55 PA), he’s hitting just .184/.273/.286 (61 wRC+). I’d really like to see him hit some home runs into Nate Schierholtz/Alex Dickerson territory. For reference:

Luis Arraez: He has just a career .274/.319/.323 line at Coors Field (69 PA) and that just seems a little odd for a player like him. Yes, the .274 average makes sense, but that’s a spacious outfield and it seems like he’s so predictable when he hits the ball in the air that the size of the outfield would hardly seem to matter. But Arraez has been on an absolute tear the past two weeks: .415/.457/.707 in his last 11 games (47 PA), so him coming to a cold stop in Coors Field would be a real surprise.

Logan Webb: It was a bit of a headscratcher when he made his return off the IL in Coors Field, but he acquitted himself nicely in just 4.1 innings and he went on to have an absolutely dominant June, so, I’m not nervous to see him pitch there again when last place is on the line.

Prediction time

The Giants salvaged a game in the last Coors series with a 19-6 win, which boosted them to a +6 run differential for the three games despite losing said series. They hit 3 homers in that finale to give them 4 in the series. My prediction: they will hit at least 4 home runs in this series, too.

The month of June did not wrap up the way the Yankees had envisioned, dropping nearly a game per day to wrap up the calendar page. Despite some adversity, no month goes by without a highlight with the bat or some leather. June was no different, as multiple Yankees did their part in preventing runs around the field. With plenty of disappointment abound, why not take a look at some high point with the glove over the past month.

June 10th: Grisham survives the contact

Already trailing by a run, the Yankees were on the ropes in a June 10th game against Cleveland. With a couple of runners on base, Stuart Fairchild threatened to make it a lot worse when he lofted a ball deep into right-center field. But, Trent Grisham swooped in to save the day, not with a particularly challenging grab by his standards, but an impressive one, given the fact that he maintained the catch after some rather significant contact with right fielder Jose Caballero. Clearly shaken up by the collision, Grisham held onto the ball, and put an end to the inning, one that could have a lot worse had things fallen a bit different.

June 13th: Jazz lays out to save multiple runs

In a tied game this time, the Blue Jays were in prime position, with a pair of runners on second and third with just one out. Charles McAdoo seemingly did his job when he rifled a line drive up the middle, just right of the second base bag. Destined for a two-RBI knock, Jazz Chisholm stepped in and went horizontal to snare the line drive. With a the multi-run saving play, Chisholm helped to keep the threat subsided, and the Yankees went on to claim a tight victory north of the border.

June 17th: Caballero snares a liner just above the grass

With two outs in the seventh and a healthy lead in tow, Caballero did his part in moving the game into its late stages. Chicago’s Randal Grichuk hit a top-spinning line drive into left field. Moving in and to his right, the Yankees’ left fielder got a great jump and fully extended to make the grab. With Caballero low to the ground, his skillful grab put a close to the inning and helped the Yankees grab an easy win at home.

June 20th: Cabby goes basket style

Back-to-back highlights from the Yankee utility man. This time trailing in the sixth inning, JJ Bleday’s fly ball into left-center threatened to make this game a blow out. But, running straight back to the track upon contact, Caballero made a full speed grab over the shoulder. With a full extended arm toward the wall, Cabby’s impressive catch ended the inning and thwarted the threat, while giving credence to his skill at multiple positions around the diamond.

June 22nd: Ryan Yarbrough gives his all

In a tight game against the Tigers, Detroit’s Hao-Yu Lee tried to add to the damage with a push bunt against Ryan Yarbrough. The veteran lefty hopped off the mound to back-hand the ball, before jetting toward the first base bag. With no one over to cover the base, Yarbrough took matters into his own hands and ran to the base before laying out to place the tag on Lee and secure the much-needed out. He was initially called safe, but upon review, the lefty’s hard work paid off and the call was reversed to an out.

DENVER — Logan Webb was hardly the worst pitcher in baseball to begin this season, but he had performed far from his own high standards when he hit the injured list in the first week of May.

Now, in his first full month back, the San Francisco Giants ace earned the highest honor available to him.

Webb was named the National League pitcher of the month for June, beating out the Milwaukee Brewers’ electric ace Jacob Misiorowski for the first monthly honor of his career.

In five starts, Webb allowed just three earned runs and walked only four batters while striking out 29. His 0.71 ERA was the sixth-lowest by any Giants starter in a month dating back to 1913, the most dominant month by any San Francisco starting pitcher since Noah Lowry (0.69) in August 2005.

Misiorowski turned in the most dominant start by anybody in the league this season with his 15-strikeout complete game shutout that required only 95 pitches. But Webb made one more start, threw 10 more innings in total and edged out the 24-year-old fireballer’s 0.96 ERA for the month.

Webb, of course, had a memorable outing of his own that set the tone for the rest of the month.

In his second start back from the IL, Webb took a perfect game against Misiorowski’s Brewers into the sixth inning and didn’t allow a hit until the seventh in what would be his first of three starts he didn’t allow an earned run. He followed those seven shutout inning with his first of three straight starts of eight innings — the first Giants starter to complete eight frames thrice in a row since Madison Bumgarner in 2015.

Clearly, Webb was impacted by the bursitis in his right knee that forced him to the IL for the first time since he established himself at the top of the Giants rotation in the second half of 2021.

Getting healthy isn’t the only thing that spurred arguably the best run of Webb’s career.

The Giants’ ace began calling his own pitches — most of them, anyway — in his second start back from the injured list, flirting with a perfect game in seven one-hit innings in Milwaukee.

“I didn’t throw the best until then. I just came back and [thought] I’ve done it before, I haven’t thrown to these guys a lot,” Webb said. “I mean I was with [Patrick Bailey] for a long period of time. There’s a trust factor in those sorts of things.”

It worked out so well that Webb has continued the practice, trusting himself over two new catchers to keep batters guessing. 

He was 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA when he landed on the IL after his May 5 start against the San Diego Padres.

Just two months later, he is 5–5 with a 3.09 ERA and a candidate to make his third All-Star Game.

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Two teams desperately seeking wins will face off on Friday night as the Atlanta Braves host the New York Mets.

Atlanta comes in as a slight -104 favorite tonight, but I’m taking New York to win on the road in my Mets vs. Braves predictions.

Read on to see my full analysis as I reveal my free MLB picks for Friday, July 3.

Who will win Mets vs Braves today: Mets moneyline (+100)

While the New York Mets have been brutal offensively, they have a habit of making good contact, ranking third in hard-hit percentage at 41.6%. That’s a problem for Atlanta Braves starter Grant Holmes, who allows a 44.7% hard-hit rate and only strikes out 20.7% of batters.

The Braves boast an 8.8% barrel rate themselves, but New York starter Christian Scottonly gives up barrels on 6.0% of hit balls and has a good average exit velocity of just 87.9 mph.

With the Mets holding a small edge in these matchups, I like New York at -110 or better.

COVERS INTEL: The Mets have a 20.5% air pull rate against fastballs and sliders thrown by righties, pitches that make up 71% of Holmes’ arsenal.

Mets vs Braves Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (-127)

Atlanta hasn’t scored more than five runs in a game in any of its last seven contests, and may struggle against Scott’s sweeper, as they have just a 21.8% air pull rate against the pitch, which ranks 23rd in MLB. The Mets are third-worst in the majors in run scoring, having put up just 3.98 runs per game on the year.

Given those trends and a solid pitching matchup, it’s hard to see a whole lot of runs coming tonight. This total is far too high, and I’m taking the Under at 8.5 runs or more.

Mets vs Braves weather

Mets vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: New York +102 | Atlanta -104
• Run line: New York -1.5 (+159) | Atlanta +1.5 (-167)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-122) | Under 8.5 (-131)

Mets vs Braves trend

Atlanta is 2-8 straight up in its last 10 games overall. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Braves.

How to watch Mets vs Braves and game info

Mets vs Braves latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

There’s a chance of storms in Chicago this afternoon. So here’s the local radar to keep handy.

Today’s roster move: Here

Friday notes…

• DOUBLE FIGURES, PART 1: Wednesday’s 23-3 demolition of the Padres was the 10th game this season in which the Cubs scored at least 10 runs. They had 22 double-digit games last season, after having had only 12 in 2024, half their total in 2023. They are 5-4 this year in their next games after double-digit outbursts. Since 2000, they are 165-158 in next games and have averaged 4.80 runs in those games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DOUBLE FIGURES, PART 2: The Cubs had not scored 10 or more runs at home against the Padres since an 11-7 win on May 28, 2012, their longest such drought against any National League opponent. Their longest now is against the Marlins, since a 13-4 win on May 9, 2018. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• A HIT MACHINE: The Cubs have made 40 hits in their last three games: 10, 13 and 17. They had made only 16 in their previous three, and a total of 41 in their previous seven. The Cubs made double-digit hits in five straight games April 12-17 and in four straight April 21-24. This is their first streak of at least three games since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DANSBY SWANSON’S CASE FOR PLAYER OF THE WEEK: In the three games so far this week, Swanson is batting .615/.615/1.846 (8-for-13) with a double, five home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs scored and only one strikeout.

Cubs lineup:

The Cardinals lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cardinals lineup.

David Peterson, LHP vs. Andre Pallante, RHP

David Peterson’s first Cubs start, last Friday in Milwaukee, was a success. This despite seeing the first pitch he threw in a Cubs uniform deposited into the seats by Jackson Chourio. After that he was really good.

Peterson faced the Cardinals three weeks ago in New York and trust me, you do not want to look at this boxscore link. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. That night Peterson was being used as a “bulk guy” after an opener, so this game will obviously be different, and, hopefully, better.

Andre Pallante threw three innings against the Cubs May 29 in St. Louis and allowed eight hits and four runs. Ian Happ smashed a three-run homer off him in the first inning.

Pallante posted a 3.16 ERA in five June starts, and that would have been better if he hadn’t allowed five runs in 6.2 innings in his most recent start, June 27 vs. the Marlins.

Pallante doesn’t strike out or walk a lot of guys so the Cubs should look to put the ball in play.

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

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

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

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Atlanta Braves are set to face their division rival for the second time this year. The last-place New York Mets took the first series, scoring high in their wins back in June. Grant Holmes is set to take the mound and is looking to kick the series off on a high note.

Holmes is taking the place of Bryce Elder, whose velocity dropped in his last outing. And for Holmes’ (3.96 ERA) last appearance, he pitched through four innings and only gave up one hit and no runs. Across his last seven outings, his ERA has risen to 4.20, and he has gotten a career-low 20.7% strikeout rate in 2026 during his third year in the league.

He’s hoping that this matchup will improve those stats, along with his career-high 11.1% walk rate.

Mets’ Christian Scott is currently boasting a 3.20 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP after his return from the IL just a few weeks ago. In his last outing against the Phillies (June 27), he pitched through four innings and gave up two runs, three hits and two walks with six strikeouts to add.

He said that his main goal was to establish his offspeed stuff early in the game, but otherwise, he felt he’s been consistent with landing his pitches in the zone.

Scott plans to get a head start, still in the process of bouncing back and regaining his strength from injury. Holmes will need to emulate the same game plan, but also give positive signs of showing up strong for the Braves on the defensive end. The offense, on the other hand, will have to hold down its end.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, July 3, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

After a feel-good four-game sweep of the Yankees, the Washington Nationals were the next challenge and after winning game one the Sox crashed hard. We don’t need to go into the next two games eccept for the impact on the road trip: No Willson Contreras, essentially.

For the most important stretch of the season remaining – 6 games against two mediocre teams and 3 against a good White Sox club – the Red Sox may be without their best player this season (non-Durbin division). Seven games out of 162 is about 4.3% of the season. With the All-Star Break, Cavalli may not functionally miss a start at all depending on how the Nationals reset their rotation. Not ideal.

The Angels have been reeling. Mike Trout, in the midst of a big year, hit the IL. The team fired their GM, and the Angels are headed to yet another losing season. Los Angeles is sitting at 36-51 to Boston’s 37-48 record entering play.

Jake Bennett is coming off a masterful start against the Yankees. 6.1 innings and 1 run to the former first place AL East club. He’s looking like an excellent acquisition by Craig Breslow. If he turns into a solid rotation member that’s a tremendous win for even a very good prospect who is more suited for relief. He’ll face Reid Detmers. The Angels starter has been up since 2021 and is breaking out this season. Detmers was hit hard for 8 runs in 5.2 innings on May 13 but then put up a true gem: 8 innings, 1 run, 14 Ks. And has mostly been cruising since then. He had as hiccup against the A’s in their minor league park but then handled them better at home. He is a lefty so hopefully we’ll see some vintage Romy vs Lefty magic.

Sonny Gray has been the #2 that was promised. What else can you say at this point? He’s making a great case to be traded or to stick around and just anchor the rotation that has lost all the depth from March. Someone needs to pitch innings. He’s opposed by a second lefty, Sam Aldegheri. In his third season in Anaheim, Aldegheri is not having the breakout Detmers has enjoyed. He only strikes out 15% of batters but walks 9.8% so this might be a short night if the Sox are hitting. He’s allowed 4 home runs in his 29 big league innings this year across 5 starts (8 total games).

Ranger Suarez missed out on the fun against the Yankees but pitched the Sox to their only win against the Nationals. Striking out 8 in 6.0 innings he turned in another solid start this year. There’s usually an inning where he runs into some trouble but he’s so good he can get out of almost any jam. Ryan Johnson, fresh off his latest Knives Out sequel will finish the series for the Angels. A righty, he’s strugglesd. Although an ERA over seven…we’ve seen this story before in 2026. Will it drop to 6.50 or lower if the bats take the night off?

Mike Trout is on the IL. As is old friend Yoán Moncada.

Zach Neto is leading the Angels with 18 homers.

Another old friend, Vaughn Grissom, is hitting .231/.311/.369.

Jarren Duran is coming off an absolutely brutal .144/.168/.227 month of June after his .261/.331/.548 line in May. Will July treat him better?

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, July 3: Jake Bennett (3.27 ERA / 3.11 FIP) vs. Reid Detmers (3.88 ERA /2.96 FIP)

Saturday, July 4: Sonny Gray (2.69 ERA / 3.58 FIP) vs. Sam Aldegheri (4.85 ERA / 4.93 FIP)

Sunday, July 5: Ranger Suarez (2.94 ERA / 2.72 FIP) vs. Ryan Johnson (7.40 ERA / 6.07 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Friday, July 3: 9:38 PM ET on NESN

Saturday, July 4: 9:38 PM ET on NESN

Sunday, July 5: 9:30 PM ET on NESN

Pitchers Joe Ross and Chris Paddack and outfielder Jarred Kelenic, all of whom were designated for assignment several days ago, have all cleared waivers and become free agents.

Paddack was signed on June 29 for a one shot deal, pitching as the bulk guy behind opener Tyler Alexander on June 29 in Cleveland and then being DFA’d the next day. He gave the Rangers four innings of two run ball in the win, making it a successful signing, as far as I’m concerned. I imagine the Rangers will be looking to sign him to a minor league contract now to pitch for Round Rock, whose rotation is rather puny right now.

Ross and Kelenic were designated for assignment on June 29, clearing roster spots for Paddack and for Cam Cauley. Ross was brought up from AAA because the Rangers needed an arm in the pen, and in five games he went eighth innings and allowed five runs. His most notable appearance was his third outing for the Rangers, when he came into the game to start the top of the 10th inning against the Padres, walked Samad Taylor, and then gave up a three run homer to Manny Machado.

Kelenic was up because, well, the Rangers needed a body that could play the outfield on the bench. When Wyatt Langford went on the injured list and the Rangers needed a righthanded hitter rather than a lefthanded hitter who could play outfield on the bench, the Rangers dropped him for Cauley.

What a great turn of events. Logan Webb’s season looked like it was heading into a ditch at full speed after pitching to a 5.06 ERA (3.57 FIP) and an IL stint. One silly writer even speculated that he might be cooked. Instead, he’s been named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June after going 3-1 with a 0.71 ERA (2.24 FIP) in 5 starts.

He was his dominant old self. The face of the Giants. The ace of the team. One of the best pitchers in the sport. This compelled one fabulist writer to suggest that the Giants should look into trading him at this year’s deadline.

Major League Baseball’s press release also cites these meaningful stats:

– The two-time All-Star dealt at least 7.0 innings in all five of his starts, becoming the first Giants pitcher to make five consecutive starts of at least 7.0 innings since Ty Blach did so twice in 2017. Webb permitted two-or-fewer runs in all five starts, becoming the first Giants pitcher since Madison Bumgarner in 2013 (6 GS) to make at least five consecutive starts of 7.0 innings and two-or-fewer runs permitted. Overall, his eight starts of at least 7.0 innings this season are tied with Nathan Eovaldi, Sánchez and Michael Wacha for the most in the Majors.

– The 2025 Rawlings Gold Glover became the third Giants pitcher in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to throw at least 35.0 innings in a single month and maintain an ERA under 0.75, joining Kevin Gausman (37.0 IP, 0.73 ERA in May 2021) and Noah Lowry (39.1 IP, 0.69 ERA in August 2005). Of the group, Webb’s four walks were the fewest.“

But Webb has looked like the best version of himself since returning from the injured list and it has been a rare respite from the hellacious viewing experience that has often been the San Francisco Giants here in 2026. His starts make it feel as though anything is possible.

Remarkably, his rotation mate Robbie Ray also received votes (4-0, 1.36 ERA). His resurgence has timed out nicely with the trade deadline, too…

But anyway, Logan Webb returning to out-pitch the likes of Jacob Misiorowski, Max Meyer, and Chris Sale is a great story, whether you’re just rooting for the Giants or rooting for the Giants to make some big deadline deals. Well, okay, there’s also the conversation about Logan Webb becoming an All-Star now, and either serving as the team’s lone representative or as a travel partner for somebody else (Luis Arraez, Casey Schmitt)?

Congratulations to Logan Webb on another career achievement. He’s sort of building a ground-up case to someday win a Cy Young Award, creating a reputational aura that might push him to be top of mind come that award in the future. But here in the present, it’s good enough to know that he was never really gone but now he’s incredibly back and, as the players say, shoving.

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A pair of AL Central rivals continue their four-game set tonight as the Cleveland Guardians play host to the Chicago White Sox.

Despite missing Munetaka Murakami for the past month, Chicago continues to hit the ball well, which is part of why I’m backing the White Sox as +114 underdogs. 

Find out more in my White Sox vs. Guardians predictions and free MLB picks for Friday, July 3.

Who will win White Sox vs Guardians today: White Sox (+114)

The Chicago White Sox are still without Munetaka Murakami, but that hasn’t slowed them down.

Over the past 30 days, Chicago ranks tied for fifth in the AL in runs scored (122) and fourth in SLG (.435). The White Sox have been red hot this week, averaging 7.28 runs per game while hitting .296 as a team.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are last in runs (88), batting average (.218), and OPS (.632) over the past month.

There’s clear value to be had here on Chicago at +114, and I’d play them to +110.

COVERS INTEL:Guardians starter Gavin Williams goes to the curveball often, and the White Sox rank sixth in SLG (.410) and third in wOBA (.320) against that pitch.

White Sox vs Guardians Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (+109)

Both starters have been brutal of late, which should help nullify Cleveland’s sluggish offense. Gavin Williams finished with a 6.04 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in June, while Anthony Kay posted a 6.35 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over that same span.

The Over has cashed in each of the past five starts for both Williams and Kay, while the Over is also 4-1 in the past five games for both clubs.

I’ll play this to +100.

White Sox vs Guardians weather

Temperatures will be humid and sit in the mid-to-upper 80s around first pitch, further buoying our play on the Over at Progressive Field.

White Sox vs Guardians odds

• Moneyline: White Sox +114 | Guardians -126
• Run line: White Sox +1.5 (-183) | Guardians -1.5 (+158)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+109) | Under 8.5 (-121)

White Sox vs Guardians trend

Chicago has hit the team total Over in 24 of its last 35 road games (+12.70 Units / 32% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Guardians.

How to watch White Sox vs Guardians and game info

White Sox vs Guardians latest injuries

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