Category: Baseball

PHILADELPHIA — Christian Scott took a positive step Saturday toward potentially returning to the Mets as soon as his required 15 days on the injured list pass.

The right-hander threw a bullpen session before the Mets’ 15-3 loss to the Phillies and reported feeling “good.” Scott was placed on the IL on Monday (retroactive to June 12) with a right hip impingement.

“Full bullpen, high intensity, so we have just got to wait,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

The next step for Scott could be facing hitters in live batting practice. Mendoza didn’t rule out the possibility that Scott could avoid a minor league rehab stint before rejoining the club.

Scott has pitched to a 3.10 ERA in nine starts for the Mets this season.

Francisco Lindor will play Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse before a decision is reached on whether the shortstop needs further at-bats on his minor league rehab assignment or will rejoin the Mets.

Lindor was off Saturday after playing for Double-A Binghamton a day earlier. Tyrone Taylor and Ronny Mauricio will join Lindor in playing Sunday for Syracuse on rehab stints.

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David Peterson is the scheduled starter for Sunday night’s series finale.

Tobias Myers received the start as an opener in this rotation spot last Monday and struggled.

But the lefty Peterson has disappointed, pitching to a 5.91 ERA this season, bouncing between the rotation and bullpen. Peterson allowed three earned runs over three innings Monday in relief.

“We have been going with a lot of bullpen games, openers,” Mendoza said. “The lineup we’re facing here with a lot of lefties, a lineup that is familiar, he’s had success before. We’re going to need these guys, whether it’s Peterson or Sean Manaea or Kodai Senga. And [Sunday] Peterson is going to get another opportunity and we’re counting on him.”

Mendoza said he had an “unbelievable” experience Friday night watching Brazil play Haiti in a World Cup match across the street at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Growing up in Venezuela, I always cheer for Brazil,” Mendoza said, noting that his native country doesn’t participate in the event. “It’s fun that for the first time I got to watch a World Cup [match] and it’s Brazil playing. The atmosphere is unreal. It was unbelievable.”

They almost did it again.

The Dodgers nearly produced their second miracle in as many nights, their 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night ending with the tying run on third base.

In their series-opening walk-off win the previous night, the Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth inning to reverse a two-run deficit.

The two-run surge on Saturday night was started by Shohei Ohtani, who returned to the lineup after a one-day absence for the birth of his second child.

Ohtani led off the ninth inning by running into a down-the-middle fastball by Andrew Kittredge and sending it over the center field wall to reduce his team’s deficit to 3-1.

Freddie Freeman drew a one-out walk, leading the Orioles to replace Kittredge with Yannier Cano. 

But Mookie Betts reached base on an infield single and Freeman scored on right fielder Leony Tavares’ error on a line drive by Tommy Edman. Betts advanced to third base on the play, only for Kyle Tucker to end the game with a strikeout.

The Dodgers spent most of the game frustrated by Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers, who held them to one hit over the first seven innings of the game.

The runner-up for the National League rookie of the year award in 2021 with the Miami Marlins, Rogers has endured several injuries over his up-and-down seven-year career.

Rogers was spectacular last season, posting a 9-3 record and 1.81 earned-run average in 18 starts. His ERA established a new single-season Orioles record for pitchers with 100 or more innings.

The performance led to Rogers being named the Orioles’ opening-day starter this year, but the former first-round draft pick entered his start against the Dodgers with a 5.86 ERA.

He’d also lost seven of his previous eight decisions.

But the Dodgers couldn’t figure him out.

The Dodgers got their first and only hit against Rogers with two outs in the fifth inning, a bloop single to center field by Tommy Edman.

Only two others reached base against Rogers, and they both did so on walks.

What it means

A day after his wife gave birth to their second child, Ohtani was back hitting leadoff for the Dodgers.

Ohtani homered in the ninth inning but didn’t have much luck against Rogers. He popped up in his first at-bat, struck out in his second and grounded out in his third.

With Ohtani throwing in the outfield before the game, manager Dave Roberts said he expected the two-way player to make his scheduled start as a pitcher on Wednesday in Minnesota.

When Ohtani’s first child was born last year, Roberts gifted the family a miniature pink Porsche for the girl.

Reminded of that, Roberts said, “I gotta give a baby gift. Good point. I gotta figure something out.” 

Who’s hot

Spending nearly the entire season up to this point rehabilitating his surgically-repaired right ankle, Edman was activated this week from the 60-day injured list.

This game counted as his third start since his return.

The early indications are that his ankle is holding up well. A day after collecting three hits in the series opener on Friday night, Edman had another multi-hit game. He followed up his single against Rogers in the fifth inning with another single in the eighth, this one off right-hander Rico Garcia.

Who’s not

In his start since his almost-perfect game against the Chicago White Sox, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was considerably more human.

He gave up hits to the first two batters of the second inning and repeated the mistake in the fourth. 

That cost him.

Leony Tavares scored the first run of the game in the second inning when Coby Mayo grounded into a fielder’s choice.

A double down the third-base line by Blaze Alexander drove in two runs in the fourth inning, at the end of which Yamamoto’s pitch count reached 70.

Yamamoto managed to complete six innings. He was charged with three runs, six hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Yamamoto’s record dropped to 7-5 and his ERA went up to 2.65.

Up next

The Dodgers and Orioles will conclude their three-game series on Sunday. Emmet Sheehan (3-4, 4.67 ERA) will start for the Dodgers, opposite right-hander Brandon Young (3-1, 3.67) of the Orioles.

Today’s loss to the Red Sox left much to be desired, but it started out promisingly enough. Emerson Hancock was clean the first time through the order, picking up four strikeouts, three of which came because a Red Sox hitter left the bat on his shoulder.

The rearranged left side of the infield even made a couple very nice plays. J.P. Crawford, who some had left for dead, gets today’s Sun Hat Award for shoveling the ball from his glove up to Colt Emerson on a 5-6-3 double play and later snatching a hot shot out of the air.

The Mariners even grabbed an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Crawford walk and line drives into left-center from Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor.

But things quickly took a left turn. The Sox led off the fourth with their first hit when a ground ball split the left side. Despite Hancock striking out the next batter, he then left a cutter over the heart of the plate that Wilyer Abreu sent nearly to the batter’s eye to give Boston a 2-1 lead. The fifth inning saw another hit and an embarrassing error from tonight’s left fielder, Connor Joe, who got his glove to the ball pretty easily but then just refused to actually catch it.

By the sixth inning, Hancock was left holding the bag for an offense that couldn’t get anything going against Connelly Early. A single and a walk looked like it was setting off a retro Hancock spiral, of the type it seemed like he’d left in Arkansas. But another four-pitch walk loaded the bases, Dan came out, and Elvis left the building.

With leverage lefty Jose A. Ferrer and his 50% groundball rate coming out in relief, it seemed like the Mariners might get out of it. And indeed, Ferrer got not one, not two, but three easy groundballs, but for the second night in a row, the BABIP monster left a bad taste in my mouth. The score had bubbled up to 5-1 by the time the Mariners finally left the field.

It wouldn’t have mattered so much if the Mariners offense could hit a left-handed pitcher. And they had a bunch of chances against Early, who pitched the game with two left feet, hitting three batters and nearly a couple more. But the Mariners bats’ futility against south paws hardly comes out of left field at this point. They couldn’t get a single hit after the first inning, and left five runners on base.

Left to your imagination, this is a dominant roster, but they find themselves about halfway through the season back at .500 and leading the division only thanks to their rivals’ incompetence. It’ll probably be fine in the end, but if they don’t want to get left at the postseason altar, they’re going to have to get right.

There were some worrying moments at the end, but ultimately the Orioles were able to ride a terrific start from Trevor Rogers and a clutch double off Blaze Alexander’s bat to a 3-2 win on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

It is games like this where we must ask the question “Is Trevor Rogers all the way back?” The lefty put forth his best start since Opening Day, tossing seven scoreless innings and giving up just three baserunners (one hit, two walks) while striking out six. That dropped his season ERA for the fifth straight start from 6.96 on May 24 to just 5.30 on June 20.

At no point were the Dodgers particularly close to scoring on Rogers. The three base runners he did allow were scattered; one in the first inning, another in the fifth, and one more in the seventh. It was as low stress of a start as we are going to get around these parts.

Rogers had the best version of each of his offerings. His fastball was up nearly 1.5 mph on the gun, and he had a 27% whiff rate overall, which is a slight improvement over his season number. On top of that, he limited the free passes and the hard contact. It sounds simple, but that is when Rogers has success: pitch in the zone and keep the ball in the park.

On the other side of the game, Orioles lineup made Yoshinobu Yamamoto work in this one. He needed 102 pitches to get through six innings, and he allowed three runs in the process. That was the most runs he as allowed in a start since May 12. So while the final line is still one of a quality start, the O’s hitters do deserve credit for their patience and effort at the plate.

The Orioles got on the board in the top of the second inning. With runners on first and third, Coby Mayo grounded into a force out as the first baseman Freddie Freeman fielded the bouncer and fed to Mookie Betts covering second base. That allowed Leody Taveras, the runner at the third to begin the play, to score and make it 1-0.

Their other two runs crossed the plate in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Blaze Alexander yanked a pitch down the third base line, scoring Taveras and Colton Cowser, and giving the O’s a 3-0 advantage.

That hit from Alexander would be the team’s only knock with runners in scoring position. They went 1-for-5 in such situations in this game, as those key moments continue to be difficult for them. It would have been nice to see at least one of those eight runners stranded on base make it home.

The Orioles were unable to extend their lead against the Dodgers bullpen. But the Dodgers would cause plenty of stress for the O’s relief group in the ninth inning.

Andrew Kittredge came on for the save. It seemed Craig Albernaz was trying to avoid the recently activated Ryan Helsley in back-to-back nights, especially since the series opener did not go well for him. His replacements (plus some atrocious (Orioles defnese) almost let the same thing happen again.

Shohei Ohtani led off the inning with a solo home run to make it a 3-1 game. After getting Andy Pages to line out and then walking Freddie Freeman, Kittredge was lifted in favor of ground ball machine Yennier Cano.

The first batter Cano faced, Betts, hit a bouncer to third base, which could have been a game-ending double play. Instead, Mayo flubbed it, gathered it, and was late on his throw to try and get Betts at first. Cano retired the next batter before Tommy Edman hit a hard liner to right field that hit Taveras in the glove. He dropped it anyway, the second run of the inning scored, and it started to feel like a repeat of Friday. Kudos to Cano for taking matters into his own hands and just striking out Kyle Tucker after all of that to lock down the save.

The Orioles defense has been a problem all season, but it has really reared it’s head this weekend in Los Angeles. In part, it did cost them the game on Friday, and it nearly did the same on Saturday. Seems like something that needs to be fixed!

There is plenty of time to be negative about this team. Stick with the positives for now. Chief among them, Rogers was great. It was the sort of start the Orioles needed, and they got it. Alexander continues to swing a nice stick. Taveras and Basallo had two hits each. There are aspects of this squad that works as expected. They just rarely all click together.

Hopefully they can get it figured out in time for tomrrow’s series finale. Brandon Young (5-2, 3.18 ERA) will be on the bump to face Emmet Sheehan (3-4, 4.76 ERA), First pitch is set for 4:10 on the east coast.

Who was the Most Birdland Player for June 20, 2025?

Here are some nominees for your consideration, or tell us someone else entirely in the comments

• Trevor Rogers (win, seven shutout innings)
• Yennier Cano (cleaned up ninth inning mess, dealt with defensive chaos)
• Blaze Alexander (double, two RBI)

One game after a magical walk-off against the Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers couldn’t get the job done again on Saturday as they fell 3-2.

After both teams could muster just one walk in the first inning, Baltimore began the top of the second against Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a pair of singles from Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Taveras came home on a fielder’s choice from Coby Mayo, but Yamamoto recovered with a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.

Yamamoto retired the side in order in the third inning, but once again allowed a pair of singles to lead off the fourth inning to Samuel Basallo and Taveras. A failed sacrifice bunt from Cowser got the lead runner at third, but Yamamoto walked Mayo to load the bases with just one out. Yamamoto got a crucial strikeouts of Jackson Holliday for the second out, but Blaze Alexander made Yamamoto pay with a two-out, two-run double to give Baltimore a three-run lead.

Yamamoto was able to allow just one baserunner over his final two innings, giving him another quality start. After five consecutive starts of allowing one run at most, Yamamoto allowed at least three runs for the first time since allowing five on May 12 against the San Francisco Giants.

As for the Dodgers offense behind Yamamoto, they fell back into their old habits of failing to provide any run support, as left-hander Trevor Rogers’ only blemish over his first four innings was a walk to Andy Pages in the bottom of the first. He faced the minimum over his first 14 hitters until Tommy Edman broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the fifth inning. Saturday was Rogers’ first scoreless outing since his 2026 debut— where he also had seven scoreless innings— and it was the first time he struck out six since April 14.

Edman supplied the Dodgers’ second hit of the game against Rico Garcia to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Dodgers would go down quietly in order.

In his first game back from the paternity list, Shohei Ohtani displayed some new “dad strength” with a home run against Andrew Kittredge leading off the bottom of the ninth, thwarting the shutout and putting the Dodgers on the board.

Taylor Ward made a diving catch to rob Pages of extra bases, but Kittredge walked Freddie Freeman to bring up the potential tying run in Mookie Betts. Against Yennier Cano, Betts hit a ground ball to third that was knocked down by Mayo at third and was initially called safe at first, and an unsuccessful challenge from Baltimore officially put the tying run on base.

Alex Freeland came in to pinch hit for Miguel Rojas, but flew out to left for a crucial second out. Edman lined a ball to right that would’ve ended the game, but Taveras bobbled the catch, leading to Freeman scoring to make it a one-run game with the tying run at third base. The Dodgers couldn’t complete the comeback, as Cano struck out Kyle Tucker to end the night.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (16)
• WP— Trevor Rogers (4-7): 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walk, 6 strikeouts
• LP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-5): 6 IP, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
• SV— Yennier Cano (1): 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers look to end their homestand with a 5-1 record as they wrap things up against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday (1:10 p.m. PT). Emmet Sheehan faces Brandon Young.

Red Sox 5, Mariners 1

Even Steven: Alex Hoppe, +0.0o WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

With how Friday night shook out and with how the Colorado Rockies battled the Pittsburgh Pirates in their first meeting with Paul Skenes, tonight’s game had all the makings of another close one. Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) put together one of his best performances of 2026, if not the best. As expected, Skenes did Skenes things, too.

Maybe less expected were the inside-the-park home run to keep the Rockies in the game early, the consistent pressure from the Rockies offense, and a twist ending to a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth. While not your typical Coors Field game, the Rockies put together a fun win in front of a raucous crowd for win number 30.

Leadoff hitters shape the game early

The Pirates leadoff hitter, Spencer Horowitz, was almost the casualty of a one-pitch out. He popped up to third base, but Willi Castro lost track of the traveling ball in foul territory and couldn’t make the out. Horowitz made the most of his second chance and hammered a no-doubter to right field to give the Bucs an early 1-0 lead. Sugano has been susceptible to solo homers this season, but he also has a track record of bouncing right back. He did just that and worked out of the rest of the inning.

The Rockies responded in kind with some leadoff magic of their own. Jake McCarthy smacked a ball to deep center field that Jake Mangum tried to make a diving grab on. The ball got past Mangum and rolled to the wall, prompting McCarthy to turn on the jets. He ditched his batting helmet after rounding second for maximum speed and aerodynamics, then sped his way home for a thrilling inside-the-park home run to even the game at one all.

Cole Carrigg led off the bottom of the second and almost kept the momentum going, before running (literally) into a learning moment. He started the inning off with a speedy double — the first of his career. Edouard Julien flied out to deep center, but unfortunately Carrigg made a bad baserunning read and failed to tag up. Stuck at second, he then looked to make up for it with a steal but made things worse by getting picked off. Ezequiel Tovar struck out next to end the inning.

A classic Coors Field pitchers’ duel

The middle innings were a battle between two pitchers who refused to blink. Despite some occasional traffic, runs were hard to come by and the game remained tight.

In a refereshing change of pace from their last outing against him, the Rockies were able to chip away at Skenes and generate consistent pressure throughout the early innings. While they weren’t able to capitalize enough to do much damage, they made the ace work for it.

Following the inside-the-park homer in the first, the Rockies basepaths were active in the third and fourth. McCarthy struck again in the bottom of the third with a one out double. Two batters later, TJ Rumfield hit a line drive deep enough to bring McCarthy home and give the Rockies the 2-1 lead.

Colorado had another prime opportunity in the fourth, but it slipped away. After walking Troy Johnston to start the inning and hitting Carrigg with a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs, Skenes recovered. Julien lined out to left, too shallow to move Johnston up. Tovar’s rough night at the plate continued, grounding into a double play to end the inning.

Fortunately, Sugano did more than his fair share. After giving up a single to Horowitz to start the third, Sugano retired the next 12 batters straight and looked smooth doing it. He struck out three of those 12 hitters and tallied up a large handful of easy fly outs and grounders along the way.

Still neck-and-neck heading into the bullpen innings

Both teams got their bullpen up and working around the same time after the starters worked through six innings.

Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings, giving up just the one run on the early homer, allowing only four hits, and notching five strikeouts. He relied on a fairly balanced mix of four pitches: splitter (24%), slider (24%), four-seam fastball (19%), and cutter (16%). The slider and splitter were the most dominant, with 40% and 36% whiff rates, respectively. Sugano finished his day after 85 pitches, with Jimmy Herget entering in relief.

Carmen Mlodinzski started the bottom of the seventh with Skenes ending his day after climbing to 104 pitches, making it seven straight games without a victory. He finished with two runs on four hits, along with eight strikeouts and two walks. As has been the case for Skenes across this recent stretch, he minimized run damage despite allowing baserunners and hit his usual amount of K’s.

Herget and Mlodzinski made it through the seventh unscathed, with the former only giving up a walk and the latter giving up a single. Herget got the first out of the eighth before Warren Schaeffer turned to Brennan Bernardino. Bernardino got the next two outs, keeping the bullpen’s clean sheet going.

Another night of nerves in the ninth

It wouldn’t be a Rockies game if you weren’t just excruciatingly uncomfortable at some point. The Rockies bullpen ensured that box got checked tonight.

Brandon Lowe logged a double to start the top of the ninth. Bryan Reynolds followed that with a single to put runners on the corners. Bernardino responded with a clutch strikeout before being pulled for Jaden Hill.

Hill would ride a similar roller-coaster, starting with some downs before finding the ups. He hit the first batter faced, Nick Gonzales, to load the bases. But, in the theme of the night, the Rockies pitchers always responded. Hill went in his bag and put together a great showdown with Tyler Callihan, striking him out after six pitches with a 97 MPH fastball.

The game-deciding out was not without controversy. Mangum grounded to Kyle Karros who came up without making a force out throw. Karros threw up his hands in frustration, claiming that Billy Cook’s foot struck his glove. Both squad’s managers made their case as the umpires called runner’s interference for the out.

Final Thoughts

This felt like a fun, gritty win emblematic of these 2026 Rockies. They held their own against a dominant pitcher with an unreal starting performance of their own. The bullpen bent but didn’t break. While Tovar, Castro, and Hunter Goodman struggled at the plate, McCarthy and the offense did just enough to get the job done.

Schaeffer applauded a “vintage Tomo” performance from Sugano, noting the mix of pitches he used. “He competed like crazy and it was a professional outing from him.” On that mix of pitches, Sugano noted post-game that “the slider was the pitch” tonight. He felt like “they were waiting on the fastball in general, so I mixed in the off-speed stuff, while not forgetting the fastball too. It was a good mix.”

Schaeffer also celebrated how well the Rockies attacked Skenes. While acknowledging that they left some runs on the table, he highlighted that “we made him work. I thought we took good at bats and our plan was good.”

Up Next

The Rockies and Pirates will face off one last time in 2026 with a Father’s Day series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Jared Jones takes the mound for the visiting Pirates, bringing in a 1-1 record through four starts, with a 6.23 ERA. The Rockies are projected to send out Michael Lorenzen, who is 2-8 across 15 starts, with a 7.13 ERA. The ERAs suggest a different kind of game than the two low-scoring, tight matchups that started the series. That said, Lorenzen looked great in his last two starts, giving up just one run in each. Jones gave up five in his last start.

With the series in hand, the Rockies will try for a sweep. First pitch is set for 1:10 MDT.

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This was maybe my favorite performance from any Guardians player this season. Seeing Travis Bazzana blossom into a star in his rookie season brings me so much joy. After his 4-4 2 HR performance tonight, he now leads all 2B in the MLB in WRC+ and OPS. I don’t know if he’ll get the votes for it, but he absolutely deserves to be the starting 2B for the American League in the All-Star game.

Bazzana deserves an immense amount of praise for his performance tonight, but I don’t want it to overshadow what Joey Cantillo did. This was easily his best start of the season all things considered. He had been struggling mightily as of late and to see him give you 8 efficient innings of one run ball with 9 strikeouts against THAT lineup is absolutely beautiful, and very very much needed. A performance like this is more than just a mark in the win column, this will do wonders for Joey’s confidence moving forward.

Kyle Manzardo and Patrick Bailey also had big nights. Manzardo went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBIs, while Bailey had his first 3 hit game as a Guardian.

The Guardians will try to win the rubber match tomorrow at 2:10 pm ET. It will be Slade Cecconi vs Kai-Wei Teng.

With the Braves having secured a series win over the formidable Brewers, the good vibes are back (for now) after a tough little stretch of games. They’ve won the first two games of the series against a really tough Milwaukee team throwing two really good starters. The teams still has holes to fill at the deadline and performance issues to turn around, but it feels nice to play a series with a playoff-vibe and win the first two. Now lets go for the sweep today.

Braves News

Michael Harris has returned to the lineup after a few days out hurt, but Ozzie Albies defined a walk-off win to clinch the series over Milwaukee.

MLB News

Orioles’ star Adley Rutschman will miss at least a week on the concussion IL after a freakish play resulted in him being hit in the head with an errant throw.

The Diamondbacks placed Michael Soroka and Jordan Lawler on the IL, in a tough combination for Arizona.

The Blue Jays are set to activate Shane Beiber off the 60-day IL to make his season debut on Monday.

Brewers skipper Pat Murphy might find himself on the injured list in the near future.

Murphy told reporters on Saturday that he plans to have back surgery on Thursday, and getting an additional procedure on his hip during the All-Star break.

Though he did not reveal details on the surgeries, Murphy said that the back discomfort is related to his hip, and that the pain has gotten worse recently.

“I can’t live like that,” Murphy said. “I’m having the surgery so it works out good.”

Murphy, 67, has been named National League Manager of the Year the past two seasons, and is currently in his third season in Milwaukee.

Ahead of the 2026 season, Murphy signed a three-year deal to remain with the Brewers which made him one of the highest-paid managers in the MLB.

This season, Murphy has helped lead Milwaukee to a 45-29 record, sitting atop of the NL Central.

Murphy, who is known for his stern coaching manner, recently called out Brewers relief pitcher Abner Uribe for his antics on the mound during a game against the Cardinals in May.

Uribe struck out Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson to end the eighth inning of Milwaukee’s 6-0 win over St. Louis on May 27, and proceeded to make WWE-style crotch chops toward the Cardinals dugout.

“I don’t know what got over him. I mean, he’s been an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things,” Murphy said. “I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it? It’s a 6-0 game. What are we doing there?”

“I love the kid. Believe me, I love the kid,” Murphy added. “There’s so much good in this kid. He’s been so great for us in so many ways, but that’s unacceptable. So, whatever’s going on, you can’t tolerate that.

“For his teammates, and for everything, it’s not going to be tolerated, that’s all there is to it.”

Rockies 2, Rockies 1

Leverage index and box score

Graphics via FanGraphs.

The Other Jake: Jake Mangum, -0.33

Over the Hill: Jaden Hill, +0.38 WPA

Game thread comment of the day

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Bryce Harper can add another stellar accomplishment to his already impressive career resume: hitting for the cycle.

The two-time MVP accomplished the feat to help boost the Philadelphia Phillies to a 15-3 spanking of the New York Mets in a home game at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, June 20.

Harper started the night off with a bang, hitting a solo home run in the first inning. He then doubled and singled in the third inning when Philadelphia had eight runs. He completed the cycle with a triple in the fifth inning.

It was a two-RBI triple. With two outs and a 2-1 count, Tobias Myers wound up and threw a pitch right over the plate. Harper smacked it to left center perfectly in between two Mets outfielders. He sprinted around the bases and slid into third. He punched his fist in the air and high-fived third base coach Anthony Contreras in celebration.

BRYCE HARPER TRIPLES TO COMPLETE THE CYCLE! pic.twitter.com/prfwNsDL1b

— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2026

Another look at Bryce Harper's triple to complete the cycle in the 5th inning! pic.twitter.com/w8peLT1QUw

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 21, 2026

Per ESPN, the Phillies star is the first player to hit for the cycle in just five innings since 2015. According to the MLB, this is the 11th cycle in franchise history.

Kyle Schwarber also fueled the team with three home runs. The FOX broadcast said the last time teammates hit for the cycle and three home runs in the same game was in 1932 when Tony Lazzeri hit for the cycle and Lou Gehrig hit four home runs for the New York Yankees.

"It's really cool," Schwarber said. "You look through our lineup up and down, but we put together some really good at-bats. ... Just glad that it was a great overall team win. Great night by Harp. We just gotta keep rolling and putting these together."

"Being able to get that tonight was really cool," Harper added of his accomplishment while also paying respect to his teammate. "Being able to see him hit three homers and do his job, there's no greater power hitter in our game right now."

Philadelphia is second place in the NL East with a 41-35 record midway through the season. The front office fired manager Rob Thomson in April after the team started 9-19.

The Mets are at the bottom of the division with a 34-42 record. Among their woes this season are allowing an in-the-park grand slam to the Washington Nationals and being swept by the Colorado Rockies, who had the worst record in franchise history last season.

Buffalo Bisons 4, Charlotte Knights 2
It was a heartbreaker for the Knights (41-33) way up north, as they hoped a two-spot in the second inning might hold up for all nine innings. That was a foolish hope, although the Bisons waited until their very last strike in regulation to walk off the 4-2 win:

(It’s never a good thing when the color guy says “goodbye” upon contact with your hopeful final toss of the night. We feel you, Garrett Schoenle.)

Honestly, David Sandlin would have better suited if he’d taken a puddle-jumper from Buffalo to Detroit to start against the Tigers today rather than the Sox trotting out a firing squad of a bullpen day, because he shut down the Bisons and was in line for the win (Sandlin’s ERA over eight Charlotte starts is a sparkling 1.32 after today’s effort, although one earned in five innings meant the righty’s ERA went up).

Obviously, the offensive effort was subpar and it’s hard to blame either Tyler Schweitzer (blown save for giving up one run over two innings) or Schoenle (one hit, one walk over five outs before that fateful meatball to end the game) for the loss.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4, Birmingham Barons 0 (7 innings)
It was quite the bizarre contest in Florida tonight, as the game was delayed FOUR HOURS by rain, with first pitch at 11:04 p.m. ET. Quite naturally, the two squads sprinted through the game best as possible, with an apparent 1 a.m. curfew looming.

Birmingham had just three hits over seven innings — but then, so did the Wahoos, over six. The difference in the game was that Pensacola put some oomph into their hits, only two stayed in the park. And another difference, in the OUCH category, is that while Barons hurlers threw a game devoid of free passes, Pensacola pitchers issued EIGHT to Bham, helping make 0-for-6 with RISP and nine left on base look all the more gaudy.

This recap has already taken longer to write than tonight’s game itself, so let’s just get to the polls and let the abysmal Barons (26-42) get a bit of shuteye before tomorrow’s soggy finale.

Greensboro Grasshoppers 5, Winston-Salem Dash 1
He snuck up on me, but Juan Carela is back after TJS, and has been aces through four starts in 2026 (two ACL, two WSD): 0.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP. Tonight was Carela’s second straight start of three innings, baby steps for sure but the results have been dy-no-mite. The Grasshoppers were hogtied on just two hits, and Carela slapped up five Ks. Unfortunately, Grant Umberger came in as the bulk pitcher today, and had significant trouble. All Hoppers damage came off of the southpaw, who’s had a rough run of things after a superb pro debut in 2025.

As for the bats, the Dash had five hits and none for extra bases, 10 Ks and two walks. What the hell else you need to know? The 38-30 Dash try to salvage the finale tomorrow afternoon.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 10, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 0
It was a humdinger in Arkansas, as the CBs laid some heavy lumber and whomped the Woodpeckers with runs in every inning but the second, fifth and sixth. It was a 12-hit attack (including Jaden Fauske’s third homer of the season) along with seven walks (Alexander Albertus strolled three times and added a single) that left Fayetteville no chance

And that no chance was secured with exquisite pitching. Gabriel Rodríguez got the start and cruised through four innings at just 58 pitches, but the 22-year-old seems to be on a duration restriction and was done at that point. Vulturing the win but pitching well in his own right was piggybacker Blaine Wynk, who went for three frames just as tidy as Gabriel’s.

The CBs jutted back to .500 (34-34) in style tonight.

ROOKIE LEAGUES

ACL Brewers 4, ACL White Sox 1 (7 innings)
The Complex Sox, lovers of mystery and cliffhangers, waited until the bottom of the seventh to score today. Milwaukee wasn’t playing along, running up four scores much earlier in the game. What’s up the Brewers org, winning and stuff being so important to them? D’Angelo Tejada continued his buff season at the plate with two knocks in two ABs, and the only Complex Sox SB of the game. (Speaking of steals, the Sox were a bit embarrassed by MKE catcher Freider Rojas, who caught them in thefts three of four times today.) On the mound, it was the story of two Charlotte Knights rehab assignments: One good in Tommy Vail (2 IP, BB, 3 Ks), one bad in Wikelman González (2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 K).

DSL Blue Jays 7, DSL White Sox 6 (7 innings)
Depending on whether you’re a cup-half-full or -empty fan, this was a good or bad game for the youngest members of the White Sox org. The empty-cup portion of the morning was facing a 4-10 Blue Jays club on the road and falling behind, 7-1, five innings in. The Blue Jays scored in every frame, in a relentless nickel-and-diming of the DSL Sox staff. The full-cup game was all packed into the top of the seventh, when the Sox made a mad dash at a comeback win: Six walks and two fielder’s choices ran the score all the way up to 7-6, but a strikeout by Orlando Patino with a runner on first ended it. Just two hits for the DSL Sox were bolstered by nine walks in the game, but the kids walk away with a 5-10 record on the season.

It was an offensive onslaught for the Phillies on Saturday.

During Philadelphia’s 15-3 blowout win over the Mets, Bryce Harper became the 11th player in the franchise’s history to hit for the cycle, and slugger Kyle Schwarber blasted three home runs — two of which came in the same inning.

Harper finished his first career cycle by the fifth inning, blasting a his 16th homer of the season in the first.

“I was trying to hit homers,” Harper said. “Just trying to have some fun.”

He then doubled and scored on an error in the third, then singled after Schwarber’s second home run of the inning.

In the fifth, Harper lined a ball into the gap in left-center field and motored around to third base for a two-run triple, becoming the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since Weston Wilson on Aug. 15, 2024.

Harper also became the first player to hit for the cycle in the first five innings since Adrian Beltre did it for the Rangers back in 2015.

There was some controversy surrounding Harper’s triple in the fifth that completed the cycle, however, with some fans pointing to how the Mets tried to make a play at the plate rather than third base in which the two-time NL MVP was running toward.

As for Schwarber, he led off the Phillies’ eight-run third inning with a 456-foot blast off of Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta.

Later in the inning, Schwarber hit a three-run shot off Cionel Perez into nearly the same spot, 457 feet away.

Schwarber is the 67th player in major league history to hit two home runs in an inning and the second this season, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who accomplished the feat on June 12.

“That was cool,” Schwarber said. “First time I’ve done it in my career. I think it was a pretty cool overall night in general.”

Schwarber hit his third homer of the game in the seventh off reliever Tobias Myers, which gives him an MLB-leading 28 home runs.

— With AP

A career-high 10 earned runs in 2.2 IP of Saturday's 15-3 loss at the Phillies brought Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta to a 5-6 record and 4.83 ERA through 16 starts with New York.

"Before today, it probably wasn't that terrible," he said of his first season with the Mets, who acquired him and right-hander Tobias Meyers in a late-January trade from the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop Jett Williams and right-hander Brandon Sproat. "But today's not good."

Peralta recorded the game's first two outs before Bryce Harper, who hit for the cycle in just five innings, blasted a two-run solo shot to right-center field and put the Phillies (41-35) on the board.

A two-run second inning followed, and the Mets went down by 11 after an eight-run frame in the third.

Peralta threw 52 strikes on 80 pitches while striking out two and walking one, battling command issues as the Mets (34-42) were tasked with working from behind in counts.

"I don't know," Peralta said of how he rebounds. "Just moving forward from this one and getting some work and make the adjustment."

However, Peralta is "not worried about" his standing at this point in the season with time to mount a turnaround.

"I'm not worried about it," Peralta said. "Of course I don't feel good right now, but I'm not worried about it."

How does Mets manager Carlos Mendoza plan to help Peralta get there?

"The same way we did it with Sean (Manaea), the same way we did it with Nolan (McLean)," Mendoza said. "He's too good of a pitcher. I mean, this is a guy that, when you look at his track record, he's been one of the best pitchers in the game. He's going through a little bit of a rough stretch here.

"But if somebody's able to bounce back after bad outings, it's a guy like Freddy. He's a competitor. He's a guy that's going to come back the next day and look for ways to get better and improve, and that's what we will do."

This month has been mixed for Peralta, who started it with one run allowed on six hits in six innings of the Mets' 7-1 win at the Seattle Mariners June 3.

He surrendered six runs on six hits June 9, a 7-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, before rebounding with one run allowed on four hits in five innings of this past Sunday's 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves,

"Just focusing on the good things and just trying to come back and feel like myself and forget about the past and just moving forward and try to become who I really am and take it that way and just finish that way through the season," Peralta said.

"I think I've been a little inconsistent, but I have time to be better," Peralta added.

Like Peralta, the Mets enter the month's final week seeking consistency. They have not won three straight games or more since a four-game streak May 27-31, and their 8-9 mark in June has kept them from sustaining momentum.

"I mean, that's the key, right?" Mendoza said. "That's why we've been having a little bit of a hard time here, trying to get some winning streaks. But they're too good. They're talented. We've got to be able to figure this out.

"We're going to need them and, when they get going here, when need them to get going pretty soon. That's when you start putting together some consistent winning baseball. So, again, they're talented, but we expect -- and they expect -- more out of them."