PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 25: Bubba Chandler (36) of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks to the dugout after being relieved during a MLB game against the Seattle Mariners on June 25, 2026 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies, June 30, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates are fresh off of a big comeback victory against the Philadelphia Phillies to start their three-game set in Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates trailed 5-0 after the third inning, but a pair of runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth gave the Pirates the lead for good. The Phillies responded with two runs in the eighth inning, but the Bucks put three insurance runs on the board in the ninth, which was enough to give them an 11-7 victory.
The Pirates will look for their third straight win, starting Bubba Chandler on the mound. Chandler pitched 5.1 innings yesterday, allowing five hits and an earned run in his last start on June 25 against the Seattle Mariners at home.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are starting Christopher Sanchez, the left-handed ace who has been tremendous for the Phillies this season, going 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA. Sanchez is coming off the shortest outing of his season from his last start against the Washington Nationals on June 25. He only pitched five innings, giving up seven hits and five earned runs. He left the game trailing 5-0, but the Phillies rallied in the second half, scoring 10 in the final four innings to capture a victory.
Jun 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A fan wears a baseball helmet during a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
It did not seem to matter what the Pirates ran out against Phillies left-handed ace Cristopher Sánchez on Tuesday night.
And if it was not already clear, Sánchez has a strong handle on Pittsburgh’s offense.
He was going to bounce back after his rough outing last week in Washington.
Forty-five days ago, Sánchez was in the midst of one of the most dominant scoreless stretches by any pitcher in recent history. He threw a complete-game shutout against the Pirates on a sunny afternoon at PNC Park, striking out 13 without a walk.
Pittsburgh had three left-handed hitters in the lineup that day. They went 0-for-8.
A month and a half later, the Pirates loaded up with nine right-handed hitters against Sánchez. It did not change much.
The left-hander flirted with untouchable over seven scoreless innings, leading the Phillies to a 8-0 win after an ugly series opener Monday night.
Typically, a pitcher facing a team for the second time in a short span has to adjust once the lineup turns over. Sánchez had to do that Tuesday against Don Kelly’s exclusively right-handed lineup.
The caveat: Sánchez operates with three primary pitches.
He again leaned heavily on his changeup, but he made a notable adjustment with his slider.
Sánchez had thrown his slider to right-handed hitters only 16.1 percent of the time this season entering Tuesday. That number climbed to 20 percent.
It worked.
Of the 17 sliders Sánchez threw, 13 drew swings. Eight produced whiffs. Four ended in strikeouts. That was a 62 percent whiff rate, nearly double the pitch’s mark entering the night.
And he did it while dealing with a blister, or cut, on the top of his left thumb. That did not seem to matter, either.
As the game moved along and the Pirates’ order turned over for a third time, Sánchez leaned on his old reliable.
His changeup, arguably one of the most devastating pitches in baseball, took over. He threw it 62 percent of the time and recorded four of his nine strikeouts with it.
Sánchez finished with 23 swings and misses, the first time a Phillies pitcher had recorded at least 23 in a game since Statcast tracking began in 2009.
In two starts this season against the other Pennsylvania club, Sánchez has struck out 23 without allowing a run over 16 innings.
Tuesday’s outing also matched Jacob deGrom’s 24-game streak allowing two or fewer earned runs at home, the longest such run at one ballpark since 1913.
Sánchez’s ERA now sits at 2.00, three points lower than Zack Wheeler’s. The last time the Phillies had two starters (min. 10 starts) with an ERA of 2.05 or lower through June of a season was 1916 — Grover Alexander (1.65, 18 GS) & Eppa Rixey (1.91, 10 GS).
110 years ago.
His start, paired with a sharp night behind him, was the recipe the Phillies needed.
Alec Bohm made two diving plays that likely saved extra-base hits and possible runs. He robbed Henry Davis in the third, then took away another likely run-scoring hit from the speedy Konnor Griffin in the fifth.
The third baseman also made a running stop and strong throw in the seventh.
Bryce Harper added two impressive plays at first base. Bryson Stott made another sliding stop that nearly turned into an out.
Entering Tuesday, the Phillies’ infield ranked seventh-worst in outs above average at minus-14. Their minus-26 defensive runs saved ranked second-worst in baseball.
For one night, they looked nothing like those numbers.
They arguably saved the day.
The offense helped, too.
Justin Crawford had two hits, but his second-inning at-bat may have been the most important of the game.
Bubba Chandler attacked Crawford in the area that has troubled him lately: fastballs at the top of the zone, particularly triple-digit ones.
Crawford hung in.
After six straight fastballs, Chandler tried to finish the at-bat with a breaking ball nearly a ball and a half off the plate. Crawford stayed back and sent it on the ground down the left-field line.
His new setup, with lower hands and a no-stride approach, helped him stay through the ball and take the breaking pitch the other way.
Crawford finished with three hits. He is quietly batting .306 over his last 30 games and .362 over his last 15.
The Phillies added three more runs in the seventh, and then three more in the eighth, thanks to another Crawford run-scoring hit and a Trea Turner, the birthday boy, two-run shot to stretch their lead to eight.
A dominant win for the Phils, who are now three games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves.
Jun 2, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) celebrates win after striking out San Diego Padres left fielder Jase Bowen (4) (not pictured) to end the game in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Sometimes, a team realizes that they need to keep a player around, thus engaging them in contract extension talks. The Phillies do have several candidates for such an offer if they so choose, even with the CBA negotiations looming over every piece of business the team has. The question becomes, who gets one first?
Brandon Marsh has had a breakout season for everyone to recognize, even if we have seen this before in last year’s hot hitting after his ice cold start. Marsh’s case for an extension is helped by the fact that they have almost nothing in the way of prospects pushing him out the door once he is first able to leave, thus their need for an outfielder that can actually produce.
Jhoan Duran has been as lockdown as a closer can get since his trade to the team, placing his importance right in the top tier of the team’s needs. Try to imagine the bullpen without him. It isn’t pretty.
Alec Bohm’s case for getting an extension is probably strengthened by the fact that we aren’t totally sure what to expect of Aidan Miller and his suddenly suspect health. An extension for him is probably something along the lines of a short term deal to make sure Miller actually has a chance to play healthy at first, productive second.
So, let’s pose the question: who would be the candidate to get an extension first among these mentioned? Or, is it someone else?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Phillies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave an update on Tuesday on an episode of the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast regarding Aaron Judge's timetable from his fractured rib injury, saying it's "probably a couple weeks still from reimaging" while also mentioning that Judge is improving and feels better.
With Judge still a ways away from getting reimaging, that puts him towards the back-end of the four-to-six week timetable he was given after the diagnosis of his injury on June 4.
"They'll determine when they feel like he's doing stuff that [warrants] 'Alright, let's go reimage it now.' We're not at that point yet," Boone said.
Even though Judge isn't cleared to get a reimaging of the fractured rib just yet, his skipper noted that he's "feeling a lot better this week" and continues to work on the lower half of his body.
"He's doing some lower-body stuff now in the weight room and moving better," Boone said.
Once the reimaging is done, the Yankees will have a better sense of how to proceed with Judge's rehab. Still, there's no set schedule at the moment for when he might return and that date could even bleed into August.
Prior to the injury, Judge was slashing .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI in 59 games. While he was still having a great season for most players, Judge's numbers were actually down from his career norms and it's fair to wonder if the fractured rib, which likely occurred earlier in the season, was having an affect on the three-time MVP.
New York Mets relief pitcher David Peterson delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Philadelphia.
David Peterson penned a heartfelt goodbye to the Mets.
The All-Star southpaw took to Instagram to thank the organization, his teammates and fans after his time in Queens came to an end.
“From draft day to my last pitch as a Met, I am grateful to have worn the Mets uniform,” Peterson wrote, adding that the organization gave him the chance to live out his “lifelong dream.”
Cubs’ David Peterson winds up to deliver during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, June 27, 2026. AP Photo/Aaron Gash
Peterson also thanked the front office, coaches, teammates, trainers, clubhouse staff and support staff, writing that the relationships he built with the Mets “will last a lifetime.”
“It was an honor and a privilege to be a New York Met!” he wrote.
Peterson was traded to the Cubs last week in exchange for minor-league infielder Cole Mathis, who was the No. 13 prospect in the franchise’s farm system.
He made his Chicago debut on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings after giving up a leadoff home run to the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio on his first pitch in a Cubs uniform.
New York Mets relief pitcher David Peterson delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Philadelphia. AP Photo/Chris Szagola
“Some shock in the moment…I feel good, healthy. I went through some things early in the year I needed to clean up,” Peterson said, per ESPN. “[Feel] better now. Feel like myself back in ’24 and ’25.”
Peterson lost his role in the Mets’ starting rotation earlier this season after posting a 6.09 ERA through 68 innings.
He was the longest-tenured Met before the deal, spending his entire big league career with the franchise since debuting in 2020.
The Cubs were in desperate need of starting pitching, having lost Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown, who joined three other starters on the injured list, in recent days.
Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras has had a handful of verbal altercations with opponents this season. Tuesday night at Fenway Park, things got physical.
Tempers flared in the fourth inning after Nationals starter Cade Cavalli struck Contreras out looking. Cavalli celebrated by yelling, “Sit down, boy!” and Contreras took exception.
The two exchanged more words before Contreras lost his cool. The 34-year-old slugger charged and threw his helmet at Cavalli as both benches and bullpens cleared.
Watch the sequence below:
Willson Contreras throws his helmet during a benches clearing incident after Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli told him to “sit down boy” pic.twitter.com/IBEyYXKReN
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 1, 2026
Contreras was ejected for the second straight game. On Monday, he was ejected by the first base umpire for arguing a check swing call and tapping his helmet.
Red Sox utility man Nate Eaton, interim manager Chad Tracy, and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas also were ejected from Tuesday’s game.
This is the fourth time this season that the fiery Contreras has been involved in a benches-clearing incident. The other instances came against the Milwaukee Brewers in April, the Minnesota Twins in May, and the New York Yankees on Friday.
Losing Contreras to a suspension would be a major blow to a Red Sox club that entered Tuesday on a five-game win streak. Contreras leads Boston in homers (18), RBI (53), and OPS (.903).
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 16, 2024: Henry Lalane #58 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch during the fifth inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 16, 2024 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Yankees signed left-hander Henry Lalane as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. He was always seen as a talented but raw pitching prospect, but the skills and the tools were loud, so much so that he was ninth in MLB Pipeline’s organizational top 30 list in 2024, 11th in 2025, and 14th this year despite accumulating just 198.1 minor league innings since 2021, mainly due to injuries.
Prior to the 2026 campaign, his injury issues were so bad that he had never reached the 50-inning threshold in a season, and his stuff suffered as a result of the shoulder woes that eventually led to surgery before the 2025 campaign. During his time as a minor leaguer, Lalane has walked 88 hitters in 198.1 frames, roughly four per nine. The last two seasons before 2026 were particularly concerning in this department, as he gave away 6.57 bases on balls per nine innings in 2024 and 6.52 in 2025, in very small samples.
This year, however, has seen him take a step forward in the control/command department and also with his velocity and run-prevention skills. Basically, we can say that Lalane is regaining some of his prospect luster, which comes in handy for the Yankees at this juncture and with the trade deadline coming soon.
Last week, the southpaw had a brilliant outing for the Tampa Tarpons in Single-A, tossing seven scoreless frames and allowing one hit and zero walks, with a whopping 12 strikeouts to lower his season ERA to a cool 3.09. That comes with a healthy 3.58 BB/9 and a 2.86 FIP in 55.1 frames. He’s cleared the 50-inning barrier, he has struck out 31.3 percent of the hitters he has faced, and his fastball has gotten back more than a few ticks.
After his heater once sank to the 91-92 mph range, it’s now back up to 95-97 mph, even touching 98.4 mph in Friday’s outing. That day, he earned 18 swings and misses: seven on his slider, seven on his changeup, and four on his four-seamer. Here’s some video of the impressive performance, courtesy of Cai Rogers of Just Baseball:
Henry Lalane's night is over, and boy, was it another spectacular start for the southpaw
Final Line: 7.0 IP/1 H/0 ER/0 BB/12 K's (Pro Career-High) -87 pitches -Only hit was an infield chopper -9 Ks was previous career high – FB ranged 95-97 mph and topped out at 98.4 mph 🔥… https://t.co/3iOqVN3Dz9pic.twitter.com/F1SajQSKvb
It’s not easy to hit a 6-foot-7 left-hander with improving control, a fastball that can approach the triple digits on a good day, and two really solid, underrated secondaries. If Lalane keeps this up, he could find himself in High-A Hudson Valley before the end of the year. Of course, that’s if he remains a part of the organization past August 3rd. The Yankees will undoubtedly be active in the trade market, and names like Lalane are the ones that draw the attention of opposing front offices: a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher on the rise, with prospect pedigree, big stuff, and improving command and control.
Given his injury history and the fact that he is still in Single-A, Lalane probably falls short of being the primary prospect offered by the Yankees to land a true difference-maker. He is very much in the conversation as the second piece in a big trade, though. Regardless of his future in the organization, the progress he has shown is a net gain for the Yankees and for himself. He has bounced back nicely after the shoulder surgery, and his future is looking promising.
If he remains on the Yankees, Lalane has a very good chance of becoming a top-ten organizational prospect by this time next year. If he doesn’t, well, he was probably part of a package for a really solid player because New York won’t just give their newest gem away.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 13: Manager Oliver Marmol #37 of the St. Louis Cardinals argues with umpire Brennan Miller #55 after being ejected from the game against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium on July 13, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Urgh, June 2026. It was not a good month. The Braves are 9-13 so far, and lost five series (including a sweep) while only winning three. Two of those three came at the beginning of the month, too, so it’s basically been a disaster of a stretch for a team that played like they were nigh-unbeatable up until that fateful game on Chicago’s South Side. Over the course of the month, the team lost as many series to the Giants, one of the few unequivocal “bad team definite sellers” in MLB this season, as they had to anyone in the past two months. Not great.
So, there’s one more day left in June, and the Braves can… well, they can’t really salvage the month, but they can at least win a game, yeah? Maybe. The matchup, though, is interesting.
Their opponents over the next few days will be the St. Louis Cardinals, who have a rebuild/youth movement thing going on for the first time-ish in forever-ish, but have also had a pretty good season so far. The Cardinals are 43-38, 7.5 games behind the Brewers, but tied with the Marlins for the last National League playoff spot. They have “just” 1-in-3 odds of making the playoffs, but don’t count out the devil magic.
The way the Cardinals have gotten here has been unexpected. They started off well, but have been playing .500 ball for two months, including a recent 3-7 slide. Not as bad as the Braves’ slide, but few things are or have been. Overall, they’ve been an awesome hitting team, third in xwOBA, while also playing really good defense… but have been held back by a big teamwide xwOBA underperformance, and some pretty bad pitching. The quartet of Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, and Jordan Walker has been pounding the ball.
All in all, this kind of bodes poorly for a Braves team that A) hasn’t hit at all in June, and B) won’t have the luxury of a Chris Sale start in this series. While the Braves will get to take aim at Matthew Liberatore, who’s had a rough season to date in some ways, that’s not too much consolation considering they’re not hitting anyone these days.
Liberatore comes in with a 137/128/103 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-). His peripherals are basically the same as the past two years, but his HR/FB is sky-high, and balls are getting through his defense despite the quality of that defense being pretty high. Whether that continues against the Braves, eh… they’ll need to hit the ball hard to make it matter. That said, Liberatore has had a pretty miserable June, too — 254/205/128 against four not-all-that-good offenses, so something’s gotta give on June’s final day.
The Braves will be starting Martin Perez, which is, well… you know all about Perez pachinko by now, so no need to belabor the point. He comes in with a 72/95/94 line, but had a real clunker against the Padres last time out, his first poor outing in four tries. It may have been related by getting hit by a comebacker, or it may just be that it’s Martin Perez and he’s made a career of not pitching all that well but hanging around, so this is just what happens sometimes (or, a lot of the time). Anyway, the Braves will need to play better if they don’t want to get shut down by a guy who is having a real hard time succeeding in June, and that’s where we are.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 25: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates his home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on June 25, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Players and owners are the outset of contentious labor negotiations that will revolve around the financial inequities between teams. There is no doubt that teams with enormous market resources have an advantage – the high-spending Dodgers have the best record in baseball. But it is also interesting that in the backdrop of these talks, the third-lowest-spending team in baseball – the Tampa Bay Rays – are in first place in a division that includes big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.
The Royals split the four-game series with the Rays last week, but Tampa Bay is currently enjoying a five-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay Rays (48-33) vs. Kansas City Royals (35-50) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Yandy Diaz had a four-hit game against the Royals last week and has been on a tear, hitting .391/.468/.489 in the month of June, boosting his MLB-best batting average to .336. Junior Caminero is hitting .415/.468/.927 with seven home runs in his last eleven games. He has the fifth-highest hard-hit rate in baseball. Jonny Deluca is hitting .309/.356/.509 in road games.
Taylor Walls is hitting just .203/.300/.261 against lefties. Ben Williamson has a 30.6 percent line drive rate, sixth-highest in baseball. The Rays have just a 72 percent success rate in steals and are tied for being picked off the most.
The Royals will face three starters they faced last week in Tampa Bay. Griffin Jax allowed just two unearned runs in five innings against the Royals in a Rays win. He has a 2.40 ERA in 11 starts, although he has yet to go more than five innings in a start. He has given up just two earned runs in his last four outings for a 0.90 ERA.
Shane McClanahan gave up six runs against the Royals last week, although only two runs were earned. He has a 4.38 ERA on the road this year, compared to 2.21 at home. Lefties are hitting just .164/.258/.327 against him this year.
Neither team has listed a starter for Thursday, but the Rays are expected to go with Ian Seymour again, while Stephen Kolek should return from paternity leave by then. Seymour tossed six no-hit innings against the Royals as the bulk guy after opener Casey Legumina. He throws his change up 33 percent of the time, with opponents hitting just .141 against it.
The Rays have a 4.40 ERA out of their relievers, ninth-worst in baseball. Bryan Baker has converted 21 of 24 save opportunities, and he has allowed just one run in his last 14 innings. Lefties are hitting just .185/.324/.222 against Kansas-born Garrett Cleavinger. Opposing hitters have a 47.6 percent hard-hit rate against Kevin Kelly, second-highest in baseball.
The Rays are the best team in baseball at home, but are just 17-21 on the road, and they have not won a road series since mid-May. The Royals looked good in the first two games of the series last week, only to fall apart in the final two games. After a terrible weekend in Chicago, they will need to play well in the final homestand before the All-Star Game to get the bad taste out of their mouth.
Last night’s game at Wrigley Field had an air of playoff baseball from the early innings. Perhaps it was a throwback to the last time the San Diego Padres played at Wrigley Field during the Wild Card round in 2025. Or maybe it was that both the Cubs and the Padres find themselves squarely in the Wild Card hunt, more games than they’d like behind their respective division leaders, but still solidly over .500 as the calendar flips to July. It was probably amplified by the wind blowing out and one of the first truly hot days of summer. Every pitch felt like it could travel over the wall and break the game wide open.
But of course, that’s not how it went down. On a night that felt like it was destined for a high scoring affair, the Cubs and Padres battled to a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Padres tried to eke a bit more out of Jason Adam, letting him face a red hot Pete Crow-Armstrong who hit a flare of a single to left field. Then they brought in Mason Miller: their closer who throws well over 100 miles per hour, striking out more than 50 percent of the batters he’s faced in 2026 and just generally setting the standard for relief pitchers. It turns out even Mason Miller is human [VIDEO].
Seiya Suzuki sent the crowd at Wrigley Field into a frenzy as he hit a towering fly ball off the ivy, just out of the grasp of leftfielder Jase Bowen.
It was the Cubs’ 10th walkoff victory of the season. Despite the injury woes and staring down a superior Padres bullpen, the 2026 Cubs found a way. The win took them to 47-38 on the season, keeping pace in the division, 5.5 games back of the Brewers. That 10th walkoff win is the most the Cubs have had in a season since 13 walkoffs in 2015:
As we wait for tonight’s action from the corner of Clark and Addison, I wanted to look back on a few of the excellent walkoffs the Cubs have had so far this year. My top three are below, but feel free to add your favorites in the comments.
3. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s redemption
It’s been hard to find a hotter hitter in baseball than Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong in the month of June. PCA has been firing on all cylinders since late May, but part of what makes him so fun to cheer for is his humanity. He pulls off superhuman feats in the outfield and rakes at the plate, but he’s human and makes mistakes like all of us. Like allowing this inside the park home run I’m sure he’d rather forget [VIDEO].
Don’t get me wrong, a walkoff is a walkoff. They are all great in their own way. But the playoff atmosphere combined with Seiya making contact off of one of the best pitchers in baseball was pure vibes. It added to the drama that Seiya had struggled head to head against Miller:
After all, who wouldn’t struggle to make contact against a guy who throws 102 on the corners? But last night, Miller threw mostly sliders rather than his patented heat. He threw seven pitches, only one fastball. Both Alex Bregman and Seiya were ready for the offspeed pitches. The post-game celebration was pure joy [VIDEO].
1. Michael Conforto walks off the Reds
One of the strangest success stories for the Cubs this season has been Michael Conforto. The 33-year-old grabbed the last outfield spot on the bench out of Spring Training, which was honestly a bit of a surprise given Dylan Carlson’s hot spring and his ability to play center field. But Conforto has delivered as a pinch hitter, a part-time role player, really whatever role Craig Counsell has asked him to play.
On May fourth Conforto helped the Cubs continue their second 10-game winning streak of the season when he sent this Emilio pitch into the left field bleachers for his first career walkoff home run [VIDEO].
It’s hard to believe that it’s still June and we’ve already had 10 magical walkoff nights at the baseball cathedral at the corner of Clark and Addison. Maybe that’s just what happens when a talented team is beset by injuries but keeps finding ways to fly the W. Share your favorite walkoff moments in the comments below.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 16: Willson Contreras #40 of Team Venezuela looks on during batting practice prior to the 2026 World Baseball Classic WBC game presented by Capital One between Team Venezuela and Team Italy at loanDepot park on Monday, March 16, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
“It’s not easy just to show up and play with everything that’s going on in my country.”
Willson Contreras didn’t mince words following the Boston Red Sox’ victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, as shared by Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. It’s immensely difficult to operate under these circumstances, just as it is for several of his teammates.
Contreras, Ranger Suárez, Carlos Narváez, Andruw Monasterio, and Wilyer Abreu all hail from Venezuela, which was hit by twin earthquakes last week that have left at least 22,619 people affected, 5,034 injured, and 1,700 dead, according to CNN. It’s difficult to say anything more than the players have, both with their words and emotions – all of which have come out over the last several days.
Contreras let it all go following his first-inning home run on Monday. “I wasn’t feeling good the whole day. I was kind of down, sad,” Contreras said, per Healey. “I hit a homer, and of course, I tried to help [pump up] my dugout. But the first thing that I said was ‘Venezuela.’ That was the first thing that came out of my mouth.”
Suárez did his best to suppress the emotions while out on the mound for the second time since the tragedy struck, turning in another terrific performance before admitting that “it’s obviously very hard to be here when you want to be out there physically trying to help, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to do our best to try and support them.”
Abreu, who had two notable errors over the weekend, also admitted how difficult things have been, saying “It’s very hard to play right now with everything that’s going on in Venezuela, but we’re doing everything we can to stay focused on the game,” as seen on NESN.
The Red Sox, organizationally, have done what they can to support the players and their community, setting up a relief fund that will directly impact search and rescue efforts in La Guaira and Caracas. If you would like to donate, click here.
It’s nice to see that the boys are rolling, with five straight victories setting a new season high. It’s also fairly easy to feel for them through such an emotional time. We’ve spent months harping on the negatives and clinging to the positives, but for right now, it would be nice to just lend some support.
TAMPA BAY, - MARCH 16: Henry LaLane #58 of the New York Yankees pitches during the 2024 Spring Breakout Game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Saturday, March 16, 2024 in Tampa Bay, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Pitching. Pitching. Pitching.
That’s been the strength of the Yankees’ farm system for the last few years, and this week was no different. With some key bats either currently on the shelf or joining the shelf late in the week, the focus was on the mountain of arms continuing impressive seasons or taking steps forward after disappointing starts to begin impressing.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 3-3 (40-40), 2 GB in the International League East after a 3-3 week against the Indianapolis Indians (Pirates)
Run differential: +8 (+11)
Coming up: Home vs. Norfolk Tides (Orioles)
It was another tremendously close series for the RailRiders in their trip to Indianapolis, as four of the six games were decided by two runs or fewer. The three losses were by four runs combined, something that’ll surely leave a sour taste in their mouths due to poor late-game execution.
With George Lombard Jr. still out and Oswaldo Cabrera promoted due to Ryan McMahon’s injury, the cupboards are bare for a once-stacked lineup, relying significantly on recent Double-A call-ups. While Tyler Hardman and Marco Luciano have been perfectly passable, the real star has been Garrett Martin, who’s 9-for-34 with five extra-base hits in his first eight games in Triple-A. He’s one of four players in all of MiLB with 24 home runs, and the 26-year-old former UDFA is quickly making a name for himself. Unfortunately, he was placed on the injured list on Monday.
How's another Garrett Martin bomb for ya
109 mph 435 ft dead center off a low and away slider that didn't even catch his full barrel
His 3rd HR in AAA since getting promoted last week. Amazes me how this guy wasn't called up weeks ago, at minimum. This has been long overdue for… pic.twitter.com/UVqaRqhYNx
It wasn’t a fun week for the rotation. Well, except for Brendan Beck, who stayed incredibly steady with another seven innings of one-run ball on Saturday. Dom Hamel, Adam Kloffenstein, and Alexander Cornielle combined for four starts, with only one of them completing five innings. Elmer Rodríguez’s command abandoned him in his Friday start, as he walked six in four innings despite not allowing an earned run.
In the bullpen, it wasn’t a fun week. Two of the three losses saw the RailRiders holding a late lead, but losing it in the final two innings. In the other loss, Rafael Montero blew it in the sixth. Eric Reyzelman hasn’t been effective since returning from his back injury, allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday before Carlos Lagrange had a miserable outing to close the week, allowing five runs in 0.2 innings to take the loss.
Record: 2-4 (39-36), 2 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 2-4 week against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays)
Run differential: +4 (+40)
Coming up: Home vs. Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies)
Somerset was able to come up with two strong wins during their first week of the second half, but they dropped the other four in all pretty close games, with the exception of a shutout loss on Tuesday. Their first-half stats don’t matter now, so bad weeks like this won’t go well.
It was a down week for guys like Jace Avina and DJ Gladney, something the offense can seldom afford with all of their big guns from April and May earning promotions. Coby Morales (7-for-20, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB) started to get his power stroke back, now having more home runs in 2026 than in his entire professional career prior, in almost 1,000 fewer plate appearances.
If anything, it was nice to see a good week overall from a rotation that had struggled all year. Cade Smith (6 IP, 1 R, 7 K) turned in a needed quality start on Tuesday, Xavier Rivas allowed one run in five innings, Jack Cebert (5.2 IP, 2 R, 6 K) was one out shy of a quality start, Ben Hess (4.2 IP, 1 R) had his longest outing since April, and Kyle Carr picked up another eight strikeouts. Struggles continued for Chase Hampton.
The bullpen was a bit rougher. Tony Rossi hasn’t been sharp since his promotion, while Trent Sellers has fully transitioned into a reliever with mixed results. Ben Grable continued his terrific month with more scoreless relief, while guys like Matt Keating and Harrison Cohen put up zeroes in big innings.
Record: 4-5 (35-39), 3 GB in the South Atlantic League North Second Half after a 2-4 week against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays)
Run differential: +14 (+23)
Coming up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Hudson Valley tried to salvage a miserable start to the week after three consecutive one-run losses, but didn’t quite get the split after losing the series finale in the nightcap of a Sunday doubleheader. Their four losses were by five runs, and their two wins were by 18 runs.
The hottest hitter in Hudson Valley isn’t the Kaeden Kent’s or Core Jackson’s of the world, but it’s actually Wilson Rodriguez (10-for-23, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB), who’s been one of the better hitters in the entire system after an ugly April:
Wilson Rodriguez since 5/2: .297/.390/.485 – .875 OPS, 13.3 BB%, 18.4 K%, 7 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 129 wRC+
Wilson Rodriguez since 6/3: .333/.400/.640 – 1.040 OPS, 9.4 BB%, 18.8 K%, 4 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 161 wRC+
Kent, Jackson, and Eric Genther had passable weeks of their own while Enmanuel Tejeda cooled off. Shoutout to Roderick Arias, whose bat has started to show some signs of life after seemingly looking like a lost cause entering the month. He’s slashing .379/.423/.655 with six home runs in June after hitting just two with an OPS under .600 in the first two months.
Bryce Cunningham has made it three good starts in a row with another five solid innings on Tuesday. Luis Serna tallied nine strikeouts in six innings on Wednesday, but coughed up four runs, being outdone by Allen Facundo (5.2 IP, 1 R, 10 K) a day later. Rory Fox went a career-high eight innings as his recent good stretch continued, while Franyer Herrera got a seven-inning complete game shutout on Sunday.
Record: 6-3 (41-34), 0.5 GB in the Florida State League West after a 5-1 week against the Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)
Run differential: +4 (+27)
Coming up: Away @ St. Lucie Mets (Mets)
A very strong week for Tampa shook off a disappointing start to the second half, as they beat up on Dunedin by outscoring them by 13 runs on the week, dominating every game outside of a six-run defeat on Thursday.
Tampa had a strong week despite another slow week from Jackson Lovich and Hans Montero, as well as a so-so one from BMG. JoJo Jackson is really rounding back into form, but the biggest storylines have been the emergence of guys like Luis Puello and Luis Escudero. I want to focus on Escudero specifically, a 2023 international signing out of Panama who’s breaking out in a big way.
As the sample size gets bigger and bigger, his numbers continue to be eye-popping for a 5-foot-8 infielder. The 20-year-old is now slashing .297/.489/.672 with six home runs, 12 extra-base hits, and six stolen bases in 22 games. I’d say to keep an eye on him, but he sustained a left leg injury on Sunday and went on the injured list.
Luis Escudero is the most underrated NYY prospect right now
The 20yo is on no prospect lists, yet, thru 21 Lo-A games is hitting .290/.477/.661 with a 191 wRC+
The swing decisions are great, he doesn't whiff, and he hits the ball harder than you would expect given he's 5'8 pic.twitter.com/IhCOezkEWP
The pitching had another phenomenal week. Justin West got things started with eight strikeouts in five productive innings on Tuesday; Thatcher Hurd (4.2 IP, 0 R, 10 K) had the best start of his pro career on Wednesday; Henry Lalane was brilliant on Friday; Tyler Boudreau tossed six shutout innings on Saturday, and Brennan Stuprich was solid on Sunday. Wyatt Parliament was the lone weak link in a suddenly formidable rotation.
The bullpen bounced back in a big way. A hiccup by Greysen Carter notwithstanding, guys like Jose M. Rodriguez, Pedro Rodriguez, Jose Martinez, and Parker Seay settled back in after disastrous weeks last week. The real storyline, though, was Brian Hendry progressing in his rehab. The former 10th-round pick tossed three shutout innings on Saturday and has allowed just one run in 10 rehab innings across the FCL and Tampa.
Record: 21-21, 8 GB in the FCL North after a 2-3 week.
Run differential: +27
Both of the FCL Yankees’ wins this week were against the North-leading Blue Jays, but they lost the other three games and are now in danger of falling back to third in the division. It’s not fun.
Wilberson De Pena continues to lead the FCL in home runs, bashing his 12th of the season on Monday. Dexters Peralta is the only other player with even double digits in the entire league. Jose Castro cooled off a bit, Richard Matic continues to be a balanced hitter, and Leni Done is still hitting above .300. The one player especially struggling is one-time seven-figure bonus baby Francisco Vilorio, who’s below the Mendoza Line.
On the pitching side, Sabier Marte is sneakily becoming the most effective starter on the roster after another recent blowup by Omar Gonzalez. Blake Gillespie is injured, so the rotation is quite thin right now. Edinzo Marquez tossed a strong outing on Monday in relief, but the star in the bullpen continues to be 2025 UDFA Austin Breedlove out of Tennessee.
Once a DSL darling with exciting velocity as a teenager, he fell off the map after injuries stole much of his next three seasons. From 2023-25, he tossed just 53.1 combined innings in the FCL and Tampa, pitching with diminished stuff and velocity. It seemed like his stock had completely disintegrated. But similar to fellow Dominican native Carlos Lagrange, he bounced back after injuries derailed his status and now promises to become one of the most promising pitchers in the entire system yet again.
After a mediocre start to the season, Lalane has allowed just five earned runs across his last six starts, striking out 50 batters in 35.1 innings with just 10 walks to lower his season ERA to 3.09. His most recent start was his best as a pro, tossing seven shutout innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts.
His slider and changeup both registered whiff rates over 60 percent, but the most promising aspect might be his fastball’s velocity. This was the best his four-seamer has looked in years, registering an average velocity of 95.6 with 17 inches of induced vertical break. He even dialed it all the way up to 98.4 for a second-inning strikeout of Adam Hackenburg.
Full stop, this is a guy who’s shot himself firmly back into a top 10 prospects list, and with guys like Spencer Jones, Elmer Rodríguez, and maybe Carlos Lagrange potentially graduating by year’s end, we could be talking about a top 5 guy in the system again.
May 14, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) celebrates his solo home run against the Detroit Tigers with right fielder Carson Benge (3) during the third inning at Citi Field. The home run was the first of Ewing's MLB career. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
For all of the things that have gone wrong for the Mets season—and if we want to talk about anything else, let’s just leave it at that, lest we spend 1000 words outlining the various failures—the promotion and performance of both Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing has been a bright spot. And in a season with very few bright spots of any sort just yet, it’s worth noting just how bright.
Let’s just set some baselines to begin. 113 rookies have collected a hit thus far in 2026, and of those 113, Benge has the sixth most hits with 79, and Ewing ranks 25th with 41. 21 of Benge’s and 12 of Ewings hits have been for extra bases. Benge has 11 stolen bases, Ewing eight. Both have played above average outfield defense. Both were highly regarded prospects going into this season (#2 and #6, respectively, on the Amazin’ Avenue Prospect List).
Benge was being discussed for an Opening Day assignment as early as David Stearns’s post-season press conference in 2025, but it was still something of a surprise to see him make the roster out of spring training. He came out of the gate hot with a home run on Opening Day, but shortly thereafter fell into a slump that saw him make some silly defensive miscues while his batting average fell below .200 until May 6th.
Since then, Benge has been remarkably consistent at the plate. On June 6th, his batting average reached its highpoint for the season thus far at .265. It has not dropped more than 12 points since then, remaining on or around .257. All of this is worth 1.4 bWAR thus far in 2026, which puts him fifth on the club behind Juan Soto, Clay Holmes, Huascar Brazobán, and Luke Weaver.
More important than any one stat in his rookie season is the fact that Benge looks so comfortable in the big leagues. He is still learning the league, but hasn’t had a spell since he found his footing where he looked totally lost at the plate. For context, since May 13, Benge has had a higher batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage than Bo Bichette, a former All-Star who is making $42 million a year.
That isn’t to say that at the end of the season, Bichette will still be looking at Benge ahead of him in these statistics, but it’s more of a statement of just how good Benge has been at adjusting. Bichette is in the coldest stretch of his career, but it would’ve been insane to predict that Benge would be a more productive hitter halfway through the year than Bichette.
Ewing’s season started later than Benge’s, but he’s been just as impressive, if in slightly different ways. For Ewing, the story has been his defense, which at times has been flashy, but more often than not has simply been solid. He’s currently at one defensive run saved and one out above average for the season, but like with Benge, it is more telling how at home he looks in the outfield than what the stat line says at this point in his career.
Offensively, Ewing didn’t have the big dip in productivity that Benge did yet, and so his slash line of .275/.363/.416 has been more or less in line all season, though his slugging has seen a surge sine mid-June. He’ put up 1.2 bWAR, placing him fifth on the club, just behind Benge. Like both so many regular players and specifically rookies, Ewing is a prone to the strikeout, but it doesn’t look like he’s striking out always trying to hit a home run to win a ballgame. While both will obviously get amped up sometimes, both Benge and Ewing exhibit a level of cool that belies their ages.
Even if both go on long skids for the rest of the season, the Ewing and Benge experiments have worked out thus far. Things are going to get interesting if and when Tyrone Taylor, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco return to the club, as Polanco will likely need to DH, forcing Soto to play the field, while Robert and Taylor each make the other somewhat redundant with the kids on the roster.
But unfortunately for Taylor and Robert, it seems like the dye has been cast and Ewing and Benge are not just the outfielders of tomorrow, but the outfielders of today. It is a little too early to start chatter calling them the outfield equivalent of David Wright and José Reyes, but it has been a long time since two Mets’ position player rookies have come up playing next to each other with skills on both sides of the ball and have the chance to do so for a long, long time.
Jun 29, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman J.P. Crawford (3) throws to first base for a groundout against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Remember that eight-game winning streak? Believe it or not, it happened! So, why haven’t the Mariners managed to replicate anything close to that kind of consistency since then? Or before? Hmm, no, nevermind, best not to think about the beginning of the season. The Meet at the Mitt podcast recently gently poked fun (or gently vented spleens) at this team’s situation with their version of the Blame Game, which I highly recommend giving a listen. But, this post is not about assigning blame. We’re here to blindly prognosticate with hope-filled guesses on when these Mariners will get their ducks in a row and go streaking again.
I asked folks in THE FEED to name a series, date, or range of dates and then we’ll see later who got it right or closest to it. And of course, we’re gonna rate some select takes using my patented and very scientific Mariners Hot Take Ranking System:
First off, I am not singling out this post/poster for the purpose of bullying, but it touches on a subject that I’ve long wanted to sound off on. I mean no personal offense by anything that follows. The Doomers have fully checked in at this point in the season and I can definitely understand why. As we all know, this team has been remarkably not fun to watch for most of the season so far as they’ve consistently played below their true talent level and expectations and have been riddled with injuries to key players. But! It is the year 2026, friends. The Mariners have made the playoffs in two of the last four seasons. The drought is over and the era of Mariners fan nihilism, doomerism, and fatalism are on the ropes, begging for one last clean shot to the dome for the knockout that all Mariners fans have so long deserved. There may be no joy without sorrow, but I implore us all to kill the doomer in our heads. That doomer no longer serves you. Do not replace it with blind ignorance, though. No, always retain a healthy level of skepticism for all things in life. But, expecting and assuming the Mariners will fail and finding comfort in that is something I believe we should strive to put to rest. I know it’s difficult. The warm blanket of apathy and gallows humor has always been there for us. And there may come a day when we will need that blanket again. But, it is not this day. It is not this season. This is Rick Rizz’s final season in the booth. This is the 50th season of Mariners baseball. If not now, when?
This take gets a BEAVAN for out-of-vogue doomerism, artisanally crafted or not.
Poster lockonstratos says: “Tomorrow is always another day, but imagine how it’s going to feel if the get-right feel-good win streak kicks off against the Angels and the Jays when they fly back home next week. Horrors banished, skin clear, day bright, smiling for the rest of the week type of deal. That’s the kind of dream I want to manifest.”
This take is already off to a good start with a George Kirby and Cole Young-fueled win over the Angels Monday night. Beating the brakes off the Angels always rules, but staying hot against the hated ornithological foes from north of the border? Mmm, yes, I would enjoy that very much, thank you. This take is not outrageous and feels fairly achievable, yet the joy it inspires is and would be immense, so I’m giving it a BOSIO for it’s workmanlike sense of grounded joy.
Poster Chris From Bothell wrote a long, very good post, but here are the most important parts: “M’s will surge in the final 3 weeks of the season, a 15-2 stretch that sees them beat every AL West team and win every series except the one against the Rockies, part of an overall 20-7 September. They will clinch at home against Houston, and if you freeze the correct frame as he walks back to the dugout after making the final out you will see the moment that Altuve realizes he is never going to a postseason game again unless he buys a ticket.
They’ll do it with a roster that has no one on the IL for the entire month of September, a roster that includes Donovan and Brash. They’ll do it with a resurgent power burst from Cal and the best individual months of Julio, Randy and Josh’s lives. They’ll do it with every starter going 6 strong, health intact and postseason rotation ready to rock thanks to Piggyback Power. They’ll do it because Munoz will not blow a save for the entire second half of the season.
And yes, they’ll do it with the worst defense in the American League because the Mariners care about winning, they just don’t care about your feelings. If the defense drives you nuts now just wait until they make at least 1 error in every game of the World Series but beat the Dodgers in 6 anyway.”
(/huge inhale)
YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ahem, yes, very good stuff, Chris. The image you painted of Altuve gave me such electric feelings of schadenfreude that if it comes true, I could probably power a mid-sized American city with it. So, final three weeks of the season? Let’s mark it down. That means a lot more heartburn between now and September, but the payoff could obviously be worth it. Ranking this take a CLIFF LEE not due to a scorched earth nature, but because the end result could power 1000 suns.
Okay, folks, if you missed your chance to make your pick for when the Mariners will get hot again, do so in the comments. Or, debate the merits of doomerism versus hope and measured optimism. Either way, fingers crossed the hot streak starts soon and we can all start to enjoy watching this team win more games together. Go Mariners.
