Category: Baseball

The possibility of a Major League Baseball season in 2027 could be dwindling.

MLB proposed a five-year maximum contract length for players signing with new teams via free agency during a Thursday negotiation with the MLB Players Association on the league’s next collective bargaining agreement, the league confirmed via X on Thursday afternoon.

Beginning in 2027, teams would also be able to re-sign their own players to deals of up to six years under the league’s proposed “Cornerstone Player” provision, which MLB likened to the NBA’s “Bird Rights” clause that gives teams an advantage in retaining their own free agents by allowing them to exceed the salary cap and offer larger contracts.

Free agents joining a new team would be allowed to sign a maximum deal of five years, $202 million, while the “Cornerstone Player” clause would top out at six years, $265 million.

The proposal would also eliminate deferred contracts, much like the ones utilized by the Dodgers, including for stars Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker.

Thursday’s meeting also saw the league accept MLBPA’s proposal to grant free agency to players who are 30 years old with five years of MLB service — marking a potential shift from the longstanding post-1976 standard that has generally granted free agency after six years — and eliminate the qualifying offer system, which effectively penalizes teams for signing certain free agents by attaching draft-pick compensation.

MLB also proposed what it called a “historic” increase to the league minimum salary, raising it from $780,000 to $1 million for players with at least two years of service and guaranteeing players with less than two years of service $1 million in total compensation if they accrue a full year of service.

“Every other major U.S. sport has tackled this problem, and every year more small-market teams in those leagues have a chance to win. The salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field, allowing us greater flexibility to address longstanding player priorities while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50,” MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said.

“Today, in addition to proposing the largest ever increase in the minimum salary, earned by over half of MLB players, we accepted two landmark changes to free agency that have been in place for 50 years. We agreed to both the MLBPA’s proposal to provide earlier access to free agency, and their proposal to eliminate the qualifying offer system, a provision players view as a drag on free agency.”

MLBPA blasted Thursday’s negotiations and proposals as “misleading” and part of an agenda that would lead to “suppressing player salaries and maximizing club profits.”

“These misleading offers are designed to look like ‘improvements’ but are of little or no value, given they are expressly conditioned on agreement to the league’s cap system which eliminates the free market, and ensures gains for one player only come at the expense of another,” the union said in a statement.

The latest round of negotiations comes a week after MLBPA ripped the league over a proposed overhaul of the draft, which would remove high school players from draft eligibility until after their sophomore year of college and cut the draft from 20 rounds to 12 while reducing the bonus pool from $358.7 million to $200 million.

Late last month, MLB formally proposed a hard salary cap that would require every MLB team to maintain a payroll between $171.2 million and $245.3 million. It would force several big market teams, including the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees, to significantly cut their spending.

The league’s push for a salary cap has been met with fierce resistance, and MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer put the onus on MLB to avoid a lockout in 2027.

“As I said in the past, it’s highly, highly likely that they’re going to lock us out again,” Meyer said Thursday, noting that another meeting is expected ahead of the July All-Star break, per The Athletic.

“Ultimately, that’s up to them.”

The Mets had at least something go right for them, as Juan Soto avoided the injured list and was back in the lineup for the series finale against the Cubs after exiting Tuesday’s game with back tightness.

Carlos Mendoza hoped pregame that Soto — who also missed time earlier this season with a calf injury — would be able to play, prompting the Mets to release their starting lineup later than expected until they received some clarity.

He hit third and served as the designated hitter, with MJ Melendez in left field.

Mendoza, who didn’t have any clarity on when Soto could return to the outfield, was satisfied that Soto even wanted to play — as opposed to just being available as a pinch-hitter after missing both games Wednesday.

“That’s a good sign,” Mendoza said.

A trip to the IL would’ve been another nightmare for the Mets in a season full of them.

Soto, who entered Thursday’s game with a .299 average, .965 OPS and 17 homers, has been one of the only pieces of their lineup to produce.

Francisco Lindor just returned from his calf strain Wednesday and Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disc herniation), Jorge Polanco (left Achilles bursitis, right wrist contusion) and Marcus Semien (left hip flexor strain) are all on the injured list.

And the Mets’ hope that Soto was only day-to-day turned out to be accurate.

He avoided another stint on the IL after missing 15 games in April. The Mets, for once, caught an injury break.

For the sixth time in his MLB career, Shohei Ohtani has been selected to the All-Star Game.

While the rest of this year’s All-Star rosters won’t be announced until next week, Ohtani was able to punch his ticket early on Thursday, courtesy of receiving the most overall votes in the initial round of fan balloting.

By garnering more than 3.3 million selections from fans, Ohtani easily outpaced all other National League players, ensuring he will be the starting DH in the Midsummer Classic.

His total was also more than 100,000 greater than Blue Jays infielder and top American League vote-getter Ernie Clement, who earned the automatic spot in the AL starting lineup.

Ohtani, a four-time MVP, has now been to the All-Star Game in all three of his seasons with the Dodgers and each of the last six going back to his first MVP season with the Angels in 2021.

The two-way star should have plenty of fellow Dodgers teammates heading with him to Philadelphia, as well.

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The club had six other players advance to the second round of voting: catcher Will Smith, first baseman Freddie Freeman, third baseman Max Muncy, shortstop Mookie Betts and outfielders Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernández.

They could have a couple pitchers make the team, as well, most notably Yoshinobu Yamamoto and potentially Justin Wrobleski.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Reinstated from the restricted list and activated: OF Max Kepler (No. 22)
• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: RHP Juan Burgos (No. 52)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following last night’s game: OF Tim Tawa + LHP Mitch Bratt
• Transferred to the 60-day injured list: RHP Ryne Nelson (strained right elbow)

A fair bit to unpack here, though none of the moves are a particular surprise. Interesting to see Bratt sent right back down. He won’t be eligible to come up again for a bit, so we’ll need a different arm to start Monday’s game, back at Chase against the Giants. Will that be Brandon Pfaadt? Probably not. He hasn’t pitched since the 20th, and only threw 52 pitches. There’s no time to get another start in and then have him pitch again on Monday, except on very short rest (he’s not starting tonight for the Aces either). Oh, well. That’s an issue for Mike Hazen to figure out. We just report things.

Nelson goes to the 60-day IL, confirming what we largely knew, that he won’t be back until late August at the very earliest. That opens up the 40-day spot for Kepler, who replaces Tawa on the active roster. I find myself in two minds about the new arrival. Of course, he’s a Diamondback and I want him to do well. But he’s also a convicted PED user, and doesn’t seem to have made even the token noises about it. So I also want him to go into a slump of Fernando Tatis Jr.-esque proportions. Be also get the return of Juan Burgos, who kinda sucked last year, after coming over from Seattle at the trade deadline. A 6.59 ERA this year in Reno isn’t exactly encouraging.

The weather for this one looks distinctly iffy, so may be interrupted or not completed. Jack wrote earlier, “Looking at the radar from 6:45-8:00 it looks like VERY heavy rain with more coming in behind that” Given it’s a Zac Gallen start, perhaps “pray for rain”, as the old proverb went, might be the best option. Him going three innings, and the game being called as a no-content, sounds like a plan. If it needs rescheduled, common off days for the two teams are Thursdays July 23, August 13, September 10 + 17, and Monday September 21. September 10 might work: Arizona would be coming back from Kansas City and St. Louis from San Francisco. August 13 (AZ going to Atlanta, STL at home) is another possibility.

SAN FRANCISCO — Landen Roupp was in line for his first win since April 26, and the Giants were positioned to complete their first sweep of the season.

It all fell apart, like so much else this season, thanks to their bullpen.

Roupp limited the Athletics to two runs over six innings and Jung Hoo Lee delivered a bases-clearing triple that, combined with Victor Bericoto’s two-run blast that followed, gave San Francisco a four-run lead.

The problem was that they needed the bullpen to protect it for three innings.

“Yeah, it wasn’t good,” manager Tony Vitello said a short while later. “I mean, we gave up a touchdown in the last three innings.”

Ryan Walker, Erik Miller and Dylan Smith allowed the A’s to cut into the lead in the seventh and eighth innings, and it evaporated once and for all in the ninth against closer Caleb Kilian.

The result: a 9-6 loss in the series finale that they led 6-2 when the bullpen took over. A 26th series they failed to sweep. And a 10th consecutive start in which Roupp failed to earn a win. Roupp’s winless streak is the longest the Giants have gone without winning in one pitcher’s starts since 2008.

The A’s scored in each of the final three innings, totaling seven runs against the Giants’ bullpen.

“You could talk about some balls finding the hole or a broken-bat hit, things like that,” Vitello said. “But the bottom line is we need to do better.”

Kilian, named the closer earlier this month, never recovered after speedy leadoff man Henry Bolte beat out an infield single to the opposite side that Casey Schmitt was shaded.

A wild pitch put the potential tying run on second base with nobody out, but Kilian retired Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers to make it through the meatiest part of the A’s order. 

Then, he issued a two-out walk to Tyler Soderstrom and didn’t record another out.

Jonah Heim, Lawrence Butler and Max Muncy singled home four runs off Kilian before Matt Gage finally recorded the third out of the inning, with a one-run lead now a three-run deficit.

The blown save was Kilian’s second in seven chances, the Giants’ 10th as a team in 26 save opportunities and San Francisco’s fifth loss in 34 games it has led after eight innings. Their five losses when leading after eight are tied for fourth most in MLB.

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The seven runs allowed by the Giants’ relievers raised their ERA in June to 6.38. Their 5.09 mark dating back to the start of May ranks as fifth worst in the majors.

Kilian, however, hadn’t been part of the problem, boasting nine scoreless outings in a row when he emerged from the bullpen.

So much for that streak — and the Giants’ hopes of breaking out the brooms.

What it means

Roupp turned in his second consecutive quality start, limiting the A’s to two runs over six innings with six strikeouts to only one walk, but will still have to wait to get into the win column again.

Who’s hot

What a couple days it’s been for Bericoto.

The Giants left fielder was in the starting lineup Wednesday for the first time since June 10 and spent the entire game trying to find out if his family was OK following two massive earthquakes in his native Venezuela, also home to Luis Arraez and injured reliever Jose Butto.

That was on his mind when he fired a 93 mph laser beam to nab a runner at home plate and when he crushed the 445-foot walk-off home run in the 2-1 win.

Bericoto, it turned out, wasn’t done.

He unleashed another throw on the money from left field in the fourth inning Thursday. This one (clocked at 94.2 mph — the hardest by a Giants outfielder since 2018) went to second base, where Soderstrom was dead to rights trying to extend a single into a double leading off the inning.

Practically replicating his game from a day before, Bericoto followed up his throw with an almost identical homer — also 445 feet to center field — to drive in the final two of five runs in the sixth.

Bericoto, as well as benchmate Jonah Cox, each got rare starts the past two games because lefties were on the mound for the A’s. Maybe Vitello will try to mix in more playing time moving forward. 

Who’s not

Kurtz presented the biggest threat in either lineup this series.

Turns out, there was nothing to fear.

The A’s slugging first baseman came up 13 times over the three games and didn’t record a hit. The major-league RBI leader, with 61 entering the series, drove in only one run. He beat out a would-be double play with runners on the corners in the fifth.

He struck out in his first two tries against Roupp, including with two on and one out in the third, and earned a hat trick by going down swinging with the tying run on second in the ninth.

Up next

The Giants see the Braves again after winning both games the teams played in between downpours last week in Atlanta. It will be Trevor McDonald against Reynaldo Lopez in the series opener Friday night, with first pitch set for 7:15.

This evening, MLB announced the results of the first phase of All-Star voting on MLB Network. Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger earned enough votes to advance to Phase 2.

The top overall vote-getter in the American League was Ernie Clement (that a decent player like Clement leads the voting brings into question what exactly it is that we’re doing here, but that’s a story for another day), meaning that he has already earned a starting spot on the AL squad. The top two vote-getters at every (top six in the case of outfielders) now advance to the second phase of voting, with the exception of Clement’s position of second base. Vote totals are reset after Phase 1, so the slate will be swept clean before Phase 2 begins, and the winners at each position will go on to start the All-Star Game.

Despite the rib injury that has kept him out for a few weeks now, Judge leads the way for the Yankees, his 2,567,404 votes the most for New York and the most among AL outfielders. Mike Trout, in the midst of a resurgent season but also unfortunately injured, finished second. In third is Byron Buxton, and in fourth is Cody Bellinger, whose excellent all-around contributions have helped the Yankees thrive even without Judge. More Blue Jays, Daulton Varsho and Jesús Sánchez, round out the top six among outfielders; the top three vote-getters in Phase 2 will start across the outfield in the All-Star Game.

Also advancing to Phase 2 is Rice, who finished second at first base but should have finished first, his 2026 campaign easily outstripping that of the actual first-place finisher Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Rice has morphed into one of the game’s finest hitters, and his OPS+ dwarfs that of Vladito (167 to 98). Now, Rice has a shot to start at first if he can defeat Guerrero in Phase 2, but he has work cut out for him, with Canada doing its best to vote for their Blue Jays.

The top vote-getters across the rest of the field are as follows:

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was on the fringes of contention, but he had little chance against the juggernaut that is Clement, ultimately finishing fourth at second base. Otherwise, the only other Yankee to finish in the top five at their position was Giancarlo Stanton, who came in fourth at DH.

Voting in Phase 2 will begin on Monday, June 29th, and lasts until noon ET on July 2nd.

Game one of four with the Godless Texas Rangers.

Lineups:

The Cubs needed to make a move for a starting pitcher after losing two in the last week, and when Mets southpaw David Peterson became available, the deal was done.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer said Peterson's name was someone they've been talking about as a potential trade target for "quite a while," and his manager echoed those sentiments when talking about the team's newest acquisition.

"This is something we’ve been talking about for a while. And from a timing perspective, we have some needs," Craig Counsell said ahead of Thursday's series finale. "But we’re hopeful we can get a starting pitcher that can solidify some things in a time of need for us and hopefully give him a fresh start and get back to some of the success he’s had."

A fresh start is something Peterson and the Mets needed. After struggling earlier this season, Peterson found himself yo-yoing between the rotation and bullpen as the Mets tried to cobble together viable starters. Through 16 games (eight starts), Peterson is 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA after being an All-Star a season ago. With Peterson set to take the mound for Chicago this weekend in Milwaukee, Counsell and the Cubs are hopeful they can unlock that All-Star caliber pitcher. 

When asked how the Cubs' infield defense can help, Counsell boasted his team's skill in that department. 

"This is a pitcher among the league leaders of getting the ball on the ground. The ball is going to be in play and that’s something we’re good at," Counsell said. "This is the strength of our team, is playing defense and converting balls into outs. He’s the type of pitcher who benefits most from defense." 

This season, Peterson has a 53 percent groundball percentage, which is in the 89th percentile in MLB, according to Baseball Savant. The Cubs are an MLB-best 37 OAA -- the Mets are 20th with -8. The Cubs have committed 31 errors, tied for the fifth-fewest in MLB, while the Mets have committed 51, tied for the fourth-most in baseball. 

Those numbers were inflated after the Mets' six-error game in the second of their doubleheader on Wednesday night. 

"There’s always going to be some tweaks that you try to make," Counsell said when asked how the Cubs can help Peterson. "Baseball is a team game. One of the ways that we think we can help him is to provide something that is important to him that we do pretty well."

The Cubs entered Thursday with a 0.5-game lead over the Padres for the third and final Wild Card spot.

Fresh off a win over the back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner to clinch the series in Detroit, the Yankees head to Boston with Cam Schlittler set to take the ball in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway. We are almost to the midway point of the season, and through five meetings the first-place Yankees hold a 4-1 edge in the season series over the Red Sox. Do not forget, one game was rained out a few weeks ago and will be made up in August.

Boston counters tonight with the Robin, thus far, in Schlittler’s Batman story: Connelly Early. The last time these two faced off was Schlittler’s breakout performance back in October. We all remember how that went! But just so we can all see that final line one more time, Schlittler went eight scoreless frames while striking out 12 batters on 107 beautiful pitches. Early went 3.2 innings and struck out six but gave up four runs (three earned), the defense behind him offering no favors in a sloppy fourth.

Early has been good this season, entering tonight at 6-5 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. However, the month of June has not been as kind to the young lefty. During the month, opponents have hit .293 against him, and he has surrendered five home runs in 20.2 innings, leading to a 5.66 ERA.

On the flip side, June has also been Schlittler’s least dominant month of the season. When you are a Cy Young frontrunner, though, those numbers still look pretty good. This month Schlittler is 1-1 over four starts with a 2.35 ERA. Most of the damage came against Cleveland, and over his last three starts he has tossed 15.2 innings while allowing only two runs. In two starts against Boston this season, Schlittler has allowed just two runs in 13.2 innings.

In the batter’s box, the Yankees have held their own as injuries have tested the organization’s depth. Since Aaron Judge landed on the injured list, the Yankees have gone 11-9, a pace that would translate to roughly 90 wins over a full season. Though the offense has been volatile, including being shut out four times this month, it is still averaging 4.65 runs per game, a mark that would rank inside the top 10 in baseball this season.

Paul Goldschmidt has shown everyone he is not ready for the rocking chair on the front porch just yet. He has surged to a 1.050 OPS in June with eight home runs. Including two yesterday off of Tarik Skubal. On the season, Goldy is hitting .408 against left-handed pitching, and 8 of his 14 home runs have come against southpaws. When the Yankees have needed him most, the veteran has not only stepped up but has performed at an MVP-caliber level since the Captain went down.

Boston’s offense owns a .244 team batting average, ranking 15th in the majors. Its .312 on-base percentage ranks 23rd, and its 64 home runs rank second-to-last. The Red Sox looked better toward the end of May but have stumbled to a 7-12 record in June.

Boston’s hottest hitter this month has been erstwhile Baby Bomber Caleb Durbin, who is slashing .317/.343/.587. Another previous Yankee, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, has also contributed. IKF had an uninspiring April, a solid May, and has been about what you would expect in June: slightly below league average, which is pretty typical IKF (though he’s now injured). Just to finish the note, Boston will start three consecutive former Yankee farmhands tonight in Durbin, Anthony Seigler, and Carlos Narváez at 6-7-8.

The southpaw Early means a lofty spot for lefty killer Amed Rosario, who bats third. Partner-in-crime Goldschmidt will lead off, and while Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger are also in the top four, they can handle lefties, too. The lineup is fairly straightforward from there. Austin Wells gets the nod behind the plate over J.C. Escarra, batting ninth.

Every Schlittler start feels like a gift. Every chance to watch him face a last-place Red Sox club is just the bow on top. Bombers in Beantown, let the showdown begin!

How to watch

Location: Fenway Park — Boston, MA

First pitch: 7:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, NESN, MLB Network

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, WEEI 93.7

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Detroit Tigers (34-45) vs. Houston Astros (39-43)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Troy Melton (4-0, 2.56 ERA) vs. RHP Tatsuya Imai (4-3, 6.15 ERA)

Major League Baseball's All-Star Game is about three weeks away and Phase 1 of voting is over. While fans will still have time to vote for their favorite players, only finalists will be available for voting to start in this year's game from now on.

Two players at each infield position, plus a designated hitter and six outfielders, are now the only players capable of starting this year's All-Star Game, with the leading vote-getters in each league from Phase 1 earning automatic bids into the All-Star Game.

So who earned those automatic bids, and which players are still in the voting pool ahead of the Midsummer Classic? Here are the finalists at each position.

More: Nine MLB standouts who could be first-time All-Stars in 2026

Another week, another reminder that being a Rays fan means constantly screaming into the void about depth (I assume you saw Matz goes back to the IL) while the front office continues to do its best impression of a magician pulling rabbits out of hats.

We threw up the latest Rays Reacts survey asking the community the big question of adding to the depth (or a the starting lineup!), and as we sit at 45-33 and in the thick of the AL East & wild card picture, let’s see the results.

A majority — 52% — want the team to get aggressive in the trade market on both sides of the ball. That tracks with what we’ve been seeing on the field and in the comments.

Despite all but three bats in the lineup going ice cold lately…

…the Rays are still sitting pretty (+7 GB) in the wild card mix, and using the season long view the window feels open.

Will the Rays make the playoffs? You can wager on that opinion with our friends at FanDuel, who sponsored this post!

Go Rays

The Nats have lost in truly heartbreaking fashion back to back nights. However, they still have a chance to salvage a split tonight. It will be a tall task though. Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez is on the mound, and he is having a truly special season.

The big news for the Nats is that CJ Abrams is out again with his side injury. Blake Butera did say he was available off the bench though. That means Nasim Nunez will play shortstop, Jorbit Vivas will be at second and Curtis Mead is at third. With a lefty on the mound, Andres Chaparro will play first. James Wood will DH and Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews will be in the outfield. Cade Cavalli looks to bounce back from a rough outing in Tampa.

Kyle Schwarber is back in the lineup for the Phillies at DH. Bryce Harper will move to first and Alec Bohm is back at third base. There is no Edmundo Sosa in the lineup today with the righty on the mound. As mentioned up top, the Phillies will have their ace Cristopher Sanchez on the bump

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats should be looking to finish the sweep, but unfortunately that is not the case because the bullpen is a flaming pile of garbage. A split would help bring some of the good vibes back though. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

Hoo boy, it has suddenly gotten tense in Braves Country. The Atlanta Braves are on a serious skid and it doesn’t help that their once-massive lead in the division has already been cut significantly as well. A spark (and maybe some major acquisitions ahead of the trade deadline) is needed at the moment so that hopefully this thing can get back rocking and rolling for our Braves.

In the meantime, we’ve got an off day here so now it’s time to relax and enjoy things before things get tense again for tomorrow’s action.

What am I watching?

USA! USA! USA! USA! The United States Men’s National Team (or USMNT for short) is in action tonight in their final match of the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They’ll be kicking off against Türkiye at the same time as Paraguay faces Australia and the good news is that since the USMNT has already won the group, the pressure is off a little bit and they can use this as a bit of a tune-up for the knockout rounds. As long as nobody gets hurt, any result is okay but I think we all want to see the US go ahead and make it three wins in a row, right? Kickoff is at 10:00 p.m. ET on the nose.

If nothing in the above paragraph appealed to you at all, there’s still good ol’ fashioned baseball on. The hate-watch is obviously taking place in Washington as the Phillies face the Nationals but with the way things are going now, all that’s going to do is make you upset as the Phillies continue to play at a scorching-hot pace. That game starts at 6:45 p.m. ET.

The other hate-watch is taking place in New York, where the Mets will be taking on the Cubs. Old friend Dansby Swanson essentially torched the Mets yesterday as he racked up a whopping 11 RBI across two games yesterday. You can take a guy out of Atlanta but you can’t take the Atlanta (aka taking great joy in beating up on the Mets) out of the guy, eh? First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET.

So yeah, there’s the guide for tonight. You can choose your own journey, I’m not your boss. Let us know what you’re doing or how you’re feeling or if we should just let the Earth swallow us up into a bottomless pit so we can just navigate the abyss. Have a good evening, y’all!

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (39-43) begin a 4-game series vs. the Detroit Tigers (34-46) at Comerica Park tonight.

RHP Tatsuya Imai (4-3, 6.15 ERA) will start for the Astros vs. Tigers RHP Troy Melton (4-0, 2.56 ERA). Tonight will be Imai’s 1st career appearance vs. the Tigers.

ROAD TRIPPIN: Tonight is the 4th game (2-1 thus far) of a 7-game road trip for the Astros. They were 2-1 at TOR on the 1st stop of the trip.

Road Recovery: The Astros are 12-7 in their last 3 road trips combined. They have have posted an 18-13 record on the road since going 1-9 on their 1st road trip of the 2026 season.

Road Bats: The Astros are T-1st in the AL in road batting avg. at .251. They also rank 2nd in road HR (56), SLG (.417) and OPS (.740) and 3rd in OBP (.326).

ASTROS-TIGERS: The Astros took 2 of 3 games from the Tigers last week at Daikin Park (June 15-17). The 2 clubs will play all 7 of their scheduled games between June 15-28. In 2025, the Astros and Tigers finished with identical 87-75 records, with the Tigers earning the final AL Wild Card spot due to winning the season series vs. HOU.

Recent Success: Since 2022, the Astros are 18-10 vs. DET with a 7-4 record at Comerica Park.

ABOUT IMAI: RHP Tatsuya Imai will make his 11th start of the season tonight and the 1st of his career vs. DET.

In his last start on June 19, Imai tallied a career-high 11 K’s en route to a 9-3 win vs. CLE (6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER).

Solid Stretch: Since May 25, Imai is 3-1 in his 5 starts with a 4.56 ERA (12 ER/23.2IP) with 27 K’s in 23.2 IP.

The No-No: Imai was the starting pitcher in the Astros combined no-hitter on May 25 at TEX, hurling 6.0 hitless innings on that historic night. In January, the Astros signed Imai to a three-year deal. In 2025, he was an All-Star for the Seibu Lions in the NPB in Japan, where he went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA (35ER/163.2IP) in 24 games.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Astros have now won 4 cons. series for the 1st time in 2026, posting an 8-4 record in that span. The last time that the Astros won that many series in a row was when they won 5 straight, from June 20-July 6 of last season (went 12-3 in that stretch). Adding to that note from last season, the Astros did not lose a series between May 22-July 6, going 13 consecutive series without losing one (11-0-2 in series during that stretch).

CLOSE CALLS: The Astros are now 16-10 in 2-run games, 8-4 in 1-run games and 4-4 in extra innings.

ROSTER MOVE: Effective today, the Astros reinstated RHP Bryan Abreu from the Restricted List. LHP Colton Gordon was optioned to Triple A Sugar Land following last night’s game.

THE SLOW TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, over the last month or so (May 21-June 24), the Astros are 19-12 (.613), which is the 2nd-best record in the AL in that span.

Top Records since May 21 (AL)

1. NYY: 18-11 (.621)

2. HOU: 19-12 (.613)

RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 3 of 4, 6 of 8 and 8 of their last 12 games.

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez has had a torrid 1st half to his season, currently leading all of baseball with a 1.069 OPS. Additionally, he leads the AL in SLG (.634), OBP (.435), TB (185), is T-1st in HR (25), 2nd in batting avg. (.322) and T-2nd in RBI (56).

Alvarez, who was the AL Player of the Month for May, is hitting .382 (29×76) in June with 5 HR and 17 RBI with a 1.121 OPS (.489 OBP/.632 SLG).

ALL-STAR VOTING: Yordan Alvarez leads all AL DH’s in All-Star voting, per MLB’s update on Monday. His 1,974,459 votes rank 2nd in the AL and 3rd overall in the Majors.

PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has been one of the best in the AL, posting a 2.75 clip (41ER/134IP) in that span. The Astros are 22-15 since May 15.

OKERT’S 0’s: LHP Steven Okert has not allowed a run in his last 17.0 innings, which is the longest scoreless streak by an Astros hurler this season and the 3rd-longest by a reliever in the Majors this season. In his current streak, which spans 14 appearances, and began on May 23 at CHC, Okert has allowed just 8 hits in those 17.0 innings pitched.

Longest 2026 Scoreless Streaks – Relievers

1. Luke Weaver: 21.1 IP (active)

2. Chad Patrick: 18.1 IP

3. Steve Okert: 17.0 IP (active)*

*Okert’s streak is the longest by a LH reliever in ‘26.

HADERADE: In his 10 appearances since coming of the IL on June 3, opponents are just 2×32 off LHP Josh Hader. Hader has posted a 0.90 ERA (1ER/10IP) and is 6-for-6 in save opportunities (.063 opp. avg., .040 WHIP).

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2022 – In the Bronx, 3 Astros hitters combine for a masterful, 3-0 no-hitter over the Yankees. RHP Cristian Javier is the main cog, punching out 13 batters with just 1 walk in 7.0 innings of work. RHP Hector Neris hurls a hitless 8th inning and RHP Ryan Pressly hurls a hitless 9th to preserve the no-hitter. Jose Altuve and J.J. Matijevic each hit solo HRs to provide the offense.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, June 25, 5:40 p.m. CT

Location: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI

TV: SCHN

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)