Category: Baseball

The Dodgers’ recent offensive scuffing fell down the list of their most pressing issues Monday in their 2-1 win against the Minnesota Twins.

In the first three innings, the Dodgers had two key players leave the game. Right fielder Kyle Tucker exited in the top of the second because of lower back spasms, and catcher Dalton Rushing in the bottom of the third to evaluate for a possible concussion, the team said.

Tucker drew a walk in the second inning, advanced to second on Tommy Edman’s single and was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call soon after.

Tucker jogged off the field into the dugout, his hand on his right side as he talked to hitting coach Aaron Bates.

Tucker, in his first season with the Dodgers after signing a four-year deal worth $240 million this winter, entered Monday with a .705 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, on pace for his worst offensive year by that measure since his 2018 rookie season with the Houston Astros.

Tucker recently went nine games with a .303 batting average. But then he went hitless in the Dodgers’ two losses to the Batlimore Orioles last weekend.

Read more:Dodgers great Justin Turner answers your questions, names his favorite baseball guy

“If we can get him back to being who he is, then we’ll bet on the results,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game, noting Tucker’s reputation for controlling the strike zone. “It’s not something that we might see tonight. But I think going here forward, that’s something that I think we’re going to see.”

Rushing was replaced behind the plate by Chuckie Robinson in the third inning. When the Dodgers announced the reason for his exit, they did not point to an inciting incident. But Rushing did take a foul tip off his mask on opener Will Klein’s first pitch of the game.

Rushing took a moment to compose himself, putting his glove in the dirt for stability. But he remained in the game for two innings.

The Dodgers were already down one catcher. Rushing took over as the primary backstop the last two weeks with Will Smith sidelined by a neck injury. Smith did not travel with the team to Minnesota.

Lauer follows opener

Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer voiced his distaste for pitching behind an opener while with the Blue Jays. But he clarified his earlier comments in his introductory interview to begin his Dodgers tenure.

Read more:Shaikin: Why a salary cap wouldn't be enough to stop the Dodgers from winning

“If you ask most starters in the league, they would probably have the same response, that they don’t like it,” Lauer said last month. “But it doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to do it. It doesn’t mean that I’m not a team player.”

On Monday, the Dodgers asked him to follow through on that promise, entering the game in the second inning, after Klein gave up a run and two hits in the first.

“We’ve been very forthright,” Roberts said before the game. “I know he’s appreciated that. For me, just telling him the thought behind it and the why and still giving him confidence to know that we expect him to take down the most outs in the game. He’s all-in. He’s all-in on winning. I do think that just getting ahead of it, being honest with him.”

Roberts said he told Lauer the plan after Sunday’s game, explaining that he thought having Klein face the power-hitting right-handers near the top of the Twins lineup would give Lauer the best chance to go deeper into the game.

Klein surrendering a tying home run to right-handed hitting Byron Buxton wasn’t exactly part of that plan. But Lauer kept the Twins hitless for six scoreless innings. The three walks he issued accounted for the only baserunners against him.

The Dodgers scored their runs on solo homers from Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told Sen. Josh Hawley that the three San Francisco Giants pitchers who wore Bible verses on their Pride Night caps were never disciplined and never would have been. Manfred defended the league’s warning as routine enforcement.

In a June 19 letter answering the Missouri Republican, Manfred ruled out any discipline for the pitchers and put the root of the controversy on the Giants.

“The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be,” Manfred wrote.

The Giants have worn the Pride emblem under a grandfathered exception since 2023, one of the two clubs allowed to keep it after the league stopped permitting special uniforms for most celebration days. The deal carried one condition: No player could be required to wear the cap.

This year, that exception somehow did not reach the clubhouse. Manfred said the Giants’ communication with players “was inadequate and not clear.” Some pitchers did not understand they could wear the standard cap and wrote messages on the Pride version instead. They wore the altered caps the full game. The oral warning went out afterward, before the league learned of the team’s lapse.

Manfred defended the underlying rule as content neutral. It bars players from writing, attaching or affixing any message on a uniform or equipment, and he said it has applied to notes as ordinary as a message to a player’s mother or a tribute to a deceased friend. The league does not want players to become messengers for political or social causes while in uniform, he said. The rule has to apply to every message to survive a legal challenge.

He also said MLB agrees players should not be compelled to take part in a celebration that violates their sincere religious beliefs.

The response lands amid mounting legal pressure.

The Justice Department referred MLB to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 19 over possible religious discrimination. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened his own investigation a day later and subpoenaed the league’s uniform records, due July 23. Hawley had threatened to subpoena Manfred and put MLB’s antitrust exemption under review.

The incident was on June 12 at Oracle Park. Starter Landen Roupp and relievers J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on their rainbow caps, a reference to God’s covenant after the flood. A fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, apparently knew of the exception and wore a standard cap. The Giants lost to the Cubs 5-1.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rob Manfred responds to Josh Hawley over Giants Pride cap warning

MINNEAPOLIS – As if his season wasn’t already shaping into a disaster.

Outfielder Kyle Tucker had to be removed from the Dodgers’ series opener against the Minnesota Twins with lower back spasms.

The $240-million outfielder drew a one-out walk in the second inning but appeared to be injured advancing to second base on a single by Tommy Edman.

Tucker is batting .234 with six home runs and 40 runs batted in in 75 games.

Tucker’s struggles was a talking point in manager Dave Roberts’ pregame address with the media. 

“No player wants to not perform up to their capabilities,” Roberts said. 

Roberts called on Tucker to rediscover his identity as a hitter, to be “a guy that really controls the strike zone.”

“If we can get him back to being who he is, then we’ll bet on the results,” Roberts said.

Yankees catcher Ali Sanchez left Monday's 5-3 loss at the Detroit Tigers in the top of the seventh inning after getting hit by a pitch on the right wrist.

Sanchez was hit by Tigers reliever Drew Anderson on a fastball that ran up and in on him with two outs in the frame. 

Initial postgame X-rays on the catcher's wrist came back negative, but he is headed for a CT scan to get a complete image of the situation.

"Initially, he was in a ton of pain," Manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "Enough to take him out right away. Hopefully, we get clean on the CT, and it is just a day-to-day thing.

"He was in some pretty good pain there."

He was replaced on the basepaths by Austin Wells, who was just reinstated from the IL on Sunday. Wells would end up scoring on Amed Rosario's two-run homer that cut Detroit's lead to two, but New York drew no closer.

Sanchez had gone 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI-double in the second inning before exiting with the injury.

Since being called up on June 7, Sanchez is 6-for-19 (.316 batting average) with two doubles, three RBI, and a walk over 10 games.

The Yankees had just optioned catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Saturday's 10-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Cubs have struggled over the last few weeks — this should not be a surprise to you. Since their 27-12 start they’re 13-25, which is pretty bad. They’ve had the last two days as unexpected off days due to rain.

So at least the bullpen has gotten some rest, for whatever that will do to help the team’s rather beleaguered relievers.

But that’s not the only problem with this team. Many of the bats — with the exception of Pete Crow-Armstrong and maybe a couple of others — have gone silent. The starting pitching has been pretty shaky.

If you were to improve this team right now, and not wait till the trade deadline Aug. 3, what would be the first thing you’d address?

Vote in the SB Nation Reacts survey below and I’ll post the answers here later in the week.

This has been a miserable season in Queens.

The Mets entered Monday in last place in the National League East with only two NL teams owning worse records: the Giants and Rockies.

A turnaround at this point seems unlikely, since the team’s litany of issues — from injuries to key players, to poor performance from the rotation and the lineup — has left it reeling.

One of the few bright spots has been the emergence of the rookie outfielders, as Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have at least met expectations.

Now, they have to make sure they don’t get accustomed to losing.

Ewing, the 21-year-old who’s been in the majors a little over a month, acknowledged the challenge of adjusting to the majors while not winning as much as he’s used to.

“You’ve got to show up every single day,” Ewing said. “Everyone in this room is trying to win every day and putting their best foot forward whenever they’re here. There are gonna be ups and downs. Those are gonna happen, and it’s impossible to avoid them. I’m gonna keep showing up.”

That included Monday, when he was scheduled to be in the lineup against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga before the game was postponed due to rain, with plans to make it up Wednesday as part of a split doubleheader.

The Mets have been careful about which lefties the left-handed-hitting Ewing faces. While Monday was rained out, Ewing nonetheless will have to improve that part of his game in order to reach his potential.

In what has a chance of becoming a lost season for the Mets, they’re looking to see what they have in their younger players, like Ewing and Benge.

“It’s big,’’ Carlos Mendoza said of getting Ewing in the lineup versus lefties, as he has just a .437 OPS against lefty pitching, compared to .823 against righties.

“That’s part of the development at this level,’’ the manager said. “I’ve said from the beginning, he’d get some starts against lefties. We had some tough ones here and there, but I feel good about what he brings to the table. The more at-bats you give this guy, he’ll benefit from it.”

So far, so good.

After going through a horrid 13-game stretch in which he went 8-for-44 with no extra-base hits, two walks and 19 strikeouts, Ewing recovered and has hit well in 17 games since.

“There’s always a chance when the initial success a young guy has runs out that he’s gonna get stuck in that kind of slump he was in,’’ said one American League scout who has seen Ewing this season. “You watch to see if that’s gonna happen and if he’s gonna give them a reason to send him back to [Triple-A] Syracuse. That didn’t happen with him. That will probably do him some good, even with them not winning.”

The not winning part could take a toll.

Ewing said he has a way of getting around that.

“A lot of growth happens when a person or team hits adversity,’’ Ewing said. “We’re growing. Every single day, I act like we’re on a 20-game winning streak, no matter what. That gives you confidence. I’ve always believed that and as a competitor, that’s what you have to do.’’

MINNEAPOLIS – Andy Pages isn’t on social media.

Not because he’s sensitive to criticism.

But because he thought he was wasting too much time on it.

“You get on and before you know it, you’ve lost two hours,” Pages told The California Post in Spanish. “I think it’s better for me to spend those two hours studying my mechanics, studying the opposing pitchers, which will help me more.”

But if the changes in how he spends time before games has improved his on-field performance, it’s also kept him from seeing how the outside world has reacted to his breakout season.

When Pages was asked about his thoughts on being the leading vote-getter among National League outfielders in the second All-Star balloting update that was released today, he said he was unaware of it. Pages has collected more than 1.5 million votes. Brandon Marsch of the Phillies (1.26 million) and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves (1.22 million) round out the top three.

“They told me [I was leading] when the first one came out, but I haven’t seen it since,” Pages said. “It’s not something that I’m thinking about. If it happens, it happens. I can’t control that.”

But as a once-anonymous player, didn’t it feel good to be recognized the way he has?

“Obviously, you feel good about that,” he said. “It’s a reflection of the talent that I was given by God and that things are going well. With every year that goes by, people get to know you more.”

Pages said he noticed his public profile grew after his 9th-inning catch on the warning track in Game 7 of the World Series. He ran over teammate Kiké Hernández to make the play.

“Literally, the entire world saw that play,” he said. “Obviously, after that, there were people who started to know who I was. But it’s nothing I pay much attention to.”

Pages is currently tied for third in the majors with 57 runs batted in. 

Does he feel like he’s now one of the best players in baseball?

“Yes, but I don’t see that kind of commentary,” he said. “When someone comes and tells me that, I feel good. It makes me feel good about the work I’ve done to be [that] kind of player. I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to achieve what I’ve achieved.”

A former youth soccer player, Andy Pages said he is carefully watching the World Cup. He told The Post he played the sport in his homeland of Cuba until he was 12 or 13 years old.

The Dodgers’ social media team recently posted a video of Pages and other players juggling a soccer ball.

“I used to be a defender,” Pages said. “I didn’t score goals.”

Pages said he is a fan of Lionel Messi and therefore wants Argentina to win.

There aren't a lot of plays in baseball more exciting than a putout from the outfield. Indeed, Ichiro Suzuki made it one of the most iconic plays in baseball. So many things have to go right. Just ask Dasan Harris of Oklahoma.

After Oklahoma took a 2-0 lead in the road half of the second inning of June 22's decisive College World Series Game 3, the Tar Heels were threatening to answer with runners on first and second and two outs. Rom Kellis V drove a pitch from Nick Wesloski the opposite way that was fielded by Harris, and rather than going home to try and save a run, Harris instead threw a rocket to third.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES UPDATES: UNC vs Oklahoma baseball Game 3 score, highlights

The ball was fielded clean on a hop by Cam Johnson, who applied the tag to Carter French to get the Sooners out of the inning. Exacerbating the out for North Carolina, French was tagged out before Erik Paulsen crossed home plate, sending the Tar Heels out of the inning empty-handed despite a challenge from Scott Forbes that confirmed the timing.

DASAN HARRIS 🎯 @DasH_0021 // 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/1PkScnKLwd

— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 22, 2026

Harris, a former walk-on, even got another angle of the throw posted.

big time players.
big time plays.
big time games.@DasH_0021 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fp2DR4Bq4j

— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 23, 2026

It's a championship game where every run and every out will matter, so we'll see how big of a difference that throw ends up making. But there's no question Wesloski was happy for the help, and for the fortunate break that Paulsen was just a little bit behind the throw to third.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dasan Harris guns down Carter French to save run for Oklahoma in CWS

Fresh off a series win against Pittsburgh, the Rockies (30-48) will now host the Boston Red Sox (31-43) Monday through Wednesday, aiming for their seventh series win of 2026. Colorado’s seven series wins pre-All-Star are their most since winning 10 first-half series in 2023.

The matchup is a showdown between the National League’s worst team vs. the bottom dweller of the American League. B0th are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05) will be on the mound tonight for the Rockies. This will be Feltner’s fifth start since returning from the IL (right ulnar nerve inflammation) on May 30. Feltner has gone 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 16 strikeouts and eight walks in 21 innings. The Rockies have gone 2-2 in his starts.

LHP Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79) will get the start for Boston. Bennett, 25, was a second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. He was traded to Boston in December and made his MLB debut on May 1. In four starts, he’s gone five or 5.1 innings in each outing with 13 strikeouts, five walks with one homer.

The Rockies enter the season with a 10-8 record in interleague play and with a 14-18 all-time record against Boston (7-6 at Coors Field). The Rockies were swept by the Red Sox last season at Fenway Park.

Former Rockie Trevor Story is currently on the 60-IL (since June 4) with a sports hernia.

The Rockies got some good news on Monday when Mickey Moniak rejoined the team after being on the IL since May 22 with right ankle tendonitis. Read more about the Rockies roster moves here.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM KOA Rockies Radio Network; KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)

Red Sox SB Nation Site:Over the Monster

Lineups:

For the visiting Red Sox

For the home Rockies

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Formerly of the Twins, as recently as last season, Brock Stewart has been activated just in time for the Dodgers’ three-game set against Minnesota. Making room for Stewart’s presence on the roster—freshly recovered from a bone spur on his left foot—the Dodgers sent down right-hander Chayce McDermott.

McDermott’s latest stint on the big league club was short-lived, with the right-hander only appearing in one game, Sunday’s blowout, filling in as a sort of bridge between Treinen’s IL placement and Stewart’s readiness to return to the fold.

Stewart is brought up having appeared in just 5.2 innings, two of them this year, since the Dodgers reacquired him last season for James Outman in a straight swap with the Twins. With Treinen out, Los Angeles will hope to rely on Stewart as another high-leverage arm for this bullpen. The right-hander tossed a couple of scoreless frames with three strikeouts for the big league club in early May this season.

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Here’s the White Sox lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The Cincinnati Reds are itching ever-closer to getting the band back together. Considering it’s their lead singer and lead guitarist that are the pieces they’ve been missing, that’s pretty huge.

MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported earlier on Monday night that the Reds plan to activate shortstop Elly De La Cruz on Tuesday following a rehab stint spent with AAA Louisville. Despite having missed some three weeks with a right hamstring injury, Elly’s 2.1 bWAR still ranks second overall on the Reds, his .855 OPS in 257 PA a sorely missed impact bat in the heart of the team’s order.

Meanwhile, the guy who’s been their ace and All Star for the better part of three years is also on the cusp of a return to the big leagues. I only hesitate to call Hunter Greene ‘Cincinnati’s ace’ given the co-brilliance we’ve seen so far this year from Chase Burns, but Greene – when healthy – remains one of the absolute most elite starting pitchers on the planet. That said, the AAA Louisville Bats announced on Monday evening that Greene would start for them tomorrow (Tuesday) at Slugger Field.

Greene got work in at Cincinnati’s complex in Arizona and impressed for the ACL Reds previously in his rehab from preseason elbow surgery. That he’s now slated to throw at the highest levels of the minors is indicative of how close he is to making his return to the Cincinnati rotation, of course.

Maybe, just maybe, the Reds will get to run out their full squad this season before it’s too late after all.

First Pitch (CT):6:40
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo’ Foe:True Blue LA

After an ultra-successful roadtrip last week, the Twins will face their biggest test yet in the villainous, evil, powerful, omniscient Los Angeles Dodgers. However, because it’s baseball, even the best are fallible and while the Dodgers’ do have the best record in baseball, it’s only by a game or two.

How did they get here? Glad you asked. I could give you a bunch of fancy stats that show you that they’re really good, but we don’t even need that this time. The Los Angeles Dodgers have allowed the fewest runs in baseball (by a decent margin) while scoring the second most. That’s a pretty simple recipe for “best record in baseball.” Plus, they’ve done it while having All-Stars Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Edwin Diaz, Blake Treinen, and Evan Phillips miss most of the season. To say nothing of starting second baseman Tommy Edman and old friend Brock Stewart both returning from the IL this past week for the first time all season. Man, this team is DEEP.

The starting pitcher tonight is technically reliever Will Klein, but he’ll be followed by bulk man Eric Lauer, a lefty. Under Rocco Baldelli, we saw the Twins go with their right-handed lineup in these situations regardless of the opener, but that won’t be the case tonight, especially with how well Trevor Larnach has hit of late. We’ll see if Austin Martin or Kyler Fedko get brought in second time through the lineup or if Shelton will stick with the regulars and hope to get into LA’s bullpen.

Oh also there’s this guy named Shohei Ohtani. Maybe you’ve heard of him before. He’s won MVP in four of the past five seasons and is well on his way to his fifth in perhaps his most impressive season yet. Ohtani still ranks in the top five in nearly every relevant offensive category while also pitching like a Cy Young. Plus, he’s doing this in an era where both pitching and hitting are harder than they’ve ever been. He’s unquestionably the best baseball player of all time and probably the best athlete ever. It’s completely insane.

Lineups

This? Folks, this is bad. The last-place Red Sox, at 31-44, are better than the last-place Rockies, at 30-48. That’s the good news. It’s extremely relative. The Red Sox are a walking catastrophe. If it wasn’t for the Scottish fans, would Fenway have hummed even a little last week? I think not. Now they’re in baseball hell. This was once a World Series matchup. We’re as far from that as possible. And I’ll be here to recount every moment! LMAO. At least Jake Bennett is pitching. Something is potentially fun.

The Dodgers begin a nine-game road trip facing the Twins.

Monday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Twins
• Ballpark: Target Field, Minneapolis
• Start time: 4:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)