Baseball News
The Dodgers (48-27) host the Orioles (35-41) for a three-game series over Father’s Day Weekend at Dodger Stadium.
Roki Sasaki (3-4, 4.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) takes the mound for the Dodgers in the series opener Friday night.
Rookie Trey Gibson (1-2, 5.91 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) makes his first career start against the Dodgers.
Even though this was a June game between two teams separated by over nine games in the standings, there was no lack of drama or fireworks in a gritty Detroit Tigers win over the Chicago White Sox. It felt like a division-rivalry showdown for the first time in a while — and the Tigers had the last laugh.
The fireworks started early when Randal Grichuk, who came into the game with a .364 average against Tarik Skubal, paid tribute to Snoop Dogg when he smashed a home run 420 feet to put the White Sox on the board. Not to be out done, Matt Vierling took advantage of a fastball a little too much in the zone, hitting it over the fence for a two-run homer as the third Detroit batter in the bottom of the first inning.
For the next few innings, it was your average White Sox gritty affair. Both teams had plenty of chances, but some nice defensive plays and missed opportunities kept the Tigers ahead until the top of the fifth inning. In the fifth, there were fireworks.
With runners on the corners, Tristan Peters brought in a run on what was originally called a double play on a badly-missed call by first bace umpire Stu Scheurwater. Scheurwater’s gaffe was reversed, and at some point over the next few batters, things got chippy. While the White Sox couldn’t take advantage and grab the lead, they clearly got under the skin of Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal. After striking out Colson Montgomery, Skubal and Mike Vasil had more than a few words for each other as Skubal walked to the dugout. While it was impossible to read their lips, I’m sure they weren’t congratulating each other on their solid seasons so far.
The cameras tried to catch some more fire between the two pitchers, but there were no more pleasantries exchanged between the two sides in the sixth inning. With that being said, the cameras caught a different explosion in the form of Junior Perez’s first big league homer, as he gave the South Siders the lead once again. Tigers manager AJ Hinch had seen enough out of Skubal and he departed in the middle of the sixth. This time, Skubal didn’t have any more fiery words for Vasil as he hung his head leaving toward the dugout, in line for the loss in his first start in Detroit since his IL stint.
Unfortunately, Chicago’s good vibes didn’t last long. The Tigers took back the lead in what resembled a sparkler more than a firework when a bloop single dropped just before Peters could get under it in the bottom of the sixth. With the runners going on contact with two outs, two runs came around to flip the lead back in favor of the Tigers.
The White Sox continued to scratch and claw their way through the game, but unfortunately, they ran out of firepower once Skubal departed. After the southpaw was pulled, the Tigers bullpen allowed just one hit and struck out four over the last 11 batters they faced.
While the loss is certainly disappointing, it was a solid showing against one of the best pitchers in baseball. With much more “gettable” pitchers on deck for Detroit, there is still a good chance the South Siders can take this series.
The Yankees extended their lead atop the AL East standings with a 5-0 win in their series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
Cam Schlittler dazzled on this muggy summer night at Yankee Stadium, setting a new career high with 13 strikeouts.
-Schlittler's first pitch of the game got away from him and plunked Reds outfielder Blake Dunn. Schlittler immediately neutralized the situation, first with a "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play as catcher J.C. Escarra caught Dunn trying to swipe second before Schlittler struck out Sal Stewart with a nasty sinker to end the top of the first inning.
-The Yankees squandered a run-scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first frame, as a one-out ground-rule double into the right field stands off the bat of Jasson Dominguez was nullified by a Cody Bellinger groundout and a Paul Goldschmidt strikeout.
-Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. couldn't complete a potential groundout with nobody out in the top of the second inning, as Reds designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe reached first base on his throwing error. Thankfully for the Yankees, Schlittler brought his best stuff and recorded three strikeouts to get out of the inning.
-Chisholm more than made up for his error leading off the bottom of the second, sending a Rhett Lowder pitch to the second deck in right field for a 390-foot solo shot. It didn't get any easier for Cincinnati's righty starter, who issues back-to-back walks to Spencer Jones and Anthony Volpe before recording an out in the inning. Ben Rice took advantage with a two-out three-run home run which went a mammoth 433 feet to right-center field. Lowder struck out Dominguez to end the inning with the Yankees leading 4-0.
-Schlittler's signature three-fastball mix (sinker, four-seam, and cutter) was deadly tonight. Of his 96 pitches, just three were off-speed in the form of three curveballs. He struck out a career-high 13 batters through 6 scoreless innings. At this point, the 25-year-old is firmly in the mix -- if not the outright front-runner -- for the AL Cy Young Award.
-Jake Bird relieved Schlittler in the top of the seventh, the lead still 4-0 Yankees with neither offense having been able to generate any momentum throughout most of the game to this point. Bird engineered a flawless inning, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts.
-Brent Headrick kept the good vibes rolling for the Yankees bullpen, as the lefty reliever recorded a scoreless eighth inning despite issuing a two-out walk to JJ Bleday.
-Goldschmidt's 10-game hitting streak was halted, as the first baseman went 0-for-4. Meanwhile, Chisholm stole his 21st base of the season in the bottom of the eighth. Reds righty reliever Zach Maxwell then walked Jones before Volpe capitalized with runners on first and second, lining an RBI single to left field, the shortstop's third time reaching base on the night. The inning ended with New York leading 5-0.
-David Bednar took care of business in the top of the ninth, retiring the side and striking out two Reds batters in the process to seal the 5-0 win for the Yankees.
Schlittler lowered his ERA to 1.71 and his WHIP to 0.89 in his dominant outing and didn't walk a single Reds batter.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. homers and puts the Yankees up 1-0! pic.twitter.com/gkg4jPqKP4
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 19, 2026
Three-run home run for Ben Rice!! pic.twitter.com/Leeoc8TENd
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 19, 2026
Cam Schlittler is up to TWELVE strikeouts in FIVE innings🤯pic.twitter.com/HSq5Bhv9s1
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 20, 2026
Anthony Volpe sends Jazz Chisholm Jr. home on a RBI single!pic.twitter.com/7AaqBqNitI
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 20, 2026
The Yankees continue their three-game homestand against the Reds Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m.
The pitching matchup slated for the game is RHP Will Warren (7-1, 3.47 ERA) for New York and LHP Andrew Abbott (4-4, 3.95 ERA) for Cincinnati.
The Mariners – Red Sox kick off a series today with two dueling pitching strategies. The Red Sox, knowing how left-handed heavy the Mariners are, will be starting a trio of lefties, causing the Mariners to make a roster move to get more right-handed (read more in the “roster move” section). Meanwhile, the Mariners will be utilizing the piggyback again, starting Bryce Miller. John wrote about the benefits of returning to the piggyback; read more here if you missed it.
This is the first time the Mariners will face the Red Sox this season. Get up to speed with the series preview here.
Lineups:
It’s Juneteenth, so the Mariners are wearing their Steelheads jerseys instead of the City Connects.
No nice graphic for the Red Sox, who made a last-minute lineup change. Isiash Kiner-Falefa is scratched with forearm soreness; Durbin moves up, and Marcelo Mayer – who missed yesterday with an illness but is apparently now well enough to play – enters the lineup.
Roster move:
If you’re wondering who Wilson is in the lineup, it’s not Will Wilson magically returned from the 60-day IL; it’s newly-signed Weston Wilson. He’s basically a right-handed Miles Mastrobuoni, who was DFA’d today. Read more here.
Game information:
Game time: 7:10 PT because * * * fireworks * * *
TV: Mariners.TV with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink, with Brad Adam on pre and postgame and Ryan Rowland-Smith as sideline analyst. This game will also be shown on KING 5 locally.
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
Is this team honestly worth staying up late for? I salute you if you’re watching this on the East Coast like this writer is too.
NOTE: IFK was in the original lineup and was scratched with left forearm inflammation, so Marcelo shifts to SS and Monasterio comes in at 2B.
⚾️ First Pitch: 10:10pm ET – T Mobile Park
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
The Rays hopefully hit reset, returning to Tropicana Field with a welll-played win.
Six of the runs scored by both teams came via the long ball. The Nationals managed two solo home runs in the second and third inning against Griffin Jax. Poor Brian Anderson and Dewayne Staats came with a ton of stats showing how well Jax has done as a starter, and each time they launched into that conversation, Jax would give up a home run (or in one case a very deep fly ball that would have been a home run in 22 ball parks, that was caught by Johnny DeLuca).
The Rays didn’t let that go unanswered, however. Hunter Feduccia walked, Yandy Diaz singled, and then Jonathan Aranda, who has been struggling, unleashed a far from overwhelming home run — 95 mph, 334 feet, hitting off the foul pole. But you don’t get fewer points just because your home run was a little wimpy, so the Rays took a 3-2 lead to close out the third inning.
After giving up the two solo homers, Jax kept the Nationals off the board, but he was nonetheless done after five innings. I had thought Jax has generally been limited to four or five innings as he ramps up to starter, but we learned from tonight’s broadcast that in fact he’s had problems with a chronic blister that apparently returns after an inning or two of pitching, and he tries to push through the discomfort. Hopefully that gets resolved soon, he’s been pitching well as a starter and it would be nice if his starts didn’t become a de facto half bullpen day.
Jax was replaced by Steven Matz, and I’ll admit my stomach lurched as he entered the game, because he’s been something of a disaster since returning from the IL. But tonight he did his job, pitching 1.2 innings and giving up just one hit.
Meanwhile, the Rays were adding to their lead. In the fourth inning, Richie Palacios doubled and then scored on a Taylor Walls single. And in the eighth, Jonny DeLuca, just off the IL, got all of a hanging breaking ball and homered to left field, to give us the final score of 5-2.
Overall, this game felt like a return to earlier season normal, with good pitching, mostly clean defense (Aranda was charged with an error as he dropped the ball while making a tag at first), and a mix of long ball and small ball. Chandler Simpson even laid down a lovely bunt and beat it out, just like in the old days (of May).
Let’s keep this going! Game 2 of this series is tomorrow afternoon, and the Rays will go with the ever impressive “TBD” on the mound.
The Orioles have struggled when facing winning teams this season. Here we are with them opening a three-game series, on the road where they’re also bad, against the team with the best record in all of baseball, the Dodgers. The on-paper stuff doesn’t point to an Orioles series victory, or perhaps to any Orioles victories at all.
All that the Orioles need to do is play better than they have been playing. The frustrating big picture thing about them this season is that doesn’t seem like it should be so hard, and yet, they keep on not playing better, or at least not playing better for long enough to really prove anything. The thing that I keep coming back to is how they’ve yet to win more than three games in a row. You know who else never won more than three games in a row? The 52-110 Orioles of 2021.
It would behoove the Orioles to play well tonight, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto lurks tomorrow and there’s probably not an “end the no-hitter in the ninth inning and still win” miracle waiting for them – certainly not as a walkoff win, since they’re on the road. Another Japanese pitcher is up for the Dodgers in this one: Roki Sasaki, a 24-year-old righty who’s veered between good and bad outings this year. His last one was bad and he has a 4.76 ERA for the season. Hit some homers against this guy.
Game recap note: This game will not be recapped until after your recap writer (that is, me) has gone to sleep and woken up on Saturday morning. I’m hoping to wake up and need to find things to say about an awesome game. Don’t wait up for the recap!
Trey Gibson is the starting pitcher tonight. He’ll have to make do with an infielder in the outfield.
Note the lack of Adley Rutschman in the starting lineup. Manager Craig Albernaz said the Orioles are giving Rutschman a full day off after he took a thrown baseball in his ear while running to first base in Sunday’s game against the Mariners. They will re-evaluate him tomorrow.
The Dodgers turn to their ace on Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto coming off two gems in a row.
Yamamoto retired his final 22 batters faced to beat the Angels on June 6 at Dodger Stadium, then retired his first 23 in a row against the White Sox in Chicago, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning last Saturday. After pitching eight innings against the Angels and 8 1/3 frames against the White Sox, Yamamoto this Saturday will try to be the first Dodgers pitcher with three straight starts of eight or more innings since Hyun-jin Rui from May 1-12, 2019.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers starts for Baltimore.
Things just can’t seem to go right for Justin Verlander this season.
Verlander, 43, strained his left hamstring during a bullpen session on Wednesday, an injury that will likely cause him to miss “weeks,” Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch said, according to The Athletic.
The nine-time All-Star has been on the injured list since April with left hip inflammation, and was set to make his first start back on Sunday before his most recent injury.
“This is not a matter of days,” Hinch said. “It’s a matter of weeks. We’re going to need a full rehab process to get him back to throwing again.
“Obviously, frustrating news for him and for us, given the excitement that was building around his start on Sunday.”
Verlander told reporters that his hip is starting to feel good, and called his strained hamstring “unfortunate.”
“My hip actually feels fairly good,” Verlander told reporters, according to MLB.com. “All of a sudden, my hamstring was bugging me and I had to cut my bullpen short. Anytime I’m not able to get my work in, it means something’s definitely off, so we decided to get it looked at, and there’s a strain.
“Just really unfortunate, man. It just sucks. I don’t know how else to say it.”
In his only start this season, Verlander gave up five earned runs and walked two batters in 3⅔ innings pitched.
Verlander, who is currently the oldest active MLB player, signed a one-year, $13 million deal to return to Detroit, which drafted him with the No. 2 pick in 2004.
After being called up in 2005, Verlander spent 13 years with the Tigers, earning both a Cy Young and MVP award for his stellar 2011 season, which saw him win the pitching Triple Crown.
Verlander was then traded to the Astros midway through the 2017 season, where he won two more Cy Young awards in 2019 and 2022.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Verlander signed a historic two-year, $86.6 million contract with the Mets but made just 16 starts for the Amazin’s before being dealt back to Houston.
After a less-than-stellar trip to Houston, the Tigers home and had an off day to sit there and think about what they’ve done, mister. But, since the sport rolls on, the American Central-leading Chicago White Sox came to town (and yes, that looks weird to me too) for the opener of a three-game weekend series on a windy Friday night which promised to make fly balls an adventure. After the lead changed hands a couple of times, a well-timed, well-placed, 2-run blooper was the difference in a 4-3 Tigers win.
Tarik Skubal made his second start since coming off the Injured List; his first one wasn’t great, but there must have been some rust that he had to shake off. When healthy this year he’s usually been the same ol’ Cy Skubal, with an ERA of 2.81 (154 ERA+), a WHIP of 0.979, and seven walks given-out in 48 innings coming into tonight’s game.
Brandon Eisert was an opener for Erick Fedde; Eisert’s in his second full season in the major leagues, after spending a bit of time with the Blue Jays in 2024. He’s opened a few times this year, so this wasn’t anything new for him. Fedde was drafted by the Nationals and spent several ho-hum years there; he then went to South Korea in 2023 and had an ERA of 2.00 with a 20-6 record. He came back to North America after that season and hasn’t been able to duplicate the success he had in Korea; maybe he can’t find any good japchae here.
Randal Grichuk, who is only in the major leagues because he hits lefties, hit a lefty: a solo home run in the top of the first put Chicago up 1-0.
Matt Vierling got that run back and added one with a two-run home run after a Dillon Dingler single, putting the Tigers up 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the fourth Junior Pérez, in his fourth major-league at-bat, hit a single — his first major-league hit — to right field. Who fielded it? Trei Cruz, making his major-league debut tonight. That’s always nice to see. But then Pérez tried to steal second, forgot it was Dingler back there, and was thrown out stealing. Whoops! Pérez wasn’t done yet, though.
Skubal got into a little trouble in the fifth: a pair of singles to start the inning put runners on the corners. Tristan Peters then hit a ground ball to second base; an on-the-field call of a 4-6-3 double play would have traded two outs for the runner from third scoring, but upon review the out at first was overturned, tying the game with only one out instead. A single and a walk loaded the bases; a grounder was hit to Colt Keith at third who came home with the throw for the second out. Skubal had Colson Montgomery at a 1-2 count and he pulled the string on a low changeup for strike three. A fired-up Skubal — always a sight to see — was seen shouting at the White Sox dugout after the strikeout, and I don’t think he was exchanging chocolate-chip cookie recipes.
Pérez, in his fifth major-league at-bat in the sixth, took Skubal deep to the left-centrefield seats for a solo home run to put Chicago up 3-2, which was surprising. With two outs in the sixth Skubal gave way to Drew Anderson, who got Luisangel Acuña to strike out looking. Skubal’s final line: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Not bad, but not very Skuballish.
Meanwhile, Fedde was mowin’ ‘em down, retiring nine straight before a Dingler leadoff single in the sixth. A one-out Riley Greene walk put two runners on base for the first time all night for the Tigers; Spencer Torkelson popped up to second base for the second out. But Kerry Carpenter hit the bloopiest of bloopers to short centrefield, scoring both Dingler and Greene to put the Tigers up 4-3.
I mean, that was a really bad decision for Peters to dive for that ball, but I will absolutely take it ten times out of ten.
Anderson carried on and had a decently-uneventful seventh inning, and Will Vest came on for the eighth. He’s been shaky lately, and walking the leadoff batter in a one-run game isn’t quite what we all had in mind, but it happened (especially since Vest got ahead of him 0-2 first). Vest then got Edgar Quero to hit a perfect grounder to second base, and a crisp double play was turned to erase the baserunner. Another grounder to second base precipitated the third out of the inning, and whadda ya know, Vest got the job done.
After failing to get any insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, Kenley Jansen was brought in to try and nail down the save against the bottom of the order. He got a ground ball to first (and covered the bag himself), got a ground ball to second, and ended things with swinging strikeout of Peters. That’s how you do it, folks.
Final score: Tigers 4, White Sox 3
The A’s came away with the first W in the first game of the series last night, riding a fantastic outing from their rookie starting pitcher to their 37th win of the season. They’ll have a chance to bump that number up a digit and get back to the .500 mark tonight. First they’ll have to take care of business against their division rival, the Los Angeles Angels.
The team will turn to lefty Jeffrey Springs this evening, hoping the veteran can turn things around. It’s been a rough June so far for Springs as he’s allowed 15 runs over his past three starts.
Here’s how the team will line up tonight:
Why make major changes after yesterday? It’s the same batting order as last night, though with one change. Lawrence Butler returns to the starting nine, playing right field. That’ll send Carlos Cortes to the DH spot and send Jonah Heim to the bench. Other than that, same lineup as yesterday. Let’s hope for the same early result.
Los Angeles will counter with their ace in Jose Soriano. The right-hander, now in his fourth season, has dominated this year and will bring a 2.79 ERA into this contest. He’s already successfully faced the A’s once this year so they’ll be hoping for some revenge tonight.
And the Halo’s lineup this evening looks like this:
Let’s go A’s!
Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA
Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Well, that was an unexpected surprise this afternoon. There had been no apparent word of any problem with Nelson after his last start. He went a solid seven innings and 95 pitches on June 15th, getting the win against the Angels. However, Nelson said the issue popped up in the third inning, but he was able to pitch through it at the time. It’s a problem affecting a flexor tendon, the ones which let you curl your fingers. According to Jack, it’s “strained but not torn,” and he will be shut down for at least 4-6 weeks, before getting another MRI. There will also need to be significant time thereafter to get him back up to starting length. September seems likely for a Nelson return.
For now, Yilber Diaz returns from the wilderness, for his first appearance in the majors since a solitary game last year, on April 25. He allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over three innings, which largely sums up the control issues Diaz has had. He had an excellent winter in the Venezuelan league, with a 1.08 ERA over 16.2 innings, with a K:BB of 23:8. Reno hasn’t been quite as kind: a 4.50 ERA and a 43:21 K:BB across 32 innings. It’s really a question of whether or not he can throw strikes. Major-league hitters are going to be more patient than the ones in Triple-A. Although Diaz’s time here is likely to be relatively brief.
That’s because the team will need a starter to replace Nelson’s spot in the rotation. That should have been – as noted in ish95’s preview – on Sunday. Presuming the team sticks with that (and the off-day yesterday gives them a bit of flexibility), that will probably mean the return of Brandon Pfaadt from Reno. It might still be a relatively short outing, because Pfaadt was still very much getting stretched back out down there. He last outing lasted only 3.1 innings and 45 pitches. I’d therefore expect something around 60 pitches on Sunday, so hopefully the rest of the bullpen will be lightly used tonight and tomorrow. They might be busy in the series finale.
And, no, I will not be discussing the World Cup at this time… 🙁
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Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was away from the team Friday for the birth of his second child.
He was out of the lineup for the series opener against the Orioles, but the Dodgers did not opt to put him on the paternity list, temporarily playing down a player instead. The team said it expects Ohtani back at some point this weekend.
Ohtani pitched Wednesday, so he should be back with the team well before his next turn in the rotation.
With Ohtani out, rookie Ryan Ward served as the designated hitter Friday, batting seventh. And right fielder Kyle Tucker moved up to the leadoff spot that Ohtani usually occupies.
Read more:Dodgers' walk-off stuns Orioles as Dalton Rushing helps cap wild comeback
Entering Friday, Ohtani owned the second-highest OPS (.962) in the National League, among qualified hitters. And his 1.47 ERA ranked No. 2 among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings, despite giving up seven combined earned runs in his past two starts.
Ohtani has been pitching through a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. And last week he missed a game to address a bout of inflammation in his left knee, which he thinks may have stemmed from mechanical problems in his pitching delivery.
Catcher Will Smith (stiff neck) will get an injection to address his neck injury, manager Dave Roberts said. Recent imaging came back “fine,” Roberts said, and didn’t reveal anything “really bad.”
Smith said last week, before undergoing imaging, that he was diagnosed with an “inflamed disk.”
Smith — remaining on the injured list past the minimum stint, despite the Dodgers’ initial optimism — will be sidelined through the weekend, and he may not make the trip to Minnesota on Monday, which kicks off a three-city trip.
Closer Edwin Díaz (elbow surgery) has progressed to throwing off the mound. He threw a 15-pitch bullpen on Friday, all fastballs, at 91-93 mph, Roberts said.
“Really positive day for Edwin,” Roberts said.
When Díaz underwent the procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow in late April, the Dodgers eyed a post-All-Star break return. And they won’t push for an aggressive build-up, with the long-term in mind.
Left fielder Teoscar Hernández (strained left hamstring) is on track to begin a minor-league rehab assignment early next week, Roberts said. ... Left-hander Blake Snell (elbow surgery) is progressing in his throwing program after undergoing a NanoNeedle scope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow in mid-May. He is close to throwing off a mound, Roberts said.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Your Diamonbacks starter tonight is one Michael Soroka, a Canadian from Calgary who was a goalie in youth hockey because OF COURSE he was. Soroka throws a low-90s fastball, a sinker, and a breaking ball that Savant calls a slurve, FanGraphs a curve. All three of them are effective pitches. An All-Star before injuries derailed him for a few years, Soroka was coming off two so-so seasons when the Diamondbacks signed him to a one year, $7.5M contract. So far it’s working out pretty darn well.
United Here Local 17 will be holding a concessions strike on Monday for the Twins/Dodgers game at Target Field. They’re asking fans to bring their own snacks. Here’s a reminder of what you can/can’t bring, by Kamie Roesler.
At issue are the fact that many concession workers are paid minimum wage ($16.37/hour in Minneapolis) and none have employer-provided health insurance. They’re also upset that Delaware North uses several volunteer vendors at the stadium. (Charities can provide volunteer staff and get a percentage of their sales.)
They’re also upset that Delaware North just fuquing sucks and always has. Remember, this is the company that, after they lost their contract to provide services at Yosemite National Park, SUED THE PARK SERVICE for the rights to names like “Yosemite National Park.” (It was a shakedown, and Delaware North got $12 million from it.)
Delaware North had the gall to issue a statement blaming the union’s “greed” in complaining about the free labor. Oh, I think we know who’s got the “greed” going on here. (For one thing, since Delaware North IS using volunteer labor, they could then take that savings and pay their regular workers more!)
This company has sucked since forever, Matt’s mentioned it here and Zach here and I did years ago but I can’t find it. Of course TEAMS could demand that companies pay players a certain amount, but TEAMS aren’t going to do that because they are all bast***s.
So I wish the strikers well, although I don’t think they’ll get anything. The poor never win in ‘Murica.
Are the Diamondbacks asking for massive amounts of public money? Are they a professional American sports team? The latest giveaway is at least $500 million, and could be more. Neil deMause, as usual, has you covered.
Some minor-league baseball players in York, PA, got snippy and refused to play in Pride-themed uniforms. Apparently also, some Giants players recently prayed away the gay by writing Bible quotes on their Pride-themed hats. Which quote? Was it this one?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Nah, I doubt it was that one.
The recently-swept Rangers remain the only MLB team that doesn’t have a Pride night. They do, as of this year, have a statue based on a guy who loved posing for despicable photos to stand against integrating public schools. FanGraphs’ Davy Andrews has a very thorough story here.
Finally, not baseball, but Minnesota sports-related: the Lynx have a rookie, Olivia Miles, who is absolutely dazzling the heck out of everybody in the league. Here’s a The Guardian piece on Miles. Here’s one from our siblings at Canis Hoopus. I liked this summation of sports fandom by Thilo Latrell Widder:
“Being good when you expect it is standard, and stressful. Being bad when you’re anticipating good is soul crushing. Being bad when you could see it coming is an exercise in futility. Only being good when you thought you’d be awful is fun.”
Futility, thy name is 8:45 on Apple TV.
Shohei Ohtani was not in the Dodgers’ lineup on Friday night, with the team announcing he was away on paternity leave for the birth of his second child.
The two-way star is expected to rejoin the club later during this weekend’s series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers added in a statement.
Because of that, Ohtani is not being placed on the official paternity list for now, leaving the Dodgers’ roster a man short for Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium.
The leave signifies the arrival of Ohtani’s second child, after he and his wife, Mamiko, welcomed a daughter last April.
A new baby will only be the latest significant development in what was already shaping up to be an historic season for the four-time MVP.
Entering Friday, Ohtani ranked second in the National League in OPS as a hitter, trailing only Juan Soto with a .963 mark to go along with 15 home runs, 42 RBIs and a .296 batting average.
On the mound, the right-hander has also been one of the best pitchers in the sport, owning a 7-2 record and 1.47 ERA. While Ohtani isn’t qualified as a pitcher (with only 73 2/3 innings through the team’s first 75 games), only Milwaukee Brewers flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski has a lower ERA among pitchers with at least 70 innings.
Lately, Ohtani has been playing through some minor physical issues.
In his last several starts, he has battled a blister on his right middle finger. While he has insisted it hasn’t impacted him, it has become visibly bloody on several occasions.
More concerning was the left knee inflammation that Ohtani forced Ohtani out of one game early last week, and sidelined him for another game a day later.
Ohtani said he believed the knee issue was the result of flawed pitching mechanics during a June 10 start in Pittsburgh, the day before his knee began to swell up on him.
But, even with manager Dave Roberts saying this week that the issue wasn’t completely behind the 31-year-old superstar, Ohtani made his next pitching start as scheduled on Wednesday, when he tossed six innings and took an at-bat late in the game after not starting as DH.
Turns out, behind the scenes, he had even more important matters to attend to.