Category: Sports News

Gerrit Cole got knocked around for five runs and the Yankees hitters couldn't solve Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez in a 5-3 loss in Detroit on Monday night.

New York fell to 46-31 on the season, dropping its third straight game. Detroit improved to 34-44 and has now won four straight.

Here are the takeaways...

- Cole, who worked around a leadoff single that flicked off his foot for in the first, left a fastball right down the pike to Spencer Torkelson, who crushed it for a double into the left-center gap to start the second. But the right-hander recovered to strikeout the next three: blowing a couple of fastballs (the second at 98 mph) past Colt Keith, buckling James Outman's knees with a curveball, and overpowering Hao-Yu Lee with a heater at 99 mph. 

Cole allowed the leadoff man to reach for a third straight inning as Zach McKinstry lined a ball into the left-center gap that Jose Caballero took a terrible route to, seemingly losing it in the sun, and it went for a three-bagger as the ball trickled to the wall. After an RBI groundout and another strikeout, an infield hit and a walk kept the inning going. That set up Torkelson to muscle a ball off his hands into center for an RBI hit that put runners at the corners and brought pitching coach Matt Blake out for a visit. Keith, down in the count 0-2, got a 98 mph heater in and cracked it to center to drive in the third run of the frame before a strikeout left two stranded.

Aaron Boone was hoping to get some length out of Cole with the bullpen taxed, but he was facing a conundrum as the veteran was at 66 pitches after nine outs, needing 27 in the third alone

Cole surrendered another leadoff hit to start the fourth, and with one down, surrendered an RBI double down the right field line to Kevin McGonigle to make it 4-1 Detroit. In the fifth, Riley Greene stung Cole for a leadoff home run to right, and after a catcher’s interference and a flyout to deep left-center, Boone made the call to the bullpen.

Cole’s final line: 4.1 innings, five runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts on 89 pitches (62 strikes).

- Caballero worked a two-out walk in the second and then stole second base, his 17th theft of the campaign. Ali Sánchez cashed in, ripping a ball through the right side of the infield (105.5 mph off the bat) and hustling into second for an RBI double.

Caballero finished 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run scored. 

Sánchez, who went 1-for-2 on challenges behind the plate, exited the game with two outs in the top of the seventh when he got hit by a 98 mph heater from Drew Anderson on the right hand. He finished 1-for-2 with a strikeout and HBP. Austin Wells, fresh off the IL, replaced him and grounded out for the second out in the ninth in his only time up.

- Amed Rosario, who was in the leadoff spot and went hitless with a strikeout in three chances against Valdez, got just enough of a changeup from Anderson to inside-out it 373 feet to right for a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the seventh. He finished 1-for-5, striking out looking at a ball that was well off the plate, but the Yanks were out of challenges.

- Anthony Volpe got the Yanks’ first RBI chance of the night with runners on first and second and two down in the first, but bounced out to short on the first pitch he saw. He adjusted his second time up, sharply lining a sinker the other way for a single. Volpe finished 2-for-4, with a strikeout looking, losing the Yanks' last challenge on a curveball that was completely within the strike zone in the sixth and hustling out an infield hit on a chopper to third in the eighth.  

- Jazz Chisholm Jr. got the visitor’s fourth RBI chance of the night with runners on first and second and two down in the third, but went down flailing at a breaking pitch well off the outside corner. He was hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts before he followed Volpe's infield single in the eighth. He went 1-for-4.

- Jasson Domínguez, hitless in his first three times up, got the Yankees' fifth chance with a runner in scoring position and first since the third inning with runners on first and second and two down in the eighth. But reliever Will Vest got Dominguez on three pitches, getting him to chase a 97 mph heater at the letters to end the threat.

New York finished 1-for-5 with RISP, leaving seven on base.

- Paul Goldschmidt got the best of the left-handed starter early, bouncing a single up the middle with two down in the first and repeated the feat with one down in the third. Valdez won round three with a strikeout swinging on a curveball. He finished 2-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Against lefties on the year, the 38-year-old is now batting .397 (29-for-73) with six home runs and a 1.222 OPS against lefties this season.

- Ben Rice went down looking at a 93 mph sinker on the outside corner and swinging through a breaking pitch in his first two times up. He finished 0-for-4.

- Cody Bellinger went 0-for-3 with a walk.

- Paul Blackburn was the first man called upon in relief, and retired the first five men he faced with a pair of strikeouts. Ryan Yarbrough, who got stung for four runs in Saturday's loss, issued a one-out walk in a clean seventh. After Yarbrough issued a leadoff walk to start the eighth, some fine defense kept the deficit at two. First, the big lefty made a hustle play to field a bunt and, with a dive, get the out at first. Then Volpe stole a basehit up the middle for the second out to keep the runner from scoring from second. The two relievers covered the final 3.2 innings without allowing a hit or a run on 49 pitches (26 strikes).

- There was a six-minute delay during the bottom of the fourth as Chisholm and the Yankees’ infield wanted a camera in the dirt by second base to be better covered. Chisholm’s peculiarities were on display as he played the bottom of the fifth while eating a green Blow Pop.

Game MVP: Framber Valdez

The Tigers' starter allowed scoring chances in each of the first three innings, but then retired 10 straight to take the wind out of the Yanks' sails. His final line: 6.0 innings, one run, four hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts on 94 pitches (59 strikes).

Highlights

Ali Sanchez opens the scoring! pic.twitter.com/OOwKpEtxai

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 22, 2026

Gerrit Cole with 3 strikeouts in the 2nd! pic.twitter.com/3fpeE62lJe

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 22, 2026

Amed Rosario cuts it to 5-3 with a two-run homer pic.twitter.com/0PLNokfoNX

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 23, 2026

What's next

The three-game series continues on Tuesday with a 6:40 p.m. first pitch. 

Carlos Rodon (3.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP in 36.0 innings) gets the ball for the visitors. The home side is sending out righty Casey Mize (2.58 ERA, 1.013 WHIP in 52.1 innings).

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