Category: Sports News

Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!

As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering everything you need to know about each of the Brewers’ minor league affiliates — every Tuesday morning right here on Brew Crew Ball. For consistency, all organizational prospect rankings will reference MLB Pipeline unless otherwise noted.

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (43-32)

Opponent this week: @ Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals)

Record this week: 2-4

Standout performances:

Jeferson Quero (No. 7): 9-for-21, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Luke Adams (No. 11): 6-for-16, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K
Akil Baddoo: 5-for-15, 1 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K
Tyler Black: 5-for-15, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K
Garrett Stallings: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Tyson Hardin (No. 16): 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Jeferson Quero is now slashing .274/.372/,452 over the last month. That line is good for an .824 OPS, which ranks second on the Sounds (among qualified batters) to only Akil Baddoo (1.027).

One batter who doesn’t qualify is 1B/3B Luke Adams. Since he was activated from the injured list on June 2nd, Adams is slashing .300/.470/.760 (1.230 OPS) in 50 at-bats. This stretch, as you might be able to tell from his sky-high slugging percentage, has coincided with the best power surge in Adams’ professional career. The twenty two-year-old Adams has hit exactly 11 home runs in each of his three full seasons with the Brewers’ organization, but after hitting three this week (in the same game, nonetheless) he’s now hit seven over the last three weeks.

Baddoo was activated from the IL a little over a week prior to Adams, and he’s also been one of the Sounds’ best hitters since. Baddoo is hitting .275 with a .992 OPS in 24 games (80 at-bats) this season. At twenty seven-years-old, he’s not the future, but he’s been playing well enough to warrant a look should one of the Brewers’ backup outfielders go down.

If a starting outfielder were to miss time, it’s likely the call would go to the recently-extended Luis Lara (No. 5). Lara had a rough week (3-for-21, 5K), but he still ranks second on the Sounds in OPS with an .873 OPS. Jett Williams (No. 3) also went 3-for-21, but all of his hits were home runs, giving him a .788 OPS on the week despite a .143 batting average. Williams is now hitting just .217 with a .702 OPS this season.

Tyson Hardin went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out five as he picked up a win. In seven starts since his promotion to Triple-A, Hardin sports a 2.25 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He’s struck out 41 batters in 40 innings with only twelve walks. Not bad for a pitcher who started more games in High-A (11) than Double-A (10) last season. It’s looking more and more likely that Hardin will make his first big-league appearance sometime this year.

Garrett Stallings also had a solid start for the Sounds, going 5 2/3 innings while giving up six hits, but only two earned runs. Mark Manfredi struck out five in three relief appearances (3 1/3 innings).

Next week’s opponent: vs. Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves)

Double-A Biloxi Shuckers (35-30)

Opponent this week: vs. Columbus Clingstones (Atlanta Braves)

Record this week: 3-1

Standout performances:

Dylan O’Rae: 8-for-16, 2 2B, 2 3B, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Jesús Made: 8-for-16, 1 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Eric Brown Jr.: 6-for-14, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Mike Boeve: 6-for-15, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Josh Adamczewski: 6-for-18, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K
Cameron Wagoner: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Bishop Letson: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Yorman Galindez: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Jaron DeBerry: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Manuel Rodriguez: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

The Shuckers’ week was extremely chaotic due to inclement weather rolling through the Biloxi area. Originally, this series was supposed to have seven games — as opposed to the usual six — because of a makeup game that was first scheduled for May 9th.

Five different games this week got suspended, cancelled, or pushed to later in the week because of weather, so Biloxi and Columbus only ended up with four completed games. The first game of the series, originally scheduled for June 16th, got rescheduled two different times. It was a crazy week down in Mississippi, but the Shuckers managed to pull through and win three of the four games.

Jesús Made hit .500 with 10 RBIs in 16 at-bats. That sentence speaks for itself. Biloxi scored 30 runs this week, so Made personally knocked in 1/3 of the Shuckers’ runs.

Dylan O’Rae, the Brewers’ third round-pick back in 2022, has continued to produce this year after missing all of 2025 due to a wrist injury. O’Rae, who’s still only twenty two-years-old, is now hitting .318 with an .853 OPS in 201 at-bats. As I’ve said before in previous editions of this column, keep an eye on him.

Let’s check in on Josh Adamczewski and Andrew Fischer in their first week in Double-A:

Adamczewski: 6-for-18, 2B, 3 K

Fischer: 4-for-14, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 K

As a reminder, the jump from High-A to Double-A is often cited as the hardest jump for a prospect to make. Nothing but encouraging results from both players so far.

Blake Burke (4-for-15, 2 2B, HR) and Mike Boeve (6-for-15, 2B, HR) both continue to hit. Burke has been one of the biggest breakouts in the organization over the last calendar year and deserves all the love that he gets. Boeve, despite being ranked as a top-10 organizational prospect just last year, hasn’t gotten the love that he deserves. Over the last month (80 at-bats), Boeve has hit exactly .300 with a .753 OPS. Not Burke numbers, at least power-wise, but he’s producing while showing off his plate discipline and ability to get on base — two of the tools that scouts loved coming into the 2023 draft.

As for the pitching staff, Cameron Wagoner, Bishop Letson, and Yorman Galindez all impressed in their outings. Letson, the Brewers’ highest-ranked pitching prospect, struggled early in his first Double-A season and still owns a 4.60 ERA and 1.43 WHIP on the year. However, he’s looked much sharper of late. Over his last four starts (21.1 innings), Letson has posted a 2.11 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while striking out more than a batter per inning. He appears to be settling in at Double-A, making the Brewers’ No. 8 prospect one to watch over the coming weeks.

Next week’s opponent: @ Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays)

High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (34-28)

Opponent this week: @ Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals)

Record this week: 3-2

Standout performances:

Braylon Payne: 8-for-15, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K
Josiah Ragsdale: 8-for-21, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Daniel Dickinson (No. 27): 5-for-14, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Eric Bitonti: 7-for-21, 1 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K
Wande Torres: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Jayden Dubanewicz (No. 24): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Josh Knoth (No. 21): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

With Adamczewski and Fischer now in Double-A, offensive firepower will be a bit harder to come by up in Appleton. Luckily, the T-Rats still have Braylon Payne and Josiah Ragsdale, although they won’t for long if both keep hitting the way they have this season.

After this week, Payne is now hitting .282 with a .989 OPS, 13 home runs, and 10 doubles. That’s a significant step forward from his first full season in the Brewers’ organization last year, when he hit .240 with a .736 OPS, eight home runs, and nine doubles. Payne is beginning to look like a player worthy of the first-round pick Milwaukee spent on him in 2024, and if he continues producing at this level, he could join Adamczewski and Fischer in Double-A before long.

Payne’s stats are ridiculous, but Ragsdale — drafted in the seventh round in 2025 — isn’t far behind. He’s hitting .316 (.357 over the last month) with a .919 OPS and five home runs in 190 at-bats this year. Ragsdale is already twenty-two, so he’ll probably get moved up relatively soon if he keeps producing.

Former LSU star Daniel Dickinson, the Brewers’ sixth-round pick in 2025, has quietly brought his OPS up to .655 after hitting .241 with a .795 OPS over the last month. The season-long numbers don’t look great yet for Dickinson, especially given that he’s the same age as Ragsdale (and Andrew Fischer), but he appears to be figuring things out at the plate.

Jayden Dubanewicz went five innings in his second start with the Timber Rattlers, giving up six hits but just a single earned run. He didn’t walk anybody and struck out six. Josh Knoth gave up a pair of earned runs in 4.1 innings, but only gave up three hits and struck out seven. Knoth, who missed last season due to Tommy John surgery, now has a 2.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP through his first five starts (16 2/3 innings) this season.

Next week’s opponent: vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins)

Single-A Wilson Warbirds (36-30)

Opponent this week: vs. Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays)

Record this week: 3-3

Standout performances:
Filippo Di Turi: 6-for-17, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Juan Ortuno: 6-for-20, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 0 K
Handelfry Encarnacion: 7-for-24, 3 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K
Joey Broughton: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Jarrette Bonet: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Andrew Healy: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Hayden Robinson: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Di Turi, Ortuno, and Encarnacion were the only Warbirds to hit .292 or better in more than 10 at-bats. While the stats out of Wilson aren’t as impressive as some of the Brewers’ other affiliates, there’s still a lot to look forward to down in North Carolina.

The nineteen-year-old Encarnacion is only hitting .227 on the season, but he’s one extra base hit away from being tied with Jose Anderson for the most on the team. He’s also walked 53 times in 65 games (251 at-bats). Brady Ebel (No. 13) isn’t hitting for average either, but he’s showing enough power (18 extra-base hits, including four home runs). Ebel’s also walking a lot, with 57 walks in 234 at-bats. Despite their youth, both hitters have shown patience at the plate and have been making good swing decisions — things the Brewers look for in their players.

Ortuno, a nineteen-year-old infielder, now has a .738 OPS on the season. His .250 batting average ranks third on the Warbirds after Luis Lameda (.303) and Pedro Ibarguen (.280). None of those prospects are ranked as top-30 prospects, but all are producing despite being too young to order a beer at a bar in North Carolina. With a system as deep as the Brewers’, sometimes prospects get lost in the shuffle, and sometimes prospects come from seemingly out of nowhere (Tyson Hardin, for example) to become legitimate prospects. All three of those players are producing at a young age — I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the three, or Encarnacion, ended up as as a top-30 guy sometime in the future.

Same goes for the pitching — Joey Broughton, Jarrett Bonet, and Andrew Healy all went at least four innings this week while allowing one run or less. Even if you’ve heard of Bonet, you may not have heard of the other two. Keep an eye on Broughton, who was part of the same 2024 class as Hardin, Dubanewicz, and Ethan Dorchies. The left-hander, signed out of high school, hadn’t pitched until this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024. In eight appearances this year between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A, Broughton has a 2.24 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings.

Next week’s opponent: @ Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals)

Player of the Week

Adams, who spent two months on the injured list last season and missed another six weeks this season. As I touched on earlier, Adams has found his power stroke since returning. The twenty two-year-old has always had raw power, but — much like Blake Burke — it hadn’t really translated to games yet.

I haven’t been able to dive into his film much in recent weeks, but aside from any mechanical adjustments, what we’re seeing now may be the natural progression of a prospect who’s getting older and beginning to turn more of that raw power into in-game power. Adams has posted some seriously impressive exit velocities since his return, including a home run on Sunday that left his bat at 113.3 mph. That’s not a flukey minor-league homer, that’s legitimate plus raw power and a significant development for a player that has always had elite plate discipline. If his power surge is for real, watch out.

Play of the Week

This is the second time Blake Burke has won Play of the Week in the last five weeks. I don’t want to hear another “yeah, but he’ll need to hit enough to DH” take for a while.

Good morning, baseball fans!

Phase one of the 2026 MLB All Star voting ends later this week. If we want to see a San Francisco Giants player on the starting line-up, we have got to keep our push for Luis Arraez going! As of the last update, Arraez was in fifth place among National League second basemen. And he was (unsurprisingly) the only member of the team to appear in any of the races.

Fans can vote up to five times per day over here on the MLB website. You can vote up to five times per day, and Phase one runs through Thursday, June 25th.

So vote early, vote often, and vote Arraez!

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants welcome the A’s to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Today’s Reflections

With a rainout Sunday and a night game on Monday (which ended up getting rained out), PCA-Mania is continuing (not complaining!). Everybody has a slightly different take, but Brett Taylor’s article is a must-read.

Speaking of PCA-Mania — I’m quite aware that the All-Star Game has lost 98 percent of the allure it had when I was a kid. But I’m rather shocked as to the recent results of voting for PCA. I can only think that it is that bad weekend+ he had with fans and his reaction to it that is holding him back. And the overall malaise of the Cubs. But I thought it would shock some (smart) people into voting for the first time in a while, like myself, and make a difference. I’m hoping that when it comes time to pick the reserves or injury replacements, PCA will be the first outfielder taken. Read the story at the bottom of the PCA section and go vote.

Just like Ben Brown’s great pitching performance was overshadowed by the offensive onslaught Friday, Matt Shaw’s three-run homer was overshadowed by the bullpen’s collapse Saturday. So here’s shout-out to him. Also, when Seiya Suzuki got hurt, he was on an impressive defensive run in right field. Shaw took over the spot and there has been no drop-off. A cap-tip to him for that as well.

I’m sorry, but I don’t remember who asked what would it take to acquire Sonny Gray. A couple of options are listed below.

A very interesting Cub-take from Carson Kelly about the new catching style and its results. It was brought up last week by this article by the Athletic {$}.

And this speaks for itself:

I’ll let you get to reading, but remember — Go Vote!

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

More PCA-Mania:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): My Favorite Bit of Context on Just How Blisteringly Good Pete Crow-Armstrong Has Been, “Given his unbelievable June, on the heels of what was quietly excellent performance at the plate going back to mid-April, it’s been unsurprising to see all manner of “holy crap did you see this!” about Pete Crow-Armstrong.
• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong more willing to take walks this season. “Center fielder has been more selective at the plate and already has 28 walks, compared with 29 in all of last season.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Inside the numbers of Crow-Armstrong’s incredible hot streak. “This is must-see TV.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Looking at Mechanical Changes Behind Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Unprecedented Tear. “Pete Crow-Armstrong has been MLB’s best player in June, and it’s not even close.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Shocking MLB All-Star voting update tells you exactly how Cubs fans feel right now. “Tell me you’re checked out without telling me you’re checked out.”

Trade Talk:

• Garrett Kerman (Clutch Points): Cubs’ perfect trade offer for Red Sox’s Sonny Gray. “Discover the perfect trade proposal sending Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray to the Chicago Cubs for two high-upside prospects.”
• Nick Deeds (Cubbies Crib): Cubs have every reason to dismiss insane Red Sox Matt Shaw trade idea. “Things have changed since the offseason.”
• Casey McAleer (Da Windy City): Cubs’ upcoming Mets series could decide their trade deadline plans. “Chicago has little room for error as it chases the Brewers in the NL Central race.”
• Nick Deeds (Cubbies Crib): Cubs can’t brush aside growing Seiya Suzuki trade rumors thanks to Jeff Passan. “Suzuki playing elsewhere this summer seems even more likely than we thought.”
• Rich Eberwein (Cubbies Crib): Cubs given nightmare fuel after seeing Jeff Passan’s best fits for Tarik Skubal. “If the Brewers acquire Tarik Skubal, the Cubs will be even more cooked than they already are.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Cubs Trade for Some Relief Help, Acquiring Astros RHP Jayden Murray. “The Chicago Cubs executed what can technically be called a buy-side trade for a real big league reliever.”

Assorted (and painful) stories:

• Alex House (Clutch Points): Cubs left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd is taking a big step in his recovery from left knee surgery. “Cubs left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd is taking a big step in his recovery from left knee surgery.”
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ Justin Steele on losing years of what should’ve been his prime — and the success he ‘knows’ is coming. “Another ramp-up is right in front of the lefty, who hasn’t pitched in a game in more than 14 months. If Steele is going to help this Cubs team find its groove later in the summer, it’s now or never.”
• Tommy Erbe (OnTapSportsNet): Why Letting Kyle Schwarber Walk Will Forever Haunt The Chicago Cubs. “With every home run hit, Kyle Schwarber sends a dagger through the Chicago Cubs organization, reminding them what they opted against.”
• Gorden Edes (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs catcher Carson Kelly can’t mask his pain. “Many catchers have abandoned the crouch in favor of one knee down, but they are getting drilled by balls more often.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Can top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins return from injury in time to help the Cubs this season? “When he’s healthy, Wiggins is one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the game.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Seiya Suzuki Has Turned a Quick Release into a Real Run-Stopping Outfield Arm. “When it comes to Seiya Suzuki’s arm, the question has never been whether he could throw hard enough. He’s learned to get rid of the ball faster, though, and that’s made a big difference.”
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): PCA keeps hitting, but sluggish Cubs can’t muster any momentum. “It’s late June, and though Crow-Armstrong is showing he’s worth the hype, you can’t say the same about the Cubs.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): A first look at the Chicago Cubs’ Champions Gate — plus more on its architectural details. “The Chicago Cubs’ Champions Gate will be installed at the entrance to Gallagher Way on Clark Street.”

Saturday’s game and wrap-up of short Blue Jays’ series:

• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs bullpen blows late 5-run lead in 8-6 loss to Toronto Blue Jays: ‘We just didn’t get it done’. “The Chicago Cubs bullpen blew a five-run lead, surrendering eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings in an 8-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.”

• Mike McGraw (Daily Herald): So much for momentum: Cubs bullpen flubs 5-run lead. “In baseball, it’s often said, momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher. Sometimes the starting pitcher is very good, though, and the bullpen messes it up.”
• Jeff Vorva (Chicago Tribune {$}): 3 Chicago Cubs takeaways from a Toronto Blue Jays series featuring sunshine and rain — on and off the field. “The Chicago Cubs hosted Toronto at Wrigley Field on Friday and Saturday, outscoring the Blue Jays 21-2 in the first 15 innings of the series.”

Food For Thought:

Jack de Keyzer is a British-born Canadian blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer.[1] He has twice won the Juno Award, Canada’s highest musical honour and seven times received Maple Blues Awards, including for Blues Album of the Year in 2000 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Real Blues Magazine crowned him Live Act of the Year in 2001 and named him Guitarist of the Year twice.

As a solo artist, he has released eleven CDs and one DVD and has appeared as a session guitarist on hundreds of recordings. As a session guitarist, he worked with Etta James, Otis Rush, John Hammond, Jr., Ronnie Hawkins, Duke Robillard, Robert Gordon, Willy Big Eyes Smith, Bo Diddley, and Blue Rodeo.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

If you didn’t know any better, if you hadn’t been watching the rest of the 2026 Orioles season, you could be tempted after a game like this one to conclude that things are definitely going to be okay with the Orioles. Maybe we are in the middle of where they’re finally doing it. Maybe. They certainly need games like this one to happen more often than they have been. Kyle Bradish had a masterful outing against his former organization, pitching eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts to help push the Orioles to a relatively easy 6-1 win over the Angels.

The Orioles led this game from their very first batter. Taylor Ward, who hit 36 home runs for the Angels a year ago, greeted his former team with a 419 foot home run over the center field fence. Ward, traded for Grayson Rodriguez over the offseason, has not been homering at such a mighty rate for the Orioles. This was just his fifth long ball of the season.

One run was nearly enough for Bradish to do the thing on its own. That’s not to say that it always looked that way. The Angels threatened to get the run right back in the bottom half of the first after a couple of one-out singles. We’ve seen many a game this year where the defense or the pitcher or both just collapse and give up the lead they just got.

On Monday night, Bradish did not do the collapse. He rocked. That first inning was the closest they ever got to scoring against him. He rolled through the next seven innings, never allowing more than one runner to reach in any other inning. The only time he let the leadoff batter reach base, he induced a ground ball double play immediately afterwards. And, crucially, he was fairly efficient with his pitches, the real thing that let him get through eight. In all, Bradish tossed 101 pitches. It wasn’t a complete game, but it was the kind of start the O’s have been sorely lacking from him and others this year.

While Bradish was dominating, the Orioles offense did not do that thing where they score early and then fall asleep. Well, mostly. Angels starting pitcher Sam Aldegheri did retire nine straight Orioles after giving up the leadoff homer to Ward. That streak came to an end as Gunnar Henderson drew a walk leading off the fourth inning. Pete Alonso muscled a soft liner that floated over the shortstop’s head into left field.

We’ve seen the Orioles blow plenty of “two on, none out” rallies this season. Coby Mayo ended any question about that happening by connecting on a bottom-of-the-zone changeup and driving it out into the seats in left field. It didn’t clear the fence by too much, but enough is enough. This would have been a home run in 28 stadiums, but not Camden Yards. On the road, count it as an Earl Weaver special, with the Orioles now holding a 4-0 lead.

The offense continued to add on for Bradish with a run apiece in the fifth and seventh innings, not that he needed it. In all, it was a strong, 11-hit effort. Henderson collected three of those hits, dragging his on-base percentage back over .300 for the first time since, if you can believe this, April 15. That’s another guy that the Orioles need to be able to have “back” if they’re going to sustain good things this season. Each of the top four hitters in the lineup scored at least one run and drove in at least one run.

Unfortunately, the win did not come without a cost, as there was an in-game injury that caused more than a little bit of chaos. Starting third baseman Blaze Alexander fouled a ball off of his knee on the way to striking out in the second inning. An inning later, Alexander was unable to take the field and the Orioles had to put in a sub for him.

Problem: With Jackson Holliday apparently not available due to groin tightness, with recent Orioles roster decisions leaving them bereft of any further bench infielders, and with Mayo already in as the designated hitter, that meant it was emergency substitute time. I’m talking Leody Taveras playing third base level of emergency, the first time Taveras has ever played anywhere on the infield in a professional career that spans back to 2016. Naturally, the very first ball in play after Taveras entered the game was a grounder to third. He fielded it and threw it to first. Alonso had to make a nice save to stop it from being an error, but still, the chance was completed.

After the game, manager Craig Albernaz said that Alexander suffered a contusion from the foul ball and it locked up on him an inning later. The Orioles don’t seem to be concerned about a long-term injury problem here, but unless Alexander and Holliday can play tonight, they might need to make a roster move for an infielder so they don’t have to get weird again. Taveras only got the one ground ball chance before the Orioles gave up the DH to shift Mayo to third in the eighth inning.

The Angels finally got on board in the ninth. Jorge Soler hit a leadoff homer against Rico Garcia. That continues a tough June for Garcia, as he’s allowed five earned runs in seven innings pitched. Even so, his ERA remains low at 1.95, and in Monday’s game that was the only guy he let on base, so the game never got too dramatic there towards the end.

This is the sixth time this season that the Orioles have won three straight games. They have failed to win a fourth straight the previous five times. Is this the time they can change that, facing the team with the worst record in the AL? Tuesday’s game will answer the question one way or the other. Shane Baz is set to start the 9:38 Eastern game for the Orioles, with the Angels sending Ryan Anderson to the mound. Anderson has a 12.83 ERA in five games. It’s time to finally do this thing, Orioles. It’s long past time.

**

It is the longtime tradition on Camden Chat to choose the Most Birdland Player after each victory. What is “Most Birdland”? It cannot be explained. You just have to feel it. Sometimes, this is the most valuable player of a game, and other times, it is not. Let us know your pick for this excellent victory in the comments below.

After a rousing review of everyone’s favorite Mariners conspiracy theories last week, I decided to come back to a familiar topic: how much we, as Mariners fans, dislike the rest of the AL West. I asked everyone rank the other AL West teams from most hated to least hated in order to get the pulse of the general Mariners fan consensus these days, and the results had a few surprises!

I’ll throw some hot take rankings on the results using my patented and very scientific Mariners Hot Take Ranking System:

Okay, let’s get into it.

THE RESULTS:

• Most votes for #1 most hated rival: the Houston Astros
• Second most votes for #1 most hated rival: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Most votes for #2 most hated rival: the Texas Rangers
• Least amount of votes for any of the top 3 most hated rival spots: the West Sacramento Athletics

ANALYSIS:

Gonna go ahead and give a BEAVAN to ranking the A’s as the least hated rival. We all could have guessed this. Most of us still feel bad for all the fans who had their team sold and moved on them, only to have to suffer the further injustice of seeing the A’s play in a minor league stadium for at least two seasons a few hours away from the Bay Area in Sacramento. It’s a lousy situation all around and the final scores at that lil’ bandbox stadium reflect that. Whatever is going on in West Sacramento right now is none of our business as Mariners fans, even when the Mariners play there. I hope A’s fans find peace.

The Texas Rangers got a lot of votes for number two most hated rival, inserting themselves between the Astros and Angels in some fashion for most. I feel like hatred for the Rangers has increased in last 8 years or so due to their World Series run and their continued refusal to not have a pride night (the only team in MLB!), among other dubious choices and political signaling which I will not be getting into further. In fact, I can’t say any of the other things I despise about the Rangers without inviting commentary that will break the site guideLLines and make Sweezo want to Albert Belle me at the next softbaLL game (details coming soon!). Anyways, I give this one an IWAKUMA.

Ultimately I figured the Astros would continue their legacy of being hated for the top-to-bottom shitbirds they are, but the currently 32-48 (!!!) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim getting so many most hated votes surprised me a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I loathe them. They are a stain upon all that is good and just in the world of baseball. They are the last stop on countless players’ career journeys and have proven repeatedly to be extremely hazardous to pitcher health, even downright hostile. And that’s without even diving into the tragic death of Tyler Skaggs. Nevertheless, I thought that the Angel’s complete nosedive in irrelevancy (more so that usual even!) would have spared them some hatred, but nope! Mariners fans do not forget.

Speaking of not forgetting, ha ha oh yes the Astros. Boy, do we still hate the team that still fields players from the 2019 cheating scandal who were never actually punished. And we should because while MLB fined and suspended the owners, executives, and coaches, it’s still up to the court of public opinion to let these players know that a line was crossed and we still do not approve.

Giving these rankings of the Angels and Astros a BOSIO because to me there is nothing more workmanlike than clocking in to hate these bastards on any given day.

What did we miss? Any other personal pet peeves about the AL West rivals? Disagree with the rankings? Let’s hear it in the comments!