Category: Sports News

After evening up this series on Tuesday the Yankees have a chance to walk out of Detroit with a series victory, but they’re going to have to face the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner to manage it.

Tarik Skubal turned what could’ve been a lengthy injury into an blip on the radar, undergoing elbow surgery at the start of May to remove bone spurs but with a new procedure that minimized the invasiveness of the operation and cut his recovery time down to a 4-6 week timetable from what could’ve been months. Sure enough, four weeks later Skubal was pitching in a rehab start and by mid-June was back in a Tigers uniform and on the mound taking on the Guardians.

That being said, Detroit’s ace has needed to build back to his previous form after the time off. Skubal was pitching lights out to start the year, looking to defend his title and perhaps win a third-consecutive Cy Young — in his seven starts across March and April, he pitched at least six innings in all but one of them and owned a 2.70 ERA for his troubles. Since returning he’s made two starts, lasting 4.2 innings against Cleveland while allowing three runs (two earned) before facing off with the White Sox and pitching 5.2 innings in that outing with three more runs to his name. He’s allowed a fair bit of solid contact with three home runs in that short span, but in that second start he looked a bit more like the old Skubal striking out eight batters. We’ll see if he’s settled in yet, or if the Yankees can take advantage of the ace not quite being at full strength.

The Yankees are countering with Ryan Weathers, the team’s fifth starter who righted the ship after a dreadful stretch of starts. Weathers concluded his May with a mixed bag outing against the A’s, striking out 10 batters in 6.2 innings but allowing five runs on three homers in the process. He followed that up with a couple of no-doubt stinkers, going six innings against Boston and again allowing five runs on two more blasts before Toronto tagged him for six runs in 4.1 innings with two more long balls to the tally. The homer has been the death of Weathers throughout this season, as his early successes came when he could keep it in the park but the majority of his duds had the common thread of giving up too much through the air. Weathers’ last outing served as a much-needed reset pitching into the seventh inning and allowing a lone solo shot to leave the yard, one of just three hits he allowed in his 6.1 innings of work. Now can he make it two quality outings in a row?

With Ryan McMahon hitting the IL today due to a throat infection, we’ll see both Anthony Volpe and José Caballero entrenched on the left side of the infield for a bit and the same remains true today as they start at shortstop and third base, respectively (plus the recalled Oswaldo Cabrera on the bench). Paul Goldschmidt hits leadoff and will play first base with the lefty on the mound, and he’s followed by Ben Rice at DH and Jasson Domínguez alongside Cody Bellinger as the corner outfielders to round out the top of the lineup. Jazz Chisholm Jr. slots in between the other infielders in the lineup and will play second base, Austin Wells gets his second consecutive start behind the plate, and it’ll be Max Schuemann roaming center field tonight to complete the batting order.

How to watch

Location: Comerica Park — Detroit, MI

First pitch: 6:40 pm ET

TV broadcast: Detroit SportsNet

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), WXYT 97.1 FM, LaZ WDTW 1310AM/207.9 FM (DET)

Online stream: Amazon Prime Video

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The Mariners will reach the midway point in their regular season on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

Bryan Woo will be on the mound as his team looks to secure a series win on the road and return to .500 in games away from T-Mobile Park this year. Woo is coming off one of his best outings of the season last week, a seven-plus-inning start against the Orioles where he allowed no runs and only three hits. That said, the righty has faced his fair share of challenges on the road this year, and he’ll look to improve upon a 4.29 FIP on the road in 2026.

The Pirates will tap right-hander Braxton Ashcraft in the middle game of the three-game set. The 26-year-old is putting together a fantastic sophomore campaign, with a 3.18 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 15 starts. He’s already accumulated 2.5 fWAR this season, which is good for 10th among all major league starting pitchers (for reference, Woo ranks 16th in the category).

Lineups

News anchor voice: they’re calling it the most complete Mariners lineup in weeks. Dominic Canzone returns after missing Tuesday’s game with a sore hamstring.

Game Information

First Pitch: 3:40 p.m. PDT

TV:Mariners.TV, with Aaron Goldsmith, Angie Mentink and sideline analyst Brad Adam

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Gary Hill Jr. and Shannon Drayer

Ahead of Game 2 of today’s day/night doubleheader, the Mets activated Francisco Lindor from the Injured List. In a corresponding move, Zack Short was designated for assignment. Ronny Mauricio was also activated from the Injured List, and was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Tonight will mark Lindor’s first game since April 22, when he strained his calf, and subsequently spent the next two months on the shelf. He started his rehab assignment on Friday in Binghamton, where he went 1-4 with a strikeout and a run scored. In two subsequent games in Syracuse, he went 3-12 with a stolen base and three runs scored.

The Mets are currently 11 games under .500, and so the injection of a perennial superstar into the lineup, especially as their other superstar recently went down, cannot be better if there is any chance at this team producing meaningful games in July, let alone September.

Short, on his second stint as a Met after a cup of coffee in 2024 where he appeared in ten games, appeared in just three games this go ’round, collecting one hit in nine plate appearances, while also tossing an inning of scoreless relief against the Phillies over the weekend.

Mauricio, who injured his thumb on May 2, had been filling in for Lindor on the big league roster, and so will return to Syracuse where he hopes to get regular playing time.

The San Diego Padres have looked resurgent lately. After losing consecutive series to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers, the Friars reeled off a quick series victory against the Atlanta Braves. But, despite winning the series in just two games, each win was a battle.

San Diego reeled off a 1-0 victory against Atlanta in the series opener. They did so on the backs of a Manny Machado solo shot and Michael King’s seven scoreless innings. Last night, the club battled back from a four-run deficit in the second inning to win the game, 7-6, in extras. 

The Padres have finally shown some fight after floundering for the last few weeks. They’ll need to keep that momentum in order to sweep Atlanta tonight, and to face the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in their upcoming series.

Taking the mound

Martín Pérez (ATL) v. JP Sears (SD)

The former Padre was picked up on a minor league deal with the Braves, and was called up after injuries plagued Atlanta’s rotation. Pérez has surged with the Braves, posting a career-best 2.78 ERA through 68 innings.

But Pérez has struggled a bit recently. He’s still been good (3.27 ERA in last seven starts), but it hasn’t been the same dominance displayed in the start of the season.

Sears, on the other hand, has yet to find a groove at the big-league level. The lefty was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move after starter Lucas Giolito hit the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.

He hasn’t posted great numbers in the minors this season (7.92 ERA, 63.2 IP), but it’s important to remember that the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate plays in the Pacific Coast League. The PCL is known for its hitter-friendly environs, which has certainly affected Sears. It’s impossible to say how he’ll fare tonight against Atlanta because of that. 

Batter up!

After struggling to score in a major way, the offense has finally clicked. The club has scored 30 runs in their last six games. Their approach at the plate looks much more lively than it has in a while, and it’s working for them.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
2. Samad Taylor, RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Gavin Sheets, LF
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Ty France, 1B
8. Miguel Andujar, DH
9. Freddy Fermin, C

Fermin was activated yesterday after being on concussion protocol for the last week. Blake Hunt was sent back down to Triple-A in a corresponding move. He’ll likely start in order to give Rodolfo Durán a day off.

The stars have finally started raking for San Diego. Machado, Merrill and Tatis have looked like themselves at the plate again. It’s proved that the Padres will go as far as that trio can take them. 

Relief corps

Starter Griffin Canning had Wandy Peralta as an opener in Tuesday night’s game. Peralta pitched a fantastic first inning before giving way to Canning. Unfortunately, the strategy didn’t work nearly as well as it did in Canning’s last start. The righty lasted only 2/3 of an inning before being lifted for the bullpen. He gave up four runs to the Braves in the process. 

Because of that, it became an impromptu bullpen game. Thanks to King’s gem on Monday, the relief corps was ready for the task. Kyle Hart and Yuki Matsui covered two-plus innings apiece. David Morgan and Adrian Morejon pitched a perfect seventh and eighth. Mason Miller followed it up with two no-hit innings to put San Diego in position to walk it off. 

The only problem is that now puts pressure on Sears to perform tonight. The bullpen is depleted, with just Jason Adam and Ron Marinaccio immediately available. Morejon and Morgan could pitch in relief (each threw less than 15 pitches on Tuesday night), but the likelier option is for Marinaccio to cover multiple innings for the Friars. 

Here are the lineups for the third game in Washington. Let’s discuss.

For the Phillies:

For the Nationals:

Rockies 8, Red Sox 6

Leverage index & box score

Graphics via FanGraphs.

What is it that makes you so handsome?: Troy Johnston, +0.20 WPA

Nails on a chalkboard: Justin Slaten, -0.27 WPA

Game discussion comment of the day

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The Red Sox probably should’ve swept the lowly Colorado Rockies (though they’re pretty close to the same category these days). They should’ve at least won the series.

They couldn’t even do that.

Ranger Suárez struck out nine batters in six innings with solid run support. Instead of returning home to Fenway this weekend with a 4-2 record on the road trip thanks to series wins in Seattle and Colorado, Boston watched a 6-3 lead turn into an 8-6 loss in the final three innings Wednesday afternoon in a second embarrassing defeat this week. 

Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday’s loss. 

THANK YOU, COORS FIELD

The emphasis of the “Coors Field effect” should not take away from hitters who made a living there in the better Colorado days of yesteryear. Don’t diminish the accolades of great hitters in Larry Walker and Todd Helton to name a few. 

With that said, there’s no doubt the ballpark can reward the below-average bat on a visit to Denver. Andrew Monasterio and Connor Wong graciously accepted that gift with home runs each in the matinee contest. For reference, Monasterio’s solo shot marked just his third long ball of the season while Wong homered for the first time since 2024. 

That’s until the Rockies flipped the script in rough fashion for Boston over the final few innings. 

KEEP AN EYE ON DURBIN
The Red Sox third baseman left the game with a left fifth finger subluxation after diving into first base attempting to beat out an infield hit. Romy Gonzalez is close to a return, but let’s see what the Red Sox infield looks like for the rest of the month depending on Durbin’s status upon the return to Boston.

CAN YOU DO SOMETHING AGAINST THE YANKEES? 

The Red Sox are 1-4 against the Yankees and start the four-game set against New York with another installment of Connelly Early vs. Cam Schlittler. 

The teams also still get the national spotlight, whether these teams are worthy or not, with a 1:10 p.m. start on Saturday on ABC (basically an ESPN game but cool to say) and round out the weekend on Sunday Night Baseball on NBC.