Category: Sports News

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Tsung-Che Cheng. If you’re asking where Cheng geographically calls home, that would be Pingtung County, Taiwan. Cheng, who turns just 25 next month, hit .333, walked 5 times and stole 4 bases without getting caught in the World Baseball Classic while playing for the Taipei team. He then reported back to Worcester where he got the club’s first cycle since the relocation to Worcester in short order and then proceeded to slash .254/.351/.424 with seven home runs, becoming one of the team’s most consistent hitters.

It’s no secret that the Red Sox’ infield depth is in shambles right now, and so Cheng was given the call with just hours to spare to replace Marcelo Mayer as the infielder headed to the IL for some Red Sox-Yankees baseball at Fenway Park this weekend. Cheng wasted little time, getting his first RBI in his first at-bat, a fielder’s choice, and his first hit in the fourth inning.

Is he any good?

He can be. What’s good about Cheng is he can be so many different things. He’s versatile in the field, playing all those middle infield positions but specializing at shortstop, certainly a position of interest since the Red Sox’s injury list is ever-growing. Cheng wasn’t fortunate in his quest to get an MLB hit in stints with the Pirates and Rays, but that speaks more to the amount of time he spent on the roster. He finds balls with the barrel, ranking in the upper echelons of Triple-A in barrel percentage. If you have seen that meme of the couple holding hands and the boyfriend with his back turned towards another woman, the former is Kristian Campbell, who remains in Triple-A, so he’s at least been better than Campbell, and, in my humble opinion, has more upside. He’s also a threat on the basepaths.

Tl;dr, just give me the stats.

(64 games) .254/.351/.424, 7 HR, 3 3B, 10 SB

Show me a cool highlight.

Here’s a home run in the WBC.

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

That ball looked like it was about to leave the park for his first Major League hit in 9 plate appearances dating back to last season. It was such a great moment. Makes me amped how facing the Yankees can give us these moments.

What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?

This really depends on how serious a number of these infield injuries are. Trevor Story won’t be back any time soon. IKF may not be in any rush either. Romy Gonzalez is due back any day, but Marcelo Mayer may need a bit of time with that bone stress reaction, and the timeline isn’t entirely clear with Nick Sogard’s injury, either. Who knows.

In the meantime, Cheng has made contact in Worcester, and the 2026 Red Sox, for all their shortcomings, have a good track record with bringing guys up who appeared to be locked into Triple-A for the year who went hitless in their first Major League stint (the other being Mickey Gasper). It would appear Cheng is up for long enough to either win an every day role as the team hurls towards a trade deadline where they’ll be selling some roster parts off, and one would think a 25-year-old infielder who’s quick on the basepaths and has a contact tool will be left among the rubble come August.

San Diego Padres Manager Craig Stammen employed an opener in Kyle Hart before bringing in his “starter” Randy Vasquez for bulk innings. The strategy seemed to work – until it didn’t. Vasquez came on in the third inning and pitched three scoreless innings. He started the top of the sixth inning but was removed from the game before the inning ended. Vasquez allowed a leadoff double to Freddy Freeman before getting Mookie Betts to ground out. He then allowed seven runs, five of which were earned, and the Padres lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 15-3 at Petco Park on Saturday night.

The nightmarish inning for Vasquez unraveled quickly after the groundout from Betts. Max Muncy reached on an error and Freeman scored to break a 1-1 tie, giving the Dodgers a one-run lead. Tommy Edman tripled to score Muncy and make the score, 3-1 and Edman scored when Kyle Tucker hit a two-run home run to give Los Angeles a 5-1 lead. Dalton Rushing followed with a solo home run and then Vasquez issued a walk and a single to Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani. Ron Marinaccio came on to pitch for the Padres ending the day for Vasquez and walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Freeman then grounded out to bring home another run to make the score 7-1, but San Diego had two outs in the inning. Betts returned to the plate with two on and two out and hit a three-run home run to center field to give Los Angeles a 10-1 lead. Muncy mercifully flied out to end the inning, but the damage was not done.

Marinaccio returned to the for the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning but opened the top of the eighth with a single, walk and a single to load the bases an end his night. David Morgan was called on to try to prevent or at least limit the potential damage in the inning and he started well getting Betts to strikeout. With one out and the bases still loaded a ground ball would have gotten the Padres out of the inning, but that was not to be the case. Muncy hit a ground ball to third but Will Wagner, who replaced Manny Machado at third base, was unable to make the throw to first in time, allowing Muncy to reach and extended the Dodgers lead to 11-3 after the San Diego added runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Edman hit an RBI-groundout to make the score, 12-3 but Tucker followed with a two-run single to give Los Angeles a 14-3 lead. Morgan brought the inning to an end with a strikeout of Rushing.

The Dodgers tacked on a run in the top of the ninth inning off Rodolfo Duran was brought in to pitch as a position player. The catcher got the first two outs of the inning before Andy Pages hit a double and scored when the following batter, Ryan Ward, singled to bring him home.

Hart allowed one run on two hits and a walk over two innings pitched, but the one run was a result of a missed diving attempt by Fernando Tatis Jr. on a ball to right field by Muncy which allowed him to reach third base on a triple. Edman followed with a double to center field to score Muncy for the first run of the game. Vasquez allowed seven runs, five earned, on eight hits with a walk over 3.1 innings and Marinaccio allowed five runs, three earned, on three hits with three walks over 1.2 innings. Morgan allowed a run on two hits and Duran allowed a run on two hits. The San Diego offense was led by Gavin Sheets who finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two singles, a run scored and two RBI.

The Padres attempt to have a bounce back performance in the rubber game today at 1:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Jhony Brito completed another five innings in the minors and allowed three unearned runs as he continues to push toward a callup.

• Ty France was hit on the wrist during an at-bat on Friday night, but it was revealed prior to the game on Saturday that the X-rays were negative. France was out of the lineup, but that appeared to be a precautionary measure.

Baseball News:

• David Peterson made his debut for the Chicago Cubs after his recent trade from the New York Mets and he pitched his new team to an 8-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

• The Chicago White Sox got a walk-off single to beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1.

• The Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees and will look to complete a four-game sweep today.

• Hunter Goodman hit three home runs, and the Colorado Rockies topped the Minnesota Twins.

• The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2.

• Rafael Devers hit two home runs to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 5-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/3-2)

LEHIGH VALLEY 8. SYRACUSE 6 (BOX)

Syracuse was leading, then gave up 6 runs in the bottom of the eighth. You can really feel the volume of organizational injuries looking at the Triple-A bullpen and it’s reflected in their performance. The rehabbing Jorge Polanco went hitless in three at bats.

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-5, 2 K
• REHAB ALERT: DH Jorge Polanco: 0-3, K
• PH-DH Hayden Senger: 0-0, R, BB
• PH Ryan Clifford: 0-1
• 2B Ji Hwan Bae: 2-4, 2 R, 3B, BB
• RF Cristian Pache: 2-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI
• 3B Yonny Hernández: 3-4, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI
• LF Jared Oliva: 0-3, BB, K
• SS Vidal Bruján: 1-4, RBI
• 1B Grae Kessinger: 0-4, K
• C Kevin Parada: 1-4, K
• RHP Xzavion Curry: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• RHP Parker Carlson: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• RHP Joey Gerber: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• LHP Matt Turner: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Guillo Zuñiga: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (0-1)
• RHP Ofreidy Gómez: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/1-4)

ERIE 8, BINGHAMTON 1 (BOX)

The Rumble Ponies really cannot get out of Erie soon enough. This has been a week of horrible blow out losses and last night was no different.

• DH Chris Suero: 1-4
• CF Jose Ramos: 1-3, BB
• 1B Nick Lorusso: 0-4, K
• C Vincent Perozo: 1-4, 2 K
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, R, BB
• RF Jaylen Palmer: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K
• 3B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-4, K
• LF Nick Lucky: 1-3, 2 K
• 2B Nick Roselli: 0-3, 3 K
• RHP R.J. Gordon: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, L (0-5), E (3)
• RHP Justin Armbruester: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Saul Garcia: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• RHP Brian Metoyer: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/4-4)

BROOKLYN 9, JERSEY SHORE 1 (BOX)

A grand slam from JT Benson capped a 9-run outburst from the Cyclones. That backed a very nice pitching performance, including two perfect rehab innings from Robert Stock. Mitch Voit stole his 26th base of the season but continues to be a middling offensive performer overall.

• SS Mitch Voit: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K, SB (26)
• DH Ronald Hernandez: 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB (16)
• CF John Bay: 1-4, R, K
• 3B Jamari Baylor: 0-2, R, BB, K
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• RF JT Benson: 2-3, R, HR (5), 4 RBI, BB, K, SB (5)
• 2B Colin Houck: 0-4, 2 K
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4, 2 K
• LF Yohairo Cuevas: 1-4, R, HR (1), RBI, K
• RHP Dakota Hawkins: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-0)
• REHAB ALERT: RHP Robert Stock: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Josh Blum: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/2-4)

POSTPONED (RAIN)

Rookie: FCL Mets (15-24)

FCL NATIONALS 6, FCL METS 5 / 7 (BOX)

• CF Wyatt Vincent: 1-4, 2 K
• DH Bohan Adderley: 2-4, 2 R
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 1-2, R, 2 BB, 2 E (7)
• 3B Roybert Herrera: 1-4, R, RBI, K
• 2B Vladi Gomez: 0-3, BB, K
• RF Heriberto Rincon: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
• SS Yorber Semprun: 0-2, R, BB, 2 K, SB (4)
• 1B Yeider Mindiola: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• LF Adolfo Miranda: 0-4, K, SB (3)
• RHP Jean Brito: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, L (2-2)
• LHP Luis Sotillo: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Jun-Seok Shim: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 0 K
• RHP Yoralbert Cadiz: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

STAR OF THE NIGHT

JT Benson

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Matt Turner

After Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer for the Pittsburgh Pirates in yesterday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, it gave hime a total of 20 dingers for the 2026 MLB season. That mark stands the highest since 2019, when Josh Bell had 27 homers at the break on his way to a 37-home run campaign.

WOWOWOW B-LOWE!

HR NUMBER 2️⃣0️⃣! pic.twitter.com/6DFRY6QIE9

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 27, 2026

Lowe also had a sac fly RBI later on in the game, giving him 56 RBIs for the year for the Buccos, and he leads the team in both homers and RBIs. Those marks have Lowe at seventh in the league for homers and ninth in the league for RBIs.

Lowe was the pickup of the year when he came over in December from the Tampa Bay Rays along with Jake Mangum and Mason Montogomery, and with Lowe becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, he should be a priority signing for the Bucs. Lowe is making just $11 million this season, and with a career year under his belt provided he stays healthy and keeps producing in 2026, that salary number is going up. Way up.

As for the last Bucs player to hit that many homers by the break, Josh Bell is currently playing for the Minnesota Twins, where he has 9 homers and 51 RBIs at the moment. Last season, for the Washington Nationals, Bell hit 22 homers and 63 RBIs. So he is still producing years after leaving the Buccos.

So what do you think, Bucs fans? Will the team be able to re-sign Lowe in the offseason? If so, what do you think it will take to get a contract done? If not, where do you think he goes in Free Agency? Tell us in the comments section what direction both Lowe and the Bucs go when we get to the offseason.

David Peterson’s first pitch as a Cub was deposited into the seats at American Family Field for a home run.

You could have been forgiven if you thought, “Here we go again,” after seeing that.

But Peterson settled down and had a solid 5.2 inning, two-run outing and the Cubs rode home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ to an 8-2 win over the Brewers, evening up this series with their first win over their diviion rivals this year.

About that home run, from BCB’s JohnW53:

David Peterson is the fourth Cubs pitcher this season to surrender a home run in his first game with the team.
His was to the first batter he faced. Tyler Ferguson served up a homer to his second batter; Jacob Webb, to his fourth; and Jayden Murray, to his fifth.

Last year, Michael Soroka was victimized by his seventh batter and Cade Horton by his 16th.

Peterson is the 296th pitcher to give up a homer during his first two games as a Cub. (Baseball-reference no longer permits a search for a one-game span!) Hoby Milner this season and Aaron Civale last year allowed homers in their second game.

The 1-0 Milwaukee lead held for the first three innings, as Kyle Harrison set down the first 10 Cubs in order. During those three innings, Peterson had some help from his defense.

Check out this nice snag of a Sal Frelick line drive by Alex Bregman in the second [VIDEO].

And then Dansby Swanson turned this strike-out-throw-out double play to end the third [VIDEO].

Chourio was faked out by Swanson there. Chourio thought the ball had gone through into center field, but Swanson caught it and easily threw Chourio out at third.

The Cubs infield turned another good play behind Peterson in the fourth – this nice snag of a line drive by Michael Busch [VIDEO].

In the fifth, Peterson got more Cubs defensive help. With one on and nobody out, Nico Hoerner and Swanson turned this slick double play [VIDEO].

This is exactly what many of us were talking about when we said Peterson would be helped out by the Cubs’ elite defense. Right there are good plays by every one of the Cubs infielders. Let’s just say that Peterson didn’t get that sort of defensive help in New York.

After that, the Cubs took the lead. Matt Shaw singled with one out in the fourth and Suzuki launched this home run [VIDEO].

The Brewers tied the game 2-2 in the fifth on an RBI single by Frelick, but then the Cubs blew things open in the sixth, all after the first two Cubs were routine outs. Bregman and Michael Busch walked, and this single by Nico scored Bregman to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead [VIDEO].

The very next pitch from Chad Patrick was smashed for a three-run homer by Happ [VIDEO].

More on Happ’s homer from John:

Ian Happ’s home run was his 190th as a Cub, tying him for 11th most in team history with Hack Wilson. Wilson’s came in 850 games. This was Happ’s 1,218th.

Hank Sauer is next, with 198 in 862 games.

Twenty-six Cubs have hit at least 100 homers.

Peterson was removed with two out in the sixth. He allowed just the two runs, didn’t walk anyone and threw an efficient 69 pitches. He probably could have gone longer, but I imagine Craig Counsell didn’t want to push him in his first Cub start.

Here’s more on Peterson’s outing [VIDEO].

Tyler Ferguson finished off the sixth without incident and then Jacob Webb, Trent Thornton and Vince Velasquez each threw a scoreless inning to wrap things up. For the first time in a while, I can say the Cubs pen really did its job – 3.1 innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts.

The Cubs put two more runs on the board to complete the scoring. With one out in the seventh, Shaw walked and Suzuki singled him to third. This sac fly by Bregman scored Shaw to make it 7-2 [VIDEO].

The Cubs’ eighth and final run came on a pinch homer by Michael Conforto in the eighth [VIDEO].

More on that homer from John:

Michael Conforto has hit three pinch-hit home runs since May 4. The last Cub with three pinch-hit homers in a season was Julio Zuleta, with three in 2001, between May 1 and June 5. Conforto’s third was the Cubs’ 127th pinch homer since then.

Here’s the final out of the game [VIDEO].

You can see Garrett Mitchell not running that ball out. Here’s why – he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury earlier in the at-bat [VIDEO].

This was a satisfying win in every way. The Cubs bats came alive against a pretty good pitcher. Their new pitching acquisition threw well. The team played solid defense. Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

The Cubs will go for a series win Sunday afternoon. They’ll have to do it with a bullpen game. Ryan Rolison will be the opener. Rolison last threw on Wednesday, when he threw 18 pitches in the first game of the doubleheader against the Mets. I suppose he might be able to go two innings and after that… who knows? Brandon Woodruff will start for the Brewers. Game time is 1:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The second half of June has not been kind to the St. Louis Cardinals and their postseason standings, but there are still personal bright spots to pick from during these tough times. My player to watch this season Blaze Jordan could no longer be ignored and has been the everyday third baseman upon his promotion, while Alec Burleson continues to cement himself among the league’s top-10 first basemen. How long they remain in those spots, however, remains to be seen.

As the offense continue to be… offensive to our eyes, Burleson has not slumped along with everyone else still putting up an OPS nearing .900 but without the run production thanks to the top of the lineup. That RBI lead over the last seven days actually belongs to Jordan who’s five RBIs top the lineup. This could also be a talking point for the team’s overall struggle since the offense has scored less than four runs per game over the last week. With that production coming from the corner infield, it keeps me wondering what the long-term plan Chaim continues to mention has laid out for those spots.

Blaze Jordan and Alec Burleson are either cornerstones or placeholders for the future

After debuting with a blast, Blaze has slowed down outside of his three RBI game. Over the past week, he is hitting .200 with a .478 OPS but he continues to be slotted into the lower-third of the order. To me, Jordan is an “eye test” player as the numbers do not usually tell the whole story, especially for his defense. Right before his promotion, the word on the street was that he was not viewed as a third baseman, and lo and behold, here he is playing the position with some first sprinkled in.

While the average is nothing to be excited about, he has been able to put the ball in play, only striking out three times in 15 at-bats after concerns about his chase rate popped up. He has also performed well at the hot corner, making the routine plays look routine while also making a couple of plus plays in his short time in the bigs. Jordan has one total error in over 120 defensive innings and the advanced statistics are actually bullish on his performance thus far. With light tower power, the ability to make contact, and decent defense, Blaze could have played his way from organizational depth to a long(er) term big league piece.

Jordan finally got his chance thanks to Nolan Gorman’s inability to hit anything and Gorm is just starting his re-development process down in Memphis. With the Cardinals unlikely to rush Gorman back to the majors and ensuring he gets necessary playing time, Jordan’s leash in St. Louis is extending further. This is not just because of Gorm, though, as there is next to nobody in the minor league system with top prospect pedigree at the hot corner. Not that prospect rankings mean everything, but behind Gorman sits the FanGraphs unranked Ramon Mendoza and Deniel Ortiz seeing time at third base.

This leads me to the conclusion that the future of the position is not currently in the organization, even when looking further down to players like Jesus Baez or Yairo Padilla who have third as a fallback if their primary spots don’t work out. With the timeline back to perennial contention unclear, it is hard to determine if this is a position that Chaim will actively target at this year’s deadline or if he will acquire who is deemed the best prospect available regardless of position.

Moving across the diamond sits the sixth-best first baseman in all of baseball according to fWAR. His 1.9 value sits fourth in the NL despite still measuring as a slightly below-average fielder while passing the eye test with flying colors. Second-oldest on the team behind Lars Nootbaar, Burleson has become a steady presence in the middle of the order and now sits tied for fifth in baseball with 57 RBIs. With an .832 OPS and 2.5 seasons of team control remaining, the conversation should be about who to surround Burly with in the order for the future.

The lefty has continued to improve every season since debuting back in 2022 and is well on pace for his most productive season, coming a year after winning the Silver Slugger award as a utility player. While Burleson does not have the same pop as the typical first baseman, his batting average and doubles total is near the top of the leaderboard, putting his OPS in a spot to be in the conversation for the award as a one position player.

This type of profile, and eventual expiring contract, could make Burleson someone who is on the way out rather than here for the long haul a la Brendan Donovan. Burly’s price could arguably be higher than Donnie’s as he has been a more productive hitter but without the defensive versatility of the former Cardinal. The return from Seattle is nothing to scoff at, but Burleson is two years younger and $2.5 million cheaper than the traded utility man, so an acquiring team would have to give up a lot to convince Chaim Bloom to separate from one of the few “sure things” on the major league roster.

Similar to Jordan’s situation, Burleson has little behind him that could fill his major league spot if a trade were to happen. Blaze has played a couple games at first this season when Burly has been out of the lineup with 30-year-old Bligh Madris taking over for Jordan down in Memphis. Catcher Leonardo Bernal has seen some time at first, but with Jimmy Crooks in the bigs, Bernal has been able to spend more time behind the dish. Springfield has had Deniel Ortiz and Trey Paige split time at first, but High-A one bagger Jack Gurevitch has had the most success this year. The 22-year-old has taken a great step forward in his second season of professional baseball and has found a way to improve both his power and average.

Like Donovan, Burleson might just be the best player on the St. Louis Cardinals at the wrong time. With the team going through another summer struggle, it is continuing the be clear that the best strategy for this season is to sell the valuable pieces, which could expand beyond those on expiring deals. I would personally be surprised if Burleson were to be dangled on the trade block this season, but it is always necessary for team’s to do their due diligence, especially with a piece as potentially valuable as Burleson.

Let me know what you think the Cardinals should do with the corner infield. On Cardinals on My Time this week, Royce Lewis was mentioned as a potential target while trading Burleson was deemed “idiotic”. What do you see Burleson’s future is with the organization and is Blaze more than just a placeholder?

Side note: I looked at Doc’s poll results for what the readers want and MILB content was near the top. I plan to get a minor league update pod recorded within the next week, so if you have certain questions about the minors, drop them below as well.

Thanks as always!

The offensive deluge of the first two months of the baseball calendar has been replaced with a dribble in June. Through May, the Braves were second in home runs, third in batting average, slugging, wRC+ and xwOBA. And they were way out in front. In June, they are 27th in batting average, 28th in slugging, 29th in xwOBA, tied for last in home runs and last in wRC+. A team that was attacking pitches in the heart of the plate are taking many of those now.

On the other hand, the number of injuries is more than you can count on one hand. Ronald Acuña Jr is away until the All-Star Break. Michael Harris II has fought back issues. Sean Murphy has played four games. Drake Baldwin hurt his oblique and hasn’t looked the same since. Eli White visited the concussion list. And Ha-Seong Kim’s season has yet to get off the ground after cutting his hand open during the offseason.

I’ve honestly heard worse ideas than adding a new hitting coach. I think it’s interesting that Mauricio Dubon has a 145 wRC+ in June before last night’s game. We know he spent time with Chipper Jones in the offseason. But I don’t know that you can ignore the injuries either. I’m not convinced that Ha-Seong Kim is fully healthy. He has no power right now and I don’t think it’s fully an approach issue.

Does Tim Hyers need to go? I’ve seen that suggested here and various places. Let’s talk about it then.

Just over half way through the season, the Phillies are sitting comfortably in second place in the NL East with a shot at still catching the Braves before the All Star break. It’s maybe not the position anyone expected them to be in before the season started, but considering they began the season 9-19, it’s a wonder they’re still in it at all.

There have already been significant changes to the makeup of the team – most notably Rob Thomson’s firing in April. They’ve gained an unexpected boon in the early return of Zack Wheeler and have recently benefitted a lot from acquiring Derick Hill from the White Sox. But they’ve also lost Adolis Garcia to a season-ending injury, released Taijuan Walker, optioned both Tanner Banks and Andrew Painter, significantly reduced Justin Crawford’s playing time, and had Jhoan Duran, JT Realmuto, and Brad Keller all miss time due to injury.

In the winter, there were three distinct priorities for off-season moves that the Phillies needed to address: Retaining Kyle Schwarber, stabilizing the outfield, and bolstering the pitching staff. In theory, they did all three by re-signing Schwarber, committing to Crawford, and signing Garcia and Keller. But we’re now half way through the season and only one of those actions has so far been fruitful. The outfield is a rotation based on the opposing pitcher, there’s no clear fifth starter, and as mentioned many times in Friday’s discussion the bullpen after Duran is questionable.

And yet… they’re not only in a playoff position, but still reasonably within striking distance of claiming their third consecutive division title.

So, did the Phillies do enough this off season to be contenders? If not, what more should they have done? What more could they reasonably have done?

William Blake probably wasn’t a baseball fan. The Romantic poet of mystical prophecy, of beautiful and terrible visions, died in 1827, well before he could write about a magnificent dinger, and probably couldn’t even in his wildest fire-breathing fantasies conceive of Shohei Ohtani (though given that he believed all of the human species was essentially god, would have understood his power). 

Regardless though, I was thinking about baseball while leafing through a collection of his the other night, right after the Sox walloped Kansas City, 22-1. A short early poem titled (almost as a placeholder) “Song,” begins like this:

How sweet I roam’d from field to field 
And tasted all the summer’s pride
‘Till I the prince of love beheld
Who in the sunny beams did glide
He shew’d me lilies for my hair
And blushing roses for my brow;
He led me through his gardens fair,
Where all his golden pleasures grow

It’s nice, right? It feels like summer. And this summer feels different. It feels like there are possibilities inherent in the season. That games aren’t lost until they are over. And there are games like the 81st game of the season, the halfway point, where the Sox walked off Kansas City, 2-1. Probably closer than you’d like against Kansas City, but what the hell. Some games are easier than others, and a win is a win. It brought the White Sox record to 43-38, near a season high for over .500. 

A win is a win. That would not be the case the last couple of years. In 2025, the Sox won Game 81, a 7-3 victory of Arizona. It was the team’s third win over a 14-game streak, and brought the record up to 26-55. The 81st game in 2024 was a respectable 4-3 loss to the Dodgers, during a mild, four-game losing streak. The record after that was 21-60. 

So, if my math is correct, after 162 combined games, the 2024-25 Sox had 47 wins. 

The 2026 Sox have 43. After 81 games. This is a beautiful and terrible state of affairs. 

It’s beautiful to believe. It’s beautiful to have a summer of hope. It’s beautiful to feel confident that the boys are going to pull out a close game, that the crowd will roar, that they’ll run after each other with youthful exuberance, tongues wagging, excited for whomever is the hero of the moment. It feels like baseball. It feels like summer. 

So why is it terrible? Well, as the poem goes on — and I’ll do you a favor and skip the third stanza — the prince of love captures the narrator and puts her in a cage. 

He loves to laugh and hear me sing
Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;
Then stretches out my golden wing
And mocks my loss of liberty

And, hell, that’s where we are now, isn’t it? The season is halfway over and the Sox are in first place. We’ve gone through 81 games with ups and downs, but as fans we are locked in. It’s impossible to look away. Every game matters. 

That’s how baseball traps your summer and moves you into fall. When the season doesn’t matter — when it is over by the end of April — you pay attention, but don’t care. Now each bad move feels like agony. Now each loss resounds far more than anything during a lengthy losing streak. Even though we know we’re playing with house money, and the season is already a success, it doesn’t feel like it. 

It feels important. It feels dangerous. It feels nauseating to think about a losing streak. We’re watching the Cleveland scores. We’re worried about Detroit (note: future column using Blake’s “Tyger, Tyger”). Anything short of the playoffs will feel like a letdown, a sentence that would have been ridiculous at the beginning of the season. 

Baseball has its claws in us again. It’s a loss of liberty. We’re hooked, heavy as lead. 

There will be slumps and streaks; there will be moves we love and moves we hate. There are important bullpen decisions, as David James deftly analyzed on Saturday. There is the minutiae and the sticky everyday of July and August through which we’ll sweat. But that sweat, as uncomfortable as it may be, matters. 

We’re halfway home, and the season fireworks with possibilities. Which way will it go? Well, as Blake said in “Auguries of Innocence”:

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

Sweet delight? Endless night? It could go anywhere. And after 81 games, not knowing how this season will end is far beyond what anyone prophesied.  

Meet the Mets

The Mets rallied with four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to pick up a 6-2 victory over the Phillies. In the process, they ended a seven-game skid and got Andy Green his first win as the interim manager.

Choose Your Recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Daily News, NY Post, ESPN, Faith and Fear in Flushing

Before the game, the team activated Christian Scott to make the start and sent Zach Thornton back to Syracuse after his solid performance in Friday night’s loss.

Chelsea Janes broke down how the Mets and David Stearns are navigating an uncertain present and future at the moment.

Will Sammon brought us inside the turmoil of the Mets’ clubhouse, which showed that Carlos Mendoza may be far from the team’s biggest problem.

Brad Ausmus and Luis Rojas, both currently on the Yankees, know exactly how Mendoza is feeling.

Andy Green’s role has changed, but his mission has not.

Green is looking to build strong relationships on the fly.

Joel Sherman proposed an unorthodox test that the club can employ for their next managerial search.

Bill Madden identified three baseball guys Steve Cohen should look at to fix this mess.

Roger Rubin lamented the Mets wasting another year of Juan Soto’s prime, which isn’t the vision that was promised.

Given his recent success, Jared Young is expected to receive a ‘lion’s share’ of the playing time at first base from here on out.

The Mets outrighted Zack Short to Triple-A after he was DFA’ed.

Jorge Polanco went 0-for-3 in a rehab game for Syracuse last night. He batted second and served as Syracuse’s DH in his first rehab game since June 5.

The Cubs are banking on a change of scenery being exactly what David Peterson needs to succeed. It seemed to work well for the former Met’ left-hander last night.

Around the National League East

The Phillies signed Tommy Pham to a minor league deal. Pham has a July 25 opt out with his new deal.

The Braves signed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to a minor league deal after he was released by Arizona. Santana hopes to make a smooth transition to Atlanta as he reports to Triple-A.

The Nationals beat the Orioles 4-3 in ten innings.

The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 5-1 for their fourth straight win and eighth in ten games.

The Braves were blanked 5-0 by the Giants.

Around Major League Baseball

Brent Maguire looked at the playoff picture at the halfway point of the regular season.

Jared Greenspan examined how close the Dodgers’ big stars are to returning to the field.

Mark Feinsand explained why the Tigers could have the biggest impact on the upcoming trade deadline.

The Angels introduced their interim GM John Mozeliak.

Ron Kittle and his now-wife Barbara were married by Jerry Reinsdorf during last night’s 22-1 White Sox win. Better yet? They were married during the 10-run third inning.

Gunnar Henderson surprised some local kids with specialized cleats.

Orioles’ President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias made it clear that he wants Adley Rutschman to remain in Baltimore ‘forever’.

The Blue Jays are calling up Sean Keys, their slugging prospect, to help with their struggling offense.

Cole Ragans of the Royals will undergo elbow surgery on July 1.

Trent Grisham is expected back on the Yankees’ upcoming homestand, and Ryan McMahon will soon follow.

Jake Bennet was dealing, helping the Red Sox handle the Yankees 4-1. As a result, the Red Sox are on the verge of a four-game sweep against their bitter rivals. Gerrit Cole was tagged early and could not complete six innings.

The Astros scored three in the eighth to come back and beat the Tigers 8-6.

White Sox rookie Carlos Gonzalez hit a walk-off single to help Chicago rally for a 2-1 win over the Royals.

The Rangers put up a five-spot in the fifth and held on to beat the Blue Jays 7-4.

Down to their last strike, Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run home run to lift the Reds over the Pirates 9-7 in a rainy rollercoaster.

The Rays doubled up the Diamondbacks 4-2. The win, combined with the Yankees’ loss to Boston, helped the Rays climb back into first place in the AL East.

The Dodgers annihilated the Padres 15-3 behind a nine-run sixth, their biggest offensive inning in San Diego in nearly six decades.

The Cubs beat up the Brewers 8-2 behind David Peterson’s strong debut for his new club (5 2/3 innings, two earned runs). For the ailing Cubs, it was everything they could have hoped for.

The Rockies held off the Twins 8-5. Hunter Goodman hit three home runs and became the first NL backstop since Johnny Bench to hit 25 homers in the team’s first 83 games.

The Guardians held on to beat the Mariners 4-3.

The Angels toppled the Athletics 5-2.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2024, the Mets beat the Astros 7-2 behind home runs from Tyrone Taylor, Jeff McNeil, and Pete Alonso. After the game, international pop star Candelita serenaded the team and the crowd with a live version of “OMG” in a postgame performance.

Rangers 7, Blue Jays 4

• And that’s a series win.
• This win was much like the first two wins in the series. Texas got up early by a good amount then held on to win despite some bullpen shenanigans.
• Cal Quantrill, pressed into rotational duty due to Jack Leiter going on the injured list, gave the Rangers four shutout innings. Cal Quantrill, of all people!
• Robby Ahlstrom and Joe Ross then tried to make Quantrill’s work for naught, though they were unsuccessful in that regard.
• Ahlstrom was asked to pitch two days in a row, and in neither of the two days did he have success, retiring just one of three batters in the previous game and just one of four batters in this game. He was replaced by Joe Ross, who fared a little better, retiring four of eight batters faced.
• Two runs got put on Ahlstrom’s ledger and two on Ross’s ledger before Peyton Gray rode to the rescue.
• Gray had to give up a single first, to worry us, then retired the next seven batters he faced. That ended up being good enough to get credit for the win in the game, with Tyler Alexander recording the save.
• I would prefer it if the Rangers would not give up a bunch of runs in the middle or late innings to turn a big lead into a smaller lead. However, the fact that the offense is scoring enough runs that the team is still winning makes it something that is not as angst-producing as it might otherwise be.
• After putting up a singleton in the first, Texas had a big five run inning in the fifth, then capped off the scoring with a Corey Seager homer in the sixth.
• It was Seager’s first hit since coming off the concussion injured list. He had a Three True Outcomes game, walking once and striking out in his other three plate appearances.
• Wyatt Langford was a late scratch because of hamstring tightness, with Skip Schumaker opting not to risk making the hamstring issue worse with Langford having already missed a good chunk of the season due to injury. It turned out he wasn’t needed.
• Jake Burger had three hits. Alejandro Osuna, facing a likely trip back to Round Rock next week when Evan Carter returns, had a couple of hits.
• I am happy to report to you that the Mariners lost, so the Rangers are just a half game back of Seattle in the American League West.
• Unfortunately, the Rangers are also a game under .500 now, and being a game under .500 has almost always meant a loss as of late.
• But surely that won’t continue, right? Right?
• The Rangers are also in sole possession of WC3 as a result of this win.
• Cal Quantrill hit 96.1 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom touched 94.6 mph with his sinker. Joe Ross maxed out at 96.7 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray’s fastball topped out at 94.4 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball hit 93.1 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 107.7 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.3 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 100.9 mph fly out. Ezequiel Duran had a 100.7 mph single.
• Six down, four to go.