Category: Sports News

One of the least-swept teams in baseball found themselves on the wrong end of history yesterday. The San Diego Padres were swept for just the third time this season after the Chicago Cubs scored 23 runs against the Friars. That total ties the Padres’ record for runs allowed in a game. It was a tough one to stomach for a team that has showed fight the last few games.

With starter Walker Buehler on the mound, it was the first pitcher that the Friar Faithful could feel confident about. Instead, Buehler disappointed and was tagged for nine runs in the blowout loss, seven coming via the long ball. It felt like the ball flew out of the yard for everybody but the Padres, who only put up three runs. They went a miserable 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

It’s been a part of a continuing trend toward mediocrity. The Friars need a win now more than ever and the schedule does not get easier from here. They’ll face the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for the second time this week, needing a turnaround to the slump San Diego has been mired in.

Taking the mound

Roki Sasaki (LAD) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

Sasaki started for L.A. in the only Padres’ win of last week’s series. All things considered, he pitched well apart from an 0-2 mistake to Ty France that ended up in the left field seats. The righty has been serviceable for the Dodgers this year, helping to bolster a rotation struggling with injuries.

He’s also looked better lately, with a 3.99 ERA across his last 38 1/3 innings compared to a 4.88 mark this season. Sasaki’s command has gotten better lately too (1.07 WHIP) despite walking five batters in last week’s contest against San Diego.

Vásquez continues to underwhelm on the mound. He owns a 7.34 ERA in his lasts seven starts. He’s only gone 6 2/3 combined innings across his last two games, and surrendered 10 runs in those frames. It’s been rough going for the young right-hander.

Which is why it’s tough for the Padres to pin their hopes on him as a stopper. San Diego is on a five-game losing streak. They need a win any way they can get it, and Vásquez will need to pitch the game of his life in order to turn things around for the Friars.

Batter up!

Two good things happened in yesterday’s blowout loss. Sung-Mun Song hit his first MLB home run! For a player who was signed for his pop in the KBO, it’s comforting to see that first one. (Hopefully they come in bunches.) And Jake Cronenworth went 3-for-4 at the plate in his second game back. He’s now batting .429 since coming off the IL Monday (7 at-bats).

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

At this point, the offense looks almost irredeemable. Almost. This is still the team that stormed back from a middling 50-49 record at the 2024 All-Star break to post the best second-half record in all of baseball (43-20). Baseball is a game that can change in the blink of an eye. It’s never over until the last out is recorded. The lineup has shown some potency. If it can add consistency to that, it could be the best in all of MLB.

Relief corps

To call it a 23-run blowout is a bit of a disservice. The Cubs scored eight runs against catcher Rodolfo Durán in their final frame. He covered two innings for the Friars to help rest their ‘pen. Even accounting for that, a 15-3 loss is still a blowout. Thanks to Durán, only Kyle Hart was called on out of the bullpen.

Thankfully, Vásquez will have some breathing room with the entire bullpen (excluding Hart) available tonight. Jason Adam, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez are all available to pitch out of the ‘pen. That said, San Diego doesn’t have an off day until the All-Star break. It would be nice to give the relief corps a rest after covering 10 innings in Chicago.

The pitching staff has been asked to be perfect time and again, and now that has begun to implode San Diego’s club. San Diego pitchers have surrendered 47 runs in their last six games. During the five-game losing streak, it’s 46 runs. The lineup needs to produce more to give their pitching some leeway.

Despite having been a fan for nearly 30 years, this is quite possibly the most painful season I’ve ever watched. I think I was shielded a bit during the aughts by my childish belief that the Royals could go on a 15-game winning streak at any moment. I used to believe that pitcher ERAs entering a game significantly influenced who likely had the upper hand. And, honestly, I simply didn’t pay as close attention because I was so much busier during the times baseball was being played and didn’t have a computer in my pocket to keep me up to date on every single play.

Few series this year have been as painful as the ones against AL East opponents. The Royals are 3-15 against AL East opponents. The series against the Orioles, where they won that third game, feels so long ago I’d almost forgotten it. Of course, they won their first two matches against Tampa Bay in Tampa, so things were feeling quite a bit better this time last week, but, these are the 2026 Royals. They’ll win 5 of 6 just so they can lose 9 of their next 10 and really drive home how disappointing all these losses are.

The good news is that Stephen Kolek will return to the mound for KC tonight. He went on the Parental Leave list last weekend ahead of the birth of his first child. Then, because she was born prematurely, he was shifted to the Family Medical Emergency List (There are a lot of lists for players to be on) earlier this week to spend more time with his family. But he’s back now, so hopefully that means good things for the health of his growing family, and it also means we don’t have to watch Mitch Spence tonight.

Jose Cuas is the one who got demoted after throwing two innings last night, which is unfortunate for him, but hopefully, he’ll be back soon.

The Rays will be using Ian Seymour, the author of the beginning of the latest disaster period. (I like to think of Griffin Jax’s victory in the third game of the series last week as the prologue.) Last time, Seymour pitched as a bulk reliever and pitched a hitless 6.2 innings. This time I guess the Rays thought they’d let him see if he could get the no-hitter by himself. I’m not betting against him.

Lineups

Salvador Perez is getting another day off after hitting into two double plays last night. Unfortunately, that means the middle third of the Royals’ lineup goes Lane Thomas, Starling Marte, and Nick Loftin. In an ideal world, none of those guys would be batting in those positions either. But the Royals stopped playing in an ideal world almost before the season started.

Also, apparently, it might mean Salvy is hurting. The Royals designated Eric Cerantola for assignment and demoted John Rave (who absolutely did not deserve it, but what can you do) to add Luke Maile back to the roster. If the Royals think they need three catchers and one of those guys is catching and leading off tonight, you don’t have to be all that good at math to know something is adding up bad for the other guy.

Of course, the Rays have Victor Mesa Jr., Chandler Simpson, and Cedric Mullins in the same spots. They wouldn’t be my first, second, or third choices to bat there either. The Royals will have to find another reason for their failures than having guys out of position in the lineup, perhaps.

Junior Caminero is still in the Rays’ lineup. I’m torn between wanting the Royals to intentionally walk him every time and just let the guy hit some more dingers because what harm can it do KC, and it would be awful to end his homer streak by intentionally walking him in every AB. Don’t forget, no baseball tomorrow because of the World Cup. Enjoy the break!

Detroit Tigers @ Texas Rangers

Thursday, July 02, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

LHP Framber Valdez vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi

Go Rangers!

The Atlanta Braves are taking on the St. Louis Cardinals looking to secure their first series win since the twentieth of June, almost two full weeks ago.

Hurston Waldrep is making his much anticipated first start of the season after making one appearance this year where he went two innings. It will be interesting to see if he will be on a strict pitch count and how long he will go if he is pitching well. He will be facing Dustin May who had a one hit shutout two starts ago but followed that up with a six earned run start where he was removed after two innings.

If the Braves can get the bats going early, they may have a shot to get a two-game winning streak going for the first time since that series win previously mentioned.

First pitch is at 7:15 EDT. Follow along in the comments.

Lineup

Preview

Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Will tempers flare in Padres rematch?

Around this time last year, the Dodgers-Padres rivalry reached its boiling point, after a flurry of hit batters amid a stretch of seven games in 10 days between the clubs led to a benches-clearing incident at Dodger Stadium.

This weekend, similar circumstances could be in place.

The teams, fresh off the Dodgers’ series win in San Diego last weekend, are again engaged in a seven-games-in-10-days stretch. And last Sunday’s finale at Petco Park saw five batters get hit –– including Fernando Tatis Jr., whose repeated plunkings last year served as kindling to the rivalry’s eventual blowup.

Granted, tempers didn’t flare then. And a key piece of last year’s hot-blooded equation — former Padres manager Mike Shildt, who confronted Dave Roberts during the June 2025 melee — is no longer in the picture.

Another key difference now: The Dodgers have pulled away in the National League West race, entering with a 12-game division lead that already feels almost insurmountable.

Still, if the Padres are going to get back into the division picture, this four-game trip to Chavez Ravine represents their best opportunity. That could enhance the stakes of the series and perhaps the emotions of a quick-turn rematch, too.

“We try to take every series with the same importance,” Roberts said on the eve of this weekend’s series. “But obviously you know winning that series would be [big]. That is the goal.”

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tommy Edman (.366 average, 1 home run, 8 RBIs in 12 games back from offseason ankle surgery)

After he played through — and was clearly hampered by — an ankle injury for most of last year, it was easy to forget how impactful a healthy Edman can be.

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The switch-hitting utility man has offered a quick reminder lately, however, returning to action with a flurry of production after missing the first three months of the year recovering from offseason ankle surgery.

Edman has taken his typical quality at-bats (getting on base at a .435 clip) while also flashing the kind of power he failed to maintain last year once his ankle began bothering him (two doubles, one triple and one home run that traveled 428 feet, his longest since 2021).

Of all Dodgers hitters since his return, his .971 OPS trails only Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

“Just a continuation of making sure I’m keeping a good approach, dictated by the situation,” Edman said after a four-hit, four-RBI game Tuesday. “I just feel like I’ve been pretty consistent this far.”

That has also been true of Edman’s switch-hitting abilities, as he’s hit better than .350 from both sides of the plate.

In Edman’s first couple seasons with the Dodgers, his left-handed swing had been noticeably weaker. But so far this year, he’s gone 10-for-27 from that side of the plate.

“I feel like this is kind of one of the rare times where both swings feel good, both from the right and left,” he said. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so just happy that I feel that way right now.”

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Emmet Sheehan (5 innings, 1 run, 5 strikeouts in win vs. Padres; 4-5, 5.08 ERA on season)

The third-year right-hander not only reaffirmed his place in the Dodgers’ starting rotation with a strong outing in San Diego last weekend, but more importantly, he might have unlocked a new pitch.

After working with assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness on a new curveball grip in a pair of between-starts bullpen sessions, Sheehan showcased the changes effectively while navigating what was arguably his best start in months.

The new version of the pitch was harder (averaging 79.3 mph compared with 76.8 mph before) and had a little less drop (5 inches fewer, to be precise, according to MLB’s Baseball Savant data). 

The result was a breaking ball that was easier to keep in the zone and tougher for opposing hitters to lay off. 

Even while throwing it over the plate more than 70% of the time, Sheehan got six whiffs off nine swings against the pitch (a dramatic shift from the 28% whiff rate it had been inducing this season), and only one ball was put in play against it.

“I think trying to change speeds and make them respect stuff in zone that’s not the fastball is really important,” Sheehan said.

Maybe it’s the thing that will help him turn his previously disappointing season around.

PROSPECT OF THE WEEK

Eduardo Quintero (.294 average, five home runs, 37 RBIs, .834 OPS this year in High-A Great Lakes)

The Dodgers’ reigning Minor League Player of the Year got off to a slow start following an offseason promotion to High-A, hitting just .195 in April.

Ever since then, though, Quintero has rediscovered his scorching form from last season, hitting .372 with a .941 OPS in May and .333 with a 1.011 OPS in June. Those latter stats were boosted by three home runs, including his first career grand slam earlier this week.

And now, the 20-year-old prospect is becoming just the latest outfielder in the club’s pipeline to put together an impressive season.

Their depth at the position is so deep, it figures to be an area for them to trade from as the deadline approaches next month.

FUTURE DODGER OF THE WEEK

(Where we speculate about potential future Dodgersacquisitions — sometimes far-fetched, sometimes not)

Sonny Gray, Red Sox (ETA: August)

Tyler Glasnow has started throwing again, but the deliberate pace of his recovery remains disconcerting. Glasnow has already missed nearly two months with back problems.

The Dodgers were fortunate to have their four best starting pitchers healthy for the postseason last year, but there’s no guarantee that will be the case again. Unless the team is comfortable with Roki Sasaki or Justin Wrobleski starting games in October, it should monitor the market for starters.

The Tigers’ Tarik Skubal is the grand prize of this trade market, but the cost for him will be extremely high. Gray, 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA, is a potential alternative. Gray’s contract includes a $30 million mutual option for next year that features a $10 million buyout. That added cost would force the Red Sox to ask for less in return since just getting his deal off the books would count as a victory for them. As far as the free-spending Dodgers are concerned, it’s just money. 

The St. Louis Cardinals will finish up their stay in Atlanta before heading to the (not so) friendly confines of Wrigley Field for the 4th of July weekend. Dustin May will make the start for the Cardinals while the Atlanta Braves will send Hurston Waldrep to the mound. First pitch at Truist Park is once again set for 6:15pm central time and the game’s TV broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

After falling behind early from a shaky start by their starting pitcher, the Colorado Rockies rallied offensively and the bullpen shut things down to secure a series split with the Miami Marlins and a 14-4 victory.

Lorenzen’s shaky command

Something seemed to finally start clicking for Michael Lorezen over the month of June and the hope was to keep things rolling into July. His first start this month proved to be a grind.

Lorenzen’s command was shaky from the get-go. Liam Hicks led off the game with a single, followed by a double from Otto Lopez. Both pitches were left over the plate and the Marlins did not miss. Lorenzen then issued a walk to Kyle Stowers to load the bases. Xavier Edwards grounded into a force out that could have been a double play if Edouard Julien hadn’t hesitated on the throwing decision. The play scored the run to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Lorenzen then issued another walk to Griffin Conine to load the bases once again. Owen Caissie lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Lopez and give the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

He escaped the inning on the next hitter and rebounded with a quick 1-2-3 second inning. Lopez smacked a lead-off triple in the top of the third and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Edwards to extend the lead 3-1. Thanks to a couple of nifty defensive plays about the run, including a sharply hit ball to Julien, Lorenzen ended the inning without any further damage.

The command waned again in the fourth inning when he issued a pair of walks and gave up a single to load the bases for the third time. The Marlins scored their fourth run of the game to take back the lead at the time on a ground ball that was bobbled at first base.

Handed another lead heading into the fifth inning, Lorenzen gave up another pair of walks to force his removal from the game with one out. He ended up going just 4.1 innings, tying a career-high of six walks while striking out just one batter. He allowed four runs on four hits while throwing 51 pitches, 30 for strikes.

It was a gritty start for Lorenzen as he battled himself, but he mitigated catastrophic damage. However, constantly struggling against yourself is a tough way to pitch and is something he’ll try to reassess before his next start.

Stay hot Mickey!

After falling a single shy of a cycle on Wednesday, Mickey Moniak wasted no time starting another bid for a cycle on Thursday. In his at-bat of the game, Moniak once again slugged a home run, his 15th of the season, to get the Rockies on the board. It was the third straight game that he hit a home run in his first at-bat, becoming the first player to do that in franchise history.

In his second at-bat in the third inning, Moniak then laced a double to right field but then struck out in the fourth inning. He struck out in his third at-bat but then came through with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

Moniak would ground out in the seventh inning, ending his day just a triple shy of the cycle which is a much less rare feat than falling a single shy. He ended up going 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.

Early offensive returns

After Moniak’s home run and TJ Rumfield’s double in the first inning, the Rockies started to find some offensive rhythm in the third inning against Marlins’ starter Ryan Gusto.

Jake McCarthy led off the inning with a walk and moved up to third base on Moniak’s double. After Rumfield flew out, Willi Castro came through with a huge two-run single to tie the game 3-3.

The Rockies came close to tacking on two more runs when Cole Carrigg sent a ball down the line that went foul. Colorado requested a review, and after a lengthy process, it was determined that the foul ball would stand.

Manager Warren Schaeffer offered his insights after the game, agreeing that it was indeed a foul ball.

“My angle was absolutely terrible,” Schaeffer said, “but on a homer, you get a free challenge so you might as well take it in case something happens. Maybe it goes our way, so there’s no harm in doing that. But I think it was clearly foul. All of the guys that were in line with that — including the home plate umpire, Ramon [De Jesus] — said that it wasn’t even close.”

After falling behind by a run heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Rockies built some opportunities early in the inning. A pitch hit Kyle Karros to start off the inning, ending Gusto’s day having allowed three runs on four hits over three innings.

Brett Sullivan then bounced into a fielder’s choice and was later thrown out trying to steal second base with Julien at the plate. Julien drew a walk against reliever lefty-killer John King to bring McCarthy to the plate. King hung a 2-1 slider up and in, which McCarthy blasted into right field to give the Rockies a 5-4 lead. It was his first home run against a left-handed pitcher since April 2023.

Sixth inning offensive returns

The Rockies weren’t done, as they ended up throwing together a massive rally in the sixth inning to extend their lead 12-4.

Carrigg kicked things off with a bunt single, followed by a strikeout of Karros. The Rockies proceeded to have the next seven straight batters reach as Sullivan singled and Julien walked. McCarthy then dealt another blow with his two-run single.

Moniak followed with his single, while Rumfield added an RBI single of his own. Castro was then hit by a pitch, and Troy Johnston chopped a ball into right field to drive in two more runs.

Carrigg capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in the seventh run of the inning. The Rockies now have 15 innings in which they have scored five or more runs, which is tied for the most in MLB this season.

“Really solid approach in that inning, ” Schaeffer said, “and most of it, honestly, was left-on-left, which was ultra-impressive for our guys to take those at-bats like that. Mick, Rum, Troy, Jake… the homer left-on-left. I mean, it’s a big day. That’s big time for those guys.”

A few for the road

Later in the eighth inning, with utility player Javier Sanoja on the mound, the Rockies tacked on a few more runs. Rumfield was hit by a pitch and was later followed by a Johnston double. Carrigg delivered another sacrifice fly to drive in his second RBI of the game. Karros then walked, and Sullivan hit an RBI single to drive in Johnston and give the Rockies a 14-4 lead.

The Rockies ended up with 14 hits in the game while striking out just four times and drawing five walks with two hit-by-pitches. McCarthy drove in four runs with his two hits while Rumfield, Johnston, and Sullivan each had two hits. Julien also led the team with two walks on the day. Karros was the only starter for the Rockies to not have a hit. The team also went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and the top four guys went 8-for-16 with nine RBIs on the day.

“Those guys continue to be good,” Schaeffer said. “They take good, solid at-bats every day. They don’t take days off. They grind. And Mick, two days in a row [was] one hit away from the cycle, which is pretty special.”

Bullpen heroes

Plenty of praise deserves to be placed on the bullpen as they tamed the Marlins for the second straight game. After Lorenzen departed the game in the fifth inning with two runners on base in a one-run game, the Rockies turned to Brennan Bernardino. The lone lefty reliever quickly got a fly out and a line out to end the inning and preserve the lead. He then started the sixth inning, recording two outs while allowing a single.

“Bernie’s been extremely consistent,” Schaeffer said. “You always want to give him the ball — no matter if it’s righty or lefty, but most of the time we try to give him left-handed matchups because he’s our only lefty. But he throws strikes consistently, and you know that. And that’s of huge importance to a manager that you’re going to throw strikes. He did a great job again today on a back-to-back, going 1+.”

With Lopez stepping up to the plate with two outs and a runner on second, Victor Vodnik was called upon for the right-on-right matchup. Vodnik won the battle with ease by inducing an infield pop-up to end the inning. He then came out for the seventh inning and faced the minimum after allowing a lead-off single and getting a double-play, followed by a ground out.

“Vic was really good today, which was good to see,” Schaeffer said. “It was a step forward for Vic. And then Ags with two solid ones, saving the ‘pen down there. We didn’t have to use Jimmy [Herget] and Senza today, which were the only two short guys available, so it sets us up again for tomorrow.”

Zach Agnos closed out the game with two quick and clean innings. The bullpen allowed just three hits and didn’t give up a walk while recording just one strikeout.

Up next

The Rockies will celebrate the holiday weekend by welcoming the San Francisco Giants into town. Ryan Feltner (2-2, 4.42 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rockies. Logan Webb (5-5, 3.09 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm MDT.

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