Category: Sports News

The fever breaks!

The Yankees won a baseball game last night, something we haven’t been able to say in more than a week. They now have a golden opportunity to win two games in a row, which isn’t quite a winning streak by my definition but it’s almost a winning streak.

Rookie Brendan Beck gets the call in a spot start, the first of his MLB career. He had one appearance as a bulk man back in May that didn’t go great, but his numbers at Triple-A Scranton are pretty solid. In 88.1 innings this year he’s struck out 26 percent of batters faced, and his FIP is close enough to the ERA that I’m not terrified by the idea of the former second-round pick getting a start. Still, he is not ready for full-time work as a 26-man starter, so hopefully the Yankees can keep some semblance of offense going.

The Twins send Zebby Matthews to the hill in response. Zebby’s had an interesting 2026, with a career low walk rate matched with a career low strikeout rate. He’s rode the MSP METRO several times between the majors and the famous St. Paul Saints for most of his time in the bigs, and the big key for him sticking with the MLB squad is keeping the ball in the yard. He is top, or rather bottom, 20 in baseball in home run rate, so while he’s lucky he’s missing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, there are still guys in this lineup that can go deep.

The Yankees return most of the starting lineup from yesterday, although Anthony Volpe batting fifth makes me rather nervous. Max Schuemann is in center after Spencer Jones’ demotion as the Yanks play it safe with Trent Grisham at DH, and Ali Sánchez catches and bats ninth.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, TwinsTV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM (MIN)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.TV (out-of-market only)

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As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, players representing the city where much of it began will arrive in Kansas City to play a three-game set. Of note to many fans will be the fact that the Phillies started the season 9-19. At that point, they fired their manager, Rob Thomson. They then hired the GM’s dad, Don Mattingly, and the Phillies have gone 40-20 since and are now firmly in the playoff picture in the National League. I, and many others, would argue that firing their manager probably had little to nothing to do with the turnaround of a very talented team. But its impossible to prove that, so it will probably dominate a lot of the thinking this weekend.

Since the league introduced the balanced schedules prior to the 2023 season, the Phillies have taken two out of three in every series the teams have played.

Philadelphia Phillies (49-39) vs. Kansas City Royals (35-53) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Rays: 4.48 runs scored/game (16th in MLB), 4.42 runs allowed/game (13th)

Royals: 4.12 runs scored/game (23rd), 5.07 runs allowed/game (26th)

Kyle Schwarber leads all of baseball with 30 home runs. Bryce Harper recently hit for the cycle and is tied for ninth in MLB in home runs with 20. Brandon Marsh has always been better than you probably realized, but he’s having a career year for the Phillies in 2026. On the other side, aging superstars J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner have both fallen off quite a bit this year, and while rookie Justin Crawford began the season on fire, he had an abysmal May, slashing .195/.253/.312. He bounced back some in June, but still hasn’t become the star Phillies fans were hoping he could be. The Phillies outbid the Royals for Adolis García last offseason, but he was not good, and he’s now out for the remainder of the season with an injury.

Going purely by the pitching matchups, the Royals are about to get worked this weekend. Jesús Luzardo has been more of the same for Philadelphia after they acquired him from the Marlins last year and gave him a contract extension prior to this season.

Aaron Nola hasn’t been the ace he once was for the Phillies, but he’s still been lightyears better than Luinder Avila, the Royals’ planned starter.

Cristopher Sánchez is one of the frontrunners for the NL Cy Young, along with Jacob Misiorowski. Add in that he’s a left-hander, and I’ll be on perfect game watch that day.

The Phillies have one of the best bullpens in baseball, led by superstar closer Jhoan Duran, who is having a career year in his age-28 season. Their next best reliever will be familiar to many Royals fans; it’s Jonathan Bowlan. Bowlan never could seem to get a foothold in the Royals’ bullpen last year despite consistently pitching quality innings. He has instead flourished in the Phillies’ pen after being dealt for Matt Strahm. Their big offseason acquisition, Brad Keller, hasn’t been as good as they had hoped, but he’s also not sinking them. Lefty José Alvarado has an atrocious 6.10 ERA but a 3.24 FIP that suggests he’s been quite unlucky.

I don’t have particularly high hopes for the Royals in this series, but hopefully Jac Caglianone, Bobby Witt Jr., and Carter Jensen can put on a fireworks show for the Royals faithful during their final home series before the All-Star Break.

After another World Cup-induced Friday off-day, the Phillies will take on the Kansas City Royals in a rare Saturday to Monday series. The Phillies and Royals have some history together, as they squared off in the 1980 World Series. (The Phillies won.) It seems unlikely that there will be a rematch in the 2026 World Series because the Royals are mired in last place with the fewest wins in the American League.

Opposition research: Matt Strahm

The Phillies’ offseason moves haven’t all worked out, but they certainly seemed to have gotten rid of Matt Strahm at the right time. After an All-Star campaign in 2024, Strahm’s effectiveness slipped a bit last year. The Phillies clearly didn’t think he was trending in the correct direction, as they traded him to the Royals in exchange for Jonathan Bowlan.

Bowlan has shown some promise, although there’s still too much inconsistency there. As for Strahm, despite the Phillies being lacking in effective lefthanded relievers, it doesn’t seem like having Strahm around would have made the situation better.

Strahm’s strikeout numbers have plummeted this season, and probably not coincidentally, he’s allowing far more baserunners. He had a streak in June where he gave up runs in six consecutive appearances, with the nadir coming on June 19 when he allowed three runs in 0.2 inning.

Strahm may have stabilized things a bit and he hasn’t given up a run in his last five outings. However, with only two strikeouts across those five innings, it isn’t clear how sustainable that will be. The Phillies will likely be looking to trade for a lefty reliever at the deadline, but my hope is that they look elsewhere.

Hating on the Royals

Three years after winning the 2015 World Series, the Royals were a 104-loss team. Come 2024, it looked like they had successfully rebuilt from that downturn, when they won 86 games and made the playoffs behind an MVP runner-up finish by Bobby Witt, Jr.

Two years later, the rebuild appears to have stalled. Witt is still very good, but the rest of the team is not. Key players have either regressed, gotten hurt, or both. They’ll be lucky to avoid their fourth 100+ loss season in the last ten years. A little over a week ago, they lost by a score of 22-1.

Of course, losing should be a comfortable feeling for Royals fans, since the team has a grand history of not making the playoffs. They had a nice little run with George Brett in the late 70’s and early 80’s, but since winning the 1985 World Series, they’ve made the playoffs just three times.

You’d think that the expanded playoff field would have made it easier for the Royals, but even letting more teams in hasn’t done much to help the Royals. In that time, the Royals have more than twice as many 100+ loss seasons as they do playoff appearances.

The fans don’t even have the Chiefs to console them this year as the city’s football team missed the playoffs last season.

Trivia

Last week’s answer: When the Phillies crushed the Mets at Citi Field on September 20, 2024, Alec Bohm had four hits and four RBIs. CarterAndCo got it right.

This week’s question: In the decisive game six of the 1980 World Series what Phillie recorded three hits?

Additional thought about the series

Sunday’s game is on Peacock and boy did they get themselves a good pitching matchup with Aaron Nola (6.04 ERA) going against Luinder Avila (5.40 ERA).

As for the rest of the series, the Royals have a mediocre lineup and a bad pitching staff. Their best starter is Michael Wacha, and it feels like a good rule of thumb is: If Michael Wacha is your best pitcher, you’re probably not making the playoffs. Kyle Schwarber will likely be very excited to see him though.

First Pitch: 12:35 pm CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN / WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / Audacy

It seems the recent playbook of Twins v Yankees has involved some level of delusional, early optimism — Kody Clemens’ first-inning homer last night might have set some sort of alternate-reality stage, where the Twins come out guns-a-blazin’ and show the Yanks what’s what. Instead, they gave the lead right back, and though they stayed competitive throughout, including a nail-biting eighth-inning rally, they enter Saturday’s game down 1-0 in the series.

A late announcement will see Game Two handled for New York by one Brendan Beck, who makes his first big-league start today and only his second MLB appearance, replacing a late-scratch Carlos Rodon, who instead hits the IL with elbow inflammation. Beck went three innings in relief in his only other major-league game, but started last Saturday in the minors and could be asked to give it everything he’s got this afternoon.

Beck features a fastball/slider mix which he pairs with the occasional curve and a couple of other surprises that he might throw a couple times a game.

For Minnesota, it’s Zebby Matthews, who has suddenly become a workhorse, tossing seven innings in three of his last five starts. Outside of a clunker in Detroit, Matthews has been wonderful recently; despite career-low strikeout numbers, he’s pitching to his best overall stats in parts of three major-league seasons, mostly on the back of dramatically improved control and breaking numbers.

Notably, Byron Buxton has returned to the lineup, playing center field.

GO TWINS GO!

Texas Rangers lineup for July 4, 2026 against the Detroit Tigers: starting pitchers are Cal Quantrill for the Rangers and Jack Flaherty for the Tigers:

After the rare Friday scheduled off day, the Rangers return to action this afternoon in game two of their series against the Tigers. Brandon Nimmo is back in the lineup after missing the previous four games with a sprained A/C joint. Jake Burger is getting the day off.

The lineup:

Pederson — DH

Smith — 1B

Jung — 3B

Nimmo — RF

Osuna — LF

Duran — SS

Carter — CF

Diaz — C

Lopez — 2B

3:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.

Yankees right-handed pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange will not throw for approximately six weeks after suffering a capsular sprain in his throwing shoulder, the team announced on Friday, July 3.

This move comes on the heels of an MRI which had been scheduled for the 23-year-old after he was placed on the seven-day IL by Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, July 4.

Initially, the organization's plan for Lagrange was to convert him from a starter into a reliever, and have the hard-throwing strikeout machine join manager Aaron Boone's big-league roster at some point in 2026.

However, with the Yankees bullpen continuing to struggle - particularly true for right-handers Camilo Doval and Tim Hill - amidst a 13-15 record since the start of June, many were been hoping that Lagrange could offer a boost in that department sooner rather than later.

Now, the anticipated debut for the highly rated prospect, who has struck out 83 batters in 63.1 innings at Triple-A this season, will come after the MLB trade deadline (Monday, August 3 at 6:00 p.m.) at earliest.

It will be interesting to see how Lagrange's long-term injury factors into the plans of Yankees general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman, who will be doing all he can to build a bullpen which can bring a 28th World Series title back to the Bronx come this fall.

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The red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers go for their seventh win in their last eight games as they host the San Diego Padres tonight.

With Los Angeles heavily juiced at -233 on the moneyline, my Padres vs. Dodgers predictions are targeting the Boys in Blue on the run line.

Read on for my full MLB picks for Saturday, July 4.

Who will win Padres vs Dodgers tonight: Dodgers -1.5 (-116)

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a massive starting pitching advantage. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will leverage his patented splitter against a San Diego Padres lineup that struggles against the offering, posting the fourth-lowest runs above average (-7.1).

Griffin Canning issues too many free passes (13.3% walk rate) and allows loud contact (third percentile hard-hit rate), and he should get battered by a Dodgers lineup with the second-best barrel rate (9.4%).

L.A. has won 10 of Yamamoto’s 15 starts and should do so comfortably here, so I’d play the run line up to -125.

COVERS INTEL:Griffin Canning struggles mightily against left-handed hitters (.312/.398/.578), and L.A. has nine hitters with a wRC+ over 115 against right-handed pitchers.

Padres vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-104)

L.A. has played Under in nine of Yamamoto’s last 14 starts, so I’m riding the trend. He limits walks (5.1% walk rate), which is crucial against a Padres lineup that’s walked more than anyone else against RHP in the last 14 days.

Canning will struggle, but manager Craig Stammen can go to his well-rested bullpen early. Mason Miller hasn’t thrown since Monday, so he’ll likely make an appearance and influence the total.

The Padres have gone Under in seven of Canning’s 11 appearances despite his inconsistency, largely because the hook is quick and the bullpen behind him has been effective (3.71 SIERA).

Padres vs Dodgers weather

Temperatures at Chavez Ravine are expected to be in the mid-70s, with light winds around 5-10 mph.

Padres vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Padres +218 | Dodgers -242
• Run line: Padres +1.5 (+105) | Dodgers -1.5 (-116)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-118) | Under 8.5 (-104)

Padres vs Dodgers trend

Los Angeles has covered the run line in five of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s last six starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Padres vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Padres vs Dodgers and game info

Padres vs Dodgers latest injuries

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The Texas Rangers are 7-1 in their last eight games and look to stay hot when they host the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field on the Fourth of July.

Texas comes into the game as the slight underdog at -100, but today’s pitching matchup will give them the edge over Detroit (-104).

I’ll break down that down in my free MLB picks & Tigers vs. Rangers predictions for Saturday.

Who will win Tigers vs Rangers today: Rangers (-103)

The Texas Rangers have been on fire over the past 10 days, ranking fifth in BABIP (.330), seventh in wRC+ (132), and averaging 5.6 runs per game during that stretch.

Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty has been poor this season, with a 4.97 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, while he sits in the 14th percentile in pitching run value.

Flaherty’s breaking pitches have given him issues – particularly his slider, which he throws 25% of the time. The Rangers have feasted on the slider vs. righties with a .314 BABIP (2nd) and 56.1 wRC (7th).

Give me Texas up to -110.

COVERS INTEL:Rangers starter Kumar Rocker ranks in the 96th percentile in breaking ball run value, with 51 Ks via his slider (8th). The Tigers have the fourth-worst hard hit % vs. that pitch from righties (31.1%).

Tigers vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-121)

These teams have not been offensive powerhouses this season, but they are right now, both averaging over 5.5 runs per game since June 25.

The Rangers have six players hitting .350 or better over the past seven days, while Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson are both sitting at an OPS above 1.000 for the Tigers this week.

The Over has cashed in six of Texas’ last eight and five of Detroit’s last six.

Tigers vs Rangers weather

Tigers vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Detroit -104 | Texas -100
• Run line: Detroit -1.5 (+156) | Texas +1.5 (-163)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-117) | Under 7.5 (+108)

Tigers vs Rangers trend

The Tigers have hit the Team Total Over in their last seven games (+7.10 Units / 90% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Rangers.

How to watch Tigers vs Rangers and game info

Tigers vs Rangers latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.