After a quick three-game road trip to visit the Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers are back home to host the San Francisco Giants for four games beginning Monday night. The Brewers had a strong month of May, going 19-7 with just one series loss (a 1-2 series against the Dodgers over Memorial Day weekend). At 35-21 on the year, they’ll have at least a four-game lead in the NL Central heading into June (depending on tonight’s result between St. Louis and Chicago).

The Giants, on the other hand, went 10-18 in May, losing five straight and nine of 11 before picking up a big 19-6 win over the Rockies on the final day of the month. They sit at 23-36 on the season and in fourth place in the NL West.

Brandon Woodruff is the closest Brewer to returning from injury, with speculation he may start one of the final two games of this series as Milwaukee has TBD listed for both games as of now. Other injured pitchers include Angel Zerpa (out for the season), Logan Henderson (mid-June return), Jared Koenig (early June), and Quinn Priester (TBD). Outfielder Brandon Lockridge is the only injured position player, as he’s out until mid- to late June with a knee injury that’s kept him out for most of May.

The Giants are without pitchers Rowan Wick (out for season), Randy Rodríguez (late 2026 or 2027), Hayden Birdsong (out for season), José Buttó (late 2026 or 2027), Tyler Mahle (June), Reiver Sanmartin (June), and Jason Foley (June). Outfielders Harrison Bader, Jared Oliva, and Heliot Ramos are also out, with all three slated for June returns.

Jake Bauers leads the Brewer offense with nine homers, 10 doubles, 33 RBIs, and 30 runs scored across 49 games this season. Brice Turang is in the midst of a cold spell, though he’s still hitting .263/.391/.438 with seven homers this season. William Contreras, Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Andrew Vaughn are the other key contributors offensively, with Gary Sánchez, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Blake Perkins, and Luis Rengifo providing supporting roles. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .242/.328/.359 (.687 OPS ranks 25th), with 40 homers (last), 268 runs (11th), and 60 steals (second).

Casey Schmitt leads San Francisco’s offense with 12 homers and 12 doubles, slashing .294/.332/.548 across 51 games. Former Brewer Willy Adames has eight homers, while Rafael Devers has seven. With Bader and Ramos out, the next best players for the Giants are Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman (who hasn’t been all that good this year), and Luis Arraez (who continues to hit a reliable .300+, at .321 this season). Fellow former Brewer Eric Haase and Daniel Susac split catching duties, with Bryce Eldridge, Drew Gilbert, Victor Bericoto, Jonah Cox, and super utilityman Jesus Rodriguez rounding out the squad. As a team, the Giants are hitting .254/.301/.404 (.705 OPS ranks 14th), with 53 homers (tied for 23rd), 232 runs (25th), and 15 steals (last).

The Milwaukee bullpen is led by league wins leader Aaron Ashby (a perfect 9-0), Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill. Grant Anderson and DL Hall have also played key roles, with Shane Drohan (who will start the first game of this series), Chad Patrick (who has worked as both a starter and reliever), Rob Zastryzny, and Jake Woodford rounding things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.17 team ERA (third), including a 3.11 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.25 bullpen ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 542 batters (fifth) over 499 1/3 innings.

Matt Gage leads the San Francisco bullpen with 28 appearances and a 1.96 ERA this season, while Keaton Winn (2.45 ERA) and JT Brubaker (2.70 ERA) have also played key roles. Ryan Borucki, Erik Miller, Caleb Kilian, Tristan Beck, Joel Peguero, and Sam Hentges round things out for the Giants. Of note: they don’t really have a defined closer, as five players have at least one save this season, and no players have more than three. As a staff, the Giants have a 4.33 team ERA (20th), including a 4.77 starter ERA (28th) and a 3.69 bullpen ERA (12th). They’ve struck out 468 batters (25th) over 521 2/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, June 1 @ 6:40 p.m.: LHP Shane Drohan (2-1, 2.63 ERA, 2.37 FIP) vs. RHP Landen Roupp (5-5, 3.30 ERA, 2.65 FIP)

Drohan, 27, has gradually turned into a key piece of Milwaukee’s bullpen this season. After making the start in his MLB debut back in April, each of his last 10 appearances have come in relief, picking up a pair of wins and a save. For the season, he has a 2.63 ERA, 2.37 FIP, and 28 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings. Expect Drohan to go somewhere between three and five-ish innings in this one (he’s maxed out at 71 pitches this season, though he has no more than 42 pitches since the start of May). This is Drohan’s first career appearance against San Francisco.

Roupp, 27, is in his third major league season, all with San Francisco. A former 12th-round pick, Roupp got out to a great start this year, pitching to a 2.55 ERA over his first six starts. In May, however, Roupp went 0-4 with 14 runs allowed (12 earned) across 24 2/3 innings (4.38 ERA) as the Giants lost all five games. Those bring his season stats to an average-looking 3.30 ERA, 2.65 FIP, and 68 strikeouts over 60 innings. In four career appearances (two starts) against Milwaukee, Roupp is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA and 10 strikeouts across 12 1/3 innings.

Tuesday, June 2 @ 6:40 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (6-1, 1.57 ERA, 2.44 FIP) vs. RHP Trevor McDonald (2-2, 4.34 ERA, 3.24 FIP)

Harrison, 24, has quickly turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball with Milwaukee. A former third-round pick by these Giants back in 2020, he spent the first 2.5 years of his career in San Francisco, totaling 39 appearances (35 starts) with a 4.48 ERA, 4.56 FIP, and 178 strikeouts over 182 2/3 innings. Since being acquired by Milwaukee this offseason, he’s made 10 starts with a sterling 1.57 ERA, 2.44 FIP, and 61 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings. He’s earned the win in each of his last three outings, allowing no runs since May 9. He went six scoreless against the Cardinals last week, allowing four hits and no walks with a pair of strikeouts. This marks Harrison’s first career appearance against his former team.

McDonald, 25, is a former 11th-round pick who has spent parts of three seasons with the Giants. He’s made five starts this season, with a 4.34 ERA, 3.24 FIP, and 27 strikeouts across 29 innings. He’s lost each of his last two outings, totaling 10 innings against the White Sox and Diamondbacks, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on nine hits, three walks, three hit batters, and a pair of wild pitches. This marks McDonald’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Wednesday, June 3 @ 6:40 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Logan Webb (2-4, 4.82 ERA, 3.52 FIP)

The Brewers haven’t yet announced a starter for either of these last two games, but I’ll venture a guess that they feature some combination of a returning Brandon Woodruff and a trio of young pitchers in Chad Patrick, Brandon Sproat, and Coleman Crow, especially given that Crow got this slot in the last go-round and Sproat’s turn through the rotation would be Thursday’s game. With that in mind, I’ll just quickly list out their season stats and career stats against the Giants.

Woodruff: 2-1, 3.60 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 25 Ks over 30 IP in 2026; 1-0, 2.00 ERA, 21 Ks over 18 IP against SF

Patrick: 2-2, 2.60 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 33 Ks over 45 IP in 2026; 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 7 Ks over 5 1/3 IP against SF

Sproat: 1-4, 6.24 ERA, 5.55 FIP, 52 Ks over 49 IP in 2026; no career appearances against SF

Crow: 0-0, 3.14 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 8 Ks over 14 1/3 IP in 2026; no career appearances against SF

Webb, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the last four seasons (he’s finished 11th, second, sixth, and fourth in Cy Young voting in that time period), has struggled to begin 2026. Still just 29, he’s now in his eighth MLB season. He has a 4.82 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 47 strikeouts over 52 1/3 innings. San Francisco has lost each of his last four games, though he’s only been truly “bad” in one of those games. During that period, he’s totaled 22 1/3 innings, allowing 11 runs on 24 hits, seven walks, and three hit batters while striking out 20 against the Dodgers, Phillies, Padres, and Rockies. Webb has dominated the Brewers across seven career starts, with a 4-0 record, 2.08 ERA, and 50 strikeouts across 43 1/3 innings, including a pair of wins last year.

Thursday, June 4 @ 1:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Adrian Houser (2-5, 5.59 ERA, 5.18 FIP)

See above for the Brewers’ potential starter in this one.

Houser, 33, is in his 10th MLB season and first with San Francisco after agreeing to a two-year, $22 million contract in the offseason. The former longtime Brewer (he played parts of seven seasons with Milwaukee between 2015 and 2023) hasn’t had much success in San Francisco this year, with a 5.59 ERA, 5.18 FIP, and 35 strikeouts across 56 1/3 innings in 11 starts. He got hit hard in his last outing against Colorado, allowing four runs on eight hits, two walks, and a hit batter while striking out four across 3 2/3 innings on 92 pitches. Houser has never faced the Brewers entering this series.

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, June 1: Brewers TV & nationally on FS1; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, June 2: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, June 3: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Thursday, June 4: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

The Brewers had a great month of May, and I think they’ll keep things rolling to start the month of June. Give me Milwaukee to win three of four.

Once again, the White Sox proved persistent, resilient and … just plain … good, knocking off Detroit, 2-1, sweeping the series and creeping to within a game of first place in the AL Central.

We’re all old enough to remember that most national writers tabbed the White Sox for last place once again in the division, generously allowing that the club would avoid a fourth straight 100-loss season. Meanwhile, Detroit was a near-consensus pick to run away with the division. Some prognosticators, certainly not someone as bright as your current recapper, saw the Tigers as the top team in the American League and a possible pennant-winner.

That is a distant memory now, all of two months ago, as Detroit’s loss today buries them further in the cellar of both the ALC and the American League at large; the Bengals in fact are tied with the Colorado Rockies for worst in the majors.

The White Sox, meanwhile, keep chugging along, five games better than .500 for the first time since 2022. With a White Sox win at Minny tomorrow, idle Cleveland can merely nibble its nails as the Good Guys creep to within a half-game of the top spot. (For those who care of such things Crosstown, the Cubs are getting mauled early in St. Louis, and a loss drops them below the White Sox in the standings. Who woulda thunk that one all of [checks calendar, rubs eyes, checks the year on the calendar] TWO WEEKS ago, when the ivy bumblers were the swellest thing since pee troughs and the White Sox were just a wannabe 70-win team?)

As for today’s contest, well this is a late and last-minute filler recap, so pardon the lack of deets. Detroit sprung ahead before fannies got settled in seats, a single-double combo with one out in the first putting Sean Burke again behind early.

Burke, natch, shook it off as all Sox starters have been doing for much of the season, turning in a tidy 5 1/3 innings with just one more hit allowed in his outing. And while we are fond of (or addicted to) dogging our bullpen, sorry folks but the reliever corps has been nothing but splendid. Missing Mike Vasil, losing Jordan Leasure’s solid 2025 finish, getting a non-closer performance so far from Seranthony Domínguez, this group has been nails. Grant Taylor, Bryan Hudson and Sean Newcomb have been murderously good cogs in the machine, and at best we would have pegged Taylor as such.

Today, it was Chris Murphy (subbing up for Tyler Gilbert on emergency family leave), Brandon Eisert, Hudson and Tyler Davis (first career save) covering the final 14 outs of the game, and doing it with aplomb.

Offensively it wasn’t Chicago’s most buff effort, but when the pitching suffocates the opponent to one run, you don’t gotta do much. And the White Sox didn’t gotta do much today, with a short burst in the seventh that covered the one-run deficit.

First, Colson Montgomery homered again, tying the score at one and creating an uh-oh moment for the feeble Tigs and their hapless coward manager:

Providing the eventual winning margin was how-the-hell-is-he-on-pace-for-5-WAR Tristan Peters, doinking a grounder to the left side that plated Chase Meidroth:

(In-between the four straight singles that provided the winner came Jacob Gonzalez’s first career hit, as part of a 1-for-3 day and flawless play at first base:

That’s it! Just a simple, humdrum win for the White Sox. It is bizarre, after the setback .500 season of 2022 and then the sewer play that proceeded over the next three seasons, that the White Sox are a team now to be reckoned with. But reckoned with they must be. And if precious Cleveland isn’t careful, the South Siders are gonna sneak up and pop them in the jaw like most of the majors has experienced from them so far in 2026.

The Mariners devised their piggyback plan, alternating Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo as starters, so the division would be “equitable,” rotating between which pitchers made the scheduled five-inning start. Today they got a perfectly even split as each pitcher tossed exactly five innings, with exactly 71 pitches for each, as it took the Mariners offense ten innings to polish off a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2.

Bryce Miller looked strong, cunningly mixing his pitches against an Arizona team that likes to hunt the fastball. Miller out-Mized Brewers wunderkind Jacob Misiorowski today, with 17 swinging strikes.

“It’s cool seeing the whiff and the results and the swing and miss on non-fastballs,” Miller said postgame. “I’ve always been the guy with the good fastball and after that, not great. So far this year I think the slider’s performed really well, cutter has been good, splitter has been good, sweeper and curveball, when I’ve thrown them, have been good as well. Seeing the breaking balls and the off-speeds come along has been fun.”

Miller got himself into and out of some trouble in the second. It started, as it so often does, with a one-out five-pitch walk to Ryan Waldschmidt where Miller stubbornly trying to go to the bottom of the zone with a fastball and Waldschmidt kept laying off. Miller pulled out some off-speed to try to retire pesky Ildemaro Vargas, who fouled three straight balls to the pull side before finally pulling a fastball fair into right field for Arizona’s first hit of the day. Miller got some help from Luke Raley, who made a strong throw home on a would-be sac fly to keep a run from scoring, and then struck out Aramis Garcia to end what would be his only real threat of the day. From there, Miller cruised through his five assigned innings, never giving Arizona room to breathe.

Offensively, the Mariners got on the board first in the second thanks to Cole Young. It’s been a tough May for Young, who’s been putting in a lot of work with hitting coordinator Edgar Martínez to relax his grip at the plate and get back to simplifying things. Young got a 91.7 mph fastball right in his lefty loop zone and kept things simple to the tune of 105.4 mph:

The Mariners could have done more in that inning, loading the bases with one out with a pair of singles and a walk, but Julio Rodríguez flew out to shallow center and then a questionable send/base running decision at home saw Jhonny Pereda cut down. Boooooo. On the bright side, they did have Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly at 42 pitches through two innings, which is a plus against the weak contact merchant Kelly. Kelly didn’t have his best command today – he hit Luke Raley in the third, which, understandable, and walked Dom Canzone in the fourth – but was able to navigate around trouble both times and get those weak-contact outs to keep his pitch count in check, with the Mariners again squandering a scoring opportunity in the fourth despite a J.P. Crawford two-out single that sent Colt Emerson from first to third (oh the specific, forgotten joy of having a runner who can go first to third on a shallow line drive to right field), as Julio grounded out softly on a swinging bunt on the first pitch he saw.

Those missed scoring opportunities came back to bite the Mariners when it was time for the piggyback to change over. Luis Castillo, facing the top of the order, walked Ketel Marte and gave up a fluky ground-ball double to Corbin Carroll to put runners on at second and third with one out. It looked like Castillo might escape the inning cleanly despite some shaky command after a play at home, nicely executed by Crawford and Pereda, but a wild pitch from Castillo brought the run in anyway, tying up the game and costing Bryce Miller a win. It wasn’t really Castillo’s fault, instead victimized by some shaky defense – and, in an echo of the last piggyback loss, if the Mariners had scored more during their many chances, it wouldn’t have mattered – but it was still a bummer of a follow-up after Miller had been so brilliant.

Thankfully, Dominic Canzone came through in the sixth with another solo homer to pull the Mariners ahead, getting a hold of a pitch from Kelly that was very similar to the one Young hit out:

But once again the Mariners left a chance to stack runs on the DBacks on the table; after Jhonny Pereda singled and Kelly exited the game, Kevin Ginkel was able to strike out Crawford and Rodríguez to end the threat, giving Castillo again just the one whisper-thin run to work with. Castillo made it until the eighth, but once again fluky luck caught up with him. Pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno led off the inning with a parachute-job single, and nine-hole hitter Tim Tawa laid down a bunt that was poorly fielded by Pereda (and maybe misdirected by Naylor pointing at second trying to get the lead runner), who overthrew into center to allow the runners to second and third with no outs. Moreno then scored the tying run on a sac fly from Marte. But Castillo was able to get out of it thanks to a groundout and yet another leaping play from Cole Young, quietly the MVP of today’s game.

The Diamondbacks brought in hard-throwing reliever Juan Morillo for the eighth, who had to work around a Dominic Canzone single and a walk to Colt Emerson but was able to strike out Crawford swinging. After Castillo put the middle of the lineup down in the ninth, the DBaks stuck with Morillo, who blew through the top of the lineup, all seemingly swinging for the home run ball.

So once again, the game went to extras, and the Mariners stuck with Castillo, pitching in a Manfred Man situation for the first time. Castillo navigated around some sticky trouble in the top of the tenth, letting Arizona’s ghost runner get to third and walking the pesky Moreno but no more than that, keeping the game tied.

“That’s an inning where if you don’t have experience with it, it does make you a little nervous,” said Castillo postgame. “But the important thing was we were able to keep attacking every hitter. The pitching coach told me, this is your game, finish it, let’s go, and those words motivated me to go out there and do that.”

Arizona countered with former Yankee Jonathan Loáisiga, who immediately intentionally walked Luke Raley (great bunter) to get to Cole Young (acceptable bunter). Young, who has been solid in clutch situations, was able to put down the sacrifice cleanly, bringing up Victor Robles, who had pinch-run for Canzone back in the eighth. Robles put a swing on the first strike he saw, booping a little lawn dart towards the drawn-in shortstop, who muffed the ball, delivering the Mariners a win and a sweep.

Despite the sturm und drang around the piggyback situation, the Mariners are now 2-1 in those games, and the one loss is pinned more squarely on the offense. It’s quite a different situation now – the Mariners tallied 33 hits in the series sweep against Arizona, and 36 in the series against Oakland, versus a paltry 17 in the series against Kansas City (with 12 of those coming in one game). Today Ryan wrote about how the piggyback experiment has been working, and why it’s been working; it’s true that wins cure all ills, but that’s something that can only happen when the offense pulls its weight, too. Today they did just enough to do that, keeping the good vibes rolling (do piggybacks roll? Jostle? Hitch?) as the Mets come into town to finish off the homestand before a long road trip.

So how we feeling?

James Attwood: Well, my allergies have been flaring up like nobody’s business as the season change and high winds blow through. But other than that – oh, you mean about the team, don’t you? In that case, I tend to be content with where they are at right now. They had a grueling start to the season. Now, they just finished the nice, soft, cushy part of the schedule. They remain over .500 as the calendar flips to June. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, but this team is starting to look like they are at least going to make a show of being competitive until the break. That should make this season’s trade deadline “interesting”.

Makakilo: Friday’s 1-run loss to the Mariners left me conflicted. FELT GOOD. Six runs scored. Perdomo’s homer showed resurgence of his power. The bullpen allowed 1 earned run in 4 innings (before extra innings). FELT BAD. Batters were 3 for 17 with RISP, with 13 runners LOB. Gallen allowed 5 runs in 5 innings.

1AZFan1: Pretty good. We’ve closed the gap with the Padres and are in the middle of the Wild Card race at the end of May. Can’t complain there. I’m answering before the Saturday and Sunday games so I’m hoping that the D-backs don’t fall flat in the next 2 days, but Friday was a good close game in which we played a hot team in a raucous environment right down to the wire.

Spencer: Fine. Games one and half of two against Seattle have tempered my excitement. A great reminder that we beat up on the second worst run team in MLB and probably the third worst as well.

ISH95: I’m with James on the allergies, but other than that I’m alright. This has been a great, very fun, and satisfying couple of weeks, but I can’t shake the knowledge that it’s been against the Rockies and Giants. Nor have the first two games against the Mariners done much to convince me those concerns were invalid. But winning is winning, and every win you get against sub-.500 teams counts the same as the ones against the Dodgers come October, so I can’t be mad about it.

Obviously, the team’s hot streak has been helped by facing lower caliber opponents, but given that, what has been the biggest cause for optimism during the streak?

James Attwood: The trio of Marte, Carroll, and Perdomo being big contributors to the success. My first instinct was to point at the pitching being so dominant during that spell. But I am discounting those successes a bit because of the opponents. But this team needs the trio at the top of the order to keep doing special things if the team is going to remain in contention for October baseball. Those three finally coming around can only spell good things for Arizona. Marte’s streak may have come to an end last night, but Perdomo had three knocks, including a home run. The key is for those three to keep the production up.

Makakilo: Starting 12 May, there were two simultaneous streaks.

BATTING. Diamondbacks scored at least 2 runs per game. 16 game streak is ongoing.

ROTATION. 11 of 16 games were quality starts.

1AZFan1: Ketel going white hot and the continued excellence from the starting rotation has been great. Those two are obvious but perhaps the less obvious piece I’m excited about is the reemergence of Kevin Ginkel as a weapon out of the bullpen.

Spencer: Ketel Marte. He wasn’t hitting before this easy schedule, and confidence can do a lot when you’re talking about a top tier MLB hitter. That feels sustainable (at a lower level) in a way that nothing else about the streak does.

ISH95: Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Ketel Marte. It started with that walk-off home run and just snowballed from there. It’s been a long time coming this season, and thankfully, Marte has finally shown up.

And what red flags are you seeing that might suggest it won’t be sustainable when they resume playing playoff-caliber teams?

James Attwood: Zac Gallen struggled again last night, this time against the Mariners. The offense, despite the comeback and despite scoring six, missed out on some opportunities to tally another win. Zac Gallen is not the only Arizona pitcher who started looking better against weak opponents. The pitching staff is going to need to continue to grind and the offense is going to need to be deeper than the top-three hitters. That’s an awful lot to ask of a team with precious little in the way of depth and some close injury scares of late.

Makakilo: The Diamondbacks defense is often among the top teams. Currently it has 11 DRS, which ranks only 11th. Great defense will be needed against playoff caliber teams.

1AZFan1: Ketel won’t be white hot forever. I’m sure Ketel will still be productive after this streak ends, but we’ll need a couple guys clicking beside Marte and Corbin.

Spencer: No true red flags for me, but the rotation is no where close to being as good as they’ve looked against the Rockies and Giants.

I will take this time to discuss the defensive miscues or Jose Fernandez though. Rookies will rookie, but he needs time in Reno and a “main” defensive spot. His decisions to not step on first before throwing to second cost Ryne Nelson a shot at a complete game…. It’s normal and fine when the team is doing well, but it’s a sign showing his lack of high end minor league experience.

ISH95: The starting pitching has been fine during this run, but there have been more chinks in the armor with them than the offense or the bullpen. Gallen especially.

The initial salvos of the CBA battle have been sent out. What are your initial reactions?

James Attwood: I still think that both sides kicked the can down the road a few too many times and that a lockout seems inevitable. The MLBPA proposal does little to help the sport get any healthier while the ownership side of things isn’t even listening to what the players are saying. Oh, and Rob Manfred is still completely out of touch with anything resembling reality.

Makakilo: Although the two proposals are very far apart, one aspect is not so different. The initial proposals seem to agree on a new requirement for teams to spend a minimum of $150 Million on player salaries. Links follow for MLBTR articles about the two initial proposals (form may delete them): [Ed. note] form did not delete them! https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/05/mlb-submits-initial-counterproposal-to-mlbpa.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/05/mlbpa-releases-details-of-collective-bargaining-proposal.html

1AZFan1:This is my favorite non-Diamondbacks baseball story to follow this year. The owners officially threw down the salary cap proposal, but most everything they laid out was very hypothetical with no real details or mechanisms about how we would get to our current system to this new salary cap era. The owners proposal throws out a salary cap number that is $100m+ less than what the Dodgers are scheduled to spend next year; how do we get them there?

The Players’ proposal is good for what it is; asking for younger players to make money earlier and revamping the QO are good items for them, but it’s essentially more of the same system. The owners didn’t put anything about that in their proposal because they genuinely don’t care how the Players want to divvy up the pie as long as the owners can establish that there is only one size of pie. The Players do propose a salary floor, but it’s lower than what the owners suggested so that’s kind of a bad look if you ask me.

I’m very hopeful that some sort meaningful change can come through this CBA. Major League Baseball is an entertainment product, so at the end of the day, the fans should be happy with the outcome. Every poll I’ve seen has shown the majority of fans want some sort of cap. Talking heads will say a cap only helps the owners, but it’s not like the Players are some sort of righteous martyrs playing for scraps. They’re in it for themselves, too. So yeah, give us what we want! Sorry for the long response.

Spencer: That neither side deserves my sympathy. They make more money in 6 months than I will in half my career (if not far, far more). Argue and complain all you want, but I am embarrassed watching it play out.

ISH95: The last lock out was a long time ago, but I remember being far more supportive of the ideas and proposals put out by the MLBPA than this first round. The MLBPA comes off as not really being serious about the issues facing the sport and while the basic plan the Owners put forward seems a bit too simplistic to actually fix the problem as well, it seems closer to the right track. A cap is the way to go at this point. Taxes and penalties clearly don’t work, and the sport is suffering for it.

A random thought/aside that’s been bouncing around in my head related to this is that a lot of people point to say, the Mets, as an example that money doesn’t win by default. But the flip side of that is that now we’ve got a bunch of high value players that are off the market, can’t be used by anyone and are still losing. It’s better for the sport of those top tier free agents get spread out more.

If you became God Emperor of MLB, what would your salary cap/competitive balance tax solution look like?

James Attwood: For starters, all television revenue is split evenly among the 30 (preferably an expanded 32) teams. That will require taking a few years to implement, as the various RSN deals and other smaller deals expire on staggered schedules. I do like the notion of a competitive integrity floor, probably one tied to penalties to the MLB revenue sharing, so that teams not spending enough forfeit money for doing so. Essentially, they spend the same either way, so might as well spend on players instead of funding an “exceptional rookies fund” (or whatever purposes the forfeiture goes toward). Maybe even make the penalty hit harder (by a small number) than having spent enough to begin with. Then, deferrals, even under this revised escrow-based funding model, need to be eliminated to avoid gaming AAV and to keep teams from reaping interest payments on unpaid salaries, giving them more money to sign premium talent. There are plenty of other, smaller tweaks I would like to see made as well. But for me, as long as there is massive disparity in media revenue and no disincentive to extreme frugality, there really is nothing else to discuss.

Makakilo: I keep the current system, which results in high revenue teams sharing with low revenue teams, like the Diamondbacks. An alternative could be that all 30 teams equally share all broadcast revenues, but the complexities and contractual restrictions could make that alternative unworkable.

1AZFan1: If I were God Emperor, the teams in New York and LA would get half the cap space of every other team. Just because.

Spencer: I’m in a mood, so imma tear it all down. They want to be a State-sponsored illegal monopoly, they deserve true equality. Pool all money made by all teams and divide equally into 31 pools (each team and the big business), then divide that into 2 50% buckets. One pays the players equally regardless, and the other is used to pay the rest of the franchise employees/owners.

The big business section will be divided in half an additional time. Half is put into savings for future needs or miscellaneous expenses and the other half pays league employees.

Since they want special treatment to be a “legal” monopoly, they also don’t deserve hidden books. All financials for the league and each team should be fully public so fans/taxpayers know exactly how the money is being used.

None of this is realistic in the corrupt world we live in, but it’d be fair to all involved parties. I know, I know, imagine talking about “fairness” in the 2026 iteration of the USA

ISH95: There has to be a cap. There has to be a floor. The cap needs to be a hard number. I’m less sure how the floor could be a hard number. What happens if a team doesn’t meet that floor, but Paul Sewald is the only FA left? Does he get a 1 year, $20, $30 million contract to make it up? Given that, I think the soft floor that the MLBPA suggested is probably more feasible. Beyond that, equal sharing of media. Other sports do it, MLB can figure it out, and probably easier since they’re moving towards all of them being produced by MLB Advanced Media/ESPN anyway.

The Athletics and New York Yankees closed out their weekend series on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. The Yankees capitalized on another horrible start from A’s pitcher Jacob Lopez, scoring 13 runs in one inning and then holding off the A’s late comeback attempt to prevail 13-8, winning the series and moving the A’s into a tie for second place with the Texas Rangers.

A’s Strike First

Athletics’ right fielder Carlos Cortes led off the bottom of the opening frame with a booming double to left against Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren. With two on and two outs, A’s catcher Jonah Heim reached on Yankees’ center fielder Trent Grisham’s fielding error, both runners scoring on the outfielder’s mishap. Heim proceeded to score on A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler’s RBI single to left field. Butler finally came through with a big hit, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning.

A’s starting pitcher Jacob Lopez began the game with two straight scoreless innings, getting two contested strikeouts thanks to the new ABS system.

A’s Pitching Rears its Ugly Head

The Yankees developed their first rally in the top of the third. The visitors led off the inning with a single and two walks to load the bases. Lopez’s command issues reared its head once again. Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI infield single and then designated hitter Ben Rice tied the game with a two-run double down the first-base line. One batter later, New York took the lead on Judge’s single that fell in front of Butler in center.

Lopez did not record an out in the third inning. A’s manager Mark Kotsay took him out after his starter allowed four runs on five hits along with a couple of walks to blow his team’s 3-0 advantage.

Newly recalled reliever Michael Kelly replaced Lopez with the bases loaded, zero outs, and the A’s down 4-3. He walked his first batter on four pitches and then gave up Grisham’s two-run single.

The Yankees kept the parade going as former A’s player Max Schuemann lined a double off Kelly to bring home his team’s ninth and tenth runs of the inning. The A’s set the high-water mark in MLB history for the most runs scored without getting an out. A few batters later, Rice crushed a two-run triple to make it a twelve-run inning, the most runs the A’s have allowed in an inning since 1983.

Kelly only got two outs, allowing six more runs as the Yankees batted around twice in one inning. The A’s pitching staff made all kinds of wrong history, but they were not helped by their outfield defense as Cortes and Butler missed a couple of catchable balls.

Fellow right-handed reliever Jack Perkins replaced Kelly, retiring the first batter he faced to end arguably the worst-pitched inning in Athletics franchise history. The inning lasted so long (48 minutes) that Warren went to the bullpen to warm up and stay fresh.

Yankees Cruising Along to Victory

Facing a ten-run deficit, the A’s offense sought to chip away. First baseman Nick Kurtz and Soderstrom hit back-to-back singles, but Warren escaped the jam unscathed by getting Heim and Butler out. The Yankees’ catcher tagged Butler at home plate as Butler just stood there thinking that the ball was foul.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Athletics stranded two more runners. Designated hitter Brent Rooker’s one-out bloop double will hopefully get his bat going as the A’s need more from their struggling slugger. Through five innings, the hosts had plenty of chances to score, yet went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

A’s Offense Fights Back

Meanwhile, Warren shut down the A’s offense, allowing only three unearned runs on six hits over six innings. Yankees’ left-handed reliever Tim Hill replaced him in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Rooker launched his eighth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center, giving the A’s their first run since the first inning.

The A’s were not done against Hill. After Kurtz walked and pinch-hitter Henry Bolte was hit by a pitch, Heim swatted his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right-center. His first long ball in an A’s uniform cut his team’s deficit to six.

A’s shortstop Darell Hernaiz began the eighth with a double off New York reliever Fernando Cruz, setting the table for the top of the lineup. With two outs, Kurtz delivered a booming double that scored Hernaiz, bringing home the A’s eighth run of the high-scoring game.

While the Athletics offense fought its way back into this matchup, the team’s bullpen held the Yankees hitless the rest of the game. After struggling last night, Perkins bounced back with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, though the circumstances were much different. A few innings later, A’s reliever Luis Medina continued his impressive relief work, recording four strikeouts over two dominant scoreless innings.

Down five runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Athletics put two runners aboard against Yankees closer David Bednar, but he slammed the door on their comeback bid.

In the wake of a 1-5 homestand, the A’s return to the road to kick off a new month. The team gets a day off in Chicago tomorrow. On Tuesday, the Athletics will start a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Left-hander Gage Jump will make his second MLB start. He will be opposed by Cubs’ right-hander Jameson Taillon, who is 2-4 with a 5.37 ERA in 11 starts this season.

In general, it feels fair to say that parity is a good thing in the game of baseball. The more teams that are involved in the chase for playoff contention, the better, and 2026 has certainly been a year of such parity to this point. For better or worse, much of the Junior Circuit is within only a few games of each other, which could lead to a season full of intrigue for plenty of fanbases.

Only three AL teams have “separated” themselves to this point, and we’re getting a little loose with that term as it is. The Yankees, Rays, and Guardians were the only American League clubs to have won 30 or more games headed into this weekend. With a solid series behind them, the White Sox (!) and Mariners have now also reached that mark. What makes the level of parity more interesting, is that almost everyone else is floating around in no-man’s land.

With New York and Tampa Bay (and to a lesser extent Cleveland) at the top of the food chain, that leaves nine other teams with between 25 and 32 wins in 2026. To perhaps put the situation into better context, all but three American League teams — the Royals, Angels, and Tigers, are within just three games of a spot in the postseason. This also doesn’t consider that fact that one of the basement-dwelling teams, the Tigers, made the postseason just last year. They’ve had a truly awful time trying to compete without two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal since April 29th, and a 6-22 month of May might have single-handedly nerfed their 2026 hopes and dreams.

There is a lot to take in on the standings page, and at this point in the season, it’s hard to make anything resembling a conclusion. The White Sox and Athletics are both in second place in their respective divisions, playing respectable ball for the first time in years, while the Mariners are in first place with a team that just crept over .500 this weekend. It’s a mess, and despite the benefits a situation like this can bring for the “good” teams, the Yankees aren’t quite able to enjoy them.

Despite the overall good baseball the Yankees have been playing, they still find themselves in second place in the East, in a League they have already somewhat separated themselves from. The Rays, who have that first-place spot by a slim margin, are the only team that has played better than the Yankees in the AL. So, while much of the American League is mired in mediocrity, the Rays and Bombers have to duel it out atop the East. Depending on how things play out, the Yankees could benefit from middling teams occupying much of the schedule, but the priority in their mind is certainly moving past Tampa Bay.

Cleveland is also in close proximity, just a couple of games back of the Yankees, but they certainly have plenty to prove. The American League Central has long been a largely unimpressive (and thus competitive) division, and the Guards once again look to be in the running for the crown.

For the Yankees, the good thing is that at this juncture, no opponent, or potential postseason matchup would be particularly troubling, as the American League remains a bit jumbled. The downside is that their strongest competition at the moment is right in their backyard, and if the Rays come out on top, any advantage New York had becomes far less significant with a longer road in October — as they endured in 2025 with Toronto.

Considering all of this, the Yankees will certainly take a head start on much of the AL, no matter what form it takes. But, however comforting that backdrop may be, a potential Wild Card berth rather than a division win changes things rather significantly. If they can take care of business, the door could be as wide open as it was in 2024, when they fended off Baltimore for the division crown and then pushed past two AL Central clubs for the pennant. The Yankees just need to find the optimal way forward for this year’s field.

The Dodgers had a couple debatable roster decisions to make this week.

Based on Sunday’s results, they might have been right on both.

In a 9-1 rubber-match win over the Phillies, the Dodgers were led offensively by their two recent Triple-A call-ups, getting fourth-inning home runs from Alex Freeland and Ryan Ward that helped them take two of three games in this National League Division Series rematch.

“We had spent the whole morning hitting together, talking through our routine together, talking about our plan versus the Philly guys that we felt we’re gonna be facing,” Ward said. “And to have us both homer in the same inning, this is a really cool moment for us.”

Freeland went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs from the No. 9 spot Sunday, opening the scoring with a double off the wall in center in the second before extending the lead with a solo home run in the fourth. 

Ward also left the yard in the bottom of the fourth, giving him his first career home run in his first career game at Dodger Stadium.

Once they were both back in the dugout, the two wrapped each other in a hug.

“I’m just uber excited for Ryan,” Freeland said. “I don’t think there’s anybody that deserves it more than him. So to share that moment with him is special.”

At the start of this week, neither player was on the Dodgers’ big-league roster. Only after injuries to Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández did the need for reinforcements from the minors arise.

Even then, Freeland and Ward were not guaranteed to be recalled. For each of their spots, there were other options the team could’ve considered.

Freeland effectively got the nod over the since-demoted Hyeseong Kim, who was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City after a recent slump cost him his platoon job at second base. Ward, likewise, was called up over breakout outfield prospect James Tibbs III, receiving only his second career opportunity in the majors after a brief two-game cameo earlier this year.

Both decisions were questioned by some corners of the fan base.

Both were then validated in Sunday’s blowout.

“Everybody in this locker room is a superstar,” Freeland said. “A lot of us get overlooked, just because we have guys like Shohei [Ohtani] and Freddie [Freeman]. But everybody in this clubhouse can ball.”

What it means

After a late-game slip-up from Tanner Scott on Saturday night, the Dodgers bounced right back with their 14th win out of the last 17 overall.

Of all the victories in that span, Sunday’s was among the most impressive.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto navigated traffic in a scoreless 5 ⅓-inning start, working around four hits, two walks and one hit batter while setting a season high with 10 strikeouts.

The Dodgers’ offense, in a refreshing change of pace, also provided him with plenty of run support, tagging Phillies rookie starter Andrew Painter with four runs in 3 ⅓ innings before pouring it on late.

In addition to Freeland and Ward, the Dodgers also got two hits each from Ohtani (extending his on-base streak to 16 games), Kyle Tucker (snapping a 1-for-16 slump previously on this homestand) and Max Muncy (including his team-leading 14th home run); and two RBIs apiece from Alex Call (on a pinch-hit single in the fifth) and Freeman (on a pair of sacrifice flies).

The team has now won five straight series and has a season-high 5 ½-game lead in the National League West.

“On the heels of last night, to be able to bounce back like we did, that was a good thing and a good sign for our club,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Who’s hot

Ward hasn’t gotten many at-bats during his limited time in the majors this season.

But when he’s been at the plate, he has made the most of them

During his MLB debut on April 19 in Colorado, the longtime minor-league prospect had a pair of singles and an RBI. And after going 1-for-2 with his home run Sunday — he was lifted early for Call’s pinch-hit at-bat in the fifth — he is now hitting .375 in his first three career big-league games.

“Even talking to Freeland today on the bench, he made a note that Ryan was probably the most positive guy down there in Triple A,” Roberts said of Ward, who had to wait seven years in the Dodgers’ farm system before finally reaching the majors this season.

“That speaks to his character. If there’s anyone that has the right to be salty and frustrated, it’s him. But he was professional about it, and he was an easy one to recall and get him here. And I’m going to try to give him some opportunities, so he can make the most of them.”

Who’s not

Home plate umpire Sean Barber, who had a whopping eight calls overturned via the new ABS challenge system.

The first two came in the first inning, when backup catcher Dalton Rushing — who was previously just 3-for-8 on ABS challenges from behind the plate this year — got Yamamoto a pair of strikeouts by successfully getting a couple called balls converted to third strikes.

Freeman found himself on the other end of the equation in the bottom half of the inning, when he had what was initially ruled a walk in a full count overturned to a strikeout after already jogging down to first base.

Not every ABS review went against Barber. The Dodgers and Phillies lost one challenge each.

Still, the eight overturned calls were just one shy of the most in a game this season. 

Up next

The Dodgers head to Arizona on Monday for a four-game series against the Diamondbacks. The opener will feature Emmet Sheehan (3-1, 4.70 ERA) against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 2.31 ERA).