Category: Sports News

Not a good day at the ballpark as the Athletics fell to the Angels 4-1 in Anaheim in the series opener.

More to come…

The Mariners finally broke through their three-run cap to score five runs in a game, but a bullpen meltdown in the eighth meant the Mariners took a loss anyway in the season finale against the Guardians, 6-5. The loss means the Mariners fall out of first place in the AL West, meaning Mariners fans don’t even have “at least we’re in first place!” as a comforting balm in the face of one of the toughest losses of the season so far.

The five-run inning will be what undid the Mariners on the scoreboard, but the offense had multiple opportunities to put this game out of reach and failed to capitalize. The Mariners left 14 runners on base today, ranging from the standard – a J.P. Crawford leadoff single stranded in the first, a one-out Cal Raleigh walk stranded in the fifth – to the truly excruciating: back-to-back singles stranded in the fourth; an inning-ending double play in the eighth stranding Julio at third. It seems counterintuitive to fault the offense on a day when they scored more runs than they have in the past two weeks, but had the offense converted a few more of these opportunities earlier, the situation in the eighth might have played out very differently.

The Mariners did score three off Guardians starter Gavin Williams, in their usual fashion of scoring early but not delivering the kill shot. They small-balled around a run in the second off a pair of singles from their catching tandem, Cal Raleigh (DHing today) and Mitch Garver, and then got another two runs in the third: Julio Rodríguez took a one-out walk and scored on a Josh Naylor double, and then Naylor scored on what should have been a routine Randy Arozarena groundout, mishandled by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio. A particularly frustrating footnote is the Guardians played shoddy infield defense all day, but ultimately the Mariners weren’t able to capitalize enough on those mistakes; this inning ended without further damage, despite a Cal Raleigh walk, as neither of the Mariners’ young infielders were able to cash in on that traffic on the bases; Colt Emerson had a particularly rough at-bat, seeing just one pitch in the zone but striking out anyway.

This game was a particularly brutal shake for Emerson Hancock, who was solid today, navigating around trouble and helping himself out with some defensive plays that gave Bryan Woo, the Mariners’ best fielding pitcher, a run for his money.

Hancock didn’t have the most swing-and-miss stuff against the lefty-heavy Guardians lineup, but he was able to efficiently navigate around minimal traffic all day. The Guardians were able to scrape a run off him in the fifth thanks to some bad-BABIP-luck weakly-hit singles, but Hancock managed to wiggle out of a bases-loaded no-outs situation, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly.

Not only did Hancock limit the damage in the fifth, but fighting through that inning meant he was able to come back out for the sixth and get another two outs for his bullpen before walking Cooper Ingle. With the Mariners clinging to a three-run lead, Dan Wilson opted to bring in Eduard Bazardo, who immediately gave up a double to pinch-hitter Daniel Schneemann on a sinker located dead red. Bazardo didn’t have great command today, spraying the ball around against pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey and going to a full count, but was able to quell the threat by getting Bailey to chase after a nasty biting sweeper.

The Mariners were able to get that run right back, again capitalizing on Guardians mistakes. With former Mariner Shawn Armstrong on in the sixth, Robles reached on a bunt, then stole second and third, realizing Armstrong wasn’t paying any attention to him. Julio then brought Robles home on a weakly-hit ball that didn’t leave the infield, again poorly handled by Travis Bazzana at second, who had an absolutely brutal series defensively. But again, the Mariners weren’t able to extend the lead against lefty Tim Herrin, who came in for Armstrong and immediately hit Naylor with a pitch; Arozarena went after the second pitch he saw and pounded it on the ground to the Guardians’ one sure-handed infielder, Gabriel Arias at third, for the inning-ender.

That lack of adding on would loom large in the eighth, after the Mariners squandered yet another opportunity in the seventh against former Mariner Matt Festa. Again, the Mariners had two runners on, and again, they failed to convert that traffic into runs, with Arozarena hitting into an inning-ending double play. Gabe Speier was able to knock the Guardians down in the bottom of the seventh, but that left the eighth.

With the bottom of the lineup coming up and Muñoz as “the ninth inning guy” per Dan Wilson, the Mariners sent in Michael Rucker. On the one hand, Wilson’s options were limited: Bazardo and Speier had already pitched, José Ferrer was down after pitching the last two nights, Nick Davila has poor splits against lefties, and the six-man rotation has already shorted the pen an arm, leaving Rucker and lefty Josh Simpson, recently returned from Tacoma. Both of them would pitch in this inning. Neither would pitch well.

If you’ve been a Mariners fan a while, you already know how this went. I don’t need to describe each agonizing detail, and you probably don’t want to read it. There’s no value to be extracted from examining why each of these pitchers failed. It was a late-innings spring training game, but played in late June instead. If you’re really dead-set on imagining it, here’s a visual representation:

By the end of the inning, the Guardians led, 6-4. The Mariners would claw one of those runs back in the ninth against Guardians closer Cade Smith – Cole and Colt teaming up for back-to-back singles, a weak ray of sunshine on a dark day, and Robles again making Bazzana reconsider life at the keystone – but it almost felt even more insulting to lose by one run, especially coming in on Bazzana’s umpteenth fielding miscue of the series, like pointing up the fact that even spotted shoddy infield defense, the Mariners still couldn’t overcome their fatal flaws of non-clutch-hitting and bullpen implosion.

Losing a game that’s winnable is always frustrating, but with the way the team has been playing lately, today’s game feels like salt in the wound. Breaking out of the prison of three-or-fewer runs scored only to lose feels not so much like a finger on the monkey paw curling down, but the Mariners taking the monkey paw and beating fans over the head with it – the latest not-fun entry in the captain’s log of what has been, so far, an almost wholly unenjoyable season.

Gavin Williams had to work a bit extra this outing, throwing 103 pitches in 5.0 innings. He allowed 3R/2ER on six hits and three walks, striking out six batters. The unearned run for Gavin came in the top of the third. A throwing error by Brayan Rocchio allowed Josh Naylor to score. Shawn Armstrong only worked 0.2 innings, giving up a run on two hits before Vogt went to Tim Herrin. Herrin pitched a full inning of work, only giving up one hit. Matt Festa earned the win, improving to 2-1 on the season. He worked 1.1 innings, allowing only three base runners via two base hits and one walk. Cade Smith earned the save, but not without some struggles. Cade allowed two hits and only struck out one. A throwing error from Travis Bazzana to Rhys Hoskins scored a runner from third, accounting for Cade’s unearned run.

The Guards offense woke up in the bottom of the fifth. Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, and Steven Kwan all hit singles to load the bases. Kwan’s single was called an out, but Cleveland won the challenge earning Kwan another successful bunt single. Travis Bazzana hit a sac fly with no outs and bases loaded to Julio Rodríguez, scoring Gabriel Arias from third.

The Guardians remained down until the bottom of the eighth when the offense put up a five spot. Brayan Rocchio led off with a single. Cooper Ingle drew a walk and Daniel Schneemann singled on a ground to center to score Rocchio.

Patrick Bailey hit a perfect sac bunt that moved both runners with Steven Kwan loading the bases in the next AB via a walk. The Mariners opted for a pitching change to face Travis Bazzana. Bazz popped out for the second out of the inning. Chase DeLauter hit a 2-RBI single to tie it up for the Guardians.

Rhys Hoskins doubled to left field, with the ball falling just fair. Chase DeLauter, with an aggressive send, was on the heels of Steven Kwan to score the go-ahead and insurance runs.

Is the offense back? Were the only pieces we needed a load-bearing Kahlil Watson and Chase DeLauter’s return to turn things around? The Texas Rangers will be in town for a three game series starting tomorrow. Here’s to hoping the team can keep this momentum into the next few series and keep in the fight for first in the AL Central.

The Mets dropped their second one-run game against the Phillies this weekend, losing 5-4 to drop the series against their division rivals. In a game Gary Cohen aptly called “excruciating”, the Mets went 2-16 with runners in scoring position, leaving 14 men on base, in the loss.

The beginning of the game had a much different tone than that, however, especially the first four innings. Jesus Luzardo, who got the ball for the Phillies, looked great over the first four frames, allowing four base runners (with the first one coming in the third inning), and the Mets had trouble keeping the Phillies bats silent.

The Mets operated with a quasi-bullpen game, with lefty Cionel Pérez opening the game against the lefty heavy top of the Phillies lineup. He was excellent, striking out two, before handing the ball to the first of their two bulk relievers behind him in Tobias Myers. Myers had an iffy outing, throwing two zeroes in the second and fourth but also getting hit around in the third, surrendering three runs in that inning.

Trailing 3-0 after four, the Mets handed the ball to the second of their two bulk relievers, Kodai Senga. He started off strong, sitting the Phillies down in order. The Mets finally got on the board in the fifth, when Carson Benge lined a Luzardo sinker to left field to drive home Tyrone Taylor, making it 3-1.

Senga worked himself into a jam in the sixth, walking Alec Bohm and allowing a double to Brandon Marsh, setting up second and third with no outs. He worked himself out of a man made jam of his own creation, striking out J.T. Realmuto, getting Bryson Stott to ground out to a drawn in Brett Baty, and getting Juan Soto home run stealer Derek Hill to go down swinging to end the frame still down 3-1.

Francisco Alvarez doubled to lead off the sixth off of Chase Stugart. Stugart got a pinch hitting Jared Young on strikes, but did not get a pinch hitting A.J. Ewing out. The rookie blasted a hanger of a sweeper 382 ft. into the bullpen, making it a 3-3 game. Ewing crushed it, hitting it 104 mph. Ewing exited the game with a 123 wRC+, which is a wonderful silver lining in this mostly lost campaign, especially considering he is only 21 years old.

A.J. Ewing digression aside, lets get back to the sixth inning, because it did not end there. Brett Baty followed up the two run home run with a walk, and Luis Torrens singled to make it first and third, with still only one out. Carson Benge hit a soft liner up the middle that ricocheted off the pitcher’s glove, allowing Baty to scamper home on a fielder’s choice, making it 4-3 Mets.

The good vibes would end there, really. Justin Crawford led off with a single in the seventh, and Kyle Schwarber would soon after hit his 30th home run of the season to make it 5-4 Phillies, the eventual final score. Kodai Senga would stay in the rest of the game and genuinely pitch well, but that no-good, terrible pitch to Schwarber was one mistake too many.

The Mets offense did not roll over and die, but instead could not find the big hit after Ewing delivered one in the sixth. They got two runners on with two outs in the seventh but stranded them on a Baty ground out. They loaded the bases with one out on three walks against Orion Kerkering, but a Ronny Maruicio pop out and a Francisco Alvarez strike out ended the threat. They got a base runner against closer Jhoan Duran as well, but the two-out walk would be in vein.

The Mets, who at 35-49 are facing a season fading into obscurity, are 1-8 over their last nine games, which is, in my humble opinion, not what you want. (The one win, however, was the game I attended, moving my personal record to 2-0. Season tickets please @Mets!)

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: 29% WPA
Big Mets loser: Ronny Maruicio -24% WPA
Mets pitchers: -37% WPA
Mets hitters: -13% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing’s two run home run in the fourth, +27.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Kyle Schwarber’s two run home run in the seventh, -37.8% WPA

No matter what you thought the Cubs would do this year, you absolutely did not have the following on your Cubs Bingo card:

“Jordan Wicks is going to post his first save of the year against the Brewers, in Milwaukee, coming into the game in the 10th inning with the bases loaded and nobody out.”

Who writes these scripts, anyway?

And yet, that is exactly what happened in a tension-filled contest. The Cubs did win 4-3 in 10 innings, taking the series and an important game from their division rivals.

Well. If you’ve settled down a bit from all the drama, let’s begin at the beginning.

With the Cubs rotation in shambles, this was scheduled to be a bullpen game. Ryan Rolison, who was the opener one other time this year, got those honors. And he got to two out in the second inning with no trouble, but… Craig Counsell might have left him in one batter too long. Gary Sanchez homered off Rolison with two out in the second to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Rolison finished off the inning without further incident.

The Cubs, as they had done in the other two games of this series, had trouble with the Brewers starter, Brandon Woodruff gave the Cubs just one hit and two walks into the sixth, the hit a double in the third by Miguel Amaya.

Bryse Wilson, who wasn’t even in the Cubs organization until four days ago and who last pitched 10 days ago, two innings for the Phillies, was spectacularly good in relief of Rolison. He threw 4.1 innings, allowed four hits and no runs, didn’t walk anyone and struck out four. So between Rolison and Wilson, they threw 6.1 innings, allowed six hits and one run, didn’t walk anyone and struck out six – that’d be a pretty good outing from any starting pitcher.

Wilson got helped out by this nice grab by Pete Crow-Armstrong [VIDEO].

This is how good Wilson was in relief:

From @sportradar: Bryse Wilson and Fergie Jenkins are the only #Cubs in the modern era to have 4+ IP in relief with 0 runs allowed and 0 walks in their team debut. @WatchMarquee

— Chris Antonacci (@chrisantonacci) June 28, 2026

Welcome to the Cubs, Bryse Wilson! One more note on Wilson, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Bryse Wilson is the 23rd player to make his debut as a Cub this season — 17 pitchers, 6 position players.

That raises the all-time count since 1876, first season of the National League, to 2,300, the most by any team.

The Cardinals are second, with 2,250. They began play in 1882. The Braves, the only other active team that began in 1876, have used 2,184, which is sixth most.

So the game went to the seventh with the Cubs still down just 1-0. With one out, Ian Happ walked and Nico Hoerner singled him to third – just the Cubs’ second hit.

With Matt Shaw at the plate, Aaron Ashby uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Happ to tie the game [VIDEO].

Shaw walked, putting runners on first and third with one out, but pinch-hitter Pedro Ramirez struck out and Dansby Swanson flied out, ending the inning.

No further runs crossed the plate in the seventh, eighth or ninth. Oddly, Justin Dean was sent up to bat for Matt Shaw in the top of the ninth. He struck out. Here’s why that change was made:

Matt Shaw had some wrist soreness which is why Justin Dean pinch hit for him in the 9th. #Cubs

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) June 28, 2026

The Cubs got good relief work from Caleb Thielbar, Tyler Ferguson (despite a throwing error with a runner on first on a pickoff attempt) and Jacob Webb. With the potential winning run on second and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Webb struck out Joey Ortiz to send it to extras [VIDEO].

All the leverage relievers have now been used by both teams, so the Brewers had to use Joel Kuhnel in the 10th. Dean was the placed runner. He went to third on a ground out. Swanson struck out, and then the Cubs rallied. Ball one was thrown to PCA, who was then intentionally passed. PCA stole second without a throw, taking away a force play and putting two runners in scoring position. Alex Bregman was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.

Kuhnel then walked Michael Busch, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead [VIDEO].

The bases are still loaded, and Seiya Suzuki came through with a two-run single [VIDEO].

A three-run lead in an extra inning should usually be enough for the visiting team. But remember when I said that all the leverage relievers had been used?

That meant Ethan Roberts was on for the Cubs. He’s been pretty good much of this season, but not on Friday against these same Brewers. Joey Ortiz was the placed runner for Milwaukee, and he scored on a single by Christian Yelich to make it 4-2. Then Jackson Chourio walked and Brice Turang singled, loading the bases.

That’s when Wicks came into the game. You were not filled with confidence at this move, but it was the only move Counsell had. Wicks walked Garrett Mitchell to make it 4-3. Wicks looked completely nerve-wracked on the mound, just as he had much of this season.

And then, some magic happened. Wicks got Jake Bauers to pop to short left for the first out.

Sanchez, who had started the scoring with his second-inning homer, was the next hitter. I was thinking, “If only Wicks could get him to hit the ball on the ground, he’s a good double-play candidate.”

And that… is exactly what happened [VIDEO].

You can see in the reaction by the Cubs fans there, and in the Cubs dugout, how big, how important this win was. It showed, I believe, that the Cubs are just as good as the Brewers, even with all the pitching injuries, even when having to use random pitchers picked up off the waiver wire. I am going to say this right here, right now, and you can believe me or don’t, but if the Cubs can somehow go on a run and win the NL Central, that run begins right here, right now, with this win in Milwaukee on June 28, 2026.

The Cubs’ series win here is an excellent accomplishment. It continues their good run – now 12-4 in their last 16 games – and moves them to within 5.5 games of first place. They’re now 23-21 on the road and return to Wrigley Field Monday to begin a six-game homestand. If you’re not optimistic now… well, jump on the bandwagon with me, won’t you?

Here are postgame comments from Wicks [VIDEO].

The Cubs will open a three-game series against the San Diego Padres Monday evening at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener for the Cubs. At this writing the Padres do not have a starter listed for Monday. Game time is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Kodai Senga threw relatively well in his first career relief appearance Sunday, aside from one bad pitch. 

The right-hander did well to save the bullpen and keep the Mets in a three-run ballgame.

Senga cruised his way through the top of the Phillies’ order in his first inning of work, including a four-pitch strikeout of Kyle Schwarber on a nasty slider out of the zone.  

He found himself in immediate trouble after giving up a walk and a double leading off the sixth, but was able to dance his way out of danger with help from two more strikeouts. 

The Mets rallied to jump in front for the first time in the ballgame in the bottom-half, and Andy Green decided to stick with Senga with the top of Philly’s order coming back up.

Green revealed postgame that the majority of New York's top arms were unavailable. 

This time the Phillies' big bats were able to get to him, as the Met-killer Schwarber jumped all over a 1-2 fastball in the heart of the zone following three straight forkballs, crushing it over the right-center fence. 

"Where we were at that point in the game and the count, it didn’t have to be a fastball," Senga said via a translator. "If I was going to go fastball since we were ahead, preferably it would’ve been higher, so there's a lot of think about."

Senga recovered nicely, retiring six of the next seven batters he faced to close the day. 

The Mets had plenty of chances to pick him up as well, but couldn’t deliver the big hit needed, sending him home with the loss for the sixth consecutive outing. 

It wasn’t all negative this time around for Senga, though, as he held the dangerous lineup to just the two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings.

He leaned heavily on his signature ghost-fork, using it to generate six of his 11 whiffs. 

“I thought he was really good today,” Green said. “There was aggression in everything he threw.

“He used his forkball more, it's an elite weapon and we saw good hitters take bad swings at it -- that’s always been an elite weapon, it was good to see him use it in pivotal situations and we encourage him to continue to do it.”

Senga handled a starters workload, but his role moving forward still remains to be seen. 

He knows at the end of the day, it comes down to the results. 

"It's just up to me" he said.  "If I can compete and be in the zone unlike my previous outing where strikes were strikes and balls were clearly balls, that’s not going to play, then I don’t deserve a spot in the rotation -- on the flip side, if I am able to compete I do feel I deserve a spot."

Notes on the Mets after Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies...

---

A.J. Ewing feeling good at the plate

Ewing wasn't in the lineup with Philadelphia starting left-hander Jesus Luzardo, but was ready when his name was called upon to pinch-hit with one down in the sixth inning. Facing righty Chase Shugart, Ewing took a 0-1 sweeper and smacked it for a 382-foot game-tying two-run shot.

“Everybody in the lineup card has a role to play that day, whether they're in the starting nine or you're on the bench,” Ewing said. “And just staying prepared, staying into the game, the full nine innings.”

Ewing, who added a single in his three at-bats, said that being aggressive in counts is when he feels most comfortable at the plate.

"I feel like when I'm at my best, my at-bats end with one or two swings,” he said. “And I've been feeling more like myself recently."

In his last 14 games, Ewing has 16 hits in 47 at-bats (.340) with a 1.043 OPS as he has seven extra-base knocks and 12 RBI. And Sunday's homer, his third in that span and set up the Mets grabbing a lead after a CarsonBenge groundout later that same inning, was his first career pinch-hit hit.

“You just treat it like every other at-bat,” he said. “You’re getting prepared for it during the game a little bit, too.”

He added that the communication on that is “great” from the coaching staff in terms of who he might be facing and that gave him a “good idea” about when he might be entering.

Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived and, in the end, it was the Mets’ 15th one-run loss on the season, the most in the National League.

“That’s just baseball, it’s hard,” Ewing said of losing the lead after coming back from three down. “You just gotta show up tomorrow, we got three more in Toronto.” 

RISP anything but crisp

Getting on base wasn’t the issue on Sunday, as the Mets had nine hits and eight walks. But the nine men in the starting lineup and three who came off the bench combined to go 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners stranded.

Perhaps the most crucial and, for Mets fans, most painful instance came in the home half of the eighth when Orion Kerkering issued three walks to load the bases with one out, throwing eight straight out of the zone to do so. But Ronny Mauricio popped out on a 1-0 count and Francisco Alvarez went down swinging after getting ahead 1-0.

“I saw just misses,” interim manager Andy Green said about what he saw on the day.

“Saw a bunch of guys taking aggressive passes and just missing pitches,” Green continued. “Obviously, there's a whole ton of times we could have hopped back in front, that was a huge swing from AJ to do that for us off the bench; that's impressive. We just didn't bring guys home today.”

When asked if there were times when they asked hitters to be more patient,   Green said there were “certain situations” when the Mets had the “take sign” on for players in the game.

“It's not every situation,” the interim skipper said. “There's times where you want aggression on pitches that you should be able to hit and handle. So, different points in time of the game state today, there were takes on for guys, and then at different points in time, they were turned loose.  And we weren’t able to get it just right today.”

With the day's poor showing, the Mets are now batting .238 (ninth-lowest in baseball) with a .678 OPS (fourth-lowest) and 216 RBI (lowest) with RISP.

Francisco Lindor not an option

Green had four options on his bench today and used three of them. Lindor was the lone man left out of action, and Green said he was unavailable.

“He was tempting,” the manager said about the opportunities when he could have used Lindor off the bench, but “he had the day entirely.”

Lindor played in the first two games of the series, the first time he’s done back-to-back games since he was activated from the IL on Wednesday, after several weeks out due to a calf strain.

Lindor had two hits (a triple) with two RBI and a walk in his seven at-bats of the series.