Category: Sports News

It’s an early one for this series finale. Let us know what you’re having for lunch (or breakfast, PT folks) as we gear up for a 12:15 pm ET first pitch.

ICYMI

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On August 22, 1952, the Red Sox sold the contract of a 35-year-old swingman to their arch rivals. “He was no help to us,” said Lou Boudreau, Boston’s manager, bitterly. “I gave him plenty of chances to start and relieve and he didn’t come through.”

In the midst of a pennant race, the mighty Yankees were adding a past-his-prime hurler to help eat some innings. If Boudreau, a future Hall of Famer, was correct in his analysis, the Yankees were hoping to draw blood from a stone. They’d end up getting some of the best pitching of Ray Scarborough’s career.

Ray Wilson Scarborough
Born: July 23, 1917 (Mount Gilead, NC)
Died: July 1, 1982 (Mount Olive, NC)
Yankees Tenure: 1952-53

Ray Scarborough grew up in North Carolina, the son of Oscar, a general store operator and cotton broker, and Bina. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1942 and began work as a science teacher. But his right arm was promising enough that he also played for semipro teams in the area. Joe Engel, the legendary scout who also inked deals with Hall of Famers Joe Cronin and Goose Goslin, saw enough to sign Scarborough to play in the Senators’ system.

After winning 21 games and setting a league record with 220 strikeouts at Class-B Selma in 1941, he began the following season at Class-A Chattanooga before getting the call to the bigs on June 26, 1942. The 24-year-old made 12 relief appearances for Washington before drawing his first start in the second game of a doubleheader on September 3. Scarborough held the White Sox off the board and went the distance, earning a shutout victory and a spot in the rotation the rest of the way. Shirley Povich, the legendary sportswriter who spent 65 years at the Washington Post, reported that the rookie had “pitched a beaut.”

Scarborough pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 86 innings in 1943 before reporting for duty with the Navy. He spent all of 1944 and ‘45 in the service, returning for the 1946 season. Scarborough had a career year in 1948, winning 15 games for the 97-loss Senators while recording a 154 ERA+.

That breakout campaign made him a hot commodity around the league, as no less than five teams attempted to poach him via a trade with the lowly Senators. Among them was the Red Sox, who’d finished a game back of Cleveland for the pennant in 1948 following a one-game tiebreaker playoff. Scarborough had held Boston to two runs in a complete-game victory on September 28th, an outing widely blamed for their ouster.

Scarborough stayed in Washington for the ‘49 season and, while he had a bit of a down year, he once again played spoiler, pitching a one-run complete game to beat the Red Sox 2-1 a year to the day after he’d last doomed them. Boston finished one game shy of the pennant once again, this time behind the Yankees. “It wasn’t the Yanks, it was Ray Scarborough,” wrote Ted Williams years later. “Scarborough was just one of those pitchers that baffled us.”

In 1950, it looked like the Red Sox might finally get their white whale. “Both Red Sox, Yankees Vie for Washington’s Ray Scarborough: Veteran Probably Could Win Pennant for Either,” read one comically optimistic headline from a Boston sportswriter. Instead, he ended up flipped to the White Sox, where he struggled, posting a 5.30 ERA in 27 appearances. That December, the Red Sox finally swung a trade to acquire their longtime foe.

As Boudreau lamented, Scarborough’s time with Boston was not nearly as productive as his time pitching against them. After his ERA surpassed 5.00 in a year and a half there, the Red Sox cut bait, putting him on waivers and selling his contract to the Yankees. At 35, he pitched like a man reborn for Casey Stengel. Splitting time between the rotation and bullpen, he pitched to a 2.91 ERA in nine appearances down the stretch. He earned the victory in five of the Yankees’ final 28 games, playing a key role as they edged Cleveland for the pennant by two games.

When asked about this sudden turnaround, the veteran was magnanimous. “I never realized Yogi Berra was such a smart catcher,” he offered by way of explanation. The man who’d wallowed on bad Washington teams most of his career even got the chance to pitch in the World Series, allowing one run in an inning of work in the opener as the Yankees beat the Dodgers in a seven-game classic, securing their fourth consecutive title.

Scarborough stuck around in the Bronx for the 1953 campaign, pitching reasonably well (3.29 ERA in 54.2 innings) before getting released to make way for younger talent as the Yankees won yet another championship. His 3.15 ERA as a Yankee — albeit in a much smaller sample than his seven years in Washington — would be his best mark with any team. After a brief stint with the Tigers, he retired at the age of 36.

After his retirement, Scarborough returned home to Mount Olive, NC, running an oil and supply company while staying involved with the game of baseball. He had stints with multiple organizations over the years, serving as both a coach and a scout.

Ray Scarborough died of a heart attack on July 1, 1982, three weeks before his 65th birthday. His impact on the Yankees organization runs far deeper than his brief tenure with the team. Between his excellent run down the stretch in 1952 and his confounding of the Red Sox in 1949, he was a significant force in securing two Yankees pennants — something many far more decorated players cannot say.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The Phillies may have the best record in baseball since Don Mattingly took over as manager, but they haven’t looked particularly prepared to play the last two nights.

Philadelphia ran itself out of an inning again during this painful series against the Dodgers, with second baseman Bryson Stott running on contact with one out in the fifth inning of the 9-5 loss Wednesday.

Despite the ball being hit in front of him, Scott ran right into the waiting arms of third baseman Max Muncy for the second out in a 3-3 game.

The Phillies did not score again in the inning.

“Down to third to [Max] Muncy and Stott runs into an out,” the Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis said on the call. “What are these guys doing?”

“No clue,” color analyst Orel Hershiser responded.

The Phillies own an impressive 47-28 record since Mattingly took over as the team’s manager after Rob Thomson was fired following a 9-19 start, but this baserunning over the last two nights has cost them.

Philadelphia lost two of three from the Dodgers, and the Phillies broadcast team wasn’t happy either when they lost Tuesday’s one-run game on a game-ending 5-2-6-4 double play.

Stott normally would not be be running on contact on this play, as he’s already in scoring position, so running into an out at third base is a terrible move considering he should be able to score on a hit.

Players are also not supposed to run to third when the ball is hit in front of them.

Making it even worse for the Phillies, their best hitter, Kyle Schwarber, was on deck, although he ultimately popped out to end the threat.

Mattingly was never viewed as a bad manager with the Dodgers and Marlins for struggles with his teams on the basepaths; rather, he was known for poor bullpen management and over-reliance on small ball.

San Diego Padres (50-52) at Atlanta Braves (59-42), July 23, 2026, 9:15 a.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Truist Park – Atlanta, GA

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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The Cleveland Guardians have a good problem in a star shortstop prospect who is knocking on the door of the big leagues.

In case you’ve missed it, Angel Genao is a 22 year-old switch-hitting shortstop prospect currently in Columbus for the Guardians’ Triple-A team. In 61 games, Genao has a 130 wRC+, 14.1/12.5 K/BB%, with a .303/.391/.469 slashline and 6 stolen bases. His splits are roughly even over the past two years, with his right-handed hitting his slightly stronger side. He is also an excellent defender and at Triple-A has played 44 games at shortstop, 10 games at third base, and 6 games at second base. Also, his name is not Genoa so please update your autocorrects, accordingly.

Genao is a hot streak away from really proving he needs a major league chance, but his numbers already stand out. Since 2017, these are the top five shortstop hitting performances at Triple-A for players 22 years and younger:

JJ Wetherholt, 22 years old, 164 wRC+

Elly De La Cruz, 21-22 years old, 151 wRC+

Wander Franco, 20-21 years old, 151 wRC+

Gunnar Henderson, 21-22 years old, 140 wRC+

Angel Genao, 22 years old, 131 wRC+

Genao does hit way too many groundballs at 55%, but his 90 mph average exit velocity and 45% hard-hit rate helps minimize the launch angle issues. If you see Genao left in Columbus or traded in a big deal, it will be because he pounds the ball into the ground. But, hitting the ball hard and pulling it as he does effectively (50%) should give him a chance to make a less than ideal launch angle work if he can even see a 5-10% reduction on groundballs moved to line drives and fly balls.

I think there is a chance that bringing Genao up to play second base and temporarily moving Travis Bazzana to DH, then playing Bazzana at second base and Genao at third when Jose DH’s may become the Guardians’ ideal lineup at some point, perhaps near to today. Bazzana’s future defensive home may be in left field or at second base, but his work at second is a negative right now.

It is possible that Genao may be a piece in a big trade for a right-handed slugger or for a starting pitcher. But, given his production and age, that could be a mistake for the Guardians. They may want to try Genao in centerfield if they think Bazzana can stick at second, but some plans should be forming to get another Guardian Angel on this team soon.

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It's a small slate Thursday with fewer pitchers to fade and MLB player props to dig into, but there are certainly some dingers showing value on the board.

Shane Bieber is the best home run target today, and some left-handed bats have a big bump with no good left-handed arms in the Jays' bullpen. Bieber's reverse splits are also making Junior Caminero and that swing very appetizing at his current odds.

In the late game, there is another reverse-split matchup with Dillon Dingler that is showing legit value.

These are my favorite home run props for Thursday, July 23.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Victor Mesa Jr.	+563
Junior Caminero	+245
Dillon Dingler	+569
💲Today's HR parlay	+12839

Home run pick: Victor Mesa Jr. (+563)

Eight home runs in just 38 games and 120 plate appearances is pretty impressive for the rookie outfielder, and he's heating up in a hurry with three homers since Saturday, including two in this series against Toronto.

Victor Mesa Jr. is a left-handed bat, but the pinch-hit risk is minimal today with Toronto likely having just one lefty available in the bullpen — Brendon Little and his 17.61 ERA.

He'll open the game against Shane Bieber, who is coming off a strong outing against the White Sox, but the underlying numbers are still ugly. Bieber ranks in the Bottom 10 among starters in both HR/9 and HR/FB rate, and no starter owns a worse BlastContact% this season.

Seven of the 29 hits he's allowed have left the yard through just five starts. The walks are climbing, and the meatballs keep getting crushed.

One stat that really stands out is the swing speed against Bieber. No starter has a higher average swing speed against at 74.1 mph, and 48.6% of swings against him qualify as "fast swings" of at least 75 mph. Hitters are taking absolute hacks against him.

The Tampa bats project well today, and Mesa is a buy for me down to +500.

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, Rays.TV

Home run pick: Junior Caminero (+245)

Let's keep picking on Bieber, but this time I'm going to the right side because the reverse splits are very real.

Right-handed hitters are batting .396 against Bieber this season compared to just .208 for lefties. There are a few appealing Tampa Bay right-handed bats today, but I'm not getting cute.

Junior Caminero owns the fastest average swing speed in baseball at 79.8 mph, and 88% of his swings register at 75 mph or higher. You can't cheat that kind of bat speed, and it's a big reason why his underlying hitting metrics are among the league's best.

The matchup couldn't be much better. Bieber allows the fastest average swing speed against of any MLB starter, meaning hitters are loading up and taking full cuts against him. That's exactly the profile you want for a power hitter like Caminero.

Reverse splits aren't always fully priced into the market, so there's still value here. The break-even price should be around +225.

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, Rays.TV

Home run pick: Dillon Dingler (+569)

Dillon Dingler continues to offer value against right-handed pitching because he's a true reverse-splits hitter who crushes righties. He owns a .928 OPS against RHPs this season, and 18 of his 22 home runs have come against them.

He's also in the middle of a power binge after launching three homers in the Cubs series while going 7-for-12 with a ridiculous 2.032 OPS at Wrigley.

Detroit gets Triple-A arm Randy Dobnak, whose 1.93 ERA paints a much prettier picture than his underlying numbers. His 5.61 xERA and 5.68 FIP suggest regression is coming, and his LOB% and BABIP have been carrying him.

This is a great home run price for a reverse-splits hitter in excellent form against a pitcher who has been living on borrowed time.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Royals.TV, DSN 

Today’s HR parlay

Victor Mesa Jr.	Bet Now +12839
Junior Caminero
Dillon Dingler

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.

This game is why games like Monday hurt. Sometimes, it just isn’t your night. Tigers pitching stifled the Cubs Wednesday night. The result was a non-competitive 5-1 loss. The Cubs managed just four hits and one walk. Unless all of those hits are home runs, that just isn’t going to win many games. They did, in fact, get one homer and a double. With a homer and a double in there, you could maybe sequence it well and get two or three runs out of that output. But it’s extremely hard to win without offensive production. And so, it frustrates you that the Monday game was winnable and it slipped away.

The Tigers are trying to save their season in a year when the American League is particularly unimpressive. The Tigers sit with just the 11th best record. They are 6.5 games out of first in the AL Central. They are 4.5 games behind the Red Sox for the last Wild Card spot. You can understand some frustration and confusion for the Tigers in that just a few weeks ago the Red Sox were one of the teams they were ahead of. Surely, they are saying why not us and hoping they can get on a bit of a roll this week and not be sellers at the deadline. In reality, they are probably in the spot where you might do a “soft” sell. Possibly trade from the fringes of the roster, particularly where you might have a prospect that would come up and fill the spot.

Regardless, this is the time of year when you can catch a team playing a little desperate. That didn’t work out particularly well for the Cubs in this series. Fortunately, they had that inspired Tuesday night first inning and got out with the one win. It ends with a 3-3 homestand which feels like a little lost opportunity against two AL Central opponents struggling to stay competitive. Ahead of a daunting 17-game stretch, it’s disappointing to be sure.

This is as good a spot as any for a perspective check. Four teams have better records than the Cubs. One team has the same record as the Cubs. The Cubs have sole possession of the first Wild Card spot. The Cubs are on pace for 90.5 wins. The Cubs are 4th in MLB in runs per game. They are 18th in runs allowed per game. That is the story of the season. The Cub offense pretty much has to show up every night or the team doesn’t win.

This next stretch will take more than a quarter of the remaining games off of the schedule.17 games in 17 days. Tough road games, daunting opposition, the heat of the summer. It’s all there. This is it really. If they can hang in there through this stretch, they should be able to get this across the finish line. Hopefully, healthy bodies start showing up during this stretch. Hopefully the front office adds meaningful depth to the roster. The Dodgers are going to look like an unclimbable mountain probably for years to come. The Brewers run a really tight ship. There aren’t going to be a ton of seasons where you are positioned better than this. Even getting into the playoffs and winning a series or two has value to the organization. You want to be one of those teams that is there every year. When it starts getting down to the final four teams every year, you want to be one of those teams. Fight the fight.

Three Positives and Pete:

• Ian Happ had two hits, one a double.
• Seiya Suzuki had a solo homer.
• Ryan Rolison threw a clean inning, striking out all three hitters.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch in four plate appearances.

Game 102, July 22: Tigers 5, Cubs 1 (57-45)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Ian Happ (.038). 2-3, BB, 2B
• Hero/Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki/Ryan Rolison (.025). Suzuki: 1-4, HR, RBI, R; Rolison IP, 3 BF, 3 K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Colin Rea (-.212). 5 IP, 21 BF, 6 H, BB, 4 R, 5 K, HBP (L 7-7)
• Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.095). 0-4
• Kid: Michael Busch/Alex Bregman (-.074). Busch: 1-4, DP; Bregman: 1-4

WPA Play of the Game: Hao-Yu Lee’s three-run homer in the fourth basically put the game out of reach. (.307)

Cubs Play of the Game: Seiya Suzuki’s solo homer in the bottom of the first. (.104)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 101 Winner: David Peterson received 43 of 80 votes, nudging PCA (35 of 80).

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +21
• Carson Kelly +17.5
• Michael Busch +15.5
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Alex Bregman +13
• Jameson Taillon/Phil Maton -10
• Nico Hoerner -13
• Caleb Thielbar -14
• Dansby Swanson -16

Up Next: Game one of the 17-game gauntlet on Friday. They visit the Pirates (53-50). The Pirates swept the Brewers heading into the All-Star break and then took two of three from Cleveland coming out of it. So they’ve climbed back into the Wild Card race in the ultra-competitive NL. They sit with the eighth-best record in the NL, but that leaves them just one loss behind the Diamondbacks for the last wild card spot. So once again, the Cubs will be battling a team trying to jockey for position.

Matthew Boyd (6-1, 4.15) gets the opener of the series. He’s won his last four starts, allowing eight runs in 23.1 innings. At this point, that’s pretty much the best the Cubs have. Jared Jones (2-1, 4.05) makes his 10th start of the year for the Pirates. He’s coming off a win against Cleveland. He only threw five innings, but he struck out nine and allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk. He started four games against the Cubs back in 2024 and the Cubs hung a couple of losses on him. They posted 20 runs against him in 22.1 innings. This is a guy with only 31 starts. So, while those starts were a while ago, he doesn’t have a lot of body of work at the MLB level.

Start grinding. Start it with the win.

Congratulations to Yeison Morrobel, who has been named the #12 prospect in the 2026 LSB Midseason Community Prospect Rankings, receiving a little under a quarter of the vote.

Our list so far:

1 — Sebastian Walcott

2 — Caden Scarborough

3 — Malcolm Moore

4 — A.J. Russell

5 — Yolfran Castillo

6 — Rafe Perich

7 — Dylan Dreiling

8 — Josh Owens

9 — Jose Corniell

10 — Dalton Pence

11 — David Davalillo

12 — Yeison Morrobel

13 — Hector Osorio

Moving on…

Because there has been a history of vote-spamming shenanigans in the rankings, I used Google Forms for the last several of community rankings, and it worked out well, so we will use it again. You will need to include your LSB user name when you vote. If you don’t have an LSB user name, you need to use some sort of identifier. While this won’t eliminate the possibility of vote spamming, it will make it harder.

So who is the #14 prospect in the Rangers system right now?

Cast your vote below…