The story of this game was the performance from Logan Allen. It’s been an up and down season for him but he was brilliant in this game. He tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 9 without allowing a single walk. His ERA is down to 4.66 on the season. Franco Aleman continues to put up video game numbers, after another scoreless outing with 2 strikeouts. His ERA is down to 0.35 on the season.
The Clippers offense was held to just 3 runs despite having 11 hits. CJ Kayfus went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI single, Bo Naylor went 2-5 with two hard hit singles. Joe Lampe also continued his hot stretch, he went 2-4 and is now hitting .400 with a 1.108 OPS since being promoted to AAA.
Juan Benjamin went 2-4 with a HR, Wuilfredo Antunez also homered, and Luke Hill went 1-4 with a double. Jose Devers also went 1-4 with a HR.
It’s been a tough transition to AA for Rafe Schlesinger. He allowed five runs on Wednesday in just four innings pitched while walking more batters than he struck out. His ERA since being promoted to AA is now up to 9.49. I am confident he will rebound once he makes some adjustments.
Aaron Walton went 1-4 with a walk and his 13th HR of the season. He is hitting .270 with a .905 OPS on the season. Jace LaViolette raised his average up to .240 with a 2-4 performance with a walk. He has been much better after a rough first couple weeks of his pro career. Nolan Schubart went 1-3 with two walks and has his OPS up to .884.
Jacob Zibin had an up and down High-A debut. He allowed four runs in 4.1 innings pitched, but he also struck out 8 batters, which is very impressive. I really like seeing him miss bats at this level already, and am excited to see how he finishes his season out. Donovan Zsak lowered his ERA to 3.09 after tossing two scoreless innings of relief with 3 strikeouts.
While I am certainly not out on the young man, I can’t think of a more disappointing Guardians prospect than Joey Oakie this season. I really thought he was going to take a leap into a top 100 type prospect and we have seen the complete opposite. After another rough start where he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings pitched, his ERA is up to 6.75. The stuff is too good for him to perform this badly, they gotta figure this out.
Luis De La Cruz went 2-4 with a 2 run HR and an RBI single. Cannon Peebles went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI triple.
League One: Notts Co v Leicester, Barnsley v Bromley
York return to League Two with visit of Bristol Rovers
Wolves will launch the Championship season at home to Blackburn, while West Ham head to Burnley in a meeting of the other two relegated sides in one of the more eye-catching fixtures on the opening weekend.
The EFL fixture list was released on Thursday and Wolves will play their first Championship fixture since 2018 under their new head coach, César Peixoto, at Molineux at 8pm on Friday 14 August, with the former West Brom manager Tony Mowbray back for a second spell in charge of Blackburn.
The Islanders' prospect pool has taken tremendous strides over the last few years, so let's take a look at the pipeline, which includes players 25 and under, even if they are pending restricted free agents at the moment and have yet to play a full NHL season.
It does not include players who have signed AHL deals or players who are Group 6 UFAs.
C: Danny Nelson, Kamil Bednarik, Luca Romano, Gleb Veremyev
LW: Maxim Shababov, Cole Eiserman, Quinn Finley, Victor Eklund, Daylan Kuefler, Tomas Poletin, Alex Jefferies
RW: Daniil Prokhorov, Matthew Maggio, Jacob Kvasnicka, Joey Larson
LD: Isaiah George, Kashawn Aitcheson, Marshall Warren, Jesse Pulkkinen, Calle Odelius, Xavier Veilleux, Dennis Good Bogg, Zach Schultz, Sam Laurila
RD: Tomas Machu
G: Dmitry Gamzin, Henrik Tikkanen, Joshua Kotai, Burke Hood
As you can see, there's a heavy need for the Islanders to add to the right side of their blueline pipeline.
But many will actually start their career playing in the Summer League.
The league is an offseason basketball series that includes some of the NBA teams competing, with the intention of evaluating the younger talent they have in their system. The field usually features the incoming rookie class and second-year NBA players.
While the complete schedule for the Summer League in Las Vegas hasn't been officially released, the tournament will take place from July 9-19 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Jazz and the Wizards will play on opening day in Vegas in a game that will likely feature Peterson and Dybantsa on the court against each other.
The Salt League City action will begin on July 4 and continue on July 6 and 7.
The California Classic will have games happening in two places. The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings will serve as dual hosts this year. The Warriors will host games at the Chase Center in San Francisco on July 3, 5 and 6, and the Kings will host games at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento from July 4-6.
A list of teams competing at each event has not been announced.
According to BPM Sports and RG’s Marco D’Amico, Matthew Knies’ name is making the rounds in the NHL ahead of the draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs winger was heavily rumored to be the mysterious acquisition that fell through for the Montreal Canadiens on trade deadline day.
Word of discussions with Buffalo and the 4th overall pick.
San Jose also said to be of interest here as well.
Montreal remains interested, but hard to compete with the above teams. https://t.co/OAwk8WMzg1
D’Amico reports that the Leafs are not sure if they’ll move him, but they are certainly testing the waters to see what he could land them. He adds that the Buffalo Sabres, who now own the fourth overall pick in the first-round of the upcoming draft on Friday, are interested just like the San Jose Sharks and the Canadiens. However, given that Buffalo does have the fourth overall pick to offer, it will be tough for Montreal to compete.
It’s worth remembering that the Leafs already have the first overall pick and that, after missing the playoffs and firing both their coach and general manager, they are looking for a quick reset rather than a full rebuild. However, there have been reports of Morgan Rielly giving them a list of teams he’d be willing to be traded to. If that were to happen, chances are Toronto would actually need some roster players to fill the void and not just futures. That could be the Canadiens’ in.
The 32-year-old left-shot defenseman has been a huge part of Toronto’s defense for years, and the Canadiens do have a lot of options on that side of defense. Furthermore, as evidenced by the Bowen Byram trade which took place between the Sabres and the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this week, defensemen can land you a sizeable return.
At this stage, one can wonder if it wouldn’t be wise for the Canadiens to dangle the name of an established defenseman in front of their divisional rival, such as Kaiden Guhle. While he wouldn’t land them Knies on his own, he may be a good starting point for the conversation, especially if the Canadiens are willing to add a top prospect such as Alexander Zharovsky to the package. The skillful winger is held in high regard in the league, and most agree that he should have been a first-round selection at the last draft.
Michael Hage’s name has also been rumoured to be of interest around the league, but it’s hard to see how the Canadiens could even entertain moving him if the return doesn’t include an established second-line center.
While Knies isn’t a pivot, he would fill a sizeable need for the Canadiens. The 6-foot-3 and 232-pound forward has 160 points in 240 career games with the Leafs, including 66 points in 79 games last season. Furthermore, he landed 152 hits playing on Toronto’s top six. If he were to join Ivan Demidov on the Canadiens’ second line, he could be the big winger who’s tasked with puck retrieval along the boards, much like Juraj Slafkovsky does with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
His physicality would be a great addition for the Habs, especially around playoff time. The former second-round pick from the 2021 draft has really paid off for the Leafs and is signed for another five years with a $7.75 million cap hit, which would fit in very nicely with the Canadiens’ salary structure.
It goes beyond the shot-making, the playmaking and the white headband.
Reaves, the 28-year-old shooting guard, averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last season and continues to develop as one of the Lakers’ most dynamic players.
Inheriting genes from parents who played college basketball at Arkansas State certainly hasn't hurt. But embedded in his success appears to be character traits.
These traits surfaced long before he signed a two-way contract with the Lakers after the 2021 NBA Draft. The first signs emerged in Newark, Arkansas, a town of about 1,200 people where Reaves grew up on his family’s 300-acre farm.
An assignment for Austin Reaves
When Reaves was a senior at Creek Ridge High School, he took a life skills class with teacher Priscilla Callahan, who said she pushed Reaves to create a backup plan for his career.
Callahan said her fear was Reaves struggled with shoulder injuries that eventually required surgery.
"He just kind of said, ‘I'm going to play in the NBA, and I'll basically (said) figure it out if something happens,' ’’ Callahan told USA TODAY Sports.
Reaves never created a backup plan, and Callahan said she interprets it as self-belief that helped propel Reaves to the NBA.
"That is exactly it," Callahan said. "But there's a difference between what I would say is confidence and cockiness. And he had the confidence."
Reaves has said his representatives told the Detroit Pistons not to pick him in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. The hope was he could catch on with the Lakers. As he did.
Before the 2024-25, he could have signed a four-year, $53.8 million contract extension. But he chose to hold off and try to increase his leverage. Then he played his best season yet and, as a result, landed the $185 million deal.
'They glue him up'
Reaves, who is 6-5, did not sprout up until his junior year. Those who scouted him earlier may have been put off by his size and chronic shoulder dislocations.
But Isaac Middlebrooks, who coached Reaves at Cedar Ridge, saw the picture differently.
"One of my favorite stories about Austin, we were in the state tournament and I think it was the semifinal game his senior year and Austin hadn't scored yet," Middlebrooks told USA TODAY Sports. "It might've been the start of the second quarter around that time. It's a close game and he dives on the floor after a loose ball and bust open his eyelid."
Reaves bled as he walked across the floor and saw the trainer, according to Middlebrooks.
"And they glue him up," said Middlebrooks, who added he called timeout to buy time as the trainer worked with Reaves.
"Austin, he didn't even stop and say, ‘Hey, you want me to go in coach?’ He just walked right by me, checked in and finished the game with 40-some points. And we won."
The toughness accompanied Reaves to Wichita State, where he played two seasons. And then to Oklahoma, where he played another two seasons. And now to Los Angeles, where he just completed his fifth season.
'Wanted to stick it out'
Cade Crabtree was Reaves' teammate on the high school basketball team and celebrated three state titles in four years.
They were best friends, as were their brothers, who were two years older and top players on the basketball team.
"Me and Austin, were same age, grew up together, best friends since 3 years old and our brothers, same way," Crabtree said. "Growing up, they're bigger, stronger, they're faster.
"Well, we would always play, whether it was a Whiffle ball game or basketball or whatever, me and Austin would always be on the same team knowing that the majority of the time we're about to get spanked by our older brothers.
"They beat us in everything they played us in and every now and then be like, ‘Y'all want to switch up things?’ And we never would because it was like, ‘No, we're going to keep playing y'all till we win.’ "
Which happened maybe once ever 100 games, according to Crabtree.
"But that's just kind of a testament because it's like, yeah, we could have split up and got one of the older brothers on our team made of a more fair game … (Reaves) didn't want it easy. He just wanted to stick it out."
Now Reaves, who’s known in Newark for his non-flashy attire and humble ways, is facing a new challenge, according to Crabtree.
"To be honest, the guy may have to practice learning how to spend more money because that's just not his style," Crabtree said.
The main event for the 2026 NHL draft across the league and for the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the first overall pick and who they'll take with that grand opportunity.
There are a handful of enticing prospects to take with that selection, and history says that the Maple Leafs will make a great pick with No. 60. In fact, Toronto has been fairly solid picking players around the 50 to 65 range.
Here's a quick look at how the Leafs have fared with second-round picks in recent memory.
Tinus Luc Koblar, 64th Overall (2025)
Though he hasn't made an impression in the NHL yet, Tinus Luc Koblar has proven to be a promising prospect for the Maple Leafs, after the team drafted him 64th overall in the 2025 NHL draft.
What makes Koblar particularly impressive is his campaign at the 2026 IIHF World Championship for Norway. The 18-year-old center scored six goals and nine points in 10 appearances for his country, leading the team in scoring and to their first-ever bronze medal at the competition.
Fraser Minten is a much earlier pick than the other names on the list. Nonetheless, he was a second-round selection by the Maple Leafs in 2022, and he's been a solid player in the NHL since.
Minten has played 107 regular-season games, along with six playoff contests in his short NHL career. He played his first full season in the league last year for the Boston Bruins, featuring in all 82 games and putting up 17 goals and 35 points.
Matthew Knies, 57th Overall (2021)
Matthew Knies is easily the best draft pick the Maple Leafs have made in recent years. Now, at 23-years-old and three full seasons in the league to this point, Knies has cemented himself as a star in Toronto.
Knies registered his second straight 20-goal season and set new personal bests in the assists and points departments, recording a total of 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points.
Even if it feels like he's always needing to prove himself, Nick Robertson has blossomed into a legit regular NHL player over the past couple of years.
Robertson, 24, is coming off a career-high season, marking 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 78 appearances for the Leafs, and that's while averaging 12:40 of ice time.
The 5-foot-9 left winger has struggled to earn top-six minutes in Toronto, but whether he climbs into that realm next season or with another team eventually, he can certainly be a steady 20-goal scorer.
Sean Durzi, 52nd Overall (2018)
Sean Durzi has never made an appearance with the Maple Leafs, as he was a part of the trade that saw Toronto acquire Jake Muzzin in January 2019. However, there's no denying that he has been a solid NHL blueliner since entering the league in 2021-22.
His best campaign came in 2023-24 when he was with the Arizona Coyotes. The Mississauga, Ont., native provided 41 points and averaged 22:43 of ice time in 76 contests. In his five-year career, Durzi has featured in 302 regular-season games and averaged 20:28 of ice time on the back end.
Some other notable names that the Maple Leafs have drafted in the second round include Carl Grundstrom, Travis Dermott, Jimmy Hayes, Nikolay Kulemin and Matt Stajan.
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Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 6-8 at Indianapolis Indians
LF Duke Ellis 1-4, BB, K, SB 2B-SS-2B Marco Luciano 0-4, BB, K, throwing error — some weird defensive notes afoot, though not as funny as Travis d’Arnaud and Asdrubal Cabrera with the Mets a few years ago DH Yanquiel Fernández 1-4, RBI, SF CF Garrett Martin 2-5, 2B, HR, 5 RBI — the dingers and ribbies will continue until morale improves, regardless of level (his third in four games at Triple-A and 24th in 66 games combined between Double-A, 435 feet); also a great catch! SS-3B-SS Tyler Hardman 1-4, K, HBP, throwing error 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-4, BB, K C Payton Henry 2-5, K 3B-2B-2B Cole Gabrielson 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 fielding errors and a throwing error — made errors at both positions, and then a third (this was his first carer pro game in the infield); anyway, Scranton made five errors, whoops RF Kenedy Corona 2-3, BB, RBI, K
Adam Kloffenstein 4 IP, 3 H, 5 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 2 K, HR, HBP Dylan Coleman 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K Rafael Montero 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 0 K (loss) Jake Bird 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Eric Reyzelman 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 10-2 at New Hampshire Fisher Cats
LF Jackson Castillo 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI — his and Cobb’s two-run doubles helped Patriots build 4-0 lead early DH Jace Avina 1-5, RBI, 2 K CF DJ Gladney 0-5, 4 K RF Nicholas Torres 1-4, 2 K, SB, HBP 3B Coby Morales 2-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, 2 K, CS C Miguel Palma 1-4, BB, RBI, K 1B Josh Moylan 2-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI, K — first Double-A homer SS Owen Cobb 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K 2B Connor McGinnis 2-4, 2B, K
Xavier Rivas 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 6 K (win) Harrison Cohen 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K Matt Keating 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Michael Arias 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K Hayden Merda 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 0 K Chase Chaney 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 6-7 (10) at Bowling Green Hot Rods
3B Kaeden Kent 3-5, K, CS SS Core Jackson 2-5 C Eric Genther 1-4, BB, K, catcher interference error 1B Kyle West 3-5, BB, RBI, K LF Wilson Rodriguez 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, picked off — two-run homer tied it in the second and two-run single gave HV a 6-4 lead, but it did not hold DH Roderick Arias 2-5, 2B, 3 K 2B Enmanuel Tejeda 0-5, GIDP CF Camden Troyer 0-3, BB, K RF Robbie Burnett 0-4, K
Luis Serna 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 9 K, balk Tanner Bauman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Bryce Warrecker 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, HBP, WP — uncorked wild pitch to let Hot Rods tie it in eighth Andrew Landry 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K (loss) — allowed walk-off knock to Nathan Flewelling
DH Brando Mayea 3-6, K, SB — single to begin game was the first of 15 knocks for Tampa SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 0-4, BB, 2 K, HBP 3B Hans Montero 1-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, SF — 410-foot blast in the eighth CF Willy Montero 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB — two-run shot in the first went 108 mph off the bat (distance not captured, but it went deep to left-center) LF JoJo Jackson 3-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, CS — has hit .442 in his last 13 games 1B David McCann 0-4, BB, 3 K 2B Luis Escudero 3-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB — went yard in the second, along with Lara C Ediel Rivera 1-4, BB, RBI, K — RBI hit made it 7-0 in the fifth RF Gabriel Lara 1-4, HR, BB, RBI, 2 K
Thatcher Hurd 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K — 15 swings and misses as well, easily his best pro start yet (out of eight this year post-Tommy John surgery) Jose M. Rodriguez 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, HR (win) Pedro Rodriguez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K Josh Tiedemann 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, WP
Dominican Summer League Bombers:L, 1-12 (7) vs. DSL Mets Orange — Bombers held to two hits, they probably wish they had just been off too
SS Mani Cedeno 0-2, BB, 2 K, SB 3B Adam Feliz 0-0 DH Alessandro Rodriguez 0-2, RBI, K, SF 2B Carlos Bello 0-3, 2 K RF David Carrera 0-2 RF Sebastian Pinto 0-0, HBP 3B Germayhoni Beltre 0-3, GIDP C Poly Ojeda 0-1, 2 BB, K, throwing error, passed ball, picked off 1B Stalen Ramirez 0-1, BB, K, CS LF Eddison Charles 0-2, K, GIDP CF Alfiery Matos 2-2, SB — hey, someone had to get the hits! (two singles)
Jun 22, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) and Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) stand in the on deck circle prior to the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The Athletic’s Trade Target big board 1.0 is out and it features 50 names of players who all have varying degrees of possibility to be moved this upcoming deadline. ($)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 19: Mitch Voit #55 of the New York Mets smiles in the dugout prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Mets at Clover Park on Thursday, March 19, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Syracuse went down 3-0 in the second inning, and that score held until the seventh. A rehabbing Tyrone Taylor drove in a run with a single to make it 3-1. The Mets took the lead in the eighth, on the back of a Grae Kessinger ground out and a Ronny Maruicio two run single. Yonny Hernandez made it 5-3 with a single in the ninth, which ended up being an important insurance run. Ben Simon surrendered a home run in the ninth, but held on for the two inning save.
SS Ronny Mauricio: 2-5, 2 RBI
REHAB ALERT: CF Tyrone Taylor: 1-4, RBI, K
LF Nick Morabito: 2-5, R, 2 K, 2 SB (25, 26)
1B Ryan Clifford: 0-5, 2 K
RF Cristian Pache: 1-5, R, K
3B Yonny Hernández: 3-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB
DH Ben Rortvedt: 0-3, BB, K
PR-DH Ji Hwan Bae: 0-1, R
2B Grae Kessinger: 0-3, RBI, BB, K
C Hayden Senger: 0-3, R, BB, K
RHP Jack Weisenburger: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
LHP Felipe De La Cruz: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Adbert Alzolay: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Ofreidy Gómez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-0)
RHP Ben Simon: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (1)
Both teams plated a run in the first, and Binghamton took a short lived lead with a run in the third. That lead did not make it out of the inning, as Erie put three on the board to make it 4-2. Matt Rudick homered and Nick Roselli grounded out to tie it in the sixth, but two runs in both the seventh and eighth put the game away for Erie.
C Chris Suero: 0-2, 2 K
C Vincent Perozo: 0-3, K
CF Jose Ramos: 1-4, R, BB, K, SB (6)
DH Nick Lorusso: 1-3, R, 2B, BB
1B JT Schwartz: 2-4, 2 RBI, K
RF Matt Rudick: 1-4, R, HR (1), RBI
SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, R, BB, 2 SB (14, 15)
LF Jaylen Palmer: 0-3, BB
2B Nick Lucky: 0-2, 2 BB, K
3B Nick Roselli: 0-4, RBI, E (1)
LHP Jonathan Santucci: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 WP
LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Garrett Stratton: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, L (0-1)
RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
A blowout! Brooklyn was powered by a six run fourth, and a pair of three run innings in the sixth and seventh.
It was one of those games where the offensive contributions are too much to mention individually. The team amassed 17 hits, with every member of the lineup notching one. The first six batters all had multi-hit games, with Yonatan Henriquez pacing the team with four. They also hit three home runs (John Bay, Trace Willhoite, and JT Benson). It was an overall excellent game.
As one would expect with a 12-8 final, this game was up and down. The Mets went up 1-0 in the third, and Fort Myers took the lead with a two spot in the bottom of the frame. The Mets came back in the fourth to drop four in the fourth, two on a Simon Juan double and two on a Jeremy Rodriguez single, making it 5-2.
The Mighty Mussels tied the game in the fifth, and ran with it from there. They scored one in the sixth, one in the seventh and five in the eighth, which put it away. The Mets scored in the sixth and eighth as well, but simply could not keep up the pace.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 24: Blaze Alexander #23 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 24, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The west coast road trip of disappointment is finally over. At times, it seemed like it could have been something better than it was. If only the Orioles had scored more than six runs in three games against the Mariners. If only they hadn’t blown the series opener against the Dodgers. If only they hadn’t laid an egg against Ryan Johnson. And then, added to the pile freshly yesterday, if only they hadn’t… I don’t even know how to describe that. Check out Tyler Young’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
These guys ain’t got it. They can trick you a little bit for a few days at a time at most, and because of the general state of the American League they haven’t yet faced a crisis point in the standings stemming from not having it. But we’re now past the halfway point of the season and it’s clear that this is what they are. There is not some other, better thing waiting inside to break out.
The Orioles are everything bad that they inflict upon us in more than half of their games. Perhaps there is nothing more representative than the play in the tenth inning where the Angels tied the game, where Keegan Akin was slow to cover first base and therefore did not catch what would have otherwise been an easy toss to end the game, and this error let the go-ahead run get all the way to third base. That runner promptly scored on a bad-luck (for the Orioles) chopper where only catcher Samuel Basallo could field it and he tried to tag the runner because Akin wasn’t moving for home.
He was not able to do this and they lost. Maybe he should have tried to throw to first instead. I don’t know. After the game, Basallo took the blame for this decision:
In a lot of ways, the specifics don’t matter as much as the fact that there’s always something stupid that finds a way to happen. That is just how the 2026 Orioles do it. I don’t understand why or how they do it. They just do. If you didn’t know any better, you might think that they never practice anything, routine or otherwise, to do with fielding baseballs.
They could have built something after winning two of three against the Dodgers. They could have! They just can’t do it because the players aren’t good enough. Mike Elias did not put together a roster with the horses to do this thing. He apparently thought the relief corps he assembled could get him through the season. What’s happened is a couple of guys were good in April and/or May and nobody else was, and now the good ones are collapsing too, as in the case of Rico Garcia’s contribution to yesterday’s loss. They wasted a game where Basallo hit two home runs for the first time in his career. It could have felt good.
The fact that the game unraveled in the hands of the bullpen does make the decision to lift yesterday’s starter, Trey Gibson, after only 66 pitches, something worth second-guessing. This was not a desperation move. Gibson could have gone for longer. He wasn’t struggling at the end; he’d given up runs in the first inning and then was doing better.
There was, of course, a logic to it. The bullpen had been lightly used in recent days and, with an off day tomorrow, spreading the work around was important because if guys get rusty and stink for that reason, that’s not good either. Gibson dodged the third time through the order penalty and things were lined up so five guys could get an inning. This failed on the first guy: Grant Wolfram couldn’t get an inning. Tyler Wells saved his bacon, then Yennier Cano couldn’t get an inning. Garcia got an inning but gave up three runs in the process.
On the other hand, if Gibson had pitched six innings instead, the Orioles probably still would have turned to Garcia in either the eighth or the ninth inning and would have been just as vulnerable to getting wrecked by June Garcia. They don’t have any good choices because they haven’t given themselves any good choices.
We all get a day off from them today. That’s nice. I need one after watching that Wednesday game squandered in the most frustrating fashion possible. Do you have anything fun planned on this off night? I’ll likely try to take a bite out of one of my nerdy pursuits, logging some time in a JRPG called Trails of Cold Steel.
Updates on Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Baseball) It’s far down the list of things to complain about after everything else that happened yesterday, but the Orioles not having Holliday available for four straight games and not just putting him on the injured list so the team ends up short-handed is silly and counterproductive. One visible manifestation of this was Leody Taveras having to play third base mid-gae a couple of days ago.
Cedric Mullins is elevating and… oh no. (FanGraphs) The .199/.286/.305 for Mullins this year is sad to see. Apparently, he’s currently in position to set a record for highest fly-ball percentage by a batter ever recorded.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The most recent Orioles victory on this day came in 2023. That year’s team beat the Mariners, 3-2, to raise their record to 47-29. That’s pretty good! Kyle Bradish tossed seven innings with two runs allowed and the Orioles only gave up three hits all game. Only two players who appeared in that game for the O’s remain on the 40-man roster: Bradish and Gunnar Henderson.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2008-11 outfielder Luke Scott, 2000-01 pitcher Ryan Kohlmeier, and 1977 pitcher Dick Drago.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: five-star Air Force general Henry Arnold (1886), author George Orwell (1903), singer-songwriter Carly Simon (1943), baskeball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo (1966), and actress Mckenna Grace (2006).
On this day in history…
In 1876, Lt. Col. Custer led his men of the 7th Cavalry Regiment into an ambush by a force of three native tribes that had him outnumbered more than 10-1. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was one of the last battles that saw the army battle native tribes; despite the victory in the battle, the Great Sioux War came to a close before long and the tribes could not withstand a reinforced army.
In 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl, secretly written by Anne Frank, was published posthumously.
In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, beginning the Korean War. There was an armistice after close to three years of fighting, though the two Koreas have never concluded a peace treaty so the war has technically never ended.
In 1978, the rainbow flag waved at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, the first time that was used to represent gay pride. Tomorrow night is Pride Night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 25. Have a safe Thursday.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 26: John Collins #20 of the Utah Jazz handles the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during the Emirates NBA Cup game on November 26, 2024 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Chris Nicoll/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Over the past two evenings, the Spurs drafted four new players. The Silver & Black now hold the draft rights to Jayden Quaintance, Tarris Reed, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and Maliq Brown. The draftees address vulnerabilities in the Spurs game. But the work is not yet done.
Heading into the draft, the Spurs had nine contracts committed for next season. Six players including Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo, and Jordan McLaughlin could be packing their bags heading into the 2026-2027 season.
The Spurs now look toward free agency to maintain their “win now” mode which carried them into the 2025 NBA Finals. One free agent who has previously been linked to the Spurs — and is an unrestricted free agent — is John Collins.
Collins career as a player has passed its peak. With the Clippers last season he averaged 13.6 points per game, the sixth best on a team that didn’t make the playoffs. What he lacks in statistics he brings in leadership. His veteran presence paired with hunger to win a title may pair well with a team who had a championship within their sights.
The Spurs need a true power forward. There are some worthy candidates in free agency. Is Collins a good fit for the Spurs?
What do you guys see as the biggest needs to the Spurs to attend to when the window opens on June 30th?
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CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds speaks with William Contreras #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers during a baseball game at Great American Ball Park on July 16, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Note: All stats/records as of the morning of June 24
Though it sort of feels like their first game was not that long ago, the Milwaukee Brewers have played 78 games and are nearing the mathematical halfway point in the season. I thought it would be a good time to reassess the division, to see how things are going elsewhere, and to check on the Brewers’ outlook the rest of the way.
The National League Central got off to quite a start in 2026; as recently as June 4, all five teams were over .500. Compare that to the entire American League, which has just five teams above .500 total. But as the season has gone on, the back of the NL Central has slowed a bit, while the Brewers — who were not, I will remind you, generally regarded as preseason favorites — have opened up a cautiously comfortable lead at the top.
Let’s take a look at the other four teams to see how things are going and how we might expect the rest of the season to play out. We’ll go in reverse standings order.
Cincinnati Reds
Record: 37-41 (5th) Paul’s preseason record prediction: 85-77 (3rd) Best position player so far: Elly De La Cruz Best pitcher so far: Chase Burns
The Reds got off to a hot start. On May 1, they were 20-12 and led the division. But the next day, they started a seven-game losing streak which dropped them all the way to last place in the division, and they’ve hovered around .500 ever since. They’re just 7-13 in June, which coincided with the loss of De La Cruz, who didn’t play between May 31 and June 23 because of a hamstring strain.
De La Cruz has ascended to star status after tantalizing but inconsistent play during his first three seasons. He has career highs in all three slash-line categories, and he’s seen an uptick in power that could get him to his first 30/30 season despite missing most of June. His defense, which was excellent in 2024 but took a step back in 2025, has also seemingly rebounded.
Rookie Sal Stewart carried the offense over the first month. Through April 25, he was hitting .303/.398/.626 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs, and seven stolen bases in just 27 games. But he has cooled considerably since then: in his last 51 games, Stewart is hitting just .216/.305/.351 with five homers.
One nice surprise has been outfielder JJ Bleday. A former No. 4 overall pick, Bleday had a nice season with the A’s in 2024 but took a major step back in 2025 and was non-tendered after the season. Bleday signed with Cincinnati, and he’s put together an excellent year: in 50 games, he’s slugging .530 with 13 homers, 11 doubles, and 35 RBIs. His 138 OPS+ leads the team.
On the pitching side, the headlines belong to the 23-year-old Burns. The flamethrowing right-hander was the No. 2 overall pick in 2024 and quickly climbed prospect lists. He has some of the nastiest stuff in the league, and through 15 starts and 85 innings this season, he’s pitched to a 2.00 ERA with 102 strikeouts. If not for his fellow second-year pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, Burns would perhaps be the biggest pitching story in the league this year; with Burns, Misiorowski, and Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes all under 25, this division boasts one of the best young pitching trios we’ve seen in the league for some time.
There are disappointments elsewhere on the roster. Closer Emilio Pagán got off to a rough start before going on the injured list with a hamstring problem, and the team has had trouble replacing him. He’s expected back soon, but his ERA (6.43) and FIP (5.82) were both unsightly before his IL stint. Eugenio Suárez was the team’s big free-agent acquisition, signed to a one-year, $15 million contract before the season after he hit 49 homers for the Diamondbacks and Mariners last year. This year has been awful: he’s hitting just .201/.260/.253 and has only seven home runs in 51 games. The rotation, considered a strength coming into the season, has just two players with an ERA below 4.80.
That rotation has also been missing one of the league’s most dynamic starters, Hunter Greene. Greene was an All-Star and finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 2024 before getting off to an even better start in 2025, but he missed the entire second half of last season with a groin injury before needing to undergo surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow during spring training this year. He may be nearing a return, which would be a major boost.
Threat level: Low. There’s some potential for this pitching staff; if Greene and Pagán look good upon their returns and Nick Lodolo (who pitched well against Milwaukee on Tuesday) improves, they could be a challenge to score on. But the problem lately has been offense, and unless Suárez goes on a major heater and Stewart finds his early season form, there’s not enough here.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 39-40 (4th) Paul’s preseason record prediction: 78-84 (4th) Best position player so far: Bryan Reynolds Best pitcher so far: Paul Skenes
A trendy pick to do well in the division at the beginning of the season, I never bought in with the Pirates; I didn’t think they did enough to improve upon what was one of the worst offenses in the league last year, and while I thought the pitching staff had some potential, I thought they were still a ways away.
The offense has improved quite a bit more than I expected it to. Some of that is from external forces: their new second baseman, Brandon Lowe, has been excellent, and he’s been holding it down defensively at second base, which was a question. Their other acquisitions have had mixed results; Ryan O’Hearn has been okay, but Marcell Ozuna has been a disaster — he has a 65 OPS+ and -0.8 WAR in 54 games.
The biggest reasons the offense has improved came from within. One is Oneil Cruz, who was flaming hot for a stretch during the season’s first month. He’s cooled a bit, though, and strikeouts will always be a problem: Cruz is ninth in the majors with 98 strikeouts, but he’s played 10 fewer games than any of the eight players in front of him.
The biggest factor for the Bucs this season has been an old Brewer nemesis: Bryan Reynolds. I’ll admit that after the then-30-year-old Reynolds had a thoroughly unspectacular season in 2025 I wrote him off. I was wrong. Reynolds is having his best season since he finished 11th in MVP voting in 2021: through 79 games, he’s hitting .287/.401/.482 with 18 doubles, 11 homers, and 51 RBIs, and he’s on pace for his best season by WAR in years.
On the other side of the ball, Skenes has been really good… but he hasn’t quite been the “this is one of the two best pitchers in the league” guy he’d been in his first two seasons. Skenes already has four games in 2026 in which he’s given up four runs or more; he only had five such games in his first two seasons combined. Skenes’ peripheral numbers are mostly in line with previous years: his strikeout rate (30.6%) is slightly higher than it was in his unanimous Cy Young campaign last season, and his walk rate (5.1%) is the lowest of his career. The big difference has been the long ball; it’s not a huge jump, but Skenes is giving up home runs at a rate that’s a couple ticks higher than in either of his previous fantastic seasons.
Some concerns still remain. It is a question as to whether Reynolds and Lowe, who’ve been carrying the offense of late, can keep their pace, and similar questions apply to surprising role players like Spencer Horwitz. Konnor Griffin is off to a solid start as a pro, but Pittsburgh will need more from his bat if they want to make noise this season. The pitching staff is a mixed bag: Braxton Ashcraft has been good, and Carmen Mlodzinski has been a nice surprise, but Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler, who were both being counted on to be major contributors, have been disappointing. Evan Sisk has been incredible in 34 innings in the bullpen, but Dennis Santana couldn’t hold the closer job at the beginning of the season and Gregory Soto, who has been plagued by inconsistency over his career, is now closing games. It’s gone well so far, but I would not want to rely too heavily on Soto.
Threat level: Low. I’ve been down on Pittsburgh as a short-term threat all year. The offense has been significantly better than I expected, but that’s with several guys outperforming their expectations, and I wouldn’t expect that to keep up. They’ve also sacrificed defense in order to improve the offense: at -14.4 fielding runs, they’ve got the fourth-worst defense in the league via FanGraphs.
Chicago Cubs
Record: 41-37 (3rd) Paul’s preseason record prediction: 91-71 (2nd) Best position player so far: Pete Crow-Armstrong Best pitcher so far: Ben Brown
The bad news, if you’re a Brewers fan: Pete Crow-Armstrong is, I think, better than we all gave him credit for. As of Wednesday, PCA is the MLB leader in bWAR among position players with 4.7. Despite the occasional boneheaded move, he is the best defensive outfielder in baseball by far. After a slow start that extended a months-long slump from the second half of last year, someone poured gasoline on PCA and flicked a match at him: in June, he is batting .432/.488/.946 in 18 games. That scorching stretch has bumped his season numbers up to .287/.366/.529 (a 152 OPS+) with 17 homers, four triples, and 18 stolen bases. He’s also improved his batting eye; PCA may never walk a lot, but with 30 free passes in 2026, he’s already surpassed last season’s total in fewer than half the games.
The good news, if you’re a Brewers fan: little else has gone right for the Cubs, particularly on the pitching staff. They have had horrible injury luck: as of this writing, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon — four fifths of what they hoped would be their rotation this season — are on the injured list, as are relievers Daniel Palencia, Riley Martin, Porter Hodge, and Hunter Harvey. Their remaining starters have struggled: Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea, and Edward Cabrera — who they traded their top prospect, Owen Caissie, for in the offseason — have a combined -1.3 bWAR. The bullpen has been similarly erratic; aside from one bright spot in Ryan Rolison, consistency has been difficult to come by.
One exception is Ben Brown, the 26-year-old righty. He started the season out of the bullpen, but the team needed starts, so he moved to the rotation in early May. In eight starts since then, Brown has a 1.70 ERA and 2.40 FIP in 42 1/3 innings.
Note: both Brown and Cabrera were also added to the injured list after this piece was written on Wednesday. Things just keep getting wore for the Cubs’ pitching staff.
The lineup has been okay, but the two highly paid guys on the left side of the infield are struggling. Dansby Swanson can’t get over the Mendoza line but is maintaining some amount of offensive utility only because he’s got 11 homers. Alex Bregman, in the first year of a five-year, $140 million contract, is having the worst offensive season of his 11-year career.
Threat level: Medium-low. The offense is still potent, the defense is still good, and PCA looks like an MVP candidate, but the pitching just isn’t coming together. Boyd might be back soon, but Steele may miss the whole season, and Horton won’t pitch until 2027. Taillon could be back in the second half, but he was leading the league in home runs allowed when he went out. Palencia’s status is iffy. There are just too many injuries.
St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 42-35 (2nd) Paul’s preseason record prediction: 74-88 (5th) Best position player so far: J.J. Wetherholt Best pitcher so far: Michael McGreevy
This team is the biggest surprise here, maybe in the whole league. The Cardinals were expected to be bad — they traded away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan, their most accomplished players, before the season. But in a very Brewers-y twist, they’ve improved over last season’s 78-84 team, at least thus far.
A lot of that has to do with rookie JJ Wetherholt, who came into the season as a consensus top-five prospect. Wetherholt has played some of the best infield defense in the National League, and he’s more than carried his weight offensively, too. Through 73 games, he was hitting .267/.366/.421 (125 OPS+) with 12 homers and eight stolen bases in eight tries; as of Wednesday, he ranked only behind Crow-Armstrong and the Dodgers’ Andy Pages in bWAR among NL position players.
The other big reason is the resurgence of Jordan Walker. His story is well-known: he, like Wetherholt, was a mega-prospect. But he was called up when he was really young — he played 117 big-league games in his age-21 season in 2023 — and while he hit pretty well, the Cardinals couldn’t find a defensive home for him. Over the next two years, his offense disappeared, and he had to go back to the minors on various occasions. But he was still only 23 years old at the start of the 2026 season, so maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised when he finally started to deliver on his prodigious offensive talent. As of Wednesday, Walker was leading the NL in RBIs, with a .290/.343/.523 (143 OPS+) batting line and 18 homers.
I still have concerns. The pitching staff has only two above-average starters, one of whom — Andre Pallante — had -1.2 bWAR in 2025. The other, McGreevy, had barely thrown 100 big leagues innings prior to this season, and he’s got a FIP that’s more than a run higher than his ERA. The bullpen isn’t good; of the seven Cardinal pitchers with double-digit relief appearances, only two have an ERA+ better than 102.
The most notable crack in the St. Louis façade is in their run differential, which sat at just plus-four coming into play Wednesday. That’s worse than the Cubs and Pirates and gives them an “expected” win-loss record of 39-38, three games worse than their actual record.
Threat level: Low. The Cardinals should be praised for what they’ve done this season, and they’ve already exceeded my expectations, but they’ve done that with basically perfect scenarios from Wetherholt and Walker. The pitching staff, an expected weakness, has been middle of the pack and I see no reason to think it will improve, if it doesn’t regress. If the Cardinals hang around .500 for the rest of the season, it’d be a positive outcome for them; to ask for more than that is probably asking too much of this young, inexperienced group.
Milwaukee’s Outlook
The Brewers have put themselves in a great position not because they’re lucky but because they are good. Even with a healthy pitching staff, I never thought the Cubs were quite on Milwaukee’s level and given how the Brewers have surprised everyone by seemingly improving again, they’ve built a cushion in this division that I don’t see any of the other teams being able to overcome.
There is still a lot of season left, but the Brewers are the class of this division, and the numbers bear it out: Milwaukee’s +122 run differential, the second-best mark in baseball behind the Dodgers, is almost 100 runs better than second place in the division (the Cubs at +31). Chicago is still the biggest threat, but I still expect Milwaukee to cruise to another division title.
The Detroit Tigers failed to secure a series win against the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, falling short in a 4-2 defeat that saw Tarik Skubal earn his fourth loss of the season. The offense did him no favors, going just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base, but Skubal’s three home runs surrendered did nothing to further the cause either.
Next up for the Motor City Kitties are the Houston Astros, who arrive in town on Thursday for a four-game weekend series to wrap up the current homestand at Comerica Park. The ‘Stros have collected four straight series wins after recently beating the Toronto Blue Jays on the road — including one against Detroit at Daikin Park last week, two games to one.
Opening things up for the Tigers is right-hander Troy Melton, who has been a steady presence in the rotation but has yet to crack the zero fWAR mark in just under 32 innings of work. While statistically he is dead even with the average replacement player, he still has a perfect 4-0 record and a sub-3 ERA — much more than any of the other starters can claim.
The 25-year-old recorded his third quality start in five tries last time out against the Chicago White Sox, who he shut down with six one-run innings, allowing just a solo home run along with three walks while striking out five and hitting a batter. He earned the win in a 4-1 victory for the good guys.
Going up against him is fellow righty Tatsuya Imai, who has struggled a bit in his first season on this side of the Pacific. The 28-year-old from Japan did manage to notch a quality start in his last outing against the Cleveland Guardians, tossing six frames of three-run ball on six hits (one home run) and zero walks while striking out a season high 11 batters for his fourth victory of 2026 in a 9-3 triumph.
Both starters are facing each other for the first time this season. Here is a look at how they match up on Thursday night.
Detroit Tigers (34-46) vs. Houston Astros (39-43)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 81: RHP Troy Melton (4-0, 2.56 ERA) vs. RHP Tatsuya Imai (4-3, 6.15 ERA)
Now that the smoke has cleared from the NBA Draft, it seems like Kentucky’s two draftees found themselves in really good situations.
Starting off with Jayden Quaintance, who found himself in a really good spot being selected 20th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. Quaintance lands on a Spurs team coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals where he will join a frontcourt with one of the best players in the league in Victor Wembanyama.
That frontcourt pairing of Wembanyama and Quaintance should strike fear into opposing teams with the length and shot-blocking ability those two possess.
Of course, that all hinges on Quaintance’s health, which has been (and continues to be) a significant question mark. The good thing for Quaintance is that he isn’t going to a team whose success will hinge on his ability to be an impact player right away. The Spurs have the luxury of being able to let Quaintance come along at a slower pace and make sure he’s healthy before rushing onto the court.
If everything is good for Quaintance health-wise, this could be the best pick of the draft.
Otega Oweh heard his name called in the second round at 41st overall, as he will head to the Oklahoma City Thunder to join a pair of former Cats in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace.
I also really like the Oweh-OKC pairing. The Thunder needed to add depth on the wing, and Oweh will have an opportunity to fill that role. Oweh will look to be a strong perimeter defender for the Thunder, and if he can continue to develop his jump shot, he could prove to be a reliable rotation player for a Thunder team that should be a championship contender.
This year’s draft turned out well for the pair of former Cats.
