Category: Sports News

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Boston Red Sox scored four runs.

The Red Sox must not enjoy tidying up as the Rangers were able to keep them from sweeping with a win in tonight’s finale. It was a frustrating couple of games for the Rangers over the weekend in Boston but they came out quite literally swinging in front of the primetime audience on NBC.

On the game’s first pitch, leadoff designated hitter Wyatt Langford sent one 418 ft over the Green Monster to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. By the end of the top of the second, it was already 4-0 Texas as catcher Kyle Higashioka connected for a three-run dong, giving the Rangers what they’d been missing for much of this road trip with a big extra base hit with runners on base.

In the bottom of the second, however, the Red Sox signaled that the game wouldn’t just devolve into a laugher as they scored two runs off Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi to halve Texas’ lead.

The Rangers were up for scoring more runs in ways they’ve struggled with as Brandon Nimmo doubled in two runs on a bases loaded opportunity in the fourth inning. That double made it 6-2 to give Eovaldi a lot of runway as he eventually finished allowing three runs on six hits and a walk to go along with six strikeouts over seven innings of work.

The third Red Sox run came in the sixth when Willson Contreras connected for his second solo home run off Eovaldi, as he did his best Wilyer Abreu impression against Texas this weekend. Speaking of Abreu, he drove in Boston’s fourth run of the night — because of course he did — in the eighth to cut the lead to just two.

However, with two on, Jacob Latz came in and got the Rangers out of the eighth inning jam and then pitched a clean ninth to allow Texas to claim the finale and finish with an even road trip.

Player of the Game: Eovaldi deserves credit for putting in seven innings for a quality start on 94 pitches as he helped to save the bullpen during this long stretch.

In addition, Brandon Nimmo doubled twice and drove in two runs with his first double coming on a dreaded bases loaded chance. Justin Foscue had three hits before being lifted to get his glove off the field. Cody Freeman had two hits and drew a walk.

Kyle Higashioka had two hits, including the big hit of the night with his three-run home run to give the Rangers a four run lead. Wyatt Langford hit a home run, walked, and scored twice out of the leadoff spot. And Latz was Latz (1.1 IP, 0 R, 2 K) and Latz is good.

Good stuff all around.

Up Next: The Rangers immediately hop a plane back to Arlington to open up a series against the American League Central’s Minnesota Twins beginning tomorrow night. Texas will send LHP MacKenzie Gore to the mound to begin the series while Minnesota hasn’t yet named a starter for the opener.

Monday’s first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can can head back over to watch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

I was having trouble settling on a Purple Row After Dark topic tonight because I was distracted by the absurdity that was the Rockies game today.

By the time it was over, Colorado had scored 23 runs on 24 hits.

Every Rockies starter had at least one hit. Every Rockies starter scored at least one run.

Nobody in the Rockies lineup had a birthday today, but it might as well have been everyone’s birthday.

Which brings me to a baseball belief I have always had:

Play the birthday guy.

Baseball is already loaded with superstition. Lucky socks, rally caps, dugout routines, not saying certain things out loud — this sport has never been shy about chasing vibes. So if a player’s birthday offers even the smallest chance of baseball magic, why not lean in?

Mickey Moniak gave the theory a pretty strong push earlier this season. On his birthday, he did exactly what the birthday guy is supposed to do: he homered.

That is pretty much all the evidence I need.

But because baseball is baseball, there is actual data for this. Baseball Savant has a Birthday Index, built by Sarah Langs, that compares how players perform on their birthdays against how they perform every other day.

Naturally, I opened it.

The June 14 leaderboard had a familiar name at the top: Greg Brock.

Brock played 10 MLB seasons with the Dodgers and Brewers, finishing with 110 home runs, 10 WAR, and a 105 OPS+. He also hit 44 home runs for the 1982 Albuquerque Dukes, giving Rockies fans a loose Albuquerque connection through today’s Isotopes.

Greg Brock was also my high school baseball coach.

At that point, I was fully invested.

As for the Rockies, Moniak is the easy headliner because he already delivered the birthday homer. He ranks fourth among active players with a 4.7 Birthday Index, and the numbers are as ridiculous as you would hope: in three birthday games, he has gone 6-for-11 with a double, a triple, two home runs, a .545 batting average, a 1.947 OPS, and a .784 wOBA.

Willi Castro was less fortunate. He has a 2.6 Birthday Index, but he was injured the night before his April 24 birthday and missed the chance to test the theory in a Rockies uniform. That is too bad, because Castro’s birthday line is strong: three hits in seven plate appearances, two home runs, a .429 batting average, a 1.858 OPS, and a .759 wOBA.

Jake McCarthy and Ezequiel Tovar are the next proven birthday bats to watch. McCarthy owns a 2.0 Birthday Index and has gone 5-for-9 in two birthday games, with two doubles, a .556 batting average, and a 1.334 OPS. His next birthday game opportunity comes July 30. Tovar follows two days later on August 1 with a 1.8 Birthday Index, built on five hits in three birthday games. Four of those hits have been doubles, good for a .357 average and a 1.043 OPS.

There are a few first-time cases before then. Troy Johnston has the first upcoming Rockies hitter birthday on June 22, followed by Sterlin Thompson on June 26. Kyle Karros is next on July 26. None of them has played in a major-league game on his birthday yet, so the sample size is nonexistent. Which, honestly, makes the experiment cleaner.

Of course, the Birthday Index also makes it clear this is not universal. Some players get the cake and the candles and still go 0-for-4. That is baseball. The Rockies have had a few fun birthday lines to point to, but the point is not that birthdays guarantee anything.

It is that in a 162-game season, with all the weirdness this sport already allows for, I am fine giving the birthday guy a start.

Let him swing. See if the birthday luck can carry.

Pitchers are trickier because of rotations, of course — although given the state of Rockies starting pitching, maybe birthday vibes are worth trying there too.

So what do you think: Play the birthday guy, or is it completely irrelevant once the game starts? Has anyone ever had birthday luck show up on the field, at work, or somewhere else in real life? Or is this just one more baseball superstition that feels true because it is more fun that way?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

I’m running out of things to say about Josiah Hartshorn. The only thing I can really compare him to is Kris Bryant, but Bryant was coming out of college and was 22 when he hit .355 with 22 home runs in 68 games for Double-A Tennessee in 2014.

Left-hander Luke Little was demoted to Double-A Knoxville from Triple-A Iowa.

Nobody lost! I can’t say everyone won.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were fit to be tied by the Louisville Bats (Reds), 4-4.

Before I get into the stats, let me explain that Iowa scored five runs in the top of the tenth and James Triantos hit a three-run home run. But the rains came and washed out the bottom of the tenth, so the score reverted to a 4-4 tie.

Starter Doug Nikhazy went four innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked no one. Both runs off Nikhazy came on a fourth-inning home run by Héctor Rodríguez.

Center fielder James Triantos was 2 for 4 with two runs batted in. It would have been five if it hadn’t rained when it did.

Right fielder Justin Dean went 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He also had a two-run single in the tenth that didn’t count.

Here’s a two-run single by Triantos that counted.

And here’s his home run that didn’t count.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies ate the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 4-3. The win and the Lookouts’ loss moved the Smokies into sole possession of first place in the Southern League North Division. The Smokies and the Lookouts start a six-game series in Knoxville on Tuesday to end the first half.

Brooks Caple allowed three runs on just two hits over the first five innings. All three runs were unearned, although it was his own throwing error that opened the gates to a three-run bottom of the third. Caple walked three and struck out one.

Next, Yenrri Rojas threw two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. He struck out one and walked no one.

Luke Little pitched the bottom of the eighth inning and got the win in his first game with the Smokies since 2023. Little walked a batter with one out, but then he picked him off first base. The he allowed a two-out single before finishing off the inning with his only strikeout.

Erian Rodriguez pitched the ninth and got his first professional save. He gave up a two-out single, but no other baserunners. Rodriguez struck out two.

DH Andy Garriola hit a sacrifice fly that scored catcher Owen Ayers in the top of the ninth that ended up being the winning run. Garriola went 1 for 4 with a triple and the sac fly. He scored once.

Ayers doubled twice and walked once in a 2 for 4 afternoon.

First baseman Cameron Sisneros hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to tie the score. It was Sisneros’ first Double-A home run and seventh overall. Sisneros was a perfect 2 for 2 with two walks.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas was 3 for 5 and scored once.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 2 for 5 with three steals.

Sisneros’ home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs turned the hoses on the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 10-3.

Alfredo Romero pitched the first three innings, allowing three runs on three hits. All three runs came on a home run in the top of the third. Romero walked two and struck out four.

Nazier Mulé handled the next three innings and got the win. Mulé allowed just one hit and no runs. He struck out four and walked two.

Kenton Egbert, Nate Williams and Ethan Bell each threw a scoreless inning to close out the game in non-save situations.

DH Josiah Hartshorn did it again with a solo home run in the eighth inning. It was Hartshorn’s eighth home run in 18 games in South Bend and 13th overall. Hartshorn went 3 for 4 with a walk, the home run and a stolen base. He scored twice and had two overall runs batted in.

Back in the fifth inning, right fielder Miguel Useche hit a three-run home run, his seventh with South Bend and eighth overall. Useche went 1 for 4 and he was hit by a pitch.

Left fielder Jose Escobar hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the first inning. Escobar went 1 for 3 with two walks and the triple.

Second baseman Alex Madera was 2 for 5 with three steals. He scored one run.

Third baseman Matt Halbach went 2 for 5 and scored twice.

Escobar’s triple just missed going out.

Useche’s home run.

A nice catch by center fielder Kane Kepley.

RBI single for Hartshorn.

Hartshorn goes deep.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans mocked the fashion choices of the Augusta GreenJackets (Braves), 6-5.

Starter Pierce Coppola went four innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Coppola walked two and struck out three.

David Bracho gave up a three-run home run in the seventh, but he got the win because Coppola didn’t go five innings. Bracho’s final line was three runs on one hit over four innings. Bracho walked four and struck out four.

Jordan Henriquez came on in the ninth to get the save with a 6-4 lead. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, he gave up a solo home run. Then Henriquez got a ground out to end the game and record the save. He struck out one.

Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run, his third of the year. Lumpuy was 1 for 3 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

In the fourth inning, left flieder Geuri Lubo homered with the bases empty. It was Lubo’s fourth home run of the season. Lubo was 2 for 4.

Catcher Logan Poteet hit the Pelicans third and final home run of the game with a man on in the fifth. Poteet now has ten home runs this year. Poteet also had an RBI double in the third inning, giving him three RBI on the game. Poteet went 3 for 4 with the double and the home run.

Lumpuy homers to lead off the bottom of the first.

Poteet’s RBI double.

Lubo knocks the ball way deep.

Poteet hits it even farther.

ACL Cubs

Off day.

This team, amiright? One of the streakiest teams I can remember for a while. Can a team this streaky maintain its long term status and get into the playoffs, or will the streaking eventually catch up?

C. Wesley Baier: It is very easy to forget how long a 162 game season is and even easier to fall into the trap of recency bias. By the time this roundtable is published, the D’Backs will still have over 90 games left to play. I honestly can’t answer that question until we have a better idea of what this lineup and roster is going to look like by the end of the month..

Spencer: We aren’t even the streakiest team in MLB this season (hello North Side little bears). I think a streaky team has a better than average chance to make the playoffs because they rack up wins. But the ones that do make it on the back of 1-3 top tier skills. I don’t think this Arizona has those skills.

James Attwood: It is going to largely depend on how often the negative streakiness of the offense and pitching line up with each other. This team still has some serious issues that need to be addressed, including left-handed power and reliable starting pitching. It will be difficult enough to address one of those, much less both. The best chance the team has of keeping things going in the right direction is if the youth movement continues to develop and impress.

Makakilo: Yes, they can reach the playoffs. This season, the longest losing streak is 4 games. This is favorable because in 2023, when the Diamondbacks made the playoffs, they had three 6-game losing streaks, a 5-game losing streak, and at least three 4-game losing streaks.

Justin:I think we end up right around 81-81. We will have some stretches where we look like we can take on anyone and other stretches where we….won’t.

Ben: I don’t know if this team is really that streaky or if they’re just inconsistent. The current iteration of the Cubs feels like a more accurate representation of streaky with multiple 10-game streaks of winning or losing. This D-Backs club I think more likely just took advantage of some softer parts of their schedule that might have been more of a mirage than anything else.

Jordan Lawler is back. Do you think its more likely we get the Lawler we saw the first couple cups of coffee or more what we saw at the start of the season

C. Wesley Baier: I’m confident that the Jordan J.J. Lawlar we’re seeing this season is the real deal, because that’s the hitter I saw when the Dbacks drafted him. Every first round prospect has the raw talent to succeed, but not all of them have the makeup to overcome multiple injuries or being terrible for the first time in their life like like Lawlar has. Triple-J always seemed like he had that special “Je ne sais quoi” to eventually figure it out.

Spencer: Lawlar is an immensely talented player who gets hurt constantly. He’s Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton. I think we get the good version for however long he stays on the field. He’s turned a corner and is finally capable of hitting MLB pitching.

James Attwood:I figure it will be somewhere in-between, but leaning towards the opening of this season. He is going to have to stay healthy though, which might be his single-biggest challenge.

Makakilo: With the caveat that 25 PAs is a small sample size, the following stats indicate that he can maintain his excellent batting. .311 xBA, .479 xSLG, .386 xwOBA, 27.5% squared up, and 40.0% hard hits.

Justin: I think he needs an extended look. 34 PAs in 2023 and 74 last year. I might be in the minority, but I am not ready to write him off.

Ben: I suspect he’ll get off to a slow start as he works back from his injury, but I think he showed enough at the start of the season to give me confidence that he can be a productive part of the lineup which would feel like a victory in and of itself after his injury history.

Puk took a step back in his rehab, seemingly continuing a trend of Dbacks players to do so. Is this a concerning pattern or just noise?

C. Wesley Baier: It’s just noise at this point. I do think the organization should look to improve though, and one of the ways they can do that is improving in this area, even if they’re not anywhere near the worst in this regard. It might be a good idea to take a look at all the IL setbacks over the last few seasons and identify what, if any, external causes of those setbacks might be, and try to eliminate them from happening again, if possible. Maybe they need to take a look at what the “healthiest” organization do to keep their players off the Injured List?

Spencer: Concerning pattern brought on by a desperate team. But it happens and it is what it is.

James Attwood: At this stage, going back more than a year now, it is difficult to see this as anything other than a pattern. Exacerbating the issue is that this is a make-or-break season for a number of Diamondbacks, including Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo. That means guys pressing (or being pressed) to come back as quickly as possible. Expecting Burnes to return before mid-August was always optimistic in my opinion, and that was before he suffered his recent setback. Now, he’s out until September. The reality is, he should be out until 2027, to make sure he returns 100% healthy. A.J. Puk’s timetable was a more rapid one as he underwent a different procedure, but still a major one. Given Puk already has one foot out the door, the push to rush him back did more to help him with showcasing himself for the trade deadline (or free agency) than it did to help the team win more games over the rest of the season. At this point, especially as the team continues to hover around the .500 mark, they should be slowing recoveries, not accelerating them.

Makakilo: Injuries (and reinjuries) will always be somewhat unpredictable (noisy). Nevertheless, my view is that the ratio of supinated to pronated pitches will impact the frequency of pitcher injury. A fan perspective of pitcher injuries follows:

Justin: It speaks to the depth, or lack there of, where we were depending so much on renforcements arriving. Puk will get back when he gets back, JMart. Burnes might as well not even come back as far as I am concerned.

Ben: I think it’s likely just noise/function of pitcher delivery. As far as I remember, there was no setbacks for Pavin Smith or Jordan Lawlar in their respective rehab and Lourdes Gurriel Jr came back earlier than expected. I understand fans are frustrated by setbacks because the process feels so opaque and they want to blame the training staff, but I think that’s just misdirected anger.

Jack brought up an interesting suggestion, that he believed MLB should allow therapeutic corticosteroids for rehabbing players. Is that something you would agree with, and is that something MLB could allow and manage in such a way that it would not be abused?

C. Wesley Baier: Doctors and other licenced healthcare professionals should be able to treat their patients with whatever is in the best interest of their patient’s health. Banning substances that have legitimate medical uses, that are medically appropriate for a patient’s condition is legal and ethical landmine, and unsurprisingly something I have a problem with. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is commonly treated with various amphetamines, which players already can get a medical exemption for, because it’s what is medically appropriate more often than not. I mention that specifically because MLB has quite the history of its players abusing Amphetamines (along with literally every single stimulant known to humankind, see my last article for some examples), and that’s most often to combat the fatigue that comes with an extremely long season, or to mentally focus, because you have undiagnosed ADHD.

James Attwood: MLB has a very sticky situation on their hands that is 100% a problem of their own making. By turning a blind eye to players going from being administered HGH as part of their recovery process (hello Barry Bonds) to more than 50% of the league on HGH or related steroids (still here Barry?), the integrity of the game’s hallowed records has come under constant attack. Now, to try and clean up their mess, MLB is forced to implement rules that do not have the best recovery outcomes for players in mind. Instead of allowing closely-regulated treatment of rehabbing players, they are forced to put players in the position of less effective treatments in order to “keep the game clean”. One of the problems here though, is that as the players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, they are needing more and more aggressive therapies to rehabilitate from injury. It is something that, if they were smart and honestly interested in the long-term health of their rank and file, the MLBPA would be addressing in the upcoming CBA. It might well be that we have come to the point that MLB is going to need to allow modern medicine back into the sport, but closely regulated and with strict oversight. Perhaps an independent rehabilitation panel that answers only to the Commissioner’s Office instead of the team could be created. I’m sure there are issues with that as well, but it at least starts the conversation. Baseball fans want to see Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal Jacob Misiorowski, et al on the field not on the IL.

Makakilo: My impression (I could be wrong) is that doctors can submit pre-treatment paperwork to MLB to request approval to use PEDs, including corticosteroids. My opinion is based on these two quotes about the investigation of the Dodgers team doctor.

“MLB players, like UFC fighters, can receive a special exemption to use certain banned substances.” link: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/dodgers-doctor-neal-elattrache-performance-enhancing-drugs-conor-mcgregor/

“[Neil] ElAttrache [Dodgers team doctor] told the NYT that after McGregor [UFC fighter] saw the specialist, the doctor wrote a letter to support McGregor’s application for a special exemption, which would’ve allowed him to use performance-enhancing drugs without facing a penalty.” link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2026/06/11/mlb-dodgers-doctor-connection-conor-mcgregor-treatment/90517303007/

Justin: I guess I agree with. Like the question asks, they would have to figure out a way to manage it so it isn’t abused.

Ben: I’m not a medical expert so I won’t pretend to understand what corticosteroids do on a molecular or medical level, but I’m on board with any strategy that might ease the pain of the actual participants in my favorite sport. If they can find a way to apply them to either improve rehabilitation times without abuse or giving some players an advantage, then I’m all for it. But I suspect there would be some significant side effects that would need to be dealt with before MLB would approve it.

No, not because of the score, humiliating as it was, and not because of the venue, which “is what it is” and was always going to be that. It’s the decisions that were made with full knowledge of the context that make fans rightly wonder who is minding the store.

The fact is, fans don’t actually want to be smarter than management — they want to pretend to be, but they want to be wrong because they want their team to be well run. One of the worst aspects of fandom is the helpless feeling of watching decisions you know are dumb but can do nothing to control.

Fortunately, most often fans “know that they’re smarter” but in fact are only smarter in hindsight. It’s when foresight is 20/20 that nerves are touched even in a game that winds up being a loss by 2 touchdowns. Let’s count the number of obvious blunders that were blunders before they happened — and then showed why.

1. As I proclaimed loudly, before the home stand began, to anyone who would listen (nobody), the last thing you wanted to do was to line up Jeffrey Springs to start twice in a 6-game home stand in the launching pad that is Summerlin. JT Ginn would have been on turn, Mason Barnett could have pitched in tandem as part of a bullpen game, and Springs could have been pushed back to Monday.

Predictably, Springs got shelled again for 8 runs and 3 HR in 4 IP — with 2 of the HRs coming on exit velocities that needed a boost from the desert air.

2. I will accept that Nick Kurtz needed a day off of 1B because he has had so little time off the field and you can’t begrudge needed rest, even though you were looking at a game against an opponent you had a great chance to beat with a chance to move into a 1st place tie. But given the extreme heat and fatigue factor, you have to allow for it.

Where the front office failed was in constructing a roster without a real back up 1Bman, which led Mark Kotsay to opt for Jeff McNeil at 1B. It only took until the top of the 1st for the idea to backfire, as McNeil couldn’t pull in a bad throw from Muncy that a taller or more accomplished 1Bman catches on the bag.

Where Kotsay failed was in not making the more logical move and going with Tyler Soderstrom, no great 1Bman but one with experience at the position and the physical traits for the job. Speaking of which…

3. The A’s could not have put a more absurd defense on the field behind their pitchers. You had Max Muncy and Jeff McNeil on the corner infield, the combo that predictably allowed for 2 unearned runs to score early.

The A’s continue to act as if Lawrence Butler is a viable option in CF and that Carlos Cortes won’t hurt you in RF. Back when the game was still very winnable, Butler fanned on a drive that Henry Bolte runs down, then proceeded to look like a Little Leaguer out there the rest of the afternoon. Cortes did as well later in the game, but you can at least blame the sun/wind for playing a part and by then no one really cared about the results anyway.

Overall the defense was an absolute joke — just as it was on paper so no one should have been the least bit surprised. How could Kotsay have better navigated the personnel he had available to him? You put Soderstrom at 1B, McNeil at 2B, Gelof at 3B, Cortes in LF, Bolte in CF, Butler in RF.

Suddenly you have exactly nobody playing out of position (even if your 1Bman and LFer aren’t the strongest fielders) and you have swapped Muncy out for Bolte the day after Bolte put together several excellent plate appearances and there was really no reason to sit him.

With that defense behind a SP who isn’t an extreme fly ball pitcher with severe HR tendencies, the A’s would have had a shot today against a bad pitcher who was getting hit hard. Now would the A’s have won? Likely not in that most probably today was a game where at some point the A’s were going to turn to Luis Medina in the middle innings and Medina was just awful. So maybe you lose anyway — but not in a way where the front office and manager are exposed for not knowing how to assemble or employ a roster.

Moving forward, if the A’s want to stay in contention for anything they are going to have some difficult decisions to make because they can’t continue to carry too much dead weight on their roster and expect to distance themselves from the .500 mark — at least not in the direction they are hoping.

In a game that featured 39 hits, McNeil went 0 for 3 with a couple weak fly balls to LF. It’s getting harder and harder to justify penciling him in as his slump reaches 0 for 20 and he has just 4 hits, all singles, in his last 51 at bats. And more troubling is how weak most of his contact has been in those 51 at bats.

Also, Scott Barlow’s smoke and mirrors act is running out of steam. The A’s suddenly have the trappings of a much improved bullpen thanks to the apparent emergence of Elvis Alvarado and Mason Barnett, but Barlow’s last 5 appearances speak for themselves: 4.1 IP, 8 hits, 9 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 3 HR. Summerlin can only be blamed so much.

Colby Thomas’ season line is down to .241/.290/.379 (.670 OPS) as opposing pitchers have gotten a clear book on him: throw balls and let him swing at them. Thomas is now 3 for his last 26 with 2 BB and 9 K (32.1% K rate). And he’s hardly making up for it in the field, where he sports a -3 DRS and -1 OAA in RF.

So there’s 3 roster spots the A’s need to make some tough decisions around as the calendar turns to mid-June and the prevailing phrase is “It’s not early anymore.”

But what the A’s need to do first and foremost is to put their players in a position to succeed and that means understanding where they can play on the diamond and how their skill set matches the environment where the game is being played. Today’s game should be a wake up call that these things actually matter. A lot.

Under the clear desert sky and scorching sun of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Colorado Rockies offense put on a fireworks show to close out a three-game series against the Athletics and avoid a sweep. The Athletics were hosting six games at Las Vegas Ballpark—home of the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators—to give fans a preview for when the team moves to Sin City full time.

Across those six games, there were a combined 35 home runs hit. The Rockies added a few of their own in a 23-9 blowout.

Sugano struggles but gets the job done.

The unthinkable happend to Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) in today’s scorcher: He gave up a multi-run home run for the first time this season. All 12 of his previous home runs had been solo shots. The offending blast came in the bottom of Sugano’s final inning of the day with two outs.

Not much went right for Sugano. Under the high skies of Las Vegas, the ball was either rocketing into the outfield or getting lost in the sun. Multiple plays fell apart simply because an infielder or outfielder could not track the baseball in the cloudless sky.

Sugano gave up eight earned runs on nine hits and he tallied two walks and two strikeouts against the Athletics. His ERA—4.08 entering the game—settled at 4.79 once his five innings of work were complete.

Despite the struggles, Sugano still left the game in line for a a win on the scoresheet. His seventh win is the current most among the Rockies pitching staff. Antonio Senzatela is second with six.

Castellano’s MLB debut helps the bullpen get the job done

All the Rockies bullpen had to do in relief of Tomoyuki Sugano was keep the damage to a minimum while the offense continued to rack up hits. Said bullpen held the Athletics to just one run in four total innings of work. The run came via a solo home run against Blas Castañ0, who gave up the one earned run on two hits.

Right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano—usually a starter—made his Major League debut after being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend. Castellano pitched three shutout innings, giving up four hits and tallying his first two career strikeouts. His three innings of work to close out the game also earned him his first career save.

Bats as hot as the sun

When both the Rockies and Athletics scored five runs each in the first two innings, it was obvious this would end up a high-scoring game. However, the high skies in Las Vegas seemed to give a tired and heat-weary Athletics squad much more trouble in the field, and the Rockies eventually smashed the pedal to the floor and never let up.

In the first inning, Tyler Freeman reached on a throwing error from Athletics third baseman Max Muncy (no, not that one). Hunter Goodman—who had been hitless in the first two games of the series—got a hold of a four-seam fastball and crushed it over the outfield pool that was at the time playing host to one Ryan “Spillagus” Spilborghs.

The second inning then kicked off with back-to-back singles by Cole Carrigg and Kyle Karros to set the table. Troy Johnston drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Willi Castro—batting right-handed—slugged the Rockies’ second home run in as many innings.

In the top of the fourth, Carrigg and Karros once again went back-to-back. Carrigg reached on an infield single while Karros drove him home with a double. After that, it was time for yet another home run. This time it was Troy Johnston hitting his third of the season, putting the Rockies ahead with a lead they would not relinquish.

However, when it’s this hot and the ball is flying, you can’t let up.

The Rockies continued their offensive onslaught with a six-run fifth inning that started with Hunter Goodman hitting his second home run of the game and 20th of the season thus far. Singles from Ezequiel Tovar, Karros, and Castro, a walk drawn by Carrigg, a Troy Johnston double and a Tyler Freeman triple gave the Rockies 14 runs.

There were still four innings left to play.

Four more runs would come across in the seventh inning with a Braxton Fulford double, a Willi Castro single, a Tyler Freeman RBI fielder’s choice, the incredibly rare TJ Rumfield triple, and back-to-back doubles off the bats of Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar.

It was 18-8, and the Rockies weren’t done.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Rockies quickly loaded the bases with a single and two walks. Willi Castro—now batting left-handed—worked a full count before taking a hung curveball 444 feet for a grand slam.

The Athletics finally waved the white flag, bringing in outfielder Carlos Cortes to record the final five outs of the game… but not before TJ Rumfield left the park for the Rockies’ sixth and final home run of the game.

When all was said and done, the Colorado Rockies scored 23 runs on 24 hits. Every member of the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, and seven of them recorded multi-hit games. Every member of the starting lineup crossed home plate at least once, and eight of them did so two or more times. Cole Carrigg was the only member of the starting lineup to not record an RBI, and he still went 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored.

It’s also worth noting that the fabulous purple home run coat stayed on the hanger due to high temperatures.

Obviously Hunter Goodman and Willi Castro were the stars of the game. Goodman’s five hits were a career high and his 12 total bases were both a career high—beating his previous best of 11 from 2024—and a Rockies franchise record for total bases by a catcher. Castro, meanwhile, had his fourth multi-homer game of his career while going 4-for-6 and hitting those home runs from both sides of the plate. His grand slam was the first of his career.

Ryan Spilborghs may have been kicked out of the pool, but the Rockies still went 24-for-50 at the plate, drew five walks, struck out just seven times, and set a few franchise benchmarks along the way.

The Rockies’ 23 runs scored is a new franchise record—both at home and on the road—tied a franchise record for hits in a nine inning game, and their 13 extra-base hits represent the most they have hit as a franchise in a road game.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies pitching staff will surely appreciate the change of scenery—though the bats might not—as the team heads to the Windy City for a three game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Monday’s game will feature righty Michel Lorenzen, who is coming off one of his best starts as a Rockies pitcher—against Shota “The Throwing Philosopher” Imanaga. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM MDT.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Yankees returned to Rogers Centre this weekend for the first time since Oct. 8 when the Blue Jays ended New York's 2025 campaign in the ALDS, winning the three-game series with Sunday's 8-3 victory and improving to 4-3 against Toronto after splitting the May 18-21 set at Yankee Stadium.

"It feels good to shake hands and be celebrating a win in here after -- which, obviously, that was very difficult for us in this building last year," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose 43-27 team leads the AL East -- one game ahead of the 41-27 Tampa Bay Rays -- entering this week's six-game homestand. "So, it is a new year. You've got to keep going all the time. But what a good finish to an outstanding road trip against a couple good teams heading into the off day."

After Paul Goldschmidt's two-run home run broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth inning of Saturday's 3-1 win, Ben Rice did the same to put the Yankees ahead Sunday. Jose Caballero added a three-run shot to widen the 8-3 gap for good.

"It just speaks to the mentality of the group," said Rice, whose 2-for-5 afternoon brought his slash line to .293/.387/.611 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI through 65 games. "I feel like everyone's got that next-man-up mentality -- regardless of who's on the mound, regardless of the situation."

Following Friday's 8-5 loss to open the series, the Yankees rallied in consecutive games and are positioned well entering this week's three-game set with the Chicago White Sox, which starts with Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. opener. New York does not play the Blue Jays again until a three-game series Aug. 14-16 in Toronto.

"Chip on our shoulder," said Will Warren, whose no-decision start included a season-high eight hits allowed while yielding two runs in four innings. "We don't like those guys over there and they don't like us. Finding any way to win is always a good one, especially on the road."

The Athletics and Colorado Rockies met in the series finale of their three-game interleague series on a scorching afternoon in Las Vegas. The Rockies avoided the sweep, defeating the A’s 23-9 in an absurd game that served as a fitting cap to the A’s eventful week in their future home.

Rockies Capitalize off A’s Mistake

The Rockies struck right away against A’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs. With one out in the first inning, A’s third baseman Max Muncy made a throwing error, allowing the Rockies hitter to reach second base. Springs retired the next batter before Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman hit his 19th home run of the season, a two-out, two-run shot to center field.

A’s Offense Active Early

A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the first with a single against Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. Nick Kurtz drew a four-pitch walk, advancing Butler to second. Then, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit his 19th double of the season, a line drive to right field that scored Butler and cut the A’s deficit in half.

Right fielder Carlos Cortes came up and kept the line rolling, lining a two-run single to right field to give the A’s a 3-2 lead. Sugano did not retire the first four batters he faced, immediately blowing his team’s lead.

With one out, A’s catcher Jonah Heim singled to right, moving Cortes from first to third. Muncy hit a sacrifice fly, knocking Cortes in for the host’s fourth run of the first.

Colorado Back in Front

The Rockies opened the second inning with two straight singles, making it first and third with nobody out. Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof made a diving stop and strong throw to retire Colorado left fielder Troy Johnston, but the visitors’ third run scored on that RBI groundout.

A couple batters later, the Rockies re-took the lead. Springs gave up Willi Castro’s fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast just over the left field wall. Allowing five runs, including two home runs, over the first two innings was not the start Springs and the Athletics were looking for this afternoon.

Kurtz Comes Through

A’s shortstop Alika Williams singled to start the second inning, giving him six hits in his past six at-bats. Kurtz tied the game with an RBI double to the left-center gap, bringing Williams home from first base.

Springs Struggles Continue

Both pitchers tossed 1-2-3 third innings, keeping the game tied at five. In the fourth, the Rockies jumped back in front. Center fielder Cole Carrigg hit an infield single and then third baseman Kyle Karros crushed an RBI double, putting the visitors up one.

Colorado was not done tagging Springs. Johnston hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to extend his team’s lead to three. The A’s starter allowed a career-high eight runs over four innings of work, though two were unearned. Starting the fly-ball, home run–prone pitcher a second time in this hitter-friendly ballpark proved costly, as Springs gave up three more home runs in his latest losing effort.

A’s Get One Back

Down three, the A’s offense went right to work. In the bottom of the fourth, first baseman Jeff McNeil walked, followed by Williams’ second single of the game. Kurtz’s RBI groundout scored McNeil for the A’s sixth run of the game.

Rockies Offense on Fire

Right-hander Luis Medina entered out of the A’s bullpen to pitch the fifth inning. With one out, Goodman hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to left field to restore his team’s three-run cushion. The Rockies scored their tenth run on Karros’ RBI single. The inning snowballed from there as the visitors scored four more runs, taking advantage of poor pitching from Medina and shaky A’s outfield defense. The Rockies’14th run scored when Butler dropped a catchable fly ball in center field that should have been the third out of the inning.

Endless Scoring

In the A’s fifth, Gelof doubled on a popup that was not caught, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Muncy hit his third home run of the season, a two-run, two-out home run to bring his team a bit closer.

The next inning, left-handed reliever Brady Basso pitched the A’s second scoreless inning of the game. In the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies brought in right-handed reliever Blas Castaño, who pitched a scoreless inning.

The Rockies hit-parade continued in the seventh. They scored four runs off Basso, with one coming when Cortes became the second A’s outfielder to lose a fly ball in the sun.

Soderstrom responded to the visitors four-spot by hitting his 12th home run of the season, a 462 foot solo shot to center. A few batters later, Gelof tried scoring from first on Heim’s double but he was thrown out at the plate.

History!

The Rockies showed no mercy. A’s reliever Scott Barlow gave up a single and then walked two to load the bases. Castro came up and hit his second home run of the game, a 444-foot grand slam, to make it 22-9 and set a new Rockies franchise record for runs scored in a game.

With the score completely out of hand, the Athletics put position player Carlos Cortes on the mound. Cortes kept the circus going by allowing the first batter he faced to homer, pushing the Rockies’ lead to 23-9. Cortes recorded the final five outs, finishing with a better pitching line than any of the A’s’ actual pitchers who appeared in the game.

It was only fitting that the A’s pitching staff saved their worst performance of the season for the Vegas finale. As the saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and the team will be more than happy to leave this one behind.

Tomorrow, the Athletics start a new series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at their other temporary home. Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA, will take the mound at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. He will be opposed by Pirates right-hander Jared Jones, who will make his fourth MLB start since returning from UCL surgery.

First off, we’re not going to waste too much time with pleasantries here. That’s because we’ve got to talk about the rain-shortened White Sox series. Do I necessarily want to talk about that series (or either one of these series)? Absolutely not but at the same time (to paraphrase a crazy person), these games must be documented so I will do a quick hit on those before we get more in-depth with the Mets series. Here we go!

Tuesday, June 9

White Sox 6, Braves 5

This one was fun until it wasn’t! Atlanta had a four-run lead early on that slowly got whittled away due to a couple of factors: Grant Holmes continuing to struggle with going through lineups more than once and Carlos Carrasco being asked to cover high-leverage innings in a situation where the bullpen aparently needed some more rest. Things stayed 4-4 through the first nine, which is when Mauricio Dubón seemingly added to his Braves lore with an RBI single that gave the Atlanta the edge heading into the bottom of the tenth inning. Instead, that simply set the stage for the debuting Braden Montgomery to cap off a great night at the plate with a home run off of Raisel Iglesias to win the game. This was Raisel Iglesias’ first home run surrendered since July 19, 2025. Insane.

Atlanta also lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to his second Grade 1 hamstring strain in as many months. Just an awful night all around.

Wednesday, June 10

White Sox 2, Braves 1

Chris Sale made it into the sixth inning with just two runs allowed on six hits and a walk. He also struck out six batters. On a normal night, that would’ve been enough to keep the Braves in it. Instead, Atlanta had no answers for Davis Martin and the rest of the Chicago pitching staff and only avoided a shutout due to the White Sox gifting Atlanta a run via a throwing error from Miguel Vargas. Despite collecting their fair share of hits, Atlanta was unable to deliver the big hits at the right time and so the Braves ended up suffering a rare series loss.

Atlanta would have to take that loss with them to New York without getting a chance to salvage the series, as rain ended up causing a postponement until August.

Friday, June 12

Mets 7, Braves 5

Spencer Strider got the ball in this one and it was nothing but bad news while he was out there. Strider ended up being responsible for all seven runs that the Mets scored in this one — including two homers from Bo Bichette (who annoyingly picked this weekend to suddenly start showing real signs of life at the plate) and a dinger from Juan Soto. Soto’s homer came in back-to-back fashion following Bichette’s homer in the first inning and then the second Bichette dinger was a grand slam.

The seventh run that was charged to Strider came after Strider had exited the game in the fourth with a leadoff walk and JR Ritchie was on the mound. By then, his velocity was down to 88-mph and the Braves decided that this was the time to take him out of the game. Strider went on the IL by the next morning and Atlanta now had to deal with two core members of the team going on the IL in the same week.

Fortunately, the Braves did show signs of life as they attempted to make a comeback against Nolan McLean and the rest of New York’s pitching staff. Atlanta was down 7-2 after four innings but a fifth-inning dinger from Matt Olson and RBI singles from Ozzie Albies and Eli White brought the Braves back into it. The tying run came up to the plate in the ninth inning in the forms of Michael Harris II and Matt Olson but Devin Williams struck both of them out to complete a four-out save and ca off another frustrating night on the road for the Braves this week.

Saturday, June 13

Braves 3, Mets 1

Thank goodness for Eli White! The reserve outfielder for the Braves has made a habit out of providing some solid production when he’s called upon and Saturday was one of his finest moments, yet. White picked up three hits in this one, including an RBI double in the second inning and a solo homer in the fourth inning — both off of Mets starter Sean Manaea.

Those ended up being the only two runs Manaea would give up through six innings of work as it was tough sledding for everybody else not named Eli White. Fortunately, Martín Pérez was able to keep pace with Manaea as he pitched into the sixth inning and only gave up one run. Atlanta’s bullpen was once again up to the task of making a slender lead hold up and they were aided in that task in the eighth inning when Michael Harris II popped one out for a solo shot that gave the Braves some breathing room.

Raisel Iglesias’ first appearance since that bummer in Chicago nearly saw him give up his second homer in as many appearances. This time, it would’ve been a bit more understandable since Juan Soto was the one bringing the pain but as it turned out, it was ruled via crew chief review that Soto’s long ball wasn’t a homer according to the ground rules of Citi Field. Despite Soto doing his best to legally relay what pitch was coming from Iglesias while at second base, his sign-stealing efforts went in vain as Iglesias left Soto stranded and a double play ball got the Braves back in the win column.

Sunday, June 14

Mets 8, Braves 1

So, this game started with the Braves coming away with only one run (via sacrifice fly, no less) from a bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the top of the first inning. The bottom of the first inning saw Bryce Elder give up four runs and Mike Yastrzemski committed a bizarre error where he doinked a throw off the pole that holds up the foul netting while trying to hit the cutoff man near third base. That’s how the game started!

It got worse for Elder as he was eventually chased from the game in the start of the fifth inning after he gave up back-to-back home runs to start that frame. New York hadn’t hit back-to-back homers since Opening Day and now they had done it twice in three days and against the Braves, no less! Anyways, New York added two more runs off of Anthony Molina in the eighth inning and the Braves were spent after they wasted that golden opportunity to get after Freddy Peralta in the first inning and this ended up turning into one of those games where Atlanta just seemed ready to get on the plane and forget about all of this.

Folks, this was just one of those weeks. Considering how well everything has been going for Atlanta this season, they were honestly beyond due for one of those miserable type of weeks where barely anything seemed to go right. It’s a long season and this tends to happen to even the best teams but that won’t stop me from sitting here and complaining about it!

One of the best closers in baseball gets walked off by a guy making his big league debut. They wasted a decent Chris Sale start. They lost their star outfielder to the same exact injury that knocked him down a month ago. Due to storms in Chicago, they didn’t get into New York until right before sunrise. They lost one of their starters to what is looking more and more like a serious injury. The New York Knicks won the NBA Championship (well, that’s a personal one for me). Bryce Elder looked more like 2024-25 Elder than 2023 Elder. Michael Harris II even had a home run robbery fall out of his glove and go over the fence! This was far and away the worst week of the season for the Atlanta Braves where Murphy’s Law appeared to be in full effect for each of the five games that they played.

Yet, there’s still some solace that the Braves can hold on to during this inevitable rough patch. Atlanta’s still 21 games over .500 and they’re still eight games ahead of the Phillies when it comes to the NL East race. Was this a very annoying and nasty week of baseball for the Atlanta games? Yes. Is it concerning to see both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider continue to deal with persistent injuries? Absolutely. Is it clear that this rotation needs some help that should (hopefully) come around the Trade Deadline? Definitely. This team has their problems (which were clearly on display this week) but the standings are the standings and right now, the Braves still have some breathing room to deal with things.

With all of that being said, it will truly be a sight for sore eyes once Drake Baldwin gets back into the lineup and it’ll even be better to see this team playing at home after this absolute nightmare of a road trip. The players and coaching staff will likely flush this one in the toilet and focus on getting things back on track with their next homestand but for now, it’s totally fine to sulk about what we saw this week. It was something nasty!