SEATTLE — A challenging schedule awaited the Mets as they departed Queens late Sunday afternoon, and two games into that slate, all is hardly well.

Tuesday night a combination of underwhelming pitching, ugly defense and mediocre offensive output sank the Mets in an 8-3 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Mets lost their second straight game to begin the road trip.

Gone are the positive vibes that accompanied the Mets to the Pacific Northwest after a weekend sweep of the Marlins that extended their winning streak to four games.

The Mariners, who won their eighth straight, are a legitimate threat to win the AL West and the Mets will continue this West Coast swing in San Diego against a Padres team very much in the NL playoff mix.

“Baseball, especially right now, there’s so much talent from so many good teams — you can sweep a team and then you can get swept,” Mark Vientos said. “But our job is to prevent that as much as possible and just get on a streak and stay hot.”

Vientos had a rough night defensively, committing an error at first base that led to a run in the fourth before misplaying another ball that was ruled a single in the fifth, helping to extend the inning before Jhonny Pereda hit a three-run homer.

How would Vientos evaluate his season defensively?

“Pretty good,” he said. “I have done a pretty good job over there. I have been working.”

Jonah Tong had his first rough outing in three appearances since his recall from Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander surrendered five runs, four earned, on five hits and two walks over 3 ¹/₃ innings in a bulk relief role.

Overall, the Mets surrendered three homers on a night the Mariners built a comfortable cushion by the fifth inning and rolled to the finish. The Mets will try to avoid a series sweep on Wednesday with Freddy Peralta on the mound.

“We have got to start playing better,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Until we start playing consistent baseball, that is the only way to get out of it.”

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Among the few Mets’ positives was rookie Carson Benge, who blasted two home runs to continue his recent offensive outbreak. But the Mets were hardly dynamic offensively, a night after getting only two hits in a 3-2 loss in 10 innings.

Huascar Brazoban, who served as the opener, worked into the second inning. Dominic Canzone singled with one out before Brazoban got ahead 0-2 in the count to Patrick Wisdom and left a changeup over the plate. Wisdom crushed it for a two-run homer that gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead. Colt Emerson doubled to end Brazoban’s night before Tong recorded the inning’s final out.

Benge unloaded for a two-run homer in the third that tied it 2-2. A.J. Ewing doubled in the inning before Benge delivered with two outs against Logan Gilbert. Leading off the game, Benge took Gilbert to an 11th pitch before striking out.

Two fielding blunders by the Mets led to an unearned run for the Mariners in the third. After Marcus Semien misplayed Randy Arozarena’s line drive into a two-base error — his throw to first base was errant, allowing Arozarena to reach second — Vientos mishandled Luke Raley’s soft liner. Arozarena scored on Vientos’ error, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead.

“There have been stretches where we have been playing well defensively,” Mendoza said. “And then there’s been stretches where we are making errors on routine plays.”

Tong walked J.P. Crawford to load the bases in the fourth before Julio Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly extended the Mets’ deficit to 4-2. Tong retired Arozarena to avoid further damage. Wisdom’s walk and Pereda’s single started the rally.

Pereda delivered a gut punch with a three-run homer in the fifth that gave the Mariners a 7-2 lead. The rally started with Cole Young’s grounder off Vientos’ glove — ruled a single — before Canzone singled. With two outs, Tong threw a cutter on his ninth pitch to Pereda that disappeared behind the fence in left-center.

Benge’s second homer of the night closed the gap to 7-3. The multi-homer game was the first of Benge’s career.

Cionel Perez surrendered a homer to Rodriguez leading off the bottom of the frame to give the Mariners an 8-3 lead.

A.J. Minter, in his first back-to-back outing since returning from his minor league rehab assignment, worked a scoreless eighth inning. A night earlier Minter surrendered the game-winning hit in the 10th inning.

The latest in a long line of disgraceful factoids surrounding the 2026 Red Sox remained in tact on Tuesday night: Since Chad Tracy took over as interim manager back on April 25th, the Red Sox have not won a single game at Fenway Park in which the opponent scored more than one run. They’re 4-12 overall in Tracy’s 16 home games at the helm, have lost every single series started east of the Appalachians during that time, and continue to stumble into inefficient oddities at the plate on a near daily basis not seen since one of the Roosevelt administrations.

Speaking of which, Tom Caron announced on the NESN postgame show that this is the Red Sox’ worst home record to start a season (9-20) in 94 years. In case you’re wondering, that 1932 Red Sox team lost a franchise worst 111 games, and also fired their manager (Shano Collins) just after he reached double digit wins.

Combine all the ingredients in this sobering stew of suck, and isn’t it rather appropriate that Chad Tracy’s pet project, Mickey Gasper, made the final out of this game? On the surface, Gasper is a feel good story making the most out of his callup, batting .333 and seizing the majority of the starts behind the plate in recent days. Breaking it into even more detail, he’s collected 18 hits in just 60 plate appearances since getting the nod. All of this sounds nice, until you realize exactly zero of those hits have come in his 12 highest leverage plate appearances on the season.

There’s a reason for this: Mickey Gasper can’t hit high leverage arms! He’s not good enough, and he shouldn’t be taking the final at bat of a game at Fenway Park for the Red Sox down by two in the ninth inning. This isn’t meant to be a knock on him, because to his credit, Gasper’s actually taken some of the better looking at bats on the team in recent weeks against low and medium leverage guys (that is meant to be a knock on everybody else). But if you’re a big market team and your roster is weak enough that Mickey Gasper is getting the lion’s share of the plate appearances when his bat comes up in high leverage moments, something went seriously wrong when constructing the roster.

He’s a 30-year-old who has nearly ten times as many minor league plate appearances (a shade under 2,000) as major league ones (less then 200). Despite this, he’s both clearly the hottest hitting catcher of the three underwhelming backstops on the roster, and the right guy to bat in that spot thanks to a hideously undermanned bench.

And you know what’s specifically frustrating about this roster construction tonight? This is exactly the type of game the “run prevention Red Sox” should be winning if the formula is going to work. Connelly Early didn’t have it on the mound, but he battled enough to keep the team in the game before the bullpen froze Baltimore’s run total at four. With just a little bit thump at the plate, this is the type of Fenway fray where if Red Sox string together even a couple of consecutive good at bats against a mediocre opponent, you get the crowd buzzing, and probably end up kicking the door down in an ugly but satisfying 5-4 win. No dice with this listless lineup.

Instead, we got to watch some of the thump that was on the free agent market last winter show up to Fenway in a road uniform and prove that yes, it’s still possible to hit home runs here from right handed batter’s box. Here’s Pete Alonso with some of that sweet, sweet right handed pop the Red Sox so sorely lack launching a ball Over The Monster:

Meanwhile, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a right handed bat the Red Sox did sign over the winter, had this to say following the game when asked about the discrepancy between the home and road records for the club:

“I just feel like on the road we’re a very close-knit team. When we come home, there’s just a lot of people. It’s different. It’s just a different vibe at home. We’ve got to figure out a way to make it small like how it is on the road. I just feel like at home we see a lot of people we don’t know that are around this area.”

I’m sure there’s more layers coming from these comments in the coming days because that’s a statement that feels ripe with details waiting to be unearthed. If anything, we need more people in the clubhouse tomorrow, not less.

Three Studs

Ceddanne Rafaela: 2-4 at the plate, and the only man in the Sox lineup with multiple hits tonight. He continues to blossom by being more selective at the plate.

Greg Weissert: Faced five batters, got all of them out, and struck out three. Since he only seems to pitch well without men starting on base, maybe he should open for Brayan Bello?

Tyler Samaniego: Certainly not the sharpest he’s looked, and he got some serious help from the umpires on that call that went to New York and wasn’t overturned, but he sucked up two innings of work and didn’t allow a run. If the Red Sox offense didn’t suffer from narcolepsy when it’s time to rally, there’s a version of this game where he might have gotten the win.

Three Duds

Masataka Yoshida: 0-4 with three strikes outs and an OPS down to .683. And this is from a guy you pretty much have to use at DH because he’s a terrible fielder, can’t throw, and has below average speed on the bases. If he’s not going to start hitting, I’m not sure what he’s still doing here.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Came to the plate three times tonight and made four outs.

Lengthy Replay Reviews: Another bad night for replay as the process not only failed to get a call right that could have cost the Orioles the game, but it took several minutes just to incorrectly let us know that the following call stands.

As you might imagine, Orioles Twitter wasn’t pleased in real time:

Play of the game:

It’s Pete Alonso’s two run jack (as seen above). Not just because it shoved the right handed power the Red Sox don’t have in their face, but also because it gave the Orioles the lead and provided what turned out to be the winning run.

After hitting four home runs in Spring Training with the San Diego Padres, outfielder Jase Bowen was a late option to Triple-A El Paso from spring camp. He then settled in to make an impression with the organization that resulted in getting his first major league call-up on Monday.

Bowen hit his 13th homer for the Chihuahuas on May 31. He has a 45.5% hard-hit rate and his max exit velocity for one of those hard hits was 112.6 mph. Bowen possesses all five tools, and if he can improve his 26.2% K rate, he could be a long-term solution in left field for the Padres. For now, he will replace Ramón Laureano, who was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation.

Lake Elsinore Storm

The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm went 5-1 for the week in their series against the Inland Empire 66ers and extended their lead in the California League South to two games over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Their overall record stands at 30-21.

Catcher Ty Harvey, who just returned after having a hamstring strain earlier in the season, has now been lost until July with a broken hand that was hit by a swing while he was catching.

Infielder Luke Cantwell was also injured last week, allowing Kerrington Cross to get more playing time, and he has taken advantage. Cross is hitting .307 with a 1.040 OPS, tops for the Storm. He has eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 24 RBI in his 114 at-bats. The 24-year-old should be seeing Fort Wayne soon.

Outfielder Ryan Wideman is only 22 but he could also be pushing for a promotion to the TinCaps. Selected in the third round of the 2025 draft, Wideman is an excellent defensive centerfielder and has shown that he can hit too. His .314/.376/.500 line with 16 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 36 RBI. He leads the Storm in RBI by eight. But his 36 stolen bases in 45 attempts tops all of minor league ball. He might not ever develop significant power, but his other tools are very loud.

There are many offensive stars on the Storm roster who have stepped forward with the loss of outfielder Kale Fountain for the year. Outfielder Connor Westernburg, infielder Bradley Frye, and outfielder Qrey Lott, all undrafted free agents, will be interesting to follow through the season as they try to show why they should have been drafted.

The Storm pitching staff is not as impressive as the offense, but they are doing enough to keep Lake Elsinore in the top spot. Starter Winyer Chourio has a 3.38 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched over eight starts with 56 strikeouts to 19 walks and leads the staff in strikeouts.

Reliever Nick Falter has a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched in 17 appearances, and he has 36 strikeouts to 11 walks.

Lefty Kruz Schoolcraft, the Padres first-round pick in 2025, has had a rocky start to his professional career, battling with his command over the early part of the season. In his last start on May 29, Schoolcraft pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and three runs with nine strikeouts to two walks. He has an overall 8.03 ERA in nine games started and 24.2 innings pitched.

Last season, the Padres attempted to make Sean Barnett a two-way player. The experiment did not succeed and he was converted into just a pitcher during the second part of the season. That didn’t go too well either. The organization will now give him a chance to succeed as a reliever with his upper-90s fastball and plus-slider. He struggled in his first few appearances but has allowed just one run over his past 8.1 innings pitched (report per MadFriars.com).

Fort Wayne TinCaps (23-28 record, 4th in Midwest League East)

The TinCaps played to a 1-5 record this past week with a combination of offensive and pitching issues. Outfielder Jake Cunningham is their best hitter with a .301 average and .988 OPS. He and fellow outfielder Alex McCoy lead the team with 14 home runs each. Cunningham has 24 RBI and McCoy has 32 RBI. That is most of the offense for Fort Wayne, with no other hitters over .226.

Lefty Kash Mayfield had a hiccup in his May 29 start and only lasted 0.1 innings while giving up three hits, six earned runs, two walks, and a HBP in 32 pitches before being removed. He still has a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings pitched with 43 strikeouts to 16 walks.

Carson Montgomery has eight starts and 36.1 innings pitched with a 1.98 ERA with 33 strikeouts to 18 walks. Struggling with his command but still limiting the damage has been the highlight of his season so far.

Sidewinder Clay Edmondson keeps racking up the saves and now has the league best 10 in 21 innings pitched with a 0.43 ERA.

San Antonio Missions (20-31 record, last in Texas League South)

The Missions played to a 3-3 record against the Corpus Christi Hooks this past week. Outfielder Leandro Cedeno, 27, was released after not playing since May 15 after suffering an injury.

Catcher Ethan Salas continues to impress with his consistent play. His defensive skillset is still considered major league-ready per all reports. Offensively, he is showing why the Padres were unwilling to consider trading him in the past.

Salas is hitting .311/.359/.503 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBI over 44 games and 161 at-bats. He is catching in tandem with Chris Sargent and is the DH on most days when not catching. He also has 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts; a good runner and base stealer for a catcher.

His success makes a promotion a good possibility later in the season. Where he is promoted to is the question. With the struggles of Padres catcher Freddy Fermin continuing, it would be tempting to give Salas a look at the major leagues after the All-Star break. Bringing him up sooner is probably not an option, as he missed all of last season and should be allowed to get in a solid amount of repetition before being stressed by major league pitching.

Outfielder Tirso Ornelas had a horrible 2025. He was taken off the Padres roster, spent a good portion of the season injured, and couldn’t hit when he wasn’t injured. The Padres gave him an offseason to rework his swing and brought him back this year with the Missions. To his credit, he has performed much better. Ornelas has a .272 average and .783 OPS. He still lacks power with only five home runs but has 13 doubles and 22 RBI.

RHP Jhony Brito will be completing his rehab soon and should be ready if the Padres need him. He does have a minor league option remaining. In four starts and 13.1 innings, Brito has a 2.03 ERA. Starter/reliever Eric Yost has 29.1 innings pitched and a 3.07 ERA with 35 strikeouts but also has 19 walks.

Both Francis Peña and Andrew Moore have pitched in 14 games. Peña has a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 innings and Moore has a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 innings.

LHP Jagger Haynes leads the team with 49 strikeouts but he also has 21 walks and a 4.65 ERA. RHP Victor Lizarraga is struggling with command this season and has the most walks with 25 and a 5.95 ERA as well.

El Paso Chihuahuas (25-32 record, 3rd in Pacific Coast League East)

The Chihuahuas played to a 2-4 record for the week against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Their best hitter is now with the Padres and Tirso Ornelas might be the most likely replacement.

Infielder Pablo Reyes is hitting .331 with a .973 OPS. Outfielder Nick Schnell has 10 home runs and 22 RBI and infielder Mason McCoy continues to hit for slug with seven doubles, two triples, six homers and 36 RBI.

Outside of starter Evan Fitterer, the El Paso pitching staff is having problems with the conditions in the Eastern division of the PCL. Fitterer has a 2.81 ERA in 10 games started and 41.2 innings and has 32 strikeouts with 22 walks. JP Sears leads the team with 52 strikeouts but has a 6.93 ERA.

Kyle Hart and David Morgan are on the Padres roster, but neither looks to be promoted anytime soon. Both are struggling with command, with Hart carrying a 10.38 ERA and Morgan a 6.97 ERA.

That’s the story for the whole of the staff, for the most part.

ACL Padres (10-11 record, 3rd in West)

The ACL team played four games and split its games 2-2. Infielder Yimy Tovar was promoted to Lake Elsinore. The team continues to host several rehabbing players from other parts of the minor league system.

Outfielder Moises Valdez leads the team with a .382 average. Infielder Dawson Willis has a .346 average and 1.164 OPS.

RHP Lan-Hong Su has started three games for seven innings pitched and has a 1.29 ERA. Reliever Bernard Jose has pitched in eight games over 12.1 innings with a 0.73 ERA.

Dominican Summer League (DSL)

The DSL has begun play and the Padres have two teams again this year. The DSL Padres Brown and the DSL Padres Gold. The first games were Monday with both teams in action. Next week, the update will feature some players to watch and the results from the first week of action.

The Mets made two errors and gave up three home runs in an 8-3 loss to the Mariners in Seattle on Tuesday night.

They managed just five hits and have now dropped two straight games.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Huascar Brazoban worked around a leadoff walk and got through the first inning after 20 pitches thanks to some help from Mark Vientos' defense at first base. But instead of just a one-inning outing, Carlos Mendoza kept him in to pitch the second inning and the move backfired. 

Brazoban let up a two-run home run to Patrick Wisdom with one out as Seattle took a 2-0 lead. He then allowed a two-out double to top prospect Colt Emerson, ending his night after 1.2 IP. Overall, the righty allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over 33 pitches.

-- In the top of the third inning, A.J. Ewing doubled to the right field wall for the team's first hit of the night (and his first career double) against Logan Gilbert.The Mets got the runs back as Carson Benge tied it up at 2-2 by blasting a cutter over the RF wall for a two-run home run. The ball had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and traveled 394 feet.

-- New York's gloves caused them problems two plays in a row in the third inning. Marcus Semien nearly made a great leaping catch on Randy Arozarena's liner, but he dropped the ball and then rushed the throw past first base, allowing Arozarena to advance to second. A similar play then happened with Vientos at first, as Luke Raley's liner went off his glove and rolled beyond the base for the run to score, making it a 3-2 game.

Vientos had another rough play in the fifth inning on a hard grounder with one out, allowing a baserunner and eventual run.

-- Jonah Tong took over on the mound in the second inning and struck out J.P. Crawford to avoid further damage. He allowed an unearned run in the third after the two errors and ran into more trouble in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out and letting up a sacrifice fly to Julio Rodriguez as the Mariners took a 4-2 lead. Tong needed nearly 30 pitches to get through the frame.

The young righty's pitch count caught up to him in the fifth inning. He gave up back-to-back singles and then surrendered a two-out, three-run home run to Jhonny Pereda on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Benge helped Tong out by making a running catch in right to end the inning, keeping it a 7-2 game. Overall, Tong tossed 83 pitches over 3.1 IP, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

-- Benge blasted his second home run of the game in the top of the sixth inning, cutting the Seattle lead to 7-3. It's Benge's first career multi-homer game.

Juan Soto singled and Jared Young walked to keep the line moving, but Vientos spoiled the rally attempt by grounding into the inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

-- The bullpen woes continued in the sixth inning as Cionel Pérez, making his Mets debut, allowed a solo home run to Rodriguez and Seattle went up 8-3. Pérez settled and retired six out of the next seven batters through the seventh inning, allowing two hits and a run over 2.0 innings pitched. A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Game MVP:  Logan Gilbert

Besides allowing two homers to Benge, Gilbert kept the Mets bats quiet with just four hits and eight strikeouts over 5.1 IP.

Highlights

Mark Vientos sticks with it and tosses it to Huascar Brazobán covering for the out pic.twitter.com/N2Ev9B0u7D

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

A.J. Ewing gets his first MLB double in Seattle pic.twitter.com/HvypuvgBX6

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

Carson Benge rockets one outta here to tie the game at 2-2! pic.twitter.com/Mw8YFKyVnB

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

A 2-homer night for Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/PfMoQywxPm

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Mariners wrap up the series on Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. on SNY.

Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.55 ERA) faces RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.77 ERA).

Angels outfielder Jo Adell has made some impressive plays this season. 

On Tuesday night, he did not have one of them. 

Adell had himself a true Jose Canseco moment against the Rockies in the top of the fourth inning of an 8-2 loss when a fly ball was hit to right field by T.J. Rumfield and bounced off the Angel outfielder’s head and over the wall for a home run. 

The bizarre moment seemed to match the way the night was going for the Angels, who were trailing 7-0 at that point in the game, only to fall behind by eight after the homer. 

Rumfield sent the 0-2 pitch from Grayson Rodriguez high into the air, and Adell seemingly was able to chase the ball down. 

Nevertheless, he did not line his glove up correctly, and the ball clipped the top of it and bounced right off his head, going over the wall. 

Initially, everyone thought the ball had stayed in play, and Rumfield held up at second. 

The blunder was the opposite of some of the impressive catches that Adell has made this season, which included one just the night before. 

In the Angels’ 9-8 loss to the Rockies on Monday night, Adell made a catch in a similar spot despite Mike Trout running into him trying to chase the sixth-inning fly ball down. 

Adell robbed three home runs in a single game on April 4 against the Mariners when he made catches on would-be dingers by Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor and J.P. Crawford. 

It was believed to be the first time that a single player had robbed three home runs in a single game in MLB history. 

The play on Tuesday brought baseball fans back to May 26, 1993, when Carlos Martínez hit a ball to right field to then-Rangers outfielder Canseco. When the slugger tried to catch the ball, it hit off the top of his head and went over the wall for a home run in one of baseball’s most memorable bloopers.

Blue Jays 3 Braves 4

That wasn’t Kevin Gausman’s best game. 6 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts and a home run. Of course, when you get 18 outs and 8 of them are strikeouts, it seems like it should be a good game. But, he gave up 2 in the first (a walk, a double and a sac fly), 1 in the third (double and a single) and 1 in the sixth (a Matt Olson home run).

Our bullpen put up two scoreless innings.

On offense, we had 9 hits, with a Kazuma Okamoto two-run home run and a Vladimir Guerrero double. You would think we could have scored more than 3 runs.

We got two hits each from Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Yohendrick Piñango and Okamoto. But then there were 0 fors from George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Andrés Giménez and Brandon Valenzuela. Being 0 for 6 with RISP is a recipe for a loss.

Jays of the Day: Okamoto (0.31 WPA), and Lukes (0.12).

The Other Award: Giménez (-0.23). Gausman (-0.19), Jesús Sánchez (-0.14, all for a ninth inning out to end the game), Springer (-0.12), Piñango (-0.12), and Valenzuela (-0.10).

Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.65) going against Grant Holmes (3-2, 3.95).

I did have a nice evening, with three beers and nice conversation. All it needed was a win.

Iowa Cubs RHP Yacksel Rios was released.

Shortstop Alex Madera was demoted from Double-A Knoxville to Single-A South Bend.

Right-hander Jhon Rosario was promoted from rookie ball ACL Cubs to Low-A Myrtle Beach.

The Dominican Summer League started on Monday. As always, I don’t report on the comings and goings of the DSL because I can’t think of much that’s more worthless to player evaluation than DSL stats. Or at least the daily comings and goings of a bunch of 17-year-olds. But I did want you to know that the DSL is underway.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs laid an egg against the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 16-1.

Starter Ty Blach got hammered for ten runs, nine earned, on ten hits over 4+ innings. Three of those hits were home runs including a grand slam in the fifth to the final batter Blach faced. Blach walked one and did not strike anyone out.

The I-Cubs bats were stymied by rehabbing Justin Verlander, who went five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits. It was the first Triple-A win for Verlander in his career. Iowa only had six hits total.

Three of those six hits came off the bat of second baseman James Triantos, who was 3 for 4 with a double and the only Iowa run scored.

Shortstop Scott Kingery was 2 for 2 and was hit by a pitch.

Matt Shaw played six innings in center field in a rehab assignment. He was o for 3.

Triantos’ double off of Verlander.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were feudalized by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 7-6.

The Smokies went with an opener and Frankie Scalzo Jr. pitched the first inning without allowing a run. Scalzo did give up one hit and one walk. He struck out one.

Yenrri Rojas pitched the next three innings and took the loss. Rojas allowed seven runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out three.

The Smokies then got three scoreless. innings of relief from Tyler Santana and two from Marino Santy.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.

DH Owen Ayers was 1 for 3 with two walks. He scored once.

A nice outfield assist from Ramírez.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs arrested the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 8-4.

Starter Alfredo Romero put South Bend in a hole by giving up four runs on two hits and five walks over three innings. Romero struck out one.

Jackson Brockett pitched the next four innings, didn’t allow a run, and got the win. Brockett surrendered just two hits and one walk. He struck out two.

Kenyi Perez got a two-inning save. He faced seven batters. He walked one of them. He struck out the other six. That’s pretty good, right?

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn hit his third home run in the Midwest League in the first inning with the bases empty. It was Hartshorn’s eighth overall home run. He finished the night going 3 for 5 with a double and the home run. His single in the ninth drove in two, so he had three total RBI. Hartshorn scored twice.

First baseman Drew Bowser was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the fourth. He scored once.

Third baseman Matt Halbach was 2 for 5 with a double and one runs scored.

Right fielder Miguel Olivo was 2 for 4. He drove in a run with a single in the ninth and scored on Hartshorn’s single.

I’m pretty sure Hartshorn’s home run bounced into the the Mississippi.

RBI doubles for Miguel Useche and Bowser. Useche was 1 for 4.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were bitten by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 4-3 in ten innings.

Starter Edwardo Melendez gave up two runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. Melendez walked three and struck out two.

Daniel Avitia threw the next 3.2 innings and didn’t allow a run. He surrendered one hit and walked four. He struck out two.

Aiden Moffett went the rest of the way, gave up two runs in the bottom of the tenth and got the loss. Moffett allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit over 1.2 innings. He struggled with control as Moffett walked two (including walking in the winning run) and threw three wild pitches.

Second baseman Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored one run.

Edward Vargas drove in the automatic runner in the tenth with a single. He was 1 for 4.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Guardians, 13-6.

Jo Adell made history with a trio of home run robberies earlier this year. Now, the Los Angeles Angels right fielder joined Jose Canseco in a most embarrassing fraternity — outfielders who have bounced balls off their head and over the fence for a home run.

Adell's moment of ignominy occurred Tuesday, June 2 when Colorado Rockies designated hitter TJ Rumfield hit a fly ball to right center field in the top of the fourth inning; Adell seemed poised to catch it easily in stride.

But he apparently lost the ball in Angel Stadium's twilight sky. As he reached to catch it, the ball instead glanced off his glove and bounced off his cap — and over the yellow line signifying a home run.

It was a near carbon-copy of the fly ball Cleveland's Carlos Martinez sent to right field at old Municipal Stadium on May 26, 1993. Canseco, once a decent outfielder but by then a large and stiff specimen addled by years of steroid use, chased it down yet missed it entirely, the ball bonking off his dome and over the wall, a viral video before the phrase even existed.

Adell is no Canseco. He set what's believed to be a modern record by robbing three home runs in a single game on April 5 against Seattle. This time, he simply missed.

After Rumfield rounded the bases, the last-place Angels trailed the Rockies 8-0. The Rockies went on to win the game, 8-2, dropping the Angels to 23-39, the worst record in the American League.