Category: Sports News

I’m not breaking news by telling you that Jacob Misiorowski is having a good season. He has made 14 starts (a little less than half of a full season), and here are his numbers, with bolds indicating he leads the NL and bold plus italic indicating he leads the majors:

• 8-2, 1.34 ERA, 307 ERA+, 1.68 FIP, 0.736 WHIP, 4.3 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 131 K, 13.6 K/9, 5.95 K/BB

I want to look a bit deeper into those numbers, and contextualize them within the long history of baseball.

ERA and ERA+

18 qualified starters (meaning they threw at least one inning per team game) have finished a season with an ERA better than 1.34 in AL/NL history. 16 of those happened in the era we know as “Deadball,” between 1900 and 1919. Of the remaining two, one was in 1880 and shouldn’t count: Tim Keefe of the Troy Trojans technically qualified for the ERA title with just 105 innings pitched, in which he had a 0.86 ERA… but Keefe’s teammate, Mickey Welch, threw 574 innings that season, so you understand why I don’t think 105 innings should count as “qualifying.” Both Keefe and Welch are in the Hall of Fame, by the way.

The one pitcher remaining is, as you know if you’re at all a baseball history buff, Bob Gibson in 1968, when he had a 1.12 ERA.

Of course, Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in 1968 was not the same as a 1.12 (or 1.34) ERA in 2026. Let’s take the same parameters—qualified AL/NL pitchers—and sort by ERA+, which includes adjustments for league-wide offense of the era and the ballpark. When we do that, most of the Deadball guys drop out—the top 19, instead of including 16 Deadballers, includes only four.

Gibson is still on the list, at number 10. Keefe is there too, but we discussed him. Guess who jumps to number one in this set? Yes, that would be Misiorowski in 2026. His 307 ERA+ would be the best by any qualified starting pitcher… ever.

The season that should be considered the all-time record for ERA+ by a starter is one that many of you witnessed: Pedro Martínez in 2000. Martínez had a 1.74 ERA in 2000, which ranks “just” 104^th all time. But since offense was so jacked up during the Steroid Era, Martínez comes in with a 291 ERA+, the highest single-season mark ever for a qualified pitcher who threw more than 105 innings.

Also near the top is another incredible Steroid-Era accomplishment. Greg Maddux doesn’t just hold the number seven spot on this list, but he holds the number eight spot, too—in back-to-back years. Maddux had a 271 ERA+ in 202 innings in 1994 and a 260 ERA+ in 209 innings in 1995.

Misiorowski, right now, has a better ERA+ than all of them.

FIP and FIP-

Misiorowski’s 1.68 FIP would rank 15^th all time, but again let’s get rid of those pesky Deadball pitchers. Do that, and only two pitchers rank ahead of where Misiorowski is right now: Martínez, again, but this time in 1999, and one you’ll enjoy: Corbin Burnes, with a 1.63 FIP in his Cy Young campaign in 2021.

FIP- is FanGraphs’ answer to ERA+ but for FIP and in reverse (lower is better). I’m going to filter out the 1800s because things are weird there, so the record for FIP- after 1900 belongs to Martínez in 1999 at 30. Next is Burnes in 2021 at 38. Third would be Misiorowski, whose FIP- this season is 40.

WHIP, H/9, and HR/9

Misiorowski’s 0.736 WHIP would be the best ever for a qualified starter, a fraction ahead of Martínez in 2000 (0.737). The next-lowest in a post-Deadball, non-2020 season is Justin Verlander at 0.803 in 2019.

Likewise, Misiorowski’s 4.3 hits allowed per nine innings would be a record by far. The lowest total in a non-2020 season is Nolan Ryan’s mark of 5.3 in 1972, which is percentage points ahead of Luis Tiant in 1968, Martínez in 2000, Ed Reulbach in 1906, and… Ryan in 1991. (That Ryan has two of the top five, 19 years apart, is wild.)

For homers allowed per nine, it is important to note that we live in a high-home-run era, so this isn’t approaching any history. But to give a little more context, Misiorowski’s mark of 0.4/9 would be beaten only by Burnes in 2021 and Sonny Gray in 2023 among seasons since 2020.

Strikeouts

Misiorowski probably isn’t going to threaten any strikeout records—Ryan can feel safe that his 383 strikeouts in 1973 will continue to stand as the post-1900 record. (A quick shout to Old Hoss Radbourn and his 441 strikeouts in 1884, the AL/NL record. Of course, he did that in 678 2/3 innings, so his 5.8 K/9 that season are slightly worse than what Jose Quintana had as a Brewer in 2025.)

However, Misiorowski has an outside chance at becoming the first pitcher since Gerrit Cole in 2019 to strike out 300 batters, something that’s happened only nine times this century (Verlander in 2019, Max Scherzer in 2018, Clayton Kershaw in 2015, Chris Sale in 2017, Curt Schilling in 2002, Cole in 2019, and Randy Johnson each year from 2000-02).

But those guys all threw way more innings than Misiorowski will throw this year. Cole’s 212 1/3 innings pitched in ’19 are the least ever for a player who struck out 300 batters. If we sort by strikeouts per nine, Cole jumps to the top (again ignoring 2020) at 13.8 per nine innings, a remarkable number. After Cole, it’s another pitcher this season, Dylan Cease, who is tied with (technically slightly ahead of) Misiorowski at 13.6. Only three other qualified starters have ever finished a season with 13 or more strikeouts per nine: Martínez in 1999, Johnson in 2001, and Spencer Strider in 2023.

Since Misiorowski is merely “good” rather than “historic” at preventing walks, his 5.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio will have to live with being merely excellent; that would rank 80^th all time among qualified starters.

But those are whole seasons. What about 14-game spans?

It would be fair to point out that Misiorowski is unlikely to keep this pace all season. So how good, really, are these 14 games, if they’re only 14 games?

There are 42 instances in baseball history of a player striking out 131 batters with an ERA of 1.34 or lower over 14 starts, but many of those are tied up in the same streak; for example, when sorted by strikeouts, eight of the top nine on this list of 42 14-game stretches are all between August 3^rd, 1999 and May 17^th, 2000 by Martínez, all within the same span.

There are essentially 11 different pitching runs that can match up with Misiorowski’s:

• Jacob deGrom in 19 starts from 9/16/2020 to 8/8/2022 (this wraps around a season-ending injury in 2021)
• Martínez in 23 starts from 8/3/99 to 6/8/2000
• Martínez again, partially overlapping the other: 14 starts from 4/30/2000 to 7/28/2000
• Kershaw in 19 starts from 6/6/2015 to 9/19/2015
• Kershaw again in 14 starts from 6/18/2014 to 9/2/2014
• J.R. Richard in 20 starts from 7/25/1979 to 4/30/1980
• Dwight Gooden in 16 starts from 8/11/1984 to 5/10/1985 (the end of his rookie season into his sophomore season)
• Ryan in 15 starts from 8/18/1972 to 4/18/1973
• Bob Gibson in two overlapping 14-game stretches from 7/21/1968 to 9/22/1968 and 8/9/1968 to 4/19/69
• Finally, Rube Waddell in 14 starts from 7/9/1904 to 8/29/1904

A lot of these occur over more than one season, which could allow pitchers to benefit from pitching to batters from non-contending teams who’ve checked out down the stretch.

With that in mind, I want to talk about the season that reminds me most of Misiorowski’s 2026 season thus far, and it is the year in which I have been in the most awe during my fandom: deGrom’s 2021 season.

deGrom didn’t finish 2021 healthy, and I’m going to knock on all the wood right now to ensure that part of his 2021 season does not align with Misiorowski’s 2026. When 2021 started, deGrom was considered the most dominant pitcher in the majors; over the previous two seasons, he’d collected 58 of 60 first-place NL Cy Young votes, and his 2018 season in particular was one of the best of this century. He was third in Cy Young voting in the shortened 2020 season, but he struck out 13.8 batters per nine innings that year, which matches Cole’s record for strikeouts per nine in a full season.

But in 2021, deGrom hit a different level. In 15 starts and 92 innings, he had a 1.08 ERA, which translated to an unbelievable 373 ERA+. He struck out 146 batters, or 14.3 per nine innings. Almost more remarkably, he walked only 11 batters. His 13.27 K/BB wouldn’t just be a record—it would blow away the previous record. Under modern walk rules, no starting pitcher has finished with more than 11.63 K/BB in a season.* Heck, only seven relievers have ever finished a season with a K/BB ratio that high.**

*This is a great trivia question: the record holder for K/BB by a starter is…Phil Hughes, pitching for the Twins in 2014.
**One other all-timer actually bettered deGrom’s 13.27 K/BB in another injury-shortened season: Kershaw, in 149 innings in 2016, had 172 strikeouts to 11 walks.

deGrom had a 1.08 ERA, 1.24 FIP, 0.554 WHIP, and a microscopic 3.9 hits allowed per nine innings in those 15 games in 2021. I’d never seen anything like it. He was essentially pitching like the league’s best high-leverage reliever, except he was a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, that took a physical toll, and he managed only 20 starts over the next three years.

I don’t mean to be speculating on Misiorowski’s future health at all, so don’t read into that. The point is, deGrom’s 15-start 2021 season is the closest comparison that I can come up with for what Misiorowski has done in these 14 games, and when deGrom was pitching in 2021, I thought I was watching the most dominant starting pitcher in the history of the game.

What does it all mean?

We have no idea what the future holds for Misiorowski. Maybe he’ll pitch 20 years. Maybe he’ll get hurt. We have no idea.

But right now—not next year, not three years from now, but right now—Misiorowski is pitching like one of the best pitchers ever. And 14 games is a long time; I brought up those nine different pitchers who have had 14-game runs as good as Misiorowski for a reason. Martínez, Ryan, Waddell, and Gibson are in the Hall of Fame. Kershaw will be a near-unanimous selection. deGrom could yet make it, even if his status as a late bloomer and injury issues will make it a complicated case from an innings-pitched perspective. Only Gooden and Richard aren’t major Hall candidates, but there are extenuating circumstances in both cases. Richard’s career was cut short by a stroke suffered during his prime, mere weeks after his aforementioned streak ended. Gooden was considered one of the most talented players ever, but his career was derailed by substance abuse problems. (I could still make a Hall of Fame case, too.)

Misiorowski is a Hall-of-Fame talent. He is pitching at a Hall-of-Fame level, and the only players in the history of the game who’ve been as effective as him over a span this long are all either Hall of Famers or guys who make people say “you should’ve seen ______.”  

We have no way of knowing how long this will last, but right now, we are not living in a hypothetical world where Jacob Misiorowski could pitch like Randy Johnson someday. Right now, the only difference between Miz and Johnson is that Johnson pitched for 20 years.

No matter how long it lasts, we should all revel in this, because someday we will say: “you should’ve seen Miz.”

Civic pride, sure. But what is it really worth to the city of Anaheim to have its name on the hometown baseball team?

Hundreds of millions of dollars, the city has said. As the Angels’ stadium lease approaches its end, and as Anaheim prepares for negotiations either with Arte Moreno or a potential new owner, it’s worth keeping in mind.

So too is a concept floating around City Hall in Anaheim: What if we could put a new stadium and a youth sports complex next to one another?

Nothing is imminent, and even a bill winding its way through the state legislature would not necessarily require the Angels to return Anaheim to the team name.

Read more:Shaikin: As Angels fans urge Arte Moreno to sell the team, the least he can do is try to win

It’s leverage: If the Angels’ owner wants to build atop the stadium parking lots, the city can pursue an exemption to a state law that currently restricts what can be built there, which could mean more money for the team and its development partners. In exchange for the exemption, the team name would revert to the Anaheim Angels.

If that’s the carrot, this is the stick: The city would have to approve the zoning changes that could make the land “two to three times more valuable than it is as a parking lot,” Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said.

Said Aitken: “There are no gifts. For an ownership to truly be a partner to the city in what that property could be, there is going to have to be some realization that Anaheim is not Los Angeles.”

The Angels’ stadium lease expires in 2032, and the team can extend it through 2038. A new owner could move the Angels — or at least leverage the threat of a move — but Anaheim offers a 150-acre site with what every owner in pro sports covets: land around the venue to turn the property into a year-round money-making operation.

The standard ballpark villages include restaurants, shops, hotels, homes, offices and entertainment venues. The Ducks are launching one, called OC Vibe, around Honda Center, and within walking distance of Angel Stadium.

What intrigues the city, for at least part of the parking lots around Angel Stadium: a youth sports park for all those travel ball teams. Ontario is building a 199-acre one around a minor league ballpark; Irvine has a 194-acre one up and running at its Great Park.

Katie Wright, who books sports events for Anaheim’s tourism bureau, said there would be a market if her city built a sports park.

“The demand for, specifically, soccer, baseball and softball is tremendous,” Wright told the Anaheim City Council in April. “They would be filled every single weekend, I think.”

What Anaheim has that Ontario and Irvine do not: Disneyland down the street for visiting families, a variety of restaurants within walking distance, and hotel rooms aplenty. In Anaheim, 40% of the city’s general fund comes from taxes on hotel rooms.

“With Angels baseball right next to a youth sports facility, to have the synergy of hotels and restaurants, and players interacting with the Little League kids and soccer fields,” Aitken said, “I just think it’s a unique opportunity.”

Everything old is new again: In 1996, Anaheim pitched a youth sports center called the “Little A” in part of the stadium parking lots as part of a ballpark village that never materialized.

What might be in the best interest of the city now might not be in that of the developer, whether that turns out to be the Angels or a real estate partner. While a sports park might drive tax revenues to the city, a developer might pay the most for land used for hotel and retail properties, said Louis Tomaselli, the Irvine-based executive managing director at JLL, a nationally prominent commercial real estate brokerage.

“A youth sports complex would likely be at or near the bottom from a land value perspective,” Tomaselli said.

Read more:Plaschke: Memo to Arte Moreno: Sell your fallen Angels

That’s all part of the negotiation, and for now the city of Anaheim has no party with which to negotiate. That leaves room for all sorts of brainstorming, including Aitken’s curiosity about flanking the development with high-rise residential buildings, similar to the condominiums that have risen next to Petco Park in San Diego. In some of them, you can watch the game from your balcony.

But let’s get back to the value of the Anaheim name on the baseball team.

“A lot of times, we get the question, ‘Exactly where is Anaheim?’” Wright, the Anaheim tourism official, told the City Council. “We’re always fighting to say, ‘We’re not L.A.’”

In 2005, when Anaheim sued the Angels after Moreno slapped the Los Angeles label on the team, the city commissioned experts that testified the name change would cost Anaheim nearly $200 million over the following decade and close to $400 million through 2029. The Angels dismissed both numbers as wildly high, but that is what the city presented in court.

I asked Sean Moran of Los Angeles-based Innovative Partnerships Group for an update. Moran estimated the worth of the Anaheim name at $26.5 million per year — or more than $500 million over the life of a 20-year deal — based on the value of references to the city on game broadcasts, digital and social media, highlight clips, betting sites, in fantasy leagues, and more.

“I don’t think you can put a monetary value on civic pride and respecting your fan base,” Aitken said. “So, if a new owner wants to come in and start fresh and really respect the fan base in Orange County, the name should not even be a negotiating point.

“It should be the first thing you do, out of respect for where this team is located, and the fan base that is so loyal in good times and bad.”

Perhaps. But, if I’m the new owner of the Angels and the city is on record saying its name on the team is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the first thing I say to the city in negotiations is: You can get your name on the team for that $500 million, which would help me build a new ballpark that could cost $1.5 billion.

Who else could benefit from that? Moreno, as the need for a new owner to pay for a ballpark could lower the sale price.

Even without that exemption from state law, a new owner could pursue a fair amount of development on land Anaheim has failed to develop for 60 years, on a site the city’s own land use plan envisions as “an exciting mix of high energy uses while providing additional housing.” Or a new owner could simply inherit the existing lease and deal with potential development later.

Read more:Shaikin: As MLB proposes salary cap, Sacramento pursues team it might not be able to afford

You can start to get the shape of what the bargaining might look like. Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), the assembly member who introduced the bill in Sacramento intended to spur the return of the Anaheim Angels name, included a provision that says resolution would take precedence over legislation.

“If there is another outcome that takes place, in negotiations or deal-wise, there would be no need for this, right?” Valencia said.

All of that could be years down the road, so no sense arguing all the finer points now. Aitken promises a series of community meetings first, so that Anaheim residents can share how they envision the future of the Angel Stadium property, with or without a baseball stadium.

This should come up for discussion too: The Anaheim Angels name might be ideal for the city, but what, if anything, should the city give up to get it? The last time the city asked, Moreno just said no. If a new owner would be willing, should the taxpayers of Anaheim consider subsidizing the name?

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Postponed due to rain, doubleheader scheduled for Friday

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 5-4 (10) at Portland Sea Dogs

LF Jackson Castillo 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
CF Garrett Martin 2-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB — solo shot in the fourth, two-run double in the ninth
DH Jace Avina 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
1B Nicholas Torres 0-5, 2 K, throwing error
RF DJ Gladney 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K
3B Coby Morales 0-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
C Manuel Palencia 0-5
2B Connor McGinnis 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
SS Owen Cobb 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB

Xavier Rivas 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K — his longest outing of the year, and second-most strikeouts
Michael Arias 0.1 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 BB (blown save)
Will Brian 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 K
Hayden Merda 1 IP, 0 R
Ben Grable 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (win)
Chris Kean 0.1 IP, 0 R (save)

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 1-2 at Rome Emperors

2B Kaeden Kent 1-3, 1 CS
SS Core Jackson 0-4, 1 K
C Eric Genther 0-4, 1 K
1B Kyle West 0-4, 1 K
RF Wilson Rodriguez 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB
DH Roderick Arias 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
LF Josh Moylan 0-3
LF Luis Durango 0-0
CF Camden Troyer 1-3, 1 K

Luis Serna 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR — back-to-back quality starts, rebounding from a bad first start in June
Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Luis Velasquez 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (loss)
Thomas Balboni Jr. 0 IP, 0 R, 1 H

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 7-9 vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

SS Jackson Lovich 0-4, 3 K
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, two fielding errors
2B Hans Montero 0-4, 2 K, missed catch
LF Logan Maxwell 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
RF JoJo Jackson 3-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 K
CF Willy Montero 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
C Engelth Urena 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, fielding error
DH Ediel Rivera 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
1B Austin Green 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 K

Thatcher Hurd 4.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K
Pedro Rodriguez 1.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Matthew Tippie 0.2 IP, 4 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K (blown save, loss) — an error kept the inning alive for all four runs, but he didn’t do himself any favors with two walks and a run-scoring wild pitch post-error
Jose Martinez 2.1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Florida Complex League Yankees: Off-day

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Off-day

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Off-day

The Phillies simply couldn’t wait anymore. After another disastrous outing yesterday afternoon, the Phillies finally decided they’d seen enough and sent the struggling Andrew Painter to Triple-A. It’s been a rocky start to a career for the young right hander to say the least, as he owns a 7.06 ERA across his first 14 big league appearances. He will now try to find his command in Lehigh Valley in the hopes of possibly returning to the rotation later this year.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• More on the Phillies decision to demote Andrew Painter. ($)
• Jonathan Bowlan is primed to step into a bigger role thanks to the injury to Brad Keller. ($)
• Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa have been named the managers for the All-Star Futures Game to be held at Citizens Bank Park on All-Star weekend.

MLB News:

• Max Scherzer is headed back to the injured list, this time with back spasms.
• The injuries continue to mount for the Guardians, as outfielder Chase DeLauter was placed on the injured list with a fractured rib.
• It’s officially trade deadline season, so here’s your breakdown of who needs what and how much they need it. ($)
• Speaking of trades, last year’s Rafael Devers trade isn’t looking so good.
• Remember that time the Phillies had the number one overall pick in 2016? Well now you can also remember just how bad that first round turned out to be. ($)

Rangers fans, we asked for your views on the departure of Danny Rohl and appointment of Derek McInnes as manager.

Here's what some of you said:

Heather: A true, dyed in the wool Rangers man. McInnes is in the mould of the great Walter Smith. I haven't been this excited for a Rangers team or season in years. Bring on the 2026/27 season.

Kenneth: Well he won't last long at Rangers as it's a different club, team and a different set of expectations. Rangers are expected to win, Hearts try to play to win. I doubt he will last till Christmas. He will be sacked because it's Rangers.

Matthew: Perfect appointment. He feels like the exact thing we've been missing, and his Scottish and Rangers identity is something we've been crying out for. He has proven in Scottish football that he can get the best out of his players, and that he is tactically astute. The most optimistic I've been in a long time.

John: Thanks to Rohl for his work and efforts. He appeared to be a good man and wish him well on his development. We now have a Scottish manager and a Rangers man. I personally would like to see a squad with a heavy Scottish core, the difficulty is offloading those who are surplus to our requirements. If this can be done, we will have a trimmer squad and the means to focus expenditure. Cannot wait.

Michael: Definitely the right man for the job and hopefully an appointment the fans will be patient with. I think he will hit the ground running but with so many squad changes needed, there could still be early issues but McInnes will get it right given a few transfer windows

Dave: The third manager in 12 months, time for someone to be given a good run at it. Lower the expectations of instant success and build a good team. Only then can Rangers hope to make a realistic challenge. I think McInnes could be the man to do it.

Rochester Red Wings 6, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (F/11)(box)

The Mud Hens battled through a bullpen game only to run out of pitching in the 11th inning, losing via walkoff to the Red Wings.

Woo-Suk Go got the start and went two innings. He surrendered a pair of runs on four hits and a walk, striking out five.

The Hens turned the tables pretty quickly. In the top of the fourth, Max Anderson led off with a walk and Eduardo Valencia doubled him to third with one out. Anderson scored on a Trei Cruz ground out, and Corey Julks singled in Valencia to tie the game.

In the fifth, Jace Jung led off with his 11th homer and two batters later, Cal Stevenson followed suit for a 4-2 lead.

Jung go-ahead BOMB 💣 pic.twitter.com/EE00R0e95g

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) June 17, 2026

Unfortunately the offense ran out of steam after that, and the bullpen leaked a run in the sixth and Matt Seelinger blew the save in the bottom of the ninth.

In the 10th, with Tyler Gentry starting at second base, Cal Stevenson flew out to right field, allowing Gentry to tag and take third, where he’d score on a wild pitch. That was all they’d get, and Seelinger couldn’t prevent the run in the bottom half. The Hens failed to push across a run in the 11th, and Gentry had to pitch, allowing a walkoff single on a 37 mph slider.

Jung: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, K

Valencia: 2-4, R, 2B, BB

Go: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The series is tied up heading into a 6:45 p.m. ET start on Thurday.

Harrisburg Senators 11, Erie SeaWolves 6 (box)

Former Tigers prospect Josh Randall spun a solid game against the SeaWolves on Wednesday, while Lael Lockhart Jr.’s outing fell apart late and the bullpen collapsed.

The SeaWolves did strike first, as singles from Justice Bigbie, Izaac Pacheco, and Aaron Antonini produced a run in the second inning.

Meanwhile, Lockhart rolled through the first three innings without much trouble, but he allowed a solo shot in the fourth and then three more runs in the fifth. Chris Meyers answered back with his third home run in his last three games in the sixth, but Wandisson Charles allowed two runs in the bottom half for a 6-2 lead.

Chris Meyers’ power surge continues with a rocket of a solo home run to right. It’s his 3rd straight game with a homer, and it left his bat at 113 MPH. pic.twitter.com/Ec6Z5MPcHS

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2026

In the seventh, the SeaWolves made a bigger push as Antonini led off with a double and scored on a one-out triple to the wall in center from Brett Callahan. John Peck doubled in Callahan to make it a 6-4 game, but that was all they’d get.

Brett Callahan scorches an RBI triple into right center. pic.twitter.com/UP3NUR9xHk

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 18, 2026

Meyers doubled and scored in the eighth, and Peck tripled and scored on a Bigbie ground out in the top of the ninth, but Tyler Owens gave up a run in the seventh and then four runs in the eighth as the Senators pulled away.

Peck: 3-5, R, RBI, 2B, 3B, K

Meyers: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, 2 BB

Callahan: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B, K

Pacheco: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 K

Lockhart (L, 1-1): 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The series is tied, with first pitch on Thursday set for 6:30 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Lansing Lugnuts (cancelled)

They were washed out in West Michigan on Wednesday and the game cancelled. It’s a 6:45 p.m. ET start on Thurday night.

Dunedin Blue Jays 9, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (box)

The Flying Tigers swung the bats pretty well on Wednesday, but the pitching wasn’t there as the Blue Jays made it two in a row.

Cash Kuiper got the start, and he gave up a run in the first and two more in the third. In the bottom of the second, Anibal Salas and Jack Goodman singled and both scored on Hunter Dobbins triple. Jordan Yost was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Nick Dumesnil single in the third.

So it was all tied up at that point and stayed that way until the sixth when Salas smoked a drive over the right field wall for his fifth home run.

Anibal Salas with a missile over the wall in right to give Lakeland a 4-3 lead. It’s his 5th home run of the year, and it left his bat at 111 MPH and traveled 406 feet. pic.twitter.com/ywve3FvIAZ

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2026

Unfortunately, in the seventh Antonio Florida and then Jan Carabello combined to surrender five runs as the Blue Jays seized control for good.

Beau Ankeney added a solo shot, his eighth on the year, in the eighth inning. Jatnk Diaz was wild in the ninth and gave up a run before this one ended.

Salas: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, K

Kuiper: 3.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: They’ll match up again at 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Things are going well for the Yankees right now, all things considered. Even though the team is without their top hitter in Aaron Judge and one of their top pitchers in Max Fried, alongside a few other regulars in the lineup that could really be helping them out. Despite this, they’re sitting in first place in the AL East with the best record in the AL overall and have won four straight and eight of their last ten games. The team is rallying much like the 2019 team did when they were besieged by injuries, and they’ve gotten key improvements from some early slumpers.

One such area that the team has gotten a boost from has been the back of the bullpen, with David Bednar having not allowed a single run since exactly a month ago on May 18th. The Yankee closer has gotten into eight appearances since then, pitching 8.2 scoreless innings and striking out 11 while walking three and giving up four hits. His ERA has gone from north of five to a more stable 3.64 mark in the meantime, and outside of his multi-inning outing on June 8th Bednar has only been pushed into 20 pitches or more once during this stretch. The only knock you could give against his performance is that only three of these outings have been save opportunities, with one seeing Bednar enter in a tie game and the rest being big leads, but Bednar has converted all three of those saves and he earned the win in that tie game that went into extras.

The bullpen has been the weak spot of the roster all season, and Bednar’s sharp form would be a welcome reprieve from sweating out the Houdini acts he’s put the team through in the first couple of months on top of the other pain points in the ‘pen. One nice stretch of play might not be enough to shake the memories of Bednar’s tightrope act though, especially when shades of it could be seen in his last outing against Toronto when he was set up with a five-run lead but made it a little hairy with two loud pieces of contact to put runners on second and third. Bednar escaped that jam without any damage of course, but had that been a tighter contest I think it’s fair to say we’d all have been sweating as soon as the inning led off with a hit. On top of that, Bednar has only been put into back-to-back games twice during this run, and the second time it occurred is where the drama could’ve kicked off had the offense not erupted in the top of the inning.

There’s still a fair amount of pitchers in the bullpen that cause stress every time they take the mound this season, but as of late Bednar hasn’t been one of them. The team will be looking for reinforcements over the course of the next month or two, and the ‘pen is a prime candidate to see a couple of new faces, but Bednar’s recent play should keep him firmly in control of the closer’s role. Should the team be comfortable with that and look to add to their bridge to Bednar, or should they still consider swinging big for an arm that could step into the role should Bednar get into a funk again? Let us know what you think.

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Before the Yankees go for the sweep tonight, we’ve got a full slate of stuff going on here. Josh starts us off with a look at the new AL MVP landscape with Aaron Judge all but guaranteed to fall short this time and Shohei Ohtani over in the NL now. Then Matt covers the Rivalry Roundup with the Rays crucially getting swept by the Dodgers, Jeff wishes one-time Yankee Félix Heredia a happy birthday, and Jonathan examines Gerrit Cole’s first five starts of the season to see how the former Cy Young winner has adapted post-Tommy John. John makes the case for Jasson Domínguez to hit leadoff for the Yankees, and Sam outlines what success would look like for Spencer Jones’ rookie season to round things out.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Chicago Sports Network

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY