Category: Sports News

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37)

SYRACUSE 5, NORFOLK 3 (BOX)

Fresh off his solid outing earlier in the week, Xavion Curry tossed another five respectable innings, allowing a pair of runs. Both runs came in the top of the fifth, giving the Tides a 2-1 lead, but Syracuse responded in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own, both on a Tyrone Taylor single into left. Heyden Senger and Nick Morabito both added insurance runs, the former on an RBI double and the latter on a solo homer, his eighth of the year.

Syracuse came into this one at an even 37-37, and because yesterday’s game was the conclusion of the first half of the International League season, Syracuse becomes the only minor league affiliate to end their respective first half above the .500 mark.

·  REHAB ALERT SS Francisco Lindor: 0-4, R, BB, SB (1)

·  REHAB ALERT 3B Ronny Mauricio: 1-3, BB, K, CS (1)

·  REHAB ALERT CF Tyrone Taylor: 1-3, 2 RBI, K

·  RF Sam Biller: 0-1, K

·  1B Ryan Clifford: 0-4

·  LF Nick Morabito: 1-3, R, HR (8), RBI, BB

·  RF-CF Cristian Pache: 0-3, BB, 2 K

·  2B Yonny Hernández: 3-4, 2 R, 3 2B

·  C Hayden Senger: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K

·  DH Kevin Parada: 2-4, 2B, RBI

·  RHP Xzavion Curry: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, W (2-0)

·  LHP Nate Lavender: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, H (3)

·  RHP Daniel Duarte: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (2)

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent CF Tyrone Taylor on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent SS Francisco Lindor on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42)

NEW HAMPSHIRE 5, BINGHAMTON 4 / 11 (BOX)

Through eight innings, Binghamton managed just a single hit- a Wyatt Young double- and four walks, failing to score. Luckily for them, for eight innings, New Hampshire had the same problem, logging a whopping four hits and three walks but failing to score. Eddie Micheletti Jr. changed that in the top of the ninth, leading off the inning with a grueling at-bat against Saul Garcia that went 10 pitches and ended with a solo home run into right-center. In the bottom of the ninth, Nick Lorusso singled sandwiched around outs by Jose Ramos and JT Schwartz, bringing the fiery-hot Vincent Perozo to the plate with a man on second. The backstop attacked the very first pitch he was and drove a line drive into right center to bring Lorusso home, tying the game up 1-1 down to their last out. After Wyatt Young popped out, into extra innings we went. From there, all hell broke loose. Both teams, who had trouble scoring for virtually the entire game, went crazy, with both teams scoring three runs apiece in the tenth. In the top of the eleventh, the Fisher Cats were able to score a run off of the erstwhile Wyatt Young, who switched in from shortstop to the mound, while Binghamton failed in the bottom of the inning; ballgame.

·  C Chris Suero: 0-1, R, 3 BB, HBP, SB (19)

·  RF Matt Rudick: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB

·  CF Jose Ramos: 1-5, 2 RBI, K

·  3B Nick Lorusso: 1-5, R, K

·  1B JT Schwartz: 0-5

·  DH-LF Vincent Perozo: 1-5, RBI, 2 K

·  SS-P Wyatt Young: 1-5, R, 2B, K

·  LF-2B Jaylen Palmer: 0-3, BB, 3 K

·  2B Nick Roselli: 0-4, 3 K

·  SS Kevin Villavicencio: 0-0

·  RHP R.J. Gordon: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Douglas Orellana: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Zach Peek: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, WP

·  RHP Wyatt Young: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, L (0-1)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/0-3)

WILMINGTON 5, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)

Neither team was able to do much for most of this contest, with both teams failing to score in the first five innings of the game and then both teams managing just a run each in the sixth. That pattern changed in the bottom of the eighth, when Gregori Louis and Bryce Jenkins combined to allow four runs, all charged to Louis. Suddenly down by a substantial margin with just three outs to play around with, Brooklyn went down meekly in the top of the ninth to end the game.

·  SS Mitch Voit: 1-3, R, BB, SB (24)

·  C Ronald Hernandez: 1-4, 2 K

·  DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-3, RBI, BB

·  CF John Bay: 0-3, K, HBP

·  2B Colin Houck: 0-4

·  RF JT Benson: 1-4, K, CS (3)

·  1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4

·  LF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3, BB, K

·  3B Taylor Darden: 0-3, BB

·  RHP Dakota Hawkins: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Tanner Witt: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Gregori Louis: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, L (1-1)

·  RHP Bryce Jenkins: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

ROSTER ALERT: 2B Taylor Darden assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/1-1)

DAYTONA 14, ST. LUCIE 5 (BOX)

The Tortugas scored eleven runs in the seventh inning. And that’s all I have to say about that.

·  SS Elian Peña: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K, HBP

·  CF Trey Snyder: 1-5, 2 K

·  3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, RBI, BB, K, SB

·  1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, R, RBI, BB

·  LF-2B Branny De Oleo: 1-4, RBI, K

·  C Chase Meggers: 0-4, 2 K

·  DH Simon Juan: 1-4, R, 3B, K

·  2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-3, RBI

·  LF Jackson Hauge: 0-1

·  RF Heriberto Rincon: 1-4, R, K

·  LHP Conner Ware: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Christian Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Elwis Mijares: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, WP, HBP, L (3-4), BS (2)

·  RHP Joe Scarborough: 0.0 IP, 0 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, W 2P

·  RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Joe Charles: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (14-19)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Tyrone Taylor

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Elwis Mijares, Joe Scarborough, Gregori Louis & Bryce Jenkins

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Jason Motte, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1914 – The Giants shade the Reds, 3-2, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th off Red Ames. Christy Mathewson gives up seven hits and no walks as the Giants increase their lead over the National League to four games. For the second year in a row, Matty will end the season with fewer walks than victories, the only pitcher ever to accomplish that, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 – Honus Wagner gets hit No. 2,000 in the 8th against Jake Weimer of the Reds, who win 4 0 over the Pirates.
• 1947 – Ewell Blackwell just misses pitching back-to-back no-hitters when Eddie Stanky of the Brooklyn Dodgers singles with one out in the ninth inning.
• 1951 – 20-year-old Willie Mays hits a 10th-inning home run, the first of his 22 extra-inning home runs, off 42-year-old Dutch Leonard of the Cubs.
• 1959 – At Kansas City, Mickey Mantle drives in six runs with a triple and two homers to lead New York to a 13-6 win.
• 1961 – Roger Maris leads the Yankees on an 8-3 thrashing of the A’s by belting his 27th homer of the year. Maris has now hit 20 homers in the past 30 days (May 24th to today), to tie the mark set by Ralph Kiner in 1947.
• 1962 – Stan Musial becomes the all-time total bases leader, raising his total to 5,864, in the first game against the Phillies. 
• 2002 – The scheduled game between St. Louis and the Cubs is postponed after 33-year-old pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead in his Chicago hotel room of an apparent heart attack.
• 2022 – One day after setting a personal best as a hitter with eight RBIs, Shohei Ohtani sets another one on the mound as he racks up 13 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over Kansas City.

Cubs Birthdays:Jason Motte*, Brant Brown, Jim Asbell. Also notable: Carl Hubbell HOF.

Today in history:

• 1934 – John Dillinger is informally named America’s first Public Enemy Number One.
• 1937 – Challenger Joe Louis KOs James J. Braddock in the eighth round at Chicago’s Comiskey Park for the world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1938 – Joe Louis scores a stunning 1st round KO of German Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium, NYC to retain his world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1949 – Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for National Boxing Association world heavyweight title, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1961 – Beatles record “Ain’t She Sweet”, “Cry for a Shadow”, “When the Saints Go Marching In”, “Why”, “Nobody’s Child” & “My Bonnie”, in Hamburg, Germany.
• 1963 – “Little” Stevie Wonder, aged 13, releases his first single “Fingertips” (first live non-studio recording to go to No. 1 on Billboard).
• 1969 – Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catches fire due to pollution.
• 1971 – Reprise Records releases “Blue”, Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell‘s 4th studio album.
• 1979 – Larry Holmes TKOs Mike Weaver in 12 rounds for heavyweight boxing title.
• 1981 – John McEnroe‘s famous “You cannot be serious” rant in first-round win over Tom Gullikson at Wimbledon.
• 2007 – Patrick Kane is selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
• 2011 – After hiding for 16 years, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California.

*pictured.

For the third time this month, the Detroit Tigers have won a series against a first-place team — this time, a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park punctuated by a 5-4 walk-off victory in extra innings on Sunday afternoon. The win bumped AJ Hinch and Co.’s home record to a robust 21-16 overall and 11-6 in June.

There is still a way to go before the team is back in the wild card race, but at least they no longer inhabit the American League Central cellar, which is now occupied by the Kansas City Royals.

The Motor City Kitties look to continue their home-field magic this week when the New York Yankees come to town for a three-game series starting on Monday. With a series win, they can make it four over first-place teams as the Yanks have overcome the Tampa Bay Rays to hold the top spot in the AL East.

Opening things up on the mound for Detroit is left-hander Framber Valdez, who posted his eighth quality start of the season last time out on the road against the Houston Astros. The 32-year-old gave his team six frames of one-run ball — which was unearned — on six hits and three walks while striking out six in what turned out to be a 4-2 loss.

For the Yankees, right-hander Gerrit Cole will climb the hill looking to tame the Tigers in his sixth start of the year. The 35-year-old got a late start to the 2026 campaign as he worked back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in March 2025. Three of Cole’s five appearances so far were quality starts, while both of his non-QS came against the Cleveland Guardians.

Here is how Valdez and Cole match up on Monday evening.

Detroit Tigers (33-44) vs. New York Yankees (46-30)

Time (ET): 6:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Pinstripe Alley
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 78: LHP Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Valdez	15	83.2	18.3	8.7	50.8	4.33	0.8
Cole	5	28.0	21.4	7.1	33.3	4.21	0.4

VALDEZ

COLE

The Dodgers won the World Series last year, and the year before that. Their lead is the largest in any division this year. That success, and the money that nourishes it, has battalions of fans beyond Los Angeles all but marching outside ballparks with picket signs reading “SALARY CAP NOW.”

It’s a reasonable thought: The Dodgers can’t possibly keep winning if they can’t keep outspending the competition.

Or can they?

“There are a lot of little things that happen behind the scenes that people don’t see,” pitcher Will Klein said. “I understand where people are coming from. It’s easy to be a fan of a smaller team and get mad at other teams outspending you.

“But I think there’s a level of care here, and wanting to win, that exceeds other groups.”

Read more:Emmet Sheehan struggles in the haze in Dodgers' first consecutive loss since May

The obvious disclaimer: Any team would be better with Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, at a combined price of $1.6 billion. The counter argument: The Angels had Ohtani and Mike Trout and, well, you know.

It takes a roster. In Klein and pitcher Eric Lauer, the Dodgers have done something they do well besides spend: develop valuable contributors out of players discarded by other teams.

The Dodgers grabbed Lauer last month, desperate to fill a hole in their starting rotation. The Toronto Blue Jays had cut him, and he would be joining his seventh major league organization. The logical thought: The Dodgers had found a healthy arm to eat up some innings until they could find someone better.

That still might happen. But Lauer, who is scheduled to start Monday, has put up a 3.22 earned-run average in four starts with the Dodgers. Four starts is a small sample size, but in that time, Lauer is a career league-average pitcher performing 28% above league average.

“They got me immediately,” Lauer said. “They figured me out right away, and they knew exactly what was going to help me.”

For Lauer, the changes affected his delivery, but the specifics were not as important as finding a kindred spirit in Connor McGuiness, the Dodgers’ assistant pitching coach.

“I’ve always had a really hard time explaining myself and what I do, because I think a little differently,” Lauer said.

“When I was with the Brewers, it was running joke that it was ‘the language of Lauer,’ because I would describe things so differently and feel things so differently that, if you weren’t close to me and you didn’t know how I operate, it was very hard to understand what I was trying to do.

“Connor just immediately got it. It was like he’s been speaking it forever.”

At one point in his career, Lauer said, he struggled to explain the sensation of catching his heel on the mound as he completed his delivery toward home plate.

“I would describe it as, ‘I was falling backwards and I would catch myself,’ and it’s a really weird concept to think somebody was falling backwards when it doesn’t look like you’re falling at all,” he said. “It looks like you’re just moving forward.

“So they were like, ‘That’s not what you’re doing’ and I was like, ‘That’s what I’m feeling.’ We have to make the connection between the feel and the real so that we can understand each other.”

Klein, who joined his fourth organization when the Dodgers acquired him in a minor league trade last June, is in his first full major league season. He has a 2.37 ERA, and his 0.7 wins above replacement is better than any Dodgers reliever besides veteran closer Tanner Scott.

Klein said other teams had made suggestions on how to improve his game, and with the Dodgers, he has added a sweeper and dumped a slider. But what he needed to do most was throw more strikes, trusting that his lively fastball and curve were good enough to beat the best players in the world.

In the minors, Klein issued 6.9 walks per nine innings. This season, he has issued 3.6 walks per nine innings.

The credit, he said, should be shared with the Dodgers’ mental skills coaches.

“It’s easy to see the guys in the batter’s box, especially when you come up watching baseball and being fans of these guys,” Klein said. “It’s easy to see them being above yourself.

“But you’re on the mound with them, so you have to see that too. There’s a lot on the mental side that’s helped me here.”

The Dodgers did not include Klein on their postseason roster for the first three rounds last year, but he said coaches at all levels — in the majors, at triple-A and at the Arizona training complex — never stopped checking in on him, during the season and throughout October.

“When you’re down there, they don’t forget about you up here,” he said. “That kind of commitment and care was levels above what I had experienced.”

When the Dodgers added him to the World Series roster, Klein saved the season, with four scoreless innings to close out an 18-inning victory in Game 3.

Lauer called the communication in the Dodgers’ organization “miles ahead” of any other organization in which he has played.

“The training room, the weight room, the coaching staff, the players to each other,” he said. “Every form of communication is so seamless. Everybody knows what’s going on all the time. There’s no gray area.

“It’s all: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, this is how we’re going to make it happen,’ instead of: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, figure out a way to make it happen.’”

Read more:Dodgers’ Andy Pages strengthens All-Star selection bid with defensive gems vs. Orioles

Klein raved about how the Dodgers treat player families, and about a high-tech pitching machine so lifelike that he could see what it would be like to bat against him. Lauer reflected on his experience as a first-round pick turned journeyman who went to South Korea to revive his career.

“I have a hard time saying anybody has done a better or faster job of helping me than the Dodgers,” Lauer said.

What Lauer and Klein say substantially echoes what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at last year’s World Series about turning the team into a preferred destination for players, and not just because the team wins and spends.

“Communication, being honest, having a really strong player development group in place at the major-league level, and how you treat families and treat the players,” Friedman said then, “I think matters a lot in that.”

To be clear: There is no indication the players’ union is willing to consider, let alone approve, a salary cap.

But, if that were to happen, Klein believes the Dodgers would be just fine.

“Our owners want to win, so they want to get the best product on the field, so they go and spend money,” he said, “and then everyone is mad that they want to win.

“I think they’ll find ways to win more if they can’t spend as much money. Friedman was with the Rays when they weren’t spending as much money and still had success there.

“I think they’re just better at wanting to win than some other people.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

No starter named as of yet for tonight’s game, but I’ll bet that we see Alan Rangel throw some bulk innings for the team with Kyle Backhus returning to open the game and face James Wood.

Phillies have DFAd Bryse Wilson and optioned Max Lazar to Triple A. Kyle Backhus will be active tomorrow. Phillies haven’t announced yet, but Alan Rangel looks like a good bet for some innings.

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 22, 2026

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• To hit for the cycle on Saturday, Bryce Harper used a heavier bat in batting practice. It sure did help him.
• The Phillies can make all the trades they want. Their success from here on out is going to depend on Trea Turner ($).

MLB news:

• The Rangers have been playing well lately, but they’ll be down a starter with Jack Leiter going to the injured list.
• Tarik Skubal is probably going to be traded this deadline, so what they’ll want in return is starting to become clearer.
• The Marlins designated Christopher Morel for assignment to clear roster spots. Maybe someone to consider on a minor league deal?

The San Francisco Giants are on the verge of a low they haven't reached since 2018.

And that doesn't even include their myriad off-field dramas.

The Giants were swept in three games at Miami this past weekend and once again fell 15 games below .500, at 31-46. They haven't been 16 games underwater since the final day of the 2018 season.

The Giants are also firmly ensconced at No. 29 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings - and No. 30 Colorado isn't too far from dropping them to the cellar. While the Giants franchise is known for its June swoons, this one is unique.

The club has lost five of eight games since starting pitcher Landen Roupp and two relievers scrawled a Bible verse on their caps on the Giants' Pride night, a story that grew into more than a weeklong news cycle, despite the pitchers claiming they simply want to "play ball."

But that's not going so hot either. Rafael Devers publicly protested his removal from their Sunday, June 21 game at Miami by wagging his finger at manager Tony Vitello and then cursing into his helmet; shortly thereafter, the Giants hit into a game-ending double play. Adrian Houser, one of Buster Posey's offseason pitching signings, is ticketed for the bullpen and not happy about it.

And the Giants are on pace for 65 wins, fewest since 2017. This might not be bottom, either.

A look at our updated rankings:

1. Atlanta Braves (-)

• Bryce Elder has given up five, six and eight earned runs in a five-start span.

2. Milwaukee Brewers (-)

• Brandon Woodruff returns Monday after two-month siesta due to shoulder inflammation.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)

• Shohei Ohtani now a two-way player at home, too.

4. New York Yankees (-)

• Paul Goldschmidt has four homers in his last seven games and 12 for the year, two more than 2025 total.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (-)

• Chandler Simpson finally snaps a 30-game drought without a stolen base.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (+3)

• Still that guy: Kyle Schwarber's three-homer night gives him seven more dingers than anyone in NL.

7. St. Louis Cardinals (-)

• Michael McGreevy's K rate, ERA slide a good bit in June.

8. Cleveland Guardians (-2)

• Travis Bazzana is happening: Posts first multi-homer game on 4-for-4 night.

9. Chicago White Sox (-1)

• Seranthony Dominguez blows his fourth save.

10. Chicago Cubs (+1)

• Pete Crow-Armstrong's 19-game heater: 36-for-80 (.450), 10 homers, 1.432 OPS. Wow.

11. Seattle Mariners (+1)

• Kade Anderson Watch: Scoreless streak up to 27 2/3 innings, SO/BB ratio 90-8 at Class AA.

12. San Diego Padres (-2)

• The unstoppable Samad Taylor promoted to leadoff spot.

13. Washington Nationals (+1)

• CJ Abrams homers in three straight games, pushes OPS to .901.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks (-1)

• Zac Gallen's ERA climbs to 6.10.

15. Miami Marlins (+3)

• Once again finding their midseason mojo: At 14-4, own baseball's best record in June.

16. Toronto Blue Jays (-)

• Shane Bieber making long-awaited season debut Tuesday at Houston.

17. Pittsburgh Pirates (-2)

• Losing seven straight Paul Skenes starts is no way to contend.

18. Athletics (+1)

• After long week in Vegas and giving up 27 runs to Angels in Yolo County, "home" ERA now 6.14 - worse than Rockies.

19. Texas Rangers (-2)

• Remember Jordan Montgomery? Tosses a scoreless inning at Class AA in first outing since 2024.

20. Baltimore Orioles (+1)

• Pete Alonso is delivering: Eighteen homers, an .812 OPS.

21. Cincinnati Reds (-1)

• Elly De La Cruz on the minor league rehab trail back to Cincy.

22. Houston Astros (-)

• Three straight series wins and they say they'll be buyers.

23. Minnesota Twins (+1)

• A 5-1 road trip. Dodgers visit to Target Field will be nice heat check.

24. New York Mets (-1)

• Hey, they're only five games out - of fourth place.

25. Detroit Tigers (+1)

• Swept the mighty White Sox, so perhaps all is not lost.

26. Boston Red Sox (-1)

• Aroldis Chapman just three strikeouts shy of tying Hoyt Wilhelm's 1,363, most by a reliever in major league history.

27. Kansas City Royals (-)

• Bobby Witt Jr. going down just the latest bummer in a season full of 'em.

28. Los Angeles Angels (-)

• Donovan Walton with a six-game extra-base hit streak. Yes, the Donovan Walton.

29. San Francisco Giants (-)

• Great timing: After awkwardness of Rafael Devers' Mutombo routine, Giants hop plane for their longest flight of the year to date - 2,600 miles.

30. Colorado Rockies (-)

• Cole Carigg providing some fuel to this season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: SF Giants calamity unfolds with Devers, Vitello

For whatever reason, the Yankees just haven’t been able to shake the Reds of all teams. Since MLB changed its schedule to allow all teams to play at least one series against each other on an annual basis in 2022, the Yankees have now lost four of five series to the Reds, who even at their best this decade have only been fringe NL Wild Card contenders. The lone series win came in 2023, a Yankees sweep despite being at their most recent nadir. Go figure. The primary culprit this time around was a 2-for-32 series with runners in scoring position — though that hasn’t generally been an issue for the Yankees in 2026.

Now, the Yankees will play a slightly resurgent Tigers club, who just swept the White Sox and are 11-6 in June following a dreadful May that almost put them out of the mix entirely. Sam will preview the three-game set from Detroit that kicks off tonight, Kevin will run through the Rivalry Roundup, and Jeff will celebrate the 147th birthday of an original Yankee from the 1903 team. Later on, Madison will put out the call for your mailbag questions.

Also, in case you missed it, check out this survey I put in the Feed last night about Giancarlo Stanton. I’ll be curious about your thoughts!

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

Time: 6:10 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Detroit SportsNet

Venue: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI

Questions/Prompts:

1. How much of the Yankees’ play over the past couple days is more concerning and how much is it simply “That’s baseball, Suzyn?”

2. Did you watch any of the U.S. Open this weekend and Wyndham Clark’s win at Shinnecock?

It’s always nice to beat the Mets.

It’s even nicer to beat them in back to back games.

It’s even nicer to beat them by hitting home runs and pitching well like they did Sunday night. Playing the game on Sunday Night Baseball for a national audience, the offense clicked into gear yet again, riding the wave of home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to take the series from New York.

The scoring started in the first when Mets starter David Peterson walked the first two hitters in the lineup, struck out Harper, then allowed an infield single to Alec Bohm. On that single, Brett Baty threw the ball away, allowing Trea Turner to score the opening run. Edmundo Sosa followed that with an infield single to score Schwarber and the Phillies had a 2-0 lead by hitting the ball a total of about 120 feet.

Zack Wheeler settled in nicely, even if he was a bit off with his command. He had a jam in the second when he allowed singles to lead off the inning by Jared Young and A.J. Ewing, but retired the next three batters in order. That allowed the Phillies to tack on in their half of the inning when Bryson Stott and Turner singled with one out for Schwarber.

ANOTHER second-deck homer for Kyle Schwarber 😱 pic.twitter.com/cyd5k9q1zk

— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2026

A second night in a row with a monster shot and the lead was at five. Wheeler would give one back in the third when emerging pest Carson Benge homered on an opposite field shot to cut the score to 5-1. The Mets might have started a rally later when Juan Soto hit a ball that he believed was a perfect opportunity to stretch into a double, but Derek Hill gunned him down with relative ease.

Juan Soto tried to stretch a single to a double down four and was thrown out by a mile pic.twitter.com/SH4jU5uD8z

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 22, 2026

Ok then.

In the fourth, Bryce Harper hit his 17th home run of the year to push the lead back to five.

Back-to-back games with a Bryce Harper homer!

He’s halfway to another cycle 👀 pic.twitter.com/UgppdKV5L8

— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2026

New York threatened yet again in the sixth when Wheeler walked the bases loaded with one out before a visit from Don Mattingly. The ace was left in the game to try and get a double play, but only managed to get one out on a force out, giving the Mets another run, but keeping runners on the corners for Marcus Semien. Jonathan Bowlan was summoned from the bullpen to put the fire out and did so with ease, striking Semien out and ending the threat.

From there, the Phillies’ bullpen trio of Jose Alvarado, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran doused any other flames and gave the Phillies a win to send them seven games over .500. They’ll head to Washington for an interesting showdown with one of the top offenses in the game.

New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Austin Wells made his return yesterday after a two-week stint on the IL due to cervical headaches. Wells went 0-for-2 and was lifted in the sixth inning, but said he felt good about his first day back. “I felt solid,” Wells said afterward. “I saw the ball well, so I feel good.” The Yankees are relying on better health getting Wells back to his prior standards. Though he’s never been a great hitter in the majors, Wells combined fringe-average offense with quality defense at catcher over his first few seasons, before cratering to a 50 OPS+ in his first 47 games this year.

In some good injury news (also in the Sblendorio article), Trent Grisham appears to be progressing well in his recovery from a hamstring injury. The center fielder performed agility drills on the field yesterday ahead of the Yankees’ 4-1 loss to the Reds. “We’re really encouraged by how well he’s doing,” Aaron Boone said. Grisham missing minimal time would be a boon to a Yankee offense that, though it’s done well on the whole since Aaron Judge went down, could use a little more depth.

New York Post | Dan Martin: The Yankees have been deploying Jasson Domínguez in right field in light of Aaron Judge’s injury, and the Martian is still a work in progress out there. He’s made a couple nice plays, but also had some adventures, overrunning a ball on Friday night, while also having trouble with a fly ball down the line yesterday. The Yankees have high hopes for Domínguez, who they hope will adapt to the new position. “I’m very confident in him feeling very comfortable quickly,’’ outfield instructor Luis Rojas said. “Obviously, you want more experience for him there. Our right field [at Yankee Stadium] plays a lot different than a lot of other places in the big leagues, but with his tools… I think it’s gonna work well for him.”

Bryan Hoch via X/Twitter: For the second time this month, J.C. Escarra will likely see a quick return to the majors following a demotion. The Yankees optioned him when Wells was activated from the IL, choosing to keep Ali Sánchez as the backup catcher. However, Sánchez will soon go on the paternity list, opening the door for Escarra to report back to the team — though there will again be a clock ticking on how long that will last. Escarra was optioned with a .188/.239/.271 triple slashand a a 42 OPS+ in 32 games.