Category: Sports News

The Yankees are welcoming one of the AL Central leader into town tonight, and it’s not the Cleveland Guardians team that they’ve played so much of recently. No, after shuffling back and forth once more it is the Chicago White Sox sitting atop the Central by tiebreaker at this moment, surprising everyone by jumping out to a 38-32 record and escaping the cellar of the division. However, you’d be forgiven for not thinking that could’ve been a possibility, both because of that record being only a few games above .500 and for the fact that they’re sitting at a meager +12 run differential heading into Tuesday’s action.

They’re far from the only ones struggling in that department. The White Sox’s main competition, and the team that was alone in first place just a week ago, is actually negative in run differential. The Guardians have been outscored by three runs this year, yet sit in prime position to contend for a postseason berth with a 39-33 record. The same is true in the AL West, where the competition is even more bunched up: the 37-36 Mariners control first place by a half-game and have the second-highest run differential in the AL, but all that’s good for is a +20 mark when the Yankees lord above them with +107. The Athletics are dead even at 36-36 but would occupy a Wild Card slot if the season ended today, and they have a whopping -42 run differential! The Rangers are barely below .500 and barely above in the run differential discussion being positive by four runs, but they’re only a game out of a Wild Card.

The Yankees are busy trying to get some separation from the Rays, but they’re a piece of that puzzle as well — the only other team in the AL to have cracked 40 wins thus far, Tampa sits at a +7 in run differential after dropping a nail-biter to the Dodgers on Monday. The rest of the AL East is under the bus as a result of their poor play, but the Rays have been one of the few outliers to separate themselves from the pack and contest the Yankees, thanks in no small part to having swept them early in the year and taking a split in their latter meeting. They’re the only ones standing in New York’s way at the moment though, and as Jake discussed yesterday morning, it’s not exactly early in the season anymore. But we’ve taken the microscope to the East already, so I want to point it at the rest of the cast today.

Chicago and Cleveland sit a fair bit over the rest of the AL Central, but the gap is hardly insurmountable, especially given how both teams have been dealt blows to their roster. Munetaka Murakami was one of the biggest revelations of the early season after getting looked over in the offseason, but his injury took a big chunk of Chicago’s offensive engine out with him. Cleveland sits in a similar boat with a much-more established face, having lost Jose Ramírez for the next few months. Does that open the door for a team like the Twins, who have sat in mediocrity for most of the year but have rarely left the middle of the pack? They lack the depth of those two teams, but they’re only six games out and have played better ball in June than how they ended May. Could that be the glimmer of hope for the Tigers, thought to be dead in the water after losing Tarik Skubal and falling into the cellar after being picked as preseason favorites? Skubal is back now, and despite a terrible record are only nine games out of it — they blew a bigger division lead just last year, so perhaps this could be their revenge. The Royals are probably the hardest sell of the bunch, deserving of their last place position, but they have an MVP frontrunner in Bobby Witt Jr. and could perhaps will themselves into Wild Card talks if no one else takes the reins.

Out in the West, things are even more chaotic. The Mariners are ahead only after getting themselves out of their early season doldrums, and seeing their offense start to come to life. The rotation is one of the scariest in the league, even with a rather ineffective Luis Castillo, but that hasn’t netted them any ground in the standings at the end of the day. The A’s defy rhyme or reason, boasting a strong enough offense but have been buried by their inability to prevent runs, and yet for a long portion of the year they led this division and still find themselves a mere half-game out. Texas has had the inverse problem, with a stellar rotation buoyed by an offense that has had role players step up but lacked any meaningful production from their stars. Somehow Houston, who looked dead and buried after an abysmal April that saw them weather an onslaught of injuries, is only four games out of the Wild Card and 4.5 out of the division outright. I’m willing to write off the Angels (sorry Mike Trout, nice to see you doing well again though), but everyone else in this division looks ready to scrap their way to 87 wins and potentially come out with the crown. It’s wild to see.

If push came to shove, I couldn’t name a single one of these teams that I feel confident in separating from the pack. I could see logic in picking any one of them, but not enough to rule out the reasons that the others have kept them within arm’s reach this whole time. A week ago Cleveland looked to be the one closest to breaking out, but they lost their homegrown hero and suddenly that gap has gone up in smoke again. I do think the Tigers have a run in them that’ll keep the Central bunched up, while the West is anyone’s guess — I think the A’s will finally play to their strength level and fall behind the pack, but I don’t know if that will be the Mariners outclassing them so much as it will be them just fading away after a decent enough start. I think the last thing anyone out west wants to see is Houston get any closer, but Yordan Alvarez might be willing that team to just that. Is there a team that you believe will cut themselves out of the net? Who are they, and what gives you that belief if you have it?

We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, so let’s run through the docket quick. Matt starts us off with a look at the White Sox pitchers the Yankees will face in this upcoming series, and then I’ll be back to break down the Rays’ loss to the Dodgers in detail as our only feature game of the Rivalry Roundup. Jeff gets to wish a current Yankee a happy birthday as Will Warren turns 27, Michael covers the last week down in the minor leagues, Sam examines some potential parallels to the 2019 Next Man Up Yankees, and Nick delivers the Yankee Reliever Confidence Index for June.

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

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Ben Rice shook off a rough start to Sunday’s game before connecting for the game-winner in the ninth, a two-run shot that staked the Yankees to a 3-1 lead. It was the second straight game New York won on a ninth-inning long ball as they won their first series in Toronto since 2023. “There were definitely some swings that weren’t very convicted on my end, so to finish the day on a good one — that feels nice,” Rice said. José Caballero followed with a three-run homer to put the game out of reach. In comparison with Rice’s relative wall-scraper, Caballero’s blast traveled 420 feet. “That’s one of those he hits in BP all the time,” manager Aaron Boone said.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees have no plans to use Rice at catcher in the near future. The slugger, who came up through the minor leagues playing backstop, has played exclusively at first and DH this year while posting a .998 OPS that ranks second in baseball. “Not yet,” Boone said on Rice going behind the plate. “We talk about it a lot. That’s not in the plans right now, but we’ll see.” The hesitancy is likely due to Rice’s importance to the lineup, which is currently without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and can ill afford to lose the man who’s been their best hitter this season. For his part, Rice remains open. “I love catching,” he said. “Right now, it hasn’t been in the equation as much. With that being said, I always appreciate the position so much.”

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Jasson Domínguez’s first day back in the big leagues was a busy one. Informed near midnight on Friday that his rehab stint would be cut short in light of an injury to Trent Grisham, the Martian spent much of Saturday in transit. After taking a bus from Moosic, PA to Newark, NJ and a plane up to Toronto, he arrived at Rogers Centre about an hour before first pitch. After a caffeine spree that included two Red Bulls and four espresso shots, he manned right field for the first time in his career and hit a key fourth-inning homer in the victory. Domínguez expressed optimism about the move to right field after spending most of his time in left during past stints with the Yankees. “In Triple-A, I had a couple of fly balls, a couple of plays,” Domínguez said. “It felt pretty good. I feel like it’s better than left field when I started. Maybe the angle is better.”

Forbes | Peter Chawaga: Our condolences to the family of Al Closter, who has passed away per Baseball Almanac. The southpaw appeared in 16 games with the Yankees between 1971 and ‘72, going 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA, the longest stint in a career that also included stops with the Senators and Braves. Closter also represented Team USA in games against Japanese players at a demonstration baseball tournament at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, long before baseball became an Olympic sport. Closter was 82.

Chase Utley asks fans for favorite Utley moments originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

This summer ought to be a special one at Citizens Bank Park. The eyes of baseball will all be on South Philly when the festivities surrounding All-Star Week commence next month, and a few weeks later, fans will pack CBP for the team’s celebration of Alumni Weekend. The main event will be Friday, August 7, when the franchise adds the latest name to its Wall of Fame, Chase Utley.

Utley is considered by Phillies fans as the greatest second baseman to wear a Phillies uniform, and on the short list of the team’s best players overall. Monday Utley took to social media to make an announcement regarding his Wall of Fame ceremony.

“Hey everyone. This summer I’m being inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. And with that, I’m going to post my top ten most favorite moments. Let me know what you think. Feel free to share yours, as we did have a lot together. I hope to see everyone at The Bank on August 7^th.”

We did have a lot of moments together, Chase, too many to mention here. But we *can* put together a top ten list of our own right here.

I’m listing them in chronological order, since ranking them would lead to arguments, and this is supposed to make folks feel good.

1. Career Hit #1 – April 24, 2003

It wouldn’t be Utley if it wasn’t larger than life, would it? In his second career game, Utley took Dennis Cook of the Rockies deep and gone into the Phillies bullpen at Veterans Stadium.

2. 35-game hitting streak – 2006

The 2006 Phillies finished with 85 wins, 12 games out of first place, but they had something. They had the NL MVP in Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and they had Utley, all hitting their stride. Utley’s stamp on the 2006 season was his 35-game hitting streak,  during which he batted .405 with 30 RBI and 25 extra-base hits. Utley heroics were not contagious, however; the Phillies went just 17-18 during the streak.

3. ‘Chase Utley, You Are The Man!’ – August 9, 2006

Utley was known for his constant hustle, but this may have been his signature play, thanks to the accompanying play-by-play call from the late, great Harry Kalas.

Utley was on second base, and took off for third as Ryan Howard hit a chopper that bounced high in the air. Braves pitcher Macay McBride made the play to first, but Utley never stopped, rounding third and beating first baseman Scott Thorman’s throw home. Legendary.

4. Walking Off the Mets – August 30, 2007

2007 was best remembered as the season the Phillies overcame a 7-game deficit the standings in the final 17 games to overtake the Mets and win their first division title in 14 years.

Along the way, they closed out a four-game sweep of their archrivals with a gripping, 11-10 comeback win, and the crowning blow was Utley’s RBI single off Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Tadahito Iguchi from second base.

5. 2008 World Series: The Pump Fake – October 29, 2008

Game 5 of the 2008 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays took three days to complete, thanks to some a brutal rain storm. It resumed with the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth.

It was 3-3 in the 7^th when Akimori Iwamura grounded a ball up the middle with Jason Bartlett at second base. Utley got to it, but had no shot at Iwamura at first. Instead, he faked a throw to first base, turning his attention to Bartlett, who was on his way home. Utley’s throw wasn’t precise, but got to catcher Carlos Ruiz in plenty of time for Ruiz to catch it and find Bartlett before he could give the Rays the lead.

6. WFC – October 31, 2008

The 2008 World Series championship was obviously the zenith of the Utley Era, but Utley’s stamp on the ceremony at CBP following the championship parade was an indelible, unforgettable punctuation mark on that day in franchise history.

Five words, one of which was a cathartic, never safe for work adjective.

“World Champions. World [blanking] Champions!!”

(NOTE: Not providing a link here, because I like my job.)

7. 2009 World Series: The Onslaught October 2009

The Phillies didn’t win the 2009 World Series, losing in six games to the Yankees, several of whom may or may not have been chemically enhanced during that season. At any rate, the World Series defeat could not have been pinned on Utley, who came as close as a World Series loser could come to winning MVP.

He hit two homers in the Game 1 victory, five in all in the six games, tied for most in World Series history. Unfortunately, the best World Series hitting performance ever by a Phillie was done in a losing cause.

8. Utley’s Big Return – June 27, 2012

Even when he suffered through knee pain, Utley gave us moments to remember. In 2012, he missed the first half of the season, finally making his debut at home in late June. The sellout crowd stood to welcome him back to the field. Then he reminded them who he was one more time.

9. One Last Curtain Call – August 18, 2015

The end of the Utley Era in Philadelphia didn’t end with a walkoff homer or a highlight catch, but it did finish with a moment shared with the fans. The Phillies were about to trade Utley to the Dodgers – a move most fans knew was inevitable – and as he walked off the field for the final time in a Phillies uniform, the 26,547 in attendance showed their love.

10. Utley’s Big Return, Part Two – August 16, 2016

Almost exactly a year to the day after being traded, Utley returned to Philadelphia as an opponent for the first time as a Dodger. He could have let his old team have this one, but that wouldn’t be Chase Utley.

He hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, and came up with the bases loaded in the seventh.

You guessed it. The seventh, and final, grand slam of his career.

The Rays have not always had the best of luck when playing on ESPN. A West Coast trip to Chavez Ravine on ESPN? Well, I was not expecting a great night. However, much to my delight, for 6 and a half innings the Rays went toe to toe, pitch for pitch, with the defending champs.

Unfortunately, the Rays lack of depth and early sloppy bit of defense proved to be too much against such a power house club.

Tampa Bay was able to strike early after Caminero laced a double off the wall, Ryan Vilade, the Rays left-handed pitcher specialist, delivered a 2-run bomb to give the Rays a rare early lead this road trip.

Vilade will probably never earn the trust to start against right handed pitchers, at least with any consistancy. He has his role against the small side of platoons. However, Vilade has truly made the most of his limited playing time off the pine for the Rays and has been a huge bright spot in the first half for the club.

Rays almost looked like the Rays of pre-June in the 2nd, with Nick Fortes laying down a slick sac bunt to move Austin Slater (single) and Cedric Mullins (walk) into scoring position. Taylor Walls followed that up with a second bunt, to score Slater and give the Rays a 3-0 lead. Against the Dodgers you knew runs were gonna be a premium, so the following inning was a true backbreaker for Tampa Bay’s chances.

Dodgers jumped all over Nick Martinez in the bottom half of the 2nd. Following a Mookie Betts double, Muncy hit a sharp grounder into the backhand glove of Aranda at 1st. Aranda was not able to field it cleanly, and a far too slow recovery and underhand toss to 1st later, even the not quite fleet of foot Muncy was able to win the race.

The very next batter, Tampa native Klye Tucker, delivered the game tying swing.

Following that swing, Tucker was not done taking the swiftly sinking Rays and handing them another few bricks to sink even faster. A 2-out Ben Williamson single attempted to drive in Aranda from 2nd to give the Rays the lead right back. Unfortunately, Aranda is very slow, did not seem to get a good jump, and Tucker made a perfect throw to get Aranda out by a country mile.

This was the closest the Rays would get to scoring the rest of the game.

On the other side of things, Nick Martinez had a gutty, gritty performance. It wasn’t his sharpest, and the Dodgers lineup has no breaks, but Martinez was able to keep the Rays in this one. 5.1 IP 5 hits, 1 walk, 6 Ks and most importantly just that one big blemish on the ledger of 3 ER. Hard to ask for more than that, and he gave the Rays that punchers chance for the mega upset.

Cam Booser would take the mound after Martinez departed, and was able to keep the score tied at 3s with two big Ks. Unfortunately, Kevin Cash ran out of arms.

To explain waht happened next you kinda have to look back to the previous series. With so many innings to cover, short starts, and poor appearances from Kimbrel and Sulser needing to be covered, left the Rays with very few usable arms left and fresh.

With the score tied 3-3, Cash had a real tricky choice. The contenders:

Cole Sulser: has been hammered nonstop in every appearance since returning from the IL and fresh off being chased for 4 runs without completing an inning just 48 hours prior.

Craig Kimbrel: would be three days in a row and the previous two days were ugly.

Garrett Cleavinger: 3rd day in a row

Casey Legumina: pitched two inning Opener the previous night.

Kevin Kelly and Brian Baker: both absolutely usable on back to backs but it’s the 7th and you are still tied so will need to cover the 8th and 9th.

So that leaves…oh no. Surely there’s somebody else? Yoendris Gomez isn’t still here? Nope, just Steven Matz. Welp, there’s a lot of lefties in the Dodgers lineup so I guess that’s something.

Welp, just ask the Blue Jays fans and Jeff Hoffman how fun it is to see Miguel Rojas up with the game on the line.

Matz somehow was able to pitch both the 7th and 8th and ONLY give up the game winning bomb to Rojas. It wasn’t pretty, he was getting hammered just foul, he was a boxer getting pummeled but standing still as the bell rings. Matz has given up a run in every appearance as a member of the Rays. Most of that was fine since he was a starter going 5-6 innings. As a reliever since he returned from the IL he has given up 16 runs in 12 IPs.

Despite the records, I don’t think anybody was expecting the Rays to be able to beat or even compete with the Dodgers right now. So, while it’s another loss in a long string of losses this month, to actually compete and make the Dodgers work and come within a lucky bounce here or there from stealing this one gives me some encouragement.

The Rays have banked a lot of wins. The AL is really bad. It won’t take much to keep afloat enough to convince Erik Neander to push some chips when trade season kicks off in a few weeks. Just got to endure a little while longer.

Miguel Rojas gave the Dodgers a late lead Monday night.

And this time, their bullpen didn’t squander it.

In a 4-3 win over the Rays at Dodger Stadium, the team overcame an early three-run deficit on a Kyle Tucker home run, took their first lead of the night on Rojas’ go-ahead, pinch-hit blast to left field in the seventh, then hung behind three scoreless innings from their previously scuffling bullpen, bouncing back from their first series loss in a month this past weekend with a narrow victory to open this six-game homestand.

Rojas’ home run was the difference, with the veteran utilityman taking Rays left-hander Steven Matz deep with a swing that was –– aesthetically, at least –– reminiscent of his heroic Game 7 homer in last year’s World Series.

But the bullpen offered the most encouraging signs.

Entering Monday, the unit had a 7.51 ERA this month, good for the worst mark in the majors in June.

But after a six-inning, three-run start from Eric Lauer that was aided heavily by the Dodgers’ defense, the club got scoreless frames from Kyle Hurt in the seventh (who worked around a two-out single), Will Klein and Alex Vesia (who stranded a runner at third in the eighth) and Tanner Scott (who picked up his eighth save in the ninth).

What it means

After dropping two of three to the White Sox to end their recent road trip, the Dodgers (46-27) got back in the win column Monday to improve to 8-6 in June and 22-9 since May 13.

They also got a leg up in this series over the Rays (41-28), who have cooled since a red-hot May and slipped to second in the American League East.

In the National League West, the Dodgers are back to eight games up on the San Diego Padres.

Who’s hot

Clearly, Dodgers fans are still lukewarm on Tucker –– evidenced by him getting half the All-Star votes of Andy Pages, and 100,000 less than the currently injured Teoscar Hernández.

On Monday, however, he finally showed more of the all-around skill set that prompted the Dodgers to give him a $240 million contract.

First, erased the team’s early 3-0 deficit by hitting a three-run blast in the bottom of the second, giving him just his second home run at Dodger Stadium this year

Then, in the third, he prevented the Dodgers from falling behind again, cutting down a runner at home plate with a perfect throw from right field to preserve the 3-3 tie and end the inning.

Overall, Tucker went 2-for-4 –– albeit, with a key strikeout in the sixth with a couple runners on base, and a flyout in the eighth with a runner on second –– and is now hitting .239 on the season with a .725 OPS.

Who’s not

The Rays’ batted ball luck.

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Though the Tampa Bay lineup struck out just seven times on Monday, their ability to put the ball in play was negated by strong Dodgers’ defense.

Tucker’s outfield assist was the biggest moment. But there was also a key double-play at the end of Lauer’s start in the sixth (helping him complete a quality start that gives him a 3.22 ERA in four starts with the Dodgers) and several nifty moments from Max Muncy at third and Mookie Betts at shortstop, including a grounder Betts fielded to lead off the ninth that sent him ranging far to his right as he made the play.

Up next

The Dodgers and Rays continue this series on Tuesday night, when Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.95 ERA) will pitch on four days’ rest against Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen (6-2, 2.71 ERA).

The San Diego Padres drafted catcher Blake Hunt as their Competitive Balance pick after the second round of the 2017 draft and signed him for $1.6 million. He had progressed to High-A Fort Wayne when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the Blake Snell deal in 2020. He was with the Rays organization until he was traded to Seattle in November of 2023. In May of 2024, the Mariners traded him to the Baltimore Orioles.

Hunt was called up by the Orioles in July for one day but was not used. He stayed on the taxi squad for a month but was never promoted again. He was designated for assignment in January of 2025 then traded back to Seattle and optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma. For the 2025 season, Hunt hit .272/.368/.452 with eight home runs and 35 RBI with 15 doubles and two triples. During the season he was again designated for assignment, cleared waivers and stayed with Tacoma.

Hunt opted for free agency at the end of the 2025 season and was re-signed by the Padres to a minor league contract on Dec. 16. On March 2, in the Padres major league camp, Hunt suffered an oblique injury and was shut down. He started the season on the injured list and wasn’t sent out for a rehab assignment until May; he played in seven games with the ACL Padres for his rehab.

On June 3, Hunt made his Triple-A debut with the El Paso Chihuahuas and has played in eight games as the primary catcher for El Paso. In 26 at-bats, he had a 269/.375/.462 line with two home runs.

Spring expectations

At the start of spring camp, manager Craig Stammen stated that Hunt was the catcher they were looking toward as their number three catcher, available in El Paso as needed. His early spring injury pushed Rodolfo Durán into that position and the fractured toe to Luis Campusano gave that 11-year minor league veteran a chance to prove his worth. He has since contributed significantly to the Padres.

As a prospect with Seattle in 2024, Hunt was reported to have plus-power as well as a sub-two-second pop time behind the plate. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he will easily be the biggest of all Padres catchers.

Blake Hunt gets his chance

Hunt, 27, is going to make his MLB debut after front-line catcher Freddy Fermin was placed on the seven-day concussion IL after being hit in the head with a bounced warm-up pitch from Yuki Matsui. Fermin has taken several direct hits to his facemask so far this season while catching. He had one previous concussion scare earlier this year but was only given a couple of games off.

The latest hit for Fermin required his removal from the game and further assessment indicated an IL stint was needed. Durán replaced Fermin on Saturday after his injury, and he started Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles in the final game of the series. Durán will start the first game of the series against the St. Louis Cardinals, but Hunt will most likely make his debut on Tuesday when Michael King has his next start.

With the debut of Blake Hunt, the Padres will have played host to the third member of their minor leagues making their MLB debut. Outfielder Jase Bowen, Rodolfo Durán and Hunt have all had minor league success without having an opportunity to play in the majors until injuries to Padres regulars have given them a big opportunity.

Hunt joins them and outfielder Samad Taylor as well as utility man Nick Solak in debuting with the Padres after the release of Nick Castellanos and injuries to multiple Padres regulars.

Miguel Rojas had practiced his dance moves in the Dodgers’ dugout Monday, long before he hit the go-ahead home run. Before the game, he strutted around, at one point even grabbing Dalton Rushing, decked in full catcher’s gear, to get hyped.

Rojas, who pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the bottom of the seventh and homered to left, was more measured as he crossed the plate without any antics. His veteran steadiness never indicated that he‘d hit a pinch-hit home run only one other time in his career.

“It feels pretty good,” Rojas said. “It’s always a new day, a new opportunity that you contribute to win a baseball game. It’s pretty special, especially with this group that we have right here and the kind of season that we’re having.”

The Dodgers’ 4-3 win over Tampa Bay rid them of their middling road performance. The team split a six-game trip, capped by a Sunday loss to the Chicago White Sox, before returning home.

No one found more immediate success than Kyle Tucker, who temporarily put his .227 batting average on the trip in the rearview mirror. For how long remains a question. Tucker’s season so far has looked more like a teenager testing out their driver’s license: stopping and starting and stopping again. Yet everything seemed to be working when the Dodgers (46-27) beat the Rays (41-28).

“I would love to come back and do it again and make it consistent every single day,” Tucker said. “I guess, if it works out for one at-bat, it’s not like I immediately figured it out and everything is fine now. The important thing is, just try to do it every single at-bat. And, over the course of time — It felt good and everything. I’ve just got to try to do it again tomorrow.”

Of the five Dodgers who’ve played at least 60 games, Tucker has the lowest batting average (.239). Still, he battled in an eight-pitch duel in the second inning before taking a changeup 384 feet over the wall in right-center.

“It was nice,” Tucker said. “Mookie [Betts] did a good job getting that double in front of us, and [Max] Muncy was able to leg that single out. I just had an opportunity, and sitting on the ball right there was huge. Nice swing.”

His home run tied the score at three apiece, and Tucker wasn’t finished.

The next inning, the Rays’ Ben Williamson hit a two-out single to Tucker in right field, and Tampa’s Jonathan Aranda darted around third toward home. Tucker lasered a ball to Rushing, who tagged Aranda out on the slide.

“We play so many games that it can get frustrating,” Tucker said of the season’s ups and downs. “You’ve just gotta try to move on to the next batter or the next game and do your best with that. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

The defensive play helped buoy an otherwise precarious start by pitcher Eric Lauer. The left-hander had been undefeated in three starts with the Dodgers, a large departure from the 1-5 record he had with the Toronto Blue Jays. After starting his year with a 6.69 ERA, Lauer had recorded a 2.76 mark with the Dodgers.

But inconsistencies plagued Lauer’s start, ranging from the three earned runs he gave up in the first two innings to a pitch clock violation in the fourth. While Lauer eventually settled, the command of his fastball remained absent. He normally crosses the strike zone with 53.7% accuracy on his fastball, getting batters to chase about 37% of the time. In the series opener, Lauer threw his four-seamer in the zone only 42% of the time, cutting his chase rate to 23%.

In other words, the best pitch in Lauer’s arsenal became one of his worst, and the Rays took advantage. Junior Caminero doubled in the first inning, and Ryan Vilade followed with a home run on a cutter, silencing a sold-out Dodger Stadium before the game could even heat up. The Rays tacked on another run on a safety squeeze, taking the lead until Tucker’s home run. Lauer finished after six innings, giving up the three earned runs, six hits and three walks, striking out four.

“The toughest inning for starters is that first inning, to get the flow of the game and to get the feel of what’s working, what’s not,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “My challenge [to Lauer] was to have that reliever mindset from the outset and be more on the attack and not feel your way into the game.”

Read more:The hardest days are when calls don’t go through: Andy Pages opens up about family in Cuba

Tampa Bay starter Nick Martinez fared about as well. The right-hander lasted 5-1/3 innings of three-run baseball, striking out six and walking one.

While there was movement on the bases for both starters, the game lulled until the seventh. A couple of feet separated Rushing’s foul ball from a home run. Reliever Steven Matz didn’t get so lucky with Rojas, who delivered his first homer since April 20.

Rojas acknowledged that pinch-hitting has been a challenge to adapt to, locating the pitches he can do the most damage on and putting together good at-bats in big moments. “I’ve never been a really good pinch-hitter,” he said.

After consulting with players such as Jason Heyward and Chase Utley and his former Venezuelan winter ball teammates, Rojas said he feels his mentality has changed and he’s been able to capitalize on more mistakes.

“The mentality for us bench players is to be the best players off the bench [in] the league,” Rojas said.

Espinal to be DFA’d

To make room for Tommy Edman on Tuesday’s roster in his return after he underwent ankle surgery over the winter, the Dodgers will designate Santiago Espinal for assignment. Espinal had returned to the roster May 29 after being DFA’d that month. He went five for eight on the trip but didn’t play Monday.

“[Espinal] has been great for us, but the fit right now with our ballclub just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Roberts said.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tonight showed what the Athletics are capable of when their pitching does its job. The team got the start it needed from J.T. Ginn, who has become its most consistent starter. The A’s offense, led by Kurtz’s three-hit, two-home-run All-Star-caliber performance, provided Ginn plenty of run support in this 11-2 series-opening victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park.

A’s Waste Early Scoring Opportunity

In the bottom of the first, Pirates starter Jared Jones worked into trouble. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz, catcher Shea Langeliers and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom opened the frame with three consecutive singles. Jones responded by striking out the next three hitters, and the A’s came away empty-handed despite loading the bases with no outs.

A’s starting pitcher J.T. Ginn got off to a good start, pitching a scoreless first two innings, only giving up a single and a walk.

A’s Take the Lead with a Three-Spot!

With one out in the bottom of the second, Athletics’ center fielder Henry Bolte hit his fifth double of the season to the right field corner. Second baseman Jeff McNeil promptly delivered an RBI single to left field, with Bolte beating the throw home to give the hosts a 1–0 lead. That hit snapped the veteran infielder’s 0-for-20 streak.

The A’s were not done scoring that inning. Kurtz made it two hits in two at-bats as he hit his 17th home run, a two-run 112 mph line drive missile over the left field fence.

Ginn Keeps A’s in Front

Ginn got the first two outs in the third inning before allowing an infield single and a walk. The A’s starter struck out Pirates’ right fielder Ryan O’Hearn to escape the runners in scoring position threat unharmed and complete the shutdown inning.

The Pirates first batter of the fourth inning reached on A’s third baseman Zack Gelof’s sixth fielding error of the season. Then, the Pirates’ catcher Endy Rodriguez singled, making it two on with no outs for the visitors. Center fielder Jake Mangum blooped a one-out RBI single to left field to get the Pirates on the scoreboard. Ginn limited the damage to one run by inducing an inning-ending double play that he started on a comebacker. Like the A’s in the first inning, the Pirates failed to capitalize on a runner at third with fewer than two outs.

McNeil Having A Game

The Athletics regained the momentum in the bottom of the fourth. Right fielder Lawrence Butler led off the inning with an infield single. He moved to second on Bolte’s groundout and then scored on McNeil’s third home run of the season, a two-run shot into the A’s bullpen in right field.

Ginn fired an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 shutdown fifth inning, keeping the A’s up 5-1. Jones did not come out for the fifth as right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski entered out of the Pirates bullpen.

A’s Add a Sixth Run

Soderstrom greeted Mlodzinski with a single to right. A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson followed with a fly ball to right field that O’Hearn failed to catch, resulting in a ground-rule double that advanced Soderstrom to third. With one out, Gelof lined an RBI single up the middle to score Soderstrom, extending his hitting streak to 19 games—the longest active streak in the majors. Mlodzinski retired the next two batters as the A’s only pushed one run across in the fifth inning.

The Pirates got two singles against Ginn in the sixth, yet the A’s burgeoning ace wiggled out of another jam to finish six strong innings of work. He earned his fifth win, allowing just one unearned run on six hits while recording three strikeouts, eight groundouts, and six fly outs.

Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner replaced Ginn in the seventh inning. He preserved his team’s five-run lead, striking out two in a scoreless appearance.

A’s Two-out Rally!

Gelof reached on Pirates’ second baseman Brandon Lowe’s fielding error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Butler punished the visitors’ mistake by lining an RBI double off the left-center field fence, scoring Gelof from first to give the A’s their seventh run of the night.

Bolte kept the inning going by speeding down the line to beat Pittsburgh’s third baseman’s throw across the diamond. Then McNeil lined a single into right field for his fourth RBI of the game.

Kurtz put an exclamation mark on the inning with his second home run of the game and 18th of the season, a three-run opposite-field shot that just snuck over the left field fence. The hosts’ seventh inning rally off Mlodzinski doubled their advantage.

With three more home runs today, the Athletics set a franchise record for the most home runs over a seven-game span. Additionally, Kurtz’s seventh home run since last Sunday left him one shy of the Athletics’ franchise record for home runs by a player in his first two MLB seasons.

The “Big Amish” has shown no signs of a sophomore slump, as he now leads MLB in both RBIs and walks. How is he not in first place in the early All-Star voting?

Pirates Score A Consolation Run

In the eighth inning, Rodriguez collected his third hit of the game, a two-out solo home run off A’s reliever Mason Barnett to make it an 11-2 game. Barnett came back out and sealed the A’s win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Tomorrow, the A’s will return at the same time and place as they look to clinch the series against the Pirates and move above .500. Right-hander Jack Perkins will make his third start since joining the A’s rotation. Pittsburgh counters with right-hander Mitch Keller, who is 5-4 with a 5.14 ERA across 14 starts this season.