Worldwide Sports News

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 6-4 at Indianapolis Indians

2B Marco Luciano 0-5, 2 K
RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-4, 1 R, 1 K
DH Garrett Martin 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Tyler Hardman 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R — 100 career home runs, 18 this year
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
C Payton Henry 0-3, 1 K
LF Kenedy Corona 0-4, 2 K
CF Duke Ellis 2-4, 1 R, 1 SB
SS Jonathan Ornelas 1-4, 1 RBI, throwing error

Dom Hamel 5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 4 K (win)
Danny Watson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (hold)
Angel Chivilli 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H (hold)
Will Brian 0.2 IP, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K (hold)
Carlos Lagrange 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K (save) — first career save as his transition to the bullpen continues to go well

Double-A Somerset Patriots:L, 1-2 at New Hampshire Fisher Cats

DH Jackson Castillo 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB
CF Jace Avina 0-4, 3 K
RF DJ Gladney 0-4, 4 K
1B Nicholas Torres 1-4, 1 K
3B Coby Morales 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K
C Manuel Palencia 1-2, 1 BB
LF Josh Moylan 0-3, 2 K
SS Kevin Verde 0-3, 3 K
2B Connor McGinnis 0-2, 1 K

Jack Cebert 5.2 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 6 K (loss)
Kelly Austin 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 K
Ben Grable 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 5-6 (11) at Bowling Green Hot Rods

SS Kaeden Kent 2-6, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 K
DH Core Jackson 1-6, 1 K
RF Wilson Rodriguez 2-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 K — two-run homer in the 10th briefly gave the ‘Gades the lead
1B Kyle West 1-5, 1 K
3B Roderick Arias 2-5, 2 K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
C Josue Gonzalez 2-5, 2 K, 1 SB, throwing error
CF Camden Troyer 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB
LF Luis Durango 1-3
PH Eric Genther 1-1
PR-LF Robbie Burnett 0-0, 1 BB

Allen Facundo 5.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 K — third double-digit strikeout outing of his season
Thomas Balboni Jr. 1.1 IP, 1 R, 1 H
Luis Velasquez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K
Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K
Jack Sokol 1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (loss, blown save)

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 6-12 at Dunedin Blue Jays

SS Jackson Lovich 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, throwing error
CF Brando Mayea 0-5, 1 R, 2 K
C Luis Puello 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Hans Montero 1-4, 2 K, 1 SB
RF Willy Montero 3-3, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 CS
LF JoJo Jackson 0-2
LF Gabriel Lara 0-2, 1 K
DH Engelth Urena 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K
2B Luis Escudero 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
1B David McMann 1-4, throwing error

Wyatt Parliament 4.1 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K
J.T. Etheridge 2 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K, interference (loss)
Parker Seay 1.1 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Jordarlin Mendoza 0.1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB

Florida Complex League Yankees:L, 4-18 at FCL Phillies

3B Richard Matic 2-4, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, fielding error
RF Wilberson De Pena 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
C Queni Pineda 1-4, 2 K, throwing error
2B Leni Done 0-3, 1 BB, 1 CS
DH Jose Castro 0-3, 1 BB
CF Francisco Vilorio 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 K
SS Dexters Peralta 0-4, 1 K, throwing and fielding error
LF Estivenzon Montero 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
1B Christofer Reyes 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Danny Flatt 2.1 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Manuel Cruz 3.2 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 2 K, throwing error (loss)
Stanly Alcantara 0.2 IP, 7 R, 2 H, 4 BB, 1 K
Jorge Luna 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 K

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Cancelled due to rain at DSL Marlins

Dominican Summer League Bombers:Suspended, 2-0 (T4) vs. DSL Mets Blue

SS Mani Cedeno 1-2, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K
DH Carlos Bello 0-1, 1 RBI
C Alessandro Rodriguez 1-2
RF David Carrera 0-2
3B Germayhoni Beltre 0-1
CF Alfiery Matos 0-0, 1 R, 1 BB
1B Stalen Ramirez 1-1, 1 SB
LF Sebastian Pinto 0-1, 1 K
2B Adrian Feliz 0-0, 1 RBI

Cesar Acosta 3.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 8 K

Hello, friends.

The grind resumes. The Orioles are back at it tonight. Anything could happen. That’s the frustrating thing about these guys. They are really, genuinely capable of playing some good baseball. They have won quite a few games that could be real, signature wins, if only they had won a few more non-signature wins too. Just ordinary, relatively uninteresting wins, like Wednesday’s series finale could have been, if not for, you know, everything that happened late in the game.

Instead, just past the halfway point of the season, just about a month and a week until the trade deadline, they find themselves towards the back end of the muddled pack of AL Wild Card contenders. The third wild card spot is still held by a below-.500 team this deep into the season. The Orioles are not out of it, no matter how much games like the ones they played against the Angels can make it feel that way. It’s just that changing their fortunes is going to require doing something we haven’t seen them do: Playing sustained good baseball. For a whole lot of reasons, they have proven incapable of this.

I think that for a number of those reasons, the cake was baked over the offseason with the decisions that Mike Elias made in constructing the roster. He thought this group of relievers would be good enough to get by. He thought that the defense would be good enough to get by. Each of these things is proving to not be the case and there’s not much he can do about them now. That spray can of potpourri can only affect so much square footage at a time.

Should Elias lose his job for these errors? If this thing doesn’t improve by season’s end, I think that he should. He has not been able to sustain a good baseball team. After the 2024 season ended with another postseason disappointment, there were obvious problems to address. The team didn’t address them sufficiently heading into 2025, and it hasn’t sufficiently addressed 2025’s problems heading into 2026 either.

Although the baseball way is “three strikes and you’re out,” I don’t think that applies to general managers or presidents of baseball operations. Two strikes and you’re out is good enough by my reckoning there. We are looking at Elias’s second strike. If I was the billionaire with authority to make the decisions, I wouldn’t give him another chance, if he doesn’t pull off the mid-season pivot here.

One thing I would be quite interested to know about the Orioles is how they spent their off day yesterday. There’s stuff it sure seems like they could use some work on! We’ve probably all at some point in our lives encountered something spiritually similar to a punitive “one person on the team screwed up, so the whole team runs laps.” I don’t need the Orioles to run laps or wind sprints as punishment. I just want to know if they’re doing useful drills to reinforce the correct response to situations that they have recently screwed up.

If they are doing this, we sure aren’t seeing the results yet. I don’t think that’s totally because of guys playing out of position. Some of it is. But stuff like “cover first base on a ground ball” ought to be basic for pitchers and first basemen and Keegan Akin and Pete Alonso between the two of them couldn’t manage it during one of Wednesday’s crucial plays. Alonso took more firm post-game ownership of his mistake there than Akin did. I don’t know what they should do about that. I guess they don’t know either.

The Nationals await for three games starting tonight. Hopefully the version of Trevor Rogers who most recently pitched seven shutout innings against the Dodgers is the one who takes the field tonight. It’s a 7:05 start for the Friday night game.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Orioles players reflect on the first half and gear up for what’s next (The Baltimore Banner)
One thing that comes across is that Orioles players don’t feel beaten and lost to the degree that many fans seem to.

Orioles shut out in first round of All-Star voting (School of Roch)
This was the obvious outcome before voting began and only became more obvious with how the team played during the voting period.

Pete Alonso discusses changes coming to Home Run Derby (Orioles.com)
The two-time Home Run Derby champion is a fan of the adjustments made to the format for this year.

Magic in the booth: Kevin Brown makes mark with Orioles (Press Box Online)
An excellent feature profile on Kevin Brown, my honorary cousin, who is genuinely one of the game’s great broadcasters. He is a delight every night he is on the call.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1970, Frank Robinson hit two grand slams during a 12-2 win over the then-Senators. He was just the seventh major league player to ever accomplish this in the same game. These turned out to be his only grand slams for the team.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022-23 pitcher Austin Voth, 2007-08 infielder Luis Hernández, 1987 pitcher Mike Griffin, and 1960 outfielder Gene Green.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Civil War general and probably-not-inventor of baseball Abner Doubleday (1819), WW2 Marine Corps legend Chesty Puller (1898), pro football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe (1968), actors Chris O’Donnell and Nick Offerman (1970), actress Aubrey Plaza (1984), and singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (1993).

On this day in history…

In 1917, the first American soldiers arrived in France to join the conflict we now know as World War I. They would see combat within two weeks.

In 1945, the 50 Allied nations signed the charter for the United Nations in San Francisco.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered the famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. The remarks, made shortly after East Germany had put up the Berlin Wall, reinforced American support for the democratic West Germany.

In 1974, the first barcode was scanned at a grocery store in Ohio. This first use of a Universal Product Code sold a package of Wrigley gum.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 26. Have a safe Friday. Go O’s!

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/2-1)

LEHIGH VALLEY 7, SYRACUSE 3 (BOX)

Just nothing very interesting or exciting to talk about here. Ryan Clifford still isn’t really hitting. Ryan Lambert is still struggling. Oh well.

• RF Ji Hwan Bae: 0-4, 2 K
• SS Vidal Bruján: 0-4
• CF Nick Morabito: 2-3, 2B, BB
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-4, R, 2 K
• 3B Yonny Hernández: 0-4, R
• 2B Grae Kessinger: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, SB (1)
• C Ben Rortvedt: 1-4, RBI, K
• LF Cristian Pache: 2-4, RBI, K, SB (13)
• DH Kevin Parada: 0-3, BB, 2 K
• RHP Adbert Alzolay: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• RHP Ryan Lambert: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, L (2-1)
• RHP Dan Hammer: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Tanner Witt: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• RHP Guillo Zuñiga: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• LHP Nate Lavender: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/1-2)

BINGHAMTON 10, ERIE 7 (BOX)

Big offensive day for the Rumble Ponies. Homers for Jose Ramos and Nick Lorusso carried the day, and a four-hit day from the aptly named Nick Lucky at the bottom of the lineup helped out. The pitching was poor, but take the wins you can get.

• DH Jose Ramos: 3-6, 2 R, 2B, HR (12), 2 RBI, 2 K
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 2-5, R, 2B, HR (13), RBI, BB, E (6)
• 1B JT Schwartz: 2-6, 2 2B, K
• C Vincent Perozo: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K
• CF Matt Rudick: 0-3, R, 2 BB, 2 K
• LF Jaylen Palmer: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
• SS Kevin Villavicencio: 1-5, R, RBI
• RF Nick Lucky: 4-5, R, RBI, K, CS (1)
• 2B Nick Roselli: 0-4, R, BB
• RHP Brendan Girton: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• RHP Douglas Orellana: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, W (6-1)
• RHP Jordan Geber: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (2)
• RHP Zach Peek: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (2)
• RHP Saul Garcia: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, S (1)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/2-4)

JERSEY SHORE 7, BROOKLYN 5 (BOX)

Homers from Mitch Voit and Davierson Gutierrez weren’t enough to overcome a disastrous pitching performance from Noah Hall. Brooklyn is off to a second half start unfortunately reminiscent of the first half.

• SS Mitch Voit: 1-4, R, HR (8), RBI, BB, K, E (5)
• 3B Yonatan Henriquez: 3-5, 2 R, K, 2 SB (12)
• DH JT Benson: 0-4, BB, 2 K
• 1B Corey Collins: 1-4, K, SB (1)
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-5, R, HR (4), 2 RBI, K
• LF Trace Willhoite: 0-4, K
• 2B Jamari Baylor: 2-4, R, HR (2), RBI, BB, K, SB (1)
• CF Sam Biller: 0-2, BB, K
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3, BB, K
• RHP Noah Hall: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, L (1-6), E (1)
• RHP Bryce Jenkins: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• RHP Cristofer Gomez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• RHP Hunter Hodges: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/2-3)

FORT MYERS 7, ST. LUCIE 6 (BOX)

St. Lucie staged a late comeback, scoring one in the eighth and two in the ninth to tie the game at six. Branny De Oleo had the game tying hit, driving in two with a single. Unfortunately, Miguel Mejias served up a home run to Quentin Young in the bottom half, and St. Lucie lost in walkoff fashion.

• SS-3B Branny De Oleo: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (7), E (9)
• 2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-4, 3 K
• CF Trey Snyder: 0-4, RBI, 2 K
• C Julio Zayas: 1-4, R, RBI, K
• RF Simon Juan: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, K, SB (5), E (7)
• DH Chase Meggers: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K, SB (3)
• 3B-LF Taylor Darden: 0-4, 2 K
• LF-1B Jackson Hauge: 0-4
• 1B Jack Scanlon: 1-2, R, BB
• PH-SS Elian Peña: 0-0, BB
• REHAB ALERT: RHP Dedniel Núñez: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Joel Lara: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• RHP Christian Rodriguez: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• RHP Miguel Mejias: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, L (3-1)

Rookie: FCL Mets (15-22)

FCL ASTROS 14, FCL METS 5 / 7 (BOX)

• CF Bohan Adderley: 1-3, R, BB, K
• SS Anthony Frobose: 0-4, 2 K
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 0-3, R, BB, 2 K, E (5)
• DH Josmir Reyes: 1-1, R, BB
• 2B Yorber Semprun: 0-0
• 3B Roybert Herrera: 1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 E (4)
• 2B-RF Diover De Aza: 0-3, K
• LF Vladi Gomez: 1-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, E (6)
• 1B Yeider Mindiola: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K, 2 E (8)
• RF-P Adolfo Miranda: 1-3, 2B, K
• RHP Camden Lohman: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (1-2)
• RHP Yoralbert Cadiz: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• RHP John Valle: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• RHP Omar Victorino: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Adolfo Miranda: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Jose Ramos

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Noah Hell

The Phillies are heading to Queens for the first time this season. There, they will find a reeling Mets squad that would surely love to rattle off a few victories over their hated foe as a mood-lifter. They will also find some really, really good Chinese food. I had a plate of rice rolls there that I’m still thinking about. Anyway, onto the links.

Phillies news

The All-Star Game finalists have been announced, and there’s some familiar names present…

The Phillies’ skipper will be on the coaching staff for the National League’s All-Star team. ($)

Justin Crawford has a new approach at the plate.

Cristopher Sánchez’ peers are a historic, accomplished bunch.

MLB news

MLB has presented another proposal for the next CBA, with a 5-year cap on free agent deals (6 if the player is sticking with their current club)

Mock draft season is well underway.

The top vote-getter in each league is automatically given a spot in the All-Star starting nine. Who earned that honor for the AL? Not Judge, not Trout… think north.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers dropped their first two games in Atlanta over the weekend, but they bounced back nicely to win the series finale before sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati to extend their division lead. After a well-deserved off day yesterday, they’re now set to begin an 18-game gauntlet over the next 17 days leading into the All-Star break, including series against all four of their division rivals. This could very well be the most important stretch of the season when we look back in late September.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Rodney Myers, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1960 – At Forbes Field, Cubs rookie Ron Santo, making his major league debut, leads Chicago to a sweep of the first-place Pirates. Santo is 3 for 7 and drives in five runs as the Cubs win, 7-5 and 7-6, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1938 – Carl Hubbell wins his 200th game, as the Giants beat the visiting Cubs, 5-1, and stretch their lead over the second-place Reds to two games.
• 1961 – At Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field, Yogi Berra collects his 2,000th career hit, all as a Bronx Bomber. To celebrate the achievement a huge cake is rolled out.
• 1966 – Ron Santo singles in the first and his next time up is struck in the face by a Jack Fisher pitch that fractures his cheek. Before Santo’s at bat, the Mets’ Ron Hunt and the Cubs’ Adolfo Phillips had both been hit by pitches. Santo will be operated on the following day but will return to action in a week. The injury ends his consecutive game streak at 390, but his hitting streak continues.
• 1970 – Frank Robinson belts two successive grand slams during a 12-2 Oriole romp over the Senators, just the seventh major leaguer to ever accomplish the feat. They will be Robby’s only grand slams for the O’s.
• 1977 – On Jersey Day in Minnesota, every fan receives a jersey with #29 on it, Rod Carew‘s number. Carew responds by going 4 for 5, scoring four runs, and raising his average to .403. One of the hits is a grand slam and he will hit another slam on July 4th. 
• 1987 – You gotta give him credit for trying. Paul Noce of the Cubs ties a major-league record (tied 11 days ago) in the third inning by twice being thrown out trying to steal. A dropped ball leaves him safe at second base after he is caught, then he is thrown out trying to steal third. Pittsburgh beats Greg Maddux and the Cubs, 5-2. Maddux will finish 6-14, his last losing season until 2005.
• 1994 Kirby Puckett passes Rod Carew with his 2,088 hit as the Twins’ top hit leader.
• 2003 – Edgar Martinez, who already holds the Mariners’ all-time records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, walks and runs scored, passes Ken Griffey Jr.‘s mark for team career RBIs. His two-run homer in the Mariners’ 10-6 victory over the Angels gives the All-Star designated hitter 1,153 RBIs – one more than Junior.

Cubs Birthdays:Jason Kendall, Rodney Myers*, Mike Griffin, Manny Seoane, Dave Rosello, Howie Pollet, Elmer Singleton, Babe Herman, George Milstead, Elmer Yoter, Elmer Ponder, Topsy Hartsel. Also notable: Derek Jeter HOF. Willard Brown HOF.

Today in history:

• 1894 – Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto.
• 1927 – The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
• 1959 – Ingemar Johansson of Sweden floors Floyd Patterson seven times in the third round in NYC to win the world heavyweight boxing title.
• 1963 – US President John F. Kennedy gives his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” (intended to mean “I am a Berliner”, but may actually mean “I am a doughnut”) speech in West Berlin.
• 1974 – The Universal Product Code (UPC) is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
• 1977 – Elvis Presley appears in concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana; unknowingly the last performance of his career.
• 2018 – Hello Kitty bullet train unveiled by the West Japan Railway.
• 2024 – European Space Agency creates Lego ‘space bricks’ by 3D printing Lego out of meteorite dust, part of a project to learn how to build a base on the Moon.

*pictured.

The Detroit Tigers officially reached the halfway mark of the 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday night after dropping the opener of a four-game home series with the Houston Astros, 2-1. Troy Melton looked sharp, recording a career high six strikeouts, but the offense went AWOL until a solo homer in the ninth by Dillon Dingler.

AJ Hinch’s squad looks to even things up on Friday night behind right-hander Keider Montero, who continues to be a steady presence in the rotation for the Olde English D. The 25-year-old’s last outing against the Chicago White Sox was no exception, allowing three runs on six hits (one home run) while issuing zero walks for the second straight game and striking out three over seven innings in what eventually resulted in a 5-4 win in extras.

Montero saw the Astros a couple of outings ago in his only relief appearance of the season. It did not go well, though, as he surrendered a pair of runs (one earned) on two hits and no walks while striking out two over 1 1/3 innings to earn his fifth loss of the 2026 campaign.

Up against him for Houston is fellow righty Spencer Arrighetti, who has also been an important presence on the Astros’ pitching staff this year. However, the 26-year-old has struggled in June to the tune of a 6.95 ERA but a less offensive 4.42 FIP stretching across his last four games and 22 innings of work. He missed the Tigers when they were in town last week, so this will be his first appearance against them this year.

Here is how those two righties match up on Friday night at Comerica Park.

Detroit Tigers (34-47) vs. Houston Astros (40-43)

Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 82: RHP Keider Montero (3-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-3, 3.13 ERA)

MONTERO

ARRIGHETTI

The Cardinals are in the midst of a fascinating rebuild. Unlike most rebuilds, this one does not involve tanking. Quite the opposite, the 2026 Cardinals find themselves in the #1 wild card slot at the time of writing. Some of you might rightfully argue that the rebuild really began at the trading deadline late in the 2023 season, had a brief lull when they tried to compete on the “pitching, pitching, pitching” premise of 2024 and then restarted the rebuild in 2025 when it had become painfully obvious that the now dismantled 2022 offensive juggernaut was no more.

So here we are in mid-2026 and one of the most vexing challenges in major league baseball continues to … vex. When is the right time and what is the right approach to incorporate a young prospect onto the major league roster?

First, I want to discriminate between a “prospect” and a depth (or role) player. The depth player promotion decisions, while also not easy, involves some attributes not found in the prospect player promotion decision.

• Depth/role players often don’t come with service time calculation concerns. They are often a bit on the older side (see: Velazquez, Torres) and many have a non-zero clock already. For prospects, whom teams can see the possibility of significant future value, when to start their service clock in a not uncommon consideration. I’m not suggesting the Cardinal’s practice service time manipulation (they do not appear to, ever), but they are not blind to such situations like waiting until Aug 15 to promote Baez would preserve the potential of a PPI pick in future years if he emerges as hoped for. I think of this similarly to how they handled Masyn Winn’s original promotion in late 2023.
• While all players need a 40-man spot to get promoted, teams can be more sensitive about pushing aside talent to add a depth/role player. On the flip side, when ready, prospects pretty easily push aside someone at the tail end of the 40-man.
• Depth/role players who get promoted are just that … role players. They will fit in certain role and with that will not come a team commitment to a minimum amount of playing time. Prospects, on the other hand, often don’t get promoted until the team is certain (and willing) they can allocate a significant amount of playing to said prospect. Generally, teams view it as preferable that a “prospect” play every day at AAA and not sit on the bench in MLB, unlike the role players such as Fermin, Saggese, Velazques, Torres.
• While everyone goes through an adjustment period when promoted, depth/role players don’t get a lot of luxury in this regard. There won’t be a lot of tolerance for the ups-and-downs that come with adjusting to MLB competition. If you are a RH hitter, you will be expected to hit the lefties and the opportunities may not come in bunches, so take advantage of them when you get them. If you are prospect, the team will be prepared to adopt a “develop at the MLB level” approach and will live with the ups-and-downs, ala. Walker, Gorman. To a point.
• Exposure is a key issue. Every player has strengths and flaws and how they will get exposed and leveraged at the MLB level is somewhat projectable, but this is not an exact science and sometimes teams just have to jump in the pool and hope it’s not too cold. Depth/role players have an advantage here, because their exposure will be tuned to leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Prospects are anticipated to emerge as everyday contributors, so they will not get such protection. Are they ready to handle this and the struggles that may come with it?

This is not an exhaustive list, but I felt the need to draw the distinctions. I will address Joshua Baez’s case as a prospect, and I won’t be comparing him to a Nelson Velazquez or Bryan Torres who are role players. Baez, when brought up, will not be brought up to replace their role. He may displace one of them on the 26-man roster, but he will also displace at least one other player who gets significantly more playing time now than they will when Baez arrives.

This is crucial to embrace, because it is easy for fans to look at a player like Velazquez and wonder why they don’t bring up Baez. Baez is probably already the superior player, both offensively and defensively, so why not bring him up? Why? Because of the considerations listed above. Baez vs. Velazques is a red herring, or perhaps more appropriately, an apples-to-oranges discussion that misses the key considerations management thinks about and tries to balance as they seek to introduce a prospect into the major leagues.

The Cardinals want Baez to succeed. He brings a mix of talents that begin to approach the coveted 5-tool player label. 4-tool players aint bad, either. The potential and value are obvious to all. But the success is not guaranteed and so the risk is equally obvious. For every supporter that sees a future star, there is a detracter that sees a future less than Joey Gallo. Will he hit? What about the K-rate and BB-rate? How do they translate?

A Cardinal executive recently described Baez’ promotion as inevitable and after that, time will tell on the strikeouts and the walks and the power output he will bring. I do think there are a couple of key questions to answer before the “inevitable” promotion occurs, though.

Where would he play?

Some will say let him play all 3 outfield positions rotationally, and DH some. Mathematically, it is possible to envision such a rotation providing enough PAs to allow him to adjust, grow, develop. Practically, the burdens of adjusting defensively to three positions simultaneously is not a strategy conducive to facilitating his success. Throw in the DH penalty and the adjustments of that role, and they’d be essentially putting challenges in his way on top of the one main one he will encounter – can he hit MLB pitching like his does MiLB pitching? Why put obstacles out in front of him? Won’t he have enough?

So, where? Some will say LF, displacing Nootbaar, who is nearing the end of his time in the Lou anyways, with his own service time and contract status. Fair point. Quite possible that is the decision that getsmade, either that the trade deadline or the off-season. But take a look at Baez’ story and see how many times he has played LF. Not many. While he is unlikely to struggle the way Jordan Walker struggled with the third-to-outfield position change, there would still be a new hurdle to cross for him. Are you ready to introduce that into a pennant race?

Well, then how about CF? He has played there a lot recently but does not have a long history there. Defensively, it is a position where instincts, reads, routes and jumps are crucial. Is he ready for that? His offensive profile could be fascinating in that position and tolerance for ups-and-downs would be higher, since that position hasn’t really been a fountain of offensive production since …. Bader? Offensively, the bar is lower, ostensibly facilitating an easier pathway to success. But can he it handle defensively? I have no clue. My experience is that the defensive features players bring to MLB are often significantly different than what is described in scouting reports. Bader himself was such an example – a guy with question marks about his D turned out to be Gold Glove caliber (or near it, anyway). We are also watching Blaze Jordan make plays at third base that seem to surprise everyone. So who knows until we see it? But are they willing to commit Baez to CF? This would push Church to a 4th OF role, which may be best suited for him (or may not).

How about RF? Oh, there is another guy there. Someone named Jordan Walker.

Another key question…

How will his profile influence the overall line-up construction?

To-date, the strength of the Cardinals has been their somewhat tenacious offense. It is not a juggernaut, but strong enough that they are top ten in MLB in several key categories (not power) and that is without Nootbaar for much of the season. Strong enough to overcome some poor pitching. Key attributes of that offense are low K-rate and pretty good OBP. So, they get on base, and they have more productive at bats than most other teams. They have good hitters but could use some more HR pop.

But where does he hit? To start with, if he displaces either Church or Nootbaar he will upset the L-R-L algorithm and make this a more right leaning line-up. Seems likely he would get the 6th spot behind Nootbaar. We know from his history that he tends to K a lot as he adjusts to a new level, so expect that to continue into MLB. He isn’t terribly selective, running O-swing % in the same neighborhood as Alec Burleson but without the plate coverage Burly gets, running an O-contacts% about half of Burleson. He doesn’t walk a ton, but he doesn’t refuse the walk with a BB% of ~8%. His likely contribution to the line-up will be to increase the K-rate of the line-up, lower the OBP but raise the S part of OPS. The HR park factor for Busch III for RH hitters could bite him, as it runs a 78 (100 is average). In other words Busch suppresses RH power by 22%. That is a stiff premium. How does that affect the recipe as a whole? Will this offense remain tenacious and benefit from extra pop, or will there now be too many guys that strike out with runners in scoring position?

Introducing a new hitter to the everyday line-up changes the nature of said line-up. I am curious the impact Baez will have on the overall output of the group. If I had to guess, this is a mystery enough that they’d prefer to see the answer come later in the season when the playoff position is more clear.