Worldwide Sports News

1916
In a game in Cleveland, the White Sox became the first team to ever have names sewn on to the backs of the uniforms. Knowing who was playing didn’t help them, though; they were shut out, 2-0, on the afternoon. (The White Sox returned to the idea of names on the back of road uniforms in 1960 — and this time the practice stuck.) 

In the same game, Cleveland players wore numbers pinned to their sleeves, becoming the first players in the 20th century to do so. Each player’s number connoted their position on the diamond.

1956
Jack Harshman gave up a run by his fifth batter of a game hosting Boston — and then shut the Red Sox down scoreless on just one more hit the rest of the way, gaining his fifth win of the season and giving the White Sox their ninth straight victory. A two-run double by Luis Aparicio in the bottom of the second put the South Siders on top for good, 3-1, in a game they’d win, 4-1.

The victory pushed the White Sox to 37-22, in second place in the AL and 1 1/2 games out of first.

1960
Boston played a football game at Comiskey Park in Chicago to cap off a doubleheader — but lost to the White Sox, 21-7. The two-touchdown win completed a sweep for the White Sox, who won the opener, 4-3. The Pale Hose scored in every inning but the fifth — understandable, given that they exhausted themselves with an 11-run fourth inning. Leading the 22-hit barrage was Sherm Lollar (4-for-5, double, three RBIs, got on base a fifth time with a HBP), while Jim Landis, Gene Freese and Al Smith each chipped in two. Every White Sox starter had at least one hit, including starting pitcher Early Wynn, who went 1-for-5 and benefited from 21 runs of support in his complete game victory!

Despite the onslaught, the defending pennant-winners were still scuffling, at 36-30 and in fourth place in the AL. However, this sweep came at the start of an 18-7 run that pushed the White Sox back into first place.

1964
In a doubleheader opener, White Sox right fielder Mike Hershberger spoiled Minnesota starter Gerry Arrigo’s no-hit bit with a leadoff single in the ninth inning. The White Sox lose, 2-0, but take the nightcap, 9-4

Arrigo would finish his major league career with five games on the South Side, in 1970.

1977
Rod Carew went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and six RBIs in a 19-12 mauling of the White Sox on Jersey Day in front of 46,463 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, raising his batting average from .396 to .403.

The future Hall-of-Famer would push his batting average to as high as .411 (on July 1) and remain better than .400 until July 10, but ultimately fell short of the .300 mark, settling at .388 on the season. It was the sixth AL batting title of seven in Carew’s career, and his best-ever batting average, helping him earn a majors-high 9.7 WAR and the 1977 AL MVP.

1983
White Sox slugger Greg “The Bull” Luzinski belted the first of his three rooftop home runs at Comiskey Park, becoming the first player to ever hit that many in a single season. Luzinski powered a pitch from Minnesota’s Brian Oelkers over the roof in left-center field, scoring Tom Paciorek. The shot came in the third inning of a game the Sox won, 9-7.

1986
It was the best trade in the short career of GM Ken Harrelson, sending catcher Scott Bradley to the Mariners for a player to be named later — and on July 1, that player was revealed as outfielder Iván Calderon. 

Calderon hit 28 home runs in 1987, and would be a key for the Sox in their spectacular 1990 campaign both at bat and in the field — leading the team that year with 74 RBIs, as the Sox stunned baseball by winning 94 games.

Calderon was traded to the Expos as part of the Tim Raines deal in December 1990, before coming back for nine games late in the 1993 season. To make room for Calderon’s second stint on the South Side, the Sox traded away reliever Donn Pall.

2010
The White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-2, to run their winning streak to 11 games in a row.

The streak started on June 15, and saw the Sox blitz National League clubs during the interleague portion of the schedule. They took three from Pittsburgh, three from Washington, three from Atlanta and two from the Cubs. During the streak they outscored opponents, 51-24, with three shutouts. The 11 straight wins remain tied for the sixth-longest streak in White Sox history, and capped off a 15-of-16 run for the clus.

It was the 15th time in franchise history the Sox had a double-digit win streak, and the first since they won 10 at the end of 1981 and into 1982.

In an odd coincidence, the only other 15-1 homestand in franchise history (1961) saw its final win one day earlier than this, on June 25.

2015
In yanking the fourth pitch of the game deep and out to right field, Adam Eaton became just the second White Sox hitter to club leadoff home runs in consecutive games. It was Eaton’s only hit in an eventual 5-4 win over the Tigers. The White Sox had won Eaton’s first leadoff homer game, 8-7 in 10 innings, also against Detroit.

Thirteen years earlier, Kenny Lofton became the first White Sox hitter to accomplish this feat, clubbing leadoff dingers on July 18-19, 2002. The homers were Lofton’s only two hits in the game, both losses for the White Sox, to Kansas City and Baltimore. Just nine days later, Lofton was dealt to San Francisco.

Hodad’s is a third-generation small business, a San Diego treasure that makes a damn good burger. I dropped by one of their two restaurants last winter, but I didn’t see what I wanted on the menu.

The burger I get at Petco Park, I explained to the server. She knew exactly what I meant.

“The F— the Dodgers burger,” she said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

In San Diego, it had been an impish inside joke for years. If you didn’t know what FTD meant on the menu at the Hodad’s stands at Petco Park, the burger — with cheese, onion rings, pickles, mayonnaise and barbecue sauce — still was a good time.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani takes control of Dodgers' win after miscommunication with Dalton Rushing

When the Dodgers played here last month, a fan posted a picture of the menu board and explained what FTD stood for. The next day, Jomboy Media did the same, in a post with 1.6 million views.

“When I first saw that,” Hodad’s co-owner Shane Hardin told me, “I thought, ‘Oh, sweet, Jomboy, cool. We’ll get a little bump.’ ”

Then Hardin got a call from Delaware North, the company that handles the San Diego Padres’ concessions. People are talking, Hardin was told.

“And I’m like, ‘Cool, great, let ‘em talk, there’s no profanity anywhere,’ ” Hardin said.

The Padres and Delaware North did not see it that way. “FTD” was stripped from the menu boards at the four Hodad’s stands, initially replaced by the lame quartet of “Foul to Dinger,” “For the Division,” “For the Dugout” and “For the Diegans” and currently replaced by the strained quartet of “For the Dads,” “For the Dub,” “Faithful til Death” and (gulp) “Flyball to Deep.”

The Padres declined comment for this column.

Hardin is more amused than annoyed, particularly given the origin of the FTD Burger. It’s been on Hodad’s Petco Park menu since …

“Was it the 2022 playoffs that the Padres beat the Dodgers?” he asked.

This is how a San Diegan tells time, but yes.

“The Padres hit us up and said, ‘We want a special menu item for the playoffs,’” Hardin said. “We go, ‘OK, without us ever saying what it meant, can we call it the FTD Burger?’ They said, ‘Oh, yeah, ha ha, that’s funny, go for it.’ And so we did.”

The burger has been sold at Petco Park ever since, with the same recipe, despite the online conspiracy theory that its three onion rings represented the Dodgers’ three World Series championship rings this decade.

“Dude, I don’t keep track of what the Dodgers have,” Hardin said. “I really don’t care.”

It is in that spirit that I am stunned the Padres made the change.

The Padres, the team that sells “Beat L.A.” shirts in the team store. The Padres, the team that put up a meme of Clayton Kershaw crying on the video board. The Padres, the team that begged its fans not to sell their tickets to fans of “a team from a little ways up north” and also refused to sell tickets to that 2022 playoff series to anyone in Los Angeles County.

The Padres deserve a ton of credit for breathing life into what now is a feisty rivalry with the Dodgers. It is odd that, all of a sudden, they’re worried about decorum.

“I was under the impression that FTD was just kind of a fun ‘if you know, you know’ sort of thing,” Hardin said. “People will hold up signs saying ‘FTD’ and they’ll get on the JumboTron.

“At the end of the day, Hodad’s is a little rough around the edges. But we’re still a family place.”

Hardin isn’t upset with the Padres. It’s their ballpark, after all, and he enjoys being part of it.

“I love being there,” he said. “The relationship is great, honestly.”

Read more:Shaikin: How 'Beat L.A.' became entrenched in the Dodgers-Padres rivalry lexicon

And he had one other thing to say about the demise of the FTD label: “That first homestand after that news broke, we sold 50% more of that burger each game. I’ll take that.”

The Padres might want to reconsider. In baseball, curses are no joking matter, and the Curse of the FTD Burger might now have befallen the team.

When the Dodgers left Petco Park five weeks ago, the Padres were 1½ games behind them. Before the Padres’ next game, the Jomboy post went viral and the “FTD” name vanished.

As the Dodgers return here Friday, the Padres are nine games behind the Dodgers.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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