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Last night, the Athletics got off to a winning start in their three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels, riding a seven-run fifth inning to a 9-3 victory. Tonight, the “Green and Gold” look to clinch the series, while extending their winning streak to three games with a second straight win over their division rivals.

Taking the ball for the road team this evening will be right-hander Jack Perkins. The 26-year-old enters his 22nd appearance and fifth start with a 2-3 record, a 6.26 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and 57 strikeouts over 46 innings.

After being tagged with the loss in his first start of the season earlier this month, Perkins has steadily settled in, improving with each outing. He has gone without a decision in each of his last three starts, a streak he hopes to end in his second consecutive start against these Angels.

Last Sunday, Perkins allowed four runs on four hits over five innings while recording a season-high eight strikeouts. He exited with the Athletics holding a three-run lead and in line for the win, but the A’s bullpen surrendered the lead as the Angels rallied for a comeback victory. Still searching for his first win since joining the starting rotation, Perkins will look to change that, though he will need his teammates to hold the lead this time around.

Speaking of the A’s beleaguered bullpen, the team made a trade today to address that weakness.

Juenger, the Blue Jays’ sixth round draft pick in 2021, brings an MLB-ready arm to the A’s relief corps. The team has not yet announced whether he will join the major-league club or report to Triple-A Las Vegas.

In 21 appearances with Triple-A Buffalo, Juenger posted a 1-2 record with a 2.59 ERA. His strong minor league performance to start the season led to his first MLB promotion. The right-hander allowed three earned runs over two innings in his brief time with the big-league club before the Blue Jays designated him for assignment earlier this week.

The other player in this trade, Carapellotti signed with the A’s as an undrafted free agent following four years at Georgetown. He was off to a good start with Single-A Stockton, hitting eight home runs in 20 games.

Lastly, corner infielder Brett Harris’ time with this franchise could be coming to an end. The 28-year-old has been up and down between the A’s and the minors over the past three seasons, yet failed to make much of an impact and has now been overtaken by younger, higher-ceiling players.

Back to the game, here’s the A’s Saturday night lineup:

The A’s starting nine is nearly identical to last night’s lineup. The lone change comes in right field, where right-handed hitter Colby Thomas gets the start in place of Lawrence Butler, who started there in the series-opener. Both catchers also remain in the lineup for a third straight game, though their roles are reversed. Jonah Heim moves behind the plate, while Shea Langeliers shifts to designated hitter.

The bottom three hitters, who sparked the Athletics seven-run fifth inning, will look to deliver again. Alika Williams, one of the team’s most unexpected contributors this season, gets another start at shortstop as Jacob Wilson continues to recover from a re-aggravated left shoulder injury.

That lineup will be facing Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, who has pitched well as a starter after spending all of last season in relief. The 26-year-old enters his 17th start with a 3-5 record, a 3.93 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 104 strikeouts across 94 innings.

This game features the same pitching matchup as last weekend’s series finale between these two teams, when the A’s tagged Detmers for five runs on six hits over six innings.

The Athletics potent offense will look to have a similar level of success against the southpaw tonight at Angel Stadium.

And the Angels’ lineup, brought to you by old friend Kurt Suzuki:

The Angels are still without Mike Trout, yet their lineup still features several dangerous bats, including shortstop Zach Neto, right fielder Jo Adell and designated hitter Jorge Soler. Following a blowout loss yesterday, the “Halos” will look to bounce back and even the series. Can Perkins limit mistake pitches and work deep into the contest, or will the Athletics need to dig deeper into their bullpen ahead of tomorrow’s series and road trip finale?

Tune in to find out whether the squad can make it three in a row. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

It’s time for Game 2 in the series between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves. And it’s a doozy of a pitching matchup!

For the Giants, it’s their ace, right-hander Logan Webb. The two-time All-Star is 4-5 in 13 starts this year, with a 3.35 ERA, a 3.07 FIP, and 70 strikeouts against 20 walks in 83.1 innings. Webb has been lights out lately, having pitched eight innings in each of his last three games, while allowing just three earned runs in that span.

For the Braves, it’s fellow righty and fellow All-Star Bryce Elder, a 27-year old. Elder has made 16 starts this year, and is 5-5 with a 3.71 ERA, a 3.79 FIP, and 79 strikeouts to 29 walks in 94.2 innings. He’s been struggling lately though, as he’s allowed 14 earned runs in 10 innings over his last two starts.

Enjoy the game, everyone.

Game #82

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:05 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below!

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, June 27, 9:05 p.m. EDT

Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s June concludes with his fourth consecutive Saturday start.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Padres
• Ballpark: Petco Park, San Diego
• Time: 5:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Full disclosure I started writing this recap in the fifth inning when the team was down 2-0 and they couldn’t get any runs home against Alan Rangel, but as Shakespeare wrote I got hoisted on my own petard and the Mets surprisingly won 6-2.

Speaking of Shakespeare, in Henry VI, in Part II, Act III word of an Irish uprising gets sent to the king saying:

Before the wound do grow uncurable;
For, being green, there is great hope of help.

Meaning there is still hope to end the skirmishes since they have only just begun. The Mets are now in their own Green era with new manager Andy Green, are there is some hope of help with both Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto together again in the lineup, and the return of Christian Scott to the rotation.

Lindor got the first big hit of the day when he tripled home two runs to tie the game in the sixth inning. After the next two batters walked, A.J. Ewing singled home two more runs with the infield drawn in to give the Mets their first lead of the day. One inning later it was Juan Soto’s turn to triple home a run to extend the lead 5-2. Bo Bichette followed with a sacrifice fly and the Mets held a 6-2 lead. It’s a shame Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Carson Benge, and A.J. Ewing haven’t played much together because when they are all on they have the potential to be electric.

As for the pitching, Christian Scott was solid in his return from the injured list. He gave up a home run to Bryce Harper but otherwise kept Philadelphia in check. He could not complete the fifth inning but his final line was 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2, BB, and 6 K. A.J. Minter, Huascar Brazobán, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams were all stellar to finish off the game and snap a seven-game losing streak.

Did you know many common phrases in our vernacular have been borrowed from Shakespeare? Some include good riddance, a piece of work, a sorry sight, set your teeth on edge, what’s done is done, seen better days, dead as a doornail, come what may, for goodness’s sake, and laughingstock. I mention these for no particular reason but for whatever it’s worth the Mets are now 1-1 under manager Andy Green.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
The Good Phight

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Lindor, +30% WPA
Big Mets loser: Brett Baty, -7% WPA
Mets pitchers: +12% WPA
Mets hitters: +38% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor’s RBI triple in sixth, +34.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Bryce Harpers’s home run in the third, -22.3% WPA

The Mets' offense exploded for six unanswered runs as they defeated the Phillies, 6-2, on Saturday evening at Citi Field.

The win snapped the team's seven-game losing streak. It's Andy Green's first win as interim manager.

Here are the takeaways...

-Christian Scott, making his first start since coming off the IL, was solid, getting out of trouble in the first and pitching two scoreless innings. But Bryce Harper took Scott the other way for a two-run shot, the slugger's 43rd career blast against the Mets, in the third inning to put Philadelphia ahead.

That would be the only mistake the young right-hander made as he pitched into the fifth, but after a one-out walk, Green decided to pull Scott at 82 pitches. Scott allowed just the two runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out six.

-The Mets offense was mired in futility for the first five innings, but they awoke in the sixth. Back-to-back one-out singles from Juan Soto and Bo Bichette set it up for Francisco Lindor. The shortstop lined a triple down the first base line to tie the game at 2-2. After Jared Young and Mark Vientos walked to load the bases, A.J. Ewing jumped on the first pitch and hit a single through the drawn-in infield to push across two more runs.

Soto added on in the seventh with a triple that scored Carson Benge. Bichette brought in Soto with a sac fly. 

Soto, Bichette and Lindor -- the Mets' No. 2-4 hitters -- went 4-for-9 with four RBI. 

-In relief of Scott, the Mets bullpen did its job. The Mets used four relievers to get the final 14 outs. Here's how it broke down... 

• A.J. Minter: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K
• Huascar Brazoban: 1.0 IP, 1 H
• Luke Weaver: 1.0 IP, 2 K
• Devin Williams: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K

Weaver extended his scoreless innings streak to 23 straight. 

Game MVP: A.J. Ewing

The youngster's two-run single broke the tie and set the Mets up for the win.

Highlights

Three punch-outs in two innings for Christian Scott 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IVMqKrcWBb

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2026

FRANCISCO LINDOR TIES THE GAME WITH A TWO-RUN TRIPLE! pic.twitter.com/hlsTOVDaRt

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2026

A.J. EWING DELIVERS!

The Mets take the lead! pic.twitter.com/nlYaf4lXlv

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2026

TRIPLES MAKES IT SAFE. TRIPLES IS BEST.

Juan Soto brings in Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/rJ24yWYiuc

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2026

23 consecutive scoreless innings for Luke Weaver 💪 pic.twitter.com/b5ZPq99G2O

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Phillies complete their three-game set on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:40 p.m.

The Mets have yet to announce a starter, while Philadelphia will have Jesus Luzardo (6-4, 4.39 ERA) take the mound. 

The Cincinnati Reds rode a roller coaster all day against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

The game was delayed early by rain and got soggy again late. Chase Burns, who started for the Reds on the day, struck out 10 Pirates in 6.0 IP…but also yielded 9 hits and 5 runs. The team took an early 2-0 lead, gave it back on a 3-run homer by Brandon Lowe, later held a 6-4 lead, and eventually found themselves trailing 7-6.

That, fortunately, was when Eugenio Suárez stepped to the plate with a pair of runners on.

With lefty fireballer Gregory Soto on the mound trying to close out the Reds in the Top of the 9th – and with 2-outs, to boot – Geno lifted a ball through the fog into the seats in right field, his 3-run homer flipping the scoreboard again and this time giving Cincinnati a lead it would not relinquish.

It’s been an emotional few days for Geno, a pround native of Venezuela who has watched his country suffer so much in the aftermath of two gigantic earthquakes earlier in the week. He’s been wearing ‘VZ’ on the side of his hat in each game of this series as a way to honor his country, and this was pretty clearly a very emotional moment for him.

Chase Petty picked up his first career save in what’s becoming an increasingly effective role for him in the bullpen, and a 9-7 final goes on the Reds ledger.

Thanks to this (and last night’s victory), the Reds have won a series against an NL Central opponent again for the first time since Maurice of Nassau defeeated Jean de Rie of Varas at the Battle of Turnhout.

Jose Trevino went 2 for 4 with a double, run scored, and a pair of ribbies, while Edwin Arroyo went 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored and a ribbie of his own – not bad from the butt-end of the batting order. Sal Stewart homered as part of a 2-hit, 2 ribbie day, and the Reds pounded out 10 total hits as a club in a well-rounded effort.

The Reds will send a resurgent Brady Singer to the mound on Sunday in search of the sweep, with first pitch in that one scheduled for 1:35 PM ET.

Los Angeles Dodgers (52-30) at San Diego Padres (43-37), June 27, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Tristan Peters. Colson Montgomery. Miguel Vargas. Edgar Quero. Braden Montgomery. Sam Antonacci. What do they all have in common? They’ve recorded walk-off RBIs for the Chicago White Sox this season. And Jacob Gonzalez has added his name to this elusive list in today’s 2-1 win!

Naturally, after scoring 22 runs on Friday night, we were due for a pitcher’s duel. Our ace against their ace, with neither earning a decision.

Davis Martin found early trouble in the second inning, but it was only for mere moments. With runners on second and third with only one out, Martin notched a strikeout looking and a strikeout swinging to escape unscathed.

On the flip side, the Sox offense wasn’t making any more noise against K.C.’s Michael Wacha, either. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Vargas lined a single off Nick Loftin’s glove at third. Expecting a bigger deflection and a slower baseball entering left field, the always-hustling Vargas kept his wheels turning toward second base. Nick Collins provided an exceptional throw, and second baseman Michael Massey’s glove caught Vargas’ fingertips right before they reached the bag.

After giving up a one-out double to Bobby Witt Jr. in the sixth inning, Martin’s afternoon was over. At only 87 pitches, Martin tossed 5 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, striking out three and walking just one batter. Sean Newcomb relieved Martin, successfully stranding Bobby at second.

It took until the seventh inning for either offense to break through. Massey beat out an infield single that Gonzalez couldn’t corral from Chase Meidroth. Tyler Tolbert pinch-ran for Massey and immediately stole second and third base during Salvador Pérez’s at-bat, who fortunately struck out in the process for the first out of the inning. Newcomb then made a brilliant defensive play on a Loftin safety squeeze, gloving the dribbler and flipping it to Drew Romo to nab the speedy Tolbert at home:

Unfortunately, a walk from Newcomb loaded the bases, and the Royals found a way to scratch across a run with two outs. (Even that score was made better by poor execution from K.C.) Carter Jensen extended his MLB-leading hit streak to 18 games when he lasered a pitch to short right field to score Starling Marte from third, but Braden Montgomery fielded it quickly and threw home to Romo. Loftin, for some reason taking an aggressive turn toward home even with Witt on deck, was gunned down by Romo at third.

Fortunately, the Royals lead didn’t last long. In the home half of the seventh, Andrew Benintendi notched a leadoff single. Will Venable turned on the hit-and-run with Chase Meidroth at the plate, who lined one past a diving Massey and pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña made his way to third base. Immediately following, Braden Montgomery jumped on the first pitch he saw which resulted into a fielder’s choice at second and a run across the plate.

Facing the heart of the order in the eighth, Grant Taylor sat the best the Royals had to offer down 1-2-3 on only nine pitches.

Tying his season-high of 105 pitches, Michael Wacha was once again brilliant against the Sox. At 7 2/3 innings, Wacha struck out seven, gave up his only walk to Miguel Vargas in the eighth and gave up just the lone run. Daniel Lynch successfully stranded runners on first and second to maintain Wacha’s stat line and stamp out the White Sox rally.

Taylor stayed on for the ninth and needed just 10 pitches for a second consecutive 1-2-3 inning.

All roads led to the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game still knotted 1-1. Colson Montgomery, with an inside-out swing, grooved the baseball to shallow left-center field, and Chase Meidroth followed suit with a single of his own. Braden Montgomery laid down the most perfect bunt single to load the bases with nobody out in the ninth.

The Royals were forced to bring in the infield and go with five infielders. But Junior Perez, pinch-hitting for Tristan Peters, could not take advantage of any of that free green grass in the outfield and struck out looking. With the same defensive alignment in place for Gonzalez, he went oppo, past a diving Witt, for the Sox’s seventh walk-off of the season!

The Good Guys are 17-9 in one-run ballgames this season, have 21 comeback wins and have won 10 straight series at home! At the official halfway point to the season, the Sox sit atop the AL Central by 1 1/2 games, at 43-38.

The White Sox will end their six-game homestand and look for the series sweep tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. CT on CHSN and ESPN 1000.

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The Houston Astros are calling up pitching prospect Miguel Ullola, according to a report from Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Ullola, 24, is ranked as the Astros #11 prospect per MLB.com. Ullola was converted to a reliever this season in an effort to help him with his command issues and be someone the team could potentially call up to help the big league club this season.

This season, Ullola is 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA for Triple-A Sugar Land, along with a 1.55 WHIP. In 47.2 IP, he has walked 35 and struck out 64.

Since moving to the bullpen May 30, he has allowed only 3 runs in 10 appearances ( a 3 run HR) over 10 IP. He’s allowed 8 hits, 6 walks, and struck out 16.

Rome believes that Kai-Wei Teng, who admitted to some arm fatigue after today’s game, is a likely candidate to be sent down. Rome asserted that Teng was seen in manager Joe Espada’s office after the game, indicating he may have been getting informed he was being optioned.

John Mozeliak is in Anaheim for one clear-cut reason: to set the foundation for the Angels to get back on track.

At his introductory news conference at Angel Stadium on Saturday, the team’s new baseball operations consultant and interim general manager laid out his vision for success — while acknowledging recent woes — alongside Molly Jolly, one day after the first-year Angels president relieved general manager Perry Minasian of his duties amid his sixth straight losing season.

“Obviously, [the Angels] lacked consistency in terms of when you think about winning, right? Because that’s the proxy,” Mozeliak said. “There’s a lot of things we can use to determine if the organization is healthy or not. … Where Molly and I are connecting on this is like, we understand wins and losses matter, but how do you get to a place where that becomes consistent?

“Look at the best clubs in baseball [and] what you admire; whether they’re large-market or small-market, they have a philosophy, they have direction, and they stick to it, right? … That’s ultimately what we need to do here, and that’s hopefully something I can help bring to them.”

Mozeliak spent 18 seasons (2008-25) as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, a tenure consisting of 10 playoff appearances and a World Series victory in 2011.

The 57-year-old intends to “audit” the Angels in this new role alongside Jolly, with plans to hire a general manager by the time Mozeliak’s contract is up “sometime in December.”

Read more:Angels fire general manager Perry Minasian, appoint John Mozeliak as interim GM

“I brought on board John Mozeliak to assist me in preparing a baseball operation strategy as well as guide me in the search for a new general manager,” Jolly said, mentioning that her decision to fire Minasian and bring in Mozeliak had brewed for weeks.

“I did this because John has a proven track record of building and maintaining winning baseball cultures, and my goal is to bring that here to the Angels.”

Mozeliak didn’t rule himself out as the long-term answer at general manager and was emphatic about not speaking in absolutes. However, the longtime executive said he’d rather help Jolly “bridge the gap” during the Angels’ transformative period before anything else.

The Angels have plenty of gaps entering Saturday’s matchup with the Athletics. The Angels are tied for last in the American League with a 34-49 record while on the road to a 12th consecutive finish out of the playoffs.

And all of that is before mentioning the “sell the team” chants that flood the right-field upper deck at Angel Stadium at each home game as ex-Angel Shohei Ohtani thrives with the Dodgers.

Mozeliak understands that the Angels have lacked direction in recent seasons. He asked for patience in rebuilding the team alongside Jolly.

“I knew coming in, this isn’t going to be something where Molly and I had a light switch and everything just starts working perfectly,” Mozeliak said. “It’s not going to work that way. … I would ask for some patience. We need a little time to sort of work through this … when we come out on the other end of this tunnel, we hope to be in a very successful place.”

Read more:As critters and losses pile up, Angels fans call for owner Arte Moreno to sell team

Jolly said of Angels fans’ discontent, “I know what’s happening. I see it, I hear it. Fans have a right to have their voices be heard. Didn’t influence the decision that I wanted to make, but we all want to win. Our owner wants to win. I do. The fans deserve that, and that’s what we’re going to work toward.”

Mozeliak acknowledged he’d already forgotten some names of Angels personnel he was introduced to Saturday. But he also said that first-year manager Kurt Suzuki and the rest of the coaching staff’s jobs are secure through the season.

“I met with most of them this morning, and I told them they’re all fine for this year,” Mozeliak said. “There’s nothing they have to worry about. We’re not making any coaching changes right now. I really just need to get to know them, right?”

Mozeliak spoke to Suzuki on Saturday and said that he and his staff are “very impressive.”

Across the board, Mozeliak — who hasn’t yet met owner Arte Moreno since moving into this role — is focused on knowing who the Angels are at this point, with an “aggressive timeline” looming in the background.

With that said, Mozeliak shared that he isn’t “overly concerned” with the Aug. 3 trade deadline, nor is he worried about the MLB draft, which starts July 11.

“My philosophy on the draft is to let the scouting director and his team do their jobs,” Mozeliak said. “The only real input I’m going to have is … understanding their process … and then if there are some financial decisions that are being banked into who we pick and why.”

Jolly brought in Mozeliak to help the Angels hire their fourth full-time general manager since 2012.

And while many might believe not much will change as long as Moreno remains the owner, Jolly said she has “autonomy” to assess the Angels’ baseball operations and is “confident in my authority and scope within the organization.”

Those invested in the Angels will believe it when they see it.

“When I think about the Angels right now, I just look at it as a very opportunistic time here,” Mozeliak said. “New leadership on the business side; we’re going to put a great team on the baseball side.

“But it’s going to be a place that I hope, in a couple years, we’re all proud of.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Against the White Sox this afternoon, the Royals lost their fourth straight game, this one a 2-1 comedy of errors in which the Royals failed to bunt home a run, had a runner thrown out at third after scoring their lone run, had an infielder trip on second base, and had an infielder leave after being nailed by a throw from his pitcher in a rather sensitive area.

Your 2026 Kansas City Royals, everyone.

This loss, which drops the Royals to 34-50, was no fault whatsoever of starting pitcher Michael Wacha. Wacha continues his solid tenure with the Royals, pitching into the eighth as he surpassed 100 pitches. In the end, he recorded 7-and-2/3 innings allowing six hits and just one walk while striking out seven. The White Sox scored just a single run against him. He left with a runner on second, but Daniel Lynch IV (more on him in a minute) recorded the final out of the inning. Wacha recorded a no-decision.

The bad times for the Royals started in the top of the second. With one out, Michael Massey singled before Salvador Perez banged one down the line that unfortunately hopped the wall for a ground-rule double. With one out and runners on second and third, John Rave struck out looking. With two outs and runners on second and third, Nick Loftin, whose day would become much, much worse, struck out swinging.

In the sixth, the Royals threatened again when Bobby Witt Jr., playing in the field for the first time for about a week, doubled with one out. But Jac Caglianone popped out and, get ready for this, Lane Thomas struck out swinging.

The following inning, the Royals had their best scoring chance yet. Massey singled. Relief pitcher Tyler Tolbert subbed in as a pinch runner and promptly stole second. Tolbert stole third as Salvy struck out. Then Starling Marte walked.

One out, runners on the corners. Surely Loftin will drive home Tolbert.

Well, Loftin bunted, and his bunt went directly to Chicago’s pitcher, lefty Sean Newcomb, who fielded it and then flipped the ball from his glove to the catcher, Drew Romo. Tolbert didn’t have a chance.

Still, the inning continued. Isaac Collins walked to load the bases with two outs and to turn over the lineup. Carter Jensen extended his hitting streak with a sharply hit ball to right to score Marte. Royals lead, 1-0, with Bobby Witt Jr. coming up–

Oh, wait, no. The video above hilariously cuts off, but Loftin, for some reason, took a wiiiiide turn around third. Romo fired it to the White Sox third baseman, Miguel Vargas, who tagged Loftin for the out, ending the threat.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

Down 1-0, Chicago came right back as, ugh, Andrew Benintendi singled to left. With one out, Chase Meidroth hit a ball up the middle. It looked to me like a double-play ball, but then Tolbert couldn’t make the play. Looked like he stumbled over second on his way to field it. Regardless, it led to runners on the corners with one out. Luisangel Acuna, who pinch-ran for Benintendi, scored on a groundout by Braden Montgomery to tie it at 1-1.

In both the eighth and ninth innings, the Royals went down in order. Professional job, hitters.

The bottom of the ninth, though, takes the cake. With runners on first and second and none out, Montgomery laid down a bunt. Lynch fielded it while running toward the third base line. He hesitated for a second before firing the ball to Loftin at third for the force out. Except…well…it was a bit of a low throw that Loftin didn’t catch. Instead, it him, uh, below the belt, if you will, and Loftin collapsed like a house of cards. Dude left the field on his own accord, but looked shaken. Deservedly so.

John Schreiber relieved Lynch. After striking out Junior Perez, Jacob Gonzalez singled home the winning run.

Sox win, 2-1, and improve their record to 43-38 with a game-and-a-half lead in the Central on the Guardians.

The third and final game of the series is tomorrow before a blessed Monday free of Royals baseball.

While the Mariners’ streak of scoring three or fewer runs didn’t end last night, they were able to pull out a win against the Guardians on their home turf. Another win would clinch the season series, so it would behoove the M’s to continue their winning ways – but maybe with some more runs this time around.

Lineups:

It’s another shaken up lineup tonight, as Dominic Canzone is rewarded with his hot hitting by being placed in the third spot. Cal Raleigh moves down to sixth, the lowest he’s batted in quite some time. Logan Gilbert is on the hill tonight, but unlike the previous plan, he will not be piggybacked, with Emerson Hancock set to start tomorrow.

Gabriel Arias gets the start at the hot corner over Daniel Schneemann, but the Guardians are running out a similar lineup to last night’s otherwise. Slade Cecconi – who Cleveland acquired in the 2024-25 offseason for one Josh Naylor – will be on the hill, and he’s coming off a stretch of four straight starts allowing two or fewer runs.

Game Info:

First Pitch: 4:10pm PDT

TV: Mariners.TV

Radio: Ol’ reliable