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José Caballero claimed “the whole league should know who I am” after he enraged Dennis Santana with his time-wasting in the batter’s box and caused the benches to clear in the eighth inning.

The Yankees infielder has gained a reputation for not engaging with pitchers until the last possible moment, and it set off the Pirates pitcher Monday night — even after he grounded Caballero into a double play.

Caballero hit a tame grounder to the pitcher before being thrown out moments later, but the pair jawed after the play concluded as things quickly escalated.

Caballero said after the game that he didn’t believe he and Santana could actually hear each other’s barbs — but that didn’t stop both benches and bullpens from swarming the field as the game was delayed several minutes.

“The whole league should know who I am, what I do in the box, and they should be aware of it,” Caballero said.

“And for you to be mad at something the league implemented in this league [batters have until eight seconds left in the pitch clock to engage], he shouldn’t be mad at me — he should be mad at someone else.”

For his part, Santana admitted he was aware of Caballero’s strategy “a little bit” before the game, but that it’s “not my problem.”

He admitted that he got “caught up in the game,” and that he didn’t think Caballero should be delaying him on every pitch with the Yankees already leading 8-5.

Aaron Boone, meanwhile, cracked that “sometimes boys will be boys,” but admitted that pitchers can be caught off guard by Caballero’s antics.

“I completely understand, it’s part of his process getting ready mentally to hit. And frankly, I think more guys should,” Boone said.

“If you’re not used to it, you should practice,” Caballero added.

The Mariners kept ‘00s weekend running with a Monday dismantling of the Reds re-enacting Evanescence’s 2003 three debut single “Bring Me To Life.”

This season fans have bemoaned lifeless at-bats and flat outings, begging the team that electrified the city last summer to show some semblance of their former selves. Now that I know what I’m without/You can’t just leave me. And yet so often the 2026 club has left fans in the dark, after offering a tantalizing taste of playoff baseball last season. Now fans know what they’ve been without, making the taste of failure that’s characterized much of 2026 all the more bitter.

In an extra-cruel twist of fate, one of the biggest accountings for that delta in performance has been the sensation of the 2025 season, their All-Star switch-hitting catcher, home run derby champ, iron man-redux Cal Raleigh, who has gone from appointment viewing at-bats to doctor’s appointments followed by “I might rather be at a dentist appointment than watching this at-bat.” It’s been brutal and frustrating both for the fans and for Raleigh himself.

When the Mariners came out of the break with a 0-7 shutout loss in a lifeless showing against the dismal Giants, it felt like the nightmare of 2026 would be continuing. But to their credit, the Mariners perked up and won the last two games of the series, coming into today having won three of their last four games, a talking point repeated by several members of the team after yesterday’s win.

Today the Mariners kept the momentum rolling, again scoring via both small ball and the long ball, the same way they won Sunday’s contest. And what a long ball it was: this grand slam by Cal Raleigh, after Terry Francona and the Reds had intentionally walked Dom Canzone – a seemingly more favorable left-on-left matchup with former Mariner and member of the 2025 playoff team Caleb Ferguson on the mound – to get to Cal Raleigh with the bases loaded with one out. The Reds, as Dan Wilson charitably explained postgame, were likely looking to set up an inning-ending double play.

That did not happen.

But let’s back up a little, because even though this slam put the game out of reach, the Mariners were going to win this game anyway thanks to some small ball manufacturing of runs, taking advantage of miscues by the Reds, and some dominant pitching from starter George Kirby.

George Kirby didn’t have pinpoint command in the first despite throwing four of four first-pitch strikes, walking leadoff man Elly De La Cruz and going to a full count on former Athletic JJ Bleday, who came into this game sporting a 1.56 OPS against Kirby. But Kirby neutralized Bleday on a harmless flyout, just like he’d go on to neutralize the Reds for the rest of the night, even if it wasn’t his most dominant outing.

The Mariners got some traffic in the second because that’s when Cole Young was due up to bat. With two outs, Young worked a very nice seven-pitch walk off the lefty Andrew Abbott, and advanced to second on a little dunk base hit from Victor Robles, who understands his job description right now is 50% “Play Outfield, Don’t Get Hurt” and 50% “Hit Righthandedly.” But Buddy Kennedy, getting the start over Weston Wilson, struck out to end the threat.

It looked like the Reds would punish the Mariners for not taking advantage there in the top of the third. George Kirby threw two pitches and like magic – tonight was Harry Potter Night at the park, so go figure – had two baserunners on with no outs. Things got a little more hot water (or dogwater, as Angie would say) when Josh Naylor threw too high to Colt Emerson on a potential double play, giving Kirby just one out instead of two, but Sal Stewart flew out softly to right field and former Mariners prospect Edwin Arroyo made the head-scratching decision to try to score, instead being easily thrown out at home to end the inning.

The old saying (slash bastardization of a quote attributed to Napoleon) is that you don’t interrupt your enemy when they’re making a mistake, and the Mariners were happy to let the Reds keep on making mistakes. In the fifth inning, Victor Robles led off the inning with a single, his second hit of the game, and then was gifted third base by a bad throw from catcher Tyler Stephenson on a stolen base attempt. Randy Arozarena does get credit here for keeping the inning alive with a two-inning walk, bringing up Julio Rodríguez, who hit into what should have been an inning-ending changeup, chasing after the same pitch he’d struck out on in his first at-bat, only to have Elly De La Cruz mishandle it and allow the run to score (it was ruled an infield hit. It was not.).

Because there is a cost to chaos magic – as those who bought a ticket to Harry Potter Night can attest – the baseball gods ruled that Julio had to pay a price, and that price was getting hit in the Lomas de Cabrera by the errant throw while also maybe pulling something trying to beat out the throw. Dan Wilson was oblique about the nature of the injury postgame, saying only that it was precautionary and that it wasn’t a strain.

With Kirby at 80 pitches to end the sixth but in his first outing since the All-Star Break, and the leverage relievers (Bazardo, Speier, and Muñoz) down after pitching this weekend, the Mariners summoned Nick Davila to protect the one-run lead. It got off to a rough start, with Davila hitting the first batter he faced, Spencer Steer, but then Good Guy Eugenio Suárez offered Davila a reset by grounding into a double play, allowing Davila to finish the inning painlessly after getting Tyler Stephenson to ground out.

With Abbott at 100 pitches, the Reds turned to righty Pierce Johnson in the seventh to face the terror known as Victor Robles and Robles responded by immediately rapping a single into right field. Luke Raley was then summoned to pinch-hit for Buddy Kennedy and once again, Raley produced a big hit, singling to right and allowing Robles to scoot into third. Then it was Colt Emerson’s turn to get to contribute. Emerson was originally out of the game for a scheduled day off on his 21st birthday, but stepped in when J.P. Crawford was a late scratch for wrist soreness (he is day to day). In addition to making some slick plays at shortstop, Emerson brought in an at-the-time crucial second run with a sac fly. Happy birthday, Colt. But the Mariners weren’t done. Randy Arozarena kept the line moving with a beautiful little oppo single, because Randy does that now, and then Weston Wilson – who was in for Julio Rodríguez – tapped a little double into right field, showing that two can play the oppo taco game (an oppo hit that’s not a home run? oppo taquito?).

A three-run lead felt good, but with the A side of the bullpen down or at least heavily taxed, some insurance would have been nice. This is an area where the 2026 Mariners have struggled, and also been punished for it. But what’s even more egregious to the baseball gods than failing to add insurance? The hubris of walking a left-on-left matchup in order to get to a temporarily diminished but by no means fully dimmed Cal Raleigh.

It didn’t matter who was coming out next – although Cole Wilcox and Michael Rucker did continue the shutout, both looking sharp (Wilcox even threw five strikes in an at-bat that somehow still ended in a walk). The die was cast, the park was jumping, the Mariners had been brought to life and brought their fans along with them. Wake them up inside, they can wake up.

Coming off a doubleheader in which every reliever except Kervin Castro pitched, the Yankees could have used more from Ryan Weathers on Monday when he lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings.

But after rough second and third innings, Weathers bore down and managed to record 14 outs, salvaging a night that could have gone much worse.

Weathers gave up one lead but held the next, pitching better as the game wore on and solving a pitch-tipping issue on the fly in what became an 8-5 win over the Pirates in The Bronx.

“I love those outings when it’s a grind, when it’s tough,” manager Aaron Boone said, “and you still give yourself, give your team a chance to win.”

That is what Weathers did in allowing five runs in the second and third innings but settling down afterward.

In the second, the first three Pirates tallied hits, the third of which was an RBI double from Jared Triolo.

From second base, Triolo appeared to be relaying signs to batters concerning when a changeup would be coming.

“I made an adjustment in-game,” Weathers said. “I fired a fastball, and that kind of shut it down.”

The issues were not over, though, with one more RBI single in that inning and a two-run homer from rookie sensation Esmerlyn Valdez in the third.

The homer came off a down-the-middle slider, a pitch Weathers said he struggled with and should have moved away from sooner.

But after Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s second home run of the night keyed a four-run third that gave the Yankees an 8-5 edge, Weathers allowed just a single in the fourth and a walk in the fifth, when he was pulled with two outs and watched Angel Chivilli escape the bit of danger.

“Wasn’t a great one for him, got hit around early on a night we’re up against it pen-wise,” Boone said, “but I love the fact that he hung in there.”

The Yankees still did not have any clarity regarding a timeline for Giancarlo Stanton’s return or rehab assignment or when he will run the bases again.

“I do know he’s continuing the running progression, it’s going pretty well,” Boone said. “But I don’t have a timeline.”

Little is known publicly about the status of Stanton, who Boone said was “moving again with more intensity and hitting against [velocity] again” way back June 29 after his second calf strain.

Since then, the Yankees have said Stanton has continued a running progression but offered little detail otherwise.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

The loss of Aaron Judge for an indefinite period has shone a further light on Stanton because the club has not been able to hit without the pair of sluggers.

Stanton played just 24 games this season before going down and had launched three homers while posting a .724 OPS.

The Yankees signed all 20 of their draft picks.

Their first two selections — Arkansas’ Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan, out of a high school in Canada — are lefty starters. The other five sole pitchers they selected are righties. They also announced Luke Pettitte as a two-way player, a righty pitcher and first baseman. Andy’s son had been a righty pitcher and slugger at Dallas Baptist.

Otherwise, they selected six infielders, four outfielders, one catcher and one utility player.

The backup catcher for Pittsburgh on Monday was Rafael Flores, whom the Yankees signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and who rose through a system that is well-regarded for developing catchers and touched Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season.

Flores was dealt to the Pirates in the trade that brought David Bednar to The Bronx.

He debuted briefly in June and was called up again earlier this month, showing promise (1.167 OPS) in his early days.

“I really enjoyed Rafa,” Boone said. “We had him in camp [in 2025], before we ended up trading him, and I really liked him, liked his upside. He had a joy for the game that was fun to be around. You could tell he loved the game.”

Record: 51-49. Pace: 83-79. Change on 2025: +1.

After the dramatics of yesterday’s game, with a franchise-record comeback to clinch the season series against playoff rivals, tonight’s contest always had the feel of a trap game. And so it proved, as the D-backs suffered the sugar crash to end all sugar crashes. The productive offense consisted in its entirety of Ketel Marte’s two-run home-run in the sixth, briefly tying the game at two. However, the usually reliable Kevin Ginkel chose a bad time to have his worst outing in more than three and a half months, immediately giving the Athletics back those runs, – and one more for good measure. The D-backs consequently dropped the series opener, though did not lose any ground in the wild-card race.

Mitch Bratt got the start for the D-backs, and… Well, I guess you can’t complain about two runs across 4.2 innings, from a man making only his third major-league appearance. That was likely a couple more outs than I was expecting, but given the bullpen situation (as discussed in the GDT), it seems likely he was going to be pushed as far as possible. Suspect Torey Lovullo was looking for five innings, but at 84 pitches – the most Bratt had thrown this year, at any level – I absolutely get why the starter was pulled, with two outs in the fifth inning, and Athletics on the corners. He’d scattered eight hits and a walk, with four strikeouts.

Unfortunately, two of the hits left Chase Field, although each was a solo shot. One came at the start of the second to put the visitors 1-0 up, while the second came leading off the fifth inning. Indeed, both home-runs came on the very first pitch of the inning, which might be something Bratt should think about. He did throw a first-pitch strike to 19 of the 23 batters faced, which is definitely higher than MLB average. But let’s be clear: Bratt only turned 23 years old a couple of weeks ago, and under ideal circumstances i.e. other than multiple starting pitchers on the IL, would still be honing his craft in the minor leagues. No real complaints about tonight’s outing.

I did have a feeling Steve Berthiaume jinxed the offense, when he pre-gamed by telling us how the A’s starter Jeffrey Springs was leading the majors in home-runs allowed, and was exactly the kind of pitcher on which D-backs’ lead-off man Ketel Marte would feast. Naturally, Marte swung at the very first pitch, sending a harmless shallow fly ball to right field. That set the tone for the evening: you certainly wouldn’t know that Springs had allowed most earned runs of any pitcher in the AL. Through five innings, he had faced two batters over the minimum. The D-backs had managed three hits and a walk, but two runners were erased by a caught stealing and double-play.

The former was Geraldo Perdomo in the opening innings, and was one of a number of weird plays tonight. He had previously been called out, picked off first according to umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. Except the replay clearly showed no tag was ever applied. Having dodged that bullet on appeal, Perdomo tried to steal second and was gunned down. The double-play was hit into in the second inning by Nolan Arenado, who came into the game with 1,999 career hits. However, his next time up, he duly doubled down the left-field line to reach the two thousand mark (above). There are only six active members of the 2K Hits club. Can you name the other five? Answers later.

Arizona finally broke through against Springs in the sixth, getting three hits without recording an out. Jorge Barrosa led off with a double, and Marte finally got the pitch for which he was looking. It went 402 feet down the left-field line, for Ketel’s 18th home-run of the year (below). Perdomo then got his second single, and it looked like we’d have runners on the corners with one out, as Gabriel Moreno walked as Perdomo stole second, taking third on a bad throw down by the A’s catcher. However, a perhaps suspiciously delayed ABS appeal turned the ball 4 into strike 3, so it became a man on third and two outs. Ildemaro Vargas lined out, and the game remained 2-2.

Ginkel took over and, as noted, it did not go well. He put two aboard, then retired the next two, and it looked like he would get out of it. A comebacker pinged off him, and Kevin still threw to first in time for the inning ending out. But, wait! Another appeal reversed that decision, instead loading the bases. A bloop single and wild pitch followed, so instead of a zero, it was a very crooked three-spot for the Athletics and a 5-2 lead. That seemed to suck the life out of the Diamondbacks, though they did get the tying run to the plate in the ninth. But Ryan Waldschmidt has now gone 38 games without a homer to start his MLB career. Still some way to go for the team record: Jose Herrera didn’t homer until his 127th game.

Arizona pitchers ended up allowing 15 hits, though out of the bullpen, there were scoreless outings for Juan Burgos (likely going back to Reno tomorrow), Jonathan Loaisiga and Brandyn Garcia. Perdomo had two hits, while Barrosa walked in addition to his double. But the teams nearest to Arizona in the NL Wild-Card race also lost: the Marlins, Cardinals, Pirates and Padres all were beaten. So the D-backs remain one-half game back of the third spot for now. Though this has to be considered a lost opportunity, given the overall record of tonight’s opponent. Let’s hope for better things tomorrow.

Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Deep Blue Sea: Ketel Marte, +15%
The Legend of Hercules: Kevin Ginkel, -37%
Exorcist: The Beginning: Ildemaro Vargas, -11%

372 comments in the Gameday Thread, which is pretty good for a Monday night. Snake_Bitten takes home Comment of the Night for this observation:

Tomorrow night, we’re back at it with another young pitcher looking likely to start for Arizona, in the shape of Kade Stroud’s MLB debut. 6:40 pm first pitch for that.

The other active members of the 2K Hits club are (in descending order of hits): Freddie Freeman, Jose Altuve, Andrew McCutchen, Paul Goldschmidt and Manny Machado.

MILWAUKEE — Luis Robert Jr. will get an opportunity to play for the Mets, at the expense of their two high-performing rookies.

Monday, that meant Carson Benge was on the bench, with Robert in center field and A.J. Ewing in right, as the Mets began a three-game series against the Brewers and lost 8-3.

Robert was activated from the injured list after being sidelined for 2 ¹/₂ months with a lumbar spine disc herniation.

His goals over the final two months of this season?

“To be healthy and out on that field as much as I possibly can,” he said through an interpreter. “The rest, from a performance standpoint, I think as long as I am on the field I will be OK.”

Robert began the night with a .224/.327/.329 slash line with two homers in 24 games this season.

Interim manager Andy Green said he expects Robert to play two out of every three days in center field — the Mets already have Jorge Polanco as a prime DH candidate and have used Juan Soto in that spot.

It’s possible the Mets will try to showcase Robert before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

The Mets are set for a reunion Tuesday with Brandon Sproat, who was traded to the Brewers (with Jett Williams) in January for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers.

Sproat has pitched to a 5.16 ERA in 18 appearances (16 as a starter) this season.

He debuted in the major leagues last season with the Mets and pitched to a 4.79 ERA in four starts.

“I think you never want to trade your prospects away when you run a farm system,” said Green, who oversaw the organization’s player development before stepping into the interim manager’s role last month. “Jett and Brandon were two guys we did like a lot … [Sproat] was a guy we drafted in the first round and liked the entire time we had him. Those were tough decisions, but when you are going to get a frontline starter, it always costs you something.”

Eric Wagaman was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to create space on the 26-man roster for Robert.

Also, Zack Short was outrighted to Syracuse.

PHILADELPHIA — There should have been champagne flowing, at least a beer shower, or perhaps a classy toast Monday night in Trea Turner’s historic game.

The Philadelphia Phillies shortstop hits two home runs for the 200^th of his career. He hits a double for the 300^th of his career. He produces three hits and drives in five runs.

He’s the hero in the Phillies’ 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in perhaps a mid-October preview at Citizen Bank Park.

So, surrounded by a sea of reporters and camera crews in the clubhouse after the game, just what is the second question asked?

“What’s going on defensively?’’

Welcome to Philly, baby.

Turner was heavily booed by the crowd of 40,265 at Citizens Bank Park in the first inning when he booted a potential inning-ending grounder. He botched two more plays that could have easily been ruled errors instead of hits later in the game. And then got a Bronx cheer when he cleanly fielded Teoscar Hernandez’s ground ball and threw to first baseman Bryce Harper for the game’s final out.

What have you done for me lately?

"Obviously, Trey swung the bat really well," Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. "He didn’t catch it as well."

The A’s got back in the win column on Monday evening in Arizona, beating the Diamondbacks 5-2 behind a solid performance from tonight’s starting pitcher, . On offense it was death by 13 singles plus a pair of home runs. Just how we all expected it to go.

It was left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the bump for the road team this evening. His first half wasn’t what he or the team had hoped for but with the All-Star Break comes a chance to reset. Springs certainly looked like he needed it after his great performance tonight.

The lefty was on fire early in Arizona, allowing just two singles, a double, and one walk through the first five innings, relying on weak contact to keep Arizona from getting anything going for much of the game. This was the guy that showed up for the first couple weeks of the season before disappearing for a few months.

He got a little bit of run support early as well. After an uneventful top of the first against D-backs rookie starter Mitch Bratt, rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer led things off in the second with his first career home run, a booming shot to left-center field to give the A’s a 1-0 lead:

Get that man that ball! That’s certainly the first of many for the 23-year-old, who would finish the day 2-for-3 and is now hitting .417/.435/.583 through his first 60 at bats. Unfortunately he would later depart tonight’s game after taking a hit to a… rather sensitive area. He momentarily stayed in but was eventually replaced by Donovan Walton in the top of the sixth. Outfielder Colby Thomas also departed tonight’s game after getting hit by a pitch on the wrist in the third inning. Hopefully they’ll both be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.

After a couple more quiet innings of work from Springs he would get more help a bit later in the form of another solo shot, this one coming off the bat of shortstop Jacob Wilson:

That was just his sixth of the year but his second in the past three games. He’s never going to be a huge power threat but these blasts every now and then are good for keeping pitchers on their toes with him.

Springs would finish the fifth up 2-0 and that probably should have been it for him in this one. Instead manager Mark Kotsay wanted to squeeze one more inning of work out of the veteran left-hander and it backfired. Springs faced three batters in the sixth and it went: double, 2-run home run, single. Only then did Kotsay decide to come get his starter, who would depart this one responsible for the runner on first.

• Jeffrey Springs: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 78 pitches

All of his work undone in the final five minutes, A tough end to an otherwise solid and encouraging start for Springs here in the second half. While the club is nearly out of contention there might be interested suitors for a lefty such as Springs and tonight’s strong outing certainly could have boosted interest in his services. He’ll likely have a few more starts in the Green & Gold and his next start is lined up to be this weekend in Minnesota against the Twins.

Kotsay decided to switch things up on the Diamondbacks and went from the lefty Springs to right-hander Luis Medina. He walked a tightrope thanks to a throwing error by Langeliers on a stolen base but he managed to get himself out of the jam with a lineout to center. This game would be up to the bullpens.

The A’s offense didn’t wait around. With the game now tied the bats rallied. Back-to-back singles started things off but then a bunt pop out and strikeout had the A’s on the verge of wasting those hits. Tommy White stepped to the plate with two outs and (thanks to some hustle and replay assistance) collected the third single on a comebacker to the pitcher. Kotsay decided to pinch-hit Jeff McNeil for Alika Williams in this bases-loaded, two-out situation. It was the right button to press as McNeil rewarded him with a two-run single to retake the lead for the Athletics:

Doesn’t get much more clutch than that! An absolutely massive hit off the veteran infielder’s bat for the squad. The A’s managed to plate one more after that as well thanks to a wild pinch that let White come in to score. 5-2 A’s with nine outs to go.

Medina stayed in the game and handled a second inning of work for the seventh, lefty Jose Suarez had a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. Hogan Harris came on for the save opportunity and ran into some trouble by letting the tying run come to the plate, but managed to get a strikeout looking to end the game and secure his seventh save of the year.

A quality win all-around for the guys, and a much needed one. The squad has their second win of the second half. A strong start from Springs, paired with the bats waking up for 15 hits (13 of which were singles) was enough to get the job done in this one. A couple of the rookies had big games as Kuroda-Grauer had his first big fly and White went 4-for-5. The club now sits at 43-57 a hundred games into the season. The playoffs may be too far but there’s always fun playing spoiler for a team like Arizona who are fighting and clawing to keep playing in October.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. Right-hander Jack Perkins is set to get the ball for the first time in the second half, hoping for better results post-Break. The former well-regarded prospect has struggled immensely in his time in the rotation this season, posting a 8.10 ERA in his six starts after beginning the year in the bullpen. With the playoffs slipping away though the club can afford to let Perk work through his struggles at the big league level. Who knows, maybe he’ll figure it out in the second half and build himself into a legitimate option for next year’s starting rotation.

Arizona meanwhile has yet to announce their starter for tomorrow evening so we’ll have to keep an eye on how they want to tackle the A’s tomorrow. Stay tuned.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been described as resilient this season. Does that adjective still apply? No better way to find out than to see how the team would compete against the Los Angeles Angels after arguably their worst defeat of the season losing a 7-run lead in Arizona. Monday is a new day and Kyle Leahy led the troops into battle in Anaheim. However, the end of the game would bring back the disappointment from the day prior unfortunately.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 2nd inning when Jordan Walker smoked a double off of the left field wall to leadoff the inning. Lars Nootbaar followed Jordan’s double with a single to left giving the Cardinals runners at first and third with no outs. After Masyn Winn struck out, Nathan Church ripped a single to right scoring Walker and giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

Blaze Jordan then grounded out to third on a ball that Angels third baseman Guzman couldn’t come up with cleanly which allowed Nootbaar to score from third on the fielder’s choice giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

The LA Angels cut the Cardinals lead in half in the bottom of the 3rd inning Jo Adell turned an 86 mph curveball that caught too much of the plate into a no-doubt 389 foot home run into the left field seats making it 2-1 Cardinals after 3 innings.

Potentially key play of the game happened in the top of the 4th inning when Nathan Church hit a 2-out double, but came off the base sliding into second where the safe call on the field was overturned on the Angels challenge.

Neither the Cardinals or Angels scored in the middle innings, but St. Louis had some loud outs including a 96 mph four-seam fastball that Alec Burleson barreled in the top of the 6th inning with an exit velocity of 106 mph that landed in Mike Trout’s glove at the top of the centerfield wall. Jordan Walker followed Burleson’s loud out with one of his own also to center for a line drive out that ended the Cardinals 6th inning.

Kyle Leahy did give the Cardinals a quality start even though he got minimal run support through the first 6 innings. He only allowed 3 hits, struck out 4 and didn’t walk anyone. Very nice.

Ryne Stanek walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the 7th inning, but for once that didn’t come back to cause issues as he held the Angels scoreless as he got a strikeout, pop-out and line-out to end the Los Angeles 7th.

George Soriano was tasked by manager Oli Marmol to maintain the Cardinals one-run lead in the bottom of the 8th inning. He was greeted by a very loud single by Jo Adell who ripped one of his 89 mph changeups to left leading off the inning. George struck out Guzman looking with a 86 mph sweeper. Meckler then ripped a changeup lineout to Burleson at first on a ball that looked like it hit the dirt, but it was ruled a lineout, but Alec was unable to double up Adell. It fortunately wouldn’t matter after Neto flew out innocently to Walker in right to end the Angels 8th inning.

I can’t speak for Cardinals Nation as a whole, but pretty sure a majority of us would feel better if the team could have added to their one-run lead in the top of the 9th inning. Unfortunately, Iván Herrera struck out (for the 4th time tonight) followed by a whiff from Alec Burleson. Jordan Walker managed a two-out walk and then stole second to get into scoring position. Lars Nootbaar came close to bumping up the lead as he drove a 90 mph slider to the left field wall, but it was tracked down by Angels outfield Josh Lowe for the final out of the Cardinals 9th inning.

Riley O’Brien came in to secure the win for the St. Louis Cardinals, but is that how it would turn out? The TV crew shared the stunning stat the the Los Angeles Angels were 0-48 when trailing after 8 innings. Future Hall-of-Famer Mike Trout led off for the Angels. O’Brien struck him out with a nasty 96 mph sinker. Nolan Schanuel was next up for LA and he ripped a solid single into right-center giving the Angels the tying run on base and the potential winning run at the plate in the form of Jorge Soler. Soler was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts in the game up to that point. After running the count full, Riley plunked Soler giving the Angels runners at first and second with just one out. Vaughan Grissom nearly ended the game with a ball that slammed off of the right field wall scoring pinch-runner Peraza tying the game 2-2. The umpires held a review that confirmed the ball was not a home run, so the Cardinals were given a brief reprieve. The Cardinals intentionally walked Josh Lowe to load the bases in hopes of a double-play to send the game to extras. That left the game in the balance as Jo Adell walked up to the plate having homered earlier in the game. Riley did the unthinkable and threw 4 straight balls with the last one hitting Adell giving the Angels a disastrous walk-off win. This, my fellow Cardinals brothers and sisters, is the low point of the season right here.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to find a way to crawl out of this hole with a Tuesday night clash versus the Los Angeles Angels. Matthew Liberatore will start for the Cardinals while the Angels will give the ball to Walbert Ureña. First pitch is scheduled for 8:38pm central time at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Game TV broadcast being handled by Cardinals.tv.

Making it to the big leagues is always a special feat, but nothing compares to hitting your first career home run.

That special moment came in the second inning for the Athletics' third baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer in his first plate appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, July 20.

Kuroda-Grauer approached the plate in the top of the second inning when he faced a 91-mph four-seam pitch from Mitch Bratt, who made his MLB debut just five days before Kuroda-Grauer.

The A's 23-year-old prospect took it yard, sending it back 416 feet across left-center field for a solo home run, the first in his major-league career.

Kuroda-Grauer was selected by the A's with the 75th overall pick in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He was called up from the Las Vegas Aviators on June 29 and has yet to look back. In his first 15 major-league games, Kuroda-Grauer has shown consistency and signs of a high-level slugger.

He followed up his homer with a gutsy base hit, but not before he could demonstrate his grit and toughness. Kuroda-Grauer was back at the plate at the top of the fifth inning when he swung at a pitch that resulted in a foul ball. The ball ricocheted off his bat and straight down to his midsection, right below the waist. Yes, that tender area that is usually protected in baseball with a cup in the under garments.

Kuroda-Grauer was down for bit but bounced back to deliver a line drive to right-center for a single.

Kuroda-Grauer was replaced defensively at third base by Donovan Walton in the bottom of the seventh inning, finishing with a batting line of 2-for-3 to push his batting average to .417.

The Athletics won the game, 5-2.

Mariners 8, Reds 0

Being on this side of it: Victor Robles, .12 WPA; George Kirby, .34 WPA

Being on that side of it: Buddy Kennedy, -.09 WPA no one is bad all mariners are good tonight

Game thread comment of the day:

It took 10 innings about three and a half hours, but the Tigers beat the Cubs 8-6.

After dropping the final game of their series against the Angels, the Tigers were hoping to have a good series against the Chicago Cubs, knowing they can’t really afford to lose multiple games in a row. To get the job done, they had Jack Flaherty on the mound and he was squaring off against James Taillon for the Cubs. The game got underway about thirty minutes late thanks to the threat of rain.

In his first game back, Gleyber Torres got a one-out single in the first. Colt Keith then doubled, and on his heels, Riley Greene hit a three-run homer.

Hot on his heels, Dillon Dingler homered as well, getting the score to 4-0.

Two outs followed, but it was an ideal start to the game for the Tigers. Flaherty had it pretty easy in the bottom of the inning going 1-2-3. He owed quite a bit of that to his defense, including this incredible play by Kevin McGonigle.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in top of the second. In the bottom of the inning Ian Happ got a one-out walk, then Nico Hoerner singled. Two outs followed, though, getting Flaherty out of an early-inning jam.

It was another three-up, three-down inning for the Tigers in the third. In the home half, Flaherty wasn’t so lucky. Miguel Amaya singled to start the inning, then with one out Seiya Suzuki homered, bringing two runs in. Immediately after him Michael Busch homered to almost the exact same place. While Flaherty did manage to get out of the inning, the score was 4-3 at the end of the third.

Dingler did his best to add some runs in the fourth with a leadoff single, but unfortunately his teammates left him stranded, going down in order after his single. In the home half, Dansby Swanson walked with two outs. Flaherty did manage to get through the final batter without any runs scoring and even had a nice strikeout to wrap up Amaya. When he’d dialled in, his stuff is nasty. Unfortunately, when he’s not dialled in you get back-to-back home runs into center, so it really is a Tale of Two Flahertys.

Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk in the fifth. Gleyber Torres then walked, and that was it for Taillon. Ryan Rolison came in to replace him. A pinch-hitting Hao-Yu Lee came in and did exactly what Hinch wanted him to, hitting a little bloop single to left to load the bases. Riley Greene then hit into a force out, getting McGonigle out at home. Despite their best opportunity all game to break things wide open, Dingler lined out to end the inning.

Flaherty’s day was done after four, not a big surprise given his elevated pitch count and his inconsistent performance. His final line for the game was 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR on 82 pitches. If two of his hits hadn’t been for home runs (and Wrigley can be a very home run-friendly park when the wind blows the right way) his outing wouldn’t have looked quite so bad, but the results are what they are. Drew Sommers replaced him. Suzuki got a one-out walk. With two outs, Alex Bregman singled, thanks to Lee not quite being able to make anything happen with a ball hit right to him. Dingler then came through with a throw over to second, getting Suzuki out to end the inning.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out in the home half, Jacob Waguespack replaced Sommers. He gave up a two-out single to Pedro Ramirez, but was able to get out of the jam.

Gavin Hollowell was the new Cubs’ reliever in the seventh. McGonigle got a one-out double. Then Torres singled, but McGonigle held at third base. Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch after the second out of the inning, specifically to face Greene, and it turned out to be a good move because he got the final out of the inning. Waguespack got the first two outs of the seventh before the Tigers turned to Kyle Finnegan to take on Suzuki. He induced a ground ball out to end the inning.

The Cubs dipped back into their bullpen for the eighth for Tyler Ferguson, who gave up a leadoff home run to Dillon Dingler. His third multi-homer game since June.

Three outs in a row followed, but Dingler had helped boost the lead for the first time since the first inning. In the home half Alex Bregman got a one-out single, then Ian Happ homered, tying up the game. Two outs followed, but the results were less than ideal. Really death by home run on both sides today.

Jacob Webb came in for the ninth. With two outs, Torres walked (though the Cubs did attempt the ABS challenge, it was upheld). Matt Vierling came in to run for Torres, and it was up to Lee. Lee, sadly, hit into a force out to end the inning. Kenley Jansen was in for the ninth, which was certainly a choice given the wind. Swanson hit a leadoff double. One out put Swanson on third. After a meeting on the mound, Pete Crow-Armstrong was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners. PCA advanced to second on defensive indifference. Busch worked a walk after seeing a lot of pitches. With the bases loaded and a three-ball start, Jansen somehow got Bregman out to end the inning and force extras.

Riley Greene singled to start the tenth, putting runners on the corners thanks to the ghost runner, but he also hit Thornton with a comebacker to the foot, forcing the Cubs back to their bullpen. Javier Assad came in to replace him. Dingler worked the count and then hit a single to left, scoring Lee to push the Tigers into the lead. In what should have been a textbook double-play off the bat of Kerry Carpenter, Hoerner just couldn’t field it and somehow the bases were safely loaded. Carpenter was pulled for a pinch runner, looking like he might have hurt himself getting to first. Torkelson then laced a hit dead center, and scored two more runs with Ben Malgeri safely on third.

With two outs, Assad intentionally walked McGonigle to load the bases. The Tigers managed to squander a great additional opportunity, leaving three on, but they did score three to retake the lead. Tyler Holton would be the man responsible for holding that lead. With one out, Hoerner singled, putting runners at the corners. Ramirez grounded into a force out, scoring Bregman but eliminating Hoerner. Swanson singled, and thanks to an error by Outman who literally dropped the ball, Ramirez ended up at third. Former Tiger Carson Kelly grounded out to end the inning, probably one of the best things he’s ever done for Detroit, and the game blessedly ended with a Tigers win.

Final: Tigers 8, Cubs 6 (F/10)

The hot-and-cold nature of the Sox offense as of late gave a fizzled first-inning rally an ominous feeling. Sam Antonacci drew a rare leadoff walk against Jacob deGrom, and just a few pitches later a Munetaka Murakami double had him standing 90 feet from home. Yet some baserunning butchery saw the game remain scoreless into the bottom of the first, when Joc Pederson welcomed Erick Fedde back to a pure starting role with a 423-foot blast to lead off the Rangers half of the game.

Facing down a future Hall-of-Famer who had already worked his way out of one jam felt like a tall task. Yet thanks to repeated rally-sparking efforts from Antonacci, more lasers from Miguel Vargas, some Andrew Benintendi bases-loaded magic and a ninth inning cascade of hits, the Sox walked away with a resounding 10-3 win, their 52nd of the season, fourth in five tries, and seventh of their last eight.

Pederson’s homer wasn’t the only time Fedde let the Rangers get to him, as he was also tagged for an additional run in the third inning on a string of base hits from the top of the Texas lineup. But Fedde kept the Rangers off the board for two additional innings, and there are many worse outcomes than getting four innings of two-run ball from the 2026 version of Erick Fedde. So the decision to pull him for Chris Murphy after just 64 pitches felt apt. With a three-run lead, why play with fire? Murphy was able to handle the bottom of the Rangers lineup handily, which leaving 11 outs for the high-leverage part of the Sox bullpen to handle.

Oh yeah, before we get to that, the other thing. When Fedde departed his half of the fourth, the Sox still faced a 2-1 deficit, having clawed back a run thanks to some hustle from Antonacci on a Vargas double down the line. By the time Fedde was scheduled to go out again, the Sox offense had driven deGrom from the game and turned a one-run deficit into a three-run lead.

The rally was sparked by Tristan Peters and — who else? — Antonacci, who attacked a first-pitch slider from deGrom to drive in the former after he led off the inning with a double against the former Mets ace. Antonacci moved to second on a four-pitch walk to Munetaka Murakami, and then third on Vargas’s second hit of the night. Just when it looked as if deGrom was on the verge of escaping once again, Benintendi — who entered the night 0-for-8 against the 38-year-old for his career — had other plans.

Benintendi has been fantastic with the bases loaded for his entire career, hitting .365 with 16 sacrifice flies, 13 walks, and just eight strikeouts entering today. That double made for 100 RBIs in 116 appearances with the sacks packed. Not bad!

The bright offensive night was darkened, however, by an as-yet unspecified ankle injury to Kyle Teel, who left the game after a play at the plate in the third inning. Ominously, he was unable to put any weight on the ankle, needing to be helped off the field as Drew Romo put on his gear. Romo finished the game 1-for-4 at the plate, which actually brings his average up to .134 on the season. Per Baseball FR’s Francys Romero, Edgar Quero is already on the plane to DFW, so to speak.

Unfortunately, the Sox couldn’t even escape from the rest of the game unscathed, as Colson Montgomery was removed in the seventh inning after fouling a ball off his shin. He’s reportedly day-to-day with a contusion. At the very least, his replacement, Luisangel Acuña, was the one who all but put the game away with a soft two-run single in the ninth to extend the lead to five.

The seventh inning also gave us our first game action look at erstwhile farmhand Ben Peoples, who worked to a sterling 2.39 ERA in Charlotte before being dealt to Texas last month in a trade that remains as head-scratching now as it did then. Peoples worked a 1-2-3 inning to lower his ERA to 2.84 over his first 6 1/3 innings as a big-leaguer.

In one of the more poetic instances of the announcer’s jinx I’ve heard recently, Dan Plesac was unable to finish the sentence “Seranthony Domínguez is on to try to get the Sox through the seventh inning” before Domínguez coughed up a mammoth home run to Jake Burger, who’s now homered three times in 10 games against the club that drafted him 11th overall in 2017.

Domínguez did recover, to his credit, to post a hassle-free 1-2-3 effort after that, and though Sean Newcomb ran into a little bit of trouble, he kept the Rangers off the board in the eighth. Before the Sox started tacking on their five last-ditch insurance runs courtesy of Acuña, Vargas, pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk and Braden Montgomery, it looked like Grant Taylor would be getting another chance to solidify himself as a closer in the more traditional sense. Instead, the extra breathing room gave Taylor some extra rest, allowing Trevor Richards to come on for the final three outs.

With Cleveland’s equally resounding 13-4 win over Minnesota, the Sox remain a game up in the AL Central, and they’re now a season-high seven games better than .500. This graph does not include today’s game, yet the arrow is still as high as I’ve seen it in a few election cycles, so I’ll still post it.

We’ll be back with you tomorrow evening as Noah Schultz tries to secure another series win against a to-be-announced starter for the Rangers. First pitch is once again at 7:05 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!

MVP
Sam Antonacci: 2-for-3, BB, 2 R, RBI

Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas 1: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Andrew Benintendi: 1-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI
Sox Bullpen: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Cold Cat
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 2 K, left game w/ shin contusion

Everyone else had at least one run or one run batted in, let’s not get cute, will we?