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Record-setting performances are becoming routine for Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies.

Just five days after having appeared in his second consecutive All-Star game, Goodman etched his name in Colorado franchise history on July 19.

The Rockies catcher slugged three home runs against the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a three-game series at Coors Field for Goodman’s second three-home run game of the season.

He also slammed three roundtrippers June 27 at Minnesota.

Goodman becomes the first player in franchise history to have multiple three-home run games in the same season.

“Definitely cool knowing all the guys, the great players that have played here, the Hall of Famers who have played here,” Goodman said about securing his special spot in Rockies history as he finished with five RBI in his team’s 9-6 loss to the Reds.

“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment,” he added before a throng of media in the Rockies clubhouse.

Goodman, who now has 30 home runs this season, becomes the fourth player in franchise history with at least two, three-home run games in their careers.

Hall of Famer Larry Walker did it three times while fellow Hall of Famer Todd Helton accomplished the feat twice. Carlos González also achieved the distinction on two occasions in his career.

With his 30 homers in 101 team games in 2026, Goodman becomes the fourth-fastest Rockie to reach 30 homers in a season. Vinny Castilla attained 30 homers in 97 games in 1998 to reach the total in the fewest number of games.

Goodman now has five multi-homer games this season to lead the Majors and has 10 multi-homer contests in his career.

The three-home run performance came on a sunny, 92-degree summer day in Denver,

“It’s a July day game, hot, Coors Field…the ball tends to fly on those days,” Goodman said.

“And then I got some good pitches to hit.” 

Goodman belted a solo shot off Cincinnati starting pitcher Hunter Greene in the first inning then added a two-run blast off Greene in the sixth. His third homer of the day, another two-run shot, came against Reds reliever Sam Moll in the eighth inning.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer praised his catcher’s offensive output.

“His body looks like it’s flowing right,” Schaeffer said. “He looks dangerous. He just looks in sync. Today he was, obviously, with three homers. He was really good. You can see the confidence seep out.”

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The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the second of three series during their current homestand, as they’ll welcome the New York Mets to town for three games beginning Monday evening. The Brewers currently sit at 62-37 and in first place in the NL Central after sweeping the Marlins this weekend, six games ahead of the second-place Cubs. The Mets sit in dead last in the NL East and with the fourth-worst record in baseball at 42-58, and they’ve already fired their manager. They’re coming off a nice series win in Philadelphia, though, as they took two of three from the Phillies.

The Brewers are currently without pitchers DL Hall (on rehab assignment), Kyle Harrison (late July), Rob Zastryzny (late July), Joel Kuhnel (late July or early August), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), Brandon Woodruff (out for season), Quinn Priester (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). Outfielders Brandon Lockridge and Sal Frelick, along with infielder David Hamilton, are also shelved, with Lockridge and Hamilton expected to return in late July and Frelick’s return TBD, as he’ll undergo imaging on his shoulder injury this week.

New York is without pitchers Clay Holmes (late July), Austin Warren (late July), Justin Hagenman (late July or early August), Tylor Megill (the younger brother of Trevor) (out for season), Reed Garrett (out for season), and Dedniel Núñez (out for season). First baseman Mark Vientos is out until late August with a fractured hand, and outfielder Luis Robert Jr. may be activated for this series after missing the last two-plus months with a lumbar spine disc hernia.

Jake Bauers continues to set the pace for the Brewers with 18 homers, followed by Brice Turang (14), Jackson Chourio (13), and William Contreras (10). Garrett Mitchell has been the Crew’s best hitter over the last month or so, and Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, Joey Ortiz, Andrew Vaughn, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt, Blake Perkins, and Braden Shewmake round out what has been a balanced offensive attack for the Brewers. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .253/.337/.396 (.733 OPS ranks 10th), with 91 homers (last), 502 runs (tied for fourth), and 98 steals (fourth).

Juan Soto has easily been New York’s best hitter, slashing .290/.409/.552 with 21 homers. Francisco Alvarez and Carson Benge have 11 homers apiece, while Bo Bichette has added 10. Jared Young, Marcus Semien, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, A.J. Ewing, and Jorge Polanco round out the regulars, with Eric Wagaman, Brett Baty, and Luis Torrens providing depth. As a team, the Mets are hitting .234/.304/.382 (.686 OPS ranks tied for 27th), with 117 homers (16th), 409 runs (25th), and 49 steals (24th).

Aaron Ashby sets the pace for Milwaukee’s bullpen with 47 appearances this year, pitching to a 3.43 ERA with 78 strikeouts over 57 2/3 innings. Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill have been the most effective arms in the back end of the ‘pen, with Chad Patrick, Grant Anderson, Craig Yoho, Lance McCullers Jr., and Bryse Wilson rounding out the lower-leverage arms. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.45 team ERA (second), including a 3.38 starter ERA (second) and a 3.54 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 960 batters (second) over 886 2/3 innings.

Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, and Luke Weaver lead the Mets in appearances, and each of them has an ERA in the low- to mid-2.00s. Former Brewer Devin Williams has 14 saves in 17 opportunities this year but has a 4.68 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. Kodai Senga has been moved to the bullpen as he has a dismal 8.85 ERA and 0-7 record this year, while A.J. Minter has been solid with a 1.80 ERA over 20 frames. Cionel Pérez (5.14 ERA) and Xzavion Curry (2.70 ERA) round things out. As a staff, the Mets have a 4.23 team ERA (17th), including a 4.44 starter ERA (21st) and a 4.00 bullpen ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 918 batters (third) over 891 2/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, July 20 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62 ERA, 2.09 FIP) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (5-8, 4.66 ERA, 4.39 FIP)

A matchup of the former ace vs. the current ace. Misiorowski, who has had a lengthy layoff to give him a bit of extra break, hasn’t pitched since July 7 against the Cardinals. He’s 10-4 this year with a 1.62 ERA, 2.09 FIP, and 167 strikeouts across 111 innings. He picked up the win in that game against St. Louis, allowing three runs on three hits and no walks while striking out 11. Misiorowski’s lone start against the Mets came last July in New York, when he took the loss as he allowed five runs on five hits and three walks, striking out two over 3 2/3 innings.

Peralta, 30, is in his first season with New York after being traded by the Brewers in the offseason. The nine-year veteran has had his worst full season to date, as he’s pitched to a 4.66 ERA, 4.39 FIP, and 104 strikeouts over 104 1/3 innings this year. He got hit for two runs on three hits and five walks, striking out six over just 4 1/3 innings in his last outing against the Red Sox, a 4-0 loss. This marks Peralta’s first career start against his former team.

Tuesday, July 21 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (3-4, 5.16 ERA, 5.11 FIP) vs. LHP Zac Thornton (0-1, 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP)

Sproat, who was acquired in the aforementioned Peralta trade with the Mets, made his debut with New York last season. He’s shown flashes of his potential but hasn’t fully put things together just yet, with a 5.16 ERA, 5.11 FIP, and 87 strikeouts over 82 innings. Walks and hit batters have plagued the young right-hander, as he has 39 free passes to go with nine hit batters. That was exactly what gave him fits in Pittsburgh last weekend, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, two walks, and three hit batters, striking out three over three innings. This marks Sproat’s first start against his former squad.

Thornton, 24, ranks as the Mets’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Winona, Minnesota product was drafted in the fifth round in 2023 out of Grand Canyon University, and he’s made three starts in the majors thus far, pitching to a 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP, and 15 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings. He started last weekend against the Red Sox in what was his best start yet, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks, striking out five over seven innings on just 82 pitches, though he took a no-decision as the Red Sox went on to win in extras. This marks Thornton’s first career start against Milwaukee.

Wednesday, July 22 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (3-1, 2.97 ERA, 2.71 FIP) vs. RHP Christian Scott (3-1, 2.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP)

Henderson continues to impress, as he now has 12 MLB starts across parts of two seasons, pitching to a 2.45 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and 71 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings. He went five innings in a no-decision against the Marlins in Friday’s series opener, allowing one run on three hits and no walks, striking out four on 73 pitches. This will mark Henderson’s first career start against New York.

Scott, 27, is in his second major league season after making nine starts for the Mets back in 2024. In 13 starts this year, he’s pitched to a solid 2.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP, and 72 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings. He’s looked great in each of his last two appearances, totaling 10 2/3 innings with no runs allowed and 12 strikeouts against the Royals and Phillies. This marks Scott’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, July 20: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, July 21: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, July 22: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

These are two teams with completely opposite philosophies — the Mets like to spend money and lose; the Brewers like to save money and win. Give me the Crew to win two of three.

The Houston Astros continue to shuffle the deck with their pitching staff.

SP Ronel Blanco, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 18, 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, will return to the roster on Monday and get the start against the Miami Marlins at Daikin Park.

Blanco has pitched well on his rehab assignment. In 5 games covering 17 innings, Blanco is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA. He has allowed 2 runs on 12 hits, walked 6 and struck out 13 in that time. Blanco’s velocity has also mirrored that of his pre-injury days.

After today’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Astros optioned RP Bryan King to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Since joining the team in 2024, King has been a solid reliever for the Astros, but has been in a bad rut of late. Not only has he allowed runs in each of his last 4 outings, but he has allowed at least 1 home run in each of his last 4 outings. In his last 4 outings, covering 5 innings, he has allowed a total of 5 home runs. He has allowed 8 runs overall in that time on 10 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4.

King’s strikeout rate is down notably this season, sitting at 7 K/9 entering today’s game. It was 9.1 K/9 last season and 10.9 K/9 in 2024.

Multiple Astros pitchers this season have been optioned to Sugar Land, only to be later have that option cancelled and be placed on the MLB 15-day IL instead. Whether King has an injury at this time is unknown, but he is in the middle of the worst stretch of his career.

The potential swap of King for Blanco still leaves the Astros with only 12 pitchers, and 14 position players. Teams can carry up to 13 pitchers, but not more than that.

The Tampa Bay Rays did not allow a hit in the third inning Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

The Boston Red Sox scored three runs anyway.

A walk, a hit batter, another walk, a passed ball, an error, and a groundout turned a tied game into a three-run Boston lead, sending the Rays toward a 6-1 loss and a four-game sweep. The defeat extended Tampa Bay’s season-high losing streak to five games while Boston won its 13th straight.

Before the third-inning unraveling, Victor Mesa Jr. provided the Rays with one of the more exciting ways imaginable to take a lead.

Mesa opened the second by driving a ball into the right-center-field gap and never stopped running, racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. It was his seventh homer of the season and gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead without the ball ever leaving Fenway Park.

The Rays threatened to add more. Richie Palacios singled and stole second. Taylor Walls followed with a walk, but Sonny Gray retired the next three batters to strand both runners.

Boston immediately answered.

Caleb Durbin opened the bottom of the second with a single, stole second and advanced to third when Hunter Feduccia’s throw bounced away into centerfield. Andruw Monasterio then doubled into left field to tie the game. Feduccia recovered by throwing out Jarren Duran attempting to steal second, helping Shane McClanahan escape without further damage than a 1-1 tie.

The Rays created another scoring opportunity in the third. Cedric Mullins walked, and Chandler Simpson doubled, placing runners at second and third with one out. Gray responded by striking out Mesa after an unsuccessful Rays challenge and retiring Palacios on a fly ball.

Those missed opportunities became more costly during the no-hit blunder of the third inning.

McClanahan walked Jahmai Jones before retiring Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu was then hit by a pitch, and Willson Contreras walked after a Red Sox challenge confirmed ball three.

With the bases loaded, a passed ball by Feduccia allowed Jones to score the go-ahead run. Durbin followed with a grounder to Junior Caminero, but Caminero’s throw hit Abreau as Abreau scored, Contreras moved to third, and Durbin advanced to second.

Romy Gonzalez completed the damage with a groundout that brought Contreras home. Boston had turned three free baserunners and two defensive mistakes into a 4-1 lead without recording a hit.

Gray made sure the lead held.

After allowing Jonathan Aranda’s leadoff single in the fifth, the right-hander retired Caminero, Mullins and Simpson in order. Another opportunity disappeared in the sixth when Walls grounded into an inning-ending double play after Palacios walked.

Contreras then supplied Boston’s only necessary insurance. Rafaela singled to open the bottom of the fifth, and Contreras drove McClanahan’s next pitch into the right-center-field seats for his 22nd home run, extending the lead to 6-1.

McClanahan finished with six runs allowed, four earned, on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three, matching his season low, but the line reflected an afternoon when missed locations and defensive mistakes compounded one another.

The Rays finished with eight hits to Boston’s six but went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even after Feduccia doubled in the seventh and Walls and Feduccia reached to begin the ninth, Tampa Bay could not push across another run.

With this series in the books, the Rays look to get back to winning baseball as they finish their road trip in Toronto. Nick Martinez is scheduled to start against the Blue Jays with a 7:07 pm first pitch.

The Mariners have played 100 games. 50 of those games have been wins. 50 of those games have been losses. Eight of the wins came in a heady run in late May to early June that made it feel like the team had turned a corner and was poised to claim a commanding lead in the AL West, only to be followed by a string of losses that suggested that no, actually, this was the same inconsistent, frustrating team that’s been playing since March. High expectations have made the losses sting, badly, making the record at times feel worse than it is – the 2026 Mariners have at no point been worse than five games under .500, and that was back in the very early days of the season. But it hasn’t felt like that. The play has been so inconsistent that even this 50th win, a 6-3 triumph over the Giants to start off the second half with a series win, doesn’t necessarily feel like a turning point so much as Lucy lowering the football for Charlie Brown once again.

Maybe blame Friday night’s abysmal 7-0 shutout loss against the drain-circling Giants, but even yesterday’s joyful Julio-fueled walkoff win seemed to pale in the harsh light of the series finale, with former Mariner Robbie Ray on the mound for the Giants – recently off back-to-back eight-inning shutout performances – against Logan Gilbert. It was a rough start to the game for Gilbert, who walked off the mound in the first having surrendered two runs: one on a no-doubter Bryce Eldridge home run where he pounced on a first-pitch fastball at 98 mph and pummeled it over the wall, and another on a ground ball base hit off the bat of Casey Schmitt that split J.P. Crawford and Colt Emerson; Schmitt would advance to second and score on another ground ball base hit from Heliot Ramos past a diving Cole Young.

Dan Wilson spoke pregame about the necessity of being patient against Ray and forcing him to get in the zone and wait for your pitch, but that message appeared lost on many of the Mariners hitters for the first few innings. The Mariners got some pressure on Ray in the second inning by following the Wilson 14 Point Plan (all 14 points involve waiting for Ray to throw the ball in the zone): J.P. Crawford singled with two outs, rapping a sharp slider past the second baseman, and then Julio worked a very good at-bat, fouling off and taking pitches before walking on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Unfortunately, that brought up the lefty Cole Young with two outs, and Young was not on message:

Progress: sometimes it is linear, and sometimes, not so much.

The Mariners got on the board in the fourth thanks to some good old-fashioned chaos. Arozarena hit a ball right at Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt who decided it would be nice to send the ball on a scenic tour of Seattle, allowing Randy to get to second; he advanced to third on a Cal Raleigh flyout and scored easily on a Josh Naylor single. Naylor then stole second, because he is a chaos demon wearing polyester pants, and then scored on a game-tying single from Weston Wilson. It is important to have a niche, and in this inning everyone was tucked snugly inside their own personal niches: Randy being a Grade A Annoyance in the box and on the bases, trailing a cloud of chaos behind him like Pigpen; Josh Naylor singling on a pitch located at eye level and causing every Little League coach watching to wail in agony; and Weston Wilson being Professionally Right-Handed.

The Mariners weren’t able to add on but did keep the pressure on Ray, as Colt Emerson followed with a single and J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases for Julio Rodríguez. Julio flew out to end the inning, but the Mariners had managed to put 79 pitches on Ray by the end of the fourth.

Unfortunately, Logan Gilbert wasn’t able to deliver a shutdown inning in the fifth. Maybe it was the long layoff, but Gilbert wasn’t sharp when he came out for thie fifth, walking leadoff hitter Willy Adames on some not close pitches. Adames advanced to second on a bunt and scored on a go-ahead RBI double from Luis Arraez, who got on a slider that didn’t slide enough. Gilbert rebounded to strike out Eldridge on a slider, but the Giants now held the lead.

The Mariners were able to tie it back up in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a tiring Robbie Ray. Ray spammed Young with sliders off the plate again, like he had in the first at-bat, but this time Young made an adjustment, getting a slider on the plate and pulling it sharply (101.3 EV) into right field for a leadoff single. Randy followed him with a single of his own, this one at 105.7 mph off the bat, taking over the honorary Dom Canzone big brother role of “anything you can do, I can do better.” The Giants pulled Ray for righty Sam Hentges, who got Cal Raleigh to ground into a double play on a curveball, but the run still scored, tying things back up. But with two outs, the Mariners couldn’t continue to add on.

However, this time Gilbert was able to deliver the shutdown sixth, capping his day at 95 pitches and ten strikeouts – pretty good work, considering how the day had started. Also of note: Gilbert delivered contact-monster Luis Arraez back-to-back strikeouts in his first two at-bats, the first time Arraez had struck out more than once in a game all season, a fact eagerly shared by Bryce Miller when Logan came into the dugout. When informed actually Miller was underselling it and that this was the first time that’s happened to Arraez in two years, Gilbert couldn’t contain a look of wonder and an involuntary “golly.”

The Giants sent righty Adrian Houser out to the mound for the sixth, allowing Luke Raley to step in for Weston Wilson and immediately make his presence known. This is just the Mariners’ second pinch-hit home run of the year, and I’d forgive you for not believing who hit the first. Hilariously, this is Raley’s second pinch-hit homer, and they both have come against the Giants. Again, it’s important to establish your niche.

With the Mariners clinging to a one-run lead, Eduard Bazardo took over on the mound for Gilbert. Jung Hoo Lee immediately hit the most annoying BABIP flyball single ever off the Bazardvark, which must have really ticked him off because he then rattled off about as filthy a string of strikeouts as I remember from him this year: first he put Willy Adames in a blender on a sweeper, then nailed Grant McCray on the same sweeper for a three-pitch strikeout. Nine-hole hitter Drew Cavanaugh actually made Bazardo work, getting ahead 3-1 and then fouling off a couple pitches, but he too was subject to the bite of the Zard Dog, who punched Cavanaugh out looking on an absolutely filthy sinker.

Everybody has a niche, but Cole Young’s has been harder to pin down this season. Sometimes it’s Gold Glove Cole; sometimes it’s Clutch Cole when there’s runners in scoring position; quietly it’s been Iron Man Cole, playing in every game this season, a feat only accomplished by five other players in MLB. Lately, though, it’s been Cole Power. With Julio aboard on a leadoff single, Young saw a first-pitch changeup from Houser he liked the look of and promptly sent it over the right-field wall for two very important insurance runs. Even more importantly for me, people who enjoy symmetry, this made three runs scored via small ball/chaos ball vs. three runs scored via home run, the optimal mix for this lineup.

With the bullpen breathing a little easier, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz combined for two shutout innings to keep the Giants pinned in place. Speier had to do a little wiggling to get around a four-pitch walk to Eldridge, but posted a zero. Muñoz, by contrast, pitched maybe one of the most dominant innings he has all season, striking out Heliot Ramos on three pitches (heater-slider-slider), getting Jung Hoo Lee to ground out on a slider, and then striking out Willy Adames on three pitches – two heaters at 100 followed by another wicked slider. Muñoz has looked much, much sharper of late, but the effort from the bullpen today was superb, something Dan Wilson says is partly due to the willingness to attack that having a multi-run lead offers.

“It helps guys to get into the ballgame and have confidence that we’re going to take home a victory…anytime you can give them an extra run, an extra two runs, it makes all the difference in the world, because then they’re able to attack. In a one-run or a tie game, these guys are nails. But you give them a little extra lead, they’re going to make you pay.”

I might not be convinced these Mariners have turned a corner, but I’m not the one who needs to be convinced. Postgame, Logan Gilbert expressed confidence in not only the team’s recent record, but also how they’ve gotten there.

“We know where we’re at. It hasn’t been exactly what we wanted up to this point, but Dan keeps talking about how everything’s right in front of us. Division’s wide open. Won three of the last four, so that’s huge, and the way we’ve done it too, any time in the past I feel like we’ve gone through it a little bit – it’s kind of like a walkoff win is huge, with the momentum, so we got that walkoff hit, we came from behind today, clawed back, the offense did great, so those are two really scrappy wins. I think that’s what kind of gets us going.”

Luke Raley echoed Gilbert’s sentiments.

“We know the talent that’s in the clubhouse. It’s pretty clear we haven’t put it all together, but we know it’s there, and we know how we can play. We’ve seen flashes of it, but the consistency hasn’t been there. But we all believe that it’ll show up. We’re going through it a little bit right now. But the way to look at it is, we’ve won three out of our last four, and hopefully we can start getting some momentum and run with it…It’s kind of a cliche answer, but I feel we’ve had some good at-bats where we’ve hit balls hard and they’re outs and we just haven’t come up with the big hit. And Cole [Young] had the big swing yesterday, and it can be as easy as one swing. Just change the momentum, change the confidence, the the team starts rolling. That’s all it takes in baseball. And I hope that was the swing, and I hope we can roll from there, but if it isn’t, we’re going to keep working to get to that point.”

It can be as easy as one swing. It can also be as difficult. But it’s a lot easier when everyone knows their niche, and after today, where the Mariners stacked 11 hits up and down the lineup and scored on balls both small and long while striking out seven times against three walks, it feels like maybe – maybe – they’re starting to find it.

The St. Louis Cardinals were ready to play the waiting game with the Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star starter Eduardo Rodriguez, but Andre Pallante and the bullpen would eventually blow a 7-run lead late in the game to make it a nail-biter which would end in heartbreak fashion.

Andre Pallante has a history of baffling the Diamondbacks and that trend continued for the first 5 innings of Sunday’s game in Arizona. More about the awful 6th inning later. While he was keeping the Diamondbacks hitless, the St. Louis Cardinals had a smart approach to wait out Eduardo Rodriguez and make him throw strikes. That would lead to a big breakthrough in the top of the 3rd inning.

Lars Nootbaar was the first example of Cardinals patience as he worked a walk to lead off the top of the 3rd inning. He would score on a triple from Blaze Jordan into the left-centerfield gap giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

Blaze would score on a smart at-bat from JJ Wetherholt as he guided a single past Nolan Arenado doubling the Cardinals lead to 2-0.

The Cardinals weren’t done doing damage in the 3rd as Iván Herrera singled and Jordan Walker kept his 10-game hitting streak alive smashing a double off of the left field wall scoring Wetherholt and making it 3-0 Cardinals.

But wait, there’s more. Alec Burleson hit a 92 mph Rodriguez sinker into left center scoring both Herrera and Walker giving the Cardinals a commanding 5-0 lead.

The St. Louis Cardinals would continue to pile onto their lead in the top of the 5th inning as Alec Burleson would begin the rally with a one-out single. After Masyn Winn flied out for the second out, Jose Fermin and Lars Nootbaar walked to load the bases. Blaze Jordan would come through with a clutch two-strike single to right scoring Burleson and Fermin and giving the Cardinals a huge 7-0 lead.

Andre Pallante with an assist by the Cardinals bullpen would allow the Diamondbacks to climb back into the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Del Castillo would lead off with a double followed by a single by Waldschmidt. Ketel Marte then singled in Del Castillo to get the Diamondbacks on the scoreboard subtracting from the Cardinals lead making it 7-1 with runners on first and third with none out. Pallante then walked Perdomo to load the bases and then two batters later walked Moreno to push another run across making it 7-2 St. Louis. That would result in manager Oli Marmol removing Pallante and bringing in Ryne Stanek. He would get Kepler to pop out to shortstop, but would walk Locklear with the bases still loaded and getting Arizona back within striking distance as the Cardinals lead was down to 7-3. Stanek would get out of the inning when Blaze Jordan made a diving grab on a ground ball from Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson made a fine scoop at first to end the Diamondbacks long bottom of the 6th inning.

After Ryne Stanek gave up a leadoff single to Del Castillo in the bottom of the 7th inning, it was George Soriano to the rescue (or at least that was the hope). He successfully got Waldschmidt and Marte out, but Perdomo slapped a single to left field that Jose Fermin misplayed which not only allowed Del Castillo to score, but Perdomo, too as he circled the bases for a little league home run cutting the Cardinals lead down to a nerve-racking 7-5.

The Cardinals narrow lead would disappear in the bottom of the 8th inning. After St. Louis reliever Gordon Graceffo got the first two outs, Locklear singled bringing up Nolan Arenado. Gordon unfortunately grooved an 88 mph slider and Arenado jolted it over the left field wall tying the game at 7-7.

Arenado’s 2-run homer would make the 9th inning a 7-7 shootout. In the top of the 9th, Masyn Winn grounded out to lead off the Cardinals 9th, but Jose Fermin followed with a single and Lars Nootbaar then drew his 4th walk of the day. Blaze Jordan then flew out to center for the second out which brought up JJ Wetherholt. He would face Diamondbacks reliever Juan Morillo. He would ground out to end the top of the 9th inning.

For the Cardinals to reach extra-innings, it would need the arm of Luis Gastelum to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring. He would strike out Ketel Marte and get Perdomo to ground out bringing up Jorge Barrosa who Gastelum would strike out also. Very impressive bottom of the 9th for Luis.

The Cardinals would start extra innings with JJ Wetherholt as the designated runner on second base. After an errant bunt attempt and nearly being hit in the head by a pitch, Ivan Herrera would guide a single into left field which would advance JJ to third base bringing up Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker with Bryan Torres pinch-running for Herrera at first. In a play that really must be seen to be believed, Byran Torres would be doubled off first when Jordan Walker broke his bat popping out to short. That bonehead baserunning blunder would mean the Cardinals would not score in their half of the 10th inning after Nathan Church grounded out. Playoff-caliber teams can’t make mistakes like this, but stuff happens.

Luis Gastelum would remain in the game for the bottom of the 10th to try and replicate his excellent 9th inning effort. This time, though, he’d start the inning with Barrosa as the free runner at second. He’d get Moreno to line out to Nootbaar in right without advancing the runner for the first out. That would bring up Max Kepler. He would clobber a double over Lars head in right field off the wall for a walk-off Diamondbacks winner. A stunning defeat.

The St. Louis Cardinals continue their westward trip with a stop in Anaheim to compete with the Los Angeles Angels. Kyle Leahy will start for the Cardinals while the Angels will give the ball to José Soriano. First pitch scheduled for 9:10pm central time at Angel Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

The Nats are back to their series winning ways to open the second half. As they have been all season, the Nats were road warriors in Sacramento, winning two out of three. This felt like a must win game for the Nats, who are on the outskirts of the playoff race. With their ace on the mound, the Nats got a curly W.

Speaking of the Nats ace, Foster Griffin was brilliant yet again today. He went seven innings, allowing just one run. Griffin did this despite not having his sharpest stuff, at least in my opinion. He only struck out two, but he had A’s hitters beating the ball into the ground. The Nats All-Star lefty allowed one run or fewer an 8th straight time, which is a Nats record.

Getting a Nationals pitching record is no easy feat despite the franchise being young. Max Scherzer set the bar so high for Nationals pitchers, and doing something that even he could not do is special. Griffin lowered his season ERA to 2.68 in what has been a truly remarkable season. When Griffin arrived from Japan, my hope was that he would be an average starting pitcher. He has been so much more than that this season.

Griffin also did Nats fans a solid by going 7 innings, meaning we only got to see two innings of the bullpen. The basepaths were crowded in the 8th and 9th innings, but the Nats ended up getting the job done with Clayton Beeter shutting the door, albeit in somewhat unconvincing fashion.

On the offensive side of the ball it took the Nats a few innings to figure out the A’s crafty lefty Jacob Lopez. However, by the time the middle innings rolled around, the Nats started to get to him. They scored a run in the third, largely manufactured by Nasim Nunez. After the A’s tied the game in the bottom of the frame, the Nats offense got to work.

Following a Dylan Crews hit by pitch, the new guy, Harry Ford continued his strong start with the Nats. Ford ripped a double into the gap, scoring Crews from first. The Nats top catching prospect was really starting to heat up in AAA, and that has translated to the big leagues so far. I will also point out that Ford stole a strike at the bottom of the zone that made things much less stressful in the 9th inning.

With what he is showing so far, Ford has a strong chance of sticking around even when Drew Millas is healthy. The 23 year old looks confident at the plate and has not put a foot wrong in the field so far. It took a while for him to get going, but it seems like we are finally getting the version of Harry Ford that was expected when he arrived from the Mariners.

Ford delivered in the 4th, but the 5th inning was the Nats big inning. They put up three runs to give them some separation. CJ Abrams hit a monstrous two-run homer to straight away center. That homer gave Abrams a career high, and we are still in the middle of July. Abrams is such an important player for this team, and he wants to prove that he can hold up for a full season. With a .298 average and .886 OPS in July, the early returns are strong.

Dylan Crews quickly made it back to back jacks, to make it 5-1 Nats. This was a much needed homer for Crews, who has really been struggling lately. Even after the homer, I remain unconvinced with Crews, but he has to start somewhere. Now, the goal will be for him to string together good games and start to find his footing in the big leagues.

As we have discussed, this is a huge second half for Crews, who could be running out of opportunities in the nation’s capital. Today was a good start, but we need to see consistency before we anoint Crews.

The Nats just passed the 100 game mark, and they are an even 50-50. As you would expect from a .500 team, there have been ups and downs. However, this season has smashed expectations, and has been so much fun, especially when the bullpen isn’t in the game. The Nats now have a big opportunity in Colorado to win another series and start to build momentum entering the second half. This team will have to show Paul Toboni that buying is the right path, and this series was a good start in that mission.

The Dodgers look to sweep the Yankees in the Bronx on Sunday.

SUNDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Yankees
• Stadium: Yankee Stadium
• Time: 4:20 p.m. PT
• TV: NBC; Streaming: Peacock
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)