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SAN FRANCISCO — The Cubs had what appeared to be a good game plan against the Giants. With the top of their lineup being mostly left-handed, Craig Counsell decided to use Ryan Rolison as an opener, then follow with scheduled starter Colin Rea.

The Giants countered by leading off Matt Chapman. But Rolison disposed of Chapman and the next three left-handed hitters the Giants put at the plate.

Fun fact about Rolison’s opener outing from BCB’s JohnW53:

Ryan Rolison’s start was the 151st by a Cub since 1901 that lasted 1.1 innings.

It was the first in which the pitcher gave up no runs.

Four gave up one: Alex Hardy, in 1903; Bud Tinning, 1933; Johnny Schmitz, 1942; and Bob Chipman, Aug. 17, 1944. Rolison’s was the 92nd since then.

Colin Rea then matched Giants starter Logan Webb through the fourth inning. Once again, here was a game where the Cubs bats mostly disappeared. They had two runners on with one out in the first, but Ian Happ hit into an inning-ending double play. The only other Cubs baserunner through the fourth was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who singled with two out in the fourth, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. But Alex Bregman hit this sinking liner to left that Casey Schmitt caught to end the inning [VIDEO].

Rea got in trouble in the fifth with the game still scoreless and really, he did what he was supposed to do. Jung Hoo Lee dumped a little popup behind third base that no one could catch. After a sacrifice bunt, Drew Gilbert hit another uncatchable popup that scored the first run of the game [VIDEO].

That’s two hits on very weak contact. Look at the exit velo on Lee’s hit:

The exit velo on Gilbert’s double was a little better, 83.7 miles per hour, but still most balls hit like that are caught. It just landed in no-man’s land.

Then Chapman smashed a ball over the center-field wall for a two-run homer and, well, the game was pretty much over at that point, because the Cubs couldn’t do much with Webb.

Rea did load the bases after Chapman’s homer on two walks and a hit batsman, but got out of it with a fielder’s choice. At 3-0 maybe there was a chance? Rea stayed in the game through the first batter of the seventh, Chapman again. He walked Chapman. Hoby Milner entered, the Giants produced another successful sac bunt, and then Bryce Eldridge singled in the Giants’ fourth run. It might have been worse, but pinch-runner Jonah Cox forgot how many outs there were when Rafael Devers popped up foul to Bregman, who easily doubled Cox off first to end the inning.

The Cubs finally got on the board against Webb in the eighth. With one out, Dansby Swanson hit a ball up the middle that looked like a routine ground out, until it hit second base and went for a single. One out later, this happened [VIDEO].

Hey, if the Giants can bloop hits into runs, why not the Cubs? Bregman’s hit landed behind first base for a single, with Swanson trying for third base. Devers’ throw got away and Swanson scored to make it 4-1. Bregman took second on the throw, and with Michael Busch up and Webb tiring (105 pitches), it’s a bit surprising Tony Vitello didn’t bring in a lefty to pitch to Busch.

He didn’t. And Busch hit the ball hard off Webb, only to have Lee make this spectacular catch [VIDEO].

If Lee misses that ball, Bregman scores easily and Busch might have wound up on third. That could have started a Cubs comeback. But it did not.

Webb is the first starter to go eight innings against the Cubs this year. The last was Hunter Greene, who threw a complete-game shutout against the Cubs Sept. 18, 2025 in Cincinnati. His opponent that night? Colin Rea. Figures, right?

The Giants scored a fifth run, off Ethan Roberts in the eighth, and yet another bloop figured into the scoring. This one was a routine infield popup by Schmitt that dropped untouched among three Cubs infielders. It probably should have been Carson Kelly’s play, but he didn’t see it. Eventually, Schmitt scored to make it 5-1.

Caleb Kilian, who the Cubs let go at the end of 2025, finished things up uneventfully. You know, Kilian was a failure as a starter with the Cubs but he could always throw hard — including in Spring Training 2025, when he was touching 98 before he was injured and missed most of the year. He might very well have made the Cubs Opening Day bullpen in ‘25 if not for the injury. They should have given him another shot this year.

What are you gonna do? Sometimes baseballs fall in for the other guy and not for you, and sometimes you run into a really good pitcher like Logan Webb. Tip o’ the cap to Webb.

The Cubs split the six games on the road trip, which wouldn’t have been a terrible result except for all the losing that preceded it. They’re still in reasonable position with 90 gams remaining. Now start winning the games at Wrigley Field, where a six-game homestand begins Monday with a three-game series against the Rockies. So far, in nine games vs. the Rockies and Giants, teams the Cubs really should have dominated, they’re 4-5. Do better, Cubs.

Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener against the Rox Monday evening. He’ll be opposed by Michael Lorenzen, in a rematch of last Wednesday’s game at Coors Field. Game time Monday is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

If ever there was a day to dream on a New York team, even a team as underwhelming as the 2026 Mets, this was it.

The atmosphere at Citi Field on Sunday was far from electric, yet the carryover from the Knicks’ emotionally-charged championship on Saturday night did seem to create good vibes at the ballpark, with seemingly as many fans wearing basketball jerseys as Mets’ jerseys, and manager Carlos Mendoza opening his pre-game news conference by noting the crazed reaction around New York City was a reminder of what it means to play in New York.

“I’ve had those conversations with some of our players,” Mendoza said. “It tells you how special it can be here.”

And then the Mets went out and played one of their best games of the season, whipping the big, bad Atlanta Braves and making it look routine, scoring early and rolling to an 8-1 win that gave them a 2-1 series victory as well.

If you’d been watching only basketball for the last three months, you’d have a hard time squaring the way the Mets played this weekend with their still-ugly 32-39 record. After all, even after the loss the Braves have the best record in baseball at 46-25, yet in this first meeting of the season between the teams the Mets outplayed them.

“It’s good to see the guys playing well against a very good team, Mendoza said afterward. “Overall it was a good series.”

It’s baseball, of course, and over 162 games there are ebbs and flows that make season records seem deceiving for virtually every team, and right now the Braves have some key injuries that have perhaps contributed to them going 2-4 over their last six games.

As for the Mets, they are certainly more dangerous lately, scoring runs in bunches in ways they didn’t earlier in the season, in part because Bo Bichette has finally joined the part to support Juan Soto, and in part because A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge continue to add youthful energy and production as well.

On Sunday it was Ewing taking the starring role, going 3-for-5 with a key double that fueled a four-run rally in the first inning and later a solo home run in the fourth that helped knock out Braves starter Bryce Elder, who has been having an outstanding season.

“Man, he’s impressive,” Mendoza said. “He controls the strike zone, uses the whole field. He’s like Carson [Benge]. He’s a mature guy, learning at the big league level.”

It hasn’t all been easy for the kid. After his fast start, pitchers learned quickly that Ewing has an exceptional eye at the plate and very good plate discipline, they’ve attacked him more in the strike zone, leading to some empty nights.

But his ability to work counts and hit the ball where it’s pitched makes it seem likely he’ll be a difference-maker offensively as he gains experience. It’s the reason Keith Hernandez raves about both Ewing and Benge on TV, recently saying of them, “The Mets have two golden nuggets.”

With that in mind you can find hope if you’re looking for it with these Mets. Since their disastrous April they’ve had more good moments than bad, going 22-18 over their last 40 games, and 10-6 over their last 16.

And over these last 16 games they’ve averaged five runs a game, a huge improvement over their early-season woes. Yet they also remain maddeningly inconsistent, which is why it’s hard to put too much stock into any small sample of games.

This 3-3 homestand was a glaring example. In two losses to the St. Louis Cardinals and one to the Braves, they scored 0, 2, and 1 runs. In the three wins they scored 5, 7, and 8 runs.

Again, that’s baseball, to some degree. Yet it’s the inconsistency that’s working against them. The Mets buried themselves so deeply that they’re going to need at least a couple of notable winning streaks to be considered anything resembling genuine contenders, and because of those no-show nights at the plate, they’ve offered no evidence they can overcome those tendencies.

In truth, they’re playing just well enough to be something of a tease. That is, there are more reasons to believe they’re not good enough to make a run than to buy in, but for many fans who watch as much with their hearts as their heads, it’s hard not to say, hey, if they can win two of three against the Braves, why can’t they win 10 of 12 or something like that.

And who knows, maybe they can. Even in the one loss against the Braves on Saturday, Sean Manaea offered reason to believe he can be a dependable starter again. Then, on Sunday, Freddy Peralta bounced back from his worst start of the season to hold down the Braves over five full innings.

Peralta’s inability to pitch efficiently and go deep into games remains a problem, and right now the Mets really don’t have anyone they can point to as a No. 1 starter, as Nolan McLean struggles to command his high-ceiling arsenal, which is another reason it will be hard for this team to go on a roll.

Yet the bullpen is pitching at a high level right now, with the fourth-best ERA in MLB, and it is deep enough to be a weapon in games where the starters at least get the Mets into the middle innings, as was the case on Sunday.

What’s it all mean? Well, the Knicks were down 29 in Game 4 and you know how that turned out. Simply put, they had a championship grit that wouldn’t be denied.

To this point, no one would dare say that about these Mets. Far from it.

Still, if sports is about believing "it’s not over ‘til it’s over", well, this was a day at Citi Field - a day when beating the Braves looked shockingly easy - to believe the best is still ahead for from this ever-exasperating team in Queens.

The Cincinnati Reds played the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon in Great American Ball Park in the rubber match of the series. By now, you’ll be able to recite how the game went.

Cincinnati got an effective, albeit inefficient outing from their starting pitcher. Their offense was mostly inept, but gave just enough combined with the grind from the starter to turn the game over to the bullpen while still very, very much in the game – even, one would say in a vacuum, in the driver’s seat.

The bullpen, though, is overmatched and overworked. Pair that with the inefficiencies from the starter, and they became overextended, too. The lead evaporated quickly on a mistake pitch that was punished, and the offense retreated back to its silence until the allotment of outs allowed had elapsed.

The Reds lost, 5-3. They’ve lost this game dozens of times already this year, particularly concentrated within the last six weeks. It’s the kind of predictability in these scenarios that’s become as frustrating as the final scores themselves.

It was off Tejay Antone and Zach Maxwell that the big hits came, two arms that – for many different reasons – weren’t really in the plans for late and close situations when the season began. That’s how the mop has flopped, though, and Cincinnati’s front office hasn’t been able to augment the bullpen in a meaningful way since so many other arms went by the wayside.

(Starter turned bullpen rescue guy Chase Petty was presumably unavailable today after having to perform said task twice already this week.)

The end result is a fifth straight lost series for the Reds, who fell to 33-37 on the season – the first time they’ve been 4 games under .500 all year. On top of that, the next five weeks of baseball that will take them to the All Star break don’t look any fun at all, meaning they’ve already exhausted their opportunity to build up some games, some momentum before taking on many of baseball’s Big Boys in the coming weeks.

It’s bleak in Cincinnati right now. The Reds are too predictable, to incapable to really change that course at the moment.

Rockies 23, Athletics 9

Graphics via FanGraphs.

Putting it all together: Kyle Karros, +0.28 WPA

Pitching at elevation is hard: Jeffrey Springs, -0.62 WPA

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Sunday night baseball! For (I think) the first time since NBC took over Sunday Night Baseball, the Red Sox are in the slate spot to finish the week. They’ll throw Connelly Early, and face off with old friend Nathan Eovaldi. I don’t know about you guys, but he’s always been the one who got away for me. Pitching isn’t really a concern on this iteration of the Red Sox, but there’s something I love about Eovaldi and wish he spent more time in Boston.

The Tartan Army is also descending on Fenway Park, which should make for a lively environment.

First pitch at 7:20 PM EST on NBC, Peacock, and WEEI.

Lineups

Texas Rangers @ Boston Red Sox

Sunday, June 14, 2026, 6:20 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / NBC)

Fenway Park

RHP Nathan Eovaldi vs. LHP Connelly Early

Go Rangers!

The Mets and Freddy Peralta had a wonderful day at the ballpark, continuing the good vibes for orange and blue New York teams this weekend (congratulations to the Knicks!!!!), beating the Braves 8-1 to take the weekend series against their division rivals.

The first inning was a rocky one for Peralta, which is not suggested in his five inning, one run box score performance. He loaded the bases with one out, before surrendering a sacrifice fly to Old Friend Dom Smith. That one run would be the only run for the Braves.

The Mets struck back right away, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Carson Benge walked to lead off the inning, and Bo Bichette singled to put two on with no outs. After Juan Soto inexplicably attempted and failed to bunt for a hit, giving the Braves a free out, Jared Young hit an RBI single to tie the game at one. A.J. Ewing hit a well stuck double into the left field corner. Mike Yastrzemski threw the ball in and it hit the pole that holds up the protective screen, allowing Ewing to get to third and Young to score from first. Brett Baty singled him home, putting a four spot on Bryce Elder to make it 4-1 after one.

The next three innings were very ho hum, with both teams putting up zeros in the second, third and fourth innings. The Mets added two more in the fifth, when Ewing and Marcus Semien hit back to back home runs, chasing Elder from the game. The Mets added two more insurance runs in the eighth, both on a Juan Soto single.

The Mets bullpen had a strong showing, putting together as Cionel Perez, Daniel Durate, AJ Minter, and Huascar Brazoban combined for four hitless innings, allowing two base runners in that span (two walks). Overall, the Mets put together a very nice series against the division-leading Braves, as they stay in shouting distance of a Wild Card spot, miraculously.

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Win Probability Added

Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +22% WPA
Big Mets loser: No one 🙂
Mets pitchers: +34% WPA
Mets hitters: +16% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing’s two run double in the first, +16.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Matt Olson single to load the bases in the first, -7.5% WPA.

It is time. The Milwaukee Brewers are promoting shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt to the major leagues. Pratt signed an 8 year contract extension with the Brewers worth north of $50MM back in April. Now, at long last, he will arrive in Milwaukee.

Pratt was removed from the Nashville Sounds game on Sunday in the 6th inning and, as Spencer Michaelis first reported, was giving hugs to his teammates in the dugout, a sure sign that a promotion was imminent. MLB’s Adam McCalvy later confirmed that Pratt was officially getting the call.

Cooper Pratt was hitting .241 with six doubles, four triples, six homers, 17 stolen bases, and a .735 OPS on the season in Nashville. He started off slow, but has been much better over the last several weeks.

Pratt brings gold glove-level defense at shortstop and is likely going to be playing at shortstop quite regularly for the Brewers going forward.

A corresponding move has not yet been announced, but it has been speculated that it will have something to do with Luis Rengifo. Ken Rosenthal reported a few weeks ago that June 15th was a date to circle because it’s the first day teams can trade free agents in the first year of their deals. Perhaps the Brewers have a trade lined up for Rengifo, we shall see. Also a DFA isn’t out of the question for him.

Rengifo also had the trainer check on him twice during Sunday’s game, once for his wrist after an awkward fall and once after fouling a ball off his shin. An IL stint could also be a possibility.

David Hamilton has been solid of late and Joey Ortiz is still a strong defender. Ortiz could slide into more of a utility role and has played third base in the past.

The Brewers are off on Monday, so that would mean Pratt’s debut is slated to come on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians.

SAN FRANCISCO — Two bloops, a bunt and a blast from Matt Chapman produced more runs in the fifth inning Sunday afternoon than the Giants had scored in their previous two games.

That was all the Giants needed behind Logan Webb, who continued to dazzle in his fourth start back from a bout with bursitis in his push-off knee, to beat the Cubs, 5-1.

Webb has allowed two earned runs over 27 ⅓ innings since returning from the injured list and none to the Cubs on Sunday over eight innings, scattering seven hits and striking out seven.

“Even if it doesn’t go well with a hitter, he makes it fun by seeing how he’s going to respond,” manager Tony Vitello said. “Because I think one of the areas where he might be a little undervalued is just how dang good he is when something goes wrong.”

Vitello leaned on that quality in Webb when he went to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning. An error allowed the Cubs to get on the board and left two runners on base with Webb’s pitch count climbing over 100.

It turned into a quick visit: Webb remained in the game.

“Willy [Adames] was basically ready to grab me by the jersey saying, ‘Let this guy do his thing,’” Vitello said.

Webb was more convicted in his answer than when Vitello asked him about coming out after eight innings, at 99 pitches, in his previous start. That time, Vitello opted to hand the game over to Keaton Winn, who allowed three runs in a 4-3 loss.

“You could tell right away: He didn’t put his arm out or anything. You could kind of see in his face that he was going to ask me,” Webb said. “I probably said some cuss words, but in the end, I said ‘I’m good.’ All the guys behind me were going, ‘Eff yeah, let’s go’ and Tony walked off the mound.”

Moments after the mound visit, Webb’s mouth was agape with both arms raised in the air.

Vitello’s decision to stick with Webb almost immediately backfired when the very next batter, Michael Busch, lined his 106th pitch of the afternoon into the right field corner. It appeared destined to drive in two more runs.

“It was almost a terrible decision,” Webb joked.

But Jung Hoo Lee gave chase and tracked down the ball before crashing into the wall, leaving Webb amazed and the 40,000-plus on hand chanting Lee’s name.

“I just knew that Webby wanted to finish that inning bad,” Lee said through a team interpreter. “I wanted to really help out. … I just really wanted to [make] the catch for Webby.”

The catch preserved the lead that Lee helped build in the fifth.

After having his 18-game hit streak broken Friday, Lee was back in the hit column with a 2-for-4 effort, including a broken-bat bloop single to begin the fifth. Daniel Susac bunted him over to second, where he was in position to score when Drew Gilbert, the No. 9 hitter, found more open territory with a shallow flare down the left field line.

That was enough to open a 1-0 lead, and Chapman quickly made it 3-0 with a line drive over the center field wall for his seventh homer of the season — and sixth this month.

Looking the part of a leadoff hitter, Chapman drew his first of two walks and scored his second run of the game on a single from Bryce Eldridge in the seventh to make it 4-0.

It was Chapman’s first time hitting leadoff in three seasons with the Giants and only the third time he had batted first in 1,221 games at the big-league level.

Vitello had tried Luis Arraez in the top spot with Eldridge batting second the past two days but shifted each player down a slot with Chapman occupying the top of the order.

Something about this configuration worked: It produced more than one run for the first time since Wednesday. The Giants had been held to one run in their two losses to begin the series.

Vitello and president of baseball operations Buster Posey set four runs as a reasonable target. The Giants are 22-7 when scoring that many and 7-36 when failing to reach that mark.

“A lot of those days where we’ve done that, it’s been 7-8-9 getting on base or driving the ball,” Vitello said. “Jung Hoo’s going to compete for a batting title, so to have him down there is interesting, but it benefited us.”

What it means

Rather than opt for a traditional leadoff hitter, Vitello has tried to use the top spot of the lineup to maximize the number of at-bats for their hottest hitter.

For a while, that was Casey Schmitt, who’s found himself in a bit of a slump (5-for-34) and never quite profiled as a leadoff man with his aggressive approach.

Lately, it’s been Chapman.

Who’s hot

Dating back to May 17, Chapman is batting .344 (31-for-90). His home run was his 14th extra-base hit in that span. His two RBIs gave him 24 in 26 games, and he’s scored 19 runs.

Who’s not

The Giants are still waiting for their Big Three infielders to get hot at the same time.

As Chapman has heated up, the Giants have gotten little from Rafael Devers or Adames, who combined to go 5-for-43 (.116) over the course of the six-game homestand.

Up next

The Giants board a charter flight to Atlanta, where they have the day off Monday before beginning a six-game road trip with three against the NL East-leading Braves.

Adrian Houser, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp are lined up to start the first series of the trip.