Worldwide Sports News

All four Dodgers affiliates are at home this week. The two in the state of Oklahoma picked up wins on Friday.

Player of the day

Ryan Ward homered in his first game back with Oklahoma City on June 30 after getting optioned, but had no extra-base hits in his first seven games of July. Ward made up for that on Friday with a home run and two doubles.

Ward also singled, tying his season best with four hits.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets had eight extra-base hits in a home romp over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Ward had three of the eight extra-base hits.

Alek Thomas also homered, his third in three games. Jack Suwinski doubled twice and drove in four runs Austin Gauthier and Ryan Fitzgerald also doubled.

Christian Romero struck out five while allowing a run in 5 1/3 innings, with the only run coming on a solo home run.

Ryder Ryan came within one out of a three-inning save, but was pulled with two outs after allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Jerming Rosario entered with a five-run lead but the bases loaded and the tying run on deck. He struck out Bryce Johnson to earn a save of the more standard variety.

Double-A Tulsa

Josue De Paula had three hits, including an RBI double in the Drillers’ four-run rally that gave them the lead for good in a victory over the Springfield Cardinals.

Zyhir Hope hit the game-tying two-run single in that seventh inning and also walked and stole a base.

Kendall George singled twice, walked, stole two bases, and scored a pair of runs. After missing a month with a knee injury and five tune-up games with Class-A Ontario, George in his first four games back with Tulsa has eight hits in 16 at-bats plus three walks and three stolen bases.

Evan Shaw pitched three scoreless, hitless innings in relief with four strikeouts to earn the win.

High-A Great Lakes

Two runs in the eighth inning doomed the Loons in a loss to the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Robby Porco pitched a scoreless seventh but walked a pair with one out in the eighth before getting pulled. Both walks scored on a single off Justin Chambers.

One day after his 20th birthday, Chase Harlan hit his third home run and sixth extra-base hit in 13 games since getting promoted to Great Lakes. Shortstop Emil Morales, who doesn’t turn 20 until September, doubled, singled, and drove in a pair. Morales in four games in this series has 10 hits, including five extra-base hits, and seven RBI.

Brooks Auger allowed a pair of home runs for a second straight start, after giving up no long balls in his first 10 starts, encompassing 37 innings and 153 batters faced. Though he gave up four runs on Friday, Auger also struck out eight, giving him 66 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46 1/3 innings this season, with a 34.2-percent strikeout rate.

Class-A Ontario

Tower Buzzers pitching allowed crooked numbers in four different innings in a blowout loss to the the Inland Empire (Mariners).

The bulk of the scoring came against Marco Estrada, who allowed five runs in his 3 2/3 innings of relief, including a pair of home runs. Drafted by the Dodgers in the seventh round out of MIT last July, Estrada struck out five and walked four on Friday. The right-hander has filled up the box score this season, with 50 walks and 66 strikeouts in his 57 2/3 innings, and a 7.96 ERA.

Marlon Nieves was activated off the injured list after missing two months and allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings in his abbreviated start.

Third baseman Easton Shelton hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his league-leading 24th home run, nine more than anybody else in the California League. Mairo Martinus also homered for Ontario.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 10, El Paso 5
• Tulsa 7, Springfield 5
• Dayton 7, Great Lakes 5
• Inland Empire 12, Ontario 4

Saturday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Tyler Gough) vs. Dayton (Ty Floyd)
• 5 pm.: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) vs. Springfield (Cooper Hjerpe)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) vs. El Paso (Sean Boyle)
• 7:05 pm.: Ontario (TBA) vs. Inland Empire (Scott Rouse)

The Nationals addiction to platoon matchups has hurt them a few times this year, but there was no more obvious example than last night. In a 3-2 game in the top of the 9th, Blake Butera went to lefty Matt Krook over sticking with Clayton Beeter. Krook, who now has a career ERA of 16.62 gave up the lead by allowing a home run to the left handed Jazz Chisholm.

I am not really sure what book Blake Butera is going off of right now, but there needs to be some serious reflection after last night. Butera needs to start trusting his best relievers instead of turning to guys based on what hand they throw with. Moving forward, Butera cannot be pulling his best reliever for a guy with an ERA in the double digits in the 9th inning. 

After the game, Butera explained his decision by saying he brought in Krook because of the three lefties/switch hitters that were up. He told me that he went with Krook over the more reliable PJ Poulin because he liked how Krook matched up with the switch hitting Jasson Dominguez. Krook ended up allowing a single to Dominguez and a homer to Jazz Chisholm who is worse against left-handed pitching.

I love so much of what Butera and the new regime have done, but they have not covered themselves in glory building or managing this bullpen. Jose A. Ferrer would be a decent lefty to throw out there in the 9th, but he was traded for Harry Ford, who is struggling in AAA. Butera himself has struggled to push the right buttons in an admittedly weak bullpen.

There have been plenty of times where you can’t really blame Butera for this bad bullpen melting down. However, last night was not one of those cases. It felt like we had the Yankees right where we wanted them after Clayton Beeter got a strikeout to end the 8th. Beeter, who has not allowed a run in his last 7 outings, would come out for the 9th, and the fans would be happy.

Butera had other plans though. He wanted to play the matchups instead of sticking with his best arm. It is not like Beeter has a problem against left handed hitters though. Lefties are hitting just .200 against Beeter this season and .198 in his career. Beeter’s downer slider is a platoon neutral weapon that works against lefties and righties.

However, Butera thought Krook was the right move, and he got burned. Moving forward, I think the Nats need to play to their own strengths instead of fixating on other teams weaknesses. Sure, some of these Yankees hitters struggle against lefties, but with all due respect, most of the lefties they are facing are better than Matt Krook.

Right now, the Nats have 4 low slot, soft-tossing lefties in the bullpen. Three of them pitched yesterday, and while Palmquist and Cosgrove did their jobs, Krook did not. Moving forward, I really want Blake Butera to manage based on his own personnel instead of being such a reactive manager.

One thing I thought was revealing was when Blake Butera said after the game that having Krook, or at least one of his lefties closing out the game was pre-planned. It is just another example of this regime’s extreme devotion to platoon matchups. Having 4 lefties in the bullpen was part of the plan for this weekend. 

However, I think the Nats should pay more attention to quality over what hand a guy throws with. Honestly, after Brad Lord’s injury, Eddy Yean should have been given the call up to the big leagues. He has an upper 90’s heater and a real mound presence. The Nats went with Tom Cosgrove though. Cosgrove’s profile just feels redundant with Krook, Poulin and Carson Palmquist.

Part of what makes these low slot lefties effective is that they are a unique look. If hitters just keep seeing one low slot lefty after another, they are going to catch on at some point. It felt like that happened when the Yankees faced their third low slot lefty of the night.

This should be a major wake up call for Blake Butera and this front office. For most of these bullpen meltdowns, you can blame it on Butera not having the guys or his guys letting him down. However, last night, Butera had his guy on the mound, but pulled him after one batter for a pitcher with a career ERA over 16 because of what hand he throws the baseball with.

Saturday, July 11: Rounds 1-4

• 1:00-2:30 p.m. – Picks 1-10 (NBC and Peacock)

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. – Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

• 4:30-7:45 p.m. – Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

It’s Draft Day. For most sports, it’s a celebratory day where you’re glad to hear the names of your boys, cheering them on as they jump to the next level. For college baseball fans, it’s a PTSD-laden war of attrition where your mood is dependent on hearing the fewest amount of names of your potential incoming freshman class. Zero names is ideal, of course, but when you ‘croot at Vanderbilt’s level, that’s never (or almost never, it did happen once) a realistic ask.

Here are the names we don’t want to hear.

In short, go ahead and forget the names of OF Eric Booth Jr. (expected to go in the top 10 picks of the 1st round) and SS Aiden Ruiz (a slick-fielding defensive maven likely to get tabbed in the first 50 or so picks). Expect also to lose top pitchers LHP Sean Duncan and RHP Joseph Contreras (though there’s an outside chance one makes it to campus) and at least one of our two top SS commits, SS James Tronstein and SS Luke Williams. Keep it to losing 4 or 5 of them, and none of our remaining members of the #1 ‘crootin’ class in the nation, and we have set ourselves up to return to the postseason, challenge for a #1 seed this year, and challenge for a title in 2-3 years. Get decimated and… well, remember when Krusty drank gasoline and woke up on Bart’s lawn?

Then there’s our boys (you know, the ones who haven’t transferred out like pretty much our entire 2026 bullpen). Honestly, not a lot of Diamond Dores are expected to get drafted, and none (well, maybe Braden Holcomb) should expect to hear their names today (rounds 1-4).

Regardless, join up in the comments to collectively white knuckle the worst weekend of the year for college baseball fans with us at Anchor of Gold. Pour Jobu his rum, Hail Pinman, and scream “OO!” at Vocockyteps. It’s Draft Day.

The San Diego Padres brought the winning run to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. Xander Bogaerts stepped into the batter’s box with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. on first and second base after the Padres recorded three consecutive two-out hits off Padres closer Louis Varland. Bogaerts worked the count full, but on the final pitch of the at-bat he hit a routine ground ball to third base, which resulted in the final out of the game to give San Diego a 5-3 loss at the hands of Toronto in their series opener at Petco Park on Friday night.

The Padres came into the bottom of the ninth trailing, 5-2. Jake Cronenworth pinch hit and struck out to open the inning and Luis Rengifo hit a deep fly ball into left field for the second out of the inning. Luis Campusano lined a ball back through the middle of the infield and Tatis followed with a line drive single through the right side of the infield. Merrill stepped in and connected on another base hit, which scored Campusano to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Bogaerts represented the winning run and Petco Park was waiting to erupt with a big hit from the San Diego shortstop. Bogaerts started the scoring in the game in the bottom of the first inning when he connected on a two-run home run off starter Shane Bieber to put the Padres up 2-0. Considering the speed of Tatis and Merrill and the fact that they were on the move on a 3-2 pitch, a base hit by Bogaerts might have tied the game, but it would have likely brought San Diego within a run with Manny Machado set to come to the plate. However, that was not how the 3-2 pitch played out. Instead, Bogaerts bounced a ground ball to Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto who threw across the diamond in time to get Bogaerts to end the inning and the game.

Okamoto proved to have the game-winning hit for the Blue Jays in the top of the fifth inning. Padres starter JP Sears allowed two of the first three batters of the inning to reach base on singles and Jhony Brito came in to face Vladamir Guerrero Jr. Brito allowed an RBI-single and Toronto tied the game at 2-2. Brito then faced Okamoto who won a seven-pitch at-bat with a 377-foot three-run home run into the left field bleachers to give the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.

San Diego will try to stop a two-game losing streak in the second game of the series against Toronto today at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• The All-Star break will give Michael King a chance to change his mindset entering the second half of the season according to Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball.

• The Padres can use the 2026 MLB Draft to rebuild their minor league depth according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball.

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com looks at what Mason Miller did to have an All-Star start to the 2026 season.

• Ty France faced off against his former team in series opener against Blue Jays.

• Freddy Fermin goes 1-for-4 as DH for El Paso.

Baseball News:

• Tristan Peters hit for the cycle and led the Chicago White Sox to a win over the Athletics.

• Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers the same night he was scratched from his start on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Samuel Basallo hit a two-run home run to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

• The Detroit Tigers thumped the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-2 win.

• Hunter Greene strikes out 12 to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Chicago Cubs.

• The Cleveland Guardians snapped the Miami Marlins’ six-game win streak with a 3-2 win.

• Nick Martinez recorded his eighth win of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• Despite Nolan McLean's stellar outing over six frames, the Mets fell 6-2 to the Red Sox to open the final series of the first half
• The one lone bright spot was Brett Baty extending a 10-game hit streak with three knocks, including a homer, as interim skipper Andy Green praised him for being a "dog"
• Boston managed the win, its seventh straight, despite a terrible day of travel that saw the game delayed
• SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes had updates on Clay Holmes and the makings of a successful long-term relationship with the Mets
• WATCH:What is Holmes's future with the Mets?
• On the injury front, Mark Vientos landed on the IL and will miss six to eight weeks
• In the corresponding move, Zack Short re-joined the roster in a flurry of moves
• Down on the farm, Nate Lavender continues strong return in Triple-A as Mets sell-off looms
• WATCH: Will kind of market will Mets actually find for Freddy Peralta? | The Mets Pod
• WATCH:Should the Mets leave A.J. Ewing alone in center field? | Baseball Night in NY

Hickory starter Daniel Keaney gave up five runs in five innings, striking out three and walking one.

Pablo Guerrero was 2 for 5 with a double. Yolfran Castillo was 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and a walk. Paulino Santana had a hit and a walk. Daniel Flames doubled and walked twice. Angel Arredondo doubled. Marco Argudin had a hit and a walk.

Hickory box score

For Hub City, Hector Osorio and Gleider Figuereo each homered.

Hub City box score

For Frisco, Andrew Susac gave up three runs in an inning of work, walking two.

Arturo Disla doubled. Dylan Dreiling had a hit.

Frisco box score

Round Rock starter Jose Corniell allowed five runs in 1.2 IP, walking three and striking out one. Emiliano Teodo walked one, struck out one and allowed one run in 1.1 IP. Wilian Bormie allowed two runs in an inning of work, walking two. Luis Curvelo threw two shutout innings.

Josh Smith was 2 for 5.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

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Another busy slate in the Majors means more opportunity for long balls in my MLB player props home run analysis. 

I'll include James Wood, Chase DeLauter, and Ben Rice in today's MLB picks for Saturday, July 11. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
James Wood	+350
Chase DeLauter	+549
Ben Rice	+275
💲Today's HR parlay	+8986

Home run pick: James Wood (+350)

Washington Nationals star James Wood is crushing baseballs right now. He owns a .722 ISO over his last six games, going deep four times during that span. Wood's hard-hit rate over the last week also sits at 62.9%, with a barrel rate just under 20%. 

The slugger will face New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler tonight. Although the youngster has been dominant overall, he's had trouble with the long ball recently. Schlittler has allowed 3.00 HR/9 across his last two outings. 

This Yankees pen has also surrendered 1.63 HR/9 across their last 27 2/3 innings. There's a lot of opportunity for Wood to leave the yard again. 

I'll play this pick down to +300. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Nationals.TV

Home run pick: Chase DeLauter (+549)

Cleveland Guardians youngster Chase DeLauter has homered in back-to-back games, and he has three bombs in his last six contests. DeLauter carries a .417 ISO during that span and an astounding 68.4% hard-hit rate. The 24-year-old is consistently squaring up the baseball. 

DeLauter will face Miami Marlins starter Eury Pérez this afternoon. The righty has allowed a home run in six of his last eight outings. He's been pitching well, but it's common for him to make a mistake in a start, and an opponent punishes it.

That could be DeLauter this afternoon, considering just how well he's seeing the baseball. 

I'll play this pick down to +450. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Guardians.TV, Marlins.TV

Home run pick: Ben Rice (+275)

Ben Rice has emerged as a superstar this season, and he's showing off his power ahead of the HR Derby. The slugger has clubbed five long balls in his last seven games. Over that span, he owns a .556 ISO and 19% barrel rate.

Today's matchup heavily favors Rice. The Yankees will face the struggling Miles Mikolas. He's surrendered 2.77 HR/9 across his previous two appearances, and opponents also have a 40.8% hard-hit rate against him over the last two weeks. 

This Nationals bullpen is also giving up 1.86 HR/9 over the last seven days. Whether it's against Mikolas or the relief corps when they enter, Rice has a great chance to put one in the bleachers. 

Play this down to +250. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Nationals.TV

Today’s HR parlay

James Wood	Bet Now +8986
Chase DeLauter
Ben Rice

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Meet the Mets

The Red Sox had a bunch of issues getting to New York for yesterday’s game, but you wouldn’t know it based on the results. Boston scored two unearned runs off Nolan McLean in the first inning to take the lead and the Mets stayed behind all evening, ultimately losing 6-2.

Choose your recap:Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Newsday, Daily News, MLB.com

The Mets made a series of roster moves prior to last night’s game, including officially placing Mark Vientos on the injured list and bringing Tobias Myers back to the active roster.

Vientos will be out for 6-8 weeks due to his hand injury; in happier news, Clay Holmes continues to progress in his return.

With Holmes on the way back, is an extension in the cards?

Around the National League East

The Braves endured a lengthy rain delay, then lost to the Cardinals 2-1.

The Phillies bullpen surrendered eight runs in just three innings of work en route to a 10-2 loss to the Tigers for Philadelphia.

The Phillies will have two representatives in the Home Run Derby on Monday, as Kyle Schwarber announced that he will join Bryce Harper in the contest.

Sandy Alcántara pitched seven solid innings, but the Marlins bats were unable to get much working and fell to the Guardians 3-2.

Despite being in trade rumors for the better part of half a decade, the Marlins are unlikely to be dealing Alcántara at the deadline.

The Nationals entered the ninth inning with a one-run lead, but the bullpen surrendered two homers and doomed Washington to a 5-3 loss to the Yankees.

Around Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start last night and will miss the All-Star game due to knee irritation.

The Cardinals have locked up one of their bright stars, as they’ve come to terms with rookie JJ Wetherholt on an eight-year, $112.5 million contract.

Japanese rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami will be the final contestant in this year’s Home Run Derby.

Jacob deGrom will miss his final start of the first half due to a glute and hip strain, though the Rangers hope he will be able to avoid the injured list.

The Athletics placed two players on the injured list, including All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz.

The Pirates swung a trade with the White Sox that netted Chicago the 34th overall pick in the MLB Draft.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the last series of the first half of this miserable season.

It’s draft day, and Steve Sypa and Lukas Vlahos provided their wishlist for the occasion.

Sypa also looked at Gavyn Jones, a draft-eligible college player whom the Mets drafted (and didn’t sign) out of high school three years ago.

Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane discussed the past week of (surprisingly passable) Mets baseball in the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.

This Date in Mets History

A franchise-record six Mets players suited up for the All-Star game on this date in 2006.

The Mets continue the final series before the All-Star break against the Boston Red Sox with a 4:10 p.m. start on SNY.

Mets Notes

• Brett Baty is riding a 10-game hitting streak and slashing .342/.341/.526 for an .868 OPS, after a three-hit night (including a home run) in the series opener
• A.J. Ewing is enjoying a fine stretch, 11-for-26 (.423) with three home runs and a double in his last six games. He's up to a .282 average and .805 OPS through his first 55 career games
• Freddy Peralta could really do with a bounce-back start, as he's allowed 21 runs (16 earned) on 28 hits and six walks in his last 17 innings over four outings. But the one encouraging note for Saturday is that he was decent in his lone Citi Field outing in that span: pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three runs (no earned) against Chicago, but some walks loomed large

Today's Lineups