After the homer-happy St. Louis Cardinals blasted past the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, the bats were relatively silent in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon until later in the game, but it wasn’t enough to win the series against the Twins.

Both starters did their teams big favors on Sunday by going deep into the game. Michael McGreevy kept the Cardinals in the game into the 6th inning and Taj Bradley did the same (almost) for the Minnesota Twins. The early game was really just two more or less isolated blasts. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Josh Bell singled and then scored when Victor Caratini crushed a home run into the right field stands giving the Twins a 2-1 lead after Alec Burleson launched another towering home run in his flaming hot streak in the top of the 4th inning.

The Minnesota Twins lineup was making hard contact against Michael McGreevy, but they had very little to show for it which allowed the Cardinals bats to eventually wake up and make it a game. After Nathan Church walked to lead off the top of the 6th inning, JJ Wetherholt did what JJ Wetherholt does which is give the Cardinals the kind of hit exactly when they need it. In this case, it was a clutch 2-run homer to right giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 lead, his 10th of the season.

Several moments that won’t show up on many scorecards or highlight reels, but need to be shouted out. First, early in the game when Michael McGreevy got Byron Buxton out, manager Oli Marmol walked down the length of the dugout and gave the Cardinals gold Amazon home run chain to pitching coach Dusty Blaze. Classic. Another stellar defensive play in the bottom of the 6th inning when the Minnesota Twins had a runner on first base with just one out, Blaze Jordan made a diving catch on a line drive and then dove back to the base and tagged the runner out for an inning-ending double play. You’re going to be wearing those birds on the bat for a long time I predict, Mr. Jordan.

Michael McGreevy gave the Cardinals a full 6-inning quality start Sunday giving up 7 hits (some of them very loud), but only allowing 2 earned runs while striking out only 2 and walking 2. The hard hit rate from Michael can be unnerving, but the simple fact is the Cardinals tend to win games he starts and that’s really one of the best things you can say about a Major League starter.

The St. Louis Cardinals would get a valuable insurance run in the top of the 7th inning after José Fermín’s two-out single (which extends his now 8-game hitting streak). Nathan Church followed that up with another single which caused the Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton to remove Bradley so he wouldn’t face JJ Wetherholt again. Didn’t matter as JJ did another JJ thing by gracefully placing a single just over the shortstop scoring Fermín making it 4-2 Cardinals.

What was the Cardinals bullpen solution for the late innings after Michael McGreevy’s exit? In the 7th inning, it was JoJo Romero. The first batter he faced was Martin who not only struck out, but used the Twins final challenge of the day. The second batter was Keaschall who JoJo felt the need to walk. The third hitter was pinch-hitter Kreidler who smacked a single into left field giving Minnesota runners at first and third with just one out and Byron Buxton at the plate. (*shudder*) He lined the second pitch he saw into left field cutting the Cardinals lead in half making it 4-3 with the Twins still having runners on first and second with only one out. Clemens also singled to right which loaded the bases and inspired Oli Marmol to remove Romero from the game. George Soriano entered this hornet’s nest and gave up yet another annoying single which tied the game at 4-4 bringing up the very dangerous Josh Bell to the plate. Fortunately for St. Louis, Josh also strikes out a lot which is what he did in the Twins 7th giving St. Louis a badly-needed second out. They weren’t out of the woods yet, though, as the very hot Caratini nearly unloaded the bases flying out to very deep left field as Lars Nootbaar grabbed it before stumbling up against the left field wall. Whew.

George Soriano was also the Cardinals answer for the bottom of the 8th inning with the goal of keeping the game tied. He was almost successful. With two outs, he gave up back-to-back doubles to Keaschall and Kreidler giving the Twins a 5-4 lead. It could have been worse, but Soriano was able to strike out the fearsome Byron Buxton keeping St. Louis just one run down.

The Twins sent Yoendrys Gómez to the mound to try and lock up the series win for Minnesota. After a successful challenge of what was called an infield hit for José Fermín, it was up to Nathan Church and JJ Wetherholt. Church struck out by chasing two pitches that were very much not in the strike zone. JJ Wetherholt hit a ball deep to center, but just got under it a little too much flying out to end the game.

The St. Louis Cardinals return to Busch Stadium Monday night as they’ll host the San Diego Padres. Dustin May will make the start for the Cardinals while the starter for the Padres is to be determined. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

The Royals shut out the Astros on Sunday after allowing 18 runs the first two games. Stephen Kolek was great in the Royals 4-0 victory. The Royals record moves to 29-43 on the series after a 2-4 homestand.

The Royals got on the board early and often against Spencer Arrighetti, who is having a great start to his season. In the bottom of the first, Bobby Witt Jr. singled and stole second with one out. Maikel Garcia drove him in with a laser to left field to put the Royals up 1-0 immediately.

Maikel drives in Bobby to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/3aTy9ITC80

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

Witt turned 26 today and he was doing everything. On the day, he went 2-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Oh, and he added this diving catch to his long resume of nearly impossible plays.

Birthday Bob's putting on a show. 🤩

Vote Bobby: https://t.co/fEY1ycYg48pic.twitter.com/gc8dKG3C5I

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 14, 2026

The Royals tacked on 3 runs in the bottom half of the 3rd inning. Isaac Collins walked on 4 pitches to start the inning; he went to third on Carter Jensen’s single. After Witt popped out, Jac Caglianone came through, lining a single into right. Garcia just got one past the third baseman down the line (ala Salvy in 2014) to bring Jensen and Jac in on the double, 4-0 Kansas City.

Jac and Maikel add on to the lead in the 3rd! pic.twitter.com/ZbzPpl8hvo

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

That was all that Stephen Kolek needed as he was untouchable all day. Kolek went 7.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, no runs, walking 1 and striking out 4. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.68. He also made this nice play to start a huge double play to get him out of a jam.

Stephen Kolek starts the 1-4-3 double play to end the 7th! pic.twitter.com/1Qj4Z5aci5

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 14, 2026

A one out walk and single chased Kolek in the 8th inning. Steven Cruz came in and got a strike out and a weak groundout to end the inning. Cruz continues to look more and more like the 2025 version of himself after being called back up.

Daniel Lynch IV got the 9th, and it was uneventful. A quick 1-2-3 inning for the Royals most consistent reliever this season.

The Royals will take a quick road trip to the nation’s capital to play a 37-35 Nationals team. They return home for the Cardinals next weekend. First pitch for tomorrow is set for 5:45 p.m. CT.

The headline says it all.

Giving New York another reason to celebrate, the Atlanta Braves fell 8-1 to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Bryce Elder’s outing resulted in him only pitching through four innings, allowing two hits, six earned runs, two walks and only two strikeouts.

Bryce Elder charged with six earned runs on 10 hits and two walks Sunday in New York.

In his last four starts, Elder has allowed 16 earned runs on 27 hits and walked six over 20 innings (a 7.20 ERA)

— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) June 14, 2026

Four of the runs came in the first inning, which set the tone early against the Braves, who scored one run in the same inning on a sac-fly by Dominic Smith to bring in Michael Harris.

Which leads us to the offense. Today was a down game for Elder, but he can’t take all of the blame. Though Mets’ Freddy Peralta had a solid outing, pitching through five innings and allowing four hits and one earned run, he only accomplished two strikeouts, giving the Braves ample opportunity to take advantage, despite being down so early.

Back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth by Mets’ A.J. Ewing and Marcus Semien with no outs resulted in Elder getting relieved by Dylan Dodd soon after.

Juan Soto decided to close out the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run hit to drive in Carson Benge and Bo Bichette for a seven-point lead, 8-1, also ending the game with a series win.

The Braves have an off day tomorrow, and after coming off two disappointing series, will need to reevaluate their game plan as they return home to face the San Francisco Giants with Grant Holmes on the mound.

The Mets scored four first-inning runs and rolled to an 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday at Citi Field. As such they took two out of three games to win the series in this first meeting of the season with the NL East-leading Braves. 

The Mets are still seven games under .500 at 32-39 but they have played better in recent weeks, going 10-6 over their last 16 games, and 22-18 over their last 40 games. 

The Braves still have the best record in MLB at 46-25. 

Here are the top takeaways from the win...

--Freddy Peralta pitched a strong five innings to get the win, allowing one run on four singles and a walk. It was a big bounce-back start after he allowed six runs vs. the St. Louis Cardinals last Tuesday, as he got his ERA back under 4.00, to 3.90. 

The only knock was his inability to get deep into the game, which has been Peralta’s biggest flaw this season. It took him 90 pitches to get through five innings, and Carlos Mendoza apparently decided not to push him any farther. 

The right-hander didn’t seem to have his best fastball, striking out only two Braves’ hitters, but he did a good job mixing all his pitches, getting some key outs with off-speed stuff that had hitters out in front.

--The Mets got all the runs they needed in a weird first inning that saw Juan Soto attempt a sacrifice bunt after the first two runners reached base. Mendoza surely didn’t want Soto bunting there, and to make things worse, the star left fielder bunted barely in front of the plate, where catcher Sandy Leon could field the ball and throw to third for a force-out.

Yet the Mets rallied from there, as Jared Young singled home a run and A.J. Ewing doubled to the opposite field, down the left field line, driving in the second run of the inning. A third run scored when Mike Yastrzemski’s throw from the left-field corner hit the pole supporting the on-field netting and caromed toward center field. 

Finally, Brett Baty singled home Ewing to complete the rally and give the Mets a 4-1 lead. 

-Back-to-back solo home runs by Ewing and Marcus Semien knocked starter Bryce Elder out of the game in the sixth inning, giving the Mets a 6-1 lead. 

Elder came in with a 2.66 ERA, having an outstanding season for the Braves. This was the first time this season he has given up as many as six earned runs in a start, and only the second time he’s given up more than three. His ERA jumped to 3.15. 

--Ewing had a big day, going 3-for-5 with a single, double, and home run. He scored two runs and drove in two as well, while raising his batting average to .269. 

Ewing had a shot at hitting for the cycle, needing only a triple when he batted in the seventh inning, but he grounded out to first on the first pitch of the at-bat against right-hander Reynaldo Lopez. He also struck out in the eighth. 

--Bo Bichette had his sixth multi-hit game in his last 10, going 2-for-5 with a couple of singles. He’s hitting .390 over those 10 games with three HRs and 12 RBI. 

--The Mets’ bullpen continues to excel as four relievers, Cionel Perez, Daniel Duarte, AJ Minter, and Huascar Brazoban combined to deliver four scoreless innings.

Coming into the game the Mets’ pen had a 3.35 ERA, which ranked fourth in MLB. 

Game MVP: A.J. Ewing

Ewing's opposite-field double in the first inning was the key to the four-run rally that put the Mets in front for good. 

The rookie continued to show his ability to hit to all fields as contact hitters, doubling to left, singling to center, and homering to right, as he jumped on an inside slider, as part of his 3-for-5 day.

Highlights

Jared Young with an RBI single ties the game! pic.twitter.com/RziKpetcuM

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Two runs come home with an AJ Ewing line drive and throw that hit the pole by Mike Yastrzemski! pic.twitter.com/2wUg9hywu7

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Brett Baty brings home AJ Ewing for the Mets fourth run of the first inning! pic.twitter.com/dYd0z30MKV

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

AJ Ewing adds to the lead with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/KBb5K1RurL

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

ANOTHER ONE!

Marcus Semien goes back-to-back with AJ Ewing 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H7GzGC2rxj

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Juan Soto brings in two more! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/J4SYwTCnnX

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets hit the road for six games, starting with three in Cincinnati against the Reds. 

David Peterson is expected to pitch in some capacity for the Mets on Tuesday, with Chase Burns going for the Reds. First pitch on SNY at 7:10 p.m.

A lot of things went wrong in today’s 10-1 loss to the Nationals. You’d think so with a score like that. But the one I want to focus on is pitch selection.

Emerson Hancock got the start today, and while he’s been having a breakout year, some people have been arguing that while he’s improved, it’s not quite as good as it looks. Big day for those people, whoever they are. In particular, Hancock has been struggling since tossing that 14-strikeout all-timer in the Randy Johnson number-retirement game. Between then and today, he had six starts in which he kept his ERA under 3.00, but did it while riding a .200 BABIP and kicking a K%-BB% of just 12.0%, down from the 25.2% star turn in his first seven starts.

In other words, it seemed that the league had adjusted to the new Hancock. He’d have to adjust back.

He’d take that adjustment into his own hands after the debacle in Baltimore in his last start when he screamed at catcher Jhonny Pereda during a mound visit. Today, Hancock had a pitchcom on his belt, and would call his own game. I actually love that the Mariners did this rather than simply having Hancock pitch to Garver today. This managed to solve the tension while still standing behind Pereda.

But the pitches Hancock called were not the right ones.

To be sure, it worked at first. Other than leaving a cutter in the lefty loop zone to James Wood, who did what he does, Hancock was fine the first time through the order. The big change he went to was throwing his sinker to all of Washington’s lefties. On the season, Hancock had been mostly using his four-seamer and cutter to lefties while leaving his sinker and sweeper on the shelf. That makes sense as a strategy. Sinkers and sweepers, with their horizontal movement, generally have some of the biggest platoon splits.

Today though, Hancock caught the lefties off guard, throwing 10 sinkers to lefties in the first time through the order, 36% of his pitches to them. That’s double his season average.

The problem was that the Nats noticed and were not caught off guard the second time through. They stacked five hits in a row to open the bottom of the fourth. Add in an errant pick-off throw and a missed fielder’s choice, and the hometown team put up a five spot in what Aaron Goldsmith says was less than four minutes. It turns out the element of surprise only works when it’s actually surprising.

Hancock eventually got out of the inning, but did not come back for the fifth. I don’t think the understaffed and overworked bullpen needed the extra pitches. Only nine of Hancock’s 59 pitches were something other than a fastball. Maybe the Mariners could have tried seeing if doing something other than aping Bryan Woo would work before pulling the plug.

To their credit, the bullpen did mostly hold it down. The exception was Andrés Muñoz, who came in for the ninth, despite the lopsided score, just to get some work. But he gave up a walk and a double and left after the trainer came to the mound. The broadcast speculated it was just about the heat, a problem he’s had in the past, but Adam Jude reports it was back tightness. That’s a vague diagnosis, but vagueness is unfortunately all you can do for that malady, which might be fine tomorrow or linger for the rest of his life. (Josh Naylor also left the game after fouling a ball on the shin, but his x-rays were negative.)

In a game lacking in good news, at least Cole Young made a web gem in the sixth inning (tragically, no video yet). For those not following the storyline, LL’s Managing Editor Kate Preusser has committed that if Young wins a Gold Glove, she’ll get a tattoo that says, “I was so wrong about Cole Young.” So every good play gets me thinking about font choices to recommend. Young gets the Sun Hat Award today for that play and for scoring the Mariners’ lone run.

Talk about recapturing the vibes! The Nats have now fully put the San Francisco meltdown in the rear view mirror after taking the series against the Mariners with a 10-1 win. After the Mariners scored a run in the first inning, this was a comprehensive beatdown by the Nats. 

On the one year anniversary of the infamous “never on coaching” line from Davey Martinez, the Nats are now 37-35. In the past that Giants loss may have derailed the season, but not for this team and not for this coaching staff. The way this team has responded the last two games is so encouraging, and makes their success seem more real.

Final: Nationals 10, Mariners 1

One year after the “it's never on coaching” claim, the Nats rout Seattle and claim their 8th series win in the last 10 series. Mikolas goes 7 scoreless, while Wood, Ruiz, Young, Crews and Lile all have extra-base hits.

Record: 37-35

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 14, 2026

There were a lot of star performers in this game, but the biggest one was Miles Mikolas. Simply put, Mikolas looked cooked in his first few outings of the season. He was getting shelled and became the face of the Nats pitching woes. However, Mikolas has turned his season around. In his last 11 outings, the veteran has a 3.38 ERA and a WHIP under 1. 

He has had plenty of good performances lately, but this was the best one. Mikolas’ command was absolutely impeccable, dotting corners all day long. The velocity was also up for the right hander. His 4-seamer and sinker were both up 1.6 MPH today, with the 4-seamer averaging 94.9 MPH. This was the first time Mikolas has tossed 7 scoreless innings since 2024.

Miles Mikolas tonight vs. Seattle:

7 IP
3 H
0 R
0 BB
3 K

It's his first outing of 7+ shutout innings since 2024 👀 pic.twitter.com/DwhYSWU2Uj

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 14, 2026

When Mikolas did that, he was used as a traditional starter. In this outing, he came in after an inning of work by opener PJ Poulin. Mikolas has done well following an opener this year, and has been totally open to the idea despite having over 200 starts under his belt. Despite being in this league for a long time, all Mikolas wants to do is pitch and help his team win.

The offense made things easier for Mikolas today by giving him plenty of run support. That run support came early and often. The Mariners struck first blood in the top of the first, but James Wood immediately answered back in the bottom of the inning. It was his second pull side homer of the series, and a majestic shot.

James Wood crushes home run No. 20! pic.twitter.com/QY4QwiyOpx

— MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2026

Wood is just on a whole different level right now and is an MVP candidate. With three hits today, Wood is now hitting .281 with a .972 OPS. Perhaps the craziest stat is that Wood has scored 66 runs on the season, and the next closest player has only scored 53. This shows you how great Wood is at getting on base, but also how prolific the Nats offense is behind him.

The big inning for the Nats came in the 4th, where things just unraveled for Mariners starter Emerson Hancock. In just 17 pitches, the Nats batted around and scored 5 runs. Nats hitters were hunting the first pitch all inning long, with 7 of the at bats that frame ending on the first pitch. One of those at bats was Daylen Lile’s RBI double, which was an absolute rope.

DAAYYly double pic.twitter.com/SeraNAATwt

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 14, 2026

This whole season, or at least most of it, has been such a fun ride so far. We went into the year with zero expectations, but this team is surprising us game after game. Whenever we think this team will cool off, they just rip off another series win like they did against the Mariners today.

So many different players have stepped up this season for the Nats and today was a perfect example of that. Every Nationals hitter got at least one hit in this one. On the mound, Miles Mikolas, who was left for dead at the beginning of the season, was the hero. The Nats were at their scintillating best in this 10-1 demolition of the Mariners. 

Next up, the struggling Royals come to town. At times, the Nats have played down against weaker teams, so they will need to keep the intensity high this week. This was a great win though, and these last two games were a big statement by this young and hungry team.

Texas Rangers lineup for June 14, 2026 against the Boston Red Sox: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Connelly Early for the Red Sox.

The last game of the road trip. The Rangers look to avoid a sweep.

The lineup:

Langford — DH

Jung — 3B

Nimmo — RF

Duran — SS

Burger — 1B

Foscue — 2B

Freeman — LF

Higashioka — C

Osuna — CF

6:20 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.

Nationals 10, Mariners 1

When you toss a game so bad we won’t list the highest WPA in the chart: Emerson Hancock, -0.33 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day