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Under the clear desert sky and scorching sun of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Colorado Rockies offense put on a fireworks show to close out a three-game series against the Athletics and avoid a sweep. The Athletics were hosting six games at Las Vegas Ballpark—home of the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators—to give fans a preview for when the team moves to Sin City full time.

Across those six games, there were a combined 35 home runs hit. The Rockies added a few of their own in a 23-9 blowout.

Sugano struggles but gets the job done.

The unthinkable happend to Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) in today’s scorcher: He gave up a multi-run home run for the first time this season. All 12 of his previous home runs had been solo shots. The offending blast came in the bottom of Sugano’s final inning of the day with two outs.

Not much went right for Sugano. Under the high skies of Las Vegas, the ball was either rocketing into the outfield or getting lost in the sun. Multiple plays fell apart simply because an infielder or outfielder could not track the baseball in the cloudless sky.

Sugano gave up eight earned runs on nine hits and he tallied two walks and two strikeouts against the Athletics. His ERA—4.08 entering the game—settled at 4.79 once his five innings of work were complete.

Despite the struggles, Sugano still left the game in line for a a win on the scoresheet. His seventh win is the current most among the Rockies pitching staff. Antonio Senzatela is second with six.

Castellano’s MLB debut helps the bullpen get the job done

All the Rockies bullpen had to do in relief of Tomoyuki Sugano was keep the damage to a minimum while the offense continued to rack up hits. Said bullpen held the Athletics to just one run in four total innings of work. The run came via a solo home run against Blas Castañ0, who gave up the one earned run on two hits.

Right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano—usually a starter—made his Major League debut after being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend. Castellano pitched three shutout innings, giving up four hits and tallying his first two career strikeouts. His three innings of work to close out the game also earned him his first career save.

Bats as hot as the sun

When both the Rockies and Athletics scored five runs each in the first two innings, it was obvious this would end up a high-scoring game. However, the high skies in Las Vegas seemed to give a tired and heat-weary Athletics squad much more trouble in the field, and the Rockies eventually smashed the pedal to the floor and never let up.

In the first inning, Tyler Freeman reached on a throwing error from Athletics third baseman Max Muncy (no, not that one). Hunter Goodman—who had been hitless in the first two games of the series—got a hold of a four-seam fastball and crushed it over the outfield pool that was at the time playing host to one Ryan “Spillagus” Spilborghs.

The second inning then kicked off with back-to-back singles by Cole Carrigg and Kyle Karros to set the table. Troy Johnston drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Willi Castro—batting right-handed—slugged the Rockies’ second home run in as many innings.

In the top of the fourth, Carrigg and Karros once again went back-to-back. Carrigg reached on an infield single while Karros drove him home with a double. After that, it was time for yet another home run. This time it was Troy Johnston hitting his third of the season, putting the Rockies ahead with a lead they would not relinquish.

However, when it’s this hot and the ball is flying, you can’t let up.

The Rockies continued their offensive onslaught with a six-run fifth inning that started with Hunter Goodman hitting his second home run of the game and 20th of the season thus far. Singles from Ezequiel Tovar, Karros, and Castro, a walk drawn by Carrigg, a Troy Johnston double and a Tyler Freeman triple gave the Rockies 14 runs.

There were still four innings left to play.

Four more runs would come across in the seventh inning with a Braxton Fulford double, a Willi Castro single, a Tyler Freeman RBI fielder’s choice, the incredibly rare TJ Rumfield triple, and back-to-back doubles off the bats of Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar.

It was 18-8, and the Rockies weren’t done.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Rockies quickly loaded the bases with a single and two walks. Willi Castro—now batting left-handed—worked a full count before taking a hung curveball 444 feet for a grand slam.

The Athletics finally waved the white flag, bringing in outfielder Carlos Cortes to record the final five outs of the game… but not before TJ Rumfield left the park for the Rockies’ sixth and final home run of the game.

When all was said and done, the Colorado Rockies scored 23 runs on 24 hits. Every member of the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, and seven of them recorded multi-hit games. Every member of the starting lineup crossed home plate at least once, and eight of them did so two or more times. Cole Carrigg was the only member of the starting lineup to not record an RBI, and he still went 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored.

It’s also worth noting that the fabulous purple home run coat stayed on the hanger due to high temperatures.

Obviously Hunter Goodman and Willi Castro were the stars of the game. Goodman’s five hits were a career high and his 12 total bases were both a career high—beating his previous best of 11 from 2024—and a Rockies franchise record for total bases by a catcher. Castro, meanwhile, had his fourth multi-homer game of his career while going 4-for-6 and hitting those home runs from both sides of the plate. His grand slam was the first of his career.

Ryan Spilborghs may have been kicked out of the pool, but the Rockies still went 24-for-50 at the plate, drew five walks, struck out just seven times, and set a few franchise benchmarks along the way.

The Rockies’ 23 runs scored is a new franchise record—both at home and on the road—tied a franchise record for hits in a nine inning game, and their 13 extra-base hits represent the most they have hit as a franchise in a road game.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies pitching staff will surely appreciate the change of scenery—though the bats might not—as the team heads to the Windy City for a three game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Monday’s game will feature righty Michel Lorenzen, who is coming off one of his best starts as a Rockies pitcher—against Shota “The Throwing Philosopher” Imanaga. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM MDT.

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The Yankees returned to Rogers Centre this weekend for the first time since Oct. 8 when the Blue Jays ended New York's 2025 campaign in the ALDS, winning the three-game series with Sunday's 8-3 victory and improving to 4-3 against Toronto after splitting the May 18-21 set at Yankee Stadium.

"It feels good to shake hands and be celebrating a win in here after -- which, obviously, that was very difficult for us in this building last year," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose 43-27 team leads the AL East -- one game ahead of the 41-27 Tampa Bay Rays -- entering this week's six-game homestand. "So, it is a new year. You've got to keep going all the time. But what a good finish to an outstanding road trip against a couple good teams heading into the off day."

After Paul Goldschmidt's two-run home run broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth inning of Saturday's 3-1 win, Ben Rice did the same to put the Yankees ahead Sunday. Jose Caballero added a three-run shot to widen the 8-3 gap for good.

"It just speaks to the mentality of the group," said Rice, whose 2-for-5 afternoon brought his slash line to .293/.387/.611 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI through 65 games. "I feel like everyone's got that next-man-up mentality -- regardless of who's on the mound, regardless of the situation."

Following Friday's 8-5 loss to open the series, the Yankees rallied in consecutive games and are positioned well entering this week's three-game set with the Chicago White Sox, which starts with Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. opener. New York does not play the Blue Jays again until a three-game series Aug. 14-16 in Toronto.

"Chip on our shoulder," said Will Warren, whose no-decision start included a season-high eight hits allowed while yielding two runs in four innings. "We don't like those guys over there and they don't like us. Finding any way to win is always a good one, especially on the road."

The Athletics and Colorado Rockies met in the series finale of their three-game interleague series on a scorching afternoon in Las Vegas. The Rockies avoided the sweep, defeating the A’s 23-9 in an absurd game that served as a fitting cap to the A’s eventful week in their future home.

Rockies Capitalize off A’s Mistake

The Rockies struck right away against A’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs. With one out in the first inning, A’s third baseman Max Muncy made a throwing error, allowing the Rockies hitter to reach second base. Springs retired the next batter before Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman hit his 19th home run of the season, a two-out, two-run shot to center field.

A’s Offense Active Early

A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the first with a single against Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. Nick Kurtz drew a four-pitch walk, advancing Butler to second. Then, left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit his 19th double of the season, a line drive to right field that scored Butler and cut the A’s deficit in half.

Right fielder Carlos Cortes came up and kept the line rolling, lining a two-run single to right field to give the A’s a 3-2 lead. Sugano did not retire the first four batters he faced, immediately blowing his team’s lead.

heating up 🔥#VoteAthletics | https://t.co/SBezYOtGtGpic.twitter.com/bzwx5xcHWT

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 14, 2026

With one out, A’s catcher Jonah Heim singled to right, moving Cortes from first to third. Muncy hit a sacrifice fly, knocking Cortes in for the host’s fourth run of the first.

Colorado Back in Front

The Rockies opened the second inning with two straight singles, making it first and third with nobody out. Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof made a diving stop and strong throw to retire Colorado left fielder Troy Johnston, but the visitors’ third run scored on that RBI groundout.

A couple batters later, the Rockies re-took the lead. Springs gave up Willi Castro’s fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast just over the left field wall. Allowing five runs, including two home runs, over the first two innings was not the start Springs and the Athletics were looking for this afternoon.

Kurtz Comes Through

A’s shortstop Alika Williams singled to start the second inning, giving him six hits in his past six at-bats. Kurtz tied the game with an RBI double to the left-center gap, bringing Williams home from first base.

Kurtzy ties it 👏#VoteAthletics | https://t.co/SBezYOtGtGpic.twitter.com/8DYc0vY2Ov

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 14, 2026

Springs Struggles Continue

Both pitchers tossed 1-2-3 third innings, keeping the game tied at five. In the fourth, the Rockies jumped back in front. Center fielder Cole Carrigg hit an infield single and then third baseman Kyle Karros crushed an RBI double, putting the visitors up one.

Colorado was not done tagging Springs. Johnston hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to extend his team’s lead to three. The A’s starter allowed a career-high eight runs over four innings of work, though two were unearned. Starting the fly-ball, home run–prone pitcher a second time in this hitter-friendly ballpark proved costly, as Springs gave up three more home runs in his latest losing effort.

A’s Get One Back

Down three, the A’s offense went right to work. In the bottom of the fourth, first baseman Jeff McNeil walked, followed by Williams’ second single of the game. Kurtz’s RBI groundout scored McNeil for the A’s sixth run of the game.

Rockies Offense on Fire

Right-hander Luis Medina entered out of the A’s bullpen to pitch the fifth inning. With one out, Goodman hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to left field to restore his team’s three-run cushion. The Rockies scored their tenth run on Karros’ RBI single. The inning snowballed from there as the visitors scored four more runs, taking advantage of poor pitching from Medina and shaky A’s outfield defense. The Rockies’14th run scored when Butler dropped a catchable fly ball in center field that should have been the third out of the inning.

Endless Scoring

In the A’s fifth, Gelof doubled on a popup that was not caught, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Muncy hit his third home run of the season, a two-run, two-out home run to bring his team a bit closer.

Zack Gelof extends his MLB-best hitting streak to 18 games 👏 pic.twitter.com/qhH8I0nKup

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 14, 2026

Max Muncy starts the comeback attempt as he goes deep for his first home run since coming off the IL!

🎙️ @KenKorachRadio#MLB#Baseball#LasVegas#Athletics#MaxMuncypic.twitter.com/AgxmZAe4si

— A's Cast (@athleticscast24) June 14, 2026

The next inning, left-handed reliever Brady Basso pitched the A’s second scoreless inning of the game. In the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies brought in right-handed reliever Blas Castaño, who pitched a scoreless inning.

The Rockies hit-parade continued in the seventh. They scored four runs off Basso, with one coming when Cortes became the second A’s outfielder to lose a fly ball in the sun.

Soderstrom responded to the visitors four-spot by hitting his 12th home run of the season, a 462 foot solo shot to center. A few batters later, Gelof tried scoring from first on Heim’s double but he was thrown out at the plate.

ATH – Tyler Soderstrom Solo HR (12)

📏 462 ft | 💨 108.2 mph | 📐 22°
⚾️ 94.1 mph sinker (COL – RHP Blas Castaño)
🏟️ Out in 30/30 parks 💣

COL (18) @ ATH (9)
🔻 7th#Athleticspic.twitter.com/h3tK4z3EKi

— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) June 14, 2026

History!

The Rockies showed no mercy. A’s reliever Scott Barlow gave up a single and then walked two to load the bases. Castro came up and hit his second home run of the game, a 444-foot grand slam, to make it 22-9 and set a new Rockies franchise record for runs scored in a game.

With the score completely out of hand, the Athletics put position player Carlos Cortes on the mound. Cortes kept the circus going by allowing the first batter he faced to homer, pushing the Rockies’ lead to 23-9. Cortes recorded the final five outs, finishing with a better pitching line than any of the A’s’ actual pitchers who appeared in the game.

It was only fitting that the A’s pitching staff saved their worst performance of the season for the Vegas finale. As the saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and the team will be more than happy to leave this one behind.

Tomorrow, the Athletics start a new series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at their other temporary home. Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA, will take the mound at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. He will be opposed by Pirates right-hander Jared Jones, who will make his fourth MLB start since returning from UCL surgery.

First off, we’re not going to waste too much time with pleasantries here. That’s because we’ve got to talk about the rain-shortened White Sox series. Do I necessarily want to talk about that series (or either one of these series)? Absolutely not but at the same time (to paraphrase a crazy person), these games must be documented so I will do a quick hit on those before we get more in-depth with the Mets series. Here we go!

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Tuesday, June 9

White Sox 6, Braves 5

This one was fun until it wasn’t! Atlanta had a four-run lead early on that slowly got whittled away due to a couple of factors: Grant Holmes continuing to struggle with going through lineups more than once and Carlos Carrasco being asked to cover high-leverage innings in a situation where the bullpen aparently needed some more rest. Things stayed 4-4 through the first nine, which is when Mauricio Dubón seemingly added to his Braves lore with an RBI single that gave the Atlanta the edge heading into the bottom of the tenth inning. Instead, that simply set the stage for the debuting Braden Montgomery to cap off a great night at the plate with a home run off of Raisel Iglesias to win the game. This was Raisel Iglesias’ first home run surrendered since July 19, 2025. Insane.

Atlanta also lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to his second Grade 1 hamstring strain in as many months. Just an awful night all around.

Wednesday, June 10

White Sox 2, Braves 1

Chris Sale made it into the sixth inning with just two runs allowed on six hits and a walk. He also struck out six batters. On a normal night, that would’ve been enough to keep the Braves in it. Instead, Atlanta had no answers for Davis Martin and the rest of the Chicago pitching staff and only avoided a shutout due to the White Sox gifting Atlanta a run via a throwing error from Miguel Vargas. Despite collecting their fair share of hits, Atlanta was unable to deliver the big hits at the right time and so the Braves ended up suffering a rare series loss.

Atlanta would have to take that loss with them to New York without getting a chance to salvage the series, as rain ended up causing a postponement until August.

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Friday, June 12

Mets 7, Braves 5

Spencer Strider got the ball in this one and it was nothing but bad news while he was out there. Strider ended up being responsible for all seven runs that the Mets scored in this one — including two homers from Bo Bichette (who annoyingly picked this weekend to suddenly start showing real signs of life at the plate) and a dinger from Juan Soto. Soto’s homer came in back-to-back fashion following Bichette’s homer in the first inning and then the second Bichette dinger was a grand slam.

The seventh run that was charged to Strider came after Strider had exited the game in the fourth with a leadoff walk and JR Ritchie was on the mound. By then, his velocity was down to 88-mph and the Braves decided that this was the time to take him out of the game. Strider went on the IL by the next morning and Atlanta now had to deal with two core members of the team going on the IL in the same week.

Fortunately, the Braves did show signs of life as they attempted to make a comeback against Nolan McLean and the rest of New York’s pitching staff. Atlanta was down 7-2 after four innings but a fifth-inning dinger from Matt Olson and RBI singles from Ozzie Albies and Eli White brought the Braves back into it. The tying run came up to the plate in the ninth inning in the forms of Michael Harris II and Matt Olson but Devin Williams struck both of them out to complete a four-out save and ca off another frustrating night on the road for the Braves this week.

Saturday, June 13

Braves 3, Mets 1

Thank goodness for Eli White! The reserve outfielder for the Braves has made a habit out of providing some solid production when he’s called upon and Saturday was one of his finest moments, yet. White picked up three hits in this one, including an RBI double in the second inning and a solo homer in the fourth inning — both off of Mets starter Sean Manaea.

Those ended up being the only two runs Manaea would give up through six innings of work as it was tough sledding for everybody else not named Eli White. Fortunately, Martín Pérez was able to keep pace with Manaea as he pitched into the sixth inning and only gave up one run. Atlanta’s bullpen was once again up to the task of making a slender lead hold up and they were aided in that task in the eighth inning when Michael Harris II popped one out for a solo shot that gave the Braves some breathing room.

Raisel Iglesias’ first appearance since that bummer in Chicago nearly saw him give up his second homer in as many appearances. This time, it would’ve been a bit more understandable since Juan Soto was the one bringing the pain but as it turned out, it was ruled via crew chief review that Soto’s long ball wasn’t a homer according to the ground rules of Citi Field. Despite Soto doing his best to legally relay what pitch was coming from Iglesias while at second base, his sign-stealing efforts went in vain as Iglesias left Soto stranded and a double play ball got the Braves back in the win column.

Sunday, June 14

Mets 8, Braves 1

So, this game started with the Braves coming away with only one run (via sacrifice fly, no less) from a bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the top of the first inning. The bottom of the first inning saw Bryce Elder give up four runs and Mike Yastrzemski committed a bizarre error where he doinked a throw off the pole that holds up the foul netting while trying to hit the cutoff man near third base. That’s how the game started!

It got worse for Elder as he was eventually chased from the game in the start of the fifth inning after he gave up back-to-back home runs to start that frame. New York hadn’t hit back-to-back homers since Opening Day and now they had done it twice in three days and against the Braves, no less! Anyways, New York added two more runs off of Anthony Molina in the eighth inning and the Braves were spent after they wasted that golden opportunity to get after Freddy Peralta in the first inning and this ended up turning into one of those games where Atlanta just seemed ready to get on the plane and forget about all of this.

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Folks, this was just one of those weeks. Considering how well everything has been going for Atlanta this season, they were honestly beyond due for one of those miserable type of weeks where barely anything seemed to go right. It’s a long season and this tends to happen to even the best teams but that won’t stop me from sitting here and complaining about it!

One of the best closers in baseball gets walked off by a guy making his big league debut. They wasted a decent Chris Sale start. They lost their star outfielder to the same exact injury that knocked him down a month ago. Due to storms in Chicago, they didn’t get into New York until right before sunrise. They lost one of their starters to what is looking more and more like a serious injury. The New York Knicks won the NBA Championship (well, that’s a personal one for me). Bryce Elder looked more like 2024-25 Elder than 2023 Elder. Michael Harris II even had a home run robbery fall out of his glove and go over the fence! This was far and away the worst week of the season for the Atlanta Braves where Murphy’s Law appeared to be in full effect for each of the five games that they played.

Yet, there’s still some solace that the Braves can hold on to during this inevitable rough patch. Atlanta’s still 21 games over .500 and they’re still eight games ahead of the Phillies when it comes to the NL East race. Was this a very annoying and nasty week of baseball for the Atlanta games? Yes. Is it concerning to see both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider continue to deal with persistent injuries? Absolutely. Is it clear that this rotation needs some help that should (hopefully) come around the Trade Deadline? Definitely. This team has their problems (which were clearly on display this week) but the standings are the standings and right now, the Braves still have some breathing room to deal with things.

With all of that being said, it will truly be a sight for sore eyes once Drake Baldwin gets back into the lineup and it’ll even be better to see this team playing at home after this absolute nightmare of a road trip. The players and coaching staff will likely flush this one in the toilet and focus on getting things back on track with their next homestand but for now, it’s totally fine to sulk about what we saw this week. It was something nasty!

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

Comment of the Game

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