32-34 – Extra bags send Rangers packing in 5-3 loss to Royals

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JUNE 09: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers can't catch a ball hit by Maikel Garcia of the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 09, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Kansas City Royals scored five runs.

At one point, as we were entering the bottom of the fifth inning of this game, the Rangers had collected eight hits and the Royals had collected zero. Man, the Rangers must have been destroying the AL’s worst team right? Well, no. Because of a bad batch of sequencing, and a dearth of extra base hits, the Rangers led only 2-0 at that point.

Aside from a two-bagger from Ezequiel Duran in the top of the second, the other seven of Texas’ initial eight hits were singles and worse, a great majority of those came with two outs. That required the Rangers to sustain long rallies with little wiggle room, which simply didn’t manifest for the most part.

The Rangers scored their first run on their best rally of the night, but one that was ultimately wasted if the goal was to bust the game open and take a big lead. After Wyatt Langford walked to lead off the second, Duran hit his double, and then Jake Burger singled Langford home. But with two on and still no one out, the Rangers hit two ground balls in a row with the second one a double play that allowed tonight’s KC starter Stephen Kolek and the Royals to escape the inning with Texas up just 1-0.

The Rangers didn’t even need a run-scoring hit to plate their second run thanks to Evan Carter using his legs to menace Kansas City into a couple of throwing errors. After Carter singled with two outs in the top of the third, he reached second on an errant pickoff throw and then scored when KC catcher Carter Jensen threw the ball away attempting to throw Carter out on a steal attempt at third base.

However, with eight hits, the Rangers wasted plenty of chances for that elusive bases-clearing extra base hit that could have broken open the game. Turns out, they were saving them all up for the Royals. How kind. By the end of the sixth inning it was 5-2 Royals as Kansas City collected the next six hits of the game. All of them went for extra bases. All but two of those came off tonight’s starter Nathan Eovaldi who was a tad wild early with three walks but mostly cruising along.

Ironically, Texas’ next and only other hit of the night was a triple by Joc Pederson and the Royals’ only two hits the rest of the way were a couple of singles that did no damage.

Overall, that was a pretty annoying experience and just the latest of several chances for Texas to move back to .500 that went to waste.

Player of the Game: Josh Jung and Brandon Nimmo led the way with a couple of hits apiece. All four of those hits were singles, however.

Up Next: The Rangers will resume the climb back to .500 with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Seth Lugo for Kansas City.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Kauffman Stadium is again scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Blunders never Cease: Blue Jays 3, Phillies 2

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 9: Brandon Valenzuela #59 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates behind Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies after hitting a walk-off RBI single during the ninth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 9, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays (32-35) got some help from Jhoan Duran’s faulty PitchCom as they walked it off against the Philadelphia Phillies (36-30) by a score of 3-2 in game two of the series.

Zack Wheeler and Dylan Cease went punch for punch as two of the best starters in the game, each allowing one run across six innings of work. It was Cease’s first start back after two weeks on the injured list and he showed no signs of rust, striking out 11 Phillies hitters.

Cease’s lone blemish on the scorecard came in the first inning as doubles by Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh staked the Phillies to an early 1-0 lead.

Wheeler left a fastball up in the zone to Jesus Sanchez that he sent to the right field seats to tie the game with one out in the bottom of the sixth.

Both bullpens held serve bridging the gap to their closers, with Orion Kerkering going an inning plus and Jose Alvarado shutting the door in the eighth. Jeff Hoffman also pitched a scoreless seventh inning after struggling much of the year for the Jays.

Louis Varland and Duran will both likely take the mound at or near the end of the All Star Game in July, but tonight they were unextraordinary.

Varland came into the game with a 0.26 ERA and doubled it with his second earned run allowed of the season in 36+ innings when he walked Bryce Harper on four pitches to open the inning and Harper later came home to score on an inside out punch shot RBI double by Bryson Stott down the left field line to give the Phillies the 2-1 advantage.

Duran had been perfect in save opportunities on the season but after allowing a lead-off single to Sanchez to begin the bottom of the inning, he began complaining of issues with the PitchCom receiver in his hat. It was clearly not resolved during his next at bat against Yohendrick Pinango, as he crossed up JT Realmuto on a pitch that caught JT near the wrist and caused the Phillies staff to bring out a replacement receiver. Up 0-2 against Jays’ catcher, Brandon Valenzuela, a breaking ball got away from Duran and Realmuto and the tying run came home on the wild pitch. Valenzuela turned on a fastball down the middle on the next pitch to end it.

Jesus Luzardo takes the mound in the rubber match against Max Scherzer who is also making his first start back from the injured list after being sidelined since late April.

Spencer Jones blasts first career home run as Yankees secure series win in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 09: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run for his first Major League home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on June 09, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Spencer Jones experiment has been extremely interesting over the first few weeks we’ve seen it. Yankee fans have been wondering aloud how a player with such titanic power, but such concerning holes in his swing, would fare against big-league pitching.

The early results have been mixed. He’s kept up his reputation as someone who usually gets a hit whenever he makes contact and he hasn’t looked too overmatched, but he’s also still running a gigantic strikeout rate. It probably doesn’t help that he keeps facing flamethrowers.

We’ve all been wondering, though, when we’d see that titanic power. It turns out, all we needed was to see him get a mistake from a softer throwing righty, as he pummeled a cutter left over the plate by Slade Cecconi for his first major league home run in the second inning to give the Yanks an early lead. A later home run by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and an impressive five-out save by Fernando Cruz finished off a 3-2 win over the Guardians to secure a series victory.

The game started innocently enough on both sides. Paul Goldschmidt was the only baserunner in a scoreless first for Slade Cecconi, while Gerrit Cole sat down the Guardians 1-2-3 in the bottom half.

That ended as soon as the second inning started. Chisholm worked a six-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2 before Cecconi grooved an absolute cookie down the pipe on 1-0 to Jones, who demolished it 443 feet to dead center field for his first career home run, giving the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead.

Cole got into trouble in the bottom half after a single by Rhys Hoskins and a catcher’s interference call, but worked out of it. Trent Grisham and Goldschmidt both hit singles in the third to threaten further, but a heads up play by Kyle Manzardo cut down on Grisham at the plate on a potential double play ball.

Things unraveled for Cole in the third. After two quick outs, he gave up a single to perennial Yankee killer José Ramirez, who then stole second. With two outs and a runner on second, Chase DeLauter smoked a ball up the middle that Anthony Volpe completely misread, jumping out of the way instead of knocking it down, leading to an RBI single.

While that play could’ve ended the inning, it’s hard to put full blame on Volpe for the rest of the inning. Cole lost Manzardo, plunked Hoskins, and failed to cover first on a play that will give you major flashbacks to tie the game at two. Did all of these extra pitches and baserunners happen because Volpe didn’t make the play? Sure, but if any pitcher should be able to pick up his defense, it’s Cole.

The Yankees had a chance to respond in the fourth after singles by Jones and Ryan McMahon, but stranded them. Cleveland had a chance to take the lead on a laboring Cole with a long single by Austin Hedges and a walk by Travis Bazzana, but the former Cy Young gritted his way through the end of a difficult, four-inning outing.

After Cecconi worked around a two-out walk in the fifth, the Guardians threatened again off Paul Blackburn, putting runners on the corners with one out. The struggling Steven Kwan tried to safety squeeze Manzardo home, but Blackburn made a head’s up play off the mound to tag him out trying to score.

Cecconi finished up his outing with another scoreless inning in the sixth, putting a bow on a second consecutive quality start against the Yankees. Blackburn, Tim Hill, and Camilo Doval were able to get the next six outs to send this game into the eighth, still tied at two.

Tim Herrin, who tossed a scoreless seventh, got to start the eighth and jumped ahead of Chisholm 0-2. For the second time today, a Guardians pitcher was unable to execute a pitch to put away the Yankees’ second baseman, running the count full before hanging a slider that was demolished into the right field seats for a go-ahead home run.

Herrin was pulled for Matt Festa with one out, who got out of the inning after allowing a single to McMahon. With the bullpen depleted, Aaron Boone went to Jake Bird to start the eighth, and just like yesterday, a Yankees’ reliever failed to get outs against their lane. With two on and one out, Boone pulled him for the only fresh reliever on the roster, Fernando Cruz, who did his usual sorcery to get out of the inning with a strikeout of Bazzana and a flyout from J-Ram.

Shawn Armstrong put up a quick 1-2-3 inning for the Guardians in the top of the ninth, setting up Cruz to go for the five-out save. Walking DeLauter on four pitches wasn’t a great start, but he got a pair of swords to strike out Manzardo and Hoskins. Angel Martinez was the last man standing, and he was equally helpless against the deadliest splitter in the game, as Cruz locked down just his second save as a Yankee.

The Yanks will go for the sweep in another mid-week matinee against the Guardians tomorrow at 1:10 pm EST on YES. It’ll be Carlos Rodón up against lefty Parker Messick.

Box Score

Dodgers wait out Paul Skenes, then unload on Pirates bullpen

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 09: Andy Pages #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on June 9, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Eric Lauer held his own against Paul Skenes into the sixth inning, then the Dodgers broke loose against Not Paul Skenes in a 12-3 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park.

A tie game entering the seventh inning quickly became untied as Pirates reliever Wilber Dotel allowed five hits and a walk to his six batters faced, and all of them scored. Andy Pages hit a two-run home run to break things open.

It took 10 Dodgers to bat in the seventh before the Pirates bullpen recorded its first out. And they weren’t done yet. Two games after a nine-run inning against the Angels that was the Dodgers’ best in five years, they scored 10 runs in the seventh inning on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

The 10th run of the frame was driven home on a single by Freddie Freeman, the 2,500th hit of his illustrious career.

Keeping the flow

PNC Park stands at the confluence of three rivers in Pittsburgh, so perhaps adding a fourth River into the mix might represent a Roberto Clemente Bridge too far. So while River Ryan is in Charlotte and set to start on Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Lauer remains in the rotation, and thus far has basically done exactly what was asked of him when the Dodgers acquired the left-hander from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17.

Lauer allowed a pair of two-out home runs in the first inning, which is going to happen sometimes considering the left-hander has the third-highest home runs per nine innings (2.56) among major league pitchers with at least 40 innings. But after the home runs, Lauer retired 15 of his final 16 batters faced, leaving in a 2-2 tie after 5 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.

What was an uphill battle facing Skenes was smoothed out a bit by Lauer pitching as deep as he did, and the Dodgers giving themselves several chances against the Pirates ace.

In five starts against Skenes, the Dodgers have 25 total hits (in 112 at-bats), but 13 are for extra-bases. Mookie Betts got one of those with a double to lead off the second inning, and scored the first run for Los Angeles. Max Muncy doubled with one out in the fourth, but Skenes struck out Kyle Tucker and Ryan Ward to end that threat.

But the Dodgers kept threatening against Skenes, reaching base in every inning from the second through the sixth, including a one-out double in the sixth by Freeman, his 2,499th career hit. One out later, Max Muncy grounded a ball that took a hop past second baseman Brandon Lowe for his third hit of the game, scoring Freeman with the equalizer.

As good as Skenes has been this season — a 3.08 ERA, 2.29 xERA — the Pirates have managed to lose eight of his 14 starts, despite having a winning record (34-33) overall. Seeing the bullpen makes that more understandable.

Two sides of aggression

Dalton Rushing walked to open the fifth, but his slide into second base on a grounder might have been acceptable 50 years ago, well off the bag and into Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo. Instead, he was rightfully called for interference, turning a forceout into a double play, neutering a potential scoring opportunity.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing slides well off second base, into Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on June 9, 2026.

Rushing channeled that aggression more productively in the seventh inning, with a single and going from first base to third on a single to left center. Then on a pickoff throw by catcher Henry Davis, Rushing went back into the bag standing up, remaining in the way of third baseman Nick Gonzalez. The throw hit Rushing and caromed into foul territory, allowing him to easily score the go-ahead run.

That run seemed important at the time, but got washed away under the avalanche of runs during the frame.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Andy Pages (15); Bryan Reynolds (7), Ryan O’Hearn (10)

WP — Will Klein (2-2): 1 1/3 IP, 3 strikeouts

LP — Wilber Dotel (1-1): 0 IP, 5 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 1 walk

Up next

The Dodgers and Pirates are back at it on Wednesday (3:40 p.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network), with Shohei Ohtani on the mound for the middle game of the series, and Jared Jones pitching for the Pirates in his third start back from the injured list. Weather permitting, of course.

36-32: Chart

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JUNE 09: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with Cole Young #2 after hitting a three-run home run in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 09, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Mariners 6, Orioles 5

Craig from Richland: The Seattle Mariners 100% WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. home runs lift Yankees over Guardians 3-2

Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit homers and the Yankees bullpen delivered five scoreless frames as New York grabbed a 3-2 win over the Guardians on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

Jones’ two-run home run was the first of his big league career as the Yanks (40-26) grabbed the first two games of the series over Cleveland (37-32).

The Yanks, who only got four innings from starter Gerrit Cole in his fourth start of the season, scored all their runs on the homers and went 1-for-5 with RISP (a non-RBI single) and left nine runners on base.

Here are the takeaways...

- Jones put the Yanks ahead in the second with a two-run home run that got out of the park in a hurry. The big lefty got a center-cut Slade Cecconi 87 mph cutter and unloaded on it: 443 feet, 112.2 mph off the bat to straight away center. The 25-year-old, who had 13 homers across 43 games at Triple-A this year, got his first big league big fly in his 33rd career at-bat and finished the night 2-for-4.

- Chisholm, who was once again using injured slugger Aaron Judge's bat, put the Yanks back ahead to start the eighth, getting just enough of a 3-2 slider from Tim Herrin for a high 360-foot homer to right (107.3 mph with a 41-degree launch angle).

Earlier in the at-bat, Chisholm got a big gift from home plate umpire Jacob Metz, who struggled all night behind the plate. The second baseman took an 0-2 slider low-and-away that caught the corner and the bottom of the zone, but Metz called it a ball and Clevleand didn’t challenge.  

He finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Chisholm is now 7-for-39 in his last nine games with four home runs, seven RBI, four walks, and 12 strikeouts.

- The first three men out of the Yanks bullpen kept the game tied, with Paul Blackburn allowing three hits over 1.2 innings, Tim Hill adding an out, and Camilo Doval allowing a single before erasing it with a 4-6-3 inning-ender.

Blackburn got out of a first and third jam in his first inning as he made a great play fielding Steven Kwan’s safety squeeze, tagging the runner 15 feet from the plate before ending the threat with a pop out.

Protecting a one-run lead, Jake Bird got the first man in the eighth, but a single and a walk saw him lifted for Fernando Cruz, who got Travis Bazzana fishing and Jose Ramirez to fly out to center to strand two.

With David Bednar presumably unavailable after throwing 27 pitches in Monday's win, Cruz got the ninth and walked the first batter he faced. The right recovered for his five-out save, getting Kyle Manzardo swinging over a splitter as the Yanks got the benefit on a close check swing call, Rhys Hoskins swinging over a splitter, and Angel Martínez swinging over a splitter to end it.

- Cole got close to a dream start with a pair of strikeouts in a perfect first, the second came when a pitch clock violation ended an eight-pitch battle with ChaseDeLauter. Cole allowed his first hit with one down in the second and a catcher’s interference put two on with two down, but avoided any damage. 

With two down in the third, Cole got stung: Ramirez lined a knuckle curve up the middle and, after stealing second without a throw, came around when DeLauter lined a changeup right through Anthony Volpe for an RBI single. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, and despite a great diving stop by Paul Goldschmidt down the line, Martínez beat Cole, who didn’t get a great jump, and slid headfirst to the bag to beat the pitcher, who slid feet-first. The righty left them loaded, but needed 29 pitches, with 21 to get the final out. 

The 19-foot high wall in left field saved Cole a homer to start the fourth as Austin Hedges had to settle for a 374-foot single that would have been gone in 26 MLB parks. A walk put two aboard with one down as the veteran didn’t look pleased with himself, as pitching coach Matt Blake made a second visit in as many innings. This time, the visit did the trick as Cole closed his tough day by leaving two on base.

His final line in his fourth start of the season: 4.0 innings, two runs on five hits and two walks (one HBP) with four strikeouts on 83 pitches (53 strikes).

- Goldschmidt singled in each of his first two times at the plate, the latter gave the Yanks runners at the corners with one down in the third, as it was ripped too hard into right to score Trent Grisham from second. That proved costly as Cody Bellinger’s tapper to first saw the runner gunned down at the plate and Chisholm then popped up to center to strand two.

Goldschmidt finished 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and made a few nice plays at first.

Bellinger went hitless in over three at-bats, reaching once with a walk.

- The Yankees got another chance with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth after singles by Jones and Ryan McMahon. But again failed to score as J.C. Escarra struck out swinging for the second time in two times up and Grisham’s grounder was gloved by the Guardians' second baseman, Bazzana, deep on the grass. 

Grisham finished with one hit in four times up with a strikeout swinging. 

Escarra extended his hitless run to 13 at-bats with four strikeouts as he failed to reach base in four chances.

McMahon ended up 2-for-3 with a walk.

- Volpe’s struggles at the plate continued as he went down swinging and went down looking in his first two at-bats and finished 0-for-4. He is now in a 6-for-37 funk with eight strikeouts in his last 10 games.

Volpe, who got the start at shortstop on Tuesday ahead of Jose Caballero, wasn't charged with an error for the ball he couldn't field that led to Cleveland’s two-run third, as he never touched the ball, but it was a play the former Gold Glove winner should have made. The ball wasn't struck particularly hard (96.6 mph exit velocity), but it appeared the flight and bounce fooled him.

- Ben Rice went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.

Game MVP: Yankee pitchers

The Bronx haulers surrendered 10 hits, four walks, and a hit batter, but limited Cleveland to two runs as the Guardians went 2-for-10 with RISP and left 13 on base and tallied nine strikeouts.

Highlights

What's next

New York goes for the sweep in Wednesday's matinee with first pitch set for 1:10 p.m.

Carlos Rodon (2.88 ERA, 1.200 WHIP in 25 innings) gets the ball for the Yanks. The home side will send out their own southpaw in Parker Messick (2.40 ERA, 1.067 WHIP in 75 innings).

Freddie Freeman, MLB's active hit leader, reaches another career milestone

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is the active hit leader in Major League Baseball.

He reached another milestone in the Dodgers' game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 9.

In the seventh inning, Freeman cracked his 2,500th hit, earning an RBI as Alex Freeland scored a run.

In four at-bats against Pittsburgh, the 36-year-old Freeman went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored two runs.

Rough night at the office for Freddy Peralta and the Mets

Jun 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) reacts in front of New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) after a double during the third inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Mets began their homestand on a sour note, falling the the Cardinals 7-0 at Citi Field. Six of those seven runs were surrendered by Freddy Peralta (four of them in a single inning), who had one of his worst starts of the season. Meanwhile, the Mets failed to get anything of substance going against Dustin May, failing to capitalize on opportunities, as has been the case so often this season.

After a relatively easy first inning for both pitchers, AJ Ewing laced a one-out double in the second to become the Mets’ first baserunner. Ewing would go on to be the only Met to have a multi-hit game this evening. A passed ball by rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks advanced Ewing to third, but May struck out Marcus Semien and Brett Baty back-to-back to neutralize the early threat.

The Cardinals then proceeded to drop a four spot on Freddy Peralta in the third. Peralta walked Nolan Gorman to lead off the inning and then Nathan Church doubled to put runners at second and third and nobody out. Rookie JJ Wetherholt then laced a single to score both runners and put the Cardinals on the board. Peralta then hit Iván Herrera with the a pitch before finally striking out Alec Burleson for the first out of the inning. But Jordan Walker then doubled to score Wetherholt and extend the Cardinals lead to 3-0. Lars Nootbaar then hit a grounder to second and Marcus Semien appropriately looked the runners back before throwing to first base, but Iván Herrera broke home on the throw anyway and beat out the play at the plate to make it 4-0 Cardinals.

The Mets had at least one runner on base in each of the next two innings, giving them a chance to chip away, but failed to capitalize each time. In his first at-bat back from the injured list, Francisco Alvarez singled with one out in the third, but was unfortunately promptly erased on a double play by Carson Benge. Juan Soto broke an 0-for-16 skid with a one-out single in the fourth for the Mets’ third hit. Jared Young threatened to end that rally with a double play as well, but the Mets challenged the out call at first base and the call was overturned, placing Young safely at first base. Marcus Semien then gave one a ride, but Nathan Church made an excellent basket catch on the warning track in center field after getting turned around multiple times before the ball found its way into his glove.

The Cardinals added to their lead further in the fifth when Iván Herrera blooped a one-out single in front of A.J. Ewing, who broke back initially and then couldn’t recover in time as the ball dropped in front of him—a rare miscue for Ewing in center field. Alec Burleson made the Mets pay by launching a two-run homer over the left-center field wall to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 6-0. Despite elevated pitch counts, both starting pitchers got through six innings. The Cardinals tacked on yet another run against Joey Gerber in the seventh in the form of back-to-back doubles by Herrera, who reached base five times on the night for the first time in his career, and Burleson. The Mets clearly intended to ask Gerber to finish the game, but after coming out to the mound for his third inning of work in the ninth, he returned to the dugout with the trainer to tend to what appeared to be a blister. Cionel Pérez pitched the top of the ninth for the Mets instead and he delivered a scoreless frame.

Justin Bruihl pitched two scoreless innings in relief of May and Matt Svanson finished things off with a scoreless ninth for the Cardinals, as the Mets were shut out for the fourth time this season.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +9% WPA
Big Mets loser: Freddy Peralta, -29% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29% WPA
Mets hitters: -21% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing’s one-out double in the bottom of the second, +4.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Nathan Church’s double in the top of the third, -11.9% WPA

How did Dodgers fare against Pirates ace Paul Skenes?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been rolling lately and took their momentum into Pittsburgh to test themselves against the Pirates and starting pitcher Paul Skenes.

Skenes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season, tied for fifth with 89 strikeouts. Teams hardly score when's on the mound, his WHIP at 0.91, third best in MLB.

The 24-year-old, Southern California native grew up in Orange County as a Los Angeles Angels fan. Historically, whenever Skenes goes against the "Boys in Blue," he's dominated. Skenes entered Tuesday with a 3-1 career record in four appearances against the Dodgers with an ERA of 2.70 and 33 strikeouts.

During their June 9 meeting, Skenes delivered seven strikeouts, including one against Shohei Ohtani. In six innings, he allowed six hits and two runs in 103 pitches.

The Pirates took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on back-to-back solo home runs from Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O'Hearn. Reynolds went yard, sending it 422 feet out of the park, while O'Hearn blasted his 355 feet.

The Dodgers' first score of the game came in the second inning. The sequence began with Mookie Betts, who hit a double to center field. Max Muncy followed with a single to right field as Betts advanced to third. LA scored a run thanks to a sacrifice fly that Kyle Tucker hit to center field.

The Dodgers later tied the game after a Muncy single found a gap and bounced right past Pirates' second baseman Brandon Lowe straight into right field. Muncy was awarded an RBI as Freddie Freeman scored in the sixth inning.

That inning marked the end of Skenes' night. He was relieved for Wilber Dotel. The score was tied 2-2 as Skenes left the game.

Dodgers light up Pirates bullpen in closing innings

The Dodgers were relatively quiet throughout the game with Skenes on the mound. But LA began to find motion at the plate once Skenes was relieved. It was open season and Dotel was the victim.

The Dodgers exploited the Pittsburgh bullpen with 10 runs in the seventh inning.

Among the highlights of the inning: Freddie Freeman hit a milestone, cracking his 2,500th hit.

Dodgers missing starting catcher

The Dodgers were without starting All-Star catcher Will Smith against Pittsburgh.

Smith remained out of the Dodgers' lineup during Tuesday's matchup with the Pirates. He has been out since Saturday's game against the Angels with a stiff neck, according to Sports Illustrated's Noah Camras.

Dave Roberts said he was expected back on Sunday but Smith didn't play. The Dodgers had a day off Monday.

Paul Skenes stats vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Here is the final look at Paul Skenes' pitching performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers:

  • Innings pitched: 6
  • Hits allowed: 6
  • Runs allowed: 2
  • Earned Runs allowed: 2
  • Walks: 2
  • Strikeouts: 7
  • Pitch Count: 103
  • Strikes Thrown: 62

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Paul Skenes vs. Dodgers: Stats for Pirates ace

St. Louis Cardinals Bats Clobber the Big Apple Easily Beating the Mets

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 09: Alec Burleson #41 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 09, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Dustin May tossed a gem and he finally got the run support he deserves as the St. Louis Cardinals and their bats made a loud entrance into the Big Apple as they beat the New York Mets Tuesday night.

I’m delighted to tell you that it will take awhile to explain how the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead against the Mets Tuesday night. The fun didn’t really get started until the top of the 3rd inning when Nolan Gorman led off with a walk. That, in and of itself, is a victory. Nathan Church followed that with a double that trickled down the left field line as Gorman advanced to third and Church sped into second. JJ Wetherholt decided it was time that the St. Louis Cardinals finally start taking better advantage of runners in scoring position as he whacked a single to right-center scoring both Gorman and Church.

After Ivan Herrera was hit by a pitch (again…don’t even get me started), Alec Burleson struck out (which he would more than redeem himself for later), Jordan Walker crushed a 88 mph changeup to left for a double scoring JJ Wetherholt with Herrera advancing to third (which would be important soon). That gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

St. Louis would add one more run in a sneaky way before the top of the 3rd inning ended as Lars Nootbaar grounded out to second, but Herrera made a delayed break for home and scored on the play making it 4-0 Cardinals.

In the top of the 5th inning, St. Louis would continue to pile on the Mets. After Ivan Herrera singled on a misjudgment by the Mets centerfielder Ewing, it was Alec Burleson went the other way with a 78 mph curveball that didn’t curve enough as he launched it over the left field wall for a 2-run homer giving the Cardinals a commanding 6-0 lead.

I’ve shared a lot about the St. Louis Cardinals offense Tuesday night and for good reason, but it needs to be said that Dustin May was dealing. He didn’t really allow the Mets to get any kind of momentum other than the bottom of the 4th inning when he allowed two singles and then Nathan Church made a catch in deep center where he did one of the best tornado impressions you’ll ever see. Dustin gave St. Louis a strong 6 innings tossing 101 pitches allowing only 4 hits while striking out 6 and walking just 1 with no earned runs. Brilliant.

If you thought that the St. Louis Cardinals would surely have just coasted the rest of the game, you would be wrong. The Cardinals would continue the scoring parade as Ivan Herrera led off the top of the 7th inning with a line drive to right field that the Mets Carson Benge seemed to dive too far for as the ball went over his glove to the outfield wall. Herrera was only able to turn it into a double as a triple would have been rubbing it in apparently. He still scored, though, as Alec Burleson continued his great night with a double into the right field corner scoring Herrera giving the Cardinals a touchdown lead of 7-0. Extra point is good!

Nathan Church made the most of his return to the active roster as he went 3 for 4 Tuesday night. Ivan Herrera also had 3 hits and Alec Burleson now has a 9-game hitting streak.

Justin Bruihl was the Cardinals bullpen answer for the 7th and 8th inning Tuesday night. He had a drama-free outing which is nice to be able to say. Matt Svanson was tasked with being the Cardinals “closer” and had no problems keeping the Mets from doing anything positive (from a Mets perspective).

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series against the New York Mets Wednesday night as Andre Pallante takes the mound for St. Louis. The Mets will ask Christian Scott to try and stop the Cardinals. Good luck with that, Mr. Scott. You’ll need it. First pitch is set for 6:10pm central time as the game broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.

Freddy Peralta hit hard, offense non-existent in Mets' 7-0 loss to Cardinals

The Mets lost to the Cardinals, 7-0, in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday night at Citi Field.


Here are the takeaways...

- After two sharp innings, Freddy Peralta unraveled in the third.

He started the frame by walking No. 8 hitter Nolan Gorman before giving up a double down the left field line to Nathan Church. JJ Wetherholt then ripped the first pitch he saw from Peralta into center field for a two-run single to make it 2-0 St. Louis.

After Peralta hit Ivan Herrera with a pitch and struck out Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker doubled to bring in the Cardinals' third run of the inning. Then, on a ground out, Herrera used a delayed break home and got in just under the tag of Francisco Alvarez to increase the Cardinals' lead to 4-0.

The issues continued for Peralta in the fifth inning, when he served up a two-run homer to Burleson to make it 6-0 St. Louis.

Overall, Peralta allowed six runs on six hits while walking two, hitting two, and striking out five. He threw 98 pitches, with 58 going for strikes. His ERA for the season rose to 4.04.

- The Mets had a chance in the fourth inning with runners on first and second and two outs. Marcus Semien drilled a 101 mph fly ball 401 feet to center field, but it landed in the glove of Church, who made a basket catch to save two runs.

- Cardinals starter Dustin May shut down the Mets' offense, firing six shutout innings while allowing just four hits, walking one, and striking out six.

May entered Tuesday's start with a 4.59 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, though his 3.36 FIP suggested he was getting a bit unlucky on balls in play. 

- In his first game back from the IL, Alvarez ripped a single to center field his first time up. He finished 1-for-3.

- Juan Soto, who had been mired in an 0-for-16 slump, lined a single to center field in the fourth inning.

- A.J. Ewing stayed hot, going 2-for-4 with a double and single to extend his hitting streak to six games.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets and Cardinals continue their series on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Christian Scott gets the start against Andre Pallante.

NBA doesn't assess Spurs' Victor Wembanyama a retroactive flagrant foul after shove of Jalen Brunson

The NBA has ruled that Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will not be assessed a flagrant foul for his actions in Monday's Game 3 win over the Knicks.

The league determined that Wembanyama's shove of Knicks guard Jalen Brunsondid not meet their criteria for the center to be assessed a flagrant foul retroactively. 

 

Wembanyama and the Spurs dodged what could have been a series-shifting moment. If the Spurs center were assessed a flagrant-1 foul, he would be one flagrant foul away from a mandatory one-game suspension in the NBA Finals after he was given a flagrant-2 foul after he threw an elbow on the Timberwolves' Naz Reid in the second round of the playoffs.

The NBA's ruling is not unexpected, and eyes will be on Game 4 to see how tightly the game will be officiated after Knicks head coach Mike Brown criticized the officiating after Game 3 and guard Jose Alvarado sent a warning to Wembanyama and the Spurs, saying "that'll be the last one." 

Game 4 will emanate from MSG on Wednesday before the series shifts to San Antonio for Game 5 in San Antonio. 

Rays Reacts Survey: Time to Panic?

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JUNE 08: Yandy Díaz #2 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates a solo home run against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the first inning at Tropicana Field on June 8, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rays fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Washington Nationals vs San Francisco Giants Game Thread

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 08: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals is congratulated by Keibert Ruiz #20 after Abrams scored the go ahead run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on June 08, 2026 in San Francisco, California. The Nationals won the game 4-3. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Just when the Nats looked dead in the water, they came back in the 9th with Daylen Lile and CJ Abrams delivering the big hits. Now they will look to carry that momentum into this game where they have a chance to claim another series win. The late night Nats are back in action folks.

Blake Butera is going lefty heavy against Giants starter Adrian Houser, who performs significantly worse against lefties. That means Curtis Mead will be on the bench for Jorbit Vivas. Jose Tena will also get the start at DH. The only true right handed hitter in the lineup today is Jacob Young, who replaces Dylan Crews in center. Drew Millas will get the nod over Keibert Ruiz behind the dish. Andrew Alvarez will be on the mound tonight.

The Giants are making a couple changes at the bottom of their order. Jonah Cox will be in center field over Drew Gilbert. Daniel Susac will do the catching tonight as well. Otherwise it is the same lineup as the one Tony Vitello rolled out yesterday. As mentioned before, veteran Adrian Houser will be on the bump.

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Game Info:

Stadium: Oracle Park

Time: 9:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Last night was an uplifting win for the Nats, who made a 9th inning comeback for the first time this year. Now they will look to wrap up another series win on the west coast. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

How to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals

MILWAUKEE, WI - JUNE 04: Adrian Houser #12 of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first inning during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Thursday, June 4, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

The San Francisco Giants continue this three-game series against the Washington Nationals tonight from Oracle Park.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Adrian Houser, who enters tonight’s game with a 5.49 ERA, 5.27 FIP, with 40 strikeouts to 24 walks in 60.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 12-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, in which he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in four and a third innings.

He’ll be facing off against Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.54 ERA, 3.11 FIP, with 22 strikeouts to six walks in 20.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Nationals’ 4-1 loss to the Miami Marlins last Wednesday, in which he allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk in four and two thirds innings.

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Game #68

Who: San Francisco Giants (27-40) vs. Washington Nationals (34-33)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM