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Casey Mize didn’t have a great outing, but he was victimized a bit by his teammates in this one as well. A Jo Adell comebacker caught him in the wrist in the fourth inning and he had to leave the game. We’ll hope it’s nothing too serious. The bullpen did a pretty solid job the rest of the way, though it was dicey in spots, but the Tigers just did not swing the bats well as the Angels avoided the sweep with a 3-2 victory. The Tigers head to Chicago now to battle the Cubs.

This started off quite well, actually. Ryan Johnson, a low arm slot right-hander who was the Angels comp pick for losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency, fell behind 2-0 to Kevin McGonigle as the game’s first batter. His next offering was a sinker that got launched to left center field for the rookie’s ninth home run of the year.

Dillon Dingler followed with a pop-up. Colt Keith, coming off a four-hit night, took a 2-2 pitch that nicked the handle of his bat and was caught for an unintentional foul tip strike three. Weird. You can watch baseball forever and you still see something strange happen with regularity. Riley Greene walked on four straight balls, and so it was Spencer Torkelson up with one outs and Greene on first. Tork, coming off a two homer night, whiffed three breaking balls off the edge of the plate away and struck out.

Casey Mize, despite fighting through a recurring groin strain, is having the most effective season of his career. The strikeouts are up, he’s finally getting consistent whiffs off the splitter, and he’s also dialed in the best pair of breaking balls in his career with a firm slider and then a more sweeperish edition at slower speed. The splitter in particular has helped him to smother left-handed hitters almost entirely in the power department. The Angels stacked up right-handed hitters as four of the first five at the top of their order to deal with Mize, so the breaking stuff would be key early on.

Mize quickly got ahead 0-2 with a pair of breaking balls. He missed down with the split as Zach Neto hunted the fastball. Another splitter hung up and was pretty well hit, but Greene caught it right in front of the warning track. Mize whiffed Trout with a firm slider down on the corner. Nolan Schanuel, the lone lefty early on, put up a good fight, fouling off some good 3-2 pitches and finally flicking a little single just over a leaping Kevin McGonigle for a soft serve single. So that made for a longer inning in terms of pitches, but Mize blew Jorge Soler with a well located heater to send us to the second inning.

Kerry Carpenter and Hao-Yu Lee made quick outs to start the frame and James Outman struck out. Mize gave up a leadoff double from Vaughn Grissom. Josh Lowe sacrificed Grisson to third with a bnnt for the first out. Jo Adell flew out to shallow right. So Mize was almost out of it, but Oswaldo Peraza pulled a sharp ground ball and after making a nice diving stop, Keith popped up and airmailed the throw to first in his haste. That scored Grissom and tied the game up. Tyler Heineman was down 1-2, but Mize left a splitter middle-middle, and it got flared into shallow left field for a single that got Peraza to third as he was running on the play. This was less than idea, as it turned the lineup over to Neto.

Mize got ahead 1-2 but Neto laid off a good splitter. Mize lost a slider that ended up right in the upper corner of the zone. Jake Rogers missed the opportunity to challenge and get a strike three. The mistakes were piling up a bit and Mize’s pitch count climbed towards 50 pitches as Neto fouled off foul straight sliders down and away. It felt like it was time to try something else, but Rogers quintupled down and the final slider away drew a whiff to turn away a potential rally. 1-1 game.

Rogers grounded out to open the third, and that turned the Tigers lineup over and brought Mr. McGonigle to the dish. The rookie fouled off a pair of hittable sinkers and eventually popped out as Johnson and his jerky, marionette with tight strings delivery was giving the Tigers some timing issues despite the mediocre stuff. Dingler, the DH in this one, grounded out to third to end the frame.

Mize walked Mike Trout to start the bottom half and his pitch count stood at 54 pitches already. Schanuel ripped a single to right as Mize continued to struggle with his command. He bounced back to put Jorge Soler down 0-2 and got a pop-out to McGonigle for the first out. A double play ball was advised but instead, Grissom made for a lengthy at-bat before whiffing on a splitter for the second out. Trout had a read on Mize and easily stole third on the pitch. After getting ahead of Lowe, Mize missed with a slider and then a high splitter and was visibly getting irritated with himself, but his 72nd pitch was a nasty split that drew a whiff and turned the Angels away. Still, it was going to be tough for Mize to go even five in this one, and Keider Montero was not available after closing out Friday’s game and due to start on Wednesday against the Cubs.

Keith lifted a 350 footer to center for the first out of the fourth. Greene struck out and Torkelson flew out. This what not what Casey Mize needed. He didn’t need a sharp 109 mph comebacker that caught his left wrist above the glove off the bat of Jo Adell either, but that’s what happened to start the bottom half. Mize collected it and made the play, but AJ Hinch and the trainer came out and Mize was flexing his wrist as they took him out of the game. Hopefully there’s nothing broken. It didn’t look that serious but it was a pretty short conversation too. Drew Anderson began warming in the bullpen to take over.

Anderson dropped an evil changeup in for strike three to punch Peraza, beginning his outing in style. The Tigers would need a few innings from the right-hander. Heineman grounded out to Hao-Yu Lee to end the inning. Nicely job on short notice there from Anderson.

Kerry Carpenter was out front on a changeup and popped out to start the fifth. Lee lifted a routine fly ball, and that was 12 straight retired for Johnson. Outman tried to check his swing with two strikes and instead tapped a swinging bunt towards third for a single. Rogers fell behind but stayed patient and drew a walk as Outman danced off base, perhaps occupying a bit of space in Johnson’s head. So McGonigle stepped in for his third plate appearance, this time with a runner in scoring position. Kurt Suzuki had a lefty warming up, but apparently he wasn’t ready yet. Johnson and Heineman absolutely refused to let Kevin extend his arms and threw everything inside, eventually issuing the walk to load the bases for Dillon Dingler.

Johnson’s pitch count was rapidly running up to 90 and this seemed like his last batter. He didn’t give in, spinning a slider off the plate 2-2 to draw a tentative whiff from Dingler and escape the bases loaded jam. Rats.

Anderson fell behind 3-0, worked his way to a full count, and then missed badly with a curveball in a 3-2 count to walk Neto. He then missed with three four straight to Trout. After missing a bases loaded opportunity, this did not bode well for this game. Chris Fetter went out to chill Anderson out. He fired a fastball for a first pitch strike to Schanuel, but a second one in the same spot got labeled for a soft single to center field, and the bases were loaded with no outs. With no choice but to throw it in there, Anderson got ahead of Soler and he just bounced one softly enough to shortstop to get Neto in as McGonigle threw out Soler. 2-1 Angels. Anderson turned to the curveball a little more, and Grissom ripped a hot one-hopper to third. Keith handled that with no chance for Trout to score on it. Anderson got ahead of Lowe but then missed twice for a full count and then yanked a fastball to issue his third walk of the inning. That was it for the mercurial Anderson. The bases were loaded with two outs, and Brenan Hanifee entered. He quickly got Adell to ground out, and the Tigers were very fortunate to end the inning down just a run through five innings.

Lefty Samy Natera was in for the Angels in the sixth, and so Matt Vierling entered to pinch-hit for Colt Keith. Vierling swung over a slider and struck out. So did Riley Greene, and Torkelson lifted a routine fly ball to end the inning.

Peraza started off the bottom half with a grounder up the middle for a single off of Hanifee. Peraza stole second base with Heineman at the dish. A ground out moved Peraza to third. Neto paddled a single through the right side, and it was 3-1 Angels. Neto then stole second as Rogers made an errant throw. Trout grounded out to Lee for the second out. Tyler Holton took over at that point against the left-handed hitting Schanuel and got him to ground out to Vierling in his first chance at third base on the year.

So, the Tigers had really struggled at the plate on getaway day. They were fortunate to be down just two runs. Coming back to steal this one would be great, and the Angels bullpen is not the toughest of tests around. Right-hander Chase Silseth came on for the Angels in the seventh.

Carpenter grounded out to Neto to start the inning. Lee got a 1-2 heater at the top of the zone and slashed a shot into right field for a single. Lee ran with Outman at the plate and slid into second base as the center fielder lifted a routine fly ball to left. Lee had to beat feet back to first base and there were two outs. Zach McKinstry pinch-hit for Rogers but he grounded out.

Eduardo Valencia took over behind the plate for Rogers. McKinstry entered at shortstop, moving McGonigle to third and Vierling to center field. Holton struck out Soler but allowed a single to Grissom. Holton clipped Jose Siri, who pinch-hit for Lowe, but he bounced back to punch out Adell on a good changeup. Peraza popped out to end the inning.

Right-hander Sam Bachman took over for the Angels in the eighth and got McGonigle to fly out to Trout. Dingler grounded out to third, and Vierling tapped one back to the mound. Pretty weak effort there, guys.

Kenley Jansen came on in the bottom half to try and hold the score. He walked Heineman without throwing much close to the zone, but after a lengthy battle he whiffed Neto on a cutter. He spotted another good 2-2 cutter up and away to whiff Trout as well. Heineman stole second on a first pitch to Schanuel that was called a strike but was not really close and correctly challenged, but Schanuel flew out weakly to right. Solid effort from Jansen, but the Tigers needed to wake up immediately at the plate.

Ryan Zeferjahn entered the game looking for the save. He got ahead of Riley Greene but then was scared to give him something to hit as Greene worked a full count and then launched a solo shot just into the seats in right field. 3-2 Angels. Torkelson popped out to second base for the first out, and Kerry Carpenter lined out to left field, so it was up to Hao-Yu Lee. Unfortunately, tonight there was no one on base for him and he popped out as well to end it.

The Tigers are 24-15 since the beginning of June, but of course that just got them back into the conversation. They’ll need to keep up the pace against the Cubs, and then they’ll come home to face the Royals and Orioles before a big west coast swing takes them to the trade deadline.

After the game, Casey Mize was reportedly dealing with a recurrence of groin tightness as well as the shot to the wrist. Not great.

The club dropped the final game of their weekend series to the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, falling 5-2 to drop the A’s to 42-57.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez got the ball for today’s start, his first real starting assignment at the big league level since being removed from the rotation in mid-May. He looked in control early putting up two scoreless frames to start things off.

Things tailed off from there for Lopez. Washington was first on the board this afternoon thanks to their speed on the basepaths. A single, two stolen bases, and a RBI groundout was all it took for their first run of the day.

The A’s bats meanwhile were facing Washington left-hander Foster Griffin, an emerging young piece for the Nationals. Like Lopez he held down the A’s for the first couple of frames before the squad broke through in the third. A double, productive out, and RBI double off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom got it done for the first run of the day:

A Sodey single ties it up 👏 pic.twitter.com/aEWE7D3cQS

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 19, 2026

Unfortunately the tie game was to be short lived. Lopez gave up another run in the top of the fourth, failing to provide a much-needed shutdown inning. He finished the frame and started the fifth but departed after one batter, ending his day earlier than hoped.

• Jacob Lopez: 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 84 pitches

Overall a solid enough start from the lefty in his first real look back in the rotation. The club would have liked more length out of their starter this afternoon but considering it was his first start back it’s fair to ease him back in. Plus he was about to go through the lineup a third time so it was a good time to get him out of there. He’ll take on the Twins in Minnesota next time out.

After Lopez manager Mark Kotsay turned to right-hander Elvis Alvarado first. Though he’s been mostly solid for the club this year he didn’t have it today. Washington was able to score three times off Alvarado, a two-run homer and a solo shot back-t0-back to make it 5-1.

Over the final few frames the bats were absent. They collected hits in every inning but failed to do anything with them. They were able to plate one more in the bottom of the ninth off a Jacob Wilson RBI single but it was far too little too late for the Green & Gold in this one.

Bummer. Well, that wraps up the quick homestand and the A’s will now hit the road. They won’t have far to go as the Arizona Diamondbacks await for a three-game series beginning tomorrow. It’ll be lefty Jeffrey Springs on the mound for the Athletics while the D-backs will counter with their own lefty in Mitch Bratt, who will be making his third career major league appearance. Need to nab some wins!

This marquee matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers always felt like it was going to be a litmus test to open the second half, and the Yankees are failing that test rather resoundingly through the first two games. They’ve scored just three runs in the first 18 innings of the series. And while Friday was down to an error in judgment by Aaron Boone, they were thoroughly outclassed by superior opposition in the first game of today’s doubleheader. It’ll be a bullpen game for both teams in the second game of the doubleheader — hopefully the Yankees are up to the task after falling woefully short earlier this afternoon.

The doubleheader forced the Yankees to rearrange their rotation, meaning they will go with Ryan Yarbrough as an opener of sorts, followed by Elmer Rodríguez as the bulk reliever after he was called up as the doubleheader’s designated 27th man. (Kervin Castro is also up following Jake Bird’s demotion.) I imagine they will try to get five outs from Yarbrough with three lefties in the first five batters for the Dodgers. Maybe Yarbrough will channel some of his surprise Sunday excellence from last year, when he threw six innings of one-run ball at Dodger Stadium on June 1, 2025.

After that, they’ll pin their hopes on the rookie Rodríguez, making just his fifth MLB appearance. He last pitched in the bigs on June 21st when he gave up three runs in four innings in a loss to the Reds. Command has been the biggest issue with a 13.3-percent walks rate and more free passes (11) than strikeouts (10). It’ll be ERC’s first relief appearance at any level since 2025 — in four big league starts this year he is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA (90 ERA+), 5.16 FIP, and 10 strikeouts in 17 innings.

The Dodgers bullpen is fully rested after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game earlier today. Will Klein will open the game for them, as he has done on two prior occasions this year. He’s a hard-throwing righty who I imagine will have license to go full tilt in a short outing. He throws his four-seamer over half the time and it’s clear to see why with the pitch averaging 98 mph. He’s an atypical blend of high velocity and damage limitation, sitting in the 94th percentile or better in barrel rate and ground-ball rate. Los Angeles have not announced a bulk reliever yet. In 32 total appearances, Klein has pitched to a 2.41 ERA (174 ERA+), 2.94 FIP, and 43 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. If his name sounds familiar, he was a folk hero for LA in the World Series last year, firing four scoreless innings for the win on short rest during the 18-inning marathon in Game 3.

The Yankees make three changes to the lineup that managed just four hits against Yamamoto. Paul Goldschmidt comes in to play first, moving Ben Rice to DH, Jasson Domínguez to right, and Max Schuemann to the bench. José Caballero replaces Ryan McMahon at third and Austin Wells subs in for Ali Sánchez behind the plate.

The Dodgers meanwhile make just two changes to their lineup after scoring eight in the first game. Miguel Rojas gets the start at second over Tommy Edman while Eliezer Alfonzo subs in for Daulton Rushing at catcher. ERC will have to pitch the game of his life against by far the toughest lineup he has faced in his career.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:20 pm ET

TV broadcast: NBC

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | Dodgers Radio AM570, KTNQ 1020 (LAD)

Streaming: Peacock

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Sunday Night Baseball. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/IETxvxrfmd

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 19, 2026

Today’s #Dodgers doubleheader Game 2 lineup at Yankees: pic.twitter.com/oiYin6Plew

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 19, 2026

It was an uncomfortably hot 100 degrees in Denver on Sunday afternoon, right about the same time you were watching the Cincinnati Reds play the Colorado Rockies instead of watching the World Cup final played at the exact same time.

When it’s that hot with just the slightest bit of seasonal humidity at 5,280 feet, baseballs tend to fly at incredible distances. That was precisely the case in this series finale, and fortunately it was the good guys who hit the biggest ones of the day.

Nate Lowe crushed a 3-run homer in the Top of the 1st to set the tone, and Tyler Stephenson socked a pair of homers of his own as the Reds raced out to an early 5-0 lead and held on to claim the finale by the score of 9-6. Sal Stewart checked in with a 456 foot blast over the wall in CF (of the 3-run variety), and that level of offense was enough for another solid effort by Hunter Greene and a patchwork bullpen to take home the W.

2nd HR of the day for @Tyler_Step22! pic.twitter.com/WFQaJqLkHw

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 19, 2026

The Reds even survived a 3-homer game by Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who combined with Ty Steves to blast 5 dingers by backstops on the same day they had to squat in heavy equipment in brutal heat and sun all afternoon. Props to those two for providing the entertainment to those precious few who chose to brave the elements and show up to watch two teams who were a combined 29 games under .500 at the start of the day.

Greene yielded 3 runs – all on a pair of Goodman’s dingers – but breezed through the rest of Colorado’s lineup. His final line saw him yield just 4 hits and nary a walk while fanning 7 across 6.0 IP. It was yet another encouraging start after his initial stumble following a three-month absence on the IL, and hopefully he’s got a dozen more of these for the club’s miracle mid-season turnaround to come to fruition.

Cincinnati next heads further west to Seattle where on Monday night they’ll begin the Ken Griffey, Jr. Honorary Jesse Winker Luis Castillo Eugenio Suarez Series for the Marbles.

Mariners 6, Giants 3

Using the power of Wind with Captain Planet: Randy Arozarena, .20 WPA

Being behind the power of Wind with Captain Baked Beans: Cal Raleigh, -.13 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

I love this because I like the idea of these two natural forces personified as like Statler and Waldorf arguing about who is screwing over the hitters more

On a hot summer afternoon at Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies were looking for their first series win coming out of the All-Star break. Unfortunately, they fell behind massively early in the game and had to spend the rest of the game fighting to come back. What’s important is that they almost did it. These 2026 Rockies will keep fighting until the final pitch, and it’s part of what makes them an infinitely better team than last season.

“Down big after two innings, it’s really hard to come back, but we kept fighting,” said manager Warren Schaeffer after the game. “It’s one series where we lost. We move on to the next one.”

He Felt that one

It was a rough afternoon at the office for right-handed starter Ryan Feltner, who completed just two innings of work. By the time he was pulled, the game was already feeling well out of hand. The Cincinnati Reds offense put up five runs against Feltner in the first inning, all of which scored via the home run. After Elly De La Cruz singled and Feltner walked JJ Bleday, designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe crushed a three-run homer to right field.

Feltner then allowed an Eugenio Suárez single and another home run–this time off the bat of Tyler Stephenson–to round out the scoring in the first.

But hey, this is Coors Field in the summer! A clean inning and some comeback offense would keep the game in reach despite the lopsided inning. We’ve seen it plenty of times before.

Unfortunately, the clean inning wouldn’t come. A double and a walk to start the top of the second inning set the table for Rookie of the Year candidate Sal Stewart to launch a 456-foot home run to center field.

Feltner was able to navigate out of the second without giving up another run, but when he came out for the third it was clear his day would not last much longer. He issued back-to-back walks with one out before being pulled off the mound.

“The command wasn’t real good at all. He wasn’t sharp,” commented Warren Schaeffer. “The walks hurt. And then obviously the homers.. Off-speed pitches were hung. Just not a lot of command with the off-speed stuff today, and he got hurt for it.”

Buy a drink for Tanner Gordon

Right-handed pitcher Tanner Gordon was a critical part of this ballgame was even remotely close after nine innings. Gordon was called to relieve Ryan Feltner in the third inning and did yeoman’s work for 5.2 innings.

Gordon gave up just one earned run on three hits and a walk, with the run coming on what was really his only bad pitch of the afternoon in the top of the fifth. It wasn’t even that bad of a pitch, simply a slider that didn’t break far enough, but Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson took it deep for his second home run of the game.

By throwing 66 pitches in a long relief role–48 for strikes–Gordon was able to save the Rockies’ bullpen for the next series while also allowing the offense to battle it’s way back within striking distance.

“TG is great. Great length out of the pen to take the ball in the middle of the third and go all the way through the eighth,” said Schaeffer. “He just pounds the zone. TG is fearless, he goes right after you. The changeup was really good today, put the fastball where he wanted to. That’s what he does. He was huge today for the bullpen.”

It’s also worth noting that veteran reliever Jordan Romano pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth that included an absolute gem of an out by Kyle Karros and TJ Rumfield. Romano also struck out a batter.

Hunter Robert Goodman

The Rockies scored six runs in their loss against the Reds this afternoon.

Five of them were due to the heroics of All-Star and Silver Slugger Hunter Goodman.

After the Rockies went down by five in the first inning, Goodman showed the team still had some fight with a no-doubt solo home run to center field.

In the sixth inning after Tanner Gordon had stopped the bleeding, Goodman take advantage of a Jake McCarthy single to hit a two run home run.

Even though the Rockies were still down by six runs, it felt like a little LoDo magic might still be possible. The feeling was magnified in the eighth inning–the inning in which the Rockies lead Major League Baseball in runs–when Mickey Moniak singled and Goodman once again came to the plate. Goodman proceeded to demolish his third no-doubt home run of the game for his fourth and fifth RBIs.

This was Hunter Goodman’s tenth multi-home run game of his short career and his second three home run game of the season. The latter puts him in rare company.

Only three Rockies in the past–Larry Walker, Todd Helton, and Carlos González–had multiple three home run games during their career. Walker did it three times. However, Goodman is the first and only Rockies batter in franchise history to have multiple three run home runs in a single season.

“His body looks like it’s flowing right. He looks dangerous. He just looks in-sync,” Schaeffer said of Goodman in his post-game presser.. “You can see the confidence seep out of him.”

Willi Castro led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a no-doubter of his own and a scorched Kyle Karros single had Rockies fans feeling a comeback was possible. Unfortunately, Troy Johnston and Tyler Freeman both struck out in the next two at-bats. Edouard Julien worked the count full, but popped what would have been ball four into foul territory for the final out of the game.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies will take the field tomorrow evening to start a three game series against the visiting Washington Nationals. Game one will be a battle of the lefties with Kyle Freeland on the mound for the Rockies and Andrew Alvarez starting for the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM MDT.

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Box Score

For most of this game, Milwaukee’s offense looked lifeless, but it didn’t end up mattering — William Contreras’ ninth-inning heroics helped the Brewers complete a sweep of the Marlins to open the second half.

Brewers starter Robert Gasser bounced back nicely after his last start, allowing just three hits and one run — an Esteury Ruiz solo homer in the third inning — over five innings. He allowed a couple of hard-hit balls, but kept Miami from putting together any sort of sustained offensive rallies. After Gasser exited, Chad Patrick, Aaron Ashby, and Grant Anderson combined for four scoreless innings. The pitching was locked in all afternoon, but the offense? Anything but.

Despite holding Miami to just six hits all day, Milwaukee managed only two of its own through the first eight innings. One came on an Andrew Vaughn infield single in the fourth, but Jake Bauers struck out to leave him stranded. The other was a Gary Sánchez single in the seventh. Sánchez was immediately pulled for pinch-runner Cooper Pratt, who was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.

Milwaukee’s best scoring chance before the ninth came in the sixth after Christian Yelich drew a leadoff walk and Marlins starter Eury Pérez hit Jackson Chourio with a pitch. Both runners moved up on an error on a pickoff throw at second, but Brice Turang struck out swinging for the first out, bringing up Vaughn, who ripped a low line drive that looked ticketed for left field. Instead, it went right at Marlins shortstop Javier Sanoja, who caught it and doubled Yelich off third to end the inning.

Fortunately for the Brewers, Gasser and the bullpen managed to keep the deficit at just one run heading into the bottom of the ninth. Chourio led off against Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks by smoking a 108.4-mph single into left field. Turang followed by taking all five pitches he saw for a walk, putting the tying and winning runs on base with nobody out.

That brought up Contreras, who quickly fell behind 1-2 before battling back with a pair of foul balls. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Fairbanks left a cutter over the heart of the plate, and Contreras didn’t miss it. He crushed it 411 feet to straightaway center for a walk-off three-run homer, capping off a comeback win and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

HE LAUNCHED THAT BAT INTO ORBIT pic.twitter.com/N0GQuWey2E

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 19, 2026

With the win, the Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Marlins to open the second half. They’ll stay home for their next series, a three-game set against the Mets. Jacob Misiorowski is scheduled to start for Milwaukee, while old friend Freddy Peralta is expected to take the mound for New York.

On one of the most beautiful Chicago afternoons of the entire summer — upper 70s, low humidity, light wind blowing in — the Cubs offense got going, led by another multi-hit game from Nico Hoerner and a home run by Alex Bregman.

Those two were joined by multiple teammates in a 12-hit, six-walk offense in crushing the visiting Twins 10-1, winning the series.

After Imanaga had an easy first inning, the Cubs bats got right to work. Seiya Suzuki lined a double to left with one out in the bottom of the first and one out later, Bregman gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead [VIDEO].

That was Bregman’s 10th of the year and third in his last five games. At last, his bat appears to have come alive. About those first-inning runs, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs have scored in the first inning of four consecutive games, beginning last Sunday at Cincinnati: two, one, five and two runs, for a total of 10. They had scored 35 runs in the first innings of their previous 95 games.

The Cubs put another one on the board in the second. Pedro Ramirez, DH’ing for the second straight day, bounced a double into the seats in left. Carson Kelly singled him in [VIDEO].

The Cubs then blew the game open in the third. With one out, Michael Busch singled and Bregman and Ian Happ drew walks to load the bases.

Nico Hoerner hit what should have been an RBI single but… oops! [VIDEO].

Twins center fielder Luke Keaschall just waved at the ball as it went by and it wound up a bases-clearing triple.

Hoerner scored on this single by Ramirez to make it 7-0 [VIDEO].

Ramirez has been really impressive as the DH the last two days — 4-for-7 with two doubles and a walk. I’d really like to see him get more playing time — somewhere.

About all those runs in the first three innings, from John:

The Cubs have scored 12 runs — five, then seven — in the first three innings yesterday and today. They had averaged 1.49 in the first three of their previous 97 games.

The Cubs ran Twins starter Zebby Matthews out of the game in the top of the fourth. Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had a rough 0-for-5 Saturday, led off with a single. Seiya Suzuki walked and Busch’s single scored PCA [VIDEO].

That brought up Bregman [VIDEO].

It was ruled a fielder’s choice and error on Twins third baseman Brooks Lee. The FC allowed Bregman to reach and the error scored Suzuki from second to make it 9-0. Personally, I think I’d have ruled that a hit.

Anyway, that got Matthews out of the game. Happ hit into a double play, but Nico singled in Busch to make it 10-0 [VIDEO].

That was basically the end of the Cubs offense for the day, but it was certainly more than enough. They did load the bases again in the eighth, but could not score.

In the meantime, Imanaga had one of his better outings of the year, holding the Twins to six hits over seven innings, with one walk and four strikeouts [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Imanaga’s outing [VIDEO].

And more from John:

Shōta Imanaga’s start was the Cubs’ first of 7.0 innings in 40 games, since Ben Brown did it on May 30.

It was their eighth of the season, half of them by Imanaga. Brown, Edward Cabrera, Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon each did it once.

All pitched exactly 7.0. Imanaga also had the only other scoreless outing of the eight, at home against the Diamondbacks on May 2.

Imanaga also had some help from his defense — check out this nice running grab by PCA to end the sixth [VIDEO].

I was going to close the complaint department today, but I’m opening it for Phil Maton, making his first appearance since being activated from the IL July 11.

He was not good. He allowed a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with one out, and a sac fly gave the Twins their only run of the day. It was to the point that Craig Counsell got Ryan Rolison up in the pen, which I am sure he did not want to do. And it might have been worse if not for this great diving stab by Bregman to end the inning [VIDEO].

Drew Pomeranz was given the ninth, and who knows? That might be his swan song as a Cub, as it’s possible he might be let go when just-acquired Aaron Civale is activated. Pomeranz finished things up with just a one-out walk. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

Last note on all the runs from John:

This was the 11th game of the season in which the Cubs scored at least 10 runs. They began the day tied with the Angels, Astros and Yankees for fourth most. The Dodgers and Nationals both had 14; the Pirates, 12. The Nationals had lost once; the Angels and Astros, twice. The Cubs and others were undefeated. The combined average of the 29 other teams was seven double-digit games.

The Cubs had 22 such games last year, after having had 12 in 2024 and 24 in 2023.

So the Cubs took care of business by taking two of three. Meanwhile, the Mets beat the Phillies so the Cubs lead them by 1.5 games for the top wild card spot. And the Brewers got a three-run walkoff homer from William Contreras to sweep the Marlins, so the Cubs still are six games out of first place in the NL Central.

The Detroit Tigers come to Wrigley Field to open a three-game series Monday evening. Jameson Taillon will be activated from the injured list to start this game, and Jack Flaherty goes for Detroit. Game time is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The MLB trade deadline is two weeks away, meaning it's nearly time for teams on the playoff bubble to make a move or two to push them into contention.

The list of buyers at this year's deadline is certainly interesting. You have the usual suspects such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. You have some surprise contenders such as the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.

The Boston Red Sox find themselves in a different camp, though. Entering the season with high expectations, the Red Sox failed to live up to them during the first half, owning a 37-47 record heading into July. Such a lowly winning percentage had fans believing the team would be sellers at the deadline.

However, with their 6-1 victory over the first-place Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, July 19, the Red Sox not only swept one of their biggest competitors in a four-game series, but they extended their winning streak to 13 straight, bumping them up to 50-48.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Red Sox would be in. This massive win streak has elevated them from sellers to buyers at this year's deadline. Players such as Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, who many fans and experts believed would be shopped, are suddenly looking like solid pieces to build around for a playoff push.

It's been a remarkable turnaround for the team, and here's what they could do to perhaps even contend for an American League East title before the trade deadline.

Red Sox trade deadline targets

The Red Sox need help in three key areas: left-handed relief options, middle infield and power.

Left-handed relief options

If the Red Sox want to compete for the AL East title, they could target someone like A.J. Minter. Minter is a stellar left-handed reliever on the lowly New York Mets. Minter is 32 years old and on an expiring contract, making him the perfect rental candidate that would fit the Red Sox. Brooks Raley, 38, could be another good option from the Mets.

The Red Sox have a few options for lefty relievers. The San Francisco Giants could offer players such as Sam Hentges and Erik Miller. Though both players are still in their primes and would likely cost more than the aforementioned Mets players, they both boast solid ERA's and are each striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings pitched.

Middle infield

The Red Sox will obviously be linked to the Angels' Zach Neto, considering he is one of the best shortstops available. However, given Angels' owner Arte Moreno's inconsistency when it comes to negotiating trades, the Red Sox might be better served going after someone else. While the Giants' Willy Adames would provide good power at the shortstop position and likely wouldn't cost much, he's under an enormous contract through 2031. He's experiencing one of the worst seasons of his career and is showing signs of decline.

A better option might be someone like Luis Arraez or CJ Abrams, if the Washington Nationals make him available. Each player offers wildly different skill sets at different price ranges. Arraez would obviously not help in the power department, but he would provide a great contact bat and solid defense at second base (thanks to Ron Washington). He's on a one-year contract and likely wouldn't cost too much in terms of prospects.

Abrams, meanwhile, would cost a pretty penny. The 25-year-old is enjoying his best season offensively, and while Washington is certainly not at the top of the National League playoff race, it is still somewhat in contention and might not be willing to part with Abrams unless a king's ransom comes through.

Power bats

The obvious first name to come to mind is Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins. An impending free agent, Jeffers is a great power option at catcher. Furthermore, he's been linked to the Yankees, and any chance the Red Sox can get to stop the Yankees from improving is a massive win.

Other options include the Colorado Rockies' Mickey Moniak, Twins' Trevor Larnach and Cincinnati Reds' Nathaniel Lowe.

Who would the Red Sox have sold if not for their win streak?

Heading into July, many believed the Red Sox elder players on expiring contracts could be shipped off. Players such as closer Aroldis Chapman and first baseman Willson Contreras were involved in numerous rumors. Starting pitcher Sonny Gray and outfielder Jarren Duran were named in some rumors as well.

When is the MLB trade deadline?

The MLB trade deadline is set for Monday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Left for dead a month ago, streaking Red Sox suddenly look like contenders again

Yoshinobu Yamamoto tilted his head to the side as he met catcher Dalton Rushing halfway between the mound and the plate.

The Dodgers’ right-hander had just finished a complete game with a cutter on the outside corner for a strikeout. His understated reaction before clasping hands with Rushing seemed to simply say, I guess I did that.

“For Yoshi to come back and do what he did and to perform the way he did,” manager Dave Roberts said, “that’s why he’s our ace.”

Yamamoto’s third career complete game was the highlight of the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Sunday. It was his first complete game since Game 2 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Read more:Shaikin: Shohei Ohtani's knee troubles creating a major pitching dilemma for Dodgers

With a bullpen game scheduled for the evening half of a doubleheader Sunday, the Dodgers were counting on Yamamoto to pitch deep into Game 1 and let as many relievers as possible rest up.

Mission accomplished.

“When I was going into the game early on, I was not thinking about that today we have a doubleheader,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “I was just focusing on my own job. And then on a day like this, to be able to perform like this, that was a good thing.”

Yamamoto was so efficient that he only needed 102 pitches to complete nine innings. He gave up four hits and struck out seven.

He got all the way through the Yankees’ lineup the first time without allowing a baserunner. And in those nine at-bats, he only threw one first-pitch ball.

“It just seemed like he was dictating counts all day long,” Roberts said, “versus trying to be too fine, getting behind.”

To lead off the fourth inning, Yamamoto surrendered a solo homer to Trent Grisham. But then he was back to cruising, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters.

“He had a good seventh, and it just felt like he could finish his game,” Roberts said. “Thinking about where his pitch count was at, the stress, where that was at, and also knowing that we’ve got another game in a few hours.”

Yamamoto would have navigated through the eighth without giving up another run if center fielder Andy Pages hadn’t lost Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s leadoff fly ball in the sun for a double. Chisholm later scored on a single from Anthony Volpe.

Read more:Dodgers beat Yankees, but Shohei Ohtani's return to pitching remains unclear

Yamamoto’s consistency has steadied the Dodgers’ rotation, while it’s had to navigate injuries to veteran starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and most recently Shohei Ohtani. Yamamoto leads the team with 119⅔ innings. And his performance Sunday brought his ERA to 2.78.

“In one game, it’s great,” Roberts said. “But the exponential effect that it has on everybody else, it is huge, and it’s hard to really nail down how valuable that is.

“If you have a guy that not only puts you in a position to win a game, but also saves a lot of arms, that goes hand-in-hand with the top end of the rotation guy.”

Yamamoto said he’s reflected on his season so far, but when asked about his affect on the pitching staff already this year, he pushed the conversation forward.

“The most important part of the season is coming up,” he said. “So I’d like to do my best.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Despite playing 11 innings on Saturday, Baltimore optioned reliever Cam Sanders and recalled third catcher Sam Huff. Samuel Basallo started today’s game behind the dish, but Huff’s presence indicated that Adley Rutschman was likely unavailable.

Huff was thrust into action in the second inning when Samuel Basallo left the game with right shoulder discomfort. The change could have thrown off Brandon Young and the Orioles, but the starter put the team on his back. Young tossed seven strong innings, and the Orioles won their seventh straight game with a 5-2 result in Houston.

The Orioles struck first in the top of the third inning. Jackson Holliday worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gunnar Henderson lined a ball 106 MPH into left field for a run-scoring base hit. Taylor Ward popped out, but Dylan Beavers smoked a ball with Henderson in motion to place runners on the corners with one out.

Pete Alonso took three straight balls, and Beavers broke for second on the fourth pitch of the at bat. The throw beat Beavers, but the home plate umpire initially called the pitch ball four. After throwing through, Houston catcher Yainer Diaz tapped his helmet. ABS revealed that the pitch was actually a strike, and Beavers was ruled out at second base. Craig Albernaz came out for a chat but failed to sway the umpires. Alonso eventually made his way to first when Houston starter Hunter Brown threw another pitch outside of the strike zone.

Beavers running was a bit of surprise, but nobody expected Alonso to break for second. With Huff at the dish, the Polar Bear got a big lead. Alonso took off, and Diaz threw through once again. This time Alonso beat the throw, and Henderson dashed home for the second run of the inning. Huff eventually struck out to end the frame.

Young was tremendous, but he failed to deliver a shutdown inning in the third. Jose Altuve lined a one-out double to left, and Yordan Alvarez drove him in with a double of his own. Young, to his credit, retired Isaac Paredes and LaMonte Wade Jr. to escape with the lead still intact.

Both teams went scoreless in the fourth, but Baltimore put some distance between the two teams in the fifth. Taylor Ward took a one-out and walk, and Pete Alonso took a 95-MPH sinker to the stomach with two outs. Brown had been wild all day, but Alonso appeared miffed after the pitch. The slugger took his free base, and Huff worked Baltimore’s sixth walk of the game to load the bases.

The Astros left Brown in to face Leody Taveras, and Taveras jumped on a first pitch changeup outside of the zone. Taveras went with the pitch and punched an opposite field single to score Ward and Alonso. The Astros summoned left-hander Bryan King to face Colton Cowser, and Cowser bounced out to end the inning at 4-1.

Young posted another zero, and Houston left King in to face Coby Mayo in the sixth. Mayo took advantage of the matchup with a solo shot to right-center field. The blast provided a nice insurance run for Young and the Orioles.

The Texas native allowed a two-out single in the seventh, but Cowser made a nice running catch to end the frame. Young left the game with 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB and 7 K.

Baltimore turned to Rico Garcia in the eighth, and the reliever briefly made things interesting. Altuve smacked a leadoff homer to the Crawford Boxes to trim the lead to three. Garcia retired Alvarez, but Paredes managed a swinging bunt to Garcia’s right. The righty fielded the ball but threw wide of first base. The throwing error allowed Paredes to reach scoring position, but he never crossed the plate. Garcia struck out Wade Jr. and generated a grounder from Diaz to end the threat.

Grant Wolfram picked up his first save of the season with a clean ninth inning.

The Orioles moved to 49-51 with the win. The Birds will carry some momentum up north but will face the only team hotter than them. Boston won its 13th straight game today. Shane Baz will face rookie Payton Tolle tomorrow at 7:10.

Young pitched seven strong innings and made an impressive kick save in the first. Mayo finished 2-for-4 with a home run, and Wolfram recorded his first career save. Huff finished 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, but he took a walk and caught a good game from the starter. Let us know your pick for the Most Birdland Player of the game in the comments below.

Following his team's 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Mets interim manager Andy Green took the time to praise the two stars who shone brightest Sunday afternoon, Nolan McLean and Francisco Lindor.

McLean looked like an ace in the win. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, two walks, and striking out 10 batters.

When asked what makes McLean so dominant at his best, Green pointed to the different ways the right-hander can generate outs.

"With him, he can win with fastballs up, can win with spin down, can win east and west. When he fills up the strike zone, it's a lot of fun."

The interim manager also took the time to recognize the Mets' burgeoning youth movement, which is represented in the starting rotation by a trio of emerging farm system products in McLean, Christian Scott, and Zach Thornton. 

"The challenge of our organization is on those three guys [McLean, Scott, and Thornton] moving up the ladder in the rotation. McLean needs to separate himself to be the No. 1, Scott is moving up the ladder too. Thornton is trying to show he's a back-end starter, but should want to move up the rotation as well."

10 strikeouts ✅
Six shutout innings ✅

What a day for Nolan McLean 😤 pic.twitter.com/JH0J12cv00

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 19, 2026

Meanwhile, Lindor had a big day of his own. The shortstop reached base in each of his five plate appearances. He recorded three hits, going a triple shy of the cycle while collecting his 1,700th career hit in the process.

"We know who he is," Green said of his switch-hitting cleanup hitter. "He has a long track record of being really good. It's good to see him enjoy playing baseball and lead us to a win."

Lindor passed along the praise, stating "it starts with the hitting coach helping me."

Responding to the recent criticism of his performance since returning from injury, Lindor took accountability and vowed to keep today's positive momentum rolling in the games to come.

"I have to play to a higher standard. I have to play the level I expect myself to be at. I'm putting in the work."

The Kansas City Royals were looking to complete a sweep at home against the San Diego Padres out of the All-Star Break, however, timely hitting and the long ball doomed the Royals as the Padres beat them 19-2.

Things were looking good for the Royals out of the gate, Noah Cameron got a scoreless first inning, and Jac Caglianone absolutely crushed a solo shot in the bottom of the 1st. A 114 mph, 432 foot shot to right field, for the 16th on the season for Cags.

Crushed. 💥 pic.twitter.com/Y1dh1rfCaC

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 19, 2026

Unfortunately, things quickly went for south for Cameron and the Royals immediately after. The Padres hit two straight singles with one out, then loaded the bases with a walk. Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked a two-run single, Jackson Merrill singled in a run of his own and Manny Machado hit a sac fly making it 4-1.

San Diego tacked on two more in the 3rd, with a two-out RBI double and single, making it 6-1. The Royals did get one back in the bottom half of the inning, when Isaac Collins hit a double, scoring Cags.

Merrill led off the 4th with a homer, making it 7-2. The Royals did load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, but Carter Jensen struck out and Nick Loftin hit into a double play.

After that, it was just San Diego piling on. Tatis homered off Matt Strahm in the 6th, making it 8-2. Beck Way looked good, but was burned badly with a Tyler Tolbert error, scoring one. Lucas Erceg came in and promptly gave up a grand slam to Ty France, because of course. It was 13-2 after 8 innings.

Tolbert pitched the 9th, and it didn’t go any better. Merrill homered again, this time a 2-run shot. France homered again, making it 16-2. A bases loaded hit batter and two-run single, made it 19-2. Ending the nightmare.

Uh, nothing really positive to speak on, other than Cags crushed a homer, and finished the day 2-4. The Royals are 40-60, 100 games in. They open a three-game series tomorrow, at home against the Giants. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT. Michael Wacha is expected to start.

All hands are on deck for the Yankees as they look to salvage the finale of a three-game set in the Bronx against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. With Ryan Weathers being pushed back until Monday (likely to save some bullets), the Yankees are promoting Elmer Rodríguez as tonight’s 27th man to eat some innings the nightcap as part of a trio of roster moves.

Rodríguez has made four starts at the major-league level this year, pitching to a 4.76 ERA (90 ERA+) and 5.16 FIP in 17 innings. Last we saw him, he was used as a four-inning spot starter to push the rotation back a day on June 21 against the Reds, where he did well until falling apart in the fifth. Now, he’ll face the Dodgers as the bulk guy at some point behind Ryan Yarbrough. LA will deploy a Bullpen Game in response.

Since being sent back down, ERC has allowed four runs in 15.1 innings as he awaited his next opportunity, one that is now staring him in the face against the back-to-back defending champions on national television. And while this is most likely a one-day promotion out of necessity to keep everyone on schedule, there’s a chance that Rodríguez stays after this.

As you might recall, the Yankees went into the All-Star break without a conventional fifth starter. They used a successful bullpen game in the finale of the four-game set in Tampa last week, but Aaron Boone wasn’t willing to tip his hand about when the Yankees would need a fifth starter next weekend. Due to the lack of offdays after this upcoming Thursday and the restrictions on minor league call-ups in a season, you might see Rodríguez stay up until Max Fried or Carlos Rodón is ready to return.

This move alone would be noteworthy, but the Yankees are also swapping the back of their bullpen. Jake Bird, fresh off a disastrous eighth inning which saw him give up five earned runs, is being optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His Yankees tenure has been an abject disaster over the past 12 months, as his ERA ballooned to 5.93 in 30.1 innings after Sunday’s bludgeoning.

Replacing Bird will be Kervin Castro, a longtime minor league journeyman who’s been in four organizations and thrown 27.2 major league innings, including two for the Yankees earlier this year in a loss to Milwaukee. He’s been a rock down in Triple-A, pitching to a sub-2 ERA across 55 games and 73 innings over the last two seasons after being a 2023 MiLB Rule 5 pick. He fits the bill as a Quad-A pitcher, but the Yankees will need a fresh body for tonight after using Bird, Angel Chivilli, Tim Hill, and Camilo Doval in the first leg of this doubleheader.

Castro in command. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0oeFZMNIr2

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) September 12, 2025

One might wonder why Castro came up instead of more trusted relievers Yerry De los Santos or Yovanny Cruz, but the simple answer might be the minor-league option rule. De los Santos has already been optioned three times, while Cruz has been optioned twice. Five times is the absolute maximum in a season before a player has to be exposed to waivers, so the Yankees might not want to burn one for a one-day promotion as part of a doubleheader.

Prior to Game 2 of today’s doubleheader, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Appointed RHP Elmer Rodríguez (#71) as their “27th Man”.
• Recalled RHP Kervin Castro (#74) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Optioned RHP Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 19, 2026