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The Texas Rangers scored five runs while the Seattle Mariners scored four runs.

Despite the fact that half of the time it has felt like these two teams have been fighting to see who most doesn’t want to win the division, the Rangers and Mariners entered tonight’s game within a half game of each other atop the American League West and with neither squad above .500.

Therefore, a mid-summer four game series between these clubs held intrigue and importance despite the lackluster records. The Rangers, who have had a devil of a time beating the Mariners in recent seasons, hadn’t lost to Seattle at home in three tries this season but haven’t had a lead in the division larger than a game and a half all year.

The hated Mariners, who came into the season far and away the favorites in the West if not the American League as a whole, led the West by as much as three games a few weeks ago but were usurped by Texas by the All-Star break as they’ve gone just 7-10 now in July.

So the scene was set for a slap fight in Arlington with positioning in the league’s easiest most unwinnable division on the line ahead of the trade deadline. The first place underdog Rangers got off to a 1-0 lead when Wyatt Langford homered in the bottom of the second. The Mariners tied the game immediately because MacKenzie Gore is often a horror story.

A couple of innings later, the Rangers went up 3-1 when it had seemed as though Gore had settled in a bit. Except a half inning later, Seattle again tied the game as Gore was unable to collect a shutdown inning for a second time in a row. Overall Gore went five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

A team with a better lineup might have done more damage to Gore when he experienced a couple of his usual flare up innings. The Mariners did not do that so the Rangers entered the bullpen phase of the game tied. You would expect a battle of bullpens would be an advantage for Seattle but Texas ignited a rally fueled by small ball — including a run on a safety sacrifice bunt! — to break the tie in the bottom of the sixth.

Still, after leaving the bases loaded in that inning (because yeah, of course), the team would need to get through three innings up just a couple of runs. Luckily for Texas they were able to set things up well with Peyton Gray pitching scoreless sixth, Jakob Junis pitching a scoreless seventh, Tyler Alexander and Cole Winn teaming up for a scoreless eighth, and then Jacob Latz made use of the insurance run in the ninth before picking up his 20th save of the year.

The victory allowed the Rangers to move back above .500 while also extended their lead in the AL West to a season high-tying 1.5 games.

Player of the Game: Batting sixth in the lineup, and with some light-hitting fellas behind him, the Rangers needed Jake Burger to come through when the opportunities presented themselves and Texas first baseman delivered.

Burger smacked an opposite field two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to allow the Rangers to retake the lead. Two innings later, in the bottom of the sixth, when Seattle had tied the game again, Burger brought in the go-ahead run on a well-positioned ground ball single up the middle before the Rangers tacked on an insurance run in the same rally.

Overall Burger drove in three of Texas’ five runs to contribute greatly to the series-opening win.

Up Next: The Rangers and Mariners reconvene for the second game of this series with RHP Nathan Eovaldi expected to take the mound for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle.

The Saturday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:15 pm CDT and will be aired nationally on FOX.

The A’s came into the game with the worst pitching staff (statistically) in baseball. The Twins sure couldn’t take advantage of it this time. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: A nice quick inning for Zebulon: two groundouts and a strikeout.

Zebulon Pike is the soldier/explorer who named Pike’s Peak, in Colorado. The song “America the Beautiful” was inspired by Pike’s Peak, and was originally titled “Pike’s Peak.” One of the verses has the line “God mend thine every flaw,” and writer Katharine Lee Bates was, in fact, an ardent proponent of social reform. The famous Ray Charles version includes that verse, which is one of my favorite renditions of a ‘Murica song.

So thanks, Zebulon!

A leadoff walk for Austin Martin; are we gonna have more “Guardsball” tonight? He does advance to second on a hit-and-run FC, but he stays stuck there, so, so far, so Guardsball!

2: Hey, you heard it here first — Zebby’s gonna pitch the first perfect game in Twins history! Austin Martin makes a dive to get the third out, and does not — Byron Buxton does. With two fielders getting every out, the perfecto is guaranteed!

So, apparently, is a no-hitter for the A’s Jacob Lopez.

3: Zebby still perfect…

First-round pick Vahn Lackey on the radio. The booth guys tell him he’ll have to adjust to the automated ball/strike system, and Lackey says “I looked at every strikeout I had from last year, and they were all balls.” He can joke, because he has yet to experience the soul-crushing hopelessness that is the post-2024 Twins.

The Twins are still hitless when Martin takes his second walk, and Buxton gets HBP. Giving Ryan Jeffers the chance to open the scoring with a two-out RBI. The count goes full, the runners leave early, and… K. Guardsball continues.

4: Damn you, Zebby! A one-out walk to Tyler Soderstrom ruins my evening. A GIDP by the next batter means Zebby has still faced the minimum, but there’s no glory in that. No immortality, for as long as the game of baseball is played (about another ten years with the pace Manfred is at to ruin everything with more expensive tickets/viewing options and the inevitable gambling scandals).

Royce Lewis takes the one-out walk; he steals second and the throw by Shea Langeliers beats him, but 2B Donovan Walton can’t keep it in his glove. After a flyout, Lewis steals third? OK! Luke Keaschall walks, then he steals second. Brooks Lee’s time has come!

Popout, guardsball.

5: Zebby issues the one-out walk, then a double because he knows he’s ruined my evening already and so nothing he does for the rest of this game or the rest of his career matters anymore. A walk loads the bases and a sac fly means one team violates the sacred code of Not Scoring.

Then a wild pitch advances both the runners on first and second… BUT, Jeffers’s throw to third is a bit off. So, lead runner Tommy White tries scoring, and this was a POOR decision. Way to get the opponent off the hook, Tommy!

Hey, the Twins decide to get a hit finally! Austin Martin with a one-out double, giving him a OPS of 3.000 for this game if my math is right and it probably isn’t. Because Guardsball, it don’t matter. A’s 1-0

6: A leadoff infield hit for Henry Bolte, which is a perfect name because he is very fast. It was also the name of a fast Usain, minus the “e,” and a CGI cartoon with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus. Do you ask me how I know this? You do not. Soderstrom knocks Bolte in on a pitch that is VERY outside. He doesn’t advance past first, but methinks he will not need to.

With Jacob Lopez’s no-hitter gone, RHP Geoff Hartlieb comes in (Lopez usually does not pitch deeply into games). Two leadoff walks are promising…

Oh, I forgot, Guardsball. After a Victor Caratini K, Hartlieb walks Keaschall, Hartlieb is replaced, Brooks Lee GIDP. Philadelphia/KC/Oakland 2-0

7: Kody “AC/DC” Funderburk in for Zebby; he gives up the leadoff hit but no more.

The replacement pitcher who stymied the Twins last inning was José Suarez; he is listed at 5’10” and 225 lbs, and I think that might be an underlisting. Anyways, the Twins don’t care that all their good players are about to be traded so they don’t bother hitting anything. Granted, the exit velocity for the three groundouts are 103.1, 96.2, 103.3 MPH so maybe they are trying but I don’t care.

8: Travis Adams in. He does fine.

Ryan Jeffers with the Twins’ second hit. Josh Bell hits one 104 MPH… and it bounces off the pitcher’s mound to become an easy GIDP.

9: Fairly recent waiver claim Jack Anderson comes in and promptly gives up the leadoff double. But he does strike out the next two, and gets some help from a leaping Martin for the last out.

Hogan Harris, the A’s one pitcher with an ERA below 3.50, in for the save attempt. Keaschall is HBP with one out; that’s their eleventh baserunner on the night, and only two were from hits. And there will be no more. Brooks Lee GIDP, Twins lose.

Studs of the game: Zebby Matthews. Duds: Everyone with a bat except Austin Martin… OK, also not Keaschall (0-for-1 but on base three times). Eternal DUD: John Fisher, both for screwing a great city and for taking away one of my favorite team songs:

COTG go to gintzer/sandwiches for a Food Fight (nice respectful discussion) and nagurski for “I mean i guess this is example 1,228,541,749 why you play the game and not count on an easy W… dudes rockin a nearly 7era coming into a game against the statistically best offense and ends up looking like catfish freakin hunter out there”

Thanks for everybody who joined in on a nice summer’s night, the last one before it becomes Venusian atmospheric Hell the next few days.

Tomorrow’s game is at 6:10, and features the first time in baseball history where the same pitcher plays for both teams: TBD vs. TBD. Catch ya next time!

Mets outfielder Carson Benge continues to show out during his rookie campaign. 

We’ve seen what he can do with the glove, we’ve seen what he can do with the bat, and on Friday night he decided it was time to show off his cannon of an arm.

Benge unleashed two different strikes to gun down Dodgers trying to advance. 

The first came when Shohei Ohtani attempted to stretch a double into a triple leading off the top of the fifth, but the youngster made a perfect throw in to Francisco Lindor to start a relay.

Benge cost the Mets by misplaying one of those doinkers down in the Citi Field right-field corner earlier this season, so this time around he knew exactly how to play it.  

“I saw it running towards the wall, and I’ve already misplayed one of those,” he said. “So I tried to stay deep on it and then I saw him not slowing down when he was heading to second, so I knew just to throw it in and they’d get him.”

Carson Benge, Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette combine on the relay to throw out Shohei Ohtani at third 💪 pic.twitter.com/1Tre3rvAfS

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 25, 2026

Benge would deliver once again to keep things evened at one apiece just one inning later. 

This time the 23-year-old camped under a fly ball to right, getting himself set before firing a 100.0 mph strike towards home to gun down Freddie Freeman trying to score the go-ahead run.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that’s the Mets’ fastest outfield assist recorded in the Statcast era. 

Carson Benge picks up his second outfield assist of the night, with a throw to Francisco Alvarez! pic.twitter.com/3wyRthNfgk

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 25, 2026

“It fires me up,” Benge said. “One of my favorite things to do is to throw someone out -- all that was going through my head was get it out quick and as hard as you can -- just look for our big catcher back there and he’ll do the rest.”

Benge became the first Mets rookie since Juan Lagares with two assists in the same game, also as per Langs.

“Watching from my perspective, it was one of the coolest things on a baseball field,” Sean Manaea said. “The play for Ohtani at third, the relay was unbelievable, the throw home, that’s just good baseball right there -- to watch a young player keep his cool and do cool stuff like that, it’s really fun.”

Mets right-handed pitching prospect Jonah Tong has posted two straight quality outings after striking out nine batters for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night.

Tong pitched 4.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits. The 23-year-old would have gone deeper if he hadn't been burned by the walks, which he had four of against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That helped push his pitch count to 91 pitches. Otherwise, it was a strong outing for Tong, who hasn't had many this season.

His night started off with a leadoff walk to Yankees No. 1 prospect George Lombard Jr., but Tong bounced back to strike out the next three batters, including J.C. Escarra and Spencer Jones. Tong's lone earned run came in the second, after Scranton got the first two batters on base thanks to a walk and a single from Oswaldo Cabrera. Tyler Hardman grounded out to push across the runner from third, but Tong worked around another single to escape the second, allowing just the one run.

Tong struck out the side in the third inning before allowing a walk in an otherwise clean fourth inning. Tong pitched into trouble again in the fifth. After striking out the leadoff hitter, Tong allowed three of the next four batters (two singles and a walk) to reach base before he was pulled with the bases loaded. Joe Jacques came on to get a flyout to end the threat.

After allowing just two runs across five innings in his last start, Tong has settled down, lowering his ERA to 5.59 on the season. Overall, Tong has pitched to a 2-5 record with 93 strikeouts across 75.2 innings (17 starts) with a WHIP of 1.53. The aforementioned walks have been the biggest problem for Tong this season. After allowing just 47 walks a year ago between Double-A and Triple-A (22 starts), he's allowed 46 in 17 starts in 2026.

With the Mets on the verge of selling pieces ahead of the trade deadline, Tong could receive a chance the rest of the season.

On the offensive side of Syracuse's 8-1 win on Friday night was Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio went 2-for-5 with a home run, his ninth in the minors this season. He also drove in four runs. 

Mauricio has, unsurprisingly, excelled in the minors this season. The switch-hitting infielder is hitting .297 with an OPS of .910 in 28 games. 

Infield prospect Ryan Clifford went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a walk. The first baseman has struggled in his first full season in Triple-A, slashing .187/.282/.373 with an OPS of .655. He has hit 16 homers and driven in 49 runs, but has not been as consistently productive at the plate as he has been in the recent past. 

This could’ve been a barnstormer. Both starters were giving runs away early and often, both lineups had chances to blow this thing open, and instead a game that felt like it wanted to be 10-8 or more ended 6-4. The Red Sox left runners on base all night (11 to be exact), watched the bullpen torch a four-run lead in two innings, and still found a way. Win streak reset. New one starts here.

Patrick Sandoval went 4.2 innings and didn’t allow an earned run. On paper, that looks fine. In practice, he spent most of the night creating his own messes and wiggling out of them—deep counts, walks, pitches left over the heart of the plate that somehow didn’t hurt him. The first inning he pitched at least 25 pitches with multiple runners on base and somehow escaped unscathed. Sandoval made pitching look a lot more precarious than the zero on the earned run line suggests. He’s done it before. The question of how long the rope holds isn’t unfair, but tonight it held.

On the other side, Trey Yesavage burned through 93 pitches in four innings, which is its own kind of collapse. He struck out nine—nine!—and still gave up three earned runs before the fifth inning. The home run ball was not his friend. Anthony Seigler went deep. Ceddanne Rafaela went deep. The Jays burned through their pen chasing the game (where they’re already apparently gassed), and the Sox had built a 4-0 lead through six without ever fully relaxing. Just enough.

Then Greg Weissert entered the seventh with that four-run lead.

Kazuma Okamoto was the only Blue Jay who showed up offensively tonight, and Weissert found him immediately. Three-run laser to center field, 4-3, all of a sudden this is a different ballgame. Garrett Whitlock came in for the eighth and gave up the tying run. Two innings, full lead evaporated. The Orioles took one Thursday and now the bullpen was in the process of handing this one back too.

The bottom of the eighth fixed it.

CJ Van Eyk got one out and then couldn’t stop anything. Four straight hits. Two runs. Sox back in front 6-4 before the crowd had fully processed what was happening. That’s been the identity of this team over the last month—it’s not over until it’s over, go find more runs, don’t give an inning away for free. They’ve proven repeatedly that a bad bullpen frame doesn’t mean the game is gone. Tonight proved it again.

Chapman struck out two in the ninth. New streak. Day one.

Studs

Anthony Seigler (4-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

Four hits in five at-bats. A home run. Scored twice. A triple away from the cycle. Seigler has turned into a real weapon in this lineup—plugging in at second base tonight, wherever Tracey needs him tomorrow—and his bat has been one of the genuine surprises of this whole run. Nobody was writing him into the offensive core of a contending team a month ago. Tonight he was the best hitter on the field, by some distance. Just an absolute firecracker both on the bench and on the field.

Ceddanne Rafaela (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R)

The homer was loud. But Rafaela also made a play on Daulton Varsho in center in the sixth inning that killed a Toronto threat before it could breathe—doesn’t show up in the line, mattered completely. He’s been this good on both sides of the ball all season now. Gold Glove center fielder, legitimate power. The whole package.

Romy Gonzalez (1-for-1, RBI, 1 R)

One at-bat, eighth inning, delivered a run and scored. That’s exactly the job.

Duds

Greg Weissert

A 4-0 lead became 4-3 on one pitch to Okamoto. Weissert has been unreliable in high-leverage moments all season, and the seventh inning tonight was a fresh example. The offense bailed him out. Won’t always happen. The Italian Stallion can certainly throw up some meatballs every now and again.

Garrett Whitlock

Tying run in the eighth is on him. Hard contact for most of the inning and lucky to come out with just one run given up, frankly. This is where the wish of another high-leverage reliever at the deadline may help alleviate the pressure on Whit here.

The Offense’s Missed Chances

Wilyer Abreu went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Caleb Durbin went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Yoshida had two walks and one run scored off two at-bats. The Sox left enough on base tonight that this game never should have required a bottom-of-the-eighth rescue. Yesavage was giving away pitches and they couldn’t put him away—that’s the part of this win that doesn’t feel as clean as the final score.

Play of the Game

There are plenty—the rally in the 8th, Ceddanne’s diving catch–but we’re gonna give props to Seigler with his solo homer; it came after Sandoval got out of a jam and was literally a leadoff shot. Proof one swing can change everything!

Rangers 5, Mariners 4

Celebrating 50 Mariners seasons: Weston Wilson, Colt Emerson, +0.10 WPA
Celebrating 50 Mariners seasons: Eduard Bazardo, – 0.20 WPA

Game Thread Comments of the Day

Friday night was not Dustin May’s best start of the season, but it was solid. What was not solid was the St. Louis Cardinals offensive approach as their bats were completely silent for most of the game which allowed the Reds to walk away with a depressing Friday night victory.

The eye test for Dustin May as he took the mound for St. Louis Friday night was positive for the first 3 innings as many of his pitches had nasty movement. The Reds did have a couple of singles in the top of the 3rd inning, but no runs to show for it. That changed in the top of the 4th as JJ Bleday led off with a single. Three batters later, Dustin walked Spencer Steer. Tyler Stephenson made him pay for that lack of control as he punished a 97 mph sinker sending it bouncing over the right-centerfield wall for a ground rule double giving the Reds a 1-0 lead.

The best St. Louis Cardinals threat happened in the bottom of the 5th inning starting without a hit. Feel free to insert your own sarcastic impatient St. Louis Cardinals fan remark here. It started when Cincinnati Reds starter Rhett Lowder hit Iván Herrera with a pitch. He would receive double punishment as he would be hit by the throw attempt when he stole second base, too. Three batters later, Nathan Church drew a two-out walk. That set the stage for Blaze Jordan to make the Reds pay dearly for that walk as he crushed an 85 mph slider into the left-centerfield gap for a two-run double which eliminated Lowder’s no-hit bid and gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead after 5 innings.

The Cincinnati Reds did not sit on their hands after the Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the 5th as they answered with a threat of their own in the top of the 6th inning. Suarez and Lowe both singled to lead off the Reds 6th giving Cincinnati two runners on with no outs. However, Steer was unsuccessful with his bunt attempt that Dustin May made a nice play on to catch the pop-out running toward the third base line. May would end up loading the bases, though, as he plunked Stephenson on the left shoulder. There was still hope of keeping the Reds from cashing in on the scoring opportunity after Myers popped out to Burleson for the second out. Edwin Arroyo flied out to Nathan Church in center to leave the Reds disappointed which is the way it always should be.

Dustin May pitched 6 full innings and, overall, it was a strong outing. Dustin allowed 7 hits, struck out 8 and only walked 1 while allowing only 1 run. That’s the kind of start any contending team would want. Am I right contending trade deadline buyers?

What would the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen do? Stop me if you’ve heard me say this a lot lately, but they almost immediately lost the lead. George Soriano, who has been one of the more reliable arms for St. Louis, gave up a one-out single to Stewart. Two batters later would be the real damage as Eugenio Suarez destroyed an 87 mph Soriano slider launching it 435 feet into the left field stands giving the Reds a 3-2 lead. It pains me to use the words “Reds” and “lead” in the same sentence.

After the Cardinals did nothing in the bottom of the 7th inning, Ryne Stanek took his turn in the St. Louis bullpen merry-go-round in the top of the 8th inning. The highlight (or lowlight depending on your viewpoint) was an umpire’s call of catcher’s interference which replay showed Crooks glove was not even in the same zip code as Myers bat. As a matter of fact, the ball glanced off of his bat for the second strike which was proven when the Cardinals challenged the call.

Hard to believe the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t get their 2nd hit of the game until the bottom of the 8th inning when Jimmy Crooks ripped a ball into the right-centerfield gap for a one-out double. That gave two of the most dangerous bats in the Cardinals lineup a chance to be a hero. JJ Wetherholt failed in his effort with 3 very poor swings at 3 consecutive 85 mph sweepers. Jordan Walker didn’t fare much better as he unintentionally fouled off the first pitch he saw and then popped out weakly to second base to end the Cardinals 8th. Very disappointing.

Luis Gastelum was tasked with holding the Reds close in the top of the 9th inning, but he was not successful. He walked De La Cruz on 5 pitches. That brought up Sal Stewart who (no offense intended) looks like he walked out of a 1930’s gangster movie. After De La Cruz stole second base, Luis threw a ball past Stewart advancing De La Cruz to third who then singled him in to add to the Reds lead making it 4-2. This has been the St. Louis Cardinals fan experience lately. Fortunately, Gastelum was able to escape the top of the 9th with no further damage as he got Lowe to ground into an inning-ending double play.

The Reds bullpen is not known to be a force of nature, so many of us held onto a glimmer of hope that the St. Louis Cardinals could rally against Cincinnati’s Emilio Pagán. Alec Burleson tried, but ended up flying out to deep center to lead off the Cardinals 9th. Herrera struck out with little fanfare for the second out leaving the Cardinals hopes in the hands of Lars Nootbaar. He struck out, too, and there’s no way to sugarcoat how awful the St. Louis offensive efforts have been lately.

It’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday night. The Cardinals will hand the ball to Andre Pallante while the Reds will have Hunter Greene to make the start. First pitch is set for 6:15pm central time and the TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

The Orioles had plenty of chances, but failed to cash in on enough of them, wasting a great start from Trevor Rogers and losing the series opener to the Braves 7-6 in extra innings on Friday night in Baltimore.

This was yet another strong showing for Rogers. The lefty worked seven innings, six of which were pretty smooth. His one tough frame came in the fourth, when he gave up a pair of runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly. But outside of that, he was dominant.

Rogers pounded the strike zone. Over his seven innings he threw 88 total pitches, 72 of which went for strikes. So it’s no surprise that he didn’t issue any walks. This was his third start of the season without a free pass.

The stuff looked good too. His fastball velocity was up slightly over his season average (from 93.5 to 94.3 mph). He encouraged a 62% chase rate and saw the Braves lineup whiff on 31% of all swings. Those are good numbers.

This latest outing from Rogers lowered his ERA even further. Back on May 24, he had a season-worst ERA of 6.96 after a bad showing against the Tigers. Since then, he has seen it drop like a rock. Now, after allowing two runs on six hits, no walks, and six strikeouts tonight, his ERA is down to 4.17. His ERA in the month of July is a minuscule 1.04. The 2025 version of Rogers has fully arrived in 2026.

The Orioles offense, meanwhile, battled against Braves starter Grant Holmes. They had runners on base in four of the five innings that Holmes was in the game. Ultimately, they cashed in for three runs against him.

In the second inning, Leody Taveras walked with two outs, and Jackson Holliday followed with a single into right field to put runners on the corners. Christian Encarnacion-Strand then brought them both home following a seven-pitch battle (which featured four foul balls) that ended with a two RBI double into the left field corner that gave the O’s a 2-0 lead at the time.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Orioles answered the two runs that the Braves had scored in the top of the inning with a run of their own. Taylor Ward led off with a single, scooted to second on a Colton Cowser walk, advanced to third on a Taveras sac bunt, and then finally scored on a Holliday sac fly. It was an old-fashioned way to score a run, but sometimes that’s what a lethargic lineup like this needs.

Rico Garcia came on to relieve Rogers in the eighth. It didn’t go well. He gave up a solo home run to Drake Baldwin, tying the game at 3-3 and removing Rogers’ great effort from the win-loss decision altogether.

The Orioles had a chance to win the game within the regulation nine innings, but failed to do so in the bottom of the ninth. They loaded the bases with two outs, when Gunnar Henderson was intentionally walked in front of Taylor Ward. Ward went up 3-0 in the count against Elieser Hernández before the count was eventually pushed to 3-2. On the payoff pitch, Ward hit the ball 102 mph on the ground right at the third baseman Austin Riley, who fumbled it for a moment or two, but managed to gather himself, throw out Ward, and leave the three runners stranded.

The top of the 10h inning would, unfortunately, be the low point of the game for the Orioles. With the Manfred runner on second base, Joey Bart led off with a single to put runners on the corners. Jim Jarvis then hit a bouncer to the right side of the infield that Holliday did well to dive for and successfully field. Where he went wrong was his throw towards Henderson covering second base. It was airmailed into left field, allowing not only the run to score but the two other runners to advance into scoring position too. Andrew Kittredge almost got out of the jam, striking out Baldwin and Ozzie Albies. But Craig Albernaz decided to pitch to Matt Olson rather than walking him to the open base at first and facing Michael Harris II. It didn’t work out. Olson launched a 416-foot, three-run homer to right field, blowing the game open and giving the Braves a 7-3 lead.

Credit to the Orioles, or at least to Encarnacion-Strand, for showing some fight in their half of the 10th. Tyler O’Neill led off with a single, which pushed the Manfred runner to third. The two batters that followed were retired before Encarnacion-Strand hit what is already his third major league homer of the season to make it a 7-6 game and bring the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, the bench was empty at this point, and that meant Sam Huff had to take the at-bat. He struck out on a slider that was hung in the middle of the plate, sealing the Orioles frustrating loss.

The goodness in this game was largely contained to two players: Rogers and Encarnacion-Strand. Rogers is back to being an ace. That’s good news for the Orioles. Their either have a dependable arm for the final two months of the season, or they have one of the most attractive trade chips in the sport. Encarnacion-Strand is playing himself into being the team’s everyday third baseman, at least for right now. They need help scoring runs, and he’s making it happen. Keep playing him until he proves otherwise.

The bad was much more widely shared. The Orioles went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. It’s nearly impossible to win with numbers like that, and they happen far too frequently for this crew. It doesn’t help that the current catcher situation, with Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo both on the IL, is an offensive black hole. Holliday made a rather terrible error. He had done the hard part, which was catching the ball. Maybe he should have just taken the easy out at first. At the very least he can’t let the runners take another base. And the bullpen, specifically Garcia and some blame to Kittredge, wasn’t good enough. That’s nothing new, of course, but it is a problem that will have to be addressed if Mike Elias and company do decide to buy at the deadline.

These two teams will be back at it again on Saturday night in Baltimore. The Orioles will start Brandon Young (8-2, 3.25 ERA) against the Braves’ Bryce Elder (6-6, 4.06 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 from Camden Yards.

Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea spoke to the media following his strong outing in the team's 4-2 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

The southpaw held his own against the defending back-to-back World Series champions, completing six innings and allowing just one earned run on six hits across 84 pitches.

"It's everything you live for," Manaea explained postgame. "It's the big leagues; we want to pitch against the best. They're one of the best teams in the league, and have a bunch of superstar players. You're not going to survive (in MLB) long if you don't want to pitch against a team like this."

Manaea held the Dodgers' cohort of four superstar players - Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Kyle Tucker - to just two extra-base hits, both of them doubles. 

Ohtani's double was as amazing as it was strange, with the lefty slugger using one hand and desperately poking at a sweeper moving away from him, hooking it down the right-field line and into the corner. Ohtani was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a triple thanks to a perfect relay from Carson Bengeand Francisco Lindor.

"Ohtani is Ohtani. He's a pretty good player," Manaea chuckled as he reflected on the strange play. "That was a good pitch. It was crazy, the fact he even got to the ball...unbelievable."

Manaea was efficient throughout his outing thanks to a heavy reliance on his four-seam fastball. The left-hander throws that pitch around 34 percent of the time on average, but against the Dodgers on Friday, he upped the ante with a 61 percent clip, over 70% of them being strikes.

When asked if the uptick in usage was a conscious choice, Manaea responded, "If I'm executing pitches from the get-go, it's my plan."

Through two starts against the Dodgers during his time in Queens, Manaea has recorded a 2.45 ERA in 11 IP. He clearly appreciates the opportunity to do battle with the cream of the MLB crop.

"Anytime we face those guys, it's always a challenge, and I love that stuff. They've definitely kicked my butt before, but it goes both ways, so [I have] a lot of respect for them," he concluded.

PHILADELPHIA — Most of Citizens Bank Park on Friday was still buzzing from the news earlier in the day that LeBron James was taking his talents to the City of Brotherly Love. 

Aaron Boone included. 

The Yankees manager, a longtime 76ers fan, was among those excited for James to be signing in Philadelphia on a two-year, $8 million deal at the age of 41. 

“Looks like they got a pretty good starting five in the mix,” Boone said with a big grin before the Yankees opened a series against the Phillies. 

“The East is getting interesting.” 

Boone’s 76ers fandom stems from spending part of his childhood growing up here while his dad, Bob, was playing for the Phillies.

But he now manages in New York and has also gotten to know some of the Knicks’ personnel during his tenure, so naturally he was asked whether he favored the Knicks or 76ers heading into next season. 

“The Knicks are the champs,” he said diplomatically. “But you bring Jaylen Brown in and LeBron, it’s two pretty good pieces I’d say. 

“I’ll be watching with interest, I’m sure, this winter.” 

Carlos Rodón (left elbow inflammation) is set to throw a “two-up” bullpen session Saturday — throwing a handful of pitches, sitting down and then getting back up for the equivalent of another inning — with about 35 pitches in total.

If he gets through that session without issue, he should advance to facing hitters by next week. 

Boone said he still has “no idea” when Rodón might be ready to return to the rotation, though at this rate, he will almost certainly need to go on a rehab assignment. 

Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled to face hitters for a second time Sunday, throwing another simulated inning as he works toward a potential return later this season. 

Luis Gil (right shoulder inflammation) has advanced to facing hitters at the club’s player development complex, according to a video he posted on social media. … Dax Kilby, the Yankees’ first-round pick last summer, was activated off the injured list Friday for the first time this season at Single-A Tampa. The shortstop prospect, battling a hamstring injury, played in a rehab game in late May but then was out of action again until last week, when he played three rehab games without issue, clearing him to join Tampa’s roster.

Tampa Bay brought the unusual combination of the the original home white jerseys and the 2001-2005 era hats. That unusualness continued in the game because these two teams frequently play close games, but this game was never really in doubt as the Rays went up in the second inning and never looked back in this 11-3 win over Cleveland.

The Rays and Guardians squared off in Cleveland at the end of April and neither team scored more than three runs in any contest. The teams scored a combined 10 runs in the three games in two 1-run wins by the Rays and a 2-run win by the Guardians. That came after a 2025 history which saw three 1-run games between the two teams along with a blowout win by each club. Coming into this contest, the talk was focused on how evenly matched the clubs were, so much so that Brian Anderson invoked a Spiderman meme joke in the pre-game when previewing the game.

The first inning saw both Shane McClanahan and Joey Cantillo look sharp, particularly Cantillo as he carved up Yandy Diaz on three pitches. The second inning was more of the same from McClanahan, but the offensive party got started after a one-out single by Jonny DeLuca who was on base when second baseman Ryan Vilade sabotaged yet another first pitch for a two-run homer that included an entertaining slide into third base as Vilade was not convinced the ball cleared the wall. The home run was Vilade’s eighth of the season, and five of them have now come on first pitches:

The game was momentarily close in the fourth when the Guardians cut the lead in half with two doubles in the fourth inning from Chase DeLauter and David Fry, but then the club gave it all back and then some in the bottom of the frame. Cedric Mullins tripled to lead off the bottom of the fourth, which was followed by a single by DeLuca and an infield bunt single by Chandler Simpson that was successful despite being well-defended by the Guardians. A walk to Vilade loaded the bases for what should have been at least a forceout at home on a batted ball by Ben Williamson, but Rhys Hoskins threw one juuuuust a bit high:

Fortes hit his second single of the game to drive in a run, and the Rays found themselves up four runs with no outs in the inning. It is tough to nitpick in a blowout win, but as the late great Dave Wills loved to say, the Rays left some chicken on the bone in the inning. Diaz and Jonathan Aranda struck out while Junior Caminero hit into a 6-3 forceout. Aranda’s strikeout was particularly frustrating because he was victimized by a 3-0 auto-strike call and did not challenge the pitch:

That walk would have driven in a run, but Aranda did finally challenge two pitches in the 8th inning with the game out of hand, including challenging a pitch in the same location which got him in the 4th. It is unclear what the team strategy is for challenging pitches these days after watching them accept the very large zone Shane Bieber was afforded in Toronto.

The Rays would resume the scoring in the 6th on an RBI single by Junior Caminero that was a close call at the plate thanks to a throw by Petey Halpin that was better thatn the reception of said throw by Austin Hedges:

The scoring would continue in the later innings with a Fortes double driving in Williamson and the club hanging some runs on former teammate Shawn Armstrong, who unfortunately had to leave with what appeared to be an achilles injury. The scoring would be capped with a first pitch blast by Richie Palacios off Hunter Gaddis.

If this were a hockey matchup and we were giving out the stars of the game, they would be as such:

1st star of the game: Ben Williamson

Williamson was 1 for 5 with a double in this game, but he made two outstanding defensive plays tonight. The second one came on a tricky bounce on the final out of the game, but his first play to rob Angel Martinez of a hit was special as it prevented a run and ended a rally:

2nd star of the game: Shane McClanahan

McClanahan had another strong, even if abbreviated, outing. Kevin Cash decided the game was well enough in hand after five to entrust the bullpen to get the final 12 outs. McClanahan threw 16 of 19 first pitch strikes and got 13 whiffs on 35 swings. The changeup was particularly nasty tonight, but it was also notable to see him hit 99 twice in this contest.

3rd star of the game: Nick Fortes

Fortes has been red hot at the plate over his last five games with 2 home runs, 8 RBIs going 5 for 8 with runners in scoring position along with a .579 average. Tonight was his third multi-hit contest this week after just three such games in his previous 22 games

The home runs by Vilade and Palacious tonight give the Rays 29 home runs in the month of July, which at press time, leads all American League clubs. Unfortunately, the Rays did not gain any ground tonight as the Yankees shut out the Phillies 1-0 behind Cam Schlittler while the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 6-4.

There were more roster changes for the San Diego Padres’ minor league affiliates as recently promoted players are struggling to adjust to their new level. The first-half champion Lake Elsinore Storm has won only seven games since it won the first half in its Single-A division.

The All-Star break provided a breather for the affiliates, and none played more than three games since the last update. The Storm has slipped to third place in their division and are only two games over .500 overall.

The ACL Padres play their last games this week with their season ending on Thursday. The DSL teams had their All-Star game as well over the past week. 

Some good news for the Padres rests in the rehab performances of Jose Leclerc, 32, who started with the Arizona team for 5.1 innings and is now with the Fort Wayne TinCaps as he continues to build up. He should be ready to join the Padres bullpen in August. 

There are five weeks left in the minor league season for the domestic teams above rookie ball and the Padres continue to make adjustments to the rosters of all the levels. There will be a small influx of players after the signing deadline on July 27 when the more senior draftees that signed contracts join the lower level for some experience before the season ends.

El Paso Chihuahuas (42-53 record, 4th in PCL East)

The Padres signed outfielder Dustin Harris to a minor league contract after releasing outfielder Nick Schnell. Schnell had a 31% strikeout rate for the Chihuahuas while hitting .239 with a .798 OPS.

LHP Jagger Haynes was promoted to El Paso from San Antonio. For the season so far, Haynes has a 4.37 ERA in 94.2 innings, with 85 strikeouts and 41 walks. He has improved his performance as the season has gone on.

The best hitter for El Paso is utility player Nick Solak, who leads the team with a .309 average and .377 OBP. Catcher Blake Hunt has a .548 slugging percentage, but Solak has the most home runs with 12 and 52 RBI.

LHP Jackson Wolf has a 5.81 ERA in 83.2 innings pitched with 83 strikeouts to 34 walks. RHP Evan Fitterer has the best ERA among the starters at 3.84 in 72.2 innings pitched. Reliever Andrew Moore has a 2.70 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched since joining El Paso.

RHP Logan Gillaspie rejoined El Paso from the injured list.

San Antonio Missions (41-49 record, 5th (last) in Texas League South)

Outfielder Jake Cunningham has continued his breakout in the Padres system since joining the Missions. He is hitting .304 with 14 RBI in his 22 games in San Antonio.  Infielder Luis Verdugo is getting on base at a .350 clip for the team lead. Outfielder Tirso Ornelas continues to lead in slugging with a .472 average and has 12 homers and 38 RBI.

Catcher Ethan Salas has continued to alternate in the DH position but overall has a .282/.349/.419 line with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBI. He has struck out 40 times with 27 walks in his return to pro ball after missing almost all of last year to injury.

Reliever Francis Peña has returned to form after struggling with command during the first half of the season. For the Missions, Pena has a 2.93 ERA in 40 innings pitched with 51 strikeouts to 29 walks. 

Their best starter has consistently been RHP Eric Yost, who has a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings pitched in his 14 games/nine games started. LHP Jagger Haynes had more strikeouts but a higher ERA during his time with the Missions before going to El Paso.

RHP Matt Watson was promoted to San Antonio. He had a 5.23 ERA in 51.2 innings with Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (37-52 record, 5th in Midwest League East)

Outfielder Kasen Wells and first baseman Luke Cantwell have assumed the offensive leadership for the TinCaps. Wells has a .283 average and .379 OBP while Cantwell is slugging .515 in his 10 games since being promoted to Fort Wayne. Outfielder Kavares Tears leads with 13 home runs, and outfielder Alex McCoy has 44 RBI.

Only Cantwell, of the players promoted from the Storm at the midpoint, has adjusted well to the change in level. CF Ryan Wideman continues to steal bases at a rapid rate and now leads minor league ball with 51 steals. His .504 slugging with Lake Elsinore has dropped to .287 with Fort Wayne.

LHP Kash Mayfield, who should get longer outings for the remainder of the season if he stays healthy, has a 3.20 ERA over his 50.2 innings with 59 strikeouts and 20 walks. He had strict limits placed on his innings over the first half so he could build up after being limited by injury last season.

RHP Kannon Kemp is continuing his build-up, having pitched 6.1 innings with Fort Wayne after starting his rehab with the ACL team. He is having command issues, with more walks than strikeouts and a 7.11 ERA.

Lake Elsinore Storm (46-44 record, 3rd in California League South)

The Storm has struggled mightily since losing their best players to Fort Wayne. Infielder Justin DeCriscio was promoted from the ACL team when the others left for High-A Fort Wayne. He is hitting .270 with a .795 OPS and leads the offense. Outfielder Qrey Lott now has the most home runs with seven, while infielder Jose Verdugo, 18, leads with 42 RBI.

RHP Jesus Castro, 18, has been the standout starter for the entire season. He has a 3.92 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched in 15 games started.  

ACL Padres (32-25 record, 3rd in West Division)

Outfielder Eddson Martinez, 18, who started the season with the DSL Gold team, has now played in 23 games for the ACL Padres. He is hitting .372/.436/.487 with seven doubles, a triple and 13 RBI. His 1.281 OPS with the DSL team is what got him promoted. He leads all ACL Padres offensively. Outfielder Jesmaylin Arias, 19, has eight home runs and 37 RBI with a .510 slug as their power hitter.

LHP Luis Gutierrez, 22, and RHP Jeremiah Estrada are both on rehab assignments with the ACL team. LHP Ryan Reed, 22, was drafted by the Padres in the 15th round of the 2025 draft and made one appearance last season for Lake Elsinore after signing. He started this season on the injured list and has now appeared in seven games and 8.2 innings pitched to begin his rehab. He has a 4.15 ERA with eight strikeouts and five walks.

RHP Luis German completed his rehab outings with the ACL team and was transferred to Fort Wayne to begin building up.

RHP Cameron Nohos and RHP Landry Jurecka were promoted from ACL Padres to Lake Elsinore.

Catcher Ty Harvey has begun his rehab from the broken hand he suffered in May. After completing his rehab, he will rejoin Lake Elsinore.

DSL Padres Brown and Gold

The Brown team sits with a 7-27 record, last in the West Division. They struggle to score runs as well as to command pitches. It has been a difficult season for the players on the Brown team. Their season finishes next month.

The Gold team has a 25-10 record, 1st in the Northwest Division. Infielder Sebastian Nadales was transferred to Gold from Brown and has played in four games with a .385 average so far. 

Right fielder Ricardo De La Paz leads the team with a .375 average and a .596 OBP. Infielder Abraham Bastidas leads with a .667 slug and three home runs. Shortstop Joniel Hernandez is tops with 41 RBI.

The DSL All-Star game played to a 7-6 AL over NL win with Hernandez as the only Padres position player in the game. He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. 

RHP Albieris Polanco pitched for the NL team and completed one inning with two strikeouts.

Holding down the Braves’ offense for nine innings is doable, especially if your pitchers are able to keep the ball in the yard.

But the Baltimore Orioles learned in Friday’s series opener against Atlanta that it gets harder the longer a game goes on.

The Braves used Matt Olson’s two-out, three-run homer to explode for four runs in the 10th, more than they scored in the first nine combined.

As it turned out, the Braves needed every single one of those runs as Baltimore responded with three runs in the bottom of the 10th thanks in large part to Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s two-out, two-run homer. But Dylan Lee got a strikeout of replacement catcher Sam Huff to close out a 7-6 victory to open the road trip.

With the win, the Braves improved to 6-2 since the All-Star break. And with Drake Baldwin adding a game-tying solo shot in the eighth to redeem a three-strikeout night, Atlanta has hit 17 homers in those eight games.

The bottom of the order posted the first run of the top of the 10th. A Joey Bart bloop single moved pinch-automatic runner Brewer Hicklen to third base and Jim Jarvis brought him home with an RBI groundout that was complicated by a blooper of a throwing error by Jackson Holliday at second base.

The Braves quite possibly wouldn’t have made it to extra innings without Elieser Hernández (1-0), who worked the seventh through ninth innings without allowing a run in his Braves debut. He was remarkably strong for the majority of his outing, which was his first at the major league level since 2024, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced to get Atlanta one out away from extra innings.

But Baltimore then loaded the bases on a walk, a single and an intentional walk to bring up Taylor Ward. When Hernández fell behind 3-0, it seemed the Braves were headed for heartbreak. But Hernández delivered two fastball strikes to bring the count full and then induced a hard grounder to third —with an assist from Austin Riley — to pull off the Houdini act.

The 10th-inning surge at the plate delivered Hernández his major league win since 2022.

Olson finished with two hits, including his team-high 27th homer of the season off Andrew Kittredge (1-2), and Michael Harris II, Riley and Bart each chipped in two hits apiece.

Encarnacion-Strand accounted for four of the Orioles’ six RBIs.

The Orioles got to Atlanta starter Grant Holmes and jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the second on a two-out rally. After the first two batters were retired, Leody Taveras worked a walk on an ABS challenge, Jackson Holliday roped a single to right and Encarnacion-Strand laced a two-run double to left on the fourth consecutive fastball thrown by Holmes after fouling off the prior three.

Atlanta got the runs back in the fourth. Ozzie Albies singled and Harris doubled to put two in scoring position. Mauricio Dubón plated one run with a sacrifice fly and Austin Riley tied the game at 2 with a two-out RBI single, beginning a _-hit night.

Unfortunately for the Braves, the game didn’t stay tied long. The first two batters of the Baltimore fourth reached and moved into scoring position on a sac bunt. Holliday restored the Orioles’ lead with a sac fly before Holmes got a groundout to third to strand a runner at second.

Holmes needed 91 pitches to get through five innings, giving up three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Danny Young followed with an extended but scoreless sixth inning before the Braves turned things over to Hernández.

After the Braves only managed two runs on six hits over seven innings against Trevor Rogers, Baldwin got to Rico Garcia for his 20th homer, officially surpassing the 19 he had as a rookie.