There's been much to speculate about the next destination for LeBron James.
James decided to not allow the Los Angeles Lakers a bidding chance for him and informed the team that he would be moving on to a new organization in free agency.
There have been a handful of teams that are considered in the running for James.
Many of which have their own storyline and reasoning for a potential James signing, but for a team like the Warriors, they could finally pair James with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, the Warriors are keeping a roster spot open for James but they don't think he'd choose to play in the Bay Area.
"On the James front, Warriors sources continue to express a low level of optimism that James will ultimately pick them as his next team," Slater wrote. "They intend to keep roster space open for James until he ultimately declares his choice."
ESPN's Shams Charania said on "Straight Shooter" with Stephen A. Smith that he doesn't think the Warriors are at the top of James' list, rather "on the periphery," unless they were able to make a package deal for Anthony Davis. It should also be noted that Charania and Smith reported that both James and Green will "hang out this week" amid the 22-time All-Star's decision-making process.
So what about the other teams that could possibly lure James into a contract for a season or two? Charania said it's really boiled down to a top three hierarchy of: Heat, 76ers and Cavaliers.
Here's the latest on the "contenders only" free agency sweepstakes for James:
LeBron James potential landing spots
Here's the latest on the top-three contenders that James could sign with.
Miami Heat
A reunion in Miami would be one heck of a storyline. Once upon a time James promised Heat fans championship rings by famously uttering the words "not two, not three, not four, not five ... not six." He got them two with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and company, now he could join a new 'big three' with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and himself.
"There’s a draw with Miami. Pat Riley is a draw, Spoelstra is a draw," Charania said. "I have gotten any feel that there’s still tension between LeBron and Pat Riley that would detour him from that. I think Bam and Giannis are big draws for him too. He played team USA for Bam and has a lot of respect for Bam. Giannis would want LeBron in Miami from my understanding as well. No state taxes…. In January, you think about Miami and, it’s Miami! If you have a team that is basically neck and neck but one of them is based in Miami, with no state taxes.”
Smith reported that "a lot of executives" believe Miami is the best destination for James.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers have picked up steam in the running for James, Charania said.
"Philadelphia was not in the picture," he said. "When the Sixers got Jaylen Brown I did some research ... he (LeBron) is taking their pitch very seriously."
They would be able to create a lineup featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, James and Brown.
Cleveland Cavaliers
What could be better than a Hollywood ending? A return home to where it all began. Many want it to be the perfect storybook ending to a legendary career. The Cavs do.
Charania said that the organization is making James their No.1-priority and their superstar Donovan Mitchell is on board with that.
Some are speculating that it could very well be. Signs are there. That's what ESPN's Brian Windhorst said.
"Yes, absolutely, he knows what he's going to do," Windhorst said. "If you ask me, 'Are the vibes pointing towards Cleveland?' Yeah, the vibes are pointing towards Cleveland, but it's just vibes."
Consider this, he's celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 championship with Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson and Channing Frye.
He's spending some offseason time there, which has fans on social media putting it all together after reuniting with his high school teammates from St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in Akron. He was also with Cavs general manager Brandon Weems, but it could all just be coincidence.
Noah Schultz gave up four in his second start back from the IL, with no run support to show for it either way. | (Getty Images)
The White Sox (47-43) took one on the chin to open the six-game homestand with the Red Sox (41-48), getting outhit, 11-4, and blown out, 8-1. Only two batters actually got a hit for the Good Guys, with Sam Antonacci snagging three hits, and Kyle Teel driving in the sole run for the South Siders. The Italians at least represented themselves all right on Italian Heritage Night at the park. The only real good news coming out of this game is that the Twins also beat the Guardians, so the one-game lead in the AL Central still holds up.
Noah Schultz got off to a rocky start, immediately getting into a bases-loaded jam in the first that set the tone for the ballgame. The lefty needed 33 pitches to get through it, but he was able to regain control and survive the bases-loaded jam, but that didn’t stave off the chaos for the remainder of his outing. The main problem for Schultz in this five-inning, 92-pitch outing, however, was that he continuously worked into deep counts that ran up his pitch count, on top of the two home runs and three walks. Noah allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out three, two of them by our old friend Romy Gonzalez.
Not only were the Red Sox jumping all over him, but Schultz wasn’t getting as many whiffs, averaging just a 20% called-strike-plus-whiff rate (CSW). His sinker was thrown 25% of the time tonight, and also drew the highest CSW (26%) of all his pitches. Schultz’s ERA has now increased slightly to 6.00, but he’s still extremely young and can continue to work on his command issues with more experience. In his defense, you can’t exactly win a game without the offense scoring any runs, so he wasn’t the only one at fault there.
The first frame for Schultz nearly spun out of control. Both Anthony Seigler and Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a pair of bloop hits to lead off the game: one that dropped in no man’s land, shallow center field, and the other was a strange swinging bunt situation that ended up in the Bermuda triangle between Schultz, Miguel Vargas at first, and Chase Meidroth at second. Willson Contreras walked to load the bases, adding a fresh layer of stress to the situation, but thankfully, Schultz buckled down and struck out Romy Gonzalez before inducing a line out to end the inning.
Schultz began the second frame on a high note after striking out Jarren Duran, but things quickly snowballed from there. On the very next batter, Andruw Monasterio took Schultz deep to left to give Boston their first run of the game. Connor Wong then caught Colson Montgomery playing back and decided to drop a bunt that ended up (generously) being ruled a base hit. Schultz forced a fly out, but then allowed his second homer of the inning to give the Red Sox another couple of runs, 3-0.
With the help of Teel, Schultz worked through the third without issue, cutting Contreras’ time on the basepaths short after his leadoff hit, getting thrown out at second to end the inning. That would be the first of two that Teel caught stealing on the night, as he made another great throw in the fifth to catch Wilyer Abreu. That momentum didn’t hold through the fourth, however, as chaos ensued to give another run to the Red Sox. A double, wild pitch, walk, and a squeeze bunt all happened in consecutive order, with Wong getting his second bunt down to tally an RBI, 4-0.
Truly a wild sequence of events:
On the other end of the ball, Payton Tolle was having a much easier time with the South Side offense than Schultz had with the Red Sox. Tolle worked through six shutout innings and gave up just two hits, one walk, and struck out six. He walked Miguel Vargas to lead off the game, and Antonacci was really the only player who showed up for the White Sox offense with two hits off Tolle and three on the day. The Good Guys were getting carved up by his fastball and cutter, averaging a 34% and a 31% CSW for his outing and racking up 15 swings and misses; for reference, Schultz had eight in comparison.
Until the seventh frame, the Good Guys only mustered two hits — both from Antonacci. The White Sox loaded the bases in the seventh to get a bit of a rally going, with Meidroth drawing a walk to lead off the inning, and Antonacci followed that up by snagging his third hit of the day. Finally, someone not named Sam got a hit, as Junior Perez singled to load the bases for Teel. In another timeline, Kyle blasts a game-tying grand slam against his former team, but instead we get an RBI ground out and back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat, 4-1.
The bullpen was solid through the eighth once they replaced Schultz, with three relievers combining for just one hit. That is, until the ninth, when the Red Sox ended up breaking the game open, but not without the help of the umpiring crew. Seranthony Domínguez took over in the sixth, and though it was a little dicey to start the inning, with a deep fly to left and two batters reaching base, he made it through unscathed by striking out both Anthony Seigler and Ceddanne Rafaela to end the scoring threat for Boston. In the seventh, Jordan Hicks looked as good as ever, striking out two of the three batters he faced for a clean frame, handing the final two over to Brandon Eisert in an attempt to maintain the three-run deficit so as not to make things worse.
In the ninth, Eisert walked two batters but needed just one more out. He had Contreras down to his final strike on a full count, until Contreras ripped a line drive down the left field line that the umpire originally called foul … before changing his mind mid-play to call it fair, which allowed two runs to score. Personally, I don’t understand how Will Venable didn’t make a way bigger deal out of this situation. Once a fielder sees the foul called, they ease up because they think the play is over. Apparently, the play was not reviewable for an unknown reason. This will likely make me lose sleep tonight, and it’s not like the bats did anything at all to help themselves, but that is just an unacceptable sequence of events that led to four Boston insurance runs.
To throw salt in the wound, Romy Gonzalez ripped almost an identical ball down the right-field line, also causing a slightly delayed fair call to drive in the seventh run for the Red Sox. Finally, Venable called it a day for Eisert, but Trevor Richards came in for the garbage time and walked Caleb Durbin before giving up a base hit to Duran for the eighth and final run.
It didn’t really matter up to that point, but the White Sox went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, finally putting us all out of our misery. You’re not going to win them all, of course, but the bats snoozed through this one after an off-day. The Good Guys will aim to bounce back tomorrow with Davis Martin on the mound, and hopefully the South Siders (and umps!) get a good night of rest and get ready for the next one.
MESA, AZ - MARCH 21: Josiah Hartshorn #22 of the Chicago Cubs bats during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Aryanna Frank/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Two Smokies got honored today. Catcher Owen Ayers was named Southern League Player of the Month for June. Over the past month, Ayers hit .451/.554/.824 with 13 doubles and seven home runs. Ayers led the league in average, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging. He was second in runs scored with 23 and fourth in the Southern League for June with 21 RBI.
Smokies right-hander Jace Beck was similarly named Southern League Pitcher of the Month. Over five appearances and three starts, Beck went 2-0 with an 0.47 ERA. Over 19 innings, Beck struck out 36 and walked nine. He also allowed just nine hits and a .138 average.
Left-hander Pierce Coppola was promoted to High-A South Bend from Low-A Myrtle Beach.
Jordan Wicks started and took the loss after he got rocked for seven runs, six earned, on six hits over three innings. Wicks struggled with control as he walked four and hit one.
Paul Campbell and Jayden Murray both had three scoreless innings of relief.
Left fielder BJ Murray hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, his 12th on the season. Murray was 1 for 5.
Right fielder Brett Bateman was a perfect 4 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice.
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros doubled twice in a 2 for 5 game. He scored one run.
Starter Connor Schultz gave up two solo home runs, but otherwise kept the Shuckers in check and got the win. Schultz’s final line was three runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked no one.
Tyler Ras pitched two innings, allowed no runs on one hit, and got the save. Ras walked one and struck out one.
Third baseman Jefferson Rojas hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his 14th on the year. Rojas was 2 for 4 with the home run, a double and a walk. Rojas also stole a base and scored twice.
Right fielder Alex Ramírez connected for a three-run home run in the sixth inning. That was his tenth on the campaign. Ramírez was 2 for 5 with the home run. In the eighth inning, Ramírez singled, stole second, stole third and after Rojas walked, stole home as part of a double steal.
Second baseman Drew Bowser singled home a run in the sixth inning and then scored on Ramírez’s home run. Bowser went 2 for 4.
Left fielder Carter Trice went 2 for 5 with a double and a steal. He scored once.
Solid start for Mason McGwire, who allowed just one run on three hits over four innings. McGwire struck out three and walked one.
Adam Stone pitched the eighth and ninth innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Stone gave up two hits. He walked two and struck out two.
After South Bend scored twice in the top of the tenth, Grayson Moore retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth for the save. He struck out one.
South Bend had already taken a one-run lead when automatic runner Justin Stransky scored on an error, but first baseman Josiah Hartshorn added an insurance run with a solo home run later in the tenth. It was Hartshorn’s 15th home run and tenth with South Bend. He was 2 for 5 with a walk. Hartshorn scored twice and drove in two.
Hartshorn had been in a mini-slump the past week after tearing up the minors to start his career. Today was a good night to get back on track.
Left fielder Jose Escobar stayed hot, going 2 for 6 with a double. He scored one run.
Third baseman Matt Halbach went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Halbach had one RBI and one run scored.
Right fielder Miguel Useche went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Here’s the play that scored Stransky. Good job getting picked off!
David Bracho pitched the first 3.1 innings and surrendered five runs on three hits. Bracho walked three and struck out six.
Edwardo Melendez pitched the final three innings and got the win. He was in line for the loss after he allowed a two-run home run in the top of the tenth, but the Pelicans struck back with the grand slam. Melendez’s final line was two runs, one earned, on four hits over three innings. Melendez struck out three and walked on.
Shortstop Valdez sent the home fans home happy when he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth. It was Valdez’s sixth home run this season. Valdez went 4 for 6 with five RBI. He also stole two bases and scored twice.
Earlier in the sixth inning, catcher Jose Silva hit a solo home run. It was Silva’s first home run with the Pelicans and third overall. Silva went 1 for 3 with two walks.
Second baseman Alexis Hernández was 3 for 6 with a double and a steal. He scored once.
Right fielder Eli Lovich went 1 for 3 with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. He scored two runs and drove in three.
Ethan Conrad is in right field and is 2 for 3 so far.
Yesterday, Kohl Franklin pitched four scoreless innings for the ACL Cubs in his season debut. Franklin had Tommy John surgery early in 2024, right after making his Iowa debut. He missed the rest of 2024 and made one appearance in 2025 where he had a setback in his recovery. A recovery by Franklin would be a big boost to the Cubs farm system.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a member of their front office poached by another team on Tuesday.
Vukie Mpofu, who served as the Penguins' director of hockey operations and legal affairs for the past three seasons, left the organization to be an assistant general manager of the Nashville Predators.
He will work alongside Predators general manager Chris MacFarland and help with everything, including salary cap compliance, contract negotiations, scouting, and player acquisitions.
Welcome to Smashville, Vukie! 👋
We've hired Vukie Mpofu as Assistant General Manager.
“We are very pleased that Vukie has elected to join the Predators hockey operations staff as Assistant General Manager,” Predators GM Chris MacFarland said in a statement.
This is a significant loss for the Penguins' front office, as Mpofu handled the salary cap situation and player contract negotiations. Dubas hired Mpofu from the Los Angeles Kings in 2023, shortly after he arrived in Pittsburgh.
It remains to be seen if Dubas hires anyone to replace Mpofu.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 03: Nick Allen #20 of the Houston Astros bats in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Daikin Park on July 03, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Houston Astros (46-48) didn’t get the start they hoped for from Tatsuya Imai, but they got a terrific performance from 6 relievers as they took the second game of this series 6-3 over the Washington Nationals (47-46) at Nationals Park.
Imai only lasted 3.2 IP, impacted by a cut on the ring fighter of his pitching hand that impacted his ability to grip the baseball and execute pitches. At one point in the second inning, a trainer had to come to the mound to put a cold towel on his hand to try to help him get him get a proper grip on the ball, as his velocity dropped during the inning but it rebounded to normal level after the trainer came out.
The cut impacted his execution, and his pitch count racked up as a result, throwing 84 pitches in his 3.2 innings. Imai was charged with 2 ER, 4H, 3BB, and 3K.
Steven Okert (W, 2-1) was called on to finish the fourth, as he has essentially become the team’s stopper, and the pitcher manager Joe Espada is most comfortable going to when he brings in someone to get out of a jam, particularly when the Astros have a lead. Okert went 1.1 IP scoreless allowing 1 hit and striking out 3.
As Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, Alimber Santa and Josh Hader (S, 10) held the Nationals potent offense in check, it was the Astros bottom of the order that did the majority of the damage for Houston this evening.
A second inning sac fly from Nick Allen drove in the Astros first run to tie the game at 1 in the top of the 2nd.
Allen then ripped a 2-run single in the 4th to give the Astros a 3-2 lead, driving in Christian Walker and Zach Dezenzo. A Christian Vazquez sac fly drove in Brice Matthews to make it a 4-2 game.
In the 6th, Vazquez struck again with an RBI single to score Dezenzo, and increase the lead to 5-2.
An 8th inning solo HR from Jose Altuve pushed the lead to 6-2.
The Nationals got 1 run in the 9th before Josh Hader was summoned to close the game out.
Tomorrow the Astros will send Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA) to the mound looking to win their 7th series in their last 8 against Washington lefty Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87 ERA).
As if a matchup of two last-place teams on a crummy night in Queens wasn’t enough, the Mets had perhaps their sloppiest, ugliest loss of the season against the miserable Royals, 16-12, in a wild game to open a homestand at Citi Field on Tuesday night.
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After opening a five-run lead in the fourth, the Mets gave up a dozen straight runs before getting back on the scoreboard.
It came on a night that saw the Royals hand the Mets a three-run Little League homer in the bottom of the first, thanks to three throwing errors on one play.
That proved to be just an appetizer for a bizarre night, and it still couldn’t propel the Mets to a victory, as their ragtag pitching staff was no match for the Royals.
The Mets, short in the bullpen after taxing their pitching staff in back-to-back wins in Atlanta the previous two games, were forced to pitch Kodai Senga on three days’ rest for the first time in his career and then saw Austin Warren fail to retire a batter in the fifth.
That led to Long Island’s Matt Seelinger making his MLB debut in a tie game after a decade in the minors.
Interim manager Andy Green acknowledged the rough condition of the staff and said the team was “forced to make some of those triage decisions along the way.”
A truer statement probably couldn’t be made about this Mets season — until Green followed by saying the game “turned into kind of a perfect storm.”
Reliever Matt Seelinger reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Nick Loftin (12) during the seventh inning of the Mets’ 16-12 loss to the Royals on July 7, 2026 at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The aftermath included the Mets falling to 200-2 in franchise history when scoring 12 or more runs, as they wasted a breakout offensive night from A.J. Ewing and a three-run homer by Juan Soto, his 20th of the season.
It began to fall apart when Senga allowed two runs in the second and a pair more in the fourth.
After Soto gave them a five-run lead in the bottom of the inning, Austin Warren entered to start the fifth and allowed all six batters he faced to reach base — and five of them to score, as Kansas City tied the game 9-9.
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Warren called his outing “terrible” and noted his poor location.
Instead of the right-hander eating innings, he forced Huascar Brazobán into the game earlier than planned, which left Seelinger to make his MLB debut in a tie game, and the right-hander allowed seven runs.
The Westbury native immediately ran into trouble, as he walked Lane Thomas on four pitches and then gave up an RBI double to Salvador Perez.
Austin Warren reacts dejectedly during the fifth inning of the Mets’ loss to the Royals. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Nick Loftin tagged Seelinger for a two-run shot later in the inning.
He survived and pitched a scoreless eighth, but it didn’t matter.
Coming off back-to-back close wins in Atlanta, the Mets returned to Queens, where they’d lost six of seven in their last homestand.
Looking to win a third straight game for the first time since their four-game winning streak at the end of May, the Mets instead suffered another brutal defeat.
“The season presents these challenges,’’ Green said before the game of the team’s depleted bullpen.
He couldn’t have foreseen this one coming, though.
Mets left fielder Juan Soto hits a three-run home run during the fourth inning. Robert Sabo for NY Post
And it doesn’t figure to get much better anytime soon for a Mets team that is already staggering to the All-Star break with seemingly no answers on the horizon.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 07: Tyler Tolbert #2 of the Kansas City Royals smiles at first base after his seventh inning infield base hit against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Do you like offense? I hope you like offense. One day after scoring 15 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Kansas City Royals topped that by scoring even more in a 16-12 win over the New York Mets.
So much happened tonight that it would be a very long and very boring blog if I recounted what happened inning by inning. Instead, we’ll approach this in a series of vignettes, accompanied by video highlights.
The United States Men’s National Soccer Team proved yesterday that highly skilled, trained, and motivated athletes can and do screw up bigtime even when they really shouldn’t. Before any of the run-scoring shenanigans, the Royals channeled their inner USMNT and completely botched some defense.
In the above play, Seth Lugo made a throwing error to first base. Then, Jac Caglianone made a throwing error to…somewhere. Finally, Nick Loftin made a throwing error to home plate. It was truly a travesty of a play. But thankfully, it wasn’t all.
Tyler Tolbert takes over
Two days ago, Tyler Tolbert got a hit. His next time up, he got another yet. Yesterday, Tolbert got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit. Then he got a hit.
Today, Tolbert stepped up to the plate in the second inning. He got another hit, a home run, for his eighth consecutive hit.
Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the fourth inning, he collected his ninth consecutive hit, an opposite field single. In the top of the fifth inning, Tolbert notched his 10th consecutive hit, an infield single. Things were reaching ridiculous heights. In the top of the sixth inning, Tolbert notched yet another consecutive hit, another infield single. It was his 11th straight hit.
Tyler Tolbert has a hit in 11 consecutive plate appearances 🤯
But Tolbert wasn’t finished. In the top of the seventh inning, Tolbert notched his 12th consecutive hit, tied for the most all time in MLB history. Like, ever.
While Tolbert wouldn’t be able to get a 13th consecutive hit, he matched the record—first set by Johnny Kling in 1902 and then Pinky Higgins in 1938, Walt Dropo in 1952, and Jose Miranda in 2024.
My first title for this recap was not exactly kind, as a poor start by Seth Lugo put the Royals in a colossal hole. And yet, they persisted. After the Mets scored three in the bottom of the first inning, the Royals scored a pair on the aforementioned Tolbert home run. After the Mets scored two more of their own in the bottom of the second, the Royals scored another pair in the top of the fourth on the above Lane Thomas hit.
And after the Mets scored another quartet of runs in the bottom of that very inning to put them up 9-4, the Royals tied it up in the fifth with a five-run frame that included doubles by Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins, and Michael Massey.
Royals pitching was very bad, and on most nights it would have done Kansas City in. Lugo gave up six earned runs, let alone the other three that were partially due to the Errortastrophe from earlier, of which he contributed. John Schreiber gave up two more. And Matt Strahm gave up one of his own, punctuating a thoroughly disappointing year for the returning Royal.
But gosh darn it, it didn’t matter. With the game knotted at nine-all, Kansas City hung another seven runs on the Mets. A Salvy double. A Nick Loftin homer. Another Thomas double. Walks and more walks. It was a bloodbath, with poor Matt Seelinger wearing the whole inning on his own.
What a game. Anything can happen in nine innings, after all. And for Tolbert, maybe another nine and change.
Jul 7, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) scores a run on a throwing error by Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (67) during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Never in franchise history had the Mets scored 12 runs in a home game and lost. Well, there’s a first time for everything. And this 16-12 loss to the Royals at Citi Field had a lot of events never seen before. I attempt to describe them in the roughly 2,500 words below, but quite frankly, this was a baseball game that defies description.
Serving as the opener ahead of Kodai Senga, Cionel Pérez wriggled his way out of a jam in the first to keep the Royals off the board. With one out, Bobby Witt Jr. continued to climb the American League leaderboard in hits by lacing a single to right. Lane Thomas followed with a single and Pérez balked to advance the runners to second and third still with only one out. But he got a big strikeout of Salvador Perez and induced a fly ball out from Jac Caglianone to escape the inning unscathed.
It looked like Seth Lugo would manage to pull off a similar Houdini act in the bottom of the frame, but what transpired instead is what I can only describe as the Metsiest play ever perpetrated by a non-Mets team. A.J. Ewing led off the inning with a single and Lugo bounced back to strike out Juan Soto on a pitch Soto challenged, but was confirmed to be strike three. Bo Bichette then waited nicely on an offering from Lugo and threaded it up the middle for a base hit. Francisco Lindor struck out looking and then Carson Benge hit a slow roller toward the mound, but a heartbeat later, rather than the inning being over, Benge was crossing home plate with the Mets up 3-0—a Little League home run thanks to three separate throwing errors by the Royals. Lugo scooped up the ball and threw it wildly to first base. Then, first baseman Jac Caglianone scrambled after the ball in foul territory down the first base line, picked it up, and flung it into no man’s land somewhere in foul territory between third base and home plate. He was likely trying to throw the ball home, but it didn’t even end up in the same zip code. Once again scrambling in foul territory, third baseman Nick Loftin made a second attempt at throwing home for a play at the plate and also missed the mark, as Carson Benge completed his full trip around the bases to give the Mets a three-run lead. Again, I assure you I am describing a series of events that happened to the opposition rather than the Mets this time. Indeed, it is the first time in franchise history an opposing team has made three errors on a single play against the Mets. And my words don’t do it justice; you should really just watch the highlight for this one, trust me. For full effect, play circus music in the background as you watch it.
Anyway, unfortunately for the Mets, their laughing was relatively short-lived as Kodai Senga came in to begin the second inning and—after recording the second out of the inning on a successful version of a play nearly identical to the one Lugo failed to make that caused the first domino to fall in the first—gave up a single to Michael Massey and a two-run homer to Tyler Tolbert to bring the Royals back within a run in a hurry. But the Mets reclaimed their three-run advantage in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Brett Baty lined a ball into the gap in left-center for a double. He was erased on a fielder’s choice when Luis Torrens hit a grounder to third and Baty ended up caught in a rundown between second and third, eventually tagged out as he hit the dirt. A.J. Ewing followed with an absolute no doubter of a monster shot into the upper deck in right field—the furthest I’ve ever seen him hit a ball as a big leaguer—to give the Mets a 5-2 lead.
Senga rebounded to put up a zero in the third and Lugo did the same, working around a walk and a stolen base by Carson Benge. But Senga lost the strike zone in the fourth and it came back to bite him, allowing the Royals to once more cut the lead to one run. The inning could have been much worse, but in contrast to Royals earlier and in contrast to their usual modus operandi, the Mets helped Senga out some defensively. The walk Senga issued to lead off the inning was erased on a pickoff (which the Mets had to challenge to get awarded). Senga then walked Michael Massey and gave up a single to Tyler Tolbert, who simply cannot be retired right now. That was Tolbert’s ninth consecutive hit, which is a new Royals club record. Senga then struck out Carter Jenson for the second out, but wanted no part of Bobby Witt Jr. and issued a semi-intentional walk to him to load the bases. He then very much unintentionally got behind in the count to Lane Thomas and Thomas socked a two-run double off the wall in left field that could have easily cleared the bases if not for Royals third base coach Vance Wilson (Mets legend) very conservatively putting a stop sign up. Senga kept a tenuous hold on the lead when Juan Soto made a nice diving catch on a sinking Sal Perez liner to end the inning.
Something we are not used to seeing from the 2026 Mets: they once again punched back immediately against old friend Seth Lugo in his first time facing his former team. Jared Young singled to lead off the inning and then with one out, Luis Torrens singled. A.J. Ewing then singled for his third hit and RBI before the game had even reached its halfway mark. Juan Soto then launched a three-run shot to dead center to stretch the Mets’ lead to five runs. But the Mets saw that lead shrink once again in the top of the fifth, as it became clear that this was going to be one of those games where no lead was safe. Austin Warren was the next pitcher up for the Mets and things did not go well for him, to put it kindly. Jac Caglianone doubled to lead off the inning and then Warren hit Nick Loftin with a pitch to put two men on. Isaac Collins and Michael Massey then hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 9-7. Tyler Tolbert then continued his streak to notch his tenth straight hit—this one an infield single on which he beat Bo Bichette’s spinning throw to first. He promptly stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position. Austin Warren then walked Carter Jensen, marking the sixth straight Royal to reach base, still with nobody out. Warren was pulled from the game having failed to retire a batter, leaving Huascar Brazobán with a huge mess to clean up and a skinny two-run lead to protect.
Bobby Witt Jr. greeted Brazobán with a sharp grounder to short that ate up Francisco Lindor, costing the Mets a potential double play, but Lindor did manage to get the out at second. A run scored on the play to bring the Royals within a run still with runners at the corners and only one out. The Mets were fortunate to record the second out on a caught stealing which required replay review to adjudicate. But Sal Perez blooped a single to shallow center to tie the game at nine runs apiece. Brazobán finally struck out Caglianone, who you may recall led off the inning with a double, to mercifully end the inning. Again, this was the top of the fifth. I’ve written a full length recap already. But there’s still four innings of baseball to be played.
Lugo, who hadn’t thrown a pitch in 30 minutes, came back out for the bottom of the fifth with his team having evened the score and struck out Carson Benge for the first out. In his first game with the Mets in nearly three months, Jorge Polanco made a bid to give the Mets the lead again, launching a ball to the second deck down the right field line, but replay review revealed the long fly was just foul, so Polanco, having already completed his trip around the bases, had to return to the batter’s box and ultimately settled for a walk instead. That ended Seth Lugo’s night and he made way for Daniel Lynch IV, who was the beneficiary of a nice sliding catch by Lane Thomas in center to retire Jared Young. With two outs, Brett Baty also made a bid to give the Mets the lead, but Tolbert caught his towering fly ball right in front of the wall to keep the game knotted at nine runs apiece.
Brazobán immediately found himself in another pickle in the top of the sixth because nothing about this game could be normal. Nick Loftin doubled to lead things off and then Collins walked. Michael Massey then struck out for the first out. Tyler Torbert then hit a bouncer to third and—you guessed it—he beat it out for his eleventh straight hit because Bo Bichette was unable to come up with the short hop and whiffed trying to swipe at it and by the time the ball got to Francisco Lindor backing it up, it was too late. With the bases loaded, Carter Jensen hit another ball toward third on which Bichette did field the short hop and threw home for the force out. Bobby Witt Jr. then hit a liner back to the mound that Brazobán managed to stick his glove up and snag to somehow keep the Royals off the board.
Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber combined for a scoreless bottom of the sixth for the Royals, working around a walk and stolen base by A.J. Ewing (he was initially called out but then ruled safe upon replay review). With the game still tied in the top of the seventh, the Mets called upon local kid Matt Seelinger to make his big league debut in front of “half of Long Island,” as he put it before the game. Unfortunately, a cult hero’s performance was not to be for the 31-year-old. Likely with butterflies in his stomach, he walked Lane Thomas on four pitches to lead things off. Salvador Perez then doubled in Thomas to give the Royals the lead for the first time all evening. Seelinger struck out Caglianone for the first out, but then gave up a two-run homer to Nick Lofton to extend the Royals’ newfound lead to 12-9. Seelinger then walked two more batters and who came striding into the batter’s box but Tyler Tolbert with a chance to make baseball history. He hit yet another slow roller—this time toward short—and he beat it out again to secure his place in the record books. He became just the fifth player in baseball history to record twelve straight hits and three of the five he logged in this contest were infield hits.
Things continued to get worse for Seelinger, who issued another walk with the bases loaded to force in a run. It seemed like he got exactly what he needed when Bobby Witt Jr. hit a grounder to short that seemed destined to end the inning, but the Mets were only able to record the out at second, as Witt beat the throw to first base by a whisker. That whisker was the difference between a game that still felt within reach, especially given all that had already transpired, and the Royals blowing the doors off. With no one warming behind him in a shorthanded bullpen, poor Matt Seelinger had to wear it. And wear it he did. Lane Thomas doubled to plate two more runs for the Royals before the inning finally came to an end. All told, Kansas City scored 12 unanswered runs after trailing 9-4 and in the worst game of his major league career, Seth Lugo got a no-decision. Seven of those runs came against Seelinger in the seventh—a big league debut he will surely never forget for all the wrong reasons.
The Mets clawed back two runs in the bottom of the seventh to give both teams double-digit run totals. Carson Benge walked with one out and hearing chants of “Pete Alonso!” by the exasperated (and let’s be honest, probably drunk) crowd, Jorge Polanco laced a double to drive in Benge. Jared Young then singled to advance Polanco to third and John Schreiber made way for Beck Way (pun intended). Brett Baty launched yet another ball to the warning track for a sacrifice fly to score Polanco, which made the score 16-11 if you are still keeping track.
Not down by enough runs to use a position player to pitch, the Mets’ choices at this point were a.) send Matt Seelinger out for another inning or b.) use A.J. Minter, which would have likely necessitated the use of one of Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, or Brooks Raley for a third straight day. The Mets chose option a and with an assist from A.J. Ewing, who leapt up against the wall to rob Michael Massey of an extra base hit to end the inning, Seelinger posted a redemptive clean frame. Ewing continued to have quite the game, blooping a single off familiar foe Matt Strahm to lead off the eighth for his first career four-hit game. Strahm retired the next two batters he faced, but then walked Francisco Lindor and gave up a single to Carson Benge to bring the Mets within four.
A.J. Minter threw a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, which is only notable because a.) a 1-2-3 inning was about as rare as the Hope Diamond in this ballgame and b.) one of those outs was Tyler Tolbert, whose streak came to an end at 12 straight hits—tying, but not breaking, the major league record. Lucas Erceg responded with a 1-2-3 inning of his own to seal the victory for the Royals in what was a rather anticlimactic ending to an otherwise rollercoaster ride of a game. I feel like I ran a marathon, but all I did was recap a baseball game…an extremely bizarre baseball game.
Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +39% WPA Big Mets loser: Matt Seelinger, -49% WPA Mets pitchers: -97% WPA Mets hitters: +47% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge’s Little League home run in the first, +25.4% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Matt Seelinger gives up a go-ahead RBI double to Salvador Perez in the seventh, -21.1% WPA
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JUNE 06: Justin Foscue #14 of the Texas Rangers bats during a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Globe Life Field on June 06, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored eight runs while the Anaheim Angels scored three runs.
The Rangers had two hits entering the seventh inning tonight. By the end of the game, they had scored eight runs on 11 hits. This is the magic of playing the Angels, something that had not yet shown itself to Texas all season until tonight.
For a while it didn’t appear as though tonight would be the night either. Jacob deGrom allowed a pair of two-out run-scoring hits in the top of the first inning as Texas’ first inning ERA ballooned to 6.70 on the year.
Meanwhile, the Rangers had one hit entering the fifth inning. Luckily for them, that one hit scored two runs as a two-out RBI single from Nicky Lopez tied the game in the bottom of the second following a couple of walks allowed by Angels’ starter Jose Soriano.
The Rangers’ third hit of the night didn’t arrive until the seventh inning with Texas trailing 3-2. That hit scored their third run as Justin Foscue slashed a solo home run on a line just over the left field fence.
Texas trailed 3-2 at that juncture because Jacob deGrom exited after five innings and just 80 pitches in what appeared to be a bit of planned innings management for deGrom after a pretty taxing stretch for the pitching staff. With deGrom out, Cole Winn got through a scoreless inning but in a 2-2 game, the Angels took the lead two batters after Chris Martin entered to try to handle the seventh.
The 78 year old Martin with an elbow that probably looks like mashed up spaghetti has been bad all season but the collection of arms in a tied game is fairly uninspiring when you’re trying to get the game to Jacob Latz and with deGrom only penciled in for 80 pitches.
Thankfully the Rangers did a lot with the little they were doing at the plate before they broke out with five runs — including a three-run home run from Alejandro Osuna, his first of 2026 — in the bottom of the eighth to unbreak a 3-3 tie that transformed into an 8-3 win which didn’t even need to see the All-Star closer enter.
Couple a comeback win with a fall-from-ahead loss from the Seattle Mariners down in Miami and Texas remains above .500 and just a half game out of first place in the American League West.
Player of the Game: Foscue had the pinch hit, game-tying solo home run in the seventh and then had an RBI hit in the five run rally in the eighth immediately after Ezequiel Duran had singled in the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run.
That late-inning heroics eventually allowed the Rangers to earn their first win of the year against last place Anaheim.
Up Next: The Rangers and Angels will play more baseball tomorrow with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Walbert Urena for Anaheim.
The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 07: Manager Don Mattingly #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies (C) holds back infield coach Bobby Dickerson #9 as umpire Alfonso Márquez #72 looks on during the eighth inning of the baseball game at Great American Ball Park on July 07, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two of their four All-Star pitchers bookended a dominant night on the mound to pilot the Philadelphia Phillies (51-41) to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds (41-49) in the the opening game of the series.
The 18 strikeouts the Phillies’ staff collected were a season high, as they were for the Reds’ hitters who coughed them up.
Zack Wheeler matched his career high with 14 punch outs across his seven innings pitched, equaling the mark he set back in May of 2021 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 8, 2026
The Phillies got on the board first after a one-out double by Derek Hill and a single by Justin Crawford put runners on the corners for Trea Turner who grounded out to short to score Hill. Kyle Schwarber came up next and got the green light up 3-0 in the count to smash his majors-leading 31st home run to right center.
The Phillies would get it right back in the eighth after Turner beat out a throw for an infield single to lead off the frame. A single by Schwarber and a walk by Alec Bohm loaded the bases for Edmundo Sosa who scored Turner on a sacrifice fly.
Orion Kerkering was a one-man dinner and a show again as he threatened to yield the lead by loading the bases on walks. After the second one, Sal Stewart grounded to third for what might have been an inning-ending around-the-horn double play if not for a clever play by Elly De La Cruz to run through the bag at second instead of sliding or making a turn to third. After the dust settled on a challenge and an eight-minute delay, Phillies’ coaches Caleb Cotham and Bobby Dickerson were both ejected and De La Cruz remained at second. Kerkering finished loading the bases before being bailed out by Jonathan Bowlan to escape the trap.
Elly De La Cruz was ruled safe at second even though he ran through the bag.
After Don Mattingly and the Phillies argued, the call stood.
Technically, the umpires could have said De La Cruz abandoned the bag and called him out, but they elected not to and called him safe.… pic.twitter.com/fXNPnuEDGt
Chalk up yet another impressive career milestone for Shohei Ohtani in what will be a Hall of Fame career.In the first inning against the Colorado Rockies, Ohtani lead off the game with a home run, the 300th of his career.
Ohtani crushed right-hander Michael Lorenzen's third pitch of the game — a 93-mph sinker — over the center-field fence at Dodger Stadium for the milestone blast, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.
The Mets dropped a rollercoaster game to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, losing 16-12.
New York took a 9-4 lead into the fourth inning, but all of a sudden found themselves down 16-9 after a disastrous seven-run seventh inning. They slowly clawed back, cutting the deficit to four runs heading into the ninth, but the rally would end there.
The Royals out-hit the Mets 19-13 in the chaotic series-opener. It's the first time New York has scored 11 or more runs at home and lost.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York jumped on the board against former Met Seth Lugo in the bottom of the first inning with one of the craziest little league home runs you'll ever see... and it may have been a sign of things to come.
With two outs and runners on first and second base, Carson Benge singled on a tapper to Lugo -- and that's when it got messy. Lugo's throw went by first base, allowing a run to score. Then, 1B Jac Caglianone's throw sailed across the field to no-man's land and 3B Nick Loftin picked up the loose ball, firing home late as another run scored. As if it couldn't get worse, the ball got by catcher Carter Jensen, so Benge, who never stopped running, came around to score.
In total, three errors gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.
-- Cionel Pérez made his second start of the season as the opener and escaped some first-inning trouble, including a balk that pushed two runners into scoring position. Kodai Senga replaced him on the mound in the second and got two quick outs, but couldn't hold onto the clean frame. The righty let up a single and a two-run homer to Tyler Tolbert that cut the lead to 3-2.
-- A.J. Ewing one-upped Benge's "home run" with a two-run blast to right field in the bottom of the second inning, pushing the lead to 5-2. It's Ewing's sixth HR of the season.
-- Senga got into trouble again in the fourth inning, loading the bases and allowing a two-run double to Lane Thomas as the Royals trailed, 5-4. It nearly got worse, but Juan Soto saved two more runs from scoring by making a spectacular diving catch for the third out. Senga's final line: four runs on five hits over 3.0 IP with four strikeouts and four walks.
-- Ewing's big night continued in the bottom of the fourth with his third hit, driving in his third run to extend the lead. Soto then stepped up and launched a three-run homer, his 20th of the year, to make it 9-4.
-- Austin Warren let KC right back in the game in the fifth inning, allowing three doubles and four runs without recording an out as it quickly became a 9-7 game. Huascar Brazoban couldn't clean up the mess, allowing a run on a groundout, walking a batter, and letting up a game-tying single to Salvador Perez (that was tacked on to Warren's line).
Brazoban somehow escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, getting Bobby Witt Jr. to line out back to him to keep the game tied at 9-9.
-- Matt Seelinger's MLB debut didn't go as planned, as he let up a go-ahead RBI double to Perez in the seventh inning that gave the Royals their first lead of the night. The right-hander's night got worse, allowing six more runs in the inning, including a two-run homer to Loftin, as KC took a 16-9 lead.
Seelinger rebounded for a scoreless eighth inning with some help from a leaping Ewing at the wall for the third out. A.J. Minter tossed the only 1-2-3 inning of the game in the ninth.
Game MVP: Tyler Tolbert
Amid all the madness Tuesday night, Tolbert tied an MLB record with hits in 12 straight at-bats after his fifth of the night. He's just the fifth player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. Overall, Tolbert went 5-for-6 with two RBI in the win.
Honorable mention: A.J. Ewing, who finished the night 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBI for his first career four-hit game.
Jul 7, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Taj Bradley (26) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Cleveland got on the board in 2nd inning, as Rhys Hoskins went down and got Taj Bradley’s fastball and hit it out of the park to center for a solo homer. That was one of only three hits allowed by Bradley all night, as well as the only Guardians run. The question became: Can the Twins score more than one run tonight? The answer was yes.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Kody Clemens, Ryan Kreidler, and Luke Keaschall all reached without hitting a ball out of the infield. Then, after Kyler Fedko struck out (still searching for that first big league hit), Austin Martin got the Twins on the board with a sac-fly. With 2 outs, Brooks Lee put the Twins on top with a single up the middle, scoring Kreidler.
Taj Bradley had great stuff tonight, getting 10 strikeouts. Cleveland batters couldn’t hit his cutter, which had a 71% whiff rate and got him 7 of those strikeouts. In the 7th, with the tying run at 3rd and 1 out, he used that cutter to get Rhys Hoskins to strikeout, then a splitter got Brayan Rocchio to ground out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 7th, with Josh Bell at first and 2 outs, Kody Clemens drilled a ball into the left-center field gap for an RBI triple to get the Twins an insurance run.
Andrew Morris tossed a clean 8th inning, and Taylor Rogers got the first two in the 9th until he walked Chase DeLauter. Yoendrys Gomez came in and got Gabriel Arias to swing through 3 straight pitches for the save.
At this time of year, sometimes a smaller trade — like the sign-and-trade of John Collins to Detroit — ends up growing into something else entirely, a much larger trade, as it makes financial sense for multiple teams to piggyback on an existing deal.
Washington is essentially salary-dumping Russell to Washington (the Wizards get a pick out of it).
Middleton has agreed on a three-year, $17.6 million deal with the Wizards and will head there via sign-and-trade with Dallas. The second year of this deal is partially guaranteed, and the third year is non-guaranteed.
Both Russell and Middleton are now folded into a much more complex six-team trade that includes already agreed-upon trades, such as Collins from the Clippers to the Pistons. The six teams in the trade are Dallas, Washington, LA Clippers, Detroit, Milwaukee and Memphis. Here is how it shakes out, via Spotac's Keith Smith.
There are 11 Players involved in this six-team trade:
To DAL: Santi Aldama (from MEM), Marcus Sasser (from DET), Tarik Biberovic (draft rights from MEM)
To DET: John Collins (from LAC via S&T), Gary Harris (from MIL), Taurean Prince (from MIL)
Middleton will make $5.6 million next season, speculates John Hollinger of The Athletic, because at that number he and Deandre Ayton both still fit in the Kelly Olynyk trade exception Washington wants to use.
Dallas will come out of all this with Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser and a trade exception, which is a nice little bit of work.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 1: Zack Wheeler #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park on July 1, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a day off on Monday, the Cincinnati Reds opened a crucial six-game homestand with their backs against the proverbial wall in this 2026 season. They stood at 41-48 and in last place in the National League’s Central division, and were about to welcome behemoths to town in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
If ever there were a time to show up for this season, it was tonight. Instead, the Reds got absolutely waxed by a Phillies club that’s playing some of the best ball in the sport right now.
Phillies starter struck out 14 in his time on the mound, the Phils staff struck out an astonishing 18 Reds on the evening, and Kyle Schwarber – whom the Reds ‘tried’ to sign over the winter to no avail – socked a back-breaking 2-run homer off Andrew Abbott that sealed a 4-1 loss for Cincinnati in a game they desperately needed to win.
Abbott, to his credit, was hardly the problem on the night. He yielded 3 ER in 6.0 IP, the Schwarbomb the only true mistake he made. He fanned 8 against nary a walk and allowed just 5 H in his effort, and he once again showed he’s a rock within a rotation that’s otherwise been shaky (non Chase Burns edition) all season long.
Cincinnati’s offense, though, simply had no fight back.
Eugenio Suarez did launch a solo homer in the Bottom of the 7th as Wheeler tired, but Geno later struck out with the bases loaded against reliever Jonathan Bowlan in the Bottom of the 8th as the bottom dropped out of any potential Reds revival.
Chase Burns will toe the rubber tomorrow as the Reds look to once again attempt to right their ship, with first pitch set for 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.
