The Braves enter their long-awaited first game of the season against the Mets not playing their ball of the season.
Having lost both games this week at the Chicago White Sox before Thursday’s postponement, Atlanta will look to avoid its first three-game losing streak since April 4-6 when it travels to the Big Apple Friday night.
No local broadcast for this 7:15 p.m. EDT game as it’s an Apple TV broadcast, which unfortunately means you’ll need an additional subscription to watch this one.
After splitting an intense series against Seattle, the West-Coast themed homestand continues as the Orioles welcome the Padres to Camden Yards. The Padres are expected to be perennial contenders, but after a hot start to the season, they’re scuffling, with an ice-cold 4-12 record in their last 16 games. The Phillies swept them twice in that stretch, and they’ve also lost to the Mets and the Nationals. They did just take their last series from Cincinnati on Wednesday, courtesy of a walkoff win.
In that last stretch dating to May 22, the Padres’ offense is second-worst in the league, and a lot of their core is struggling. Former Oriole Manny Machado is off to the worst start in his career, and in the last two weeks has a .161/.197/.355 slashline. His power remains fearsome, as he’s got a team-leading 11 HRs and 34 RBIs, but his batting average and on-base percentage are among the worst among current qualified hitters. Outfielder Jackson Merrill is also mired in a slump, and in the last two weeks Xander Bogaerts, Miguel Andujar, Gavin Sheets and Freddy Fermin are also hitting below the Mendoza line.
So maybe this will be a good matchup for the Orioles’ Shane Baz. After a soggy start to the season, the right hander got himself on a roll of late, posting four straight quality starts from May 20 to June 2. He likely would have had another his last time out against Toronto, but for the Ernie Clement baserunning shenanigan that saw him give up four unearned runs in an eventual 5 2/3-inning, 5 R (1 ER) loss. That said, Baz’s stuff is looking really solid of late. Baz has faced the Padres twice, in his career, and has an 0-for-4 line against Xander Bogaerts, a 2-for-5 line against catcher Freddy Fermín, and a 1-for-4 line against Manny Machado.
As for the Orioles, they’ll get to face Griffin Canning, who always reminds of Cameron in Ferris Bueller. He’s not the scariest arm out there, for sure. The 30-year-old righty posted a regrettable 7.16 ERA in the month of May, but in his only June start, versus the Mets, he went five innings and allowed just one run with six strikeouts. Maybe the Orioles can give him more of a challenge. Against the longtime Angel, Gunnar is 4-for-8, Tyler O’Neill is 2-for-6 with a home run, and Adley is 4-for-9. I like those lines.
Orioles lineup
Padres lineup
East coast road trips to stadiums without roofs are the pits. Today’s series opener between the Mariners and Nationals will begin in a delay due to bad weather in the area. We’ll post the latest updates here as well as the general game preview information. If the game is played, this post will also serve as tonight’s game thread.
Update, 5:30 PT: We have a start time! This game is scheduled to start at 5:55 PT. So just a nice and tidy two-hour and fifteen minutes. I would like the Mariners to be gifted two free runs, one for each hour of the delay.
Update; 5:00 PT: Gary Hill says the storm has largely moved through, a rainbow has appeared, and the grounds crew is preparing to move the tarp. Still no official start time, however.
Update, 4:35 PT: Still no official start time for this game but Aaron Goldsmith on the radio just said the clouds in Washington look like the “Death Star” and there is “heavy machinery” holding down the tarp on the field. So. Shannon Drayer tweeted a picture of said Death Star cloud and also this image of the weather moving through the area:
Update, 3:38 PT: Gary Hill on the Mariners pregame show just said the weather looks “pretty good” so it seems like tonight’s game will be played, even if it doesn’t start on time.
The latest: this game is officially in a delay, but no start time has been given. Shannon Drayer posted that the tarp had briefly come off the field, but then posted the tarp is back on and the game is officially delayed.
Projected lineups:
Game information:
Game time: ???
TV: Mariners.TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Ryan Rowland-Smith and Brad Adam as field reporter
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Gary Hill and Shannon Drayer
Selena Gomez said her phone was buzzing after she commented “lol” underneath a photo of Taylor Swift and Mariska Hargitay supporting the Knicks at Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
Gomez, a Spurs fan and a Texas native, explained that she wasn’t insulting her best friend, Swift, and Hargitay, who wore matching blue-and-orange shirts while on celebrity row at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
“Woke up and was sent so many texts. I would never insult my friends nor was it an insult. The comment was a reaction to the first slide on the page,” Gomez wrote in an Instagram Story post, referring to the photo of a smiling Swift smiling and Hargitay with her head on Swift’s shoulder that was posted by the MTV Instagram.
“Second I bet my friends on the game. The friends in the text chain I posted,” she continued, referencing a screenshot she shared on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday about fair-weather fans. “I lost but was poking at my opponents, my friends. Believe it or not I do have other friends in my life.
“But quickly forget that most assume otherwise. Also.. it’s a basketball game.”
Some believed Gomez was shading Swift with her “lol” comment on social media after the Knicks rallied from being down by 29 for a 107-106 win over the Spurs.
“Mad respect for the game!! Congrats to the peeps that represent! What a come back,” Gomez wrote over a screenshot of an NBA article of the New York’s historic comeback. “So funny how some are all the sudden fans though lol.”
Gomez shared a throwback photo of her in Spurs jersey while at a NBA game at the Staples Center, now Crypto.com Arena, in Los Angeles.
“Happy for NY but my heart breaks just a lil lol,” the “Only Murders in the Building” actress wrote.
“It’s ok. I’m happy for the teams! Thank you for giving us some great games @nba,” Gomez added.
Swift, who owns multiple properties in New York, attended Game 4 with friends, sisters and musical artists Este and Alana Haim, and was seen cheering and jumping up and down on celebrity row.
“She’s a huge fan of the Knicks and really wants to be there to support them,” an insider told Page Six ahead of Game 4.
Some questioned Swift’s Knicks fandom as it was the first home game she attended this season.
Knicks radio analyst Monica McNutt issued an apology and she “misspoke” after she questioned Swift’s Knicks loyalty while on the air during Game 4.
McNutt ruffled some feathers after she told her broadcast partner, Tyler Murray, that Swift was in the building and he pulled out his phone to take a photo.
“She’s not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl,” McNutt said, which set off Swifties online.
Swift and her fiancé, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are set to tie the knot at the World’s Most Famous Arena on July 3.
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Brewers:
Let’s talk about it
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Interesting move, with Garcia getting DFA’d for the second time in about six weeks. I imagine that means Adrian Del Castillo will be the backup catcher for the time being, which probably means his spot will be secure as the likes of Gurriel, Kepler and Santana return to the roster. LuJames Groover, Tommy Troy and one more – no longer Del Castillo – are those we’ll perhaps be waving goodbye to in the coming days. No pause on Lawlar, who goes straight into the starting line-up. Will he be the spark which ignites the offense? They have been having a terrible time with RISP lately. Here are their stats in that situation over the last couple of weeks.
I mean, the team as a whole has not been hitting: since May 26, the D-backs are collectively at .201/.276/.320 for an OPS of just .596. You won’t be surprised to hear, that’s worst in the league. But 11-for-105 with RISP is worse still – and if you want really bad, they are 6-for-76 over their last dozen games. That’s an average of one-half of a hit with runners in scoring position per game over the past couple of weeks. So it’s a combination of poor hitting AND bad luck, which has seen them tumble back to Mt. .500. The Reds series represents a good chance to get well against a struggling team. Unfortunately, Cincinnati are probably thinking exactly the same thing…
PSA: This game will be on Apple TV. Don’t say you weren’t told…
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The Brewers are finally back from playing baseball games in various cities on the moon! Tonight, they start the first of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies, who are 29-14 since ending a 10-game losing streak on April 25th and are second in the NL East.
It’s Miz Day in Milwaukee, as the lanky Brewer righty takes the mound for the 14th time this season. He’s coming off his worst start since April: he allowed a run! And walked three! But that run was unearned, and he struck out eight in seven innings, and he did this in Denver, where the thin mountain air not only boosts offense but hurts pitching. Folks, he’s a superstar.
The Phillies are sending lefty Tanner Banks to the mound as an opener tonight, and he’ll be followed by the bulk man, the right-handed super-prospect Andrew Painter. Painter is a true rookie; the 23-year-old hadn’t thrown a pitch in the majors until he made the Phillies’ rotation out of Spring Training. He’s still very young, but it’s been a long road: Painter was the 13th pick of the draft in 2021, but suffered an elbow injury that cost him all of the 2023 season and most of 2024. He has ranked as high as number five on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list, though his results post-injury haven’t been as good as the incredible numbers in 2022 that put him on the prospect map. Things haven’t clicked yet in the big leagues: through 12 games (11 starts), Painter is 1-7 with a 6.21 ERA and 5.08 FIP and is striking out just 7.3 batters per nine innings.
In roster news, Coleman Crow has been placed on the 15-day injured list with an ominous-sounding right forearm flexor strain. That might be a minor injury, but flexor strains are often precursors to injuries that require surgery. We’ll hope for the best for Crow. His place on the roster has been taken by Craig Yoho, who pitched twice for the Brewers in Colorado before getting optioned back to the minors on Monday to make room for the new acquisition, Joel Kuhnel. Yoho made one appearance with Nashville in his short stint back there; he struck out four of six batters he faced in two perfect innings. He’s done about as much as he can do in the minors, and the silver lining to Crow’s injury is that he’s back to show us what he can do.
Quinn Priester is also back in Milwaukee, but that’s not because he’s ready to pitch. Priester’s thoracic outlet syndrome isn’t healing the way he’d hoped, and the team is looking for further opinions on what the next step should be. Don’t be surprised if Priester doesn’t pitch for the Brewers this season.
Jake Bauers is getting the start in right field tonight, as both he and Andrew Vaughn are in the lineup once again. Bauers joins Garrett Mitchell and Jackson Chourio in the outfield, while Christian Yelich is the DH, William Contreras catches, and the infield goes Vaughn, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, and David Hamilton from right to left. The Phillies have a major-league debutant in their lineup tonight: 25-year-old Gabriel Rincones Jr. will start in right field for his first ever big-league action.
First pitch at 6:40pm on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
Earlier this month, we touched on the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks moving veterans Daniel Gafford and Kyrie Irving this offseason as the team looks to rebuild for the future with Cooper Flagg as its centerpiece. In many ways, those deals make a lot of sense. Dallas is starved for picks after this upcoming draft and veterans of this caliber could likely restock those tapped reserves.
In respect of moving Kyrie Irving in particular, there is a valid counterpoint that retaining him is the smarter choice. Irving has won a championship, brings veteran leadership (which a rebuilding team could benefit mightily from) and is an enticing pair for Flagg. Pragmatically, his trade value is also arguably at a low point given he just missed an entire season, lending more credence to him sticking around. According to Marc Stein (subscription required), Irving is set to do just that.
Stein says the Mavericks have received inquiries from other teams regarding Irving’s availability in a trade. Intuitively, we all have basically known this for some time. However, he goes on to indicate that the Mavs have thus far shut down any such conversations as they indicate to teams that Irving is not on the trading block. This echoes Mavs’ President Masai Ujiri’s comments in a recent press conference, where he spoke highly of Irving and touched on his excitement to see him and Flagg share the court.
That said, even a well-respected and well-connected guy like Stein gets it wrong sometimes (who doesn’t?), but let’s assume this report is spot on. If Irving is firmly in the fold, that is one less trade piece Dallas has in play. That, in turn, seemingly increases the odds of another vet (or more) heading toward the door. Stein further suggests that Gafford, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson are the most likely Mavs to be moved. Further, it means another starting spot in the rotation is covered alongside Flagg, which may influence how Dallas goes about their draft choices in a few weeks. It’s certainly not unreasonable to think the #9 pick will be a starting caliber player, but with Irving running point, does that influence who Dallas intends to select in this draft rife with guard talent? There are many options here – select a guard and start him next to Irving, select a guard and bring him off the bench, don’t select a guard at all… There has been significant focus on Dallas acquiring a young backcourt player to usher in the future with Flagg, but it’s really anyone’s guess what Dallas will do now. Whatever the case, if Stein is correct, whomever they pick in a few weeks can expect to team up with both Flagg and Irving.
I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.
That loss to the Giants was absolutely brutal, but the great thing about baseball is that there are 162 of these games. The Nats will get a chance to bounce back as they kick off their home stand with a matchup against the Mariners. This team has been resilient all year, but this is a big test for the group.
After getting a day off on Wednesday, CJ Abrams is back in the lineup at shortstop. The outfield will consist of James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews, as Daylen Lile takes the DH duties. Jorbit Vivas is preferred over Nasim Nunez at second and Keibert Ruiz gets the nod behind the plate. Zack Littell will look to keep up his good run of performances today.
Despite Cal Raleigh being out injured, this is still a fierce Mariners lineup. There are a lot of young and athletic players on this team. The middle infield duo of Cole Young and Colt Emerson are examples of that. Old friend Victor Robles is not in the lineup tonight. Bryce Miller has had a big bounce back year and will be on the hill tonight.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
This is a big game for the Nats. The meltdown out west will be forgotten if they can get back into the win column. However, if this is the start of a losing skid, the wounds from that implosion will continue to linger. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
SP: Nolan McLean (RHP)
SP: Spencer Strider (RHP)
First pitch: 7:15 PM EDT
TV: Apple TV
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
The Celtics are interested in trading Jaylen Brown to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and rumors skyrocketed Thursday after that was revealed by Kevin O’Connor.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, an NBA source confirmed the Celtics are more than bystanders.
But according to Winderman, the possibility of a deal involving Brown and Antetokounmpo might not be so simple because the Celtics need to find a third team to be part of the deal.
Winderman wrote that the Bucks are looking to maximize draft capital, youth and manageable contracts in an Antetokounmpo deal.
Brown is set to enter his age-30 season and still has three years left of a five-year, $285.4 million contract he signed after the Celtics won their first NBA championship with Brown and Jayson Tatum.
With Brown’s age and hefty contract, there might not be as much interest by the Bucks in breaking up the Celtics’ core. Wilderman noted, though, that the Hawks and Pelicans might be interested in acquiring Brown.
Tatum missed most of the 2025-26 season nursing a torn Achilles that he suffered in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
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Brown was in MVP talks for most of the season, finishing with averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The Celtics (56-26) finished the regular season in second place in the East behind the Pistons (60-22).
But after a first-round exit in the playoffs, in which the Celtics blew a 3-1 lead against the 76ers, Boston might look for a change.
The Hawks (46-36) were one of the NBA’s more surprising teams after finishing the 2025-26 regular season in sixth place. But after blowing a 2-1 series lead against the Knicks and losing Game 6, 140-89, in the first round of the playoffs, their season ended.
The Pelicans (26-56) are coming off a miserable season and missed the playoffs. They could look to pair Brown with Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, who led them in scoring last season after averaging 21.5 points per game.
Texas Rangers @ Boston Red Sox
Friday, June 12, 2026, 6:10 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / CW33)
Fenway Park
RHP Jack Leiter vs. RHP Sonny Gray
Go Rangers!
Sonny Gray was not supposed to be the ace of this roster…yet with Garrett Crochet sidelined for the foreseeable future, Gray has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the rotation all season. He kickstarts a home series against the Rangers on Friday night. Let’s have a good weekend, maybe? Please?
⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10pm — Fenway Park, Boston, MA
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
The stunning victory by the New York Knickerbockers over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday gave ABC the most-watched NBA Finals Game 4 since 1998, the year of Michael Jordan’s last championship with the Chicago Bulls.
Nielsen data showed an average of 20.9 million viewers watched the Knicks overcome a 29-point halftime deficit to top Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. The Knicks have a 3-1 lead in the series and will play Game 5 on Saturday in San Antonio, attempting to win their first NBA championship in 53 years.
Through the first four games, the NBA Finals are averaging 19.6 million viewers, also the highest since the Bulls-Utah Jazz faced off on NBC in 1998. The series is on track to become the most-watched since the NBA Finals moved to ABC and ESPN in 2002.
“The match-up is ideal from a media business standpoint, featuring the nation’s largest media market with New York, teams with robust followings and multiple all-stars, especially Wemby, the compelling new face of the NBA,” said Lee Berke, president of LHB Sports Entertainment & Media, Inc.
The Knicks-Spurs series is up 116% over the first four games of last year’s match-up between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. But the most encouraging numbers for ABC and ESPN is the growth among younger viewers, who have become harder to reach in the age of social media and streaming. Ratings among teens aged 12 to 17 are up 138% while the 18 to 24 age group is up 147%.
Read more:2026 Super Bowl scores 124.9 million viewers, second-largest audience in history
ABC is also seeing spikes in viewing among women, up 121%, and the Latino audience due to its large populations in the markets of New York and San Antonio, according to Flora Kelly, ESPN’s senior vice president for audience research.
Viewing in the New York market alone is accounting for 15% of the national audience. The average price for a 30-second commercial on the telecasts topped $1 million each, according to people familiar with the figures who were not authorized to comment publicly. Some spots have gone for as much as $2.3 million.
In addition to delivering highly competitive games, the NBA Finals also had President Trump and pop superstar Taylor Swift in attendance at Madison Square Garden. Both are capable of turning a live TV event into a full-blown spectacle.
“What we’re seeing is that this Spurs-Knicks series is a tremendous cultural moment,” Kelly said.
Trump attended Game 3, making him the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals. While Trump was a fixture at Knicks games before he entered the national political scene, some commentators, such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, believed the president’s insistence on attending Monday’s contest became a distraction that disrupted the home team’s momentum. (The Knicks lost the game 115-111, ending the team’s streak of 13 consecutive wins.)
Swift showed up for Game 4, joining “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay and the other celebrities who regularly show up courtside at Madison Square Garden.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts has returned to the San Diego Padres after being away from the team this past week for the birth of his first child. The corresponding roster move was to designate outfielder Bryce Johnson for assignment. Johnson, whom the Padres acquired as a free agent in 2023 and released after the 2024 season, was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin the 2025 season. Playing in the minor leagues for Pittsburgh, Johnson was traded back to the Padres in April of last year. He has been used sparingly by the team this season, hitting .178/.229/.451 in 45 at-bats.
Never known for his offense, Johnson primarily provided outfield defense and base running skills. After releasing outfielder Nick Castellanos, the Padres appear to be leaning toward more athleticism, versatility, and energy in their bench players. There also seems to be a preference for keeping the left-handed bat of infielder Will Wagner available, as well.
With the performance of utility man turned left-fielder Samad Taylor seemingly guaranteeing him regular playing time, the Padres will have outfielder Jase Bowen, infielder Will Wagner, and infielder Sung-Mun Song as their primary bench players.
The return of Bogaerts gives the Padres eight players to man the four infield spots, with a lot of versatility available. When Miguel Andujar is healthy, he is the primary DH but can also sub for Manny Machado at third base. Gavin Sheets, Ty France, Song, Wagner, and Fernando Tatis Jr. provide the team with multiple different looks for the lineup. Bowen and Taylor will serve as the regular left fielder and backup outfielder, as the need arises.
All are capable defenders, while offensive substitutions are more available with the increased versatility. This appears to be the solution in left field with the loss of Ramón Laureano, at least until the trade market opens up.
If Johnson clears waivers and chooses to stay, he can return to Triple-A El Paso as a depth piece. If claimed off waivers, he will move on to a new organization he chooses. The third option would be for the Padres to release him, and he would then become a free agent.