Worldwide Sports News

Offense was somewhat surprisingly at a premium last night in DC after the two-hour rain delay, as the Yankees couldn’t do more than hit register two solo shots against the Nationals’ Carson Palmquist/Zack Littell combo across the first seven innings. They weren’t dominating by any stretch; it just felt like the Yanks weren’t landing that key hit. So when Tim Hill coughed up back-to-back homers to Keibert Ruiz and James Wood to put the Nats ahead 3-2, there was a legitimate fear that Ryan Weathers’ work would go to waste.

Thankfully, the Nats’ weak relief pitching finally made a true appearance in the ninth. A few minutes later, the save was blown behind the bats of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells, two dudes who needed some big swings. Final score: 5-3, Yanks. Phew!

Here’s what else was going on in some of the notable American League action yesterday. Note that we’ve shaken up the teams covered again for this final series of the first half, focusing solely on those presently in playoff position. As always, these are subject to change! It’s just who’s getting the shine at the moment.*

*Although I will note that all of the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Tigers, and Orioles won, moving the middle tier of the Wild Card race all up a game. Minnesota is one back of Seattle for the last Wild Card; Houston, Toronto, and surging Boston are 1.5 behind; Detroit is within 2.5 and Baltimore is three back. Oh, and none of these teams are over .500. What a jumbled mess.

Tampa Bay Rays (55-37) 7, Seattle Mariners (47-48) 2

It was a great Friday for Rays starter Nick Martinez, who was chosen as a replacement for Boston’s Ranger Suárez on the All-Star roster and then went out and recorded a win over the Mariners. Named an All-Star for the first time at age-35, Martinez threw 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk, giving up a homer to Cole Young and not much else. It wasn’t as shiny as some of his early regular-season starts, but the W’s all count the same.

Anyway, Martinez easily outpitched his opponent, fading veteran Luis Castillo. The former ace has been the clear weak link in the six-man(-ish) rotation, and it showed again on Friday night. He gave up homers to Richie Palacios, Cedric Mullins, and Victor Mesa Jr. between the fourth and the fifth, and while they were solo shots, they combined with an RBI knock in the third from Chandler Simpson to give Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead.

Following singles by J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, Martinez departed with the tying run at the plate for Seattle with one out in the sixth. The M’s only got one run out of it though, with Cole Sulser inducing a fielder’s choice grounder from Dominic Canzone and fanning Cal Raleigh to keep it at 4-2. Garrett Cleavinger also did yeoman’s work to keep the M’s from tying it in the seventh, as Josh Naylor never got further from second after his leadoff single. Then in the home half, Junior Caminero dropped the hammer on José A. Ferrer with his 28th long ball of 2026:

It was smooth sailing from then on for the Rays, coasting to a 7-2 win. The only hitch was that it seemed like they would take a five-game AL East lead on the Yankees until New York’s ninth-inning rally off the Nats.

Other Games

Texas Rangers (48-46) 7, Houston Astros (46-50) 3: Yordan Alvarez’s 30th homer of the season and the 200th of his career brought some fireworks in this 2023 ALCS rematch of the two Texas teams, which are both battling with Seattle for the AL West lead. The next inning, Yainier Diaz hit a two-run shot off Chris Martin to tie the game at 3-3. That was unfortunate for Texas, which had built a 3-0 lead against Astros ace Hunter Brown, but they shook off losing that advantage in a hurry. The Rangers lit into Bryan King in the eighth, as Wyatt Langford belted a solo shot to give them a 4-3 lead and Jake Burger soon followed with a three-run smash. (Yes, we got a Burger/King matchup, and the former had it his way.) The Rangers lead the Mariners by 1.5 games in the AL West.

Cleveland Guardians (49-46) 3, Miami Marlins (52-43) 2: The surprising Marlins have MLB’s best record since the beginning of June, but Cleveland southpaw Parker Messick cooled down the Stinky Hot Fish™ by allowing just one hit and one run in six innings of work. The rookies got to Sandy Alcantara, with Chase DeLauter slugging a two-run homer to get the scoring going in the fourth and Travis Bazzana lifting a key sacrifice fly in the following frame. Leo Jiménez and Heriberto Hernández hit solo shots for Miami to cut the lead to one by the eighth, but Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith turned the Marlins away to win it.

Chicago White Sox (48-45) 14, The Athletics (41-53) 1: After getting swept at home by the Red Sox, the Pale Hose took out their frustration on the free-falling A’s, keeping pace with Cleveland. No. 9 hitter Tristan Peters was the story of this one, as he became the seventh player in White Sox history to hit for the cycle, the first since Jose Abreu on September 9, 2017. Remarkably, Peters finished his cycle by recording the two hardest parts—the triple and the homer—in the same inning. Andrew Benintendi also drove in four while notching a pair of doubles and All-Star Miguel Vargas hit his 21st homer of 2026. Sean Burke threw seven innings of four-hit, one-run ball.

It was a solid day down on the farm with a handful of wins along the way. Let’s get into it all.

(44-45) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (54-37) Memphis Redbirds 5

• Brewer Hicklen, 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Carlos Santana, DH: 2-4, R
• Herick Hernandez, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (triple-A debut)

Box Score

In what was a significant back-and-forth game, Gwinnett walked things off against Memphis to move to just one game under .500 on the season.

Herick Hernandez got the start in what was his first triple-A appearance, and performed quite well in his first outing. Across 5.2 innings of work, Hernandez allowed four runs on four hits while walking three and striking out six in the process.

While he did give up a pair of homers on the day, it is a very promising start for Hernandez seeing as though he kept the walks in check and managed to limit the damage.

However, the Stripers would have to battle back from an early 3-0 deficit as the Redbirds took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

That score would remain until the home half of the third. DaShawn Kiersey Jr. got the scoring started for Gwinnett by lacing a bases-loaded single into center field to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Luke Williams later came around to score on a single off the bat of Jair Camargo to tie things up at 3-3.

The first lead of the game for the Stripers came in the bottom of the fifth as Rowdy Tellez launched his ninth homer of the season over the right center field wall to make it a 4-3 game.

Memphis eventually took the lead by scoring one run each in the sixth and ninth innings.

However, the Stripers’ bats would come to life in their final at-bat.

Brett Wisely laced a one-out single before Brewer Hicklen took a 2-2 breaking ball and pulled it over the left field wall for a walk off, two-run homer to give the Stripers the win.

(38-42) Columbus Clingstones 1, (32-53) Birmingham Barons 10

• KeShawn Ogans, 3B: 2-3, RBI
• Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., RF: 1-4, R
• Ian Mejia, SP: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K

Box Score

Simply put, there wasn’t much that went right for Columbus on Friday night.

Ian Mejia got the start and didn’t have his best stuff as he gave up five runs on six hits in 5.1 innings of work. It wasn’t his best outing of the season, but it should have been somewhat manageable.

However, his offens faltered tremendously, as the Clingstones tallied just one run on four hits across the entire nine inning affair.

The lone RBI for Columbus came in the bottom of the fifth as Keshawn Ogans — who went 2-3 on the night — drove home Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. with an RBI-single.

Kilpatrick Jr. and Dalton McIntyre both tallied the only other two hits on the night — both singles — in what was a lackluster offensive performance all-around by Columbus.

(41-41) Rome Emperors 8, (40-43) Hudson Valley Renegades 3

• Eric Hartman, DH: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
• Dixon Williams, CF: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Dallas Macias, RF: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
• Tate Southisene, SS: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BB
• John Gil, 1-4, 2B, BB
• Cade Kuehler, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Box Score

Rome got back to .500 on the season with a win over Hudson Valley on Friday, riding a solid night at the plate from several Emperors en route to the victory.

Typically, games in which Eric Hartman homers, the Emperors are going to be just fine — as was the case on Friday.

Hartman took a hanging breaking ball to launch a two-run homer, his 21st long ball of the season, to give Rome the 2-1 lead in the third inning.

Dixon Williams and Dallas Macias also got in on the offensive fun, each homering in this one as well, while both also drove in a pair of runs.

Tate Southisene and John Gil also had solid days at the plate, both doubling on the night.

Cade Kuehler got the start on the mound and tossed five innings of four-run ball while striking out four. He also scattered four hits and walked three along the way as well.

All told it’s been a rough, rough season for Kuehler. However, he has put up back-to-back starts of at least five innings and three or less runs allowed. It’s a small sample size, sure, but hopefully it’s the beginning of a significant turnaround for Kuehler who showed a good amount of promise at one point early in his professional career.

(48-37) Augusta GreenJackets 7, (47-36) Hickory Crawdads 8

• Cooper McMurray, 1B: 2-3, HR, 3B, 4 RBI, 3 R
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-4, RBI
• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-5, 2 RBI
• Landon Beidelschies, SP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, ER, 3 BB, 2 K

Box Score

Augusta unfortunately came up short on Friday, losing by just one run to Hickory.

Landon Beidelschies made his 11th start of the season for Augusta on Friday and tossed 2.2 innings of four run (one earned) ball. The lefty managed to scatter three hits and walked a trio of batters while striking out a pair as well.

All-in-all, Beidelschies has had a rough start to his pro career. In 11 starts (13 appearances) the left has tossed an ERA of 7.66 while striking out 41 in 49.1 innings of work thus far.

Hopefully he can turn it around as a starter. Otherwise, it may be a quick trip to the bullpen for Beidelschies.

Cooper McMurray paced the offense with a homer and triple to his credit, driving in four of Augusta’s seven total runs on Friday, while Alex Lodise went 2-5 with a pair of RBI as well.

Trailing 8-5 in the home half of the ninth, the GreenJackets managed to plate two runs to make it a 8-7 game, but Augusta failed to tie things up as they would go on to lose this one by just one run.

(14-32) FCL Braves 7, (29-17) FCL Rays 10

• Manuel Dos Passos, LF-1B: 2-5, 2 2B, R
• Elias Reyno, LF: 3-3, 2 RBI, BB
• Jorwin Pulido, C: 3-4, 2B, 2 R
• Luisberth Valdez, SP: IP, K

Box Score

Despite outhitting the FCL Rays and holding a lead headed into the ninth inning, the FCL Braves came up short, losing by a 10-7 final in extras.

While Luisberth Valdez technically got the start and only went one inning, Wuilinyer Tovar shouldered most of the pitching load in this one. In 4.1 innings of work, Tovar allowed two runs on five hits, but unfortunately also walked a gaudy six batters across those frames as well.

The Braves plated one run in the third, four in the seventh and two in the eighth to take a 7-6 lead. Manuel Dos Passos had a solid day at the plate to lead the offense, lacing a pair of doubles and scoring a run, while Elias Reyno went 3-3 with a pair of RBI and a walk to his credit as well.

However, the FCL Rays managed to score a run to tie things up in the top of the ninth before crossing the plate three times in the top of the 10th to carry the win as the Braves were held scoreless in the home half.

(8-19) DSL Braves 5, (9-18) DSL LAD Bautisa 2

• Edelson Cabral, SS: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• Jose Nelo, C: 1-4, 2B, RBI
• Yassel Pena, 1B: 1-4, 2B
• Martires Polanco, SP: 4.1 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K

Box Score

The DSL squad took an excellent start from Martires Polanco Friday afternoon and parlayed it into a victory — just the eighth of the year for the team.

Across just 4.1 innings of work, Polanco managed to strike out nine batters while holding the opposition to just one run on one hit on the day. He did also walk three batters, but all in all it was a good day for the 19-year-old.

Polanco has been overwhelmingly dominant this year for the DSL squad. Sure, he is older for the level, but across six starts, the righty carries an ERA of 1.54 with 39 strikeouts in just 23.1 innings.

He’s probably in line for a promotion to the FCL squad here soon, or even perhaps Augusta, depending on what happens with rosters after the draft signing deadline.

At the plate, Edelson Cabral launched his second homer of the season — a go-ahead, two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth — to pace the DSL Braves’ offense.

Both Jose Nelo and Yassel Pena also got in on the action with a double apiece, while Nelo also added an RBI to his credit in the win.

Good day, everyone!

The Mariners are testing our fortitude once more it seems, as they dropped yet another uncompetitive game, this time to the Rays by a 7-2 score.

Helpfully, Major League Baseball has provided us with a distraction today in the form of the MLB Draft, which starts at 10am PST. It’s not too late to catch up on Max Ellingsen’s coverage so you can have a fully-formed opinion when the M’s are on the clock! Speaking of, is there a name you’ve circled for the Mariners this year?

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, Manny Acta claimed the WBC led to Cal Raleigh’s injury.
• Mariners Scouting Director Scott Hunter says the team is keeping its options open heading into this year’s draft.
• In the latest episode of the Meet at the Mitt podcast, the crew broke down the top options for the M’s in this year’s draft and who they’re hoping the club will take with their first selection. (Apple link; Spotify link)

Around the league…

• Cardinals rookie shortstop JJ Wetherholt agreed to an eight-year, $112.5M contract extension with the club.
• Trades are beginning to trickle through, as the Twins acquired right-hander Tommy Nance from the Blue Jays yesterday.
• The Pirates acquired infielder Jacob Gonzalez and lefty Brandon Eisert from the White Sox in exchange for left-hander Jaden Woods and the No. 34 pick in this year’s draft.
• Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera, Rays right-hander Nick Martinez, Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, and White Sox first basemen Munetaka Murakami were all named as All-Star Game replacements.
• Murakami and Kyle Schwarber were the latest players to say they’ll participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, completing the eight-player field for Monday night’s showcase.
• The Red Sox and Mets nearly didn’t get to play yesterday because the Boston team plane got stuck in Chicago in the lead-up to the game.
• Shohei Ohtani was scratched from yesterday’s start and will miss the All-Star Game due to a left knee injury.
• Rangers righty Jacob deGrom will miss his next start and may hit the IL as he deals with a glute strain.
• Right-hander Chris Paddack, who was struggling to catch on with a team this year, signed with the KBO’s Samsung Lions.
• Carlos Collazo at Baseball America provided the latest intel from the MLB Draft with the White Sox just hours away from being on the clock. ($)
• Another Secret Base banger for your enjoyment.

Major League Baseball has made some changes to the schedule and broadcast of its amateur draft, which begins today at 1:00 PM EDT. And the vast majority of the draft will air on NBC/Peacock, while MLB Network and MLB.com will provide coverage of the picks, as well.

• Saturday, July 11: Rounds 1-3, 1 PM EDT, NBC/Peacock
• Sunday, July 12: Rounds 4-20, 1 PM EDT, NBC/Peacock

You can read all about the draft and the Mets’ picks in this particular draft in Steve Sypa’s introductory piece. And check out our MLB Draft category for all of Steve’s work leading up to the draft.

We’ll have an open thread here on Amazin’ Avenue for those of you who are following the draft live and want to discuss it in real time, and as always, we’ll have thorough coverage of all of the Mets’ picks from this afternoon through Steve’s draft profile series that will cover each of the picks. And last but certainly not least, stay tuned for our draft pick signing tracker, which we’ll update as players sign—or decline to sign—with the organization following the draft.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers won another fun one last night, 7-4 over the Astros.

Shawn McFarland says Wyatt Langford bailed them out once again.

Evan Grant Ben Franklin brings you his big Rangers mid-season report.

Elsewhere the Rangers’ trio of lefties continues to rehab.

Jacob deGrom won’t start again before the ASB and may end up needing an IL stint.

Jeff Wilson attempts to Nancy Drew the Rangers’ first round draft pick.

Chris Young says he can do what he wants at the trade deadline and no energy-loving old man is gonna do a damn thing to stop him.

And speaking of, the Big Guy stopped by Evan Grant’s podcast to discuss trade deadline plans among other things.

That’s all for this morning. Have a great weekend!

All four Dodgers affiliates are at home this week. The two in the state of Oklahoma picked up wins on Friday.

Player of the day

Ryan Ward homered in his first game back with Oklahoma City on June 30 after getting optioned, but had no extra-base hits in his first seven games of July. Ward made up for that on Friday with a home run and two doubles.

Ward also singled, tying his season best with four hits.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets had eight extra-base hits in a home romp over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Ward had three of the eight extra-base hits.

Alek Thomas also homered, his third in three games. Jack Suwinski doubled twice and drove in four runs Austin Gauthier and Ryan Fitzgerald also doubled.

Christian Romero struck out five while allowing a run in 5 1/3 innings, with the only run coming on a solo home run.

Ryder Ryan came within one out of a three-inning save, but was pulled with two outs after allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Jerming Rosario entered with a five-run lead but the bases loaded and the tying run on deck. He struck out Bryce Johnson to earn a save of the more standard variety.

Double-A Tulsa

Josue De Paula had three hits, including an RBI double in the Drillers’ four-run rally that gave them the lead for good in a victory over the Springfield Cardinals.

Zyhir Hope hit the game-tying two-run single in that seventh inning and also walked and stole a base.

Kendall George singled twice, walked, stole two bases, and scored a pair of runs. After missing a month with a knee injury and five tune-up games with Class-A Ontario, George in his first four games back with Tulsa has eight hits in 16 at-bats plus three walks and three stolen bases.

Evan Shaw pitched three scoreless, hitless innings in relief with four strikeouts to earn the win.

High-A Great Lakes

Two runs in the eighth inning doomed the Loons in a loss to the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Robby Porco pitched a scoreless seventh but walked a pair with one out in the eighth before getting pulled. Both walks scored on a single off Justin Chambers.

One day after his 20th birthday, Chase Harlan hit his third home run and sixth extra-base hit in 13 games since getting promoted to Great Lakes. Shortstop Emil Morales, who doesn’t turn 20 until September, doubled, singled, and drove in a pair. Morales in four games in this series has 10 hits, including five extra-base hits, and seven RBI.

Brooks Auger allowed a pair of home runs for a second straight start, after giving up no long balls in his first 10 starts, encompassing 37 innings and 153 batters faced. Though he gave up four runs on Friday, Auger also struck out eight, giving him 66 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46 1/3 innings this season, with a 34.2-percent strikeout rate.

Class-A Ontario

Tower Buzzers pitching allowed crooked numbers in four different innings in a blowout loss to the the Inland Empire (Mariners).

The bulk of the scoring came against Marco Estrada, who allowed five runs in his 3 2/3 innings of relief, including a pair of home runs. Drafted by the Dodgers in the seventh round out of MIT last July, Estrada struck out five and walked four on Friday. The right-hander has filled up the box score this season, with 50 walks and 66 strikeouts in his 57 2/3 innings, and a 7.96 ERA.

Marlon Nieves was activated off the injured list after missing two months and allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings in his abbreviated start.

Third baseman Easton Shelton hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his league-leading 24th home run, nine more than anybody else in the California League. Mairo Martinus also homered for Ontario.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 10, El Paso 5
• Tulsa 7, Springfield 5
• Dayton 7, Great Lakes 5
• Inland Empire 12, Ontario 4

Saturday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Tyler Gough) vs. Dayton (Ty Floyd)
• 5 pm.: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) vs. Springfield (Cooper Hjerpe)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) vs. El Paso (Sean Boyle)
• 7:05 pm.: Ontario (TBA) vs. Inland Empire (Scott Rouse)

The Nationals addiction to platoon matchups has hurt them a few times this year, but there was no more obvious example than last night. In a 3-2 game in the top of the 9th, Blake Butera went to lefty Matt Krook over sticking with Clayton Beeter. Krook, who now has a career ERA of 16.62 gave up the lead by allowing a home run to the left handed Jazz Chisholm.

I am not really sure what book Blake Butera is going off of right now, but there needs to be some serious reflection after last night. Butera needs to start trusting his best relievers instead of turning to guys based on what hand they throw with. Moving forward, Butera cannot be pulling his best reliever for a guy with an ERA in the double digits in the 9th inning. 

After the game, Butera explained his decision by saying he brought in Krook because of the three lefties/switch hitters that were up. He told me that he went with Krook over the more reliable PJ Poulin because he liked how Krook matched up with the switch hitting Jasson Dominguez. Krook ended up allowing a single to Dominguez and a homer to Jazz Chisholm who is worse against left-handed pitching.

I love so much of what Butera and the new regime have done, but they have not covered themselves in glory building or managing this bullpen. Jose A. Ferrer would be a decent lefty to throw out there in the 9th, but he was traded for Harry Ford, who is struggling in AAA. Butera himself has struggled to push the right buttons in an admittedly weak bullpen.

There have been plenty of times where you can’t really blame Butera for this bad bullpen melting down. However, last night was not one of those cases. It felt like we had the Yankees right where we wanted them after Clayton Beeter got a strikeout to end the 8th. Beeter, who has not allowed a run in his last 7 outings, would come out for the 9th, and the fans would be happy.

Butera had other plans though. He wanted to play the matchups instead of sticking with his best arm. It is not like Beeter has a problem against left handed hitters though. Lefties are hitting just .200 against Beeter this season and .198 in his career. Beeter’s downer slider is a platoon neutral weapon that works against lefties and righties.

However, Butera thought Krook was the right move, and he got burned. Moving forward, I think the Nats need to play to their own strengths instead of fixating on other teams weaknesses. Sure, some of these Yankees hitters struggle against lefties, but with all due respect, most of the lefties they are facing are better than Matt Krook.

Right now, the Nats have 4 low slot, soft-tossing lefties in the bullpen. Three of them pitched yesterday, and while Palmquist and Cosgrove did their jobs, Krook did not. Moving forward, I really want Blake Butera to manage based on his own personnel instead of being such a reactive manager.

One thing I thought was revealing was when Blake Butera said after the game that having Krook, or at least one of his lefties closing out the game was pre-planned. It is just another example of this regime’s extreme devotion to platoon matchups. Having 4 lefties in the bullpen was part of the plan for this weekend. 

However, I think the Nats should pay more attention to quality over what hand a guy throws with. Honestly, after Brad Lord’s injury, Eddy Yean should have been given the call up to the big leagues. He has an upper 90’s heater and a real mound presence. The Nats went with Tom Cosgrove though. Cosgrove’s profile just feels redundant with Krook, Poulin and Carson Palmquist.

Part of what makes these low slot lefties effective is that they are a unique look. If hitters just keep seeing one low slot lefty after another, they are going to catch on at some point. It felt like that happened when the Yankees faced their third low slot lefty of the night.

This should be a major wake up call for Blake Butera and this front office. For most of these bullpen meltdowns, you can blame it on Butera not having the guys or his guys letting him down. However, last night, Butera had his guy on the mound, but pulled him after one batter for a pitcher with a career ERA over 16 because of what hand he throws the baseball with.

Saturday, July 11: Rounds 1-4

• 1:00-2:30 p.m. – Picks 1-10 (NBC and Peacock)

• 2:30-4:30 p.m. – Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

• 4:30-7:45 p.m. – Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB TV, MLB+)

It’s Draft Day. For most sports, it’s a celebratory day where you’re glad to hear the names of your boys, cheering them on as they jump to the next level. For college baseball fans, it’s a PTSD-laden war of attrition where your mood is dependent on hearing the fewest amount of names of your potential incoming freshman class. Zero names is ideal, of course, but when you ‘croot at Vanderbilt’s level, that’s never (or almost never, it did happen once) a realistic ask.

Here are the names we don’t want to hear.

In short, go ahead and forget the names of OF Eric Booth Jr. (expected to go in the top 10 picks of the 1st round) and SS Aiden Ruiz (a slick-fielding defensive maven likely to get tabbed in the first 50 or so picks). Expect also to lose top pitchers LHP Sean Duncan and RHP Joseph Contreras (though there’s an outside chance one makes it to campus) and at least one of our two top SS commits, SS James Tronstein and SS Luke Williams. Keep it to losing 4 or 5 of them, and none of our remaining members of the #1 ‘crootin’ class in the nation, and we have set ourselves up to return to the postseason, challenge for a #1 seed this year, and challenge for a title in 2-3 years. Get decimated and… well, remember when Krusty drank gasoline and woke up on Bart’s lawn?

Then there’s our boys (you know, the ones who haven’t transferred out like pretty much our entire 2026 bullpen). Honestly, not a lot of Diamond Dores are expected to get drafted, and none (well, maybe Braden Holcomb) should expect to hear their names today (rounds 1-4).

Regardless, join up in the comments to collectively white knuckle the worst weekend of the year for college baseball fans with us at Anchor of Gold. Pour Jobu his rum, Hail Pinman, and scream “OO!” at Vocockyteps. It’s Draft Day.

The San Diego Padres brought the winning run to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. Xander Bogaerts stepped into the batter’s box with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. on first and second base after the Padres recorded three consecutive two-out hits off Padres closer Louis Varland. Bogaerts worked the count full, but on the final pitch of the at-bat he hit a routine ground ball to third base, which resulted in the final out of the game to give San Diego a 5-3 loss at the hands of Toronto in their series opener at Petco Park on Friday night.

The Padres came into the bottom of the ninth trailing, 5-2. Jake Cronenworth pinch hit and struck out to open the inning and Luis Rengifo hit a deep fly ball into left field for the second out of the inning. Luis Campusano lined a ball back through the middle of the infield and Tatis followed with a line drive single through the right side of the infield. Merrill stepped in and connected on another base hit, which scored Campusano to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Bogaerts represented the winning run and Petco Park was waiting to erupt with a big hit from the San Diego shortstop. Bogaerts started the scoring in the game in the bottom of the first inning when he connected on a two-run home run off starter Shane Bieber to put the Padres up 2-0. Considering the speed of Tatis and Merrill and the fact that they were on the move on a 3-2 pitch, a base hit by Bogaerts might have tied the game, but it would have likely brought San Diego within a run with Manny Machado set to come to the plate. However, that was not how the 3-2 pitch played out. Instead, Bogaerts bounced a ground ball to Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto who threw across the diamond in time to get Bogaerts to end the inning and the game.

Okamoto proved to have the game-winning hit for the Blue Jays in the top of the fifth inning. Padres starter JP Sears allowed two of the first three batters of the inning to reach base on singles and Jhony Brito came in to face Vladamir Guerrero Jr. Brito allowed an RBI-single and Toronto tied the game at 2-2. Brito then faced Okamoto who won a seven-pitch at-bat with a 377-foot three-run home run into the left field bleachers to give the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.

San Diego will try to stop a two-game losing streak in the second game of the series against Toronto today at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• The All-Star break will give Michael King a chance to change his mindset entering the second half of the season according to Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball.

• The Padres can use the 2026 MLB Draft to rebuild their minor league depth according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball.

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com looks at what Mason Miller did to have an All-Star start to the 2026 season.

• Ty France faced off against his former team in series opener against Blue Jays.

• Freddy Fermin goes 1-for-4 as DH for El Paso.

Baseball News:

• Tristan Peters hit for the cycle and led the Chicago White Sox to a win over the Athletics.

• Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers the same night he was scratched from his start on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Samuel Basallo hit a two-run home run to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

• The Detroit Tigers thumped the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-2 win.

• Hunter Greene strikes out 12 to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Chicago Cubs.

• The Cleveland Guardians snapped the Miami Marlins’ six-game win streak with a 3-2 win.

• Nick Martinez recorded his eighth win of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• Despite Nolan McLean's stellar outing over six frames, the Mets fell 6-2 to the Red Sox to open the final series of the first half
• The one lone bright spot was Brett Baty extending a 10-game hit streak with three knocks, including a homer, as interim skipper Andy Green praised him for being a "dog"
• Boston managed the win, its seventh straight, despite a terrible day of travel that saw the game delayed
• SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes had updates on Clay Holmes and the makings of a successful long-term relationship with the Mets
• WATCH:What is Holmes's future with the Mets?
• On the injury front, Mark Vientos landed on the IL and will miss six to eight weeks
• In the corresponding move, Zack Short re-joined the roster in a flurry of moves
• Down on the farm, Nate Lavender continues strong return in Triple-A as Mets sell-off looms
• WATCH: Will kind of market will Mets actually find for Freddy Peralta? | The Mets Pod
• WATCH:Should the Mets leave A.J. Ewing alone in center field? | Baseball Night in NY

Hickory starter Daniel Keaney gave up five runs in five innings, striking out three and walking one.

Pablo Guerrero was 2 for 5 with a double. Yolfran Castillo was 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and a walk. Paulino Santana had a hit and a walk. Daniel Flames doubled and walked twice. Angel Arredondo doubled. Marco Argudin had a hit and a walk.

Hickory box score

For Hub City, Hector Osorio and Gleider Figuereo each homered.

Hub City box score

For Frisco, Andrew Susac gave up three runs in an inning of work, walking two.

Arturo Disla doubled. Dylan Dreiling had a hit.

Frisco box score

Round Rock starter Jose Corniell allowed five runs in 1.2 IP, walking three and striking out one. Emiliano Teodo walked one, struck out one and allowed one run in 1.1 IP. Wilian Bormie allowed two runs in an inning of work, walking two. Luis Curvelo threw two shutout innings.

Josh Smith was 2 for 5.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

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Another busy slate in the Majors means more opportunity for long balls in my MLB player props home run analysis. 

I'll include James Wood, Chase DeLauter, and Ben Rice in today's MLB picks for Saturday, July 11. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
James Wood	+350
Chase DeLauter	+549
Ben Rice	+275
💲Today's HR parlay	+8986

Home run pick: James Wood (+350)

Washington Nationals star James Wood is crushing baseballs right now. He owns a .722 ISO over his last six games, going deep four times during that span. Wood's hard-hit rate over the last week also sits at 62.9%, with a barrel rate just under 20%. 

The slugger will face New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler tonight. Although the youngster has been dominant overall, he's had trouble with the long ball recently. Schlittler has allowed 3.00 HR/9 across his last two outings. 

This Yankees pen has also surrendered 1.63 HR/9 across their last 27 2/3 innings. There's a lot of opportunity for Wood to leave the yard again. 

I'll play this pick down to +300. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Nationals.TV

Home run pick: Chase DeLauter (+549)

Cleveland Guardians youngster Chase DeLauter has homered in back-to-back games, and he has three bombs in his last six contests. DeLauter carries a .417 ISO during that span and an astounding 68.4% hard-hit rate. The 24-year-old is consistently squaring up the baseball. 

DeLauter will face Miami Marlins starter Eury Pérez this afternoon. The righty has allowed a home run in six of his last eight outings. He's been pitching well, but it's common for him to make a mistake in a start, and an opponent punishes it.

That could be DeLauter this afternoon, considering just how well he's seeing the baseball. 

I'll play this pick down to +450. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Guardians.TV, Marlins.TV

Home run pick: Ben Rice (+275)

Ben Rice has emerged as a superstar this season, and he's showing off his power ahead of the HR Derby. The slugger has clubbed five long balls in his last seven games. Over that span, he owns a .556 ISO and 19% barrel rate.

Today's matchup heavily favors Rice. The Yankees will face the struggling Miles Mikolas. He's surrendered 2.77 HR/9 across his previous two appearances, and opponents also have a 40.8% hard-hit rate against him over the last two weeks. 

This Nationals bullpen is also giving up 1.86 HR/9 over the last seven days. Whether it's against Mikolas or the relief corps when they enter, Rice has a great chance to put one in the bleachers. 

Play this down to +250. 

• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Nationals.TV

Today’s HR parlay

James Wood	Bet Now +8986
Chase DeLauter
Ben Rice

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