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In a lot of sports, the best players can impose their will on the game and, well, will their team to victory. But that’s not the case in baseball. Today was a clear example that baseball stars can only do so much, as Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits, a walk, and a stolen base—but his Kansas City Royals still lost 6-4 to the Washington Nationals.

One such hit happened in the fifth inning, a rare (for Kansas City) two-out base hit on a really nice opposite field line drive single to score Tyler Tolbert. Cutting the lead in half, it was a needed bit of offense, as old friend Foster Griffin had held the Royals scoreless for most of the game.

An opposite-field RBI single from Bobby Witt Jr. cuts the deficit in half. pic.twitter.com/Q89VUUrh8Y

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) June 17, 2026

The Royals scored again two innings later to tie the game at three with Isaac Collins swatting another crucial two-out single to left field. It was a nice job coming back, tied together with a nice start by the ever-reliable Michael Wacha. While Wacha did give up seven hits in his six innings, he only walked one and avoided giving up any home runs.

Ah, but then the Royals bullpen entered the game, and that home run came. Against Daniel Lynch IV, Curtis Mead smacked his 11th home run of the year on a really terrible middle-middle slider. With two men on base, it was a three-run blast that put the Nationals firmly ahead.

To be fair to the Royals, they almost had something going in the ninth inning. Lane Thomas led off with a solo home run, and Witt worked his walk. But Jac Caglianone capped off a 0-4 day with a ground ball double play ball. Collins then struck out swinging, and that was that.

Both teams left a decent chunk of batters on base (the Nationals eight, the Royals nine), and both teams had 10 hits and four walks. However, the Nationals had four extra base hits—including a pair of triples and a home run—while the Royals only had two. That’s really becoming the story of the last bit of the season: Kansas City now ranks 26th in total home runs hit, and this despite bringing in the fences at home.

The Royals have won 29 of their 74 games, and are on pace for 99 losses. Things would be dire except they apparently are not and everyone’s doing a great job. So it goes.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by. You’re always welcome here. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you if you would trade Seiya Suzuki before the trade deadline. Forty percent of you said “no,” you wouldn’t. Of course, that means that sixty percent of you would, which broke down to 33 percent if the Cubs could actually get a starting pitcher for him and 27 percent would just trade him for prospects.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t write about movies. But I’ll try to find some music for you.

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We lost the great South African jazz artist Abdullah Ibrahim (gift article) at the age of 91 yesterday. Ibrahim, who recorded as “Dollar Brand” before converting to Islam, played with Duke Ellington, Elvin Jones, Max Roach and others. Nelson Mandela called him “Our Mozart.”

Ibraham’s song “Mannenberg (Is Where It’s Happening)” became an anti-apartheid anthem and was a favorite of Mandela. who listened to it on records smuggled into Robben Island. Mandela often played it at his rallies after his release.

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Welcome back to those of you who skip the music.

The Cubs pitching has been disappointing this year, although if you look at their overall ERA and runs allowed are just around the major league average. But that’s disappointing for this team. While they may not expected to have an elite pitching staff coming into this year, I think the Cubs had hoped for a little more than “average.” And certainly some pitchers that the Cubs expected to be major contributors have either been hurt (Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd) or bad (Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera).

But I always want to look at the positive. Not because I’m optimistic by nature (I’m not), but because I find dwelling on the negative to have deleterious effects on my mental and physical health. So let’s look at Javier Assad, who has been called upon to step up this year

And Assad has stepped up this year. Al listed him as one of the “who’s up” players just yesterday after a start in San Francisco.

Assad started the season in the majors, but went down to the minors after a couple of appearances where he just got hammered: nine runs in 4.1 inning start in Philadelphia and six runs in 2.1 innings of relief in Los Angeles. That, and just a general numbers and having options thing, got Assad sent down to Triple-A Iowa.

Injuries forced Assad’s return to Chicago, and he’s made two appearances since his return. The first was a relief appearance after an injury to Jameson Taillon. Assad went 6.1 innings, allowed no runs and just one hit. Then there was that start in San Francisco, when he pitched six shutout innings with only three hits.

Overall, Assad is 4-1 with a 3.99 ERA in four starts and six relief appearances, totalling 38.1 innings.

So while it’s not time for a final grade for Assad, let’s give him a mid-semester progress report. What grade do you give Javier Assad so far?

Thank you for stopping by. We always enjoy having you. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

There were many who thought that Tuesday’s scheduled game between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves would be postponed before it even began. And now, those people can say it should have been. Despite pouring rain, the teams started their game on time. In between the top and bottom halves of the second inning — with the Giants leading 3-2 — the game was paused while the grounds crew worked on the field.

It was a funny scene. The rain has mostly ceased, but the infield was soaked enough that the grounds crew needed to spend time trying to make it playable.

And spend time they indeed did. We went well over an hour without a delay ever officially being declared, though eventually the teams left the dugouts entirely, and Atlanta did announce on social media that they would update fans on any resumption of play. According to the beat reporters, there were essentially no announcements inside the stadium.

Finally, after a delay of roughly an hour and a half, the game was officially postponed. Action will resume on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. PT, with the Braves at bat to start the bottom of the second inning. Wednesday will now be a doubleheader, with the second game at the regularly scheduled 4:15 p.m. PT start time.

Because of the doubleheader, both teams will be allowed to call up a 27th player for the roster. The Giants will almost certainly use that additional roster spot on a pitcher who can eat a good chunk of innings, since Adrian Houser will be unavailable after throwing 28 pitches in the first inning on Tuesday. Carson Whisenhunt last pitched on Friday, so he’s the logical selection (Carson Seymour is pitching today for AAA Sacramento, while Blade Tidwell pitched on Saturday).

We’ll see if Wednesday’s games are able to get off the ground, as plenty more rain appears in the forecast in Atlanta.

Well, the rain delay (that wasn’t an official rain delay) has officially claimed this game as far as tonight goes. The Atlanta Braves have announced that the game has been suspended and will be picked up in the bottom of the second with Atlanta down 3-2 against the San Francisco Giants.

Tonight’s game against the San Francisco Giants has been suspended due to inclement weather. We will resume the game tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17, at 2 PM ET with the Braves batting in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

All ticket holders from tonight’s suspended game will be…

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 17, 2026

Again, it raises some pretty big questions as to whether or not this game should’ve even started when it did but at this point, you can’t undo the damage. All you can do is move on and hope whatever is going on with Michael Harris II’s back isn’t anything serious. We’ll see what happens.

Middle game between the Dodgers and Rays.

Tonight's #Dodgers starting lineup for Game 2 against Tampa Bay: pic.twitter.com/rvavDItYa3

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 16, 2026

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rays
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Yankees offense exploded in support of Gerrit Cole as New York took its series opener against the White Sox, 12-2, on Tuesday night.

It's the team's eighth game this season with 10-plus runs scored this season. New York posted 15 hits with all nine starters getting at least one knock. 

Here are the takeaways....

-The White Sox entered Tuesday with the fourth most home runs in MLB, and showed that power early. Andrew Benintendi took Cole deep with a two-out homer to give Chicago an early 1-0 lead after one. 

But Cole would settle down, retiring 13 straight through five innings. He'd pitch into trouble in the sixth, allowing a run on an infield single by Luisangel Acuña, but the former AL Cy Young winner would get out of it and deliver six solid innings for the Yankees.

Cole finished by tossing 90 pitches (59 strikes), allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six batters. 

-Davis Martin had allowed just three home runs all season (13 starts). He went up against the Yankees, who entered Tuesday with the most home runs in MLB (102). Which side will blink? Well, Spencer Jones took Martin deep in the second to knot the game at 1-1 with a screamer into the second deck in right field.

Then luck was on the Yankees' side in the third. An excuse-me swing by J.C. Escarra resulted in a leadoff double, then Anthony Volpe hit a hopper to second base, but first baseman Jacob Gonzalez didn't cover first, allowing runners on the corners. Ben Rice walked to load the bases before Cody Bellinger lined a two-run single to give the Yankees the lead. Jones walked with the bases loaded before Jose Caballero drove in the team's fourth run of the inning with a sac fly. 

Rice added on with a towering two-run shot in the fourth. His 20 homers are now tied for third in the majors. Paul Goldschmidt added a two-run shot to put the Yankees up 9-1 and knocked Martin out of the game. Martin entered the contest with a 2.41 ERA, second-best in the AL, which has been raised to 3.31.

-Ryan McMahon had an RBI single and Jones scored after pitcher Chris Murphy threw a dribbler from Escarra away to account for all runs in a six-run fourth inning. 

In the eighth, with Acuña pitching, Caballero launched his seventh homer of the season. 

Game MVP: Entire Yankees lineup

Difficult to pick one bat in this one. They all did their job to knock around the White Sox's best starter. 

Highlights

Cody Bellinger brings in two! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Q2Cr4ff8F9

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 16, 2026

Spencer Jones walks in a run pic.twitter.com/Np0AbjR2RA

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 17, 2026

HOME RUN NUMBER 20 FOR BEN RICE! pic.twitter.com/zDGSXNBKRR

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 17, 2026

GOLDY BOMB.

Paul Goldschmidt makes it 9-1 Yankees! pic.twitter.com/gBQIjWlS6J

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 17, 2026

SPENCER JONES' FIRST YANKEE STADIUM HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/u1cFzX208G

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 16, 2026

What's next

The Yankees continue their series with the White Sox on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

LHP Carlos Rodon (2-2, 3.19 ERA) and LHP Anthony Kay (6-1, 4.34 ERA) face off in a battle of lefties.

Go Rays!

The Mariners are shaking things up in their starting rotation. 

With a crowded stable of six starting pitchers — Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo and Emerson Hancock — Seattle revealed Tuesday that they will use a “piggyback” pitching plan through the All-Star break. 

Instead of a traditional five-man or expanded six-man rotation, the Mariners will have each of their starters work in a piggyback setup, meaning they will either open the game or cover bulk innings behind another starter while skipping their usual start, helping the team manage workloads and keep all six starters involved. 

“Each of the six guys will either appear as the front end or the back end one time in the next 30 days,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said, per the Seattle Times. “Each guy will be a participant for one day, so roughly everyone will sacrifice an inning or two innings over the next 30 days.”

After some frustration from Miller and Castillo when the Mariners last tried the piggyback plan in May, it appears everyone is on board this time around, with Hollander saying this was a “unanimous” decision with the six starters. 

“Any way you did it, it wasn’t going to be ideal or perfect for everybody, but [they tried] to pick the options that made the most sense for everybody,” he said.

Despite some hesitancy with the plan last month, Miller and Castillo combined for a 1.67 ERA in three outings as the piggyback duo, covering 27 of 28 innings in those games, giving the Mariners’ bullpen a rest. 

Hollander described the plan as more of a short-term solution than some grand pitching experiment.

“I don’t think we’re going to revolutionize pitching in any way,” Hollander said. “But for this group that we have right now, I think it’s the right thing to do. And I think everybody landed on that unanimously for this group, and I think the starters began to understand and embrace it when we talked to them on Sunday.”

The Mariners’ rotation has been one of the best in baseball this season, posting a 3.82 ERA heading into Tuesday’s play, which is the seventh-best mark in the league. 

Seattle, entering Tuesday, is 37-36 and holds a 1/2-game lead in the American League West.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers coveted Tommy Edman’s ability to play multiple positions, especially up the middle, before they traded for him in July 2024, and was a big reason they signed the utility man to a five-year contract extension that winer. Now that he’s back from surgery to repair an ankle he sprained during his St. Louis Cardinals days, Edman’s ankle should allow him to play all over the field again.

“Getting the surgery was a tough decision because I knew I was going to be out for a little bit. But after speaking with the doctor, we determined that it was going to have a high success, a high probability of getting back to 100 percent,” Edman said Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. “So I decided to go through with it. It’s feeling great now. It took maybe a little longer than expected, but I’m feeling back to normal again.”

Edman said he had one stretch early in the 2025 season when he felt pretty good, but then he sprained the ankle in May and missed two weeks, then it lingered for the rest of the season. The second time he sprained his ankle was in August while running the bases, which cost him five more weeks on the injured list.

That second IL trip was on his mind during his three full weeks of games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, as he got back into game shape.

“I was definitely a little tentative the first week, getting back to playing baseball again, going full speed around the bases. Then by the third week I definitely felt totally comfortable, especially rounding the bases,” Edman said. “Just getting back into game action was the big step, the unpredictability of what might happen during a game, whether it’s a weird play on defense or a weird play on the basepaths. Just getting really comfortable with that was really important these last few weeks.”

Getting that normalcy took some time, with Edman sidelined for the first 73 games of the season, a little longer than he expected.

“With surgery, a lot of times it’s not a super linear progression,” he said. “Just having some ups and downs, and just having the faith that it was going to get back to 100 percent eventually, and having the patience to let the whole process play out.”

Edman said he will wear an ankle brace, but no longer has to heavily tape his right ankle like he did for most of the 2025 season.

“I’m confident it’s strong enough,” he said.

The Dodgers will ease Edman back at first, maybe starting three or four games per week. Dave Roberts said he’ll likely play second base, third base, and left field.

“That’s kind of what I’ve come to expect over the course of my career, is just filling in wherever needed, and playing a bunch of different spots,” Edman said. “I love being able to be valuable wherever I play on defense. To be able to play outfield, be able to play infield, and feel confident in that first step and getting the burst, it’s gonna be nice, and hopefully I can have a good defensive season.”

That first step was evident on a few plays with Triple-A Oklahoma City while on rehab, first on this diving play at third base on June 5.

Tommy Edman with the SNAG 💫 pic.twitter.com/AAwgfvJpLJ

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) June 6, 2026

Then again in center field last Friday.

Another Tommy Edman defensive highlight for your viewing pleasure😁 pic.twitter.com/deTrwMKR7Q

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) June 13, 2026

Edman, who also played 49 regular season games in center field during his parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, said he’s starting at third base on Wednesday against Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan.

“He’s one of our best hitters versus left-handed pitching,” Roberts said of Edman, who has a career 118 wRC+ against southpaws. “If there’s an opportunity to get him in there to get three at-bats against a starter, I’m going to think very closely about that. Because the one silver bullet versus a lefty, like [Miguel Rojas] last night, is valuable, but also getting three certain at-bats is helpful, too.”

The injury hits just keep coming for the Mariners.

Randy Arozarena departed Friday’s game against the Nationals with a tweaked hamstring, sitting out the rest of the series. The hope was that with those days down, plus the off-day yesterday, the issue would resolve itself. But that wasn’t the case, as Arozarena’s hamstring was still bothering him on Tuesday and he was held out of the lineup and sent for more imaging.

That imaging revealed more inflammation than previously suspected, and so the team will place Arozarena on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 13th.

Arozarena has been the team’s most productive hitter, leading the team in WAR as well as a host of other offensive categories. He’s also been a steadying force in the lineup while other players have slumped or been injured. In a season that’s been brutal for the Mariners with injuries, this hit lands the hardest – for the team and for Arozarena himself, who’s playing in a contract year.

The good news is Justin Hollander doesn’t think Arozarena will need more than the minimum stay on the IL, given that he was trending positively before the MRI.

In other good news, Curtis Washington Jr. is being summoned from Everett as an emergency call-up. CWJ has been in the organization since 2022, a 19th-round pick out of Purdue. The light-hitting speed-and-defense outfielder hasn’t been able to break out of the low minors, but has earned organizational acclaim for his positive outcome, contributions off the field, and overall good-guy-ness. Washington will likely only be here for the night, as Connor Joe was pulled from Tacoma’s lineup – the Rainiers are in Salt Lake tonight and he wouldn’t be able to get here in time for the game, hence Washington’s call from Everett – so we’re crossing our fingers he can maybe get in the game.

In a corresponding move to make room for Washington on the 40-man, Will Wilson, who is struggling with a fractured left thumb, has been moved to the 60-day IL.

The Mariners limp back home after a rough road trip but have to face the same team again as the Orioles come to town. Jake covered this well in his cleverly-titled series preview, which you can check out here.

Lineups:

The good news is J.P. and Cal are back. The bad news is the Mariners are dealing with other bumps and bruises, so this lineup still looks…pretty patched-together.

Injury updates/Roster moves:

There’s a whole separate article on the site about this because there are so many and I encourage you to read that, but in short: Naylor and Raley both day-to-day; Randy to 10-day IL; J.P. and Cal back; Wisdom and Pereda down.

The Orioes had a roster move of their own, reinstating pitcher Ryan Helsley from the IL; in a corresponding move, RHP Anthony Nunez has been optioned to Triple-A.

News:

In case you missed it, Dan Wilson said the Mariners will be returning to the piggyback pitching strategy, at least until the All-Star Break. Read more here.

Tonight’s game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners.TV, with Rich Waltz and Angie Mentink, with Ryan Rowland-Smith as sideline reporter

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Shannon Drayer on the call

Late night baseball, woo! Let’s do this thing.

I’ll be honest, I probably won’t make it to the third inning of this thing. But one thing that might keep me up is tonight’s starting pitcher, Brandon Young. It still hasn’t stopped feeling weird to say that he’s the best starting pitcher on the team, but here we are. I’m trying to get used to it.

The Mariners sent Logan Gilbert to the plate. Gilbert faced the Orioles in his last start and allowed just one run in six innings. Maybe do better this time around, ok guys?

There is no use pretending this won’t be a very tough road trip. They’re on the wrong coast, playing two first-place teams, and are seemingly incapable of putting together any kind of winning streak.

One thing that might help is the reinstatement of closer Ryan Helsley from the injured list. Anthony Nunez has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make room. Nunez will be back, but in the meantime, the bullpen is now improved.

Tonight’s starting lineup is about as strong a lineup as the Orioles have right now. Although I have to wonder what it’s going to take to get Gunnar Henderson out of the second spot in the lineup.

Orioles lineup

Taylor Ward (R) LF
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Adley Rutschman (S) C
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Samuel Basallo (L) DH
Leody Taveras (S) RF
Colton Cowser (L) CF
Blaze Alexander (R) 3B
Jackson Holliday (L) 2B

Mariners lineup

J.P. Crawford (L) 3B
Cal Raleigh (S) C
Julio Rodríguez (R) CF
Dominic Canzone (L) RF
Rob Refsnyder (R) DH
Cole Young (L) 2B
Victor Robles (R) LF
Colt Emerson (L) SS
Miles Mastrobuoni (L) 1B

Let’s go O’s!

Where have the strikeouts gone? The D-backs’ pitching staff have K’d only 18.8% of batters faced this year, ahead of just the Rockies. Now, strikeouts are down over the league as a whole – perhaps due to ABS – but nowhere near as much. Last year, the D-backs were at 20.8%, and 21.2% and 22.2% in the seasons before that. This year, it’s the rotation which is to blame. The bullpen are actually fanning slightly more batters than in 2025 – 21.0%, compared to 20.6%. But the starting pitchers have plummeted from 21.0% to 17.5%. Which is odd, considering the great bulk of the rotation are the same men as they were last season.

Indeed, things would be even worse, if not for the new arrival, Michael Soroka, whose 24% K-rate is the best among the rotation. But everyone else has seen a clear – and, in some cases, very sharp – decline. Here are the numbers for the five returners (starts only for Ryne Nelson):

• Brandon Pfaadt: 19.2% > 15.1%
• Eduardo Rodriguez: 20.6% > 17.9%
• Merrill Kelly: 23.5% > 13.5%
• Ryne Nelson: 20.5% > 17.5%
• Zac Gallen: 21.5% > 14.8%

Among the 114 pitchers to have thrown at least sixty innings this year, Gallen is ranked 109th and Kelly 113th for K-rate (the latter ahead only of Colorado’s Tomoyuki Sugano). Merrill has one start so far this year with more than 5 K’s – last year, he had sixteen such outings. He and Zac have seen a decrease in their rates for both called and swinging strikes. Conversely, they’ve seen an increase in contact when they get swings outside the zone. It’s a significant factor in why both men have struggled this year, but the fact it’s happening to various degrees across the entire rotation does make we wonder if there’s something team-wide which is a factor.