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A pitchers’ duel between Cam Schlittler and Ranger Suárez on Sunday afternoon eventually gave way to a battle of the bullpens.

And while that meant another good day of Yankees pitching, they were at risk of wasting it because an Aaron Judge-less lineup lacked much punch for most of the game.

Turns out it was saving its best for last.

Cody Bellinger delivered a go-ahead blast in the bottom of the eighth inning before the Yankees piled on from there, leading to a 6-1 win over the Red Sox at a sold-out Yankee Stadium.

After Red Sox reliever Justin Slaten struck out the first two batters of the frame, Bellinger, arguably the Yankees’ most valuable all-around player so far this season, clobbered his ninth home run to break a 1-1 tie.

That marked the first of five straight batters to reach base, including an RBI single from Trent Grisham and a three-run homer from Jazz Chisholm Jr. against lefty Joe La Sorsa to give David Bednar some more breathing room in the ninth.

Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill and Bednar combined for 3 ⅓ scoreless innings in relief of Schlittler as the Yankees (38-26) split the two-game series with the Red Sox (27-36).

Facing his hometown team that he dominated in the AL wild-card series clincher last October, Schlittler was not quite as sharp but still plenty good as he held the Red Sox to one run across 5 ⅔ innings.

The only problem for the Yankees was that Suárez was even better, holding them to one run across 6 1/3 innings before his bullpen let him down.

Suárez retired the first nine Yankees in order before Paul Goldschmidt led off the fourth inning with a bloop single. One out later, Bellinger added another bloop single and one out after that, Grisham lined a single to center, though Goldschmidt was held at third.

That loaded the bases for Anthony Volpe, who drew a 3-0 count before flying out on a 3-1 pitch to end the threat.

But the Yankees broke the scoreless tie the following inning, as José Caballero doubled before Goldschmidt sliced a two-out single for the 1-0 lead in the fifth.

The Red Sox quickly tied it back up, though, in the top of the sixth while knocking Schlittler out of the game. After Ceddanne Rafaela singled, Willson Contreras came up with two outs and smoked a bullet off the base of the left-field wall. The Yankees may have had a chance to nab Rafaela at the plate, but Volpe’s relay throw was well up the line, allowing him to score easily on Contreras’ double.

Cruz then relieved Schlittler and got Masataka Yoshida to fly out to strand Contreras in scoring position.

The Yankees had another chance to score in the bottom of the sixth, after Grisham drilled a two-out double, but Volpe popped out on the first pitch he saw from Suárez.

For the first six innings, the Atlanta Braves were looking like they were going to be denied another sweep as the Pirates did just enough to Bryce Elder to salvage a win. But a huge theme of this season is how this team continues to find different ways to win from different contributors, and the stars of this one? 1) Someone who was NOT in the starting lineup 2) bullpen arms coming up absolutely huge in high-leverage situations who aren’t our usual 7-8-9.

Elder grinded through six innings of two-run ball after being greeted rudely by a leadoff homer by Spencer Horowitz to start the afternoon. He only gave up the two hits, but Elder matched a season-high in three-ball counts and some walks came back to bite him in the third. Two walks and a pesky infield single loaded the bases with no outs. Nick Gonzales’s double play minimized the damange, but it did allow Jared Triolo to score and make it 2-0 Pirates.

And so the score would remain through six innings. The Braves had a promising first inning versus the opener Mason Montgomery with a walk from Mauricio Dubón, a double from Ozzie, and a walk from Dominic Smith to put a Brave on every base. But Austin Riley’s late swing on a 99 mph fastball would end the threat.

Scheduled starter Bubba Chandler entered in the second inning for the Pirates with Mike Yastrzemski leading off. The only damage done would be a single from Sandy León (!); the Braves were set down in order in the third, fourth, fifth, AND sixth. For someone known to walk guys and regularly only last five innings, Chandler racked up seven K’s from the Braves lineup in his 5.1 innings of work. 

But that lack of command reared its head in the bottom of the seventh, teeing up a wild sequence. Please don’t forget that all of this is happening with a light but constant little rain shower that would continue until the game concluded. The rally would begin with Dom Smith reaching on a throwing error by rookie Tyler Callihan, giving the Braves their first baserunner since Sandy’s single in the second. Yaz finally worked a walk off of Chandler, and then Jorge Mateo saw four straight balls. The bases were loaded for Sandy León. 

Except it wasn’t Sandy León, and it was never going to be. Sound operator, hit shuffle on the Michael Harris II walk-up songs playlist, please. Walt Weiss has pulled the lever.

In response, the Pirates did the most slow-walking I’ve ever seen that resulted in Chandler’s departure to give way to reliever Evan Sisk. But it didn’t matter. Pinch-hitter Money Mike is a cheat code, and he delivered by smoking the second pitch he saw 109.5 mph to right field for a bases-clearing double to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. Absolutely nuts.

Reynaldo López came out of the bullpen and worked a much-needed scoreless frame in the seventh to wash the taste of his Thursday appearance out of our mouths. But eyebrows raised across Braves Country when he was left in to pitch in the eighth with this tenuous lead. It was understandable to some extent – the bullpen has been taxed this week, particularly the big three of Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, and Raisel Iglesias. He recorded one out, allowed a single, and walked Braves menace Horowitz. That would end his day. Tyler Kinley came in, got a lineout, walked Bryan Reynolds, and got a massive groundout to preserve the lead. No insurance runs would be added in the bottom of the eighth, so we all collectively strapped in for the top of the ninth. 

Out of the bullpen jogs Didier Fuentes, who is ten days shy of turning 21 and on for the first save opportunity of his career at any level. 

Reports of Brandon Lowe’s death (read: knee injury after yesterday’s game) were greatly exaggerated – they Michael Harris’d us right back with a pinch-hit maneuver that worked beautifully. Lowe ripped a double to right to start the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Oneil Cruz. Cool cool, Cruz is very fast. Our collective anxiety could power a small city. Fuentes struck out Callihan for out #1. Jake Mangum’s eight-pitch at-bat resulted in an infield single, putting runners at the corners. Triolo popped out for a huge second out. But thankfully, it would end with Endy – Endy Rodríguez’s strikeout secured Didier’s first career save and the Braves officially swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. They may be a little damp at this point, but break out your brooms, y’all. It’s been a minute, which makes it all the sweeter.

Thus concludes a 5-1 homestand as the Braves now sport a 45-21 record. That, some have said, will play. After the off day tomorrow, the Braves will embark on a two-city road trip to Chicago to face the Pope’s own White Sox and then to Queens for the first series of the season vs. the New York Mets.

The Yankees scored a couple of late runs to come away with a 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.

Here are the takeaways…

-- Cody Bellinger gave the Yankees the late lead, and they never looked back. With the game knotted 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, Bellinger unloaded on a Justin Slaten pitch, demolishing a solo home run to right to give the Yankees a 2-1 edge. 

The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge for some time, so it was good to see Bellinger have a big moment. 

-- After Bellinger's bomb, the Yankees did a good job of tacking on more insurance runs. Amed Rosario singled, stole second, and came around to score on a Trent Grisham single. Grisham had three hits on the afternoon. Then, with the lead 3-1, Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had been 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, crushed a three-run homer of Joe La Sorsa, breaking the game wide open.

-- Sunday’s matinee featured a pitchers’ duel between Cam Schlittler and Ranger Suarez. Schlittler struck out four over his first three scoreless innings, while Suarez went nine-up, nine-down the first time through the order. 

-- The Yankees had a good chance to get to Suarez when they loaded the bases in the fourth, but Anthony Volpe flew out to center fielder on a 3-1 pitch to end the threat. 

Finally, the Yankees scratched across a run in the fifth inning. After a Jose Caballero double, Paul Goldschmidt came through with a two-out hit to right, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

-- The Red Sox answered back in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Willson Contreras. On the play, Ceddanne Rafaela scored from first base, but he likely would have been out at the plate if not for a poor throw from Volpe. The shortstop had plenty of time to cut down the run, but his throw was way off the mark.

That ended Schlittler's afternoon, as he went 5.2 innings allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Suarez, meanwhile, went 6.1 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts. 

-- Volpe had another tough moment in the bottom of the sixth, when he popped up on the first pitch with the potential go-ahead run in scoring position and two outs. Volpe has not a hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position since he was called up earlier this season. He went 0-for 3 with a walk at the dish.

-- The Yankees are now 2-3 since Judge went down with his rib injury.

Game MVP

Bellinger, who put the Yankees ahead for good in the eighth inning.

Highlights

Goldy gets us on the board 👏 pic.twitter.com/iv5GatZtJK

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 7, 2026

Cody Bellinger gives the Yankees the lead! pic.twitter.com/IYtON3aPgL

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

Trent Grisham singles to send Amed Rosario home! 3-1 Yankees lead!pic.twitter.com/REwhgPc3KI

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

Three-run home run for Jazz Chisholm Jr.!! pic.twitter.com/YDM1LmXtWj

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 7, 2026

What's next

The Yankees start a three-game series in Cleveland against the Guardians on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m.

Will Warren will face righty Gavin Williams.

The Orioles appeared to be cruising toward a series win before a missed call and some shoddy defense resulted in a five-run sixth inning. The Blue Jays rode a bizarre stretch to a come from behind 6-4 victory, leaving the O’s to return to the United States with a bad taste in their mouths.

The disaster inning started with an absolute moon shot from Yohendrick Piñango. Baz entered the inning with five zeros and less than 65 pitches, but he left a changeup up to the Blue Jays number two hitter. Piñango sent the ball 423 feet from home plate, but the Orioles still held a three-run advantage.

Baz retired Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but Jesús Sánchez lined a ball out of Tyler O’Neill’s reach in right field. Baz generated a ground ball from Ernie Clement, but Gunnar Henderson committed a fielding error to place runners on the corners with one out.

Baz, in need of a double play, induced a grounder from Brandon Valenzuela. The bouncer took Henderson to the right side of second base, and the shortstop set his sights on a tag and throw double play. Clement made a clear and obvious attempt to run away from the tag toward the outfield grass, which prompted Henderson to throw the ball to first. However, second base umpire Nic Lentz ruled that the runner did not stray from the baseline, so Clement reached safely and the second run scored.

Alonso and Baz immediately expressed their objection to the call, and Craig Albernaz left the dugout for an explanation. After a discussion, the call stood. The Blue Jays had cut the lead in half, and Clement remained at second base.

Baz, potentially still bothered by the error and controversial call, allowed a base hit to Kazuma Okamoto. Clement raced home to score the third run, and Okamoto avoided being caught straying too far from first base. Andrés Giménez followed with a double down the right field line, and suddenly the game was tied.

Despite entering the inning with a low pitch count and a four-run advantage, Baz failed to complete the sixth. Albernaz summoned Yennier Cano from the bullpen, and Baz voiced his displeasure toward the second base umpire before he entered the dugout.

Cano entered and got Nathan Lukes to put the ball on the ground, but the ball deflected off the mound and to the right side of the infield. Holliday, with no time to transfer the ball to his throwing hand, flipped the ball directly from his glove to first base. Unfortunately for Holliday, he never stood a chance with either type of play. Instead of eating the throw, his lollipop attempt allowed Giménez to break for home. Alonso bounced the ball to the plate, and Samuel Basallo aggravated his wrist on a late tag attempt. The Blue Jays stole a 5-4 advantage as Baz continued to steam in the dugout.

The Orioles should have escaped the inning with only one run allowed, but Baltimore was done in by more than just one blown call. Henderson should have made the play on Clement’s grounder, and he could have made a more aggressive effort to tag Clement to prevent a runner from reaching scoring position with a multi-run lead. Jackson Holliday never should have flipped the ball to Alonso, and a better throw home may have nailed the go-ahead runner.

The Orioles squandered a golden attempt to bounce back in the top of the seventh. Tyler O’Neill and Holliday reached on a single and walk, but the hot-hitting Blaze Alexander decided to lay down a bunt. Alexander failed to push the bunt far enough beyond home plate, and the Blue Jays got the lead runner at third base. Taylor Ward stepped in with the tying run in scoring position, but Ward bounced into a tailor-made double play to end the inning.

The Blue Jays added an insurance run when Valenzuela tagged a solo shot off of Rico Garcia.

The Orioles attempted to start a rally in the ninth when Colton Cowser reached on an infield single. Holliday bounced a ball to the right side and attempt to dodge the tag when running to first base. Holliday was called out for running outside of the basepaths, which added insult to injury to Albernaz and his squad. Blaze Alexander struck out looking to end the game.

The Orioles jumped out to their early advantage with a four-run fifth inning. Colton Cowser got the party started with a solo shot, and the Birds used some two-out lightning to extend their advantage. Holliday tripled off the wall, and Alexander drove him in with a double to right-center. Kevin Gausman left a splitter up to Taylor Ward, and Ward cleared the fence for his third homer of the season.

The Orioles will return home with a 31-35 record. The team has officially listed tomorrow’s starter as TBA. Chris Bassitt would be on turn, but he left his last start early with back tightness. Trey Gibson remains an option at Triple-A.

Today, the Marlins played a sort of game that felt familiar. Their pitching, from starter to bullpen, was outstanding. Their defense possibly robbed Cedric Mullins of a home run and was sharp across the board.

They ran the bases well, making just one mistake (Heriberto Hernandez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single to a double) but otherwise stole four bases, including a double steal that led to two runs.

I realized, this style of play felt familiar for a reason: this had been the way the Rays were playing until about a month ago.

But now that is gone. They have lost their good luck but also lost some of their basic ability to play clean baseball.

Griffin Jax started and pitched five shutout innings, bouncing back after his last (four inning, six run) start. And the Rays got on the board early as well, piecing together a hit, a stolen base, and an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Things were looking up!

But their offense, after that, was AWOL. They scored just one run on six singles, and managed to lose two runners who were caught stealing.

And their relievers struggled to avoid walking people (Rays pitchers gave up six walks altogether), with several of the batters they walked ultimately scoring.

Catcher Hunter Feduccia had an especially terrible day. He blew the Rays two ball/strike challenges early on. Now, I have been frustrated in the past when the Rays DON’T use their challenges — you can’t save them up for a rainy day! But if you have lost your first challenge and it’s not even the fifth inning I would be very very cautious about using another.

But his biggest error? Following that double steal, with Miami runners on second and third base, Joe Mack hit a weak grounder that was fielded by Taylor Walls. Walls fired to Feduccia and the throw was in time to get the runner out….but Feduccia muffed the catch, the ball bounced away, and not just run but two runners scored. Was it a difficult throw to corral? Sure. Should he have held on to it? Yes! Here’s the video, what do y’all think?

The Rays continue to disappoint on both sides of the ball, although at least in this series we got some decent starting pitching. Now it’s up to Boston, and it would be really nice to win that series and NOT give the Red Sox any glimmer of hope.

Emmet Sheehan faces José Soriano as the Dodgers look to win every contest against the Angels this year.

SUNDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 1:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Last week the Cubs were the Sunday Night game of the week on NBC against the Cardinals. It did not go well for the North Siders with the Cardinals winning 5-1. But the broadcast was pretty good, albeit a little crowded sometimes. And it turns out that Bingo is good on any network for a weekly showcase, so with that in mind, here’s another edition of Cubs Sunday Night Baseball Bingo!

Jason Benetti is always on point and NBC is fortunate to have one of the best in the business anchor this Sunday Night showcase. The Cubs’ own Jim Deshaies gets a chance to shine on national TV. JD has been a gem on the Cubs broadcasts for years with his deadpan humor, well-timed one-liners and knack for spotting an egregious strike call or quality baby from the press box. Add in a loved player from both teams and you’ve got yourself an excellent combination of commentary. Last week we heard from Albert Pujols on the Cardinals side plus Cubs World Series Champion Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo will join again tonight and pair his always great vibes with the eccentric musings of Giants World Series Champion Hunter Pence.

All in all, it should be a fun night at the Friendly Confines. As always, if you really want to challenge yourself make it a blackout game. I don’t recommend making it a drinking game unless you are personally trying to black out.

There was a Tarik Skubal party in Comstock Park on Sunday. The Detroit Tigers’ ace took the mound for a rehab outing against the Dayton Dragons, the Cincinnati Reds’ High-A affiliate. Huge crowds turned out on a beautiful, sunny day, and Skubal did not disappoint. He appeared fully on track to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation for his next start, which should be on Friday or Saturday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians. All that’s left is to recover normally from the outing, throw a bulllpen this week, and make sure all systems are go.

A rehab start from a major leaguer is generally a good day for the team. Skubal took care of the boys, getting a mobile coffee bar for the clubhouse, and planning to treat them all to a nice dinner after the game. Meanwhile, Dan Hasty and the Whitecaps’ staff got a break from a brutal six-week stretch of baseball with the Tigers’ High-A affiliate to call a Skubal game and see the park packed to the gills.

This whole recovery story has been pretty incredible. Skubal felt some discomfort in late April, and during a start against the Atlanta Braves in early May, his elbow was locking up on him. The diagnosis was bone chips in the elbow, which typically requires arthroscopic surgery to remove the loose bodies from the joint. Instead, Dr. Neal ElAttrache offered Skubal the option to try a new nanoscope procedure that could cut the recovered time in half. Everything went well in the May 6 surgery, and almost exactly a month later, Skubal took the mound for his first game action.

He looked 100 percent. Skubal punched out two in the first inning, sitting 96-97 mph with his fastball. He needed just nine pitches. A flyout and another pair of strikeouts followed in the second, and by then Skubal was reportedly up to 99 mph per Jason Beck. A two-run shot from Tigers’ center field prospect Jackson Strong, Strong’s third homer in as many days, gave him an early lead to work with, but he wouldn’t need much assistance.

Victor Acosta got a single off of Skubal in the third, earning bragging rights among his Dragons teammates. Otherwise, Skubal cruised through the third and fourth innings, needing just 46 pitches and punching out six to that point. The goal was to get him through five innings to show he’s 100 percent ready to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation, and Skubal managed that without breaking a sweat.

He collected the first two outs of the fifth and was still only at 50 pitches. Jacob Friend reached on an infield single for the second hit against Skubal. Third baseman Alfredo Alcantara hit the hardest ball of the day as the next hitter up, but Jackson Strong hauled it in to end Skubal’s fifth inning of work.

That was all that Skubal needed to accomplish. He threw 44 of 54 pitches for strikes, and there was really just one hard hit ball. He struck out six without a walk, and appears set to return on schedule. The Tigers will see how Skubal recovers, and have him throw his usual bullpen mid-week, and as long as nothing goes wrong, we should see him back on the mound next weekend in Cleveland.

Here’s hoping.

New York Mets (28-36) at San Diego Padres (33-30), June 7, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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