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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers play their final home weekday day game of the regular season in Wednesday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, with a 12:10 p.m. start at Dodger Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to start on the mound, taking a sparkling 1.06 ERA — and 2.63 xERA, fourth in MLB among pitchers with at least 60 innings — through 11 starts into Wednesday’s game. But it’s all contingent on how his left knee feels after leaving last Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh with inflammation. Ohtani sat on Friday in Chicago, but played the next three games as designated hitter and starts Tuesday at DH as well.

Ohtani threw a bullpen session on Tuesday as a last checkup before his Wednesday start.

“We’re certainly mindful that he wants to make his start,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The catch play, how he feels, the swelling has completely dissipated, so those signs give us confidence that he’s going to be fine.”

Left-hander Shane McClanahan starts for the Rays, with a solod 3.23 ERA and 3.71 xERA through 13 starts after missing the previous two seasons after Tommy John surgery and a triceps nerve injury. Tommy Edman, who was activated off the injured list Tuesday, is expected to start at third base on Wednesday.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rays
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 12:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of network)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

I’m writing this right now as I watch the venerable and capable grounds crew for the Atlanta Braes try to get the field back in playing condition after starting the game on time in the midst of a steady downpour. With that being said, there’s a pretty serious question to ask when it comes to whether or not this game should’ve been pushed back or not.

Sure, we got to see Drake Baldwin crush one into Chattahoochee Falls out there in dead center field but at the same time, the Braves ended up losing Michael Harris II due to injury for at least the rest of the game and Grant Holmes had an absolute devil of a time trying to pitch two innings in those conditions. He already has more than his fair share of issues getting through the second time through the order, so having him pitch in these conditions for his first trip through the order was certainly a choice.

Now, we’re in the midst of a rain delay that isn’t officially a rain delay as the grounds crew attempts to dry out the infield. The obvious question now is whether or not they should’ve simply put the tarp on and started this game under a rain delay. They’ve done it before — I was at the ballpark as a fan for that series finale against the Nationals where they started the game half an hour late despite the fact that there was no rain coming down. So why didn’t that happen today?

My only guess is that they figured that the weather would’ve dried up by 8:00 p.m. ET so they figured it wouldn’t have hurt to get through the light rain. Well, you can’t predict the weather just like you can’t predict baseball, so the rain actually started coming down harder than it had at any point all day right as the game began.

So the decision to start the game in the midst of a downpour was a confusing one for sure considering what they’ve done in the past. I can understand why the Braves figured they could pull it off but in this case, a preemptive rain delay may have been the best idea both in hindsight and in practice.

Anyways, sit tight while we wait for this game to get back underway.

UPDATE [8:40 p.m. ET]: The bases aren’t on the field. The ump isn’t on the field. We don’t have any more updates for you, though.

UPDATE [9:40 p.m. ET]: Still no word from the Braves on a potential re-start time. The tarps are on the mound and the home plate. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd the tarp has now gone onto the whole field. I think they’re going to bang this.

Last night, the Athletics returned to Sutter Health Park with a bang, bashing three home runs in an 11-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz hit two more long balls as he continued his torrid month at the plate. Meanwhile, J.T. Ginn delivered a dominant outing on the mound.

Your daily reminder to vote 🗳️#VoteAthletics | https://t.co/SBezYOtGtGpic.twitter.com/8EBds4qQ27

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 16, 2026

If the A’s secure their second straight win, they will move above .500 and clinch a third straight series victory over a National League opponent.

Right-hander Jack Perkins will make his third start since joining the A’s rotation, but his first in West Sacramento. Through 19 appearances, Perkins is 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and 43 strikeouts over 36 innings pitched. The 26-year-0ld has labored through four innings in each of his first two starts. In his last outing against the Milwaukee Brewers, he received a no-decision after allowing three runs on five hits and three walks.

Tonight, in his first career start against the Pirates, the A’s will be looking for more efficiency from Perkins, who is now stretched out and will hopefully work at least five innings if all goes well. The right-hander has the arsenal and ability to succeed as a starter, yet has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen through his first 31 MLB games. A quality outing would go a long way toward Perkins proving he belongs in the rotation. A third consecutive shaky outing, however, could move him back to the bullpen, where he has recorded three saves this season.

Now onto the starting lineup. Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay decided to order things up today:

let's run it back 🔄 pic.twitter.com/x4cWMLz3fK

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 16, 2026

The Athletics are sticking with the same starting nine for the middle game of this interleague series. Shortstop Jacob Wilson remains in the cleanup spot, even if it may not be the ideal fit for his skillset. If he collects a hit, third baseman Zack Gelof will extend his MLB-best hitting streak to 20 games. Second baseman Jeff McNeil broke out yesterday with three hits and four RBIs. The A’s will be counting on him to stay productive as they look to build on that 11-run outburst.

Will right fielder Lawrence Butler finally get his batting average over .200 this evening? Should Kotsay have switched things up or is it the right call to roll with the same group that had success last night?

Those bats will be facing Pirates’ right-hander Mitch Keller, who enters his 15th start with a 5-4 record, a 5.14 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP and 58 strikeouts over 77 innings.

The 30-year-old has struggled over his last few starts, allowing 31 runs in his last 36 innings of work, good for a 7.75 ERA. He received the loss in his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers after surrendering five runs on seven hits across four innings. Keller enters tonight 0–3 with a 7.04 ERA and 12 strikeouts in three previous career appearances against the A’s.

Despite his recent struggles, Keller remains a talented pitcher, and the A’s offense will need to take advantage of any mistakes he makes. Hitters like Kurtz, Butler and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom cannot afford to be passive, especially with the Pirates’ offense likely to generate runs against Perkins and the Athletics’ bullpen.

The Pirates’ lineup looks like this:

74/162.

📺: @SNPittsburgh
📻: @937TheFanpic.twitter.com/uGVrnvMweC

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 16, 2026

Like the A’s, the Pirates are rolling with nearly the same lineup that took the field yesterday. The lone change is Jared Triolo at shortstop, which prompts a couple of his teammates to move to different positions.

The A’s did a good job of quieting Pittsburgh’s bats in the series opener game of the series, but the Pirates will be looking to flip the script and score more runs in an effort to force a rubber game tomorrow.

Time to wrap the series up and earn another win in Sactown. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

If you took a look at Tuesday’s Mariners lineup and did a double take, you can be forgiven. J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh have returned to the lineup, both activated off the IL today, but the Mariners are still down some players, with Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor both battling some minor injuries. Luke Raley is also out of tonight’s lineup with back tightness.

UPDATE, 5:40 PT: Justin Hollander just stopped by the media workroom to announce that Randy Arozarena’s MRI showed more inflammation than they expected, and he’ll go to the 10-day IL. Connor Joe has been pulled from Tacoma’s lineup but as Tacoma is away (Salt Lake), the organization is summoning Curtis Washington Jr. from Everett, who are at home today, in order to cover the short bench. It’s a bummer to lose Arozarena, who has been one of the team’s most productive hitters, for any amount of time, but what a cool moment for Washington, who has been a long-term minor-league grinder for the Mariners and is one of the nicest guys in the organization, consistently winning community service awards from the team.

Arozarena is still sidelined with the hamstring injury he sustained while attempting to beat out a grounder to first base; Justin Hollander describes him as day-to-day, but says Arozarena will have an MRI today to make sure there’s nothing more serious at play. Naylor is dealing with a bruised shin, but according to Hollander what’s really keeping him out is a sore wrist. He is also day-to-day.

Meanwhile, the team is still without Brendan Donovan, who has returned to Seattle from the Mariners’ complex in Arizona to begin a running progression, as well as continuing to do baseball activities like hitting, throwing, taking ground balls, all things he was doing in Arizona. The running progression will begin linear, running in a straight line, and then progress to base running and lateral movement over the next week. Hollander says he expects the running progression to take 10 days to two weeks, maybe more towards the later end of that timeline as the running piece is the piece the team is most concerned about given the nature of Donovan’s injury. Hollander added that the expectation is for Donovan to be much more “multi-positional” than he was prior to the injury, playing all over the field including the outfield.

Donovan’s one-time replacement, Will Wilson, has also hit a snag in his rehab process and is being pulled from his rehab assignment. Wilson, who has been on the IL since May 2 with a fractured thumb, will visit with one of the team doctors over the next couple days and if the team doesn’t think his injury is progressing, he’ll have season-ending surgery.

Rob Refsnyder’s knee is still an issue, but is better enough that he’s come off the daily injury report. There will be no IL stint for him at this time.

The pitching isn’t as beaten-up as the position player side, but the Mariners suffered two significant losses to the bullpen on their road trip. Cooper Criswell has a pec strain that Hollander describes as a grade of “one, one-plus”; he will be down three to four weeks before getting another MRI and then build back up from there depending on what the MRI shows, putting him back after the All-Star Break at the earliest. Matt Brash’s lat strain isn’t in the same area it was last time – it’s higher up, which creates concerns about the strain impacting his shoulder, and also lengthens the timeline for his return. Per Hollander, “more showed up on the MRI this time,” but he still describes it as a grade one strain. Similar to Criswell, he’ll be down for a few weeks before being re-imaged. Hollander said to treat Brash’s return like a “trade deadline upgrade.”

In better bullpen news, Carlos Vargas, who had a similar injury to Brash, has begun a throwing program. Vargas’s rehab has been a complicated one; he’s currently on track to return around the same time as Brash and Criswell.

“I’ve really never seen anything like this on the position player side,” said Hollander. “Every day feels like a little bit of a juggling act.”

Today that juggling act will see the recently-activated J.P. Crawford make his first start at third base since September of 2018, when he played third base in a Mets-Phillies game but was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning. He’ll join Cal Raleigh, who gets the start behind the dish.

In order to make room for the returning veterans, Patrick Wisdom and Jhonny Pereda were both optioned to Triple-A. It’s a tough break for Pereda, who made a strong impression during the time he was with the club, but is squeezed out of a roster spot with the two other catchers. “The quality of his at-bat was unbelievable,” said Hollander. “He was fantastic. He’ll be back.”

Detroit Tigers (30-42) vs. Houston Astros (33-41)

Time/Place: 8:10 p.m., Daikin Park
SB Nation Site: The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.40 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 0.84 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Valdez	14	77.2	17.9	8.5	49.6	4.47	0.6
Brown	2	10.2	39.5	14.0	50.0	1.60	0.5

Cal Raleigh is back.

The Seattle Mariners reinstated their All-Star catcher from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, ahead of their homestand opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Shortstop J.P. Crawford was activated alongside him after a right-hand contusion.

Raleigh had been out since May 14 with a right oblique strain, the first IL stint of his career. He appeared to wince during a play against the Houston Astros that day, then landed on the IL. It came just a day after he snapped an 0-for-38 slide at the plate.

The break may have been a chance for Raleigh to reset.

Before going on the IL, Raleigh hit just .161 through 41 games, a stunning drop for a hitter coming off one of the best offensive seasons a catcher has ever had. He called the time away "productive" and showed it on a rehab assignment, hammering five home runs in his first four games at Triple-A Tacoma.

Last season Raleigh finished runner-up for the American League MVP behind New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. He hit 60 home runs, the most ever by a catcher and the most ever by a switch hitter. The Mariners are hoping to get that version of Raleigh back.

Seattle's offense has been a season-long problem. The Mariners ranked near the bottom of baseball in run production for much of the spring, with strikeouts piling up and the middle of the order going quiet. Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor spent the early weeks slumping in unison.

Even so, the Mariners have stayed afloat. They were 37-36 and sitting in first place in the AL West going into Tuesday night's game. Pitching has carried them, now they get their big bat back.

Randy Arozarena lands on the IL as Mariners injuries continue to add up

The good news came with a catch, however. The same day Raleigh and Crawford were activated, the Mariners lost their most productive hitter. Seattle placed Randy Arozarena on the IL with a left hamstring strain.

Arozarena hurt the hamstring Friday beating out a grounder in a win at Washington. He has not played since. The outfielder had started all 71 games to that point, one of just three Mariners to appear in every game. He leads the team in average, hits, runs, doubles and steals. He was hitting .291 with seven homers, 33 RBI and 19 stolen bases and was on track for his third All-Star nod. He had never been on the IL for a baseball injury in his career.

The timing stings for a lineup that already can't score. Seattle also played Tuesday without Josh Naylor, who is dealing with wrist and shin issues.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cal Raleigh activated off IL by Mariners; Randy Arozarena goes on it

We’re only two innings into a soggy night at Truist Park and while things are currently going fine for the Braves on the scoreboard, there may be some issues brewing as far as injuries go yet again. Michael Harris II was removed from the game ahead of the top of the second inning.

Michael Harris II has been removed from the game. Eli White has entered the game in LF and Mauricio Dubón is now in CF

— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) June 16, 2026

My only guess is that he tweaked something while crossing home plate to score the second run of the inning for Atlanta. We haven’t heard anything else and it would be pretty useless to speculate past that.

We’ll provide more updates as they come so stay tuned.

UPDATE [8:00 p.m. ET]: We now have an answer as to what’s ailing Money Mike and apparently his back is acting up on him again. The Braves are calling it “lower back tightness.”

OF Michael Harris II was removed from tonight’s game due to lower back tightness.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 16, 2026

If that sounds familiar, that’s because this is the same thing that caused Harris some problems not too long ago earlier this month. It also probably didn’t help matters that they were playing in wet conditions which up the ante for potential injuries. That could be precautionary in order to make sure that Harris doesn’t have to deal with that much further during this one but we’ll see what happens later on as far as that’s concerned. Once again, here’s hoping that we won’t have to see another core member of the Braves take a trip to the IL.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros look to even up their series with the Tigers tonight in the middle game of
their three-game set in Houston…tonight’s pitching matchup is a dandy between RHP Hunter Brown, who’s makes his much-anticipated return from injury, opposite former Astro LHP Framber Valdez, who’s also making his own return to Daikin Park.

THE HUNT IS ON:RHP Hunter Brown is returning tonight from a right shoulder strain which cost him
over two months, 67 team games, and approximately 12 starts…prior to the injury, Brown made two starts for the Astros in March, last pitching in the Majors on March 31 vs. BOS (1ER/6IP)…he made four minor league starts on his way back, posting a 1.88 ERA (3ER/14.1IP) with 21 strikeouts, a .157 opponent average and a 0.77 WHIP at the Double A (1g) and Triple A (3g) levels…a 2025 All-Star, Brown finished third in the AL in Cy Young voting last season after turning in the best year of his career with a 12-9 record and a 2.43 ERA (50ER/185.1IP).

WELCOME BACK FRAMBER!: The Astros will face off against 2022 World Series Champion LHP Framber Valdez tonight in what is his first start against his former club…Valdez spent his first eight Major League seasons (2018-25) as an Astro before departing the team via free agency this offseason…he went 81-52 with a 3.36 ERA in 188 regular season games as an Astro and ranks second in franchise history in wins by a left-handed pitcher.

PEANUTS NIGHT: Tonight is Peanuts Night at Daikin Park, which will be buzzing with Peanuts-themed activations, including playful photo opportunities and charming surprises…fans can also purchase a limited-edition Charlie Brown Astros Jersey Add-On for $49.50…fore more information and to purchase, visit Astros.com/Peanuts.

TONIGHT’S RADIO BROADCAST: The Astros English radio broadcast for the Tigers series will
feature Robert Ford and Kevin Eschenfelder, who’s subbing for Steve Sparks.

PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has a 2.73 ERA (32ER/105.2IP) with 99 strikeouts, a 1.04
WHIP and a .189 opponent average…among AL teams since May 15, the Astros bullpen ranks first in ERA, first in WHIP, and first in opponent batting average…the Astros are also 16-13 since May 15.

MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros have committed the fewest errors (29) in the AL and own the best
fielding percentage (.989) in the AL…1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed
an error in 72 games and 522 total chances.

ASTROS ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have reinstated RHP Hunter Brown from the 60-day IL and C Yainer Diaz from the 10-day IL…in corresponding moves, the Astros optioned C Collin Price to Triple A Sugar Land after last night’s game and designated RHP Jayden Murray for assignment today.

SELECT COMPANY: Last night, DH Yordan Alvarez played in his 750th career game and went 2×4 to
raise his career average to exactly .300…with 194 career homers, Alvarez ranks sixth in MLB history in
homers through a players first 750 career games:

Player HR Batting Avg.
Aaron Judge 226 .283
Ryan Howard 225 .279
Ralph Kiner 214 .283
Pete Alonso 206 .249
Harmon Killebrew 195 .259
Yordan Alvarez 194 .300

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, June 16, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network, SCHN2

Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Astros Lineup

SS Jeremy Pena

LF Yordan Alvarez

DH Christian Walker

1B Isaac Paredes

2B Jose Altuve

C Yainer Diaz

RF Cam Smith

CF Brice Matthews

3B Raynel Delgado

Tigers Lineup

3B Kevin McGonigle

C Dillon Dingler

RF Kerry Carpenter

LF Riley Greene

1B Spencer Torkelson

DH Colt Keith

SS Zach McKinstry

2B Hao-Yu Lee

CF James Outman

Amidst a flurry of injury updates and roster moves, the Seattle Mariners announced a major strategy shift for the next month. The club will employ the piggyback strategy once more, carrying through the All-Star Break in mid-July, but with a twist. Instead of limiting the piggyback to Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller, after apparent discussion and planning with the entire rotation, the club will be rotating the piggybacking through all six starters to afford each an opportunity to be stacked with another starter at some point. Reportedly, the decision (or at least the input from the rotation) was unanimously in favor of sharing the start-sharing load.

The move comes on the heels of a road trip that exposed the cracks in a six-man rotation scheme. As Ryan notes below, the numbers were not favorable for an M’s rotation which was essentially asked to execute quality starts in sequence without fail and with lesser bullpen support should things go awry.

Those factors aren’t in a vacuum, as Seattle faced the Mets at home before traveling to hot, windy climates at Detroit, Baltimore, and the hot-hitting Washington. But the prior batch of outings featured the White Sox, traveling to blustery Kansas City, the A’s in Sacramento, and then hosting a potent Diamondbacks offense. In short, a small sample in either direction.

What was evident during the 4-6 road trip Seattle took was how thin their bullpen was stretched night after night. With one fewer reliever than typical, Seattle got season-worst outings by runs allowed from Emerson Hancock and George Kirby, and mixed bags from the rest of the rotation save for Bryce Miller. Injuries to long-man Cooper Criswell, as well as leverage arms Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz meant trouble for the M’s, as well as daunting tasks like leaving José Ferrer in for nearly 50 pitches and shuffling several Triple-A relievers in and out of town. This left the M’s starters tasked with covering as many innings as possible, often at points where they might’ve otherwise been pulled for ineffectiveness earlier.

General Manager Justin Hollander was effusive in his praise of the rotation as individuals and a collective in terms of their selflessness and camaraderie for one another and the purpose of helping the team win.

“Never been around a group of starters that roots for each other like this group of starters roots for each other. So when you present a plan and tell them the sacrifice you’re asking them to make is for one day in the next 30, we’re gonna ask you to give up an inning for the whole group to be the best version, to help the bullpen, to help the team … it’s the type of culture you want to have when you go through a rebuild and come out of it. Those are the type of people you want to have – you want to draft them, trade for them, sign them to extensions.”

Hollander acknowledged the importance as well of having Cal Raleigh back to navigate the uncharted territory, while nonetheless praising Mitch Garver and Jhonny Pereda for their work in his absence. The ~30 day schedule built out is, per Hollander, the typical schedule the club builds out with the pitching coaches at all times, so they will reevaluate as things go, but the intent is to allow each pitcher the chance to expect and prepare for their own utilization in advance and “equity” with this uncommon situation.

Additionally, the club reiterated that they do not currently plan to bring up Kade Anderson or Ryan Sloan in the immediate or for a relief role. They are both expected to continue building up and stretching out as starters in the minors, but both remain in consideration as potential additions late in the season as needed and merited. The first piggyback of this sort will be its most familiar members, with Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller sharing a start on Friday, and three more at least planned until the end of the season’s first half.

The St. Louis Cardinals will continue their brief homestand against the San Diego Padres Tuesday night as Andre Pallante will answer the bell for the Cardinals. RHP Michael King is scheduled to start for the Padres. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium.

In Game 1, the Colorado Rockies bullpen managed to blow a lead, gifting the Chicago Cubs a walk-off win (shrimp style).

Tonight, they will look to even the series. .

Starting for the Rockies is Ryan Feltner in what will be his ninth start for in 2026.

Worth noting, he will be facing the Cubs for the second-straight start after facing them last Thursday at Coors Field. In that game, Feltner suffered the loss in a 9-3 Rockies loss, allowing six runs on four hits across 4.1 IP. He surrendered four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth after retiring each of the first nine batter he faced to begin the game.

The righty has a 5.20 ERA in 36.1 IP. He’s struck out 26, walked six, and given up two home runs. Feltner has a 1.21 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the Cubs will be RHP Edward Cabrera.

Currently, he has an ERA of 4.86 in 63.0 IP. He’s struck out 58 while giving up 33 walks and 13 home runs with a 1.41 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 6:05 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

SB Nation site:Bleed Cubbie Blue

Lineups:

For the visiting Rockies:

And the home Guardians:

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