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The Dodgers (62-36) opened the second half of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Yankees (54-43) at Yankee Stadium Friday night.

Roki Sasaki impressed with one of his best starts of the year. Sasaki limited a potent Yankees lineup to just five hits and one walk while striking out five batters. The only run surrendered on his watch was of the unearned variety.

The Dodgers committed nine errors over their last five games before the All-Star break, and it looked as if the shaky defense spilled into the second half. The defense finally came together to make a spectacular relay play to maintain a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Sasaki used all three of his pitches to induce swings and misses all night from the Yankees batters. His fastball reached more than 100-mph with location, and his nasty splitter was nearly unhittable.

Rōki Sasaki with back-to-back 102mph Heaters…and ending the at-bat with a disgusting 89mph Slider. 😳 pic.twitter.com/LWk0GUhEap

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 17, 2026

Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernandez collected consecutive two-out singles against Cole in the second inning. Dalton Rushing wasn’t able to take advantage, striking out against Cole to strand both runners.

In the third, Andy Pages also managed a two-out single off Cole. Freddie Freeman struck out on a slider to strand another runner.

A Ryan McMahon double and walk to Trent Grisham in the bottom of the third were erased after Ben Rice grounded into a timely double play.

Poor defense reared his ugly ahead again in the bottom of the fourth for the Dodgers. A bobbling fielding error by Pages in center field allowed Jasson Domínguez to reach third base on what should have been contained to a double. Then a passed ball by Rushing allowed the first run of the game to score, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Jack Dreyer got the job done in relief of Sasaki when he struck out Domínguez with two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth.

Cole was cruising through the game, but it was also the first time he ventured into the 100-plus pitch mark since returning from injury.

The turning point in the game came when Max Muncy crushed a no-doubt two-run home run against Cole to flip the script and give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Max Muncy DESTROYS a 2-run shot to the second deck for a @Dodgers lead 😤 pic.twitter.com/j40oNhZ8r4

— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2026

Ben Rice hit a booming double to the center field gap with an out in the bottom of the eighth. Mookie Betts made a spectacular throw home to Dalton to tag out the sliding Grisham. It was a fantastic relay all around. Pages recovered the ball, hit deep to the gap. Betts skillfully snatched the relay throw to send it across his body to home plate. Dalton also made an incredible grab on the other side of the plate. He brought the ball back around to tag Grisham and preserve the one-run lead.

ANDY. MOOKIE. DALTON. pic.twitter.com/4RVbtNFzn9

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 18, 2026

It was a satisfying way for the defense to make amends for the earlier miscue which led to the unearned New York run.

Tanner Scott shut down the Yankees in order in the ninth to pick up the save and help the Dodgers start off the second half with a win.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Max Muncy (18)

WP — Jack Dreyer (4-1): 1 1/3 IP, 2 strikeouts

LP — Gerrit Cole (3-5): 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts (103 pitches)

Sv — Tanner Scott (14): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers and Yankees battle again on Saturday when Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) takes on Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) at (5:08 p.m. PT, Fox).

Dodgers All-Star third baseman Max Muncy didn’t get a break this week, traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the Midsummer Classic. But even without the extra rest, he put a charge into his go-ahead swing Friday.

The Dodgers struggled against veteran Yankees starter Gerrit Cole — until he hung a slider to Muncy in the seventh inning. Muncy launched it for a two-run blast to carry the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory.

“Anytime you can find a way to win a game when Gerrit Cole’s pitching, it’s a good thing,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Between the come-from-behind win, a strong showing from Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki and a defensive turnaround, the Dodgers (62-36) came out of the All-Star break on a positive note.

It was clear early on that Sasaki, who didn’t give up an earned run in 5 ⅔ innings, had something a little extra.

Pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time, he punctuated a clean first inning by getting ahead of Paul Goldschmidt with 101.8- and 101.7-mph fastballs, en route to a five-pitch strikeout.

“I got a big smile on my face when I saw 102,” Roberts said.

It was the first time Sasaki topped 101 mph in a regular-season game, according to Statcast. He threw 21 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most of any Dodger since pitch tracking began in 2008. Sasaki pointed to the rest he got over the All-Star break and a delivery tweak for his increase in velocity.

“I kind of changed the way I use my lower body,” Sasaki said. “So I’m really happy to get that velo up.”

The Yankees (54-43) scored their only run against Sasaki by taking advantage of a pair of defensive mistakes.

Read more:Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to pitch next week as they manage his knee ailment

With two outs in the fourth, center fielder Andy Pages bobbled Jasson Domínguez’s double in right-center field, giving him time to get to third. The next pitch, a forkball, got past catcher Dalton Rushing, and Domínguez raced home.

Pages later found some redemption with a defensive gem to end the fifth. He made a full-speed tumbling catch in the right-field gap to rob Austin Wells of an extra-base hit.

Cole held the Dodgers to just four hits in six-plus innings. Before the seventh, only one Dodgers runner reached second base, when Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández hit back-to-back singles in the second.

Cole came back out for the seventh and walked Mookie Betts to lead off the inning. After a mound visit, he stayed in to face Muncy.

“It was a tough decision for [Yankees manager Aaron Boone],” Roberts said. “You’re thinking about going to the ‘pen, or do you let your ace go after Max and Tucker. And Max spoiled some good pitches and then got a pitch in his wheelhouse and put a good swing on it.”

Muncy fell into a two-strike count, but he kept battling. On the seventh pitch, he saw something he could drive — 416 feet at a 30-degree launch angle, to be exact.

Read more:Shaikin: With Will Smith out indefinitely, Dodgers need to trade for a catcher

“The swing felt great,” Muncy said on the Spectrum SportsNet LA broadcast. “The result was better and it gave us a chance to win.”

Dodgers relievers Jack Dreyer, Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott chipped in a combined 3⅓ scoreless innings to secure the win. The Yankees came inches away from tying the score in the eighth, but the Dodgers, shaking off their pre-All-Star break rough patch, delivered on defense.

With Trent Grisham on first after a walk, Ben Rice hit a double into the right-field gap off Vesia. Pages chased down the ball and quickly fired to shortstop Betts, who threw it home. Rushing’s sweeping tag beat Grisham to the plate.

“I think it was huge,” Betts said. “We still had a couple mishaps in this game. We’ve got to clean that up for sure. You can’t win a World Series doing what we did today. But we’ll keep working and try to clean it up.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees' offense mustered just one run and spoiled Gerrit Cole's best start since returning from surgery in New York's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers on Friday night.

The Yankees picked up six hits but were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

Here are the takeaways...

-The first best chance the Yankees offense had against Roki Sasaki came in the third. Ryan McMahon led off with an opposite-field ground-rule double. Austin Wells struck out swinging before Trent Grisham walked. Ben Rice grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.

The Yankees would finally break through on some bad fundies by the Dodgers. Jasson Domínguez hit a two-out double, but Andy Pages bobbled the ball in center, allowing Domínguez to go to third. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. up, Sasaski threw a forkball that Dalton Rushing could not handle, and the pitch went to the backstop, allowing Dominguez to score.

-In the sixth, the Yankees chased Sasaki after Rice and Cody Bellinger singled to put a runner in scoring position with two outs for Domínguez. Going up against a southpaw, Dominguez struck out looking. 

Down 2-1 in the eighth, Rice lined a double in right-center field with Grisham trying to score from first, but a great relay by the Dodgers got the Yankees outfielder at home. After Paul Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, Bellinger flew out. 

-Cole was masterful, even when the Dodgers peppered him with singles in the early innings. The right-hander retired 10 straight as he took the mound in the seventh. Mookie Betts drew a six-pitch walk to lead off and manager Aaron Boone came out. He spoke to Cole and instead of pulling his starter, he let him face Max Muncy, but the left-handed hitting slugger took Cole deep, smashing a 90 mph slider over the heart of the plate 416 feet into the left field seats. 

Cole's night ended with a loud womp. He allowed two runs on just four hits and one walk, and struck out eight batters through six-plus innings. He threw a season-high 103 pitches.

It was Cole's best start since returning from elbow surgery, but he left on the long side of this one.  

-In relief of Cole, Brent Headrick got the Dodgers 1-2-3 to finish the seventh before giving way to Fernando Cruz in the eighth. Tommy Edman led off with a double but Cruz bounced back, getting Ohtani to pop out and striking out Pages. Freddie Freeman flew out to center to come up empty in the inning. 

Paul Blackburn allowed a walk in a scoreless ninth inning to give the Yankees a chance in the bottom of the frame. Dominguez (lineout), Chisholm (strikeout) and Jose Caballero (flyout) went down in order to end the game. 

Game MVP: Max Muncy

Muncy's two-run blast put the Dodgers ahead for good.

What's next

The Yankees and Dodgers continue their three-game set on Saturday evening. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m., weather permitting.

Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA) will take the mound. The Dodgers will send Emmett Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) to the bump.

 

This game was a tease.

Each time the Rays made a little headway on offense, they quickly gave it back on defense. Well, let me be clearer: Mason Englert, the Rays starter, promptly gave it back, because when the other team is hitting dingers it’s not the fielders who are letting us down.

The Rays started the game taking advantage of Edward Rivera’s poor control. In the first inning, the first two Rays batters made outs but Junior Caminero singled, and then both Vilade and Mullins walked. There was a moment of hope when DeLuca drove a 2-2 single, an impressive clutch hit, that scored two runs.

But alas.

Englert got the start, and he gave up a double to Rafaela and then a home run to Abreu and before we even had time to think “ooh a lead,” the game was tied. And then Contreras hit a home run and the score was 3-2. Even the next batter smoked a ball, but Williamson was able to make a great play to turn it into an out.

That’s OK though, because in the top of the third inning, our man Junior tied it up with this shot (111.6 mph by the way):

But the tie didn’t last long; in the next inning the Red Sox hit another home run to retake the lead, and then an inning later they scored again on a long double. At the end of four innings the Rays were down 5-3.

And that’s where it stayed. I guess the good news was that the Rays bullpen – Kimbrel, Sulser and Booser — all pitched scoreless innings, which would have put the Rays in a position to come back had they actually gotten on base. But after Junior’s home run the Rays could muster only two singles, one of which was erased on a double play.

All in all, a disappointing and low energy performance today.

The San Francisco Giants begin a three-game road series against the Seattle Mariners tonight.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.27 ERA, 3.28 FIP, with 104 strikeouts to 42 walks in 97 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6th, in which he allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks in eight innings.

He’ll be facing off against Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who enters tonight’s game with a 2.18 ERA, 3.12 FIP, with 65 strikeouts to nine walks in 57.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Mariners’ 8-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on July 9th, in which he allowed six runs (four earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts and four walks in five innings.

Game #97

Who: San Francisco Giants (41-55) vs. Seattle Mariners (48-49)

Where: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Washington

When: 7:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Knock knock, rise and shine, let’s get moving and grooving.

The Mariners are back from their horrible, dreamless slumber, with only a groggy recollection of the night before, and an instinct — call it hangxiety — that it’s best to get up before any memory can sneak through their pounding head. Thankfully, their first appointment has it even worse this morning. Long before the Mariners ended their evening by rattling off grievances with the state of Florida, the Giants were shirtless, pissing outdoors, and singing Morgan Wallen to the downward-glancing eyes of the clothed. We might find it within ourselves to forgive the Mariners, their flaws subtle, inward, universal. The Giants are just assholes.

Speaking of which, Landen Roupp is on the mound tonight. He’s been excellent this year, though a step forward (or to the side) on the mound won’t be what we remember about his season. Facing Roupp is Bryce Miller. He’s been the Mariners best pitcher this year, with a 26% K-BB and 3.12 FIP in 10 outings. After five days off, this turn in the rotation could have gone to anyone, and I’m taking note that it’s Miller who gets the first nod.

The Mariners lineup is just as they left it. All-Star Randy Arozarena is batting second. Former All-Star Cal Raleigh is batting fourth. J.P. Crawford is batting first and playing third; Colt Emerson is batting last and playing short. Luke Raley AND Dominic Canzone are in the lineup. No, Julio Rodríguez is not here tonight. Neither is Brendan Donovan.

Lineups

Game Info

First Pitch: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Mariners.TV and KING-5

Radio: Ol’ Reliable

News

Justin Hollander met the with the media today to give some injury updates.

• Julio worked out on the field today but is not playing. The plan is for him to return to the lineup tomorrow.
• Brendan Donovan’s rehab assignment continues in Tacoma.
• Rob Refsnyder will join Donovan in Tacoma tomorrow for a rehab assignment of his own.

Detroit Tigers (44-51) vs. Los Angeles Angels (38-59)

Time/Place: 9:38 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: N/A
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Troy Melton (5-1, 1.82 ERA) vs. LHP Reid Detmers (3-6, 4.39 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Melton	8	49.1	21.7	5.8	43.7	4.07	0.7
Detmers	19	108.2	27.2	7.7	35.2	3.35	2.7

second half starts now ⤵️

⚾️ 9:38 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Angel Stadium pic.twitter.com/Z4iT2ZyrKq

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 17, 2026

.@Angels lineup today in the first matchup back since the All-Star break pic.twitter.com/gK0rlGbGN6

— Jack Haslett (@JackHaslett_13) July 17, 2026

It feels so good to be able to say we have real meaningful baseball games to play again. The St. Louis Cardinals begin their post-All Star Game schedule in Arizona Friday night. The Diamondbacks will give Merrill Kelly the ball. MLB.com says Michael McGreevy will start for the Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40pm central time and the game will be available on Cardinals.tv.

Max Fried's first rehab outing is in the books. The Yankees' left-handed pitcher, who went on the 15-day injured list in mid-May due to a left elbow bone bruise, started his assignment Friday for New York's Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders against the Worcester Red Sox and went three innings.

He allowed two runs on five hits, one of which was a home run, while striking out three and throwing 52 pitches with 32 strikes.

"Most important -- was able to get all my pitches in and came out feeling good," Fried said. "So, when you come for a rehab and your first live-game action in a while, I think those are the most important things."

Max Fried racks up three strikeouts across three innings in his first rehab outing!@Yankees | @swbrailriderspic.twitter.com/dXXtTDD4j2

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 18, 2026

The first inning was a shaky one for Fried, who allowed three singles in the opening frame, starting with Nick Sogard's leadoff knock and soon followed by Andrew Knizner's two-out grounder up the middle that second baseman Marco Luciano did not corral and scored Sogard from third base.

"Just trying to get the feel of a game setting again," Fried said. "I have a lot of live BPs, so trying to throw the ball over the plate, not walk guys, force action -- and they were ready, ready to come out of the break."

Fried rebounded with a 1-2-3 second inning, including a leadoff strikeout of Allan Castro.

"Was looking at it -- 25 pitches after the first inning -- wanted to try to make it through three, hopefully four," Fried said. "But when you get put behind the eight ball like that, you just try to go out there, get a quick inning. It was nice to do that. I was able to get my three full innings, 50 pitches and, like I said, feeling good. So, that's the most important thing."

The southpaw, pitching with a 5-2 lead, started the third inning by retiring Sogard on a flyout until Nate Eaton's solo shot on a 2-1 pitch ended Fried's streak of consecutive outs at five batters.

"A slider -- a pitch I don't really throw a ton, but wanted to try a bunch of different things today and see how it works, and I guess that one didn't," Fried said.

Mickey Gasper subsequently singled on a groundball to shortstop George Lombard Jr. before Fried bounced back with back-to-back groundouts to end the frame and the outing overall.

Fried, last pitched May 13 in the Yankees' 7-0 loss at the Baltimore Orioles, topped out around 95 mph.

"First time back, being around there, throwing a good amount of fastballs, having good command, yeah -- like I said, the most important thing was being able to hit my pitch limit and then come out feeling good," Fried said.

What is next for Fried?

"That's going to be the team's call," Fried said. "I'll just go wherever they want me to for the next one and, yeah, it's more about whatever the team needs -- if they want me to come and keep building up and have another outing, then great. And whenever they feel like I'm ready to go to help the team, I'll be there."

Through 10 games for New York this season, Fried is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 61.2 IP.

"As a competitor, it sucks because I wish that I was out there," Fried said. "But obviously I wasn't able to -- I wasn't able to stay healthy enough to go out there and help the guys out. But we're a confident group. You're not going to play your best baseball the whole year, all 162. It's been not as consistent as we've wanted it to, but I think we're pretty motivated coming out of the break to play some of our best baseball and especially when it matters most."

As a first-year Yankee during the 2025 campaign, Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts.

There’s one element of modern baseball Mookie Betts doesn’t like.

While Betts generally agrees with baseball’s current state — citing the inclusion of the pitch clock, enlarged bases, and the automated ball-strike system (ABS) — Betts wants to eliminate position players pitching in games.

“Once position players come in (to pitch), just call the game,” Betts told Sports Illustrated during the All-Star break. “That’s pretty much it. Once you’re down 10 and the position player comes in, just call it a day.”

Position players toeing the mound has increased in recent seasons. The phenomenon happened just three times in 2008. In 2019, the occurrence leapt to 90, before reaching an all-time peak of 132 in 2022.

MLB updated its rules on position players pitching ahead of the 2023 season, only allowing it in extra innings, if the team is trailing by eight or more runs at any point, or if the team is winning by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning.

Previously, position players could pitch at any time if one team was up by six runs or more.

Position players pitched 131 times in 2025 after shrinking for a couple of years following the rule change.

At the halfway point of the 2026 season, there have been 83 appearances by position players on the mound by 39 different players.

Colorado catcher Brett Sullivan leads the pack with six innings in five appearances.

“It’s a lose-lose,” Betts added. “You get a hit, you’re supposed to. But it’s so hard to get a hit. It’s so hard to get that hit.

“And then if you get out, ‘ah, you got out by a position player.’ I’d rather just go home at that point.”

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 39.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: 1B Tyler Locklear
• Placed on the 10-day injured list: OF Tommy Troy (sprained right AC joint; retro to July 12)

I trust you all enjoyed your break from the grinding drudgery of the Diamondbacks’ 2026 season. But it’s over now, and I’m coming round with my clipboard to make sure everyone is ready to get their noses back onto the grindstone for the coming 66 games. This is where fan stamina really comes into play, especially as the winter sports begin to ramp up, and offer tempting and fleeting distractions from the rigors of a 162-game baseball season. But we shall turn away from the siren calls of football, basketball and hockey, focusing our dedication on the D-backs for the next two and half months, and their battle for a post-season slot.

We begin with the arrival of the Cardinals, who currently sit one and a half games ahead of the D-backs. So if we can sweep here, we’ll overtake them: winning two of three would narrow the gap to half a game, and also (as noted earlier) clinch the season series. We did take two of three in St. Louis, trading one-run contests before Arizona scored a 9-4 win in what would turn out to be the series finale. Thursday’s game was postponed, much to Paul Sewald’s chagrin. Part of me wishes the D-backs fabricate some reason to postpone Sunday’s game – bees would do nicely – and make the Cardinals fly back here to play the make-up.

Interesting the D-backs do not appear to have used the break to shuffle their rotation. So Merrill Kelly will start the first game. He has been improved of late, picking up back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and San Diego, after going 0-5 in June. Small sample size, but particularly hopeful were his K-rate and K:BB ratios. In June, Kelly pitched 28.1 innings and struck out only 14 batters, with 11 walks. In July so far, it’s 12 IP and 12 K’s, to 5 walks. The resulting FIP of 4.52 this month still isn’t great. But it’s a damn sight better than the 7.05 figure Kelly posted last month. With Michael Soroka’s return still some way off, we need Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt to be what we know they can be.

We have gotten some time to decompress and get away from Nationals baseball, but now we are back. The Nats head out west to play the Athletics in Sacramento. With two strong lineups and a small ballpark, there could be some fireworks on display this weekend. 

The big news in today’s lineup is that Harry Ford is going to make his Nats debut. The 23 year old will be catching and batting 6th. With a lefty on the mound, Andres Chaparro will get the nod at first over Luis Garcia. James Wood will DH, which means the outfield will consist of Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews. Cade Cavalli will get the start as the Nats kick off the second half.

back at it

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/2PmDDuBh6P

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 17, 2026

Despite super star first baseman Nick Kurtz being out injured, the A’s lineup is still fierce. Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom are a fearsome trio in the middle of the lineup. Former LSU star Tommy White is also making his debut tonight which will be interesting to watch. Another LSU standout, Gage Jump will be on the mound tonight.

Second half starts now. pic.twitter.com/Ccb4YREZ0t

— Athletics (@Athletics) July 17, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Sutter Health Park

Time: 9:40 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats will look to get back to .500 as we start the second half. With the A’s and Rockies to start things off, this could be an opportunity for the Nats. However, there are no easy games in the MLB, especially for a team with the weaknesses that the Nats have. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!