The stage is set for game two in Truist Park, where the Braves’ offense is looking to support Grant Holmes in a steady outing against the Toronto Blue Jays.
First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. EDT. Check back with us for a recap of tonight’s turn of events.
Game Notes
The Mets avoided a sweep by beating the Seattle Mariners 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon to end the Mariners' eight-game winning streak.
-- Seattle starter George Kirby, who had already been struggling over his last three starts, entered Wednesday’s game with an 0-2 record and an 8.49 ERA in three starts against New York. That number only went up after another rough outing for the right-hander.
-- The Mets got started with an unearned run in the top of the first inning thanks to first baseman Josh Naylor’s throwing error, following singles by Bo Bichette and Juan Soto, which allowed Bichette to score.
But the big inning for New York came in the fourth and it all started with a one-out walk to MJ Melendez. Singles by Luis Torrens and Carson Benge loaded the bases before Bichette’s single, his third hit of the game, drove in two runs.
Bichette finished 4-for-4 to bust out of an 0-for-16 slump that had been plaguing him for the last week. And although he’s still hitting just .226 with a .590 OPS, Bichette will look to use this game, his 19th career four-hit game and first with the Mets, as a jumping-off point to get his season on track.
-- Still not done in the fourth, New York, with runners at the corners, executed a double steal to perfection. Soto set things in motion when he took off for second base, which drew a throw from catcher Jhonny Pereda and allowed Benge to break for home as soon as he saw the throw to second. Soto was safe, despite Seattle challenging the call, and the Mets went up 4-1.
Their good fortune continued on Jared Young’s grounder, which doinked off the first base bag and eluded Naylor for a double that brought home Soto for the fourth run of the inning. It was on Young’s ball to first base that Naylor made the throwing error that cost the Mariners a run in the first inning.
With Kirby’s afternoon done, New York continued to add on, scoring a run in the fifth inning on a double by Melendez and another in the eighth inning on Bichette’s sacrifice fly.
-- The Mets banged out 14 hits, led by Bichette, but A.J. Ewing also had a three-hit game, the first of his career, and Torrens finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Ewing also had a steal to join Soto and Benge.
-- On the mound for New York was Freddy Peralta, who served up a leadoff home run to J.P. Crawford in the first inning but nothing else for six strong innings. It was the fifth time this season that Peralta got through the sixth inning and it came on the heels of an outing where he lasted 4.2 innings.
The right-hander had to deal with traffic on the bases for much of the game, but he was bailed out with two double plays turned behind him despite entering the game with just one double play to his name all season.
Peralta ended his outing with his first 1-2-3 inning of the game and struck out six while walking two and giving up six hits. He threw 101 pitches (57 strikes) and lowered his ERA to 3.38.
-- Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Joey Gerber, who was recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day, finished out the game with three scoreless innings.
Bichette finally broke out with a big day and will look to continue it in San Diego.
The Mets score their first run of the day on an error by Josh Naylor pic.twitter.com/PtRk7x5xEm
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026
Bo Bichette's third hit of the day gives the Mets a 3-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/CC1yMA2M6q
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026
The Mets execute the double steal to perfection to plate another run! pic.twitter.com/JVyjopvcUw
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026
A serendipitous bounce for the Mets extends their lead to 5-1! pic.twitter.com/eWQPfOPUxa
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026
After an off day on Thursday, the Mets continue their road trip by starting a three-game series with the San Diego Padres on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m.
RHP Christian Scott (1-0, 2.97 ERA) will go for New York and will be opposed by RHP Michael King (4-4, 3.18 ERA).
The Milwaukee Brewers are looking to secure a series win over the San Francisco Giants after convincing victories in the first two games. It’s Backyard Baseball Night at the ballpark, and there will also be postgame fireworks.
After a circuitous avoidance of announcing who would be pitching in tonight’s game that would make Abbott and Costello blush, the Brewers finally made the roster move, recalling LHP Robert Gasser to make the start tonight. Reliever Rob Zastrzyny was placed on the IL with a trapezius strain. Zastryzny said it’s a relatively minor strain, but he’d been fighting through soreness trying to get back and will need some extra time to let the issue calm down.
Another note from Pat Murphy is that outfielder Brandon Lockridge should be ready to head out to Triple-A Nashville on a rehab assignment “fairly soon.” Lockridge, along with Blake Perkins, took at-bats against Brandon Woodruff in his four-inning live BP this afternoon. The Brewers will wait to see how Woodruff recovers in the next day or so before determining next steps.
Gasser will be making his third start of the season for the Brewers. The first two did not go particularly well, walking six batters in 8 1/3 IP and posting a 6.48 ERA and a demotion to Nashville.
On the key for Gasser to be successful at this level, Pat Murphy said, “Strikes. He has to be able to command the baseball. Free bases aren’t a thing up here; it’s just not. You can do that wherever else you want, whatever team you pitch on, you can do whatever you want. If you’re going to pitch here, you’re not going to give up free bases, just not going to happen.”
On the other side, the Giants will have their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound. Webb hasn’t had his best year, posting a 4.82 ERA so far. Still, he’s finished in the top 10 of Cy Young voting each of the last three years, so he has the capability on any given night to put together a dominant performance.
For the Brewers lineup that will face Webb, there is no Jackson Chourio in the order. It’s just a regular off day for him, Pat Murphy confirmed. Christian Yelich is back in the leadoff spot, and Andrew Vaughn returns to the lineup after getting the night off last night and will be batting second. Brice Turang, William Contreras, Jake Bauers, and Garrett Mitchell make up the middle of the order. Sal Frelick, Luis Rengifo, and David Hamilton round out the bottom of the order. Joey Ortiz has been out of the starting lineup each of the last three days.
The Giants will roll out a similar lineup to the last couple of games. Casey Schmitt, Rafael Devers, Luis Arraez, and Willy Adames make up the top four spots in their order. The big-time prospect Bryce Eldridge is batting seventh.
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. for the third consecutive night, once again on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
For the first time all year, all seven of the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates were in action on Tuesday. So let’s dive into a whole lot of action!
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
The big news on the farm was that the Giants used the off day to make a whole lot of promotions, and many of them involved big name players. Most notably, shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) was promoted from Low-A San Jose to High-A Eugene. To make space for Level, infielder Jean Carlos Sio (No. 44 CPL) was promoted from Eugene to AA Richmond. And Richmond’s pair of star pitchers, LHPs Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) and Matt Wilkinson were promoted to AAA Sacramento.
Wow!
Some other promotions: RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) and LHP Charlie McDaniel have been promoted from Eugene to Richmond to fill in those roster spots. RHP Ryan Vanderhei joins them from the bullpen. Also moving from High-A to AA is catcher Onil Perez, who takes the place of Adrián Sugastey, who landed on the 7-Day IL. After a stint in the ACL due to visa issues, outfielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) has rejoined Eugene now that they’re back from their jaunt to our northern neighbors.
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 6-1
Box score
Quite a bust of a game for the River Cats, who are at the time in the season where their roster is constantly in flux thanks to the churn of the Major League team, to make no mention of the promotions coming up from AA.
Giants fans who are hoping for some reinforcements on the pitching front will be sorely disappointed by this game. RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 9 CPL) continues to struggle in his search for sharpness in AAA, though he’s finally back to being fully stretched out as a starter. He went 5 innings in this game, but gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs, while only striking out 3 batters.
Like I said, he’s fully stretched out again, as he threw 94 pitches in this game … the downside being that he needed 94 pitches to get through 5 innings, and only threw 60 of them for strikes. Tidwell looked really good when called up to the Majors earlier this year, posting a 3.00 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 12 innings, while mostly working in single-inning relief. He’s really struggled since getting optioned back to Sacramento though, as he’s worked his way back to a starter’s workload: in 6 games following his optioning, Tidwell has pitched 22.1 innings and allowed 29 hits, 9 walks, and 17 earned runs, though he does have 27 strikeouts.
The bullpen options weren’t inspiring either, as Sacramento sent a pair of rehabbing relievers to the mound in RHP Jason Foley and LHP Reiver Sanmartin. Foley gave up 2 hits — including a 2-run home run — in an inning of work, with a strikeout. Sanmartin also pitched 1 inning, and allowed 3 hits, 2 runs, and 1 earned run, with a strikeout. For Foley, it was his 1st hiccup in what has otherwise been a great rehab stint with Sacramento: those are the only runs he’s allowed in 7 outings. For Sanmartin, the struggles have been constant, as he’s ceded 9 hits, 2 walks, 9 runs, and 7 earned runs in just 5 innings. I would guess that he’ll be optioned when his rehab ends, whereas Foley — who was signed to a Major League deal and doesn’t have options — will head to San Francisco’s bullpen. Either way, the Giants have some moves to make, as both of those pitchers — plus outfielder Jared Oliva — are set to come off the 60-Day IL soon.
In happier pitching news, RHP Ryan Walker retired all 5 batters he faced, with 3 strikeouts. San Francisco’s former shutdown closer has done well since getting optioned, allowing just 7 baserunners and 1 run in 6.1 innings, with 7 strikeouts. LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL), who I think had been on the Development List but it just hadn’t been listed, pitched for the 1st time in more than 2 weeks, and struck out the only batter he faced.
The offense really did nothing of note, as evidenced by the 1 run scored. Catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) made his return to Sacramento after getting optioned and hit well, going 1-2 with a double, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. It will be good to see him get regular playing time behind the dish now that he’s back in AAA, though it’s a bummer that it will come at the cost of the recently-promoted Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL) who has been lights out. Oliva, playing in right field, made his 3rd rehab appearance and went 0-3.
Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 8-7
Box score
The Squirrels won this game the good old fashioned way: with the heart of their lineup hitting the heck out of the baseball. Richmond’s 2-4 hitters all had multi-hit games that featured home runs, as they combined to knock in 7 of the team’s 8 runs.
That threesome started with left fielder Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), who went 2-3 with a 2-run blast, a walk, and a strikeout. Harber may have lost the start of the season due to an injury sustained during Spring Training, but he’s wasted no time getting up to speed. His stunning ability to hit the ball hard has translated to a huge amount of success in his debut AA stint, as the 24-year old UDFA — who came to the Giants in the Camilo Doval trade — has been one of the best hitters in the Eastern League.
Among the 121 EL hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this year, Harber is 7th in batting average (.323), 16th in on-base percentage (.390), 10th in slugging (.577), 13th in ISO (.254), 10th in OPS (.967), and 9th in wRC+ (153). Just as excitingly, Harber — whose primary pink flag has been a swing-and-miss issue — is making more contact than before. While his year-over-year strikeout rate has increased by the tiniest bit (23.0% to 23.3%), his swinging strike rate has dropped from 12.0% to 9.3%, despite moving up a level.
It’s been a great season for Harber and, despite the late start limiting him to just 32 games, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in AAA soon. He’s also playing almost exclusively in left field these days, and while that’s probably due to the roster logistics in Richmond (3 of their top 4 Opening Day outfielders have since been promoted), it also puts him in better position to make an MLB debut this year, since we know the Giants are more likely to have openings in the corners of the grass than the corners of the dirt.
Then it was center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), who had a much-needed dynamic game, hitting 2-4 with both a solo home run and a double, while also committing an error and striking out once. Davidson had been mired in quite a slump, as he ended May hitting 2-28 over his final 8 games, and had just 1 home run in the month … after 5 in April. So it was great to see him start June with a bang, and remind us of just how much talent there is in his bat.
Davidson’s season numbers have dipped to a .742 OPS and a 94 wRC+, though a pair of stop-and-starts (1st due to the birth of his child, and then due to an injury) could be factoring into the struggles. Still, Davidson has shown more reasons to be excited than concerned and, like Harber, hasn’t seen his strikeouts go up this year (though unlike Harber, his swinging strike rate has gone up a bit … he’s been struggling a little bit to catch up to higher velocity at the level). While Davidson has seen the other Richmond outfielders — Jonah Cox, Scott Bandura, and Turner Hill — all get promoted, he remains the top outfield prospect in the system for a reason.
And finally it was the cleanup hitter, DH Charlie Szykowny, who hit 2-4 with a solo blast and 3 runs batted in. Szykowny is more than holding his own at the level, as the 2023 9th-round pick is sporting an .810 OPS and a 116 wRC+. It’s been a remarkably well-rounded season for the left-handed hitter, as he’s hitting for a good average (.271), drawing a decent amount of walks (8.0%), showing off some power (.192 ISO), and really limiting strikeouts (17.0%). If it weren’t for his age (he turns 26 later this month) and his position (he’s really just a first baseman these days), Szykowny would probably be jumping up on prospect lists … but even so, I’d still bet on him having a future in the Majors in some form or fashion.
While that trio had a great day, the same cannot be said for shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL), who had a day to forget, as he went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and 2 errors. Shake it off, Maui!
Right fielder Jean Carlos Sio (No. 44 CPL) made his AA debut and fit right in, hitting 2-4 with a strikeout. Sio, a recently-turned 22-year old left-handed hitter who really broke out last year, dominated in High-A this year, despite starting the season injured. He only played 16 games for the Emeralds before his promotion (though he played 28 games there last year), but managed 4 home runs in that time, and a 153 wRC+. He can play all over the diamond, so he’ll fit right in for a Squirrels team that has had their roster depleted.
Also making his AA debut was RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL). It wasn’t the sharpest debut for Marte, but he did show off a lot of great things, primarily by striking out 7 batters in just 4.2 innings. That said, he gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs, while throwing 50 of 80 pitches for strikes.
Marte, who came to the Giants last year in the Mike Yastrzemski trade, didn’t exactly dominate High-A, but he pitched well in 9 games for Eugene, with a 3.74 ERA and a 4.03 FIP. Strikeouts aren’t usually a big part of his game, so it was fun to see him have so many on Tuesday … that said, he has the tools to pump up his strikeout numbers, so hopefully this is the start of that happening.
Unfortunately, a bad day for the bullpen, as all 4 arms the team used — RHPs Ben Peterson, Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL), Dylan Hecht, and Tyler Vogel — were far from their sharpest.
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 8-5
Box score
With Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) promoted to Eugene, the Emeralds are now a supremely talent-stacked team. Just on the position player front alone, Eugene boasts 7 starters who were listed in our CPL, which only ranks 44 prospects … and that includes a whopping 5 players in the top-20.
Level made his High-A debut on Tuesday, playing second base in deference to Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL). Level and Kilen briefly shared a roster last year in San Jose, with the pair splitting time between shortstop, second base, and designated hitter, and I’d expect that to continue now that they’re teammates once more. I do think ultimately that Kilen ends up at second base long-term (though he made one hell of a play from deep in the hole in this game), while Level, to my eye, has a slightly better chance of sticking at short (but I think would make a fine defender pretty much anywhere on the diamond, honestly).
The 19-year old switch-hitter wasted no time getting on the board in Eugene, hitting 2-5 in his debut, while striking out once and getting caught stealing for just the 3rd time this year (he has 11 successful thefts). Level’s time in Eugene will be must-watch TV for a variety of reasons, and I’ll say that he looked very comfortable in these at-bats. He is, remarkably, more than 3.5 years younger than his average peers in the Northwest League, so even just holding his own at the level will be cause for him continuing to fly up prospect lists. And if he plays well? Well, that will set him up to make his AA debut at the start of next year, right as he’s turning 20, and my goodness would that be exciting.
While the bulk of the excitement came from Level’s debut, the star performance came from one of Eugene’s other hot prospects, center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL). It was a sensational game for the just-turned 23-year old, who hit 2-4 with both a 2-run home run and a double. Even that underscores how good his at-bats were, as the double was about a foot or 2 away from being an opposite-field home run, while the dinger was a crushed no-doubter.
It’s been a mixed bag of a season for the 2024 4th-rounder. The overall numbers have been good, as the righty has an .805 OPS and a 118 wRC+, and continues to take incredibly well to center field, a position he rarely played in college. He’s hitting the ball as hard, if not harder than anyone else in the Northwest League, though the underlying concerns about his swing-and-miss issue have certainly shown themselves this year, as he has a 29.7% strikeout rate and a sky-high 16.8% swinging strike rate. There’s work to be done, but the swings he had on Tuesday are a reminder of how much potential there is. Here’s to June being a bounce-back month: after posting an .896 OPS in April, Jordan had just a .684 mark in May, and this was his 1st home run since May 3.
The other nice hitting game belonged to catcher Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL), who hit 2-3 with a double, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout in this game. A 21-year old who came to the Giants a few months ago in the Kai-Wei Teng trade, Villarroel missed the 1st month of the year with an injury, and then started the season slowly, hitting 3-22 over his 1st 6 games of the season. But he’s quickly put all of that behind him, and now seems to be lining up the hits every day … the right-hander is up to a .790 OPS and a 114 wRC+, with just a 19.6% strikeout rate.
Not a good day on the mound, as RHP Hunter Dryden got absolutely rocked, giving up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 1 hit batter in 4 innings, while getting torched for 8 runs and 7 earned runs, with just 2 strikeouts. A 23-year old taken in the 17th round in 2024, Dryden has run into a midseason wall following a really nice start to the season. He had a 1.88 ERA in April, but followed it up with a 4.91 ERA in May, and will need a few good starts to course correct his June marks. In total, it’s a 4.91 ERA and a 4.73 FIP on the year, and while the strikeouts are good (42 in 36.2 innings), he’s really struggled with both walks (22) and home runs (4).
RHP Cole Hillier pitched a perfect inning of relief with 2 strikeouts, and needed just 12 pitches. The 25-year old UDFA is having a really tough season, so this performance was nice to see.
San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66ers (Mariners) 7-4
Box score
With the promotion of Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), the Baby Giants become a significantly less potent offensive team. Well, in theory, at least. In actuality? It seems the players did not get that memo, and made up for Level’s departure with a dynamic offensive day. San Jose used the long ball in this one, bopping a quartet of homers to get the job done.
The biggest day belonged to third baseman Dario Reynoso, who hit 3-4 with a pair of solo home runs, plus an RBI single (the only stain on his otherwise brilliant day was that he committed a pair of errors).
Level was San Jose’s top prospect, but Reynoso has been arguably their best offensive performer this year, as the 21-year old from the Dominican Republic is now up to a .986 OPS and a 143 wRC+. What’s been most notable for Reynoso is how he’s been able to tap into his power lately. Despite hitting 10 home runs in 53 games in the ACL last year, he ended the season with 15 games in San Jose and 0 big flies. Then he began this year with 15 more games without a home run.
And since then? 8 home runs in just 25 games (he also has 6 doubles and 2 triples in those 25 games, after 3 doubles and 0 triples in the 1st 15). And with that, Reynoso went from being one of the league leaders in average and walk rate, to also being one of the league leaders in power: among the 84 Cal League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, he’s 16th in batting average (.301), 17th in walk rate (16.4%), and 4th in isolated slugging (.259). The only issue in an otherwise stellar season is that, as has always been the case, Reynoso is swinging and missing a lot — on the year, he has a 29.9% strikeout rate and a 14.1% swinging strike rate. On the bright side, both of those numbers represent big improvements over last year.
But he’s not the only player who continued a hot season with a big fly, as right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) hit 3-4 with a solo home run and an error, while first baseman Hayden Jatczak went 1-3 with a 3-run blast and a walk.
Like Reynoso, Maldonado took his time finding his power stroke in San Jose. The 22-year old, taken in the 7th round last year, had 0 home runs through his 1st 26 games in San Jose, spanning the end of last year and the start of this year. But since ending that drought, the right-hander has 9 dingers in just 28 games, making him 2nd behind only Level on the farm this year. On the whole, it’s a .907 OPS, a 119 wRC+, a 20.7% strikeout rate, and some strong defense for Maldonado in his 1st full season. He’s really impressed.
As for Jatczak, really, we’re all just waiting to see if he can hold these numbers at higher levels. The UDFA is quite old for the level, as he’ll turn 25 in August, but he’s certainly starring in his debut season, with a .934 OPS and a 132 wRC+. Perhaps we’ll soon see how he performs against more age-appropriate competition.
Home runs aren’t the only way to have star performances, and that was shown on the mound by none other than RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL). Martinez, who has a fairly strong argument for top pitching prospect in the organization, added to that argument on Tuesday, striking out 9 batters in 4 exceptional innings.
It wasn’t a perfect outing, as Martinez needed 74 pitches to get through those 4 innings, and threw just 49 strikes. But 9 strikeouts is 9 strikeouts, and he only allowed 4 baserunners (2 hits and 2 walks) and an unearned run (all 4 of San Jose’s allowed runs were unearned, thanks to 5 errors).
The 21-year old hasn’t had the smoothest follow-up to his sensational breakout campaign in 2025, as he has a 5.20 ERA and a 4.38 FIP through 9 starts with San Jose this year. But if you need reasons for optimism, Martinez — who was one of the top strikeout artists on the farm last year — has bumped up his Ks this season. With a staggering 59 strikeouts in just 36.1 innings, Martinez’s K/9 rate (14.6) is 2nd among the 43 Cal League pitchers with at least 30 innings thrown this year. He’s not particularly hittable when batters swing, even when they put the ball in play; he really just needs to get the walks in check, as he’s issued 22 of them.
A much-needed nice day for RHP Cooper McGrath, who gave up 2 baserunners in 2 shutout innings, with 2 strikeouts. Last year’s 18th-round pick has had a tough debut season, with a 9.31 ERA and an 8.14 FIP. But it’s early!
ACL Giants lost to the ACL Padres 9-2 (7 innings)
Box score
A fairly nondescript game. But it was yet another day that ends in “Y,” so it was another day with an extra-base hit for shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL), who went 1-4 with a triple and a strikeout. The 17-year old sensation now has a staggering 17 extra-base hits in just 98 plate appearances, while also striking out just 16.3% of the time, en route to a 1.033 OPS and a 138 wRC+. I had high hopes and expectations for the kid, but even so, this is stunning! With Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) still sidelined with a hamstring injury, Hernández is also getting to play at shortstop every day, which is surely good for his development as well.
The only player to reach base multiple times for the Giants was designated hitter Rayner Arias (No. 38 CPL), who hit 2-3. That was great to see, as Arias entered the day hitting just 3-39 with 18 strikeouts. It’s been an absolutely brutal few years for the former top-10 prospect, though a reminder that development takes all paths, and he only turned 20 a month ago. The future could still be bright!
Not a very good pitching performance, but there was at least some excitement from LHP Carlos De La Rosa (No. 30 CPL), as the 18-year old struck out 4 batters in 3 innings, though he also ceded 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs. It’s been a tough stateside debut for De La Rosa, who was part of the Camilo Doval trade, as he has a 7.00 ERA and a 4.84 FIP, with a whole lot of walks. But he’s sporting a 47.9% groundball rate, and has 22 strikeouts in 18 innings, so it’s easy to see where the hype is coming from.
DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Blue Jays Red 6-0 (7 innings)
Box score
The shutout was a very DSL shutout, as the Giants Black squad gave up just 3 hits, but walked 7 batters in as many innings. LHP Santiago Guerrero, an 18-year old from Mexico, exemplified that in his professional debut, as he pitched 3 innings and gave up all 3 hits plus 2 walks, but also struck out 3. RHP Luis Hernandez, a 20-year old in his 3rd DSL season was even funnier, as he walked 4 batters in just 1.1 innings … but didn’t allow any hits or runs, and struck out 2.
The best day on offense belonged to left fielder Franco Willias, a 21-year old from the Dominican Republic who is also in his 3rd DSL season. Willias, who is trying to get out of the DSL after posting a 114 wRC+ in 2024 and a 115 wRC+ a year ago, hit 2-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Designated hitter Diego Villegas, a 22-year old who is the rare 6-year DSL player, had a funny game. After hitting just 1-5 in the season opener, Villegas took the “don’t swing” approach, and drew walks in all 4 of his plate appearances. Honestly, just refusing to swing is probably a great way to have a high OPS in the DSL.
DSL Giants Orange beat DSL Arizona Black 9-8 (7 innings)
Box score
As long as we’re talking about those walks in the DSL (seriously: between that pair of 7-inning games, the Giants DSL squads issued 14 walks and drew 11), we need to mention RHP Frainer Mejias, a 20-year old in his 4th DSL season. Mejias didn’t pitch well, but he did pitch funny: he tossed 2 no-hit innings with 2 strikeouts, but gave up 3 walks and 2 hit batters, resulting in 1 run. Remember when I said that you could have a high OPS by just not swinging in the DSL? His teammate, RHP Johan Rengifo, made his pro debut and threw just 6 of 24 pitches for strikes, while giving up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 2 runs, and recording just 1 out.
The offense was much better! The pair of bats at the top of the lineup in particular shined, with right fielder Yoxander Benitez hitting a perfect 4-4 with a double and a stolen base, while center fielder Jose Valdez went 1-2 with a double, 2 walks, and a stolen base. Benitez is a 19-year old from Aruba who is trying to find his groove after 2 disappointing years to begin his career (88 wRC+ in 2024; 80 in 2025), while Valdez is a just-turned 17-year old in his debut season, who also hit well in his 1st pro game, when he went 2-5 with a double. A nice start to his career!
Second baseman Yeison Oviedo and designated hitter Brandon Vasquez both hit 3-4. Oviedo, who doubled, is an 18-year old who has a very difficult debut season last year; Vasquez is a 19-year old who has struggled in both of his 1st 2 years in pro ball.
Finally, left fielder Angelo Ugueto, a 17-year old from Venezuela who was an intriguing part of this year’s signing class, hit 1-2 with a triple, a walk, and a strikeout. He had hit 1-4 with a walk in his debut.
9 — Cam Maldonado — [Low-A]
8 — Dario Reynoso x2 — [Low-A]
7 — Bo Davidson — [AA]
7 — Parks Harber — [AA]
7 — Dakota Jordan — [High-A]
7 — Hayden Jatczak — [Low-A]
6 — Charlie Szykowny — [AA]
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Tacoma (SP: Matt Wilkinson)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Erie (SP: Cesar Perdomo)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT vs. Everett (SP: Jacob Bresnahan)
San Jose: 1:05 p.m. PT vs. Inland Empire (SP: Jordan Gottesman)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
Blaze Alexander will bat ninth and play center field tonight as the Orioles look to secure a road series victory over the Red Sox. Alexander will be flanked by leadoff hitter Taylor Ward and Tyler O’Neill.
Samuel Basallo will bat sixth and serve as the DH against lefty starter Payton Tolle. Jackson Holliday will play second base, and Coby Mayo will bat fifth against the southpaw. Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Pete Alonso will round out the lineup.
Tolle will enter the game with a 2.61 through 41.1 innings. Baltimore starter Chris Bassitt’s ERA (5.06) sits at almost double, but the veteran has looked sharp of late. The Orioles would love to see another quality start from the 37-year-old.
After yet another heartbreaking loss yesterday, the Royals will attempt to win the series against the Reds this evening. Getting the series would be a nice way to start this road trip for a team in desperate need of some positive momentum.
It will be Stephen Kolek taking the ball for Kansas City today. He has been a little uneven in his five big league starts this year but has been brilliant when he is pitching well. That extreme ground ball rate along with the Royals solid infield defense can really work wonders and is doubly helpful in a park as homerun friendly as Cincinnati’s.
Kolek will be facing Chase Burns, the Reds’ young fireballer. He is only 23 and his fastball sits near 99 and can touch the low triple digits. Burns was the second overall pick in 2024 out of Wake Forest and made it to the majors by June of 2025.
No Maikel Garcia in the lineup for the fourth game in a row, that means Carter Jensen is back in the leadoff spot versus a right-handed pitcher.
Still looking for tickets to the NBA Finals? The New York Knicks are making available two of the best seats in the house — right by the likes of Ben Stiller and Spike Lee — to the highest bidder.
The Knicks are auctioning two celebrity row seats for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, when the NBA Finals return to New York for the first time since 1999.
Ticket prices are skyrocketing with the league's biggest market finally back in the series, with tickets inside the Garden so hard to acquire that Knicks fans have instead bought up seats in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland as their team romped through the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The seats for the game Monday night are located in section VIP 10; row AA; seats 25 and 26, which the Knicks say is right off center court. It's impossible to know what they would usually cost, because the team doesn't sell them. Instead, they are given to the celebrity fans such as Tracy Morgan and Timothée Chalamet who are courtside fixtures.
The auction begins Thursday at noon at knicks.com/celebrityrowauction and proceeds benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the organization that works with MSG's companies to assist children at need in the tristate area. It runs through Sunday at 5 p.m.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Texas' high school baseball has as rich a history—arguably more than any other state—and on Wednesday, another chapter was added to that legacy.
Fort Worth Christian (North Richland Hills, TX) shortstop Grady Emerson has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year following a standout senior season.
Emerson was surprised at school today by his teammates, friends and family who presented him with the award. He also received a surprise video call from MLB All-Star and World Series champion Eric Hosmer, who called and congratulated him on the honor.
An early first-round projection in the upcoming MLB Draft, Emerson originally committed to TCU. He flipped his commitment from the Horned Frogs to the Longhorns on November 25, 2024.
Emerson now joins an elite group of past winners, including Alex Rodriguez, Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Witt Jr., and countless others.
“Grady Emerson’s track record of performance is outstanding, including four stints with U.S. national teams and a dominant senior season at Fort Worth Christian,” Jim Callis, Senior Writer at MLB Pipeline, said in the release. “He’s the best high school prospect in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft and a strong candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick by the White Sox. Grady is also a fine student and coaches and scouts rave about his intelligence and character. He’s a deserving winner in the fine tradition of Gatorade National Baseball Players of the Year.”
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Texas commitment led the Cardinals to a 32-7-1 record this season, batting .532 with 42 RBIs, nine doubles, four triples, and seven home runs. Emerson was a force on the base paths, recording 21 stolen bases, and was just as stout defensively, with 37 putouts, 17 double plays, and no errors on the year.
On top of his play on the field, Emerson is a stand-up person off the field and in the classroom. He maintained an A average in school while playing baseball and volunteering at The North Texas Food Bank and Mission Arlington.
Emerson has also donated his time to leading training sessions and defensive coaching camps for youth baseball. With his parents' company, Always Family Senior Home Care, during the holiday season Emerson will also deliver home care services.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gatorade announces 2024-25 National Baseball Player of the Year
Wednesday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Athletics lineup:
Colin Rea hit a bit of a rough patch early in May but his last two starts were at least decent. That’s what we expect from him, right?
Rea threw the last three innings of the Cubs’ 18-3 thrashing of the A’s March 31, 2025 in Sacramento, allowing four hits and no runs. In doing so he picked up a save, one of three he has in his career.
No A’s batter has more than five at-bats against him, and that’s Brent Rooker, who’s 3-for-5 with a home run. Stop Rooker and this could be a fine evening of pitching.
Jeffrey Springs is the A’s best starter so far this year… which isn’t saying much. He has a 4.07 ERA and 1.191 WHIP in 66.1 innings, with 12 home runs allowed. He can usually be counted on for giving his team six innings, though, as he’s gone that many or more six times in 12 starts.
Last year against the Cubs, April 2, 2025 in Sacramento, Springs allowed five runs (four earned) in three innings, including a home run by Seiya Suzuki.
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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Kodai Sengatook the mound for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday for his latest rehab start, and it wasn't much better than his last outing.
The Mets right-hander pitched five innings for the first time on his current rehab assignment, but allowed three runs on six hits, two walks, two hit batters and two wild pitches against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while striking out five. Senga tossed 91 pitches (54 strikes) and topped out at 95.7 mph. His ERA is now 5.19 across his three rehab starts.
Earlier this week, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expected Senga to throw around 85 pitches, but the team will need to see how he does and how he feels afterwards before they decide on what Senga's next step will be.
In his previous start with Syracuse, Senga allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, two walks and one hit batter while striking out five. He tossed 80 pitches through his 3.2 innings, and while the workload has increased, the results have been less than encouraging.
Senga was placed on the IL in late April with lumbar spin inflammation, and the Mets hoped the he could be inserted into a rotation that is in need of arms after Clay Holmes went down with injury.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a completely different offense than they were a year ago.
Calling it a night and day difference doesn’t do it justice.
A year after falling in the bottom five of most offensive categories, the Pirates are a top-five offense in baseball.
The team is second best in baseball in on-base percentage (.338), tied for second in hits (8.8), fourth in batting average (.255), tied for fourth in OPS (.740), and fifth best in baseball in runs per game (5.1).
It’s not an opinion, but a fact.
The most drastic improvement? Power.
Pittsburgh hit an MLB-low 117 home runs last season. The next closest team was the rival St. Louis Cardinals (148), who beat out the Bucs for last place by a jarring 31 homers.
This season? The Pirates are on pace to top 117 by mid-July.
Don Kelly’s team owns 71 home runs in 61 games, on pace for over 180 homers in 2026.
The Bucs hit three longballs on Tuesday in Houston and are getting contributions up and down the lineup. Brandon Lowe hit his 15th of the season, and Oneil Cruz smacked his 14th, both three-run long balls, to power the Pirates to a 10-6 victory.
Endy Rodriguez started the scoring with a two-run shot. Initially ruled a triple, the call was overturned to a home run following a video review for his first of the season.
Cruz led the Pirates in home runs last season, but only amounted 20 in 135 games. He is on pace for a 30/30 season and the best year of his career.
Lowe leads all Pirates with 15 and ranks tied for fourth in the National League, one year after hitting 31 with the Tampa Bay Rays in 134 games.
Bryan Reynolds finished second on the team in 2025 with 16 round-trippers. Lowe is one away. It’s June 3.
Five Pirates have hit six or more home runs, and Marcell Ozuna, who has been relegated to a part-time player, has hit five.
The Pirates offense is more balanced, and created lineup protection for veterans mainstays like Reynolds and Cruz.
Spencer Horwitz is having an eye-popping season with seven home runs and a .385 on-base percentage, eighth highest in the National League.
The Pirates were one of four teams to score at least 300 runs through May. The others are all World Series contenders (Braves, Dodgers, Yankees).
This season marked the first time the Pirates won 30 games before the end of May since 2013.
The expectation was that the Pirates’ offense would be good, but not THIS good.
Could this be the best offense since the 1979 “Lumber Company” Pirates?
The last World Series championship team led the NL in runs (775) and hits (1,496). Led by 1979 MVP Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, and Bill Robinson, the Pirates only hit 148 home runs.
This year’s club should well exceed it, albeit in a different era of baseball and how the game is played.
Lowe, Reynolds, Cruz, and even Ryan O’Hearn all have legitimate cases to make the All-Star Game.
Pittsburgh has an offense that has proven through the first third of the season that it can be sustained.
The club is +35 in run differential and sits in second place in the very difficult NL Central.
It’s not an illusion. It’s no fantasy. It’s not a dream. The Pirates’ offense is good for the first time in a long time, and they’re not looking to wake up from this dream.
One of the Chicago Blackhawks' biggest objectives this off-season should be to add a proven star forward to their top six. It is clear that Connor Bedard needs more help around him as the Blackhawks look to be more competitive in 2026-27.
Due to this, the Blackhawks should strongly consider targeting New York Islanders star forward Mathew Barzal this off-season. The Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch recently reported that the Islanders have been exploring Barzal's market.
"A league executive told The Citizen that the New York Islanders are exploring the market for forward Mathew Barzal," Garrioch wrote.
While that does not mean the Islanders will automatically trade Barzal this summer, the Blackhawks should still consider making a push for him. He would have the potential to be an excellent addition to their top six due to his elite playmaking skill. This is especially so when noting that he can play both center and right wing.
Barzal could thrive playing on a line with a superstar center like Bedard. The Islanders star forward would also give the Blackhawks another major weapon to work with on their power play.
Barzal would be more than a rental for the Blackhawks if acquired, too. This is because he has a $9.15 million cap hit until the end of the 2030-31 season.
In 81 games this season with the Islanders, Barzal recorded 19 goals, 53 assists, 72 points, and a plus-10 rating.
Texas Rangers lineup for June 3, 2026 against the St. Louis Cardinals: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Andre Pallante for the Cards.
Texas is looking to sweep the Cardinals in St. Louis, as well as extend their winning streak to six games and get back to .500. Skip Schumaker is rolling with the same lineup as yesterday.
The lineup:
Pederson — DH
Jung — 3B
Nimmo — RF
Burger — 1B
Duran — SS
Osuna — LF
Carter — CF
Higashioka — C
Lopez — 2B
6:45 p.m. Central start time. The game is a pick ‘em.
San Diego Padres (32-27) at Philadelphia Phillies (31-29), June 3, 2026, 3:40 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, Penn.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
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For many reasons, it's hard to think of many better NBA Finals pairings than the Knicks versus Spurs one we're about to be treated to.
The Spurs feature a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama, who might already be the best all-around player in the NBA. He's paired with a roster chock full of exciting, young players like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox. But then you have a Knicks team that's riding an 11-game postseason winning streak, which only two other teams have ever done. They have an underdog point guard in Jalen Brunson, but a complementary core of players who have been stars on previous teams, like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikail Bridges.
On top of that, you have the championship narratives. The Spurs had an over 15-year dynasty that saw them win five NBA titles behind a Hall of Fame corps, with a Hall of Fame coach, who helped popularize an entire style of play people called "The Beautiful Game." That dynastic run kicked off by beating the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals. It was the first championship in Spurs franchise history and their beginning as a basketball powerhouse.
However, after the 2016-17 NBA season ended, the Spurs never won more than 48 games, had made the playoffs only twice, and came into this season after six straight losing seasons.
Meanwhile, the Knicks came into that 1999 season on the tail-end of a tremendous run of success. Including that season, they had made the playoffs in 12 straight seasons, including advancing to at least the Eastern Conference semi-finals in eight straight years. They had won 50 games or more in six of those seasons and had finished first or second in their division for seven straight years. Yet, they had never won a title.
There was the 1997 team that won 57 games in the regular season but blew a 3-1 series lead to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. There was the 1994 loss to the NBA Finals to the Rockets in a seven-game series. There was the 1993 loss to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals that is famously known as the Charles Smith series. In fact, the Knicks team that made the Finals in 1999 wasn't even one of their better teams. They were 27-23 in the lockout-shortened season and were an 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Still, they had a chance to claim the ultimate prize and came up short. It was the last time the Knicks advanced to the NBA title game until this season. Which means, in order to reach a height the franchise hasn't seen since 1973, they'll have to beat the team that ruined their last chance. A team that's trying to start a brand new dynasty against an opponent that helped them kickstart the old one.
So how do these two teams match up as we head into Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, and is that anywhere close to how they matched up back in 1999?
1999: David Robinson (Spurs) vs Marcus Camby (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
We have to start by saying that this should have been Robinson versus Patrick Ewing, but Ewing missed the entire finals with a severe Achilles tendon injury. He was no longer an elite player in 1999, but he had averaged 17.3 points and almost 10 rebounds per game in the regular season and would have given Robinson a bit of a tougher time. Many people think of Marcus Camby as simply a dominant college player at UMASS, but the 6'11" center, who was the number two pick in the 1996 NBA Draft was a better NBA player than many people give him credit for. Still, this was not particularly close. Even though David Robinson was 33 years old in the 1999 NBA Finals, he was still a force. In the five-game series against the Knicks, he averaged 16.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game. He physically dominated Camby, who was nine years younger but no match for Robinson's strength. Camby did average 2.0 blocks per game in that series, to go along with 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds, but he couldn't hold a candle to Robinson.
2026: Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) vs Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
The Wembanyama and Towns battle would be a little closer to what we would have gotten from Robinson versus Ewing. However, instead of both big men being Hall of Fame centers at the tail end of their careers, this matchup features two centers who are in their prime and have changed the way the position is played. Towns is a perennial All-Star who spaces the floor and scores in ways most centers can’t. While Wembanyama is a 7'5" anomaly who does things on a basketball court we’ve never seen a player his size do before. Towns has been electric for the Knicks this off-season, operating as the hub of their offense, but Wembanyama is easily the more impactful player of the two by virtue of the fact that he is far and away the most impactful defender in the entire league and can score in a multitude of ways on the offensive end. How the Knicks defend him, or if they can, will be the biggest storyline in this NBA Finals matchup.
1999: Tim Duncan (Spurs) vs Larry Johnson (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
People forget what a force Grandmama, er, Larry Johnson was when he entered the league as the No. 1 pick out of UNLV. However, by this point in his career, Johnson was more of a solid NBA starter at the four, averaging 12 points and 5.8 boards per game — and in this series, he was playing through a knee sprain and was not himself. Johnson was no match for Duncan, who was only two years into his Hall of Fame career and was already third in MVP voting that season, scoring 21.7 points with 11.4 boards a game. Duncan dominated the series, averaging 27.4 points and 14 boards a game on his way to being named Finals MVP.
2026: Julian Champagnie (Spurs) vs OG Anunoby (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Back in 1999, basketball fans might have scoffed at the idea that two 6'7" players would be the starting power forwards on the two NBA Finals teams, but this is a different game in the modern NBA. OG Anunoby has been critical to the Knicks' run to the Finals, and he will be huge in this series because he will spend time guarding Wembanyama at points (Anunoby is the kind of physical, strong, and quick forward who gives Wemby as much trouble as anyone). Anunoby's two-way play has been key to the Knicks' run, and they need him to continue at that level this series. Do not sleep on Brooklyn-born, St. John’s alumni Champagnie to impact the series — he has six 3-pointers and 20 points in Game 7 against the Thunder. He is fearless, an elite shooter, and a plus defender — New York can't just hide someone on him, and he defends up.
1999: Sean Elliott (Spurs) vs Latrell Sprewell (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Sprewell may be most famous for trying to choke out his coach, but he was also a tremendous basketball player. He was a three-time All-Star with Golden State before coming to the Knicks in the 1998-99 season, and scored 16.4 points with 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Knicks despite only starting in four of the 37 regular-season games he played for them. Yet, he was easily their best player in the postseason. In fact, he led all playoff scorers with 407 points that postseason. In the finals, he averaged 26 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He was also a solid defender, while Sean Elliott was more of a "glue guy." Elliot was 30 years old in this season and was a solid defender who could chip in across the board production for the Spurs. You can make an argument that his intangibles made him incredibly valuable to the Spurs, but Sprewell was one of the better players in the entire postseason, regardless of team.
2026: Devin Vassell (Spurs) vs Mikail Bridges (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
If you had asked anybody about this matchup three weeks ago, or in the early stages of the Hawks series when it seemed like Mikal Bridges was being pushed to the edges of the next rotation, the answer would have been entirely different. However, it’s impossible to ignore what Bridges has done in this 11-game winning streak. In that stretch, he has averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while being a historically efficient scorer. He became the first player in NBA playoff history to average 15 or more points on 60% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from beyond the arc, and 100% from the free-throw line. He’s been shooting 68.2% from the field overall and 45.8% from the three-point line, all while playing tremendous defense on the wing. He’s been playing with more aggression than we’ve ever seen him play with in a Knicks uniform before, and getting to the basket far more regularly. Vassell is a really strong player, and there’s a chance that, by the end of the series, he will be a more impactful player than Bridges, but that’s only if Bridges reverts to the player he was in the regular season. If we get any continuation of what we’ve seen from him over the last 11 games, he will be a major difference maker in this series.
1999: Mario Elie (Spurs) vs Allan Houston (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Houston was a key part of the Knicks' scoring attack in this series — with Ewing out, everything fell to Sprewell and Houston on the wing. Houston dropped 34 in the Knicks Game 3 victory and averaged 21.6 points a game in the Finals. He did everything he could. Elie, along with Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson, gave Gregg Popovich solid veterans he could trust around the forces of nature that were Duncan and Robinson up front. Elie was solid all series and was third on the Spurs in scoring at 11.6 points a game, and he would pick up his third ring (he was a two-time champion with the Hakeem Olajuwon Rockets in 1994 and 1995).
2006: Stephon Castle (Spurs) vs Josh Hart (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
This will be one of the most telling matchups of the 2026 NBA Finals, even if these two are rarely matched up guarding one another. Hart's grit and defense matter to the Knicks style, but San Antonio is likely to try and "hide" Wemby on him, allowing their alien to patrol the paint — Hart has to knock down 3-pointers to pull him out to the arc. The Cavaliers tried the same thing with their bigs, and Hart hitting five 3-pointers in Game 2 with 26 points helped change the series.
Castle is going to be guarding Jalen Brunson a lot of the time, coming off doing as good a job as can be expected against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander last round. Castle's ability to drive and touch the paint, then score or find the open man, is going to matter in this series, too.
1999: Avery Johnson (Spurs) vs Charlie Ward (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
Younger readers might not know that Charlie Ward won the Heisman Trophy in 1993 as the quarterback for Florida State. Yet, despite that, he went undrafted in 1994 because he allegedly told teams he would only sign if he was a first-round pick. Instead, he wound up in the NBA and was a serviceable point guard for the Knicks. He started all 50 games for the Knicks that season and averaged 7.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game. He was arguably the Knicks' best defender in the Finals, but Avery Johnson was just a better player. The 33-year-old was also a solid defender and averaged 9.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in the series. He had more assists than anybody else that postseason and was a tremendous floor general for this Spurs offense.
2026:De'Aaron Fox (Spurs) vs Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
This is a little bit like the center matchup, except with the advantage going to the Knicks. Fox is a strong player and has averaged 16.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals this postseason. He seems healed from his earlier ankle troubles and is a very capable passer and scorer. However, it’s impossible to say he wins in a matchup against Jalen Brunson. Brunson is averaging just under 27 points a game in the postseason with 6.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Of the players with at least 50 clutch field goal attempts in the postseason since 1997, Brunson has arguably been as good a scorer as Michael Jordan. He has the most points from the field per 36 minutes and has a higher effective field-goal percentage than Jordan in similar situations. He is the heartbeat of the Knicks and arguably the best player on the court in this series.
1999: Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr, Jaren Jackson (Spurs) vs Chris Childs, Kurt Thomas, Chris Dudley (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
Some things never change, like the Spurs having elite depth. It was a much slower-paced game in 1999 — the pace for this series averaged out to 86.7 possessions per team per game — so coaches like Gregg Popovich could lean more heavily into their starters, who did not tire out as fast. Jackson led the Spurs reserves at 19.2 minutes and 6.6 points a game. Kerr would pick up his fourth ring as a player in this series, his first without Jordan on the team (Kerr would get another with the Spurs in 2003). Jeff VanGundy trusted his bench a little more; both Thomas and Childs averaged more than 20 minutes a night, and Thomas gave the Knicks 5.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. Still, this series was about the starters.
2025: Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet (Spurs) vs Mitchell Robinson, Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
The benches are going to matter a lot more in 2026 than they did in 1999. That starts with Knicks center Mitchel Robinson, who is expected to play just a week after surgery on his right hand (it wasn't exactly a pinkie finger injury) — New York needs his defense, his physicality, and his offensive rebounding (he had 10 offensive rebounds in the Knicks NBA Cup victory over the Spurs). Also, Shamet and the other Knicks shooters will need to remain red hot this series — he shot 11-of-12 from 3 against the Cavaliers.
Dylan Harper is a handful as a rookie (and Mitch Johnson isn't going to be able to keep him in a sixth man role much longer). He can get into the paint and finish at the rim, is very strong, can hit the three, and defend. Keldon Johnson is the emotional spark plug for this team and makes big plays. Part of what makes the Spurs so good is that there is not much of a bench drop-off, and the players' versatility lets Johnson mix and match with his starters depending on the matchups. If the Spurs bench outplays the Knicks' bench in this series, it is a huge step toward them winning it all