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For all the ink that has been (rightfully) spilled about a struggling Yankees’ offense, the once-dominant starting rotation has gone under the radar in the blame game for the team’s poor play over the past two weeks. While injuries to Max Fried and Carlos Rodón have certainly thinned things out, the results speak for themselves over the last 11 games:

• 6.45 ERA
• The Yankees have scored first just one time
• Their starting pitcher allowed a run in the first seven times
• They’ve trailed before coming to bat five times
• They’ve allowed 4+ runs in the first four innings six times

Will Warren did not do anything to improve any of these numbers. He allowed six runs across four bad innings, failing to follow up Cam Schlittler’s brilliance last night. For once, he got real run support on an early three-run home run by Ben Rice, but the six he allowed would ultimately be too much, as the Rays took two big innings and beat the Yanks, 6-4, behind a whole lot of strikeouts by the Yankees and some huge pop from the bottom of their order. By fanning 17 times for the second consecutive night, the Yanks set an ignominous franchise record with 34 in a two-game span.

Seymour set the tone early with five strikeouts over the first two innings, giving up only a single to Rice in the first inning. While Warren started strong with two strikeouts in the first, the Rays got to him in the bottom half. Victor Mesa Jr. jumped all over a high fastball with one out in the second to open the scoring with a solo homer, but it didn’t end there.

With two out and the bases empty, he lost a pair of long at-bats to Richie Palacios and Hunter Feduccia, allowing a single and a walk. Doing that against the bottom of the order, especially in the Rays’ lineup, will bite you. Yandy Díaz caught up to a sinker on his hands to make it 2-0 after two on an RBI single.

Needing a response, they got to Seymour in the third. Max Schuemann laid down a beautiful bunt, and Trent Grisham dunked a double to left field to put two in scoring position with one out. Paul Goldschmidt struck out, but it was Rice to the rescue, as the first-time All-Star blasted his 26th home run of the season to the opposite field to make it 3-2 Yanks. That’s a good preview of next week’s Home Run Derby in Philly.

Warren recovered to retire the heart of the order in a row in the third, while Seymour struck out two more in the fourth. The game seemed to get a real pace to it with one out and an 0-2 count on Taylor Walls in the fourth, but things quickly spiraled after that for the Yankees’ right-hander.

Warren threw three uncompetitive pitches in a row before giving in on a sinker and giving up a single. That would be no biggie, but then he grooved a 1-1 sinker to Richie Palacios for a smoked RBI double to right-center field to tie the game. Two pitches later, the light-hitting Feduccia obliterated a bad 0-1 fastball to give them the lead. Three pitches after that, Warren hung a sweeper on 1-1 to Díaz and, yep, he gave up another homer, making it 6-3.

Warren has objectively not been good in the last month, but most of the time, he’s allowed three earned runs or fewer. This was a disaster in terms of location and velocity. His four-seamer and sinker are both sitting under 93, and for a guy who doesn’t rely on overpowering you, I’m concerned. He hasn’t missed a start since becoming a full-time major leaguer at the beginning of 2025, and I wonder if it’s catching up to him.

Now pitching with a lead, Seymour was dialed in. He struck out three more in the fifth to notch a career-high 12 strikeouts and eventually ended his day with one out in the sixth. It’s the second straight day that a guy who’s fairly average in strikeouts has logged a lot of them against the Yankees, who’ve seen their plate discipline tank across the board over the last three weeks. It’s not what you want.

Tim Hill got five quick outs across the fifth and sixth to keep the game in striking distance before Paul Blackburn took over and got four of his own. The Yankees tried to rally in both innings but didn’t get the big hit. In the sixth, Ryan McMahon notched a pinch-hit single with one out, and Bellinger had one of his best swings of the month to get him to third on one of his own, but he inexplicably got caught off of first after taking a wide turn. Of all the guys on the team, his play of late has been the most bizarre.

In the seventh, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and pinch-hitter Jasson Domínguez singled off Kevin Kelly to get the tying run to the plate, but they scratched just one run across on an Ali Sánchez sac fly. Grisham ripped a ball to deep right-center off Cam Booser on the first pitch he saw, but none of the five ballparks that would’ve been a game-tying homer in were this one. Goldschmidt completed the golden sombrero with a strikeout to end the threat (José Caballero later joined Goldy with four K’s on this unfortunate night).

Garrett Cleavinger came on for the eighth and worked around a leadoff single by Rice with two strikeouts. Brent Headrick did his job to get this to the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, but All-Star closer Bryan Baker finished the job for the Rays, locking down a 6-4 win for the AL East leaders. If you want to find some solace from this one, the Yankees recorded double-digit hits for the first time since June 17th.

The Yankees will look to take a 2-1 lead in this pivotal four-game set tomorrow night at 6:40 pm on Prime Video. It’s a battle of the aces, as Gerrit Cole squares off against a finally healthy Shane McClanahan.

Box Score

The Athletics took on the Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit today, hoping to end a three-game skid. J.T. Ginn got the start today against reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarek Skubal for Detroit.

After a walk to lead-off batter Kevin McGonigle, Colt Keith homered to deep right center field giving the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

After Skubal struck out five of the first eight batters he faced, Henry Bolte launched his third homer of the season into left field bleachers. That cut the Tigers lead to 2-1.

zap ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/W3s9k2gUsV

— Athletics (@Athletics) July 7, 2026

Through four innings, both pitchers have allowed base runners, but since each gave up a homer, they’ve battled through, keeping the opposing team from scoring. Skubal left the game after five innings. He gave up just one earned run on five hits and two walks. He struck out nine.

Jacob Lopez replaced J.T. Ginn in the bottom of the sixth. Lopez was recalled today from AAA Las Vegas. Zach McKinstry walked and Spencer Torkelson singled. Pinch hitter Ben Malgeri doubled on a misplayed fly ball to right fielder Lawrence Butler. McKinstry scored. Matt Vierling doubled to right field, driving in Torkelson and Malgeri. Kevin McGonigle followed with a single, that drove in Vierling. When the inning was finally over, the A’s trailed Detroit 6-1.

With one out in the top of the seventh, Bolte was hit by a pitch, and Nick Kurtz singled. Shea Langeliers then singled, scoring the speedy Bolte easily from second. Jonah Heim was struck by a pitch with two outs loading the bases for Jacob Wilson. Wilson worked the count full but struck out looking on a borderline (but ABS-confirmed) four-seam fastball. Lopez set the Tigers down in order in the bottom of the seventh.

The A’s went quietly in their half of the eighth inning, and Elvis Alvarado entered the game to pitch the bottom of the eighth. While he gave up a hit and a walk, he also struck out three to keep the Tigers off the board.

The A’s could not muster any baserunners in the ninth and fell for the fourth consecutive game, 6-2 to the Tigers.

Given a chance at major league history under suboptimal circumstances, Ryan O'Hearn shortened up, rolled a single into right field, took his team-record 10 RBIs and went home.

Four home runs would have to wait for another night after O'Hearn began his night with a grand slam, followed by a three-run homer — and then another three-run homer in a 12-4Pittsburgh Pirates win against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, July 7 at PNC Park.

Yet given a chance to tie a major-league record with his fourth home run, O'Hearn strolled to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and discovered he'd be attempting the feat against a position player.

Not only that, but Braves infielder Jorge Mateo was a former O'Hearn teammate in Baltimore. So after flailing at Mateo's first pitch, O'Hearn shortened his stroke and sent a little single into right field. Upon reaching first, he nodded at Mateo and grinned.

No history. But still plenty to smile about.

O'Hearn has been the best buy for the Pirates this year, now with 16 homers, 64 RBIs and an .820 OPS. On Tuesday, he victimized Braves starter Hurston Waldrep for a grand slam and three-run homer in the first and third innings, and then popped a third homer off reliever Connor Thomas.

And now, he holds the club record for RBIs for a franchise that began play in 1882. It's the first 10-RBI game in the majors since Shohei Ohtani did it in 2022; slugger Mark Reynolds had the previous feat, in 2018.

MORE: The Pirates finally spent some money. You'll never guess what happened next.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan O'Hearn's epic night: 10 RBIs, three homers - but he passed on a fourth

The Atlanta Braves traveled to PNC Park in hopes of picking up a much needed win after two heartbreaking losses in a row. Hurston Waldrep made his second start of season for the Braves and Paul Skenes was on the mound hoping to rebound from the worst stretch of his young career.

The Braves got on the board first when Matt Olson hit a double and Mauricio Dubón hit a sharp single to center field to make the score 1-0, but that was the only offense for the Braves outside of a Baldwin walk. Things went south shortly after that. Waldrep hit the first batter he faced, then Lowe, who hit a HR against Waldrep last time they faced off, hit a single. Waldrep then walked Reynolds to load the bases with zero outs. After Valdez struck out, Ryan O’Hearn then wasted no time and blew the game wide open with a grand slam to put the Pirates up by three. Gonzales also singled which prompted a mound visit. Waldrep finally was able to get the final two outs of the first inning after that.

In the second inning, the offense went just as you might expect with the bottom of the order. Riley and Jarvis both struck out, and Yastrzemski flied out. Waldrep looked to have settled down in the bottom of the second. He was able to induce a pop up followed by two groundouts.

The Braves struck again in the third inning to put them within two runs when Harris hit a double followed by an Albies single that scored Harris. That would be the only offense in the third though as Skenes retired the next three hitters. The third inning for Waldrep was almost identical to the first. He walked Reynolds, then gave up a single to Valdez, and then O’Hearn took him deep yet again to make the score 2-7 for the Pirates. O’Hearn had seven RBI in three innings. Waldrep then got two groundouts but then struggled a bit again when he Triolo singled followed by a Davis walk. After yet another mound visit Waldrep got the final out of the third with another groundout.

The fourth inning saw the bottom of the Braves order again. Smith popped out, but Riley was able to get a single, but that momentum was squashed when Yastrzemski hit into a double play to end the top of the inning. Waldrep stayed in the game for the fourth inning. He was able to strike out Lowe but then walked the next two hitters he faced which finally got him pulled for newly promoted Connor Thomas. Waldrep ended his night with seven earned runs on six hits to include two HRs, five walks, and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. Thomas then forced two groundouts to end the inning.

It looked like the Braves may get something going in the fifth when Jarvis and Harris had back-to-back singles, but then Albies popped out and Olson hit into a double play. Thomas stayed in the game to pitch and retired the side on five pitches.

In the sixth Dubón had a double, but that was the only offense for the Braves. You will never believe this, but in the sixth inning Ryan O’Hearn hit a HR again. This time it was a three-run HR again which gave him his tenth RBI of the game. That is not a type. Ten RBI in a single game that all came from HRs.

Skenes was finally replaced in the seventh inning, but that did not matter because the Braves were sat down in order. The subs came in for the Braves in the bottom of the seventh signaling the white flag. Thomas stayed in the game and gave up yet another run by issuing two singles and a walk in the inning, but he did pick up two strikeouts.

The eighth did not go any better for the Braves. The subs were in and Kyle Farmer grounded out, Matt Olson struck out, and Joey Bart grounded out. Jorge Mateo, obviously a position player, came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. He walked the first batter he saw, then O’Hearn finally got stopped from hitting a HR, but singled. Gonzales then singled to make the score 2-12. Callihan singled to load the bases but then Mateo was able to get Davis to ground into a double play.

José Azócar was now in the game in the ninth and singled. Dom Smith hit into a fielder’s choice and then Austin Riley had his second hit of the game with a double. Yastrzemski hit a two-run single that brought the Braves’ run total to four. That was it for the game though because Jarvis grounded out and Harris popped out.

There is no sugar coating it. The Braves looked totally defeated. They need an All-Star break real bad. Hopefully they can end the losing streak tomorrow.

Arizona Diamondbacks (45-45) at San Diego Padres (44-46), July 7, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Márquez on the mound. pic.twitter.com/zIXnIHsKEU

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 7, 2026

Another one in the sun 🏝️

Take 50% off https://t.co/epBmrbYHsx this week! pic.twitter.com/wcW8VkjbPg

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 7, 2026

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Will Warren gave up three home runs and the Yankees bats struck out 17 times in their 6-4 loss to the Rays on Tuesday night.

The Yankees have struck out 34 times in the first two games of the series, a franchise record for a two-game span. The loss undoes Monday's series-opening win as New York (50-41) is back to being 4.0 games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Here are the takeaways...

-After an easy first, Warren pitched into trouble in the second. After allowing a one-out homer to Victor Mesa Jr., which wrapped around the right field foul pole, Warren allowed a single, walk, and a single with two outs, allowing the Rays to take a 2-0 lead.

The Rays would get to Warren again in the fourth. Richie Palacios hit an RBI double before No. 9 hitter Hunter Feduccia slammed a two-run shot to give Tampa a 5-3 lead. Yandy Diaz followed up with a solo shot.

Warren went 4.0 IP (75 pitches/48 strikes), allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. He allowed three home runs.

-The Yankees bats struggled mightily. But a big moment in the game came in the sixth. After Cody Bellinger hit a one-out single and Max Schuemann went first-to-third on the hit, Bellinger got hung up between first and second for the second out. Jose Caballero struck out to strand the runner at third.

In the seventh, back-to-back singles from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the pinch-hitting Jasson Dominguez put runners at the corners with no outs. Ali Sanchez pushed across a run with a sac fly. Trent Grisham flew out and Paul Goldschmidt struck out -- after Dominguez reached third on a two-base throwing error on a pickoff attempt -- to end the threat.

-Ben Rice, who announced his participation in this year's Home Run Derby, gave the Yankees the lead in the third with an opposite-field three-run shot. His 26 homers are tied with Junior Caminero for second in the AL. Rice went 3-for-4.

Caballero started at shortstop for the second straight game. Caballero went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

-The Yankees bullpen behind Warren kept the team in the game. The combination of Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick allowed just one hit and one walk in 4.0 innings pitched.

Game MVP: Ian Seymour

The Rays southpaw's only mistake was the three-run shot to Rice, but Seymour struck out 12 Yankees in his 5.1 innings of work.

Highlights

DERBY READY.

Ben Rice's 26th home run! pic.twitter.com/M7MkmTt5XH

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 7, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Rays continue their four-game series on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6:40 PM.

Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA) will take on Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05 ERA).

The San Francisco Giants continue this three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays tonight from Oracle Park.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.42 ERA, 3.74 FIP, with 50 strikeouts to 19 walks in 57 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, in which he allowed just one hit with five strikeouts in six innings.

He’ll be facing off against Blue Jays right-handed rookie Spencer Miles, who enters tonight’s game with a 2.83 ERA, 2.98 FIP with 55 strikeouts to 17 walks in 54 innings pitched. His last appearance was in the Blue Jays’ 9-3 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday, in which he allowed just one hit and one walk with five strikeouts in three innings.

Game #91

Who: San Francisco Giants (38-52) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (42-49)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

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

In Game 1, the Colorado Rockiesfell just short of beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series opener.

Tonight, they will look to even up the series.

The Rockies have gone 4-2 in July, are 9-8 in their last 17 and 13-13 in their last 25 since June 9, outscoring opponents 166-147 over that span. Colorado has gone 5-6 in their current 17-day stretch without an off day heading into the All-Star break.

The team’s calling card has become its fashionably late arrival.  The Rockies 126 runs in the eighth inning or later are the most in baseball. As a club, Colorado is slashing .295/.363/.487 with 42 doubles, four triples and 27 home runs in the eighth inning or later. They also have the highest average, most extra-base hits and second-most homers in the Majors in the eighth or later in the Majors.

As for the bullpen, it has not allowed an earned run in five-straight games, with the total streak running to 22.1 innings since the eighth inning of their game against the Marlins on July 1. Their 22.1 innings streak without an earned run allowed is the second longest streak in franchise history, trailing a 34.2 inning stretch in 2013. This month, have allowed four runs total (one earned) across 24.1 innings.

Starting for the Rockies is California native Michael Lorenzen. This will be his 20th start for the Rockies in 2026. He has thrown at least five innings in four of his last five starts, posting a 4.26 ERA (25.1 IP, 12 ER) with 10 walks and 19 strikeouts across that span. In addition, Lorenzen has struck out at least five batters in four of his last six starts overall.

The righty has a 6.91 ERA in 86.0 IP. He’s struck out 67, walked 32, and given up 13 home runs. Lorenzen has a 1.81 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be LHP Justin Wrobleski.

One of his calling cards as a Dodger is his ability to work deep into games, a quality they will be hoping is evident tonight given that the Dodgers had to go deep into their bullpen in Game I due to Tanner Scott’s blown save.

In his last two starts, Wrobleski has gone seven-inning starts, and if he can manager one tonight, he will reach 100 innings on the season.

Currently, he has an ERA of 2.80 in 93.1 IP. He’s struck out 64 while giving up 18 walks and eight home runs with a 1.01 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 8:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

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

SB Nation site: True Blue LA

Lineups:

For the visiting Rockies:

And the home Dodgers:

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Let’s see if the D-backs can continue the Padres’ free-fall. On May 18, they beat the Dodgers 1-0, Michael King and two relievers combining on five-hitter. Consequently, the Padres took over first place in the division, with a record of 29-18. It looked possible that we could see a battle for the NL West, the likes of which haven’t happened since 2021, when LA won 106 games, and it still wasn’t enough. Except, since then, the two teams have gone in sharply different directions. The Dodgers have won at a better than .700 rate, going 31-15, while the Padres have been the worst team in baseball, going 15-28, and with the worst run differential over that time to boot.

Consequently, the Dodgers now have a 14-game lead in the division. That’s twice what it was on the same date last season, and the largest on this date since the pre-COVID times in 2019. The division is basically over. Fangraphs gives Los Angeles a 99.9% chance of winning the division, and that may be underselling them. But what happened to the Padres? Their rotation has fallen off a cliff. Over those 43 games, the Padres’ starters have won just seven times – tied for fewest in the majors – with an ERA of 5.29 which ranks 27th in the league. Their offense hasn’t been much better, a .679 OPS ranked 28th (albeit five points better than Arizona!).

It’s certainly not what you’d want given a cash payroll north of $230 million, which is $46 million more than the D-backs. But since San Diego really started spending, entering the top ten in 2020 (where they’ve been every season since, bar 2024), they have finished an average of fourteen games back, and have a losing post-season record at 13-15. If that continues, one wonders how much patience the team’s new owners will have with GM A.J. Preller. He has been in the position since 2014 – longer than anyone save the Yankees’ Brian Cashman – but the team has only made it past the Division Series once in that time.