Perspective check: Just four teams with more wins than the Cubs, 91-win pace. For now, I’m just going to keep reminding us. This team has its flaws. We know them intimately because we follow them every day. The rest of the teams, with maybe one or two exceptions, have flaws as well. We don’t know them quite as well because we don’t follow those teams as in depth. Do I think this a top 5 (or even 6) team? Probably not. Though I do believe that their performance to date is fair at about top 5. Even with the slumps in the equation, this team overall has played very well.

Last year the Cubs were fifth in baseball at 92 wins. That was good for the top Wild Card spot. They are on pace for 91 wins. That would get them the top Wild Card spot if everything stayed the same as it is now. So regardless if there are some smoke and mirrors in the results to date, the results are quite good. We all suspect that the team tails off somewhat in the second half due to the large number of injuries. Or if we don’t think they will tail, we at least recognize that there is a distinct possibility of a tail off. So far this team has treaded water through all of the injuries. There is always the chance that they could do so.

As blasphemous as it is to say, Tuesday night was one of my favorite wins of the year. Yeah, 10 walk-offs. Yeah, almost as many games with double digit runs scored, including one with 23. There’s Pete Crow-Armstrong’s cycle game and several other really fun wins. But for me? I’ll take this one. Some timely hitting against a pretty decent pitcher. There was a strong outing by the starter. Hand in hand, that turned a lead over to the bullpen. The pen struggled early, letting the Orioles sneak back into the game. And then the bullpen came together, stacked outs and closed out a win.

There haven’t been a ton of these for the Cubs. A lead handed to the bullpen for the final three innings to protect. To be sure, the pen allowed two runs in three innings. If the starting 10 turned a lot of leads over to the pen and the pen consistently allowed two runs, there wouldn’t be a metric ton of wins. Two runs blows a lot of leads. But they had five to protect and after two early runs out of the pen’s work, they came together and locked it down. Dare I say, the team managed to make a competitive game look a little like an easy win. A good, clean hard fought win. The kind you need to have some of. A win against a good pitcher on a bad team on the road. Check.

What this team hasn’t had a ton of this year are wins based around key contributions from Alex Bregman. Or from Matthew Boyd. Two players with the words All-Star on their resume. They are paid well to be good. One has been healthy and under producing and the other spent time hurt but has under produced when healthy. Tuesday night, the team got strong contributions from both. With Monday’s off day, this week feels a little like it belongs to the second half, rather than being the last week of the first half. This felt like the start of the race to the finish. The kind of win you stack to get into the top spots of the playoffs.

Mission accomplished in the first of the final 72. One might not break it up that way. If you prefer, you could look at it as the 17th win in the last 23 games. Or just plain old 51st win in the 91st game. That’s why I enjoyed this win. At the end of the day, it is a mundane, forgettable win in what is a long season. There won’t be anything particular that stands out down the road looking backwards. They just took care of business. A good day as another day falls off of the calendar.

Go Cubs.

Three Positives:

• I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with Matthew Boyd. While the Cubs scored first, they didn’t score right out of the gate. Boyd held the line while they settled in offensively. Six scoreless innings. Very solid.
• Alex Bregman had two hits and two runs batted in. The two runs batted in came in two separate plate appearances. He came through twice with runners in scoring position.
• Miguel Amaya was the table setter supreme. He got the offense going with a two out walk in the third, leading to a run scoring rally that gave the Cubs some momentum. He would score two more times.
• Obligatory Pete Crow-Armstrong update: A pair of singles, one continuing the above mention rally and another driving in a run later. .293/.383/.525 (wRC+ 150) on the year. This was a subpar game. He’s been that good, a two hit, one RBI game is below average (though a tiny positive bump to batting average on the season, it wasn’t enough to raise his on base and his slug actually dropped).

Game 91, July 7: Cubs 5, Baltimore 2 (51-40)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.331). 6 IP, 23 BF, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 7 K, HBP (W 4-1)
• Hero: Alex Bregman (.155). 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Sidekick: Miguel Amaya (.127). 2-3, 2B, BB, 3 R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.147). 0-4, DP
• Goat: Ian Happ (-.062). 0-4
• Kid: Michael Conforto (-.047). 1-4

WPA Notes: Neither Ryan Rolison nor Jacob Webb appears on the goat podium because Rolison dug the hole but Webb allowed the runs, splitting the negative between them. Webb’s is mitigated by getting the third out and preserving the lead. That out was worth .107 and was one of the biggest plays of the night. The Cubs had an 87 percent chance of winning once they escaped that inning. To be fair, it was 93.5% before that seventh inning.

WPA Play of the Game: Adley Rutschman’s two-run single with two outs in the seventh cut the Cubs four run lead to two. (.141)

Cubs Play of the Game: Alex Bregman had an RBI-single with two outs and runners on first and second in the third, for the first run of the game. (.124)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 90 Winner: Javier Assad received 63 percent of the 67 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +21
• Carson Kelly +14.5
• Michael Busch +14
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Trent Thornton +12.5
• Dansby Swanson -9
• Edward Cabrera -9.5
• Phil Maton -10
• Caleb Thielbar -13
• Seiya Suzuki -16.5

Up Next: Game two of the three-game set Wednesday night in Baltimore. Colin Rea (6-5, 4.74) vs. Dean Kremer (1-1, 3.18). Rea is in a bit of a good groove lately, just three earned runs over his last three starts (15.1 IP). That’s what Craig Counsell is looking for from him. Keep the team in the game through five innings. Kremer has made only three starts, two of those were back in April when he was 0-1 with five runs allowed in 11 innings. He made four minor league starts with a 1.83 ERA before coming back to the team. In his return, he won while allowing one run on four hits and a walk in six innings against the White Sox in Baltimore. The time away was due to a right quad strain.

Kremer has been a pretty solid starter for the Orioles for a number of years. He’s 1-1 in his career against the Cubs with a 6.00 ERA in nine innings of work. The most recent of those games was in 2024. Almost two years to the day. Michael Busch and Ian Happ each homered against him that day. For Busch, it was part of a four hit day.

This is another one that is not a gimme. Hopefully, Rea keeps them in it and the team can find a way to win another one and keep this rolling.

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The Cincinnati Reds welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to Great American Ballpark tonight, with Chase Burns taking the hill. 

Behind their ace, my Phillies vs. Reds predictions and MLB picks are targeting Cincy to take the second game of this series. 

Who will win Phillies vs Reds today: Reds moneyline (-131)

The Cincinnati Reds send the dominant Chase Burns to the mound this evening. The hard-throwing right-hander owns a 3.08 FIP across his last five outings, surrendering just 0.99 HR/9. 

During that span, Burns has limited opponents to a 33.3% hard-hit rate. Opposing hitters are batting just .222 off his primary offering, the four-seam fastball, and his second-most-used offering — the slider — has been a real issue for several Phillies hitters, most notably Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. 

The Philadelphia Phillies are likely to go with an opener, and that's good news for the Reds. Philadelphia's bullpen sports a 4.87 FIP and 7.20 ERA across the last week. While Cincinnati isn't in great form offensively, it's an opportunity to jump on a Phillies relief corps giving up 1.35 HR/9 right now. 

Burns deals, and the Reds do some damage off Philly's pen. I'll play this pick up to -150. 

COVERS INTEL: The Phillies have been substantially worse offensively on the road, posting 78 wRC+ compared to 106 wRC+ at Citizens Bank Park. 

Phillies vs Reds Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (-131)

Tonight's total is set quite high at 9.5 runs. The Phillies are not exactly thriving offensively on the road, and Burns' ability to keep opponents at bay is a clear strength for the Under. The Cincinnati bullpen has also been impressive lately. 

Across the last week, they own a 3.63 FIP, and the penhasn't allowed a single home run. That's promising against a Phillies team that's sixth in the big leagues in home runs. 

While Philadelphia's relievers aren't pitching great, the Reds have just 74 wRC+ in their last six contests. I do expect them to score some runs behind Burns, but this will not be a high-scoring matchup. 

I'll play this pick up to -150. 

Phillies vs Reds weather

Conditions will be warm and relatively calm at Great American Ball Park tonight, with temperatures in the mid-80s at first pitch before falling into the upper 70s later. Winds will be very light at around 1-to-2 mph, while rain chances stay low. Overall, the weather should have minimal impact on the game.

Phillies vs Reds odds

• Moneyline: Phillies +119 | Reds -131
• Run line: Phillies +1.5 (-168) | Reds -1.5 (+146)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+131) | Under 9.5 (-131)

Phillies vs Reds trend

The Phillies have cashed the Under in 22 of their last 30 road games for +13.30 units and a 40% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Reds.

How to watch Phillies vs Reds and game info

Phillies vs Reds latest injuries

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Some players are so talented at both hitting and pitching, they are good enough to be drafted either way. Some scouts flirted with the idea of Bret Saberhagen or Zack Greinke playing shortstop (Greinke may have wanted to be a two-way player at one point) but ultimately decided that staying on the mound was best for their respective careers. In recent years, there was some question on where Royals picks like Khalil Lee, Trevor Werner, and Jac Caglianone might end up on the diamond, but all three ended up in the batter’s box.

California prep player Jared Grindlinger is the best two-way player in this draft, with scouts mixed on where he will end up playing. He is the rare player that offers enticing potential both ways, as a legitimate first-round talent both as a left-handed pitcher and as a hitter.

Jared Grindlinger, LHP/OF, Huntington Beach High School (CA)

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

Draft rankings:

• The Athletic: #12
• Baseball America: #18
• ESPN: #11
• MLB Pipeline: #18
• Perfect Game: #16

Grindlinger is one of the youngest players available after reclassifying from the 2027 class earlier this year. He won’t turn 18 until well after the draft, making him younger than nearly every other prospect in the class. That youth gives him a lot of projectability. At 6’3”, 185 lbs., Grindlinger is still growing into his frame. Most evaluators believe there is significantly more strength and power to come, which explains why teams are willing to bet on his long-term upside despite an already accelerated timeline.

Keith Law ultimately believes the bat is where his future lies. As a hitter, Law praises his “outstanding bat-to-ball skills” while noting that his bat speed still has room to improve. Even so, the ball already carries well off his bat, and as he adds strength, many scouts expect considerably more power to emerge.

Baseball America echoes that assessment, highlighting Grindlinger’s elite contact ability. Despite possessing long levers and a naturally large strike zone, he “almost never swung and missed” during last summer’s showcase circuit. Because he projects as either a first baseman or corner outfielder, developing more over-the-fence power will be critical. He is a below-average runner and will likely not be a defensive asset in the outfield.

His offensive profile is why many clubs prefer him as a position player, but his value is boosted by the fact that he also offers legitimate upside on the mound. As a left-hander, Grindlinger has already touched 96 mph with his fastball, though he generally sits between 90-94 mph. His arsenal also includes a pair of promising offspeed pitches: a slider around 80 mph that he can manipulate into different shapes and a low-80s changeup with excellent arm speed. MLB Pipeline notes that some scouts believe his loose arm action and physical projection could eventually produce a plus fastball as he matures.

There is still plenty of refinement needed. Law points out that Grindlinger’s delivery gets him off the rubber too quickly and causes him to spin off his front side, while Baseball America notes that none of his current pitches grade as true plus offerings. Still, the combination of youth, athleticism, arm strength, and feel for pitching gives him significant long-term upside.

Grindlinger is committed to Tennessee, where he would join his older brother Trent, a former highly regarded prep prospect himself. That commitment provides plenty of leverage, but most evaluators expect a team to select him in the first round rather than allow him to reach campus.

Jim Callis at MLB Pipeline reports that while most teams like Grindlinger as a hitter, the Royals prefer him as a pitcher. The Nationals and Red Sox have been the most-linked teams to him, although Callis thinks the Royals could be “bold” and draft him to let him play both ways.

For a club like the Royals, Grindlinger represents the ultimate upside gamble. There is risk in betting on one of the youngest players in the draft, especially one whose body and tools are still developing. But they seem to love young, athletic players who can go both ways.

The Loons and Drillers won close matchups, while the Comets and Tower Buzzers were both defeated at home, with none of these teams playing in a game decided by more than three runs.

Player of the day

When the most impressive and most impactful performances of the day line up to be the same, the choice is rather obvious; in this case, it was Zach Root making an absolute mockery out of the Dayton lineup to lead the Loons to a close win at home.

Root needed just 81 pitches to reach double-digit strikeouts, 11 to be precise, which represents a season-high, letting absolutely nothing across and lowering his season ERA to 2.37, earning a third win in 13 starts.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

For the third consecutive start, Charlie Barnes allowed exactly seven runs, ending this one shortly after it began as the Comets couldn’t contain the Chihuahuas, losing 8-5 at home. OKC even put up a fight towards the end with a four-run eighth inning, but when you only secure three hits in the whole game, any chance of a win virtually goes out the window.

Responsible for two-thirds of the Comets’ hits was the second baseman Hyeseong Kim, while Zach Ehrhard scored two runs in the leadoff spot, walking a couple of times. For Kim individually, this was a much-needed boost, hitting .158 in his last 15 games. Other than Kim, though, the only hitter to record a base hit was Alek Thomas.

Double-A Tulsa

In a similar fashion to the Comets game, but with a better outcome, the Drillers owe a ridiculous percentage of their 4-3 win to Kendall George, and not just because the leadoff batter secured the walk-off hit in the ninth inning. George was responsible for four of his team’s six hits.

This game could’ve been over earlier had Jake Gelof capitalized on a bases-loaded opportunity in the seventh with the score tied at three all, but he struck out, one of his three on the game. In fact, all hitters between the second and fifth spots in the lineup didn’t record a single knock, leaving the heroics to George and the bottom of the order.

Christian Zazueta and Wyatt Crowell provided quite the deadly combo on the mound, combining for 14 strikeouts to properly handle the Cardinals, who landed a few blows, including two solo shots. Covering the last four innings, Crowell earned his seventh win of the season.

High-A Great Lakes

Minor league and major league outings seldom get much better than what Zach Root delivered to lead the way on a 4-2 win for the Loons, striking out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. It’s the second time in a row that Root begins the month with a one-hit start—he hadn’t yet pitched in July.

Unlike the Drillers, the Loons scored all of their four runs first and survived a small bullpen scare once Root left the mound. Leadoff batter Charles Davalan was responsible for the team’s only home run. Despite striking out three times, switch-hitter Logan Wagner managed an RBI as well in his sole hit.

Single-A Ontario

Trailing from the top of the first until the very last pitch of the game, the Tower Buzzers fell victim to their own subpar defensive work, allowing three unearned runs in a 5-2 loss to the 66ers. Those errors were committed by reliever Luis Carias and shortstop Joendry Vargas, the latter of whom had a great game at the plate, going three for three with one RBI.

Starter Brady Smith doesn’t have the most appealing of ERAs at 4.08, but that number also doesn’t deserve an 0-6 record that’s been handed to him, suffering yet another loss this season. Three of the game’s five runs were scored when reliever Carias was on the mound.

Transactions

The Dodgers sent catcher Chuckie Robinson to Triple-A. Shortstop Jose Izarra moved from the Drillers to the Loons, and Tulsa shortstop Sean McLain was placed on the IL.

Tuesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 5, El Paso 8
• Tulsa 4, Springfield 3
• Great Lakes 4, Dayton 2
• Ontario 2, Inland Empire 5

Wednesday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Aidan Foeller) vs. Dayton (Reynardo Cruz)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Adam Serwinowski) vs. Springfield (Brandt Thompson)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (TBD) vs. El Paso (Jackson Wolf)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Inland Empire (Aiden Butler)

There were some impressive performances from two of the Braves pitching prospects on Tuesday night, even if some of the results didn’t match up in the end. Drue Hackenberg looked as good as he has in a long time for the first five innings of his outing, showing a combination of command and stuff that has only come in flashes the last two seasons Cedric De Grandpre crossed the 100 strikeout mark with another strong performance for Columbus, and he has fully situated himself in the names to watch category for the second half as he continues to put up impressive whiff numbers.

(42-44) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (53-35) Memphis Redbirds 11

Box Score

Statcast

• DaShawn Kiersey Jr., CF: 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI, .259/.311/.372
• Drue Hackenberg, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 5.68 ERA
• Blake Burkhalter, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

Drue Hackenberg delivered one of his best starts of the season, and though it fell apart late in the game there was still plenty to take away from the first five innings of this outing. Hackenberg’s command slipped severely in the sixth inning and it led to him allowing three walks and runs prior to being pulled from the game, but going into that frame he had limited the Redbirds to one run and walk while striking out seven batters. One of the major issues that Hackenberg has faced throughout his career is his inability to consistently locate his curveball — the pitch with the most strikeout potential in his arsenal. This game was an example of how effective that pitch can be when he can keep it around the strike zone, with 10 of the 14 whiffs he produced on the day coming form his curveball alone. He kept going back to the well and used the 42% of the time overall without allowing a hard hit ball. In addition to his command woes Hackenberg also lost some steam on his fastball late in that outing, but this is also the deepest Hackenberg has pitched into a game by innings this season and his second-highest pitch total. Working on his stamina will be critical for him, but given the injuries he’s faced it’s not hard to see how that’s hurting his ability to be effective late in starts. His cutter and curveball are his two best pitches and he located those both well, and this outing is an example of the potential he does flash as a pitcher to be effective. His injury troubles have taken a lot of steam out of the momentum from two seasons ago, but Hackenberg is clearly a capable prospect if he can stay on the field for the rest of the season.

To no one’s surprise the Stripers weren’t lighting up the ball in this game, but they found a lot of batted ball luck throughout the evening and managed to string those hits into early runs. The first four hitters of the second inning reached base with the best hit ball being a hard single from Brewer Hicklen, and the Stripers continued to capitalize and put up three runs. Adam Zebrowksi missed a home run but was able to get the second run home on a sacrifice fly and Cal Conley capped the scored in the inning off by shooting a ball through the right side of the infield for an RBI single. Another RBI single from Conley in the fourth inning extended the Stripers lead to 4-1, and the DaShawn Kiersey Jr. followed with the lone extra base hit to keep the rally moving and bring Conley home. Much of that lead was chiseled off by the three run home run Hackenberg allowed in the sixth inning, but going into the ninth inning the Stripers had Rolddy Munoz and a one-run lead to work with. Munoz was as nasty as always but wild out of the strike zone, allowing a leadoff walk and a wild pitch to put the tying run into scoring position with no outs yet recorded. Munoz then missed with a hanging slider that got smacked for a go-ahead home run. Munoz continued walking hitters but escaped further damage, and the Stripers had their chance in the ninth inning. Adam Zebrowski drew a walk to lead off and was lifted for Luke Williams, who advanced on a sac bunt and a balk before Keirsey sent the game into extra with a base hit. Unfortunately in the 10th inning it was shown to not be meant for a Stripers win. Hayden Harris got chipped to death, allowing four singles and hitting a batter before Gwinnett waved the white flag and inserted Conley to pitch with one out

Swing and Misses

Drue Hackenberg – 14

Hayden Harris – 4

Rolddy Munoz – 4

(36-41) Columbus Clingstones 4, (31-51) Birmingham Barons 3

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-4, HR, BB, .260/.341/.445
• Dalton McIntyre, RP: 2-3, HR, BB, RBI, .240/.424/.360
• Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 5.00 ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 4.97 ERA

Cedric De Grandpre is on a great run since his promotion to Columbus. That first outing is putting a damper on his numbers, but in his last three outings De Grandpre has managed 22 strikeouts and only three runs allowed in 16 2/3 innings, with this marking his high at the level in strikeouts and whiffs in a game. De Grandpre allowed a home run to the second batter of the game to put the Clingstones in a small early hole, but that was all of the trouble he had in the game. He whiffed the next two guys and though his own command issues did work him into a jam in the third inning the Barons never found an answer for his terrific pair of breaking balls. The Barons just couldn’t lay off his curveball when it tumbled out of the strike zone, and the high chase rate on his pitches helped mitigate that this was not an outing where he was even throwing his fastball in particularly good locations. It’s great to see De Grandpre fully healthy and already at his high in innings since 2023, and it’s already worth considering this season a success for him even if he takes a dive at some point in the second half due to fatigue. De Grandpre has established himself as a guy with multiple MLB-quality pitches, and though his command is still holding him back there is progress being made on his ability to land those two breaking balls effectively. That’s really the key to his arsenal, with his sinker mostly serving to try to get him ground balls, and he’s asserting himself as one of the guys to watch on a weekly basis. With these eight strikeouts De Grandpre is the first Braves prospect to cross the 100 strikeout mark, and with Owen Murphy in Atlanta for the time being and the next highest guy nearly 30 strikeouts behind he has a high likelihood of finishing the season as the system’s K leader.

Patrick Clohisy made sure the offense would answer back in support of De Grandpre. He led off in the bottom of the first inning with a home run out to center field, which extended his on base streak to seven games. Clohisy has been racking up walks in recent weeks despite not quite having the same success with getting hits as he was during his hot streak, with an even strikeout-to-walk ratio over his past 13 games. One of those walks came at a key time for the Clingstones. With two men on base in a one run game in the ninth inning the Barons were not playing around with Clohisy, giving him little to hit and allowing him to work a walk that loaded the bases with one out. Luke Waddell put a charge in a fly ball, and though it fell short it was plenty deep to score the speedy Dalton McIntyre from third base and tie the game. With two outs the Barons had a chance to send the game into extra innings, but Archer Brookman made sure to win the game in regulation. He hit a shot out to right center field that burned the gap, winning the series opener in walkoff fashion to ease the sting of two other games in this system that were lost late. McIntyre has been a real list to the Columbus lineup in his few games thus far, drawing a ton of walks and running a .424 OBP. He was the catalyst of that two run ninth inning with a leadoff walk, but also had a big hit in the fifth inning. McIntyre faced a left-on-left matchup but got a fastball he liked on the inner half of the plate and smoked a go-ahead home run.

Swing and Misses

Cedric De Grandpre – 17

LJ McDonough – 7

Luis Vargas – 6

Shay Schanaman – 5

(40-39) Rome Emperors 2, (38-42) Hudson Valley Renegades 3

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, SS: 2-4, BB, RBI, .209/.357/.352
• John Gil, 2B: 0-4, BB, .254/.351/.403
• Eric Hartman, CF: 0-5, .285/.360/.547
• Owen Carey, RF: 0-4, BB, .258/.331/.453
• Aiven Cabral, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.82 ERA

Aiven Cabral just keeps getting outs for the Emperors, and though a late comeback from Hudson Valley took away his chance for another win it was still another promising outing. Few pitchers at this level have command of multiple pitches good enough to consistently sequence up batters, but Cabral was relying on his deception and nipping corners to get his six strikeouts in this game. Cabral wasn’t even at his best early on and allowed a couple of walks, but the deeper the game went the more he locked in and the Renegades were off balance often throughout the late innings of his start. Thus far Cabral’s approach has translated well to his promotion to Rome, with hitters still falling behind him early and not having the approach to really key in on his fastball that could be a vulnerability at upper levels. Cabral executes better than most anyone High-A hitters are going to face and that’s taking him a long way so far, and though the Double-A jump could be a steep one for him he has done enough to prove himself at the lower levels that he shouldn’t be long before being ready for the challenge.

It was a bit of a stinker on the offensive end for Rome. The top of the lineup had a lot of 0-fers, with Tate Southisene being the only one of the top prospects to make a serious contribution at the plate. Southisene shot an opposite field single to lead off the game, and with John Gil drawing a walk behind him the Emperors had a chance to open up a good lead before Hudson Valley even got a swing in. Unfortunately they didn’t have the clutch hit at their disposal. Owen Carey drew a walk and Southisene was able to score on a balk, but the bats fell short and one run felt a little weak for such a big chance. In the next inning the Emperors had two men on base with one out and the top of the order, and Southisene did come through. He lined a single into left field for the lone Rome RBI in the game, though that was all Rome got in the game. John Gil struck out and though Hartman hit it hard the right fielder had him shaded well and was able to track the line drive down. After the fourth inning Rome’s lineup didn’t manage another hit. A leadoff home run in the bottom of the eighth inning tied the game and in extra innings and error at first base gifted Hudson Valley the win.

Swing and Misses 

Brody Fowler – 9

Aiven Cabral – 7

David Rodriguez – 4

(46-36) Augusta GreenJackets 6, (46-34) Hickory Crawdads 3

Box Score

• Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-3, BB, .304/.365/.460
• Alex Lodise, SS: 0-3, BB, .252/.338/.467
• Michael Martinez, LF: 1-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, .240/.325/.452
• Kendy Richard, SP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 6.33 ERA

It was a huge power day for the team, and the bottom of the order was the driving force with six RBI, six hits, three walks, and three extra base hits coming out of the six through nine spots in the order. Michael Martinez got it started with a home run in the second inning, crushing a long home run to give Augusta an early lead. Martinez’s contact and defensive home are significant questions to evaluation his profile, but there can be no doubt that the man can absolutely crush a baseball. Across two levels he now has 10 home runs in his first 40 games this season. Four of those have come in his last eight games, and over his last two seasons he has 32 extra base hits in 67 games. The next big hit was in the next inning when Junior Garcia smacked a two-run double into the right field corner to score Alex Lodise and Tanner Smith. Cooper McMurray capped off the scoring with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning, narrowly clearing the high wall in right field to ice the game in favor of Augusta. Despite an 0-3 performance from Luis Guanipa and a rough patch at the plate so far in July I have been impressed with some of the at-bats he is putting up. Guanipa has shown more patience on breaking balls in recent weeks and worked a great walk in this game, and though taking more pitches has led to an increase in strikeouts it’s a necessary adjustment in the long run. Guanipa is still too much of a free-swinger, but even if it’s slow this is progress that has to happen for him to catch up and get to Rome successfully. In the middle of that walk he had a great swing where he jumped on a pitch inside and hit it hard in the air, though he was just a bit ahead of it and yanked it foul. That’s the exact swing that was unlocking more success early in the season and one I’ve been longing to see more often, and if he can combine a bit more patience with that ability to jump on anything on the inner part of the plate he could unlock a new level in the later months of the year.

It was not a particularly impressive pitching day for anyone in the Augusta greens, and they should consider themselves lucky to have only allowed three runs as a team. The committee approach can be tough when the entire committee can’t throw strikes, though somehow Luis Arestigueta managed to get away with it for 3 2/3 innings. Despite only throwing a tick over half his pitches for strikes Arestigueta got the Crawdads to make bad swings in hitter-friendly counts and left with only one run allowed and one walk allowed. Styven Paez looked fine, and his walks were at least competitive deep count plate appearances, though he did make the game a lot tighter in the ninth inning than it needed to be. Paez’s velocity/low release combo along with his tight slider does make for an interesting combination in terms of getting whiffs, and that’s made him one of the most reliable relief arms the GreenJackets have, but the command needs to improve drastically for him to be an MLB arm. There is something to like there without a doubt, and he’s better than the strikeout numbers suggest, but a 16% walk rate for a 21 year old at this level isn’t the most promising thing.

Swing and Missesa

Luis Arestigueta – 6

Kendy Richard – 4

Styven Paez – 4

There was a moment where the Yankees’ hopes of turning their deficit around in one series burned a little brighter on Tuesday, as Ben Rice launched a three-run home run to give them a one-run lead in the third inning. Unfortunately, an inning later those hopes were dashed when the Rays scored four runs and took a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Now they’re playing to take the series overall and walk away with a shortened deficit, but before they can get back to that we’ve got to go over what went down around the league while New York was busy battling in the Trop.

Toronto Blue Jays (43-49) 9, San Francisco Giants (38-53) 3

Credit where credit is due: after getting demolished on Monday by the Giants the Jays responded and smacked the Giants right back. The second inning saw them scoring first with a Jonatan Clase three-run homer, and after San Fran scratched one run back they jumped right back into the batter’s box in the third and scored five more runs. The first three Jays all singled scoring one, a groundout moved the runners over before another single from Sean Keys scored two, two more singles brought one more home, and then a sacrifice fly finally varied up the scoring to round out the inning.

Spencer Miles looked like he was going to let the Giants back into the game despite the significant lead, giving them a bases-loaded with nobody out setup in the bottom of the third. Rafael Devers brought in their second run of the game, but he did so via a double play that wound up killing all momentum in the frame, and Miles escaped by getting a groundout in the next at-bat. Miles only lasted four innings and saw plenty of traffic on the basepaths with seven hits, but despite the fact that he only struck out one batter he managed to induce enough soft contact to work around the jams he created. Patrick Corbin entered for his second relief appearance of the year and just the third of his career outside of his rookie season and gave them 2.1 innings of one-run ball before the traditional relievers entered and closed the door on any more antics, easily securing this one.

Chicago White Sox (47-43) 1, Boston Red Sox (41-48) 8

Welcome to the Roundup Chicago. With the Rays playing the Yankees this week and the White Sox holding first place in the Central we figured now would be a good time to give them a trial run on our coverage, though they sure didn’t give a good impression in this game. Boston jumped ahead 3-0 on a pair of homers from Andruw Monasterio and Ceddanne Rafaela in the second inning, tacked on another in the fourth with a successful safety squeeze bunt, and then poured it on late with four runs in the ninth as RBI doubles from Willson Contreras and Romy Gonzalez combined with an RBI single from Jarren Duran led the way. Payton Tolle delivered six shutout innings on the other end for the BoSox, and Danny Coulombe was the only one to stumble out of the bullpen putting the first three batters he faced aboard leading to Chicago’s only run in the seventh.

Cleveland Guardians (47-45) 1, Minnesota Twins (45-47) 3

Shades of the AL Central Rock Fight are emerging as the Twins pull within three games of first place following a narrow win over Cleveland. Taj Bradley was masterful, pitching seven innings and allowing just the one run on three hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts. The lone bit of damage came via a Rhys Hoskins solo shot in the second that briefly gave the Guardians the lead, but the Twins jumped to steal it right back in the bottom half. An error gave them a free baserunner right off the bat, and that quickly spiraled into runners at second and third with one out. The error proved costly by allowing Minnesota to lift a sacrifice fly to tie the game and a Brooks Lee single put them on top for good. Kody Clemens gave them some insurance with an RBI triple in the seventh, but they were cruising by that point.

Seattle Mariners (47-45) 5, Miami Marlins (50-42) 6 (10 innings)

Nobody had a better June than Miami, and they’re riding that hot streak into July with a four-game winning streak after surviving a wild one against Seattle. The Marlins got a great start, going ahead 4-0 by the fourth inning as Owen Caissie hit a solo shot, Jakob Marsee singled home another, Kyle Stowers lifted a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch tacked on one more.

After looking lifeless through those four innings though, Seattle rallied against Max Meyer in the fifth. Cal Raleigh led off with a double and scored two at-bats later on a sacrifice fly, and Cole Young punched one out to right field to cut the deficit in half. The sixth and seventh were quiet as the bullpen entered the game on both sides, but the eighth saw the Mariners pull through. A walk and hit-by-pitch put runners on with no outs immediately and Raleigh doubled one of them in, Josh Naylor singled the other one across to tie the game, and a wild pitch once again tilted things to put Seattle up 5-4.

Miami had an immediate answer, with pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernández leading off with a blast to tie the game back up. The ninth inning was a wash, and we were off to extras where Seattle moved the Manfred Man over to third but couldn’t get a fly ball deep enough to score him. Miami just needed one hit to walk it off and they got it when Marsee turned on a middle-middle cutter dropping it onto the grass in right field.

Good morning everyone! Happy Wednesday.

Last night, the Mariners lost a heartbreaker to the Marlins 6-5 after blowing several key run-scoring opportunities.

Cal Raleigh seems to be heating up, with a pair of doubles in last night’s contest. Do you think we’re about to see a resurgence for Big Dumper?

In Mariners news…

• The Mariners have made it loud and clear now: Dom Canzone is no longer just a platoon player.
• The Mariners reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Stuart Fairchild.
• The MLB Draft is just around the corner, so Max Ellingsen provided a quick preview of “the rest” of the players potentially up for grabs for the Mariners in the first round that he hasn’t yet profiled extensively. If you’re looking for more in-depth analysis of top M’s draft targets, Max has you covered here.
• Daniel Kramer also provided a complete preview of the upcoming draft.
• Josh Kirshenbaum talked to Randy Arozarena and Mariners staff about his All-Star first half and how he’s found more consistency this year.
• To round out the Fourth of July festivities, Eric Sanford graded your comparisons between Mariners players and the framers of the United States Constitution.

Around the league…

• If you’re looking to dive even deeper into draft coverage ahead of the big day, friend of the site Tyler Pride provided a full breakdown of his top 85 MLB Draft prospects.
• The Brewers promoted top outfield prospect Luis Lara to the big leagues. Lara signed a seven-year contract extension with the club earlier this year.
• Ryan O’Hearn broke a Pirates club record with 10 runs batted in during last night’s contest against Atlanta.
• The Yankees made MLB history by striking out 17 times in two consecutive games.
• The Royals have agreed to a minor league deal with former Mariners reliever Justin Topa.
• Young Pirates infielder Konnor Griffin will miss 8-10 weeks with a torn tendon in his left hand.
• The Twins placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the injured list with a right hip strain.
• The Mets activated infielder Jorge Polanco from the injured list. Polo has been out since April due to an Achilles injury.
• The Astros demoted right-hander Mike Burrows to Triple-A after he got rocked by the Nationals in his last start.
• The Tigers announced that they’ve parted ways with third base coach (and former Mariner) Joey Cora.
• Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus tried to get to the bottom of whatever is going on with the baseballs. ($)
• Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel updated their ranking of the top 100 trade candidates.
• Ryan Blake at Fangraphs dug into the American League pitchers for this year’s All-Star Game.
• David Schoenfield at ESPN gave midseason grades to each MLB team.
• Kiri Oler at Fangraphs wonders what on earth is going on with Paul Skenes, who has a 5.36 ERA over his last nine starts.

Anders’ pick…

• In the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi led Argentina to an improbable comeback victory against Egypt to win 3-2 and advance to the quarterfinal.

Happy Wednesday everyone,

Playing away from Sutter Health Park did not cure the Athletics’ ails. Yesterday, the team began its six-game Midwest road trip with another loss, falling 6-2 to the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game series. Tonight marks the middle game of this midweek series and then the team will play three games at the surprising Chicago White Sox this weekend.

Next week, most of the Athletics players and coaches will rest and prepare for the second half of the season. However, catcher Shea Langeliers and first baseman Nick Kurtz will travel to Philadelphia as American League All-Star starters. They will be joined by A’s head athletic trainer Jeff Collins, who will serve on the AL’s training staff during the “Midsummer Classic”.

Langeliers already declined his invitation to the Home Run Derby, which takes place Monday night before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Kurtz, who grew up in Pennsylvania as a devoted Phillies fan, also turned down the event due to the risk of injury and fatigue.

The 2026 MLB Draft will kick off the festivities in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday. The Athletics hold the No. 8 overall pick, which they secured in the draft lottery this past offseason. Once again, it appears the “Green and Gold” will not be able to choose from any of the top-of-the-class talents, yet the franchise will likely have a bevy of talented players to choose from.

The past three years, the A’s drafted a college player in the first round. Will that trend continue or will they dip into the well of high-school talent for the first time since taking Tyler Soderstrom and Max Muncy back-to-back in 2020 and 2021?

It will also be worth monitoring how the A’s allocate their bonus pool money. For example, they could select an older college player for an under-slot bonus in one round, then use the resulting savings to entice a highly touted high school prospect selected in the following round to sign rather than honor his college commitment. The A’s should draft an outfielder at some point because Lawrence Butler has significantly regressed in every facet of his game since signing that team-friendly contract extension.

All of that is just around the corner. First, though, the Athletics have five more games to close out the first half. A strong finish could provide valuable momentum heading into the All-Star break and set the tone for what they hope will be a meaningful second half.

What are your predictions for the A’s final five games before the time off?

A’s Coverage:

• A’s fall to Tigers 6-2
• Trade Deadline Outlook: Athletics ($)
• A’s Release Michael Kelly
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In July
• Julyeball Scout Report As Hopes, Like The Sun, Sink Slowly In The West
• Thoughts And Well Wishes For A’s Prospect Ryan Lasko
• The Athletics and the Cost of a Bad Extension
• A’s Late Rally Falls Short as Marlins Complete the Sweep
• A’s Take Series Finale, Beat Dodgers 7-1
• A’s roster moves: Massive Shakeup
• A’s To Trade Brett Harris To Red Sox
• A’s Fans Want Tommy White in Sacramento, But Is He Ready?
• Two Pitching Options in Draft for Athletics This Weekend
• It’s Harder To Win When You Don’t Understand Your Own Personnel
• Fun Parallels To 2012 Emerging
• What Kade Morris’ Role Will Look Like for A’s in Future
• Some Easy Fixes Rocket Science Aren’t
• Athletics’ Devin Taylor Emerges As All-Around Talent
• From celebratory pool dip to the A’s, Meneses’ journey back to Majors a memorable one
• Athletics Could Deal Hottest Triple-A Bat This Summer
• Status Report: Uncertainty Persists In 5 Places On The Diamond

MLB News and Interest:

• Handing out 2026 midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams
• 2026 MLB draft: One big question and intel for all 30 teams
• MLB stars share draft-day stories: Kurtz, Misiorowski, more
• Rice joins Home Run Derby field, looking to be Yankees’ first winner since ’17
• Here are the 2026 All-Star Game roster replacements
• 3 homers, 10 RBIs … by the 6th inning!? What a night for O’Hearn
• Brewers To Promote Luis Lara
• Torn finger tendon could sideline Griffin for several weeks (source)
• Dodgers’ Evan Phillips back 13 months after Tommy John surgery
• John Mozeliak Discusses Angels’ Draft, Deadline Plans
• 10 non-All-Stars poised for a big second half
• Max Kepler hits first homer since 80-game suspension ended
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Who is the most realistic pitcher the A’s can target this trade deadline without blowing up their farm system? At this point, it seems like the team should be sellers, but that outlook could change if they stop losing nearly every game.

This is worth listening to. Let’s hope that Ryan Lasko continues to recover and gets back to playing baseball sooner rather than later.

Interesting MLB Draft opinion. Who do you think is the team’s best option with the eighth pick in the first round?

This news is a sigh of relief for A’s fans as Ginn has been the team’s best starting pitcher this season.