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After finishing off a sweep of the Angels last night, the Red Sox are suddenly 8-2 in their last ten contests. Not only has this nearly cut the number of games they’re below .500 in half (from 14 to 8), but it’s also left them in a significantly better place in relation to the third Wild Card, even if it doesn’t appear that way on the surface.

With a quick glance, the only headline this hot stretch lends is Boston cutting the number of games they trail the third Wild Card by two, from six behind to four behind. But in terms of traffic? They’re in a whole different world. For more on that crucial detail, let’s take a look at the standings at the end of play on June 24th (just before the aforementioned ten game stretch began):

When the Red Sox left Colorado after that mortifying series loss to the Rockies, they not only had the worst record in the American League and trailed a Wild Card spot by six games, but they also trailed teams not holding a playoff spot like the Astros, A’s, and Rangers by five games each. This is why I’ve included that final column on the right side of the table: It puts into context how the Red Sox aren’t just chasing the Blue Jays; they’re chasing an entire pack of tightly bunched teams.

More specifically, we can add up all the cumulative games they trail the third Wild Card spot by at any given moment. For instance, on that June 24th snapshot, if you add up all the games the Red Sox trailed, there were a cumulative 30.5 games between them and a playoff spot.

So the obvious question becomes, “how does that compare to now?” Well, let’s take a look at the current Wild Card standings using the same format:

Game changer! Despite that top number not dropping all the much, the cumulative games the Sox trail the third Wild Card by has plunged from 30.5 to 11. In other words, in terms of distance they trail, they’ve only made up a third of the ground they need to cover in relation to the third Wild Card. But in terms of density and traffic? This 8-2 stretch knocked out about two thirds of the task at hand.

If this were a NASCAR race, they’ve gone from nearly losing the lead draft to being right in the middle of the big, gnarly pack. They still have plenty of work to do and more cars to pass, but they’re solidly in the race for the first time all summer. (Also, if you believe in run differential, they probably have a better engine under the hood than anybody around them as they’re the only team in the first seven spots on that board sporting a positive run differential.)

Oh, and it actually gets even better when you look above the teams listed in the standings I posted here. Both the Mariners and the Guardian are only 1.5 games ahead of the Rangers, and the White Sox are just a game above that. In other words, there’s additional teams that can stumble and fall back into the pack even if the Rangers, Astros or Twins go on a hot streak and threaten to pull away. A few weeks ago, the traffic was nestled just below the line. But now? The traffic is more concentrated just above the line — A subtle, but extremely important change.

With the Mariners leading the AL West at 47-44 and the White Sox leading the AL Central at 47-42, there’s a pretty hard lid on the ceiling of each of those divisions. This works almost as an insurance policy to prevent the likelihood of the third Wild Card rising much above .500 all year. In order for that to happen, two teams from the same division would need to vastly outperform expectations between now and the finish line, and if you’ve watched as much late night American League baseball as I have this season, the thought of that should provide a nice chuckle. (As a collective group, these teams suck!)

For this reason, FanGraphs still projects the third AL Wild Card to come in at a historically disgraceful 80-82. Personally, I think it lands a couple of games above that with things being rearranged at the trade deadline and somebody breaking out a little bit, but overall, something drastic would need to happen to move the target in a significant way.

This is all a long way of saying that despite Boston’s horrific play for most of the season, a playoff spot is still right there if they get some guys back after the All-Star break and go on another small hot streak. Personally, I find it absurd MLB has lowered the bar this much and needs to address the issue in the upcoming CBA (add it to the list), but it’s the reality we’re looking at now.

Finally, I have one last thought rolling around in my head before we wrap this up: The next six games before the All-Star break might be Boston’s most vulnerable window. With the Contreras suspension looming, Connelly Early and Ranger Suarez banged up, and the continued lack of timelines for Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet, they could get themselves in real trouble over the next few days and erase much of the progress they’ve made. However, if they grind things out and get into the break with say a mere 3-3 record from here, then all of a sudden they have time to regroup before they resume play on July 17th. If they’re still sitting just four games out of a playoff spot with a bunch of timelines on the table to get guys back, things could get interesting in a hurry!

Brody Bumila, the 6’9”, 255 lb. prep lefthanded pitcher out of Massachusetts who throws over 100 mph, has a damaged UCL, per multiple reports. Bumila had internal brace surgery on his elbow last May, and returned to throw as well as ever for much of the spring, though a decline in both velocity and command in his final few starts raised concerns about his health. Those concerns, it turns out, were valid.

I had debated about whether to do a draft write-up on Bumila, as the Rangers have generally stayed away from high school pitchers in recent years. However, I’ve seen him mentioned as a possibility with the Rangers a couple of times — including in the June 29 BA mock draft — and you have to think the Rangers’ president of baseball operations has a soft spot for giant pitchers who also play basketball (Bumila led his high school team to the state championship this year).

Bumila is a good athlete for his size, and has shown good ability to throw strikes and repeat his delivery for a prep pitcher with his build. He has a relatively low arm slot and great extension, which makes his fastball play up and gives him good rising movement at the top of the zone. His secondaries, though, are way behind his fastball. Jen McCaffrey has a write-up on him for the Athletic that came out today, hours before the news of his UCL injury came out.

Bumila had gone from a likely first rounder to someone who could slip into the second round, based on the reports from the prognosticators, even before the news of the UCL damage. The fact that Bumila will likely need UCL surgery — either another internal brace surgery or Tommy John surgery — is likely to exacerbate that slide.

Bumila is a University of Texas commit, and so has the opportunity to play for a top team in one of the top conferences if he doesn’t end up getting signed by a drafting team. However, he’d most likely be sitting out all of the 2027 baseball season for the Longhorns with a medical redshirt. He’d also be running a risk in regards to whether, and how well, he’d come back after two elbow injuries, with the possibility of getting a lower payday after three (or more) years in college. You also have the uncertainty surrounding the future of the draft — if you’re a high school player who is being offered top two round money right now, you have to consider the possibility that the landscape and bonus structure for the 2029 draft could look much different than it does now.

As we’ve discussed quite a bit, the Rangers have not shied away from taking pitchers who are injured, or coming off of injuries, in the draft in recent years. If the organization feels comfortable with his medicals and their medical staff’s ability to get him back to 100%, he could be a high risk, high reward selection in the second or third rounds.

Giants' Heliot Ramos joins small club with two blasts and Little League homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Heliot Ramos did not have immediate access to Statcast data when he returned to the dugout in the first inning Monday night. But he didn’t need it. 

“I knew it!” Ramos said after the 10-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. “Me and [Rafael Devers] were talking about it. I knew it.”

Ramos’ 399-foot laser while leading off the bottom of the first was an Oracle Park special. It would have been out of all 29 other ballparks, but Ramos had to settle for a triple and Little League home run when the ball was thrown into the home dugout as he slid into third. 

He wasn’t done, though. Not even close.

Ramos followed his near-homer with two actual ones, and both were impressive blasts. His fingerprints were all over one of the cleaner wins of the year for the Giants, who got a career-high eight innings from right-hander Landen Roupp and might have had their best baserunning game of the Tony Vitello Era. 

On another night, the story might have been Devers going first to third, or the Giants successfully executing a double steal. But Ramos stole the show in the second half of a quick game. 

His three-run blast to right in the sixth gave him a triple and homer in the same game for the second time in five days, and Ramos said that was his favorite swing of the night. His father, a pretty good player in Puerto Rico, taught him the opposite-field approach that he’s so proud of, one that once led to him becoming the first player in Oracle Park’s history to get a Splash Hit from the right side. 

In the eighth, Ramos blasted a 434-foot homer to left to clinch his first career multi-homer game. It was the third-longest homer by a Giant at Oracle Park this season, behind a couple on the last homestand from Victor Bericoto, who had two more hits Monday and drove in two runs.

The huge night gave Ramos four homers and two triples in eight games since he came off the IL and provided a reminder of what the Giants are missing when their energetic former All-Star isn’t in the lineup. While there are a lot of reasons why San Francisco is 14 games under .500 — most of them related to pitching — it perhaps hasn’t been discussed enough that Ramos missed six weeks with a quad injury.

Vitello keeps telling the same story about his return. He heard Ramos before he saw him, and that energy is always there between the lines. 

On this night, Roupp didn’t need much to work with. He pushed for his first career complete game but was pulled after 104 pitches. Still, he snapped a streak of 11 straight team losses in games that he started.

Roupp said that was a “heavy” weight he was carrying, but he gave up just three hits Monday. That was matched by Ramos, who joined a small club. He’s the first Giant since Johnny Mize to hit two homers and a Little League home run in the same game, and the first big leaguer to do it since San Diego’s Bubba Trammell in 2002.

The night was capped by a home run that left the bat at 110 mph. Vitello said the dugout was “in awe.”

“Everybody was thunderstruck on that one,” Vitello said. 

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Go Rays!

SAN FRANCISCO — In the eyes of Tony Vitello, it’s a shame the All-Star break is so late. 

In his past life as a college coach, his season would be long over by now. His new reality as the manager of one of professional baseball’s most disappointing teams, however, means he’s barely past the halfway point — and yet there’s still probably not enough time left to correct course.

“With the way the first half has gone, it’d be great if the All-Star break actually split the season in half,” the first-year San Francisco Giants manager said. “You might as well divide the season into halves and make sure we have a positive second half. Where that leaves us when you combine the two, you don’t have much control over it. But what’s in the past is in the past.”

That was the gist of the message the manager tried to get across when he called a team meeting over the weekend at Coors Field, where they emerged 15 games below .500 (37-52).

Ostensibly, it served the purpose of announcing the team’s two All-Stars — Logan Webb and Luis Arraez — but Vitello hoped to use the opportunity for something more.

“He said something good the other day,” Webb said. “I think we were at the midway point and to try to sort of pretend like the first half didn’t happen, which obviously you can’t. But try to. 

“Pretend you’re restarting the season a little bit. You’ve just got to put your head down and work and hope things will turn around.”

It seemed to resonate, at least initially.

The Giants responded by playing one of their cleanest and most complete games of the season later that evening, albeit against the lowly Rockies.

But when you’re stuck in the mud, taking that second step isn’t any easier.

“I think the entire first half, we’ve kind of been looking around, like trying to place our finger on, OK, how’s our offense doing well, how is the pitching doing well, and we can’t seem to put together wins?” catcher Eric Haase told the Post. “I think it was just a good reminder: We’re not playing bad baseball — we’re just not winning.”

It only took a day for that incongruency to come to a head again. The Giants slugged four home runs and their pitchers kept Colorado at bay for seven innings in Sunday’s series finale.

But in the end, they returned home nursing a 2-4 record on the road trip and a second straight series loss after their bullpen failed to protect the lead. Once again, a team that still hasn’t swept a series or won more than three games in a row proved to be allergic to momentum or motivation.

They didn’t have time to catch their breath descending from the mile-high altitude. They don’t have another day off until they get four in a row next week. They can only hope the All-Star break provides the ultimate reset button.

Since the actual midpoint of the season, they entered Monday at 4-4.

“We want to finish this half strong. We want to go into the break with that confidence that the next half is going to be better,” first baseman Bryce Eldridge said. “We all have confidence that that’s gonna happen. It’s just a matter of continuing to work and continue to put that together.” 

The cold reality is that even though their bats have begun to heat up — in particular Rafael Devers, who has 16 home runs and a .928 OPS since the start of May — wins haven’t followed.

And that means the task at hand is likely only going to get tougher, given that whatever parts of this oil tanker run aground still in working condition are expected to be sold off by the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Given those circumstances, what would Vitello like to see his squad do differently in the second half?

“A little more attitude on the field, which is tough when times are tough,” he said. “Just the mentality, the verbalization of the word ‘attack.’ Attacking presence. Attacking even when you feel you caught a bad break or we didn’t make a play behind you. Setting the tone.”

That means attacking their pregame defensive drills, which he’s been pleased with. And on the bases, “I do think we’ve kicked up the aggressiveness a little bit,” he said. “It would probably be more beneficial to kick it up a lot.”

Primarily, his pitchers need to throw strikes.

Only two teams are in the zone less often than the Giants’ staff.

“We have a whole group of very hard-working players that want to win. I know the standings may not show it, but we do. We want to win,” said Webb, the one pitcher who hasn’t had trouble throwing strikes. “We’re trying our best to win. Not that it makes it any better. But I think when you do that and you have a group of talented players, things will turn around at some point. I don’t know when it will turn around. I can’t tell you that. But that’s the goal here.”

As for himself, Vitello didn’t offer much in terms of self-reflection.

“Just improve,” he said. “It can be a bunch of little different areas, but just improve.”

The Astros may not be the conquering force they once were, but they remain a dangerous team. Yordan Alvarez is the biggest driver of that, and the Nats can’t let the Astros DH beat them on his own. The Nats will look to bounce back from a series loss against the Pirates as they continue this home stand.

Jacob Young is back in the lineup for the Nats. He will patrol center field while Daylen Lile is in left and Dylan Crews is in right. James Wood will take DH duties tonight. Nasim Nunez will be back at second base, while Drew Millas is behind the plate. Miles Mikolas will get the start this evening.

The focal point of this Astros lineup is the ferocious Yordan Alvarez who is hitting .320 with 29 homers. Jose Altuve, Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes are solid supporting pieces, but make no mistake, Yordan is the star of the show. The top of the Astros lineup has been elite, but they do not have the most depth. Mike Burrows has not had the season the Astros envisioned when they traded for him this offseason, but he will look to get going tonight.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV and MLB Network 

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The last two games against the Pirates were tough, but this team has been good at bouncing back this season. They will look to stay above .500 in this interleague clash. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – CF
Juan Soto – LF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Francisco Lindor – DH
Carson Benge – RF
Jared Young – 1B
Francisco Alvarez – C
Brett Baty – 2B
Ronny Mauricio – SS

SP: Freddy Peralta – RHP

Braves lineup

Michael Harris – CF
Ozzie Albies – 2B
Matt Olson – 1B
Drake Baldwin – C
Mauricio Dubón – LF
Dominic Smith – DH
Austin Riley – 3B
Mike Yastrzemski – RF
Jim Jarvis – SS

SP: Reynaldo López – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:15 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

I hate playing the Rays at the best of times, and doubly so when we have to watch games at the Trop. That this series, a four-game set with Tampa enjoying a four-game lead in the AL East, is of outsized importance for the Yankees’ playoff trajectory and is also coming at a time the Yankees are playing so terribly, makes me pretty grumpy before a pitch has even been thrown. If nothing else, at least it’s Cam Bump Day.

Cam Schlittler is still the leading candidate for AL Cy Young, notwithstanding that bizarre start last week against the Tigers, where he gave up four home runs and six men crossed the plate against him overall. That outing raised his ERA half a run, but even in that game he still struck out five against a single walk. Cam hadn’t allowed an earned run in his previous two starts, a combined 22 strikeouts to two walks in those efforts. True to annoying form, the Rays experienced some degree of success in the one time they saw Schlittler this year. Back on April 12, Cam went “just” five innings allowing a trio of runs, but an 8:1 K:BB ratio was promising.

Griffin Jax goes for the Rays, a perfect example of the five-game fughazi franchise and why it drives me nuts. His 3.45 ERA is solid enough, with a FIP more than a run higher and an xERA, which takes into account contact quality allowed, is two runs higher! Griffin Jax should not be preventing runs as effectively as he has, and the Louisville Slugger of irony has clapped me over the head.

The lineup at least is starting to look a little more normal. The top four are all bona fide MLB hitters, even if I need both Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger to get out of their slumps immediately. José Caballero sets up at shortstop with Anthony Volpe on the bench, and Austin Wells bats ninth and is behind the dish.

Win the game, please.

How to watch

Location: Tropicana Field — Tampa, FL

First pitch: 6:40 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES | Rays.tv

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280,  WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM

Online stream: MLB.tv, Gotham Sports App

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Ahead of Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves, Mets interim manager Andy Green provided an update on the ongoing injury rehab of infielder/designated hitter Jorge Polanco.

With Polanco still recovering from the left Achilles bursitis, which forced him onto the IL on April 18, Green was asked about his switch-hitter's health, replying that "he's improving, moving around well from the reports I've got."

Polanco's bat certainly looks close to ready to return to the big leagues; clobbering his second homer in the last three games with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets on Sunday.

Jorge Polanco hit his second home run of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse pic.twitter.com/MBA1PvQSkc

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) July 5, 2026

Green told reporters that, as of now, the Mets "don't have a return date yet [for Polanco], but he's progressing."

Regardless, the stand-in skipper revealed that the team's plan is for Polanco to ramp up his workload, with the aim being to see him play back-to-back games.

"The back-to-backs will have to come at some point, whether up here [in MLB with the Mets] or down there [in the minor leagues]," Green said.

Polanco served as the team's DH in 12 of the 14 games he has played this season as a Met, meaning he probably won't be relied upon to play defense in a back-to-back situation.

Whatever the case, Green is clearly eager to have a power bat who can mash from both sides of the plate at his disposal.

"[Polanco] will always be available to pinch hit, which will be valuable," Green concluded.

The Braves have a chance for a 4-game series win behind Reynaldo Lopez against the Mets today. Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below!

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, July 6, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan