Can the Atlanta Braves go for three consecutive games and put the Sand Diego Padres away early?
Find out starting at 7:15 p.m. ET for first pitch.
Braves vs. Padres chat & discussion: López vs Buehler
Game Thread: Would love to go on a nice lil’ run here
Go Rays!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
One mistake dooms Zack Wheeler as the bats come up small behind him
One mistake dooms Zack Wheeler as the bats come up small behind him originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Zack Wheeler threw 93 pitches Tuesday night.
Ninety-two of them were really good.
One wasn’t. And that made all the difference.
Wheeler and the Phillies suffered a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the rain at Citizens Bank Park.
The ending was a little ugly for the Phils. They had runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but the Dodgers pulled off a game-ending double play as the Phillies ran themselves out of the inning.
It was the first loss with Wheeler on the mound since June 9 when the Phillies were beaten, 3-2, in Toronto. Wheeler allowed just one run over six innings in that game, but didn’t get much run support.
Tuesday night’s game was similar. The Phillies, who have the majors’ worst on-base percentage at .303, had just five hits entering the ninth inning. They scored a run with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, but nothing the rest of the way. Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski had a lot to do with that. Exactly a week after striking out five in two innings of work in the All-Star Game, he returned to the CBP mound and allowed just five hits and a run over 6 1/3 innings. He walked just one and struck seven.
Wheeler was just as good as Wrobleski. He gave up just five hits over seven walk-free innings. He struck out nine.
Ultimately, Wheeler was done in by one pitch, a first-pitch cutter to lefty-swinging Max Muncy in the top of the fourth inning. The pitch was slightly elevated, out and over the plate, and Muncy pounded it 421 feet to center for a two-run home run. Andy Pages, who had singled to lead off the inning, was on first base.
Wheeler had struck out Muncy on a full-count cutter in the second inning. In the fourth, Muncy appeared to be looking for the pitch.
After the Muncy home run, Wheeler retired 11 of the next 12 batters he faced to keep the game close, but the Phillies’ bats did not respond.
Wheeler has a 2.08 ERA in his last nine starts. For the season, his ERA stands at 2.16.
One night after struggling mightily in the field, shortstop Trea Turner made three nice plays in the field, one charging the ball, one going to his left and one going to his right.
The Phils and Dodgers, playoff opponents last October, have split the first two games of the series. Aaron Nola (3-7, 5.68) faces lefty Eric Lauer (4-5, 4.81) in the series finale Wednesday night.
(More coming…)
Mets vs. Brewers: Lineups, broadcast info, and open thread, 7/21/26
Mets lineup
A.J. Ewing – LF
Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Francisco Lindor – SS
Carson Benge – RF
Luis Robert – CF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Luis Torrens – C
Zac Thornton – LHP
Brewers lineup
Jackson Chourio – LF
Brice Turang – 2B
William Contreras – DH
Andrew Vaughn – 1B
Garrett Mitchell – CF
Gary Sanchez – C
Luis Lara – RF
Cooper Pratt – SS
Joey Ortiz – 3B
Brandon Sproat – RHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 7:40 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
TWINS AT GUARDIANS, discussion: Messick vs. Rojas (opener) & Anderson
Here’s the Twins’ lineup:
Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:
Let’s go, Guardians!
Which Flames Players Made NHL.com's Top 250 Fantasy Rankings for 2026-27?
As we approach roughly 70 days until the start of the 2026-27 season, it is never too early to think about fantasy hockey. NHL.com recently announced its Top 250 fantasy player rankings, with only five members of the Calgary Flames cracking the list. Considering the organization is in the midst of a rebuild and its superstar power is limited now with Blake Coleman gone, it's no surprise that so few Calgary players found their way into the rankings.
Which Flames Players Made NHL.com's Top 250 Fantasy Rankings for 2026-27?
Unfortunately, there were no Flames players in the Top 50, Top 100, or even in the Top 150. Their first ranked player, at 190, is newly acquired defenseman Simon Nemec, who had 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games with the New Jersey Devils last season. He was the second-highest-scoring defender on the team behind Luke Hughes despite having the fifth-worst plus/minus total at minus-11.
At 221st overall, Zayne Parekh joined the rankings. The 20-year-old played 37 games with the Flames last year, collecting four goals and nine points with a minus-9 rating. In limited time with the Calgary Wranglers, he had five points in four games. Heading into next season, the young star in the making is slated to be a bottom-pairing defenseman, waiting for the opportunity to break out.
Not too far down the list at No. 234 and No. 235, Nemec and Parekh are joined by former 20-goal scorer Matt Coronato and 20-year-old Matvei Gridin. Last year in 80 games, the 23-year-old Coronato led the Flames in scoring with 18 goals and 45 points, two points ahead of captain Mikael Backlund. After scoring 24 goals in 2024-25, Coronato regressed while the Flames struggled to score as a team.
Meanwhile, Gridin got his first taste of NHL action last year, scoring six goals and 20 points in 37 games, the same number of games he played with the Wranglers. But he had 10 goals and 30 points in the NHL. Heading into next season, there's a chance that Gridin finds himself in a significant role in the rebuilding Flames, tapped as a top-line winger at the moment.
Finally, the last-ranked player on the NHL.com list is goaltender Dustin Wolf. As the Flames tumbled down the standings, Wolf had his first losing season, posting a 23-29-3 record and leading the NHL in losses. After carrying Calgary to higher finishes than expected in previous years, it appears that he's plateaued with a 60-52-12 record through 128 games. Now, that's not just on Wolf, but the team in front of him.
Are you surprised that more Flames players didn't make the list? Can Jonathan Huberdeau have a bounce-back campaign? Could Connor Zary reach 20 goals? What about Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Rays @ Jays Game Thread
Game #101.
With 2 wins in the last 7 playoffs seem a long lost hope. I would like some runs. Note the plural form of the word.
We went through a nice stretch where we scored 39 runs in 6 games, just a few days ago. Could we please do that again?
There has been a little change to the lineup. Lukes is at the top, followed by Vlad and Clement. I’m not a fan of Clement leading off, so this is better for me. I’m happy to see Jonatan Clase getting some playing time.
This could be one of the last starts for Kevin Gausman in a Jays jersey. He would be a prime trade candidate. I’d try to arrange a trade for him, if I were a buyer at the deadline.
Score Jays Score
We’ve had a lot of injuries this season, but I’m almost sure none of our players have had the injury the A’s are posting for Joshua Kuroda-Grauer.
Meleek Thomas recognized for impressive Summer League performance
The Cleveland Cavaliers traded out of the first round of this most recent draft, but still ended up with a player on the NBA Summer League First Team.
Cleveland’s second-round pick, Meleek Thomas, joined Cameron Boozer (Memphis Grizzlies), Brayden Burries (Milwaukee Bucks), Yaxel Lendeborg (Golden State Warriors) and Caleb Wilson (Chicago Bulls) on the NBA Summer League First Team. Thomas was the only player from that group who was selected outside of the lottery.
Thomas’s spot is well-deserved. He led Summer League in scoring with 27.3 points per game on an incredibly efficient .500/.438/1.000 shooting splits over four games. This included an impressive 35-point outing to defeat the Miami Heat on July 23.
Judging a rookie exclusively by how they perform in Summer League is foolish. The competition level and the role they will play in the NBA aren’t close to the same. Excelling in Las Vegas doesn’t necessarily mean they will do so in the league. At the same time, how poised Thomas was in this environment is encouraging.
Thomas showed that he has the skills to be an effective natural scorer. His fluidity, ability to create off the dribble, and lethal shot were on display in every game he played. Defenders weren’t able to stay in front of him. And when Thomas got to where he wanted on the court, he scored efficiently.
Thomas likely won’t be an on-ball scorer early in his NBA career, at least not if he’s sharing the floor with the likes of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Yet, the skills that made him such an elite scorer in Summer League (shooting, ability to attack closeouts, midrange shooting) can translate over to more off-ball roles, if he chooses to apply them in that way. We’ll get our first idea if they can during preseason.
It’s too early to declare that the Cavs got the steal of the draft. We’ll wait until after the season to see if a discussion like that is necessary. But as of now, the Cavs have to be happy with what they’ve seen from their most recent draft pick.
Dodgers at Phillies game chat
A couple of All-Stars on the mound on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Tuesday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Phillies
- Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
- Start time: 3:40 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA, TBS
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves
San Diego Padres (49-51) at Atlanta Braves (58-41), July 21, 2026, 4:15 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Truist Park – Atlanta, GA
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
- Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
- Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
- Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our thread
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
MLB insider hints at Mason Miller trade asking price with stud closer ‘definitely available’
Just a year after the San Diego Padres traded for Mason Miller during the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, he could be on the move again.
ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” and said Miller is “definitely available,” but added that the asking price will be steep.
“Now does that mean A.J. Preller, who is one of the most prolific traders of all executives in baseball, is going to flip him? Just a year after acquiring him for Leo De Vries, who’s one of the best prospects in baseball,” Passan said. “Not necessarily.”
The news that Miller might be on the move comes four days after it was reported the Padres are open to moving him, and also a day after MLB Insider Bob Nightengale suggested the Padres move him as a way to fix their depleted farm system.
Passan went on to say that the Padres’ need for “Major League-ready starting pitching” could be what moves Miller.
The Padres’ starting rotation this season has been plagued by injuries and poor performances by veteran pitchers.
The team was expecting Joe Musgrove to rejoin the starting rotation after missing all of last season due to Tommy John Surgery. During a spring training game this year, he had a setback by hurting his elbow and has yet to throw.
Nick Pivetta has only made four starts this season due to a flexor strain. His injury comes a year after he had career-bests in ERA (2.87) and strikeouts (190) in 31 starts.
Before the year began, San Diego also found out they would be without Yu Darvish, who had Tommy John Surgery in the offseason.
San Diego’s starting rotation has also featured veteran pitchers Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning, and Germán Márquez, who are competing on one-year, prove-it deals. All three of them hold an ERA above 5.00
The future isn’t looking too bright either for San Diego, as their farm system ranks dead last in all of baseball.
“If you’re a team like the Seattle Mariners that has a deep rotation already in Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson,” Passan said. “Two of the best pitching prospects in baseball on the cusp of being ready for the big leagues, it’s something you have to consider.”
Passan went on to list the Yankees as another potential trade partner, by creating a package that includes David Bednar, Tim Hill, Brent Headrick and relief pitcher Fernando Cruz.
The Padres and Yankees have a history of making trades together in the past, notably in 2023 when San Diego swapped Juan Soto and Trent Grisham for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and Kyle Higashioka.
Trading Miller could be the best avenue for the Padres to fix their depleted farm system that needs pitching, as he is considered one of the best closers in baseball, having a 0.89 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 39 games this season.
Former First-Round Pick & Blue Jackets 'Legend' Both Hired By Rangers
The New York Rangers have brought in two former members of the Columbus Blue Jackets to their staff.
According to The Athletic's Vince Z. Mercogliano, the Rangers have hired former Blue Jackets first-round pick Derick Brassard as a player development assistant. In addition, The New York Post's Mollie Walker reported that the Rangers are also hiring Blue Jackets "legend" Jonathan Quick as director of goaltending development.
Brassard was selected by the Blue Jackets with the sixth-overall pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. From there, he played each of his first six seasons in Columbus from 2007-08 to 2012-13, where he recorded 58 goals, 111 assists, and 169 points in 309 games.
Brassard's time with the Blue Jackets ended when he was traded to the Rangers during the 2012-13 season in a multi-player deal that included Columbus acquiring Marian Gaborik. With that, Brassard is someone who the Rangers are already familiar with.
As for Quick, he was briefly a member of the Blue Jackets organization during the 2022-23 season. The Los Angeles Kings memorably included him in a trade package to land Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo from the Blue Jackets.
However, Quick was then quickly traded by the Blue Jackets to the Vegas Golden Knights before he played a game for Columbus. He won his third career Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights that year before playing the final three seasons of his NHL career with the Rangers.
Red Sox vs. Orioles rained out, will play a double header on Wednesday
The Red Sox 14-game winning streak didn’t end tonight, but it was put on pause thanks to Mother Nature. Here’s the announcement of split double header tomorrow at 1:35pm and 7:10pm straight from the team:
With this arrangement, the Red Sox could tie and break their all-time franchise winning streak of 15 straight games in the same day. It may also once again alter their starting pitching plans as they could start Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett in these two games, especially with an off day on Thursday meaning they wouldn’t need to start either of them on short rest the next time their slot in the rotation comes around.
Either way, tomorrow promises to be a very busy day at Fenway. Let’s hope it’s also a historical one!
Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (63-37) vs New York Mets (42-59)
The Milwaukee Brewers have surged not only to the top of the NL Central standings, but they now sit atop MLB’s standings with the best record in all of baseball. Their four game winning streak post-All Star Break has helped the surge and they will look to make it a five game streak tonight.
The Brewers did offer some injury updates ahead of tonight’s game. David Hamilton is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville and will play five innings tonight. Kyle Harrison has a 4-up live BP scheduled for Saturday and will start a rehab assignment on July 31st. DL Hall will move his rehab to Nashville and throw two innings tomorrow. Brandon Lockridge will also soon be on his way to join Triple-A and will travel there tomorrow to start his rehab assignment.
Joel Kuhnel is throwing his first bullpen session today. Sal Frelick, who had been placed on the IL with shoulder soreness underwent an arthrogram today to establish a diagnosis and a timeline to return to play.
For the game tonight, another starting pitcher will be facing his old team. This time it’s Brandon Sproat, who was acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade over the offseason. Sproat has a 5.16 ERA on the year, which is right around where Peralta has been this season as well. His mound opponent tonight will be left-hander Zac Thornton, who is making just his fourth career start in the majors. Thornton has a 2.60 ERA.
Because it’s a left-hander, the Brewers are going to have some extra right-handed hitters in the lineup. Christian Yelich gets the night off, which allows William Contreras to slide into the DH spot, batting third. That means of course that Gary Sanchez is behind the plate tonight for Sproat. Jackson Chourio will lead off, followed by Brice Turang. Garrett Mitchell mans centerfield while Luis Lara is in right field, batting seventh. Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz hold down the left side of the infield and the bottom of the order.
The Mets will continue to roll out their underperforming, high-priced lineup that includes Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert, and Marcus Semien. Young rookies AJ Ewing and Carson Benge are mixed throughout New York’s lineup as well.
With a win tonight, the Brewers can secure a series victory over the Mets and keep the momentum rolling even further.
Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers preview, Tuesday 7/21, 7:05 CT
Tuesday notes…
- SIX RUNS DOESN’T WIN: The Cubs’ loss last night was just their second of the season in which they scored exactly six runs. They have won nine. In all games with at least six runs scored, they are 39-5. When they have allowed at least six runs, they are 8-21, including 0-4 when yielding eight, as they did last night. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- HOMERS WITHOUT WINNING: The Cubs lost despite hitting three home runs. They are 9-4 when they have hit at least three and 10-8 when they have allowed at least three. Last night’s loss was their first when they both hit and allowed at least three. They had won four previous such games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- MILESTONE: The seventh run scored by the Tigers last night was the 100,000th surrendered by the Cubs in their 22,517 regular-season games since 1876. They became the second team to reach six digits in runs allowed. The Phillies are at 102,961, in 21,911 games since 1883. The Cubs have scored the most runs, 103,731. The Giants are second, with 101,570. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, PCA?: Pete Crow-Armstrong, last seven games: .077/.250/.115 (2-for-26) with 11 strikeouts (though also six walks).
Cubs lineup:
Tigers lineup:
David Peterson, LHP vs. Framber Valdez, LHP
David Peterson has made two starts with the Cubs in which he’s thrown at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs.
Oh, yes. There’s that other start he made where he got pounded for 10 runs in 3.2 innings, the worst start of his career.
I’ll just figure that was the aberration and Peterson can continue to put up good outings.
This is Peterson’s first-ever start against the Tigers, and only two current Tigers have ever seen him. Perhaps that will be to his advantage.
There was some controversy over Framber Valdez last year when it was said he intentionally threw at his catcher because he thought the catcher had crossed him up. That delayed his free agent signing a while but eventually he signed a multi-year deal with the Tigers.
The results have been “meh.”
He’s made 19 starts with a 4.10 ERA and his K rate is down from last year, as is his average fastball velocity. His last start against the Cubs was June 29, 2025 in Houston and he threw six shutout innings. Thus most current Cubs have not seen him much, a combined 4-for-32 with 12 strikeouts.
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
Please visit our SB Nation Tigers site Bless You Boys. If you do go there to interact with Tigers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!