During the Dodgers’ season-long five-game losing streak this week, manager Dave Roberts cited a lack of “fight” from his lineup as the most troubling trend in the team’s recent skid.

On Wednesday in Milwaukee, more fight finally returned — only for the Brewers to still land the knockout punch.

In a 3-2 loss at American Family Field that extended the Dodgers' losing streak to six games, the lineup once again scuffled in a five-hit performance while closer Tanner Scott blew a ninth-inning lead to waste Tyler Glasnow’s encouraging return from the injured list.

It was a grind of a game, with the Dodgers scoring their only runs on a bases-loaded walk following a hit-and-run play and a sacrifice fly that briefly gave them a 2-1 lead. After Scott gave up a game-tying RBI single to Andrew Vaughn in the ninth, Jackson Chourio walked it off against Kirby Yates in the bottom of the 10th, sending the scuffling Dodgers their longest losing skid since April 2019.

While a shorthanded offense remained mired in its recent slump, Glasnow’s return at least provided the afternoon with a positive sign. Making his first start since going on the injured list in April because of a shoulder injury, and just his 28th start in two years with the Dodgers since signing a $136.5-million contract two winters ago, the lanky right-hander pitched decently over his five innings, giving up two hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Glasnow ran into trouble in the second inning, when Christian Yelich singled on a first-pitch fastball, Isaac Collins drew a full-count walk, and both executed a double-steal to move into scoring position. A 10-pitch walk to Caleb Durbin — ending on a curveball that never ducked into the strike zone — loaded the bases with one out.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: Who's better, Clayton Kershaw or Sandy Koufax?

However, Glasnow responded, jamming Jake Bauers with a sinker for a pop out before blowing Joey Ortiz away with an elevated 96 mph heater.

That sequence was Glasnow at his best: Going after hitters with his premium velocity, and showing no signs of the tentativeness — or, as Roberts described it in his pregame address, “search mode” — that has often derailed his Dodgers career.

“There’s always fine-tuning, but when you’re out there competing, it’s hard to be in search mode,” Roberts said pregame. “I know he’s healthy. The pitching guys feel good with where his delivery is at. So now it’s just go out there and keep that rhythm and execute pitches and compete.”

As Glasnow settled into a rhythm, however, the Dodgers continued to toil at the plate.

Having scored only one run in four of their previous five games, a shorthanded lineup, which got Tommy Edman back from injury but once again was without Teoscar Hernández in the starting lineup, struggled to get a beat on crafty veteran left-hander José Quintana.

With only a 90-mph fastball and a flurry of funky off-speed pitches, the 36-year-old navigated the first four innings without giving up a hit.

A breakthrough finally came in the fifth inning. After Miguel Rojas drew a leadoff walk, the Dodgers executed a well-timed hit-and-run play, drawing the second baseman out of position just as Esteury Ruiz lined a single through the hole he vacated. With two outs, James Outman then checked his swing just enough to draw a full-count walk, loading the bases for Shohei Ohtani to plate the game’s first run on a four-pitch free pass (benefitting from a couple borderline ball calls).

And while that 1-0 lead didn’t last long — in the bottom of the fifth, Glasnow walked leadoff man Bauers, moved him to second with a balk, then watched helplessly as Bauers stole third and scored on a throw that bounced to the outfield — the Dodgers went back in front in the seventh when Mookie Betts lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers, though, squandered opportunities to stretch the lead from, leaving the bases loaded to end the seventh inning before stranding more baserunners in both the eighth and ninth.

That left Scott with too little margin to complete a four-out save. While the left-hander stranded a runner at second base he inherited in the eighth, three ninth-inning singles from the Brewers tied the score, culminating with a broken-bat, bloop single from Vaughn that made it 2-2.

Then, after Brewers closer Trevor Megill struck out the side in the top of the 10th, Yates surrendered the game-winning single to Churio in the bottom half of the inning, handing the Dodgers their second-straight series sweep.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Giolito becomes first Red Sox pitcher since 2018 to accomplish this feat originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Not only has Lucas Giolito stepped up as the Boston Red Sox’ most reliable starter after Garrett Crochet, but he has arguably been the best pitcher in MLB for the last month.

Giolito continued his torrid stretch with another stellar performance Wednesday vs. the Colorado Rockies. The veteran right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, striking out six while allowing four hits and no walks in Boston’s 10-2 victory.

According to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, Giolito is the first Red Sox pitcher to go six or more innings with two or fewer runs allowed in six straight outings since David Price in 2018. He has posted a 0.70 ERA over that span, the second-best mark in MLB after Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (0.53 ERA across five starts).

Wednesday’s outing lowered Giolito’s season ERA to 3.36, the third-best on the Red Sox behind Crochet (2.39) and Brayan Bello (3.27). Bello tossed his first career complete game in Tuesday’s win over Colorado.

Giolito struggled to start the campaign after missing all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. The soon-to-be 31-year-old has since settled in and looked more like the pitcher who earned Cy Young votes for three straight seasons (2019-21) with the Chicago White Sox.

The Red Sox will turn to Walker Buehler on Thursday when they open their four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Boston will enter its final series before the All-Star break on a six-game win streak, 5.5 games back in the American League East standings and a half-game behind in the Wild Card race.

After Tuesday's game between the Mets and Baltimore Orioles experienced a roughly 45-minute rain delay at the start, Wednesday's contest will be postponed altogether due to continued rain and thunderstorms in the area.

The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Thursday. Game 1 will be played at 12:05 p.m., while Game 2 is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

Both games will be broadcast on SNY.

Right after the postponement, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to reporters and confirmed that LHP David Peterson, Wednesday's scheduled starter, will pitch in the first game of the doubleheader. As for the second game, it is still to be announced, but it will likely be a bullpen game, which was the case even before the postponement.

Originally, Thursday's series finale was scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. with New York traveling to Kansas City right after to begin a three-game weekend set with the Royals on Friday night, which will take the Mets and the rest of the league to the All-Star break.

There's no longer any uncertainty about DJ LeMahieu's future with the Yankees.

The team officially designated the veteran infielder for assignment on Wednesday, just one day after a lineup reshuffling that kicked him off regular work at second base and into a new bench role.

The writing was on the wall for LeMahieu, who'd been a shell of himself in recent seasons due to a slew of injuries. Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged on Tuesday that the 36-year-old isn't considered an everyday player at this point, and the notion is undoubtedly backed by the numbers and eyetest.

"It’s been a tough couple of days. Some hard conversations, and then ultimately coming to this decision," Boone said ahead of Wednesday's game against the Mariners. "Obviously not easy for what has been a great player who has done a lot of great things for this organization. Difficult, but at the end, feel like this is the right thing to do at this time. Wish all the best for what’s been a great player."

With limited range in the field and a weakened swing at the plate, LeMahieu offered little to the bottom of the Yankees' order. While he was considered an option at third base entering the season, a calf injury in spring training delayed his debut until mid-May, and he ultimately slashed .266/.338/.336 with just five extra-base hits across 45 games (142 plate appearances).

LeMahieu became a player without a position on Tuesday when the Yankees decided to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base, where he's far more comfortable and valuable. A return to third base was deemed too physically demanding by LeMahieu, according to Boone.

"It ultimately comes down to how this roster sits," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves to deal with on a day-in and day-out basis... At any point, we could've just kept rolling with it. But I met with DJ last night, met with DJ today. I ultimately made a decision that's best for the roster configuration going forward."

LeMahieu's tenure with the Yankees started on an impressive note, as he finished fourth in AL MVP voting in 2019 with a career-high 26 home runs and 102 RBI. He then became the first player in baseball's Modern Era (since 1900) to win a batting title in both leagues when he hit a stellar .364 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

The Yankees signed LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million extension before the 2021 campaign, and that investment clearly backfired. He didn't hit above .270 in any season under the new deal, and he averaged just eight homers and 37 RBI during the five-year stretch. He's still owed nearly $22 million on a contract that runs through 2026.

In a corresponding move, the Yankees called up infielder Jorbit Vivas from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

"It's been a tough couple days...wish all the best for what's been a great player"

Aaron Boone on the Yankees designating DJ LeMahieu for assignment: pic.twitter.com/v86Wva38W8

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 9, 2025

Phillies have offensive outburst to avoid sweep vs. Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN FRANCISCO – Having used just about all of his bullpen on Tuesday night due to a Taijuan Walker, limited-pitch start, manager Rob Thomson needed some serious innings, and pitches, from starter Jesus Luzardo in a Wednesday matinee game against the San Francisco Giants.

It wouldn’t have hurt had the team also found a way to overcome some recent offensive struggles, particularly with runners in scoring position.

Check the boxes on both. Emphatically.

Luzardo has struggled of late, posting a 5.40 ERA in the month of June and got hit hard his last start to the tune of five earned runs in two innings against the Cincinnati Reds last week. Wednesday, the lefty returned to the form that he has flashed many times this season, going seven innings without a run, allowing just three hits and striking out seven on 106 pitches.

The Phillies recovered from Tuesday’s devastation to take the final of the three-game series with a 13-0 thumping of the Giants. It eased the memory of losing on a three-run, inside-the-park walk-off home run the night before.

Reassurance wasn’t just found in the form of Luzardo. The offense showed more punch than it had in quite a while, ripping 17 hits.

Bryce Harper, who has expectedly struggled since his return from his wrist injury on June 30, had three doubles and a solo home run, all to the left side of the outfield. His four hits in six at-bats came after he’d gone 4-for-24 since coming back.

A 7-run eighth inning, speared by a three-run, opposite field home run by Kyle Schwarber put the game away after the Phillies had scored four times off starter Justin Verlander through his six innings of work.

It’s no secret that Harper is the key to this team offensively and his performance on Wednesday is a microcosm is just what he means.

“It’s great and it looked like in the last couple of days that he’s staying balanced, he’s letting the ball travel and the bat speed is there,” said Rob Thomson. “That’s a big day for him, a big day for us. Really. I really liked his at bats and really like the at-bats up and down the lineup, too. I thought we were really good.”

It’s no coincidence. When Harper is going well, everyone is that much better. It makes at-bats easier for the likes of Schwarber, who is protected right behind him in the order by Harper. It makes Alec Bohm more effective from the four spot, and so on and so forth.

With an off day Thursday and a final series against the Padres In San Diego before the All-Star break, having Harper find his swing right about now will go a long way as to what this team may be able to do in the proverbial second half of the season after the break.

“It’s huge,” said Thomson. “Those first three guys (Trea Turner, Schwarber and Harper) are the guys that run the show. They are the guys that we rely on most and especially Harper. If he’s going it’s contagious. It really is.”

While his Modus operandi isn’t to talk about himself or put his play above the team, Harper couldn’t help but let his feelings known about what could be coming from him moving forward.

“After last night’s tough loss and to come back today and have good at-bats and Luzardo threw the ball really well today, also,” Harper said. “I just think all around we had great at-bats and put it on an all time great in (Giants starter Justin) Verlander. If I can get ahead in counts and not chase and all those things, obviously my swings gonna play. I feel great, I feel strong. It’s just getting good counts and doing damage when I need to. It sounds super simple and it should be simple. It’s just doing it and buying in on that and when I’m ahead in the count it’s pretty good swings and usually have pretty good opportunities to do that.”

Then Harper amped up his reaction to his swing, not in a braggadocious way, but more in a factual one.

“I’m really good,” he said. “I really am. I know when I’m going well. I’m one of the best in baseball. I’m healthy, I’m strong, I’m feeling great. It’s just putting myself into plus counts. I haven’t done that. I feel stronger than ever.”  

A stroll past the manager’s office on Tuesday after that unimaginable loss had Luzardo and Thomson make a quick encounter.

“He was phenomenal,” said Thomson of Luzardo. “He did exactly what he told me he was going to do. Attack the hitters, fill up the strike zone, trust his stuff and just let it happen. He was walking back and forth from the food room there and so I called him in and said, ‘what’s your approach, tomorrow?’ And he told me exactly what he did.”

It hasn’t been so much that Luzardo has struggled with his “stuff” but more with the mechanics of how he was getting ready to throw it. There has been work on hand location and so many different things and now, using a bigger glove to hide the baseball, he seems to now be able to rely on his good, strong pitching.

“I feel like the times I get in trouble, for the most part, are self-inflicted,” said Luzardo. “Long innings, then walks turn into runs almost every time. I can’t stand walks. If I’m gonna get beat I’d rather get beat by them hitting it as opposed to me just letting them on. So what we talked about was just attacking. I went back to having my hands a little lower. I felt a lot more comfortable out of the stretch when I was there today. Just filling the zone up, throwing a lot of strikes, hopefully get weak contact and that’s what we did today.”

After his strong performance, Luzardo knew what the key was to the win and what it is for the future of the team.

“When Bryce goes the whole team goes,” he said. “He’s obviously a big part of our club, a leader for us. When we see him doing that I feel like we’re all getting on a roll.”

Kepler exits early

Outfielder Max Kepler fouled a ball on his lower leg late in the game and was removed from it. Thomson said after the game Kepler was in quite some pain but was hopeful that a day off Thursday will go a long way in the healing process.