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UPDATE: The game has been postponed and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on July 17.

This may be stating the obvious, but weather will be a factor in this game, folks. (It’s sunny here in Seattle!) The Sox and Rays will either play through some serious bouts of rain this afternoon and into the evening, or deal with a postponement.

Outside of that, we have Mickey Gasper at catcher, and Masa at DH. Let’s hope the only drama today is the forecast. Go Sox.

How to Watch and Listen

First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET on NESN and WEEI.

Lineups

Tampa Bay Rays Lineup

1. Chandler Simpson (L) LF
2. Junior Caminero (R) 3B
3. Ben Williamson (R) 2B
4. Yandy Díaz (R) DH
5. Ryan Vilade (R) 1B
6. Cedric Mullins (L) CF
7. Jonny DeLuca (R) RF
8. Nick Fortes (R) C
9. Taylor Walls (S) SS

RHP Nick Martinez (3-1, 1.71 ERA, 28 SO) takes the mound for the Rays.

Close one yesterday. Time to make it two in a row, right?

The series continues this afternoon with right-hander Aaron Civale on the mound for the good guys. He’s been a revelation of a pickup for the club so far and is on a roll so far for his new team. Let’s jope he can keep that up!

The A’s lineup today shakes out like this:

Today’s lineup will be seeing Baltimore’s staff leader Shane Baz. A big offseason acquisition for the Orioles this offseason, Baz has been a slight disappointment as he brings a 4.99 ERA into tonight’s contest. Hopefully the A’s can take advantage of a pitcher with killer stuff but is going through a rough patch right now.

And Baltimore’s lineup:

Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:

Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

There’s no arguing that the Diamondbacks offense has taken a step back this season. Last year, they ranked sixth overall in runs per game at 4.88. This season, after last night’s extra-innings loss, they are below league average (4.38 vs. 4.47). And if you break it down further, to the individual level, perhaps the biggest concern is with Ketel Marte. The All-Star and Silver Slugger winner last year, was on the bench yesterday, but has seen his performance at the plate crater, going from an OPS+ of 145 to just 70. I’ve already seen comments wishing the team had traded Marte this winter. But how much of this concern is justified.

Certainly, looking at the basic numbers, Marte is having a very poor season: by purely offensive WAR, he is actually slightly below replacement level, at -0.1 oWAR. He is batting just .209, with an OPS of .614. His K-rate is a career high 19.5%, while his walk rate has dropped to 6.7%, Ketel’s lowest since the pandemic-shortened season in 2020. However, it is true to say that the significance is magnified because it being the start of the season. Here are two streaks from Marte’s career, both covering a period of 35 games.
Streak A: .207/.265/.386, 5 HR, 10 BB, 35 SO
Streak B: .209/.262/.353, 5 HR, 10 BB, 29 SO

Streak B is, obviously enough, his current one. But Streak A comes from 2024 – when he was also an All-Star, won the Silver Slugger and came third in MVP balloting. The difference? Streak A didn’t come at the start of the season. When the slump started on April 21, Marte was batting .344 with .985. That provided a cushion: even at the end of the streak on June 1, his season OPS was still .781. Also, while both streaks had the same number of hits (29), Ketel somehow managed to have a 21-game hitting streak during the slump, and was only hitless in nine of the 35 games. This year, the ohfers have been considerably more common: 15 of 35 games.

What’s also significant is the underlying numbers suggest Ketel has been unlucky. It is generally accepted that the majority of what hitters can control is to make hard contact. Wee Willie Keeler’s maxim of “Hit ’em where they ain’t,” might sound nice. But when you’re facing a procession of hurlers with 98 mph fastballs, you will have very little control over where the pitch goes. Some balls will be hit at fielders, other will not. Over the course of a season, these should even out, and a player’s BABIP – batting average on balls in play, excluding home-runs, strikeouts and walks – tends to be relatively consistent.

We see this with Marte. From 2023-25, his BABIP was in the .290-.300 range: that’s right around MLB average of .295. But this season, it has cratered to .229. That’s ranked 164th of the 179 qualified batters this year. Now there are reasons why BABIP can drop for a batter. If his batting profile changes from line-drives to fly-balls, BABIP will drop, because fly-balls are much less likely to become hits. So let’s split up what has happened to Marte’s balls in play, into ground balls, fly balls and line drives. Below is what has happened to the pitches in each category, both last year and this:

The split hasn’t changed dramatically from last year, at least not away from line drives. In 2025, it was GB 41%; FB 37%; LD 22%. In 2026, it is GB 49%; FB 25%; LD: 25%. He is hitting a lot more ground balls rather than fly balls. But that should actually mean an increase in batting average, because ground balls are more likely to become hits than fly balls. Across all baseball last year, GB had a BABIP of .245; FB were at .091; and LD at .616. That’s why line drives are so key. But Marte’s GB and LD both have a below-average BABIP. If we give him an average BABIP in each category, we’re talking 9-10 extra hits. That’d get his average up to .277, and I am not writing this article.

If we look at the Statcast data for last year and this we see something similar. There’s not a lot which would explain the decline in batting average. Here are the charts for Marte in 2025 and 2026.

There’s still an awful lot of red (= good) on Marte’s chart. His average exit velocity is actually up on last year, and the expected batting average is higher too. Bat speed is basically unchanged too. One thing I do note is the sharp increase in chase percentage, the percent of pitches outside of the zone at which a hitter swings. Last year, Ketel was considerably better than average in this category, but he is now in the bottom twenty percent for the metric. This does fit with the eye test, where we have all seen Marte, quite possibly, trying to slug his way out of the current situation. I’m sure Torey Lovullo has had the conversation. Whether Marte listens is another matter.

Because this apparent struggle with pitch recognition is actually a team-wide issue. For the Diamondbacks have the second-worst chase percentage (or, as Fangraphs calls it, O-Swing%) in the majors. When you’re fighting with the Rockies for #1, it’s rarely a good thing… Conversely, Arizona are 28th for percentage of the time they swing at pitches in the zone. While the latter hasn’t actually changed on last year, they were 14th in O-Swing% in 2025. It’s an issue, which I’d hope hitting coach Joe Mather is working diligently to address. Because right now, it appear the D-backs hitters appear to have take the name of their ballpark as an instruction…

[All blame credit to shoewizard for that last sentence!]

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers claimed pitcher Charlie Barnes off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, adding to their potential starting pitcher depth.

Barnes pitched once for the Cubs this season, allowing four runs (three earned) in three innings of bulk relief on April 13. Most of the left-hander’s work this season has been at Triple-A Iowa, where he had a 3.04 ERA in seven games, including four starts, with 27 strikeouts and 12 walks in 26 2/3 innings.

The 30-year-old pitcher pitched in the majors in 2021 with the Minnesota Twins before heading to Korea to pitch four seasons for the Lotte Giants in the KBO. He put up a combined 3.58 ERA in 94 starts overseas, with 516 strikeouts and 166 walks in 553 innings. Barnes signed a minor league contract with Chicago in January.

Barnes entered the season with 37 days of major league service time, and is using his second option year, along with 2021. He was optioned twice by Chicago after opening day, and was in the minors when he was designated for assignment on Wednesday by the Cubs.

Though the Dodgers don’t expect Tyler Glasnow to miss much time on the injured list with back spasms, their depth is a bit tested after Blake Snell returns on Saturday. They have no other healthy starting pitchers on the 40-man roster other than Jake Eder, who was used solely in short relief during his three-week stint in the majors. Eder is starting on Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City after getting optioned on Wednesday, so presumably he’ll build back up.

To make room for Barnes on the 40-man roster, Tommy Edman was moved to the 60-day injured list. That means the earliest Edman could return is May 21, but he won’t be ready by then anyway. He’s behind fellow 60-day IL-er Kiké Hernández, who has already started his rehab assignment in Triple-A. Edman went through workouts at Dodger Stadium on Friday but has had a slow recovery from right ankle surgery in November.

Former Major League Baseball manager Bobby Cox passed away at the age of 84.

"We are overcome with emotion on the passing of Bobby Cox, our treasured skipper. Bobby was the best manager to ever wear a Braves uniform. He led our team to 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants, and the unforgettable World Series title in 1995. His Braves managerial legacy will never be matched," the Braves said in a statement.

"Bobby was a favorite among all in the baseball community, especially those who played for him. His wealth of knowledge on player development and the intricacies of managing the game were rewarded with the sport's ultimate prize in 2014 - enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame."

While he is best known for managing the Braves, Cox also managed the Toronto Blue Jays and was the first base coach when the New York Yankees won the World Series

Bobby Cox record and accomplishments

• Baseball Hall of Famer: Inducted in 2014
• World Series champion: 1995 with Atlanta Braves
• 2,504 career victories, 4th all-time
• 4-time Manager of the Year (1985, with Blue Jays, 1991, 2004, 2005 with Atlanta Braves).
• Led the Braves to 14 straight division championships (1991–2005, 1994 was a strike season)
• Had 100 or more wins in six different seasons
• Was ejected 158 times, a MLB record

Building on a one-game winning streak.

And Addison Barger is back (with Piñango the casualty). It was a weird spot….we are hip deep in lefty hitters, but then picking someone who isn’t hitting at all, just because he swings from the right side seems silly.

The Lineups:

Go Jays Go.

As discourse in baseball touches on how the Tigers will fare in the absence of Tarik Skubal, the reigning back-to-back champs take the field with Blake Snell on the mound for the first time in 2026—they do so, having managed his absence about as well as anyone could’ve hoped for, particularly given the outstanding efforts of Justin Wrobleski to keep this rotation running smoothly for the most part.

Although the Dodgers ultimately took the win in the first game of this series in an unfavorable matchup against Chris Sale, they probably would’ve liked to see Emmet Sheehan eat up a bit more innings than the 4.2 he covered—relying heavily on the bullpen finishing the job. Flipping the script, now it’s the Dodgers who send a veteran starter to the mound, and opposing Snell will be Spencer Strider.

A starting pitcher who finished top 5 in the Cy Young voting back in 2023, Strider, in large part thanks to injury woes and diminished velocity, has failed to replicate those numbers ever since, coming off a fairly pedestrian 2025 campaign. While he has Snell beat in MLB exposure this year, it isn’t by much, given that this will only be his second start of the year. Strider had a rocky season debut at Coors Field last week, walking five hitters in 3.1 innings of work in what was ultimately a Braves 11-6 win. Things don’t get much easier now for the power righty, visiting Dodger Stadium, squaring off against one of the best offenses in the sport.

With neither starter in rhythm as one might expect for a matchup in May, this might be a choppier game than usual, particularly when you account for the quality of these two offenses.

Saturday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Braves
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 6:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Bobby Cox, the Baseball Hall of Famer who led the Atlanta Braves to their 1995 World Series title and was a four-time Manager of the Year, has died at the age of 84.

The Braves announced Cox’s death in a statement on Saturday. The team did not give a cause of death.

“We are overcome with emotion on the passing of Bobby Cox, our treasured skipper,” the team said. “Bobby was the best manager to ever wear a Braves uniform.

“Bobby was a favorite among all in the baseball community, especially those who played for him. His wealth of knowledge on player development and the intricacies of managing the game were rewarded with the sport’s ultimate prize in 2014 – enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“And while Bobby’s passion for the game was unparalleled, his love of baseball was exceeded only by his love for his family. It is with the heaviest of hearts that we send our sincerest condolences to his beloved wife, Pam, and their loving children and grandchildren.”

Cox managed the Braves in two stints, first from 1978 to 1981 and then from 1990 to 2010. In the later spell, Atlanta became a National League powerhouse, winning 14 consecutive division titles, a feat no professional sports team had accomplished. They reached the World Series five times, including when they defeated Cleveland in 1995 to win the franchise’s third championship.

He managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985 before returning to the Braves as general manager and later appointing himself manager. He ranks fourth all-time with 2,504 wins, fifth with 4,508 games, first with 15 division titles, first with 16 playoff appearances and fourth with 67 playoff wins. He leads all managers in baseball history with 162 ejections.

“He is the Atlanta Braves,” longtime catcher Brian McCann said in 2019. “He’s the best.”

Before beginning his managerial career, the Oklahoma native coached in the New York Yankees’ system and was on Billy Martin’s staff when they won the World Series in 1977.

Cox retired in 2010 and was unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. He was hospitalized after a stroke in 2019 and diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2020. Health issues kept him from attending the 2025 All-Star Game hosted by Atlanta, but he made an appearance later that year at Truist Park to honor the 30th anniversary of the Braves’ championship.

Ted Turner, the Atlanta media magnate and owner of the Braves from 1976 to 2007, died earlier this week at 87. Turner hired Cox to manage the Braves in 1978 and then fired him in 1981.

When asked what he was looking for in a replacement, Turner told reporters he wanted to hire someone exactly like Cox.

“Bobby Cox led one of the greatest eras of sustained excellence in baseball history,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “As manager of the Braves, his clubs became an October fixture, representing consistency, professionalism, and championship-caliber baseball for an entire generation of fans.

“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Bobby’s family, the Braves organization, the many players and coaches whose lives he impacted throughout his 29-year managerial career, and Braves fans everywhere.”