Author: rincon

Negotiators for baseball players and owners began what figures to be lengthy and acrimonious collective bargaining negotiations Tuesday to replace their labor contract that expires Dec. 1, with management likely to propose a salary cap system the union has vowed never to accept.

An initial session of about two hours took place at the office of the Major League Baseball Players Association, a five-minute walk from Major League Baseball’s headquarters in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. The meeting lasted about two hours and was scheduled for initial presentations from each side on their view of the sport and its economics. No proposals were made.

Players who attended included Mets infielder Marcus Semien, a member of the union’s eight-man executive subcommittee, along with Mets teammates Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Austin Slater and Sean Manaea. Several Detroit Tigers, who were in town to play the Mets, also were at the meeting and additional players joined via video conference.

“It’s the first one I’ve been at, so I don’t really have much to compare it to,” Holmes said. “It was just kind of initial meetings, first time the sides were getting together and kind of sharing their thoughts on kind of where they thought things were at and what they thought was best for kind of the game moving forward.”

The sport’s five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1, and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has said repeatedly that management prefers offseason lockouts to in-season strikes, aiming to prevent the loss of regular-season games. Baseball has not lost regular-season games to a work stoppage since a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that caused the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years.

Talks for the last agreement began in April 2021 and ended with a deal on March 10, 2022 that preserved the 162-game schedule only after the sides bargained past several deadlines and Manfred announced the cancellation of 184 games, which were restored.

Bruce Meyer will lead negotiations for the union, as he did in 2021-22, but in his new role as interim union head. He moved up from deputy director in February after the forced resignation of Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman who took over following the death of Michael Weiner in 2013.

Deputy commissioner Dan Halem heads MLB’s negotiations team, as he did in talks for the previous two agreements.

MLB and Meyer declined to comment on the session.

“I think just player engagement as a whole, it just seems like there’s a lot of it right now,” Holmes said. “Guys are wanting to hear and guys are wanting to be there and so, just to be able to kind of be there and pass along things that you may see or learn or just have conversations there.”

Some major league owners have said a salary cap system that also contains a floor is needed and would improve the sport. MLB, unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, has not had a cap system, but since 2003 has had a luxury tax designed to slow spending.

“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America last summer. “I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”

Restraints had not appeared to have had much impact on the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets in recent years. The Dodgers shattered MLB’s spending records with a combined $515 million in payroll and luxury tax last year en route to their second straight World Series title, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner’s office, and Los Angeles is projected for the highest total again in 2026. The ratio of the five highest spenders to the five lowest increased from 3.6 in 2021 to a record-high 4.7 last year.

The union maintains a cap system decreases spending on players, while management argues a cap and a floor would benefit most players.

Players increased their potential war chest of cash and investments ahead of collective bargaining to $415 million heading into 2026. MLB also has been accumulating cash ahead of bargaining, about $75 million per club in withheld central fund distributions.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, 9-3, the San Francisco Giants picked up where they left off on Tuesday, getting another win over their bitter National League West rival.

The Dodgers led 2-1 entering the fifth inning, thanks to a first-inning sacrifice fly from catcher Will Smith and a solo home run from Shohei Ohtani to lead off the bottom of the third inning. However, the Giants would take the lead and never give it back in the top of the fifth when center fielder Harrison Bader and catcher Eric Haase hit back-to-back solo home runs. As for Haase, it was his second homer of the game, as he launched another solo shot in the top of the third. Both of those home runs came off Dodgers star right-hander Yoshinobo Yamamoto.

San Francisco built a four-run cushion in the seventh, as outfielder Drew Gilbert singled in a run and fellow outfielder Jung Hoo Lee doubled in two runs, giving the Giants a 6-2 lead, which would be the final score.

Right-hander Adrian Houser pitched 5 ⅔ innings for the Giants, who improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season and have won four of their last five games.

The Detroit Tigers got out to a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets in the top of the second, but that would be all the offense that Detroit would muster, as a New York avalanche ensued.

Over the next seven innings, the Mets racked up 13 hits and 10 runs, scoring in all but one of those seven innings. Among the biggest standouts was center fielder A.J. Ewing, who had a spectacular MLB debut. Ewing, whom New York selected with the No. 134 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and ranks as their No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, reached base in four of his five plate appearances, recording an RBI triple and three walks, one of them driving in a run.

Prior to getting called up to the big leagues, Ewing had totaled two home runs, 11 RBIs and 17 stolen bases across 30 combined games in Double A (18 games) and Triple A (12 games) this season, boasting a .339/.447/.514 slash line.

As for New York’s 10-2 win over Detroit, outfielders Carson Benge, Juan Soto and Austin Slater, infielders Bo Bichette and Mark Vientos and catchers Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens each drove in at least one run (Ewing had two RBIs). Starter Freddy Peralta surrendered two runs and posted seven strikeouts over six innings.

If one blinked, they may have missed Bailey Ober’s heroics on the mound.

Why’s that? The Minnesota Twins’ right-hander pitched a complete-game shutout against the Miami Marlins, surrendering just two baserunners (two hits), recording seven strikeouts and throwing only 89 pitches to accomplish the feat in what was a 3-0 victory.

Through nine starts, the 6-foot-9 Ober has recorded a 3.46 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 39 strikeouts, a 126 ERA+ and 1.4 wins above replacement across 52.0 innings pitched. It was the second complete game of Ober’s five-plus-year MLB career (2021-present); he owns a career 4.03 ERA and 105 ERA+.

Minnesota scored its three runs in the bottom of the fifth, with center fielder Byron Buxton stealing home on a de facto double steal (runners stole second and home) and catcher Ryan Jeffers smacking a two-run home run to left field.

The Twins have won three consecutive games.

The recurring “bang” that was heard near the Ohio River on Tuesday night wasn’t construction: It was the Washington Nationals cracking the seats at Great American Ball Park with the long ball.

The Nationals brought the big sticks to Cincinnati, blasting six home runs, which accounted for nine of their 10 runs in a 10-4 win over the Reds. First baseman Luis García Jr. and left fielder Daylen Lile each cranked two home runs and had three hits apiece, with right fielder James Wood and third baseman Brady House also hitting home runs of their own. Eight of nine Washington starters had a hit.

The Nationals’ other run came off a ninth-inning RBI double from designated hitter Jose Tena.

As for those who went yard, Wood has totaled 12 home runs and 29 RBIs, while sporting a .244/.392/.538 slash line; Garcia has totaled 21 RBIs, boasting a .434 slugging percentage; House has totaled six home runs and 21 RBIs; Lile has driven in 19 runs; meanwhile, shortstop CJ Abrams, who had two hits on Tuesday, has racked up nine home runs, 36 RBIs — which is second in MLB — and seven stolen bases, while possessing a .293/.391/.531 slash line. 

Speaking of the Nationals, their former ace, left-hander MacKenzie Gore, had one of the best starts of his career in Game 2 of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gore lasted eight innings, marking the longest start of his MLB career, surrendering just one run and four baserunners (three hits and one walk) in a 7-4 victory for the Rangers; the D-backs got three runs off reliever Gavin Collyer in the top of the ninth. 

Entering his Tuesday night start, Gore, a 2025 All-Star, owned a 5.18 ERA over eight starts, with opponents hitting .300 on balls put in play against him.

As for the Rangers’ offense, they got solo home runs from designated hitter Joc Pederson in the bottom of the first and second baseman Ezequiel Durán in the bottom of the fourth. Texas later plated four runs in the fifth with RBI singles from Duran, outfielder Alejandro Osuna and first baseman Jake Burger — who had another RBI single in the second — and an RBI force-out from shortstop Corey Seager. Burger and right fielder Brandon Nimmo each had three hits.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a runaway freight train, but the Toronto Blue Jays nearly derailed them.

Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Jays struck for five runs, which ultimately sent the game to extra innings. Those five runs came on a two-run double from outfielder Yohendrick Piñango, an RBI double from outfielder Jesús Sánchez, an RBI single from designated hitter George Springer and a Tampa Bay error on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ground ball.

All that said, the Rays scored two runs in the top of the 10th, as shortstop Taylor Walls singled home a run and first baseman Jonathan Aranda drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, with the latter run being the difference, as Tampa Bay won, 7-6.

Rays’ right fielder Jonny DeLuca had a game-high three hits, while Aranda, third baseman Junior Caminero and left fielder Ryan Vilade — who hit a solo home run in the seventh — each had two hits.

Tampa Bay, which has the best record in the American League at 28-13, has now won 10 of its last 11 games and is 5-0 against Toronto.

Old reliable appears to be back in midseason form.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, who missed the first month of the season due to a shoulder injury, tossed a gem in what was his fourth start of the year, giving up just one run and six baserunners (six hit) over 7 ⅓ innings in a 2-1 win on the road for the Phillies over the Boston Red Sox; Wheeler threw just 87 pitches.

Over four starts, Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, has recorded a 2.55 ERA, an 0.93 WHIP, 22 strikeouts, a 170 ERA+ and 1.1 wins above replacement in 24 ⅔ innings pitched. Wheeler has pitched through six innings in each of his last three starts.

Regarding Wheeler’s run support, designated hitter and 2025 NL MVP runner-up Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run in the top of the first and second baseman Bryson Stott, who finished the night with two hits, had an RBI double in the second. This marked the fifth straight game that Schwarber has hit a home run, with him uncorking a combined six long balls over that span; Schwarber leads MLB with 17 home runs.

Meanwhile, Stott has a four-game hit streak and recorded a hit in six of his last seven games.

“It was his hat, Mr. Krabs. He was No. 4!” Actually, he was No. 1, but the point here is the No. 4 was a theme for the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of their four-game set against the Houston Astros.

With the game tied at 2-all in the top of the fourth, Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone crushed a grand slam to right field. Canzone finished what became a 10-2 victory for Seattle with five RBIs.

The Mariners’ other five runs came on a two-run home run from left fielder Randy Arozarena in the second, a fifth-inning RBI single by shortstop J.P. Crawford, an RBI double from Arozarena in the seventh and a Crawford walk and Canzone sacrifice fly in the ninth.

As for Arozarena, the two-time All-Star finished the game 4 for 4 and is hitting a team-high .303. Seattle got six innings from starter Bryan Woo, who totaled nine strikeouts and gave up just two runs and six baserunners (four hits and two walks).

Seattle is 6-0 against Houston this season.

After losing a two-run lead in the seventh inning on Monday, the New York Yankees got ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the early going on Tuesday — like, on the first pitch early.

On the first pitch of the night, Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt lifted a Trevor Rogers fastball into the left-field seats. Two innings later, New York put five runs on the board, as left fielder Cody Bellinger brought in a run on a force-out, second baseman Amed Rosario had an RBI single and center fielder Trent Grisham hit a three-run home run.

Those six runs would be all the Yankees needed, as they went on to win, 6-2. Goldschmidt, who’s now 6 for his last 11, and superstar Aaron Judge each had two hits for New York, which got 5 ⅔ innings from starter Will Warren, who surrendered two runs and posted six strikeouts. The Yankees’ bullpen proceeded to give up no runs over 3 ⅓ innings. On the season, Warren owns a 3.42 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and has totaled 59 strikeouts over 47 ⅓ innings pitched (nine starts).

New York’s victory over Baltimore terminated a four-game losing streak.

Paul Skenes didn’t escape the first inning on Opening Day. Ever since, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ superstar right-hander has been otherworldly.

On Tuesday, Skenes pitched eight scoreless innings at home against the Colorado Rockies, recording 10 strikeouts and giving up just two baserunners (two hits) in a 3-1 win for the Pirates. Moreover, he struck out the first six batters of the game.

Over his last eight starts, Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner, has a 1.09 ERA, while opponents are hitting just .157 on balls put in play against him. Skenes has pitched eight shutout innings in each of his last two starts, surrendered no runs in four of his last five starts and given up more than one run in just one of his last eight starts.

Pittsburgh got its three runs on RBI singles from infielders Nick Gonzales (bottom of the first) and Brandon Lowe (bottom of the fifth) and outfielder Bryan Reynolds (bottom of the seventh). Meanwhile, center fielder Oneil Cruz had a game-high three hits, including two doubles.

Regarding the aforementioned run-producers, Cruz and Lowe have each hit a team-high 10 home runs this season, combining for 57 RBIs; Lowe owns a .558 slugging percentage, while Cruz boasts a .491 slugging percentage; Gonzales has driven in 19 runs and owns a team-high .321 batting average; Reynolds has driven in 24 runs.

The Pirates have won six of their last 10 games and are 23-19. Uh-oh, we have a 23-19!

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

The Tampa Bay Rays have owned the Toronto Blue Jays this season, and with a two-run lead going into the bottom of the 10th inning, it appeared to be more of the same.

Then, the improbable happened.

After a pop-out to open the inning, Toronto drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases for center fielder Daulton Varsho, who smacked a line drive to the opposite field and over the left-field wall for a walk-off grand slam.

The long ball was just Toronto’s sixth hit of the game and gave the Blue Jays their first win over the American League East-rival Rays this season (Toronto is 1-5 against Tampa Bay), that being a 5-3 victory.

Varsho, a 2024 Gold Glover, has totaled five home runs, 13 RBIs, 1 win above replacement and two defensive runs saved in center field through 41 games, while owning a .250/.321/.403 slash line. Toronto’s other run came off a sacrifice fly from third baseman Kazuma Okamoto in the eighth, while starter Dylan Cease gave up just one run over seven innings.

Speaking of slams, enter the “Big Amish.”

Trailing the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered, knocking a Matthew Liberatore slider just over the center-field wall.

The A’s would never look back, with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly from center fielder Henry Bolte — who was making his MLB debut — and an eighth-inning solo home run from third baseman Zack Gelof adding to their lead, while starter J.T. Ginn, who sports a 3.12 ERA and 1.5 wins above replacement over seven starts/10 appearances, gave up no earned runs over six innings in an eventual 6-2 win. Both teams had 13 hits.

After a slow start to the 2026 season, the “Big Amish” has been raking over the last month, with Kurtz recording five home runs, 22 RBIs and a .319/.451/.571 slash line over his last 24 games. 

Last season, Kurtz totaled 36 home runs, 86 RBIs, a 165 OPS+ and 5.4 wins above replacement over 117 games, while posting a .290/.383/.619 slash line, helping him earn 2025 AL Rookie of the Year honors.

The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs are on polar opposite runs.

In defeating the Cubs, 4-1, the Braves have won four consecutive games, giving them the best record in MLB at 30-13, while the Cubs — who previously won 10 consecutive games — have now lost four in a row.

As for the Wednesday night matchup, catcher Drake Baldwin drew first blood for the Braves with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth, his 11th long ball of the year. Granted, Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner leveled the score at 1-all with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.

That said, Atlanta took the lead for good in the eighth when outfielder Mike Yastrzemski drove in a run on a double. Then, after shortstop Ha-Seong Kim was thrown out trying to score a second run on the aforementioned Yastrzemski double, left fielder Mauricio Dubón gave the Braves more breathing room, launching a two-run home run to left field.

Raisel Iglesias proceeded to shut the door on a 4-1 victory for the Braves in the ninth; the right-handed reliever hasn’t surrendered a run over 12 ⅔ innings pitched this season.

The San Diego Padres were on the verge of losing their fourth game in six tries. Then, Gavin Sheets happened.

Down 1-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego failed to get either of the first two batters on the basepath in the top of the ninth. Then, designated hitter Miguel Andújar singled and shortstop Xander Bogaerts walked. What followed? Sheets hit a go-ahead, three-run home run to right field off Brewers reliever Abner Uribe.

The home run was one of Sheets’ two hits on the night and his sixth homer of the season. Sheets and Fernando Tatís Jr. accounted for two-thirds of San Diego’s hits in what was a 3-1 win (the Padres had six hits), while Mason Miller got the save in the bottom of the ninth.

The only other run that was scored came on a fifth-inning RBI force-out by Brewers second baseman Brice Turang off Padres’ starter Michael King, who pitched 5 ⅔ innings. For Milwaukee, it wasted a spectacular outing from young right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who recorded 10 strikeouts and gave up no runs and just four baserunners (four hits) over seven innings.

The Padres have a half-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West at 25-17.

That happened. It’s not a typo.

Coming off a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees logged just one hit and were shutout by their AL East rival on Wednesday, 7-0, dropping a three-game series and recording their fifth loss in six games.

For Baltimore, right-hander Kyle Bradish pitched six shutout innings, logging seven strikeouts and giving up just four baserunners (three walks and one hit), with Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns and Yennier Cano each pitching a scoreless inning, thereafter. As for the bats, the Orioles got an RBI double from designated hitter Coby Mayo in the bottom of the second, a sacrifice fly from catcher Adley Rutschman — who later hit a two-run home run in the fifth — and an RBI single from first baseman Pete Alonso in the third and a two-run single from second baseman Blaze Alexander in the sixth. 

Rutschman, a two-time All-Star, has logged six home runs, 24 RBIs, a 151 OPS+ and a .291/.339/.553 slash line through 28 games.

The Yankees are averaging just 2.3 runs per game over their last six contests. To make matters worse for New York, star left-hander Max Fried left the game after three innings on Wednesday due to left elbow posterior soreness. 

Losers of four straight games, the Dodgers turned to Shohei Ohtani to end their slide, and he delivered.

The electric right-hander tossed seven shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants, recording eight strikeouts and giving up just six baserunners (four hits and two walks). Tanner Scott and Kyle Hurt each pitched a scoreless inning after Ohtani was relieved, sealing a 4-0 Dodgers’ win.

As for the offense, Los Angeles got back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the bottom of the third from infielders Santiago Espinal and Mookie Betts. Then, in the fourth, designated hitter Teoscar Hernández singled in a run and left fielder Alex Call brought home a run on a sacrifice fly.

Ohtani, who didn’t hit on Wednesday, has pitched through seven innings in back-to-back starts and pitched through at least six innings in each of his seven starts this season.

Ohtani owns an NL-best 0.82 ERA and 486 ERA+, an 0.82 WHIP and recorded 50 strikeouts and 1.9 wins above replacement over 44.0 innings pitched. Meanwhile, as a hitter, the four-time MVP has totaled seven home runs, 17 RBIs and five stolen bases, while owning a .240/.370/.427 slash line.

New York Mets outfielder A.J. Ewing shined on Tuesday night in what was his first big-league game. On Wednesday, outfielder Carson Benge was the Mets’ rookie to shine brightest.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Benge hit a walk-off single up the middle, giving the Mets a 3-2 victory and a series win over the Detroit Tigers.

Benge, whom New York selected with the No. 19 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, finished the night with a team-high three hits. He has totaled three home runs, 13 RBIs and seven stolen bases across 126 at-bats this season, possessing a .230/.292/.341 slash line. Benge has started at least eight games at all three outfield positions for the Mets.

New York’s other two runs came on an RBI force-out from left fielder Tyrone Taylor in the second and an RBI single from shortstop Bo Bichette in the seventh. The Mets used five pitchers to get through 10 innings, highlighted by 2 ⅓ perfect innings of relief from right-hander Huascar Brazobán, who boasts a 2.14 ERA and a 187 ERA+.

It had been a while since we had one of these.

The Washington Nationals led the Cincinnati Reds 8-6 going into the bottom of the 10th after designated hitter Daylen Lile hit a two-run home run in the top half of the inning, which was his third homer in the last two games. Then, the thing happened.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Reds first baseman Spencer Steer laced a ball to left field that looked like it had a chance to clear the wall for a game-tying, two-run home run. Well, one Reds fan made sure of that, as he reached over the wall to catch the ball and bring it into the seats. After review, it was determined that it was indeed fan interference, and Steer was given a double, which drove in a run.

The Reds would ultimately strand both the tying and go-ahead runs, with the Nationals holding on to win 8-7 and taking the three-game series.

Cincinnati actually began the game with a five-run first inning, highlighted by a grand slam from catcher Tyler Stephenson, but Washington responded with a four-run second inning, which included a two-run home run from catcher Keibert Ruiz. The Nationals tied the game at 5-all in the third on a Joey Wiemer walk, with both teams later scoring a sixth run.

Washington is now in second place in the NL East at 21-22.

The losing streak to the Seattle Mariners ends at nine for the Houston Astros.

Yes, in fact, Houston entered Wednesday 0-6 against Seattle this season and having lost nine straight games to its AL West foe dating back to last season. Ironically, it took 10 innings for the Astros to stop their losing streak to the Mariners from reaching 10 games, with outfielder Zach Cole — who had a game-high three hits — hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th.

The 4-3 win snapped a four-game losing streak for Houston, which got its other three runs on a solo home run from Christian Walker — which was his 10th of the year — and an RBI single from second baseman Jose Altuve in the sixth and a sacrifice fly from Altuve in the eighth.

As for the hero of the game, Cole has only appeared in eight games for the Astros this season, but he’s batting .304 with two home runs and six RBIs over the 24 plate appearances that he has received.

Hang with us here.

The Texas Rangers took a 3-2 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks into the top of the ninth and sent Jacob Latz to the mound to close out the game. That did not go as planned.

The first four batters all reached base, with right fielder Corbin Carroll doubling, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo drawing a walk, third baseman Nolan Arenado hitting a game-tying, RBI double and first baseman Ildemaro Vargas bringing in two runs on a single. Cal Quantrill relieved Latz, who didn’t get an out, and got the Rangers through the inning without giving up another run after the D-backs scored three.

But wait, there’s more.

Two of the first three batters failed to reach base in the bottom of the ninth for the Rangers, but then their bats came to life. Second baseman Ezequiel Durán hit an RBI double, which left fielder Alejandro Osuna followed with a walk. First baseman Jake Burger then hit a game-tying, RBI single, which was followed by catcher Danny Jansen hitting a walk-off double down the left-field line, giving Texas a dramatic, 6-5 win.

MLB’s 15-game Wednesday slate saw four games go to extra innings and four games end with a walk off.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

The Tanmpa Bay Rays and local officials announced a tentative $2.3 billion agreement on Thursday for a new ballpark funded by public and private money.

The nonbinding memorandum of understanding among the Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa outlines the costs of a stadium, which would include $967 million of tax dollars. Elected officials for the city and county are expected to vote on the deal at separate meetings next week.

“The Rays respectfully but resolutely encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a Forever Home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood that will be an inviting and inclusive destination to work, live, learn, and play,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.

The Rays ownership reached an agreement earlier this year with Hillsborough College to build the stadium and mixed-use entertainment district on the college campus and to renovate some of the college’s buildings. The property is located next to the New York Ynkees’ spring training facility and across a highway from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rays have said they hope to have the new stadium built within three years.

Since the team took the field in 1998, the Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, except for moving home games to the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field in 2025 following hurricane damage at the Trop. The Rays lease runs through at least the 2028 season. The team returned to the Trop last month for the start of this season.

A proposed $1.3 billion redevelopment deal for a new ballpark adjacent to the Trop fell through last year, raising new questions about the future of the team, which was bought last September by Patrick Zalupski’s ownership group.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

For the first time since 2022, the Chicago White Sox have a winning record in May.

Furthermore, in the wake of their 6-2 win at home over the Kansas City Royals, which finished off a three-game sweep of their American League Central rival, the White Sox have won five consecutive games and are the No. 2 AL wild-card seed at 22-21.

As for its latest win, Chicago got a two-run home run from left fielder Randal Grichuk in the bottom of the first inning, a two-run single from Grichuk in the bottom of the third, an RBI single from second baseman Chase Meidroth in the fourth and an RBI single from outfielder Derek Hill in the eighth; Grichuk and Meidroth each finished with two hits.

Grichuk has played just eight games for the White Sox, totaling three home runs, seven RBIs and batting .313; Meidroth has logged a team-high 43 hits, while batting .281; Hill sports a .787 OPS; elsewhere, rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami has totaled 15 home runs and 29 RBIs, while boasting a .227/.371/.533 slash line; shortstop Colson Montgomery has totaled 11 home runs and 29 RBIs, while owning a .230/.331/.500 slash line. The White Sox are fifth in MLB with 56 home runs.

On the hill, Chicago got six innings from starter Anthony Kay, who surrendered just two runs, which was followed by a scoreless inning of relief from right-hander Tyler Davis and two scoreless innings from left-hander Sean Newcomb. As for its starting rotation as a whole, Chicago’s staff ranks 12th in MLB in ERA (3.98) and opponent batting average (.237). Most notably, ace Davis Martin owns a 1.62 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a 265 ERA+ and 2.6 wins above replacement over 50.0 innings pitched (eight starts). 

The White Sox, who have lost 100-plus games in each of the last three seasons, have won three series against 2025 playoff teams: the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.

Ryan O’Hearn gave the Pittsburgh Pirates all the additional runs they would need with one swing.

One at-bat after outfielder Bryan Reynolds drove in a run on a single in the bottom of the first, O’Hearn launched a two-run home run to center field. O’Hearn would go on to have two more hits, finishing with a game-high three hits in a 7-2 Pittsburgh victory over the Colorado Rockies, which gave the Pirates a series win.

Pittsburgh also got multi-hit games from infielders Konnor Griffin and Jared Triolo and catcher Endy Rodriguez, while its pitching staff held Colorado to just five hits, highlighted by Carmen Mlodzinski surrendering only two runs over five innings.

O’Hearn has posted seven home runs, 29 RBIs and a 138 OPS+ this season, while boasting a .299/.375/.474 slash line.

It was a pitchers’ duel through seven innings. And then Kyle Schwarber happened.

Following a leadoff single from Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner in the top of the eighth, Schwarber unloaded on a cutter from Boston Red Sox reliever Tyler Samaniego, sending it into the right-field seats for a two-run home run to break a scoreless tie.

Later in the inning, infielder Bryson Stott singled in a run, and while right fielder Wilyer Abreu singled in a run for Boston in the bottom half of the eighth, Philadelphia would hold on to win, 3-1.

As for the pitchers on the mound, the Phillies got six shutout innings from left-hander Jesús Luzardo, while the Red Sox got 5 ⅓ shutout innings from former Philadelphia southpaw Ranger Suárez.

Schwarber leads MLB with 18 home runs and is seventh with a .610 slugging percentage. Philadelphia took the three-game set in Boston, with the losing team scoring one run in each of those contests and the Phillies averaging just two runs per game in the series.

The Washington Nationals won the first two games of a three-game series on the road against the Cincinnati Reds, but the home team made sure the visiting team left Cincinnati with a souvenir — or a lot of them, for that matter.

Cincinnati commenced a 15-1 shellacking of Washington in the bottom of the second, when infielder Matt McClain hit a two-run home run. The Reds added four runs in the fourth on a two-run single from catcher Jose Trevino and a two-run double from third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Designated hitter JJ Bleday then blew the game open with a three-run homer in the fifth and later hit a two-run homer in the seventh. 

The Nationals had outfielder Joey Wiemer pitch the eighth inning, and the Reds scored four runs off him, which came on a three-run homer from center fielder Dane Myers and an RBI single from Bleday. McClain, Hayes, Bleday — who had a game-high six RBIs — and infielders Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz each had multiple hits for Cincinnati.

Washington, whose one run came on a wild pitch, was held to three hits. Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns pitched six shutout innings, posting seven strikeouts and surrendering just four baserunners (two hits and two walks). Through nine starts, Burns has recorded a 1.87 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a 232 ERA+ and an NL-best 2.6 wins above replacement across 53.0 innings pitched. 

The San Francisco Giants took Games 1 and 2 of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, but the defending, back-to-back World Series champions managed to salvage a series split.

After beating the Giants on Wednesday, 4-0, the Dodgers got another win on Thursday to escape the four-game set even-steven. Los Angeles immediately got on the board in the bottom of the first, as catcher Will Smith, who was the team’s designated hitter, hit a leadoff home run. Second baseman Hyeseong Kim got the Dodgers another run on an RBI single in the second.

San Francisco leveled up the score at 2-all in the top of the fifth, but Los Angeles scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles from outfielder Alex Call, which drove in two runs, and shortstop Miguel Rojas, who plated one run and gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead, which would be the final score. All the while, Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández had a game-high three hits.

Right-hander Emmet Sheehan gave up two runs over six innings for the Dodgers, who surrendered just two hits altogether. With the San Diego Padres losing to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers are back in first place in the NL West at 26-18.

One of the Giants’ two hits was the most dramatic one in the sport on Thursday.

In the top of the fifth, right fielder Jung Hoo Lee hit a ball down the left-field line, and Hernandez wasn’t able to play it off the side wall, with the ball rolling to the outfield wall and Lee rumbling around the bases for an inside-the-park, two-run home run.

On the season, Lee has totaled three home runs, 16 RBIs and a 103 OPS+, while possessing a .267/.313/.394 slash line. He has also posted two defensive runs saved in right field.

This was the first inside-the-park home run of Lee’s MLB career (2024-present) and the fourth official inside-the-park-homer in MLB this season.

This is another instance of a player shining in a loss.

While in an 8-3 defeat to the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Álvarez reached base in each of his four plate appearances (three hits and one walk), most notably hitting a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the third.

Álvarez, who had three of Houston’s five hits on Thursday, has totaled 14 home runs, 30 RBIs and 2.0 wins above replacement this season, while owning a .321/.429/.642 slash line. He leads the AL with a 198 OPS+ and 106 total bases.

Álvarez, a three-time All-Star, ranks in the 96th percentile of MLB in average exit velocity (94.0 mph), the 94th percentile in barrel percentage (17.6%) and the 90th percentile in hard-hit percentage (50.8%), according to Statcast.

Better late than never.

Trailing the Athletics 4-3, the St. Louis Cardinals failed to get two of the first three batters on the basepath in the top of the ninth. Then, second baseman JJ Wetherholt was hit by a pitch, and catcher Ivan Herrera hit a game-tying single on the very next pitch. And, on the very next pitch, right fielder Jordan Walker dropped a double into shallow right field, giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead, which would be the final score.

Walker had two hits and drove in two runs, his other hit being a solo home run in the sixth. Meanwhile, center fielder Victor Scott II hit a solo homer in the fifth, third baseman Nolan Gorman had an RBI single in the sixth and designated hitter Yohel Pozo registered a team-high three hits for the Cardinals.

St. Louis right-hander Michael McGreevy — who now owns a 2.10 ERA, an 0.88 WHIP and a 185 ERA+ — gave up just one run over six innings before relievers Ryne Stanek and JoJo Romero gave up a combined three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Regarding the ninth-inning heroes, Walker has logged 12 home runs, 32 RBIs, a 170 OPS+ and 2.6 wins above replacement this season, while boasting a .294/.370/.575 slash line; Herrera has driven in 20 runs and sports an .805 OPS and a 135 OPS+.

St. Louis stands at 25-18, two-and-a-half games behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central.

Speaking of the Cubs, they ended a four-game losing streak by shutting out the Atlanta Braves, 2-0.

It was a team effort to get through nine innings for Chicago. First, starter Ben Brown posted seven strikeouts and surrendered just two baserunners (one hit and one walk) over four innings, which was followed by two innings from Hoby Milner and scoreless innings from Phil Maton, Jacob Webb and Daniel Palencia. In all, Chicago gave up five hits and one walk.

As for the offense, which was scarce in this matchup between NL division leaders, Cubs right fielder Matt Shaw had an RBI force-out in the top of the sixth and left fielder Ian Happ blasted a solo home run to right field in the top of the eighth.

Happ had two of the Cubs’ six hits and was the only player on either team to record multiple hits. On the season, Happ, a four-time Gold Glover, has logged 10 home runs, 19 RBIs, a 149 OPS+ and 1.9 wins above replacement, while owning a .234/.376/.481 slash line.

Right-hander Zebby Matthews got called up by the Minnesota Twins to start for them on Thursday against the Miami Marlins, and then he answered the call in emphatic fashion.

In what his first start of the 2026 season at the MLB level, Matthews tossed seven shutout innings, posted five strikeouts and gave up just five baserunners (four hits and one walk) while throwing only 83 pitches. Kendry Rojas pitched the final two innings for Minnesota, which got a 9-1 win.

Matthews made nine starts for the Twins in 2024 and 16 starts in 2025. The right-hander’s Thursday afternoon outing was his first shutout through a seven-inning MLB start and just the third time that he pitched through the seventh inning in the big leagues.

Regarding Matthews’ run support, Twins outfielders Austin Martin and James Outman each drove in three runs, with designated hitter Josh Bell logging a two-run double and first baseman Victor Caratini driving in a run on a ground out. Martin is batting .333 through 38 games, while sporting a .454 on-base percentage.

Minnesota has won four of its last five games.

The New York Mets’ offense has come to life this week.

Two days after scoring 10 runs, the Mets dropped nine runs at Citi Field on Thursday to close out a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Seven of those runs came on home runs from outfielders A.J. Ewing — whose homer was the first of his MLB career — and Juan Soto and infielders Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Marcus Semien.

Moreover, the Mets only had two strikeouts. On the hill, right-hander Nolan McLean pitched seven innings for the Mets, recording seven strikeouts and giving up three runs.

The sweep of the Tigers was the Mets’ first such feat this season. Ironically, Detroit actually scored first and got out to a multi-run lead in each of the three games. Of course, it was to no avail for the Tigers, who have now lost eight of their last nine games.

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