Category: Baseball

Currently, the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers are not the team with the best record in baseball. 

Instead, that distinction belongs to the Atlanta Braves.

But even the Dodgers sitting 3.5 games back in the MLB standings hasn’t stopped bettors from backing the Boys in Blue.

At BetMGM, they’re still the favorites to win it all, moving to +190 from +350 since the season opened. They also have the highest ticket in World Series futures at 12.1%. Behind them in that spot are the Yankees (9.3%) and Tigers (8.5%).

LAD also has the highest handle when it comes to the World Series oddsboard at 26.0%. The Yankees follow at 8.3%, then the Blue Jays at 7.3%.

Los Angeles, however, is in the midst of a skid. 

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The Dodgers have lost three of their last five games, a rough patch that includes two losses to the Atlanta Braves and one loss to the flailing Houston Astros.

Yet and still, bettors are also backing the Dodgers in the NL Pennant market. At BetMGM they’re the favorites at -105 to win that league and have the highest handle at 26.2%.

So is L.A. — a ballclub that sits third in the NL behind Atlanta and Chicago — worth a wager to win the NL or to win it all, especially considering its recent struggles?

According to FOX Sports MLB writer Deesha Thosar, she believes LAD is still the MLB standard, but noted that the it will have to resolve Roki Sasaki’s recent pitching woes.

“The Dodgers have the type of depth that other executives dream about, making it a no-brainer to let Sasaki work out his troubles and give him a long leash, at that,” Thosar explained. “It’s not like Sasaki is that much of a detriment that he’s throwing the Dodgers’ bullpen out of whack. Though he’s allowed multiple runs in his last three starts, and is having trouble issuing walks, he’s averaging four-plus innings pitched each time out, which is manageable for now.

“Sasaki’s command issues are a problem, no doubt. That 14.1% walk rate is up from last year. But, in a vacuum, that’s not hurting the club’s chances to compete in October.”

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Mookie Betts is set to return after missing more than a month because of a right oblique strain when the Los Angeles Dodgers open a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

Betts hasn’t played since April 4, when he was hurt in a 10-5 win at the Washington Nationals. Manager Dave Roberts said he would have Betts hit second or third in the batting order though he was batting .179 with two home runs and seven RBIs in eight games before the injury.

Roberts did not say who would be sent down to free up a roster spot for Betts, a four-time World Series champion and the 2018 American League MVP. Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland and Santiago Espinal have platooned effectively to help fill out the middle infield in Betts’ absence.

“It’s a good problem in a sense of where we’re at, but it’s a potential tough conversation,” Roberts said Sunday before the finale of a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves.

Betts completed a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, going 2 for 5 with a walk in two games.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are tied with the San Diego Padres at the top of the National League West, but their offense has gone cold despite their strong record. A star-studded lineup has struggled to find the consistency expected of a team seeking a World Series three-peat.

FOX Sports analyst Dontrelle Willis pointed to the lack of production from the top of the Dodgers’ lineup during Monday night’s MLB on FOX broadcast. For Willis, the issue is not just the offense struggling overall, but the team’s biggest stars failing to produce consistently.

“Andy Pages has been a great story and hopefully he gets a chance to be an All-Star,” Willis said. “He leads them in batting average, RBI and slug. The problem is you don’t want Andy Pages in the sixth or seventh hole leading you in RBI or slug.”

The Dodgers have struggled to get consistent production from the top of the lineup, and one of the more notable slow starts has come from reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is hitting .241 this season, which would mark the second-lowest batting average of his career.

“Shohei Ohtani has gotten off to a slow start, not looking comfortable at the plate,” Willis said. “So run production is a little sketchy, especially when they’re going up against the upper echelon of ball clubs.”

The Dodgers’ stars have especially struggled in recent games. Over the last 11 contests, Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman have combined for a .591 OPS. During that stretch, Los Angeles has gone 4-7 and dropped three of its last four series.

“The run differential is still there,” Willis said. “They’re behind the Yankees and Braves, but I want to see more quality at-bats up and down the lineup. We’re not seeing that. Maybe it’s a little bit of fatigue, but I just hope this is not the hourglass coming to the end in this locker room.”

The recent offensive slump has started to overshadow what has otherwise been a strong start in the standings for Los Angeles.

“They’re looking a little sluggish, especially the key guys,” Willis said. “Hopefully, Mookie Betts getting back in the lineup brings a little shot in the arm, a little motivation and a little jolt, and they can get going from there.”

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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:

Outside arguably New York Yankees superstar and 2025 American League MVP Aaron Judge, no one was more dangerous with a bat in their hands last season than Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who was the runner-up for the 2025 AL MVP Award.

That has not been the case this season.

In Seattle’s Monday night matchup against the Houston Astros, Raleigh went 0 for 4 with one strikeout. He has now failed to record a hit in each of his last 36 at-bats, the longest such streak for a player in MLB this season.

Through 39 games, Raleigh has totaled seven home runs, 18 RBIs, a 61 OPS+ and -0.2 wins above replacement, while owning a .157/.238/.320 slash line. He has just 24 hits, compared to 54 strikeouts. Moreover, he currently boasts a career-low in average exit velocity (86.9 mph), barrel percentage (11.9%) and hard-hit percentage (28.7%) over a full season, according to Statcast.

Elsewhere for Seattle, Brendan Donovan made a slick play at the hot corner.

Leading off the bottom of the seventh inning, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit a ground ball to the left side, and Donovan, who was playing near the infield grass, made a diving play to his right, got up and made the throw to first base for the out.

Donovan finished 0 for 4 at the plate. On the season, the Mariners third baseman has totaled three home runs, eight RBIs and a 134 OPS+, owning a .257/.376/.429 slash line.

And as for the entire game, the Mariners got a 3-1 win over the Astros, improving Seattle to 5-0 over Houston this season and 8-0 dating back to last season.

The Mariners struck first in the top of the second with back-to-back RBI singles from designated hitter Dominic Canzone and second baseman Cole Young. Then, leading off the following inning, center fielder Julio Rodríguez blasted a solo home run up near the train in Daikin Park. The two-time Silver Slugger’s long ball was his seventh of the season.

Rodriguez and fellow outfielder Randy Arozarena each had two hits for the Mariners.

Seattle got five innings from starter George Kirby, who gave up his one run to Astros’ third baseman Isaac Paredes, who had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth; Paredes and Altuve each had three hits for Houston, which got seven innings from right-hander Peter Lambert. The Mariners used four relievers to get through the final four innings: Nick Davila, Cooper Criswell, Eduard Bazardo and Andrés Muñoz.

Still, Seattle (20-22) and Houston (16-26) each have losing records.

It wasn’t revenge for losing the 2023 World Series, but the Arizona Diamondbacks silenced the Texas Rangers in their home park in the first game of a three-game series.

D-backs right fielder Corbin Carroll doubled in the second at-bat of the game, and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo followed with a double of his own, driving in Carroll. And that would be the only run scored in a 1-0 Arizona win.

Perdomo and third baseman Nolan Arenado each had a game-high two hits for Arizona, which got 6 ⅓ shutout innings from Mike Soroka, marking the right-hander’s second consecutive outing where he pitched 6 ⅓ innings. Soroka, who has a 3.53 ERA on the season, has given up just one run over his last two starts. In all, Arizona held Texas to just five baserunners (four hits and one walk).

For whatever reason, both of these teams have been involved in several shutouts over the last week-and-a-half. On May 2, the Diamondbacks lost to the Chicago Cubs, 2-0. Then, last week, Arizona beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-0, but the latter answered by shutting out the former in the ensuing game, 1-0.

As the Rangers, they’ve been involved in a shutout in each of their last three games: 6-0 and 3-0 wins over the Cubs and a 1-0 loss to the D-backs.

Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández made a diving catch on the first pitch of the game against the San Francisco Giants. That, however, would be one of the Dodgers’ few high points on Monday night.

Leading off the top of the second, Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers launched a solo home run to right field. Later, trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth, Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos — who has a team-high 20 RBIs — drove in two runs on a double down the left-field line. After the Dodgers leveled the score at 3-all in the bottom half of the inning, Devers walked in a run in the seventh, with shortstop Willy Adames later driving in two runs on a single.

In the ninth, Adames singled in another run, third baseman Matt Chapman walked in a run and catcher Jesus Rodriguez drove in a run on a ground out, capping off a 9-3 win for the Giants over their deep-rooted rival. It’s tied for the second-most runs the Giants have scored in a game this season.

San Francisco got two-hit nights from Devers, Ramos, Adames and infielders Luis Arráez and Casey Schmitt. While he surrendered 11 baserunners (nine hits and two walks), right-hander Trevor McDonald pitched 5 ⅓ innings for the Giants, whose bullpen (Matt Gage, Keaton Winn and JT Brubaker) then gave up just one baserunner over the next 3 ⅔ innings.

The Giants are 3-1 against the Dodgers this season and have won three of their last four games altogether.

Among the other “high points” for the Dodgers was third baseman Max Muncy hitting an opposite field, solo home run in the bottom of the sixth; Muncy also had an RBI single in the fourth.

Muncy is in the midst of a peculiar offensive start. Through 39 games, the two-time All-Star has totaled 11 home runs but just 17 RBIs. Five of those homers were solo shots. Mind you, the Dodgers are second in MLB in on-base percentage (.344) and third in hits (367).

Still, the Dodgers’ star is having a highly productive season, boasting a 166 OPS+, 2.2 wins above replacement (WAR) and a .280/.375/.568 slash line. Muncy is on pace for a career-high in home runs and WAR, while his current batting average and OPS+ are career bests.

Furthermore, Muncy ranks in the 97th percentile of MLB in barrel percentage (20%) and hard-hit percentage (55.8%) and the 94th percentile in average exit velocity (93.3 mph), according to Statcast.

Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers was carving up the Baltimore Orioles, as he entered the bottom of the seventh with a no-hit bid and nine strikeouts.

But after putting two of the first three batters on base, New York relieved Weathers for fellow southpaw Brent Headrick. Then, Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo demolished a go-ahead, three-run home run, which would be good for Baltimore to get a 3-2 victory.

Mayo’s home run was one of just three hits for the Orioles, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Yankees dating back to last season.

As for the pitching, Baltimore got 5 ⅓ innings from starter Brandon Young, who gave up two runs. The Orioles then got 3 ⅔ shutout innings from relievers Dietrich Enns, Rico Garcia and Anthony Nunez. Meanwhile, the loss marked the Yankees’ fourth consecutive defeat and their fifth loss in their last six games.

A positive for New York? Ben Rice continues to rake.

In the top of the third, the Yankees first baseman hit a two-run home run to center field, which accounted for all of New York’s scoring against the Orioles. The homer was Rice’s 13th of the season.

If the AL MVP voting were held today, Rice would be a finalist for the award. He has driven in 29 runs, owns a .312/.417/.696 slash line and leads the AL in slugging percentage (.696), OPS (1.113) and OPS+ (206). Staying on the power front, Rice ranks in the 99th percentile of the sport in hard-hard percentage (59.6%), 98th percentile in barrel percentage (21.3%) and 97th percentile in average exit velocity (94.5 mph), per Statcast.

Last season, Rice hit 26 home runs, recorded a .499 slugging percentage, ranked in the 97th percentile in hard-hit percentage and ranked in the 95th percentile in average exit velocity.

The Cleveland Guardians struck early against the Los Angeles Angels so they didn’t have to strike often.

With two outs in the bottom of the second, Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio brought in two runs on a single for the first runs of the game. Cleveland then had a five-run third inning, with catcher David Fry walking in a run, center fielder Daniel Schneemann driving in two runs on a single and second baseman Travis Bazzana doubling home two runs, which would lead the Guardians to a 7-2 win.

Fry and first baseman Kyle Manzardo each had two hits for Cleveland, which got six shutout innings from left-hander Joey Cantillo. Meanwhile, designated hitter Rhys Hoskins drew three walks. The Angels got their two runs on an eighth-inning RBI single from right fielder Jo Adell and a ninth-inning RBI single from third baseman Vaughn Grissom.

As for those who drove in runs for the Guardians, Bazzana, whom Cleveland selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has recorded a hit in four of his last five games; Fry owns an .876 OPS over 55 at-bats; Schneemann boasts an .810 OPS; Rocchio is batting .277. As for its starting pitcher, Cantillo has recorded a 2.98 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, 41 strikeouts, 1.0 wins above replacement and a 139 ERA+ over 45 ⅓ innings pitched (nine starts).

While they’re 22-21, the Guardians are in first place in the AL Central.

The Tampa Bay Rays are cracking skulls and taking names.

In defeating the Toronto Blue Jays for a fourth consecutive time this season (the Rays swept the Blue Jays in Tampa Bay earlier this month), 8-5, the Rays are now 27-13, which is good for the best record in the AL. As for its Monday night victory, Tampa Bay got three runs in the top of the first off a sacrifice fly from first baseman Jonathan Aranda and a two-run single from second baseman Richie Palacios. Aranda then drove in another run in the second on a single, with shortstop Taylor Walls driving in a run on a triple and another run coming around to score in the fourth on a Toronto error.

Aranda later led off the sixth with a solo home run to center field, with Tampa Bay’s other run coming via an RBI single from Palacios in the seventh. Palacios and left fielder Chandler Simpson — who owns a .314 batting average and has hit an AL-high three triples — each had a game-high three hits for the Rays, while Palacios and Aranda — who has driven in an AL-high 32 runs and has a team-high 142 OPS+ — each drove in three runs.

Shockingly — insert sarcasm here — pitching has been the backbone of the Rays’ success. Their starting rotation is first in MLB in WHIP (1.08) and third in ERA (3.15) and opponent batting average (.211). Granted, their rotation is just 20th in innings pitched (203.0). Nick Martinez owns a 1.70 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and a whopping 246 ERA+; Shane McClanahan boasts a 2.60 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and a 162 ERA+; Drew Rasmussen, who pitched through six innings on Monday night, has a 3.16 ERA and an 0.91 WHIP.

Opponents are also hitting just .227 against the Rays’ bullpen, good for eighth in the sport, with closer Bryan Baker (2.16 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 197 ERA+) first in the AL with 11 saves.

For Toronto, right-hander Kevin Gausman hit a personal milestone in the top of the fourth when he recorded his 2,000th career strikeout. Meanwhile, Blue Jays’ shortstop Andrés Giménez had the first multi-home run game of his MLB career and drove in each of Toronto’s five runs.

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Roughly a quarter of the way through the MLB season, the theme so far has been parity. 

The teams expected to be among the worst — the Rockies, Nationals, Cardinals — are all feisty and fairly competitive. 

The American League only has four teams entering play on Tuesday night with a record above .500, and the current division leaders are the Rays, Guardians and Athletics. 

Those are all surprises to some degree. 

If the playoffs started today, the White Sox would be a wild-card team, despite having a losing record. Even the vaunted Dodgers have yet to exert their dominance, as they currently look up in the National League West standings to the first-place Padres. 

While the AL currently has just four teams with winning records, the National League Central has five. And within that league, I think, is a wager that offers some value. 

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Pirates Manager Don Kelly is currently +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total) to win National League Manager of the Year. 

These awards, especially when it comes to coaches or managers, are often about what the best story is, with expectations heavily factored in. 

The Pirates were a wild-card team from 2013-2015 and haven’t been to the postseason since. Remarkably, they have not won a postseason series since winning the 1979 World Series. 

The Pirates currently sit at 22-19 and look like a serious playoff contender, with NL Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes at the top of the rotation. 

Braves manager Walt Weiss and Cubs manager Craig Counsell currently have shorter odds than Kelly, but both of those managers have more talented teams with considerably higher expectations than the Pirates. 

The Cubs were division favorites entering the year, and the Braves had a down year in 2025. Prior to that, Atlanta had been a perennial playoff team and World Series contender for close to a decade. The Pirates currently have +140 odds to make the playoffs, and if they were to make it, Kelly would be the frontrunner, in my opinion, to win this award come the fall. 

Ultimately, the Pirates are in the conversation for having the least success of nearly any major sports franchise over the last few decades. A return to the postseason would not go unnoticed by the voters.

PICK: Don Kelly (+600) to win NL Manager of the Year

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

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.

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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!

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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.

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