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It’s hard to sugarcoat a slow day in the big leagues, and that’s exactly what we got yesterday. With only eight games on the schedule coming into the day and zero late night action, it was already anticipated to be a light day, and then one of the better matchups of the day (Atlanta vs. Chicago White Sox) ended up getting rained out. The rest of the action provided relatively little drama compared to the barrage of walk-offs and eye-popping pitching performances that we have seen lately, but still gave us plenty to pay attention to and talk about. And hey, any day with any baseball is better than a day in the off-season. Lets get into it.
Today’s Headlines
Orioles Outlast M’s
This game looked like the clear pitching matchup of the day heading into Thursday, with Seattle Mariners RHP Bryan Woo facing off against Baltimore Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish. It ended up being the offenses that stole the show, however, with Baltimore’s Pete Alonso leading the way with a 439-foot blast to help the Orioles to a 7-5 victory. Woo ended up surrendering all seven of those runs, and Bradish did not fare so well himself, giving up three homers in a no-decision. The Mariners now head to Washington to take on the one-game-above-.500 Nationals, while the Orioles stay in Baltimore to welcome the San Diego Padres for a three game set.
Dodgers Take Rubber Game in Pittsburgh
Having split the first two games of an entertaining series, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates each came into Thursday hungry to take the rubber game. The Dodgers ended up coming away with the 8-6 victory thanks in part to an early home run from Shohei Ohtani, who ended up leaving the game early for precautionary reasons (more on that below). Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller struggled in this one, giving up five ER in four innings and issuing four free passes. The Dodgers took full advantage. A lone bright spot for Pittsburgh in this one was a homer from 2B Brandon Lowe, his 16th of the year. That keeps Lowe on pace for a second 30-homer season in a row, an impressive mark for the position. The Dodgers now head to Chicago for a series with the White Sox, while Pittsburgh stays at home to welcome the Miami Marlins to town.
Mets Avoid Series Sweep Against St. Louis
The New York Mets have struggled to find any sort of consistency this season, and that trend continued this week when they lost the first two games of a home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets were able to avoid the sweep yesterday thanks in large part to a home run from superstar Juan Soto and a decent pitching performance from Christian Scott, who settled down nicely after a rough first two innings. The Mets now stay in Queens for a tough weekend series against rival Atlanta, while the Cardinals will head to Minnesota to take on the Twins.
By The Numbers
445. The longest homer of the day came from St. Louis OF Lars Nootbaar, who crushed a 445-ft. dinger in the Cardinals’ 5-4 loss to the Mets.
13. Speaking of the Mets, the most whiffs induced on the day came from Mets RHP Christian Scott, who recovered nicely from a shaky first couple of innings.
850. Atlanta 1B Matt Olson has played in 850 consecutive games entering today. The streak dates back to May 2, 2021 and is the 9th-longest in MLB history.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Silent Treatment — An Oldie but Goodie
The ’silent treatment’ has been around for a long time as a fun and harmless way to prank (mostly) rookie players after they hit their first career home run. Well Detroit Tigers 3B Colt Keith is no longer a rookie this season, but given that he came into the day still searching for his first homer of the 2026 season, his teammates decided to breakout the celebration. The 24-year-old handled it perfectly.
Suzuki Slam for the Lead
The Chicago Cubs ended up beating the Colorado Rockies handily yesterday in a 9-3 route, but they were down 1-0 after three pretty uneventful innings until OF Seiya Suzuki stepped up in the top of the fourth and delivered this no-doubter grand slam.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Los Angeles Dodgers‘ superstar Shohei Ohtani exited Thursday’s game early with knee inflammation. The move was described after the game as having been precautionary, and Ohtani has not been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
⚾ Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Justin Wrobleski left his start in the fifth inning after getting hit by a comebacker and then subsequently colliding with Pittsburgh Pirates OF Bryan Reynolds on the same play. It is being listed as a right hamstring contusion and Wrobleski is currently DTD.
⚾ Los Angeles Dodgers placed C Will Smith on the 10-day IL (neck) retroactive to June 8
⚾ Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal will officially rejoin the starting rotation this weekend when he starts Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. Skubal is four to eight weeks ahead of the typical recovery timeline from the arthroscopic surgery that he had in early May to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.
Articles You Should Read
“A New Bleday Is Dawning” — Mike Baumann, FanGraphs
“Playing Time Trends: Week 12” — Mark Steubinger, Pitcher List
“Dynasty Reactions from Promoted Pitching Prospects” — Keith Corbliss, Pitcher List
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