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It was an interesting Thursday around the majors. There was some good, some bad, and some ugly as well.
The Good: Four pitchers earned their seventh win of the season. New York’s Kodai Senga, Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, Houston’s Framber Valdez, and Chicago’s Jameson Taillon.
The Bad: The Giants’ seven-game winning streak came to an end despite having a two-run advantage in the final inning against the worst team we might ever see.
The Ugly: Even though Senga recorded his seventh win, he was removed with an injured hamstring in the sixth inning after 5.2 innings of one-hit ball. Senga is expected to land on the IL after he undergoes an MRI on Friday.
Onto Thursday’s action.
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Today’s Headlines
Mets Win, But Lose ERA Leader
The Mets jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning against the Washington Nationals thanks to a three-run homer by Jeff McNeil off starting pitcher Michael Soroka. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo added a solo tater in the fifth to give Senga a 4-0 cushion through five innings.
And then, after allowing no runs and just an innocent first-inning single to Washington’s James Wood, Senga went down with a strained hamstring while covering first base.
The throw by Pete Alonso was a bit high, but Senga claimed after the game that it wasn’t the first baseman’s fault, and that he felt something in his hammy before jumping. Either way, this could be a major blow to the red-hot Metropolitans, who held on for a 4-3 victory to win their sixth straight contest, and 16 of their last 20.
All Alonso could really say in his postgame interview was that the situation sucks.
Misiorowski Dominates in Debut
One of Milwaukee’s top prospects, pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, was called up on Thursday for the series opener at home versus the St. Louis Cardinals. To say that the 6’7″ right-hander wasn’t nervous might not be a true statement, but if he was, it didn’t show over five no-hit frames. Misiorowski struck out five Redbirds over five innings and topped 100 mph on 14 of his 81 pitches before turning his ankle at the start of the sixth inning on a 3-0 pitch to CF Victor Scott II. The 23-year-old rookie immediately exited the game and said afterward that the injury was due to cramping and that he is fine.
This is the most Brewers thing ever: Jacob Misiorowski has a no-hitter through five innings of his Major League debut and destroys his ankle walking back to the pitcher’s mound. pic.twitter.com/rx4Sm1sD7k
— Dan O’Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) June 13, 2025
At the time Misirowski left, the Brewers were already up 6-0 after a five-run fifth highlighted by a Jackson Chourio two-run homer off Cardinals’ starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Milwaukee hung on by that same score to claim the opener.
Rockies Climb Back to Stun Giants
So much for San Francisco finishing off the three-game sweep in Colorado and entering Friday in a tie for the NL West lead before their series with the division-leading Dodgers this weekend. The Giants looked to be in complete control after a three-run fifth-inning homer by Dominic Smith gave the road team a 7-2 lead.
The Rockies chipped away with a run in the sixth and two unanswered scores in the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-5. San Francisco called on the usually reliable Randy Rodríguez to close out the game in the ninth. The right-hander entered the contest with a 0.61 ERA over 28 appearances. However, after a one-out walk to Sam Hilliard followed by a Thairo Estrada double and then a second free pass of the inning to Ryan McMahon loaded the bases, things only got worse for Rodriguez. Next batter Brenton Doyle hit into a fielder’s choice for an RBI, but third baseman Casey Schmitt (filling in for the always reliable gold-glover Matt Chapman while he’s out with a hand injury) bobbled the ball and couldn’t make the out at first.
Rodriguez struck out the next batter, Hunter Goodman, before former Atlanta infielder Orlando Arcia came through with a two-run single to left. And just like that, the Giants’ seven-game winning streak concludes, while Colorado puts an end to a five-game slide.
Final score: Rockies-8, Giants-7. San Fran heads to Los Angeles for the start of a three-game series, trailing by one game in the NL West. Tough loss.
Rangers Rampage
As if 16 runs weren’t enough for Texas in the series opener on Tuesday versus the Twins, a game they won 16-4, the Rangers decided to duplicate that number in the rubber game on Thursday. Minnesota’s Bailey Ober had a rough outing after surrendering seven runs, including four homers. Ober was done after 4.2 innings, but his replacement, Cole Sands, yielded another four runs over an inning of work, and the game was out of reach after the Rangers held a 13-3 lead after six frames.
They weren’t done. The road team scored three more times via their sixth long ball of the game in the ninth off the bat of pinch-hitter Sam Haggerty. Texas won 16-3 and collected 16 knocks. Between the two victories in the series, the Rangers homered eight times, scored 32 runs, and had 33 hits. Where has this offense been all year? It’s about time.
The Rangers host the White Sox this weekend and enter Friday with a 33-36 record, trailing Houston by 5.5 games in the AL West. Here’s a look at their Thursday blasts. We’ll see if the offensive onslaught continues against the American League’s worst team.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Yankees Complete Sweep Thanks to a Wild Play
Let’s not kid ourselves. The 37-year-old, potential future Hall of Famer Paul Goldschmidt, is no longer the same hitter he once was. But, Goldy has certainly found his stroke at the plate in a Yankees uniform to the tune of a .313 batting average after Thursday’s 1-0 victory in Kansas City. Goldschmidt reached base three times, including the game-winning RBI knock in the eighth to score Pablo Reyes from second. This was a wild sequence that ultimately resulted in a throwing error to home by relief pitcher Lucas Erceg, as Reyes stumbled around third and couldn’t decide what to do next.
The current runaway favorite for the AL MVP, Aaron Judge, did not increase his home run streak to four games in this one after going deep four times over his last three contests. Judge sat for the first time this season, but did strike out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. The win for the Yankees increased their record to 42-25 and 4.5 games ahead of the idle Blue Jays in the AL East. As for the Royals, they drop to one game under .500, and any plan of climbing out of a 10.5-game deficit in the American League Central had better start soon. Kansas City has lost seven of its last 10 games.
By the way, if you didn’t see shortstop Anthony Volpe’s “Jeter-like” throw in the seventh to get the heavy-footed Salvador Perez at first, check out the clip below. A fast runner would have beaten this out, but still, to make an accurate throw at that angle is spectacular. Great play.
Skubal, Skubal, Skubal
I think most of the baseball world is running out of original headlines to describe how great Detroit’s SP Tarik Skubal has become. So, for today, I’m just using his last name three times in my headline, with the idea that you’ll be able to figure out the rest simply by reading the name ‘Skubal’.
The defending AL Cy Young winner saw his season ERA drop to 1.99 after throwing seven shutout frames in Detroit’s rubber game victory over Baltimore. The Tigers won 4-1, with every run coming in the fourth via the long ball. Catcher Dillon Dingler’s solo shot got the scoring started, followed by a three-run homer from centerfielder Parker Meadows three batters later.
The story, however, is, of course, Skubal. The southpaw improved to 7-2 and hasn’t lost since April 2 at Seattle. Skubal’s next start is lined up for Tuesday at home versus the last-place Pirates. Is anyone not feeling an eighth win coming for the Tigers’ ace on that day? Be honest.
Tarik Skubal lowers his ERA to 1.99 on the season after another terrific outing 💪 pic.twitter.com/BFRfxZRbGW
— MLB (@MLB) June 13, 2025
Happy Birthday and Anniversary, Grimace
None of us really knew what the heck that purple mascot was at Citi Field a year ago on June 12, after the odd-looking character from McDonald’s threw out the first pitch to celebrate his 53rd birthday. This started the so-called Grimace Effect and led to New York’s inclusion of the mascot at all games after the team got hot and went on that terrific run to the NLCS. As stated in the attachment below, the Mets have been pretty darn good since Grimace’s arrival.
On this day last year, the Grimace era began in Queens.
Since Grimace threw the first pitch, the Mets have a 105-60 record. Thats the most wins in baseball in that span by 10 games. pic.twitter.com/IufniQS1pB
— MetsMuse (@MetsMuse) June 12, 2025
Happy birthday, Grimace 💜 pic.twitter.com/lJVX92DeZP
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2025
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Los Angeles Angels are calling up their top prospect, infielder Christian Moore. The 22-year-old is expected to make his debut on Friday versus the Orioles. Moore had a .279/.374/.422 slash line in 54 contests between Double-A and Triple-A.
⚾ The Detroit Tigers transferred Jackson Jobe from the 15-day IL to the 60-day injured list a day after it was announced that he’ll need Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
⚾ After throwing one inning for Atlanta before being designated for assignment on June 7, reliever Craig Kimbrel signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.
⚾ Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker was sent to Triple-A Memphis to begin a rehab assignment after right wrist inflammation landed him on the injured list in May.
⚾ The Brewers notified pitcher Aaron Civale that he would be moving to the bullpen after Misiorowski was called up to make his debut start. After hearing the news, the veteran right-hander with a 4.91 ERA as a starting pitcher this season, respectfully requested a trade. Civale believes that he is best suited as a starting pitcher and will be a free agent at the end of ’25.
Articles You Should Read
Twenty things I’m hearing and watching for on MLB trade deadline with 50 days to go — Jim Bowden, The Athletic
MLB’s Trend Setters Are Going Retro With Their Rotation— Nick Selbe, SI.com
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