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Two players keep making headlines when I write the recap late each Friday night. There’s that switch-hitting catcher up in the Pacific Northwest. He’s challenging the reigning MVP for his award and, if his pace keeps up, his American League home run record. And there’s the slight center fielder in Wrigleyville. He’s challenging the National League MVP by flying around the basepaths, flying around the outfield, and sending the ball flying into the bleachers. They’re both in the top four of whichever WAR leaderboard you’re partial to, and they’re influencing the playoff picture teams. The incumbents are on Hall of Fame trajectories, and we expected them to keep up their high standards. The fact that they have such different, unlikely challengers for individual awards is a highlight of the 2025 season so far.
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Today’s Headlines
Historic Cal Day
Only nine catchers in MLB history have hit more than Cal Raleigh’s 35 home runs in a full season (Salvador Perez, Johnny Bench, Javy Lopez, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella, Mike Piazza, Carlton Fisk, Gabby Hartnett, and Joe Torre). That number is a new career high for Raleigh, and it matches Ken Griffey Jr. for the pre-All-Star break Seattle Mariners home run record. The two-homer day put Raleigh three ahead of Aaron Judge at the top of the HR leaderboard. Raleigh did hit 34 and 35 as the designated hitter today, a luxury not available to most of his catching predecessors, but the M’s have to keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible. He supported six shutout innings and eight strikeouts from Bryan Woo. Seattle claimed a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Cubs Club 8 Homers
Michael Busch hit three home runs, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two, and three more Chicago Cubs launched solo shots as part of a record-setting fireworks show for the franchise. No Cubs lineup has hit eight home runs in a game before. Seiya Suzuki went back-to-back with PCA in the first inning. Busch and Carson Kelly repeated the feat in the second, and Dansby Swanson paired with Busch in the seventh. The Cubs won 11-3 and kept the St. Louis Cardinals 6.5 games back in the NL Central.
Significant Series
This weekend brings the Subway Series in New York, an infamous rematch in LA, the What Happened?! matchup in Atlanta, a Cellar Dweller Series in Colorado, and a Remember the Bay Area set in Sacramento.
The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees 6-5. That’s three wins in a row for the Mets, matching their win total between June 13 and July 2. Juan Soto tied the game with a two-run homer in the first, and Jeff McNeil hit what turned out to be a game-winning two-run blast in the seventh. Despite the summer tailspin, the Mets are just a half-game back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
The Houston Astros put a dent in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ run differential with an 18-1 demolition. Jose Altuve, the last remnant of the sign-stealing scandal that always colors this matchup, went 3-for-5 with two homers, a double, five RBIs, and four runs scored. Christian Walker, an old NL West foe known for hitting well at Dodger Stadium as a D-back, went 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs, and two runs scored. Houston ran up the score with a 10-run sixth inning. All 10 earned runs were charged to Noah Davis. The Astros have surged to the third-best record in baseball, tied with the Cubs at 53-35, and 1.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the AL.
Charlie Morton got a 3-2 win in his return to Atlanta with the Baltimore Orioles. Both teams are the definitive What Happened?! organizations for the 2025 season, and the result gives them nearly identical records: 38-49 for the O’s, and 39-48 for Atlanta. Morton struck out seven and gave up two runs over 5.1 innings. After a brief move to the bullpen, Morton has a 2.97 ERA in seven starts (36.1 IP). Both teams seem like sellers for the trade deadline, and Morton could be on his way to a contender if the O’s decide to cash in on the 41-year-old’s run of success.
The Chicago White Sox took the opening game of the Cellar Dweller Series with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. A weekend of games between a host with a .227 win percentage and visitors sitting at .330 would hopefully be about a brighter future, and the White Sox got that from shortstop Colson Montgomery. The No. 5 prospect in the organization (No. 95 overall) ranged into left field for an over-the-shoulder, stop-drop-and-roll snag in the bottom of the second. Adrian Houser gave up zero earned runs over eight innings with six strikeouts for Chicago.
I saw the San Francisco Giants versus the Athletics on the schedule, then remembered that it’s a Bay Area matchup no longer. NorCal for now, sure, but eventually this series will be a yearly reminder of a classic geographic matchup with World Series history. The A’s rolled 11-2, handing Justin Verlander his sixth loss with the Giants. The A’s spread the offense around: no player got more than two hits or two RBIs. Denzel Clarke, previously known for his Spider-Man impression in center field, hit a ball so far that an actual superhero would be required to go after it.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Walk It Off Three Ways
Harrison Bader’s first walk-off home run was his second dinger of the day in the Minnesota Twins‘ 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jake Cronenworth’s bases-loaded single in the 10th made the San Diego Padres‘ day with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The Friars lost Xander Bogaerts to a hamstring injury two batters before Cronenworth won it. The first-place Toronto Blue Jays put pressure on the Anaheim Angels‘ defense with a sacrifice bunt that turned into a game-ending throwing error in the 1oth inning. The 4-3 victory gave the Jays a two-game lead in the AL East.
As the Crow Dives
4-for-4 with a pair of homers and PCA goes full stretch in center. The Human Firework.
Spider-Man, Too
Okay, you can’t go without another diving catch by a center fielder who had a great Independence Day. Clarke can hit ’em and go get ’em.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Cubs placed Jameson Taillon on the IL with a calf strain. The right-hander could miss a month. Left-hander Jordan Wicks joined the team from Triple-A.
⚾ The New York Yankees placed right-hander Clarke Schmidt on the 15-day IL with right forearm tightness. They called up right-hander Scott Efross and left-hander Jayvien Sandridge from Triple-A.
⚾ The Philadelphia Phillies optioned right-hander Mick Abel to Triple-A. They recalled right-hander Seth Johnson from Triple-A and plan to give Taijuan Walker another shot in the rotation.
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