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Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins series and prepare you for what lies ahead. Wednesday's show was hosted by Jeremiah Geiger and featured panelists Kevin Barral, Alex Carver, Isaac Azout and Nate Karzmer. The following topics were covered: Impressive offensive showing in sweeping the Washington Nationals A peek at the National League Wild Card race Reacting to recent wave of minor league promotions Marlins down to only three regular starting pitchers Previewing and predicting the next series against the Tampa Bay Rays You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. Our next FOF LIVE episode will be Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET following the Marlins-Blue Jays series finale. View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (June 2 - June 3) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox): 1-1 Season Record: 28-31 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates): 1-1 Season Record: 27-23 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels): 1-1 Season Record: 23-31 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Daytona Tirtougas (Cincinnati Reds): 1-1 Season Record: 21-32 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 0-1 Season Record: 17-6 DSL Blue Jays Blue Week Record: 1-1 Season Record: 1-2 DSL Blue Jays Red Week Record: 0-1 Season Record: 0-2 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 28-31 Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) June 2: Buffalo opened a new series against Worcester on Tuesday, but they seemed to leave their bats in Lehigh Valley. The Bisons only managed to scrape together five hits, but they offset that by tallying six walks. Davis Schneider has settled into the lead-off role the last few games. In this one, he walked three times and scored a run. He would get by a pitch in the sixth, steal second base, and then come around to get the first run of the game on the scoreboard for Buffalo. The run tied the game up at one and was thanks to an RBI double from Josh Kasevich. RJ Schreck was the next batter, and he singled to center field and brought home Kasevich, giving the Bisons the lead. Buffalo held the 2-1 lead as the bottom of the ninth inning began. CJ Van Eyk, who was on his fifth inning of work out of the bullpen, started the inning off poorly by giving up a lead-off double to Anthony Seigler. A batter later, Mikey Romeo got a hold of a pitch for an RBI triple to tie the game. After a groundout. Van Eyk threw a wild pitch, allowing Romero to score from third, as Buffalo lost on the walk-off 3-2. June 3: Wednesday's game against Worcester began much the same way as Tuesday's game did: The bats were missing, and runs were rarer than an extinct dodo bird. Going into the seventh inning, the game was all square at zero, as Josh Fleming had his best start of the season for Buffalo. He would end his day throwing seven innings, walking none, not giving up a run, and striking out five. His strong effort on the mound would be rewarded with a win, with the bats deciding to take over the game in the final three innings. Josh Rivera got the scoring started with a bases-loaded single that scored two runs in the seventh. Carlos Mendoza would double home a run in the frame as well. In the eighth, Buffalo loaded up the bases with two singles and a walk, setting up the stage for a monster six-run inning. They scored two runs on bases-loaded walks, a run off of a sacrifice fly by William Simoneit, as well as three more on RBI singles by Rivera, Mendoza, and Josh Kasevich. In the ninth, Mendoza had the cherry on top of his monster game, a three-run home run to right field. Buffalo pulled away in this game to win 12-0. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 27-23 Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) June 2: Gage Stanifer was on the mound for the start of the series between New Hampshire and Altoona. He was fantastic and continued making a push toward Triple A. He went five innings, struck out eight batters, gave up four hits, two earned runs, and allowed two walks. His slider was almost perfection on the night, as it was the best version of the slider he has had in a while. He used it frequently, while mixing in his splitter and fastball. His command was still off at times with the fastball, but better than it has been. A definite step in the right direction. Altoona got a leadoff walk and a double later in the inning to take the early lead in the first inning, but New Hampshire flipped that quickly. Jace Bohrofen hit his 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the inning, and was immediately followed by Sean Keys, crushing his 13th home run of the year. In the third inning, Altoona tied the game after a single that hit Stanifer and a double brought in a run. That would be all they could get off of Stanifer, though, as he finished the third, fourth, and fifth innings, only allowing a walk and a hit-by-pitch. In the seventh, Nick Goodwin drove in Jay Harry, who had hit his fourth triple of the season earlier in the inning. In the ninth, New Hampshire couldn't hold onto the lead, with Altoona scoring six in the inning. The Fisher Cats lost this one 8-3. June 3: In the Wednesday game between New Hampshire and Altoona, the Fisher Cats had their hitting shoes on. They began the game scoring six runs over the first two innings, with the big hits coming on a Jace Bohrofen RBI double and two RBI singles from Victor Arias and Adrian Pinto. Altoona got their two lone runs off of starter Austin Cates in the fifth inning on two RBI groundouts. Things flipped to a complete blowout of a game in the bottom of the eighth, as Sean Keys homered, Arias hit another RBI single, then Cutter Coffey and Patrick Winkel added home runs. New Hampshire scored eight in the inning, as the Fisher Cats won big this time, 14-3. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 23-31 Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels) June 2: The Canadians once again faced the Tri-City Dust Devils, and this time, Landen Maroudis went head-to-head with 2025 second overall pick Tyler Bremner. Bremner pitched just 1.2 innings before getting taken out in the second inning, and Carter Cunningham gave the Canadians their first two runs with a two-RBI single in the third inning off of Bremner’s replacement. Maroudis started off well with two scoreless innings, before giving up a two-run homer in the third, and another run off an RBI triple before getting taken out of the ball game himself for Gilberto Batista. Batista had a shaky fifth inning, allowing a bunt single to advance to second on a throwing error, then allowing the runner to score, but he was able to keep the game close. J.R. Freethy brought the game within one on a sac fly in the seventh inning, but the wheels fell off for Batista in the seventh inning, as he allowed four runs to score after getting two quick outs, putting the Canadians behind by five runs, which eventually led to a Dust Devils victory. June 3: It was a Daniel Guerra masterclass to get the Canadians back on track. The Canadians took the lead early as Brennan Orf hit a sac fly in the first, before Dub Gleed had homer number six in the third to make it 2-0 for the Canadians. Guerra had his third start of the season with 10 strikeouts or more, and his only blemish was a two-run homer given up in the third inning to even up the game. The high-powered righty was able to blow past hitters with 28 whiffs on the night, and Guerra is tied for fourth in the minor leagues with 70 strikeouts on the season. Gleed was the story on the offensive end, as the infielder had a four-hit night, and he drove in his second run of the game in the fifth inning to give the Canadians the lead, which they wouldn’t relinquish. Orf had his second ribbie of the day on an RBI double in the sixth, and Carter Cunningham drove Orf in with one of his own. Carson Myers also is getting settled in Vancouver, with his first save in the Northwest League with three innings of one-run ball to clinch a solid victory. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 21-32 Series vs Daytona Tirtougas (Cincinnati Reds) June 2: The two teams with the worst records in the Florida State League went head-to-head. Silvano Hechavarria was the starter once again, but still struggled, with his ERA still hovering above 10 after last year’s strong performance. After a scoreless first inning, he gave up a walk and two doubles, which led to two runs scoring. The D-Jays evened it up after Juan Sanchez hit his third homer of the season, and the Jays loaded the bases with two outs and scored a run on a balk. Hechavarria allowed another two runs in the third, with two more doubles and a balk. The Jays got another run in after Blaine Bullard made some good base running and scored on a wild pitch. Josbel Garcia replaced Hechavarria in the fourth inning and gave up a solo homer to Bernard Moon in the fifth inning, which gave the Tortugas a two-run lead. Bradley Wilson then gave up another two runs after replacing Garcia, despite striking out six batters, and he also walked four. Sanchez hit another bomb in the eighth to get two runs back, and Eric Snow had his first pro homer in the ninth inning, but the Jays just fell short. June 3: It was the return of two important players for the Blue Jays, as Alejandro Kirk and Yimi García both were put on rehab assignments on the same night, and both performed. Blaine Bullard started it off with his sixth homer of the season, and he’s shown more power than people thought early on in his professional career, to go with great speed. Kirk followed up with a homer in the third inning, and Adam Hackenberg drove in a run on a single to make it three to nothing for the D-Jays. On the pitching end, it was the best start of Troy Guthrie’s young professional career as the young righty was able to use his fastball and solid command to get 12 whiffs on the night. It was the second quality start of his career, and first of the season, as he went six scoreless with eight strikeouts. García looked solid in his first rehab outing back as the veteran reliever averaged 94 mph on his fastball and touched 96. He struck out one batter in a no-hit seventh inning. It got a little dicey as Ramon Suarez was unable to get out of the eighth inning as he walked the bases loaded, then allowed two sac flies, but Franly Urena held it down and struck out four batters in 1.2 innings to earn the save. Eric Snow added an insurance run in the ninth to make the save a bit easier as well, with his ninth double of the season. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 17-6 June 2: The FCL Blue Jays were on the road on Tuesday against the New York Yankees FCL squad. It was a game dominated by pitching, and no one was better than Carson Messina again. He went four innings, while striking out seven batters, only allowing two hits and a walk. He didn't surrender a run and lowered his ERA on the year down to 1.69. Cade Doughty homered in the first inning to give the Blue Jays team a lead. Andres Arias stole home in the seventh on a double steal to put the Blue Jays up two, but a three-run homer by David McCann in the bottom of the inning gave the Yankees the lead right back. That was where the scoring would end, as the FCL Blue Jays lost this one 4-3. DSL Blue Jays Blue Season Record: 1-2 June 2: Jose Andrades was on the mound for BJB on Tuesday. He was signed back in 2025, during the J15 international signing period. He was dominant for the Blue Jays, throwing five innings in his debut, striking out four; he didn't walk anyone and didn't give up a run. They would win the game on the backs of two gift runs, one scored on a groundball double play and the other on a wild pitch. Catcher Isay Veras was the best hitter on the day, going 2-for-4 with two singles. The two base knocks brought his batting average up to .300 for the season. BJB won their first game of the year 2-1 in seven innings. June 3: The DSL Blue team for the Blue Jays took on the Angels DSL team on Wednesday. BJB scored the first run in the third inning, when Isay Veras grounded out, scoring Daniel Dominguez. In the fourth, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly gave the Angels squad the lead. In the fifth, they would add to that lead with an RBI single from Anderson Rodriguez and another RBI single from Adonanfer Reyes. Juan Caricote drove in the second BJB run in the fifth inning with an RBI single (he also had three HBP on the day). Veras would score on a wild pitch as well. In the seventh, a balk and wild pitch gave the Angels two more runs and a commanding lead. In the bottom of the inning, Michael Mesa hit a line drive double, scoring a run, and Samuel Orellana drove in two with a double. That is where it ended, as BJB lost this one 7-6. DSL Blue Jays Red Season Record: 0-2 June 2: The BJR game on Tuesday was marred by errors. They committed four errors in the game, which led to five unearned runs. On offense, they walked seven times in the game, but only managed three hits and were never able to get a run across home plate. Gabriel Porras was the best hitter for BJB, going 1-for-2 with two walks. They lost their second game in a row to start the season. Transactions 06/03/26 RHP Chad Dallas roster status changed by Buffalo Bisons. 06/03/26 RHP Justin Topa assigned to Buffalo Bisons. 06/03/26 Toronto Blue Jays sent C Alejandro Kirk on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/03/26 Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Yimi García on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/02/26 Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Lazaro Estrada on a rehab assignment to Buffalo Bisons. 06/02/26 RHP Yancarlos Vasquez assigned to DSL Blue Jays Blue. View the full article

Last Friday, we posted a forum thread that asked for our readers’ preferred trade targets for this year’s deadline, assuming they could only pick one name. We had more than a few intriguing answers, and I’m here to take a closer look at each pitch. @TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said: Freddy Peralta (just to watch heads explode). We roll with some combo of Miz, Harrison, Patrick, Henderson in the playoffs….but Peralta replacing Sproat or Gasser gets us the 1 seed. Aside from the obvious value of a homecoming for our glorious king Freddy Peralta, this is a pretty solid take. On the surface, his 3.38 ERA and average Statcast numbers don’t seem like much to write home about, but because he’s Freddy Peralta, there’s a solid chance that he would be even more effective in Milwaukee than he currently is in Queens. To me, the most important quality that Peralta would give to the Brewers’ rotation is length. The current rotation is mostly made up of younger players, and while one of them is throwing jet fuel on his 90th pitch, the others don’t quite have the same stamina. Milwaukee already has a tendency to demand a lot from its bullpen, and with many of their starters going fewer than six innings, it’s even more pronounced this year. Five of Milwaukee’s relievers have already made 23 or more appearances, and Aaron Ashby has been forced to throw 37 ⅓ innings. Poor guy. @owbc said: Joe Ryan is mine. It would be Skubal, but I think he might go ahead of the deadline, and we are more concerned about October than getting more regular-season starts. Joe Ryan is arguably the only good thing the Twins rotation has had going for them over the last two years. After a strong 2025 campaign, he has been even better this year, pitching to a 3.20 ERA with a 2.76 FIP over his first 13 starts. He has elite strikeout and walk rates, and his four-seam fastball is one of the best in the business. Minnesota isn’t out of the playoff race just yet, but it seems like it’ll be quite the uphill battle for them to make it there. Thus, it’s likely that they’ll be sellers at the deadline as they were last year. Their farm system is quite solid (ranked No. 9 by MLB Pipeline in March), and Ryan seems like he’ll be their most sought-after asset this year, so expect a steep asking price. @cragi said: Skubal The Tigers are going to get a lot of calls about Skubal this summer, but I’d be surprised if the Brewers were one of the parties dialing in, mostly because I think the $32 million salary is enough for Milwaukee to pass. You could ask the Tigers to pay down what he's owed, but that means giving up even better prospects. Additionally, their current southpaw options aren’t too shabby. Kyle Harrison is putting up video-game numbers and would probably be getting even more attention if his stablemate Misiorowski weren’t playing an even cooler video game. Shane Drohan hasn’t had as many innings but hasn’t been half bad when he has pitched, posting a 2.87 ERA over 31.1 IP with a 2.77 FIP. You can thank the Red Sox for both of these fellas. Throw in the fact that the Brewers have two multi-inning left-handed relievers in Ashby and DL Hall, and I don’t think the front office is even willing to pay Skubal’s remaining salary, let alone give up significant prospect capital to even have the ability to do so. @nate82 said: Highly unlikely, but if Witt becomes available, that is the only player I would go after. Highly unlikely indeed, especially given his eye-watering $288-million contract, but it would be nice to have a player of his caliber covering one of Milwaukee’s weakest positions. Neither Joey Ortiz nor David Hamilton has been offensively viable at shortstop this year, and they’ve combined for a .531 OPS, making the Brewers comfortably dead last in terms of shortstop OPS. Third base isn’t much better, which means that the entire left side of the infield is a point of concern and will probably be one of the organization’s priorities down the stretch. I don’t know if that means making a trade or calling up one of their current infield prospects, but I do know that it definitely doesn’t involve getting Bobby Witt Jr. in a Brewers jersey. @jay87shot said: Byron Buxton, I would love a SS/3B, but I don’t see a difference maker really being available. I will give a shout out to Reid Detmers, I think he is a guy like Harrison that has the tools to be a top line guy but needs to get out of LA. Thank you for agreeing with my last point Mr. 87shot! What a timely response. This seems like it will be the third consecutive season that Buxton will post an OPS+ above 130, and I’m all for it. He’s a great player with some exceptional tools and is one of the best outfielders in the game when healthy. His seven-year, $100-million contract extension might actually be the only successful move made by Minnesota’s front office since I started watching baseball. Assuming the Twins would be willing to trade their current face of the franchise, he’d be a great fit on paper for the Brewers, but I have to wonder if Milwaukee would be willing to give up on the cheaper and almost-as-good alternative in Garrett Mitchell. At least they both share a penchant for spending time on the injured list. As for Detmers, I don’t doubt that he’d excel in Milwaukee over Anaheim and would likely benefit from more separation between his arsenal (his four-seam, sinker, and changeup have very similar profiles right now). However, the Brewers may not be as enthusiastic about giving up minor-league talent for a project starter who may not even fit in the current postseason rotation. I do want to point out that over the last two seasons, he has pitched to a 4.31 ERA and 3.04 FIP. Tantalizing, but not sure if it’s enough to push him over the edge. The front office is probably keeping an eye on him, though. @LouisEly said: If Toronto stays out of it, Ernie Clement. This gets back to the original problem the team currently has with the left side of the infield, which has simply been lackluster. Ernie, whose legal name is evidently not Ernest, has been a valuable utility piece for the Blue Jays. While many teams have utility players that simply fill several roles at a near replacement level, Clement has been one of the most valuable players on the team since 2024. He has spent most of his time filling in at second base now that Kazuma Okamoto has taken over the starting job at third base, but Clement would still be a meaningful upgrade over Luis Rengifo, who has struggled to be impactful with the bat or the glove thus far. With a strong skillset, a few remaining years of club control, and a dedicated fanbase in Toronto, he won’t come cheap, but he could be the answer to one of Milwaukee’s most glaring issues right now. @HarryDoyle said: Literally any mediocre hitting third baseman. It’s time to start a dialogue. Thanks for all of your contributions. I hope to do this again soon! View the full article

JT Schwartz drove in seven runs on the strength of a grand slam to power Binghamton past Reading, while Christian Arroyo collected four RBI in Syracuse's nightcap rout. Cam Tilly spun five scoreless innings of relief in a St. Lucie loss, Jose Chirinos struck out four over five frames for Brooklyn, and Matt Turner earned the win in relief for Syracuse. Ben Rortvedt and TT Bowens added home runs, and Elian Peña doubled and drove in a run for St. Lucie. Mets Transactions New York Mets optioned RHP Jonah Tong to Syracuse Mets. New York Mets recalled RHP Joey Gerber from Syracuse Mets. RailRiders Rally Twice to Sink Syracuse in Opener Syracuse dropped the doubleheader opener to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 6-3, undone by two multi-run innings. Ben Rortvedt led the offense with a two-run homer, his third, and Matt Rudick added an RBI single. Nick Morabito tripled and scored a run, while Ryan Clifford and Jackson Cluff each struck out three times. Kodai Senga, making the start, allowed three runs on six hits over five innings, walking two and striking out five. The damage began in the third, when a run-scoring single, a sacrifice fly, and another RBI single staked Scranton to a 3 to 0 lead. The visitors blew it open in the seventh against Danis Correa, who surrendered back-to-back home runs and an RBI double as three runs crossed. Syracuse answered in the bottom of the seventh, when Rortvedt homered to score Cristian Pache, and Rudick singled home Morabito, but the comeback fell three runs short. Syracuse left five runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nick Morabito 4 1 1 0 0 1 Jorge Polanco 2 0 0 0 0 1 Matt Rudick 1 0 1 1 1 0 Christian Arroyo 3 0 0 0 1 1 Ryan Clifford 3 0 0 0 0 3 Ji Hwan Bae 2 0 0 0 1 0 Yonny Hernández 2 0 1 0 0 0 Cristian Pache 2 1 0 0 0 2 Ben Rortvedt 2 1 1 2 0 0 Jackson Cluff 3 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kodai Senga 5 6 3 3 2 5 0 Danis Correa 2 4 3 3 0 1 2 Arroyo Drives In Four as Syracuse Routs Scranton in Nightcap Syracuse split the doubleheader with a 13-2 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Christian Arroyo led the way, going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI, while Kevin Parada added a double and three RBI, and Matt Rudick reached base three times with two hits and an RBI. Ryan Clifford reached three times, and Nick Morabito scored twice from the leadoff spot. The third inning broke the game open: Arroyo doubled home two runs, and Andy Ibáñez singled in another as Syracuse pushed across four runs. The rout was completed in the sixth, when eight runs scored. Arroyo singled home two, Ibáñez added a sacrifice fly, Parada cleared the bases with a three-run double, and Rudick capped the frame with an RBI single. Zach Peek worked two scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts, and Matt Turner earned the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings. Syracuse left seven runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nick Morabito 3 2 1 0 1 2 Ji Hwan Bae 4 2 1 0 1 1 Christian Arroyo 3 2 2 4 1 1 Ryan Clifford 3 2 2 0 1 0 Andy Ibáñez 3 0 1 2 0 1 Yonny Hernández 2 1 0 0 2 1 Jackson Cluff 2 1 0 0 2 1 Kevin Parada 3 1 1 3 1 2 Matt Rudick 3 2 2 1 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Zach Peek 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 Matt Turner 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 Daniel Duarte 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 0 1 Nate Lavender 1 1/3 1 1 0 0 2 0 Jonathan Pintaro 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Schwartz's Seven RBI Carry Binghamton in Slugfest Binghamton outlasted the Reading Fightin Phils, 16 to 11, in a back-and-forth slugfest. JT Schwartz was the headliner, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and seven RBI from the cleanup spot. Vincent Perozo added two hits, a double, and three RBI. Jaylen Palmer drove in two, and TT Bowens and Chris Suero each collected two hits, with Bowens adding a home run. Binghamton jumped ahead early, scoring four in the first on RBI hits from Schwartz, Perozo, and Wyatt Young plus a run-scoring force out, then tacking on five more in the second behind another Schwartz single, Perozo's double, and a Palmer double. Reading clawed back to tie it, taking a brief lead in the seventh. Binghamton answered with five in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Schwartz's grand slam, and Bowens added a two-run homer in the eighth. R.J. Gordon struggled, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits over 2 2/3 innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Douglas Orellana provided two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Binghamton left seven runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Chris Suero 5 2 2 1 1 3 Jose Ramos 5 2 0 0 1 2 Nick Lorusso 4 3 2 0 0 1 JT Schwartz 4 3 3 7 1 1 Vincent Perozo 5 1 2 3 0 1 Jaylen Palmer 5 1 2 2 0 1 Wyatt Young 3 1 1 1 2 1 TT Bowens 5 2 2 2 0 2 Kevin Villavicencio 5 1 2 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR R.J. Gordon 2 2/3 6 5 4 1 3 0 Gabriel Rodriguez 1/3 0 3 2 3 1 0 Douglas Orellana 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 Guillo Zuñiga 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 Carlos Guzman 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 Saul Garcia 1 1/3 3 1 1 1 2 0 Brian Metoyer 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 Cyclones Fall on Walk-Off in Extras at Jersey Shore Brooklyn led late but fell to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, 5 to 4, on a walk-off single in the tenth inning. Trace Willhoite led the offense with two hits, a double, and an RBI, while Grae Kessinger doubled and drove in a run, and Daiverson Gutierrez tripled among his two hits. Jose Chirinos turned in the strongest pitching performance, allowing one run on three hits over five innings with three walks and four strikeouts. The Cyclones built their lead in the fifth, when Diego Mosquera's sacrifice fly scored Willhoite, and Kessinger doubled home Sam Biller for a 4 to 1 edge. Jersey Shore erased that cushion in the seventh, scoring three runs against Bryce Jenkins on a run-scoring double, an RBI single, and another double to tie the game. In the tenth, with the zombie runner aboard, the BlueClaws pushed across the winning run on a single after Brooklyn could not cash in its own zombie runner, as Biller was thrown out at the plate. Brooklyn left five runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Mitch Voit 5 0 1 0 0 0 Grae Kessinger 5 0 1 1 0 3 Corey Collins 3 0 0 0 1 2 Daiverson Gutierrez 4 1 2 0 0 1 John Bay 4 0 0 0 0 4 Colin Houck 4 1 1 1 0 2 Trace Willhoite 3 1 2 1 1 0 Sam Biller 4 1 1 0 0 2 Diego Mosquera 2 0 0 1 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jose Chirinos 5 3 1 1 3 4 0 Bryce Jenkins 1 2/3 2 3 3 1 3 0 Gregori Louis 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Parker Carlson 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Hunter Hodges 1/3 1 1 0 0 0 0 Tilly's Five Scoreless Wasted in St. Lucie Shutout Loss St. Lucie was no-hit by the Clearwater Threshers, 2-0, in the doubleheader opener, managing no hits on the day. Elian Peña and Randy Guzman each drew a walk for the Mets' only base runners, while Antonio Jimenez struck out three times from the second spot. Cam Tilly was excellent in relief, throwing five scoreless innings without a walk and striking out five while scattering four hits. The only runs of the game came in the sixth, when Clearwater strung together a two-run single off Christian Rodriguez, who was charged with two runs, one earned, over two innings with three walks and four strikeouts. The St. Lucie offense never threatened, stranding two runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elian Peña 2 0 0 0 1 0 Antonio Jimenez 3 0 0 0 0 3 Trey Snyder 3 0 0 0 0 2 Randy Guzman 2 0 0 0 1 1 Yohairo Cuevas 3 0 0 0 0 2 AJ Salgado 2 0 0 0 0 0 Branny De Oleo 2 0 0 0 0 2 Chase Meggers 2 0 0 0 0 1 Jeremy Rodriguez 2 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cam Tilly 5 4 0 0 0 5 0 Christian Rodriguez 2 2 2 1 3 4 0 Errors Sink St. Lucie in Nightcap Defeat St. Lucie dropped the nightcap to the Clearwater Threshers, 5-3, with defensive miscues proving costly. Elian Peña led off and went 1 for 2 with a double, a run, an RBI, and two walks. Randy Guzman added a hit and an RBI, and Antonio Jimenez drove in a run. Conner Ware led the staff with four innings of one-run ball, walking two and striking out four, though he surrendered a home run. St. Lucie tied the game in the fifth on Peña's run-scoring double and Jimenez's RBI single. The decisive seventh unraveled in the field: Clearwater scored once on a throwing error, then plated three more when two runs came home on a fielding error at first base, turning a tie into a 5 to 2 deficit. St. Lucie answered with one run in the bottom of the seventh on Guzman's RBI single, but could not complete the rally. St. Lucie left seven runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elian Peña 2 1 1 1 2 1 Antonio Jimenez 4 0 1 1 0 2 Randy Guzman 2 0 1 1 1 1 Yohairo Cuevas 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jackson Hauge 3 0 0 0 0 1 Francisco Toledo 3 0 0 0 0 1 Branny De Oleo 3 0 0 0 0 1 Jeremy Rodriguez 3 0 1 0 0 2 Sam Robertson 1 2 0 0 2 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Conner Ware 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 Zack Mack 2 1 0 0 1 3 0 Josh Blum 1/3 2 4 0 1 0 0 Miguel Mejias 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Nolan McLean: DNP Carson Benge: DNP A.J. Ewing: DNP Jonah Tong: DNP Ryan Clifford: 0-for-3, 3 K (Game 1); 2-for-3, R, BB (Game 2) Jacob Reimer: DNP Jack Wenninger: DNP Elian Pena: 0-for-2, BB (Game 1); 1-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB (Game 2) Mitch Voit: 1-for-5 Nick Morabito: 1-for-4, R, 3B (Game 1); 1-for-3, 2 R, BB (Game 2) Jonathan Santucci: DNP Chris Suero: 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K Zach Thornton: DNP Wandy Asigen: DNP Will Watson: DNP Eli Serrano III: DNP Ryan Lambert: DNP Dylan Ross: DNP Antonio Jimenez: 0-for-3, 3 K (Game 1); 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K (Game 2) R.J. Gordon: 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 3 K View the full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 3) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 28-28 It was a nightmare at home for Worcester as they got blown out 12-0 by Buffalo. The WooSox pitching staff imploded in the late innings. The game was scoreless through six, then everything fell apart. Worcester's pitchers issued an astonishing 14 walks on the night, and Buffalo made them pay for every one of them. Four of the five pitchers for Worcester walked three batters each, while the other pitcher walked two. The seventh inning finally started the scoring barrage. Eduardo Rivera, who had kept Buffalo off the board for two innings, was pulled after he lost the zone, hitting a batter, then walking two more batters to load the bases. Angel Bastardo came in and immediately made things worse, giving up two singles and a double that brought in three runs to make it a 3-0 game. The total meltdown happened in the eighth. Bastardo stayed in the game and got shelled. The Bisons' lineup batted around, 12 batters came up to the plate and scored a total of six runs as a group, pushing the lead to 9–0. Runs were scoring on walks, sacrifice flies, deflected grounders, and everything possible was happening in a bad way. It got so bad that catcher Nathan Hickey had to come in to pitch the rest of the ninth (his sixth pitching appearance this season). He gave up four hits, three runs, and three walks in his inning of work, extending Buffalo's lead to 12-0. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 28-24 A wild back-and-forth slugfest ended in a Sea Dogs 10-7 victory over the Yard Goats. Hartford struck first with a big blow, smashing a three-run homer in the top of the second to put the Yard Goats up 3–0 early. Portland cut the deficit in the bottom half, Will Turner and Nelly Taylor walked, and Caden Rose reached base due to a fielding error from Hartford's shortstop, loading the bases. Ahbram Liendo had one thing on his mind when he stepped up to the plate: being aggressive out of the gate, as he ripped a two-run single on the first pitch to cut it to 3–2. Both teams traded blows in the fifth inning, Hartford blasted another three-run homer to push the lead to 6–2. It felt like Portland was in real trouble, but the Sea Dogs came right back with a massive bottom half of the fifth. Liendo stayed hot, leading off the inning with a solo homer to center field, 6–3. Portland started a two-out rally, Johanfran Garcia singled, Ronald Rosario and Turner walked to load the bases. Nelly Taylor came through in a big moment, hitting a sky-high pop-up to shallow right-center field that dropped in no-man's land, clearing the bases to tie the game 6–6. Some sloppy defense from the Yard Goats led to a balk with Taylor on third base, bringing him across the plate to give Portland its first lead of the game. This was now a brand new ballgame. Hartford retook the lead in the sixth on a solo homer to tie it again, 7-7. But Portland responded yet again in the bottom half. Liendo smacked a double (his third hit of the game), then advanced to third after a fielding error from the left fielder, and Franklin Arias singled him home to take back the lead 8–7. Garcia launched a solo homer to right-center (his ninth of the year), giving Portland some comfort room, 9–7. Turner put the exclamation point on the game in the seventh with a solo homer to center, 10–7. Portland had all the cushion it needed. John Holobetz and Cade Feeney both had rough outings, but Reidis Sena locked it down with two perfect innings of relief to close the game, no hits and walks with three strikeouts, earning his fourth save of the season. Standout Performances: Ahbram Liendo: 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI Johanfran Garcia: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI Will Turner: 1-for-2, HR, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB Nelly Taylor: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB Reidis Sena: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 21-30 After the tough loss yesterday, Greenville bounced back on the road by defeating the Emperors 9-3. Greenville got on the board first in the third inning. Yophery Rodriguez led off with a single, Antonio Anderson reached base with a walk, then Enddy Azocar ripped an RBI double down the left field line to score Rodriguez, 1–0. Gerardo Rodriguez followed with a sacrifice fly that brought in Anderson. The Drive had a 2–0 cushion early. Jack Winnay provided the power in the fifth. Before he came up, Gerardo Rodriguez hit an infield single, then Isaiah Jackson grounded into a fielder's choice to put him on first base instead. Winnay stepped up to the plate and took advantage of the first strike he saw, launching a two-run homer to left-center (his ninth of the year) to push it to 4–0. Rome responded in the bottom half with a solo homer and a double that led to a wild pitch, bringing in a run to cut it to 4–2, but Greenville was firmly in control. The sixth inning buried Rome, and Greenville put up a five-run inning that put the game out of reach for the late innings. Yophery Rodriguez collected his second hit of the game with a double, then Antonio Anderson drove him in with a single to right field, 5–2. After Azocar and Justin Gonzales each lined a single to load the bases, Gerardo Rodriguez lined an RBI single to make it 6–2. Isaiah Jackson expanded the lead more after he cracked a two-run double, scoring Azocar and Gonzales, pushing Greenville's lead to 8–2. Mason White added on with an RBI force-out to cap the inning, 9–2. Other than a rough fifth inning, the Drive’s pitching staff dealt with business. Devin Futrell was solid in his 4 ⅓ innings of work, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks while punching out six batters. Ben Hansen continued to look solid ever since he moved to the bullpen, tossing 3 ⅔ innings, striking out four while giving up two hits and one unearned run (throwing error from Winnay). Matt McShane came on in the ninth to close out the game, throwing a perfect inning and striking out one batter. Greenville’s bats were on point in this matchup, multi-hit games coming from Azocar (3rd multi-hit day in four games), Gonzales, Gerardo Rodriguez, and Yophery Rodriguez. The lineup combined for 11 hits and six walks. Standout Performances: Gerardo Rodriguez: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI Enddy Azocar: 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI Jack Winnay: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB Yophery Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB Devin Futrell: 4 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Ben Hansen: 3 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 23-30 The RidgeYaks lose back-to-back games to start the six-game series against the Warbirds, this time falling just short 2-1. Jason Gilman was the story for most of the game; it was unfortunate that Salem’s bats could not get going. Gilman was absolutely dominant in his start, throwing six innings of two-hit shutout ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He kept Wilson completely off balance for more than half the game, giving Salem every opportunity to build on a slim lead. Salem scratched across their lone run in the sixth. Louis Andujar reached base on a throwing error from Wilson’s pitcher, Adonys Guzman singled him over to third, then Frederik Jimenez lined an RBI single to make it 1–0. It wasm't much, but with the way the pitching was going, it felt like it could be enough. The game flipped in the eighth. Jay Allmer relieved the seventh and got out of the inning with no damage, then came back in the eighth and immediately lost the strike zone, walking his first batter. Wuilliams Rodriguez entered and things got worse, failing to field the ball cleanly, putting two runners on, then a single loaded the bases with one out. A bases-loaded walk tied the game 1–1, then an RBI groundout was all Wilson needed to get a 2–1 lead. The offense never gave the pitching staff any margin for error. Salem managed five hits and just one run on the night. Adonys Guzman was the only RidgeYaks player with multiple hits, collecting two of the five hits. They drew six walks, showing the plate discipline, but couldn't string anything together with RISP, going 2-for-13. Standout Performances: Jason Gilman: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 10 K Adonys Guzman: 2-for-3, 2B, BB View the full article

Where would the San Diego Padres be without Ty France? It’s impossible to know, but they almost certainly wouldn’t be 32-27. His 137 wRC+ leads the team among players with over 100 plate appearances, but that’s not really the interesting part. Unheralded players go through hot streaks all the time and carry their team in the process. While France has done that to some degree, it’s how he’s doing that which is noteworthy. Modern baseball hitting philosophy can be boiled down to three words: lift and pull. The reason for this is relatively simple. When you lift and pull, you’re more likely to hit the ball hard and in the air, which leads to extra bases. On top of that, if the pitcher knows you can do serious damage on contact, they pitch you more carefully, which means more balls and more walks. Functionally, lifting and pulling the ball leads to more power and on-base, which is kind of the name of the game. However, every hitter is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, which brings us back to Ty France. France has gotten off to a torrid start by hitting the crap out of the ball. His 3.6% walk rate is scary, especially next to a 23.4% strikeout rate, but when you make that much contact and pair it with a 50% hard-hit rate, you can prosper. What is unusual is that France isn’t lifting and pulling his way to glory; in fact, he’s doing the opposite. On average, major leaguers pull 41% of their contact and go to the opposite field 23.7% of the time. By this metric, France doesn’t really stand out. He’s pulling 41.8% of his contact and going the other way at a 21.5% rate. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the most opposite-field-oriented hitters in baseball. On pulled contact, France is hitting fly balls 18.2% of the time, compared to the MLB average of 24.9%, and 58.8% of his opposite field contact are fly balls, against the MLB average of 62.20%. So, while France pulls the ball in the air much less than average, that’s still not really what makes him so interesting. Where you hit the ball is less important than how well you hit the ball. If you hit the ball hard enough, you have much more leeway with spray and launch angle, and this is where France has zigged where everyone else has zagged. France is currently sporting a 47.1% hard-hit rate on balls to the opposite field. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, he’d rank third in that metric, behind only James Wood and Drake Baldwin, and even that undersells what he’s doing. On average, the MLB hard-hit rate is only 20.5% on balls to the opposite field, which France is more than doubling. When you factor in that France has a 29.4% line drive rate, on top of a 58.8% field fly ball rate, it’s easy to see why this unique profile is working. He’s lifting and crushing pitches to the opposite field in a way that few hitters have. Lift and pull isn’t actually about pulling the ball. In general, most hitters simply hit the ball harder to the pull side and struggle mightily to go the other way with authority. The thing is, France is not one of those hitters. He is elite at hitting the ball hard in the air to the opposite field, so why should he stop? Over the long haul, I doubt France will continue to run a wOBA of .368, as he has an xwOBA of .336, but that’d still constitute a successful bounce back after two mostly forgettable seasons. However, even if his production erodes, the first two months of the season have taught us a lesson: Hitting the ball hard, even the other way, is the key to hitting. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs continue to struggle as the calendar has turned to June. What should the next move be? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View the full article

David Hamilton, who came to Milwaukee as part of the package that sent Caleb Durbin to Boston, has been tinkered with more than anyone, according to Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy. Two months into the season, we're seeing it paying off. Is it sustainable? View the full article

A look at what has clicked for Nolan Perry, a Blue Jays pitching prospect in High-A Vancouver, and a breakdown of his loud arsenal. View the full article

Kyler Fedko broke out massively in 2025, and he's continued that momentum so far this season. He's proving why he deserves a shot in the majors, and for multiple reasons. View the full article

Ryan Jeffers was the best player on the Twins through the first quarter of the 2026 season. In 37 games, he slashed .295/.408/.541, with a .949 OPS about 60% above league average. That OPS is the best in the league among primary catchers with at least 140 plate appearances, and by fWAR, he ranks fifth, despite not playing since May 18. He’s also graded out as an average defender behind the plate, and he was on track to play about 120 games between catcher and DH. Simply put, he was playing like one of the premier catchers in baseball. Due to Jeffers’s broken hamate bone, he will remain out of commission for another 4-6 weeks, by most estimates. He struck an optimistic tone when he met with reporters this week, but even he noted that he can't predict how things will go, and that he was advised not to rush it. The Twins sorely miss him, as his backups Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson have combined to hit just over .200 and have not provided even average defense behind the plate. Jeffers is eligible for free agency this offseason. Let’s break down the case and context for him to receive a qualifying offer. There are a lot of moving pieces here, so buckle up. What is a qualifying offer? Per the current CBA, free agents are eligible to receive a qualifying offer from their current team once in their career. Since this is Jeffers's first time eligible for free agency, the Twins can give him the qualifying offer. The qualifying offer is a one-year contract worth the average yearly salary of the 125 highest-paid players the previous year. For the 2026 season, that was approximately $22 million, and for 2027, it will likely be slightly higher. Let’s conservatively call it $23 million. If the player accepts the offer, they will return to their team for one more year. If they reject the offer, they will be a free agent. However, other teams are disincentivized from signing the player because they will lose a draft pick (or two, depending on their payroll) the following season. The original team will receive an additional draft pick between the first and fourth rounds as compensation for losing the player, varying based on their revenue-sharing status. Of note, the ongoing CBA negotiations ahead of the 2027 season will (probably) not affect the qualifying offers at the end of the 2026 season. Even if the entire system were removed in the 2027 CBA, the 2026 qualifying offers will be grandfathered in because they occurred before the current CBA expires. Why would the Twins extend a qualifying offer to Ryan Jeffers? Well, obviously, the primary reason would be that Jeffers is a good catcher. It’s unlikely that Jeffers is truly the best offensive catcher in baseball, but he has been a good hitter over the past four seasons—about 20% better than league average—at a position where the average hitter is below league average. His defense is not outstanding, or potentially even good, but it’s average, and good enough that he’s not a disaster at the most difficult position to play. Furthermore, the alternatives are not appetizing. Caratini and Jackson are both under contract for 2027 (with Caratini owed $7 million), but neither has given much reason to have confidence they will be dependable everyday options. The Twins have a handful of high-minors catchers, such as Noah Cardenas and David Bañuelos, but none of them have starting catcher potential. Eduardo Tait is their top catching prospect, but he’s a 19-year-old at High-A. They might draft Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, but even if he’s fast-tracked to the majors, he shouldn’t be counted on to be the everyday catcher in 2027. There's also the subject of Jeffers's trade value. If the Twins are not in contention around the trade deadline, Jeffers is a player teams will be calling about. However, he's projected to return to action just weeks before the deadline, giving teams limited time to evaluate him in a trade. Whatever packages he may have netted two weeks ago have probably been reduced since his injury, which makes the prospect of keeping him around more valuable. The return may even be less valuable than the draft-pick compensation the Twins would receive (and by next year's trade deadline, he would be eligible to be traded again, should he accept the qualifying offer). Is Jeffers worth a qualifying offer? At $23 million, Jeffers would be the highest-paid catcher in the world, by a wide margin. The top-paid catchers projected for 2027 are Atlanta’s Sean Murphy and Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto, at $15 million each. Jeffers would make about 50% more. Put simply, even if Jeffers maintained his 2026 performance upon his return from injury, he’s not worth $23 million a year in his 30s. However, he might be worth $23 million for one year. Teams are much happier to overpay for a short contract (see Kyle Tucker’s deal with the Dodgers) than they are to cut a long deal for less money per year. There’s a cliché that goes “there’s no such thing as a bad one-year deal,” and there’s some truth to that. The Twins might be in a position in which their best option for having a starting-caliber catcher in 2027 is to overpay Jeffers in the short term. Other free-agent options would be Tyler Stephenson and Jonah Heim. The Twins extended Jake Odorizzi a qualifying offer in 2019 in a similar situation. Odorizzi didn’t command an annual contract of $18 million, but to keep the rotation stocked, they were willing to overpay to keep him for one more year. Furthermore, if Jeffers rejects the qualifying offer, the Twins could receive that compensatory draft pick, likely between the first and second rounds of the 2027 MLB Draft. Which raises another question: Would Jeffers accept the offer? (and also, why not just extend him?) It’s unclear whether Jeffers would even accept the offer, though I would probably bet yes, if I were forced to take a side. He's a Scott Boras client, but he's never been thought of as this caliber of player before this season, and he's hurt right now. Even Boras's aggressiveness has limits. However, there have not been many catchers who have hit the open market to base this discussion on. Most free-agent catchers are of the backup variety. Since the 2019-2020 offseason, there have been seven contracts signed by catchers for more than $23 million total: Yasmani Grandal (4/73M), James McCann (4/40.6M), Realmuto (5/115.5, 3/45M), Willson Contreras (5/87.5), Christian Vázquez (3/30M), Mitch Garver (2/24M). That being said, Jeffers is certainly in a position to join that group, and, like Contreras, his bat is insurance against potentially moving off the catcher position. Contreras now plays first base, but in the four seasons leading up to his $87.5 million contract with St. Louis, he had a similar 118 OPS+, albeit with more plate appearances. Jeffers could be in line for a big, multi-year payday. His estimated contract might be enough to allow him to opt out of a one-year, $23 million deal. There’s risk to signing a short deal, especially for a catcher on the wrong side of 30. Should Jeffers have a down 2027, those multi-year deals might dry up, and as a Boras client, Jeffers is likely to try to maximize his lifetime earnings rather than take the guaranteed money—hich I suppose could be twisted to support either side of this question. This bit also explains why the Twins are unlikely to offer Jeffers a long-term deal. Paying Jeffers in eight figures a year for three or more years is quite risky, especially for a team that might have its catcher of the future debuting in the next couple of seasons. And especially for a team whose low payroll has been an unending topic of conversation for three years now. Speaking of which: Would Tom Pohlad allow the Twins to pay Jeffers $23 million next season? Yeah, probably. The Twins are running a minuscule payroll right now. They’re projected to have an approximately $70-80 million payroll after arbitration in 2027, which includes the money owed to Carlos Correa. If they part with Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Trevor Larnach, or Royce Lewis either at the trade deadline or the beginning of the offseason, that figure will be even lower. Players like Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper, and Gabriel Gonzalez are likely to be filling roster spots on minimum-salary contracts. There’s a case to be made that even if the Twins are returning to a $105 million payroll, they’d have room for Jeffers to be paid $16 million more than his current $6.7 million salary next year. If the Pohlad family indeed intends to increase payroll (as Tom has suggested would have been the case this year, had he taken the reins earlier) to even $130 million, they have more than enough room to bump up Jeffers’s contract for a single year. When my co-host on the Twins Off-Daily Podcast (no free ads), @Lou Hennessy, proposed this idea earlier in the season, I initially scoffed a bit. But the combination of Jeffers’s performance, team needs, and room to spend, might make this a worthwhile endeavor. View the full article

The Brewers want Jackson Chourio to chase less. He's been a more aggressive hitter than most, especially on a team that values swing decisions and has the second-lowest chase rate in baseball since his debut in 2024. In that time, Chourio's 34.6% chase rate is the 20th-highest among qualified hitters. A hitter with Chourio's quick hands and raw power should be aggressive, because he can drive pitches that many can't. He's still been a solid hitter while chasing so much and walking so little, posting a career .273/.320/.461 line (115 wRC+). However, he often takes that aggression too far with poor swing decisions, and it's prevented him from blossoming into a star. He wants to hit, and it can make him jumpy in the box. "I think it still comes down to the anxiousness to get [the at-bat] over with, the anxiousness to get to it," Pat Murphy said earlier this week. "He can get to so many pitches that I think it hurts him." In Year 3, Chourio's plate discipline has yet to improve. If anything, it has gotten worse. His chase rate jumped from 31.9% to 37% last season. This year, it's still at 36.3%. What's more, the aggression on hittable pitches has disappeared. Chourio's in-zone swing rate is just 57.4%, down from 70.5% last year. Zone swing rate minus chase rate is not always the most telling metric, but by that measure, Chourio is making even worse swing decisions than Joey Ortiz, the Brewer most notorious for offering at the wrong pitches. To get a good swing off in time, hitters must assume a pitch will be a strike and recognize when it's a ball, not assume it will be a ball and recognize a strike. As the pitch is delivered, the thought is "Yes, yes, yes, yes – no," not "No, no, no, no – yes." When Chourio tries to be selective, he seems to be starting with that "no" mindset, leaving him recognizing strikes he can punish once it's already too late to swing. "When you're trying to get your ball-strike order, you end up taking your foot off the gas," Murphy said, "instead of keeping your foot on the gas, but really seeing what you want to see and knowing how to say no at the last second." That's led to at-bats in which Chourio takes a hittable pitch for an early strike before chasing off the plate. Other times, he's being too passive with two strikes. He's making an effort to be more selective, but it's felt forced at the wrong times. "I think he's trying to think through it and trying to be really good at it," Murphy said. "When you're trying to prove yourself, you're sometimes not being yourself." The good news is that he is still producing, in part because he's crushing strikes when he does swing at them. Chourio is hitting .291/.354/.437, and his 125 wRC+ would be a career best. His 18.1% barrel rate would be among the best in baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the leaderboard. On Tuesday night, he recorded two well-struck hits by swinging at fastballs early in the count. Chourio's skill set plays best when he's being aggressive. The Brewers don't want to take that from him, but they do want him to become more discerning at the plate. Balance is key. "It's selectively aggressive. How do we get to that spot?" Murphy said. "On the way to selectively aggressive [are] some bumps in the road. I think that's what we got going on." View the full article

When Craig Counsell became the Cubs manager, he didn’t make immediate, significant changes to the coaching staff he inherited from David Ross. In fact, three seasons later, Dustin Kelly and Tommy Hottovy both remain in the lead skill roles they held under David Ross. However, Counsell exercised more freedom with his base coaches, to implement his defensive and baserunning strategy. The dust had barely settled on his first season when he made his first true addition to the coaching staff, going and getting Quintin Berry from his old staff in Milwaukee to be his new third-base coach. Berry’s coaching career started in Milwaukee the day he retired. A journeyman outfielder who played in just 132 big-league games but nearly 1,200 minor-league games, Berry was hired as the Brewers’ minor-league outfield and baserunning coordinator. After two years in that role, he was promoted to the major-league staff as first base coach, where he continued to work on outfield and baserunning until the Cubs hired him to do the same for them. Counsell clearly saw a need to improve the outfield and baserunning in his first year at the helm of the Cubs, and after seeing Berry’s impact in Milwaukee, he made him a priority. When Berry was named first-base coach in Milwaukee, they had just finished 29th in MLB in baserunning runs during the shortened 2020 season. Granted, they were 27th in team sprint speed, but still, that's not the kind of baseball Counsell wanted to play. It was the first year since his very first in Milwaukee that the Brewers finished under .500, and the first time in his entire tenure that his team had been below 17th in baserunning runs. In Berry’s first season on the big-league staff, they jumped to 8th in baserunning runs despite still being one of the slowest teams in the majors. We are seeing a similar impact with the Cubs this year. Of the 12 slowest teams in the major leagues, only the Cubs have positive baserunning runs, and the Cubs are in the top 8 in all of baseball. The Brewers, by comparison, are one of the fastest teams in the majors and are 13th in baserunning runs this season. They did remain a fantastic baserunning team last year, their first year without Berry on staff, but they have fallen off this year. Berry’s impact on outfield defense looks similar. In his first year on the big-league staff in Milwaukee, the Brewers outfield jumped from 14th to 5th in outs above average and were top 3 for his entire tenure, including a pair of top two outfields in his last two seasons. The Cubs, by contrast, were 20th in outfield OAA during that same time period. While they snuck inside the top 10 in Counsell’s first year, they jumped to 2nd after hiring Berry and are currently in 1st this year. While his impact on the outfield as a whole is clearly quantifiable, so is his impact on individual players, especially in the jumps they get. Statcast combines three components to calculate an outfielder's jump. Their reaction, or their first step, is how much ground they gain during the first 1.5 seconds. The burst is the next 1.5 seconds after that, or their acceleration/explosiveness. Lastly, is the route they take to the ball and how direct it is. A look at the leaderboards for each of these three components shows that reaction and burst are much more important to an outfielder's value than their route is. Pete Crow-Armstrong was solid in his first full year in the bigs, but he took the leap to cement himself as one of the best defenders in baseball under Berry. Crow-Armstrong sacrificed some route efficiency to gain more ground with his first step, and it paid off massively. Seiya Suzuki went from a below-average outfielder who served as the designated hitter more frequently than he used his outfield glove the past two seasons to a top-5 right fielder in baseball (depending on the metric you believe) under Berry, by improving his reaction and burst. Suzuki didn’t get faster—actually, he's the slowest he has ever been—but his reaction and burst have taken a large jump in his age-31 season. Although Ian Happ won 4 consecutive gold gloves from 2022-2025, Statcast defensive metrics largely disagree. He earned -7 OAA in 2023 and improved to -1 in Counsell’s first year, before putting up a 0 (average) under Berry in 2025. His jump has improved as well, but unlike Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong, he has done it by improving his routes. How valuable is Berry? He has helped Crow-Armstrong become the best outfielder in baseball. He has helped Suzuki go from a DH to a plus defender in right. He has helped turn the Cubs into the best defensive outfield in baseball. He has helped make the Cubs a top baserunning team despite a slower roster. Add to all of this that the main division rival Brewers have gotten worse at running the bases and playing outfield since Berry left, and Counsell’s first true hire looks like an incredibly impactful net positive for the Cubs. View the full article

The month of May will be one many Royals fans and players are hoping to forget as the calendar turns to June. The Royals have started the year with two sub-par months, as they went a paltry 10-18 in the month of May after turning in a 10-17 record in April. Looking for a standout performance on a team that is severely underperforming pre-season expectations is never a fun thing to do. I didn’t have to look far to see who the best hitter was in the month of May, and it wasn’t particularly close, to be honest. Only one hitter had an OPS above .700 (league-average this season is .710) this past month. The Royals had four hitters who looked good in April. Carter Jensen, Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, and Jac Caglianone. Only one of them kept the solid start going in the month of May. Bobby Witt Jr. has been the best player on the Royals in the first two months of the season. Specifically in May, he hit for a .853 OPS with seven home runs and 11 RBIs. This home run against the Tigers may have been the most fun to watch, with Witt Jr showing off his speed: Speaking of speed, he added seven stolen bases, being thrown out only one time. In 28 games played, Witt Jr. hit for a slash line of .283/.331/.522 (133 wRC+) and struck out just 23 times (19.6% of plate appearances). He walked just eight times in the month, but he did have 13 extra-base hits, six doubles, along with the aforementioned seven home runs. With the team playing at an underwhelming base this far, Witt Jr. will need some help if he and the Royals hope to climb out of the nightmarish start to the season. The Royals were 14 games under .500 to start June, but will look to climb back into contention in an AL Central that still appears pretty open for the taking. Typically, I would highlight any honorable mentions, but I’m not sure any player deserves an honorable mention if they were below league-average hitters over an entire month. Here’s to hoping the offense can find more consistency and get their superstar some help the rest of this season. View the full article

Even without Alejandro Kirk, the Blue Jays have the best defensive catchers in baseball, at least according to Statcast's metrics. For the second month in a row, Blue Jays catchers led the majors with a +7 fielding run value (FRV) in May, thanks to stellar performances from Brandon Valenzuela and Tyler Heinman. The rest of their fielders, however, were surprisingly poor, finishing the month with -8 Outs Above Average (OAA). We can all think of some moments in the field that should have gone differently. Be that as it may, the Jays still made their fair share of highlight-reel plays in May, and I'm here to celebrate the best (or at least the most enjoyable) of them. You can find my picks for March/April's defensive plays of the month here. That's the Varsho We Know and Love Last month, I wrote about this Addison Barger grab, noting it was Toronto's first five-star catch of the season. Apparently, it has since been downgraded to four stars, but the Blue Jays still have one five-star catch in 2026 thanks to Daulton Varsho. The center fielder hasn't always been the elite defender we're used to seeing this year, but he covered a ton of ground in a couple of seconds to make this diving grab. Two for the Price of One... But Was It Worth It? Addison Barger is so cool. In his first game back from the injured list, he made a run-saving double play, and he made it look as easy as throwing to first on a routine groundball. I don't even think Jorge Soler considered the fact that he could be doubled up as he tried to tag and score on this play. Unfortunately, Barger landed back on the injured list the next day with elbow inflammation in his powerful right arm. Andrés Giménez Is So Damn Smooth As accomplished a defender as he is, it's important not to forget that Andrés Giménez is still settling in at shortstop. By the test eye, he looked more comfortable at his new position in May, and the numbers back that up: He led the Blue Jays with 4 OAA in the month. I could have picked several of his highlights to feature here, but this bang-bang play against the Orioles was my favourite. Varsho Holds On What's impressive here isn't so much the catch itself, but the fact that Varsho holds on after smacking into the wall at full speed, falling over, and doing a backward somersault. They say if you look closely, you can still see the imprint of his face on the center field wall. What, Like It's Hard? I'm so impressed by the nonchalance with which Patrick Corbin made this behind-the-back grab. It almost looks like he just happened to put his glove in the perfect spot, and the ball bounced in. Either that or there was some magnet trickery going on here. Don't Run on Heiny Heineman caught nine runners stealing in May, including four in one game against the Marlins. He's now tied for third in MLB on the season with 11 caught stealing. I chose the clip above from that game against Miami (a) because Heineman caught the blistering-fast Esteury Ruiz, and (b) because of how cool Giménez looks laying down the tag. Have I mentioned I love watching Andrés Giménez? They Call Him a Catcher for a Reason Brandon Valenzuela provides most of his defensive value with excellent pitch-framing, which rarely makes the highlight reels. However, there was no way I wasn't going to include Toronto's most important defensive player in a piece about the team's defense. Valenzuela made a pair of excellent catches on tough pop-ups in May. I already wrote about one of them, so I included the other one here. At first, it looked like he lost this one in the sun, and he easily could have just given up. Instead, he located the ball and made a mad dash for the backstop and pulled off the sliding catch. Kudos to the camera crew for capturing this so well. Ladies and Gentlemen, Trey Yesavage You knew this was coming. How else could I end this piece but with one of the greatest examples of pitcher defense I've ever seen? Let's break it down. Act I: Trey Yesavage leaps for a high bouncer, but the ball clips off the top of his glove. Act II: He can't locate the ball until it hits the brim of his cap on the way down. Act III: He goes to snap it up, and once again, it pops out of his glove. Act IV: In a last-ditch effort to make the play, he uses his glove like something in between a shovel and a tennis racket to half-scoop, half-slap the ball to first base. Act V: Somehow, it works. Any Blue Jays defensive moments from May that you think I missed? Please share them in the comments below! View the full article

Pitching for the Boston Red Sox was a mixed bag during the month of May. There were some clear highlights, but for the most part, one of the preseason strengths for this club suffered from inconsistent performances. The pitching staff was bitten by the injury bug during the month of May as well, and that has led to there being more questions than answers outside of the names featured below. There’s room for improvement in both the starting rotation and the bullpen from most arms, but with the summer quickly approaching, we are squarely in ‘put up or shut up’ territory; the pitching staff needs to take a big step forward to help keep the team afloat just outside of the playoff picture. Ranking Red Sox's Best Pitchers in May Honorable mentions: (Bulk reliever) Brayan Bello, Connelly Early #3: Sonny Gray May Stats: 27 IP, 2.00 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 26.2 K%, 8.4 BB%, 1.11 WHIP, 0.8 fWAR Gray has been utterly dominant since he returned from the hamstring injury he suffered on Marathon Monday in April. Throughout the month, he made five starts and notched four wins. He had one rough start that can likely be attributed to the weather (he was throwing in the pouring rain for that start) but even he would say that’s just an excuse and he needed to be better in the moment. During May, he pitched to more than one strikeout per nine innings and kept his walk rate down to three per nine. He’s been incredible at limiting contact but when people have gotten on, he left them on base at the end of each inning at an 85% clip. He’s getting a ton of whiffs now and that is the game that Gray built his career off of. #2: Aroldis Chapman May Stats: 10 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.28 FIP, 38.5 K%, 10.3 BB%, 0.80 WHIP, 0.6 fWAR Chapman occupies a space in the second-best closer in baseball conversation behind Mason Miller, so it may be surprising to see him clock in at number two on this list, but this dominance has come to be expected. Chapman has been better than advertised for the Red Sox for the past two seasons, and his ability to still get massive strikeouts while throwing 100+ mph is just an unfair advantage in the ninth inning. It’s gotten to the point where you just assume no one is scoring when Chapman comes in. While he hasn’t been infallible this season — his walk rate is up and he is allowing a bit more contact than last year — he’s been dominant. The team has kind of forced Chad Tracy’s hand in using Chapman awkwardly, because they tend to go long stretches without requiring a save situation. When he gets the end of the game, even in situations like he was in against the Guardians to end the month, he shoves. For as long as Chapman is in Boston, he’s going to be an imposing presence at the back end of the bullpen. #1: Payton Tolle May Stats: 30.2 IP, 2.35 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 26.1 K%, 5.0 BB%, 0.85 WHIP, 1.0 fWAR The rookie southpaw commands the top spot on this month’s top pitchers because he has been an absolute animal since he was called up to the big leagues. He has only posted two wins over five starts during May, but that’s not due to him being ineffective, it’s due to the defensive lapses behind him and the offense being unable to plate runs with runners in scoring position. Tolle has been striking out more than one batter per nine and walking just under two batters per nine. His fastball mix has been highly touted throughout the start of the season, and it’s proven to be effective during multiple turns through the lineup. He’s working on a curveball that, when he figures it out fully, will likely put him in the ‘ace’ discussion as he builds a résumé worthy of All-Star credentials. His performances in May have been some of the best in the league, and it’s safe to assume that Payton Tolle is going to keep climbing the ladder and step even further into the spotlight with the Red Sox. View the full article

Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers recalled LHP Robert Gasser from Nashville Sounds. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers activated RHP Jose Nova from the Development List Wisconsin Timber Rattlers placed J.D. Thompson on the 7-Day injured list. Nashville pre-game media notes Jacksonville (Marlins) 3, Nashville 2 Box Score & Game Log Nashville Drops Second Straight to Jumbo Shrimp - Adams Crushes First Triple-A Homer in 59 Days NOTE: Two videos within the summary, including the Luke Adams blast Filling in for Robert Gasser, Tyson Hardin had his first less than stellar outing in Triple-A, giving up two earned runs on four hits and only managing 3.2 innings. Overall, his ERA at the level remains a shining 1.61. Rehabbing Jared Koenig made his third appearance for Nashville, striking out one, giving up a hit and walking three batters while only retiring two. Koenig’s sinker was mostly 91/92 MPH with one pitch reading at 95 MPH. In his second game back with the Sounds, Luke Adams hit his third home run of the season, 102.3 MPH off the bat. Cooper Pratt went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout to extend his on-base streak to 23 games. His bat might not be an improvement on Joey Ortiz’s right now, but his glove at shortstop is likely better than David Hamilton’s. Biloxi pre-game media notes Biloxi 3, Montgomery (Rays) 1 Box Score & Game Log Rodriguez Rolls in Front of 5,000+ Fans For 3-1 Shuckers Win - Shuckers Beat Biscuits to Begin June The Shuckers only mustered three hits on the night, but they made them count with home runs by Matthew Wood (7) and Blake Burke (13). Burke now leads the Southern League in home runs. The Biscuits also had three hits in the game including a home run by Brayden Taylor, the third baseman the Rays drafted out of TCU in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, one pick after the Brewers selected Brock Wilken from Wake Forest. Dylan O’Rae had his 8-game hit streak snapped but took a walk and has reached base in 13 straight games. Manuel Rodriguez pitched a gem, striking out five over 6.2 innings with no walks and just two hits, including the Taylor home run. Rodriguez lowered his WHIP to an impressive 1.01 in 50 innings pitched on the season. Cameron Wagoner picked up a two-inning save (video finish), striking out five batters. Wagoner hadn’t pitched in a week but has been exhibiting impressive velocity and strike out numbers this season. Basket catch the hard way early on - Tanner Gillis is scheduled to start Game One for Biloxi as part of Thursday's doubleheader. Wisconsin pre-game notes Wisconsin 10, Cedar Rapids (Twins) 4 Box Score & Game Log Adamczewski Drives in Five for Wisconsin - Rattlers rout Cedar Rapids 10-4 NOTE: Three videos within the summary (aka, "The Josh Show") One day after being ejected, Josh Adamczewski went 3-5 with a home run and double. Adamczewski totaled five RBI in all, stole a base and also recorded an outfield assist at home plate. Josiah Ragsdale, Marco Dinges and Daniel Dickenson also recorded doubles in the game. Surprisingly, Andrew Fischer did not hit another home run but did extend his hit streak to seven games with a 1-3 outing. Ragsdale also extended his hitting streak to seven. Braylon Payne was back in the lineup for the first time since May 21 and had a nice game until being replaced for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. Payne went 1-2 with two walks, two runs, two RBI and his tenth stolen base of the season. Starter Braylon Owens struck out two and walked one over five innings of one-run ball while giving up five hits. The available non-Adamczewski highlights - Josh Knoth is scheduled to start for Wisconsin Thursday. Wilson pre-game notes Wilson 2, Salem (Red Sox) 1 Box Score & Game Log Warbirds Win Pitching Duel with Second Straight Rally - Prado Strikes Out the Side in the Ninth The Warbirds came from behind to score two runs in the eighth inning. Recording only two hits in the game, Wilson took advantage of a couple of walks, a bloop hit, an error and a fielder's choice RBI to load the bases and move runners across the plate. Salem let this game slip away. VIDEOS: The game-tying run The go-ahead, eventual winning run Brady Ebel earned the RBI to take the lead but saw his 16-game on base streak come to an end. Four Warbirds pitchers contributed solid outings in the win, allowing zero earned runs. Eric Prado earned the save recording three strikeouts in the ninth inning. Jarette Bonet will make his tenth start of the season on Thursday. There are a whopping eight games on tap on the Brewers farm Thursday, with the only daytime action in the Dominican Republic, where all their games are in the early hours (9:00 AM Central). On the big-league front, the Crew wraps up the series vs. the Giants with their own matinee. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

It was another bad night for the San Diego Padres' top four affiliates as each team lost, two in close games. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas were pounded by Sugar Land 15-7, the Double-A San Antonio Missions saw a late lead disappear in a 7-6 loss to Wichita, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps were overwhelmed by Lake County 17-7 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm gave up all six runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 6-5 walk-off loss. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres selected the contract of IF-OF Samad Taylor from El Paso Chihuahuas. El Paso Chihuahuas activated RHP Ty Adcock from the 7-day injured list. San Antonio Missions activated C Brendan Durfee from the 7-day injured list. San Antonio Missions placed RHP Andrew Dalquist on the 7-day injured list. Big Nights From Nick Solak, Pablo Reyes Wasted By Chihuahuas Nick Solak homered as part of a 4-for-4, four-RBI night and Pablo Reyes had three hits, including a homer, and scored three times, but the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas fell to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 15-7. Solak's four hits matched his career high and was the second such game of the season. He also had four hits May 10 vs. Tacoma. Blake Hunt, who was just activated off the 60-day injured list following an oblique injury in spring training, and Marcos Castanon each homered and had two hits. Carlos Rodiguez pushed his hitting streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning RBI single. Castanon has been hot, with seven hits in the last four games. Chihuahuas right-handed starter Evan Fitterer coughed up six runs on five hits and three walks in 3⅓ innings. The Chihuahuas were up 3-1 when the Space Cowboys scored five times in the top of the fourth. Sugar Land put the game away with a six-run eighth inning. EP_0603.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Mason McCoy 5 1 1 0 0 0 Carlos Rodríguez 5 0 1 1 0 0 Pablo Reyes 4 3 3 1 1 1 Nick Solak 4 1 4 4 0 0 Will Wagner 5 0 0 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon 4 1 2 1 0 0 Clay Dungan 4 0 0 0 0 2 Blake Hunt 4 1 2 1 0 1 Nick Schnell 4 1 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Evan Fitterer 3 1/3 5 6 6 3 2 0 Sean Boyle 1 2/3 3 1 1 0 2 0 Miguel Cienfuegos 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Alek Jacob 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 Garrett Hawkins 1/3 0 3 3 3 0 0 Justin Yeager 1 2/3 4 3 3 0 0 0 Missions Make Late Push, But Come Up Short Against Wind Surge Some late offense wasn't enough for the Double-A San Antonio Missions to overcome two shaky innings as they dropped a 7-6 decision to the Wichita Wind Surge. The Wind Surge scored twice in the seventh inning to take the lead. Romeo Sanabria and Chris Sargent homered, with Sanabria finishing with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Carson Tucker had two hits and scored twice. Missions right-handed starter Victor Lizarraga was roughed up for the second start in a row. Lizarraga lasted just 2⅓ innings as he walked six and gave up five runs and two hits while striking out four. He has surrendered 11 runs (nine earned) in six innings over his last two starts. The Missions jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, including Sargent's solo homer in the second inning, his second of the year. But Wichita threw a big punch with a five-run third inning to go up 5-3. It stayed that way until the seventh, when Tucker had an RBI double and Sanabria belted a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, to give the Missions a 6-5 lead. But Andrew Cossetti hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the seventh that put the Wind Surge up for good. There was one more shot for the Missions in the ninth. Ethan Salas drew a one-out walk, but was erased on Sanabria's groundout. Francisco Acuna ran for Sanabria and Tirso Ornelas walked, but Braedon Karpathios struck out to end the game. SA_0603.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Tucker 5 2 2 0 0 1 Ethan Salas 3 0 0 0 2 0 Romeo Sanabria 5 2 2 3 0 1 Francisco Acuna 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tirso Ornelas 4 0 0 0 1 1 Braedon Karpathios 2 0 0 0 3 1 Ryan Jackson 3 0 0 0 0 0 Luis Verdugo 2 0 1 1 1 1 Kai Murphy 3 0 0 0 0 2 Brendan Durfee 1 0 0 0 0 1 Chris Sargent 2 1 1 1 1 0 Kai Roberts 0 1 0 0 0 0 Albert Fabian 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Victor Lizarraga 2 1/3 2 5 5 6 4 1 Sadrac Franco 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 1 0 Francis Peña 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 Harry Gustin 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 Despite 6-Run First Inning, TinCaps Get Slaughtered Kavares Tears homered during a six-run first inning, but it was all downhill from there as the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps gave up 17 unanswered runs in a 17-7 loss to the Lake County Captains. Kasen Wells and Lamar King Jr., Padres Mission's No. 10 prospect, each had a pair of hits for the TinCaps. Tears' first-inning blast to center was his fourth of the year. But TinCaps pitching couldn't hold the lead. Right-handed starter Maikel Miralles gave up four runs on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 1⅔ innings. Right-hander Isaiah Lowe gave up five runs (two earned) in two innings. FW_0603.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin DeCriscio 3 1 0 0 2 0 Kasen Wells 4 1 2 0 1 2 Lamar King Jr. 4 1 2 1 1 1 Alex McCoy 4 0 0 0 1 3 Jake Cunningham 4 1 0 1 0 2 Jack Costello 4 1 1 1 0 1 Kavares Tears 3 1 1 3 1 0 Jonathan Vastine 4 0 1 0 0 3 Oswaldo Linares 4 1 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Maikel Miralles 1 2/3 3 4 4 4 2 0 Isaiah Lowe 2 5 5 2 1 2 2 Jeferson Villabona 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 1 0 C.J. Widger 1 2 2 2 1 2 0 Kleiber Olmedo 1 1/3 2 3 3 3 3 1 Luis Germán 1 2/3 2 3 3 1 3 1 Storm Stunned By Grizzlies' 6-Run Ninth In Walk-Off Loss The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were three outs away from a shutout victory on the road when the host Fresno Grizzlies put together a six-run bottom of the ninth inning for a 6-5 walk-off victory. Cameron Nelson hit a three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, his second homer of the season. Storm right-handed starter Jesus Castro struck out five and gave up just three hits over five shutout innings, while Kerrington Cross, Qrey Lott and George Bilecki homered. Ryan Wideman and Luis Verdugo each had a pair of hits for the Storm. Cross homered leading off the fourth, then Bradley Frye had an RBI double and Lott capped the four-run rally with his fourth homer of the year. Bilecki homered in the eighth for a 5-0 lead. It was Cross' seventh homer and Bilecki's second of the season. Right-hander Carson Swilling gave up four of the six runs in the ninth on two hits and two walks, with right-hander Rordy Mejia giving up the other two runs as he walked the first hitter he faced before getting tagged for the three-run homer. LE_0603.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 4 0 2 0 0 1 Kerrington Cross 4 1 1 1 0 0 Jose Verdugo 4 1 2 0 0 2 Bradley Frye 4 1 1 1 0 0 Truitt Madonna 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jorge Quintana 4 0 1 0 0 2 Qrey Lott 3 1 1 2 1 1 Conner Westenburg 0 0 0 0 0 0 Yimy Tovar 2 0 0 0 1 1 George Bilecki 3 1 1 1 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jesus A. Castro 5 3 0 0 2 5 0 Nick Falter 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Carson Swilling 1/3 2 4 4 2 0 0 Rordy Mejia 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 1 Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 0-for-3 Kash Mayfield: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ryan Wideman: 2-for-4, 2B, 1 K Jorge Quintana: 1-for-4, 2 K Ty Harvey: DNP Kale Fountain: DNP Braedon Karpathios: 0-for-2, 1 K Lamar King Jr.: 2-for-4, 1 K Jagger Haynes: DNP Alex McCoy: 0-for-4, 3 K Truitt Madonna: 0-for-4, 2 K Tucker Musgrove: DNP Garrett Hawkins: 1/3 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K Michael Salina: DNP Eric Yost: DNP Rosman Verdugo: DNP Bryan Balzer: DNP Deivid Coronil: DNP View the full article

TRANSACTIONS RHP Nolan Santos activated from 7-day IL (Cedar Rapids) 3B Murphy Stehly retired (AA Wichita) RHP Charlee Soto sent to A Fort Myers on MiLB rehab RHP Hunter Gregory signed to a minor league contract Hunter Gregory? Yes, the Twins dipped into independent reserves once more. This time, they looked to the mound: former Blue Jays farmhand Hunter Gregory inked a deal to join Minnesota’s farm system. Darren Wolfson of KSTP reported he’ll join the Wichita Wing Surge. Gregory was a four-year player at Old Dominion between 2018-2021, starting the majority of his senior season to great results (a 2.95 ERA over 79 1/3 innings with more strikeouts than frames). Following that year, Toronto selected him in the 8th-round. He reached AAA in 2025, but was roughed up, and the franchise decided that a 26-year-old who walked more batters than he struck out wasn’t worth a roster spot. The York Revolution came calling, and he has been excellent for them: hitters who talk about destruction were counted (called) out, as he racked up 20 strikeouts across 13 2/3 innings. We shall see what he can do in the Twins system. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 10, Indianapolis 1 Box Score Ryan Gallagher: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Hendry Mendez (4), Matt Wallner (2), Royce Lewis (10) Multi-hit games: Kaelen Culpepper (2-for-4, 3 R, BB), Hendry Mendez (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Royce Lewis (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI), Matt Wallner (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB) The St. Paul Royce Lewis’s stomped their opponent on Wednesday. At some point, it actually becomes difficult to capture a performance like this in writing: purple prose and exasperation isn’t a happy combination. Lewis is a supernova. He’s played 11 games with the Saints since being demoted and has eight homers. His AAA OPS in 2026 is literally nearly triple his major league mark. And Wednesday’s blast was of the ilk that made him a once-foreseen superstar many moons ago—a grand slam. What he’s doing in St. Paul is unbelievable. He wasn’t the only Saint in a hitting mood on Wednesday, as everyone in the lineup accrued a base knock. More blasts came from Hendry Mendez, who smoked a gorgeous shot to center with a slight fade, and Matt Wallner, who thundered a signature mutant flyball that refused to return to earth. Ryan Gallagher authored five shutout frames on the mound, occasionally giving in to temptation with a walk or two—or four, but who’s counting—yet never budging from his goal to stop Indianapolis from scoring. In fact, only twice did a runner even reach second base. Indianapolis’ leadoff man Termarr Johnson likely caught your eye. The fourth overall pick in 2022, Johnson earned overtures for being unusually “hitterish” at such a young age; his time in the minors has been beset by more ordinary play and a jump in strikeouts (and walks). He’s no longer a top 100 guy, but he’s Pittsburgh’s fifth-ranked prospect, and he singled and walked in five plate appearances. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, San Antonio 6 Box Score Cory Lewis: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: Andrew Cossetti 2 (4, 5), Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI) The Wind Surge eked out a win on Wednesday. It’s good to have a big dude who can hit the ball far. Just ask Earl Weaver. That’s what Andrew Cossetti is here for. He stepped up to the plate in his first at-bat with the bases loaded—an ultimate chance to give his team an early advantage—and walloped a mammoth 452 foot grand slam to spearhead a five-run frame before returning in the seventh to blast a two-run shot that catapulted the Wind Surge back into the lead. That’s also, by the way, how a team can score seven runs despite going 1-5 with runners in scoring position. Sometimes, home plate is scoring position. The Missions started Ethan Salas at DH on Wednesday. MLB.com’s 51st-ranked player walked twice in five plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 10 Box Score Dasan Hill: 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: Yasser Mercedes (3) Multi-hit games: Eduardo Tait (2-for-4, 2B, BB, R), Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, R), Yasser Mercedes (3-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI) The Kernels were out-slugged on Wednesday. All remains unruly in Dasan Hill’s 2026 season. He struggled to find the strike zone consistently, walking three as just 42 of his 70 pitches went for strikes. He surrendered four hits. The young lefty has flashed tantalizing ability at times, yet an affliction remains that causes the strike zone to often appear like a mustard seed. Hopefully he can figure things out soon. Yasser Mercedes continued to be a dual-threat menace, smacking a three-run homer while stealing his 12th base of the season. He was joined by Brandon Winokur and Jay Thomason, who also swiped a bag for the 12th time on the year. Strange happenings. It was a good, not awe-inspiring line, but Eduardo Tait reaching base thrice without a strikeout was an encouraging sight. He hit a poor .174/.245/.315 in May, so this game could be the positive augur the young catcher was undoubtedly looking for. The Timber Rattlers are an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, and they are the home of their most recent first-round pick, Andrew Fischer. He manned third and reached base three times in five trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 5, Lakeland 11 Box Score Charlee Soto: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: JP Smith II (7) Multi-hit games: None An explosive eighth sunk the Mighty Mussels on Wednesday. Charlee Soto is back! More than a year after not pitching in a competitive game, Soto took the mound and… looked like someone who hadn’t pitched in a competitive game in more than a year. Which is fine. His stuff looked good, and he topped out at 99.9 (they don’t round in Florida). Jason Reitz entered once the Soto fanfare died down to deliver his finest outing since joining the Twins organization, whiffing three in a trio of extraordinarily efficient innings. He didn’t even reach a three-ball count. JP Smith hit the lone homer for Fort Myers—yet it was one of the inside-the-park variety. And it was hit to the pull-side. How is that possible? Well, the left-fielder decided that running the wall flailing would be better than playing the ricochet. He was wrong. And as a result, a rotund man had to run the bases with a vigor likely foreign to him. But what a sight it was! Tigers’ seventh-ranked prospect, Jordan Yost, played shortstop and reached base three times, once each via a hit, walk, and hit by pitch. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Gallagher Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Cossetti PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2-4, 3 R, BB #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2B, R, BB #6 – Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #7 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB #10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-4, BB, 2 K #11 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #13 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI #14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 0-3, RBI, 2 K #15 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, BB, 2 K #16 – Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K #19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R #20 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-4, R, BB, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP John Klein San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM) - RHP Preston Johnson Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Michael Ross Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM) - RHP Justin Mitrovich FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Colorado (9:00 AM) - TBD View the full article

The Blue Jays have acquired pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson in a trade with the Twins, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. Minnesota will send cash considerations back to Toronto. Woods Richardson, 25, was a prospect in the Blue Jays' system from 2019-21. Toronto acquired him from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman trade and later sent him to the Twins in the José Berríos deal. The righty was designated for assignment over the weekend. He pitched well for the Twins from 2024-25, putting up a 4.11 ERA over 51 games (50 starts). However, he has struggled in 2026, with a 7.74 ERA in 47.2 innings. Jays Centre's Jim Scott recently wrote about Woods Richardson as a potential target for the Blue Jays. View the full article

Not to sound like a broken record, but the Chicago Cubs' pitching pipeline is a bit bleak and, until the draft and/or trade deadline, is likely to remain that way. With relatively few standouts, May’s list looks a lot like April’s list, with three of the four pitchers repeating. Without further ado, here are May’s Cubs minor-league pitchers of the month. Ranking Cubs' Best Minor-League Pitchers in May Honorable Mention: Brooks Caple - RHP - Knoxville Caple repeats as an honorable mention this month after earning a promotion from South Bend to Knoxville and not missing a beat. In his five starts in South Bend, he put up a 26:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 21.2 innings. In his first four appearances in Double-A, he has 23 strikeouts and just four walks in 20.2 innings of work. His velocity continues to tick upwards since he was drafted, as he now tops out at 98 miles per hour. For a Cubs team starved for pitching at the higher levels, the 6’6” right-hander has forced his way into the at-large conversation. Third Place: Mason McGwire - RHP - South Bend Last month’s winner of this award, McGwire was again very good in five appearances in Myrtle Beach with 27 strikeouts against just five walks in 18 innings of work. McGwire earned a promotion to finish the month with South Bend, where he threw three scoreless innings with six strikeouts and gave up just one hit in his lone appearance. McGwire continues to put up impressive strikeout and walk numbers in his first action since 2024. While only 22, he could force the Cubs hand if he continues to put up similar numbers following his promotion to South Bend. Runner-up: Pierce Coppola - LHP - Myrtle Beach Drafted in the seventh round last year, Coppola debuted with eight innings in Myrtle Beach where he struck out 14 but also walked nine batters. To start this season, he was on the DL. Not the IL, the DL as in the Development List. It appears as though it may have worked based on the early returns. The massive 6’8” lefty made five starts in May and had a nearly 40% k rate in 20 innings while allowing a paltry .167 batting average. The former New Jersey prep standout and Florida Gator still had a walk rate of nearly 15%, far too high, but if he can continue to stay healthy and improve his command, he may make the Cubs an offer they can’t refuse. Winner: Dominick Reid - RHP - Myrtle Beach Reid was runner-up in April but he wins the column this month. Last month, I highlighted the disparity between his first nine innings and his last nine innings; in his five starts in May, Reid resembled the pitcher he was in his first two appearances of the season much more than the three starts to end April. He averaged 5.0 innings per start, a relative rarity in minor-league baseball nowadays. In those 25 innings. he racked up 27 strikeouts against just 8 walks. Reid had one subpar start where he allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in just four innings. In his other four starts, he turned in 21 innings with 25 punchouts, allowing just two earned runs on nine hits and six walks. After 107.2 total innings in three years in college, Reid is still raw and developing, so inconsistency is to be expected. If he can continue to gain consistency with his breaking ball to go along with his quality changeup, he should continue to emerge as a legitimate prospect for the Cubs. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins continued searching for bullpen help on Monday night, acquiring right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. Pittsburgh designated the veteran reliever for assignment last week, giving Minnesota an opportunity to take a chance on a pitcher whose career has featured both electric highs and frustrating inconsistency. At first glance, Lawrence's numbers don't inspire much confidence. The 31-year-old owns a 5.32 ERA in 22 innings this season and has battled command issues throughout his Major League career. Yet, the Twins clearly see something worth exploring, and Lawrence believes his current performance is better than the stat line suggests. "I think I'm in a better place than what you see in the stat line, mentally, physically, health-wise," Lawrence told reporters. "I felt like I'm in a really good spot. [In] 2024, kind of struggled the entire year, but I felt like I'm in a completely different headspace. My stuff feels really good. I'm still attacking the zone. I'm always best when I'm in the zone. As long as I can stay in the strike zone, keep the sinker down, and be able to just control what I can control, most importantly, the success will come." For a Twins bullpen desperate for stability, Lawrence represents another low-cost gamble with a potentially meaningful payoff. Lawrence brings the type of arm talent Minnesota's bullpen lacks. He throws two fastballs that both average better than 95 MPH, and complements them with a sweeper capable of generating swings and misses. The raw arsenal has allowed him to survive in the big leagues despite inconsistent command. His 23.6% strikeout rate this season sits around league average, and when he's locating his pitches, hitters often struggle to square him up. Across 222 career appearances, however, Lawrence owns a 5.05 ERA. His 11.3% walk rate this season highlights the same issue that has followed him throughout his professional career. The Twins aren't acquiring a finished product. They're betting they can unlock more consistency from a pitcher whose stuff has always outperformed his results. Part of Lawrence's optimism stems from feeling healthier than he has in recent years. After missing most of the 2025 season due to elbow inflammation, he believes his mechanics are moving in the right direction again. "Yeah, I think I'm feeling better, physically,” Lawrence said. “My direction is straight to the plate, so being able to not cut myself off and get out there has been really good." Improved extension and cleaner mechanics could be especially important for a pitcher whose sinker relies on movement and deception. When Lawrence gets down the mound effectively, his fastball plays up, and his breaking ball becomes even tougher to recognize. The photos below show his “foot strike” position from 2025 and 2026. His extension is up noticeably this year, and this is why. The Four-Seamer Experiment One of the more interesting developments in Lawrence's career came when the Pirates encouraged him to throw more four-seam fastballs. Pittsburgh wanted him to incorporate the pitch shortly after acquiring him, but Lawrence wasn't fully comfortable with the adjustment initially. Over the winter, he worked to develop the offering and became more confident using it. However, the process wasn't seamless. As Lawrence worked to create separation between his four-seamer and his traditional sinker, he occasionally struggled to keep the sinker in its ideal locations. Instead of staying at the bottom of the zone, it drifted into more hittable areas. Even so, he believes the four-seamer can be a useful addition moving forward and plans to continue using it. The Twins will likely spend the next several weeks determining whether pitch-mix changes can help him unlock another level, or whether simplifying his approach could yield better results. Everything Comes Back to the Strike Zone When Lawrence discusses his career, one theme repeatedly emerges: throwing strikes. Despite possessing solid velocity and significant movement, he doesn't view command issues as an unavoidable consequence of his stuff. "Not necessarily. There are guys in the league that have amazing stuff and stuff that moves all sorts of directions, and they still throw a ton of strikes. That's always been my key, my whole career, from the minor leagues up. When I'm in the zone is when I'm at my best." That self-awareness may be part of what attracted Minnesota. The Twins don't need Lawrence to become an elite closer. They simply need him to throw enough strikes to let his natural ability work. If he can reduce the walks, the combination of velocity, movement, and swing-and-miss potential becomes much more valuable. A Bullpen Searching for Answers Minnesota's bullpen has been one of the organization's biggest disappointments this season. The Twins entered Tuesday ranked 25th in bullpen ERA and 29th in strikeout rate, ahead of only the Washington Nationals. Walks have also been a persistent problem, particularly during May. Those struggles aren't entirely surprising. Minnesota traded away several veteran relievers at last year's deadline and did little to replace that production over the offseason. The result has been a patchwork group that has struggled to miss bats and protect leads consistently. Lawrence joins recent addition Yoendrys Gómez as another attempt to inject power stuff into the relief corps. Unlike many depth acquisitions, however, Lawrence arrives without minor-league options. That creates an immediate roster challenge. Lawrence joins Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, and Gómez as relievers who cannot be freely shuffled between Triple-A and the Major Leagues. For a team that values roster flexibility, carrying multiple non-optionable relievers can become complicated. Still, Minnesota clearly felt the upside justified the risk. The Twins will assume approximately $800,000 remaining on Lawrence's $1.225 million salary. If he pitches well enough to stick on the roster, he'll remain under team control through the next two seasons. At this stage, Twins fans shouldn't expect Lawrence to suddenly become the bullpen's savior. What they should expect is a reliever with legitimate Major League stuff, a recent history of high-leverage success, and enough upside to make this gamble worthwhile. The command issues may never completely disappear, but Minnesota doesn't need perfection. It needs another arm capable of generating strikeouts and handling meaningful innings. For a bullpen desperately searching for answers, Lawrence represents exactly the type of low-cost, high-upside move contenders make during the middle of the season. If he can stay healthy, throw more strikes, and recapture some of the form that made him an All-Star just a few years ago, the Twins may have found much more than a simple depth addition. What stands out about Lawrence? Can he become a late-inning option for the Twins? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

In a surprising move, the Minnesota Twins designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment. At times, he looked like a mid to back-end of rotation lock, but more recently, he looks like a guy who didn't belong. What happened? View the full article

Max Meyer was brilliant on the bump in his most recent start, showcasing outstanding efficiency while shutting down the lineup opposite him. In other words, it was a day ending in "y". Meyer's seven-inning, two-hit outing on Wednesday afternoon kept an otherwise slumping Marlins offense around long enough for a late-game surge. Three runs in the final two frames were enough for the visitors to hold on for a 4-1 win, earning a much-needed series sweep in the process. Miami finishes their ten-day road trip at a respectable 4-5, a far cry from what seemed possible following last weekend in Queens. Pacing the Marlins in the matinee was their most consistent starting arm, who continues to live up to his third overall pick billing in what has been a breakout 2026 campaign. Entering Wednesday with a career 1.24 ERA in day games, the 27-year-old averaged a measly thirteen pitches an inning. That impressive enough number was actually inflated from a third inning that featured two walks and an earned run, Meyer's lone blemish. Miami's four-year veteran flashed his five-pitch mix to a tee while leaning on his signature sweeper/slider and four-seamer to keep Nationals hitters guessing. Six of Meyer's seven punchouts came courtesy of the off-speed offerings. Aside from the rugged beard, Meyer's most significant change from a season ago is the incorporation of that sweeper-a staple of Marlins' pitching development. While Meyer's slider was consistently pegged as one of the best in baseball, an over-reliance on the pitch plagued the right-hander in years past. The 2025 campaign saw Meyer throw 55% sliders and fastballs, with the changeup, sinker and sweeper in the distance. Now, with even a slight difference of spin on the sweeper, Meyer and Miami's staff have been able to couple the two beautifully. Per Baseball Savant, the advancement places Meyer's breaking pitches in the 100th percentile in terms of run value with eight. Although the All-Star fan vote was released to the masses an hour before game time, pitchers are instead placed in the hands of the manager. It'll be up to back-to-back World Series champion Dave Roberts to get Meyer and his superb 2.81 ERA to Philadelphia. Pitching and defense wouldn't win this game on its own, though. After Esteury Ruiz blasted his third long ball of the season and Miami's eighth of the series early-their most in a series since the infamous sweep of Atlanta in September of 2023-the rest of Pedro Guerrero's group went quietly until some patented small-ball set the table for Joe Mack in the eighth. While Owen Caissie and Javier Sanoja both failed to get the job done with the bases juiced and nobody out, Mack flaunted his clutch gene on the first pitch, lining a two-run, go-ahead single into right-center. The eventual sweep-clinching rope marked Mack's fourth and fifth RBI of the set, symbolizing the rookie's improved confidence at the dish. Miami's potential catcher of the future is 8 for his last 28 at-bats-including a multi-hit effort Wednesday-after adjusting to big league arms. Additional offensive standouts from Miami's ten-hit day include Xavier Edwards, who tallied a multi-hit game of his own, and Kyle Stowers. Stowers delivered welcomed insurance with an RBI triple (his first three-bagger of the year) in the top of the ninth. With their first three-city road trip of the season in the books, Miami returns home to loanDepot park this weekend for a date with the in-state Rays. Following an off day on Thursday, Clayton McCullough hands the ball to Tyler Phillips for Friday's series opener against familiar foe Drew Rasmussen. First pitch from South Florida comes your way at 7:10 pm EST. View the full article

Box Score SP: Taj Bradley - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K (104 pitches, 63 strikes (72% strikes) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Taj Bradley (-0.24); Austin Martin (-0.05); Byron Buxton (-0.05) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Taj Bradley had his third appearance since returning from the injured list on Wednesday, and the first inning was an utter disaster. Bradley gave up two walks and two singles, allowing four runs and giving the White Sox a 4-0 head start in the game. Bradley struggled through five innings in an exhausting pattern: loading the bases, walking players, but with the rest of his appearance scoreless, he was pulled as he just eclipsed the 100-pitch mark. The defense behind him was no help, from a key error by Tristan Gray at shortstop to a mistimed leap at the wall by Austin Martin. Eric Orze replaced Bradley, followed by Taylor Rogers. Both pitchers gave up no runs and provided chances for the offense to close the 5-0 gap, but Cody Laweryson gave up three runs, sucking the life right out of the game as the White Sox extended their lead to 8-0. The Twins offense struggled as much as the pitching. There was no type of movement until the bottom of the sixth for the Twins. The little bit of life came from Luke Keaschall, who delivered the Twins their first hit on a two-out single, followed by another single from Gray. But a groundout to short from Orlando Arcia forced an out, ending the small two-out rally. The Twins tried to get a bite of the White Sox bullpen in the seventh, with a single from Josh Bell, but the lineup behind Bell just couldn’t get any production, leaving him stranded. Every rally was short-lived. The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same The White Sox have exposed the Twins' new setup’s weaknesses on the field with their bats and their speed. The Twins have made a lot of adjustments, with Royce Lewis being sent down to Triple-A St. Paul, and everyone is slowly locking in. Gray committed three errors Wednesday. Plenty of other plays seemed to elude the team's gloves; they're no more rangy than they are sure-handed. A Valiant Effort The Twins did keep the game a bit more under control late than might have been the case. Though he wobbled, new arm Justin Lawrence showed the nastiness that made the team want to acquire him via trade in his late appearance. In a blowout, Derek Shelton put in better defenders (James Outman for the hampered Byron Buxton in center; Ryan Kreidler for Gray at short) and the team played respectably late. It was just too little to make the game feel remotely within reach. Lawrence struck out his first hitter, but plunked the next two. Suddenly, he had two men on base. He got out of the inning with no damage, except a few bruises on the opposition. One last valiant rally gave the Twins a chance to avoid their first shutout defeat of 2026, but they couldn't break through. No matter. There are no moral victories, they say. What’s Next? The Royals come to town for a four-game weekender beginning Thursday. The Twins will send Andrew Morris to the mound at the front end of what is essentially a bullpen game; the Royals counter with eight-figure veteran signee Seth Lugo. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM CT. Postgame Interviews Coming soon. Bullpen Availability Chart View the full article