Category: Major League Baseball (MLB)

It will be something of a homecoming Tuesday night when the Cleveland Guardians open a three-game series against the host San Diego Padres.

Guardians position players Josh Naylor, Josh Bell and Gabriel Arias; relief pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Enyel De Los Santos; and injured starting pitcher Cal Quantrill all had ties to the Padres, along with left-handed starting pitching prospect Joey Cantillo.

“It’s sort of a club here, being in the Padres organization before,” Naylor said during spring training.

Naylor, Arias, Quantrill and Cantillo — along with former Guardians major leaguers Austin Hedges and Owen Miller — all came to Cleveland in the Aug. 31, 2020, trade that sent starting pitcher Mike Clevinger to the Padres.

“That trade was a boost for a lot of us,” said Naylor, who has been a regular in the Guardians lineup since and is hitting .282 this season with a .791 OPS, 12 doubles, eight homers and 48 RBIs.

Bell hit .192 as a Padre with three homers and 14 RBIs late last season after coming to San Diego with Juan Soto. He is hitting .236 with 14 doubles, five homers and 30 RBIs in 59 games with Cleveland this season. His .707 OPS is 120 points higher than his mark with the Padres.

Arias is hitting .212 with four homers in 113 at-bats.

Closer Clase (2.81 ERA, 20 saves) and De Los Santos (3.24 ERA in 27 appearances) each played in the Padres farm system. Quantrill, the Padres’ first-round draft pick (eighth overall) in 2016, has a 25-12 record with a 3.47 ERA as a Guardian.

Although the Guardians seemed to get the best of that 2020 trade, both teams have identical 31-34 records going into their three-game, interleague meeting.

The series opens Tuesday night with a match of right-handers — Tanner Bibee (2-1, 3.05 ERA) starting for the Guardians against Padres ace Joe Musgrove (3-2, 4.35).

The Padres return home after blowing two late leads on a rainy afternoon in Colorado — preventing them from sweeping the Rockies on the road and winning four straight games for the first time this season.

“We felt in great position to finish it out and it didn’t happen,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s frustrating after the way we were playing.”

The Padres are 4-12 in one-run decisions and 13-18 at Petco Park.

Musgrove does offer some good news. Over his last three starts, Musgrove has allowed three runs (two earned) on 13 hits and four walks with 17 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings for a 1.04 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.

“After the broken toe in spring training and a couple setbacks, Joe is being Joe,” Melvin said.

Plus, if you disregard that start in the elevated air of Mexico City — where he gave up seven runs in 3 1/3 innings — Musgrove’s ERA is 3.08. Musgrove is 2-1 lifetime against Cleveland with a 4.76 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Like Musgrove, the rookie Bibee will be making his ninth start of the season. Of course, this is his first start against the Padres. The 24-year-old Bibee was Cleveland’s fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Cal State-Fullerton. He has limited opponents to a .230 batting average with 42 strikeouts against 12 walks in 44 1/3 innings.

The Guardians have won 10 of their past 16 games, most recently a 5-0 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday to cap a 4-2 homestand.

–Field Level Media

A year ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox were a fashionable prediction to meet in the World Series. Both teams are simply trying to get their house in order one year later.

At least the Dodgers made the playoffs last year before they flamed out in the division series to the rival San Diego Padres. The White Sox were a mere .500 in 2022 while missing out on the postseason, and are a disappointing 29-38 this year as their search for answers continues.

As the teams open a three-game series at Los Angeles on Tuesday, both enter with glaring bullpen issues, although other problems do persist.

The Dodgers lost two out of three games at Philadelphia on Friday and Sunday, first using an opener then getting taken down in a bullpen game. Left-handed starter Julio Urias was expected to return Sunday but he remains out with a hamstring strain.

The White Sox had consecutive bullpen meltdowns while losing Saturday and Sunday at home to the Miami Marlins. The consecutive defeats ended an optimistic run when the Chicago had won six of seven contests, with three of the wins in walk-off fashion.

The Dodgers will send right-hander Tony Gonsolin (3-1, 2.21 ERA) to the mound Tuesday in just his ninth start of the season. Gonsolin began the season on the injured list with an ankle sprain after forearm and shoulder injuries in each of the previous two seasons.

Gonsolin could have pitched on regular rest Sunday, but the Dodgers elected to push him back to the White Sox series.

“I think with Tony, the recovery hasn’t been great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So, (we are) trying to appreciate the short and the long term, and make sure we take care of him and his health. Making sure the recovery is where it needs to be. We just felt that it’s the best for him.”

Gonsolin has faced the White Sox once, giving up a run on three hits over six innings last season in the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory June 8 at Chicago.

The White Sox will counter with veteran right-hander Lance Lynn (4-6, 6.72), who has gone 4-2 over his last seven starts but is coming off a pair of outings when he gave up a combined 13 runs on 16 hits over nine innings.

Lynn is 3-2 with a 3.80 ERA in eight career starts against the Dodgers and is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in six starts at Dodger Stadium.

Former Dodgers right-hander Joe Kelly was at the center of the White Sox’ meltdown Saturday when he gave up five runs in the ninth inning (two earned) against the Marlins in a 5-1 defeat. Chicago then squandered a 5-1 lead in the eighth inning to lose 6-5 to Miami on Sunday.

“We put ourselves in a position to win that ballgame (Sunday), and the right guys were on the mound, and it didn’t happen,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “I would not hesitate again to do it the same way on Tuesday.”

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson was given the day off Sunday as he continues to search for his power swing. Anderson’s .311 slugging percentage and .611 OPS are the lowest of his career and he has not hit a home run since July 15 of last season, going his last 62 games without a homer.

–Field Level Media

The San Francisco Giants recalled right-hander Keaton Winn from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned right-hander Tristan Beck to Triple-A on Monday.

Winn, who awaits his MLB debut, was 0-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 appearances (nine starts) at Sacramento this season. The 25-year-old had Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the 2021 minor league season.

Beck, who turns 27 later this month, made his major league debut April 20 and has gone 1-0 with a 3.73 ERA and one save in 13 relief appearances with the Giants. The fourth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2018 is a Stanford product.

–Field Level Media

After their first several weeks of the season were marred by injuries, the Houston Astros finally appeared to build momentum.

Eight-time All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve returned from a right thumb fracture that cost him 43 games to begin the season. Houston received surprisingly effective performances from three pitchers thrust into the rotation due to attrition: Brandon Bielak, Ronel Blanco and J.P. France.

Houston’s offense, powered by the left-handed bats of Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, made enough incremental improvements that the club climbed a season-high 12 games over .500 at 26-24 on June 5.

One week later, the Astros returned home from a seven-game road trip that yielded two victories and a pair of series defeats. They will open a nine-game homestand on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game series matching the 2019 World Series participants.

The Astros concluded a stretch of 17 games over 17 days with a 5-0 road loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, capping that run with a 9-8 mark.

Altuve returned from an oblique injury and played four games on the road trip, missing the first two contests at Toronto and the finale at Cleveland. Alvarez missed the series against the Guardians after landing on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort.

For every step forward the Astros take, an unexpected injury pops up and knocks them back. Four of the Astros’ last six losses have come by one run.

“(We) lost some tough games,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “When you lose some tough games, that chips away at you. You knew that was going to be a tough part of the schedule.”

Rookie right-hander Hunter Brown (5-3, 3.69 ERA) will start the series opener for the Astros. He has lost consecutive starts, allowing eight runs on nine hits and five walks with 13 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays. Brown had only one loss in his first 10 starts this season, pitching to a 3.12 ERA and .664 opponents’ OPS.

Brown is making his first appearance against the Nationals. In four career outings (two starts) against the National League, Brown is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-6, 4.89) has the starting assignment for the Nationals. He absorbed his first loss since May 9 on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks after allowing three runs on 11 hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings. Corbin was 3-0 with a 5.01 ERA over his previous four starts.

Corbin is 2-2 with a 5.76 ERA over four career starts against the Astros in the regular season but was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series. He tossed three scoreless innings of two-hit relief against the Astros, recording three strikeouts while not issuing a walk.

The Nationals snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

“It’s always good for these young guys,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of ending the streak. “We played a clean game and played really well. I’m proud of our guys.”

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated three players from the injured list in a series of transactions on Monday.

Catcher Carson Kelly (right forearm fracture) was reinstated from the 60-day IL, left-hander Joe Mantiply (strained right hamstring) from the 15-day IL and outfielder Kyle Lewis (illness) from the 10-day IL.

Arizona also optioned Lewis, right-hander Kevin Ginkel and catcher Jose Herrera to Triple-A Reno and designated left-hander Anthony Misiewicz for assignment.

Kelly, 28, broke his right ulna when he was hit by a pitch in spring training. He slashed .345/.412/.448 with four RBIs in eight games on a rehab assignment at Reno.

Mantiply, 32, last pitched for the Diamondbacks on May 8. He is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in eight relief appearances (7 2/3 innings).

Lewis, 27, is hitting .167 with one homer and two RBIs in six games in his first season with Arizona.

Ginkel, 29, is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA in 25 appearances out of the Arizona bullpen.

Herrera, 26, played in 21 games and batted .255 with four doubles and six RBIs.

Misiewicz, 28, went 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA in seven relief appearances (eight innings) this season.

–Field Level Media

At the moment, the Pittsburgh Pirates sit atop the middling National League Central, while the Chicago Cubs are trying to stay out of the basement in the same division.

Looking to build on what was a winning homestand, the Pirates try for a third straight overall road victory Tuesday night against the Cubs.

Pittsburgh’s surprise strong start was erased by a month-long rut that left the club 26-27 on May 29. However, the Pirates are 8-3 since, and opened June with a 6-3 homestand, which featured a sweep of the underachieving St. Louis Cardinals, losing two of three to the lowly Oakland Athletics, then taking two of three from the struggling New York Mets.

That leaves the Pirates with a one-game lead in the Central, where they and the Milwaukee Brewers are the only teams with a winning record.

“We are in a good position right now to take advantage of teams who aren’t quite where they want to be,” said the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen, who recorded his 2,000th hit during Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Mets.

“It was a good homestand for us. …Get ready for the road trip, because we have some important games coming up there.”

Before visiting Milwaukee this weekend for an NL Central clash, the Pirates will face off with the Cubs, squaring off against former teammate Jameson Taillon (1-4, 7.02 ERA) in Tuesday’s game. Taillon is 0-2 with an 8.27 ERA in four home starts.

The right-hander looks to bounce back after he allowed four runs, five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings of a 6-2 road loss Wednesday to the Los Angeles Angels.

Taillon, who pitched his first four seasons with the Pirates (2016-19), faced them for the first time in 2022 as a member of the New York Yankees. Pittsburgh tagged him for five runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Chicago native Jack Suwinski, who went 5-for-11 with two homers against the Mets, went deep off Taillon last year. Suwinski homered three times in 11 games last season against the Cubs, who return home following a 4-6 road trip.

After opening 11-6, Chicago is 17-31 and has averaged 2.5 runs in the last 13 contests.

“It’s got to get better,” said Cubs manager David Ross, whose team failed to sweep a three-game set at San Francisco after Sunday’s 13-3 loss.

Chicago’s Ian Happ was batting .301 on May 19. However, the Pittsburgh native has hit .169 with 23 strikeouts in 21 games since. Meanwhile, the Cubs hope Seiya Suzuki is back after missing the last two games with an undisclosed ailment.

“He’s not injured,” Ross said of Suzuki, who was 5-for-7 in his last two games. “I’m never surprised if guys are dealing with things. We’re hopeful (for his availability Tuesday).”

Suzuki hit .296 with three homers and eight RBIs in 11 games versus Pittsburgh last season. He hasn’t faced scheduled Pirates starter Luis Ortiz (1-2, 4.23 ERA), who allowed one run, a hit and struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings of an 8-3 home loss to the Cubs last September.

The right-hander allowed a season-high 10 hits Wednesday against Oakland, but only two runs in five innings of the 9-5 loss. Meanwhile, Ortiz has yielded six earned runs, 12 hits and eight walks in eight innings in his two 2023 road starts.

–Field Level Media

After becoming the first team swept at the hands of the league-worst Oakland Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers look to bounce back in Tuesday’s opener of a two-game set against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

The Brewers have lost four in a row after Oakland came to Milwaukee and took all three games of the weekend set, capping it off with an 8-6 decision on Sunday afternoon.

“My overall feeling, you’ve got to give them credit. They’ve been getting their teeth kicked in all year,” said Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy, who filled in as manager with Craig Counsell attending his son’s graduation. “It doesn’t ignore the fact that we’re hobbling in so many ways, but don’t forget, that’s a major league team over there.”

Milwaukee scored just three total runs in the first two games of the series, falling 5-2 on Friday and 2-1 Saturday in 10 innings. To Oakland’s credit, the club now is on a five-game winning streak.

Minnesota was on the road at Toronto for a key set against the Blue Jays and won two of out three games. However, the Twins lost a 4-0 lead on Sunday and squandered an opportunity for a sweep by falling 7-6.

“We didn’t get it done. It’s disappointing when you have a lead and can’t hold it,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We had a good series overall here. You know the sweep when you have it in your hand is what you want, walking away without it, definitely disappointing.”

The Brewers will have their ace Corbin Burnes (5-4, 3.36 ERA) on the mound to start the two-game set. He is coming off one of his best starts of the season, going eight shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, picking up the victory while striking out nine.

Burnes has a 2-1 career record against Minnesota with a 2.45 ERA and 29 strikeouts in just 18.1 innings pitched over four appearances (three starts).

Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.25 ERA) will oppose Burnes. He is also coming off a strong outing, pitching seven innings on the road at Tampa Bay and allowing just one run while striking out six in a game Minnesota lost 2-1.

Lopez has started five times against Milwaukee in his career, all as a member of the Miami Marlins. He is 1-1 with a 3.19 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched in those starts.

Lopez will look to continue the Twins’ stellar pitching as they sport MLB’s second-best team ERA at 3.52. Offensively, Milwaukee ranks 25th in baseball with an OPS of .683 and 27th with a .229 batting average.

Tuesday night is the first of four matchups between the teams this season, two in Minnesota and then two in Milwaukee on Aug. 22-23. Milwaukee went 3-1 against the Twins last season, splitting the two games played at Minneapolis.

–Field Level Media

The Kansas City Royals designated veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment Monday and called up fellow outfielder Dairon Blanco.

Blanco is starting in left field and batting ninth in Monday night’s game at home against the Cincinnati Reds.

Bradley, 33, is batting just .133 with one homer in 43 games this season, his first in Kansas City. The 2016 All-Star and 2018 American League Championship Series MVP, both with Boston, is a lifetime .225 hitter with 109 homers and 449 RBIs in 1,181 games with four teams.

Blanco, who came over from Cuba in 2016, got seven at-bats in five games for the Royals at the end of last season. He went 2-for-7 with a run and two RBIs.

He is slashing .347/.444/.451 with 47 stolen bases in 49 games at Triple-A Omaha this season.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers activated outfielder Matt Vierling from the 10-day injured list on Monday.

He was slated to start in center field and bat sixth as the Tigers look to snap a nine-game losing streak in Monday’s series opener against the visiting Atlanta Braves.

Vierling, 26, landed on the IL on May 29 with soreness in his lower back. He is hitting .241 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 46 games.

Detroit cleared room on the 26-man roster by optioning infielder/outfielder Nick Solak to Triple-A Toledo.

Solak, 28, made his Tigers debut in Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, appearing as a pinch runner in the bottom of the ninth inning.

–Field Level Media

The streaking Baltimore Orioles go for their fifth straight win when they open a three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

The Orioles are 17 games over .500 for the first time since July 26, 2016, after they swept a three-game weekend series from the Kansas City Royals. It was their third three-game sweep of the season.

Gunnar Henderson went 3-or-5 on Sunday, including an epic 462-foot home run.

“I feel like when I finally get to the man-strength phase I might be able to get a little bit farther,” joked Henderson, who turns 22 later this month. “It feels like it’s been a long time coming. I feel like I’ve had a lot of good at-bats, put some good swings on the ball, and it was just a matter of time until I got one like that.”

Henderson is 10-for-19 (.526) over his past five games, with three home runs, six RBIs and five runs. He has hit leadoff the past two games after batting fifth or higher in 52 of his 57 games this season.

“He’s definitely more confident right now,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I can tell he’s feeling a lot more comfortable at the plate.”

Ramon Urias had four hits Sunday and is 8-for-14 (.571) over his past four games, raising his average from .238 to .272.

The Orioles have not named a starter for Tuesday, while the Blue Jays will go with right-hander Chris Bassitt (7-4, 3.29 ERA).

Bassitt has followed up one of his worst starts of the season with a pair of strong performances. On May 27, he was blitzed by the Minnesota Twins for seven runs and nine hits over four innings of a loss. He has given up just two earned runs over 15 2/3 inning in his past two starts.

Last time out, he went eight innings to beat the Astros on Wednesday, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out five without a walk.

“I had my sinker really working,” Bassitt said. “They were really aggressive on it. When I’m throwing it well and they’re swinging, it’s going to be a lot of quick outs.”

Despite the clunker against the Twins, the right-hander has a 2.40 ERA over his last 12 starts. Bassitt is 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in four career starts versus the Orioles.

Toronto opens a nine-game road trip after completing a 4-3 homestand with a come-from-behind 7-6 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. On the verge of being swept, the Blue Jays rallied from five runs down in the fifth inning for the win.

Cavan Biggio hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning and Matt Chapman had a two-run shot for Toronto, which is 8-3 in June.

On a day when starter Kevin Gausman allowed six runs over 4 2/3 innings, the Blue Jays’ bullpen stepped up and shut down Minnesota the rest of the way. Nate Pearson tossed two scoreless innings and earned the win, improving to 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA. He allowed one hit and struck out three.

“Nate has turned the corner in believing in who he really is, challenging hitters and having that confidence and demeanor,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

Brandon Belt (hamstring) and Kevin Kiermaier (wrist) remain day-to-day for Toronto.

–Field Level Media