Sports
Ailing Mariners turn attention to opener vs. reeling Red Sox
Jun 14, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson (6) watches from the dugout against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Outfielder Luke Raley was over the lower back tightness that forced him to miss the first two games of the Seattle Mariners’ series with the Baltimore Orioles.
But he sat out the series finale on Thursday in Seattle with the flu.
It’s been that kind of week for the Mariners, who despite all of their ailments remain atop the American League West entering Friday night’s opener of a three-game series against the visiting Boston Red Sox.
The players who normally occupy the top six spots in the Mariners’ batting order — J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Josh Naylor, Randy Arozarena and Raley — all missed games this week because of injuries.
Crawford (left hand contusion) and Raleigh (strained right oblique) were activated from the injured list Tuesday, the same day Arozarena (left hamstring strain) was placed on the IL. Naylor (right wrist discomfort) missed two games before returning Thursday, and Rodriguez (hamstring spasm) sat out the finale against the Orioles after leaving Wednesday’s game after six innings with a left hamstring spasm.
“We were banged up, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “We’ve had some injuries over the last week, but it doesn’t do any good to focus on that. We focused on winning the series.”
The Mariners did that with a 3-0 victory Thursday, scoring all of their runs in the first inning to back Bryan Woo, who allowed three hits over seven-plus innings with nine strikeouts.
“That’s the team stepping up in a situation where we needed it to,” Wilson said. “That’s what the fight in there is all about.”
Wilson said he considers Rodriguez, who ran in the outfield and performed agility drills before Thursday’s game, as day-to-day.
“Julio’s just getting a chance to get a day (off) to make sure we’re all set with his legs,” Wilson said. “I think that’s a smart thing to do.”
The Red Sox, in last place in the AL East, have lost four games in a row and eight of their past 10. They were swept in a three-game series at home by Toronto, including a 4-3 defeat Thursday afternoon as the Blue Jays scored the go-ahead run off closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning.
That came after Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin hit back-to-back homers leading off the bottom of the eighth to give the Red Sox the lead.
“They’re all kicks (to the gut),” Kiner-Falefa said. “Swept at home, in division, it doesn’t get worse than that, right? So hopefully, we just go to the West Coast and play well. We’ve got to go on a streak, and we’ve got to go on a streak now. It’s time to go on a streak, or we’re going to be having new players in this locker room. So just got to figure it out ASAP.”
The Red Sox will start left-hander Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.21 ERA) in Friday’s series opener against Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller (3-0, 1.54)
Suarez is 0-1 in his past seven starts since his last win on April 27. He didn’t get a decision Saturday in a 6-3 victory against visiting Texas despite allowing just two runs on six hits over five innings, with seven strikeouts.
Suarez is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two career starts against Seattle.
Miller has won his past two starts and three of his past four. He pitched eight innings in a 10-2 victory last Friday at Washington, giving up two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.
Miller is 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in three previous starts vs. the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
Sports
After rough week, Braves have to deal with Brewers, Jacob Misiorowski
Jun 12, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images The Atlanta Braves picked a bad time to fall into a funk.
After looking like the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League for much of the season, Atlanta has lost six of seven. And now the Milwaukee Brewers are coming to town, and bringing baseball’s hottest pitcher with them.
The Braves will look to snap their second three-game losing streak in the past 10 days when they host the Brewers for the opener of a three-game set on Friday in a matchup of division leaders.
The NL Central-leading Brewers, despite having their three-game winning streak end with a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, have won eight of their past 12.
The Braves lost twice to the San Francisco Giants this week before the scheduled Thursday game was postponed because of bad weather.
“Nothing’s coming easy for us right now — on the mound, at the plate,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “Seemed like everyone was coming through early on, and it’s kind of infectious. This is almost inevitable, and over the course of the season you run into times like this.”
The Friday pitching matchup features Milwaukee flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski (8-2, 1.34 ERA) and Atlanta’s Martin Perez (5-3, 2.90).
Misiorowski, 24, is coming off the best outing of his career — a one-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12 in which he struck out 15 and needed only 95 pitches while facing the minimum.
“It’s more that it finally clicked,” Misiorowski said. “Everything started settling in and feeling good.”
Misiorowski, who is 7-0 with a 0.17 ERA in his past eight starts, has recorded seven consecutive quality starts and has struck out a major-league-leading 131 batters in 87 innings on the season.
“He’s winning the 0-0 and the 1-1 (counts) a lot,” pitching coach Chris Hook said. “When he doesn’t, it stands out to be like, ‘Oh, God, he didn’t win the 0-0. He didn’t win the 1-1.’ Like that’s weird, for him to go to a two-ball count.”
Misiorowski has never faced the Braves.
Perez was seen as a luxury when he was signed as a free agent earlier this year but has proven to be invaluable in light of Atlanta’s pitching problems. His veteran presence will be especially important since the club placed Spencer Strider, considered the Braves’ second-best arm behind Chris Sale, on the 60-day injured list this week due to right elbow inflammation.
Perez has won three consecutive starts. He beat the New York Mets 3-1 on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four.
“Martin is like Picasso,” Atlanta utility man Mauricio Dubon said. “He’s a veteran. He’s out there just grinding and everything. You know, he makes it look easy.”
Perez has not had success against the Brewers, however. In five career appearances (four starts) vs. Milwaukee, he is 0-3 with an 8.54 ERA, having allowed eight home runs in 26 1/3 innings.
Also on Thursday, Milwaukee announced that Quinn Priester would miss the rest of the season. The 25-year-old right-hander was trying to avoid surgery through rehab but will now undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
After going 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA for the Brewers in 2025, Priester was 0-5 with a 15.75 ERA in eight minor league starts this season, allowing 28 runs in 16 innings.
The Brewers and Braves are meeting for the first time this year. Milwaukee took the season series 4-2 in 2025 and has won six straight in Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves acquire C Joey Bart in trade with Pirates
May 3, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart (14) catches the ball at home plate to tag out the Cincinnati Reds during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images The Atlanta Braves continued their search for a backup catcher on Thursday, acquiring Joey Bart from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton.
Bart, 29, is a Georgia native who played for Georgia Tech. He hit .259 with two homers and six RBIs in 21 games for the Pirates this year before landing on the injured list in mid-May because of a left foot infection.
In five minor league rehab games over the past week, Bart went 4-for-16 (.250) with one homer and two RBIs.
Bart has a career .240 batting average with a .319 on-base percentage, a .369 slugging percentage, 30 homers and 119 RBIs in 356 games for the San Francisco Giants (2020-23) and the Pirates (2024-26).
Stratton, 29, heads back to Pittsburgh, where he pitched from 2023-25 until he was dealt to Atlanta last July. He made only one appearance for the Braves this year, throwing a shutout inning against the Colorado Rockies on May 2.
Stratton went 2-4 with one save and a 4.38 ERA in 21 relief appearances for Atlanta’s Triple-A Gwinnett affiliate this year before he was designated for assignment on Wednesday. The Pirates are assigning him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
In 60 career major league outings, all out of the bullpen, Stratton owns a 3-2 record with two saves and a 3.75 ERA.
The Braves’ regular catcher, Drake Baldwin, was activated from the injured list on Monday, and the next day he hit the longest home run in the majors this year. His 473-foot blast came as the leadoff man in the first inning against Giants right-hander Adrian Houser.
Baldwin had been sidelined since mid-May due to an oblique injury. The 2025 National League Rookie of the Year is hitting .298 with 14 homers and 39 RBIs in 50 games for Atlanta this year.
During his absence, the Braves tried Austin Wynns, Sandy Leon and Chadwick Tromp behind the plate.
Leon was designated for assignment on Thursday to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Bart. He went 4-for-44 (.091) with no RBIs in 21 games for the Braves this year.
Wynns was designated for assignment upon Baldwin’s return, having gone 1-for-14 with no RBIs in six games since Atlanta purchased his contract from the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month. He became a free agent this week after clearing waivers.
Tromp returned to the minors after going 5-for-25 (.200) with no homers and three RBIs in 12 games for Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Padres optimistic offensive resurgence will continue against Rangers
Jun 17, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23, left) congratulates San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) at the dugout after Merrill hit a ninth inning home run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have endured up-and-down seasons at the plate.
The San Diego Padres’ most recent game showed a glimpse of what the team’s offense can look like if both players are swinging hot bats.
The Padres will look for more good things from Tatis and Merrill when they open a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
San Diego is coming off a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. The Padres salvaged a victory in the finale of the three-game series and improved to 3-3 on a road trip that will conclude with the trio of games in Texas.
Tatis drove in a pair of runs and Merrill belted a two-run homer in the latest win, with each providing three hits.
“You get two of those guys going at the same time and that produces some runs,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “That’s what we’ve been lacking a little bit. We’ve been hitting OK, but we just haven’t been able to score the runs.
“Getting those two guys hot, being able to hit in those types of situations which they’re really good in typically, it’s only going to bode well for our offense.”
In his past 22 games, Tatis is hitting .376 (35-for-93) with two homers and 10 RBIs. Over his previous 50 games to start the year, he batted .238 (44-for-185) with no homers and 16 RBIs.
Merrill is batting a modest .260 (20-for-77) with four home runs and 11 RBIs since May 27, but that’s still an improvement on his prior figures this season: .194 (37-for-191) with four homers and 19 RBIs in 51 games.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are desperate for a spark at the plate and a good performance on the mound. They will try to bounce back from a three-game sweep at the hands of the visiting Minnesota Twins, who outscored them 25-7 in the series.
Texas manager Skip Schumaker said slow starts have cost his team in recent losses. The Rangers allowed four runs in the top of the first inning during a 9-3 loss Thursday afternoon.
“The first inning, I don’t know if it’s becoming a thing like mentally, maybe,” Schumaker said. “But it’s something that we’ve got to continue to address because we’re playing from behind too often, and it’s tough to play catch-up.
“… We have to clean up a lot of different areas. The good news is we have the talent to do it, but we can’t continue to start games like that.”
Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom (5-4, 3.17 ERA) is scheduled to make the start on his 38th birthday. He has 89 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings this season.
In his most recent outing, deGrom drew a no-decision on Saturday despite limiting the Boston Red Sox to two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked none and fanned five.
In 10 career starts against San Diego, deGrom is 6-3 with a stellar 1.28 ERA to go with 12 walks and 82 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings. However, he hasn’t opposed the Padres since 2021.
San Diego is set to counter with Randy Vasquez (6-4, 3.63 ERA). The 27-year-old right-hander is looking for back-to-back victories after holding the Baltimore Orioles to two runs on six hits in five innings on Saturday.
Vasquez has made one career start against the Rangers, last July 4 in San Diego. He wound up with a no-decision but posted a quality start by allowing two runs on three hits in six innings.
–Field Level Media
After rough week, Braves have to deal with Brewers, Jacob Misiorowski
Braves acquire C Joey Bart in trade with Pirates
