Sports
Cal Raleigh's status uncertain when Mariners host Braves
Apr 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) walks to the on deck circle during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The three-game interleague series between the Atlanta Braves and host Seattle Mariners that begins Monday will be without one superstar and perhaps a second.
Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained left hamstring suffered while running to first base the previous day in Colorado.
“The MRI showed a Grade 1 strain, so not too serious, but serious enough that we had to put him on the list,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said before Sunday’s 11-6 victory against the Rockies.
“It’s not going to be just a couple days,” Weiss continued. “It’s gonna be more than that, so we need to put him on the IL, and, hopefully, it’ll be sooner than later. No idea with these soft tissue injuries how long they’re gonna take, but I think the silver lining is that the MRI showed it wasn’t too serious.”
Acuna had played in each of the Braves’ first 34 games this season after appearing in just 144 over the previous two campaigns after suffering a torn ACL in May 2024. The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP had heated up after a slow start, batting .381 over his past six games.
“All things considered, it could have been a lot worse,” Weiss said.
Meanwhile, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, coming off a record 60-homer season, sat out the past two games with discomfort in his right side that required an MRI.
“Cal is continuing to make strides,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Sunday’s 4-1 loss to visiting Kansas City. “He’s got a little soreness in the side. We’ll continue to look at it day to day and go from there and continue to assess it.”
Raleigh, who has never been on the injured list in his six-year major league career, said he’s hoping to avoid that.
He said he first felt the discomfort after Friday’s game.
“Didn’t really think too much of it,” Raleigh said. “It’s normal. Things happen in games throughout the season, but I woke up the next day and it stayed sore, and I let the staff know. I was just trying to play it safe.”
Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby at last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, also recently heated up after a slow start with five homers in a seven-game span from April 20-27.
The 29-year-old said he felt much better Sunday and even took swings in the batting cage pregame to test his oblique area.
“It felt good,” he said. “(Sunday) was a good day. Obviously, everybody’s leaning on the cautionary side, which is to be expected. In the moment, you hate it, but down the line, I think they’ll pay dividends.”
While the Braves swept their three-game series in Colorado to improve to an MLB-best 25-10, the defending American League West champion Mariners lost all three to the visiting Royals to drop to 16-19.
Monday’s series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.92 ERA), a Seattle-area native, and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03).
Ritchie, who attended high school on nearby Bainbridge Island, will be making his third major league start. After winning his debut April 23 at Washington, he didn’t get a decision Wednesday against visiting Detroit when he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, with four walks and four strikeouts in a game the Braves won 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Gilbert didn’t get a decision Tuesday in a 7-1 victory at Minnesota despite allowing one run on six hits over five innings. He’s 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Steven Kwan saves run, drives in 2 as Guardians beat Marlins
Jul 11, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Nine-hole hitter Steven Kwan lined a two-out, two-strike, two-run double and also produced a run-saving defensive gem, leading the Guardians to a 4-1 win over the host Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon.
Cleveland also got a two-out, two-strike, two-run double from eight-hole hitter Patrick Bailey in the eighth to add some insurance.
Tanner Bibee, who started this season 0-7 with six no-decisions, earned the win. Bibee (3-9) turned in a quality start, allowing five hits, four walks and one run in 6 2/3 innings.
Eury Perez, who pitched seven perfect innings in his previous start, took the loss. Perez (5-7) allowed eight hits, two walks and two runs in six innings. He struck out six.
Cleveland loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning, but Perez struck out Kyle Manzardo and got Kahlil Watson to bounce into a double play.
Miami threatened in the third on two-out walks to Otto Lopez and Kyle Stowers. Xavier Edwards then followed with a single that nearly scored Lopez. However, before Lopez could step on home plate, Stowers was thrown out by Kwan, a four-time Gold Glove winner in left field. On the play, Stowers made too wide a turn from second base.
Cleveland opened the scoring in the fourth on a rally that started with singles from Gabriel Arias and Petey Halpin. The Guardians then executed a double steal before Kwan gave them a 2-0 lead with his opposite-field double down the left-field line.
Miami got on the board in the seventh as rookie Joe Mack doubled, took third on a groundout and scored on Liam Hicks’ bloop single.
Cleveland came right back and extended its lead to 4-1 in the eighth. Manzardo was hit by a pitch, Watson doubled and Bailey nearly hit one out, settling for a two-run double off the wall in left.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kwan made another stellar play, sliding to grab a foul fly off the bat of Stowers.
With All-Star Cade Smith having pitched in each of the past three games, the Guardians turned to Colin Holderman, who pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth career save and first this year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates take Game 2 to sweep doubleheader against Brewers
Jul 11, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) throws to first base to turn a double play over Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Luis Lara (18) during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-3 and drove in the go-ahead run for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who defeated the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 to sweep a doubleheader on Saturday.
Starting pitcher Bubba Chandler struck out six while limiting Milwaukee to two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings for the Pirates, who won the first game 7-6.
Shane Drohan (4-3) allowed three runs on five hits and fanned six in 6 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who have lost three of their past four games after going 8-2 in their previous 10.
Pittsburgh went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Brandon Lowe connected for a one-out double, knocking a fly ball to center field. He then scored when Reynolds followed with a single to right.
Milwaukee threatened to take the lead in the top half of the frame against reliever Johan Ramirez (6-2). Joey Ortiz doubled and Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch, but a pop-out ended the inning.
Held to one baserunner on just one hit through the first three innings, the Pirates finally connected for more in the fourth. With one out, Reynolds lined a double down the right field line. Esmerlyn Valdez then followed with a home run to left field to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
It was Valdez’s 10th homer of the season and third straight game sending one out of the park. The 22-year-old rookie also had two in the opener of the doubleheader, including the go-ahead grand slam that gave Pittsburgh the win.
The Brewers tied it in the top of the fifth inning.
Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich connected for back-to-back one-out ground-ball singles before Jackson Chourio grounded into a forceout that took out Yelich. Brice Turang then knocked a double off the wall in left field that drove in Ortiz and Chourio.
That ended Chandler’s outing, with reliever Brandon Eisert stepping in for his Pittsburgh debut. The Pirates acquired the left-hander, along with infielder Jacob Gonzalez, in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andruw Monasterio, Masataka Yoshida homer as Red Sox blank Mets
Jul 11, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rivera delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Andruw Monasterio and Masataka Yoshida each belted two-run homers Saturday and five pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as the visiting Boston Red Sox blanked the New York Mets 4-0 for their eighth straight win.
Reliever Jovani Moran (2-2) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Fill-in starter Eduardo Rivera fired 3 2/3 scoreless innings in just his second major league appearance. Rivera gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three.
Freddy Peralta (5-8) absorbed the loss after working 4 1/3 innings and allowing two runs off three hits and five walks. Peralta whiffed six.
Monasterio gave Boston the only runs it would need when he pounced on a fastball right down the middle in the top of the fourth with one out and Caleb Durbin aboard after a walk. Monasterio pulled it an estimated 378 feet into the seats in left field for his fifth homer of the year.
Yoshida supplied insurance in the top of the eighth following a leadoff single by Durbin. Yoshida laced a cutter from reliever Tobias Myers an estimated 360 feet just inside the right field foul pole for his third homer of the season.
Most of the game’s remainder was an exhibition of futility for New York, particularly when it got runners into scoring position. Carson Benge walked and stole second to start the second but never even got to third as Rivera sandwiched two strikeouts around a popup.
The biggest blown chances came in the seventh and eighth. The Mets filled the bases with two outs in the seventh via walks by Eric Wagaman and Bo Bichette sandwiched around a single from Francisco Alvarez. But Justin Slaten slipped a called third strike by A.J. Ewing to quash the threat.
In the eighth, walks by Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor started the inning. Benge’s fly ball to right pushed Soto to third but Jorge Polanco bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.
New York went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding nine for the day.
–Field Level Media
Steven Kwan saves run, drives in 2 as Guardians beat Marlins
Pirates take Game 2 to sweep doubleheader against Brewers
