Sports
Minus top run producers, Guardians out to deny Brewers sweep
Jun 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick (77) throws a pitch during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images The injury-riddled Cleveland Guardians will turn to Parker Messick as they try to avoid a sweep against the host Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday in the finale of a three-game series.
Messick (6-3, 2.68 ERA) will face Shane Drohan (3-2, 3.59) in a matchup of left-handers. Each will be facing the opponent for the first time in his career.
Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio homered to pace Milwaukee to a 9-4 victory on Wednesday, moving the NL Central-leading Brewers a season-high 19 games above .500.
Daniel Schneemann accounted for all of the Guardians’ runs with a fourth-inning grand slam that cut the deficit to 5-4. With starters Chase DeLauter, Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez all on the injured list, Cleveland managed just three hits.
DeLauter (ribcage), Ramirez (hand), and Martinez (foot) all were injured in Cleveland’s 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. DeLauter was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday, and outfielder Kahlil Watson was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
“We took a big hit over the weekend,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said following the Wednesday game. “It’s been two games and it’s going to take this offense some time to get its cadence and get its rhythm.”
The three injured players are Cleveland’s top RBI producers. Martinez has a team-high 11 homers along with 33 RBIs. Ramirez has 10 homers and 33 RBIs, and DeLauter has seven homers and a team-leading 34 RBIs.
“We’ve got to keep working, got to keep going and we’re going to get better,” Vogt said.
Cleveland has dropped 10 of its past 15 games.
Messick has won just once in five starts since mid-May. He has lost both of his outings this month, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in 11 1/3 innings.
Messick yielded five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings in his latest start, an 8-4 home loss to the New York Yankees on June 10. He struck out four.
Drohan will make his fourth consecutive start after 10 straight relief appearances. He is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA in three starts this month, having allowed nine runs on 17 hits in 15 1/3 innings.
Drohan took the loss in his most recent appearance, giving up four runs on eight hits in five-plus innings during a 9-8 home defeat against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. He fanned seven and walked one.
Highly touted Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt singled twice, drove in one run and stole a base on Wednesday after going 0-for-3 and committing an error in his major league debut on Tuesday.
“Yesterday, I was just kind of trying to figure out the schedule, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be, when I was supposed to be there and not be late. Trying to figure the ins and outs, kind of,” Pratt said following the Wednesday game. “Today, after having yesterday, knowing when to do stuff, not being rushed. And then I was more relaxed as I got the first one out of the way and then it was just like, ‘You had your day, now it’s time to play.'”
Chourio has been on a tear, socking six homers in his past seven games. He is hitting .370 (27-for-73) over his past 17 games with nine homers, four doubles and 23 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tarik Skubal to Tigers: 'We need to play better baseball or else'
Scenes from Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal’s rehab start with the West Michigan Whitecaps on Sunday, June 7, at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. Two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal has given the slumping Detroit Tigers a reality check with the trade deadline on the horizon.
“The reality is we need to play better baseball or else, come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is,” Skubal told The Detroit News earlier this week in a story published Thursday. “And if they don’t think what we have is a World Series — or playoff-caliber — team, then the whole team is going to look different. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
Skubal, a left-hander, will make his second start Friday since undergoing surgery May 6 to remove bone fragments from his pitching elbow. The Tigers and Chicago White Sox open a three-game series on Friday.
He lost his return game on Saturday, with the Cleveland Guardians winning 3-1. Skubal gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
The Tigers have lost four of their past five games and sit 9 1/2 games in back of the White Sox and Guardians, who are tied for first place in the American League Central.
“The future for a lot of people in this room — not just myself — the outlook could look very much different in two months and it all comes to an abrupt end,” Skubal told The Detroit News. “We still control our destiny a little bit. We still do.
“We play the team this weekend that’s winning our division. It’s another big series. You don’t want to be playing playoff baseball in June, but it feels like we’re playing playoff baseball. We don’t have very much room for error, and everyone understands that. Everyone understands there has to be a sense of urgency. There has to be. Not panic. But there has to be a sense of urgency to try to win every game we play.”
Skubal, 29, is 3-3 with a 2.81 ERA in eight starts this season. He has struck out 49 batters and walked only seven in 48 innings.
He has a 57-40 record and a 3.06 ERA in seven seasons and 145 games (142 starts) for the Tigers since 2020. He has struck out 938 batters compared to 179 walks in 814 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
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 We’ve made it through another week and scarily the halfway point of the MLB season is nearly upon us.
Let’s try to head to the beach with a couple winning MLB Picks.
Season Record 37-34-1, +0.26 Units
Brewers at Braves
Brewers F5 -0.5 (-125 Caesars)
Nobody beats The Miz!….ok you had to be there.
But yes, The Miz, Jacob Misiorowski, travels to Atlanta to take on Martin Perez and the Braves. Until yesterday’s rainout, it set up as this year’s overwhelming NL Cy Young favorite vs. the 2024 winner and future HOFer. But Sale got pushed back unfortunately.
The Miz as you probably know has looked downright insane lately, capped off with a complete game 15 K, 1 hit masterpiece vs. the Phillies last time out. He flashed 104 MPH hit and faced the minimum 27 batters with a Game Score of 107 that best I can tell is the highest ever. On the year he has a 1.34 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with a crazy 39.8% K%. Control was his big question mark going into the season, but his 6.7% BB% is actually good.
Normally the price on Miz games is so tilted it’s hard to come up with a play. But it’s at least reasonable here as he’s on the road against a good team. And Perez has pitched very well this year, sporting a 2.90 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. But the Brewers are scorching hot vs. lefties with a 134 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile it’s not the full Braves as Ronald Acuna Jr. is back on the IL and Michael Harris II is in and out of the lineup lately. Let’s take the Miz and Brewers here.
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Red Sox at Mariners
Mariners F5 -0.5 (-105 BetMGM)
We’ve got a bit of a banged up Mariners team here hosting the reeling Red Sox. Randy Arozerena is on the IL at least until next week, while Julio Rodriguez missed yesterday’s game. On the flip side, Cal Raleigh has returned, as has JP Crawford.
It’s another top notch pitching matchup with Ranger Suarez (3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 17.1% K-BB%) goes up against Bryce Miller (1.54 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 24.8% K-BB%). Ostensibly facing a lefty should pose big trouble for the Mariners as they’re not the deepest lineup in the league to begin with and it takes too good lefty platoon bats out of the lineup in Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley. In their place we get Rob Refsnyder who’s slashing a brutal .143/.214/.242 on the year and….one of Mitch Garver (.200/.327/.322) or the recently called up Connor Joe.
So take the Red Sox at plus money here, right? Well, as Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend!”
The Mariners still have the better pitcher, and they’re also not hitting that badly vs. lefties lastly as they have a 107 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile Boston is in a bunch of spots where they have had just brutal results in 2026. On the F5 run line they are 9-12 with a -21.3% ROI as underdogs as well as 12-22 with a -32.6% ROI on the road and an impossibly bad 15-38 with a -45.3% ROI vs. righty starters. Let’s roll with the Mariners here.
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Sports
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
Jun 16, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Toronto Tempo guard Brittney Sykes (20) shoots the ball while Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Toronto Tempo guards Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future with their respective injuries, the expansion team announced Friday.
Rice, a rookie, sustained a Grade 3 ankle sprain on June 3, and Sykes suffered a plantar fascia injury on Tuesday. The players will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks, per the team, with the expectation that they will return at some point this season.
Sykes, 32, was helped off the court in the third quarter of Toronto’s 131-91 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. She averages a team-best 20.1 points per game along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 15 games this season.
Rice, 22, is averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 10 games this season. She played for national champion UCLA and was the sixth overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Tempo will play the Connecticut Sun on the road Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Tarik Skubal to Tigers: 'We need to play better baseball or else'
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
