Sports
Rays, laden with All-Stars, hope to outshine struggling Mariners again
Jul 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) celebrates a run during the third inning against Seattle Mariners at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images The Tampa Bay Rays are riding a power surge and sporting a new All-Star, the team’s fifth, and will try to keep rolling Saturday afternoon when they face the Seattle Mariners in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The American League East-leading Rays hit four home runs in Friday night’s 7-2 rout of the Mariners, who have fallen one game below .500, and Tampa Bay did it behind new All-Star Nick Martinez.
The club’s 16 home runs lead the AL in July.
The Rays moved their home mark to a majors-best 34-14, and Martinez improved to 8-2 with a 2.65 ERA with 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball against Seattle, which has lost four straight games and slipped out of first place in the AL West on a disastrous road trip that began in Miami.
Martinez was added to the AL squad on Friday after an injury to Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez took the southpaw out of Tuesday’s game.
Victor Mesa Jr., who hit the third of the team’s long shots, said he could not be happier for his 35-year-old pitcher’s first All-Star appearance.
“He deserves it and more,” Mesa said. “He’s a dog. … Obviously, he deserves everything good that is happening to him. I’m happy for him and his family.”
Martinez joins teammates Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero, Drew Rasmussen and Bryan Baker on the AL club for the midsummer classic in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Seattle starter Luis Castillo, a three-time All-Star, was victimized for three of the homers in five tough innings that led to four runs on nine hits.
“It was all good except for that fifth inning where I gave up two homers,” Castillo said via a translator of the homers by Cedric Mullins and Mesa. “To me, it was just two bad pitches where I put them right where I didn’t want to.”
Seattle was largely unproductive in its final two games in Miami this week, being outscored 10-4 in two defeats and going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
In Friday’s series opener by the bay, it was no different.
Tampa Bay outhit the M’s 14-5, with two of Seattle’s hits coming from shortstop J.P. Crawford. The Mariners were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, making them 3-for-40 with 12 strikeouts in that situation over the past five contests.
After losing Thursday’s series finale 8-4 to the Marlins, the AL West club soon fell out of first place that night following Wyatt Langford’s walk-off single as the Texas Rangers won 7-6 over the last-place Los Angeles Angels.
Logan Gilbert (7-5, 3.19 ERA) will start for Seattle on Saturday after going 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in five June starts. He started July with an 11-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Independence Day, allowing one hit in 7 1/3 innings.
The right-hander has 114 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings (9.6 per nine) and an 0.95 WHIP after yielding just 80 hits and 22 walks.
In five career starts against the Rays, the Winter Park, Fla., product is 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA.
Tampa Bay’s Griffin Jax (4-6, 3.60 ERA) was outstanding in retiring the first 13 New York Yankees he faced Monday, but he took the loss by walking consecutive batters in the fifth and then seeing Jose Caballero rip a three-run homer in the division rival’s 5-1 win.
In 15 career relief appearances vs. the Mariners, Jax, a right-hander, is 2-2 with a 7.56 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jimmy Crooks homer lifts Cards to rain-delayed win over Braves
Jul 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Blaze Jordan (33) hits a double against the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jimmy Crooks hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning on Friday to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
After a rain delay of nearly three hours in the top of the fourth derailed the game, Crooks hit his second home run of the season off Atlanta’s Danny Young (0-1) to help the Cardinals claim the series opener. Kyle Leahy threw three scoreless frames, surrendering a single and striking out two for St. Louis before being replaced by George Soriano after the delay.
JoJo Romero (1-2) tossed a perfect eighth inning to earn the win, and first-time All-Star Riley O’Brien posted his 23rd save in 27 tries for the Cardinals, who had dropped five of six entering the game.
Chris Sale started for Atlanta, allowing two hits in three scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one before the delay. Victor Mederos threw a pair of impressive innings in relief for Atlanta, which mustered just three hits. Austin Riley’s fifth-inning RBI single accounted for the Braves’ only run, as the visitors lost their fourth game in six tries.
In the bottom of the third, Blaze Jordan ripped a one-out double for the game’s first extra-base hit. After Sale issued a two-out walk to JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera’s flyout ended the threat.
With Ozzie Albies leading off in the fourth, the game was halted by rain. After the delay, Soriano struck out Albies before retiring Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin.
Atlanta struck first in the fifth, though, as Mike Yasztremski doubled and scored on Riley’s RBI single. Justin Bruihl then relieved Soriano and threw 1 2/3 scoreless frames.
Didier Fuentes took over in the sixth for the Braves, allowing a one-out walk to Wetherholt and consecutive singles to Herrera and Jordan Walker, tying the score at one apiece.
The St. Louis bullpen retired the final seven Atlanta batters in order, with two of them flying out to the warning track.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rockies awaken in 9th, rally past Giants
Jul 10, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy (31) runs after bunting a pitch thrown by San Francisco Giants pitcher Caleb Kilian (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images Kyle Karros flipped a deficit into a lead with a two-run single, Cole Carrigg padded the advantage with a sacrifice fly and the visiting Colorado Rockies rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to stun the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Friday night.
After Rafael Devers’ third hit in the seventh inning gave the Giants a 2-1 lead they took into the ninth, closer Caleb Kilian (2-5) didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced, allowing a single to Mickey Moniak, a walk to pinch hitter Troy Johnson and a bunt single to Jake McCarthy, setting up Karros’ hit through a drawn-in infield.
Carrigg followed with his run-scoring flyball to left field off Kilian’s replacement, Erik Miller, giving Jordan Romano a two-run cushion for the bottom of the ninth.
The Rockies needed both runs after Romano served up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Devers before walking Willy Adames to again load the bases with two outs. Juan Mejia then came on and got Bryce Eldridge to ground out to second base on his first pitch, securing his fourth save.
Antonio Senzatela (9-1), who pitched a scoreless eighth, was credited with the win.
After the Rockies tied the contest in the fifth, neither team scored again until Luis Arraez stroked a two-out single in the seventh, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and jogged home when Devers grounded a single into right field.
Neither starting pitcher got a decision after carrying a 1-1 tie into the sixth inning.
Rockies starter Tanner Gordon worked around eight hits and a walk to limit the Giants to a single run in five innings. He struck out one.
San Francisco’s only run against him was the game’s first, when Devers lofted his 19th home run of the season into the right field bleachers to lead off the second inning.
Giants starter Robbie Ray took a shutout in the fifth, when the Rockies got even on back-to-back two-out doubles by Ezequiel Tovar and McCarthy.
The left-hander left three batters into the sixth, having walked each of them. Thanks to Dylan Smith retiring the next three batters to get out of the jam unscathed, Ray allowed only the one run on four hits and six walks. He struck out four.
Karros finished with three hits, while McCarthy and TJ Rumfield had two hits apiece for the Rockies, who have beaten their National League West rivals five times in eight meetings this season.
Devers totaled three RBIs, while Arraez joined his teammate with three hits for the Giants, who fell to 2-3 on their week-long homestand.
– Field Level Media
Sports
Jimmy Crooks' homer lifts Cardinals to rain-delayed win over Braves
Jul 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Blaze Jordan (33) hits a double against the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jimmy Crooks hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning on Friday to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
After a rain delay of nearly three hours in the top of the fourth derailed the game, Crooks hit his second home run of the season off Atlanta’s Danny Young (0-1) to help the Cardinals claim the series opener. Kyle Leahy threw three scoreless frames, surrendering a single and striking out two for St. Louis before being replaced by George Soriano after the delay.
JoJo Romero (1-2) tossed a perfect eighth inning to earn the win, and first-time All-Star Riley O’Brien posted his 23rd save in 27 tries for the Cardinals, who had dropped five of six entering the game.
Chris Sale started for Atlanta, allowing two hits in three scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one before the delay. Victor Mederos threw a pair of impressive innings in relief for Atlanta, which mustered just three hits. Austin Riley’s fifth-inning RBI single accounted for the Braves’ only run, as the visitors lost their fourth game in six tries.
In the bottom of the third, Blaze Jordan ripped a one-out double for the game’s first extra-base hit. After Sale issued a two-out walk to JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera’s flyout ended the threat.
With Ozzie Albies leading off in the fourth, the game was halted by rain. After the delay, Soriano struck out Albies before retiring Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin.
Atlanta struck first in the fifth, though, as Mike Yasztremski doubled and scored on Riley’s RBI single. Justin Bruihl then relieved Soriano and threw 1 2/3 scoreless frames.
Didier Fuentes took over in the sixth for the Braves, allowing a one-out walk to Wetherholt and consecutive singles to Herrera and Jordan Walker, tying the score at one apiece.
The St. Louis bullpen retired the final seven Atlanta batters in order, with two of them flying out to the warning track.
–Field Level Media
Jimmy Crooks homer lifts Cards to rain-delayed win over Braves
Rockies awaken in 9th, rally past Giants
