Cole Carrigg made an impact in his major league debut on June 9, recording a triple in his first big-league game for the Colorado Rockies.

Carrigg has shown versatility, too, moving from outfield to shortstop, where he played Saturday night in Colorado’s 12-6 win over the Kansas City Royals.

The 24-year-old can help the Rockies earn a sweep of the series from Kansas City when the teams wrap up their three-game set Sunday in Denver.

The Rockies will send left-hander Kyle Freeland (2-10, 7.34 ERA) to the mound against right-hander Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.22) of the Royals.

Kansas City will be down a veteran after trading outfielder Lane Thomas to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

Carrigg, who is batting .292 in 43 games, went 0-for-2 with three walks Saturday night. He played shortstop for the fourth time since his promotion to the majors, and the first time he started there. Every other game he has been in the outfield, with a bulk of his time spent in center field.

Despite the limited time in the infield, manager Warren Schaeffer showed no hesitation in putting the rookie at shortstop.

“You guys can see it, the ultra-confidence he exudes on a daily basis,” Schaeffer said. “I know it’s everybody’s job to make a big deal out of a guy doing a bunch of stuff, but it’s another day for him.”

Freeland exudes confidence despite his results this season.

He is 0-3 in his last four starts and has one quality start since getting the victory against Houston.

Sunday will be his fourth career outing against the Royals. He is 0-2 with a 4.34 ERA in the three previous starts and received a no-decision when he last faced them on July 5, 2024, despite allowing one earned run over seven innings.

Lugo is taking the hill for the 23rd time this season and 14th in his career against Colorado. In his previous 13 games – six starts – he is 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA in those outings.

Lugo, at 36, is one of the elder statesmen on a Royals roster that has plenty of young talent.

One of those is catcher Carter Jensen, who is tied for second on the team in homers with 15. Jensen, 23, has split time with veteran Salvador Perez behind the plate.

Jensen, who made his debut on Sept. 2, 2025, serves as the designated hitter when he is not catching. He got his feet wet in 2025 when he caught 10 games and has played 67 games there this season.

Manager Matt Quatraro feels Jensen has been somewhat inconsistent at the plate.

“This year we’ve seen some of the ups and downs, we’ve seen him expand at times, strikeouts have been up at times and then other times he really controls the zone, uses the whole field,” Quatraro said. “The power’s been there since the beginning of the year. I think he’s going to be a really good hitter in the big leagues, and he’s learning to handle both sides of the ball and the ups and downs that go with a long season.”

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels head into their series finale with the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif., with a five-game losing streak and the worst record in baseball.

How can things get much worse for Kurt Suzuki’s squad? Try a date with the team with the best record and most dominating pitcher in the majors.

Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (11-4, 1.58 ERA) will face the Angels for the first time in his career and comes in off a record start last Sunday in a 11-2 victory against Colorado.

The 6-foot-7 Misiorowski struck out the first seven Rockies he faced, a franchise record to start a game. He went on to strike out 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and retired 14 in a row before giving up a home run to Cole Carrigg on a 101.9 mph fastball with two outs in the fifth. That was the lone hit he allowed in five innings.

Misiorowski, who leads the majors in strikeouts (185) and ERA, threw 83 pitches, 59 for strikes. Even more impressive is that he threw 66 four-seam fastballs, all that hit at least 100 mph on the radar gun, with a high of 104.7 mph. He had 54 pitches that registered at least 102.0 mph — numbers never seen in MLB until now.

“When he locates in the top half of the zone, it’s really hard to hit,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “His extension, and his command of it, and the fact that he’s got secondary stuff to go with it, makes it even tougher.”

Los Angeles will counter with its own hard-throwing right-hander. Rookie Walbert Urena (6-7, 2.70), who will be facing the Brewers for the first time, is averaging 97.6 mph with his fastball and also throws a power sinker that can reach 100 mph. In 19 starts, he’s allowed more than three earned runs just three times.

Urena threw 13 pitches of 100 mph or harder in his last start on Monday against Houston. He didn’t get a decision in a 6-4 loss. He allowed one run on two hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five, and departed the game with a 4-1 lead.

“Unbelievable again tonight, right? His velo was up. Stuff was good. Execution was great. Tremendous job,” Suzuki said after the game.

Los Angeles has managed just nine hits and three runs in its first two games of the series with Milwaukee, including a 3-1 loss on Saturday and 6-2 on Friday. The Angels have scored 42 runs over the last 16 games, going 4-12 in that span.

“These guys, the Brewers can really pitch,” Suzuki said Saturday. “They’ve got some good arms over there. They know how to mix and match and things like that. (Catcher William) Contreras works well with those pitchers. They were executing pitches against us. We had a tough time mustering anything up.”

With the trade deadline on Monday, it figures the Angels might generate more action off the field on Sunday. Los Angeles scratched right-hander Jose Soriano, who is garnering strong interest, from his scheduled start on Saturday with just a few hours lefy before the game.

“With the trade deadline on Monday and the uncertainty of the next 48 hours, we decided to take the prudent approach and see where these next few days lead us,” interim Angels general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.

Shortstop Zach Neto, outfielder Jo Adell, designated hitter Jorge Soler and left-handed starter Reid Detmers are among the other Angels reportedly garnering interest on the trade market.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers have notched back-to-back victories to partially revive their American League wild-card hopes.

But an off-the-field transaction late in Saturday’s triumph will surely make the bid more challenging for a team five games below .500.

When the Tigers show up to play the Athletics on Sunday at West Sacramento, Calif., they will do so without two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

Skubal was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects during Saturday’s 8-6 victory over the A’s. The left-hander was in his seventh season with Detroit.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Skubal will be missed.

“It’s been incredible,” Hinch told reporters after the win. “I’ve watched this guy rise to the top of the sport. He’s carried us a lot. I’ll forever be grateful that our paths crossed and the things that he did for this organization and for a couple playoff teams.”

Skubal is slated to be a free agent following the season.

He said he was excited about joining the Dodgers but also touched on disappointment over never pitching on baseball’s biggest stage while with Detroit.

“The goal was always to win a World Series for the city, and for the organization that took a chance on me,” Skubal said.

Right-hander Casey Mize could also be on the move prior to Monday’s trade deadline. He was scratched from his Friday start to make sure he would be healthy throughout the deal period.

Detroit now figures to look ahead to brighter days behind 21-year-old rookies Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. Both players were picked in the first round of the 2023 draft.

McGonigle, the 37th overall choice, made the Tigers out of spring training and is batting .290 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in Saturday’s victory.

Clark, the No. 3 overall pick, hit his first major league homer on Saturday, and is 5-for-9 with three RBIs and two doubles after his first two big league contests.

The three prospects heading to the Tigers are outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith.

The Athletics have dropped seven of eight games and 28 of their past 35 entering the finale of the three-game series. They were outscored 21-7 over the first two games.

Athletics All-Star Nick Kurtz sat out Saturday due to his right thumb injury flaring up and it is unclear if he will be available on Sunday.

Rookie Henry Bolte had three hits, including a three-run homer on Saturday. The homer was his first since July 7.

“I thought Henry had a great night,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “I thought, overall, his at-bats were quality (ones).”

Tommy White had a three-hit game to go with his two four-hit outings over his first 14 major league games.

Tigers right-hander Keider Montero (7-6, 3.34 ERA) opposes Athletics left-hander Gage Jump (4-6, 4.00) in the finale.

Montero had won four straight decisions before losing to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. He gave up six runs (four earned) and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Montero, 26, pitched against the A’s for the first time on July 8 when he tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out one.

Jump is just 2-4 with a 5.24 ERA in seven home starts. On the road, he is 2-2 with a 2.51 ERA in five outings.

Jump, 23, defeated the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday when he gave up three hits over six scoreless innings. He had lost his previous five starts.

The rookie has never faced the Tigers.

–Field Level Media