Sports
Yankees flexing offensive muscle ahead of finale vs. White Sox
Jun 17, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two-run home run in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The New York Yankees are demonstrating an ability to send pitches over the fence and also put runners on base against the Chicago White Sox.
After reaching double-digit run totals in the first two contests of the three-game series, the Yankees will seek another big showing at the plate when they host the White Sox on Thursday in the series finale.
The Yankees are attempting to complete their seventh series sweep and second since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured right rib. New York has totaled 29 hits and nine walks and outscored the White Sox 22-7 in the first two games after collecting 13 hits in Wednesday’s 10-5 win.
Cody Bellinger is hitting .346 (9-for-26) in his past six games after homering and recording three hits Wednesday.
Paul Goldschmidt is batting .410 (16-for-39) with four homers and 13 RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak, He contributed a three-run homer in a five-run fifth inning Wednesday.
New York is 9-4 since losing Judge, and during this stretch it lost Trent Grisham to a hamstring injury and also saw Giancarlo Stanton suffer a setback in his recovery from a strained right calf.
“I think we all understood that a lot of our guys are out, and we know what we have to do to continue to win games,” Bellinger said after his fifth three-hit game this season. “No excuses and we’re all playing well. Really good depth and we’re playing well right now.”
The White Sox are hoping to end a nine-game road losing streak to the Yankees. Chicago is seeking its first road win over the Yankees since June 8, 2023.
After getting four hits in the series opener, the White Sox turned in a better showing Wednesday when they collected 11 hits. Colson Montgomery recorded his first career multi-homer game and drove in four runs after going 5-for-36 with 16 strikeouts in his previous 10 games.
“I’m proud of the way the guys have battled through the whole year,” Chicago manager Will Venable said. “Today was a tough one. The last two have been tough but these guys continued to battle and put themselves in good spots.”
Left-hander Ryan Weathers (2-5, 4.36 ERA), who is 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA in his past three outings, will make the start for the Yankees on Thursday. It will serve as his first career appearance against the White Sox.
Weathers has allowed seven homers in his past three games. He was taken deep by Kazuma Okamoto and George Springer in Toronto on Friday when he allowed six runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings of an 8-5 loss.
Right-hander Sean Burke (3-4, 4.15), will face the Yankees for the first time as he attempts to match his win total from last season.
Burke has allowed seven runs on nine hits and 10 walks in his past two outings. He yielded four runs on six hits in four innings during Saturday’s 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
–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
Sports
Yankees Are Proving They're World Series Favorites Even Without Aaron Judge
It’s not new information that the New York Yankees are the best team in the American League. They’ve been No. 1 or No. 2 virtually all season, depending on how the Tampa Bay Rays have performed at any given time.
What is new: the Yankees are showing they’re good enough to win the World Series. They’re legit, because they’re making a big push without the best player in the league, Aaron Judge.
The Yankees have gone 9-4 without Judge since June started. Earlier this season, Judge made a dive in the outfield and aggravated a rib injury, something he’s been dealing with in some form for a much longer time. Against the Guardians, Red Sox, Blue Jays and the White Sox, they haven’t missed a beat.
Per Baseball Reference, they’ve scored 5.77 runs per game without him, opposed to averaging 5.17 runs in the first 59 games when Judge played. It’s only 13 games, but the lineup has come through with a collective slash line of .262/.332/.470, which includes 23 home runs, 49 walks and 15 stolen bases in that span.
Ben Rice is an MVP candidate. Cody Bellinger is having one of his best individual seasons. Paul Goldschmidt, at 38 years old, is slugging like a 34-year-old Goldy, when he won NL MVP with the Cardinals.
In recent years when Judge has been absent, the Yankees haven’t held their own nearly as well. Since the 2020 season, the Yanks have gone 57-64 when Judge missed a game. They had a .583 winning percentage when he played in the same span. It’s reasonable to expect the Yankees to be weaker without the best hitter of his generation, but this season’s team still might be the best in the AL even with Judge not playing.
It’s only the middle of June but, absent any more significant injuries, the Yankees are going to hold their own against a weak American League. The bigger picture looks much brighter. Judge is hoping to return in August, and if he plays like himself, with this mix of teammates, the Yankees will compete for their 28th franchise championship.
Right-hander Cam Schlittler is a leading candidate for AL Cy Young. Gerrit Cole looks renewed after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Max Fried, while on the IL right now because of a bone bruise on his left elbow, is still Max Fried. Carlos Rodón has been strong in seven starts since getting healthy.
New York’s starting pitching, plus a lineup with a healthy Judge, can win it all.
It’s hard to imagine the Yankees failing earlier than the Fall Classic. Only three teams on the AL side have a positive run differential. Only five teams have a winning record. The White Sox looked like maybe they could put together a historical upset run, but the Yankees have toyed with them this week. The Mariners lurk, the Guardians are a pain in the butt, and the Rays have beaten up the Yankees head to head, but the Yankees list of rationalizations for not reaching the World Series would be pretty short if Judge is healthy in October.
The Yankees are showing they wouldn’t just be a token team that got lucky to get past a woeful AL field. They can play with the Dodgers, Brewers, Braves and anyone else coming out of the NL.
This is clearly their best chance to win a ring since 2009.
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
