The Morning Horsehide Herald — the Five-and-Twentieth of July, Two Thousand and Twenty-Six

The Game of the Day

BEDLAM IN THE TENTH AT CAMDEN YARDS: OLSON'S THREE-RUN THUNDERCLAP CROWNS A FOUR-RUN EXTRA FRAME, BALTIMORE ROARS BACK WITH THREE OF ITS OWN, AND ATLANTA SURVIVES THE WHOLE MAD BUSINESS, 7 TO 6

Seven runs crowded into a single inning of overtime — a gifted run upon a throwing error, the first baseman's seven-and-twentieth home run, and a Baltimore counter-charge that expired one run shy — while the National East's leaders ran their string to three straight

The tenth inning at Camden Yards was a full evening's entertainment unto itself. Atlanta struck first in the overtime: Jim Jarvis beat out a fielder's choice that cashed Brewer Hicklen with the go-ahead run, the play made worse for Baltimore by a throwing error from the second baseman Jackson Holliday — and before the wound could be dressed, Matt Olson strode up and launched his seven-and-twentieth home run of the campaign, a three-run thunderclap to right-center that swept Joey Bart and Jarvis home ahead of him and made it 7 to 3. That, any sensible witness would have said, was that. The Birds disagreed. In their half of the tenth Jeremiah Jackson lifted a sacrifice fly, and then Christian Encarnacion-Strand — already the author of a two-run double in the second — hammered a two-run homer to right-center with Tyler O'Neill aboard, and suddenly the whole grandstand understood that 7 to 6 was one swing from calamity. The swing never came; Atlanta closed the door with its fingertips.

The road to that madness was itself a proper contest. Encarnacion-Strand's double had staked Baltimore to a 2-to-0 lead in the second; Atlanta squared it in the fourth on Mauricio Dubón's sacrifice fly and Austin Riley's run-scoring single, only for Holliday's sacrifice fly to nose the Birds ahead again, 3 to 2. There matters stood until the eighth, when the young catcher Drake Baldwin — who had homered only the evening before against San Diego — struck his twentieth of the year to knot the account at three, a circuit blow in each of two successive evenings. The reliever Hernández carried the victory, the first of his campaign; Kittredge, undone by the error and the Olson blast, bore the defeat; Encarnacion-Strand drove home four runs in the losing cause and deserved a kinder ledger.

Mark the freight this one carried: the Atlantas stand at one-and-sixty wins against two-and-forty defeats, winners of three running and seven of their last ten, their lead upon the National East swollen to five games and a half over a Philadelphia nine that could not scratch a single run last evening (see the card below). The wires speak of a second-half surge in Georgia, and the seven-run tenth in Baltimore reads like its signature.

News Around the League

Nine Days to the Bazaar: Catchers Dear, the Skubal Riddle Unsolved, and a Holmes Made Available

The deadline of the third of August — six o'clock in the evening, Eastern, say the wires — stands nine days off, and the rumor columns thicken daily. The appraisers report catchers in the highest demand of any commodity on the floor, with the Pinstripes' own backstop want chief among the talking points. Philadelphia and Seattle fill the speculative columns besides, and the defining riddle remains Tarik Skubal of Detroit — who answered all inquiries from the hill last evening with twelve strikeouts (see the card below), which clarified nothing about his address and everything about his worth. In Flushing, the injured right-hander Clay Holmes has been made available amid a want of contract talks, the pitcher himself allowing that he wishes only to be pitching his best "whether that's here or somewhere else."

The Infirmary Ward: Soto to the Photographer's Table, Arrighetti's Foot, and Ohtani Held in Reserve

The gravest worriment belongs to Flushing: Juan Soto, who has nursed a balky left calf since the sixteenth of July, departed Friday's loss to the Dodgers in the sixth inning with fresh soreness in the limb, and goes for a magnetic-resonance examination this very day — a verdict that could return him to the invalid list. The trouble, the club notes ruefully, is a separate affair from the right-calf strain that shelved him in April. In Chicago, Houston's young right-hander Spencer Arrighetti left his start in the second inning with an injury to the foot, though his mates rallied gloriously in his absence (see the card below). Philadelphia has placed the catcher Rafael Marchán on the ten-day invalid list with a tendinitis of the left knee. And from the Dodger camp, the manager Dave Roberts counsels patience upon Shohei Ohtani's return to the pitching hill — another bullpen session is scheduled, but no start is imminent, the club declining, in Roberts's words, to have him pitch earlier than they need to. Happier traffic: Cincinnati's Matt McLain has begun a rehabilitation engagement at Louisville, Cleveland has activated the left-hander Tim Herrin, and Milwaukee has restored the infielder David Hamilton from the invalid rolls.

Okamoto Passes Ohtani: A Rookie Record Falls at Fenway

Let the almanac-keepers ink a fresh line: Kazuma Okamoto of Toronto struck his three-and-twentieth home run of the season last evening — a three-run blow over Fenway's center-field wall — and with it passed Shohei Ohtani's mark of two-and-twenty, set in 2018, for home runs by a Japanese-born first-year man. That the blast came in a losing cause (see the card below) dims the ledger not a whit; records care nothing for the final score, and the young Canadian slugger now owns one outright.

The Counting-House: Crow-Armstrong Atop the Bonus Ledger, and the Labor Tables Still Occupied

Two items in figures. The projections upon the game's fifty-million-dollar pre-arbitration bonus pool place Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong at the head of the payout table — a fitting perch for a man who tied last night's game with his two-and-twentieth home run (see the card below). And the owners and players remain at their long negotiation over a new basic agreement, the wires reporting the salary-cap question still the hardest knot on the table; the Herald will believe in a settlement when it sees the signatures.

The Almanac: Cooperstown on the Morrow, and a Cornfield Three Weeks Off

The household calendar, freshly consulted. Cooperstown's induction ceremonies stand but one day off — this Sunday, the six-and-twentieth, when the game gathers to crown its immortals. On the thirteenth of August the Twins and Phillies keep the annual appointment amid the Iowa corn at Dyersville, both clubs promising throwback dress for the occasion; ten days later, on the three-and-twentieth, the Brewers and Braves play the Little League Classic at Williamsport. The far column keeps its steady warning: the regular campaign closes on the seven-and-twentieth of September, two months and two days hence.

The Rest of the Card

TWELVE STRIKEOUTS AND NOT A SINGLE PASS: SCHLITTLER SILENCES PHILADELPHIA, GOLDSCHMIDT SUPPLIES THE ONLY RUN, AND THE PINSTRIPES PREVAIL, 1 TO 0

Before three-and-forty thousand in Philadelphia, Schlittler of the Yankees gave the sternest sermon of the season's second half: seven innings and a third, three hits, twelve strikeouts, and not one base on balls, his league-leading earned-run average settling at 2.07 and his league-leading strikeout count at one hundred fifty-seven. The evening's entire scoring was Paul Goldschmidt's sixteenth home run, lifted to right off Luzardo in the fourth; Bednar banked the final outs for his nineteenth save. The Pinstripes managed but three hits themselves and required no more, drawing within two games of the idle-no-more Rays' AL East lead — while the Quakers, thrice beaten running, watched Atlanta's East lead stretch to five and a half.

THE SUNSHINE NINE REACH SIXTY FIRST: FIFTEEN HITS FALL UPON CLEVELAND, AND VILADE AND PALACIOS SUPPLY THE THUNDER, 11 TO 3

Tampa Bay became the American League's first sixty-win club by the simple expedient of hitting everything Cleveland threw. Ryan Vilade opened the account with a two-run homer in the second — punctuated, the wires note approvingly, with a slide he did not strictly require — a four-run fourth followed on a parade of singles, and Richie Palacios closed the argument with a three-run blast in the eighth, the fifteen-hit total spread among nearly every man in the order. McClanahan took the decision with five innings of two-hit work for his ninth win. The Forest City men have now dropped three straight, and their hold upon the league's final wild-card chair — a half-game behind Boston's second seat — grows daily less comfortable; Austin Hedges's two-run homer in the ninth was the evening's lone consolation.

SEIGLER'S FOUR-HIT EVENING: THE CRIMSON HOSE TAKE A NINTH VERDICT IN TEN AND CLAIM THE SECOND WILD-CARD CHAIR, 6 TO 4

Anthony Seigler — the spark plug, his mates call him — struck a leadoff home run in the first, doubled home the insurance run in the eighth, and finished with four hits in the 6-to-4 subduing of Toronto. Ceddanne Rafaela added a two-run homer in the third, upheld upon the umpires' review, and after Kazuma Okamoto's record three-run blast and Andrés Giménez's sacrifice fly had dragged the Canadians level at four, Boston answered at once in the home eighth — Romy Gonzalez doubling home the lead, Seigler doubling home Gonzalez. Whitlock took the win. The Hub nine have won nine of ten and sit in the second wild-card chair, half a game to the good of Cleveland.

SKUBAL'S DOZEN: TWO FIRST-INNING RUNS STAND ALL NIGHT, AND THE MOTOR CITY NINE TAKE THEIR THIRD RUNNING, 2 TO 1

With half the league's scouts in the Comerica grandstand and the trade columns speaking his name daily, Tarik Skubal pitched as a man untroubled by any of it: seven innings and a third, four hits, twelve strikeouts, a single run — the grandstand chanting his name in the old drawn-out style. Detroit's scoring was done by the second out of the first, Riley Greene's sacrifice fly and Hao-Yu Lee's sharp single cashing the two runs; Nick Loftin's double in the fourth got Kansas City its one. Jansen sealed the twelfth save, and the Detroits have won three straight.

BURGER DELIVERS TWICE, AND THE LONE STAR NINE SEIZE THE WEST'S SUMMIT OUTRIGHT, 5 TO 4

In the first engagement of a set the wires call pivotal, Jake Burger supplied a two-run homer in the fourth and the go-ahead single in the sixth, three runs driven in all, and Wyatt Langford added his twelfth circuit blow besides. Seattle clawed within a run in the ninth when Colt Emerson scampered home upon a wild pitch, but no nearer. Gray took the decision, his fifth without a defeat, and the Arlington men now sit atop the American West by a game and a half over the Puget Sound men, who have dropped three straight — with Houston's surging nine but two back of the pair.

BOYD UNBEATEN STILL, AND THE NORTH SIDERS TAKE TEN INNINGS AT THE SMOKY CITY, 3 TO 2

Matthew Boyd gave seven innings of one-run craft — unbeaten now, the wires attest, across ten consecutive starts — and Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-and-twentieth home run squared the game in the sixth. In the tenth the Cubs manufactured the verdict by honest means: Dansby Swanson's single cashed the go-ahead run, upheld when Pittsburgh challenged the play, and Seiya Suzuki walked with the bases loaded for a second; Nick Gonzales's groundout drew the Corsairs within one, and there it ended. Thielbar took the win. The North Siders hold the National's first wild-card chair at six games behind Milwaukee — and tonight the same two clubs send Imanaga against Skenes.

THE MILE HIGH NINE STARTLE THE CREAM CITY: SUGANO'S TENTH WIN CARRIES LAST PLACE PAST FIRST, 5 TO 2

No respecter of standings, baseball. Colorado, owner of the National League's poorest ledger, struck two runs before Milwaukee recorded three outs — Cole Carrigg doubling home one and scoring another — and never surrendered the lead. Sugano took his tenth victory against four defeats, Romano sealed the eighth save, and TJ Rumfield's two-and-twentieth double supplied the insurance. For the Brewers, winners of four-and-sixty games and owners of the league's best run difference, the only offense was a pair of solo homers from Christian Yelich and Brice Turang.

A BUNT, A REVIEW, AND MORENO'S SACRIFICE: THE DESERT NINE TAKE THEIR FOURTH RUNNING AT WASHINGTON, 3 TO 2

Arizona's winning has taken on a workmanlike quality: a second-inning run upon Tim Tawa's bunt single, another when Ketel Marte — restored to the order after Thursday's back stiffness — beat out enough of a double-play ball to cash a run, the call overturned in Arizona's favor upon challenge. Dylan Crews squared it with a two-run homer in the fourth, but Gabriel Moreno's sacrifice fly in the seventh restored the lead for good; Rodriguez improved to nine wins against three defeats and Sewald banked his four-and-twentieth save. Winners of four straight and eight of ten, the Sonoran men keep their grip on the National's final wild-card chair, a game clear of Philadelphia's pursuit from above and two clear of Pittsburgh's from below.

TEN STRAIGHT DEFEATS FOR THE GULF STREAM NINE: RENGIFO'S EIGHTH-INNING BLOW SETTLES A GRIM AFFAIR, 4 TO 2

Miami's July collapse reached ten consecutive defeats, and this one followed the pattern: close, then cruel. Joe Mack's tenth homer and Heriberto Hernández's fourteenth kept the Floridians level into the late innings, but Luis Rengifo struck a two-run homer in the eighth, Morejon took the decision for a mark of eight wins and two defeats, and Miller logged his six-and-twentieth save, joint-best in the league. The Mission nine thus bank a second straight win; the Marlins, at fifty-two and fifty-two, have slid to mere evenness and three games off the wild-card pace.

SASAKI'S SPLITTER SPELLBINDS FLUSHING: SEVEN INNINGS OF THREE-HIT SORCERY, AND THE BOYS IN BLUE ROLL ON, 4 TO 2

Roki Sasaki threw the splitter all evening and the Metropolitans never solved it — seven innings, three hits, nine strikeouts, the lone blemish Luis Robert Jr.'s early homer. The champions answered patiently: sacrifice flies from Miguel Rojas and Shohei Ohtani, then Kyle Tucker's two-run homer in the eighth with Freddie Freeman aboard; Francisco Alvarez homered in reply and Scott shut the door for save number sixteen. At six-and-sixty wins against eight-and-thirty defeats the Angelenos own the game's best record — while Flushing's evening ended with a graver worry than the score, Juan Soto departing in the sixth with the calf trouble chronicled above.

EIGHT RUNS IN A SIXTH-INNING TORRENT: DOWN FIVE, THE HOUSTON NINE OVERRUN THE PALE HOSE, 9 TO 5

Chicago led 5 to 0 and had every reason for comfort — Houston's starter Arrighetti had left in the second inning with an injured foot, and the South Siders had milked the bullpen politely for five frames. Then came the sixth: eleven men to the plate, eight runs across — Christian Walker's bases-clearing double the heaviest blow, Cam Smith's two-run homer the loudest, singles from Jose Altuve and LaMonte Wade Jr. and a bases-loaded walk filling in the mortar. Teng took the win in relief, and the 'Stros have won four straight to draw within three games of the wild-card line. The Pale Hose still hold the American Central's summit, though Cleveland's stumbles keep the margin at a game and a half.

TWO HITS THE WHOLE EVENING FOR MINNESOTA: THE MACKMEN ADMINISTER A QUIET BLANKING, 2 TO 0

The Athletics' Lopez permitted a single hit across five innings, three relief men permitted one more, and the Twins went home with a pair of singles to show for twenty-seven outs. The Elephants' offense was similarly economical — Lawrence Butler's sacrifice fly in the fifth, Tyler Soderstrom's run-scoring single in the sixth — and Harris closed the account for his eighth save. The North Stars thus slip a game further from the wild-card scramble, three back with three clubs to climb.

TWO HITS FOR THE MOUND CITY MEN, AND THE QUEEN CITY NINE MAKE OFF WITH A THIRD STRAIGHT, 4 TO 2

St. Louis managed two hits the night entire, and made them count once — Blaze Jordan's two-run double in the fifth briefly turning Tyler Stephenson's ground-rule double on its head — but Cincinnati's answer was decisive: Eugenio Suárez's fourteenth home run, a two-run blow in the seventh with young Sal Stewart aboard, and Stewart's own run-scoring single in the ninth for cushion. Garcia took the decision from the bullpen. The Redlegs have won three running; the Cardinals, beaten a second straight time, sit two games and a half from the wild-card line with the deadline sages watching their intentions closely.

DEVERS, ALPHA AND OMEGA: HIS FIRST-INNING BLAST OPENS THE SCORING, HIS TENTH-INNING SINGLE ENDS IT, 7 TO 6

Before one-and-forty thousand by the Bay, Rafael Devers wrote both the first line and the last: a two-run homer in the opening frame, his one-and-twentieth, and — after Casey Schmitt's three-run blast had swelled the lead and the Seraphs had spent nine innings clawing it back, Vaughn Grissom's two-run homer in the eighth finally squaring the account at six — a tenth-inning single that sent Jesus Rodriguez dancing home with the winning run. Tyler Heineman's first triple of the year and Mike Trout's sacrifice fly had marked the Anaheim men's road back; Kilian took the decision. The Orange and Black have their second straight, small comfort in a lean year, but a walk-off wants no context.

The full fifteen-game bill runs again this evening, and the eye knows where to look: to Boston, where Cease meets Gray — he of the twelve-and-one ledger — with Toronto seeking redress; to Pittsburgh, where Imanaga and Skenes renew last night's ten-inning quarrel; to Washington, which sends the eleven-game-winner Griffin against Arizona's four-game streak; and to Philadelphia, where the Yankees and Quakers go again at five past six. Word of Soto's examination is expected before the evening's first pitch, and on the morrow the game pauses its arguments long enough to crown its immortals at Cooperstown. Until the next dispatch, keep your scorecards near and your enthusiasms nearer.

~ THE HERALD ~