MLB ROUNDUP: METS LOSE GRIFFIN CANNING, STILL SHUT OUT BRAVES
Five pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout as the New York Mets overcame the loss of starting pitcher Griffin Canning to stop the visiting Atlanta Braves 4-0 Thursday night and earn a split of the teams’ four-game series.
Canning was injured after throwing a pitch that retired Nick Allen on a grounder to short for the second out of the top of the third inning. Attempting to run to back up third in case Eli White tried to advance from second, Canning crumpled to the ground with his left leg in the air. The Mets reported he had a left ankle injury.
Austin Warren (1-0), making his second appearance this year, worked 2 1/3 innings and allowed only one hit to earn the win. Dedniel Nunez, Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz polished off the game by allowing just one baserunner over four innings.
Grant Holmes (4-7) absorbed the loss after permitting two runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. He fanned six.
Tigers 8, Athletics 0
Dietrich Enns pitched five scoreless innings in his first major league outing since 2021 as host Detroit silenced the Athletics.
Enns, who made nine relief appearances with Tampa Bay four seasons ago before pitching in Japan and Korea, was called up from Triple-A Toledo to make a spot start. He held the Athletics to one hit and two walks while striking out four.
Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton, Chase Lee and Will Vest each tossed an inning of scoreless relief. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer and Spencer Torkelson supplied a solo blast. Zach McKinstry and Jahmai Jones drove in two runs apiece. A’s starter Jeffrey Springs (6-6) gave up three runs in five innings.
Dodgers 3, Rockies 1
Clayton Kershaw boosted his career strikeout total to 2,997 while allowing two hits and one run over six innings as Los Angeles wrapped up a three-game series over Colorado in Denver.
Kershaw (4-0) fanned five to move closer to becoming the 20th pitcher in major league history to reach the 3,000-strikeout milestone. Shohei Ohtani slugged his National League-high 28th home run while Teoscar Hernandez and Mookie Betts notched two hits apiece.
Rockies starter Austin Gomber gave up four hits and one run over five innings before giving way to Angel Chivilli (1-3), who allowed Freddie Freeman’s tie-breaking single in the sixth. Brenton Doyle gave Colorado a 1-0 lead in the second with a homer, his first since May 27.
Astros 2, Phillies 1
Cam Smith’s RBI single with two outs in the eighth snapped a tie and gave host Houston a three-game sweep of Philadelphia.
The Astros won the series by a combined score of 5-1. Starter Hunter Brown allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings — striking out seven — before Bryan Abreu (3-3) finished with four straight strikeouts.
Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez struck out 11 in six-plus innings while giving up one run on five hits. Rafael Marchan went 2-for-3 while Brandon Marsh lofted a sacrifice fly in the eighth to snap the Phillies’ 26-inning scoreless streak.
Cubs 3, Cardinals 0
Pitching for the first time since May 4 due to a hamstring strain, Shota Imanaga allowed just one hit over five innings as Chicago shut out host St. Louis for the second day in a row to split their four-game series.
Imanaga (4-2) struck out three and walked one before giving way to Caleb Thielbar, Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Daniel Palencia (6th save). Michael Busch went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs while Carson Kelly added two hits.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (5-4) gave up seven hits and two runs over five innings. Alec Burleson’s ninth-inning double was the only extra-base hit among St. Louis’ three safeties.
Rays 4, Royals 0
Shane Baz retired 19 batters in a row while throwing eight shutout innings as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep at Kansas City.
Baz (8-3) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out nine in his career-long outing. Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero hit back-to-back homers in the sixth while Josh Lowe went 3-for-4 with a double and a steal.
Michael Lorenzen (4-8) gave up eight hits and four runs over 5 2/3 innings. Jonathan India and Vinnie Pasquantino posted two hits apiece for the Royals, who have scored just four runs during their five-game losing streak.
Blue Jays 6, Guardians 0
Kevin Gausman scattered two hits and one walk over eight innings as Toronto claimed the rubber game of a three-game series at Cleveland.
Gausman (6-6) struck out six before giving way to Chad Green for the ninth. Nathan Lukes and Alejandro Kirk poked two-run singles and Myles Straw notched two hits for the Blue Jays.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (4-8) extended his winless streak to six starts despite allowing just three hits and three runs (two earned) while fanning seven. Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez each left the game after taking hit-by-pitches on the arm, but X-rays on both were negative.
Twins 10, Mariners 1
Trevor Larnach homered, singled, drove in three runs and scored twice for Minnesota, which routed Seattle to earn a split of the four-game series in Minneapolis.
Brooks Lee and Matt Wallner also homered, Carlos Correa had two RBIs and Byron Buxton scored two runs in the leadoff spot for the Twins, who have won two in a row following a five-game skid.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (3-4) came in winless in his past six starts, but he earned the victory after allowing just two hits over five shutout innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Marlins 12, Giants 5
Following early-inning lead changes and a fiery first inning, Miami pulled away from San Francisco to seal a road sweep.
Several Giants batters were hit in Wednesday’s extra-innings affair, prompting starter Hayden Birdsong to fire a 97 mph fastball at Otto Lopez in the first frame. The umpiring crew issued a warning to each team, which Marlins manager Clayton McCullough objected to, resulting in his ejection.
The Marlins notched five runs over the first five innings, powered by homers from Kyle Stowers and Agustin Ramirez. San Francisco responded by knotting the game at five after a two-run shot by Rafael Devers in the second and three more runs in the fourth.
Miami then scored seven unanswered runs — three in the fifth inning and four in the eighth inning — to put the game out of San Francisco’s reach.
–Field Level Media
TEAM USA’S BOBBY WITT JR. READY FOR BIGGER ROLE IN 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is going to again play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and next year certainly will have a bigger role than last time.
Witt announced Thursday that he is committed to playing for the United States and manager Mark DeRosa in the 2026 WBC. It will be Witt’s second time on the team.
When part of Team USA in 2023, Witt was 22 and the youngest player on the roster who was coming off a standout rookie MLB season. He was a bench player who went 1 for 2 at the plate, and also was a pinch-runner in the ninth inning of the championship game won by Shohei Ohtani and Japan.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who will be the U.S. captain, and Pirates ace Paul Skenes have also committed to play for Team USA next spring.
“It’s truly an honor,” Witt, who turned 25 two weeks ago, told MLB Network. “It’s something I’ve kinda dreamed about my whole entire life. Just being part of that team a couple years ago was amazing, and now we’re going to bring home the gold.”
Witt was the runner-up to Judge in the American League MVP voting last season, when the shortstop led the majors with a .332 batting average. Witt hit .285 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in the Royals’ first 80 games this year.
DeRose said on MLB Network that he approached Witt during spring training about playing in the 2026 WBC, to which the player responded, “100%. I’m starting, right?”
CUBS ACTIVATE LHP SHOTA IMANAGA AND DESIGNATE RHP MICHAEL FULMER FOR ASSIGNMENT
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cubs activated left-hander Shota Imanaga from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday’s season finale at St. Louis.
To make room on the roster, Chicago designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment.
The 31-year-old Imanaga (3-2, 2.82 ERA) had been shelved since early May with a strained left hamstring. In his final rehab outing, Imanaga threw 72 pitches in 4 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Iowa on Friday.
Imanaga has made eight starts this season, allowing two or fewer runs in six of them. He made three rehab starts, two with the Arizona Complex League, and threw 10 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and two walks. He struck out 16.
The Cubs have gone 25-16 since he went on the IL.
The 32-year-old Fulmer made two scoreless appearances for the Cubs this week during their four-game series against the Cardinals.
Fulmer had a 4.42 ERA in 58 appearances for the Cubs in 2023, but the right-hander needed Tommy John surgery and missed last year. He also had the Tommy John procedure in 2019.
Fulmer appeared in one game this season for the Boston Red Sox, surrendering three runs and four hits in 2 2/3 innings on April 14. He then was released and signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.
JUDGE, OHTANI ELECTED TO START IN ALL-STAR GAME AS TOP VOTE-GETTERS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge were the first players picked for the July 15 All-Star Game at Atlanta’s Truist Park, elected as starters by fans on Thursday.
Judge led the major leagues with 4,012,983 votes in the first round of fan balloting and the outfielder was picked for his seventh American League start in eight All-Star Games, though he missed the 2023 game because of a sprained right big toe. He also was the leading vote-getter during the first phase in 2022 and last year.
Ohtani topped the NL and was second in the big leagues with 3,967,668 votes, becoming the first designated hitter to start in five straight All-Star Games.
The pair were selected under rules that began in 2022 and give starting spots to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting, which began June 4 and ended Thursday. Two finalists at every other position advanced to the second phase, which runs from noon EDT on Monday to noon EDT on July 2. Votes from the first phase do not carry over.
An individual can vote once per 24-hour period.
Remaining starters will be announced on July 2. Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on July 6.
Seven players from the World Series champion Dodgers advanced to the second phase along with three each from the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets, and two apiece from the Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.
AL finalists:
Catcher: Alejandro Kirk, Cal Raleigh
First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Second Base: Jackson Holliday, Gleyber Torres
Third Base: Alex Bregman, José Ramírez
Shortstop: Jacob Wilson, Bobby Witt Jr.
Designated Hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, Ben Rice
Outfield: Javier Báez, Riley Greene, Steven Kwan, Mike Trout
NL finalists
Catcher: Carson Kelly, Will Smith
First Base: Pete Alonso, Freddie Freeman
Second Base: Tommy Edman, Ketel Marte
Third Base: Manny Machado, Max Muncy
Shortstop: Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor
Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Pete Crow-Armstrong, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker
