It is Tuesday, and that means there is a full 15-game slate of big league action. All night games too.
Some of the storylines worth knowing from the night that was include Manny Machado returning to Baltimore for the first time since being traded last July; Gerrit Cole facing his old team, the Pirates; Max Scherzer throwing another gem; and Blake Snell and Jake Arrieta continuing their struggles.
Catch up and all those stories as well as the latest news, notes, and scores below.
Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.
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Baseball schedule/scores for Tuesday, June 25
- Padres 8, Orioles 3 (box score)
- Phillies 7, Mets 5 (box score)
- Yankees 4, Blue Jays 3 (box score)
- Nationals 6, Marlins 1 (box score)
- Red Sox 6, White Sox 3 (box score)
- Royals 8, Indians 6 (box score)
- Rangers 5, Tigers 3 (box score)
- Braves 3, Cubs 2 (box score)
- Twins 9, Rays 4 (box score)
- Mariners 8, Brewers 3 (box score)
- Astros 5, Pirates 1 (box score)
- Athletics 7, Cardinals 3 (box score)
- Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 2 (box score)
- Giants 4, Rockies 2 (box score)
- Angels 5, Reds 1 (box score)
Machado returns to Baltimore, homers in victory
Manny Machado made his return to Baltimore on Tuesday for the first time since being traded to the Dodgers last July and subsequently signing with the Padres over the winter. Orioles fans, thankfully, welcomed him back to Camden Yards with a warm applause prior to his first at-bat:
In his return to Baltimore, Manny Machado strides to the plate to a standing ovation from the @Orioles faithful.#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/JwyHI3y3ro
— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) June 25, 2019
Machado later homered (and reached a cool milestone) as part of a two-hit night that saw the Padres unload on the Orioles to the tune of eight runs on 12 hits. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manuel Margot, and Francisco Mejia also hit home runs.
Meanwhile, Padres rookie Logan Allen recorded his second career win, limiting the Orioles to two runs on eight hits over six innings.
The Padres are now 39-40. Seeing as how they have another game with Baltimore scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, it's probably safe to pencil them in for a .500 record heading into Thursday.
Snell shelled by Twins
Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell made his 16th start of the season on Tuesday. It did not go well.
Snell permitted 11 hits and seven runs over 3 ⅓ innings, causing his seasonal ERA to jump above 5.00. Remember, he entered June with an ERA around 3.00. What's happened since? Well, he's been chased before completing five innings in four of his five starts -- including last time out, when he recorded one out against the Yankees.
Snell is scheduled to pitch against the Rangers on Sunday. For his sake, he better hope he can end the month on a high note.
Scherzer throws another gem, closes in on personal best
If Max Scherzer is being negatively impacted by his broken nose, then you sure as heck can't tell it based on his performances.
Max Scherzer just struck out the side.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 26, 2019
Max Scherzer struck out 4 of the last 5.
Max Scherzer likes striking dudes out.
MID 3 // #Nats 3, Marlins 0 pic.twitter.com/w0wNAciSPp
On Tuesday, Scherzer shut down an NL East rival for the second time since an errant bunt left him bloody and bruised. This time, he held the Marlins to one run and five hits over eight innings. Scherzer fanned 10, giving him 54 across five June starts. He's fanned at least 10 in four of those, with the other seeing him tally just -- yes, just -- nine strikeouts.
Scherzer is in line to start Sunday against the Tigers, who have the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball. If Scherzer can punch out five Tigers -- and c'mon -- he'll break his own Nationals club record for strikeouts in the month of June, which is currently 58, set in 2016.
Arrieta poor in Phillies win
The Phillies won their second consecutive game in a row against the Mets on Tuesday, downing Mickey Callaway's bunch by homering four times as part of another slugfest.
Despite the victory, the Phillies have renewed reason for concern about Jake Arrieta. On Tuesday, he permitted nine hits and five runs in six innings while fanning just two. As an isolated incident, that may not mean much. But Arrieta has been less-than-stellar after four consecutive quality starts to begin the season.
Jake Arrieta's last 11 starts (representative of ⅓ of a season):
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) June 26, 2019
• 5.23 ERA
• 1.55 WHIP
• .292 opponents' batting average
• 1.8 HR per 9 innings
Entering the night, Arrieta had a 4.99 ERA and .828 OPS against in his previous 10 appearances. He'd yielded 64 hits and 11 home runs in 57 ⅔ innings. Obviously those aren't park-adjusted -- which would make them look much better than they are -- but it's not what you want all the same. Not when you're trying to get back into the division race.
Cole squares off with the Pirates
Machado wasn't the only All-Star facing his old team for the first time since moving on. Gerrit Cole and the Astros hosted the Pirates on Tuesday, meaning Cole has now faced every team in baseball.
Unlike Machado, Cole didn't author a highlight-heavy outing. He kept the Pirates in check, yielding a run on seven hits across six innings, but fanned just three on 104 pitches. Cole's counterpart, Trevor Williams, managed to strike out four Astros.
Unfortunately for Williams and the Pirates, you don't receive bonus runs for winning the K battle.
Stat of the day: Yankees set new homer record
On Monday, the Yankees tied the 2002 Rangers by homering in a 27th consecutive game. On Tuesday, the Yankees broke that record by launching back-to-back home runs in the first inning versus the Blue Jays. Take a look:
The @Yankees have homered in 28 consecutive games, the longest streak in @MLB history.
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 25, 2019
How much longer will it go? pic.twitter.com/gvVdAAcaxV
You can read more about the Yankees setting the record by clicking here, but we have a feeling the streak may keep going for a while.
Quick hits
- Can the Indians still catch the Twins in the AL Central? Of course they can, there is still plenty of season to go. A few things need to happen for them to have a chance though. Here are five.
- Dodgers OF Cody Bellinger was approached by fans who ran on the field each of the last two days. He called for additional protection for players because "it could potentially get dangerous."
- Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman said he is "built for" New York and would embrace the pressure of pitching for the Yankees. He stopped short of saying he would welcome a trade, however.
- Yoelkis Cespedes, younger brother of Mets OF Yoenis Cespedes, has defected from the Cuba National Team. He is looking to sign with an MLB team, though it could take a while until he is cleared to do so.
- The Astros activated OF George Springer and RHP Collin McHugh from the injured list, the club announced. Springer had a hamstring injury, McHugh elbow trouble. LHP Reymin Guduan and RHP Rogelio Armenteros were sent down.
- The Cardinals placed RHP Jordan Hicks on the 10-day injured list, the team announced. He has a torn elbow ligament. LHP Genesis Cabrera was sent down, and RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon and RHP Dominic Leone were called up.
- The Red Sox activated RHP Steven Wright, the club announced. Wright served an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension. RHP Josh Smith was sent down in a corresponding move.
- The Yankees sent down RHP Jonathan Holder and called up LHP Stephen Tarpley, the team announced. Also, DH Kendrys Morales was activated off the injured list and designated for assignment.
- The Nationals are calling up veteran relievers RHP Fernando Rodney and LHP Jonny Venters to bolster their bullpen, the team announced. Washington signed both to minor league deals recently.