July 31st, 2025

⚾ Headlines Around the League

Yankees 5, Rays 4 (F/11) — McMahon Walks It Off as Yanks Win Instant Classic

Cubs 10, Brewers 3 — Crow-Armstrong, Ballesteros Shine as Cubs Close Gap in NL Central

Darvish Dazzles, Padres Blank Mets to Complete Dominant Sweep

Red Sox 13, Twins 1 — Boston Bashes 4 Homers to Finish July with Statement Win

Steer’s 11-Pitch Triple Sparks Reds’ Wild Comeback to Deny Sweep

What a Wednesday, we’ve got a ton to cover!

Let’s start with Rays vs. Yankees. If you missed that game, do yourself a favor and spend 10 minutes watching the full recap. I know I tell you all the time something is a must-watch (and I never lie), but seriously, this might have been the game of the year.

WHAT. A. GAME.
When Josh Lowe crushed that go-ahead homer in the 9th, I was sitting there stunned — jaw on the floor — thinking, “Wow... how do the Yankees recover from this?” And then Volpe stepped up and immediately shut up all the haters.

From there, the game just turned into complete chaos. So many wild moments. It’s hard to even put it all into words.

My biggest takeaway? The Yankees still have some holes, sure, but they’re good enough to make a real run in October. If I’m them, I’m seriously looking for one more bullpen arm today. The price has been high across the league, but a guy like Griffin Jax feels like a perfect fit.

On that note, let’s get into the trade deadline mayhem. Yesterday was crazy and today will be as well. Some huge deals went down late last night, here is a quick recap:

• Mariners acquire 3B Eugenio Suárez from D-backs for INF Tyler Locklear, RHP Hunter Cranton, and RHP Juan Burgos

• Phillies acquire RHP Jhoan Duran from Twins for C Eduardo Tait and RHP Mick Abel. This puts them in a great spot to make a deep playoff run.

• Mets acquire RHP Ryan Helsley from Cardinals for INF Jesus Baez, RHP Nate Dohm, and RHP Frank Elissalt

• Reds acquire RHP Zack Littell from Rays (part of 3-team trade involving Dodgers and Rays)

• Reds acquire 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes from Pirates for INF Sammy Stafura and LHP Taylor Rogers. This is a fantastic move for the Reds, love this trade.

• Mets acquire RHP Tyler Rogers from Giants for RHP José Buttó, RHP Blade Tidwell, and OF Drew Gilbert. Mets slightly overpaid here but respect them going for it.

• Cubs acquire RHP Mike Soroka from Nationals for OF Christian Franklin and SS Ronny Cruz

• Red Sox acquire LHP Steven Matz from Cardinals for INF Blaze Jordan. Cardinals fleeced the Mets, I like Blaze Jordan a lot.

• Astros acquire INF Ramón Urías from Orioles for RHP Twine Palmer

• Yankees acquire OF Austin Slater from White Sox for RHP Gage Ziehl

Love seeing the Mariners go all in. This is as good of an opportunity as they’re ever going to get, and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies were trading punches yesterday, both loading up their bullpens. Personally, I like the Phillies more… that rotation is legit, and starting pitching always matters most in October. A playoff series between those two? Would be absolutely electric.

Buckle up for tomorrow. There’s still a ton of talent on the board, and I’ve got a feeling we’re in for some serious fireworks around the league.

Let’s recap Wednesday’s games across the league:

🔥 Notable Performances

Hitting

Pitching

📊 Final Scores and Highlights

Yankees 5, Rays 4

The Yankees stormed back three separate times, capped off by Ryan McMahon’s walk-off single in the 11th, to stun the Rays in a wild, seesaw battle in the Bronx.

🔑 Key Moments

• Brandon Lowe’s RBI double in the 3rd gave Tampa the early 1–0 lead off Will Warren.

• Trent Grisham tied it in the 8th with a solo homer, his 18th of the year, sparking a late Yankees rally.

• Giancarlo Stanton followed with a go-ahead single, but Josh Lowe crushed a two-run homer in the 9th to swing it back to the Rays.

• Anthony Volpe answered with a game-tying solo blast in the bottom of the 9th, moments after committing his third error in two games.

• Jonathan Aranda’s sac fly in the 10th gave Tampa Bay a brief 4–3 lead, but Cody Bellinger’s RBI triple tied it again in the bottom half.

• In the 11th, a balk advanced both runners, setting the stage for McMahon’s walk-off single to score Jazz Chisholm Jr. and end the madness.

📊 Notable Stats

Yankees

• Cody Bellinger: 2-for-5, RBI, 3B (5)

• Ryan McMahon: 2-for-4, RBI, BB, 2B (17)

• Anthony Volpe: 1-for-4, HR (16), RBI

• Trent Grisham: 1-for-3, HR (18), 2 R, BB

• Will Warren: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 K

Rays

• Josh Lowe: 1-for-4, HR (7), 2 RBI

• Brandon Lowe: 2-for-4, 2B (12), RBI

• Jonathan Aranda: 1-for-4, RBI, sac fly

• Zack Littell: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Cubs 10, Brewers 3

The Cubs bounced back with a statement win in Milwaukee behind a leadoff homer, a breakout rookie performance, and timely extra-base hits, trimming the division deficit to just one game ahead of the Trade Deadline.

🔑 Key Moments

• Michael Busch opened the scoring in style — He crushed Freddy Peralta’s first pitch of the game for his 21st homer, setting the tone for the Cubs’ offensive explosion.

• William Contreras answered with two homers — The Brewers catcher hit solo shots in the 1st and 4th innings, accounting for all of Milwaukee’s early offense.

• Rookie Moisés Ballesteros came up huge — In just his first MLB start, he cleared the bases with a three-run double in the 3rd to extend the Cubs’ lead to 5–1.

• Dansby Swanson and Kyle Tucker added fuel — Both doubled in the 6th to spark a three-run inning, pushing the game out of reach.

• Ian Happ homered late off the bench — His solo shot in the 9th capped off the Cubs’ 11-hit, 10-run day and padded the lead comfortably.

• Shota Imanaga kept things under control — Despite giving up two Contreras bombs, the lefty allowed no walks and fanned 8 over 5 solid innings.

📊 Notable Stats

Cubs

• Pete Crow-Armstrong: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B (29, 30), RBI

• Moisés Ballesteros: 1-for-2, 2B (1), 3 RBI

• Michael Busch: 1-for-5, HR (21), RBI

• Ian Happ: 1-for-2, HR (15), RBI

• Shota Imanaga: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Brewers

• William Contreras: 2-for-4, 2 HR (7, 8), 2 RBI

• Blake Perkins: 2-for-3, 2B

• Freddy Peralta: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

Padres 5, Mets 0

Yu Darvish dominated in a milestone performance, combining vintage stuff with pinpoint command to blank the Mets and lead the Padres to a three-game sweep just ahead of the Trade Deadline.

🔑 Key Moments

• Manny Machado delivered early with a two-out dagger — His sharp single in the 2nd plated two, giving the Padres a 2–0 lead that held the rest of the way.

• Gavin Sheets broke things open in the 3rd — A no-doubt two-run blast to right-center snapped his slump and pushed the lead to four.

• Darvish was in full control — He tossed 7 scoreless innings, struck out 7, and allowed just 2 hits in his record-setting 204th career win between NPB and MLB.

• San Diego’s bullpen slammed the door — Jason Adam and Robert Suarez combined for two clean innings, sealing the Padres’ fifth straight victory.

• Jake Cronenworth flashed the leather — A diving grab at second helped preserve Darvish’s gem and fired up the Petco crowd.

📊 Notable Stats

Padres

• Yu Darvish: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

• Manny Machado: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB (10)

• Gavin Sheets: 1-for-2, HR (15), 2 RBI, BB, SB (2)

• Fernando Tatis Jr.: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB, HBP

Mets

• Brandon Nimmo: 1-for-4, 2B (21)

• Mark Vientos: 1-for-4

• Clay Holmes: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K

Red Sox 13, Twins 1

The Red Sox closed out July in style, hammering the Twins in a 13–1 rout behind a relentless offensive outburst and a strong outing from Brayan Bello in their final game before the Trade Deadline.

🔑 Key Moments

• Trevor Story wasted no time getting the Sox on the board — He crushed a solo shot in the 2nd, his 17th of the year, to give Boston an early lead.

• Matt Wallner answered for the Twins — His solo homer in the bottom half briefly tied the game at 1–1.

• Abraham Toro gave Boston the lead back — A sac fly in the 3rd brought in Connor Wong to make it 2–1.

• Jarren Duran broke the game open in the 5th — He laced a two-run single to center as the Sox pushed the lead to 4–1.

• Duran struck again in the 6th — This time it was a towering two-run homer to right-center, capping off a four-RBI afternoon.

• The Sox unloaded in the 9th — Romy Gonzalez launched a three-run bomb, followed immediately by Masataka Yoshida’s first homer of the season to put the game completely out of reach.

📊 Notable Stats

Red Sox

• Jarren Duran: 3-for-5, 3 R, 4 RBI, HR (11), 2B (29)

• Trevor Story: 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, HR (17), BB, 2B (17)

• Romy Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, HR (7), BB

• Masataka Yoshida: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, HR (1)

• Brayan Bello: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Twins

• Matt Wallner: 1-for-3, HR (13), RBI

• Harrison Bader: 2-for-3

• Zebby Matthews: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Reds 5, Dodgers 2

Cincinnati rallied late and extended their streak to 35 straight series without being swept, thanks to a clutch 11-pitch at-bat and go-ahead triple from Spencer Steer in the eighth.

🔑 Key Moments

• Elly De La Cruz opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single to put the Reds up 1–0.

• Freddie Freeman flipped the lead in the 4th with a two-run homer, his 11th of the year.

• Will Benson tied the game in the bottom half with a sac fly scoring Noelvi Marte.

• In a bases-loaded jam in the 8th, Scott Barlow escaped unscathed with a foul popout and a flyout to keep it tied.

• Steer battled for 11 pitches, then drove a two-run triple off the center-field wall — the turning point of the game.

• Benson added insurance with an RBI single, sealing the win and another avoided sweep.

📊 Notable Stats

Reds

• Spencer Steer: 2-for-3, 3B (2), 2 RBI, BB

• Will Benson: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, SF

• Elly De La Cruz: 1-for-4, RBI

• Nick Martinez: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Dodgers

• Freddie Freeman: 1-for-2, HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 BB

• Will Smith: 1-for-3, 2B (18), R

• Emmet Sheehan: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 5 K

Other scores around the league:

Pirates 2, Giants 1 (Editor’s Note: Giants have to win eventually, right? RIGHT?? It is crazy I let baseball ruin me everyday like this but I suppose that is why we love it.)
M. Burrows: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB
I. Mattson: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 SO

Astros 9, Nationals 1
R. Gusto: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 SO, 1 BB
J. Altuve: 4-4, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Marlins 2, Cardinals 0
C. Quantrill: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 SO, 2 BB
M. Mikolas: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 SO

Rangers 6, Angels 3
N. Eovaldi: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB
J. Soriano: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 SO, 2 BB

Mariners 4, Athletics 5
J. Springs: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB
M. Andujar: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI

White Sox 9, Phillies 3
M. Vasil: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 SO
E. Quero: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Tigers 7, Diamondbacks 2
C. Paddack: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 SO
K. Carpenter: 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Guardians 5, Rockies 0
J. Junis: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO
J. Mejia: 3.0 IP, 4 SO

Royals 1, Braves 0
J. Wentz: 6.2 IP, 1 H, 7 SO, 3 BB
S. Long: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO

Blue Jays 9, Orioles 8
M. Straw: 3-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
M. Fluharty: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 SO

⚾ Must-Watch Games Today

⚾ Rays (54‑55) @ Yankees (59‑49) — Matinee Duel in the Bronx

🕐 1:05 PM ET | 📺 YES, FanDuel Sports Network Sun
Ryan Pepiot (6‑8, 3.42 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman (2‑2, 6.09 ERA)

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