July 4th, 2025

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has an awesome 4th of July! Stay safe and enjoy the fireworks. We’ve got a great slate of baseball today and some fun matchups lined up all weekend.

I’ll be posted up with the dog tonight, watching Giants vs. A’s and Astros vs. Dodgers. Might throw on that new Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson movie Friendship, I’ve been procrastinating finding time to watch it. If you’ve seen it, let me know if it is worth watching!

A couple beers, some baseball, and fireworks with the pup - Cheers to a great weekend!

⚾ Headlines Around the League

Blue Jays 8–5 Yankees: Toronto Completes Sweep, Takes Over AL East Lead

Nationals 11–7 Tigers: Wood Goes 5-for-5 As His Breakout Continues

Giants 7–2 Diamondbacks: Ray Fires Complete Game in Return to Arizona

Mets Get Seven Strong from Peterson in 3–2 Victory

Angels 5–1 Braves: Neto Shines with 3 Hits in Series Finale

🔥 Top Performances

Hitting

Pitching

📊 Final Scores and Highlights

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 5
Full Video Recap (MUST WATCH GAME)

George Springer crushed two more homers and Nathan Lukes delivered the at-bat of the year as the Blue Jays capped a four-game sweep of the Yankees to claim sole possession of first place in the AL East.

🔑 Game Highlights:

• Nathan Lukes sparked the Jays with a 14-pitch at-bat in the 4th, fouling off 9 pitches before ripping a go-ahead two-run double — part of a three-hit night in his first leadoff assignment of the year.

• George Springer continued his red-hot stretch, blasting a two-run homer in the 3rd and another two-run shot in the 8th, giving him four home runs in the series.

• Addison Barger went deep in the 5th and added two doubles, driving in two more runs to extend Toronto’s lead.

• Chris Bassitt struck out nine across 5.2 innings, and Jeff Hoffman closed the door with a clean 9th to earn the save.

• The Yankees made it interesting with two runs in the 6th and a strong day at the plate from Jasson Domínguez, but they left 23 runners on base.

• Clarke Schmidt left the game after 3 innings with right forearm tightness. More news to come.

📊 Notable Stats:

(TOR)
George Springer: 3-for-4, 2 HR (14, 15), 4 RBI, BB
Nathan Lukes: 3-for-5, 2 2B (4, 5), 2 R, 2 RBI
Addison Barger: 3-for-4, HR (11), 2 2B (19, 20), 2 RBI
Chris Bassitt: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
Jeff Hoffman: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, SV

(NYY)
Trent Grisham: Solo HR (16), 1-for-3, 2 BB
Jasson Domínguez: 4-for-5, 2B (14), 3B (1), SB (13)
Anthony Volpe: 1-for-5, 2 RBI
Clarke Schmidt: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K
Clayton Beeter: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB

Nationals 11, Tigers 7

James Wood celebrated his 2025 Home Run Derby invite with a career-best five-hit performance, launching his 23rd homer as the Nationals outslugged the Tigers, 11–7, at home.

🔑 Game Highlights:

• James Wood wasted no time justifying his Derby selection, launching a solo homer in the 2nd inning and finishing 5-for-5 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

• Paul DeJong gave Washington an early boost with a three-run blast in the 1st inning, his first homer of the season.

• Alex Call added three RBIs, including a two-run double as part of a four-run 5th that extended the Nats’ lead to 9–3.

• Detroit stayed close thanks to a three-run homer from Spencer Torkelson in the 1st and a two-run rally in the 6th, but the Nats responded in the bottom half with two more runs.

• Jake Irvin allowed 3 ER over 6 innings to earn the win, and Kyle Finnegan worked a clean 9th to close it out.

📊 Notable Stats:

(WSH)
James Wood: 5-for-5, HR (23), 2 RBI, 3 R
Alex Call: 3-for-5, 2B (8), 3 RBI, 2 R
Paul DeJong: 1-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBI
Brady House: 1-for-5, 2 RBI
Jake Irvin: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

(DET)
Spencer Torkelson: 1-for-4, HR (19), 3 RBI
Gleyber Torres: 2-for-4, RBI, BB
Parker Meadows: 2-for-4, RBI, R
Dietrich Enns: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R (7 ER), 2 BB, 3 K

Giants 7, Diamondbacks 2
(Editor’s Note: All my complaining has finally paid off, Giants are so back LOL. Additional side note, Ketel Marte is an incredible player and is having a fantastic year)

Robbie Ray tossed his second career complete game — and first since 2017 — as the Giants handled the D-backs 7–2 in Phoenix. The lefty needed just 102 pitches and helped save a taxed bullpen during a busy stretch.

🔑 Game Highlights:

• Ray retired 24 of his first 26 batters, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 7 while allowing 2 solo home runs.

• Heliot Ramos gave San Francisco an early lead with a two-run double in the 1st.

• Willy Adames doubled twice and scored three times, finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and RBI.

• Rafael Devers added a sac fly and a two-run single, driving in 3 runs on the night.

• Ketel Marte and Eugenio Suárez homered for Arizona — both solo shots and the only damage against Ray.

📊 Notable Stats:

(SF)
Robbie Ray: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, CG Win
Willy Adames: 3-for-4, 2 2B (12, 13), BB, RBI, 3 R
Heliot Ramos: 2-for-5, 2B (17), 2 RBI
Rafael Devers: 1-for-3, 3 RBI, BB
Mike Yastrzemski: 3-for-5, R

(ARI)
Ketel Marte: 1-for-4, HR (19), R, RBI
Eugenio Suárez: 1-for-4, HR (27), R, RBI
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (16)
Brandon Pfaadt: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Mets 3, Brewers 2

David Peterson pitched into the seventh and allowed just one earned run as the Mets edged the Brewers 3–2 for their first series win in three weeks. Brandon Nimmo homered and Edwin Díaz locked down the save in the ninth.

🔑 Game Highlights:

• Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets a 1–0 lead with a solo shot (17) in the 2nd inning.

• Juan Soto and Pete Alonso each added RBI hits to extend New York’s lead to 3–1 by the 6th.

• Peterson worked around traffic all night, inducing two key double plays and logging 10 ground-ball outs.

• After a solo homer by Andruw Monasterio cut the lead to one, Ryne Stanek and Edwin Díaz combined for the final 7 outs — with Luis Torrens catching Christian Yelich stealing in the 9th to end the game.

📊 Notable Stats:

(NYM)
David Peterson: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, HR – Win
Edwin Díaz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K – Save
Brandon Nimmo: 1-for-4, HR (17), R, RBI
Juan Soto: 2-for-4, RBI
Pete Alonso: 1-for-3, 2B (25), BB, RBI
Starling Marte: 2-for-4, R

(MIL)
Andruw Monasterio: 1-for-3, HR (1), R, RBI
Caleb Durbin: 1-for-3, BB, RBI
Joey Ortiz: 1-for-3, 2B (9)
Jose Quintana: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K – Loss

Angels 5, Braves 1

Zach Neto snapped out of a cold stretch with a single, double, and home run to help power the Angels past Atlanta at Truist Park.

🔑 Game Highlights:

• Zach Neto set the tone immediately with a leadoff single, then scored on Jo Adell’s two-out RBI single to give the Angels a 1–0 lead in the 1st.

• Nolan Schanuel followed in the 2nd with a two-run homer to extend the lead to 3–0.

• Neto added a solo shot in the 4th — his 13th of the year — putting the Angels up 4–0.

• Neto doubled later in the game, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

• José Soriano delivered seven shutout innings, striking out seven and walking two.

• Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe each added three hits, and Taylor Ward drove in a run with a triple.

📊 Notable Stats:

(LAA)
Zach Neto (LAA): 3-for-5, HR (13), 2B (16), 3 R, RBI, SB (14)
Nolan Schanuel (LAA): 1-for-4, HR (8), 2 RBI, BB
Jo Adell (LAA): 3-for-5, RBI
Taylor Ward (LAA): 1-for-4, RBI, BB, 3B (2)
José Soriano (LAA): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K

(ATL)
Jurickson Profar (ATL): Solo HR (2), 1-for-4
Marcell Ozuna (ATL): 1-for-3, BB
Bryce Elder (ATL): 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Other game around the league:

Marlins 4, Twins 1
E. Perez: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 7 SO, 1 BB
R. Henriquez: 1.0 IP, 1 SO

Rockies 7, Astros 6
T. Estrada: 3-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
K. Freeland: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 SO, 2 BB

Cubs 1, Guardians 0
C. Horton: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 5 SO, 2 BB
C. Flexen: 1.0 IP, 1 SO

Dodgers 6, White Sox 2
D. May: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 SO, 1 BB
B. Baldwin: 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Royals 3, Mariners 2
S. Lugo: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 SO, 2 BB
L. Evans: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 SO, 1 BB

🇺🇸 Must Watch Games

⚾️ Yankees (48–39) at Mets (50–38)
3:10 PM ET
Marcus Stroman (1–1, 8.16 ERA) vs. TBD

🔥 Reds (45–42) at Phillies (51–36)
1:05 PM ET
Andrew Abbott (7–1, 1.79 ERA) vs. Jesús Luzardo (7–4, 4.06 ERA)

💥 Astros (52–35) at Dodgers (56–32)
9:10 PM ET
Lance McCullers Jr. (1–3, 6.61 ERA) vs. Ben Casparius (6–2, 3.97 ERA)

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