Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. Giants fans, get your kayaks ready. The Rafael Devers Era has arrived in San Francisco, and the three-time All-Star slugger will get his first chance to take aim at McCovey Cove as a member of the home team when he makes his highly anticipated Giants debut against the Guardians at Oracle Park tonight (9:45 p.m. ET on MLB.TV).
The Red Sox's stunning decision to trade Devers left them to grapple with myriad questions about their lineup and their future. In San Francisco, though, optimism is running high. The Giants will introduce Devers in his new No. 16 jersey -- the No. 11 he wore with the Red Sox is retired for Carl Hubbell, the first National Leaguer so honored -- today at 5:30 p.m. ET. It will air live on MLB Network and MLB.com. Sure, there are concerns about how Devers' contract will age, with eight-plus years left on his 10-year, $313.5 million deal. Devers' power will also be tested at Oracle Park, something our own Mike Petriello pointed out when analyzing how the 28-year-old fits at his new home. Oracle Park is a notoriously tough place to hit (especially for lefties like Devers), which is one of the reasons why the Giants haven't had a 30-homer batter since Barry Bonds last did it more than 20 years ago.
But none of that is going to dampen the excitement Giants fans are likely feeling right now -- not when their team just landed the kind of star bat it has been chasing for years.
Despite dropping two of three to the rival Dodgers over the weekend, the Giants have gone 9-5 in June and are right in the thick of the National League playoff race. San Francisco's lineup has started to click again lately after struggling in May, and now it gets to add a hitter of Devers' caliber to the mix. The buzz should only intensify this week, with Devers' former team set to visit Oracle Park for a three-game series starting Friday.
There's also a sense that more deals could be coming for San Francisco before the July 31 Trade Deadline, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey showing a clear willingness to be aggressive in his first year at the helm. -- Thomas Harrigan |
- Twins @ Reds (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Andrew Abbott is about nine innings shy of qualifying for the ERA leaderboards, but his 1.87 mark would rank third in the Majors, just behind Paul Skenes. Abbott did the Twins a favor by tossing a shutout vs. Cleveland in his last start, but now it's their turn to try to barrel up the Reds' budding ace, who is in the 95th percentile in MLB at limiting hard contact.
- Mets @ Braves (7:15 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network): The last time these archrivals met, it was a season-ending doubleheader that saw both clubs clinch playoff berths. Reminders will come quickly when Francisco Lindor -- who hit the memorable go-ahead homer in Game 1 of that epic clash -- leads off against Spencer Schwellenbach, who also started that game.
- Padres @ Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, TBS): It might not match the hype of last night's game, but it's impossible to ignore any time these teams match up. Not that you need us to tell you, but keep an eye on Fernando Tatis Jr., who seems to have rediscovered his early-season stroke (1.181 OPS in his last seven games).
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BEST COLLEGE WORLD SERIES START EVER? |
For the 2025 Draft prospects missing this week's Combine because they are participating in the College World Series, Arkansas right-hander Gage Wood showed on Monday that there are other ways to boost your Draft stock: Just pitch one of the greatest games in college baseball history.
Pitching in the College World Series against Murray State on Monday, MLB Pipeline's No. 50 overall Draft prospect pitched a gem that has few precedents. The 21-year-old Wood took a perfect game into the eighth inning and struck out 19 batters in the first CWS no-hitter in 65 years, coming one hit-by-pitch away from perfection.
Wood's 19 K's are a new Men's CWS record in a nine-inning game, and only one off the CWS record for any game, set by Ohio State's Steve Arlin in 1965 (20 K's in 15 innings). The MLB record for strikeouts in a no-hitter is 17, achieved by Max Scherzer (2015) and Nolan Ryan (1973).
For modern collegiate comps, Gage's performance most recalled the 19-strikeout no-hitter Kumar Rocker threw for Vanderbilt in the 2019 Super Regionals, the eighth no-hitter in NCAA baseball tournament history at the time (Gage's no-no makes nine).
In terms of best-ever postseason college pitching performances, the bar to clear may come from a pitcher who not only lost his no-hitter, but lost the game. That was Ron Darling, pitching for Yale against future Mets teammate Frank Viola and St. John's in the 1981 regionals. Darling held St. John's hitless for his first 11 innings, finally allowing a hit (and a run) in the 12th and finishing with 16 strikeouts. Darling and Yale lost, 1-0, in what is widely considered the best college baseball game ever played.
Darling was drafted ninth overall by the Rangers that year, while Viola went 37th overall to the Twins. -- Joe Trezza |
EPIC RUN ENDS IN HEARTBREAK |
Beat the Streak is one of our signature games, offering a $5.6 million grand prize if users can "beat" Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak by correctly selecting an MLB player to get a hit each day. Get to 57, and you can win the prize. (Play it here!)
Nobody has reached 57 in the 24 seasons of Beat the Streak, meaning the prize has gone unclaimed thus far. User "lotank" got closer than almost anyone has (the record is 51), taking a 50-game run into last night's action. They selected A's shortstop Jacob Wilson -- a strong choice, considering his .367 average and 98 hits entering the series opener vs. Houston were both second in the Majors.
Wilson almost got a knock right away when he hit a dribbler to third base with one out in the first, but veteran infielder Luis Guillorme, playing in just his third game with the Astros, made a stellar barehanded play to get Wilson by a stride. (It wasn't even Guillorme's best play of the night: Check out this incredible twisting, lunging snag that pitcher Ryan Gusto called "the best catch I've witnessed being on the mound.")
Entering his final at-bat without a hit, Wilson lifted a bloop that actually found grass in the eighth. But Max Schuemann, who was on first base, wasn't sure it would drop and was forced out at second base. Wilson was credited with a fielder's choice, not a hit, and just like that, lotank's streak was over.
More than 5 million unique users have played Beat the Streak -- start your own streak today and chase DiMaggio. The grand prize awaits. -- Andy Werle |
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