The Mets found a way to keep the Braves from taking the series, and they did it the hard way. New York grabbed the lead in the ninth on Juan Soto’s home run, then watched it disappear in the bottom of the inning. The response came in the 10th, when the Mets pushed across two runs and Luke Weaver left the bases loaded to close out the win and secure the split.
Monday also gave Dodgers fans something they had not seen all season: extra innings. Los Angeles had gone through 91 games without one, and Tanner Scott’s rough ninth inning against the Rockies finally cracked that streak.
Scott gave up three earned runs, opening the door for some free baseball at Dodger Stadium. Since 1900, only the 2005 Red Sox had gone deeper into a season without playing an extra-inning game, reaching 99 games before finally getting there, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
The teams traded runs in the 10th, the Rockies came up empty in the 11th, and Dalton Rushing ended it with a walk-off single.
The Royals delivered the day’s most lopsided result, hammering Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez for a career-high nine runs. Kansas City set the tone immediately with six runs in the first inning, then kept pouring it on with a run in each of the next three frames.
Sanchez was out before he could finish the fourth, and it was his shortest start since April 2024. The Royals scored in each of the first eight innings, something they had done only one other time in franchise history, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
They finished with season highs in runs, 15, and hits, 22.
Tuesday brings a doubleheader between the Cardinals and Brewers, with right-hander Jacob Misiorowski starting Game 1 for Milwaukee. The rest of the starters have not been set.
It’s a big two-game day for St. Louis, which is trying to stay in the race in a crowded NL Central.
The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs over the weekend, then opened a major five-game series against first-place Milwaukee on Monday. They dropped that game, slipped out of the final NL Wild Card spot, and now sit 8 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the division.
In Other News...
Gary Snchez Keeps Creating One Brewers Problem They Cannot Afford
Gary Snchez has been a useful bat for the Brewers this season, but his work at the plate has come with a different kind of attention too. In a year when Milwaukee has the fewest challenges in baseball, Snchez has been one of the clubs most frequent users of them, and his willingness to push nearly every close call has become part of his profile.
The problem is that the approach has not paid off nearly enough. Snchez has piled up more lost challenges than anyone else in the league, and he is responsible for a huge share of Milwaukees hitter challenges, which can matter when a team needs to save those chances for the biggest moments. The Brewers can live with an aggressive edge from a player producing offensively, but they could use a little more selectivity if they want those challenges to count when it really matters. [Read more 🡒]
Jackson Chourio Had Brewers Fans Doing A Double Take Late
Late in the 18th inning, Jackson Chourio gave Brewers fans a rare sight when he stepped in as a left-handed hitter for the first time in his MLB career. The switch came against a slow eephus pitch from Cardinals utility man Bryan Torres, and Chourio nearly turned the moment into something bigger, sending a drive that was caught just short of the warning track.
It was the kind of odd, late-night wrinkle that can only happen in a marathon game, and both Chourio and manager Pat Murphy seemed to enjoy the novelty of it. Murphy noted how unusual the swing was, while the whole scene fit the feel of an extra-inning game that had already drifted well beyond the ordinary. [Read more 🡒]
One Brewers Bat Is Suddenly Looking Like Tonights Power Play
Jackson Chourio has been one of the Brewers most intriguing power bets lately, and the case for him on July 8 starts with how often the ball has been leaving his bat. He has 13 home runs in 57 games, and the recent surge has only sharpened the attention around him as Milwaukee keeps looking for middle-order thump that can change a game in one swing.
The matchup only adds to the appeal, with the Brewers facing the Cardinals and right-hander Michael McGreevy, who has already given up 13 homers in 17 appearances. Chourios success against right-handed pitching has been part of the conversation too, which is why he stands out in this spot even if the final result is still the kind of thing that can turn on one well-placed pitch. [Read more 🡒]