Junior Caminero’s Home Run Derby commitment gave him something to smile about, and he backed it up the same day. The Rays third baseman went deep for the fifth game in a row, and that blast pushed him into a tie for third on the American League home run leaderboard with Ben Rice.
Tuesday also got messy in Boston, where the Red Sox and Nationals wound up emptying the benches after Willson Contreras and Cade Cavalli started jawing at each other in the fourth inning. Contreras, Nate Eaton, and Miles Mikolas were all ejected from the game, and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy was sent out as well after arguing that Cavalli should be removed.
Cavalli stayed in and made the most of it, finishing with seven strong innings and 13 strikeouts. It marked the second straight day Contreras was tossed; he was ejected Monday after a run-in with first base umpire Nic Lentz over a check swing call.
Dave Roberts hit a milestone of his own, becoming the fastest manager in major league history to reach 1,000 wins. Roberts got there in 1,606 games, topping the previous mark of 1,641 set by Cap Anson.
The Dodgers manager reached the number one day after A.J. Hinch did the same, and he’s now got three World Series titles in 11 seasons in Los Angeles.
“ He’s a special person,” Mookie Betts said. “ He is my manager, but I just don’t really see him that way.
I see him more as like a baseball dad, to be honest.”
Carter Jensen kept his own surge rolling for Kansas City. The Royals catcher opened Tuesday’s game against the Rays with a solo shot off Griffin Jax, stretching his hitting streak to 20 games.
Jensen hit .290 with five home runs in June and finished the month with an .860 OPS. Kansas City moved him back to the leadoff spot at the end of May, and the difference has been obvious: after hitting just .198/.272/.309 that month, he has an .853 OPS in 92 at-bats at the top of the order.
In Other News...
Former Nationals Prospect Is Already Making This Trade Look Painful
Jake Bennett did not take long to make his new team feel better about the deal. The former Nationals left-hander has settled into the Red Sox rotation well enough to look like a pitcher who belongs right now, which is exactly the sort of development Washington was hoping to get when it moved him in the first place. For a Nationals club still trying to build toward contention, the appeal of landing a power arm with a higher ceiling was obvious at the time.
But the early returns have only sharpened the contrast between immediate help and longer-term upside. While Bennett has looked major-league ready in Boston, Luis Perales has been working through inconsistency at Triple-A Rochester, leaving Washington with a version of the trade that feels more precarious by the week. With the Nationals still in the middle of a playoff pursuit, it is the kind of swap that can linger on a front office's mind even before the full answer comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Mitchell Parker Update Raises Bigger Concern For Thin Nationals Staff
The Nationals have spent much of this season trying to prove they belong in the mix, and the recent surge from Luis Garcia Jr. has helped keep that conversation alive. Garcia has been one of the hottest bats in the lineup this month, while CJ Abrams has also given the club a clear All-Star storyline as he leads NL shortstop voting and remains in the hunt to start the game.
But any momentum around the lineup is being tested by a thinner pitching staff than Washington can comfortably afford. Mitchell Parkers move to the injured list comes at a time when the Nationals are already trying to hold steady in the standings, and after a rough loss in Boston, every arm matters a little more. The club is waiting to learn more about Parkers elbow, and in the meantime the concern is bigger than one roster spot because the rotation and bullpen have little margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Made Another Pitching Shuffle Fans Can't Ignore
The Nationals kept their pitching pipeline moving this week by sending right-hander Connor Van Scoyoc and left-hander Alex Young up to Triple-A Rochester, another small but telling shuffle for an organization still sorting through arms at every level. Van Scoyoc earned the bump after a steady run in Harrisburg, where he handled both starting and relief work and put together a 6-2 season with a 3.54 ERA across 18 appearances.
Youngs rise has been even more accelerated, and it is the kind of move that stands out in a system where health and depth have both been in focus. Signed in May while working back from elbow surgery, he moved quickly through the Nationals minors and now reaches Rochester after a brief stop in Harrisburg, where he allowed no earned runs in two outings and added another left-handed option to a club that can never have too many of those. [Read more 🡒]