[jksander]

July 4, 2025: Happy birthday, ‘Murica! Yu Darvish (8-5, 3.35 ERA, 96.2 IP, 90 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) was raring and ready to go against Colorado’s Brendan McKay (3-3, 4.06 ERA, 57.2 IP, 46 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) in our first game of the year at Coors’, and we were hopeful the rockets red glare would only refer to the post game fireworks and not a hailfire of dingers. Colorado hit us first, getting an RBI single off Hunter Goodman’s bat in the bottom of the second to go up 1-0. They added two more in the third, thanks to an RBI double by Ezequiel Tovar, and a solo homer from Thairo Estrada in the fourth had them leading 4-0 and our hopes fading fast. Martin Perez took over in the sixth, and in the top of the seventh we got on the board with an RBI single by Starling Marte, cutting their lead to 4-1. Mike Tauchman hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth to cut their lead to one, and we tied it in the ninth with an RBI single by Meidroth! Moments later Tauchman hit a single into left and drove in Dominic Fletcher for the go-ahead run, and Bazardo shut them down in the bottom of the frame as we held on to the come-from-behind 5-4 victory! Darvish had a five inning five hit effort, but those hits and two walks contributed to four earned runs, against just five strikeouts. Noah Syndergaard got the win, improving to 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA, and Eduardo Bazardo was locked in as usual, saving his third game and keeping his ERA unblemished since joining our team. We outhit them 8-6, led by Tauchman, who had two hits and three RBIs.
 
July 5, 2025: Mike Clevinger (6-3, 2.24 ERA, 64.1 IP, 60 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) pitched against Spencer Turnbull (3-6, 4.54 ERA, 71.1 IP, 67 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) in game two against the Rockies, and we got out to a quick lead in the top of the second thanks to a three-run homer by Austin Slater. But Colorado hit right back in the bottom of the inning with a two-run shot by Thairo Estrada, and they tied it up with a solo homer by Miguel Toglia in the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the seventh Kris Bryant hit a two-run blast to shoot them into the lead 5-3, and that was all they needed to complete the victory, since we had no answer. Brandon Eisert took the loss, falling to 0-2 with a 3.51 ERA after allowing a hit, a strikeout and two (unearned) runs thanks to Bryant. We outhit them 8-6 but aside from Slater’s two hits, one run and two RBIs, and a hit, run and RBI from Teel, our offense had little to offer.

July 6, 2025: We’re a few days away from the draft and a week away from All Star announcements, as we finish this Colorado series with a matchup of rookie Noah Schultz (3-0, 1.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 23 K’s, 0.83 WHIP) versus Ryan Feltner (2-9, 4.92 ERA, 86.0 IP, 59 K’s, 1.47 WHIP). Miguel Vargas reached base on an E5 error and allowed Tauchman to score, putting us up 1-0 in the top of the first, and Schultz was locked in, shutting them down consistently early on. In the top of the fifth, two scored off a Vargas RBI triple and then Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer, extending our lead to 5-0! Meidroth batted in a run with a line drive single in the sixth to make it a six-run lead, and Schultz got us through the sixth unblemished, a quality start that let Craig Kimbrel take over after the stretch with a huge advantage. We kept them at bay from there, shutting them down 6-0 in as complete a win as you’re likely to have when playing at Coors! Schultz improved to 4-0 with three hits and nine strikeouts through six innings (no walks!) and Kimbrel and Shane Smith combined for three innings with a hit, a walk and three strikeouts as they shared in the shutout glory. We outhit the Rockies 9-4, led by Lopez and Tauchman, who each had two hits and a run.

We’ll head into our final week of pre-All Star games back in Chicago, our record sitting at 39-51, still just 8.5 games out of first in the division. We trail Kansas City, Detroit and Cleveland by five and a half, so our upcoming four-game stretch against the Guardians could prove to be very valuable. But first we have to get past Toronto and their 46-45 record ... they’re currently in second place in the AL East, trailing the Yankees by eight and a half.

July 7, 2025: Sean Burke (5-7, 4.56 ERA, 81.0 IP, 79 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) pitched against Toronto’s Max Scherzer (9-4, 4.01 ERA, 110.0 IP, 105 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) in our first of three against the Blue Jays here at Rate Field. We took the lead off a sac fly by Michael A. Taylor in the bottom of the first to go up 1-0, but in the top of the fifth they tied us up with a solo homer by Nathan Lukes. Burke got us through six, and Eisert took over in the top of the seventh, still tied up 1-1. His first batter faced, Bo Bichette, hit a solo homer over the left field wall to push the Blue Jays into the lead, but we fought back in the bottom of the inning, tying it up again with a leadoff homer by Gallo. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Noah Syndergaard gave up a homer to Davis Schneider, sending us into the bottom of the final inning with work to do, and we weren’t up to the task, losing this one 3-2. Syndergaard took the loss, falling to 5-4 with a 3.42 ERA, and we lost despite outhitting them 9-6 ... Gallo’s homer and two hits (and nothing else) for Lenyn Sosa led our offense as we suffered our late collapse.

Unfortunately, Mike Clevinger, who left after four innings in our 3-5 loss to the Rockies on July 5, suffered a significant injury ... team doctors informed us today he’s torn a muscle in his back, and will miss the remainder of the season. The 34-year-old was on a one year MLB-minimum contract, and we’re not intending to renew it now that his ability to pitch next year is in doubt. We’re going to release him and pay the remainder of his salary ($324,000 and change) rather than putting him on our IL.

To replace him in the lineup, we’ve made a move with our north side compatriots, the Chicago Cubs, sending them rehabbing third baseman Josh Rojas in exchange for Julian Merryweather (1-2, 2 SV, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 26 K’s, 2.00 WHIP) and $7.5 million in cash. It’s not a huge move by any means, but Merryweather is earning just $1.2 million this year, so his remaining contract is low and he has the stuff to be a decent contributor in our bullpen for the remainder of the season. And we had our concerns about whether Rojas was going to have what it took to get back into our lineup once his stint in the minors was complete.
 
July 8, 2025: Ryan Weber (3-6, 4.09 ERA, 83.2 IP, 53 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) pitched against Kevin Gausman (8-4, 3.78 ERA, 85.2 IP, 85 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) in game two against the Blue Jays. Toronto got out to a quick lead when Davis Schneider scored off a wild pitch in the top of the third, and they added on three more to build a comfortable lead midway through the fourth. Austin Slater hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to get us on the board, and an RBI single by Lopez and an RBI double by Tauchman got us back within a run after six. We kept grinding, and in the bottom of the seventh Chase Meidroth hit a two-run double to complete the comeback, giving us a 5-4 lead heading into the eighth inning. But the bullpen didn’t hold, Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth, and that was the last salvo. We lost this one 6-5 and will need to have a good game tomorrow if we want to avoid going into the Cleveland series on a losing streak. Syndergaard lost his second game in a row, falling to 5-5 with a 3.57 ERA, allowing two hits, a strikeout and two earned runs in his two innings of work. They outhit us 9-7, our bats led by Kyle Teel who had two hits, a walk and a run scored.

July 9, 2025: Yu Darvish (8-5, 3.54 ERA, 101.2 IP, 95 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Bowden Francis (3-4, 5.98 ERA, 43.2 IP, 38 K’s, 1.42 WHIP) in the third game of the Toronto series. Darvish gave up a pair in the top of the first off a single by Bichette and another by Varsho. He made it into the sixth but gave up a leadoff double to Bichette, and Eisert came out and let Bissette score on a passed ball, with Varsho scoring off a double by Nathan Lukes ... Toronto 4, White Sox 0. But we woke up in the bottom of the inning, getting on the board with a Lopez RBI single, adding on with a two-run double by Starling Marte, and tying the score when Austin Slater hit an RBI single, giving us new life heading into the top of the seventh. But the ninth inning continued to be our achiles heel ... with Eduard Bazardo on the mound and the score still tied 4-4, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer and moments later Addison Barger hit a solo blast of his own, and just like that we were down three heading into the final frame. There was no comeback, and we lost 7-4. Three games in a row we’ve been on the cusp and then failed in epic fashion. Bazardo fell to 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA, allowing three hits, striking out one batter and allowing three runs, only one of which was earned.

We’ll head into the Cleveland series with a 39-54 record, and while we’re in last place and nine games back, they’re now at .500 and just a game and a half out of first place, just a game behind second-place Kansas City. We play them four games in a row here at Rate Field, with the draft in two days and the All Star break (and a much needed team reset) just tantalizingly out of reach.

July 10, 2025: Martin Perez (4-5, 1 SV, 5.25 ERA, 58.1 IP, 37 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) started game one of the Cleveland series, facing Shane Bieber (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.33 WHIP). We came into the bottom of the tied 2-2, but we took the lead on a two-run homer by Dominic Fletcher, and then in the bottom of the fifth took full control of the game, Joey Gallo hitting a two-run slam and Miguel Vargas following with a solo bomb out of right to make it a 7-2 lead. Gallo hit a grand slam in the eighth, his second dinger of the game, and we crushed the Guardians 11-2, a huge win for us! Perez improved to 5-5 with a 5.12 ERA, pitching five innings with four hits, three walks, four strikeouts and two earned runs. But Jonathan Cannon then dominated the rest, earning a FOUR-inning save with a hit, a walk and five strikeouts, his first save of the year improving his ERA to 4.58 through 59 innings and 28 appearances. We outhit them 12-5, led of course by Gallo who had two hits, a walk, two runs and six RBIs. He has hit 12 homers this year, but has only hit .189, so he’s been in and out of our lineups all year.

Tomorrow night we’ll be back here at 7:05 for first pitch in game two, but for now the focus is entirely on tomorrow’s rookie draft. More updates to come!