[jksander]

June 2, 2026: The atmosphere was muted as Zac Gallen (6-1, 3.63 ERA, 67.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) got the ball to start the game this evening, facing San Diego’s Troy Melton (1-4, 5.36 ERA, 43.2 IP, 34 K’s, 1.44 WHIP), as everyone in the stadium seemed to be talking about the death of our owner and the affect it could have on our chances of staying on our current improved run. Joshua Mears got us the lead with a groundout in the bottom of the first, and Valenzuela hit one in the bottom of the fourth to add on. Moments later Brooks Lee hit a two-run blast out of center, giving us a commanding 4-0 lead, giving Gallen plenty of room to maneuver as we went into the top of the fifth. We added a run in the bottom of the fifth, and with a six-run lead going into the top of the ninth we finally pulled Gallen for Jonathan Cannon. With one out he blew the shutout, letting Fernando Tatis Jr hit a solo homer out of center, but we still won with ease, beating the Padres 6-1. Gallen won his third game in a row as a White Sox ace, allowing just two hits, a walk and six strikeouts in his eight shutout innings. We outslugged them 14-3, led by Ha-Seong Kim who had three hits, a run and an RBI while Gary Sanchez added two hits, a walk and two runs.

June 3, 2026: We’re sending Heston Kjerstad to the minors for a rehab assignment as he recovers from knee tendinitis. We’re hoping to have him back within a week if his knee holds up. This evening we dealt with our third and final game of the series against the Padres, with Sean Burke (4-2, 4.08 ERA, 46.1 IP, 50 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) pitching against Lance McCullers Jr (2-3, 4.05 ERA, 53.1 IP, 59 K’s, 1.31 WHIP). San Diego went up in the top of the first thanks to an RBI single by Tyler Nevin, and Luis Robert Jr walked in a run with the bases loaded to add on in the top of the third. They increased the margin to 3-0 by the middle of the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single by Jose Barrero, and we FINALLY got on the board with a sac-fly by Lenyn Sosa to put us on the board trailing 3-1 after five innings. Eduard Bazardo took over with one out and a man on first in the top of the sixth, getting out of that inning with a quick bang-bang 6-4-3 double play, and he got through the seventh as well, pitching around a two-out triple by Xander Boegarts to keep us in the game. Alvarado came out for the eighth still trailing by a pair, getting three quick outs including a pair of K’s as we kept hoping our bats would find some spark. Helsley did the same in the top of the ninth, and with one out in the bottom of the inning Tauchman got on base with a line-drive double into right. Brandon Valenzuela then reached first on an E4 errror, taking second as Tauchman came around to score, pulling us within a run! That’s when Lipcius hit one right up the middle into center field, driving home Valenzuela to tie the game at 3-3 and forcing this one into extra innings! Helsley got three quick outs to shut them down in the top of the 10th, and Miguel Vargas quickly hit a single that drove Yordys Valdes to third! That’s when Ceddanne Rafaela, with one out, walked it off with a single into left, giving us a come-from-behind 4-3 victory and the sweep! Helsley improved to 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA, pitching two innings tonight with a hit and two strikeouts, getting us the win in the 10th. We matched them on hits with nine, led by Rafaela who walked it off in the end ... he had three hits but that was his only run, exactly when we needed it.

The win improves our record to 32-24, putting us at eight games above .500 with our off day at long last to rest and regenerate some energy. Seattle is coming to town for a three-game weekend series, and the 35-20 Mariners are certainly no team to take lightly. Right now we hold a 3.5 game lead over the Guardians for first place in the Central, but the race has tightened as Kansas City, on a six-game winning streak, is now just one game under .500 ... so four of the five teams in our division are now within 4.5 games of each other AND all playing well, and even the last-place Tigers (24-32) are 7-3 in their last ten. So there’s no room for anyone to let up, or it can become a fast fall to the bottom.