MLB Quickcap (June 29, 2026)

Seiya Suzuki's walk-off in Chicago, Mize's dominant performance in the Bronx, and how much longer can Misiorowski last?

Seiya Suzuki hits a walk-off single for the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

SCORES OF THE DAY

Cubs-3, Padres-2: San Diego’s closer, Mason Miller, enters with two men on in the ninth inning of a 2-2 contest at Wrigley Field and yields a pair of knocks, including the game-winning single off the left-field ivy to Seiya Suzuki.

Pirates-11, Phillies-7: Pittsburgh takes the first of four games at Philadelphia behind a six-run fifth and an insurance three-run tater in the ninth by catcher Endy Rodriguez.

Brewers-5, Reds-3: Cincy can’t hold onto a 3-0 lead and falls further behind Milwaukee in the NL Central after the Brew Crew scores five unanswered runs, highlighted by Joey Ortiz’s go-ahead two-run blast in the eighth frame.

Rangers-6, Guardians-3: Texas plays the bullpen game and wins its fifth straight contest to stay a half-game ahead of Seattle in the AL West.

Mariners-6, Angels-2: Seattle’s SP George Kirby tosses eight innings of two-run ball for the win, and his teammate Cole Young goes yard twice (3 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI).

White Sox-8, Orioles-2: Chicago takes the series opener at Baltimore with six runs over the final two frames.

Tigers-7, Yankees-3: Casey Mize leads Detroit to victory after twirling seven scoreless innings on one hit allowed (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K).

Blue Jays-2, Mets-1: Toronto snaps its six-game losing streak behind solid pitching from SP Trey Yesavage (W, 6.2 IP, 1 ER) and the bullpen.

Red Sox-6, Nationals-5: Boston increases its winning streak to five games thanks in part to a Willson Contreras three-run tater in the first inning before the catcher was ejected in the second frame for apparently disrespecting the home plate umpire (Read more about that story here).

Twins-5, Astros-4: Minnesota homers three times off Houston’s SP Peter Lambert, providing enough run support for Zebby Matthews to collect his fourth win (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 K).

Marlins-10, Rockies-7: Miami continues its dominant June run with a pair of four-run innings at Coors Field.

Dodgers-9, Athletics-4: Homers by Max Muncy, Andy Pages, and Shohei Ohtani account for a majority of the Dodgers’ runs as they increase their NL West lead to 11 games over the Padres.

Diamondbacks-5, Giants-4: Arizona’s Ketel Marte and Nolan Arenado go yard, and SP Eduardo Rodríguez improves to 7-2 on the year behind seven frames of one-run ball, while needing only one strikeout to get the job done (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 K).

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

This is one of those picky picks where it really comes down to preference. We had two solid performances in the running for Offensive Line of the Day. Neither line will thrill you, which is why I’m finding it amusing to even break this down. But Pittsburgh’s Endy Rodriguez and Seattle’s Cole Young are the finalists.

Rodriguez had two knocks, a homer, and four ribbies, while also reaching base twice via the walk. Young had one more hit, homer, and run scored than Rodriguez. It feels like Young’s three hits and two taters deserve the award. I have to honor the hits. He’ll take his spot on the podium today.

SEA - Cole Young (3 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

PIT - Endy Rodriguez (2 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

There were a few nice lines by hurlers like Eduardo Rodriguez, Zebby Matthews, and George Kirby. All of them went deep into their starts for wins. However, there’s no doubt who Monday’s winner is. Congrats to Casey Mize and his one-hit gem at Yankee Stadium.

DET - Casey Mize (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 0 BB)

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Speaking of Casey Mize. I was thinking about something a few days ago when my friend Pat texted me after Jacob Misiorowski’s latest start versus the Cubs on Friday. The Miz pitched well over six innings. He gave up one run on two hits and struck out eight for his ninth victory in what is an obvious Cy Young-worthy season from Milwaukee’s right-hander. He also threw the third-fastest pitch in the Statcast era at 105.5 mph. Only closer Aroldis Chapman has topped that mark. Misiorowski averaged over 101 mph on his four-seam fastball in that contest. It’s hard not to marvel at a starting pitcher with insane velocity and obvious great control; otherwise, he wouldn’t be posting phenomenal numbers like a 1.45 ERA and a 0.768 WHIP (both tops in MLB).

However, it raises something I have difficulty wrapping my mind around. Pat asked me after Misiorowski’s start when I thought he’d end up needing Tommy John Surgery or some other surgery to repair an arm that is being used at such an unhealthy rate. All we read about after every Misiorowski start is how hard he threw the ball. In response to Pat’s question, I said that he’ll inevitably require surgery (probably sooner rather than later) and it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up becoming that two-or-three-year wonder with “what could have been” etched next to his name when his career is cut short by injuries.

I was thinking about Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, who came onto the scene in 2022 blowing pitches by hitters with such fierceness that what ultimately ended up happening was kind of inevitable. Elbow surgery and other ailments have kept Strider on the IL since 2024. Every time he’s returned, Strider ends up back on the injured list, and even when he’s appeared healthy on the mound, the 27-year-old has been nowhere near the pitcher he was in ‘22 and ‘23. Over that two-year stretch, all people were talking about was Strider’s strikeout numbers, disregarding the fact that he was throwing at max speeds more often than not.

What’s insane is that Strider threw nowhere near as fast as what we’re seeing from The Miz. I cannot understand how franchises like the Brewers fail to protect their top pitching assets. They are acting like it’s better to get this dominant, consistently hard-throwing, 101-plus max-effort pitcher all the time rather than to worry about the consequences, perhaps even as early as this year. We still have three months to go in the regular season, and can you imagine if Milwaukee gets to the playoffs but their ace isn’t available because he’s thrown his arm out? We’ve seen it plenty of times before.

Look, unless Misiorowski has some sort of robotic arm under his skin, why would Milwaukee want to risk the loss for potentially an entire season or more just so they can get this insane and exciting version of him right now?

I always go back to what Hall of Famer John Smoltz consistently says about a majority of today’s pitchers. He has said numerous times that they only know one way, and for some reason, they aren’t taught how to pitch at lower speeds at certain points in the game to not only save their arm but also to get outs in a variety of ways that don’t always require high velocity. His main point is that pitchers aren’t being taught how to survive the long haul. I echo what he preaches when it comes to someone like Misiorowski. Does he really need to throw that many triple-digit pitches to get outs? Is he incapable of doing something like Mize did against the Yankees last night?

Mize averages in the low to mid 90s on his fastball. He went seven strong innings and struck out 10 batters without needing to throw at max speed a majority of the time. Why aren’t more franchises trying to get this point across to their starting pitchers?

It’s one thing when a reliever like Chapman throws over 100 mph because he’s only out there for an inning or two at a time. He’s proven that he can handle that over the long haul. Seeing the hype around Misiorowski reaching those Chapman-like speeds is kind of like partying and getting drunk, fully aware of the consequences the next day. I think the media is making such a big deal about Jacob’s otherworldly speeds that they don’t care one bit that his overall value will decrease as soon as he goes under the knife and misses a lot of time going forward.

It’s all about consequences. Why not preserve this valuable a pitcher for the long term? Why would franchises not care about this? Are there a dozen more Misiorowskis being cloned down in the Brewers’ farm system? Maybe, but doubtful.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

7:05 PM - Tigers (36-49) at Yankees (48-36): This has nothing to do with the teams playing as much as it does about the two starting pitchers going at it in what should be a fantastic duel between last year’s AL Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal (10 GS, 3-4, 3.32 ERA), and undoubtedly this year’s front runner for the award, New York’s Cam Schlittler (17 GS, 8-4, 1.62 ERA).

I keep going back and forth about whether the Tigers are playoff contenders. A week ago, I thought they might be, but after dropping three of four to Houston at home over the weekend, I’m not so sure they can even make a run in the AL wild card at this point (currently 6 ½ games back). The bigger story is Skubal. Will he be traded before the August 3 Trade Deadline? My guess is that if Detroit isn’t within five games of a playoff spot by the end of July, he’s probably gone, given that his contract expires at the end of the season.

If Detroit is going to get a nice package at some point in return for Skubal, then starts like tonight’s versus New York will be crucial when negotiating his value. If Skubal gives up four runs over six innings like he did last week versus the Yankees in Detroit, then if I’m running another playoff-contending franchise, I’d be asking myself if he is worth the farm for two or three months of potentially great pitching. Last year’s version of Skubal is probably worth the gamble. But so far in the three outings since the southpaw has returned from the IL in mid-June (elbow surgery), he hasn’t looked nearly as dominant as the pitcher we’ve seen over the last two seasons. Let’s see how he fares tonight.

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