Dodgers recall Chayce McDermott from Oklahoma City

This was an all-time blowout. Vargas got the White Sox going with a three-run home run that started their 10-run third inning. He chipped in another run-scoring double in that same frame and one last RBI in the seventh when they already had 20 runs home. In all, they hit five home runs as a team and did all of their damage against real pitchers. Infielder Tyler Tolbert actually turned in a scoreless eighth inning when all the dust had settled. Baseball can be a funny sport sometimes. As for Vargas, that home run was his 18th on the season as he looks to put the finishing touches on his All-Star resume.

It’s not too hard to pitch once given a 10-run lead as Sandlin’s lineup did for him after the third inning. They kept tacking on after that and Sandlin kept cruising. His 97 mph fastball and power-curve led the way accounting for 62% of his total pitches and seven of his nine whiffs. All in all, this was a solid outing and one that may earn him another turn in the White Sox’s rotation.

In one of the worst baseball games a team has ever played, Caglianone’s triple stood tall as one of the Royals’ four hits while the opposing White Sox had 23 hits and 22 runs. Yes, you read that correctly. Nevertheless, Caglianone has had a transcendent June to this point with a .337/.418/.709 slash line plus nine home runs in 23 games. The breakout is fully on.

France’s homer was a 372-footer to left in the second inning, which gave the Padres their only runs through seven. With Nick Castellanos gone and Miguel Andujar rightfully taking a backseat of late, France has started nine of the Padres’ last 10 games. He’s hitting .265/.307/.503 for an .810 OPS that is easily the high mark among the Padres’ semi-regulars. Next on the list is Gavin Sheets way down at .751.

Buehler allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five against his former team. Mookie Betts homered off him in the second, but that proved to be the only damage on the evening. Buehler improved to 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA in beating his original franchise for the first time. Nothing much about his numbers bodes particularly well going forward, but he is a reasonable mixed-league option at home against the D-backs next week.

Sasaki allowed just three hard-hit balls tonight, but he walked five, and one of the hard-hit balls was a three-run homer from Ty France in the second. It was the fourth homer Sasaki has allowed in three starts, so even though his K/BB is getting better, his ERA has jumped from 4.03 three weeks ago to 4.88 now. There’s still hope that things will eventually come together here, especially with Sasaki’s velocity creeping up, but there’s not much reason to use him in the short term. He’ll likely face the Padres again next weekend.

Ouch. That the Dodgers thought it was worth hitting Miguel Rojas for Tucker in the ninth tonight might be the most discouraging moment for the $60 million man in a thoroughly discouraging season to date. Tucker struck out and hit 95- and 90-mph flyouts in his three at-bats tonight after missing the last two games with back spasms. He and Rojas both have .700 OPSs to date, but Rojas intends to retire at season’s end and Tucker will make $55 million next year with $120 million in player options for 2028 and ’29.

What a start. Tolle retired the first 16 batters he faced in order and there was that little twinge in the back of your neck that this could’ve been a really special outing. Then, a Spencer Jones flare turned into a single and this just wound up as a run-of-the-mill gem. Oftentimes leaning on his fantastic four-seamer, Tolle let that pitch take a back seat here as he featured his cutter more than usual. He also pulled out his curveball sparingly, but it forced some ugly swings when he spotted it. Aggression, precision, bravado, he had it all going in this start. Through 71 1/3 innings this season, he has 69 strikeouts, 20 walks, and a 2.78 ERA. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Nationals at home.

Contreras more or less took over this game early with a run-scoring single in the first inning against Yankees’ starter Will Warren followed by a towering, 418 foot, 112 mph moon shot against him in the third. Then, next time out, he walked on a pitch that brushed against his front elbow. As usual, Contreras didn’t take too kindly to being pitched inside, flipped his bat on the walk, and began barking towards the visiting dugout. A brouhaha ensued with both benches clearing, which is all in a day’s work for Contreras. Apart from his usual antics, Contreras has been the Red Sox’s most reliable hitter this season with 17 home runs, a .281 batting average, and .901 OPS so far.

The Yankees struggled to muster any offense against Payton Tolle and the Red Sox’s bullpen in this one. They wound up with just three total hits and the only two that went for extra-bases – Domínguez’s double and another from Anthony Volpe – came after Tolle left the game. Regardless, Domínguez has hit safely in four straight games and is not only an everyday player for the Yankees right now, but consistently in prominent spots in their lineup.