JP Sears earns win over Braves in 2026 debut

Jordan had started 13 straight games. In his place at third base today is Bryan Torres, who last started a game on June 14. Jordan is batting .267/.280/.444 with one homer and 12 RBI. He’s only 4-for-19 with one double in his last six games, but he’s knocked in seven runs anyway.

Peña tagged former Astros teammate Framber Valdez for an RBI single in the fourth inning before coming through with a clutch game-tying single to shallow center field against Tigers reliever Will Vest with two outs in the eighth. The 28-year-old shortstop recorded his fourth three-hit performance of the season and is now batting .298 with six homers, 21 RBI and eight steals through 47 games.

Carpenter put Minnesota ahead with a grand slam off Astros starter Kai-Wei Teng in the third innings. It was his 12th round-tripper of the season and third career grand slam. The 28-year-old righty-mashing corner outfielder has gone deep in back-to-back contests and has left the yard six times since the start of June.

Hader was summoned to protect a two-run lead in the final frame and required just 11 pitches (seven strikes) to extinguish any hope of a Tigers comeback. He got Spencer Torkelson to ground out, coaxed a fly ball from Matt Vierling and struck out pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones to end it.

Smith kicked off the scoring with a two-run shot off Tigers starter Framber Valdez in the opening frame. It was his lone hit in three at-bats before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. The 23-year-old former top prospect has gone deep twice in his last five games and has hit more than half of his round-trippers since May 26.

Teng hung a third-inning curveball over the plate to Kerry Carpenter, who promptly deposited the offering into the right-field seats for a go-ahead grand slam. It was one of eight hits that he allowed in the abbreviated outing where he finished with just one strikeout. The 27-year-old’s spot in Houston’s rotation appears to be in serious jeopardy, especially with Cristian Javier (shoulder) on the precipice of making it back to the majors. He’s tentatively scheduled to face the Rays next weekend, but that seems highly likely to change.

Valdez coughed up a two-run homer to Cam Smith in the second inning and managed to do just enough to avoid being saddled with a loss against his former organization. He struck out two and didn’t hand out a free pass. He’s turned things around recently, posting a solid 3.21 ERA and 23/9 K/BB ratio across 28 innings over five starts since June 5. He’s likely to take the ball against the Rangers on Saturday in his next outing.

Yoshida took Gerrit Cole deep for his first homer since May 24 and second of the year. He came into the day hitting .175/.250/.200 in 44 plate appearances in June, and he’s been sitting against some righties as a result. He could spend a lot of time on the bench in the second half if the Red Sox are able to get healthy or if they acquire some additional offensive help.

The one run was a Max Schuemann homer off the yellow line on the right side of the Green Monster. A couple of inches to the left and it would have been a double instead. Bennett made it look pretty easy despite recording just three strikeouts today and got 19 outs on 87 pitches. He’s allowed a total of three runs over 17 2/3 innings in his last three starts, giving him a 3.27 ERA in six turns since his debut. He’ll face the Angels next week.

Chapman today had his best stuff since hurting his hamstring last month, averaging 99.8 mph with his fastball. That’s 3.2 mph better than his season average. Cody Bellinger did manage to work an 11-pitch walk against him, which might be enough to take him out of commission for Sunday. It’d be three appearances in four days for the 38-year-old, so the Red Sox could stay away and rely on Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten instead.