Luis García Jr. homers again in loss to Pirates

Bauers’ homer off left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez made it 2-1 in the seventh, and the Brewers added one more later in the inning before holding on to win. Bauers got the nod over Blake Perkins today, starting against a lefty for the 13th time in 29 chances this year. His 16 homers, 51 runs scored and 54 RBI are all career highs, though he still has fewer plate appearances this season (314) than he did in 2018 (388), 2019 (423) and 2024 (346). His .861 OPS is nearly 200 points better than his career mark of .672 from 2018-25.

Nothing came easy for Sproat today. He threw at least 19 pitches in all four of his innings, totaling 92 in all, while giving up five hits and walking three. It’s the eighth time in 15 starts that Sproat has failed to last five innings, though he did complete five in four of five starts while going 2-0 in June. His stuff and his strikeout rate have ticked up a bit as the season has gone along, and he’s pretty intriguing in fantasy leagues right now even with all of the quick hooks. He’ll face the Pirates in his final start of the first half.

Megill turned in his 12th consecutive scoreless appearance. Abner Uribe has remained very good as well, but Megill just isn’t opening the door for the Brewers to switch closers again.

Rodriguez kept the Brewers scoreless until a giving up a single and a homer to Jake Bauers to begin the seventh, ending his day at 102 pitches. One inning earlier, he gave up a 423-foot double to Jackson Chourio that likely would have been a homer in 29 ballparks. Other than that, Rodriguez was quite good, even though his velocity was down a tad. He struck out just three, but then, he’s averaging only four strikeouts per start on the season. He walked none for a second straight outing, which is nice from a guy who had a 10 percent walk rate previously. Rodriguez was named to his first All-Star team on Saturday. His peripherals suggest that he’s due to regress, but he’s 7-3 with a 2.25 ERA right now. He’ll likely face the Dodgers on Friday.

Vargas is still playing a fair amount despite having gone 13-for-99 in his last 37 games. Part of it is likely that he has timed his hits well; he’s driven in 15 runs despite recording just 17 total bases on those nine singles and four doubles. He’s still second on the D-backs with 46 RBI, even though he’s down to .261/.305/.402 following his scorching start.

In addition to the homer, Gilbert also doubled and singled twice. The 25-year-old former top prospect has had some spurts of success in his first full season of MLB action, but overall production of .243/.327/.387 over 173 at-bats leaves a bit to desired. He’s still a name that’s worth keeping an eye on in keeper/dynasty formats.

Devers hit two of the Giants’ four homers, both off of Tanner Gordon. The 29-year-old slugger has now gone deep 18 times in 2026, and he’s driven 47 RBI over the first 89 games of the 2026 campaign. After a disastrous — at least per expectations — start to the season, Devers is starting to swing the bat at a level fantasy managers have grown accustomed to.

Karros turned a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 lead with a three-run homer off Drew Smith, and it was clobbered an estimated 457 feet. The 23-year-old has been a relative brightspot for the Rockies, and after slashing an excellent .357/.444/.586 in June, he’s off to a nice start to the month of July.

It’s the fifth save of the season for Romano, but the first since he joined the Rockies. The 33-year-old struck out a pair and worked around a free pass to procure the save. It seems feasible that Romano could get more save chances for the lowly Rockies, but fantasy managers need to consider the team he plays for, the home park he’ll pitch in, and his complete lack of success the past few years before making a roster decision.

Despite allowing four homers, Gordon doesn’t qualify for a decision, thanks almost entirely to a bullpen meltdown from the Giants. The 28-year-old has allowed five runs in back-to-back starts, and his ERA is now a deserved 6.95 over the first half of the season. He’ll get a rematch against the Giants on Friday, with the start taking place in San Francisco. No matter where Gordon pitches, he shouldn’t be in a fantasy lineup.