Last Night in Baseball: Meet MLB's surprising home run leader
There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves.
That's why we're here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days' games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: MLB's HR leader … the Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom?
It's not like the Athletics have never had big bats in the history of their franchise. The Bash Brothers helped bring the A's their most recent World Series title in 1989. (That was an entire Taylor Swift's lifetime ago!) Even more recently, Brent Rooker just put together back-to-back 30-home run seasons.
Still, the A's are not the first (or second, or even 27th) team you probably think of if you're talking about sluggers. And yet, it's their first baseman who is currently leading the majors in dingers.
On Thursday, Soderstrom blasted his ninth homer of the season to lead the A's to an 8-0 win and a series sweep over the hapless White Sox.
Though he's in the midst of a breakout year, it's understandable if you aren't all that familiar with the 23-year-old. Here are a few facts to get to know him a little more: He was the 26th-overall selection of the 2020 MLB Draft.
His nine homers rank as the second-most in franchise history through 19 games. He's tied with Reggie Jackson (1974) and Mark McGwire (1992), and trails Bob Cerv (1958) and Khris Davis (2019) by one.
He was raised on an almond farm in Turlock, California, where he grew up playing on a small "Field of Dreams"-type baseball field.
His dad, Steve, was also a first-round draft pick who pitched three games for the San Francisco Giants in 1996. Patrick Corbin's mysterious bug bite
Corbin made his first home start with the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. But as he revealed on Thursday, he almost didn't pitch due to a mysterious bug bite that left him with a swollen ankle.
"It was really bad in the morning," Corbin said. "I wasn't sure if I was going to throw."
"He had a bite. He could hardly walk when he came into the clubhouse," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "Some kind of venom got in there. Not sure if it was a spider or what. He was 50-50 on whether he would make the start or not."
The venom didn't hurt Corbin — or maybe it helped him in a Peter Parker kind of way. The 35-year-old earned his first win of the season after allowing just one run against the Los Angeles Angels.
Corbin, who is staying at Max Scherzer's home, just signed with the Rangers last month after spending the previous six seasons with the Nationals. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Apparently, that includes the bugs. Nolan Jones takes a baseball to the beans
Listen, if Nolan Jones can laugh about it, then so can we.
"He might have got him somewhere in the groin area." We can feel pretty confident in that assertion, yes. Justin Martinez brings the heat
Part of what makes baseball so gripping are the moment-to-moment decisions and plays. Here, you see Diamonbacks' reliever Justin Martinez with the bases loaded, in a 1-2 count just nine pitches into his outing, trying to clean up a mess and hold Arizona's slim 6-4 lead over the Marlins.
This is a situation where a pitcher has what basically boil down to two options. Throw something a hitter is going to chase or not go after at all, giving them the opportunity to mess up while you leverage the remaining balls the plate appearance has left before a walk. Or! You could throw the hitter off guard by going maximum velocity down the pipe, instead, in the hope they either won't be able to catch up to it enough to cause damage with it, or will simply blink, ending the at-bat.
Martinez got Connor Norby to blink on a 102-mph heater that, ever so briefly, looked like it might tail away from Norby and the strike zone. It did not do that. Threat and inning over, and the Diamondbacks would go on to complete the sweep. Reds fall apart late, courtesy Mariners' power
The Reds and Mariners played a wild one, with the Mariners extending their lead to 5-3 in the top of the eighth, only for the Reds to go ahead, 7-5, on a grand slam by Jake Fraley in the bottom of the inning.
Seattle would respond with a Cal Raleigh blast followed by another by Randy Arozarena, which tied it up and sent the game to extras. The Mariners would pile on in the 10th, with Arozarena's two-run double the dagger, and the Reds had no answers for that in the bottom of the frame. Seattle took the game 11-7, and the series as well.
Baseball can be a cruel roller coaster of a game, but that's so much of the appeal, isn't it?
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Major League Baseball
recommended
Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
Los Angeles Angels vs. Athletics odds, tips and betting trends
Los Angeles Angels vs. Athletics odds, tips and betting trends | June 9 The Athletics (26-41) will visit the Los Angeles Angels (30-34), Monday at 9:38 p.m. ET, in a clash of AL West rivals. The Angels are favored at home (-159) against the Athletics (+133). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Los Angeles Angels looking to Yusei Kikuchi (1-5), and Jeffrey Springs (5-4) answering the bell for the Athletics. Ahead of this Angels vs. Athletics matchup, here's what you need to get ready for Monday's MLB action, including viewing options. Los Angeles Angels vs. Athletics odds, line and spread MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Monday at 6:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Favorite: Angels (-159, bet $159 to win $100) Angels (-159, bet $159 to win $100) Underdog: Athletics (+133, bet $100 to win $133) Athletics (+133, bet $100 to win $133) Over/under: 9 Angels vs. Athletics: Game time and live stream info Game day: Monday, June 9, 2025 Monday, June 9, 2025 Game time: 9:38 p.m. ET 9:38 p.m. ET Location: Anaheim, California Anaheim, California Stadium: Angel Stadium Angel Stadium TV channel: FDSW and NBCS-CA FDSW and NBCS-CA Live stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply) Watch Angels vs. Athletics on Fubo! Angels stats and trends Angels betting records This season, the Angels have won five out of the 11 games, or 45.5%, in which they've been favored. This season, the Angels have won two of their five games when favored by at least -159 on the moneyline. The implied probability of a win from the Angels, based on the moneyline, is 61.4%. The Angels and their opponents have hit the over in 33 of their 64 games with a total this season. The Angels have an ATS record of 32-32-0 in 64 games with a spread this season. Yusei Kikuchi (Angels probable starter) Kikuchi makes the start for the Angels, his 14th of the season. He is 1-5 with a 3.23 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings pitched. In his most recent appearance on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox, the lefty went five innings, allowing three earned runs while surrendering eight hits. The 33-year-old has an ERA of 3.23, with 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings, in 13 games this season. Opponents are batting .266 against him. Kikuchi is trying to pick up his sixth quality start of the year in this game. Kikuchi will look to extend an eight-game streak of pitching five or more innings (he's averaging 5.3 innings per outing). He has had two appearances this season in which he did not allow an earned run. He will face off against an Athletics offense that ranks third in MLB with 590 total hits (on a .257 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .418 (seventh in MLB) with 80 total home runs (ninth in MLB). The 33-year-old ranks 32nd in ERA (3.23), 78th in WHIP (1.593), and 40th in K/9 (8.1) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season. Angels batting stats The Angels have hit 93 homers this season, which ranks third in the league. Hitters for the Angels rank ninth in the majors with a combined .405 team slugging percentage. The Angels have a team batting average of just .225 this season, which ranks 27th among MLB teams. The Angels have scored 270 runs (4.2 per game) this season, which ranks 19th in MLB. The Angels are among the worst in the league at getting on base, ranking 28th with an OBP of .287. The Angels are one of the least disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking 29th with an average of 9.7 strikeouts per game. Athletics stats and trends Athletics betting records The Athletics have been victorious in 17, or 34.7%, of the 49 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season. This year, the Athletics have won five of 23 games when listed as at least +133 or better on the moneyline. The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Athletics have a 42.9% chance of walking away with the win. The Athletics and their opponents have hit the over in 37 of their 67 games with a total this season. The Athletics are 30-37-0 against the spread in their 67 games that had a posted line this season. Jeffrey Springs (Athletics probable starter) Springs (5-4 with a 4.66 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Athletics, his 13th of the season. The lefty last appeared in relief on Thursday, when he threw 6 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins, allowing three earned runs while giving up five hits. The 32-year-old has put up a 4.66 ERA and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 13 games this season, while giving up a batting average of .232 to opposing batters. Springs has six quality starts under his belt this season. Springs has 10 starts this year that he pitched five or more innings. In two of his appearances this season he did not surrender an earned run. He will face an Angels offense that ranks 19th in the league with 270 total runs scored while batting .225 as a squad. His opponent has a collective .405 slugging percentage (ninth in MLB play) and has hit a total of 93 home runs (third in the league). Among pitchers who qualify in MLB play this season, the 32-year-old ranks 66th in ERA (4.66), 63rd in WHIP (1.345), and 50th in K/9 (7.4). Athletics batting stats The Athletics rank ninth in baseball with 80 total home runs. So far this season, the Athletics are seventh in the majors, slugging .418. The Athletics have the fifth-best batting average in the majors (.257). The offense for the Athletics is the No. 12 offense in MLB play scoring 4.3 runs per game (289 total runs). The Athletics are ninth in MLB with an on-base percentage of .324. Watch the MLB on Fubo!
New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
Phillies takeaways on the sputtering offense, outfield issues and a pitching tightrope
The defining sequence of a miserable weekend in Pittsburgh that featured three Phillies' one-run losses came in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon. The game was tied. Alec Bohm doubled to right, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. No outs. The Phillies just needed a fly ball to score him. Nick Castellanos worked a 3-0 count against righty reliever Isaac Mattson. He took two straight sliders for strikes, then a borderline fastball for strike three. J.T. Realmuto got a hanging slider and skied it only 214 feet to right — not deep enough. Bryson Stott reached a full count but couldn't handle a changeup in the zone. He flied out to center. Advertisement The Pirates homered in the bottom half of the inning. The end. But that failed seventh-inning chance was emblematic of a deeper issue that begins to explain how the Phillies have sputtered on offense. They have failed to do damage on non-fastballs this season, especially over the past two weeks. Almost every hitter on the roster has seen a dip in slugging percentage against off-speed and breaking pitches. Many have experienced radical declines. The team's slugging percentage against non-fastballs ranks 25th in MLB. Even more telling: Since May 27, the Phillies have averaged 3.08 runs per game. They are 3-9 in that span. They have slugged a measly .273 on non-fastballs during that stretch. That ranks 30th in MLB — 20 points lower than the next-worst offense. This was the scouting report that emerged last summer: The Phillies can be beaten with spin. But that wasn't always the case in 2024. The Phillies actually ranked fifth in the majors last season in slugging percentage against non-fastballs. They improved later in the season, their best damage on those pitches coming from Aug. 1 to the end of the regular season. Those adjustments have not translated to 2025. The Phillies have seen off-speed and breaking pitches at roughly the same rate as last season (45 percent), and opposing teams could exploit it further without Phillies hitters producing more on those pitches. Kevin Long, the club's veteran hitting coach, has philosophies rooted in being on time for the fastball. The Phillies remain a good-hitting team against fastballs; they have, so far, posted almost identical numbers against fastballs in 2025 as in 2024. It's just one snapshot in time. Maybe none of this matters. Paul Skenes fired fastballs 54 percent of the time in Sunday's outing — the highest rate in any of his 37 big-league starts. He allowed one unearned run in 7 2/3 innings. Advertisement Phillies center fielders have a .609 OPS through 65 games. That would be the franchise's worst mark at that position since at least 1901 and probably in the entire history of the Phillies. It's not good. (Somehow, in 2025, there are six teams with lower OPS marks from their center fielders. That is quite a commentary on the state of the position across baseball.) It would be one thing if the Phillies were receiving elite defense in center field. They are not. It would be one thing if this were a new problem. It is not. (The Phillies rank 26th in MLB in OPS from center fielders since 2020.) It would be one thing if the Phillies were getting production in the corner outfield spots to compensate. They have not. (Phillies left and right fielders rank 16th in OPS.) Nick Castellanos has been steady at the plate but a growing liability in the field. The platoon in left field, as of now, is a dud. Even if the Phillies wanted to swap Weston Wilson (4-for-27 with no extra-base hits against lefty pitchers) for a different platoon bat, the only righty-hitting outfielder at Triple A is journeyman Óscar Mercado. Max Kepler, making $10 million, has produced a .660 OPS. But the biggest outfield disappointment, by far, is Brandon Marsh against righties. Even if Marsh is not an everyday player, he has provided terrific value before in that specific role. He hit .281/.362/.469 against righties after his trade to the Phillies in 2022 through the 2024 season. This season: He's hit .225/.320/.315 in 103 plate appearances against righties. The lack of a power stroke is jarring. Marsh's last extra-base hit against a righty came May 25. He has one home run — hit in the second game of the season — against a righty. He crushed 15 homers off righties in 2024. Even if the Phillies were to consider something extreme, it's best not to promote a prospect while the team is in a downward swing. There would be greater pressure on, say, Justin Crawford to be an offensive savior when he profiles best as someone batting ninth in the majors while creating some havoc with his bat-to-ball skills and speed combo. Advertisement Demoting Marsh to the minors would be extreme; it could be one gambit to deliver a message to a sagging offense. Marsh has been at or below replacement level for most of the season. The Phillies would be justified in seeking a 'reset' for the 27-year-old outfielder. But it would be extreme. Johan Rojas hasn't been much better; he at least provides more range in the outfield — something the Phillies lack. There is no elegant solution here, and even if the Phillies were interested in acquiring a center fielder come July, there is no surplus of productive ones available. Cristopher Sánchez became the first Phillies starter this season to throw a pitch in the eighth inning, and that decision said a lot about the tightrope manager Rob Thomson walks. Sánchez had one of his best outings of the season — 96 pitches in seven innings with 21 swings-and-misses and one walk. But lefty Oneil Cruz, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Sánchez, led off the eighth. Sánchez walked him on four pitches. Cruz later scored the eventual winning run. Thomson had Orion Kerkering, who has pitched far better in the past five weeks, ready. But lefties have pummeled Kerkering for an .845 OPS this season. Thomson has no righty reliever he can trust against a team's best left-handed batter. His best right-on-left option might be Taijuan Walker (.637 OPS against), but Walker was not available because he cannot go on back-to-back days yet. Jordan Romano (.884 OPS versus lefties), Carlos Hernández (.987) and Joe Ross (.796) haven't been effective in those situations. The only bullpens with a worse OPS in right-on-left matchups are the Athletics and Dodgers. This is not a new problem; Phillies righty relievers permitted a league-worst .859 OPS to lefties last season. Matt Strahm cannot face every lefty in a high-leverage spot. This is where not having José Alvarado hurts. Advertisement Sánchez and Ranger Suárez at least put the rotation back on course with consecutive seven-inning performances. The Phillies played the weekend without three of their four highest-paid players (Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper and Aaron Nola). Wheeler will return Monday to start against the Cubs, his first outing in 10 days. That should help. There will be a greater onus on Mick Abel to serve as a decent rotation piece while Nola's absence lingers. Andrew Painter's progressions will become even more important as the Phillies continue to exhaust internal options before the July 31 trade deadline. Painter is expected to pitch twice this week at Triple-A Lehigh Valley — Tuesday and Sunday — meaning he will go on four days' rest for the first time in his professional career. That is one of the final boxes the Phillies wanted the 22-year-old righty to check before coming to the majors. The best cover for a shaky bullpen is a strong rotation. But, as the Phillies discovered over the weekend, even that is rendered helpless without a semi-competent offense. (Top photo of Nick Castellanos reacting after striking out in the seventh on Saturday: Justin Berl / Getty Images)
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Atlanta's season is starting to slip away after another 7-game losing streak
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] One seven-game losing streak was manageable for Atlanta — a possible fluke at the start of the season. But now the Braves have dropped seven in a row again, and it's time to wonder if this will simply be a lost season for one of the game's star-studded teams. Sunday's 4-3 defeat at San Francisco dropped Atlanta to 10 games under .500 and 9 1/2 games behind the National League's final playoff spot. The Braves haven't missed the postseason since 2017 — and it's too early to count them out this year — but they can't afford to have much more go wrong. Atlanta started the season 0-7, then spent about six weeks clawing its way back to .500. All that work has already been undone after the Braves dropped another seven straight this past week. The last five of those defeats were by one run, including a ghastly collapse at home against Arizona on Thursday in which the Diamondbacks scored seven runs in the ninth to win 11-10. After that, Atlanta called up reliever Craig Kimbrel from the minors — the franchise saves leader returned to the Braves for the first time since they traded him before the 2015 season. He pitched once, then was designated for assignment. Atlanta overcame injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider to make the playoffs a year ago. Those two are back now, but while Acuña is hitting well, Strider has lost all five of his starts on the mound. The Braves are also one of only three teams in baseball with more blown saves (12) than saves (10). There are some reasons for Atlanta to keep hope alive. A big problem so far has been the team's 9-19 record in one-run games, which suggests the Braves don't need to improve much to turn things around. They actually have a positive run differential on the season. But the NL East may already be out of reach, with Atlanta trailing the first-place New York Mets by 14 games. Right now the Braves are in fourth, as close to last-place Miami as they are to third-place Washington. Trivia time Pete Alonso of the Mets needs 10 more homers to surpass Darryl Strawberry for the franchise's career lead. Only three active players currently hold the home run record for a major league franchise. Name the players, and the teams they hold the career lead in homers for. Line of the week Seattle's George Kirby struck out 14 and allowed just two hits in seven innings in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. That snapped a five-game skid for the Mariners, who could use a more effective Kirby. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 6.53 ERA in four starts after missing the start of the season because of shoulder issues. Perhaps this performance was a sign that he's righting the ship. Comeback of the week This is obviously the Diamondbacks, who according to Baseball Savant faced a win probability of 0.1% after their leadoff hitter in the ninth struck out. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a solo homer, Alek Thomas added a two-run shot and Katel Marte produced an RBI single before the second out of the inning. Then Ildemaro Vargas hit an RBI single, and Eugenio Suárez's two-run double put Arizona ahead. Five other teams have come back to win after trailing by six this year, but none of those six-run deficits were later than the seventh inning. Trivia answer Mike Trout holds the Angels' record with 388 home runs. Giancarlo Stanton, now with the Yankees, is the Marlins' leader with 267. Manny Machado has the Padres' record of 177. (Evan Longoria holds the Rays' record with 261, but he hasn't played in the majors since 2023 and signed a one-day contract Saturday to retire with Tampa Bay.) ___ AP MLB:
