Month: July 2026

— I tell this story every year; NBA Summer League started Thursday in Las Vegas. You can bet on these games; my advice— DO NOT bet a lot of money on these games.

Few years ago, maybe 8-10 years ago, I’m sitting at the summer league with a buddy and two guys sit in front of us, just before a game is tipping off. One looked like a bodybuilder; very big guy, he was sipping on a mixed drink.

“I’ve got a sure thing in this game; they posted a bad line!!! Team A won by 20 yesterday, Team B lost, but this game is a pick ‘em.”

Oy.

1) they don’t post bad lines on games in Las Vegas
2) if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

3) Teams don’t always go all out to win summer league games; they have to see their prospects play, all of them.

Game starts, and Team B gets off to a good start, then they start to pull away. Guy in front of is getting restless, cursing under his breath. 

I came close to tapping him on the shoulder and explaining the thing about seeing prospects, but then I remembered the saying “they kill the messenger” so my buddy and I moved over to the section to our left. As Team B pummeled Team A, we could still hear the big guy cursing. 

There is a reason those bright lights on the Strip stay lit 24 hours a day.

— Red Sox 2, White Sox 1
Caleb Durbin hit a two-run homer in the 4th inning.
Boston has won six games in a row, and 11 of 13.
White Sox have lost six of their last eight games.

— Mets 7, Royals 3
Tyrone Taylor homered during a five-run fifth inning.
Mark Vientos was hit by a pitch, broke his hand, is on the IL
This season, five different Mets have led off the first inning with a HR.

— Guardians 5, Twins 2
Gavin Williams allowed 3 hits, struck out 11 in 7 IP.
Cade Smith earned his 27th save for the Guardians.
Cleveland/White Sox are tied for first in AL Central.

— Braves 10, Pirates 5
Mike Yastrzemski hit a grand slam in 9th inning.
Matt Olson homered, playing in his 740th consecutive game.
Rookie SS Jim Jarvis had three hits, including his first MLB homer.

— Orioles 3, Cubs 2
Jeremiah Jackson hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 8th.
Orioles didn’t have a hit in innings 3-7.
Seiya Suzuki knocked in both of Chicago’s runs.

— Famous birthdays, July 10th:
Hal McRae, 81
Andre Dawson, 72
Darryl Talley, 66

Sofia Vergara, 54
Cam Jordan, 37
Lawrence Butler, 26

Fred Gwynne, who played Herman Munster on TV, was born on this day in 1926. 

Notes for Big X football teams:
Iowa State
New coach Rogers was 6-6 in his one year at Washington State.
Rogers won a national title at the I-AA level.
ISU has only 2 starters back on offense, 2 on defense.
Cyclones have 15 returning I-A starts on OL (have 5 I-AA transfers).
Senior QB Raynor started for three years at Arkansas State.

Last nine years, ISU had eight winning seasons.
Cyclones are 13-7-1 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.
ISU is 6-12 ATS last 18 games as a road favorite.
Last 10 years, Cyclones are 30-18-1 ATS in games coming off a loss.
Last three years, Iowa State was +21 in turnovers.

Kansas
Coach Leopold is 27-35 SU in five years at Kansas.
Last 10 years, Jayhawks have had one winning season.
Kansas has 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Jayhawks have 65 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Bellard threw 22 passes last year.

Under Leopold, Kansas is 9-4-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Under Leopold, Kansas is 8-14 ATS as a road underdog.
In his career, Leopold is 22-15-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Jayhawks won four of their last five bowl games (5-0 ATS)
Problem is, they’ve been in only two bowl games since 2008.

Kansas State
Klein is a first-year HC who played QB at K-State.
Wildcats haven’t had a losing season since 2020.
K-State has 7 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Wildcats have 50 returning starts on OL, from various places.
Senior QB Johnson has 25 career starts.

K-State is 15-8 ATS in last 23 games as a home favorite.
Wildcats are 1-9 ATS in last 10 games as a road favorite.
K-State is 29-17 ATS in last 46 games coming off a loss.
Last four years, Wildcats were +33 in turnovers.
K-State won three of its last four bowl games.

Oklahoma State
New coach Morris was 22-16 in three years at North Texas. 
Cowboys were 3-9/1-11 the last two years.
Cowboys have 7 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
OSU has 117 returning starts on OL (lot of transfers).
Soph QB Mestemaker started 14 games at North Texas LY.

Last four years, OSU is 6-10 ATS as a road underdog.
Morris was 10-4 ATS as a home favorite at North Texas.
Last nine years, Cowboys are 15-10 ATS as a road favorite.
Cougars are 28-17-1 ATS in last 43 games coming off a win.
OSU won three of last four bowl games (last one in 2023).

TCU
In four years, coach Dykes is 36-17 SU at TCU.
Last two years, Horned Frogs went 9-4/9-4 SU.
TCU has 7 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Horned Frogs have 95 returning starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Craig is a transfer from Harvard (6,074 PY, 52 TD’s).

In his career, coach Dykes is 35-27 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, coach Dykes is 14-21-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Dykes, TCU is 16-10 ATS in home games.
Horned Frogs are 10-5 ATS in last 15 games coming off a loss.
TCU won three of its last four bowl games. 

Texas Tech
Coach McGuire is 35-18 SU in four years at Tech.
Tech lost its last two bowl games, 39-26/23-0
Red Raiders have 8 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Tech has 108 career returning starters on OL, from various places.
Junior QB Francis started 12 games at Tulsa.

McGuire is 15-7 ATS as a home favorite.
McGuire is 24-12 ATS in conference games.
Tech is 5-2 ATS in last seven games as a road underdog.
Red Raiders were +14 in turnovers LY, when they were 12-2.
Tech is 17-5 ATS in last 22 games coming off a loss. 

Utah
New HC Scalley was defensive coordinator here the last 10 years.
Last ten years, Utah has had nine winning seasons.
Utah has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Utes have only 31 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Dampier threw 24 TD’s last year, only five INT’s.

Utah is 14-8 ATS in last 22 games as a home favorite.
Last 10 years, Utes are 10-4 ATS as a road underdog
Last 10 years, Utes are 55-35 ATS in conference games.
Utah is 10-12 ATS in last 22 games coming off a win.
Utes lost four of their last five bowl games. 

West Virginia
Last five years, West Virginia had four losing seasons.
Coach Rodriguez is in 2nd year of his 2nd stint in Morgantown.
WVU has 7 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
WVU has 120 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Hawkins started five games at Oklahoma.

WVU is 15-4 ATS in its last 19 games as a home favorite.
In his career, Rodriguez is 23-19-1 ATS as a road favorite.
In his career, Rodriguez is 23-33 ATS as a road underdog
WVU is 10-4 ATS in last 14 non-conference games.
WVU is 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five bowl games.

Trends for AFC teams:
AFC East:
Bills
Last seven years, Buffalo is 5-1-1 ATS in its road opener.
Bills’ last three playoff losses were all by three points.

Dolphins
Miami covered four of last five visits to Buffalo. 
Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.

Patriots
New England covered five of last six games vs Buffalo. 
Patriots are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games vs Miami.

Jets
Last four years, Jets are 8-16 ATS in divisional games. 
Last four years, Jets are 4-8 ATS as a home favorite.

AFC North
Ravens
Ravens are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games as road underdogs.
Four of their last five road openers went over the total.

Bengals
Last four years, Bengals are 13-6 ATS as a road favorite.
With Burrow at QB, Cincy is 1-6 ATS as a favorite in Weeks 1-2.

Browns
Last four years, Cleveland is 9-18 ATS as a road underdog.
Browns are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Pittsburgh.

Steelers
Last nine years, Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in playoff games.
Steelers are 12-7 ATS in their last 19 divisional games. 

AFC South
Texans
Houston is 5-2 ATS in last seven games vs Tennessee.
Last four times they made playoffs, Texans went W-L

Colts
Since 2008, Colts are 3-15 ATS in Week 1 games.
Colts covered nine of last 13 games as a home favorite.

Jaguars
Last three years, Jaguars are 8-4 ATS as a road favorite.
Jacksonville covered five of its last six games against the Colts.

Titans
Last three years, Tennessee is 1-9 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Titans are 7-17 ATS in divisional games.

AFC West
Broncos
Broncos covered their last four Monday night games.
Denver is 1-6 ATS in last seven Thursday games.

Chiefs
Last four years, Chiefs are 7-16-1 ATS in divisional games.
Kansas City is 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Denver.

Raiders
Last four years, Raiders are 1-5 ATS as a road favorite.
Raiders covered eight of their last 10 games vs Denver.

Chargers
Last three years, Bolts are 10-1-1 ATS in divisional games.
Chargers covered five of last six visits to Kansas City.

— Famous birthdays, July 9th:
George Stone, 80
Jimmy Smits, 71
Willie Wilson, 71
Tom Hanks, 70

Jim Paxson, 69
Kelly McGillis, 69
Trent Green, 56
Damon Huard, 53

Kelly Holcomb, 53
Enrique Murciano, 53
Jared Young, 31
Brett Rypien, 30

— Blue Jays 10, Giants 0
Dylan Cease had a no-hitter until the 9th inning.
Toronto scored five runs in the top of the first.
Kazuma Okamoto homered, had four RBI

— Braves 3, Pirates 0
Game was scoreless after seven innings.
Joey Bart hit a two-run HR in the 8th inning.
Jared Jones pitched six perfect innings (77 PT) for the Pirates.

— Marlins 2, Mariners 0
Otto Lopez had his 40th multi-hit game of the year.
Kyle Stowers hit a second inning home run.
Seattle is 47-46, but they lead AL West by half a game.

— Mets 6, Royals 2
Mets scored five runs in the bottom of 8th inning.
Key play: Jared Young got hit by a pitch with bases loaded.
Christian Scott allowed three hits in five scoreless IP.

— Twins 6, Guardians 5
Cleveland led 5-3 in the 7th inning.
Alan Roden had the walk-off hit for Minnesota.
Cleveland is 47-46, game out of first place in AL Central.

— So far this season, National League teams are 232-185 (.556) vs AL teams.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Marlins
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

Trends for NFC teams:
NFC East:
Cowboys
Last seven years, Dallas is 5-2 ATS in Week 1
Last year, Cowboys were 2-8 ATS as a favorite.

Giants
Last nine years, Giants are 1-8 ATS in Week 1
Last four years, Giants are 3-8-1 ATS in divisional games.

Eagles
This year, Eagles have their 6th offensive coordinator in six years.
Eagles are 1-5 ATS in their last six visits to Dallas.

Commanders
Washington is 8-2 ATS in last 10 games, as a favorite of less than 7 points.
Commanders are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Dallas.

NFC North
Bears
Chicago is 13-5-1 ATS in its last 19 home games.
Bears are 1-6 ATS in their last seven visits to Green Bay.

Lions
Last four years, Detroit is 13-3 ATS as a road favorite.
Lions are 9-2 ATS in their last eleven games vs Minnesota.

Packers
Last four years, Green Bay is 5-14 ATS as a road favorite.
Packers covered five of their last six games vs Dallas.

Vikings
Under O’Connell, Minnesota is 11-5-4 ATS as a road favorite.
Vikings are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six visits to Chicago. 

NFC South
Falcons
Last 10 years, Atlanta is 2-8 ATS in Week 1.
Falcons covered their last four games at Tampa Bay.

Panthers
Last two years, Carolina was 11-5 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Carolina was 8-15-1 ATS as a home underdog.

Saints
Last three years, New Orleans is 11-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Saints are 1-4 ATS in their last five visits to Carolina.

Buccaneers
Last four years, Tampa Bay is 7-17-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Buccaneers are 9-15 ATS in divisional games.

NFC West
Cardinals
Last four years, Cardinals are 7-17 ATS in divisional games.
Last seven years, Arizona is 6-1 ATS in Week 1

Rams
Under McVay, Rams are 7-2 ATS in Week 1
Rams are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games as a road favorite.

49ers
San Francisco is 3-9 ATS in its 12 games as an underdog.
49ers covered four of their last five visits to Seattle.

Seahawks
Seattle is 2-7 ATS in its last nine home openers.
Seahawks are 12-4-1 ATS in their last 17 road games.

— Famous birthdays, July 8th:
Alan Ashby, 75
Jack Lambert, 74
Terry Puhl, 70
Kevin Bacon, 68

Sebastian Maniscalco, 53
Hakim Warrick, 44
Reid Detmers, 27
Michael McGreevy, 26

— If Tuesday was your 49th birthday, you were born on July 7, 1977 (7-7-77)

— Pirates 12, Braves 4
Ryan O’Hearn hit three home runs, had 10 RBI.
He is the first Pirate EVER with 10 RBI in a game.
Pirates 47-45, three games out of the last playoff slot.

— Royals 16, Mets 12
Kansas City scored 31 runs in their last two games.
Tyler Tolbert, batting 9th, had a streak of 12 hits in 12 plate appearances.
Mets led this game 9-4 after the fourth inning.

— Brewers 4-10, Cardinals 3-2
Milwaukee sweeps twinbill, now leads NL Central by seven games.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 guys in the opener.
Robert Gasser allowed four hits in 7.2 IP, in the nightcap.

— Red Sox 8, White Sox 1
Peyton Tolle allowed two hits in six shutout IP.
Red Sox have won nine of their last eleven games.
White Sox lead the AL Central by a game over Cleveland.

— Rays 6, Bronx 4
Ian Seymour allowed five hits, got 12 of his 16 outs via the strikeout.
Hunter Fedducia/Yandy Diaz hit back/back homers in 4th inning.
Rays increased their AL East lead to four games.

— Marlins 6, Mariners 5 (10)
Jakob Marsee had a walk-off single, off the right field fence.
Marlins led 4-0 after the fourth inning.
Marlins have a two-game lead for the last Wild Card slot.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Marlins
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

— Astros 10, Rays 8
Yordan Alvarez homered twice, had six RBI
Alvarez hit a walk-off homer to end the game.
Tampa Bay led 7-2 in the fourth inning.

— Braves 14, Mets 3
Atlanta hit four HR’s Friday, five more in this game.
Michael Harris was 3-for-5, scored 3 runs, had 2 RBI
Mets have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

— White Sox 3, Guardians 1
Colson Montgomery hit game-winning homer in 8th inning.
Second year in a row Montgomery homered on the 4th of July.
These teams are tied for first atop the AL Central.

— Tigers 3, Rangers 0
Jack Flaherty allowed three hits in 5.2 IP.
Riley Greene hit a two-run homer in the first inning.
Rangers were shut out for the sixth time this year.

— Pirates 7, Nationals 1
Braxton Ashcroft won his fourth start in a row.
Nationals used an opener; 4 of the 8 batters he faced scored.
Washington is 2.5 games out of the playoffs, Pirates 3.5 games.

— Twins 11, Bronx 4
Josh Bell homered in consecutive at bats.
All in all, Minnesota hit six home runs.
New York has lost eight of its last nine games.

— Orioles 8, Reds 5
Samuel Basallo hit a 3-run homer in the first inning.
Hunter Greene allowed 8 runs in 3.1 IP, in his first ’26 start.
Cincinnati rookies Chase Burns/Sal Stewart were named All-Stars.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Gary Matthews, 76
Rich Gossage, 75
Johnny Rodgers, 75
James Lofton, 70
Edie Falco, 63

Dave Eiland, 60
Richie Incognito, 43
Shohei Ohtani, 32
Austin Hays, 31
Junior Caminero, 23

Notes for Big X football teams:
Arizona
In two years under coach Brennan, Arizona is 13-12 SU.
Wildcats were 9-4 LY, with a +18 turnover ratio.
Arizona has 6 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Wildcats have 61 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Fifita started 13 games LY. .

In his career, Brennan is 40-33-1 ATS in conference games
In his career, Brennan is 14-20 ATS in non-conference games
Arizona is 8-13 ATS last 21 games as a home favorite.
Underdogs covered four of their last five bowl games.
Coach Brennan is 0-4 SU in bowl games.

Arizona State
Coach Dillingham is 22-17 SU in three years at ASU.
Sun Devils were 8-5 LY, despite a minus-6 turnover ratio.
ASU has 4 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Sun Devils have 29 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Keene started 34 games at Fresno State.

Under Dillingham, ASU is 9-5-1 ATS as a favorite.
Sun Devils were 8-5 SU LY, despite a minus-6 turnover ratio.
ASU is 19-9-1 ATS in last 29 games as a road underdog.
Sun Devils lost last two bowl games, 39-31 OT/42-39.
ASU’s last bowl win was in the 2019 Sun Bowl.

Baylor
Aranda is 36-37 SU in six years in Waco (12-2 in ’21).
Bears were 5-7 LY, with a minus-13 turnover ratio.
Baylor has 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Bears have 93 returning starts OL, doom various places.
Junior QB Lagway started 20 games at Florida.

Under Aranda, Baylor is 24-30-1 ATS in league games.
Bears will try to play a more up-tempo offense this year.
Last three years, Baylor is 5-10-1 ATS in games coming off a win.
Underdogs covered four of their last five bowl games.
Baylor lost its last two bowl games, 30-15/44-31.

BYU
BYU was 11-2/12-2 SU the last two seasons.
BYU has had a positive turnover ratio the last seven years.
Cougars has 5 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
BYU has 66 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Bachmeier has 14 career starts.

Last two years, BYU is 7-3 ATS as a home favorite.
Overall, coach Sitake is 34-37 ATS as a favorite.
Cougars are 14-7 ATS in last 21 games coming off a win.
Cougars are 7-3 ATS in last 10 games coming off a loss.
BYU is 4-1 SU/ATS in its last five bowl games.

Central Florida
Last three years, UCF was 6-7/4-8/5-7 SU.
Coach Frost is 40-45 SU as a HC, 24-14 at UCF
UCF has 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Knights have 60 returning starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Barnett started 14 games at James Madison.

In his career, coach Frost is 20-24-2 ATS in home games.
In his career, coach Frost is 19-16 ATS in road games.
UCF lost three of its last four bowl games.
Knights are 5-13-1 ATS in last 19 games coming off a loss.
UCF lost three of its last four bowl games. 

Cincinnati
Coach Satterfield is 15-22 SU in three years here.
Cincinnati’s last winning season: 2020.
Bearcats has 4 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Cincinnati has 108 career returning starters on OL, from various places.
Senior QB French started 26 games at Georgia Southern.

In his career, Satterfield is 18-29-5 ATS as an underdog.
In his career, Satterfield is 18-9 ATS as a road favorite.
Last two years, Cincinnati ended year on five-game losing skid.
Bearcats lost last four bowl games, outscored 110-47.
In his career, Satterfield is 4-2 SU in bowl games. 

Colorado
Sanders is 16-21 SU in three years at Colorado.
Buffs have had one winning season the last nine years.
Colorado has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Buffs have 100 returning starts on OL, from various places.
Soph QB Lewis started twice LY, threw 94 passes.

LY, Colorado was minus-2 in turnovers (+21 previous two years)
Sanders is 12-6-1 ATS in home games. .
Sanders is 16-12 ATS in conference games.
Colorado 11-6-1 ATS in last 18 games coming off a loss.
Buffs lost last five bowls; their last bowl win was in 2004. 

Houston
Fritz is 14-11 SU in two seasons at Houston.
Houston won its last three bowls, by 4-7-3 points.
Houston has 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Cougars have 112 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Weigman has 26 career starts.

In his career, Fritz is 49-30 ATS as a favorite.
In his career, Fritz is 44-30 ATS in home games.
Cougars had a negative turnover ratio in five of last seven years.
Houston is 7-3 ATS in last 10 non-conference games.
In his career, Fritz is 38-21 ATS in games coming off a loss.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Cardinals
AL: Rays, Whits Sox, Mariners. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Rangers

Trends are thru July 1st:

NL East
— Braves (50-34)
Braves lost 13 of their last 18 games.
Atlanta is 4-12 since Ronald Acuna went on the IL.
Braves are 15-8 against their NL East rivals.

— Marlins (46-41)
Marlins won 20 of their last 27 games.
Marlins are 28-17 at home, 18-24 on road.
Under is 8-4 in Marlins’ last dozen games.

— Mets (36-51)
Mets lost 10 of their last 12 games.
New York is 6-16 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 7-16 in one-run games.

— Phillies (49-38)
Phillies are 40-19 in their last 59 games.
Under is 19-7 in their last 26 road games.
Phiilies are 18-6 in one-run games.

— Nationals (45-43)
Nationals won four of their last five games.
Over is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.
Nationals are 27-32 vs righty starters, 18-11 vs lefties.

NL Central
— Cubs (49-38)
Streaky Cubs have won 15 of its last 19 games.
Cubs are 15-9 in one-run games.
Over is 10-3 in Cubs’ last thirteen games.

— Reds (39-46)
Reds lost seven of their last nine games.
Reds are 6-16 in last 22 games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Reds are 29-37 vs righty starters, 10-9 vs lefties.

— Brewers (53-31)
Milwaukee is 43-18 in its last 61 games.
Brewers lead NL Central by 5.5 games.
Brewers are 6-3 in extra-inning games.

— Pirates (43-44)
Pirates are 10-16 in their last 26 games.
Pittsburgh is 38-28 vs righty starters, 5-16 vs lefties.
Over is 14-4 in their last 18 home games.

— Cardinals (44-39)
St Louis is 4-8 in its last 12 games.
You’re reading armadillosports.com
St Louis is 31-31 vs righty starters, 13-8 vs lefties.
Cardinals are 7-2 in extra-inning games.

NL West
— Diamondbacks (43-42)
Arizona is 4-7 in its last eleven games.
Diamondbacks are 28-36 vs righty starters, 15-6 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

— Rockies (34-53 )
Rockies are 5-2 in last seven home series openers.
Colorado is 19-24 at home, 15-29 on road.
Rockies are 13-11 vs AL teams.

— Dodgers (56-31)
Dodgers are 29-10 in their last 39 games.
Over is 9-5-1 in their last 15 road games.
Dodgers are 8-5 in Shohei Ohtani’s pitching starts.

— Padres (43-42)
San Diego lost its last five games, outscored 54-17.
Under is 17-9-1 in their last 27 home games.
Padres are 20-8 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Giants (35-50)
Giants won five of their last seven home games.
SF is 26-36 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 2nd
Larry David, 79
Joe Pisarcik, 74
Tony Armas, 73
Jon Sundvold, 65
Clark Kellogg, 65

Jose Canseco, 62
Mark Clayton, 44
Margot Robbie, 36
Sean Casey, 52
Daulton Varsho, 30

AL East
— Orioles (40-48)
Baltimore is 24-23 at home, 16-25 on the road.
Orioles are 30-33 vs righty starters, 10-15 vs lefties.
Orioles are 6-13 in one-run games.

— Red Sox (37-48)
Boston is 17-27 at Fenway, 20-21 on the road.
Red Sox are 27-38 vs righty starters, 10-10 vs lefties.
Red Sox are 10-17 against their AL East rivals.

— New York (48-38)
New York lost its last seven games, scoring 17 runs.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
New York is 9-13 in one-run games.

— Rays (50-33)
Tampa Bay is 31-12 at home, 19-21 on the road.
Rays lead the AL East by 3.5 games.
Tampa Bay is 17-6 against their AL East rivals.

— Blue Jays (41-46)
Toronto lost seven of its last nine games.
Blue Jays are 28-37 vs righty starters, 13-9 vs lefties.
Toronto is 11-15 in one-run games.

AL Central
— White Sox (45-40)
White Sox are 39-27 in their last 66 games.
Chicago is 28-14 at home, 17-26 on the road.
White Sox are 17-10 in one-run games.

— Guardians (45-42)
Guardians are 9-15 in their last 24 games.
Guardians are 26-32 vs righty starters, 19-10 vs lefties.
Cleveland is 12-7 against their AL Central rivals.

— Tigers (38-49)
Tigers on their last three games, scoring 22 runs.
Detroit is 23-21 at home, 15-28 on the road.
Tigers are 9-16 against their AL Central rivals.

— Royals (35-52)
Kansas City is 29-34 vs righty starters, 6-18 vs lefties.
Royals are 19-24 at home, 16-28 on the road.
Over is 8-2 in their last ten road series openers.

— Twins (42-46)
Minnesota won seven of its last nine road games.
Twins are 10-13 in one-run games.
Over is 9-4-1 in their last 14 games.

AL West
— Astros (43-46)
Astros are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Houston is 9-5 in one-run games.
Astros are 12-16 against their AL West rivals.

— Angels (36-51)
Halos are 11-18 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Angels lost 22 of their last 30 road games.
Angels are 14-12 against their AL West rivals.

— A’s (41-46)
A’s are 6-3 in extra-inning games.
A’s are 15-23 in Sacramento, 4-2 in Las Vegas, 22-21 on road.
A’s are 12-6 when JT Ginn is the starting pitcher.

— Mariners (44-43)
Mariners are 11-4 in their last 15 home games.
Seattle is 16-9 vs its AL West rivals.
Mariners are 12-15 in one-run games.

— Rangers (44-43)
Texas is 8-4 in its last 12  games.
Over is 12-4-1 in their last 17 home games.
Rangers are 33-34 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Cardinals
AL: Rays, White Sox, Tex/Sea. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Sea/Tex

First of all, Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north.

— Nationals 8, Red Sox 1
Cade Cavalli allowed one hit, struck out 13 guys in 7 IP.
Keibert Ruiz was 2-for-3, scored twice, had three RBI.
Loss snaps Boston’s five-game winning streak.

— Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras got thrown out for the second night in a row; Cavalli yapped at him after a 4th inning strikeout, and then the benches emptied. Contreras got tossed in the third inning Monday; he’s too good a player to get thrown out- Boston needs him.

Contreras is making $18M this year; he needs to grow the bleep up.

— Mets 3, Blue Jays 0
Nolan McLean allowed five hits in his six IP.
Both Mets catchers (Torrens/Alvarez) hit home runs.
Toronto has lost seven of its last eight games.

— It was dollar hot dog night in Toronto Tuesday; they had sold over 64,000 weiners by the time the Mets were hitting in the fourth inning.
 
— Tigers 9, Bronx 3
Riley Greene hit two of Detroit’s five home runs.
Three of the Tigers’ homers came in the first inning.
New York has lost six games in a row.

— Phillies 8, Pirates 0
Cristopher Sanchez gave up three hits in 7 IP, got his 10th win.
Trea Turner hit a two-run homer on his 33rd birthday.
Justin Crawford was 3-for-3, with three RBI.

— Cubs 9, Brewers 7
Dansby Swanson hit two of Chicago’s five home runs.
Cubs led 9-3 after seven innings, held on for the win.
Streaky Cubs have won 10 of their last 12 games.

— Famous birthdays, July 1st:
Jamie Farr, 92
Freddie Lewis, 83
Diron Talbert, 82
Dan Aykroyd, 74

Alan Ruck, 70
Pamela Anderson, 59
Colin Rea, 36
Michael Wacha, 35

— LeBron James told the Lakers he’ll be playing elsewhere next year, a day after his son’s $2.3M contract with the Lakers became guaranteed. Next year will be James’ 24th NBA season.

— Lebron James’ career path:
2003-10 Cleveland
2010-14 Miami
2014-18 Cleveland
2018-26 Lakers

In the Interweb is saying that Golden State is the favorite to sign James this summer.

— Clippers are going to trade Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, for…….

Brandon Ingram
Gradey Dick
two first-round picks, two second-round picks.

Leonard led the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019.

— Philadelphia 76ers signed F Dean Wade for four years, $39M: Wade played his first seven years in the NBA with the Cavaliers.

— Rays 10, Royals 4
Junior Caminero homered for the fifth game in a row.
Bobby Witt Jr homered twice for Kansas City.
Tampa Bay is 19-7 vs lefty starting pitchers.

— Marlins 14, Rockies 3
Marlins finished June with a 20-6 record.
Miami had 21 hits; five guys had either 3 or 4 hits.
Eury Perez allowed only two hits in 5.1 IP.

— Dodgers 9, A’s 3
Dave Roberts got his 1,000th career win as a manager.
Tommy Edman was 4-for-5, with a homer, four RBI
A’s have lost eight of their last ten games.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies-Cubs-Cardinals
AL: Rays, White Sox, Rangers. Wild Cards: Bronx-Guardians-Mariners