Top News:
Vaughn Dalzell / NBCSports.com:
Royals at Mariners Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for July 3 — It's Thursday, July 3 and the Royals (40-47) are in Seattle to take on the Mariners (45-41). Seth Lugo is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Bryan Woo for Seattle.
Discussion:
Royals Review
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Vaughn Dalzell / NBCSports.com:
Giants at Diamondbacks prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, stats for July 3 — It's Thursday, July 3 and the Giants (46-41) are in Phoenix to take on the Diamondbacks (43-43). Robbie Ray is slated to take the mound for San Francisco against Brandon Pfaadt for Arizona.
Vaughn Dalzell / NBCSports.com:
Guardians at Cubs Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for July 3 — It's Thursday, July 3 and the Guardians (40-44) are in Chicago to take on the Cubs (51-35). Luis L. Ortiz is slated to take the mound for Cleveland against Cade Horton for Chicago.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Vaughn Dalzell / NBCSports.com:
White Sox at Dodgers Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for July 3 — It's Thursday, July 3 and the White Sox (28-58) are in Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers (55-32). Aaron Civale is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Dustin May for Los Angeles.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Vaughn Dalzell / NBCSports.com:
Angels at Braves Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for July 3
Discussion:
Battery Power
NBCSports.com:
Yankees at Blue Jays prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for July 3
NBCSports.com:
Tigers at Nationals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for July 3
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
New York Times:
Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz placed on leave due to MLB betting investigation: Sources — CHICAGO — Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz has been placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” through the end of the All-Star break as a result of an MLB investigation, with multiple sources telling The Athletic that the probe is related to gambling.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, New York Daily News, Sportsnet.ca, MLB Trade Rumors and Covering the Corner
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Associated Press:
Cleveland pitcher Luis Ortiz placed on non-disciplinary leave by MLB amid investigation — Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary leave on Thursday due to an investigation by Major League Baseball. — MLB said Ortiz's paid leave will be through the end of the All-Star break on July 18.
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, Plain Dealer, Yahoo Sports, Lone Star Ball and Pittsburgh Baseball Now
David Purdum / ESPN:
Sources: Guardians' Luis Ortiz subject of gambling investigation — Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is under investigation by Major League Baseball after a betting-integrity firm flagged a pair of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Discussion:
New York Post, Plain Dealer, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, masslive.com and Yahoo Sports
Associated Press:
Dodgers' Max Muncy injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor of White Sox — LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor in the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox. — Taylor was caught stealing as catcher Will Smith threw to Muncy …
Discussion:
True Blue LA, Yahoo Sports and New York Times
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Barry M. Bloom / Sportico:
Clayton Kershaw's 3,000th K Opens Door to Immortal Club — LOS ANGELES—Major League Baseball doesn't often get to experience milestone starting-pitching moments these days. But Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium offered one of them. — Down to the last possible moment …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and FanGraphs Baseball
Associated Press:
Nationals' James Wood joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Cal Raleigh as Home Run Derby participants — WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood became the third player to announce he will take part in the Home Run Derby. — The derby will be held on July 14, the night before the All-Star Game, at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, Federal Baseball and Sportsnet.ca
Ken Rosenthal / New York Times:
Justin Verlander's outlook, Royals eye Bryan Reynolds and more notes — The battle was always going to be uphill. Justin Verlander entered the season needing 38 wins to fulfill his goal of reaching 300. At age 42, seeking to average 13 wins over three years or 10 wins over four, he was never exactly a good bet.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, Pittsburgh Baseball Now and Royals Review
Eric Samulski / NBCSports.com:
After two years, Brandon Woodruff is excited to go pitch again on an MLB mound — It wasn't supposed to be this long for Brandon Woodruff. When the right-hander had surgery on his right shoulder to repair the anterior capsule back in October of 2023, the expectation was that he would miss …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Associated Press:
Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski gets tagged for 1st time in loss to Mets — NEW YORK — Jacob Misiorowski made everything look so easy in his first three major league starts. — Now he knows it's not. — The hard-throwing rookie finally got knocked around, serving up back-to-back homers …
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball and MLB.com
MLB.com:
2025 All-Star Game starters revealed — The starters for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard have been unveiled. Here's who will be taking the field for the American League and National League at the Midsummer Classic on July 15 (8 p.m. ET on FOX) at Atlanta's Truist Park.
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