Baseball's most disappointing team is forced to host
Good morning! Win at least one game today.
Most of Major League Baseball is scrunched together for the break, as the Home Run Derby arrives tomorrow. Only five teams are double-digit games out of a playoff spot. Not everyone's doing well, but most teams can feel decent, and a few have separated from the field. The outlook:
In the National League
The sixth playoff team in the Senior Circuit could be anyone outside the Rockies, Pirates and the three other East clubs. (More on one of the latter in a moment.)
In the American League
Barring someone collapsing, who rounds out the AL postseason? The Rays and Mariners? Could the Twins wake up? Maybe the Red Sox, despite trading Rafael Devers and implicitly giving up just a little on 2025?
Missing from that big list of teams involved in a pennant race? The Braves, who host the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Atlanta is 42-52 and all but officially out of the postseason hunt before the trade deadline. An 0-7 start meant a big hole to dig out of right away for a team many saw as a World Series contender. Their FanGraphs playoff chances have fallen from 92 percent on Opening Day to 4.6 percent this weekend.
Even as Ronald Acuña Jr. has crushed the ball in his return from a second ACL tear and Spencer Schwellenbach has become a front-of-the-rotation starter, so much has gone wrong:
The big question, beyond whether the Braves will sell at the trade deadline, is this: Will Atlanta try to deconstruct the team in the coming months, get by with tweaks or do something in between? I asked The Athletic's David O'Brien, a longtime Braves beat man:
💬 Because they have so few players on expiring contracts and so many in-their-prime players signed beyond 2025, the Braves aren't going to do anything severe at the deadline. What we could see them do is trade one or more from the group of DH Marcell Ozuna (though his struggles this season have likely reduced his value) and relievers Pierce Johnson and Raisel Iglesias, each in the final year of his contract. If they could get a controllable reliever, an innings-eating starter to help get through this season or a middle infield prospect back in a deal, they'd likely do it.
Brutal year, and there's not that much to do but run it back.
Flagg drops 31 in Summer League
I'm starting to think this Cooper Flagg kid might be legit. After a somewhat underwhelming showing in his first Summer League game, Flagg dropped 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting last night. Perhaps most impressively, the 18-year-old handled the poise of being the constant center of attention masterfully. The only blemish on his performance? He failed another attempt at a poster slam:
Phillies slam MLB over All-Star snubs
Brewers rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was named an All-Star replacement Friday after a record-low five MLB games. Phillies players and coaches had already been disappointed that Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Trea Turner were not named All-Stars. That disappointment turned into something much more after Misiorowski's selection. Some scorching comments here (free to read), including Nick Castellanos comparing the selection process to the Savannah Bananas.
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Two less controversial decisions: Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubalwere named the All-Star Game starting pitchers last night.
Twins outfielder Byron Buxton hit for the cycle on his bobblehead day, punctuated by a tank to dead center. What a week for Buxton.
Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins was arrested yesterday on a domestic violence and battery charge. More here.
Make it five straight multi-goal games for Inter Miami's Lionel Messi. The 38-year-old continues to reset the MLS record books.
Ndamukong Suh — former standout NFL defensive tackle and current host of The Athletic's 'No Free Lunch' podcast— formally announced his retirement from the NFL yesterday with a heartfelt note to his late father.
Amanda Anisimova announced her arrival with a stunning Wimbledon upset over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday. It was the biggest win of the 23-year-old's career.
But the American's dream quickly became a nightmare yesterday. Iga Świątek utterly outclassed Anisimova in the Wimbledon final in a 6-0, 6-0 match that lasted less than an hour. It was just the second time that scoreline has happened in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, and the first since 1988. It was hard to watch.
There's really not much else to say about this match. We can only hope today's men's final provides a little more competitive tennis.
Lucky for us, this one should not disappoint:
📺 Wimbledon: Men's Singles Final
11 a.m. ET on ESPN
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, again. How lucky are we? Their last Grand Slam final was one of the greatest matches the sport has ever seen.
📺 Scottish Open: Final Round
12 p.m. ET on CBS
With earlier coverage on CNBC and Golf Channel. This is a terrific tournament just about every year, a part of the run-up to the Open Championship that very much stands on its own. Moreover, Rory McIlroy ended Saturday tied for the lead at 11-under.
📺 CWC: PSG vs. Chelsea
3 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV or DAZN
To anyone out there who turned on the TV looking for this after seeing it listed in yesterday's Pulse, apologies for the production error. Anyway, to repeat: The final of the first edition of this international club football extravaganza features two of Europe's biggest brands. The Club World Cup is not the Champions League, but winning both in one spring and summer would be sweet for PSG. They're the best in the world right now.
Get tickets to games like these here.
The MLB All-Star break is almost here, and Jayson Stark has midseason awards across the board. Lots of fun debate surrounding the MVP race in both leagues.
I was dragging while working late Thursday night and the new Clipse album, 'Let God Sort Em Out,' was the perfect antidote. As a 35-year-old massive hip-hop fan, this is pretty much perfect music. Also, a 13-song album in 2025? Thank you. — Chris Branch
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Been listening to Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy audiobooks lately. The writing is good, but the guy who does the audiobook (Steven Pacey) is phenomenal, with one exception: he pronounces 'grimacing' as gri-MAYCE-ing'. If you can get past that, two thumbs up. — Levi Weaver
Carlos Alcaraz, Steph Curry and numerous other elite athletes use juggling as a warmup to enhance cognitive function … and, well, have fun. Rustin Dodd tried it himself.
Google 'Directive draw' or use Art Hub for your kid as summer drags. Good screen time ✅ — Chris Sprow
Lena Dunham's new show on Netflix, 'Too Much.' If you were a fan of 'Girls' or Megan Stalter in 'Hacks,' or you just generally love a smart, hilarious, moving rom-com, get thee to this show! — Hannah Vanbiber
Shout out once again to the cover-songs marching band in College Football 26's menus. 'Blinding Lights' might be the winner. — Jason Kirk
Ahead of today's MLB Draft (bookmark this page for updates throughout), Cody Stavenhagen penned an awesome story on potential No. 1 pick Ethan Holliday and a baseball family generations in the making.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: How sports bettors are feeling threatened by Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
Most-read on the website yesterday: Stark's midseason MLB awards.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
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