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Good morning! Win at least one game today.
Breaks: An angsty All-Star weekend for the hosts
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 LeagueÂ
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 LeagueÂ
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 non-Acuña outfielders have been awful. Michael Harris II had a 51 OPS+ through Saturday. The Braves have given hundreds of at-bats to Bryan De La Cruz, Alex Verdugo and Jarred Kelenic, getting about a win below replacement level from that group. Jurickson Profar missed 80 games to a PED suspension and hasn’t hit when he’s played.
It’s also the pitching. Atlanta had the best ERA and FIP in baseball last year, each in the 3.4s. This year, the Braves are almost dead average in both. Max Fried is greatly missed as he pitches in the Bronx. So is the 2024 version of Reynaldo López, replaced this season by a more typical version of Reynaldo López.
Close games breaking the wrong way. The Braves are 13-23 in one-run games, even after winning a pair of them against the Cardinals on Friday and Saturday. Manager Brian Snitker has taken heat, as you might imagine.
Injuries, too: Spencer Strider has shown good signs coming off elbow surgery, but he’s not his old self. The promising AJ Smith-Shawver recently underwent Tommy John surgery. Worst yet, Schwellenbach is out for a long time with a fractured elbow. Third baseman Austin Riley joined the IL this weekend, too.
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.
News to Know
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.
More news:
On the Grass: A historic rout in the Wimbledon final
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.
For Świątek, it’s her first Wimbledon win and sixth Grand Slam title at just 24 years old. Until this week, it had been a down year for a player who had grown accustomed to dominance. And grass had certainly never been her strong suit. Świątek quieted a lot of doubters yesterday.
For Anisimova, it’s a reminder of the agony and ecstasy of tennis. Świątek pounced early as Anisimova’s game and mental fortitude quickly unraveled. The American never stood a chance. But Anisimova’s career will outlast this moment, and she deserves massive credit for an incredibly brave post-match interview.
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:
Watch Guide
đź“ş Wimbledon: Men’s Singles FinalÂ
11 a.m. ET on ESPNÂ
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.
đź“ş Scottish Open: Final RoundÂ
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.
đź“ş CWC: PSG vs. ChelseaÂ
3 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV or DAZNÂ Â
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.
Pulse Picks
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
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.
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(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)