Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. Being a big league catcher is often less-than-glamorous work (unless, perhaps, you happen to be well on your way to swatting 50-plus homers). You are covered head to toe in gear, squatting for pitch after pitch. Your main job is to do the dirty work and guide your pitcher to glory. You may even have to face down a hard-charging runner to steal an out at the plate.
But the toughest part about this tough job? On any given pitch, a tiny change in trajectory off the bat can lead to some Capital-P Pain. (We can only use our imaginations -- we aren’t Major League catchers here -- but it’s probably something akin to whacking your shin on the coffee table, multiplied by a lot.)
This is life with foul tips.
But what exactly is that life like? Theo DeRosa caught up with a bunch of big league backstops and asked them. Their responses were candid. Here are a few takeaways:
• The worst place to get hit is, well, cringingly obvious. Let's just say a teammate's unfortunate injury prompted one catcher to, as DeRosa described, "change to a 'bulletproof cup' preferred by MMA fighters." That said, there isn't really a "good" place to get hit when you're talking about a baseball traveling 100-plus mph.
• A recent catching trend has a side effect. You may have heard that the one-knee-down catching style has gone from rarity to ubiquity in a short time across MLB. Why? It works, and the data proves it. But that doesn't mean there aren't drawbacks, and one has to do with new areas becoming vulnerable to foul tips. Purveyors of catching gear are working to adjust in response.
• Catchers know what they signed up for. Nobody here is asking for sympathy. As Royals veteran Salvador Perez put it in regard to wearing foul tips: "I want to be a catcher, no? That comes with that." The key is to accept that the dings are coming -- and try not to flinch, or show too much pain, when they do.
And what happens when the foul tipper is a fellow catcher? DeRosa has more on that, and other foul tip-related topics, right here. -- Andrew Simon |
- Marlins @ Guardians (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Whether they ultimately overtake the Tigers in the AL Central or not, the Guardians are already in an enviable position for a Deadline seller, just a game out of the final Wild Card spot with seven weeks to play. Up next for Cleveland, which has won its last four series and nine of its last 11 games: Nine straight against below-.500 NL clubs, starting with three vs. the Marlins.
- Red Sox @ Astros (8:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): If the Astros' bold Deadline Day trade for Carlos Correa raised your eyebrows, you weren't alone. After 10 games, though, GM Dana Brown's blockbuster looks like a masterstroke. Correa has hit .390 with a 1.042 OPS since rejoining the club that drafted him first overall in 2012, and he can run his hit streak to 10 tonight. For Boston, which has dropped three straight, fellow Deadline pickup Dustin May vies for his first win since the Dodgers dealt him.
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The July 31 Trade Deadline served as a reminder of how far the Blue Jays have come in just one year -- from selling off pieces in a lost season to sitting atop the American League East standings. We don’t see turnarounds like this very often. Toronto is aiming to become the 14th team in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to finish in first place one year after coming in last. What makes the Blue Jays’ surge even more surprising is how they’ve done it, as we explain here. Last year’s Deadline selloff? It’s barely made a dent on this season’s roster. The Blue Jays shipped out eight veterans in deals that brought back 14 players, but only four of them have made appearances for Toronto in 2025, and none has played a major role. Those marquee offseason additions? They haven’t made much of an impact, either. Instead, Toronto’s success has been driven by internal improvement on offense, with a number of returning hitters -- including pending free agent Bo Bichette -- having much better seasons than they did in 2024. That has given the Blue Jays a more balanced attack around superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and put the club in position to make history. -- Thomas Harrigan |
There are no guarantees in baseball. But in recent years, the Astros and Dodgers winning the AL West and NL West, respectively, has come pretty close. Houston has claimed seven straight division titles in full seasons (finishing second in 2020). Los Angeles has claimed 11 division titles in 12 years, and it took 107 wins for the Giants to unseat them in 2021.
It seemed like that trend would continue in 2025. On July 4, the Astros and Dodgers began a series against each other in L.A. Entering that day, the Astros’ AL West lead had peaked at seven games; the Dodgers’ NL West lead had peaked at nine.
But now, all of a sudden, these are easily the two closest division races, with both teams leading by just one game entering tonight. The Dodgers are 12-19 since July 4 and on Monday fell to 0-4 this season against the Angels. Hot on their tails is a familiar foe: the Trade Deadline-bolstered Padres.
The Astros, since sweeping the Dodgers in that aforementioned series, are 12-17. Even worse, they are now facing the prospect of yet another injury to a key contributor, closer Josh Hader. And not only are the surging Mariners right behind them, but the Rangers (6 1/2 back) also remain within striking distance.
Nobody is counting either of these battle-tested teams out, but both are facing big-time tests to their supremacy. -- Andrew Simon |
If you own some of Bryce Harper’s most coveted baseball cards, you have a golden opportunity to help one of MLB’s marquee players build his collection -- and get some sweet gear for your own.
Harper’s Phillies teammate, reliever and baseball card aficionado Matt Strahm, recently tweeted that he was looking for rare Harper cards and had game-used memorabilia to send back in return. Strahm told MLB.com’s Paul Casella on Monday that he hadn’t had the chance to sift through the fans’ submissions yet, but he plans to in the near future.
As for Harper, he told Casella that though his dad collected cards, he never really had, though it’s never too late to turn over a new leaf.
“It's just more my cards than anything. I've never had anything like that, so I think it'd be cool,” Harper said. “Strahmer was like, 'I'll throw out a tweet,' and I was like, 'All right, we'll see what comes from that.'"
In other words, stay tuned -- and keep your binder of Harper cards at the ready. -- Bryan Horowitz |
If you're in Kansas City and can get to a game, you won’t want to leave without getting your hands dirty with some BBQ. Head on out to the right-field area at Kauffman Stadium for the headliner among its new food items this year: "The Z-Man" sandwich from Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. You can get it with either slow-smoked beef brisket or smoked pulled chicken. Both versions come on a toasted kaiser roll and are topped with barbecue mayo, smoked provolone and two crispy onion rings. |
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