PLAYER OF THE DAY: Esmerlyn Valdez homers three times across Pittsburgh’s doubleheader sweep. HOT TEAM: Boston wins its eighth straight with a 4-0 shutout. NEAR NO-HITTER: Kyle Bradish takes a no-hit bid into the seventh. GRAND SLAM: LaMonte Wade Jr. hits the first grand slam of his career.LATE POWER: The Yankees hit three eighth-inning homers.DEALING: Cristopher Sánchez stops Detroit’s six-game streak. AL EAST: Tampa Bay improves to 35-14 at home. NL WEST: Arizona pounds the Dodgers 9-2.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Esmerlyn Valdez homers three times across Pittsburgh’s doubleheader sweep. HOT TEAM: Boston wins its eighth straight with a 4-0 shutout. NEAR NO-HITTER: Kyle Bradish takes a no-hit bid into the seventh. GRAND SLAM: LaMonte Wade Jr. hits the first grand slam of his career. LATE POWER: The Yankees hit three eighth-inning homers. DEALING: Cristopher Sánchez stops Detroit’s six-game streak. AL EAST: Tampa Bay improves to 35-14 at home. NL WEST: Arizona pounds the Dodgers 9-2.

Valdez Powers Pirates to Doubleheader Sweep

MLB Daily Edition for July 12, 2026 Featuring Games from Yesterday July 11, 2026

Player of the Day

Esmerlyn Valdez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Esmerlyn Valdez hit three home runs across Pittsburgh’s doubleheader sweep of Milwaukee. He drove in six runs in Game 1, including the go-ahead grand slam, then homered again in Game 2.

Top Stories

  • Esmerlyn Valdez homers three times as Pittsburgh sweeps Milwaukee.
  • Kyle Bradish takes a no-hit bid into the seventh.
  • LaMonte Wade Jr. hits his first career grand slam.
  • Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt homer in the eighth.
  • Cristopher Sánchez ends Detroit’s six-game winning streak.
  • Boston wins its eighth straight.
  • Alex Bregman hits the go-ahead homer for Chicago.
  • Arizona routs the Dodgers 9-2.

Last Night’s Scoreboard

GameBig Moment
Pirates 7
Brewers 6		Esmerlyn Valdez hit two home runs, including a go-ahead grand slam.
Win: Not Verified. Loss: Not Verified. Save: Gregory Soto.

Pirates 3
Brewers 2		Bryan Reynolds delivered the go-ahead run as Pittsburgh completed the sweep.
Win: Not Verified. Loss: Shane Drohan. Save: Not Verified.

Twins 5
Angels 3		Royce Lewis homered and Victor Caratini doubled home the go-ahead run.
Win: Not Verified. Loss: Not Verified. Save: Not Verified.

White Sox 1
Athletics 0		Chase Meidroth’s RBI double supplied the only run in a combined shutout.
Win: Erick Fedde. Loss: Gage Jump. Save: Not Verified.

Giants 4
Rockies 2		Casey Schmitt’s three-run homer broke a 1-1 tie.
Win: Tyler Mahle. Loss: Kyle Freeland. Save: J.T. Brubaker.

Yankees 4
Nationals 2		Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt homered in the eighth.
Win: Brent Headrick. Loss: Clayton Beeter. Save: David Bednar.

Red Sox 4
Mets 0		Andruw Monasterio and Masataka Yoshida hit two-run homers.
Win: Jovani Moran. Loss: Freddy Peralta. Save: None.

Rays 6
Mariners 1		Jonathan Aranda had three hits and Ryan Vilade added a three-run homer.
Win: Griffin Jax. Loss: Logan Gilbert. Save: None.

Guardians 4
Marlins 1		Steven Kwan and Patrick Bailey each delivered two-run doubles.
Win: Tanner Bibee. Loss: Eury Pérez. Save: Colin Holderman.

Phillies 4
Tigers 2		J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run double and Cristopher Sánchez ended Detroit’s streak.
Win: Cristopher Sánchez. Loss: Casey Mize. Save: Jhoan Duran.

Orioles 6
Royals 1		Kyle Bradish carried a no-hit bid into the seventh.
Win: Kyle Bradish. Loss: Noah Cameron. Save: None.

Astros 9
Rangers 3		LaMonte Wade Jr. hit his first career grand slam.
Win: Peter Lambert. Loss: Kumar Rocker. Save: None.

Cubs 5
Reds 3		Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh.
Win: Drew Pomeranz. Loss: Julian Garcia. Save: Trent Thornton.

Cardinals 4
Braves 1		Lars Nootbaar hit a three-run homer and Matthew Liberatore threw six scoreless innings.
Win: Matthew Liberatore. Loss: Reynaldo López. Save: Not Verified.

Padres 8
Blue Jays 7		San Diego survived a back-and-forth game by one run.
Win: Not Verified. Loss: Not Verified. Save: Not Verified.

Diamondbacks 9
Dodgers 2		Arizona backed Brandon Pfaadt in a convincing division win.
Win: Brandon Pfaadt. Loss: Not Verified. Save: None.

Game of the Day

Pirates 7, Brewers 6

Pittsburgh survived a back-and-forth opener behind the biggest swing of the day.

Turning Point: Valdez’s seventh-inning grand slam.

Best Player: Esmerlyn Valdez.

Why It Mattered: It set up Pittsburgh’s doubleheader sweep.

Big Bats

  • Esmerlyn Valdez: Three home runs across two games.
  • LaMonte Wade Jr.: First career grand slam.
  • Yordan Alvarez: AL-leading 31st home run.
  • Ezequiel Duran: Two home runs and all three Texas RBI.
  • Ryan McMahon: Eighth-inning homer.
  • Trent Grisham: Go-ahead two-run homer.
  • Paul Goldschmidt: Back-to-back homer.
  • Alex Bregman: Tiebreaking two-run homer.

Dealing

  • Kyle Bradish: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R.
  • Cristopher Sánchez: 7+ IP, 10 H, 2 R, 7 K.
  • Matthew Liberatore: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6 K.
  • Tyler Mahle: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R.
  • Tanner Bibee: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R.

Who’s Hot

  • Boston Red Sox: Eight straight wins.
  • Pittsburgh Pirates: Doubleheader sweep.
  • New York Yankees: Three straight wins.
  • Tampa Bay Rays: Majors-best 35-14 home record.
  • Esmerlyn Valdez: Homered in three straight games.

Who’s Not

  • Seattle Mariners: Five straight losses.
  • Kansas City Royals: Continued their slide.
  • Milwaukee Brewers: Lost both ends of the doubleheader.
  • Atlanta Braves: Five losses in seven games.
  • Detroit Tigers: Six-game streak ended.

Team Trends

  • Heating Up: Red Sox, Pirates, Yankees, Rays, Orioles.
  • Cooling Off: Mariners, Royals, Brewers, Braves.
  • AL West: Houston tightened the race.
  • NL East: Philadelphia moved closer to Atlanta.

Trending Players

  • Esmerlyn Valdez, Pirates
  • Kyle Bradish, Orioles
  • LaMonte Wade Jr., Astros
  • Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies
  • Alex Bregman, Cubs
  • Trent Grisham, Yankees

Standings Watch

Tampa Bay Rays strengthened their AL East position.

Houston Astros gained ground on the Texas Rangers.

Philadelphia Phillies reduced Atlanta’s NL East lead to two games.

Injury & Transactions Report

  • Brewers: Jacob Misiorowski was ruled out for Sunday because of arm fatigue and will miss the All-Star Game.
  • Reds: Nick Lodolo left his start with a blister.

Today’s Games

GameWhy Watch
Brewers at Pirates
12:15 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Royals at Orioles
1:35 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Yankees at Nationals
1:35 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Cubs at Reds
1:40 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Red Sox at Mets
1:40 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Mariners at Rays
1:40 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Phillies at Tigers
1:40 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Guardians at Marlins
1:40 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Angels at Twins
2:10 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Athletics at White Sox
2:10 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Braves at Cardinals
2:15 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Astros at Rangers
2:35 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Rockies at Giants
4:05 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers
4:10 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Blue Jays at Padres
4:10 PM ET		Final games before the All-Star break.
Pitchers: TBA vs. TBA.

Stat of the Day

Esmerlyn Valdez hit three home runs in one day and homered in both ends of the doubleheader.

Yesterday at a Glance

  • There were 16 completed MLB games on July 11.
  • Player of the Day: Esmerlyn Valdez.
  • Highest Scoring Game: Pirates 7, Brewers 6.
  • Biggest Win: Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 2.
  • Near No-Hitter: Kyle Bradish carried one into the seventh.
  • Grand Slam: LaMonte Wade Jr.
  • Hot Team: Boston won its eighth straight.
  • Team Sliding: Seattle lost its fifth straight.