5 things to know after the MLB weekend: With Juan Soto and Aaron Judge crashing at the plate, are the Yankees something to be afraid of again?

There’s a lot of baseball going on on the weekend. This time around, we saw the Yankees’ superstars crush the team in the Bay, the Brewers tighten their grip in the NL Central, the White Sox fought with words off the field (but not much on the mound), and the Mariners seemed serious about fixing their hitting misfortune.

Here’s what you need to know about the MLB weekend.

No one in the MLB has more wins than the New York Yankees (42). That’s because the Bronx bombers rolled into San Francisco and abused the Giants for their superstars’ dominant performances. It was the baseball equivalent of a ruthless noogie.

The series was defined by the storyline of Aaron Judge, a Bay Area kid playing his first career games at Oracle Park after his dramatic free agent spree broke the hearts of Giants fans (remember Arson Judge?). The big man stole the show early on, hitting some big flies to help the Yankees win 6-2. But the next day was truly unforgettable.

In the first inning of Saturday’s contest, Judge wiped out Logan Webb’s substitution on a 464-foot supersonic monster shot, another win for the Yankees.

San Francisco entered the ninth round on Sunday with a two-point lead and a chance to save the final. Most importantly, the Yankees are hiring Juan Soto. After Anthony Volpe cut the lead to one three times, Soto smashed Camilo Doval’s grooved heater into the right-side seats for the lead by one. It was a Murphy’s Law weekend for the Giants and their fans.

The Yanks return home after a hugely successful nine-game road trip to California (7-2) for a series against (who else?) their all-time punching bag: the Minnesota Twins.

The Brewers are taking advantage of the Cubs’ decline by attacking the terrible White Sox

Milwaukee took care of business against the disastrous White Sox in one of three weekend games. After a 23-game hitting streak in the first quarter, the Brewers beat the White Sox thanks to solid play in the final two games by rookie Robert Gasser, ace Freddy Peralta and a locked-down bullpen. That makes it five straight wins for Milwaukee, which, combined with the Cubs’ recent slump, has given the Brew Crew a solid seven-game lead atop the NL Central.

Rhys Hoskins’ return from injury a few days ago will only help the Brewers’ surging offense as Milwaukee heads to Philadelphia this week for a scintillating clash between two of the best clubs on the circuit.

The White Sox, on the other hand, are disaster wrapped in disaster wrapped in misfortune and deep-fried failure. They have now lost 11 straight baseball games and are the worst team in the MLB by a significant margin. Chicago, at 15-45, is on track to finish the season with 40 wins, which would tie the 1962 New York Mets for the lowest winning percentage in MLB’s expansion era.

The situation became especially strange on Sunday when fearless veteran outfielder Tommy Pham tried to tag-team Brewers catcher William Contreras after making a pitch. It was lighthearted enough, but the 36-year-old Pham – who is almost certainly bait for the Sox – took things to another level when he was available to the media after the game, addressing his offseason fighting mode.

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Expect the Orioles to be active on the trade market after losing 2 huge arms

Baltimore general manager Mike Elias dropped a bad news bomb on Friday, announcing that two of his team’s pitchers, John Means and Tyler Wells, would undergo surgery for torn UCL ligaments. For Means, who underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2022 but was unable to return to action, this is an especially cruel blow. Wells started for Baltimore early in the game, but likely found himself in bullpen camp late in the summer. The double whammy increases the likelihood that Elias will be aggressive at the trade deadline.

In the short term, Baltimore needs to move forward with the top 13 pitchers currently in the organization. That assignment got off to a great start on Friday against Tampa, when 36-year-old journeyman Albert Suárez had five strong frames in the game-winning effort. On Saturday, the Birds hit four long balls in a 9-5 win, and on Sunday, the Rays came back with a victory.

It’s not surprising that Baltimore can really hit, but how the Orioles go about assembling a solid rather than dominant pitching staff in the face of recent injuries will be crucial to their long-term success. Nice to see Craig Kimbrel roaring again; the future Hall of Famer solidified his position with eight scoreless appearances after a very difficult start to May.

Will the Mariners firing a hitting coordinator turn things around at the plate?

It was a strange weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle crushed the hapless Angels because, surprise, surprise, the Mariners starting pitchers didn’t allow a single earned run over 20 innings. This is how Sailors behave. This rotation is pure dynamite, potentially a good one for the story once it’s all done and dusted.

Bryan Woo, still under strict on-field restrictions, cut into shape on Friday. Bryce Miller, the lanky, flame-throwing Texan, struck out nine Halos on Saturday. Luis Castillo, the old reliable, had seven scoreless points on Sunday. Ho-hum things for M.

As good as Seattle was in a difficult situation, they were terrible on the field. The AL West’s terribleness has overshadowed the Mariners’ offensive ineptitude, but boy, oh boy, is it hard to watch this team hit. The highlight of the Mariners’ struggles on Friday was the firing of “offensive coordinator” Brant Brown.

Brown was brought in in the offseason to help the Mariners shed strikeouts and increase contact. However, within two months the club hit .223, which is not something good teams achieve.

It’s rare for a first-year coach to bounce back after just two months, so keep an eye on Seattle’s offense to see if there’s a significant change.

The Tigers parted ways with the Red Sox and No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson was sent to Triple-A

Detroit has been struggling lately in the surprisingly competitive AL Central. Kansas City and Cleveland performed spectacularly, and Minnesota’s rollercoaster season is heating up again. But the Tigers, who are currently sub-.500 after four games at Fenway, are the epitome of meh. Not good, not terrible, just plain old average.

And while there were some clear positives – Jack Flaherty was sensational again and frontrunner Matt Vierling was on fire – Detroit made a significant trade on Sunday that showed things weren’t rosy in the Motor City. Spencer Torkelson, the first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and the presumed savior of Tiger baseball, was optioned to Triple-A after starting the season with an ugly OPS of .597.

Detroit’s recovery, like any other, depends on the stars rising. The only obvious success in this regard was the promotion of starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.

Torkelson was expected to be that player on Detroit’s roster, but his demotion to the minor leagues is confirmation that the great first baseman needs a reset. It’s hard to be the face of a Toledo franchise.