Yankees show off in front of the NBA champs!

Hart and Brunson making the first pitches go to the stadium. Let's go go to the top get on the phones. Oh beautiful from MLB dot com. This is the morning lineup podcast for Thursday June 18th. I'm Anthony Castro Vince and I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about baseball today beginning with a parade of runs in New York City. The New York Knicks parade will run up Broadway this morning with millions expected to cheer on the newly crowned champions of the NBA. But first, there was a preview of that reception up in the Bronx last night. Josh Hart and NBA Finals most valuable player Jalen Brunson. Hart and Brunson threw out simultaneous ceremonial first pitches before the game against the White Sox. And then it was Cody Bellinger doing damage on a real pitch from Chicago starter Anthony Kaye. As Bellinger turns on that, lifts it high and gone. Out to right. Cody Bellinger continues to smash lefties. The Yankees jumped out to an early lead and unlike the San Antonio Spurs, they didn't blow it. They prevailed 10 to 5. It doesn't get them a parade, but it does ensure them a series win over those upstart Sox. Shohei Otani keeps finding ways to bend the box score. Facing the Rays in a matinee at Dodger Stadium, Otani started on a mound, but was not in the batting order as the Dodgers were easing off him because of some recent left knee inflammation. He was cruising along until Tampa Bay tagged him for four runs, the most he's allowed all year, and they all came in the fifth inning, giving the Rays a 4-2 lead. But the Dodgers answered back with a run in the bottom of the fifth before Freddie Freeman gave L.A. the lead back with a two run home run in the sixth. Freeman flies it to deep center field. Mullins going back. He's out of room. Goodbye. Freddie Freeman flips the score with a two run shot. And that same inning with Miguel Rojas due up, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called upon a different hitter. And wait a sec. That's Shohei Otani's music. And here he comes, Shohei Otani. Here he goes, six innings on the mound. He now pinch hits. Now a pitch, he swings, hits it to short, backhanded by Walls and throws him out. So a one pitch out for Otani. OK, so it didn't work out. Otani crowned it out. But it's not every day you see a player enter a game he was already in. And the Dodgers, despite losing their D.A. spot the rest of the way, won 5-4 to finish off a sweep of the Rays. Despite the four run blip, Otani's 1.47 ERA is second only to Jacob Mizorowski's 1.34 mark among MLB pitchers with at least 50 innings this season. There is just no stopping the Milwaukee Brewers. Year after year, this team sheds established stars only to birth new ones. And once again, in 2026, they are running away with the NL Central. Their latest triumph, their 45th win of the season came against the Guardians. And if things go the way the Brewers think, this will be remembered as the game in which their shortstop for the future, Cooper Pratt, ripped his first MLB hit a day after the 21-year-old was summoned from AAA. You want to limit the expectations on the bat as he shoots one through. And there it is, his first hit in the big leagues. Second game, the cheer. With Pratt's help, the Brewers hung seven runs on Cleveland starter Gavin Williams, overcoming a Daniel Schneeman grand slam to win 9-4. Pratt added his first RBI on another single later in the game. Milwaukee is now a season high 19 games over 500 as it goes for the sweep this afternoon. Let Corbin Barrels demonstrate you can have a happy ending with a hammate bone fraction. The hammate is again a big topic after Jose Ramirez and Vinny Pasquantino were both felled by the hammate in the last week, requiring surgery to remove the small broken bone from their wrists. But Corbin Carroll had the same surgery in spring training, and it hasn't prevented him from having another sensational season for the D-backs. On Wednesday, Carroll stepped to bat with the bases loaded in the second inning against the Angels and performed baseball removal surgery. Corbin Carroll with a fly ball. It's headed to right field. Well, he barreled that one. It's out of here for his 13th, and it's a five run Diamondbacks second. That granny propelled Arizona to an 8-1 win. It was Carroll's 13th homer of the season, and his 9-0-4 OPS is on track to be the best of his career. Not bad for a guy with a missing hammy. Coming up, this season has gotten away from the Mets, but they do have a young ace up their sleeves. We'll discuss that after the break. Nolan McClain mode has been activated. McClain was considered one of the most exciting rookies in MLB coming into the season. He was so impressive in his first eight starts at the tail end of 2025 that he was named to Team USA for the World Baseball Classic and even started in the finals. But only recently, after battling some command woes, has McClain begun to settle into the 2026 season. And on Wednesday, he was absolutely dominant in Cincinnati. And he got him looking side retired. McClain threw strikes nearly 70% of the time, while allowing just one run and one walk in seven innings in the Mets' 9-1 win over the Reds, avoiding a sweep. For his final out, McClain froze Matt McClain with a 97.8 mile per hour fastball. McClain on McClain crime, even though they're spelled differently. The Mets' McClain now has a 1.64 ERA over his last four starts. Remember, kids, the foul pole is in fair territory. That was a good thing for Cubs star Pete Crow Armstrong, who routed the bases after a long fly ball to right field and was just as curious as anyone to see if replay review would confirm it was a home run. Breaking ball hit high in the air, deep down the right field line. Freeman goes back in the corner, looks up. Is this one gone? Ball did appear to graze the foul pole, and PCA had his third homer in as many games in the Cubs' 8-6 win over the Rockies. Elsewhere in MLB, the Marlins avoided a sweep in Philly and hit Andrew Painter all the way to AAA. Miami backed a Sandy Alcantara and unloaded on the rookie painter for six runs in the first two innings and hit five homers in all in a 12-4 win. After the game, the Phillies optioned the struggling Painter, who is 1-8 with an error over seven, to Lehigh Valley. The Blue Jays won their second straight game in Fenway Park with a 3-0 victory in which Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a pair. The Red Sox MLB worst home record is now 12-24. The fourth place Giants have made it known to other teams that they are open for business on the trade front, but they got down to business in Atlanta on Wednesday, pulling off a doubleheader sweep of sorts. In the resumption of Tuesday's game that was suspended by rain in the second inning, the Giants won 7-2. Then they came right back in the nightcap and won 7-5, with trade candidates Luis Urias and Rafael Devers both cranking out a pair of hits. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill each drove in a pair as the Padres avoided a sweep in St. Louis with a 6-1 win. Hey, we have a trade. Is it a big trade? No, but it is a trade as a Royals team in need of rotation depth has reportedly acquired Randy Dobnak from the Mariners, where he was on a minor league deal. Kansas City also beat the Nationals 6-2 to avoid getting swept in Washington. Right-hander Peter Lambert allowed just a run on two hits in a career-high tying seven innings as the Astros beat the struggling Tigers 4-2 to win the series at Dyken Park. Ryan O'Hearn had a two-run single, a two-run double, and a two-run homer. So you could say he fell just a two-run triple shy of a two-run cycle in the Pirates' 12-4 win over the A's in West Sacramento. Gunner Henderson's 15th homer of the year got the Orioles' offense going, and Kyle Braddish was terrific in a 5-3 win in Seattle. And more injury trouble for the Mariners in that one, as star center fielder Julio Rodriguez left early with an injury. Coming up tonight at 640 Eastern Time, MLB Network will take you to the opener of Mets at Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, where Aaron Nola will face Shawn Minaya. You early birds can check out Sonny Gray and the Red Sox hosting Treya Savage and the Blue Jays at 135 Eastern on MLB.TV. That's all for today's show. Will Leach is back with you tomorrow. Until next time, thanks for listening. Please be sure to leave us a rating and review. Share this episode with the baseball lovers in your life and have a great day, everyone.