​The Mets fell in a long, exhausting 16-12 slugfest against the Royals as Matt Seelinger endured a rough major league debut, surrendering seven runs and absorbing the loss. Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, New York Daily News, or New York Post. In other news, even if 2026 is hard to swallow, there are signs this season may be more of an outlier than the start of a downturn. Mike Tauchman began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League yesterday, going 0-for-2 with a walk as the designated hitter. Over the past month, Bo Bichette has begun to look more like himself—and he feels it, too. The Mets designated Guillo Zuñiga for assignment a day after his debut to make room for Seelinger’s major league call-up. Seelinger waited nearly a decade after being drafted for his big-league moment. Jorge Polanco returned from the injured list, while Ronny Mauricio was optioned and Alex Carillo designated for assignment. Sunday night, Starling Marte received a tribute video upon his return to Citi Field. In other shifts, the Marlins have surprised many by proving to be one of the league’s best teams for more than a month, while Jesús Luzardo earned an All-Star nod as a replacement after several starters withdrew. The Braves were hammered by the Pirates, 12-4, with Ryan O’Hearn driving in ten runs by belting three homers in the game—the first Pirates player to achieve such a feat. The Marlins squeezed out a 6-5 win over the Mariners in extras as Jakob Marsee lined an RBI single to score Xavier Edwards and seal the victory. The Nationals fell to the Astros 6-3, with Andrew Alvarez allowing five runs in 5.2 innings and walking five. The Phillies topped the Reds 4-1, as Zack Wheeler, coming off an All-Star snub, struck out 14 in seven innings while yielding a single run. ESPN updated its top 100 trade candidates with the deadline nearing, and also issued midseason grades for all 30 teams. The Brewers promoted their outfield prospect Luis Lara about a month after signing a seven-year extension. Ben Rice announced his upcoming participation in the Home Run Derby, with his dad pitching to him. Chris Bassitt is eyeing a return in the second half after back surgery, while Konnor Griffin may miss substantial time rehabbing a torn tendon in his left ring finger. Buster Olney spoke with a number of veterans about their memories of the day they were drafted, and Joey Cora is out as the Tigers’ third-base coach due to “philosophical differences.” Shohei Ohtani celebrated his milestone 300th home run last night, though his sights remain set higher. Royals outfielder Tyler Tolbert tied a major-league record as part of a broader SEO-worthy stat, and the day’s action continued to unfold with a steady stream of news and notes from around the league.