Last Night in Baseball: Giancarlo Stanton is (Also) Back

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves.
That's why we're here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days' games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: Stanton is back, too!
Shohei Ohtani — understandably — sucked up all the attention with his return to the mound on Monday night, especially since it was something of a surprise. His was not the only long-awaited return, however, as the Yankees finally got slugger Giancarlo Stanton back in their lineup. Stanton hadn't played at all in 2025, and began the year on the 60-day IL thanks to what he himself deemed to be " severe " tennis elbow in both arms. Epicondylitis is the actual term for the problem, and it was supposedly due to "bat adjustments" Stanton had made in 2024 — the extent of the injuries was enough that Stanton had to receive multiple rounds of platelet-rich plasma injections to help solve the issue.
He's back now, however, and got right to work: Stanton went 2-for-4 with a double while serving as the Yankees' designated hitter.
That was the high point of the night for New York, however, as the Angels would end up winning 1-0 in extra innings. Sure, Aaron Judge became the first player to reach 100 hits on the season, too, but like with Stanton it didn't end up leading to any runs. Next time, boys. What a catch by Neto
Of course, it didn't help the Yankees that Zach Neto decided to make a play like this one. What should have been a looping ball hit to the outfield for an easy Paul Goldschmidt hit instead became a highlight reel play.
From the moment of contact to the ball ending up in Neto's glove measured less than two seconds. He saw and heard the ball hit the bat, turned to give chase, then contorted his body just right to snag that would-be hit out of the air, all in that short time. Professional baseball players are something else.
Somehow, this wasn't the most impressive defensive play of the evening. But we'll get to that one soon enough. A's walk it off on Kurtz's shot
The Astros and A's had a pitching duel going, despite both starters exiting after just five innings. Ryan Gusto limited the A's to one run over his five, allowing just three hits and a single walk in that time, while Mitch Spence gave up far more hits (seven) and struck out far fewer batters (two), but allowed the one run all the same. The bullpens took over, with both blanking the other… until they did not. In the bottom of the ninth, Bryan Abreu came in, walked Brent Rooker, and then gave up a home run to Nick Kurtz without even recording an out.
His seventh homer of the year was gone off of the bat, and Kurtz knew it — hence that serious bat flip. Kurtz is a rookie, and not just that, he was the A's first-round pick in 2024. The 22-year-old has struggled a bit, as is expected for someone who shot through the minors that quickly, but the power is very real and is also why he's managed a 107 OPS+ through 34 games despite a sub-.300 on-base percentage.
The A's present doesn't look so good. The A's might have a fascinating future, though, if players like Kurtz develop like they should. What an even better catch by Guillorme
Remember that time, mere moments ago, when you were told there was an even better defensive play than Zach Neto's on Monday? Well, here you go, courtesy the Astros' Luis Guillorme:
Guillorme's body looked like it was full of regret as he stood back up and trudged to third from the outfield, but you can't deny that the catch itself was a beaut. He kept going back and back, and called off Mauricio Dubon on a play that wasn't quite the third baseman's and also wasn't quite the left fielder's, and then suddenly shifted to his right to make the shocking catch in no man's land. Absurd at every step, but especially that last one. Ohtani is back doing what only Ohtani can
Shohei Ohtani served as the opener for the Dodgers against the Padres on Monday, marking his first time back on the mound since August of 2023, when he was lifted early with what would eventually turn out to be a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. Back from an extended rehab that saw him win an MVP award as a hitter alone in 2024, Ohtani threw one inning against San Diego, allowing a run and a couple of two-strike hits.
Ohtani, also for the first time since August of 2023, was able to make up for any mistakes made on the mound at the plate. As he did in the third inning, when he lifted a 91 mph pitch into center field to tie the game up, 1-1, undoing the run he'd allowed himself.
As MLB noted , Ohtani was the first National League player to serve as both the starting pitcher and the leadoff hitter since 1953, when Alvin Dark did so for the Giants, and just the third since 1900 (Jim Jones, Giants). If the Dodgers had lost in some embarrassing way, we'd even be able to bring up Tungsten Arm O'Doyle again, but this Los Angeles team is a little different than Ohtani's previous one. Anthony's first MLB homer
The Red Sox don't have Rafael Devers' imposing bat in the middle of their lineup anymore, so the kids are going to have to pick up the slack if they're to keep chasing down a wild card spot. Rookie Roman Anthony apparently got the memo, and went yard for the first time in his (very short) MLB career:
Anthony has now played in seven games for the Red Sox, and it hasn't gone all that well to this point. He's batting .095/.174/.286 in 23 plate appearances, with just two hits. One of those hits is a homer, however, and the other a double. The power is there, but there's a lot more for the 21-year-old to work on, as well.
Considering Anthony was the top prospect in MLB, not just in the Red Sox system, there's plenty of reason to believe that he'll be able to figure out these issues with time. And he'll have to, considering the Devers-shaped void in the Boston lineup. Monday night was a good start, at least.
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