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THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

The latest mass protest against the Trump administration will channel the spirit of the late civil rights icon John Lewis.

By TJ L’Heureux

CURRENT EVENT STORIES

If you want to see the legend in action, the tour launches in Palm Desert, a quick road trip away. Here’s how to get tickets.

By Amy Young

Fill your summer calendar with music events; here are plenty of options to rock you through the season.

By Benjamin Leatherman and Amy Young

UPCOMING EVENTS

Valley Bar

Wed., Jul. 16 | 7:00 PM

Crescent Ballroom

Wed., Jul. 16 | 8:00 PM

The Rebel Lounge

Wed., Jul. 16 | 8:00 PM

Valley Bar

Wed., Jul. 16 | 9:00 PM

The Underground

Thu., Jul. 17 | 7:00 PM

Valley Bar

Fri., Jul. 18 | 10:00 PM

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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know in baseball today, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

For the first time in six years, players wore their team’s primary home and road jerseys at last night’s All-Star Game. The switch back to that longstanding tradition was a big hit. But for a select few of this year’s All-Stars, their days in those uniforms could be nearing an end.

Why? The Trade Deadline is approaching, and rumors are heating up.

As Mark Feinsand detailed today in this dispatch from Atlanta, a handful of players who made it to the Midsummer Classic could find themselves on new teams by July 31. Let’s take a look at three players Feinsand identified who could be generating intense interest from contenders over the next two-plus weeks.

Orioles DH Ryan O’Hearn: A free agent after this season, O’Hearn could be an intriguing rental for a team looking for a lefty bat with both on-base skills (.382 OBP) and pop. His .840 OPS would be a career high over a full season, and his 11 homers so far have him on pace to smash his career best (15).

D-backs 3B Eugenio Suárez: Also a pending free agent, Suárez has obvious appeal given his ability to produce runs. He has 31 homers (helped by a four-homer game in April), leads the NL with 78 RBIs and his .889 OPS is tops among qualified third basemen. While Suárez turns 34 on Friday, he’s been great for the past calendar year now and would be an instant boost to many contending lineups that are light at the hot corner.

Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore: Now, this one is really intriguing — that is, if the Nats’ new front office leadership is willing to make him available. Gore, at age 26, won’t be a free agent until after the 2027 season, meaning he’d command a sizable haul from any interested party. But teams could view him as a worthy investment toward postseason success. The lefty’s 138 strikeouts are fifth-most in baseball while his 3.02 ERA ranks 10th-best among qualified NL starters. He’s also held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in nine of his past 10 starts.

We could be in for a fascinating 15 days. Heck, there’s already been one trade in the first day post-break, so things could be about to get serious.

— Jason Foster

Major League Baseball staged a special tribute to Hank Aaron‘s iconic 715th home run during the 2025 All-Star Game on Tuesday night, befitting for one of the greatest players and ambassadors we’ve seen in the game’s storied history.

Prior to the top of the seventh inning, the lights dimmed at Truist Park and fans in the stadium and watching at home were treated to a stunning audio and visual display that surely raised goosebumps and brought tears to the eyes of many who experienced it.

With the infield serving as an enormous projector screen, fans were transported back to April 8, 1974, and the voices of legendary announcers Milo Hamilton and Vin Scully served as the soundtrack.

Click here to watch the entire spellbinding presentation.

— Ed Eagle

Much is written each summer about the family ties connecting new draftees to MLB players, and this year was no different. Those connections also extend to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which is adding a certified member of sports royalty to its roster tonight in Maya Brady.

Brady’s last name may be the giveaway — she’s the niece of broadcaster (and 7-time Super Bowl champ) Tom Brady. And don’t look past Maya’s mom, Maureen, who put together a remarkable career of her own in high school with 29 no-hitters and 16 perfect games. It’ll be a huge boost, then, when the AUSL-best Talons (14-4) welcome Brady — now healthy after a spell on the inactive list — for her season debut tonight. Tune in to ESPN2 at 8 ET to see Brady take on the Blaze.

— Tom Vourtsis

Whether your fashion mantra is “less is more” or “way more is more,” there was something for you to appreciate at yesterday’s All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Deer Park.

Among the standouts:

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (pictured above) won Best Dressed, paying homage to Japanese culture with a Valentino suit in the style of a traditional smoking jacket with a matching collar (similar to Shohei Ohtani’s). Less visible but no less impressive were his pearl- and diamond-lined bracelet and the diamond studs on his teeth.

Elly De La Cruz wore a shimmering custom suit befitting his style of play on the field and adorned the lining with nods to his family and his native Dominican Republic.

Paul Skenes incorporated his military background into his outfit with an Air Force crest on his shoes, and girlfriend Livvy Dunne even complimented the NL starting pitcher’s improving fashion sense. Skenes’ reply? “The bar was pretty low before.”

A few mascots got in on it, too, but the clear Red Carpet winner, non-human division, was Matilda, the 14-year-old Persian rescue cat of Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, who unfurled a private red carpet in his hotel room to keep Matilda clear of the heat and hubbub.

— Tom Vourtsis

The 2025 MLB Draft wrapped up Monday with Rounds 4-20. That’s a lot of picks; 510 to be exact. To help you make sense of it all, here are some of the day’s most interesting selections, and make sure to check out MLB Pipeline prospect maestro Sam Dykstra’s full recap of Monday’s action.

Round 6 (188th overall), Royals: Tyriq Kemp, SS, Baylor: The Netherlands native already has some pro baseball under his belt thanks to a stint in the country’s excellently named Honkbal Hoofdklasse, and the 5-foot-7 sparkplug hit .358 with a .988 OPS for the Bears this spring to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors.

Round 8 (241st overall), Cubs: Jake Knapp, RHP, North Carolina: The ACC Pitcher of the Year turns 25 next month, making him a whopping eight years older than No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits, and the 6-foot-5, 270-pound grad student dominated Division I, going 14-0 with a 2.02 ERA.

Round 9 (263rd overall), Pirates: Jared Jones, 1B Louisiana State: The Pirates complemented their 23-year-old right-hander of the same name with this slugging first baseman, who won two national titles with LSU, including as a teammate of Paul Skenes’ in 2023.

— Andy Werle

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