Today’s TBNL includes Cristopher Sánchez’s historic scoreless streak; some turmoil within a late Hall of Famer’s family; a big setback for Corbin Burnes; Jordyn Adams is leaving baseball; and the college coaching carousel starts spinning.

Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez allowed a pair of earned runs in the first inning of his April 30 start against the Giants (he’d work 6.2 IP that day). Sánchez wouldn’t allow another run to score until the seventh inning of his start on Sunday, June 3, against the Padres. Phillies fans promptly responded with a rousing standing ovation despite the play resulting in a tie game.

The run ended his scoreless streak at 50.2 IP, the fifth-longest scoreless stretch in MLB history. Sánchez’s streak is the longest ever by a left-handed pitcher and the longest by a non-U.S.-born player.

Hershiser’s streak technically reached 67.0 IP if we include the playoff start he made at the end of the 1988 season, in which he threw eight more shutout innings against the Mets.

Sánchez was originally an international amateur free agent signed by the Rays in 2013, before being traded to Philadelphia in Nov. 2019 for infielder Curtis Mead. The 29-year-old had a 3.24 ERA (132 ERA+) in 535.2 IP entering the 2026 season and was the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award last year. The Phillies extended him on a new six-year, $104 million contract before the season started. Through Sunday’s start, Sánchez is leading the National League in bWAR (4.7), ERA (1.46), and IP (86.1).

Ryne Sandberg — MLB Hall of Famer, Cubs legend, and the model of my first baseball glove (I still have it) — passed away in July 2025 following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was 65.

Sandberg’s two kids from his first marriage have filed suit against his second wife, alleging that she has violated the wishes of his trust, according to reporting from Mary Norkol at the Chicago Sun-Times. Margaret Sandberg, Ryne’s second wife, is accused of “trying to shift control of his name, image, and likeness to his stepson and the family financial advisor”.

Sandberg had signed documents prior to his death, wanting to establish a trust to manage his NIL, with Margaret and his two children, Justin and Lindsey, serving as co-trustees. He explicitly states in that document that “it would disappoint me if they were unable to make decisions on my NIL in a positive and collaborative manner”. Per the suit, the children made efforts to carry out their father’s wishes, but Margaret never signed the necessary documents (preventing them from setting up a bank account, among other things).

The Arizona Diamondbacks thought they were adding an ace to anchor their starting rotation when they signed Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million deal ahead of the 2025 season. Through the first seven seasons of his career, Burnes had posted a 3.19 ERA (130 ERA+) over 903.2 IP with 254 BB and 1051 SO. The four-time All-Star had finished in the Top 10 in Cy Young Award voting for five straight seasons, including winning the award in 2021.

The right-hander made just 11 starts for Arizona last season — with a 2.66 ERA (160 ERA+) in 64.1 IP — before injuring his elbow, leading to Tommy John surgery in June.

Burnes finally started a throwing program in the last few weeks in advance of heading on a rehab assignment. The 31-year-old has been shut down from those efforts, the team announced on Wednesday, after suffering a teres major strain (a muscle connecting the shoulder to the upper arm). Per reports, the team doesn’t expect him back until September.

The development is a major disappointment for the D-backs and for Burnes, who could have opted out of the last four years of his deal to re-enter the free agent market this offseason. It already looked unlikely that he’d exercise that option after missing a year to TJS, but this added delay makes him even more likely to remain with the club. There’s virtually no chance he would land a four-year, $123M deal ($30.83M/per) (matching what remains on his contract) if he were to hit the open market.

Arizona may want to consider shutting Burnes down for the year, hoping he is 100% for spring training, rather than pushing him to return for a handful of late-season (potentially meaningless) starts.

With his senior year of high school drawing to a close, Jordyn Adams had options ahead of him. The standout wide receiver had committed to play football at the Univ. of North Carolina that fall, but the Los Angeles Angels used the 18th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft to select the outfielder. The Angels gave him a $4.1 million signing bonus to convince him to give up playing both sports (and forego his commitment to join the Tar Heels).

Four years later, Adams was making his debut in Los Angeles. He’d play in 38 games from 2023-25 with the Angels and Orioles, hitting a combined .165/.193/.203 (10 OPS+) in 83 PA (13-for-79) with just a single extra-base hit (a solo home run in 2024 against the Twins’ Jorge Alcala).

Adams, now 26, started the 2026 season in the minor leagues with the Brewers and hit .198/.298/.363 in 105 PA before the organization released him in late May.

Adams is now looking to return to his football roots. According to The Athletic’s Manny Navarro, Adams intends to enroll at Southern Methodist Univ. and will be joining the Mustangs’ football team.

Now that the NCAA season has concluded for most schools, the coaching carousel has begun to spin, with several programs announcing changes in the last week.

Texas A&M fired pitching coach Jason Kelly. The Aggies finished the season with a 41-16 record overall before being eliminated by USC in Regionals. Despite the strong record, pitching was the team’s weakness throughout the season, finishing with a 5.24 staff ERA and allowing 90 home runs. 2026 had been Kelly’s second season with the program, though he previously worked alongside A&M head coach Michael Early at Arizona State Univ.

A&M will also be facing roster challenges. Their top arm, left-hander Shane Sdao, will be drafted in July (MLB Pipeline has him at No. 95 in their updated Top 200 Draft prospects, as of early June). Two more of their pitchers — freshman Luke Billings (who can also play the outfield) and sophomore Michael Bollinger — have already entered the transfer portal. Billing appeared in just three games this season for the Aggies, allowing 6 ER on 2 H, 4 BB, and 3 SO in 1.1 IP. Bollinger had a standout freshman season as the closer for Florida Atlantic Univ. before transferring to Texas A&M in December. He didn’t make an appearance for the team before requesting to redshirt the season and leaving the team in March.

Tennessee also parted ways with its pitching coach, firing Josh Reynolds after just one season. Reynolds was promoted to the role last fall after Frank Anderson followed former head coach Tony Vitello to the San Francisco Giants. The Volunteers, who were 38-22 before being eliminated in Regionals, finished the season with a 4.72 ERA, the program’s highest since 2013.

2026 was a tough season for Grand Canyon Univ. The Lopes finished with a 21-30 record and fell short of a spot in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. GCU has won eight conference titles since 2015. The program made a big statement in hiring their new head coach, bringing in Steve Bieser from Jacksonville State Univ. Bieser led the Gamecocks to a 48-15 record this season, ranking No. 21 in the nation heading into the postseason (before being eliminated in Regionals). The 14-year coaching veteran has also led teams at SE Missouri State and the Univ. of Missouri (winning 425 games, six conference championships, and seeing 42 of his players drafted).

Lamar Univ. (Beaumont, Texas) announced that it has hired USC pitching coach Sean Allen as their new head coach. Allen has almost 25 years of coaching experience on his resume, including the last two at USC, but entirely as an assistant and pitching coach. This will be his first head coaching opportunity. Lamar was 34-27 this season before being eliminated in Regionals (by USC).

Lastly, TCU (Texas Christian Univ.) has hired Thomas Eshelman as the program’s new pitching coach. Eshelman had been serving as a minor league pitching coordinator with the Orioles, but he will now join Kirk Saarloos’s staff with the Horned Frogs. The 31-year-old made 31 appearances with Baltimore from 2019-21 with a 5.77 ERA (81 ERA+) in 98.1 IP.