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Snow flurries rolled through Coors Field earlier in the day, but once the game began, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who brought the heat as they defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1.

First pitch pressure 

Shohei Ohtani set the tone immediately with a leadoff double, and from there, the Dodgers settled into a rhythm that never really broke.

They worked counts, didn’t chase out of the zone, and when they got pitches to hit, they did damage — often in the air. It wasn’t one big inning; it was steady, controlled pressure that built throughout the night. 

Tomoyuki Sugano spent his outing trying to manage that pressure. He battled early and even flashed some resilience, striking out Teoscar Hernández to escape the first inning with limited damage, but the traffic never stopped. The Dodgers consistently forced him into deep counts and hitter’s counts, and the contact followed. 

No wasted at-bats 

Max Muncy delivered the loudest swings, turning a misplaced cutter into a home run in the top of the second. But the story wasn’t just Muncy — it was the entire lineup. There were no empty at-bats, no easy outs, and very few mistakes that went unpunished. 

Sugano’s final line reflected that grind: 4.0 innings, 9 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 home run. He took the loss, falling to 1–1 with a 3.92 ERA, worn down more than blown up. 

One side in control 

The contrast was just as clear on the other side. 

Tyler Glasnow was in complete control, delivering 7.0 innings of two-hit, one-run baseball with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. He worked efficiently, stayed ahead, and never allowed the Rockies to build momentum. Even when Colorado made contact, it rarely turned into anything sustained. 

The Rockies didn’t strike out excessively, but they were just a bit off — unable to consistently extend counts, unable to string together quality contact, and unable to turn opportunities into runs. Where the Dodgers were deliberate and punishing, Colorado was reactive and scattered. 

The Rockies lone run reflected that. Mickey Moniak doubled, advanced on a groundout, and scored on another ground ball from Troy Johnston. It was a manufactured run — clean, efficient, but isolated. 

Agnos steadies the game 

Zach Agnos provided one of the more important positives for Colorado. Entering after Sugano, Agnos immediately gave up a homer to Muncy — his second of the game.

But ultimately, Agnos settled in and worked 4.0 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs (both earned) with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts, stabilizing a game that had the potential to get out of hand. He attacked the zone, limited traffic, and gave the Rockies length. Agnos didn’t stop the Dodgers, but he did steady the game. 

Brennan Bernardino handled the ninth, allowing one hit and striking out a batter. Colorado used just three pitchers on the night — a quiet but meaningful positive given recent bullpen usage. (There was a brief moment in the third inning where I was wondering if we would see a position player on the mound tonight.) 

No late rally 

The problem was that the gap had already been established. 

Jack Dreyer worked the eighth and ninth for Los Angeles, and the Rockies never mounted a serious threat. A leadoff walk in the ninth provided a brief opening, but it quickly disappeared — a force out, a failed ABS challenge, a strikeout, and a flyout to end it. 

The 7–1 final score felt less about one moment and more about the accumulation of many, well-executed ones — on one side. 

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Up Next

The Colorado Rockies will continue their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at Coors Field.

Right-hander Ryan Feltner (0–2, 5.40 ERA) is expected to take the mound for Colorado, while the Dodgers are slated to counter with right-hander Emmet Sheehan (1–0, 3.27 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MT. Colorado will look for a better result against a Dodgers team that has shown few weaknesses early this season. 

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The hottest team in baseball, the coldest game in franchise history.

And a California kid on the mound, battling the inclement elements, this time beating the 35-degree chill.

Last April, a deluge in Philadelphia derailed the Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow in a frustrating defeat against the Phillies.

On Friday, in his first game at Coors Field, the Dodgers’ towering right-hander proved his manager Dave Roberts right: “He’s grown exponentially. I don’t see that these conditions are going to affect him today.”

Indeed not. The former Santa Clarita Hart High standout got the better of the weather and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. And his Dodgers teammates put runs on the board like they were logs in the fireplace, scoring at least one run every inning until the sixth inning en route to a breezy 7-1 victory.

Sparked by Max Muncy’s leadoff home runs in the second and fifth innings, the hot hitters up and down the Dodgers’ lineup sapped the suspense from the first of a four-game wraparound series.

Most of the crowd of 28,783 loved to see it. Thousands of dutifully bundled Dodgers supporters chanted and cheered as their boys in blue notched their 15th victory in 19 games, maintaining momentum in the first game of a 13-consecutive-game stretch.

Colorado right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano took the loss after leaving the game after the fourth inning with the Rockies trailing 5-0, having given up five runs on nine hits and thrown 91 pitches (just 51 of them for strikes).

Conversely, Glasnow (2-0) got the win, going seven innings and yielding just one run and two hits, striking out seven and walking two on 92 pitches. The Rockies (7-13) scored only in the fourth inning, when Troy Johnston’s groundout pushed across Mickey Moniak to make it 5-1.

The Dodgers’ first run came on much more quickly, when Will Smith’s one-out sacrifice fly brought home Shohei Ohtani, who’d led off the game with a double — he went two for three off Sugano on Friday, making the Dodgers’ superstar six for seven all time against his countryman.

Smith’s first RBI was his ninth this season, in his 35th game at the famously hitter-friendly park, though he still had another in him.

Muncy’s 434-foot home run in the second made it 2-0 and his double down the line in the third drove in Smith, who’d reached on a broken-bat single that sent Roberts scurrying in the dugout. That gave the Dodgers their third run before Andy Pages’ sacrifice brought home Freddie Freeman to make it 4-0.

The Dodgers pushed it to 5-0 in the fourth inning when Smith singled to left to score Kyle Tucker, who’d doubled off the center field wall.

And then Muncy led off the fifth with his second solo shot, giving him his 21st career multi-homer game, and his fourth at Coors Field. After Alex Freeland hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Pages, the Dodgers led 7-1.

Hyeseong Kim was one of three Dodgers who didn’t score, but the speedy South Korean reached on a single and a walk and twice stole second.

For all the contributors keeping warm up and down the Dodgers’ lineup, the members of the Rockies’ ground crew were the real heroes of Friday’s game. They plowed the outfield grass and shoveled away the couple inches of snow that piled up between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to prepare a playable field by gametime at 6:40 p.m.

In the second game of the four-game series Saturday, Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 6.60) is expected to face the Rockies’ right-hander Ryan Feltner (1-1, 7.30).

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The temperature in Denver was a frigid 35 degrees at first pitch, but the bats of the Dodgers stayed red hot. Max Muncy led the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense with two solo home runs in their 7–1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on a snowy Friday night at Coors Field.

Baseball was ready to be played at Coors Field after five hours of snow removal and field preparation by the impressive Rockies grounds crew before first pitch.

The cold never bothered Max Muncy anyway.

The Dodgers slugger went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, two runs, and three RBI. Every hitter in the lineup sans Teoscar Hernandez had a base hit on the night.

After a day off at the plate, but not the mound, Shohei Ohtani collected his first base hit since Sunday to extend his on-base streak to 49 games. The lead-off double was scorched down the right field line on two strikes.

The Dodgers got on the board first thanks to a Will Smith sac fly.

Muncy, bundled up under his jersey for warmth, doubled the score in the next inning with a huge home run 435-feet over the center field wall.

Max Muncy connects for a long home run! pic.twitter.com/cuGCWWoSkw

— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2026

Glasnow attacked the strike zone early and mowed down four straight Colorado batters. He cruised through seven innings and only allowed two hits.

Muncy doubled in a third run for the Dodgers with one out in the top of the third. Freddie Freeman scored the fourth run on a Pages sac fly.

Sugano served up the third double of the night to Kyle Tucker with one out in the fourth. Smith drove in Tucker to make it a 5-0 Dodgers lead.

The Rockies picked up a run on an RBI groundout by Troy Johnston in the bottom half of the fourth. Mickey Moniak doubled and scored for the Rox.

Muncy was in maximum form. He hit his second leadoff home run of the game, a solo shot off Colorado reliever Zach Agnos in the fifth.

Max Muncy slugs his second homer of the game! pic.twitter.com/891V4FtSct

— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2026

The hit parade continued as Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim both singled. Pages scored on a Freeland sac fly which looked like it should have been an out for anyone but the Rockies.

Hernandez was the only one without a hit in the Dodgers lineup. Hernandez struck out to end the sixth and break the string of five straight innings of runs scored. He ended up going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Jake Dreyer pitched two scoreless innings out of the Dodgers bullpen and struck out three to shut the door on the Rockies for the series opener win.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Max Muncy 2 (6)

WP — Tyler Glasnow (2-0): 7 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts (92 pitches)

LP — Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1): 4 IP, 9 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts (91 pitches)

Notes: Hyeseong Kim stole multiple bases (2) for the first time this season. Max Muncy has second multi-homer game of the season.

Up next

Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 6.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) looks for his third straight win for the Dodgers when he starts Saturday night (5:10 p.m.; SportsNet LA). Ryan Feltner (1-1, 7.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP) takes the ball for the Rockies.

The much anticipated MLB debut of pitching prospect Coleman Crow resulted in a Milwaukee Brewers victory to extend the winning now to three games. An immediate course correction following a six game losing streak in the preceding games.

Coleman Crow, the Crew’s 23rd ranked prospect, showed off his impressive arsenal of five pitches against the Marlins, highlighted by a curveball that averaged 3,022 RPMs and 18 inches of horizontal break with 66 inches of drop. All of that equals pure filth.

At the end of the day, Crow went 5.1 IP, scattering four hits, allowing two earned runs, with one walk and four strikeouts. He threw 77 pitches, so he remained fairly efficient and put the Brewers in an excellent spot to win.

DL Hall came on in reliever of Crow in the 6th and was charged with his first earned run of the season when he gave up a homer to Otto Lopez. He was the last remaining pitcher on the Brewers staff to have not given up a run this season.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, the Brewers were Brewers-ing again. Garrett Mitchell’s infield single with the bases loaded gave the Crew their first run of the game. Then Greg Jones followed with an RBI groundout. Jones promptly stole second base and Agustin Ramirez’s throw went into the outfield, allowing a third run to score.

The Brewers added some insurance in the 6th inning when Luis Rengifo doubled home Jake Bauers. Rengifo was in the midst of an 0-for-20 stretch coming into this game, but he had a huge night to break out of that going 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.

It was a 4-3 game in the 8th inning when Angel Zerpa came out of the Brewers bullpen and gave up an RBI double to Agustin Ramirez. That tied the game at 4 and gave the Marlins huge momentum. But Abner Uribe got the job done in the 9th to send the game to extras.

In extras, the Brewers took advantage of mistakes yet again. With the bases loaded, Luis Rengifo went first pitch swinging and hit a grounder to second. Xavier Edwards’ throw home was wide, allowing Brice Turang to score. Then it was Garrett Mitchell’s turn and he ripped a double to the opposite field to bring home two more and make it a 7-4 Brewers lead.

Garrett Mitchell through 17 GP 🔥

🔵 .289 AVG
🔵 .439 OBP
🔵 .883 OPS
🔵 16 RBI https://t.co/cITmaX29sjpic.twitter.com/QOXtaT6P61

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 18, 2026

That’s what they handed to Trevor Megill, who was placed back in a save situation, and although he allowed the Manfred Man on 2nd to come around to score, he got the job done and secured a 7-5 Brewers victory.

Next up for the Crew will be a battle of the grizzled veteran aces with Brandon Woodruff and Sandy Alcantara.

Eugenio Suárez knew the Cincinnati Reds had just gone out and traded for Ke’Bryan Hayes last summer when he chose to sign with his old club again this winter. Geno surely knew of Hayes’ chops defensively as well as his contract – one that could run all the way through 2030 if the Reds so choose.

Geno inked his one-year deal to return under the premise that he’d get some time at 1B, perhaps. Sal Stewart, though, has looked the part as one of the best hitters in the game already while manning that spot. That meant DH was very much in the cards for Geno, even though he knew that he’d get a start here or there at his old home at the hot corner from time to time.

One of those here-theres came on Friday night in Minneapolis as the Reds began their road trip. It also just happened to be on a vintage April night in Minnesota, a night that had wind chills in the 20s and the ball played about as dead as it could.

No problem for Geno, though. Cincinnati’s old 3B turned tonight’s 3B put in a defensive performance for the books, making a trio of vital plays with the glove at the hot corner in a 2-1 Reds win where just about every batted ball could have otherwise determined the game. Oh, and he also went 2 for 4 with a 2-run double that was the single biggest hit of the low-scoring affair, a performance that was 100% good enough to earn tonight’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game.

Other Notes

• Brandon Williamson, a native of central Minnesota and one-time gigantic Twins fan, got the start in Minneapolis tonight. He had literally hundreds of friends and family in the stand to watch, and he turned in a rock solid outing. He fired 5.1 IP of 1 ER ball, scattering a trio of hits and fanning a pair. He seemed to get squeezed just a bit on the top and bottom of the zone on the night – he did walk 4 guys – but many of the pitches that didn’t go his way were pretty textbook execution while missing by hairs. The Twins hitters just simply didn’t bite despite the placement.
• Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan – who returned from his tight hammy – looked brilliant again down in the ‘pen. Cincinnati is now what, 10-0 in games decided by two runs or less this season? That’s the mark of a bullpen that’s completely locked-in.
• The Reds have a 3B who hits and, when he gets the chance, can make plays like he did tonight. I think that’s the guy they should be playing at 3B everyday, personally.
• It was cooold, and balls died left and right all night. Nate Lowe, who got the start at DH, tanked a 105.4 mph laser to CF in the Top of the 7th at 24 degrees off the bat only for it to die casually at the warning track 402 feet away. On a decent day in GABP, that would’ve hit the batter’s eye.
• Geno’s pair of RBI gave him 960 for his career, to date. That ties him with Hall of Famer Barry Larkin on the career ribbie list.
• Andrew Abbott gets the start on Saturday and it’s an afternoon affair. Taj Bradley will go for the Twins (a righty), with first pitch set for 4:10 PM ET.

Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Angels are mourning the loss of Garret Anderson, who died at the age of 53, the team announced on April 17.

Anderson played 17 MLB seasons, most of them in Anaheim from 1994 to 2008, before playing for the Braves and Dodgers for one season, each. He was a three-time All-Star and named All-Star Game MVP in 2003. He was named a Silver Slugger Award-winner in 2002 and 2003. Anderson helped the Angels win the World Series in 2002.

He was named to the Angels Hall of Fame and the ballclub honored him during their Friday game against the San Diego Padres.

More: Appreciate Garret Anderson's greatness – even if late Angels star strived to lay low

"The Angels organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons," said Angels owner Arte Moreno in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success.

"Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable. We extend our deepest condolences to Garret’s wife Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey, son Garret ‘Trey’ Anderson III, and his entire family.”

Angels pay tribute to Garret Anderson

Angel Stadium was rocked with emotion as the major league club in Anaheim soaked in the loss of Anderson. To pay tribute to the Angels' former left fielder, Anderson's initials were cut into the outfield at the ballpark.

The @Angels pay tribute to Garret Anderson ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LNAHyNsjfS

— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2026

The Angels didn't stop there in memorializing one of their greats. A three-minute tribute video was played honoring Anderson and his accomplishments with the Angels throughout his MLB career.

Anderson became only the second player in baseball history in 2000 to hit more home runs (35) than walks (24). He finished fourth in the AL MVP race in 2002 when the Angels won the World Series. He hit .306 with 29 homers and 123 RBIs, while scoring a career-high 93 runs that season.

The Angels outfielder finished his career with 2,529 hits and a career .293 batting average.

Thank you, GA ❤️ pic.twitter.com/lXdV8dzM19

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) April 18, 2026

Anderson was raised in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, where he starred as a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. He had a scholarship to play at Fresno State but instead opted for MLB after being selected in the fourth round by the Angels in the 1990 MLB Draft.

Anderson's debut came in 1994 against the Oakland Athletics. He had two hits in four at-bats, including his first career hit on a single to right field off A's pitcher Ron Darling.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Angels honored Garret Anderson after team legend's death

To kick off tonight’s game, JJ Wetherholt singled on a ground ball to third baseman Carlos Correa. Iván Herrera flew out to center fielder Taylor Trammell for the first out of the game.

Alec Burleson singled on a line drive to center fielder Taylor Trammell. JJ Wetherholt advanced to 3rd.

Jordan Walker singled on a sharp line drive to center fielder Taylor Trammell. JJ Wetherholt scored. Alec Burleson ran over to 3rd. It was 1-0 Cardinals!

Leahy looked good in the first inning. The Cardinals were up again and Church singled, and was then erased by a Pedro Pages ground into double play. Victor Scott II grounded out. 1-0 Cards still.

The top of the 3rd began with both Wetherholt and Herrera getting hit by a pitch. Neither were hurt. Alec Burleson walked to load the bases, but then Jordan Walker struck out. And then Nolan Gorman struck out. Right when it seemed like we would have another LOBster fest, Masyn Winn hit a seeing eye single between the 3rd baseman and shortstop! This would score two runs, Herrera and Burly. Nathan Church logged the third strikeout of the inning, but it was now 3-0 Cardinals!

After striking out multiple batters and looking like a good starting pitcher to begin the game, Kyle Leahy gave up solo home runs to Christian Vazquez and Yordan Alvarez! 3-2 Cardinals. It can never be easy, can it? Leahy has been good in innings 1 & 2, but once the third inning comes around, his effectiveness falls off a cliff so far this season.

In a hilarious beginning to the 4th inning, Pedro Pages hit a screaming double towards the left field line but still well fair, and Astros left fielder Joey Loperfido threw the ball directly into the ground. Even though the Astros stadium had a roof, the field looked wet and even sloshy, but not super obvious. I am not sure if the ball stuck to his hand somehow or what but it was awkward. Pedro Pages advanced to third on the throwing error.

Victor Scott II struck out, then JJ Wetherholt grounded out… Pedro Pages hit was not wasted though, Ivan Herrera singled sharply to center, scoring Pages!

To end the inning for the Cardinals, Alec Burleson struck out.

The Cardinals were up 4-2 and Kyle Leahy was still in the game. Could he keep it at just 2 runs?

Cardinals challenged the play at 1st, the call on the field was upheld: Christian Walker reached on a fielding error by first baseman Alec Burleson. Loperfido grounded out. Christian Walker was at second. Catcher interference was called on Pedro Pages. Runners at first and second, 1 out. Taylor Trammell singled on a hit that was batted down by an awesome play by JJ Wetherholt, who almost had it in his glove. This ended up preventing a run because Kyle Leahy was able to strike out Christian Vasquez and Isaac Paredes, ending the inning!

He could hold it to two runs even with the bases loaded! This would be his 6th strikeout of the game!

The new guard of Cardinals could not do anything this inning, Walker and Gorman both struck out, then Winn grounded out.

Leahy was out again to pitch the 5th, and gave up another solo shot to Altuve! 4-3 Cardinals.

Despite a Church walk to begin the 6th inning, Pages, Scott and Wetherholt all failed to do anything about it.

Much to the cringe of some, Justin Bruihl relieved Kyle Leahy for the 6th inning. Justin Bruihl danced through the inning, unscathed. Loperfido, Smith, Trammell, 1-2-3.

The 7th inning was the Cardinals inning to break out. After Herrera flew out, Burleson almost hit a home run! It was a double off the wall towards left center. Then Jordan Walker got on base with a walk. After Gorman had looked kind of dejected most of the night, he clobbered one over the left field wall, a moon shot! This three run home run put the Cardinals up 7-3 and took the edge off this game, big time!

JoJo Romero made short order of the Houston lineup. We are blessed to have him on the team. I will enjoy it while I can, surely he will be good trade bait and we will not compete this season.

The Cardinals offense would not be done for the night. The 8th inning brought more rewards. While the inning began without promise, Pages and Scott ground out and strike out, respectively, the never give up attitude of the Cardinals offense was on display with a JJ Wetherholt walk, an excellent at bat… which set up #2 hitter Ivan Herrera, who was due! Herrera launched one in Houston, off the left field terrace wall (is that what it is called?). 9-3 Cardinals!!!

Ryne Stanek was into the game to pitch the 8th. Stanek toyed with Cardinals fans with a juggling feat involving high WHIP and a near disaster, but he also struck out the side and only gave up a run. What a miracle!

The Cardinals didn’t do anything in the 9th so it was up to George Soriano to finish it off, and he did! Altuve, Alvarez, and Carlos Correa all put down by big George.

• Wetherholt on base 2 out of 5 times in the leadoff spot, a hit and a walk
• Herrera hit his 2nd home run of the year and it was a 3 RBI shot!
• Burly was the WPA player of the game, narrowly edging out Herrera because he was on base 3 times tonight
• Walker extended his hitting streak to 12 games early in the game tonight!
• Masyn Winn had a key hit and was also a WPA player of the game along with Herrera and Burleson… Winn had 2 RBI on the night from that 1 hit
• Gorman matched Herrera’s three run home run with one of his own!
• Church and Pages actually contributed tonight but VSii was 0-4
• Astros starter Peter Lambert was bad enough tonight to have the worst WPA effect on the game…
• Except for bullpen arm Bryan Abreu who was even worse! 2 hits, 3 ER, a HR, in 6 batters faced

The Astros don’t seem to be the level of quality team we are used to, at least after watching this one game.

Next game is 6:10 CDT in Houston! Cardinals win 9-4 tonight, perhaps their most solid win of the season, even though Kyle Leahy was a bit shaky and the bullpen a little bit iffy.

Joe Ryan was good enough to win, but the Twins were 0-for-everything with RISP and you don’t win too many games that way. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Joe Ryan’s Express sends the Reds down on 11 pitches. Brandon Williamson does the same with 14.

Von Ryan’s Express was a late-60s Frank Sinatra movie involving Toughness and Action to prove Sinatra was still a big star. It did make money. This was around the same time Sinatra was hanging around the set of Rosemary’s Baby to make sure his wife Mia Farrow didn’t have any sexy scenes with co-star John Cassavetes. Sinatra was a talented dude but he definitely had… issues.

2: Rookie star Sal Stewart leads off with a single, but doesn’t score, leaving him Only The Lonely at 2B.

Radio Guy Kris Atteberry says that “none other than Pat Reusse told me” Williamson making the majors is the biggest news to hit Sherburn, MN, since some other sports thing that happened in Sherburn. To which my thought was “wait Pat Reusse is still around?” To be fair, when he writes Twins history he generally does a good job. Twins hitters do not do a good job.

3: This game is sure zipping right along, which means the last three innings will have about 50 pitching changes and replay challenges. Byron Buxton makes a nice catch. He is very good at The Routes.

Matt Wallner gets HBP. That’s his third on the season. Backup catcher Victor Caratini has four. Former Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski always used to get HBP a lot, but it wasn’t because he leaned out over the plate or anything. It’s ‘cause A.J. was a mean little trash-talking pest. On the field, that is. Maybe off the field he rescues lost puppies. And then eats them.

Anyhoo Buxton smacks a two-out single to move Wallner up. Austin Martin gets an eight-pitch walk. Bringing up Luke Keaschall, who is having a hard time getting going so far this year. He’s still having a hard time. He takes Strike Three, challenges the call, loses the challenge. It WAS really, really close, barely nicking the corner.

4: A one-out double by Snoop Dogg’s favorite Red, Elly De La Cruz. Stewart hits one right to Ryan Kreidler and he makes the throwing boo-boo; De La Cruz advances. Stewart steals second. Eugenio Suárez whacks a hanging breaking ball for a double, and Atteberry tells us “that error really hurts the Twins,” which is helpful because otherwise we wouldn’t have known. Ryan does strand Suárez, so the Twins don’t have to give up out of futile despair just yet. Be nice if they hit something against the bottom of the Cincinnati rotation, though. I spelled Cincinnati right on only two tries.

They do not hit anything against the bottom of the Cincinnati rotation. Reds 2-0

5: I put too much mustard on my hot dog and slopped a big amount on my shirt. I’m going to take this as an omen. We’ve piled too many early-season hopes on the Twins and it’s all gonna start oozing away. OR, because it’s a black shirt, the mustard won’t stain, AKA that 2-run-inning won’t stain this game. That’s the fun with omens, you can always read ‘em any way you want to.

Also, IS there such a thing as too much mustard on a hot dog?

Leadoff walk to Wallner. Ryan Kreidler tries bunting for a hit but it goes foul; he ends up taking the walk, though. Then Buxton walks. Austin Martin hits one hard into the alley and Will Benson makes a nice sliding catch to keep it just a sac fly; Wallner scores.

Then still-struggling Luke Keaschall says “the mustard was a BAD omen” and grounds into the inning-ending DP. Redlegs 2-1

6: Atteberry and Dan Gladden are having a fascinating argument about whether a whole bat just flew into the stands or just MOST of the bat because it broke real close to the handle. I am lying about this; it is NOT a fascinating argument. 1-2-3 for Ryan.

The OTHER Ryan, Jeffers, somehow pops up a pitch below the strike zone, and Josh Bell singles. Williamson now gone; Connor Phillips comes in with a 2.38 ERA. The Reds’ pen has been good so far this year. They do have old friend Emilio Pagán on the staff, but he’s got “a tight hammy and probably will be unavailable considering the chilly conditions,” per falcolntimmy. Alas. Bell doesn’t get any further.

7: Justin “On” Topa “Spaghetti” in for the Twins. Suárez greets him with a single. Then Buxton does his Jumpman thing at the wall for a loud first out. Jumpman was a 1983 video game I played on a Commodore 64; I copied it from a friend. On tape. Yes, you could load programs via cassette tapes in those days. I am older than most of you. Topa starts a nice 1-4-3 DP.

Graham Ashcraft (1.80 ERA) in. Gets one out, then Trevor Larnach (pinch-hitting for Kreidler) takes a walk; Tristan Gray (whoooo?) pinch-runs. Austin Martin singles… bringing up Keaschall again. I don’t need to tell you what happens next.

8: Kody FunderburK pitching. Keaschall at least makes a nice fielding play on a bunt.

Tony Santillan (0.00 ERA) in. Jeffers singles; Bell flies out. Caratini moves up Jeffers on a FC; James Outman now running for Jeffers. Matt Wallner (also struggling) on with two outs. Hits it hard (110.3) but it’s still an easy flyout.

9: Cole “Alberta Tar” Sands pitching. De La Cruz takes a one-out walk. Stewart beats out the back end of a DP; the guy can hit dingers (7 so far) and be fast, too. Suárez takes Strike Three for the last out. Atteberry with an actual useful fact; the Reds are 8-0 on games decided by two runs or less. I mean I saw their ERAs on BRef and I knew the bullpen was doing well, so it’s not THAT useful, but it’s not arguing about bat shards.

Guess what! It IS Pagán!

Brooks Lee pops up the first pitch. Gray strikes out. Buxton is fast but not fast enough on a grounder; Twins lose.

Studs: Joe Ryan (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K), Minnesota boy Brandon Willamson, and both teams’ bullpens. Duds: Keaschall, Wallner.

COTG go goose for reacting to to the early (incorrect) news that Pagán was unavailable: “Noooooooooooooooo (our one shot at winning!),” SooFoo for the ninth-inning “Can’t believe Pagán is about to ruin another twins game,” and sandwiches for “50 Shades of Tristan Gray”

History COTG to Nagurski for “The reds to me are a kind of mirror of the cowboys in the nfl… both teams become good in the late 60s but are kept from winning the whole enchilada, for the cowboys it was the Packers and colts and the reds were blocked by the pirates, Orioles and the A’s until both broke thru in the 70s. The big red machine was loaded and played in the second best world series ever, the 75 red sox series which was one of the last I remember with Gowdy broadcasting”

See, there’s ONE of you older than me. Thanks to everybody who joined in on the gamethread.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10, featuring something called an Andrew Abbott against red-hot Taj Bradley.

When Ryan McMahon stepped to the plate in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game for his first at-bat of the game, the Yankee Stadium crowd showered him with boos.

McMahon had become the embodiment of Yankees fans frustrations in the early weeks of the season, and it's hard to blame them. Entering Friday's game, the third baseman had just five hits, all singles.

When the team got off to an 8-2 start, McMahon's struggles weren't a big deal. A losing streak and inconsistent offense have turned the Yankees' record closer to .500 and every out made by McMahon was magnified.

Heck, the Yankees said before Friday's game that McMahon was benched for the Royals series and probably the upcoming Red Sox series so he can continue to tinker with his swing.

The plan wasn't for McMahon to get an at-bat, let alone a meaningful one. But baseball seems to always find you, and it did on Friday night.

McMahon launched a 2-1 changeup down in the zone over the left field wall for the game-winner of the Yankees' 4-2 victory. Those boos quickly turned to cheers as McMahon rounded the bases with a roar and his teammates waited to celebrate with him.

"You get excited for people and that was a huge at-bat, obviously," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "I think he was hitting for about the whole game down underneath, so obviously ready for it and put a good swing on it on a crazy night."

"Felt good," McMahon said of the moment. "Just to do something to help the team win. It's no secret. I've been struggling a little bit, so I get that off my chest and feel really good about it.

"God's got a funny way of working, huh? I was excited. Excited for the opportunity. And yeah, just happy to put a good one up."

RYAN MCMAHON IN THE CLUTCH!

YANKEES LEAD 4-2! pic.twitter.com/PVW79dJXxp

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 18, 2026

McMahon was down in the cages for most of the game, practicing his swing in case he was called upon to pinch-hit.

That work is why Boone was encouraged by what he had seen from McMahon. While the results weren't there, the Yankees skipper felt McMahon had "moved the needle" in terms of his at-bats.

McMahon has reached base safely in five of his last six games (since April 11) and is now 4-for-14 (.286) in that span.

SNY's Chelsea Janes reported that during spring training, the organization had been working with McMahon on his swing and mechanics. Even Aaron Judge has had a hand in trying to get his teammate on the right track.

"It's just figuring out how to get off the right way, you know, so I can go put up more productive at-bats," McMahon said of his behind-the-scenes work. "We came up with them together, sat down this offseason and had a nice long meeting about it. So, yeah, it was a group effort."

The Yankees hope Friday's heroics can catapult McMahon to more consistency on the offensive end. They acquired McMahon during the deadline last season for his glove, mostly, but also for that sneaky power that he can deliver.

McMahon has hit at least 20 homers in seven of his last eight non-shortened seasons, including last year.

That's why the Yankees have not lost faith in their third baseman.

"He’s had success in the league for a while, so he knows he’s capable, but when you’re going through it, it can be tough," Boone said. "Just excited for him to come up in such a big spot.

"This game will bring you to your knees, even the best of the best. It’s tough and the good ones handle it and deal with it, but you’re always grinding."

"This game's super humbling. All you can do is just keep working and whatever happens happens," McMahon said. "You go out there, play the game as hard as you can. Try to win and back to the drawing board the next day."

With the Royals deploying two southpaws for the remaining two games of the weekend series, it's unlikely McMahon will start. But if anything, Friday showed that McMahon is capable of delivering whenever he's called upon.

Before Ryan McMahon's huge home run in the eighth, it was Cam Schlittler who was deserving of all the praise as the right-hander pitched another gem for the Yankees in their 4-2 win over the Royals.

Although he didn't get the win after the bullpen let the tying run to score, Schlittler still turned in a masterful performance, allowing an unearned run on three hits and two walks, and is quickly becoming one of the best young arms in the league.

With just barely over 100 innings in the majors under his belt, the 25-year-old has looked like a veteran on the mound and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since he burst onto the scene last season.

In fact, had Schlittler gotten help from his defense in the sixth inning when Trent Grisham dropped a fly ball in center field, he could’ve been in line to secure a much-deserved win. But just like a veteran would do, the youngster brushed it off and was able to pick up his teammate, allowing a run to score on a groundout before getting a strikeout to end the inning.

“Being able to pick [Grisham] up there was a good feeling,” Schlittler said.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning where manager Aaron Boone thought his pitcher started to lose some gas, leading to a leadoff walk followed by a single that ended Schlittler’s night.

While Schlittler said he didn’t feel fatigued at the end there, he did say that he’s still building up and that it was the most pitches (93) that he’s thrown this season so he’s "just trying to get used to the environment."

Regardless, Boone thought Schlittler pitched great and thought that overall "he was on point."

“Business as usual for him,” said Ben Rice. “He was really good, just so aggressive with all of his stuff in the zone.”

This is the sixth walk-off in the Fenway Greens in their season+ lifetime and that’s kind of absurd. They must be made of magic. Did the offense look absolutely inept against Casey Mize? Yeah, Mize mowed this lineup down for seven innings. Thankfully, Ranger Suárez was on par if not better, creating one of the better pitching duels of the season thus far.

Aroldis Chapman got into two litttle jams but by the grace of the baseball gods, worked himself out of it with a vintage threw fastball strikeout of Dillon Dingler. 101.3 on the final blow is pretty nice.

Garrett Whitlock did his job, Jarren Duran did Jarren Duran things advancing to third on a wild pitch by Will Vest, and Masataka Yoshida showed up at just the right time.

A six-game win streak for the Tigers snapped by the Green Sox (this may have to stick until they normalize) and kicks off the weekend on a nice note. The next game is tomorrow at 4:10pm back on local TV; you may not want to watch it since it’s Tarik Skubal. Unless you’re a masochist, then fine. Still, you can revel in the win Friday night!

Studs

Ranger Suárez (8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks)

What an incredible outing for Suárez. Just sheer dominance to muscle through 8 frames on less than 100 pitches. This is the type of workhorse performance that helps save the bullpen for tougher games.

Masataka Yoshida (1-f0r-1, 1 RBI, walk off single)

You gotta be warm when you’re called upon, eh? Yoshida just needed to bounce the ball over the five-infield in and that was the ballgame.

Alex Cora (2 challenges won)

How about two important challenges for Cora and crew? Nabbing Jahmai Jones at second trying to stretch a single into a double, and then catching Javier Báez stealing in the 10th. Both were extremely close calls and absolutely clutch by the video crew to signal it was the right call.

Duds

Most of the offense otherwise (4 total hits)

Play of the Game

How do you not walk-off and give that the play of the game?

After a spotless homestand, the Tigers hit the road and headed to Boston for a four-game wrap-around series against the Red Sox. Sadly, Detroit’s winning streak would end with the opening game of said series, after falling to Boston 1-0 in 10 innings.

Making his fourth start of the season for the Tigers was Casey Mize. His first three starts were good, then bad, then good — thankfully, the pattern wouldn’t repeat on Friday night.

Making his fourth start of the year on the other side was Ranger Suárez. Unlike Mize, two of his starts were lousy, but his most recent effort, in St. Louis, saw him throw six shutout innings and strike out six.

Mize started off great, retiring the first eight batters before Connor Wong hit a deep ground-rule double to right-centre. With Wong on second, though, Mize bore down on Roman Anthony and struck him out on three pitches. In the fourth he plunked Willson Contreras to lead off the inning, and he stayed at first until Trevor Story grounded into a double play to end the frame.

Similarly, Suárez was in control early too: the Tigers got Kevin McGonigle to third in the first inning, but aside from a Dillon Dingler walk, the Tigers couldn’t get a whole lot going against him. Hao-Yu Lee (more on him below) gave a fastball a ride to straightway centre in the fifth, but that was hauled in by Ceddanne Rafaela for the third out.

Rafaela walked with one out in the fifth, and he tried to steal second. Look at this throw. LOOK AT IT.

Now, I played a little catcher back in the day. I enjoyed it back there: got the best view of the field, involved on every pitch, kind of a unique place in the game. But if I’d made one throw like that in my life to gun out a runner at second, my goodness, I’d never have let my teammates forget about it, ever. And it’s not like that was a high fastball, in which the catcher’s already up out of his crouch as he gears up to throw: it was low, at the batter’s ankles. We’re very, very lucky to have Dingler on our team, folks.

Caleb Durbin doubled to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth for Boston; with one out Anthony flew out to left-centre and Durbin was able to advance to third. But Mize reached back and got Contreras to strike out on an outside fastball and the side was retired.

Mize carried on into the seventh, as he’d only thrown 79 pitches through six innings. He’d get the first two outs of the inning until Jarren Duran legged-out an infield single to Lee at third. Kyle Finnegan took over and Duran took off for second; Dingler would’ve had him but the ball popped out of Gleyber Torres’ glove. But Finnegan got Rafaela to hit a grounder to third, and Spencer Torkelson made a great scoop on an in-between hop at first to get the third out of the inning, and the game remained scoreless.

Suárez himself carried on into the eighth and he barely broke a sweat, getting a pair of popouts and a strikeout. He finished the inning with 93 pitches; would he be allowed to try to finish the ninth?

Finnegan’s eighth inning featured some nasty sliders and splitters, but with two outs he walked Wong and Brant Hurter was brought in to face Anthony, a left-handed hitter. (Mr. Burns would call this “playing the percentages.”) Anthony hit the ball hard, but Javier Báez tracked it down in centre for the third out, and the game would enter the ninth in a scoreless tie.

But, no, Suárez would not be allowed to start the ninth, as Aroldis Chapman — who, in the past, the Tigers have occasionally gotten-to — took over. Báez singled sharply to right to lead off the inning, the first Detroit hit since the first, but he was thrown out trying to steal second. Torres followed with a one-out walk, and he traded places with Kevin McGonigle at first after he hit a grounder to first. With two out, Jahmai Jones ripped a double to left to put runners on second and third; that short left field probably kept McGonigle at third on the play. That proved crucial as Dingler struck out on three pitches, the last of which was a brutal 101-mph sinker.

Will Vest came on for the bottom of the ninth, and the first pitch he threw to Contreras was hit towards the Pesky Pole in the right-field corner; luckily Wenceel Pérez was ten feet in front of said pole to haul in the fly ball for the first out. After Wilyer Abreu struck out, Lee fielded a tough grounder at third but sailed the throw over Torkelson’s head to put a runner on first. It was all for naught, though, as a more-routine grounder to Lee was fielded cleanly, and the throw to first was much less eventful.

And thus, the first Tigers extra-inning action of the season was about to take place.

Dingler started the tenth on second base, and advanced to third on pinch-hitter Riley Greene’s fly ball to right against Garrett Whitlock. Pérez then struck out for the second out, and Torkelson grounded out to shortstop to strand Dingler.

Duran, a speedy runner, started on second and took third on a ball in the dirt; with that runner on third, AJ Hinch decided to go with a five-infielder look; Vest then struck out Rafaela for the first out. He then walked Marcelo Mayer to bring up pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, who hit a single to right, scoring Duran and ending the game.

Final score: Red Sox 1, Tigers 0

Notes and Observances

• Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee made his major-league debut tonight. (What a place to make a debut!) He was called up from Toledo when Zach McKinstry was placed on the Injured List after a couple of collisions in Wednesday’s game against the Royals resulted in some hip inflammation.
• The Red Sox wore their green City Connect jerseys. They’re better than the old powder blue and yellow ones, but holy mackerel, am I the only one that thinks teams should have exactly two uniforms, one white and one grey? Sheesh.
• One of my favourite podcasts, The Ongoing History of New Music, is in the middle of a five-part documentary series on one-hit wonders of new rock (i.e., alt-rock after the punk explosion of the late ‘70s). I could never recommend this podcast enough, but this series is especially bringing back the big ol’ memories.
• On this day in 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion started in Cuba. That did not turn out particularly well for the US.

The Royals have now lost five straight. Those five losses all have a lot in common. The most obvious similarity is that they were all close games decided in the seventh inning or later. Tonight’s was the first game where they lost by more than a single run. It did, unfortunately, continue the streak of a different reliever blowing the game. John Schreiber blew it on Sunday, then Nick Mears blew it on Tuesday, Eli Morgan lost it on Wednesday, Lucas Erceg lost it on Thursday, and tonight it was Alex Lange’s turn.

Of particular note to me is that Matt Strahm has only pitched in one game this week. It’s not an excuse, but with him unavailable, guys are being forced to pitch innings they otherwise wouldn’t and throwing off routines like that or asking guys to pitch in higher leverage than they’re used to could be a contributing factor. Since we haven’t heard of any injury, I’ve wondered if he (and other pitchers in the bullpen) might be ill and that could be contributing as well. But we won’t know unless someone asks manager Matt Quatraro and he gives an honest answer.

OK, so those are the negatives. I want to spend some time on the positives for a bit before we call it a night.

• Michael Wacha pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. That raised his ERA to 1.00. He has been otherworldly good and doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
• Vinnie Pasquantino hit a home run for the second game in a row. This one was as impressive as some of the outs he hit in Detroit, but we’ll take what we can get.
• Jac Caglianone struck out three times, but also had a line drive, opposite-field single.
• Cam Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to this point and the Royals forced him to triple his season walk total and to exit the game after 6+ innings by exhibiting patience – especially as the game went on.
• Carter Jensen didn’t let the pressure of Yankee Stadium or the game situation deter him from walking twice.
• The losses get easier to bear the more we’re exposed to them. I’m a lot less frustrated about tonight’s game than I was the last four losses.

OK, yeah, that’s probably enough. The Royals will try again to snap the skid tomorrow. Noah Cameron (3.94 ERA, 4.15 SIERA) will face off against Will Warren (2.45 ERA, 3.29 SIERA). Don’t forget it’s an East Coast afternoon game, so first pitch will be at 12:35 Kauffman time.

WASHINGTON – Jen Pawol was behind the plate for her first major league game in the automated balls and strikes challenge system era. And the first woman to serve as an ump in a Major League Baseball game stood her ground against the so-called robots.

Pawol called balls and strikes for the San Francisco Giants-Washington Nationals game Friday, April 17 and withstood a pair of challenges from Giants catcher Daniel Susac, with a pair of ball calls upheld quickly by the ABS system.

By the third inning, the Giants were out of challenges, while the Nationals successfully appealed a pair of calls during San Francisco’s 10-5 victory.

To be sure, this was a solid standoff early in this ABS era.

Entering Friday’s game, players were successful on 54% of their challenges to umpires, and the typical game averaged 4.05 challenges. Pawol saw exactly four challenges and won two of them.

Of course, ABS is relatively old news for those umpiring in Class AAA in recent years, where ABS was first deployed on a trial basis.

Pawol is technically still in the Class AAA ranks. She is on MLB’s list of call-up umpires who are based in Class AAA yet work major league games as fill-ins in the event of injuries, illnesses, vacations, or other forms of absence by the 76 full-time umps.

And her strong performance was no surprise to Susac, who caught several games at Class AAA that Pawol umped. As Susac assumes more of the Giants' catching duties as incumbent Patrick Bailey struggles at the plate, Friday was a big game for both of them.

"In my opinion, she keeps getting better and better," Susac tells USA TODAY Sports. "And I thought she did a really good job. She’s always great to have back there. We always have a good conversation, especially at the start of games and I thought she did a great job tonight."

Pawol debuted as an MLB fill-in in 2025 and on Aug. 10 became the first woman to call balls and strikes for a major league game. She called six games behind the plate last season and, according to the umpire tracking website Umpire Scorecards, maintained a 92.9% accuracy rate.

Susac tried and failed twice in the early innings, challenging a full-count ball call to Luis Garcia Jr. He was off by an inch and the Giants were out of challenges by the third inning.

"The second one, I probably had a little more emotion to it. Probably knew it was a ball, but wanted to get one there," he says.

Nationals third baseman Brady House successfully challenged a strike call in the bottom of the eighth, while a strike call in the top of the ninth was successfully overturned to a ball.

In the meantime, Pawol punched out Nationals slugger James Wood twice on called third strikes and did the same to Giants first baseman Rafael Devers in the seventh. Both retreated to the dugout rapidly.

While the more in-depth scorecards of Pawol’s first big league foray behind the plate in 2026 will have to wait, she withstood the rigors of ABS just fine: Two wins, two losses, a little better than average.

And another step toward making the notion of a woman calling balls and strikes in a big league game a little more unremarkable.

"It’s a good way that she blends in," says Susac. "She’s done a great job and she keeps getting better, which is awesome to see."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants catcher Daniel Susac loses both ABS challenges vs ump Jen Pawol

Even after last year’s trade with the Rockies, we all should’ve known to some degree that Ryan McMahon wasn’t exactly going to be an Alex Rodriguez-type of third baseman at the plate. That being said, his struggles to start 2026 have gone way below what anyone could’ve reasonably hoped for. He’s even lost a lot of at-bats to Amed Rosario, who was signed specifically just to play against lefties.

However on Friday night, McMahon played the hero at the dish, as his go-ahead homer gave the Yankees a 4-2 win over the Royals, and avoided them wasting another good start from Cam Schlittler.

The Yankees’ offense was mostly held in check through the first couple innings, but eventually they broke through in the fourth. With Cody Bellinger on after a single of his dropped in for a hit, Ben Rice took Michael Wacha deep for his sixth homer of the season.

The Royals got one of those runs back in the sixth, although you could hardly blame it on Schlittler. With one out, he walked Maikel Garcia but then got Bobby Witt Jr. to hit a deep fly ball that should have been the second out. However in the windy conditions, Trent Grisham took an awkward route to the ball and then couldn’t fully glove it, as the ball went in and out, allowing Witt to reach safely and Garcia to go to third. That led to Garcia scoring when Vinnie Pasquatino grounded out in the following at-bat. Schlittler did a good job after that, striking out Salvador Perez to strand Witt.

However, Schlittler then allowed the first two Royals’ batters in the seventh to reach base, leading to Aaron Boone going to the bullpen. Brent Headrick came in and eventually got out of the inning, but not before a scare of his own making, as he committed an error while making a pickoff throw to second base.

For the game, Schlittler ended up going six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He did triple his walk total on the season, but that number just went from one to three.

The Yankees missed out on a chance to add back to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, but Aaron Judge, of all people, grounded out to end the inning. Camilo Doval then came in for the eighth. He got two quick outs and seemed to be headed towards a clean inning, but Pasquatino got him for a porch job homer to tie things up.

In the bottom of the eighth, it appeared that the lineup was going to go down quickly in order, as they mostly had in the time since Rice’s homer. The inning was left up to Rice again, who came through with a single to keep it alive. That brought McMahon to the plate, as he had come in as a defensive replacement for Rosario prior to the top of the eighth.

Despite all that’s been said about his slow start to the season, we can give him a break on this day. McMahon homered to left, just getting one to clear the top of the wall for a two-run, go-ahead blast.

With the lead back, the Yankees brought David Bednar in for the top of the ninth. He issued a leadoff walk, but came back to get the next three outs, striking out the final two batters to seal the victory.

The series against the Royals will continue tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 pm ET. Will Warren is expected to take the ball for the Yankees, with Noah Cameron going for Kansas City.

Box Score