In one of many pivotal points of Saturday’s game, Lawrence Butler was nosed out of a triple by Miguel Vargas in the eighth inning. | Scott Marshall-Imagn Images
When the White Sox took a 5-0 lead in the second inning, the game had the makings of another laugher. Instead, 10 walks by Sox pitchers and eight to go with four hit batters by the A’s staff turned a runaway win into a groaner, with the Sox losing, 7-6, in extras..
The big Sox lead came on two bloops and two blasts. It started with a solo 106.5 mph, 397-foot blast by Colson Montgomery followed by lucky pop-ups (a double by Everson Pereira and RBI single by Reese McGuire) and a three-run shot by Andrew Benintendi. At that point, it sure looked like A’s starter Luis Severino, who came into the game with a 5.55 ERA, was done for.
Instead, Severino would last into the sixth, walking four but only giving up one single after the second. Meanwhile, Erick Fedde lost his sense of direction, himself walking four and surrendering solo runs in the second, third and fifth. Sean Newcomb managed not to walk anyone but gave up a triple to Max Muncy and a sac fly in the sixth, to close the Chicago lead to 5-4.
In the top of the seventh, though, Munetaka Murakami showed how amazingly strong he is by just sort of wrist-flicking the ball 415 feet over the center field wall. The blast gave the White Sox a 6-4 lead and made Murakami the fastest Japanese player to seven homers in history.
The lead lasted all of four pitches from Jordan Leasure, who reverted to his old ways and served up a single and 115.3 mph Nick Kurtz shot. Make it 6-6.
Now, with all the walks and hit batters and actual hits, the White Sox ended up leaving 14 on base and going 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Not to be outdone in causing fan angst, the A’s left 15 on and were 2-for-14 with RISP.
The A’s should have produced the winning run in the eighth when speedy Lawrence Butler led off by lacing a line shot down the right field line, but decided he was speedier than he actually is and created the no-no of trying for third with no outs.
The beautiful relay from Pereira to Chase Meidroth to Miguel Vargas saved the day for the moment, taking advantage of Butler trying to see if he could slide clear into the coach’s box.
There was actually really good defense by both teams, including a running grab at the wall in the gap by Sam Antonacci — but at the plate, he grounded out to end the ninth after the A’s walked the bases loaded. The A’s in turn got two walks from Seranthony Domínguez in the bottom half, but naturally stranded the runners.
To extra innings we go.
The Sox stranded the Manfred Man in the top of the 10th, and after Jordan Hicks failed to field a bunt and ended up putting men on first and third and none out. With the game on the line Will Venable played five infielders, which turned out to be a good idea, thanks to Tanner Murray.
In the 11th, the Sox went for really serious failure, loading the bases with no outs, only to have Montgomery and Pereira strike out and Antonacci pop-up. The A’s made death quick, going sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly for a 7-6 win, wrapping up the game in just 3:34.
One note of worth — cheap homers are legion in Sacramento, but all five in this game were shots, good enough to go out in at least 29 of 30 parks.
Even when things seem rough, the San Francisco Giants stay close as a group. Look no further than the light-hearted moment between Drew Gilbert and skipper Tony Vitello.
Los Gigantes haven't had the start to their 2026 season that they hoped, but there could be signs that things could pick up.
Through 21 games, the Giants have posted a 9-12 record following their 7-6 win against the Washington Nationals after 12 innings on April 18. Matt Chapman hit an RBI single in the 12th inning to lift San Francisco to its third straight victory.
The vibes were high, especially for a team that needed a momentum booster. Outside of Chapman's game-winning RBI, there was no moment better during the game than the moment shared between Giants skipper Vitello and outfielder Gilbert.
Gilbert returned to the lineup after being recalled. He suffered a shoulder injury during spring training that kept him from being listed on the Giants' opening day roster.
During Saturday's game, Vitello and Gilbert were seen on camera playfully shadow-boxing in the dugout.
Nothing to see here, just Drew Gilbert and Tony Vitello sparring in the dugout 🤣 pic.twitter.com/qDg79fC12J
As for who won the shadow match, Gilbert was all smiles, but judging the open looks he had, he'd probably have the higher scorecard if we're keeping count.
Drew Gilbert returns
The two share a history as Gilbert played for Vitello at the University of Tennessee in 2022. Gilbert made his MLB debut for the Giants on August 8, 2025. Vitello is in his first year as a MLB manager. He joined the Giants in October 2025, becoming the first skipper with no previous professional experience. Vitello became the first college baseball coach to jump straight to the pros.
The Giants have one last matchup with the Nationals in their three-game series. Giants look to sweep Washington before going back home to the Bay to host another rendition of their storied rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 21 to 23.
Anaheim, CA - April 17: Second baseman Jake Cronenworth #9 of the San Diego Padres throws out Yoan Moncada (not pictured) of the Los Angeles Angels at first base in the eighth inning of a baseball game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
San Diego Padres (13-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-10), April 18, 2026, 6:38 p.m. PST
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 18: Starting pitcher Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers throws in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 18, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the unfortunate side effects that we experience in this current era of prestige TV is that it’s all too easy to forget about a great show after it ends. I’m not talking about the Mad Men and Sopranos types of prestige TV shows, the ones that stick around long enough that they firmly embed themselves in the zeitgeist. I’m talking about the smaller, auteur driven shows that flash across our TV screens for just a short season or two before burning out in a way that would make Neil Young proud. I’m talking about shows like Fleabag,I May Destroy You, and Station Eleven. For a few months they dominate the culture, lapping everything else with their originality and voice. We talk about them at bars and in Slack channels, we read recaps and listen to podcasts with their creators. And then they go away. And a few years later we struggle to remember them at all.
Donald Glover’s Atlanta was one of those shows. I adored it, and I will probably rewatch it someday. But despite how wonderful I found it as it aired, it’s not something I think about with any regularity. I can now barely remember certain plot points or even the names of prominent characters. But, for some reason, one particular and not very eventful scene has stuck in my head. It comes at the end of an early season two episode, when Donald Glover’s Earn has planned a night out at the club only for everything to go wrong. He hasn’t had any fun, he’s barely had anything to drink, and he’s failed to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend as he hoped. And then, just as the night is coming to an end, the universe gives him a chance at redemption: Michal Vick is racing any and all challengers in the parking lot.
… and then the chance at redemption passes him by. Of course it does. It’s Michael Vick.
Tarik Skubal against the 2026 Red Sox is the MLB equivalent of Michael Vick racing drunk strangers in a parking lot. You think you have some momentum coming off a walk-off win? You think putting Andruw Monasterio in the two-hole will shake things up? You think Brayan Bello can put up some zeros a few days after his best start of the year to give the lineup a chance to win the game?
It’s Tarik Skubal.
There are some big league lineups that will give Skubal trouble this year. But the lineup of the 2026 Red Sox — with its glaring dearth of power, balance, and veteran nous — is not one of them. The Sox lost this game as soon as the Tigers’ bus pulled onto Jersey Street. It’s Tarik Skubal.
One Lonely Stud
Jovani Moran: 3 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 H, 3 K
I was going to go with the bullpen as a collective for this. But that would’ve been unfair to Moran, who single-handedly kept his team in the game. Moran hasn’t impressed much in his career so far, but that career has also been marked by injury and bad luck. He could turn himself into an unheralded weapon at the back of the Sox’ roster this year.
Three Duds
Trevor Story: 0-4, 3 K
I’m tempted to warn people that this could be the year that Trevir Story falls of a cliff. But let’s face it: Story’s relationship to cliffs has been Homer Simpson-esque ever since he showed up in Boston.
Brayan Bello: 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Bello wasn’t terrible today. But he also wasn’t good. And he’s going to need to figure out how to be good soon, because right now he’s the weak link in the Sox’ rotation and Payton Tolle is punching the route from Worcester to Boston into Google Maps.
Barometric pressure or cold fronts or whatever
I’m tired of watching cold, raw baseball games and I’m calling on OTM weather guru Matt Gross to fix this.
With Freddy Peralta on the mound, the Mets felt pretty good that their long losing streak could come to an end on Saturday afternoon.
And it was looking good at first. Peralta was matching Cubs starter Jameson Taillon pitch for pitch and held Chicago to just one run over the first five innings. However, the game changed in the sixth.
Peralta got the first two batters out before Ian Happ came to the plate. The outfielder had taken Perala deep earlier in the game, so the right-hander was sure to be a bit more careful, but Happ walked on seven pitches. Seiya Suzuki was next, and Peralta got ahead in the count 2-2. However, Suzuki didn't bite on back-to-back sliders low and out of the zone and he walked.
That spelled the end of Peralta's start.
"I thought I was still competing there," Peralta said of the sixth inning. "Was a very good at-bat from both of them. But I think that I pitched good against Suzuki too. He took a very good at-bat."
Manager Carlos Mendoza brought in Brooks Raley and Cubs skipper Craig Counsell called Carson Kelly to pinch-hit in the spot. Kelly would ambush Raley's first-pitch cutter and deposit a three-run shot into the Wrigley Field crowd. That home run would prove to be the difference in the 4-2 win for the Cubs.
"Tried to move the ball around. Two-out walk to Happ. The Suzuki one, was the one that hurt him," Mendoza said of Peralta's outing. "Ended up costing the game there. He was pretty good, only two walks, and unfortunately, it was the two towards the end there. Overall, I thought he was pretty good, but, again, two outs, two walks ended up costing us."
"They had a big swing, made a good move putting Kelly in there," Marcus Semien said. "I played with that guy, he can do that. And he did it to us today."
The home run made Peralta the pitcher on record on the losing end. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out three batters across his 5.2 innings pitched. It's the third time in his first five starts this season that Peralta has allowed at least three runs.
Peralta was acquired this offseason to be the ace of the staff, and the stopper of streaks like this. Unfortunately for Peralta and the Mets, his two walks led to their downfall and their 10th straight loss, the franchise's longest losing streak in over 20 years.
The right-hander was asked if he felt extra pressure on Saturday to try and stop the streak, and Peralta disagreed with the notion.
"No, no pressure. I have a commitment to myself and everyone else. Just trying to give my best as always," Peralta said. "I thought I was competing until the last pitch. Sometimes you can’t control some of the stuff that happens in a game."
"We just have to keep preparing. I don’t know how difficult it is [to keep a positive mindset], but we’re professionals," Peralta said. "We have to stay together and win some games."
DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 17: Hyeseong Kim #6, Kyle Tucker #23, Alex Freeland #76 , and Andy Pages #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate their win against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game two of four between the Dodgers and Rockies in Denver.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 18: Luis Severino #40 of the Athletics pitches against the Chicago White Sox in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on April 18, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It took a couple extra innings but our A’s came out on top on Saturday afternoon, beating the Chicago White Sox 7-6 to knot up the series and send it to the rubber match tomorrow.
Apr 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The only daytime contest of this four-game series in Denver comes on Sunday afternoon, with Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers taking on Michael Lorenzen at the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Sasaki has struggled with command thus far, with two of his starts lasting four innings and the other a five-inning effort in which he allowed six runs. Five of his 10 walks on the season came last Sunday against the Texas Rangers, after which his seasonal numbers included a 6.23 ERA and 5.31 xERA.
Lorenzen has given up a National League-high 32 hits in his five appearances thus far for Colorado, including four starts. The veteran right-hander has a 8.10 ERA and 6.00 xERA in 16 2/3 innings this season.
A view of the Camelback Inn, Scottsdale Arizona, April 1967. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
BLUE JAYS
DIAMONDBACKS
Nathan Lukes – RF
Ketel Marte – DH
Ernie Clement – 2B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Vladimir Guerrero – 1B
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Jesus Sanchez – LF
Lourdes Gurriel – LF
Eloy Jimenez – DH
Adrian Del Castillo – C
Andres Gimenez – SS
Jose Fernandez – 1B
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Myles Straw – CF
Ildemaro Vargas – 2B
Tyler Heineman – C
Alek Thomas – CF
Max Scherzer – RHP
Zac Gallen – RHP
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 39.
Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (recovery from right ACL surgery)
Designated for assignment: INF Luken Baker
And there we are. Seven months and fifteen days after playing his previous game for the D-backs, and little more than seven months after having surgery for a torn ACL, Lourdes Gurriel has complete his rehab. That’s a solid two months of the expected schedule, which at the time of the surgery was estimated at Lourdes needing 9-10 months before he’d come back. Particularly of interest, he is going straight into the outfield, despite the common belief being that he would start off at designated hitter for a bit. We’ll see how that works out. I’m also a little nervous about his lack of live at-bats. No spring training and nine PAs against Double-A pitching? I’m sure he has got his cage work in, but still…
Meanwhile, Luken Baker makes an early bit to be the low man on the totem-pole, when it comes to the year end roster Sporcle. His five plate appearances will be tough to beat, though I guess there is a chance he makes it through waivers and ends up back in Reno for a bit. It’s interesting this leaves the team with an empty slot on the 40-man roster. I don’t envisage anyone coming off the 60-day IL anytime soon. A.J. Puk is technically eligible, having gone on there in mid-February. But he’s still some way off. It gives the team flexibility though, and with no healthy position players bar the ones on the 26-man roster, that’s definitely useful.
We’re now four times through the rotation. Like we all predicted, Arizona’s rotation is a top-10 staff, with an ERA of 3.42. However, the peripherals there are a bit shaky. The FIP is more than a run above that (4.47), with xERA – which uses exit velocity and other data about balls in play – almost another half-run higher still, at 4.96. The reverse is true for the bullpen, whose FIP (4.09) and xERA (3.94) are both solidly below the actual ERA. Though James McCann and Joe Ross are still dragging that figure down. Ross is the only change to date, and that’s an improvement on last year: by this date, we’d already seen Puk throw his last pitch of the season…
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 18: Tony Santillan #64 (L) and Tyler Stephenson #37 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate the win against the Minnesota Twins after the game at Target Field on April 18, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Reds defeated the Twins 5-4. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds entered play on Saturday with just 66 runs scored so far this season, the lowest such mark of any team in the game. They also entered play with just 19 doubles (fewest), one triple (five teams have zero), and 86 singles (second fewest), an indicator that they haven’t just struggled to cross the plate, they’ve struggled to hit the ball in the field of play altogether.
Despite their .197 team average (last), they have socked 21 homers – tied for a respectable 12th so far this season. In other words, they have been absolutely dependent upon hitting homers to score their runs in 2026, moreso than any other team out there. So, when they hit the road for Minneapolis this weekend and the temperatures and swirling winds suggested hitting anything over the wall would be near impossible, well, it was hard to muster much hope for this offense’s success given what we’ve seen so far.
It was with that in mind that their rally past the Twins on Saturday looked that much more special.
They trailed 2-0 early as starter Andrew Abbott struggled again with his command, and trailed 4-2 entering the Top of the 7th as Minnesota went to their bullpen. And though they rallied back for the win (thanks to the elite work of Brock Burke, Kyle Nicolas, and Tony Santillan at the back end of the ‘pen when other big names weren’t available), they did not do so with one big 3-run swing.
Instead, they got runners on, over, and in in each of the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, piecing together singles here, productive outs there, a key sac fly, and even a TJ Friedl sacrifice bunt to move the game’s winning run into scoring position.
It was a series of small-ball miracles, especially given the context of how this offense has operated (or not) through the season’s first 20 games. And, once again, the bullpen managed to slam the door at the end, something they’ve become brilliant with despite being banged up and overworked early on.
There’s a quiet swagger with this club, one perhaps highlighted perfectly at the end of the series with the San Francisco Giants when the Giants barking closer tried to start a ruckus after they won the finale of a series they’d already lost. The Reds, though, weren’t interested in fisticuffs and instead the barking turned into a standoff before a nothingburger. Cincinnati hit the showers, packed their bags, and moved on to the next thing on their docket: a series in Minnesota in poor weather than they knew they were more than capable of winning.
They’ve already won it, now. Next up is a chance for a series sweep on Sunday even though they still haven’t been playing their ‘best’ ball of the year.
Today, I think it’s time for Terry Francona’s first Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game. He’s got this club doing all the right things at the right times even though they still haven’t clicked just yet…and they’re still 13-8 on the season.
Apr 11, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images
The Mile High City is abuzz on Saturday.
The Denver Nuggets kick off their first round playoff series against the Timberwolves at Ball Arena. Over at Mile High Stadium, 70,000+ tickets have been sold to welcome Lionel Messi to town, as the Colorado Rapids take on Inter Miami for a 30th anniversary celebration. Back at Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers for the nightcap on a busy Denver sports day.
Hopefully the Rockies can bring some fireworks with them.
The Rockies have scored three or fewer runs in six of their last eight games. That’s only worked out for them once, in a 3-2 win against the Houston Astros on Thursday. They’ll need to find some offensive consistency to have a shot against L.A.
Standing in the way of that is Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 6.60 ERA). In his last start, Sheehan made it through six innings on just 77 pitches, giving up four hits and two home runs along the way. He surrendered three runs, all at the hands of Brandon Nimmo (a solo home run in the first and a two-run homer in the top of the sixth).
Painting a more complete picture of Sheehan’s wins is a look at the scoring behind him. He’s gotten plenty of run support in the games he’s started, with L.A. averaging 8.64 runs across his starts. The Dodgers offense has been firing on all cylinders.
Ryan Feltner (1-1, 7.30 ERA) takes the mound for Colorado, looking to prevent Los Angeles from inflicting the damage they did yesterday in their 13-hit, seven-run win. They hopped on the Rockies early, scoring in each inning from the first through the fifth. In his last outing, Feltner started sharp but fizzled out, posting two scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the third and three more in the fourth.
Sheehan vs. Feltner is the highest-ERA pitching matchup on the docket around the league today. It will be a battle of who blinks first. Or, maybe more accurately, who blinks the least.
These two teams are on vastly different trajectories in the NL West at the moment. Over the last 10, the Dodgers are 8-2, while the Rockies are 3-7. The juggernaut Dodgers are always a tough test, but the Rockies will need to steal one this series to stop the skid.
Could a slugfest at Coors be the setting to do just that? Or is the Rockies offense too flaky right now to bet on against the powerful Dodgers bats?
Apr 18, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Today was a matchup of two of the early 2020s biggest pitching stars, a former Cy Young Award winner versus a two-time All-Star and top-five Cy Young finisher. But it was the elder Brandon Woodruff who got the best of an uncharacteristically wild Sandy Alcantara today, and Brice Turang reached base four times, homered, and knocked in three runs to lead the Brewers to a comfortable 5-2 victory.
On Alcantara’s second pitch of the game, Sal Frelick hit a well-placed soft line drive to shortstop that was fielded on a bounce by Otto Lopez, who could not get it to first base in time to beat the speedy Frelick. But Frelick was followed by two Brewers who made solid contact, but weren’t as lucky with their placement: William Contreras hit a 101 mph fly ball to center, which was caught, and Brice Turang hit a hard ground ball up the middle, straight at Lopez, who was positioned to easily turn a double play.
The Marlins were aggressive against Woodruff in the bottom of the first, and made some decent contact, but had nothing to show for it: Woodruff needed just nine pitches to retire Jakob Marsee, Xavier Edwards, and Agustín Ramírez.
Alcantara struck out Gary Sánchez and got a groundout from Jake Bauers to start the second, but with two outs Luis Rengifo lined a double into the left-field corner—in a bizarre statistical quirk, that gave Rengifo six doubles out of only nine total hits on the season. Garrett Mitchell followed with a walk, but Brandon Lockridge grounded out to end the inning and the Brewers couldn’t quite come through on the two-out rally. They did, however, make the ultra-efficient Alcantara throw 22 pitches in the second inning.
Woodruff got ahead of Liam Hicks to start the bottom of the second, but couldn’t put him away, and Hicks ended up at first with an infield hit when Ortiz was able to dive and stop a ground ball but was unable to make a throw. Ortiz made a nice play on the next batter, when Lopez hit a chopper to short that Ortiz threw him out on (with the aid of a nice pick from Bauers). Connor Norby, though, came through with a clean ground-ball single up the middle, which scored Hicks from second. Neither of Miami’s hits was hit all that hard, but they were hit in the right spots. Woodruff got the last two outs with a couple of fly balls to keep the deficit at one.
Ortiz drew a leadoff walk in the third, and after a Frelick fly out, Alcantara walked Contreras and Turang, too—an unusual bout of wildness for Alcantara, who came in with just six walks in 30 1/3 innings. The three walks loaded the bases for Sánchez, but unfortunately this was a meeting of skillsets that did not work in the Brewers’ favor: Alcantara, who gets a lot of double plays, got a ground ball from Sánchez, who probably would’ve beaten the throw to first if he were anyone else on the Brewers. But he is Gary Sánchez, and beating double play relays is not his strong suit, and the Brewers were unable to answer the Marlins’ opening run.
Like Alcantara, Woodruff also walked the number-nine hitter to start the bottom of the inning, in this case Javier Sanoja. Marsee did Woodruff a favor by flying out on the first pitch he saw, and Edwards burned the Marlins’ second ABS challenge in the process of striking out. Ramírez worked back from 0-2 to 3-2 but grounded out to short to end the inning.
Bauers led off the fourth with a fly ball to the warning track in left, but it didn’t have quite enough juice to get out. Rengifo drew a one-out walk, Alcantara’s fifth of the game, and he advanced to second on a groundout from Mitchell. Lockridge fell behind 0-2, but fouled off three 0-2 pitches before lining an RBI single into center that tied the game. Lockridge continued his good inning with a steal of second with Ortiz at the plate, but Ortiz popped out to end the inning. Still, tie game.
Hicks picked up a single with a soft line drive to center on a 1-2 pitch to start the bottom of the fourth. Some defensive confusion followed: Lopez hit a ground ball to Bauers, who started a throw to second, but changed his mind. Bauers instead turned and tossed to Woodruff, who seemed to think that Bauers had thrown it to second, and he wasn’t looking, and the ball went by him. But the Marlins were confused, too, and Contreras, who backed up the play, was able to throw Hicks out at third. It was scored as an E3, with a fielder’s choice at third. Norby followed and hit a ball hard to deep center, but it held up for Mitchell, who caught it on the warning track. Lopez tagged and advanced to third, but he was stranded there when Owen Caissie struck out looking (on a 95.7 mph fastball, his hardest of the game).
The Brewers had the top of the order against Alcantara in the top of the fifth. Frelick popped out for the first out, and it looked like Contreras should’ve grounded out, but Edwards, the second baseman, just missed the ball, and it trickled into center field and the hustling Brewer catcher made it into second base. It would have been a sort of tough play for Edwards, who moved quite a ways to get there, but it certainly looked like a play that should’ve been made—the official scorer, though, generously gave Contreras a double. Whether Contreras reached on an error or not didn’t matter when, on the very next pitch, Turang blew up an Alcantara cutter right down the middle and hit it out over the wall in right-center. 3-1 Brewers.
Alcantara walked his sixth batter, Sánchez, after the homer; that tied his career high for a single game, and matched the total number he’d walked through his first four starts this season. Sánchez moved to second on a wild pitch, but Bauers popped out and Rengifo lined out to left (on a batted ball with a .770 xBA, credit to the Marlins’ defensive positioning) and the inning ended.
Woodruff retired Miami in order on three fly balls in the fifth. Alcantara’s afternoon was over when he was relieved by Anthony Bender, but Miami’s wildness was not. Mitchell drew his second walk to lead off the sixth and stole second to give the Brewers a prime chance to add on. Lockridge struck out, but with Ortiz at the plate Mitchell advanced to third on a wild pitch and then Ortiz drew his second walk, too. With runners on the corners, Miami brought its infield in, and Frelick hit a chopper to second. Lopez threw home, and Mitchell was called out at home, but Milwaukee challenged the call and it was overturned.
Frelick was credited with an RBI fielder’s choice, and the Brewers still had runners on first and second with just one out. Bender struck out Contreras for the second out, but Turang lined a single to center that scored Ortiz and made it 5-1. Sánchez was hit between the shoulder blades with a 97 mph sinker that got away from Bender, and that was his last pitch; with the bases loaded and Bauers up, Miami moved to Lake Bachar—surprisingly, not a lefty. Bauers made hard contact on a hanging curveball, but lined out to left field and the inning ended.
Woodruff was back out for the sixth and had only thrown 65 pitches. He worked quickly through the sixth, too, with a major assist from Lockridge, when a pop fly that looked like it was going to be a bloop hit ended up in the glove of the Brewer left fielder, who caught it on a full dive.
Bachar continued in the seventh and allowed a two-out walk to Lockridge but otherwise had no trouble. Woodruff was back out for the seventh with his pitch count at 75. He got Lopez to fly out to right, and then Lockridge almost made another spectacular play not unlike the great catch he made in foul territory in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Woody did get that batter, Norby, to pop out, and after a bit of a battle he struck out Caissie to put a cherry on top of a very good day.
Woodruff became the first Brewer pitcher to complete seven innings this season. He threw 92 pitches, and allowed only four baserunners, three hits and a walk. The only blemish was the run that resulted from two sub-95mph ground balls in the second inning, and he struck out four. He finished his outing stronger than he started it, by retiring 11 straight Marlins.
In his third inning of work, Bachar gave up a two-out walk to Turang but had no other trouble. Woodruff was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Jake Woodford (no relation). Woodford got two quick ground-ball outs, allowed back-to-back two-out singles to Marsee and Edwards, but got out of it with a ground ball from Ramírez that ended the inning.
Lefty John King was the new Marlins pitcher in the ninth, and he issued a two-out walk to Mitchell (his third and the team’s 11th today) but struck out Lockridge on three pitches to end it. With a four-run lead in place, Woodford was given a chance to finish the game in the bottom of the ninth. One-out singles from Lopez and Norby prompted a visit from Chris Hook while Abner Uribe warmed in the bullpen, and another hit, this one by Caissie, loaded the bases and ended Woodford’s afternoon.
Uribe entered with a four-run cushion and only two outs to get but with the tying run at the plate. On Uribe’s first pitch, Heriberto Hernández hit a grounder to third. Rengifo threw to second for the second out, but Turang held the ball instead of trying for the double play, and a run crossed for Miami. They were down to their last out, though, and Sanoja grounded out harmlessly to second and the game was over.
That’s four in a row for Milwaukee, and a second straight series victory after their slide of a week and a half ago. Woodruff was the big star today, but Turang carried the offense: he was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two walks. Frelick and Lockridge also contributed RBI, while Mitchell walked three times and Ortiz did so twice.
The Brewers will go for a sweep tomorrow when these two teams will participate in another good pitching matchup: Jacob Misiorowski versus Eury Pérez. That game is at 12:40 p.m.
Aug 6, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Griffin Jax (22) reacts after striking out Los Angeles Angels second baseman Christian Moore (4) with the bases loaded during the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images | Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images
The Rays had high expectations for Griffin Jax when he was acquired at last year’s trade deadline. After some poor batted ball luck but mostly good results to finish the 2025 season, Jax has gotten off to an uneven start in 2026. While it is unfortunate that he has allowed runs to score in four of his nine appearances this season, I don’t think there’s any cause for concern yet. His stuff is still plus across the board and he has a strong track record as a reliable high-leverage reliever. Jax’s location consistency – particularly with his sweeper – appears to be the main driver behind his early struggles.
I’ve been tracking what I call “command deltas” across the league dating back to 2023. I’ll share a brief summary of what a command delta is, but you can read more here and here. A command delta measures how tightly a pitcher clusters a pitch around its intended location. It’s calculated by combining the variation in both horizontal and vertical pitch locations, then grading that number on the 20-80 scouting scale (lower = more consistent, higher = less consistent).
Like most pitch-level metrics, it takes time to stabilize – typically around 100-150 pitches depending on the pitch type. It’s not a standalone evaluation of command, but it can be useful when paired with metrics like strike rate, zone rate, and pitch-level heatmaps.
Below are Jax’s command delta grades from 2023 through the very small sample we have so far in 2026 (excluding pitches that he didn’t throw at least 100 times in a season):
2023
2024
2025
2026
Four-seam fastball
53
68
56
52
Two-seam fastball
58
NA
61
70
Offspeed
–
58
56
63
Curveball
–
–
–
57
Sweeper
56
62
54
45
While it’s too early to say definitively what Jax’s location consistency will look like at the end of this season, we can still look at the patterns:
His four-seam fastball location consistency is slightly above average and largely in line with prior seasons, but might get a bit better across a larger sample
His two-seam fastball locations are very consistent, and that will likely regress but still remain above average
His offspeed location consistency is plus and will likely regress a bit too, but still remain above average
His curveball is something he has flashed a little bit in the past and the locations are fairly consistent, but we’ll need to see more before we can draw any significant conclusions
His sweeper locations have been significantly less consistent than what we have seen from him in the past and are currently below average
The command deltas point to the sweeper, and the visual data supports that.
And compare it to the heatmap for his sweeper so far in 2026:
The data suggests Jax is struggling to consistently locate his best pitch. As Nick Fortes noted after Friday’s game against the Pirates, it’s been an ongoing issue. More consistent sweeper execution would force hitters to respect the pitch and expand the zone more often. His chase rate on the pitch typically sits around 40%, but this season it’s just over 20% while the chase rates on his other pitches are roughly aligned with his career averages. Once he’s able to get hitters to respect his sweeper again, they’ll have more difficulty timing up his fastball shapes.
Finding better execution of his sweeper is easier said than done. If it was as simple as I’m making it sound, Jax would have fixed it already. The shape of the pitch will vary a bit year to year, but its pretty close to the shape he showed in 2024, so that makes a grip change less likely as the root cause. The catcher set-ups also appear consistent, suggesting it’s not a cueing issue.
If the team wanted to reduce pressure while he finds his feel for the pitch again, Jax could open some games. He is currently coming into high pressure situations late in a game where he has to execute. Obviously, your high-leverage relievers have to do this – it’s part of the job. However, allowing for a different mental approach where he can “grip it and rip it” with lower stakes could be beneficial in helping him reset his execution of the pitch. Although role changes are rarely this simple in practice, Jax could later be moved back into high-leverage after he’s had some time to regain his feel for the pitch.
Regardless of the role, there’s reason to believe that Jax and the staff will get his sweeper back to being a dominant pitch. Given that the sweeper drives a significant portion of his chase and put-away ability, even small inconsistencies can have outsized effects on his overall performance. In short, this looks less like a decline in stuff and more like a temporary loss of feel for a pitch that drives his entire profile.
Apr 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
After a frustrating 1-0 extra innings loss in game one of this series, the Detroit Tigers sent their ace to the mound looking to even things up. Tarik Skubal was very good, the Tigers beat up on Bryan Bello to build an early lead despite squandering some chances, and the bullpen was nails.
It was a cold, humid day in ol’ Beantown as the Tigers looked to even the four-game series with their ace on the mound. The conditions, including a breeze blowing in, didn’t auger well for a ton of power, but in Fenway Park you never know what you’re going to get. Of course, with Tarik Skubal you generally do know what you’re going to get, and he dominated the Red Sox without breaking much of a sweat.
After a quiet night offensively from both teams on Friday, the Tigers got going out of the gate on Saturday afternoon. Kevin McGonigle started the game off with a single, and after Bryan Bello froze Gleyber Torres with a cutter at the top of the zone, Colt Keith singled right through shortstop Andrew Monasterio. A newly patient and disciplined Riley Greene drew a walk to load the bases, and the Tigers were in business.
Bello found his command long enough to carve up Spencer Torkelson with more well located cutters down and away, continuing his bizarre career long futility with the bases loaded, but Kerry Carpenter drew a walk to force in a run. That was all the Tigers would get as Wenceel Pérez grounded out to end the top half of the first.
Tarik Skubal was on it from the start in this one, spinning a 1-2-3 bottom of the first. Jake Rogers and McGonigle hit the ball hard against a still scuffling Bello, but both went for outs. Skubal stormed back out to the mound and struck out the side swinging in the bottom of the second. His fastball command was sharp and the changeup was dancing. Good times.
The third inning was uneventful, but in the top of the fourth, after Torkelson took a called strike three on a dangerous 0-2 cutter right down the middle, Kerry Carpenter stepped in and launched a 1-1 changeup threw a fairly stiff breeze and into the visitor’s bullpen. 2-0 Tigers.
That homer rattled Bello. He walked Wenceel Pérez, and got a 97 mph first pitch sinker down and in and banged it off the Green Monster for a double. Pérez couldn’t score because left field is the size of an average midwestern backyard, but Jake Rogers lifted a fly ball out to Raffaela in center field, and Pérez made a really nice wrap around slide to score just ahead of the tag after a strong throw in. That made it 3-0, and Mr. McGonigle promptly did his thing, lining a sharp single to right to plate Báez for a 4-0 lead.
Skubal, uncertain with all this run support, walked Roman Anthony to start the bottom half, but then punched out Monasterio, Willson Contreras, and Trevor Story in a row to snuff any glimpses of hope for the Red Sox.
Jovani Morán took over for Boston in the fifth. Riley Greene challenged a 3-1 pitch that turned out to be 0.1 inch below the zone—we love an accurate measurement—and walked, but that went nowhere as Torkelson continues to be locked up and passive at the plate, getting called out on strikes yet again. Swing the bat, Spencer.
Skubal finally got himself into some trouble in the bottom half. Wilyer Abreu slapped a single up the middle and Rafaela doubled to center field. Chris Fetter came out for a chat as Skubal looked like he was feeling for his timing, but he promptly walked Caleb Durbin to load the bases. Fortunately, he escaped relatively unscatheed, as Connor Wong bounced to Torres near second base for a double play. Abreu scored, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa flew out to end the inning. 4-1 Tigers.
Jake Rogers doubled to center in the sixth with two outs, but McGonigle grounded out. Meanwhile, Skubal was still a little shaky at this point. His changeup was outstanding, but some of the fastballs weren’t crisp, and of course we’re not in midsummer Skubal territory where the velocity starts creeping up to 99-100 mph more often. Still, he was on the ball whenever he needed to be.
Anthony and Monasterio started the bottom of the sixth with solid singles, and once again Skubal had to lock in. He did so, freezing Contreras with a great changeup that was actually below the zone. Contreras was too disgusted by the filth to challenge and accepted his fate. A pair of whiffs at changeups sent Story to the same fate as Skubal’s 10th victim of the day, and Abreu grounded out to Torres to squander a good scoring opportunity. We like this. 4-1 Tigers.
Colt Keith went 1 for 3 with a single in this one as the DH, but with one out in the top of the seventh, Dillon Dingler pinch-hit for him against the lefty Morán. He flew out to center and Greene struck out to end the inning as Morán had really gentled the Tigers.
Skubal’s day was done with 6.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 10 K. Still a pretty spectacular outing, with a whopping 19 whiffs on 43 swings, but his velocity was still down a bit even by spring levels, averaging 95.9 with the fourseamer. Still, that was his first double digit strikeout game of the season, and his ERA stands at 2.08.
Tyler Holton took over in the bottom of the seventh. He racked up quick outs on meager contact from Rafaela and Wong, with a strikeout of Durbin sandwiched between them.
Right-hander Greg Weissert took over in the eighth for the BoSox, while I begged Spencer Torkelson to swing the frigging bat for crying out loud. He did so, tapping a little ground out off the end of the bat. Progress! Carpenter spanked an opposite field single, but grounders from Pérez and Báez ended the inning.
Holton cruised through the bottom of the eighth, punching out Anthony swinging over a sinker below the zone, and we were on to the top of the ninth.
Zack Kelly took over for Boston, getting Rogers on a ground out to start the frame. McGonigle smoked a line drive right to Monasterio for the second out. Torres dumped a little excuse me swing single into right field, but Dingler flew out to right field.
So, it was Kenley Jansen time. After watching him pump 95-97 mph quite a bit in Detroit, the Tigers’ closer was back down to 93 mph in this weather, but he was reasonably sharp anyway. Contreras reached for a cut fastball away off the plate and lined a single to left, but Story bounced a chopper to Báez who fired to Torres for the first out. The Tigers’ second baseman decided not to try and turn the double play, looking like he didn’t immediately get a perfect grip and choosing discretion over heroics. Abreu sliced a liner to Greene in left, and Jansen mixed in the slider to Rafaela, getting him to pop out to Torkelson on a cutter up to end this one and collect save number 481 in his storied career.
Solid win. Skubal handled business and owned the Red Sox most of the game without really extending himself. The Tigers swung the bats pretty well apart from Torkelson, who looks completely locked up mentally right now. He’ll probably play against Garrett Crochet on Sunday, but he really looks like he could use a couple of games off to try and hit the reset button. Hopefully Colt Keith is keeping up his extra work at first base.
Notes
90 plate appearances into his rookie campaign, Kevin McGonigle is hitting .312/.411/.481 with a 157 wRC+, just a hair outside of the top 20 hitters in the game so far.
It may surprise you to learn that the Tigers offense has the lowest chase rate of any team in baseball so far, with a 27.7 O-Swing rate coming into today’s game.
Of course, not chasing is great, but Spencer Torkelson’s O-swing is just 14.2 percent and it isn’t doing him any good because he’s taking called strikes at a 19.2 percent rate, roughly two percent higher than at any point in his career. Does someone have the ABS system on the brain? I don’t know, but swing the bat, Spencer.
His through their first 21 major-league games: * Kevin McGonigle: 23 (including today) * Shohei Ohtani: 20 * Alex Bregman: 17 * Mike Trout: 16
— Tony Paul | Detroit News (@TonyPaul1984) April 18, 2026
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) warms up before a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images
I mean, what can you even say?
Ten straight losses in ten straight losses, which is bad, no good, terrible, pick whichever word or phrase from the thesaurus you would like. The bats have looked better the past two days, with the Mets netting 14 hits yesterday and seven today, but no one diehard enough to read an Amazin’ Avenue recap after the tenth straight loss will, or should, care about the smallest of moral victories here.
The game was close for most of it, with Freddy Peralta and Jameson Taillon both pitching well, in similar ways. Taillon struggled early on, allowing two base runners in the first, an enormous home run to Mark Vientos in the second, and a base runner in the third, before settling in nicely to finish the day with a strong quality start.
Peralta worked a perfect first inning, allowed a similarly enormous home run to Ian Happ in the bottom of the second, tying it at one apiece at the time, before working around trouble in the rest of the inning. Peralta, similar to Taillon, was strong in the middle innings, allowing just a single base runner in the third, fourth and fifth.
The bottom of the sixth was where it fell apart for Peralta; kind of, anyway. He got the first two outs of the frame and simply hit a wall, walking Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki to put two on with two outs. Clearly tiring, Carlos Mendoza opted to bring in Brooks Raley to face Moisés Ballesteros. Cubs manager Craig Counsell answered by pinch hitting Carson Kelly, who put the very first pitch Raley through into the seats to make it 4-1.
The Mets battled back a bit in the eighth against Ben Brown, as Bo Bichette and Francisco Lindor led off the inning with infield singles (though, for my money, the Lindor single gave off more of an error vibe but who’s complaining?). Luis Robert Jr. beat out a would-be double play ball, MJ Melendez struck out on a check swing, turning it from a potential rally to a “oh here we go again” scenario. Francisco Alvarez reached on a throwing error by Nico Hoerner, who was shifted up the middle, ranged to his right, rushed the throw, and brought Michael Busch off the first base bag. The Mets rejected the gift they were given quickly after that, as Mark Vientos grounded out quickly to end the rally.
The ninth inning was trivial, as Tommy Pham, Marcus Semien struck out, and Tyrone Taylor popped out, pushing the losing streak to a unbelievable ten games.
One note to leave you with on this fine Saturday:
Four teams in MLB history have lost 10 or more games in a row and made the playoffs. The last was the Guardians in 2025. Only one of those teams had a skid in April and still made the postseason: the 1951 Giants, who lost 11 consecutive..
