Worldwide Sports News

Left-hander Ty Blach has elected free agency.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs mauled the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), 18-4.

It was a Sunday bullpen game for Iowa today as Gabe Klobosits started and allowed three runs in the top of the first inning. Memphis didn’t score again until the ninth. The final line on Klobosits was three runs on four hits over two innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Ryan Jensen threw the next two innings and got the win, retiring all six batters he faced. Jensen struck out one.

Iowa took the lead for good with a nine-run second inning, highlighted by a grand slam by shortstop Ben Cowles. It was Cowles third home run of the season. He also had a two-run double in the eighth, giving him six total RBI on the game. Cowles final line was 4 for 6 with two doubles and the grand slam. He also walked once and scored three runs.

DH Chase McCormick clubbed a solo home run in the fourth inning, his fifth one the season. McCormick went 2 for 4 with a double, the home run and a walk. He scored three runs and drove in two.

Right fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 5 with a walk and three RBI. He scored two runs.

Third baseman Owen Miller went 3 for 5 with an RBI double. Miller had two total runs batted in and scored twice.

Second baseman Scott Kingery was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.

Catcher Eric Yang was 1 for 3 with two walks and three runs scored.

Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 3 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. Bateman scored once and drove in two.

Every Iowa batter had at least one hit.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies got burnt by the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 7-3.

Dawson Netz was activated off the injured list to make this start, which unfortunately did not last long. Netz struck out the side in order in the first, but he got knocked around in the second and didn’t finish the inning. He took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits over 1.1 innings. Netz struck out three and walked one.

Jace Beck tossed two scoreless innings of relief. He gave up just one hit and issued one walk while striking out four.

DH Edgar Alvarez was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.

Catcher Ariel Armas doubled in a run in the fifth inning. Armas went 1 for 3 with two overall RBI.

A Netz strikeout to close out the first.

A nice catch in center field by Andy Garriola.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs’s protective seawall held against the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers), 5-4.

Koen Moreno gave South Bend a great start to the game with four scoreless innings. Moreno only allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four.

Nazier Mulé kept the shutout going in the fifth and sixth innings, but he got hammered in the seventh to cough up the lead. Mulé’s final line was four runs on two hits and three walks over 2.1 innings. He also had two wild pitches. Mulé struck out three.

Grayson Moore let two runners inherited from Mulé score, but finished out the inning and got the win after the Cubs retook the lead in the top of the eighth. The final line on Moore was no runs on one hit over two-thirds of an inning. He struck out one and did not walk anyone.

Eli Jerzembeck went the rest of the way for a two-inning save. The only baserunner Jerzembeck allowed was a one-out walk in the eighth. He struck out three.

Center fielder Christian Olivo hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth that ended up being the winning hit. Olivo went 2 for 4 with the two runs batted in. He also stole a base.

Third baseman Alex Madera was 2 for 3 with a walk and one run scored.

Shortstop Ty Southisene went 1 for 2 with three walks and two steals. He scored one run.

A two-run single in the first inning by first baseman Cole Mathis, who was 1 for 5.

An RBI double by left fielder Cameron Sisneros. He was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Olivo’s bloop single that scored two.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans dropped their eighth-straight game, 5-0 to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox).

Starter Mason McGwire gave up three runs on five hits over four innings. The good news was that he struck out seven and walked just one.

Catcher Jairo Diaz went 2 for 2 with a walk.

First baseman Michael Carico was 1 for 4 with a double.

The Birds only had five hits today.

ACL Cubs

Off day.

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Anaheim Angels scored two runs.

Ok, let’s focus on the positive for a moment. MacKenzie Gore allowed one run on one hit and struck out seven Angels batters over six innings as he rebounded from pitching just one inning in his last start which he left with weird side/shoulder/back pain.

In the first game of this series, a one-run start gets him a win with Texas scoring six runs. Last night, that start might have been good enough for a victory with Texas scoring two runs.

Tonight, however, one run on one hit wasn’t good enough as the Rangers also collected just one run on one hit against came-into-the-game-with-a-5.00-plus-ERA Reid Detmers, who struck out 14 Rangers over eight innings.

Eventually the Angels overtook Texas in the late innings thanks in part to the Rangers again failing to score with the bases loaded and Anaheim collecting the walk-off on an errant Justin Foscue throw a half inning later.

Truth be told, I didn’t watch this game because I don’t have NBC Peacock Plus or whatever. So maybe it is because of that fact that while I was following along on Gameday, I realized there’s not much reason to be annoyed or upset right now other than we’re all donating our time to this.

The simple fact is, the current lineup would probably make Triple A Round Rock feel like they have a fighting chance on any given night if they were playing these Rangers.

Corey Seager is out. Wyatt Langford wasn’t hitting before he got hurt and he hasn’t played in weeks. Josh Jung was at one point the only member of the lineup hitting and now he’s out for a day or more. Josh Smith was supposed to be the starting second baseman finally elevated to a regular role but he was among the worst hitters in baseball before he contracted the plague or something.

Michael Helman is the starting shortstop. They’ve got .357 OPS Sam Haggerty in center field. 39 year old Andrew McCutchen is batting leadoff and I don’t think he’s had a hit since the first series of the season. Danny Jansen makes me miss Andrew Knizner and his tandem Kyle Higashioka was the DH tonight despite he and Jansen perpetually battling it out to see who can finally raise their OPS to above .615 first (and somehow Higashioka is trailing in that race!).

It seems unwise to expect anything more than what the team can reasonably give right now. Of course, if you’re investing your time in watching it, you can feel however you want about it.

The Rangers seemed pretty flawed if everything went perfectly and if they had good health. Not much has gone well other than the rest of the league also being pretty bad and half the expected lineup has been cast across the nation with various ailments like they were on the Springfield softball team.

Even the worst team in baseball, which I think the Angels probably are, can sweep a team like the one Texas is fielding these days and here we are.

Player of the Game: I mentioned Gore, but I guess also Jake Burger hit a second inning solo home run to become the first Ranger in dinger double digits this season as he basically single-handedly prevented Detmers from attempting to a shot at one of the greatest games of all time. Instead, Detmers settles for perhaps the most impressive start from anyone this season.

Then again, it was Burger that struck out with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, his third strikeout with the bases loaded this weekend.

Up Next: The Rangers head back home with their tails between their legs and immediately open up a series against the Houston Astros. RHP Kumar Rocker is listed as Monday’s starter but we’ll have to see if the Rangers attempt the opener gambit again with Rocker after he enjoyed success in his last game utilizing that tactic. Meanwhile, Houston will opt for RHP Tatsuya Imai.

The Memorial Day first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Braves had their worst performance of the season in the first game in the Miami, and then bounced back to deliver three straight clobberings. There was no inkling that they’d return home for a soggy holiday weekend and suffer a letdown, but ultimately, that’s what happened. Whatever combination of weather, travel, regular baseball season ebb-and-flow stuff, offensive doldrums, Nationals gameplanning to perfection — you name it — it completely derailed Atlanta’s offense, and handed the Braves their second series loss of the season.

The big story here really was that the Braves suddenly ran out of offensive answers for an extended stretch. This series was the first time the Braves went homerless in three straight against the same opponent since July of last year. When you think about how the summer and tail end of 2025 were pretty much a disaster for the Braves, that’s kind of impressive. The Braves did have a three-game homerless stretch earlier this year, and they also went 1-2 in the process, but that happened in Seattle and Los Angeles, which is a bit different from facing the Nationals, who came into this series with the worst pitching staff in baseball. The Braves only scoring six runs in three games isn’t even that unusual — they scored five in three games at one point last week, and five in three games as part of that Seattle-Los Angeles trip — but the lack of homers was incredibly sudden, and incredibly detrimental.

Friday, May 22
Braves 5, Nationals 4 (11 innings)

This game was kind of a portent of things to come, but also ended up as the only win of the series. The Braves were held scoreless by opener Richard Lovelady and bulk guy Miles Mikolas for six frames, until taking the lead in the seventh, giving it back in the eighth, falling behind in the tenth, tying it in the tenth, and finally walking it off in the 11th. Chadwick Tromp played hero not once, but twice: his leadoff single in the tenth and mad dash home on a Mauricio Dubon bouncer helped the Braves tie the game, and then his two-out single on a 2-2 pitch brought home the winning run in the 11th.

This game featured a lot of wild stuff even beyond that: Mikolas having a 3/0 K/BB ratio but furnishing five scoreless frames, Robert Suarez grooving a 3-0 pitch that CJ Abrams turned around into a game-tying homer, a rare (and possibly rain-aided) “meltdown” by Dylan Lee (thanks to a not-that-hard Abrams double), and so on. In many ways, it was absolutely bizarre that the Braves even got themselves in a position to be able to win this game, given that the Nationals had two homers on their two barrels in this one, while the Braves went 0-for-2 on their two barrels. And yet, Chadwick Tromp provideth, and the ostensibly-blessed season continued… until it didn’t.

Saturday, May 23
Nationals 2, Braves 0

This was the real offensive doldrums game. The Braves got out-barreled 4-0, and had by far their worst wOBA and xwOBA of the season. It’s not like they were facing down some kind of world-beater, either, as Jake Irvin came into this game both mediocre and unlucky stat-wise. Furthermore, Irvin ended up leaving with injury, and the Braves then got eaten alive by three innings of Brad Lord, who has been good but not dominant or anything so far this year.

Grant Holmes ended up having a bizarre start, with a 10/2 K/BB ratio but two homers yielded. Holmes continues to have a pretty stark times-through-the-order split, with an expected uptick in peripherals, but more problematically for the Braves, a big homer problem once batters have seen him the first time in a game.

The Braves had one big chance in this game thanks to a defensive gaffe by Washington in the seventh, but the trio of Ozzie Albies, Dominic Smith, and Austin Riley didn’t get it done and that was pretty much that. There was a brief-ish rain delay, but it didn’t really upend anything and this was just a welp game for the team.

Sunday, May 24
Nationals 2, Braves 1

Somewhat fittingly, this game kind of ended up being a mix of the first two games of this series, but the Braves ultimately didn’t pull this one out. There was a no-rain rain delay to start, and another delay partway through; much of the game was played in pretty horrid conditions and it’s kind of impressive that no one got hurt and there weren’t any weird “welp that’s not how baseball should be played” shenanigans.

This time, it was Foster Griffin’s turn to dominate the Braves — he was largely forced out by the rain delay. The Braves had a scoring chance in the fourth, but Eli White hit it hard into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. The Nats then got three straight hits off Martin Perez, and added a second run post-rain delay off Reynaldo Lopez. The Braves only kind of came alive with a couple of hits (one well-struck, one bloopy) in the ninth. White then hit into what could’ve been a game-ending double play (again hitting it hard, but at a fielder), but it was booted, scoring the first (and only) Atlanta run. Lovelady, in for the third game in a row (and all three in this series), walked Ha-Seong Kim to load the bases and bring up Tromp…

…who did not get it done this time against Orlando Ribalta (the guy he had his first key single against on Friday). That meant it was all up to Ronald Acuña Jr., who had the Braves’ only barrel of this game (an out) earlier. But, Acuña didn’t get it done either, mis-hitting an inside sinker for a weak groundout to end the game.

With the Rays also losing today, the Braves are nominally “tied” for the best record in baseball, even if this series kinda sucked. At least we’ll always have the Chadwick Tromp Game, even if he couldn’t come through twice in the same weekend.

My kids put up with me watching the Rockies all summer, which is a bigger act of patience than I probably give them credit for. But when Banana Ball is on, they are not just tolerating baseball. They genuinely love it.

And I get it. Banana Ball is absurd. That is the whole point. The rules are built for pace, chaos, fan involvement, and the kind of baseball-adjacent weirdness that asks traditionalists to meet it halfway. This made me wonder: If the Rockies could adopt one Banana Ball rule to use at Coors, which one would you choose?

Purple Row already took one pass at the idea last season when the Bananas came through town, looking at what the Rockies’ record would have been under Banana Ball scoring rules.

But what other absurd rules could help Coors Field feel unfair again?

The fan in me wants Rule 8: If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.

At Coors Field, that would be tremendous. Suddenly, every foul ball has real stakes. We have already seen a Rockies fan make a catch while holding a baby and another make a full-extension grab after a massive bounce. The second one would not count as an out under Banana Ball rules, but that is exactly the kind of effort I would expect from the Coors Field faithful.

It would be chaotic, unfair, deeply silly, and probably a lot of fun.

But if we’re talking about a rule that might actually help the Rockies, Rule 5: Batters can steal first might be the answer.

The Rockies already have speed, ranking 10th in baseball in stolen bases despite sitting just 24th in on-base percentage. That tells a pretty simple story: When they get runners on, they can create pressure. The bigger problem is getting enough runners on in the first place.

That is where stealing first becomes interesting. In Banana Ball, a hitter can try to take first base on any pitch of an at-bat. It is not exactly a stable offensive plan, and every two-strike take turning into a footrace would probably get old quickly. Still, for a Rockies team that needs more ways to turn athleticism into baserunners, it would at least fit the roster’s shape.

There are other options, too. No mound visits. A two-hour time limit. No stepping out. A showdown tiebreaker. The Golden Batter rule is tempting, but I’m not sure who the Rockies would anoint with that title.

So what’s your pick?

Which Banana Ball rule would be the most fun at Coors Field?

And which one would actually help the Rockies?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

The St. Louis Cardinals have been better than everyone’s expectations this year but is that going to bite them later in the season? This week on the Redbird Rundown podcast we had the legendary Bernie Miklasz join us. We are thankful that Bernie was able to squeeze us in among his 40 other daily articles and podcast appearances and love the conversation we ended up having.

We hope you have been enjoying the content lately and massive thank you to everyone who has taken in our recent episodes. As always, please feel free to drop your feedback so we can continue to get better and bring you what you want to hear. This episode took plenty of turns so let us know your thoughts!

In the episode, we talked if it is fair to change our expectations for the season since the Cardinals have outperformed the expected stats. If they fall below .500, as we figured they would do at the start of the year, is this now a failure of a season? You will hear that I am just enjoying the ride and still see the season as a “fact-finding” mission. At the end of the day, they are finding things out about Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, and others while playing some fun baseball.

Make sure you subscribe, like, and comment so we can continue to grow. Thanks as always!

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How about these Washington Nationals! They just took two out of three in Atlanta to hand the Braves their second series loss of the season. The Nats offense was not firing on all cylinders this weekend, but the pitching staff picked up the bats. This offense deserved the help they got from the pitching this weekend badly.

After back to back shaky starts, Foster Griffin was back to his best this afternoon. He threw 6 scoreless innings against one of the best offenses in baseball. Griffin’s command was absolutely impeccable in this one. He was dotting the corners all game long. Despite pitching in the pouring rain for a chunk of his start, Griffin executed at a very high level.

The sweeper was the star of the show in this one for him. He got 4 whiffs on 7 swings against the sweeper. Griffin was also able to freeze hitters with his big breaking ball. His ERA got over 4 following his last start, but now it is back down to 3.63. 

Once again, the Nats offense was fairly quiet in this one. However, they did just enough to get the job done. Nasim Nunez got a big RBI hit in the fifth. Then in the 8th, after a long rain delay, the Nats used some small ball. James Wood walked and then stole second. After Curtis Mead moved him over on a sac fly, Luis Garcia Jr. got a pinch hit knock to score Wood and give the Nats a massive insurance run.

The rain was a big story all weekend, and especially today. From about the 5th inning onwards, the two teams were playing in a big storm. Crew Chief Ron Kulpa kept the game going as long as he could. However, two pitches into the 7th inning, they had to call a delay.

With the storm getting out of control, the grounds crew had a tough time getting the tarp on the first base side of the field. At points, it really felt like the game should have been called off. If the Braves were winning, I have a feeling the game may have been called. The Nats travel to Cleveland, while the Braves are off tomorrow. Whatever the motive, the grounds crew did their thing, and got the field into just good enough conditions to play.

That meant Nats fans were in for an anxiety inducing finish. The Garcia hit cleared some of the nerves, but only temporarily. Keibert Ruiz almost gave the Nats a huge insurance  run, but he was robbed by a leaping Matt Olson, who showed why he is such an elite defender at first base.

After getting the last two outs of the 8th, Gus Varland came out for the 9th. However, he put his team in a bind by allowing two straight hits to Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. Blake Butera turned to Richard Lovelady for a third straight day. Lovelady has dealt with Michael Harris Jr. well this series, and did it again, getting him to flyout to shallow right.

With runners on first and third with one out, it looked like Eli White hit into a game ending double play. However, the usually sure handed Nasim Nunez booted the ball and everyone was safe. With the way he is struggling at the plate, Nunez can’t afford to make those kinds of defensive mistakes.

In the end, this would not cost them though. After Lovelady walked a batter to load the bases, Blake Butera went to Orlando Ribalta, a roll of the dice that paid off in a massive way. Ribalta blew away Friday’s walkoff hero Chadwick Tromp. That set up a matchup with the face of the Braves franchise, Ronald Acuna. Ribalta got Acuna to break his bat and ground out to first. The big right ran over to cover first and received a toss from Luis Garcia Jr. to win the series and get to .500.

This was a statement series win for the Nats. They did not have their A game on offense this weekend, but were able to pitch their way to a series win. This pitching staff has been much maligned, but since about the middle of April, they have been solid. It has not been unbelievable, but they are holding up their end of the bargain.

It is Memorial Day, and the Washington Nationals are .500 and second in the NL East. Seeing how rejuvenated this team looks has me so excited. Nats fans are finally able to dream of a bright future ahead. If this is what the Paul Toboni and Blake Butera regime can do in year 1, I am very excited to see what is to come.

The Orioles were unable to complete the double-header sweep on Sunday evening at Camden Yards, losing 4-1 to the Tigers in Game 2. The loss saw the team’s offense go quiet while starter Trevor Rogers continued to scuffle.

The box score makes it look like yet another rough outing for Rogers. The lefty lasted only 4.2 innings, and allowed four runs on four hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and a home run. Despite featuring slightly better velocity than we typically see from Rogers (up about 0.5 mph on his fastball), his whiff rate was a woeful 13%. That’s about half of what his season average has been, which itself was already below league average.

The trouble started early. Matt Vierling singled into left field to begin the game, and then after recording one out, Rogers allowed a two-run homer off the bat of Dillon Dingler. It came on a cutter that was down in the zone, but Dingler was able to golf it out of the park at 104 mph anyway.

But then Rogers settled in, retiring the next 11 Detroit batters in a row, which included the final two outs of the first inning followed by 1-2-3 frames in the second, third, and fourth innings.

It was in the fifth inning where he seemed to run out of gas a bit. Rogers walked Spencer Torkelson to open the inning, and then gave up a single to Wenceel Pérez to put two runners on with no outs. He got one out and then walked Zack Short to fill the bases. A pop out of Vierling seemed like it would allow Rogers to escape, but he couldn’t quite make it. Kevin McGonigle came up clutch with a two out single to drive in the Tigers third and fourth runs of the day. That was the end of the line for Rogers.

You can’t say this was a “successful” start for Rogers. He failed to get to the fifth inning for the fourth straight start, dating back to late April. And his ERA rose yet again, now sitting at an unsightly 6.96 on the year. But he showed glimpses of his 2025 form, and had an impressive stretch without even allowing a baserunner. At the very least, this was the best he has looked since returning from the IL.

The Orioles offense, on the other hand, was putrid. The best thing you can say about them is that they walked five times. But it’s not like they did much with those walks. The team collected just three hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Any sort of positive vibes that may have emanated from winning the first two games of the series and the magic of Colton Cowser’s walk off in the first half of this doubleheader were unapparent in the nightcap.

The only run they scored came in the fourth inning. Adley Rutschman opened the frame with a walk. Pete Alonso singled him over to third. And Samuel Basallo knocked him in with a sac fly to center field. That was it.

Their other best chance to score came in the ninth inning. Alonso and Basallo earned back-to-back walks to begin the inning. But then three straight strikeouts for Leody Taveras, Tyler O’Neill, and Blaze Alexander quickly ended any hopes of a comeback. Cowser, the hero from Game 1, was not an option to come off the bench because he had already been pinch hit for by O’Neill and his now-.487 OPS earlier in the game.

Perhaps the standout of this game for the Orioles was reliever Albert Suàrez. After Andrew Kittredge recorded the final out of the fifth inning, Suárez came on to eat some innings. He did just that, tossing four shutout frames. That’s a pretty big contribution in the night game portion of a doubleheader before the team plays a day game on Monday.

The Orioles used just four relievers across both of today’s games. Kittredge here and Dietrich Enns in Game 1 only threw 11 pitches each. So all of their high-leverage arms should be fresh. From that perspective, the team is in good position for their Memorial Day clash with the Rays.

Speaking of which, the O’s will welcome their division rivals into Camden Yards on Monday as they begin a three-game set at the friendly confines. Let’s hope they don’t embarrass themselves like they did down in St. Pete last week. First pitch is set for 1:35, if the rain cooperates.