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The Nats lit up the Mets like a Christmas tree in their 14-2 mauling on a rainy night in Queens. This was a comprehensive beatdown, where the Nats dominated from start to finish. The bats and the arms were both top tier in this one, which led to the big win.

On the mound, Cade Cavalli followed up an excellent start against the Braves with an even better one tonight. The Nats right hander threw six innings of two run ball while striking out 10. This is the second straight outing that Cavalli has fanned 10 batters. He joins Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Gio Gonzalez as the only Nats to do that. Scherzer accomplished that feat on a crazy 20 occasions.

Back-to-back 10-strikeout games in Nats history:
Max Scherzer (20 instances)
Stephen Strasburg (6 instances)
Patrick Corbin
Gio Gonzalez
Cade Cavalli

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) April 30, 2026

Cavalli’s curve was dominant tonight, getting both whiffs and called strikes. This is the second straight outing where his curveball has looked like a dominant pitch. After a rocky start to the season, Cavalli is starting to come into his own.

However, the offense is an even bigger story. The unit cooled off a bit after a red hot start to the season, but they picked it up in a big way in this game. They came out of the gates hot, scoring two runs off of David Peterson in the 1st inning. CJ Abrams opened the scoring with an RBI knock. The Nats shortstop had a big day, racking up 3 hits to bust out of his mini-slump.

CJ Abrams giving the Nationals an early lead! 👊 pic.twitter.com/a7DgNTubkh

— Nationals Advisory (@nats_advisory) April 29, 2026

Abrams was one of four Nats to have multi-hit days. Curtis Mead had the most hits on the night, with four, including a home run. The Aussie seemed to be in the middle of everything good that was happening for the Nats offense tonight. In the fateful fourth inning, Mead drove in a run by getting hit by a pitch. Mead already has a career high in home runs, with four. He has been a solid addition for the Nats.

Joey Wiemer also had a multi-hit day, which was nice to see. While Wiemer has inevitably cooled off from his historic start to the season, he has still been a useful contributor, particularly against left handed pitching. He also seems like a big personality in the locker room.

The Nats effectively won the game with one swing of the bat, and it came from a softer spoken figure in Brady House. After a great Spring Training and good start to the season, House had cooled off these past few weeks. He has not been on time for fastballs, which has led to the strikeouts piling up. However, he was on time for Sean Manaea’s 90 MPH heater and hit it into the stands for a grand slam. 

Brady House GRAND SLAM!

It's a 7-run inning for the @Nationals! pic.twitter.com/lgCTGFhPs9

— MLB (@MLB) April 30, 2026

It turned a 3 run inning into a 7 run inning, and broke the game open. After the grand slam, boos rained down, as Mets fans accepted that they were about to fall to 10-20. It was a team effort, but House was the man who busted it open.

On a rainy night at Citi Field, it felt like both teams wanted to go home once the 7th inning rolled around. The Nats bullpen fired off three scoreless innings against a hapless Mets offense to win it 14-2. After a pair of blowout wins for both teams, the stage is set for a rubber match tomorrow afternoon.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs deconsecrated the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 11-4.

Starter Ty Blach gave up three runs in the second inning, but nothing else as he picked up the win. Blach’s final line was three runs on four hits (including one two-run home run) over five innings. Blach walked one and struck out six.

Third baseman Pedro Ramírez tied the game in the top of the third inning with a two-run home run. Ramírez went 1 for 4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch (on a 35 mph pitch from a position player). He also stole two bases and scored three times. Ramírez now has eight home runs this year, which ties a career-high for a season for him and we’re not finished with April yet.

Right fielder Chas McCormick was the big star tonight, going 3 for 4 with an RBI double and a two-run home run in the fifth. It was McCormick’s fourth home run this year. McCormick had the three RBI and scored twice.

First baseman Jonathon Long went 3 for 6 with three RBI and one run scored.

Second baseman James Triantos was 2 for 5 with a walk and two steals. He scored two runs.

Shortstop Hayden Cantrelle was 2 for 5 with one run scored.

Center fielder Brett Bateman was 1 for 3 with an RBI double and two walks.

Left fielder Kevin Alcántara left this game in the sixth inning. It wasn’t immediately clear why, but I-Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf said Alcántara appeared to grab his back after a foul ball. Alcántara was 1 for 3 with a walk and one run scored.

Here’s Bateman’s RBI double.

Bateman keeps it going! pic.twitter.com/TevtyWAqOI

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 30, 2026

The two-run home run for Ramírez got out of the park in a hurry.

Running out of words for Pedro Ramirez🚀 pic.twitter.com/rxxbQcuLin

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 30, 2026

McCormick hit one to dead center field.

Fourth dinger of the year for Chas McCormick! pic.twitter.com/pmfWuIrT11

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 30, 2026

McCormick’s RBI double.

Chas McCormick brings his RBI total to 3! pic.twitter.com/M6ov9Fj6TE

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 30, 2026

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were composted by the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 6-0.

Yenrri Rojas started and took the loss. Rojas gave up two runs on five hits over four innings. Rojas struck out six and walked no one.

Ben Johnson tossed two scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits. Johnson did walk one and didn’t strike anyone out.

The Smokies had only four hits. Shortstop Jefferson Rojas had the only extra base hit. He was 1 for 3 with a double.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were dented by the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-4.

Starter Cole Reynolds pitched 3.1 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. Reynolds struck out five and walked just one.

Jackson Brockett relived Reynolds and gave up a two-run home run in his first inning in High-A. Brockett got the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits over 1.2 innings. Brockett did not strike anyone out, but he also didn’t walk anyone.

All four South Bend runs came in the fourth inning. Left fielder Reginald Preciado was responsible for three of them with his second home run of the year. Preciado was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went 1 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly.

The South Bend social media team reminding us that Preciado was part of the Yu Darvish deal—and the last one who is still on the Cubs.

We'd like to personally thank the Padres for Reggie Preciado! 👍

It's a @hoosierlottery home run and a tie game through four!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/ObHLteOPQq

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) April 29, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans netted the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 7-3.

David Bracho threw the first 3.2 innings without allowing a run. He did give up seven hits, but Bracho didn’t walk anyone, although he did hit one batter, and he struck out three.

Aiden Moffett pitched the middle innings and got his first professional win. Moffett did not allow a run or a hit over 2.1 innings. He did walk one batter while striking out four.

Jordan Henriquez went the rest of the way for a three-inning save. He gave up just one hit, but it was a two-run home run in the top fo the ninth to spoil the shutout. Henriquez walked two and struck out four.

The Pelicans jumped out to an early lead with a four-run bottom of the first inning. The big blow was a two-run home run by left fielder Jose Escobar. Escobar was 2 for 4.

In the second inning, DH Eli Lovich hit a solo home run. It was his third of the season and his second in two games. Lovich was 1 for 4.

In the eighth inning, catcher Logan Poteet added an insurance run with a solo home run, his second on the season. Poteet was 1 for 3 with a sac fly and two total RBI.

The Pelicans had just six hits, but three of them were home runs. They also drew five walks.

Escobar’s home run.

EL PRIME IN INNING PRIMERO! pic.twitter.com/0HYbVl4oNZ

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) April 29, 2026

Lovich showing some opposite field power.

He's done it again! pic.twitter.com/jmrpThJtky

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) April 29, 2026

Poteet’s home run.

Keep it rolling, Logan! pic.twitter.com/ZpsjeOM5pm

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) April 30, 2026

After the bats woke up in the first game of the series with the Nationals, David Peterson and Sean Manaea collectively got shelled in another terrible loss, 14-2. On Gary Cohen’s birthday no less.

The Mets were down from the top of the first, when Peterson allowed singles to three of the first four hitters in the game, which resulted in the first run of the game. A passed ball and an RBI ground out made it 2-0 before the Mets came to the plate.

The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the first against Cade Cavalli, but Tyrone Taylor struck out to end the frame without any scoring. The Mets added their first run in the bottom of the third when Juan Soto hit an opposite-field solo home run.

Peterson started to tire in the fourth. After striking out CJ Abrams, he walked Jacob Young and allowed back to back singles to Daylen Lile and Joey Wiemer, scoring Young. Two more walks with a strikeout sandwiched in between made it 4-1, and Peterson was done. Sean Manaea entered the game and promptly forced in a run when he hit Curtis Mead. Brady House then hit his first career grand slam, and it was 9-1. The pain continued.

The Mets put men on in almost every inning, but only managed to score in the fifth, when three straigth singles to lead off the inning led to Bo Bichette scoring the second run of the game. However, a Francisco Alvarez double play and a Brett Baty strikeout ended the bases loaded, no-out threat right quick.

The Nats continued to tattoo Manaea, adding a tenth run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. That would be enough for Carlos Mendoza, who pulled him in favor of Carl Edwards Jr. An infield single, a strikeout, a walk, and a single by Young brought in the thirteenth run of the game for Washington.

At one point, Edwards had struck out five Nationals in a row, but that streak was ended when Curtis Mead hit a solo home run, making it 14-2.

Two small bits of Mets minutia/Immaculate Grid information: Austin Slater made his first appearance as a Met, flying out in his only at-bat and playing left field, and Luis Torrens made his first appearance since 2021 (and first as a Met at first base).

The Mets hope to take the series tomorrow afternoon with Freddy Peralta facing Miles Mikolas.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Juan Soto, 17.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: David Peterson, -30.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -44.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -6.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto’s home run, 11.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: C.J. Abrams’s first inning single, -9.2% WPA

At times it wasn’t pretty, but the St. Louis Cardinals got it done again as they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday night 5-4 thanks to Andre Pallante, two doubles from JJ Wetherholt and a game-saving catch by Nathan Church.

Let’s start with the excellent start from Andre Pallante as he went deeper into Wednesday night’s game than any of his appearances this season. He tossed 6 strong innings giving up only 1 run before he turned the game over to the bullpen. More on that almost dumpster fire later.

The St. Louis Cardinals got on the board first when JJ Wetherholt continued his homecoming party doubling to the opposite field in the 3rd inning which scored Urias making it 1-0 Cardinals.

St. Louis would add to their lead in the top of the 5th inning when Alec Burleson hammered a 411 foot home run to left-center giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t roll over as they answered in the bottom of the 5th inning cutting into the Cardinals lead 3-1. Victor Scott’s speed would become a factor in the top of the 7th inning when he stole a base and scored on a single by Ivan Herrera increasing the Cardinals lead to 4-1.

Herrera would score on a single by Jordan Walker also in the top of the 7th inning making it 5-1 St. Louis and they would need that additional run because…the bullpen. Ryne Stanek would come in for the bottom of the 7th inning and he was ineffective and that’s being kind. He walked Konnor Griffin then gave up a single to Bart. Griffin would advance to third on a wild pitch by Stanek. Ryne followed that up with a walk to Cruz to load the bases. Manager Oli Marmol went to the bullpen for emergency help in the form of JoJo Romero. He would immediately give up a single to Yorke scoring 2 runs cutting the St. Louis lead in half 5-3. Reynolds was then walked, but JoJo was fortunately able to get O’Hearn on a strikeout followed by a groundout by Ozuna to end the bottom of the 7th.

George Soriano was brought in for the bottom of the 8th inning, but drama followed him, too, not all of his doing. Gonzalez singled followed by a walk to Horwitz. Mangum grounded into what should have been at least a force-out if not a double play to Masyn Winn, but he bobbled it for an error leaving everyone safe. Cruz would ground out on a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out to JJ Wetherholt, but a run scored on the play making it 5-4 Cardinals.

Riley O’Brien came in for the save in the bottom of the 9th and he succeeded – barely. After getting Reynolds to ground out to start the 9th, O’Hearn hit a bloop single to left. Riley struck out Ozuna for the second out, but the final out would be dramatic. Gonzalez hit a ball to deep left that looked like it would be a walk-off winner for the Pirates, but Nathan Church did a very Nathan Church thing.

St. Louis will go for the 4-game sweep against Pittsburgh on Thursday as Hunter Dobbins will take the mound for his first St. Louis start against a guy you’ve probably heard of named Paul Skenes. First pitch scheduled for 11:40am central time Thursday.

The Tigers needed their ace tonight, and they got him. 

Tarik Skubal was as advertised. Outside of one blemish to start the game, he did not allow a Braves runner in scoring position in his seven innings of work. It would’ve been a well-deserved, tip-your-cap type of win.

But the 2026 Braves simply won’t be denied. Pitching by Ritchie, Lee, and López kept them in it, and our patience was richly rewarded with a Matt Olson walk-off home run to clinch another series win for Atlanta.

JR Ritchie’s first inning set the tone for his home crowd debut: serviceable, but not as dominant as what we’d seen in the DC matinee. The Tigers worked deep counts and didn’t go down 1-2-3 in any inning he pitched. In the first inning, he worked around a Gleyber Torres walk and Colt Keith single, but got two K’s to strand them.

In the bottom half of the first, the Braves drew first blood against Skubal by way of a Drake Baldwin single and an Ozzie Albies home run that looked identical to the one he hit to left field last night. 

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However, Ritchie would give those runs back in the top of the second in a two-out rally by Detroit. Wenceel Pérez, who spoiled last night’s shutout with a homer off Aaron Bummer, doubled to left. Ritchie walked the recently-recalled nine hole hitter Jace Jung. Hitting machine Kevin McGonigle’s single made it 2-1. An ill-advised pickoff attempt would tie it up 2-2. 

Unfortunately, Skubal settled in to shut down the Braves, sending us to the third. Riley Greene’s leadoff homer would give the Tigers the lead, 3-2.

The next few innings would be largely uneventful. Drake Baldwin notched a second hit off Skubal, Ritchie worked around runners on the corners in the fourth. In their respective innings, Matt Olson and Michael Harris II tried to set the table for a Braves offensive rally, only to be erased by double plays by Austin Riley and Jonah Heim, respectively. 

Ritchie came back out for the sixth and walked Kerry Carpenter, but got Spencer Torkelson to fly out before exiting to an appreciative ovation from the fans at home. Ritchie’s final line: five and a third innings pitched, five hits, three earned runs, four walks, and the homer to Greene. It wasn’t as efficient or commanding as his performance against the Nationals, but selfishly, I hope he is able to stick around to start in his hometown vs Seattle next week. 

Dylan Lee, back from his one-day stint on the paternity list, finished off the sixth and set them down in order in the seventh. 

Midway through Matt Olson’s at bat in the seventh, Tarik Skubal summoned his coaches and trainers and seemed to indicate that he was feeling something in his elbow or forearm. But after seemingly easily convincing him that he was fine enough to stay in, he looked more than fine as he struck out Olson, Riley, and Dubón in order.

Reynaldo López came trotting out of the bullpen to relieve Lee and only needed eight pitches to retire the Tigers in order. Efficient, but sideyeing that velo a little as he irons out his mechanics. Another thing to watch? Michael didn’t seem comfortable after gloving a sharp lineout. 

Former National Kyle Finnegan came in to face the Braves in the eighth. He struck out Mike before Walt Weiss went to his bench to pinch-hit for White and Heim. Mike Yastrzemski flew out, and Dominic Smith worked an ABS-assisted walk. Ronald walked and the table was set for our clutchest boy, Drake Baldwin. It was looking promising as he fouled off pitch after pitch and the speedy Jorge Mateo ready to rev the wheels and tie it up on a base knock. But it wasn’t to be as he grounded out to end the inning. Disappointed, but not in you, sweet Drake. Never in you.

Reynaldo went back out for the top of the ninth and threw another nine pitches to get three outs. 

Old friend Kenley Jansen took the mound for the Tigers looking for a save to add to his illustrious career. But he must still harbor some love for his ATL days, as he walked Ozzie on six pitches and getting the leadoff man aboard for Matt Olson. Matt had been hitting the ball pretty hard all night without much to show for it. Austin Riley lurked on the on deck circle. But all Riley had to do was watch it go off the bat of Matty O. 

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Bring out the Dubble Bubble bucket hat! This one feels especially good after Tarik Skubal did Tarik Skubal things for so much of the evening. That’s another series win, and an extension of the winning streak vs Detroit we mentioned earlier. 

The Braves will go for the sweep in some brunch baseball tomorrow. Elder and Valdez will face off starting at 12:15 pm ET. 

The Mets were routed by the Washington Nationals 14-2 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Here are some takeaways...

- David Peterson's return to the starting rotation didn't quite go as planned. Washington jumped on the left-hander for a pair of runs on three hits and a passed ball in the top of the first, continuing his season-long struggles in an inning he mastered all of last season. 

- Peterson appeared to have settle in nicely, retiring nine in a row, but the roof caved in on him in the fourth. Washington flipped the script on the Mets from Tuesday, putting together a seven-run inning of their own, with two of those coming against Peterson before they chased him from the ballgame. 

- Sean Manaea entered after a bases loaded walk and he didn't fare much better, forcing in another run with a HBP then giving up a grand slam to put this one out of reach. Peterson's ERA now sits at an ugly 6.53 after allowing seven runs on five hits and three walks over just 3.2 innings of work in his first start back in the rotation. 

- The Mets' offense did try to pick Peterson up after his rough start to the night, as they used a double and two walks to load the bases against Cade Cavalli with two outs in the first, but the righty struck out Tyrone Taylor with a 3-2 sinker up in the zone to dance his way out of danger. 

- Juan Soto had the double which started that first inning rally. The red-hot outfielder also got the Mets on the board in the third with an opposite-field homer for the second straight night, and then picked up his third hit to try to start a rally trailing by eight in the bottom of the fifth. 

- MJ Melendez followed Soto's knock with a single off the first baseman's glove. Francisco Alvarez immediately rolled into his sixth double play of the season, though, killing any hopes of a rally and allowing the Nats off the hook. The young backstop struck out looking in his other three AB's, bringing his average down to .123 over his last seven games. 

- Marcus Semien enjoyed himself a nice day at the plate, singling twice across his three at-bats. 

- Manaea ate the next two innings but fared just as poorly as Peterson. Washington tacked on five more runs against him, ripping seven hits, five of which went for extra-bases. Manaea has given up 15 runs over his last five appearances, raising his ERA to 6.14 for the season. 

- Carl Edwards Jr. gave up a run but threw well, striking out six over 2.2 innings of work. 

Game MVP(s): Curtis Mead 

Mead fattened up against the Mets' pitching, stringing together his first career four-hit game. 

Highlights

Juan Soto slices a double the other way pic.twitter.com/qjQ7PrTxMf

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 29, 2026

Bo Bichette with the backhand and the long throw on a hop to get the out pic.twitter.com/dobeEj0viH

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 29, 2026

Juan Soto homers to left for the second straight night! pic.twitter.com/y0fDn9NUOt

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 29, 2026

What's next

Freddy Peralta takes the mound as the Mets look to rebound in the rubber game with the Nats on Thursday at 1:10 p.m.

It looks like the Colorado Rockies offense just needed an extra day to arrive in the riverside city of Cincinnati. After last night’s two-run affair, the Rockies exploded on offense tonight while largely shutting down the Reds.

A spoonful of Tommy Sugar

Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之 continued his run of strong pitching for the Rockies with 5.1 scoreless innings against what has been a fairly potent Cincinnati offense. Sugano wasn’t as sharp as usual, issuing three walks with two strikeouts, but he kept the Reds off the board despite those walks and four hits. He also had a little help from a sharp Rockies defense. In the bottom of the first inning, Ezequiel Tovar made a diving stop and threw out a Reds baserunner at home to end the inning.

After issuing a single and a walk to start the sixth inning, Sugano managed to get one final out before his pitch count and situation pulled him from the game. His ERA for the season now sits at just 2.84, the lowest of any member of the Rockies’ rotation. Only Chase Dollander—operating largely as bulk relief with an opener—has a lower ERA.

Believe in the bullpen

Lefty Brennan Bernardino entered the game with two runners on and only one out with the goal of keeping the Rockies’ shutout intact. Brett Sullivan and Ezequiel Tovar caught the lightning-quick Elly De La Cruz stealing before an easy flyout ended the inning. Bernardino would work another full inning with a strikeout before his night was done, though he did give up one hit.

Juan Mejia took over for the eighth inning and did give up a leadoff base hit, only to quickly set down the next three batters swinging.

Jimmy Herget, newly reinstated from the paternity list, had a little rust to shake off in a ninth inning that was largely a formality. All three outs he recorded were strikeouts, but he did give up two earned runs on four hits. The earned runs were via a Will Benson home run, the first home run Herget has given up since July 29th of last season.

Pizza or taco’s?

The Rockies still struck out 11 times against Cincinnati pitching—which apparently earns Reds fans a free small, one-topping pizza courtesy of LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria—but that hardly seems to matter in an offensive effort that gave Rockies fans taco’s and more. The Rockies plated 13 runs on 15 hits and drew a strong six walks against Reds pitching staff.

The game had a promising start when Brenton Doyle doubled in his first at-bat of the day and was followed up walks issued to Willi Castro and Hunter Goodman. Backup catcher Brett Sullivan then slapped a bases-clearing double to right field to give the Rockies an early 3-0 lead.

A Willi Castro RBI double in the third inning and a Hunter Goodman solo home run in the fifth had the Rockies up 5-0, but the damage kept coming. In the top of the seventh inning Hunter Goodman demolished a second home run—his eighth of the season and the Rockies’ league-leading fifth multi-home run game of the season—to score another two runs. A Kyle Karros sacrifice fly scored yet another run.

With the Rockies up 8-0 in the top of the ninth inning, the Reds chose to wave the white flag and send in catcher Jose Trevino to pitch. The Rockies didn’t take it easy on Trevino, scoring another five runs on six hits. The inning saw Ezequiel Tovar, Kyle Karros, and Mickey Moniak get their first hits of the ballgame, with Moniak’s double extending his current hitting streak to 13 games. When all was said and done, the Rockies had gone 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position. It was a breath of fresh air after yesterday’s 1-for-11 mark.

Sadly, only Jordan Beck was left hitless after the festivities. Beck went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts and currently has a .440 OPS this season. Meanwhile, Brett Sullivan and Hunter Goodman were the heavy hitters of the evening, both going 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies have an early start time tomorrow as they close out the series against the Reds and look for a series win on the road. Righty Michael Lorenzen will make the start for Colorado against Cincinnati lefty Andrew Abbott. First pitch is scheduled for 10:40 AM MDT.

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The Tigers were hoping to bounce back from their Tuesday evening loss to the Braves, and they were hoping Tarik Skubal would be the man on the mound to make that happen. Atlanta was leaning on J.R. Ritchie to get them the second win of the series.

The Tigers started out aggressively against Ritchie, with a one-out walk to Gleyber Torres followed by a single for Colt Keith. But two outs followed, despite Dillon Dingler’s attempt to challenge a third strike call that ended the inning. Skubal, meanwhile, had a rough start to the first. with Drake Baldwin getting a one-out single, followed by some unfortunate deja vu as Ozzie Albies homered into left to score two runs. Atlanta would have to settle for just those runs, but it was a tough way to get the game going.

With two outs in the second it seemed like the Tigers might already be fizzling, but then Wenceel Perez doubled, followed by a Jace Jung walk. Kevin McGonigle then singled on a liner into center, bringing Perez home. Then, Ritchie made an error attempting to pick off McGonigle, which allowed Jung to come home and tie up the game. It was all the Tigers would get, but they were two mighty important runs.

tied! pic.twitter.com/eMvdHokbhz

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 29, 2026

The Braves went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning because Skubal doesn’t like having bad innings and tries to make teams suffer for them.

The third showed that the Tigers weren’t going to let this game stay tied for long. With one out, Riley Greene hit a solo home run practically to dead center. Two outs followed but the Tigers sure did have the lead when it was all said and done. Now they just had to keep it.

RILEYYY 🚀 pic.twitter.com/KsfPexXXbl

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 29, 2026

With two outs in the bottom of the third, Drake Baldwin singled, but the Braves weren’t able to convert the baserunner.

In the fourth, Perez got on base for the second time in the game with a one-out walk. Another out later, McGoingle continued to McGonigle, singling to put two men on. Unfortunately, a Gleyber Torres groundout ended the inning with no additional runs scored. In the home half, Matt Olson singled to start things off, but don’t clutch your pearls just yet because he was quickly eliminated in a double play off the bat of Austin Riley. A groundout then ended the inning no harm done.

The fifth inning saw the Tigers going 1-2-3. Michael Harris II singled to start the home half, but a flyout and double play then safely ended the inning.

Kerry Carpenter got a leadoff walk in the sixth, and while Ritchie did collect the first out of the inning with a Spencer Torkelson flyout, his day was still done. Dylan Lee came out of Atlanta’s bullpen to get the final two outs of the inning. A nice little 1-2-3 outing for Skubal in the home half had to feel good for everyone involved, especially Colt Keith whose precision throw to first got the final out of the inning.

The seventh was another 1-2-3 inning, and I don’t know about everyone else watching but I do feel like some insurance runs might be a good idea here. There was a concerning pause at the start of the home half where Skubal had Dingler come out to the mound and it looked like he might be having some left forearm discomfort. A.J. Hinch and assistant athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades came out to look at him, but he waved everyone off and stayed in the game. Whatever was going on with him didn’t seem to lessen his skill, though, as he mowed through the side in order.

Reynaldo López was the new Atlanta pitcher out of the pen in the top of the eighth. He got the Tigers three-up, three-down. In the home half, Skubal’s day was done after seven, his final line for the game was 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR on 91 pitches. Kyle Finnegan came in out of the Tigers’ pen. While a missed call would have gone Detroit’s way with a called third strike, it was overturned by the ABS for ball four for Dominic Smith. Ronald Acuña Jr. then drew a walk. A groundout from Baldwin ended the inning, though, and Finnegan was no worse for the wear.

The Tigers once again went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, and had to hope they’d done enough to hold onto the lead. Helping them manage it would be Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the inning, trying to add to his all-time saves total. Jansen started out rough, with a leadoff walk to Ozzie Albies. Matt Olson then hit a home run right into the bullpen to walk off the game and make the Tigers regret not getting more insurance runs.

Final: Braves 4, Tigers 3