Despite a terrific outing from Sean Burke, the White Sox couldn’t hit the ball this afternoon, collecting just four singles over 10 innings. Both teams carried zero runs into extra innings, and the White Sox fell to the Nationals, 2-1, in the 10th to collect the series loss.

Bryan Hudson, who opened for Burke, had a clean first frame for the second straight game. Chase Meidroth started with a leadoff single, advanced on a balk, and stole third on a wild pitch with two outs. Alas, it was all for nothing for one of the few White Sox hitters to make it to third base today, as Everson Pereira struck out.

The game moved on at a quick pace, with neither offense mounting any rallies, or landing anything for extra bases. As Burke continued to shut down Nationals batters, Foster Griffin was doing the same for Washington.

However, while Griffin worked at a solid starters’ efficiency (91 pitches over seven innings), Burke again shifted into super-efficient mode, pitching to contact and trusting his defene. Burke threw just four pitches in the top of the seventh, and pitching into the eighth got three outs with nine pitches. Overall, Burke went 7 1/3 innings using just 76 throws. That may have yielded just four strikeouts, but in stifling the Nats to just two singles and a double, who cares?

Nasim Nuñez started the top of the ninth with a single off Burke. Nuñez, who is known for his speed, stole second and advanced to third when Drew Millas flew out to center. Manager Will Venable collected his pitcher, but not before a standing ovation for an incredible outing.

Sean Newcomb came in to face the top of the order with a runner on third and just one out. Wood was intentionally walked, which worked out in favor of the Sox, as the last two Nationals both managed pop-outs to end the threat.

The White Sox ended up having just as frustrating a ninth inning. Everson Pereira singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Richard Lovelady, now pitching for the Nationals, tried to pick off Pereira but instead threw the ball away, allowing the runner to advance to second. After Tanner Murray walked, it came down to Derek Hill with two outs, but he struck out on three pitches and sent the game to extras, 0-0.

Seranthony Domínguez stepped in for the Good Guys, but faced a runner on third with just one out after a productive ground out by Jorbit Vivas to start the frame. CJ Abrams screamed a liner to left-center, which Murray made an incredible diving catch for the out — but a run scored to put Washington up, 1-0. (Murray left the game after a shoulder injury from the catch.) Coming in to pinch-hit, José Tena destroyed a center-cut fastball on 3-1 to put the Nationals up, 2-0.

That insurance run would prove valuable to Washington, as Tristian Peters had an RBI single to send ghost runner Hill home with one out, making it just a one-run game with one out. But Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas both went down on strikes, giving the White Sox 13 total by game’s end.

Offense was thin on the ground for the Mariners in their series finale against the Cardinals, but once again the bats were able to produce just enough for a 3-2 win, neatly bookending the 3-2 win from the series opener with a wild, potentially season-altering one sandwiched in between. As Victor Robles would say: sorry ‘bout it, that’s a sweep.

As was the case in the series opener, the starting pitching and bullpen teamed up to hold down the Cardinals offense, although it took Emerson Hancock an inning or so to lock in. After getting a first pitch flyout, Hancock labored through the rest of the first inning, falling behind hitters and giving up some hard contact on the ground and in the air, as well as walking Jordan Walker in a 3-1 count. But Hancock escaped without damage, able to bail himself out of trouble with an inning-ending strikeout on the changeup. Hancock used his changeup heavily today as well as his cutter, backing off the sweeper, which seemed difficult for him to harness. A shot on the broadcast of Hancock being tended to for the team trainer for a blister or torn fingernail might explain that.

Hancock’s stuff might have been too crafty for the Cardinals hitters, as they BABIP’d him to death with a bunch of little low exit-velocity hits. Behold this curséd image:

However, the only damage the Cardinals hitters were able to make out of that was off a solo home run from JJ Wetherholt, who tattooed a Hancock sinker at the top of the zone over the right field fence. Said fence now bears an outline of Luke Raley, who made a heroic yet unsuccessful attempt at the kind of home run robbery that has tortured the Mariners so far this season:

Ahhh you’ll get ‘em next time, Luke.

Meanwhile, the Mariners also struggled to get their hits to add up to anything off Cardinals starter Michael McGreevey, who completed six innings with a season-high six strikeouts. The only damage he allowed was a solo home run to Cal Raleigh, making the curious choice to serve Cal a changeup, a pitch he slugged .500 on last season. Thank you, I guess?

The Cardinals would go ahead in the sixth on a home run from the very annoying Nathan Church, who got ahold of a Hancock changeup he was able to drop the barrel on and smoke (110.1 mph EV) for a solo homer. But that was all the damage against Hancock today, who gave the Mariners and their tired bullpen a solid six innings. It’s especially impressive considering Hancock was working without one of his best weapons in the sweeper, and a testament to his ability to limit damage by limiting the free passes he hands out; last year, Hancock walked 8.1% of the batters he faced; this year, that number so far this season is 3.8%. As long as he can keep batters off the bases ahead of those solo homers and keep the weak-contact hits from stacking by not making things worse for himself, that’s a very different Emerson Hancock from previous years – and one who pushes the Mariners into interesting decision-making territory when Bryce Miller is able to return.

After McGreevey was finally out of the game the Mariners were able to tie it up against Matt Svanson in the seventh. Connor Joe brought some of that BABIP luck back the Mariners’ way, poking a little hustle double into left field, and Cole Young brought in the tying run with a nice piece of two-strike hitting.

This was especially nice for Young, who had been having a bit of a rough game offensively – he recorded the Mariners’ first hit of the day, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, and then in his next at-bat, he struck out on three pitches in a largely noncompetitive at-bat, stranding a runner, and looking very frustrated with himself. Kudos to Young for shaking that off and coming up clutch, in addition to providing a steady hand at second base.

Also deserving kudos: the bullpen, which provided three scoreless innings between Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, and José Ferrer, allowing no hits and not letting the Cardinals have any breathing room. Special kudos to Ferrer, who earned his first save as a Mariner, stepping in for Andrés Muñoz and not making the moment look too big for him.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals bullpen couldn’t do the same for their starter, save for former Mariner Ryne Stanek, who magically found pinpoint command and struck out all three hitters he faced. But the tax the Mariners offense put on the Cardinals bullpen showed up in the ninth, as the Cardinals turned again to lefty JoJo Romero, who had a 12-pitch outing yesterday. Romero wasn’t sharp, but somehow got ahead of pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder 0-2 thanks to a disastrous first-pitch strike call from home plate umpire John Bacon. Bacon went to punch out Refsnyder on a changeup that was even further outside than his first blown strike call and Refsnyder challenged immediately, turning a strikeout looking into a 1-2 count. Ref kept battling in the box, taking pitches that were well off the plate and fouling away the one that was close until he got a sweeper right in his happy zone that he crushed for a go-ahead homer.

I wish this clip had the full broadcast video because it’s endearing for so many reasons: Justin “Champ” Novak the bullpen catcher, who catches the ball; Cooper Criswell popping up over the bullpen fence like a wacky waving inflatable arm man to celebrate; Refsnyder forgetting he’s supposed to take the trident; and how happy the whole dugout looks for him. Refsnyder, with his positivity, high baseball IQ, and leadership, has been a quick favorite among his peers, and you can really see how much he’s valued by his teammates by the warmth of his reception. Postgame, Refsnyder gave credit to all his teammates and especially called out Cole Young for his game-tying single while also calling him the best defender in baseball; he also said yesterday’s game felt like a special win for the team. Could this be the lightning moment this season has needed? The Mariners head to cold, rainy Minnesota tomorrow to find out.

The Texas Rangers scored a run but the Orion Arm Athletics scored two runs.

No doubt about it, the Rangers made some mistakes today.

First of all, they played a baseball game while up only one game above .500. As we know, that’s a guaranteed loss. If you’re asking me, given the circumstances, they probably should have just skipped this one.

Secondly, they got a few runners in scoring position here and there, and even had some dreaded bases loaded opportunities. As we know, that only means those potential runs were guaranteed to not score as they did in all but one of nine attempts, with the one success coming on a bunt single that didn’t even score a run. When they loaded ‘em up with no outs in a one-score game, they went strikeout, strikeout, flyout.

Third of all, they had Josh Jung in the lineup which wasn’t great because when Josh Jung doubled twice Josh Jung couldn’t follow Josh Jung because Josh Jung was already on second base so without Josh Jung at the plate, as we know, the Rangers had no hope of doing damage.

Player of the Game: Ironically, the person who perhaps made the worst mistake of the game (outside of Chris Young for signing Danny Jansen) was also probably the team’s best performer today (outside of Jung but he’s been in this space pretty much exclusively over the last few weeks).

Kumar Rocker started the game with two quick outs on four pitches and then walked the next two batters on nine pitches to bring up Carlos “Barry Bonds” Cortes.

Despite me never having heard of this person just weeks ago, Cortes has torched right-handed pitching this season and has feasted on Texas pitching in the seven games they’ve played in the season’s first month so of course, after working the count full, Cortes hit a two-out, two-run triple laser over the head of Evan Carter to score Not-Oakland’s two runs.

From there, however, Rocker settled in nicely and gave the Rangers six innings of two-run ball for an otherwise quality start marred by a bit of wildness or pacificity allowing the wrong guy at the wrong time up to do damage in what would ultimately be the game’s fateful moment.

Up Next: The Rangers will next welcome the New York Yankees to town for the last leg of the current homestand. RHP Jack Leiter is expected to pitch for Texas in the opener opposite LHP Max Fried for New York.

The Monday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss announced after today’s 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that rookie starting pitcher JR Ritchie will get his second major league start on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers.

Weiss also confirm that former right-handed starter Reynaldo López is heading to the bullpen to work out some mechanical issues that are framed as the culprit of his last two sub-optimal starts.

Ritchie made his MLB debut on April 23, picking up the victory after tossing seven innings of two-run ball. The righty struck out seven against the Washington Nationals.

López, pitched in only one game in 2025 after a sterling first season in Atlanta in 2024. The 32-year-old has made five starts this year for the Braves, logging 21.2 innings. However, he allowed a combined seven earned runs in his past two starts – including four in a single inning of work on April 21.

Rehabbing starting pitcher Spencer Strider pitched five strong innings for Triple-A Gwinnett today and could be activated off the IL within the next week. The Braves have not yet announced if Strider will make an additional minor league start.

Ritchie will make his home debut, weather permitting, as the Braves take on a Tigers squad looking to win the American League Central Division.

After a promising 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins last Thursday, the Mets’ offense appeared to regress back to the doldrums of their 12-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Colorado Rockies 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.

The numbers weren’t pretty. The Mets had just four hits off of Jose Quintana and the Rockies bullpen, they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and they left six men on. 

In both the first and eighth innings, the Mets loaded the bases with one out. But both times, they came away with nothing.

“It’s frustrating, obviously,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Not having good at-bats and then we had an opportunity with the bases loaded right away and couldn’t’ cash in. Every time you get an opportunity like that, we’ve got to be able to capitalize there, and we haven’t been able to do that. 

“We’ve got to get going.”

Mendoza was asked, point-blank, if the offense is fixable.

“Yes. We’ve got to do something,” he said. “That’s not a good showing. We’ve got to fix it.”

Nolan McLean, the Mets' rising star on the mound, was electric in the early going, facing the minimum through the first three innings. He ran into trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings, and ultimately was pulled with the bags full in the sixth. 

All in all, he allowed two runs (one earned run) on five hits, striking out seven and walking two. 

McLean took the tough-luck loss in Sunday’s first game, but said afterwards that he and the entire pitching staff believe in this Mets lineup.

"The way we see it in the clubhouse is, 'any minute now.' We look at the lineup going out there each day and we know how hard they're working,” McLean said. “It's just a matter of time. We know how good those players are who are in the lineup for us.”

Box Score

Kyle Harrison turned in a brilliant performance, and the Brewers capitalized on a five-run fourth inning to snap their four-game losing streak and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The win puts Milwaukee back over .500 ahead of a Tuesday matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth, when Milwaukee broke through against Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski. William Contreras led off with a single, and Jake Bauers followed with a ground-rule double that likely would’ve scored him had it stayed in play. Gary Sánchez then grounded out to second, but Contreras came home from third to give the Brewers their first lead of the series.

Garrett Mitchell then struck out for the second out, and Sal Frelick quickly fell behind 1-2. Frelick fouled off the next pitch, but Joey Bart was called for catcher’s interference, sending him to first. From there, Mlodzinski unraveled. Luis Rengifo singled to knock in Bauers, David Hamilton doubled off the right-field wall to score Frelick, and Brandon Lockridge singled to clear the bases.

When the dust settled, the Brewers were up five runs, and Mlodzinski was walking to the dugout. Evan Sisk came in to face Brice Turang, who hit a tailing line drive to left field that hung in the air just long enough for Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum to make the catch.

Mlodzinski couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning, but Harrison was nearly untouchable through six. He pitched like an ace today, and the results showed it. Harrison threw 101 pitches over six innings, striking out 12 while allowing just one hit (a ground-ball single off the bat of Marcell Ozuna) and one walk. The more he pitches, the more promising he looks.

Trevor Megill got into a little bit of a jam in the seventh inning after allowing a leadoff double and a walk, but he bore down to get back to the dugout without allowing a run. In the eighth, Aaron Ashby loaded the bases on two walks and an error by David Hamilton, but also escaped with a scoreless frame. Abner Uribe struck out two Pirates in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to give the Brewers their first shutout win of the season.

Some of the issues that have plagued the Brewers early in the season are still present. The bullpen hasn’t been as dominant as in years past, and Milwaukee managed just two hits after Mlodzinski exited the game.

Still, today’s win felt like a step in the right direction and a reminder of why the Brewers have won the NL Central in four of the past five years. Quality pitching and timely offense are a winning formula, and today, Milwaukee got both.

The Crew will get a much-deserved day off tomorrow before welcoming the Diamondbacks to American Family Field for a three-game series. First pitch for Tuesday’s opener is set for 6:40 p.m.

Right as I hit send on a tweet questioning the logic of Blake Butera pinch hitting Jose Tena for Jacob Young, Tena blasted a solo homer in the 10th, which proved to be the difference in the game. It was a pitchers duel, with no runners scoring for either team in the first nine, but the Nats managed to get two runs across in the 10th to win it.

This game felt very different from most of the 2026 Nationals games we have watched so far. Most Nats games this year have been very high scoring, and even when they are not, teams are threatening. However, both pitching staffs shut down dangerous offenses this afternoon.

It was a true pitchers duel between Foster Griffin and Sean Burke in this one. Despite the White Sox using an opener, Burke still managed to toss 7.1 scoreless innings. Burke befuddled Nats hitters with his rising fastball and big overhand curveball. He looks like a real nice arm that could slot into the middle of the White Sox rotation for years to come.

Foster Griffin was matching Burke pitch for pitch though. This was Griffin’s best outing as a Nat, which is saying something because he has been solid each and every start. The crafty lefty threw 7 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts and just two hits. He was masterfully wielding his seven pitch mix today, with the cutter and sweeper being the stars of the show.

Griffin’s deep bag of pitches makes him so unpredictable. It just felt like White Sox hitters were guessing wrong all afternoon. Griffin’s ERA is down to 2.67 on the season. He is also just so much fun to watch because of how smart he is as a pitcher.

With Burke and Griffin rolling, offense was tough to come by. There were hardly any rallies to speak of. For a while, it just felt like the Nats were speedrunning their at bats. The White Sox made Griffin work a little more, but that was mostly because of how much they were whiffing.

The 9th inning was the first time either team felt like they threatened. In the top of the inning, the Nats had a man on third with one out due to Nasim Nunez getting a single and working his magic on the bases. However, after James Wood was intentionally walked, both Curtis Mead and Daylen Lile popped up to end the inning.

In the bottom half, the White Sox threatened thanks to an Everson Pereira base hit and an error by Richard Lovelady on a pick off attempt. Lovelady got out of the jam by getting two huge strikeouts. He was fired up after getting out of the jam. Lovelady is a real character, and looks to have found a home with the Nats after bouncing around a ton over the past couple years.

It was the 10th inning that proved decisive though. The Nats manufactured the first run. On an 0-2 pitch, Jorbit Vivas did a nice job rolling one over to the first baseman and getting the runner to third. Then CJ Abrams got robbed of a hit, but still got the sac fly. That opened the scoring, but the Nats needed more to feel comfortable.

That was the moment where Blake Butera made the gutsy move to go to Jose Tena. On a 3-1 pitch, Tena unloaded on a fastball that caught the heart of the plate. He knew it was gone and watched his 100th career hit fly. It was an insurance run that was desperately needed.

After being recalled today, Paxton Schultz came on to close the door. While he allowed the Manfred runner to score, he got a pair of massive strikeouts to end the ball game and improve the Nats record to 13-16.

The Nats were playing baseball everyday for a while. They had 17 straight games without an off day. It was a run that the Nats navigated quite well, going 9-8 in that span. That is a great job from the boys, who have a much deserved off day tomorrow.

Now, the Nats will head to New York to try and extend the Mets misery. The Mets snapped their 12 game losing streak a few days ago, but now they just dropped a series to the Rockies. Hopefully the Nats can continue being road warriors and keep the momentum rolling.