Worldwide Sports News

Hello, friends.

Can we possibly make it a day without there being any bad Orioles injury news? Yesterday was not the day, with the O’s losing Adley Rutschman to the injured list due to left ankle inflammation before the game even began and then having Ryan Mountcastle exit the game early after having an awkward run from first to second while hitting a double. After the game, manager Craig Albernaz said both players will receive an MRI on their respective injuries today. That doesn’t mean we, the fans, will get the news about those injuries today.

The Rutschman injury clearly caught the team off guard, since he was only placed on the injured list minutes before the game began and the team had to rush catcher Maverick Handley up from Bowie to serve as the backup for the game. That might only be the one game, because the team also seemed to be maneuvering to get catcher Sam Huff up from Norfolk in time for today.

In the process of this roster shuffling, pitcher Chayce McDermott was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Handley. The 27-year-old McDermott had washed out as a starter in the organization and did not do enough to show he had value as a reliever either. They don’t all turn into Kyle Bradish. A different 40-man roster move will need to be made for Huff. That might just be DFA’ing Handley after one game.

At least the Orioles did manage to win the game while all that was going on. The game was not without its frustrations, but the O’s ended up as 6-2 winners over the Giants, in the process moving themselves back up to a .500 record at 7-7. The Orioles are tied for second place in the AL East and just one game behind the Yankees. As bad as things have felt through these early couple of weeks, one difference between 2025 and 2026, at least so far, is that it’s not slipping away. Check out Alex Church’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.

The major league team was joined by victories from all four farm teams on Saturday night, delivering the always fun system sweep. Frederick’s JT Quinn struck out 10 batters with no walks allowed in 4.2 innings of an 11-2 win for the Keys. That’s pretty good. We’ll have more from that farm action elsewhere on Camden Chat later on Sunday.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

A lot of people want to talk about Pete Alonso, which is understandable since he’s batting .167/.262/.259 through his first 14 games.

Pete Alonso took full accountability for his poor start – now, will production follow? (Steve on Baseball)
It is less than ideal circumstances to be asking the $155 million question two weeks into Alonso’s Orioles tenure.

Pete Alonso deserves patience as he fights slow start (The Baltimore Sun)
Again, it would be better if columns like this did not need to appear in the newspaper or on the newspaper’s website.

More on Orioles early offensive struggles and Albernaz praising Alonso for handling early slump “like a pro” (School of Roch)
Included in here is manager Craig Albernaz’s thinking that Pete Alonso’s slow bat speed is a result of his expanding the strike zone and chasing bad pitches. If so, hopefully that approach can be corrected soon.

Why a few Orioles hitters could take a lesson from Taylor Ward (Baltimore Baseball)
Ward has been perhaps the most pleasant surprise on offense so far this season, all the more impressive considering that he is not hitting the dingers that I thought he would have to hit to make any kind of positive contribution around here.

The Orioles novel tactic for simulating pitcher windups in baserunning drills (Orioles.com)
Before Rutschman’s injury news, the most interesting thing during the pre-game for all of the assembled media was the Orioles using an 80-inch TV to show pitchers windups to baserunners.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

In their 14th game a year ago, the Orioles beat the Blue Jays, 5-4, to improve their record to 6-8 for the season. A three-run sixth inning that included Adley Rutschman hitting a home run put the Orioles on top. Despite walking two batters, Félix Bautista had his first save of the season. Five players who appeared in the game that day are still on the active roster.

There is one current Oriole with a birthday today. Happy 26th to Cade Povich! Hey, he’s today’s starting pitcher. Good luck on your birthday. A few former Orioles were also born on this day. They are: 2023 reliever Shintaro Fujinami, 2024 reliever Burch Smith, 1961-67 catcher Charley Lau, 1956 pitcher Mel Held, and 1955-57 pitcher Bill Wight.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: St. Peter’s Basilica architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484), Declaration of Independence signer Lyman Hall (1724), author Beverly Cleary (1916), author Tom Clancy (1947), actress Claire Danes (1979), Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie (1987), and actress Saoirse Ronan (1994).

On this day in history…

In 1204, soldiers of the Fourth Crusade, who were supposed to re-take the city of Jerusalem, instead breached the walls and entered the city of Constantinople.

In 1796, then-less-known army commander Napoleon Bonaparte won his first substantial victory in the Battle of Montenotte, maneuvering to prevent allied Austrian and Piedmont forces from joining up with one another. One result of this victory was that portions of modern-day Italy were annexed by France at the end of this war. Many more Napoleonic wars remained.

In 1861, insurrectionist Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, effectively marking the beginning of the Civil War.

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away, leading Vice President Harry Truman to ascend to the presidency.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 12. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!

Do the Phillies need to win this series at home to make you start feeling any better about them? Most people I know that follow the team are somewhat “blah” about the start the team has gotten off too, not caring that it’s just the beginning of the year still. They just want to see wins. This would be the second of three series at home they would be the victors of, an important thing as the season goes along. Is it a must win?

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Moving Alec Bohm to eighth in the lineup is supposed to help provide a spark to his bat. Hey, anything will help.
• Adolis Garcia is going to get the next crack at the cleanup spot ($) once the team faces a pitching staff with left handed relievers.
• According to these pitchers, they know what Zack Wheeler (and his lack of velocity) are going through in his rehab starts ($).

MLB news:

• Craig Kimbrel was called up by the Mets for some reason. Condolences to all Mets fans for what they’re about to endure.
• Tatsuya Imai is heading back to Houston to have his right arm examined, which he is calling “tired”. Seems ominous.
• Adley Rutschman is heading to the injured list with an ankle issue. He should only miss the requisite ten games.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (6-8)

BUFFALO 5, SYRACUSE 0 (BOX)

Carl Edwards probably isn’t a starting pitcher. Nick Morabito had no hits. Ryan Clifford got the day off only to strike out in his lone at bat as a pinch hitter. It was a 5-0 loss.

• RF MJ Melendez: 0-4
• CF Nick Morabito: 0-3, BB, K
• 1B Jose Rojas: 0-4, K
• DH Cristian Pache: 1-3
• PH Ryan Clifford: 0-1, K
• 3B Vidal Bruján: 1-2, 2 BB, E (2), CS (1)
• LF Ji Hwan Bae: 0-2, BB
• C Hayden Senger: 0-3
• 2B Jackson Cluff: 0-3
• SS Yonny Hernández: 1-3, 2B
• RHP Carl Edwards Jr.: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, l (0-2)
• RHP Nick Burdi: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Austin Warren: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Dan Hammer: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Alex Carrillo: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (5-2)

BINGHAMTON 7, SOMERSET 6 / 10 (BOX)

The Rumble Ponies blew a lead in the ninth, failed to rally back in regulation, but then managed to hold the Patriots off the board in the tenth and won in the bottom half. Eli Serrano was the walkoff hero, driving in Jacob Reimer – who successfully stole 3rd after starting the inning at second as the ghost runner – with the game winning run. A.J. Ewing continued his strong start, singling and walking three times and maintaining his OPS over 1.097.

• CF A.J. Ewing: 1-3, R, 3 BB, SB (4)
• SS Marco Vargas: 0-6, 4 K
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 1-4, 3 R, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (2)
• C Chris Suero: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, K, 2 SB (2)
• RF Eli Serrano III: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
• LF D’Andre Smith: 0-4, R, BB, K, SB (1)
• DH Kevin Parada: 0-2, 3 BB, 2 K
• 1B JT Schwartz: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB
• 2B Wyatt Young: 1-4, BB, 2 K
• RHP Brendan Girton: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 2 K
• LHP Jefry Yan: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, H (1)
• RHP Ben Simon: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, BS (1)
• RHP Brian Metoyer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1-0)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (2-5)

BROOKLYN 6, JERSEY SHORE 3 / 10 (BOX)

Another win in extras here, though this was not of the walkoff variety. The Cyclones tied the game in the top of the ninth on a wild pitch, then scored three more in the tenth. There was both a bases loaded walk in there and yet another run scored on a wild pitch – it’s a High-A game in April folks. Mitch Voit had a three hit day in the win.

• SS Mitch Voit: 3-5, 2 R, 2B, K, CS (1)
• CF John Bay: 1-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K
• 2B Antonio Jimenez: 0-4, RBI, 2 K
• LF Corey Collins: 1-4, RBI, BB, K
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-3, RBI, BB, 2 E (2)
• DH Ronald Hernandez: 1-2, R, 3B, RBI, 3 BB, K
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4, 3 K
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-4, K
• 3B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-4, R, 2 K
• RHP Wyatt Hudepohl: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• RHP Garrett Stratton: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Cristofer Gomez: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Danis Correa: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (1-0)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (4-4)

DUNEDIN 9, ST. LUCIE 2 / 7 (BOX)

Game 1 didn’t go so well for St. Lucie – Elian Peña continued to look good, but nothing else went right. Moving on…

• SS Elian Peña: 1-2, BB
• LF Tommy Pham: 0-2, RBI, K
• 3B Branny De Oleo: 0-0
• 2B Eddinson Paulino: 1-3
• 1B Randy Guzman: 0-2, K
• DH AJ Salgado: 1-3, K
• RF Simon Juan: 0-3, 2 K, E (2)
• CF JT Benson: 2-2, R, SB (1)
• C Chase Meggers: 0-3
• 3B-LF Sam Robertson: 1-3, R, RBI, SB (4)
• LHP Conner Ware: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, L (0-1)
• RHP Ernesto Mercedes: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Elwis Mijares: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• RHP Jorge De Leon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

ST. LUCIE 11, DUNEDIN 4 / 7 (BOX)

Much better in game 2. Everyone except Eddinson Paulino got in on the action. Cam Tilly wasn’t quite as good as last week but still flashed strikeout stuff and got enough support from the offense that it didn’t much matter.

• DH Tommy Pham: 1-3, 2 R, 2B, BB, K
• 3B Eddinson Paulino: 0-5
• RF Randy Guzman: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB (1)
• 1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, R, K
• LF AJ Salgado: 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• CF Simon Juan: 1-3, R, BB, K
• 2B Sam Robertson: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB (6)
• C Francisco Toledo: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
• SS Branny De Oleo: 0-3, R, RBI, BB, 2 K
• RHP Cam Tilly: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
• RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-1)
• RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Eli Serrano

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Carl Edwards Jr.

We’re three weeks into the season, and officially in our first stretch of the doldrums. The Yankees’ bats have gone completely unreliable over the course of a four-game losing streak, backed up mainly by Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton swinging solid bats and the rest of the lineup noodling around. Their latest attempt to break out of their funk saw them waste a solid Max Fried start, rally late to take a lead as José Caballero managed to find a two-run double just to blow the lead in the same inning, and then repeat that in extras. They’ll look to salvage the series finale later today, but suffice to say things are not looking great for the pinstripes.

Today on the site, Estevão leads off with a look at how the concerns of the offseason have come to roost in the lineup’s early struggles, and then Matt gets a double-feature first covering the Rivalry Roundup and the results around the league from Saturday before getting into the history of Sammy Vick’s time as a Yankee on his birthday. Kento dives into Statcast to examine some key Yankees’ batting stance changes entering 2026, and after the game John will be around to deliver the weekly social media spotlight.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

Time: 1:40 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Rays.tv

Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Questions/Prompts:

1. Are we going to see the first sweep go against the Yankees this year, or can they get a sliver of revenge in the Trop?

2. Of the batters under the Mendoza line, who do you think will be the first to get back above it?

NJ.com | Randy Miller: With the Yankees among the worst in baseball at ABS challenge successes, there have been a couple very significant liabilities in the season’s first two weeks. While Austin Wells has been quite good behind the plate, José Caballero has been dreadful at the review system while batting. After Cabby lost two challenges in two games, both times coming in non-vital moments, Aaron Boone himself had to pull his nominal shortstop aside and reaffirm the importance of the limited challenges. After a pretty liberal attitude to reviews, expect the Yankees to tighten up just who can ask for a challenge, and when.

New York Daily News | Bill Madden: There was a lot of concern that Brian Cashman didn’t do enough over the winter to improve the lineup, and so far that concern seems justified. The Yankees sport the worst 7-8-9 lineup spots in the sport, and even leadoff hitter Trent Grisham has been good at walking with very little punch. Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton have been excellent, but there’s too many easy ABs for opposing pitchers right now.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: Cade Winquest was DFA’d off the roster this week, ending his Rule 5 draft experiment with the Yankees. Brian Cashman was candid that that was the only possible move with the club finally starting to get some pitching reinforcements, but it was a pity the right-hander never got into game action with the club. Winquest will now be returned to the Cardinals unless the Yankees can work out a trade with the acquiring team taking on his Rule 5 requirements to stay on the 26 man roster.

Jeffcoat Trant Funeral Home: A melancholy happy trails to Billy Bryan, who spent two seasons catching for the Yankees in 1966 and ‘67, but made a name with the then-Kansas City Athletics. Bryan’s time with the Athletics is perhaps highlighted by being batterymates with no less than 59-year old Satchel Paige:

Our best to Bryan’s family and loved ones.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One week into the season, the Yankees looked like they were going to be the league’s best exploiting the automated ball-strike system.

A week later, their hitters have looked like the league’s worst challengers.

Aaron Boone chalked that up to the “ebb and flow” of the new ABS system, but the Yankees have not been particularly sharp at it of late, both in their actual success rates and some of when they have decided to tap their helmets.

“Being great at this is not, ‘We’re great at 80 percent,’ ” Boone said before the Yankees lost their fourth straight to the Rays in extras on Saturday at Tropicana Field. “It’s the right amount of volume, having that good sense of calls. So it’s nuanced and everyone’s a little bit different.”

Through their first five games of the season, Yankees hitters went 8-for-10 in successfully overturning strikes to balls. In nine games since, though, they were just 2-for-13 — the last few games of unsuccessful challenges standing out in particular because they coincided with the group’s overall offensive rut.

In Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Rays, they ran out of challenges by the top of the fifth inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. had an unsuccessful tap on an 0-0 count with one out and no one on in the fourth inning of a 3-2 game and then an inning later, José Caballero challenged the first pitch of the frame and was proved wrong. Saturday, Yankees hitters didn’t challenge once.

“We’re told to be aggressive and use them,” catcher Austin Wells said. “I think you can always hindsight and look back and think, ‘Oh man, I should have maybe not used it there.’ But they tell us to be aggressive and use it when we think it’s a ball. There’s been some really, really close ones that haven’t gone our way. But I think that’s just the game.”

Boone has in fact preached being aggressive to his team, but he has also said he wants them to get to a place where understanding leverage becomes instinctual — which is where he seemed to disagree with Friday’s challenges.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“We, just like the umpires, are going to be needing to make adjustments throughout the year,” said Ben Rice, who had a pair of bad challenges during the series against the Marlins. “Of course having understanding of situations, when to challenge and when not to. But at the end of the day, it’s just kind of a gut feeling.”

During spring training, Boone said he was direct with players in telling them they had either made a good or bad challenge. That has carried over into the regular season, as he indicated Saturday he had made his feelings known with Caballero (in a light way) after his rough one Friday night.

Overall, Yankees hitters entered Saturday 10-for-23 in ABS challenges — a success rate of 43.5 percent, which was the ninth lowest in the majors. Their 13 unsuccessful challenges were the most in the majors, but their 10 successful challenges were also the second most.

Chisholm and Caballero both had three unsuccessful challenges, though Caballero was 2-for-5 while Chisholm was 1-for-4.

Trent Grisham led the club with three successful challenges.

“I predicted all this coming out of [spring training] — there’s going to be noisy weeks where it’s like, ‘Ohh,’ ” Boone said. “The last thing I want is our guys to get gun-shy. I want us to be smart. I want us to continue to learn where it becomes reactionary, instinctive. There’s going to be weeks where you have not a great umpire, not a great receiver back there that you have a lot of opportunities to challenge. There’s going to be nights when you don’t. There’s going to be nights when you have a few and it doesn’t fall in a leverage spot. So there’s a lot of things that goes into the noise of the day to day.

“I think we’re going to be good at this. We’ve had a few this week that haven’t been great. But it also had nothing to do with us losing a game [Friday] night.”

The game looked lost for the Mariners early on Saturday. It was not.

The Astros were all over Luis Castillo from the jump. They lead 7-2 when they chased him in the fourth inning. Things felt final. But Cal Raleigh homered, Julio Rodríguez homered, and the Mariners offense roared back, with a J.P. Crawford walkoff single in the ninth to cap a six-run comeback.

“This is one of those feel-good wins,” Dan Wilson said after the game.

“I can’t say enough about the effort to come back. Being down five runs is a big deal, and these guys, they scratched and clawed their way back. … It’s a confidence builder. And again, the crowd, the ballpark, being here at home, all that plays into it, too. Just a great, great night at the ballpark.”

Things actually started pretty well for the Mariners. Castillo was sharp in the first. He got two quick outs before ending an eight-pitch battle against Isaac Paredes with a strikeout. His velocity was fine, his pitches looked sharp, and he was locating in the zone but away from the heart of the plate.

The Mariners’ lineup gave him quick support, too. Crawford drew a leadoff walk and Cal Raleigh yanked a first-pitch hanging curveball 364 feet to right for a 2-0 lead.

Julio Rodríguez followed with a rocket double just fair down the left field line, flashing a big smile after recording his first extra base hit of the season. It was just about the perfect start to a game.

But things quickly derailed. Josh Naylor popped out. And Randy Arozarena lined a 102-mph comebacker that just so happened to fly right into the glove of Lance McCullers Jr., who doubled-off Julio at second.

Castillo didn’t look as sharp when he came back out for the second inning. He loaded the bases with a single, a walk and another single — Julio prevented a run with a strong throw home that forced the runner to stay at third. Castillo initially looked like he might escape. He worked a full count to Yainer Diaz and then threw a called ball four, but a successful challenge from Cal turned the bases loaded walk into a strikeout.

With two outs, however, Castillo threw a first pitch fastball right down the middle and Taylor Trammell lasered a double off the wall in left center, clearing the bases and giving the Astros a 3-2 lead.

They would make it 4-2 on a Yordan Àlvarez home run to lead off the third. And they would make it 5-2 after stringing together three consecutive hits later in the inning. After three more singles and two more runs in the fourth, Dan Wilson turned to the bullpen down 7-2.

Again, this score felt pretty final there. The Astros’ lineup was scorching. They picked up 17 hits on the day, including six doubles and a homer, to go with four walks. The Mariners’ lineup, on the other hand, went nine-up and nine-down after the first inning, allowing McCullers to settle in. With the general malaise at the plate over the first few weeks of the season, it was hard to see them suddenly figuring it out.

Slowly but surely they did. Cole Young picked up a single in the bottom of the fifth. Dominic Canzone doubled him to third. Leo Rivas loaded the bases with a walk, bringing up Crawford, who plopped a two-run single into right center.

Cal followed with a sac fly, bringing Julio to the plate with two outs and a runner first, down 7-5. After falling behind 1-2, he got a hanging slider below the zone and scorched it out to straightaway center field at 108 mph — his first homer of the season to tie the game at 7-7.

The Astros threatened to take back the lead in each of the next three innings but couldn’t quite pick up the go-ahead knock.

In the seventh, Eduard Bazardo gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Correa. Joey Loperfido followed with a single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Bazardo got Cam Smith to watch three strikes for the first out. Then he got Diaz to pop out. Then he froze Trammell with a front-door, 94-mph sinker at the top of the zone to escape the jam.

In the eighth, Matt Brash gave up a one-out double to Yordan Alvarez that bounced off the top of the wall in right field at 111.3 mph. Brash eventually escaped three batters later.

Andrés Muñoz loaded the bases with the game still tied in the ninth. He gave up a screaming double to Smith that went off (or maybe through?) Leo Rivas’ glove at third. Then he walked two consecutive batters to load the bases with two outs. Muñoz was struggling to find the strike zone and things looked dicey when he fell behind Alvarez 2-0. But he got Alvarez to a chase a slider below the zone and ended the inning with a pop out.

That brought the Mariners to the plate with a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth. Luke Raley struck out to leadoff. Then Bryan Abreu completely lost the zone, loading the bases with three straight walks to Young, Brendan Donovan (who started the game on the bench with an illness), and Rivas.

Crawford stepped in. He watched a fastball right down the middle for strike one. He just missed on another fastball right down the middle, fouling it back for strike two. Then he got a third-straight fastball right down the middle, and this time sliced a firm line drive the other way to walkoff the Astros 8-7.

Crawford was the ideal person to have at the plate in that moment. He entered the game with a career 196 wRC+ with the bases loaded (ninth best since tracking began in 2002) and a 145 wRC+ in high-leverage plate appearances for his career (tied for 10th best).

He said he’s been able to consistently come through in big spots because of he’s confident in his approach.

“Get the job done — do your job, handle business, don’t try to think so much, put a good swing on it, and find a hole,” he said on his mindset in the ninth. “I just go up there with the same game plan. He’s got bases loaded, less than two outs, so all the pressure’s on him. He has to make his pitches, and I knew he was going to be aggressive right there. So just trying to be on time for a fastball.”

Crawford’s season didn’t get off to a good start. He began the year on the injured list with a sore shoulder that bugged him throughout Spring Training. He was activated just days after the Mariners signed Colt Emerson, likely his future replacement at shortstop, to a historic extension for a prospect. After a sleepy second half in 2025, there was some question about what Crawford might be able to provide in 2026, and how soon the Mariners might seek change.

But after reaching base four times Sunday, Crawford has a 129 wRC+ in his first 31 plate appearances of the new season. If he keeps hitting, he’ll keep finding himself in big spots like Saturday’s. And is history is any indicator, he’ll keep coming through.

“It means everything. You know, it’s one of those moments you dream of as a kid in the batting cages, and honestly it’s a dream come true. You have a chance to be the hero. You gotta capitalize.

“It never gets old. Hearing the crowd chant my name is honestly a dream come true. There’s no better feeling than that.”

Francisco Lindor doesn’t have any answers for his puzzling play.

He doesn’t have any excuses, either.

It’s not missing most of spring training due to a hamate bone injury. It’s not the absence of Juan Soto, adding pressure on the shortstop.

“I’m not sure. I feel like I’m locked in,” he said after the Mets’ 11-6 loss to the A’s at Citi Field Saturday, their fourth straight. “It just happens. I’ve got to be better.”

The defeat highlighted Lindor’s latest mental mistake. In the second inning, he failed to cover second on a potential double-play ball, allowing the A’s to tack on a run. Rather than cover the bag, Lindor pursued the ball up the middle. Second baseman Marcus Semien fielded it, and with nobody to throw to, stepped on second for the force.

“I went after the ball and Marcus was there,” said Lindor, batting just .167 on the season without an RBI. “I didn’t make it to second base. We didn’t turn the double play. Senga could’ve gotten out of the inning right there and I didn’t help him.

“No miscommunication. He’s one of the best second basemen in the game, and I should expect he’s gonna be there. There was no miscommunication at all.”

This wasn’t an isolated incident. In an April 1 game against the Cardinals, Lindor forgot how many outs there were on a double-play ball, which wound up forcing starter Freddy Peralta to throw extra pitches to get out of the inning. Later in the game, Lindor was picked off first while adjusting his sliding mitt.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

There was another miscue Friday. With runners on first and third and no outs and the Mets trailing by a run, Lindor only went halfway on a ground ball to first. He was thrown out trying to get back to third. Afterward, Lindor said he should’ve forced a rundown to advance the other runners. The next hitter, Luis Robert Jr., grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“It’s weird, because that’s not him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s hard to explain, and he’ll tell you he has to be better. Never seen so many plays, he’s out of position at times.”

Lindor dismissed the notion his spring training injury contributed to his poor start. He also said any extra responsibility to produce isn’t weighing on him differently than in past seasons.

“There’s always been pressure and I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself, because I expect a lot of myself,” Lindor said. “It’s the same every single year.”

On a day when the University of Denver hockey team won their historic 11th National Championship, it felt like nothing could go wrong in the Colorado sports world. Alas, there was no more Mile High Magic to go around for the Colorado Rockies (or Colorado Avalanche) tonight.

Things got off to a promising start. Ryan Feltner looked sharp early and the offense came out swinging with some big bombs on Germán Márquez in his first start against the Rockies since signing with the San Diego Padres this offseason.

The start wouldn’t last, as the Padres would quickly get back in front and pull away in the middle innings.

Pioneering the way

What the Rockies possibly needed most in this game was a hot start against starter Germán Márquez. They got just that.

Márquez has been susceptible early and often this season. Across his two starts, he carried a 13.50 first-inning ERA into today’s game. He had also given up 14 hits over eight innings pitched.

The Rockies hope was to put runners on base and rattle him with some early runs. Edouard Julien started that with a leadoff single. Julien attempted to steal second, was called out, but a successful challenge kept him there.

That would prove vital as Mickey Moniak hammered a two-run homer to right for an early lead.

The Padres nearly responded in the bottom of the inning, reaching second and third. With those runners in prime position to score, Nick Castellanos boomed a deep drive to left. With a save that was reminiscent of DU goalie Johnny Hicks, Jordan Beck made an incredible leaping grab at the left field wall to rob Castellanos of a three-run homer and the lead to end the inning.

And the purple coat would not stay away for long!

Julien would come back around and extend the early lead with a solo shot in the top of the third, right before Moniak would do the same with his second of the night, bringing the game to 4-0.

Trust the “proscess”

Following in the footsteps of DU hockey’s intentionally misspelled motto, the Rockies would trust in their gameplan and try to weather some storms.

The Friars got back into things with a strong three run third inning. With runners on first and third, Jackson Merrill would drive in a run on a grounder that was nearly a double play, bringing things to 4-1. With the next at-bat, Manny Machado blasted a two-run homer into left-center to make things a one-run game.

Márquez would settle things down, securing a 1-2-3 fourth inning. That, unfortunately, set the stage for the Padres to take the lead.

After striking out Gavin Sheets, Feltner gave up a double to Miguel Andujar and walked Freddy Fermin. Feltner nearly escaped, striking out Jake Cronenworth for the second out.

Ramón Laureano seized the opportunity with a three-run homer, giving San Diego a 6-4 lead heading into the fifth.

Similar start, different finish

Feltner and Márquez entered the matchup with eerily similar stat lines across their two starts.

In his two games, Feltner went 1-0 across 8.1 innings with a 4.32 ERA, one home run surrendered, and five strikeouts. Márquez was 1-1 across 8.0 innings with a 4.50 ERA, two home runs, and five strikeouts.

Despite a shakier start, Márquez would get the better of Feltner tonight.

After a scoreless first and second, Feltner gave up six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, with three walks, four strikeouts, and a 7.30 ERA for the night.

On the flipside, after giving up four runs in the first two innings, Márquez would rebound and post a 5.54 ERA after five innings of work, with just four hits, including three home runs, five strikeouts, and two walks.

An opportunity on thin ice

The Rockies chances quickly slipped away as the game went on.

Zach Agnos entered in relief of Feltner in the bottom of the fifth and didn’t fare much better. He made it through the fifth unscathed, but would lose control in the sixth. After Fermin reached base on an error, Agnos would walk the next three batters and walk in a run to put the game at 7-4.

Agnos finished his night with a 7.56 ERA on top of those three walks and three runs (two earned) surrendered.

There, things went from bad to worse. Brennan Bernardino came in and immediately gave up a double to Jackson Merrill pushing the score to 9-4. He intentionally walked Castellanos before striking out Gavin Sheets to limit the damage.

Take me home, country roads

The ol’ Fighting Rocks would not go quietly. The makings of a rally would come together in the eighth and ninth.

Ezequiel Tovar doubled in the top of the eighth. Moniak’s hot night continued with an RBI single to right field to bring Tovar home and make it 9-5. Moniak finished 3-for-4 with four RBI on two home runs.

Entering the ninth down four, Willi Castro struck out swinging and Brett Sullivan popped out for outs one and two. Just when it looked all but over, things got exciting.

TJ Rumfield, pinch-hititng for Kyle Karros, hit a line drive single to center. Tyler Freeman singled to right. Julien drew a walk on a wonderful at bat to load the bases. The situation forced a San Diego pitching change, bringing in Jason Adam to close things out. Tovar got behind in the count early and popped out to second for the final nail in the coffin.

A lot went well early and late tonight. It was nice to see the Rockies work with a decent lead early on. It felt promising that the big deficit led to an inspired rally. Ultimately, Warren Schaeffer highlighted the team’s seven walks, noting that you won’t win many games that way. The Rockies leave this one with some nice things to point to, but plenty left to clean up.

Up Next

The Rockies will ride three straight losses into the finale of this four game series out in Petco Park on Sunday afternoon.

Back at the top of the rotation, Kyle Freeland will take the mound against Nick Pivetta for a 2:10 p.m. MT first pitch.

The Rockies will look to escape the series with a win before shipping off to Texas for an early season rematch with the Houston Astros.

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