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The Houston Astros (6-8) are in Seattle (5-9) for the second game of a four-game series with the Mariners as they seek to end a five-game slide.

RHP Lance McCullers Jr. will be on the mound for the Astros opposite RHP Luis Castillo and the Mariners.

ABOUT MCCULLERS: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. is set to make his third start of the season.

In his last start on April 5 at ATH, he allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts in four innings.

He also tossed seven innings of one-run ball in his season debut on March 30 vs. BOS, which was his longest outing since Sept. 21, 2022 at TB, where he also went 7.0 innings. It was his first quality start and win since July 4, 2025 at LAD.

AGAINST THE MARINERS: The Astros and Mariners face each other tonight for the second of 13 scheduled matchups in 2026. The Astros went 5-8 against the Mariners in 2025, including 2-4 record at T-Mobile Park.

Houston owns a 132-98 all-time regular season record against Seattle. The Mariners will travel to Daikin Park for the first of two road trips to Houston from May 11-14 for a four-game series.

TUVE VS. THE MARINERS:2B Jose Altuve has hit .311 (242×779) with 48 doubles, 21 homers, 96 RBI and an .828 OPS in 191 career games against the Mariners. He already ranks third all-time in hits vs. SEA, trailing only Cal Ripken Jr. (261) and Michael Young (259), and ranks eighth all-time in games played vs. the Mariners.

ON THE MEND:LHP Bennett Sousa will begin a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land tonight. He began the season on the Injured List due to a left oblique strain.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have optioned RHP J.P. France to Triple A Sugar Land. To take his place on the active roster, the Astros recalled RHP Jayden Murray.

IMAI UPDATE:RHP Tatsuya Imai flew back to Houston today for further evaluation due to right arm fatigue.

ROAD TRIP: Tonight is the eighth game of a 10game road trip for the Astros.

The Astros are 1-6 so far on this road trip.

Houston went 41-40 on the road last season.

Following this four-game series in Seattle, the Astros will face the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series at Daikin Park from April 14-16 .

LEAGUE LEADERS: The Astros lead the American League in runs (85), doubles (35), total bases (216), hits (130), walks (71), SLG (.449), OBP (.372) and OPS (.821).

Individually, LF Yordan Alvarez leads the AL in walks (14), OPS (1.266) and OBP (.516).

2B Jose Altuve ranks tied for first in the AL in runs (12) and 1B Christian Walker ranks second in the AL in doubles (6) and tied for second in RBI (13).

NO. 1000: C Christian Vázquez and 1B Christian Walker each appeared in their 1,000th career game last night vs. SEA.

Vázquez ranks third among active catchers in games, behind KC C Salvador Perez (1,721g) and PHI C J.T. Realmuto (1,383g).

Walker has played in games with Arizona (819g) Houston (168g) and Baltimore (13g).

MOVIN’ ON UP: LF Yordan Alvarez recorded his 175th career home run last night at SEA.

The home run moved into sole possession of seventh place on the Astros all-time home run list, passing franchise icon OF George Springer. Next up on the Astros all-time list is 3B Alex Bregman (191 HR).

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2016 – 2B Jose Altuve goes 3×4 with a walk, an RBI and three runs scored in an Astros 8-2 win over the Royals in Houston. This game is the first of a seven-game stretch for Altuve in which he hit .407 (11×27) with eight runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI, and a 1.336 OPS en route to being named the AL’s Co-Player of the Week, an honor he shared with the Orioles RF Mark Trumbo.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, April 11, 8:40 p.m. CST

Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Max Muncy needs only 15 home runs on Saturday to catch Ron Cey for fifth place on the Dodgers all-time home run list.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rangers
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 6:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Mets managed to blast three home runs in their 11-6 loss Athletics, but they couldn’t overcome an early deficit and their recent skid is now up to four games.

Kodai Senga got the start and had the worst start of his young season so far. After the Mets had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, Senga gave it right back when he gave up two runs in the second. The wheels really came off in the third when Senga gave up a two-run shot to Tyler Soderstrom and then a three-run home run to Carlos Cortes later in that same inning. Cortes’s home run ended Senga’s outing after just 2.1 innings pitched. Senga certainly did not have it on the mound, but he was not helped by his defense either. Francisco Lindor did not cover second on a potential double play ball, Marcus Semien and Mark Vientos both allowed infield hits, and Francisco Alvarez allowed a passed ball.

After Senga’s departure Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, and the newly recalled Craig Kimbrel allowed the team to get back into it. Brazobán especially did the heavy lifting pitching 2.2 innings and settling things down at 7-1. The team started to chip away by hitting home runs in three straight innings. First it was Bo Bichette with a two-run home run, and then Francisco Alvarez and Jorge Polanco followed with solo home runs of their own. Brett Baty also added a sacrifice fly in the sixth and, after seven innings, the Mets pulled to within one. They did get runners on first and second after Polanco’s home run in the seventh but two fly outs by Carson Benge and Marcus Semien ended the rally.

Any hope of the team coming back ended in the top of the eighth when Luke Weaver gave up four backbreaking runs with two-outs. After a good start to the season, Weaver has struggled in his last two appearances. Thi is especially concerning given the state of the rotation right now. David Peterson and Kodai Senga struggled in their appearances and Clay Holmes was lifted with an injury in his last start, so the last thing this team needs is an unreliable bullpen.

Absolutely nothing is going right for the Mets right now, but at least the offense finally showed up. Hopefully they can continue hitting the ball in a winning effort sooner rather than later, since they are now under .500 for the season.

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Win Probability Added

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +24% WPA
Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -45.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -62% WPA
Mets hitters: +12% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jorge Polanco’s home run in seventh, +14.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Shea Langeliers’s RBI single in the eighth inning, -12.0% WPA

Usually an offensive explosion to the tune of nine runs involves a lot of running, or at least jogging, around the bases. But I was fine with the Mariners walking around the bases instead last night. Tonight, they’ll have a trickier task. At least theoretically. Lance McCullers is scheduled to start for Houston, but given his injury history, I’ll believe it when I see it. Houston better hope he does start though because the state of the Astros pitching is like, a whole thing right now:

• Tatsuya Imai is headed to Houston for medical evaluation of a “tired arm”
• JP France was sent back to Sugar Land
• Jayden Murray was recalled to take his place

The Mariners will turn to Luis Castillo, who’s looking every bit like himself through his first two starts, though with a lot of bad BABIP luck in his last start. He keeps dialing up his four-seamer and slider useage and dialing down his sinker and changeup. That’s giving him more strikeouts but also making him more prone to damage when guys connect. It’s a recipe for looking pretty good when pitching at T-Mobile Park in April though.

Lineups

Another day off for Brendan Donovan while he recovers from the bug means another day of J.P. Crawford at the top of the lineup, which I always find aesthetically pleasing.

A bit of a shuffle from yesterday’s lineup for Houston. Regular catcher Yainer Diaz is back in there. Jose Altuve heads back into the field, so Yordan Àlvarez can DH. That shifts Isaac Peredes off of second base, and creates a spot in the outfield for Taylor Trammell. Basically this was a lot of shuffling to give the Astro’s two Christians the day off, which maybe should have happened this past Sunday instead.

Game Info

First Pitch: 6:40 PDT
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: Old Reliable

LOS ANGELES — Blake Snell pitched a simulated inning on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, facing hitters for the first time this year, the latest step in his rehab from starting the season on the sideline with shoulder fatigue.

Snell threw about 15 pitches on Saturday, facing Tommy Edman (the switch-hitter batted both right-handed and left-handed) and Alex Call on the field about four hours before the scheduled first pitch of the Dodgers’ game against the Texas Rangers.

After an offseason of mostly resting his arm, Snell was well behind during spring training, such that he didn’t even throw a bullpen session until March 12. He’s been throwing off and on since, but Saturday was his first time facing hitters.

“I’m very excited about how I feel, where I’m at. Getting back to some normalcy again feels really good,” Snell said Saturday. “Throwing bullpens, not facing hitters, it’s tough to stay locked in.”

This is essentially the early part of spring training for Snell, who is expected to face hitters in a two-inning simulated outing at some point next week. Manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that he wasn’t sure if Snell would need two or three more such outings before going on a minor league rehab assignment.

“This one for me, personally, is just an exercise. I’m not really looking for command, to be quite honest,” Roberts said. “Just getting out there, competing against hitters, and just trying to get through the, call it 20-pitch exercise.”

Roberts on the last homestand targeted roughly the end of May for Snell’s potential return to the Dodgers rotation, and Saturday’s simulated inning falls in line with that plan. Let’s assume at minimum, Snell would have two more simulated outings followed by three minor league starts, with five days rest in between each one. That would put his last rehab start 30 days from now, on May 11, with his potential return to the Dodgers another six or seven days after that. Adding in a fourth rehab start would push his return into the final week of May.

The Dodgers have shown patience with the top of their rotation before, like last season when Snell missed nearly four months on the injured list before returning for the last two months of the regular season and all postseason. Same for Tyler Glasnow, who missed over two months before returning to the rotation last July.

Take Saturday for what it was, a positive next step for Snell.

“I talked to him yesterday a little bit in the dugout, and he’s getting antsy,” Roberts said. “But I think he’s just excited because he feels strong, he feels healthy. He’s been working on his diet and stuff, so he’s in a good spot.”

Dodgers fan favorite Justin Turner is continuing his professional baseball career, and it’s south of the border.

Turner, who joined the Dodgers in 2014 and played nine seasons with the franchise, has signed with the Tijuana Toros of the Mexican League, according to AM 570’s David Vassegh.

In his time with the Dodgers, Turner made two All-Star appearances and was part of the 2020 World Series-winning club. 

Source confirms Justin Turner has signed to play with Tijuana Toros in Mexican League. #Dodgers Teammates used to refer to JT as "Rojo Chingon” pic.twitter.com/RWDHvyFQ6g

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) April 11, 2026

He played last season with the Cubs, hitting .219 with three home runs in 169 at-bats, before becoming a free agent.

Turner, who was born in Long Beach, hit at least 27 home runs in a season three times with the Dodgers: 2016, 2019 and 2021. 

Besides the Dodgers and Cubs, Turner also played for the Orioles, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners. 

In 2017, Turner smashed a three-run, walk-off home run in the NLCS against the Cubs and was the series MVP. Turner, who made his MLB debut on Sept. 8, 2009, with the Orioles, has 201 home runs and batted .283.

When he met with the media in November, Turner talked about his long-range plan.

“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious that the biggest chunk of my career came in LA with those nine years. The turning point in my career came when I put the Dodgers uniform on. The one title I won was with the Dodgers. That’s definitely, I think, I don’t even want to get down to that yet, but it’s probably a slam dunk that [retiring with the Dodgers on a one-day contract] will happen that way. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. If there was one [franchise to retire with], I think the obvious one would be the Dodgers.”

The Dodgers on Sunday afternoon finish off their series against the Texas Rangers, with Roki Sasaki making his third start of the season.

Jacob deGrom takes the ball for Texas in the series finale.

The Dodgers have only lost one series to the Rangers over the last decade, going 15-6 in their previous 21 matchups, dating from 2015 through Friday night.

Sunday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rangers
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 1:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Since the start of spring training, Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell has faced nothing but questions about his lingering shoulder injury.

This even includes his Twitch video-game streams –– where one of his recent exchanges with a commenter went viral on social media this week.

When told by the user to “get off the injured list,” Snell answered by sarcastically tapping the body part that has sidelined him for the start of the season.

“Hey, shoulder,” Snell said. “Don’t have inflammation. Don’t pitch in the postseason, when your shoulder didn’t feel good. Don’t try to win a World Series. Oh, you can’t start the season because your shoulder still hurts from pitching?”

Do NOT question Blake Snell’s injury pic.twitter.com/jW0fj1Hqsi

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 11, 2026

“What the f— you want me to do?” he added.

If that was a moment of frustration for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, then Saturday afternoon brought a long-awaited reprieve.

For the first time this season, Snell faced hitters in a session of live batting practice. It was only 15 pitches over one simulated inning, but it served as an important milepost in his recovery nonetheless. 

“I was looking forward to it a lot,” Snell said afterward. “I was very excited coming to the field today. Like, I finally get to throw and pitch and see where I’m at. See if I’m good, bad. Kind of figure myself out.”

Snell has done much self-reflection this offseason, making changes to his training program (hello, Pilates) and his diet (goodbye, junk food) as he enters his 11th big-league season.

The one thing that required patience, however, was his fatigued left shoulder –– which gave him pain all winter following his 34-inning workload in the playoffs.

“He’s getting antsy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think that he’s just excited because he feels strong, he feels healthy.”

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Indeed, Snell has felt his shoulder improving since early in camp. However, after the way his debut season with the Dodgers started last year –– when the $182 million free-agent signing tried pitching through early-season shoulder discomfort, only to spend four months on the IL –– he and the team opted for a more conservative approach.

The hope now is that Snell will start accelerating his ramp-up. On Saturday, the left-hander’s stuff looked sharp, helping him record outs in three straight at-bats against Tommy Edman (who is working through his own elongated rehab process) and Alex Call. 

Snell will likely toss several more live BP sessions to build up to three to four innings, then go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. 

If all goes well, he could be back in the majors before the end of May. After making only 11 regular-season starts last year, he could still potentially double that total this term.

“I’ve done a lot of different things than I did last year when I was in this position,” he said. “I’m just very excited about how I feel right now, where I’m at, getting back to some normalcy again.”

Snell was also light-heartedly pressed on his Twitch interaction Saturday, joking that “I should watch my language a little bit, but outside of that it was pretty true.”

Asked if his shoulder is a good listener, Snell laughed again –– hopeful that, before too long, all shoulder-related questions, both in-person and online, will finally cease.

“I think so,” he said. “I’ve been listening to it, so to finally be able to talk [with today’s outing] back was good.”

The Cincinnati Reds dropped the final two games of their most recent road trip as the Miami Marlins put it to them pretty heavily. Then, on Friday, the Los Angeles Angels came into Great American Ball Park and knocked around Chase Burns en route to a 10-2 win over the good guys.

The Reds offense was sputtering. Their pitching, already held together by a series of unproven arms as Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo sit on the injured list, was wilting. If ever there were a time for a team’s star to put the club on his back and show them how it’s done, it was Saturday, and fortunately for Cincinnati they’ve got Elly De La Cruz on whom to lean.

Elly went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a walk, swiped a pair of bases, and scored to power the Reds offense, who pounced on Angels starter George Klassen for a 4-spot in the Bottom of the 1st en route to an eventual 7-3 victory.

Elly gets Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game treatment in this one, but it was actually Nathaniel Lowe who broke the game open initially. His bases-loaded double cleared the bags in that big 1st inning, as he rewarded manager Terry Francona for giving him a rare start in this one.

Other Notes

• Brandon Williamson got the start in this one and had a hard time finding the plate. He walked 6 batters and needed 93 pitches to get through just 4.0 IP, though he did limit the damage to just 3 ER while on the mound.
• Props to the bullpen, who combined to go the rest of the way with nothing but zeroes. Connor Phillips, Pierce Johnson, Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan got work in today – and that’s what the best of the bullpen theoretically lines up like when all are available.
• Spencer Steer smacked a homer off the LF foul pole in this one, his second dinger of the year.
• Sal Stewart got a rare start at 2B today with Lowe starting at 1B. Ol’ Sal walked twice and singled in a run in the 1st.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes went hitless once again. He’s hitting .079/.146/.079 on the season so far and I truly don’t know how the Reds keep playing him all game, most every game.

Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Saturday, April 11, 2026, 8:10 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium

RHP Jack Leiter vs. RHP Emmet Sheehan

Go Rangers!