Every year, the NHL Players' Association releases a league-wide poll that asks players around the league various questions that they are prompted to answer with their peers in mind.
And this time around, several Pittsburgh Penguins' players came up in the results.
Captain Sidney Crosby was the players' No. 1 selection for "Which player would make a great coach once they retire?", while he slotted in at No. 3 for an NHL forward who would also excel as a defenseman. Blueliner Erik Karlsson was voted opposite Crosby, getting picked at No. 3 as far as defensemen who would excel as a forward.
And, finally, Kris Letang was voted as having the third-most intense training regimen of all NHL players, behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid.
The @NHLPA player poll is in, and Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, and Kris Letang showed out đ
Other questions included which goaltender had the best puckhandling skills, which player was the best-dressed, and which player was the NHL's best golfer. It was a bit of a diversion from the traditional player poll, which usually included items such as who the NHL's best forward, best defenseman, and best all-around player is - the third of which Crosby was voted six years in a row prior to this season.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers controls the ball against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game at Intuit Dome on April 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Draymond Green left Kawhi Leonard feeling sick after the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriorsâ 126-121 win Wednesday night. It might have been more than just his stifling defense.
While Steph Curry was throwing in 30-footers, Green was throwing up from an illness. According to ESPNâs Shams Charania, always a poetic artist with the English language, the former Defensive Player of the Year was âpuking all over the place.â Charania weirdly specified that it was on the sidelines and back near the locker room, meaning Green truly left it all out on the floor at the Intuit Dome.
Shams:
"Team sources told me Draymond Green was sick, he was throwing up, puking all over the place in pregame, sideline in the back area by the locker room" pic.twitter.com/t0rAIeViH6
The illness might have affect Green early. Though he played 17 first-half minutes and shot 2-for-3, he had a plus/minus of -8 with two turnovers, along with his four assists. Leonard scored 14 points, dished three assists, and didnât commit a single turnover.
But things changed in the second half, and decidedly so in the fourth quarter. Leonard may have been distracted by the vomit all around him, or afraid of Greenâs breath, which had to be terrible. He had as many points as turnovers in the final 12 minutes â two â and while he didnât blow chunks, The Claw just plain blew.
Green was healthy enough to record a new episode of his podcast, which to this writer means he has a clear bill of health. At the very least, he hadnât noticeably vomited on his microphone, though we wonât rule out Charania reporting that Green was fighting diarrhea throughout out the production, according to an unnamed source close to Audacyâs production team.
He should be rested and full of fluids for Fridayâs big game against the Phoenix Suns, in which heâll repeatedly sneeze on Dillon Brooks.
Apr 17, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize (12) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
After a spotless homestand, the Tigers hit the road and headed to Boston for a four-game wrap-around series against the Red Sox. Sadly, Detroitâs winning streak would end with the opening game of said series, after falling to Boston 1-0 in 10 innings.
Making his fourth start of the season for the Tigers was Casey Mize. His first three starts were good, then bad, then good â thankfully, the pattern wouldnât repeat on Friday night.
Making his fourth start of the year on the other side was Ranger SuĂĄrez. Unlike Mize, two of his starts were lousy, but his most recent effort, in St. Louis, saw him throw six shutout innings and strike out six.
Mize started off great, retiring the first eight batters before Connor Wong hit a deep ground-rule double to right-centre. With Wong on second, though, Mize bore down on Roman Anthony and struck him out on three pitches. In the fourth he plunked Willson Contreras to lead off the inning, and he stayed at first until Trevor Story grounded into a double play to end the frame.
Similarly, SuĂĄrez was in control early too: the Tigers got Kevin McGonigle to third in the first inning, but aside from a Dillon Dingler walk, the Tigers couldnât get a whole lot going against him. Hao-Yu Lee (more on him below) gave a fastball a ride to straightway centre in the fifth, but that was hauled in by Ceddanne Rafaela for the third out.
Rafaela walked with one out in the fifth, and he tried to steal second. Look at this throw. LOOK AT IT.
Now, I played a little catcher back in the day. I enjoyed it back there: got the best view of the field, involved on every pitch, kind of a unique place in the game. But if Iâd made one throw like that in my life to gun out a runner at second, my goodness, Iâd never have let my teammates forget about it, ever. And itâs not like that was a high fastball, in which the catcherâs already up out of his crouch as he gears up to throw: it was low, at the batterâs ankles. Weâre very, very lucky to have Dingler on our team, folks.
Caleb Durbin doubled to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth for Boston; with one out Anthony flew out to left-centre and Durbin was able to advance to third. But Mize reached back and got Contreras to strike out on an outside fastball and the side was retired.
Mize carried on into the seventh, as heâd only thrown 79 pitches through six innings. Heâd get the first two outs of the inning until Jarren Duran legged-out an infield single to Lee at third. Kyle Finnegan took over and Duran took off for second; Dingler wouldâve had him but the ball popped out of Gleyber Torresâ glove. But Finnegan got Rafaela to hit a grounder to third, and Spencer Torkelson made a great scoop on an in-between hop at first to get the third out of the inning, and the game remained scoreless.
SuĂĄrez himself carried on into the eighth and he barely broke a sweat, getting a pair of popouts and a strikeout. He finished the inning with 93 pitches; would he be allowed to try to finish the ninth?
Finneganâs eighth inning featured some nasty sliders and splitters, but with two outs he walked Wong and Brant Hurter was brought in to face Anthony, a left-handed hitter. (Mr. Burns would call this âplaying the percentages.â) Anthony hit the ball hard, but Javier BĂĄez tracked it down in centre for the third out, and the game would enter the ninth in a scoreless tie.
But, no, SuĂĄrez would not be allowed to start the ninth, as Aroldis Chapman â who, in the past, the Tigers have occasionally gotten-to â took over. BĂĄez singled sharply to right to lead off the inning, the first Detroit hit since the first, but he was thrown out trying to steal second. Torres followed with a one-out walk, and he traded places with Kevin McGonigle at first after he hit a grounder to first. With two out, Jahmai Jones ripped a double to left to put runners on second and third; that short left field probably kept McGonigle at third on the play. That proved crucial as Dingler struck out on three pitches, the last of which was a brutal 101-mph sinker.
Duran, a speedy runner, started on second and took third on a ball in the dirt; with that runner on third, AJ Hinch decided to go with a five-infielder look; Vest then struck out Rafaela for the first out. He then walked Marcelo Mayer to bring up pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, who hit a single to right, scoring Duran and ending the game.
Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee made his major-league debut tonight. (What a place to make a debut!) He was called up from Toledo when Zach McKinstry was placed on the Injured List after a couple of collisions in Wednesdayâs game against the Royals resulted in some hip inflammation.
The Red Sox wore their green City Connect jerseys. Theyâre better than the old powder blue and yellow ones, but holy mackerel, am I the only one that thinks teams should have exactly two uniforms, one white and one grey? Sheesh.
One of my favourite podcasts, The Ongoing History of New Music, is in the middle of a five-part documentary series on one-hit wonders of new rock (i.e., alt-rock after the punk explosion of the late â70s). I could never recommend this podcast enough, but this series is especially bringing back the big olâ memories.
On this day in 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion started in Cuba. That did not turn out particularly well for the US.
Feb 19, 2026; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Alex Lange (56) poses for a photo for MLB media day at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images
The Royals have now lost five straight. Those five losses all have a lot in common. The most obvious similarity is that they were all close games decided in the seventh inning or later. Tonightâs was the first game where they lost by more than a single run. It did, unfortunately, continue the streak of a different reliever blowing the game. John Schreiber blew it on Sunday, then Nick Mears blew it on Tuesday, Eli Morgan lost it on Wednesday, Lucas Erceg lost it on Thursday, and tonight it was Alex Langeâs turn.
Of particular note to me is that Matt Strahm has only pitched in one game this week. Itâs not an excuse, but with him unavailable, guys are being forced to pitch innings they otherwise wouldnât and throwing off routines like that or asking guys to pitch in higher leverage than theyâre used to could be a contributing factor. Since we havenât heard of any injury, Iâve wondered if he (and other pitchers in the bullpen) might be ill and that could be contributing as well. But we wonât know unless someone asks manager Matt Quatraro and he gives an honest answer.
OK, so those are the negatives. I want to spend some time on the positives for a bit before we call it a night.
Michael Wacha pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. That raised his ERA to 1.00. He has been otherworldly good and doesnât show any signs of stopping.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a home run for the second game in a row. This one was as impressive as some of the outs he hit in Detroit, but weâll take what we can get.
Jac Caglianone struck out three times, but also had a line drive, opposite-field single.
Cam Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to this point and the Royals forced him to triple his season walk total and to exit the game after 6+ innings by exhibiting patience â especially as the game went on.
Carter Jensen didnât let the pressure of Yankee Stadium or the game situation deter him from walking twice.
The losses get easier to bear the more weâre exposed to them. Iâm a lot less frustrated about tonightâs game than I was the last four losses.
OK, yeah, thatâs probably enough. The Royals will try again to snap the skid tomorrow. Noah Cameron (3.94 ERA, 4.15 SIERA) will face off against Will Warren (2.45 ERA, 3.29 SIERA). Donât forget itâs an East Coast afternoon game, so first pitch will be at 12:35 Kauffman time.
WASHINGTON â Jen Pawol was behind the plate for her first major league game in the automated balls and strikes challenge system era. And the first woman to serve as an ump in a Major League Baseball game stood her ground against the so-called robots.
Pawol called balls and strikes for the San Francisco Giants-Washington Nationals game Friday, April 17 and withstood a pair of challenges from Giants catcher Daniel Susac, with a pair of ball calls upheld quickly by the ABS system.
By the third inning, the Giants were out of challenges, while the Nationals successfully appealed a pair of calls during San Franciscoâs 10-5 victory.
To be sure, this was a solid standoff early in this ABS era.
Entering Fridayâs game, players were successful on 54% of their challenges to umpires, and the typical game averaged 4.05 challenges. Pawol saw exactly four challenges and won two of them.
Of course, ABS is relatively old news for those umpiring in Class AAA in recent years, where ABS was first deployed on a trial basis.
Pawol is technically still in the Class AAA ranks. She is on MLBâs list of call-up umpires who are based in Class AAA yet work major league games as fill-ins in the event of injuries, illnesses, vacations, or other forms of absence by the 76 full-time umps.
And her strong performance was no surprise to Susac, who caught several games at Class AAA that Pawol umped. As Susac assumes more of the Giants' catching duties as incumbent Patrick Bailey struggles at the plate, Friday was a big game for both of them.
"In my opinion, she keeps getting better and better," Susac tells USA TODAY Sports. "And I thought she did a really good job. Sheâs always great to have back there. We always have a good conversation, especially at the start of games and I thought she did a great job tonight."
Pawol debuted as an MLB fill-in in 2025 and on Aug. 10 became the first woman to call balls and strikes for a major league game. She called six games behind the plate last season and, according to the umpire tracking website Umpire Scorecards, maintained a 92.9% accuracy rate.
Susac tried and failed twice in the early innings, challenging a full-count ball call to Luis Garcia Jr. He was off by an inch and the Giants were out of challenges by the third inning.
"The second one, I probably had a little more emotion to it. Probably knew it was a ball, but wanted to get one there," he says.
Nationals third baseman Brady House successfully challenged a strike call in the bottom of the eighth, while a strike call in the top of the ninth was successfully overturned to a ball.
In the meantime, Pawol punched out Nationals slugger James Wood twice on called third strikes and did the same to Giants first baseman Rafael Devers in the seventh. Both retreated to the dugout rapidly.
While the more in-depth scorecards of Pawolâs first big league foray behind the plate in 2026 will have to wait, she withstood the rigors of ABS just fine: Two wins, two losses, a little better than average.
And another step toward making the notion of a woman calling balls and strikes in a big league game a little more unremarkable.
"Itâs a good way that she blends in," says Susac. "Sheâs done a great job and she keeps getting better, which is awesome to see."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 17: Ryan McMahon #19 of the New York Yankees watches his eighth inning two-run home run against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Even after last yearâs trade with the Rockies, we all shouldâve known to some degree that Ryan McMahon wasnât exactly going to be an Alex Rodriguez-type of third baseman at the plate. That being said, his struggles to start 2026 have gone way below what anyone couldâve reasonably hoped for. Heâs even lost a lot of at-bats to Amed Rosario, who was signed specifically just to play against lefties.
However on Friday night, McMahon played the hero at the dish, as his go-ahead homer gave the Yankees a 4-2 win over the Royals, and avoided them wasting another good start from Cam Schlittler.
The Yankeesâ offense was mostly held in check through the first couple innings, but eventually they broke through in the fourth. With Cody Bellinger on after a single of his dropped in for a hit, Ben Rice took Michael Wacha deep for his sixth homer of the season.
The Royals got one of those runs back in the sixth, although you could hardly blame it on Schlittler. With one out, he walked Maikel Garcia but then got Bobby Witt Jr. to hit a deep fly ball that should have been the second out. However in the windy conditions, Trent Grisham took an awkward route to the ball and then couldnât fully glove it, as the ball went in and out, allowing Witt to reach safely and Garcia to go to third. That led to Garcia scoring when Vinnie Pasquatino grounded out in the following at-bat. Schlittler did a good job after that, striking out Salvador Perez to strand Witt.
However, Schlittler then allowed the first two Royalsâ batters in the seventh to reach base, leading to Aaron Boone going to the bullpen. Brent Headrick came in and eventually got out of the inning, but not before a scare of his own making, as he committed an error while making a pickoff throw to second base.
For the game, Schlittler ended up going six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He did triple his walk total on the season, but that number just went from one to three.
The Yankees missed out on a chance to add back to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, but Aaron Judge, of all people, grounded out to end the inning. Camilo Doval then came in for the eighth. He got two quick outs and seemed to be headed towards a clean inning, but Pasquatino got him for a porch job homer to tie things up.
In the bottom of the eighth, it appeared that the lineup was going to go down quickly in order, as they mostly had in the time since Riceâs homer. The inning was left up to Rice again, who came through with a single to keep it alive. That brought McMahon to the plate, as he had come in as a defensive replacement for Rosario prior to the top of the eighth.
Despite all thatâs been said about his slow start to the season, we can give him a break on this day. McMahon homered to left, just getting one to clear the top of the wall for a two-run, go-ahead blast.
With the lead back, the Yankees brought David Bednar in for the top of the ninth. He issued a leadoff walk, but came back to get the next three outs, striking out the final two batters to seal the victory.
The series against the Royals will continue tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 pm ET. Will Warren is expected to take the ball for the Yankees, with Noah Cameron going for Kansas City.
Apr 17, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Phillies stunk something awful tonight. The offense decided not to show up yet again, a theme that is starting to become a recurring one, but that should course correct in due time.
What isnât going to course correct itself is that Taijuan Walker again put his team behind in the first inning and then proceeded to make sure they didnât have a chance to get back in the game in the second inning. When it was over, the Braves had a 6-0 lead and the game was virtually over.
The first inning problems that Walker has had this year continued unabated when he allowed the first three hitters to reach to load the bases. Hope sprung when he somehow got a strikeout and a groundout that maybe heâd get out of the inning further unscathed, but a single made it 2-0. The Phillies had a golden chance to at least answer back somewhat in their half of the frame when they loaded the bases with one out against Martin Perez, but a pretty rough at bat by Edmundo Sosa snuffed out the rally. In the second, the Braves tacked on four more runs, the biggest blow a three run home run by Austin Riley that essentially sealed the game.
Boo birds are out in Philadelphia after Austin Riley hits a home run to make it 6-0 Atlanta Braves
Atlanta got three more runs, but who really cares when the offense decides to bury their heads in the sand in yet another loss at home? Walker ate a few innings for the bullpen, which saw Tim Mayza and Tanner Banks have good outings, Chase Shugart and Orion Kerkering not. The team is struggling badly right now.
The real issue this evening is Walker.
Zack Wheeler is going to make his final start of the rehab process on Sunday, where heâll hopefully make his next start on the road with the Phillies. The idea is that Walker is going to go to the bullpen to serve as a low leverage long reliever, waiting to jump back into the rotation if/when there is a reason to replace someone, but at this point, what is the actual point? Iâve thought that Walker has done his job admirably these past few years, giving the team a fifth starter that might give a solid start, might not. Heâll at least eat a few innings in each game he pitches, but the regularity with which he puts the Phillies in a hole during his starts warrants a long conversation about his ever returning to the rotation for the Phillies.
It just canât happen again.
We donât know their plan for him for real. Maybe he just gets sent packing on his way when Wheeler returns, maybe he does indeed go to the bullpen. Whatever it is, he just needs to get out the spot he currently holds in the rotation for the good of the team.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 17: Jeremiah Jackson #82 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates after hitting a three-run homer during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 17, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles and Guardians traded zeros for six innings before Cleveland took a commanding lead in the seventh. Daniel Schneemann launched a no-doubt grand slam with two outs in the seventh, and Baltimore appeared destined for its fourth straight loss. Fortunately, this team had other plans. The Oâs exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth. Weston Wilson delivered a two-run double, and Jeremiah Jackson hit a go-ahead, three-run home run to lead Baltimore to a 6-4 win at Progressive Field.
Both teams threatened early and often without breaking through. Baltimore starter Chris Bassitt ran up his pitch count while laboring through five scoreless frames, and the Orioles failed to bring in a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings.
The Guardians finally struck first with what felt like a knockout punch in the seventh inning. Steven Kwan started the rally with a seemingly harmless grounder that Jackson failed to field at second base. Chase DeLauter followed with a hard-hit double off reliever Grant Wolfram, and Cleveland found itself in business with two in scoring position and nobody out.
The Orioles had not scored in the first six innings and suddenly trailed by four. The lead felt insurmountableâuntil it wasnât.
Baltimore loaded the bases in the top of the eighth without swinging the bat. Taylor Ward worked a leadoff walk, Pete Alonso got hit by a pitch, and Dylan Beavers worked a free pass to load the bases. Cleveland summoned left-handed reliever Erik Sabrowski, and Baltimore counted with pinch-hitter Johnathan RodrĂguez. RodrĂguez squared up a first pitch fastball but lined it directly to the right fielder. Ward tagged and raced home for Baltimoreâs first run of the game.
Leody Taveras continued Baltimoreâs patient approach by working the count to 3-2. Home plate umpire Nate Tomlinson punched out Taveras on a pitch below the zone, but the ABS challenge system allowed Taveras to reach and reload the bases.
Albernaz continued to empty the bench against the lefty and sent Wilson to the plate. Wilson got a middle-middle fastball and made the most of his opportunity. The former Phillie smacked the hardest hit ball of his career with a 110 MPH double off the tall wall in left field. Alonso and Beavers raced home to cut the lead to one, and Wilson barely beat a strong throw to second base.
Coby Mayo chased what should have been ball four for the second out, and Jackson stepped in with the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Jackson, fresh off a costly error in the previous inning, wasted no time making up for his mistake. The 26-year-old went to a knee with a big swing, and the ball traveled 390 feet to left center. The Orioles led 6-to-4.
Rico Garcia kept his brilliant season going with a clean eighth. Cleveland nearly brought the tying run to the plate when first base umpire Mark Wegner ruled that Pete Alonso pulled his foot off the bag, but replay corrected his mistake and sent the game to the ninth inning.
Ryan Hesley walked Ramirez before striking out Manzardo and retiring George Valera to earn the save.
Bassitt made some incremental improvement today by completing five frames for the first time in four starts. Bassitt kept the Guardians off the scoreboard, but Cleveland made him work. The 37-year-old threw only 56 of 100 pitches for strikes over five innings.
Five shutout innings is a reasonable result from a backend starter, but it doesnât exactly match the âinnings eaterâ label. Bassitt struggled to miss bats, and Cleveland hitters rarely looked overmatched. He struck out two, walked four, and allowed four hits.
Bassitt retired the first batter he faced before loading the bases on a pair of walks and a base hit by Manzardo. The veteran used a well-located curveball to generate an infield fly for the second out, and he retired Schneemann with a ground ball to escape the inning unscathed.
Samuel Basallo erased a leadoff single in the second by making a strong throw on a stolen base attempt. Bassitt overcame a leadoff single by Stephen Kwan in the third and a leadoff single by Hoskins in the fourth. The next test came in the fifth inning. Kwan and Ramirez walked and moved into scoring position after a wild pitch, but Bassitt struck out Manzardo to end the threat.
Colton Cowser made a nice running catch in foul territory but banged his knee off the wall in the fifth inning. Cowser stayed in the game but was eventually lifted for a pinch hitter. Albernaz emptied the bench tonight, and the skipper said after the game that Cowser was okay despite suffering a knee contusion.
The thrilling come back also brought Baltimore back to .500 at 10-10. The Orioles have played some chaotic games over the last week, and itâs always fun to be on the right side. Baltimore will look to carry the momentum into tomorrow with Dean Kremer on the mound at 6:10 p.m.
Ryan McMahon became the unlikeliest of heroes as his two-run homer lifted the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Royals on Friday night in the Bronx.
McMahon entered Friday's game with just five hits on the season, all singles. He also didn't start, with manager Aaron Boone opting to go with the more consistent Amed Rosario.
Subbing in for defense in the eighth, McMahon came up with a runner on and two out with the game tied. The left-hander took a changeup down in the zone the other way for an opposite-field blast.
Here are the takeaways....
-Cam Schlittler had his good stuff on Friday. After allowing three runs in his last start, which was also his worst of the season, the young right-hander was filling up the zone and overwhelming the Royals hitters with his fastball that hit 99 and sat around 97 mph.
He was perfect through 3.2 innings before Vinnie Pasquantino lined an opposite-field single.
Schlittler was cruising until the sixth. He walked Maikel Garcia with one out before Bobby Witt Jr. put a charge into one that went to deep center. Trent Grisham seemed to have a bead on it, but the ball hit the heel of his glove for a two-base error. Schlittler limited the damage, allowing an unearned run on a groundout before striking out Salvador Perez to get out of the inning with a 2-1 lead.
Schlittler would start the seventh, but a leadoff walk and single forced him out of the game, and Brent Headrick was the first arm out of the bullpen. Headrick got a strikeout, pinch-hitter Jonathan India to fly out on a nifty backwards catch by Ben Rice in foul territory, and -- after a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at second -- got Starling Marte to ground out softly to get out of the inning and put an end to Schlittler's line.
Schlittler tossed 93 pitches (63 strikes) across six-plus innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits, two walks, while striking out six.
-The Yankees entered the game second in the majors in PA/BB (8.18) and pitches per plate appearances (4.08), but had a plan to be aggressive against Michael Wacha early, with three of the first four batters swinging on the first pitch. Aaron Judge picked up a one-out double but was stranded by Cody Bellinger (strikeout) and Giancarlo Stanton (popped up).
That extended to six of the first eight batters, but they didn't lead to positive results until the fourth inning. Bellinger hit a leadoff bloop single and two batters later, Rice went down and launched a changeup down in the zone over the short porch in right to put the Yankees up 2-0. On a windy night in the Bronx with hard-hit balls dying in the outfield, Rice's 103.3 mph laser cut through the wind.
-The Yankees threatened in the fifth after Jose Caballero led off with a walk and moved to second on a groundout. Caballero stole third, catching the Royals third baseman sleeping. Judge walked and stole second without a throw, but Bellinger flew out to center as the Royals got out of the jam.
New York had another chance in the seventh with two runners on and two outs for Judge. But Judge grounded out to third. The Yankees were 0-for-5 with RISP and left six runners on base.
-After Headrick, Camillo Doval was called on to pitch the eighth. After getting the first two out, Pasquantino took a Doval sinker deep to right field to tie the game at 2-2. It was the same spot that Rice took Wacha deep.
David Bednar came on for the save in the ninth and, after walking the leadoff hitter, got the next three batters in order to lock down the win.
-Rosario, starting against a right-hander instead of McMahon, went 0-for-3 but had two of the top five hardest hit balls in the game according to StatCast.
-The Yankees entered Friday with 25 stolen bases, the most in the AL and tied with Miami for the second-most in the majors. They added to that total with two more swipes. Caballero logged his ninth stolen base of the season, which now puts him in first in the AL.
Game MVP: Ryan McMahon
McMahon was able to put his struggles behind him for one night and ended up being the hero.
SEATTLE, WA - JULY 8: Ryon Healy #27 of the Seattle Mariners holds up bat belonging Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners that he used to hit a home run during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Safeco Field on July 8, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won the game 6-4. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the Texas Rangers swept the Seattle Mariners over three games last week, I donât think anyone blamed the Marinersâ starting pitching. So the good news is that the Mariners are slated to throw the same three starters back at the Rangers this weekend, beginning tonight with Logan Gilbert. Gilbert is fresh off what I rated as his best start in a year, with his slider finally looking as crisp as it had in 2024.
The bad news is that the Marinersâ offense will have to face the same three starters the Rangers threw at them, beginning tonight with deGrom. Gilbert v. deGrom would be a compelling matchup on the strenght of their pitching alone, but the narrative adds a little something to the mix on the basis that theyâre both alumni of Stetson University. Theyâre two of just ten Hatters to make it to MLB. While they both pitched great when they faced off last Monday, the Rangers ultimately eked out a 2-1 victory.
This is in the Game Info section below too, but something cool about this game is that the Mariners are back on basic cable: Tonightâs game will be simulcast on both Mariners TV and KING 5. And thatâs not all! Ryon Healy will be joining Aaron Goldsmith in the booth to do color commentary. Iâm not sure what to expect in terms of insight, but I do think his himbo energy will be a perfect foil for Goldy. For a preview, enjoy this video the Mariners produced shortly after the trade that brought him to Seattle. Come for Mitch Haniger eating normal food back before he went off the rails, but stay for Ryon melting at the dessert at 0:57.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 17: Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves hits a three-run home run in the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 17, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves entered Fridayâs series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies hot. The PhilliesâŠdid not.
That showed up on the field as the Braves jumped out to a big lead early and coasted to a 9-0 throttling of the Phillies in the first game of the three-game set at Citizens Bank Park, earning their major-league-leading fourth shutout of the season.
Austin Riley sparked the offense with a pair of homers, giving him three in the last two games after he had none through 18 games this season.
The game didnât seem to be going down this path when both teams had prime scoring chances in their respective first innings. The Braves loaded the bases with no outs, while Philadelphia did so with one out.
The Braves took command in the second inning when they plated four runs, all with two outs. Matt Olsonâs RBI single made it 3-0 before Rileyâs first homer doubled that advantage to 6-0, bringing out the boo birds in Philly.
Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (1-3, 9.16 ERA) was rocked by the Braves lineup, allowing seven runs on seven hits over four innings, striking out four and walking three.
He managed just one 1-2-3 inning across his six shutout frames but consistently navigated trouble, scattering four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Through four games (three starts) this season, the veteran has allowed five runs over 20 1/3 innings for a 2.21 ERA.
Atlanta tacked on two more in the eighth on Michael Harris IIâs third homer of the season, a two-run shot for his third hit of the night, and Riley closed out the scoring with a line-drive solo shot to right.
Suarez preserved the shutout as well as the bullpen by working the final three innings, working around two hits and a walk.
Feb 26, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller (50) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
A familiar face was back at T-Mobile Park on Friday.
âHello, hi, yes, itâs me, Iâm back. Yes, hi, hello,â said Bryce Miller in his familiar Texas accent as he ambled down the clubhouse hallway, greeting the assembled media like a visiting dignitary in a receiving line.
Itâs been a long layoff for Miller, who hasnât pitched since February 26th, when he made his first start of spring and then promptly went on the IL with a left oblique injury. The injury is unrelated to the right elbow injury that kept Miller out at times for last year, but itâs not less frustrating for the amiable Miller, who â as is typical â joked about his injury in a media availability prior to Fridayâs game.
âI was on a 27 year streak without an oblique injury, so if I restarted it, that gives me another 27 or so.â
Miller said he didnât learn a new pitch during his long layoff, despite âscouringâ social media looking for one, but said he has been messing with his cutter and trying out a new grip on his slider that he picked up from Houstonâs Bryan Abreu; heâs curious to see how the slider will play in Seattleâs colder air after it was really âdepthyâ in Arizona.
âIâm just trying to get some kind of breaking ball I can get more whiff on. Thatâs something I struggled with the last few years, so hopefully this is the one â Iâve tried every slider grip possible. This is one I think Iâll be able to throw in any count, and hopefully have a little bit of leeway if I do miss. The slider of the past kind of felt like if I missed it, it kind of got punished.â
Miller will have a chance to try out his new slider when he makes his first rehab start for Tacoma tomorrow, although heâll only have about two innings and 30 pitches to work on it. His next start will progress to three innings and 45 pitches, and then on to four, five, and six innings and 60-plus pitches. Mariners GM Justin Hollander says Miller will be on an every-sixth-day schedule, allowing him to pitch once per series on the minor-league schedule. Miller will alternate between Tacoma and Everett when those teams are at home over the next month, allowing him to remain close to T-Mobile Park.
The thing the Mariners have been monitoring with Miller is how quickly heâs been bouncing back after outings. What was slowing Miller earlier in the rehab process was lingering soreness for days after heâd thrown; that soreness abated and then eventually disappeared, at which point the team determined it was time to send him out on a rehab assignment.
âIt was kind of a roller coaster of a rehab process,â said Miller, âbecause Iâd get to a point where it felt really good, and then Iâd throw a bullpen, itâd go really good, velo would be great, and then the next couple days I just wouldnât recover quickly enough.â
But Miller said he finally has gotten to the point where he bounced back quickly after a bullpen, feeling â100% completely normalâ in the days following his last outing.
âOver the last week, 10 days, weâve gotten to the point where he feels great all the time,â said Hollander. âHe doesnât feel any aching or soreness while heâs throwing, and he doesnât feel any soreness afterwards. So thatâs the progression.â
While the team will be monitoring Millerâs mechanics over his rehab outings, making sure heâs not changing anything to compensate for any lingering injury, they probably wonât need to wThereâs been no downturn in Millerâs stuff, which was looking great in his lone spring training outing before he was shut down with the oblique injury. His fastball has been up â 98 and touching 99 â consistently through his bullpens.
Miller says the thing heâll be focusing on is all the little details he didnât get to do with no spring training or competitive games, things like pitching on a pitch clock, holding a runner, or doing pickoff moves, something he said Logan Gilbertâwho completed his first successful big-league pickoff to first last homestandâhas offered to help him with.
âIâve seen him for ten minutes in there, heâs already brought it up,â said Bryce.
Miller also this recent spate of injuries, after a lifetime of being fortunate in that regard, has taught him the importance of controlling what he can control.
âIâve just been really trying to make sure I do everything I can to take care of my body, make sure Iâm ready to go, not skip anything on the prep side, nothing on the recovery side. And then if I do all that and something happens, then itâs out of my hands, but I canât look back and be like, damn, if I would have just prepped a little more, maybe it would have been fine.â
The question hanging over all of this is: what does the team do when Miller is ready to return to the big-league club while his replacement Emerson Hancock has been so effective? Hollander, unsurprisingly, says thatâs a bridge the organization will cross when it comes.
âThereâs one thing that I never lie there at night, not able to sleep, thinking about, and thatâs what if we have too many good starting pitchers. Itâs just not a thing that happens to almost anyone. If we get to be a month from now and thatâs what happens, weâll figure it out. We havenât made any decisions on that whatsoever.â
âAnd truthfully, God bless us if itâs a problem we have thirty days from now.â
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 17: Daniel Schneemann #10 of the Cleveland Guardians throws to first for an out in the fifth inning during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Friday, April 17, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Sean Finucane/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Bibee was okay today. Gave up a lot of hard contact but managed to navigate through 6 innings without giving up a run.
On both sides of the ball, Daniel Schneemann was unbelievable today.
In the 5th, he made this superman catch to nab this Taylor Ward 102mph grounder.
In the 7th, Kwan reached on error, DeLauter doubled, and Jose was intentionally walked. Both Manzardo and Hoskins made outs, but Schneemann obliterated this fastball to right-center.
Armstrong came on in the 8th and loaded the bases (all reached via walk), and then Sabrowski gave up a sac fly and an absolute missle of a double down the line in left. Brogdon came on and immediately gave up a 3-run homer to Jeremiah Jackson.
Jose walked 4 times today, and only got home once.
Itâll be Gavin Williams vs. Dean Kremer tomorrow
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 17: Jeremiah Jackson #82 of the Baltimore Orioles rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Friday, April 17, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Sean Finucane/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It is Friday night.
The Orioles have beaten the Guardians, 6-4, storming back from a 4-0 deficit late in the game on the strength of a go-ahead Jeremiah Jackson home run. Chris Bassitt started the game with five rocky but still scoreless innings, Weston Wilson had a clutch hit before the homer, and Rico Garcia and Ryan Helsley closed the door to bring the Orioles back up to .500.
Davis Martin hopes to parlay his strong (and lucky?) start to the season into a White Sox win in Sacramento. | (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)
For their first West Coast road trip of the year, the Chicago White Sox need to find some gold. Theyâre looking to do so against the hot Athletics, who are 9-4 in their last 13 games. Itâll be a tall task, but if the Sox were able to dig deep and sweep the Toronto Blue Jays, theyâll have to find that same energy against the Aâs to turn the season around.
Ahead of tonightâs series start, the Sox made the following roster move:
Prior to tonightâs series opener at the Athletics, the Chicago White Sox recalled left-handed pitcher Doug Nikhazy from Class AAA Charlotte and optioned left-hander Tyler Gilbert to Charlotte.
Doug Nikhazy has two career MLB games under his belt, his most recent â coming the same year he made his debut â on July 4, 2025. Drafted as a starting pitcher in 2021âs second round, Nikhazy will take up a bulk-innings role in the bullpen.
With the bullpen acting as a revolving door to begin this season, the stable Davis Martin will take the bump for the South Siders, and heâs been a bright spot for the struggling Sox. For one, heâs been the only Sox starter to notch a seven-inning start this season, although the Sox did lose that game, 2-0, against the Kansas City Royals. Second, while this game takes skill, we all know it takes luck too, and Martin has been on the receiving end. Between too good to be true 2.50 ERA (5.07 xERA) and being in the bottom 10% for ground ball and hard-hit rates as a pitcher known for inducing the ground ball, Davis has been able to overcome the numbers and help manufacture a couple of wins for the Good Guys. Hopefully, tonight, the numbers and luck continue to feed off each other for a White Sox victory.
Longtime AL Central foe and former White Sox (for 13 starts!) Aaron Civale will share the mound with Martin this evening. In his first season with the Athletics, Civale has been worth his one-year, $6 million deal so far: Across three starts, Civale is pitching to the tune of a 1.72 ERA (3.72 xERA) and has only given up three earned runs while coming off a 5 2/3-inning shutout performance against the New York Mets. Unlike Martin, Civale has yet to pitch into the seventh inning, and I know our Sox would love nothing more than to head into the Aâs bullpen early.
Given his eight-way tie for second on the MLB triples leader board, Andrew âWheelsâ Benintendi (2) finds himself leading off while the normal leadoff hitter, Chase Meidroth, drops down to the eighth spot.
In the home dugout, the Aâs will assemble like so:
To counteract the wheels of Beninchickentendies, Tyler Soderstrom and Max Muncy, with one triple apiece, will bat fourth and sixth. In a five-way tie for third on the MLB leader board with six home runs, Shea Langliers bats second.
For your late-night West Coast viewing pleasure, you can catch tonightâs Sox game on CHSN at 8:40 p.m. CT.
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