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Eric Haase is no kid, but he can definitely play.

In his sixth game with the San Francisco Giants, the veteran catcher hit two home runs off Yoshinobu Yamamato (3-3), the second happening one pitch after Harrison Bader took Yamamoto deep in the 5th inning. That put the Giants up 3-2 and they went on to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the fourth time in five games.

The Giants ruined Ice Cube Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium thanks to a strong start from Adrian Hauser (1-4), who got his first win of the season. Hauser had to check himself during a difficult first inning where the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, but avoided wrecking himself when he escaped with one run after a sacrifice fly.

His only hiccup after that came when Shohei Ohtani jacked him for beats a leadoff home run with Cube sitting in the broadcast booth.

For Hauser, struggling through a difficult start of the season, giving up three hits and two runs in 5.2 innings certainly qualifies as a good day, and we hope someone gets him a Fatburger.

Yamamoto was mowing down the Giants to start the game, retiring eight straight and striking out four of them, before leaving a cutter to Haase out over the plate. He was greeted by a resounding chorus of boos from the crowd, which had likely only just reached their seats in the top of the third.

Yamamoto continued to pitch effectively to Giants not named Haase, until Bader hit a two-strike bomb to left and Haase followed with a home run eerily similar to his first blast. It was the first time the Giants have hit back-t0-back dingers in 2026.

You could argue that Dave Roberts left Yamamoto in too long, though he’d thrown only 84 pitches through six innings, and Haase was five batters away in the 7th. But Heliot Ramos doubled to left, then Willy Adames drilled a single that was hit too hard to score Ramos from second. Yamamoto then got Bryce Eldridge to line out on a play where only a leaping Hyeseong Kim prevented an RBI single.

Eldridge’s swing is like a Judd Apatow comedy: It’s too long, but it also leads to hits. In theory; he’s still hitting .118.

Roberts brought in Blake Treinen with one out, and he did not Make The Seventh Inning Great Again for the Dodgers. Drew Gilbert delivered a beautiful pinch-bunt on a safety squeeze that handcuffed Freddie Freeman and brought home Ramos.

Haase nearly added his third home run with a drive that went to the center field wall, but had to settle for being the fourth Giants catcher in history and the first since Bob Melvin to have a two-homer game against the Dodgers. He now has twice as many home runs in 2026 as Patrick Bailey.

Jung Hoo Lee gave the Giants two key insurance runs with another two-strike hit, driven to the same area of right-center where Lee would make a nice running catch in the bottom of the inning.

Reliever Sam Hentges got a big challenge in his second appearance of the season, entering to face Ohtani with two out and a man on first after a possibly-mythical hit-by-pitch on Andy Pages. Hentges struck him out, then got in trouble in the 8th when he sandwiched walks to Freeman and Will Smith around a Kyle Tucker double.

But Tony Vitello left Hentges in to sink or swim with Max Muncy at the plate as the tying run. He struck out the Dodgers third baseman, who was 0-for-4 on the night.

Caleb Killian retired Pages to end the threat and worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save. And in a big departure from Monday’s thrust-fest, the Giants outfielders opted for a much classier victory celebration after Tuesday’s win.

There’s no word yet on whether Ice Cube heard Duane Kuiper’s pre-game challenge and a promise to “pour a Blanton’s” on top of an Ice Cube, but please prepare yourselves for what may be the weirdest diss track of all time.

Ohtnai may have broken out of his slump, which is bad news for the Giants the rest of the series. He hadn’t homered in two weeks and put up a slash line of .111/.220/.139, before going 2-for-4 with a walk and scoring both Dodgers runs Tuesday night. Even Ohtani’s game-ending groundout necessitated a diving stop by Luis Arraez to retire him.

Robbie Ray will have to deal with Ohtani in the batter’s box tomorrow night and the rest of the Giants will have to deal with him on the mound. After that, Thursday is Star Wars Night. We can’t wait to hear what Kuiper has to say about Chewbacca.

In what felt like an eternity in today’s pitch-clock era, Dominic Canzone waited over a minute-and-a-half before being allowed to step to the plate in the fourth inning Tuesday.

Following J.P. Crawford’s four-pitch walk, the bases loaded were with nobody out, with a reeling pitcher on the mound struggling to find the strike zone. Astros pitching coach Josh Miller made a mound visit to starter Tatsuya Imai, likely to buy time for the bullpen to warm. Once the visit ended, a back-and-forth between Imai and home plate umpire Jim Wolf ensued, which appeared to be regarding Imai’s ability, or inability, to pitch from the stretch with the bases loaded. In the end, though, the delay didn’t matter.

The first pitch Canzone saw was a hanging cement-mixer of a slider, 87 mph and right over the heart of the plate. He didn’t miss it, launching the ball 105.5 mph off the bat into the right field seats for a grand slam—putting the projectiles that NASA controls from another part of town to shame. It was the first grand slam of Canzone’s career.

The grand slam broke the game wide open, giving the Mariners a 6-2 lead. They wouldn’t look back.

Up until the fateful pitch, Imai’s night had gone much better than his last matchup against the Mariners, which was also his most recent major league start—though that doesn’t say a whole lot. On April 10 at T-Mobile Park, he retired only one batter and walked four before being pulled after allowing three runs over only 37 pitches. He’d go on to spend the next month on the injured list with arm fatigue before being activated for his start today.

Prior to Canzone’s Spicy Meatball, the only damage allowed by Imai came on a two-run homer into the Crawford Boxes by Randy Arozarena. Speaking of which, Arozarena had an incredible night in his own right, going 4-for-4 and coming up a triple shy of the cycle. He also reached base to begin the rally in the fourth, being hit by a pitch immediately following a successful ABS challenge of a would-be strikeout.

Bryan Woo wasn’t quite as sharp as he’s shown he’s capable of, though the line he produced ended up being more than enough given the context. As Woo said postgame, “it wasn’t six-shutty, but it’ll do.”

Woo worked six innings and gave up two runs, the second of which came across after back-to-back walks of Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez to begin the third inning and tied the game at two. After receiving ample run support, though, he cruised, striking out nine hitters over a career-high 104 pitches. He featured his sinker and sweeper more heavily than his season average tonight, but still generated 14 whiffs, half of which came from the four-seam fastball.

In relief, Alex Hoppe worked two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, setting down all six hitters he faced in order. The Mariners were able to secure some much-needed rest for a bullpen that is missing several key arms like Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and José Ferrer.

Just when you thought the night couldn’t get much better for the Mariners, Cal Raleigh finally ended his 0-for-38 slump, lining a single to right-center in the seventh. His excitement was palpable.

Raleigh would tack on another single in the ninth inning for good measure, topping off 2-for-4 night in which he came across to score three times. He was also aboard via a walk in the second, and was driven in on Arozarena’s homer.

As a cherry on top, a low-leverage ninth inning allowed for right-hander Domingo González to make his major league debut while Ferrer remains on paternity leave. He got through the frame unscathed despite allowing two Astros to reach base, closing out an emphatic 10-2 win to spoil Care Bears Night. It’s the Mariners’ ninth-consecutive victory over the ‘Stros dating back to last September.

The M’s will be back at Daikin Park in Houston tomorrow night, looking to secure a series win in the third game of the four-game set.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are piling up bad losses, and this time the slumping offense had company. Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed three home runs for the first time in Major League Baseball in a 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers have lost four consecutive games, all of them by at least four runs, the latter matching the franchise record, last done in 1936 by Brooklyn.

Yamamoto struck out eight and walked none through six innings, to that point allowing only four hits. Three of them were solo home runs, all hit with two outs, including two by Giants catcher Eric Haase. It’s the first time in 67 MLB appearances, including 66 starts that Yamamoto allowed three home runs. He had only allowed two home runs in a start five times, none this year before Tuesday.

San Francisco with those three home runs rank 28th among 30 teams with 30 home runs this season.

But at only 84 pitches through six innings, Yamamoto started the seventh. He was immediately greeted with a double by Heliot Ramos and a single by Willy Adames. One out later, Yamamoto left with those two runners on, in favor of Blake Treinen.

Drew Gilbert popped up a bunt that landed and wasn’t fielded cleanly by charging first baseman Freddie Freeman for one run, then Andy Pages made a leaping catch at the center field wall, eerily close to a third home run for Haase. Then Jung Hoo Lee doubled home two, adding the type of insurance runs the Dodgers can only dream of lately.

Failure to launch

Things looked promising in the first inning, loading the bases on two hits and a hit batter with one out.

Will Smith smashed a drive to the right field wall near the bullpen, and just like Max Muncy on Sunday was robbed by a fantastic catch. This time, Lee did the honors, which prevented multiple runs from scoring but at least Shohei Ohtani scored on the sacrifice fly.

“We do need to get better. We are not performing up to expectations,” manager Dave Roberts said of the offense before the game. “The work’s been consistent, the expectation for it to turn is important, too.

It was only one run, but it was at least something, including just the second time the Dodgers scored in the first inning in their last 13 games. And it marked the first time Los Angeles scored first in their last seven home games.

But they didn’t much else against Giants starter Adrian Houser, who entered Tuesday 121st in ERA (6.19) and 118th in xERA (5.53) among 132 major league pitchers with at least 30 innings. Opponents against Houser this season were hitting .298/.348/.543 entering Tuesday, but the Dodgers managed only two runs and three hits off him in 5 2/3 innings.

One positive is two of those three hits were by Ohtani, including a home run hit to left center field, his first long ball since April 26, with 52 plate appearances in between.

Before Tuesday’s game, Roberts said he planned to not start Ohtani at designated hitter in Thursday’s series finale, and after the game said Ohtani would also not hit on Wednesday as well in a game he’s pitching, after hitting .200/.321/.300 with a 76 wRC+ over his previous 23 games.

“Fatigue is bleeding into the mechanics,” Roberts said. “Most players get that toward the end of the summer. Now I’m learning with Shohei, it’s probably showing itself a little earlier, as far as the tax on pitching and all that comes with it, to the hitting, too.”

Baseball hinges on the battle between batter and pitcher, and Ohtani as a two-way player is involved in more of those interactions than any other player in the sport. He’s faced 145 batters as a pitcher this season and has now batted 185 times. That’s 330 total plate appearances for Ohtani, 36.3 percent more than the next-most, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara at 242 batters faced.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out again in the eighth inning, but Muncy struck out looking against southpaw Sam Hentges, followed by Pages flying out to left against right-hander Caleb Kilian. No runs cashed in.

The Dodgers offense has been held to three or fewer runs 10 times in their last 13 games, including each of their last five. Most of that stretch has come with pretty good pitching, but that hasn’t been the case during this current four-game losing streak, giving up seven, seven, nine, and six runs.

“It’s just unfortunate when you’re not putting up crooked numbers,” Roberts said. “It’s just hard when the margin is thin, and right now it’s been thin. It’s hard for the bullpen to be perfect, it really is.”

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (7); Erik Haase 2 (2), Harrison Bader (2)

WP — Adrian Houser (1-4): 5 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts

LP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-3): 6 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 8 strikeouts

Sv — Caleb Kilian (2): 1 1/3 IP, 1 strikeout

Up next

Shohei Ohtani will take the mound for his seventh pitching start of the season on Wednesday (7:10 p.m.; SportsNet LA, MLB Network), but he won’t hit. Left-hander Robbie Ray starts for San Francisco.

After a 3-3 six-game road trip, the Athletics return home tonight to take on the National League Central’s St. Louis Cardinals. Jeffrey Springs will take them mound tonight for the A’s against Andre Pallante for St. Louis.

The Cardinals teed off against Springs starting with the lead-off batter. Four hits and a walk later the Cardinals put a four-spot on the scoreboard in the first. It took Springs 32 pitches to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the second, Darrel Hernaiz singled, and after fouling a pitch off his ankle Jeff McNeil singled also. Nick Kurtz made it three in a row and his came with an RBI. Shea Langeliers drove in both McNeil and Kurtz with a double to the wall.  At the end of two, the A’s trailed the Cards 4-3.

Springs settled down after that first inning and finished five keeping the Cards off the board the rest of the way. His final line was 5.0 innings, seven hits, four earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts. Joel Kuhnel entered in the sixth and promptly gave up a 2-run homer to JJ Wetherholt, giving the Cards a 6-3 lead. Brooks Kriske entered the game and got the final out of the inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 seventh and after getting an out in the eighth, left the game with an injury. Scott Barlow entered the game to replace Kriske.

Shea Langeliers opened the eighth inning with a monster homer, the 100^th of his career to tighten the score to 6-4.

Mark Leiter Jr. came in to pitch the ninth. He set the Cards down in order giving the A’s a shot in the ninth to tie or take this game. Lawrence Butler led off with a 4-pitch walk. Jonah Heim pinch hit and ground into a double play. McNeil ground out to the pitcher to end the game. Disappointing and a bit surprising that today’s big league call up Henry Bolte didn’t see any action. Let’s see if he makes it into tomorrow’s starting lineup.

The St. Louis Cardinals offense was great out of the starting gate early grabbing a quick 4-0 lead and Andre Pallante’s start was just good enough Tuesday night in Sacramento as the Cardinals offense gave them a 6-4 victory.

The Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs threw 26 pitches before recording an out in the first inning as the St. Louis Cardinals got to him early. It started with a JJ Wetherholt walk followed by a single from Ivan Herrera who executed a hit-and-run to perfection giving the Cardinals a first and third scoring threat from the get-go. Jordan Walker followed that with a smart single to left-center giving the Cardinals a fast 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals weren’t done in the first. After Alec Burleson struck out and Winn popped out, Jose Fermin came through with a clutch two-out double to center scoring Walker and Herrera giving St. Louis a 3-0 lead. Yohel Pozo followed his clutch RBI’s with one of his own with a single to score Fermin making it a 4-0 Cardinals score.

Andre Pallante would allow the Athletics back into the game in the bottom of the 2nd inning allowing a two-out rally that was extended by a challenge at first base that went the Athletics way on a single by Hernaiz. McNeil followed that with a single and then Nick Kurtz ripped a hard single up the middle to left-center scoring Hernaiz cutting into the Cardinals lead 4-1. Langeliers came through with a two-out double scoring both McNeil and Kurtz shaving the St. Louis lead to just 1 at 4-3.

The Cardinals extended their lead in the 6th inning when Nolan Gorman singled to right and then JJ Wetherholt did JJ Wetherholt things by jolting a no-doubt home run over the right field wall for his 8th home run of the season making it 6-3 Cardinals! Wetherholt added a single later going 2-4 for the night.

Andre Pallante’s final stat line was a respectable 5 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 earned runs with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks. He was relieved by Ryne Stanek who came in to pitch the bottom of the 6th inning. He walked one, but kept the Athletics scoreless which was the goal. JoJo Romero pitched the bottom of the 7th inning and had no problems with even Nick Kurtz getting the Athletics 1-2-3. George Soriano was the Cardinals 8th inning hall monitor. Unfortunately, he served up a gargantuan 448 foot blast to Nick Langeliers who hit a ball onto the roof of the visitor’s clubhouse in Sacramento cutting the Cardinals lead to 6-4. Even Soriano outs were hard hit as Victor Scott II made a fine play on a deep fly by Soderstrom. Rooker popped out to right and then Cortez ripped a double down the right field line to bring the tying run up to the plate in the form of Zack Gelof who flyed out to deep left center limiting the damage to just 1 Athletic run.

Riley O’Brien was tasked with taking care of the Athletics in the bottom of the 9th inning and trying to not replicate the final game of the San Diego series when he gave up a two-out, two-strike game tying home run. Riley walked the first batter on four pitches bringing the tying run up to the plate. He threw his first strike on his 6th pitch. Fortunately, the 8th pitch was a ground ball to JJ Wetherholt that he and Masyn Winn turned into a double play. Riley O’Brien then locked down the Athletics by retiring Jeff McNeil to give the Cardinals a 6-4 victory.

The St. Louis Cardinals California vacation continues Wednesday night as Matthew Liberatore will start the game for St. Louis. J.T. Ginn will take the mound for the Athletics. First pitch at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 8:40pm central time and the game will be televised on Cardinals.tv.

Smokies catcher Owen Ayers was named Southern League Player of the Week.

Right-hander Kenten Egbert went back to High-A South Bend after a brief trip to Triple-A Iowa.

Right-hander Frankie Scalzo Jr. went back to Double-A Knoxville from Iowa.

Right-handers Corbin Martin and Yacksel Rios joined Iowa.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were deafened by the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 9-3.

Paul Campbell started and took the loss. He was tagged for five runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. Campbell walked four and struck out four.

Most of the I-Cubs offense came from third baseman BJ Murray, who was a perfect 3 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. He scored one run.

Not much in the way of highlights here—no extra base hits and the three runs scored on a passed ball, sac fly and an error. But here’s a nice bit of defense from second baseman Pedro Ramírez.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies baked the Columbus Clingstones (Braves), 8-2.

Starter Yenrri Rojas gave the Smokies 74 pitches and 3.1 innings. In that time he allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. Rojas struck out four, walked one and hit one batter.

Tyler Ras pitched the next 1.2 innings and earned the win, since Rojas didn’t go five. Ras retired all five batters he faced, striking out two of them.

After Marino Santy pitched two innings of scoreless relief, Vince Reilly took it home the rest of the way with a two-inning save. Reilly allowed no hits and two walks. He struck out four.

Second baseman Karson Simas drove the first pitch of the game over the left field wall for his fourth home run this season. Simas was 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.

After the Clingstones tied it up in the bottom of the first, right fielder Alex Ramirez put the Smokies up for good with a solo home run in the top of the second inning. It was his second home run this season. Ramirez went 2 for 4 with a sac fly. He scored twice and had four runs batted in, thanks to a two-run single in the ninth.

DH Andy Garriola clubbed his eighth home run this year with no one one in the top of the eighth. Garriola was 2 for 5 with a double and the home run.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez had a pair of doubles in a 2 for 5 game. He had one RBI.

Center fielder Carter Trice was 3 for 5 with a double.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs skinned the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 10-1.

Koen Moreno started and did not allow a single hit over four innings. He did give up one run thanks to three walks, a hit batter and a balk. Moreno struck out six.

Grayson Moore threw the next two innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Moore gave up one hit. He struck out two and walked no one.

Center fielder Kane Kepley hit his first South Bend home run in the top of the second inning with two men on. Kepley finished the game 2 for 5 with a walk and a steal. He scored twice.

First baseman Cole Mathis doubled twice in a 3 for 5 night. He scored once and had one run batted in.

Catcher Justin Stransky was 2 for 3 with two walks. He scored twice.

DH Cameron Sisneros was 2 for 5 with two runs batted in. He also scored one run.

RBI double for Mathis. He’s slugging .535 in 19 games since his promotion from Myrtle Beach.

Kepley’s first Midwest League home run.

Two-run single for Sisneros.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were stung by the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 4-3.

David Bracho gave the Pelicans a strong start. Bracho allowed just one unearned run on two hits over four innings. Bracho walked three and struck out five. He also pitched an immaculate inning in the third.

Hayden Frank pitched the next three innings and coughed up the lead after allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked two.

Victor Zarraga gave up a run in the top of the ninth and got the loss. Zarraga’s final line was one run on one hit and three walks over two innings. He struck out two.

The game-tying home run and go-ahead RBI single in the ninth were hit by Augusta’s Tate Southisene, the younger brother of the Cubs’ Ty, who was just promoted from Myrtle Beach to South Bend.

First baseman Michael Carico was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning.

DH Josiah Hartshorn was a perfect 1 for 1 with four walks. Hartshorn scored once.

Bracho’s immaculate inning.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Rangers, 6-5.

First baseman Henniel Alcala was 3 for 4 with three doubles.

LOS ANGELES — "Amazing. You couldn't have scripted it better."

The words of legendary Los Angeles wordsmith O'Shea Jackson echoed over the Spectrum Sportsnet LA broadcast as Shohei Ohtani rounded the bases, waving both hands in the air with an undeniable look of relief on his face as he finally put an end to his prolonged home run drought on May 12 at Dodger Stadium.

Ice Cube breaks down Shohei's home run swing 😂 https://t.co/H73EWULRIrpic.twitter.com/8IkXQ8KdpM

— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2026

The Dodgers commentary team of Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser gave Ice Cube — who was in the booth after throwing out the first pitch on his bobblehead night — the opportunity to analyze Ohtani's homer, and it didn't disappoint.

"He lined that up, sent it right down the middle of the plate. Right where he loves it," Ice Cube said on the call. "And he smacks this thing all the way, goes yard."

Ohtani turned toward his teammates and motioned for the ball once he got back to the dugout, a lighthearted jab from the reigning back-to-back National League MVP toward himself, acknowledging his slump at the plate.

Ohtani asks for the ball in the dugout, lmao. pic.twitter.com/jDY8qXiAOh

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 13, 2026

That third-inning tiebreaking solo shot off of San Francisco Giants starter Adrian Houser was Ohtani's first since April 26 — in 52 total plate appearances — against the Chicago Cubs. It was only his second in his last 112 plate appearances dating back to April 12 against the Texas Rangers. It's an unusual cold streak from the player who's hit more than 50 home runs in each of the last two seasons.

It had gotten to the point that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he's giving his two-way star the night off from hitting on May 14 and leaning toward the same decision for his scheduled start on the mound on May 13. If that does end up being the case, it would be the first time Ohtani goes back-to-back nights out of the lineup (for non-paternity leave or injury reasons) since 2021 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

But for Roberts, it's worth it to possibly give him some extra rest as he tries to balance the workload of being a full-time starting pitcher and hitter for the first time in nearly three years.

"I think the fatigue is starting to bleed into the mechanics," Roberts said pregame. "I think that most players get that towards the end of the summer and now I'm learning, managing Shohei, it's probably showing itself a little earlier, as far as the tax on pitching — and all that comes with it — to the hitting, too."

But for one night at least, Ohtani began to show some signs of finally breaking through.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ice Cube calls Shohei Ohtani home run in Dodgers-Giants game

Baseball fans for all teams tend to get tunnel vision during the season. We focus so much on the good and bad with our own team that we forget that many other fan bases are experiencing the same ups and downs. With a 24-16 record and an offense that ranks in the bottom five in multiple categories, the San Diego Padres remain in first place in the National League West with the latest loss by the Evil Empire to the North.

It would be hard to find a Padres fan that feels sorry for the Los Angeles Dodgers or their fans, far from it. The standard stats, as well as the advanced stats, tell you that there is no way this Padres team should be sitting atop any division in MLB. Those stats make it easy to focus on what is wrong with this team. The fact they are doing enough things right to maintain a winning record, and squeak out late rallies to win games, is easy to ignore many days.

Playing in San Francisco against the Giants, the Padres took 2-of-3, scoring 10 runs in the second game. They squeaked out a win in the third game with late heroics and lost a close first game after only getting three hits.

Coming home to play a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Padres lost the first two games. The second loss was memorable for rookie JJ Wetherholt’s Little League grand slam which came off an error by Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres were one-hit in that contest while being shutout.

The final two games were again close affairs with more late-inning heroics to come back and win in the 10th inning of the series finale. They ended up with a winning week despite getting only 14 hits combined in the four games against the Cardinals and three hits in the first Giants game. The offensive outbreaks are welcome but rare.

Offensive futility

With a record that ranks fifth in MLB, the Padres’ .223 batting average ranks 28th in baseball. Their .667 OPS is 27th while their OBP of .297 is 28th. The slugging percentage barely climbs out of the lower five at 24th, sitting at .370.

Manny Machado summed it up best in his post-game interview after the series finale versus the Cardinals. “Yeah, we need to hit, I mean, you know, look, it’s obvious. We’re not hitting. It’s obvious, but we’re getting things done, man.”

They have a problem with starting pitchers. Starters mostly look like Cy Young early in games. Opposing starters have thrown 20 quality starts against the Padres (five innings or more, three runs or less) over their 40 games. The Padres starters have put them in holes for a few of those games, but the real issue is that they average less than three runs in the first six innings of games. That ranks 24th in MLB, and just seven of those pitchers have an ERA under 4.00.

Jackson Merrill batting leadoff

Centerfielder Jackson Merrill is the latest player to shoulder the responsibilities of the Padres’ lead-off hitter. After Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano both had opportunities, Merrill has had the job beginning the second game of the Giants series. Over those six games, his OBP is .387 versus his .303 OBP over the season. He is chasing less and seems to be focusing more on longer at-bats. Six of his 15 walks this season have come while leading off.

Mason Miller and Craig Stammen

In the Saturday win against the Cardinals, Mason Miller was needed in the eighth inning to get the last out after Adrian Morejon was unable to finish it off. Miller came back out in the ninth inning to finish his 12th (MLB leading) save of the 2026 season. It was not easy.

Miller struggled with fastball command and walked two while also unleashing a wild pitch. As a result, it took four outs to get the save, and he got those on four strikeouts. The third strikeout was the wild pitch, and Cardinals pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo reached first base safely when Freddy Fermin couldn’t corral it. Miller struck out Wetherholt for the last out.

Miller became the latest Padres pitcher to need four outs to get out of an inning. The last one before him?

Craig Stammen in 2021 while pitching in relief for the Padres.

Nick Castellanos finds his groove

The Padres signed Nick Castellanos during Spring Training after the Philadelphia Phillies released him. He is being paid league minimum ($780,000) by San Diego, with the Phillies paying the bulk of his $20 million salary. His role with the team has been to provide a bat off the bench and relieve regulars in need of rest. Castellanos does not have a good defensive position. Even during his best years, his defensive metrics have been subpar in any position he has played. This is the first time in his career that he has played this infrequently, and it has required adjustments on his part.

That makes what he did on Sunday against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien all the more notable. His line for the season so far, .192/.231/.329 in 73 at-bats, does not induce confidence. His home run in the ninth inning of that game tied the score and gave the Padres a chance to come from behind, yet again, for the win.

He even broke his bat and had to borrow one from Tatis Jr., after the 1-2 pitch, to complete his at-bat. Presumably, it was the same bat Tatis used for his longest out of the game, a 395-foot drive with an exit velocity of 106 mph that was caught at the wall.

Castellanos fought off sinkers clocked at 98 mph and sweepers that hugged the corners of the plate over his nine-pitch at-bat. After going down 0-2 with the first two pitches, Castellanos took a ball and then fouled off two more close pitches before taking two more balls to get to a full count. He fouled off another sinker then launched the last sinker over the left field wall to tie the game.

Castellanos has not hesitated to explain how this adjustment has been a challenge for him. “When I’ve been at my best is when, like, you just kind of fall into autopilot with the season and there’s not a lot of thinking that is involved. You wake up, you know what lies ahead. So learning how to navigate not knowing what your day is going to look like or what’s gonna be asked of you is an adjustment.”

Walker Buehler finds some rhythm

Starter Walker Buehler had his best start as a Padre against the Cardinals on Sunday. He went six innings on three hits and no walks allowed. His one mistake was an elevated pitch that traveled to the top balcony of the Western Metal Building, and that followed a single hit by the batter before. Buehler threw 17 first-pitch strikes to the 21 batters he faced and used all seven of his pitches, including a 95-mph fastball.

Lucas Giolito update

RHP Lucas Giolito made what could be his last start in the minor leagues on Sunday for the San Antonio Missions. Over six innings and 74 pitches, Giolito allowed three hits and one run with three strikeouts in his best outing in the minors. It was his fourth start, and he must be activated by Saturday per his contract. It is possible he could see action with the Padres this week against Seattle. When Giolito is activated, the Padres will need to make a roster decision regarding one of their other pitchers. With Germán Márquez already on the injured list, there is another tough choice to be made.

Injury updates and roster changes

Starter Joe Musgrove was moved to the 60-day IL to accommodate the promotion of catcher Rodolfo Durán to the Padres. Duran was needed when Luis Campusano fouled a pitch off his toe and was unable to play, being placed on the 10-day IL on May 7.

RHP Jhony Brito was sent to the ACL Padres to begin his rehab from the UCL surgery last year.

Infielder Will Wagner was activated off the injured list and assigned to the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Reliever Yuki Matsui was activated off the IL and reliever Kyle Hart was optioned to El Paso.

IF Sung-Mun Song was promoted to the Padres when 2B Jake Cronenworth was placed on the 7-day injured list with Concussion symptoms.

Note: This story was written prior to the results of the series opener between the Padres and Brewers on Tuesday.

It was quite the MLB debut for Mets top prospect A.J. Ewing, helping ignite the team to a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Ewing filled the box score, going 1-for-2 with a triple, three walks, two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. His energy was present from the start and he even became the first player in Mets franchise history to triple in their debut.

The 21-year-old walked in his first plate appearance on seven pitches with runners on first and second base and one out. The walk paid off as New York was able to add a run on a groundout. And it was that plate discipline that impressed manager Carlos Mendoza the most, even saying Ewing was "pretty much perfect at the plate" in his first big league game.

"Pretty impressive," Mendoza said. "From the very beginning, the first at-bat, the quality of the at-bat, the takes, not panicking, just under control. He got ahead and was still able to take pitches close to the strike zone. And just the way he was taking them. There was rhythm; he's on time. Pretty good idea. Obviously, something that we've seen in the past, the way he controls the strike zone.

"But man, he was pretty much perfect at the plate today and it was just good to see that."

Ewing flied out in his second at-bat, but then walked again in the bottom of the sixth inning and stole second base to get the team going. It was just the spark New York needed, as they'd go on to score three runs in the frame and take a 6-2 lead. 

Mendoza continued to compliment Ewing's strike zone discipline and his ability to stay "under control" at the plate, something not too common for young players, let alone those playing in their first game.

"Yeah, I don't think you see that right out the gate," Mendoza said. "You see that from players coming up through the system and you know they have pretty good understanding of the strike zone. But not until you get here and the quality of the pitching, obviously. You're going to be jumpy at times. 

"Today, he was just under control from the very beginning. Like I said, it's pretty impressive. Didn't give up any at-bats away, that's the other thing. And it's the 3-1 takes with runners in scoring position, not trying to do too much, like it's just under control. And you don't see that from players when they first get to the league."

To Ewing, that's just who he is as a player.

"I just think that's kind of part of my identity as a hitter," Ewing said. "I'm patient, I see a lot of pitches, and I make pitchers work hard."

It took the former fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft until his fourth at-bat to get his first hit, but the wait was worth it. Ewing tripled down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Brett Baty from first base, putting the Mets up 7-2. He added that it "was pretty cool" that he started both Triple-A and the majors with a triple.

That type of energy was exactly what the team had been needing. And while it could be what helps the Mets turn things around this season, Mendoza isn't putting the weight of it on the rookie's shoulders.

"We're going to need him and everyone in that room, it's not fair to put it just on him," Mendoza said. "The fact that he's able to keep the line moving, give you quality at-bats. With him right now hitting at the bottom of the order, the more we can turn that lineup over, we're going to have chances to score runs. Like I said, we're going to need him and everyone in there."

Ewing added on providing a spark: "I think energy's always great, but I'm just here to play baseball and do my job and that's just be the player I am."

He and the Mets will keep taking it day by day as they look to get out of the bottom of the standings. But for now, Ewing is taking it all in and said the best part of his debut was being part of the "great atmosphere."

"Probably the win at the end, but just looking around when I got on first base for the first time. That was when it kind of hit," Ewing said.