TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 21, 2026: Owen Murphy #91 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch during the first inning of a Spring Breakout game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 21, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Braves are hitting the ball pretty hard this season, but have had a number of barreled outs and haven’t always seen results from hitting the ball well. It does seem like some of this might be due to the balls being further deadened, as has seemingly been a trend over recent years. Some of it also has just been rotten luck, but it continues to be fairly outrageous both that the status and consistency of the single most important piece of equipment in the sport is a constant question and that it is not a bigger point of broad discussion.
Over the past four games he’s built up a decent amount of equity.
On Saturday, he had a second straight game of reaching base at least three times, helping lead a 9-0 rout of the Giants at Oracle Park.
The Mets hardly missed Juan Soto in winning their second straight. Soto, who departed Friday’s game in the first inning with a right calf strain that was deemed “minor” following an MRI, will rest until at least Tuesday — when a decision is likely on whether he will need an injured list stint.
Vientos is among those carrying the load. He was in the middle of two scoring rallies on this night and finished 3-for-5 in leading a 12-hit attack. Suddenly, the Mets scoring woes in six games that followed the season opener seem like 19th-century history.
“I think the best part is guys are going, we had a good day all of us together,” Vientos said. “Clay [Holmes] pitched a heck of a game, and it was fun today.”
Mark Vientos hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants. AP
It was just two weeks ago that Vientos was set to break camp with the team after going 2-for-35 (.057) in the Grapefruit League.
“We kept telling him in spring training, ‘Keep hitting the ball hard, keep controlling the strike zone,’” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “As a human, as a competitor, they want to see results. And it’s good to see him having the start that he’s having right now.”
Bolstering Vientos’ performance (he owns a 1.291 OPS) has been his respectable work at first base, a position he’s sharing as Jorge Polanco deals with left Achilles tendinitis.
Holmes handled much of the run prevention with seven shutout innings to follow the gem Nolan McLean produced a night earlier when the rookie carried a perfect game into the sixth before walking two batters and allowing a single.
New York Mets pinch hitter Tyrone Taylor (15) celebrates his three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Holmes allowed only three hits and walked two over the 90-pitch performance. It was a second straight strong outing for Holmes, who allowed two earned runs over 5 ²/₃ innings against the Cardinals on Monday.
“We have played a lot of extra-inning games, and the bullpen has been used a lot, so I was just trying to go fill it up,” Holmes said. “Go fill it up and once we got the lead see how many innings I could go to take some pressure off the guys.”
About the only semblance of trouble Holmes faced was in the second inning. Matt Chapman led off with an infield single, reaching second on Bo Bichette’s throwing error. But with help from Vientos, whose diving stop and toss to Holmes covering the bag produced the second out, Holmes kept a 3-0 lead intact.
New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
“[Vientos] has been really good,” Holmes said referring to Vientos’ first base work. “He’s been putting in the work, we all see it as players. Just how badly he wants it.”
Carson Benge’s grounder to third base with the bases loaded in the second turned into two runs for the Mets. Chapman booted the ball before his throw to first baseman Jerar Encarnacion was mishandled for a second error on the play. Vientos and Jared Young raced home. The lead extended to 3-0 on Luis Torrens’ RBI groundout.
“We didn’t hit the ball out of the infield, but the fact we were able to put the ball in play there helped us,” Mendoza said. “Not only can we hit the ball out of the ballpark, but putting together some really good at-bats.”
Vientos doubled to begin the rally and Young walked before Semien’s infield single loaded the bases. It was the third straight game with at least one hit for Semien, who snapped an 0-for-20 drought Thursday.
Bichette’s RBI single in the fifth widened the lead to 4-0. Torrens singled leading off the inning and reached second on a groundout before Bichette delivered for a team-leading sixth RBI this season. Vientos, for his third hit in the game, stroked an RBI single in the inning to give the Mets their fifth run against Landon Roupp. After lefty Ryan Borucki entered, Tyrone Taylor was deployed as a pinch-hitter for Young and belted a three-run homer that buried the Giants in an 8-0 hole.
Taylor stroked an RBI single in the seventh that put the Mets ahead 9-0 following Brett Baty’s leadoff double.
Billy Carlson helped spearhead a 12-run first inning and 19-run game for Kannapolis tonight. | (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Charlotte Knights at Nashville Sounds — Postponed due to weather The Knights and Sounds will pick back up Sunday at 1:05 p.m. CT, and Saturday’s makeup will be announced at a later date.
Birmingham Barons 6, Knoxville Smokies 2 (Gameday Box) The Birmingham Barons (1-1) scooped up their first win of the season Saturday, defeating their north side Double-A rivals, the Knoxville Smokies, 6-2. Both teams put up seven hits, though the Barons went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and scored two early in the game to provide a small amount of run support for righthander Connor McCullough.
The two-run cushion came from a two-run blast from Ryan Galanie on a 3-0 count in the top of the first, driving in Caden Connor who had gotten a base hit right before that. Center fielder Braden Montgomery had walked, but was caught stealing for the second out of the inning during Connor’s at-bat. Thankfully, the lost run wouldn’t mean anything in the end, and I don’t hate the aggressive attempt to get into scoring position super early in the game with no runs on the board — especially when Montgomery was safe more 67% of the time in 2025.
Taking one back in the bottom of the inning, McCullough worked through two outs quickly enough, but a double and single from Knoxville cut the lead in half, 2-1. The Smokies loaded the based back up after another base hit and a walk, but McCullough was able to force the ground out. That would be the only run he allowed in his three innings, and he ended up with four hits given up and struck out two batters.
The Barons bullpen stepped up big, allowing just one more run in the remaining six innings, with Jarold Rosado earning the win. He pitched a smooth fourth: One Smokie got a base hit, but all three outs were strikeouts.
Both Chase Watkins and Jackson Kelley made their first appearance in the White Sox organization, and though Watkins allowed a run, each recorded a hold. Kelly tossed for 1 2/3 innings without giving up a hit, his lone baserunner a walk in the bottom of the sixth.
Finally, the Good Guys added some more run support in the top of the seventh, as Jorge Corona kicked off the rally with a walk, just for Connor to drive two in a few batters later with two outs, 5-2. Jeral Perez came up to rip his second hit of the game for a double out to center, allowing Birmingham to score their sixth run before Galanie was thrown out at the plate. Worth a shot, I guess.
Unconventionally, Riley Gowens took over for the last two innings, and was nearly flawless while recording three strikeouts. Typically Gowens is a starter for Birmingham, but he flexed his versatility tonight in the “closer” spot despite the offense already taking care of business, and held down the 6-2 win.
Winston-Salem Dash at Bowling Green Hot Rods — Postponed due to weather
The Dash will play in a doubleheader against the Hot Rods on Sunday, April 5, with the first game beginning at 12:05 p.m. CT.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 19, Hill City Howlers 2 (Gameday Box) Earning their first win of the season, the Cannon Ballers (1-2) absolutely dominated the Hill City Howlers (2-1), 19-2. The Kanny offense laid down the hammer right off the bat, dropping 12 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Yes, 12. You did read that right. Nearly batting all the way around the order twice in the inning, it also certainly helped that the Howlers walked six batters and hit two in the midst of the destruction.
The Ballers ultimately outhit the Howlers 15-5, but all 19 runs scored were earned, unfortunately for the Hill City pitching staff, who ended up striking out 13 but walking nine. Kannapolis put up seven extra-base hits, including four doubles and three homers, with four players driving in three runs apiece: Billy Carlson (2-for-4), Boston Smith (2-for-5), D’Angelo Tejada (1-for-5) and Ryan Galvan (2-for-3).
On the other side of the ball, the Kannapolis pitching staff allowed just five hits, two runs (one earned), three walks, and 11 strikeouts. Righthander Blaine Wynk opened the game for the Ballers, giving up one run on three hits, but by that point he really had to screw something up to blow a 12-run lead. Lefthander Trey Cooper came in for 2 1/3 innings after that and struck out four while walking two with one run scoring, but he ended up with the win as Kannapolis continued to run away with the game.
The Mets won consecutive games for the first time since the team's season-opening victories March 26 and 28 at the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking a 2-1 lead in this weekend's four-game series at the San Francisco Giants with Saturday's 9-0 rout.
Takeaways
Clay Holmes went a career-high-tying seven innings, matching the length of his June 1, 2025, start at the Colorado Rockies but delivering a better performance. He was solid in his first start of the 2026 campaign, last Monday's 4-2 win at the St. Louis Cardinals, and built on his season-opening start with arguably his best outing as a Met. He picked up where Nolan McLean left off from Friday's 10-3 win, allowing three hits while striking out four and walking two in seven scoreless innings. Holmes was not perfect, putting the leadoff runners on in the second and third innings before issuing a two-out walk to avoid a 1-2-3 fourth, but he kept the Giants (3-6) stranded across those frames while the Mets (5-4) held a 3-0 lead before entering his zone and getting stronger as the game progressed. Holmes (2-0, 1.42 ERA) threw 61 strikes on 90 pitches before Tobias Myers took the ball for the bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings.
Bo Bichette is improving. After owning his "terrible" at-bats from the Mets' opening weekend last Sunday, he has looked more like himself with five hits in the past two games. Bichette followed Friday's 3-for-5 breakthrough with Saturday's 2-for-5 encore, driving in a run for the third straight game with a fifth-inning single to shallow center field that padded the Mets' 4-0 lead and sparked a five-run frame. After a 2-for-22 stretch across five appearances in March, April has been a breath of fresh air for Bichette, who is 7 for 19 with three RBI through four games.
Mark Vientos is also trending up. His hit streak is up to four games, following Friday's 2-for-3 step in the right direction with a 3-for-5 breakthrough. Batting fifth and starting at first base, Vientos continued Bichette's fifth-inning momentum with an RBI single to right field that scored Bichette and extended the Mets' 5-0 lead. With or without Juan Soto, whose day-to-day status remains to be seen entering Sunday and beyond, the Mets need their big bats to step up. They got that Friday and Saturday in Bichette and Vientos, the latter of whom is 7 for 14 through four April games.
Tyrone Taylor, who replaced Soto in Friday's game, came off the bench as a pinch-hit substitution for sixth-batting left fielder Jared Young and blew the game open for the Mets. Taylor's 2-for-3 night featured a three-run homer in the fifth inning that exploded the Mets' 8-0 advantage. He added to his damage with an RBI single in the seventh inning that scoredBrett Baty and polished off the Mets' 9-0 final. After an 0-for-4 Friday, Taylor filled Soto's void and then some as the Mets turned a 5-0 win into a 9-0 rout.
Who's the MVP?
Holmes, who retired seven straight from the fifth inning into the seventh and left no doubt on the mound as the Mets piled runs against the Giants.
Highlights
Mark Vientos and Jared Young score on a Carson Benge fielder's choice and throwing error to give the Mets the 2-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/FV38uslshn
Apr 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander (32) pitches during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Do you feel déjà vu?
As was often the case in the two series against the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays, the Colorado Rockies wasted wonderful pitching with atrocious hitting.
Strikeouts and men left on base loomed large, as the Rox had their chances only to come up just one run short as the Philadelphia Phillies take the series in Denver.
There’s even more déjà vu as the City of Brotherly Love continues to show no love to Colorado, with tonight’s win making the ninth straight over the Rockies for Philadelphia.
Saturday strategy switch-up
The Rockies entered Saturday with a clear approach to the game’s pitching, hinging on a clean outing from Brennan Bernardino before Chase Dollander would get the bulk of the innings.
Unfortunately, you know what they say about the best laid plans.
Bernardino had been efficient in his four appearances this season, giving up zero runs and walks heading into today’s start. Sadly, he had a shaky start, walking Trea Turner first and then giving up a broken bat RBI double to Kyle Schwarber.
As expected, the Rockies were ready to turn to Chase Dollander early, getting him warmed up a few batters in. Not expected, however, was needing to use Jimmy Herget to get the final out of the inning after Bernardino walked Bryson Stott with Schwarber on third.
Given the looming matchups in the second inning, Warren Schaeffer would sit Dollander to try and get a few more outs from Herget.
Herget did indeed notch those, punching out Adolis Garcia to end the first and getting three straight outs in the second, limiting the damage to 1-0 going into the bottom of the inning.
Not ideal, but not catastrophic.
Dollander delivers
Dollander arrived as advertised, striking out Turner with a fireball. He sat Schwarber down on strikes right after that, ultimately tallying six impressive K’s on the night.
He gave up the one deciding run in his 4.1 innings pitched, but overall looked very effective and was able to work out of a few jams comfortably. He was the bright spot of the night, handing off a 2-1 game to Jaden Hill and giving the Rockies a chance.
Unfortunately, his performance did not receive any run support from the Rockies’ bats.
At least it was close?
Look, the bar is low right now.
Today wasn’t the 10-1 Home Opener drubbing. But it didn’t feel great either.
The Rockies are now 1-4 in one-run games. It felt like the game was right there, all the way down the stretch.
The Phillies would leave more men on than the Rockies, with nine LOB for Philadelphia and five LOB for Colorado. In good news, Colorado’s pitching was able to stave off a number of runs that would’ve been early nails in the coffin. In bad news, the Rockies probably only left five on because they couldn’t get them there in the first place.
Brett Sullivan looked solid today, as the only Rockies batter with more than one hit.
Sullivan’s RBI single in the third would provide a glimmer of hope. Sadly, the bottom of the order was doing way too much of the heavy lifting, and it would not be enough.
A familiar issue
The Rockies have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad problem right now: strikeouts.
This marks the third straight game of double digit strikeouts. Not just “barely over nine” double digit either. 17 strikeouts against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. 15 more yesterday. 13 more tonight.
Several of those came on key moments, too.
Colorado had a chance in the seventh. With Ezequiel Tovar on second and Troy Johnston on first, Kyle Karros would go down swinging for the last out.
The game ended on a big ol’ dud as well. Willi Castro ended it all trying to check his swing but going around for the unlucky 13th game-ending strikeout.
The Phillies and Rockies will close out the series with a Sunday afternoon showdown at 1:10 p.m. Taijuan Walker and Tomoyuki Sugano, both decision-less in their respective starts this season, will take the mound. The Rockies will hope to keep the brooms locked away before the Houston Astros come to town.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on April 4, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In Saturday night’s game thread, we mentioned how Giancarlo Stanton hadn’t had much success against his former team, but in this back-and-forth affair, the game-winning at-bat came from the Yankees’ DH. Stanton drove in a pair in the eighth inning with a single to give the Yankees the lead in what ultimately became a 9-7 win, making the absolute most out of an ungodly number of free passes handed out by the Marlins: 10 in total.
Before the Yankees could take control of things late in the ballgame, plenty of walks were distributed on both sides as the pitching staffs struggled to find their footing. In a matchup of young starters, efficiency is half the battle. Unfortunately for Ryan Weathers, that was something he sorely lacked against his old teammates, averaging well over 20 pitches per inning and thus unable to complete four full frames before Miami could chase him out of the ballgame.
The Yankees have made a point of getting Weathers to trust the changeup more, but he couldn’t really generate many chases on it against Miami. Able to lay off the changeup consistently, the Fish worked three walks against Weathers, which was pivotal in driving up his pitch count for an early exit. Still, the worst result on a changeup for Weathers came in one that generated a chase. Up at the plate with one on and two outs in the first, Otto Lopez protected against a two-strike change down below the zone, lifting a pop fly to right that had no business dropping in front of Aaron Judge. That hit kept the inning going, and quickly thereafter both runners came around to score on a Heriberto Hernández triple—the Marlins took the lead, an advantage they kept until the bullpens got involved.
As much as Weathers could lament the poor batted-ball luck in that first inning, his performance over the whole game didn’t quite justify a much better result than the three runs allowed in 3.2 innings of work — needing 88 pitches to record just 11 outs. In the third, Hernández proved he was locked in against Weathers, this time taking him on a ride to right field on a ball that fell just short of going out, requiring a leaping grab from Judge.
While Max Meyer did a better job than Weathers at stranding runners, the Miami starter walked in the early goings, allowing only a single hit through four; the Yankees got to him in the fifth. Aaron Judge hit a rocket single, and then Cody Bellinger took advantage of a slider up in the zone to go deep for the first time in 2026.
That would be the last pitch Meyer would throw, and while the Yankees were unable to exercise a starting pitching advantage—sort of a regular thing these days—they had ample time to get to the Marlins bullpen with only a minor deficit to erase.
Andrew Nardi came in for Meyer, walked two, but got out of the fifth by retiring Jazz Chisholm Jr. Surprisingly, the Marlins sent Nardi back out there for the sixth in a move that didn’t work out. Aaron Boone was aggressive with his bench and deployed the lefty-masher Goldschmidt against Nardi. The southpaw was careful, leading to a walk that would spark the big inning the Yankees needed to take control of this affair (for the first time, anyway).
In a game where virtually every pitcher struggled with command, Anthony Bender, who came in for Nardi, hit José Caballero to put the go-ahead run on base. Following Ryan McMahon’s inability to get a bunt down, the top of the order was ready to pounce on this opportunity—Judge tied it with an opposite-field poke down the right-field line, and Bellinger secured the lead on a sac fly despite a worrisome slide from Trent Grisham.
The sequence of the matchup saw the Yankees starter falter, the Marlins starter falter, and the Marlins bullpen falter. The Yankees held a late lead, but the win wouldn’t come that easy, as the Yankees’ bullpen also faltered.
Stanton had been successful in giving the Yankees an insurance run with a—dare we say it—Rickey Henderson-inspired turn around the bases. He walked on five pitches against Calvin Faucher, and one out later, he took advantage of the Marlins completely disregarding his presence on first. Stanton said “thank you very much” and stole second base, his first regular-season swipe in six years (though he did steal a base in the 2024 ALDS against the Royals). A slow groundout from J.C. Escarra moved him to third, and when Faucher threw a wild one, Stanton scored his economic run.
Protecting a two-run lead, Camilo Doval collapsed rather easily against the bottom of the Marlins order. The Yankees’ right-handed reliever allowed a two-run, game-tying double to Javier Sanoja, the Marlins’ ninth-hole hitter. Brent Headrick cleaned up his mess, but the lead had already vanished.
As all else before, this 6-6 tie would be short-lived, as the Marlins managed to gift-wrap the Yankees an opportunity in the bottom of the eighth by walking the bases loaded for Stanton with two outs. Stanton had enough strength to muscle a ground ball through the infield and drive in a pair.
Just before he was sent to the Yankees in December 2017, Stanton rejected a trade from the Marlins to the mid-2010s Cardinals. Well, this was the kind of rally that would’ve made that iteration of the Cards’ franchise proud.
Walks and passed balls were the Yankees’ friend, and the latter added an insurance run after that Stanton single, making it 9-6 when Ben Rice dented home plate. That was just enough to survive a massive scare in the ninth by David Bednar, who seems to have penchant for late drama (not helped by some nonchalance from Chisholm that allowed the first man on). The Yankees’ closer coughed up one run and loaded the bases, putting the tying run at second and the go-ahead margin at first. before striking out Griffin Conine to wrap up the W. With both sides well short of their best game, the Yankees had just more reliable production in key moments for the victory.
It’s always a good day when Max Fried takes the mound, and with a sweep on the line, that’ll be the treat for fans attending Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon, particularly those who hung around for the end of his marathon. The start time is scheduled for 1:35 p.m (EST). The Marlins will counter with Chris Paddack, who got absolutely rocked by the White Sox in his first start of 2026.
DENVER, CO - APRIL 4: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo (44) pitches in the first inning during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Philadelphia Phillies (5-3) grew their early season win streak to four games as they came out on the right side of a rare pitchers’ duel in Denver, defeating the Colorado Rockies (2-6) by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night.
Jesus Luzardo bounced back from his rough first start with a 6.2 IP 11 K gem. The Rockies scattered five hits and scored once against Luzardo during his 99 pitch performance.
The Rockies opted for a left-handed opener in Brennan Bernardino, who didn’t make it out of the first inning as the Phils opened the scoring two batters into the game via a leadoff walk by Trea Turner and a broken bat double by Kyle Schwarber.
Colorado tied it up in the bottom of the third on a pair of singles by Troy Johnston and Brett Sullivan.
Rockies’ young right handed starter, Chase Dollander, ate the majority of innings in the game from the third into the seventh and largely kept the Phillies’ offense at bay.
They finally cracked him in the top of the fifth inning as Brandon Marsh led off with a single followed by a JT Realmuto walk. Marsh came in to score the eventual winning run on a Turner double. Trea finished with two hits, a walk, a run scored and a run batted in, not to mention several solid defensive plays.
Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and Justin Crawford each collected a hit while Bryce Harper and Adolis Garcia failed to reach base. Crawford notched his first of many career stolen bases and Garcia did contribute with a nice running catch.
Jose Alvarado came on in relief of Luzardo with two outs and a man on second in the bottom of the seventh and walked the next batter before getting out of the jam with a strikeout of Kyle Karros.
Brad Keller pitched a one-hit scoreless eighth and Jhoan Duran collected his third save of the season with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.
Taijuan Walker goes for the sweep tomorrow afternoon against Rockies’ right hander, Tomoyuki Sugano.
Okay, so this was a strange one. As was noted in 1AZFan1’s recap of last night’s shutout loss, our offense has been completely AWOL for several days now. This is something we’ve seen happen plenty over the last several years, but these multi-day offensive outages get exponentially more concerning when, as I and others have expended a lot of words on already this year, our pitching staff, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, is very much constructed of chewing gum, baling wire, and whatever found objects Mike Hazen was able to salvage from the local bins on garbage night. Having to rely primarily on our pitching does not fill me with confidence. Like, ever.
And yet.
This game, like all baseball games (at least the ones that don’t involve one or both teams using the “opener” strategy and therefore deciding in advance that it’s going to be a bullpen game), is first and foremost a contest between two pitchers. This was not a game where any openers were used. Bryce Elder was starting for the Atlanta Braves; Michael Soroka was going for the Diamondbacks. Usually, the team whose starter pitches the better game wins the baseball game. This is not always the case of course—the baseball gods are cruel and fickle and often whimsically malicious. But more often than not, that is the case.
So let’s break down the two pitchers’ performances. Both pitchers pitched well today, let’s get that out of the way right up front. Each starter only surrendered four hits over the course of the ballgame. Both bullpens, once they got involved, put up zeroes and allowed no baserunners. It was, by all measurements, a very well-pitched game on both sides.
Pitcher A threw 90 pitches over the course of seven innings of work. As noted, he gave up four hits. He walked one. He struck out eight. He surrendered zero earned runs. He faced the minimum in six of the seven innings he worked.
Pitcher B threw 91 pitches over the course of five innings of work, only giving up four hits and allowing one earned run. He walked three, and hit a batter, and struck out three. He allowed runners in every inning that he worked, not recording a single clean inning.
Naturally, you might expect that Pitcher A was Michael Soroka, given the fact that by the numbers it’s the far better performance, and as you gleaned from the headline, the Diamondbacks emerged from the contest with the victory.
You would be wrong. Remember, the baseball gods can be, after all, cruel and fickle and whimsically malicious. Also, the numbers don’t always tell the entire story. Pitcher A was in fact Bryce Elder. PitcherB was, in fact, Soroka. And yet we won.
So here’s how it happened. This will be necessarily short, because today as much as just about any game recently, our offense was pretty much entirely absent. Both Soroka and Elder worked a scoreless first, though Soroka tossed 17 pitches and walked Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson with two outs, while Elder sat down Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Geraldo Perdomo in order, only needing 10 pitches to do so.
It all comes down, really, to the second inning. Soroka walked former Giant Mike Yastrzemski to lead off the top of the second. Ozzie Albies followed with a grounder to the right side of the infield that advanced Yastrzemski to second. Michael Harris flew out to center, and then Dominic Smith, perpetual journeyman and currently the Braves’ designated hitter, swung at a full-count Soroka pitch that was up and outside, well out of the strike zone, and slapped it into left field to score the runner from second. 1-0 Atlanta
In the bottom of the second, however, it was our turn. Gabriel Moreno led off the frame with a ground ball single into center field. Adrian Del Castillo, who was functioning as our “designated hitter” (and, as it turned out, sinkhole of suck) today, struck out. Nolan Arenado grounded his own single to center, putting runners on first and second for everyone’s favorite dark horse rookie and Savior of the Lineup(TM), Jose Fernandez, who was manning first base this afternoon. Fernandez, somewhat surprisingly, squared up and bunted the first pitch he saw up the third base lane. It was supposed to be a sacrifice, but, well, instead this happened:
So, yeah, that sure was wacky. Throwing error by Elder that rolls up the line, Arenado runs through a J.R. House stop sign, the bunt is scored as a single, and two Diamondbacks runs cross the plate. Neither run was earned, so this game also earns the fun distinction in the box score of us scoring two runs but zero runs batted in.
I tell ya, you gotta love baseball sometimes. 2-1 D-BACKS
And that is also the last time the Braves pitchers faced more than the minimum three in an inning. That was in part thanks to the Diamondbacks grounding into two 3-6-3 double plays: one in the third off the bat of Perdomo to erase a one-out Corbin Carroll walk, and one by Del Castillo in the fourth to erase Gabriel Moreno’s leadoff single.
Seriously. The offense was not in the building today, once again. Which is both disappointing and concerning, but what can you do?
Meanwhile, Soroka pitched around more traffic in his remaining three innings of work—doubles, walks, singles, hit batsmen, all kinds of good stuff. But somewhat miraculously, while it felt, at least to me, like he was flirting with disaster the entire time, he nevertheless managed to escape again and again and finish his day with only the one run allowed.
Of course, when the starter exits after five frames, that means that the bullpen has to get involved, which tends to produce acid reflux responses in the Diamondbacks faithful, and with good reason. There was, however, no need to worry today. Wonders truly will never cease.
Taylor Clarke threw 12 pitches in a scoreless sixth, allowing no Braves to reach base. Jonathan Loaisiga threw 10 pitches in a scoreless seventh, allowing no Braves to reach base. Juan Morillo threw 14 pitches in a scoreless eighth, allowing no batters to reach base. Paul Sewald struck out two of the three batters he faced while throwing 21 pitches to redeem himself for last night’s implosion and nail down the save without any Braves hitters reaching base.
Dang. What a genuinely strange baseball game. 2-1 D-BACKS FINAL
Superfriends: Diamondbacks pitchers (9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, +64.6% WPA) Boy Wonder: Jose Fernandez (3 AB, 1 H, +15.1% WPA) Suicide Squad: Diamondbacks hitters other than Fernandez (23 AB, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K, -29.7% WPA)
It was a pretty quiet Gameday Thread today, which is understandable given how the first two games of this series went, and also that the NCAA Final Four was underway while the game was going on. At time of writing, we’re looking at 126 comments. A number went Sedona Red (or what passes for it these days), because we were apparently feeling generous with our rec’s today. By popular acclaim, this one goes to Snake_Bitten, who was not present in the Thread but was doing their part by being at the game in person, and also invoking the grace of the baseball gods to ensure Soroka’s success against his former team:
So despite the inauspicious beginning to the series, we find ourselves going into tomorrow’s game with the opportunity to salvage a series split! Brandon Pfaadt goes for us, lefty Michael Perez goes for Atlanta. This one will feature our home team broadcasters, which will be nice after two days of national broadcasts of varying quality. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. Hope you can drop by!
As always, thanks so much for reading my maunderings, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
For the first time this season, they could not rely upon supreme pitching, the club’s historic run thwarted with Ryan Weathers and later Camilo Doval on the mound.
It did not matter. The Yankees turned to Giancarlo Stanton and a multi-pronged offensive attack that helped them score nine of the final 12 runs to seize a wild and ugly game from the Marlins.
The Yankees dug a four-run hole, climbed back on top, blew that lead and then surged back ahead on the back (and legs) of Stanton in a roller-coaster, 9-7 victory in The Bronx on Saturday night. The 44,150 shivering fans on hand were rewarded for not leaving early on a night when the wind chill (in the 30s) and early deficit (trailing 4-0 after 4 innings) made the notion appealing.
With the comeback, the Yankees (7-1) matched their best start through eight decisions in franchise history, just the second time in the past 23 years they have won seven of their first eight.
Cody Bellinger (35) hits an RBI sac fly allowing New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) to score during the 6th inning when the New York Yankees played the Miami Marlins Saturday, April 4, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Victory No. 7 was created differently. Yankees pitching had allowed eight runs over the first seven games, matching the 2002 Giants and 1993 Braves for the fewest in MLB history.
Weathers then allowed three runs before the end of the second inning and did not escape the fourth. Doval allowed two more in a wayward, lead-costing eighth.
But the Yankees lineup — which was outhit 15-6 but drew 10 walks and scored creatively rather than emphatically — was the difference-maker.
“Cold, windy, behind early,” manager Aaron Boone would say, “and the quality of at-bat just never went away.”
Cody Bellinger (35) is greeted by New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after they both score on Bellingers two-run homer during the 5th inning when the New York Yankees played the Miami Marlins Saturday, April 4, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The biggest moment belonged to Stanton, who watched Doval struggle in the top of the eighth and then stepped up with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning with the game tied.
Known for blasts, Stanton fought a seven-pitch battle against righty Michael Petersen before poking a single through the left side that plated the two go-ahead runs for a lead that would hold up.
The Yankees hope this season ends differently in part because they believe they will be less reliant on the long ball and can jump-start their offense using various means. Stanton — and his teammates — demonstrated as much during the comeback:
In the fifth, the four-run deficit was cut in half when Aaron Judge singled and Cody Bellinger crushed a Max Meyer slider over the wall in right-center for a two-run shot.
Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) throws a pitch during the third inning when the New York Yankees played the Miami Marlins Saturday, April 4, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
In the sixth, small ball and substitutions were the key. A pinch-hitting Paul Goldschmidt walked before José Caballero was drilled. Trent Grisham chopped an RBI single through the left side for one run before Judge snuck a single down the first-base line for another to tie it. Needing contact, the Yankees found it again with Bellinger, who lifted a fly ball to left that was just deep enough to score Grisham from third as he angled a slide and dragged his foot across home plate.
Insurance arrived in the seventh in a fashion that the Yankees probably cannot count upon ever happening again. Stanton — whose last steal came in the pandemic season of 2020 — walked, took a lead, took a bigger lead as he was not being held on the base and then took off for a sneak-attack steal.
“Awesome,” Boone said.
“The boys were fired up,” Bellinger added.
“If they’re going to give it to me,” Stanton said, “I got to go get it.”
He moved to third on a groundout and then scored on a two-out passed ball, one of the slowest runners in baseball single-handedly manufacturing a run that made it 6-4.
That lead disappeared in the eighth, when Doval — who struggled last season after coming over from the Giants — allowed three hits that turned into two runs.
But further hiccups from Doval did not matter. Neither did a misplay from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the ninth, which created more work for David Bednar (fourth save). Neither did the issues of Weathers, who let up three runs on six hits in 3 ²/₃ innings.
A Yankees offense that scored every which way made sure of that.
“It seems like everyone had a big at-bat tonight in some way, shape or form,” Boone said, “to allow us to score a bunch of runs, which obviously tonight we needed.”
The Yankees offense woke up from their slumber to score six unanswered runs. But after the bullpen coughed up the lead, Giancarlo Stanton's two-run single in the eighth lifted New York to a 9-7 win on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees had just six hits and were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position -- with nine left on base -- but they took advantage of their 11 walks, the second consecutive game in which they had that many, and the Marlins' mistakes.
Here are the takeaways
-Ryan Weathers wasn't long for this game as he labored early and often. In the first inning, a one-out walk and a two-out bloop single put runners on the corners before Heriberto Hernandez split the outfielders with a triple that plated two. Weathers would get out of the inning without further damage, but it took the young southpaw 31 pitches.
The second inning wasn't much better. Back-to-back singles (one of the infield variety) to lead off the inning put Weathers in another jam. Weathers got a slow roller to Jazz Chisholm Jr., but he and Jose Caballero couldn't complete the double play. Austin Wells caught the runner trying to steal second for the second out, but Weathers could not get the third out. He walked the next batter and allowed an RBI single to Agustin Ramirez to put the Yankees behind 3-0.
Weathers struggled in the third but escaped without allowing more runs and got the first two batters out in the fourth before he was pulled.
The southpaw tossed 88 pitches (53 strikes) in 3.2 innings pitched. He allowed three runs on six hits, three walks, while striking out four batters. In his first two starts of the season, Weathers has now allowed four runs in 7.2 innings pitched.
It's the first time a Yankees starter allowed more than two runs this season.
-The Yankees offense struggled early on against starter Max Meyer, but they had their chances. Their best chance came in the third. The first two batters reached for Aaron Judge, but the reigning MVP hit a deep drive to center that the center fielder ran down. After Cody Bellinger walked to load the bases, Ben Rice struck out swinging before Stanton popped out to the catcher to end the threat.
New York had one hit through the first four innings, but then Judge hit a two-out single and Bellinger launched his first home run of the season to cut the Marlins' lead to 4-2. The Yankees would get two more batters on, but Chisholm struck out swinging to strand two more.
The Yankees had another chance in the sixth after the first two batters got on. McMahon struck out looking before Trent Grisham singled home Paul Goldschmidt -- who pinch-hit for Wells. Judge followed with an opposite-field single down the first base line to tie the game. Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees their first lead of the game.
-The Yankees' sixth run of the game came in an unexpected way. Stanton led off the seventh with a walk, and then stole second as the Marlins weren't holding him on. He moved to third on a groundout and came home to score on a wild pitch. It was Stanton's first regular season stolen base since 2020. But Stanton wasn't done. In the eighth, with the score tied at six apiece, Stanton muscled a two-run single with the bases loaded to put the Yankees up for good. Rice scored from third on a wild pitch, the second run scored this way of the night.
- Paul Blackburn was the first arm out the bullpen, but would allow an unearned run thanks to some poor defense. Blackburn gave up an infield single and then Jakob Marsee singled to left field, but Bellinger's throw to third base was not caught by Ryan McMahon or Blackburn -- who was covering -- allowing Ramirez to score from third.
Blackburn rebounded to get a few more outs before Tim Hill and Fernando Cruz locked the Marlins down. However, Camilo Doval came on in the eighth and allowed a single and a double to lead off the inning. He struck out a pinch-hitting Owen Caissie, but Javier Sanoja doubled to tie the game at 6-6. Brent Headrick replaced Doval and got the final two outs of the inning without further damage.
David Bednar came in and after an infield single thanks to Chisholm's double clutch, the Yankees closer delivered a one-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Xavier Edwards singled to cut the Yankees lead to 9-7. Caissie and Griffin Conine struck out swinging to end the game.
Here's the bullpen breakdown:
Blackburn: 1.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 K
Hill: 1.0 IP
Cruz: 0.2 IP, 1 K
Doval: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 K -- he's now allowed four runs in his last two outings
Headrick: 0.2 IP, 1 BB
Bednar: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Game MVP: Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton's bat and feet were the difference in this game.
Highlights
Cody Bellinger cuts the deficit in half with a 2-run shot 💪
Yes, the player who has been plagued by lower body injuries for much of his time with the Yankees, basically manufactured a run by himself in the seventh inning against Miami in The Bronx.
Giancarlo Stanton reacts after stealing a base during the Yankees’ game April 4. Screengrab via X/@Yankees
He walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh and then stole second base with J.C. Escarra at the plate.
It was Stanton’s first stolen base in a regular season game since 2020 — although he did have one in the postseason two years ago, when he swiped second in Game 3 of the 2024 ALDS against the Royals.
Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during the fourth inning of a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers at TD Ballpark on March 14, 2026 in Dunedin, Florida.
The injuries are piling up for the Blue Jays.
All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk was placed on the injured list Saturday after dislocating and breaking his left thumb, which he suffered on a foul tip during Friday’s game against the White Sox.
He is set to meet with a specialist to determine if surgery is needed.
After the game, Kirk was feeling about as one would expect.
Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a home run against the Athletics during the ninth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on March 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Getty Images
“He’s all right, as [Kirk] can be,” Toronto manager John Schneider said, per ESPN. “He’s pissed, obviously. Tough news for us and for Kirky for sure.”
Kirk has been one of the best backstops in baseball, making two All-Star appearances and winning the 2022 Silver Slugger since taking over full-time behind the plate for the Blue Jays four years ago.
Last season, Kirk hit .282/.348/.421 with 15 homers in 130 games.
He was one of the Blue Jays’ biggest bats during their American League pennant-winning run in October, hitting .254/.349/.493 with five long balls.
Tyler Heineman and Brandon Valenzuela are expected to split time at catcher in Kirk’s absence.
Kirk’s thumb issue adds to a long list of injuries the Blue Jays are dealing with during the early going of the 2026 season.
The team began the year with starting pitchers Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation), José Berríos (right elbow stress fracture) and Trey Yesavage (right shoulder impingement) on the injured list.
Earlier this week, starter Cody Ponce went down with an ACL injury while trying to field a ground ball, which is expected to sideline him for a significant amount of time.
The Blue Jays are sitting at 4-3 on the season heading into Saturday’s play despite the injuries.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 01: Jonathan India #6 of the Kansas City Royals crosses home plate after hitting a grand slam home run as first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino #9, third baseman Maikel Garcia #11 and catcher Salvador Perez #13 wit to congratulate him during the 7th inning of the game at Kauffman Stadium on April 01, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The day started poorly, but by the time we had finished things were looking a bit brighter. Let’s talk about the afternoon game first.
Luinder Avila got his first major league start and, at times, you could see why the Royals are still so high on him as a starter. His stuff is electric, especially the fastball and curveball. But he can have some difficulty locating them. He only managed to go 3+ innings thanks to is inconsistent ability to throw strikes. Over that span he gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks. Garrett Mitchell did most of the damage with a two-run double in the first inning and a three-run home run in the third. He gave up some hits on some good pitches, but also threw too many pitches that were too easy to hit.
If the Royals could have cut the game off after the third inning and started over, it would have been a very different story. The bullpen didn’t allow any runs. Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange each pitched very effective two-inning relief appearances combining to strike out seven while allowing only one walk and two hits. John Schreiber gave up a couple of walks in the eighth, but didn’t give up any runs. With last night’s rainout, Steven Cruz was able to pitch in a third straight game and had a clean ninth.
The Royals’ offense put runners on base all day long but had extreme difficulty bringing them home. They had eight hits and six walks on the day but went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Popups continue to plague the team. In the third inning with runners at first and second with one out, Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez each popped up. In the fourth, with runners at second and third with one out, Nick Loftin popped out and Kyle Isbel had a shallow fly to left. The Royals scored both of their runs in the eighth when Loftin led off with a wall, Lane Thomas pinch hit for Isbel and smashed an RBI double, and Bobby Witt Jr. about took Brice Turang’s head off with a groundball to bring home Thomas. Vinnie Pasquantino struck out and Salvador Perez popped out to end the threat.
The Royals came into the day leading the league in popups and its unlikely that’s changed as they had several other popups even when runners weren’t in scoring position. I don’t necessarily expect that to continue to be an issue all year, but it’s certainly hurting them now. Last year, among batters with at least 400 plate appearances, the Royals had two players in the top 25 in popup percentage – Jonathan India and Isbel – and two more in the top 100; Witt and Pasquantino. So it wasn’t not a problem last year.
Now let’s talk about the second game.
It started off great with Seth Lugo keeping the Brewers off balance, though they were fouling a lot of balls off. In the second inning Salvador Perez led off with a single, one out later Jonathan India singled, and Carter Jensen hit a 2-RBI double in his first at-bat since the sleeping fiasco. His bat has been a bit quiet early this season, maybe the extra sleep did him some good.
Unfortunately, Seth Lugo could not put up a shutdown inning. He gave up a single, struck out the next two, and then Brice Turang swatted an RBI-triple to left and scored on a Garrett Mitchell double. If you’re keeping track at home, the Brewers scored all of their runs in both games with two outs. Fortunately he got Christian Yelich out on a soft liner to Maikel Garcia to end the threat. He struggled through two more innings but didn’t give up any more runs.
The Royals bats went quiet until the sixth inning, but when they woke up, they got loud.
Salvy smashed a one-out solo shot to left center to give the Royals the lead. Caglianone struck out on a filthy fastball at the bottom of the zone, but now it was the Royals’ turn to do some two out damage. India hit another single, then Carter Jensen singled, then Isaac Collins singled to give the Royals an insurance run. The Brewers brought in left-hander Jared Koenig to face the Royals hottest hitter to start the year, Kyle Isbel. Isbel was not deterred and drove in another run with a single. Maikel roped a double to left for another run. The Brewers intentionally walked Bobby, and then Jake Bauers booted Vinnie’s grounder to first for the Royals’ seventh run. A wild pitch allowed Garcia to score and led to Salvy also getting an intentional walk. Jac Caglianone had the ignominious distinction of being both the second and third out in the inning when he grounded out sharply to short. Just like that, the Royals went from a tense tie game with a malfunctioning offense to a big lead and their best relievers not having appeared since Wednesday and Thursday.
Nick Mears pitched a clean sixth to earn the win. Eli Morgan, the Royals 27th man, finished things off with a three-inning save. He struck out five while allowing only one walk and a hit. Really impressive stuff from him to protect a bullpen that had been burned by Wednesday’s mess and a doubleheader. The bullpen combined for 10 scoreless innings across the double-header. Just really good stuff all around.
Miscellaneous
The Royals have guaranteed a .500 homestand
The Royals have been a feast-or-famine offense; they’ve scored between 3 and 8 runs only once.
Jac Caglianone has the second-hardest hit ball of the year with one of his singles in the first inning. Don’t look now, but he’s slashing .333/.429/.417/.846
The Royals have a chance to go for the series victory tomorrow. The game will feature a battle of southpaws. Kyle Harrison will go for Milwaukee and Kris Bubic will pitch for KC. The game will start at 1:10 Royals time and be aired on Royals.TV.
Mar 17, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Pedro Ramirez against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jaxon Wiggins had a rough start today, going four innings and giving up four runs on five hits. Wiggins walked three and struck out four.
Luke Little didn’t pitch any better, but got the win because Wiggins didn’t go five and Little was the only other pitcher in the game. Little pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on one hit and three walks. He struck out three.
Iowa got on the board with a solo home run by DH BJ Murray Jr. It was Murray’s third home run already this season.
After Louisville tied the game up 4-4 in the bottom of the third, Iowa took the lead for good with a four-run top of the fourth. Left fielder Justin Dean singled in a run to break the tie. He was 1 for 4 with one run scored.
Later in the fourth, first baseman Jonathon Long hit a two-run single. Long was 2 for 3 with a walk and one run scored.
Luis Martinez-Gomez started and gave up a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. That was enough to give him the loss as he allowed two runs on four hits over four innings. Martinez-Gomez walked two and struck out four.
Rehabbing Seiya Suzuki played the entire game as the designated hitter and was 1 for 4.
Left fielder Jordan Nwogu was 2 for 4.
South Bend Cubs
South Bend is still waiting to play their first game this year, as their game this afternoon was called again for unplayable conditions.
Starter David Bracho allowed just one unearned run on two hits over three innings. Bracho did walk three while striking out one.
Edwardo Rodriguez didn’t allow a run or a hit over the next two innings, but he did walk four. Rodriguez struck out one.
Last year’s 11th-round draft pick Eli Jerzembeck made his professional debut over the final 3.1 innings. He gave up two unearned runs in the ninth inning to make it close after the Pelicans committed two fielding errors in the inning. But he ended up closing out the game and picking up his first professional win. The final line on Jerzembeck was two unearned runs on one hit over 3.1 innings. He struck out three and walked no one.
DH Edward Vargas singled in a run in the top of the second inning to open the scoring. He had another RBI single in the third inning. Vargas went 2 for 4 with the two RBI.
Second baseman Jose Escobar was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the third inning. He also scored a run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Josiah Hartshorn. Hartshorn was 1 for 4 with the sac fly.
Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy went a perfect 3 for 3 with two walks and four steals.
Apr 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Logan Henderson (43) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images
The Brewers and Royals played a game with a lot of baserunners but not a lot of action tonight, except for one big inning. The Royals busted the game open with a five-run, two-out rally in the sixth, an inning full of sloppiness on Milwaukee’s part, a Royals inning that felt almost Brewers-y. The Brewers, meanwhile, weren’t able to muster much offensively, and ended up settling with a split of today’s doubleheader (here’s the recap of the first game, if you would like some happier reading). Hopefully, the game was the only thing the Brewers lost tonight, as Sal Frelick became the latest Brewers position player to deal with an injury when he exited the game after hitting a single in the fourth inning.
Royals starter Seth Lugo was on his game early tonight, and retired the first six Brewer hitters. Logan Henderson, Milwaukee’s 27th man and tonight’s starter, wasn’t quite as sharp. In the first inning, Maikel Garcia led off with a single but was erased when trying to steal second on a perfect throw from Gary Sánchez.
An absolute LASER from El Gary to cut down the runner
In the second inning, the Kansas City leadoff hitter reached again when Salvador Perez walked. Jac Caglianone flew out for the first out, but Jonathan India hit a single and Carter Jensen put the first runs on the board with a two-run double into the right field corner. Henderson retired Isaac Collins and Kyle Isbel to end the inning and limit the damage, but in a flip of the early game, it was the Royals, not the Brewers, who led 2-0 through two innings.
David Hamilton was the first Brewer baserunner following a great at-bat to lead off the third: he fouled off four straight 1-2 pitches before knocking a single through the infield on the eighth pitch he saw. Blake Perkins battled with Hamilton on first and made Lugo throw nine more pitches, but he struck out. Joey Ortiz struck out, too, but Brice Turang hit a fly ball into a good spot in left that Collins couldn’t catch on a dive, and Turang ended up at third base with an RBI triple.
Garrett Mitchell was next, and Lugo left a mistake right over the middle, a hanging sweeper in a 2-1 count, that Mitchell laced it into the right field gap. Mitchell had a double, his third run-scoring extra-base hit of the day (after two in the day game), and Turang scored to tie the game at two. Lugo got Christian Yelich to end the inning, but the Brewers had two big two-out RBIs, and Lugo was all the way up to 63 pitches through three innings.
Henderson, who isn’t fully stretched out and threw only 45 pitches in his one start at Triple-A Nashville earlier this week, was done after two innings and 35 pitches (and a long layoff in the top of the third). The originally scheduled starter, Brandon Sproat, was on against the top of the Royals’ order. He got Garcia to strike out and then made Bobby Witt Jr. look like a much worse baseball player than he is with a nasty sinker that Witt swung over for strike three. A Vinnie Pasquantino walk extended the inning, but Perez hit a harmless grounder to short, and the inning was over.
Sal Frelick hit a two-out single in the top of the fourth, but he appeared to wince as he got to first. After a visit from Pat Murphy and the team’s athletic trainer, Frelick was removed in favor of Brandon Lockridge. Hopefully the Brewers don’t have a third injury-list addition early this season, but we’ll keep an eye out for updates (Sophia Minnaert later reported “left side tightness”). Lockridge, the injury replacement, stole second, and Hamilton had another long plate appearance before drawing a walk to put runners on first and second. Perkins walked, too, and — gasp — Ortiz was up with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, he struck out, looking a bit foolish on a 2-2 slurve off the outside of the plate. The game remained tied, but Lugo was all the way up to 91 pitches through four.
Sproat’s second inning didn’t go quite as smoothly, but he contributed to getting himself out of it. After Caglianone walked to start things, India struck out, and then Sproat picked Caglianone off at first base. A Jensen flyout to left ended the inning with no damage.
Lugo kept going in the fifth, which he may not have done had today not been a doubleheader. But Lugo struck out Turang, and he got the second out after Mitchell appeared to have an infield hit but was called out upon review. On the next pitch, Lugo’s 103rd, Yelich grounded out to end the inning.
Sproat again walked the leadoff batter, Collins, in the bottom of the fifth. After a visit from Chris Hook, Milwaukee got the first out when Kyle Isbel bunted Collins to second. Garcia hit a sinking line drive into left that looked destined for the grass, but Lockridge — quite a luxury in left field — came out of nowhere and made a sliding catch for the second out. Sproat still needed to get Witt to get out of the inning, but he needed only three pitches to strike him out for the second time. The game remained tied heading to the sixth.
Old friend Nick Mears was on the hill for Kansas City in relief of Lugo, and he had no trouble putting Jake Bauers, Sánchez, and Lockridge in order. Sproat did get the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the inning, which is good, but Perez got him with one out and hit a first-pitch curveball out to center field. Sproat recovered to strike out Caglianone (an at-bat that featured two challenges by Caglianone, the second an unsuccessful one on a 3-2 pitch), but India and Jensen hit back-to-back two-out singles to put runners on the corners. Collins was up for what felt like a momentous at-bat, and he delivered an RBI single up the middle on a 2-2 pitch that increased KC’s lead to 4-2.
That was the last pitch for Sproat, who was replaced by Jared Koenig. Koenig fell behind the nine-hole-hitter Isbel 3-0 before serving up a 3-1, 92-mph sinker right down the middle that Isbel lined into center for another RBI single. Garcia, up next, also got a pitch right down the middle — this one a changeup — and hit a double down the left field line that scored another. After an intentional walk to Witt, Pasquantino hit a chopper at Bauers, which he couldn’t snag. The team’s first error of the year (!) resulted in another run, and a wild pitch scored another, and after another intentional walk (this one to Perez), Caglianone finally grounded out to end the inning. Between Caglianone’s strikeout for the second out and his groundout to end the inning, eight straight Royals reached, five of them scored, and the Brewers were in an 8-2 hole.
Sproat looked better today, but he was still fighting his control. The stuff is certainly intriguing — he throws hard, and it moves. The issue right now is that he doesn’t really seem to know where it’s going to go. He didn’t get much of an assist from Koenig today, but his final line was four runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings on four hits, three walks, and four strikeouts.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Perkins hit a fly ball down the left-field line that should have been caught, but it bounced out of Collins’ glove (apparently in fair territory), and Perkins ended up at second on a two-base error. The next batter, Ortiz, hit a ball up the middle that India fielded but on which he had no throw, so Milwaukee had runners on the corners with one out for the top of the order. But Turang struck out on three pitches, and Mitchell struck out on four, and the Royals’ 27th man, Eli Morgan, had a zero on the board.
DL Hall worked around a four-pitch walk and two wild pitches to put up a zero in the bottom of the seventh. Luis Matos made his Brewers debut to lead off the eighth (he replaced Yelich, who was removed merely for blowout purposes), and he drew a four-pitch walk. But one pitch later, Bauers grounded into a fielder’s choice that erased Matos, then Sánchez struck out, and Lockridge grounded out to third.
Hall remained for Milwaukee in the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Garcia (his third hit tonight), but picked him off — the second Brewer pickoff of the game! A pitch later, Witt grounded out to third, and after a bit of a battle, Pasquantino popped out to end the inning. Morgan, in his third inning of work, cleanly retired the bottom of the order, and the game was over.
Henderson, Sproat, and Koenig all struggled to varying degrees tonight. Hall wasn’t perfect, but he at least managed to put up a couple of zeroes, something no other Brewer pitcher accomplished tonight. The offense was only able to muster five hits on the evening, with the only extra-base hits being the triple and double that Turang and Mitchell hit back-to-back in the third.
The Brewers and Royals will decide this series tomorrow afternoon. That’s a 1:10 p.m. start and will feature a lefty pitching matchup of Milwaukee’s Kyle Harrison and Kansas City’s Kris Bubic.
