Going up against the Rays in Tropicana Field, the Yankees lineup scored two runs in the first inning before finally pushing across another run in the eighth. The team had just five hits, but despite all of that, the Yankees had a chance to at least tie the game in the ninth inning, but manager Aaron Boone made a curious decision.
Down 5-3, Giancarlo Stanton and Amed Rosario led off with singles. Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice to put runners at the corners with two outs. Chisholm would steal second to give the Yankees an opportunity to tie the game with just a single. Randal Grichuk, who started in right field in Boone's right-handed-heavy lineup against Tampa's southpaw starter, Steven Matz, was due up.
The Rays had right-hander Bryan Baker on the mound to start the ninth looking for the save, so it seemed like a golden opportunity for the Yankees skipper to go to his bench for a left-hander in this scenario.
Trent Grisham was on the bench and could easily take Grichuk's spot in the outfield in the bottom half of the inning, but Boone decided to keep Grichuk in. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Grichuk struck out on four pitches for the second out. Boone would call Grisham's number to bat for Jose Caballero, but the veteran outfielder popped out to end the game.
"I like the righties against Baker," Boone explained. "Had it been two outs, I might have gone Grisham."
Baker, 31, is in his sixth season in the bigs and Boone says he has reverse-splits. This season, Baker has not allowed a base runner to a lefty (eight batters), but has allowed three hits, including a home run, against right-handers (10 batters). Expand that for his career and it plays out similarly. Entering Friday, right-handed batters have hit .240 with 15 home runs against him in 513 plate appearances. Left-handed bats are hitting .201 with nine home runs in 348 plate appearances.
Grichuk, who broke camp with the Yankees because of his elite bat against left-handers. Entering Friday, Grichuk was hitting .267 with 79 home runs in 1677 plate appearances against lefties. He's still solid against right-handers, batting .241 with 133 home runs in 3161 plate appearances, but Grichuk has struggled mightily to start the season.
Including Friday, Grichuk is now 0-for-9 with five strikeouts.
But the Yankees' offensive struggles aren't just on Grichuk. The three runs they scored in the series opener is the same as they scored in their last two games. As MLB.com's Bryan Hoch points out, the Yankees are batting .201 as a team, which third-lowest in MLB behind the Mariners and White Sox. Their team OPS of .648 is now ranked 23rd in baseball.
"No, I don’t think there’s any concern," Ben Rice said of the offense. "We’re so early in the year. We got off to a hot start as well. Everyone is very calm here and understands there’s a long road ahead. WE got the team that can get us to where we want to go."
"Up until the last game of the homestand, we’ve been walking a ton, giving ourselves an opportunity, just got to get some guys clicking and obviously get that big hit," Boone said. "We’re not hitting a ton of longballs right now, but for the most part, approach-wise, I’ve been good…it’s going to happen sometimes from the offense. They’ll get it rolling and some people will pay the price."
The Yankees hope to get their lineup going offensively again and break their three-game losing streak when they play the Rays on Saturday evening.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 31: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gestures while standing on first base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani has reached base in his last 44 regular season games, setting an MLB record for a player born in Japan, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki, a player he admired while growing up.
Ohtani singled in the fourth inning against Kumar Rocker the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, his 13th game in 13 tries this season reaching base by hit, walk, or hit by pitch at least once. The streak dates back to August 24, 2025, covering his final 31 games of last season.
The caveat here is that streaks like these are regular season only. Last postseason, Ohtani was on base in 15 of 17 games, only failing to reach in Game 3 of the National League Division Series and Game 5 of the World Series.
Willie Keeler: 50 games (August 22, 1900-April 22, 1901)
Ron Cey: 47 games (September 9, 1975-May 12, 1976)
Zack Wheat: 44 games (September 6, 1919-May 22, 1920)
Len Koenecke: 44 games (May 10-July 11, 1934)
Shohei Ohtani: 44 games and counting (August 24, 2025-April 10, 2026)
The Dodgers have played baseball since 1884, and joined the National League in 1890. But there aren’t full gamelogs for 19th century games. Baseball Reference has data going back to 1898, and there’s at least one known streak longer than these modern Dodgers streaks. Fielder Jones, a center fielder for Brooklyn, reached base in 70 straight games from June 13-September 7, 1899.
Let’s check back in mid-May to see if Ohtani can keep up with the Joneses.
After its 5-1 series opening loss to the Gamecocks in which the Tigers mustered two hits, Missouri baseball was ripe for an offensive resurgence. On a cold Friday evening at Taylor Stadium, neither side was able to muster much offense. Three combined hits, one of which was a bunt single, came from the Tigers and Gamecocks for the opening five innings.
Behind the eight-inning, 10 strikeout performance from South Carolina starting pitcher Amp Phillips, the Gamecocks squeaked away with a 1-0 victory that can only be described in two words: pitchers duel.
“We just didn’t make any adjustments,” Missouri coach Kerrick Jackson said. “(Amp) kept doing the same thing over and over again, and we were late to a fastball that was good, but not above-average. We never adjusted. Nobody even really tried to be early and do something different, so we got the results we got.”
Morris Hodges, who was the home plate umpire had a workout for the same time frame. The pair of starting pitchers, Brady Kehlenbrink and Amp Phillips had each struck out at least six batters by the end of the fifth. It took a throwing error from the usually sure-handed Missouri shortstop Kam Durnin to get the first Gamecocks run across the plate in the top half of the fourth.
It was a night at the plate for the Tigers where on top of all of the strikeouts and three failed bunt attempts, the little things weren’t going their way either. A potential rally starting infield single by Kam Durnin in the bottom of the fourth was snuffed out, by Durnin himself. After the Tigers next batter, Pierre Seals came up to the dish, Durnin was gunned down by Gamecocks catcher Talmadge LeCroy at second base.
Seals’ walk right after posed the “what if” scenario immediately after, which in an ideal world for Jackson’s squad, no stolen base attempt by Durnin, a Seals walk and two runners on with one out and Jase Woita coming up to the plate. In reality, a Woita fly-out to right field ended the bottom of the fourth, and another inning in the books for Phillips.
“As I told them yesterday, trying to get a hit is not an approach,” Jackson said. “We need to change that, and we need to figure out and go back to what we’ve done at times. Its not like the concept is foreign to us, as when we put up some runs, we’ve had quality at bats up and down the line that we’ve understood what the pitchers were doing. We’ve made adjustments in game at times, and some guys have even made adjustments at from at-bat to at-bat and for the last two days, we just haven’t been able to do that.”
The bottom of the fifth nearly yielded a run across the plate, once again, the clutch factor for the Tigers was missing. After a leadoff single from Kaden Peer, followed by a Mateo Serna single one batter later, a sacrafice bunt attempt by Eric Masionet found foul territory and the glove of LeCroy. Keegan Knutson connected on a hard line drive which was caught by third baseman Erik Parker, signifying the frustrating tone of the Tigers evening offensively.
Jackson was blunt and to the point post-game on what he thought was missing in the batters box Friday evening.
“Fight, plain and simple,” Jackson said. Brady comes out there and just pitches his tail off, and offensively, we didn’t even come close to matching the competitive effort and spirit that he had.”
The sixth, seventh and eighth innings for MU’s offense went similar to the song by the Beat in 1982. 1-2-3. Phillips continue to pitch his way to a multitude of season-highs, eight innings pitched, 10 strikeouts. In the bottom of the seventh, Jase Woita appealed that his groundout went off of his leg, therefore deeming the ball dead.
The umpires, after convening in the middle of the diamond, disagreed. Cameron Benson then struck out, for his third punch-out of the evening at the plate. The ninth inning for the Tigers was the last gasp, the last hope to give themselves a chance to win their first SEC game at Taylor Stadium since Mar. 23 2024.
A first pitch single for MU lead-off hitter Blaize Ward began the ninth inning. Kam Durnin quickly followed with another small-ball attempt by the Tigers, a bunt that this time went succesfully for Mizzou, after Parker failed to get a good grip on the ball, putting two runners on first and second, nobody out and Pierre Seals at the plate.
The next three plays led to the ultimate downfall for Missouri.
After a sacrafice bunt attempt by Seals went foul, an attempted double steal by the Tigers went haywire, as pinch-runner Isaiah Frost was thrown out at third, giving the Gamecocks a crucial opening out.
Seals proceded to strike out swinging and Woita, the former Gamecock, couldn’t do damage to his old team as he flew out to end a painful home loss that had few but major missed opportunities for MU.
“We had options there,” Jackson said. “Bunting is not necessarily (Pierre’s) forte as you saw with the first pitch that he attempted to bunt that we fouled off. At that point, to be able to put ourselves in a position to move the runners, it was we’ll hit and run here, I don’t care where the ball goes it just had to go forward. It could’ve been a 15,000 foot chopper that just moved the runners up, and with the way that he can be at times, he averages 100 miles an hour exit speed every time he puts the barrel on the ball. So you roll the dice there, because bunting just is not his thing.”
THE ULTIMATE REDEMPTION START FOR KEHLENBRINK
Coming into his Friday evening outing against South Carolina, Kehlenbrink’s last two outings were far from noteworthy on the positive spectrum. After nearly three inning a piece and nine and seven earned runs respectively given up against Texas A&M and Kentucky, the momentum wasn’t on his side.
Any negative carryover from those pair of outings was simply non-existent in Kehlenbrink’s outing against the Gamecocks. The left-hander pitched nothing short of in Mizzou baseball twitter’s words, “ a gem.”
7.1 innings pitched, two hits, zero earned runs and 10 strikeouts, just one short of his career-high mark he established on Mar. 8 against UIC.
“You never really have a bad outing if you learn from it,” Kehlenbrink said. “Me and the pitching coaches, Drew and Nick, sat in Drew’s office and watched some video and realized my mechanics were a little off. We worked a lot this week on getting back in gear, and I went out and executed.”
In his previous two starting appearances, the walks amounting to run scoring opportunities was a nagging issue for Kehlenbrink, giving up nine combined in the pair of outings. Zero free passes were issued to the Gamecocks with the one run coming from a slightly errant throw by Durnin, that just pulled Woita off the first base bag.
The lone run wasn’t easily given by Kehlenbrink, it was very fought for and earned the hard way. The addition of the Tigers pitching coach Drew Dickinson has made this theme much more consistent as opposed to last season.
The way he works with all of us and helps us develop is huge” Kehlenbrink said. “He doesn’t miss a bullpen, he’s always there watching us, helping us improve our repertoire, and helping us throw strikes.”
UP NEXT
Mizzou will look to avoid a series sweep on Saturday at 2:00 P.M against the Gamecocks. Both starting pitchers are still yet to be announced for both teams.
On Friday, during the Dodgers’ matchup with the Rangers, Los Angeles offered its supporters for the first time in 2026 a plastic drinking vessel that was made to look like a cooler, and while it was an immediate fan favorite, the cost certainly left a sour taste in some of its consumers’ mouths.
For the first time in 2026, the Dodgers put souvenir cooler cups up for sale at Dodger Stadium.
“I mean, s—t,” Dodgers fan Adriana Gonzales told The California Post after she ordered one with tequila and Red Bull in it. “I was not expecting almost $50 for one.”
The item’s official price tag is $39.99, but with taxes, it easily cleared the $40 mark. And nearly every fan The Post spoke with at Dodger Stadium believed that was simply gouging.
“My first words were, like,” Silvia Verdugo said, “‘I cant believe we just spent $45 on a cup.'”
Most, though, said the trinket ultimatley felt worth it in the end.
Dodgers fans paid $39.99 plus taxes for the new cup. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
“I mean,” Eric Huitron said, “it’s Dodger Stadium and they’re going to make their money. You pay a premium here no matter what. You can see everybody thinks it’s worth it because they wouldn’t be in line if they didn’t.”
The Dodgers had initially planned to sell the mug on Opening Day last month, but fans said they were told shipping issues pushed back their arrival by two weeks.
Gerald Encininas told The Post when the Dodgers announced on Friday morning that they’d be available for the first time, he made up his mind he was going to get one, “intense” price or not.
Despite its high price, fans were seen buying the cup all over Dodger Stadium. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
“It’s worth it for the experience,” he said. “I’ll be using it at home.”
It’s the second cup that’s caused a stir at Dodgerr Stadium this year — a Shohei Ohtani-themed tumbler and its $79.99 price tag alarmed fans during LA’s season opener.
Unfortunately for those who opened up their wallets on Friday, the new cup doesn’t come with free refills like the Ohtani one.
But, Gonzales did admit she got good news when she first sipped her beverage.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 10: Willy Adames #2 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates with Matt Chapman #26 after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 10, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At some point this year, there was a brief moment — a very brief moment, but a moment nonetheless — where you wondered if the San Francisco Giants would win three games this season. And now they’ve won three straight. Things can change quickly, it turns out.
The Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Friday, kicking off a nine-game road trip in style. More importantly, however, the Giants beat the Orioles in a fashion that made you feel happy and confident, not in a “even the sun shines on the Colorado Rockies 50 times a year” way.
They won because some of the stars that are supposed to carry the team, carried the team. They won because the players you’re worried about had encouraging games. They won because their starting pitching was excellent. They won because all of the above added up to give the bullpen enough of a buffer that they didn’t need to be great, or use their most trusted arms.
There are wins and there are “hey, maybe this team is all right” wins, and this was, thankfully, the latter.
The other day I wrote about how all teams make mistakes every game. And you can expand that: all teams get bad luck every game, and all teams have moments of inadequate play every game. And when a team is bad, those mistakes, bad luck, and inadequate play stand out like sore thumbs, because they have no way of overcoming it. When a team is good, you can go whole games, series, or even weeks not noticing the mistakes, bad luck, and inadequate play, because they have the ability to negate it entirely.
Let me give an example for those of you who watched the game on Apple TV, or listened to the radio: how many of you remember that the game started with Luis Arráez drawing a one-out walk, and Matt Chapman grounding into a frustrating double play on the very next pitch? Right now you’re probably nodding your head wisely, and saying ahh, yeah, oh…yeah, i guess that did happen.
Had the Giants been as useless as they were the last time they played an AL East team, that sequence would be seared into your brain. It would represent their ineptitude and struggles, and your general frustration with the team.
Instead, it was just a play.
A play you forgot as soon as the third inning rolled around when, with two outs and the bases empty, Willy Adames stepped up to the plate, worked the count full, forced Shane Baz to find the strike zone, and absolutely pummeled the baseball.
It was a gorgeous swing of the bat, and if you want to know why the Giants offense has been struggling lately — and why maybe it will break out a bit this week — well, it perhaps provided a comical insight.
Adames’ dinger brought life to the offense (their only hit the first time through the lineup was a Jung Hoo Lee double), as it was followed up by another Arráez walk (you don’t see that everyday) and a Chapman single. But Rafael Devers was unable to capitalize, ending the inning with a ground out.
That wasn’t a mistake, per se, but it was an opportunity not fully taken advantage of. Which, again: happens every game. And, again: you didn’t remember this one. I just told you it happened and you still might not remember that it happened. You might think that I’m making something up to prove a point, the way Duane Kuiper once admitted that he replaced a late-inning substitute’s name with his neighbor’s name during a Spring Training broadcast and no one noticed.
But I’m not. That really happened, and you really don’t remember it, perhaps because you didn’t watch the game and that’s why you’re here, or perhaps because it was Just Another Play in a game with plenty of good ones.
For instance, in the very next inning, when Casey Schmitt led off with one of the three doubles he had on the day, each as gorgeous and emphatic as the one before. Lee was robbed of an RBI single by second baseman Jeremiah Jackson, presenting yet another moment that could have been frustrating if the Giants weren’t so … good? Is that the word I’m looking for?
We’re used to Lee getting robbed (which moved Schmitt to third), tearing out our collective hair (mine’s getting grey, I don’t mind pulling it out) about the bad luck, and then wailing in frustration as Schmitt gets stranded on third by a strikeout, something you’ll mull over all night, with the only silver lining being that you permit yourself to have a second beer out of misery.
But no. Lee’s robbed base was followed up by an RBI single off the bat of Heliot Ramos, slumping in the slumpiest of slumps, in desperate need of such a hit.
And the rally continued with a single off the bat of Patrick Bailey, also slumping in the slumpiest of slumps, also in desperate need of such a hit (perhaps to save his entire career, if you made the mistake of listening to talking heads on the radio or the internet over the last week).
And while Harrison Bader couldn’t move either runner over, the table was set for another dynamic Adames plate appearance, which resulted in a double ripped down the left field line, scoring a third run and giving Adames his seventh extra-base hit in the last four games.
But it was the fifth inning that really provided the grist for the negative mill, should the Giants choose to … you know … uhh … mill it, or whatever. A Devers single and a Schmitt double put runners at second and third with just one out, but Lee was unable to find the situation at-bat to plate a run, and Ramos grounded out.
It could have been a moment that crumbled the game, especially with Baltimore starting to show some life on the offensive end. But like the other plays, it was a momentary struggle that you may have forgotten about, if you even registered it in the first place.
Because in the seventh inning, trying to add to a 3-1 lead, Chapman drew a one-out walk. And with two outs, Schmitt came through with the triple-double (animal style), knocking yet another triple. Chapman, running with two outs and never slowing down, ever so slightly beat out a tremendous left field relay, scoring the ever-important insurance run.
I think, at this point in the game/story, I’ve described the difference between a frustratingly bad team and a competent one. But what happened next happened next is the difference between a competent team and a good one.
The fifth inning failure was behind them thanks to the insurance run, but that insurance run would triple just three pitches later, on something no one saw coming: Lee hitting not just a two-run home run, but hitting a two-run home run in an 0-2 count against a left-handed pitcher, reliever Nick Raquet.
And if that doesn’t give you confidence in things turning around for the Giants, then I just don’t know what will.
Of course, half of the battle is on the other side of the ball, and it was there where the Giants did the exact same thing. Landen Roupp was not at his sharpest, but it didn’t matter because every mistake he wiped right off the board. He struggled mightily to find the strike zone, with just 54 of 93 pitches going for strikes, but somehow only walked two of the 25 batters he faced.
Even when Roupp didn’t erase his own mistakes, his teammates did, such as in the third inning, when he issued a one-out walk to Gunnar Henderson, before Adley Rutschman tattooed a two-out pitch off the right field wall. Yet even with the speedy Henderson getting a two-out jump, Lee was able to play the double so well that the runner was forced to stop at third, where he could only watch helplessly as Roupp struck out slugger Pete Alonso.
Funnily enough, the Orioles would finally break through an inning later, when they seemed to learn from that situation. Again they drew a one-out walk (this time Dylan Beavers), which was again followed by a double to right field (this time a one-out shot by Leody Taveras). This time Baltimore sent a runner, who barely scored ahead of nearly-perfect relay by Lee and Arráez.
But other than that, Roupp held the Orioles completely in check by challenging when he fell behind in the count, and being especially stingy early in the innings. He gave up a double in the first inning, but with two outs. He allowed a single in the second inning, but with two outs. He did the same in the fifth inning. Finally, in the sixth inning — his last — Roupp set down the side in order for the first time all night, and needed just 10 pitches to do so.
But the theme carried over into the bullpen. Keaton Winn handled the seventh, and the leadoff hitter, Jackson, reached safely on an Adames error, when his throw was in the dirt and Devers — to his own ire — couldn’t pick it out. Like the other mistakes in the game, this one you forgot … perhaps because of what transpired in the rest of the game, or perhaps because, if you looked away for a few seconds, you not only missed that play but the ensuing pitch, in which Winn induced a double play to pick his teammates up.
Similarly, J.T. Brubaker issued two walks in the eighth and had to be removed from the game, but that went largely unnoticed because Matt Gage entered and, two pitches later, the inning was over.
The Orioles finally got to the Giants bullpen in the ninth inning, when Tony Vitello was in the no-man’s land of trying to preserve a big-but-not-insurmountable lead. Vitello landed on Tidwell, a sensible choice, but it didn’t go well. Baltimore finally found life in the inning when Henderson smacked a gorgeous two-out, two-run home run, making the score a more respectable 6-3.
You would have understood if Vitello pulled Tidwell there. You also would have understood if he pulled him an inning later, after Taylor Ward doubled. And you would have been livid if hindsight analysis allowed you to criticize those lack of moves after the Giants lost.
But Vitello opted to preserve his bullpen, and trust his young reliever with the tying run still outside the batter’s box. And after Rutschman popped up, it became clear that, like all other situations in the game, the good outweighed whatever we would have complained about had they lost.
Apr 10, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Trevor Megill (29) reacts after allowing four runs to score in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
The homestand did not start well for the Brewers. After a burst by both offenses in the first, the pitching staffs kept it close until the Brewers buckled late. Most of it came from a terrible performance by Trevor Megill, and the Brewers dropped the series opener to the Nationals 7-3.
The game started with more first inning struggles for the Brewers. After James Wood led off the game with a double, Curtis Mead singled to center and the Nationals scored their first run. Aaron Ashby recovered a bit and got the next two batters out but a wild pitch moved Mead up. That didn’t matter as much as CJ Abrams doubled to right center, brining in Mead for a second run. Ashby responded with a strikeout of former Brewer Joey Wiemer, but they were already down 2-0.
However, the Brewers did not take long to rally. Jake Irvin struggled to find the strike zone and only threw 14 of his first 32 pitches for strikes. It started with a four-pitch walk to Brice Turang. He recovered for strikeouts of William Contreras and Christian Yelich, but Garrett Mitchell also drew a walk. That set up Jake Bauers, who worked the count full before hitting a slider thrown right down the middle deep into the right field bleachers. With one hit, the Brewers went from down 2-0 to up 3-2.
Both starters settled in for the second inning, each retiring the side in order. Ashby came back out to start the third and struck James Wood out. Manager Pat Murphy brought in Chad Patrick for the bulk innings after that. His day started alright with a line out and ground out. As for the Brewers, they got a walk and single but couldn’t score them in the bottom of the inning.
The next two innings were quiet before the Nationals threatened in the sixth. Wood and Daylen Lile singled to put runners on the corners, then Patrick walked Brady House following a stolen base by Lile. With the bases loaded, Murphy brought in Angel Zerpa to get them out of the jam. It worked as CJ Abrams grounded into a double play, and the score remained at 3-2.
Zerpa remained in the game for the seventh. He walked Wiemer to start the inning, who then switched places with Luis García, Jr. on a ground out. After Jorbit Vivas walked, pinch-hitter Jacob Young came in to face Zerpa. Young won the match, hitting a double to the right field corner that scored García Jr. Young tried to stretch it to a triple and was thrown out, but the damage was done. The game was tied at 3-3.
That tie held into the ninth inning. Trevor Megill came into the game to try and keep it tied for a potential ninth-inning rally. What followed was a sequence of nine pitches that completely torpedoed the game. With his third pitch, he hit CJ Abrams to give the Nationals a leadoff baserunner. On the fifth pitch, Wiemer hit a bunt to the third base side of the infield and was able to beat Luis Rengifo’s throw. The next pitch was hit right down the middle by García Jr., scoring Abrams and moving Wiemer to third. That got a mound visit, as well as Easton McGee warming in the bullpen.
It just got worse from there. On the seventh pitch, Vivas hit a bunt back towards the mound. A good throw might have got Wiemer at home, but Megill’s throw was a soft lob not close to Contreras that ended up going to the backstop. Pinch-runner Nasim Nuñez easily reached because of that, and the Nationals were up 5-3. Two pitches later, the Nationals went for another sacrifice bunt. Once again, it went back to Megill and there would have been a play at home with a good throw. Once again, Megill just lobbed the baseball to Contreras at home, this time like it was a force play at the plate. Nuñez scored, the Nationals were up 6-3, and the boos were out in full force. Murphy pulled Megill at nine pitches and brought in McGee.
The Nationals got one more run off the Brewers, with Wood hitting a double off of McGee to start his appearance. Mead hit a ground ball hard to Rengifo at third, and he had an easy throw to get Drew Millas at home. After that, Lile hit into a double play and the inning mercifully came to an end. The Nationals scored four runs and the Brewers were down 7-3. Clayton Beeter finished the game in the ninth for the Nationals, and the Brewers just went down in order quietly to end the game.
After the first inning, the Brewers offense was held in check. Jake Bauers led the offense with a two-hit day and added on a walk. Brice Turang had a hit and a walk as well. However, the offense was held to four hits and five walks overall. The bottom four batters in the lineup went 0-for-13 with two walks and three strikeouts.
Meanwhile, the Nationals roughed up the Brewers’ pitching staff. They had 11 hits and two walks as a team and only struck out six times. Ashby allowed two of their runs in a rough first inning. Patrick pitched three scoreless innings, but left with the bases loaded. Zerpa got them out of that jam in the sixth before allowing a run in the seventh. Abner Uribe kept the game tied with a scoreless eighth. However, Megill’s four runs allowed in the ninth, along with his terrible throws home, were what sealed this one. After the game, here’s what he had to say.
Trevor Megill on that 9th inning:
"Just completely ass PFPs from my half and need to get better there. Something I take f***ing pride in and just completely failed the team tonight on it. So yeah, need to be better there. There's no excuse for that sh*t"
With the Brewers now on a three-game losing streak, they will try to break that tomorrow in game two of the series. Kyle Harrison will face Foster Griffin at 6:10 p.m., and it will be on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: Joey Wiemer #21 of the Washington Nationals bunts for a base hit in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 10, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Brewers are well known as a team that loves to play small ball. They grind out at bats, get infield hits and are not afraid to drop down a bunt. Tonight, the Nats gave them a taste of their own medicine in the biggest spot. The Nats used three huge bunts to win this one 7-3.
The Nationals attempted one bunt (a Jacob Young sacrifice) through their first 12 games. They just attempted three in the top of the 9th and reached base on all of them.
In the first inning, it looked like this game was going to be a high scoring slugfest. The Nats started things out with a two run inning, thanks to RBI knocks from Curtis Mead and CJ Abrams. However, the Brew Crew responded with a three run blast from Jake Bauers.
For Jake Irvin, he did not have great command, but was able to battle. He walked five and really struggled in that first inning. However, the big right hander was able to settle in and give the Nats five key frames. Irvin was not only able to save the bullpen, he was also able to keep the Nats in the game.
Despite getting five frames from Irvin, the Nats still needed their rickety bullpen to keep the Brewers at bay. Surprisingly, they did just that. Paxton Schultz, Cionel Perez, PJ Poulin and Clayton Beeter combined for 4 scoreless innings. This bullpen has taken a lot of heat, and rightly so. However, they did their job tonight and we have to give them credit for that.
We have all trashed them and rightfully so but credit where it is due, the Washington Nationals bullpen was fantastic tonight
If you told me that the Nats would win a bullpen battle with the Brewers, I would not believe you. That is exactly what they did though. The ‘pen also did not issue any walks tonight, which is a very encouraging sign.
While the pitching staff was putting up zeroes, the Nats were trying to get back in the game. Jacob Young provided a pinch hit spark in the 7th, with a two out RBI double to tie the game. He got thrown out trying to extend it to a triple, but it was still a success even if the patient died.
When the 9th inning rolled around, the Brewers turned to their closer Trevor Megill. That is when the magic really started. It all started with a CJ Abrams hit by pitch and a Joey Wiemer bunt hit. The Nats must have known Megill was not a strong fielder because they were torturing him with bunts that inning. After a Luis Garcia Jr. RBI single, a barrage of bunts made it 6-3.
After all those soft bunts, James Wood decided to turn it up a notch, drilling a 115 mph double down the right field line to make it 7-3. Clayton Beeter shut the door with a clean 1-2-3 9th, and the Nats improved to 5-8.
Speaking of Wood, he is on an absolute tear right now. After the way he finished last season, his first week or so was concerning. However, we have seen the best of Wood in the last week. Somehow, his 115 mph double was not even his hardest hit ball of the night. He launched one 116 mph in the first inning for a double. With four hits tonight, Wood is now hitting .268 with a .930 OPS. I do not think this guy is going to Rochester any time soon folks. Overall, it was a great win for the Nats and hopefully they can finish the job and win the series tomorrow.
Apr 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Steven Matz throws a pitch during the first inning against New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images
Through his first three starts of the season, Steven Matz is making the 2- year, $15M deal he signed with the Rays this offseason look like quite the steal. The 34-year-old southpaw took the mound for the third time this season and left with this third win. This time, Matz held the dangerous Yankees lineup to just two runs over five innings. He allowed only two hits, struck out seven, and walked two.
Across 16 innings pitched this year, he has struck out 17, allowed just 10 hits, and walked five. He has pitched to a sub 4.00 ERA and sub 1.00 WHIP.
Tonight, he kept the Yankees lineup off balance throwing as many changeups as he did fastballs. Matz worked around a sloppy first inning in which two runs crossed the plate and gave the Yankees an early 2-0 lead. Early on it appeared we were in for more of the same bad baseball we saw in the final two games of the previous series. Judge stole second and advanced to third on a rare error by Walls on the throw down to second. Later in the inning Chandler Simpson misplayed a line drive to left and turned a single into an RBI triple.
Nonetheless, the new look Rays lineup featuring Simpson at the top and Yandy hitting cleanup, had an answer. A two out walk to Aranda issued by Yankees starter Luis Gil brought Yandy to the plate with a chance to tie the game with one swing of the bat. He did just that launching a two-run opposite field blast to tie the game at 2-2 in the first.
The Rays quickly grabbed their first lead of the game the next inning as Taylor Walls scored on a Chandler Simpson ground ball fielder’s choice. Walls was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning and had advance to third on a Fortes single. The 3-2 lead would hold until the bottom of the sixth when the Rays added two more runs. Williamson started the inning with a leadoff double and Walls reached a sac bunt that the Yankees pitcher Brent Headrick couldn’t handle. With one out, Simpson jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined it into center scoring Williamson. Walls eventually scored on a ground out by Aranda. After six innings, the Rays held a 5-2 lead.
The Rays bullpen was solid tonight as they pieced together four innings of one run baseball. The one run came against Hunter Bigge in the eighth as Ben Rice hit a solo shot to center bringing the Yankees to within a bloop and a blast.
Bryan Baker didn’t make it easy on himself in the top of the ninth, but worked around back-to-back singles to lead off the inning and earned his second save of the season. With the tying run standing on second base, Baker struck out Grichuk and retired the pinch-hitting Grisham via a pop fly to seal the deal.
Jax, Seymour, Bigge, and Baker struck out five over four innings of work and allowed just one run on three hits.
Luis Gil took the loss in his season debut while Matz moved to 3-0. The win moved the Rays to just one game shy of .500 (6-7) as they look to even their record and secure a series win on Saturday evening with Nick Martinez on the mound. Max Fired will take the ball for the Yankees and look to maintain his strong start.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 10: JP Crawford #3 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates after scoring on a wild pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park on April 10, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Make sure to look back at the previous game thread and preview if you’re looking for game information.
Apr 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) goes down after being hit by a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in the first inning. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
I don’t have many words for this Red Sox team already, so we’re gonna keep it short.
Studs
No one? Is it that bad I don’t have just about anything good to say about this game?
Duds
Where do I even begin with duds for this game. Willson Contreras with a golden sombrero, including getting wrung up then losing an ABS challenge to end a frame. Duran and Durban both with 0-fers at the top of the lineup. Connelly Early not having any real smooth inning, then the bullpen not saving his skin in the least bit. Letting Dustin May look like a superstar on the bump. This was a rough one.
Play of the Game
The only real positive of the game was this bit of base-running to bring home a run.
Apr 10, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) runs out a single against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The Mets, after falling to the Oakland Sacramento A’s by a score of 4-0, have pushed their scoreless streak to 17 innings. It’s not what you want.
The good news, which is more existential than tangible after three straight losses, is the loss puts the Mets at an even 7-7 to begin the season, which could be worse. While we all expect more from the team, it also is far from a death sentence — the best teams in every baseball season have stretches where they cannot really hit and go .500 for a spell. It mostly is just a big old heaping plate of Feels Bad when you start the season that way, especially when 2025 left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths.
Clay Holmes got the start in this one and looked good, until he left the game with hamstring tightness (more on that later). He only struck out three in his five and one thirds innings, but he did a great job of forcing weak contact continuously. He surrendered just one run, which came in the third inning. Old Friend Carlos Cortes singled to lead off the frame, Lawrence Butler walked, and Shea Langeliers singled to bring Cortes home. Holmes managed to keep the damage at just the one run, but that would have been enough for the A’s.
Holmes continued to keep it a 1-0 game into the sixth inning, where he surrendered a one out single to Jacob Wilson, did some hamstring sweeps beside the mound and grimaced in pain, and was quickly lifted by the trainer for Tobias Myers. In his postgame scrum, Carlos Mendoza said that they hope he does not miss a start, so hopefully it stays a minor thing for Holmes, who has had a nice start to his 2026 season.
The Mets offense could not hit water from a boat, however, so that one run was more than enough. They had six hits on the day, and only took three at bats with runners in scoring position. Another old friend, J.T. Ginn got the start and gave up a single hit in four innings, and it became a bullpen game from there for the A’s. Their biggest threat came in the sixth inning, when Jack Perkins came in to relieve Mark Leiter Jr. Back to back singles by Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette made it first and third with no outs. Jared Young hit a bouncer to first, and Lindor got held up between home and third. Nick Kurtz made a nice play to freeze him, and threw him out as he retreated to third for the first out. Luis Robert Jr. promptly hit into a double play to somehow escape the inning still down 1-0.
Myers was great in relief of Holmes until the ninth inning. He was perfect for the first two and two thirds innings prior to the ninth, but fell apart in the final frame of the evening. A Jacob Wilson lead off single (coupled with a brutal Carson Benge error in left to turn it into a de facto double) and a single by another Old Friend, Jeff McNeil, made it 2-0. A double by the Younger Max Muncy made it second and third. He got a ground out to finally put an out on the board, but a single by Denzel Clarke made it 4-0 and effectively ended the game. Richard Lovelady came into the game to mop it up and did so efficiently, getting Lawrence Butler to ground into a double play.
The bottom of the ninth inning went by quickly, with Jared Young, Brett Baty and Marcus Semien making the final three outs around a Luis Robert Jr. single.
Losers of three straight, the Mets offense is going through it right now. They obviously miss Juan Soto, and with Jorge Polanco battling Achilles bursitis, and Francisco Lindor ending the day with a whopping 73 wRC+, they are behind the eight ball on the offensive side of the ball. The good news is they are far from a terrible place at 7-7, and there are many many many many games left to be played. Despite that, it has been a frustrating watch over the first 14 games.
Big Mets winner: Clay Holmes, +1.2% WPA Big Mets loser: Luis Robert Jr., -2.0% WPA Mets pitchers: +1.3% WPA Mets hitters: -6.3% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette’s sixth inning single, +16.3% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Shea Langeliers RBI single in the third inning, -11.2% WPA
Apr 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) pitches in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
The St. Louis Cardinals began the 2nd homestand of the 2026 season taking on the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Before we get to the baseball, the first important moment of the game was the return of Willson Contreras to St. Louis after being traded during the offseason. As expected, he received a warm welcome.
Dustin May looked more like the Dustin May many of us expected/hoped to see as he gave St. Louis six strong innings allowing only 1 earned run. His stat line looked like this: 6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 earned run, no walks with 4 strikeouts.
The scoring began early for the Cardinals as they played some small ball in the 2nd inning. After Ramón Urías doubled, Masyn Winn walked and Jose Fermin singled to left. After Pedro Pagés struck out, Victor Scott II got the job done with a sacrifice fly to left.
Of note, Masyn Winn was hit in the calf by a pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning and he would later leave the game as Thomas Saggese took his place in the lineup.
The Boston Red Sox would scrap back in the top of the 4th inning when Yoshida singled to right followed by a strikeout from Willson Contreras. That would be followed by a single to Abreu moving Yoshida to third. Yoshida would then score on a throwing error by JJ Wetherholt on a Trevor Story groundout. Later that inning, the Red Sox literally stole a run as Mayer stole second, Pages threw to 2nd and Wetherholt was unable to throw out Story at home. That made it 2-1 Red Sox halfway through the 4th inning.
The Cardinals would tie the game up and eventually take the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning when Jordan Walker singled. Urias then walked which brought up Thomas Saggese on his birthday. He did not disappoint. His single tied the game at 2-2.
Later in the 5th inning, Urias advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Jose Fermin making it 3-2 Cardinals.
The Cardinals bullpen held the lead (barely) as Ryan Stanek pitched a solid 7th inning, but JoJo Romero got into trouble in the top of the 8th inning when he allowed a double to Ceddanne Rafaela. After Duran lined out to center, Durbin was hit by a pitch after Romero had 2 strikes on him. JoJo would redeem himself, though, by striking out Yoshida and getting Willson Contreras to flyout to deep right centerfield.
Riley O’Brien was brought in to close out the game in the 9th inning and quickly slammed the door on the Red Sox getting them out 1-2-3.
Other Cardinals stats to pass along from Friday’s game. JJ Wetherholt was 0-3, but managed 2 walks to continue his on-base streak of 12 games. Jordan Walker continued his impressive 2026 start by going 2-4 with singles to both right and left field. St. Louis is now 8-5 this season. Not bad for a rebuilding team, am I right? Let’s not get carried away, but as of right now, the Cardinals are tied for first place. The Cardinals have Kyle Leahy set to start Saturday night’s game against the Red Sox as he’ll do battle with Ranger Suarez. Game time Saturday night is 6:15pm weather permitting. That will be a national broadcast from Fox, by the way.
Mets Keith Hernandez is introduced to the crowd during Old Timers Day celebration before the game when the New York Mets played the Colorado Rockies Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, at Citi Field in Queens.
It looks like the Mets’ injury bug has infected the SNY broadcast booth as well.
Midway through the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Athletics on Friday, Keith Hernandez revealed that he will be undergoing back surgery on Tuesday.
Mets Keith Hernandez is introduced to the crowd during Old Timers Day celebration before the game when the New York Mets played the Colorado Rockies Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, at Citi Field in Queens. for the NY POST
Hernandez, 72, added that he is hoping to return to the booth for the Mets’ home series against the Rockies, which starts on April 24.
“I’m shooting to come back during the Rockies series over the weekend home here,” he said.
He then joked with fellow commentators Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, with Hernandez saying that they don’t think he’s gonna make it out of surgery.
“I know you don’t think I’ll make it,” Hernandez said while the others can be heard laughing in the background.
“I hope you do, I’m rooting for you, Keith,” Cohen quickly interjected.
The broadcast then panned to a graphic titled “Get Well Soon Keith,” which showed a man lying on an island with a full-body cast.
Hernandez (right) said that he is hoping to return to the booth for the Mets’ home series against the Rockies, which starts on April 24. SNY
This is not the first time that Hernandez has had back surgery, having repaired a ruptured disk back in 2019.
Hernandez’s back troubles have already caused him to miss a few games this year, notably being absent from the Mets’ west-coast series against the Giants earlier this month, where the Amazin’s took three of four games from San Francisco.
During Tuesday’s 4-3 over the Diamondbacks, Hernandez said that he tried watching the Giants series back at home, but San Francisco played so terribly that he had to turn it off.
“I tried to watch the Giants series, Gare, but the Giants played so horribly that I had to turn it off,” Hernandez said.
“Todd [Zeile] and I were not compelling enough to keep your attention?” Cohen responded.
“Had nothing to do with you guys. It just was … the defense, I just was stunned,” Hernandez continued.
“When it was finally 6-0, I turned it off,” he added while mimicking turning off a television.
In the Mets’ loss Friday, starter Clay Holmes exited during the sixth inning of his with hamstring tightness.
On an 0-2 pitch with one out in the top of the seventh inning during the Pirates’ 2-0 win over the Cubs, Pittsburgh infielder Nick Gonzales took a 94 mph fastball from Chicago left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar that appeared to be off the plate.
Home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz thought otherwise and rung up Gonzales for strike three.
The moment Nick Gonzales decided to challenge the strike call. He’d change his mind less than a second later. Talkin' Baseball/X
Nick Gonzales challenged this two-strike pitch and instantly tried to retract it since the Pirates only had one challenge remaining. The umpire insisted that he had to challenge it, and it ended up being successful pic.twitter.com/FpAbRZdSQ1
Gonzales immediately disagreed, tapping his helmet in a visual that baseball fans have become used to over the first few weeks of the season.
Rather than turning his head to the video board and waiting for the robo umpires to give the verdict on the pitch, Gonzales appeared to change his mind, waving toward Ortiz as if to say “never mind.”
Ortiz wasn’t having it.
Despite Gonzales’ wishes, Ortiz went on with the challenge, announcing to the crowd that the Pittsburgh hitter wanted to see if the pitch did in fact clip the strike zone.
It all worked out for Gonzales in the end.
Nick Gonzales learned he couldn’t take back an ABS challenge on Friday. Talkin' Baseball/XNick Gonzales couldn’t believe home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz went through with the challenge. Talkin' Baseball/X
ABS showed that Thielbar’s pitch was more than an inch off the plate, giving Gonzales a second life in the plate appearance.
Gonzales would be set down four pitches later anyway on a fly ball to left field, but players and teams alike learned a valuable lesson — there’s no un-challenging a pitch under ABS.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 10: Arizona Diamondbacks catcher James McCann #8 hits a two run double during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 10th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Game Summary
The Diamondbacks starting rotation has had a habit of being sunk by the “Blow Up Inning” over the last couple seasons, and after the first inning tonight, I thought Soroka was just another member of the club. In a rare twist on that tired trope, the Diamondbacks offense punched through with their own Blow Up Inning against the now very-well-paid Jesus Luzardo, and when the dust settled, the Diamondbacks 5-run fifth eked out the Phils’ 4-run first.
Michael Soroka had been having a stellar start to the season, and I suppose he can say that is mostly still correct, with the lone exception being the first four Phillies hitters who faced him on this beautiful looking April night in Philadelphia. The Phillies offense was riding a 20 inning scoreless streak and quickly snapped it with Turner, Schwarber, Harper, and Marsh opening the game with Single, Walk, RBI Double, 3-Run Dinger. 4 runs. No outs. Cue the mound visit from Brian Kaplan. From that moment on, Soroka’s pitching line was: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K and ZERO runs allowed. Unfortunately, his final line will include those first four hitters, but Soroka was able to lock in and keep the Blow Up to just the single inning and allow his offense a chance to come back.
It was a bit of a wait for the offense to show up in this game, though, but when it did finally show up, it provided a knockout punch. Jesus Luzardo didn’t have the prettiest ERA coming in to this game, but his 18:1 K:BB ratio was all you really needed to know about this tough lefty. Luzardo had the Snakes hitters flummoxed through the first 4 innings, only being able to muster 2 baserunners via BB and striking out 6 times. Then the floodgates opened in the fifth with young Jose Fernandez leading off with a 110mph single followed by a walk and bunt single from Tawa and AT, respectively. With the bases loaded and 1 out (after Barrosa punched out) Ketel Marte lined a 2-RBI single, Ildemaro Vargas got an RBI single, and James McCann (inserted into the game in the third inning which I’ll discuss more in a bit) rocked a go-ahead 2-RBI double into the right-center gap to put the DBacks in the lead and chase Luzardo from the game.
From that point it was a battle of the bullpens and both were up to the task. Each bullpen only allowed 2 H and 0 BB the rest of the night. Jonny Lasagna was the first out of the pen, getting the final out in the sixth and the first 2 of the 7th, all via strikeout. Juan Morillo then came in for the lefties at the top of the order: Schwarber, Harper and Marsh. Schwarber flew out, but Harper and Marsh went down flailing haplessly at Morillo’s filth. Morillo then got one more strikeout after allowing a single to send the game to the 9th with a Diamondbacks lead. Sewald came in and was living dangerously, his fastball (with velocity at his upper end of 92mph) landing right in the middle of the zone repeatedly, but the Phillies miraculously couldn’t do anything with it outside a 2-out triple and left the Snakes victorious.
The one blemish on tonight’s victory is that Gabi Moreno had to leave the game early due to what the team was saying is lower back tightness. Doesn’t sound too severe, but leaving the game in the third inning is generally not what you want, especially for a guy who has had as much time missed to injury as Gabi has. James McCann hasn’t had the greatest start offensively while Gabi has been one of our best hitters so any extended absence for Moreno would be devastating. Come to think of it, though, tonight makes two nights in a row that the second catcher in the game got a pinch-hit RBI double in a critical moment. Maybe we should use 2 catchers every game! /s
Win Probability and Box Score
Outside the Box Score
No notes from me tonight as I was detained elsewhere for the bulk of this game. Have to get back on it next week.
Comment of the Game
Looks like the GameDay Thread was fairly well attended with a total of 250 comments at time of publishing. Tonight’s COTG goes to the always optimistic ChefAZ with this postscript to the game:
Rolling we are! Not so bad when we aren’t facing a billion-dollar lineup!
Coming Up
The Diamondbacks face the Phillies for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow afternoon with an early 10:05am start time on FS1 and DBacks.TV. Former Diamondback right-hander Taijaun Walker (0-2, 9.31 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies and Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 6.75 ERA) takes the ball for the good guys hoping to make a statement to the front office that he deserves to stay in the rotation after the return of the Mainstay.
