Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Phillies trade for reliever Daniel Robert, option him to Triple A  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies announced Thursday morning that they acquired right-handed relief pitcher Daniel Robert and optioned him to Triple A Lehigh Valley. 

The club sent 20-year-old righty Enrique Segura to the Rangers in exchange for Robert. Segura is a Dominican starter who went 1-2 with a 3.18 ERA this year at Single A Clearwater. 

Robert, 30, made his MLB debut last season. The former 21st-round draft pick was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four appearances. Robert threw his sweeper on nearly half of his pitches. The Auburn product’s fastball averaged 94.9 mph.

Robert started 2025 at Triple A Round Rock. He’s pitched in 10 minor-league games this season and has a 1.54 ERA. Robert’s Triple A numbers were good for Round Rock in 2024, too — 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 52 strikeouts and 13 walks. Triple A batters hit .144 against him.

Relief pitching has been an early-season weakness for the Phillies, whose 5.03 bullpen ERA ranks 27th in MLB.

Phillies trade for reliever Daniel Robert, option him to Triple A  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies announced Thursday morning that they acquired right-handed relief pitcher Daniel Robert and optioned him to Triple A Lehigh Valley. 

The club sent 20-year-old righty Enrique Segura to the Rangers in exchange for Robert. Segura is a Dominican starter who went 1-2 with a 3.18 ERA this year at Single A Clearwater. 

Robert, 30, made his MLB debut last season. The former 21st-round draft pick was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four appearances. Robert threw his sweeper on nearly half of his pitches. The Auburn product’s fastball averaged 94.9 mph.

Robert started 2025 at Triple A Round Rock. He’s pitched in 10 minor-league games this season and has a 1.54 ERA. Robert’s numbers were good for Round Rock in 2024, too — 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 52 strikeouts and 13 walks. Triple A batters hit .144 against him.

Relief pitching has been an early-season weakness for the Phillies, whose 5.03 bullpen ERA ranks 27th in MLB.

Why Giants' series vs. historically bad Rockies is so significant originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Managers and players will spend the entire season spouting the same cliches ahead of their matchups with the Colorado Rockies. You treat every opponent the same and every day the same. Anyone can beat anyone on every given day, etc., etc., etc.

That’s the best way to get through 162 games, and it’s certainly the best way to put yourself in contention for a division title. But … the situation in the NL West this season feels like it’ll be different.

Everyone will say all the right things, but the reality in this division is that it’s mandatory to win every series against the last-place Colorado Rockies, and it might be borderline necessary to sweep them. The top four teams are so bunched together that the division title and playoff spots might actually come down to who fares best against the worst in the West.

The Giants are back home for four against the Rockies, who have just five wins in their first 30 games. Colorado has been swept five times already, including by both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, with the latter being a string of three straight shutouts at Petco Park earlier this month. 

The first series against the division’s worst team couldn’t come at a better time for the Giants, who dropped both of their games in San Diego. This weekend feels like a time to make up ground, and the Giants know it, even if they don’t want to talk about it too much. Willy Adames came closest Tuesday when he said the team wanted to come out and win Wednesday and then go home and “sweep the Rockies, or win the series at least.” 

Manager Bob Melvin doesn’t want to separate the four Rockies series from others, though. He said there’s no added pressure to take advantage of these games. 

“Every Major League team can beat any other team. We don’t take anybody lightly,” Melvin said Wednesday. “The [Los Angeles] Angels beat us two out of three and I think that was the only team on that road trip that we had a losing record against. I don’t think there’s more pressure on it. I think you just individualize each game and have an expectation to win and that’s the best way to look at it.”

The Atlanta Braves got a reminder of that Wednesday at Coors Field, when the Rockies scored two early runs off Chris Sale and held on for a 2-1 win that snapped an eight-game losing streak, which was their third skid of at least six games already. The Rockies will come to Oracle Park on pace to go 27-135, which would shatter the losses record that was set just last season by the Chicago White Sox. On the road, the numbers are even uglier. 

The Rockies are 1-14 away from Coors and are hitting .186 with a .539 OPS. They have struck out in about 30 percent of their road plate appearances, and on the other side of the ball, they rank 26th in road ERA.  

In a division where four teams currently have at least a 45 percent chance of making the postseason, per FanGraphs, every win is going to matter. The Giants learned that in 2021, when they went 17-2 against a 110-loss Arizona Diamondbacks squad and 15-4 against the fourth-place Rockies. The Dodgers, who won 106 games but finished in second, went 29-9 against the two worst teams in the West that year, and that ultimately made a difference.

The 2025 season is only a month old, but the Rockies already are 15 1/2 games out of first place. With 46 games left against the other four West teams, though, they will impact the division race in their own way. They can play spoiler all season long, something the Giants will try to avoid this weekend. 

“At the end of the day, we have to go out there and compete, it doesn’t matter who it is,” Heliot Ramos said Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter if they’re good. It doesn’t matter if they’re a great team. We have to go out there and compete and give everything that we’ve got.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Pirates fan in critical condition after fall from outfield wall at Cubs-Pirates game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A Pittsburgh Pirates fan that fell from a 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and Chicago Cubs remains hospitalized in critical condition, officials said Thursday.

The shocking fall led to the game being briefly delayed, and the fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs, as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart.

Shortly after the game ended, the Pirates issued a statement saying the man was transported to a nearby hospital.

In message posted to X late Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, said that the man was in critical condition and that police were investigating.

In an updated post Thursday morning, Pittsburgh Public Safety said the incident was being treated as “accidental in nature,” and they did not anticipate providing further updates to the public.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play. Teammates from both sides could be seen taking a knee after the incident.

“Even though it’s 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean, Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It’s extremely unfortunate. That’s an understatement.”

Counsell said he and the team are thinking about the man’s family, calling the incident “obviously scary.” He was seen on the broadcast pointing out the man to umpires, who immediately halted the game, but Counsell told media he did not see the fan fall.

“We didn’t know what we saw,” he said after the game. “All we saw was somebody laying on the warning track, and you know that’s not good. I hope the gentleman’s OK. Thinking about his family and him right now.”

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson reacted to the incident after the game.

“I didn’t see anything happen, but I saw (Counsell’s) face when he came out on the field, and I could tell that it was a very scary moment,” Swanson said. “All we could do was just pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I have never been part of something like that before and I hope I am never part of something like that again.

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.

In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers’ former stadium.

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey’s family.

A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium died following a fall on an escalator.

Pirates fan in critical condition after fall from outfield wall at Cubs-Pirates game originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

A Pittsburgh Pirates fan that fell from a 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and Chicago Cubs remains hospitalized in critical condition, officials said Thursday.

The shocking fall led to the game being briefly delayed, and the fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs, as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart.

Shortly after the game ended, the Pirates issued a statement saying the man was transported to a nearby hospital.

In message posted to X late Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, said that the man was in critical condition and that police were investigating.

In an updated post Thursday morning, Pittsburgh Public Safety said the incident was being treated as “accidental in nature,” and they did not anticipate providing further updates to the public.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play. Teammates from both sides could be seen taking a knee after the incident.

“Even though it’s 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean, Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It’s extremely unfortunate. That’s an understatement.”

Counsell said he and the team are thinking about the man’s family, calling the incident “obviously scary.” He was seen on the broadcast pointing out the man to umpires, who immediately halted the game, but Counsell told media he did not see the fan fall.

“We didn’t know what we saw,” he said after the game. “All we saw was somebody laying on the warning track, and you know that’s not good. I hope the gentleman’s OK. Thinking about his family and him right now.”

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson reacted to the incident after the game.

“I didn’t see anything happen, but I saw (Counsell’s) face when he came out on the field, and I could tell that it was a very scary moment,” Swanson said. “All we could do was just pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I have never been part of something like that before and I hope I am never part of something like that again.

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.

In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers’ former stadium.

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey’s family.

A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium died following a fall on an escalator.

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after falling 20 feet from a stand onto the field of play at a Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball game.

The spectator fell over the railing at the Pirates' PNC Park during the seventh innings of the match against the Chicago Cubs.

He received treatment from emergency services and the two teams' medical staff before being taken to Allegheny General Hospital, the Pirates said.

"I'm thinking about his family and him right now," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

"Obviously scary. I didn't see it happen, but I saw it out there after the play. I just hope everything turns out OK."

The game was stopped for around 10 minutes to allow the man to be given medical attention before being taken from the field on a cart.

Pirates player Andrew McCutchen said: "Truly hate what happened tonight.

"Can't help but think about that guy, his family and friends.

"I pray tonight for him.

"Let us think about his loved ones and hug our families a little tighter tonight. I hope he pulls through."

Pittsburgh Public Safety also confirmed police are investigating the incident.

"Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services field medics treated him on scene until he could be transported to the hospital in critical condition," it said.

It was a frustrating evening for the Mets in their 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, but Brandon Waddell was an unlikely bright spot.

The veteran left-hander hadn't pitched in the majors in four years before he was called upon to be the team's long reliever on Wednesday and he was better than probably anyone expected. In his 12th major league appearance, the 30-year-old pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, no walks, and striking out four batters.

"Good to be back," Waddell said after the game. "I said in spring training that I can pitch here, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come back. To be able to do that is pretty cool."

"Unbelievable. For him to go back out for the seventh and still a 1-0 ballgame there," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Waddell's game. "Makes his pitches, gets them off balance, in and off to miss barrels. Changeups down and away. I thought he was really really good."

Waddell spent two-and-a-half years playing overseas, which he says is where he learned how to be a pitcher and kept his desire to make it back to the majors alive.

That experience certainly helped on Wednesday as the left-hander said he attacked hitters and tried to be as efficient as possible to put the Mets in a position to win. Waddell threw 40 of his 60 pitches for strikes, and when he walked off the mound in the seventh, the Citi Field crowd of more than 31,000 gave him a standing ovation.

"It's awesome. It's something I definitely didn’t expect, but you can feel it," he said of the moment. "As a player, it means a lot to have that support. It’s something that we always cherish."

Waddell's 4.1 innings and four strikeouts were career highs, and his outing was the longest by a Mets reliever since Nelson Figueroa in August 2009. He also became the 15th player in franchise history to throw 4.0 innings or more scoreless innings in their Mets debut.

With his performance on Wednesday and injuries to left-handers A.J. Minter and Danny Young, perhaps Waddell can find his way into the Mets' plans. But no matter what happens, Waddell is enjoying his moment.

"It’s a lot of fun really. This game is pretty cool. You don’t know where it’s going to take you and the different things it’ll teach you," Waddell said. "To have that journey is pretty special, and to be back is a lot of fun."

Pirates fan in critical condition after fall from outfield wall at Cubs-Pirates game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

A Pittsburgh Pirates fan that fell from a 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and Chicago Cubs remains hospitalized in critical condition, officials said Thursday.

The shocking fall led to the game being briefly delayed, and the fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs, as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart.

Shortly after the game ended, the Pirates issued a statement saying the man was transported to a nearby hospital.

In message posted to X late Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, said that the man was in critical condition and that police were investigating.

In an updated post Thursday morning, Pittsburgh Public Safety said the incident was being treated as “accidental in nature,” and they did not anticipate providing further updates to the public.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play. Teammates from both sides could be seen taking a knee after the incident.

“Even though it’s 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean, Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It’s extremely unfortunate. That’s an understatement.”

Counsell said he and the team are thinking about the man’s family, calling the incident “obviously scary.” He was seen on the broadcast pointing out the man to umpires, who immediately halted the game, but Counsell told media he did not see the fan fall.

“We didn’t know what we saw,” he said after the game. “All we saw was somebody laying on the warning track, and you know that’s not good. I hope the gentleman’s OK. Thinking about his family and him right now.”

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson reacted to the incident after the game.

“I didn’t see anything happen, but I saw (Counsell’s) face when he came out on the field, and I could tell that it was a very scary moment,” Swanson said. “All we could do was just pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I have never been part of something like that before and I hope I am never part of something like that again.

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.

In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers’ former stadium.

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey’s family.

A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium died following a fall on an escalator.

The Mets fell to the Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Citi Field. After the game, manager Carlos Mendoza and some of the players spoke about the game and other topics...

---

Ryne Stanek's bad luck

Stanek has been great since joining the Mets last season, but he's gone through a rough stretch of late.

Over his last three appearances, including Wednesday, he's allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk, giving up the lead in all three games, including twice in the ninth inning in save situations against the Washington Nationals over the weekend. But Wednesday was a different animal for Stanek.

Coming in with one out in the seventh inning, he got his first batter out on a ground ball, but then he allowed a single hit 85.3 mph, before a broken-bat double (73.9 mph) and a two-run single by Geraldo Perdomo, hit 80.9 mph, gave Arizona the lead.

“Not being able to put hitters away, he gets ahead. Honestly, the ball is not bouncing his way. It’s like when hitters are in the middle of a slump," Mendoza said of Stanek after the game. "Today, he got a groundball to third base, a groundball that somehow got through, a broken bat, soft single. It’s tough luck right now. Stuff is good, he just has to continue to fight through it."

Stanek echoed his manager's thoughts and is ready to just move forward.

"It doesn’t feel good. The last three times have not gone well results-wise. I can’t look at one pitch that I didn’t execute and the results were bad," Stanek said. "Expected numbers on these balls are pretty good in my favor. Such is life. It sucks, it doesn’t feel good, no one’s going to feel bad for me, the job is to go execute. And hopefully, the next time they hit the balls at people instead."

Before these last three games, Stanek's ERA was at a minuscule 0.96 and has now ballooned to 5.06.

Moving forward without left-handed relievers?

Aside from Wednesday's loss, the big Mets news comes from a duo of injured relievers. A.J. Minter continues to weigh his options after suffering a serious lat strain and now Danny Young is on the IL with a left elbow sprain that could result in Tommy John surgery.

Entering Wednesday's game, the Mets were without a left-handed reliever, and that may not change any time soon. Mendoza was asked how the team will look to navigate not having a southpaw in the bullpen moving forward.

"We got some righties there that can get lefties out," Mendoza explained. "Whether it’s [Jose] Butto, [Huascar] Brazoban, Reed Garrett, for sure, [Max] Kranick has been doing a really good job. We feel good with our options, now we have to decide what our next move is. We like our righties’ ability to get left-handed hitters out."

Mets can't come up with big hit

Probably the biggest takeaway from Wednesday's loss was the Mets' inability to hit with runners in scoring position. They left 13 runners on base and were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Despite that, the Mets had a chance to win the game late. They loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning down by just one run, but could not come up with that clutch knock.

On the flip side, the Diamondbacks had limited chances with runners in scoring position but capitalized, going 1-for-5 and manufacturing runs late on sac flies.

"There’s a lot of different parts of the game you could look back on [as a reason we lost]," Mendoza said. "Not getting the big hit and they got the big hit, especially with two outs. We created some chances and couldn’t come through. You can make a case for that. We created a lot of traffic and we just came up short."

For the season, the Mets are hitting .224 with RISP (25th in MLB). Their RISP OPS is .731 (15th).

The Mets saw their home winning streak end at eight games, as they frustratingly fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-- New York employed a bullpen game, with Huascar Brazobán serving as the opener for a second time this season. The right-hander resembled his efficient self, striking out three with one walk allowed across two scoreless frames (26 pitches). It was quite an impressive April for Brazobán, who owns a sharp 1.40 ERA through 12 appearances.

-- It didn't take long for the Mets to disrupt the rhythm of D-backs ace Corbin Burnes, but their first-inning threat didn't yield any runs. A one-out, bases-loaded jam set up by a Francisco Lindor double and a pair of walks was all for naught, as Burnes escaped trouble by striking out Starling Marte and getting Jeff McNeil to ground out. Lindor is now hitting a league-best .483 leading off the first.

-- Just when it looked like Burnes had regained composure after his shaky first, Mark Vientos punished him in the third with a two-out solo home run to left, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. The third baseman's fourth blast of the season traveled 371 feet. Vientos had another chance to inflict damage on Burnes in the fifth with two runners on, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play.

-- The Mets had their chances to make Burnes pay for mistakes, but the veteran right-hander ultimately limited the damage to just the Vientos homer across six innings. He didn't have his ace stuff -- he walked five batters for the first time since 2022 -- but the quality start was earned due to New York leaving seven runners on during those frames.

-- Brandon Waddell was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to pitch specifically in bulk relief, and his first taste of the majors since 2021 was undoubtedly sweet. The 30-year-old righty logged 4.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts and retired the last eight batters he faced. Waddell's debut with the Mets ended with a standing ovation from the crowd, but the cheering in the seventh inning didn't last.

-- The positive vibes from Waddell's performance were quickly squashed by Ryne Stanek, as he allowed Arizona's bottom-three hitters to produce a two-out, three-single rally for a pair of runs. There's now a pattern of trouble with Stanek, who's relinquished the lead in each of his last three appearances.

-- New York had an opportunity to knot the score in the seventh, as Tyrone Taylor led off the inning with a single and a steal of second that was initially ruled a caught-stealing and required a replay challenge. But the big hit never arrived -- D-backs reliever Jalen Beeks worked out of the jam by inducing a popout, flyout, and strikeout from the top of the Mets' order.

-- Brandon Nimmo, who drove in a mammoth nine runs on Monday but missed Tuesday's game due to illness, was called upon to pinch-hit in the eighth with two outs and a runner on first. The move didn't pay off, as he grounded out to third. Chris Devenski, in his second inning of work, allowed a leadoff walk, a double, and a pair of sac flies that resulted in two more runs for Arizona in the top of the ninth.

-- New York finally showed signs of life in the bottom frame, trailing by three against D-backs closer Justin Martinez. The rally began with a solo homer from Taylor, and after Lindor and Juan Soto worked walks, Arizona opted to pull Martinez for Ryan Thompson. More chaos ensued when Pete Alonso was plunked by a pitch and Jesse Winker drove in a run with a groundout to first, cutting the Mets' deficit to one. But the hopes of a win disappeared when Francisco Alvarez grounded out to third with two outs and the bases juiced.

-- The Mets left a whopping 13 runners on base, and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. In spite of these ugly numbers, the offense nearly pulled off an unexpected win.

Game MVP: Geraldo Perdomo

Perdomo entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, and he won the battle against Stanek by driving in two with a single to left. He then produced a sac fly in the ninth, bumping his RBI total to three in the series.

Highlights

Huascar Brazobán strikes out a pair in the first! pic.twitter.com/wHan5XuWPK

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 30, 2025

Francisco Lindor rips a leadoff double! pic.twitter.com/V8fR9huiZk

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 30, 2025

Mark Vientos goes yard to open the scoring in the 3rd! pic.twitter.com/6IF6rKQB3c

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

Brandon Waddell strikes out Josh Naylor to finish his Mets debut with 4.1 scoreless innings and walks off to a standing ovation from the Citi Field crowd pic.twitter.com/nR6cNdPwXO

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

Tyrone Taylor makes the diving catch pic.twitter.com/qEp81i5KhS

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

Tyrone Taylor starts the bottom of the 9th with his first homer of the season pic.twitter.com/bO7xdXDUOS

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

Jesse Winker thought he hit a foul ball off his foot but after the umpires conferred, it was ruled an RBI groundout pic.twitter.com/XQ0A9Y0M1H

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

What's next

The Mets (21-10) will wrap up their brief homestand against the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon, with a matinee scheduled for 1:10 p.m..

Kodai Senga (3-1, 1.26 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite Zac Gallen (1-4, 5.57 ERA).

Carlos Carrasco allowed four second-inning runs, and that was enough for the Orioles to hold off the Yankees, 5-4, on Wednesday night in Baltimore.

Here are the takeaways....

-The Yankees got out to an early lead once again, thanks to the longball. Aaron Judge took Cade Povich deep on a hanging sweeper, launching it 426 feet into deep center field. Judge extended his on-base streak to 27 games.

He would drive in another run with an RBI single in the seventh to cut the Orioles' lead to 5-4. Judge finished 3-for-3 with a walk.

-Paul Goldschmidt would get in on the home run barrage in Baltimore, launching his second long ball -- a solo shot -- of the season in the fifth. It was the first baseman's first homer since March 29.

Unfortunately, the Yankees' lineup just couldn't get traffic on the bases or come through when they needed to. Their best chance came in the sixth with runners at the corners with one out. Pablo Reyes and Jasson Dominguez struck out to end the threat.

-Carrasco was tasked with keeping the Orioles' hitters down with an early lead, but just couldn't. Ryan Mountcastle turned on a slider that had too much plate that tied the game at 2-2 in the second. Two batters later, Ramon Urias took Carrasco deep to give the Orioles the lead. Carrasco would allow another run in the second after two-out hits from Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

Carrasco would settle down, but in the fourth, he could only get one out. Tim Hill came in to get the final two outs of the inning.

Carrasco pitched just 3.1 innings (66 pitches/40 strikes), allowing four runs on eight hits, no walks, while striking out five.

-The Yankees' bullpen did their job, keeping the game close. Hill allowed a run -- aided by an Anthony Volpe error -- in his one inning of work, while Fernando Cruz continued to dominate, striking out four in his 1.2 innings.

Devin Williams made his second appearance since losing his closer's role. After getting the Orioles in order on Monday, Williams allowed a walk but got through his one inning of work unscathed. Mark Leiter Jr. worked in and out of trouble in the eighth to give the Yankees one last shot in the ninth, down 5-4.

However, the Yankees would go down in order to closer Felix Bautista, not allowing Judge to get one final at-bat.

-In the fourth, Heston Kjerstad stole second base but Austin Wells' throw was high. Reyes jumped and batted the ball down but landed on Kjerstad's head. Kjerstad took offense to Reyes and started jawing, causing both benches to clear. Cooler heads would prevail, but it harkens back to last season when Kjerstad was hit in the head with a pitch that caused the benches to clear.

-Dominguez started, hitting right-handed against the southpaw. He had some bad luck in his first at-bat, lining a ball into left field that Ramon Laureano caught diving to rob Dominguez of a hit (xBA .530). In his second at-bat, he smoked a pitch 103.9 mph off the bat but right at the third baseman for a forceout. His third and fourth at-bats resulted in strikeouts, and he finished the night 0-for-4.

-With Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the lineup with his "flank" sprain, manager Aaron Boone switched up his lineup, having Reyes start at second and Oswald Peraza at third. Ben Rice hit leanup against the left-hander Povich and Volpe was moved up to the No. 5 hole.

Reyes finished 0-for-2 with a walk, while Peraza went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Volpe went 1-for-3 with a walk, while Rice went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Game MVP: Orioles bullpen

Baltimore used six pitchers to get the final 13 outs, allowing just one run.

Highlights

AARON JUDGE! pic.twitter.com/SAo8JdsMWv

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 30, 2025

Paul Goldschmidt cuts the deficit to one! pic.twitter.com/zgvOYTgC18

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 30, 2025

An RBI single for Aaron Judge cuts it to one pic.twitter.com/RKZBcos7bQ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 1, 2025

What's next

After an off day on Thursday, the Yankees return home to host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Max Fried (5-0, 1.19 ERA) will take the mound while the Rays have yet to name a starter.