Category: Baseball

Following the Mets' 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza and the players spoke about the game...

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Sean Manaea was once again tasked with saving the Mets bullpen after David Peterson struggled to get past five innings.

While it wasn't Manaea's finest outing, he was still effective and helped the get the final 12 outs of the game to save the relievers for Thursday's rubber game against Arizona.

"Each day is trending in the right direction," Manaea said after the game. "Changeup and sweeper were really good. Sinker, I kinda lost it there [in the eighth inning], but overall I thought things are trending in the right direction."

Thursday marked Manaea's 10th career relief appearance of at least four innings and his third overall this season. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks against the Diamondbacks. 

Manaea said that he's doing a lot of different drills to potentially make him feel better. He said that every day, there's a plan for him and he just executes it. 

Prior to first pitch, Mendoza said he doesn't plan to go to a six-man rotation. He reiterated that after the game, and was asked whether Manaea could replace a struggling Peterson in the rotation. The Mets skipper said that's not in his plan and they will continue to go with the same rotation they started the season with.

Manaea has learned to be comfortable in his new role.

"I’m here to help this team win any way I can," Manaea said. "My job is to do what I’ve been doing. I’m very happy doing that. Like I said before, we have five really good starting pitchers. I can help any way I can."

"[Manaea was] Good, able to keep us there," Mendoza said of his reliever. "Couple of plays we couldn’t make, gave up a couple of runs there. He was aggressive... I thought he was good."

Luis Robert Jr. unable to make the play

Those "couple play" Mendoza mentioned came in the eighth inning. 

First, Robert Jr. nearly made a sliding catch in center but trapped it, allowing Ildemaro Vargas to get on with one out. Three batters later, and with the bases loaded, Jorge Barrosa lined a pitch to centerfield. The ball continued to travel toward the wall and Robert Jr. seemed to have a bead on it, but when he put his glove up to catch it, the ball bounced off it and fell for a double. 

"He got there. Maybe that ball just kept on going and it went further than he anticipated," Mendoza said of the double. "He got there, he just missed it." 

The two plays cost Manaea and the Mets two runs.

Hip, hip, Jorge 🎉 pic.twitter.com/WWDQejO5OZ

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 8, 2026

Benge gets off the schneid

Carson Benge has struggled since Opening Day. He was 0-for-24 heading into the ninth inning of Wednesday's game. Benge got back on the hits board with a single through the right side.

"Yesterday, there were better at-bats. His work today was a lot better," Mendoza said of Benge. "Shorter, barrel going through the heart of the zone. The path was better. Good to see him get that hit right there. He’s going to be fine."

Benge has had a tough start to the season. He's slashing .108/.214/.403 with one home run and three RBI. 

The news on Zach Eflin’s injury came back on Wednesday evening and it was as bad as you could have guessed from the get-go. The Orioles announced that Eflin had Tommy John surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow on Wednesday.

The only surprising thing about the announcement is that we skipped the step where we find out that Eflin has a torn UCL and soon will be getting Tommy John surgery. He was known to be flying to Dallas yesterday to have a second opinion consult with one of the current commonly-used surgeons for TJ. Although they didn’t announce it yesterday, it’s clear that second opinion resulted in, “Let’s just get you scheduled tomorrow.”

This outcome was telegraphed when the Orioles placed Eflin on the 60-day injured list earlier this week, meaning it was clear to them he wouldn’t be back for a while. It was also telegraphed more or less from when he walked off the mound in his first start of the year. When a player throws a pitch, leaves with the trainer without doing any warm-up tosses, and the injury announcement is about his throwing elbow, that tends to end up here almost every time.

It’s a bummer of a development for Eflin and for the team. Eflin looked like he was back to a better version of himself with how he was pitching in spring training. It seemed like he might have been behind the back issues that caused him to miss a lot of time last season and pitch badly when he was not on the injured list. The Orioles re-signed Eflin for a $10 million contract for this season with a mutual option for 2027 because they were willing to bet on that comeback. It was working, at least until something entirely unrelated went wrong.

The mutual option for 2027 was set for $25 million. There’s no chance now that the Orioles exercise that option. Perhaps there’s a chance of renegotiating the contract, with Eflin getting a smaller guarantee for 2027 – let’s say in the $6-8 million range – and the Orioles getting a team option for 2028.

That depends on what Eflin wants and what the team wants also. There can be some benefit to the player to having continuity with one team for his rehab work. The Orioles may still want post-surgery Eflin to be around starting next June or July and if that’s the case, they may be willing to guarantee him a little money to get the first look after he’s back in action. On the other hand, maybe they don’t want to carry an injured guy on the 40-man roster through next offseason. There is no 60-day injured list outside of the season.

Another thing that’s not clear at this moment is how the Orioles intend to replace Eflin in the rotation over the long haul. Although many people, including me, long assumed that Dean Kremer would appear the first time there was an injury in the Orioles rotation, the O’s went out of their way to not call him back to the majors after Eflin went down.

A spot start went to Brandon Young on Monday and the next one will go to Cade Povich on Sunday. Young’s spot start went fine, as did Povich’s emergency long relief back on Sunday. We’ll see how he fares against a team that’s not the White Sox.

Over the course of a 162 game season, the team you root for will have days where they definitionally and categorically do not have it, whether you root for the best team in the league or the worst.

Today was one of those days for the 2026 Mets, who dropped game two of their mid-week series to the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 7-2, snapping their four game win streak.

David Peterson got the ball to start and picked up right where he left off after his first start of the season, much to the chagrin of Peterson, the Mets, and likely everyone reading this. He surrendered a run in the first inning, but the wheels truly came off in the second.

Back to back singles to lead off the frame put the Mets in immediate danger. A sacrifice bunt put them in scoring position, and a walk loaded the bases with one away for Ketel Marte. Marte made Peterson pay with an RBI single, Corbin Carroll behind him doubled home a pair, and a well-struck Geraldo Perdomo sacrifice fly made it 5-0 in a flash. The game was basically over from there.

Peterson managed to settle down after his second inning debacle, throwing scoreless frames in the third, fourth and fifth to keep the score respectable and the Mets theoretically in the game. It was nice to see, even though the ship had long sailed away by the time he was throwing up zeroes.

The Mets offense had an equally frustrating day. Ryne Nelson was on the hill opposite Peterson was was excellent, surrendering a single run over five and two thirds innings. He struck out five.

Ryne Nelson's (ARI) four-seamer was outstanding on Wednesday, helping him allow one earned run against the Mets over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts pic.twitter.com/1Z2dPSblUl

— Pitcher List Stats (@PitcherListPLV) April 8, 2026

As you can see above, his four-seamer was dominating, which is very typical for a Ryne Nelson start. He was very good.

The Mets threatened a few times over the course of the game, getting two on in the fourth to no avail. They scratched a run across in the sixth, with Bo Bichette leading off with a single, Luis Robert Jr. singling after, and Brett Baty driving Bichette home with a single of his own, but the rally could not extend beyond the one run.

Sean Manaea came into the game in the sixth inning, and did a thankless job; saving the bullpen for tomorrow. He threw the final four frames of the day, surrendering two runs on an eighth inning bases loaded double that clanked off of Robert’s glove in deep center (in any event, it should have been a 6-2 loss instead of a 7-2 loss). Manaea overall was just okay, though his velocity in the ninth inning was all the way down to the mid-80s per Statcast, which is not exactly what you want to see.

The Mets second and final run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth, when Mark Vientos hit a sacrifice fly that scored Robert.

Overall, it was just not the Mets day. The Mets will look to get back into the win column tomorrow, as a World Baseball Classic Final rematch will take place at Citi Field, with Nolan McLean facing off against Eduardo Rodriguez.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Brett Baty, +9.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: David Peterson, -3.1% WPA
Mets pitchers: -3.1% WPA
Mets hitters: -1.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brett Baty’s RBI single. +5.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Corbin Carroll’s two run double, -11.1% WPA

Dodgers 3 at Blue Jays 4

158 days later, the Jays got the job done. With Shohei Ohtani starting the last game of the series, the Jays took a 4-3 lead to the 9th and finished out the job. Granted, the stakes were slightly smaller this time, but snapping a six game losing streak is no small feat either.

It almost went sideways from the very start. 13 pitches in, Dylan Cease had walked Ohtani and Kyle Tucker with the hear of the Dodger order up. He rebounded with a strikeout, and then a stroke of good fortune as Freeman ripped a low line drive right at Ernie Clement. Tucker was caught breaking and easily doubled off. That same drive on a slightly different vector, and this is potentially a very different game.

Cease was immaculate over the next couple innings, until a Will Smith tapped a soft ground ball on which Okamoto had little shot, but a rushed throw went down the line and put him in scoring position to score on an ensuing Freeman single. Dylan ceased to be as effective from that point, allowing a couple more runners in the 5th, before the 6th went off the rails with a pair of walks sandwiched around yet another Freeman single to load the bases with none out.

So it was Varland time, and he largely limited the damage allowing a sacrifice fly to Teoscar before a timely strikeout and ground out to limit the damage to one run. Alas, Mason Fluharty almost repeated the feat in the 7th with a pair of walk sandwiched around an Ohtani ground out. The Jays turned to Tyler Rogers, who did allow a single for another run, but set down the next five batters to hold the line.

It wasn’t clear at the point it would matter, as the bats were once again pretty quiet. They had some traffic early against Ohtani, but only managed a single run in the 3rd when Jesus Sanchez doubled with two out to drive in Daulton Varsho. Ohtani settled in with a couple clean innings.

Vladdy led off the 7th with a double, but but caught up indecisively ona ground ball to short and was TOOTBLAN’d. Ohtani navigated easily out of the inning, but it was the end of the line. Luckily, for the Dodger bullpen finally sprung a leak.

Davis Schneider worked a nice walk against Jack Dreyer, with Heineman singling to put two on for George Springer. He drove a ball off the wall in right centre to make it 3-2, and Varsho followed with a solid single to knot it. Springer had to hold on third, but with one out it was still a golden opportunity to take the lead. Alas, it was Blake Treinan time and after essentially pitching around Vladdy to load the bases, he too got out of the inning.

The go ahead run was again catalyzed by the Davis Schneider, who again walked with one out in the 8th. Andres Gimenez singled him to third, and finally it the turn of an opposing catcher to mess up a throw in a critical spot as Gimenez took second and the ball got away. Schneider scored, and now it was just a matter of closing out a one run lead in the 9th. And when has that ever been an issue?

And let’s be honest, we are were all worried about some deja vu (in a few ways) with Hoffman coming in. And it was neither easy nor clean with a one single and walk, but he too bore down and got a strikeout and comeabcker to the mound to end it.

Jays of the Day: Schneider (+0.25 WPA), Springer (+0.22), Varsho (+0.18), Hoffman (+0.16), Varland (+0.12), Vlad (+0.11). Rogers (+0.05) falls short of the number, but was critical in holding the line until the bats broke through.

Boo Jays: Okamoto (-0.24) and Clement (-0.14)

It’s a good time for the third offday of the season (technically; the season formally started March 25th with two offdays fore the opener). Hopefully a much healthier team takes the field Friday in Minnesota.

Wednesday was a historic day in Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh sports history.

It’s a day that will be remembered for what could be the jumpstart of the new era of Pirates baseball. 

The Pirates officially signed shortstop Konnor Griffin to a nine-year extension that will keep Griffin under contract through 2034.

ESPN’s Buster Olney initially reported the deal, worth $140 million, on Thursday, hours after it was announced that Griffin was being promoted. Speculation ran rampant when nothing was announced days later, until now.

OFFICIAL: We have signed INF Konnor Griffin to a nine-year contract extension that runs through the 2034 season. pic.twitter.com/eipHszMm6s

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 8, 2026

The deal has escalators that could reach $150 million and doesn’t include any options or opt outs.

Griffin’s deal is the highest contract ever signed by the Pirates in franchise history, shattering Bryan Reynolds’ eight-year, $106.75 million deal signed in April of 2023.

“Signing Konnor is a meaningful commitment to this team, this city, and our fans,” owner Bob Nutting said in a statement released by the Pirates. “It reflects our belief in Konnor, in this season’s club and in the future of our organization.”

Only 19-years-old, Griffin signed the deal after only playing five full games in the Major Leagues. 

“Konnor represents everything we value in a player — exceptional talent, strong character, a team-first mentality, and a maturity that stood out to all of us from the beginning,” Nutting said. “He is the right person, from the right family.”

Griffin’s mother Kim, father Kevin, younger brother Kaden, and other family members were in attendance as Griffin sat in between Nutting and GM Ben Cherington at the press conference room inside PNC Park to announce the deal. 

“This is another important step in the work we have been doing to build a winning team for this year and going forward,” Nutting closed in the statement.

The Pirates are 7-5 and the energy around the team is different. The vibe is different. There is a sense of belief inside and out of the clubhouse that the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates are bound for something special. 

Nutting and the Pirates believed less than a week in Triple-A was enough for Griffin to make his debut and the pieces are in place to contend this season.

“I think there’s a real sense and a belief in what we’ve seen in a small sample size,” Nutting said, sitting next to Griffin. “Konnor, having you with the team now makes a real difference in a year where we not only need to be better, are being better, and have full commitment to a team that’s taken a long time to put the foundation in place.”

Baseball’s top prospect, the Pirates drafted Griffin 9th overall in 2024. He only played 127 games in the minor leagues before receiving the call and becoming the first teen since Aramis Ramirez in 1998 to play for the Bucs. 

The Pirates added 69 home runs in Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, and Marcell Ozuna this offseason. Griffin hit 21 homers between three levels of the minor leagues. 

Nutting made it that he is focused on building a sustainable winner in Pittsburgh.

“The commitment from this organization not only to the team, but to the city of Pittsburgh, to the fans, to reflect how serious I am, and we are, about building and sustaining a winning team here in Pittsburgh,” Nutting said. “The fans deserve it, the fans want it, and we saw on Opening Day and in the ballpark already the level of energy, excitement, passion, and commitment that our fans have to this team.”

#Pirates Bob Nutting-we are making a commitment to building a winner, the fans deserve it pic.twitter.com/tWXB7dfJPx

— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) April 8, 2026

The Pirates will pay their shortstop, at minimum, $33 million more than Reynolds over the course of the deal.  

Nutting said the contract is, “reflecting the absolute sense of urgency for 2026 to make this team better, now.” 

Griffin doubled in his first-career at-bat, driving in the Pirates first run of the season at PNC Park. He displayed his speed one batter later as the Pirates increased the lead on a base hit by Jared Triolo.

In 18 at-bats over six games, Griffin is hitting .167 with four RBIs, two walks, five strikeouts, a .273 on-base percentage. 

It’s going to take time for the undisputed No. 1 prospect in the sport to get adjusted to the majors, but Griffin has shown signs of his immense ability and potential in a short sample. 

“Since joining the organization, Konnor has consistently demonstrated the traits we want in a Pirate: a daily commitment to improvement, a team-first mindset, and a strong desire to win,” Cherington said in a statement.

Now that the emotions of making his debut have had time to simmer and the deal is done, Griffin can go and play. 

He will be depended on as the cornerstone face of the Pirates franchise for the next decade, and has what it takes to be an all-time great player in Pittsburgh.

“He has met every challenge in front of him, and we are excited to watch him continue that growth alongside his teammates in Pittsburgh,” Cherington said. “We are thrilled he will be a Pirate for a long time.”

Detroit Tigers (4-7) vs. Minnesota Twins (5-6)

Time/Place: 7:40 p.m., Target Field
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (0-0, 6.75 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Valdez	2	12.0	20.4	6.1	52.8	2.27	0.4
Ober	2	8.0	14.3	8.6	29.6	4.69	0.1

At what point do we switch from saying “it is still early?” to “this is legit”? That is what we tried to figure out with Kevin Wheeler from KMOX on Cardinals on My Time this week with the Redbird Rundown crew.

Wheeler is one of our all-time favorites and oh man, did he have a bunch to say about the progression we are seeing from multiple Cardinals’ players so far in the 2026 season. The main talking point, of course, was outfielder Jordan Walker. Now in his fourth big league season, what we are seeing from Walker is one of the most incredible bounce back stories for a guy who was written off by a large amount of the fanbase. Amazing what a little patience can do, right Mo?

Beyond Walker, we talked Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages behind the dish, Michael McGreevy’s velocity, Victor Scott’s outfield matched with his inability to hit, and much more! This was a super fun one and we are excited to hear what you think. What is real and what is a mirage thus far in the 2026 season?

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Thanks as always!

Okay, so technically relentless would be scoring in every inning, and the Braves only scored in five of the nine frames available to them, but hey — it worked just fine. The offense started early and didn’t stop until well past clobberin’ time, leading to an 8-2 victory over the Angels. Meanwhile, Grant Holmes did what the team needed him to do despite an ugly second inning, pitching nearly seven frames and letting the Braves avoid using any of their key bullpen arms heading into tomorrow’s off-day. With the victory, the Braves move to 8-5, and have yet to lose a series all season.

The scoring started early. Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with a bloop double behind third base, and then moved around the bases on a couple of outs to score the game’s first run. In the second, Austin Riley drew a leadoff walk, stole second with two outs, and then scored on Jonah Heim’s semi-bizarre ground rule double, which was simultaneously a barrel but also kind of a hanging-up-forever fly ball into the right-field corner.

This portended a cruising-ish game for the Braves, but Holmes had a lot of trouble in the second. For a second there, it looked like the Braves might suffer a disappointing loss due to Holmes’ struggles. The frame started with Holmes hanging a slider to Braves hero and noted pugilist Jorge Soler, cutting the lead in half. Holmes then totally fell apart mechanics-wise (his first was rough but not this rough despite being a 1-2-3 frame), with three walks and a single sandwiched in there to tie the game. The game-tying base on balls was actually initially ruled a strikeout, but ABS is a thing, and it was a facile overturn into an RBI for Logan O’Hoppe.

After that, though, Holmes locked in. He blew Oswald Peraza away on three pitches, and then lucked out when Zach Neto A) randomly tried to bunt with the bases loaded and then B) popped up a down-the-pipe fastball to shallow right. Mike Trout was up next, and Holmes served him a hanging slider on 1-2, but Trout just bounced it weakly back up the middle to Ozzie Albies to keep the game tied.

And then, it was all Braves. Angels starter Reid Detmers grazed Drake Baldwin on 0-2 with one out, and Matt Olson bashed a low liner (so low it wasn’t even a barrel!) over the yellow line in right-center for a two-run homer. Riley followed with a hustle double, and then Mauricio Dubon hit a routine grounder that Neto airmailed, giving the Braves a fifth run. The hits just kept on coming, too. In the fifth, after Detmers departed, Dubon yanked a two-run double. In the sixth, Baldwin dunked a ball into center to score Michael Harris II, who had drawn a leadoff walk and stolen second earlier in the inning.

Meanwhile, Holmes rolled along after his second inning hiccup. The Angels made some pretty good contact here and there, but the Braves’ defense was solid. From the third through the sixth, the Angels got just one baserunner. Holmes struck out the first two he faced in the seventh, but Peraza hooked a well-placed curve for a double, and Neto beat out a slow roller. The Braves swapped Holmes for Joel Payamps to face Mike Trout, and Payamps came through by getting Trout to swing through high heat. Jose Suarez finished the game with two frames, striking out the side in the first and getting a double play in the second. Harris snagged a Peraza liner in center to end the game.

The Braves’ side of the box score looked quite delicious in this one, with five doubles, a homer, six walks, and a hit by pitch. Detmers was overwhelmed (4/2 K/BB ratio, the Olson homer, in 4 1/3); Holmes ended up with a decent line overall (6/3 K/BB ratio, the Soler homer, in 6 2/3) but would’ve been nearly pristine if you removed that second inning from consideration.

The Braves now embark on what is a happier flight home than if this game had gone sideways in the second, and get a well-deserved day of rest after 13 straight games to begin the season. They will open up a homestand with a set against the Guardians on Friday night.

An awful road trip got even worse as the Astros were swept by the Colorado Rockies, falling under .500.

You know those days where nothing goes right straight from the jump? The Astros do too. Today was one of those days.

Looking to salvage the finale of a 3 game series against the Rockies in Colorado, the wheels came off very fast for Houston in a 9-1 drubbing that sent them to their fourth straight loss and a game under .500 at 6-7. The Astros are now 1-5 on the current 10 game road trip.

Cristian Javier continued to struggle with his velocity, bouncing between 91-93 MPH with his fastball, and that was the lesser of his issues today.

Javier had to leave the game after just 1 inning due to shoulder pain. Trainers checked on him before the start of the second inning, and the Astros had to remove him.

A.J. Blubaugh was summoned in relief in an unusual spot – needing to get ready very quickly.

Blubaugh never looked comfortable today and it manifested in a 5-run second inning from which the Rockies never looked back.

Houston was held to just 1 run for the second consecutive game. They did manage 8 hits and 2 walks, but went 1-for-7 with RISP and left 9 men on base.

Complicating matters for the Astros, they also lost centerfielder Jake Meyers in the game. Meyers was injured on a check swing in the top of the 2nd, clutching at his side.

Jake Meyers immediately grabbed his oblique after this check swung. He’s leaving this game. pic.twitter.com/7H6D3qhC3G

— Ice Box Insiders (@iceboxinsiders) April 8, 2026

He was replaced in the AB by Brice Matthews, who singled in that at bat, driving in Isaac Paredes for the only Astros run of the game.

Matthews remained in the game in LF and Joey Loperfido moved from LF to CF.

Bryan Abreu came in to pitch the 8th for Houston, and still struggled with consistent velocity and command.

#Astros Bryan Abreu in the 8th:
B1) slider, slider – F7
B2) slider, FB (94.6), slider, slider, FB (94.6), FB (93.7) – BB
B3) slider, FB (95), slider, FB (94) – BB
B4) slider, slider, FB (96.2), FB (96.2) – K
B5) slider – RBI Single
B6) FB (95.9), FB (97.3), FB (97.7), FB (97.6),…

— Patrick Creighton (@PCreighton1) April 8, 2026

Abreu’s struggles and inconsistencies are still a mystery to the team and Abreu, who is struggling mightily to regain his usual elite form.

The Astros have an off day Thursday before beginning a 4-game series in Seattle against the Mariners. They are expected to go to a 6-man rotation beginning with that series as they will play 13 straight days.

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Game Summary

The Cardinals open up by leaving the bases loaded in the top of the first, but struck for two runs in the second, keyed by a 2-RBI Burleson single. McGreevy came out and worked in his normal workmanlike manner, which was welcome against this line-up, which has really been scoring runs. The Nats got to him for 1 run in the third on some small ball. Jordan Walker launched a 3-2 pitch for a solo HR to extend the Cardinal lead in the fifth. Pozo added a late 2-RBI single to extend the lead.

McGreevy’s final line of 6 IP, 1 R, 4 K, 0 BB, 4 hits was very solid. The bullpen was unscored upon for the final three innings to close things out without any drama.

Line-up (and roster) machinations

• McGreevy starts for the Cardinals. The Nats send out old friend Miles Mikolas.
• A mostly stock “Herrera at the C” line-up for today, except Scott II gets the day off, Church to CF and Sags to LF. Urias at third, Gorman at DH.
• Walker and Gorman remain 4-5 in the line-up, after recent adjustments. Who had this in their pre-season predictions?
• It’s been a fascinating series. Arguably, the Cardinals lost a game they should have won, and then won a game they should have lost. What will the rubber game reveal?

The Game Details

A view from the box score, for those who want a deeper sense of the game.

T1 – Wetherholt grounds out, but Herrera follows with a solid single. Burleson with an infield single. Walker K’s (to Mikolas of all people!). Gorman walks, but Winn grounds out to end the threat.

B1 – The first two batters reach against McGreevy with singles, but a 1-6 force, F8 and 6-3 puts a quick end to the traffic jam.

T2 – Urias 4-3. Sags singles. Church with a solid smash pushing Sags along. A handy passed ball moved the runners up to 2nd and 3rd. Wetherholt with the backwards K. Situational hitting continues to be problematic. Mikolas gives Herrera the open base, but Burleson burns him with a 2-run single. Walker grounds out to end the inning. 2-0 Cardinals.

B2 – K. F7. F9. Quick inning.

T3 – Gorman walks again. Winn grounds into a force. Urias with the backwards K. Sags lines out.

B3 – Single. Another single makes it first and third. Boy, they’ve had trouble getting Wood out. So do a lot of people. An infield out scores a run. GIDP ends the threat. Now 2-1 Cardinals.

T4 – Lord in for Mikolas, who gives way after a short start (3 IP). Lord K’s Church. Weird. Wetherholt 5-3. Herrera 4-3.

B4 – L6. F7. 4-3 on a really nice play by Wetherholt ends the inning.

T5 – Burleson F8. Jordan with a solo HR. Gorman out 3u. Winn backwards K. Been a few of those today. Cards now up 3-1.

JORDAN WALKER DOES IT AGAIN pic.twitter.com/a4A6V6hRaQ

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 8, 2026

B5 – 4-3. 3-1. 4-3. Very workmanlike.

T6 – Urias 5-3. Sags 3u.

B6 – 1-3. 4-3. 1-3. Wetherholt has been outstanding with the glove today.

JJ Leatherholt pic.twitter.com/5BqkpUK8YM

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 8, 2026

T7 – Perez relieves Lord. Wetherholt leads off with a walk. See the Cardinals relievers aren’t the only ones with the obligatory lead-off walk syndrome. Herrera follows with his own walk. Burleson singles in another run. Walker K’s. Pozo pinch hits for Gorman. Odd. Pozo GIDP to kill the rally. Now 4-1 Cardinals.

B7 – Svanson in for McGreevy. He issues the obligatory walk. 6-3. L6. Backwards K. Svanson pitching very tentative. He is working his way down the trust chart.

T8 – Winn K’s. Urias P2. Sags K’s. Still 4-1 Cardinals.

B8 – 5-3. 5-3. Svanson out, Bruihl in. He gets Wood out.

T9 – Church backwards K. Wetherholt F8. Herrera HBP. Burleson walks. Poulin replaces Henry on the mound. Walker walks. Pozo with a 2-RBI single to extend the lead. Winn P6. Cardinals now up 6-1.

B9 – O’Brien in for Bruihl. 5-3. 1-3. 3-1. No sweat. Cardinals win.

Post-Game Notes

• Solid starting pitching following by scoreless bullpen work is a good combination.
• The Cardinals finish the road trip with an overall 7-5 record on the season.
• Day off tomorrow, then home against the Red Sox.

One bad inning cost David Peterson and the Mets' cold bats returned in their 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. 

The Mets had eight hits and walked just once as they dropped the middle game of their series against Arizona, and snapped their four-game winning streak. 

Here are the takeaways....

-Peterson was a bit unlucky in the first inning of this one, allowing a run after a Corbin Carroll double, a Geraldo Perdomo infield single -- more of a swinging bunt -- and a sac fly from Gabriel Moreno. But the opposite happened in the second. The Diamondbacks jumped all over the southpaw, scoring four runs in the second frame, with the big hit coming from another Carroll double that cleared the bases. The Carroll double came on a first-pitch down-and-away curve that came off the bat at 103.8 mph. 

The Mets left-hander would settle down, retiring 11 of his last 12 batters to get through five innings, but it wasn't good enough to keep the game within reach, especially with the team's offensive struggles. 

He finished allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six across his five innings (85 pitches/53 strikes). 

Peterson's last outing saw him allow six runs (five earned) in 4.1 innings pitched against the Giants. After pitching 5.1 scoreless innings in his first start (March 28 vs. Pirates), Peterson has now allowed 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings. 

-D-backs starter Ryne Nelson no-hit the Mets until the fourth when Bo Bichette led off with a single. Bichette would finally get things started in the sixth inning when he hit a one-out single. Back-to-back singles from Luis Robert Jr. and Brett Baty pushed across the Mets' first run of the day. After Mark Vientos struck out swinging, Nelson was pulled. Marcus Semien flew out to end the Mets' threat. 

The Mets would push across their second run in the eighth after a Baty double put runners on first and second with one out, and a Mark Vientos sac fly put the score to 7-2.

-Sean Manaea was tasked with finishing the game after Peterson and was effective until the eighth inning. Ildemaro Vargas hit a one-out single to Robert Jr., who looked to have caught it, but was called a trap. After a single and a walk loaded the bases, Jorge Barrosa lined a pitch to Robert Jr. in center. The Mets outfielder went a long way to catch up to the ball, but the ball bounced out of his glove for a double. 

Manaea saved the bullpen again, going four innings while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out two batters. In three appearances, he's allowed three runs in 9.0 IP this season.

-Carson Benge was 0-for-24 before finally breaking that streak with a ninth-inning single through the right side. He did have a hit stolen from him by Barrosa earlier in the game.

Game MVP: Corbin Carroll

The Arizona outfielder went 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits while driving in two runs. 

Highlights

Brett Baty gets the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/HYy6jf0Tiw

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

Mark Vientos brings home Luis Robert Jr. with a sacrifice fly pic.twitter.com/33JSBtAWzD

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

Carson Benge breaks his 0-for-24 cold spell with a base hit pic.twitter.com/21vAiLK0oz

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Diamondbacks wrap up their three-game set on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.

Nolan Mclean (1-0, 2.61 ERA) will take the mound against Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

The Phillies got their obligatory series loss in San Francisco out of the way early this year, going out with a whimper in the rubber match of the series thanks to a silent offense and a back-breaking home run allowed by Aaron Nola. They have still not won a series in San Francisco since 2013 and are 9-29 at Oracle Park since. The last run the Phillies offense scored in this series was Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of their comeback win on Monday. They have not scored in the ensuing 20 innings since and have totaled only eight hits over that span.

It looked like maybe today would be different though when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both singled in the first to put two runners on with one out, but Alec Bohm lined out on three pitches and Bryson Stott struck out on six pitches against Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle. It was one of six strikeouts for Mahle in 5.2 innings, five of which came on his splitter.

Schwarber and Harper yet again got on base in the third inning, this time with a pair of two-out walks and advancing to third and second respectively on a wild pitch. But yet again, Bohm failed to make the Giants pay, as he softly grounded out to third on a pitch on the outside corner of the zone despite being ahead in the count 3-1.

That would be the Phillies last real scoring chance until the seventh, when pinch hitter Otto Kemp singled, only the team’s second hit since the first inning, with one out and Trea Turner drew a walk. The previous script was flipped this time however, as it was Schwarber and Harper’s turn to not come through with runners on. Schwarber swung over a curveball in the dirt for a punchout and Harper grounded out to first on a slider well below the zone to end the threat and strand two more runners. The Phillies wouldn’t get another baserunner and in total stranded nine total runners and went 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Nola meanwhile was excellent through five innings, allowing just three hits and no walks. He escaped a one out triple from Luis Arraez in the first with back-to-back strikeouts of Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers. Danger reared its head again in the fourth when Arraez and Chapman led off the inning with a pair of singles, but Nola was able to get Devers to ground into a double play and induced a fly ball to Jung Hoo-Lee to escape damage once again.

Nola had two runners on again in the sixth following a Willy Adames double and an Arraez walk, but this time he was not able to navigate his way out of trouble. He struck out Chapman after an ABS challenge overturned a call on the field for the second out, but the first pitch Nola threw to Devers was deposited into center field for a three-run home run.

Rafael Devers with a 3-run blast to break the scoreless tie in the 6th! pic.twitter.com/kG57XyFd0X

— MLB (@MLB) April 8, 2026

Nola then finished the sixth and ended his day with those three runs allowed on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings. Not a bad day, but with how the offense played in this series, it was insurmountable. José Alvarado allowed two more runs to come across for the Giants in the eighth thanks to some singles and his own throwing error as the final humiliation before the Phillies offense went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Next matchup

The Phillies will have off tomorrow before opening a three-game series at home with the Diamondbacks on Friday. Jesús Luzardo (1-1, 4.97) is scheduled to take the ball for Philadelphia. Arizona has of this writing not yet announced a starter.

After spearheading last night’s thrilling comeback win, Amed Rosario finds himself back in the starting lineup, and I will be expecting another two home runs from today’s third baseman. He and the rest of the Yankees will be facing off against the man who was once seen as the future long-term ace of the staff, with Luis Severino tapped to start against his old squad for the third time in his career.

Severino’s had a rough start to 2026 after a strong World Baseball Classic — one of many such cases around the league. In two starts he’s posted a 6.48 ERA, but his 3.63 FIP is a little cleaner. He had one perfectly serviceable start in the season’s opening series at Toronto; getting thudded around by Atlanta last week has his early-season numbers looking a little rough. He hasn’t exactly fooled the Yankees in his two previous starts against them, with a 15.26 ERA and 1.136 OPS against. If that trend continues today, New York stands a good chance of winning yet another series.

Will Warren gets the ball for the Bronx Bombers, in a reverse of Sevy — strong ERA, higher FIP. His paltry five percent walk rate is the big thing to watch as he gets into the swing of the season; I can’t imagine he’ll keep it that low but if he can maintain a below-average walk rate, his historical challenges with nibbling might be going away. The rotation has led the way for the Yankees so far this season, and there must be some pressure on the next day’s starter to match what the squad has put up in the year’s first two weeks.

We have a little bit of juggling in the lineup, with the aforementioned Rosario at third and batting eighth. Ryan McMahon returns to the field, this time at shortstop and batting ninth. I’m not in love with McMahon getting much playing time at all, but it’s not like José Caballero has been any better. Austin Wells also enjoys a night off, with J.C. Escarra behind the plate.

Take note that this is the weekly Amazon Prime game!

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Amazon Prime, NBCSCA

Radio broadcast: Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast (ATH), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Midweek Matchup. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/EuhMazdMP2

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2026

Day 2 in the Big Apple 🍎 pic.twitter.com/LfL7ZrPlZJ

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 8, 2026

For the first time in 14 years, the Colorado Rockies swept the Houston Astros with a 9-1 victory on Wednesday. With the victory, the Rockies improved to 6-6 on the year, marking the latest they had been at a .500 record or better at least 12 games into a season since May 14, 2022. Behind another strong starting pitching performance and quality hitting from the offense, the Rockies have now won four straight games.

Lorenzen’s Refresh

Looking to avenge his rough outing last time around, Michael Lorenzen did that and more against the Astros. He ended up going 5.2 innings, allowing one run on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The lone run came in the top of the second after Isaac Paredes walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a single from Christian Walker. Lorenzen then notched a pair of punch outs before pinch-hitter Brice Matthews singled to left field to drive in the run.

Lorezen went right back to work, utilizing all of his pitches to stifle the Astros offense. He induced eight groundouts and threw 62 of his 100 pitches for strikes. He was close to finishing the sixth inning, but ran into trouble after Joey Loperfido had a two-out hit to put men on the corners. Lorenzen then left the game with the bases loaded after issuing a walk to Matthews. Luckily, Zach Agnos bailed him out of the inning without another run scoring.

The Rockies’ starters now sport a 4.44 ERA on the season as a unit at the end of this home stand.

Agnos Carving up the Astros

Speaking of Agnos, the young righty cruised through the end of the game to earn a multi-inning save. He ended up working 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two batters. He turned 44 pitches, 29 of which went for strikes.

A Busy Second Inning

Astros’ starter Cristian Javier had to depart the game after throwing his warm-up pitches in the second inning, leaving the Rockies to face off against the Houston bullpen the rest of the game. The Rockies ended up scoring five runs in the second inning, after scratching one across in the bottom of the first. Troy Johnston led off with a double, followed by a bunt single for Brenton Doyle. He then stole second base while Kyle Karros drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Edouard Julien delivered a two-run single to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead.

Tyler Freeman dropped a sacrifice bunt, setting up a sacrifice fly RBI for Mickey Moniak. Hunter Goodman then drew a walk and stole second base with TJ Rumfield at the plate. A wild pitch scored Julien, upon which Rumfield drew a walk after a 10-pitch at-bat. Ezequiel Tovar put the cap on the inning with an RBI double to give the Rockies a 6-1 lead.

Colorado had four hits, two stolen bases, three walks, and a pair of bunts in the inning, showing off the multiple facets that offense can use to score runs.

Rockies Rockin’ Offense

Goodman would tack on the Rockies’ seventh run with a solo home run in the fourth inning, while another sacrifice fly in the sixth inning would add on an eighth run, and a Johnston single in the eighth tacked on a ninth run. In total, the Rockies scored nine runs on 10 hits with every player reaching safely at least once. Julien, Tovar, and Johnston each had two hits, while only two starters didn’t have an RBI.

Even more surprising and encouraging was the fact that the Rockies drew nine walks against seven strikeouts. In fact, it was the first time in 251 games that they had more walks than strikeouts, which was the second-longest streak since 1901. Add in four stolen bases and a team that also went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next

Colorado heads to San Diego to begin a four-game series. They will use an opener, most likely followed by Chase Dollander. San Diego will send Randy Vasquez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) to the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm MT. See you then!

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Go Rays!