Category: Baseball

New York Post | Dan Martin: Before Sunday’s victory, the Yankees were mired in a 4-10 slide that dropped them 5.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East. Despite this, the Yankees’ manager expressed optimism that Saturday’s rainout could be an inflection point. “I think it will serve us well,’’ said Aaron Boone of the postponement. “It’s been a crappy couple weeks for us, result-wise, but I feel like we’re in a good place team-wise. I feel we have a good run in us here.” In addition to a slumping offense, the team’s bullpen has blown some close games, losses that Boone called “tough” as they try to turn things around.

New York Daily News| Gary Phillips: As previously noted, the Yankees won Sunday’s game in dramatic fashion, with their slumping captain walking off the division-topping Rays. Aaron Judge entered play with just one hit in his last 24 at-bats but recorded two hits in the win, including a two-run homer off Kevin Kelly to send the rain-soaked faithful home happy. Boone had previously said to reporters during Judge’s slump: “He’ll get through it, and somebody will pay the price real soon.“

In case you were watching the YES Network broadcast, here’s the Dave Sims call on WFAN!

Judge wasn’t the only hero on this day. Ryan Weathers starred as well, holding Tampa Bay off the board through seven innings to keep the Yankees in the game and drop his ERA to 3.27 on the season. And in the eighth, a potential Rays rally was squelched by bad baserunning from Junior Caminero, who was thrown out on a heads-up play by Cody Bellinger. The left fielder himself credited third baseman Ryan McMahon, who immediately signaled for Bellinger to get the ball to him; McMahon applied the tag before Oliver Dunn crossed home plate.

Also from Phillips: the Yankees confirmed that ace Gerrit Cole’s second start of 2026 will come on Wednesday in Kansas City. Cole went six scoreless on Friday against the Rays in his first start since completing his Tommy John surgery rehab. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported that Will Warren will start today and Cam Schlittler will get the ball tomorrow.

MLB.com | Tim Crowley: Yankees prospect Hans Montero had a night to remember Saturday, hitting three home runs for Low-A Tampa. The performance raised his season OPS to .923. The infielder, who received a $1.7 million signing bonus from the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic in 2021, is not among the team’s top 30 prospects per MLB Pipeline but is still just 22 years old.

Wait, didn’t I just do one of these? No, seriously. Literally a week ago I was in this space talking about how the Giants were going to see how they measured up against a non-Dodger, non-Padre NL West opponent and a team that had all the scrappiness they’ve craved. So… has anything changed since then?

Nope.

Well, except that Arizona embarrassed the Giants pretty thoroughly, dropping them to 20-30 on the season and compelling Bay Area media to ponder not just on the radio airwaves but in an interview with Buster Posey himself if the team was undergoing a “soft rebuild.” They looked so bad in getting swept by Arizona that people thought it must’ve been intentional.

It turns out that, no, the Giants aren’t doing a “soft rebuild,” they really are bad despite trying.

Oh sure, winning a series against a White Sox team on the upswing is good fun and Rafael Devers’ bat does seem to be swinging back to his career averages, but the hole is pretty deep, and that’s before considering how it’s been endemic within Giants fandom this season to extrapolate a season of success from a win or two. Now, before accusations of simply doing the exact opposite — extrapolating a season of misery from losing streaks — I must point out that the Giants have lost a lot more games than they’ve won and have spent most of this season looking more bad than good, including approximately 117 hours ago against this very team.

In the Giants’ favor is that Arizona did lose 1 of the 4 games they hosted against the Colorado Rockies, so, it’s not like the Giants were gobbled up by a team on a white-hot streak of success. The Dbacks outscored the Rockies 19-9 in those four games compared to 23-8 against the Giants in their three-game series, so, the Giants are kinda-sorta worse than the Rockies at this point.

On May 8, Arizona tied their season low of 3 games below .500 at 17-20 (they started the season 0-3). Since then, they’ve gone 11-4. Ketel Marte (202 wRC+) and Corbin Carroll (198) have led the charge on offense — they combined for 7-for-11 with 5 RBI in today’s 9-1 win over the Rockies, with Marte hitting a pair of doubles and Carroll a pair of triples. So, they’re rolling. The rotation has been strong, with Michael Soroka (1.50 ERA), Eduardo Rodriguez (1.74 ERA), and Merrill Kelly (2.05 ERA) making three strong starts apiece. But, they’ve also played 9 home games during this stretch and are 8-1.

Arizona’s road record on the season (10-14, -16 run differential) might just be how the Giants get some baseball revenge on the snakes. If the Giants keep hitting a little bit more like how they did in the latter two games of the White Sox series, they’ve got a solid shot of winning the series. Here’s a little secret: in the same “Since May 9th” split I used up above to contextualize Marte’s and Carroll’s hot streaks, five Giants have hit above league average (an important note that none of these figures incorporate the latest win):

• Luis Arraez, 158 wRC+
• Willy Adames, 145 wRC+
• Casey Schmitt, 137 wRC+
• Rafael Devers, 122 wRC+
• Matt Chapman, 110 wRC+

And, as a team, they have a 113 wRC+ Hey! This is all great news! It certainly is the silver lining in what has been a very thick and steady coverage of storm clouds. The question is can the pitching keep pace? It’s Landen Roupp and a pair of TBDs against those three Arizona starters who’ve helped propel them back into the Wild Card chase. They have a 5.02 ERA over these last 15 (and are just 7-8).

Logan Webb is expected to make his return on Wednesday, but you have permission to wonder if Logan Webb is still LOGAN WEBB. Before he hit the IL, I looked at how a guy like him with so many innings on his arm might already have pitched his best games. Buster Posey and the Giants are certainly hoping that’s not the case, and whatever little success the team has this season will be because he’s making regular starts… but who knows? Arizona’s hot, Webb is not. But, it’s also baseball, and one game can turn around a lot of things. But can three games turn around everything?

Series overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (22-31) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-24)
Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California
When: Monday at 2:05pm PT, Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT
National broadcasts: None.

Projected starters
Monday: Landen Roupp (RHP 5-4, 3.27 ERA) vs. Merill Kelly (RHP 4-3, 5.71 ERA)
Tuesday: TBD vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (LHP 4-1, 2.24 ERA)
Wednesday: TBD vs. Michael Soroka (RHP 6-2, 3.27 ERA)

Prediction time

The Giants will not get swept.

MIAMI — Marcus Semien’s season hasn’t had many highlights, and these days he stands among the symbols of the Mets lineup’s futility.

The veteran second baseman went 0-for-4 in the 4-0 loss to the Marlins on Sunday that completed Miami’s three-game sweep. Semien’s day was marked by the double play he grounded into in the sixth inning after Brett Baty drew a leadoff walk in a scoreless game.

Semien owns a paltry .552 OPS in May.

He isn’t alone among the Mets who have underperformed, but the team at least received a semblance of life from Bo Bichette earlier this road trip when he delivered three homers over two games.

From Mark Vientos to Baty, right down the line, the Mets aren’t receiving production, other than Juan Soto’s hot bat. And Soto was scratched from Sunday’s lineup because of illness.

Semien, 35, arrived in the November trade that sent Brandon Nimmo to Texas.

The deal was orchestrated by president of baseball operations David Stearns largely to swap the five years and $102.5 million remaining on Nimmo’s contract for the three years and $72 million on Semien’s, but the Mets also expected some level of production from Semien.

They have not received it.

“What I am feeling is that I am putting the ball in play, but I am not driving the ball,” Semien said. “I am just trying to do everything I can to be on time, to be ready for high velocity and handle the off-speed they throw.”

Semien overall owns a .214/.263/.297 slash line with three homers.

“It’s been hard for him, but this is a guy that continues to show up and put the work in, day in and day out,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You hope at some point that he’s going to come out of it. He’s been in this league a long time and there is a reason why we want to continue to run him out there.”

Mendoza was asked for his concern level that Semien, at 35, simply doesn’t have it any longer.

“I am not worried, because I am watching him grinding behind the scenes,” Mendoza said. “How much he cares and he’s been a really good player, so we trust him. We have got to continue to keep going and support him.”

Anthony Volpe wasn’t in the lineup again for Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Rays in The Bronx as José Caballero manned shortstop, but Volpe should get more playing time on the upcoming road trip.

When the Yankees visit Kansas City on Monday, they’ll face Michael Wacha, a right-hander who is tougher on lefty hitters than on righties, followed by lefties Bailey Falter and Noah Cameron.

And in Sacramento, the A’s are scheduled to throw left-hander Jacob Lopez on Saturday.

Volpe, according to manager Aaron Boone, just started working at second base, but Boone might keep him at short when he’s in the lineup, utilizing Caballero’s versatility around the infield.

“I expect Anthony to play a lot when we go to Kansas City, as well as [Caballero],’’ Boone said of the infield, which could land Ryan McMahon on the bench.

And while Boone said Volpe could just stay at short, he added, “I do want him working some at second, too.”

Volpe hasn’t played anything but shortstop in a game since 2021, when he was in High-A ball, although he did work a bit at second base before he won the starting job at short in 2023.

The Yankees traded for Caballero last season with the idea of playing him at different spots, but he’s focused his work at short while filling in for Volpe, who was sidelined by offseason shoulder surgery.

Boone said he expected Caballero to be able to go back to his utility role successfully if called upon.

“That’s one of his superpowers, his ability to move around,’’ Boone said of Caballero. “I have a ton of confidence in José. Wherever we put him on any given day, he has a chance to impact us in a lot of different ways.”

Aaron Judge’s dramatics weren’t limited to his game-winning homer in the ninth.

He also made a diving catch in the eighth that helped keep Tampa Bay from scoring — and he made an uncharacteristic baserunning error in the first.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Judge singled with one out and Ben Rice followed with a shot to right field.

When Ryan Vilade caught it, Judge found himself almost at second base and he was doubled off first to end the inning.

“Usually any time Ben Rice hits it in the gap, it’s gonna go a long way,’’ Judge said. “I’ve got to keep my head on a swivel. Off the bat, I think it’s gonna be in the gap, I know it’s gonna be a close game and you’re trying to either score or get to third. I peeked up and it was right at him. That was a bad look. I’ve got to clean that up.”

With the Yankees locked in a scoreless game in the ninth, Boone went with lefty Tim Hill instead of closer David Bednar.

With the bottom half of the lineup due up — starting with lefty-swinging Chandler Simpson — Hill whiffed Simpson and then pitched around a walk and a single.

It came after Hill gave up four runs in Friday’s loss.

Gerrit Cole reported no issues after making his first start Friday since his March 2025 Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander was able to play catch and is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday in Kansas City, with Will Warren going Monday and Cam Schlittler on Tuesday.

Since joining the Yankees prior to last season, Cody Bellinger has drawn praise from his coaches and teammates for his defense.

There have been highlight-reel worthy plays and the catch and throw to double off Francisco Lindor at first base during the Subway Series last July that helped end a five-game losing streak — and begin a five-game winning streak.

There’s no telling what lasting impact Bellinger’s heads-up play in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Tampa Bay will have, but it clearly changed the course of a game the Yankees could hardly afford to lose.

With the Yankees locked in a scoreless game and having lost three straight — as well as all four previous meetings against the Rays this season — pinch runner Oliver Dunn was on second base and Junior Caminero on first with two outs.

With the runners going on a 3-2 pitch from Fernando Cruz, Ryan Vilade singled to left, and Tampa Bay was on the verge of taking the lead before Bellinger — instead of firing home — threw to Ryan McMahon at third base.

It was in time to get Caminero at third, and the tag was applied before Dunn got to the plate, so the game remained tied.

“That was a game-changing throw,’’ said Aaron Judge, who won the game in the ninth with a home run. “It was heads up.”

Cody Bellinger comes up firing and Ryan McMahon makes the tag before the run comes home to score pic.twitter.com/S8QsQ0j7bi

— MLB (@MLB) May 24, 2026

And it was heads up from several people.

Aaron Boone credited outfield coach Luis Rojas for bringing Bellinger in slightly before the play “with something like that in mind.”

Then Bellinger had to get to the ball quickly and fire to third off the wet grass, and McMahon picked the ball and finished the play.

Bellinger said it was “all [McMahon]. I picked my head up and Mac had a huge target at third. I threw a pretty nasty sinker. He did a great job to pick it and tag him. Once he tagged him, I didn’t think the run had scored.”

A review confirmed the out at third, and that the tag beat Dunn to the plate.

Bellinger called the play “huge” and added he didn’t consider throwing home, knowing the runners would be going on the pitch with a full count.

“You really don’t have a chance at home,” Bellinger said. “I tried to throw the ball to [McMahon] as best I could. It wasn’t easy out there.”

McMahon called the play “all reactionary.”

“I started to run in to cut off the throw home, and as I was going there, I remembered they were on the run, so I had to go back to third,” McMahon said. “I felt [Bellinger] was pretty close and I was able to get the ball. Knowing we should be down 1-0 and was still tied instead was big.”

The Yankees didn’t score in the bottom of the inning, but Tim Hill tossed a scoreless ninth before Judge ended it with his 17th homer.

“It was a really heads-up, great play by a great defender,’’ Boone said.

Lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez has reached his boiling point as the team sits at the bottom of the standings, but he’s not giving up. And he’s not alone.

The Angels completed a surprise sweep of the Rangers Sunday, but the team still is tied for the worst record in Major League Baseball with a 20-34. Their fans spent the holiday weekend pushing back against the idea that the franchise would never be more than a bargain option amid rising prices all around them.

Frustrated fans have gone shirtless during the Angels’ homestand and chanted for owner Arte Moreno to “sell the team.” And about 75 fans heeded Gonzalez’s call for a protest, gathering in front of the Angel Stadium State College Boulevard entrance on Saturday chanting “sell the team,” “we want playoffs” and “winning matters.” Drivers passing the spectacle honked their horns in support.

“They’re not doing much for us fans,” said Gonzalez, who organized the protest using the Instagram account @AngelsBoycott. “It seems like every other team is just doing a lot more than us, despite us having a huge following [and] having some of the best players to ever play the game. I mean, it’s just like a lack of commitment, to say the least, and that’s why we’re here today.”

It has been three months since Angels owner Arte Moreno told the Orange County Register that, according to Angels survey results, winning was not a top-five priority for fans and that data showed they valued affordability, safety and a “good experience” first.

Outrage over the remarks has grown as the Angels remain anchored at the bottom of the standings.

With a megaphone in his hand, Gonzalez pointed to the Ducks’ recent Stanley Cup playoff run as proof that Anaheim enjoys winning. He also noted how the nearby Dodgers and even the Padres demonstrate how Southern California teams can play for the postseason.

The Angels have missed the MLB playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons — including six with stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the roster — and have reached the postseason six times since Moreno purchased the team in 2003 after the franchise’s sole World Series title win in 2002.

Team officials did not respond to The Times’ request for comment on the fans’ protest, but manager Kurt Suzuki addressed the “sell the team” chants that are so loud they can be heard during Angels television broadcasts.

“I know it’s a thing, the no shirts and waving,” Suzuki said. “But yeah, we see it. We recognize it. They have the right to their opinion, and … they cheer for the guys, they roll-call them. I think it’s pretty neat for them to have that kind of support.”

Suzuki added that the Angels remain focused on winning and haven’t paid the chants too much attention.

The Angels entered Sunday’s game ranked No. 9 in MLB attendance with 34,555 announced fans per night, according to ESPN. There are swaths of empty seats during every home game, suggesting some season ticket holders are choosing to stay home.

There is an expanding contingent of fans in the upper deck adjacent to the right-field foul pole who have chanted “sell the team” while waving T-shirts, joining in on a trendy “tarps off” fan movement across MLB sparked by Cardinals fans in St. Louis.

Angels fans who haven’t joined the protests are pleased to see the calls for change.

“I think it’s good that there’s fans that are passionate enough to actually speak out, to want to see a better team and really want to get us back into the playoffs,” Darren Shimasaki, an Angels fan from Yorba Linda, said Friday.

Read more:Shaikin: For Angels fans, new team ownership — and winning — are what they'd like to see most

Debbie and Reed Olive, meanwhile, said they usually attend games for the promotions.

“You’re not going to come away with the wins,” Debbie said. “So, we got to get something for our ticket price.”

Even the fan experience unrelated to winning that Moreno touted has taken a hit.

Angels officials said they quickly resolved a rodent infestation Orange County health inspectors flagged at an outdoor food stand in View Level Section 432. Videos of stadium workers capturing a possum in one fan section and spraying gnats on the field during the last few weeks haven’t helped the team’s image.

Reed said the rodent infestation “was a bad look” and that the Angels need a new stadium in addition to a new owner.

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who has spent his five-year career with the Angels, said he understands the fans’ frustration.

“We don’t like not doing well, either,” O’Hoppe said. “It’s not OK to us. It doesn’t matter how much we’re getting paid or that we get treated great throughout the league and things like that. We hate it, too. I think people definitely don’t realize that. I think I can speak for a lot of guys in here that we dedicate our lives to this. … We’re not happy with how it’s going, but we’re doing everything we can to fix it.”

O’Hoppe is a New York Rangers fan and gets frustrated when his team struggles, but he said he reminds himself that “we’re all humans.”

Angels left fielder Wade Meckler, who made his debut on Friday night, is an Orange County native who grew up cheering for the team.

“I mean, I get it,” Meckler said. “It’s a hungry fan base. The fan base is hungry for a winning team. So I understand, you know, being frustrated. They just really want a winning team.”

Meckler has been following the Angels since age 5 and remembers feeling dejected after attending the Angels’ 4-1 home loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series.

“It’s a super loyal fan base,” Meckler said. “I feel like they show up with energy every day.”

The Angels are on track to miss the postseason for a 12th consecutive season, prompting restless fans to call for new owners who will invest in building a team capable of reaching the playoffs.

“Arte don’t know what he’s talking about,” said Austin Kleschka, an Angels fan who joined Gonzalez at the front of Saturday’s protest. “Winning is a priority. We want that.”

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Reid Detmers had a career-high 14 strikeouts and pinch runner Donovan Walton touched home on an errant throw in the ninth to give the Angels a walk-off 2-1 win at Angel Stadium and their first three-game sweep of the season.

With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, third baseman Oswald Peraza grounded into a fielder’s choice at second. Rangers second baseman Justin Foscue bobbled the ball and first baseman Jake Burger couldn’t cleanly field his throw, allowing Walton to advance from second to score the game-winning run.

The Angels’ dugout erupted as Walton scored.

“That was amazing,” Peraza said. “I went up there and just put the ball in play, and not trying too much. I’m happy for the sweep. And yeah, amazing.”

The win sealed the Angels’ fourth series victory and second three-game winning streak of the year.

Detmers (1-5) entered on a three-game skid and finished dominantly after yielding a second-inning home run to Burger.

Read more:Mike Trout hits a two-run home run to help Angels beat Rangers

The left-handed pitcher ultimately gave up one hit and one run through eight innings — his first time pitching through eight innings in 2026 and first time since his no-hitter as a rookie in 2022 — while setting a new personal best with 14 strikeouts to zero walks.

“I mean, you realize it, but you don’t really think much of it,” Detmers said when asked if he was aware of his strikeout count. “It’s more just, ‘How can I get this next guy out?’ Like I said a little bit ago, just stick with the process, don’t overthink stuff. There’s not a whole lot that goes into it, to be honest with you …”

In front of an announced crowd of 36,903 on “Little League Day” in Anaheim, the 26-year-old used 96 pitches to lower his ERA from 5.07 to 4.57 in the win.

Rangers left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore (3-4) dueled, too, giving up one hit, two walks and one run through six innings.

“Gore was really good today,” Detmers said. “His stuff was really good today. He kept us off balance and got out of a couple of big situations.”

But the Angels’ offense, finishing with four hits, found a way to make do without solely relying on the long ball.

Mike Trout started the Angels’ scoring in the third with a two-out single to score Sebastián Rivero from second and tie the score at one.

Read more:As critters and losses pile up, Angels fans call for owner Arte Moreno to sell team

The Angels’ run support behind Detmers was far from ideal. But Angels manager Kurt Suzuki is proud of his team’s effort in what was a pitcher’s duel.

“Like we talked about, you put the ball in play, things happen,” Suzuki said. “You never know what can happen when you put the ball in play. And you know, [Peraza] showed right there with the speed and putting it in play … forcing the issue a little bit.”

After Detmers and Gore sat down, Gavin Collyer (0-1) earned the loss, and Angels right-handed reliever Sam Bachman earned his first win of the year after striking out Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo to get out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth.

Glad his team won, Detmers considers Sunday’s game his second-best career performance after his no-hitter. Suzuki, who was Angels teammates with Detmers during his no-hitter from four seasons ago, also chimed in.

“Yeah, I mean, never discredit a no-hitter, right?” Suzuki said. “A no-hitter is special. But for him, I think what made [Sunday] … he was better was the strikeouts, right? It was not many balls put in play, that’s for sure … He struck out 14 guys, [and] to do it under 100 pitches, that’s even more impressive. That means you’re getting in, getting out of there really quick. So, I think … just probably the best start he’s had.”

Despite the recent uproar among fans frustrated with the Angels, whose 20-34 record is tied for worst in MLB with the Rockies, the Angels aim to stay hot.

“Well, as you know, we need more wins,” Peraza said. “[We’re] working very hard every day for that result.”

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Left-hander Ty Blach has elected free agency.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs mauled the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), 18-4.

It was a Sunday bullpen game for Iowa today as Gabe Klobosits started and allowed three runs in the top of the first inning. Memphis didn’t score again until the ninth. The final line on Klobosits was three runs on four hits over two innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Ryan Jensen threw the next two innings and got the win, retiring all six batters he faced. Jensen struck out one.

Iowa took the lead for good with a nine-run second inning, highlighted by a grand slam by shortstop Ben Cowles. It was Cowles third home run of the season. He also had a two-run double in the eighth, giving him six total RBI on the game. Cowles final line was 4 for 6 with two doubles and the grand slam. He also walked once and scored three runs.

DH Chase McCormick clubbed a solo home run in the fourth inning, his fifth one the season. McCormick went 2 for 4 with a double, the home run and a walk. He scored three runs and drove in two.

Right fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 5 with a walk and three RBI. He scored two runs.

Third baseman Owen Miller went 3 for 5 with an RBI double. Miller had two total runs batted in and scored twice.

Second baseman Scott Kingery was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.

Catcher Eric Yang was 1 for 3 with two walks and three runs scored.

Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 3 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. Bateman scored once and drove in two.

Every Iowa batter had at least one hit.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies got burnt by the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 7-3.

Dawson Netz was activated off the injured list to make this start, which unfortunately did not last long. Netz struck out the side in order in the first, but he got knocked around in the second and didn’t finish the inning. He took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits over 1.1 innings. Netz struck out three and walked one.

Jace Beck tossed two scoreless innings of relief. He gave up just one hit and issued one walk while striking out four.

DH Edgar Alvarez was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.

Catcher Ariel Armas doubled in a run in the fifth inning. Armas went 1 for 3 with two overall RBI.

A Netz strikeout to close out the first.

A nice catch in center field by Andy Garriola.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs’s protective seawall held against the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers), 5-4.

Koen Moreno gave South Bend a great start to the game with four scoreless innings. Moreno only allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four.

Nazier Mulé kept the shutout going in the fifth and sixth innings, but he got hammered in the seventh to cough up the lead. Mulé’s final line was four runs on two hits and three walks over 2.1 innings. He also had two wild pitches. Mulé struck out three.

Grayson Moore let two runners inherited from Mulé score, but finished out the inning and got the win after the Cubs retook the lead in the top of the eighth. The final line on Moore was no runs on one hit over two-thirds of an inning. He struck out one and did not walk anyone.

Eli Jerzembeck went the rest of the way for a two-inning save. The only baserunner Jerzembeck allowed was a one-out walk in the eighth. He struck out three.

Center fielder Christian Olivo hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth that ended up being the winning hit. Olivo went 2 for 4 with the two runs batted in. He also stole a base.

Third baseman Alex Madera was 2 for 3 with a walk and one run scored.

Shortstop Ty Southisene went 1 for 2 with three walks and two steals. He scored one run.

A two-run single in the first inning by first baseman Cole Mathis, who was 1 for 5.

An RBI double by left fielder Cameron Sisneros. He was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Olivo’s bloop single that scored two.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans dropped their eighth-straight game, 5-0 to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox).

Starter Mason McGwire gave up three runs on five hits over four innings. The good news was that he struck out seven and walked just one.

Catcher Jairo Diaz went 2 for 2 with a walk.

First baseman Michael Carico was 1 for 4 with a double.

The Birds only had five hits today.

ACL Cubs

Off day.

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Anaheim Angels scored two runs.

Ok, let’s focus on the positive for a moment. MacKenzie Gore allowed one run on one hit and struck out seven Angels batters over six innings as he rebounded from pitching just one inning in his last start which he left with weird side/shoulder/back pain.

In the first game of this series, a one-run start gets him a win with Texas scoring six runs. Last night, that start might have been good enough for a victory with Texas scoring two runs.

Tonight, however, one run on one hit wasn’t good enough as the Rangers also collected just one run on one hit against came-into-the-game-with-a-5.00-plus-ERA Reid Detmers, who struck out 14 Rangers over eight innings.

Eventually the Angels overtook Texas in the late innings thanks in part to the Rangers again failing to score with the bases loaded and Anaheim collecting the walk-off on an errant Justin Foscue throw a half inning later.

Truth be told, I didn’t watch this game because I don’t have NBC Peacock Plus or whatever. So maybe it is because of that fact that while I was following along on Gameday, I realized there’s not much reason to be annoyed or upset right now other than we’re all donating our time to this.

The simple fact is, the current lineup would probably make Triple A Round Rock feel like they have a fighting chance on any given night if they were playing these Rangers.

Corey Seager is out. Wyatt Langford wasn’t hitting before he got hurt and he hasn’t played in weeks. Josh Jung was at one point the only member of the lineup hitting and now he’s out for a day or more. Josh Smith was supposed to be the starting second baseman finally elevated to a regular role but he was among the worst hitters in baseball before he contracted the plague or something.

Michael Helman is the starting shortstop. They’ve got .357 OPS Sam Haggerty in center field. 39 year old Andrew McCutchen is batting leadoff and I don’t think he’s had a hit since the first series of the season. Danny Jansen makes me miss Andrew Knizner and his tandem Kyle Higashioka was the DH tonight despite he and Jansen perpetually battling it out to see who can finally raise their OPS to above .615 first (and somehow Higashioka is trailing in that race!).

It seems unwise to expect anything more than what the team can reasonably give right now. Of course, if you’re investing your time in watching it, you can feel however you want about it.

The Rangers seemed pretty flawed if everything went perfectly and if they had good health. Not much has gone well other than the rest of the league also being pretty bad and half the expected lineup has been cast across the nation with various ailments like they were on the Springfield softball team.

Even the worst team in baseball, which I think the Angels probably are, can sweep a team like the one Texas is fielding these days and here we are.

Player of the Game: I mentioned Gore, but I guess also Jake Burger hit a second inning solo home run to become the first Ranger in dinger double digits this season as he basically single-handedly prevented Detmers from attempting to a shot at one of the greatest games of all time. Instead, Detmers settles for perhaps the most impressive start from anyone this season.

Then again, it was Burger that struck out with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, his third strikeout with the bases loaded this weekend.

Up Next: The Rangers head back home with their tails between their legs and immediately open up a series against the Houston Astros. RHP Kumar Rocker is listed as Monday’s starter but we’ll have to see if the Rangers attempt the opener gambit again with Rocker after he enjoyed success in his last game utilizing that tactic. Meanwhile, Houston will opt for RHP Tatsuya Imai.

The Memorial Day first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

My kids put up with me watching the Rockies all summer, which is a bigger act of patience than I probably give them credit for. But when Banana Ball is on, they are not just tolerating baseball. They genuinely love it.

And I get it. Banana Ball is absurd. That is the whole point. The rules are built for pace, chaos, fan involvement, and the kind of baseball-adjacent weirdness that asks traditionalists to meet it halfway. This made me wonder: If the Rockies could adopt one Banana Ball rule to use at Coors, which one would you choose?

Purple Row already took one pass at the idea last season when the Bananas came through town, looking at what the Rockies’ record would have been under Banana Ball scoring rules.

But what other absurd rules could help Coors Field feel unfair again?

The fan in me wants Rule 8: If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.

At Coors Field, that would be tremendous. Suddenly, every foul ball has real stakes. We have already seen a Rockies fan make a catch while holding a baby and another make a full-extension grab after a massive bounce. The second one would not count as an out under Banana Ball rules, but that is exactly the kind of effort I would expect from the Coors Field faithful.

It would be chaotic, unfair, deeply silly, and probably a lot of fun.

But if we’re talking about a rule that might actually help the Rockies, Rule 5: Batters can steal first might be the answer.

The Rockies already have speed, ranking 10th in baseball in stolen bases despite sitting just 24th in on-base percentage. That tells a pretty simple story: When they get runners on, they can create pressure. The bigger problem is getting enough runners on in the first place.

That is where stealing first becomes interesting. In Banana Ball, a hitter can try to take first base on any pitch of an at-bat. It is not exactly a stable offensive plan, and every two-strike take turning into a footrace would probably get old quickly. Still, for a Rockies team that needs more ways to turn athleticism into baserunners, it would at least fit the roster’s shape.

There are other options, too. No mound visits. A two-hour time limit. No stepping out. A showdown tiebreaker. The Golden Batter rule is tempting, but I’m not sure who the Rockies would anoint with that title.

So what’s your pick?

Which Banana Ball rule would be the most fun at Coors Field?

And which one would actually help the Rockies?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

The Braves had their worst performance of the season in the first game in the Miami, and then bounced back to deliver three straight clobberings. There was no inkling that they’d return home for a soggy holiday weekend and suffer a letdown, but ultimately, that’s what happened. Whatever combination of weather, travel, regular baseball season ebb-and-flow stuff, offensive doldrums, Nationals gameplanning to perfection — you name it — it completely derailed Atlanta’s offense, and handed the Braves their second series loss of the season.

The big story here really was that the Braves suddenly ran out of offensive answers for an extended stretch. This series was the first time the Braves went homerless in three straight against the same opponent since July of last year. When you think about how the summer and tail end of 2025 were pretty much a disaster for the Braves, that’s kind of impressive. The Braves did have a three-game homerless stretch earlier this year, and they also went 1-2 in the process, but that happened in Seattle and Los Angeles, which is a bit different from facing the Nationals, who came into this series with the worst pitching staff in baseball. The Braves only scoring six runs in three games isn’t even that unusual — they scored five in three games at one point last week, and five in three games as part of that Seattle-Los Angeles trip — but the lack of homers was incredibly sudden, and incredibly detrimental.

Friday, May 22
Braves 5, Nationals 4 (11 innings)

This game was kind of a portent of things to come, but also ended up as the only win of the series. The Braves were held scoreless by opener Richard Lovelady and bulk guy Miles Mikolas for six frames, until taking the lead in the seventh, giving it back in the eighth, falling behind in the tenth, tying it in the tenth, and finally walking it off in the 11th. Chadwick Tromp played hero not once, but twice: his leadoff single in the tenth and mad dash home on a Mauricio Dubon bouncer helped the Braves tie the game, and then his two-out single on a 2-2 pitch brought home the winning run in the 11th.

This game featured a lot of wild stuff even beyond that: Mikolas having a 3/0 K/BB ratio but furnishing five scoreless frames, Robert Suarez grooving a 3-0 pitch that CJ Abrams turned around into a game-tying homer, a rare (and possibly rain-aided) “meltdown” by Dylan Lee (thanks to a not-that-hard Abrams double), and so on. In many ways, it was absolutely bizarre that the Braves even got themselves in a position to be able to win this game, given that the Nationals had two homers on their two barrels in this one, while the Braves went 0-for-2 on their two barrels. And yet, Chadwick Tromp provideth, and the ostensibly-blessed season continued… until it didn’t.

Saturday, May 23
Nationals 2, Braves 0

This was the real offensive doldrums game. The Braves got out-barreled 4-0, and had by far their worst wOBA and xwOBA of the season. It’s not like they were facing down some kind of world-beater, either, as Jake Irvin came into this game both mediocre and unlucky stat-wise. Furthermore, Irvin ended up leaving with injury, and the Braves then got eaten alive by three innings of Brad Lord, who has been good but not dominant or anything so far this year.

Grant Holmes ended up having a bizarre start, with a 10/2 K/BB ratio but two homers yielded. Holmes continues to have a pretty stark times-through-the-order split, with an expected uptick in peripherals, but more problematically for the Braves, a big homer problem once batters have seen him the first time in a game.

The Braves had one big chance in this game thanks to a defensive gaffe by Washington in the seventh, but the trio of Ozzie Albies, Dominic Smith, and Austin Riley didn’t get it done and that was pretty much that. There was a brief-ish rain delay, but it didn’t really upend anything and this was just a welp game for the team.

Sunday, May 24
Nationals 2, Braves 1

Somewhat fittingly, this game kind of ended up being a mix of the first two games of this series, but the Braves ultimately didn’t pull this one out. There was a no-rain rain delay to start, and another delay partway through; much of the game was played in pretty horrid conditions and it’s kind of impressive that no one got hurt and there weren’t any weird “welp that’s not how baseball should be played” shenanigans.

This time, it was Foster Griffin’s turn to dominate the Braves — he was largely forced out by the rain delay. The Braves had a scoring chance in the fourth, but Eli White hit it hard into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. The Nats then got three straight hits off Martin Perez, and added a second run post-rain delay off Reynaldo Lopez. The Braves only kind of came alive with a couple of hits (one well-struck, one bloopy) in the ninth. White then hit into what could’ve been a game-ending double play (again hitting it hard, but at a fielder), but it was booted, scoring the first (and only) Atlanta run. Lovelady, in for the third game in a row (and all three in this series), walked Ha-Seong Kim to load the bases and bring up Tromp…

…who did not get it done this time against Orlando Ribalta (the guy he had his first key single against on Friday). That meant it was all up to Ronald Acuña Jr., who had the Braves’ only barrel of this game (an out) earlier. But, Acuña didn’t get it done either, mis-hitting an inside sinker for a weak groundout to end the game.

With the Rays also losing today, the Braves are nominally “tied” for the best record in baseball, even if this series kinda sucked. At least we’ll always have the Chadwick Tromp Game, even if he couldn’t come through twice in the same weekend.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been better than everyone’s expectations this year but is that going to bite them later in the season? This week on the Redbird Rundown podcast we had the legendary Bernie Miklasz join us. We are thankful that Bernie was able to squeeze us in among his 40 other daily articles and podcast appearances and love the conversation we ended up having.

We hope you have been enjoying the content lately and massive thank you to everyone who has taken in our recent episodes. As always, please feel free to drop your feedback so we can continue to get better and bring you what you want to hear. This episode took plenty of turns so let us know your thoughts!

In the episode, we talked if it is fair to change our expectations for the season since the Cardinals have outperformed the expected stats. If they fall below .500, as we figured they would do at the start of the year, is this now a failure of a season? You will hear that I am just enjoying the ride and still see the season as a “fact-finding” mission. At the end of the day, they are finding things out about Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, and others while playing some fun baseball.

Make sure you subscribe, like, and comment so we can continue to grow. Thanks as always!

YouTube:

Apple:

Spotify:

Sunday couldn’t have gone much worse for the Blue Jays.

A Toronto season that had begun to turn around in recent games saw that momentum stall in their 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

And it wasn’t simply because of the loss, but the multiple injuries that occurred across the span of just one inning.

The struggling American League East squad, which dropped to 25-28 in the loss, had to remove starting pitcher Dylan Cease in the top of the fifth after the former CY Young runner-up was seen shaking his arm after a pitch and left the game with some measure of visible discomfort.

This came as the Blue Jays had already trailed 2-1.

And even more worrisome, Blue Jays’ megastar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took a two-out, 92-mile per hour pitch inside, left for the dugout afterward and never returned.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the ball hit Guerrero in a “weird spot.”

“He usually doesn’t come out of a game. He’s pretty tough,” Schneider told reporters of Guerrero, according to MLB.com. “I followed him and he just said, ‘I can’t feel my hand.’ It was kind of like [hitting] a funny bone, but travelling at 90-plus miles an hour.”

Dylan Cease left his start with a trainer in the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/tGYF23pKTK

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 24, 2026

Cease had been off to a good start in the season individually, jumping out to a 2.98 ERA over 10 starts prior to Sunday, where he was en route to another quality start before his early exit.

Cease has two top-four Cy Young finishes in his career from his stints with the White Sox and Padres.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went directly to the dugout and left the game after being hit by a pitch. pic.twitter.com/jPWw5jGiTX

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 24, 2026

“When we went out the first time, he was cramping up a little bit,” Schneider told reporters of Cease, according to MLB.com. “Then, he still kind of felt it, obviously, so we wanted to be careful. He’s going to get an MRI. All of the testing and stuff seemed pretty positive. He said he wants to make his next start, so we’ll just see how he is the next couple of days. We’re just hoping for good news.”

Guerrero Jr. has three homers and 22 RBI’s this year, hitting .287 for the year.

He’s also a five-time All-Star and former MVP runner-up.

After getting to Game 7 of the World Series last season, Toronto has started just 25-28 but won four games prior to Sunday.

How about these Washington Nationals! They just took two out of three in Atlanta to hand the Braves their second series loss of the season. The Nats offense was not firing on all cylinders this weekend, but the pitching staff picked up the bats. This offense deserved the help they got from the pitching this weekend badly.

After back to back shaky starts, Foster Griffin was back to his best this afternoon. He threw 6 scoreless innings against one of the best offenses in baseball. Griffin’s command was absolutely impeccable in this one. He was dotting the corners all game long. Despite pitching in the pouring rain for a chunk of his start, Griffin executed at a very high level.

The sweeper was the star of the show in this one for him. He got 4 whiffs on 7 swings against the sweeper. Griffin was also able to freeze hitters with his big breaking ball. His ERA got over 4 following his last start, but now it is back down to 3.63. 

Once again, the Nats offense was fairly quiet in this one. However, they did just enough to get the job done. Nasim Nunez got a big RBI hit in the fifth. Then in the 8th, after a long rain delay, the Nats used some small ball. James Wood walked and then stole second. After Curtis Mead moved him over on a sac fly, Luis Garcia Jr. got a pinch hit knock to score Wood and give the Nats a massive insurance run.

The rain was a big story all weekend, and especially today. From about the 5th inning onwards, the two teams were playing in a big storm. Crew Chief Ron Kulpa kept the game going as long as he could. However, two pitches into the 7th inning, they had to call a delay.

With the storm getting out of control, the grounds crew had a tough time getting the tarp on the first base side of the field. At points, it really felt like the game should have been called off. If the Braves were winning, I have a feeling the game may have been called. The Nats travel to Cleveland, while the Braves are off tomorrow. Whatever the motive, the grounds crew did their thing, and got the field into just good enough conditions to play.

That meant Nats fans were in for an anxiety inducing finish. The Garcia hit cleared some of the nerves, but only temporarily. Keibert Ruiz almost gave the Nats a huge insurance  run, but he was robbed by a leaping Matt Olson, who showed why he is such an elite defender at first base.

After getting the last two outs of the 8th, Gus Varland came out for the 9th. However, he put his team in a bind by allowing two straight hits to Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. Blake Butera turned to Richard Lovelady for a third straight day. Lovelady has dealt with Michael Harris Jr. well this series, and did it again, getting him to flyout to shallow right.

With runners on first and third with one out, it looked like Eli White hit into a game ending double play. However, the usually sure handed Nasim Nunez booted the ball and everyone was safe. With the way he is struggling at the plate, Nunez can’t afford to make those kinds of defensive mistakes.

In the end, this would not cost them though. After Lovelady walked a batter to load the bases, Blake Butera went to Orlando Ribalta, a roll of the dice that paid off in a massive way. Ribalta blew away Friday’s walkoff hero Chadwick Tromp. That set up a matchup with the face of the Braves franchise, Ronald Acuna. Ribalta got Acuna to break his bat and ground out to first. The big right ran over to cover first and received a toss from Luis Garcia Jr. to win the series and get to .500.

This was a statement series win for the Nats. They did not have their A game on offense this weekend, but were able to pitch their way to a series win. This pitching staff has been much maligned, but since about the middle of April, they have been solid. It has not been unbelievable, but they are holding up their end of the bargain.

It is Memorial Day, and the Washington Nationals are .500 and second in the NL East. Seeing how rejuvenated this team looks has me so excited. Nats fans are finally able to dream of a bright future ahead. If this is what the Paul Toboni and Blake Butera regime can do in year 1, I am very excited to see what is to come.