PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Harris II homered and had three hits as the streaking Atlanta Braves defeated the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep of their NL East rivals.
Ozzie Albies hit an RBI double and Austin Riley also drove in a run for the Braves, who have won five in a row and nine of 11. It was Atlanta’s first series sweep of at least three games at Philadelphia in 10 years.
Kyle Schwarber went deep for the Phillies, who have lost five straight and 10 of 13. They were outscored 56-33 on a 2-7 homestand against the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Braves, leaving Philadelphia 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the division standings.
Raisel Iglesias escaped trouble in the ninth inning for his fifth save. Philadelphia put runners on first and second with one out, but Trea Turner struck out and Schwarber lined out to right field on an excellent running catch by Ronald Acuña Jr.
Tyler Kinley (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.
Schwarber’s two-run shot in the first gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.
Harris homered leading off the third before the Braves went ahead in the fifth with three runs against rookie starter Andrew Painter (1-1) and lefty reliever Tim Mayza.
Painter was lifted after he opened the inning by allowing singles to Harris and Acuña. Mayza loaded the bases with a walk, and the Braves tied the game on Matt Olson’s groundout. Riley’s dribbler to third went for an RBI infield single, and Albies’ double to the left-field wall made it 4-2.
Riley saved at least one run while ending a Philadelphia threat in the bottom of the fifth with a stellar defensive play at third base.
Braves starter Grant Holmes allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings.
On a chilly night, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sat out after leaving Saturday’s game with lower back tightness.
Up next
Braves: Begin a four-game series Monday night at Washington. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16).
Phillies: Open seven-game trip Monday night with the first of four games against the Cubs. RHP Aaron Nola (1-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Chicago RHP Colin Rea (2-0, 3.63).
Apr 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (18) hits a double against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
It was a big weekend for Philadelphia sports. The Sixers and Flyers began their first-round playoff series, while the Phillies hosted the first-place Braves for a three-game series. The Flyers came through with a hard fought 3-2 win on Saturday night. But the rest of the weekend did not go well for the city (that was one of the worst playoff performances I’ve ever seen by the Sixers), capped off by a 4-2 loss by the Phillies on Sunday night that looked similar to so many other losses this season.
The game actually started off well. Trea Turner led off with a single, and Kyle Schwarber hit a home run that reviews confirmed did clear the fence before hitting a fan.
When Bryce Harper followed with a walk, it looked like the Phillies might be in for one of those big offensive nights that they give us every so often. But that was not to be. The next three batters got out rather easily, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
Andrew Painter got the start for the Phillies and was generally okay. Unfortunately, with the way things are going for the Phillies, okay isn’t enough. He gave up a solo home run to Michael Harris in the third and then got out of a second-and-third, one out jam in the fourth.
But unless you’re facing the 2026 Phillies, if you keep putting baserunners on, eventually it’s going to cost you. Painter allowed consecutive singles to start the fifth, and manager Rob Thomson chose to pull him in favor of Tim Mayza.
The remainder of the inning was a great representation of how things have gone lately for the Phillies in that they were both bad and unlucky.
Mayza walked his first batter, and then Matt Olson hit a grounder to second that wasn’t hard enough for the Phillies to turn a double play. The Phillies got the out at second, but the Braves tied the game. Austin Riley followed with what was by my calculations, the 200th infield single against the Phillies in the last three weeks, to put the Braves in front 3-2.
Ozzie Albies then hit a ball to left field, and I’m still not sure what Brandon Marsh was trying to do out there, but he sure didn’t catch it. The result was a 4-2 Braves lead.
The Phillies had an opportunity to get back into the game in the bottom of the inning. With Turner on first base and two outs, Schwarber doubled into the corner (at least someone had a good game), but surprisingly, Turner had to hold up at third. Bryce Harper then followed up with a ball to third that he almost beat out, but beating out close plays isn’t what the Phillies do these days.
The Braves seemed like they wanted to let the Phillies back into the game. They couldn’t tack on against some of the lesser lights of the Phillies’ bullpen, and in the seventh, gave the Phillies two baserunners thanks to a walk and hit batter. But Bryson Stott meekly popped up and Rafael Marchan watched strike three to end the “threat.”
The Phillies dashed our hopes one last time in the ninth. A Stott double and Justin Crawford walk put the tying run on base for the top of the order. But as he so often does in clutch spots, Turner was overmatched by a fastball for a strike out, and then Schwarber hit a liner to right field that Ronald Acuna was somehow able to track down to end the game.
At least the Phillies won’t have long to stew in this ugliness. They’ll travel to Chicago to start a three-game series for the Cubs. Monday night’s game will be on at the same time as the Flyers, so the hope is that the hockey team can provide us with a little bit of distraction. I doubt a road trip will do much to improve their play, but it will at least provide a respite for all the fans who were subject to watching this ugliness this weekend.
Apr 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II (23) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
After a dominant win in Game 1, the Atlanta Braves did just enough in Games 2 and 3 to extend their winning streak to five games.
Oh, and sweep the Philadelphia Phillies for the first time at Citizens Bank Park since September 2016.
In a battle of the best and worst run differentials in the league, the Braves outscored the Phillies 16-3 this series.
Tonight began with an inauspicious start for Grant Holmes. A Trea Turner single and then a Kyle Schwarber bomb made it 2-0 in a hurry, doubling the amount of Philly’s runs so far in the series. He’d work around a Harper walk but otherwise emerge unscathed.
The Braves tried to respond in the top of the second inning, where Austin Riley and Dom Smith reached via a HBP and a single, respectively. Ozzie Albies won an ABS challenge on a called strike miles above the zone, but struck out. Mike Yastrzemski laced a ball to right but into the glove of Adolis García, and Mauricio Dubón had a valiant 10-pitch at bat that ended with an ABS-assisted strikeout.
Holmes settled down to set down the bottom of the Phillies order in the bottom of the second.
The Braves would cut the lead in half via the paternal pop of Michael Harris II, hitting his fourth home run of the year 102 miles per hour to right field. The lineup card turned over, and nothing came from our big boppers.
Good news and bad news for Holmes in the bottom of the third – he finally did not walk Harper (yay), but he did allow a single (not yay). But that would be the only damage done.
It looked like the Braves were cooking up something in the top of the fourth after Austin grounded out to start the inning. An Ozzie walk and Yaz double with Dom Smith up? You could feel CJ Nitkowski gearing up for a Moment. But it wasn’t to be – Dom’s pop out to short and Dubon’s flyout to center left them stranded.
Grant was groovin’ in the bottom half of the fourth, only needing eight pitches to set down Marsh, Bohm, and Stott.
Michael collected another knock to lead off the top of the fifth, prompting a mound visit and Tim Mayza loosening in the Phillies bullpen. Painter’s 84th pitch of the night would be smoked 104 mph for a single by Ronald Acuña Jr. Rob Thomson, not wanting to take any more chances this third time through, lifted his rookie in favor of the lefty Mayza. Drake Baldwin won a challenge as a batter (!) and reached on a walk, loading the bases for Matt Olson.
What ensues is a kind of inning that only happens TO us, never in our favor. But there’s a first time for everything~
Matt tied things up 2-2, reaching on the forceout at second. Austin then drove in another on an infield single. Ozzie followed up with a double to make it 4-2. The rally would die there, with Yaz and Dom were both caught looking for strike three.
Grant recorded two more outs before departing with Turner at first. His final line was 4.2 innings, four hits, one walk, and four strikeouts, all on 81 pitches. The one real piece of damage was the Schwarber 2-run homer in the first inning. But all things considered, it was encouraging to see Grant really settle down after the first for a solid outing.
Speaking of Schwarber, Aaron Bummer immediately harshed the vibes by allowing a double to Adolis García. But thankfully, he followed it up with quickly getting Harper 0-2 and inducing a groundout.
Michael’s very nice night continued with a single off of new reliever Chase Shugart, making him 3-3. After a Ronald walk, Mike advanced to third on a Drake flyout but neither would come home to score after Kyle Backhus struck out Matt.
Tyler Kinley had some trouble finding the zone to start the bottom of the sixth, walking García, and hitting Bohm. But he would lock back in to escape the jam. Backhaus, Kerkering, and Johnson threw up zeroes, but so did Dylan Lee and Robert Suarez. The only thing of note would be Michael working a walk (!).
Raisel Iglesias entered the bottom of the ninth in his most favorite of situations: one of the save variety. A two run lead facing the bottom of the order? Not dramatic enough, he felt. After a Stott double and Marchán flyout, he would walk nine-hole hitter Crawford to bring us back to the top of the order. Turner struck out to bring Kyle Schwarber to the plate representing the go-ahead run. He would connect with an Iggy changeup to send it rocketing 103 mph… into Ronald’s glove in a spectacular running grab. How sweep it is.
We’ll see the Phils again on Friday as we kick off our next homestand. But tonight, the Braves will have a happy flight to DC.
MESA, ARIZONA - MARCH 15, 2025: Michael Carico #9 of the Chicago Cubs bats during the seventh inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Los Angeles Angels at Sloan Park on March 15, 2025 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Starter Connor Noland got blitzed early today. He allowed five runs in the bottom of the first inning and two more in the third. Noland’s final line was seven runs on six hits over three innings. Three of those hits were home runs. He walked three and struck out three.
I guess it’s only fair to say the wind was howling out to left at 17 miles per hour. Seemed like more than that.
Right fielder Kevin Alcántara crushed one 442 feet in the third inning with a man on for his eighth home run on the season. Alcántara went 2 for 3 with two walks.
In the fourth inning, first baseman Jonathon Long hit a solo home run, his second on the season. Long went 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored three times.
Third baseman Pedro Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a walk. He also scored three runs.
Shortstop Ben Cowles was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He drove in a run with a two-out single in the seventh.
Starter Tyler Schlaffer got through the first inning fine, but he was hammered for six runs in the second inning. Schlaffer was charged with six runs, four earned, on six hits over 1.2 innings. Schlaffer walked one and struck out two.
Right fielder Alex Ramirez went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored one run.
Center fielder Carter Trice was 2 for 5 with a double and one run scored.
Brooks Caple started and took the loss after giving up five runs in the second inning. His final line was five runs on four hits over three innings. He struck out five, walked two and hit one batter.
South Bend had three baserunners—Kane Kepley and Cameron Sisneros walked and Kade Snell was hit by a pitch
Starter Mason McGwire was terrific, allowing just one hit and one hit batsman over four scoreless innings. McGwire struck out five and walked no one.
Luis A. Reyes relieved McGwire in the fifth and almost coughed up a six-run lead. He gave up three runs while retiring only one batter before Hayden Frank relieved him with the bases loaded and only one out in the inning. Frank kept any inherited runners from scoring and went on the got the win after 3.2 innings without allowing a run. Frank surrenderd two hits, issued two walks and struck out five.
First baseman Michael Carico hit a two-run home run in the second inning. Carico went 1 for 2 with three walks.
Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 2 for 5. He scored once and drove in two.
Second baseman Ty Southisene went 2 for 4 with a double and a stolen base. Southisene scored three runs.
Some Mason McGwire highlights.
This McGwire is responsible for zero runs 👀@Cubs prospect Mason McGwire (son of Mark) lowers his ERA to 0.90 with 5 K's in four near-perfect frames for @Pelicanbaseball. pic.twitter.com/zbdcea3S2F
RAMSAU, AUSTRIA - JULY 21: Daniel Mulligan of Ireland hits his second shot on the fifth hole during day four of the Euram Bank Open at GC Adamstal on July 21, 2024 in Ramsau, Austria. (Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Have regrets? That roster you meant to construct carefully but finished the job while on far too many weed gummis? Did you fritter away a couple games you know you would have won if you had it to play again today? Are you waiting for young talent that is almost “almost here”?
Unless you’re the Houston Astros — and trust me you do not want to be the Houston Astros right now — the universe has given a big mulligan to the AL West. Everyone started out 0-0 with 162 to play and after 22 grueling games…pretty much the whole division is 11-11, give or take a dead rat.
The A’s came to their 11-11 record in a very roundabout, roller-coaster-y way losing the first 4, then soon after winning 5 straight on the road against New York teams expected to contend, only to drop 3 of their last 4 and losing a series to the recent laughingstocks of baseball, the Chicago White Sox.
Meanwhile, the Rangers end the week with a record of, you guessed it, 11-11, having sat atop the division much of the first 3 weeks but unable to distance themselves from the .500 mark.
The Angels have been a pleasant surprise, which has to be concerning to their fans since it has gotten them only a record of 11-12.
The Mariners aren’t quite back even, but their series win over Texas has allowed them to creep ever closer at 8-11.
Only the Astros are buried early, having lost 3 starting pitchers, a shortstop, and 15 games out of 23.
What does this all mean? Mostly that the Mariners, widely favored to win the AL West in pre-season predictions, have given their rivals a 1.0-1.5 game head start in a race that is now 140 games. All the drama of the first 3 weeks has resulted in practically nothing with regard to the standings or the .500 mark, unless you happen to live in Houston.
That might be good news for a team like the A’s, who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gage Jump, and possibly later in the season Leo De Vries, to a team whose most glaring instabilities appear in the rotation and 3B.
It also means that while the A’s haven’t thrived overall, they have survived 1/8 of the season in which Luis Severino and Jacob Lopez on the pitching side, Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, and Lawrence Butler on the hitting side, have performed worse than they probably will in the last 7/8.
Of course their rival teams can make the same claims. Colt Emerson is a big time prospect for Seattle and no one thinks Josh Naylor is going to continue batting .146 or that Cal Raleigh will slug .262.
But the over arching point here, for all the teams, is that for whatever has gone wrong so far, whatever glaring holes were strangely not anticipated by Opening Day, whatever tough losses were endured, you got a mulligan and the chance to look forward to a 140 game season that begins tomorrow with everyone at .500 like they were on the morning of March 27th. Unless you’re the Astros, in which case you can go bang a trash can lid against your nuts and see who cries for you.
Leading the charge was Ben Rice, who homered in all three wins, bringing his streak to four straight games with a home run. Rice is now up to eight homers on the season, trailing Aaron Judge by just one HR as the slugger also went deep in Sunday's win.
With 17 home runs combined on the year (the most in the majors among a duo), Rice was asked what it's like "teaming up on opposing pitchers" with Judge and said he's just happy to contribute to winning baseball.
"I don't know about teaming up. It feels good to hit some homers. He's always going to be hitting homers," Rice said. "To be able to hit some along with him is cool for me. You don't really think about it too much to be honest."
Rice led off on Sunday and battled through a six-pitch at-bat to walk in the first inning, providing a baserunner for Judge to drive in on his two-run homer. Manager Aaron Boone spoke highly of Rice's first AB, saying it set the tone for the game and complimented his ability to hit tough pitches.
"Yeah, he's hit a couple on that same pitch," Boone said. "Feel like he got one the other day where it was tight to him like that and he's able to get the barrel to it and keep it fair. Really set a good tone first at-bat of the game, really long, grind it out walk ahead of Aaron's homer. More good ABs from him."
Boone added: "Bottom line is, again, I think he's turning into, or even is one of the really outstanding hitters in the league. That's what he is right now."
The manager went on to say that Rice has been on a "steady ascent" since his debut in 2024 and is now beginning to show his full potential.
"I think he's finding some more holes right now," Boone said. "Last year it was pretty dynamic. What did he end up with, 530 plate appearances, well over .800 (OPS). I think everyone's kind of done the digging where the underlying stuff suggests that it was even better than that probably. So it's just been a steady ascent for him.
"He did some really good things in '24 for us. Had some struggles in '24 that I think he grew from. Last year was really a breakout season for him and I think a prelude to what he can be, which is I think what we're seeing."
Judge agreed with Boone's assessment, calling Rice's performance so far this season as "top of the league."
"I know he's going to be on base a lot so it's going to make my job easy to get him into scoring position or drive him in like we did in the first," Judge said. "It definitely will be some headaches for opposing pitching staff. What Benny has done so far this year and will continue to do is top of the league right now."
The duo will look to keep it going this week when the Yanks face the Boston Red Sox for the first time, starting a three-game series on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
DENVER, CO - APRIL 19: Mickey Moniak #22 and Troy Johnston #20 of the Colorado Rockies celebrate with teammates after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After getting pounded 7-1 on Friday at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Colorado Rockies bounced back with back-to-back come-from-behind victories. On Saturday, they were down 2-0 after just two pitches but ended up coming back to win 4-3 by putting up two runs in the sixth. On Sunday, after some “fishy” accusations, the Rockies once again climbed out of a 2-0 hole and ended up squeaking out a 9-6 dramatic victory.
Considering the Dodgers hadn’t lost to an NL West team in 2026, nor had they lost back-to-back games, this is a pretty big deal. Additionally, the Rockies hadn’t won a series — home or away — against the Dodgers since 2022. 2022!
So my questions to you this evening are this:
What are your biggest takeaways from this series so far?
Do you think the Rockies will win Game 4 tomorrow night?
Apr 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) celebrates at second base after hitting a double during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Bryan Woo came to the ballpark seemingly on a mission today: to make the Rangers’ day miserable. So far this season, despite some solid performances, Woo has failed to notch a win, with three no-decisions and two losses. Today, he stepped on the hill, and, one inning aside, he looked as sharp as he has all season. While Woo certainly has the ability to flex his power, show off with a 97 mph fastball right at the numbers, today was all about keeping everyone off balance and dominating with soft contact, jam shots, and precision control. After the game, Dan Wilson commented on Woo’s mindset today:
“I think from pitch one you could see a little more determination on his face today, and wanting to really go out this afternoon and give us a good ballgame.”
Woo echoed much of the same sentiment:
“Being in the zone consistently, throughout the game, and not fishing for punchouts, just consistency in the zone and executing. And if they’re punchouts, if they’re quick outs, whatever they are, just take them as they come.”
The mindset showed as Woo used his fastballs to extreme effectiveness today, keeping the Rangers off balance and using his sinker to elicit weak contact and befuddled swings. Woo did an excellent job of keeping the ball in the infield as well, bringing about six ground balls and three infield fly balls to go against two hits from the Rangers today. Woo was near perfect in preventing free passes as well, issuing his only walk of the game to Corey Seager in the 7th inning (thanks partially to a savvy challenge from Mitch Garver in the first that flipped Seager’s first at-bat around from a 3-0 to a 2-1 count and eventual popout). Otherwise, Woo was playing in the zone all day, keeping hitters honest and tallying six strikeouts along the way.
The Rangers began to figure Woo out around the third time through the order, as a poorly timed walk to Seager to lead off the seventh, followed by a single Wyatt Langford and an HBP to Joc Pederson, loaded the bases. Josh Jung nearly got a hold of one but drove it out to the wall for a sacrifice fly as Seager ran in to score. A double from Evan Carter would bring home Langford and give the Rangers two runs off of Woo. Josh Smith would end the inning with a soft grounder to second, but the damage had been done, and Woo’s day came to a close at 7 innings pitched, 2 ER, 1 walk, and 6 Ks.
Despite the strong six innings, Woo struggled to hide his frustration with his difficulties in the 7th. But he remained calm, limited the damage, and finished the inning. Even so, Woo was very critical of the free pass and the HBP, expressing so after the game:
“The leadoff walk, number one. Hitting Joc, stupid. But it’s just the concept of keeping teams down when they’re down, not giving them any life, not letting them have any momentum, not letting them breathe in any way, just keeping our foot on the gas. You give up the two there and then it’s like, the at-bats for Gabe the next inning are just more stressful. And there’s no need for that if I just do my job. Yeah. I’m still beating myself up over it. It’s just little things like that. It’s like, if they were to hit their way through that inning it’s one thing, but for me to give them free passes, that’s another thing.”
Despite the negative self-talk, it seems to me that Woo is as locked in as he’s ever been, consistently focused on improving and not letting small mistakes eat at him too much:
“I give myself tonight to be pissed, and then once I wake up tomorrow, it’s a new day, and we get on it again…I try to take the positive and analyze the negative. So yeah. Six good and one bad. Try to weigh it in that way too, proportionally, like, don’t be too hard on yourself but take the good and learn from the bad, and it is what it is. Yeah, I hold high standards for myself but there’s a balance there too of not being too hard on yourself.”
The Mariners’ offense also put on a mighty display today to follow up on their strong performance from last night. Rob Refsnyder got the scoring started today with his first hit as a Mariner, a lead-off homerun off the first pitch of the day from MacKenzie Gore. Having just returned from paternity leave, it seems dad power is back on the menu!
Refsnyder spoke after the game on his struggles getting started here in Seattle:
“I feel thankful for my teammates, trying to help me through. I don’t think you ever want to slump, especially early in the year, new team, new city, so I’ve definitely been hard on myself, but I’ve had a lot of help. Our mental coach, Bern [Adam Bernero] has helped me a lot…And especially as a platoon guy, it kind of stinks because you have a couple of days to sit on it, too. But the most frustrating thing is that we feel like we’re playing decent baseball, just the results as a whole haven’t been exactly where we want it to be, but it’s a good group, and we honestly believe in each other. Hopefully this series we can kind of build on that.”
Refsnyder has had a difficult start to the season but remains committed to taking advantage of the opportunities and expressed thanks for the fan support he has received so far despite his cold start:
“I really appreciate, there’s been some fans out in early batting practice, even today in the outfield, who have been really supportive. That helps. Honestly, I’m human, so we hear a lot of things. So just to have the fan support, it meant a lot, it’s pretty cool. I’ve played in some places where you get booed at home and things like that, and it definitely wears on you…[The fans said] just supportive things like you got it, we believe in you, keep going, just nice stuff like that. And it means a lot when you’re going through it, wondering who knows if I’m ever going to get another hit. So just to have that support, honestly, it genuinely meant a lot. It was nice.”
Hopefully, today marks a turnaround moment for the journeyman outfielder and the spark for a successful run for him here in Seattle.
The Mariners wouldn’t end the scoring there, putting on a show of strength and power today in front of the hometown fans. In the second, a leadoff walk for Mitch Garver set up JP Crawford for a two-run home run of his own.
With the swing, Crawford became the first player to get a hit off of Gore’s curveball all year and the second lefty in the league with two career homeruns off of Gore (Michael Harris II being the other).
Randy Arozarena followed that up with a two-run homer of his own in the 5th. A Julio Rodriguez single put him on first and in a 0-2 count against the curveball Randy hit it off the left field foul pole to put the Mariners up 5-0.
The Mariners were relentless against Gore today in a way they have not been before. In the previous three games in which the Mariners faced Gore over 18 innings, they scored 1 run, struck out 25 times, and walked 3 times, a record that certainly suggests today’s game should have gone differently. Today, however, the Mariners sparked Gore for 5 runs on 7 hits over 5 innings today, a marked improvement from previous outings. On top of that, as I mentioned earlier, coming into this start, Gore had not given up a hit all year on his curveball. 4 of the Mariners’ 8 hits came on Gore’s curveball, and two of those were home runs. Whatever change was made in the clubhouse, the Mariners have finally managed to get to a guy who has seemingly had their number over the last year or so.
Muñoz came in and shut the door in typical fashion in the 9th to put the bow on one of the most complete Mariners games I’ve seen so far this season. The Mariners have struggled in various areas so far this season – the bullpen not showing up, the starter struggling through the first 5 innings, or the offense doing their best impression of a ghost – but today the Mariners really put it all together. All the ingredients were there: a dominant start from Woo, who went on a solid run, run support from the top of the order, and the bullpen came in and shut down the game without incident. Hopefully, this is a sign that the Mariners are turning it around and maintaining the strong performances we are used to seeing from last year. There is another division-winning team here; it remains to be seen if that team can show up consistently.
Hedges scored the first run in the Cleveland Guardians' 8-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles, then saved his best score for the postgame, when he proposed to his girlfriend, Lexi Dickinson, on the field.
With a few friends and teammates present, a "Lexi, will you marry me?" message was displayed on the scoreboard at Cleveland's Progressive Field.
"Really hoping to win that game," Hedges said. "I was going to do it regardless, but I really wanted to win that game to make it extra special."
Hedges, 33-year-old, 12-year major-league veteran catcher, admitted to being nervous the entire day.
"Lots of nerves, lots of nerves," Hedges said. "A lot of nerves about – I'm always nervous for baseball games. I mean, obviously that's a good team over there and we want to win the series. And just trying to stay present, knowing that there was some activities after. But special day, special day to be able to soak it all in."
Hedges said that he's had the engagement ring since spring training and was looking for the right moment to propose to Dickinson, who he has had been dating since November 2024. After the successful proposal, Hedges' teammates joined in an on-field celebration.
Hedges has played six of his 12 big-league seasons in Cleveland, and also spent time with the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers, with whom he was a member of the team's 2023 World Series winners.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 19: Willy Adames #2 of the San Francisco Giants looks back at the dugout after striking out to end the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It had been a laborious weekend for the Giants bats. After two — count ‘em two — high intensity games in which they scored 17 total runs on 31 hits over 21 innings, the offense looked relatively exhausted in Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Washington. Spring’s bipolar nature abruptly swapped the tank-top heat of summer for an abrasive, chill-laced wind. Sunday was a day of indoor batting practice, of clubhouse breakfast buffets, of yawns in the dugout. They team had secured a series win and won three in a row. Didn’t they earn a day to just chill, to just zone out in the batter’s box and suck seeds on the bench with your cleats up? What does the good book advise? I say, unto thee: Pack all thou grinding and disciplined at-bats, thou situational contact, thou two-baggers and round -trippers and rallies and swipt bases into six days in order to rest on the seventh.
Obviously I don’t actually think the offense played with this level of lackadaisicalness, but it did, at time, look like they took these words to heart. Hitters truly did observe at the plate. Their swings were often hole-y as lefty opener PJ Poulin, struggling veteran Miles Mikolas, and recent Triple-A arrival Andrew Alvarez cruised through 9 shutout frames.
Mikolas, who lugged a 11.49 ERA (15.2 IP) into this game, scattered four singles across four scoreless innings while striking out 4. His four-seam fastball and its -3.3 RV/100 earned three of his four strikeouts. Previous opponents had hit .316 and slugged .526 against the pitch… but not these opponents. Seemingly non-descript fastballs exposed out over the plate proved fatally feisty for Willy Adames and Heliot Ramos. Four of six swings elicited by the pitch came up empty. Only one of them was put into play.
Frustratingly unproductive outs added up to an 0-for-11 day with runners in scoring position. And I joke that the offense took the day off, but the reality is some work was being done because the table was set multiple times. San Francisco out-hit Washington 8 to 7 and also got a boost from three defensive errors. 11 at-bats ain’t nothing to sneeze at. Those chances were more than enough rungs on a ladder to help the Giants climb out of their three-run hole. The difference proved to be a lack of decisiveness. A 2-run shot that echoed Ramos’s game-tying homer on Saturday, or his 3-run blast on Friday night, was glaringly absent.
Instead with a chance to bring home a run or two, the Giants batters piled up six strikeouts and also hit into a double play. They had a runner standing on second base with nobody out in the 6th, 8th, and 9th innings…and that runner managed to reach third just once.
And to be clear, no tension or suspense was built in these at-bats with runners on. These were not gritty, 10-pitch showdowns, or spirit-filling shows of defiance and resistance. They were blink-and-you-missed-it outs. A candlelight in a windstorm. Mere whimpers. Twice Drew Gilbert and Patrick Bailey reached with two outs to set-up an RBI chance for Willy Adames, and twice Willy Adames flailed at strike three. The first time, in the 2nd, Adames was felled on three straight fastballs from Mikolas. In the 4th, he managed to see four.
After Casey Schmitt led off the 6th with a double, southpaw Andrew Alvarez, who had been called up from the Rochester Red Wings earlier in the day, dispatched Jung Hoo Lee with a sinker, slider, curveball. Easy as A-B-C. The hot-hand Ramos fouled off three pitches in the middle of the zone before being called out on strikes. In the 8th with a runner on third, pinch hitter Jerar Encarnacion waved helplessly at an 0-2 curveball from Alvarez to end the innings. Easy as 1-2-3.
Just another outing of little to no run support behind a solid Robbie Ray performance. After getting beat by a pair of solo shots in Cincinnati, Ray swallowed another bitter pill in D.C., logging his second quality start of the year as well as his third loss.
The veteran had been excellent for four innings, uncharacteristically pitching with efficiency and count leverage. The Nationals recorded three soft-contact singles in the first three innings, and Ray did well to manage the undeserved traffic.
Jacob Young led off the 2nd with a bloop single, but Ray softened the lead-off hit with back-to-back strikeouts. In the 3rd, Keibert Ruiz managed an infield single on a soft roller and advanced into scoring position after a James Wood walk. More troublesome soft contact off the bat off of Curtis Mead resulted in a heads-up defensive play by Willy Adames to expose some poor baserunning by the lead runner Ruiz. Brady House then flew out to deeeeep center field before Ray escaped the jam by inducing a routine flyout from Abrams.
The relief of that escape lasted one more inning before Washington broke through the scoreless deadlock in the 5th.
A bunt single from Nasim Nunez was the inconspicuous start to the Nationals 3-run rally. Nunez promptly stole second and from scoring position scored on Keibert Ruiz’s double — a “double” really in name only. Off the bat, the ball looked to be destined to be caught. It boasted an xBA of .170. It lingered in the air. Perhaps the wind pushed it further away from Ramos than expected. He initially broke back towards the wall before course correcting to the right. The ball clipped the end of his glove before finding grass. An opportunity for out missed there. But Ramos got the ball quickly into Adames in shallow left. Nunez had a late break for home, and the relay to the plate beat him by plenty, but Bailey couldn’t corral the hop before prematurely bringing his glove over for the tag. The baseball rolled freely up the line as Nunez came to a complete stop, turned around, and cheekily leaned on the plate.
Either end of that play could’ve produced an out. Instead the Nationals claimed the lead and then extended it. Two pitches later, Mead jumped on a first pitch change-up to plate the second and third runs of the day.
The three earned runs allowed are so far a season high for Ray. He went on to bag two more strikeouts (7 K on the day) and complete the 6th before being relieved by scoreless appearances by Keaton Winn and JT Brubaker. All for naught though. The crooked number in the 5th proved to be a bridge too far for San Francisco’ listless lineup. Considering the looming midweek series against LA, and the arms they’ll be facing (Yamamoto, Ohtani, Glasnow), the offense might be kicking themselves for shrugging off the opportunities that presented themselves today.
Nebraska baseball sweeps USC and solidly plants itself in 2nd place in the Big Ten standings. This is the first sweep of a ranked opponent in Haymarket Park since that legendary 2015 Texas series. It also happened to be the highest attended series in the Big Ten era of Haymarket Park, and the 5th highest all time. Three straight walk-off wins, including 2 by way of the 10 run rule has the Huskers sitting at 15 in the RPI, putting them in the mix to reach their biggest goal every year, hosting a regional.
The Trojans were actually the first to score, getting to Husker starting pitcher Gavin Blachowicz right away in the top of the first. Kevin Takeuchi singled up the middle and advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw. He came home a couple batters later on a Jack Basseer RBI single.
Nebraska responded right away, with DH Jeter Worthley burning the Trojan center fielder and racing all the way to third for a triple. Case Sanderson drove a ball to the wall in straight away center that bounced off the glove of the center fielder and off the wall. He strode into second with an RBI double and remained there all of 1 pitch as Dylan Carey pulled a ball down the left field line for an RBI double of his own, and the first big roar from the 7600 in attendance as the Huskers took a 2-1 lead.
Things went completely sideways for Blachowicz in the 2nd. He was squeezed early by the home plate umpire and walked 3 batters on 3-2 counts, though he was able to pick off the first one. Backed into a corner, Blachowicz grooved one right down the middle that Takeuchi hammered into the Party Porch for a 3 run home run. USC’s best home run hitter, Augie Lopez, then sky-ed a ball that not one Husker defender even moved to attempt to give chase as it cleared the USC bullpen completely. The Trojans put up a 4 spot and take a 5-2 lead.
The Huskers turned to new reliever, Ty Horn to steady the ship, and he did just that. Horn was spectacular, pitching 5 innings, scattering 6 hits and giving up 1 run on a solo home run, again by Augie Lopez in the top of the 5th. Horn struck out 4 and more importantly, walked zero.
The Husker offense went on a tear starting in the 3rd. Carey on a big day, even for him obliterated a ball that despite the 42 degree launch angle, which generally results in a pop fly, still easily cleared the left field fence into the mass of humanity occupying the outfield berm. Carey would go 4 for 5 on the day, with the aforementioned double and home run, good for 2 RBIs.
Nebraska took the lead back for good in the 4th. Rhett Stokes hit a ball hard up the middle that the short stop bobbled for an error. A perfect hit and run call (one of many by the coaching staff on the weekend) had Trey Fikes hit a ball right to where the second baseman was, but vacated to go cover second base. That put 2 on for Mac Moyer against the clearly unraveling Trojan starting pitcher. Moyer did the rare thing for him and pulled the ball and as the right fielder kept drifting back and back, the crowd again went from a murmur to an all out roar as what happened so many times on the weekend happened again, a USC outfielder couldn’t make a play at the wall, and a 3 run home run landed in the first row of the party porch.
The Trojan started remained in there and issued back to back full count walks to Worthley and Sanderson before being pulled. Carey hit a ball to shallow center, his lone out of the day, but Worthley was able to tag up at second base and slide safely into third. That would prove to be very important, as USC uncorked a wild pitch, and Worthley scampered home to put NU up 7-5.
The wild pitch would rear its ugly head for the Trojans again in the 5th, Trey Fikes bunted Josh Overbeek and Rhett Stokes to 3rd and 2nd. Then with Jeter Worthley up with 2 out, the wild pitch hit the backstop. The catcher threw it back to the pitcher covering home, but over his head as Beek slid in. Stokes had rounded third hard and upon seeing the ball by the pitcher took off for home. The first baseman grabbed the ball and tried to toss it back to the pitcher, but his toss was high, and Bolt’s Boys took a soul crushing 9-6 lead.
The onslaught continued. Sanderson led off the 6th with another walk. Carey singled to center to put runners on the corners. Jett Buck took a 1-2 pitch right to the side of the helmet, knocking it clean off. He gathered it up and sprinted to first to load the bases for Drew Grego. Grego has been red hot all series, and this was his magnum opus. The pitcher, rattled from just hitting a guy in the head, put one right down Main Street, and Grego took it for a ride. A second 400+ foot home run in as many days, this one a grand slam. The crowd exploded.
The Huskers added two more in the 6th inning to go up 15-6, but couldn’t get the 10th run differential. That is until the bottom of the 8th. Mac Moyer was hit by a pitch, but not awarded first. Bolt challenged the call and won. A passed ball allowed Moyer to take second base. The Case Sanderson poked a single down the left field line and Moyer ran home and then immediately took off with the rest of his team to catch Sanderson who by this time had run into the middle of center field. Fear not, the team has gotten good at tracking down batters after walk offs, this was their 3rd walk off of the 3 game series against USC. Those Gatorade containers made the 350 foot trek to dead center and doused the Huskers’ first baseman.
Nebraska hits the road again, traveling down to Kansas to attempt to avenge the loss two weeks ago at the hands of the Jayhawks (still the only loss at Haymarket Park all season). They then go to Illinois for the weekend, to take on the Illini who occupy 8th place in the Big Ten currently. If they continue to take care of business the rest of the way, the attendance records set this weekend will be a thing of the past.
It looked like the Mets were going to end their nightmare for a moment on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. But then things took another turn for the worse as Devin Williams blew the save in the ninth and the Cubs walked it off in the bottom of the tenth inning, handing New York its 11th straight loss.
After the crushing defeat, manager Carlos Mendoza discussed the "tough stretch" the team is going through.
"Yeah it's tough, it's tough, especially when you're going through it," Mendoza said. "You feel like you got to the ninth inning feeling good, but I mean when you're playing in one-run games you have to be perfect and it's hard to play like that. It's a tough stretch right now."
The Mets had opportunities to tack on to their 1-0 lead, but finished the game 1-for-9 with RISP and left six on base. Mendoza noted how New York wasn't "impacting the baseball as a team" and "didn't hit many balls hard" on Sunday, something that's become regular during their losing streak.
When asked if it's getting late to turn things around, Mendoza said the team needs to "find a way" soon.
"11 losses, that's a lot, whether it's in April or at any point in the season," Mendoza said. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We've got to find a way. Off day tomorrow and back at it Tuesday."
Francisco Lindor had one of the scoring opportunities in the sixth inning after Luis Torrens hit a leadoff double, but the shortstop struck out to end the inning. He said it isn't "a good feeling" to have this long of a losing streak and took accountability for the lack of production, adding that the whole team needs to do a better job of executing in the clutch moments.
"This feeling sucks. It's not a good feeling," Lindor said. "You said it, we're professionals, and we got to find a way out of it. We got to do whatever it takes to end up on top after 27 outs and sometimes 30 outs. It's not a good feeling. But, no one here is hanging their heads, everybody has their heads held high and they're fighting for each other.
"Today, they played a good game, but I came up in situations to drive runners in and didn't do that. It came down to last two outs, I think when I get guys in scoring position, I don't drive them in, I don't help the team that way, it can come back. But what it comes down to is me executing, and all of us executing. Like you said, we are professionals and this is what we get paid to do so I got to be better."
Lindor reiterated that the Mets need to execute, knowing only they can fix the problems on the field.
"We got to bring it," Lindor said. "We got to continue to bring it day in and day out. No one's going to feel sorry for us. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to bring it."
Having been in New York for six seasons now, Lindor understands the outside noise is going to continue until the team strings together some wins. He said they have to keep fighting and not let it distract them.
"Fight for each other, stick [up] for each other," Lindor said. "What Mendy has said from day one, protect the house. It's going to get loud. It's going to get very loud. And ultimately, everyone here knows it and we've just got to stick together and stay within ourselves and fight, fight."
The All-Star agreed that having an 11-game losing streak is shocking, but said they have to forget in order to improve moving forward.
"Yeah, 100 percent. We have a tremendous team. David Stearns put a good team together, but this shows that nobody really cares," Lindor said. "We've got to go out there and get it done and this past week-and-a-half, we haven't gotten it done. It's a bad feeling, but we got to turn the page. I've always said this, whether we win or lose, look at it for a little bit and then turn the page and focus on what we have in front of us."
David Peterson, who tossed 3.2 scoreless innings on Sunday, and Williams both agreed with Lindor that the losing streak is on the players, not the coaches or front office.
"It's on everyone. We're in this together," Peterson said. "Everyone has a part in this and we've got to stick together. Everyone's got to take responsibility and accountability. We all need to look in the mirror and see what we can do better to help this team move in the right direction. That's the job. Like I said, come back ready to go on Tuesday, fight like hell, and play our brand of baseball."
"It's tough to explain," Williams added. "This is one of the most talented locker rooms in the league. We just can't seem to string it together right now."
Lindor was also asked how getting star Juan Soto back from the injured list soon could help the Mets out of their slump, but again, said it's not on one player to be the savior as they all need to play better.
"I mean, like I said earlier, Soto is irreplaceable and having him back is going to help us a lot," Lindor said. "Hopefully he is back [soon]. Top three hitters in the league probably, top two? So yeah he's going to help us a ton. He's going to lengthen our lineup.
"Even when he comes, we've still got to get it done. It would be unfair to just throw everything on him. As a team we got to come together and execute, that's what it's going to come down to."
New York will have Monday off to regroup and find a way to win on Tuesday when they start a three-game series back home against the Minnesota Twins.
The Yankees entered this weekend winless in their past three series. Their lineup was an issue in dropping a series against the A’s; their fielding a problem in a sweep in Tampa; their pitching (and particularly the bullpen) exposed while splitting a set against the Angels.
And then the Royals arrived for a get-right series after which the Yankees sure look a lot more right.
The Yankees finished off a demolition of the worst team the American League has to offer with a 7-0 smacking Sunday in front of an announced Bronx crowd of 40,198, whose beverages should have been free after sticking through a 2-hour, 45-minute weather delay at the start.
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Aaron Boone’s group (13-9) completed a 5-2 homestand that began with too many home runs served up against the Angels and ended with nine launched against the Royals (7-15).
Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Trent Grisham all went deep in the finale to back Ryan Weathers (7 ¹/₃ scoreless innings) and inspire some confidence ahead of a nine-game road trip through Boston, Houston and Arlington, Texas. The final tally from three games involving teams from New York and Kansas City: an NFL-like 24-7.
“I thought we played really well, obviously, this weekend in a lot of facets,” Boone said after the offense broke out in a second straight game, Weathers and Angel Chivilli combined for a shutout and the defense executed a relay to cut down a runner at the plate. “You want to play clean. You want to feel like you can do different things on a given day to win a game.”
Among the issues that the Yankees faced just a few days ago was their lack of offensive firepower against lefty pitchers, against whom they owned the majors’ second-worst OPS (.535) entering this weekend.
Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) celebrates with New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after he scores on his solo homer. Robert Sabo for NY Post
That number has ballooned after they teed off Saturday against Noah Cameron and Sunday against Cole Ragans, southpaws who allowed a combined 14 runs in 8 ¹/₃ innings.
“Hopefully that is something that guys are starting to find their stride a little bit offensively,” said Boone, whose lineup decisions have led to another issue facing the club: Rice has been coming off the bench frequently against lefty pitchers.
Sunday, what had been metaphorical became literal: Rice leapfrogged a few spots in the order and jumped in front of Judge as the leadoff man against Ragans, the club’s one-two punch batting first and second for the afternoon. They kept punching.
In the first inning, Rice worked a walk and Judge followed with a first-pitch trip to Monument Park, Judge’s ninth of the season and sixth in eight games. Remember that talk about his slow start? Through 22 games, the Yankees captain is on pace for 66 homers.
Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, April 19, 2026 at Yankee Stadium. Robert Sabo for NY Post
After showing off their power, the Yankees used patience to score again in the frame, three walks and an Austin Wells sacrifice fly adding a third run against Ragans.
An inning later, it was Rice’s turn to do damage against a lefty and further force his way into the everyday starting lineup, turning on an inside fastball from Ragans and visiting the short porch for a solo shot. He has swatted four dingers in as many games and is up to eight on the season.
Judge’s and Rice’s 17 combined home runs are the most by any duo in the sport, one more than the entire Mets team (16) and four more than the Red Sox (13), whom the Yankees will see beginning Tuesday.
The Yankees notched just seven hits Sunday, but three left the park — Grisham ended the scoring with a three-run shot to the second deck in right in the fifth — and they created traffic with 10 walks.
Weathers bounced back from a five-inning, four-homer outing against the Angels and limited the Royals to five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts while pitching into the eighth inning.
He was dominant, and the defense behind him crisp, including a sixth-inning relay from Trent Grisham to José Caballero to Austin Wells to nail Elias Díaz by several steps to preserve the shutout.
Against the Royals, the lefty Weathers and the whole team looked right.
“This was a big series for us,” said Judge, who praised a young Royals team that has gotten off to a poor start. “To be able to come out there and put up some big runs, especially the last two games, was huge for us.”
Noah Schultz spearheaded a 7-4 win in his second career start | Scott Marshall-Imagn Images
In such a short period of time, dare I say that Noah Schultz has really, truly, already arrived?
It almost seems too good to be true, for somebody who’s gotten plenty used to even the best White Sox prospect requiring some adjustment time in the majors. But the young condor-like lefty is is looking like an exception, perhaps just a little bit in the mold of another tall, lanky lefty whose presence undoubtedly changed the current of Sox history.
As far as today’s action goes, Schultz fired five innings of one-run baseball in his second career start, punching out six while walking just one along the way. Even more excitingly, he did it in a way that makes you think there’s a lot more in the tank moving forward.
The vibes were good from the outset in this one, beginning with a manufactured run in the first — courtesy of Chase Meidroth and Edgar Quero — and expanding farther with a towering Derek Hill fly ball to start what wound up being a bevy of White Sox home runs:
On another part of the lineup, I won’t mince words. Miguel Vargas spent the entire series against Tampa Bay getting completely hosed on some excellent batted balls. His BABIP entering today was a a paltry .161, which is stupid given the fact that he runs around league average in terms of swing speed and hitting the ball hard. His BABIP actually decreased today, but that’s because his one hit wasn’t a ball in play, as he demolished a baseball out to left field in the second inning to spot the Sox a four-run early lead for the second straight day:
I spoke in the game thread about how Schultz was either going to need to get better at spotting his breaking balls to righties or he’ll have to figure out how to effectively use his changeup. While he did manage to break out the cambio quite a bit more, his breaking ball command remains a work in progress, as evidenced by the wildness of the breakers on his pitch chart this afternoon:
The spinners weren’t quite rolling for Schultz today, but a lot of the other stuff was. That changeup I was just talking about? It drew six swings, all against right-handed hitters, three of which resulted in whiffs. Overall, an excellent 30% of swings against Schultz came up with air over his five innings of work, heavily contributing to allowing just one run and one hit on the board. He also walked one, but more than compensated with six punchouts in total.
That one run, though? Schultz learned the consequences of being unable to spot a breaking ball in Sacramento’s half of the second inning. After being ahead in the count, 1-2, Schultz wasn’t able to locate either his fastball or sweeper near enough to the zone to put Darnell Hernaiz away, and when forced to throw one over the plate on a 3-2 count, the young righty made him pay:
It became somewhat clear that Schultz’s high velocity last week was at least partly a function of debut-at-home adrenaline. He still reached back to touch 97-98 mph a few times today, but after one time through the order he settled more at 94-95 mph. With his huge frame and unconventional release point, that was still enough to remain effective through all five of his innings.
At least the Sox offense actually gave him enough of a cushion to work comfortably late into the outing. Just as on Friday, Munetaka Murakami provided the death blow for the Athletics with yet another mammoth homer on a Springs breaking ball that hung like a half-dry chunk of beef jerky:
That makes eight homers on the year for Murakami, bringing him into a three-way tie with Jordan Walker and Aaron Judge for second in the majors. With that homer, he also became the Sox leader in home runs over their first 22 games with the team, actually surpassing José Abreu’s magical start to the 2014 season.
Hey, remember when Abreu came up and hit a walk-off grand slam within a few weeks of joining the team? Even the bad times produce some good times in this game.
Anyhow, Murakami wasn’t the only of Springs’ worries. Immediately after surrendering Murakami’s blast, Colson Montgomery decided to make his day even worse by knocking one into the batter’s eye in dead center field for his fourth dinger of the young season.
After much consternation yesterday, we did see Grant Taylor toe the rubber again, though in a much less useful situation than if he had been available yesterday — which he understandably wasn’t after heavy work on Thursday. Taylor worked around a tapper of a single to put together a scoreless seventh inning before getting touched up just a bit for two runs, just his second set of runs allowed this year. Still, the stuff looked as excellent as ever, and he still has yet to allow a home run in the major leagues. He’s not quite Mason Miller — nobody is — but he does have a chance to go neck-in-neck with Caleb Bonemer as the franchise’s best second round pick since Terry Forster back in 1970.
The rest of the game was easygoing for a Sox bullpen that desperately needed an easygoing game. Taylor gave way to Jordan Leasure in the seventh inning, and Leasure managed to keep the ball in the yard to bring the game to the eighth at 7-3. Bryan Hudson got into a little bit of trouble in his own bridge inning, bringing the 7-4 game just close enough that, with an off-day tomorrow, Will Venable felt comfortable giving Seranthony Domínguez his seventh save opportunity, and ultimately, his fourth successful conversion of the year so far.
The squad gets the day off tomorrow as they move south for a three-game bout with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have looked pretty dang good across a 14-8 start in a bitterly competitive NL West. We’ll see you for that one on Tuesday night, at 6:40 p.m. Central time!
Apr 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto wears the home run jacket as he celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Offence! By the Toronto Blue Jays! So the legends were true…
After a terrible four game stretch, this win was cathartic.
This one got late early. Nathan Lukes lead the game off with a single, Ernie Clement doubled to put runners on second and third, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined a single to bring them home. Jesus Sanchez, Eloy Jimenes and Andres Gimenez each singled in turn to score a third and load the bases, and then a Kazuma Okamoto double to left increased the margin to five. After a Myles Straw walk, Brandon Valenzuela was the only Blue Jay not to reach the first time through the order, striking out swinging. Not to worry, as Nathan Lukes lined a double to left for his second hit of the inning, clearing the bases. That spelled the end for Ryne Nelson, who recorded just one out while giving up eight. Reliever Andrew Hoffmann escaped the inning from there and get through the second unscathed, but Okamoto lead off the third with a home run to run the Jays tally up to nine. The tenth run came in the next frame, as Vlad singled, was pushed up on a Sanchez walk, advanced on a wild pitch, and came home on a Gimenez sac fly.
Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman stayed sharp. He gave up a ground ball single in the first, and one run on a walk and a pair of singles in the bottom of two. He went back to holding the snakes scoreless in the third, fourth and fifth. Arizona got one more back in the sixth, on a Lourdes Gurriel jr. single and an Adrian Del Castillo double. All in all, Gausman gave up two earned on seven hits and a walk over six, striking out four.
Mason Fluharty gave two back in the bottom of the seventh, on a Ketel Marte single and a Jorge Barrosa home run. 10-4 would be the final, as Tommy Nance and Braydon Fisher combined to shut the door.
Jays of the Day: Nobody actually qualifies because the good work was spread around. Lukes had three hits and two doubles, Vlad had three of his own, and Okamoto had a homer and a double. Every Jays batter got on base. Gausman also deserves a nod.
Less So: Nobody.
Tomorrow it’s on to Anaheim for *bass reverb voice* Blue Jays After Dark. Dylan Cease (0-0, 1.74) will try to finally get a win in the books after four excellent but indecisive starts. The offence will contend with Reid Detmers (1-1, 3.57). First pitch is set for 9:38pm ET.
