The Cardinals rotation has not performed particularly well. Individual games are quite good here and there, check out McGreevy’s line from his start today, but on the whole they are near the bottom of the league in many important pitching indicators.
We were joined by Benjamin Hochman of the Post-Dispatch to consider the rotation from an interesting angle. Given a “trust pie,” how would we divide the pie amongst the current starters for the Cardinals? This convo had it all: stats, vibes, insider info from Benjamin and, of course, pie!
Would certainly be curious to see how you all would divide your trust pie amongst the staff. I’ve put all the relevant links below, would be awesome if you could subscribe as you listen! We appreciate your time — and thanks for listening!
The Mets have designated veteran outfielder Tommy Pham for assignment, according to multiple reports.
The move came soon after New York lost both games of a doubleheader, managing just one run on 10 hits on Sunday as the Colorado Rockies completed a three-game sweep at Citi Field. Pham went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the first game, a 3-1 defeat.
A corresponding move had yet to be announced. New York is in the midst of a team-wide slump, and has scored one run or fewer in 10 of the first 28 games of the season, including both games Sunday.
Pham first signed with the Mets in 2023, appearing in 73 games before he was dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the trade deadline, slashing .268/.348/.472 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Pham has always hit left-handed pitchers well, posting a career .802 OPS with 49 home runs against lefties.
Pham played for 10 teams during his 13 big league seasons. In 449 plate appearances over 120 games for Pittsburgh last season, Pham slashed .245/.330/.370 for a .700 OPS (94 OPS+) with 10 homers and 17 doubles.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - APRIL 25: General view of Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú prior the MLB Mexico City Series game between San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú on April 25, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) | Getty Images
[Editor’s note] Due to an incorrectly constructed Google form, I don’t know whose responses are who! So enjoy this game of “Guess the Snakepitter”! LOLExcept for Mak. Thanks for still putting your name, Mak.
So what did the disappointing series against the White Sox tell us?
Response 4: I think it says more about the Chicago White Sox than it does about the Arizona Diamondbacks. The White Sox aren’t the historically bad team that they’ve been the last couple seasons is the main take home here. As far as the Dbacks go, I think this roster is going to need a revamping. You have three position players in Ryan Waldschmidt, LuJames Groover, and Tommy Troy who almost certainly could contribute more than some of the other position players on the roster. There are several veteran relief arms and a few pitching prospects I think it would be a huge improvement over some of the arms currently in the bullpen.
Makakilo: The White Sox series showed excellent batting will often prevail over average pitching.
Response 2: That the bullpen weaknesses we all feared really are still there. But it also showed that this team is more resilient than last season’s. Also, Merrill Kelly is still rusty.
Response 1: That the pitching is still Arizona pitching. And the offense needs to be more consistent. It also told us that Murakami is far more likely to be a Dodger in 2027/2028 than we would’ve thought 2 months ago.
Perhaps more importantly, what did it not tell us?
Response 4: I don’t think it tells us how either team’s 2026 season will go. The White Sox could very well slip and finish with a losing record, and that applies to the Dbacks as well
Makakilo: The White Sox series did not tell us anything about the Diamondbacks chances to reach the playoffs.
Response 3: It still didn’t tell us what sort of pitching we actually do have and it also is still looking like the team is not firing on all cylinders on offense. So what we still don’t know is how this offense is going to fare moving forward. Would the real versions of roster members please stand up?
Response 1: That the season is over. We had a bad series. Ok. Get up, shake it off, move on. Bigger fish to fry.
What is our level of concern with Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson?
Response 4: They’ll both be fine. Not going to stress about a sub-4 ERA in Merrill Kelly’s case, and an ERA barely over 4 in Ryne Nelson case. Even Paul Skenes has had a bad start this year, so it happens, and I wont stress or worry about it until this becomes an extended trend.
Makakilo: I’m optimistic that the problem can be fixed. Perhaps it was the mix of pitches. For reasons that are unclear, in their two recent starts, Kelly and Nelson pitched a much higher than normal percentage of four-seam fastballs (MLB com and Baseball Savant). Before he left the game, Kelly had about half four-seam fastballs, when a quarter is his normal. In his first four batters, Nelson pitched 8 four-seam fastballs and one slider, when 60% is his normal.
Response 2: With Merrill Kelly, right now it is around 3-4 out of 10. He looked mostly decent but rusty in his season debut. Oddities galore muddied his second performance where rust and said oddities led to the game spiraling out of control. But he needs to start looking sharper moving forward or that concern is going to escalate quickly. With Ryne Nelson, it’s somewhere around a 7 out of 10. When he is on his game, he is getting the swings and misses. But it really seems like he isn’t trusting his defense to make plays and is trying to strike everyone out, which is leading to him getting swatted around. It really looks like he is grinding through a bit of a confidence problem all around. Those can snowball into nightmare seasons in a hurry and he is still learning to adapt to the Majors. I would be less concerned if he had another full season of decent performance under his belt. If he has another blow-up or two in his next two starts, it might be time to look at piggy-backing a tandem starter situation with Pfaadt on days when Nelson would be the starter.
Response 1: Medium for both. Nelson was supposed to be the next Mainstay. And the old Mainstay is old. I trust and believe in both. Trust the process (and keep an eye on Reno pitching lines).
The Diamondbacks are playing in Mexico as this is being written. What are your thoughts on MLB’s attempts to grow the sport beyond the US/CA borders?
Response 4: I think MLB needs to do a lot more like this to grow the sport. Mexico has been a market that could be tapped into much more, so having series there is a start. I’d like to see more regular season games hosted in WBC countries. What MLB really needs to do though is get games back on free, over-the-air television. Games being broadcast on local television is what got me into baseball for the long haul. New fans arent going to plunk down money on a sport they aren’t even sure they like! If over-the-air TV isnt an option, then my suggestion is for MLB to broadcast a game each day, rotating so every single team gets a couple games available for free with no blackouts each season. THAT would do more to grow the game than having games in random non-American/Canadian countries.
Makakilo: Baseball Reference shows this season there are 8 players in the Majors who were born in Mexico. With two players, the Blue Jays have more than any other team. Baseball shows what team cooperation and healthy competition can look like. The world would benefit if more countries followed the model of baseball.
Response 3: I love the motivation for the Mexico City series. I am getting sick and tired of such international exhibitions costing AZ home games. At the same time, it puts AZ out there more than other teams. I expect the balls to be flying at that altitude, which could get interesting.
Response 1: It’s fine. I wish there was more of this. I’m confused why it’s two games with days off on either side though. I thought the excuse for why international series were so difficult was jet lag, but the series takes place in US Central time zone so that doesn’t add up. Neither does travel time since it’s closer than NYC to Phoenix. As for there only being two games… idk I guess this is just MLB being MLB. Honestly I just hope we fare better than when MLS teams have to go down to play “tournament” matches in Mexico. They almost always seem to get sick. For a soccer team that’s a minor blip on the schedule. For a baseball team? Huge ramifications for end of season record.
Apr 26, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Athletics left fielder Carlos Cortes (26) hits a two-run triple during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Last time the Athletics played the Texas Rangers, the teams split a four-game series in Sacramento. This time, the A’s emerged victorious in a best-of-three battle in Arlington. The two runs they scored in the first inning proved sufficient to win a game in which they overcame an injury to their starter and a 1-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position.
Facing Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker, the A’s offense got going early. With two outs in the first inning, Rocker walked A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and designated hitter Brent Rooker. Hot-hitting right fielder Carlos Cortes stepped up to the plate and promptly smoked his first triple of the season over the head of the Rangers center fielder Evan Carter, scoring those two runners to give his team an immediate 2-0 lead. That would be the first of three hits in this game for Cortes, who capped off an incredible week at the plate.
Athletics starting pitcher J.T. Ginn only needed to throw six pitches in a scoreless, shutdown first inning. After giving up a leadoff single, he got Joc Pederson to ground into a double play before retiring the dangerous Corey Seager on a line out snagged nicely by first baseman Nick Kurtz.
In the second inning, A’s center-fielder Lawrence Butler came close to hitting a two-run home run. However, it went just foul near the foul pole and he ended up lining into an unlucky double play. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, who hit the go-ahead home run last night, led off the home half of that inning with a double. Ginn escaped the jam unscathed, striking out Texas’ catcher Danny Jansen to strand Jung and another runner on base.
The next inning, the A’s somehow went scoreless despite the final three batters smoking the ball. Soderstrom crushed a two-out double to the right-center gap, but was left stranded when third baseman Jung made a nice play to field Rooker’s hard-hit grounder and then threw him out.
With Ginn through three scoreless, the A’s sought to give him more of a cushion. Cortes and shortstop Jacob Wilson led off the fourth with back-to-back singles. Rocker got out of the jam by retiring the next three A’s hitters. He got some help from his first baseman Jake Burger, who made a diving stop to rob Butler of a hit.
With one out in the fourth inning, Ginn left the game with right arm soreness, abruptly ending his outing and forcing the A’s to turn to their bullpen earlier than expected. Reliever Joel Kuhnel came out of the bullpen on short notice and got the final two outs of that inning.
The Athletics wasted another scoring opportunity in the fifth. Catcher Shea Langeliers was left at second base after hitting a double down the left field line. Despite all of the baserunners he allowed, Rocker only gave up those two first-inning runs over six innings of work.
The team was planning to skip left-hander Jacob Lopez’s next turn in the rotation as right-hander Aaron Civale is scheduled to start the first game of the home stand against the Kansas City Royals. So, in the wake of Ginn’s injury, Lopez entered this game out of the A’s bullpen in the fifth inning.
Making his first relief appearance of the season, Lopez pitched a scoreless first inning. The sixth inning did not go as well. Jung hit a lead-off double and then Lopez fielded Carter’s bunt, but threw wildly to first, allowing Carter to reach safely and Jung to score the Rangers first run.
Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner replaced the rattled Lopez and came up huge! He pulled a Houdini to escape a bases loaded, no outs jam, striking out two-straight Rangers before getting right fielder Brandon Nimmo to fly out to end the inning.
Seeking insurance runs, the A’s got a two-out rally going against Rangers left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander in the seventh on back-t0-back singles by Kurtz and Langeliers. Unfortunately, Soderstrom flew out to end the inning and stop another scoring opportunity.
Following scoreless innings from Hogan Harris and Jack Perkins to maintain the A’s advantage, the A’s loaded the bases in the ninth looking to extend their lead. In that inning, Kurtz was intentionally walked, overtaking Rickey Henderson for the most consecutive games drawing a walk in franchise history. Alas, Rooker struck out on three pitches to send it to the bottom of the ninth with the Athletics still clinging to their one-run lead.
Perkins finished off the Rangers in the ninth, setting them down in order to complete his second two-inning save of the road trip and lock up the series win for the first-place Athletics.
As a result of their win, the team gets to enjoy a happy flight home and an off day tomorrow before beginning a new series against the Royals. On Tuesday, Civale will look to pitch better than he did in his first Sacramento start during the A’s previous home stand. He will be opposed by left-hander Kris Bubic, who is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA through his first five starts this season.
Brett Baty | (Photo by Heather Khalifa/Getty Images)
If you had any doubt about the 2026 Mets being a terrible baseball team, surely it was erased this afternoon as the team scored just one run across two games of a doubleheader against the Rockies at Citi Field. In the second game, the Mets were shut out, a recurring theme early of a season that feels like it’s ending right before our eyes even though the calendar hasn’t yet turned to May.
As was the case in the first game of the doubleheader, the Rockies scored three runs, and it was once again more than enough as Colorado won by a 3-1 score. The fact that the Mets’ pitching staff only gave up three runs was a minor miracle, as Kodai Senga shit the bed for the third-straight start. He lasted just two-and-two-thirds innings, gave up three runs, struck out one, walked three, and allowed three hits. If not for admirable work by Carl Edwards Jr. in relief of him in the third, he might’ve been charged with more runs. And even with the assist that he got, Senga has a 9.00 ERA and looks like a pitcher who shouldn’t be getting major league starts.
Edwards wound up pitching three-and-a-third innings without allowing any runs, and Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, and Devin Williams each threw a scoreless inning. You’d typically say that they kept the game within reach by doing so, but the Mets’ lifeless lineup really meant that three of the team’s high-leverage relievers were simply able to get some work.
As for those Mets hitters, they had six hits on the day, only one of which went for extra bases. The team is not competitive, and it’s hard to imagine that will change. The Mets are 9-19. Their season is very likely over.
You could look back at what we were writing here just shy of two years ago and point out that it’s possible to turn a miserable season around. It’s still only April, but barring a major turnaround, the Mets could get to mid-June with the worst record in baseball over the past twelve months. That is a massive failure for a team that spent over $300 million on its roster both last season and this.
Thankfully, the Mets are off tomorrow. They’ll begin a three-game series against the Nationals—their first series against a National League East opponent this year—on Tuesday night at Citi Field. Tickets are still available.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 26: Jasson Domínguez #24 of the New York Yankees bats against the Philadelphia Phillies during their game at Yankee Stadium on July 26, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Earlier today, the Yankees optioned Luis Gil to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after taking the loss in the series finale in Houston. In a corresponding move, the Yankees are reportedly calling up outfielder Jasson Domínguez from Triple-A.
A path to playing time for Domínguez opened up on Friday night when Giancarlo Stanton exited mid-game due to a calf injury. The Yankees haven’t placed Stanton on the injured list, but the 36-year-old DH will presumably still need some more time to recover even if he doesn’t ultimately hit the IL in the coming days, potentially giving Domínguez his first chance at major-league at-bats this season.
Domínguez had gotten off to an excellent start at Triple-A, posting a .306/.404/.471 slash line with three home runs and eight stolen bases. He may be the primary option to take over DH duties against right-handed pitchers for now, with Paul Goldschmidt on hand to enter the lineup against lefties.
It’s possible this isn’t a long stint back in the majors for Domínguez; his role in the organization at the moment seems to be to stay ready for times exactly like this, when a veteran goes down and the Yankees have a need for another bat in the lineup. Though this kind of job isn’t exactly what Domínguez or the club had in mind a few years ago as the outfielder shot through the minor league ranks, it’s representative of the depth the Yankees have right now that when injury hits, they can just plug in a competent young bat still with loads upside.
Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chase Dollander (32) pitches in the third inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
After rain bumped the Saturday matchup from the MLB schedule, the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets played two on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
Game 1: Rockies 3, Mets 1
The Rockies started the day with a victory to lock up a series win on the road.
Putting the ‘K’ in New York
Strikeouts were a key theme across the first few innings.
After Nolan McLean struck out two batters in a quick top of the first, the game got off to a dicey start for José Quintana. Walks have plagued Quintana in 2026 and he struggled to find control early, walking Bo Bichette before striking out Juan Soto and then walking Luis Robert Jr. to put runners on first and second.
A Mark Vientos single loaded the bases with one out. Quintana responded by striking out Marcus Semien. Brett Baty proved to be a difficult final out, working his at-bat to a full count. The sixth pitch was initially called a ball to walk in a run, but a successful Brett Sullivan ABS challenge overturned the ruling, sparing the Rockies with a third strikeout for Quintana.
McLean continued to pile up the strikeouts as well, including the 1,000th strikeout of his career. He matched his first inning total, striking out two more each inning in the second and the third. McLean looked sharp mixing his pitches for those six strikeouts, with two Ks coming on curveballs, two on four-seam fastballs, one on a sinker, and one on a sweeper. He also picked off Jake McCarthy at first base in the bottom of the third.
Ducks on the pond, only one gets home
The Rockies found their spark in the fourth inning. With only one hit through the first three innings, they got to work with three more.
Edouard Julien hit a line drive leadoff single, before Mickey Moniak moved him to third with a single of his own. McClean would then walk TJ Rumfield to load the bases with no outs. Troy Johnston seized the opportunity, hitting an RBI single to right.
Unfortunately, that would be all the Rockies could muster. McClean bounced back to strike out Kyle Karros, before fielding a Sullivan grounder to turn a 1-2-3 double play to get out of trouble.
The pitchers (mostly) settled in
Coming into the game, the question was how Quintana and McClean might respond after they both struggled in their last outings. The answer was a low-scoring pitchers duel, plenty of quick innings, and several jams navigated.
Getting out of his rough first inning, Quintana would cruise, sitting down 11 straight batters in a masterful performance.
Bad news: he couldn’t make it 12 straight. Tyron Taylor kicked off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer to left center to tie things up at 1-1.
Good news: That would be the only run Quintana would give up all day.
The Rockies got to McClean in the sixth, ending his day by putting him in a pickle. A Julien leadoff double, a Moniak walk, and a throwing error to put Rumfield on first would load the bases and force the Mets to go to the bullpen. McLean’s day ended at 5.0 innings pitched, with five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
Huascar Brazobán entered and gave up a run — charged to McLean — on a double play ground ball. He and the Mets would get out of the inning trailing just 2-1 after Karros hit a grounder for the third out.
Quintana would also call it a day in the sixth after 5.1 innings pitched, with one run given up on just two hits alongside five strikeouts and two walks.
Late ups and downs
Leadoff hits were a common theme for the Rockies today, and it worked out for some seventh inning insurance. Sullivan hit a double out to right field and was brought home by a McCarthy RBI single, giving the Rockies a 3-1 lead. Juan Mejia, who came in to relieve Quintana, kept things clean by sitting down Semien, Baty, and Taylor to end the inning.
Things got a little too close for comfort in the eighth. It was three straight outs for the Rockies offense in the top, followed by three straight baserunners for the Mets offense in the bottom.
Jaden Hill replaced Mejia and, after getting the first out, quickly found himself in trouble. He surrendered back-to-back singles to Francisco Alvarez and Bichette, before walking Soto to (once again) load the bases. But (also once again) the Rockies would prove resilient. Hill would get Robert Jr. to pop out on a 1-2 count and lock in to strike out Vientos, getting him to swing on a slider down in the zone.
Start spreadin’ the news!
The Rockies went on the road and secured their third series win of the season behind Quintana’s best outing of the year. Quintana’s first win in 2026 came with season-lows for hits and runs given up. He had more strikeouts today (five) than he had thrown all year (four across three games).
Both teams had plenty of chances, including multiple bases loaded opportunities, but neither could fully capitalize. Each team left 13 runners on base. The game ultimately was a classic Citi Field showdown, decided one run at a time in a low-scoring affair with the Rockies getting runs across when they needed them most.
Game 2: Rockies 3, Mets 0
Less than an hour after game one, the Rockies were back on the field to face the Mets again. With a series win already locked down, the Rockies rode a dominant day from their pitching staff to a sweep in Flushing.
Dominant Dollander
For the first time this season, right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander started a game. After operating largely as a bulk reliever with an opener through his first six appearances, Dollander was given the nod for the second game in today’s doubleheader.
He then made a case to stay in the rotation.
Dollander was a little shaky with his command early. However, he ended up only giving up two hits and two walks through his first three innings of work. He then settled into a powerful rhythm. Dollander ended up pitching seven shutout innings on 105 pitches while giving up five hits and two walks while striking out seven hitters. The seven innings were a career high for Dollander.
It looked like manager Warren Schaeffer was coming to get Dollander when he gave up a two out single in the bottom of the seventh. However, Dollander gestured to the dugout as if to ask for one more batter to end the inning. Dollander then induced a pop-out to end the inning.
With Ryan Feltner out for an unknown period of time with right ulnar nerve inflammation, it might be time for Dollander to take his place in the rotation.
The Rockies’ offense wasn’t exactly dominant, nor was it the real reason the Rockies won this game. In fact, the Rockies had just one total hit after the third inning. That hit came off the bat of Mickey Moniak, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Tyler Freeman wore a pitch and TJ Rumfield drew a walk to set up the Rockies in the top of the second inning. Kyle Karros grounded into a force-out to advance Freeman to third, and Freeman then scored on a single off the bat of Troy Johnston.
In the top of the third, Edouard Julien singled to star the inning before Hunter Goodman gave the ball a ride over the fence for his seventh home run of the season.
Thanks to strong outings in the first game of the doubleheader and Chase Dollander’s seven inning start, the Rockies bullpen had just one job in this game: get it done in two innings.
Seth Halvorsen came in first, making his second appearance with the Rockies this season. He allowed no hits, but did issue a walk in a scoreless eighth inning. He then gave way to Zach Agnos, who gave up a double but kept the Mets off the board and earned his second save of the season.
Now the bullpen gets an additional day of rest tomorrow before the Rockies start their next series.
The Rockies get a day of rest Monday before heading to Ohio for a three game series with the Cincinnati Reds. Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.42 ERA) and Chase Burns (2-1, 2.57 ERA) are expected to start the first game of the series on Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. MDT.
The Mets once again failed to produce any offense, dropping the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, 3-0, to the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.
Kodai Senga failed to get out of the third inning, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks with one strikeout while getting eight outs on 50 pitches (30 strikes).
But the story of Game 2 was the same as Game 1: The bats failed to produce. The Mets left seven runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and have now scored one run or fewer in 10 of 28 games this season. Rockies starter Chase Dollander was the beneficiary, allowing just five hits and two walks as he struck out seven batters in seven shutout innings.
- Senga collected his first strikeout of the day on a good forkball in an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 first. The second was less successful with a hit batter and a walk to start the frame. After a fielder’s choice, a Senga 0-2 forkball hung over the plate and was ripped into right for an RBI single. But a pair of flyouts to left field stranded two runners. Through two innings, Senga had been leaning heavily on his fastball and forkball, with those two pitches making up 32 of his first 34 offerings.
Senga started the third with a first-pitch curve, and Edouard Julien lined it up the middle for a single. Senga then got stung by Hunter Goodman staying on a down-and-away fastball for a two-run shot to right-center on a ball that carried 390 feet (104.9 mph off the bat). It wasn't a bad pitch; Goodman just crushed it.
A four-pitch walk followed, and pitching coach Justin Willad was out for a visit. After a flyout, Brett Baty made a good play down the line at first for an out, but threw the ball into left field trying to do too much, putting a runner at third with two down. After a third walk of the game, manager Carlos Mendoza came out to grab the starter.
Senga, who was working on eight days' rest as the Mets looked to reset him after a tough outing in Chicago, just didn’t find his groove after the first and saw his ERA balloon to 9.00 through his first five starts. He’s now allowed 21 runs (20 earned) on 26 hits (five homers) and 13 walks to 23 strikeouts in 20 innings for a 1.950 WHIP.
- The bullpen then did its job shutting down Colorado's offense: Carl Edwards Jr. entered in his Mets debut with runners on the corners and two down, and walked the first guy he faced, but got a groundout to stop any further damage. Edwards issued a one-out walk but struck out the side in the fourth, with all three going down swinging at the curveball. He followed with a walk and strikeout in the fifth before adding a 1-2-3 in the sixth with another strikeout.
Luke Weaver allowed a one-out single, but picked off Mickey Moniak at first to get a clean seventh, Brooks Raley added a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth, and Devin Williams struck out the first two on the changeup in a 1-2-3 ninth to keep the Mets in the game, but the offense never arrived.
- The Mets had a chance in the first inning against Dollander. Juan Soto ripped a bullet one-out single up the middle (106.5 mph off the bat) and Baty, who had a tough time in Game 1 with three strikeouts looking, walked on four pitches to put two on and two out. But MJ Melendez popped out a 3-2 offering to the shortstop in shallow center.
- There was something really cooking in the fifth as Carson Benge grounded a ball up the middle and Ronny Mauricio yanked one through the right side to put two men on. But Tyrone Taylor looped a line drive at the first baseman to double off Mauricio at first, and Bo Bichette grounded out to short. It ended up being a 13-pitch inning for Dollander, getting the last two batters on four pitches.
- Bichette was hitless in his first two at-bats with a strikeout looking, thanks to a Goodman challenge on a 3-2 pitch that just caught the zone down and away. He was robbed of a hit with one out in the eighth when Ezequiel Tovar made a diving stop at short on a ball he smashed 109.2 mph to finish the day 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Bichette, who played shortstop in Game 1, made a great pick at third on a hard smash off Brenton Doyle's bat (100.9 mph) for the second out in the sixth.
- Benge put a good swing on a 1-2 pitch to poke the ball the other way for a two-out hit in the seventh. He went 2-for-4 as he has looked much better at the plate in recent games, but popped out to left to end the game.
- Melendez, who was hitless in his first three times up with a strikeout swinging, dropped a double into the left field corner with one out in the ninth to finish 1-for-4. He also made a nice running grab tracking down a ball in the corner in left to start the fifth.
- Soto finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout swinging on a 100.4 mph heater from Dollander to start the sixth, after losing the Mets’ final challenge of the game on strike one.
- Marcus Semien blistered a single up the middle to start the second inning, but was caught stealing second a few pitches later. He went 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.
He made a nice play to start the seventh, ranging to the shortstop side of the bag to backhand the ball and make a nice throw to get Goodman running to first.
- Francisco Alvarez went down swinging on a letter-high 99 mph fastball from Dollander in his first at-bat and went down swinging on a low-and-away Dollander slider in the sixth. He finished 0-for-4.
- Baty finished 0-for-3 with a walk and a smashed liner (102.1 mph) but right at the centerfielder to end the sixth.
- Mauricio finished the day 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.
- Taylor was hitless in three at-bats.
Next Up
The Mets have Monday off before opening up a three-game set with the Washington Nationals.
Clay Holmes (2.10 ERA, 1.033 WHIP in 30 innings) gets the ball for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. first pitch in Queens. Zack Littell (7.56 ERA, 1.680 WHIP in 25 innings, who leads baseball with 11 home runs allowed) goes for the visitors.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - APRIL 26: Jake Cronenworth #9 of the San Diego Padres catches the ball over his teammate Xander Bogaerts #2 during the seventh inning of the MLB Mexico City Series game between San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú on April 26, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Michael King was dealing in the second game of the Mexico City Series between the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander completed six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. King took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth inning and did not allow a run until the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Fernandez hit a solo home run to make the score, 6-1. King allowed the second run of the game to Arizona in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ildemaro Vargas hit another solo home run. San Diego held a 7-2 lead when King walked off the mound after the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was when the game got interesting as the Padres bullpen imploded and the result was an 12-7 loss at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu on Sunday.
Michael King notches a quality start in one of the hardest environments to ever pitch in Mexico City
David Morgan took over on the mound for the Padres and recorded a flyout to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Morgan then allowed three singles to load the bases before Tim Tawa hit a grand slam home run to left field that made the score, 7-6. The reliever left the game after just 1/3 of an inning and Bradgley Rodriguez came on to try to get the final two outs of the frame.
Rodriguez had his own struggles and allowed a leadoff double before getting a groundout for the second out of the inning. With a runner on third base, Rodriguez walked Corbin Carroll to put runners at the corners. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a double to left that scored two runs and gave the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead and robbed King of a potential win. Rodriguez got the final out of the inning when James McCann grounded out to second base, ending the six-run frame for Arizona.
Ron Marinaccio came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning for San Diego and allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases to open the inning. Tawa flied out to shallow left field, which prevented any movement from the runners and gave Vargas another opportunity to put runs on the board for Arizona. He did just that with a triple to right field which put the Diamondbacks ahead of the Padres, 11-7. Ketel Marte followed with a single to right field, which pushed the score to 12-7 and knocked Marinaccio out of the game.
Wandy Peralta was called on to get the final two outs of the inning for San Diego but allowed a single to Carroll to put runners on the corners with one out. Peralta then walked Gurriel Jr. to load the bases before he induced a ground ball off the bat of McCann that was fielded by Jake Cronenworth, who tagged the runner and threw to first base for a double play to end the inning.
The Padres brought the top of their lineup to the plate in the top of the ninth inning and Ramon Laureano led off with a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a lineout to right field and Jackson Merrill flied out to right field. With two outs and Laureano on base Manny Machado stepped to the plate and hit a line drive to third that was caught by a diving Nolan Arrenado to secure the win for the Diamondbacks.
Manny Machado was the offensive highlight of the game for both teams in the early innings. He hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning and followed that with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to give San Diego a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth. The Diamondbacks got on the board in the bottom of the inning and the Padres answered in the top of the sixth when Luis Campusano hit a solo home run to push the lead to 7-1.
The first player to represent the Royals in the All-Star game, catcher Ellie Rodriguez, passed away last week at the age of 79.
Rodríguez was born Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado, May 24th, 1946, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. His family moved to New York City in 1953, settling just 10 blocks from Yankee Stadium, where young Ellie and his brother would often go. His first major league idol was Yogi Berra, a player that inspired Rodriguez to become a catcher.
Before he committed himself to baseball, Rodriguez trained as a boxer and participated in Golden Gloves tournaments. He gave up boxing after suffering a broken finger.
He caught the eye of a Kansas City Athletics scout during a high school tournament and signed with the Athletics shortly after graduation.
He hit well enough in the Athletics minor league system to interest the Yankees, who selected him in the First Year Player draft. From 1965 to 1968, he made a steady climb through the Yankee system before getting his first call up.
He made his major league debut on May 26th, 1968, against the Chicago White Sox in a game at Yankee Stadium which for a New York kid had to be a dream come true.
His locker was next to Mickey Mantle, and Mantle and Bobby Mercer helped Rodriguez secure enough tickets to accommodate the 30 family members on hand to witness the occasion. Classy move by the veterans.
Rodriguez went hitless in three at bats that day but did pick up his first career hit in his next game with an 8th inning single off Mickey Lolich in Tiger Stadium. Lolich was one of the best pitchers in baseball in those days, but Rodriguez seemed to have his number, tagging the hard throwing lefty for three of his 16 career home runs.
The expansion Royals selected Rodriguez with the 13th pick in the expansion draft, and he immediately became their starter.
Rodriguez was superb in the first half of the 1969 season, hitting a solid .260. That earned him a berth on the American League All-Star team, though he didn’t see action in the game.
Rodriguez slumped in the second half of the season which opened the door for Ed Kirkpatrick.
Rodriguez and Kirkpatrick platooned for most of the 1970 season, Ellie being the superior defensive catcher while Spanky was a better hitter.
Rodriguez best days as a Royal came during an early June series at Yankee Stadium. Playing against his former teammates and in front of a large contingent of family and friends, Rodriguez went 5 for 13 with a three-run home run in the series opener, helping the young Royals win two of three. He also threw out two would be base stealers.
With Kirkpatrick and Buck Martinez emerging as their primary catchers, the Royals traded Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1970 season. While in Milwaukee, he developed a friendship with and helped mentor another young catcher named Darrell Porter. He spent three productive seasons in Milwaukee, often battling injuries. He made his second All-Star team in 1972 but again didn’t see any playing time in the game.
With Porter ready to assume the catching duties, Milwaukee sent Rodriguez to the California Angels, where he spent two seasons and became Nolan Ryans favorite catcher. Rodriguez caught Ryan’s 4th career no-hitter and had arguably his best season as a player in 1974 when he appeared in a career high 140 games, hitting .253 with career highs in home runs and RBIs. He later appeared in 36 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976.
He spent the entire 1977 season with the Pirates AAA affiliate in Columbus before closing his career with four seasons in the Mexican League.
Rodriguez will be remembered for two things in particular. The first was his long running dispute with Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a feud which ended in fisticuffs on two different occasions. The duo first fought in a Puerto Rican winter league game in 1970, in which Lee lost four teeth, and more famously in a May 1973 game at Fenway Park.
The second was the fact that Rodriguez was an excellent defensive catcher. He had terrific footwork behind the plate, often attributed to his time as a boxer. He was one of the first catchers I recall that caught with his body at a slight angle, his left shoulder closer to the pitcher, so he could use that leverage on his throws. He was also one of the first I remember seeing that held his right hand behind his body when catching to protect his throwing hand from foul tips.
After his time in the majors ended, Rodriguez stayed in baseball. He did some coaching in the Mexican Leagues and held various jobs in the sport up until 2018.
He passed away April 23rd at the age of 79. All of us at Royals Review extend our condolences to the Rodriguez family.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 26: Matt Olson #28 (L) celebrates at home plate with Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves after hitting a three-run home run in the first inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on April 26, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta Braves embarked on a 13-game run of games that were solely in the NL East. Initially, it seemed like a tough task considering that they’d be seeing the Philadelphia Phillies twice during that run. At the same time, the Braves had gotten off to an encouraging start to the season as well so it seemed like this was an opportunity for the Braves to make an early statement in the division if things went well.
So here we are: 13 games later and folks, the Braves have indeed made an early statement. Atlanta’s gone 10-3 over that 13-game stretch and half of those wins came against the Phillies. The sweep in Philadelphia was absolutely lovely and Atlanta also got to welcome in the Phillies with their ballclub in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. This was a golden opportunity for the Braves to really put a significant amount of space between the and the Phillies and now we’re going to look at how things went over this weekend series.
The Braves found themselves in what was an increasingly familiar position once the third inning rolled around: Trailing the opposition. Indeed, Atlanta went behind in the top of the third inning after Trea Turner reached back to his days of being a regular Braves tormentor by hitting a two-run dinger off of Grant Holmes to break the deadlock. Fortunately for Holmes, his lineup responded immediately and got after Andre Painter with a leadoff single from Eli White and a two-run response dinger from Ronald Acuña Jr. to bring the game back to a deadlock.
Philadelphia once again went ahead in the fifth inning with another long ball — this time it was Bryce Harper hitting a solo shot as he began his usual routine of gleefully drawing the ire of Braves fans. Atlanta didn’t respond immediately but it didn’t take long, either. Once they did, it was a true game-changer and another example of Walt Weiss hitting nearly all of the right buttons to start this season.
With two outs in the sixth inning and two men on, Weiss went to the late scratch Michael Harris II for a pinch-hitting opportunity. The crowd erupted once Money Mike came out of the dugout and he repaid that excitement by hitting a deep fly ball that just about eluded the grasp of Brandon Marsh in left-center for a huge two-run double that gave the Braves the lead. Weiss promptly put in Jorge Mateo to run the bases, he stole third base and then ended up scoring after Andrew Painter uncorked a wild pitch. Both moves paid off in spades, Joel Payamps pitched a crucial scoreless eighth inning and then Robert Suarez finished things off in the ninth to give the Braves an exciting victory.
The pregame was all about Brian Snitker, who was rightfully inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place before the game started. Rain also pushed back the start by 55 minutes and while Walt Weiss and the Braves players never want to make excuses, their outfielders had a devil of a time dealing with the wet track on the field. The Phillies hit three triples in this game and aside from Ronald Acuña Jr. simply misjudging a jumping catch (which resulted in a run for the Phillies), the other two triples were aided by some literal slipshod defense.
Philadelphia went up 1-0 in the first inning thanks to Mike Yastrzemski coming up short on a diving catch that allowed Adolis García to scamper to third and then later on in the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber picked up a stand-up triple (good luck seeing that again) after Eli White never really looked comfortable trying to get to the ball.
This was all a bit of a crying shame for the Braves because had even one of those plays in the field resulted in outs, the Braves probably end up holding on to a slim win. The bats for the Braves continued to get it done, as they were able to get to Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning with a Michael Harris II sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Austin Riley that kept Wheeler from cruising and made it a tie ballgame. Ozzie and Mike linked up together again in the sixth inning as Ozzie’s double tied it at three and then Money Mike’s RBI single actually gave the Braves the lead.
Unfortunately, tonight ended up being The Bryce Harper Show. The man who apparently enjoys tormenting Braves fans as much as he enjoys raw milk ended up with four RBIs on the night and all four of them felt like big whammies. His RBI single off of Bryce Elder in the fifth made it 3-2, his sacrifice fly in the eighth inning made it 4-4 and then he came up with the big bases-loaded knock in extras to make it a 6-4 game for the Phillies. By the time the Braves had a chance to respond, it was 8-4 after Jose Suarez had a bit of a nightmare in the tenth. Atlanta actually got the tying run up to the plate after Drake Baldwin delivered an RBI single but the game ended with Michael Harris II grunding out to none other than Bryce Harper, who flipped it to a late-covering Kyle Bachus to end their miserable (joyful for us) 10-game losing streak.
Remember last season when it felt like the Braves couldn’t buy a win in rubber games? Boy, oh boy, times have sure changed. Not only did the Braves end up winning yet another rubber game to keep their streak of avoiding series losses going, it felt almost business-like. Chris Sale got the ball and with all due respect to Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes who delivered perfectly fine starts of their own, Sale proved why he’s at the top of the rotation with yet another great start. Sale went six innings without giving up a run and he only gave up a hit and two walks in the process. He struck out nine batters and at one point had a run where he struck out five-straight Phillies batters.
He even made an incredible heads-up catch where it seemed like he was either going to catch it or sacrifice a digit after the batted ball got through with him. Either way Philadelphia couldn’t do anything with Sale a week ago and they certainly couldn’t handle him on this particular Sunday.
While Sale was making things miserable for the Phillies, the Braves were making things miserable for Aaron Nola early on. Matt Olson got things going in the first inning after he crushed a three-run shot that may have landed in the actual city of Atlanta and then they added three more runs in the second inning. Mauricio Dubón hit a triple that felt eerily similar to the triples that they gave up the night before and then Eli White left no doubt by crushing one into the road bullpen to make it a 5-0 game. Drake Baldwin eventually came up to the plate with one out and Ronald Acuña Jr. at second base (following Acuña’s sixth stolen base of the season so far) and Baldwin duly delivered with a liner that found green and plated Acuña to make it 6-0.
The only two runs that Philadelphia could muster came in familiar fashion, as Kyle Schwarber got a hold of one in the eighth from Aaron Bummer and sent it to the Chop House for a typical Schwarber bomb that made it 6-2. Fortunately, that’s how it ended! Robert Suarez finished things off in a non-save situation in order to put the Phillies right back in the “L” column after a one-night respite.
The Braves and Phillies won’t see each other again until September, which makes it all-the-more sweeter that the Braves have already banked five wins in six opportunities against them. If the Phillies eventually wake up and start trying to seriously dig themselves out of this early-season hole, they’ll have to do it while relying on other teams helping them out against the Braves.
That is going to be a tough task in itself since the Braves have continued to rack up the wins. They’re the first team to reach 20 wins this season and although the Padres an Dodgers have gotten off to just as good of a start so far, it’s still just really nice to see that nice, round number on the leaderboard. This upcoming week could be tricky with the Tigers bringing in the top of their rotation for a three-game series starting on Tuesday and then going to Colorado is always an unpredictable situation (even if the Rockies are bad like usual).
With that being said, the Braves still have some breathing room to play with in the division with their scalding-hot start to the season. They’re already 10 games clear of both the Phillies and the Mets and earlier on in this 13-game NL East Gauntlet, the Braves took care of both the Marlins and the Nationals as well. The Braves are going to eventually slow down but their quality of play seems to indicate that whatever valleys they may reach likely won’t be as deep as they had been in both 2024 and 2025. That middle game against the Phillies was a great example, in my opinion — Atlanta didn’t play all that well and they still had a shot to keep the game going in the tenth inning with one swing of the bat. If you’re winning a ton of games and your losses look like that, that’s a sign that things are really clicking for you.
Hopefully they continue to click like this, since this is certainly a lot more fun than how things started last season. Atlanta didn’t win their 20th game of the season until May 12 and they didn’t go over .500 for the first time until nearly a week after that. That one day over .500 was all they had last season — now, this appears to be a matter of just how high and far the Braves can get over .500 this season. It’s a much better situation, isn’t it, folks?
Following a rough start against the Astros on Sunday afternoon in which he surrendered six runs on five hits and three walks in four innings including a pair of early two-run homers, Luis Gil has been demoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre. It is the second time this season he has been optioned to the RailRiders this season after getting sent down out of spring training when the Yankees’ schedule allowed for a four-man rotation for the first two weeks. He must remain there for a minimum of 15 days, meaning the earliest he can be called up is May 11th.
The move comes as no surprise given the impending returns of Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole from elbow surgery rehab and Gil’s poor form to start the campaign. Although he appeared to right the ship with 6.1 scoreless innings against the Red Sox at the start of the week, this latest stinker means he is 1-2 in four starts with a 6.05 ERA, 8.43 FIP, -0.4 fWAR, and more walks (11) than strikeouts (9).
Gil’s fastball velocity is still about two mph below his AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. Even more than the velocity, he hasn’t show the ability to command any of his pitches. This means his walk rate is creeping toward a career worst while also giving up almost three home runs per nine innings. He would certainly be served by an extended period to work on his mechanics in a lower pressure environment. As David Cone mentioned on the latest broadcast, Gil is throwing from a lower arm slot and cross firing instead of striding toward home plate, and you wonder how much he is continuing to compensate for the serious lat injury that cost him more than half of 2025.
Following today’s game, the Yankees optioned RHP Luis Gil to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
That being said, it was always inevitable that Gil’s name would be the first called for a potential demotion out of the starting rotation as Rodón and Cole near their returns. Rodón is the nearer of the two to his season debut after an offseason procedure to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his rehab start with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades on Friday. He will likely require at least a couple more rehab appearances after throwing 65 pitches, but could theoretically be built up to join the major league team before Gil’s option window is up. Ryan Yarbrough could also make a spot-start if needed.
The Yankees are taking it more cautiously with the final stages of Cole’s Tommy John rehab. He has been up and down in his pair of rehab starts to date and will likely be a month behind Rodón’s timetable.
Going forward, it is hard to envision what Gil’s role could be on the major league roster. Will Warren and Ryan Weathers are clearly ahead of him in the rotation pecking order, and assuming health, one of that pair will have to be displaced once Cole returns. Gil’s issues with walks and the long ball make him a less than ideal candidate for the bullpen. And even then, it’s difficult to see him displacing Brent Headrick or Jake Bird at the moment while Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn do not have any minor league options remaining and would have to be DFA’d if Gil were to take their spot. For now, the focus for Gil should be to keep his head down and get his delivery right in the minors.
This series wasn’t going to be easy, we all knew that before it began.
And when Shōta Imanaga had a 32-pitch first inning in which he allowed a pair of walks and three runs, that made the Cubs’ task that much more difficult.
That, and the fact that the Cubs again had RISP issues, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 12 men on base, led to a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers, and the home-standing L.A. team took the series.
The first two Cubs got on base, Nico Hoerner on a single and Alex Bregman by walk, but they were stranded when Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki struck out and Carson Kelly grounded out.
Then the Dodgers worked those three runs off Imanaga in the bottom of the inning, the key hit a two-run double by Miguel Rojas.
The Cubs again had a chance in the second inning, when Michael Busch led off with a double. One out later, Matt Shaw walked. The runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch, an excellent scoring opportunity with just one out, and Pete Crow-Armstrong then walked to load the bases.
The Dodgers extended the lead to 4-0 in the sixth on an RBI single by Dalton Rushing, and that was it for Imanaga, who threw 100 pitches, striking out six. He also walked three, which is unusual for him. More from BCB’s JohnW53:
This was only the fifth of Imanaga’s 60 career starts in which he walked at least three batters. The last was April 15 of last year. He walked four only once, on Opening Day of last season vs. the Dodgers in Tokyo. This was his 29th start since then.
The Dodgers scored a fifth run in that sixth inning, charged to Imanaga, on a throwing error by Kelly. And they added a sixth run, in the seventh, on a solo homer by Shohei Ohtani.
Yacksel Rios, another of Jed Hoyer’s minor-league signings over the winter, threw two scoreless innings of relief, his first MLB appearance since he posted a 37.80 (!) ERA for the A’s in 2023. At this point the Cubs will take any sort of relief help they can get. Rios likely gets DFA when Phil Maton is ready to return, I’d think.
So at least the Cubs outfield defense is still doing its job.
All told, the pitching wasn’t great, but the Cubs also missed several good scoring opportunities in leaving those 12 runners on base. Beyond that I don’t have much more to say about this one — just hoping the Cubs can start taking better advantage of the scoring opportunities that they have actually had. One last note on all those runners from John:
The Cubs had played only 17 previous games since 1901 in which they were shut out and left at least 12 runners on base in a nine-inning game.
The most recent of those had been Aug. 22, 2011, in a 3-0 loss to the Braves at home. The Cubs left 15, tying the record for their most in such a game, set in the first of its kind, at Boston on May 11, 1905.
The last on the road before Sunday had been vs. the Braves, too, by 2-0 at Atlanta on June 22, 2009. They had a dozen LOB that day.
Until Sunday, the Cubs never had been blanked by the Dodgers, home or road, while stranding at least 12. Besides the two games with 15, there had been six with 13 and nine with 12.
The Reds also lost Sunday (as did the Cardinals and Pirates, the latter of whom lost to the Brewers), so the Cubs remain one game out of first place in the NL Central.
The Cubs head to San Diego to play a three-game series against the Padres beginning Monday evening. Matthew Boyd will start the series opener for the Cubs and Randy Vasquez will go for San Diego. Game time Monday is 8:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Apr 10, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati mascot Mr. Redlegs poses for a photo before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
There was a time on Sunday afternoon where the fates seemed to be doing just about everything they could to push the Cincinnati Reds to yet another improbable victory.
That wasn’t true of the Top of the 1st. Reds starter Rhett Lowder was tagged for three hits and a walk in a 30 pitch inning to begin his day, the big swing being a 2-run double off the bat of Kerry Carpenter that nearly cleared the bases. Cincinnati, despite coming into this one with a chance for a series sweep, was immediately in a hole.
Trailing, though, is something that just seems to be part of what this team has become in 2026. Falling behind early and working their way back in gradual fashion is now just part of their ethos. And, once again, Sunday saw them grind their way back with single runs in the Bottom of the 2nd, Bottom of the 4th, and Bottom of the 5th to eventually claim a 5-2 lead as Lowder settled in and once again looked like the budding rotation cog that we know he can be.
Problem was, though, that Lowder’s early grind meant he reached 94 pitches after clearing 5 IP, and that turned things over to the Cincinnati Reds bullpen. Despite their brilliant work to begin this season, Sunday simply was not their day.
Brock Burke managed to scatter a trio of Tigers on the bases without allowing a run in the 6th, though Sam Moll wasn’t quite so lucky when he was tagged for a homer by Hao-Yu Lee that flipped the scoreboard. It was Lee’s first career dinger, but wasn’t the final big blast of the day for the Tigers by any stretch of the imagination. Spencer Torkelson homered for the fifth straight game with a blast off Pierce Johnson in the 7th only for Gleyber Torres to put the game completely on ice wit his 2-run blast off Jose Franco in the Top of the 8th.
That put the Reds in an 8-3 hole that they would not climb out of on the day.
Other Notes
Nick Lodolo breezed through 5 scoreless frames on his first rehab start with High-A Dayton on Sunday. He was originally slated to only through 4 IP, but was so pitch efficient that they rolled him back out there for another breeze of an inning. If his blistered finger can hold up for another five days, methinks he’ll potentially only need one more rehab start before returning to the Cincinnati rotation.
Nate Lowe homered again, his fourth of the three-game series. He’s good, the Reds are better off when he’s in the lineup, and I suppose that’s a good problem to have.
JJ Bleday made his Reds debut in this one with a start in LF. He homered and walked before being platooned with Dane Myers, but his efforts were good enough to take home today’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game. Welcome to Cincinnati, JJ!
The Reds have a day-off at home in Cincinnati on Monday before opening a three-game series in GABP against the Colorado Rockies. Chase Burns will start the series opener, which is set for 6:40 PM ET.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 26: Justin Wrobleski #70 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on April 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers took the three-game series from the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, as Justin Wrobleski and the bullpen held the Cubs silent in a 6-0 shutout win.
For a second straight game, Nico Hoerner led off the game with a base hit, and the Cubs put two men on with only one out against Wrobleski. The left-hander got Seiya Suzuki to strike out swinging and induced a ground ball out from Carson Kelly to get out of the two-on, two-out jam.
The Dodgers had runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the first inning after Shota Imanaga walked both Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, setting up an RBI opportunity for Andy Pages. A sacrifice fly gave him his 25th RBI of the season before Kyle Tucker and Miguel Rojas both connected for a pair of two-out doubles to plate a pair of runs and give the Dodgers a three-spot in the first.
Chicago responded with a leadoff double from Michael Busch in the top of the second inning, followed by a pair of walks to Matt Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong to load the bases with only one out and bring up the potential go-ahead run in the form of Hoerner. Wrobleski got him chasing at a high fastball on a full count for the second out and got Alex Bregman swinging to leave the bases loaded and keep the Cubs scoreless.
It was a laborious start for Wrobleski compared to his other starts in April, as he had a pitch count at 51 over his first two innings. He settled down over his next two innings, only allowing a two-out baserunner in each while tossing a combined 21 pitches. Wrobleski had just five strikeouts over his last two starts, yet managed to strike out five over his first seven outs on Sunday.
Wrobleski later put the leadoff man on in both the fifth and sixth innings, but managed to work around both baserunners to complete another six shutout innings. His four walks on the game are his most in a start since his first of the year against Toronto, but he registered a season-high six strikeouts on a career-high 109 pitches, the most by any Dodgers starter this season.
Craig Counsell decided that he wanted Imanaga back out for the bottom of the sixth inning after keeping the Dodgers silent since the three-run first inning. The decision backfired as Pages and Tucker reached on a double and a walk respectively, and Dalton Rushing picked up his second RBI single in as many games on pitch no. 100 from Imanaga to make it a four-run game and knock the Cubs southpaw out of the game.
Left-hander Hoby Milner took over for Imanaga, and his very first pitch got away from Carson Kelly. Kelly tried to get Tucker napping off of third base, but he sent the ball into the left field allowing him to score and make it a five-run game.
Shohei Ohtani added a sixth run for the Dodgers with an opposite field home run against Miller to begin the bottom of the seventh inning. It was his first extra-base hit in six games and his first home run since he took Jacob deGrom deep on April 12. After having recorded two hits over his last 19 at-bats dating back to Tuesday, Ohtani’s three-hit game marked his first multi-hit game since Monday as well.
Edgardo Henríquez and Jack Dreyer made their second appearances of the series, both working around a leadoff baserunner while keeping the Cubs off the scoreboard. Kyle Hurt came in for his second consecutive appearance, and he needed all of five pitches to send the Cubs to their 13th consecutive scoreless inning at the plate and give the Dodgers their second shut out win over their last four games.
The Dodgers welcome in the Miami Marlins as they begin a three-game series at home on Monday (7:10 p.m. PT). While the Dodgers have yet to announce their starter, Chris Paddack goes for Miami.
