Category: Baseball

Ever since Artemis II launched a little over two weeks ago, I’ve felt an itch in my bones. The itch for Kerbal Space Program. I finally gave in tonight, while watching the Seattle Mariners get swept by their legally mandated rivals, the San Diego Padres. Tonight’s 5-2 loss comes on the heel’s of last night’s 9th inning disaster and puts a sour taste in the team’s mouth as they head back north. But whereas last night the Mariners were gallant right up to the bitter end, tonight’s game they were just goofus. It almost looked like the game of baseball was alien to them.

For those not in the know, in the video game Kerbal Space Program, the player takes on the task of guiding little green aliens to outer space using real rocket science and orbital mechanics. It is not an easy game, nor a simple one, but it is, and this is important, incredibly goofy. The rockets wobble and explode, the buildings burn, the satellites crash, and through it all the little green guys just keep smiling. And, in a strange way, I see either the Seattle Mariners in them, or Kerbals in the Mariners. Watch this old announcement trailer and see if you catch my meaning.

When Brendan Donovan led off the game with a walk, it was a nominal liftoff. And then he detached his boosters before they were out of fuel, and got himself picked off at first for the second out of the inning. Whoops. Later on, Luke Raley hit a nice line drive in the second inning, but activated the parachutes too early. So instead of banging a double off the wall, he allowed Fernando Tatís Jr. to make a shoestring catch to end the inning.

In KSP, the player’s main adversaries are two forces of nature: atmospheric drag and gravity. But for the Mariners, the padres have been playing so well and are on such a streak that they may as well be considered forces of nature, as inexorable as the force that guides the arc of a home run ball. Or in the case of the Padres, a bunch of annoying seeing-eye ground balls that get through for singles and score a run. But hey look! One of them hit a hot shot to Naylor at first! Now he can turn a double play!

Uh-oh, Josh dropped it. There he learned a valuable KSP lesson: you can’t go too fast too low. Just Josh rushing to transfer the ball while still in a crouch caused him to drop the ball, your rocket going too fast too low in the atmosphere is just going to waste fuel and produce unnecessary heating. In rocket science, just as in baseball, it’s often better to slow down, take your time, and take some of the (atmospheric) pressure off yourself. But because Josh wasn’t able to turn that double play and end the inning, one run scored directly, and then two more Padres came across the plate to make it a 4-0 ballgame.

Offensively, the Mariners looked a little lost at the plate, as if Walker Buehler’s sweeper was as incomprehensible to them as the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. I mean, what part of Δu = V_eqln (mf/me) − g₀ ⋅ tb is hard to understand? The Mariners made two big threats. The threat in the 4th failed to even go suborbital as a pair of leadoff singles by Donovan and Raleigh were left stranded.

The threat in the 6th succeeded in breaking through the atmosphere, however. This time, after a pair of leadoff singles by Young and Donovan, Cal hit a line drive that made splashdown in right field and scored Cole Young easily. Now finally mortal, the Padres were forced to replace Buehler.

Julio followed up Cal’s Apollo mission with an Artemis mission, also hitting a line drive into right that scored a runner from third. Now, with runners on first and second with nobody out, then the bases loaded with one out, the Mariners were poised to finally enter orbit a tie or take the lead from the Padres. But then they ran out of fuel. Connor Joe pinch hit for Luke Raley and struck out on a high fastball, and J.P. hit a routine groundball to end the inning. There would be no orbit and, for the Mariners, no more spaceflights. They’d never get so close to the Padres again.

In fact, the Padres managed to rub some salt in the wound in the 7th when, with runners on second and third, Cole Young lost a pop up in the San Diego sky and dropped it, giving the Friars another run.

Mercifully, that inning, and the remaining two, were soon ended, completing the San Diego sweep putting the Seattle Space Program on hold. Perhaps its time to go back to the drawing board in the Vehicle Assembly Building and start over with a new design. Put Julio at first base. Make Cal pitch. Have George Kirby play shortstop. That’s the kind of thing I do in KSP when my rocket just flat out isn’t working. And you know what? It usually works.

The Mariners return home tomorrow for a 3-game set against the Texas Rangers. After also being swept by Texas a couple weeks ago, some wins against a divisional rival are exactly what this team needs right now. The most demoralized fans among you would say that beating the Rangers this weekend is a dream. But what can I say? I like to shoot for the moon.

The Atlanta Braves’ day off began with another bullpen shuffle, and this time, right-hander Ian Hamilton got the call. In addition to his selection, the club optioned lefty Hayden Harris to Triple-A Gwinnett and designated righty Osvaldo Bido for assignment. 

30-year-old Hamilton joined the Braves in December of last year and has yet to make his Atlanta debut. He’s thrown just 6.1 innings in Gwinnett this season, where he owns a 2.84 ERA. He’s given up just one base on balls and whiffed nine. 

Harris was called up earlier this week and did not get a shot at big league action. As for Bido, the move is a direct result of his lackluster outing against Miami.

More Braves News:

The Braves, who have yet to lose a series, are beginning a road trip full of NL East foes, and first, they take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game set. 

Bryce Elder has been effective early this season and is shaping up to be a regular in the starting rotation.

Jim Jarvis is on a nine-game hitting streak down in Triple-A. More in the minor league recap. 

Luke Williams has rejoined the Braves on a minor-league deal, per the transaction log. He was designated for assignment earlier this week and elected free agency.

MLB News:

The Washington Nationals acquired left-hander Richard Lovelady from the New York Mets in exchange for cash. The Mets designated him for assignment over the weekend. 

From the Feed:

Brian Snitker will be inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame on April 25, and there’s a slate of special guests that will be in attendance.

The Colorado Rockies entered their series finale in Houston against the Astros needing a win in the worst way. Losers of six straight on the road, the Rockies could have ended their road trip with seven consecutive losses with a daunting match-up against the Los Angeles Dodgers quickly approaching.

The Rockies got the memo. Despite a shaky start from opener Juan Mejia, the Rockies pitching was largely excellent. They held the strong Astros offense to just two runs on their way to a victory that no doubt resonated in the clubhouse.

Cold Open

With the Rockies scuttling to get the most out of their pitching staff due to injuries and heavy bullpen use during this road trip, righty Juan Mejia was begged as the opener. Mejia threw just over half of his 30 pitches for strikes and recorded two strikeouts, but three singles and a hit by pitch helped the Astros jump head to an early lead. Mejia was pulled after recording just two outs.

Cut to the Chase

Chase Dollander turned in one of the best performances of his young career operating in bulk relief of Juan Mejia. Dollander consistently dialed up high velocity on his fastball—regularly hitting 100 MPH—and induced a 44% whiff rate on the pitch. He also made strong use of his slider and changeup (with 40% and 43% whiff rates, respectively) as he struck out a career high nine batters in 5.1 scoreless innings.

Dollander held the Astros hitless until his final inning of work. In the sixth inning a leadoff walk to Isaac Paredes and a double deflected off the glove of third baseman Kyle Karros had runners on second and third with no outs. Dollander proceeded to bear down with a gutsy finish. After getting noted Rockies killer Christian Walker to ground out without advancing the runners, Dollander struck out the next two batters to end the inning with no damage done.

See what happens when you don’t strike out 15 times?

Tonight was one of the Rockies’ most disciplined games at the plate so far this season. The Rockies struck out just five times against the combined Astros bullpen—including the opener Ryan Weiss—while chasing significantly less than previous games over this road trip. They also drew six walks.

Unfortunately, that didn’t necessarily equate to runs. The Rockies scored just three runs on nine hits, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine men stranded.

Tyler Freeman, Hunter Goodman, and Brenton Doyle were the Rockies’ heroes at the plate. Freeman went 3-for-5 with an RBI without striking out—though he did ground into a momentum-killing double-play—while Hunter Goodman both went 2-for-3 with a walk. Doyle put his speed to good use with two stolen bases while Goodman hit his fifth home run of the season.

Bend, but don’t break.

Dollander gave way to Jaden Hill, Jimmy Herget, and Victor Vodnik. All three relievers faced traffic but kept the Astros off the board. Hill walked two and gave up a hit, but managed to navigate the inning unscathed while Herget also gave up a walk. Vodnik also issued a walk, and a towering fly ball off the bat of Isaac Paredes gave Rockies fans flashbacks as it looked like they were about to be walked off yet again. However, the ball fell into Mickey Moniak’s glove at the wall and Vodnik earned his second save of the season.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies are heading back to what might be a chilly and snow-touched Coors Field tomorrow to start a four-game series against the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers. Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之 will make the start for the Rockies, looking to continue building on his excellent start.Tyler Glasnow will go for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM MDT.

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By now, you have probably heard that Parker Messick threw 8 n0-hit innings against the Orioles. What more is there to say?

Messick is such a special competitor. And, at this point, I find myself wishing Austin Hedges could catch all our pitchers because he seems to get them all to dominate. Messick kept hitters guessing all game long. 36% of Messick’s four-seamers were either called-strikes or whiffs, and 29% of his cutters. And, with that said, I don’t understand how anyone ever makes contact on his changeup.

Now, with 106 pitches, manager Stephen Vogt rightly let Messick try to get a no-hitter, but Leody Tavares got a 103.5 mph single past Juan Brito and then Blaze Alexander hit another ball hard for a single. Vogt got Cade Smith at that point, who continues to make things interesting in the 9th. He allowed a single, a sac fly to Gunnar Henderson that was very close to a grand slam, and a double to Pete Alonso, before getting a pop fly and a groundout. The final groundout was the hardest struck ball of the game at 107 mph, and Juan Brito made a nice sliding play and throw from a seated position. Hopefully that helps the young infielder flush the memory of his atrocious play in the bottom of the 9th in St. Louis that cost the Guardians a game.

Cade Smith needs to begin locating his secondary stuff more consistently or we may be in for a Joe Borowski year in the Guardians’ closer position. Cade, no one wants to go full Borowski. Reel it in, buddy. IN CARL WE TRUST.

Jose Ramirez smoked a two-run homer in the first on the first pitch he saw of the night. That was good to see. Jose also got a single and a walk as his OPS climbs steadily back toward .800 plus. Brayan Rocchio had a double, Steven Kwan and George Valera both had two hits. It has been nice to see the Guardians win some games as Chase DeLauter goes through a hitting adjustment period.

This was a great win. I hope the Guardians can figure out a way to beat the Orioles three times this week and help me shake the bad taste that Cardinals’ series left with me. Watching Parker Messick absolutely carve up other teams already went a long way to helping in that effort.

Sometimes you need a clickbaity title for fun, and sometimes the extreme title is actually justified. This might be one of those times.

In the early going, there aren’t a tremendous amount of statistics that mean much of anything, or at least that mean enough to re-evaluate what we think about a player.

As an example, here are the statistical leaders by various metrics:

• wRC+: Danny Serretti (200)
• BA: José Mejía (.406)
• OBP: Kayson Cunningham (.533)
• SLG: Manuel Pena (.778)
• Line Drive Percentage: Jose Alpuria (58.3%)

With the exception of Alpuria (who has 30 plate appearances) none of these players have reached 50 plate appearances yet, and it takes at least 60 plate appearances for any of the available stats at lower levels to mean anything. So hats off to Cunningham, getting on base more than half of the time, but it’s probably unsustainable.

Only four hitters (all at Reno, of course) have reached the requisite 60 plate appearances for their stats to mean anything, and it isn’t all of their stats.

The first stat that means anything is bat speed, for the simple reason that bat speed has nothing to do with results or luck. Unfortunately, we don’t have bat speeds for hitters in AAA. The next stat to becoming meaningful is hard hit rate and exit velocity, and by the time 60 plate appearances are reached, strikeout rate becomes meaningful. BABIP, when combined with the exit velocities and hard hit rates, has a meaning, but the meaning lies in the interpretation, as BABIP is a stat which varies widely from year to year and really tells us nothing other than how lucky or unlucky a player has been.

There’s two more stats that are ancillary to these, one of which is fairly well known and the other of which is not as well known. Launch angle is the average angle at which the ball leaves the bat; ground balls have negative launch angles, statcast defines line drives as batted balls with a launch angle between 10 and 25 degrees, but an ideal launch angle is probably in the 15-35 degree range, depending on exit velocity. Too high a launch angle and the batted ball is a harmless fly out or pop up; too low a launch angle and there’s no chance at a home run.

Not as well known are various permutations of exit velocity. Tom Tango (the brain power behind a lot of Baseball Savant) views average exit velocity as a useless stat, for the simple reason that it is measuring a lot of useless data. Baseball Savant provides a stat called “adjusted exit velocity” which measures batted balls in relation to a cutoff point of 88 MPH, below which velocity means practically nothing. Tango prefers EV50, an average of the 50% hardest hit balls. That’s what I have here (only easily available on prospectsavant.com) but keep in mind as well that batted balls below 88 MPH are regarded as valueless in terms of exit velocity. It will be important later

As mentioned above, four players have reached 60 plate appearances and some preliminary conclusions can be drawn. I’ll cover them without names at first, because our opinions of these players certainly cloud our perceptions.

Before going further, please quickly vote on which of these players is having the best season so far.

Now to provide a little bit of context for these stats. Players A-C have all been top-100 prospects at one time or another, but their history on the one stat that means something and can be compared throughout their career is quite different. Player A has carried a strikeout rate of just under 20% through his career prior to this season. Player B has been even lower, at about 15%. Player C, on the other hand, had a sky high 30% strikeout rate prior to this season. And Player D, the lone player among these who has never been a top-100 prospect, posted a 13.5% strikeout rate prior to this season.

Unfortunately, we do not have the numbers for hard hit rates or exit velocity at previous levels, nor do we have bat speed numbers at any level.

Player A is Tommy Troy. He’s got a slash of .317/.408/.417, which are some good numbers, but not eye-popping for Reno. He’s only hitting the ball hard a quarter of the time, and his EV50 is below the cutoff point for value of 88 MPH, and not by a little bit. Despite that, he’s managed to post a BABIP of .429, which is partially attributable to his speed, but is mostly a function of luck.

Player B is Ryan Waldschmidt. That incredible .311/.417/.557 slash line is being upheld by high BABIP despite three problems. His strikeout rate is close to 30%, which is basically double what he’s done in his career previously. His average launch angle is 24 degrees, and while the average is a good number, having that high of an average indicates a lot of high fly balls or pop-ups. And his EV50 is in the bottom half of minor leaguers with Statcast data. In order for the top 50% of his batted balls to average out to 89.6 MPH, he has to hit a lot of balls below the dreaded 88 MPH. Note that I am not saying that he’s not playing well; he’s having a great season in many ways. I am saying that a player who is expected to be a key part of the franchise for years to come does not need to be called up to the major leagues when experiencing struggles he’s never dealt with before, regardless of how gaudy the numbers are. He’s going to figure it out and be fine, but people really need to pump the brakes on calling for his promotion.

Player C, and the most surprising for me, was Kristian Robinson. His slash of .240/.350/.460 doesn’t look like much, but remember his BABIP is 100 points lower than any of the other three. He still strikes out too much, but it’s at least come down to respectability (and he’s striking out less often than Waldschmidt, something I never thought I’d type in a million years) and walking more than any of the other three, although walk rate isn’t really predictive at this point. He’s the only player in this group who would be expected (based on his quality of contact) to post better numbers than he is posting. He’s smashing line drives the other way, and despite concerns about his speed diminishing, he’s still got quality wheels. While his EV50 is in the 88^th percentile, that is either among all batters or all qualified batters; among players with at least 50 plate appearances, he has the fourth best adjusted exit velocity.

Player D is LuJames Groover. His .359/.440/.453 slash may be more sustainable than other hitters with his underlying numbers simply because of the type of hitter he is, but given his lack of speed (sprint speed is not available at AAA, but his Fangraphs speed score is catcher level) he needs to hit for more power. But he makes a ton of contact and isn’t striking out. But he’s also not hitting the ball hard, and it’s been shown time and again that the best predictor of a successful big league career is how hard a player hits the ball.

It’s hard (or perhaps impossible) to have much faith in Robinson at this point. But it would be proper to note that his stint in AAA last season saw a similar reduction in strikeout rate (it actually started in Amarillo) but that was combined with lower exit velocities. He still swings and misses a ton. Still, according to the statistics that mean something at this early point, he’s the hitter in Reno who looks the most big league ready, with Groover close behind.

Hopefully the Diamondbacks will not need any position players called up in the near future, especially with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. nearing a return. But if they do, I believe that they would be better served calling up Robinson at the moment (depending on positional needs, of course) than they would be breaking the glass on Waldschmidt.

One final note: this was written prior to the games on Wednesday, and I’m not going to update all the numbers, although they have changed somewhat. Waldschmidt walked twice, while Robinson struck out twice, meaning that Waldschmidt’s strikeout rate has dropped below Robinson’s. But Robinson also hit two balls over 105 MPH, both for singles, and given that he hit no other balls, his EV50 has increased even further and his hard hit rate likely reached 50%. Groover and Troy both failed to pick up a hit.

All systems nominal: Cal Raleigh (=.09 WPA)

Scrub the launch, we’ve got a problem: Luis Castillo (-.25 WPA)

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs plundered the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 11-10 in ten innings.

Matthew Boyd started this game on a rehab assignment. He got into trouble in the second inning when he gave up three runs, but was strong otherwise. The final line on Boyd was three runs on four hits over 3.2 innings. Boyd struck out six and walked just one, which is the most positive number. He threw 64 pitches and 46 were for strikes.

Will Sanders did not pitch as well, but ended up getting the win despite blowing an 8-3 lead. Sanders pitched four innings and allowed five runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked three. One of those three walks was intentional.

Iowa scored three runs in the top of the tenth and Ryan Jensen got the save because he only gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jensen gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits over one inning. He struck out two, walked one and hit one batter.

In defense of all these pitchers, the wind was howling out to left at 15 miles per hour.

Second baseman Pedro Ramirez had a big day. First, he had an RBI single in the top of the first inning. Next, Ramirez hit a three-run home run in the second inning, his fifth on the young season already. (His career-high for a season is eight.) Finally, he knocked in the third run in the top of the tenth with an infield single. Ramirez went 4 for 6 with two steals. He had the five RBI and scored twice.

Shortstop Ben Cowles cranked a solo home run in the eighth inning. Cowles also had an RBI double in the third inning and a sacrifice fly in the tenth. Cowles went 2 for 4 with the sac fly and the three runs batted in.

Third baseman James Triantos was 2 for 6 with a double to lead off the game. He scored on the Ramirez single. Triantos also stole a base.

Left fielder Owen Miller was 2 for 5 with a double. He scored once and drove in one.

Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 5. He scored twice and had one run batted in.

The Ramirez home run went 394 feet.

Ben Cowles’s RBI double.

Cowles’ home run.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies stuffed and mounted the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins) on their mantel, 10-9.

Starter Nick Dean put the Smokies behind early when he gave up three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Dean’s final line was three runs on two hits over four innings. One of those two hits was a two-run home run. Dean walked two and struck out four.

The Smokies fell behind 8-2 when Erian Rodriguez got shelled for five runs in the fifth inning.

But the Smokies fought back and scored six runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game. However, Tyler Ras allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth to give Pensacola the lead back. Ras then got the win when the Smokies struck back with two runs in the top of the ninth. The final line on Ras was one run on two hits over 2.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Vince Reilly pitched the bottom of the ninth and got the save. He issued a leadoff walk, but that runner was thrown out trying to steal. Reilly struck out the other two batters he faced to close out the win.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez gave the Smokies an early lead with a solo home run in the top of the second. Alvarez was 1 for 2 with three walks and two runs scored.

DH Alexis Ramírez hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth that ended up being the difference in the game. Ramírez went 1 for 4 with a walk and a sacrifice fly in the eighth, giving him three runs batted in tonight.

Right fielder Andy Garriola was 2 for 3 with an RBI double in the second inning. He was also hit by a pitch. Garriola reached on catcher’s interference and scored in the six-run eighth inning.

Some Smokies highlights from the eighth inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs won their sixth-straight game, 7-5 over the Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins).

Starter Nazier Mulé gave up just one run on four hits over 3.1 innings. Mulé walked three and struck out four.

Brayden Spears pitched the next 2.2 innings and got the win because Mulé didn’t go five innings. But Spears deserved the W because he allowed no runs on just one hit and no walks. Spears struck out three.

Kenyi Perez pitched the final two innings and picked up the save. Perez did not permit a hit or a run, but he did walk two and hit a batter while striking out two.

DH Owen Ayers homered in his fourth-straight game and his fifth on the year. Ayers’ home run came with a man on in the fourth. He was 2 for 5.

Third baseman Reginald Preciado hit a two-run double in the third inning. He was 1 for 4.

South Bend only had four hits in this game, but scored seven runs because they walked eight times and were hit by pitches twice. The Sky Carp also committed two errors which led to four unearned runs.

Ayers’ home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans suffered a direct hit by the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 9-4.

Starter Noah Edders went three innings and took the loss after allowing one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.

The game got out of hand when reliever Riely Hunsaker gave up five runs in the fourth inning and one more in the sixth. Hunsaker’s final line was six runs, four earned, on six hits over three innings. He walked two and struck out four.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn went 1 for 4 with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth. Hartshorn also walked once.

Myrtle Beach managed just four hits, but drew nine walks.

The Dodgers made a trade on their off day Thursday, acquiring right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league pitcher Axel Perez.

McDermott, 27, started this season in Triple-A Norfolk, where struck out nine of his 28 batters faced (a 32.1-percent strikeout rate), but also walked six and allowed four runs in his 5 1/3 innings. He was designated for assignment last Saturday when Baltimore brought up catcher Maverick Handley.

In parts of two seasons in the majors, McDermott pitched in five total games in 2024-25, but allowed 18 runs on 17 hits, including four home runs, and 14 walks in just 12 2/3 innings, with 12 strikeouts.

Drafted in the fourth round out of Ball State in 2021, McDermott had strikeout rates over 30 percent in each of his first four minor league seasons, including a 3.78 ERA in 100 innings for Triple-A Norfolk in addition to making his major league debut in 2024.

In March 2024, McDermott was named among a group of players outside of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects who could make an impact in the majors. From Eli Ben-Porat:

McDermott’s slider is excellent, with great depth and some sweep, and produced excellent results, both from a contact-quality standpoint, as well as plenty of whiffs and chases. He has a curveball with distinct shape from the slider, which isn’t a dominant pitch, but fits well within his arsenal. He rounds it out with a changeup to lefties, giving him plenty of weapons to work with.

In 2025, McDermott mised the first six weeks of the season with a lat strain, and posted a 6.18 ERA and 23.1-percent strikeout rate in 59 2/3 innings between Triple-A and Double-A in addition to his four games with the Orioles.

McDermott is the third major league pitcher acquired by the Dodgers since the start of the regular season, not including trading for minor league pitcher Griff McGarry on Tuesday. They also traded for Jake Eder on April 1, the same day they claimed Grant Holman of waivers. McDermott takes the 40-man roster spot opened up this week when Holman was claimed off waivers by the Tigers. Now, McDermott will join Eder and McGarry as part of the Oklahoma City Comets pitching staff in Triple-A.

McDermott has 56 days of major league service time and one option year remaining, having used options in 2024 and 2025.

Perez, 20, is a 6’4 right-hander signed out of the Dominican Republic last year. He had a 5.48 ERA in 10 games and 23 innings last year in the Dominican Summer League with in his professional debut, with 32 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Rangers 9, A’s 6

• There was just way too much going on with this game.
• It was disorienting. It was confusing. It was befuddling.
• It was windy.
• The wind was out of control. It was wild. It was nuts.
• It huffed and puffed and blew a couple of potential home runs down.
• It also blew a high pop fly to right field by Josh Jung into the right field stands for a go ahead homer that we thought would be the difference in the game.
• Then it wasn’t because of a ball lost in the sun and a ball blown back towards the infield and what seemed to be a game the A’s should have won but were trying to lose but then were going to win, only to then lose.
• Four runs from your resilient Rangers in the top of the ninth turned a 6-5 deficit into an9-6 lead and eventual win.
• And Cal Quantrill made his Rangers debut. Got a win, even. Madness.
• These are the games that I’m used to the Rangers losing in Oakland.
• I guess it’s a good thing it was played in Sacramento.
• Jack Leiter maxed out at 98.3 mph with his fastball, averaging 96.2 mph. Robert Garcia’s fastball touched 96.8 mph. Tyler Alexander hit 92.4 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis’s fastball topped out at 92.9 mph, Jacob Latz reached 95.2 mph with his fastball. Cal Quantrill’s fastball hit 94.5 mph.
• Ezequiel Duran had a 107.3 mph groundout and a 102.9 mph single. Wyatt Langford had a 105.6 mph groundout. Josh Smith had a 105.0 mph double. Brandon Nimmo had a 103.2 mph fly out and a 100.0 mph single.
• Back above .500, back in first place, and on to Seattle.

Guardians’ rookie Parker Messick took a no-hitter into the 9th inning, but couldn’t complete the first Cleveland no-hitter in 25 years, settling for a 4-2 victory over the Orioles, Thursday.

Messick game into the bottom of the 9th with only two walks allowed and nine strikeouts on 106 pitches. He tried to sneak a cutter past Leody Taveras, only for the Orioles’ CF to slash to the ball back up the middle toward right-center, just out of the reach of 2B Juan Brito, for the Orioles first hit of the night.

The relief of no longer having a 0 in the hit column helped spark a mini rally for Baltimore in the top of the 9th. Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt left Messick in to face Blaze Alexander, who rewarded that decision by lining a single to center field. That forced Vogt to turn to closer Cade Smith, who allowed the O’s to further claw back in the game. Taylor Ward worked a full count against Smith, and then loaded the bases when he line a 3-2 fastball into center.

Gunnar Henderson then came to the plate representing the tying run for Baltimore. The star SS just missed hitting a game-tying grand slam as well, getting just out in front of a Smith splitter and sending a 355-foot sac fly to deep right-center. Pete Alonso then took his own chance at being the Orioles’ hero, attacking a first-pitch fastball and sending it ricocheting off the top of the wall in right field for an RBI double. Had Alonso’s sinking line drive been five feet higher and five feet to the left, it would’ve been a three-run homer that tied the game. Instead, he had to settle for putting the tying run at second with one out.

As minds in Birdland began to turn to the Orioles magical no-hitter to walk-off winner Houdini act last September against the Dodgers, Colton Cowser stepped in as a pinch hitter. After fouling off some tough pitches from Smith, Cowser just got under a ball, sending a hard-hit shallow fly to left-center for the second out. That left the fate of the comeback to rookie Samuel Basallo, who sent a 108mph grounder screaming up the middle, only for Brito to grab it and toss the ball over to first for the final out.

The fact that the O’s made Thursday’s loss look respectable came as a surprise after Messick left them utterly befuddled for eight innings. The stocky, 25-year-old lefty had Orioles swinging through fastballs, flailing and changeups and pounding easy groundouts to shortstop all night. The only really loud outs of the game on a Ward flyout in the 3rd that died right up against the centerfield fence, and a nifty snag in foul territory by José Ramírez in the 8th. The complete lack of good swings from the Orioles against Messick made it look like they could go 100 ABs against the southpaw and never sniff a hit.

To say Orioles starter Shane Baz had a bad outing in Cleveland would probably be a little harsh, but he certainly paled in comparison to his counterpart, Messick. Coming off a lackluster outing against the Giants, Baz didn’t start the game with his best stuff against the Guardians. After punching out Steven Kwan to start the game, he walked Chase DeLauter on five pitches and then made a big mistake to perennial All-Star Ramírez. Baz threw a first-pitch fastball down the heart of the plate, and the Guardians’ all-time leader in games played smashed it to deep left-center for a two-run blast.

The 26-year-old right-hander quickly but that blunder behind him, though. He got out of the first thanks to a diving stop by Jeremiah Jackson at second and a lineout to Pete Alonso. The Polar Bear then made a great snag on a grounder to start the 2nd, before Baz punched out Austin Hedges on a foul-tipped cutter and ended the inning with a pop out to short.

The Orioles’ right-hander breezed through the 3rd inning thanks to a pair of grounders and a pop-up to the catcher. He’d open the 4th by striking out Kyle Manzardo looking, before giving up a single to George Valera, ending a streak of seven consecutive Guardians retired. The O’s defense would pick up their starter to end the 4th, as Coby Mayo stabbed a hard-hit grounder at third and started a 5-4-3 double play.

Baz picked up his fourth punchout of the night to begin the 5th, snapping off a knuckle curve below the zone to get Juan Brito. After getting Hedges to ground out on another good knuckle curve, the hard-throwing Texan ran into some bad luck to end the 5th.

Shortstop Brayan Rocchio grounded a ball to the right side that just barely eluded the pocket of Jackson’s glove, skipped off the glove into right field and allowed Rocchio to skamper to second for a double. After a double with an xBA of .120 kept the inning alive, Kwan lined a single to RF Johnathan Rodríguez. The Orioles’ outfielder fired a frozen rope to home plate, beating Rocchio, but the Cleveland infielder just barely slid under the tag of Samuel Basallo to score the Guardians’ third run.

Cleveland would add their fourth run against Baz in the 6th, thanks to another rally started by Ramírez. The Guardians’ best player led off the inning by working a 10-pitch walk. He then moved to third on a line drive by Manzardo to right, before scoring on a single to left off Valera’s bat. The Oriole’s starter would limit the damage, finishing the inning with two more Ks and a groundout to short. That closed Baz’s line at 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB and 6 K.

The Orioles will look to end their second three-game losing streak of the season tomorrow when Chris Bassitt takes the bump in Cleveland. First pitch is set for 6:10pm ET.

There is a lot to like about the 2026 season so far for the St. Louis Cardinals. Through the first 18 games, the team has a winning record and several players are off to a great start. One of the exceptions is Nolan Gorman and the early numbers reveal there is real reason for concern as 2026 is starting to look a lot like 2025.

Full disclosure: I am not a numbers expert like some of my colleagues here. I’m interested in the metrics, but don’t pretend that I can interpret them like the many in our community that also probably did a lot better in algebra than I did in school, too. However, I decided to dig in to see exactly how much progress (or not) that Nolan Gorman has made with his new approach. I did not like what I learned.

I decided to compare how Nolan started the 2025 season compared to what he’s done in 2026 through the same amount of games. So far during the 2026 season, Nolan Gorman has 11 hits in 53 at-bats with 2 home runs and 9 RBI’s and a .208 average and .611 OPS. Through the first 18 games of 2025, he had an almost exact same stat line. Gorman had 10 hits in 53 at-bats with 2 home runs and a .189 average. Nolan’s walk rate and walk-to-strikeout rate was also slightly better at the start of the 2025 season compared to what we’ve seen in 2026. His hard hit rate and barrel percentage are also slightly down from 2025.

Nolan’s power numbers and hard hit rate being down is not really a surprise based on what manager Oli Marmol told us during out interview with him just prior to the season.

“When you talk about what we’re doing with him and what he’s doing in order to prevent that from changing…more contact, not doing that at the expense of bat speed. You have to start somewhere and that’s why I wanted to lay that out last year….the bat speed is going to drop a little bit while we try to figure out how to get him through the zone and impacting the baseball at a higher rate.”

Nolan Gorman showed signs of improvement during Spring Training, but the first 18 games of the season have not seen that trend continue. If anything, he’s regressed somewhat although 18 games is a very small sample size. I suppose I would be delusional to hope that we’d see the Nolan Gorman that we saw at the start of the 2023 season when he began on a tear. Through the first 18 games of 2023, Nolan had a .319 batting average, already had 6 home runs and 18 RBI’s with an OPS north of 1.000. The 2023 version of Nolan Gorman was a confident one while the 2026 Nolan we’ve seen so far looks…well, “uncomfortable” would be the word that comes to mind.

I have to wonder if the key to Nolan Gorman rediscovering himself might be what’s happened with Jordan Walker. When asked about how he’s been able to turnaround his approach and results, Jordan has said that he doesn’t want to think about it too much. On one of the pregame broadcasts earlier this week, I recall Jim Hayes talking to hitting coach Brant Brown. When asked about Jordan Walker, Brant said that he’s not discussing too much about mechanics unless he sees a red flag. The only change he says he’s made is talking to Walker about how he will now be pitched with the opposition knowing he’s a threat. Other than that, he doesn’t want Walker to overthink his new success. The at-bats I’ve seen Nolan Gorman take this season, he looks like a player that’s trying to apply someone else’s approach.

I think that Nolan Gorman is a player that really needs to have some success and he needs to have it soon. Jordan Walker now has his confidence back and he goes to the plate expecting to do damage. We know that Nolan Gorman is capable of being that type of impact player, too. I daydream about a St. Louis Cardinals lineup where both Gorman and Walker are offensive threats. Walker is on his way to living up to his massive potential. Will Gorman be able to jumpstart his flatline start to 2026? We can only hope.

Anthony Volpe continues his road back to the Yankees with his second rehab start playing for the Somerset Patriots on Thursday night.

The Yankees shortstop played five innings and finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout on the night. After going hitless in his two at-bats on Tuesday -- batting against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler -- Volpe has the first hit of his rehab assignment.

Batting second in the lineup, Volpe grounded out to third base in his first at-bat. In his second at-bat in the third inning, Volpe swung and missed on a 3-2 pitch down in the zone. He's struck out three times in his first five at-bats since starting his rehab assignment. But Volpe got the barrel on the ball in his third at-bat, this time coming in the fifth. 

On a 3-0 count, Volpe had the greenlight and drove the ball up the middle for a base hit. 

Anthony Volpe gets his first hit on his rehab assignment! pic.twitter.com/PPdiY98U3l

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 17, 2026

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the plan is for Volpe to play back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. The shortstop will take Saturday off before taking the field again on Sunday. 

From there, Volpe will head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where his workload will increase.

Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. started at third base for the Patriots on Thursday before shifting over to shortstop once Volpe's night was done.

Lombard's scorching-hot start to the minor league season continued, as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk through six innings of Thursday's game. 

Over his first 10 games, Lombard is hitting .425 and has five multi-hit games this season.

The Mariners are back under the lights tonight after a game where for some reason, who can say really, the ninth inning absolutely did not happen. Seriously. Eat some chicharron, drink a Russian imperial stout, and smile through it all. That’s how we get through 162 games together.

Lineups:

Luis Castillo takes the mound tonight for the final match of this weird 3-game road trip. Luis actually leads MLB in swings-and-misses (3,426) since 2017, the year he made his debut. Here’s hoping he adds to that lead tonight. Offense-wise, it’s a fairly conventional lineup for Dan Wilson’s Mariners. J.P. Crawford is back in the lineup after getting the day off yesterday, and there’s been some slight jiggling in the 7-9 holes, but otherwise it’s the same lineup that put 6 runs on the Dads last night.

Walker Buehler takes the mound tonight for San Diego. Buehler had a to-ugh time in Boston last year, and his 2026 hasn’t been any better. Sporting an ERA of 4.97, the two-time All-Star has been scuffling out of the gate. With luck, the Mariners can put the hurt on him and get his ERA north of 5.

Game Information:

First Pitch: 5:40 pm PT

TV: Mariners TV with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink in the booth with Brad Adam on the field.

Radio: Seattle Sports 710 AM with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr. on the call.