Category: MLB

George Steinbrenner could be quite the pitchman – whether selling New York to free agents or starring in Pepto-Bismol TV ads alongside Billy Martin. And now a new book remembers the late Yankees owner and the dynasty he founded.

The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner flows from the pen of sports journalist and author Mike Vaccaro. As the New York Post’s lead sports columnist for more than two decades, Vaccaro has witnessed the Steinbrenner dynasty from a rarefied perspective – the journalistic equivalent of a seat along the third-base line.

Vaccaro remembers the first one-on-one phone call he got from Steinbrenner. It came at 3.30am when he was covering the 2003 Super Bowl in San Diego for the Post. Steinbrenner was on the other side of the US, driving to the Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa.

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Despite the three-hour time difference, “he was terrific,” Vaccaro says, “a fun interview. I had [previously] been around him in group settings, but that was my first one-on-one with him.”

The book divulges the contents of that interview, including Steinbrenner’s appraisal of Larry David’s performance as him on Seinfeld: “I don’t think it sounds like me. But my wife told me, ‘George, that sounds more like you than you do.’”

Vaccaro says he was on good terms with Steinbrenner despite the usual friction between a journalist and a sports executive. “We maintained a pretty good relationship the rest of my career,” Vaccaro says. “I was fair to him. I did not always agree with the things he did. I think he respected that.”

Over the course of 30 chapters, Vaccaro shares the story of Steinbrenner – his full name was George M Steinbrenner III – and the son who succeeded him in running the Yankees, Harold Zieg “Hal” Steinbrenner.

In January 1973, the elder Steinbrenner, a Cleveland shipping magnate, purchased the Yankees from CBS for $8.8m, as the then-relatively unknown head of a group of partners. The Yankees would win seven World Series championships under Steinbrenner’s watch, backed by stars such as Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter. Yet the man nicknamed “The Boss” was also suspended from baseball on two occasions – a two-year ouster in 1974 for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon, and a lifetime ban in 1990 for paying gambler Howard Spira in an attempt to discredit Yankees star Dave Winfield. Each time, Steinbrenner ultimately navigated his way back into baseball. Yet throughout his ownership, he displayed a notably combative approach – hiring, firing and sometimes rehiring in his quest for another championship. Exhibit A was Martin, who served five separate spells as Yankees manager and, according to Vaccaro, was in line for a sixth stint before his untimely death in a Christmas Day car crash in 1989.

“Both of them hated losing even more than they liked winning,” Vaccaro says. “It was sort of their driving fossil fuel. They were also incredibly stubborn. I don’t think Billy could ever quite wrap his head around the fact George was the boss. From day one, George referred to himself as ‘The Boss.’ It drove Billy crazy.”

In tackling this complex overall narrative, Vaccaro credits his book’s editor with some good advice about making each chapter like one of his newspaper columns: “Make them conversational, make them interesting, make them fun, not like a textbook, ‘on that day, this happened.’ Play all the hits – and the stories behind the stories, that may not be quite so well-known.”

Did you know, for instance, that George Steinbrenner spotted promise in Hal early on, due to his son’s response to a Burger King promo in the 1980s? According to the book, Burger King offered Yankees cards with a Whopper, fries and shake, and 12-year-old Hal noted that the lineup omitted popular Yankee Lou Piniella. The fast-food chain was notified, the Piniella card became a prized collector’s item, and Steinbrenner Sr noted his adolescent son’s business acumen.

The book also explores the contributions of two Yankees executives who played notable roles during Steinbrenner’s periods of exile: Gabe Paul in the 1970s and Gene “Stick” Michael in the 1990s. Paul, a former Cleveland Indians general manager, took over in a similar role at the Yankees early in Steinbrenner’s tenure. When Steinbrenner was suspended for his contributions to Nixon during the Watergate investigation, Paul got more leeway to make franchise-altering moves; according to the book, he did receive clearance from then-baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn to get Steinbrenner’s approval before successfully courting free agent Catfish Hunter.

Years later, in 1993, with Steinbrenner again out of baseball, it was a new GM – Michael – who got credit for a deal he didn’t make. The Yankees were looking to reunite with one of their exes, Rickey Henderson, but the Blue Jays swooped in first. Michael was thinking longer-term, and Vaccaro explains that the Oakland A’s demands for Henderson included a list of Yankees prospects at the time: not only Jeter, but also on future stars Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams.

“For two and a half years Michael could protect the crown jewels without fear of the Boss going behind his back to ransom them,” Vaccaro writes in the book.

It all ended up working out quite well for Steinbrenner and the Yankees: The Boss returned in 1995. A year later, under new manager Joe Torre, the Yankees returned to the World Series, which they won, starting a string of four titles in five years. On the business side, the team entered into a short-lived cross-sport partnership with the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, and into the lucrative world of TV with the regional sports titan YES Network. Vaccaro estimates the Yankees’ current value at $7bn-$10bn, and he believes their fairly new stadium has quashed any fears of a move to New Jersey.

There have been some fissures in the firmament in recent decades though. The Yankees’ long-time foes, the Boston Red Sox, got the better of the rivalry in Steinbrenner’s last years – notably in 2004, when Boston came back from a 3-0 deficit to stun the Yankees in the ALCS en route to ending an 86-year World Series drought and an almost-as-long run of humiliation against the Pinstripes. The Yankees have not won a championship since 2009, and according to the book, some fans worry about Hal Steinbrenner’s leadership compared to his father, muttering that current GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone might have faced more pressure to win “if only George were still alive.”

“Yankees fans are passionate – spoiled, maybe, too used to success,” Vaccaro says. “They really have a serious belief about what the Yankees should be – which Hal does have.”

These days, he adds, “it’s not quite as easy … the Dodgers are supposed to be invulnerable … [yet] they should have lost the World Series three different times last year. It’s something of a crapshoot when you get your team into a playoff series.” Wryly, he adds, “Yankees fans – and George Steinbrenner – would not like to hear that.”

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After storming out to such a strong start to the season, the Yankees’ fortunes took an abrupt U-turn in the form of a five-game losing streak including getting swept by the Rays. The bullpen deserves its share of the blame, but the main culprit is a slumping offense. It has gotten to the point that Aaron Judge called out the unit as a whole for pressing and trying to play hero. In his role as captain, he took it upon himself to urge his teammates to simplify their approach. He feels they need to get back to the basics of hunting a pitch in a particular zone and passing the baton if that pitch doesn’t come. That means a willingness to draw walks instead of “trying to hit every single pitch we see up there.”

SNY | Ben Krimmel: The Yankees made a roster move after last night’s game, demoting Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Monday night was another tough outing for the 2025 Trade Deadline acquisition, as he coughed up a game-tying three-run bomb to Mike Trout in the sixth and then gave the lead away again in the very next inning after Aaron Judge had homered to put New York back in front. Bird was great in his first four games of 2026, but since then, he’s only recorded eight outs across four appearances and 18 batters faced, allowing eight hits and six runs. Once again, he’ll try to get back on track in Triple-A. In the meantime, Yerry De los Santos and Angel Chivilli are among the candidates who could come up to take Bird’s spot in the bullpen. No move has been announced yet.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: The starting rotation has stumbled a bit in contrast with the incredibly high bar they set through the first week of games, but reinforcements are on the horizon. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are set to begin rehab assignments this week after each threw three innings of live batting practice over the weekend, Cole tossing 42 pitches and Rodón 50. Both are coming off elbow surgery rehab — Cole missing all of 2025 to Tommy John surgery while Rodón had an offseason procedure to remove bone chips — and are on time with their return tables of late April/early May for Rodón with Cole expected back a month after.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Cole and Rodón aren’t the only injured Yankees set to begin a rehab assignment. Anthony Volpe — yet to debut after undergoing offseason surgery to correct a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder — is scheduled to suit up for the Double-A Somerset Patriots starting today. The plan is for him to appear in four games this week, playing 3-5 innings in each — he has received 50 live at-bats at the spring training complex and the team wants him to log the same amount in the coming week. He is expected to be handed the starting role upon his return to the major league club. Despite Volpe’s struggles on both sides on the ball in 2025, it’s a low bar to upgrade the current starter at short, José Caballero putting in woeful appearances with the bat and glove (even a rare homer last night was obscured by a routine groundball error that opened the floodgates on a bad inning).

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: We relayed last week that the Yankees had designated Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest for assignment and now it is official that he will be returned to the Cardinals after he cleared waivers. The 25-year-old reliever broke camp with the major league team after the Yankees selected him from St. Louis in December but never made an appearance despite warming up seven times. Per the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, Winquest does not need to be added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster now that he is being returned after clearing waivers, and accordingly he has been assigned to their Triple-A affiliate.

David Peterson received a vote of confidence from David Stearns last week amid his sluggish start to the regular season. 

Taking the ball on Monday night, though, the Mets' lefty was roughed up again. 

Peterson did well to limit the damage against, but found himself facing traffic from the very start against the high-power two-time defending champion Dodgers. 

He hit Shohei Ohtani opening the bottom of the first, then allowed the next three batters to reach on two walks and an RBI single, before pitching coach Justin Willard came out to talk. 

Whatever the message, it certainly worked, as Peterson struck out the next three batters to dance his way out of danger with just one run on the board. 

He picked up two more punchouts, one on Ohtani, in a perfect second. 

“Your back is against the wall,” he said. “Bases loaded in the first inning, you’re just trying to execute one pitch at a time -- was able to slow myself down, get in a better rhythm with my mechanics and go forward from there.”

The Dodgers would make Peterson pay for two walks in the third, though, as Andy Pages lifted a three-run homer to deep left to make it a 4-0 ballgame. 

He then worked around a ground-rule double in the fourth, and finished his day gutting his way through a second and third with one out jam in the bottom of the fifth. 

Peterson’s ERA is up to 6.61 after allowing four runs on four walks and five hits with seven strikeouts in the loss. 

While the results still aren’t where the Mets need them to be, they were encouraged by how his stuff looked.  

“Stuff-wise, it was probably the best we’ve seen,” Carlos Mendoza said. 

“I felt a lot better,” Peterson added. “I felt like I was able to get my sinker down, changeup I was missing down, slider was consistently at the bottom. Left the one curveball up, but I felt a lot better about my stuff.

“Would obviously not like to give up the three-run homer and some of the free passes, but overall it was a step in the right direction -- now we learn from it, clean things up we need to clean up, and move on to the next one.”

As it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Aaron Judge and Mike Trout may never meet in October, this April battle might have to do.

The two American League MVPs went back and forth in the Yankees’ 11-10 win over the Angels on Monday in The Bronx, each homering twice, with Judge getting the last laugh.

“That part certainly delivered,” manager Aaron Boone said of the head-to-head between the two sluggers.

Judge got it started with a two-run shot off lefty Yusei Kikuchi in the bottom of the first, a 456-foot shot into the bleachers in left-center.

Trout answered with a game-tying three-run shot in the sixth off Jake Bird, while Judge came back with a go-ahead solo shot in the bottom of the inning.

Trout, not to be outdone, homered again in the eighth, this time off Camilo Doval to tie the game again before the Yankees won it on a wild pitch by Jordan Romano with Ryan McMahon on the plate — and Judge on deck.

“He’s the greatest of all time,” Judge said of Trout. “Coming up at such a young age, he’s special. He’s had to battle injuries, but he’s in a better spot now.”

For Trout, it was a somewhat rare moment in the spotlight, as he typically toils in anonymity for the also-ran Angels.

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“It was definitely one of the better games,” Trout said. “It was fun to be a part of, [but] the loss is disappointing. … To throw blows like that, both teams, pretty cool.”

As usual, Judge came out on top — and made more history in the process, as the Yankees snapped a five-game losing streak.

It was his sixth homer of the young season, but it also put Judge in the franchise record books again.

The multihomer game was Judge’s 47th of his career, passing Mickey Mantle and leaving him behind only Babe Ruth, who had 68 with the Yankees, as well as the most in MLB history with 72.

“That’s special,’’ Judge said of passing Mantle. “I’m glad it came in a win. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

He’s had more multihomer games than any player with his amount of time in the majors — 1,161 games. Ralph Kiner is next with 39.

And of his six homers on the season, four have given the Yankees the lead.

The night was another encouraging game for Judge, who homered in his last at-bat against the Rays in Sunday’s loss.

On Monday, the Yankees needed every bit of offense they could get.

Boone called Judge’s game “huge.”

The manager added, “Hopefully, we start to see him lock in here as we get rolling. I don’t have to tell you what he means to the offense.”

Certainly not this year, as the Yankees seemingly can’t afford any drop-off from Judge with worries in the bullpen and all over the infield, where Jazz Chisholm Jr., McMahon and José Caballero have all disappointed in multiple facets of the game.

And the pen nearly robbed the Yankees of a much-needed win, with Bird optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game.

The Mets fell to the Dodgers 4-0 as a lineup that seems more hapless by the day was held scoreless for a second straight day and for the third time in four games.

After the Mets set the appropriate tone by going down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, it appeared as if this game was going to be effectively over rather quickly as David Peterson—coming off two straight rough outings—got into trouble immediately in the bottom of the first. After getting ahead of Shohei Ohtani—a hitter Peterson has historically dominated in his career, interestingly enough—0-2, Peterson hit him square in the back with a pitch. Peterson then walked Kyle Tucker and allowed an RBI single to Will Smith to put the Dodgers on the board early. He then issued yet another walk to Teoscar Hernández to load the bases still with no one out and just as the Dodgers seemed poised for a crooked number that would send many Mets fans on the East Coast off to bed, Peterson struck out the next three batters in a row to somehow limit the damage to just a single run.

But these days a single run is all the opposition needs and today turned out to be no different. The Mets hit into a couple of hard outs in the early innings against Justin Wrobleski but the bats were otherwise completely inept again. Even the characteristic working deep counts was absent tonight; the Mets went down quickly and easily, frame after frame.

Peterson bounced back to pitch a 1-2-3 second inning, but the Dodgers more or less put the game away in the bottom of the third. Peterson walked Tucker again to lead off the inning and after retiring the next batter he faced, Peterson induced a potential double play grounder off the bat of Freddie Freeman on which Francisco Lindor made a nifty flip to Marcus Semien at second base, but Semien could not get the ball out of his glove to turn two, so a potentially inning-ending play turned into first and third and two outs. Of course, the Dodgers capitalized, as good teams do. The very next batter Andy Pages took Peterson deep for a three-run homer to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, which feels awfully insurmountable for the Mets right now. Peterson did ultimately last five innings and struck out seven batters (including Max Muncy thrice), but walked four and was charged with four runs, falling to 0-3 on the season.

Meanwhile, Wrobleski was perfect through 4 1/3 innings before Jorge Polanco laced a one-out single in the fifth for the Mets’ first hit (and first base runner). But Francisco Alvarez promptly grounded into a double play, ensuring that Wrobleski still faced the minimum through five innings. In fact, Wrobleski—who hadn’t gone more than five innings in any of his previous starts—pitched eight scoreless innings. He only struck out two batters, but he allowed just two hits, as the Mets seemed eager to ground out as efficiently as possible.

What else is there even to say about this embarrassing stinker of a game in Los Angeles? The bullpen pitched well. Craig Kimbrel contributed a scoreless sixth inning and Joey Gerber threw two scoreless innings in his Mets debut, leg kicking his way to an impressive five strikeouts along the way. Tommy Pham also made his 2026 Mets debut tonight, but his was less successful than Gerber’s. Like pretty much everyone else in the lineup, Pham took an 0-fer.

You know what they say, though. Every day you have a chance to see something in a baseball game you’ve never seen before and that did happen tonight. During the bottom of the sixth, Francisco Alvarez called time for a mound visit and was granted it by the home plate umpire, but Craig Kimbrel—apparently in his own world—did not realize time had been granted and almost threw a pitch with Alvarez already halfway out to the mound, resulting in an amusing mid-trot squat by Alvarez and a hastily aborted delivery by Kimbrel to narrowly avoid something weird and potentially dangerous transpiring.

But that was just about the only interesting thing that happened in an otherwise uneventful loss that marked the Mets’ sixth defeat in a row, dropping them to 7-10 on the season. The Mets have better pitchers going the next two days, but the Dodgers do too, so we shall see if the offense is able to find some sort of spark and salvage the series.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Craig Kimbrel and Joey Gerber, +1% WPA
Big Mets loser: David Peterson, -20% WPA
Mets pitchers: -18% WPA
Mets hitters: -32% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jorge Polanco’s single in the fifth, +1.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Andy Pages’ three-run homer in the third inning, -21.3% WPA

Jake Bird’s tumultuous time with the Yankees hit another bump Monday night, as the right-hander gave up a three-run homer to Mike Trout and was then optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following an 11-10 win over the Angels in The Bronx.

Bird, who struggled after being acquired from Colorado prior to last year’s trade deadline, got off to a promising start this season, with four straight scoreless appearances.

But he gave up three runs in a loss to Miami on April 5 and then allowed the first homer by a Yankees reliever this season when Trout took him deep to tie the game in the sixth.

Boone said the Yankees were “a little short” in the bullpen Monday, as they planned on staying away from Brent Headrick and Ryan Yarbrough.

“It was a tough night for him, but I thought he made a lot of really good pitches,” Boone said. “A couple of mistakes they really put charges into to get back in the game. He had a hard time finishing off a couple of at-bats.”

Camilo Doval also allowed a homer to Trout, as the Yankees look to get him to be a consistent setup man for David Bednar.

Anthony Volpe was cleared to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday.

Boone said Volpe likely would play four games this week for Double-A Somerset. In his first couple of games, Volpe would play just three to five innings as the Yankees build him up “kind of like spring training,” Boone said.

After the week, the Yankees would reassess Volpe, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

Cade Winquest, the Rule 5 draft pick who did not appear in a game before he was designated for assignment, was officially returned to the Cardinals. … Facing a lefty in Yusei Kikuchi, Boone opted to start Paul Goldschmidt at first and sit Ben Rice, who is trying to prove he can hit southpaws but began this year with a .522 OPS against lefties and 1.431 against righties.

Boone also stuck with Randal Grichuk in left field. A lefty killer in recent years, Grichuk began this season 0-for-12 with six strikeouts.

“Erratic playing time,” Boone said. “What’s he got nine at-bats, 10 at-bats? He’s swung through some pitches. He’s also smoked a ball up the middle that they made a great play on. He’s hit a ball to the wall in center.

“He’s a good hitter.”

LOS ANGELES — From feeble to just plain awful, a downward spiral continued for the Mets lineup Monday night.

Somehow, they avoided getting no-hit, but it wasn’t easy. Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski had that kind of mastery over this sputtering bunch.

The Mets collected three measly singles and called it a night in their 4-0 loss before a sellout crowd of 52,838 at Dodger Stadium, extending their losing streak to six games. Shut out for a second straight game, the Mets have played 20 straight innings without scoring.

Wrobleski allowed only singles to Jorge Polanco and Francisco Alvarez over eight innings before Marcus Semien singled against Tanner Scott in the ninth. The Mets didn’t even place a runner in scoring position.

“These types of stretches are going to happen,” Semien said. “It’s tough when it happens early in the season. It’s tough when we’re not winning ballgames and the microscope is going to be right there on the offense.”

Only adding to the Mets’ angst: ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series hero, is the Dodgers’ scheduled starting pitcher on Tuesday.

This latest no-show by the lineup followed a homestand that finished with five straight losses, a stretch in which the Mets averaged 1.8 runs against the Diamondbacks and Athletics.

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Among the distressing numbers entering play was the team’s .658 OPS, which ranked 23rd in MLB. The Mets were 23rd with a .305 on-base percentage and their .353 slugging percentage ranked No. 24.

Simply, that is not good enough for a lineup that was overhauled by president of baseball operations David Stearns this winter with an eye toward becoming more athletic and less dependent on home runs.

Juan Soto’s absence from the lineup has been felt, as he sits on the injured list with a strained right calf. It appeared this might not be the case a week ago: The Mets were returning from a successful weekend in San Francisco that included three straight victories (with excellent offensive production) with Soto sidelined.

“We’re trying to control the strike zone and swings at the right ones, but that is only half the battle,” Semien said. “Quality of contact is something we are all striving for, [too].”

In a third straight lackluster start, David Peterson allowed four earned runs on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over five innings. The left-hander has pitched to a 6.41 ERA in his four starts this season and has pitched into the sixth inning only once.

“This is probably the best we have seen him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He got some swings and misses, but the walks … I thought the [velocity] was better. But even when he got ahead there were three-ball counts and then he got behind, but the stuff itself was better.”

Peterson nearly buried himself in the first inning when he allowed an RBI single to Will Smith and walked Teoscar Hernández to load the bases with nobody out. But following a visit from pitching coach Justin Willard, the left-hander struck out Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages and Max Muncy in succession. Peterson’s trouble began when he drilled Shohei Ohtani and walked Kyle Tucker.

After a perfect second inning, Peterson returned to trouble in the third and this time didn’t escape: Pages launched a three-run homer that gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. Tucker and Hernández each walked in the inning before Peterson hung a 2-0 curveball in the middle of the plate that Pages blasted over the left-field fence.

“I left the one curveball up, but I felt a lot better about my stuff,” Peterson said. “Obviously I would have liked to not give up the three-run homer and some of the free passes, but overall a step in the right direction.”

Polanco bounced a single through the first-base hole with one out in the fifth to give the Mets their first base runner against Wrobleski. But that breakthrough was negated when the ensuing batter, Alvarez, grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Peterson escaped fifth-inning trouble by striking out Muncy after Hernández doubled in the inning and Freeman singled him to third.

Craig Kimbrel allowed a single to Miguel Rojas in the sixth, but Rojas was thrown out by Alvarez attempting to steal second. Kimbrel finished with a scoreless inning.

Joey Gerber, in his Mets debut, escaped trouble in the seventh by striking out Pages after walking Smith and surrendering a two-out double to Freeman.

Polanco bounced a single through the first-base hole with one out in the fifth to give the Mets their first base runner against Wrobleski. But that breakthrough was negated when the ensuing batter, Alvarez, grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Peterson escaped fifth-inning trouble by striking out Muncy after Hernández doubled in the inning and Freeman singled him to third.

Craig Kimbrel allowed a single to Miguel Rojas in the sixth, but Rojas was thrown out by Alvarez attempting to steal second. Kimbrel finished with a scoreless inning.

Joey Gerber, in his Mets debut, escaped trouble in the seventh by striking out Pages after walking Smith and surrendering a two-out double to Freeman.

As two starting pitchers delivered starts on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to efficiency, Justin Wrobleski and the Dodgers got the better of David Peterson and the Mets in a 4-0 win. On one side, Wrobleski delivered the standout performance of his career, generating quick outs at a staggering rate; on the other, Peterson had to labor immensely to complete every inning.

While it’d be harsh to put a label on Justin Wrobleski quite so early in his career, the stark difference in his numbers as a starting pitcher and reliever is quite evident. Still, for one game here, he silenced any doubts about his capabilities as a full-time starter. Facing a New York Mets lineup missing Juan Soto and coming off a shutout loss in their last performance, the Dodger starter was phenomenal in tossing eight innings of scoreless baseball.

The key to this magnificent outing from Wrobleski wasn’t particularly tricky—the left-hander simply peppered the zone with four-seam fastballs, far more often than what is the norm for him, both in the number of pitches and the frequency of those inside the zone. Wrobleski’s heater isn’t imposing enough that it should generate this kind of result; in fact, Met hitters only whiffed once on 29 swings on the pitch—they just did absolutely nothing when they put the ball in play, and a lot of pitches in the zone normally induce quick at-bats, hence such a deep outing. Wrobleski’s pitch count was so low for the vast majority of this game that there was even a chance he’d go the distance. Unfortunately, a base runner in the eighth put a wrinkle in those plans, and the lefty settled for eight scoreless on 90 pitches. Dave Roberts turned to Tanner Scott in the ninth in a non-save situation, and he shut the door on the Mets.

Wrobleski was also supported by a Dodger offense that gave him the lead right at the start of the game, adding to it early on. After allowing all four of the first Dodger hitters to reach base safely to open the game, David Peterson set the stage for what looked like could be a blowup outing. With one run across after a Will Smith single, and the bases loaded, Peterson defied the odds and got out of the inning by striking out the side. Peterson didn’t exactly settle in after that opening frame, and an Andy Pages three-run shot in the third really put a dent in his final line.

The Mets starter kept managing to put out his own fires—Peterson left the game after five, having allowed only those four runs in an outing in which 11 Dodgers reached safely. Reverting back to his normal struggles against left-handed pitching, Muncy was one of the primary hitters responsible for the Dodgers not punishing Peterson further, striking out all three times, and stranding a total of five runners.

It wasn’t just Peterson, though, as all three of the Mets relievers who entered the game allowed at least one base runner—the Dodger offense couldn’t tack on to those four runs, which turned out to be more than enough to win the game comfortably.

Monday particulars

Home runs: Andy Pages (5)

WP — Justin Wrobleski (2-0): 8 IP, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts

LP — David Peterson (0-3): 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts

Up next

Same start time on Tuesday, with the Dodgers getting their first look at one of the prized jewels of this Mets’ staff, the youngster Nolan McLean, who burst onto the scene last season. For the reigning back-to-back champs, it’ll be Yoshinobu Yamamoto looking to carry on his outstanding early-season form.

Fresh off a three-game sweep of the inter-league rival New York Mets, the A’s returned home to Sutter Health Park today to begin a division series matchup with the Texas Rangers. Luis Severino returned to the Sutter Health Park mound for the first time in 2026. He faced off against 36-year-old righty Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers.

The Rangers jumped out early on Severino with a three-run homer by Jake Burger. Texas sent eight batters to the plate in the first and the A’s were lucky to escape with only three runs on the board. Burger led off the third with his second homer of the night to increase the Rangers lead to 4-0. Max Muncy got the A’s first hit in the bottom of the third but was erased by a double play ball. At the end of three Eovaldi had faced the minimum A’s batters.

In the top of the fifth, Lawrence Butler showed off his best Denzel Clarke, reaching above the wall to steal a homer from Corey Seager.

Jack Perkins replaced Severino in the top of the seventh. Seve’s final line was: six innings, four earned runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out seven and would have kept the Rangers off the board had it not been for the two long balls. Perkins set the Rangers down in order in the seventh with two strikeouts following a soft ground out.

Perkins ran into some trouble in the eighth. Corey Seager doubled. Joc Pederson grounded a ball that hit the umpire for a single. Then Perkins walked Kyle Higashioka. Josh Smith singled softly to left field, scoring two runs. Josh Jung doubled into the left-centerfield gap to clear the bases. After Perkins got Brandon Nimmo out on strikes, his fourth of the night, He was replaced by Luis Medina. He got Carter to ground out, but not before the Rangers doubled their run output to eight.

Lawrence Butler got the A’s on the board finally in the eighth with a homer to right field. At the end of eight, the A’s still trailed 8-1. Unfortunately, that was all the A’s could muster and dropped the series opener to the Texas Rangers 8-1. The two teams will be back tomorrow for game two.

The Mets dropped their sixth straight, as they were defeated by the Dodgers 4-0 in Los Angeles on Monday night. 

Here are some takeaways...

- David Peterson's struggles continued from the get-go, as he allowed the first four Dodgers to reach on two walks, a HBP, and an RBI single. He was able to rebound nicely after a mound visit, though, striking out the next three batters on 11 pitches to somehow limit the damage to just one run against. 

Peterson picked up two more strikeouts in a perfect second, but the Dodgers got to him again in the third. The lefty almost danced around two more walks, until Andy Pages crushed a 2-0 hanging slider for his fifth homer of the season. He worked around a one-out double in the fourth, then ended his night by stranding runners on the corners in the fifth.

Peterson's ERA is now up to 6.41 after allowing four runs on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.  

- Unfortunately for the Mets, when it rains, it pours, as their offense continued to struggle, as well. Lefty Justin Wrobleski came into the game with a 4.74 ERA through his first nine career outings, but he was in complete control all night, facing the minimum through 7.2 innings. 

Wrobleski struck out just two, but he allowed as many hits in eight terrific innings.  

- Craig Kimbrel and Joey Gerber showed positives in relief of Peterson. Kimbrel was helped by Francisco Alvarez's first caught stealing of the season as he worked his way through a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Gerber then struck out five batters around allowing two hits and a walk in the final two innings.

- Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, and Alvarez accounted for the Mets' three hits, all singles, two of which were erased on double plays.

- Tommy Pham went hitless across three at-bats in his first game back with the Mets -- striking out on three pitches, then grounding out to shortstop each of his next two times up.

- New York has now gone 20 straight innings without scoring a run, dating back to Saturday. 

Game MVP: Andy Pages

Pages had the big blow against Peterson, crushing his three-run shot in the third. 

Highlights

After allowing a run and loading the bases, David Peterson strikes out three straight Dodgers to avoid further damage in the first pic.twitter.com/p7v8EROHQO

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 14, 2026

David Peterson strikes out Miguel Rojas and Shohei Ohtani in a 1-2-3 2nd inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/iC8BPOBp89

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 14, 2026

Francisco Alvarez calls time and Craig Kimbrel stops his pitching motion just before throwing the ball pic.twitter.com/v7GuyJcg1B

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 14, 2026

What's next

Nolan McLean faces off with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a star-studded pitching matchup on Tuesday at 10:10 p.m.

Aaron Judge is back — and the Yankees have to hope their offense is too.

After homering in his last at-bat against the Rays in Sunday’s loss, Judge went deep twice in an 11-10 win over the Angels in The Bronx on Monday.

And it was just enough, as the Yankees bullpen repeatedly blew leads.

The back-and-forth victory snapped a five-game losing streak, as the Yankees took advantage of five home runs and won it on a Jordan Romano wild pitch that scored José Caballero with Ryan McMahon at the plate — and Judge on deck.

In his first at-bat versus the Angels Yusei Kikuchi, Judge took a 2-0 changeup and blasted a two-run, 456-foot shot halfway up the bleachers in left-center for an early lead in the bottom of the first.

With the Yankees involved in a battle with the Angels — thanks to a bad night by just about every pitcher Aaron Boone went to, starting with Will Warren — the Yankees needed Judge again in the bottom of the sixth.

He gave them the lead again with a solo shot to left.

It was his sixth homer of the young season, but it also put Judge in the franchise record books.

The multihomer game was Judge’s 47th of his career, passing Mickey Mantle and leaving him behind only Babe Ruth, who had 68 with the Yankees, as well as the most in MLB history with 72.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Still, the Yankees don’t want to completely rely on Judge, but a combination of poor performance from half the lineup for much of the season- and an ugly one from the bullpen on Monday, forced that to be the case again.

And that’s why the Yankees can’t seem to afford any drop-off from Judge and weren’t able to during the five-game losing streak entering Monday’s game.

The encouraging start to the season has been replaced by worries in the bullpen and all over the infield, where Jazz Chisholm Jr., McMahon and Caballero have all disappointed in multiple facets of the game.

And the pen has been inconsistent at best.

With Warren knocked out in the fourth inning — despite bringing a no-hitter into the frame — Boone had to turn to Fernando Cruz, who walked a pair of batters and forced in a run.

Lefty Tim Hill allowed three hits and a run in 1 ²/₃ innings, but the Yankees have generally been able to rely on both Cruz and Hill.

That has not been the case with Jake Bird, a disaster after coming over from the Rockies at last year’s trade deadline.

The right-hander gave up a three-run homer to Mike Trout, and two innings later, Doval allowed a two-run shot to Trout, who entered the game with just a pair of homers on the season.

But with the threat of Judge in the on-deck circle, Romano threw a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to give the Yankees the win.

The Texas Rangers scored eight runs while the Northern California Athletics scored one run.

Maybe the most surprising thing about tonight’s game, especially as it was unfolding early, was that A’s starter Luis Severino ended up pitching six innings. Or maybe it was that the A’s eventually scored at all.

In the game’s first frame, following an out, Severino walked the next two Texas hitters and then Jake Burger blasted a three-run bomb that looked destined to bounce off the team bus for a big early. Severino appeared to slip on the mound at one point and had the trainers check on him in the inning before allowing a couple more hits that the Rangers stranded.

In the top of the 3rd, Burger took Severino deep once again, a solo shot for his second of the game and fourth of the year. And that was all the scoring for a couple of hours until the Rangers broke through again for four more runs in the top of the 8th on RBI hits from the Joshes Smith and Jung.

As for the A’s? Well, they weren’t ever especially close to touching home for most of the game as they ran into vintage Nathan Eovaldi. The A’s lone run scored on a solo Lawrence Butler home run off Luis Curvelo an inning after Eovaldi had exited an 8-0 game.

Eovaldi, who had a couple of uncharacteristically poor outings to begin the year, looked solid in a win over Seattle in his last outing but he stepped it up to 2025 levels of good tonight against an A’s team that came into the evening sharing a lead with Texas in the American League West.

With Burger doing damage early, and the bats adding on late to combo with Eovaldi’s mastery, the Rangers are back alone atop the AL West as they evened their record on the current West Coast road trip.

Player of the Game: Joc Pederson had three hits so you know it was a good night. And while Burger deserves praise for providing the bulk of the scoring and carrying the bats when the game was still in question, the work put in by Eovaldi was sensational and I simply refuse to let an opportunity pass to appreciate Nasty Nate.

Overall, Eovaldi went seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and a couple of walks while striking out seven on 84 pitches.

I imagine the Rangers might have tried to squeeze another inning out of Eovaldi but with a long top of the 8th, they decided to turn to a ’pen that was surely grateful that the veteran starter had gone deep in the game.

Up Next: The Rangers and Athletics will play the second game of this four game set with LHP MacKenzie Gore ready to go for Texas opposite former Rangers left-handed hurler Jeffrey Springs for the Sactown squad.

The Tuesday evening first pitch from Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 8:40 pm CDT once again and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Guardians had an excellent win to open their series against the Cardinals last night and look to follow it up with a second tonight.

Here’s your recap from yesterday. The Guardians swapped George Valera onto the roster for CJ Kayfus who was barely playing. I wonder how they will work Valera into the lineup with Angel Martinez absolutely balling out. I suspect he’ll get plenty of DH reps.

The Guardians also swapped Hunter Gaddis for Kolby Allard, whom they had to DFA to move off the roster. Gaddis averaged 95.1 mph with his fastball, so he looks back to his old self (94.7 mph average last year).

TJ Stats released an updated prospects’ ranking, with DeLauter now at #11.

AROUND MLB:

There were eight multi-homer performances yesterday, and everyone was scoring a ton. The Twins destroyed the hapless Red Sox, 13-6. Is Garrett Crochet suddenly bad??

The Yankees walked off the Angels 11-10. Really shows what kind of day it was.

Craig Albernaz was struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in the Orioles dugout during Baltimore’s 9-7 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.

The scary moment occurred in the fifth inning when O’s second baseman Jeremiah Jackson sent a screaming foul ball into his team’s dugout and struck the Orioles’ manager on the side of the face with the ball as he was standing at the top of the tunnel to the clubhouse at Camden Yards. 

Albernaz was taken down into the clubhouse and evaluated by the medical staff. 

Bench coach Donnie Ecker took over as manager. 

Ecker told reporters after the game that Albernaz was doing “good.” 

Craig Albernaz took a scary shot from a foul boul into the dugout pic.twitter.com/5oPiN0DtYd

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 14, 2026

“Just as a precaution right now, he is going to get scanned, and we’ll have more information tomorrow,” Ecker said. 

“We sit there every game and we’re all kind of vulnerable to it,” he added. “When it happens, everyone feels for him.” 

Albernaz did eventually return to the dugout in the sixth inning, the MASN broadcast showed. 

A red mark was clearly visible on his face when he was shown on the broadcast and he eventually left the dugout again and did not return. 

“The fact he didn’t go to the ground shows how tough of an SOB he is. And the fact he wanted to come back to the dugout, he’s got a big set of balls on him,” Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers said, per the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka. 

The Orioles had been trailing 4-1 at the time that Albernaz was hit with the foul ball. 

Baltimore was down 7-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, when the Orioles battled back with five runs in the sixth. 

Jackson capped it off with a grand slam to cut the O’s deficit to just one, with the blast coming just in time for Albernaz to see when he briefly returned to the dugout. 

Pete Alonso’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh gave the Orioles an 8-7 lead and Jackson hit a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth to extend the advantage.