Category: MLB

For the first seven weeks of this trying 2026 season, Clay Holmes was the least dramatic thing about the New York Mets. 

He pitched like the ace they needed as the aces they planned for, Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean, worked through minor inconsistency. He pitched into the sixth inning in seven of his first eight starts, never taxing a bullpen often needed to carry a heavier load as Kodai Senga and David Peterson took their turns. 

But Friday night, he succumbed to whatever relentless force keeps pulling Mets onto the injured list whenever this team threatens to start getting in rhythm. The broken fibula he suffered on Spencer Jones’ comebacker will keep him out for “a long time,” according to Carlos Mendoza, though the Mets had no timetable immediately after the game. He had no spin about how the Mets proceed now, either.  

“It’s a huge blow,” Mendoza said. “He’s been one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation. Yeah. It’s a big blow.” 

Logistically, the loss of their steadiest starter in a season that has already required them to tap into minor league depth makes the Mets’ potential climb back to contention even more complicated. They began the year with promising starting pitching depth. By late May 15, they were running out. 

Senga is on the injured list. Sean Manaea is pitching out of the bullpen, scraping for innings where he can find them and hoping he pitches well enough to prove he deserves more. His bullpen colleague Tobias Myers is a former starter, but he has pitched so well that he has been promoted from mop-up duties early to keep-it-close duties recently. His first 10 outings were multiple innings. His last four — all of his work in May — have been one inning or fewer. 

“At the moment, I’m [not stretched out to where I could start]. Maybe 35, 40 pitches,” said Myers, noting that no one had approached him about how the Holmes news might affect him yet. 

Of course, they hadn’t. The news was so jarring that when someone asked Mendoza whether Triple-A righty Jonah Tong might be an option, the normally patient manager interrupted. 

“We don’t know,” he said. “We don’t know. It’s too early.” 

Tong, who was called up last year but has spent the beginning of this season trying to expand and hone his arsenal in Triple-A, is part of the pitching depth that reassured the Mets about their chances prior to this season. But Tong has been inconsistent, and at times wholly ineffective: He allowed six earned runs on five hits and three walks while recording just five outs Thursday. 

His Syracuse Mets teammate Jack Wenniger, on the other hand, has a 1.08 ERA and more strikeouts than innings pitched in seven starts. The 24-year-old last pitched May 12. 

Wenniger, a sixth-round pick, has never carried the same expectations as Tong. And despite his sparkling headline numbers, he is walking nearly five batters per nine innings while benefiting from an anomalously low .237 batting average on balls in play. Still, results as good as his do not happen fully accidentally. 

Perhaps by Saturday, the Mets will probably have a better idea of their short-term plans. They will not, however, have many more long-term answers. Because as they sit eight games under .500, just 44 games into the season, chaos remains the only constant.

The Athletics and Giants opened their three-game series on a beautiful Friday night in front of a strong crowd at Sutter Health Park. The A’s prevailed 5-2 thanks to another solid start from starting pitcher Aaron Civale, first baseman Nick Kurtz’s latest game-changing blast and a makeshift bullpen that bent but did not break.

A’s Waste Early Scoring Chance

Civale tossed a scoreless first, retiring the first three Giants hitters in order. Giants’ pitcher, Tyler Mahle, matched his counterpart. A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit a two-out double before Mahle struck out designated hitter Brent Rooker to complete a clean first inning of work.

A’s Take 1-0 Lead!

In the bottom of the second, Athletics’ third baseman Zack Gelof walked With two outs, shortstop Darell Hernaiz blooped a single to right field, moving Gelof from first base to third. Jeff McNeil roped his ninth double of the season to the right field fence. Gelof easily scored; however the Giants worked a defensive relay to perfection to throw out Hernaiz at home plate. With Kurtz on deck, the A’s maybe should have put the stop sign on there to give their slugging first baseman a chance with two on and two outs.

Jeff McNeil's RBI knock opens up the scoring 💪 pic.twitter.com/LMrAmYP74T

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 16, 2026

Civale responded with a seven-pitch shutdown inning, quickly turning things back over to his offense.

Giants Tie the Game

Giants’ second baseman Luis Arraez led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, his first of the season and as a Giant. With two outs, San Francisco’s left fielder Heliot Ramos and shortstop Willy Adames got back-to-back hits off of Civale. The A’s pitcher escaped that jam by getting the Giants’ designated hitter Bryce Eldridge to hit a sharp line out to McNeil at second.

Bolte: Good and Bad

In the bottom of the fourth, A’s center fielder Henry Bolte lined a single to center. He has now recorded a hit in his first three MLB games. Bolte was thrown out attempting to steal second to end that frame.

Giants Jump in Front

In the fifth, the Giants took their first lead of the game. Center fielder Harrison Bader hit his third home run of the season, a solo blast to left field. After allowing two singles, Civale wiggled out of that tough situation by retiring Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers to keep his team’s deficit at one.

Churn More Butter!

A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right. He advanced to second on Hernaiz’s sacrifice bunt. McNeil singled to left just in front of the diving Ramos, advancing Butler to third with only one out. That brought up Kurtz, who extended his on-base streak to 38 games in a big way. The “Big Amish” put his team back in front with a three-run home run to left center, his eighth of the season and third in as many games.

Churn it up Kurtzy 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/sbhbSCeonz

— Athletics (@Athletics) May 16, 2026

A’s Add Another Run

The A’s were not done against Mahle. Shea Langeliers and Rooker blooped singles to right field. With two outs, Bolte lined an RBI single to left field, scoring Langeliers for the A’s fourth run of the inning.

Hank rakes 😤 pic.twitter.com/EmXJwnT9lR

— Athletics (@Athletics) May 16, 2026

Bolte continues to impress since his promotion, contributing on offense and defense. That was Mahle’s last inning of his outing, which quickly devolved as he failed to protect his team’s lead.

A’s Bullpen Shuts the Door

A’s right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced Civale in the sixth. Civale had another solid outing, aside from the two mistake pitches that resulted in home runs. Despite only striking out two and giving up a fair amount of hard contact, he was able to limit the damage and keep his team in the ballgame. Kuhnel pitched a scoreless inning, getting the next two hitters out after Adames had doubled with one out.

Left-handed reliever Jose Suarez made his A’s debut in the seventh inning. He did not take long to put himself in a tough situation as Bader singled and then Arraez doubled. Somehow Suarez escaped that situation by striking out Chapman and getting Devers to groundout to first baseman Kurtz. Those two Giants continue to struggle, which is particularly problematic given both players’ high salaries. The Giants finished the game 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and ten left on base, a sign they had plenty of chances to score, but failed to capitalize.

Right-hander Luis Medina pitched a much less stressful scoreless eighth inning for the Athletics, continuing his stellar recent work in relief. He has gradually worked his way into higher-leverage opportunities and now sports a 1.62 ERA in his first season post Tommy John surgery.

Last but not least, left-hander Hogan Harris came in for the ninth inning save opportunity. Unlike yesterday, the A’s held on for the victory. Harris got two quick outs, gave up Arraez’s fourth hit of the game and then rebounded to retire Matt Chapman to secure the Athletics 5-2 victory and collect his third save of the season.

Things got rocky late for the A’s bullpen, but they were able to protect the lead, securing Civale’s fifth win of 2026 and getting this rivalry series off to the right start.

Preview

Tomorrow, these two teams will duke it out in the middle game of this three-game set. Right-hander Luis Severino is scheduled to pitch for the hosts. Through nine starts, the 32-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has pitched well in his last two outings, only to get tagged with the loss in each game. Hope he has another strong performance tomorrow as the A’s seek to win the series. The Giants will counter with young right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters his third start with a 1-0 record and a 2.92 ERA, It should be another exciting matchup tomorrow evening.

The Mariners waited too long, and Mason Miller eventually caught up with them.

The Padres shutout the Mariners 2-0 in Friday’s series opener in Seattle. The win gives them the second ever Vedder Cup, tying the all-time series at one apiece. Emerson Hancock pitched well, working around a bit of hard contact to get through six innings with the game still reach. But the Mariners’ lineup was lifeless for 7 2/3 innings, starting their day just in time for Miller to end it.

Hancock was a bit of a mix, picking up six strikeouts on 14 whiffs. He was rarely in trouble over his six innings of work, allowing just one run on five hits. But the contact he allowed was often quite hard. The Padres smacked 11 batted balls with exit velocities greater than 95 mph. Those just so happened to turn into nine outs.

That’s because the Mariners defense, particularly the middle infield, was actually quite good. They entered the day next to last in the majors in defensive run value, and I’m not sure there’s been a game this year that struck me as well-played in the field. This one did. (Of course, I wrote this before J.P. Crawford threw away a grounder of modest difficulty in the ninth inning. I was trying to say something nice about this game, and now I can’t.)

In the second inning, Hancock loaded the bases with a trio of singles — his one real jam of the day. Hancock got Sung-Mun Song to hit a hard grounder to Crawford at short stop, who raced to second, tagged the bag, and made a leaping throw to first to get out of it. This reminded me of the old, er, young J.P., with that slick sling and flare.

Hancock picked up a pair of strikeouts to begin the third. Then he served up another hard grounder, this time to Fernando Tatis Jr. The ball nearly got through the infield, but Cole Young made a nice back hand play, getting the ball to first with a jump throw. Young would make another nice play in the ninth, leaping to snag a soft liner and save a run.

Gavin Sheets walked with one out in the fourth on a sweeper that Hancock yanked and threw way, way behind Sheets all the way to the backstop. Sheets then stole second and would later score on a double from Miguel Andujar.

“Well, how did Sheets get on?” Hancock said after the game, when asked about the double. “I mean that’s what it comes down to. Free bases, an early jump, early break to steal second, and a really good two strike pitch but a good hitter puts a good swing on it, it’s one run – it’s that small of a margin. One walk ends up scoring in a close game and that’s the difference between a win and a loss.”

For as good as Hancock has looked at times this year, he seems to occasionally lose the grip on that big bender. This time it came back to hurt him, but it’s a small thing, especially when it’s the only walk of the day.e

In the fifth, Song hit a chopper over the mound to leadoff the inning. Brendan Donovan ranged over and fired the ball to first. Josh Naylor made an awkward lunge for the throw and took his foot off the bag. Song was safe after review. It proved no matter, as Hancock picked up another 6-4-3 double play on the next batter.

That was kind of the game for Hancock. Again, he got a solid number of whiffs and tons of awkward swings. He continued to look like the new version of himself. But he lived in the zone with his fastball and the Padres swung hard. I think this is another good example of an outing where he can still be quite effective even when he’s not at his absolute best. It’s certainly helpful when the defense steps up behind him.

Cooper Criswell got the eight inning and gave up a run on two singles and a groundout, making the game 2-0. But it didn’t really matter because even one run proved too much for the Mariners lineup.

Yes, the Mariners got shut out at the plate. They ultimately picked up seven hits and three walks, but that kind of overstates how much offense they generated. Their only real threat came in the bottom of the eighth when Donovan singled and Julio walked with one out. Josh Naylor nearly took the lead with a barrel deep to center, but it was tracked down. That was actually the third hard hit out to the warning in center field for the Mariners on Friday, and they did swat 12 hard hit balls. It just wasn’t enough.

“If we have a process that gets balls on the barrels, we’re doing something right,” Dan Wilson said after the game. “But we also want to get balls that fall. We’ll just keep grinding away.”

The Padres acknowledged the threat after Naylor’s near-homer and took the appropriate action, bringing in the cyborg Miller for a four-out save.

The Mariners actually put up a bit of a fight. Randy Arozarena exploded his bat and dropped a ball just beyond the mound to load the bases with two outs. And Connor Joe worked a full count- hey, that’s something. But Joe struck out, ending the threat. 

In the ninth, Crawford drew a leadoff walk, and Young dunked a single. Miller countered with three more strike outs and the game was over. It’s, frankly, kind of impossible to string hits together against Miller, who lowered his FIP to -0.22 in the outing. He’s having simply the most dominant reliever season in history. The Mariners only mistake was letting him in the game. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that he probably won’t pitch Saturday after throwing 34 pitches to get four outs.

“He’s pitching very well,” Wilson said postgame. “He’s got great stuff — I think he hit 103 (mph) tonight — and to be honest, I thought the at-bats we put up against him were really strong, to load the bases there and have a couple of at-bats that went very deep, and the guys kept fighting all the way to the end. Those at-bats were tough, and that’s what you love to see. But he’s definitely touch, and scoring early was what we needed to do.”

The season series — the Vedder Cup — goes to the Padres. The Mariners will look to even this particular three-game set Saturday.

The Dodgers opened MLB rivalry weekend with a blast — three to be exact — in a 6-0 win over the Angels on Friday at Angel Stadium.

The Dodgers also achieved something last year's World Series-winning team couldn't — they beat the Angels. The Angels had won seven consecutive games against the Dodgers, the franchise's longest winning streak against its crosstown rival.

This time, however, the Dodgers (27-18) took command. The Dodgers' lineup lit up Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz’s fastball. Andy Pages hit a three-run home run and Max Muncy hit his 12th homer of the season on the next at-bat to break a scoreless game in the fourth inning. Both home runs came off four-seams Kochanowicz left hanging too far over the center of the plate.

Read more:Dodgers' Blake Snell returns to injured list with loose bodies in his left elbow

During Pages’ at-bat, a pitch ricocheted off Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe's left hand. Playing in his first game since returning from the injured list, O'Hoppe stayed in the game despite appearing to be in pain. He left in the sixth because of irritation in his left wrist — the same wrist he fractured on April 25.

In the sixth, Teoscar Hernández tacked on two more runs with an opposite-field home run after an errant sinker from Kochanowicz. The 33-year-old wore a big smile after he crossed home and was showered in sunflower seeds. Hernández had gone 23 days without a home run.

Shohei Ohtani also put together good at-bats. He walked and had a double, but he also struck out twice.

Freddie Freeman was notably absent. Roberts texted Freeman a couple nights ago and told him he would give him Friday off. Freeman, ever the competitor, tried to get Roberts to reconsider, but the Dodgers manager held firm.

"Just in the middle of 13 in a row, I felt this was a good day to kind of sit and watch a ballgame,” Roberts said before the game. “He’s been doing great. He’s trended in the right direction the last couple weeks. But I still feel that it’s still the right thing to give him a day.”

Will Klein opened for the Dodgers after Blake Snell was placed on the injured list because of loose bodies in his left elbow. The Dodgers recalled left-hander Charlie Barnes to take Snell’s place on the active roster.

Read more:Swanson: Dave Roberts made the right call giving Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani a rare day off

The quick pivot didn’t affect the Dodgers much Friday. The team relied on eight pitchers — Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Wyatt Mills, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Barnes — to complete the game. No one ate up more innings than Klein, who struck out two and surrendered one of the two hits the Dodgers gave up across two innings.

Barnes closed out the game. He induced two quick infield groundouts before walking Zach Neto. Bryce Teodosio flied out to Kyle Tucker in right field to end the game.

The Dodgers now have a chance to do something last year's team couldn’t: win a series against the Angels (16-29).

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The ball went off Spencer Jones’ bat at 111.1 mph and ricocheted off Clay Holmes’ lower leg toward the first base foul line. At the time, as the Yankees rookie hustled down the line for a hit, Jones had no idea he’d broken Holmes’ fibula.

But he did recall this: “It sounded loud.”

After the game, a game in which Cam Schlittler dominated the Mets en route to a 5-2 win for the Yankees at Citi Field Friday night, Jones seemed surprised to see a crowd of reporters gather at his locker. He hadn’t heard the damage his liner had done to Holmes, not to mention the Mets’ season, and he seemed stunned when a reporter relayed the news to him.

It hit hard in part because Holmes is one of the good guys in the sport, one who has pitched for both the Mets and Yankees, and perhaps even more so because Jones considers him a friend, one with whom he works out in the offseason in Nashville.

“I didn’t know,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry to hear that. He’s a tough guy. He went back out there and pitched on a broken leg. That’s incredible.”

Indeed, that may be the most stunning part of all. Holmes not only pitched to five more hitters in the fourth inning, after the Jones liner, allowing no runs, but told Carlos Mendoza in the dugout he was fine and went back out for the fifth inning, striking out Cody Bellinger before showing signs of the fracture with his delivery that forced the manager to take him out of the game.

Mendoza seemed practically sick to his stomach as he announced the injury in the interview room, and didn’t try to downplay it in the slightest.

“It’s a huge blow,” he said.

There wasn’t much else to say. Only Juan Soto spoke in a group interview in the Mets clubhouse, and he’s not one to throw compliments around for sound bites, so when he praised Holmes as “one of the hardest workers I’ve seen in my career,” it told you much the pitcher’s teammates were feeling for him.

So on a night when much of the Subway Series buzz died quickly at Citi Field as quickly as the Yankees took an early 3-0 lead and Schlitter shut down the Mets’ offense, it was hard not to compare and contrast the sights and sounds from the two clubhouses, as well as the state of the Mets’ and Yankees’ seasons.

The Yankees room was full of noise, smiles, and good vibes after the win. They haven’t played well lately, but there’s no question this team knows it’s going to the postseason, with Ben Rice emerging as a masher to ride shotgun for Aaron Judge, and Schlittler continuing to make a statement as the early AL Cy Young Award favorite.

“It’s really something to watch him pitch,” Rice said.

On the other side, you got the sense that the shock of losing Holmes was settling in through the clubhouse.

Just when the Mets were finally showing signs of life, with the sweep of the Detroit Tigers this week, they lost the guy who has been their best pitcher this season, a dominant force in his own right.

In truth, it’s hard to see how they recover from this one, especially with all of their other injuries, considering there is no telling yet how soon the likes of Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and others will be back.

As it is, their better play over the last couple of weeks was difficult to measure. For four straight series, the Mets played teams that were each in long losing streaks, playing their worst baseball of the season, and the 5-4 record on their nine-game road trip actually felt like a disappointment.

But then came the energy and hope that came with A.J. Ewing’s call-up, and the sweep of the Tigers finally offered evidence that perhaps the Mets aren’t as bad as they’ve played this season.

In that respect, this Subway Series loomed as a litmus test of sorts. The Yankees have been slumping themselves, but if the Mets could play well against them this weekend, it would validate the Tigers sweep to a degree and further their momentum.

Well, one game down, and maybe they can shrug it off to the brilliance of Schlittler, who is shutting everybody down this season.

They have two more games to prove they’ve raised their game against more hittable starters in Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers.

Yet suddenly it’s not just the offense that is the problem, but a starting rotation that has a huge hole in it, due to the Holmes injury.

Holmes, Nolan McLean, and Freddy Peralta were the only reliable starters for most of the first several weeks of the season. David Peterson has been better lately, but only when used after an opener, for whatever reason, in relatively short stints. And Christian Scott offers promise but plenty of uncertainty.

Even with Ewing and Carson Benge providing a spark, these Mets need pitching depth and a fair amount of dominance to have any chance of winning with the consistency it will take to get back into contention.

Soto, for one, didn’t want to believe the reality of the Holmes injury.

“We’re going to miss Clay for maybe a month,” he said. “Hopefully less.”

Nobody wanted to tell him a broken fibula likely means Holmes will miss three months or so.

By then, the trading deadline will have come and gone, and at the moment, that feels like a day that will be significant for these Mets for all the wrong reasons.

It was a short trip down the 5 Freeway to Anaheim to start the nine-game road trip, but the Dodgers had to battle on without Blake Snell in the series opener. The bullpen and the offense stepped up to shut down the Angels in the series opener Friday with a 6-0 win.

The Dodgers used eight pitchers who combined for nine shutout innings of work. On the other side, the offense powered three home runs in the first game of the Freeway Series for their third straight win.

There was an umpire belt buckle delay before first pitch, but home plate umpire Jim Wolf’s mic was finally secured. Shohei Ohtani offered his belt advice as well.

Shohei Ohtani. Triple threat.

Pitcher, Slugger & Belt Repair Expert. pic.twitter.com/F26kLtBnRs

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2026

Ohtani entered the game having two straight days off at the plate, but right-hander Jack Kochanowicz struck him out with his sinker to start the series. Kochanowicz also struck out Mookie Betts.

Klein served as opener for the Dodgers, and he didn’t disappoint in his first major league start. The 2025 World Series hero struck out two in two innings pitched and allowed just one hit to Josh Lowe.

Hyeseong Kim got the Dodgers their first base hit against Kochanowicz with two outs in the top of the third. The offensively struggling Ohtani got another opportunity at the plate with a runner on. Ohtani drew a walk to give the Dodgers consecutive base runners. Betts grounded out to first base to end the inning and strand two.

Edgardo Henriquez took over for Klein in the third and got back-to-back strikeouts including a whiff of the swinging variety from Mike Trout.

Pages and Muncy have carried the team offensively this season, and their back-to-back home runs in the top of the fourth at the Big A was a microcosm of what these two sluggers have done.

Pages went into the game 3-for-24, but he unloaded for a 407-ft. three-run home run to center field on a 3-0 count. The Dodgers finally broke through with the big hit to make it 3-0 for the first lead of the series.

Then Muncy went deep thereafter, and the lead increased to 4-0.

Andy and Max go back-to-back! pic.twitter.com/dVcg6yMjto

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 16, 2026

Ohtani collected his 200th career double to lead off the fifth inning. The Dodgers bullpen shut down the Halos offensively, but their defense made some impressive plays to save runs.

Teoscar Hernandez took a Kochanowicz sinker deep to the opposite field for his first home run since April 15. The two-run homer gave the Dodgers a commanding 6-0 lead. Finally, Hernandez got sunflower seeds thrown in his face in celebration of his big hit.

Get the seeds ready for Teoscar! pic.twitter.com/x6mg28mqVr

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 16, 2026

Old friend Kirby Yates shut down the Dodgers in order in the seventh.

Blake Treinen, Wyatt Mills, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia, and Jack Dreyer all stepped up out of the Dodgers bullpen and contributed to the shutout win.

While Muncy and Hernandez continued to have good nights with another walk and base hit, Dalton Rushing’s frustrations continued. Ryan Johnson struck him out swinging, and both runners were stranded.

Charlie Barnes made his Dodgers debut in the bottom of the ninth to close it out, the eighth pitcher of the night for the Boys in Blue.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Andy Pages (10), Max Muncy (12), Teoscar Hernandez (5)

WP — Edgardo Henriquez (2-0): 1 IP, 1 hit, no runs, 2 strikeouts (17)

LP — Jack Kochanowicz(2-3): 6 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks (96)

---

Up next

The Freeway Series continues Saturday at (6:38 p.m., SportsNet LA).Justin Wrobleski (5-1, 2.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) looks to continue his impressive season on the mound thus far for the Dodgers. José Soriano (6-2, 1.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) toes the rubber for the Angels. 

Padres 2, Mariners 0

Mason Miller: Emerson Hancock, .15 WPA

Every other major leaguer: Jhonny Pereda, -.17 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

The Royals’ bats continued the vanishing act they have taken on the road so often this year, and the Royals dropped the series opener to the Cardinals.

Michael Wacha, for the first time since his last start, did his job. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs. Would you like more innings and fewer runs? Always. But the odds of getting either are very low, even with Wacha pitching as well as he has this year.

Dustin May, unfortunately, matched him, which made it a three-inning game between the bullpens. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but my sense is that the Royals’ bullpen has done a pretty good job of holding leads, but they’ve been abysmal at keeping tied or losing games from getting worse.

The Royals got the scoring going in the fourth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a walk; Salvador Perez hit a long single off the right-field wall. The broadcast noted that it took a good defensive play to prevent Vinnie from scoring on that hit. If Vinnie nearly scored from first, how did Sal not end up at second? One might imagine it’s the nagging hip and groin injuries he’s been dealing with all year. And still he plays almost every day and bats cleanup.

No problem, Carter Jensen hit a double into the left-center gap! Run scored and Salvy to third. Except, if Sal had been capable of running and at second, he could have scored on that play, too. No problem, Isaac Collins followed a Jac Caglianone walk with a deep fly to right to sacrifice Sal home. When I started this paragraph, I thought I had a point about how Sal’s inability to run had hurt the Royals in a way that isn’t obvious from the box score. If I had such a point, I’ve lost it. It’s late. Let’s just move on. The Royals had the bases loaded with one out and managed no hits and only one run from that point on.

Michael Wacha gave up a two-run home run to Jordan Walker in the bottom of the inning. Tie game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Pedro Pagés hit a home run to almost the same spot and gave the Cardinals the lead.

The Royals answered in the top of the sixth. Vinnie walked again. Sal flew out softly. Jensen and Caglianone singled on groundballs to the right side to load the bases. Once again, bases loaded one out. Once again, only one run scored. This time Collins hit a groundball to first and Alec Burleson chose to step on the bag before throwing home, but Vinnie beat the throw to tie the game.

Daniel Lynch IV opened the seventh inning by allowing a double; he struck out the next two and escaped unscathed. Nick Mears got the eighth and walked the leadoff guy before escaping without allowing a run. Matt Strahm got the ninth and also allowed the leadoff hitter on. He got a strikeout, a walk, and a flyout before John Schreiber was asked to get out the right-handed Iván Herrera. Never mind that Strahm has proven more effective in his career against righties than lefties. Schreiber gave up a hard liner to center and Kyle Isbel made a diving catch to send it into extras.

With Maikel Garcia starting on second, Bobby Witt Jr. immediately smashed a double into center. Nathan Church almost turned it into an inside-the-park home run with a terrible route but managed a diving stop. Vinnie popped up, Salvy struck out in yet another awful at-bat. Carter Jensen got intentionally walked. Now, why would you walk Carter to get to Jac? Oh, because Jac was out of the game. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth with no one on and two out because a left-handed reliever was on the mound. At some point, pinch-hitting for Jac in situations like those has to be more damaging to his psyche than the occasional awkward at-bat against a left-handed pitcher. It’s not like the Royals even needed a contact guy at the plate to give them a better chance to drive in a runner before the inning had ended. There were two outs and no one on.

Also, Carter Jensen has a 54 wRC+ against lefties this year to Jac’s 58. So why doesn’t he get pinch-hit for? Make it make sense.

Anyway, with Lane Thomas due up, Carter got intentionally walked, and Lane took a predictably terrible at-bat against the right-handed Ryne Stanek. Lucas Erceg was brought in to preserve the one-run lead. His first pitch got lined into right to tie the game. He managed to prevent the Cardinals from scoring again, so to the eleventh we went.

This time, Lane Thomas started at second. Isaac Collins drew a walk – he had only two official at-bats in the game thanks to a pair of walks and a sacrifice fly. 0-2 with 2 RBIs has an argument as the best hitting performance in the Royals’ lineup tonight. Michael Massey came to the plate and attempted to bunt the runners over. He popped both of his attempts foul before hitting a moderately deep flyball to left. I would have liked to see Lane Thomas try for third there. The Royals weren’t getting hits, he’s fast, so why not see if he can get in range of a sacrifice fly? But he bluffed and didn’t go. Isbel grounded into a fielder’s choice – which could have scored a run if Thomas had been at third – and Garcia grounded out to end the “threat”.

Steven Cruz got the bottom of the eleventh. The Cardinals gifted him a sacrifice bunt before he got a chopper from Jose Fermín. Then, as the Royals have done so many times this year, he gave up the big hit he’d miraculously avoided until there were two outs. Yohel Pozo, pinch-hitting for the pinch-runner Thomas Saggese, smoked one through the shifted infield to right, and the Cardinals had won.

There’s not a lot of positives to build on out of this one. Wacha now has seven quality starts out of nine. But the Royals have now lost five in a row, and basically all the ground they had made up over the 11-5 stretch that followed their eight-game losing stretch is gone, but with 21 more games in the books. They’re still only 4.5 back in the division and 2.5 back of a Wild Card spot because the American League is ridiculous, but at some point, you have to think one of these teams will actually start winning some baseball games. With every loss, it feels less like that team might be the Royals.

Noah Cameron (5.55 ERA) will take the mound tomorrow afternoon to face Kyle Leahy (4.31 ERA). The game will air at 1:15 p.m. Central on Royals.TV. This is a friendly reminder that tomorrow is a continuation of Rivals weekend, and literally every game will be free on MLB.TV. If you’re fed up with KC, you have alternatives. Until tomorrow afternoon, good night and good luck.

The Cincinnati Reds got another solid start from lefty Andrew Abbott, got a homer from Matt McLain and one more huge performance from JJ Bleday, and managed to hand over a 6-1 lead to the heart of their bullpen on Friday night in the Ohio Cup opener against the Cleveland Guardians.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

Things went a bit sideways for the Reds when Graham Ashcraft took the bump for the Bottom of the 8th with said 6-1 lead, coughing up a 4-spot that made the rest of the game (with Cincinnati’s threadbare bullpen) a front-of-the-seat watching in Cincinnati’s eventual 7-6 victory.

Abbott labored a bit needing 90 pitches for just 5+ IP, but he kept Cleveland off the board entirely until Rhys Hoskins socked a solo homer off him in the Bottom of the 6th to end his day. McLain, meanwhile, bashed a pair of hits – one a 2-run homer – while driving in a trio of runs, said homer coming in the Top of the 8th and proving vital in this 1-run affair. He even swiped his 6th bag of the year. For all of that, we’ll give him the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game award for the evening.

Matty McBang‼️ pic.twitter.com/TEO4qmNudy

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 16, 2026

Bleday went 3 for 5 with a homer and a ribbie, doubling twice as his blistering start in a Reds uniform continues. Tejay Antone, meanwhile, was summoned for the save and converted it for his first one since back in 2021 on a totally different elbow.

Tony Santillan, meanwhile, fired a scoreless inning again, finally. He did allow a double to Jose Ramirez (who hasn’t?) but pitched around it with a K. The Reds are going to need him now more than ever with Emilio Pagan out, and hopefully he’s found the correction to his form.

These two will go toe to toe in Ohio Cup action again on Saturday, with Chris Paddack getting the start in his Reds debut after signing earlier in the week. We’ll all hope he catches lightning in a bottle. Gavin Williams of Cleveland will chuck out the game’s first pitch at 6:10 PM ET.

It’s a short one, but the Reds are on a win streak.

This was not the start to the homestand the Rockies were hoping for.

Colorado fell to Arizona 9-1 at Coors Field on Friday, dropping to 17-28 while the Diamondbacks moved to 21-22. The Rockies got bit early and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up, as Arizona turned an overturned call in the first inning into six runs and Merrill Kelly handled the rest.

Colorado did not strike out much, but they did not do much else either.

The first inning defined Freeland’s night

Kyle Freeland nearly avoided the first bite.

With two outs in the first inning, Corbin Carroll was initially called out trying to steal third. The call would have ended the inning. Arizona challenged, the call was overturned, and the Diamondbacks took full advantage.

Arizona followed with two walks, four straight run-scoring hits, and six runs before Freeland finally got out of the inning.

Freeland did not look sharp, but to his credit, he kept fighting after that. He stayed in the game into the fourth, which helped the Rockies avoid a full catastrophe for the bullpen. Freeland gave up plenty of loud contact, but it was the mix of softer contact and pressure on the bases that kept the Rockies out of rhythm and on their heels defensively.

On the night, Freeland gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out three and threw 81 pitches, 50 for strikes.

Agnos gives the bullpen length

Zach Agnos took over for Freeland and limited the fourth-inning damage to one run (charged to Freeland) before giving the Rockies some steadier innings from there.

Arizona got to him for two runs in the seventh, but Agnos ended up pitching through the eighth. Agnos covered 4.1 innings in total, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout. On a night when Freeland exited before the fourth inning was over — and with the rotation already facing uncertainty — that length helped keep the rest of the bullpen from being overworked.

Seth Halvorsen handled the ninth, working around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless final inning. The last frame also included an ABS challenge, with Hunter Goodman getting a pitch call overturned for strike three and the second out against Gabriel Moreno.

Meanwhile, Merrill cruised along

Kelly did not give the Rockies many chances to climb back into the game.

Goodman answered Arizona’s six-run first with a solo home run in the bottom half, his 11th of the season.

But the Rockies did not build much from there. Ezequiel Tovar doubled, Mickey Moniak added another double late, and Colorado finished with just four hits. The Rockies did not draw a walk, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and never put together the kind of inning they needed.

Kelly did not overpower the Rockies. He struck out only three and did not issue a walk. But Colorado swung early in counts and made too much soft contact to turn the game back in their direction.

Vintage Kelly vs. Rockies.

Kelly ended up going the distance on 100 pitches, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He threw strikes, kept the Rockies quiet, and made the first inning stand up.

Final notes

Freeland took the loss, dropping to 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA, while Kelly earned the win to move to 3-3 with a 5.91 ERA.

Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) also made his major-league debut, entering as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and grounding out in a brief first appearance.

The Rockies will look for a better result tomorrow as the homestand continues.

Up Next

The Rockies will continue their series against the Diamondbacks on Saturday at Coors Field.

Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start for Colorado. He enters at 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Arizona will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez, who is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MDT.

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

The Dodgers and Angels continue their weekend series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim with a Saturday matchup with two pitchers who got off to incredible starts this season.

Justin Wrobleski made one bulk relief appearance before stepping into the Dodgers rotation, then won his first five starts while allowing two total runs. Even after his clunker last Sunday, in which he still recorded 26 outs but while allowing seven runs, Wrobleski’s ERA still stands at only 2.42 in 44 2/3 innings.

José Soriano allowed only one total run in his first six starts, and had just one real blip with five runs to the Chicago White Sox on May 4. The right-hander enters Saturday with a 1.66 ERA in nine starts at 54 1/3 innings.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Angels
• Ballpark: Angel Stadium, Anaheim
• Time: 6:38 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KCOP channel 13 (Angels broadcast)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The New York Mets' disappointing season took its most disastrous turn yet Friday, May 15 when starting pitcher Clay Holmes suffered a fractured fibula after taking a line drive off his right leg. 

Holmes, 33, will be out "for a long time," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Friday. New York Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hit a low line drive off Holmes' lower right leg leading off the top of the fourth inning; the ball's exit velocity was 111.1 mph. 

Holmes was examined by an athletic trainer and Mendoza and somewhat remarkably stayed in the game into the fifth. But X-rays revealed the fracture, robbing the Mets of arguably their best starting pitcher in this disappointing season. 

Clay Holmes got hit by this comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones in the fourth inning.

Holmes stayed in the game and pitched into the fifth https://t.co/9itrCjJSGcpic.twitter.com/TwCfIUgz4W

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 16, 2026

Despite giving up four earned runs in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Yankees, Holmes has a 2.39 ERA this season and has pitched into at least the seventh inning in three of his nine starts this year. The Mets came into Friday 18-25, yet 5-3 when Holmes starts. 

Holmes' injury casts doubt on both his and the Mets' future. Should the club fall further out of the race, Holmes likely would have fetched a significant return on the trade market; now, it is unclear whether he'll be healthy enough to market his wares before the Aug. 3 deadline. 

And while Holmes figured to opt out of the final year of his three-year, $38 million contract and test free agency again, that's under some doubt after this injury, although Holmes likely showed enough before going down to be a prized target on the market this winter. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clay Holmes injury update after hit fractures Mets ace's fibula

It was a line drive off the bat of Yankees prospect Spencer Jones that caused Mets starter Clay Holmes to suffer a fractured fibula on Friday night.

Jones went down and lined a 2-2 sinker below the zone back up the middle, where the ball ricocheted off of Holmes' leg and into foul territory. The ball was hit at 111.1 mph. 

"I didn’t know that. That’s the first I heard of that," Jones said after the game when told of Holmes' injury. "I’m sorry. He’s a friend of mine, we work in Nashville together. It’s tough to hear."

The news of Holmes' injury came as a shock to most. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza delivered the news in his postgame presser after the team's 5-2 loss in the Subway Series opener. But more astoundingly, Holmes continued to pitch after the linedrive. Jones' single led off the fourth and Holmes escaped the inning after the Yankees loaded the bases. He then began the fifth and was taken out after Jazz Chisholm Jr. worked a one-out walk and Holmes was at 95 pitches.

"He’s a tough guy. Workhorse competitor as well," Jones said of Holmes continuing to pitch through the injury. "Says a lot about who he is to go back out there again the next inning with a broken leg. It’s incredible." 

"He's a dog. He's a gamer. He's physically tough, but he's tough between the ears, too," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Holmes. "Not surprised. I could tell he was hurting and he's not a guy that's showing, but you could tell it got him good, but watching him move off the mound, I knew it didn't look that great."

Holmes has been the Mets' best pitcher this season. 

Entering Friday's game, Holmes was pitching to a 1.86 ERA and a 1.014 WHIP through eight starts. Prior to tonight, Holmes had surrendered two or fewer earned runs in each of his last 10 starts dating back to September 2025. It was also the first time this season he had failed to complete at least five innings this season. 

Of course, prior to arriving with the Mets, Holmes spent parts of four seasons with the Yankees and Boone as their closer. So the Yankees skipper knows Holmes very well.

“He’s obviously having a great start to the season for them," Boone said. "Has really made a successful transition to being a starter. That sucks. I hate to hear that. Hopefully…he’s able to get back at some point because he’s obviously doing a great job for them.”

Clay Holmes got hit by this comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones in the fourth inning.

Holmes stayed in the game and pitched into the fifth https://t.co/9itrCjJSGcpic.twitter.com/TwCfIUgz4W

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 16, 2026

Catcher Henniel Alcala was promoted from the rookie ball ACL Cubs to Low-A Myrtle Beach. Alcala was 7 for 15 with three doubles and a home run in Mesa on the young season.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs lost their fifth-straight, 4-3 in 11 innings to the Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Jordan Wicks gave the I-Cubs a great chance to win with his only real mistake being a solo home run in the sixth. Wicks allowed one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Ryan Jensen pitched both the tenth and eleventh inning. He allowed the automatic runner to score in both innings, which meant he got the loss. The final line on Jensen was two unearned runs on two hits over 1.1 innings. He struck out two and walked two, but both walks were intentional.

Iowa went 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position, which is probably the biggest reason they lost.

Center fielder Kevin Alcántara went 2 for 5 and scored one run.

Left fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 4 with a walk and one run scored.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were canned by the Columbus Clingstones (Braves), 6-5.

Starter Brooks Caple allowed four runs on six hits over six innings. Caple struck out six and walked one.

Marino Santy was called from the bullpen to get the save in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, he allowed a two-out, two-run single and took the loss. The final line on Santy was two runs on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning. Santy had one strikeout.

DH Carter Trice stayed red-hot with his third-straight game with a home run and fourth in five. Trice’s home run came with two on in the fifth inning and was his sixth overall. Trice was 1 for 3 with three walks.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He scored twice.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs defanged the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 9-0. After scoring 25 runs last night, they’re slipping.

Cole Reynolds started and got the win with five innings and allowing just one hit. He struck out five, walked two and also hit a batter.

After Ethan Bell pitched a scoreless sixth inning, Adam Stone took it home and picked up a three-inning save. Stone allowed just one baserunner, a single with two outs in the seventh. He struck out four.

The Cubs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks in large part because of a three-run home run by left fielder Leonel Espinoza. It was his third home run of the year. Espinoza went 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored twice in addition to the three RBI.

In the fifth inning, first baseman Cameron Sisneros hit South Bend’s second three-run home run of the night. It was Sisneros’ fifth home run this year. Sisneros went 1 for 3 with two walks and two runs scored.

DH Kane Kepley was 3 for 6 with a double. He scored twice and had one run batted in. Kepley is hitting .388 with a .523 OBP in May so far.

Espinoza’s home run.

The offense doesn’t stop!

Leonel Espinoza gets us going with a three-run @hoosierlottery home run!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/mjhCQvn4Lr

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 16, 2026

We don’t have distances in High-A, but Sisneros’ home run went quite a long ways.

That’s headed to Green Bay!

A no-doubt, three-run @hoosierlottery home run from Cameron Sisneros breaks it open!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/XvCv9ukQi1

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 16, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans scored seven runs in the seventh inning and swatted the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 7-6.

It was a good start for Braylon Myers, who gave the Birds four scoreless innings. Myers surrendered just two hits and no walks. He struck out five.

Connor Knox pitched the next three innings and allowed two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh, but he got the win after the Pelicans’ huge bottom of the seventh. Knox’s final line was three runs on three hits over three innings. One of the three runs was unearned. He walked two and struck out two.

Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn was 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run single.

Left fielder Eli Lovich went 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a walk. He scored once.

Highlights.

Birds complete the comeback with 7 runs in the bottom of the 7th! pic.twitter.com/uytNHkWtby

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) May 16, 2026

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Angels, 14-1.

The St. Louis Cardinals began rivalry weekend welcoming the Kansas City Royals to town and Jordan Walker was on the welcoming committee hitting his 13th home run leading St. Louis to a game 1 win in the I-70 series, but it would take more than 9 innings to do it.

The first three innings of the game were a pitchers duel of sorts with both Dustin May and Michael Wacha not allowing a run until the 4th inning. The Royals struck first, but they received some assists from Dustin May as he walked Pasquantino. Salvador Perez followed that with a single before Carter Jensen doubled scoring Pasquantino giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead. May then walked Jac Caglianone. Collins sacrifice fly scored Perez doubling the Royals lead to 2-0.

The St. Louis Cardinals would immediately even the game in the bottom of the 4th inning after it was ruled that Ivan Herrera was hit by a pitch even though replay showed the ball glanced off the catcher’s glove and not his helmet. The Royals did not challenge which was a 2-run mistake because of what Jordan Walker would do with an 0-2 pitch from Michael Wacha.

Pedro Pagés gave the Cardinals the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning with his solo blast to Freese’s Landing in center field making it 3-2 St. Louis.

Dustin May would start the 6th inning with the lead, but not finish that way as he would again walk Pasquantino to start the inning. May would get Perez to fly out to right, but the Royals would load the bases on singles by Jensen and Caglianone. A Collins ground out to Alec Burleson at first base would score the tying run when Alec’s throw to the plate was too late to get Pasquantino making it 3-3. Dustin May’s final stat line for the night would be 6 innings allowing just 4 hits, but 3 earned runs with 3 strikeouts and 4 walks.

George Soriano and JoJo Romero would pitch around a Bobby Witt Jr. single in the top of the 7th inning keeping the Royals off the board. St. Louis would get off to a flying start in the bottom of the 7th inning as Masyn Winn rifled a double down the left field line. Nathan Church was unsuccessful getting down a bunt to move Winn over to third and then Pagés struck out. Manager Oli Marmol asked Jose Fermin to come off the bench as a pinch hitter with two outs in place of Victor Scott II. He would draw a walk bringing up JJ Wetherholt who was 0-3 up until that point of the game. He would unfortunately softly ground into a force out to end the inning squandering Winn’s leadoff double.

JoJo Romero would also handle the top of the 8th inning with the only wart being a two-out walk to Lane Thomas, but he would not score sending the game into the bottom of the 8th tied 3-3. St. Louis would threaten again in the bottom of the 8th when Herrera and Burleson both singled, but Jordan Walker would hit into bad luck grounding a ball that the Royals third baseman Garcia could grab, step on the base and fire across the diamond for a double play. The Royals then made the curious choice to walk Nolan Gorman bringing up Masyn Winn for a righty-on-righty matchup. Fortunately (for the Royals), that worked out as Winn struck out moving the game into the 9th inning tied.

The Cardinals brought in Riley O’Brien to keep the Royals at bay in the top of the 9th inning. After Massey grounded out to Alec Burleson, Isbel hit a bloop single to center. That brought up the top of the Royals order, but Garcia politely hit into a double play to end the top of the 9th.

Nathan Church led off the bottom of the 9th inning hoping to redeem himself for a missed sacrifice bunt opportunity earlier. He would do that by poking a single into short left-center field. Nathan Church was then gifted a stolen base as Perez throw to second beat him easily, but the ball was dropped during the tag. After Pedro Pagés struck out thanks to a perceptive ABS challenge by Perez. Reliever Strahm gave Jose Fermin nothing to hit walking him on 5 pitches. That brought up JJ Wetherholt. He hit a sac fly to deep left center advancing Church to third base. With Herrera up next, the Royals brought in John Schreiber to try and send the game to extras. Ivan Herrera came within inches of sending the Cardinals home a winner as he hit a screaming line drive to right-center, but Isbel made an incredible catch to save the game.

Ryne Stanek was brought in for the top of the 10th inning. He promptly gave up a double to Bobby Witt Jr. scoring designated runner Garcia giving the Royals a 4-3 lead. It could have been worse as Nathan Church made a great diving stop keeping Witt Jr’s ball from going to the wall. Stanek get Pasquantino to pop out and struck out Perez. The Cardinals chose to eventually intentionally walk Jensen bringing up former Cardinal Lane Thomas who also struck out holding the Royals to just that one run.

The Cardinals hopes in the bottom of the 10th inning would rest in the hands of Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. Designated runner Thomas Saggese would score on the first pitch to Alec Burleson as he immediately ripped a single to right evening the score to 4-4.

Jordan Walker entered the batter’s box with chants of “MVP!” from the crowd. That may eventually prove true, but Jordan unfortunately struck out on a disappearing slider. Nolan Gorman wasted no time crushing a single to right field advancing Burleson to third base with the potential winning run. Masyn Winn struck out for the second out leaving Nathan Church with the hero opportunity. He was only able to muster a weak flyball to right-center ending the 10th inning.

Gordon Graceffo was tasked with top of the 11th inning. He walked Collins on 4 pitches. Massey then gave two examples of how not to bunt before flying out to Fermin in right field, but designated runner Lane Thomas decided not to advance to third. Perhaps he still has some Cardinals tendencies after all. Isbel then grounded out to Alec Burleson, but it wasn’t hit hard enough for a double play, but did give the Cardinals out number two. That brought up Garcia who was hitless in 5 previous at-bats on the night. He would go hitless in the 6th at-bat, too, grounding out to Gorman to end the top of the 11th inning.

The Cardinals had speedster Nathan Church as their designated runner in the bottom of the 11th inning and he was bunted over to third base by Pedro Pagés. Unfortunately, Fermin’s ground out to 2nd base wasn’t enough for Church to score. The Royals chose to intentionally walk JJ Wetherholt which would have brought up Thomas Saggese, but pinch-hit superstar Yohel Pozo was sent to the plate instead. He did what Yohel Pozo often does and walked off the game with a single into right field giving St. Louis a 5-4 victory.

The I-70 series continues Saturday as it’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals playing host for the Kansas City Royals. Kyle Leahy (4-3, 4.31 PCL, 32 SO) will start the Saturday afternoon affair for the Cardinals while Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.55 PCL, 32 SO) will begin the game for the Royals. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm at Busch Stadium and the broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.