May 6, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third base during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
It was an interesting game at times tonight, though often not in the good interesting way for Kansas City. Regardless of the oddities, the bats just never did very much and the winning streak ends at five.
Cole Ragans exiting the game early, which was the biggest event of the game possibly in the short and long-term. When this happened against Cleveland a few weeks ago, it was very apparent why. This time it took a couple of innings to get information. In the first three innings, Ragans only gave up 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 4 and surrendering no runs. Next thing we knew, Luinder Avila was warming up and starting the 4th. Eventually it was announced that Ragans left with “left triceps/elbow soreness”. No idea what that means going forward, but tonight it meant the bullpen had to get through 6 innings.
While that drama was unfolding, the Royals scored a run in the bottom of the third. Bobby ended up on first after a fielder’s choice and then was moved to second when Lane Thomas walked. Witt decided he would rather be on third base, but getting there required a phenomenal slide that is unfortunately not available as an embed yet or I would be showing it to you right now. Without that the Royals don’t score, but it set up a sac fly from El Capitan to take a 1-0 lead.
Avila’s first inning went fine, but he got in trouble in his second frame. Austin Hedges was walked to leadoff. You never want to walk the guy with a .562 career OPS. Halpin then singled to set up a strange set of events. Cleveland looked like they wanted Martinez to sac bunt them to 2nd and 3rd, but on the first pitch he held back and Diaz tried to backpick Hedges at second. The throw beat him to the bag though he was called safe and the Royals challenged, you can take a look for yourself here:
I get why the call was not overturned, it probably would not have been had the original call been out either. Then Hedges and Halpin stole to move up thus any need to bunt though Martinez struck out just before anyway. Avila was not holding the runners much and it cost the Royals big. Chase DeLauter took advantage with a weak single sneaking through and rolling slow enough to score them both. Avila managed to get out of the inning after that.
Shreiber took over next and got 5 outs including one at third base when Schneemann tried to stretch a double into a triple. Lange took over for the last out in the 7th. He returned in the 8th and the Guardians added their third run of the night on another leadoff walk, this time to Jose Ramirez. If you have not been paying attention, Ramirez has stolen over 40 bags each of the last two seasons, and he took one here for his 14th already this season. He moved to third on a David Fry groundout and then scored when a hard ball to third went off Garcia. Bobby did pick it up and throw the batter out, there just wasn’t any way to keep Ramirez from scoring.
There was a debut tonight. Eric Cerantola, who was called up by the Royals this afternoon, took on the ninth inning with KC behind and not wanting to tax the back of their bullpen. We had another odd, and similar, situation to the 5th. Rocchio walked to lead off and then moved to third on an Austin Hedges single. Halpin comes up and shows bunt but does not lay one down on the first or second pitch. On said second pitch Diaz threw behind Rocchio at third and again the ball beat the runner to the bag where he was called out instead of safe this time. That call was subsequently overturned on review and Rocchio remained on third. On the next pitch, Hedges tried to steal second and Diaz did throw him out. Then Cerantola recorded his first strikeout against Halpin and his second K on Angel Martinez to end the inning with no damage done.
Cade Smith came in to get the save for Cleveland. Vinnie did single to get the tying run to the plate, but that was all the Royals could muster before Smith struck out the side including a challenged ball call becoming strike three against Isaac Collins to end it. The ABS challenge to end the game is a new phenomenon and not the one Royals fans wanted to see in this situation. They will have to win tomorrow to get the series win. No extra base hits and scattered singles and walks is not a winning formula most nights.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 06, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There was reason to be optimistic heading into tonight. Will Warren has been outstanding early this season and the Yankee offense has been humming. Warren has been stingy with issuing walks and has kept the ball in the yard, while the bats have been posting crooked numbers on the regular.
Conversely, there was a very good reason to be pessimistic about tonight. Nathan Eovaldi entered tonight having not allowed a Yankee run in the last 16 innings he pitched against them. The last time a Yankee touched up Eovaldi was almost a calendar year ago on May 22, 2025, when Jorbit Vivas hit a solo home run off Eovaldi – the only run he allowed that night. Unfortunately (predictably, considering his history against us?), Eovaldi was more than up to the task of stifling the Bronx Bombers
Warren and the Yanks fell behind early. After getting a pair of quick outs in the first, Warren fell behind 3-0 to a scuffling Corey Seager. Warren, quite rightly, didn’t want to walk Seager in front of a hot Josh Jung, so unleashed a 96-mph fastball that hit the strike zone high and tight. To Seager’s credit, he turned on it, kept it fair, and deposited it in the short porch.
For the Yankees, Cody Bellinger came into tonight with a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .444 with 12 RBI in that span. He wasted no time extending it to eight games, singling off Eovaldi in the home first. Unfortunately, that ended up being an offensive highlight against Eovaldi.
After a quiet second inning, Texas touched Warren up again in the third. Brandon Nimmo drew a leadoff walk and, in the least surprising outcome imaginable, came in to score on an Ezequiel Duran double. Warren came into the game with a 5.3 BB% (91st percentile in baseball) so it’s tough to get too upset with him. But it’s illustrative of a baseball truism nonetheless. Leadoff walks come around to score.
Unlike the first inning, Warren couldn’t contain the damage. He left what was supposed to be a back foot sweeper to Evan Carter over the plate. Carter did not miss. His two-run shot extended the Texas lead to 4-0. After only surrendering four home runs in his first 37.2 innings, Warren allowed two in fewer than four frames tonight. Regression to the mean. Bah.
Warren walked two more Rangers in the fourth and, lo and behold, two more runs scored. A sacrifice fly and a single put the Yanks in a 6-0 hole. Warren managed to get out of the fourth but that was the end of the road in what was easily his worst start of the season. His command just wasn’t there tonight, uncharacteristically walking opponents and missing badly on the pitch to Carter. Yerry De los Santos, recently recalled to the Bronx, came on in relief to begin the fifth.
Meanwhile, Eovaldi continued to annihilate the Yankees. After Bellinger’s first inning single, no Yankees reached base except Jose Caballero, who took a curveball off the elbow, only to promptly be erased by a double play ground ball from Trent Grisham. Finally, in the bottom of the fifth, Austin Wells poked a single to left field for the Yanks’ second knock of the night. He advanced no further, and Eovaldi was through five with only 63 pitches.
The Yanks got on the board in the sixth, thanks to the prodigious power of Aaron Judge. The Captain drove a belt-high sinker to center field for his 15th home run of the season. As Joe Girardi noted in the booth, Judge also tied Paul O’Neill on the Yankee career RBI leaderboard. Judge’s blast mercifully ended Eovaldi’s scoreless streak against the Yankees at 21.2 innings. Please go away, Eovaldi.
De los Santos was a godsend for Aaron Boone, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings. Alas, as Michael Kay and Girardi pointed out, when a long guy throws that many innings and pitches (54), a one-way ticket back to Triple-A is the usual reward. At any rate, De los Santos’ performance kept Boone from having to burn through his entire bullpen. Similarly, Ryan Yarbrough covered the final five outs, so, despite Warren only going four, the vast majority of the bullpen got the night off.
Eovaldi stayed on the mound for Texas, and kept dominating the Yankee lineup. When his night finally ended after the eighth, it meant he’d thrown 15 innings of one-run ball against New York in the last week. Thank the baseball gods he’s in the AL West. Jacob Latz came on for the final three outs, snapping the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
Join us tomorrow for the rubber game of this three-game set. Rangers offseason trade addition MacKenzie Gore will face Paul Blackburn, subbing in for an ill Ryan Weathers. First pitch at 12:35 pm ET.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 29: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in for a while. We always have a seat for a friend, new or old. There’s no cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night I asked you what was your favorite home run of the season, so far? Fifty-eight percent of you picked Conforto’s walk-off, and that was to be expected. Another 22 percent picked Dansby Swanson’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth in Los Angeles that ended up beating the Dodgers. But in truth, the poll was just a good excuse to relive some terrific highlights of the 2026 season. So far, of course.
The Cubs won their eighth in a row tonight, 7-6 over the Reds in ten innings. It was their third-straight walkoff and their 14th-straight home win. I think that calls for Judy.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we are honored to have jazz guitarist Julian Lage join us from Tokyo and the summer of 2025. Joining Lage is Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums.
Before I we go on, I want to acknowledge the passing of former Atlanta Braves owner (and manager!) Ted Turner. There are a lot of obituaries out there and I’m sure you can find one on your own. But I want to take a moment to thank him for the creation of Turner Classic Movies, which is the greatest gift anyone has ever given to the cinephile community.
While much of the credit for what TCM is today should go to the people Turner hired to run the place, including longtime host Robert Osborne, it was Turner’s vision that created it. Turner bought the rights to a whole library of films, mostly from MGM, to show on his TBS Superstation in the eighties. More films than he could possibly show on a channel that also had Braves games and television reruns. Although he rightly got criticized for some of the early stuff that he did with those films, such as the colorization debate of the eighties, eventually he decided these films needed to be seen somewhere. So in 1994, Turner Classic Movies was launched as a commercial-free, uncut movie channel. Yes, they showed big hits like Turner’s favorite film Gone With the Wind, but they also showed tons of more obscure films that had mostly been forgotten. Nothing has been more instrumental in the preservation and distribution of the history of cinema than TCM.
People smarter than me have said that you can get a film school education just by watching Turner Classic Movies, free with your cable or satellite subscription. If you ask me how I know so much about movies, I certainly have read some books and listened to the commentary tracks on the physical media I buy. I have a Criterion Channel subscription as well. But mostly, I just watch a lot of TCM. So thanks, Ted.
Moving on. Last night, I watched my first Nancy Reagan movie, the 1950 noirShadow on the Wall, directed by Patrick Jackson. I’ve seen plenty of films featuring Ronnie, but this is the first film I’ve ever seen with a future First Lady in it. Obviously Nancy’s career, under her maiden name of Nancy Davis, was not as extensive as Ronnie’s, who was a much-in-demand supporting actor during his career. But Nancy does a fine job in Shadow on the Wall, even if it’s not in a terribly challenging role.
To be clear, Nancy Reagan is not the star of Shadow on the Wall. The film stars Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott and Gigi Perreau in a potboiler noir about a man, David Starrling (Scott), falsely convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. The only witness who can clear his name is his eight-year-old daughter Susan (Perreau), who has unfortunately blocked out the memory of the whole event because of the trauma. Davis (and I suppose I should call Nancy Reagan “Nancy Davis” from this point on) is in a supporting role as the psychologist trying to help Susan overcome her trauma and recover her memory.
The setup of Shadow on the Wall is that David’s wife Celia (Kristine Miller) is cheating on him with the fiancé of her sister Dell (Sothern). David confronts Celia about the affair and Celia, wrongly thinking David is going to kill her (don’t ask), hits him over the head and knocks him out. Meanwhile, Dell has jealousy issues with her sister and the affair with her fiancé was the last straw. While David is out cold, Dell shoots and kills her sister. Little Susan sees all of this from the hallway, but the trauma of the event forces it from her memory.
As far as the police are concerned, Celia and David were the only ones in the room. David wakes up with no memory of what happened and assumes the police are telling the truth when they tell him he murdered his wife. He’s tried, convicted, and given the death sentence.
Davis shows up now as Dr. Caroline Canford, a child psychologist who tries to help Susan get through the trauma of seeing her mother murdered. In order to do that, she needs to get her to remember what happened. To be clear, Dr. Canford is not doing this to find out who really killed Celia, at least not at first. She’s just trying to get Susan through her PTSD (although she calls it “shell shock” in the terminology of the time). But eventually as Susan begins to remember more and more, the doctor starts to suspect that maybe David may be innocent and that only Susan can save her father’s life.
Meanwhile, Sothern’s Dell needs to stop Susan from regaining her memory. As the girl’s closest-living relative (other than her father on death row), she puts on the charm offensive to try to get custody of her, which would make it all that much easier for Dell to kill Susan. So yeah, Sothern has the really good role here—playing a psychopath who murders her sister, lets her brother-in-law take the rap for her and is now trying to murder her niece. She plays it well and certainly Dell has some qualms about murdering her niece at first. But she’s so petrified of going to the chair herself that any moral issues she has slowly disappear as she becomes a monster. Dell’s first murder was just a crime of passion. Her attempts to murder Susan are just cold-blooded evil.
Gigi Perreau has the only other really good part here as Susan. Yes, there’s a kind of artificiality to the way her character is written and she’s certainly too articulate for an eight-year old trauma patient. But that’s the way all kids in movies were written at the time. She’s better than most child actors of the era.
As far as Nancy Davis goes, she’s fine? Good, even? Her psychologist character really has only one emotional state, concern and curiosity. There’s not a lot of range here, and that’s on the script. But she’s certainly believable as a concerned child psychologist and she handles the mid-century psychologist tropes with ease. This was Davis’ first big film role and were I watching this in 1950, I’d come away saying that she’s got a future as a fine character actress. Maybe she did.
At no point did she ever tell Susan to “Just Say No,” in case you were wondering.
Watching Shadow on the Wall reminded how much the theories of Freud was a major part of mid-century culture. The entire plot of Shadow on the Wall is about repressed memories and working towards catharsis.
Shadows on the Wall is a decent noir, not a great one. If you like shadows in your noir, then they’re a major plot point here, as you might deduce from the title. But the biggest reasons to watch it is Sothern’s great performance as a murderess and because you want to see what kind of an actress Nancy Reagan was.
Shadow on the Wall is available on HBO Max.
The trailer for Shadow on the Wall. Since Nancy Davis was an unknown when this film was released, she’s barely in this trailer. You can get a quick glimpse of the future First Lady at the 42 second mark.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The Tigers got bad news as the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™ Tarik Skubal is going to have surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow. The Tigers are not putting a timetable on his return, but the normal timeframe on this is 2 to 3 months.
This is just another twist to one of the biggest storylines of the season. This is Skubal’s walk year and he was likely looking at a $400 million contract on the free agent market this upcoming winter. Because of that high number, many thought the wisest course of action was for the Tigers to trade Skubal last winter rather than let him leave this winter for just a draft pick. However, understandably the Tigers didn’t do that. They made the playoffs as a Wild Card last year and advanced to the Division Series. They lost that when Seattle won the winner-take-all Game 5 in the 15th inning. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that, with Skubal, the Tigers could make the playoffs again and have a decent chance to make it to the World Series.
Skubal’s injury puts a dent in those plans. As I write this, the Tigers are a game under .500. Of course, in the weak AL Central, that puts them in a tie for first place. As long as the Tigers are in spitting distance of the playoffs, they’re not going to trade Skubal at the deadline. Fangraphs gives them a 57 percent chance of making the playoffs, although I don’t think that number takes the Skubal injury into consideration.
But let’s assume that the Tigers do fall out of the playoff hunt in July and they decide to trade Skubal. There’s no guarantee of that, but it’s possible. The problem is, it’s unlikely that Skubal will be back on the mound before they have to make that decision. Yes, if Skubal comes back in exactly two months, that would have him return in early July with three weeks to go before the deadline.
The problem is that there is no reason to think Skubal will only be out the minimum. In fact, it’s in both the Tigers’ and Skubal’s best interests to make sure he’s 100% before he takes the mound. For the Tigers, if they have any chance of making some noise in October, they need Skubal at full strength for the playoffs. He gives them a chance to win any series, but only if he doesn’t re-injure himself trying to come back early.
For Skubal, he’s got about 400 million reasons to make sure he doesn’t re-injure himself before he hits the market this winter. He also wants to look good in every start he has left in Detroit.
So assuming that the Tigers decide to trade Skubal and assuming that he doesn’t make it off the injured list before the trade deadline, are you still willing to give the Tigers a haul for Skubal? This assumes that the medical prognosis is that Skubal is likely to return to the mound sometime around Labor Day, or at least before the playoffs. Of course, with injuries, there are no guarantees.
So the risk of trading for Skubal is that you have to give up multiple Top 100 prospects for maybe a month of the regular season and the playoffs of the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™. The upside is that Skubal returns to what he was before the injury and he becomes the ace the team needs in the playoffs. He starts a few must-win games and the Cubs’ chances of winning the World Series goes way up.
The downside is that he comes back and he’s not the pitcher that he was before surgery. Or worse, he doesn’t come back at all or he comes back and injures himself again and doesn’t pitch in the playoffs. Then he leaves for a $400 million contract with the Dodgers or Yankees when the season ends. The Cubs farm system gets stripped for a bag of magic beans.
Any team that trades for Skubal is going to be buying what’s behind door number three without knowing if it’s a new car or a zonk.
It’s impossible to guess what it would cost in trade capital to acquire Skubal without knowing how his recovery is going. But the Tigers aren’t going to give him away cheap. The price, I would think, begins with two top 100 prospects. For the Cubs, that means something like Jaxon Wiggins and Pedro Ramírez. Or maybe Josiah Hartshorn and Jefferson Rojas. Since those players are closer to the bottom of the top 100 lists than the mid-section, there might be another throw-in prospect, but let’s just take it as two top 100 prospects for now. All this for a guy who is almost certain to leave after the season and for whom the Cubs will only be able to hope that he’ll be back to Cy Young form by October.
The cost would be high. The risk factor is high. The payoff is potentially huge. Would you make that kind of deal?
Thank you to everyone who stopped by tonight and all week. I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to join us. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.
The Yankees will not have their scheduled starter for the series finale against the Rangers on Thursday.
Manager Aaron Boone announced after Wednesday's loss that Ryan Weathers is scratched due to an illness. A new starter was not announced.
Boone said Weathers was ok and is now set to start Monday.
Ryan Yarbrough threw 29 pitches across 1.2 innings on Wednesday, while Paul Blackburn, another long reliever, last pitched Monday against the Orioles after tossing 17 pitches in 1.0 IP. The Yankees, whose bullpen has been taxed over the last few days, will have to try and piece it together before heading to Milwaukee for a three-game series with the Brewers.
The Yankees could also call up another pitcher and option Yerry De los Santos, who pitched 3.2 innings on Wednesday.
Weathers is having a solid start in his first season with the Yankees. In seven starts, he's pitched to a 2-2 record and a 3.03 ERA. He's struck out 45 batters across his 38.2 innings.
In his last start, Weathers allowed just one run on three hits and two walks in five innings in the win against Baltimore.
Aaron Boone says Ryan Weathers will not start tomorrow's game due to an illness he suffered this week, but he will pitch on Monday
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers looks on after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 06, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the New York Yankees scored one run.
After much consternation over the last few days (weeks? months? years?) about the offense, the Rangers had a few ingredients going for them tonight that left us with a better taste in our mouths.
For one, they had Nathan Eovaldi on the mound and he seems to have New York’s number. Sporting a 1.59 ERA over seven starts against the Yankees during his tenure with Texas, Eovaldi was practically as masterful as his win over New York from April when he went seven shutout innings.
Tonight, with the mood waning as the road trip trudges on, Eovaldi provided a pep in Texas’ step as he went eight innings of one-run ball on three hits with zero walks and eight strikeouts. The only blemish on his evening came when Aaron Judge won a sixth inning battle and swatted a solo home run. That’ll happen to anyone.
When that did happen, the Rangers were already up 6-0. Thanks to home runs from Corey Seager and Evan Carter, and with Brandon Nimmo and Ezequiel Duran doing work at the top of the lineup, the Rangers scored all six of their runs off New York starter Will Warren before the end of the fourth to muddy Warren’s previously sparkling 2.39 ERA coming into tonight’s game.
After surprisingly becoming something of the poster child for the club’s early season woes at the plate in what is surely one of the longest slumps in his career, Seager led off the scoring with a solo home run in the first. Carter followed with a two-run home run that capped off a three-run third inning. Four runs was plenty for Eovaldi and Texas still added a couple more in the fourth when they finally capitalized on a bases-loaded situation.
As an aside, this was the sort of game that ABS was made for. Tonight’s home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott has often been an ump tracking era darling. In fact, he was the top home plate ump during the 2023 season (despite missing ten calls against Texas during Game 2 of the 2023 World Series, the only game in the series that the Rangers lost) and is considered one of the better balls and strikes callers.
Tonight was not Quinn’s night however and both teams knew it. With Wolcott in desperate need of a recalibration, the teams made use of baseball’s shiny new toy to help prevent the game from going sideways. The Rangers and Yankees combined to contest nine of Quinn’s calls with Texas going 5-for-7 before running out of challenges in the eighth.
I shudder to recall the before times. Both 24 hours before when the Rangers couldn’t score runs and before when a bad night from the guy behind the plate could ruin a baseball game.
Player of the Game: Eovaldi is obvious and Seager, Carter, and Nimmo deserve notice but I’ll also highlight former Yankees prospect Duran for doubling in the game’s second run, hitting a sac fly, scoring a run, drawing a walk, and stealing a base from the 2-hole.
Subbing in for the injured Josh Smith, Duran has been one of the more productive bats in recent days and has seen his OPS rise to .833 on the year, the best non-Josh Jung mark that the Rangers have in the first week of the season’s second month.
Up Next: It’ll be breakfast with the Rangers for tomorrow’s series and road trip finale from the Bronx as LHP MacKenzie Gore is set to take the mound for Texas in the rubber match against RHP Ryan Weathers for New York.
The Thursday morning first pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 11:35 am CDT and you can find it on the Rangers Sports Network.
The Yankees bats were shut down by Nathan Eovaldi and Will Warren had his first bad start of the season as New York fell to the Rangers, 6-1, on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
New York had just three hits as Eovaldi has now allowed just one run across 15.0 IP in his last two starts, both against the Yankees.
Here are the takeaways....
-The Rangers took a first-inning lead for the second straight game. This time, Corey Seager launched a 3-0 pitch fromWarren and dumped it over the right field wall to give Texas a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers threatened again in the second, with back-to-back two-out singles, but Warren got Andrew McCutchen to strike out to end the inning. Warren couldn't keep the Rangers off the scoreboard in the third, however, after he walked Brandon Nimmo to lead off and Ezequiel Duran drove him in with a double that split the outfielders. Three batters later, Evan Carter drilled a hanging sweeper over the right field wall to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.
Warren just didn't have it, tossing 90 pitches (52 strikes) across four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. He struck out seven but he tied a season high with three walks.
It's the first time this season Warren has allowed more than two earned runs in a start.
-On the opposite side, Eovaldi continued his personal dominance of the Yankees. Last week, Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Wednesday was more of the same. Eovaldi went 5.2 innings without allowing a run until Aaron Judge launched his 15th homer of the year, and now leads the league in homers.
From there, Eovaldi continued his dominance, pitching eight innings, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out eight batters. Over his last nine games against the Yankees, Eovaldi has pitched to a 1.65 ERA, striking out 53 batters and walking only 11 across 59.2 innings pitched (h/t Katie Sharp).
-Yerry de los Santos was the first arm out of the pen, and he ate some much-needed innings. In his first game back after being called up, de los Santos pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out five batters.
Ryan Yarbrough followed de los Santos and delivered five outs without allowing a hit.
-Cody Bellinger continued his hot hitting, lining a single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk.
-Jose Caballero went 0-for-2, with a hit by pitch. Eovaldi plunked Caballero with a curveball that hit him above the left elbow. The Yankees shortstop was looked at after he was in visible pain, but stayed in the game.
Game MVP: Nathan Eovaldi
The Rangers lineup woke up, but Eovaldi didn't need much on this night.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 05: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Nationals Park on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The first nine Nationals hitters of the game were retired, and it felt like it would be another game where the offense would struggle. However, the Nats were able to flip some sort of crazy switch and put an absolute beating on the Twins. They scored 15 runs in a game where 6 Nats hitters had multi-hit games.
This Nats team has been a real Jekyll and Hyde group to start the season. They can look flat and then just pounce suddenly. When you have guys like CJ Abrams and James Wood in the lineup, good things can happen in a hurry.
Speaking of Abrams, he was in the middle of everything tonight for the Nats. He went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a grand slam to cap off the win in the 9th. The Nats shortstop truly looks like he is blossoming into that star player we know he can be. We have seen hot starts from Abrams before, but I am not sure we have seen him this locked in for this long before.
You could have never guessed what the final score of this game was going to be after the first three innings. The lineup looked absolutely perplexed by Bailey Ober, the Twins massive soft tossing righty. He had Nats hitters guessing wrong every time in those first three innings. However, James Wood and CJ Abrams cracked the case in the fourth and the boys never looked back.
While the Nats were working to solve the puzzle that was Bailey Ober, Miles Mikolas was doing a good job keeping the boys in the game. This was Mikolas’ best start of the season. He pitched into the 6th inning and kept the ball on the ground all night long. The veteran’s velocity was up in this one and he was fooling Twins hitters not named Matt Wallner all night.
A season-high 5 1/3 innings for Miles Mikolas, who retired 16 of the 19 batters he faced. The guy who got booed off the mound at the home opener just tipped his cap to the politely applauding crowd as he returned to the dugout.
After a miserable start to the season where Mikolas looked truly cooked, he has done a good job steadying the ship. The Nats helped him get his confidence back in shorter spurts behind an opener, but now they are starting to let him loose. Hopefully this same approach can get Zack Littell back on track as well. Mikolas also got a nice reception from the home fans as he left the ball game, which was nice to see.
The pitching has been significantly better over the past couple of weeks. However, that has coincided with the offense taking an inevitable step back. Tonight, the Nats got the good pitching and the good hitting. There were so many heroes tonight that I will not be able to shout all of them out.
However, one guy I do want to mention is Brady House. There has been quite a bit of discourse in the Nats community about House over the past few days. He had not been playing as regularly, and his defense has been very suspect this season. However, he got his chance to play today and responded in a big way.
House went 2 for 5 with a double, a homer and three RBI’s. I will say that he got some absolute hangers tonight, but he did not miss them. The home run he hit to straightaway center was an absolute bullet. When he is at his best like he was tonight, House can hit lasers all over the yard.
Brady House has been known in the Nats world for so many years now, it is easy to forget that he is still just 22 years old. Will he be the Nats long term answer at third? I am not sure, he needs to clean a lot of things up. However, the youngster has plenty of talent and showed his upside tonight.
Overall, it was an unbelievable performance from the Nats. They will look to secure a series win tomorrow afternoon with Jake Irvin on the mound. Hopefully the offense did not get all the runs out of their system tonight. They are facing a struggling Twins starter in Simeon Woods-Richardson, so I hope the offense can take advantage of that. We also saw what happens when this offense can get to the underbelly of the Twins bullpen.
I have faith in the Nats getting the series win tomorrow, but that faith can be a scary thing. Whenever I believe in this team, they fall on their face and whenever I get down on this group they put up 15 runs like tonight. The 2026 Nationals are an absolute roller coaster, and I think it is a fun ride, but I cannot tell.
The Mattingly-resurgent Philadelphia Phillies (17-20), they of “8-2 in last ten games” fame, removed another monkey off their backs as they defeated lefty, Jeffrey Springs, and the Athletics (18-18) by a score of 6-3 on Wednesday night, their first victory against a left-handed starter in 11 tries this season.
It was Zack Wheeler’s first home start of the year and he put forth another quality effort, the third straight to open his 2026 campaign. He allowed three runs across six and a third innings of work.
Kokomo’s own, Jack Perkins, walked Kyle Schwarber to begin the frame and erstwhile divisional nemesis, Jeff McNeil, committed his second and the A’s eighth-as-a-team error of the season on an errant throw to second on a fielder’s choice from a Bryce Harper grounder to put two men on with no outs.
A single by Adolis Garcia, his second hit of the night after a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, loaded the bases. Edmundo Sosa, in turn, got his second hit of the night after swinging at all seven pitches he faced for a go-ahead two-RBI single. An RBI single by Brandon Marsh and an RBI groundout by Justin Crawford completed the four-run barrage.
Brad Keller loaded the bases in the top of the ninth via a single by McNeil and walks to Lawrence Butler and Nick Kurtz, but he got Jacob Wilson to swing for weak contact on the first pitch to end it.
Tim Mayza, Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering held the A’s at bay in relief of Wheeler.
The Phillies will take their third stab at a five-game winning streak as they go for the sweep tomorrow night. Andrew Painter will be opposed by A’s right-hander, J.T. Ginn.
May 6, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images
The Detroit Tigers had one goal in mind on Wednesday evening: salvage one win from a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox. It wasn’t meant to be, though, as the Crimson Hosiery completed the sweep with a 4-0 shutout victory.
Making the start for the Tigers tonight was Jack Flaherty, whose troubles have been well-documented. His previous start, against the Rangers, did not go well: he didn’t make it out of the fourth and had trouble finding the plate as, as we’ve seen before, an inning spins wildly out of control for him. I feel for the guy; he’s been open about the sorts of things he’s been battling when he’s on the mound.
The ageless Sonny Gray started for Boston. He’d been on the shelf since a short start against the Tigers in Boston on April 20, and had only pitched in a simulated game before taking the mound tonight. He had a lot of great years in Oakland, then has bounced around a bit since then. But he’s been pretty reliable striking guys out, not walking too many, and keeping the ball in the yard — plus, has more pitches than a struggling Hollywood screenwriter.
Flaherty started off great, striking out the first five batters he faced with pinpoint control. But, as has been the case too often, a bit of adversity opens up into a whole lot of trouble: in the third an infield single and a hit-batsman was followed by a double, Dillon Dingler doing yeoman’s work behind the plate corralling some pitches in the dirt. When the Red Sox were making contact it was generally hard as well, and you had to think, well, here we go again. A sacrifice fly made it 2-0, and Flaherty managed to limit the damage.
Going back in time to the bottom of the second, a Riley Greene double and a pair of walks to Zach McKinstry and Spencer Torkelson loaded the bases with two out. Jace Jung lifted a shallow fly ball to right field and Wilyer Abreu made a sliding grab to save at least one run, probably two.
The Tigers put together another threat in the bottom of the third when back-to-back singles by Colt Keith and Greene put two runners on, but Dingler struck out and the inning was over.
Flaherty got into trouble again in the fourth: Trevor Story, who is apparently fine after getting a fastball in the back on Tuesday night, popped out to Torkelson at first who made a nice play against the netting. But then a single and a four-pitch walk put a pair on, and after a strikeout for the second out, a grounder to third went right past Keith on a play he should’ve made and both runners scored for a 4-0 Boston lead.
But then Flaherty struck out the side in the fifth inning so, as the kids these days say, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . That was the end of his night, and his final line went thusly: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. I forget what the word for a unique starting pitcher’s line is — “boxscorigami” would be great if that isn’t already it — but if that’s such an instance, I wouldn’t be surprised. Except for those hiccups and when his defence let him down, at this point? I’ll take it. I assume people have a lot to say about Flaherty and his start tonight; feel free to give your opinion. (Let’s face it, you folks never need to be asked twice to give your opinion! But we dig that around here.)
Drew Anderson took over in the top of the sixth, and he had his changeup — the “kick-change” he’d honed in South Korea which acts like a split-fingered fastball — working nicely. He got a pair of strikeouts on it in the sixth, along with another on a curveball.
In the seventh, though, Anderson twice was ahead of a hitter 0-2 and ended up walking him, with the Scarlet Stockings getting runners on the corners with one out. He walked another after being up 1-2, leaving with the bases loaded and one out; Brant Hurter was then brought into the second-stickiest situation there is. Abreu had a big swing at a sweeper for the second out, and Story grounded out sharply to shortstop for the third out, and Hurter admirably got the job done.
In the bottom of the seventh Zach McKinstry walked with one out against rookie righty Tyler Samaniego, but Torkelson struck out and Wenceel Pérez flew out to centre.
Kyle Finnegan took over for Hurter to start the eighth; he’s had a bunch of good outings lately. He walked a pair of batters with one out to get in a bit of a jam, but he turned a comebacker into a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning.
In the past couple of years, this would be the time the Gritty Tigs would make an appearance: behind a bit, top of the order up? Kevin McGonigle lined out to right, but a pair of walks to Matt Vierling and Keith put two runners on… alas, Greene and Dingler both struck out on high cutters, and that was that for the eighth. And the Tigers capped it off by going meekly 1-2-3 in the ninth to complete the sweep.
If a Tiger hitter ever wears the number 96 — nobody has yet — I hope they go with “96 Tears” by Michigan’s own ? and the Mysterians as they come to the plate.
Jack Flaherty struck out the first five batters he faced, and the last four batters he faced. Has that ever been done before? Someone call Jayson Stark!
Old Friend™ Matthew Boyd injured himself while playing with his kids at home. I hear ya, Matty.
On this day in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public as part of the Universal Exposition in Paris (a world’s fair). It was originally going to only be a temporary structure during the Exposition and then torn down, but I guess people seemed to like it enough to keep it around.
The Royals’ ace, Cole Ragans, left tonight’s game against the Guardian with what is described as elbow/triceps soreness. It’s not safe out there, kids.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 06: Blaze Alexander #23 of the Baltimore Orioles slides into third base after hitting a triple against the Miami Marlins in the eighth inning of the game at loanDepot park on May 06, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the second consecutive game, the Orioles jumped ahead with three-runs in the first inning. Unfortunately, for the second consecutive game, Baltimore failed to hold its early lead. The Birds gave three back in the first, but Brandon Young found his groove. The offense kept its foot on the gas, and Young delivered a quality start in a 7-4 Orioles win over Miami.
Leadoff hitter Gunnar Henderson went down swinging, but a wild Eury Pérez got the rally started. Pérez walked Taylor Ward on four pitches and plunked Adley Rutschman to put two on for Pete Alonso. Alonso fell behind 0-2 before turning on a 99 MPH fastball. The slugger launched the ball 407 feet to left center, and the Orioles held a 3-0 advantage before Brandon Young took the mound.
Young needed only four pitches to record the first two outs, but the Fish used some two-out lightning to get right back into the game. Young came within one strike of a clean inning, but former Oriole Connor Norby worked a six-pitch walk.
Kyle Stowers followed with a base hit to right that put two on for center fielder Jakob Marsee. Young jumped ahead 0-2 before Marsee punched a two-run double to left field. Young got ahead 1-2 on Christopher Morel before losing the designated hitter for the second walk of the inning. Owen Caissie followed, fell behind 0-2, and proceeded to even the game at three with a base hit up the middle. Young finally ended the inning by getting Joe Mack to ground out on a 2-1 curveball.
Both Young and Pérez responded by posting zeros in the second and third innings, but Baltimore found a way to break through in the fourth. Leody Taveras legged out a two-out double, and Dylan Beavers followed with a ground-rule double that gave Baltimore a 4-3 lead.
It felt nice to have the Orioles be the team striking with two outs, and the trend continued in the fifth. Ward earned another free pass, and Adley Rutschman worked the count full before absolutely ripping a ball to right field. Ward, already on the move with the 3-2 count, scored with ease to make it 5-3.
Meanwhile, Young found his footing. The 27-year-old became more intentional with his pitches and gained better command of the strike zone as the game progressed. After allowing three hits and three walks in the first two innings, Young limited Miami to only one single over his final four frames. He notched a quality start with 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, and 5 K.
Ward took his third walk of the game with one out in the seventh, and Rutschman followed with another hard-hit double. The insurance run came in handy when Grant Wolfram allowed a run in the bottom half of the inning. Baltimore extended the lead to three thanks to an opposite-field single by Samuel Basallo and a two-out triple by defensive replacement Blaze Alexander.
Anthony Nunez replaced Wolfram and struck out Norby to end the seventh. The rookie returned and tossed a clean eighth inning to setup Rico Garcia in a save situation. Garcia allowed a leadoff walk before generating a double play ball and striking out Javier Sanoja to end the game.
Young and the Orioles could have spiraled after the three-run first, but Baltimore carved out a true team win. Young demonstrated an ability to make adjustments, and the O’s offense scored in four of the final six innings. Nunez bounced back after allowing a pair of runs last night, and Garcia delivered a drama-free save after recording four outs on Tuesday.
Alonso got the party started with the Earl Weaver special, and Rutschman reached base four times. Henderson finished 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, but Beavers and Alexander both came through with big hits.
Young made a strong case, but maybe you’d like to go off the board. Let us know your pick for the Most Birdland Player of the Day in the comments below!
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MAY 06: Sonny Gray #45 of the Boston Red Sox throws a first inning pitch against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 06, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox look like a totally different team the last few days, or at least the one playing with real momentum. The Tigers certainly didn’t amid a .500 start and the loss of Tarik Skubal for two to three months.
The latest victory showed progress in all areas of the game for the Red Sox as they moved to 6-4 under interim manager Chad Tracy.
Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday’s series finale.
OFFENSE SURGING
The usually thump-less offense kept the line moving with momentum throughout the series. Boston tallied 14 runs over the three nights in Detroit.
The Red Sox posted a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings. Carlos Narvaez had a productive night and the weight coming off the players after a few strenuous weeks is getting rather visible by the day.
The improvement of the bats is a big reason the Red Sox are closing in on the .500 mark.
ROTATION WELCOME BACK
Sonny Gray operated efficiently on a pitch count and gave the Red Sox five shutout innings in his first start since April 20. With Garrett Crochet still on the IL and further information waiting on Ranger Suarez, the rotation needed a step back toward normalcy.
Gray certainly provided that with just four hits allowed and a pair of strikeouts.
The bullpen finished the job in the staff’s fifth shutout of the season, tied for the most in baseball.
BROOMS!
The Red Sox swept the series in Detroit, marking the first occasion for Boston in 2026. Despite the frustrating start to the season, the team still got a sweep a month earlier than the 2025 team.
Boston’s sweep of the New York Yankees (immediately followed by the Rafael Devers trade) didn’t come until mid-June.
Mar 17, 2026; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Pedro Ramirez against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Right-hander Vince Velazquez has rejoined the Iowa Cubs.
Charlie Barnes pitched the first five innings without allowing a run. Barnes allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four.
Luke Little pitched the two extra innings. He let the automatic runner score in the tenth, but he kept Columbus off the board in the eleventh and got the win. The final line on Little was one unearned run on one hit over two innings. He walked one and struck out two.
The I-Cubs managed just four hits today and only one infield single before the eighth inning. But third baseman Pedro Ramírez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh. He was 1 for 4.
Owen Miller had two of those four hits. He went 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored.
Here’s Ramírez’s game-winning single. As you can see, it would have been a double had the winning run not been on third.
Koen Moreno allowed just two hits over four scoreless innings to start the game. Moreno struck out five and walked two.
Jackson Brockett pitched the next two innings and got the win. Brockett was outstanding and retired all six batters he faced, striking out five of them. The other one grounded out on an 0-2 pitch.
JP Wheat retired the side in order in the seventh. He then came out to pitch the eighth and after retiring the first batter on a foul pop, put two men on with a single and a hit batter. At that point Ethan Bell relieved Wheat and while he allowed one runner inherited from Wheat to score, he went the rest of the way for the save.
The final line on Bell was no runs on two hits over 1.2 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
South Bend scored all three runs in the sixth inning and two of them came on a home run by DH Cole Mathis. It was Mathis’ second home run for South Bend and ninth overall. Mathis was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Right fielder Kade Snell singled right after Mathis’ home run. He then stole second and scored on a Drew Bowser double. Snell’s final line was 2 for 4 with a steal. Bowser went 2 for 4 with the double.
Pierce Coppola dominated the Crawdads in his first appearance of the year. He threw four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Coppola struck out five and walked no one.
Edwardo Melendez relieved Coppola got the loss after giving up two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Melendez’s final line was four runs on four hits over two innings. Two of the four hits were solo home runs. Melendez walked two, hit two batters and struck out one.
Left fielder Geuri Lubo tripled home Michael Carico in the fourth inning for the first run of the game. Lubo went 2 for 4 and Carico was 0 for 2 with two walks.
Catcher Logan Poteet hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth to close out the Pelicans scoring. It was his fourth home run this year. Poteet was 1 for 4.
For almost a year, DJ LeMahieu disappeared. The two-time batting champion was unceremoniously cut by the New York Yankees after injuries took their toll. Last month, LeMahieu posted a note on social media thanking the Yankees for his time there, but no clue what his future plans were.
Now, it seems LeMahieu has found his next chapter right in his own backyard.
LeMahieu was named manager of the Royal Oak Leprechauns, the team announced Wednesday. He has financially supported the Michigan-based collegiate wood-bat team for years, helping players in his native Metro Detroit region.
A three-time MLB All-Star (2015, 2017, 2019) LeMahieu was one of the most versatile infielders of his generation. He won four Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and batting titles in each league, making him one of two players in MLB history to accomplish that feat.
LeMahieu, 37, is a Bloomfield Township, Michigan, native who starred at Brother Rice High School, where he was an All-American before going to LSU and winning the 2009 College World Series. He was originally drafted by his hometown Detroit Tigers out of high school in 2007 but chose college instead. He was drafted in the second round in 2009 by the Chicago Cubs.
After 15 seasons in the majors, the Yankees designated him for assignment last July, ending a seven-year run in New York. He never signed with another club and never announced his intention to retire. He posted a vague note to Instagram last month thanking the Yankees for his time there.
Now, he is stepping into a dugout for the first time, managing in the same organization where he began as a donor and board member. The league helps college players prepare for professional baseball and exposes them to MLB team scouts.
LeMahieu began supporting the Leprechauns as a primary donor in 2020, funding the numerous renovations to Memorial Park, before transitioning to role of team president. More than $500,000 was initially invested in the field and scoreboard through his backing. He has been active in the Metro Detroit baseball scene even while playing in the big leagues. He owns the area’s premier training facility that serves as the home field for his Brother Rice team.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 05: Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics at bat during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 5, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
This one stings. The Athletics had the lead for the majority of the game in Philadelphia this evening but a late-inning rally by the Phillies sunk the A’s as they dropped their second straight contest and their third in the last four games. Now back at .500 the team has got to get a win tomorrow in the series finale if they want to avoid the sweep. Still in first place though!
On the bump for the A’s this evening was left-hander Jeffrey Springs. The veteran came into the season on an absolute hot streak but got hit around the last couple times out. He also had to depart his most recent outing with a hip issue so the fact that he was even available for the start tonight was a positive.
For the first few innings tonight Springs was on his game and looked like the arm from earlier this season. He spread out a couple hits allowed over the first four frames but otherwise kept the Philly offense from getting any sort of rhythm or rally going.
Meanwhile the offense for the Athletics was facing Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler. The right-hander had only just returned from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery but looked like the Wheeler we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing over the years. And for the first couple innings tonight the A’s looked like they would be the latest team to experience the return of Wheeler.
The bats broke through against the right-hander in the third inning. Lawrence Butler, manning center field tonight, drew a leadoff walk to start the frame then advanced to second on a productive out. With two outs though the A’s would need a big two-out base hit. And that’s just what they got from shortstop Jacob Wilson, who brought Butler home with an RBI single the other way to right field:
Wilson would finish the day 1-for-5 but that hit was a big one to get the scoring started. That run also probably doesn’t score without some nice sliding from Butler coming into home plate:
The A’s added on another run against Wheeler a couple innings later with another two-out rally. After the first two batters of the fifth went down right-handed hitter Zack Gelof, who was playing third base tonight for the first time in the major leagues, laced a two-out double to put a runner in scoring position and flip the lineup. That meant Nick Kurtz, who was playing in his home town with his dad in attendance, got a chance to pad the lead and he did that with his own RBI base knock to bring home Gelof:
That base hit also extended Kurtz’s on-base streak, tying former Athletic Matt Chapman’s 30-game mark from 2018. Still a long ways to go to reach Mark McGuire’s franchise-record 62 straight games reaching base, but he’s almost half way!
Nick Kurtz extends his on-base streak to 30 games with an RBI single to right that scores Gelof from second, 2-0 A's.
Longest on-base streak by an A's player since Matt Chapman's 30-game streak in 2018.
Kurtz would also steal a bag later in this one, his fourth of the season which is tied for the team lead with Butler.
The Phillies finally broke through against Springs in the bottom half of that frame. A leadoff triple all but ensured that and a groundout prevented Springs from getting his shutdown inning. Still, the A’s were in the lead and it was only the first run allowed from the lefty all evening.
It didn’t take long for the A’s to get that run back though. Leading off the top of the sixth was left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, and he got ahold of the second pitch from Wheeler and delivered a solo home run to left field to push the lead back to two:
That was Sodey’s fifth long ball of the season and that’s his second in the past three games. After a slow-ish start to the year, could the lefty slugger be getting hot?
Now with a two-run lead again Springs went back out there for the start of the sixth at just 64 pitches. After getting Bryce Harper to ground out to start the inning he got tagged on the first pitch to outfielder Adolis Garcia, who delivered a solo blast to halve the A’s lead to 3-2. Another single on the very next pitch and Mark Kotsay had seen enough. At just 75 pitches Springs’ evening was over as he made way for right-handed reliever Justin Sterner.
A quality bounce back outing from Springs, but it only lowered his season ERA a few points to 3.85 in eight starts. He departed with the lead and probably deserved a W on his score card tonight. His next start lines up to be next week in the series-opener at home against the Cardinals.
Sterner got the final two outs of the frame without any added drama and we were off to the seventh. Only nine outs to go. Next up was Jack Perkins, who had a perfect frame with a pair of strikeouts. Looking to roll the dice Kotsay decided to send him out for a second inning of work, a decision that almost immediately backfired.
A leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth is just asking for trouble but Perkins did just that against slugger Kyle Schwarber. An error by Jeff McNeil at second base didn’t help matters but another single loaded the bases with no outs for the Phillies. Danger territory for any pitcher and they made Perk pay tonight. Philly second baseman Edmundo Sosa had the biggest hit of the night for the home team, driving a single to center field that brought home two runners and gave the Phillies their first lead of the game.
It was only a one-run deficit though so the bullpen needed to keep it from getting out of hand. After a lineout it was lefty Hogan Harris’ turn to pitch and he didn’t have much better success, allowing a pair of singles and an RBI ground out to push the score to the eventual 6-3 final.
The A’s didn’t go quietly in the ninth, loading the bases and bringing up Wilson with the tying-run on first base. Unfortunately he went after the first pitch of the at bat and weakly grounded out to the pitcher on a pitch up and in, ending the game and securing the Athletics’ second straight loss in Philadelphia.
This one is tough to swallow. The A’s wasted a quality performance from Springs tonight. The offense had some moments but it’s hard to win games when you are getting out-hit seven to 12. The bullpen struggles cost them tonight and one has to wonder if the lack of set roles is affecting the young arms that make up the relief unit. Structure is good for the youth.
We have one final chance to steal a win in Philly this year. It’ll be right-hander J.T. Ginn on the mound for the visiting squad as he prepares for his sixth start. He had his first real adversity in his previous outing when he allowed five runs to score against the Guardians in a loss. The 26-year-old will be looking for a bounceback performance against a Philly squad that has scored 15 runs in the two games of this series. Ginn will be opposed by Philly’s own young pitcher in Andrew Painter, who will bring a 5.28 ERA into the series finale. The A’s are still in first place, but they’re back at the .500 mark so a win in the finale would do wonders for the team’s morale before heading to Baltimore this weekend.
After an unscheduled day off on Tuesday because of inclement weather in Colorado, the Mets resume their three-game series against the Rockies on Wednesday night.
Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about a number of topics regarding his team.
Catching combo, same lineup
For the second game in a row, catchers Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens are in the same lineup, with Alvarez hitting eighth as the DH while Torrens does the catching and in the nine spot.
It worked out for New York the first time as the duo played a big hand in the Mets’ 4-2 win, combining to go 2-for-6 with two doubles (back-to-back in the sixth), two runs and an RBI.
Still, it’s pretty uncommon for a team to have both catchers in the same lineup, but Mendoza is doing what he can to maximize his offense in the face of a ton of injuries while losing nothing defensively.
The skipper broke down what went into the decision to have both Alvarez and Torrens in the lineup, saying it’s a combination of a lot of things, including Juan Soto.
“Soto being able to play in the outfield, having a day game tomorrow where there’s a good chance [Soto’s] gonna DH,” Mendoza explained. “Just looking at okay one of the days Avy’s going to catch, Luis’ is going to catch, the righty today, the lefty tomorrow. So there’s a lot that goes into it and I decided to go with the combination again today.”
With Soto back in the outfield after strictly DHing when he returned from the IL with a calf strain, it frees Mendoza up to be a little more creative with his lineups, especially with a shorthanded roster and a team that has struggled to score runs early in the season.
Speaking of Soto, Mendoza was asked about his comfort level with having the superstar play the outfield the same day it snowed in Denver.
“It’s pretty impressive the work they’ve done,” Mendoza said, referring to the grounds crew at Coors Field. “You look at some of the pictures and some of the things that we were looking at earlier today and the outfield, and the field in general, you gotta give those guys a lot of credit.
“But I’ll make sure I go out there and walk it again. But as of right now we feel pretty good [about Soto in the outfield].”
With MJ Melendez (playing right field on Wednesday) also on the roster, the Mets have a third player who has MLB catching experience which also helps them if anything were to happen to one of their main catchers.
So, will this lineup variation become the new norm for New York?
"It depends," Mendoza said. "... There’s a lot that goes into it, but we’ll see."
Injury updates rapid fire
Jorge Polanco: Off from baseball activities today after running yesterday. Likely won't need a rehab assignment when he’s ready to play, but Mendoza reiterated that he's “day-to-day”.
“It’s been like that for a long time, but we’ll see how this continues to progress.
Luis Robert Jr.: Feeling better, but back in New York.
Kodai Senga: Started playing catch today. Feeling a lot better. The process now is to build him back up.
