Category: MLB

They spent all winter training for this grueling race, and now that they’ve reached the first true milestone marker of the season at Memorial Day Weekend, we’re about to find out who has the endurance to keep going and who plans to stop and call an Uber.

Mathematically, everyone is still alive with these expanded playoffs.

Realistically, a handful of teams already are dead, with vultures hovering above looking to snatch up pieces at the trade deadline.

It’s too early to call the playoff picture, with a reminder that a year ago at this time, the New York Mets were cruising along with the best record in baseball.

But at the one-third marker, let’s take a look at the report card for all 30 teams, with just nine weeks remaining before the Aug. 3 trade deadline:

Milwaukee Brewers: A+

They’re making everyone look stupid with their pre-season predictions once again.

Just when you think they can’t possibly win the NL Central again after trading away ace Freddy Peralta and rookie star third baseman Caleb Durbin, with the oddsmakers forecasting an 83-win season after winning an MLB-leading 97 a year ago – look who has the third-best record in baseball.

Yep, those lovable Brewers, who are off to the best start in franchise history, winning 15 of their last 19 games.

The Brewers are doing it the ol’ fashioned way. They’ve hit the fewest homers in MLB with just 34. They have the fewest extra-base hits in MLB with 86. Yet, they are hitting an MLB-leading .279, averaging 5.04 runs a game, ranking fourth in MLB. They also have a filthy rotation that can terrify anyone in the postseason with a terrifying 1-2 punch of Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison.

Look out, these Brewers are coming to an October ballpark near you.

Tampa Bay Rays: A+

This was supposed to be a season they just re-tooled, building for 2027, or perhaps even 2028.

They traded away starter Shane Baz to the Baltimore Orioles and second baseman Brandon Lowe to the Pirates for prospects, with Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander fully acknowledging the trades were for the future.

Well, here they are, with the best record in baseball, 34-15, and winners of 29 of their last 37 games, scoring an MLB-leading 5.21 runs a game this month. They have Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Diaz providing the power, Chandler Simpson with the speed, and Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez with the pitching.

They don’t hit many homers (41, 4^th-lowest), but they put the ball in play with an 86% contact rate that’s best in MLB, and an 18.7% strikeout rate that’s the lowest in baseball.

“They’re the cream of the crop right now in the American League,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone says, “and all of Major League Baseball.”

If this is the present with an $107 million payroll, can you imagine their future?

(F/10) Indianapolis Indians 5, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (box)

Toledo overcame another rough outing from Carl Edwards Jr., forcing the game into extra innings, but Indianapolis still came out on top in the 10th.

Edwards, working as a spot starter, gave up a run in the first with two outs, and then back-to-back homers in the third made it 4-0. He walked the batter after the home runs and came out of the game after that. Edwards’ stuff isn’t deceiving. Despite drawing nine whiffs, the result is more often a ball or contact. His fastball stays above the zone, and plenty of his curveballs find the dirt — albeit his most effective pitch (44% CSW).

The Mud Hens battled back, starting with a solo home run in the fourth from Eduardo Valencia.

The problem was with runners in scoring position, as Toledo went just 1-for-9 in that category. That one hit came courtesy of Max Anderson in the fifth with Luke Ritter on third and Andrew Navigato. Anderson put one through the left side, driving in both runners. He also moved Ben Malgeri up to second, but Jace Jung and Valencia stranded the tying and go-ahead runs.

Anderson came up big again in the seventh with one out and Navigato on third. He did his job and sent a sacrifice fly out to right field, tying up the game at four runs apiece.

Toledo’s bullpen was good all-around in relief of Edwards. Scott Effross worked around a pair of hits to get through the fourth, and Cole Waites, back from rehab work in Lakeland, struck out a pair in the fifth. Jack Little got the sixth and seventh, giving the Mud Hens two frames of no-hit ball, and Nick Sandlin worked around a pair of walks while getting five outs.

Tanner Rainey took the loss. He got the third out in the ninth and a sacrifice bunt to start the tenth, but a base hit allowed the winning run to come in. Rainey struck out the next two batters he faced, but Toledo went down 1-2-3 in the home half of the inning.

Anderson: 1-3, 3 RBI, BB, K

Valencia: 1-5, HR (8), R, RBI, K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 5:35 p.m. ET start on Sunday. Toledo trails in the series 3-2.

Game 1 (F/7): Erie SeaWolves 8, Altoona Curve 0 (box)

Erie took the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Altoona, 8-0, behind a two-hit performance from the pitching staff.

Carlos Pena got the start and is responsible for both hits allowed by the SeaWolves — doubles in the second and fourth. He also walked a batter in the third. Other than that, Pena was excellent, striking out four and working the outer edge of the zone against righties well.

Wandisson Charles took over for Pena in the fifth. Altoona had a tough time catching up to his 97-mph fastball, and he drew a couple of whiffs on the slider. Tanner Kohlhepp closed things out, striking out the side on 11 pitches. Kohlhepp’s pitches all move a lot, and the Curve didn’t seem to have a handle on any of them.

The offense got going right away, scoring two runs in the first inning. Seth Stephenson scored from first base on a Brett Callahan double that snuck down the right-field line. Stephenson is lightning on the base paths, so there wasn’t even a throw in. Callahan scored on a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play with Thayron Liranzo at the plate. Altoona was content to give up the run for a second out.

The sixth and seventh innings were big for Erie. The SeaWolves scored three runs in each frame on a combined four extra-base hits. The first was a solo home run from Liranzo, and it was absolutely crushed — 422 feet, 110 mph exit velocity. The switch-hitting catcher has caught fire after taking time to find his footing after returning from injury. He came into the day slashing .263/.378/475 with 4 homers and a 127 wRC+ in 24 games back with Erie.

Izaac Pacheco and Andrew Jenkins both doubled in runs later in the inning. Pacheco went down the line into right field, and Jenkins went into left field — a major-league outfielder might grab that one, though. Regardless, that’s 19 straight games on base for Jenkins.

In the seventh, Altoona loaded the bases without giving up a hit: Stephenson got hit by a pitch, stole second and third, while Callahan and Bigbie both drew walks. Chris Meyers cleared the bases with a triple.

Liranzo: 2-4, HR (5), R, RBI, K

Meyers: 3-4, 3B (1), 3 RBI

Callahan: 1-3, 2B (8), 2 R, RBI, BB

Pena: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K

Game 2 (F/7): Altoona Curve 3, Erie SeaWolves 1 (box)

Erie dropped the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Altoona Curve, 3-1, despite both teams finishing the game with four hits apiece.

Four of Erie’s nine baserunners in the game came in the first. Brett Callahan led off the game being hit by a pitch, Peyton Graham and John Peck walked, and Justice Bigbie singled in the lone SeaWolves run of the game.

Kenny Serwa got the start for Erie and gave 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball, despite walking five batters. He worked through his first walk with a double play in the first, but things were rough in the second. The leadoff man reached on an error by Graham, and a sacrifice bunt moved him over to second. A passed ball and walk set up another sacrifice bunt, which scored the tying run this time.

Callahan had a double in the second, and Bigbie did the same in the third. Neither ended up advancing from second, though. E.J. Exposito made it three innings in a row with a double and nothing to show for Erie in the fourth, and that was it until the seventh. The SeaWolves went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in this one.

Serwa gave up back-to-back singles in the third, which cost him another run. The runner scored from first and juked catcher Bennet Lee on what looked like a throw that had him dead to rights, albeit up the line a bit.

Eric Silva replaced Serwa in the fifth with two outs. Silva walked a batter but got out of the inning with the score still 2-1. He had a bit of a mini meltdown in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, though. A walk and two singles made it 3-1, and that’s where the game ended.

Exposito led off the seventh by reaching on an error, and Callahan walked before Graham and Peck stranded both of them.

Callahan: 1-2, 2B (9), R, BB

Bigbie: 2-3, 2B (10), RBI, K

Serwa (L, 1-5): 4.2 Ip, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 5 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 1 p.m. ET start on Sunday. Erie trails in the series 2-3.

South Bend Cubs 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (box)

West Michigan couldn’t survive Rayner Castillo’s shortest outing of the season and fell to South Bend, 5-3, on Saturday. The pain continues for the Whitecaps.

Castillo has given up five or more runs twice already this season, but he at least made it into the third inning in those starts. This time, Castillo only recorded five outs and gave up four earned runs on as many hits and two walks. What’s odd is that Castillo looked really good in the first. He struck out three and got a ground out before blowing up with one out in the second.

Things tend to snowball for Castillo when they go bad, and this was no exception. After the first out, the inning went: single, RBI double, walk, RBI single, fielder’s choice, walk, two-run single. There was a defensive interference call on a pickoff mixed in there, but the runner would have reached second anyway. The fielder’s choice to home did prevent a run from scoring, though.

That was the end of the road for Castillo. Logan Berrier took over, and it became a bullpen game.

The Whitecaps tried to fight back in the bottom half of the second. Luke Shliger led off with a single into right, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Juan Hernandez traded a groundout for an RBI, getting West Michigan on the board.

Caleb Shpur had a chance with the bases loaded in the third — after South Bend walked in a run — but he grounded into a double play to kill the threat. West Michigan also left the bases loaded in the first, so this game was very winnable. The Whitecaps went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the day.

Berrier pitched through the third, working around a pair of base hits. Luke Stofel took over in the fourth and gave West Michigan two perfect innings. Stofel struck out the side in the fifth.

Rainer had an 111-mph exit velocity single in the bottom of the fifth that he came up lame on at first. It turned out to be nothing, but a replay shows him swinging his front leg out while making contact. He had a smile and didn’t see a trainer, so it looks like everything is fine.

Duque Hebbert was next on the mound for West Michigan. He gave up a bomb in the sixth but was otherwise good through two innings. Dariel Fregio got the final two innings of work and worked around a pair of hits for a scoreless outing. This was Fregio’s season debut with West Michigan after throwing 22 innings for Erie.

The Whitecaps didn’t do much at the plate after the fourth. Andrew Sojka hit a solo homer to open the seventh, but that’s all the action.

Rainer: 2-4

Sojka: 1-4, HR (3), R, RBI, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Sunday. West Michigan trails in the series 1-4

Lakeland Flying Tigers vs. Bradenton Marauders (postponed)

Weather delayed and eventually postponed this game. Bradenton and Lakeland will play a doubleheader on Sunday.

Coming Up Next: It’s a noon ET start on Sunday. Lakeland leads the series 3-1.

FCL Blue Jays 5, FCL Tigers 4 (box)

Cris Rodriguez: 2-3, R, RBI, HR, CS

Santiago Pinto: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Owen Hall: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K

We received a small blessing in not seeing the Yankees blowing another game yesterday, as they were rained out before it could even get underway. Now facing a two-game set with the postponed game pushed way out to September, they’ll look to lock down a split with Ryan Weathers on the mound (and ideally, the offense showing up).

Before the series finale gets underway (assuming the rain doesn’t come back to mess with them), we’ve got a full lineup for ya. Estevão leads off with a pitch to have Cody Bellinger do the same for the Yankees, and then I’ll pop back in to cover the Rivalry Roundup. Jeff wishes Big Sexy himself, Bartolo Colon well on his birthday, and then Scott goes over Zach Messinger’s transformation into a reliever for the RailRiders and his big bounceback in May. After the game, John will be around to give us the latest social media spotlight with a side of Knicks content as they make their charge to the Finals and the team shows them some love.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Rays.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. Who will be the catalyst to spark the Yankee offense?

2. How crazy has this Knicks run been now that they’re a game away from the finals? Is this the best Knicks squad you’ve ever seen?

FOX Sports | Deesha Thosar: Gerrit Cole made his triumphant return to the mound on Friday. After missing all of last season and the start of this one as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young Award winner needed only 72 pitches to keep the AL-best Rays off the board through six innings. “It was almost like a second debut kind of situation,” Cole said after the game. “It was an enjoyable moment. It was nice to get back in the fire.” Perhaps most encouragingly, he dialed his fastball up to 99 mph in the first while showcasing a new windup he adopted during the rehab process.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Saturday’s scheduled game against the Rays was postponed due to a forecast of inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a split-admission doubleheader on September 22nd. Fans with tickets to Saturday’s game can use them for the first game of that doubleheader or exchange them per the Yankees’ rain check policy. The postponement turns this weekend’s three-game series into a two-game set.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mary Polishuk: The Yankees have signed Peter Strzelecki, assigning the right-hander to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Strzelecki appeared in 77 games, all in relief, with three teams between 2022-2024, posting a 3.44 ERA. He was briefly called up by the Brewers last week, but ended up designated for assignment before he could appear in a game. The 31-year-old Queens native will serve as bullpen depth in the minors for a Yankees relief corps which has been inconsistent to start the year.

New York Post | Dan Martin: The Yankees’ bullpen — including David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird, the three relievers acquired at last year’s trade deadline — have had their share of struggles to start the season. Reinforcements could be on the way, with fireballer Carlos Lagrange waiting down at Triple A alongside fellow right-hander Eric Reyzelman, who was recently promoted from Double-A, and Strzelecki. Another avenue for reinforcements could be the team’s big-league rotation if the current five remain healthy until Max Fried returns from the IL.

Ah, Zac Gallen. Our one-time ace, more recently our collective repository of remarkably persistent hopes and dreams and aspirations of the “he just needs to get his mojo back and he’ll be an ace again!” variety, our late-breaking $25 Million Dollar Man (with some money deferred, of course) as we got ready to set sail for the 2026 season. Yes. Zac. I’m never thrilled, and always nervous, when I pull a Gallen start for a Saturday recap. I would say that it’s because you never know what you’re going to get with Zac these days, but I don’t actually think that’s true at this point. The truer way of putting it is that we’re going to get the same thing we always get—a handful of really stellar innings which remind us of the sort of pitcher he once was on a consistent basis, but punctuated (and punctured) by at least one complete loss of focus and competence that leads to some quantity, often a substantial quantity, of runs crossing the plate for the opponent. It’s sad, and it’s a bummer, but at this point it simply is what it is, and who Gallen is as a pitcher at this stage in his career.

To be fair, tonight was one of his better outings in 2026, though a big part of that may be that Torey Lovullo kept the leash short. Gallen was up against Michael Lorenzen tonight, who came into the game sporting an ERA above 7, while Zac’s was in the mid-5 range, so I wasn’t terribly worried. And for the first three innings, Gallen did the business, and did it admirably. He pitched around a one-out single in the top of the first to retire the side with only nine pitches thrown. In the second, he retired the Rockies in order with only eight pitches thrown. He needed a whopping 19 pitches in the top of the third, but that was mainly because, rather than recording quick outs he struck out the side in order instead, and strikeouts are always more pitch-count-intensive.

Lorenzen, meanwhile, looked shaky at the start, surrendering a Ketel Marte single and a Corbin Carroll double to put our first two batters in scoring position with nobody out to begin the bottom of the first, but managed to wriggle off the hook thanks to a Geraldo Perdomo grounder to first, a Nolan Arenado grounder to third that allowed the Rockies to throw Marte out at the plate, and then a weak Ildemaro pop-up into shallow center for the third out. In the second, he retired the Diamondbacks in order, which made me wonder if he was starting to settle in.

He wasn’t. Ryan Waldschmidt led off the bottom of the third with s line-drive single to left, flipping the lineup over for Ketel Marte, who then walked. Corbin Carroll struck out for the first out of the inning, but Perdomo lined a single to left of his own that scored Waldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado followed with a double into the gap in left center that brought home both Perdomo and Arenado:

Neither Vargas or Gabriel Moreno could do anything to get Nolan around, but we’d drawn first blood, and put up a crooked number at that. 3-0 D-BACKS

As often seems to the case these days with Gallen, though, the offense staking him a lead seemed to mess up his mojo and throw him off-kilter, and while he still seemed to be throwing the same sort of stuff and taking the same approach as he had through the first three innings, the Rockies greeted him with rather different results to open the fourth. The first four batters of the inning reached against Zac, thanks to a single to left, a single to right, a walk to load the bases, and then a single to right-center that scored Hunter Goodman, who had led off the inning. Ezequiel Tovar then grounded to short, but Perdomo’s only play was to get the force at second base, allowing another Rockie to cross the plate. Gallen then walked his second batter of the inning to reload the bases, but thankfully pulled himself together enough that he was able to end things without further damage with a strikeout and a pop-up to Perdomo. 3-2 D-BACKS

In a happy turn of events, though, our offense came back out in the bottom of the fourth and immediately got back the two runs Gallen had just coughed up. With one out, Tim Tawa, who was playing left field tonight with Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. hitting the IL this afternoon, grounded a single into left, and one out later Ketel Marte continued his offensive resurgence by hitting the first pitch he saw in his third time facing Lorenzen for an absolute moonshot that just about reached the concourse behind the right field bleachers:

So the lead was back into safer territory again. 5-2 D-BACKS

Gallen, for his part, took what was given to him this time and put up a zero in the top of the fifth, pitching around a two-out walk. Brandon Pfaadt, however, got up and started warming in the bullpen around this point, which was likely just as well because after Lorenzen put up a zero of his own in the bottom of the fifth, Zac surrendered a leadoff single to Colorado left fielder Troy Johnston to kick off the sixth inning. Johnston promptly stole second and was then advanced to third on a Tovar grounder to first, and that earned Gallen the hook as Torey went to the bullpen and brought in Pfaadt. And Pfaadt did his job, recording the final two outs, though Johnston did score from third to narrow the lead again. 5-3 D-BACKS

Lorenzen’s night was done, so the amusingly named (for Snakepit members of a certain vintage, anyway) Keegan Thompson came out of the Rockies’ bullpen and proceeded to pitch two and two thirds innings. They weren’t the cleanest you’ve ever seen, as he dealt with multiple baserunners in each inning that he worked, but he put up zeroes, which is of course what matters. Pfaadt did the same in his half of the seventh, but surrendered a leadoff home run to start the eighth, followed by a single that sent him to the showers and brought in Kevin Ginkel to once again clean up someone else’s mess. Ginkel did so admirably and with a minimum of drama, thankfully. 5-4 D-BACKS

And that was pretty much that. Our offense did nothing of significance in the bottom of the eighth, and Paul Sewald came out to pitch the top of the ninth for us in a one-run game, and shut things down by inducing a flyout to center and a flyout to right before finishing with style and panache by striking out Hunter Goodman, arguably Colorado’s best hitter, on five pitches to put this one win the books, and the win column, for the good guys.

Win Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

The Majestic Redwood: Ketel Marte (4 AB, 3 H, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, +23% WPA), Kevin Ginkel (1 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, +21% WPA)
The Mighty Sequoia: Paul Sewald (1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, +16% WPA)

We had a very lively and well-attended Gameday Thread tonight, with an impressive 337 comments at time of writing. Many comments went Sedona Salmon, but none attracted enough comments to truly run away with it, so I’m more than pleased to bestow tonight’s Comment of the Game on gzimmerm, for this simple statement that actually I think goes a long way toward explaining some of the recent positive change in the team’s fortunes:

You are not wrong, and I for one have been enjoying seeing the young Baron prove that day after day after day as he embarks upon his young career.

So tomorrow we go for the series victory, and our sixth win in the seven games of this homestand. The Rockies are bringing lefthander Jose Quintana to the party, and we are countering with the inimitably Ryne Nelson. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. I hope you can join us!

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

Saturday’s outing was a bit of a mixed bag for Freddy Peralta. 

The right-hander did well to save the Mets' bullpen by completing seven-full innings for the first time this season, but he was knocked around a bit by the Marlins. 

Peralta allowed four runs on two walks and a season-high eight hits in a 4-1 loss. 

Half of those runs came via the long ball, as Miami's breakout slugger Liam Hicks jumped him for a pair of solo shots to right-center in the bottom of the third and the fifth. 

Peralta’s now allowed eight homers to start the season, four of which have come over his last three times out. 

“I never want to give up homers, but it happens,” he said. “The second one I made a big mistake on the curveball, I shook on the pitch and should've executed better, but it happens and I just learn from it.”

The veteran righty did rebound nicely following that second blast, as he retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced to close his longest outing of the season on a high note.

He also set season-highs in pitches (108) and strikeouts (nine).

Despite the shaky showing in the book, Carlos Mendoza liked what he saw from the top of the the rotation arm.

“I thought he was better than the line score, to be honest,” the skipper said. “That second inning a couple of grounders found holes, the breaking ball for the homer, but overall he goes seven innings and he competed.”

Peralta kept the Mets within striking distance, but the offense didn't do him any favors, as they managed just one run in the ninth on three hits and three walks against Max Meyer and Miami’s bullpen. 

As has been the case for the majority of the season to this point, the continued struggles putting runs on the board left the Mets’ starter with a razor thin margin for error. 

They've been held to one run or less a league-worst 14 times this season. 

"You just gotta keep going,” Carlos Mendoza said. “You can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself, yeah we get frustrated at times, but you just gotta continue to go.”

The Colorado Rockies dug themselves into a few holes and weren’t quite able to climb out of them.

Michael Lorenzen fought traffic all night, and the offense wasn’t able to string together enough hits to put them over the top. They ended up losing, 5-4.

Traffic jams prove costly for Michael Lorenzen

Michael Lorenzen battled traffic all night, and came out on the losing end. Ketel Marte kicked things off with a single, and Corbin Carroll doubled right behind him. Luckily, Lorenzen recorded three outs behind them to hold the Dbacks scoreless in the first. He then got a 1-2-3 second of Gabriel Moreno, Jose Fernandez, and Tim Tawa. But the big damage came in the next two innings.

In the third, Ryan Waldschmidt led off with a single, and he would eventually come around to score behind more traffic. Marte walked, but then Carroll struck out. Geraldo Perdomo singled, which scored Waldschmidt, and old friend Nolan Arenado doubled to score Perdomo and put the Snakes up 3-0.

The fourth inning wasn’t any better.

Jose Fernandez flew out to right to start things off, but then Tawa singled. Two batters later, Marte launched one over the right field wall to put the Snakes up 5-2.

“It was just a fastball,” Lorenzen said after the game. “He’s usually pretty patient. 0-0, trying to go away and [I] missed in the middle.”

Lorenzen had a quick fifth, but still gave up five runs on eight hits with one walk and five strikeouts in his outing.

“I thought Mike threw the ball fine. I thought he gave us a chance to win,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “[He had] good breaking stuff. I think on the homer to Marte — which was the game-winner, basically — he was trying to go away, missed his spot, and Marte is a really good hitter.”

Lorenzen didn’t have the same sentiments about his performance.

“[I’m] not too happy about it,” Lorenzen said. “I feel like I did everything right to put myself in a situation to have a good start. I did everything well, other than the thing that matters most, and that’s run prevention.”

Offense showing sporadic signs of life, but not enough

The Rockies scored four runs, but they struggled to string opportunities together.

The first two runs came in the fourth inning, as the Rockies gave Zac Gallen some trouble on the basepaths. Hunter Goodman singled to lead things off, followed by TJ Rumfield. Tyler Freeman then walked to load the bases, and Troy Johnston singled to drive in Goodman.

Ezequiel Tovar gounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice, but Rumfield was still able to score and put the Rox within one.

Sterlin Thompson walked, but then Chad Stevens struck out swinging and Kyle Karros flied out to Perdomo to end the inning.

Their next run came in the sixth, when Johnston led off with a single, stole second, was bumped to third by a Tovar groundout, and then was driven home by a Thompson groundout.

But then Stevens flied out to center to end the inning.

A Home Run!

The Colorado Rockies had not hit a home run in seven games entering tonight. That all changed in the eighth inning, as TJ Rumfield launched one over the left field wall and put the Rockies within a run:

“TJ threw up four solid at-bats tonight,” Schaeffer said. “With a night where the ball definitely wasn’t flying, to get it the other way — that’s just some real strength. And TJ’s had a solid approach since the beginning of the year. [It was] a big night for him.”

Up Next

The Rockies will wrap up the four-game series in the desert tomorrow afternoon. José Quintana will duel Dbacks’ right-hander Ryne Nelson. First pitch is at 2:10pm MT.

See you then!

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The Texas Rangers scored two runs while the Anaheim Angels scored five runs.

Before winning tonight against the Rangers, the Angels had only won two games in a row once since April 17. Even then, you’d still have to go back to the first week of this month when they won two in a row against the Chicago White Sox for the last scant winning streak for the Orange County squad.

It’s not like the Rangers are putting together many winning streaks of their own, though. It’s pretty much been win one, lose one for this team for like 900 consecutive days. The treadmill of mediocrity continues only now with the guarantee of a series loss in Anaheim this weekend.

Other trends for Texas that just won’t die? Let’s check the list:

• First inning runs leading to early deficits – ✓

The Rangers trailed 2-0 after the first two Anaheim batters. They raised their unsightly first inning ERA to 7.02 on the year.

• Bases loaded opportunities that die without runs scored – ✓

Texas left ‘em loaded in the third, fifth, and eighth innings with Jake Burger striking out to end the first two chances and a bases loaded, one out situation that ended without the tying run scoring.

• Inability to produce with RISP – ✓

The Rangers and Angels each had eight hits but Texas scored on just one hit with RISP in eleven chances while leaving eleven on base.

• Doing exactly enough to lose, and not enough to win – ✓

Despite tonight’s starter Nathan Eovaldi giving up two runs before collecting an out, he allowed just one run afterward over his seven innings of work. Despite scoring six runs last night only to lose 9-6, tonight six runs would have easily rescued Eovaldi from a loss but Texas went back to being unable to plate enough runs in a low-scoring game that the Angels put away with a couple of insurance runs the inning after Eovaldi exited.

The Rangers came into this series playing nearly inarguably the worst team in the American League with a golden opportunity to surge ahead of the .500 mark. Instead, they will leave it worse off than when they arrived and will need a win tomorrow in the finale or they’ll find themselves swept out of Anaheim.

Player of the Game: Maybe it’s Eovaldi but if you’re mad at him for the first inning runs, maybe it’s Alejandro Osuna. The Texas left fielder had three hits in his three at-bats tonight but was lifted by Skip Schumaker in one of his big brain pinch hitting maneuvers where Andrew McCutchen was called on to hit against a left-handed reliever with the tying run at second base in the top of the seventh

The Angels brought in a right-handed reliever to face McCutchen, and McCutchen struck out looking on this pitch:

Up Next: The Rangers and Angels close out this series with Texas turning to a starter they have not yet named while Anaheim will opt for LHP Reid Detmers.

The first pitch in Saturday’s finale from Angels Stadium is scheduled for 6:20 pm CDT and will be aired on Peacock.

Catcher Casey Opitz was activated off the Development List and returned to Iowa.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs clipped the wings of the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), 6-4.

Starter Paul Campbell threw the first six inning and allowed three runs on six hits. Two of the three runs came on a home run by rehabbing Lars Nootbaar. Campbell walked one, hit one batter and struck out one.

Gavin Hollowell retired the side in order in the top of the seventh inning and got the win after Iowa scored five runs in the bottom of the inning. Hollowell did not strike anyone out.

After Collin Snider allowed a run on a solo home run in the eighth, Christian Roa came on to pitch the ninth and got the save. Roa retired the side in order in the ninth and struck out two.

BJ Murray played outfield for the first time in his professional career, playing the entire game in left field. He also hit a two-run double in the seventh inning that tied the game 3-3. Murray was 2 for 3 with a a walk and the double. He scored once and had the two RBI.

Third baseman Owen Miller hit back-to-back doubles with Murray in the seventh. Miller was 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored.

DH Chas McCormick doubled in the seventh inning—back-to-back-to-back doubles with Murray and Miller. McCormick went 2 for 4 with one run batted in.

Right fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Dean scored one run and drove in one run.

McCormick’s double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies split a doubleheader with the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), winning the completion of yesterday’s game 2-1 and losing the seven-inning regularly-scheduled game 2-1.

Jake Knapp started yesterday and threw two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, before the rains came. Knapp walked one and struck out three.

Brooks Caple took the mound when play continued and got the win after allowing just one run over six innings. Caple gave up five hits but issued no walks and struck out four.

Marino Santy pitched the ninth inning, retired the side in order and got the save. Santy struck out one.

Right fielder Alex Ramirez scored both runs in game one, going 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.

DH Owen Ayers and shortstop Jefferson Rojas were both 1 fo 4 with an RBI.

Tyler Schlaffer started game two and got the loss after giving up two runs, one earned on four hits over five innings. Schlaffer struck out six, walked one and hit one batter.

Tyler Santana threw the final two innings and retired all six batters he faced. Santana struck three of them out.

Right fielder Alex Ramirez was a perfect 3 for 3 with a walk in game one.

Catcher Owen Ayers went 2 for 4.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs calmed the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers), 5-3. The win clinched South Bend’s first series win at West Michigan since 2018.

Jostin Florentino started and allowed two runs on three hits over 2+ innings. Florentino walked three, hit two batters and struck out three.

Ben Johnson threw the next three innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Johnson gave up one hit. He struck out four and walked one.

Brayden Spears tossed the final three innings for the save. He surrendered one run on two hits. (Really he gave up the one run on a solo home run in the seventh inning.) Spears struck out four and walked no one. He did hit one batter.

Catcher Miguel Useche hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, his second on the season. Useche went 2 for 4. He scored twice and drove home two.

Shortstop Ty Southisene was 2 for 5 with a two-run single as part of a four-run second inning.

An RBI double for right fielder Leonel Espinoza, who was 1 for 4 with one run scored on the game.

The Useche home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were knocked over by the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 5-4.

Noah Edders pitched the first two innings and gave up one run on no hits. He walked one and struck out four.

David Bracho threw the next three innings and took the loss. Bracho gave up four runs on three hits and five walks. He struck out four.

Hayden Frank threw the final three innings without giving up a run. He did surrender two hits and one walk. Frank struck out four.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez went 3 for 5 with a triple and two runs scored.

Left fielder Darlyn De Leon was 2 for 4 with a double and one run scored.

First baseman Michael Carico went 2 for 4 with a double.

Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 1 for 3 with two walks. He drove in one run and score one run.

Lumpuy’s RBI infield single.

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn with a two-run double. He was 1 for 3 with a walk.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Giants, 7-5.

The Braves lost a game 2-0 to the Nationals, which is unfortunate because the Nationals are very much the profile of team that you should beat if you hold them to 2 runs (though statistically that applies to every team, the Nationals are especially pitching-deficient. That said, the Braves still have a chance for a perfectly solid series win, with a win on Sunday, behind Martin Perez and facing the unimposing Foster Griffin. The Phillies won Saturday, bringing the division lead down to a still-large 9.5 games, while the Marlins beat the Mets, rounding out NL East play.

Braves News

Chris Sale gave a great interview to CBS about his career resurgence in Atlanta.

Grant Holmes posted a solid start, but the Braves’ offense couldn’t find anything against the Nationals’ struggling pitching staff, in a 2-0 loss.

MLB News

The Diamondbacks are placing Lourdes Gurriel on the 10-day IL with a minor hamstring injury.

The Angels signed former Phillies starter Taijuan Walker to a minor league deal.

The Twins activated starter Taj Bradley from the 15-day IL, DFAing Luis Garcia to make space.

All good things must come to an end. It had been 2 years and 2 days since Nebraska had last lost in Charles Schwab Field, and it continues that no team has ever won 3 Big Ten Tournaments in a row.

The usually potent Husker offense couldn’t come up with anything against one of their biggest nemesis of the season, Oregon starter Will Sanford had confounded Nebraska in Eugene and his rising fastball did the same tonight.

Oregon got things started quickly. Leadoff batter Ryan Cooney drove the second pitch of the game to the left-center gap. All Big Ten Defensive Team outfielder Mac Moyer read it perfectly and made a dive at the last minute but could just barely touch it with his glove. Cooney cruised into second for a double. Back to back groundouts behind him brought him in to score. Husker starting pitcher Gavin Blachowicz struck out the final batter to limit the damage to 1 run.

The Duck loaded the bases with one out in the 3rd on Blachowicz, with a couple of singles followed by a full count walk to All Big Ten 3B Drew Smith. Blachowicz got to an 0-2 count on the batter who slapped a ball right at a shifted Rhett Stokes playing up the middle. He stepped on 2nd and fired a strike to first base for a massive double play. The crowd roared to life trying to get some momentum on their side.

Will Sanford took the mound for Oregon. He struck out 12 Huskers in 6 innings the first time they faced each other and got off to a similar start in Omaha. Two strikeouts each of the first 4 innings, and 10 retired in a row.

Oregon added one in the 4th, a solo shot from Maddox Maloney. That doubled their lead to 2-0. Maloney is 3rd in career home runs at Oregon and was All Big Ten a season ago, but had been struggling to find consistency this year.

Nebraska finally reached base on Sanford in the 4th. Sanford lost control of his fastball for a time, walking Jeter Worthley and Dylan Carey with 1 out. Case Sanderson, who carried the team last night, just got under one for a fly out to deep center. Then Sanford bounced back with a strikeout on Drew Grego, and grabbed all the momentum back in the Oregon dugout.

Blachowicz had been having a great night, battling the potent Oregon offense. He looked to be controlling the 5th, getting to 2 outs quickly, but a solo shot that barely cleared the right field wall put Oregon up 3-0. Blachowicz exited after the 5th, striking out 9, and allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, with only 1 walk. More than enough to keep Nebraska in the game.

The Huskers looked to have something working in the 6th. Jeter Worthley snuck one past the first baseman into no mans land and wound up on 2nd for a double. Then Dylan Carey smashed a ball 103 mph off the bat, but right at the Duck short stop who was shifted way towards third base. He caught the line drive and tossed the ball to the second baseman who with the shift was only a couple steps from the base, doubling off Worthley. Another strikeout looking on Sanderson ended the threat.

Oregon opened it up in the 7th. It looked like Nebraska might get out of the inning with no harm done, after a Cooper Katskee strikeout to lead off the inning. He hit a batter, but then induced a ground ball up the middle. Carey tossed to Stokes at second who bounced a ball to first that Sanderson couldn’t come up with. A walk was followed by a 2 run triple to the deepest part of the park. Katskee then threw a belt high fastball right over the middle of the plate, and that ball ended up in the Husker bullpen. 7-0 Oregon.

Oregon added another run in the 9th to bring us to the final score of 8-0.

For an offense that doesn’t strike out a lot, gets lead off batters on at a high rate, and is one of the best at batting with runners on, none of the Huskers’ weapons were working tonight. Nebraska struck out 12 times, got 2 of 9 leadoff runners on, and hit 1-9 with runners on base, hitting into 2 double plays. None of those are a recipe for success.

Oregon will face regular season champion UCLA for the Big Ten Tournament title on Sunday at 2pm CDT.

Nebraska should be firmly in place as a regional host, so waiting for the teams who are coming to Lincoln should be all that the Huskers are waiting on come the selection show on Monday at 11am CDT. Corn Nation will keep you posted and give you all the regional previews and recaps you need.

“Sell the team” chants have echoed across Angel Stadium this week, as Angels fans continue to be disgruntled by the state of the team.

On Saturday, Angels fans protested owner Arte Moreno before the game against the Rangers, imploring him to sell the team.

With an hour and a half before first pitch, fans made their way down State College and stopped at the main entrance of the stadium on Gene Autry Way. Roughly 100 people were part of the group, with more piling in as they entered the stadium.

The movement originated when lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez created a flyer on his Instagram account, “Angelsboycott,” at the beginning of the month.

Gonzalez said the purpose of the protest was to get fans to unite and voice their opinions about Moreno as they want him to sell the team.

When Gonzalez created the graphic that enticed fans to protest the team, it quickly went viral, gaining more than 800,000 views and 22,000 likes on social media.

View this post on Instagram

Gaining such quick traction on the internet, Gonzalez said he heard from 500 people who were planning to attend the protest and show their support.

While the numbers initially weren’t what he was told, he said this was what he was expecting and called it the first event.

“This is the first time something like this has happened in Angels fan history,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve reached a boiling point, and you can see it. I’m just happy all the fans are here to support each other, make a message, and stand up for what’s right.”

Gonzalez added that the goal of this protest is to either force him to sell the team or start investing money into the organization.

“We’re not gonna stop,” Gonzalez said. “We’re having too much fun across the street for the Anaheim Ducks, and we want the same energy over here.”

Before Saturday’s protest, Angels fans protested all week during home games by taking off their shirts and waving them around their heads. They chanted “sell the team” for the most part but Thursday’s game took a turn when fans yelled “f— you Arte.” 

However, their biggest in-game protest of the week cam Friday night when they filled multiple sections of the stadium with fans chanting sell the team, Arte sucks, and winning matters.

Gonzalez said that their was over 500 fans that were in attendance participating in the chants during Friday’s game.

Angels going “tarps off” and the army keeps growing and growing. Plenty just walking there to take pics. pic.twitter.com/K2wF33D3hZ

— Jared Sandler (@JaredSandler) May 23, 2026

When Moreno purchased the Angels in 2003 for $183.5 million, they were fresh off winning their first — and only — World Series in franchise history and were perennial winners, reaching the postseason six times over 11 years.

But in the second act of Moreno’s ownership, the Angels have failed to reach the playoffs over the last 11 years and have not had a winning record since 2015.

“He was handed a winning organization,” Angels season ticket holder Joseph Sterling said when asked about Moreno’s time as an owner. “They cared about their farm system. They had an excellent scouting team.”

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On top of losing, the Angels have also been in the public eye more often than they would like for all the wrong reasons.

On Dec. 9, 2025, the organization reached a settlement with former pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ family after he passed away from ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill given to him by ex-communications manager Eric Kay.

The Angels also are showing signs they will miss the playoffs again, entering Saturday night with MLB’s worst record at 18-34.

While the Angels haven’t won much recently, fans have continued to support the franchise. The Angels rank eighth in attendance, averaging 34,659, and have consistently stayed in the top 16 over the last six years. From 2015-2019, they were among the top five for attendance.

Kristin Galagher has been a fan since 1990 and has been going to games with her husband who’s been a fan since 1967. The two of them said they have seen the change of the Angels and are disappointed in what Moreno’s let it become.

“He doesn’t care about the fans, he doesn’t care about the club. He cares about his bottom line. He cares about calling himself a Major League Baseball owner,” Gallagher said. “But you know, how pathetic is it to completely change their operations to insulate Arte from exposure.”

It was a pretty rough game for the Guardians offense as they were held to just three hits. We have faced two of the best pitchers in the league in back to back games so we shouldn’t be too upset about coming out of that 1-1.

As for the pitching staff it was a solid outing for Slade Cecconi. Limiting the damage to 3 runs in 5 innings is all you can really ask for in a #5 starter, which I think is what he is at this point. Festa and Pallette both struggled with their control in this one as they combined for 5 walks in just two innings pitched. Shawn Armstrong also tossed a scoreless inning of relief.

The Guardians will attempt to win the series tomorrow. It will be Parker Messick against Andrew Painter at 1:35 pm ET.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers were following a familiar script on Saturday night, jumping all over the Dodgers starter for a crooked number in the first inning. The offense stagnated after that, but the Dodgers’ offense didn’t and scored 11 unanswered runs to win the game 11-3.

Milwaukee started the game with back-to-back doubles from Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang to very quickly grab the lead. Andrew Vaughn reached on an error that scored a run, Gary Sánchez walked, and then Sal Frelick singled, but Sánchez was thrown out heading to third to end the inning. An unforced mistake by Sánchez helped Roki Sasaki escape trouble, and after that, he buckled down.

The Brewers’ offense was only able to muster two hits after the first inning: A double by Jackson Chourio that just missed being a home run in the second inning and an infield single by Sánchez in the eighth.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ offense was able to get to Brewers starter Robert Gasser in the fourth inning as Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages had back-to-back doubles of their own. Kyle Tucker drew a walk, and it appeared Pages signaled the pitch grips that Gasser had to Teoscar Hernández from second base. Hernández promptly took an 0-2 slider deep to left field and off the foul pole for a three-run homer, propelling the Dodgers to a 4-3 lead.

“I think he got caught up and gave away some pitches that ended up hurting him. But you can’t give up 0-2 hits either way, you can’t throw 0-2 pitches down the middle,” Pat Murphy said.

The Brewers’ offense, despite being down just one run, could not muster a rally together. The Dodgers then continued to pile on with three more runs in the eighth inning and four in the ninth.

It wasn’t even a ton of hard contact and damage that the Dodgers did. The Brewers’ pitching staff gave up six walks in the final two innings alone, and five of them came around to score. They mixed in a couple of singles, taking advantage of the struggles of DL Hall and Jake Woodford.

The Dodgers had nine batters head to the plate in each of the final two innings. Mookie Betts made the last out each time and ended the day 0-for-6. His season batting average has dropped to .169. He did miss five weeks with an oblique strain earlier this year, but his struggles are still unusual for him. He was the only Dodger not to reach base in tonight’s game.

Robert Gasser finished with a line of 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, and 4 Ks. He was doing pretty well up until the fourth inning, facing just two over the minimum. Then he gave up some hard contact, gave up some walks, and couldn’t get through the fifth.

“I’m not pleased with it. This is a winning ball club, and I came in and was a part of two losses. It’s not ideal, just gotta minimize free passes and keep attacking the strike zone,” Gasser said.

The Brewers will still have a chance to win the series against the Dodgers on Sunday in the rubber match. Brandon Sproat will be on the mound for the Crew, while the Dodgers will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

MILWAUKEE –– The Dodgers have had no problem beating the Brewers in the playoffs in recent years.

The regular season, however, had been a different story.

Entering Saturday’s game at American Family Field, the Dodgers hadn’t recorded a regular-season victory over Milwaukee since Aug. 13, 2024.

Nine straight times since then, they had lost to their smaller-market –– and much less-well-funded –– fellow National League contenders, their longest active streak against any opponent.

Finally, that rut finally ended with an 11-3 win Saturday, on a night the Dodgers came from behind early, pulled away for a blowout triumph late, and saw their bullpen make some club history along the way.

“Just across the board,” manager Dave Roberts said, “really good ball game.”

Down three runs straight out of the gate after a 35-pitch first inning from Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers surged in front with a four-run rally in the fourth; keyed by doubles from Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages, then a go-ahead three-run blast from Teoscar Hernández clanged off the left-field foul pole.

“The Teo homer was a big hit to get us a lead, when we were looking a little bit down and got behind early,” Roberts said.

It would be the start of a six-RBI night from Hernández, who matched his MLB career-high with a run-scoring single in a three-run eighth and a two-run single in a four-run ninth.

“I’m just hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard,” said Hernández, who has busted out of an early-season slump by batting .388 over his last 14 games. “I think that’s what’s been the difference between the last two weeks.”

Overall, the Dodgers finished with 10 hits and a season-high 11 walks, including four from Freeman alone. It was their third time scoring double-digit runs in the last week.

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In between all that, the team watched Sasaki settle down to complete a five-inning outing without any further damage, then turned the lead over to their recently flawless bullpen the rest of the way.

With four more scoreless frames Saturday, the club’s relief corps has now gone 36 innings without giving up a run. That broke the franchise’s previous record-long bullpen streak, surpassing a 33-inning run from the club’s 1998 team.

It was also the 10th-straight game their bullpen went unblemished, a stretch that included a bullpen-game shutout against the Angels to start this nine-game road trip.

“They’re on a heater,” Roberts said. “It’s one of those things that, when it doesn’t go well, they get the blame, and when it does go well, they don’t get a lot of credit. But they are getting the credit now, and it’s earned. So really happy for those guys.”

What it means

Now that the Dodgers (32-20) have won a game against the Brewers (30-19), they can go for a series victory on Sunday. The club hasn’t had one of those against Milwaukee since July 2024, and hasn’t taken a series at American Family Field since May 2023.

Those stats, of course, ignore the Dodgers’ postseason dominance of the Brewers.

In October, they have won seven-straight games in the matchup, dating from last year’s NL Championship Series sweep to a pennant-clinching Game 7 triumph in the 2018 NLCS.

The win also marked the Dodgers’ eighth in their last 10 games, and improved their record on this three-city, nine-game road trip to 6-2.

“We’ve got a chance to cap it off with three series wins tomorrow,” Freeman said.

Either way, their (regular-season) curse against the Brewers has ended.

Who’s hot

Literally everyone in the Dodgers’ bullpen lately –– including Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernández on Saturday.

Vesia and Hurt entered the game in high-leverage spots, protecting what was only a 4-3 lead in the sixth and seventh innings. They both did so by stranding baserunners, with Vesia working around a leadoff walk and Hurt getting away with two free passes (one of which was intentional).

While Hurt’s 0.60 ERA is the best among the Dodgers’ bullpen (minimum three outings), Scott’s contributions have been perhaps the most important.

Since Edwin Díaz’s injury, he has become the most trusted arm at the back end of games. And after a scoreless seventh inning Saturday that included three strikeouts (with a single mixed in), he now has a 1.31 ERA on the season and 14 strikeouts in his current nine-appearance scoreless streak.

Who’s not

Max Muncy was still not feeling great Saturday, after exiting Friday’s game in the eighth inning when he was hit in the wrist by a pitch.

However, Roberts reiterated that he did not expect Muncy to go on the injured list, after Friday night X-rays on Muncy’s wrist came back negative.

Muncy did not play Saturday, and might not be back in the lineup until Tuesday as he works to alleviate swelling and soreness in the area he got plunked. While the X-rays were clean, Roberts said it is possible that Muncy could go for further imaging when the team returns home Monday.

The club won’t be in a rush to get Muncy back in the lineup, especially with Kiké Hernández set to come off the injured list Monday after missing the start of the season recovering from offseason elbow surgery.

“Obviously (an IL stint for Muncy) should be considered, depending on how he responds over the next couple of days,” Roberts said. “But I doubt it (will be necessary).”

Up next

The series rubber match will be on Sunday afternoon, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-4, 3.22 ERA) faces Brandon Sproat (1-2, 5.75 ERA).