Category: MLB

Having gone 2-2 in their first four games on the road, the Royals have a prime opportunity to take at least one of the next two and end their road trip 3-3. That record would be all anyone could have expected when the Royals headed west. However, if they win today, they’ll have guaranteed that record and given themselves a shot to actually gain some ground by completing a sweep of the Mariners tomorrow. Still, that all starts tonight.

Seth Lugo will take the mound tonight. Last time out, he had easily his worst start of the season; he allowed 6 runs in the first 2 innings. But he buckled down and got through 4.1 more innings and only allowed a lone additional run. That gave the Royals a chance to chip away at the Angels’ lead and eventually walk it off in the tenth. Today, he will probably need to pitch a bit better early on.

Lugo did face the Mariners last year and he put together one of his better performances of the season, striking out 7 and allowing 1 run on 8 baserunners over 6 innings to earn a victory and give the Royals a 4-game split in Seattle. A similar performance could be very meaningful for a Royals offense that appears to have found some of its mojo in the last couple of weeks.

That offense has a tall task ahead of it, facing Emerson Hancock. Hancock was a moderately well-regarded prospect before he debuted in 2023, but seems to have finally figured himself out in the early-going of this season at age 27 with a 2.86 ERA in 34.2 innings across 6 starts. You’ll not that averages out to fewer than 6 innings a start, however. And he has had trouble with the long ball this year; he’s already allowed 7 in this short season.

I was fascinated by this TJStats pitching summary. It seems that while he’s been very good at putting his four-seamer and sinker in the strike zone, all of his other pitches are often outside the zone, and only his four-seamer gets any whiffs – and even that is only high for its pitch type. The fastball isn’t even that fast by modern standards, averaging 95. So I went back to his FanGraphs summary, and I figured out what’s going on. He has stranded 95.4% of runners. The league average is usually in the mid-70s, and so far this year, it’s 71.9%. His 2.86 ERA is stellar, but his 4.61 FIP tells the story of a still-mediocre pitcher. The regression alarms could hardly be louder. That doesn’t mean he’ll implode on this start. But hey, we can hope!

Lineups

The Royals will use an identical batting order to last night’s for the first time since April 20 and 21 against the Orioles. They’re 1-0 using this one, so why not try it again? For those who are curious, the Royals have used 23 different lineups in their 33 games to start the year. Q really is trying to figure out the best way to deploy his 13 position players to their greatest effect.

The Mariners reorganize a bit with a righty on the mound. Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone will be in for Connor Joe and Mitch Garver. That means Lugo will only get two right-handers to do battle with, and it’s not like Julio Rodríguez or Randy Arozarena are exactly easy outs. Still, it’s his job to get the opponents out and he’ll need to if KC wants to win.

Logan Evans was the pitcher on the mound in the Ichiro number retirement game last year; this year it will be Emerson Hancock’s turn for the Randy Johnson number retirement game. For the Royals, their reigning organizational Pitcher of the Month, Seth Lugo, will take the mound. Unlike last night’s surprising slugfest, runs could be very thin on the ground today – a fitting tribute to the Big Unit.

Lineups:

5:22 PT: LINEUP CHANGE FOR THE MARINERS: Cal Raleigh is a late scratch. No reason has been given. Mitch Garver will instead do the catching, batting eighth. Cole Young moves up to bat fifth and Canzone moves up to sixth followed by Raley, Garver, and Rivas. If you comment in the game thread and say anything to the effect of “hey, since when does Cole Young bat fifth?” I am legally allowed to kick you in the shins.

“Another late-night game”? I fear I have been lied to about Midwestern Resiliency.

News:

Farewell, Josh Simpson, we hardly knew ye. No, really – apparently the Mariners only called up lefty Josh Simpson as a paper move to cover Matt Brash’s roster spot after moving him to the 15-day IL while they could get righty Nick Davila here from Arkansas. You can read more about Brash and Simpson here, and more about Nick Davila here, and more injury update news in general here.

Game information:

Randy Johnson number retirement ceremony begins: 6:30

Game time: 6:40

TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Dave Valle, with Angie Mentink as field reporter

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

There are very few hitters in the minor leagues more fearsome than Lazaro Montes right now.

The Mariners #6 ranked prospect, Montes posted one of the finest statlines of his young career in Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Wichita Wind Surge. Ending the game 3-5 with 3 homers and a walk, Montes batted home half of the 16 runs the Travs scored on the day and has been unconscious at the plate as of late.

His first homer of the game, a 118 mph laser over the right field wall, would be the second-hardest hit ball in the majors this season, trailing only Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz’s 119 mph mark he posted against the Nationals. It’s unreal power that you just can’t teach.

Oh my goodness. Lazaro Montes 3-run HR with an EV of 118mph. pic.twitter.com/TElMRuYUeV

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 2, 2026

Montes capitalized on a mistake pitch for his second of the day, taking a cement mixer of a slider and rocketing it just inside the foul pole.

Have a day Lazaro Montes! 2nd 3-run HR in back-to-back at-bats for Laz. pic.twitter.com/eD69gjSaIB

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 2, 2026

His third homer shows off just how silly his power is. A rather tame swing that looks like a surefire flyout continues to carry until it’s over the rightfield wall. Ridiculous pop.

It’s a 3 home run day for Lazaro Montes! 8 RBI. Easy power. pic.twitter.com/zslL3yMOCO

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 2, 2026

Montes entered this week’s series with a season OPS of .686, a number reflective of his slow start to the season offensively. As of writing, he’s raised that number up over 200 points in just five games and now sits at a season mark of .900. He’s tallied five homers, a triple, and four walks on the week, epitomizing the “TTO” approach at the plate that’s served him so well in the past. He may not make a ton of contact, but his disciplined eye is enough to help offset his high K% and the power plays more than enough in-game. There’s just not many people that can punish a mistake like Lazaro Montes, and though there’s still plenty of development left ahead of him, to see him performing so well after his rocky start to the year is an amazing sign for what’s to come.

Less than an hour before the Mariners were set to take the field for Randy Johnson number retirement night, the Mariners dropped a significant lineup change, removing starting catcher Cal Raleigh and inserting backup catcher. At the same time, the Tacoma Rainiers announced a roster change, scratching their starting catcher for Saturday, Jhonny Pereda.

This of course led to a good old-fashioned freakout until the next roster move dropped: INF Will Wilson to the IL with a fractured thumb. Wilson’s injury designation is backdated to April 30, meaning he’s been dealing with this since Thursday’s off-day.

Wilson has been providing backup at third base while Brendan Donovan has been on the IL, but Donovan is set to begin a rehab assignment this Tuesday with the Arkansas Travelers in preparation to meet the team in Chicago at the beginning of their next roadtrip. This does leave the Mariners shorthanded on the utility infielder side until Donovan is back, however, meaning a steady dose of Leo Rivas at third base unless the Mariners make another move after the game. If they did want to fill the infielder hole, the options are slim: Ryan Bliss is on the 40-man but limited to second base, where Cole Young has staked a claim; Brock Rodden has positional flexibility, but would require a 40-man move. The other option is bringing up Colt Emerson, but unless the Mariners view the situation as truly dire, it feels unlikely that they’d summon him just for a brief fill-in.

No news from the Mariners yet as to what the issue is with Raleigh; this story will be updated.

Mets lineup

Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C
Mark Vientos – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Andy Ibáñez – LF
Tyrone Taylor – CF
Austin Slater – RF
Ronny Mauricio – SS

Nolan McLean – RHP

Angels lineup

Zach Neto – SS
Mike Trout – CF
Nolan Schanuel – 1B
Jorge Soler – DH
Jo Adell – RF
Josh Lowe – LF
Vaughn Grissom – 2B
Oswald Peraza – 3B
Travis d’Arnaud – C

Reid Detmers – LHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 9:38 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

The sequence that most perfectly encapsulates today’s loss to the Astros began in the bottom of the third inning. Willson Contreras was at the plate with the bases loaded and just one out; Astros’ starter Spencer Arrighetti was teetering and had just walked the previous two men, and there was more lumber lurking on deck with Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu due up next. The Red Sox were down 1-0, but it very much felt like they were about to take control of the game.

I remember thinking to myself in this moment “Boy, after that three hit game last night, it feels like Roman Anthony’s really about to turn the corner. Now he’s gonna get a golden opportunity to build on that momentum against a struggling starter with either a chance to take the lead or put the Sox ahead by even more if Contreras comes through.”

Instead, by the time Anthony came to the plate, the Sox were down 5-0 in the bottom of the next inning.

The deadly combination of events came as follows:

First, Willson Contreras hit into this brutally costly double play to ruin the third inning threat:

Then Brice Matthews hit this three run bomb off Connelly Early in the top of the fourth:

That wasn’t quite the ballgame, but it sure felt like it. The Red Sox are now 0-17 when they fall behind by at least two runs at any point in the game, and this lineup proves itself relentlessly incapable of changing that stat on a near daily basis.

Today was actually a perfect example of why that’s the case. There were plenty of other chances for the Red Sox to get back in the thing and mount a comeback, but time and time again they lacked the big hit when they really needed it. They had opportunities littered throughout the middle innings to the tune of eight hits and seven walks, but not a single one of those hits went for extra bases, and the team went just 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position (zero of which came when the deficit was within three runs).

The Astros meanwhile had three extra base hits in just the fourth inning alone (the biggest frame of the game for either team), and that really was the difference in this tussle. The Astros lineup leads the American League in batting average, RBI, OPS, and wRC+. It doesn’t matter if your measuring stick is a metric old or new, their bats are good! The reason they have an even worse record than the Red Sox overall though is because their pitching staff has fallen apart like a piece of single-ply toilet paper.

And along those lines, I can’t underscore enough how much this Astros pitching staff sucks and how much the Red Sox offense sucks even more. In the five games Houston has played against Boston this year, they’ve held the Sox to four runs or less every single time. But in the other 29 games, the Astros opponents have scored five or more runs 22 times. Ironing that out to a bird’s eye view, the Red Sox have averaged 2.60 runs per game in their five slates against the 2026Astros, and everybody else has averaged 6.45 runs per game in the other 29 contests.

This lineup is beyond disgraceful!

Three Studs

Roman Anthony: After three hits last night, Roman Anthony was on base three more times today with a hit and two walks. Also, the hit was a liner the other way into the left field corner, so it was nice to see Anthony smack a free strike teams have been getting against him on the outer third of the plate.

Wilyer Abreu: On base four times with two hits and two walks, and the only Red Sox player with a multi hit game.

The bullpen: Ryan Watson and Tyler Samaniego probably wouldn’t tell you it was their best day on the mound, but together them combined for five innings of one run baseball that base kept the team in today’s game and saved all the high leverage relievers for a potential series win tomorrow.

Three Duds

Willson Contreras: That third inning double play was the backbreaker that set the table for the rest of the game. If he gets a hit or a walk in that spot, the Red Sox probably win as Arrighetti walked both the two batters before this and the two batters after.

Trevor Story: Hit into a costly double play in the second inning and then had a costly strikeout with nobody out in the fourth after the first two batters walked.

Connelly Early: The was the worst outing of Connelly Early’s career so far. Four runs allowed in four innings and gave up plenty of hard contact.

Play of the game:

One of the many frustrating things about this Red Sox season in a long line of frustrating things is how high the overall percentage of great defensive plays made in center field have been by their opponents. The Red Sox are supposed to have a huge advantage here with Ceddanne Rafaela patrolling that part of the diamond, and for whatever reason he’s off to a slow start with the glove while just about every opponent coming into Fenway Park has made themselves right at home in one of the more difficult centerfields in all of baseball.

Anyways, it happened again today with Brice Matthews:

Winning is fun! The Chicago White Sox are on a four-game winning streak and have won three of their last four series. The Good Guys look to extend both streaks tonight, to five and four.

After notching his first career road win on April 22 in Arizona, Sean Burke takes the bump tonight and looks to snag his second. He’s been avoiding walks and missing barrels, which will be crucial against one of the best teams in baseball.

The ace for the San Diego Padres, Michael King, plans to put an end to Chicago’s offensive explosion. Where Burke excels with the fastball, King gets his job done with his breaking and off-speed pitches. Hopefully, he’ll hang a few tonight!

Here’s how the Sox are going to line up against King, with a few changes from last night:

Jarred Kelenic makes his first White Sox start, and Edgar Quero will take over tonight’s backstop duty.

The Padres are shaking it up a bit compared to last night:

Gavin Sheets (old friend alert), Jackson Merrill, Luis Campusano and Jake Cronenworth find themselves in the starting nine.

Luckily, starting an hour earlier today, you can catch the White Sox at 7:40 p.m. CT on CHSN for your viewing pleasure and WMVP-AM 1000 for your listening pleasure.

The Cincinnati Reds pitching staff accomplished something Saturday that hadn’t been done in more than 40 years.

Two Reds pitchers walked seven consecutive Pittsburgh Pirates hitters in the second inning of a May 2 game at PNC Park, tying an MLB record and turning what was already a rough afternoon into a historically bad day.  

Starter Rhett Lowder and reliever Connor Phillips combined to walk seven consecutive Pirates with one out in the second inning. That included issuing the final four walks with the bases loaded. Between them, they threw 42 pitches and only 11 for strikes, according to MLB.com.  

Lowder struck out leadoff hitter Oneil Cruz and then it went off the rails from there.

Lowder issued the first three walks before being pulled for Phillips. He came in with the bases loaded and walked four in a row, each one forcing in a run. Reliever Sam Moll finally stopped the bleeding. Entering the game with the bases loaded, he got both catcher Henry Davis and Cruz, batting for the second time that inning, to ground out.  

After that inning, the Pirates led 10-3.

The MLB record for consecutive walks had last been set on May 25, 1983, when the Pirates walked seven consecutive Atlanta Braves batters. One of the pitchers that day happened to be named Bob Walk. On April 27, 1994, the Seattle Mariners walked six in a row, hit a batter and then walked the next batter in a 12-2 loss to the Yankees.  

The Reds entered play Saturday having walked 11.6% of batters they faced this season, which was the fifth highest in baseball. Saturday, they showed just how much they struggle with the strike zone.  

Lowder, 24, came in 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA, which ballooned to 5.09 after that inning. Phillips had been one of the more reliable arms in Cincinnati's bullpen before Saturday’s outing. He had walked just 15 in 17 appearances before Saturday.  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Reds pitchers tie MLB record for consecutive walks

As a fan of this team, all of the losing at home is getting old. The Nats have been playing a fun and aggressive brand of baseball on the road. However, they have treated their fans to some flat and sloppy baseball. Today was a perfect example of that. This game was there for the taking, but the Nats did not grab it.

They went 1/11 with runners in scoring position and only scored one run despite constantly getting the leadoff man on. It was not a blowout, but I think this was one of the Nats worst overall performances of the season. The pitching kept them in the game, but the bats went quiet and the gloves were mistake prone.

Final — Nationals lose 4-1 to the Brewers and drop to 3-12 at home.

The offense was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Left-hander Foster Griffin allowed three runs (0 earned) on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Nationals are now 15-19.

— Kyle W (@K_Williamsmedia) May 2, 2026

It turned out that this game was decided in the first inning. After Foster Griffin got two quick outs, he ran into trouble, giving up one hit and two walks. However, with the bases loaded, he got a ground ball that should have ended the inning. Instead, an indecisive Brady House booted the ball, allowing a run to score and everyone to advance a base. Then Brandon Lockridge drove a single through the hole to score two more runners.

The game was now 3-0, but none of the runs were earned. It has been a really rough start to the season on the defensive side of the ball for Brady House. He looked rock solid last year, but now already has six errors in 2026. Coming into this game, House had posted -2 outs above average, a number that is likely to drop even further. It has been an all around regression on that side of the ball for the 22 year old.

Brady House's defense at third base this season has been flat out bad

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) May 2, 2026

It is still early, but you have to wonder if House’s job could be in jeopardy. Yohandy Morales has been hitting the cover off the ball in AAA and is deserving of an opportunity before too long. Between his poor defense and his issues with fastballs, House might need a re-set if this continues for much longer.

Outside of their 14 run outburst against the Mets, this offense has really cooled off. That was likely to be inevitable given the talent on the roster. It is still a bummer though. The lack of clutch hitting has been very frustrating lately. 

One bright spot for today and the season as a whole is Foster Griffin. While Griffin did not have his best stuff or command, he was able to grind through six innings, and did not allow any earned runs. Griffin did not allow any runs at all after that unfortunate first inning.

Griffin only got two whiffs today, both on curveballs. However, he did a good job keeping the ball off the barrel. There was not a lot of loud contact given up by Griffin after that first inning. He was uncharacteristically wild, walking four batters, but that is an outlier for the normally precise Griffin.

Foster Griffin, Nasty Curveballs. 😨 pic.twitter.com/xuwI2fqYTO

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 2, 2026

Foster Griffin pitched well enough to get a win, but instead, he tasted defeat for the first time as a National. The disparity between how the Nats play at home compared to how they compete on the road is truly jarring. You would think a team would come out with more juice and energy in front of their home fans, but it has been the opposite for the Nats.

Tomorrow is going to be a really big game for them. They desperately need Zack Littell to step up and be the guy Paul Toboni signed him to be. He had a solid start against the Brewers the last time he pitched against them, so hopefully that can give him some confidence. 

Today was yet another disappointing day at the yard for Nats fans. They will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow and avoid falling 10 games under .500 at home. This Nats team has shown some real positive signs, but the home losing is becoming a dark cloud for this group.

Let’s beat the Rockies again tonight, but maybe don’t go down 5-0 in the first inning this time. Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below!

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 2, 8:10 p.m. EDT

Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv (and Braves.tv if you’re in-market, etc.)

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

We ought to have a boilerplate template for 2026 Twins recaps, because it feels like every time the Twins lose this season, it’s for exactly the same reasons as I am about to describe. Another encouraging start from a young arm was emphatically erased by possibly the most predictably incompetent bullpen you’ve ever seen in your life, rendering any offensive contributions almost entirely meaningless. Sound familiar? Well, these were the same beats that played out in Saturday afternoon’s 11-4 Blue Jays victory, the 20th loss of Minnesota’s season, and another defeat that transpired for reasons that anyone could have seen coming.

In his third major-league start, Connor Prielipp went another five innings and only allowed three hits, although two were homers (Lenyn Sosa and Myles Straw, both in the second inning.) The Jays generated five hard-hit balls off the young lefty, who walked two and only struck out four in a 91-pitch outing, which is the longest of his professional career.

When he left, Minnesota even had a 4-2 lead. Byron Buxton had started the game with a leadoff bomb to right, his 10th homer of the year, and latest offensive outburst in a scorching-hot stretch that has raised his OPS back up to .857. The Twins added two more in the second, with a pair of runners scoring on a Brooks Lee single + Vladdy Jr. throwing error. Add on an RBI single from Trevor Larnach in the fifth, and Minnesota had pole position going into the later innings.

This has happened before, and it will happen again, and the usual suspects will be involved.

Toronto got one back as soon as the doors to Derek’s Magical Arm Barn opened; the homer-happy Kazuma Okamoto tagged Justin Topa for his 8th of the year with one out in the sixth. Okay, 4-3, you say. Not bad.

Bad!

BAD!!!

It could have been 10-3. It could have been 10-3, brother. And the Twins would have lost this game anyway.

That’s because the wheels came off completely in a marathon 8-run 8th inning for the third-place Jays. It’s an inning that behests bullet-pointing brather than a bregular baragraph. Let’s take a look at the highlights real quick before we get you the heck out of here.

• Eighth inning begins. Luis Garcia enters. (Why?!)
• Ernie Clement singles
• Vladdy Jr. walks
• Okamoto ties the game with a shot back up the middle off Luke Keaschall. 4-4.
• Lenyn Sosa drops an infield single into the mix and scores Vladdy from third. 5-4.
• Anthony Banda comes in. At least we tried, Luis!
• Daulton Varsho reaches and everybody’s safe on a fielder’s choice attempt that ends in an Anthony Banda error.
• Myles Straw walks and everybody moves up. 6-4 Jays.
• Davis Schneider smacks a two-run double to left. 8-4 Jays. Two runners still in scoring position.
• Brandon Valenzuela ropes a three-run homer to center. 11-4 Jays, although at this point, it would be reasonable to assume that nobody is keeping score anymore.
• Three quick outs are then recorded. Presumably the Jays got bored.

It may not surprise you to learn that the Twins did not reach base for the rest of the game.

The team is ass.

STUDS:

RP John Klein (IP, 0 R in his major-league debut. For this bullpen, stud-worthy.)

LF Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, RBI, 2B)

DUDS:

DH Josh Bell (0-for-4, K)

RF Matt Wallner (0-for-4, K)

RP Justin Topa (0.2 IP, H, ER, K, HR)

RP Luis Garcia (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB)

RP Anthony Banda (IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, HR)

The Colorado Rockies had a prime opportunity to steal the series opener at home against the Atlanta Braves. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead but then, they saw the opportunity walk away. Literally.

Crucial walks in the eighth and ninth innings put the Rox in danger and ultimately behind in a game where they cranked their win probability up to 96.0% at one point. Alas, leads can be fleeting at Coors, especially when a team doesn’t score again after the second inning.

The Rockies managed a 13-15 record in April, avoiding sustained losing streaks outside of a six-game skid. To get May off on the right foot, they’ll try to nip the losses in the bud and take at least one of the next two against Atlanta.

Unfortunately, on Fourth Wing Night at Coors Field on Saturday, the Rockies hitters encounter a challenge tougher than crossing the parapet: facing Chris Sale. Sale has been stellar this year (5-1 in six games started, 2.31 ERA). He’s been incredibly efficient in so many metrics, boasting a sub-1.00 WHIP so far — currently holding at 0.914 — along with 38 strikeouts and just nine walks.

Outside of a bumpy outlier game in which he gave up six runs on two dingers to the Los Angeles Angels in early April, Sale has been the epitome of consistency. In the other five games, he’s given up either just one run or none at all. For the cherry on top, he’s sitting on a .185 batting average against. Father Time has not slowed the 16-year veteran down at all, as he continues to be just incredibly stingy. That’s historically carried through against the Rockies, where Sale is 1-1 with a 1.48 ERA across five games, including 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA at Coors.

The Rockies will try and counter with a steady presence of their own. Despite Chase Dollander getting his first start in his last outing against the New York Mets, the Rockies will go back to their opener + Dollander approach, with Brennan Bernardino kicking things off tonight. The last time Colorado looked to use Bernardino and Dollander as a dynamic duo (April 4th against the Philadelphia Phillies), it turned into a trio. Bernardino gave up a walk followed by an early run, forcing an appearance from Jimmy Herget to better set up Dollander to enter in the third.

Across the year, Bernardino is 2-0 in 14 games with the one start and a 0.71 ERA over 12.2 IP. He’s looked sharp and will try to move quickly through a hot top of the order for the Braves.

While it looked like Dollander moved closer to securing a full-time starter role like many hoped, his lone start might have been forced by the doubleheader, as he slots back into his bulk relief role today. For his part, Dollander is 3-2 through seven games, posting a 2.25 ERA over 32.0 IP. Atlanta will be one of his toughest tests so far as he continues to make his case for a spot in the rotation.

The Rockies found a spark and got the bats going early yesterday. Their six runs gave them a chance. That many may be harder to come by given the matchup, but they’ll look to hang around in what should be an intriguing pitching matchup on both sides.

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Braves SB Nation Site:Battery Power

Lineups:

Saturday Sale ⛵️#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/r134FvJNS7

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 2, 2026

How our cadets are lining up tonight 🐉 pic.twitter.com/DAivMxpQUm

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 2, 2026

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

Detroit Tigers (16-17) vs. Texas Rangers (16-16)

Time/Place: 7:15 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Lone Star Ball
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (1-2, 4.00 ERA) vs. RHP Kumar Rocker (1-2, 3.38 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Montero	5	27.0	21.5	4.7	34.6	2.93	0.8
Rocker	5	26.2	19.1	8.7	56.1	3.68	0.5

One of the keys to winning baseball games is hitting the ball. While it is possible to achieve victory without recording a base hit, history has shown that getting multiple hits in a ball game is far more conducive to winning. In their game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday, the Phillies did not get multiple hits. They only got one. One lousy hit. And that hit was promptly erased by a double play!

The hitless afternoon resulted in a 4-0 loss that put an end to the team’s four-game winning streak and was Don Mattingly’s first loss as Phillies manager.

On the other side of the ball, Andrew Painter got the start for the Phillies, and he gave up several hits. In fact, in the second inning, Painter gave up three times as many hits as Phillies batters did all game. But he was somehow able to keep any of those runners from scoring.

In the top of the third, left fielder (!) Garrett Stubbs recorded the Phillies’ only base knock, only to be doubled up by a ground ball double play off the bat of Felix Reyes. (As you read these names, it starts to become clearer exactly why the Phillies struggled on offense.)

Painter again gave up three hits in the third inning, and this time, due to the fact that he also walked two batters with the bases loaded, the Phillies fell into a 2-0 hole.

Painter settled down a bit, but the Marlins extended their lead to 3-0 courtesy of a Xavier Edwards home run in the fifth.

Xavier Edwards – Miami Marlins (2) pic.twitter.com/Kii8yyoLEz

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 2, 2026

The Marlins concluded their scoring in the sixth when a double, ground out, and infield single against Tanner Banks made the score 4-0.

This was far too much for the Phillies to overcome. Marlins starter Max Meyer struck out seven in his career-high seven innings and walked only one batter. Things didn’t improve after he left the game, as the Phillies went down in order in both the eighth and the ninth.

While the Phillies could be excused because they were missing a couple of starters, it should be noted that their stars didn’t exactly have great games either. Kyle Schwarber struck out three times, putting him at 0-8 with eight strikeouts in the series.

They’ll be back at it on Sunday afternoon. The Marlins will start righthander Chris Paddack who enters the game with a 6.11 ERA. I’m hoping the Phillies will do a little better against him, because let’s face it, they couldn’t do much worse.

The Dodgers look to snap their three-game losing streak against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Roki Sasaki faces Michael McGreevy.

Today's #Dodgers lineup at Cardinals: pic.twitter.com/bFqzxstHCc

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 2, 2026

SATURDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cardinals
• Stadium: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
• Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
• TV: FOX
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)