Category: MLB

For a while, in the early part of this game, it looked like the Red Sox were on their way to a satisfying victory. Ranger Suarez got through the first inning on eight pitches and held Atlanta scoreless into the fifth, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela led things off with back to back home runs, and all the high leverage relievers were ready and rested following an off day. Unfortunately, it didn’t materialize.

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For a while, in the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Red Sox were on the verge of piecing together their most impressive comeback of the season. They were facing Raisel Iglesias — one of the best closers in the game — down by three, and had the bottom of the lineup due up. But five batters into the inning, four men had reached, the tying run was at second, the potential winning run was at first with speed in Jarren Duran, and the heart of the order was coming up. Again, it didn’t materialize.

And that kind of sums up the 2026 Red Sox, doesn’t it? The ingredients are always in the kitchen, and the meal is never made.

We could pinpoint an extraordinary number of moments from the middle of this game where it all fell apart, particularly if you want chronicle Ranger Suarez slowly melting away, but offensively, it’s hard to find a more costly at bat than Mickey Gasper’s double play in the sixth inning. Atlanta was struggling to bridge the gap to their better relievers and looked frustrated they had to leave Didier Fuentes in to face a third hitter, but somehow, they still got the best result they could have hoped for in their most problematic inning on paper.

But regardless of where you want to point the telescope, the night night sky was filled with an array of Red Sox shortcomings. There were approximately 874 different things the Red Sox could have done slightly differently in this game, and if they had done any of them, they probably would have won. Alas, things didn’t materialize.

Here’s a few other fun facts about where the Red Sox stand after this game:

• They’re nine games under .500 for the first time since 2022
• They hit three home runs at Fenway Park for the first time all year, and still lost.
• They’re 0-4 on the homestand and 8-18 at Fenway Park this season.
• They’re still winless when they fall behind by at least three runs.

Alas, things are not materializing.

Three Studs

Jarren Duran: For leading off the bottom of the first inning with a home run:

Ceddanne Rafaela: For immediately following that up with another home run:

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: For a home run of his own in the bottom of the seventh and a single up the middle to help make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth.

He also had this quote after the game:

“We’re honestly just lucky to be in the American League”

You can say that again!

Three Duds

Ranger Suarez: Five runs in five plus innings just isn’t good enough, especially after being handed a two run lead early.

Mickey Gasper: It was a questionable night behind the plate, and that double play was a complete backbreaker.

Wilyer Abreu: Not only did he go 0-4 on the night, but he also made the final out and killed what could have been the most fun rally of the entire season. If you’re going to be one of the biggest sticks in the lineup, you eventually need to start cashing some of these big moments in.

Play of the game:

You could pick a half dozen items here and not be wrong, but for me, it’s the Gasper double play. (A base hit here and there’s a decent chance the Sox put up a number large enough to get the high leverage relievers in the game.)

Anyway, leave it to the 2026 Red Sox to make the play of the game a moment where they score a run, and it still simultaneously crushes their chances to win.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers have hit the fewest number of homers in the major leagues this season, coming into the night with just 35 long balls. It’s been a tough year for Bernie Brewer, not being able to go down his slide as often as he’d like. But on Tuesday night, he was able to make use of his slide a couple of times in the Crew’s 6-0 win over the Cardinals.

Jake Bauers got the scoring started for the Brewers with a solo shot in the fourth inning on an 0-1 cutter that leaked too far out over the plate. It was Bauers’ eighth home run of the season, which leads the team. He’s now surpassed his home run total from last year.

Then the Brewers really busted the game open in the fifth inning. It started with a leadoff double from Christian Yelich, which was followed by walks from Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang. That loaded the bases for William Contreras, who ripped a double to the opposite field on the first pitch he saw, bringing home two runs. That was all for Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy as Oli Marmol went to his bullpen.

For some reason, with both a lefty and a righty warming, and four of the next five batters being true lefties, Marmol opted for the right-hander Ryan Fernandez. Fernandez hung a slider to Garrett Mitchell, who sent the ball 421 feet to dead center to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead and sent Bernie Brewer down the slide again. It was the first time the Brewers had multiple homers in a home game since April 30 against the Diamondbacks.

Garrett Mitchell with a 421 ft 3-run shot 💥 pic.twitter.com/npCwLSMfiO

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 27, 2026

Meanwhile, on the mound, Kyle Harrison was twirling a gem once again. He carved through the Cardinals’ lineup with ease, allowing just two baserunners to reach scoring position all night and not a single runner to reach third base. Harrison had just two strikeouts on the night, well below where he was in his last start when he had 11 punchouts.

Harrison extended his scoreless innings streak to 18 IP, covering his last three starts. In those 18 IP, Harrison has allowed just 11 total hits, only one walk, and has 20 strikeouts.

After 92 pitches from Harrison, Pat Murphy went to his bullpen. Grant Anderson posted a 1-2-3 seventh with the help of a 4-6-3 double play. Then Abner Uribe had a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning and added a new emote to his end-of-inning celebration, the DX chop. Directed at the Cardinals’ dugout.

Abner Uribe's K Celly. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/UVWmgEXxQS

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 27, 2026

Pat Murphy strongly condemned Uribe’s celebration, saying, “That’s unacceptable. I don’t know what got over him. I mean, he’s been an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things. And I was embarrassed by it.”

Uribe offered a different story, saying via translator Daniel de Mondesert, “I understand that that’s unacceptable to go out there and react in a way like that, but at the same time I don’t think it’s professional for their manager to be making signs toward our dugout that he’s going to be hitting guys,” Uribe said. “There was an event that occurred during the practice today, too, and I don’t think that was right, and I have my teammates’ backs, always.”

Uribe declined to comment on what the pre-game incident actually was. He apologized to his Brewers teammates, coaches, and all the higher-ups, but declined to apologize to the Cardinals.

After that, it was on to Trevor Megill back in a ninth-inning role, even though this was not a save situation. Megill slammed the door, kept the shutout intact, and gave the Brewers the series win.

While the rivalry between the Brewers and Cubs has been the hottest the last couple of years, the rivalry with the Cardinals sure seems to be alive and well. The Brewers have a chance for a sweep on Wednesday. First pitch in that one is slated for 1:10 p.m., with Dustin May starting for St. Louis and the Brewers not yet announcing a starter.

The Yankees smashed six home runs and Cam Schlittler was strong through six innings in their 15-1 win over the Royals in Kansas City on Tuesday night.

It's the Yankees' third win in a row and 13th straight victory over the Royals, including the postseason. New York's 24 hits are a season high, with every starter getting at least two base knocks, the first time in franchise history that has occurred. It's the most hits the Yankees had in a single game since 2011. 

Here are the takeaways....

-Going up against an opener, the Yankees made the Royals pay. Cody Bellinger opened up the scoring again with his eighth homer of the season, launching a two-out solo shot in the first on a slider over the heart of the plate from Bailey Falter.

After a Paul Goldschmidt double, Ben Rice hit a sharp liner toward Jac Caglianone in right field, who could not maintain control of the ball. It was initially called an out, but Aaron Boone challenged and it was overturned, allowing Goldschmidt to score. 

Amed Rosario made the Royals pay with a two-run bomb that went 420 feet into the fountain in left center field to put the Yankees up 4-0.

-Anthony Volpe launched his first homer of the season in the second, a 409-foot blast that went 103 mph to straightaway center. It's his first regular season homer since Aug. 29 of last year. Volpe finished 3-for-6 with two RBI. 

-The Yankees would pour on four more runs in the third thanks to RBI from Volpe, Trent Grisham and Bellinger. Aaron Judge's double in the fifth pushed the Yankees' lead to 10-1. Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. added solo homers in the seventh and eighth, respectively. 

Rosario would launch his second homer of the game in the ninth off shortstop Tyler Tobert to put the Yankees up 15-1. 

-The offensive onslaught was more than enough for Schlittler. The young right-hander tossed just 77 pitches but got through six innings, allowing just one hit on four hits. His one mistake was a Bobby Witt Jr. homer back in the third inning. 

Schlittler struck out six batters and has now gone at least 6.0 innings in his last four starts (2-1). 

Ryan Yarbrough mopped up the rest of the innings, pitching three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and one walk. 

Game MVP: Amed Rosario

Rosario's two-run bomb in the first inning made the Royals pay and gave the Yankees the breathing room for Schlittler to do his thing.

Highlights

Cody Bellinger hits a home run to get things started early for the Yankees! pic.twitter.com/NViy3J8T1g

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) May 26, 2026

Amed Rosario hits a 2-run homer! pic.twitter.com/NNRklHQqvZ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) May 26, 2026

Anthony Volpe hits his first home run of the season!pic.twitter.com/KPgOeLzg7l

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) May 27, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Royals wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m.

Gerrit Cole will make his second start this season and go up against Noah Cameron (2-3, 4.72 ERA).

One of my pet theorems about the Kansas City Royals franchise and their fans is that nobody really knows what winning looks like, what good players look like. It’s a point of view naturally warped by decades of mediocrity punctuated by brief seasons of excitement. Tonight, the New York Yankees crushed the Royals 15-1 and notched a hilarious 24 hits in a farce of a game that was never close.

There’s not much of a story to this one, really. The Royals, down a couple of starting pitchers and bereft of any legitimate arms in the upper minors to help, made this a bullpen game. One week ago, I sat in the press box and wrote about a game wrecked by Bailey Falter and The Bullpen Dudes. Tonight, I type this sitting in the press box and am writing about a game being wrecked by Bailey Falter and The Bullpen Dudes once again.

Falter’s first inning was one of the worst innings I think I’ve ever seen. No, he didn’t give up nine runs in a frame like Edinson Volquez did in 2016 or 10 runs like Vin Mazarro’s fourth inning disaster in 2011, but it was frankly a miracle he didn’t give up more. And that’s because, well, just look at this:

Seven batted balls. An average—average!!!—exit velocity of 104 MPH. Not a single ball had an expected batting average of less than .460, and that one was the home run. Just an absolute embarrassment. Four runs scored.

Now, to be somewhat fair to Falter, he should have been out of it with just Cody Bellinger’s solo home run on the board. Two batters later, Ben Rice hit a sinking line drive to right field. Jac Caglianone had a bead on it but jogged it down instead of ran it down, barely catching the ball with his glove touching the ground.

But the Yankees challenged. They thought the ball touched the ground in the course of the catch, and the MLB replay officials agreed. That ended up scoring Paul Goldschmidt and led to two more runs.

Ben Rice lines out Caglianone and was called out. Yankees challenged the catch and it was overturned making it 2-0 Yanks pic.twitter.com/s984GjA3fP

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 26, 2026

Falter managed to squeeze through the second inning with only one additional run given up, but the Yankees tagged him (and reliever Luinder Avila) for another four runs in the third. Just look at this beautiful pitching from Falter:

Candidate for one of the worst pitches of all time pic.twitter.com/ngxDs2mnQV

— MahomesToKelce (@kcmojimmy) May 27, 2026

The Yankees ended up with a whopping 11 batted balls off Falter at more than 100 MPH, tagging Avila with two more. Stephen Cruz later gave up a 103.9 MPH home run from Trent Grisham. Eli Morgan gave a 107.3 MPH homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. It was a bloodbath.

The Royals bats were, as you might expect, silent. Kansas City didn’t get shut out thanks to a laser beam opposite-field homer from Bobby Witt Jr., in a sort of “Chris Paul hits a huge 3 to cut the lead to 42” sort of way. It was his second consecutive day with a home run. His wRC+ is up to 135. That’s nice.

Bobby homers on his 2nd consecutive day for his 9th of the season. pic.twitter.com/yQt2XpD08E

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) May 27, 2026

The rest of the game happened, but it was over in the first inning, unfortunately. Despite the conditions, the sizable crowd remained jovial throughout. I’m sure that was because of the significant count of Yankees fans; during the “root, root root for the TEAM NAME” section of the seventh-inning stretch, the volume of the words “Yankees” and “Royals” was identical.

But this goes back, I think, to my initial statement a few hundred words ago. Royals fans are so used to losing that they didn’t seem particularly phased by the drubbing. Despite getting totally pantsed by a team that most Royals fans despise, the only notable boos were reserved for Jazz Chisholm (warranted) and varying calls by the officiating crew (maybe warranted, depending on your opinion of the Cags drop call). Now, it was indeed a lovely night at the ballpark with absolutely perfect weather, and Lord knows there are enough angry Royals fans on the internet to make up for the chill vibes at Kauffman tonight. And yet I simply can’t imagine Yankees fans in the Bronx suffering a game like this without being ticked about it, and I can’t imagine St. Louis Cardinals fans just sitting around if the Cubs were dominating at Busch Stadium.

At one point there was this, I guess? It was a Vinnie bobblehead night.

This will haunt me pic.twitter.com/Uea3hNRWGx

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) May 27, 2026

Anyway, it’s easy to chalk a game like this up to a pitching mismatch—Yankees starter Cam Schlittler has been the best pitcher in the American league, after all—and to just shake a game like this off. Some of tonight’s result was because the Royals put in Tyler Tolbert in to pitch the ninth inning, so like, ok. But the truth of the matter is that this is simply the result of a talent difference. The Yankees are a good team. The Royals are not.

The Royals are 22-33. They are not coming back from this.

The Texas Rangers scored ten runs while the Houston Astros scored seven runs.

Tonight’s starter for Houston Jason Alexander must feel like the biggest chump alive. After the Rangers nearly experienced a perfect game against them in Anaheim two games ago, and then saw these Astros toss a no-hitter against them last night, Alexander had to have been eager for the chance to face Texas.

If you were wondering if maybe the Rangers felt a little embarrassed by want transpired last night, I think the first inning tonight provided a decent answer. Alexander got an out to start the game and then ten more Rangers stepped up to the plate before he got the third out of the inning.

Before the final out of that fateful first frame the Rangers had collected five hits and scored eight runs. It was the most runs scored in the first inning at home in The Shed’s history, the most for Texas since 2004, the first time they’d scored eight or more in a first inning at all since 2012, and the most runs scored in the first inning following a no-hitter since 1905.

Brandon Nimmo’s one-out single was Texas’ first hit of the series and before the first inning had concluded, the lineup had combined to hit for the cycle with an Ezequiel Duran double, Evan Carter triple, and a two-out Joc Pederson three-run dinger to act as the exclamation mark in Pederson’s second at-bat of the inning.

We will ignore the fact that the Rangers only got one baserunner after the first inning until a ninth inning insurance run and that the Astros scored seven of the game’s final nine runs. Instead, we will celebrate the fact that for tonight, the first inning didn’t kill the Rangers and now they have a shot at a series win taking a lead in this series tomorrow night.

Player of the Game: After last night’s no show, only three Rangers regulars didn’t have a hit tonight with only two of them failing to reach base. However, it was Carter who produced a team-high three hits as he finished a double shy of the cycle following his sixth home run of the year.

Up Next: The Rangers and Astros close out this play the third game in this series with RHP Jacob deGrom on the mound for Texas opposite RHP Mike Burrows for Houston.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Los Angeles Dodgers organization might be down one of its most intriguing prospects, and in one of the most bizarre fashions you'll ever see.

Outfielder Kendall George, one of the fastest players in the minor leagues and one who has drawn comparisons to Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays, suffered a knee injury with Double-A Tulsa while trying to avoid the team's bat dog on May 25, according to a report by The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Jesús Cano.

Per the article, George underwent imaging on May 26 and though the team is currently awaiting the official results, initial testing reportedly didn't bring optimism.

George scored from second on a Josue De Paula single in the second inning of the Drillers' 14-8 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, but had to jump out of the way as he returned to the dugout to avoid the bat dog, which came out to retrieve De Paula's bat. George landed on his left foot, but a replay showed him immediately jump back up after his right foot landed. He was visibly upset after and slammed his helmet to the ground in frustration as he limped the rest of the way to the dugout.

He also appeared to be limping and was removed from the game after he tried to avoid a collision with the bat dog, which seems important. https://t.co/5DH1BemaFgpic.twitter.com/CzS5GVaqA6

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 26, 2026

Dodgers prospect Kendall George got hurt trying to avoid the bat dog. pic.twitter.com/4fS53NBRRB

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 27, 2026

George, the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America and 13th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, was having a stellar start to the season at Double-A, hitting .333 with an .841 OPS through 43 games.

Though lacking power with just four home runs in his four years in the pros, George excels at making groundball contact and reaching base with his blazing 80-grade speed that helped him swipe 100 bases with High-A Great Lakes in 2025, making him the fourth minor leaguer in the last 20 years to reach triple digits.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers prospect Kendall George injures knee trying to avoid bat dog

By any measure, the St. Louis Cardinals have overachieved this season. Their trip to Milwaukee would be viewed by many as a measuring stick to determine how competitive this young team is compared to the NL Central division leaders. If the first two games are the measuring stick, the answer is not very as the Brewers hammered the Cardinals again Tuesday night shutting out St. Louis 6-0.

Michael McGreevy gave the St. Louis Cardinals a reasonable start for the first 4 innings, but he received no run support and the 5th inning would be his undoing as it has been for many of the St. Louis starters lately. You won’t see any offensive highlights from the Cardinals here, but the Brewers provided more than their share. The first would come in the bottom of the 4th inning when Michael McGreevy made one too many mistakes to Jake Bauer who crushed a 394 foot solo home run into the right field seats giving the Brewers their first lead at 1-0.

The infamous 5th inning would be one that Michael McGreevy would not finish. It started with a Christian Yelich double followed by walks to Chourio and Turang to load the bases. William Contreras would quickly unload them when he blasted a double to the right-center field wall upping the Brewer lead to 3-0. That would end Michael McGreevy’s night with his final stat line being 4 innings allowing 7 hits while striking out 6 and walking 3 giving up 5 earned runs. That final earned run would cross the plate when Ryan Fernandez started his relief effort by giving up a 3-run bomb to Garrett Mitchell that traveled 421 feet careening off the center field overhang giving Milwaukee a commanding 6-0 lead.

The Cardinals bats made Brewers starter Kyle Harrison look like Cy Young. To his credit, he pitched well throwing 6 complete innings allowing a measly 4 hits and no earned runs to St. Louis with no walks and two strikeouts.

One minor subplot late in the game was Abner Uribe’s exaggerated gesture after he struck out Alec Burleson (confirmed strike on appeal). The managers apparently discussed the issue in between innings. Quite possible we’ll be hearing more about this in the near future.

The Cardinals will try to avoid a sweep Wednesday afternoon when Dustin May takes the mound for St. Louis. The Brewers starter is to be determined at this point. First pitch at American Family Field in Milwaukee is set for 12:40pm central time and the game will be watchable on Cardinals.tv.

That was a little better. Spencer Miles continues to impress, stretching out to 4.1 innings this time while stifling the Marlins offence with a steady stream of induced ground balls. The offence was distributed, with seven Jays sharing the 12 hits and three different guys going deep.

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Braydon Fisher worked as the opener today. Otto Lopez hit a grounder to Kazuma Okamoto at third that Okamoto threw away. It was initially called a two base error but eventually revised to a hit and an error. Ultimately it didn’t matter, as Fisher got out of the inning without Lopez advancing farther.

Spencer Miles took over beginning in the second. He walked lead off man Connor Norby, but retired the next nine Marlins in order, racking up three strikeouts. Jakob Marsee was the next fish to reach, with a ground ball single across the shift to lead off the fifth. Marsee stole second and took third when Brandon Valenzuela’s throw skipped into centre field. An infield single by Heriberto Hernandez plated the Marlins’ first run of the night. A Santoja line single put two on, but a trio of ground outs got him out of the jam with the lead.

Miles would face one batter to being the sixth, getting Lopez to ground out. He went 4.1 innings as the bulk guy, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Adam Macko took the reins and retired the next two batters.

The offence, meanwhile, was on Sandy Alcantara. He was also on them, hitting four batters. George Springer and Daulton Varsho opened the first with back to back singles. Those two runners were stranded, but Ernie Clement got Toronto on the board in the bottom of two, leading off with a homer that was the highest pitch hit out of the park in the majors this season. Clement also has the lowest, which is on brand. They added a second run in the third. Varsho got his second hit of the night, and Jesus Sanchez moved him to third with a double off the centre field wall. Kazuma Okamoto hit a hard grounder that ate up third baseman Javier Santoja and deflected into left field for an RBI single. They went quietly in the fourth.

Alcantara hit Springer with a high change up in the fifth, and then one batter alter spiked a curveball off Sanchez’ toe. He got Okamoto swinging to prevent the Jays from capitalizing, though.

They broke it open in the bottom of the sixth. Yohendrick Pinango lead off with a home run. Two batters later, Valenzuela singled, Lenyn Sosa was hit by a pitch, Springer singled to drive Valenzuela home, Varsho walked to load the bases, and Sanchez emptied them with a grand slam lined into the second deck in right field. That made it 8-1, a score that would stand the rest of the way. Alcantara hit his final batter, Okamoto, and was finally pulled from the game. I don’t think any of it was intentional. There’s no bad blood between these teams, and all of the pitches were off speed or breakers. Still, the Jays earned their eight set the hard way today.

Cade Gibson punched out Pinango to end the sixth. Yariel Rodriguez worked a clean seventh, while Gibson worked around a Valenzuela single in the bottom half of that inning and a Springer hit in the bottom of eight. Tanner Andrews finished it out for the Jays, giving up an infield single in the eighth and a pair of walks in the ninth but punching out Hernandez for his first career MLB strikeout to end the game.

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Jays of the Day: Miles (0.15), Springer (0.11), Sanchez (0.11)

Less so: Nobody!

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The series wraps up tomorrow with a day game at 1:07pm et. Eury Perez (3-6, 4.91) will go for the Marlins, while Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.23) reps the Jays.

Eric Lauer makes his Dodgers debut.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Rockies: pic.twitter.com/xoijJtBYVQ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 26, 2026

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rockies
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Atlanta Braves take the win against the Boston Red Sox 7-6 at Fenway Park, in an ending that came eerily close; the offensive production woke up when it mattered.

After giving up two back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first to Boston’s Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela (2-0), Spencer Strider held the Red Sox to those two runs in his five innings pitched on three hits, also walking three batters and getting five strikeouts with 11 total whiffs.

Atlanta didn’t go scoreless for long, when Matt Olson hit a two-run homer over the green monster to drive in Mauricio Dubón to tie the score (2-2).

Shane Baz impressed, and the Orioles took advantage of a bad night for the Rays infield. It all added up to a 6-1 O’s win on Tuesday night at Camden Yards

This game sure didn’t feel like a winning performance out of the gate. Shane Baz, facing his old teammates, got into some trouble early. Chandler Simpson led off the game with a double, and then came in to score moments later on a Jonathan Aranda single into right field.

That easily could have been a situation that snowballed into an even deeper ditch that may have proved impossible for the Orioles to dig out of. Instead, Baz got a double play off the bat of Richie Palacios to end the frame, and was dynamite from there on out.

From the second through the seventh innings, Baz allowed a handful of baserunners on singles and walks, but would work his way out of trouble each time. That was despite not having his best stuff. His fastball was down half a tick on the radar gun, but his whiff rate was right around where it normally sits at 21% in this one. The final line is a good one: seven innings, seven hits, one run, two walks, and nine strikeouts. His season ERA dropped for the third straight start, now at 4.48 on the year.

The Orioles offense showed some fight as well. They were outhit by the Rays 9-7, but they took advantage of their opportunities, going 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Three of their runs came in a wacky second inning. Samuel Basallo reached on an error by Rays starter Grffin Jax. Leody Taveras added injury to the insult by smacking a line drive off of Jax’s back to give the O’s two runners on with no outs. The Rays staff came out to check on Jax. He remained in the game though he would exit at the conclusion of this inning. Not before Jeremiah Jackson loaded the bases. Then, it seemed Jax had worked his way out the jam with a grounder up the middle, made to be a double play. Instead, the second baseman Palacios bobbled the grounder and got no outs at all. Jackson Holliday cashed in with an RBI single before Taylor Ward drove in the third run of the inning with a sac fly to center.

The Baltimore bats picked back up in the fifth inning. Holliday led off with a single, and then got to second on a Gunnar Henderson grounder that was bungled yet again by the Tampa defense. Palacios had fielded the ball cleanly and fed to Oliver Dunn covering the bag at second base. Dunn then threw to first but couldn’t retire the speedy Henderson for the twin killing. It seemed like a routine fielder’s choice, but the O’s video review crew noticed that Dunn’s foot was off the bag when he received Palacios’ throw. Craig Albernaz challenged and the call on the field was overturned, giving the good guys two runners on with just one out. That would come back to a bite a few batters later when Samuel Basallo launched a 405-foot homer to right center field, extending the Orioles lead to 6-1.

Outside of the two innings where they scored runs, the Orioles offense was rather quiet. Taveras and Holliday were the only two O’s with more than one out, and Basallo’s homer was their only extra-base knock. But if you score six runs in a game, you are going to win more than you are going to lose. And that was exactly the case tonight.

The bullpen did its job as well. Grant Wolfram allowed two hits but managed to work a scoreless eighth inning. And then Andrew Kittredge looked good in the ninth, retiring the Rays in order and recording a strikeout in the process. Getting both of them right will be key to returning this ‘pen back to the form we saw in April.

This was a relatively low-stress game from the Orioles perspective. For once, the bone-headed fielding mistakes and the fluky injuries were happening to the other team. We’ll take it.

Baz is the story of the game. The Orioles made a big investment in him this offseason. First, they traded a haul of prospects to a division rival in order to get him in the organization, and then they inked him to an extension. Considering all of that, they need him to be a frontline starter. Over the last few trips through the rotation, he has finally looked the part. The length and quality of his most recent outings has been impressive. Hopefully there’s more on the way.

This game earned the Orioles a series win against the current beasts of the AL East. That’s big. It’s now the second time this Orioles team has bounced back from disastrous showings the first time they face a division opponent to be much better the second time around. First it was the Yankees and now the Rays. Maybe there’s something to that.

Another win tomorrow would give them a sweep. That would be neat. First pitch of the series finale is set for 6:35 at Camden Yards. The Orioles are yet to confirm a starter while the Rays have committed to Steven Matz for the evening. Trey Gibson could be in line for the start. He is with the team as a member of the taxi squad.

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Most Birdland Player

Presented for your consideration, here are the nominees for Most Birdland Player on May 26, 2026:

• Shane Baz (win, seven innings, one run, nine strikeouts)
• Samuel Basallo (three-run homer, two runs scored)

Who do you think is worthy of the honor? Let us know in the comments!

Gosh, this team is truly a breath of fresh air. The Nats won their 4th straight game, and are now two games over .500. I am truly starting to believe that this team is good, and boy is that crazy to think about given the preseason expectations. Truly though, why not the Nats?!

As they did against Tanner Bibee last night, the Nats immediately put pressure on Guardians starter Joey Cantillo. Despite not scoring in the first inning, the Nats forced Cantillo to throw 29 pitches and show them the whole arsenal. That got them ready for the second inning, and boy were they ready. 

Daylen Lile and Jacob Young got on to start the second inning. Then, after a wild pitch, the pressure was truly on for Cantillo. With the infield forced in, Keibert Ruiz chopped a high pitch through the infield to drive in two runs. There was still only one out, and the pitch count was piling up for the Guardians southpaw.

Keibert Ruiz coming through putting the high pitch on the ground! 💪 pic.twitter.com/NkKMIzVo8C

— Nationals Advisory (@nats_advisory) May 26, 2026

Speaking of Ruiz, this was another really nice game for him. He got two hits to raise his average to .262 and his OPS to .763. We wrote about Ruiz’s resurgence yesterday, and thankfully we did not jinx the Nats catcher.

However, these Nats were far from done in the second. The next batter was James Wood, the crown jewel of this special lineup. Wood absolutely destroyed a Joey Cantillo changeup, and made it 4-0 in the blink of an eye.

James Wood crushes his 15th home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/lVTm1yXN5E

— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2026

This Nats offense has been striking insanely quickly these past couple of games, and really all season. You are never safe facing this team. Wood and Abrams are always lurking. Even when it is not those guys, Curtis Mead and Daylen Lile can also come through with big hits.

Right now, James Wood is in the middle of one of his patented heaters. He is seeing the ball so well at the moment. Wood already has 7 hits and 2 homers in this series. For the season, Wood has a .276 batting average and a .964 OPS with 15 home runs. Those are totally absurd numbers. After a slow second half last year, he is getting back to that super star level.

The Nats forced Cantillo out of the game after just two innings. It is crazy to see the devastation this offense can inflict on pitchers, especially early in games. Almost every game we see that graphic that the Nats lead the league in first inning runs. Today, it was the second inning, but just like Tanner Bibee yesterday, Cantillo left shaking his head.

However, the biggest key to the Nats recent success has not been the offense, which has been great all season. Now, the Nats pitchers are stepping up their game as well. Cade Cavalli was on the mound tonight, and he fired his third straight quality start. Cavalli is starting to turn into a work horse for the Nats who can consistently give them six innings.

Tonight, he mainly relied on his bread and butter, which is his fastball/curveball mix. The heater averaged over 97 and got up to 99 on several occasions. His curve also had a ton of power and bite. On the night, he went six innings, with seven strikeouts to just two walks.

Cade Cavalli, 99mph Paint 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/Kty0TOuWn3

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 26, 2026

Cavalli has gotten his season ERA down to 3.62. Importantly, he is allowing fewer base runners, which is letting him get deeper into games. His season WHIP of 1.41 is not great. However, his WHIP in May is down at 1.14, which is better than average. It took some time for him to get going, but we are now seeing the best of Cade Cavalli.

After that big frenzy in the second inning, the Nats offense went into a bit of a lull. That is natural for any team, as the pressure to score diminishes. Some of the Guardians relievers were also throwing the ball well. It felt at times like the Guardians were slowly creeping back into the game.

However, the Nats put the Guardians away in the top of the 9th. With two outs, Andres Chaparro delivered a clutch two out knock to score two runners. Chappy has struggled since being re-called, so seeing that success must help his confidence. While he was thrown out trying to extend it into a double, he put the finishing touches on the game.

THAAAT'S chappy pic.twitter.com/MQ0e5N3O4S

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 27, 2026

It turned out that those insurance runs would loom large. Mitchell Parker labored in the 9th inning, allowing two runs. If that game had been 4-3 instead of 6-3, things would start to become real scary. Thankfully for Nats fans’ nerves, Chappy delivered in the top of the frame. Eventually, Parker worked his way out of the inning, and the Nats won 6-3.

I know I say it a lot, but this team is so freaking fun! This offense is absolutely electric and the pitching is coming around too. The personnel on the field has not changed that much, but the product has. You have to credit the coaching staff and the players for both putting in a ton of work. In this crazy season, why not the Nats!

The Tigers were starting their week back home in Detroit against the Angels, hoping to carry the luck of their Sunday win along with them. To get them there, they had Keider Montero on the mound up against Jack Kochanowicz.

Things started well, with Montero getting the Angels out in order. Kevin McGonigle got the home hald going with a leadoff single, but Dillon Dingler grounded into a double play to eliminate the baserunner. A Riley Greene strikeout then ended the inning.

Jorge Soler started the second with a single, then Wade Meckler singled behind him, advancing Soler to third. Montero righted the ship and got himself out of the jam by getting the next three batters out in order. In the home half, Colt Keith hit the strangest comebacker I’ve ever seen, as the ball headed right back to the mound at Kochanowicz’s feet and the shot straight up about a sixty feet in the air, letting Keith get safely to first. Kochanowicz appeared to be okay. Spencer Torkelson was then hit by a pitch. A wild pitch from Kochanowicz advanced the runners and brought the trainers back out, because he was certainly out of sorts all of a sudden. A Zach McKinstry flyout brought Keith home and put the Tigers on the board first. They would only get the one run, but it was a good start.

Logan O’Hoppe hit a leadoff single between diving fielders to start the third. Zach Neto then walked. A one out single by Vaughn Grissom right up the middle, once again slipping by diving fielders, scored two runs and put the Angels out ahead. With two outs, Wade Meckler singled back to the mound and the Tigers were able to get the final out of the inning tagging Grissom out at the plate. In the home half, McGonigle got back on base with a one-out single. Two outs followed, leaving McGonigle stranded.

Jo Adell homered to start the fourth. With one out Donovan Walton doubled, and one out later Neto doubled to bring in another run. Montero did get the final out of the inning, but considering how well the Tigers have been doing at staging comebacks this season, I wouldn’t blame you if this was where you tapped out. Colt Keith wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though, and he hit a triple to center, sneaking it right by Mike Trout. With one out, McKinstry hit a sac fly to score Keith.

The Angels went 1-2-3 for the fifth. In the bottom of the inning Matt Vierling got a leadoff single, followed by a walk to Wenceel Perez. And I’ll be eating my words, as McGonigle came through with a triple into right, scoring both baserunners and tying up the game.

McTriple anyone? 🍔 pic.twitter.com/nvsZzVTdDn

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 26, 2026

Dingler took a walk despite O’Hoppe challenging the fourth ball call. That was the end of the day for Kochanowicz, which should be good news for the Tigers, as the Angels’ bullpen is… not great. Mitch Farris came in and gave up a wild pitch to put Dingler on second. Riley Greene walked to load the bases. A pinch-hitting Jahmai Jones, brought in to face the lefty reliever, came through with a single, scoring McGonigle. Still no outs. Spencer Torkelson was very close to hitting a grand slam, coming nearly in line with the foul pole, but after review, the call was upheld. With two outs, Hao-Yu Lee came in to replace Workman, but a flyout ended the inning.

With one out in the sixth, Oswald Peraza was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Montero’s day was done and he was replaced by Brenan Hanifee. Montero’s final line for the game was 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR on 89 pitches. Not a great outing, but not his worst. Hanifee got the final out of the inning. In the home half, Perez hit a one-out home run.

outta here 🚀 pic.twitter.com/CQmupo0ab7

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 27, 2026

McGonigle continued to be as consistent as they come, getting a walk. After the second out of the inning, a wild pitch advanced McGonigle to second, then Riley Greene walked. That was it for Farris who was replaced by José Fermin, who got the final out of the inning.

Neto singled to start the seventh. Grissom singled with one out, bumping Neto over to third. That was it for Hanifee, who was replaced by Will Vest, who battled it out and won against Soler. The final out of the inning was a very nice catch at the wall by Greene.

run it down Riley pic.twitter.com/9D2yGsolOq

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 27, 2026

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

In the eighth, Peraza got a one-out single. A groundout advanced Peraza to second, and then an O’Hoppe double (missed spectacularly by Perez in center), brought Peraza home. Neto then singled back to Vest, who was fine. Mike Trout walked to load the bases. Grissom then hit a grand slam. Tyler Holton came in to get the final out of the inning. Chase Silseth was the new Angels pitcher for the inning. The Tigers went down in order again, which isn’t really the best way to make a comeback.

Siri started the ninth with a solo home run because, sure, why not at this point? Three outs followed, and the Tigers were down to their final three outs to make something happen. Kirby Yates came in and gave up a leadoff walk to Dingler. That would be it for baserunners, though, as the Tigers then went down in order and the game was over.

Final: Angels 10, Tigers 6

Some movement in the system today as outfielder Josiah Hartshorn and right-hander Mason McGwire were promoted from Low-A Myrtle Beach to High-A South Bend. Both players have been among the best performers in the Cubs minors so far this season.

Also, shortstop Alex Madera and first baseman Cameron Sisneros were promoted to Double-A Knoxville from South Bend.

Right-hander Henry Cone moves to Myrtle Beach from rookie ball Mesa.

Second baseman Nicky Lopez elected free agency.

Iowa Cubs

Off day.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were spotted by the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 12-3.

Yenrri Rojas started this game and gave up three runs on two home runs in the first inning. He pitched the second and third innings without incident, retiring the side in order in both frames, but then came out to pitch the fourth inning. All six batters he faced in the sixth reached and he was pulled after the sixth one hit a two-run home run.

The final line on Rojas was nine runs on eight hits over 3+ innings. Three of those eight hits were home runs. Rojas walked two, hit one batter and struck out three.

The Smokies only managed six hits today but two of them were home runs. The first was a solo home run in the seventh inning by third baseman Jefferson Rojas. It was Rojas’ fifth home run of the season. Rojas was a perfect 2 for 2 with two walks.

The other home run came in the top of the ninth by center fielder Andy Garriola, his ninth. Garriola was 2 for 4.

Second baseman Alex Madera went 1 for 2 with an RBI single in his Double-A debut. Madera also walked once.

Here’s the Rojas home run.

Jefferson Rojas' fifth homer of the year was crushed so hard the left fielder barely moved 👀@Cubs | @smokiesbaseballpic.twitter.com/ESXldEUVfY

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 27, 2026

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs cleaned up the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 5-2. South Bend has won six in a row and nine of their last ten games.

It was a strong start for Alfredo Romero, who got the win after allowing just one run on four hits over 5.2 innings. Romero struck out two and walked one.

Jackson Brockett went the rest of the way for the 3.1 inning save. He also allowed just one run on three hits. Brockett struck out five and walked one.

Both TinCaps runs scored on solo home runs by Jake Cunningham.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn hit a sacrifice fly in his first High-A at-bat. Later on, he hit an RBI double off the left field wall for his first South Bend hit. Hartshorn finished the game going 1 for 2 with a walk and the sacrifice fly. He scored once and had the two runs batted in. Those were also the only two South Bend RBI for the game, as the other three runs scored either on one of two double plays or an error.

Center fielder Kade Snell went 1 for 2 with a double before leaving the game after colliding with second baseman Miguel Olivo. I don’t have any report on Snell’s condition but he was back in the dugout before the end of the game.

Olivo was 1 for 2 and was hit by a pitch.

Here’s Hartshorn’s sac fly. It really could have been a double.

Off and running!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/M3K3fs6Jpl

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 26, 2026

And here is Hartshorn’s actual double that was a few feet shy of a home run.

The 19-year-old can swing it! Josiah Hartshorn collects another RBI on his first Midwest League hit!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/bFSMabipUJ

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 26, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were strafed by the Wilson Warbirds (Brewers), 4-1. It was the Pelicans ninth-straight loss.

Pierce Coppola didn’t have a bad start, but he got tagged with the loss anyways. Coppola allowed two runs on three hits over four innings. One of those hits was a solo home run. Coppola struck out eight and walked one, which is impressive. Coppola has now struck out 28 batters and walked six over 17 innings.

The only Birds run came on a solo home run in the eighth inning by right fielder Eli Lovich. Lovich had four of Myrtle Beach’s eight hits, going 4 for 4 with a double and the home run.

Three of the other four hits came from DH Edward Vargas. Vargas was 3 for 4.

Lovich’s home run.

Lovich's 4th hit of the night is a bomb to left field! pic.twitter.com/gHbSCgAtz0

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) May 27, 2026

Some Coppola highlights.

8ks in 4 innings of work for Coppola! pic.twitter.com/oN4uVN2Ho5

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) May 26, 2026

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Brewers, 10-6.

Will Sanders started this game in a rehab assignment. He gave up three runs in two innings.

In Game 1, the Colorado Rockies, despite a solid outing until the seventh inning, dropped the series opener, 5-3, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tonight, they will look to even the series.

Starting for the Rockies is Kyle Freeland. This will be his ninth start for the Rockies in 2026.

The lefty has a 7.04 ERA in 38.1 IP. He’s struck out 35, walked 14, and given up nine home runs. Freeland has a1.70 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the home team will be LHP Eric Lauer in what will be his first start for the Dodgers.

He was traded to the Dodgers from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17 for cash considerations. Lauer, 30, was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in eight games for Toronto this year and last season went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, posting a career-best 2.2 fWAR. 

Currently, over 36.1 IP, he’s struck out 26 while giving up 16 walks and 11 home runs. He has a 1.34 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 8:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

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

SB Nation site:True Blue LA

Lineups:

For the visiting Rockies:

And the home Dodgers:

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