Category: MLB

The Orioles were unable to complete the double-header sweep on Sunday evening at Camden Yards, losing 4-1 to the Tigers in Game 2. The loss saw the team’s offense go quiet while starter Trevor Rogers continued to scuffle.

The box score makes it look like yet another rough outing for Rogers. The lefty lasted only 4.2 innings, and allowed four runs on four hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and a home run. Despite featuring slightly better velocity than we typically see from Rogers (up about 0.5 mph on his fastball), his whiff rate was a woeful 13%. That’s about half of what his season average has been, which itself was already below league average.

The trouble started early. Matt Vierling singled into left field to begin the game, and then after recording one out, Rogers allowed a two-run homer off the bat of Dillon Dingler. It came on a cutter that was down in the zone, but Dingler was able to golf it out of the park at 104 mph anyway.

But then Rogers settled in, retiring the next 11 Detroit batters in a row, which included the final two outs of the first inning followed by 1-2-3 frames in the second, third, and fourth innings.

It was in the fifth inning where he seemed to run out of gas a bit. Rogers walked Spencer Torkelson to open the inning, and then gave up a single to Wenceel Pérez to put two runners on with no outs. He got one out and then walked Zack Short to fill the bases. A pop out of Vierling seemed like it would allow Rogers to escape, but he couldn’t quite make it. Kevin McGonigle came up clutch with a two out single to drive in the Tigers third and fourth runs of the day. That was the end of the line for Rogers.

You can’t say this was a “successful” start for Rogers. He failed to get to the fifth inning for the fourth straight start, dating back to late April. And his ERA rose yet again, now sitting at an unsightly 6.96 on the year. But he showed glimpses of his 2025 form, and had an impressive stretch without even allowing a baserunner. At the very least, this was the best he has looked since returning from the IL.

The Orioles offense, on the other hand, was putrid. The best thing you can say about them is that they walked five times. But it’s not like they did much with those walks. The team collected just three hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Any sort of positive vibes that may have emanated from winning the first two games of the series and the magic of Colton Cowser’s walk off in the first half of this doubleheader were unapparent in the nightcap.

The only run they scored came in the fourth inning. Adley Rutschman opened the frame with a walk. Pete Alonso singled him over to third. And Samuel Basallo knocked him in with a sac fly to center field. That was it.

Their other best chance to score came in the ninth inning. Alonso and Basallo earned back-to-back walks to begin the inning. But then three straight strikeouts for Leody Taveras, Tyler O’Neill, and Blaze Alexander quickly ended any hopes of a comeback. Cowser, the hero from Game 1, was not an option to come off the bench because he had already been pinch hit for by O’Neill and his now-.487 OPS earlier in the game.

Perhaps the standout of this game for the Orioles was reliever Albert Suàrez. After Andrew Kittredge recorded the final out of the fifth inning, Suárez came on to eat some innings. He did just that, tossing four shutout frames. That’s a pretty big contribution in the night game portion of a doubleheader before the team plays a day game on Monday.

The Orioles used just four relievers across both of today’s games. Kittredge here and Dietrich Enns in Game 1 only threw 11 pitches each. So all of their high-leverage arms should be fresh. From that perspective, the team is in good position for their Memorial Day clash with the Rays.

Speaking of which, the O’s will welcome their division rivals into Camden Yards on Monday as they begin a three-game set at the friendly confines. Let’s hope they don’t embarrass themselves like they did down in St. Pete last week. First pitch is set for 1:35, if the rain cooperates.

Even heavy rain couldn’t wash away a poor series at the plate for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves were shutout through six innings of Sunday’s rubber match against the Washington Nationals, facing a 1-0 deficit.

One 90-minute weather delay later, that deficit grew to 2-0. The Braves rallied mildly in the ninth, but left the bases loaded, taking a 2-1 loss to the Nationals which resulted in their first home series loss of the season and just their second overall.

For eight innings, the Braves’ offense seemed destined for a second straight shutout against a Washington pitching staff which entered the day 26th in the majors in ERA (4.87).

But when Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley led off the ninth with back-to-back singles, one could begin to dream of another dramatic win to extend the series winning streak at Truist Park.

An Eli White fielder’s choice after Michael Harris II flew out to shallow right prevented the shutout before a Ha-Seong Kim walk loaded the bases with one out.

But Friday’s hero, Chadwick Tromp, struck out and Orlando Ribalta got Ronald Acuña Jr. to ground one to the right side, covering the bag himself to end the game and secure the series.

Sunday’s offensive showing was mildly better than Saturday’s one-hit performance. The Braves managed six hits this time, but couldn’t string them together. Albies (3-for-4) accounted for half of Atlanta’s hits

Atlanta finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position (.111), stranding nine runners in its second straight narrow loss as the bats were never able to figure out Nationals left-hander Foster Griffin (6-2). He scattered three hits over six shutout frames, striking out six and walking one.

That overshadowed Atlanta’s unlucky losing pitcher Martín Pérez (2-3, 2.70 ERA), who allowed just one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two.

Griffin had two separate streaks of seven straight batters retired. The first started with a strikeout of Austin Riley to strand two runners in the first inning. The second started with the escape from a fourth-inning jam.

The Braves seemed poised to jump ahead when they put runners on the corners with no out in the fourth after Matt Olson led off with a double down the left-field line and Ozzie Albies beat out a chopper in front of the pitcher for an infield single.

But a Riley strikeout and a White hard-hit double-play grounder — with a Harris hit-by-pitch in between — kept the Braves off the board.

The Nationals had the same opportunity in the fifth when Daylen Lile led off with a double and Jacob Young followed with a single. They did not come up empty, as Nasim Nuñez followed with a single to right to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

Pérez got a double play and a strikeout to largely limit the damage, but it was a day where there was minimal margin for error given the offensive lull.

When the rain delay finally ended Griffin’s outing, Washington brought Andrew Alvarez out of the bullpen. He allowed a leadoff single to Riley in the seventh and a one-out walk to Acuña in the eighth, but neither baserunner made it any further than first base.

Washington tacked on with pinch hitter Luis Garcia Jr.’s RBI single off Reynaldo Lopez which brought home James Wood after a one-out walk. That proved to be the winning run.

In all, the Braves managed just three runs in regulation across the three-game Nationals series. That’s not often going to get the job done, and in this case, ruined three strong starts from the Atlanta rotation.

One can only hope this being the 13th game in as many days for the Braves had an effect on the bats. An off day before kicking off a six-game road trip Tuesday at the Boston Red Sox may be just what the offense needs to wake up.

After yet another gut-wrenching loss in the first of two on Sunday, the Detroit Tigers and their fans really needed a win. They got it with some early offense and strong performances from Troy Melton, Tyler Holton, and Drew Anderson, who closed out a 4-1 victory with a nice six-out save.

Facing lefty Trevor Rogers, the Tigers started this one with a single from Matt Vierling. Kevin McGonigle followed with a grounder to first and Pete Alonso fired to second to get the lead runner but they couldn’t turn the double play. Dillon Dingler went down and launched a breaking ball high and deep over the left field wall, and it was 2-0 Tigers before a lot of fans found their seats. Riley Greene took a called strike three, and Jahmai Jones flew out to center field for the final out of the frame.

As uncertain as the Tigers future is right now, Troy Melton is going to be part of it, so it was great to see him back on the mound making his first start of the season. Melton had a minor elbow sprain early in spring camp and the Tigers immediately shut him down and took plenty of time to make sure he was 100 percent before letting him ramp up.

Melton got fly outs from Taylor Ward and Gunnar Henderson to begin his outing. He got into a 3-1 count against Adley Rutschman and challenged him with a 96.7 mph fastball. The Orioles catcher took a huge hack but Melton won out as he lifted a routine high fly to right field.

Spencer Torkelson and Hao-Yu Lee hit the ball hard in the second, but the Tigers went hitless. Kevin McGonigle made a nice pick on a hot Pete Alonso grounder to start the bottom half. Melton’s velo was very good early on. His command was a little rougher, and he left a splitter up against Samuel Basallo that was smoked into center for a one-out single. Leody Taveras grounded out, but Colton Cowser drew a walk on a 3-2 fastball that was initially called a strike but was challenged correctly. Blaze Alexander strafed a line drive that was heading down the left field line but Kevin McGonigle made a great leaping catch to prevent at least one run.

Melton was attacking the zone and looked 100 percent, but it was still his first start of the season and his command wasn’t real sharp in terms of the life on his stuff nor location early on. He also hasn’t thrown more than 65 pitches, and only got one rehab start in against Triple-A hitters, so it’s going to be a while before he’s up to full strength.

You’ll recall that Melton has always been a starter, but pitched in a mixed role last year and had a problem with his splitter against left-handed hitters. He has plenty of strengths in his fastball and breaking stuff to build from this season but getting that splitter dialed will be important.

Short, Vierling, and McGonigle all popped out in the top of the third. Melton jammed Jackson Holliday, who popped out, and Taylor Ward grounded out. A nasty fading splitter and then a 97.3 mph heater up and away dusted Gunnar Henderson for the third out of the third inning.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the fourth, with Jahmai Jones lining out to Holliday at second to end the top half. Emblematic of how his season has gone.

Melton started the fourth with a walk of Rutschman and then Alonso padded a grounder up the middle for a single to get Rutschman to third. He scored on a Samuel Basallo sacrifice fly to make it 2-1 Tigers. Melton blew Taveras away for his second strikeout, and so it was up to Cowser, who bounced out to Torkelson to end the inning.

Torkelson drew a walk to open the fifth inning. Wenceel Pérez showed bunt first pitch but pulled it back and took a ball. He tried again 1-1 and fouled it off to the first base side, then pulled a hard ground ball through the left side of the infield for a single. Lee flew out to center field, but not quite deep enough into this tiny outfield to get Torkelson to third. Rogers was really nibbling by this point and Short worked a full count and fought off a fastball before walking to load the bases with one out.

That brought the top of the order up, and if the Tigers were going to break this losing streak they needed to cash some of these chips with Vierling and McGonigle next up.

Rogers tied Vierling up and he popped out near the Orioles dugout, so it was up to the Kid, and the Kid came through. McGonigle got into a full count after Rogers started off ahead, and then rifled a single into center field to score Torkelson and Pérez. Short moved to third, and it was 4-1 Tigers.

That ended Rogers’ outing. Craig Albernaz turned to right-hander Andrew Kittredge instead, facing Dingler. McGonigle stole second base to get into scoring position without a throw. Kttredge bounced a slider on the eighth pitch of that at-bat, and the bases were loaded with two outs for Riley Greene. The Orioles pitching coach came out to chat with his pitcher, and let’s not forget the Orioles are struggling too.

Unfortunately, Greene got ahead 2-0 but swung at a sinker up on the outer edge and grounded out to first. I’ve mentioned this a few times, but one of the cascading effects of this misery is that the Tigers are rarely getting to a team’s worst relievers, which is where a lot of the addition run scoring and stat padding happens. They got a chance there and couldn’t capitalize. Would it cost them? Eh, probably considering how things are going.

Melton started the inning at 55 pitches. He got Alexander and Holliday to hit the ball to Pérez for a quick two outs. Taylor Ward popped out on a cutter, and we were on to the sixth with Melton looking as though he had at least another inning in him.

Right-hander Albert Suárez took over for the Orioles in the sixth. He used to be a sinkerballer but is now a mediocre, very fly ball prone pitcher who doesn’t strike many hitters out. Colt Keith took over for Jahmai Jones, hitting fifth. He flew out to right field and Torkelson followed suit. Pérez grounded out to shortstop, and now things would get very interesting.

Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Pete Alonso were due up for the third time against Melton, who started the inning at 65 pitches. If they could get through this inning and add on another run or two, that would probably be enough.

Henderson fought off a couple of tough two strike pitches, but a perfect back foot slider got the whiff. Melton missed with four straight to Rutschman as he looked to be running out of gas. That brought Alonso to the dish. Drew Anderson and Tyler Holton were warming at this point. Dingler went out to the mound, presumably to tell him this was his last batter and to just empty the tank. A slider got Alonso off balance and he lifted a pop fly to Pérez. That was it for Melton, and the Tigers couldn’t be happier with his first outing.

Melton’s final line was 5.2 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K. Plenty to build on for the young right-hander, who isn’t much more than a rookie himself.

Holton took over to face the dangerous Samuel Basallo, and carved him up with a flurry of good sweepers to end the inning. Stiill 4-1 Tigers.

Suárez got Lee on a grounder to Holliday at second to open the seventh inning. Short followed with a single to right field to turn the lineup over, and Vierling dug into the box. He smoked a drive to the warning track in right center field but Taveras ran it down. McGonigle bounced out to first to send it to the bottom half.

Taveras put up a lengthy fight against Holton, but grounded out to Short for the first out. A nice changeup got a whiff from O’Neill, and Blaze Alexander flew out weakly to right field to end the inning.

While we begged for one more run, Dingler popped out and Greene grounded out to start the eighth. Colt Keith came through with a line drive single to right field and then took third as Torkelson followed suit with another lined single to right. Unfortunately, Pérez hit an opposite field fly ball out to Taylor Ward to end the two-out threat.

With Kyle Finnegan, Will Vest, and Kenley Jansen burnt for the day, Drew Anderson came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth. He got ahead of Holliday 0-2, but the young hitter worked back into a full count. A fastball up and in was pulled just foul with near home run distance, but a changeup down the middle induced a weak fly ball to center field. Ward followed with a flared single to right field. Henderson popped up on a changeup as well. Kick change, ftw. Anderson stayed on the attack against Rutschman, mixing mostly 96-97 mph fourseamers in between changeups, but after starting ahead, the Orioles catcher took some decent pitches to work it full. A filthy kick change that disappeared like a splitter drew a wild whiff to send this to the ninth.

The Tigers went in order quickly, and so it was up to Anderson to finally get the Tigers a win. It didn’t start well. He walked Alonso and Basallo both, but Fetter came out in pretty animated fashion. Presumably “throw #$%$#%# strikes!” was part of the message. Anderson rebounded by punching out Taveras and O’Neill. He got ahead of Alexander 1-2 and whiffed him on a nasty changeup that was foul tipped into Dingler’s glove.

Nice moxie from Anderson there. After a nice eighth, things looked sketchy after two walks to start the ninth, but he pulled it together to strike out the side as the Tigers snap an eight-game losing streak.

The Tigers are 21-33, and they’ll head home now for an off day before welcoming in the Los Angeles Angels for three on Tuesday. Suffice it to say, whatever slim hopes are left depend heavily on the Tigers ripping through numerous series victories in a row. Nothing for anyone, including the fans to do, but take it one game at a time.

I would’ve bet Kevin was the gene edited one in the family.

The mighty Casey may be fated to strike out sooner or later. Still, today was not that day, as Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt and first baseman Rafael Devers ran wild on Sox pitching this afternoon, driving in all eight San Francisco runs in the White Sox 8-5 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park.

It’s the second straight series loss for the Sox, who are back to .500 after a blissful week-and-a-half above the breakeven point. Fresh off the remarkable feat of allowing an entire grand slam within the first six pitches of the game, it looked like it was going to be another rough one for Robbie Ray when Chase Meidroth came out swinging for his second leadoff home run of the season.

Unfortunately, Noah Schultz once again struggled somewhat out of the gate, walking Willy Adames to open the game before back-to-back doubles from Schmitt and Rafael Devers made the Sox lead as short-lived as Arson Judge’s time with the Giants.

On a more promising note, Schultz did not offer up any more free passes after batter number one, which makes it just one walk over his last 43 batters. Although the results still aren’t there — Schultz did wind up getting tagged for six runs over four-plus innings — the sudden descent from the 17% walk rate he ran over his first five starts is probably a more important takeaway than the runs, or dearth of strikeouts. If Schultz can consistently throw strikes, he’s going to be effective. Point blank. He’s not there yet, but as long as he can continue avoiding free baserunners, the results are going to follow sooner or later.

Two more of those six earned runs came in the fourth inning, when Schmitt’s reign of terror hit its apex with a home run to bring San Francisco’s lead to 4-1.

Still, this White Sox team doesn’t quit. Before talking about what happened next, I want to be clear and say that, like the quintessential modern baseball fan, I am generally opposed to sacrifice bunts in the way they’ve been traditionally used. The LaRussa methodology, so to speak.

However.

I also believe there are still scenarios where it makes sense in context, even if it doesn’t. One of those contexts was the fifth inning today, when Tristan Peters was entrusted with no outs to lay down a bunt to move runners to second and third. Ordinarily, a questionable move when one is chasing a few runs. But consider this: Tristan Peters is better at bunting than he is at hitting for power, and the on-deck hitter, Luisangel Acuña, has been flat-out terrible at hitting all around this season.

Acuña hit a sacrifice fly before Chase Meidroth struck out to end the inning, which comes full circle on a successful sac bunt situation, if you ask me. The numbers say that neither Peters nor Acuña was terribly likely to get on base, much less notch an extra-base hit to drive those runners in. Considering how Peters and Jarred Kelenic swung them out of a first-and-second-with-less-than-two-outs situation a couple of innings later, I’m okay hedging for a single run when they would have been otherwise as likely as not to come away with nothing.

Though he avoided more grand slams, Robbie Ray still had a tenuous (at best) idea of where the ball was going this afternoon, racking up six walks before getting driven out of the game in the fifth inning. There was no single big hit that got the Sox back in the game, but a bases-loaded ground out by Colson Montgomery, followed by a single from Edgar Quero, was enough to knot things up at four.

This version of the comeback kids was sadly short-lived, as Schultz’s half of the fifth inning nearly mirrored Ray’s. A double and a hit batter to start the inning ended Schultz’s afternoon. Unlike the Sox offense, the up-to-this-point-struggling Rafael Devers took full advantage, becoming the first opposing batter in 56 career appearances to take Grant Taylor deep.

Taylor will now hold his place in history with the eighth-most games pitched to start a career without giving up a longball.

That was more or less it for the excitement in this one. Miguel Vargas did get a hold of one, his 12th of the year, so if nothing else, his All-Star campaign is still rolling strong despite an underwhelming road trip.

There wasn’t any action the rest of the way. Still, we did see some interesting bullpen usage from Will Venable, who curiously deployed Seranthony Domínguez in the seventh inning of a game in which he trailed by three runs. Between this and Grant Taylor’s save last Tuesday, Venable is giving us a bit more to think about at the back end of the bullpen moving forward. Domínguez’s appearance today was, to me, at least a little eyebrow-raising in tandem with Tyler Davis’s 1 2/3 IP appearance today, in which he once again looked all the part of a solid big league reliever.

There will surely be some noise about sending Schultz back down to Charlotte after this performance, but I’d be shocked to see him anywhere but the big league rotation the rest of the way. He’s got little left to prove in the minor leagues; if this front office has any real designs on competing in 2027 or 2028, then right now is the time to let Schultz get through his growing pains. Look at Davis Martin — these things simply take time, and while this unexpected spurt of competitiveness has been exciting, we shouldn’t forget that time is one thing the Sox do still have in their back pocket. For now, at least.

As my friend Sean Anderson likes to say, West Coast games don’t count, as far as I’m concerned. The Sox are back at home for Memorial Day tomorrow afternoon, when Sean Burke will take the mound on Meidroth’s bobblehead day against the Minnesota Twins. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!

After three close contests in the desert where the Colorado Rockies lost by just one run in two of them (and won by one in the other), the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks went anything but according to plan. The Rockies were bullied for nine runs while failing to get anything going on offense. The one bright side was that the suffering was at least quick. This afternoon’s game clocked in at just two hours and 18 minutes, a tie for the third-quickest nine innings of the season so far.

Quintana struggles before leaving injured

Rockies starting pitcher José Quintana got off to a rough start this afternoon as the Diamondbacks got to him early. In the first inning Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll went back-to-back with extra-base hits and the Diamondbacks ended up scoring two runs. In the bottom of the second inning, Quintana gave up another three runs on two singles and two doubles.

Quintana recorded just one out in the second inning before further disaster struck. After giving up a two-run ground-rule double to Ketel Marte, Quintana left the game with Rockies training staff without attempting another pitch. His injury would be later described as left elbow discomfort.

Manager Warren Schaeffer stated after the game that Quintana had not been dealing with any discomfort prior to his start today. He said more information would follow over the next day or two.

More innings for a taxed bullpen

The Rockies are currently in the midst of playing 16 straight games without a day off. The pitching staff has already been stretched thin as we have seen players like Zach Agnos pressed into starting duty. José Quintana leaving after just 1.1 innings spelled even more work for the bullpen.

Right-handed pitcher Blas Castañ0 is deserving of kudos, entering the game cold in the second inning to replace Quintana. Castañ0 ended up pitching a fairly solid 3.2 innings, giving up just one earned run on four hits and a hit batter. He also tallied three strikeouts.

Castaño has proved a valuable innings-eater after being claimed by the Rockies earlier this season. He has pitched a minimum of two innings in all three of his appearances so far, with today’s outing being his longest in a Rockies uniform.

Seth Halvorsen struggled to finish out his inning of work today. With two outs in sixth inning he gave up three straight hits—a double, a single, and a triple—that allowed the Diamondbacks to plate another two runs.

Halvorsen gave way to lefty Brennan Bernardino, who worked a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts before a position player took the mound in the eighth.

Catcher Brett Sullivan, who started today’s game behind the plate, moved to the mound and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. It was Sullivan’s second relief appearance of the year, the other of which happened on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers.

The offense went out not with a bang but with a whimper

Despite only striking out four times and drawing a handful of walks, the Rockies struggled to get anything going offensively with just one run on six hits.

The Rockies actually started both the first and second innings with a baserunner, only to have the following hitter ground into a double play to erase the advantage. Perhaps even more frustrating is that the Rockies had baserunners in every inning except the seventh and ninth. The lone run of the afternoon came in the eighth inning. Jake McCarthy led off the frame with a single, reaching second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout. He was then driven in on a sacrifice fly by Chad Stevens.

McCarthy was the only Rockies batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 on the afternoon. Troy Johnston and Kyle Karros were the only other members of the Rockies lineup to reach safely twice. Johnston went 1-for-2 with two walks while Karros went 1-for-2 with one walk.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies are heading to California to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. It will be their final series of this 16-game stretch before a much-needed day off. The series starts tomorrow evening with Emmet Sheehan on the mound for the Dodgers. The Rockies have not yet announced their plans for the game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM MDT.

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The A’s lost the first two games of their weekend series against the Padres but managed to salvage the finale. They beat the Padres in the finale thanks to some early scoring and quality pitching all around, maintaining their AL West lead and heading home back to Sacramento on a winning note.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started in this one against San Diego ace Michael King. Leadoff man Carlos Cortes took the sixth pitch of the game and whacked it out to right-center field and over the wall for a solo home run to give the A’s the quick 1-0 lead just one batter into the game:

The Swingin’ A’s kept it up in the next frame when Zack Gelof worked a one-out walk and rookie center fielder Henry Bolte brought him home with a two-out RBI double:

Think the A’s were done there? Think again! Today’s starting shortstop Alika Williams, who only just arrived in a minor trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, kept the line going as he snuck an RBI single through the left side to bring home Bolte and make it a 3-0 Athletics lead:

And he did it in front of his hometown crowd in San Diego! He surely had some friends and family in the stands for today’s contest, which marked his first start for the Athletics.

Another positive from the early innings was Nick Kurtz. Looking to extend his on-base streak, he got that out of the way in his second at-bat with a single, pushing him ahead of franchise great Rickey Henderson and putting him in a tie for second-most in franchise history:

That ties him with Jimmie Foxx for second-most in franchise history but that’s not the goal at this point. Only Mark McGuire stands ahead of him at this point with his 62-game on-base streak back in ‘95-’96. Only 15 to go until he ties him and it’s becoming a real possibility. How we feeling about his chances at this point, A’s fans?

The A’s got one more in the fourth thanks to some help from King. A double and two walks loaded the bases for the Athletics and a wild pitch brought home the team’s fourth run of the day. Another walk reloaded the bases and chased King from this contest. The Green & Gold couldn’t cash in more than the one run but at least the Padres’ starter was out of the game.

Meanwhile on the pitching side of things it was right-hander Luis Medina getting the start this afternoon, his first in a big league game since 2024. He’s been having a solid season in the bullpen up to today and evidently the team wanted to get him the ball to kick things off this afternoon.

Medina did his job but apparently he was only ever destined to be in there for a short stint. After just four outs manager Mark Kotsay elected to turn to lefty Jacob Lopez, ending Medina’s first start in two years after just 18 pitches.

Lopez seemed to thrive following an opener this afternoon. The left-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings this afternoon while only allowing one run via a Manny Machado sacrifice fly in the sixth. He also got some help from the defense behind him today as well:

The lefty ended his day after finishing the sixth, making way for the bullpen to maintain the three-run lead.

• Jacob Lopez: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 91 pitches

Does this outing earn Lopez another start/bulk appearance? Fellow lefty Gage Jump is on a roll and looking good in Triple-A but today may have pushed that decision down the road a bit. Should the team deiced to stick with Lopez one way or another, he’d be lined up to pitch next against the Yankees this coming weekend.

The A’s, always looking to pad their lead, added one on in the top of the ninth off a Sodey single, bringing home another run and pushing it to a 5-2 A’s lead:

Right-hander Justin Sterner replaced Lopez to start the seventh. He allowed a solo homer to Ty France but nothing else. Mark Leiter Jr. handled the eighth and had a scoreless outing, setting up Hogan Harris for the save. Back-to-back walks put the tying run up to the plate in the ninth, making Kotsay turn to Scott Barlow to get the final two outs against a pinch-hitting Nick Castellanos and Fernando Tatis Jr. Barlow struck Castellanos out then got Tatis to fly out, securing his first save of the season and the Athletics’ 27th win of the year.

A solid day from the bats all around as they collected 10 total hits plus seven walks. Six of the nine starters collected hits and two of the three drew walks (only Langeliers went 0-for today). The combination of Medina opening and Lopez acting as the bulk pitcher worked to perfection as the two combined for six innings of one-run ball. Sterner allowed that home run but it didn’t end up hurting as Leiter Jr. and Harris finished things off. A’s win, remain in first place, and return home on a winning note.

No off day tomorrow as the A’s head back to Sacramento. They’ll welcome the division-rival Mariners to town for three games that’ll be crucial for the Athletics to win. Right-hander Aaron Civale will kick things off for the A’s while the M’s will send Luis Castillo to the bump for the assignment. Gotta win these upcoming games against one of the biggest contenders for the AL West.

Chris Taylor has retired from baseball. Officially, this time.

On Sunday, the former Dodgers star and current Angels minor leaguer announced on Instagram that he has “officially decided to retire from the game I’ve dedicated my entire life towards,” releasing a lengthy statement “clearing up any confusion” about his decision to end his 14-year professional career.

“I’m beyond grateful to all of my coaches and teammates, and the organizations who allowed me to live out my childhood dream,” Taylor wrote. “I’ll forever cherish the memories along the way and most of all, the friendships that will last a lifetime.”

View this post on Instagram

News of Taylor’s retirement first emerged Friday, when MLB’s transactions log listed him as having retired from the sport.

But then on Saturday, MLB.com reported that Taylor changed his mind and was instead going on the minor-league injured list, having suffered a fractured forearm on a hit-by-pitch in a Triple-A game last week.

A source confirmed that development to The California Post, saying that while the Angels had initially filed paperwork to the league regarding Taylor’s retirement, the plan had changed a day later.

Ultimately, however, that appears to have just been transactional confusion.

Instead of rehabbing his injury while hoping to make one last run at returning to the majors, Taylor decided to hang it up at 35 years old.

In his statement, Taylor thanked “the loyal fans who have supported me through my success and stuck with me through the struggles.”

He also highlighted the support of his parents, family and wife, Mary.

“I can’t wait to start our next chapter in life together with our boys,” the father of two wrote.

After the Mariners drafted him in 2012 and he made his MLB debut with the club in 2014, Taylor became an All-Star player and two-time World Series champion during his 10-year run with the Dodgers, who traded for him in 2016 and watched him flourish as a valuable utility player with a highlight reel’s worth of memorable postseason moments.

Taylor spent much of the last calendar year with the Angels, after the Dodgers released him last May amid a years-long decline offensively.

He appeared in 30 MLB games with the Angels last year, then made 32 appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake this season before getting hurt.

Because he spent the first couple months of last year on the Dodgers’ big-league roster, he is expected to receive a third World Series ring from the team.

Former Mets star Pete Alonso made a bizarre error Sunday as he tried to turn a double play for the Orioles.

The slugger was playing first base for Baltimore in the fourth inning when the Tigers’ Dillon Dingler hit a soft pop up to Alonso with a man on first.

Instead of simply making an easy catch, though, Alonso deliberately let the ball drop in an attempt to turn a 3-6-3 double play.

Pete Alonso has played a Gold Glove-caliber 1st base for the Orioles this season.

However, he committed an error here, as it looked like he thought he could set up a double play. Instead, it gave the Tigers runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/fxNr7AVLju

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) May 24, 2026

However, the ball didn’t drop as flatly as Alonso expected it to and rolled past him toward the edge of the infield dirt.

Alonso managed to slide and track down the ball, but his rushed throw to second bounced beforehand and wasn’t caught — leaving the Orioles with zero outs on the play instead of a potential two.

With runners on first and second afterwards with no outs, the Tigers wound up taking a 2-0 lead in the inning.

However, the Orioles bounced back for a 5-3 win, as Alonso went 0-for-4 at the plate.

After leaving the Mets in December following a seven-year tenure with the team, Alonso is slashing a .224/.306/.439 line this year in Baltimore.

He’s also added 10 home runs and 32 RBIs.

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Memorial Day is generally seen as the end of the first quarter of the MLB season, which isn't entirely accurate, but it serves as a tidy delineation point to help analyze which teams are in the hunt and which ones have work to do.

With 13 games on the slate, I'm eyeing my favorite MLB moneyline picks to cover the entire day of action.

It's all part of our full MLB picks for Monday, May 25.

MLB moneyline picks for Memorial Day, May 25

Matchup	Pick
Cubs vs Pirates	+100
Rays vs Orioles	-122
Twins vs White Sox	+104
Cardinals vs Brewers	-194
Yankees vs Royals	+127
Reds vs Mets	-156
Diamondbacks vs Giants	-133
Nationals vs Guardians	-170
Phillies vs Padres	-113
Astros vs Rangers	-133
Marlins vs Blue Jays	-163
Rockies vs Dodgers	+233
Mariners vs A's	+104

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 5-24.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for Memorial Day, May 25

Cubs vs Pirates: Pirates (+100)

Pirates win probability: 49%

Saying the Chicago Cubs have to eventually snap their running eight-game losing streak is true, but using it as a reason to pick them to win any particular game is foolish. Since scoring 10 times in their last win on May 15, the Cubs have plated 23 runs over the eight losses. That's 2.87 runs per game, and that includes one in which they scored eight! The Pittsburgh Pirates are a bit of a mess, and Ben Brown has pitched well for the Cubs, but I need Chicago's offense to show me something, anything, before it can regain my trust.

Rays vs Orioles: Rays (-122)

Rays win probability: 55%

The Tampa Bay Rays are an enigma. No one projected them to even be in the race, and here they are leading the AL East in late May. They've been demonstrably better than the Baltimore Orioles, who do not have a starter announced. At this number, with Shane McClanahan on the bump for Tampa, there was never an alternative option.

Twins vs White Sox: Twins (-108)

Twins win probability: 52%

Many of these picks will focus on the starting pitcher matchups, and in this case, it's a matter of favoring Minnesota Twins righty Zebby Matthews over Chicago White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay. Matthews probably should have opened the season in Minnesota's rotation, and he's looked sharp in two starts since getting the call. He induces soft contact, doesn't walk anybody, and probably has more strikeout upside than he's shown in 13 innings.

Cardinals vs Brewers: Brewers (-194)

Brewers win probability: 66%

I would love to find an angle to confidently take the St. Louis Cardinals in this spot, but Milwaukee Brewers righty Jacob Misiorowski is simply too overpowering to ignore. Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore is who he is, and that's a guy who allows a lot of baserunners and often sees them cross home plate. He's allowed eight runs over his last two starts, and an early hole will doom St. Louis against "The Miz."

Yankees vs Royals: Royals (+127)

Royals win probability: 43%

Michael Wacha's arsenal can give the New York Yankees fits. He has six pitches and can be expected to rely less upon his four-seamer when facing a Yankees lineup that generally crushes heaters. A healthy dose of a rock-solid change, curveball, and slider will keep New York off-balance.

Reds vs Mets: Mets (-156)

Mets win probability: 61%

New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing eight hits and nine runs (six earned) against the Nats. But with the Cincinnati Reds answering with southpaw Nick Lodolo, McLean has enough of an overall edge in the pitching matchup. I am a huge Lodolo fan, but he hasn't looked right in three starts since returning from a blister that kept him on the shelf for the first month and change of the season. He issued five walks in his most recent outing, and until he figures out his command, he's almost an instant fade candidate.

Diamondbacks vs Giants: Giants (-133)

Giants win probability: 56%

Landen Roupp has been one of the lone bright spots for the San Francisco Giants in 2026, boasting a 3.27 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over his 10 starts. He doesn't generate a ton of whiffs, but he limits hard contact with the best of them while keeping the ball on the ground at a 55.7% rate (94th percentile). This helps him exponentially at Oracle Park. The Arizona Diamondbacks lineup isn't terrible, but it's closer to league average (100 wRC+). And while it's not predictive, it's encouraging to know Roupp held the D-Backs to one run while scattering seven hits in his last outing on May 19 in Phoenix.

Nationals vs Guardians: Guardians (-170)

Guardians win probability: 63%

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee is the weirdest pitcher in MLB this season. Somehow, he is 0-6 despite a 3.75 ERA and a generally solid FIP. He's not an overpowering hurler, and the Washington Nationals have a dangerous offense, but he's not going to 0-7. I just don't see Zack Littell keeping Cleveland off the board. The only area where Littell thrives is in his 71st-percentile walk rate, which can be construed as a negative. He lives in the zone, and he gets killed in there. 

Phillies vs Padres: Phillies (-113)

Phillies win probability: 53%

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo is the second-weirdest pitcher in MLB this season. His 4.85 ERA is certainly quite poor, but everything under the hood looks solid. He ranks in the 82nd percentile or better in fastball velocity, exit velocity, chase rate, whiff rate, strikeout rate, walk rate, and hard-hit percentage. He's a buy-low candidate in fantasy baseball and a chief reason why I like the Phillies over the San Diego Padres here.

Astros vs Rangers: Rangers (-133)

Rangers win probability: 56%

I'm tempted to go with the visiting Houston Astros here with no starting pitcher officially announced for the Texas Rangers, but I don't yet trust Tatsuya Imai (8.31 ERA, 16.9% walk rate, four home runs allowed in 17 1/3 innings), and Yordan Alvarez may either miss the game or be limited in the wake of back spasms that forced him to leave Saturday's game early.

Marlins vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays (-163)

Blue Jays win probability: 61%

Trey Yesavage has been a breath of fresh air for the Toronto Blue Jays since getting healthy, going 2-1 with a microscopic 1.07 ERA and a 28.7% strikeout rate in 25 1/3 innings. It's a small sample size, but with the Miami Marlins traveling north after a finale against the Mets in South Florida, I expect the Blue Jays' bats to get the job done against Janson Junk while Yesavage holds serve. 

Note: While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did exit Sunday's game after being struck by a pitch, he's optimistic about playing against the Marlins. I still like Toronto if Vladdy doesn't play, but we might get a better number if he sits.

Rockies vs Dodgers: Rockies (+233)

Rockies win probability: 28%

We have a couple of things working against us up front, all of which can be summed up with it's the Colorado Rockies visiting the Los Angeles Dodgers. But that's more or less baked into the line, and we're not going to touch the Dodgers at -270. L.A. starter Emmet Sheehan has been up and down over his nine starts, and his 4.93 ERA can be explained away by an elevated 1.77 HR/9. This is all about value, recognizing Sheehan as the Dodgers' most vulnerable starter, who even a dismal Colorado offense can squeak out some runs against.

Mariners vs A's: A's (+104)

A's win probability: 48%

The Seattle Mariners are deploying starter Luis Castillo as an opener in front of Bryce Miller in the latest gambit to get the veteran right. So far, nothing's worked, as he's 1-5 with a 6.41 ERA in 46 1/3 innings, and the numbers under the hood aren't much better. The A's, notably Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers, will feast on Castillo early at Sutter Health Park in what could be a laugher.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Texas Rangers @ Anaheim Angels

Sunday, May 24, 2026, 6:20 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Angel Stadium

LHP MacKenzie Gore vs. LHP Reid Detmers

Go Rangers!

MILWAUKEE — It was either the most sophisticated code for relaying pitch signs. Or, more likely, the most obvious attempt to distract the pitcher with a bluff.

In the top of the fourth inning Saturday, Andy Pages was not being subtle once he reached second base on a double.

Almost every time Brewers left-hander Robert Gasser threw a pitch, the young Dodgers slugger was doing something with his hands that looked like a signal to the batter.

This is an age-old — and, to be clear, completely legal — part of gamesmanship in baseball. If a baserunner can get a read on the type of pitch that’s about to be thrown, there are any number of ways they can alert their teammate at the plate.

Over the last couple years, Pages in particular has made the practice a common routine. Rarely does he get to second base without doing something. It doesn’t even matter if he actually knows what’s coming.

“We’re gonna do everything we can in those situations,” Pages, who has been involved in pitch-tipping situations previously this year and even during last October’s National League Division Series, said through an interpreter. 

“When you’re at second base, there’s times where they’re doing stuff, and you could tell that they have some stuff. But sometimes, you’re doing stuff to distract the pitcher as well.”

Saturday, upon further review, appeared to be a case of the latter.

While Pages made a variety of hand motions before eight of the 10 pitches Gasser threw as he stood at second, there did not seem to be much of a pattern correlating with his supposed signs.

During an at-bat by Will Smith, Pages extended his left arm as Gasser threw a changeup, which Smith swung at and lined to center field for an out. When Kyle Tucker came up next, Pages tapped his helmet with his right hand before four different pitches, each of which turned out to be four different pitch types. Tucker took all of them to draw a walk.

The reason Saturday got so much attention is because of what happened next.

With Teoscar Hernández up, Pages did a right-handed helmet tap before a sweeper. Swing and miss. He then did a left-handed helmet tap and arm extension before a changeup. Called strike. 

Finally, in an 0-2 count, Pages went back to just stretching out his left arm before another sweeper from Gasser.

This time, Hernández connected for a go-ahead three-run home run, flipping the momentum in the Dodgers’ eventual 11-3 win.

After the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said he believed Pages had caught Gasser tipping, telling reporters that “it was pretty evident that maybe they did [have something] at second base,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

However, in an interview with The California Post on Sunday morning, Pages indicated his signals were simply a ruse.

When asked if he should get an assist for Hernández’s blast, he chuckled and said: “No, not on that one.”

The truth, of course, might be somewhere in the middle. If Pages genuinely was getting reads off Gasser — he stared into the pitcher’s glove as he gripped the ball — it wouldn’t much benefit him to say so publicly.

“There’s times where I will take credit [for relaying the right pitch],” Pages quipped.

But Saturday, even his manager agreed, wasn’t one of them.

“There, honestly, I don’t think we had the signs,” Dave Roberts said. “Teo took a good swing, and it wasn’t really a great pitch. But I’m honestly not certain.”

Either way, such uncertainty is all Pages is usually after.

Whether he has a read or not, there’s no better way to get in pitchers’ heads than making them think he might.

“It’s part of the competition, doing stuff like that, just distracting the pitcher, kind of getting him out of rhythm,” Pages said. “Whether he leaves pitches over the plate or not, that has nothing to do with it. It’s part of the competition, just kind of going back and forth with the pitcher, as well.”

Roberts said he has embraced Pages’ penchant for trying to fluster pitchers. 

“If you can make a pitcher feel like you’ve got their signs,” he said, “you’ve already won.”

The only caveat?

“There’s certain times when you want the runner to kind of be more still, to not distract the hitter, because you don’t want that, either,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, I like the way [he] is engaged and trying to get an advantage for the hitter.”

Granted, how much this all helps the Dodgers is another unclear question.

There isn’t much difference in their stats between when it’s Pages at second base (.286 average, .400 slugging percentage, 25% whiff rate this season) or one of his typically less-demonstrative teammates (.269 average, .427 slugging percentage, 25% whiff rate in all at-bats with a runner occupying the bag — good numbers but hardly statistical outliers).

Still, when Gasser was asked about the situation Saturday night, he said he noticed Pages’ gesticulations behind him.

Regardless of if he was actually tipping, that alone represented mission accomplished.

“Whether you have [a read on the pitches] or disguise to act like you have them,” Roberts said, “that’s the gamesmanship part of it.”

The Mets could not capitalize on any of their offensive efforts today, leaving runners in scoring position ten times in nine innings. The Marlins were in the same boat for eight innings, and the game remained scoreless into the ninth inning before Heriberto Hernandez hit a walk-off grand slam to win the game for the Marlins.

The Marlins’ Tyler Phillips, a recently promoted right-handed pitcher who had a hand in ending the Mets’ 2025 season, started his day by striking out Carson Benge and Bo Bichette before A.J. Ewing singled on a line drive to center field. Shortly after, Ewing stole second base, but the inning ended when Mark Vientos flied out to center field, setting the tone for the Mets’ offense for the day.

In the bottom of the first, Christian Scott came out for his sixth start of the year and allowed a one-out double to Xavier Edwards on a line drive to left field, but he then made quick work of the next two batters, ending the first inning just like that.

In the second inning, Marcus Semien reached second base on a throwing error by Marlins third baseman Javier Sanoja, and then Tyrone Taylor walked. However, the Mets could not capitalize, and the top of the inning ended when Hayden Senger flied out to right field. Scott made quick work in a 1-2-3 inning at the bottom of the second, and score stayed 0-0.

At the top of the third inning, Phillips worked a 1-2-3 inning as well. In the bottom of the third, Sanoja hit a line drive just past Semien into center field for a single. Liam Hicks walked, and so did Edwards on four pitches to load the bases with only one out. Scott responded by striking out Owen Caissie and inducing a groundout from Kyle Stowers to end the inning. The score remained 0-0, and Scott remained impeccable with the bases loaded: now 0-7 across 14 games.

At the top of the fourth, Brett Baty smacked a line drive into center field, and MJ Melendez walked with two outs before Phillips was replaced by Calvin Faucher. Unfortunately, Taylor flied out to left field immediately after to end the Mets’ scoring hopes. In the bottom of the fourth, Scott hit Connor Norby on the elbow guard with a pitch, making Norby the fifth batter that Scott has hit in six games. However, Scott again dodged trouble by striking out Morel and getting Sanoja to fly out to center field, and at the end of the fourth inning, neither team had scored any runs.

In the top of the fifth inning, Bichette sneaked a two-out single right under Sanoja’s glove into left field, and A.J. Ewing followed up with a single on a ground ball to right field that held Bichette up for a moment, so that he had to stop at second base. However, Vientos grounded out to end the inning, and the scoring threat, once more. Scott worked another 1-2-3 inning to keep the game scoreless.

John King came in for the Marlins to pitch the sixth inning, and Baty led off with a four-pitch walk. However, Semien followed up by grounding into a double play. Melendez was hit by a pitch to end King’s outing in favor of Anthony Bender, and Bender induced a groundout from Taylor to end the top of the sixth. Scott returned to the mound for the bottom of the sixth, marking his longest outing of 2026. After the first out, there was a kerfuffle about Otto Lopez’s bat, but once the umpires determined that he could not use the bat and it was replaced, the game rolled on. Lopez lined out, and Marsee singled before Huascar Brazobán replaced Scott to get the final out and move on to the seventh inning with the score still 0-0.

In the top of the seventh, Benge walked and stole second base, and Bichette flied out to center field to move Benge to third base with two outs, the first time that the Mets had a runner on third base during this series. The Marlins then brought in yet another pitcher, Michael Peterson, who struck out Ewing on a foul tip and ended the top of the seventh without allowing any runs from the Mets. In the bottom of the seventh, Sanoja socked a line drive into left field for a double. At that point, Brazobán was replaced by Brooks Raley, who came in and walked Hicks. Edwards then smacked a single straight up a center field, where Ewing was waiting to throw directly to Luis Torrens (having replaced Senger earlier), who tagged Sanoja out at home to save the run and get the second out. However, Hernandez then came in as a pinch hitter and hit a single to load the bases. Raley then induced a groundout and also ended without allowing any runs after a close call in the seventh. After everything, the score remained 0-0.

In the top of the eighth inning, Peterson and Luke Weaver both worked 1-2-3 innings, and Pete Fairbanks came in to pitch for the Marlins at the top of the ninth. MJ Melendez belted a single into right field to start the ninth inning, but when Nick Morabito came in to pinch run for him, he was caught stealing second base. Taylor grounded out, and Torrens drew the Mets’ sixth walk of the game, moving to second on a wild pitch by Fairbanks. Ultimately, it did not matter after Benge struck out to end the top of the ninth, marking 27 innings of play for the Mets in which they have scored two runs. Devin Williams came in for the bottom of the ninth and gave up a double to Morel, who was replaced by Esteury Ruiz as a pinch runner. Sanoja put down a sacrifice bunt to move Ruiz to third, bringing up Hicks, who walked after a full count. Williams intentionally walked Edwards, loading the bases for Hernandez to hit a walk-off grand slam and end the game 4-0.

The Mets return home tomorrow to face the Reds with Nolan McLean on the mound in a matchup with Nick Lodolo. Here’s hoping everyone is feeling better, as well.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Christian Scott, +32% WPA
Big Mets loser: Devin Williams, -36% WPA
Mets pitchers: +20% WPA
Mets hitters: -70% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing throws Javier Sanoja out at home base, -7.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Heriberto Hernandez hits a walk-off grand slam in the ninth, +16.5% WPA

It rained all morning on the North Side of Chicago, but by game time the rain had left the area and it became a beautiful, sunny, late spring afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The sky might as well have kept on pouring, because the Astros rained down three home runs off Shōta Imanaga and defeated the Cubs 8-5, extending the Cubs’ losing streak to eight.

Jake Meyers hit the first of those homers, a solo shot in the second. Okay, a solo homer, that’s not too terrible. The Cubs, meanwhile, had two runners on with two out in the first but (all together now) failed with RISP. Again.

And the Cubs actually took the lead in the bottom of the second. I say “actually” because when they did take the lead, it was the first time they had led in any game in the entire homestand. With one out, Moisés Ballesteros walked and Carson Kelly singled him to third.

Pedro Ramirez, starting his first MLB game after pinch-hitting Saturday, doubled in Ballesteros [VIDEO].

So that was Ramirez’ first major league hit, and yes, they did get the ball for him.

Kelly took third on that hit and scored on a sacrifice fly by Pete Crow-Armstrong [VIDEO].

That gave the Cubs the lead. Ramirez took third on that play and scored on a single by Nico Hoerner [VIDEO].

Michael Busch followed with a walk and Alex Bregman was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two out. Michael Conforto, who has had his share of heroics this year, could have helped put the game (maybe) out of reach, but he struck out to end the inning.

Still — a 3-1 lead! And, about the three-run inning, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs’ three-run second inning was their first with more than two runs in their last four games, since they scored three in the fifth inning on Monday vs. the Brewers. They had scored a total of four runs in 41 subsequent innings.

Today’s was their 19th three-run inning of the season. They have scored four runs in eight innings, three runs in five, and seven runs in one.

Could Imanaga hold that lead? Friends, you already know he could not. Here’s how that went down. He served up another solo homer in the third, to Nick Allen. Still, solo homers aren’t what kill you. It’s the three-run jobs, and that’s what Imanaga gave up in the fifth after two runs had scored on a Jeremy Peña single to give Houston a 4-3 lead. That might have been okay, but the three-run job, by Christian Walker, who already had two home runs in this series, was the death blow.

I thought at the time, “There’s no way the Cubs are going to score four more runs in this game,” and indeed, they did not.

The Cubs had put a couple of runners on in the fourth on walks, but Nico hit into a rally-killing double play.

A couple more things about Imanaga. First, his pitch selection, which as you see was mostly offspeed [VIDEO].

And more Imanaga facts from John:

Imanaga is just the sixth Cubs starter since 1901, and first in nearly 20 years, to pitch six innings and give up seven runs with six strikeouts.

The first five:
Fergie Jenkins, June 14, 1972 (11 hits, 2 homers)
Bill Hands, Aug. 15, 1972 (6 hits, 3 homers)
Kerry Wood, Aug. 5, 1998 (9 hits, 2 homers)
Matt Clement, May 16, 2003 (8 hits, 1 homer)
Carlos Zambrano, July 2, 2006 (7 hits, 2 homers)
Jenkins, Wood and Zambrano also did it at Wrigley Field.

Hands and Zambrano walked three, as Imanaga did. Wood walked two; Jenkins and Clement, one.

The bullpen did a decent job in this one, until the ninth. Ethan Roberts and Phil Maton threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. While that was going on, the Cubs did get a bit closer. PCA led off the seventh with a walk, and one out later, Busch smashed an opposite-field home run to make it 7-5 [VIDEO].

But the next two Cubs were routine outs, and in the eighth, Ballesteros walked with one out ane Carson Kelly singled. Kevin Alcántara was sent in to run for Kelly, but Ramirez hit into an inning-ending double play.

In the ninth, Caleb Thielbar allowed the Astros a run to make it 8-5. A leadoff walk helped lead to that, and, well, you know how those leadoff walks generally come back to bite you.

The Cubs did get the leadoff hitter on in the bottom of the ninth off ex-Cub Nate Pearson, another walk drawn by PCA, who had three bases on balls in this game. That, hopefully, is a good sign for PCA. This was the first time in PCA’s MLB career that he had walked three times in one game.

But he wound up stranded. Hoerner and Busch both hit the ball hard (99 miles per hour for Hoerner, 96 for Busch) but right at Astros infielders, and Bregman flied to right to end the game [VIDEO].

This all feels like the end of the world for the Cubs, but it’s clearly not, as we have just reached Memorial Day. At 29-24, the Cubs still trail the first-place Brewers by just 2.5 games, as Milwaukee lost to the Dodgers Sunday. The Cardinals, in second place, are a game ahead of the Cubs. Those are not insurmountable deficits, even if they feel like it right now.

To put this streak into perspective, here’s John:

The Cubs have tied for the longest losing streak in MLB history by a team that also had multiple double-digit winning streaks. The 1916 Giants won 17, 14 and 12 in a row (the last two separated by a tie) and lost eight. The losing streak came before the winning streaks, making the Giants 1-9. They were 2-13 when they won 17. The two subsequent streaks came in September. They finished 86-66, in fourth place, seven games out of first. 

Hopefully, that fourth-place finish will not be the Cubs’ fate.

They will simply have to go on the road and start winning games, and doing so in Pittsburgh and St. Louis is never easy.

A four-game series against the Pirates at PNC Park begins Monday afternoon. Ben Brown will start for the Cubs and Carmen Mlodzinski goes for Pittsburgh. Game time Monday is 12:35 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network. The BCB game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! This wasn’t one of the best weeks of the season, as the Yankees decided to start their June Swoon early this year with a couple of bad stretches of baseball in the month of May. Thanks in part to the Knicks’ success, however, social media has remained buzzing within the Yankees Universe. With so much to do, let’s get started!

Eastern Conference Finals

During the offseason, members of the New York Yankees, both past and present, spend quite a bit of time at Madison Square Garden to catch the Knicks and the Rangers. The regular season, of course, brings this to a grinding halt, as the players have a few more important things to worry about, but a deep playoff run causes a lot of former players to forego Yankee Stadium for a trip to the world’s most famous arena. This week, Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia were in attendance for the Knicks’ Game 2 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Earlier in the week, Sabathia also commented on his Facebook about the Knicks’ improbable 22-point comeback that gave them a 1-0 series lead:

What an unbelievable comeback…LFG New York Knicks!!!

Congrats, Gio!

Earlier this week, former Yankees infielder Gio Urshela announced his retirement.

A-Rod Teaches Base Stealing

Speaking of third basemen, Alex Rodriguez took to Instagram to post a video on the art of the stolen base. While more known for his power, A-Rod did have some wheels, stealing 329 bases over the course of his career.

Game Belts

The Yanks may not have passed around the Game Belt as much as we’d have liked, but we still saw a couple of Ws this week.

Dave’s Thoughts

As always, Yankees radio voice Dave Sims took to Instagram to react to the Yankees’ games this week.

During the Mets' three games in Miami, they managed to score just two runs, culminating with getting shut out in Sunday’s series finale to finish off a sweep at the hands of the Marlins who began the series in the NL-East cellar.

Despite at least one baserunner in every inning on Sunday, New York, without Juan Soto because of an illness, couldn’t get the big hit and finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position while leaving 10 men on base.

The Mets’ lack of offense looked eerily similar to how it looked when Soto was out with a calf injury and when they were losing 12 in a row.

“We’re scuffling,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We got a lot of guys that are going through it right now, we’re not grinding [out] at-bats. … We gotta figure it out because you gotta be able to score runs.”

While nobody in the lineup is safe from criticism, one player, in particular, who had a tough series and a rough road trip was Marcus Semien.

Semien finished the weekend series 0-for-10 after an 0-for-4 performance on Sunday and has struggled all season long in his first year in Queens after coming over in an offseason trade with the Texas Rangers.

Now in his age-35 season, Semien is hitting .214 with a .560 OPS, tied for the eighth-worst mark in MLB among qualified hitters. Right behind Semien is his teammate Bo Bichette (.581 OPS).

“What I’m feeling is I’m putting the ball in play but not driving the ball,” Semien said. “Like I said, that's a good pitching staff over there so just trying to do everything I can to be on time, be ready for high velocity and be able to handle the offspeed they throw.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get anything really in the air or in the gaps this series and ended up with a tough series.”

Asked if he was concerned that age is starting to catch up with the veteran, who had even struggled in the past few seasons with the Rangers, Mendoza pointed to Semien’s track record and work ethic “behind the scenes” as reasons why he still believes in his second baseman.

“This is a guy that continues to show up and continues to put the work in, day in and day out,” the skipper said. “You hope that at some point he’s gonna come out of it. He’s been in this league for a long time and there’s a reason why and we’re gonna continue to run him out there.”

Where exactly the Mets go from here remains to be seen.

Even with some injured players possibly on their way back soon, New York’s offense has been a problem all season, even at full strength.

“We gotta find a way,” Mendoza said. “We gotta keep going here, we gotta continue to make adjustments because what we’re doing right now is not good enough. It’s as simple as that.

“We got a few guys that are having a hard time, we’re having a hard time creating traffic, we’re having a hard time squaring the ball up and we gotta figure it out.”

Mendoza added: “We can’t be making excuses because of the players that aren’t here. We have 26 MLB players who are capable of executing, but right now we’re going through a tough situation offensively. Obviously we can’t score runs and we’ve got to get back to the basics which is compete, have good at-bats and trust in the guy behind you. We have to create opportunities and right now we’re not doing that.”