Category: MLB

Six games in, and it’s safe to say that—outside of the offensive outburst on opening day—the bats have gotten off to a slow start for the Mets. They haven’t scored more than four runs in a game since that first one, and numerous games have gone into extra innings because the Mets couldn’t bring enough runs home to win in regulation despite the pitching staff holding the opposing offense at bay.

Well, we got another one of those games today—and this was perhaps the most frustrating of them all, as the Mets failed twice to score in extra innings and fell to the Cardinals 2-1 to lose the series.

Today’s game started an hour late due to rain, but the Mets’ bats did not seem to get the memo about the new start time. Indeed, after failing to score at all in last night’s game, the offense once again looked helpless against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore, who retired the first fourteen batters of the game before Mark Vientos broke up the perfect game with a two-out double in the fifth. Alas, through five innings the Mets were held scoreless, making it seventeen straight innings without a run dating back to Monday night. Thankfully, the Amazins had their top starter on the mound, as Freddy Peralta suited up for his second start of the season and matched Liberatore in putting up zeroes. The biggest threat against him came in the bottom of the fifth when the Cardinals got runners on second and third with just one out, but a strikeout and groundout kept the game scoreless.

Francisco Lindor got on base in the top of the sixth thanks to a one-out error, but was immediately picked off (which counted as the second mental error of the day for Lindor, who also forgot how many outs there were and gave up a potential double play earlier). That proved to be consequential, as Juan Soto then came up and hit a high fly ball to right that just barely stayed fair and went over the fence for what should have been a two-run homer. Still, the scoreless streak was finally over thanks to the Soto’s first bomb of the season, and the Mets had themselves their first lead of the day. But alas, they would not hold it for long. Peralta quickly got into trouble in the bottom of the frame, allowing a single and walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out and then falling behind 3-1 to Alec Burleson. He managed to fight back and strike Burleson out, at which point Carlos Mendoza turned to the bullpen. Huascar Brazobán came on and induced an infield pop-up for the second out, but Nolan Gorman then lined a single into center to tie the game at 1-1. A strikeout then ended the inning and finalized Peralta’s line on the day (5.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 1 run).

The Cardinals pulled Liberatore after six innings of one-run ball, and old friend Ryne Stanek was the first pitcher out of the St. Louis bullpen. The Mets got two runners on against him—on a Luis Robert Jr. single and a two-out catcher’s interference against Francisco Alvarez—and Mendoza then called upon Carson Benge to pinch-hit for Tyrone Taylor. The Cardinals responded by bringing in lefty reliever JoJo Romero, who struck out the rookie to end the threat. We then got a string of 1-2-3 innings from both bullpens (first from Brooks Raley, then a full frame from Romero, then from Luke Weaver) to bring us to the ninth with the score still tied.

Jorge Polanco led off the inning with a double against Riley O’Brien. But as they have done over and over and over and over again in this first week of the season, the Mets failed to capitalize on the threat, and three straight outs—culminating in a strikeout by Marcus Semien, who has not gotten a hit since opening day—sent the game into the bottom of the ninth. Seeking to get the game to extra innings, Mendoza turned to his closer, and Devin Williams was able to work around a leadoff walk to hold the Cardinals scoreless and give the Mets their third extra inning game in this young season.

The Mets and their futile offense then committed the cardinal (no pun intended) sin of playing extra innings on the road and failed to score even the ghost runner in the top of the tenth against new pitcher Justin Bruihl. In do or die mode, Mendoza turned to Tobias Myers (who had just pitched multiple innings on Monday) to attempt the unenviable task of trying to hold the Cardinals scoreless and send the game to the 11th. And remarkably, Myers was able to get the job done, as he struck out the leadoff batter after a failed attempt at bunting the ghost runner over to third, and then two harmless groundouts ended the frame with the game still tied at 1-1.

Given new life, surely the Mets’ bats wouldn’t fail to score yet again, right? Surely they aren’t THAT pathetic, right? Well, after a Bo Bichette groundout off new pitcher Chris Roycroft sent the ghost runner to third, back-to-back walks loaded the bases with one out. The Cardinals brought in a new pitcher—right-hander Gordon Graceffo—to try to get out of the jam. And get out of the jam he did, as Brett Baty then hit a soft grounder to second that result in a forceout at home and Semien (who, again, has not gotten a hit since opening day) flew out to end the inning with the Mets being held scoreless yet again.

So Myers was forced to go out for a second inning and try to pull a rabbit out of his hat yet again. And for a moment it looked like he might, as he induced a groundball double play (following an intentional walk to start the inning) to give the Mets two out with a runner at third base. Alas, Masyn Wynn—who had not had a hit all series leading up to this at-bat—blooped a ball into right field that was just past the reach of a diving Benge, bringing the winning run home to end the game.

It’s been six games. Far too soon to be drawing any meaningfully conclusions. But boy howdy this offense has been dreadful to watch one week in, and for the sake of all of our sanity they should try really hard to be better moving forward—particularly in this part of the season before they start facing off against some more intimidating competition later in the year. Onto San Francisco.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Freddy Peralta, +20.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Marcus Semien, -34.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +25.4% WPA
Mets hitters: -75.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto solo homer in the sixth, +18.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Masyn Wynn walk-off single in the 11th, -37.5% WPA

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds, April 1, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, SportsNet Pittsburgh

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the Cincinnati Reds looking to grab a win at Great American Ball Park.

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The Red Sox cannot wipe away this road trip fast enough. Fenway Park, here they come.

Another loss to the Houston Astros, a 6-4 final on Wednesday, spelled more of the same. Too many strikeouts. Too many errors. Not good enough in any phase. Not even Crochet Day could put the Red Sox back in the win column. Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony tried to save the day with late home runs, but Boston heads east with just their Opening Day win in Cincinnati to show. 

Roman Anthony hit his FIRST home run of the season 🚀 pic.twitter.com/JqYCoW0jhZ

— NESN (@NESN) April 1, 2026

¡Wilyer Abreu con su 3er jonrón de la temporada 2026! pic.twitter.com/Nhvpg7Ivng

— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) April 1, 2026

Here are three takeaways from Boston’s series finale in Houston. 

Shaky, not sharp for Crochet

The Astros certainly do not fear the 2025 American League Cy Young Award runner-up. In fact, they attacked him unlike any other offense since he donned the Red Sox uniform.

Houston tagged Crochet for five runs in just four innings of work last August. Wednesday at Daikin Park marked more of the same for the lefty. Crochet finished five innings, the only Red Sox pitcher of the series to do so. The Astros took flight in that span with six hits and five runs (four earned) in another offensive burst.

The southpaw struck out seven, though Carlos Correa delivered the backbreaking swing of the start. The veteran infielder walloped a 1-2 sweeper into the Crawford boxes. The Astros took the lead, knocked Crochet out following the inning and delivered another gut punch to the visitors.

Carlos Correa GO-AHEAD shot in Houston 😤 pic.twitter.com/zv19npqLbE

— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2026

Connor Wong: XBH machine?

Boston’s backup catcher was an offensive liability last season. He didn’t log his first extra-base hit until July 25. 

Well, aided by Carlos Narvaez’s mysterious scratch, Wong is as hot as any Red Sox hitter thus far. He roped his third double of the season Wednesday afternoon. Sustainable? Doubtful, but we’ll see. In any measure, a serviceable Wong would be a welcomed Red Sox surprise. 

So long, Mr. Alvarez

The good news? The Red Sox are done pitching to Yordan Alvarez (for now). 

The bad news? They’ll see him again in exactly a month. 

Alvarez is as much of a Red Sox killer as any slugger to ever face Boston. The stat ran through multiple broadcasts during the series: No qualified hitter (100 at-bats) has a higher OPS (1.280) in history against Boston than Alvarez — next in line in that stat is some guy named Babe Ruth. The 2021 ALCS MVP continued his reign with another monstrous series to the tune of a .545 average with two homers and a 1.888 OPS. He added two more hits and a pair of runs scored Wednesday, along with a staredown of Crochet after Boston’s starter plunked the Houston slugger.

Alvarez comes to Fenway Park with the Astros the first weekend of May. Beware. 

The Mets dropped Wednesday's rubber match with the St. Louis Cardinals, falling 2-1 in 11 innings.

Here are the key takeaways…

-- With the game tied at 1-1, this one went to extra innings, the Mets' third such game in their first six contests. In the top of the 11th, the Mets loaded the bases with one out, but Brett Baty grounded into a force-out at the plate, and Marcus Semien flew out to end the threat. In the bottom half, with two outs and a runner on third, Masyn Winn blooped a single to right just in front of a diving attempt from Carson Benge, giving the Cardinals the win.

-- It was a pitchers’ duel through the early innings, as both Freddy Peralta and Matthew Liberatore were on point early. Peralta allowed just one hit the first time through the order, striking out five. Liberatore, meanwhile, started by retiring the Mets nine-up, nine-down, inducing six ground balls. 

Mark Vientos finally notched the Mets’ first hit of the afternoon with a line drive double down the third base line with two outs in the fifth. Dating back to Tuesday night’s loss, the Mets had gone 0-for-22 before Vientos’ hit. He’d be left stranded there, though, as Francisco Alvarez went down swinging to end the inning. 

-- Just when the Mets looked like they caught a break in the sixth inning, as Francisco Lindor reached on an error by Nolan Gorman, Lindor was immediately caught sleeping and picked off at first base. It was the second mental error of the game for Lindor, who also forgot how many outs there were defensively earlier in the game. 

But Juan Soto picked Lindor up, blasting a high, towering solo home run to right, which hung in the air forever before glancing off the foul pole. Soto’s first home run of the season put the Mets up 1-0, and snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak.

-- Peralta ran into some trouble in the fifth, starting the inning by allowing a walk and a single. But he got out of a second-and-third, one-out jam without allowing a run.

Peralta pitched into the sixth inning, when he was pulled with a couple runners on base. Unfortunately for the Mets, Huascar Brazoban allowed one of the inherited runners to score on a Gorman RBI single, tying the game.

Peralta went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out seven and walked two.

-- As a team, the Mets went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

GAME MVP

Liberatore, who allowed just one earned run in 6.0 innings.

Highlights

Five strikeouts over three scoreless innings so far for Freddy Peralta pic.twitter.com/6f0u6Qf6NA

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 1, 2026

Freddy Peralta works through a jam to keep the Cardinals scoreless through 5 pic.twitter.com/q5X1bTKD1E

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 1, 2026

A TOWERING SHOT!

Juan Soto hits his first home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/nqZJStvwgG

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 1, 2026

The Mets head to extra innings for the third time this season pic.twitter.com/u0H6kRb8Uo

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 1, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets head out to San Francisco for a four-game series with the Giants, starting on Thursday night at 9:45 p.m. on SNY. 

David Peterson will face Robbie Ray in a battle of lefties.

Rockies 1 at Blue Jays 2 (10)

It was one of those games where the starting pitcher was going to have to be almost flawless for his team to win. Kevin Gausman was up to the task and did his damnedest in holding the Rockies at bay for six innings, a but bullpen wobbles and a lack of hitting, first timely and then outright, undermined the effort as the Blue Jays fell in 10 innings.

Gausman was especially dominant over the first four innings, almost perfect really as he set the first 12 batters in order. The fastball was popping and well located, the splitter diving off the plate as he struck out six of those and a liner to third the only time the Rockies got close to touching him. Hunter Goodman had a particularly rough time, befuddled as Gausman dispatched him.

He was more human the last couple ininngs, as Ezequiel Tovar battled him for a long at-bat and lined a single up the middle to start the 5th. Hesitation on a roller allowed Tovar to beat the throw the second and create a real jam, though Gausman extricated himself with a couple strikeouts. After another hard hit in the 6th, he got another pair of strikeouts to end the inning in double digits for the second time, finishing 6 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts.

The bats were able to create opportunities early against Kyle Freeland, but couldn’t land decisive blows and largely squandered the chance to build a substantial lead:

• A lead off single in the 2nd from Okamotot was erased by a Kirk GIDP sanchwiched around another single
• Myles Straw blooped a single leading off the 3rd, scoring on a one-out Davis Schneider single after a Springer walk. Vladdy was (barely) hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out and really set up a big inning, but Okamoto struck out and Kirk flared out.
• Another Straw single in the 4th put two one after a HBP, but advanced no further.

From that moment in fact, the bats were essentially shut down, managing just two singles over the last 6.2 innings, after eight of the first 17 batters reached over the first 3.1 innings.

So Gausman exited clinging to a slim 1-0 lead. Tyler Rogers was first out and uncharacteristically fallible, allowing a pair of hard singles. In fact, only Addison Barger’s arm (or the threat thereof) kept a run off the board as TJ Rumfield held up at first after smashing a ball to the wall and would likely have scored from second with two out on the latter single.

The highwire act could onyl last so long however. Tommy Nance was next for the 8th, and it wasn’t his day either . Nine hitter Kyle Karros walked leading off, yielding to Jake McCarthy who stole scored in quick order on a single. Another walk, wild pitch, and stolen base created a real mess but John Schneider inflicted a little dose of the Flu(harty), whose two strikeouts prevented the Rockies from taking the lead.

Jeff Hoffman was equally as on point in the 9th, sharp sliders dispatching the Rockies to strikeout the side in order. With Braydon Fisher and Louis Varland down from previous heavy use, that left Brendon Little, and well….

Honestly, he wasn’t even terrible, but a sharp ground ball up the middle plated the do ahead run. For their part, Springer popped out on the second pitch in the bottom of the 10th before Nathan Lukes battled Jimmy Herget to 12 pitches before ultimately rolling one over. Vladdy cracked a ball, but to dead CF where it was easily caught and so it goes.

Jays of the Day: Gausman (+.36 WPA), Fluharty (+0.25), Hoffman (+0.14), Davis Schneider (+0.12)

Boo Jays: Nance (-0.40) , Vlad (-0.22), Kirk (-0.14), Jimenez (-0.13). Lukes (-0.13) had the number but not giving him one for that 10th inning AB.

Tomorrow, the Jays are now off, with the White Sox home opener now scheduled for 2:10 EDT with Dylan Cease taking the hill against his former team.

The Washington Nationals suffered their first truly heartbreaking loss of the season. They had a 5-1 lead in the 7th inning, but could not finish off the Phillies. The veteran laden Phillies took advantage of the young Nats issuing walks and making mistakes in the field. Blake Butera’s bunch fought, but they could not finish.

It was a bit of a pitchers duel in the first five innings. The Nats made Cristopher Sanchez work, but did not take advantage of most of their opportunities. You could say the same thing for the Phillies offense. Cade Cavalli was not at his best the first four innings, but he survived and only allowed one run.

Cade Cavalli balled out this afternoon, delivering a quality start against the Phillies!

He used a high-velo fastball and a couple of breaking balls to keep the bats silent this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/gGVeCoDxPU

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) April 1, 2026

However, Cavalli turned up the heat in his last two frames, retiring the last six hitters he faced. It was a successful outing for Cavalli, and if we were deeper in the season, he probably would have gone out for the seventh. In hindsight, Blake Butera probably should have stuck with his righty instead of going to Andre Granillo.

After manufacturing two runs in the first six innings, the Nats had a big seventh against Brad Keller. It actually started with two quick outs. However, after Daylen Lile got a hustle base hit, the rally was on. The red hot Joey Wiemer got yet another hit and then CJ Abrams delivered with a massive 3 run homer. 

CJ Abrams clubs his first homer of the year 👏 pic.twitter.com/iMI4RXDziy

— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2026

At that point, the game seemed out of reach for the Phillies and the home crowd was shocked. However, the wily vets chipped away. It started with a JT Realmuto homer in the 7th. The Nats got out of that inning with just one run though. They still felt in command of the game.

That control began to slip away in the 8th. Bryce Harper homered and then Luis Garcia Jr. was unable to pick the ball on back to back plays at first base. Between Andres Chaparro and Luis Garcia Jr., first base defense has been a big problem for the Nats. Paul Toboni has done a lot of great things, but not picking up a veteran first baseman is a questionable move.

Luis Garcia failed to pick two balls at 1B in this 8th inning so far.

He's got 2 errors already in 2026. Very early in the experiment but he was a -7 in OAA at 2B last year. Doesn't look comfy at his new spot yet.

Defense has been the Nats' one problem area in the first week.

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) April 1, 2026

The Nats ended up surviving that inning while keeping things a 3-2 game. However, they used Clayton Beeter to get out of the inning. Beeter came out for the 9th, but he only faced two batters. He allowed a ground out and a single. The Nats ended up pulling him for PJ Poulin.

Blake Butera has pushed most of the right buttons this season, but I think he overmanaged here. I understand the platoon matchup, but Beeter is just a better, more powerful arm than Poulin. The top guys in the Phillies lineup had also seen Poulin yesterday.

Poulin could not stop the bleeding, getting one out, but issuing two walks. That led to another pitching change, with Cole Henry coming in to face Edmundo Sosa. Henry executed very well on his first two pitches, but hung a sweeper on an 0-2 count. Sosa took advantage and drove it into left to tie the game.

After the Nats were unable to score a run in the top of the 10th, the game just felt over. Blake Butera seemed to think so too, as he just kept Henry in the game rather than burning another reliever. The Phillies eventually put the Nats out of their misery with a walkoff single from Justin Crawford.

Justin Crawford with a walk-off base knock to complete the comeback for the @Phillies! pic.twitter.com/M5TTBkDZRe

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 1, 2026

The Nats fought their tails off this series, but their immaturity and flaws showed. I still come away from this series happy with the effort and the overall performance. However, you can see the flaws in this team. With James Wood just not being the same player since last July, the Nats don’t have a consistent home run threat to either get back in games or put them away.

They also do not have a singular lock down closer like the Phillies do with Jhoan Duran. The Nats have some solid bullpen arms, but none of them are dominant. In many ways the Nats outplayed the Phillies this series. However, the Phillies showed why they have made the playoffs in recent years and the Nats showed why they are a rebuilding team.

The weather may have been warm in Miami, but Chicago’s bats? Ice cold. The pitching? Somewhere south of that. The White Sox dropped to 1-5 on the young season after getting thoroughly flattened, 10-0, by the Miami Marlins in a game that somehow felt over before most people had finished their first bite of lunch.

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If you were hoping for a clean slate after a rough Opening Day for Shane Smith, well, that hope didn’t last long. The righthander put together a first inning that can only be described as a full-blown tire fire. Four runs crossed the plate before he could even record a second out, thanks to four hits, a walk, and a throwing error that gifted Miami an extra run. Three earned, one unearned, all ugly. And no, it didn’t get better.

Smith came back out for the second and promptly made things worse. A single set the table for a two-run blast by Liam Hicks, pushing the score to 6-0 and effectively turning this one into a glorified bullpen game before the Sox even had much of a chance to battle back.

Manager Will Venable let Smith wear it into the third, where the Marlins tacked on two more runs via the usual suspects — a walk, a double, a single. By the time it was over, the damage was done, the game was out of reach, and the Sox were left staring at yet another early-game crater.

However, in a contest devoid of many positives, the bullpen at least avoided making things exponentially worse. Lucas Sims, freshly called up, tossed two solid innings with just one hit allowed. Chris Murphy added two frames of his own, though he did surrender the ninth run. And Jordan Leasure, well, he did Jordan Leasure things, giving up the final run in the eighth on a solo shot by Otto Lopez.

Can you call it progress? Technically.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sandy Alcántara was everything the White Sox were not: dominant, efficient, and completely in control. The Marlins’ ace carved through the lineup with a complete game shutout, allowing just three singles from Chase Meidroth, Tristan Peters, and Luisangel Acuña. Seven strikeouts, zero walks, and not a hint of trouble. Whether that says more about Alcántara’s brilliance or the Sox’s current state is … not a particularly fun debate.

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Due to the weather, the Sox will have to wait a bit longer for their Home Opener, now scheduled for Friday at 1:10 p.m. CST. Sean Burke will take the ball for the South Siders, while old friend Dylan Cease will be on the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays, because of course he is.

Strap it in, Sox fans. It’s April, the team is already 1-5, and if this one was any indication, it’s shaping up to be another long, grinding ride on the South Side.

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4-2 sure beats the crap out of 0-7, right? Indeed, the Atlanta Braves have gotten their season off on the right foot following a successful homestand to get things going. Atlanta took the opening series with two straight wins over the Royals to start things off and now they’ve kept things going in the right direction by picking up another series win over the Athletics.

Now granted, the Athletics always seemed like a pretty favorable opponent and that was especially the case after they spent most of their opening series in Toronto whiffing left and right. Still, the A’s are the type of team that the Braves have to take care of business against if they plan on playing meaningful baseball later on this year and as far as the early test goes, the Braves have passed it in fine fashion. So let’s take a look at how the final series of this first homestand for the Braves.

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Monday, March 30

Braves 4, Athletics 0

Well, would you look at that? Two shutouts in four games for the Braves pitching staff — just like all of us predicted, right? Indeed, Bryce Elder got his season off to a fantastic start as he delivered six shutout innings while dancing around even the slightest bit of trouble that the A’s tried to cause him.

On the offensive side of things, the Braves did most of their damage in the first inning as they rudely welcomed Jacob Lopez to Atlanta with three runs to start things off. Thanks to Elder and the rest of the staff being on point, this was more than enough for the Braves to end up taking the win. Mauricio Dubón ended up with three RBI on the night, which was impressive considering that he had a less-than-stellar night in the field with the glove. That’s baseball for you.

Tuesday, March 31

Athletics 5, Braves 2

Atlanta’s first crack at winning this series went awry as one bad inning from Jose Suarez and a lack of opportune hitting from the Braves doomed them to defeat in this one. Drake Baldwin did homer in the first inning (on his own bobblehead night, no less) and that seemed like an auspicious sign but instead, Suarez gave up three runs to the A’s in the second inning and then eventually staked themselves out to a 5-1 lead once the top of the fifth inning was done.

Braves hitters couldn’t do much with Aaron Civale, as his offspeed offerings were too tricky for a lot of Atlanta’s lineup on the night. The main positive for the Braves in this one was that Martin Pérez was able to follow in Didier Fuentes’ footsteps by helping to give the rest of the bullpen a day of rest. Pérez entered the game in the middle of the fifth inning in relief of Joel Payamps and went the rest of the way.

In the postgame press conference, Walt Weiss described Pérez’s performance as as much of a “game-saver as you could get in a loss” and Pérez himself stated that he felt very good about his approach when it came to attacking the batters in this one. He also stated that he’s feeling fully healthy for the first time since 2024, so there’s another positive to look at when it comes to one of the pitchers on this staff at the moment. The loss sure stunk but the overall outlook wasn’t horrible.

Wednesday, April 1

Braves 5, Athletics 1

Despite the offensive effort from the A’s in the middle game, the Braves had to have felt good about their chances of bouncing back on the mound with Chris Sale going for the Wednesday matinee. Sure enough, Sale’s performance was too tough for the A’s to deal with on this day as he finished with six innings and just one hit and three strikeouts allowed. The one run came off of a home run from Shea Langeliers, which at this point you’ll take a solo shot from him because he’s come out of the gates swinging a bat that’s on fire. Outside of that blemish, Sale got some excellent results while not even looking particularly dominant, himself.

A’s starter Luis Severino looked extremely shaky to start out this contest and while the Braves let a scoring chance go by the wayside in the first inning, Drake Baldwin made sure that they didn’t waste the next chance. His two-RBI single put the Braves in front in the second inning and Atlanta was able to run Severino from the game after just 3.1 innings and four earned runs. Drake Baldwin collected all four of those RBI that Severino allowed, as his double off of Elvis Alvarado was the blow that eventually put the Braves too far ahead for the A’s to catch on this day. Matt Olson tacked on an RBI single to make it 5-1 and then the bullpen arms of Robert Suarez, Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias finished things of to give the Braves their first rubber game victory of the season.

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Well, the first homestand of the season is over and the Braves made sure that it was a winning homestand, to boot. Even with the weirdness that is the fact that Atlanta’s gotten picked off four times in six games this season (they got picked off 10 times across all 162 games last season), that didn’t take away from the business-like performance that we saw from the Braves over the course of these six games. This was an A’s lineup that was coming into this series struggling at the plate and whiffing a ton. Outside of one bad inning from Suarez in the middle game, Atlanta’s pitching was on point and continued to make life very tough for the A’s at the plate.

Meanwhile, the star of the show at the plate so far has to be Drake Baldwin. Last season’s NL Rookie of the Year has gotten off to a blazing start — sure, Shea Langeliers may be on fire right now but Baldwin is certainly keeping stride with him, as he’s clubbed seven hits (three of those hits being homers) with seven RBI as well. The rest of the veterans in the lineup have gotten off to a bit of a fitful start at the plate but Baldwin’s great performance is helping to lift the whole team up while those guys continue to get their feet up under them to get this season going.

All-in-all, it’s hard to find fault with a 4-2 start to the season — beggars can’t be choosers, either, especially when you consider the calamitous start to the 2025 season. They’ll have an early test on their hands with another early-season road trip but a trip to Arizona and Anaheim seems a lot more reasonable than visiting San Diego and Los Angeles this early on. It’s still baseball and the Braves will have to take care of business on the road in order to make sure that this good start keeps moving into the future but for now, the foundation-laying of this season is going smoothly with two series wins right out of the gate.

Umpire C.B. Bucknor's difficult week continued on Wednesday when he left a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers after a foul ball hit him flush in the face mask.

Tampa Bay's Nick Fortes fouled a 100-mph fastball from Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski straight back. The ball struck Bucknor, who immediately turned and dropped to his knees.

The Brewers' training staff checked on Bucknor before he left American Family Field. Chad Fairchild, who had been working as the first base umpire, took over behind the plate.

Bucknor's troubles began Saturday when the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox challenged eight of his six ball/strike calls. Six were overturned by Major League Baseball's new ABS challenge system, including back-to-back strike three challenges by Reds slugger Eugenio Suárez that delighted the crowd. At one point, Bucknor's chin dropped to his chest.

Bucknor, who has been an MLB umpire since 1996, ejected Red Sox manager Alex Cora after calling Trevor Story out on a check swing. The call ended the eighth inning with two runners on base and the Red Sox trailing by one run.

"He has one job to do. It wasn't his best day," Cora said about Bucknor after the game.

Read more:What to expect with MLB's ABS system, and how Dodgers will navigate it

Bucknor, 63, found himself in another swirl of controversy as the first base umpire on Tuesday. Jake Bauers of the Brewers reached base after Rays shortstop Ben Williamson made a throwing error, and Bucknor called Bauers out for failing to touch first base.

The replay clearly showed that Bauers had stepped on the bag, and the call was reversed.

"Yeah, grateful for that," Bauers told reporters about the replay review. "I don't know what happened. Just thankful to get on base and thankful to come around and score."

While it is unclear why Bucknor missed the call at first base, the rash of overturned ball/strike calls is emblematic of the adjustments umpires and players are making to the automated ball/strike challenge system.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani battles through the rain to throw a one-hit gem in Dodgers' win

From 1995 to 2005, the MLB rule book defined strikes as the area over home plate from the midpoint between the shoulders and the top of the pants, down to the bottom of the knees. ABS, however, defines the top of the zone as 53.5% of a player’s height, and the bottom of the zone is 27% of the player’s height.

ABS uses tracking technology — 12 Hawk-Eye cameras — to determine the precise location of a pitch relative to a batter’s specific strike zone. The cameras measure balls and strikes from a two-dimensional plane set in the middle of home plate.

Challenges can be made by the catcher or batter, who tap their head to indicate they want an ABS verdict. In the first few days of the 2026 season, catchers turned 59 of 92 challenges (64.1%) into favorable rulings. Batters were less successful, turning 33 of 78 challenges into favorable rulings.

In 2003 and 2006, Sports Illustrated surveys of active MLB players declared Bucknor as the worst umpire in MLB. A 2010 survey of players by ESPN also ranked Bucknor last.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

First, Andrew Painter had a highly successful debut.

Now, Justin Crawford has himself a walkoff hit, giving the Phillies a much needed victory at home, evening their record at 3-3.

One would have thought it was going to be a lot easier the way the game started. Trea Turner walked, stole a base and scored on a Kyle Schwarber double.

#Nationals 0 @ #Phillies 1 [B1–1o]:

Kyle Schwarber doubles (1): line drive to RCF
Hit: 🔥105.5mph, 284ft, 14°, 💥.682xBA

Pitch: 🔥98.0mph 4S Fastball (RHP C.Cavalli)#NATITUDE#RingTheBell#MLBpic.twitter.com/MYSY7zQz4e

— MLB RBI Videos (@MLBRBIs) April 1, 2026

However, the second inning saw Cristopher Sanchez struggle with his command a bit and the Nationals continue their series trend of barely getting the ball out of the infield to scrape across a run and tie the game at one. The Phillies had a chance to untie it in their half of the second, loading the bases for Trea Turner, but a line drive to center field and the threat was over.

The chance would find Turner again in the fourth when he had two in scoring position and two out, but a meek fly ball and the feeling of “here we go again” started washing over everyone watching it. The game stayed that way until the sixth when the Nationals pushed a run across with two outs to take a 2-1 lead. In the seventh, Washington added on when Brad Keller, on in relief for another day, got two outs and induced a groundball for a potential third out, only to be overturned by replay. Two batters later…

CJ Abrams – Washington Nationals (1) 3-run Shot 391 feet
pic.twitter.com/cGsyFJLIIl

— MLB Homerun Tracker (@Homerun_Tracker) April 1, 2026

Sigh…

However, the fight to gain ground started in the seventh. J.T. Realmuto finally got on the board with a home run to cut the lead to three.

J.T.'s first home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/v1xKhtpdo7

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2026

In the eighth, Bryce Harper decided to have a pulse by homering and narrowing the lead yet again.

Bryce 💣 pic.twitter.com/0KcquZGjSE

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2026

The ninth is when the real fireworks began. Turner and Schwarber got one with one out, Harper flied out with two outs and Alec Bohm was walked to load the bases. Edmundo Sosa, brought in as a substitute earlier in the game, delivered with an RBI to tie the game at five.

OH YOU GOTTA LOVE IT! pic.twitter.com/PeHWz9d4Hm

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2026

It stayed this way into extra innings with Jhoan Duran on the mound to preserve the tie ballgame. He got the first out, then was aided by a sparkling defensive play by Sosa to keep the game tied.

IT'S EDMUNDO'S WORLD AND WE ARE JUST LIVING IN IT! pic.twitter.com/xNtwsO22xN

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2026

With the chance to win it in the tenth, Realmuto singled ghost runner Brandon Marsh to third, meaning Justin Crawford had a chance to make his first stamp on the team. He delivered in a big way.

JUSTIN CRAWFORD WALKS IT OFF!!!!! pic.twitter.com/iR14H5aO28

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2026

Good for the kid.

The team heads to Colorado to begin a three game series on Friday.

What began as a pitcher’s duel resulted in an extra-inning victory for the Colorado Rockies as they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 to conclude their first road trip of the season.

Despite an offense that struggled to connect, the Rockies’ pitching matched the reigning American League Champions and secured their first series victory of 2026. By contrast, the Rockies didn’t win their first series until June of last season.

Five for Freeland

It took one cycle through the rotation, but the Rockies finally got a starting pitcher to go five innings. Kyle Freeland worked through plenty of traffic but managed to navigate five innings while giving up one run on five hits. He was the definition of attacking the strike zone, throwing 60 of his 88 pitches for strikes, and ended up allowing just one walk while punching out six.

The lone run against Freeland came in the third inning on a one-out single to right field by Davis Schneider that scored Myles Straw. With runners on second and third, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was hit by a sweeper on the tip of his back foot to load the bases. Freeland escaped with a strikeout of Kazuma Okamoto, followed by a soft lineout by Alejandro Kirk. The knuckle-curve was quite effective on the day as he threw it over 25 times.

Gausman Dominance

Unfortunately for the Rockies, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman was just as effective. The Colorado native was on point from the get-go and was perfect through the first four innings. He ended up going six innings, allowing just two hits while striking out 10 Rockies hitters.

With 21 strikeouts, Gausman set a franchise record with the most strikeouts through the first two starts of the season by a Blue Jays pitcher. He is also the first pitcher since at least 1901 with 21 or more strikeouts and zero walks through his first two starts of a season. Gausman’s splitter and fastball were lethal as he carved up the Rockies and generated 19 swing and misses.

The Rockies got their first base runner against Gausman courtesy of a leadoff single from Ezequiel Tovar in the fifth inning. T.J. Rumfield then hit a dribbler on the infield that Toronto flipped to second base for a force out. Tovar was initially called out, but a replay challenge overturned the ruling, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Gausman then struck out Jordan Beck and Brett Sullivan before getting Brenton Doyle to ground out to end the inning.

Troy Johnston had a one-out double in the sixth inning, but Hunter Goodman and Willi Castro struck out to end that threat.

Bullpen Relief

The bullpen was excellent for the Rockies as they prevented the Blue Jays from scoring another run. Antonio Senzatela followed Freeland with two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Victor Vodnik and Brennan Bernardino dealt scoreless innings with Jimmy Herget nailing down the save in the bottom of the 10th. The pen allowed just two hits over five innings of work.

The Quest for Offense

The Rockies struck out a whopping 17 times in 36 at-bats while drawing just three walks. They managed six hits, including the aforementioned double, while going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Johnston led the day with a two-hit performance, while five Rockies had two or more strikeouts. The only starter that didn’t strike out was Rumfield. Still, the team continued its running ways, stealing two bases, bringing the team’s total to 10. Jake McCarthy’s stolen base in the eighth proved most beneficial as he was then able to score on Johnston’s RBI single and tie the game at one.

Still, when it mattered most, Tyler Freeman, just activated from the injured list, poked an RBI single to center field in the top of the 10th to drive in the winning run for the Rockies.

Up Next

The Rockies have the day off on Thursday before welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game set at Coors Field on Friday. Michael Lorenzen (0-0, 6.23 ERA) will take the mound in the home opener and face off against Aaron Nola (0-0, 5.40 ERA) for the Phillies.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 pm MT.

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Box Score

The Brewers picked up another win on Wednesday afternoon, wrapping up their season-opening homestand with another series win behind a solid pitching performance and a late offensive surge.

Jacob Misiorowski got off to a strong start, setting down the top of Tampa Bay’s lineup in order bookended with a pair of strikeouts. Drew Rasmussen had similar success in the bottom of the inning, putting Milwaukee down 1-2-3 with a strikeout of Christian Yelich.

After picking up a pair of strikeouts to begin the second, a foul tip off the bat of Nick Fortes (on a 100-mph fastball) flew directly into home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor’s mask, who fell to his knees and was visibly shaken up. Bucknor eventually got up and walked off the field under his own power, flanked by members of the Brewers’ training staff. It was a pretty scary moment, so hopefully Bucknor is alright.

After the delay, Misiorowski gave up a single to Fortes and a walk to Chandler Simpson, but he got out of the inning with the game still scoreless. After Rasmussen worked around a single and steal by Garrett Mitchell, Misiorowski found himself struggling in the third.

Miz hit the leadoff man, Richie Palacios, to put a runner on with nobody out. Up next was Yandy Díaz, who lofted a fastball over the right field fence for a two-run homer, putting Tampa up 2-0. Misiorowski then got a flyout before giving up a double to Jake Fraley, but he struck out the next two batters to keep the deficit at two.

The Brewers didn’t take long to respond in the bottom of the inning, as David Hamilton reached on a throwing error by Junior Caminero before swiping second base. After Joey Ortiz hit a deep fly ball that was caught by a sliding Cedric Mullins on the warning track, Brice Turang got a hold of one and put it into the Brewer bullpen to knot the game at 2-2. Caminero had another throwing error one batter later, but Rasmussen struck out the next two to keep the score at 2-2.

Easy opposite field power from @BRiCEcTuRANGhttps://t.co/q0LsZHs5hJpic.twitter.com/BaiSVY1cGE

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 1, 2026

In the fourth, Miz allowed a one-out single to Simpson, who was wiped out at second on a spectacular diving play and throw by Turang. He then walked Palacios but got out of the inning with a soft grounder by Díaz.

Fresh off hitting a bomb, Brice Turang makes a nice diving snag

→ https://t.co/68EQQYUZ6Zpic.twitter.com/dyoPlseMWA

— Brewers.TV (@BrewersdotTV) April 1, 2026

Rasmussen continued right where he left off in the fourth, striking out Milwaukee’s outfield trio of Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Blake Perkins in order on just 12 pitches. Misiorowski was even more efficient in the top of the fifth, inducing three flyouts on just six pitches.

That would be indicative of the quiet innings to come, as Rasmussen worked around a Turang walk in the bottom of the fifth, Miz set the Rays down in order in the sixth, and Rasmussen’s replacement, Ian Seymour, allowed a leadoff single but then got a double play and strikeout for a clean bottom of the sixth.

Misiorowski’s day was over after six frames, as he allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks with seven strikeouts. He was slightly overshadowed by Rasmussen, who went five innings with two runs allowed (only one earned) on two hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.

Grant Anderson took over for Miz in the seventh, setting the Rays down 1-2-3 before Seymour did the same in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Ashby allowed a leadoff walk in the eighth but got an inning-ending double play, and this one would be decided in the final at-bat for each team.

Griffin Jax got the ball in place of Seymour in the eighth, and immediately found himself struggling, with no help from his defense to boot. Ortiz singled (note: this was originally ruled an error, but the scoring was changed the next inning) to start the frame, and Turang followed with a sacrifice bunt. But Caminero failed to make the catch at first — his third error of the day — and both runners were safe.

The ball kept rolling from there, as William Contreras singled to load the bases with no outs. Yelich, who delivered the huge go-ahead hit in the eighth on Sunday, did exactly the same today, singling in both Ortiz and Turang to give Milwaukee the late 4-2 lead. Jake Bauers followed with a walk to once again load the bases.

Yeli plates two for the lead in the 8th ‼️@ChristianYelichpic.twitter.com/vWFeBbNjNJ

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 1, 2026

Mason Englert took over for Jax, and he didn’t fare any better, allowing a two-run double to Mitchell — making it 6-2 Brewers — before Perkins brought in another with a groundout.

Garrett doubles in two huge insurance runs pic.twitter.com/xzKOgZMOYe

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 1, 2026

Hamilton drove in one more with a two-out single, giving Milwaukee a big six-run inning for an 8-2 lead before all was said and done.

David Hamilton makes it a SIX-run eighth inning 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UyEDoRxrWr

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 1, 2026

DL Hall got the ninth and picked up a trio of strikeouts while working around a hit by pitch and single.

It was another solid day for the Crew, as they moved to 5-1 on the season. Ashby took the win with his scoreless eighth, while the staff as a whole scattered five hits, three walks, and a hit batter, giving up two runs (both credited against Misiorowski). Offensively, Turang, Yelich, and Mitchell led the way, as all three picked up a pair of RBIs. Perkins and Hamilton added an RBI each, and Turang and Mitchell had the only extra-base hits on a homer and double, respectively.

The Brewers get their first off day on Thursday before beginning a two-city interleague road trip this weekend. They’ll first head to Kansas City to take on the Royals. First pitch in Friday’s game is at 6:45 p.m. CT, airing exclusively on Apple TV, though you can also listen on the Brewer Radio Network.

Early season schedules are a peculiarity, and a getaway game on an early April afternoon is one of those things. The Rays were licking their wounds from a rough loss on Tuesday night—but a blessedly solid outing from the returning Shane McClanahan—and were hoping to come away with a series win before hitting the road. They would be leaning on Drew Rasmussen to handle the pitching, while the Brewers were counting on the young and exciting Jacob Misiorowski.

With two strong pitchers out today, scoring was always going to be at a premium. The Rays went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, then the Brewers did the same in the bottom of the inning.

In the second, there were two back-t0-back outs, but then the game fell into a delay as a 100mph fastball got foul tipped right into the mask of home plate umpire CB Bucknor, taking him to the ground. The delay continued as Bucknor was removed from the game. Chad Fairchild came in to replace him, going with a three-man crew instead.

Tough break here for umpire, CB Bucknor. Hopefully, he is okay. 🙏🏼

*This is the reason for the delay right now, between the Brewers and Rays on WDAE#RaysUppic.twitter.com/tAzc5uzjzJ

— 95.7 WDAE & AM620 (@957WDAE) April 1, 2026

The delay didn’t seem to hurt Nick Fortes at all as he extended the inning for the Rays with a single. Chandler Simpson followed that up with a walk, but the Rays failed to take advantage of the opportunity and a groundout ended the inning. In the home half, Garrett Mitchell hit a one-out single. Mitchell then stole second, but his hustle would go unrewarded as the next two batters failed to make anything happen.

Richie Palacios got hit by a pitch to start the third, and then Yandy Diaz accepted the challenge and lobbed a home run to right field, putting the Rays up 2-0.

Yandy Díaz. The man that you are. pic.twitter.com/fshbkYBIAa

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 1, 2026

With one out, Jake Fraley hit a double, but two outs then followed to leave him stranded. In the home half, David Hamilton laid down a leadoff bunt, which I would normally really make fun of, however Junior Caminero came in to get the dribbling infield hit and then completely overthrew first, so Hamilton was safe and the play was ruled an error. Joey Ortiz hit a long fly ball that really looked like it might be trouble and Hamilton was already rounding third when Cedric Mullens made an incredible catch in center, sending Ortiz to the dugout and Hamilton back to first. Hamilton then stole secnd. Sadly, Brice Turang then did exactly what Ortiz wanted to do and hit a home run to tie the game up 2-2. William Contreras then reached on a throwing error by Caminero, the second in this same inning. Two outs followed, thankfully keeping the second error from doing any additional damage.

Simpson got a one-out single in the top of the fourth. Ben Williamson then hit into a force out, eliminating Simpson at second but the Brewers failed to turn the double play. Palacios then walked. Even with two runners on, though, the Rays didn’t manage to score any runs. Rasmussen was back on his game in the home half, getting the Brewers out in order.

The Rays went 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning Turang got a two-out walk, but the Brewers couldn’t turn around a run.

With one out in the sixth there was some contention over whether or not Nick Fortes was safe at first as it seemed like Jake Bauers might have come off the bag. The Rays challenged the play, but the call on the field was upheld. Drew Rasmussen’s day was done going 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR on 89 pitches. Overall a really good outing for Rasmussen, whose only major issue was the Turang home run, which he got back into the groove from almost immediately. He actually set a career high of consecutive strikeouts, getting six in a row. He was replaced by Ian Seymour, who gave up a leadoff single to Christian Yelich. Bauers then grounded into a double play to eliminate the threat. A strikeout ended the inning.

Misiorowski was done after six, being replaced by Grant Anderson. Anderson got the Rays out in order in the top of the seventh. The Rays returned the favor in the home half, getting the Brewers out 1-2-3.

Aaron Ashby was next out of the Brewers’ pen, he gave up a leadoff walk to Jonathan Aranda. There was some pinch work to be done with both a pinch hitter and pinch runner, but a flyout and double play ended the inning. In the bottom of the inning there was plenty of ugly fielding after about a million positional shiftsm including a new pitcher in Griffin Jax. Joey Ortiz reached on an error by Carson Williams who missed a liner that took an ugly little hop. Turang then laid down a sac bunt that Ben Williamson got to first nicely, but Junior Caminero failed to get a grip on the ball, another error for Caminero. Contreras singled to load the bases, followed by a single by Yelich that brought in two runs. Jake Bauers walked and there were still no outs in the inning. Mason Englert replaced Jax, then Mitchell doubled to score two more. A pop out finally got one out, but then a ground out scored another run. Hamilton singled, scoring another run. The Rays would finally get the last out of the inning, but the score was now a very tilted 8-2.

DL Hall came in for the Brewers. Cedric Mullins was hit by a pitch to start the top of the ninth. With one out, Simpson singled. The Rays were unable to take advantage of the baserunners though, and the game wrapped up with no extra runs scored.

Final: Brewers 8, Rays 2

LOS ANGELES — Within the first three weeks of the Major League Baseball season, you’ll have been able to hear Orel Hershiser call Dodgers games on three different television networks. The longtime Dodgers star will be a part of the ESPN telecast of the Jackie Robinson Day game against the New York Mets on April 15 at Dodger Stadium.

Hershiser will join former Mets pitcher Ron Darling — who, like Hershiser, is a current television analyst for his former club — in the booth alongside Joe Buck calling play-by-play for ESPN, in an exclusive telecast for the network.

“I can’t wait to work with these two guys,” Buck said in a statement. “I loved watching them pitch and now really enjoy listening to them on the air. They’re the best at what they do, and I’ll be leaning on them a ton. To call a Dodgers game on Jackie Robinson Day makes it even more meaningful. There’s no more important figure in baseball history, and to honor him that night in Dodger Stadium will be truly special.”

NBC Sports is using a similar strategy with its baseball telecasts all season, pairing one analyst associated with each team along with a national announcer. Hershiser on opening day was alongside former Arizona Diamondbacks hero Luis González with Jason Benetti on play-by-play for Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks. Hershiser has since called the rest of the Dodgers’ opening homestand for SportsNet LA.

April 15 is the first Dodgers game this season on ESPN. There are a few other midweek games that will be televised exclusively by ESPN, but those haven’t yet been announced.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs broke the Louisville Bats (Reds), 12-7.

The game started out poorly for Iowa as starter Connor Noland gave up a grand slam to Rece Hinds, the fourth batter of the bottom of the first. But he settled down after that and finished the day after 4.1 innings, allowing the four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out two.

Meanwhile, Iowa jumped on Louisville for seven runs in the top of the second inning. First, third baseman BJ Murray Jr. hit a solo home run.

BJ Murray Jr. launches one to get the I-Cubs on the board🚀 pic.twitter.com/FP2wyGoV1o

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 1, 2026

Iowa made it 4-2 Louisville later in the second on a single by catcher Eric Yang. But Iowa loaded the bases with two outs and then first baseman Jonathon Long unloaded them with this grand slam.

The first Grand Slam of the 2026 season belongs to Jonathon Long! pic.twitter.com/fSgG0XYDhp

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 1, 2026

Luke Little relieved Noland in the fifth inning and got the win because Noland didn’t go five. Little allowed one run on one hit and three walks over 1.1 innings. Little did not record a strikeout.

Iowa put this game out of reach with a five run top of the eighth inning. Long walked with the bases loaded to make it 8-6 Iowa and then DH Pedro Ramirez doubled home two.

A double from the birthday boy gets the party started in the eighth and extends the I-Cubs lead! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/f4F4LS3env

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 1, 2026

Yep, Ramirez turned 22 today.

This single by right fielder Kevin Alcántara then plated two runs.

The Jag keeps the party going, extending the I-Cubs lead to 12-6 in the eighth! pic.twitter.com/RWvWJFia9q

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 1, 2026

Long went 1 for 4 with a walk and five RBI. He scored twice.

Ramirez was went 3 for 5 with a double. He scored twice and drove in two.

Alcántara was 2 for 4 with a double, a walk and three RBI.

Second baseman James Triantos went 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Yang was 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice and drove in one.