Apr 19, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; The Milwaukee Brewers meet on the mound against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
In a battle of young, tall, flamethrowing phenoms, Jacob Misiorowski stumbled out of the gate, and even though he recovered nicely, it was ultimately too much to come back from on a Sunday afternoon in Miami.
Misiorowski allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base, though one was due to an error by shortstop David Hamilton. Faced with bases loaded and nobody out in the first inning, Misiorowski then threw a wild pitch, then hit Kyle Stowers with a pitch before getting Agustín Ramírez to ground into a double play that scored a run. Liam Hicks singled to add a third run, and very quickly the Marlins had a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Eury Pérez held down the Brewers offense completely through the first five innings, scattering just three hits in them. The Brewers finally broke through in the sixth inning with a Hamilton leadoff walk. He promptly stole second, and the throw went into centerfield, allowing Hamilton to take off for third. Garrett Mitchell brought him home with an RBI groundout to make it 3-1.
DL Hall entered for Misiorowski in the bottom of the sixth and allowed a pair of hits and a pair of walks, leading to two runs for the Marlins and a 5-1 Miami lead. He was relieved by Grant Anderson after getting just one out.
The Brewers had some chances in the eighth with a Sal Frelick pinch-hit single, followed by walks from Garrett Mitchell and Brice Turang to load the bases. Gary Sánchez delivered two runs with a single to center to make it 5-3. Trying to capitalize on the opportunity, Pat Murphy decided to have William Contreras come off the bench to pinch-hit. The Marlins responded by bringing in righty Calvin Faucher, and Faucher got Contreras to fly out to left to end the inning.
Pete Fairbanks sat the Brewers down in order in the ninth inning to secure the save and a 5-3 Marlins win over the Brewers.
The four-game winning streak gets snapped, but they’ll get a chance to start one again Tuesday as they travel to Detroit to start a three-game series against the Tigers after an off day tomorrow.
Apr 19, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) hits a single against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images
The first half of Sunday’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros was a pitcher’s duel. The second half of the game not so much as the Cardinals bats woke up in the 5th inning against the Houston Astros in the weekend series, but it would be extra innings heroics by Masyn Winn that would give them a series sweep.
Matthew Liberatore had a stellar start only allowing the Astros 3 hits and 1 earned run due to a bizarre sequence in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Trammell tripled off of the right field wall after his backswing hit Pedro Pagés in the side of the head. After he looked back to check on Pagés, he began to circle the bases when Jordan Walker overthrew the cutoff man and missed third base trying to throw out Trammell, but Nathan Church alertly backed up the throw preventing Trammell from scoring. He would score on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Correa to short center field when Victor Scott II’s throw hit the pitcher’s mound giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. Liberatore would end up throwing 6 innings for St. Louis Sunday.
Mike Burrows had a perfect game two outs into the 5th inning for the Houston Astros, but a hit by Masyn Winn broke that up and seemingly caused Burrows to lose his control. Nathan Church walked after Winn’s single. Pedro Pagés beat out an infield single (yes, you read that right) which loaded the bases for Victor Scott II. Burrows walked him to tie the game 1-1 which brought up JJ Wetherholt who slammed a single to right field scoring both Church and Pagés. Pedro looked like he stepped on a slick patch of ice crossing home plate.
Iván Herrera followed Wetherholt’s RBI single with one of his own to score Victor Scott II.
Ryan Stanek was brought in to relieve Liberatore in the 7th inning. He was helped by an excellent diving catch by Nathan Church. JoJo Romero entered the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. He got the first two outs, but gave up a long home run to Alvarez to draw the Astros closer at 4-2. Altuve followed that with a hard hit single to left field. After that, Walker walked which inspired manager Oli Marmol to bring in closer Riley O’Brien. After a wild pitch that moved both runners up a base, he was greeted by Paredes who smacked a single to right-center field to tie the game 4-4. He was able to get out of the 8th inning by picking Paredes off first.
The Cardinals mounted a threat in the top of the 9th inning when José Fermín doubled into the left-center field gap. Pedro Pagés was unable to move him over to 3rd base when he missed a bunt attempt and then struck out. Yohel Pozo pinch-hit for Victor Scott II. He did move Fermín to third base by grounding out to 2nd base. That brought up JJ Wetherholt who was hit by a pitch for the 4th straight game tying a record held by current Cardinals coach Jon Jay. Ivan Herrera grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the Cardinals 9th inning.
Riley O’Brien held the Astros scoreless through the bottom of the 9th inning sending the game into extras. Ivan Herrera was the designated runner in the top of the 10th inning. Alec Burleson was unable to move him over when he flew out to short centerfield. Jordan Walker reached on an error by third baseman Matthews. Ramón Urías then pinch-hit for Nolan Gorman who was 0-4 in the game. He was hit in the foot by a pitch which loaded the bases for Texas native Masyn Winn. He cleared the bases with a screaming double into the left field corner making it 7-4 Cardinals.
Justin Bruihl was brought in to handle the bottom of the 10th inning. His time would not be without drama as Trammell reached on a dribble infield single. That brought up Carlos Correa as the tying run. His tapper back to Bruihl would result in Matthews being tagged out in a rundown between third and home for the first out. Alvarez lined out to Winn at short for the second out. Gordon Graceffo was then brought in to get the last out. Altuve managed to get a two-strike infield single that was kept from going into the outfield by Winn. Christian Walker came up as the potential winning run, but Graceffo was able to get him out on a fielder’s choice by Urias.
The Cardinals will move on to Miami for a 3-game series versus the Marlins. Michael McGreevy is scheduled to start for the Cardinals for a 5:40pm start Monday night.
Mark Vientos | (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
For a while there, it looked like the Mets would finally win a baseball game. But they’ll have to wait until at least Tuesday to break their losing streak, as Devin Williams blew his save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth before the Cubs scored a walk-off sac fly in the bottom of the tenth.
Until Williams allowed that run in the ninth, MJ Melendez had provided the entirety of the scoring in the game with his solo home run in the top of the fifth. In total, the Mets had just six hits on the afternoon.
Tobias Myers got the start for the Mets and used as an opener, and to his credit, he threw two innings, didn’t allow a run, struck out two, walked one, and allowed just one hit. He needed just 28 pitches to get through those innings, and he now has a 3.00 ERA on the season.
David Peterson, who had struggled mightily in his last three starts, took over from there. And he fared much better today, as he completed three-and-two-thirds innings without allowing a run. He struck out just one opposing hitter, but he didn’t walk anyone and gave up just three hits.
Things got a bit dicey when Peterson was pulled from the game with a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Huascar Brazobán issued a pair of walks to load the bases but struck out Seiya Suzuki to get out of the inning unscathed.
Brooks Raley and Luke Weaver combined to maintain the shutout in the seventh and eighth, but Michael Conforto faced Williams as a pinch hitter and doubled in the Cubs’ run in the ninth—because of course he did.
The Mets’ lifeless offense then failed to score despite having the Manfred runner on second base in the top of the tenth, and it felt like a sure thing they’d lose in the bottom of the inning. And then they did, as Pete Crow-Armstrong advanced to third base on a wild pitch by Craig Kimbrel and came in to score the winning run on a one-out sac fly off the bat of Nico Hoerner.
The Mets are 7-15, and by the end of Major League Baseball’s slate of games today, they’ll either still be tied for or have sole possession of the worst record in baseball.
What’s WPA? Big Mets winner: David Peterson and Luke Weaver, +21% WPA each Big Mets loser: Craig Kimbrel, -37% WPA Mets pitchers: -5% WPA Mets hitters: -45% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: MJ Melendez hits a solo home run in the top of the fifth, +14% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Michael Conforto doubles to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, -49% WPA
The Mets were swept by the Chicago Cubs, losing Sunday's game by a score of 2-1 in 10 innings despite leading after eight innings.
Here are the key takeaways...
-- The Mets held a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning, but Devin Williams couldn't make the lead stand. After allowing a leadoff single, Williams allowed an RBI double to former Met Michael Conforto, with pinch-runner Scott Kingery scoring from first base, sending this game to extras and giving Williams his first blown save as a Met.
Despite a pair of runners in scoring position with two away, the Mets couldn't score in the top half of the tenth. Craig Kimbrel came on to pitch the bottom half of the tenth, uncorking a wild-pitch to move Pete Crow-Armstrong to third with no outs. NIco Hoerner cashed in with a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Cubs the win.
-- Carlos Mendoza's decision to go with an opener paid off.
Tobias Myers ended up going 2.0 scoreless innings in his role as opener, pitching around a leadoff walk in the first inning. Myers allowed one hit and struck out two while walking one.
-- David Peterson entered to start the third inning, and he was immediately greeted by Crow-Armstrong, who tripled to right center to lead things off. But Peterson got out of the jam without allowing a run, thanks to a line-drive double play hit right to Marcus Semien, who threw behind Crow-Armstrong to get the third out at third base.
Peterson pitched into the sixth inning, leaving the game with a runner on third base. Huascar Brazoban came on and walked the first two batters to load the bases for Seiya Suzuki, but then struck him out to end the threat. That closed Peterson's line at 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out one without a walk.
-- The game stayed scoreless into the fifth inning, but MJ Melendez jumped on a Javier Assad pitch for a solo home run, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Melendez has provided a spark to the Mets' lineup since being called up, as he's now hitting .357 with a 1.152 OPS.
-- After the piggybacking plan worked to perfection, the Mets had their bullpen lined up well with Brooks Raley to pitch the seventh, Luke Weaver to pitch the eighth, and then Devin Williams to close things out. Raley and Weaver (four outs) kept things scoreless, but Williams couldn't match.
-- Brett Baty snapped his 0-22 slump with a line drive single to left in the third, the Mets’ first hit of the game.
Game MVP
Hoerner, who had one hit and the game-winning sac fly RBI
San Diego, CA - April 14: Ramón Laureano #5 of the San Diego Padres hits a triple in the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park on April 14, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
The San Diego Padres played a seven-game home stand after taking 4-of-6 on the road. They swept the Colorado Rockies in dramatic fashion with a Xander Bogaerts walk-off grand slam one night and a Gavin Sheets walk-off the next night. They added eight home runs to their season total in the four games.
The Friars then swept the Seattle Mariners over three games and Bogaerts added another home run to his total. They won using power, base running, small ball and situational hitting; showing the range of talent they possess up and down the line up. A far cry from the 2025 season that started with a similar winning way but almost all the production came from the top of the line up.
Dia de los Muertos
The Padres debuted their new City Connect jersey during the homestand, paying tribute to the Dia de los Muertos holiday as well as the colors for the 1998 Padres team. They won for the first time in their new duds. The organization also sold $1.1 million of merchandise on the day of release (April 9).
Veterans have off days
Padres manager Craig Stammen has been liberal with off days for his veteran players, giving playing time to the bench and moving Fernando Tatis Jr. from right field to second base on Saturday and Sunday during the Rockies series. Both Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth got days off while Tatis Jr. became reacquainted with the middle infield.
When asked, Stammen explained his desire to keep his players fresh throughout the season and it all began with giving Manny Machado a day off in April. Machado had his first day off in 2025 during the month of September. He also slumped drastically the end of last season, admitting to being fatigued. It seems Stammen is determined for that to not happen this year with Machado or anyone else.
Padres visit the IL
When Jason Adam came off the IL to join the Padres after his injury rehab, Jeremiah Estrada took his place with elbow tendinitis. His velocity had been noticeably decreased with his fastball, down 3-4 mph from his top of 97 mph. His other pitches also showed a loss of velocity and he was being hit hard.
Nick Pivetta left his start on Sunday versus the Mariners after three perfect innings. It was obvious that something was really wrong as he kicked at the rubber, yelled into his glove and bit it as Stammen and a trainer walked out to the mound. There was minimal discussion and Pivetta left the game. It was revealed the next day that Pivetta would go on the IL and he was diagnosed with a flexor strain. A serious injury, flexor strains take weeks to months to heal at best.
The Padres had a scare when catcher Freddy Fermin took two deflected balls into his face mask on April 15, but he did not need the concussion protocol and was rested for two days before returning to the lineup. For back up, the Padres pulled catcher Rudolfo Duran from El Paso minutes after Fermin was removed in San Diego. He was with the Padres the next day, on the taxi squad, in case of any issue with Luis Campusano.
Sung-Mun Song optioned to Triple-A
The Padres signed Song during the offseason to serve as a super utility player for the Padres. He came to Spring Training recovering from an oblique strain and aggravated the injury during camp. Starting the season on the IL, Song completed his rehab on Wednesday and was reinstated then optioned to El Paso.
His stats with the Chihuahuas have improved in most areas but with a few concerning spots. Although he is hitting .276/.364/.310 in 58 at-bats he has eight walks and 17 strikeouts. He has no home runs and two doubles with no stolen bases. Defensively, he has played 3B, 2B and SS but has not played in the outfield. He has also been the DH. Making better contact and cutting down on strikeouts will need to happen before he can be considered a better option than what the Padres currently have.
Luis Campusano on a tear
After starting the season slowly, Campusano was the quiet hero during the homestand. Although he didn’t hit the game-winning hits in any of the comeback wins or rallies, Campusano hit a home run and multiple doubles during almost every rally. He is currently hitting .300/.364/.533 with an .897 OPS. He has four doubles and a home run with six RBI. The faith and confidence that the Padres have shown since the start of Spring Training is being repaid. It seems that what Campusano needed was an opportunity, and some confidence, in order to show what he can do.
Ramon Laureano is the man
An adage often heard among the Friar media and fans is that the Padres will go as Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. go. It is usually true that those two lead the team offensively in one way or another. But to start 2026, after the first 20 games, left fielder Ramon Laureano leads in almost all categories while Machado and Tatis Jr. are hitting .203 and .233 respectively. Tatis Jr. still doesn’t have his first homer of the year.
Laureano is first in average at .290, first in slug at .551 and first in OPS at .906. Machado has the OBP of .363 due to his 16 walks, which leads the team. Laureano has four home runs and 13 RBI, both tops though Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill also have 13 RBI.
Bench power
The Padres bench has been superior to what we have seen in the past so far, especially the bench of 2025. The contributions of Campusano are not to be compared to the sub-.200 batting average of the past back up catchers. The combination of Ty France/Miguel Andujar/Nick Castellanos has far outperformed last year and could rival the 2024 bench. The three combined have seven doubles, a triple and a home run with eight RBI.
Defensively, France is the best first baseman on the team and has a Gold Glove from 2025 to prove it. Andujar can cover for Machado at third when needed and has been the DH. Castellanos doesn’t appear to have a good defensive position but pinch-hitting and occasional filling in at right or left field has been his role.
Mason Miller
Miller’s outstanding performance so far this season has been discussed almost every day around baseball. What he is doing is unprecedented and we should all just be grateful we get to experience it on our team. In his 9.1 innings pitched, he has 23 strikeouts, two walks, two hits and seven saves. That brings his total from last August to 31.2 innings pitched with no runs allowed, passing Padres icon Randy Jones and closing in on Cla Meredith.
In comparison, Randy Vasquez has 25 strikeouts in 21.1 innings pitched. The Rockies’ Chase Dollander has 23 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.
After an inning-ending flyout to left field in the third and a one-out lineout to shortstop two frames later, Volpe led off the seventh with a single through the middle against Luke Russo.
Following Volpe's second knock, which had an exit velocity of 104.2 mph, he stole second base.
Through 11 at-bats with Somerset since last Tuesday, Volpe (left shoulder surgery recovery) has four hits -- all singles -- and three strikeouts. He has two stolen bases and one walk.
That's 104.2 mph off the bat for Anthony Volpe! 🔥
He rocks a base hit up the middle for his first multi-hit game of his MLB rehab assignment. pic.twitter.com/Qj2IdYpN6V
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 19: José Ramírez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field on April 19, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles faced off for the final game of the four game series. With the Guardians up 2-1 on the series, the worst case was a series split. A welcomed change of pace after dropping back-to-back series.
Joey Cantillo took the mound for the Guards and had a rocky start. In the first 9 pitches, he only threw 2 strikes and had two runners on via a single and walk. Austin Hedges visited the mound and Joey locked in for the next 3 innings. Through the fourth inning he drastically improved his strike/pitch rate and kept Baltimore to two base runners.
The defense behind Cantillo looked to start the game in prime form with David Fry making a stellar catch in right field to end the third.
It took the Guardians a few innings to get the offense rolling. In the bottom of the third inning, Austin Hedges reached on a fielding error then went first to third on Brayan Rocchio’s single. Steven Kwan’s sac fly scored Hedgey, putting Cleveland on the board first.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Guards pulled further ahead of the Orioles, building on their lead. José Ramírez hit a first pitch, lead off home run. He punished the 89.8 mph four-seamer, launching it 408ft to the bleachers.
It didn’t stop there, either. David Fry got on base with a single to left. Daniel Schneemann worked a full count and drew a walk after facing eight pitches. Juan Brito doubled, scoring two. Schneemann had a great jump on Brito’s double. The misread by Oriole’s outfielder Blaze Alexander gave Schnee the timing he needed to score.
The final run of the inning came with two outs. Brayan Rocchio slapped a single to left that scored Brito from second base.
Things fell apart for Cantillo and the defense in the top of the fifth. Joey struggled pitching again, giving up a walk and a single before recording the first out. Taylor Ward hit a home run off of Cantillo, bringing the Orioles within two runs of tying. With two outs, Pete Alonso singled and Jonathan Rodríguez walked, putting Cantillo in the same situation for the second time in the inning resulting in his early pull from the game. Vogt turned to Matt Festa to finish out the inning. Matt Festa did his job, getting a hit directly to the second baseman Juan Brito sure to end the inning. Except, Brito committed a throwing error, loading the bases instead. The Baltimore pinch hitter hit up the middle in what should have been the third out, again. And, again, Juan Brito couldn’t flip the ball to Brayan Rocchio in time for the out, resulting in a fielder’s choice that brought Baltimore within one and loaded the bases. Thankfully Steven Kwan was able to nab a fly out to center to finally retire the side. Cantillo finished the day having gone 4.2IP, 5H, 4R/3ER, 6K.
José Ramírez came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth with one out and promptly reminded us fans that he is capable of single handedly changing the flow of a game. José saw a ball, took a strike, and then launched a low changeup to the porch in left field.
His second home run of the game aptly put him in sole possession of second most home runs at home in franchise history.
Peyton Pallette came out in the top of the sixth to pitch for Cleveland. He made two quick outs and was assisted by a great play in left by Angel Martínez to retire the side.
Peyton stayed in, going 1-2-3 in the seventh. Erik Sabrowski came on in the eighth giving up a walk, but then striking out the next three batters. In the bottom of the eighth Rhys Hoskins drew a lead off walk, and with David Fry’s single up the middle and a walk from Daniel Schneemann, they loaded the bases with no outs. Brayan Rocchio delivered with a two-out, two-run single on a liner to center.
Shawn Armstrong closed the game out in a non-save situation. Armstrong and Angel retired the Orioles 1-2-3, with Angel making another great catch in center. The Guardians win the game and win the series. The Houston Astros are coming to town for a three game series starting tomorrow night, in Cleveland.
Apr 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (25) walks to the dugout after striking out during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images
The Orioles dropped the finale of their four-game series to the Guardians, 8-4, as their offense underachieved again, their defense continued to stink, and their erstwhile ace coughed up six runs and suffered a noticeable velocity dip in his second straight ugly outing.
Other than that, though, it was a great afternoon of baseball.
The first four innings of this game featured the classic combination of terrible 2026 Orioles baseball — offensive futility and defensive shenanigans — along with the unfortunate new wrinkle of a horrendous Trevor Rogers performance. Normally, Trevor Rogers Day is one of celebration, in which fans can take comfort that they’ll at least get a quality outing from the Orioles ace. Today, though, he was sucked into the abyss of ineptitude that’s swallowed up so many of his teammates.
Things started out innocently enough, with Rogers mowing down the first seven batters he faced. But then came the defensive shenanigans I referred to earlier, and Rogers has nobody to blame but himself. On an Austin Hedges grounder to first base, Rogers raced to the bag to receive the feed from Pete Alonso, and then just…ran right past the base. He couldn’t get back before Hedges reached safely, and Cleveland had a gift baserunner on the Rogers error.
The Guardians, of course, took full advantage, because every Orioles defensive misplay is required to lead to at least one run. It’s in the MLB rulebook, look it up. Brayan Rocchio advanced Hedges to third on a single, and Steven Kwan scored him on a sac fly. An inning later, the Guardians made it 2-0 when José Ramírez blasted Rogers for a home run to left, the 290th of his Hall of Fame career. Well, there’s no shame in giving up a dinger to a guy like that, and at least things hadn’t spiraled out of control for Rogers.
…Oh. I spoke too soon. After the home run, Rogers suddenly couldn’t get anyone out. A single and a walk brought up Juan Brito, who lofted a shot to deep center field. It wasn’t an easily catchable ball, but a natural center fielder might’ve had a play on it. Unfortunately, the Orioles’ center fielder on this day was infielder Blaze Alexander, who got himself turned around and had no chance to reach the warning track as the ball fell in safely. Two runs scored on the double. If I could make a humble suggestion to the Orioles: maybe stop playing infielders in the outfield?
Two batters later, Brito scored on a Rocchio RBI single, extending the Cleveland lead to 5-0. It marked the second straight outing in which Rogers allowed four or more runs, something he hadn’t done since May 2024 with the Marlins (somehow he didn’t even do it in his disastrous four-start debut with the Orioles in September 2024). Not only that, but Rogers’ fastball velocity was notably down nearly 3 mph from his average. It’s fine. This is fine. Everything is fine. Rogers gutted through five innings, but coughed up a second Ramírez homer before he left.
As for the Orioles’ offense, well, the majority of the game was the same, sad story we’ve seen this whole series and most of the season. Birds hitters looked completely inept against a cavalcade of Cleveland pitchers, making weak contact — when they made contact at all — and coming up empty in most RBI situations. The O’s put up goose eggs in eight of their nine offensive innings.
The only exception was the top of the fifth, when it briefly looked like the O’s might stage a multi-run comeback like they did in Friday’s win. Starting the inning with a 5-0 deficit, the Orioles put two runners on base for Taylor “Two Bags” Ward, who added an extra two bags in this case, cranking a three-run homer to left field to whittle the deficit to 5-3. At long last, Ward — who homered 36 times for the Angels last year — picked up his first dinger as an Oriole in his 22nd game. He’s been one of the Birds’ best hitters all season, so I wasn’t going to rag on the guy for not homering, but it’s nice to get that first one into the ledger.
The rally continued, thanks to some bad Guardians defense. With two outs, Pete Alonso singled and Johnathan Rodríguez walked, chasing starter Joey Cantillo from the game. Against reliever Matt Festa, Jeremiah Jackson shuffled a grounder to the hole on the right side. The second baseman Brito fielded it cleanly but yanked a wild throw to first, allowing Jackson to reach. The next batter, pinch-hitter Dylan Beavers, rolled a grounder near the second base bag. Again Brito fielded cleanly but again muffed the throw, lobbing too late to the shortstop Rocchio as Jackson slid in safely to second. Beavers had a gift RBI and suddenly it was just a one-run game, 5-4, with the bases loaded and the chance for more damage.
Sadly, Coby Mayo flied out harmlessly, and the Orioles essentially never threatened again. Despite the Birds’ success against the Cleveland bullpen earlier in the series, they had no answer for the Guardians’ relief crew on this day. Rule 5 righty Peyton Pallette painted the strike zone for two perfect innings, followed by a scoreless inning apiece from Erik Sabrowski and ex-Oriole Shawn Armstrong. The Guardians added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on Rocchio’s two-run single off Cameron Foster.
Before that, at least, Tyler Wells had his best outing of 2026 with two perfect innings, including five strikeouts. It’d be nice if Wells could do that in high-leverage situations, but kudos to him in any case. Tyler’s performance was one of the few highlights in another all-around ugly, lackluster showing by what’s becoming an increasingly uncompetitive Orioles team.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 07: Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Fenway Park on April 07, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After getting absolutely annihilated in his previous start on Monday in Minnesota to the tune of 11 runs in just 1.2 innings, Garrett Crochet is set to retake the mound today and convince us all that everything will be fine as far as he and his health are concerned.
Unfortunately, he won’t just be battling the Tigers. Mother Nature is once again destined to play a roll in today’s match up, and here’s how the radar looks inside of an hour from first pitch:
The good news is the initial batch of heavier precipitation has moved out and east of Boston, but more unsettled weather still lurks to the west ahead of a slow moving front. That mess will push through eastern Massachusetts over the next several hours, filling in the current dry slot. While this incoming precipitation won’t be as heavy as what fell at times earlier today, it will come attached with colder and windier conditions, so a miserable weather game lies ahead (if they even try and play through it at all — The Yankees did not and waited around for three hours before starting their game against the Royals at 4:20pm). The other option will be to just wait until after sunset when it will be dryer, but still very cold and windy.
When they do get started, today’s lineup includes Roman Anthony leading off in leftfield, Andruw Monasterio at first base, and Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer all starting on the bench with an opposing left-handed starter on the mound in Framber Valdez for Detroit.
OTM’s own pitching guru Jacob Roy will be around later to handle the postgame wrap and tell us if we should should be freaking out or breathing a sigh a relief when it comes to Crochet.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 13: Dominic Smith #8 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates in the fourth inningduring the game against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park on April 13, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A sweep on Sunday Night Baseball sounds pretty sweet to me.
The Atlanta Braves will run with their standard lineup opposing RHPs to face Phillies rookie Andrew Painter. Michael Harris II, who came into last night’s game in the seventh once lefty Cristopher Sanchez departed, is back in his usual spot in the nine hole and in center field. Dominic Smith (of the big moments) is penciled in to bat seventh. Does his .362 / 1.040 OPS tear make him one of the best hitters ever designated? Some are saying… but discuss amongst yourselves.
Catcher JT Realmuto is absent for the finale, dealing with the lower back tightness that caused him to leave the game in the top of the seventh last night.
Instead, we’ll see Brandon Marsh patrol left field and batting fifth, Bryson Stott at second base and batting seventh, backup catcher Rafael Marchán batting eighth, and Justin Crawford batting ninth.
A four game set awaits in the nation’s capitol. But first, the only team to not lose a series yet this season will try for their first sweep against their division rivals in Philly starting at 7:20 pm ET on Peacock. (And thankfully, C.J. Nitkowskiwill be in the booth tonight!)
PEORIA, AZ - FEBRUARY 26: Bryce Miller #50 of the Seattle Mariners warms up in the outfield prior to the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Seattle Mariners at Peoria Stadium on Thursday, February 26, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Emma Bronsteader/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller made his first start in a competitive game since February 26th yesterday in Tacoma, beginning a rehab assignment that will last through at least the end of May. Miller was on a pitch count/innings limit of around 35 pitches and two innings, and wound up pitching 1.2 innings and throwing 33 pitches, 21 of them for strikes. He gave up three runs on four hits, with a walk and a pair of strikeouts (although one of them came on a batter pitch timer violation).
The most exciting thing about Miller’s outing was the velocity on his fastballs. The first pitch he threw was a 98.1 four-seamer that just nicked the outer edge. He went on to hit 98.7 with the first pitch to his second hitter, missing low, but beating his hardest career pitch—which was 98.3 to George Springer in the ALCS, and which he then followed up with two more fastballs (97.8, 97.9) that were harder than any he’s thrown since 2023.
The positive upward trend continued for Miller’s lone spring training outing, where his velocity was again up, touching 98.4, and it’s a positive sign that he’s been able to carry that through his bullpens during his rehab process and into his first rehab start, where his four-seam averaged 97.1 mph and his sinker average was up to 96.7 on average.
What Miller needs to work on next is making sure he’s still able to hit his spots with that increased velocity; his fastball had a ton of downward action in his outing in Tacoma, but he missed at the bottom of the zone a few times, including a particularly violent spike at 97.8 mph that resulted in a walk.
Beyond his four-seamer, Miller’s most favored pitch in his outing was his slider, which he threw with the new grip he’s learned from Bryan Abreu in Houston. (Don’t be fooled by his slider velocity average on Gameday, which incorrectly labels a 92 mph cutter as a slider.) He missed with it outside some, but also had success when he was able to get it to be “depthy,” something he said he was working on in Arizona.
The bigger breakers – the curve and the splitter – were harder for Miller to corral, and he hung a few, but was still able to get a couple of whiffs on the splitter, and he got a groundout on the curve. Miller threw a handful of cutters, generating weak contact; touted Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge got on top of the pitch and rolled over it for an easy groundout.
When Miller was commanding the bottom of the zone, the River Cats batters were pounding his stuff into the dirt; he gave up one line drive base hit, on a poorly located fastball that was hit hard, but everything else was on the ground, with a couple of hits sneaking through.
For Miller, what he was concerned about in his outing was re-adjusting to the pitch clock after such a long layoff, a challenge made more stringent in working with a less-familiar catcher with his rich pitch mix. Physically, though, he said he felt fine and is looking forward to his next start. Miller’s next rehab start will be Friday in Everett, where he’ll be caught by Mariners prospect Luke Stevenson, marking an exciting challenge for the youngster to catch a big-league arm. For this outing, he’ll try to stretch to three innings, with a pitch cap of 45.
It’s fun to see a walk off but let’s not forget that the A’s were not only outmatched on Friday by the score of 9-2, but they also began their first trips to the plate yesterday down 5-0. Yes, they clawed back into it but this is the Chicago White Sox we’re talking about. That should be expected. Not to mention they had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th with one out and couldn’t make anything happen. Thankfully Jack Perkins had “prove it” written across his forehead and the A’s were able to march into the 11th with the score still knotted at six. The bottom of the lineup played hero once again, the A’s continue to be tied with the Rangers for the division lead, and yet I still can’t shake the feeling that history is going to repeat itself. May is just right around the corner and we’ve been here before. We’ve been excited about the showings of this A’s core in the early goings, we’ve even seen an exciting A’s walk off against the White Sox for the second straight season. But what lies ahead? Can the A’s bullpen, one held together by bubble gum, stay fresh? Will Joel Kuhnel be the next Ryan Cook or the next Ryan Dull? And what do we do with Luis Severino? Even he can’t point a finger at the friendly confines of Sutter Heath Park, as his overall performance compared to last season has been remarkably off-kilter.
Maybe some much needed time in the “Luis Severino room” will help him figure out what the hell is going on.
Raw honesty from Luis Severino on his home start struggles:
Another walk off today will not be acceptable. It’s Jeffrey Springs Sunday and I expect nothing but a win by five or more runs. Momentum is a tricky thing in baseball. It doesn’t always translate series to series but we might as well enter next week’s road series against Seattle with a little mustard on the hot dog. In fact, the next six games are against both the Mariners and the Rangers – – two teams with postseason pedigree in recent years, that the A’s need to prove they can hang with on a consistent basis.
Some shuffling has been done by Mark Kotsay. Andy Ibanez batting cleanup and Zack Gelof in right field are interesting picks. I thought maybe Kotsay was playing he Ibanez card based off of his history against the White Sox’s stater, going back to his days as a Tiger, but it turns out this is Noah Schultz’s second big league start. What does Kotsay know here that we don’t? Based off of some of his bullpen choices, some might argue very few. The decision to only roll with one lefty in the pen still baffles me. However, he did it make it up by putting our secret weapon into the mix yesterday.
I think we can all agree that the true tragedy of this ballgame is that we didn't get to watch J.T. Ginn try to walk it off with the bases juiced in the bottom of the eleventh. #Athleticspic.twitter.com/D294yzc0uA
Looking forward to seeing how this version of the lineup fares against the Whit Sox and their young lefty. In Schultz’s big league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, he tossed 4.1 innings, gave up 3 ER on 3 hits, while giving up a walk for every strikeout recorded (4). Not a dazzling performance by any means, but there’s a lot of buzz around the kid and the A’s have been guilty of giving up Chase Dollander’s to guys like these.
Beware of the “powa” provided by Munetaka Murakami. I’d say that the lefty-lefty match between him and Springs is favorable but we also saw what he did to Hogan Harris yesterday on a CHECK SWING.
That being said, Hogan Harris is no Jeffrey Springs. The A’s starter has been absolutely brilliant to begin the season, including a start at home against the Astros where he shoved for seven frames. Last year against the White Sox, at home, Springs did struggle through the early innings, This is something to be mindful of as we enter today’s play.
Just having a clean first inning this series would be nice. Six runs total have been given up against the White Sox in the first inning of the first two games. Here’s to the A’s changing that tune, as they go for the series win against the Southsiders!
MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 28: A general view of the American Family Insurance commercial sponsorship logo on the stadium prior to an MLB game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 28, 2025, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, WI. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Game three of three with the Diamondbacks.
I’m putting the GameThreads together before leaving on holiday, which seemed like a better idea before I started doing it. Normally, a GameThread is pretty quick and easy, but when you are doing 20-some in a row, it loses some of the fun.
Thankfully, I’m near the end. I’ll be home on the 22nd, and I can go back to the normal way of doing things…that’s when I realize, about 10 minutes before game time that I need to put up a GameThread and I rush to get it up before the game starts. I’ve been on the site for several years now, and yet that seems to be the way I do GameThread, like I’m surprised it has to be done. But that is better than doing 21 in one sitting.
I guess I could just type Go Jays Go, fifty times to get up to that 150 word mark.
Noah Schultz dons the South Side pinstripes for the second time today. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
It’s Noah Schultz day, everyone!
The second big league start for the highly-hyped 22-year-old Chicagoland native is imminent, making for one of the more highly anticipated April contests in recent memory.
Let’s make a few observations about Schultz’s debut start so we can understand what we might expect today. Per Baseball Savant, Schultz flashed his entire six-pitch arsenal, but largely relied on four offerings. He used his sinker and four-seam fastball in roughly equal proportion to both right- and left-handed hitters, both clocking in around 97 mph, which would be the fourth-fastest average among all big league lefties this year. Against lefty hitters, Schultz turned to the sweeper as his out pitch, which worked to the extent that hitters went 0-for-3 against it with two strikes. Against righties, Schultz turned into someone Lance Lynn-esque, putting together an even mix of four-seamers, sinkers and cutters that function somewhat like a breaking ball. Now and then, he’ll also try to get a hitter with a back-foot sweeper that’s almost reminiscent of how Carlos Rodón would attack hitters at his peak.
The thing to watch out for today is Schultz’s changeup. He threw it 14% of the time in Triple-A against righties, but on Tuesday he only utilized it twice. With Jeff McNeil and Carlos Cortes getting a day off, the A’s are running out a heavily right-handed lineup. Schultz will need that changeup to keep developing, because his command of his sweeper and slider to righties was spotty on Tuesday and he needs a secondary out pitch to keep hitters on their toes in the event they’re not biting on breaking balls. If Schultz can command those pitches better or find a way to effectively utilize his changeup, we could be looking at a quite fun start on our hands.
Here’s the lineup that Sacramento manager Mark Kotsay has posted for his surprisingly competitive squad, who are sitting in a tie for first place in the AL West at this early junction:
Incredibly, this is the 18th different lineup in 18 games for Venable, continuing to put himself at odds with my fierce assertion that “consistency is key.” Anyhow, the the main alteration for the day being Miguel Vargas’s ascension to the 2-spot, his first start there of the year. It’s quite a relief that the Andrew Benintendi Leadoff Experiment may already have run its course.
The one-two punch of Chase Meidroth and Vargas is an arrangement that I actually like a lot. Both of them are quite difficult to strike out and adept at making contact with most of what they swing at. With the whiff-prone ways of Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery and Everson Pereira, it makes sense to precede them with hitters who can get on base the old-fashioned way, and sometimes give upcoming hitters an extended look at the pitcher’s arsenal if their ability to make contact results in long at-bats.
Speaking of which, Pereira has been rewarded for his early slugging by batting cleanup for the fourth time this week at the expense of Montgomery. Sam Antonacci gets the afternoon off.
Before the game, the White Sox announced that the revolving door of 13th pitchers on the roster continues, as freshly-claimed Osvaldo Bido (6.30 ERA in six games with Atlanta) pushes Doug Nikhazy back down to Charlotte.
And just for the hell of it, here’s the video of Murakami’s mammoth grand slam the other night:
First pitch is scheduled for at 3:05 p.m. CT, live from Sacramento. If you want to join us, broadcasts are available on CHSN (TV) and WMVP AM 1000 (radio) like always!
Apr 18, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez (44) celebrates after a game against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Last night the Mariners ended their four-game skid, and today they can get back on track with another victory over the Rangers, bringing a series victory as well. The Mariners have won one series so far this season, sweeping the Astros in 4 games at T-Mobile, but considering the state of that team, it’s not as impressive a feat as one might imagine. That very series victory is sandwiched between two long losing streaks, a 5-game losing streak leading up to the series and a 4-game losing streak following that, which they ended last night. Needless to say, the Mariners are not exactly sitting pretty at the moment. Today offers the chance to win their second series of the season and hopefully right the ship and find some more victories for the rest of April.
Bryan Woo will take the mound tonight against MacKenzie Gore. Gore was acquired by the Rangers over the winter to boost a much-depleted pitching staff, a common theme for AL West teams this season. Gore hasn’t given up more than 3 runs in any of his 5 starts so far this season and has only given up two home runs all season long. Gore walked 6 in his most recent start, so it’s not like he’s been inhuman to start the season. If the Mariners can show patience and discipline at the plate and put the pressure of baserunners on Gore, they may be able to get to him in ways few have so far this season. So far this season, the Mariners are 6th in MLB in walk rate, so if they can just keep doing what they’ve been doing, I like their chances. On the other end, the Mariners are sending Bryan Woo to the mound for his 5th start of the season and remain in search of his first win. While Woo has certainly been good, the Mariners have failed to launch on the offensive side of the ball in the games Woo has been starting. Despite being stingy about runs and baserunners, Woo only has three no-decisions and two losses to show for his efforts. Hopefully, today will be the day that Woo can get back to winning ways, much like the Mariners themselves.
2012 – Félix Hernández struck out 12 in 8.0 shutout innings, but the Mariners lost 2-1 when Cleveland scored a pair of runs off closer Brandon League in the top of the 9th inning.
2018 – The Mariners turned the 12th triple play in club history, a 5-4-3 affair in the 4th inning of a 2-9 loss to the Astros.
