Category: MLB

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 6-5 vs. Worcester Red Sox

SS George Lombard Jr. 0-3, 2 BB, K, SB — no hits, but getting on and causing trouble
RF Spencer Jones 2-4, HR, RBI, BB, K — lucky no.13 on the year
3B Oswaldo Cabrera 1-3, BB, K
1B Tyler Hardman 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K
C Payton Henry 0-4
LF Ernesto Martinez Jr. 2-4, HR, RBI
DH Ali Sánchez 0-3, BB, K
2B Jonathan Ornelas 1-4, SB
CF Duke Ellis 0-4

Elmer Rodríguez 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR — back-to-back rough outings for ERC
Dylan Coleman 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Yordanny Cruz 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K — another impressive outing from the Scranton Shuttler
Rafael Montero 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (loss) — former big leaguer has had a rough go of it with Scranton
Yerry De Los Santos 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 12-11 vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats — six-run seventh erased a 10-6 deficit

RF Jace Avina 2-4, BB, K
CF Garrett Martin 2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB — 16th homer of the year leads the farm system
3B Coby Morales 3-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB
DH DJ Gladney 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K
LF Jackson Castillo 3-5, RBI, K, SB
C Manuel Palencia 1-5, RBI, K
1B Abrahan Gutierrez 2-5, 2 RBI
SS Owen Cobb 1-5, 2 K
2B Kevin Verde 0-3, K

Jack Cebert 4 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 HR — wore it and put Somerset in a deep hole, but they climbed out of it
Matt Keating 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
Harrison Cohen 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Chris Kean 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (win)
Ben Grable 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (hold)
Chris Veach 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (save)

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:W, 13-10 vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods

SS Kaeden Kent 3-4, BB
DH Core Jackson 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
C Eric Genther 3-4, HR, 5 RBI, SF, SB, throwing error
1B Kyle West 0-4, BB, 2 K, SB
RF Wilson Rodriguez 1-5, 2 K
3B Roderick Arias 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K, CS
2B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-5, 3 K
LF Josh Moylan 0-4, 2 K
CF Cole Gabrielson 1-3, BB, 2 K

Rory Fox 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Tony Rossi 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Aaron Nixon 0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Tanner Bauman 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR (blown save)
Jackson Fristoe 0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K (loss)
Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:W, 7-1 (7) vs. Daytona Tortugas, was originally scheduled to be a doubleheader but game 2 was rained out, they’ll try for the doubleheader again today

SS Jackson Lovich 1-4, 2B, fielding error
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 2-2, HR, 2 RBI, BB
2B Hans Montero 0-3, BB
C Luis Puello 0-4, 3 K
LF Willy Montero 2-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB
DH Engelth Urena 0-2, 2 BB, K
CF Luis Durango 0-3, K
1B Austin Green 1-2, HR, RBI, BB, K
RF Gabriel Lara 1-3, RBI

Mac Heuer 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K (win) — best start of the 2025 eight-rounder’s pro career
Jose M. Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Parker Seay 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Pedro Rodriguez 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Florida Complex League Yankees:L, 8-2 vs. FCL Tigers

3B Richard Matic 2-4, 3B
CF Wilberson De Pena 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K
C Queni Pineda 1-3, K
SS Leni Done 0-4
DH David McCann 1-4, 2B, K
2B Dexters Peralta 1-4, 2 K
LF Estivenzon Montero 1-4, K
1B Justin Capellan 0-4, K
RF Isael Arias 1-3, SB

Omar Gonzalez 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K (loss)
Enixon Sanchez 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Austin Breedlove 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Marco Manzano 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

The Detroit Tigers’ struggles in the late innings continued on Friday night when they dropped the weekend series opener against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Park, 4-3, in extra innings. Troy Melton gave his team seven strong innings for a quality start and Will Vest got credit for holding a 2-1 lead through the eighth, but alas… well, you know how this story keeps ending.

Another day, another chance to get back in the win column. On Saturday afternoon, the two American League Central rivals will battle again, this time with left-hander Framber Valdez taking the bump for the Motor City Kitties.

The 32-year-old’s last outing was among his best this season so far, throwing six frames of one-run ball on a solo home run plus a single along with two walks while striking out five Baltimore Orioles only to earn a no-decision in a losing effort. Valdez faced the ChiSox twice last year with the Houston Astros, throwing five innings in both to mixed results.

The home team will have fellow southpaw Anthony Kay climbing the mound looking to clinch a series win. The 31-year-old has had a superb May, putting up a tidy 1.98 but disconerting 4.27 FIP over five games stretching over 27 1/3 innings, allowing 22 hits (three home runs) and nine walks while striking out 24 — plus five hit batters and a wild pitch.

Kay has never faced Detroit in any of his 55 previous major league appearances. Take a look at how he stacks up against Valdez on Saturday.

Detroit Tigers (22-36) vs. Chicago White Sox (30-27)

Time (ET): 2:10 p.m.
Place: Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
SB Nation Site:South Side Sox
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 59: LHP Framber Valdez (2-3, 4.28 ERA) vs. LHP Anthony Kay (4-1, 3.96 ERA)

VALDEZ

KAY

Just as it looked like the Yankees were swooning, they’ve pulled out of it. Five straight wins will do that, with New York now within 1.5 games of Tampa Bay and one off their highwater mark above .500 for the season. It’s times like these that the club’s stellar starting rotation feels so imposing; coming off a quick stretch in which Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole, and Cam Schlittler all shoved, the Yankees can casually toss out another player with an ERA that’s threatening to go under 3 in Ryan Weathers tonight. When your starting pitching gives you a great chance to win every night, well, you’re gonna win a lot of games.

It’ll be another long day’s journey into night today, with the Yankees and A’s facing off at 10 pm EST. Before that, Andrew will get you caught up with today’s Rivalry Roundup, and Matt’s profile of Rube Oldring will be the next entry in our Yankee Birthday series. Later, John analyzes the opening salvos in the CBA negotiations from the MLBPA and the league, Josh discusses The Backup Catcher situation, and Kento analyzes Amed Rosario’s quality work at the plate.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Athletics

Time: 10:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, NBCSCA

Venue: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA

Questions/Prompts:

1. Have Carlos Rodón’s back-to-back solid starts convinced you that he’s all the way back?

2. The A’s, at 27-30, are just one game back of first in the AL West. Who do you favor in this division of sub.-500 clubs?

Columbus Clippers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 7 (box)

The Hens offense had a good night, but Carl Edwards Jr. and the Hens bullpen did not.

Edwards Jr. is being stretched out as a starter for whatever reason. Probably because Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg liked him as a Cubs reliever nearly a decade ago. Anyway, he got shelled right out of the gate much like his last outing and was pulled before the first inning was over. Scott Effross allowed two run in the second, and so it was 6-0 real quickly.

It was 7-0 by the time the Hens got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Max Anderson drilled an opposite field homer, and two batters later Jace Jung launched his seventh of the year to make it 7-2 Columbus. Corey Julks immediately followed with another solo shot, and Tomás Nido doubled. Kerry Carpenter singled to right to get Nido to third, and Ben Malgeri doubled in Nido to make it a 7-4 game.

Anderson was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fifth, and two batter later Jung cracked a two-run shot, his second of the game. 7-6 Columbus.

Lael Lockhart Jr. allowed two runs in the eighth, and Luke Ritter one in the ninth. The Hens got a run in the bottom of the eighth when Tyler Gentry singled against Daniel Espino and Trei Cruz doubled him in.

Carpenter went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks and a strikeout in his first rehab game with the Hens. Trei Cruz had the double and two strikeouts. Cruz shouldn’t be too far from readiness, particularly as the Tigers need him to play shortstop and center field, so all he has to do is be slightly more effective than Zack Short.

Jung: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, BB, K

Julks: 2-5, R, RBI, HR, 3 K

Cruz: 1-5, RBI, 2B, 2 K

Clark: 1-4, BB

Edwards (L, 1-4): 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start at Fifth Third on Saturday with the Clippers up 3-1 in the series.

Chesapeake Baysox 12, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

The Baysox clobbered lefty Carlos Peña in this one, and they found that clobbering pitchers was fun. So they continue to add on as they ran away with this one.

Peña got through the first, but the second was just a parade of hits that wouldn’t end. He didn’t even walk a batter, but the Baysox racked up seven runs in the second inning, knocking him out of the game.

Luke Taggart took over, but left in the fourth with two on, and Johan Simon got a grounder that went for an error on first baseman Chris Meyers to plate another run. Eric Silva gave up another in the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Justice Bigbie doubled to lead off and a flyout and a ground out were enough to score him. Thayron Liranzo has been red hot the past few weeks after a slow start, and he crushed his seventh homer of the year, this one right-handed, in the seventh. That’s six homers in Liranzo’s last 12 games.

Catcher Aaron Antonini pitched 2.1 innings, which tells you all you need to know really. First baseman Andrew Jenkins got the final two out.

Liranzo: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, K

Bigbie: 1-3, R, 2B, BB

Peña (L, 3-2): 1.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Lansing Lugnuts 2 (box)

Carlos Marcano gave the Whitecaps a solid short start and the bullpen held up in this one as they evened the series on Friday.

Marcano needed 55 pitches to work through three innings, and for whatever reason the Tigers refuse to stretch their pitchers out. He allowed just one hit and two walks, striking out four in a scoreless outing.

Caleb Shpur doubled and then stole third in the third inning. Woody Hadeen singled him in for a 1-0 lead.

Lefty Ethan Sloan allowed the Lugnuts to tie it up in the fourth, but bounced back with a scoreless fifth inning. Doubles from Ricardo Hurtado and Garrett Pennington in the sixth made it 2-1 ‘Caps. In the eighth, they loaded the bases and a two-run single from Clayton Campbell made it 4-1.

Ryan Harvey and Thomas Bruss were solid in relief. Zack Lee allowed a run in the ninth but held on to collect the save.

Hadeen: 2-5, R, RBI

Campbell: 1-4, 2 RBI, 3 K

Pennington: 1-3, RBI, 2B, BB, K

Marcano: 3.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday.

Palm Beach Cardinals 7, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (box)

Kelvis Salcedo’s command just wasn’t there in this one. The offense made a nice push late to come back, but couldn’t complete the task.

Salcedo just couldn’t find a groove in this one. His fastball velocity was down, and while he only walked one in three innings of work, he was behind in counts though much of his outing. He gave up a solo shot in the second inning, and three runs in the third before departing. Jatnk Diaz settled things down in the fourth, but then surrendered a pair of runs in the fifth. So it was 6-0 Cardinals at that point, and Yendy Gomez balked in another in the sixth.

Zach MacDonald continues to mash and play a good center field. He crushed a rocket to left in the top of the seventh for his 12th home run on the year with Beau Ankeney board. 7-2 Cardinals.

In the eighth Newremberg Rondon (I can’t help but think Nuremberg) doubled to lead off the inning and singles from catcher Hunter Dobbins and Jordan Yost singled in Rondon. The Cardinals went back to their pen, but Jude Warwick greeted Jesus Garcia with a double to left to plate Dobbins. Yost was thrown out trying to go first to home, but Warwick took third on that play, and Nick Dumesnil lifted a sacrifice fly to score him.

So it was 7-5, but the Flying Tigers couldn’t muster anything more.

MacDonald: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Yost: 1-4, RBI, K

Dobbins: 1-2, R, BB

Salcedo (L, 0-2): 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday with Palm Beach leading the series 3-1.

FCL Tigers 8, FCL Yankees 2 (box)

Aleiman Cruz gave the Tigers a very good start and they pounded out 14 hits to crush the Yankees on Friday. Cruz scattered three hits and no walks over four innings of scoreless work, striking out five.

Santiago Pinto: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, K, SB

Maikol Orozco: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, K

Cruz: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: We’re still a bit of a ways off from the Trade Deadline and the season leading up to it, but a picture is starting to be painted in regards to what the Yankees might do. Reports have the Yankees looking at relievers and catching options most notably.

MLB.com | Clark Fahrenthold: The phrase “there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect,” isn’t meant to be taken literally, as much as it is to get across that so much can go wrong for even the most “can’t miss” young pitchers. However, you can still get excited by them, and Carlos Lagrange is an exciting one. While he still has to put things all together, Lagrange has had the raw “stuff” for a while now, and he’s turning heads down in Triple-A.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees’ roster as currently made up contains quite a number of left-handed hitters. Now while they do have quite a very good right-handed hitter in Aaron Judge, the only other currently righty regulars are José Caballero, and Paul Goldschmidt. That’s why the Yankees believe that Giancarlo Stanton’s eventual return to the lineup will be a massive plus, even if he had gotten off to a slow start prior to his injury.

A drunken lifeguard. A laptop with no disk space. A millenial regularly buying and consuming avocado toast. The San Francisco Giants bullpen.

What do they have in common? They’re not good at saving.

That was the case Friday night at Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies hit two home runs and scored five runs off Caleb Killian (1-3) in the bottom of the 9th inning, sending the Giants to their fourth straight loss and their eighth loss in their last 10 games.

Hunter Goodman hit a three-run homer to tie the game. Then with two outs, Ezequiel Tovar finished the shot with a two-run shot to left that gave Colorado an 8-6 victory and prompted the Rockies social media department to quote a song from “The Lizzie Maguire Movie,” which is about Lizzie Maguire traveling to Italy and meeting a pop star who looks exactly like her — a plot point only slightly more improbable than this Giants loss.

Just a note: That film pre-dated Hannah Montana, a series where Miley Cyrus leads a double life as a regular teenager and a famous pop star, but no one notices because she wears a blonde wig. Also for some reason, Haylie Duff does the singing for her sister’s Italian doppelganger.

Was that a digression? Sure, but isn’t it better than talking about the 2026 Giants?

Perhaps the Giants should have been more wary of a clutch two-run homer from Tovar, considering he did it one inning earlier to pull the Rockies to a 4-3 deficit in the 8th. Tovar hit it off Keaton Winn and the official 441-foot measurement honestly seems low.

How did the Giants get enough of a lead to set up their epic bullpen collapse? Logan Webb returned from the IL and fought his way through 4 1/3 innings that included three hits, three walks, a hit-by-pitch, and surrendering a steal of home on a Little League-caliber trick play.

But the Giants still held a 3-1 lead after five innings, even after SF nemesis Goodman (2-for-4, 3 RBI, BB) doubled the pitch-hit Tyler Freeman to third and Jung Hoo Lee, also fresh off the IL, made a very creative catch in right field.

You know who else is bad at saving? People not lucky enough to join the Safeway Select Club.

The Giants got on the board when DH Bryce Eldridge (1-for-1, two walks and a sac fly) doubled in the third and scored on a Willy Adames sac fly. They took the lead in the third with two walks, a Daniel Susac sacrifice fly, a single from Lee (4-for-5, two runs) and an RBI single from Harrison Bader.

The Giants scored three runs on sacrifice flies and another when Lee scored from second on Bader’s single, and not one player was thrown out at home plate. Welcome back to the third base coaching box, Ron Wotus!

Like the outs at home plate, the Giants also solved their season-long aversion to insurance runs Friday night. Lee doubled and Eldridge drove him home to make it 4-1 in the 8th. In the 9th, the Giants made it 6-3 after Rafeal Devers tripled home Luis Arraez, and Matt Chapman followed with an RBI single.

That missionary who tried to convert the tribespeople of North Sentinel Island, that guy was really bad at saves.

But a three-run lead wasn’t enough at Coors Field. Killian allowed an infield single to himself to start the 9th. Freeman singled and Goodman hit a Carlton Fisk-esque bomb to left field that just barely stayed fair. The umpires reviewed the play and confirmed the home run, which Goodman appreciated because he was “pretty gassed.”

That was Goodman’s fifth career home run against the Giants and his 24th-26th RBIs, which is 11 more than he has against any other team. He’s also slugging .591 against the Giants and he may have advised the Giants to buy the Curran Theatre in the offseason.

Jose Mejia (1-4) got his first win of the season and did not deserve it one bit after giving up two runs and three hits in the 9th, while also hitting a batter. Tovar ended up doubling his 2026 home run total in two at-bats, having gone deep twice in his first 202 trips to the plate this season before duplicating that feat after the 7th inning.

We should note that Tovar’s walkoff didn’t just give the Rockies a win. It gave the Rockies fans discounted tacos. At participating Denver-area Taco Bells, four crispy tacos can be had for just $3 from 4-6 PM tomorrow night. Just a warning — fans still have to pay for their own toilet paper after that promotion gives them diarrhea.

Saturday night Adrian Hauser takes the mound for the Giants as they face right-hander Ryan Feltner, who is coming off the injured list. He’ll probably throw a no-hitter.

J.P. Crawford hit two homers, saved the go-ahead run, and then scored the winning run in extras.

The Mariners returned to .500 with a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks. Randy Arozarena picked up the final knock, lacing a double into the right center gap to score Crawford in the 10th. It was the 13th — and the sixth for extra bases — on what turned out to be a phenomenal day for the Mariners’ lineup. But a sixth-inning implosion another blown save for Andrés Muñoz kept this one close to the very end.

It all started with Crawford, way back in the first inning. He led off and worked a three-ball count, as he does, laying off a nibbling Zac Gallen. Crawford got a fastball up and out over the plate, turned, and launched it into the right field stands. 

It’s been a great season for Crawford at the plate. He’s continued to showcase his tremendous eye, and he’s continued to avoid strikeouts. His 0.81 K/BB is top 20 in baseball. But it’s his .179 ISO that really stands out, looking far closer to his excellent 2023 than what we’ve seen the last two season. The (relative) power is back.

In some ways, it never really left. Crawford changed his swing in 2023 and began hitting the ball much harder. He maintained that hard contact in 2024 even as he struggled, and it stuck around for his bounce back season last year, too. The lesser power numbers in either season were more about the angle that contact was going. Last year, most of his hardest hit balls were on the ground. This year, they’re in the air.

We saw that again in the fifth. Jhonny Pereda smoked a groundball single to lead off the inning. Crawford got a changeup down and out over the plate. He crushed the pitch at 104.8 mph and a perfect 27 degrees and sent it 417 feet over the fence in center field. 

Crawford is now up to a 121 wRC+ on the season. It wasn’t just the homers that improved his line Friday. In the third, he drew an eight-pitch walk with two outs. That kept the inning alive to bring Julio to the plate. Gallen hung a slider, and Julio hit a missile to left — 113.6 mph at a razor thin 16 degrees: 

It was Julio’s 11th homer of 2026 and his ninth in May. It’s the most homers he’s ever hit in a month for his career. It’s not quite his best month ever as a matter of total production; he entered the day with a mere 141 wRC+ (Julio has had some very, very, very good months). But he’s making great contact, hitting the ball hard and in the air, and avoiding strikeouts. Julio also rocketed a 109.2 mph single and 112.3 mph double on Friday to bring his wRC+ up to 126 on the year.

That’s how the Mariners built a comfortable 5-0 lead, setting themselves up to cruise to a fourth win this week. It wasn’t so easy from there.

George Kirby was fine until he wasn’t. He faced the minimum in the first, thanks to a nifty double play turned by Cole Young. He faced the minimum in the second. He worked around a hit and a walk in the third, and he gave up a leadoff homer in the fourth. He got through five inning without too much trouble and holding 5-1 lead.

Then the Diamondbacks stepped to the plate in the sixth. As it happens, this was exactly the start of their third time through the lineup — something Mariners’ pitchers have struggled with this season. Kirby entered the day with a 4.07 FIP on the third pass in 2026, making him the Mariners only somewhat effective pitcher on that split. That wasn’t the case Friday.

Corbin Carroll laced a one-out single. Geraldo Perdomo flared a weak double to left that got tangled where the wall juts out in foul territory. Gabriel Moreno plated them both with a well-hit double to make it 5-3. That was the end of Kirby’s day: 5 1/3 innings, six hits, four strikeouts, one walk, and a fair amount of hard contact allowed. Meh. 

Matt Brash replaced Kirby. He was bad. He walked a batter and gave up a sharp single to load the bases, still with one out. He gave up a run on a groundout. He gave up another on a single to tie the game at 5-5. He walked one final batter but finally ended the inning — the 10th batter of the frame — with a strikeout. It was his worst outing of the season, or rather, his first bad one.

The Mariners lead was gone. No matter: Luke Raley stepped to the plate. With his all-or-nothing dial set to “all,” Raley crushed a hanging, middle-middle changeup way out to right field, giving the Mariners a 6-5 lead. He now leads the team with 12 homers.

Then came the tight rope. The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh with a couple hits, but Eduard Bazardo eventually shut the door. The Diamondbacks threatened in the eight with a double and a walk, but Dan Wilson brought in Gabe Speier to strikeout Carroll — the best left-on-left hitter in baseball — on three pitches. 

That got the ball to Muñoz in the ninth with a 6-5 lead. He struggled, as he has several times this year. He gave up a pair of leadoff singles. Then he hit Nolan Arenado really hard in the elbow to load the bases with nobody out; Arenado exited in considerable pain. Muñoz limited the damage, but still gave up a run on a weak roller. He escaped the inning with a blown save and a 6-6 tie.

Cooper Criswell worked the 10th. He got a groundout to move the Manfred man to third. The Mariners infield came in to cut off the run at home. Carroll then smacked a 101.6 mph hopper up the middle. Crawford ranged a step to his left and dove, snared the grounder, popped to his feet, looked the runner back to third, and fired in time to first.

“That’s just a great reaction on his part to glove that ball, to get it and get the throw to first and keep that runner at third,” Dan Wilson said after the game. “I thought that was the turning point in the game there.”

The play kept things tied until the Mariners turn to bat in the 10th. Arozarena stepped to the plate with one out and Crawford on second as the Manfred Man. Juan Morillo go him to two strikes, and he got Arozarena to chase a nasty slider way out of the zone. But Arozarena was on it, driving it hard the into the left-center gap, bringing Crawford around to score the winning run 7-6.

Arozarena said after the game he wasn’t trying to do too much in that spot, just get the ball in play and try to move the runner. He said the team feels relaxed right now, with everyone feeding off each other’s at bats.

“I think this whole team, right now, it’s in a good spot. Everybody’s been working, putting up good at-bats, and even last year, we still had a good team, but I think right now things are just working and clicking.”

For Crawford, scoring the final run was a nice cap for one of his best games as a Mariner. It’s been a weird start to the 2026 season, with his replacement getting a historic contract and eventually a call up. Crawford’s defense has been measurably and observably poor, with talk of a move to third (to this point, it remains just talk). But it’s games like Friday that show why he’s still around. He gets on base, sometimes he slugs, and he’s one of the great clutch performers in team history. He did all those things Friday. The Mariners won.

The Athletics as an organization have gotten themselves in a weird situation where they, as a major league team, are playing games in a minor league ballpark. The team themselves are a perfectly solid major league team, fighting atop an iffy AL West at this point of the season, with young talent that could make them very dangerous in the coming years.

That being said, during Friday night’s series opener in West Sacramento, one team was definitely at a higher level, and it wasn’t the A’s.

Led by home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon, and Ben Rice, the Yankees’ offense had no issues against Athletics’ pitching, putting up eight runs on 11 hits. Meanwhile on the mound, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón had arguably his best start of the season so far. He went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out three. From the first inning on, there wasn’t much drama in the game, as the Yankees came away with an 8-2 win.

While former Yankee and current Athletic Luis Severino retired Trent Grisham to open the game, his former team then got off to a quick start after that. The Yankees got a bit of fortune as A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz threw wide of a covering Severino after a Ben Rice grounder, which was then followed by a Severino balk. Aaron Judge then poked through a single to get the scoring started. Following another single from Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt then kept his good run going, homering to left to put up a crooked number.

The Athletics did get one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Kurtz hit a home run of his own in the first, getting his team on the board.

During his warmup pitches prior to the second inning, Severino appeared to tweak something, leading to his exit before the frame even began. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, as lot of us still have a soft sport for Sevy.

The Yankees’ offense continued to add on to their lead after Severino’s departure. In the second, Rice hit an RBI single that scored José Caballero, who was on after a double. In the third, Ryan McMahon hit a homer in his second consecutive game, also reaching the No. 150 mark for his career. Then in the fourth, Aaron Judge grounded out with two runners on, but it was a weak and slow enough grounder to allow Grisham to score from third.

Rodón would end up getting through six innings before making way for the bullpen. He ended his day on a very strong note, retiring the last seven batters he faced.

In the top of the seventh, Rice picked up his second RBI of the day with a homer to center-ish field. It broke a seven-game home run-less streak, which had been the longest of his season to this point.

Replacing Rodón was Brent Headrick, who enetered for his daily appearance. This time around, he got one quick out, but then loaded the bases, leading to Aaron Boone going back to the bullpen. Fernando Cruz came in for him and induced a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the jam.

Paul Blackburn then got the eighth and worked a quick inning, despite having to hit the deck to avoid taking a comebacker to the face. Blackburn returned for the ninth and got in some early trouble when the first two Athletics’ batters reached base. One of those runs did come around to score, but Blackburn bounced back after that to finish the proceedings.

The Yankees and A’s will continue their set tomorrow night, with a game starting at 10:05 pm ET. Ryan Weathers and J.T. Ginn are expected to be the starting pitchers in that one.

Box Score

Game Summary

Full recap to follow shortly. Feel free to vent on the close loss in the comments!

Loss Probability and Box Score

Outside the Box Score

• Geraldo Perdomo’s poor batted ball luck continued in the first inning tonight where he lined into a double play. It took a very acrobatic play to record the out, with Cole Young throwing his gloved hand up and deflecting the ball straight up in the air where he was able to better collect himself and then make the catch and throw to first and double off Carroll.
• Julio Rodriguez 2-run homer off Gallen in the 3rd came after Gallen got 2 quick outs and then walked JP Crawford on a full count. Off the bat, it looked like it might be a double into the corner based on the extremely low trajectory. Baseball Savant registered the homer as having a 16* launch angle which is tied for the lowest trajectory launch angle for a non-inside-the-park-homer this year with Vladimir Guerrero.
• Zac Gallen was the beneficiary of excellent defensive decision-making and perfect alignment after getting into a little trouble in the bottom of the 4th. With runners at 1st and 2nd and no out, there was a fly ball to deep center field which was going to allow Arozarena to advance to third easily. Instead of getting greedy and trying to throw out Arozarena at third, Waldschmidt made the catch and then fired in to second base, keeping the trail runner at first. The very next hitter smoked a line drive right over Gallen’s head, but Perdomo was positioned right behind second base and was able to field the ball and record the 6-3 double play to get the Snakes out of the inning.
• Diamondback defense saved Zac Gallen from further injury in the fifth, as well, when Josh Naylor smoked a deep fly ball to right center field. Naylor stood in the batter’s box and admired his handiwork as the ball…smacked off the top of the wall and back towards centerfield. Waldschmidt picked up the ball and threw in to Ketel Marte who quickly pivoted and fired a strike to Gerry who applied the tag on Josh Naylor just before he slid into second.
• Gabi Moreno gave the Snakes some life in the 6th when he smoked a 2-run double on the 7th pitch of his AB off the base of the center field wall to score Carroll and Domo. The ball ‘lodged’ at the base of the wall, but fortunately everyone was advancing no more than 2 bases on the play anyway so we weren’t victims of ground rules for the second series in a row.
• Waldschmidt came up with Gabi at second base and got a hit, but he hit the ball too hard for Gabi to score. Waldy smoked a single into left field at 108mph and Gabi had to stop at third. 
• Nolan Arenado reintroduced himself to the team after missing a game and not starting tonight with groin tightness. The very first pitch he saw he fouled off his foot. Welcome back, but Ouch! 
• The Diamondback defense was aided by the field to start the bottom of the 8th when Randy Arozarena hit a sharp grounder back up the middle. The ball went straight through Jonny Lasagna’s legs and looked destined to be a hit. Ketel was ranging over from second and looked like he might be able to dive to keep the ball on the infield but likely wouldn’t have enough time to pick back up and throw to first, but in a twist, the ball hit perfectly off the second base bag and bounced chest high to Ketel who, to his credit, adjusted well and then rifled a throw across his body directly to Vargas at first for the out. On his way back to the dugout, Arozarena looked back out to the field and shared a laugh with Ketel. Baseball is hard; it’s good to see competitors laughing together after plays like that.
• Josh Naylor gave us a flashback to old times when he muffed a barehanded fielding attempt in the 9th inning that resulted in the tying run scoring.

Comment of the Game

The GameDay Thread was certainly….interesting tonight. A final tally of 396 comments at time of publishing with Comment of the Game by popular vote awarded to Dano_in_Tucson for his lineup advice to Torey:

Coming Up

The Diamondbacks face the Mariners for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow evening with a 7:10pm first pitch Arizona time. Righthander Bryan Woo (4-3, 3.82 ERA) will take the mound for Seattle and Ryne Nelson (2-3, 4.65 ERA) takes the ball for the good guys. Hopefully Ryno can get the starting pitching back on track after Gallen’s hiccup tonight.

The Athletics and New York Yankees kicked off a three-game weekend series tonight in Sacramento. The A’s entered the game trying to end a three-game losing streak, while the Yankees sought to make it five-straight wins. The “Bronx Bombers” took the lead before most fans had reached their seats and did not look back, earning a blowout 8-2 victory over the A’s in a game they dominated in all facets.

Early Action

A’s starting pitcher Luis Severino gave up runs in the first inning for a second-straight outing, but this time he was not helped by his defense. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz made a throwing error allowing Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice to reach safely. Rice advanced to second on Severino’s balk and then scored on Aaron Judge’s RBI single to give the Yankees an immediate lead. A few batters later, with two on and two outs, Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast just over the left field wall to give the visitors a 4-0 lead after the first half inning of the game. All four runs were unearned, yet that three-run home run really stung.

In the bottom of the first, the A’s got a run back. Kurtz atoned for his error by hitting his ninth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center field.

Yankees Extend Their Lead

In the second inning, Severino got hurt warming up, exiting his start with right arm soreness. Apparently, he has been dealing with shoulder soreness, which is why his start got pushed back to tonight. Maybe it should have been pushed back a bit longer to prevent a bullpen game to open the series.

Left-hander Jose Suarez replaced him on the mound. The Yankees’ offense went right back to work. They got three-straight hits with Rice’s RBI single pushing their fifth run across home plate. Suarez escaped the inning, limiting the damage to one run.

A’s Offense Stalls

Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom worked a walk to begin the A’s half of the second. Center fielder Henry Bolte singled to left, advancing his teammate to second base. The A’s rally fizzled out from there as back-t0-back groundouts with runners in scoring position erased the momentum they had built at the start of the frame.

Yankees’ Offense On Fire

Suarez only pitched one inning. A’s reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced him in the third. He gave up third baseman Ryan McMahon’s sixth home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to right-center. The Yankees added a seventh run in the fourth, courtesy of Judge’s RBI groundout. Through four innings, the Yankees scored at least one run in every inning.

Gelof Not Coming up Clutch

In the bottom of the fourth, Soderstrom and Bolte strung together two-straight singles with two outs. Alas, Rodòn got Gelof to fly out, completing a third-straight scoreless inning. Gelof has twice failed to come through in prime run-scoring opportunities for the hosts this evening. Left-handed reliever Hogan Harris answered by recording the first scoreless inning by an A’s pitcher in the fifth.

Yankees in Cruise Control

With a six-run cushion, Rodòn cruised through six innings of one-run ball, limiting the slumping A’s offense to only four hits. In the seventh, the Yankees extended their lead to seven runs via their third home run of the game. Rice blasted his 17th home run of the season against new A’s reliever Scott Barlow. He finished with three hits in five at-bats and was a triple shy of the cycle.

Cortes’ Magic Wearing Off?

Bolte was one of the few positives for the A’s tonight. He recorded three singles in four at-bats, the last one coming off Yankees’ left-handed reliever Brent Headrick in the seventh. After his third single, he moved up a base on Gelof’s first of two hits in this game.

With the bases loaded, Yankees manager Aaron Boone replaced Headrick with right-handed reliever Fernando Cruz. A’s manager Mark Kotsay countered by bringing Carlos Cortes off the bench to pinch hit for Darell Hernaiz. Cruz won the matchup, inducing an inning-ending 1-2-3  double play as the A’s failed yet again with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.

That outcome was indicative of the A’s teamwide offensive struggles not only tonight, but this whole week. The Athletics’ recent offensive ineptitude during home games remains perplexing, especially considering that visiting teams seem to take full advantage of the hitter-friendly ballpark to score runs in bunches.

The A’s offensive struggles carried over to defense. In the ninth, three A’s defenders collided trying to cleanly field Rice’s catchable pop-up that somehow ended up on the grass.

The A’s got a consolation run off former A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn in the ninth. Gelof’s RBI single scored designated hitter Brent Rooker, who started the rally with an infield single, for the A’s second run of the night. Blackburn buckled down, retiring the next two hitters to seal the Yankees fifth straight win and doom the Athletics to further misery.

The A’s have been outscored 30-6 during this woeful, winless late May homestand. Additionally, they have committed 15 errors in their past 17 games. Currently riding a four-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 27-30, the vibes are not good for this team. As a result, something must be done sooner than later to restore some positivity and turn things around before the team’s 2026 season spirals completely out of control.

The Athletics will look to snap their losing skid and even up this series tomorrow evening. Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 2-3 with a 3.19 ERA, will look to play stopper. The A’s need him to pitch at least five or six innings in the wake of the bullpen having to cover eight innings today. The Yankees will counter with left-hander Ryan Weathers, who is 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Not an off day nor a change in time zones could cool off the Yankees’ offense.

And while playing in a minor league park did not necessarily hurt, it also was not the main factor behind another big night.

The Yankees beat up on old friend Luis Severino in the first inning before he got hurt, then continued to add on the rest of the way while cruising to their fifth straight win, 8-2 over the Athletics on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,254 at Sutter Health Park.

Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice all homered — Goldschmidt a three-run shot off Severino that keyed the first-inning attack — as the Yankees (35-22) stayed hot after outscoring the Royals 26-4 during their sweep in Kansas City earlier this week.

“This is the type of offense we have,” said Aaron Judge, who went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs in a homecoming of sorts, having grown up an hour away. “You’re going to have the ebbs and flows of the season, where you’re going to have some down weeks, some down months, but when this offense is rolling like that and staying aggressive, we’re at our best. That’s what I feel like we did today.”

Carlos Rodón, pitching for the first time in over a week, grinded through six innings but allowed just one run — a solo homer to Nick Kurtz in the bottom of the first — while navigating some early traffic from the Athletics (27-30).

The left-hander finished strong, retiring the final seven batters he faced, while becoming the eighth straight Yankees starter to allow two runs or fewer.

After a 16-game stretch in which the Yankees scored just seven runs in a game one time, they have now scored seven or more in three straight games, once again getting contributions from all parts of the lineup.

“It’s fun to watch when we’re clicking like that,” said Rice, who went 3-for-5 and fell a triple short of the cycle.

The Yankees had clobbered Severino here last year before he kept them in check in The Bronx in April. But back in the Triple-A stadium that Severino has expressed his frustrations about pitching in, the Yankees got to him again in his first and only inning before leaving the game with what the A’s called “right arm soreness.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

The rally got started when Rice reached on an error, which Judge and Cody Bellinger followed with back-to-back singles. Then with two outs, Goldschmidt crushed a 1-2 sweeper over the left field wall for a three-run homer.

The veteran first baseman, starting for the eighth straight game to help give the Yankees some better balance in their lineup, has just kept hitting with the increased playing time.

He had largely been relegated to starting against lefties earlier this season, but is now facing righties too and finding success.

Over his last 23 games, Goldschmidt is hitting .304 (24-for-79) with a .952 OPS. He is also batting 7-for-20 (.350) with 14 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.

“He’s been huge, and has given us a little bit of balance,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s held his own against righties, continues to do what he does against lefties. He’s hit for power, he’s gotten some important hits for us. Obviously plays great defense over there at first. When [Giancarlo Stanton] goes down, you’re looking for someone to step up and Goldy’s certainly done that.”

The Yankees added on with a single run in each of the next three innings — including McMahon’s 150th career homer, and second in as many games — before Rice drilled his 17th home run of the season in the seventh, tying Judge for the team lead.

The A’s threatened to stage a rally after Rodón exited, loading the bases off Brent Headrick with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Fernando Cruz came in to get an inning-ending double play.

Cruz has now stranded 20 of his 24 inherited runners this season.

“That’s the game right there,” Boone said. “That’s their chance to get back in it, and he executes strike one right away and then executes a really good pitch.”

The Philadelphia Phillies (29-28) played their first game in Chavez Ravine since they were eliminated in the National League Divisional Series last October and fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers (37-20) on Friday night.

Four of the five hits allowed by Zack Wheeler (4-1) were solo home runs to Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, which accounted for the entirety of the Dodgers’ runs on the night.

Dodgers’ lefty, Justin Wrobleski (7-2), hurled nine of the Dodgers’ 11 K’s and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, though the Phillies did get a runner on in the fourth when a fly ball hit by Trea Turner was fumbled by Kyle Tucker for a two-base error. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Kyle Schwarber denied the no-hitter and the shutout with his major league-leading 22nd home run.

In the top of the eighth, the Phillies did muster two hits and a run off Dodgers’ reliever, Edgardo Henriquez, via a Brandon Marsh double and a first-as-a-Phillie RBI single by Steward Berroa, who was promoted to the big league club in favor of Otto Kemp earlier in the day.

Dodgers’ lefty, Alex Vesia, came in with Schwarber at the plate as the tying run and struck him out to end the inning.

This is only the second time in his career that Wheeler has surrendered four homers in a start, the first also coming as a Phillies in June of 2024 against the Orioles. He has never surrendered more than two in any other game.

Andrew Painter (1-5) faces a tall task against Roki Sasaki (3-3) in the middle game of the series tomorrow night.

Munetaka Murakami left the Chicago White Sox’s 4-3 victory against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning on Friday, May 29, with hamstring tightness.

He hit the ball to center field and ran through first base before he was seen reaching for his hamstring. White Sox manager Will Venable, the team’s medical staff and Murakami’s interpreter, Kenzo Yagi, all ran onto the field after the play.  

After the game, Venable called Murakami's injury a "little hamstring strain on the initial evaluation” and said the first baseman will likely miss time. "Probably a couple weeks," Venable said.

Murakami is expected to get more imaging done Saturday.

Murakami left game after this play.pic.twitter.com/ikbq8Z5Yizhttps://t.co/r7KvgjUNtP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) May 30, 2026

Venable wouldn’t commit to an official decision when asked whether Murakami would be placed on the injured list.

The Japanese star declined to talk with the media after the game, but a White Sox spokesperson stated that he would be available to talk before Saturday’s game.

The White Sox entered Friday’s game with the fourth-best record in the American League. Chicago now has a 30-27 overall record after its walk-off win in 10 innings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Munetaka Murakami injury update: Latest news on White Sox star