Category: MLB

Angel Martinez’s continued possible breakout put the Guardians up 5-2 in the top of the 8th. The Guardians always win when they lead 5-2 in the top of the 8th.

Following an RBI double by George Valera that made it 3-2, Martinez added one of his own that brought 2 more runs in. But in between, Stephen Vogt made a move that cost him the game. Valera was replaced by the even slower Juan Brito on the bases, because the team…… doesn’t trust Valera to…… not hurt himself running? I guess? (Leave him in AAA for another few days then, guys.)

Erik Sabrowski gave up two thirds of that lead in the bottom of the inning which made it 5-4. Then in the bottom of the 9th, Cade Smith retired the Cardinals 1-2-3. Oh, that’s right, I said Vogt cost the team the game. So how did that happen if there was a 1-2-3 ninth? Brito botched the third out, a routine ground ball, and then Yohei Pozo tied it. Brito’s fielding was a major issue in Goodyear, and it’s been a problem this month, too.

David Fry was also catching because he hit for Bo Naylor, and did not make any of the tough plays that an elite catcher makes some of.

Around baseball

• The Cubs and Padres are interested in LGFT Lucas Giolito.

• If you want to see Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal talk about pitching for 45 minutes, this is a link for you. Mentioned: Austin Hedges. Not mentioned: Will Wilson.

• Yesterday was the 19th anniversary of a person with a Patriots logo on their torso throwing something accurately. No, not that guy.

The Astros overcame an early 3-0 deficit with a Christian Walker home run and a six-run third inning, then hold on for a 7-6 win over the Rockies at Daikin Park.

It didn’t go according to plan in any manner, except the end result.

Making his first start of the season for the Houston Astros, Colton Gordon struggled and couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. The beleaguered bullpen had to come up with another 6.1 innings, and they were just good enough to hold a 7-3 lead for a 7-6 victory.

Gordon got the first two outs of the game before giving up a solo homer to Hunter Goodman:

He closed out the inning with a strikeout on the next batter.

In the second inning, Gordon again got the first two outs before allowing back-to-back singles to Jordan Beck and Kyle Karros. Jake McCarthy then laced a bases-clearing triple to give Colorado a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, the Astros would answer. With one out, Christian Walker hit one 422 feet on to the train tracks.

In the top of the third, Gordon allowed a leadoff single to Brenton Doyle, and then got a pair of strikeouts. Doyle was then cut down trying to steal by Christian Vazquez to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, the Astros would break the game open with some big hits and some brutal Rockies defense.

Vazquez led off with a double. It was his 4th double of the season. Jose Altuve then popped up on the infield for should have been an easy out, but Rockies 2B Willi Castro dropped the ball, giving the Astros two on and no out.

Yordan Alvarez then obliterated a baseball at 114.2 MPH for a 2 run double.

Isaac Paredes would follow with a walk. Carlos Correa would bounce into a force play, with Paredes forced out at second. Christian Walker would then hit a ground ball to third. Kyle Karros fielded the ball and threw home, trying to get Alvarez at the plate. The throw beat him but the catcher Goodman couldn’t apply the tag in time, and Yordan scored to give the Astros a 4-3 lead.

Cam Smith would then rip a single the other way to right to drive in Correa to make it a 5-3 game.

Joey Loperfido came to bat next, and he would reach on an error by 2B Castro, his second error of the inning. Walker would score to make it 6-3 Houston.

After Brice Matthews struck out, Vazquez would bounce one through the hole into left field to score Smith and make it 7-3 Astros going to the 4th inning.

In the top of the fourth, Gordon would again get the first two outs before finding himself in trouble. This time, he gave up a solo homer to Jordan Beck to make it a 7-4 game.

After the home run, Gordon then allowed back to back singles, and then hit a batter to load the bases, and that would be all for Colton Gordon. He finished the night with 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 8H, 0 BB, 5K, 2 HR.

A.J. Blubaugh was summoned to get Houston of the jam. With Blubaugh (a RHP) replacing Gordon (a LHP), the Rockies pinch hit Mickey Monial for Brenton Doyle. Blubaugh would get Moniak to pop to short to end the inning and the threat.

In the top of the 5th, Hunter Goodman led off with his 2nd homer of the game and 4th of the season to make it a 7-5 game.

Things in the 6th and 7th would be quiet for the first time in the game, but in the 8th the Rockies would make some noise.

Kai-Wei Teng walked 2 of the first 3 batters to face him in the 8th. Joe Espada would go to his bullpen and summon lefty Bryan King. The Rockies would then counter by having Troy Johnston pinch hit for Jake McCarthy.

McCarthy would line an RBI single to center to make it a 7-6 game. King then got a strikeout and a pop-up in the next two batters to quell the rally.

Things then got a little dicey in the 9th. Bryan King, who came on to get out of a mess in the 8th, would open the 9th and get a pair of quick outs.

Then the trouble started. King allowed back to back hits to TJ Rumfield and Ezekiel Tovar. That would be all for Bryan King.

Enyel De Los Santos came on to get the final out and finish the job, and did so with a 5 pitch strikeout.

Wednesday, the Astros will hope to keep things going in Game 2 of their 3 game series with Spencer Arrighetti.

With the Mets riding a six-game losing streak and struggling to produce runs, Francisco Lindor's leadoff home run on Tuesday night against Los Angeles Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto provided a glimmer of hope for what could be a breakout game for the offense.

Instead, it was more of the same as Yamamoto shut down New York's bats for the rest of the night, handing them a 2-1 defeat for their seventh straight loss.

The Mets are now 7-11 on the year after starting 7-4 and have scored more than two runs just once (11-6 loss to Athletics on April 11) during their skid. After the game, Lindor was asked if the team is feeling desperate to get back in the win column, saying they understand the current urgency level and believe it can turn around.

"The desperation level? The urgency level is really high," Lindor said. "I don't think no one here is desperate, but we understand we have to win; it's a must-win. We're not going to sit here and just say, 'We'll get 'em, we'll get 'em, we'll get 'em.' It's everybody here has a sense of urgency and we're all trying to win. It's just a matter of time; we have to get it done.

"We're still in the middle of April and we have the opportunity to finish the month on the positive side. Everyone here understands that the task is winning and we're all going for it."

Lindor accounted for two of the team's four hits against Yamamoto, finishing the game 2-for-4 with the HR (his first of the year and his first RBI) and a strikeout. He was asked if it's been challenging for the group not to be pressing at the plate while they've been struggling, reminding everyone that you need to have a short memory in baseball, whether the result has been good or bad.

"It's human nature to get mad, to get frustrated, to say, 'You know what, this has got to end,' it's human nature," Lindor said. "But, in baseball, you get an opportunity the next day. So you got to learn from it, you got to turn the page as quick as you can and come back tomorrow. 

"Tomorrow we face [Shohei] Ohtani. You can't just sit here and dwell on it for a very long time. We got to come back tomorrow and face another ace. That's it. Bottom line: when you win, short-term memory; when you lose, short-term memory as well."

Lindor noted he felt the intensity of the team's at-bats was improved compared to previous games. He knows they'll need to carry the same approach against Ohtani on Wednesday, but it'll be quite the challenge, as the reigning two-time NL MVP is 1-0 over two starts (12.0 IP) with a 0.00 ERA and 0.75 WHIP this season. 

"It felt like just the conversations, the engagements, and felt like every at-bat we were going to get a hit," Lindor said. "Alvy [Francisco Alvarez] took great at-bats, took good pitches. We took good pitches, you know, Yamamoto was throwing splits 92 miles per hour and executing the location. 

"It's one of those where as the game goes on, you see the at-bats, you see the way guys take pitches. It looked really good. Hats off to Yamamoto. Tomorrow we got to bring it again."

Nolan McLean continues to impress with every outing, but Tuesday night's matchup against the defending World Series champion Dodgers was arguably his best start yet.

Going up against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, McLean held the vaunted Dodgers offense to just one run on two hits across seven innings while striking out eight. Unfortunately for the Mets, Yamamoto held their lineup to just one run on four hits before the Dodgers lineup scratched a run across on New York's bullpen to pull out the 2-1 win. 

"They were both awesome," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the pitcher's duel. "Yamamoto was pretty nasty, but Nolan was pretty nasty too. They went head-to-head. It was inning after inning, batter after batter, pitch after pitch. They made it tough on hitters. Sucks losing that one, especially when you get that type of outing. But they were both on their game today."

It's tough for any pitcher to pitch on the road in Los Angeles, let alone against a lineup that features Shohei Ohtani among other future Hall of Famers, but the moment wasn't too big for McLean. 

The 24-year-old has been lauded for his even-keel demeanor and competitiveness since he was called up late last year and that shone through on Tuesday. McLean was asked about whether he had some "extra juice" pitching against the Dodgers, and the right-hander made it seem like any other start.

"Maybe a little bit, but like I’ve said before, I try to treat every start the same, no matter who's standing in the box or where I’m at," McLean said after the game. "I just want to win every time I go out there. I grew up a baseball fan, and getting to watch some of these guys on TV growing up, it’s cool to compete against them."

And compete he did. 

The only run the Dodgers scored off of McLean came in the first inning, but not off a home run or extra-base hit, but on a groundout.

After Francisco Lindor gave McLean and the Mets the early 1-0 lead on a leadoff homer, the Dodgers scratched across the tying run in the first. A one-out walk to Kyle Tucker came back to bite McLean after Will Smith doubled to put him in scoring position and Freddie Freeman's dribbler allowed Tucker to scamper home. The Dodgers wouldn't get close to scoring a run again off McLean. 

"Outside of the walk in the first inning, I felt like I filled the zone up and was attacking guys," McLean explained. "Once I got it to two strikes, it was much easier to pitch with two strikes than behind in the count. I was comfortable getting there and I was happy with the way I was getting two strikes."

That emphasis on throwing first-pitch strikes helped McLean pitch seven innings for just the third time in his career, including Tuesday. It's the first time he's done it this season. 

McLean says that whether hitters put the ball in play or get a strike called on the first pitch he throws, they are both wins for him, so it's worth it to use his fastball to get ahead in counts. Of the 95 pitches he threw, 49 of them were either the four-seam or sinker (51 percent), and 37 of his 68 strikes were from those two pitches.

And once he got ahead, McLean used any of his six pitches to get the Dodgers bats out.

"Not only on Shohei, but some of their hitters [like] Freddie Freeman... that first at-bat and some of the swings he was taking, he pretty much dominated one of the best lineups in the league," Mendoza said. "That goes to show you how good of a pitcher Nolan is when he’s at his best. And today was one of those nights."

And the Mets needed McLean at his best. Although they outhit the Dodgers, the Mets could only push across one run and didn't capitalize on opportunities like in the eighth when Yamamoto was out of the game and they had runners on second and third and two outs. 

Over the last seven games (all losses), the Mets have scored a combined 10 runs. 

"He kept us in the game. He did a really good job," Lindor said of McLean's outing. "Gave us quick innings, chances for us to score. Gave us the momentum and we didn’t capitalize on it. It’s one of those where you wish you got it done for him. He pitched his butt off today. Even though he gave us momentum every single inning. We gotta do our best to win games like this."

The Mets will look to snap their losing streak without McLean on the mound when they take on Ohtani and the Dodgers in the final game of their three-game set on Wednesday. 

No one expected a high scoring game when the San Diego Padres hosted the Seattle Mariners for the first game of a three-game series at Petco Park on Thursday. Michael King was on the mound for the Padres and Bryan Woo was pitching for the Mariners so both offenses knew opportunities to score would be limited. In the end, it was the San Diego lineup that made the most of the success it had against Woo, which resulted in a 4-1 win over Seattle.

King and Woo battled back-and-forth through the sixth inning, but it was the Mariners who would allow their starter to pitch into the seventh inning. The Padres had a 3-1 lead after six innings and the bullpen was set and ready to follow the winning blueprint with Adrian Morejon handling the seventh inning, Jason Adam taking the eighth inning and Mason Miller closing in the ninth to take earn their sixth win in as many games.

The San Diego offense got to Woo in the bottom of the third inning after King allowed a run in the top of the second. With Seattle leading 1-0, Ramon Laureano hit a one-out triple off the base of the wall in right field. He scored one batter later when Fernando Tatis Jr. singled up the middle to ties the game, 1-1. Jackson Merrill followed with another single to move Tatis Jr. to third. The Padres had runners on the corners with two outs after Manny Machado popped out for the second out of the inning.

Merrill stole second base to put runners at second and third for Xander Bogaerts, who came through once again with a big hit. Bogaerts singled to center field which allowed Tatis Jr. and Merrill to score to give San Diego a 3-1 lead. Gavin Sheets followed with a flyout to shortstop to end the inning, but the Padres had a lead they would not relinquish.

San Diego tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning after Merrill doubled to start the inning off Seattle reliever Casey Legumina. Machado hit a deep flyball out to left field, which allowed Merrill to move to third base. Bogaerts came through once again with his third RBI of the game which came on a single to right field to give the Padres a 4-1 lead. Miller trotted into the game from the bullpen in the top of the ninth and recorded outs against all three Mariners he faced.

King finished his day on the mound after allowing one run on four hits through six innings. He also recorded five strikeouts and allowed just two walks. Woo was taken out of the game after completing seven innings. He allowed three runs on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Merrill and Bogaerts led the offense for the Padres with three hits each. Merrill scored two runs and Bogaerts recorded three RBI.

San Diego plays the second game of the series against Seattle on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m.

Yesterday the Mariners made the most of their mopportunity against the Astros; the same unfortunately cannot be said for today’s series opener against the Padres. The Mariners put up some good at-bats but were again unable to come through with a big hit, dropping the first game of the Vedder Cup against the Padres by a score of 4-1.

Bryan Woo made it three straight Mariners starters in a row working through the seventh inning, giving up three runs across his seven innings of work but also needing to navigate around eight hits. It feels wildly unfair to Woo to call a quality start not his best work, but scratching below the surface of Woo’s outing, there were some uncharacteristic mistakes, largely concentrated in the third inning.

Woo lost his iron-fist command of the zone somewhat in the third, failing to throw a first-pitch strike to the first five of the seven hitters he faced in the inning – an overall issue in this game, as Woo only threw 15 of 29 first-pitch strikes. He fell behind Ramón Laureano 2-0 before sending a fastball into the middle-lower part of the zone that Laureano punished for a triple (thanks to some semi-adventurous fielding from Luke Raley); Laureano would come home on a single from Fernando Tatís on a 1-0 slider, tying up the game at 1-1 after the Mariners had scored an early run.

If Woo had been able to cap the damage there, this game might have had a different outcome, but things continued to be a struggle for Woo in the inning. He went to a full count with Jackson Merrill, who eventually singled on the seventh pitch of the at-bat and then stole second. Woo was still close to escaping trouble, getting Manny Machado to pop out for the second out of the inning and getting ahead of Xander Bogaerts 0-2, but he “threw two really bad sliders” – his words – to Bogaerts, again going to a full count before leaving a sweeper too much on the plate for a two-RBI hit.

To his credit, Woo made adjustments and was able to finish strong, but unfortunately those three runs would be all the Padres would need, although they did add another in the eighth against Casey Legumina. But the offense, maybe struggling with some form of shock after four days of facing the Astros’ limping pitching staff, could only manage one run against the Padres pitching staff, despite Michael King showing some inefficiency and allowing a handful of baserunners between hits and free passes. It looked like the Mariners might be able to break things open against King in the second inning, loading the bases with one out, but all they could manage was a sacrifice fly from Dominic Canzone as Cole Young was punched out looking at King’s wicked sinker to end the inning.

The Mariners were able to get King out of the game after the sixth, but lefty Adrian Morejon put down Cole Young and Brendan Donovan (and pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom) with ease, and in the eighth Jason Adam also hung a zero thanks to Josh Naylor hitting into a double play. The Padres were then able to activate their human cheat code in Mason Miller, who dispatched his trio of hitters on 15 pitches and we’ll consider it a win because he only struck out one of them (Luke Raley). A’s pitcher Mason Miller was terrifying; the Padres version is an utter nightmare. See you when you’re closing the All-Star Game for the National League in July, MM, and hopefully not before then.

For a loss, there were some positives to take away from this game. The Mariners did create traffic on the bases, showing some of the lessons they learned from the Astros series wouldn’t be left behind in Seattle. They only struck out six times (and once against Mason Miller, which does not count), and worked three walks – two of which were taken by Julio Rodríguez, which is very encouraging. If the early Julio turnaround is coming, it’s going to need to be driven by him forcing pitchers to get into the zone against him by proving he won’t expand. The problems that plagued this lineup in those early season losses are still there – once again, only Randy Arozarena showed any kind of consistency in the top half of the lineup, providing two of the Mariners’ four hits and putting up a good battle against MechaMiller – but feeling more muted than during their double digit strikeout-paloozas despite the Padres possessing a pitching staff on par with some of the early staffs they’ve faced like Cleveland or New York. It’s totally fair not to trust this offense yet, but there are cathedrals roadside chapels here for those with eyes to see.

For the third time on this road trip, the Red Sox entered a game with a seemingly large pitching advantage and lost. They got shut down by Dustin May last Friday, watched Garrett Crochet get bombarded while matched up against Bailey Ober yesterday, and saw Sonny Gray get thoroughly outpitched by Mick Abel tonight.

On an evening where the Sox needed both length and effectiveness from their starter, they got neither. Gray lasted just four innings and allowed five earned runs. Oh, and as bad as he was, it easily could have been worse as he narrowly wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the third.

Meanwhile, the bats were going up against a guy with a 6.19 ERA in 52.1 career innings entering tonight. They scored zero runs and struck out ten times.

If this is what things look like when matchups are favorable on paper, what type of horror show are we in for when this butter knife offense starts running into the teeth of real rotations? Although I guess in some ways it can’t get any worse. You can’t score less than zero runs, and you can’t have less than zero wins, which is how many the Red Sox have against American League opponents 17 games into this season.

If you dive deeper into the details, it somehow only gets uglier. Willson Contreras left the game with lower back tightness, which unfortunately feels like the most natural injury ever when you’re talking about a guy who will be 34 next month, has never played more than 138 games in a season, and started all 17 games this year. I don’t have time to look it up, but I bet there’s a decent chance this is the first time he’s ever started 17 straight games in his career. It also feels like another byproduct of a completely unbalanced roster that includes way too many outfield / DH guys, and not enough quality infielders.

Speaking of subpar play by an infielder, did you see the strike Andruw Monasterio (who came into the game for Contreras) challenged tonight? This puppy wasn’t even close!

And it should be noted, this stands juxtaposed to Roman Anthony’s more disciplined decision to not challenge a ball in the third pitch of the game tonight. If you saw this live, you could see he really, really wanted to tap his head on this one (pitch 3 below), but ultimately decided to be a good teammate and not risk burning a challenge in the very first at bat of the night.

But you know what, as we continue to iron out the best way to handle these challenges, maybe they should let Roman use them early in the game if he’s confident. He seems to have a much better handle on the strike zone than most guys on this team. Perhaps the player challenging matters almost as much as the spot? (Within reason of course)

Oh, and we also have to mention that Jarren Duran flipped off a fan in this game, but that didn’t manage to get me nearly as angry as the hideous and downright shameful play of the team on the field, so this was a real masterclass of a fiasco tonight!

Three Studs

Jack Anderson: Even somebody as cynical as me is a sucker for a major league debut, and Jack Anderson had a good one tonight. He came into a horrible situation needing to clean up the mess made by both of the top two men in the Red Sox rotation over the last 36 hours, and he delivered big time. The rookie gobbled up three innings of grunt work and struck out the side in his first frame ever pitched on a major league mound. His family was also in attendance, so for them it’s a wonderful evening they’ll never forget. (At least something good came out of this dumpster fire.)

Roman Anthony: Anthony’s slowly starting to heat up at the plate. After getting on base four times yesterday, he went 2-4 tonight, including the only extra base hit of the game for the Sox. (In case you’re wondering, his arm didn’t get challenged in this game.)

Masataka Yoshida: He took advantage of his time back in he lineup at DH and recorded a pair of hits. My guess is he’ll get another chance tomorrow too as Duran will likely be in time out.

Three Duds (You gotta clear a high bar to get on this list)

Sonny Gray: Not even close to what the Sox needed from this guy after Crochet got bombed yesterday. Five runs over four innings including two gopher balls is a dreadful outing on any night, but it stings even worse given the current state of this team. They needed somebody to step up, and instead he dug the hole deeper.

Jarren Duran: 0-4 on the night. Batting Average down to .182 on the year.

Carlos Narvaez: Should we start getting concerned about this guy? 0-4 with four strikeouts tonight, and with that golden sombrero he’s now batting .195 with a .409 OPS on the season.

Highlight of the game:

It’s Jack Anderson’s first career strike out. He’s the only person in that clubhouse who should have a smile on their face tonight.

Looking Ahead: Tomorrow’s game is Early, both in time (a 1:40pm start) and in matchup. Connelly Early will take the mound tasked with trying to prevent a Twins sweep and to salvage a .500 road trip for the Sox.

LOS ANGELES — Nolan McLean’s misfortune Tuesday night was facing a fellow Cy Young level pitcher with this reeling Mets lineup as a handicap.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched McLean jab for jab before Brooks Raley dented in the eighth, allowing an RBI single to Kyle Tucker that sent the Mets to their seventh straight loss, 2-1 to the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.

Tucker, whom the Mets pursued last winter in free agency before he landed in Hollywood on a $240 million, four-year contract, delivered a bloop single to left for the go-ahead hit after Raley walked pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas to start the inning.

McLean pitched a gem, allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.28.

“I try to treat every start the same, no matter who is standing in the box or where I’m at, I just want to win every time I go out there,” McLean said. “Growing up a baseball fan, getting to watch some of these guys on TV as I am growing up, it’s really cool to go compete against them.”

The game had only seven hits, four of which belonged to the Mets (who have one run total to show for their last three games). Francisco Lindor’s homer leading off the game gave the Mets their only run on a night Yamamoto dominated over 7 ²/₃ innings, striking out seven and walking one.

What is the Mets’ desperation level for a victory?

“The urgency level is really high,” Lindor said. “I don’t think anyone here is desperate, but we understand that we have to win. It’s a must win. I don’t want to sit here and say, ‘We’ll get them.’ Everybody in here has a sense of urgency and we are all trying to win. It’s just a matter of time. It’s still the middle of April and we have an opportunity to finish the month on the positive side.”

The Mets were overmatched by lefty Justin Wrobleski, who fired eight shutout innings a day earlier. They won’t receive a reprieve in Wednesday’s series finale with Shohei Ohtani scheduled to start for the Dodgers.

“They are good, but we’re good too,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We have got to get back to attacking, so you can’t give them too much credit. We have got to trust who we are. We have got good players here and we have just got to go out there and do it and execute.”

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Lindor’s first homer and RBI this season gave the Mets a 1-0 lead only three pitches into the game, ending the team’s scoring drought at 20 innings. Lindor jumped on a 95-mph fastball and cleared the right-field fence for his 32nd career leadoff homer. Before the game, Mendoza indicated that moving the slumping Lindor from the leadoff spot wasn’t a consideration.

Freddie Freeman’s RBI ground out in the bottom of the first tied it 1-1.

McLean walked Tucker to begin the rally and Will Smith’s sinking line drive double that just eluded Carson Benge’s grasp in left field put runners on second and third with one out before Freeman drove in his 14th run this season.

McLean kept the go-ahead run at third base by striking out Teoscar Hernández to end the inning.

Neither team had another base runner until McLean walked Hyeseong Kim with two outs in the fifth. McLean’s errant pickoff attempt on Kim moved him to second before Alex Freeland was retired to end the threat.

McLean showed no sign of fading as he worked the third time through the batting order. He quickly retired Ohtani and Tucker to begin the sixth before getting Smith to pop out on a full-count fastball.

Yamamoto didn’t allow his second hit until the seventh, when Bo Bichette stroked a two-out double. Francisco Alvarez, elevated to the fifth spot in the batting order, walked.

But Brett Baty was overmatched by Yamamoto’s 1-2 splitter, striking out to end the inning. It was Yamamoto’s 94th pitch, but he wasn’t finished.

McLean struck out Freeman and Hernández on six pitches to begin the bottom of the inning before Max Muncy’s single to left gave the Dodgers their second hit. McLean recovered to strike out Andy Pages swinging on a 1-2 changeup.

Yamamoto returned to the mound for the eighth and retired Mark Vientos on a weak comebacker before Marcus Semien hit a drive to the warning track in left that was caught.

Benge singled to left and Lindor’s ensuing single to right moved the go-ahead run to third base, ending Yamamoto’s night at 104 pitches. After Lindor stole second, Luis Robert Jr. was caught looking at Strike 3 on Blake Treinen’s full-count sweeper to end the inning.

After Tucker’s RBI single against Raley gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the eighth, the Mets were retired in order by lefty Alex Vesia, who subbed for hurting Edwin Díaz in the closer’s role.

There are old-school pitchers’ duels. And then there is what unfolded at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Dodgers beat the New York Mets 2-1, taking their first and only lead when Kyle Tucker –– in a breakthrough moment after his recent slump –– lofted a bloop RBI single off Mets reliever Brooks Raley in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The real story, though, was the dueling brilliance of starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Nolan McLean; a back-and-forth, step-for-step, exhilaratingly boring masterclass between the reigning World Series MVP and early-season Rookie of the Year favorite.

“I mean, there was just nothing happening,” manager Dave Roberts quipped. “We haven’t seen McLean up close, I don’t recall. But, man, he’s special. And our guy matched him.”

Indeed, in a game that saw the two right-handers combine for 14 ⅔ innings, 15 strikeouts and only two runs allowed, Yamamoto and McLean gave each other no margin for error.

Both allowed runs in the first; Yamamoto on a leadoff home run to Francisco Lindor, McLean on a run-scoring Freddie Freeman grounder following a one-out walk from Tucker and a double from Will Smith.

After that, though, it was nothing but zeroes. Literally.

Over the next five innings, neither pitcher allowed another hit –– let alone another run.

“They were both awesome,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Yamamoto was pretty nasty. But Nolan was pretty nasty too. They went head-to-head, inning after inning, batter after batter, pitch after pitch.”

McLean retired 14 batters in a row at one point, mixing a “wiffle ball” sweeper, as Roberts described it, with a relentless onslaught of fastballs, cutters and equally deceptive sinkers.

Yamamoto recorded 20-straight outs after Lindor’s leadoff homer, leaning heavily on his trademark splitter while also fastballs with his typically pristine command.

Not until the end of their outings did either pitcher ever face any real stress.

The Mets (7-11) put two aboard in the seventh, after Bo Bichette hit a two-out double and Francisco Alvarez drew a walk. However, Yamamoto stranded them, snapping off a wicked splitter that fanned Brett Baty for an inning-ending strikeout.

McLean faced his own danger in the bottom of the inning, after Max Muncy hit a two-out single, but also got through it by fanning Andy Pages.

That marked the end of McLean’s night, a seven-inning, one-run, eight-strikeout gem.

Yamamoto kept going, meanwhile, getting two outs in the eighth before back-to-back base hits finally chased him from the game.

“It was kind of vintage Yamamoto,” Roberts said, noting the Opening Day starter had looked slightly off in two solid-but-unspectacular starts leading up to Tuesday. “Just the command. The split. The breaking ball when he needed it … Yeah, this was special. And it’s kind of who he is right now.”

Yamamoto received a huge roar from a crowd of 48,138 as he exited with 104 pitches. Then, he watched from the dugout as reliever Blake Treinen preserved his 7-⅔ inning, one-run, seven-strikeout stat line, with Luis Robert Jr. going down a called third strike in an at-bat that featured ample ABS challenge drama (including a failed appeal by Robert on the last pitch).

The Dodgers (13-4) took the lead on Tucker’s go-ahead flare to shallow left field in the next half-inning, capitalizing on a small-ball rally set up by a leadoff walk from Miguel Rojas and a sacrifice bunt from Santiago Espinal.

Fittingly, that meant both Yamamoto and McLean finished the night with no-decisions.

After all, while one of the teams always had to lose the game, neither of them deserved to after such dominant performances.

What it means

The Dodgers might have the majors’ best offense to this point of the season.

But their rotation is proving to be an equally dangerous weapon.

The last two nights alone, Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski have combined for 15 ⅔ innings of one-run ball. And now, the team’s starters have a combined ERA of 3.26 –– one that would be even lower if not for the early struggles of Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan.

Even more encouraging: The group has also combined for 96 ⅔ innnigs to this point, one shy of the Miami Marlins for most in the National League.

Who’s hot

Yamamoto had been plenty good in his first three starts this season, going six innings in each of them with a 2.50 ERA.

Tuesday, however, was the first time he tapped back into the dominant form he displayed during last year’s postseason, carving up the Mets lineup with a splitter-heavy game plan.

Lindor’s leadoff homer came on a 2-0 fastball in the zone. After that, Yamamoto went on the attack. He used a career-high 42 splitters, and generated whiffs half the time the Mets swung at it (12 of 24). The rest of his six-pitch arsenal only threw them further off balance, leading to a start that further cementing his place as one of the sport’s premier arms.

Who’s not

On Tuesday? Edwin Diaz.

At least, not when it mattered.

After getting three days off amid an ongoing battle to regain his normal velocity, the team’s $69 million closer was tasked with throwing a pregame bullpen session on Tuesday afternoon.

Roberts described it as a final check-mark for Díaz, confirming the team’s belief that his velocity drop was not injury-related.

But, it meant that when a save situation arose in the ninth, the Dodgers had to look elsewhere for the final three outs.

Their answer was Alex Vesia, who pitched a 1-2-3 frame to record his second save this week.

Díaz, meanwhile, should be back online to pitch in Wednesday’s series finale, Roberts said, just so long as he rebounds well from Tuesday afternoon’s pregame activity. 

Up next

The Dodgers wrap up this series, and homestand, on Wednesday against the Mets. Shohei Ohtani (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his third pitching start of the year for the Dodgers. Right-hander Clay Holmes (2-1, 1.50 ERA) goes for the Mets.

The pitchers’ duel that was advertised delivered and then some, with both the Mets and Dodgers getting stellar starts, in a nail biter of a game that, unfortuantely, didn’t break the Mets’ way. A 2-1 loss is never easy to take, but especially not when your ace pitches the game of his young career in the process.

Francisco Lindor decided that enough was enough with the 20-inning scoreless streak, leading the game off with a no-doubter solo home run off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It was the type of veteran leadership move that gets pointed to at times as ‘turnaround’ points in a season.

If only any of the other Mets’ batters would step up.

Thankfully, Nolan McLean was up the task tonight in Los Angeles. McLean walked Kyle Tucker with one out in the first, and that would come back to bite him after Will Smith doubled down the left-field line. putting men on second and third with one out. A weak Freddie Freeman ground out scored Tucker and tied the game at one.

Despite the early run, McLean would settle in and dazzle. After retiring 14 Dodgers in a row, a fifth inning walk to Hyeseong Kim and an errant throw by McLean put a running in scoring position for the first time since the first. However, McLean buckled down and got a Alex Freeland ground out to end the threat. A Max Muncy single in the seventh didn’t go anywhere, either.

McLean’s final line was seven innings pitched, one earned run on two hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts, including three ring ups of Teoscar Hernández and two for Freeman. It was an impressive performance.

After Lindor, Yamamoto would retire the next 20 Mets in a row, until Bo Bichette ripped a double with two outs in the seventh. Francisco Alvarez then walked, and the Mets had their first real threat of the game. However, Yamamoto would strike out Brett Baty to end the seventh and keep the game knotted up at one.

In the top of the eighth, Carson Benge lined a two-out single to left, which was followed by a weak Lindor grounder between first and second, which advanced Benge to third. That would do it for Yamamoto, who would be pulled in favor of Blake Treinen. After allowing Lindor to steal second, Treinen struck out Luis Robert Jr. looking to end the Mets’ threat.

Brooks Raley relieved McLean in the bottom of the eighth, and he walked Miguel Rojas to start the frame. A sacrifice bunt by Santiago Espinal moved Rojas to second, and an intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani put two one with one out. Tucker would loft a ball over third base, scoring Rojas and breaking the tie. Raley struck out Will Smith and induced a line out to right off the bat of Freeman to end the inning.

Alex Vesia, not old friend Edwin Díaz, would pitch the ninth for the Dodgers, and easily fanned Jorge Polanco on three pitches. Bichette would follow suit, leaving Alvarez as the Mets’ final hope. Alvarez would be punched on a check swing to end the game.

The Mets have now lost seven straight games and have shown only marginal offense over most of that run. Tomorrow night, the Mets play in the Jackie Robinson Day game on ESPN with Shohei Ohtani pitching for the Dodgers and Clay Holmes starting for the Mets.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +34.0% WPA

Big Mets loser: Brooks Raley, -23.0% WPA

Mets pitchers WPA: 11.0% WPA

Mets batters WPA: -6.1% WPA

Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor’s lead-off dinger, +9.8% WPA

Teh sux0rest play: Kyle Tucker’s eighth inning RBI single, -21.8% WPA

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Arden Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Area Athletics scored two runs.

The Rangers should have saved a few of those eight runs from last night for tonight’s contest. In a strange contest, Texas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st with another RBI from Jake Burger in this series and then the strike zone became a mystery for Rangers pitchers.

Through a couple of innings, Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore seemed more or less like the guy we’d seen over the first few starts during his tenure with Texas until he allowed a two-out double to A’s No. 9 hitter Denzel Clarke in the bottom of the 3rd.

At that point, Gore just kind of fell apart for many minutes as he walked the next two batters and then allowed a two-out, two-run RBI single to Jacob Wilson. Frustratingly, Wilson had already impacted the game with a couple of nice plays at shortstop with runners on base for the Rangers.

After the Wilson hit gave the A’s a 2-1 lead, Gore got out of the inning without any further damage but then walked the next two hitters he faced in the bottom of the 4th. Gore wiggled out of that inning too to keep the score a one-run game thanks in part to the A’s deciding to give up an out with a sac bunt. However, after a hit and another walk in the 5th, Gore’s night was finished.

Overall, Gore walked six A’s batters but he also only allowed three hits and struck out five. It was a bad command night for the left-hander but it was also a close game throughout. With Gore struggling and with Springs settling in after the 1st inning run, the game had a mystifying vibe that the Rangers were getting soundly defeated even though it was a 2-1 score from the 3rd inning on.

Despite some early chances, and a few at-bats late with runners in scoring position, the bats just couldn’t break through against former Ranger Jeffrey Springs and then collected just one hit off the Athletics’ bullpen.

Player of the Game: Though the Rangers walked a total of eight batters tonight with six from Gore and two more from the bullpen, and though Robert Garcia was one of those relievers who issued a walk, the recently demoted from high-leverage lefty gave Texas 1.2 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts after Gore got the early hook in the 5th.

Garcia’s stock has fallen a bit in the season’s first few weeks but, in a one-run game, he helped keep the Rangers in this one by bridging the game from Gore to the late innings.

Up Next: The Rangers and A’s are back at it tomorrow with RHP Kumar Rocker expected to make the start for Texas opposite RHP J.T. Ginn for formerly Oakland.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 8:40 pm CDT once again and will be telecast via the Rangers Sports Network.

LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Nolan McLean engaged in a wonderful pitching duel on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, pitchers with different styles but equally vast repertoires, and both exceedingly difficult to score against. Offenses were kept mostly at bay until the eighth inning, when both teams threatened but only the Dodgers were able to push across the game-winner, beating the Mets 2-1.

Pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas walked to open the eighth, and was sacrificed to second by pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal. With first base opened, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked (extending his on-base streak to 48 games, by the way), setting up a struggling Kyle Tucker to dunk one just behind third base for the Dodgers’ first lead of the night.

Both starting pitchers gave up single runs in the first inning, and nothing else. Francisco Lindor hitting a leadoff home run off Yamamoto, and Will Smith doubling off McLean to set up two runner in scoring position, only one of whom scored, on a groundout.

Yamamoto struck out seven in his 7 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and a walk in a tidy 104 pitches. McLean struck out eight in his seven innings, giving up two hits and two walks on 95 pitches. By all accounts, an incredible duel.

Yamamoto not only kept the Mets in the ballpark after the Lindor home run, he mostly confined them to the infield. He induced 10 groundouts, five of which were to Freddie Freeman at first base, who dutifully fed a covering Yamamoto four times.

Yamamoto retired 20 batters in a row after the Lindor home run, until Bo Bichette snapped the string with a double over third base with two outs in the seventh inning. Yamamoto then issued his first walk of the night, to Francisco Alvarez on five pitches, in his first real jam of the night. But he struck out Baty to end the seventh, keeping the game knotted at one apiece.

With Thursday’s off day pending and a six-man rotation, Yamamoto’s next start will likely be next Tuesday, on six days rest, which made the decision to keep him — at 94 pitches — in for the eighth inning much easier to make. Yamamoto got the first two outs, but a pair of singles put runners at the corners and ended his night.

Blake Treinen rode the tightrope, allowing Lindor to steal second base to put two runners in scoring position, but then struck out Luis Robert Jr. on seven pitches to keep the game tied.

With closer Edwin Díaz still day-to-day, the Dodgers turned to Alex Vesia for the ninth inning with a one-run lead, and he struck out all three batters he faced on only 10 pitches.

After Monday’s win took two hours, 13 minutes for the shortest Dodgers game of the season, Tuesday night needed only two hours, three minutes to complete.

Tuesday particulars

Home run: Francisco Lindor (1)

WP — Blake Treinen (1-0): 1 batter, 1 strikeout

LP — Brooks Raley (0-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Sv — Alex Vesia (2): 1 IP, 3 strikeouts

Up next

One more game remains on the homestand, with Shohei Ohtani starting on the mound Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., ESPN), and Clay Holmes pitching for the Mets.

The matchup between Nolan McLean and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lived up to the hype, but the Mets could not push across enough runs in their 2-1 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Both McLean and Yamamoto allowed just one run each and struck out a combined 15 batters across 14.2 innings.

Including Tuesday night, they have scored 10 runs in their last seven games, and have now lost seven games in a row.

Here are the takeaways...

-Francisco Lindor had gone the first 17 games of the season with an RBI -- the longest of his career -- but got off the schneid in a hurry, taking a 95 mph fastball from Yamamoto deep to lead off the game with a home run. The blast went 402 feet and snapped the Mets' 20-inning scoreless streak. 

But Yamamoto would settle in quickly, retiring the next 20 batters before Bo Bichette hit a two-out double in the seventh inning. Francisco Alvarez followed with a walk, setting up Brett Baty. The left-hander struck out swinging to leave two runners on and get Yamamoto through seven innings. 

Yamamoto wound up starting the eighth, and after getting the first two outs -- Marcus Semien narrowly missing a solo shot (101.9 mph off the bat) that died at the warning track -- Carson Benge hit an opposite-field single. Lindor followed up with a single that put runners at the corners. The back-to-back singles knocked Yamamoto out of the game for Blake Treinen to face Luis Robert Jr. Lindor stole second on the first pitch and Robert worked the count full but was frozen on a strike-three pitch that ended the threat.

Yamamoto tossed 104 pitches (65 strikes), allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven. 

-McLean matched Yamamoto and then some. The young right-hander was given a 1-0 lead, but would be a tough-luck pitcher in the first. He allowed a one-out walk to Kyle Tucker and Will Smith hit a blooper to left field that Benge dove for, but couldn't come up with it. The ball kicked away a bit, allowing Tucker to reach third and Smith to get to second. Freddie Freeman hit a dribbler down the first base line, which Mark Vientos picked up and stepped on first for the second out, but Tucker scored. 

McLean would also settle in after that first inning. McLean would retire 13 straight batters before navigating through a tough Dodgers lineup. 

McLean allowed just one run on two hits and two walks through seven innings (95 pitches/68 strikes) and struck out eight batters. He lowered his ERA to 2.08.

-Brooks Raley was the first reliever out of the pen and his command wasn't there to start. He walked the leadoff man and a bunt moved Miguel Rojas to second base for Shohei Ohtani. Raley intentionally walked Ohtani to pitch to Tucker. The left-hander dumped an RBI single to left field to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

-In the top of the ninth against Alex Vesia -- not Edwin Diaz, who has been dealing with velocity issues of late -- the Mets went down in order. Jorge Polanco, Bichette and Alvarez struck out to end the game. The Mets outhit the Dodgers 4-3, but could not get the hit that mattered.

Game MVP: Kyle Tucker

With the pitcher's duel, someone needed to push across the winning run and Tucker did just that.

Highlights

A leadoff home run for Francisco Lindor off Yoshinobu Yamamoto!

His first homer & RBI of the season! pic.twitter.com/C4nGtLX1oT

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2026

Nolan McLean gets his first strikeout of the night pic.twitter.com/UiopvcEqia

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2026

Bo Bichette snaps Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 20 batters in a row retired streak with a double pic.twitter.com/d0xxHEMdho

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Dodgers wrap up their three-game set on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 10:10 p.m.

Clay Holmes (2-1, 1.50 ERA) will take the mound against Shohei Ohtani (1-0, 0.00 ERA).

The Atlanta Braves began the day with a roster move that recalled southpaw Hayden Harris to Atlanta and simultaneously optioned right-hander Rolddy Muñoz to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move is a classic bullpen shuffle, and an underwhelming one at that. 

Muñoz made his first appearance of the season on Monday night, and in two innings, he surrendered three runs on five hits. He walked one and recorded three strikeouts. Given this performance, it wasn’t overly shocking to see he was demoted Tuesday morning, which brings up none other than Hayden Harris.

Harris has yet to make his 2026 debut, and he’s gotten off to a rough start in Triple-A. He’s appeared in five games, where he gave up three runs. He’s recorded six walks and seven strikeouts. The Braves will be hoping he can settle in and provide some stability out of the bullpen.

More Braves News:

Dominic Smith delivered in the eighth during Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins. 

Spencer Strider will be joining Sean Murphy in Rome for a rehab start on Thursday evening. He is expected to throw 40-45 pitches.

After being designated for assignment earlier this week, Martín Pérez has cleared waivers and elected free agency. 

In the latest minor league recap, we continue the game of who’s hot, who’s not. 

MLB News:

The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. He exited Sunday’s start after three innings due to elbow stiffness.

The Philadelphia Phillies traded right-hander Griff McGarry to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for international pool money. 

The Milwaukee Brewers placed OF Christian Yelich on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. He is expected to be out until mid to late May.

From the Feed:

Austin Riley is off to a slow start this year but is beginning to show some encouraging signs. Let’s hear your thoughts here:

Tuesday’s game marked Matt Olson’s 800th consecutive game, giving him the 11th longest streak in MLB history.

Padres 4, Mariners 1

Bryan Woo when he throws first pitch strikes: Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley, .03 WPA

Bryan Woo when he does not throw first pitch strikes: Bryan Woo, -.11 WPA

Game thread comment of the day: