Category: MLB

The Dbacks were able to split the series with the Dodgers Thursday night thanks to some late inning heroics from none other than Ketel Marte and some terrific pitching from Ryne Nelson and the bullpen.

The Dbacks offense was stymied once again for 7 innings until Corbin Carrol hit a home run in the 8^th inning to get the Dbacks offense on the board. Torey Lovullo dropped Geraldo Perdomo from the 3 hole to the 7 spot against the lefty today, and in the 8^th inning he came through with a key hit, his second of the game, to tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the 9^th, Ketel Marte was due up second after going 0-4 previously in the game. However, 9^th inning Ketel Marte has been a whole different animal this season, and on the first pitch he saw from Tanner Scott Ketel Marte hit a ball 431 feet to send 41,000 fans into a frenzy as the Dbacks walked off the defending world series champions. Such a good moment for this team and for Ketel Marte! His 3^rd walkoff hit already of the season. According to Mark Grace in the postgame show, since May 17 Marte is now 4-7 with 4 HR vs left handed relievers.

Ryne Nelson dominated the defending world champs holding them to just 2 ER through 7 IP. Nelson did a phenomenal job of getting quick outs in this one keeping the pitch count super low with the exception of the 5^th inning due to some questionable defensive plays. The first being Nelson himself not covering first base on a ground ball from Max Muncy (more on that later) and the second being a bad route from Corbin Carroll in RF as he took way too shallow of a route to a ball in RF allowing the ball to soar over his head for an RBI double.

On the aforementioned Max Muncy ground ball to Ildemaro Vargas, Ryne Nelson was late to break to cover the bag and so Vargas sprinted to the base to get the out himself. However, Max Muncy gave Vargas a forearm shiver that was a blatant contact initiating move. From Muncy’s standpoint maybe he was in self defense mode from colliding with Vargas, however it was a very bad look as the replays clearly showed Muncy going out of his way to make contact with Vargas. According to Lovullo, Vargas’ xrays are all negative and he was all smiles in his office after the game and is day to day. Vargas said he would be ready to play tomorrow but it sounds like Lovullo will rest him tomorrow to give him some time to recover.

A split of this series to the Dodgers certainly feels like a decent outcome to the series and now the Dbacks will look to win the next series against the Nationals. It is worth noting that the Nationals offense has been pretty hot so far this season, however hopefully they can carry the momentum from this walkoff and the series split into the series.

PHOENIX –– There are no-doubters. And then there are the kind of thunderous swings Ketel Marte uncorked in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday night.

After leading by two runs entering the eighth inning, the Dodgers got walked off by the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday night.

The fatal blow: A first-pitch fastball from Tanner Scott that Marte absolutely crushed deep to left.

The ball sailed 431 feet, leaving Marte’s bat at a scorching 113 mph.

It was the culminating blow in a bullpen implosion from the Dodgers, who squandered a 2-0 lead by allowing three runs over the final two innings.

Will Klein was at fault for blowing the lead, making a mess of an eighth inning that began with a leadoff home run from Corbin Carroll. After that, Klein walked Gabriel Moreno, then gave up a one-out single to Ryan Waldschmidt.

Alex Vesia tried to come in and limit the damage, but Geraldo Perdomo got him with a base hit to center that tied the score.

The Dodgers had initially taken the lead Thursday in the most painful of ways.

With two outs in the fifth inning, Max Muncy hit a ground ball up the line that Arizona first baseman Ildemaro Vargas fielded directly behind the bag. What ensued next was a brutal head-on collision.

Vargas tried to quickly record the out himself, racing back toward first. Muncy came barreling directly at him. 

Muncy got there first by half a step, reaching safely for an infield single.

But neither player had time to avoid the other, sending them crashing into each and flying to the ground.

They each remained down for several minutes before exiting. The Dodgers later announced that Muncy had shortness of breath and was being evaluated for a concussion.

The good news: The Dodgers capitalized on Muncy’s effort to get to first safely.

The team’s next batter, Ryan Ward, laced a line drive to right field that Corbin Carroll misplayed and allowed to sail over his head, scoring pinch-runner Santiago Espinal from first. Dalton Rushing followed with a bloop single to center, giving starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski a 2-0 lead in his scoreless sixth inning start.

Alas, after Klein’s eighth-inning stumble, the Dodgers couldn’t recover.

Will Smith hit a double with two outs in the ninth, but was left stranded when Espinal struck out against Dbacks closer Paul Sewald.

Scott, who is effectively serving as the Dodgers’ closer in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s injury, couldn’t get the game to extras, helplessly turning to watch Marte’s blast fly out of the yard as the Dbacks split this four-game series.

Who’s hot

Wrobleski continued his breakout 2026 season, producing his fourth start of at least six scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.62.

For a second-straight outing, the left-hander’s fastball played up, averaging 95.6 mph. And while he only had four strikeouts –– returning to a pitch-to-contact approach after his season-high nine Ks last week –– he was effective at limiting damage and wiggling out of jams, stranding a one-out double from Corbin Carroll in the first inning and runners at the corners following a pair of singles in the third.

Wrobleski’s biggest escape came at the end of the night, after a two-out double from Ryan Waldschmidt in the sixth inning put two runners in scoring position.

He got Pavin Smith to ground out; after catcher Dalton Rushing won back-to-back ABS challenges to turn a 2-0 count into an 0-2 hole.

Who’s not

With Shohei Ohtani getting the day off following his two-way masterpiece on Wednesday, Mookie Betts was bumped up to the leadoff spot in the batting order.

The move, however, did little to snap what is quickly becoming a troubling, prolonged slump.

Betts went 0-for-4 in the defeat, dropping his batting average this season to .183.

Up next

The Dodgers return home for a weekend series against the Angels, starting on Friday night when Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.59 ERA) will face left-hander Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.63 ERA). 

In a game that featured a rain delay in the middle of it, the Royals prevailed in their series opener against the Minnesota Twins, 8-6. After losing their first three games of their current road trip, the Royals have won three out of their last four, including their last two.

Josh Rojas, called up earlier today, played the unlikely hero. In his first plate appearance as a Royal, Rojas pinch-hit for Nick Loftin in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third with one out and the game knotted at 6-6. Against Twins relief pitcher Justin Lawrence, Rojas knocked a pitch up the middle, scoring Tyler Tolbert—pinch-running for Salvador Perez, who led off the inning with a line drive single on an 0-2 pitch—and Lane Thomas.

Alex Lange, for the second night in a row, came in to lock down the win. He did the job, but he made it pretty interesting. Victor Caratini led off the inning with a single. One out later, the Royals nearly turned a game-ending double play, but Orlando Arcia just beat the throw to first, keeping the Twins alive for slugger Byron Buxton, who led off the game with a homer.

Buxton eventually walked in his plate appearance and represented the tying run while the potential winning run came to the plate in the form of Brooks Lee. Thankfully, Lee feebly grounded out to Tolbert, who stayed in the game at second base, to end the game.

The game was a seesaw for most of the night featuring multiple ties: 1-1 after the first, 2-2 after the second, 3-3 after three-and-a-half, 5-5 in the top of the sixth, and then 6-6 after six.

Seth Lugo started for the Royals and had his worst outing in some time. He didn’t come back after the game resumed from its rain delay, but even before that, he struggled through five innings in which he gave up six hits, walked one, struck out four, and allowed five earned runs, including giving up three home runs—the aforementioned leadoff homer to Buxton plus two to Kody Clemens, who’s turning into a true horror for the Royals to face.

Events turned in the Royals’ favor in the top of the sixth. Carter Jensen broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with a slap down the third base line—0ff a lefty, no less. The hit easily scored Isaac Collins, but right behind him came Kyle Isbel. The throw to the plate beat Isbel by a fair margin, but Isbel slid in under the tag. The home plate umpire called him safe, which he was, and the Twins declined to challenge. That tied the game, 5-5.

Next up, Bobby Witt Jr. hit a lazy pop-up that fell to the ground when the Twins middle infielders bumped into each other like a scene out of Major League III: Back to the Minors, which, oddly, was about the Twins, not Cleveland. Anyway, Jensen scored to give the Royals the lead.

After the rain delay ended, John Schreiber, bless his heart, came in and, with two outs, surrendered the lead when Caratini took him deep. That would be the last run of the night for the Twins.

Daniel Lynch IV and Matt Strahm combined for scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Strahm picked up the win, improving to 2-1. Lynch’s ERA dropped to 1.78.

Second baseman Michael Massey continued his hot streak. Massey went 2-for-4 with a homer and a single. He also flew out to deep right on a hard-hit ball.

With the win, the Royals improve to 25-38. It is their first win on a Thursday this season. I should know. It is also the first time since May 23-24 that they’ve won consecutive games, and it’s the first time since May 2-3 that the Royals won consecutive games on the road. Can they play the Mariners more?

Game two of the four-game series is tomorrow evening at 7:15 CST.

Not a pitch was thrown with the Dodgers trailing, and yet they found themselves on the losing end of a 3-2 matchup, all thanks to a walk-off solo shot from Ketel Marte off Tanner Scott. Justin Wrobleski did his part by delivering six scoreless innings, but the offense was underwhelming without Shohei Ohtani, and a couple of hiccups from the Dodgers bullpen were all that Arizona needed to complete the comeback and split this four-game set.

After going scoreless in the first four innings, the Dodgers offense began the fifth with a bang, but it wasn’t the bang of a long home run; instead, it was a collision between Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas on a race to first base that saw both players leave the game early. Muncy beat out Vargas to the bag, which forced LA to bring in a pinch-runner in Santiago Espinal, who came around to score on a Ryan Ward double. The bottom of the order kept pushing the envelope as Dalton Rushing doubled the lead, an advantage that Los Angeles would maintain until the bottom of the eighth.

Speaking of Rushing, the young catcher also showed poise and a good eye behind the plate to help Wrobleski navigate through his one troublesome inning in the sixth. A pair of two-out hits had Pavin Smith up, who came into the game to replace Vargas, with runners at second and third—in fact, the score would’ve been 2-1 if Arenado wasn’t such a slow runner at this point in his career. The umpire missed the call on the first two pitches, and twice Rushing called a challenge to overturn his decision, ultimately leading to an easy groundout on a down-and-away 0-2 slider. Rushing had one more successful and important overturned challenge, earning Kyle Hurt a strikeout in the seventh after a 2-2 changeup to Tommy Troy had originally been called a ball. Rushing’s work behind the plate deserves praise because it’s not just about getting the challenges right but also about utilizing them in the most important moments.

Other than that one questionable inning, Wrobleski once again thrived in generating soft contact, keeping a low pitch count, needing just 84 to cover the six scoreless innings. Becoming known for his lengthy outings, Wrobleski was on his way to 10 straight outings involved in a decision, potentially earning the win in eight of them, but Arizona had something to say about that. After Hurt’s scoreless frame, Will Klein couldn’t replicate the same level of efficiency, opening up the eighth with a solo shot to Corbin Carroll and creating a mess that Alex Vesia couldn’t clean up, with the lefty later allowing an RBI single to Geraldo Perdomo.

Muncy’s early departure would come back to bite the Dodgers in the ninth because Shohei Ohtani got ready to hit, but couldn’t pinch hit for Santiago Espinal with Will Smith at second following an RBI double since the Dodgers didn’t have any hitters left on the bench. Alex Call and Miguel Rojas had both been used as pinch-hitters against a left-handed pitcher in the previous inning. Instead of using Ohtani, Espinal was punched out, and Marte went yard in the bottom of the ninth with a blast.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Corbin Carroll (9) and Ketel Marte (11)
• WP— Paul Sewald (2-4): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Tanner Scott (1-3): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 strikeout

Up next

It’s a quick turnaround for the NL West leaders coming home for the Freeway Series over the weekend. Roki Sasaki starts on Friday night (7:10 p.m. PT), with the Angels yet to announce their starting pitcher.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs rallied late against the Athletics to secure a 7-6 victory on Thursday, June 4, at Wrigley Field.

Crow-Armstrong had his first career walk-off as Chicago needed a four-run ninth inning to help prevent a three-game series sweep.

"We've stayed in the fight all year,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters after the game. “We've been fighting through these last couple of weeks. This kind of stuff is exactly what we are capable of."

He singled to right field on a pitch by Athletics pitcher Luis Medina while facing a 1-1 count with two outs and runners on second and third base.

The single allowed Seiya Suzuki to score the winning run.

LOVELY NIGHT FOR A WALK(OFF). pic.twitter.com/TQzyBkl2Tq

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 5, 2026

Crow-Armstrong’s heroics helped ease what was a forgettable moment in his career, after he allowed an inside-the-park home run earlier in the game.

With a 2-0 lead in the top of the 6th inning, Shea Langeliers of the Athletics hit the ball 358 feet into center field before it landed behind Crow-Armstrong, who appeared to have lost the ball in the lights. Langeliers’ inside-the-park home run also brought in Henry Bolte to improve the score to 4-0.

🚨 INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN FOR SHEA LANGELIERS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gMHK7ph5JX

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 5, 2026

Crow-Armstrong responded quickly in the bottom of the inning, hitting a homer 383 feet to right field and putting his team on the scoreboard.

He finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Crow-Armstrong has already had his share of blunders this season, having whiffed on a line drive that led to a "Little League home run" against the Milwaukee Brewers back in May.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong allows inside-the-park homer, hits walk-off

The Atlanta Braves announced several moves on Thursday morning, most notably adding a new catcher to the mix. The club acquired catcher Austin Wynns from the Los Angeles Angels and selected him to the major league roster. 

In addition, fellow catcher Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment, outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, and backstop Sean Murphy was transferred to the 60-day injured list. 

It’s been a whirlwind of a month for Wynns, who began the 2026 campaign with the A’s. After struggling offensively with the club, he was released on May 12, and four days later, the Angels picked him up and signed him to a minor league deal. He appeared in eight minor league games before his stint with the Halos came to a close. In that time, he hit .333 in 30 at-bats and logged five games behind the plate, committing two errors.

It’s not a huge grab for Atlanta, but Wynns aims to get the job done while the Braves continue on without Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin. 

More Braves News:

Tallying just four hits, the Braves were unable to complete the sweep on Thursday and suffered a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Mauricio Dubón spoke with the media, sharing how he capitalizes on the opportunity to hit in big moments. 

ESPN’s Jeff Passan says the Braves should go after Tarik Skubal at the Trade Deadline.

Brett Sears recorded eight strikeouts for the Columbus Clingstones on Wednesday. More in the minor league recap.

In an exclusive interview, John Smoltz discussed Atlanta’s early season success, the race for the National League, and more. 

MLB News:

Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks. He will be placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday. 

The Houston Astros agreed to a major league deal with 1B/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. The veteran’s contract includes a $1M base salary.

From the Feed:

Cast your vote for Braves Player of the Game here.

Four Braves are featured in Baseball America’s updated Top 100 Prospects list.

Prince Night at Target Field included some back-and-forth scoring, some back-and-forth circus baseball, and a rain delay. If the production crew didn’t play Purple Rain during the delay, then they should be fired. Seth Lugo faced off for the Kansas City Royals against the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen to start off this contest.

Everything kicked off right away in the first inning. After striking out the first batter, opener Andrew Morris allowed a single to phenom Bobby Witt Jr, who promptly stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and touched home on a Salvador Perez sac fly to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Byron Buxton welcomed Lugo back to Minneapolis with a Buck Truck shot to the Minnesota bullpen in left-center field and evened up the score.

Morris was sent back out for the second frame and was greeted with three straight singles to load the bags before an out was recorded. With one out, Witt Jr hit a grounder to Kody Clemens at first base and threw home to cut down the runner for the second out. Great, right? Nope! Another wild pitch by Morris allowed Nick Loftin to score and give K. C. a 2-1 lead. Morris escaped without any more damage and Minnesota countered again in the bottom of the second with a Victor Caratini double, bringing Luke Keaschall in to knot the game again at two runs apiece.

Mike Paredes was called into duty for the Twins and sent down the Royals batters in order in the top of the third. The Twins then took the lead for the first time in the game courtesy of a Clemens home run – a shot to right-center above the out-of-town scoreboard. The 3-2 lead was short-lived as Paredes served up a first-pitch four-seam meatball to Michael Massey, who served it back and deposited it into The Dock in right field to tie the baby up once again in the top of the fourth.

The circus baseball commenced in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and Trevor Larnach on first, Ryan Kreidler hit a triple to the gap in left-center. Left fielder Isaac Collins slid feet-first to try and stop the ball, but ended up kicking it further towards center field. Kyle Isbel chased the ball to the wall while Larnach motored around third base and scored to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. After a mostly-quiet top of the fifth, Minnesota added on courtesy of a Clemens home run – a shot to right field, this time just feet on the good side of the foul pole – his second of the game.

The 5-3 Twins lead was short-lived once again as Paredes issues a walk to lead off the sixth. Two outs and a single later, skipper Derek Shelton brought in Anthony Banda, who has been doing quite fine as of late. He reverted back to his old ways, allowing his first batter to slap a double to left field, driving in two runs to tie the game. The circus baseball vibes flowed again as Witt Jr popped one up behind second base. Kreidler backpedaled… backpedaled… and backpedaled… right into Keaschall and the ball dropped, allowing the third run of the inning to score and give the Royals the lead … again.

Merriam-Webster defines “rain” as: water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere. This happened at Target Field, resulting in an hour and seven minute delay of the game.

Those 67 minutes just delayed the game from being tied once again. With two outs, Victor Caratini took a John Schreiber fastball beyond the wall in right field, tying the baby up once again, this time at six runs each after the sixth. The bullpens traded goose eggs the next two innings.

The top of the ninth is when the game went back to the Royals’ favor. Single, single, sac bunt against Taylor Rogers, who was pulled in favor of Justin Lawrence. Walk, single, walk, strikeout, strikeout give K. C. a two-run lead. Although Minnesota didn’t go down without a fight – a Caratini single, Orlando Arcia legging out a single on a force-out, and Buxton walk – Alex Lange sent the Twins home.

W: Matt Strahm (2-1)
L: Taylor Rogers (1-3)
S: Alex Lange (2)

STUDS

• Kody Clemens: 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Victor Caratini: 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
• Byron Buxton: 2-4, HR, BB, R, RBI

duds

• Taylor Rogers: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
• Justin Lawrence: 0.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 inherited runners scored

Comment of the Game Thread

• Goose has a couple of rain delay thoughts for us

The Twins and Royals continue this four-game series tomorrow night with a 715p Central first pitch, “presented by Apple TV.” Kansas City will send Michael Wacha to the mound while Minnesota counters with Zebby Matthews. Thank you to those who were able to join the game thread tonight, and thanks for reading!

PHOENIX –– Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas both ran full speed to first base in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game between the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

In a brutal moment that forced both players to exit early –– and left Muncy with shortness of breath and a cut on his nose –– neither got out of the way in time to avoid a frightening head-on collision.

“It was pretty violent,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The good news: Neither Muncy nor Vargas seemed to have sustained serious injuries on the play. Muncy passed concussion protocol, saying afterward that he was “gonna be all right” despite getting “a little banged up.” Vargas also told reporters that all the exams and tests he had done afterward were negative, despite feeling like he “ran into a truck.”

“I definitely did not mean to run into him,” Muncy said. “It just happened, and hopefully he’s doing all right.”

With two outs in the fifth, Muncy had hit a ground ball up the line that Vargas, playing first for Arizona, fielded directly behind the bag.

Vargas tried to make the play himself by racing back to first. But Muncy was charging in a dead sprint right at him up the baseline.

The two arrived at the base almost simultaneously, with Muncy getting there a half-second sooner to reach safely for a single.

However, it left no time for either to avoid the bone-crushing hit, with both taking a step toward the inside part of the bag before crashing into each other and sprawling to the ground.

“As I’m running down the line, I saw him in foul territory, so I got to the inside of the bag, and I thought he was going to stay on that [other] side,” said Muncy, who had his glasses and helmet fly off his head. “It felt like neither of us knew which direction we were going to go, and then we both went the wrong direction. And yeah, bang.”

Both Muncy and Vargas stayed down on the ground for several minutes, writhing in pain while getting checked by their teams’ respective trainers.

Muncy knew initially that his “head got banged up a little bit,” from both the impact of the collision and a cut that came from glasses. Then he felt shortness of breath while lying on his back.

“When I looked at the replay, it looked like we both kind of did the same thing, where we both jumped to almost, you know, de-weight ourselves and avoid it,” Muncy said. “Unfortunately, we did not.”

Eventually, both players got back to their feet and hobbled off the field. Vargas sustained bruises to his rib cage and left thigh, but was otherwise alright.

“Just a bad situation that looks like neither of us knew which direction to go,” said Muncy, who had a gift sent over to Vargas in the Dbacks clubhouse after the game.

“I expressed my thank you to him [for that],” Vargas noted through an interpreter. “It’s a hard play. It’s thing you don’t want to see happen.”

Thursday’s collision marked the second time in recent weeks Muncy has been removed from a game early.

On May 22, Muncy was hit by a pitch in his right wrist that forced him to make an early exit in Milwaukee. He missed the team’s next three games after that, but avoided a stint on the injured list.

The Dodgers are hopeful that will be the case again this time.

Roberts said Muncy will be down on Friday (the team was planning to give him an off day anyway) but that he should be available for the rest of the club’s weekend series against the Angels.

“They went through the concussion protocol, and then kind of just treated him up,” Roberts said. “But Max seems pretty with it right now.”

PHOENIX — It was a violent collision at first base Thursday night that left the crowd gasping and two players down − with the players eventually forced to leave the game at Chase Field.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy and Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas ran into one another in a head-on collision at first base in the fifth inning, leaving both players on the ground for several minutes before they both exited.

The Dodgers’ training staff said that Muncy was removed from the game because of shortness of breath and to be evaluated for a possible concussion.

There was no immediate announcement on Vargas’ injury.

Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas collided HARD into each other and are both leaving the game pic.twitter.com/Yzl28PS2L5

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 5, 2026

The injuries occurred when Muncy hit a ground ball up the line past the first-base bag that was snared by Vargas. Muncy hustled to first base, and with D-backs starter Ryne Nelson not covering first base, Vargas tried to beat Muncy to the bag. Muncy, running full-speed, reached the base first and ran into Vargas, who has little experience at first base.

The two immediately fell to the ground with Muncy’s helmet and glasses flying off his head.

Muncy was on the ground holding his head, with blood running down the bridge of his nose, and Vargas was clutching his left knee.

They remained on the ground for nearly five minutes, assisted by trainers, when Vargas got up first, gingerly hobbling off the field. He was replaced by Pavin Smith. Muncy got up next, and headed to the dugout. He was replaced by Santiago Espinal.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Max Muncy, Ildemaro Vargas knocked out of game after nasty collision

The hope going in was that momentum would continue, propelling the Astros to a series win and consecutive victories.  Unfortunately, no one told Ryan O’Hearn and the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates.   O’Hearn would be a constant thorn in the side of this rubber match.    Pirates 5 Astros 1.      

The scoring opened with O’Hearn’s RBI single in the first off starter Kai-Wei Teng.    Teng would settle down after a 25-pitch opening frame, but things would begin to unravel in the 6th inning as once again O’Hearn would do the damage, this time blasting a 2-run shot to break things open.    The Pirates have now registered home runs in 11 straight contests.    Oneil Cruz would do his part, reaching safely in all four of his plate appearances with a pair of hits and walks on the night.

The Astros lone run would come off the bat of Isaac Paredes and a solo shot in the 6th.    For Paredes, it would be a small milestone, notching career HR 100.     Teng (3-4) took the loss, allowing 7 hits over 5 innings, 4 of the runs earned.    

Fortunately, better news is on the immediate horizon with the heightened anticipation of Jose Altuve’s return.    Prior to Thursday Night’s contest, Astros Announcer Todd Kalas told me “Altuve brings an immediate presence to the lineup and a jolt to the clubhouse.  His ability to get on a heater, could take the pressure off Yordan, Walker and Pena who have been carrying the team recently.  He also strengthens the lineup, so you get a recent All-Star in Parades or a potential All-Star in Christian Walker hitting 5th with Altuve in there.”      

When #27 returns, (skipping a rehab assignment) he’ll face a “softer schedule” these next two weeks, as the Astros will not face an opponent over .500 until the Guardians come here on June 19th.  A’s, Angels, Royals & Tigers have combined to lose just shy of 150 games thus far.     Expect to see him potentially as early as this weekend.    

Odds & Ends.     

The Astros have completed their journey through the N.L. West, compiling a mark of 6 and 9.   Three of those six wins came at the expense of the Cubs during a Memorial Day Weekend sweep at Wrigley.

Collin Price made his Astros debut.   His first at bat reaching safely on a walk.    

Jeremy Pena has now hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games.    

With Thursday’s result, the Astros now have 11% odds of reaching the postseason according to MLB’s playoff odds.   

Up Next, the Astros host the A’s and pitcher Jack Perkins who enters with a lofty 5.46 ERA.      Friday Night’s contest will celebrate Orbit’s birthday.

The Mets rotation, a mess for much of the season with Clay Holmes out with a fractured leg, Kodai Senga pitching in the minors, Nolan McLean not pitching to expectations and Sean Manaea and David Peterson trading spots in the bullpen, could use a boost. 

As Christian Scott makes his eighth start of the season Friday night in San Diego, the right-hander will be looking to build on his two best outings of the season. 

He followed up five shutout innings in Miami with five more solid innings against the Marlins at Citi Field in his most recent outing, when Scott allowed just one run and picked up the first win of his major league career. 

“I liked what I saw,’’ a National League scout said of Scott’s last two starts. “It’s what you want from a guy coming back from Tommy John surgery: sharper and better stuff as he knocks the rust off and gets back to who he was.” 

Of course, the Mets are still learning just who that is, since Scott — who turns 27 this month — showed flashes of significant promise when he was first called up to the majors in 2024, but also struggled badly at times. 

And even if this isn’t the way they would have liked the season to develop, the never-ending issues in the rotation have given Scott plenty of opportunities to grow on the mound. 

His four-seam fastball velocity is up and more effective than it was in 2024 — as are most of Scott’s pitches, including the cutter he used frequently in his previous start. 

But more than just the stuff, the scout was impressed by how Scott bounced back from his first start of the season, when he walked five batters, hit another and was knocked out of the game in the second inning. 

“When you’re coming off that surgery, you don’t know how you’re gonna feel at this level and when your command isn’t there, it’s fair to wonder when it’s gonna come back,’’ the scout said. “So for him to shake that off and come back and do what he’s done is as much of a good sign as anything else.” 

Scott has walked 11 in 29 innings in six starts since that first start — which was followed by Scott being optioned back to Triple-A. 

But before he could make another outing at Syracuse, Scott was back in Queens to replace the injured Senga. 

He’s pitched better since then and allowed more than two earned runs just once in his last six starts. 

Since his second start in the majors on May 1, only eight starters have struck out batters at a higher rate than Scott’s 11.48 per nine innings. 

And with Holmes out, no Mets starter has been better than Scott, who has seen the Mets win five of his seven starts. 

On Wednesday morning, Colorado Rockies fans were greeted with good news: Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield had been named Major League Baseball’s National League Rookie of the Month for May.

The 26-year-old Rumfield—obtained this offseason from the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitcher Angel Chivilli—led National League rookies in virtually every offensive category for the month. In May he hit .310/.400/.483 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, and a strong 139 wRC+ while also playing a defensively sound first base.

Rumfield is just the eighth Rockies rookie to win the award, which has surprisingly been elusive since it was created in 2001.

Here are the other seven:

RHP Jason Jennings, August 2002

The first and only Rockies player to win Rookie of the year, 1999 first round pick Jason Jennings went 5-1 over six starts and 38 innings in August with a 3.55 ERA and 25 strikeouts!

Shortstop Clint Barmes, April 2005

Clint Barmes only played 81 games in 2005 and still finished in eighth place for National League Rookie of the Year voting. He started the year strong by hitting .410/.467/.639 with four home runs and 14 RBIs across 21 games in April!

Third baseman Garrett Atkins, June 2005

The only time the Rockies ever had multiple Rookie of the Month winners in a single season, slugging third baseman Garrett Atkins hit .364/.381/.533 with three home runs and a whopping 26 RBIs over 27 June contests!

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, August 2007

Troy Tulowitzki should have won Rookie of the Year in 2007 but instead took second place behind Ryan Braun. The mold-breaking shortstop phenom hit .333/.394/.567 with six home runs and 25 RBIs over 29 games in the penultimate month of the 2007 season.

Shortstop Trevor Story, April 2016

After a nearly ten-year gap between winners, Trevor Story started his rookie campaign with the most home runs by a rookie in franchise history and six of them through his first four big league games. Story finished the month hitting .261/.324/.696 with ten home runs and 20 RBIs over 22 games.

RHP Antonio Senzatela, April 2017

Before reinventing himself as a clutch, late-game reliever this season, Antonio Senzatela was once a promising young starting pitcher. His 2017 rookie campaign would end up being one of his best seasons over 36 appearances and 20 starts. In April of 2017 the 22-year-old Senzatela went 4-1 over five starts with 18 strikeouts and a 2.81 ERA over 32 innings of work.

Outfielder Nolan Jones, September 2023

The Rockies traded for Nolan Jones prior to the 2023 season and it looked like they might have found themselves a star. While things didn’t work out that way, Jones shone brightly with a 4.3 rWAR season. He became the first Rockies rookie accomplish a 20/20 campaign. He was the 16th rookie in MLB history to do so and the first to accomplish it in under 130 games and fewer than 425 plate appearances. He also played some excellent left field. Jones finished the season with an explosive September, hitting .350/.460/.631 with six home runs, 22 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases over 28 games. He finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting but arguably should have been a finalist.

Final Thoughts

While we congratulate TJ Rumfield on his success so far, what are your thoughts on the other Rockies Rookie of the Month winners? Are there any standout rookie months you feel got missed along the way? Who are some noticeable omissions?

Let us know in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Jorge Polanco could be the face of these Mets.

He’s highly paid, has been injured and played poorly when he was on the field.

The Mets roster is filled with that type of player this year and if it stays that way, the team will look considerably different by the trade deadline.

So with the clock ticking — and the Mets in last place in the NL East — Polanco’s return from Achilles bursitis and a right wrist contusion will have to be a step in the right direction.

If it’s not, the Mets will be that much closer to having to consider tearing down the roster.

Polanco could be back from the IL this weekend, as the Mets begin another must-win series Friday in San Diego, their season still teetering near irrelevance.

When they signed Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason with the idea of having him replace Pete Alonso at first base — and as one piece of a makeover that would make up for the loss of Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil at the plate — the hope was that the 32-year-old would at least come close to replicating the production he had in Seattle last year.

Instead, Polanco never got going offensively and had an OPS of just .532 through 14 games before he hit the IL.

And without Polanco, who didn’t do much in five minor league rehab games split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets haven’t gotten much out of first base.

Mark Vientos has continued to struggle on both sides of the ball, and though the lefty-swinging Jared Young has hit well since returning from his own IL stint, the Mets aren’t looking for him to be their regular first baseman.

Polanco isn’t expected to take that role either when he gets back, as the Mets figure to be cautious with him, given his Achilles issue that is likely to linger all year.

As Carlos Mendoza noted a week ago, Polanco is “gonna feel” the injury throughout the season.

“We have to keep it to a point where [it’s] ‘I can tolerate this,’ ” the manager said in May. “Because if not, he’s gonna be shut down for a long period of time.”

The switch-hitting Polanco has generally hit well from both sides of the plate and, if he can return to the form he had with the Mariners a year ago, would deepen a lineup desperately in need of lengthening.

With Bo Bichette in the midst of a season-long slump — although perhaps his four-hit day Wednesday was a good sign — Marcus Semien also not hitting and Francisco Lindor still out with a strained calf, the Mets have had to rely too much on Juan Soto, as well as rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.

If the Mets are going to make an effort toward getting back in the wild-card race — they started Thursday six games back of the final spot with seven teams ahead of them — they’ll need to move quickly.

They followed up a four-game winning streak in Queens by dropping two of three in Seattle and will face a Padres team that lost its fifth consecutive game Thursday and has dropped nine of its past 10.

The Mets, despite the rough series against the Mariners, have still won five of seven but will have to do more than that to start inching up the standings.

A 2025 version of Polanco would at least provide some help in that regard, but the one they’ve seen so far this year has been an all-too-familiar disappointment.

The 7th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide will host St Johns, who was the 4 seed in the Tallahassee Regional, in Super Regional play this weekend. The 40-19 Tide will host the 36-24 Red Storm in game one at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday. Game two is set for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday and the if necessary game would be Monday at a time to be announced. Today we will look at Bama’s overall statistics and the individual leaders.

Alabama Team Offense:

Batting Average- .257, 493 hits, 94 doubles, 10 triples, 79 home runs, .440 slugging percentage, .376 on base percentage, 282 walks, 99 hit by pitch, 541 strikeouts, 26 sacrifice flys, 14 sac bunts 85-93 on stolen bases.

Leaders:

*Brady Neal .332 batting average, 64 hits, 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 49 RBI, .575 slugging percentage, 33 walks, 111 total bases, .444 on base percentage.

*Bryce Fowler .322 bating average, 73 hits, 17 doubles, 2 triples,6 home runs, 38 RBI, 112 total bases. 15-17 stolen bases.

*Justin LeBron .274 batting average, 61 hits,12 doubles, 16 home runs, 46 RBI, 121 total bases, .543 slugging percentage, .382 on base percentage, 26 walks, 15 hit by pitch, 40-41 stolen bases.

*Eric Hines .289 batting average, 121 at bats, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 24 RBI, .554 slugging percentage, .341 on base percentage.

*Johnny Lemm .253 batting average, 9 doubles, 9 home runs, 33 RBI, 31 walks, .462 slugging percentage, .383 on base percentage.

*Jason Torres .241 batting average, 8 doubles, 9 home runs, 47 RBI, .409 slugging percentage, 36 walks, .367 on base percentage.

*Luke Vaughn .213 batting average, 8 doubles,9 home runs, 30 RBI, .452 slugging percentage.

Alabama Team Pitching:

40 wins, 14 saves, 4.22 ERA, 510 innings pitched, 476 hits allowed, .247 batting average against, 206 walks, 513 strikeouts, 82 doubles allowed, 57 home runs allowed.

Leaders:

*Tyler Fay 10-4, 4.70 ERA, 95.2 innings pitched, 83 hits allowed, 21 walks, 112 strikeouts, .232 batting average against, 11 doubles allowed, 20 home runs allowed.

*Zane Adams 7-4 , 4.04 ERA, 82.1 innings pitched, 84 hits allowed, 27 walks, 90 strikeouts, .264 batting average against, 8 home runs allowed, 15 doubles allowed.

*Myles Upchurch 8-3, 3.57 ERA, 70.2 innings pitched, 50 hits allowed, 40 walk, 77 strikeouts, 6 doubles allowed, 6 home runs allowed, .198 batting average against.

*Hagan Banks 2-0, 6 saves, 2.82 ERA, 22 innings pitched, 23 hits allowed, 8 walks, 29 strikeouts, 1 home run allowed, .256 batting average against.

*Matthew Heiberger 3-2, 5 saves, 3.05 ERA, 38.1 innings pitched, 31 hits allowed, 20 walks, 31 strikeouts, five home runs allowed, .246 batting average against.

*Ashton Crowther 2-2, 2 saves, 3.27 ERA, 33 innings pitched, 31 hits allowed, 8 walks, 23 strikeouts, five home runs allowed, .246 batting average against.

*JT Blackwood 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 30 innings pitched, 33 hits allowed, 7 walks, 15 strikeouts, 3 home runs alllowed, .280 batting average against.

The Yankees announced tonight that Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right rib. Judge will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks after a period of rest and limited activity.

It’s a crushing piece of news, though one that at least avoids the worst-case scenario. After days of testing, fears spread that Judge could be suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome, which would have almost certainly ended his season. Instead, Judge seems likely to return at some point this season, but when that could be is anyone’s guess at the moment.

Judge missed his first game of the season on Tuesday, with the slugger apparently having dealt with shoulder pain for the last few weeks. The discomfort coincided with one of Judge’s worst slumps of the last few years, Judge running a .672 OPS over his last 20 games.

New York will soon place Judge on the IL and get a healthy player on the roster in his place, perhaps top outfield prospect Spencer Jones. Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez are both progressing in their respective recoveries, but neither is ready to replace Judge on the roster. It goes without saying that no one is prepared to replace a healthy Judge’s production (or at least to truly complement the early-2026 version of Ben Rice), and we now have to hope that we’ll get to see a healthy Judge back on the field some time this year.