Category: MLB

ST. LOUIS –– Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he had a “good feeling” about his slumping offense at the start of a six-game road trip Friday afternoon.

“The road, ironically, has been better for us,” he insisted. 

By the end of the night, however, that theory couldn’t have felt less true.

En route to losing three straight games for the first time this year, the Dodgers star-studded lineup remained ice cold in a 7-2 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals, managing just seven hits against a Cardinals pitching staff with the fifth-worst team ERA in the majors.

For a fourth-straight game, the Dodgers (20-12) failed to hit a home run, the longest homer drought for the club since June 2023. And the few times they did get runners aboard, they couldn’t capitalize, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men stranded on base.

“I don’t have an answer for tonight,” Roberts said. “Obviously, they got big hits. There were some line drives that were right at guys. But in total, they swung the bat better than we did. We didn’t play well enough.”

It didn’t help that, early on Friday, the Cardinals (19-13) jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead against Emmet Sheehan. 

Still, for a Dodgers team that has invested more than $1 billion into its batting order in recent years, this recent slump is starting to grow maddening.

They initially got on the board Friday via a Max Muncy RBI double in the second. But after that, they scored just one more time, failed to record another extra-base hit until Hyeseong Kim’s double with two outs in the ninth, and slipped to 5-8 in their last 13 games –– having scored four runs or fewer eight times in that stretch.

“It’s been hard,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Obviously, we don’t want to start the season the way we have started. But we have done a lot of work. Everybody knows this is not easy, hitting, being consistent. We just have to go up there trying to have good at-bats. Create situations. Put the ball in play. Get on base.”

Lately, they’ve failed to do all of the above, enduring another night in which there were few good feelings.

What it means

As part of his optimistic pregame message, Roberts said he wanted his hitters to be “really locking in on our zones, having a plan, and then going and executing.”

Instead, another listless night followed.

The most glaring problem of late has been the club’s lack of power. In the season’s first 22 games, they belted 42 home runs with a .507 team slugging percentage (both best in the majors up to that point). Since then, however, they have only three long balls and a .306 slugging percentage in their last 10 games (worst in the majors over that span).

“I think that there’s some pitches that we’re getting that we’re missing,” Roberts said. “I think the intent is still to hit the ball hard, take good at-bats.”

Roberts noted that there still needs “to be a balance of slug (with) base hits and all that stuff.”

Still, for a lineup built on star power, an inability to hit for power has come as a surprise.

“I think right now, certain guys, a lot of guys, are trying to find their swing,” Roberts said. “They’re just not too comfortable.

Who’s hot

Anyone who gets to pitch against the Dodgers right now, including even Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore.

Entering Friday, he had a 4.75 ERA and was coming off a five-run clunker to the light-hitting Seattle Mariners offense. But against the Dodgers, he cruised right along, navigating traffic en route to a 5 ⅔-inning, two-run start.

After Muncy’s double in the second, the Dodgers came up empty in a two-on, no-out opportunity in the third, when Kyle Tucker lined out and Andy Pages hit into an inning-ending double-play. In the sixth, the bases were loaded with one out, but a sacrifice fly from Tucker was all the Dodgers could produce.

By the end of the night, Shohei Ohtani was 0-for-5, Freddie Freeman was the team’s only batter with multiple hits, and the club had been held to five total runs during this three-game losing skid. 

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Who’s not

A couple starts ago, Emmet Sheehan thought his fastball velocity troubles were behind him. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse.

On Friday, the right-hander averaged a season-low 93.4 mph with his four-seamer –– including a 92.9 mph heater in the first inning that Nolan Gorman hit for a two-run homer, and another at 89.7 mph in the fourth that marked the slowest fastball of his MLB career.

It didn’t prevent him from still striking out eight batters in his 4 ⅔-inning, four-run start. But it wasn’t his only issue either, not on a night he balked in a run (when he made a mental mistake by forgetting to signal to the umpires he was pitching out of the stretch) and gave up another solo home on a low slider to Alex Burleson in the third.

With the Dodgers facing a key rotation decision as Blake Snell nears his return, Sheehan’s lack of velocity (he averaged 95.6 mph with his fastball last year) will nonetheless remain a concern, especially with his overall ERA still up at 5.23.

“There’s nothing I can point to to say, this is the reason,” said Sheehan, who reiterated that he’s 100% healthy and instead working through mechanical flaws. “We’re working really hard on it. We’re going to continue to work really hard on it. That’s all we can do.”

Up next

Like Sheehan, fellow right-hander Roki Sasaki is fighting to keep his rotation spot at the moment. He’ll take the mound Saturday, trying to improve his 1-2 record and 6.35 ERA. Michael McGreevy (1-2, 2.97 ERA) goes for St. Louis.

From landing late in New York on Thursday night to first pitch in The Bronx on Friday, Pete Alonso had already taken several trips down memory lane on his initial return to his former home of over seven years. 

He stumbled over a few words when expressing what it means to him to be back in the city after leaving the Mets for a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles. 

Alonso immediately thought of his first taste of professional baseball with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2016. He remembered playoff moments from 2022 and ’24 — the “most special baseball” he played. 

He also reflected on his last time in New York. The Mets finished off an 11-inning game against the Nationals in their final homestand of the 2025 season and the next day, he and wife Haley went to Mount Sinai Hospital to welcome their first child together, a boy. 

“There’s a lot of things you think about after being here for so long,” Alonso said before the Orioles’ 7-2 loss to the Yankees. “Being in Manhattan, in the city, just looking back and thinking about that is really special.” 

Alonso continued to leave his mark on the city, hitting a home run off Will Warren in his first at-bat Friday. He went 1-for-2 with two walks and scored both of the Orioles’ runs. 

Walking around Friday, the five-time All-Star felt he was “just back in the old neighborhood.” 

He spent time pondering some of his favorite restaurants in the city, citing his favorite Italian spot, Ci Siamo, as a must-visit. “Shoutout chef Hillary,” he said. 

The 31-year-old didn’t assume anything about the game that preceded his son’s birth, whether it would be his last game at Citi Field. 

“I wasn’t thinking about it,” he said. “I was just more thinking about, ‘I can’t believe the season is over,’ because there was hopes for more, but obviously we didn’t do the job at the time. I was more shifted to family and how it was time to be dad, be husband. Let the dust settle and enjoy being parents for the first time. 

“That was where my mind was at initially. I didn’t really start thinking about free agency until the World Series was over.” 

Since arriving in Baltimore, Alonso hasn’t yet brought his best to the plate. Entering Friday, he was hitting .198 with four home runs and a .668 OPS through 31 games. 

Daniel Palencia was throwing hard in St. Paul.

Mason McGwire might just be a prospect.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs declared the St. Paul Saints (Twins) to be heretics, 6-5.

Connor Noland put the I-Cubs in an early hole after he got battered around for five runs on six hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out one.

Daniel Palencia relieved Noland in the fifth inning. He struck out the first batter looking, then he gave up a single and then got a lineout to center field. Palencia was throwing 100 to 102 miles per hour to the first two batters and more like 98-101 to the third batter, Orlando Arcia. The St. Paul broadcasters said that the single that Kyler Fedko got off of a 101.6 mph fastball by Palencia was the fastest pitch that any Saint has gotten a hit off of in franchise history. Palencia threw 19 pitches before he was pulled, 14 of them were strikes.

Zac Leigh relieved Palencia in the fifth and got a ground out to second to get out of that inning. Then Leigh struck out the side in the sixth. Leigh got the win.

Gabe Klobosits came on in the ninth and allowed two baserunners on an error and a walk. But he retired the other three batters he faced, two by strikeout, to collect the save.

Center fielder Kevin Alcántara hit his International League-leading tenth home run to dead center field in the fifth inning with a man on. Alcántara added a two-run double in the seventh to give Iowa the lead. He was 2 for 4 with a walk and the four runs batted in.

First baseman Jonathon Long had a pair of doubles in a 3 for 5 night. Long scored once and drove one home.

Third baseman Pedro Ramírez was 2 for 5 and scored twice.

Shortstop Owen Miller was 2 for 4.

The Jaguar strikes.

Alcántara just missed going deep twice, but settled for a two-run double.

Long’s RBI double went to the right-center field gap.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies disposed of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Padres), 6-1.

Starter Jake Knapp allowed just one unearned run on one hit over 4.1 innings. Knapp walked three, hit one batter and struck out four.

Tyler Ras relieved Knapp in the fifth and while he did allow an inherited runner to score and tie the game, he ended up getting the win after the Smokies scored two runs in the top of the sixth and re-took the lead. Ras’s final line was no runs on three hits over 1.2 innings. Ras struck out one and walked no one.

Right fielder Carter Trice opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning,. Trice was 1 for 5.

Left fielder Andy Garriola hit a solo home run in the sixth to break the 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. It was his fifth home run of the year. Garriola went 1 for 4.

DH Owen Ayers broke the game open with a three-run home run in the seventh inning. It was his second home run for the Smokies and eighth overall. Ayers was 1 for 5.

Center fielder Jordan Nwogu was 1 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored once.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were smelted by the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 6-2.

Brooks Caple started and gave up no runs over the first three innings. Caple allowed three hits and three walks while striking out two.

Alfredo Romero relieved Caple and allowed just one run over his first three innings of work. But he came out to pitch the seventh and after retiring the first two batters, he walked the next two and then left for Jackson Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick let in both of those runners, so Romero got tagged with the loss.

The final line on Romero was three runs on just one hit over 3.2 innings. He did walk five batters and struck out just one.

Kirkpatrick officially allowed one run on one hit over 1.1 innings. He walked one, hit one batter and struck out three.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went 1 for 2 with two walks and an RBI.

Catcher Justin Stransky was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run batted in.

Here’s a nice defensive play by Kepley.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans won their fourth-straight by walking off the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 8-7.

Mason McGwire continued his big start to the season by allowing just one run on one hit over four innings. McGwire struck out four and walked two.

After Riely Hunsaker got rocked for six runs, five earned, over the three middle innings, the Pelicans came back. Elis Jerzembeck threw the final two innings without allowing a run and got the win. Jerzembeck surrendered two hits and issued one walk. He struck out three.

Catcher Logan Poteet was the hero tonight. Not only did he hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, he hit an RBI infield single in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. It was Poteet’s third home run this year. Poteet went 2 for 4 with a walk and the home run. He had two runs scored to go with the three RBI.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI single.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez went 2 for 4 and scored once.

Here is a three-run double for second baseman Alexis Hernandez (1 for 4) and an RBI single for Lumpuy.

An game-tying RBI triple for left fielder Jose Escobar.

Here’s Poteet’s walk-off single.

Thanks to a strong start by Matthew Liberatore and offensive thunder from Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson, the St. Louis Cardinals welcomed the Los Angeles Dodgers to town by beating them 7-2.

After a 1-2-3 top of the first from Matthew Liberatore, the St. Louis Cardinals did not hesitate to get on the board with an assist from Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan. Ivan Herrera drew a one-out walk after JJ Wetherholt struck out. Alec Burleson then fouled out, but Jordan Walker laced a single to left field. Both Walker and Herrera moved up a base after a throwing error by Will Smith. The Cardinals were gifted their first run when Sheehan failed to notify the umpires that he was going to throw from a windup instead of the stretch. That resulted in a balk and a 1-0 Cardinals lead as Herrera scored. Walker would also score after Nolan Gorman lit up a 3-2 pitch from Sheehan and deposited it into the right field stands making it 3-0 Cardinals.

The Dodgers drew closer in the top of the 2nd inning after Andy Pages singled to right and Max Muncy drilled a ball over Victor Scott II’s head in left-center field making it 3-1 St. Louis.

The Cardinals would add to their lead in the 3rd inning when Alec Burleson turn on a low-inside pitch driving it over the right field wall giving St. Louis a 4-1 lead.

Matthew Liberatore would last through 5 2/3 innings as he got into trouble in the top of the 6th inning giving up a single to Freddie Freeman followed by a walks to Smith and Hernandez. Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to make the score 4-2 Cardinals. Manager Oli Marmol took Liberatore out of the game and brought in George Soriano who was able to limit the damage by getting Andy Pages on a flyout to short center field.

In the top of the 7th inning, Masyn Winn showed why he is a Gold Glove shortstop as he covered 122 feet in chasing down a ball in foul territory making an incredible catch while barely avoiding a collision with a sliding Nathan Church who was charging in from left field. George Soriano would do his part by striking out Shohei Ohtani looking to end the inning.

The Cardinals would threaten in the bottom of the 7th inning when Ivan Herrera singled to right and Alec Burleson drew a walk. Jordan Walker then hung in on a two-strike breaking ball and ripped it down the left field line for a double scoring both Herrera and Burleson giving St. Louis a 6-2 lead.

Masyn Winn was hit by a high-inside pitch by Henriquez who had come into the game in relief which Winn took issue with as he was hot heading to first base. Jordan Walker, who had advanced to third on his double when the ball was misplayed in left field, scored on a high chopper by Nathan Church that the Dodgers were unable to turn into a double play by forcing Winn at second. That extended Cardinals lead to 7-2 heading into the 8th inning.

Gordon Graceffo was brought in to handle the Dodgers in the top of the 8th. He was greeted by Freddie Freeman’s line-drive single to left to start the inning. After Smith lined out and Hernandez flied out, Kyle Tucker walked, but Graceffo stranded them both when he struck out Pages confirmed by an ABS challenge. Both Graceffo and Soriano would provide an inning each of scoreless relief.

Matt Svanson was brought in to close out a 5-run lead in the 9th inning and he did it with no drama. He retired Max Muncy on a flyout to center. Alec Burleson made an excellent play on a ball down the first base line from Rojas. Svanson also did a fine job covering the bag for the second out. Kim then singled to left bringing up Shohei Ohtani, but Svanson was able to get him to fly out to center to end the game.

The Cardinals will send Michael McGreevy to the mound for Saturday night’s game against the Dodgers. It’s a 6:15pm central time first pitch at Busch Stadium for a game that will be a national TV broadcast on Fox.

First-year MLBer Kazuma Okamoto put some hurtin’ on Simeon Woods-Richardson, the Twins threw too many outs and chances away. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: George Springer with the leadoff single, and a good cheer comes through on the radio. So, as usual, there’s a lotta Jays fans at TF. Who in my experience are basically the nicest people you could hope for. (Royals fans are nice too, if a little drunker. My experience with these fans at like 10 games over the years is of course indicative of all trends in human behavior.) A 6-3 DP eliminates the runner.

Six-game hitting streak for DH Ryan Jeffers; he makes it seven with a two-out single. Nothing comes of it.

2: Some one-out danger, courtesy of Daulton Varsho and Lenyn Sosa (Sosa is not related to bat-corking Sammy, musical Lennon or socialist Lenin). A WP advances both runners and the defense plays in. This only works if you field properly, and 1B Josh Bell does not.

A soft single to Bell; he comes home with it, and he’s WAY off. Varsho scores and the ball goes out of play, so Sosa is awarded home plate, too. I’m reasonably confident that this is a throw I could have made better. However if I were to do it 100 times and Bell 100 times, he would screw up once or twice and I’d probably screw up 25 times.

Twins hitters; eight pitches, two strikeouts, one popup. It’s not IDEAL. Blue Jays 2-0

3: Six pitches and three outs for Simeon Woods-Richardson. None are strikeouts, so there’s some luck in play, but we’ll take it. Or I will. You can choose not to take it, if you so desire. Or if you are Twisted Sister.

A Brooks Lee single, James Outman doing what his name indicates, and Buxton does his Lord Byron thing. We’re tied 2-2

4: And now we are untied. Kazuma Okamoto, an 11-year veteran of Japanese baseball, is hitting .125 on the season (his first in MLB) but leads the Jays in homers with five; now make it six. Then a Sosa double and Yohendrick Pinango single (you bet I CTRL-C, CTRL-Ved that name); Bux apologizes to Toronto for his homer by airmailing the throw to the infield, and Pinango reaches second. Then a flyout and a HBP. Geez, SWR… a grounder to short ends the damage.

Luke Keaschall uses the theme from Rocky as his walkup music. That movie is about a boxer in Philadelphia. Keaschall is a baseball player from California playing in Minnesota. Anyways, Kris Atteberry on radio says it’s the only walkup song he knows. Keaschall walks and the next guy flies out to end the inning, but I’m curious; what ARE all the Twins’ walkup songs?

Here’s the list. Now, I don’t know a lot of the newer music, either. But, “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC (Kody Funderburk)? Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” (Taylor Rogers), Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” (Bailey Ober), “It’s Only Rock and Roll” by the Stones (Joe Ryan)? How can someone not know at least one of those songs? OK, maybe Atteberry just means BATTER walk-up songs… but nope, that’s a fail too, Buxton uses Bob Marley’s “Jammin’.” How can you go to college and not learn “Jammin’?” Somebody get Atteberry to a dealer immediately and hook him up with some Marley! I mean a MUSIC dealer. Jays 4-2

5: Okamoto does it again, off a splitter just on the corner, and with Vlad (The Inhaler) Guerrero Jr. on base, so this is now a Difficult Lead For The Twins To Catch Up To. A Sosa single and Pinango infield single and SWR is cooked. Rogers finishes the inning; I did not hear any Fleetwood Mac on the radio.

Hit Machine James Outman with the one-out single. Buxton hits one a long way, but rookie Pinango takes a nice quick route to catch it. The Twins waste the Mighty Slugging of the Outman, Toronto 6-2

6: Catcher Tyler Heineman, whose name sounds like he should be shilling skunky Dutch beer, leads off with a bloop single. He advances on a one-out FC and as Vlad, Son of Vlad, enters, so does Mr. Rogers leave the neighborhood. Eric Orze records the out.

Bell has a one-out hit and Caratini advances him via HBP; this bounces Patrick Corbin, with Braydon Fisher coming in. Fisher sinks the Twins.

7: Eric Orze still pitching; here is his official picture:

Okamoto takes a walk, and on a grounder to short, Brooks Lee doesn’t see how quickly Luke Keaschall got to the bag, so he throws it to first instead. Atteberry says “let’s hope that doesn’t come back to haunt the Twins.” It does on a two-out Pinango single; the two “rookies” are killin’ us.

Incidentally, Dan Gladden on radio talking about how Japanese hitters see a lot of a “shuuto” pitch, a kind of pitch that breaks down and in to right-handers. I didn’t know Gladden played in Japan! He did, just like Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball! One season for the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo. (Same team Okamoto played for, BTW.)

With Jeff Hoffman (no relation to Trevor) pitching, the Twins get two infield singles from Lee and Buxton. An Austin Martin single brings Jeffers to the plate with the bases full. He sac flies to left-center. And Bell grounds out to end the Little Rally That Couldn’t, Not The Expos 7-3

8: Pasta Power is still in there and saving some of the other bullpen arms. This would be great if the other bullpen arms were good.

It’s THEIR Rogers, Tyler, in to pitch. He handles the Twins just fine. I dunno if he uses Fleetwood Mac walkup music or not. He could go with “Gold Dust Woman,” cause he makes you cry, makes you break down. Or “Tusk” just to make opponents’ ears bleed from those terrible horns.

9: Now pitching for the Twins is Luis García; WHO? A 39-year-old righty with a career ERA of 4.13, although last year he was not very good. The Mets cut him in April and the Twins signed him a week later, since last year they traded away all their good relievers. He does fine.

One of those good relievers was Louis Varland from St. Paul, MN. Atteberry tells a story about being on the Twins caravan with Varland and Varland critiquing the drywall in a restaurant, since that’s his family’s line of business. This game feels like drywall. Two outs brings us a Buxton walk and a Austin Martin infield single. Jeffers strikes out. Varland throws 27 pitches but the Twins lose

Studs: Okamoto, Pinango, Bux for bomba. Duds: Bell for bad throw, SWR for bad pitching, Royce Lewis for sadly being a shell of his former self right now.

COTG go to sandwiches with “I feel like switching out bullpen pitchers is like switching out which cactus I am forced to sit on when I’m interrogated by the government for appreciating certain aspects of life.” And norff with a little poem:

Born too late to explore the earth
Born too early to explore the cosmos
Born just in time to watch Byron Buxton play baseball

Nice! Also, I have been using blogging software for 13 years and I finally figured out how to do single instead of double spacing in WordPress. Oh well I had to learn something eventually. Thanks to everyone who participated in the thread.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10 Central, and features Toronto starter Dylan Cease against rookie Connor Prelipp. Catch ya next time!

The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are back at it on Saturday for the middle game of the weekend series at Busch Stadium, with Roki Sasaki looking to build off his first win of the season.

Sasaki remains a mixed bag in the rotation, and rode his harder splitter to more control last Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, with only one walk in five-plus innings, his fewest walks in any MLB start to date. But he also allowed four runs, including three solo home runs.

Michael McGreevy starts for St. Louis. In his three home starts this season, McGreevy has allowed three runs in 17 innings, with 13 strikeouts and three walks.

Saturday is the Dodgers’ second game this season exclusively televised by Fox. Just like last weekend against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium, the middle game in St. Louis will be called by Joe Davis.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Cardinals
• Ballpark: Busch Stadium
• Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
• TV: Fox
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

What started as a pitchers’ duel and later opened up to look like a comfortable win became a nailbiter as the Philadelphia Phillies (13-19) defeated the Miami Marlins (15-17) by a score of 6-5 to secure their fourth straight victory.

In his second start of the season, Zack Wheeler notched his first win, striking out eight and allowing just one run in six innings of work. After throwing 84 pitches in his first outing, he ramped it to 94 and appears to be unrestricted going forward.

The Marlins’ lone run against Wheeler came in the bottom of the first on the strength of back to back doubles by Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards.

The offense strung together four hits and a walk against Eury Perez in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead on singles by Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm, a walk by Bryson Stott and a double by Justin Crawford.

They would pad the lead in the top of the seventh off Marlins’ lefty reliever, Cade Gibson, scoring four in the frame to take a 6-1 lead. Bryce Harper doubled, Marsh was hit on the elbow, Edmundo Sosa singled home Harper and Stott cleared the bases with a three-run home run, his first of the year.

Orion Kerkering threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh before the bullpen began to unravel in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Fish got three runs back against Jonathan Bowlan and Jose Alvarado in the eighth before Alvarado got a crucial punchout of Christopher Morel to end the inning, stranding runners on second and third.

Brad Keller came on to close and was wild out of the gate, 10 of his first 17 pitches landing outside the strike zone. Somehow he managed just a leadoff walk to Javier Sanoja and two strikeouts with that effort, but Sanoja stole second and scored on Lopez’s third hit and second RBI single of the game to cut the lead to one. With a full count and the winning run at the plate, Keller got Edwards to fly out to center where Crawford secured the easy catch to end it.

After his historic day at the plate yesterday, Kyle Schwarber wore the platinum sombrero with five strikeouts.

The Phils will try to set a season-long winning streak tomorrow as they kick off the Philly Sportspocalypse at 4:10pm tomorrow as Andrew Painter faces off against Max Meyer.

Jays 7 Twins 3

Kazuma Okamoto had a slow start to the season, but he’s picked things up lately. Today he had 2 home runs, a walk, 3 runs and 3 RBI. 31 games into his MLB career he has 7 home runs, and 18 RBI.

And, unlike yesterday, the pitching was good and the defense was good.

• Patrick Corbin went 5.1, allowed 6 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts. He gave up a home run to Byron Buxton in the third inning, which accounted for his 2 earned runs. Corbin wasn’t great but he got the outs when he needed them.
• Braydon Fisher got the last two outs of the sixth.
• Jeff Hoffman gave up a run in the seventh. He had a very soft single, in front of Okamoto. Then a strikeout. Next Buxton hit one right at Andrés Giménez. I thought Giménez should have moved up to get the ball, but he waited back and then made a bad throw to first. It was called a hit, but I thought it was a clear error. A well hit single loaded the bases. Then Ryan Jeffers ripped one to deep left, but Daulton Varsho caught it on the edge of the track. It scored a run. Then another easy grounder to short, but that one was the third out. 16 pitchers. It could have been 3-up, 3-down, since the first two singles were 3 and 5 feet (in the air), with expect batting averages of .050 and .200.
• Tyler Rogers got the eight. It went ground out, strikeout, strikeout.
• Louis Varland pitched the ninth. He’s had a couple of days off, so he was likely to pitch today, not matter what. He gave up a two-out infield single.

On offense, we had 11 hits. Lenyn Sosa and Yohendrick Pinango (who I’m calling Lips, as it is easier to spell than Yohendrick. And Okamoto had the two homers (he came within 4 feet of getting a third homer). 0 for went to Andrés Giménez, Vlad (with a walk) and Jesus Sanchez.

We scored:

• Two in the second: Varsho and Sosa had one out singles, and moved to third on a Simeon Woods Richardson wild pitch. Lips hit a ground ball to first, and Josh Bell threw home. Varsho should have been out by 10 feet, but Bell threw sidearm and missed his catcher. Both runners scored.
• Two in the fourth: Okamoto led off with a homer. An out later, Sosa doubled and Lips singled him home.
• Two in the fifth: Vlad walked and Okamoto homered.
• One in the seventh: Okamoto walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Pinango single.

Jays of the Day: Pinango (.26 WPA), and Okomoto (.24).

Other Award: Sanchez had the number at -.11.

Tomorrow is a 2:00 start time. Dylan Cease (1-1, 2.87) vs. Connor Prielipp (1-0, 4.00)

The Orioles will be without one of their top bullpen arms for the near future.

Ahead of their 7-2 loss to the Yankees on Friday, the Orioles placed right-hander Ryan Helsley on the 15-Day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow.

The extent of Helsley’s injury remains unclear, with Baltimore selecting righty Albert Suárez’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk to fill the roster void.

Helsley, 31, has experienced a solid start for the Orioles this season, boasting a 2.53 ERA with 15 strikeouts across 10⅔ innings.

Sliding into Baltimore’s closer role in place of the injured Felix Bautista, Helsley has already racked up seven saves in 12 appearances.

Helsley signed a two-year, $28 million deal with the Orioles this offseason following a disappointing stint with the Mets last year.

Helsley opened up to The Post this week about his struggles with the Mets and how he still does not really know the origin of what went wrong in Queens.

“Just for whatever reason, it just didn’t work out,” Helsley told The Post on Thursday. “I felt pretty good while I was there, and I felt like we had an insanely talented team, and for whatever reason we couldn’t win games. It was a weird, weird feeling.

“I’m sure for the guys who are there again this year, I’m sure it feels a little similar. It’s not a fun spot to be in.”

During his time in Queens, the two-time All-Star held an abysmal 7.20 ERA over 22 appearances along with blowing some key games in the season’s final stretch after they acquired him from the Cardinals at the trade deadline.

Helsley’s faults were primarily caused by a pitch-tipping issue, in which hitters could tell what pitch he was throwing based on his hand placement when he became set on the mound.

“Felt like I’d be good one outing, and then the next outing it would kind of creep back in,” Helsley added. “So I wasn’t really able to nip it out all the way completely.

“And then the last month there, I think I switched right as the calendar turned to September, and it felt weird the first few outings.”

For a Major League leading seventh time, the San Francisco Giants have been shutout, 22% of the 32 games played in the 2026 season. 

To put this dismal display in perspective, the 2019 Miami Marlins were shutout 22 times, the most in the Wild Card Era, which is roughly 14% of the 162 games in a regular season. The 1963 Mets, who lost 111 games, set the record in the Live Ball era at 30 shutouts, around 19% of their games. Currently, these 2026 Giants are on track to break that record by 6 shutouts. 

A sobering thought that may have occurred to Willy Adames and Rafael Devers at the same time, in this exact moment captured below.

The Giants offense is leading the league in hitters slouched over the dugout railing at the end of ballgames. They’re pacing the league in squinting at some far-off thing in the third deck just beyond the left field foul pole as they remove their batting gloves, their helmet, at the end of another fruitless offensive frame.

The offense recorded 6 total hits against Rays pitching. Their only extra base hit of the game — a Luis Arraez double in the 4th — was erased from the bases when, with the urging of third base coach Hector Borg, he tried to stretch it into a Luis Arraez triple.

A third base coach can have too much attention, and Borg might want to lay low for awhile. He was too cautious Thursday night in the 10th, and here, just too aggressive. All of its connected, of course. Everyone is frustrated and playing tight and overthinking and trying to do too much. Behavior that stems from team-wide ills.

San Francisco’s only at-bat with a runner in scoring position came an inning later against southpaw starter Shane McClanahan with runners at the corners and one out. To be more precise, the Giants saw two pitches in the entire game with a runner in scoring position. A slider in the dirt, and a change-up that Jerar Encarnacion rolled weakly to Junior Caminero for a 5-4-3 double play. 

Then in the 6th, still down by two — which, to be clear, is usually not an insurmountable run total to overcome — a lead-off single by Patrick Bailey was promptly undermined by a weak come-backer off the bat of Heliot Ramos that McClananahan fielded for a 1–4-3 double play.

An outfield assist. Two double plays. That was it. Trying to spark a rally for these Giants has been like trying to build a house of cards. They don’t walk, they don’t hit for extra bases, they don’t steal. There’s only so many singles you can string together before someone nudges the table, or sneezes, or breathes wrong, and sends the whole flimsy structure tumbling down. The Giants actually out-hit Tampa 6-to-5, they just didn’t out-slug them. If singles are Bicycle Playing Cards, extra base hits are Lincoln Logs. The Rays converted three hits and a sac fly into three runs off of Robbie Ray because two of them cleared the wall, and the other was manufactured off a double, a stolen base, and situational hitting. 

Ray turned in another quality start, giving up 3 earned on 4 hits, 0 walks, and 5 strike outs over 6.1 innings, and was stuck with his fourth loss of the year for his efforts. Three of those losses, bizarrely enough, have come in 3-0 shutouts.

So I guess Ray is the problem?

Friday’s college baseball game between Alabama and Vanderbilt had a scary moment.

During the second inning of the SEC matchup, Alabama graduate student Brennan Holt fouled a pitch off from Commodores starting pitcher Brennan Seiber straight into the face of home plate umpire Scott Kennedy.

Kennedy immediately collapsed upon getting hit with the ball, stumbling directly on his back with his mask being knocked off his face.

Umpire fell to the ground after taking a foul ball to the face mask and eventually walked off on his own power pic.twitter.com/TknuykmI7m

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 1, 2026

After falling over, Kennedy remained on the ground for several minutes as he was being assisted by trainers from both teams.

He was ultimately able to walk off the field on his own power, with second base umpire Anthony Perez replacing Kennedy behind the plate for the remainder of the game at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The game was delayed for roughly 15 minutes while the situation was resolved.

Kennedy was “doing better” following the game, but there has yet to be an official update on his health, and there will be a replacement umpire for Saturday’s game, an Alabama athletics spokesperson told The Post.

“I think first and foremost, you’re just hoping Scott’s OK, you know, and I think just get a report from our trainer,” Crimson Tide head coach Rob Vaughn told reporters following the game. “I think he’s OK, and he’s doing better.”

Vaughn added how rattling it is to see a situation where someone gets seriously hurt in a non-contact sport like baseball.

“Obviously it’s just an unfortunate situation,” he said. “Baseball is not a contact sport. You’re used to seeing guys in weird spots like that in football and some other physical sports.

“But baseball, you don’t see that often. So hoping Scott’s OK is the first thing and then you get back to the game.”

Alabama bested the Commodores 5-0 on Friday, improving its record to 31-16.

Here was something rare: legitimate, hard contact against Will Warren. Leody Taveras smoked a fastball that bore across the plate and sent it right back up the middle. 

By the end of his delivery, Warren was facing first base. By the time Taveras’ 101.5 mph grounded dart blitzed its way to the mound, Warren was facing second. 

“I just stood there and hoped it missed me, and it didn’t,” said Warren, who was blinded to the ball, raised his left foot and knocked it down with the bottom of the cleat, then scrambled to record the final out of the top of the second. 

Warren is smothering batted balls, opposing lineups and perhaps questions about his status in the rotation. 

The young right-hander was brilliant again, allowing one earned run while pitching into the seventh inning, and strengthened his case that he belongs among the Yankees starting pitchers as his club sailed, 7-2, over the Orioles in front of 41,239 in The Bronx on Friday night. 

“You say he’s the guy we haven’t talked about,” manager Aaron Boone said with a smile about an overlooked part of a starry rotation. “The body of work, just from jump in spring training, has just been excellent over and over again.” 

The Yankees (21-11) have the AL’s best record and have won 11 of 13, playing well in every phase of the game. 

Ben Rice clubbed home run No. 11, a three-run shot in the second that drained much of the drama from the proceedings. José Caballero remained hot with a homer of his own — hours after it became clear his play at least temporarily has kept Anthony Volpe in the minors — and RBI knocks from Cody Bellinger, Amed Rosario and Aaron Judge (who reached base in four of five plate appearances) kept the offense buzzing. 

Fernando Cruz relieved Warren in the seventh and inherited a second-and-third, one-out jam and allowed just a run on a swinging bunt. Camilo Doval and Jake Bird threw scoreless frames for a bullpen that has generally been solid. 

The club’s defense, particularly from Caballero and Judge, was strong. But the Yankees have had no greater strength this season than their rotation, which sports a majors-best 2.70 ERA and is not close to full strength. 

Carlos Rodón will pitch Tuesday in what could be his final rehab start. Gerrit Cole will be making his fourth minor league start Tuesday, too. 

Spots will have to be cleared in a rotation that already has demoted Luis Gil, has given a shot to Elmer Rodríguez and also includes Ryan Weathers, who owns a 3.21 ERA through six starts. 

The competition is on. 

“I think we’re going to have the best staff in all of baseball when they come back,” said Warren, who has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his seven starts. “And so the best pitchers are going to pitch the majority of the games. Gotta make sure that I keep going out there and doing my job.” 

He did Friday, limiting the Orioles to two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk in 6 ¹/₃ innings in which he struck out nine, slicing his ERA to 2.39 — which is an ace-like number but ranks third (behind Cam Schlittler’s 1.51 and Max Fried’s 2.09) on the Yankees. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

The 26-year-old allowed a second-inning home run to Pete Alonso and then retired 16 of the next 17 batters he faced, silencing the Orioles through various means on a night he focused more on off-speed and breaking pitches than fastballs. He has the stuff to make hitters look silly, Baltimore’s Coby Mayo nowhere close as he meekly swung at a sweeper that swept far away from him. 

He did not have to rely upon chasing, though, and routinely challenged Baltimore hitters who looked overmatched. Gunnar Henderson stared at a perfectly placed strike-three sinker and walked back to the dugout without an argument. 

His changeup, a weapon especially against lefty hitters, might have been the strongest it has been all season. The Orioles swung four times at the pitch and missed three. 

Warren did not look like a pitcher who belongs in a bullpen. 

“He’s not satisfied,” Boone said of a righty who made a leap last season and appears to be doing it again. “For all the good he did last year, I don’t think he was satisfied.”

Two early Yankees home runs dug the Orioles a hole they couldn’t fly out of, as the O’s dropped their series opener in the Bronx 7-2.

As we’ve seen many times this season, a disastrous 2nd inning put the Orioles behind early and ruined the outing for Povich. With the game tied at 1-1, Povich began the inning strong, getting the former All-Star Jazz Chisolm Jr. to wave through a slider for the first out of the inning. From there, though, things went from bad to worse for the Orioles’ lefty. The very next pitch, José Caballero attacked a fastball up and in, hooking it around left field foul pole for a solo homer that gave New York a 2-1 lead.

Povich would come back to strike out catcher Austin Wells on another slider down and away. But the Caballero homer put a crack in Povich’s dam, a crack that Ben Rice would break wide open. With two outs, Trent Grisham attacked a 2-2 fastball, sending it into right field for a double. Paul Goldschmidt then worked a four-pitch walk to bring Rice to the plate. After Povich spiked a first-pitch slider in the dirt, he tried to go back to the breaking ball, only to leave it hanging and watch Rice pummel it into the right field bleachers for a 5-1 Yankees lead.

The Yankees almost chased Povich from the game, as Aaron Judge continued the two-out rally with a single to right, before Cody Bellinger ripped his second double of the night to move Judge to third. The Oriole starter was able to escape that jam, punching out Amed Rosario looking on a fastball down and in. However, after giving up four runs on 34 pitches in the 2nd, it was clear it wouldn’t be a banner night for Povich.

The signs of a potentially long night showed up from Povich’s very first inning. He again started the inning well, getting leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt to ground out to second before Taylor Ward robbed Rice of a hit with a sliding catch in left. Povich then got ahead of Judge 1-2, only to lose the 3x-MVP on a seven-pitch walk. Bellinger then lined a ball down the line in right, which got away from Dylan Beavers after a carom off the wall, allowing Judge to score from first and Bellinger to coast into second with a double.

In the top of the 2nd, Pete Alsono gave Birdland some hope that this would be a competitive game—if only briefly. With the O’s down 1-0, Yankee starter Will Warren left a sinker over the plate, and Alonso blasted it the other way into the right field second deck for his fifth home run as an Oriole.

However, the Alonso homer proved to be an anomaly, as the Orioles’ lineup struggled to find any answers against New York’s 26-year-old right-hander. Warren started his evening by punching out Gunnar Henderson swinging on a changeup low and away. Judge then gave his starter a defensive assist on a Taylor Ward fly ball, snagging a deep fly up against the right field fence. Warren then finished the inning with a strikeout of Adley Rutschman, freezing the Orioles’ hottest hitter with a fastball at the knees.

Strikeouts were a problem all night for the Baltimore bats, as they often seemed befuddled by the Yankees’ starter. Warren punched out another two Birds in the 2nd, getting Samuel Basallo to swing through a changeup before getting Dylan Beavers to chase another offspeed offering. Coby Mayo led off the 3rd with another strikeout by flailing at a sweeper that finished in the left-handed batter’s box. Warren then punctuated that frame with a punch out of Taylor Ward, getting the Orioles’ LF to swing through a low sinker.

After a Blaze Alexander single in the 3rd, Warren set down the next 12 Orioles he faced, with only two balls leaving the infield on a pair of F7’s in the 5th. Alonso finally broke that streak in the 7th, working a six-pitch walk to give the Orioles their first base runner in four innings. Basallo then followed that up with a single to center that took an awkward bounce past Grisham, allowing Alonso to move to third.

The Basallo bloop single set up the O’s only real scoring threat of the night, but the rest of the lineup couldn’t capitalize. Dylan Beavers tapped a grounder back to the mound that allowed Alonso to score to make it 5-2 with two outs. Leody Taveras then flew out to Judge to end the scoring threat—and any Orioles hopes of a comeback.

The Yankees would erase that consolation run in the 7th. Judge and Bellinger worked back-to-back two-out walks to give New York another runner in scoring position. Amed Rosario then singled up the middle to drive Judge home and restore the Yankees’ four-run advantage. The reigning AL MVP would then turn run provider in the 8th, singling up the middle on a sharp ground ball that drove home Rice from second and giving the Yankees their seventh run of the game.

The loss Friday night extends Baltimore’s losing streak against the Yankees to six games, with their last win against New York coming last September 19th in Baltimore. The O’s will try and snap that streak tomorrow when Kyle Bradish faces off against Ryan Weathers.

Spearheaded by a fantastic effort from Will Warren, the Yankees took early command of their first regular-season matchup against the Orioles in 2026, ultimately winning it 7-2. Specifically on Warren, seeing the front-level starters dominating is all well and good, but the built-in expectations may work against the excitement of it in certain instances. Although early, seeing a pitcher like Warren coming together to truly maximize his skill set—as it appears we’re doing—is the kind of thing we love to witness over the course of a 162-game regular season.

Immediately after being handed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, Warren coughed it up in the type of manner that could shake his confidence. Not often in baseball do you get no-doubter opposite-field home runs, but that’s exactly what Pete Alonso delivered against the Yankees starter, evening things up in the second.

Fulfilling the phrase that you’re only as good as the team around you, Warren enjoyed a little support right after that moment. It would’ve been one thing had he spent a prolonged period pitching with a tie game, but the Yankees quickly took control of this one, pouncing on Orioles starter Cade Povich, who simply didn’t have it on Friday night. It was the home team’s turn to leave the yard in the third inning, firstly with a José Caballero solo shot and then a three-run bomb from Ben Rice.

It’s fitting that these are the two players who would come up big, as they represent the two types of hitters who will determine how dangerous the Yankees lineup is against left-handed pitching—Rice as the primary of a group of lefties who can take their game to the next level if they’re able to put up solid numbers against same-handed pitching and Caballero, who is one of the complementary pieces that need to maximize on platoon advantages.

As it turned out, that home run Alonso hit would end up representing a third of the Orioles’ hits against Warren, who took full advantage of a commanding lead from the third inning onwards and shut down Baltimore. Relying less heavily on the fastball than his season norm, and utilizing all three of his off-speed pitches, Warren earned nine strikeouts—the last of them on a terrific challenge from Wells, overturning a backdoor 2-2 sinker against Taylor Ward that had been originally called a ball in the sixth inning.

Warren was cruising in such a manner that Aaron Boone tried to give him the seventh inning, but a walk and a single were enough for the hook with 6.1 innings pitched. As he is known to do, Fernando Cruz came in with runners at second and third—both having advanced on a Trent Grisham error—and he kept the damage at one. Because of the error, this second Oriole run to make it a 5-2 game at that time was unearned for Warren, delivering a performance just as dominant as the one he had against the Royals a couple of outings ago.

Answering back that run, the Yankees made it a 7-2 game, scoring one in the seventh and one in the eighth thanks to RBI knocks from Amed Rosario and Aaron Judge. They could’ve made it a full-scale blowout but managed to strand five baserunners in those two innings, not that the pitching staff missed those runs, with Cruz, Camillo Doval, and Jake Bird combining to give up just a walk in 2.2 innings.

The Yankees will go for their 12th win in 14 games tomorrow afternoon, with southpaw Ryan Weathers facing righty Kyle Bradish. First pitch is at 1:35pm ET.

Box Score

It was a cold Friday night in May in Columbus, Ohio. Nebraska which despite its great season, has been woeful on the mound in Friday nights in conference play. Enter new Friday night starter Carson Jasa. He was tasked with turning around the Husker’s fortunes against Ohio States number one pitcher since about halfway through his freshman season last year, Gavin Kunzniewski.

It was obvious the pitchers were dealing early. The lone blemish in the first few innings came in the 2nd. Mammoth Ohio State first baseman Dane Harvey led off the inning with a solid single into center field that center fielder Mac Moyer couldn’t quite get to as he was playing deep because of Harvey’s power. Maddix Simpson then hit a ball head high to Case Sanderson at first that hit his glove but was just able to trickle out because of the speed it came off the bat. A potential double play snuck out to right field and runners were on the corners.

Carson Jasa pitched the next batter to a full count, but ended up walking him to load the bases with no outs. A mound visit refocused Jasa and he recorded the first out on a 3 pitch strikeout. A quick second out came on a sac fly to right center field, scoring Harvey. Another strikeout ended the inning. A potential disaster was limited to just a single run, something the powerful Husker offense should have no trouble overcoming.

That onslaught never arrived though. Kunzniewski was living off his changeup, keeping Nebraska hitters completely off balance and allowing them to barely get any barrels on the ball.

It took until the 5th inning for Nebraska to really put any pressure on the Buckeye starter. Third baseman Josh Overbeek absorbed a 1 out hit-by-pitch, something this OSU staff gives out rather often. Freshman right fielder Drew Grego then sent the first pitch he saw to center field for a single, marking the first time Nebraska had 2 baserunners. Catcher Trey Fikes pulled a ball down the line to first base, moving the runner over on a productive out for Tuesday night’s hero, Rhett Stokes. Stokes went after the first ball he saw, something Nebraska hitters did all too often on the evening, and grounded out to short to end the inning. Still 1-0 Buckeyes after 5.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Simpson led off for Ohio State and laced a double to the right center gap. A ground ball to first moved him over to third, and a sac fly to Moyer in center brought him in to widen the lead to 2-0 for the Buckeyes.

Nebraska threatened again in the 7th. A Jett Buck walk, and Grego getting hit by a pitch put 2 on with 2 out. Nebraska pinch hit the recovering Will Jesske who put the barrel to the ball for one of the rare times on the night, but flew out in front of the warning track in left field to end the threat.

Jasa exited the game after the 6th, giving the team its first quality start on a Friday since Ty Horn against Michigan State on March 6th. Jasa threw 103 pitches, gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out only 3 batters, his lowest other than the 1 in 1 inning of work at Auburn.

The aforementioned Ty Horn took over for Jasa in the 7th and finished the game for Nebraska, keeping OSU off the board with 3 strikeouts in his 2 perfect innings.

Nebraska finally knocked Kunzniewski out of the game in the 9th, after he walked the first two Huskers in Dylan Carey and Jett Buck. Ohio State turned it over to their reliever Ryan Zamora, who has the best pitch in their bullpen, a hard downward breaking slurve. Overbeek hit a ball up the middle that the short stop was just able to keep from going into center field, and toss to the covering second baseman, leaving runners at the corners.

Drew Grego hit a ball right out in front of the pitcher that the catcher ran out and grabbed and threw to first, beating Grego by a step. Overbeek advanced to second on the play. Nebraska sent left handed batter Preston Freeman in to pinch hit for Jesske. Zamora threw a ball to the backstop, and Overbeek advanced to third. Freeman couldn’t bring him in striking out looking on Zamora’s big breaking ball on the inside corner. Ohio State claims game 1, 2-1.

It was about as even as you could get offensively. Both teams had 4 hits, and both had 3 walks. The Simpson double was the lone extra base hit of the game and proved to be the difference. Even when Nebraska fixes its pitching issues that has been plaguing it each Friday, it can’t seem to find the same success it does on Saturdays and Sundays.

The good thing? They are right back at it tomorrow, which just so happens to not be a Friday! The 2nd game of the series will be shown on BTN, so it will be a rare Saturday night baseball game for the teams. First pitch in Columbus will be at 6pm CDT.