Category: MLB

Coincidentally on Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball, Cincinnati Reds' rookie Sal Stewart continued a rookie season surge that has him on the fast track to winning the award named after the player who broke the game's color barrier 79 years ago.

The Reds waited 22 years for one of their rookies to win the Jackie Robinson Award, also known as the Rookie of the Year.

Jonathan India broke through in 2021, now Stewart is the betting favorite five years later.

Stewart has shined in a struggling Cincinnati lineup through the first month of the season. He helped his National League ROY campaign in a big way on Wednesday, April 15, slugging a pair of three-run homers in the Reds' 8-3 win over the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park.

According to the Reds, Stewart's six RBI are tied for the second-most by a Reds rookie in a single game since rookie rules were established in 1958.

"Don't throw it over the plate to him," fellow rookie Rhett Lowder. "He's a beast."

Elly De La Cruz added: "I like everything (about Stewart's game). He's a really good hitter."

Anthony Volpe played a baseball game Tuesday night for the first time since he underwent shoulder surgery to deal with a torn labrum last October. It was in Somerset, not Yankee Stadium. And he only played long enough to take two at-bats. But he was out there again, and he felt that was worth celebrating.

"It was great. Like, so much fun to be back out there,” Volpe said. “It felt like a big milestone. We appreciated it for what it was.”

Whatit was is the beginning of a build-up that his manager, Aaron Boone, said will likely continue in the minor leagues through at least next week. He said Volpe will play five-plus innings in Somerset again Thursday and Friday, take a day off Saturday, then play again Sunday. Minor league teams do not play on Mondays, so the Yankees currently plan to use that as a rest day before transferring Volpe’s rehab to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he will continue to increase workload.

“Probably four or five games next week, then we’ll kind of evaluate and see where we’re at from there,” Boone said.

Volpe admitted it will be difficult for him to wait through such a deliberate build-up before returning to the big leagues, though he conceded he wants to experience a variety of in-game occurrences – running the bases, diving for a ball, etc. – so he knows how the shoulder will feel during and after each of them.

“I wish I could play more to test it more, but it felt amazing,” Volpe said. “I feel like we have a great routine to warm everything up and get ready, so it feels good.”

The Yankees have mostly relied on Jose Caballero to play shortstop in Volpe’s absence, with a few appearances from Ryan McMahon sprinkled in as well. That combination left the Yankees tied for the worst shortstop OPS in baseball entering Wednesday night’s game -- .471, tied with the Boston Red Sox.

Exactly what a now-healthy Volpe will be offensively remains to be seen, but he certainly enjoyed a good test of his readiness Tuesday: Both of his at-bats came against rehabbing Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. He struck out both times.

“He looked sharp,” Volpe said. “But I feel like I saw it okay. It was a treat for sure.”

Speaking of injured aces, two Yankees who qualify for that title should be taking steps forward in the next few days. 

Carlos Rodón, who threw three innings and 50 pitches in his last live batting practice session, will pitch to live hitters in Somerset on Saturday, Boone said. Gerrit Cole, meanwhile, threw his regularly scheduled side session before Wednesday’s game. The team later decided that Cole will pitch in a game Friday at Somerset. The veteran threw three innings in a live batting practice session last weekend.

Exactly when both will return to the majors remains unclear, though Boone said earlier this week he still estimates Rodón is ahead of Cole. But both pitchers are firmly in the building-stamina phase of their rehabilitation process, which means if everything continues to go well, they can both now count their remaining absence in weeks, not months.

For those of you asking. Jaxon Wiggins was placed on the injured list today. The Cubs say that they’re hopeful it will be a short trip.

Porter Hodge will have elbow surgery and is out for the season.

Dylan Carlson elected free agency.

Left-hander Marino Santy was promoted to Double-A Knoxville from High-A South Bend.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were broadsided by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 9-4.

Paul Campbell pitched the first four innings in his Cubs’ organization debut. Campbell allowed a two-run home run in the fourth, but otherwise acquitted himself well. His final line was two runs on four hits over four innings. He struck out four and walked no one.

Unfortunately, Tyler Beede did not have as good of a Iowa debut. He came on to pitch the sixth inning and didn’t managed to get through it. Beede got the loss after allowing four runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning. One of those hits was a three-run home run. Beede did not have a strikeout.

Catcher Casey Opitz made his season debut and went 2 for 3 with an RBI single and a squeeze bunt. He scored once in addition to the two RBI.

Shortstop Ben Cowles went 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI single.

DH BJ Murray was 2 for 4.

Here’s Opitz’s safety squeeze.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies reeled in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins), 8-0.

Four Knoxville pitchers combined on the five-hit shutout. Yennri Rojas started and gave up just one hit over 3.1 innings. Rojas did walk four while striking out two.

Jace Beck pitched the next 2.2 innings and got the win. Beck surrendered one hit while walking two. He struck out six.

Evan Taylor pitched the seventh and eighth innings. He allowed two hits but didn’t walk anyone and struck out one.

Marino Santy handled the ninth. He allowed a leadoff single but nothing else. Santy struck out one.

Right fielder Alex Ramirez was 3 for 5 with a double. He scored twice and drove in one.

DH Ethan Hearn was 2 for 4 with a two-run double. He went 2 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. Hearn also stole a base.

Miguel Useche added an insurance run with a pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth.

Some Smokies highlights from the fourth inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs filleted the Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins), 9-5.

Starter Kevin Valdez struggled tonight, giving up three in the first inning and two in the fourth. His final line was five runs on five hits over 3.1 innings. Valdez walked two, hit one batter and struck out three.

Ethan Bell relieved Valdez in the fourth and while he did let two (out of three) inherited runners to score, he didn’t allow any runs of his own and took home his first South Bend win. Bell allowed no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out one over 1.2 innings.

Ethan Flanagan pitched the final four innings without giving up a run for the save. Flanagan allowed just two hits while striking out seven and walking no one.

Right fielder Kade Snell gave South Bend the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth with an two-run single. Snell also had an RBI ground out earlier in the game and a sacrifice fly later. That gave him four RBI on a 1 for 4 game. Snell also stole a base.

First baseman Cameron Sisneros clubbed a solo home run in the seventh inning. It was his second on the year. Sisneros went 3 for 4 with two RBI.

Catcher Owen Ayers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run. It was his fourth home run already this season and third in as many games. Ayers went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.

Second baseman Drew Bowser was 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored once.

An RBI triple for Leonel Espinoza. He was 1 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. He scored twice.

Easy power out of Sisneros.

Ayers’ home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans melted down the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 5-4 in 10 innings.

Starter Dominick Reid surrendered three runs on four hits over 3.1 innings. He walked three and srtuck out five.

Eli Jerzembeck provided solid relief after not giving up a run over 2.2 innings. He allowed two hits and walked one while striking out four.

Ben Johnson pitched the top of the tenth, didn’t allow a run and got the win. After balking the automatic runner over to third with no outs, Johnson escaped with a walk, a caught stealing and two strikeouts. Johnson walked two batters total.

First baseman Cole Mathis provided most of the offense tonight with two two-run home runs. The first came in the bottom of the first and the second one was in the third. Mathis now has six home runs in just 11 games. He just missed a home run later in the game and had to settle for a double. Mathis went 4 for 5 with the double and two home runs.

Left fielder Jose Escobar singled home the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. Escobar was 3 for 4 and was hit by a pitch.

Shortstop Ty Southisene was 1 for 2 with two walks. He scored one run.

The two Mathis home runs.

Escobar sends everyone home happy.

In the first two games of this series, the Braves had to weather an offensive barrage from the Marlins. They didn’t do so effectively in the series opener, and needed a huge hit from Dominic Smith to even the series last night. Tonight, though, it was largely smooth sailing through Marlin-infested waters, as Bryce Elder mostly cruised and the Braves jumped out to an early lead and more or less left the opposition in their wake.

Elder’s first frame was a bit rocky, as he walked Xavier Edwards and then grazed Otto Lopez to put two on with one out. Not to worry, though, a routine flyout and then a slider-slider-slider strikeout of Connor Norby ended that threat. Elder then struck out two more in a perfect second and let his defense help him to a perfect third, before another two strikeouts started the fourth. Norby collected the first hit off Elder with a plonked double down the right-field line, but Michael Harris II flagged down a hard-hit liner by Owen Caissie to keep Miami off the board.

Chris Paddack struck out both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin in a perfect first, but the Braves got to him in the second. Ozzie Albies hooked the first Paddack pitch he saw Chop House-ward for a solo homer. The trio of Mike Yastrzemski, Smith, and Mauricio Dubon followed with singles to plate another run; Paddack struck out Acuña to end the inning with two in scoring position.

After that, things were quiet until the fifth, where they got slightly dicey. Graham Pauley did a nice job connecting on a good Elder slider and thwacked it for a one-out double. Deyvison De Los Santos followed with a soft bouncer that Dubon charged, rushed, and threw wide of the bag. Elder then had a very unfortunately-timed lapse in command, issuing a walk (six pitches, but none anywhere near the zone) to load the bases, with Edwards coming up. Elder threw two four-seamers to Edwards. The first missed its spot but nestled in for a strike. The second was fought off and bounced weakly to Dubon, who raced to second and fired on the first — aided by a big stretch from Matt Olson, the initial call was safe at first, but it was quickly overturned on replay review to keep Miami off the board once again.

Paddack departed after a two-out single by Acuña in the fifth. Baldwin followed with a single off new pitcher John King, but the Miami reliever froze Olson on 1-2. After a leadoff single started the sixth, Elder got two groundouts, but neither could be converted to a double play. Skipper Walt Weiss then lifted Elder in favor of Dylan Lee, who walked pinch-hitter Austin Slater but then caught Heriberto Hernandez looking on a 3-2 slider right down the pipe. Elder finished the game with more or less a return to form to his earlier, Bryce Eldar-level of pitching, with a 7/2 K/BB ratio in 5 2/3 innings. Things felt a little rocky for him because his three free passes (remember the hit by pitch) came with men on, but the slider was absolutely on point tonight both in terms of command and in terms of results, with a whiff rate north of 50 percent.

Elder left the game when it was 2-0, but that quickly changed. Austin Riley connected for his first homer of the year, a 400-footer to left center, on King’s first pitch of the sixth. After an easy Tyler Kinley frame in the seventh, the Braves basically engaged in a bit of batting practice against Andrew Nardi: Acuña doubled (on basically a missed sliding catch), Baldwin singled, and Olson obliterated a hanging slider to make it 6-0. Riley added a double for good measure, but was stranded.

With the game now resembling a rout, the Braves went to Osvaldo Bido for the eighth, and …. egh. Liam Hicks had a two-run homer, Norby reached on a bad throw to first by Riley, Bido uncorked two wild pitches, and Slater walked (again), before Weiss had seen enough and sent Robert Suarez in to restore order. The first batter Suarez faced hit yet another dinky bouncer to Dubon, who took a chance and threw to second — but Albies couldn’t corral the throw. Not to worry, though: Pauley, as the tying run, got beat on a changeup and hit into an easy double play.

The Braves went 1-2-3 against Calvin Faucher in the bottom of the eighth, and Raisel Iglesias easily wrapped up the game. He struck out pinch-hitter Agustin Ramirez on three pitches, clipping the zone with a four-seamer to end the at-bat. He then threw three straight changeups and got three straight whiffs from Jakob Marsee. Edwards ruined the potential immaculate inning with his PA that resulted in a single up the middle, which was a shame because Iglesias ended the game on his third three-pitch strikeout of the night: Lopez waved weakly at a buried changeup to seal yet another series win for the Braves.

Every Brave had a hit except Harris, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Though the Braves went without a walk, they hit three homers, so, y’know, whatever. They’ll try to keep things rolling after Thursday’s off day in a big weekend set in Philadelphia.

It was a dark and stormy night in Milwaukee, with big lightning displays outside the stadium and rain leaking through cracks in the American Family Field roof. Inside the stadium, it was a pretty juiceless affair. Neither offence could get much of anything going. Ultimately, it was the Brewers who cobbled together a little bit more.

Toronto struck first. Daulton Varsho worked a one out walk in the first, moved to third on a Vladimir Guerrero jr. ground ball single, and came home on a Jesus Sanchez sac fly. From there, it settled into a pitchers’ duel. Cease gave up a line single in the bottom of the first, walks in the second and fourth, and another hit to Joey Ortiz in the fifth. In the sixth, he gave up his third walk but a strike’em out-throw’em out double play ended the inning. All told, he went six shutout innings on two hits and three walks, striking out six.

After his stumble out of the gate, Chad Patrick was even stingier, conceding just one single each in the third (by Brandon Valenzuela) and fifth (by Lenyn Sosa). He also went a bit deeper than Cease, recording two outs in the seventh around a walk to Kazuma Okamoto. DL Hall took over to face the lefty Lenyn Sosa, getting a fly out.

Mason Fluharty started the bottom of the seventh, giving up a single while getting two outs before giving way to Braydon Fisher. Fisher got Ortiz to ground out to preserve the shutout.

In the eighth, Aaron Ashby gave up a single to Varsho and walked Guerrero with two out. Myles Straw was called on to pinch hit for Jesus Sanchez, but struck out.

Tyler Rogers took the eighth. David Hamilton reached on a swinging bunt that Rogers couldn’t bare-hand. Brandon Valenzuela misplayed a ball chopped straight down onto the plate, allowing Sal Frelick to reach and Hamilton, representing the tying run, to move all the way to third with none out. A Contreras ground ball single tied the game with runners still on the corners. A Turang chopper bounced just over Rogers’ head, scoring the go ahead run. Rogers got out of it from there, but the damage was done. The four balls that resulted in either batters reaching or scored runs traveled a total of 22 feet in the air. So it goes.

Abner Uribe locked it down, retiring the Jays in order

Jays of the Day: Dylan Cease (0.39)

Less so: Nathan Lukes (-0.12), Ernie Clement (-0.13), Tyler Rogers (-0.54)

Getaway day tomorrow, with first pitch at 1:40pm ET. The Jays will hope that Patrick Corbin (0-0, 9.00) can do a little better than he managed last time out. For Milwaukee, top prospect Brandon Sproat (0-1, 10.45) will look to bounce back from a dreadful first three starts of the season.

As corny as it sounds, a lot can happen before that 27th out, and what felt like it would’ve been yet another deflating loss—following a dangerous trend early on in 2026—turned into one of the more thrilling wins for the Yankees this season as they walked off the Angels at home, 5-4, on a José Caballero two-run double. But before getting to that moment against a familiar face in Jordan Romano, the Angels’ new closer who also blew the game on Monday, the Yankees tested the patience of their fans.

Facing a starting pitcher who was dealing with walk issues ahead of this game, the Yankees capitalized on it by earning four free passes against Jack Kochanowicz. Two of them led directly to runs, as Trent Grisham made it a 3-0 game early on with a two-run knock in the second after Aaron Judge began the scoring in the first with his 375th career homer, a solo shot. And yet one can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the Yanks’ efforts. Despite allowing three runs in the first two innings, Kochanowicz managed to pitch into the seventh inning and left in line for the win as the Yankees’ bats took a hiatus from scoring in between the second and the ninth, allowing the Angels to take control of this one for a large period.

In order for the Halos to do that, they had to get at Luis Gil, which turned out to be not much of a problem, homering three times against him. In fact, with the way the Yankees performed after Gil’s departure, the Angels probably wished he could’ve stayed in there a bit longer. For someone who ultimately failed rather spectacularly in his number-one objective in trying to deliver a solid performance tonight—keeping the ball in the park—Gil certainly could’ve done worse than the four runs he allowed in five innings of work.

The Angels got to work on Gil with solo shots by Adam Frazier in the third and Logan O’Hoppe in the fifth, and then the star of this series, Mike Trout, got what looked like—right until the end—was going to be the biggest hit of this game. Notorious for loving the ball down in the zone, Trout got a low heater he was looking for and took it to right field for a two-run shot to then give the Angels the 4-3 lead on career long ball no. 410. Absurdly, it was Trout’s fourth long ball of this series, going deep in each of the three games.

What’s even more worrisome is that the three home runs were in no way a fluke—the Angels were all over Gil and could’ve easily constructed a more damaging scoreline. According to Statcast, the average exit velocity on batted-ball events against Gil’s fastball was 99.1 mph. Every time the Angels connected, they did so with authority, and they connected quite often, whiffing on just 3 of 17 swings against his fastballs.

Somewhat leaving Gil off the hook would come back to bite the Angels, but it took many a comeback attempt from the Yankees before doing so. The Yankees first got some momentum back in the seventh inning, securing the third out at the top of the frame with Cody Bellinger gunning down Zach Neto, who attempted to go from first to third on a ground-ball single from Trout—and then by opening the bottom of the frame with a beautifully laid down bunt single from Austin Wells. With Wells at second and two outs following Ryan McMahon’s strikeout, the managerial chess match took place. Trent Grisham was coming up for his fourth at-bat against Kochanowicz, so the Angels brought in Drew Pomeranz, and Aaron Boone countered with Paul Goldschmidt. The veteran’s hard liner unfortunately found the glove of Frazier at second base to close the threat.

The theme of narrowly missing out kept going as Giancarlo Stanton—who had a particularly difficult time striking out three times against Kochanowicz—crushed a 3-2 fastball against Romano to start the ninth, but it didn’t have enough air under it and was caught by Bryce Teodosio in right. Teodosio had just come into the game as a defensive replacement.

Sometimes, though, it’s better to be lucky than good, and the Yankees’ successful comeback effort originated on a massive blunder from the Angels’ defense. Right after Stanton’s lineout, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a casual popup, but miscommunication on the infield between Neto and old friend Oswald Peraza saw it drop in.

With Jazz on base, the Yankees had an immediate threat. Chisholm stole second, and a slightly-rattled Romano walked Wells.

That’s when Caballero mustered a timely hit, knocking one into left-center field with the runners in motion. Chisholm easily scored the tying run, and a hustling Wells came all the way around to cross home as well, just barely beating the surprised Angels’ relay throw home.

The Survive Trout Show continues for one more day tomorrow at 1:35pm ET, as the Yankees send out the best they have for this series finale against the Angels, with ace Max Fried looking for his third win of the season. The Angels haven’t announced their starter yet. Just in case you were wondering, Trout and Fried have never faced each other before in the big leagues.

Box Score

Sometimes a slumping offense just needs to see an opposing pitcher it routinely hits. Sometimes a slumping offense just needs to catch a break from the opposing defense.

In Wednesday’s ninth inning, the Yankees were gifted both.

Bats that seem to be silent against everyone except Jordan Romano these days got to face the Angels closer again. And Romano’s job grew much tougher when a routine pop-up to his infield somehow bounced on the dirt.

When the frame from Angels hell was over, José Caballero had drilled a walk-off two-run double to steal a 5-4 victory in front of 41,019 in The Bronx, where Aaron Boone’s club blew an early three-run edge and was shut out from the third through eighth innings before finding life (and two runs) just in time.

A hard-to-believe comeback was launched against Romano, who blew Monday’s game when he allowed three runs without recording an out and who owns a 6.17 ERA in 26 career games against the Yankees, who seem to enjoy stepping into the box against the former Blue Jays reliever.

The second blowup in three days — which led to the second Yankees walk-off in three days — was not entirely Romano’s fault. In a frame that began with the Angels ahead 4-3, Jazz Chisholm Jr. lofted a lazy, one-out pop-up to the left side of the infield.

Third baseman Oswald Peraza seemed early in the ball’s ascent to take charge. Shortstop Zach Neto probably should have called him off because the high pop ended up in his territory.

Both were unsure who would catch it, and thus neither did.

“Let’s go,” went through Boone’s mind as the ball dropped.

“We’ll take anything we can get,” said Austin Wells, who followed the pop-up single with a hard-earned walk.

“Whenever you give us a chance,” Caballero said with a small laugh, “it’s a dangerous thing.”

Two days prior, Caballero had played hero by following Trent Grisham’s game-tying ninth-inning home run against Romano with a double and, with aggression, a stolen base and wild pitch creating the game-winner. This time Caballero’s bat was the star, smacking a hit over Neto and into left-center while Chisholm and Wells were attempting a double steal. Chisholm scored without issue, and third base coach Luis Rojas kept spinning his arm with an audacious send.

The relay throw beat Wells to the plate but was toward the first base line, allowing Wells’ leg to graze home plate just in timeto jump-start the week’s second game-ending party in The Bronx.

The Yankees (10-8) have responded to their five-game skid by taking two of three from the Angels and will try to seize the series Thursday afternoon behind Max Fried.

In the span of 21 pitches from Romano, the feelings around the club were flipped. A few minutes earlier, it had seemed Boone was going to have to answer questions about how this roster had fallen to .500 and why an offense that was baseball’s best last season suddenly could not hit.

“It’s not easy for us necessarily right now,” Boone said, “but just a lot of really gritty plays there at the end.”

The Yankees were strong defensively, including nice diving plays by Caballero (to retire Peraza in the ninth) and Chisholm (spearing a ground ball from Nolan Schanuel with a dive in the third).

Their bullpen — four scoreless innings from Tim Hill, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar — did everything it could to keep the game close. And their offense eventually found the break it needed and the break that did not seem as if it would arrive.

Apart from Monday’s 11-run explosion, the Yankees have scored 19 runs in seven games (six losses) against the A’s, Rays and Angels, whose pitching staffs are, well, mortal.

Wednesday started differently — against righty Jack Kochanowicz, Aaron Judge clobbered his seventh homer of the season and fourth in four games in the first and Grisham came through with a two-out, two-run single in the second — but then felt familiar, the Yankees picking up two more hits through the eighth inning. One, from Wells, was a bunt single.

As the early lead disappeared in the fifth, when Luis Gil (five innings, four runs on five hits and two walks) surrendered his second and third home runs of the night, a one-run deficit felt insurmountable.

But somewhere, Luis Castillo smiled.

“Every win matters,” Wells said. “Doesn’t really matter how you get it done.”

The slumping San Francisco Giants retooled their outfield before Wednesday’s game, sending Harrison Bader and Jared Oliva to the injured list and recalling Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan from Sacramento. Unfortunately, they didn’t retool the way they pitch to Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart.

Stewart gave the Reds a 3-0 lead with a three-run home run in the first inning off Giants starter Tyler Mahle (0-3) then extended the lead to 7-0 with a second three-run bomb one inning later. The rookie now has 12 homers and 25 RBIs in his 36-game big-league career and those numbers have gone way up in this series.

Mahle missed his spot badly on the second one, leaving his fastball up for Stewart to hit an opposite-field dinger for the third time this series.

The Giants starter never had a chance and it honestly should have been worse. Eugenio Suarez went deep three pitches after Stewart’s first homer for the 328th home run of his career, tying Shawn Green and Scores Hall of Famer Mo Vaughn. In the second, he walked the first batter on four pitches and was bailed out when TJ Friedl bunted Ke’Bryan Hayes over — only for Mahle to pick him off second.

Mahle followed that up by walking Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz before Stewart’s three-run blast. For the inning, he gave up three walks, two hits and a homer, retiring exactly one hitter who wasn’t making an out on purpose.

Manager Tony Vitello treated Mahle like he’d been caught smoking and his punishment was to smoke the whole pack. There was no action in the Giants bullpen in the second or third inning, with Mahle left to eat innings and think about what he did on the mound where he spent the first six seasons of his career. That’s why he was still in to give up a fourth-inning bomb to De La Cruz that rivaled the flight of the space shuttle Artemis.

De La Cruz’s home run trot took only slightly less time than the entire Artemis mission.

The Giants did match their highest scoring output of their losing streak with three runs, and even got to two runs by the second inning! Matt Chapman singled, Jung Hoo Lee walked and Silver Slugger candidate Daniel Susac knocked in both runners with a double down the left field line.

The offense remains a work in progress. After Susac’s double, Reds starter Rhett Lowder (2-1) retired the next 12 Giants he faced. When Luis Arraez singled to break the streak, Lowder got new No. 3 hitter Casey Schmidt to ground into an inning-ending double play. New outfielders Brennan and Ramos went 0-for-2.

Rafael Devers’ frustration mirrored that of the team and the fanbase after he swung through a Lowder slider to lead off the second inning, snapping his bat in half.

He would get a measure of revenge in the 7th, hitting a single off Lowder before Chapman and Lee lined out. Susac followed with another hit, then Heliot Ramos got a much-needed RBI single, pinch-hitting against left-handed reliever Brock Burke, who has two last names. Jerar Encarnacion loaded the bases with a pinch-hit single of his own, but the inning ended with a Willy Adames strikeout.

In the 8th inning, the team got unlucky. After Arraez walked and Devers beat out an infield hit (4.6 seconds home to first!), Matt Chapman fouled off four pitches before hitting a scorcher straight at third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (son of Charlie!). Hayes doubled Arraez off second as the Giants’ last chance ended.

Encarnacion kept the good feelings going by turning a fly ball he couldn’t reach into a force out at second in the 8th. Ramos did not keep the good vibes going when he struck out in the ninth on a pitch that landed in the left-handed batter’s box.

Apropos of nothing, Bryce Eldridge is slashing 360/.492/.520 for the Sacramento River Cats, with 10 walks and 19 strikeouts in 63 plate appearances, hitting a three-run homer of his own in the first inning Wednesday night. And as we all know, the river cat is a mythical creature that lives in the American River. If you catch it, it will grant you a wish or bribe a State Senator.

The bullpen mopped up well, with Blade Tidwell and Ryan Borucki pitching perfect innings and JT Brubaker logging two scoreless innings, while also getting into a shouting match with Spencer Steer over…pitching too slow? Hard to say. It was late and both teams were cranky.

Thursday is a day game, where Landon Roupp tries to halt the Giants’ five-game slide against Chase Burns, who judging by his name, leads a group of rich campers in tormenting the nerdier campers across the lake. One tip for Roupp? Don’t give up home runs, which have been the Reds’ entire offense for two games, albeit an extremely effective form of offense.

Also he orders chili in Cincinnati, they’re going to pour it over spaghetti. Yes, there are some things more baffling than the Giants’ inability to score runs.

The Dodgers conclude their three-game series against the New York Mets on Jackie Robinson Day, looking to get a sweep and take five of six games on the homestand. Shohei Ohtani makes his third start of the season against right-hander Clay Holmes.

Ohtani will only be on the mound on Wednesday, as Dalton Rushing is penciled in at designated hitter.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Mets
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

The Yankees had a lead early, then the offense went dormant, but Jose Caballero saved the day with a two-run walk-off double to lift New York to a 5-4 win over the Angels on Wednesday night.

The ninth-inning comeback started when Jazz Chisholm Jr. popped up to the left side of the infield with one out, but Oswald Peraza and Zach Neto were confused as to who would take it, and it fell between them. Chisholm stole second and Wells walked to bring up Caballero. The Yankees shortstop lined a hit to left center that pushed across the tying run, and Wells -- who was running on the pitch with Chisholm -- was sent and slid just before the tag to give the Yankees the win.

All of this came against Jordan Romano, the closer who gave up the lead in Monday's win. The Yankees have now won two of the first three games of this series.

Here are the takeaways...

-Luis Gil was on the mound, making his second start of the season and got off to an inauspicious start.Neto hit a leadoff double just fair down the left field line, but was stranded there thanks to Aaron Judge's strong arm in right field, keeping Neto at second. A ground ball and a fly out later, and Gil was out of the inning.

After a clean second inning, Gil would give up his first run of the game. After getting behind Adam Frazier 2-0, Gil threw a 95 mph fastball down the middle and the second baseman muscled it 398 feet over the right center field wall. It wouldn't be the only solo shot Gil would allow. Logan O'Hoppe drove a 95 mph fastball up in the zone over the left center field wall. The blast went 427 feet. Three batters later, Mike Trout launched a two-run shot to give the Angels a 4-3 lead in the fifth. It's Trout's fourth home run of the series.

Gil completed the inning, but that was all for him. 

The right-hander tossed 83 pitches (48 strikes), allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five. The longball got him and prevented him from going longer in this one.

-Judge doesn't just do it on defense. The Yankees captain got the scoring started with a two-out blast in the first inning, shooting the ball the opposite way for his AL-leading seventh home run of the season. Judge now has three home runs in this series.

-After the Yankees scored just one run on Tuesday, they didn't let it happen on Wednesday. Trent Grisham hit an opposite-field single to drive inChisholmandCaballero with two outs in the second inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

But the Yankees had a hard time pushing across more runs, especially when they were trailing. In the seventh,Wells led off with a bunt single and was at second base with one out. Ryan McMahon struck out before Paul Goldschmidt -- pinch-hitting for Grisham against a left-handed reliever -- lined out sharply to second base to end the threat.

The Yankees were outhit 7-6 and were 2-for-7 with RISP with five left on base. The Angels were worse, however, going 0-for-4 with RISP and leaving four men on base.

-The Yankees bullpen, much-maligned of late, was great on Wednesday. They pitched four scoreless innings after Gil was pulled to give the Yankees a chance.

• Tim Hill: 1.0 IP
• Fernando Cruz: 1.0 IP, 1 H
• Brent Headrick: 1.0 IP, 1 H
• David Bednar: 1.0 IP, 1 K

Game MVP: Jose Caballero

Caballero's hit turned around what would have been another dreadful night for the Yankees offense.

Highlights

ALL RISE!

Aaron Judge's 7th home run of the year pic.twitter.com/4Uavv52sYq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 15, 2026

Trent Grisham brings home two 💪 pic.twitter.com/ESlVkRyruY

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 15, 2026

JOSE CABALLERO WALKS IT OFF FOR THE YANKEES!!!! pic.twitter.com/qjY9kufhC4

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 16, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Angels complete their four-game series on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m.

Max Fried (2-0, 1.93 ERA) will take the mound while the Angels have yet to announce their starter.

For the second straight night, the Philadelphia Phillies (8-10) gave up double-digit runs to the visiting Chicago Cubs (9-9) by a score of 11-2 on their way to dropping a third straight series.

Jesus Luzardo’s early season struggles continued, allowing nine of the Cubs’ 11 runs on 12 hits, a walk and a wild pitch. Luzardo, sporting a 7.94 ERA, has surrendered five-plus runs in three out of his four starts to begin the year, equalling his total in 32 starts last season.  

This third lost series at home also equals the Phillies’ total from last season. They are 1-5 in series finales.

Trea Turner led off the game with a home run to straightaway center, his second of the season, on the second pitch offered by Cubs’ starter, Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga would allow only two more hits across his six innings of work, a single and a double by Adolis Garcia.

Things seemed to unravel for Luzardo and his backing group in the top of the third inning. After needing only 17 pitches to get through the first and second, Luzardo threw 34 in the third, nine of which went to Matt Shaw who reached on a one-out double. Shaw came home to score on a Nico Hoerner single and then Luzardo walked Alex Bregman. Hoerner and Bregman tried for a double steal and an overthrow by JT Realmuto was dropped by Turner which allowed Hoerner to score and Bregman to reach third. Luzardo’s wild pitch brought Bregman home.

Kyle Backhus allowed one run in 1.2 innings of relief and Dylan Moore took to the mound as the sacrificial lamb for the second time already this year, allowing another run.

Jose Alvarado pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with one strikeout.

Bryce Harper hammered a garbage-time homer in the bottom of the ninth, his fourth of the year. Edmundo Sosa had the only other hit for the Phillies.

The Phillies have a day off tomorrow before hosting the Atlanta Braves for a weekend series. Taijuan Walker is slated to go up against a TBD Braves’ starter on Friday night.

Well, it turns out the problems with the offense might not be fixed so easily. The Mariners looked more like their early-season selves last night in the series opener against San Diego, eking out just four hits and scoring a lone run on a sac fly. It was a disappointing comedown after the high of the Houston series. The Mariners will look to get back on track tonight against Padres starter Randy Vásquez, but it will be a tough task; as Jake outlines in the series preview, Vásquez will throw not just a kitchen sink but an entire Zillow listing at hitters. Who will emerge triumphant in the battle of the Randys?

Lineups:

Emerson Hancock starts for the Mariners on Jackie Robinson Day. Hancock and Robinson actually share a birthplace: Cairo, Georgia, which is a pretty big coincidence for a town with a population of about 10,000. (Other MLB players born in Cairo, pronounced like the syrup: Willie Harris, Ernest Riles, and one other active player, Hurston Waldrep, currently of the Braves.)

Game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners.TV and associated channels with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

As a reminder, we’ll be watching Thursday’s game at the Rebel in Wallingford – come through if you can! 21+, food and drink specials, and prizes.

The Royals did it again. They lost 2-1. The offense has now scored 2 or fewer runs in 11 of their first 18 games and in 7 of their last 8. The offense was miserable and missed the few opportunities they had to do something, per usual. The pitching was awesome again, unfortunately perfection has been required lately.

There was a couple of bright spots. Jac Caglianone was on base all four times, including three hits and a walk. He hit his second career triple as well. His leadoff triple in the 3rd was followed up by a Lane Thomas pop out to center and a Kyle Isbel ground out to second, where Cags was thrown out at the plate on the contact play.

Caglianone also got an outfield assist in the bottom half of the inning, cutting down a Tigers run, and he almost did it on the next play as well, but Javier Baez got by Salvador Perez just in time.

Seth Lugo was awesome again, all four of his starts have been after two straight Royals losses. Lugo went 6.2 innings, gave up 5 hits, 1 run and struck out 7.

Kyle Isbel drove in the Royals only run with a two out single to right field in the 5th.

Daniel Lynch IV got the final out of the 7th on just four pitches. After throwing just 12 pitches in the last five days, he needed to be replaced. Eli Morgan, who has looked good with the Royals so far, unfortunately, gave up a first batter home run to Wenceel Pérez in the bottom of the 8th. Perez was 0-10 on the season coming into the at bat.

After a two out Cags single in the 9th, Tyler Tolbert came in to pinch run and got all the way to third, but Lane Thomas hit a measly fly ball to left to end the game.

The Royals drop to 7-11 on the season, they have lost three in a row. They have won just one series this season, split one and have lost every other series. They will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon at 12:10 p.m. CT. The game can be streamed on Royals.TV.

Mets lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Luis Robert – CF
3. Brett Baty – 1B
4. Bo Bichette – 3B
5. Francisco Alvarez – C
6. Carson Benge – RF
7. Marcus Semien – 2B
8. MJ Melendez – DH
9. Tommy Pham – LF

SP: Clay Holmes – RHP

Dodgers lineup

1. Kyle Tucker – RF
2. Freddie Freeman – 1B
3. Will Smith – C
4. Teoscar Hernandez – LF
5. Max Muncy – 3B
6. Andy Pages – CF
7. Dalton Rushing – DH
8. Hyeseong Kim – SS
9. Alex Freeland – 2B

SP: Shohei Ohtani – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 10:10 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Happy Jackie Robinson Day, everyone! The Tigers and Royals were sporting their number 42s in Detroit, and hoping for a repeat of the previous night’s victory, perhaps with a few more runs. To get there, the Tigers would need to get through Seth Lugo on the mound for the Royals, while the Tigers themselves turned to Jack Flaherty to get the job done.

The first inning got started nicely as Flaherty got through the Royals in order. The first out of the game was even on a strikeout, something Tuesday’s outing was relatively short on. In the bottom of the inning, Gleyber Torres hit a one-out single, but Colt Keith grounded into a double play to eliminate the baserunner and end the inning.

Three straight strikeouts took the Royals out in order in the second. I promise this is the last time I’ll mention the strikeouts. I mean, unless they’re relevant. The Tigers likewise went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Jac Caglianone hit a triple to start the third. Zack McKinstry appeared to have been hit when Caglianone headed into third, but stayed in the game, so hopefully it wasn’t serious, though he was wincing. With one out, Kyle Isbel reached on a fielder’s choice as the Tigers got Caglianone out at home, avoiding the run. A wild pitch helped advance Isbel to second, but the Royals weren’t able to convert the runner. In the home half, McKinstry started things off with a leadoff single, and Javier Baez hit a line drive to right, bringing McKinstry home. Salvador Perez immediately called for a review, and it very quickly showed that McKinstry was tagged out before touching the plate. The safe call at home was overturned. Jake Rogers then flied into a double play, one of those being Baez at home, and while he was ruled out, he immediately called for a review, and dang it was one of the most insane plays I think I’ve ever seen in slow motion. On review, he was ruled safe, just an absolutely bonkers tag evasion.

Kevin McGonigle got his first single of the extension era, followed by a single from Gleyber Torres. Keith struck out to end the inning, but the Tigers still got on the board first.

Flaherty worked through the side in order in the top of the fourth. The Tigers likewise went 1-2-3 in the home half.

In the fifth, Flaherty started to show some issues with his command. With one out, he gave up back-to-back walks to Michael Massey and Jac Caglianone. Those two walks certainly came back to haunt. With two outs, Isbel singled, scoring Massey to tie the game. Flaherty was able to end the inning on the next out, but the game was now tied. The Tigers didn’t make much of an effort to break that tie in the bottom of the fifth, going in order back to the dugout.

Things evened out a bit in the sixth, as Vinnie Pasquantino got a one-out walk, but then Salvador Perez hit into a double play to end the inning. The Tigers again went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Jack Flaherty’s night was done after six with a final line of 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, on 97 pitches. Tyler Holton came out of the pen to replace him. With two outs, Caglianone singled, then Lane Thomas singled right behind him. The Royals went to their bench for Starling Marte, and that was when the Tigers stepped in to go back to the bullpen for Kyle Finnegan. Lifting Kyle Isbel for Marte denied me a golden opportunity to write about a Kyle on Kyle matchup, and I’m a bit miffed about that.

Finnegan induced a groundout to end the inning though it was due to Caglianone obstructing McKinstry on the play, with a collision that sent McKinstry sprawling to the turf. He looked okay coming off the field, but headed down into the clubhouse with a trainer. Báez moved to shortstop, with McGonigle sliding over to third base. Wenceel Pérez took over in center field, and that would prove fortunate later on.

In the home half, with two outs, Seth Lugo’s day was done, and he was replaced by Daniel Lynch IV, who got the final out of the inning.

McKinstry was out of the game following a second collision, rough night for Zach, hopefully he’s okay. With two outs in the top of the eighth inning Vinnie Pasquantino hit a triple, and I’m going to need the Royals to have shorter last names, please. The Royals left him stranded, though. Eli Morgan came in next for the Royals and Wenceel Perez, who replaced McKinstry, got his first hit of the season in style with a solo home run to right field.

With two outs, McGonigle walked, followed by a Torres single, but again it was Keith who ended the inning. C’mon Colt, you were our clutch guy for like two whole weeks!

Kenley Jansen was once again the Tigers’ man for the ninth, looking to add to his saves total. With two outs, Caglianone hit a line drive into left, and was replaced by pinch-runner Tyler Tolbert. And in an unreal moment, Jansen threw a pick-off toss over to first and it was ruled an out, but the Royals challenged and it really did look like Tolbert made it back safely, Torkelson’s hand seemed to swing right over his helmet instead of tagging him, though the fault was Jansen’s for throwing to the home plate side of first base, forcing Torkelson to catch it and attempt a backhand tag. The call was rightly overturned, but it sure would have been a fun ending to the game.

A passed ball allowed Tolbert to advance to second, then a balk advanced him to third, and things were feeling sketchy despite Jansen sustaining that better velocity for the second straight night, but the final out of the inning came on the next batter, Lane Thomas, who flew out to left. Jansen got the save and Finnegan and the Tigers the win. The Tigers are finally back at .500 as well on this five game winning streak.

Final: Tigers 2, Royals 1