Category: MLB

The Rays absolutely had their chances to win this game to wrap up a five-day and two-game road trip, but bad baserunning in multiple innings left the club scoreless to set up an Aaron Judge walk-off home run in the 9th.

The game for the Rays came down to two innings – the 3rd and the 8th – and poor decisions on the basepaths derailed both innings. Carson Williams led off the third with a walk, but was promptly picked off first by Ryan Weathers:

That moment was followed by singles from both Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda, but instead of Williams scoring on either event, the inning ended when Junior Caminero grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. The 8th inning was more painful because a one-out double off the wall by Diaz was soon followed by a two-out intentional walk of Caminero by Fernando Cruz. Kevin Cash elected to leave Ryan Vilade in to face Cruz with Tim Hill warming in the pen, and Vilade had a tremendous at bat against Cruz singling into left field. That single would have easily scored pinch-running Oliver Dunn if Caminero had not decided that he should take it upon himself to go first to third on a ball hit to left field and get thrown out at third before Dunn was able to cross the plate:

Bellinger picked up the baseball as Caminero was into his second step toward third base from mid-left field, and from the video above, it is not clear when he made the decision to run, but his delusions of grandeur cost the Rays the go-ahead run in the 8th because this was just an aggressively bone-headed decision that someone who is not the fleetest of foot absolutely cannot make in that moment:

It turns out one run would not have mattered as Kevin Kelly turned an 0-2 count to Grisham into a walk before Aaron Judge broke out of his 11-game RBI slump with a walk-off shot into right-center field.

The bad baserunning should not take away from what a brilliantly pitched game by both starters today. Ryan Weathers held the Rays at bay through the first seven innings with only Nick Fortes making any type of hard contact off him. Weathers only generated five swings and misses, but the combination of his stuff and the damp and windy weather shut down the offense. Rasmussen went seven innings on 92 pitches generating 14 whiffs resulting in six strikeouts and just one walk. It was the first time in three years Rasmussen worked seven complete innings and his sixth consecutive start allowing three or fewer runs since the unfortuate outing in Pittsburgh five weeks ago.

One area of positivity was something Nick Fortes corrected during the game. Jazz Chisholm Jr was easily able to steal a base in the second inning as Fortes’s throw went to the shortstop side of the bag, something he did twice on Friday night:

David Laurila had an interesting piece on Fangraphs the other day which included quotes from Hunter Feduccia in it

“I don’t know exactly when they started teaching this, but it’s more to the right side of the bag,” Feduccia told me. “The infielder will set up there to give you a good target. If you tag the runner before he gets to the bag, you have a better chance of not getting swim-moved, and things like that. If you accidentally pull your throw to the left side of the bag, you’re not giving yourself as much of a chance as when it’s toward the runner.”

The article then goes on to quote Matt LewCroy who says video review helped teams see throws to the first base side were yielding more out calls, and now teams are coaching that at all levels. Fortes self-corrected in the 4th and barely nabbed Bellinger attempted steal of second base:

The Rays have struggled all season to prevent the running game, but throws like that at least give the ifnielders a fighting chance and it was good to see Fortes make the better throw the next time the siutation presented itself.

The Rays have been in New York since Wednesday night and played just two games in their five-day, four-night stay and walk away with a series split and a 4.5 game lead in the division. They take an Amtrk down from Penn Station to Union Station in Baltimore, where the Orioles walked off the hapless Tigers today with Colton Cowser taking a center cut cutter from Kenley Jansen into the centerfield bleachers. Perhaps the coaches can conduct a micro-lesson while on the train on baserunning to avoid repeating the misatkes of the weekend which also included two pickoffs on inside moves at second base in the first game.

Aaron Judge is back, and so are the Yankees.

The slumping slugger came through with a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth Sunday in a 2-0 win over the Rays on a wet, chilly day in The Bronx.

The Yankees entered having dropped three straight — and scoring a total of three runs in that stretch — with Judge in the midst of a 1-for-24 funk.

But Trent Grisham led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Max Schuemann.

Judge followed with an opposite-field shot to right field off Kevin Kelly to end it, as the Yankees cut the Rays’ AL East lead over them to 4 ½ games.

“We were able to grind out a win,’’ Ryan Weathers said. “It ended with a bang.”

The blast, Judge’s fourth walk-off homer since 2022, broke an 11-game drought in which he hadn’t homered or driven in a run.

It was the longest stretch of his career without an RBI.

“There was no frustration,’’ Judge said of his struggles. “I’ve got a job to do. Obviously, I want to get the job done and help the team win. We weren’t winning and I was mad about that, [but] you can find other ways to help.”

The best way for Judge, though, is to do what he did Sunday, as the Yankees had dropped 10 of their previous 14 games to fall behind Tampa Bay in the standings.

The Yankees got seven scoreless innings from Weathers, as the left-hander bounced back from a tough start against Toronto.

Weathers was locked in a duel with Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who also pitched seven shutout innings after blanking the Yankees for six innings April 12.

Tampa Bay threatened in the third, with runners on the corners and one out.

Weathers got Junior Caminero to hit into an inning-ending double play and allowed just a pair of walks the rest of the way before being replaced by Fernando Cruz to start the eighth.

Cruz gave up a one-out double to Yandy Díaz, and Jonathan Aranda followed with a liner to right-center, where Judge made a great diving catch.

An intentional walk to Caminero led to Ryan Vilade’s single to left.

Pinch runner Oliver Dunn seemed set to score the go-ahead run, but Cody Bellinger alertly threw to third base in time to get Caminero before Dunn reached the plate, keeping the game scoreless.

Tim Hill struck out Richie Palacios to strand two runners and Judge won it in the bottom of the inning.

Prior to the game, manager Aaron Boone said, “It’s been a crappy couple weeks for us, result-wise, but I feel like we’re in a good place team-wise. I feel we have a good run in us here.”

Perhaps it began Sunday, as they open a three-game series in Kansas City on Monday after sweeping the Royals in The Bronx last month.

And Judge getting back to hitting home runs would make a difference.

He has 17 on the season.

“You know it’s just waiting to come out at any point,’’ Boone said of a Judge breakout. “He put a great swing on it and was able to ride it out of here.”

The ending allowed the Yankees to finish the homestand 3-3, with a chance to get going again.

“We’re doing a lot of really good things,’’ Boone said. “That’s why I feel so good about this group having the ability to take off. We’ve got to start moving that needle offensively a little bit. Hopefully that’s something that gets us started and we go have a successful road trip.”

“The first walk-off home run of your career,” asked MASN’s Ben Wagner. “How does it feel, Colton?”

“It feels wet.”

Yesterday’s weather was soggy, and on Sunday, after the Orioles’ unexpected Game 1 walk-off win and a Gatorade shower, home plate was a little soggy, too. Staring at a 3-2 hole with future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen on the mound for Detroit in the ninth inning, the Birds rallied in unexpected fashion, earning their first walk-off of the season, courtesy of Colton Cowser’s three-run bomb.

For both offenses, runs and loud hits were precious today, and before the ninth-inning comeback, it looked like the difference-maker for Detroit was going to be a pair of unearned runs coming off a 32-mph Spencer Torkelson squibber that Pete Alonso made an error on. Fortunately, Cowser’s 440-foot bomb erased those mistakes, absolved Alonso of his fielding mishap, and took starter Brandon Young off the hook for a loss he didn’t deserve.

Let’s talk about Young first. This was all good news for a guy who’s always on the fringes of the Orioles rotation, and for the Orioles themselves, who could really use some stability from their starters, even—especially—if it comes from their No. 5 guy.

Facing a Detroit lineup that’s lost seven—oops, now eight—in a row, Young looked just fine. Actually, we do often damn the guy with faint praise, but he looked really good. His two-seam sinking fastball had movement. His splitter—remade, per the MASN broadcast—features an additional 7” of break. He jammed both righties and lefties with his fastball inside. After Young landed a perfect fastball on the corner in the third, Ben McDonald said, from the MASN booth, “He’s got spot control today.”

Young had just one bad inning in an otherwise superb performance. After rolling through the first and second innings on just nine pitches apiece, and dancing around a two-out double in the third, Young conceded two runs in the fourth, neither earned. He left up a high fastball that Kevin McGonigle punched past a diving Jeremiah Jackson to lead off the inning. Bad defense compounded the mistake. Designated hitter Dillon Dingler hit a humpback squibber toward first that Pete Alonso let bounce, thinking he’d go for the double play. Instead, the ball squirted past him, and his throw to second was hasty enough that Jackson muffed it. All the runners were safe. Then, a sac fly, single, and another sac fly scored them both. While none of the runs were charged to Young, it was 2-0 Detroit, and the big righty looked ruffled.

But to his credit, he didn’t unravel, and he managed to hold on for some length. He tossed an easy fifth, navigated around two two-out singles in the sixth—one just in front of a diving Tyler O’Neill, making you wish we had nimble outfielders—and came back out after 80-plus pitches to get two outs in the seventh, both on swinging strikeouts.

It was a really impressive day for Young, who lowered his ERA to 3.47, and makes my take the most obvious in the world when I say we should look forward to his next start.

The fact that Young left with the score 2-1 in the seventh and on the hook for a loss, however, tells you just how little the O’s had done against Framber Valdez. Despite Valdez’s struggles recently, today his stuff looked just fine, especially his hook, which he used to great advantage to keep the O’s off-balanced for six innings in which he struck out five. O’s hitters were wearing their frustration at not timing up Valdez’s breaking stuff.

The box score showed a goose egg for the home team until the sixth, in fact, when Valdez hung a curveball against Gunnar Henderson—here it is, right down the chute, and here is Gunnar, blasting it onto the flag court.

After that, Valdez was out, and the Orioles still needed to find one run or more from inside the couch cushions.

But after Tigers fastballer Will Vest tossed a shutdown seventh, and the O’s Keegan Akin allowed a third Tigers run in the eighth, it felt like the momentum was going all the wrong way.

There was some poor play, but also some silly luck involved in the Tigers’ third run. Akin annoyingly walked the leadoff hitter, then Matt Vierling’s little duck snort to right put runners at the corners. Detroit pinch-hit the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft (ahead of Heston Kjerstad) Spencer Torkelson, and the slugger responded with a 37.2-mph nubber to first. Pete Alonso had no play on it, and the third run scored. From the booth, Ben Wagner called it a “very meager RBI” for Torkelson, and McDonald lamented, “The Orioles just can’t catch a break.” It was deflating, indeed.

The Orioles’ search for runs turned up one more in the eighth. Jeremiah Jackson hit a leadoff two-bagger off new reliever Kyle Finnegan, moved to third on pinch-hitter Colton Cowser’s slow roller, and made it 3-2 on Taylor Ward’s ringing RBI single. But Baltimore came up short after that: Gunnar Henderson walked on a 3-2 pitch, then Adley fought off a few two-strike pitches plus a failed challenge by Detroit, but he flew out. Detroit went to future Hall of Fame closer Kenley Jansen, who got Pete Alonso to fly out for the fourth time today. Alonso’s frustration was appreciable.

Could the O’s produce a comeback in the ninth against the future Hall of Famer? By now, you know they could. Here’s how it went. With one out, the pinch-hitting Jackson Holliday worked himself a walk off Jansen and stole second. Nicely fouling off a few, Leody Taveras got aboard by free pass, too. Jeremiah Jackson had himself a two-on, one-out situation. But he popped it up, which felt like it could be it. Unless you had massive confidence in Colton Cowser, which I didn’t. As moos echoed through the stadium, Holliday and Taveras pulled off the double steal. Helpful, but ultimately not necessary. Jansen threw two cutters down the middle, then a sinker. Cowser connected, and the crack off the bat left little doubt:

Cowser’s first walk-off homer of his career, and the Orioles’ first walk-off win of the year. The O’s have played some bad baseball this year, and so has Cowser, but as they say in a different sport, on any given Sunday, any team can win. The Orioles now have a two-game win streak, and pick up again in just a few hours for Game 2, starting at 6:05. Let’s go for the series sweep!

Just when it looked like the Yankees’ offensive malaise would lead to a fourth consecutive loss, the Captain rose to the challenge in the bottom of the ninth. Trent Grisham fought back from down 0-2 to draw the full-count leadoff walk, and Aaron Judge called game, crushing a first-pitch inside sinker to the opposite field for the game winning walk-off home run — his first home run and RBI since May 10th — to split this rain-shortened series with the Rays at the Stadium.

The offense had marginally more success this time around against Drew Rasmussen, though it’s an awfully low bar considering they got one-hit across six scoreless when they faced him last in April. More than anything, this game was about brilliant starting pitching and fabulous defense from the Yankees. Ryan Weathers completed seven scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 3.14. It was his second start of at least 7 scoreless after tossing 7.1 shutout against the Royals on April 19th.

Behind him, Grisham and Judge both made diving catches to prevent extra bases — Grisham on a Taylor Walls bloop in the seventh and Judge on a Jonathan Aranda liner in the eighth. However, the defensive highlight of the game came to end that eighth inning. Fernando Cruz allowed a Yandy Díaz double and then intentionally walked Junior Caminero to put runners on first and second. Ryan Vilade looked to have lined the go-ahead single to left, but Cody Bellinger made a brilliant heads-up throw to third as Caminero made the ill-advised decision to try to go first to third. The ball beat him to the bag before Díaz could step on home, keeping this game scoreless.

Weathers entered this contest with the fourth-highest strikeout rate (29.9-percent) of any starter in MLB and you could see why in the first. After going one pitch, one out with the first hitter, he punched out Aranda and Vilade looking on a pair of four-seamers painted on the low, glove-side corner. In the bottom of the frame, Judge smoked a one-out single, but then got caught way too far off first base on a Ben Rice line out to right and was doubled off to end the inning, a rare TOOTBLAN from the captain.

In the third, Weathers walked nine-hole hitter Carson Williams to lead off but then promptly picked him off at first. He then navigated around singles from Díaz and Aranda by getting Caminero to ground into the inning ending double play. Meanwhile, his offense continued to create mild traffic while never really threatening to score. Bellinger singled and Paul Goldschmidt walked in the fourth, but Bellinger got caught stealing second and Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out to end the inning. Grisham’s single to lead off the sixth was immediately erased by a Judge GIDP. Ryan McMahon singled in the eighth only for Austin Wells to ground into the inning-ending double play.

Weathers saved his best stuff for the final two innings, allowing just one baserunner across the sixth and seventh. With the Yankees’ veteran starters getting back to full health, Weathers is doing everything in his power to prove he belongs in the rotation. His final line saw him give up four hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings, with four strikeouts on 95 pitches.

Cruz and Tim Hill made things nervy in the eighth and ninth, Cruz escaping the eighth with the aforementioned gem from Bellinger. Hill atoned for his nightmare outing on Friday worked around a walk and a single, stranding the pair of runner with an inning-ending strikeout of Richie Palacios. That was all the Yankees needed to go win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Grisham drew four-straight balls after falling behind 0-2, and that is the kind of discipline that deserves to be rewarded, Judge doing just that on the very next pitch that Kevin Kelly threw.

For those keeping an eye on the record books, Judge’s 385th career homer pushed him past curious Hall of Famer Harold Baines and tied him with a guy who is actually more deserving of a spot in Cooperstown, Dwight Evans, at 68th in MLB history.

The offense still doesn’t inspire confidence, scoring five runs in their last 39 innings, but hopefully Judge’s walk-off can provide momentum rolling into the upcoming series against the Royals. Will Warren gets the series opener tomorrow against Michael Wacha. First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 pm EDT on what will hopefully be a sunny Memorial Day afternoon with the broadcast moving to ESPN.

Box Score

After the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a seven game win streak, the Cleveland Guardians were looking to right the ship and get back in the win column.

Parker Messick got the start for the Guardians today, falling one out shy of a quality start. Messick went 5.2 innings of shutout baseball, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks and striking out 6 batters on 91 pitches.

The game was looking to be another pitching matchup with Painter pitching well for the Phillies and Parker doing great for Cleveland. However, the Guardians were able to strike first on the Philly starter, even if it took until the top of the fifth to do so.

With one out, Daniel Schneemann drew a walk to get on base. David Fry and Steven Kwan hit back-to-back singles to score Schneemann.

In the top of the sixth, the Guards tacked on another run to put them up 2-0 on the Phillies. Chase DeLauter drew a two-out walk and scored when Rhys Hoskins hit a RBI double.

Colin Holderman replaces Parker Messick with two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the sixth. He got out of the inning and handed things over to Tim Herrin for the bottom of the seventh. Herrin gave up a lead off triple to Brandon Marsh. Petey Halpin, having just been brought into the game, made a great attempt at getting the ball. He ran it down and got the tip of his glove on it, but ultimately was not able to make the catch. Trea Turner drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After getting the next two lefties out, but allowing a run on a sac fly, Vogt went to Hunter Gaddis to retire the side.

Travis Bazzana, who was 3-for-4 on the night, gave Cleveland a much needed insurance run with a no-doubter solo home run.

Gaddis went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth with two strikeouts, leaving it to Cade Smith to close out the game. Cade go two groundouts and struck out the third batter to book it on the Phillies for another series win. In the three game series, both teams only scored four runs. This was a positive series, even with the loss, as it showed that this team can hold their own against some phenomenal pitching while throwing absolute gems themselves.

Just like yesterday, Mother Nature is interrupting the Braves game with today’s game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals has been delayed due to (the threat of) inclement weather. Or in this case, the start of the game has been delayed. Current start time is projected for 4:30PM.

Call it the Braves pulling a Nationals.

Check back for updates they become available.

Guess who’s back?

Rain is back.

6:07PM Rain Delay – check back for an update when we have it.

Rough go of it for the grounds crew as the downpour prevented them form getting the tarp all the way across the infield. Looks like it may be awhile before the game re-starts.

If you are still watching BravesVision during the delay, do you like the picture-in-picture?

The tarp is being removed from the field. We might have baseball again at some point later this evening.

Now the tarp is coming back on the field.

And the tarp is back off and they are working furiously to get the field back in playing shape.

The broadcasters are laying into the umpiring crew for not calling for the tarp earlier.

7:35PM restart.

Okay, time for a rally.

Following Saturday’s rainout, the Yankees walked off with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways…

-- With the game scoreless into the ninth inning, Trent Grisham got things started by fighting back from an 0-2 count to work a leadoff walk. That set the stage for Aaron Judge, who delivered in dramatic fashion, as he so often does. On a first-pitch sinker from Kevin Kelly, Judge drove a two-run walk-off homer over the wall in right field, giving the Yankees a needed win on a dreary May day in the Bronx.

-- Judge snapped an 0-for-15 skid with a single in the first inning, but he was then uncharacteristically doubled off first base on a line drive out to right field. But the captain certainly redeemed himself with his walk-off blast.

-- Ryan Weathers had one of his best outings in a Yankees uniform. The lefty walked nine-hole hitter Carson Williams to lead off third, but then immediately picked him off. Weathers worked around four hits in first three scoreless innings, and ended up going 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing just those early four hits. He walked three and struck out four, lowering his ERA on the season to 3.14.

-- With neither offense doing much of anything through the first five innings, a key moment came in the bottom of the sixth. After Grisham singled to lead things off, he stayed put at first base on a ball in the dirt that got away from Nick Fortes, even though it appeared that Grisham likely could have taken second base with the right read. 

A few pitches later, Judge grounded into a double play that wouldn’t have happened if Grisham was on second base.

-- The Yankees flashed some excellent defense in the eighth inning to keep things scoreless. First, with a runner on second and one out, Judge made a terrific diving catch to prevent the runner from advancing.

Later in the inning, with runners at first and second and two outs, Ryan Vilade singled to left, which looked to score the go-ahead run. But an alert Cody Bellinger came up throwing to third, nabbing Junior Caminero at third base to end the inning before the run could score.

-- The Yankees surely needed the win, entering the game with just four wins in their past 14 games.

Game MVP

Judge, who made a potential game-saving catch in the eighth before slamming the walk-off home run in the ninth.

Highlights 

Weathers shows off his pickoff move 👀 pic.twitter.com/2fX5jzreHl

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 24, 2026

Cody Bellinger cuts down the runner at third before the go-ahead run reaches home plate! pic.twitter.com/OxW3cXA9v0

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 24, 2026

AARON JUDGE WALKS IT OFF FOR THE YANKEES! pic.twitter.com/lZ1zONROMi

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) May 24, 2026

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees start a three-game series at the Royals this week.

New York's Will Warren and Kansas City's Michael Wacha are set to start Monday's 3:40 p.m. opener.

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The ninth iteration of Sunday Night Baseball in 2026 goes down in Anaheim as the Los Angeles Angels host the Texas Rangers on Peacock at 7:20 p.m. ET.

My three favorite Rangers vs. Angels props are bullish on Mike Trout and Jo Adell at the dish, and see a buy-low opportunity for starter Reid Detmers.

Read on for my full analysis, with Rangers vs. Angels predictions and MLB picks on Sunday, May 24.

Rangers vs Angels props for May 24

Pick	Odds
Mike Trout Over 0.5 runs	-120
Reid Detmers Over 6.5 strikeouts	-114
Jo Adell Over 1.5 total bases	+115

Rangers vs Angels player prop picks

Mike Trout Over 0.5 runs (-120)

Mike Trout has shown an uncanny ability to draw walks this season, ranking third in BB% (20.1%) en route to a robust .402 OBP. Those numbers get even better when isolated for left-handed pitchers, against whom he has a 24.2% BB% and .419 OBP.

He likely finds his way on base against walk-machine MacKenzie Gore, who is issuing 4.41 free passes per nine innings.

Trout has crossed the plate in five consecutive games and gets a favorable matchup against a hurler who gives out bases like candy. There will be favorable hitting weather — temps in the 70s and winds of 8 mph blowing out — and #27 can score a run in a variety of ways.

Reid Detmers Over 6.5 strikeouts (-114)

Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers’ results have been up and down, but that’s to be expected from someone transitioning from the pen to the rotation. His advanced metrics are much more auspicious than his 5.07 ERA, so here’s betting on better times ahead. 

Detmers’ 3.23 xERA and 3.07 FIP indicate a quality starter. He avoids loud contact (68th percentile hard-hit rate) while navigating his way to a 17.5% K-BB%. Massive strikeout upside has been shown given his four outings with 8+ punchouts.

The Texas Rangers don’t hit lefties well, posting the second-lowest hard-hit rate (27.4%) and the third-worst K% (25.9%). That should allow Detmers to have an effective outing with plenty of strikeouts.

Jo Adell Over 1.5 total bases (+115)

Gore has a simplistic pitch-type selection against right-handed batters, as he throws his four-seamer 49% and his curve 25%. That makes this an ideal matchup for Jo Adell, who’s crushed four-seamers (170 wRC+) and curves (203) alike.

The outfielder is impotent against righties (61 wRC+) but turns into a superstar against southpaws (160). He slugs a healthy .627 with plenty of power (.339), so if he gets a hold of an offering from Gore, there’s a likelihood the ball won’t touch down until it’s traveled quite some distance.

How to watch Rangers vs Angels and game info

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After two close ball games, the series between the Nats and Braves is tied at a game apiece. These are the two best offenses in the league, but pitching has ruled the day in this series. To close out this weather impacted series, the two teams will call on a pair of crafty lefties.

With a lefty on the mound, Blake Butera will make some changes. Andres Chaparro and Curtis Mead will both be back in the lineup. Jacob Young will also return to center field. That will move Dylan Crews to right field, James Wood to left and Daylen Lile to DH. After a pair of bumpy starts, Foster Griffin will look to get back on track.

The Braves are also making some changes with a lefty on the mound. Eli White and Ha-Seong Kim will be back in the lineup. Mauricio Dubon will move back to left and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be the DH. Veteran Sandy Leon will be back in the lineup behind the plate. Martin Perez has been an underrated arm for the Braves this year and he will take the ball today.

Game Info:

Stadium: Truist Park

Time: 4:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Getting one game in Atlanta was my goal heading into the weekend. They did that, and got very close to taking both games. Now, they will go for yet another road series win. The offense has not been great with RISP lately, so hopefully that changes. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Pirates 4Blue Jays 1

The worst parts about today’s game was that Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero each left the game with injuries. Cease in the fifth, the Jays are calling it hamstring discomfort, which is about as good as the news could be. Vlad was hit on the inside of the right arm with a pitch and walked straight off the field. The team says that x-rays didn’t show a fracture, calling it a contusion. Also best case scenario.

This one was bad from the first pitch. Spencer Horwitz homered on the very first pitch. Then Oneil Cruz hit his home run on the second pitch of the second inning.

Other that that, Cease was good, 2 other hits, 1 walk with 8 strikeouts.

The pen?

• Mason Fluharty finshed off that fifth inning, giving up a single but getting two strikeouts.
• Chase Lee got the next five outs but gave up a two run homer. Esmerlyn Valdez getting his first MLB home run.
• Braydon Fisher pitched a quick eighth.
• Yariel Rodriguez got the ninth and got through it with just a hit batter. I hate playground justice when they were supposed to be adults. There was no intent on the ball that hit Vlad. The Jays are third from the bottom of the league in batters hit and third (well fourth now) in hitting batters. Why cause issues. solve things by winning. Jake Mangum, who got hit, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch, but didn’t score.

On offense? One run. Vlad walked, Yohendrick Piñango singled and Ernie Clement singled home Vlad. Andrés Giménez lined out (hit it hard, 101.4 mph, .390 expected batting average, but into a glove).

We only had five hits on the day, with five walks. Vlad got on 3 times (well, twice, Sosa pinch ran after the HBP) with two walks as did Brandon Valenzuela, two walks and a double. Kazuma Okamoto had a double off the right field wall (just a few feet short of a home run, out in 3 of 30 parks). I’m trying to see it as a good sign, but he went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his other at bats.

We had a chance in the ninth. With one out, Giménez was hit by pitch and . But George Springer popped out and Daulton Varsho struck out (tough spot against a lefty spinning things away from hit).

I was thinking that the offense was coming around, but it didn’t look that way today.

Jays of the Day: Valenzuela (0.13, two walks and a double) and Vlad (0.12 WPA, on the two walks and hit by pitch).

Other Award: Lee (-0.19), Springer (-0.11, 0 for 4, walk), Varsho (-0.11, 1 for 5), Jesús Sánchez (-0.12, 0 for 3, 2 k) and Giménez (-0.09, 0 for 3, k).

Tomorrow the Marlins come to town, tor a three-game series. Janson Junk (2-5, 5.07) vs. Trey Yesavage (2-1, 1.07). A sweep would get us back to .500, but no pressure.

Three consecutive one-run games for the D-backs. That isn’t as rare as you might think. Indeed, it’s the third time this year alone, that Arizona has played three in a row decided by the narrowest of margins. It happened twice in April: from the 4th-7th, and then the entire series in Philadelphia from the 10th-12th was also one-run games. If today’s game is also decided by one run, now we’ll be talking. The D-backs haven’t had four consecutive one-run games since June 1st, 2019. Though even that’ll be some way from the franchise record. From May 30th through June 6th in 2010, Arizona played seven one-run games in a row, including an infamous pair of 1-0 losses in extras to LA.

The run has pushed the Diamondbacks back up the rankings for this year. Their 18 one-run games is most, by two, in the National League, and only behind the Mariners (19) in all baseball. It’s three times as many as the fewest in baseball: the Astros have only six. But the most successful team are the Rays, who are an impressive 9-1 in one-run games. The D-backs’ 10-8 is about what you’d expect, the general consensus being that one-run games are close to a coin toss. Though the fact we’ve been playing the team with the worst record in the NL so close is concerning. Still, a win today would make for a 6-1 homestand, and that’s hard to complain about.

Right now, the team are 1.5 games back of the last NL wild-card spot, and with no other teams between them. That spot is currently held by the slumping Cubs, who have lost seven in a row. Arizona has been getting it done against weaker opponents: their 19-8 record against teams with losing records, is behind just the Padres (20-8) in the NL. The upcoming road trip (San Francisco and Seattle) gives them a chance to continue that trend, before the schedule turns somewhat tougher. And, finally, we welcome BogoJoe to the list of guest recappers, making his debut there this afternoon. May his duties this afternoon be pleasant!

The forecast doesn’t seem great but there’s still scheduled to be baseball Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.

The rubber match of this weekend’s Braves-Nationals series is set for a 4:10 p.m. EDT start with Atlanta’s
Martín Pérez taking on Washington’s Foster Griffin in a southpaw clash.

Follow along and share your thoughts on what we can all hope will be an uninterrupted faceoff at Truist Park.

Preview

Lineups

A disappointing start to the Toronto Blue Jays' season took a darker turn Sunday, May 24 when the club lost slugger Vladimir Guerrero and No. 2 starter Dylan Cease to injury in the same game.

That's $710 million worth of salary departing their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the initial word on Guerrero was, at least, encouraging. He was struck on the right elbow by a pitch from Pirates starter Mitch Keller and left the game in the fifth inning, but X-rays were negative.

Cease, signed to a $210 million contract this past winter, departed in the top of the fifth inning with a mild left hamstring strain after giving up two runs to the Pirates. Cease has posted a 3.05 ERA in 11 starts.

Guerrero's 14-year, $500 million contract extension begins this year; he's batting .287 with three home runs.

The Blue Jays entered Sunday 25-27 and in third place in the AL East.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Dylan Cease both exit via injury in same game