Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 7-6 at Worcester Red Sox
2B George Lombard Jr. 0-3, 2 BB SS Anthony Volpe 2-4, 2B, SB LF Spencer Jones 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K — impressive opposite-field shot RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-5, 2 K 3B Oswaldo Cabrera 1-5 DH Seth Brown 1-4, BB, 2 K 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 2-4, K C Payton Henry 2-3, 2B 3 RBI, BB, K CF Duke Ellis 0-4
Carlos Rodón 6.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR — not quite the outing he was looking to wrap up his rehab Yordanny Cruz 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (loss, blown save)
Double-A Somerset Patriots:L, 14-12 at Reading Fightin Phils — crazy game, Somerset led 12-9 in the eighth but coughed up five runs
DH Jace Avina 1-6, HR, RBI, BB, K RF Garrett Martin 2-5, BB, K, SB, CS LF Jackson Castillo 1-6, 2 K 2B Marco Luciano 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB — got a 1.107 OPS, maybe he can get himself to Triple-A before long 1B Coby Morales 3-6, RBI, K, SB 3B Tyler Hardman 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K — red hot, homers in four straight games CF DJ Gladney 3-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K C Manuel Palencia 2-5, BB SS Owen Cobb 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 6-1 vs. Winston-Salem Dash
2B Kaeden Kent 1-4, SB SS Core Jackson 0-4, 2 K 1B Kyle West 0-4, 2 K DH Eric Genther 0-3, BB, 3 K 3B Roderick Arias 1-2, HR, RBI, BB RF Wilson Rodriguez 0-3, K LF Josh Moylan 0-3, 3 K CF Camden Troyer 0-3, 3 K C Josue Gonzalez 0-3, K
Gerrit Cole 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR — pounded the zone but gave up some loud contact Brandon Decker 0.2 IP, 1 H 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Bryce Cunningham 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K — second appearance of the year for the 2024 second rounder Wilmy Sanchez 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
BINGHAMTON, NY - MARCH 31: Will Watson #17 of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies poses for a photo during the Binghamton Rumble Ponies photo day at Mirabito Stadium on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 in Binghamton, New York. (Photo by Dave Garrett/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Ryan Clifford drove in a run in the bottom of the first to give Syracuse the initial lead, but it wouldn’t last long. In the top of the fourth, the newly signed Jack Weisenburger allowed three runs, giving the Red Wings a 3-1 lead. Christian Pache got Syracuse within a run in the sixth with an RBI single- had Nick Morabito not been thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, he would’ve tied the game- but they quickly ran out of time. Rain began falling, and the umpiring crew decided to call things off there.
It was a disastrous start for Will Watson, who came into the season with high expectations but has fallen far, far short of them so far. The right-hander did not even get out of the first, recording just two outs. He labored, throwing 20 of his 37 pitches for strikes, and allowed four runs on three hits- one of which was a grand slam- and two walks. His replacement, Tanner Witt, did not fare much better, allowing 4 runs in 1.1 innings. Suffice to say, down by eight runs in the second inning, the Rumble Ponies failed to make this one a competitive ballgame. Of note, Wyatt Young pitched not just one, but two innings, and did not allow a run, scattering three hits. This is, unbelievably, the third game that he’s pitched this season, and has a 2.25 ERA on the year, allowing one earned run in 4.0 innings over three games. Move over, Nolan McLean!
St. Lucie already had the lead thanks to a Chase Meggers RBI in the second, but a five-run fourth gave them plenty of extra room. In the inning, JT Benson hit a two-run homer and Elian Pena a three-run homer. Tyler McLoughlin allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, breaking up the shutout that R.J Gordon, Daviel Hurtado, and Ryan Dollar had going, but outside of that blip, the Flying Tigers never really threatened at any point.
After last night’s rainout was announced, I scoffed and thought, what’s there to do now. Well, it just means I have more time to write about the Cardinals! That and, of course, it becomes apparent that the Cardinals aren’t meant to play many games vs their NL Central counterparts this early in the year. Today will only be the 6th game vs our own division, out of 35 games so far. Blink, and you will miss the 1/4th point of the season, coming up this weekend.
The Cardinals are 5-0 against their own division. Pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good! A list of teams that have a better record than the Cardinals include only one NL Central team, the Cubs… and other first place teams like the Dodgers, Braves, and Yankees. Add to that list the Rays, who we battled with gloriously to begin the season back in late March. Our entire division is still over .500, including our current opponent, the last-place Brewers.
How are we this good? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think a lot of it has to do with the defense. Since we are in a good division, how does Cardinal defense stack up with the NL Central?
The Cubs along with having probably the best offense have arguably the best defense with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner being extremely valuable freaks of nature by Fielding Run Value on baseball savant. The two account for a +14 FRV! To compare to the Cardinals, that’s more than JJ Wetherholt, Pedro Pages, Nolan Gorman (+3 FRV, surprisingly), Masyn Winn, and Nathan Church put together! Now, I don’t really trust this stat completely, but that says something. The Cubs really do have an elite defense. Michael Busch is also really good on defense, and Seiya Suzuki ain’t bad either.
As for the rest of the NL Central, they cannot really hang with all of that. The Brewers are the next-best defensively, with the Reds and Pirates not-so-good on defense, outside of Ely De La Cruz.
Tiering NL Central Batters (using bat speed)
EliteDestructive Force (average bat speed over 78 mph)
Jordan Walker
Oneil Cruz (Pirates)
These two are tearing it up this year. You might be surprised to hear that Cruz is making slightly more contact than Walker. Cruz is taking more competitive swings and has a .262 BA so far this year, which for him seems quite high. These two might be a fun comparison going forward, with their similarities in extreme power hitting.
Terrible Force (ave bat speed 75-77)
Garrett Mitchell (Brewers)
Jake Bauers (Brewers)
Konor Griffin (Pirates)
The young Konor Griffin already showing off extreme bat speeds. Had no idea those two Brewers were swinging that hard!
Swinging So Very Hard (ave bat speed over 74 mph)
Ely De La Cruz (Reds)
Ivan Herrera
Pete Crow-Armstrong*
I notice the Cubs are not present here at 74+, in the top tiers of bat speed. I guess they don’t need to swing hard at Wrigley! heh heh heh. I’d like to point out here a stat called swing length, and that Walker and Herrera have the largest swings in the NL Central. The hardest swinging Cub? Pete Crow-Armstrong, who finishes at 73.9 average swing velocity, but figured I’d round up to be nice.
Ok enough of that bat speed nonsense! Swinging hard isn’t everything. Who is actually barreling the ball the most in NL Central? Rookie sensation Sal Stewart of the Reds! He is #5 in all of MLB at barrels %. Our good buddy Jordan Walker is #2 in the Central after Stewart in barrels %. More Reds players Spencer Steer and Ke’bryan Hayes are also really good at this. How about other Cardinals good at barrels/pa? Nathan Church (good sign!) and Lord Alec Burleson. And another Reds hitter Elly De La Cruz. Maybe that Reds offense is nothing to scoff at.
Are all these NL Central offenses for real? It looks like the Brewers and Pirates will stay about the same. The Reds and Cardinals could be in for some improvement, going by xwOBA, while the Cubs could come crashing down to earth a little bit. What could be a very interesting stat: the Cubs offense might not be a ton better than the Cardinals or Reds lineups. Their xwOBA is .336 with the Cardinals and Reds at .331.
So we are looking at three awesome offenses here. The Cubs and Reds are tied in home runs and the Cardinals are only two home runs behind. If you thought the Cardinals would be tied for 6th in home runs in MLB, on May 5th, you probably are Nostradamus (or related to him).
Forget the Cubs, they’re getting old. The Cardinals have the edge on the NL Central in hard hit %, and the Reds have been the team with the highest barrel % in the National League.
Most likely NL Central hitter to cool off: Seiya Suzuki
Best overall hitter in the NL Central so far: Brice Turang… so I guess I should not write off the Brewers just yet… what an interesting division
Who could end up being the best hitter in the Central: Jordan Walker ain’t far behind where Turang is at right now!
Best DH in the NL Central: Cubs’ Moises Ballesteros, so far anyways… currently the best DH in the NL
Best NL Central Hitters by Position
C Ivan Herrera (or Carson Kelly if you think he can keep up a .382 wOBA… obviously another hot start for Kelly this spring)
RF Jordan Walker (honorable mention Seiya Suzuki)
LF Ian Happ
CF Oneil Cruz
SS Ely De La Cruz
1B Sal Stewart
2B Brice Turang
3B Nick Gonzalez
DH Moises Ballesteros
So as good as some of our guys are, we are in a stacked division. JJ is of course #2 best hitting 2b in the Central, but the Pirates made a pretty good move of bringing in Lowe so Gonzalez could move over to 3b. The Pirates organization probably did just enough to keep them in the race this season. You know what’s the opposite of the NL Central? the AL Central! Their best team is at .500.
One more thing before I get to the music, I wanted to take a look at the Cardinals splits so far…
Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn have been killing left handed pitching in 2026. Vs righties? Jordan Walker hits them too, and so does Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson. Masyn Winn is not faring too well vs RHP but not terrible at 88 wRC+. The award of worst splits goes to Alec Burleson however, who absolutely looks awful vs LHP so far.
Home Field Advantage: Jordan Walker and Nathan Church love hitting at Busch Stadium
Road Warriors: Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, and JJ Wetherholt have been tearing it up on the road
The big takeaway: Alec Burleson while hitting so well on the road is a below average hitter at Busch
High leverage hitters: Wetherholt, Herrera, Winn, and Gorman up their numbers in high leverage situations so far in 2026!
RBI Hog: Alec Burleson ups the ante with runners in scoring position and has 24 RBI, Clutch Burly
Walker and Gorman also have over 20 RBI, which means Gorman has been quietly productive with his +3 Fielding Run Value and RBI production when needed. JJ Wetherholt rounds out the top 4 Cardinals RBI guys.
1989
1988 set a fire in the music scenes of North America and around the world, and 1989 was the evidence of its mounting flame of change and intense rock n roll as well as advancements in musical technologies and new forms of music. I am constantly amazed at how the transitional times between decades yields so much classic, good music, but I’m here to talk about it and well, this year ended up being ridiculous in the quality finds. I usually do 20, or maybe only 10 albums, but for this year it has doubled. I bring to you, whoever is reading this blog, 40 albums of can’t miss music!
Top Tier Albums of 1989
Ministry – ‘The Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste’ Chicago industrial scene mavens reach the beginning of their peak state and release this masterpiece, a defining sound for 1989
Cows – ‘Daddy Has A Tail’ this could very well be my favorite punk rock album of all time, it grows on me with every listen, must be listened to LOUD, and is full of catchiness, humor, and a huge wall of rock n roll barely contained by expert lo-fi production
Melvins – ‘Ozma’ I view this as sort of a sequel to Gluey Porch Treatments, its predecessor, but it’s just as good, if not better… a refining of the sound introduced a couple of years before and part of a huge year of grunge music catching fire into what would be a nationwide cultural movement a few years later
Skinny Puppy – ‘Rabies’ while grunge was starting to catch fire, industrial music was also coalescing into a near mainstream movement, and Rabies by Skinny Puppy was a close second to the genius on display with Ministry’s ‘Mind…’ album. The primary difference being Skinny Puppy was less metal/punk oriented and more goth/techno. Both albums are extremely important in understanding where music tech was at in 1989
Nirvana – ‘Bleach’ for a minute I had this as album of the year in 1989, and it is not a bad pick… the best Nirvana album, I would argue. Something about this album’s mix of lively but dirty tones and hyper-catchy song structures began to reinvent the wheel of rock music. Not to mention the amount of energy brought here… If Melvins were the spark for the grunge movement, Nirvana and the next band were the fuel for the fire…
Soundgarden – ‘Louder Than Love’ Soundgarden entered their prime years with this album, which is one of their best and defining of the pacific northwest grunge movement… Chris Cornell would become the ultimate voice of rock n roll for a while, and this is the roots of that and maybe his most powerful vocal performance! or just listening to the pure fire, subtle bass playing throughout this album
Sepultura – ‘Beneath The Remains’ thrash death metal at its best, riding that creative wave in 1989 from down in Brazil, Sepultura would become legends because of this masterpiece of an album, should be higher but this year is just absolutely stacked
Beastie Boys – ‘Paul’s Boutique’ here’s another album that should be higher on the list! one of the best hiphop albums ever made, capturing that NYC sound
Dog Faced Hermans – ‘Every Day Timebomb’ actually THIS album could be #1 on the list! How many times am I going to keep saying this about 1989? Don’t sleep on this one, they’re on to something here, something highly unique and memorable, inventive even
Morbid Angel – ‘Altars of Madness’ many would argue, the best death metal album ever made… defining masterpiece of the genre. If you like horrific sounds beyond the limits of the human world and ultra fast precision, look no further… a defining album in the heavy metal canon (honestly had this one as #1 for a minute, too!) florida metal
#11-20
Nine Inch Nails – ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ if you haven’t heard it, what are you waiting for!? Another genre-defining classic for industrial music in 1989, the ultimate soundtrack for an industrial dance club setting
Faith No More – ‘The Real Thing’ sure you have some absolute bangers in songs like “Epic” and “From Out of Nowhere” but this album is a great full album listening experience, classic rock at this point! “Zombie Eaters”, “The Morning After”, “Surprise! You’re Dead”, and “Falling To Pieces” some of the more underrated songs on the album
Vasilisk – ‘Acqua’ here is my big find of my music deep dive into 1989… the big discovery… soundtrackish
Carcass – ‘Symphonies of Sickness’ defining moment for grindcore here! Carcass re-defined the whole relatively new genre that Napalm Death started, taking it in a new “gore-grind” direction. Aside from that, this album sounds absolutely disgustingly heavy, next level, even…
Kool G Rap – ‘Road To The Riches’ while the Beastie Boys were putting out the definitive hiphop album in 1989, Kool G Rap along with other innovators was starting new sounds, is this the first gangster rap album?
Meat Beat Manifesto – ‘Storm The Studio’ speaking of sonic innovators, Jack Dangers and Meat Beat Manifesto started a new sound, melding industrial music with hip hop! Band leader and producer Jack Dangers would go on to become one of the best music producers of all time, in my opinion
Coroner – ‘No More Color’ absolute thrash masterpiece i just discovered, give me some time
Bolt Thrower – ‘Realm of Chaos’ if anyone used to play any table top RPG like Warhammer 40k, I guess this album was advertised in White Dwarf, a magazine for table top war gamers. The cover art of this album even looks like some of the art for these games. Absolutely THE soundtrack for wargames.
Pestilence – ‘Consuming Impulse’ dare I say it again, this band was ahead of their time, with their technical death metal skills right up there or ahead of Death, perhaps the godfather of technical death metal skills
Godflesh – ‘Streetcleaner’ it feels wrong to rank this here, but 1989 is just a ridiculous world… many would probably rank it higher, but then again, many wouldn’t even listen to it, so there’s that… defining industrial metal classic, at the very least; opening track “Rats” is my favorite but it’s a banger start to finish
Tim Berne – ‘Fractured Fairy Tales’ best jazz album of 1989! absolutely fantastic listening experience
#21-30
De La Soul – ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ the third defining hiphop album on the list, perhaps the first “alt-hiphop” album? My brother loves this album, it is super catchy and fun after all
NoMeansNo – ‘Wrong’ punk rock classic and peak moment for NMN! sick and tired of the same old thing? check this album out! so underrated
Terrorizer – ‘World Downfall’ an early defining moment for grindcore which just so happens to feature the rhythm section and singer of Morbid Angel, but owning the grindcore world in another band! Florida metal
The Work – ‘Rubber Cage’ avant garde rock n roll similar to This Heat ten years ago, not to compare them to another band because this is highly unique, but only band I can think of similar
Negativland – ‘Helter Stupid’ one of the greatest conceptual art pieces of all time, in the form of edited audio snippets arranged in perfect composite… this album might make you go insane, or heal all your wounds
Schizo – ‘Main Frame Collapse’ the first true obscurity on the list, if you want to enter the realms of underground metal, this is a pretty good entry point! early and defining extreme metal sounds here, black metal at its best
Bitch Magnet – ‘Umber’ classic noise rock probably a bit ahead of its time, precursor to Helmet?
Branca – ‘Symphony No. 6’ explore the album, but here’s an excerpt on the outer limits of the guitar sound
Toxik – ‘Think This’ absolutely phenomenal heavy metal thrash album, just be prepared for the old school power metal thrash vocals which are actually done pretty tastefully, an overlooked classic of the metal genre
The Cure – ‘Disintegration’ understated, beautiful sounding album that sounds like it could have been released at any time in the 1980s but just barely eclipsed the end of the decade
#31-40
Mudhoney – ‘Mudhoney’ no 1989 list talking about early grunge sounds could possibly leave this album off a listing, it’s way better than you might expect, rock n roll legends
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – ‘Black Axis’ art rock, noise, a new form of jazz? you’ll enter new zones here
Bad Brains – ‘Quickness’ Bad Brains begin to crossover: hardcore punk to metal… perhaps their perfect blend between the two, with their best production so far in their career but not as polished as the ones after… guitarist Dr Know goes next level here with his solos and super tight rhythm playing
Tad – ‘God’s Balls’ I got to see this band live when i was in high school and it is still one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever seen, so tight… and always just as punk as it was metal, another early grunge movement gamechanger
Fugazi – ‘13 Songs’ album opener would be on my college soundtrack album, awesome live band!
Saw Throat – ‘Indestroy’ crazy primitive crust punk sounding heavy caveman metal, wild stuff! heavy psychedelic insanity proto black metal and sludge
Repulsion – ‘Horrified’ insanely fast early grindcore that sounds like it was recorded in a sewer!
Death Side – ‘Wasted Dream’ awesome Japanese hardcore punk!
Thinking Plague – ‘In This Life’ ending my 1989 list with this album because there isn’t much streaming online from it, you’ll just have to buy it but it’s well worth it, I bought a digital copy years ago, one of the best prog rock albums from the 1980s! Bandcamp with a couple more songs streaming or purchase option
You might be thinking, “Didn’t we just celebrate 50 years of Brewers baseball a few years ago?”
Technically, yes. The Major League Baseball team that is the Milwaukee Brewers turned 50 in 2020. But the name, as many know, has been around for a lot longer than that. Since 1901, to be exact.
Other smaller clubs used the name Brewers, but none were on the professional level. The first professional Brewers club was a part of the inaugural season of the American League. And let’s just say it was a season to forget for Brewers fans 125 years ago — they finished dead last, 35 1/2 games back of first place, behind powerhouses like the Chicago White Stockings, Boston Americans, and the Detroit Tigers.
125 years ago today in 1901 the Milwaukee Brewers were born, facing the Chicago White Sox. The team would end up leaving to St. Louis to become the Browns and then end up becoming what we know now as the Baltimore Orioles. pic.twitter.com/f5fuYsxcu7
Before there was American Family Field and County Stadium, there was the Lloyd Street Grounds, the first home of Brewers baseball. The ballpark was constructed in 1895 on the south end of West Lloyd Street, between North 16th Street and North 18th Street. It was praised for several things, most importantly, the accessibility. Milwaukee, at the time, had a world-renowned streetcar system, which dropped off pedestrians in front of the stadium. The cost of construction was $7,400, according to sabr.org, which, in today’s dollars, would be about $291,000.
Following the conclusion of the 1901 season, the Brewers were moved to St. Louis amid financial distress. Thus, the Browns were born.
It didn’t take long for baseball to return to Milwaukee, as a new edition of the Brewers joined the American Association and played in town from 1902 through 1952. The Crew began as a Class-A ballclub before becoming a Double-A team for almost 40 years. They saw a ton of success in the American Association, winning league titles in 1913 and 1914, and then not again until 1936.
For most of their time in the American Association, they weren’t affiliated with anyone, operating as an independent ball club. However, there were a few short years they spent with some big league clubs. Their first affiliation was with the same team that left Milwaukee the first time around, the St. Louis Browns. From 1946 until their final season in the American Association, they were associated with the Boston Braves. During their time with the Braves, they won two championships, one in 1947 and another in 1951.
During this time, Borchert Field was the home of Brewers baseball, which was located between North 7th, North 8th, West Chambers, and West Burleigh Streets. This ballpark was built in 1888 and stood for nearly 70 years before being demolished after the opening of County Stadium. Today, in its place is I-43, which was built on top of it.
The 1952 season would be the last time the world saw the Brewers until the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee before the 1970 season, giving the Brewers another life.
Through all the ups and downs of professional baseball in Milwaukee, the Brewers have been the mainstay, and it continues to be over 125 years later.
Happy birthday to Bill Hands, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1998, RookieKerry Wood ties the ML record with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game, pitching a one-hitter to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Houston Astros, 2-0. This and other stories are posted as well, including a trio of examples of stellar excellent sportswriting.
1941 – Hank Greenberg makes his last game before entering the U.S. military a memorable one as he hits two home runs with three RBI helping the Detroit Tigers to a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees.
1953 – Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns pitches a 6-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia A’s, to become only the third pitcher in majors’ history to fire a no-hitter in his first start. Holloman will win only two more games during a brief one-year career and will never pitch another complete game in the majors.
1955 – Roberto Clemente crashes Willie Mays‘s birthday party at the Polo Grounds, by banging a 430-foot triple over the Mays’s head to lead to a 3-2 Pirate win over the Giants. Jesse Abramson of the New York Herald Tribune reports: “Roberto Clemente tripled so far over Mays’ head that even Willie on his charger, shedding the cap, couldn’t catch it…”
1958 – Exactly three years later, Roberto Clemente again disrupts Willie Mays‘s birthday, if not quite so dramatically. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: “Only a spectacular catch by Clemente on a 400-foot blast by Mays in the sixth with the bases loaded prevented San Francisco from making a genuine rout of the thing.” Circus catch notwithstanding, the Bucs suffered a 7-0 defeat.
1960 – As fate would have it, Roberto Clemente‘s first visit to the newly-opened Candlestick Park coincides with the 29th birthday of his one-time mentor Willie Mays, and once again Mays’ student steals the spotlight. While all three Willies – i.e. Mays, McCovey and Kirkland – go deep to power San Francisco‘s 5-1 win over Pittsburgh, it’s Clemente who gets the crowd’s attention with a shot to left center into the teeth of a vicious wind. Arnold Hano, California-based biographer of both Mays and Clemente, witnesses this moment: “Clemente’s bat hit the ball, and the result absolutely clubbed the crowd into awed silence for a long moment. Right into that wet whipping wind the ball carried. Right on through, hit 120 feet high in a long soaring majestic parabola that came down finally over 450 feet away. There is just no way of telling how far Clemente’s home run blast would have traveled had it not been for that wind. Suffice it to say partisan Giant fans suddenly broke their shell-shocked silence and let loose a gigantic roar. For two innings the stadium buzzed. For days the Giants talked about it. Even today if you slip up behind a Giant pitcher and suddenly whisper in his ear: ‘Remember the home run Clemente hit?’ he’s likely to jump as high as if he’d been caught putting spit on baseballs.”
2005 – Preserving a 6-5 win over the Cardinals, Trevor Hoffman becomes the third pitcher in ML history to save 400 games, joining Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424) to have also reached this milestone.
2010 – The Texas Rangers manage to blow an 8-0 lead to the Royals, but come back in dramatic fashion for a wild 13-12 win. Texas scores the tying and winning runs on back-to-back solo homers by Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero off Royals closer Joakim Soria with two outs in the bottom of the 8th.
2012 – Both teams end up having to use position players on the mound when a game between the Orioles and Red Sox goes into extra innings. O’s manager Buck Showalter turns to DH Chris Davis to take the mound in the 16th inning with the score tied at 6-6. Davis gives him a pair of scoreless innings. The Sox turn to OF Darnell McDonald. However, he surrenders a three-run homer to Adam Jones; he then grounds into a double play against Davis to end the game in the bottom of the frame. It is the first time both teams use position players to pitch in the same game since October 4, 1925, when future Hall of FamersGeorge Sisler and Ty Cobb both got to pitch on the last day of the season.
2019 – Pablo Sandoval becomes the second MLB player since 1900 to throw a scoreless outing, hit a home run and steal a base in the same game in the Giants’ 12-4 loss in Cincinnati. (Also Christy Mathewson in 1905.)
1626 – Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organizes the purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods, believed to be the Canarsee Indians of the Lenape
1733 – First international boxing match: Local fighter Bob Whittaker beats “The Venetian Gondolier”, Tito di Carni at James Figg’s academy amphitheatre in Marylebone, London
1837 – US blacksmith John Deere creates the first steel plough in Grand Detour, Illinois
1889 – Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris opens with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch; the lifts in the tower are not ready, so intrepid visitors have to climb 1,710 steps to reach the top
1937 – German airship Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board and one on the ground
1954 – English athlete Roger Bannister becomes the first to run a sub-4-minute mile, recording 3:59.4 at Iffley Road Track in Oxford
1960 – US President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1960
1994 – Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait sets fire to the guest chair on NBC’s “The Tonight Show”
1994 – Nelson Mandela and the ANC, finally confirmed winners in South Africa’s first post apartheid election
May 5, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo (29) celebrates after scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Good morning Birdland,
Our five-game nightmare is over! The Orioles got back into the win column on Tuesday night, beating the Marlins 9-7. The offense gets the credit for the win. Each time the Marlins would claw their way back into the game, the Baltimore bats would nudge it just a little further away.
Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo combined to go 5-for-7 with three doubles, a triple, two walks, five runs, and six RBI. They were terrific. Despite that success from Basallo, who was a homer shy of the cycle, O’s manager Craig Albernaz turned to Adley Rutschman off the bench in the ninth inning. That would prove to be a wise decision! Rutschman came through with the go-ahead RBI single that put the game out of reach once and for all.
It was far from a perfect game for the offense. Colton Cowser had three more strikeouts. Coby Mayo went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. What the team does with those two is tough to say. They are trying to get them going, but nothing at the big league levels seems to be working. If there was an ideal alternate solution, it feels like the club would have pulled the trigger on it by now.
On the mound, Chris Bassitt was quite bad. His command, particularly on breaking pitches, was terrible. He was lucky to only give up the four runs in his four innings of work. His season ERA is up to 5.91. The Orioles didn’t expect Bassitt to be an ace or anything, but they need more length and quality from the veteran, especially given their current rotation makeup with Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, and Zach Eflin on the IL.
Negativity aside, the Orioles won a game. That is a good! Believe it or not, despite all of the awful things that have happened to them recently, at 16-20 they are just one game back of the final wild card spot in a brutal American League. There is time for them to figure things out. Beating an equally flawed Marlins squad was a good step in that direction. Hopefully they do it again tonight.
Links
Basallo flirts with cycle as O’s chase Alcantara before mounting late rally | Orioles.com Here is the MLB version of last night’s recap, which includes some quotes from within the Orioles clubhouse. Albernaz credits the team for being “locked in on every pitch” despite their recent struggles. The offense shows these sorts of glimmers on occasion. The potential is there for them to carry the team. Finding consistency is another matter.
Leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko Roch shares oodles of stats, including some about the decision to pinch hit Rutschman for Basallo. The numbers don’t really back up Albernaz’s decision, but it worked. Ultimately, those are the sorts of decisions that managers’ get paid for. Credit were it’s due.
Top MLB starting pitchers who are candidates to be traded at the deadline | The Athletic This is a pretty straightforward article. Good pitchers near free agency that are on bad teams are candidates to be traded. Rogers is mentioned. Whether the Orioles trade him or not, they need him to be better than he has been. I think he will be. Most of his peripherals are better than his top line numbers.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Yohan Ramirez turns 31 today. The journeyman reliever has played for eight different clubs across seven big league seasons. That includes a five-game stint with the Orioles in 2024.
Gerardo Parra is 39 years old. The Orioles traded for the outfielder at the 2015 deadline, sending Zach Davies to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange. Parra would struggle in his brief time with the Birds, hitting .237/.268/.357 across 55 games.
Mike Kinkade is 53. He came to the Orioles as part of the Mike Bordick deal with the Mets in 2000, but would play in just 64 big league games as a utility bench option before being released after the 2001 season.
Tom Bolton turns 64. The southpaw tossed 23.1 innings for the Orioles in 1994.
The late Leo Burke (b. 1934, d. 2023) was born on this day. A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Burke began his major league career with 12 games played for the Orioles between 1958 and ‘59.
This day in O’s history
2012 – The Orioles beat the Red Sox 9-6 in 17 innings. Both teams have to use position players on the mound. The Orioles opt for Chris Davis, who goes 0-for-8 at the plate but delivers two scoreless innings. The Red Sox turn to Darnell McDonald, who coughs up a three-run homer to Adam Jones.
He will be replaced by Mike Hessman, who played 1,436 games at the Triple-A level and hundreds more at lower levels. Hessman has been a hitting coach with Toledo since 2023 and worked with the Tigers before that, accepting a demotion to the minor-league staff after the 2022 season.
"I talked to Hess this morning to establish the cadence that goes on with him," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before Tuesday's game against the Boston Red Sox. "Obviously, I don't have a comment on the whole thing. In terms of my confidence in Hess and the transition, he's going to handle it very well. He communicates. He's got the trust of the players. He and I talked regularly already, even as he was the hitting coach. Now as the manager, the conversations change a little bit, but we have full confidence in Hess being able to continue on in making our players better and communicating to me and my staff what he needs to in order to get the players who come up here ready to play."
Alvarez was named as the Tigers manager ahead of the 2025 season after three seasons as Double-A Erie's manager before that, where he had a 232-178 record and three division titles.
"We will have no further comment," the Tigers said in a statement.
Contact Andrew Birkle via email at abirkle@freepress.com.
Free Press sports writer Evan Petzold contributed to this report.
Just when the Detroit Tigers needed someone to step up and be a presence in a sea of calamity, someone to throw them a life raft, someone to make them feel like their world isn’t collapsing around them, along comes Framber Valdez acting like a human Titanic.
Valdez is the Tigers’ new ace, their highest-paid player, the one the Tigers desperately are relying on to keep their postseason hopes alive until Tarik Skubal returns to the mound later this summer.
And on Tuesday evening, he melted down for the entire Tigers’ franchise to see, reminding everyone of the ugly warts in this talented left-handed pitcher.
Valdez’s selfish act of immaturity was so outrageous in the Tigers’ 10-3 shellacking to the Boston Red Sox that when he intentionally hit Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story with a 94.4 mph fastball in the middle of his back during his latest temper tantrum, even his own manager couldn’t stand up for him.
“We play a really good brand of baseball here,’’ Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in his press conference after the game. “That doesn't feel like it. That's not judging intent. I have no idea.
“But when you go out on the field and end up in those confrontations, you usually feel like you're in your right.
“It didn't feel good being out there."
In other words, how are you going to actually fight for your own teammate when you feel like punching him yourself?
“I understand," Hinch said. "I understand their (Red Sox) frustration and the optics. I understand the whole thing.’’
Valdez, who gave up nine hits and 10 runs runs (seven earned) in just three innings, insisted with a straight face that he wasn’t deliberately trying to hit Story after giving up back-to-back homers, saying the pitch simply got away from him, and there’s no way he deserved to be ejected.
“Not at all," Valdez said through interpreter Carlos Guillen. “It was not on purpose. It might've looked like that but it wasn't. I was trying to throw a strike after two consecutive home runs, and the pitch just came out of my hand.
There is no chance that this same man who drilled his own teammate in the chest with a fastball last season with the Houston Astros would now intentionally hit an opponent.
No way, right?
Right?
Anyone else believe him?
Yes, just in case anyone forgot, this is the same guy who was so angry after giving up a grand slam to New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham last September, that he crossed up teammate and catcher Cesar Salazar by throwing a 92.8 mph sinker that slammed into his chest protector. Instead of apologizing, Valdez turned his back in disgust.
Valdez, summoned into Astros manager Joe Espada’s office after the game, told reporters it was simply miscommunication.
And you wonder why he was still on the free-agent market a week before spring training, signing a three-year, $115 million contract when he was expected to receive a deal close to free-agent starter Dylan Cease’s six-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays?
Now, with the Tigers badly needing an influx of help, with three members of their opening-day starting rotation and 14 players on the injured list, they are about to be playing one man short.
Valdez, 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA, surely will be suspended at least five days for his actions that should be announced Wednesday.
“I do not expect to get suspended,’’ said Valdez, who chose that moment to throw his first four-seam fastball of the season.
Maybe he should look around the room, and see if there’s a soul in the Tigers’ clubhouse that feels the same.
If you gave them a lie detector test, they’d probably all come to the same conclusion as Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.
“I thought it was weak and I thought everybody saw it,’’ Tracy told reporters. “Their side, our side, I think everybody saw it. It was weak.”
Really, once Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu opened the fourth inning by hitting mammoth home runs off Valdez, with Contreras flipping his bat after his 449-foot shot, Story could sense it was coming.
“I was in there ready to hit,’’ Story said, “and it showed up way behind me, off the numbers. I think we all know what’s what ... it’s pretty indisputable.’’
Story glared toward Valdez after being hit, players poured out of the dugouts, but there were no punches thrown or even shoves. Why fight when everyone is in full agreement of what happened?
“We handled it,” Story said. “We said what we said on the field, and I think that’s where it stays.”
Now, Michael Hill, senior vice president of on-field operations for MLB, will have his say.
And, perhaps behind closed doors in a meeting with Valdez, Hinch will have plenty to say, too.
NEW YORK - JULY 19: New York Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling speaks during the teams 63rd Old Timers Day before the game against the Detroit Tigers on July 19, 2009 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As the outpouring of grief and good memories flowed after John Sterling’s passing on Monday, I’m sure many of us found ourselves watching old Yankees clips and listening to Sterling’s calls. It’s been oft-repeated this week, but there truly was no one like Sterling, and going through his many fun, bizarre, and quirky calls has been a sad but joyful walk down memory lane.
Let’s keep on walking down that road. Sterling was perhaps known better for his home run calls than anything else. What began as a gimmick deployed for certain players turned into a signature, with Sterling committing to deploying a unique (and often whimsical) home run call for every individual player at some point during the 2000s. Every Yankees fan probably has a favorite. What was yours?
Our own Andrew Mearns helpfully ranked all 144 distinct player home run calls we have on record, so peruse those rankings if you need to as you try to pick out your favorite. Maybe the classic “Bern baby Bern” takes your top spot. Perhaps it’s the simple “El Capitan” that sprang from John’s voice every time Derek Jeter went deep. For me, there was nothing better than hearing “Robbie Cano! Don’tchaknow?!” every time the sweet-swinging second baseman sent one out of the park.
It’s hard to pick just one, so if you can’t narrow it all the way down, go ahead and give us a top-three or -five. Heck, feel free to, as Sterling would, get as creative as you want; if there’s a specific play that or call that stands out in your mind, however famous or obscure, please highlight it.
On the site today, Andrew reviews a packed Tuesday of action in the American League, and Jonathan profiles Ivy Andrews, a pitcher born on this day in 1907. Also, John posits that it’s in both the Yankees’ and Anthony Volpe’s best interests for Volpe to get some exposure at other positions, perhaps second base. Later, Andrés analyzes Elmer Rodríguez’s second start in the majors, Kento chronicles the long road in the wilderness the Yankees walked at first base before finding Ben Rice, and Scott discusses Jonathan Ornelas, a lower-profile prospect succeeding with Triple-A Scranton this year.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers
Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
Video: Amazon Prime Video, Rangers Sports Network, MLB Network
Bob Skinner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is shown here in uniform posing with a baseball bat.
The Pittsburgh Pirates family got some bad news, when it was announced that former Bucs outfielder/first baseman/coach and World Series champion Bob Skinner died at age 94 in San Diego. The cause was not released, but when you make it to 94, it could be just about anything.
Skinner spent 12 years in the MLB, including 9 seasons with the Pirates as well as spending time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. He also spent some time later in his career as a manager with the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies.
Skinner was a two-time All-Star who hit .277 for his career. He was never a big power guy, with his most homers in a year sitting at 20, but he did have four seasons in which he hit over .300.
He played with the Bucs in 1960 World Series, but he got hurt in Game 1 and only returned in Game 7, where he scored a late run to help lift the Bucs to the huge upset over the New York Yankees. He also won a World Series with the 1964 Cardinals, who also beat the Yankees for the title.
Skinner played until 1966 and then started managing the Phillies in 1968, but had a losing record in 1968 and 1969. He later became a hitting coach for the Pirates and was part of the 1979 World Series winners.
Pirates owner Bob Butting had this to say about the former Pirates star:
“Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city. Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community.”
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 14, 2026: Carlos Rodon #55 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch during a live batting practice session on Field 2 prior to a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 14, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. The Phillies beat the Yankees, 6-4. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After a scheduled rehab outing Tuesday, Carlos Rodón is expected to make his next start in the majors, per Yankees manager Aaron Boone. He’ll take Elmer Rodríguez’s spot in the rotation, the top prospect who’s made two starts in the interregnum between Luis Gil’s demotion and Rodón’s activation. Fellow starter Gerrit Cole made a rehab start Tuesday as well, though Boone indicated he is still “a little bit of a ways away” from returning. In other injury news, Ben Rice was out of the starting lineup again Tuesday, though he hopes to be back soon, and Giancarlo Stanton has yet to resume running as he works back from a right calf strain that landed him on the IL.
Although they won’t need to call up Rodón until he makes his next start, the Yankees did option Rodríguez back to Triple-A after last night’s game. This will allow them to carry an extra reliever during this week without an offday until they can move on to Rodón ‘s turn in the rotation.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: Monday night’s victory over the Orioles doubled as a tribute to John Sterling, the beloved broadcaster who served as the Yankees’ radio voice for 36 seasons. In this article, Aaron Judge reminisces about Sterling’s call of his record-breaking 62nd home run in 2022, Suzyn Waldman recalls smiling upon hearing a “That’s baseball, Suzyn!” from the crowd after a moment of silence for her longtime colleague, and Boone expressed enthusiasm for the “JS” stitched into each Yankee’s cap for the game. The skipper also voiced support for the team continuing to pump Sterling’s iconic “Yankees win…Theeeeeeee Yankees win!” over the loudspeakers after each victory. “I’d love it,” he said. “Right on into Frank.”
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The Yankees announced Tuesday that their uniform hats would continue to feature the “JS” initials in honor of Sterling through May 17th, when they face the Mets at Citi Field. The following day, their jerseys will begin featuring a custom memorial patch in his memory for the remainder of the season. The Yankees’ captain also joined his manager in expressing support for the continued playing of Sterling’s game-ending celebration after each victory. “I think it’d be a nice little tip of the cap to John and what he meant to so much of this franchise and this fan base,” Aaron Judge said.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: In surprisingly unseating incumbent shortstop Anthony Volpe (at least for the moment), José Caballero has flown in the face of the underlying metrics that inform organizational decision-making. Despite posting an expected weighted on-base average of .266 — ranking in the seventh percentile across the game — his results on offense and exemplary performance defensively and on the basepaths have earned him a reprieve from the utility role which appeared a fait accompli just a couple of weeks ago. “I’m trying to win a battle, man,” Caballero said in describing his scrappy approach. “It doesn’t matter how I win it, I want to win the battle. I’m just trying to be on base, make some damage, and help my team.”
When asked if he foresees a backslide, Boone demurred. “Maybe,” said the Yankee manager. “Look, I think he’s a player. He’s a gamer. You like him up there when the chips are on the table.”
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - MARCH 15, 2025: Sean Keys #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during the fourth inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Minnesota Twins at TD Ballpark on March 15, 2025 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
87 hitters have taken 100 PA so far in AA leagues so far this season. The best batting line among them belongs to the Blue Jays’ 2024 fourth round draft pick, Sean Keys. Keys played his college ball at Bucknell, putting up ridiculous numbers against pretty pedestrian Patriot League competition. He popped a bit with excellent showings in summer wood bat leagues, particularly a brief cameo in the top tier Cape Cod League the summer before his draft season. After turning pro, he put up good-not-great surface level numbers in Dunedin and Vancouver. His advanced approach allowed him to wait out wild low minors pitchers, leading to big walk totals, but his power production was just solid. Underlying metrics suggested he was doing a lot of things right, though, and so far in 2025 a move up to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ lefty-power friendly Delta Dental Stadium has allowed the top line stats to catch up. Keys is hitting .310/.429/.667 with nine home runs in 24 games.
Keys’ offensive calling card is his power. His raw strength is solid average or a little better, but he has an uppercut swing that’s geared to pull balls hard in the air and might allow his game power production to come out as plus. Keys is a solidly built guy at 6’2” and 230lbs and can generate that power without selling out. It’s a simple swing, with just a small toe tap and a pretty direct path to the ball. This season, it looks like he’s quieted down his pre-swing movement in the box and opened his stance just a little. He can look a bit stiff, particularly in his two-handed follow-through, but he’s shown decent ability to get the bat on the ball. Last year his 78% contact rate was a bit above average. It’s fallen to 72% this year, partly because he’s gotten more aggressive but probably also because of better competition. He doesn’t have top tier bat speed, and good fastballs at the top of the zone can beat him. It’s possible the swing tweaks are an attempt to adjust to that. Whether he can reliably catch up to MLB calibre heat will be the biggest question on his offensive upside. If he can, he profiles as a low-ish average but solid OBP hitter who could produce 20-something home runs a season. He didn’t show a marked platoon split last year, but as a lefty he has the advantage of being the big side of a platoon if that ends up being his role.
Defensively, Keys’ only real long term home is at first base. He’s still mostly playing third, and his hands and arm actually look solid there, but he’s got a first base build and is a 30 grade runner. At some point probably just won’t have the range to stick at the hot corner. He has a reputation as a hard worker, and can probably be an above average glove at first with reps. He could probably also stand in left field, but again his speed would be a liability.
Keys is off to one of the most intriguing starts in the Jays’ system, and he has real tools to back it up. His 1.096 OPS is a bit of a caricature, but he’s also clearly better than the .773 he put up last season. Given his defensive limitations he’s unlikely to be a star, but he has everything he needs to be a dangerous bench bat in the near future, and everyday upside if he continues to regularly get to his power against higher level pitching.
Stanton has not yet started doing any kind of running, manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday, as the 36-year-old is still feeling the effects of the lingering calf issue.
“[It’s lingering] a little bit. It still feels minor, but not ready to push it yet.”
When Stanton landed on the IL — four days after suffering the injury jogging between first and second base in an April 24 game against the Astros, with the club waiting to see if he might be able to avoid a stint — the Yankees were hoping it would be a shorter stay.
But Stanton has had a history of soft-tissue injuries in his legs, so they said they were not going to push anything to have it turn into something more significant.
Giancarlo Stanton, who is still battling a “low-grade” right calf strain, still has not run yet since being put on the injured list. Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
In the meantime, Jasson Domínguez has mostly filled the DH role — after avoiding a serious elbow injury when he was hit by a pitch last Wednesday — entering Tuesday batting .273 with an .833 OPS in six games.
He went 0-for-4 in Wednesday’s win.
Ben Rice was out of the lineup for a second straight day Tuesday, still dealing with soreness from a left hand contusion he suffered Sunday.
The slugging first baseman was hoping to pick up a bat at some point Tuesday to see how much improvement he had made, but was mostly relegated to getting treatment.
“Better today,” Rice said before trying to swing.
Paul Goldschmidt started again at first base in Rice’s place and went 2-for-4 with a home run.
Carlos Rodón made his third and likely final rehab start Tuesday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — throwing 85 pitches across 6 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up six runs (five earned) — as long as everything goes well in the coming days.
Carlos Rodón's road back to the @Yankees rolls on.
The plan is for the left-hander to make his next start with the Yankees, Boone said Tuesday, assuming he comes out of the start healthy as he finishes off his comeback from October surgery to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his left elbow.
“I’m up to do whatever they want me to do,” Rodón said at Polar Park. “I’ll be ready when they call my name. That would be great.”
Rodón said his stuff could have been crisper, but he got done what he wanted to get done in terms of increasing his workload.
Gerrit Cole also made a fourth rehab start Tuesday with High-A Hudson Valley — building up to 69 pitches while giving up five runs across 4 ¹/₃ innings — though there was nothing imminent in regards to his return as he goes through a longer comeback from Tommy John surgery.
“I don’t know for sure, but I still think he’s a little bit of ways away,” Boone said.
— Additional reporting by Dan Martin in Worcester, Mass.
Logan Webb (62) wipes his head after giving up an rbi double to Sung-Mun Song (24) in the fourth inning as the San Francisco Giants played the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park San Francisco on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
The San Francisco Giants’ offense came to life on Tuesday, and it is critical that you understand that “come to life” is a relative term. Life, in living and breathing human being terms, may be binary, but in baseball parlance it is not.
For the Giants, coming to life means they scored exactly five runs, which marked just the 11th time they’ve done that through 36 games this year. It might not be a sign of life for the eight MLB teams that are averaging at least five runs per game.
But the issue with an offense that comes to life is that you never know whether its relationship with the other half of the game will be symbiotic or parasitic. Can life on offense beget life on the mound? Or must life on offense funnel life from a pitcher in order to stay alive?
On Tuesday, it was emphatically the latter. San Francisco’s life in the batter’s box, relative as it may be, came at the direct expense of their life throwing pitches. And the result was a 10-5 loss at the hands of the San Diego Padres.
That’s disappointing enough as is, but disappointment gives way to concern when you get to the critical detail: Logan Webb was on the mound.
We keep waiting for Webb’s season to arrive, and it keeps putting us on hold, and making us listen to that annoying music while we wait. There are flashes though, and Webb treated us to a few right out of the gates. He opened the night by striking out Jackson Merrill, and immediately followed it by K’ing Manny Machado. He did allow a two-out triple to Miguel Andujar, but in vintage Webb fashion, looked utterly unbothered while quickly retiring the next batter.
And on the other end, the offense wasted no time upping its game, and trying to prove to Buster Posey and Tony Vitello that the roster buttons being pressed are not in vain, and that the roster messages being yelled are heard, chef. Jung Hoo Lee quickly started a rally with a leadoff single against old frenemy Walker Buehler, setting the first inning in motion.
That set the stage for seemingly the only player employed by the Giants who knows how to hit these days, but my goodness does he know how to hit. For the second day in a row, Casey Schmitt (playing second base this time) launched a majestic first-inning moonshot that tickled the fog and hugged the left field line.
Just like that, the Giants had struck first with a pair of runs. With their offense looking lively and their ace on the mound, it didn’t even feel concerning when Xander Bogaerts bopped a solo shot in the second inning, cutting the lead in half.
You had more confidence than a one-game winning streak should afford you, but you felt sure that the offense would get the run back and Webb would settle down.
Right on the former; wrong on the latter.
The offense got the run back and then some in the bottom half of the inning thanks to the final third of the lineup. The seventh, eighth, and ninth hitters — Willy Adames, Drew Gilbert, and Jesús Rodríguez, respectively — all singled with one out. It was the third and final knock in that hit parade that was special: Rodríguez, getting a second straight start behind the dish to begin his MLB campaign, slapped one to right field for his first career hit. Adames, meanwhile, with his head down in reckless hustle, never looked up to see Hector Borg’s stop sign, and ran right through it, challenging Fernando Tatis Jr.’s dynamic arm, and winning ever so slightly.
Lee would follow that up with a fielder’s choice to score Gilbert, and the Giants led 4-1. Life was good, and it was even better when Webb would set down the side in order in the third, once again striking out Giants killers Merrill and Machado.
But soon it would not be very good at all. The fourth inning ended any and all hopes we garnered for an enjoyable baseball game. It started with a one-out, mild-mannered, seeing-eye single by Gavin Sheets. Such is the life of a sinkerballer.
It escalated a pitch later, when Tatis mashed a double to put runners at second and third with one out. Now the Padres were threatening to not just score a run, but get right back into the game.
They scored a run indeed, on a productive groundout by Bogaerts. It cut the score to 4-2, but it also gave Webb the second out of the inning, and escaping mostly intact was still in play. But Tatis would score when Nick Castellanos, who somehow still has a job, singled. And the danger only mounted further when Webb hit Luis Campusano with a pitch, putting the go-ahead run on the bases. And those runs would both score when Sung-Mun Song one-upped Rodríguez with his first career hit, which went for two bases and scored two runs. Take that, Jesús!
Song, who had taken third on an error by Adames on the play, would score easily on a Merrill single, and just like that, the Padres had flipped the game on its head. The inning had started with what felt like a comfortable lead. It had ended with the worst inning Webb has had in ages, and a 6-4 deficit.
It would be the final inning for Webb, who finished with four frames thrown, seven hits allowed, six runs, and four strikeouts (but no walks!). He had only thrown 62 pitches, but Vitello announced after the game that Webb had some leg discomfort, and the training staff wanted to play in safe after a long inning.
Ever the gamer — and in this case, likely ever the truth-teller — Webb was adamant that any soreness he felt had no impact on the way he threw the ball. He just didn’t throw it well, and with that, his ERA ballooned to 5.06.
What came after wasn’t much prettier. JT Brubaker took over for the fifth, and managed to give up two hits and two walks in his only inning, though he somehow allowed just one run along the way. Despite the second and third batters in the sixth inning being right handed, Tony Vitello shockingly opted for Ryan Borucki in the frame, and it went about how you would expect: he didn’t even get through the opening lefty unscathed, as Merrill bopped a leadoff single. After stealing second, he scored on the most predictable of outcomes: Borucki allowing a hit to a righty.
Gregory Santos handled the seventh and eighth, and while his stuff was nasty — and 20 of his 28 pitches were strikes — his second frame featured a single by Song, a stolen base, an RBI double by Merrill, and, just because this is the kind of day the Giants were having, a balked-home run.
The lone clean outing belonged to Joel Peguero, who made his return from the Injured List and pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his season debut. Welcome back, Joel. And happy birthday!
As that chaos and disappointment unfolded on the mound, the Giants’ offense realized that resistance was futile, and tucked their hits into their back pocket for Wednesday’s game (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself). They went down in order in the third, fourth, fifth, eighth, and ninth innings. But while the showing was feeble during that time, it wasn’t devoid of highlights or feels, because in the seventh inning we were treated to one of the most special things in baseball: the first career home run.
No, it wasn’t off the bat of the highly-anticipated slugger Bryce Eldridge, though he did single for his first hit of the year. Instead, it was Rodríguez, who is getting the playing time preference over Patrick Bailey, it seems. With one out in the inning, Rodríguez got a slider from Jeremiah Estrada and, as he did earlier in the day with his single, inside-outed it to right field.
One day the rookie will learn about the disappointments that await hitters who hit fly balls to right field at Oracle Park, but that day will have to wait. Because in just his second career game, Rodríguez took on the arcade and emerged victorious, with his first slow jog around the bases.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 05: Jesus Rodriguez #79 of the San Francisco Giants hits a single that scored a run against the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Oracle Park on May 05, 2026 in San Francisco, California. This was Rodriguez' first Major League hit. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Near the end of Tuesday’s telecast of the San Diego Padres’ 10-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants, broadcaster Duane Kuiper tried to look on the bright side of Matt Chapman’s 0-for-4 night.
“If it’s any consolation,” Kuiper said, “Chapman’s had the longest out in this game.”
That’s how hard it was to find a positive on a night where the Padres overcame early deficits of 2-0 and 4-1 with a five-run 4th inning off Logan Webb. As the Padres were coming back, starter Walker Buehler (2-2) settled down with three straight shutout innings. By the time a Rafael Devers single and Bryce Eldridge’s first hit of the season chased Buehler in the 6th inning, the Giants were trailing 8-4.
Buehler worked 5.1 innings and gave up seven hits and four runs. Three Padres relievers retired 11 of the 12 Giants they faced, with the lone exception being rookie catcher Jesus Rodriguez, who launched an opposite-field blast off Jeremiah Estrada for his first big-league home run.
Rodriguez got his first big-league hit and first big-league RBI five innings earlier, when he slapped the ball into right field and Willy Adames was rewarded by absolutely blowing through a stop sign at third base to score the team’s third run of the game. After a Jung Hoo Lee groundout, 25-year-old Drew Gilbert came around to score, following his 33rd big-league hit earlier in the inning.
The Giants took an early lead on the 29th big-league home run by Casey Schmidt, his sixth of the 2026 season and one that inspired a truly wretched pun from the NBC Sports social media intern.
This author contends that the sheer awfulness of “HOTTER THAN SCHMITT GREASE” doomed the Giants to their defeat Tuesday night. Maybe reading that tweet in the dugout made Webb lose focus, leading to Xander Boegarts’ solo homer that halved the Giants’ lead in the 2nd.
Aside from the Bogaerts blast, Webb cruised for the first three innings until disaster struck in the top of the 4th. Gavin Sheets continued his career-long ownage of Webb with a single, and No. 5 hitter Fernando Tatis, Jr., hitting the lowest in the Padres lineup since his rookie year, doubled to right.
After an RBI grounder from Bogaerts, Webb brushed back Nick Castellanos, which woke up the slumping outfielder, and his single to center score Tatis. Then Webb really did hit a Padre, catcher Luis Campusano. Sung-Mun Song, in his second big-league at-bat, got his first two big-league RBIs with a double off the wall and scored his first major-league run on a Jackson Merrill single.
Webb’s final line: 4IP, 7H, 6R, 4K, but hey, zero walks!
JT Brubaker had a miserable, 38-pitch 5th inning, but escaped having allowed only one run on a Castellanos sac fly despite walking the bases loaded twice. Merrill singled, stole second, and scored in the 6th on a Miguel Andujar (3-for-5) single off Ryan Borucki.
Gregory Santos gave up two runs in a mistake-filled 8th inning, where Song reached on an infield single, stole second and took third on a Rodriguez throwing error, a double from Merrill (he went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs) and a balk. All in all, the Giants’ defense was sloppy all game, with dropped throws, balls bouncing past outfielders, wild throws, and ill-timed balks.
But Matt Chapman really did hit that ball a long way when he flew out to right field in the 4th inning.
