Category: MLB

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mark Vientos doubled to start a rally in the Mets loss Saturday.

A day later, he became a one-man rally for the team.

“I think the work behind the scenes is for sure showing these past two days,” Vientos said after smashing a pair of two-run homers in the Mets’ 5-1 victory over the Angels on Sunday. “I have been seeing the ball great all season. I think I have been just missing stuff, and I didn’t miss those two pitches today.”

Vientos’ homer in the fourth following Carson Benge’s walk gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.

In the eighth, Benge doubled in a run before Vientos again went deep.

The outburst was welcomed by a slumping player and team.

Vientos entered the day with a .650 OPS and had not homered since April 18.

He’s become a regular in the lineup due to the Mets’ mounting casualties.

“We have seen that,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We haven’t seen that in a while, but when [Vientos] gets hot, he can carry a team. That’s the power and the hitting that he’s capable of, and I am glad he came through for us today.”

The start time of Monday’s game in Colorado has been moved up three hours to 5:40 p.m. ET due to weather concerns.

Mendoza indicated the plan is to utilize David Peterson in a relief role behind an opener Monday against the Rockies.

The lefty Peterson returned from the bullpen to a starter’s role last Wednesday and struggled against the Nationals, allowing seven earned runs over 3 ²/₃ innings.

Peterson did not pitch during the Rockies’ three-game sweep of the Mets just over a week ago.

Infielder Eric Wagaman was designated for assignment to create space on the 40-man roster for Vidal Bruján.

Another Sunday afternoon home game for the Colorado Rockies meant another autograph Sunday, where fans can head down to the first-base side to get pre-game signatures from a handful of Rockies. This has been a fan favorite for many years at Coors, drawing lines that extend up the rows and into the concourse.

I partook in some autograph Sundays over the years when I was younger. (I’ve still got a Clint Barmes signed hat in my collection.) In recent years, I’ve really enjoyed getting a Mystery Bag during the Rockies’ Wives Charity Night and seeing whose autographed baseball I’d find.

I’ve got a few most-cherished autographs from over the years:

• Having the same last name, my favorite player when I was a six-years-old Rockies die-hard was Neifi Perez. I was able to meet him before a game to get a signed ball, which blew young me away.

• While I don’t seek out and ask for autographs as much now that I’m older (there’s something about crossing the threshold where you’re suddenly older than your favorite team’s prospects), I saw Germán Márquez practicing during my first trip to Scottsdale a few years ago, and I had him sign my spring training souvenir ball to mark the occasion.

• Finally, one of my family’s prized possessions is a signed photo of the iconic Todd Helton picture from the 2007 Rocktober NLCS win that was gifted to my dad from a boss. This is technically his, so I can’t necessarily claim it as something that I own. But, to be fair, I think it’s cool enough that the whole family can be in awe of it.

So whether it was a ball you got signed yourself, something that was passed down to you, an autographed jersey you bought, something from one of history’s greats or a current favorite, or a signature on a random item because it’s all you had during a chance encounter, what’s your favorite baseball autograph in your collection?

Or, if you’re not so into autographs, what’s your favorite piece of baseball memorabilia you own?

Let us know!

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

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Detroit Tigers scored seven runs.

Looks like I picked the right day to not be subscribed to the 20th different service that MLB has shoved exclusive games on.

The Rangers had a guy striking out everyone and perfect into the fifth inning against a team going with a bullpen game and still got blown out.

After winning the first game of this series, the Rangers scored two runs combined in the next two games to kick off this road trip with a series loss.

Player of the Game: I don’t care that it says Jack Leiter allowed five runs in this game. Sorry, Jack.

Up Next: The Rangers take tomorrow off to cancel their streaming service trials before beginning a series against the Yankees at The Bronx on Tuesday evening.

The Detroit Tigers bullpen put together a really impressive game as six different relievers handled the Rangers without much trouble. Meanwhile, Spencer Torkelson supplied some power, and a parade of soft hits that found holes helped them pile up the runs and win this series two games to one on Sunday night.

The Tigers have a penchant for making a series of odd but ultimately inconsequential moves, and we got an interesting set on Sunday before this game got underway. Zack Short was added to the 40-man roster, RHP Grant Holman was designated for assignment, Short was called up, and Jace Jung was sent back to Triple-A Toledo. Explanation? I’m not sure I have one for you.

Gleyber Torres is day-to-day with what sounds like a minor oblique strain, so the Tigers need help at second base, but Jace Jung has always been a second baseman and only recently switched to playing mostly first base. If he can’t play second base, it’s hard to explain why he wasn’t the one DFA’d, particularly as the pitching staff being banged up is a bigger concern, but these were choices, and they were made. So Zack Short is here to mostly ride the bench for a few days while Torres tries to get his side loosened up. Zach McKinstry is healthy and should be back any day now, and a pitcher they liked enough to claim three weeks ago in Grant Holman was cut loose, soon to be followed by Shorty again.

Meanwhile, the Tigers would go with a bullpen game in Casey Mize’s regular spot, with left-hander Tyler Holton leading the way. And Hao-Yu Lee started at second base.

Tyler Holton has been shaky early on this season, but he actually has a bit more velocity than usual, sitting 91-92 mph more consistently. Brandon Nimmo greeted him with a single up the middle to start the game, but Andrew McCutcheon flew out shallowly to Wenceel Pérez in right field. Holton spun four straight well located sweepers in to Corey Seager and struck him out. That was nice to see, and that was also the end of Holton’s outing. Having faced the tough left-handed Seager, he gave way to right-hander Brenan Hanifee. Pitching chaos is back for an encore, though probably a short one.

Hanifee got ahead of Josh Jung 0-2, but then a sinker up got slapped to right field for a single. He got ahead of Jake Burger 0-2 as well, and this time finished him off with a good slider for strike three.

Jack Leiter was on the mound for Texas, and he quickly popped out Kevin McGonigle on a first pitch fastball, continuing a peculiar trend with McGonigle the last few games, and punched out a scuffing Matt Vierling, and then Colt Keith as well.

Hanifee got the left-handed Evan Carter to ground out to Keith at third. Hanifee got ahead of Duran with good sinkers, and then got a groundout to McGonigle for the second out. A good changeup to the left-handed hitting Josh Smith got a weak flyout to end the inning as Brant Hurter started getting loose. So the lynchpin of the strategy at this point appeared to be getting a left-handed reliever in against Corey Seager, and otherwise just play it by ear.

Young Mr. Leiter, son of Al, of course, was looking about the best I’ve seen him to start this one, and that didn’t bode well for the Tigers early on. He bullied his way trhough Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter with a mix of well located 98 mph heaters and good sliders and curveballs.

Hanifee quickly got catcher Kyle Higashioka to fly out, and then gave way to Brant Hurter as the top of the Rangers order came up for the second time with Nimmo and Seager both hitting left-handed with McCutcheon between them. Hurter dispatched Nimmo with well located sinker up for a called strike three. Hurter threw his sweeper and changeup for strikes against McCutcheon, keeping the sinker out of the zone. In a 2-2 count, a sinker up got a pop-up to Lee at second base. So far, the plan was going according to, err, the plan.

Leiter continued to function as a precision buzzsaw in the third. Pérez grounded out, and Lee whiffed at 99 just off the outer edge after falling behind in the count. Jake Rogers lifted a routine fly ball, and it was on to the fourth. A tendency to hang breaking balls has hurt Leiter’s numbers early this season, but there was no sign of that yet and he was getting ahead in count after count early on, retiring all nine Tigers the first time through the order.

That’s fine though, we have Brant Hurter. The big lefty carved up Seager on three pitches, whiffing him on a sweeper for the strikeout. Jung popped out to Torkelson down the right field line. Hurter was hitting all his spots as well, getting a pair of whiffs on good changeups from Burger. The meat patty in question fought off another changeup, and took a fourseamer up and away from a 1-2 count. Hurter missed with a sweeper, and then got a routine grounder to third for the final out.

Leiter finally missed with strike one to McGonigle, but worked back ahead in the count. Kevin missed a meatball of a curve right down the middle and fouled it off. Eventually, a high fastball got a weak fly out to retire McGonigle. Vierling got ahead 2-1, but grounded out on a slider down and away. Keith got a first pitch ball, but Leiter dropped a changeup on the inside corner down. Keith blew a challenge on that and was wrong, and eventually lined out to center field. 12 up, 12 down.

Hurter remained up to the challenge, quickly getting a soft grounder from Carter to start the fifth. McGonigle made a nice play charging that one to get the out. Two more good pitches got Duran on a roller than McGonigle again read and reacted to perfectly to get the speedy baserunner. Smith singled to right field with two outs. Hurter missed up and away with two sinkers against Higashioka, and walked the catcher on four straight pitches. This was the first trouble for either side in the game. Hurter missed with a sweeper against Nimmo, and that was five straight balls from the big lefty. Ricky Vanasco was warming, but the Tigers wanted Hurter to get through Nimmo, McCutcheon, and Seager again, ideally. Hurter fell behind 2-1, but a good sinker got a soft tapper back to Hurter, and he tossed to Torkelson to escape the jam.

Leiter finally showed a sign of weakness, walking Riley Greene on four straight pitches to lose the perfect game attempt. You can’t show weakness around a Tigers. Ok, frankly it doesn’t matter what you do if a Tiger is coming after you, but I digress…Two fastballs for strikes to Torkelson followed, but you remember what I said earlier about the occasional mistake hanger? Leiter hung a slider up in the zone 0-2, and Torkelson crushed it to left for a two-run shot. 2-0 Tigers.

Carpenter struck out, and McCutcheon made a great play on a drive from Pérez to right. Lee fouled off a pair of fastballs to fall behind 0-2, and a slider down and away got the whiff. Still, the Tigers had one hit but it was the one that counted in this one so far.

McCutcheon singled up the middle on a first pitch sinker to start the sixth. That brought up Seager, with Vanasco ready to take over afterwards. Hurter got ahead 0-2 and got a grounder to Torkelson who turned a slick 3-6-3 double play, and that was well as Vanasco has only a handful of major league innings with the Dodgers and Tigers. Really nice throw to second from Tork on that one. Hurter finished with three innings of scoreless ball and a fine job overall.

Vanasco is a long-strider with big extension, sitting 94-95 mph with a pretty average fastball, but he packs a really good power curve and a quality changeup. He got Smith to ground one to McGonigle’s left, but the shortstop threw it away despite having plenty of time. Would Vanasco crumble? No, he got ahead of Burger and then was supposed to throw a fastball up and away. Instead, he sprayed a 95 mph heater under Burger’s hands and got the whiff anyway. Nicely done. Vanasco still hasn’t given up a run this year.

Leiter got up 0-2 on Jake Rogers, but the Tigers catcher smoked a line drive to center field. Carter dove and missed on it and the ball rolled deep toward the wall as Rogers cruised around to third with a triple. Leiter got ahead of McGonigle 0-2 as well, but Leiter hung a changeup and Kevin did Kevin things, lining an RBI single to right field. 3-0 Tigers. Viering took a called strike three. Keith chopped one back to Leiter and he made a nice barehanded play to barely throw out the Tigers’ third baseman. Riley Greene grounded out, and we were on to the seventh.

Vanasco got Carter on a routine flyout to open the seventh, but Duran reached out and flicked a curveball on the outer edge just fair down the left field line for a double. Vanasco walked Smith, and then yanked a fastball that Rogers couldn’t quite corral, advancing the runners to second and third. Fortunately, he bounced back with a pair of well located fastballs to Highashioka, and eventually got a nubber down to Torkelson for the second out, though Duran scored. So it was a 2-1 game, and Kyle Finnegan was warmed up, but Vanasco stayed soft against Nimmo and got a foul tip into the glove with a nice changeup for strike three. 3-1 Tigers. There was nothing hard hit, and Vanasco struck out two while collecting four outs. Perfectly fine return to the major leagues for him.

Leiter was at 81 pitches coming out to start the bottom of the seventh. Torkelson battled him through a long at-bat eventually struck out. Carpenter watched Leiter shift to soft stuff and was ready for a first pitch changeup, flicking a little line drive single to right field. Leiter missed with three straight to Pérez, but grounded one to first on a play that Burger bobbled, but then recovered to get the out. Leiter was now at 95 pitches as Hao-Yu Lee dug into the batter’s box. Lee got behind 0-2, but took a pair of balls and then chopped one off of Smith’s glove at second and into right field for an RBI single. 4-1 Tigers.

That was it for Leiter, as old friend Todd the Painter, aka Tyler Alexander took over. Impressive stuff from Leiter, but he still just has that little flaw of a budding ace who sometimes goes a little haywire at the first sign of adversity. Still, he punched out 10 Tigers, and there were at best three hard hit balls all night. Nice job by the Tigers of battling him and coming through on their few opportunities.

Jake Rogers and Alexander nodded to one another as old battery mates. Jake then dumped a bloop single into right field as Lee raced from first to third. Kevin McGonigle pulled a bouncer down the right field line and over Burger for an RBI single. McGonigle feels like he’s in a tiny slump the last few games and it’s still 1 or 2 hits and an RBI or two every night. Ridiculous.

Rogers purposefully made a big turn around third base, attracting Burger’s attentions, and the Rangers bought it, throwing to third, where they really had no shot. Rogers was easily back safe, and McGonigle adroitly understood the assignment, sprinting to second base. That cost the Rangers a run, as Matt Vierling floated a dying quail into shallow right center field and just out of Carter’s reach. Both runs scored, and suddenly it was 7-1 after Colt Keith grounded out to end the inning.

You know what they say, if you can’t hit it really hard, hit it really soft. This principle applied to the whole inning.

Kyle Finnegan struck out a pinch-hitting Alejandro Osuna to start the eighth. Corey Seager singled, but Jung grounded into a force of Seager at second, escaping a double play only after challenging the call at first base successfully. Burger flew out to Vierling in center to end the frame.

Gavin Collyer took over from Alexander in the bottom of the eighth, whiffing Greene on a cutter to start things off and then striking out Torkelson as well. Carpenter fought off a slew of two strike pitches and worked the count full, but eventually popped out on the infield to send this to the ninth.

Burch Smith took over to close this out, and got Carter to fly out to Greene to start the inning. Matt Vierling made a nice diving play on a Duran sinking line drive for the second out. Josh Smith hit a little flare to left and Greene had to go to the ground and it rattled in and out of his glove for a single. Smith regrouped and got Higashioka on a groundout to Lee to put this one away.

The Tigers are 18-17, tied with Cleveland for the divisional lead. They’ll welcome in the Boston Red Sox for a set starting on Monday night. The entire AL Central is currently bunched within three games of one another.

We’d like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Detroit Pistons who rallied back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic in a dominant 116-94 victory at Little Caesar’s Arena on Sunday afternoon. Heck of a comeback as the Pistons advance to the second round.

ST. LOUIS — For the last two weeks, the Dodgers hadn’t felt good.

Both at the plate and behind the scenes.

Starting with last month’s trip to Denver, the club’s lineup had been in a rut, averaging barely four runs per game during a 5-9 skid that derailed their hot start to the season. Over that same period, a nasty bug had been going around the clubhouse, impacting up to 90% of the roster in the estimation of one team staff member.

Slumps and sicknesses, of course, are inevitable realities of a grueling six-month season.

Rarely, however, do teams so severely endure both at the same time.

“I know this doesn’t quantify anything, and no one will care,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said earlier this weekend, “but for me, one of the side effects when everyone’s feeling bad is, the team doesn’t have the same joy when we show up every day.”

Which meant, as the losses piled up and the search for offense lingered, laughter and levity seemed equally short in supply.

“You have to conserve your energy, so you don’t have the same shenanigans going on in the clubhouse,” noted Muncy, who was so sick during the team’s recent homestand that he had to leave one game early and wear a heavy jacket in the dugout to regulate his body temperature. 

“When you take out any of that joy that comes from being around everybody, it has a negative effect on people.”

Finally, on Sunday, such vibes began to shift. 

In a 4-1 win over the Cardinals, the Dodgers did more than just snap a season-long four-game losing streak. For the first time in a few weeks, energy and enjoyment levels were pulsating through the team again. 

The day started with a telling observation from manager Dave Roberts, who noticed an upbeat atmosphere around the clubhouse ahead of what he described as a “gut check” game.

“I think that there’s a sense of pride that our guys have, that they understand that enough’s enough,” Roberts said before first pitch.

“I think we were just trying to over-caffeinate this morning,” first baseman Freddie Freeman joked later. “I’m glad our aura was a little different this morning. But we try to be the same every day.”

The Dodgers made one intentional change for Sunday, debuting a new drop-kick celebration whenever they reached base.

lol pic.twitter.com/rNZ8j67Otj

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 3, 2026

Several veteran players were coy about the origin of the new move –– which may or may not have been inspired by something backup catcher Dalton Rushing did at the end of the previous night’s game (when he frustratedly kicked out his leg upon returning to the dugout following a game-ending strikeout).

#山本由伸 投手 #YoshinobuYamamoto#ドジャース#Dodgers#LetsGoDodgerspic.twitter.com/VgOLJMDnhI

— ℕ.♡* (@Frontier__y18) May 3, 2026

Either way, the message it was intended to send was clear:

“We needed to kick away the negativity,” one player quipped.

That wasn’t the only lighthearted aspect of Sunday’s much-needed victory.

While the Dodgers didn’t exactly break out at the plate, they did enough to warrant a postgame media scrum with one of their top hitters. Thus, reporters initially approached Muncy in the clubhouse for an interview –– only for him to pin the task on Freeman instead.

“Freddie’s coming,” Muncy said with a laugh, before going into the dining room to drag Freeman out for the cameras. “Here he is.”

In the other corner of the locker room, Emmet Sheehan began cracking up as starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski was asked about his uniquely dominant start –– including a question about whether he realized he had failed to record any strikeouts in his scoreless six-inning outing.

“I mean, yeah,” Wrobleski said with a smirk and a shrug. “I had a lot of two-strike counts, and then they kept putting it in play. So I was like, ‘All right, I’ll take the out.’”

In much the same way, the Dodgers will happily take Sunday’s win, as well.

Their hope is that it will mark a small-but-important step toward getting back on track after the struggles of the last few weeks. All the better if it reignites the joy that had been missing on and off the field.

“Offensively, we just haven’t been very good the last week,” Freeman said. “Just call a spade a spade sometimes. There’s no way to sugarcoat it … But no one’s worried in here. And it’s good to get a win on a day game, salvage a series and hopefully start a better streak tomorrow.”

“You just have to bow your neck and find a way to win,” Roberts echoed. “Doesn’t matter how good or bad it looks, we needed a win today. So [now] we can have a happy flight.”

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were cast out by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 8-7.

Jordan Wicks had a rough start in a rehab assignment. He took the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits over 3.2 innings. The positive news is that he struck out four and walked just one and 50 of his 75 pitches were strikes.

The also-rehabbing Ethan Roberts threw the ninth inning without allowing a run or a hit. He issued a one out walk, but picked the runner off first. Roberts did not strike anyone out.

For the third-straight game, DH Kevin Alcántara homered. It was a solo home run in the eighth inning and was his league-leading 12th overall. Alcántara was 1 for 5.

Second baseman Pedro Ramírez went 3 for 5 with an RBI double in the sixth inning and he knocked home another one with a single in the seventh.

Right fielder Justin Dean went 1 for 2 with two walks and three runs scored. He also had an RBI single in the seventh.

The Ramírez double.

An RBI double for Hayden Cantrelle. He was 1 for 4.

The Ramírez RBI single.

This one went 426 feet.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies shut out the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 1-0.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. went two innings as the opener. He allowed two hits but no walks and he struck out three.

Nick Dean threw the next 4.2 innings and got the win. Dean surrendered four hits. He struck out six and walked no one.

Marino Santy relieved Dean after he gave up back-to-back two out singles in the seventh. Santy got out of that jam with a strikeout and then retired the side in order in the eighth.

Luis Rujano pitched the ninth inning and got the save. He allowed a leadoff single, but nothing else. He did not strike anyone out.

Right fielder Carter Trice led off the game with a solo home run. The Smokies only managed one more hit the rest of the game, but that was enough. It was Trice’s second home run this year. He was 1 for 4.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were cooked by the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 11-10.

The wind was howling out in South Bend today, but starter Jackson Brockett was only around for part of the first inning of it. Brockett allowed two home runs in the first inning and was pulled after giving up five runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. The saving grace there for Brockett was that only one of the five runs was earned.

The loss, however, went to Nate Spears, who gave up three runs on four hits over the next 3.1 innings. Just one of the four hits was a home run. Spears walked two and struck out five.

Right fielder Kade Snell connected in the third inning with a man on for his second home run of the season. Snell went 2 for 5 with three total runs batted in.

Third baseman Cole Mathis then went back-to-back with Snell for his first South Bend home run and his eighth overall. Mathis went 2 for 5. He scored twice and drove in two.

In the sixth inning, first baseman Cameron Sisneros hit a two-run home run that I think still hasn’t landed. Sisneros went 1 for 4 with a walk. He now has four home runs this season.

Shortstop Ty Southisene went 3 for 6 with a two-run double in his High-A debut. Southisene scored one run and had three total RBI.

Southisene’s double.

Snell’s home run.

Cole Mathis goes back-to-back.

I don’t think this one landed.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got plucked by the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 7-3.

Birds starter Luis A. Reyes failed to retire a batter. He allowed one hit, walked three and hit one batter. All five runners came around to score, three after he left the game.

Noah Edders relieved Reyes with the bases loaded and no outs in the first. He let all three runners in, but he steadied the ship by going 4.2 innings and allowing no runs of his own. Edders surrendered two hits and issued three walks. He struck out five.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez got the Pelicans on the board with a solo home run in the third inning. It was his third of the season. Valdez went 1 for 4.

First baseman Michael Carico went 2 for 4 with a walk and a two-run double.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 5 and scored on the Carico double.

Valdez’s solo home run.

The Mets’ offense has been in desperate need of some power to start the season, and on Sunday afternoon Mark Vientos was the man to deliver. 

Vientos crushed not one, but two homers to help New York secure the series win over the Angels.

His first came in the top of the fourth when he demolished a 2-0 Jack Kochanowicz sinker 427 feet to the rock pile in center to give the Mets a 2-1 advantage.

Vientos joked postgame that he liked that one better.

“I got all of it, hit it pretty good,” he said. 

The second one was also a big one for the Mets, though, as it helped extend the lead and put the game away for good in the top of the eighth.

Vientos jumped on a 2-1 Nick Sandlin sinker at the top of the zone, ripping it 103.3 mph over the left-field fence. 

It was the sixth multi-homer game of Vientos’ career.

“I was just trying to put together good at-bats,” he said. “I know when I’m on and I’m feeling good that I’m a game-changer especially with the bat, and I got the job done today.”

And it wasn’t just today, as Vientos has been swinging a much-better bat of late.  

The slugger has turned things around very nicely at the plate -- hitting .275 with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI, and a .891 OPS over his last 12 games. 

“I feel good,” he said. “I like the at-bats I’ve taken the past few days, I just want to keep on it, keep putting good at-bats together, and just take it into this series in Colorado.”

With all of the Mets’ injuries, this would be the perfect time for him to catch fire.

“We’ve seen it when he’s going, when he’s driving the ball,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We haven’t seen it in a while, but when he gets hot he can carry a team -- that’s the power and the hitter he’s capable of, he came through today.”

It’s no longer just a crazy idea – Clay Holmes is a bona fide starting pitcher for the New York Mets.

After another stellar outing against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in which he went 6.2 innings while allowing one run on four hits and three walks in the Mets’ 5-1 win, Holmes is now 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA (0.98 WHIP) in seven starts. 

That’s more than simply a good beginning to the season, Holmes is pitching himself into the Cy Young award conversation and it’s time people everywhere took notice.

“It’s unbelievable,” said manager Carlos Mendoza about his right-hander’s performance. “We saw it again today. That first inning was a battle after the first couple of guys get on and he’s up to like 30-something pitches, [but] before you know it he’s able to get to those middle innings.

“[He] kept making pitches and for him to go back out for the seventh, he’s just on another level right now physically, mentally.”

It’s true, Sunday’s outing didn’t start out the best for Holmes who walked the first two batters he faced as part of a 27-pitch first inning. But after giving up a run four batters into the game, Holmes turned it on and settled in nicely, not only holding the Angels scoreless the rest of the way, but keeping his pitch count low enough to go deep into the game.

After the game, Mendoza marveled at the former reliever’s ascension into ace starting pitcher.

“The way he’s making adjustments in games, the way he’s using his pitches, trusting the defense when he needs to… overall from Clay, solid,” the skipper said.

Over his last three starts, Holmes has allowed three earned runs over 19.2 innings and has gone at least six innings in all of them. Twice already this season Holmes has pitched seven innings after achieving that just once in 2025.

Holmes’ 1.69 ERA is the fourth-lowest in the majors and his 42.2 innings pitched this season is top-10, wildly impressive for a guy who made the switch from reliever to starter just last year.

Holmes credits his success with the “confidence and trust” of his sinker, the pitch that made him so effective as a late-inning reliever in his career and why David Stearns believed he could make the transition to the rotation in the first place.

While the sinker is his bread and butter and the pitch he throws 49 percent of the time, according to Baseball Savant, Holmes knew he would have to expand his arsenal to more than just one pitch, which he did.

Mixing in a sweeper, changeup, cutter, curveball and four-seamer, Holmes has options up there. However, instead of shying away from his sinker this season and abandoning what makes him so special just because his role has changed, the right-hander has embraced who he is and is using it to his advantage.

“I think for me there’s kind of a comfort thing and I feel like – you know the trust with the sinker was always there, but I feel like, especially now I just feel like there’s a lot of confidence and trust with the sinker,” he said. “That’s who I was as a reliever and I knew that was who I would be as a starter, but I felt like I kinda had the confidence and the trust of the sinker and when I have that I feel like I’m able to pitch off of it and really feel like myself and pitch with some confidence.”

Now in his second year as a full-time starter, Holmes knows the ropes a bit more and rather than learning how to be a starting pitcher and focusing on superfluous things, he can dial it in on what kind of starter he wants to be.

So who does Holmes want to be? Someone who unapologetically throws his greatest weapon, the sinker, nearly half of the time.

“I knew I would have to expand the arsenal, it wouldn’t be all sinkers, but with that, I’m not gonna say distracted but you know there has to be some kind of widening of the arsenal and so there’s focus there,” he said. “And I think more than anything this year is just the confidence with the sinker, like I can still pitch off this and it’s more of a mentality thing, just kind of attacking with the sinker.

“That’s kind of what I had as a reliever and it’s not so much, okay let me get ahead with the sinker or kind of use it to set up something else, it’s like here’s the sinker. So I think just getting back to that mentality with it has kind of just helped the life and the finish to it and I think it’s just been helpful so far this year.”

Ronald Acuna Jr. was placed on the injured list on Sunday morning due to a hamstring strain that he suffered the day before. 

Acuna had come out of the Braves’ 9-1 win over the Rockies on Saturday after starting to limp in pain during the second inning when he was running out a ground ball he hit to second base. 

Acuna had undergone an MRI in Denver to understand how severe the injury was and will now be on the IL with a left hamstring strain. 

The MRI revealed a Grade 1 hamstring strain and Braves manager Walt Weiss said it “could have been a lot worse.” 

“Not too serious, but serious enough that we had to put him on the list,” Weiss told reporters on Sunday. “It’s not going to be just a couple of days. It’s going to be more than, so we need to put him on the IL. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. No idea with these soft tissue injuries, how long they’re going to take. 

“But I think the silver lining is the MRI showed it wasn’t too serious.”

An update on Ronald Acuña Jr. from Braves Manager Walt Weiss: pic.twitter.com/rXxpWG6ubH

— BravesVision (@BravesVisionTV) May 3, 2026

The Braves called up José Azócar to fill the spot left by Acuna. 

The five-time All-Star was off to a slow start this season, slashing .252/.362/.378 over 152 plate appearances, while hitting just two home runs. 

Atlanta has also dealt with its fair share of injuries this season, with the loss of Acuna being the latest one. 

The Braves have eight pitchers listed on their IL as of Sunday, with a varying degree of injuries that they’re recovering from, which includes closer Raisel Iglesias, reliever Dylan Dodd and starter Spencer Schwellenbach.

The Braves won Sunday’s game 11-6 over the Rockies to take the weekend series. 

Atlanta is in first place in the National League East with an 8 ½ game lead over the Marlins.

When Anthony Volpe began his minor league rehab assignment on April 14th, it felt like a foregone conclusion that he has headed to the big league roster once he completed it. Fast-forward to today, and the organization has made the decision to go the other direction, activating him from the IL just to option him down to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

The move comes after days of speculation, as manager Aaron Boone was notably noncommittal on Volpe’s immediate future with his rehab assignment nearing the end. What was seen as his likely activation target in the start of this most recent homestand with the Orioles came and went without a word on his status, pushing the final decision into the weekend. Eventually, time ran out and the Yankees showed their hand, sending down their everyday shortstop since his arrival to the majors in 2023 in favor of keeping José Caballero as the starter.

Caballero’s play has been the biggest factor in this development, seeing as general manager Brian Cashman deemed Volpe’s return a near-automatic assumption right before Volpe’s rehab began, saying “that’s always been the plan.” Caballero was hitting for a paltry .384 OPS at the time of those comments, but has since gone on a heater raising his OPS to .719. His last 12 games he’s been particularly hot, hitting for a .302/.348/.535 triple slash (.883 OPS). Coming off of a season where he played most of the year hurt and consequently looked terrible, Volpe needed his competition to look unimpressive if he hoped to be handed the starting gig back, but that just hasn’t happened.

During his rehab assignment, Volpe played four games with Scranton and eight with Double-A Somerset, earning a .683 OPS with one homer and six RBI when combining his games across the two teams. Had he hit the ground on fire during his rehab, perhaps he still could’ve won out and retained his position, but the team’s last-minute decision indicates that they were waiting to see something from the 25-year-old that didn’t manifest in time for them to feel comfortable inserting him back in their lineup. Volpe will now have to work on his game in Triple-A in order to earn his playing time back, in what may prove to be his first real run through the level of competition. Volpe played just 22 games with Scranton at the end of the 2022 season before winning the starting job with the Yankees in spring training ahead of 2023, and had been with the team through the good times and hard times since.

Volpe’s future will also be impacted by the development of George Lombard Jr., the team’s top prospect who was also recently promoted to Triple-A after raking to start the year in Somerset. Lombard’s trajectory through the organization could see him make his MLB debut as early as the end of this season, with a decent shot at earning a role with the 2027 team. Lombard shifted over to third base to allow Volpe to play his natural position during his rehab, and the fastest track to the majors might see Lombard move around the infield should the team want to play him over Ryan McMahon or Jazz Chisholm Jr., but he’s already an elite defender and finding his bat in the upper levels of the minors. That’s reminiscent of how a young Anthony Volpe looked when he was the team’s top prospect and rising through the organization, but now he finds his security in the team’s future threatened in the short and long-term if he cannot tap into that nascent talent again.

Tomorrow’s series opener between the Mets and Rockies at Coors Field has been moved up from 8:40pm EDT to 5:40pm EDT. Adjust your viewing plans accordingly.

The change was made due to the expected inclement weather, with temperatures expected to reach a high of 70 around midday before diving into the 30s in the evening. This, paired with forecasted freezing rain, has resulted in an earlier start time, much like what the Mets did earlier in the year for some home games.

The team will face some weather whiplash after leaving Anaheim, where they took two of three from the Angels this weekend. At their lowest, temperatures during the series never dipped below 60 degrees. To contrast, Denver is expecting snow later in the week, which could potentially affect the later games in the series. For now, no further changes have been announced. The high temperatures for Tuesday and Wednesday’s games are not expected to eclipse 40 degrees.

The Mets announced that they will use an opener on Monday, with David Peterson serving as the bulk man for New York following his most recent ineffective outing. The Mets have not revealed who the opener will be, but he will be opposed by Rockies’ right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano. Freddy Peralta and Christian Scott will pitch on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, weather permitting.

Carson Benge is looking more and more comfortable at the big-league level with each passing day, and on Sunday afternoon he put together easily his most complete showing to this point. 

The youngster helped the Mets on both sides of the ball as they defeated the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 to secure their first series win in nearly a month. 

Benge pieced together tremendous at-bats each of his first two times up, walking on six pitches in the top of the third and then eight pitches in the fourth.

The second one proved to be a big one, as the Mets took the lead just two pitches later when Mark Vientos crushed his first two-run homer of the day. 

Benge grounded out in the sixth but was able to do some damage of his own in the eighth, lining an RBI double down the right-field line to give New York an insurance run. 

Vientos followed that again with a two-run shot, putting this one away for good.

The 23-year-old wasn’t done there, though, as he made the best catch of his career to this point to rob Vaughn Grissom of extra-bases in the bottom of the ninth. 

Benge raced over to the right-field line before laying out full extension to somehow make the pulchritudinous play, as Gary Cohen described it on the SNY broadcast. 

"I was kind of surprised to tell you the least," Benge said. "If I see a ball that I think I can get to, I'm going to go after it -- I'm just glad that I was able to come down with that one there."

"If that ball falls that's a completely different inning," Carlos Mendoza added. 

This is just the latest of what’s been a string of strong performances from the former first-round pick as he continues finding his footing at the big-league level. 

He's now hitting .290 with three XBH’s, four RBI, and a .333 OBP over his last 10 games. 

“It just feels like a juiced baseball game now," Benge said. "It kind of took me a while to get my feet settled and different things like that, but now I feel like I’m finding my groove and getting comfortable out there."

"He can play," Mendoza added.

OH WOW, CARSON BENGE! pic.twitter.com/I57Gf0Rkjw

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 3, 2026

After today’s victory against the Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters that closer Raisel Iglesias will be activated from the 15-day Injured List on Tuesday in Seattle where the Braves will be taking on the Seattle Mariners.

Iglesias’ return will help fortify the Braves bullpen has it has dealt with significant turnover in the past two weeks.

The Braves, who are 25-10 after sweeping the Rockies, should also get back catcher Sean Murphy in Seattle, but the exact day Murphy will be activated is not known. With outfielder Ronald Acuña, Jr. going on the 10-day IL due to a hamstring injury and fellow outfielder Michael Harris II nursing a quad injury, Atlanta could have an interesting decision to make with Murphy’s activation. It is possible Harris II could go on the IL.

Iglesias has yet to allow a run this season, striking out 11 in 8.2 inning across eight games. He has also saved five games, which still leads the team.

As long as baseball continues to be played at altitude in Coors Field, there will be the potential for a whole bushel of runs to be scored in any given game. With the Atlanta Braves running as hot as they have to start this season, there was plenty of potential for the Braves to put in some serious work at the plate.

Even with the Rockies sending some decent starting pitching to the mound for this series, it was clear that they’d have a pretty big task on their hands to keep this Braves team quiet. As it turned out, there wasn’t much that Colorado’s pitching staff could do to stop Atlanta during this series as the Braves did a bunch of hitting early and often. How much damage did they end up doing? Let’s go into detail!

Friday, May 1

Braves 8, Rockies 6

This one got off to an extremely poor start for Grant Holmes and the Braves, as the Rockies lit him up for five runs in the first inning and then added on another one in the second via a solo homer from Mickey Moniak to make it a 6-0 lead. That’s how it stayed through three innings as the Braves were forced to dig themselves out of a hole from the middle innings onward. Fortunately, Holmes ended up staying out there for five innings and was able to successfully pass the baton to Anthony Molina, Didier Fuentes and eventually, Robert Suarez.

Now, how on Earth did Robert Suarez end up getting involved? That’s because Holmes calming down and the bullpen clamping down ended up being crucial as the Braves started to claw their way back. Matt Olson got the Braves on the board with a solo homer in the fourth and then it all came unraveled for Colorado once Jose Quintana exited the game following the sixth inning. A productive out from Jonah Heim cut the deficit to four runs in the seventh and then the eighth was when Atlanta delivered the haymaker.

The top of the order managed to load up the bases with one out, which set the stage for Mauricio Dubón to continue his surprisingly-good start to the season at the plate with a big hit here. He didn’t hit it out but he hit it to the wall and in an outfield as big and expansive as Coors Field, that’s massive trouble. Dubón’s triple cleared the bases to tie the game and then he scored on a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies to tie it up in Atlanta.

The ninth inning rolled around and Michael Harris II was called upon for pinch-hitting duty after Jonah Heim led off the frame with a walk. Sure enough, Money Mike was able to deliver another big hit off of the bench as he crushed one into the seats in right field to give the Braves-partisan crowd in Denver something to roar about. That’s how Robert Suarez ended up getting involved and making his fourth save of the season in order to complete a fantastic comeback win for the Braves.

Saturday, May 2

Braves 9, Rockies 1

This one was a bit more straight-forward for the Braves as they ended up rolling to a wire-to-wire beatdown of the Rockies in this one. Drake Baldwin crushed a dinger in the first inning and that was the first of three dingers for Atlanta in this one — and the first two RBI of four on the day for Baldwin. Austin Riley got some frustration out in the fifth inning with a two-run shot that made it 8-1 and then Matt Olson demolished a no-doubter in the ninth inning that brought us to our final score.

While this was all going on, Chris Sale put in another great evening of work on the mound. Sale went seven innings while only giving up one run on three hits and three walks. He also struck out11 batters in the process. Pitching in this series wasn’t easy for anybody so it was very impressive to see Sale go out there and continue to be dominant despite the extremely hitter-friendly environment tripping up other pitchers over the course of this series. Sale’s strong effort meant that the Braves only needed to turn to Dylan Lee and Hunter Stratton to close things out from the bullpen.

The only real blemish in this game for the Braves (outside of missing out on a rare Coors Field shutout win thanks to an RBI double from Jordan Beck) was that Ronald Acuña Jr. strained his left hamstring and ended up having to go on the 10-day IL as a result. The obvious hope is that it’ll be closer to 10 days on the shelf for Acuña rather than anything longer than that but it’s still a bummer to see that the injury bug has once again continued to pester the Braves.

Sunday, May 3

Braves 11, Rockies 6

The initial story heading into this game was Spencer Strider’s 2026 regular season debut. This was always going to be a tricky way to start the season for Strider and sure enough, that was the case. He only made it through 3.1 innings and while he did strike out six batters, he walked five and conceded four hits on his way to giving up three runs during his time out there. It also didn’t help matters that Aaron Bummer came in and got knocked around for two runs while he recorded an inning’s worth of outs.

Fortunately, it helped that the Rockies continued to provide little-to-no resistance to Atlanta’s lineup. In fact, this game was all about Jonah Heim, of all people. Heim went into this game with just three RBI to his name over the course of 11 games played. He now has eight, after he pushed five runs across the plate with his bat. Heim picked a great day to collect five RBI (his most in a single game since September 11, 2023 against the Blue Jays) since you can see what the score ended up being. Heim’s breakout ended up making a big difference as his efforts at the plate pushed the Braves to their second sweep so far this season — both on the road, no less!

With the series win, the BravesVision broadcast pointed out that the Braves are now off to their best 35-game start since 1892. Yes, you read that correctly: THE YEAR OF OUR LORD EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-AND-NINETY-TWO. That is wild and this stat from Sarah Langs of MLB.com with the added contest of the top five 35-game starts makes it even wilder.

What do all of those other starts have in common? They’re all in the 1800s! This is the best start that any of us currently living have ever seen from the Braves over this many games. Getting this deep into the season with this many wins banked is absolutely vital. They could slow down eventually but even if there is a downturn in form, as long as there isn’t a major slump then the Braves are going to be right in the thick of it as far as Postseason contention for the whole season.

The performance at Coors Field was impressive as well. Now granted, the Rockies are the Rockies (which is to say they don’t figure to be great this season) but they also still have to be taken seriously in their home stadium. It’s a venue that can bring up any type of result at any given moment and one where offense is expected but also not a given. If you don’t believe me then take a look at last year’s series for the Braves in Colorado, which is one that they managed to win while scoring only 15 runs (including a game where they only scored one run) and hitting zero home runs. This time, they scored 28 runs and cracked seven dingers. The offense is clearly in a much better place right now than last season and that’s been the engine that has powered the Braves to their lofty spot in the standings so far.

The Braves will now look to continue taking care of business as they will continue their trip out West with a visit to Cascadia to face off with the Mariners. Seattle has gotten off to a mediocre start so far and Atlanta will have to rely on the bottom of the rotation to continue getting the job done. With that being said, we’ve gotten to the point now where the Braves have to like their chances whenever this current version of Bryce Elder takes the mound and JR Ritchie has been encouraging as well. Grant Holmes will need a turnaround performance and hopefully the pitcher-friendly environment of T-Mobile Park will provide that opportunity for Holmes. It’ll be tricky (there’s that word again) but with the way the Braves have been playing so far in 2026, it’s more-than-possible that they can keep this going in Seattle with another series win. We’ll see what happens!

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Baby steps.

The Mets are banged up, and their lineup remains challenged, but a series victory is no small feat for this careening crew, so their weekend in Orange County should be celebrated, albeit cautiously.

Mark Vientos provided rare thunder Sunday with two home runs, and Clay Holmes’ latest strong performance carried the Mets to a 5-1 victory over the Angels.

The Mets won two of three games for only their second series victory since April 5.

“The only thing it does is make sure our flight is happier,” Vientos said. “I think that’s about it. We have got to win [Monday].”

Before the game, the Mets placed Ronny Mauricio on the injured list with a left thumb fracture.

Mauricio joined Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and Jared Young among the sidelined position players.

Vientos’ second homer of the day, a two-run shot in the eighth inning, provided breathing room for the bullpen.

Luke Weaver pitched 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings before Brooks Raley recorded the final three outs in a non-save situation.

“That’s our goal, to start winning series,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Holmes kept his string of superb starts intact by allowing one earned run on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts over 6 ²/₃ innings as his ERA dropped to 1.69.

Holmes has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his seven starts this season. He’s pitched at least six innings in each of his past three starts.

Holmes walked Zach Neto on 11 pitches to start his day.

After Mike Trout walked, Jorge Soler delivered an RBI single for the game’s first run.

Holmes limited the damage, getting Jo Adell to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“I got out of that with the one run and kind of really settled in,” Holmes said. “The defense made some good plays behind me.”

Vaughn Grissom walked in the second, but Holmes got Oswald Peraza, who beat the Mets the previous night with an RBI single in the 10th inning, to hit a grounder that became an inning-ending double play.

Juan Soto’s grounder to first baseman Nolan Schanuel in the third was notable because the ball got lodged in Schanuel’s webbing as the pitcher, Jack Kochanowicz, ran to cover the base.

Schanuel flipped his glove, with the ball stuck in it, to Kochanowicz for the out. The Mets left two runners stranded in the inning when Brett Baty struck out.

Vientos launched a two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.

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Carson Benge walked before Vientos crushed a shot 427 feet to left center for his third homer this season and first since April 18 at Wrigley Field.

“I like my at-bats the last two days,” Vientos said. “I just want to keep on it. Keep putting good at-bats together and take it to Colorado.”

Holmes retired six straight batters before allowing a two-out single to Sebastián Rivero in the fifth.

But the right-hander got Neto to hit a grounder to Baty at third base that became the inning’s third out.

MJ Melendez’s diving catch in the left-center gap on Soler’s drive kept Schanuel at first base in the sixth. Holmes retired Adell on a fly to left for the third out.

In the seventh, Vientos couldn’t field Bo Bichette’s one-hop throw to first on Peraza’s grounder.

Holmes was removed and Weaver struck out pinch hitter Yoán Moncada to conclude the inning.

In the eighth, Benge stroked an RBI double that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead after Baty got plunked leading off.

Vientos followed with his second homer of the game.

“We haven’t seen that in a while, but when he gets hot, he can carry a team,” Mendoza said. “That is the power and the hitter he is capable of being.”

In the ninth, Benge went full extension by the right field foul line to rob Grissom of an extra-base hit.

Benge, who reached base three times in addition to the defensive gem, had maybe his strongest game this season.

“I was kind of surprised, to say the least,” Benge said of his catch. “If I see a ball I think I can get, I’m going to go after it.”