Category: MLB

Shohei Ohtani pitched his deepest into a game in three seasons, but got very little offensive support in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Daikin Park.

Ohtani was efficient on the mound with eight strikeouts and no walks. Not only did he record an out in the seventh inning for the first time with the Dodgers, he completed seven innings on only 89 pitches. It’s his longest pitching start since pitching a shutout on July 27, 2023 with the Angels.

Ohtani didn’t allow a home run in any of his first five starts this season. That streak ended on Tuesday with an expected source, as Christian Walker crushed a ball in the second inning, his 30th career home run in 95 games and 352 plate appearances against the Dodgers. Ohtani’s second home run allowed came shortly after, when Braden Shewmake hooked one just over the left field wall into the Crawford Boxes, akin to Alex Freeland’s home run for the Dodgers in Monday’s series opener.

Those were the only two runs against Ohtani, whose ERA skyrocketed up to 0.97. He leads the National League in ERA again, as he has after each of his six starts this season. And pitching seven innings means he’ll be on the leaderboard through Thursday, with Ohtani now at 37 innings, the Dodgers playing their 37th game on Wednesday before the off day.

Snapping their home run drought at six games with an eight-run effort on Monday was not the start of an offensive turnaround for the Dodgers, who have been held to two or fewer runs five times in their last seven games.

The Dodgers did not score in seven innings against former San Dimas High School pitcher Peter Lambert, who allowed 27 runs in 24 innings in seven previous career outings against them while with the Colorado Rockies. Lambert walked four and allowed three hits but none of those runners came home.

It took until the eighth inning, against the Astros bullpen, for the Dodgers to score their first run. Pinch-hitter Alex Call opened the frame with a double, and scored on a two-out single by Kyle Tucker. That tally snapped a string of 19 straight innings without a run by the Dodgers offense while Ohtani was in the game on the mound.

The Dodgers have scored eight total runs with Ohtani still in the game as a pitcher in his six starts, and 17 runs total in those starts, which goes a long way in explaining how the team has lost four of six games for their starting pitcher with the sub-1.00 ERA.

The original plan was for Ohtani to pull double duty on Tuesday, but during Monday’s game manager Dave Roberts made the change, opting to have Ohtani only pitch this game, as he works through another slump at the plate. Ohtani has pitched twice since his last hit, going 0-for-17 over his last five games hitting, though with six walks, a hit by pitch, and four strikeouts.

Trying to manage Ohtani’s two-way workload remains a nuanced challenge that the Dodgers are figuring out as they go. Roberts before Tuesday’s game was asked whether the team has weighed whether Ohtani’s greatest value is as a pitcher or as a hitter.

“I try not to get too far in the weeds on that, because it’s moot. He’s going to do both,” Roberts said, as shown on SportsNet LA. “He’s one of our best pitchers, he’s one of our best hitters.”

Ohtani continued to prove the former on Tuesday, and he’ll have a chance to turn things around at the plate on Wednesday, along with his lineup mates.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Christian Walker (9), Braden Shewmake (2)

WP — Peter Lambert (2-2): 7 IP, 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

LP — Shohei Ohtani (2-2): 7 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 8 strikeouts

Sv — Bryan King (3): 2 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 2 strikeouts

Up next

One more game remains on the road trip, with Tyler Glasnow pitching on his third straight afternoon getaway day on Wednesday (11:10 a.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Lance McCullers Jr. starts for Houston.

The Yankees were down 3-0 in the top of the first inning. There were runners on second and third with two out and a 3-2 count on Jake Burger. Struggling rookie pitcher Elmer Rodríguez was on the verge of being pulled as he neared 40 pitches. Before the Yanks even had a chance to bat, they were in danger of being out of it.

But so far, they haven’t quite been out of any game. Rodríguez got through the frame and made it to 4.2 innings in his second MLB start, giving the offense enough time to make up for leaving him out to dry in his debut. Home runs by Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm Jr., along with a pair of RBI doubles by Cody Bellinger, gave Jacob deGrom his worst outing of the season as the Yankees opened this three-game set in The Bronx with a 7-4 win — their 15th in the last 17 games since splitting that strange mid-April series against the Angels.

Rodríguez’s primary pain point from his debut last week in Texas was his very inconsistent command, and that reared its ugly head early with a pair of walks to Evan Carter and Corey Seager to start the game. A single by Josh Jung and a long sacrifice fly by Joc Pederson put the Rangers on the board early, and they’d tack on with Ezequiel Duran’s RBI single and a spiked slider that got away for a wild pitch to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.

After getting shut out and giving Rodríguez no margin for error in his last start, the Yankees jumped all over deGrom. Aaron Judge snuck a one-out double into the right field corner and scored one pitch later on a scorched RBI double by Cody Bellinger that once again teased us all by hitting the very top of the right-field wall, getting a run back immediately.

Aside from a Carter double with one out, Rodríguez worked a clean second inning, which allowed his offense to get back to work. Paul Goldschmidt, making a rare start against a righty because of Ben Rice’s hand injury, ripped a leadoff single to set up Ryan McMahon. The much-maligned third baseman is slowly heating up as the season goes along, and he deposited his third home run of the year into the short porch in right field to tie the game at three.

The Rangers were able to get baserunners against Rodríguez, but he did a great job at preventing damage while filling up the strike zone. After two relatively quiet innings, he looked to be rolling through the fifth when a pair of soft-hit singles put two on with two out before Jake Burger drew a walk to end his outing.

With the bases loaded and two out, Brent Headrick entered to strike out the pinch-hitting Sam Haggerty, ending the inning.

This will probably be the last we’ll see of Rodríguez for a bit with Carlos Rodón due back for his next start, but Elmer showed real poise in this one despite a worse line than his debut. To rebound after that unmitigated disaster in the first to being a hair away from getting through five solid innings is admirable, and he left with a no-decision.

deGrom really started to settle in after the McMahon home run, only walking Bellinger in the third before retiring 10 consecutive batters to get through 5.2 innings. Then he served up a 1-0 fastball to Jazz Chisholm Jr. that was crushed into the right-field bleachers to make it 4-3, Yankees.

Tim Hill was next out of the bullpen to pitch the seventh, and for once, he wasn’t an automatic ground-ball machine. A long single by Jung and blooper by Yankees legend Kyle Higashioka suddenly put two on with one out, prompting Aaron Boone to come out of the dugout and make the move for Fernando Cruz, whose splitter looked filthy as ever as he retired the next two batters to get out of trouble.

Some insurance would be appreciated, and Skip Schumaker’s decision-making after the seventh-inning stretch opened the door for it. Another good piece of hitting by McMahon and a bunt single by Caballero put two on with one out against a laboring deGrom, who was finally pulled for Jalen Beeks.

After he got Grisham to fly out, Schumaker took advantage of an open base to intentionally walk Judge, but was quickly punished for his misdeeds by the baseball gods, as Bellinger ripped a two-run double over the head of Burger to make it 6-3 after seven. That’s six runs charged to deGrom in 6.1 innings. Not too shabby.

Cruz stayed on to start the eighth and plunked Danny Jansen with one out. After looking great through three batters, he suddenly stopped throwing the splitter and fell behind the next two hitters, allowing a single before walking Carter to bring up Seager with the bases loaded. Boone called on David Bednar to escape a perilous jam, which he did by striking out Seager and inducing a quick pop-up out of the red-hot Jung.

The Yankees scored more insurance against MLB’s No. 1 bullpen, as Goldschmidt got an at-bat against the lefty Tyler Alexander and didn’t let the opportunity go to waste, smacking an 0-1 changeup into the right-field seats for his second home run of the season to make it 7-3.

Bednar came back out to finish off a five-out save, and he did his job, aside from a mostly-meaningless triple by Duran that wound up leading to a run. He’s now tied for the AL lead with 10 saves on the year. The Yankees’ 25-11 record is tied with the Braves for the best in baseball, though Atlanta is playing out in Seattle at the moment.

The Yankees will look to push this winning streak to six games and lock up another series victory tomorrow at 7:05 pm on Amazon Prime Video. To do so, Will Warren and company will have to beat the only pitcher to hand the Yanks a loss within the last week: old frenemy Nathan Eovaldi.

Box Score

On a night when they were short in the bullpen and facing one of the game’s tougher pitchers, the Yankees fell behind by three runs in the top of the first inning. 

Ho hum. 

That proved to be little more than a bump in the road as a humming Yankees lineup came back to crack Jacob deGrom for six runs on the way to their fifth straight win, 7-4 over the Rangers on Tuesday in The Bronx. 

Ryan McMahon tied the game 3-3 in the second inning with a two-run shot before Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave the Yankees (25-11) the lead for good with a solo blast in the sixth, sending them to their 15th win in the last 17 games. 

“Every time someone goes up to the plate, we expect them to get a hit,” said Chisholm, who has hit all four of his home runs this season in his last 12 games. “Every time a pitcher gets called into a game, we expect them to get out of every jam. The positivity in the clubhouse right now is just super crazy. 

“Everybody’s on a real high horse right now and we just want to ride it out as long as we can.” 

Just about everything has been clicking lately for Aaron Boone’s club, from the rotation and bullpen to the offense and defense. On Tuesday, the highlight may have been the bullpen picking each other up throughout the night to keep the Rangers (16-19) in check, with Brent Headrick, Fernando Cruz and David Bednar (five-out save) combining to inherit eight runners and strand all of them — only the second time the Yankees have accomplished that feat in the expansion era. 

“I think they’re just better than everyone thinks,” Boone said of his bullpen that is gaining confidence and becoming a tight-knit group with each passing game. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

That standout effort came on a night when rookie Elmer Rodríguez, making his second career start and his last (for now) with Carlos Rodón set to return from the IL the next turn through, put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole in the first inning while throwing 37 pitches.

The right-hander battled more command issues with four walks, the same number he had in his debut, but again settled in to give his team a fighting chance before being optioned back to Triple-A after the game.

“Unbelievable game,” Boone said. “In the first there, we’re short in the pen and you’re just thinking of ways you hopefully can finish the game. Credit to Elmer for picking himself up and giving us 4 ²/₃ after a rough start. And then so many good at-bats to pull us back and take the lead. Then the pen did a great job of just handing it off to one another. That’s a really good one right there.” 

Cody Bellinger created some breathing room late with a two-run double in the seventh — his second double of the night, this one coming left-on-left after the Rangers had intentionally walked Aaron Judge to load the bases with two outs — and Paul Goldschmidt, starting for the injured Ben Rice, added a solo shot in the eighth. 

“It’s a really special group and up and down the lineup, there’s no breaks,” Bednar said. 

McMahon and Chisholm had been two of the coldest Yankees hitters through the first few weeks of the season, but both have begun to heat up to give the lineup even more depth. 

McMahon, who went 2-for-4, tied the game in the second inning after an eight-pitch battle with deGrom ended in his third home run of the season. He is now batting .304 (14-for-46) with an .877 OPS over his last 17 games after hitting .119 (5-for-42) with a .379 OPS through his first 17 games. 

Chisholm, who put the Yankees ahead 4-3 with a 413-foot shot in the sixth — flush with a bat flip that went nearly as far — has taken off after starting the season without a homer in his first 23 games, batting .173 with a .498 OPS through April 22.

In 12 games since then, he has hit 13-for-45 (.289) with a .908 OPS and four home runs. 

“It’s something we talked about in spring — it can’t just be one or two guys,” Goldschmidt said. “It can’t just be one way we beat teams. We got to be able to do it in all different ways, and we’ve done a good job so far. But there’s a long way to go, too.”

After two innings in Tuesday’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics, it looked like it might be another frustrating night for the Phillies’ offense. One night after squeaking out a 1-0 win over the Marlins, the Phillies seemed determined to leave as many runners on base as possible.

They loaded the bases against A’s starter Luis Severino in the first inning but couldn’t get any runs home. In the second, the first two batters reached base, but once again, Severino escaped unscathed.

In the bottom of the third, Bryce Harper realized that the best way to avoid being stranded on base was to drive himself home. For the second straight night, a Harper solo shot got the Phils out to a 1-0 lead.

After they stranded another three runners over the next two innings, it looked like they might have to win a second straight 1-0 game. However, the way that Cristopher Sanchez was pitching, he seemed capable of pulling that off. After retiring the first eight batters he faced, Sanchez allowed a couple of baserunners but worked around them.

Sanchez didn’t allow another hit until the seventh inning when Colby Thomas led off with a single. When Zack Gelof followed with another single, it appeared that Sanchez’s night might soon come to an end. Instead, he retired the next three batters, showing some real emotion when he fanned Darrell Hernaiz to end the inning.

At that point, the Phillies’ offense finally decided to give him some breathing room. Trea Turner led off the seventh with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a Bryce Harper walk, Adolis Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. A Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto double extended the lead to 4-0, and Bryson Stott topped off the inning with a solo home run to make it 5-0.

Despite sitting on the bench during the Phillies’ lengthy at bat, Sanchez came back out for the eighth inning. And he finished his night off with a flair, retiring the A’s in order. It was an exemplary showing for the Phillies’ ace lefthander.

The Phillies padded their lead in the eighth thanks to an RBI single and Harper’s second home run of the game.

In the ninth, Jhoan Duran made his return from the IL, and was a bit rusty, losing the shutout thanks in part to three walks. But a nine-run lead is a good time to work out rust, and he was eventually able to finish things off.

This whole stellar pitching from the starter and home runs from the franchise hitter thing seems like a good formula for victory. Hopefully the Phillies can continue to apply it going forward. They’ll get their first opportunity in game two of the series on Wednesday night.

The Rays have taken small ball to new extremes, winning today on 1 double (a bloop that fell into no man’s land) and 10 singles. When your small ball is this small it maybe needs a new name: tiny ball? wee ball? But the key point is that 10 singles and a double added up to a come from behind W.

The only big blast today came in the first inning, when the Blue Jays Okamoto put his team up with a solo home run. The Blue Jays scored their second run in the second inning, with a series of singles, one a bunt RBI. The Jays tried yet another bunt to score run number three, but the Rays were able to cut the runner down at the plate and then get out of the inning.

Gausman kept the Rays guessing with his splitter, but they too were able, eventually, to piece together singles to tie the game. In the third inning, Simpson got a 2 out infield hit, Junior walked, and Aranda singled. With Simpson as the runner on second moving with the pitch, that was an easy RBI.

The Rays second run came in the fourth inning, and again without benefit of an extra base hit. The bases were loaded on two singles and a Mullins bunt that was misplayed by Gausman to load the bases. Feduccia grounded into a double play, which is hardly ideal but it did score a run. At the end of 4 the score was tied, 3-3.

The Blue Jays regained the lead in the fifth inning. A single and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs. Springer flied to center, and both runners tagged. Mullins threw into second and, honestly to my surprise, was able to nail the trailing runner for a double play that looked like it could get the team out of the inning unscathed.

But a seeing-eye single scored the runner from third to give the Blue Jays their third run.

The Rays, however, were able to string together — stop me if you’ve heard this one — a bunch of singles (OK, Aranda’s bloop was a double) first to tie the game and then to go ahead for good. By then the Blue Jays had removed Kevin Gausman and the Rays were facing side arm pitcher Tyler Rogers. Aranda doubled with one out, and Taylor Walls came in to pinch run. He then scored easily on Yandy Diaz’s single. Fraley followed with a single, and Ben Williamson then singled Diaz home for the go ahead run.

Cole Sulser polished off the Blue Jays in the ninth to earn the save.

This was a funny game to watch. It was low scoring but didn’t feel like a pitcher’s duel; neither pitcher seemed to have his best stuff. I can’t even count how many hits — for both teams — were ground balls that managed to sneak over second base for a single. It seems like the laws of probability would suggest that this exact hit can’t happen nearly a dozen times in any one game, yet here we are.

Ben Williamson had two hits and an RBI; he seems to figure so often in important rallies, every time I check stats I’m expecting to see a .900 OPS. He’s at a respectable .670 but his performance somehow feels bigger.

Finally, I would like to go back to the first week of the season and tell my earlier self that the bullpen would indeed find its way. Wow they have been good, complementing what has so far been a pretty effective starting staff. In fact the broadcasters were noting that it’s been nearly two weeks since the Rays have given up more than 3 runs in any game.

The Rays close out the series tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be at the game but I’m too superstitious to bring a broom.

As Spring Training was coming to a close, we collected predictions about the 2026 season from the Purple Row community. At the time, here’s how folks thought the the season would shake out by October:

• Division Winners
  • NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
  • NL Central: Chicago Cubs
  • NL East: New York Mets
  • AL West: Seattle Mariners
  • AL Central: Detroit Tigers
  • AL East: Toronto Blue Jays
• Award Winners
  • NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
  • NL Cy Young: Paul Skenes (PIT)
  • NL ROY: Konnor Griffin (PIT)/Charlie Condon (COL)/TJ Rumfield (COL) all tied
  • AL MVP: Aaron Judge (NYY)
  • AL Cy Young: Tarik Skubal (DET)
  • AL ROY: Kevin McGonigle
• There was nothing close to a consensus on where the 2026 Rockies record would end up with the range predicted extending from 55 all the way up to 82 wins.

We now have a little over a month of games on the books, which is enough time for opinions to have started to shift.

What are the biggest changes in how you see the season unfolding now as opposed to your predictions before Opening Day?

Are there any of your predictions that seem to actually be coming true?

Have any of your predictions already failed to come to pass?

Let us know in the comments!

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

The Texas Rangers scored four runs but the New York Yankees scored seven runs.

Yankees starter Elmer Rodriguez has had a peculiar beginning to his big league career. The 22-year-old has been a big leaguer for just two games in which he has played and both have been starts against the Rangers, a team not in his division and one that will face New York just six times this year.

Predictably, in his first outing at Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez let the nerves get to him in his first time on the mound in front of the home fans as he walked the first two batters and faced a bases loaded, no outs situation to start the game. By the end of the top of the first, he had also hit a batter and thrown a wild pitch that scored a run.

Overall, the Rangers benefitted with three runs off Rodriguez during his shaky first home frame but even that felt like a let down. It felt like the Rangers had allowed Rodriguez to escape when they had him and the Yankees on the ropes.

At the time, up 3-0 early, it might have seemed greedy to not be ecstatic about three runs for a club that often has a devil of a time just scoring at all, but not capitalizing on a youngster handing out baserunners with a bigger inning felt like a wasted opportunity to bury the Yankees from the jump, something that could have impacted not only this game but the series going forward.

And, of course, wouldn’t you know it, the Rangers waited until all the way until an out in the ninth to score again and the Yankees — having basically the only productive lineup in the American League — methodically chipped away at the lead until they eventually overtook Texas before blowing the doors open late to essentially render the final few innings an afterthought.

The Rangers had two hits with RISP in the first inning — their first two chances, no less! — to go along with all their other baserunners against a deer-in-the-headlines rookie starter and only one of those hits scored a run.

After that, the Rangers went 0-for-7 with RISP until they eighth inning when they again had a hit with RISP. That runner didn’t score either and they eventually left the bases loaded with the potential winning run at the plate. The Rangers finally did score again in the ninth. On a groundout.

All told, they went 3-for-13 for RISP and left a ghastly 12 on base for the night.

At this point, LSB might as well stand for LOB Statistic Briefing.

Player of the Game: Josh Jung had three more hits but was also the batter that ended the bases loaded threat in the eighth. Sequencing, surely, but this has to be in their heads by this point.

Nevertheless, we’ll go with Ezequiel Duran who is making the most of more regular playing time as he collected three hits including a triple, drew a walk to reach base four times, and had the only hit that scored a run for Texas tonight.

Up Next: The Rangers and Yankees will play again tomorrow with RHP Nathan Eovaldi set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Will Warren for New York.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network. Tune in to see how many the Rangers can strand tomorrow!

Gavin Williams had a rare stinker of an outing. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 runs and giving up 8 hits and walking 2 batters. Despite the crooked number put up against him, Gavin still struck out 7 batters.

Kansas started scoring early with Salvy Perez hitting a 2-run single to center field. The Guards offense suffered from a chronic case of “going 1-2-3” tonight. The sole bright spot coming in the top of the fourth.

Chase DeLauter hit a lead off single. José Ramírez grounded into a forceout, leaving CDL out at second and José safe at first. Kyle Manzardo slapped a single to center, putting two on for Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins launched a homer to left field, putting the Guards ahead.

Unfortunately the lead didn’t stay with Cleveland for long. The Royals came back in the bottom of the fourth to tack on two runs and retake the lead.

Colin Holderman held it down for the Guardians bullpen. He pitched 2 innings, replacing Gavin going into the seventh inning, and did not allow a baserunner. An overturned hit by pitch gave Holderman the chance to send the Royals down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

Cleveland was unable to rally in the top of the ninth. Chase DeLauter’s single continued his impressive 13 game on base streak and Kyle Manzardo is continuing to show some ramping up in his hitting. The Guards can still split the series, and at least the Tigers lost worse.

The Yankees mashed three homers to overcome a three-run deficit against Jacob deGrom in New York's 7-4 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night in the Bronx.

The Yankees (25-11) extended their winning streak to five games.

Here are the takeaways...

-Elmer Rodriguez's control was an issue in his major league debut, and that reared its ugly head early in this one. Rodriguez walked the first two batters and then a hit to load the bases with no outs. A sac fly and an opposite-field single put the Rangers up 2-0. A fielder's choice and a hit batter loaded the bases again, this time with two outs. A wild pitch allowed the third first-inning run to score before Danny Jansen grounded out to end the frame.

It took Rodriguez 37 pitches to get out of the first. 

But the young right-hander settled down. He stranded runners and was a lot more pitch-efficient, getting ground ball outs with his sinker to make it into the fifth inning. It seemed as if Rodriguez would pitch five innings, but a two-out infield single to Ezequiel Duran, followed by a Jake Burger walk, loaded the bases and spelled an end to his night. 

Brent Headrick came on to strike out a pinch-hitting Sam Haggerty to get out of the jam. Headrick, making his 19th appearance this season, has inherited 13 baserunners and has not allowed any to score. The most by a pitcher without allowing a run this season. (h/t @Katie Sharp)

Rodriguez pitched 4.2 innings (94 pitches/55 strikes), allowing three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out just two. 

-The Yankees got one of those runs back in a hurry thanks to a one-out double by Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger following with a double of his own, that nearly missed being a two-run homer. 

Ryan McMahon would tie the game at 3-3 in the second on a two-run shot off of deGrom on the eighth pitch of the AB. The blast went 359 feet. Over his last 12 games, McMahon is hitting .324 with four extra-base hits and seven RBI. He finished 2-for-3 on Tuesday. 

-Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a 413-foot blast off of deGrom in the sixth to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. New York added on in the seventh after McMahon and Jose Caballero singled, Judge was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs and runners on the corners. Bellinger made the Rangers pay, lining a double to right field and plating two to put the Yankees up 6-3.

DeGrom had his moments against the Yankees, but he allowed six runs on seven hits (two home runs) and one walk across 6.1 innings while striking out seven. 

Paul Goldschmidt, starting at first base for the injured Ben Rice, homered in the eighth to put the Yanks up 7-3. 

-The Yankees used four relievers to lock down the win. Tim Hill struggled a bit in the seventh, allowing two hits and only recording one out, but Fernando Cruz picked up the final two outs to come away unscathed. But Cruz faltered in the eighth, allowing three of the four batters he faced to reach. David Bednar was brought in to get out of the bases-loaded jam, and the Yankees' closer struck out Corey Seager and got Josh Jung to pop out. 

Here's how the relievers did on Tuesday...

• Headrick: 1.1 IP, 3 K
• Hill: 0.1 IP, 2 H
• Cruz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• Bednar: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K

Game MVP: Headrick and Bednar

The Yankees' bullpen was mostly good, but Headrick and Bednar got out of jams that could have sunk New York.

Highlights

Cody Bellinger barely misses out on a home run, but brings in Aaron Judge for an RBI double pic.twitter.com/ZGxRhnHiWb

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 5, 2026

Ryan McMahon ties it with a 2-run homer! 💣 pic.twitter.com/KZmUHzlF9k

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 5, 2026

JAZZ! 🎷

Yankees take the lead! pic.twitter.com/JaS8TrTIy5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 6, 2026

Belli extends the lead! pic.twitter.com/KIFOeHq3jg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 6, 2026

Paul Goldschmidt tacks on another with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/7NV1lp1KjZ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 6, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Rangers continue their three-game set on Wednesday evening. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren (4-0, 2.39 ERA) will take the mound against Nathan Eovaldi (3-4, 4.76 ERA). 

The Athletics were back in the City of Brotherly Love today to start a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen Bank Park. Luis Severino took the mound for the A’s this afternoon against Cristopher Sánchez for Philadelphia.

Severino worked his way in and out of trouble in the first two innings but escaped both without giving up a run. But the leadoff hitter in the third, Bryce Harper, homered for the eighth time this season to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.

Headed into the bottom of the fifth, Sánchez has held the A’s to one hit, no walks and has logged five K’s. Scott Barlow replaced Luis Severino in the bottom of the sixth. Severino’s final line was 5.0 innings, one earned run on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. In the top of the seventh, Thomas and Gelof led off with back-to-back base hits. But with two outs, Darell Hernaiz struck out swinging to end the threat. Mark Leiter Jr. replaced Scott Barlow in the seventh. Trea Turner led off with a double to left field and after a Harper walk, Adolis García drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center. Brandon Marsh singled to right, to drive Harper to third with two outs. J.T. Realmuto doubled to left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, scoring Harper and Marsh, and chasing Leiter Jr. Tyler Ferguson replaced Leiter, and on his second pitch, Bryson Stott homered to deep right center. That brought the score to 6-0. Ferguson continued to show why he belongs in the minors, giving up another run in the seventh after a double by Justin Crawford and a single by Turner, making it 7-0. But the Phillies weren’t done in the bottom of the eighth, when Harper hit his second homer of the game to clear the bases and make it 9-0.

That was all for Sánchez who was totally dominant tossing eight scoreless innings, giving up three hits and one walk while striking out ten. Jhoan Duran replaced him and quickly loaded the bases in the top of the ninth. Wynns struck out for the second out of the inning leaving it up to Hernaiz to get the A’s on the board. He walked to drive in Colby Thomas for what would be the only run of the night for the A’s.

During the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Comerica Park, Detroit starter Framber Valdez was ejected after plunking Boston shortstop Trevor Story, which led to both benches emptying out to enter the fray.

With the Tigers down 8-2 in the top of the fourth inning, Valdez, in a span of three pitches, surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu.

The lefty wasted no time with the next hitter, Story, coming up and in and drilling the infielder square in the numbers.

Home plate umpire Adam Beck almost immediately got in front of an incensed Story, but that didn’t stop the rest of the Red Sox bench from leaving the confines of the dugout, including Contreras, who was among the first of Boston contingent coming onto the field.

The Tigers then poured onto the field, but cooler heads appeared to prevail, as little happened along the first base line as the players converged.

Before long, Valdez got the heave-ho, the only player with an ejection over the incident.

Red Sox interim skipper Chad Tracy believed the hit by pitch was intentional. Valdez said it was not.

“Yes, I do think [it was intentional],” Tracy said, according to the Boston Herald. “I thought it was weak, and I thought everybody saw it. Their side, our side, I think everybody saw it. And yeah, it was weak.”

Framber Valdez hit Trevor Story after giving up back-to-back homers, causing the benches to clear.

Valdez was ejected.

(Via: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/jLDv40AN1A

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 6, 2026

“It was not intentional. It was not on purpose. It might look like that, but it wasn’t,” Valdez said through an interpreter, according to multiple reports. “I consider [the ejection] completely unfair given that, first of all, they should have given me a warning. And of course if it was on purpose, then I do it a second time or a third time, of course, I’m getting ejected.”

However, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch admitted Tuesday’s night’s incident did not feel great.

“We play a really good brand of baseball here,” he said afterward, per the Detroit News. “That didn’t feel like it…I know when you go out and you are in those confrontations, you usually feel like you are in your right. It didn’t feel good being out there.”

Valdez, who joined Detroit on a three-year, $115 million contract this offseason, came into the evening with a solid 3.35 ERA but saw that number balloon to 4.57 after allowing seven earned runs — with three more unearned runs in the mix — over just three innings.

The southpaw arguably became Detroit’s de facto ace this week when it was revealed Monday that two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal would need surgery on his throwing elbow to remove loose bodies.

Valdez’s first crack at headlining the rotation, however, was one to forget.

The Tigers find themselves in a precarious position early in the season. They’ve lost two starters as Casey Mize and now Tarik Skubal are out of commission, and they just dropped the first game of the series to one of the most struggling teams in the AL. They needed to start winning, if only to prove to themselves that they still had it in them, but more importantly to keep themselves atop of the division or close enough, for it to count when they start getting some pitching help back later in the month. In the second game of the series against the Red Sox, the Tigers were leaning on Framber Valdez, while the Red Sox went the Opener routine, starting lefty specialist Jovani Moran.

In the first, with two outs, Wilyer Abreu singled. Abreu then stole second. Trevor Story reached thanks to a fielding error by the freshly returned Zach McKinstry, pushing Abreu to third. Then Story stole second as well. A Ceddanne Rafaela homer was the worst-case scenario, and was precisely what happened, pushing the Sox to an early 3-0 lead. Valdez managed to get the final out of the inning, but it was quite the deficit to start the game with. Heading into the home half, Matt Vierling took one back, hitting a leadoff home run.

With one out, Jahmai Jones hit a single on the first pitch he saw. Why wait? After a second out, Riley Greene worked his way to a walk. A Wenceel Perez single then got Jones home. Spencer Torkelson was walked as well, but the Tigers ended up having to settle for just the two runs. But at least it was now only a one-run game, and the team had really tested the upper limits of what an Opener could do.

With one out in the top of the second, Connor Wong got a free bag for getting hit in the shoelaces with an 0-2 breaking ball. After the second out, it turned out to be Dillon Dingler saving the inning as he made an ABS challenge call on a called ball for it to be overturned as strike three, ending the inning. Brayan Bello came in for the Red Sox in the bottom of the inning and got the Tigers out in order.

Willson Contreras took a leadoff walk, then with one out, Story came through again, with a single that bumped Contreras to third. Rafaela then singled to bring Contreras home. An Andruw Monasterio single scored Story. The Sox weren’t done yet, though. Caleb Durbin singled, scoring Rafaela. Connor Wong singled, scored Monasterio. The Tigers challenged the safe call of Durbin sliding into third, but there wasn’t a definitive angle to overturn the call and it was upheld. Nothing was particularly hard hit, but everything was finding the grass. Thoughts of Rick Porcello vs. the Angels came to mind (IYKYK). Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a force out for the second out of the inning, but it also allowed Durbin to score. Jarren Duran was the final out of the inning, but it was safe to say the damage was done. The Red Sox now led 8-2. In the home half, the Tigers managed a two-out single from Riley Greene, but they left him stranded.

Things continued to decline in the fourth. Contreras started things out with a homer to left on a first pitch sinker. Then right on his heels was an Abreu homer to right. Following those, Valdez hit Trevor Story directly in the back with a sinker. Now… Framber Valdez has obviously not been pitching well all game. It could have been an accident, but under the circumstances Trevor Story sure didn’t think so, and the benches cleared. As the dust started to settle with no warnings issued, Valdez was suddenly tossed from the game.

Brenan Hanifee came in from the pen to replace Valdez. Rafaela then hit into a double play, and then got the final out of the inning. In the home half, the Tigers went 1-2-3.

Caleb Durbin singled to start the fifth, but three outs followed, letting Hanifee and the Tigers breathe a little sigh of relief. Matt Vierling continued to be The Man in this game, starting the home half with a single, but he was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Kevin McGonigle. Kerry Carpenter then singled. Dillon Dingler singled right on his heels, bringing McGongile home. They’d only get the one run, but one is better than none.

In the sixth, Wilyer Abreu got a one-out walk. He was then eliminated in a force-out off the bat of Trevor Story. Rafaela then singled right into center. A Monasterio groundout ended the inning, though, with no harm done. In the home half, the Tigers once again went three-up, three-down.

Burch Smith came out of the Tigers’ pen in the seventh and he got the Red Sox out in order. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk and then stole second base, but Kerry Carpenter hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the eighth, Abreu continued to be a pest with a two-out single, but the Red Sox weren’t able to do anything with the base runner. The Tigers made no real effort to get any runs back in the bottom of the inning as they went 1-2-3 and the game headed to the ninth.

Enmanuel De Jesus was the Tigers’ choice for the ninth and he was the man for the job, getting the Red Sox out in order. The Tigers headed into the home half with a big gap to overcome. The Red Sox finally dipped back into their bullpen, turning things over to Alec Gamboa who was making his major league debut. And he got his first 1-2-3 inning, as the Tigers fell and fell hard against the Sox. Better luck tomorrow.

Final: Red Sox 10, Tigers 3

Brandon Nimmo believes only a certain player can thrive in New York. Others, he believes, just don’t work out.

The Rangers outfielder and ex-Met — in town to face the Yankees on Tuesday night in The Bronx to start a three-game series — fielded questions in the third-base dugout about his Queens exit and discussed some of the intangibles he believes make a good ballplayer in New York City.

“[Agent Scott] Boras and I talked about it, and we talked about it with [Mets owner] Steve [Cohen], and we talked about it with [Mets president of baseball operations] David [Stearns],” Nimmo told reporters. “There is this factor that I’m not sure you can measure it until somebody gets in New York, but there is a factor of people who seem to be comfortable here and succeed here. And some guys it doesn’t translate as well. I think it’s like one of those things, like chemistry, that’s harder to measure but it’s 100 percent a real thing.”

Nimmo didn’t specify anyone during his days in Queens or on the current iteration of the Mets that fits the latter, struggling player descriptor, but the Amazin’s have been one of the worst teams in baseball this season with a 13-22 record, in large part due to new pieces that have struggled out of the gate.

Marcus Semien, who came from Texas in the trade that sent Nimmo to the Rangers, has hit .208 with a 52 OPS+, which is 48 points under league average. Fellow newcomer Bo Bichette has also struggled at this dish with a .236/.273/.313 slash line.

Nimmo played his first 10 big league seasons in New York and said he now has a different perspective. He said things are “easier” and more “laid back” in Texas. He also reiterated, as he told The Post’s Joel Sherman in February, that he believes the trade was made for baseball reasons and not anything to do about any rumored Mets chemistry issues.

“There is a certain type of player and type of person that it takes in order to be in New York and I understand that better now,” Nimmo said.

Nimmo has been a revelation for Texas with a .300 average and an .836 OPS. He told The Post’s Greg Joyce last week he believes that the reeling Mets — who have now won two games in a row — can right the ship.

On Tuesday, he said he hopes his old club can have better fortunes the rest of the way, but his ultimate priorities are elsewhere now.

“I want them to do well,” Nimmo added. “I’ve played here before when things aren’t going well, and it’s not fun. I wish the best for them, but also I’m trying to take care of things here and make sure we’re trying to play good baseball here.”

The San Francisco Giants play game two of this three-game home series against the San Diego Padres tonight from Oracle Park, and they’re looking to take the series win after a 3-2 victory on Monday.

Taking the mound for the Giants is their ace, righty Logan Webb, who is making his eighth start of the season. The 29-year old is off to an uncharacteristically slow start, as he’s 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA, a 3.46 FIP, and 38 strikeouts to 15 walks in 44 innings. He was awesome in his last game, though, holding the Philadelphia Phillies to just one run in seven innings.

For the Padres, it’s old foe Walker Buehler, who is back in the NL West. The 31-year old right-hander, who was an All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and 2021, is 1-2 in six starts this year, with a 5.40 ERA, a 3.42 FIP, and 24 strikeouts against 12 walks in 25 innings of work. In his last start, Buehler allowed two runs in 4.2 innings against the Chicago Cubs.

Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants!

Lineups

Giants

1. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
2. Casey Schmitt — 2B
3. Rafael Devers — 1B
4. Heliot Ramos — LF
5. Bryce Eldridge — DH
6. Matt Chapman — 3B
7. Willy Adames — SS
8. Drew Gilbert — CF
9. Jesús Rodríguez — C

RHP. Logan Webb

Padres

1. Jackson Merrill — CF
2. Manny Machado — 3B
3. Miguel Andujar — DH
4. Gavin Sheets — 1B
5. Fernando Tatis Jr. — RF
6. Xander Bogaerts — SS
7. Nick Castellanos — LF
8. Luis Campusano — C
9. Sung-Mun Song — 2B

RHP. Walker Buehler

Game #35

Who: San Francisco Giants (20-14) vs. San Diego Padres (14-21)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Don’t lose the series, Braves! Also, Michael Harris II in left field!