Category: MLB

Yesterday, Jake opened up the day with a discussion about what the biggest positive development the Yankees have gotten out of this season has been. If you’ll forgive the shameless piggy-backing off of that topic, I’d like to flip the question on its head and ponder what the worst development has been, what decline in the team’s roster has been the most worrisome and in need of addressing. There are, unfortunately, plenty of areas to look at.

The culprit that has made the most commotion recently has to be the bullpen at large, and there are several offenders here but only one that has definitively regressed from what they were in 2025. David Bednar was solid enough for New York last season after coming over at the deadline, but his tendency to cause a mess before getting down to business has backfired tremendously this year. The other relievers struggling to this point, namely Camilo Doval and Jake Bird, were already problems after coming over as part of that deadline overhauling, with Bird infamously getting demoted after just a few games even.

The rotation has been the deepest strength of the team throughout this year, but there’s one candidate you could point to here in Luis Gil. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year missed a large portion of last season, but when he returned he was still serviceable with a 3.32 ERA in 57 innings. The same cannot be said about his 2026 campaign, as he got all of four starts before he landed on the IL with a gaudy 6.05 ERA that will all but necessitate a lengthy stay in the minors before he gets a shot in the rotation again. The staff is about to be getting a major boost with Gerrit Cole’s return on Friday, but with Max Fried taking his place on the IL indefinitely they remain one bad break away from needing an arm, yet Gil’s place in the organization is deeply in doubt nowadays.

The lineup has its highlights posted front and center, but when you get down to the bottom of it there are some bats that have severely struggled thus far. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has disappointed after emerging as one of the team’s better bats in his first full season with the team last year, Trent Grisham has been one of the most unlucky batters in baseball trying to follow up on his breakout in 2025, Ryan McMahon has gone from being a subpar bat with elite defense to nearly a negative WAR player, and Austin Wells has been a black hole at the plate for far too long. It would be the hardest to make changes with these players, but you could argue that any one of their declines have been more detrimental to the team’s success than the others. With the full field of choices, what would you say? Which one of them needs to turn it around the most? Which one would be the most damaging to future wins if they don’t?

Before we get back to the field with the Yankees looking to secure a series win in this four-game set, there’s a lot we’ve got ready for Wednesday. Peter has a double-feature out of the gate, first focusing on Cam Schlittler and how he’s renovated his sinker to rise to the top before covering the Rivalry Roundup. Matt gives Bobby Murcer his flowers on what would’ve been his 80th birthday, Kento examines Cody Bellinger’s renewed ability to work walks this year, John walks us through the best spots to avoid the Yankee Stadium speaker noise, and Scott rounds us out with a look at Payton Henry ahead of a matchup with his former team in the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

Video: Amazon Prime Video, Sportsnet One, MLB Network

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

It’s like having a Porsche 911 Carrera and being instructed not to exceed 50 miles per hour.

It’s getting a custom Armani suit but told it can only be worn at family barbeques.

It’s like winning an all-inclusive Tahiti beach vacation for two, but your plus-one is your grandmother.

It’s the San Francisco Giants calling up their No. 1 prospect, one of the prized young sluggers in baseball, only to let him rot on the bench.

The Giants, who promoted first baseman Bryce Eldridge two weeks ago from Triple-A Sacramento, are utilizing their batboys more frequently than Eldridge.

Eldridge, called up May 4, has inexplicably started just five games in the last two weeks, and only once in the last four days for a team whose season is already on life support with the second-worst record in the National League.

Please, make it make sense.

This is a 21-year-old who just had the best night of his season on May 18, producing two hits for the Giants, which matched his season total.

His reward?

The bench.

Again.

Really.

When he was a young prospect, future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was a nobody. He was drafted in 1988,and only as a personal favor to his father from his godfather, L.A. Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda. He was the 1,390th pick out of 1,395 prospects.

That’s close to Mr. Irrelevant status. Clearly, not much was expected out of Piazza.

Nonetheless, there were signs, and in this case, anyone with any sense should have listened, because one of the true legends of the game saw his potential immediately.

In this video, Ted Williams, the Splendid Splinter himself, casually observes 15-year-old Piazza hitting some balls and sees something special.

Williams goes on to say that he didn’t think he hit the ball as well as Piazza did when he was 15, and from the greatest hitter in the history of baseball…wow.

He tells his companion that he is sure the scouts are all over Piazza, and then says “I’ll be your agent, buddy!‘

Can you imagine being 15 and listening to Ted Williams tell you you’re on a trajectory of greatness?

That’s pure rocket fuel. What a moment.

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Toledo Mud Hens vs. Indianapolis Indians (postponed)

Rains washed out Tuesday’s start of this series in Toledo and sent Troy Melton back down to Lakeland to get a rehab start in. They’ll play two tomorrow starting at 11:05 a.m. ET.

Altoona Curve 4, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

Seth Stephenson returned from the injury list in this one, but it didn’t spark the offense as the SeaWolves dropped the first of six in Altoona on Tuesday.

Sean Hunley got the start and couldn’t find the strikezone, walking five and surrendering a four-run second inning that got him bounced. Wandisson Charles, Eric Silva, Tanner Kohlhepp, and Trevin Michael were great in relief, blanking the Curve the rest of the way.

The offense got Stephenson back, but lost John Peck in the first inning when he was hit in the helmet by a breaking ball. He appeared totally fine, but manager Tony Cappucilli lifted him for precautionary reasons.

In the top of the third, Peyton Graham was also hit by a pitch, and swiped second for his 23rd steal of the young sseason. Stephenson singled him to third with one out, and then stole his 22nd bag to put two in scoring position. Brett Callahan grounded out to score Graham, but that was all they’d get.

In the fifth, Izaac Pacheco smoked a triple to center field and scored on a Graham ground out, but that was all the SeaWolves could muster on the night.

In the eighth we got a look at Liranzo’s improved agility as he turned a double play by backpicking a runner at first after a strikeout to help Michael out of the inning.

Pacheco: 1-3, R, 3B

Graham: 0-2, R, RBI, 2 SB

Hunley (L, 0-4): 1.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, K

Coming Up Next: Game 2 in the series is set for 11:00 a.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, South Bend Cubs (box)

After three weeks of watching early leads slip away, Whitecaps’ manager Rene Rivera had to sweat this one through the late innings, but Donye Evans and Ryan Harvey were able to lock down the final two frames to end a 1-19 stretch over the last 20 games.

Hayden Minton gave the ‘Caps his best start of the year, firing five scoreless frames with eight strikeouts. He was rewarded with an early lead in the second when Cristian Santana doubled in Jackson Strong, though Samuel Gil was cut down trying to score, ultimately snuffing a rally. Gil bounced back by singling in Clayton Campbell in the third.

Thomas Bruss succeeded Minton and allowed a run in the top of the sixth, but the ‘Caps answered right back in the bottom half as Junior Tilien walked and was doubled to third by Andrew Sojka. Ricardo Hurtado singled in Tilien. Garrett Pennington then bashed a two-run shot to make it 6-1.

Unfortunately, Bruss allowed a pair of singles and a three-run shot in the top of the seventh. Fortunately, Evans and Harvey were able to lock it down from there.

Sojka: 2-4, R, BB, 2B, 2 K

Pennington: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB

Rainer: 1-2, 2 BB, K, CS

Minton (W, 2-2): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 8 K

Coming Up Next: It’s an 11:00 a.m. ET start on Wednesday and it’s a peanut free game in Comstock Park.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Bradenton Marauders 2 (box)

Troy Melton had his way with the Maruaders for the most part, and the Flying Tigers blew a one-run lead in the top of the ninth only for Jesus Pinto to walk them off.

Melton opened his outing allowing a single and a stolen base, and then balked the runner to third where he scored on a grounder. For the rest of his five innings it was lights out from Melton as he allowed one more hit, no walks, and struck out six. His fastball topped out at 98.1 mph and he averaged 96.5 mph with his fourseamer on the night. He threw 46 of 63 pitches for strikes, and looks good to go when eligible to return to the Tigers on Sunday.

Pirates prospect Jack Anker had the Flying Tigers in check for six strong innings, but they quickly jumped the Marauders bullpen. Anibal Salas started them off with a walk and Zach MacDonald reached on an error. Pinto struck out, but Jude Warwick doubled in Salas, and Beau Ankeney lifted a sacrifice fly that made it a 2-1 Flying Tigers lead.

Left-hander Grayson Grinsell took over from Melton on his usual start day. He was cruising until he allowed back-to-back walks trying to close the game out in the ninth. A sharp single loaded the bases, and Yendy Gomez took over, allowing one inherited runner to score.

So it was all tied up, but with one out, MacDonald was hit by a pitch and the power hitting outfielder stole second base. 19-year-old outfielder Jesus Pinto continues to have a hot hand, and he singled up the middle to walk this one off.

Trei Cruz, who the Tigers have missed, if only for his defensive abilities and base stealing ability, with all the injuries to the Opening Day roster, made his first rehab appearance going 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

Warwck: 1-3, RBI, 2B

Pinto: 1-4, RBI, K

Cruz: 1-3, 2B, 2 K

Melton: 5.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Grinsell: 3.1 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start in Lakeland on Wednesday.

FCL Yankees 2, FCL Tigers 1 (box)

Jhonan Coba is another young pitcher you’re going to hear a lot about this season. The 19-year-old right-hander is a good bet to shoot up prospect lists this year, and should be in Lakeland, along with fellow Complex League Tigers Owen Hall, once Malachi Witherspoon and one of the other pitchers thriving with the Flying Tigers head up to West Michigan. Coba has a lively mid-90’s heater with advanced control but a bit inconsistent movement from a high three-quarters slot, a solid slider, and a very good changeup that sells well via Coba’s quick arm stroke. He struck out eight in this one, allowing a run on a hit and two walks in 3 1/3 innings of work on Tuesday.

Angel de los Santos: 2-5, 3 SB

Hadeen: 0-2, BB

Coba (L, 0-2): 3.1 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 8 K

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

After last night’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates fell to 24-24 on the year and are in last place in the NL Central. With the 48 games played, that’s about 29 percent of the season in the books. We want you to give the Bucs a grade so far for the season.

The team has had some really good moments. Offensive production is up, the starters are for the most part pitching pretty well. The Bullpen has struggled as expected, and there’s been some bad moments as well. Many of us were calling for a roughly .500 Bucs squad this year, and that’s what we have right now. How does that weigh against your expectations?

Give the Bucs a grade, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.

NY Post | Greg Joyce: Giancarlo Stanton has been out since the end of April with a calf strain, but he isn’t quite where he needs to be to resume running and get close to a return. MRI results have not been clean, showing the strain still as recently as last week, and the team will not let him ramp up from hitting and working on plyometric exercises until one comes back clear. The one bright side is that since he’s been able to stay in the cage, he should be near-game ready as soon as he can get his legs under him enough to run down to first.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: There was speculation that the Yankees might elect to skip Gerrit Cole’s final rehab start and bring him back into the Major League rotation, and they made that official as Aaron Boone confirmed before Tuesday’s game that Cole will be back and starting on Friday in the series opener against Tampa Bay. Boone noted that the team felt Cole “has done everything he needs to be ready to compete now at this level.” Cole’s final tune-up was on Saturday, and he tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts.

NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: David Bednar has gotten himself in hot waters with his Houdini act flopping of late, but he managed to pull off the stunt again in Monday’s win in a gutsy outing that took 36 pitches (and still allowed the one insurance run the team had to score). Bednar battled back from a 3-0 count to George Springer to strike him out on three straight splitters, a risky move with runners already on first and second, but it paid off. All of the theatrics with Bednar’s outings have gotten old though, as the closer has struggled immensely of late. Only the relative struggles of the bullpen collectively have prevented someone else from leapfrogging him for the position, but if he doesn’t straighten out his act that may not be the case for long.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Everyone remembers Boone’s infamous “Savages in the Box” rant from the 2019 season, and we got a bit of a sequel on Tuesday with the same umpire from that game in the Bronx. Brennan Miller wasn’t behind home plate this time, but he made two critical calls: first ruling Anthony Volpe out on a stolen base attempt in the fourth inning that the Yankees challenged but lost and then ruling a Jazz Chisholm Jr. liner caught by Daulton Varsho in the seventh to end the inning. The Yankees had no challenges left for the latter call, and an irate Boone got himself ejected for some condescending comments. Boone later admitted that he “probably overreacted a little bit” when asked about the incident after the game.

There’s an old sketch from The State called “The Barry Lutz Show” where a doctor played by Thomas Lennon explains his research in the field of “monkey torture,” accompanied by an adorable simian. He eventually takes a phone call that purportedly tells him he has to stop torturing monkeys forever and let them all go, only to reveal it was just his friend Terry making a prank call — an even more sophisticated bit of monkey torture.

The San Francisco Giants spent most of Tuesday’s game with the Arizona Diamondbacks clinging to a two-run lead, escaping bases-loaded situations in the 7th and 8th inning with double plays. But the lack of insurance runs and an unreliable bullpen killed them when Ketel Marte hit a two-out, three-run home run off Matt Gage to give the D-Backs a 5-3 win.

At least it wasn’t Nolan Arenado that beat them this time.

Is it worse to lose by 12-2 in a game that’s never close or have hope for 26 outs, only to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory? The 2026 Giants can offer both forms of monkey torture.

The Giants wasted a solid Landen Roupp start, stellar infield defense, and back-to-back jacks from Rafael Devers and Willy Adames after a nightmare four-run 9th. They turned double plays to escape bases-loaded jams in both the 7th and 8th innings, as well as an almost—two-run homer from Marte that went over 400 feet and left him standing on first base in disbelief. Only to fall apart one out from victory.

Caleb Killian (1-2) was clutch in the 8th inning when he induced a double play from Arenado. He was clutch for most of the 9th, giving up a leadoff single and then retiring two straight hitters. He got two strikes on Adrian Del Castillo before hanging a slider the Diamondbacks’ DH hit for an RBI single. Then, he got to 0-2 on Ryan Waldschmidt — before his foul ball was ruled catcher’s interference. And then they lost.

The loss clearly disappointed a group of Giants fans who took over the Diamondbacks outfield pool area, wearing team gear and water wings. One man sported an orange-and-black tank top that read: “Giants Fans: Peeing In Pools Since 1958.” That’s a weird brag, but we believe that young influencers would consider this an example of chlorinemogging and urinemaxxing, a way to assert dominance over home fans. And really piss them off.

Seconds after Mike Krukow pointed out the shirt, Devers and Adames hit back-to-back home runs and kicked off a three-run rally off Arizona starter Ryne Nelson (7 IP, 8H, 2BB, 3K).

Matt Chapman singled and Andrew Susac refused to let him mellow at first, hitting an RBI double off the base of the wall for a 3-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the water wing crew, that was the last of the Giants’ scoring. A two-out single from Casey Schmitt and a double from Devers couldn’t lead to any runs in the 5th. Chapman walked and Susac singled in the 6th, but two groundouts ended the threat. Reliever Kevin Ginkel walked Willy Adames and threw a wild pitch to start the 8th inning, then struck out Chapman, Drew Gilbert, and Susac.

Jonathan Loaisiga got his first win of the season for a 1-2-3 9th.

Things didn’t look promising for the Giants early. Corbin Carroll hit a ball into the left-center gap and sprinted for a triple, and scored when Adames’ relay throw drilled him in the back of the head and bounced away.

That’s what’s known as a Three Stooges home run, with Carroll required to jog home while exclaiming “Why, you idiot!” before returning to the dugout for celebratory eye pokes.

Devers had a personal 1-2-3 inning on defense in the bottom of the 6th, making a trio of defensive plays to thwart the Diamondbacks. He backhanded a sizzling Ketel Marte grounder, dove to the bag to retire the speedy Carroll on a slow bouncer, then snagged a Gerardo Perdomo line drive. It was impressive glovework and it probably infuriated every Boston Red Sox fan in the world.

Seeing Devers look like a competent first baseman and Luis Arraez look like a Gold Glover suggests that the Ron Washington Effect is very real for infield defense. A catcher turned a double play last night playing second base, after all. Arraez made the biggest defensive play of the game, starting an inning-ended, bases-loaded 6-4-1 double play to help Keaton Winn escape a 7th-inning jam.

It was a game full of bright spots and rallies that almost broke the game open, but in the end? It was all just monkey torture. But at least the monkey is cute.

The San Francisco Giants follow their three-game sweep against the Athletics by dropping a second straight game to the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 19.

The loss might have been the season's worst.

Ketel Marte blasted a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the deal, giving the D'backs a 5-3 victory. The Giants fell to 20-29, the second-worst record in the National League.

Giants skipper Tony Vitello was emotional after the loss, blaming himself saying "it's on me," according to USA TODAY Sports baseball columnist Bob Nightengale.

"Obviously, get a guy on base, lefty hits a line drive to center, and then we've got, you know, a runner at first, they decide to take a chance and go for a stolen base at second base, and there's a catcher's interference called, and then you're dealing with the situation we dealt with, with Marte, a switch hitter," Vitello told reporters after the game, detailing what led to the loss.

He added: "At that point, (Caleb) Kilian had 25 pitches, went with a fresh arm, different look, and made the wrong decision, cost us the game. Not that (Matt) Gage, I mean, he's got as good numbers as anybody on our team, and he's gotten it done for us more times than not, but obviously it's on me."

It was the sixth blown save of the Giants' season.

San Francisco's 20-29 record is tied for the fifth-worst through 49 games since the franchise relocated to San Francisco in 1958. It ties the team's 49-game start in 2017, when the Giants last started 20-29. They finished 64-98 that season.

The Giants wrap their three-game series with Arizona on Wednesday, May 20. First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. PT (3:40 p.m. ET).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants' woes continue after dropping game to Diamondbacks on walk-off

After the high of last night’s win, the vibes went right back to terrible today despite the presence of hundreds of shirtless fans in the upper deck providing energy into an otherwise sleepy Tuesday, cheering on the dual start of Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo. Unfortunately, the bats didn’t get the message, as once again the Mariners’ right-handed lineup failed to get anything going against lefty starter Anthony Kay and was similarly sleepy against the White Sox relief corps. For a game that featured almost no offense from either side and 27 combined strikeouts, it sure felt like a lot happened, namely that the Mariners’ piggybacking plan made their pitchers sad, forcing Andrés Muñoz into a weird spot in the ninth made him sad, and the Mariners’ right-handed lineup made fans – all 28 thousand-plus of them making a trip to the ballpark for a Josh Naylor bobblehead – saddest of all.

If you want to just focus on the good part of this game, watch the first inning and nothing more. Bryce Milller was lights out in his first inning, firing fastballs that averaged 98 mph and touched 99.3, getting a groundout from the pesky Sam Antonacci followed by two strikeouts, both on 98 mph heat – one a swinging strikeout of Munetaka Murakami and the other an utter undressing of Miguel Vargas, striking him out on three pitches and leaving him staring at perfectly-located 98 mph heat.

The Mariners were able to load the bases in the first, taking advantage of some poor command by White Sox starter Anthony Kay. Julio Rodríguez hit a one-out single off the changeup, a very pleasing development, and then Kay hit Randy Arozarena with a fastball in and walked Josh Naylor. That brought up Patrick Wisdom, playing in his first game since April 14th and making his first MLB start since September of 2024, who to his credit put the ball in play and hustled down the first base line to avoid a double play, allowing the first run of the game to score. Connor Joe kept the pressure on with a gritty seven-pitch walk that pushed Kay’s pitch count up over 30, even if Mitch Garver did strike out to end the inning and strand the bases loaded. That would turn out to be significant, as it’s the only time the Mariners would score tonight.

It looked like the Mariners would keep the pressure on in the second, with Cole Young working a leadoff walk and Colt Emerson going down on a strikeout but forcing Kay to throw him eight pitches to get the out. However, Rob Refsnyder then had…a very bad at-bat, striking out on three pitches, and Julio painfully fouled a ball off the inside of his kneecap and then another one, leading Randy to have to distribute some on-field medical attention:

Julio grounded out, and the Mariners went down quietly in the bottom of the third, leaving Kay’s pitch count at a suddenly manageable 73, and they followed that up with an even quicker bottom of the fourth, making three outs on just five pitches and tossing Kay and the White Sox a lifeline. (He’d get to the bottom of the fifth at 86. Not ideal!)

Meanwhile, Bryce just kept dealing. He kept the White Sox off the bases entirely until Murakami worked a walk off him in the fourth, and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth, when Mason Peters threw his bat at a first pitch splitter that didn’t quite split and rolled through a wide-open right side of the infield for a weak-contact double, the worst kind of double behind only Double Bubble, the worst gum. Miller rebounded to get his next two outs, but with Murakami due up again, Dan Wilson lifted Miller for lefthanded groundball specialist José A. Ferrer, who has unfortunately had trouble with both of those descriptors this year. No need to worry about BABIP luck when you strike them out, though, and Ferrer dispatched Murakami on four pitches, getting him swinging on a slider.

Normally, this is the spot in the recap where I’d try to spin a Mariners loss into a look-on-the-bright-side, better-days-ahead whimsy-soaked vignette. Instead, it’s more whiskey-soaked. Because while Bryce Miller was excellent, and tonight should have been a night to celebrate his 5.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just the one bad-luck hit, instead it was a visibly frustrated Miller who spoke to the press postgame, who said he tried to make a case to stay in during the sixth inning.

“I thought I’d pitched the ball well up till then, I wasn’t thinking I was coming out,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have to throw the ball whenever they tell us to throw it. Whether that’s 100 pitches or 70 or 50 for Rock, we’re trying to win games.”

“It’s a tough situation. We have six guys that are really good starters, so – somebody has to do something. At the end of the day, we want to win, and however we need to do that, we’ll do it.”

Only the Mariners did not win, if you didn’t grasp that from the title. And while technically the pitching staff gave up more runs than the offense scored, the offense was utterly punchless tonight, eliciting boos from the stands as innings ended with no runs crossing the plate for the Mariners. The White Sox brought in their own reliever with one out in the sixth, tapping righty Tyler Davis who gave up some hard contact to Patrick Wisdom, who flew out to center, but struck out Connor Joe, still in the game despite the noted existence of both Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone. Davis would go on to pitch another scoreless inning in the seventh, walking Mitch Garver to lead off the inning but dispatching the two young righties with ease – handing Colt Emerson his first truly terrible at-bat as a big-leaguer, striking him out on three pitches – and then striking out Refsnyder, again somehow still in the game against a righty despite the continued noted existence of Raley and Canzone. Boos rained down on the field as Refsnyder walked off, and that made me sad in this calvacade of sadness, because Ref is a great human and a great leader and has been a great player, and this version of him is just sad, for the team and for him.

That set up the entrance of Luis Castillo, coming out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. They gave him the whole treatment, too, dimming the stadium lights and shooting off the flames at the bullpen gates while playing “Que Calor.” Whatever it was, it seemed to work, because Castillo went on to pitch one of the most dominant frames we’ve seen from him in ages, striking out the side, all on swinging strikes, hitting 96.8 mph on his fastball, and throwing some excellent secondaries.

And here, again, is where we could have spun something fun out of this game, even in a loss, if maybe that had just been the one inning. But the Mariners had pledged themselves to a piggyback game and the caja china had already been purchased, so one way or another, they were roasting this pig.

The velocity wasn’t there for Castillo in his second inning but he was able to protect the one slender run he’d been handed, and in the ninth, things devolved further facing the top of the White Sox offense. He started off by walking Murakami, immediately pinch-run for, and then in a 1-2 count hit Vargas with a pitch, putting two on with no outs and forcing Andrés Muñoz to begin warming. After a mound visit from Pete Woodworth, Dan Wilson came out like he was going to try to make a move to Muñoz, but home plate umpire Ryan Blakney shooed him back to the dugout, because you can’t do that, which Wilson admitted postgame was his mistake. Castillo came back to strike out Montgomery, at which point Wilson came out to get Muñoz.

Unfortunately, the White Sox immediately executed a double steal, putting runners at second and third with no outs, and then Chase Meidroth chopped at a ball and punched it at 82 mph in the same place Peters’s no-hitter-breaking double went, tying the game. The White Sox got would would be the eventual winning run on another weak contact single from Andrew Benintendi, somehow only 31 years old despite being the same age as Refsnyder in my mind, and man. The weak contact hits from the White Sox accounting for all the runs in this game just really feel like a stark referendum on the Mariners offense. Sadness, thy name is Mariners fan.

Grant Taylor had the ninth for the White Sox and despite Dan Wilson opening up the enclosure where they’d been kept all game for a trio of lefties – J.P. Crawford, Luke Raley, and Dominic Canzone – all three struck out, going down on a combined 13 pitches, providing no fight and soundtracked again b a chorus of boos. It couldn’t have been a starker contrast to the good vibes of last night’s game. It was just sad. The piggyback strategy was sad-making. The offense was sad-making. The bullpen management was sad-making. The 2026 Mariners make everybody sad and no one seems to know what to do about it, and that’s maybe the saddest thing of all.

Game 1

Michigan State 8 Purdue 4

Starting Pitchers:

· Purdue — RHP Cole Van Assen (6-4, 5.79 ERA)

· Michigan State — RHP Aidan Donovan (5-3, 3.66 ERA)

What a difference a year makes. In 2025 Michigan State right fielder Parker Pico drops what would be the final out to end Nebraska’s season. The Huskers take advantage to not only win the game, but win the whole damn tournament and reach a regional. Back to 2026, Michigan State needs a Nebraska sweep of Minnesota to back in to Omaha, and this time Nebraska delivers. Michigan State gets in as the final seed, and at least as of Tuesday, they ran, and ran, and ran with it. (But let’s go ahead and relive the drop below, shall we?)

This year’s tournament however started on a beautiful, cloudy day with a “feels like” temperature of 41 at first pitch. (I swear the calendar said May when I checked this morning.). Despite the weather, the Michigan State dugout was red hot to start. Your friendly, neighborhood baseball writer was walking into the stadium as the first pitch was thrown and before I even found my seat, it was 4-0 Spartans. A walk to leadoff the tournament followed by an error, a squeeze bunt for a single, and 3 more singles had Purdue reeling and searching for a tarp.

Michigan State kept things rolling, adding 3 runs on 4 hits in the 2nd, all while ace Aidan Donovan held the potent Purdue offense in check. Donovan cruised all day against a team that was top 4 in the B1G in runs. The Boilermakers put up a couple garbage time runs on him in the 8th and he exited with 7.2 innings pitched and 6 strikeouts to go with 5 hits and 2 runs allowed. Purdue also left their starter in after things got out of hand, as no team has ever overcome a 7 run deficit in the history of Charles Schwab Field. That saves their bullpen for the next few days.

They added a couple more runs in the 9th to make it an 8 =4 game, but in a classic display of karma, Purdue is now 0-5 in games in the Big Ten Tournament since leaving the tarp on their field. Oh, and speaking of karma, Parker Picot got his revenge on this stadium as he blasted an absolute bomb to left that nearly cleared all the bleachers to reach Josh Caron-land. He’s on as big of a roll as one man can be, with 9 homers in his last 11 games. (Though he did have another mishap in right field in the 9th.) The Spartans could be an issue for this week.

Game 2

Iowa 10 Illinois 6

Starting Pitchers:

· Iowa — RHP Maddux Frese (4-2, 3.62 ERA)

· Illinois — LHP Regan Hall (7-6, 5.74 ERA)

An early mental error in the top of the 1st by Iowa got Illinois rolling. Iowa’s short stop had a chance to roll a double plays and erase all the base runners, but stepped over the top of 2nd base as he threw to first, missing the base completely, and leaving the Illini runner at 2nd. A single by the next batter brought him in for the first run of the game. Another single and sac fly (which also wouldn’t be allowed with the double play) brought in another. The wind carried a ball into the Illinois bullpen for a 2 run home run and made it 4-0, none of which would have scored with the double play.

Iowa did what they did all season and used a big defensive play to steal momentum back with a double play in the 2nd inning. They pounded out singles and used a big double to cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the 2nd. They had runners on the corners in the 3rd and stole second on first movement of the pitcher. The pitcher threw to the first baseman who threw to second to try and get his runner out, which is exactly what Iowa wanted. The runner from 3rd scampered home as the throw to second was in the dirt. Tie game, 4-4.

Illinois seemed to get back on track, pushing a run across in the 4th. Then in the 5th, first baseman and probable runner up to Drew Grego for B1G Freshman of the year, AJ Putty sent a ball into the wind and still into the Iowa bullpen, pushing the lead to 6-4. Putty came up again in the 7th, and hit a tough ball to short who sailed a throw past the first baseman. Putty ran to second and Iowa’s first baseman threw a strike to 2nd as the second baseman faked like nothing was happening before reacting at the last second to snag the ball and tag Putty out as he was just walking into the base.

Again Iowa used that momentum to get their offense rolling. They put baserunner after baserunner on off one of Illinois go-to relievers, Sam Mommer. Two sac flys tied the game then gave them the lead. Then with 2 on and 2 out, left fielder Joey Nerat sent a no doubter over the right field wall for a 3 run bomb, giving the Hawkeyes a 10-6 lead, and just crushing any will Illinois had left. The Illini went quietly the rest of the way and will face Purdue Wednesday morning. Iowa will get the suddenly scorching Spartans in prime time, with the winner advancing to the championship bracket on Friday.

Game 3

Michigan 10 Rutgers 0

Starting Pitchers:

· Rutgers — RHP Vincent Borghese (4-4, 3.99 ERA)

· Michigan — RHP Cade Montgomery (3-1, 5.32 ERA)

As the 10-0 scored indicates, this was a one-sided game from the start. It was all Michigan and pitcher Cade Montgomery tonight as the Scarlet Knights showed absolutely no life in this run-rule shortened first round matchup. As the scoreboard showed when it was all over, Rutgers had one hit in the entire game, a 5th inning single by Ryan Jaros. They had two runners reach on walks and another who was hit by a pitch. Total Michigan domination.

Michigan jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the first inning Brayden Jeffries launched a solo home run to right field off starter Vincent Borghese. They added a second run in the third inning when lead-off man Cooper Mullens smacked a double and scored when Colby Turner followed with a single. In the meantime, Montgomery was mowing down Rutgers batters by pounding the strike zone with a variety of pitches.

In the fourth inning, the Wolverines scored two more on a Drew Culbertson two-RBI single. At that point, Rutgers was fortunate to only be down 4-0 as Michigan was putting runners on base. By the same token, it seemed that the boys from New Jersey were a bit fatigued after finishing their season in Chicago against Northwestern on Saturday and then busing to Omaha arriving late Sunday night.

After leaving the bases loaded and not putting a run across in the bottom of the sixth, Michigan exploded in the bottom of the seventh with six runs to end it. It started with a Jeffries single to left field off Rutgers’ third pitcher of the game, Dalin Harrison. Next batter up Evan Haeger smashed a two-run homer to left to make it 6-0 Wolverines. The boys from Michigan could smell blood in the water.

Before Haeger could high-five everyone in the dugout, Noah Miller followed with a dinger of his own into the Michigan bullpen in left field.

Matthew Ossenfort hit one off the glove of the Rutgers third baseman to keep the Michigan train rolling. Rutgers coach Steve Owens the brought in Henry Radbill to hopefully silence the Wolverine bats. That didn’t happen.

Dane Morrow singled through the left side to put two on and no one out. Radbill did get Gary Pace, Jr. to strike out but then he walked Culbertson to load the bases. He followed that up with another walk of pinch-hitter Jack Laffitte. The final nail ended up being a two-run single by first team All-B1G second baseman Colby Turner.

Michigan’s win was the third run-rule win in tournament history. They will play tomorrow in the 9:00 p.m. game against the winner of Ohio State and Washington

Game 4

Washington 0 Ohio State 0

Starting Pitchers:

· Washington — RHP Hayden Lewis (6-5, 6.13 ERA)

· Ohio State — LHP Sahil Patel (1-1, 8.15 ERA)

Ohio State’s Sahil Patel got off to the kind of start every pitcher and his coach wants to . . . striking out the first three batters you face.  That and the energy level from the Buckeye bench stood out in the early going of the fourth game of Day 1 at the Big Ten Tournament.

Patel’s control left him a couple of innings later in the third inning.  After striking out the leadoff batter, he gave up a single and walked two to load the bases.  He then got another strike out before he walked yet another Huskie to give Washington the first run of the game.  And then he walked another one to make it 2-0 Washington.  At that point a handful of Buckeyes ran down to the bullpen.  And then he found his strikeout pitch to end it.

Washington’s Hayden Lewis got off to a good start as well, not allowing a Buckeye to reach base until a Lee Ellis single in the bottom of the third.  He scored on an Alex Bemis sacrifice fly to put Ohio State’s first run on the board.  Henry Kaczmar, the B1G leader in doubles, hit a double to score Grant Mangrum to tie the game 2-2.  Lewis bounced back with a strikeout to end the inning.  Tie ball game.

Washington chased Patel from the game in the fourth inning and added a couple more runs off Luke Carroll by coming up with hits to knock in guys who had walked.  Carroll mitigated the damage, but the Huskies were now up 4-2.

Back came Ohio State in the bottom of the fourth to put up two runs of their own to once against tie it 4-4.  A pair of doubles by Dane Harvey and Mason Eckelman sandwiched around a walk to Maddix Simpson and followed by a Lee sacrifice fly accounted for the runs.

Hayden Lewis settled in on the mound for Washington after that and his offense put up another two runs in the sixth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Cason Taggart.  Lewis then stopped the cycle of “I score two, you score two” in the bottom half and the Huskies were up 6-4.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Washington replaced Lewis with Gunner Nichols.  Kaczmar led off with yet another double.  Noah Furcht then drew a walk and that brought Ohio State’s best power hitter, Dane Harvey to the plate with two on and no one out.  He moved the runners up 90-feet with a deep fly out to the warning track in centerfield.  Nichols then inexplicably balked as he back foot slipped off the rubber and a run scored.  Right after that, Simpson singled in the tying run. 6-6 going to the ninth.

Keeping with the two runs in an inning theme, Washington put up two more. Taggart led off with a walk off Jake Michalak. After a fly out, Sam DeCarlo reached on an error moving Taggart to second. That resulted in Ohio State bringing in Lincoln McVicker to face Colton Bower, who flew out to right for the second out. Up came Mic Paul with two on and two out. Paul popped up to the catcher Eckelman, who had it in his glove by ended up dropping it. Two pitches later he ripped a triple to the right field corner to score two. Washington went back up 8-6.

With the two run lead, the Husky closer Tommy Brandenburg came on hoping to seal the win. He did just that, punctuating it with a strikeout of Henry Kaczmar. The win was Washington’s first ever in the Big Ten tournament.

There are a couple of editorial notes that have to be included about this game.  For tonight’s purposes, we will call this the Baseball Policy Report.  Violation 1: Ohio State for using a pitching machine for infield.  What?  None of their coaches can swing a fungo?  This is kind of like AI meets baseball.  Just stupid!  Violation 2:  Purple and gold are great school colors.  Purple jerseys with gold pants do not work at all as baseball uniforms.  All purple or all gold maybe.  These are just painful to look at.

Washington will take on Michigan tomorrow night at 9:00. Ohio State will face Rutgers in an elimination game at 2:00

Tuesday's loss to the Nationals wasn't the cleanest game for the Mets.

While New York's offense has been the reason for many of the team's losses this year, the 9-6 defeat to Washington in the second of their four-game series can be squarely put on the defense. Even more so than Nolan McLean's ineffective outing.

It started in the second. With the Mets already up 5-0, Nationals slugger James Wood hit a booming shot toward the left-center field gap with the bases loaded. Rookie left fielder Nick Morabito, in his MLB debut, tracked it down and had a beat on it, but when he leapt, the ball hit off his glove and kicked away from him and Tyrone Taylor, who was backing up. Taylor, however, did not immediately go for the ball, allowing Wood to pick up an inside-the-park grand slam.

"He lost track of the baseball," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Taylor on that play. "He went after and didn’t know where the ball was. Yeah, that’s a tough break there."

Morabito said the same thing but lamented he could not make the play.

"He hit it pretty hard," Morabito said of Wood. "Went back, and just missed it. Hit the palm of my hand. Should have had it."

Nick Morabito almost makes the catch, but James Wood ends up with an inside-the-park grand slam pic.twitter.com/SeAUhZY5ND

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2026

As Mendoza said, it was a "tough break," but what followed was anything but.

The Nationals tied the score at 5-5 in the third, but with runners on first and third and no outs, Luis Torrens let a pitch get past him. The play allowed Daylen Lile to get to second and CJ Abrams to score on the passed ball, giving the Nationals the lead they would not relinquish.

Then in the fourth inning, Marcus Semien botched a ground ball and made a throwing error to second instead of taking the sure out at first base, allowing the Nationals to have runners on second and third with one out. The next batter, with the infield in, Abrams hits a sharp grounder to Bo Bichette at short. Bichette threw the ball to Torrens in time to get Wood at home, but the Mets' backstop muffed the throw and allowed the Nats to score another run.

"He had a bad game today," Mendoza said of Torrens. "Was one of those where he has to turn the page. Passed ball, doesn’t make the tag play. Wasn’t at his best today."

The Mets made two errors on Tuesday, in addition to the defensive miscues. Entering Tuesday's game, the Mets as a team have 24 errors, which is middle of the road in MLB. However, the team has made four errors over its last four games.

"Not good. Past four days or so," Mendoza said of the defense. "Making errors on routine plays. We’re a good team defensively. We showed that... But we’re in a stretch where we have to clean it up."

The poor defensive performance put a halt to the Mets' momentum. They were winners of six of their last seven games, but the team is confident that days like Tuesday are the outlier and they can be better and get back to their winning ways.

"I don’t think it’s been in our identity," Bichette said. "We’ve been playing clean baseball all year. Days like this happen. We have to pick it back up and play better tomorrow for sure."

Every once in a while, you get a night where you have to tip your cap to the opponent. It might stem from a stellar pitching performance, a buttoned down operation in all phases of the game, or a bunch of clutch hits piled together. When you play 162 of these things, it’s going to happen a handful of times.

But tonight, we got the exact opposite of a “tip you cap” game, or whatever else you want to call this monstrosity. Forget Christmas, the Red Sox were almost handed enough gifts in one evening to light all the Hanukkah candles.

In fact, the theme started before the first pitch was even thrown. Kansas City had to scratch their originally scheduled starter Kris Bubic with elbow soreness and replace him with Bailey Falter, who entered tonight with a 10.13 ERA. He’s been so bad that despite only lasting two innings and allowing seven of the twelve batters he faced to reach base in this one, he actually lowered his ERA to 9.82.

But the pitching matchup was only the beginning; the Red Sox were also the beneficiaries of this befuddling call in the first inning:

If you hate replay, this is one to file away because even with an extended look, they did not get this call right.

And it was a sneaky enormous play too because Ranger Suarez was struggling to grab his bearings in the opening frame. If he’s not handed this free out and the inning gets out of control, we go down an entirely different rabbit hole than the one where he didn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning — Particularly with the inspiring efforts this Red Sox offense has put together all season when they fall behind.

Speaking of the Red Sox offense, they were able to take the lead in the top of the next next inning with more help. This time, from the Kansas City defense:

(Granted, that run was probably going to score anyway, but the miscue insured the play wouldn’t be competitive.)

But then came what I consider to be the biggest boneheaded play of the night.

This is some of the worst baseball situational awareness I’ve ever seen from Maikel Garcia! You have the best player in baseball not named Shohei Ohtani coming to the plate in Bobby Witt Jr. with runners on the corners and nobody out in a one run game, and you get nailed trying to advance to second base? DUMB!

Chad Tracy pulled Suarez immediately after this as he didn’t want him to face Witt a third time, and while Zack Kelly did a nice job wiggling out of it, I’m not sure he would have posted the same result if there were a few more brain cells working in the Kansas City dugout.

Gifts also came from old friends. Here’s a real quality pitch from former Red Sox reliever John Schreiber to give Masataka Yoshida a free 90 feet. (Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox failed to cash this one in.)

Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Royals pissed away another golden opportunity against the Sox middle relief with more world class baserunning:

Eventually, the game settled into an advantageous position for Boston. Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock posted uneventful zeros in the seventh and eighth, and the Red Sox offense finally got the dam to burst in the ninth with a three run homer from Jarren Duran.

Perhaps this is the thing that ultimately gets them going, and if it does, great! But tonight, the story is a lot more about gifts than guts.

Three Studs

Jarren Duran: On base four times including that three run homer in the ninth, and he also made this play in the second inning that helped Suarez settle in for a few frames.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: On base four times while playing shortstop, something Trevor Story has only done once all year.

The Bullpen: Zack Kelly, Tyler Samaniego, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Jovani Moran combined to get the last 14 outs without allowing a run to score, and that’s pretty impressive considering their task started with a runner on third and less than two out with Bobby Witt Jr. at the plate.

Three Duds

Baserunning: The gift giving ran in both directions this game as the Red Sox were thrown out on the base paths three times.

Let’s make those our three dud plays of the game, starting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting nailed at second base:

Then, despite his overall excellent night, Jarren Duran made the first out of the fifth inning in a one-run game at third base:

And finally, Nick Sogard got thrown out at home before the Sox truly broke it open in the ninth:

Highlight of the game:

Here’s the play that’s going to get most people excited about his game …

… But if you’re like me, the real story is everything that led up to it.

Just when you’re sure the letdown is coming, they find a way to keep doing it. After dropping a sleepy one last night, the White Sox were on the verge of dropping another sleepy one in Seattle this evening, trailing 1-0 from the moment the game opened all the way until they had just two outs left in the game. Bryce Miller can only wonder what would have happened had he been allowed to go just a little farther.

I’ll leave you in suspense as to why that might be. And pretend you haven’t already read the headline.

This is the third night in a row that I’m spending here on the pages of South Side Sox recapping things with you all, so instead of trying to piece it all together into something interesting at the end, I’ll just let you know what I was thinking as this one unfolded, because if there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s using a lot of words to talk about very little. If you want to see how it happened, let it all unfold before your eyes!

Top of the 1st

Bryce Miller came out sitting in the high-90s with his fastball for the second straight outing, and while Sam Antonacci managed to fight some pitches off, the way he took care of Miguel Vargas to end the inning —specifically, the perfectly executed middle-high fastball that Vargas swung under, which is the speciality of Miller’s fastball-dominant arsenal — makes me think we might be in for a long one.

Bottom of the 1st

Anthony Kay threw 35 pitches, which is what happened, although he somehow managed to get away with just a single earned run out of it. I said before the game that the Sox were likely to live and die with Kay tonight, because the bullpen was tapped out and he was going to get his burn no matter what. You can cover three innings between Sean Newcomb and Tyler Davis, and if it’s worth bringing Grant Taylor or Seranthony Domínguez into the fold, then we’re in a pretty good place.

Top of the 2nd

Uh oh, Bryce Miller is completely locked in. He mowed down the first two hitters of the inning and drew a weak fly ball out of Andrew Benintendi. Miller is basically throwing fastballs right down the middle, and because they’re 97 mph and have an absurd amount of rise relative to where hitters think it’s going to be. Not a single one of these pitches has resulted in anything close to good content. Not great, Bob!

Bottom of the 2nd:

Kay walked Cole Young to start the frame before going full against Colt Emerson, and the anxiety is at times visible in his reaction to borderline pitches. Still, like Miller, he’s having some success getting hitters to chase high and hot fastballs, punching out Emerson and Rob Refsnyder with basically the same pitch before getting out of the inning thanks to excellent defense from Chase Meidroth.

Substitute announcer Gordon Beckham’s demeanor has been enjoyable, but he did call the Sox pitcher “Michael Kay” at the end of the inning, which was a little funny.

Top of the 3rd:

Well, a Sox hitter finally managed to not swing underneath a four-seamer at the top of the zone. The only problem is that it was Tristan Peters, who can only inside-out a soft liner to Emerson at shortstop. Miller has faced the minimum through three innings. Fortunately for the Sox, he was only up to 80 pitches or so in his first start, so if they’re lucky, they might still escape this after six innings despite the utter domination.

Bottom of the 3rd

You know, every time I start to have some serious doubts about Kay, the guy bears down and gets through a few innings despite not seeming to have a great feel for location. Josh Naylor keeps running long ass at-bats, and it makes me anxious. Seattle up 1-0 after three is about as good as we can hope for, given how both starters have looked so far.

Top of the 4th

Bryce Miller is perfect through three, which he’s apparently done three times in his career. He’s not perfect through four, as we got our standard government-issue Munetaka Murakami walk, but the Good Guys made no other threats, and things continue to look bleak for the Sox offense.

Beckham let us know that he had a Dungeness crab omelet for breakfast this morning, after enjoying a salmon scramble yesterday. We also got a solid rundown of the different salmon species available for consumption in that part of the Pacific Northwest. I hope to try it someday!

Bottom of the 4th

I don’t know how, but we’re still really in this one! Mariners hitters seem to like what they’re seeing from Kay, as they keep attacking and making pretty solid contact, but all three of them resulted in outs this inning, and he’s somehow still only at 78 pitches through four. I doubt he’ll get through the lineup again unscathed, so I’m going to call my shot here and say that if the Sox don’t score in the 5th, this one’s a wrap.

Top of the 5th

WE ARE THROUGH FIVE INNINGS, AND BRYCE MILLER HAS NOT GIVEN UP A HIT.

Jarred Kelenic does not look like he’s having a good time tonight.

Bottom of the 5th

I really thought it was going to unravel the moment Colt Emerson got to first base after being plunked to lead off the inning, but Kay keeps finding an extra gear with his fastball and putting hitters away when he needs to. We might wind up being lucky that Dan Wilson burned Andrés Muñoz last night in a non-save situation.

Top of the 6th

The Sox are in the hit column! The Tristan Peters Show continues. He’s on second base, but Edgar Quero falls victim to yet another high four-seamer. He just keeps pounding the heart of the plate and the inside corner like he has a patent on them. It’s pretty impressive.

Right after I uploaded that, Sam Antonacci flew out to the warning track, and Miller’s day was done. This is basically the same thing as when the Rays took out Blake Snell in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series. Will the Sox make Dan Wilson pay for his faith in his bullpen? Predictably not. José A. Ferrer is a nasty lefty, and Murakami didn’t stand a chance.

Bottom of the 6th

If Kay can survive this one, I have a gut feeling the offense might still have some juice left yet.

He just struck out Naylor on three pitches, and by the time I finished shotgunning a Miller High Life, he was out of the game. It’s in God’s hands now, and by God, I mean Tyler Davis, whose appearance was prognosticated several paragraphs above.

God loves the White Sox — we’re on to the seventh with the game still at 1-0.

Top of the 7th

Is Luis Castillo pitching out of the bullpen? The Luis Castillo who’s getting paid $24 million because he’s been an All-Star caliber starter for many years? I guess he’s got a six-something ERA this year. He looks like Mason Miller right now. Strike one, strike two, strike three. These guys have no chance.

Bottom of the 7th

We see your Castillo and raise you a Davis! He’s got some zip on his fastball and went undrafted out of Sam Houston and Wichita State. Quite a story!

Top of the 8th

They tried! They really tried! Jarred Kelenic isn’t seeing ghosts anymore. There he is on first base after legging out a deflected single. Now he’s on second base, and Peters is on first! And now they’re all going back to the dugout, because Castillo is still really good at striking everybody out. Three more chances …

Bottom of the 8th

Hey, it’s time for Bryan Hudson to pitch. I like Hudson! Nobody in Chicago knew who he was before the start of April, and now he’s one of the game’s more effective left-handed workhorses. This is why you don’t give decent setup guys a guaranteed $20 million.

Top of the 9th

Here we go, folks. They’re letting Castillo ride, and the Sox have the meat of their order coming up.

Castillo wants nothing to do with Murakami. Boom. Tying run at first.

Vargas at the plate. And there’s a fastball right into his hand. Do NOT love to see that. Nonetheless, first and second, nobody out. Colson Montgomery at the plate. Montgomery whiffs. And now it’s Andrés Muñoz time.

Steal! Steal! Tying run 90 feet away! Meidroth at the plate! Here we go?

HERE WE GO!

Andrew Benintendi? Coming in clutch? Give me another boom!

Bottom of the 9th

It’s Grant Taylor, and not Domínguez. Now THIS is a development. Boom, strike one. Boom, strike two.

Boom, Dominic Canzone strikes out to end the game. Taylor picks up his first save of the season. The White Sox are back to two games over .500. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Tomorrow is a new day, and one that will see Sean Burke take the mound in an effort to make it yet another improbable series victory against Emerson Hancock, who the Sox touched up for five runs when they last met. First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!

Tonight almost fell into the bucket of the very frustrating games that this team definitely should have won category. Their starting pitcher went 7 strong innings while their offense continued to squander opportunity after opportunity late into the game. However with 2 outs in the 9^th, the biggest star on the team Ketel Marte finally broke through and put this team on his back with a walk off 3 run home run! What a swing and what a swing of emotions for this fanbase!

Ryne Nelson was very solid tonight as he was able to go deep and get through 7 innings. The lone blemish on the night for Nelson was a 3 run 2^nd inning, but he was able to right the ship quickly and get on a roll.

It was the offense that refused to come to play tonight. The Dbacks were able to get on the board first in the first inning today when Corbin Carroll lined a ball into the gap and when he slid into 3^rd base, the throw glanced off of Carroll’s head and he was able to take the extra 90 feet and score. According to the broadcast, Carroll made it from home to 3^rd in just 10.7 seconds which is the fastest in Carroll’s career and the fastest recorded time in the major leagues in nearly a decade! After that exciting play on the second hitter of the game, this teams offense went dead silent until late in the game.

One of the defining moments in the game for me was In the 7^th inning when the Dbacks offense began to show some signs of life and loaded the bases with just 1 out and down 3-1. Torey Lovullo then elected to stay with his designated hitter Adrian Del Castillo who came into the game with a wRC+ of just 53. A startling 47% below league average hitter up in the biggest moment of the game. Del Castillo then proceeded to hit into a double play and kill the rally and get the Giants out of the inning. It is also worth noting that if anyone else on the team were running they would’ve beaten out the throw from the SS and the Dbacks would’ve scored a run as Del Castillo’s speed is in just the 21^st percentile. It is also worth pointing out that Jose Fernandez was sitting on the bench and has speed in the 98^th percentile and has been a much better hitter.

As if this heartbreak wasn’t bad enough, in the 8^th inning the Dbacks would also load the bases again with 1 out and this time Nolan Arenado grounded into a double play. Back to back innings the Dbacks strand the bases loaded with one out in what has to be some of the worst timely hitting of the season so far. At least Arenado has been one of the hottest hitters on this team and put a good swing on the ball so its hard to be too critical. Just an unfortunate at bat.

In the 9^th inning Del Castillo was given another opportunity for some reason unknown to anyone else on the planet and was surprisingly able to come through and knock in Ildemaro Vargas and make it a 3-2 game. Rookie Ryan Waldschmidt who had several good at bats tonight was able to get on base via a catcher’s interference call giving Ketel Marte a golden opportunity with the winning run on base. Ketel had just missed a 2 run home run in the at bat before and was visibly frustrated when the CF caught the ball on the warning track, but he got another opportunity with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9^th and his team down 3-2. And this time, he delivered!!!!! Ketel with the whole fan base down in the dumps ready to see yet another very winnable game slip through their fingers delivered a walk off 3 run home run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9^th inning and tossed his bat in the air with an epic bat flip! This was the first walk off home run of Marte’s career per the broadcast. If there was one guy on this team who deserved this moment it was absolutely Ketel Marte who has hit so many balls so hard this season and had so very little to show for it.

The Dbacks were able to win this game tonight because Ketel Marte chose to put this team on his back and come through when his team needed him most. We are so lucky to have Ketel Marte on this team and for him to get through the stretch that he has had where he has had such bad luck on hard hit balls and come out the other side with a moment like this was just awesome to see. And lastly, anyone who has any questions about Ketel’s commitment to this team and his desire to win, watch him hit that home run and look at his face as he is rounding the bases. Watch his postgame interview and listen to the passion in that guy’s voice. Ketel just wants to win and tonight he did just that.

The Dbacks are finally back over .500 at 24-23 and go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon. Time to step on the gas pedal and go get the sweep!

The first two games this season between the teams with the two best records in the National League West have been close, hard-fought battles going down to the wire. After not scoring in the series opener, the Dodgers found just enough offense on Tuesday and capitalized on an absolute gift from the most dominant closer in baseball to beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 at Petco Park.

Mason Miller was wild on Monday, walking his first two batters in the ninth inning before getting the final three outs to close out the 1-0 San Diego win. Max Muncy worked a one-out walk against Miller in the ninth inning on Tuesday, then was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call.

Call took off for second base on Miller’s first movement, but it coincided with Miller delivering a pickoff throw to first base. Ordinarily, Call would have been dead to rites, except that Miller’s cannon of a throw got by, just off the glove of Ty France and down the right field line, allowing Call to get to third base.

Andy Pages fell behind 0-2, then fouled off four more pitches, working the count even before driving a fastball just deep enough to right field to score Call with the winning run on a very close play at the plate. That’s pretty much been the margin for things through two games of the series.

Freddie Freeman has been battling an illness the last few days, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in San Diego before the game. But the first baseman went from under the weather to over the left field wall against Griffin Canning in the first inning for a two-run home run to not only get the Dodgers on the board but also snap a personal string of 16 hitless at-bats (with five walks) dating back to last Wednesday.

Freeman homered again in the sixth inning, this time to right field off reliever Jeremiah Estrada to tie the game at four apiece. It’s the first multi-homer game this season for Freeman, and his third game in 2026 with two extra-base hits.

Shohei Ohtani doubled and scored in the first inning, then doubled again to lead off the eighth, setting up a golden opportunity.

With Ohtani on third base and one out, Freeman chased a 3-1 fastball outside the strike zone, then struck out swinging against Padres left-hander Adrián Morejón, who then got ahead of lefty Kyle Tucker 0-2 before inducing a tapper back to the box to end the Dodgers’ wasted threat.

Ohtani has reached base multiple times in each of his last six games, during which he’s 12 for 23 with six extra-base hits and six walks, good for a .522/.621/.913 batting line.

Trouble with the fastball

Emmet Sheehan got the first two batters in the bottom of the first and was ahead in the count 1-2 on Gavin Sheets before walking him. Then Manny Machado clobbered a middle-middle fastball on a full count for a two-run home run of his own. The Padres third baseman was in his own slump, with just three hits in 29 at-bats between home runs.

Miguel Andujar took advantage of another Sheehan meatball in the third inning, cashing in an infield single by Fernando Tatis Jr. for another two-run home run, the second homer of the series for Andujar.

Sheehan nearly allowed another two-run home run on a fastball to Ty France in the fourth inning, but it was hit to one of the deepest parts of the park in right center field, and needed a bounce to get over the fence. What would have easily scored Jackson Merrill from first base instead was a ground-rule double, forcing Merrill back to third base. Sheehan was able to escape the damage with an inning-ending groundout.

The Padres swung at 19 of Sheehan’s 28 fastballs and didn’t miss once, and his day was done after four runs in four innings at just 67 pitches, not allowed to see the top of San Diego’s lineup a third time.

Sheehan’s early exit led to some earlier appearances for the Dodgers’ most trusted relievers, such that Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Tanner Scott were used in tight spots in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

That left the ninth inning for Will Klein, who struck out France and retired all three batters he faced to preserve the win and earn his first career save. Edgardo Henriquez and those four Dodgers relievers combined to get the final 15 outs in scoreless fashion, allowing one hit and three walks, with four strikeouts.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Freddie Freeman 2 (6); Manny Machado (7), Miguel Andujar (5)

WP — Tanner Scott (1-1): 1 1/3 IP, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

LP — Mason Miller (1-1): 2/3 IP, 1 unearned run, 1 walk

Sv — Will Klein (1): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

Up next

Shohei Ohtani takes the mound in the final game of the series, the road trip, and this stretch of 13 game days in a row on Wednesday evening (5:40 p.m., SportsNet LA), with right-hander Randy Vásquez starting for San Diego.