Category: MLB

Wednesday was a historic day in Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh sports history.

It’s a day that will be remembered for what could be the jumpstart of the new era of Pirates baseball. 

The Pirates officially signed shortstop Konnor Griffin to a nine-year extension that will keep Griffin under contract through 2034.

ESPN’s Buster Olney initially reported the deal, worth $140 million, on Thursday, hours after it was announced that Griffin was being promoted. Speculation ran rampant when nothing was announced days later, until now.

The deal has escalators that could reach $150 million and doesn’t include any options or opt outs.

Griffin’s deal is the highest contract ever signed by the Pirates in franchise history, shattering Bryan Reynolds’ eight-year, $106.75 million deal signed in April of 2023.

“Signing Konnor is a meaningful commitment to this team, this city, and our fans,” owner Bob Nutting said in a statement released by the Pirates. “It reflects our belief in Konnor, in this season’s club and in the future of our organization.”

Only 19-years-old, Griffin signed the deal after only playing five full games in the Major Leagues. 

“Konnor represents everything we value in a player — exceptional talent, strong character, a team-first mentality, and a maturity that stood out to all of us from the beginning,” Nutting said. “He is the right person, from the right family.”

Griffin’s mother Kim, father Kevin, younger brother Kaden, and other family members were in attendance as Griffin sat in between Nutting and GM Ben Cherington at the press conference room inside PNC Park to announce the deal. 

“This is another important step in the work we have been doing to build a winning team for this year and going forward,” Nutting closed in the statement.

The Pirates are 7-5 and the energy around the team is different. The vibe is different. There is a sense of belief inside and out of the clubhouse that the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates are bound for something special. 

Nutting and the Pirates believed less than a week in Triple-A was enough for Griffin to make his debut and the pieces are in place to contend this season.

“I think there’s a real sense and a belief in what we’ve seen in a small sample size,” Nutting said, sitting next to Griffin. “Konnor, having you with the team now makes a real difference in a year where we not only need to be better, are being better, and have full commitment to a team that’s taken a long time to put the foundation in place.”

Baseball’s top prospect, the Pirates drafted Griffin 9th overall in 2024. He only played 127 games in the minor leagues before receiving the call and becoming the first teen since Aramis Ramirez in 1998 to play for the Bucs. 

The Pirates added 69 home runs in Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, and Marcell Ozuna this offseason. Griffin hit 21 homers between three levels of the minor leagues. 

Nutting made it that he is focused on building a sustainable winner in Pittsburgh.

“The commitment from this organization not only to the team, but to the city of Pittsburgh, to the fans, to reflect how serious I am, and we are, about building and sustaining a winning team here in Pittsburgh,” Nutting said. “The fans deserve it, the fans want it, and we saw on Opening Day and in the ballpark already the level of energy, excitement, passion, and commitment that our fans have to this team.”

The Pirates will pay their shortstop, at minimum, $33 million more than Reynolds over the course of the deal.  

Nutting said the contract is, “reflecting the absolute sense of urgency for 2026 to make this team better, now.” 

Griffin doubled in his first-career at-bat, driving in the Pirates first run of the season at PNC Park. He displayed his speed one batter later as the Pirates increased the lead on a base hit by Jared Triolo.

In 18 at-bats over six games, Griffin is hitting .167 with four RBIs, two walks, five strikeouts, a .273 on-base percentage. 

It’s going to take time for the undisputed No. 1 prospect in the sport to get adjusted to the majors, but Griffin has shown signs of his immense ability and potential in a short sample. 

“Since joining the organization, Konnor has consistently demonstrated the traits we want in a Pirate: a daily commitment to improvement, a team-first mindset, and a strong desire to win,” Cherington said in a statement.

Now that the emotions of making his debut have had time to simmer and the deal is done, Griffin can go and play. 

He will be depended on as the cornerstone face of the Pirates franchise for the next decade, and has what it takes to be an all-time great player in Pittsburgh.

“He has met every challenge in front of him, and we are excited to watch him continue that growth alongside his teammates in Pittsburgh,” Cherington said. “We are thrilled he will be a Pirate for a long time.”

Detroit Tigers (4-7) vs. Minnesota Twins (5-6)

Time/Place: 7:40 p.m., Target Field
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (0-0, 6.75 ERA)

At what point do we switch from saying “it is still early?” to “this is legit”? That is what we tried to figure out with Kevin Wheeler from KMOX on Cardinals on My Time this week with the Redbird Rundown crew.

Wheeler is one of our all-time favorites and oh man, did he have a bunch to say about the progression we are seeing from multiple Cardinals’ players so far in the 2026 season. The main talking point, of course, was outfielder Jordan Walker. Now in his fourth big league season, what we are seeing from Walker is one of the most incredible bounce back stories for a guy who was written off by a large amount of the fanbase. Amazing what a little patience can do, right Mo?

Beyond Walker, we talked Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages behind the dish, Michael McGreevy’s velocity, Victor Scott’s outfield matched with his inability to hit, and much more! This was a super fun one and we are excited to hear what you think. What is real and what is a mirage thus far in the 2026 season?

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Thanks as always!

David Peterson pretended he was the weather and remained cold Wednesday.

On a chilly afternoon at Citi Field — even with first pitch moved up three hours for a second straight day because of the numbing forecast — Peterson’s performance quickly transformed the ballpark from refrigerator to freezer.

Buried in a five-run hole early, the Mets never recovered in a 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks that snapped their four-game winning streak.

Mr. Freeze, whether played by Otto Preminger, George Sanders or Eli Wallach, was Peterson’s equal on this day.

The only redeeming quality of the left-hander’s second straight clunker was he persevered and lasted through the fifth. Overall, he allowed five earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

“A lot of it comes down to leaving balls up and away,” Peterson said.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said he isn’t concerned about Peterson, who struggled against the Giants last week.

“If he’s healthy, which he is, there is no concern,” Mendoza said. “He’s too good of a pitcher, he’s been our guy. We have just got to make a couple of adjustments.”

Sean Manaea, who before the game Mendoza said would remain in the bullpen rather than pitch as part of a six-man rotation, was utilized for an extended relief appearance in a second straight Peterson start.

Manaea threw 70 pitches over four innings on this day to not only save the bullpen for the second time in less than a week, but remain stretched out should the need eventually arise for him to enter the rotation.

Offensively, the Mets mustered only a 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, in their first loss since Juan Soto departed last Friday’s game.

Soto has since been placed on the injured list with a right calf strain.

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Corbin Carroll’s double in the first inning led to the D’backs initial run. Geraldo Perdomo singled and Gabriel Moreno’s sacrifice fly brought in Carroll.

Ketel Marte stroked a bases-loaded RBI single in the second that extended the Mets’ deficit to 2-0.

Carroll’s ensuing two-run double further buried Peterson, and before the inning was complete, Perdomo’s sacrifice fly gave the D’backs a 5-0 lead. Peterson’s trouble in the inning started with the successive singles he allowed to Ildemaro Vargas and Jose Fernandez.

“Not only are teams super aggressive against him, especially early in counts, but [Peterson] is having a hard time executing pitches glove side, meaning inside to righties and there’s a lot of pitches out over the plate and there’s hard contact there,” Mendoza said. “I thought he made some good adjustments after they got him there in the second inning, but I think it’s just the execution part, for the last couple of turns you have seen that.”

In a moment of levity Mark Vientos signaled the crowd to increase the applause after a mock cheer as he caught Vargas’ pop-up in the third inning. Moments earlier Vientos had misplayed a Vargas pop up in foul territory, extending the at-bat.

Brett Baty’s RBI single in the sixth pulled the Mets to within 5-1. Bo Bichette and Luis Robert Jr. each singled in the inning before Baty delivered his sixth RBI of the season, tying him for the team lead.

Jorge Barrosa’s two-run double (a ball that should have been caught) off Robert’s glove in the eighth inning widened the Mets’ deficit to 7-1. Manaea loaded the bases in the inning by allowing two singles and a walk.

Vientos’ sacrifice fly in the eighth recovered a run after Robert and Baty reached on a single and double, respectively.

Peterson could take a measure of satisfaction in his performance after his rocky two-inning stretch at the start.

“I think the third through the fifth [innings] we did a lot better job,” Peterson said. “I felt a little off mechanically the first two innings. I was able to clean that up and get to where I wanted to be.”

Okay, so technically relentless would be scoring in every inning, and the Braves only scored in five of the nine frames available to them, but hey — it worked just fine. The offense started early and didn’t stop until well past clobberin’ time, leading to an 8-2 victory over the Angels. Meanwhile, Grant Holmes did what the team needed him to do despite an ugly second inning, pitching nearly seven frames and letting the Braves avoid using any of their key bullpen arms heading into tomorrow’s off-day. With the victory, the Braves move to 8-5, and have yet to lose a series all season.

The scoring started early. Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with a bloop double behind third base, and then moved around the bases on a couple of outs to score the game’s first run. In the second, Austin Riley drew a leadoff walk, stole second with two outs, and then scored on Jonah Heim’s semi-bizarre ground rule double, which was simultaneously a barrel but also kind of a hanging-up-forever fly ball into the right-field corner.

This portended a cruising-ish game for the Braves, but Holmes had a lot of trouble in the second. For a second there, it looked like the Braves might suffer a disappointing loss due to Holmes’ struggles. The frame started with Holmes hanging a slider to Braves hero and noted pugilist Jorge Soler, cutting the lead in half. Holmes then totally fell apart mechanics-wise (his first was rough but not this rough despite being a 1-2-3 frame), with three walks and a single sandwiched in there to tie the game. The game-tying base on balls was actually initially ruled a strikeout, but ABS is a thing, and it was a facile overturn into an RBI for Logan O’Hoppe.

After that, though, Holmes locked in. He blew Oswald Peraza away on three pitches, and then lucked out when Zach Neto A) randomly tried to bunt with the bases loaded and then B) popped up a down-the-pipe fastball to shallow right. Mike Trout was up next, and Holmes served him a hanging slider on 1-2, but Trout just bounced it weakly back up the middle to Ozzie Albies to keep the game tied.

And then, it was all Braves. Angels starter Reid Detmers grazed Drake Baldwin on 0-2 with one out, and Matt Olson bashed a low liner (so low it wasn’t even a barrel!) over the yellow line in right-center for a two-run homer. Riley followed with a hustle double, and then Mauricio Dubon hit a routine grounder that Neto airmailed, giving the Braves a fifth run. The hits just kept on coming, too. In the fifth, after Detmers departed, Dubon yanked a two-run double. In the sixth, Baldwin dunked a ball into center to score Michael Harris II, who had drawn a leadoff walk and stolen second earlier in the inning.

Meanwhile, Holmes rolled along after his second inning hiccup. The Angels made some pretty good contact here and there, but the Braves’ defense was solid. From the third through the sixth, the Angels got just one baserunner. Holmes struck out the first two he faced in the seventh, but Peraza hooked a well-placed curve for a double, and Neto beat out a slow roller. The Braves swapped Holmes for Joel Payamps to face Mike Trout, and Payamps came through by getting Trout to swing through high heat. Jose Suarez finished the game with two frames, striking out the side in the first and getting a double play in the second. Harris snagged a Peraza liner in center to end the game.

The Braves’ side of the box score looked quite delicious in this one, with five doubles, a homer, six walks, and a hit by pitch. Detmers was overwhelmed (4/2 K/BB ratio, the Olson homer, in 4 1/3); Holmes ended up with a decent line overall (6/3 K/BB ratio, the Soler homer, in 6 2/3) but would’ve been nearly pristine if you removed that second inning from consideration.

The Braves now embark on what is a happier flight home than if this game had gone sideways in the second, and get a well-deserved day of rest after 13 straight games to begin the season. They will open up a homestand with a set against the Guardians on Friday night.

An awful road trip got even worse as the Astros were swept by the Colorado Rockies, falling under .500.

You know those days where nothing goes right straight from the jump? The Astros do too. Today was one of those days.

Looking to salvage the finale of a 3 game series against the Rockies in Colorado, the wheels came off very fast for Houston in a 9-1 drubbing that sent them to their fourth straight loss and a game under .500 at 6-7. The Astros are now 1-5 on the current 10 game road trip.

Cristian Javier continued to struggle with his velocity, bouncing between 91-93 MPH with his fastball, and that was the lesser of his issues today.

Javier had to leave the game after just 1 inning due to shoulder pain. Trainers checked on him before the start of the second inning, and the Astros had to remove him.

A.J. Blubaugh was summoned in relief in an unusual spot – needing to get ready very quickly.

Blubaugh never looked comfortable today and it manifested in a 5-run second inning from which the Rockies never looked back.

Houston was held to just 1 run for the second consecutive game. They did manage 8 hits and 2 walks, but went 1-for-7 with RISP and left 9 men on base.

Complicating matters for the Astros, they also lost centerfielder Jake Meyers in the game. Meyers was injured on a check swing in the top of the 2nd, clutching at his side.

He was replaced in the AB by Brice Matthews, who singled in that at bat, driving in Isaac Paredes for the only Astros run of the game.

Matthews remained in the game in LF and Joey Loperfido moved from LF to CF.

Bryan Abreu came in to pitch the 8th for Houston, and still struggled with consistent velocity and command.

Abreu’s struggles and inconsistencies are still a mystery to the team and Abreu, who is struggling mightily to regain his usual elite form.

The Astros have an off day Thursday before beginning a 4-game series in Seattle against the Mariners. They are expected to go to a 6-man rotation beginning with that series as they will play 13 straight days.

The Orioles won’t be making any Tom Emanski videos with plays like this one.

Baltimore allowed a run to the White Sox in Wednesday afternoon’s 5-3 win … because of a mishap on a throw back to the pitcher.

Starting pitcher Kyle Bradish issued a six-pitch walk to Chicago third baseman Colson Montgomery, which should have just loaded the bases in Chicago

But Bradish whiffed at catcher Adley Rutschman’s throw back to the mound, allowing the ball to get free on the infield grass.

Always keep your head on a swivel

Chase Meidroth's heads up baserunning gives the Sox the lead! pic.twitter.com/2gM1HWKOvn

— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) April 8, 2026

Instead of showing any urgency, though, Bradish casually started walking after the ball. Chase Meidroth, advancing to third on the walk, alertly picked up on the scenario and scampered home. Bradish finally quickened his step before throwing wildly to the plate, and Meidroth scored with ease to give Chicago a 3-2 advantage.

And with the throw reaching the backstop, Montgomery rounded first and reached second when Rutschman double-clutched and did not make the throw in time.

In all, Bradish was chargeed with two errors on the play, one for the missed catch and one for the ugly throw home.

Bradish struck out Andrew Benintendi to limit the damage, and the Orioles took the lead in the top of the sixth, giving the right-hander the win, his first of the year after two straight defeats to start the season.

The starter admitted after the game that he exhibited “childish behavior” in the moment and will make sure not to do something like that again. Bradish added he talked with manager Craig Albernaz immediately after the incident and made clear he was mad at himself for the “mental error.”

“Yeah, just frustration came out,” Bradish said. “It’s unacceptable, it’s childish behavior and that will not happen again.”

The win gave the Orioles a series sweep and improved their record to 6-6.

Game Summary

The Cardinals open up by leaving the bases loaded in the top of the first, but struck for two runs in the second, keyed by a 2-RBI Burleson single. McGreevy came out and worked in his normal workmanlike manner, which was welcome against this line-up, which has really been scoring runs. The Nats got to him for 1 run in the third on some small ball. Jordan Walker launched a 3-2 pitch for a solo HR to extend the Cardinal lead in the fifth. Pozo added a late 2-RBI single to extend the lead.

McGreevy’s final line of 6 IP, 1 R, 4 K, 0 BB, 4 hits was very solid. The bullpen was unscored upon for the final three innings to close things out without any drama.

Line-up (and roster) machinations

• McGreevy starts for the Cardinals. The Nats send out old friend Miles Mikolas.
• A mostly stock “Herrera at the C” line-up for today, except Scott II gets the day off, Church to CF and Sags to LF. Urias at third, Gorman at DH.
• Walker and Gorman remain 4-5 in the line-up, after recent adjustments. Who had this in their pre-season predictions?
• It’s been a fascinating series. Arguably, the Cardinals lost a game they should have won, and then won a game they should have lost. What will the rubber game reveal?

The Game Details

A view from the box score, for those who want a deeper sense of the game.

T1 – Wetherholt grounds out, but Herrera follows with a solid single. Burleson with an infield single. Walker K’s (to Mikolas of all people!). Gorman walks, but Winn grounds out to end the threat.

B1 – The first two batters reach against McGreevy with singles, but a 1-6 force, F8 and 6-3 puts a quick end to the traffic jam.

T2 – Urias 4-3. Sags singles. Church with a solid smash pushing Sags along. A handy passed ball moved the runners up to 2nd and 3rd. Wetherholt with the backwards K. Situational hitting continues to be problematic. Mikolas gives Herrera the open base, but Burleson burns him with a 2-run single. Walker grounds out to end the inning. 2-0 Cardinals.

B2 – K. F7. F9. Quick inning.

T3 – Gorman walks again. Winn grounds into a force. Urias with the backwards K. Sags lines out.

B3 – Single. Another single makes it first and third. Boy, they’ve had trouble getting Wood out. So do a lot of people. An infield out scores a run. GIDP ends the threat. Now 2-1 Cardinals.

T4 – Lord in for Mikolas, who gives way after a short start (3 IP). Lord K’s Church. Weird. Wetherholt 5-3. Herrera 4-3.

B4 – L6. F7. 4-3 on a really nice play by Wetherholt ends the inning.

T5 – Burleson F8. Jordan with a solo HR. Gorman out 3u. Winn backwards K. Been a few of those today. Cards now up 3-1.

B5 – 4-3. 3-1. 4-3. Very workmanlike.

T6 – Urias 5-3. Sags 3u.

B6 – 1-3. 4-3. 1-3. Wetherholt has been outstanding with the glove today.

T7 – Perez relieves Lord. Wetherholt leads off with a walk. See the Cardinals relievers aren’t the only ones with the obligatory lead-off walk syndrome. Herrera follows with his own walk. Burleson singles in another run. Walker K’s. Pozo pinch hits for Gorman. Odd. Pozo GIDP to kill the rally. Now 4-1 Cardinals.

B7 – Svanson in for McGreevy. He issues the obligatory walk. 6-3. L6. Backwards K. Svanson pitching very tentative. He is working his way down the trust chart.

T8 – Winn K’s. Urias P2. Sags K’s. Still 4-1 Cardinals.

B8 – 5-3. 5-3. Svanson out, Bruihl in. He gets Wood out.

T9 – Church backwards K. Wetherholt F8. Herrera HBP. Burleson walks. Poulin replaces Henry on the mound. Walker walks. Pozo with a 2-RBI single to extend the lead. Winn P6. Cardinals now up 6-1.

B9 – O’Brien in for Bruihl. 5-3. 1-3. 3-1. No sweat. Cardinals win.

Post-Game Notes

• Solid starting pitching following by scoreless bullpen work is a good combination.
• The Cardinals finish the road trip with an overall 7-5 record on the season.
• Day off tomorrow, then home against the Red Sox.

One bad inning cost David Peterson and the Mets' cold bats returned in their 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. 

The Mets had eight hits and walked just once as they dropped the middle game of their series against Arizona, and snapped their four-game winning streak. 

Here are the takeaways....

-Peterson was a bit unlucky in the first inning of this one, allowing a run after a Corbin Carroll double, a Geraldo Perdomo infield single -- more of a swinging bunt -- and a sac fly from Gabriel Moreno. But the opposite happened in the second. The Diamondbacks jumped all over the southpaw, scoring four runs in the second frame, with the big hit coming from another Carroll double that cleared the bases. The Carroll double came on a first-pitch down-and-away curve that came off the bat at 103.8 mph. 

The Mets left-hander would settle down, retiring 11 of his last 12 batters to get through five innings, but it wasn't good enough to keep the game within reach, especially with the team's offensive struggles. 

He finished allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six across his five innings (85 pitches/53 strikes). 

Peterson's last outing saw him allow six runs (five earned) in 4.1 innings pitched against the Giants. After pitching 5.1 scoreless innings in his first start (March 28 vs. Pirates), Peterson has now allowed 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings. 

-D-backs starter Ryne Nelson no-hit the Mets until the fourth when Bo Bichette led off with a single. Bichette would finally get things started in the sixth inning when he hit a one-out single. Back-to-back singles from Luis Robert Jr. and Brett Baty pushed across the Mets' first run of the day. After Mark Vientos struck out swinging, Nelson was pulled. Marcus Semien flew out to end the Mets' threat. 

The Mets would push across their second run in the eighth after a Baty double put runners on first and second with one out, and a Mark Vientos sac fly put the score to 7-2.

-Sean Manaea was tasked with finishing the game after Peterson and was effective until the eighth inning. Ildemaro Vargas hit a one-out single to Robert Jr., who looked to have caught it, but was called a trap. After a single and a walk loaded the bases, Jorge Barrosa lined a pitch to Robert Jr. in center. The Mets outfielder went a long way to catch up to the ball, but the ball bounced out of his glove for a double. 

Manaea saved the bullpen again, going four innings while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out two batters. In three appearances, he's allowed three runs in 9.0 IP this season.

-Carson Benge was 0-for-24 before finally breaking that streak with a ninth-inning single through the right side. He did have a hit stolen from him by Barrosa earlier in the game.

Game MVP: Corbin Carroll

The Arizona outfielder went 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits while driving in two runs. 

Highlights

Brett Baty gets the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/HYy6jf0Tiw

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

Mark Vientos brings home Luis Robert Jr. with a sacrifice fly pic.twitter.com/33JSBtAWzD

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

Carson Benge breaks his 0-for-24 cold spell with a base hit pic.twitter.com/21vAiLK0oz

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Diamondbacks wrap up their three-game set on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.

Nolan Mclean (1-0, 2.61 ERA) will take the mound against Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

The Phillies got their obligatory series loss in San Francisco out of the way early this year, going out with a whimper in the rubber match of the series thanks to a silent offense and a back-breaking home run allowed by Aaron Nola. They have still not won a series in San Francisco since 2013 and are 9-29 at Oracle Park since. The last run the Phillies offense scored in this series was Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of their comeback win on Monday. They have not scored in the ensuing 20 innings since and have totaled only eight hits over that span.

It looked like maybe today would be different though when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both singled in the first to put two runners on with one out, but Alec Bohm lined out on three pitches and Bryson Stott struck out on six pitches against Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle. It was one of six strikeouts for Mahle in 5.2 innings, five of which came on his splitter.

Schwarber and Harper yet again got on base in the third inning, this time with a pair of two-out walks and advancing to third and second respectively on a wild pitch. But yet again, Bohm failed to make the Giants pay, as he softly grounded out to third on a pitch on the outside corner of the zone despite being ahead in the count 3-1.

That would be the Phillies last real scoring chance until the seventh, when pinch hitter Otto Kemp singled, only the team’s second hit since the first inning, with one out and Trea Turner drew a walk. The previous script was flipped this time however, as it was Schwarber and Harper’s turn to not come through with runners on. Schwarber swung over a curveball in the dirt for a punchout and Harper grounded out to first on a slider well below the zone to end the threat and strand two more runners. The Phillies wouldn’t get another baserunner and in total stranded nine total runners and went 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Nola meanwhile was excellent through five innings, allowing just three hits and no walks. He escaped a one out triple from Luis Arraez in the first with back-to-back strikeouts of Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers. Danger reared its head again in the fourth when Arraez and Chapman led off the inning with a pair of singles, but Nola was able to get Devers to ground into a double play and induced a fly ball to Jung Hoo-Lee to escape damage once again.

Nola had two runners on again in the sixth following a Willy Adames double and an Arraez walk, but this time he was not able to navigate his way out of trouble. He struck out Chapman after an ABS challenge overturned a call on the field for the second out, but the first pitch Nola threw to Devers was deposited into center field for a three-run home run.

Nola then finished the sixth and ended his day with those three runs allowed on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings. Not a bad day, but with how the offense played in this series, it was insurmountable. José Alvarado allowed two more runs to come across for the Giants in the eighth thanks to some singles and his own throwing error as the final humiliation before the Phillies offense went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Next matchup

The Phillies will have off tomorrow before opening a three-game series at home with the Diamondbacks on Friday. Jesús Luzardo (1-1, 4.97) is scheduled to take the ball for Philadelphia. Arizona has of this writing not yet announced a starter.

After spearheading last night’s thrilling comeback win, Amed Rosario finds himself back in the starting lineup, and I will be expecting another two home runs from today’s third baseman. He and the rest of the Yankees will be facing off against the man who was once seen as the future long-term ace of the staff, with Luis Severino tapped to start against his old squad for the third time in his career.

Severino’s had a rough start to 2026 after a strong World Baseball Classic — one of many such cases around the league. In two starts he’s posted a 6.48 ERA, but his 3.63 FIP is a little cleaner. He had one perfectly serviceable start in the season’s opening series at Toronto; getting thudded around by Atlanta last week has his early-season numbers looking a little rough. He hasn’t exactly fooled the Yankees in his two previous starts against them, with a 15.26 ERA and 1.136 OPS against. If that trend continues today, New York stands a good chance of winning yet another series.

Will Warren gets the ball for the Bronx Bombers, in a reverse of Sevy — strong ERA, higher FIP. His paltry five percent walk rate is the big thing to watch as he gets into the swing of the season; I can’t imagine he’ll keep it that low but if he can maintain a below-average walk rate, his historical challenges with nibbling might be going away. The rotation has led the way for the Yankees so far this season, and there must be some pressure on the next day’s starter to match what the squad has put up in the year’s first two weeks.

We have a little bit of juggling in the lineup, with the aforementioned Rosario at third and batting eighth. Ryan McMahon returns to the field, this time at shortstop and batting ninth. I’m not in love with McMahon getting much playing time at all, but it’s not like José Caballero has been any better. Austin Wells also enjoys a night off, with J.C. Escarra behind the plate.

Take note that this is the weekly Amazon Prime game!

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Amazon Prime, NBCSCA

Radio broadcast: Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast (ATH), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

For the first time in 14 years, the Colorado Rockies swept the Houston Astros with a 9-1 victory on Wednesday. With the victory, the Rockies improved to 6-6 on the year, marking the latest they had been at a .500 record or better at least 12 games into a season since May 14, 2022. Behind another strong starting pitching performance and quality hitting from the offense, the Rockies have now won four straight games.

Lorenzen’s Refresh

Looking to avenge his rough outing last time around, Michael Lorenzen did that and more against the Astros. He ended up going 5.2 innings, allowing one run on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The lone run came in the top of the second after Isaac Paredes walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a single from Christian Walker. Lorenzen then notched a pair of punch outs before pinch-hitter Brice Matthews singled to left field to drive in the run.

Lorezen went right back to work, utilizing all of his pitches to stifle the Astros offense. He induced eight groundouts and threw 62 of his 100 pitches for strikes. He was close to finishing the sixth inning, but ran into trouble after Joey Loperfido had a two-out hit to put men on the corners. Lorenzen then left the game with the bases loaded after issuing a walk to Matthews. Luckily, Zach Agnos bailed him out of the inning without another run scoring.

The Rockies’ starters now sport a 4.44 ERA on the season as a unit at the end of this home stand.

Agnos Carving up the Astros

Speaking of Agnos, the young righty cruised through the end of the game to earn a multi-inning save. He ended up working 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two batters. He turned 44 pitches, 29 of which went for strikes.

A Busy Second Inning

Astros’ starter Cristian Javier had to depart the game after throwing his warm-up pitches in the second inning, leaving the Rockies to face off against the Houston bullpen the rest of the game. The Rockies ended up scoring five runs in the second inning, after scratching one across in the bottom of the first. Troy Johnston led off with a double, followed by a bunt single for Brenton Doyle. He then stole second base while Kyle Karros drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Edouard Julien delivered a two-run single to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead.

Tyler Freeman dropped a sacrifice bunt, setting up a sacrifice fly RBI for Mickey Moniak. Hunter Goodman then drew a walk and stole second base with TJ Rumfield at the plate. A wild pitch scored Julien, upon which Rumfield drew a walk after a 10-pitch at-bat. Ezequiel Tovar put the cap on the inning with an RBI double to give the Rockies a 6-1 lead.

Colorado had four hits, two stolen bases, three walks, and a pair of bunts in the inning, showing off the multiple facets that offense can use to score runs.

Rockies Rockin’ Offense

Goodman would tack on the Rockies’ seventh run with a solo home run in the fourth inning, while another sacrifice fly in the sixth inning would add on an eighth run, and a Johnston single in the eighth tacked on a ninth run. In total, the Rockies scored nine runs on 10 hits with every player reaching safely at least once. Julien, Tovar, and Johnston each had two hits, while only two starters didn’t have an RBI.

Even more surprising and encouraging was the fact that the Rockies drew nine walks against seven strikeouts. In fact, it was the first time in 251 games that they had more walks than strikeouts, which was the second-longest streak since 1901. Add in four stolen bases and a team that also went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next

Colorado heads to San Diego to begin a four-game series. They will use an opener, most likely followed by Chase Dollander. San Diego will send Randy Vasquez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) to the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm MT. See you then!

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Go Rays!

TORONTO –– With the chance to complete a perfect six-game road trip Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers instead stumbled with some uncharacteristically imperfect play.

In a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays, which snapped the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak, the team fell victim to the kind of mistakes it had largely avoided through the season’s first couple weeks.

There was a blown late-game lead, with the Blue Jays erasing a two-run deficit in the seventh against Jack Dreyer after a pivotal leadoff walk and three straight hits that tied the game.

“Just didn’t do my job,” Dreyer said.

There was a critical defensive breakdown with runners on the corners an inning later, when Will Smith tried to catch Andrés Giménez stealing a base at second –– only to see his throw trickle away from shortstop Miguel Rojas to let baserunner Davis Schneider score the go-ahead run from third.

“We thought we could get an out right there, a big out in that situation,” Smith said. “A little better throw would’ve got him.”

Instead, the Dodgers came up short, missing numerous other opportunities offensively to pull away early [they left six men stranded on base against Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease] and mount a rally late [they stranded the bases loaded in the seventh, and did nothing with two aboard in the ninth].

And despite a solid six-inning, one-run start from Shohei Ohtani, they had to settle for a 5-1 record on this opening East Coast trip.

“When you win the first five, you want to get greedy and win the last one,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But it’s still a really good road trip.”

What it means

With the loss, the Dodgers (9-3) also squandered an opportunity to complete a sweep in this World Series rematch.

And in doing so, they failed to replicate the kind of big-moment execution that lifted them to a championship in last year’s Fall Classic.

No sequence loomed larger than the Dodgers’ botched steal attempt in the bottom of the eighth. Both Roberts and Smith said trying to get Giménez at second –– even with Davis at third as the go-ahead run –– was the right decision. Smith noted the dugout even called for a throw in such a situation.

Alas, Smith delivered a low ball to Rojas, who couldn’t squeeze it as he tried to attempt a bang-bang tag.

“I think it was a ball that I know Miggy would love to have back and hold onto,” Roberts said. “That’s baseball. That happens. There’s nobody more sure-handed than Miggy. But yeah, I thought it was the right play.”

The Dodgers also committed their first two-error game of the season, recorded more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) as a pitching staff, and went just 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Who’s hot

Two pitching starts into his first full-time two-way season as a Dodger, Ohtani has yet to give up an earned run.

That didn’t mean he was dominant in his six-inning start Wednesday. He struck out only two batters while letting five reach base (four hits, one walk). He acknowledged he was battling some end-of-the-road-trip fatigue.

Still, when he needed to make a big pitch, he did –– blowing a fastball by Kazuma Okamoto to strand two runners in the first inning, then getting Tyler Heinenman to chase an inning-ending splitter in the second to work around an Alex Freeland error.

He also finished his day by stranding a leadoff double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the sixth.

“You’re not going to feel your best every day,” Roberts said. “But to his credit, he found a way to give us length and exit with a lead.”

Who’s not

Last year, Dreyer was one of the pleasant (and rare) surprises in the Dodgers’ bullpen, posting a 2.95 ERA in his rookie season.

But on Wednesday, he took the first lumps of his second big-league campaign –– leading to the first late-game lead the Dodgers bullpen has blown this year.

With the Dodgers up 3-1 in the seventh, Dreyer gave up two runs while retiring just one of the five batters he faced. It began as most bad innings do, with a leadoff walk. Then, with one out, the Blue Jays tagged him with three straight hits, including an RBI double from George Springer and a game-tying single from Daulton Varsho.

“Obviously, I want to be put in that situation and I want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Dreyer said. “And I just didn’t do it today.”

Up next

The Dodgers will be off on Thursday, before beginning a six-game homestand on Friday when the Texas Rangers come to Dodger Stadium.

If the first dozen games of this Mariners season have felt derivative to you, that wouldn’t be misplaced. Dating back to 2023, Seattle has stumbled out of the gate, starting each season with a record of 4-8. Thankfully, in all previous three years, the M’s have bounced back, staunching the bleeding to win their next game (and more often than not the few following ones). But hasn’t that script gotten old? The trips to the callback well surely wore thin in 2025. What’s next, a clip show episode? A main character has a baby?

You’d do well to know that a new path has been chosen.

Today’s morning contest got off to a promising start, with Rob Refsnyder battling back from an 0-2 count (and missing his first hit of the season by about two feet when he hammered a line drive down the third-base line foul) to work a leadoff walk against new Rangers lefty MacKenzie Gore. Cal Raleigh’s slow start to the year continued on a strikeout, but Julio Rodríguez drew a second walk on a 3-1 pitch that probably would have been challenged in a higher-leverage spot. Although Randy Arozarena and Brendan Donovan both went down on strikes, Seattle pushed Gore’s pitch count up to 26 to open the game; always an encouraging early sign.

By contrast, Bryan Woo stepped out of the gate as his usual self; breezy pace, bevy of fastballs, brisk at-bats. He needed eight fewer pitches to get through two frames than Gore used for one, and aside from a true jammed bleeder from Brandon Nimmo to lead off the first allowed no baserunners. Mitch Garver contributed with a keen ABS challenge in the second against Evan Carter, flipping a 1-1 count to 0-2 before Carter harmlessly flew out to Julio a few pitches later. Despite the efficiency, though, there were some scary contact moments, most notably a shot to left field off the bat of Jake Burger that Randy caught right at the wall and would have been out in seventeen big league ballparks. Those worries continued when Josh H. Smith led off the third by turning on a first-pitch four-seam up in the zone, sending it deep to right field. Refsnyder, filling in for the freshly injured Víctor Robles, had quite the amount of ground to cover, somehow getting a bead on the ball. He leapt, and…

Jo Adell, eat your heart out. Woo had to work a bit more through his next two frames, picking up a pair of strikeouts from Ezequiel Durán and Wyatt Langford that sandwiched a double over Julio’s head from Nimmo. Corey Seager led off the fourth with a walk, but was erased on a double play from Burger.

Meanwhile, Gore settled in, facing the minimum through his next three frames, including striking out the side in order in the third. Any chances for a no-hitter were put to rest in the fifth, though, when Mitch Garver led off the fifth with a solidly stroked base hit into center field for his first knock of the season. After having a possible double taken away by a diving stop by Durán in the third, it was a nice treat to see the Garv man get on the board. Any hopes of a big inning were dashed by a one-out double play from newest Mariner Connor Joe – on the second hardest-hit ball of the game. Tough scenes.

The bottom of the frame is where Woo began to wobble, despite getting a seven-pitch flyout from Carter for the first out. Danny Jansen grinded out another seven-pitch at-bat before hitting a bounding ball to third that Donovan cleanly fielded, but got off a weak throw due to his feet being improperly set, allowing the not-fleet-footed Jansen to reach. Smith and Durán followed with a pair of much more legitimate singles, loading the bases for just the guy we all wanted to see in this spot: Brandon Nimmo. Woo got the count to 1-1, and got Nimmo jammed on an inside fastball, dribbling the ball up the third base line. Joe, giving Josh Naylor the day off at first, charged, fielded, and threw well offline to home plate, allowing a pair of runs to cross on a ball that went maybe seventy feet.

Kyle’s brother tacked on the third and final run of the game with a routine sacrifice fly, and the rest of the game passed by in a blurry blink. While the M’s got Gore out of the game through five on the back of that hefty first inning, the Rangers relievers were suffocating, allowing just one baserunner (a soft line drive into right field from Cole Young leading off the ninth. Hell yeah, Cole) over the last four frames in economical fashion. José A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo, and Gabe Speier all stitched together three scoreless innings, facing the minimum thanks to a caught stealing by Garver and a double play from Durán. If you’re looking for a crumb of good news, Speier particularly looked sharp, picking up a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning to get some work in.

The Mariners fell today to 4-9 for the first time in the Dipoto era. If nothing else, this year has gotten off to a different start. An off day tomorrow feels like a gift for fans and players alike before they head back home, kicking off the homestand with a weird, wrap-around Friday-to-Monday series with the Astros – who have just been swept by the Rockies. We’ll see how that turns out when we get there, but for now, I am prescribing reading a book, playing a video game, going for a walk (it’s a perfect spring day in Seattle if you’re so inclined), or any other activity is not paying a disastrous road trip any mind. You’ve earned that.