Category: MLB

The Athletics and Giants opened their three-game series on a beautiful Friday night in front of a strong crowd at Sutter Health Park. The A’s prevailed 5-2 thanks to another solid start from starting pitcher Aaron Civale, first baseman Nick Kurtz’s latest game-changing blast and a makeshift bullpen that bent but did not break.

A’s Waste Early Scoring Chance

Civale tossed a scoreless first, retiring the first three Giants hitters in order. Giants’ pitcher, Tyler Mahle, matched his counterpart. A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit a two-out double before Mahle struck out designated hitter Brent Rooker to complete a clean first inning of work.

A’s Take 1-0 Lead!

In the bottom of the second, Athletics’ third baseman Zack Gelof walked With two outs, shortstop Darell Hernaiz blooped a single to right field, moving Gelof from first base to third. Jeff McNeil roped his ninth double of the season to the right field fence. Gelof easily scored; however the Giants worked a defensive relay to perfection to throw out Hernaiz at home plate. With Kurtz on deck, the A’s maybe should have put the stop sign on there to give their slugging first baseman a chance with two on and two outs.

Civale responded with a seven-pitch shutdown inning, quickly turning things back over to his offense.

Giants Tie the Game

Giants’ second baseman Luis Arraez led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, his first of the season and as a Giant. With two outs, San Francisco’s left fielder Heliot Ramos and shortstop Willy Adames got back-to-back hits off of Civale. The A’s pitcher escaped that jam by getting the Giants’ designated hitter Bryce Eldridge to hit a sharp line out to McNeil at second.

Bolte: Good and Bad

In the bottom of the fourth, A’s center fielder Henry Bolte lined a single to center. He has now recorded a hit in his first three MLB games. Bolte was thrown out attempting to steal second to end that frame.

Giants Jump in Front

In the fifth, the Giants took their first lead of the game. Center fielder Harrison Bader hit his third home run of the season, a solo blast to left field. After allowing two singles, Civale wiggled out of that tough situation by retiring Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers to keep his team’s deficit at one.

Churn More Butter!

A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right. He advanced to second on Hernaiz’s sacrifice bunt. McNeil singled to left just in front of the diving Ramos, advancing Butler to third with only one out. That brought up Kurtz, who extended his on-base streak to 38 games in a big way. The “Big Amish” put his team back in front with a three-run home run to left center, his eighth of the season and third in as many games.

A’s Add Another Run

The A’s were not done against Mahle. Shea Langeliers and Rooker blooped singles to right field. With two outs, Bolte lined an RBI single to left field, scoring Langeliers for the A’s fourth run of the inning.

Bolte continues to impress since his promotion, contributing on offense and defense. That was Mahle’s last inning of his outing, which quickly devolved as he failed to protect his team’s lead.

A’s Bullpen Shuts the Door

A’s right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced Civale in the sixth. Civale had another solid outing, aside from the two mistake pitches that resulted in home runs. Despite only striking out two and giving up a fair amount of hard contact, he was able to limit the damage and keep his team in the ballgame. Kuhnel pitched a scoreless inning, getting the next two hitters out after Adames had doubled with one out.

Left-handed reliever Jose Suarez made his A’s debut in the seventh inning. He did not take long to put himself in a tough situation as Bader singled and then Arraez doubled. Somehow Suarez escaped that situation by striking out Chapman and getting Devers to groundout to first baseman Kurtz. Those two Giants continue to struggle, which is particularly problematic given both players’ high salaries. The Giants finished the game 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and ten left on base, a sign they had plenty of chances to score, but failed to capitalize.

Right-hander Luis Medina pitched a much less stressful scoreless eighth inning for the Athletics, continuing his stellar recent work in relief. He has gradually worked his way into higher-leverage opportunities and now sports a 1.62 ERA in his first season post Tommy John surgery.

Last but not least, left-hander Hogan Harris came in for the ninth inning save opportunity. Unlike yesterday, the A’s held on for the victory. Harris got two quick outs, gave up Arraez’s fourth hit of the game and then rebounded to retire Matt Chapman to secure the Athletics 5-2 victory and collect his third save of the season.

Things got rocky late for the A’s bullpen, but they were able to protect the lead, securing Civale’s fifth win of 2026 and getting this rivalry series off to the right start.

Preview

Tomorrow, these two teams will duke it out in the middle game of this three-game set. Right-hander Luis Severino is scheduled to pitch for the hosts. Through nine starts, the 32-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has pitched well in his last two outings, only to get tagged with the loss in each game. Hope he has another strong performance tomorrow as the A’s seek to win the series. The Giants will counter with young right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters his third start with a 1-0 record and a 2.92 ERA, It should be another exciting matchup tomorrow evening.

The Mariners waited too long, and Mason Miller eventually caught up with them.

The Padres shutout the Mariners 2-0 in Friday’s series opener in Seattle. The win gives them the second ever Vedder Cup, tying the all-time series at one apiece. Emerson Hancock pitched well, working around a bit of hard contact to get through six innings with the game still reach. But the Mariners’ lineup was lifeless for 7 2/3 innings, starting their day just in time for Miller to end it.

Hancock was a bit of a mix, picking up six strikeouts on 14 whiffs. He was rarely in trouble over his six innings of work, allowing just one run on five hits. But the contact he allowed was often quite hard. The Padres smacked 11 batted balls with exit velocities greater than 95 mph. Those just so happened to turn into nine outs.

That’s because the Mariners defense, particularly the middle infield, was actually quite good. They entered the day next to last in the majors in defensive run value, and I’m not sure there’s been a game this year that struck me as well-played in the field. This one did. (Of course, I wrote this before J.P. Crawford threw away a grounder of modest difficulty in the ninth inning. I was trying to say something nice about this game, and now I can’t.)

In the second inning, Hancock loaded the bases with a trio of singles — his one real jam of the day. Hancock got Sung-Mun Song to hit a hard grounder to Crawford at short stop, who raced to second, tagged the bag, and made a leaping throw to first to get out of it. This reminded me of the old, er, young J.P., with that slick sling and flare.

Hancock picked up a pair of strikeouts to begin the third. Then he served up another hard grounder, this time to Fernando Tatis Jr. The ball nearly got through the infield, but Cole Young made a nice back hand play, getting the ball to first with a jump throw. Young would make another nice play in the ninth, leaping to snag a soft liner and save a run.

Gavin Sheets walked with one out in the fourth on a sweeper that Hancock yanked and threw way, way behind Sheets all the way to the backstop. Sheets then stole second and would later score on a double from Miguel Andujar.

“Well, how did Sheets get on?” Hancock said after the game, when asked about the double. “I mean that’s what it comes down to. Free bases, an early jump, early break to steal second, and a really good two strike pitch but a good hitter puts a good swing on it, it’s one run – it’s that small of a margin. One walk ends up scoring in a close game and that’s the difference between a win and a loss.”

For as good as Hancock has looked at times this year, he seems to occasionally lose the grip on that big bender. This time it came back to hurt him, but it’s a small thing, especially when it’s the only walk of the day.e

In the fifth, Song hit a chopper over the mound to leadoff the inning. Brendan Donovan ranged over and fired the ball to first. Josh Naylor made an awkward lunge for the throw and took his foot off the bag. Song was safe after review. It proved no matter, as Hancock picked up another 6-4-3 double play on the next batter.

That was kind of the game for Hancock. Again, he got a solid number of whiffs and tons of awkward swings. He continued to look like the new version of himself. But he lived in the zone with his fastball and the Padres swung hard. I think this is another good example of an outing where he can still be quite effective even when he’s not at his absolute best. It’s certainly helpful when the defense steps up behind him.

Cooper Criswell got the eight inning and gave up a run on two singles and a groundout, making the game 2-0. But it didn’t really matter because even one run proved too much for the Mariners lineup.

Yes, the Mariners got shut out at the plate. They ultimately picked up seven hits and three walks, but that kind of overstates how much offense they generated. Their only real threat came in the bottom of the eighth when Donovan singled and Julio walked with one out. Josh Naylor nearly took the lead with a barrel deep to center, but it was tracked down. That was actually the third hard hit out to the warning in center field for the Mariners on Friday, and they did swat 12 hard hit balls. It just wasn’t enough.

“If we have a process that gets balls on the barrels, we’re doing something right,” Dan Wilson said after the game. “But we also want to get balls that fall. We’ll just keep grinding away.”

The Padres acknowledged the threat after Naylor’s near-homer and took the appropriate action, bringing in the cyborg Miller for a four-out save.

The Mariners actually put up a bit of a fight. Randy Arozarena exploded his bat and dropped a ball just beyond the mound to load the bases with two outs. And Connor Joe worked a full count- hey, that’s something. But Joe struck out, ending the threat. 

In the ninth, Crawford drew a leadoff walk, and Young dunked a single. Miller countered with three more strike outs and the game was over. It’s, frankly, kind of impossible to string hits together against Miller, who lowered his FIP to -0.22 in the outing. He’s having simply the most dominant reliever season in history. The Mariners only mistake was letting him in the game. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that he probably won’t pitch Saturday after throwing 34 pitches to get four outs.

“He’s pitching very well,” Wilson said postgame. “He’s got great stuff — I think he hit 103 (mph) tonight — and to be honest, I thought the at-bats we put up against him were really strong, to load the bases there and have a couple of at-bats that went very deep, and the guys kept fighting all the way to the end. Those at-bats were tough, and that’s what you love to see. But he’s definitely touch, and scoring early was what we needed to do.”

The season series — the Vedder Cup — goes to the Padres. The Mariners will look to even this particular three-game set Saturday.

The Dodgers opened MLB rivalry weekend with a blast — three to be exact — in a 6-0 win over the Angels on Friday at Angel Stadium.

The Dodgers also achieved something last year's World Series-winning team couldn't — they beat the Angels. The Angels had won seven consecutive games against the Dodgers, the franchise's longest winning streak against its crosstown rival.

This time, however, the Dodgers (27-18) took command. The Dodgers' lineup lit up Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz’s fastball. Andy Pages hit a three-run home run and Max Muncy hit his 12th homer of the season on the next at-bat to break a scoreless game in the fourth inning. Both home runs came off four-seams Kochanowicz left hanging too far over the center of the plate.

Read more:Dodgers' Blake Snell returns to injured list with loose bodies in his left elbow

During Pages’ at-bat, a pitch ricocheted off Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe's left hand. Playing in his first game since returning from the injured list, O'Hoppe stayed in the game despite appearing to be in pain. He left in the sixth because of irritation in his left wrist — the same wrist he fractured on April 25.

In the sixth, Teoscar Hernández tacked on two more runs with an opposite-field home run after an errant sinker from Kochanowicz. The 33-year-old wore a big smile after he crossed home and was showered in sunflower seeds. Hernández had gone 23 days without a home run.

Shohei Ohtani also put together good at-bats. He walked and had a double, but he also struck out twice.

Freddie Freeman was notably absent. Roberts texted Freeman a couple nights ago and told him he would give him Friday off. Freeman, ever the competitor, tried to get Roberts to reconsider, but the Dodgers manager held firm.

"Just in the middle of 13 in a row, I felt this was a good day to kind of sit and watch a ballgame,” Roberts said before the game. “He’s been doing great. He’s trended in the right direction the last couple weeks. But I still feel that it’s still the right thing to give him a day.”

Will Klein opened for the Dodgers after Blake Snell was placed on the injured list because of loose bodies in his left elbow. The Dodgers recalled left-hander Charlie Barnes to take Snell’s place on the active roster.

Read more:Swanson: Dave Roberts made the right call giving Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani a rare day off

The quick pivot didn’t affect the Dodgers much Friday. The team relied on eight pitchers — Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Wyatt Mills, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Barnes — to complete the game. No one ate up more innings than Klein, who struck out two and surrendered one of the two hits the Dodgers gave up across two innings.

Barnes closed out the game. He induced two quick infield groundouts before walking Zach Neto. Bryce Teodosio flied out to Kyle Tucker in right field to end the game.

The Dodgers now have a chance to do something last year's team couldn’t: win a series against the Angels (16-29).

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The ball went off Spencer Jones’ bat at 111.1 mph and ricocheted off Clay Holmes’ lower leg toward the first base foul line. At the time, as the Yankees rookie hustled down the line for a hit, Jones had no idea he’d broken Holmes’ fibula.

But he did recall this: “It sounded loud.”

After the game, a game in which Cam Schlittler dominated the Mets en route to a 5-2 win for the Yankees at Citi Field Friday night, Jones seemed surprised to see a crowd of reporters gather at his locker. He hadn’t heard the damage his liner had done to Holmes, not to mention the Mets’ season, and he seemed stunned when a reporter relayed the news to him.

It hit hard in part because Holmes is one of the good guys in the sport, one who has pitched for both the Mets and Yankees, and perhaps even more so because Jones considers him a friend, one with whom he works out in the offseason in Nashville.

“I didn’t know,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry to hear that. He’s a tough guy. He went back out there and pitched on a broken leg. That’s incredible.”

Indeed, that may be the most stunning part of all. Holmes not only pitched to five more hitters in the fourth inning, after the Jones liner, allowing no runs, but told Carlos Mendoza in the dugout he was fine and went back out for the fifth inning, striking out Cody Bellinger before showing signs of the fracture with his delivery that forced the manager to take him out of the game.

Mendoza seemed practically sick to his stomach as he announced the injury in the interview room, and didn’t try to downplay it in the slightest.

“It’s a huge blow,” he said.

There wasn’t much else to say. Only Juan Soto spoke in a group interview in the Mets clubhouse, and he’s not one to throw compliments around for sound bites, so when he praised Holmes as “one of the hardest workers I’ve seen in my career,” it told you much the pitcher’s teammates were feeling for him.

So on a night when much of the Subway Series buzz died quickly at Citi Field as quickly as the Yankees took an early 3-0 lead and Schlitter shut down the Mets’ offense, it was hard not to compare and contrast the sights and sounds from the two clubhouses, as well as the state of the Mets’ and Yankees’ seasons.

The Yankees room was full of noise, smiles, and good vibes after the win. They haven’t played well lately, but there’s no question this team knows it’s going to the postseason, with Ben Rice emerging as a masher to ride shotgun for Aaron Judge, and Schlittler continuing to make a statement as the early AL Cy Young Award favorite.

“It’s really something to watch him pitch,” Rice said.

On the other side, you got the sense that the shock of losing Holmes was settling in through the clubhouse.

Just when the Mets were finally showing signs of life, with the sweep of the Detroit Tigers this week, they lost the guy who has been their best pitcher this season, a dominant force in his own right.

In truth, it’s hard to see how they recover from this one, especially with all of their other injuries, considering there is no telling yet how soon the likes of Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and others will be back.

As it is, their better play over the last couple of weeks was difficult to measure. For four straight series, the Mets played teams that were each in long losing streaks, playing their worst baseball of the season, and the 5-4 record on their nine-game road trip actually felt like a disappointment.

But then came the energy and hope that came with A.J. Ewing’s call-up, and the sweep of the Tigers finally offered evidence that perhaps the Mets aren’t as bad as they’ve played this season.

In that respect, this Subway Series loomed as a litmus test of sorts. The Yankees have been slumping themselves, but if the Mets could play well against them this weekend, it would validate the Tigers sweep to a degree and further their momentum.

Well, one game down, and maybe they can shrug it off to the brilliance of Schlittler, who is shutting everybody down this season.

They have two more games to prove they’ve raised their game against more hittable starters in Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers.

Yet suddenly it’s not just the offense that is the problem, but a starting rotation that has a huge hole in it, due to the Holmes injury.

Holmes, Nolan McLean, and Freddy Peralta were the only reliable starters for most of the first several weeks of the season. David Peterson has been better lately, but only when used after an opener, for whatever reason, in relatively short stints. And Christian Scott offers promise but plenty of uncertainty.

Even with Ewing and Carson Benge providing a spark, these Mets need pitching depth and a fair amount of dominance to have any chance of winning with the consistency it will take to get back into contention.

Soto, for one, didn’t want to believe the reality of the Holmes injury.

“We’re going to miss Clay for maybe a month,” he said. “Hopefully less.”

Nobody wanted to tell him a broken fibula likely means Holmes will miss three months or so.

By then, the trading deadline will have come and gone, and at the moment, that feels like a day that will be significant for these Mets for all the wrong reasons.

In his last experience facing the Yankees’ best hitter in a major league game, Luke Weaver was schooled on proper etiquette. 

Then pitching for the Reds in 2023, Weaver caught flak from Aaron Judge for not acknowledging him with a head nod when Judge came to bat for the Yankees. 

The two were teammates in the Cape Cod League as collegiate players. 

“We hadn’t seen each other in quite a bit,” the Mets reliever said Friday before the Yankees beat the Mets 5-2 at Citi Field. “Aaron Judge was at the plate, and I was in a bit of a trying season, so I needed all the energy I could muster. We had a laugh about it, and he made it a big deal, but in a light, kind-hearted way.” 

Weaver spent the past two seasons as Judge’s teammate but has reverted to wearing an opposing uniform. He entered Friday with a 4.15 ERA in 17 appearances for the Mets this season. 

The Mets signed Weaver to a two-year contract worth $20 million last winter after he received limited interest from the Yankees following a rough final stretch with the club. 

“There was some light communication, I think respectful communication and just like staying in touch,” Weaver said. “But I think they were wanting to go in a different direction, and so there wasn’t anything major in our discussions about returning.” 

Weaver, who pitched to a 9.64 ERA last September before he had two ugly postseason outings in three appearances, said he holds no animosity toward the Yankees for wanting to move on from him. 

“I have a lot of great, fond memories,” said Weaver, who pitched for the Yankees in the 2024 World Series. “For me individually down the stretch, it didn’t quite click the way it did the year before. Circumstances change and roles change and obviously results sometimes change.” 

Manager Carlos Mendoza is expected to use Huascar Brazobán to pitch in the opener’s role Saturday, with David Peterson in a bulk relief role. Brazobán served as the opener Sunday in Arizona and allowed two earned runs over one inning. 

The Mets held a moment of silence for former Yankees radio voice John Sterling, who died last week.

It was a short trip down the 5 Freeway to Anaheim to start the nine-game road trip, but the Dodgers had to battle on without Blake Snell in the series opener. The bullpen and the offense stepped up to shut down the Angels in the series opener Friday with a 6-0 win.

The Dodgers used eight pitchers who combined for nine shutout innings of work. On the other side, the offense powered three home runs in the first game of the Freeway Series for their third straight win.

There was an umpire belt buckle delay before first pitch, but home plate umpire Jim Wolf’s mic was finally secured. Shohei Ohtani offered his belt advice as well.

Ohtani entered the game having two straight days off at the plate, but right-hander Jack Kochanowicz struck him out with his sinker to start the series. Kochanowicz also struck out Mookie Betts.

Klein served as opener for the Dodgers, and he didn’t disappoint in his first major league start. The 2025 World Series hero struck out two in two innings pitched and allowed just one hit to Josh Lowe.

Hyeseong Kim got the Dodgers their first base hit against Kochanowicz with two outs in the top of the third. The offensively struggling Ohtani got another opportunity at the plate with a runner on. Ohtani drew a walk to give the Dodgers consecutive base runners. Betts grounded out to first base to end the inning and strand two.

Edgardo Henriquez took over for Klein in the third and got back-to-back strikeouts including a whiff of the swinging variety from Mike Trout.

Pages and Muncy have carried the team offensively this season, and their back-to-back home runs in the top of the fourth at the Big A was a microcosm of what these two sluggers have done.

Pages went into the game 3-for-24, but he unloaded for a 407-ft. three-run home run to center field on a 3-0 count. The Dodgers finally broke through with the big hit to make it 3-0 for the first lead of the series.

Then Muncy went deep thereafter, and the lead increased to 4-0.

Ohtani collected his 200th career double to lead off the fifth inning. The Dodgers bullpen shut down the Halos offensively, but their defense made some impressive plays to save runs.

Teoscar Hernandez took a Kochanowicz sinker deep to the opposite field for his first home run since April 15. The two-run homer gave the Dodgers a commanding 6-0 lead. Finally, Hernandez got sunflower seeds thrown in his face in celebration of his big hit.

Old friend Kirby Yates shut down the Dodgers in order in the seventh.

Blake Treinen, Wyatt Mills, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia, and Jack Dreyer all stepped up out of the Dodgers bullpen and contributed to the shutout win.

While Muncy and Hernandez continued to have good nights with another walk and base hit, Dalton Rushing’s frustrations continued. Ryan Johnson struck him out swinging, and both runners were stranded.

Charlie Barnes made his Dodgers debut in the bottom of the ninth to close it out, the eighth pitcher of the night for the Boys in Blue.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Andy Pages (10), Max Muncy (12), Teoscar Hernandez (5)

WP — Edgardo Henriquez (2-0): 1 IP, 1 hit, no runs, 2 strikeouts (17)

LP — Jack Kochanowicz(2-3): 6 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks (96)

Up next

The Freeway Series continues Saturday at (6:38 p.m., SportsNet LA).Justin Wrobleski (5-1, 2.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) looks to continue his impressive season on the mound thus far for the Dodgers. José Soriano (6-2, 1.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) toes the rubber for the Angels. 

Spencer Jones’ first week in the majors was eye-opening for the slugger who turned 25 on Thursday. 

He made his MLB debut in Milwaukee on May 8, picked up his first hit in the big leagues two days later and on Friday appeared in his first Subway Series game, serving as the DH against the Mets. 

And after going 1-for-12 in his first five games, Jones singled twice and had an RBI in a 5-2 win at Citi Field. 

“I felt good about the at-bats [and had] a good plan,’’ Jones said. 

There have been other signs of progress, as he walked in his last two plate appearances Wednesday and hit some balls hard. 

Jones’ recent approach stood out to Aaron Boone. 

“He has struggled this week, like a lot of our team has,” Boone said before Friday’s game. “I definitely think he’s been better than one hit and a couple walks.” 

He reached in the fourth inning, when he drilled a 111-mph comebacker that hit Clay Holmes — which ended up fracturing Holmes’ right fibula — and followed that with a run-scoring single to right with two outs in the fifth to extend the Yankees’ lead to 4-0. 

Jones was rattled by the news about Holmes’ injury, noting they work out together in the offseason in Nashville. 

But Jones also showed that he wasn’t overwhelmed by playing in his first game in the Subway Series. 

“It was awesome,’’ Jones said of the experience. “The crowd was energetic and super loud.” 

Jones is still trying to prove himself at this level after being a polarizing prospect for the Yankees, one with tremendous power coupled with way too many strikeouts. 

Boone noted that he believed Jones has been fine at the plate as he finds his way after being called upon to fill in for the injured Jasson Domínguez. 

“I feel if you watch his at-bats every day, they’ve been competitive,’’ Boone said. “He’s not chasing a lot. He’s been on some pitches and just missed a handful of pitches. I think he’s looked OK. He just hasn’t gotten results yet.” 

Perhaps that’s beginning to change. As both Boone and Jones pointed out, the 6-foot-7 slugger had a rough entry into the big leagues, facing Milwaukee fireballing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski in his debut. 

“That first day was eye-opening,’’ Jones said of going up against perhaps the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in MLB history. “To face a guy with one of the best fastballs in Major League Baseball the first time I got into the batter’s box was tough. I saw he was pitching and told myself, ‘Get ready for the fastball.’ ’’ 

Then he went up against sidearming lefty Kyle Harrison of the Brewers. 

“Those first two draws were tough,’’ Boone said. 

He hit two balls over 100 mph and picked up his first hit Sunday before a rough series in Baltimore. 

“I’ve gotten a lot of reassurances,’’ Jones said. 

And he’s trying to not change the way he’s played coming up through the Yankees system. 

“The biggest thing for me is being comfortable in doing what I do and knowing that will translate,’’ said Jones, who’s soaking up as much as he can from veteran hitters like Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger. 

“I’m picking the brain of these guys and just grateful for the opportunity,’’ Jones said. “And I’m learning that everybody here is really good and here for a reason.”

Padres 2, Mariners 0

Mason Miller: Emerson Hancock, .15 WPA

Every other major leaguer: Jhonny Pereda, -.17 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Jazz Chisholm Jr. may be in his teammates’ pants for the foreseeable future. 

Trying anything to snap out of the malaise he has been in for most of the early part of the season, Chisholm is once again wearing a pair of baggy, short pants — first Trent Grisham’s, then on Friday, Giancarlo Stanton’s — and the results, once again, have followed. 

The struggling Chisholm put together one of his more encouraging games of late, recording a three-hit effort and having a hand in three of the Yankees’ five runs in a 5-2 win over the Mets on Friday night at Citi Field. 

Chisholm also drew a walk and stole a base, reaching base four times for only the second time this season — though he ended his night on a down note, getting picked off at first base — as the Yankees bounced back from getting one-hit on Wednesday with a 10-hit night against the Mets. 

“It’s something about the baggy pants,” Chisholm said, shaking his head. 

After a brutal game on Monday night in Baltimore, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts — three of those at-bats coming with runners in scoring position, Chisholm sat out Tuesday’s game against Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers.

Then he came back on Wednesday, sporting the baggy pants that Grisham wears on occasion, and had the Yankees’ only hit of the game, a double. 

Chisholm, naturally, followed suit on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a double, run and two RBIs. Except he couldn’t find Grisham’s pants, so he borrowed a pair of Stanton’s. 

“We marked those No. 13,” Chisholm said of his number. “They ain’t his pants no more.” 

Chisholm had worn Grisham’s baggy pants for a series earlier this season in Houston, when he went 5-for-12 across three games — looking like he might be turning the corner from his season-opening slump. But they only lasted a series, as he went back to his own pants and soon went cold again. 

Regardless of his fashion choices, getting Chisholm on track is critical to the Yankees’ success, and not just because he has 30-30 potential. He also represents the hinge to the bottom half of the lineup that has too often been a black hole, especially of late, including himself: the second baseman entered Friday batting just .203 with a .607 OPS through 43 games. 

“Jazz is the guy,” said Cam Schlittler, who continued to dazzle with 6 ²/₃ dominant innings of one-run ball. “Regardless of the start of the season, he’s a great player. It’s good to see him go out there and get a few knocks.” 

Chisholm’s biggest hit came in the third inning, after the Yankees had strung together three straight two-out hits to take a 1-0 lead, and he kept the line moving by smoking a double past the dive of first baseman Mark Vientos to make it a 3-0 game. He later drew a walk in the fifth and came around to score on Spencer Jones’ RBI single. 

“I’m just going to keep the same mindset of trying to go out there and win and not worry about what I’m doing,” Chisholm said. “Just going to keep on trying to go help the team and win the game.”

The Royals’ bats continued the vanishing act they have taken on the road so often this year, and the Royals dropped the series opener to the Cardinals.

Michael Wacha, for the first time since his last start, did his job. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs. Would you like more innings and fewer runs? Always. But the odds of getting either are very low, even with Wacha pitching as well as he has this year.

Dustin May, unfortunately, matched him, which made it a three-inning game between the bullpens. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but my sense is that the Royals’ bullpen has done a pretty good job of holding leads, but they’ve been abysmal at keeping tied or losing games from getting worse.

The Royals got the scoring going in the fourth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a walk; Salvador Perez hit a long single off the right-field wall. The broadcast noted that it took a good defensive play to prevent Vinnie from scoring on that hit. If Vinnie nearly scored from first, how did Sal not end up at second? One might imagine it’s the nagging hip and groin injuries he’s been dealing with all year. And still he plays almost every day and bats cleanup.

No problem, Carter Jensen hit a double into the left-center gap! Run scored and Salvy to third. Except, if Sal had been capable of running and at second, he could have scored on that play, too. No problem, Isaac Collins followed a Jac Caglianone walk with a deep fly to right to sacrifice Sal home. When I started this paragraph, I thought I had a point about how Sal’s inability to run had hurt the Royals in a way that isn’t obvious from the box score. If I had such a point, I’ve lost it. It’s late. Let’s just move on. The Royals had the bases loaded with one out and managed no hits and only one run from that point on.

Michael Wacha gave up a two-run home run to Jordan Walker in the bottom of the inning. Tie game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Pedro Pagés hit a home run to almost the same spot and gave the Cardinals the lead.

The Royals answered in the top of the sixth. Vinnie walked again. Sal flew out softly. Jensen and Caglianone singled on groundballs to the right side to load the bases. Once again, bases loaded one out. Once again, only one run scored. This time Collins hit a groundball to first and Alec Burleson chose to step on the bag before throwing home, but Vinnie beat the throw to tie the game.

Daniel Lynch IV opened the seventh inning by allowing a double; he struck out the next two and escaped unscathed. Nick Mears got the eighth and walked the leadoff guy before escaping without allowing a run. Matt Strahm got the ninth and also allowed the leadoff hitter on. He got a strikeout, a walk, and a flyout before John Schreiber was asked to get out the right-handed Iván Herrera. Never mind that Strahm has proven more effective in his career against righties than lefties. Schreiber gave up a hard liner to center and Kyle Isbel made a diving catch to send it into extras.

With Maikel Garcia starting on second, Bobby Witt Jr. immediately smashed a double into center. Nathan Church almost turned it into an inside-the-park home run with a terrible route but managed a diving stop. Vinnie popped up, Salvy struck out in yet another awful at-bat. Carter Jensen got intentionally walked. Now, why would you walk Carter to get to Jac? Oh, because Jac was out of the game. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth with no one on and two out because a left-handed reliever was on the mound. At some point, pinch-hitting for Jac in situations like those has to be more damaging to his psyche than the occasional awkward at-bat against a left-handed pitcher. It’s not like the Royals even needed a contact guy at the plate to give them a better chance to drive in a runner before the inning had ended. There were two outs and no one on.

Also, Carter Jensen has a 54 wRC+ against lefties this year to Jac’s 58. So why doesn’t he get pinch-hit for? Make it make sense.

Anyway, with Lane Thomas due up, Carter got intentionally walked, and Lane took a predictably terrible at-bat against the right-handed Ryne Stanek. Lucas Erceg was brought in to preserve the one-run lead. His first pitch got lined into right to tie the game. He managed to prevent the Cardinals from scoring again, so to the eleventh we went.

This time, Lane Thomas started at second. Isaac Collins drew a walk – he had only two official at-bats in the game thanks to a pair of walks and a sacrifice fly. 0-2 with 2 RBIs has an argument as the best hitting performance in the Royals’ lineup tonight. Michael Massey came to the plate and attempted to bunt the runners over. He popped both of his attempts foul before hitting a moderately deep flyball to left. I would have liked to see Lane Thomas try for third there. The Royals weren’t getting hits, he’s fast, so why not see if he can get in range of a sacrifice fly? But he bluffed and didn’t go. Isbel grounded into a fielder’s choice – which could have scored a run if Thomas had been at third – and Garcia grounded out to end the “threat”.

Steven Cruz got the bottom of the eleventh. The Cardinals gifted him a sacrifice bunt before he got a chopper from Jose Fermín. Then, as the Royals have done so many times this year, he gave up the big hit he’d miraculously avoided until there were two outs. Yohel Pozo, pinch-hitting for the pinch-runner Thomas Saggese, smoked one through the shifted infield to right, and the Cardinals had won.

There’s not a lot of positives to build on out of this one. Wacha now has seven quality starts out of nine. But the Royals have now lost five in a row, and basically all the ground they had made up over the 11-5 stretch that followed their eight-game losing stretch is gone, but with 21 more games in the books. They’re still only 4.5 back in the division and 2.5 back of a Wild Card spot because the American League is ridiculous, but at some point, you have to think one of these teams will actually start winning some baseball games. With every loss, it feels less like that team might be the Royals.

Noah Cameron (5.55 ERA) will take the mound tomorrow afternoon to face Kyle Leahy (4.31 ERA). The game will air at 1:15 p.m. Central on Royals.TV. This is a friendly reminder that tomorrow is a continuation of Rivals weekend, and literally every game will be free on MLB.TV. If you’re fed up with KC, you have alternatives. Until tomorrow afternoon, good night and good luck.

The Cincinnati Reds got another solid start from lefty Andrew Abbott, got a homer from Matt McLain and one more huge performance from JJ Bleday, and managed to hand over a 6-1 lead to the heart of their bullpen on Friday night in the Ohio Cup opener against the Cleveland Guardians.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

Things went a bit sideways for the Reds when Graham Ashcraft took the bump for the Bottom of the 8th with said 6-1 lead, coughing up a 4-spot that made the rest of the game (with Cincinnati’s threadbare bullpen) a front-of-the-seat watching in Cincinnati’s eventual 7-6 victory.

Abbott labored a bit needing 90 pitches for just 5+ IP, but he kept Cleveland off the board entirely until Rhys Hoskins socked a solo homer off him in the Bottom of the 6th to end his day. McLain, meanwhile, bashed a pair of hits – one a 2-run homer – while driving in a trio of runs, said homer coming in the Top of the 8th and proving vital in this 1-run affair. He even swiped his 6th bag of the year. For all of that, we’ll give him the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game award for the evening.

Bleday went 3 for 5 with a homer and a ribbie, doubling twice as his blistering start in a Reds uniform continues. Tejay Antone, meanwhile, was summoned for the save and converted it for his first one since back in 2021 on a totally different elbow.

Tony Santillan, meanwhile, fired a scoreless inning again, finally. He did allow a double to Jose Ramirez (who hasn’t?) but pitched around it with a K. The Reds are going to need him now more than ever with Emilio Pagan out, and hopefully he’s found the correction to his form.

These two will go toe to toe in Ohio Cup action again on Saturday, with Chris Paddack getting the start in his Reds debut after signing earlier in the week. We’ll all hope he catches lightning in a bottle. Gavin Williams of Cleveland will chuck out the game’s first pitch at 6:10 PM ET.

It’s a short one, but the Reds are on a win streak.

This was not the start to the homestand the Rockies were hoping for.

Colorado fell to Arizona 9-1 at Coors Field on Friday, dropping to 17-28 while the Diamondbacks moved to 21-22. The Rockies got bit early and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up, as Arizona turned an overturned call in the first inning into six runs and Merrill Kelly handled the rest.

Colorado did not strike out much, but they did not do much else either.

The first inning defined Freeland’s night

Kyle Freeland nearly avoided the first bite.

With two outs in the first inning, Corbin Carroll was initially called out trying to steal third. The call would have ended the inning. Arizona challenged, the call was overturned, and the Diamondbacks took full advantage.

Arizona followed with two walks, four straight run-scoring hits, and six runs before Freeland finally got out of the inning.

Freeland did not look sharp, but to his credit, he kept fighting after that. He stayed in the game into the fourth, which helped the Rockies avoid a full catastrophe for the bullpen. Freeland gave up plenty of loud contact, but it was the mix of softer contact and pressure on the bases that kept the Rockies out of rhythm and on their heels defensively.

On the night, Freeland gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out three and threw 81 pitches, 50 for strikes.

Agnos gives the bullpen length

Zach Agnos took over for Freeland and limited the fourth-inning damage to one run (charged to Freeland) before giving the Rockies some steadier innings from there.

Arizona got to him for two runs in the seventh, but Agnos ended up pitching through the eighth. Agnos covered 4.1 innings in total, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout. On a night when Freeland exited before the fourth inning was over — and with the rotation already facing uncertainty — that length helped keep the rest of the bullpen from being overworked.

Seth Halvorsen handled the ninth, working around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless final inning. The last frame also included an ABS challenge, with Hunter Goodman getting a pitch call overturned for strike three and the second out against Gabriel Moreno.

Meanwhile, Merrill cruised along

Kelly did not give the Rockies many chances to climb back into the game.

Goodman answered Arizona’s six-run first with a solo home run in the bottom half, his 11th of the season.

But the Rockies did not build much from there. Ezequiel Tovar doubled, Mickey Moniak added another double late, and Colorado finished with just four hits. The Rockies did not draw a walk, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and never put together the kind of inning they needed.

Kelly did not overpower the Rockies. He struck out only three and did not issue a walk. But Colorado swung early in counts and made too much soft contact to turn the game back in their direction.

Vintage Kelly vs. Rockies.

Kelly ended up going the distance on 100 pitches, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He threw strikes, kept the Rockies quiet, and made the first inning stand up.

Final notes

Freeland took the loss, dropping to 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA, while Kelly earned the win to move to 3-3 with a 5.91 ERA.

Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) also made his major-league debut, entering as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and grounding out in a brief first appearance.

The Rockies will look for a better result tomorrow as the homestand continues.

Up Next

The Rockies will continue their series against the Diamondbacks on Saturday at Coors Field.

Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start for Colorado. He enters at 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Arizona will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez, who is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MDT.

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With a little luck, the Arizona Cardinals would have had a much better 2025 season.

Unfortunately, very little went the team’s way last year and, after starting 2-0, they finished 3-14, ending the year on a torturous nine-game losing streak.

Yet, what that tawdry record doesn’t indicate is that a whopping games were lost by seven points or less.

Had they just gotten the job done, Kyler Murray and head coach Jonathan Gannon may have stuck around.

Sadly, that wasn’t in the…ummm…cards.

Instead, this year, Mike LaFleur inherits head coaching duties and Jacoby Brissett — who started 14 games in ’25 and went 1-11 — returns.

To add insult to injury, the squad has the third-toughest schedule of any team in the NFL.

Notable opponents dropping into Glendale, Ariz.’s State Farm Stadium this year include Jared Goff’s Detroit Lions (Oct. 11), Bo Nix’s Denver Broncos (Oct. 25), Matthew Stafford’s Los Angeles Rams (Nov. 15), Jalen Hurts’ Philadelphia Eagles (Dec. 6) and Brock Purdy’s San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 9 or 10 in the final game of the regular season.

Plus, Sam Darnold’s defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will be swinging in too on Sunday, Sept. 20 aka the Cards’ home opener.

Thankfully, Brissett and the Cardinals got a bit of insurance in standout rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, as well as draft picks Chase Bisontis, Carson Beck and Kaleb Proctor.

Offseason acquisitions Devin Duvernay, Isaac Seumalo, Tyler Allgeier, Kendrick Bourne and quarterback insurance Gardner Minshew join them.

Franchise tight end Trey McBride, 2025 star signee Josh Sweat, starting wideout Michael Wilson, elite safety Budda Baker and offensive line anchor Paris Johnson Jr. return, too.

If you want to root yourself hoarse in the Valley of the Sun, tickets are available for all eight Arizona Cardinals 2026 home games at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium on SeatGeek.

SeatGeek is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Not familiar with SeatGeek?

They offer a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and your tickets will be delivered prior to the event.

Arizona Cardinals 2026 home game tickets

For those who prefer to pick and choose which home games make the most sense for you to attend, we’re here for you, too.

Below, you’ll find a list of all upcoming Arizona Cardinals home games at State Farm Stadium, including dates, start times and opponents.

Full Cardinals 2026 schedule

If you think you might find yourself traveling with Jacoby and the Cardinals this year, here’s where you can find them on the road once the 2026 season begins.

But wait! There’s more!

The Panthers vs. Cardinals Hall of Fame Game goes down on Aug. 6 at Canton, OH’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium to kick off the season.

How to watch/stream Cardinals games

There is no shortage of ways to watch Cardinals games live from the comfort of your own home this season.

You can find LaFleur’s loaded roster on ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC and the NFL Network on select dates.

Through the regular season, most NFC games will be broadcast on FOX.

For specialty games, “Sunday Night Football” can be found on NBC along with Peacock, “Monday Night Football” is reserved for ESPN and “Thursday Night Football” streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Huge concert tours in 2026

Before the Cardinals officially kick off the season (and a little after!), many of the biggest stars in music will be playing at arenas and stadiums all over the Valley of the Sun.

Here are just five of the concerts we’re most excited about in Phoenix these next few months.

• Daniel Caesar (July 16)

• Grupo Frontera (July 31)

• Earth Wind and Fire with Lionel Richie (Aug. 11)

• Zach Bryan (Sept. 5)

• Usher with Chris Brown (Sept. 29)

Need a little more entertainment in your life? Check out this list of all the events coming to the Mortgage Matchup Center to find the show for you.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

The Dodgers and Angels continue their weekend series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim with a Saturday matchup with two pitchers who got off to incredible starts this season.

Justin Wrobleski made one bulk relief appearance before stepping into the Dodgers rotation, then won his first five starts while allowing two total runs. Even after his clunker last Sunday, in which he still recorded 26 outs but while allowing seven runs, Wrobleski’s ERA still stands at only 2.42 in 44 2/3 innings.

José Soriano allowed only one total run in his first six starts, and had just one real blip with five runs to the Chicago White Sox on May 4. The right-hander enters Saturday with a 1.66 ERA in nine starts at 54 1/3 innings.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Angels
• Ballpark: Angel Stadium, Anaheim
• Time: 6:38 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KCOP channel 13 (Angels broadcast)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The New York Mets' disappointing season took its most disastrous turn yet Friday, May 15 when starting pitcher Clay Holmes suffered a fractured fibula after taking a line drive off his right leg. 

Holmes, 33, will be out "for a long time," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Friday. New York Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hit a low line drive off Holmes' lower right leg leading off the top of the fourth inning; the ball's exit velocity was 111.1 mph. 

Holmes was examined by an athletic trainer and Mendoza and somewhat remarkably stayed in the game into the fifth. But X-rays revealed the fracture, robbing the Mets of arguably their best starting pitcher in this disappointing season. 

Clay Holmes got hit by this comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones in the fourth inning.

Holmes stayed in the game and pitched into the fifth https://t.co/9itrCjJSGcpic.twitter.com/TwCfIUgz4W

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 16, 2026

Despite giving up four earned runs in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Yankees, Holmes has a 2.39 ERA this season and has pitched into at least the seventh inning in three of his nine starts this year. The Mets came into Friday 18-25, yet 5-3 when Holmes starts. 

Holmes' injury casts doubt on both his and the Mets' future. Should the club fall further out of the race, Holmes likely would have fetched a significant return on the trade market; now, it is unclear whether he'll be healthy enough to market his wares before the Aug. 3 deadline. 

And while Holmes figured to opt out of the final year of his three-year, $38 million contract and test free agency again, that's under some doubt after this injury, although Holmes likely showed enough before going down to be a prized target on the market this winter. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clay Holmes injury update after hit fractures Mets ace's fibula