Category: Baseball

SEATTLE — Aaron Boone wanted the Yankees to be aggressive in using the automated ball-strike system.

A 5-for-5 night of challenges Monday — including two in one at-bat and the other three by three consecutive batters in one inning — was right in line with those wishes, though it did not ultimately make a difference in a 2-1 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

On a night when they struggled offensively, the Yankees at least created some better opportunities for themselves by getting called strikes turned into balls, which turned into some barking with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook along the way.

“Really good job by the guys,” Boone said. “When you have that kind of success rate, it’s not going to be like that every night, but I thought every one was obviously warranted and a couple in some key spots to give us a chance to build an inning. We just weren’t able to build much offensively tonight.”

Estabrook heard it from Boone and the Yankees dugout in the fourth inning, when Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each successfully challenged pitches below the zone in consecutive at-bats.

“You also get a little frustrated over there, like, those are razor-thin pitches sometimes, you don’t want to always have to be challenging,” Boone said. “But good on the guys for hammering the strike zone right now.”

An inning earlier, José Caballero successfully challenged two pitches in the same at-bat. He turned a 1-1 count into a 2-0 count and then a strikeout into a walk.

The Yankees are 10-for-11 in ABS challenges through four games.

The Yankees are now 5/5 on challenges against Mike Estabrook.

Estabrook got mad because Aaron Boone started chirping him to lock in

Ridiculous Estabrook is pissed off, get the calls right… pic.twitter.com/5ARiCznrfX

— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) March 31, 2026

For the first time since their down-to-the-wire race for the American League MVP last season, Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh squared off Monday night.

Raleigh was not in the Mariners starting lineup, entering the day 2-for-15 with 10 strikeouts, but pinch hit in the seventh inning and later delivered the game-winning hit with a walk-off single. The catcher was off to a slow start after crushing 60 home runs last season and nearly swiping the MVP from Judge, who received 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13.

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“I figured it would be pretty close,” Boone said before Monday’s game. “I kind of believed Judgey would carry the day. I think [the voters] got it right. But there’s no denying the all-around season that Cal had. It was deservingly a very tight race.”

Carlos Rodón (elbow surgery) threw 50 pitches in live batting practice Sunday in Tampa, continuing his buildup toward rejoining the Yankees in April. It is possible his next outing could come on the start of a rehab assignment this weekend.

Gerrit Cole, meanwhile, is expected to throw one inning of live batting practice in a few days as he goes through a scheduled deload before building up a final time.

As for Anthony Volpe, the shortstop remains on track to begin facing live pitching Wednesday in Tampa. He has been hitting off the Trajekt pitching machine over the past few days.

Carlos Lagrange made his Triple-A debut Sunday, tossing four innings of one-run ball with no walks and three strikeouts. The 22-year-old threw 68 pitches in frigid Buffalo, but still brought the heat with his fastball, averaging 97.9 mph and topping out at 101.3.

The rest of the Yankees minor league rosters were announced Monday ahead of those affiliates beginning the season Friday. Among the notable assignments: SS George Lombard Jr., RHP Ben Hess and LHP Kyle Carr at Double-A Somerset; LHP Pico Kohn, INF Kaeden Kent and INF Core Jackson at High-A Hudson Valley; and LHP Henry Lalane, LHP Allen Facundo and OF Brando Mayea at Single-A Tampa.

At the start of Monday night, the biggest concern around the Dodgers was focused squarely on Roki Sasaki.

By the end of it, the questions had shifted to their suddenly sluggish offense.

In a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium, Sasaki pitched surprisingly well, allowing just one run and walking only two batters in four-plus innings of solid work –– a stark reversal from the 15.58 ERA he posted in a poor spring training marred by a total lack of consistent command.

Instead, it was the Dodgers’ lineup that had the biggest problems, stumbling to a third-straight disappointing performance following its eight-run outburst on Opening Day.

Early on, they had no answers for young Guardians left-hander Parker Messick, who went six scoreless innings in what was only his eighth career start. With a funky left-handed delivery and unpredictable six-pitch arsenal, he not only struck out five batters, but also allowed just two hard-hit balls. And even one of those resulted in an inning-ending double-play.

By the time Messick was done, the Guardians (3-2) had built a four-run lead, and turned things over to their traditionally stout bullpen. The Dodgers didn’t score until the ninth, by which point their two-run rally was too little, too late.

“I thought they pitched us well tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “(There were) a couple at-’em balls that turned into double plays I felt could have changed the inning or the game.”

Alas, over their last three games, the Dodgers (3-1) have now totaled only 10 runs and 19 hits. They’ve struck out 17 times in that span, and drawn only six walks (including none on Monday).

It’s a small sample, of course –– especially for a club that was presented a team-wide Silver Slugger Award pregame for leading the National League in scoring in 2025.

But it has raised a few opening-week worries, nonetheless –– raising some uncomfortable similarities to the second-half and postseason slumps the team battled down the stretch last year.

What it means

The Dodgers might have the most talented roster in the majors. But that doesn’t mean they can get away with unsound fundamentals.

Monday was a reminder of that, with the team making a series of uncharacteristic mistakes.

They had two on and no outs in the third inning with Shohei Ohtani at the plate, yet came up empty after Miguel Rojas was picked off at second, Ohtani lined out chasing what would’ve been ball four and Kyle Tucker went down swinging to retire the side.

They struggled to control the running game with backup catcher Dalton Rushing behind the plate, allowing the Guardians to successfully steal a base on all three of their attempts.

And in a three-run seventh inning that allowed the Guardians to put the game away, reliever Justin Wrobleski committed several costly miscues: Failing to cleanly field a bunt to load the bases, losing Rhys Hoskins in an 0-2 count to walk in a run with two outs in the inning, then giving up a two-run double to Daniel Schneemann that put the score out of reach.

Who’s hot

Against all the odds, at least following his disastrous spring performance, how about Sasaki?

His fastball command was significantly improved, helping him throw strikes on 45 of 78 pitches even with a few wild misses mixed in. His newly added cutter gave him another weapon, accounting for two of his four strikeouts. And while he didn’t execute his trademark splitter as crisply as usual, it remained a largely unhittable pitch, generating a whiff on three of five swings.

Granted, the Guardians –– the American League’s lowest-scoring offense last year –– let him off the hook a few times, both by chasing outside the zone repeatedly and failing to punish a few mistake pitches in it.

However, the Dodgers will happily take what Sasaki gave them Monday; an outing good enough to keep them in the game early, and save the bullpen from being overworked too severely in the season’s opening week.

Who’s not

Right now, just about the entire top half of the Dodgers’ lineup (outside of Will Smith, who didn’t start Monday).

Ohtani snapped a hitless streak that extended back to his first at-bat of the season by leading the game off with a bloop single to left. After that, however, he didn’t reach base again, dropping his early batting average to .167.

Tucker and Mookie Betts also went 1-for-4, leaving them hitting just .200 through the first four games of the season.

Teoscar Hernández snapped a 10 at-bat hitless streak with a single in the seventh inning –– staying alive after originally having a called third strike overturned on an ABS challenge, one of his two successful appeals in the game –– but was also quiet otherwise, finishing the night with a .143 average.

And Freddie Freeman had a 0-for-4 performance that sunk his average to .188. 

To this point, those five now have the worst opening-week hitting numbers of all the Dodgers’ regular starters.

Roberts acknowledged some surprise about the slow starts his superstar core has gotten off to, especially after the strong springs all of them produced. But, he spun it as a positive in the big picture.

“For me, the takeaway is we’re 3-1 and the guys that we expect to swing the bats aren’t swinging the bats right now,” he said. “So that’s a good thing. They’ll hit.”

It just hasn’t happened yet.

Up next

Ohtani will make his season pitching debut on Tuesday, when the Dodgers and Guardians continue their three-game series. Despite a delayed spring pitching progression while hitting for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, Ohtani should be built up to go six innings. The Guardians will counter with right-hander Tanner Bibee, who was 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA last year and gave up three runs in five innings in his first start of this season last week.  

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And he didn’t even need Jose Ramirez to hit to do it!

Parker Messick beat the Dodgers 4-2 and pitched six shutout innings, with no walks, five strikeouts and allowing only five hits. This dude is a GAMER, folks:

Jose Ramirez was chasing badly all game. He got a first inning single and a stolen base… then couldn’t come through. However he did make a great play, turning a double-play on a nice pick.

The offense came on an Austin Hedges (!) double and a Steven Kwan double in the 3rd. Angel Martinez sac bunted in between those two, but it was against a RHP so I’ll reluctantly allow it.

Then, in the seventh, the Guardians finally broke through… after singles from Austin Hedges (again!), Angel Martinez and Steven Kwan. Then, Chase DeLauter and Jose Ramirez again failed to get the job done, but Rhys Hoskins (having subbed in for Kyle Manzardo) managed to take a walk off of Justin Wrobleski to force in a run.

Finally, up stepped the Guardians’ centerfielder for the night: Daniel Schneemann, the Mormon Missile. And, he rightly took four pitches, then rocketed the fifth pitch he saw into the gap in left-center for a two-run double:

Shawn Armstrong entered for the 7th, but was picked up by Erik Sabrowski who went one and a third dominant innings.

Cade Smith does not appear to be himself yet… he gave up two runs while not having control of his secondary stuff, but eventually managed to nail down the save.

This was a HUGE win. With Ohtani and Yamomoto on deck, the Guardians needed to get this one, and they did. Now, it’s time to surprise some folks and win this series.

The Guardians ruined the Dodgers’ chance for an undefeated season, be proud. And be excited because Jose and Cade Smith will be back to their usual before you know it.

Monday was another strong showing for the Mets’ pitching staff. 

Clay Holmes had to battle through traffic and long counts in the early going, but he was able to limit the damage to just one run against before settling in during his first start of the season. 

The righty retired the final seven batters he faced, but allowed a solo shot to Nolan Gorman with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to bring his night to a close. 

He allowed just the two runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 5.2 IP. 

“First three innings a lot of pitches, but then he attacked,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Fourth, fifth, and then the sixth inning he was pretty efficient -- overall I thought he mixed his pitch well and got a lot better as the game progressed.”

Tobias Myers then came on and provided the Mets with exactly what they were looking for, striking out two of the four batters he faced in 1.2 perfect innings.

Myers is shaping up to be a legit weapon for New York’s bullpen this season. 

“He’s huge,” Mendoza said. “He’s a guy with that versatility and has the ability to get both lefties and righties out, he can give you multiple innings or just one inning if we need -- he’s a pretty important role for us, and did it again today.”

Brooks Raley followed that by working around a single in the the eighth, before turning things over to Devin Williams, who had his signature Airbender working as he retired the side in order to close out his first save as a Met.

Williams struck out one and threw all but two of his 12 pitches for strikes. 

“He didn’t mess around,” Mendoza said. “He was really good.”

This continues what’s been a strong start to the season for the Mets’ bullpen, a group that's allowed just seven runs across 18 innings of work over the first four games. 

“They’ve done a really good job,” the skipper said. “They’ve had to cover a lot of innings with two extra inning games out of the gate, and they’ve kept us in games so far -- we’ve asked a lot out of some of them out of necessity, but we'll just continue to keep in the mind the big picture and continue to protect guys when we need to.”

SEATTLE — The Yankees now know what the Giants must have felt like throughout the first series of the season.

After their pitching staff shut down the Giants for three straight games to start the year — and largely did the same with the Mariners on Monday — the Yankees got a taste of their own medicine.

On a chilly night at T-Mobile Park, their bats were held in check and their bullpen finally cracked in the bottom of the ninth, when Cal Raleigh delivered a walk-off single against Paul Blackburn to lift the Mariners to a 2-1 win and hand the Yankees their first loss.

After Ryan Weathers gave up one run across 4 ¹/₃ innings in his Yankees debut, the bullpen turned in 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings — making it 14 ²/₃ to start the season — before the Mariners got to Blackburn in his second inning of work. Aaron Boone had already used Fernando Cruz, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick and Camilo Doval, and had David Bednar for an inning if the Yankees had gotten the lead, so Blackburn went back out for the ninth in the 1-1 game.

Leo Rivas led off with a single past the dive of Ben Rice and one out later, Brendan Donovan singled on a bouncing ball up the middle to put runners on the corners.

Raleigh, who began the night on the bench after starting the year 2-for-15 with 10 strikeouts, then came through in the clutch, hooking a single down the right-field line to end it.

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“If we’re going to win that game, it just felt like our best way to go was with Black[burn],” Boone said. “I thought he managed contact for the most part there, even in that final inning. … They found a couple holes and beat us.”

The Yankees had another aggressive night with the automated ball-strike system, going 5-for-5 on challenges, matching the amount of hits they tallied against a dominant Luis Castillo and the Mariners bullpen.

The only two hits Castillo gave up across six innings came on a bloop and a dribbler, with the Yankees racking up 17 swings-and-misses against him.

“We were having a hard time with his fastball, it was playing up tonight,” Boone said. “That low slot, he’s able to generate some swings and misses at the top. With his fastball, he was getting us to swing through some pitches.”

Weathers, who struck out seven, was solid in his Yankees debut, retiring seven straight into the fifth inning, when the first two batters reached on singles and then moved to second and third on a groundout.

Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and bailed him out, getting pinch-hitter Dominic Canzone and Julio Rodriguez to whiff badly at splitters, keeping it a 1-0 game.

“I definitely want to be more efficient, want to be in the zone a little bit more,” said Weathers, who said he was battling some nerves in the first inning before settling in. “I don’t want to hang my hat on 4 ¹/₃ innings. I want to get deeper in the ballgame, and a lot of that comes from managing pitch count myself and not falling behind in counts.”

The Yankees took advantage of Castillo leaving the game and quickly tied it up in the top of the seventh. Ben Rice led off the frame by roping a single against lefty José A. Ferrer before Giancarlo Stanton reached on an error.

One out later, with runners on the corners, Amed Rosario pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon — to which the Mariners responded by bringing in righty Eduard Bazardo. But Rosario got the job done anyway, lifting a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game 1-1.

The Mariners threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on the corners with one out, but Headrick struck out Raleigh before Doval got Rodriguez to ground out — though that was it for Doval after two pitches because Boone did not want to use him for a second up this early in the season.

“I thought our whole team threw the ball well all night,” Weathers said. “Seattle threw the ball well. It was definitely a pitchers’ duel.”

ST. LOUIS — Sean Manaea is still trying to figure out the particulars.

A day after pitching 1 ¹/₃ innings in relief, the displaced Mets starter was asked Monday how he will remain stretched out for the first time he’s needed in the rotation this season.

“I don’t really know,” Manaea said before the Mets beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Monday.

The ideal scenario for the left-hander is one in which he’s used in a piggyback role, allowing him to pitch three or four innings to remain built up.

Manaea will likely be utilized as a sixth starter on the next homestand.

“If it’s going to be like [Sunday], I don’t really know how you do it in that situation, stay stretched out,” said Manaea, who allowed two walks and one hit over his scoreless stint, which consisted of 29 pitches.

Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated there are decisions that will have to be reached regarding Manaea’s usage.

“I’m not worried about this time around,” Mendoza said. “The tricky part is if this becomes something that we are planning on doing, where we are just going to do 30 pitches in games, it will affect him. But with him being built up to 85 pitches the last time he pitched, the 29 he threw [Sunday] we’re not concerned moving forward.

“But then the decision will be, ‘Is it 50 pitches here? Is it 40? Is it another short outing?’ These are some of the things we have to keep in mind.”

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Jorge Polanco has dealt with Achilles soreness the past two days, according to Mendoza, relegating him to DH duty for both games. Jared Young, who went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI, started at first base on this night to become the third Mets player to start at the position this season (Polanco and Brett Baty are the others).

“We’re not concerned [about Polanco] to the point that he is playing,” Mendoza said. “But we want to limit his exposure on the field. We have just got to treat it here and just be careful with him, especially this early.”

Luis Robert Jr. was on the bench, as the Mets look to preserve the outfielder’s legs during this stretch in which the team is scheduled to play nine straight days. Baty received his first major league start in right field — a position at which he worked in spring training.

“That third deck in the outfield is new for him,” Mendoza said. “The sound of the ball off the bat is different compared to a spring training game. You have got more people here. It’s a bigger outfield. There’s a lot of new for him there, but he’s comfortable and if anybody can do it, Brett Baty is the guy.”

The opening salvo in this three-game battle between the Yankees and Mariners was as tight as you could have expected—and also true to expectations, pitching led the way. Neither staff so much as blinked throughout this game, but ultimately the Mariners found the big hit late as they prevailed, 2-1. Cal Raleigh’s walk-off single against Paul Blackburn sealed the deal following a tremendous start from Luis Castillo, but Ryan Weathers showed plenty of panache in his Yankee debut, and the bullpen turned in another strong effort until the dam finally burst.

The Mariners grabbed the initiative in the second inning when, following an early rally against Weathers, second baseman Cole Young grabbed a two-out ribbie on a shattered-bat single to right. It was the first time the Yankees trailed this season—the Giants had rarely threatened them in the previous series.

The Yankees failed to respond in the top of the third inning, but José Caballero showed off his umpire skills by reversing two called strikes against him. Those successful challenges produced a walk which ultimately allowed Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to take two-out plate appearances. Judge walked, but Bellinger punched out to end the rally.

Then in the fourth, Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all won challenges of their own on low strike calls. This led to a rather tense dialogue between home plate ump Mike Estabrook and the Yankee dugout. You can never fully foresee all the implications from implementing something like the ABS challenge system; one thing I didn’t expect was this kind of spat. It feels like a foregone conclusion that Aaron Boone will find a way to get himself tossed for this at some point this season.

Unfortunately, the Yankees’ prowess in catching Estabrook’s mistakes could not get them on the board against Castillo, who made them flail all night against his sharp fastball. La Piedra piloted smoothly through six scoreless innings, striking out seven Bombers—including a punchout of Judge in the sixth which marked the 1,500th in his excellent career. Overall he racked up 17 whiffs, 13 of which came on his four-seam fastball.

Weathers, for his part, fought through some early turbulence to put together a solid first start with the Yankees. After throwing around 40 pitches through the first two innings, he was far more economical in the third and fourth before running into another jam in the fifth which ended his night. The M’s got two in scoring position with one out, compelling Boone to make a call to the bullpen with lefty-killer Rob Refsnyder looming on deck.

Fernando Cruz came in for Weathers, and Dan Wilson countered by pinch-hitting Dominic Canzone. But the lefty outfielder swung over the top of a filthy splitter for out number two. Then the notoriously slow-starting Julio Rodríguez proved unable to lay off the split-finger either, allowing Cruz to preserve a solid final line for his starter: 4.1 innings, one run, four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.

That kept the Yankees solidly in the Mariners’ rear-view mirror. In the seventh, they crept closer thanks to a leadoff knock from Rice and a patented Giancarlo Stanton Infield Single. Jazz moved the tying run to third on a fielder’s choice before Amed Rosario came off the bench to hit for Ryan McMahon. Wilson opted to switch from lefty Jose A. Ferrer to righty Eduard Bazardo. Rosario got the job done, lofting a fly ball to deep right center to score Rice and knot the score at 1-1.

The Mariners got a dream scenario to take the lead back in the home seventh, but their two superstars’ struggles continued to get in their way. Brent Headrick got himself cornered before facing Cal Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Canzone. Raleigh had earned himself a rest day to start this series thanks to his 10 strikeouts in four games against Cleveland to start the year, and Headrick allowed him to continue his sabbatical with yet another strikeout. After that, Camilo Doval entered to retire Rodríguez on a chopper to second base, stranding the pair on M’s.

Both offenses went quietly in the eighth before Stanton continued his excellent start to the year in the ninth. Facing fireballer Matt Brash, he slashed a blistering line drive into the left-center gap and cruised easily into second for a double thanks to a poor route from Randy Arozarena. That marked his fourth consecutive multi-hit game to begin the season. A productive out from Chisholm moved pinch-runner Randal Grichuk to third for Rosario with two outs, but Brash’s slider wiped him out and compelled the Yanks to force extra innings.

But it wasn’t to be. Blackburn, who pitched the eighth for New York, soldiered on into the ninth and quickly found trouble. The Mariners got runners on the corners with just one out for the scuffling Raleigh—the big moments always seem to find you when you’re struggling, don’t they? But this time, the AL MVP runner-up lined a Blackburn cutter just fair down the line to hand the Yankees their first loss of 2026.

Boone probably considered closer David Bednar off the table for this situation (even with the MVP runner-up at the plate), but regardless, it was curious not to see at least Tim Hill make an appearance, especially with the two tough lefties in Young and Brendan Donovan taking turns at the dish in the ninth. Blackburn was easier prey. The 162-0 dream vanishes in Game 4. Oh well.

For a series featuring these two stellar pitching staffs, the first game certainly delivered on the billing. We’ll see two aces take the hill tomorrow: Max Fried opposite Logan Gilbert. First pitch will come at the same 9:40 PM EST slot as tonight, with coverage on YES.

Box Score

Looking to keep their undefeated season alive, the Dodgers couldn’t get anything going until the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians as the offense fell mostly silent in a 4-2 defeat.

Roki Sasaki made his first big league start since May of last year, looking to turn the page after a rough spring training where he walked 15 hitters and allowed 15 earned runs over 8 2/3 innings. Sasaki couldn’t get an out after tossing 30 pitches in his final spring tune-up against the Angels, but against his first batter of the regular season, he struck out Steven Kwan looking. He eventually allowed just one hit to Jose Ramírez in a scoreless first inning on 21 pitches. Sasaki continued to impress in the top of the second inning, facing the minimum and striking out a hitter on just 13 pitches.

Sasaki faced immediate pressure in the top of the third inning, as he allowed a leadoff double to Austin Hedges. Kwan traded places at second with Hedges, marking the fourth straight game that the Dodgers would have to play from behind. Miguel Rojas started the bottom of the third inning in the same manner as Hedges against left-hander Parker Messick, and the Dodgers had two men on with nobody out with Shohei Ohtani at the plate. On a 3-2 count, Messick picked off Rojas at second base, got Ohtani to line out and then struck out Kyle Tucker to keep the Dodgers scoreless.

Compared to his counterpart, Sasaki’s pitch count was noticeably high, and although he posted good results in his first start, he was pulled after allowing a leadoff single to Angel Martínez in the top of the fifth. Over 4+ innings of work, Sasaki allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Tanner Scott came in relief of Sasaki, and although he put another man on, he was able to leave runners on second and third by striking out pinch-hitter Rhys Hoskins. Max Muncy reached on a single to put the tying run on base with one out, but Messick got Miguel Rojas to ground to third and the left-hander got bailed out on a tremendous pick by Ramírez, igniting a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Justin Wrobleski made his season debut, and although he had a quick and easy nine pitch inning in the sixth, he loaded the bases with nobody out to begin the seventh inning. He managed to get two outs, but walked Hoskins to bring in the second run for Cleveland. Daniel Schneeman thanked Wrobleski for keeping the bases loaded by lining a two-run double to left-center field to put Cleveland up by four.

The Dodgers began to rally against Shawn Armstrong in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages both reaching on singles, but Max Muncy failed to give the Dodgers hope as he struck out swinging with to end the inning. The Dodgers were nearly shut out on Monday, but Mookie Betts put the Dodgers on the board in the bottom of the ninth inning with an RBI double. Freddie Freeman knocked in Betts on an RBI groundout to cut the deficit in half, but the comeback attempt ultimately fell flat.

Game particulars

• WP— Parker Messick (1-0): 6 IP, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
• LP— Roki Sasaki (0-1): 4+ IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers look to bounce back after their first loss of the season as they host the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Shohei Ohtani makes his first start of the season against right-hander Tanner Bibee.

The San Diego Padres recorded just three hits against San Francisco Giants pitching, but the last hit was the most exciting. Jackson Merrill strode to the plate with one on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Padres trailing 3-0. He worked the count full and then belted a two-run home run to right field that pulled the Padres within a run. Giants reliever Ryan Walker was able to end the game and help San Francisco get its first win of the season one batter later when Xander Bogaerts grounded to short for the final out of the 3-2 loss for the Padres.

Merrill was the last San Diego batter to record a hit in the game, but the list of players to record hits in the game only had two more names on it. Bogaerts recorded the first Padres hit in the bottom of the second inning with a one-out single to right field. The second hit of the game for San Diego belonged to Fernando Tatis Jr. who also had a one-out single to right field, which came in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Padres did not have an answer for Giants starter Landon Roupp and his changeup. He threw six innings, allowing two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Roupp kept the Padres hitters off balance throughout the game, resulting in ugly at-bats that often involved changeups being smashed into the ground or hit softly on the infield.   

The Giants crawled into the series with the Padres after getting swept by the New York Yankees to open the season. San Francisco allowed 13 runs over three games and scored just one run in that span. That changed against Padres starter Walker Buehler. The Giants were able to get to Buehler for three runs in four innings. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out three on 72 pitches.

The San Diego bullpen was asked to cover the final five innings of the game and Wandy Peralta, David Morgan and Ron Marinaccio did so with a great deal of success. The three relievers combined to allow just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.

The Padres will try to take the second game of the series when German Marquez makes his Padres debut on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m.

The Yankees were walked off by the Seattle Mariners 2-1 on Monday night at T-Mobile Park.

Here are some takeaways...

-- Ryan Weathers endured a bit of an up-and-down Yankee debut. The young lefty worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, but Seattle made him pay for putting a pair on in the second, scratching across the first run of the game on a Cole Young two out RBI single. 

Weathers retired the next seven batters he faced before allowing back-to-back knocks leading off the fifth. He forced a groundout then was pulled, turning things over to righty Fernando Cruz, who bailed him out with a pair of huge punchouts to keep it a one-run ballgame. 

Weathers closed his line allowing just the one run on four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings. 

-- Unfortunately for him, the Yankees' offense couldn't get much of anything going against Luis Castillo. Their lone two hits against the righty in six innings were erased on the bases, as Giancarlo Stanton was gunned down trying to stretch a single into a double and Jose Caballero was picked off first after singling in the fifth. 

Castillo allowed just those two hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven over his six scoreless frames. 

-- New York was finally able to create some traffic with Castillo out of the game. Ben Rice led off the top of the seventh with a single, and after advancing his way into scoring position, he came in to score the game-tying run on an Amed Rosario pinch-hit sacrifice fly to center.

-- Seattle immediately threatened to answer back in the bottom-half of the inning, as a double and single put a man on third with just one out, but Brent Headrick struck out Cal Raleigh before Camilo Doval got Julio Rodriguez to groundout end the threat and keep the Yanks' bullpen scoreless for the season. 

-- Stanton laced a one out double to left in the top of the ninth, giving him his fourth consecutive multi-hit game to start the year. New York was able to push him to third on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. groundout, but then Rosario struck out on just three pitches to end the threat. 

-- The Mariners rallied against Paul Blackburn in the bottom of the ninth, eventually walking it off and handing the Yanks their first loss of the season on Raleigh's one out single. The backstop has gotten off to a slow start this season, so you knew he was due to deliver in the big spot. 

-- The Yankees had a field day with home plate ump Mike Estabrook, going 5-for-5 on ABS challenges. 

Game MVP: Cal Raleigh

Raleigh didn't get the start, but came off the bench and delivered when Seattle needed it. 

Highlights

Fernando Cruz gets out of the jam! pic.twitter.com/a5ZJDA7wKp

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 31, 2026

What's next

Max Fried makes his second start of the season against Seattle's Logan Gilbert on Tuesday at 9:40 p.m.

Mariners 2, Yankees 1

Cold baseball because it’s March: Julio Rodríguez, -.18 WPA
Cold baseball because it’s October: Luis Castillo, +.35 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

ST. LOUIS — Kodai Senga’s spring training performances, taken as a whole, reverberated maybe the loudest of any by a pitcher the Mets had in camp.

The right-hander’s velocity reached new heights, and his secondary pitches were sharp. Optimism now flows that the Mets will unveil an ace at the back end of their new rotation.

On Tuesday he will return to a major league mound in a game that matters for the first time since Aug. 31, after which his second-half struggles prompted the Mets to ask Senga if he would agree to a minor league assignment. Senga accepted the demotion and pitched the final month for Triple-A Syracuse.

This spring he pitched to a 1.86 ERA in his three Grapefruit League appearances with 11 strikeouts in 9 ²/₃ innings. His only runs allowed were on two solo homers in his first start.

“The results are the results and I take them with a grain of salt,” Senga said through his interpreter before departing camp. “But if you look at the metrics of the pitches that I am throwing, I think that does translate into the season. Some are good and some are not as good, but compared to the previous years I feel I am performing at a higher level, so I have just got to keep it up in the season.”

Senga’s fastball touched 99 mph during spring training and Mets officials were encouraged by the manner in which he carried himself. Last season Senga averaged 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball.

“The way he came, the treat early on — how built-up he was and how physical he was and how his body felt was really exciting,” pitching coach Justin Willard said. “And then to kind of carry that into spring training and continue to put up big velocities, really good shapes and pound the strike zone was really good to see.”

Senga was rolling in mid-June, pitching to a 1.47 ERA when he hit the injured list with a strained right hamstring on a coverage play at first base. Senga missed a month, and after one strong performance in Kansas City began his nosedive.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

Overall he pitched to a 13.73 ERA in the second half before accepting his minor league assignment.

“As long as I am healthy and can pitch my pitches, pitch to my ability, I think the results come along with that,” Senga said. “So, I am striving for that and that is what I’m here to do. I came from Japan to the States to do that. Things aren’t always going to go my way, but if that happens, I will grind out there and hopefully the results come.”

The Mets saw the best of Senga in his rookie 2023 season, when he pitched to a 2.98 ERA and struck out 202 batters in 166 ¹/₃ innings. But injuries limited Senga to one regular-season start the next year, although he started twice during the playoffs.

Senga, before he left camp, was asked what he was still perfecting.

“The forkball, making sure it’s down,” Senga said of his signature ghost fork. “I don’t want to leave it up. It’s still happening a little bit and … hopefully I can bury it in the dirt.”

Manager Carlos Mendoza has been consistent in his praise of Senga since the pitcher’s first start this spring.

“I am excited because of what he’s shown in spring training,” Mendoza said. “The way he threw the ball, how he bounced back, just the smile on his face, the interaction that I’m having with him.”

What a wild four games for the Colorado Rockies.

They are swept by the Miami Marlins in the first three games, losing each game by only one run.

Then, they are stranded in Maimi for an additional six hours:

Recipe for disaster, right?

Next they faced the American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays — a team they lost to 45-6 through three games last year.

But tonight?

You were not dreaming: The Blue Jays had a position player, Eric Heineman, pitch the last two innings.

But that leads to tonight’s question for the Purple Row Night Owls: What are your biggest takeaways from the first four games?

Let us know in the comments.

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

Ha, see what I did there, St Louis City? There were a bunch of county cops outside the stadium tonight. But it’s the city, dang it! Anways, sorry this recap is a little bit delayed, but I was at the game tonight and had some photography to prepare, just got out of the dark room now.

The game was much more of a Major League Baseball score tonight, the Metropolitans scoring 4 runs to the Cards 2. The Redbirds had a few opportunities to tie it up, but the offense was pretty silent outside of a Burly RBI and a Nolan Gorman home run.

Kyle Leahy experienced his first Cardinals start against a robust Mets lineup, and while he looked tough, he didn’t get the best results: 4 earned runs and walked 2 batters. To my eye at the game, the Mets were able to find the gaps tonight, and the BABIP backs that up at .381 on the night. Better luck next time, Kyle!

Busch on March 30, 2026

Alec Burleson RBI!

Herrera ends up getting a hit!

Jordan Walker massive cut!

Ok I had some more photos but there’s a time limit on recaps now so I’ll make this one more brief.

Howl’s destruction of the all you can eat Coca Cola zone ticket:

• 3 bratwurst
• 6 chicken strips
• 2 orders of fries
• 3 sodas
• 3 beers at 4 hands beforehand

Ok, I would write more but i’ll be quicker on the draw next week. Thank you.

After going 1-for-14 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Mets' opening series this past weekend, Bo Bichette admitted his at-bats were "terrible" and he was chasing a moment with his new team.

Looking to turn the page Monday on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals, Bichette stepped up when it mattered. 

He drove in a first-inning run on a groundout and then came through with a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning to put the Mets ahead for good as they'd go on to win 4-2.

Bichette finished the game 1-for-5 with two RBI, bringing his season total to three. He told reporters that he did a better job competing during his at-bats, but knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"I mean, I just wanted to get back on track I guess, compete," Bichette said. "I felt like I did a better job of that today, but still more to go."

He added: "Just kind of getting back to basics. But really, I mean the most important thing is getting out there on the field and getting in the moment and competing. Just did a better job of that."

The former AL batting champ is known to be a strong opposite field hitter throughout his career and put that skill on display Monday with the RBI single to right field, which recorded a 106.8 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. 

He was asked if driving the ball the opposite way is something he expects to do, saying it's more about being in a good position to have competitive at-bats.

"Well I mean as a competitor I expect to be in a good place all the time," Bichette said. "I don't know if that's a sign of anything. Honestly, I just want to be in a position to compete every at-bat and I felt like I did a better job of that today."

Overall, Bichette said he's feeling "more like myself" and believes he's in a better place moving forward after a rough first three games. 

Manager Carlos Mendoza agreed, saying he isn't surprised to see Bichette have a bounce-back performance and showed "some good signs" at the plate.

"I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised," Mendoza said with a smirk. "I thought he was more under control, not trying to do too much. Even the one that he lined out to right field, that was a pretty good at-bat there too. That's good to see. When he's doing that, those are some good signs.

The third baseman will now try to build on Monday's game and put his first three games in a Mets uniform behind him.