Category: Baseball

This weekend, the San Diego Padres will partake in their fifth regular-season series in Mexico. It will be a two-game set against their National League West division rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Padres have fond memories from their past trips. 

After Sunday’s contest, the Friars will have played the most regular-season games in Mexico (11). Monterrey hosted seven games, while Mexico City hosted four games. There is no denying that the ballpark crowds provide an electric environment for both clubs. Who can forget the chanting that takes place throughout the contest?

Caminiti homers twice in Snickers game

It is hard to believe this memorable feat took place 30 years ago. 

For those unfamiliar, let’s set the scene. The Padres were meeting the New York Mets in the final game of the 1996 Monterrey Series. Friars third baseman Ken Caminiti walked into the clubhouse with a bad case of food poisoning and dehydration. 

The training staff administered IV fluids to treat him. Padres manager Bruce Bochy was resigned to the fact that his star cleanup hitter would be unavailable for the contest. Somehow, some way, Caminiti played in the rubber game of the series. 

His afternoon began with a solo home run to put the Friars on the scoreboard. Caminiti proceeded to hit a massive three-run shot that extended the lead to 8-0 and secure a series victory over the Mets.

What is remarkable about his legendary performance is that Snickers candy bars were the lone food source Caminiti could keep down. This memorable Sunday afternoon propelled him to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award. 

Valenzuela’s historic first MLB start on home soil

You need no explanation on what an honor it was for Fernando Valenzuela to start the first major league regular-season game in Mexico. Despite playing away from his hometown, Valenzuela remained a celebrated national hero. Viewers could see how the honor was a personal accomplishment for him. 

A raucous crowd of over 23,000 fans chanted “El Toro” at Valenzuela every time he touched the baseball. The left-hander threw six innings and allowed three runs on six hits to secure the win in a 15-10 victory. 

The offensive attack featured a grand slam by Greg Vaughn and a solo shot by Steve Finley. It was another memorable moment in Valenzuela’s distinguished 17-year major league career.

Mexico City’s debut game turns into home run derby

The San Francisco Giants faced the Padres in the 2023 Inaugural Mexico City Series, where extreme altitude (7,350 feet) triggered a home run outburst in the opening game.

In a contest that felt like a home run derby, the Friars outslugged the Giants 16–11 as the two teams combined for a staggering 11 home runs in the thin air. The Padres and Giants tied a major league record of having 10 different players homer on the day. The Friars had four players who hit home runs that traveled more than 400 feet, including Xander Bogaerts’ drive that went 455 feet.

Manny Machado led the charge with two home runs, the second of which clinched the victory. Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz, who had been struggling at the plate, delivered one last memorable performance in the majors. The veteran designated hitter racked up five hits and became the oldest player in Padres history (42) to hit a home run.

Hopefully, the Friars and D-Backs can add more fond memories this weekend in Mexico. Regardless, the sold-out crowds will show their love for the greatest sport ever created. 

The Braves go for another series win against the Phillies, as Bryce Elder takes the bump facing off against Zack Wheeler in his first start back from injury. Wheeler has been somewhat diminished in his rehab starts, so we probably shouldn’t expect the prime Zack Wheeler. You can read more about the pitching matchup in the game preview here.

The headliner is that Michael Harris returns to the lineup batting fifth, as the young Braves star is scorching hot at the plate. It appears that he isn’t ready to play the field, or at least the Braves are being cautious with him, as he deals with quad tightness, but as we saw last night, he is healthy enough to hit and run and his bat simply demands to be in the lineup right now. Eli White continues to play center in Harris’ stead, while Austin Riley bats sixth.

Bryce on the bump! #BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/ybR6qRspps

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 25, 2026

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, April 25, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLBTV

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Texas Rangers lineup for April 25, 2026 against the A’s: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Jeffrey Springs for the A’s.

If you were wondering what it would take to get Evan Carter into the lineup against a lefty, the answer apparently is “an injury to Wyatt Langford.”

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

McCutchen — DH

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Jung — 3B

Duran — 2B

Jansen — C

Carter — CF

Haggerty — LF

6:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -125 favorites.

Having smartly timed their turn to lead correctly in a seesaw game last night, the White Sox try to pick up another victory over the Nationals this afternoon, albeit under much different conditions. A nor’easter that hit overnight has dropped the temperature more than 20° from yesterday and produced 25 mph wind gusts that should come from left to right throughout the game.

This is a game where the pitching matchup certainly looks to favor the Sox. They have Noah Schultz on the mound for his third major league start, his last outing being an outstanding five-inning, one hit, one walk (!), six K, one-run victory over the A’s.

The Nats counter with 29-year old righty Jake Irvin, who has an awful 6.00 ERA despite opponents only hitting .220 against him, his big problem being 11 walks in 24 innings, though he went five innings without a walk against the Braves last time out. Irvin has a six-pitch repertoire, but tops out 92ish. Combined with an inability to hit his spots, that may prove a problem for Irvin against the power-surging Sox lineup:

Should Edgar Quero need to leave the game for whatever reason his backup is now Drew Romo, called up from Charlotte, with Reese McGuire DFA’d. Romo only hit .167 in a brief turn with the Rockies last year, but has been tearing up Triple-A pitching to the tune of .298/.385/.561 this spring.

Schultz will be firing his five-pitch mix to a Washington lineup that probably would have scored several more runs last night were it not for terrible baserunning (isn’t it nice when it’s the opponents who blow games on the bases?). And yes, that is ex-Sox Curtis Mead batting second and playing second for the Nats today; apparently like us, Washington also uses the waiver wire for “major talent” acquisition:

First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. Central with the temp 47° and the wind left to right field at 15 mph, gusting to 25. Usual broadcast suspects.

Go Rays!

After the Nats lost a close one last night, they need to rebound and get back on track. They are 3-7 in their last 10, so a win this afternoon is much needed. The Nats will have to face a massive rookie lefty to get that win though.

The Nats lineup looks very different today. CJ Abrams will get his first scheduled off day of the season. That means Nasim Nunez will slide over to shortstop. Curtis Mead will play second base for the first time this season. After getting called up today, Andres Chaparro will hit third and play first base. Joey Wiemer will also be back in the lineup against a lefty. Keibert Ruiz will be back behind the plate. He will be catching Jake Irvin, who toes the slab this afternoon.

̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶d̶u̶c̶k̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶r̶o̶w̶ all my players in a lineup

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/ps4ta46NXH

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 25, 2026

The White Sox are also making a couple changes. Andrew Benintendi will DH and hit leadoff. Munetaka Murakami will hit in the 2 hole. Everson Pereira will play right, which shifts Tristan Peters to center field. Noah Schultz is a 6’10 lefty for the White Sox, who has major prospect pedigree. Excited to watch him throw the ball.

Your Saturday lineup is in pic.twitter.com/tsetnn5ik9

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 25, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Rate Field

Time: 4:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats have been slumping the past week or so. Today would be a great day to snap out of that slump. Yesterday was a painful loss, but the series is still up for grabs. Follow along down below and let’s go Nats.

It’s time for the second game of the series between the San Francisco Giants and the Miami Marlins, and we’re all hoping it goes better than the first one.

The Giants are sending veteran lefty Robbie Ray to the mound for his sixth start of the year. The 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner is 2-3 on the year, with a 2.86 ERA, a 4.42 FIP, and 31 strikeouts against 11 walks in 28.1 innings. In his last game, Ray gave up three runs in six innings against the Washington Nationals.

He’s up against young right-handed Eury Pérez, who just turned 23 years old. He is also making his sixth start this season, and is 2-1 on the year, with a 4.15 ERA, a 4.68 FIP, and 27 strikeouts against 12 walks in 26 innings. His last start was his best, as he allowed just one unearned run in six innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Giants!

Game #27

Who: San Francisco Giants (11-15) vs. Miami Marlins (13-13)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 1:05 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

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

For those of you who wanted change, you are far more likely to get it than at any point up until now.

Depending on how things finish up this weekend in Atlanta, it’s hard to see how the 2026 season ends with the ultimate goal of a World Series parade taking place. The NL East is already lost, and the Phillies appear to be on their way to becoming the best team in history to lose 90+ games.

Whether you loved or hated the off-season, almost everyone believed this team was going to play October baseball. Sure, not all of you, but most. They were another year older, but still appeared talented enough to grind their way through another 162 games and return to the postseason. But they have dug themselves such a large hole in the first month of the season that it will likely take the next five just to put themselves in a wild card position.

You don’t lose 10 games in a row simply because of bad luck. A championship caliber club doesn’t lose 10 in a row because they suddenly became terrible baseball players overnight.

No, the 2026 Phillies have been the worst team in baseball coming into Saturday night’s second game against the Braves in Atlanta in large part because of Dave Dombrowski’s underestimation of the importance of what goes on inside a player’s ears.

The Phillies appear psychologically broken, and it’s understandable why that may be. I talked about it numerous times over the winter as Dombrowski and the front office stood pat with the same core of players that had come up torturously short the last three Octobers.

Asking this same group of players to come back, with all the baggage they’ve acquired, all the same doubts about their abilities, all the same disappointments and frustrations, and expect everything to work out was wishful thinking more than a solid plan.

Sure, every team goes through slumps. Some of them occur at the beginning of the season. But when you watch these Phillies, you can see something is off. This play from Friday night is just the tip of the iceberg, but it encapsulates how much things have gotten into their heads.

The gall of them to make Scott Franzke suffer through this BS https://t.co/FkyVgy0H6xpic.twitter.com/VukPgWK78o

— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) April 25, 2026

A simple ground ball to the shortstop with two outs and runners on 1st and 2nd… it doesn’t get any easier than this. But Turner failed to notice Ronald Acuna Jr. get a good jump off of 1st and beat Bryson Stott to the bag at 2nd. He then got freaked out and sailed his throw to 1st as a result. There were multiple mental and physical errors on that play alone, and it’s not the first time something like this has happened in the season’s first month.

The players have acknowledged that the only metric for success with this team is a World Series championship. So you can understand if, subconsciously, the regular season doesn’t hold as much interest for them as it once did. You can understand if they didn’t enter this season, with 162 games ahead of them, with fire in their bellies. For this group, it’s all about getting to October, and then performing better than they have the previous three.

To a man, they will absolutely deny this. But human nature is what it is.

The Phillies are trapped inside a bubble of frustration, and the danger of not jettisoning some of the existing core and replacing them with new people was failing to pop that bubble. When Orion Kerkering threw that ball to the backstop at the end of Game 4 of the NLDS in Los Angeles, everyone felt big changes had to happen.

Sure, maybe the talent on the field didn’t mix terribly well, but it worked well enough to win the division by 13 games and return to the playoffs for a fourth straight time. But bringing people from the outside would have helped pop the bubble. Bringing in people whose mindset was not solely “World Series-or-bust” could have helped the rest of the group realize there was still a reason to get up for the regular season.

Or, it simply could have shaken people out of their doldrums.

Instead, as this season has unfolded, the Phils have thus far found themselves unable to pull out of their initial tailspin. As a result, the division is already lost before the calendar has even turned to May. All that’s in play now is a wild card, and that becomes more of a longshot with each passing day.

The psychology of the Phillies needed to change, and it was going to be impossible for that to happen without bringing in players from outside the organization (and no, the additions of Adolis Garcia, Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford weren’t going to move the needle). Sure, the Phils needed another middle-of-the-order bat, and failing to acquire one has resulted in the team yet again playing without a true cleanup hitter, but beyond the sheer baseball of it all, it would have helped in the locker room, too.

Would a new manager’s voice have helped change the team’s perspective? Would moving players like Alec Bohm and/or Stott and or Brandon Marsh have shaken things up in a good way? Would acquiring a big bat like Eugenio Suarez, landing Bo Bichette, or inking one of the Japanese stars, helped?

It’s obviously impossible to say, but it seemed obvious to me, from the moment the Phils slumped off the Dodgers Stadium field last October, they needed a mental reset. Someone to come in there and convince them they weren’t destined to always fall short. Someone to give them a jolt of energy.

Perhaps that will soon happen. Dombrowski and John Middleton will obviously look at every aspect of this team in an attempt fo salvage the season. After all, there is no rebuild coming, not with Bryce Harper, Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo all signed to long-term extensions. If anything, there will be a re-tooling, not a rebuild.

A managerial change or other coaching change is more likely with each passing day and each succeeding loss. Change is coming.

Psychologically, for this group, that is almost certainly for the best.

Recap

The second inning showcased what Sox fans have been waiting for all season: hits in the air, a stolen base, a couple of walks, everyone keeping the line moving. The Sox sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs, breaking the spell and waking us, and themselves, from the stupor of this heavy 2026 season.

But that was nothing compared to what was to come: another three-run inning in the fifth, courtesy of a three-run double by Connor Wong.

But wait, there’s more! Wong’s hit was the play of the game until the ninth inning—which was a ten-hit, ten-run inning, by the way—highlighted by a grand slam by Andruw Monasterio. It was glorious. Both Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras had two singles and two bigger hits (a triple and homer, respectively) and crossed the plate twice in the inning. The Orioles eventually brought in a position player to pitch but the damage was done well before that.

With runners in scoring position, the Sox were 8-15 today.

There were a number of firsts today, individually and for the team:

• First individual home runs of the season for Caleb Durbin and Monasterio (his slam)
• First Red Sox triple of the season by Ceddanne Rafaela
• First Red Sox grand slam of the season, courtesy of Andruw Monasterio

It was a huge game with good vibes to spare.

Studs

Garrett Crochet

This is the pitcher we know and love. He was dominant and in control the whole way. 6.0 IP, 7 SO, 3H, 2 BB.

Small Ball

Five walks, capitalizing on errors, and two stolen bases. The hitters kept the line moving.

Big Offense

The Sox scored plenty of runs, logged big hits, and hit at the right time. Wong’s double scored three. Rafaela’s triple led off the huge ninth. Homers by Durbin and Contreras, and of course Monasterio’s slam capped it all off for the offense. Lots of fun.

Duds

Pelvic Thrust Hit Celebration

I will keep saying this until it is dead and gone. Some Sox hitters are still using it and yuck.

Play of the Game

How about that? Andruw Monasterio, hired for his defense, not his hitting, whales a grand slam.

Some days you’re the windshield and some days you’re the bug. The next day after putting a big number up against Boston, the Orioles were on the receiving end of an ugly beatdown. By the time the dust settled, the O’s fell back below .500 with a 17-1 demolition at the hands of their last place division rivals. So much for the idea of building on that momentum. The Orioles remain winless against left-handed starting pitchers in the 2026 season.

The two teams traded zeroes in the first inning before things veered off the rails for the Orioles in the second. Starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, last year’s incredible revelation, continued to look like he’s not going to be able to repeat that form or anything close to it. Rogers simply could not make good pitches to consistently put people away once he got them to two strikes, and the result was that he saw his pitch count balloon in a second inning that he was not able to complete.

Rogers got the hook with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning, having already allowed three runs on four hits and two walks. Only Tyler Wells coming in and stranding all of the inherited runners kept Rogers from taking an even rougher hit to his ERA. As it is, he’s up to 4.75 on the season with this clunker added to his last outing. It’s not what the Orioles needed today or what they need over the remainder of the season. This is a challenge that they are going to have to work hard to solve.

Still, the game remained in reach until the top of the fifth inning. The Orioles “only” trailed 4-0 up to that point. Reliever Albert Suárez, who was already charged with an unearned run in the fourth, was victimized again by his defense in the fifth. A throwing error by Jeremiah Jackson eventually resulted in three unearned runs crossing the plate in the inning and the Orioles were then behind by seven runs.

Suárez, who had not pitched in six days, could have helped more to pitch his way out of this jam, but the scoring is what it is. This was one of three errors committed by the Orioles in an overall uninspiring game.

The offense was just as uninspiring. They faced a tough task, if you are in the mood to be fair to them. The Red Sox starter was last year’s AL Cy Young runner-up, Garrett Crochet. Although Crochet has had a couple of rough outings early this season, he’s had a couple of very good ones too. At least on Saturday against the Orioles, it looked like he’d fixed his problems. Crochet allowed just three hits and two walks over his six shutout innings. The lone O’s run scored was also unearned; an error committed by Caleb Durbin put the unearned run on the stat line for reliever Greg Weissert.

What really made it embarrassing for the Orioles was Keegan Akin, fresh off the injured list to pitch in his first outing of the season. Akin, again if you are in the mood to be fair, did pitch one scoreless inning after coming into the game in the eighth inning. The problem was he was tasked with pitching the ninth as well, and, uh, he was not up to that task. By which I mean he gave up six runs in the ninth inning before the O’s turned to position player Weston Wilson to pitch. That’s a 54.00 ERA for Akin’s 2026. He’s going to have to put up a lot of zeroes to make up for that.

There was a time where position players pitching was fun. That time has largely passed. The only thing we can say for Wilson is he gave up fewer runs than Akin, allowing four to score while managing to get three outs and end the thing. Wilson had pitched a few previous times in his career and brought a 0.00 ERA into this contest. That perfection has been wrecked.

The teams will play one more on Sunday afternoon with a 1:35 scheduled start time to settle who is the winner of this three-game set. Kyle Bradish is set to make the start for the Orioles. The O’s hitters will have another chance to try to solve a lefty starter, with rookie Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on the mound. The 24-year-old brings a 2.88 ERA through five games into the outing. He has to feel pretty good about his chances, given what he saw these dudes do against Crochet today.

First Pitch: 3:10 pm CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN / WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / Audacy

The Minnesota Twins. Ever heard of em?

An early start to the season means that it can be game 27 and still only be April. We’re at the point of the season where the oft-cited “small sample size” begins to stretch itself out a bit, meaning that within the next couple of weeks we’ll have a better sense of flukes vs. trends, like whether or not Austin Martin has actually figured out how to become one of the premier hitters in the game.

One of the biggest questions that will be answered with a larger sample is just what kind of team the 2026 Minnesota Twins are. After absolutely mowing down the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox in a riveting home stretch, the Twins lost seven out of their last eight, including the opener on Friday night.

Bailey Ober has managed to run a 106 ERA+ in five starts so far, despite operating on some godforsaken combination of duct tape and good will. Ober has potentially the lowest velocity manageable in the Big 26, which has led to his changeup outpacing his fastball as his primary pitch, even as the rest of his offerings remain in line with their usage proportions from years prior.

Plus, after catastrophically-low run values from his breaking arsenal last year, Ober’s breaking run value is 94th percentile here in April. Reinventing himself in real-time as a quasi-junkballer, Bailey’s high-wire act has led to team victories in three of his first five starts, and he’s coming off a wonderful outing last weekend during which he held the Cincinnati Reds to three hits and struck out double-digit batters. (Don’t ask what happened after he left.)

On the slibbity-gibbity hippity flip-side is Shane McClanahan, who’s returning to game action this year after not having thrown a pitch since 2023. It’s been a ginger return for the brunette lefty, who has maxed out at 90 pitches in four starts, never going more than five innings and mostly struggling with control (11 walks in 18 innings.)

GO TWINS GO!

It was rough going for a moment there.

The San Diego Padres bounced back late for a 10-8 win over the Colorado Rockies Thursday afternoon. In what felt like a gruelingly long game, the Friars continued to stay within striking distance but couldn’t seem to get ahead of the Rox.

They finally did with three outs left. Rockies reliever Victor Vodnik struggled to record an out, walking Jackson Merrill to start the ninth before giving up three consecutive singles and a three-run blast from Gavin Sheets that just stayed fair.

It was a win the Friars needed. One that proved their bats are still alive after a week of them being peculiarly quiet. They’ll need that slug this weekend as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks in Mexico City tonight.

Taking the mound

Zac Gallen (AZ) v. Germán Márquez (SD)

It was probably never that close, but it felt like Gallen was close to being a Padre this offseason.

After being the subject of a prolonged free agency, he ended up re-signing with Arizona on a one-year deal. He’s pitched serviceably to start the year but has struggled with command (3.51 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 25.2 IP).

In the high-altitude, hitter-friendly environs of Mexico City — a stadium that last saw the Padres face the San Francisco Giants in an 11-homer tirade — Gallen will need to have his command locked down. Otherwise, it’ll quickly turn into a slugfest for San Diego.

The same is true for Márquez, though his statline suggests a worse pitcher than he has been. He’s yet to record consecutive quality outings, going back-and-forth between giving up four runs and pitching a scoreless game.

That’s been the problem for Márquez so far this year: consistency. When he’s on, he’s on. But when he’s not? He’s really not.

He pitched 5 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels last week and only allowed two hits. The Friar Faithful hope that he can follow that performance tonight against the D-backs.

Batter up!

The starters will be out with the off day yesterday giving everyone a breather. That has the lineup looking like this:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
7. Ty France, DH
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

Gallen is a tough starter to face, but the Padres have one thing over him: they’ve faced him a lot.

That being said, certain players have had more success than others. Bogaerts, Cronenworth, France and Gavin Sheets all have a batting average over .300 against him. France, Sheets and Fernando Tatis Jr. have an OPS over 1.000 when facing the right-hander.

Those career numbers are why France might start at DH today, though Miguel Andujar could as well after his bat heated up in Colorado.

Those are names to watch for, with Cronenworth having an especially slow start to the year at the plate. He’ll look to get things going today against Gallen.

Relief corps

Starter Matt Waldron did not do much to help his case for a roster spot, giving up six runs in Thursday’s series finale against Colorado. (The signing of free agent Lucas Giolito could not have come soon enough.) But he did go five full innings, so the bullpen can at least be thankful for that.

The Padres used Adrian Morejon, Ron Marinaccio and Mason Miller to cover the final four frames. Miller extended his scoreless streak to tie the franchise record at 33 2/3. He’ll look to extend it against Arizona this weekend.

But, with the off day yesterday, it’ll likely be all-hands-on-deck for the Friars. That being said, the first out of the ‘pen would be those who didn’t pitch on Thursday. That leaves Jason Adam, Kyle Hart, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez.

If Márquez falters, then expect Hart or Peralta out first to cover multiple innings. But if San Diego has a lead and Márquez makes it through five or six frames, the high-leverage guys will be out in full force.

So there was a bit of Jays news today, check out the posts, but the short of it:

• Nathan Lukes to IL.
• Yohendrick Piñango called up.
• Yimi Garcia to the 60-day IL.
• Trey Yesavage to start Tuesday.
• Eric Lauer to the bullpen.

I feel bad for Lukes, battling through vertigo, finally starting to hit the way we’d expect and then this. That’s the thing about the game, we don’t know what the players are going through at anytime. Sometimes there is a reason they aren’t performing the way we expect.

And it looks like Bo Bichette is starting to get things going for the Mets. He has 6 hits in his last 5 games.

I often say that the start of the season is the worst time for a slump because no one will notice when you turn things around.

And if you start hot, no one will notice when you slump.

I try to tell myself to stay patient, that a guy like Lukes, we know what we have, if he has 50 poor at bats at the start of the year, don’t panic, he’ll likely have the numbers you’d expect at the end of the year.

We get a Kevin Gausman start. He has a 2.54 ERA, in his first five starts. It would be nice if the team could get him some runs today.

Go Jays Go.

This year’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are a team that keeps battling until the final out, and it is quickly becoming their M.O. Seven of their 13 wins through the first 24 games have occurred when the club was trailing at some point in the contest.

There was April 4th in Rochester, when seventh-inning solo shots by Seth Brown and Paul DeJong overcame a one-run deficit for a 4-3 victory. The next day, the RailRiders trailed after one inning, 2-1, but scored in the next four innings and rolled to a 16-5 win.

In the home opener on April 8th against Durham, the RailRiders erased a six-run deficit in their final three at-bats to pull out a 7-6 triumph. The next day, they trailed Durham by one run after five innings, took the lead, watched the Bulls tie it in the top of the ninth, but won it in the bottom of the ninth on an Ali Sánchez home run, 5-4. Two days after that, in the nightcap of a doubleheader, they were down to the Bulls, 2-0, but used a six-run fourth inning to storm back for a 9-5 win.

“With these guys, I always know that when games are close, they grind really well,” said manager Shelley Duncan.

“I like to say they’re gritty. They’re grinders, and when it’s close at the end of a ball game, it’s hard to beat grinders.”

Also, the RailRiders are 3-0 in extra innings, including consecutive wins in the current home series with the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field.

First, on Thursday, the RailRiders took a 4-2 lead into the top of the ninth, only to have Rochester score three runs on five consecutive hits to grab a 5-4 lead. But the RailRiders tied it in the bottom of the ninth on singles by Jonathan Ornelas and Max Schuemann, followed by an RBI groundout from Spencer Jones. Then in the bottom of the 11th, Jasson Domínguez won it with a RBI single to score the automatic runner Ornelas, 6-5.

The Martian walks it off in extras! 👽#RepBXpic.twitter.com/LlYBsi73QQ

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) April 24, 2026

On Friday, Red Wings starting pitcher Andry Lara had the RailRiders stymied. All they could manage against the right-hander through the first seven innings were a pair of Yanquiel Fernández singles as he walked none and struck out nine. Rochester built a 2-0 lead on two solo home runs, but the bullpen held it there.

“My main thought was keep it close,” Duncan said. “Down two, if we could just scrap one run across the board to get within one. Two runs is a lot harder than one.”

In the bottom of the eighth, with Lara out of the game, the RailRiders rallied. Brown drew a leadoff walk. Duke Ellis came on as a pinch-runner and immediately stole second. Ernesto Martínez Jr. then sent a 3-2 pitch out to right field for a game-tying home run.

Message Sent: Martínez is Mashin' 💣#RepBXpic.twitter.com/IYJqNTwL1S

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) April 25, 2026

“I was manifesting it. I was like, I’m hitting a home run right now. It’s going out,” Martínez said. “I was late on a couple of pitches and I was like, ‘OK, if I’m early I’m going to hit one out.

“We always believe and always have faith in our pitchers. They work really hard and are dedicated to their craft. If they have a bad inning, you know they’re going to come back. We trust our guys.”

Neither team scored in the ninth inning and the game headed to extra innings. Rochester scored a run in the top of the 10th and had runners at the corners with one out. But Harrison Cohen came on and struck out the next two Red Wings to keep it a 3-2 game.

With Oswaldo Cabrera at second base as the automatic runner in the bottom of the 10th, Ellis laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached safely when Rochester’s first baseman, Abimelec Orti,z was called for obstruction as Cabrera moved to third. Again, Ellis broke for second on a stolen-base attempt and when the pitch was wild, Cabrera scored the tying run and Ellis kept going and raced to third.

Martinez followed by lining a 2-2 pitch into right field to score Ellis with the game-winning run.

Message Received: Game Over! 😤#RepBXpic.twitter.com/3A2qF1ocyd

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) April 25, 2026

“Ernesto had two strikes early, took a deep breath and had an unbelievable at-bat,” Duncan said. “It was awesome seeing these guys stay in the game even though it looked very bleak in the beginning. You have to credit the pitching for keeping us close.”

Wins like these, Martínez said, show the character the RailRiders have and can give them some momentum to get on a roll.

“We’ve been a little bit up and down for the start of the season,” said Martínez. “We have expectations of being the best team in Triple-A, so for us it means a lot. Our spirit is not gone. We’re still going to try to win the first half.”

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Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab stint with the RailRiders in Friday’s game and played nine innings for the first time. Batting leadoff, he went 0-for-4 with a flyout, two strikeouts, and a groundout. Defensively, he handled three chances and had two assists.

“That was the best I’ve seen him at short,” Duncan said. “He looked really good.”

The plan is for Volpe to again play nine innings Saturday and then likely serve as DH in Sunday’s series finale. What comes after that? Well, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t anticipate a return in time for New York’s series against the Rangers, though he did make those remarks before Giancarlo Stanton left Friday night’s game in Houston early. Unless the DH’s calf strain forces an IL stint that accelerates the timeline, the most logical outcome would be Volpe remaining with Scranton since they have another home series coming up this week against Buffalo, beginning Tuesday. Stay tuned.

With a game 1 win in the books, the Braves maintain the top record and run differential in MLB so far this season. They will now have two chances to secure a series win over Philadelphia and the Phillies have now lost 10 straight. This is an important game for the Phillies, as their ace of the last handful of years is returning in the mound from an injury dating back to last season in Zack Wheeler.

Bryce Elder has had an encouraging start to the season and while he has cooled off a bit from what were two brilliant starts to kick off 2026, he has still been effective as a back of the rotation starter outside of the bad but not catastrophic Cleveland game. Bryce has crucially kept the walks down, but is also currently running a career high strikeout rate. He’s also been mixing his sinker and four-seamer more instead of being sinker-focused and has added a cutter to keep hitters less keyed in on his preferred fastball shape. This has been a version of Bryce Elder that can be a rotation regular as a 4th or 5th starter in MLB.

We all know how good Zack Wheeler has been for the Phillies in recent years, but coming back from injury firing on all cylinders is no guarantee, especially without a normal Spring Training. He also had a pretty rough final rehab start, giving up 4 runs and 2 homers over 4.0 innings, sitting lower 90s with his fastball. Wheeler seemed to acknowledge the lower 90s as the new reality for his fastball after the game, at least in the near term, discussing the need for him to be “craftier” for a while upon his return. This may not be the dominant version of Zack Wheeler we’ve come to expect and while it would be a shame for Wheeler’s career to be derailed by this injury, it would be fine with me if the Braves capitalized on him not being fully up to his best on the day today. Wheeler has been a fastball-focused pitcher with his upper 90s velocity, throwing the four-seam fastball 40% of the time, but did throw a sinker, cutter, sweeper, splitter, and curveball all meaningful percentages last season, so he should still have a deep arsenal even if the velocity has taken a hit.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, April 25, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLBTV

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan