Category: Baseball

Introduction

I struggle with failure. It’s one of many, many, many reasons I was never going to be a professional athlete – particularly a baseball player given the sport’s inherent propensity for failure. No matter how many times someone told me, “Even the best ballplayers fail seven out of ten times” I was always too scared of failing to be successful. But professional baseball players, especially playing at the highest levels, are so accustomed to failure that cold stretches mean very little to them. Which is why I’m sure Geraldo Perdomo isn’t sweating (if he even could through this current cold snap) a pretty rough start to this season. Through the first two weeks of the season, Perdomo is the owner of a pitiful .179/.277/.308 slash line – a far cry from the .293/.347/.415 slash line he had at this point last year. Perdomo has still found ways to contribute, especially on the field, but his offensive contributions are a key to the team’s success this season. I don’t want to overstate anything. I’m not even at the “concerned” stage yet and we’re not yet even 10% of the way through the season. But I am slightly puzzled and if you’ll forgive a baseball writer looking for subjects to write about, I’d like to dig in to see if there are any patterns leading to his scuffling start.

Bat Speed

Unsurprisingly, there is a direct, linear relationship between bat speed (how fast the bat is moving through the strike zone) and exit velocity (the speed of the ball when it leaves the bat). In turn, there’s a strong relationship between exit velocity and the expected outcome of a particular batted ball not being converted into an out. Perdomo’s lack of power was one of the consistent criticisms levelled against him by evaluators and was likely at least partially based on his relatively poor bat speed. To this point in his career, Perdomo has only topped out at an average of 68 miles per hour last year, which clocked in at the seventh percentile in the league that season. So far this year, it’s gone down a few ticks to 65 MPH, which likely in turn has led to decreases in his expected batting average and slugging from .278 and .424 last season to .237 and .342 respectively. There are a myriad of explanations for the dip from cool weather to mechanical issues, but he’ll need to regain that speed if he wants to return to the form he had last year.

Overly Aggressive

I’ve always loved watching Perdomo’s at bats even before his breakout last year. He has an excellent approach at the plate and has earned a reputation for being a pesky at bat – on display during tonight’s game in New York when he worked two walks after falling behind in the count. That approach hasn’t dramatically changed so far this year as his swing percentage hasn’t changed year over year, he’s in the 94th percentile for chase percentage and 99th percentile for whiff rate. Cumulatively, that all screams to me an excellent approach to his plate appearances. What has changed is his swing decision on first pitches, spiking from ~15% last year to ~21% this season. That kind of percentage limits the number of pitches he’ll get to see when he’s at the plate and indeed he’s only seeing around four pitches per plate appearance, which is close to league average so far. When he does swing at those first pitches, he’s struggled to turn them into hits with substantially different results from last year in the same situations.

Missing Meatballs

Related to his (slightly) more aggressive approach at the plate, Perdomo has looked a little weaker against meatballs – so-called because of the relative ease for hitting them. He hasn’t seen as many of them so far, falling from 9% to 7.4% in the early going of the season and failing to swing at them when he does see them, dropping from 70% to 64% in his meatball swing percentage year-over-year. Some of that might be due to the relative quality of pitching the team has seen so far as only the Tigers have a below-average pitching staff by ERA so far this year. Those numbers might stabilize as the team faces off against weaker opponents in the league, but it could also indicate a changed approach by the league. It’s possible pitchers are pitching more carefully to him as a result of his performance last season than they might have previously.

Again, I’m neither worried nor even concerned at this point. It’s far too early to try and extrapolate or make any kinds of conclusions about where Perdomo is. There are plenty of superstars who have seriously struggled out of the gate – including Perdomo’s opposite number this series in Francisco Lindor who owns a .157/.306/.255 slash line and has yet to drive in a run on the young season. But the sooner both his and Ketel Marte’s bats wake up, the better I’ll sleep at night.

Nolan McLean let out a roar as he bounded off the mound after freezing Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman Ildemaro Vargas on a knee-high sinker on the inside corner to close the top of the sixth inning on Thursday night at Citi Field.

The Mets' young right-hander’s emotional explosion came after his seventh strikeout of the night, stranding a leadoff base runner as he protected a 1-0 lead and looked to outduel Eduardo Rodriguez, his foe from the WBC final 23 days prior.

Entering the seventh with the score unchanged, McLean said he “felt good” coming in at 85 pitches and facing the heart of the D-backs' order, having allowed just two hits and two walks to that point.

“Felt like I had a lot left in the tank,” he said after the game. 

But after a leadoff walk and a strikeout, McLean's final pitch of the night, the 100th he threw, was muscled into center off the end of Jose Fernandez's bat. The next four batters all managed to knock in a run off reliever Luke Weaver, and McLean's dominant start felt like a memory in what would become a 7-1 defeat.

“It’s part of baseball at the end of the day,” McLean said of being the hard-luck pitcher of record. “I’m sure I’ll leave guys out there, and our bullpen’s gonna strand them for me plenty of times this year – and it’s already been done, actually, this year a couple times. It’s part of the game, it’s a long season, I know those guys got my back out there.”

McLean’s final line of his third start of the year: 6.1 innings, two runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts on 100 pitches (64 strikes). But the numbers are deceptive, as he was better.

“He was really good today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He had everything working, especially the sinker. [Which] has been a pitch that’s been kinda off the first couple of outings, but today the movement, the way he was just commanding that pitch.”

McLean leaned heavily on that sinker, including throwing 10 in a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 first inning. He threw 44 of them on the night and got 15 called strikes with it, including four times for strike three.

“That’s been a pitch that hasn’t felt great for me so far this year. But it felt really good today,” McLean said, adding that the difference with the sinker on this night was “just getting more reps with it.”

“It’s a little bit different feel throwing it in cold weather versus back in Florida,” he said. “So it’s just finding the grip that works, and also some mechanical stuff getting cleaned up.”

Mendoza said there was no consideration to leave McLean in beyond the 100-pitch mark, and was “banking on how good that sinker was there” for the 24-year-old to get one more groundball to end his night on a high note.

And, unlike his previous start in which he said he had only one pitch working, the sinker was buttressed with a good sweeper and curveball, complementing his four-seam fastball nicely.

“Curveball’s been feeling good, definitely felt good tonight,” McLean added. “Landing it for strikes more than just a chase pitch for me, so I was excited to see that.”

“He had pretty much everything else working,” Mendoza said. “He was pretty solid.”

Overall, the righty got 26 called strikes, including getting four on 16 sweepers, four on 14 fastballs, and two on seven cutters. He got just six whiffs on 36 swings, with the sweeper (2-for-4) and curve (2-for-6) working best.

McLean didn’t think the high number of called strikes said much about his stuff, but more about Arizona batters’ plan going into the game.

“I haven’t shown a great ability to throw strikes in the first couple of games,” he said. “So I think part of their plan was to force me to get into the zone. And luckily, I was able to do that early.”

Through three starts of the season covering 16.2 innings, McLean has allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, six walks, and one hit batter with 20 strikeouts.

But all of this is just a silver lining.

“It happens,” Mendoza said. “Gotta move on. Had some opportunities to score, we didn’t cash in. But you take the positive, and that was Nolan today.”

The Yankees will welcome Luis Gil back to the rotation Friday.

But which version? The 2024 Rookie of the Year who so often could not be touched? Or the 2025 starter who spent much of the season on the injured list and then returned without the same velocity and stuff?

Gil will begin to answer that question when he takes the mound in St. Petersburg to open a series in which the Yankees will need a fifth starter for the first time this year.

The 27-year-old did not look his best through much of spring training, which meant he slotted in behind Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers and began his campaign with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

But his velocity ticked up in a dominant start against the Orioles to end his time in the Grapefruit League. On Sunday, he made his lone start with SWB during a chilly afternoon in Rochester, where his velocity was down but the environment may have played a role.

Gil allowed three runs on four hits and four walks, including walking the first two batters he faced, while striking out six in 4 ²/₃ innings.

“You could tell it was a really cold, windy day in Rochester,” said manager Aaron Boone, who watched Gil pitch on a monitor during a rain delay in The Bronx. “That first inning, he gave up a couple runs. I think he struck out the side in the first inning.

“… Managed contact pretty well. A little struggle in that first inning with his command, but overall threw the ball alright.”

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The stuff during a frigid matinee at a minor league park was less interesting than the pitch mix. Of Gil’s 85 pitches, 30 were sinkers — a pitch he did not have in his arsenal in his first two major league seasons.

“Hopefully it’s just something that’s a little bit of a different look to help the four-seam play up a little bit and also help out with his secondary,” Boone said of Gil, who previously threw just a four-seamer, slider and changeup.

The Yankees are three games in to a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, which suggests that they likely will roll with the five-man rotation for a short while and enable Gil to make two starts.

Whether he sticks in the majors beyond that will hinge upon injury and upon which Gil takes the mound this year.

In a lineup filled with righties against southpaw Jeffrey Springs, Paul Goldschmidt sat and Ben Rice started at first base in what became a 1-0 loss in The Bronx on Thursday.

Goldschmidt is fine, Boone said, and likely will play Friday against another lefty in Steven Matz, but the Yankees want to expose Rice — who went 1-for-4 and collected the lone Yankees hit — to lefties.

Yankees starting pitchers have allowed 16 runs, which is the fewest through 12 games in franchise history.

Carlos Rodón threw around 40 pitches while approximating two innings in a bullpen session Wednesday, Boone said. The next step — whether more side work or a rehab assignment — is unclear.

Gerrit Cole is set to throw a simulated game Sunday morning in Hudson Valley.

The Yankees designated reliever Cade Winquest for assignment before he pitched a game, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.

Winquest, a Rule 5 pick this winter, will go to waivers, where he will be available to any team. If he is not claimed, he will be removed from the Yankees’ 40-man roster and offered back to the Cardinals, his original team. If it gets to that point and St. Louis declines to bring him back, the Yankees could then send Winquest back to the minor leagues.

On a cold blustery evening, the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to take the series against the Mets today after the bats broke out late against the Mets bullpen. The victory today is a key win for this team in the early going as the W/L record against a team like the Mets could prove to be very important down the line.

The beginning of the game was a solid pitchers duel for as it was a rematch of the World Baseball Classic championship game of Eduardo Rodriguez vs Nolan Mclean. Despite a first inning home run given up by Erod, the 2 pitchers went toe to toe inning for inning. Eduardo Rodgriguez managed to go 6 Innings of just the 1 run allowed while being the first Dbacks pitcher of the season to reach the 100 pitch mark. Although still early, he has really seemed to turn a corner in his career adapting his pitch arsenal. A historically fastball heavy pitcher, Erod continued the recent trend of throwing his changeup 32% of the time tonight while cutting his fastball usage almost in half. The early season results have been astonishing as he has pitched to a microscopic 0.50 ERA. Has to be one of the highlights of the early season so far.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Dbacks failed to score going into the 7^th inning and I think every fan was thinking, “Oh great here we go again! Another wasted Erod masterpiece” Things turned around in the 7^th however as Geraldo Perdomo led off the inning with a walk, Jose Fernandez notched his 2^nd hit of the night moving Perdomo into scoring position, and Gabi Moreno pinch hit for James McCann and  promptly rips a double over the head of the right fielder Brett Baty tieing the game. Alek Thomas was up next and knocked in the go ahead run Jose Fernandez on a fielder’s choice and a masterful slide by the young Fernandez. His elite sprint speed was definitely a factor on that play and caused a rushed throw by the first basemen. It is really nice having that athleticism on the field! From there, the Dbacks would open this game up on a sac fly by Tim Tawa and a triple by Jorge Barrosa bringing the score to 4-1 and some much needed breathing room.

The bullpen was nails tonight as Taylor Clarke did a tremendous job of holding the score there in a quick and efficient bottom of the 7^th inning. A very underrated thing for a reliver to do by maintaining all that momentum and getting the team back in the dugout quickly. Taylor Rashi came in after Clarke and had perhaps the most dominant relief outing we have seen from a Dbacks pitcher in the early going as he pitched 2 flat out filthy innings striking out 3 Mets batters. Like he was in complete control tonight and he was even smiling on the mound as he was toying with the Mets batters with his high arm slot 4 seamer, splitter, and slider combination. He even threw a slurve tonight. Is Taylor Rashi a leverage reliever all of a sudden? Would be a huge break for this team if so.

Gabi Moreno was able to notch 2 doubles in a game that he didn’t even start in and the Dbacks were able to have a nice little 7 run outburst tonight on the offense bringing the final score to 7-1. The offense though it was late to show up tonight was a welcome sight for the Dbacks and their fans given some of the early season struggles they have had in that department. All in all, the Dbacks won tonight with excellent starting pitching, and athleticism on the offensive side. A welcome sight in my opinion and certainly playing the likes of Jose Fernandez, Ildemaro Vargas, and Jose Barrosa were paramount. Hopefully we see more of this brand of Dbacks baseball. This is the type of offense that is sustainable especially considering the Dbacks once again scored all 7 runs without the benefit of the longball. Refreshing!

The Dbacks will get on the bus tonight a game over .500 and head to Philadelphia to begin the weekend series against the Phillies. Lets see if the young guns get rewarded with more playing time, and this team can keep the momentum going into Philly!

To make room for Luis Gil on the roster, the Yankees are reportedly designating right-hander Cade Winquest for assignment.

NY Post's Jon Heyman reported that the Rule 5 draft pick will be off the Yankees' roster when the transaction becomes official on Friday.

Back in Dec. 2025, the Yankees selected the 25-year-old in the Rule 5 Draft. Winquest earned the distinction of being the first player selected by the Yankees in this particular draft since 2011. 

As a Rule 5 pick, Winquest had to make and stay on the Yankees' roster for the entirety of the 2026 season, or he would be offered back to the Cardinals. The right-hander made the team out of camp after seven spring games. In that span, Winquest allowed eight runs on 13 hits, four walks and eight strikeouts across 10 innings pitched. 

Although Winquest was with the team, he did not make an appearance in the team's first 12 games. 

Winquest was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Draft and did not make the big league club. In 58 minor league games (38 starts) in the Cardinals system, Winquest pitched to a 4.19 ERA with 219 strikeouts in 212.2 innings.

Winquest finished the 2025 season at the Double-A level, appearing in eight games for Springfield with a 3.19 ERA in 42.1 innings. 

Gil is set to make the start for the Yankees in Friday's series opener against the Rays and the Winquest move will be made official sometime before first pitch.

Pitching ruled the night, and the bats did just enough to drag the White Sox across the finish line, 2-0. Raise a glass: the South Siders finally snap that 14-game Kansas City curse.

This evening’s contest was influenced a little by the ABS, with a few calls overturned on both sides. It added a bit of rhythm disruption to an otherwise crisp, low-scoring, slow-moving game. A key moment was Edgar Quero winning a challenge strike three call in the bottom of the first after a very lengthy at-bat from Vinnie Pasquantino.

Chicago finally broke the stalemate in the fourth after a quiet start by both sides. Munetaka Murakami coaxed one of two walks on the night and then hustled home on a 106.6 mph rocket RBI double from Colson Montgomery, putting the Sox ahead 1-0.

The Good Guys tacked on another tally in the seventh, capitalizing on a little chaos. Who doesn’t love a little on-field turmoil? Two free passes, a throwing error by Vinnie Pasquantino, and a sacrifice fly from Luisangel Acuña made it 2-0. It felt delightful to take advantage of the other team’s mistakes for once.

On the mound, the South Side staff was good enough, but did have to work around quite a bit of traffic. Veteran Anthony Kay set the tone with a strong start, getting key swings and misses for 5 2/3 scoreless frames. The bullpen didn’t light itself on fire and kept the Royals off the board. Grant Taylor tossed 1 1/3, and Jordan Leasure managed a drama-free inning with just one walk in the eighth. Seranthony Domínguez came out and slammed the door in the ninth.

KC had more than a few chances with baserunners everywhere. Bobby Witt Jr. provided most of the spark and did his best to play spoiler with a double, steal, and single, but thankfully for the White Sox, the Royals just weren’t able to cash it in. With the victory, Chicago snaps their three-game losing streak and improves their record to 5-8. The club will be back at it tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. CST with Davis Martin on the bump.

You can’t win if you don’t score.

For the second time this season, the Royals failed to score a run in a game. A 2-0 loss to the White Sox drops Kansas City to 5-8.

It’s the Royals’ third straight loss, and in that time, the offense has averaged a single run per game.

Tonight, the Royals faced lefty Anthony Kay, who came it having not yet reached five innings in an outing sporting a FIP near seven while not winning a Major League game since 2021.

He looked dominant tonight. Against left-handed batters, he retired all seven he faced with six strikeouts. He pitched 5-and-2/3 innings, allowing only three hits and two walks. His offense didn’t give him much against Seth Lugo, but tonight, Kay didn’t need much help.

Lugo continued his strong season with 6-and-1/3 innings while allowing two runs (only one earned) while striking out four. He allowed four hits and walked four.

He also benefited from some stellar defense from Maikel Garcia:

And from Bobby:

The White Sox scored their first run in the top of the fourth when Colson Montgomery doubled home Munetaka Murakami. Lane Thomas took a very curious route to the ball, not only failing to catch it but also allowing it to get by him and reach the wall.

The scored remained 1-0 until the seventh when Luisangel Acuna hit a sacrifice fly to right off John Schreiber, allowing Andrew Benintendi to come home.

Royals batters only managed five hits for the night, the best of them a 113-MPH line drive off the left field wall by Bobby Witt Jr. for a double. Another foot or so higher and it would’ve been a home run. Aside from that, the Royals managed four other hits—another by Bob, two by Garcia, and one by Thomas. They also managed four walks, including one to start the ninth.

In the end, the Royals stranded 11 baserunners while going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Mother Nature pending, they’ll get another crack at the White Sox tomorrow night as they look to snap their three-game skid and even up the series.

For six-plus innings Thursday night, Nolan McLean dazzled at Citi Field. He allowed just a pair of hits and his stuff was especially filthy, as Arizona hitters were largely overmatched.

But lefty Eduardo Rodríguez was nearly as good for the Diamondbacks, and when McLean faltered in the seventh inning, Luke Weaver came in and got knocked around, as the Mets lost their second straight, 7-1.

McLean’s performance was about the only thing that went right for the Mets on another chilly night in Queens.

The right-hander faced just two batters over the minimum heading into the seventh before a leadoff walk to Geraldo Perdomo to start the inning. After a strikeout of Adrian Del Castillo, McLean’s eighth of the night, he gave up a single to Jose Fernandez and was yanked after a career-high 100 pitches.

And that’s when the game was lost, with the bullpen and defense falling apart late.

Weaver entered having allowed just three base runners in five innings over five appearances, but he gave up a game-tying double to right to pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno that Brett Baty couldn’t catch up to. Baty, still new to right field, pulled up short of the fence in right and the ball hit off the fence.

“I felt I got a good read on it and tried to get back there [quickly] to find the wall,’’ said Baty, who added it was the first time he’s had a play like that. “I’m still working hard to get some experience with wall balls. … I think they’re extremely hard, but I’m gonna do everything I can to catch those. I’ll run through the wall if I have to.”

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. But in this one, the inability to come up with a catch led to a loss, as Alek Thomas then grounded to first with the infield in and Mark Vientos made a poor throw home, which allowed Fernandez to score to give Arizona the lead.

A Tim Tawa sacrifice fly added another run, and Jorge Barrosa continued the rally with a triple to right to make it 4-1.

Weaver left to a chorus of boos following the four-run outburst.

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Luis García was even worse, as the right-hander gave up three runs in the eighth, with the Diamondbacks putting the game away.

The lineup didn’t give the pitchers any margin for error, mostly silent outside of one swing from Luis Robert Jr. in the bottom of the first. His two-out solo homer was the first earned run scored off Rodríguez this year — and the last the Mets would score on the night.

They threatened with two outs in the third when Bo Bichette singled and Robert walked. Vientos followed with a liner up the middle, but second baseman Ketel Marte was shaded that way and made the catch.

Another potential rally arose in the fifth. Tyrone Taylor opened with a double to left and moved to third on Francisco Lindor’s grounder to shortstop. After Bichette walked, Rodríguez got Robert looking and Vientos grounded out to third to keep it a one-run game.

Still, the Mets held the lead to open the seventh and had their high-leverage relievers ready to go. But Weaver and García combined to give up five runs while getting just three outs.

Weaver said his tough outing was more painful considering how well McLean pitched.

“It adds a little more sting,’’ Weaver said. “He deserved the win there.”

If Wednesday’s offensive disappointment was pinned on Ryan McMahon, who heard boos on a rough day during a rough start, Austin Wells might have been the face of Thursday’s frustration.

What amounted to the Yankees’ best rally of the game — putting two runners on base in the seventh inning, Giancarlo Stanton drawing a walk and Ben Rice connecting for the club’s first hit of the afternoon — ended with Wells flying out on an afternoon the Yankees fell 1-0 to the A’s in The Bronx.

The entire bottom of the order is an early problem for the Yankees, but the struggles of Wells stand out in part because he is not experimenting with a radically different stance (like McMahon) or serving as a fill-in until a reinforcement arrives (like José Caballero) or owning a stellar track record that suggests he will come around (like Jazz Chisholm Jr.).

Wells arrived in the majors a couple of years ago with a reputation as a strong hitter who needed to work on his catching defense. He has emerged as an excellent framer and game-caller, but his bat has only flashed the kind of hitter he can become.

Those flashes have not appeared in the early going this season. Since tallying two hits on Opening Day, Wells has gone 3-for-27 with two singles, a double, four walks and 11 strikeouts.

In a reminder that the season is still in its infancy, Wells shrugged off the slump and was happy with the process that he feels will yield results.

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“I feel pretty good [at the plate],” said Wells, who swung through a fastball for a strikeout in the third, grounded out in the fifth and made decent contact with his seventh-inning flyout. “Swinging at the right pitches. I’m just not getting much results. So, keep going.”

His manager, too, thought Wells’ swings were improving even if they were ending similarly.

“A little better, actually. He’s been one of those guys struggling a little bit,” Aaron Boone said after the Yankees were shut out for the first time this season. “The last AB there, where we had a couple runners on, I thought he put together a pretty good at-bat and got some good swings off.”

The Yankees are only about 7 percent of the way into their season, and early April numbers often are forgotten. Plus, the Yankees are generally winning and Wells’ mind and defense are significant factors in the club’s rotation excellence thus far.

But the Yankees also consistently praise what J.C. Escarra can become and insist that Rice could be a major league catcher. So if Wells does not hit, there are other options.

“I feel like there’s been some games where he’s had some quality at-bats,” Boone said, “but obviously we got to get it more consistent, start getting some results. Obviously, he’s a guy that drives the ball as well.”

Iowa Cubs

Rained out. Doubleheader starting at 5:08 tomorrow.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies knocked the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels) out of orbit, 8-7.

The Trash Pandas jumped all over Smokies starter Luis Martinez-Gomez with two runs in the first, one in the second and two more in the third. The final line on Martinez-Gomez was five runs on five hits over four innings. He walked two, struck out one and gave up a two-run home run in the third inning.

Vince Reilly pitched the eighth and ninth innings and got the win. He did not allow a hit or a run, although he did walk one. He faced the minimum thanks to a fantastic diving catch and double play by third baseman Karson Simas. Reilly struck out two.

The Smokies trailed this game 7-0 after five and a half innings, but they scored three in the bottom of the sixth and five in the bottom of the eighth to stage an improbably comeback.

First baseman Devin Ortiz hit a three-run double in the sixth. He also chipped in an RBI single in the eighth. His final line was 2 for 4 with the double and four RBI. He scored once.

Shortstop Jefferson Rojas hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Smokies the lead. It was Rojas’ third home run this year. He was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Left fielder Jordan Nwogu went 2 for 4 with a triple.

Here’s the Rojas home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were demoted by the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 5-3.

Kevin Valdez made his season debut tonight by pitching 3.2 scoreless innings to start the game. Valdez allowed three hits. He struck out five and walked two.

Ethan Flanagan’s season debut could have gone better. After Grayson Moore gave up two runs in relief and South Bend tied it back up, Flanagan gave up three runs on five hits over 2.1 innings. Two of the five hits were home runs. Flanagan walked two and struck out three.

Catcher Owen Ayers hit his first South Bend home run with the bases empty in the fourth. He also singled and scored in the eighth. Ayers went 2 for 3 with a walk and the two runs scored.

Second baseman Drew Bowser tied it up 2-2 with a solo home run in the seventh. Bowser went 1 for 4.

Third baseman Reginald Preciado went 3 for 4. He singled home Ayers in the eighth.

Here’s Ayers’ home run.

And here’s Bowser’s blast.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were hypnotized by the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 1-0.

There were only three hits in this game, two by Columbia and only one by the Pelicans, and the one run scored without the benefit of a hit.

Starter Dominick Reid dominated the Fireflies for five scoreless innings. Reid gave up just one hit. He struck out five and walked no one.

Here are some highlights for Reid.

Rowell Arroyo came on to pitch the sixth inning and allowed a runner to go to third with one out after fielding a dribbler in front of the mound and throwing the ball down the right line. The runner would score the only run of the game on a fielder’s choice. The final line on Arroyo was one unearned run on one hit over two innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Second baseman Jose Escobar singled to lead off the sixth inning. That was the only Pelicans hit of the game. Escobar was 1 for 3.

Josiah Hartshorn had the night off, so that didn’t help the offense.

It seemed like a solo home run might be enough. With Nolan McLean already having put up six zeroes, the Mets had a 1-0 lead as the seventh inning began thanks to a solo home run by Luis Robert Jr. in the bottom of the first.

McLean was dealing at the time, but he appeared to tire a bit in the top of the seventh. He issued a leadoff walk, got his eighth and final strikeout of the night, and gave up a single to put runners on first and second. Carlos Mendoza turned to Luke Weaver, who immediately gave up a game-tying double to right field. If the Mets had an experienced right fielder at the position, there’s a chance the ball would’ve been caught. But Baty didn’t come close.

With runners on second and third, Alek Thomas hit a sharp ground ball to first base with the infield in. Mark Vientos fielded it nicely, but he absolutely butchered his throw home as the go-ahead run scored. If not for a great pick by Luis Torrens on the throw, another run might have scored on the play.

But a sac fly plated the Diamondbacks’ third run of the inning, and a Jorge Barrosa triple scored Arizona’s fourth run of the frame. Two of those runs were charged to McLean, while Weaver got full credit for the other two.

The Mets’ bats remained silent from there, but Mets reliever Luis Garía dampened spirits further by serving up three runs in the top of the eighth. Richard Lovelady threw a scoreless ninth and wound up being the only Mets pitcher who appeared in the game but wasn’t charged with a run.

With that, the Mets are 7-6 to start the season, and they’re set to host the don’t-call-us-Sacramento A’s for a three-game series this weekend.

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Win Probability Added

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +28% WPA
Big Mets loser: Luke Weaver, -51% WPA
Mets pitchers: -28% WPA
Mets hitters:-22% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Robert Jr. hits a solo home run in the first, +11% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Gabriel Moreno hits a game-tying double in the seventh, -28% WPA

Nolan McLeandelivered a brilliant start, but after exiting with two runners on base in the seventh, the bullpen couldn't hold a one-run lead as the Mets fell 7-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Citi Field.

The young right-hander was tremendous through six scoreless frames protecting a 1-0 lead, but was charged with two runs as part of a four-run seventh inning as Luke Weaver had his first bad outing of the season and spoiled what had been a dominant showing. McLean's final line: 6.1 innings, two runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts on 100 pitches (64 strikes).

McLean lost the rematch of the WBC final in what had been a real pitchers' duel as the D-backs’ Eduardo Rodriguez took the win, allowing one run over 6.0 innings on five hits and two walks, thanks to three strikeouts and holding the Mets to 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. And on a cold night, the Mets’ bats were colder, with just one hit (a single) over the final four innings.

New York fell to 7-6 on the year as Arizona improved to that same mark by taking the last two games of the series in Queens.

Here are the takeaways... 

- The final numbers really don't tell just how good McLean was to start the game. He got three-straight groundballs to the right side of the infield in a 12-pitch first that saw him throw 10 sinkers to good effect against the left-handed bats at the top of Arizona’s lineup. Jose Fernandez, the first righty McLean faced, got jammed on a 3-1 sinker that was off the inside corner but muscled it for a one-out double in the second. McLean stranded him, getting ex-Met James McCann fishing on a curveball and Alek Thomas to bounce out.

McLean made it five straight retired, adding a strikeout looking as he froze Jorge Barrosa on a sinker that saw the visitors lose an ABS challenge. A leadoff walk in the fourth ended that run, but was erased on a 1-6-3 double-play before McLean froze lefty Adrian Del Castillo with a sinker that moved over a foot right onto the inside corner. 

The 24-year-old added two more strikeouts in the fifth on six-straight pitches, first bambooziling McCann on a sweeper away and freezing Thomas on a sinker on the inside corner. A bloop single off the end of the bat opened the sixth and McLean dug deep as he battled and won. A flyout to center, a strikeout looking as the curveball at the knees wiped out Arizona’s last challenge, and then another nasty sinker in and at the knees got a roar from the right-hander as he bounded off the mound with his seventh strikeout on his 85th pitch of the game.

McLean’s night came to an end in the seventh as he walked the leadoff man and gave up a one-out single up the middle, a liner off the end of Fernandez’s bat. And that proved costly.

Through three starts of the season, McLean has allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, six walks, and one hit batter with 20 strikeouts (16.2 innings).

- Weaver fell behind pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno, before a low-and-away changeup was driven off the wall in right field over Brett Baty's head for an RBI double. The ball was hit hard and carried on Baty might have been caught by a more experienced outfielder. The baserunners seemed surprised it got over Baty's head as both were ready to tag up on the play.

Arizona had the lead when Mark Vientos spiked his throw home after fielding a sharp grounder to first. After a sac fly, Barrosa turned on an inside fastball and yanked it into the right-field corner for an RBI triple to make it a four-run seventh.

- Luis Robert Jr. gave the Mets an early 1-0 lead, turning a 2-0 cutter on the inside corner for a towering 412-foot bomb to right field. Robert came into the game with six hits in his last 14 at-bats (all singles) before just smoking the Rodriguez offering 109.8 mph off the bat. 

After walking his second time up, his 11th free pass of the year, Robert got caught looking at a sinker at the knees with runners on the corners and one out in the fifth, losing the Mets’ first ABS challenge in the process. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Francisco Lindor entered the night in a funk, 7-for-47 with three extra-base hits, zero RBI, and a 77 wRC+ through 12 games. He went hitless in three at-bats against Rodriguez before muscling a ball off his hands into right for a two-out single off reliever Taylor Clarke.

- Bo Bichette, entered the game 5-for-13 against Rodriguez with a .923 OPS, lofted a two-out single into center with two down in the third. He added a walk and finished 1-for-3.

- Marcus Semien, after striking out his first time up, lined a leadoff single into left to start the home half of the fourth, but was left out there. He finished 1-for-4.

- Baty, the lone lefty in the Mets’ lineup, hustled out an infield hit to first with two down in the second and then stole second base, but was left stranded. He was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.

- Vientos, who made a nice play at first to end the first, looked to have a two-out hit with two men on in the third, but second baseman Ketel Marte was perfectly placed to snag the liner. He stranded runners at the corners to end the fifth, with a groundout to third. He went hitless in four at-bats with a strikeout.

- Tyrone Taylor, after getting the benefit of the doubt on a close 2-2 pitch, ripped a double that one-hopped the wall in left to start the fifth. He went 1-for-2 before being lifted for pinch-hitter Jared Young in the seventh. (Young grounded out.)

- Francisco Alvarez, who was DHing, caught looking at a good Rodriguez changeup that just caught the corner low and away and flied out to the edge of the track in right on a well-struck ball in the fourth. He went 0-for-4.

- Luis Torrens went 0-for-4, including a hard-hit liner right at the left fielder.

- Luis Garcia got touched up in the eighth with a double into the right field corner and an RBI double that one-hopped the wall in left, sandwiched around a walk. After a run-scoring groundout, Moreno hammed a Garcia sweeper into the gap in left-center for his second RBI double in as many at-bats.

Richard Lovelady closed things out by getting all five batters he faced. 

Highlights

Luis Robert Jr. with his second homer of the year to get the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/xz2FVZydGz

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 9, 2026

Call confirmed!

Nolan McLean gets his second K of the night as Jorge Barrosa's ABS challenge fails pic.twitter.com/mjomPm93WE

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 9, 2026

A FILTHY sweeper from Nolan McLean to strike out James McCann

45" vertical break
22" horizontal break pic.twitter.com/rKf50UAEdJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2026

Nolan McLean DOTTED this sinker to strike out Alek Thomas looking to end the 5th pic.twitter.com/A2QEm9ASwR

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 10, 2026

Nolan McLean with his 7th strikeout of the night to finish off the 6th and he's FIRED UP 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/p4xSvsGHAP

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2026

What's next

The Mets open a three-game set againstJeff McNeil and the Athletics. 

Clay Holmes (1.42 ERA over 12.2 innings) gets the ball against right-hander J.T. Ginn (5.14 ERA in 7.0 innings) for Friday's 7:10 p.m. first pitch.

Red Sox rookie Tyler Samaniego had one thing on his mind during his stellar MLB debut.

Samaniego, who struck out the side in the eighth inning of Boston’s 5-0 win over the Brewers on Wednesday at Fenway Park, said he was thinking about his late father during his first big-league outing.

“I was thinking about my dad,” Samaniego told MLB.com after the game. “I lost him [at 65 years old] at the end of the ‘22 season, and he’s the one that introduced me to this game.”

While on the mound, Samaniego was seen sporting a glove with “Rip, Pops” stitched on its side.

“I know he was out there with me,” Samaniego said. “It was just awesome.”

The southpaw joined some rare Red Sox history in his debut, becoming the first pitcher since Don Aase in 1977 to record strikeouts for his first three career outs, ESPN reported.

“I probably can’t say it on the microphone, but he would be fired up,” Samaniego said on how his father might’ve reacted to his outing. “He would have been ready. He would have come out here behind the dugout and would have had a beer.”

Samaniego, 27, was called up from Triple-A Worcester just four hours before the Red Sox’s first pitch, and his family was unable to fly into Boston in time for his debut.

“It started off as a whirlwind,” he said. “I found out about like 9:30 this morning because we had the noon game in Worcester, so packed the locker up and headed straight here. It happened fast, but it’s been awesome.”

Before being called up on Wednesday, Samaniego held a 3.38 ERA for Worcester through 5⅓ innings of work.

Samaniego, who was originally drafted by the Pirates in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, was dealt to the Red Sox this past offseason in a trade involving right-hander Johan Oviedo being shipped off to Boston in exchange for top outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia and pitcher Jesus Travieso.

The Colorado Rockies left Coors Field on Wednesday night on top of the world. At 6-6, the Rockies are at .500 at the latest point in the season since 2022, they’re riding a league-high four-game active win streak, and their offense came alive against the Houston Astros.

Now comes the test: can the offense stay alive as they travel down to the Marine Layer to take on the San Diego Padres? The Padres, also at 6-6, are tied for second place in the National League West with the Rockies.

The Rockies will be going with an opener tonight, and the man for the job is one Jimmy Herget. The “Human Glitch” has been excellent to start the season. In five appearances over six innings of work, he’s allowed just one earned run on four hits, struck out six batters, and has yet to issue a single walk.

Herget is expected to give way to right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander for bulk innings. Dollander has now pitched in a bulk role twice this season. His last time out against the Philadelphia Phillies he worked 4.1 innings and gave up just one earned run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

On the mound for the swingin’ Friars is the right-handed Randy Vásquez. Vásquez is off to a good start this season with just one earned run given up over twelve innings in his first two starts with 11 strikeouts. Against the Rockies, Vásquez has had mixed results against the Rockies. He holds a 4.30 ERA over six starts and has given up five home runs over 29.1 innings of work.

Vásquez has a hefty seven-pitch arsenal to work with. His primary pitch is a low-to-mid 90s four-seam fastball and he supplements it with a bevvy of breaking pitches. His go-to secondary for the young season is a cutter, and he also throws a sinker, a changeup, a curveball, a sweeper, and a slider.

First Pitch: 7:40pm MDT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups:

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Colorado Rockies (6-6) at San Diego Padres (6-6), April 9, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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