Category: Baseball

The Milwaukee Brewers, coming off their third consecutive series win to begin the season and now sitting at 7-2 on the year, are headed to Boston to take on the Red Sox this week. The Brewers and Red Sox are probably most tied together at this point thanks to a pair of trades in the last two seasons, as Milwaukee picked up Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton from Boston in exchange for Yophery Rodriguez, a pair of draft picks, a player to be named later (John Holobetz), Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. So far, it looks like Milwaukee has come out on top, as Priester and Harrison have both been solid for Milwaukee while the only major league pieces on the other side — Durbin and Monasterio — have struggled to begin the season.

Speaking of struggling, the Red Sox sit at the bottom of the AL East with a dismal 2-7 record through three series, as they lost two of three to the Reds, were swept by the Astros, and just lost two of three to the Padres this weekend.

Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are the key injuries for Milwaukee, with Vaughn expected to be out until mid-May and Chourio out until late April. The latest injury is Sal Frelick, who exited the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with left side tightness — something to monitor in the coming days, though he’s expected to be fine. Quinn Priester is targeting a May return as he deals with thoracic outlet syndrome, while Craig Yoho could be ready in April but may start the year with Triple-A Nashville. Rob Zastryzny suffered a setback in his rehab, and his return is now TBD. Outfielder Akil Baddoo is also out until midseason with a quad strain.

Boston’s injury list includes new acquisition Johan Oviedo, who is out with an elbow strain. Fellow pitchers Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck are also out, with Sandoval and Crawford expected to return in the coming weeks but Houck expected to miss most, if not all, of 2026. First baseman Triston Casas and utilitymen Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler are also shelved.

Milwaukee’s offense has done the little things well thus far, as the only multi-homer hitters are Gary Sánchez (three) and Jake Bauers (two). Garrett Mitchell has gotten off to a solid (see: healthy) start, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich are all hitting well, and even some of the utility guys like Blake Lockridge, David Hamilton, and Luis Rengifo have held their own. Frelick, who as mentioned above is dealing with some side tightness, has gotten off to a slow start, but he still boasts a .344 OBP, and Joey Ortiz has also looked at least slightly better from his very rough 2025. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .267/.369/.446 (.815 OPS ranks third), with 10 homers (tied for eighth), 60 runs scored (second), and 20 steals (first).

Wilyer Abreu is a key bright spot in Boston’s disappointing offense to this point, as he has 15 hits, including three homers, four doubles, and a triple, slashing .429/.444/.857. Roman Anthony has gotten off to a slow-ish start, as he’s hitting .235/.316/.382 with a homer. Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez, and Connor Wong are the only other hitters hitting over .250 (and all three have seven or fewer hits). Speedy Jarren Duran has two of Boston’s three steals, but he’s hitting just .200/.314/.267. The aforementioned Durbin is hitting just .071/.133/.071 with a pair of singles and a pair of walks over 28 at-bats, while Monasterio is 1-for-7 with a double and an RBI. As a team, Boston is hitting .226/.297/.372 (.669 OPS ranks 18th), with eight homers (tied for 20th), 30 runs scored (tied for 27th), and three steals (tied for 25th).

Milwaukee’s bullpen remains one of the best in baseball even with some under-the-radar names. Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby lead the squad with five appearances each, while DL Hall has held opponents scoreless over five innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out nine. Trevor Megill is 3-for-3 in save opportunities with one run allowed and five strikeouts over four innings, and Abner Uribe has also been solid with one run allowed over 3 2/3 innings (2.45 ERA). Ángel Zerpa, Jared Koenig, and Jake Woodford round out the Brewer bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.38 team ERA (eighth), including a 3.98 starter ERA (15th) and a 2.75 reliever ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 103 batters (fifth) over 80 innings.

Boston’s bullpen is anchored by closer Aroldis Chapman, who is 2-for-2 in save opportunities with one run allowed and three strikeouts over four frames. Garrett Whitlock (currently on the paternity list, dating back to April 3) hasn’t allowed a run over three innings, and Justin Slaten’s allowed only an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings. Greg Weissert’s five runs allowed over 4 2/3 innings are pushing the bullpen’s ERA up drastically. Danny Coulombe, Zack Kelly, Jovani Morán, Tyler Uberstine, and Ryan Watson round out Boston’s bullpen, though one of them will have to be demoted upon Whitlock’s return. As a staff, the Red Sox have a 4.71 team ERA (tied for 23rd), including a 5.19 starter ERA (27th) and a 4.11 reliever ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 76 batters (tied for 18th) over 78 1/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, April 6 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5.98 FIP) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.64 ERA, 7.04 FIP)

Woodruff is lined up to make his second start of the 2026 season to open the series. He went five innings against the Rays his last time out, allowing a pair of solo homers but nothing else while striking out six on 67 pitches. Expect him to stretch out to 75-80 pitches this time around. Woodruff’s only career start against the Red Sox came back in 2022, when he picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

Bello, 26, is in his fifth MLB season, all with the Red Sox. He’s made 101 career appearances (98 starts) with a 4.14 ERA and 4.18 FIP. His only start this season came against Houston on the last day of March, as he was roughed up to the tune of six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks, striking out just two over 4 2/3 innings. Bello has made three career appearances (two starts) against the Brewers, with a 3.95 ERA and nine strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.

Tuesday, April 7 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 3.91 FIP) vs. LHP Garrett Crochet (1-1, 3.27 ERA, 2.73 FIP)

Misiorowski is lined up for his third start of the year on Tuesday. In his first two starts of the season, he’s allowed three runs on six hits and five walks over 11 innings, striking out an NL-best 18 batters. He took the no-decision in his last start against the Rays, allowing two runs and striking out seven over six frames. This marks his first career start against the Red Sox.

Crochet, 26, is Boston’s ace, as he finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Tarik Skubal last season. In two starts this year, he’s allowed five runs (four earned) over 11 innings with 15 strikeouts. His last outing came against the Astros on April 1, when he allowed all five of those runs and struck out seven over five frames. He’s made two career starts against Milwaukee, one while with the White Sox and one with the Red Sox. Across 12 2/3 innings, he struck out 19 batters and allowed three runs (2.13 ERA), though he has an 0-1 record to show for it.

Wednesday, April 8 @ 12:35 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 4.36 FIP) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 3.18 FIP)

Patrick hasn’t been the most efficient this season, but his results have been solid. In a pair of outings against the White Sox and Royals, he’s spanned 9 1/3 innings, allowing one run (a solo homer), nine hits, and four walks with seven strikeouts for a sterling 0.96 ERA but 4.36 FIP. He started the first game of Milwaukee’s doubleheader against the Royals, going five scoreless innings with three strikeouts to pick up the win. He made his lone start against the Red Sox last May, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings.

Gray, now with his sixth MLB team in his 14th season, has made two starts with his new team in Boston. Over 10 innings against the Reds and Padres, he’s allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He picked up the win in his last appearance against San Diego, allowing two runs over six frames. A familiar foe from his five combined seasons with the Reds and Cardinals, Gray has made 20 career starts against Milwaukee, with a 5-6 record, 3.52 ERA, and 139 strikeouts over 110 innings.

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, April 6: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, April 7: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, April 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

The Red Sox have limped out of the gate this season, especially on offense. Even so, this is a tough battle at Fenway, but I’ll take the Crew to win two of three.

The Astros had an early lead, they had a late lead. Neither held up, and Houston fell to the Athletics in Sacramento 12-10 in 10 innings.

Brent Rooker entered the game with no extra base hits on the season. He would hit two home runs on the day, including a walk-off 3-run homer off Bryan Abreu to end the game.

Abreu, who came into the game with 2 outs in the 9th in relief of Bryan King, didn’t seem to have command coming back out for the 10th. He opened the bottom of the tenth walking Tyler Soderstrom on 5 pitches, the last 4 of which were nowhere near the strike zone. He then threw a knee high fastball middle in to Rooker, who blasted it at 104,8 MPH on a line over the wall in left field to send everyone home.

It wound up being a barn burner of a game, but it didn’t start that way. The score was 0-0 through the first four innings.

The Astros took an early lead in the top of the 5th on a Yordan Alvarez two-run homer. Yordan got an 89.4 MPH sinker from Jacob Lopez that he drilled 399 FT to right center field at 110.8 MPH off the bat.

Yordan’s homer made it 2-0. Later in the inning, after Carlos Correa walked and stole second, Cam Smith would single to left scoring Correa to make it 3-0.

That would seemingly be a solid lead for Lance McCullers Jr., who was the beneficiary of 2 double plays through 4 scoreless innings, but it was not to be. McCullers suffered a catastrophic loss of command in the 5th.

McCullers had thrown his cutter more than any other pitch through the first 4, and sporadically throwing his four-seam, sinker, and knuckle curve.

His first pitch of the fifth was an 89.9 MPH sinker. He would give up a single to Max Muncy later in that AB leading off the bottom of the fifth. He then walked Jeff McNeil on 5 pitches, 4 cutters and a change (three of the balls weren’t close), bringing up Carlos Cortes. Cortes would see 3 knuckle curves, and his the last one for an RBI double. That would end McCullers day after 79 pitches.

Steven Okert would come on in relief of McCullers and threw gasoline all over the place.

Okert’s first batter was Nick Kurtz, whom he walked on 5 pitches to load the bases. After getting Shea Langeliers to fly out, Okert allowed a bases-clearing triple to Tyler Soderstrom on a ball that CF Jake Meyers appeared to lose in the sun:

That would give the A’s a 4-3 lead and end the day for Okert, who faced the minimum 3 batters and threw 9 pitches. A.J. Blubaugh was then brought in to try to get out of the inning. Blubaugh allowed a sac fly to make the game 5-3 before getting out of the inning.

In the 7th, the Astros would tie the game again. Carlos Correa worked a 1 out walk, and then Christian Walker took a slider from J.T Ginn 397 feet to left center for his 2nd HR of the season.

The tie wouldn’t last as the Astros bullpen fell apart again.

After walking Soderstrom to lead off the bottom of the 7th, Blubaugh surrendered a 2-run homer to Rooker. Rooker took a 95.7 MPH fastball belt high and deposited it just over the wall in left to give the A’s a 7-5 lead.

Blubaugh then allowed a one-out double to Lawrence Butler and a single to Munch before giving way to Christian Roa.

Roa gave up a pop up single that Nick Allen couldn’t find to score a run, and then an RBI single to Cortes to make it 9-5 Athletics.

The Astros would answer back in the top of the 8th, starting with a leadoff homer from Jake Meyers.

Meyers hammered a sinker from Scott Barlow 393 feet to left for his first HR of the season. Jake smashed it at 106.5 MPH off the bat to make it 9-6.

Barlow then issues back to back walks to Joey Loperfido and Allen before Jose Altuve hammered an RBI double down the line in left to make it 9-7.

Mark Leiter Jr. then replaced Barlow, and promptly walked Yordan to load the bases. He then got Carlos Correa to line to right and Walker to pop to first, but Cam Smith delivered a 2-run single to tie the game again.

Bryan King would work a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and neither team would score in the 9th.

In the top of the 10th, the Astros would take the lead.

Correa delivered an RBI single, scoring Allen, and gave the Astros a 10-9 lead. Despite loading the bases with one out, the Astros would not push across any other runs.

In the bottom of the 10th, Abreu would come undone, and the Astros would drop 2 of 3 to an A’s team that dropped 5 of it’s first 6 games entering this series.

The Astros fall to 6-4 on the season, the A’s improve to 3-6.

Tomorrow the Astros open a 3-game series in Denver against the 3-6 Colorado Rockies.

Everyone knows Giancarlo Stanton can knock the cover off the ball, but now Yankee fans know he can dent a wall, too. 

The Yankees slugger hit a line drive off the left field wall in The Bronx, leaving a mark where the ball hit it during their series finale against the Marlins on Sunday. 

Big G just hits DIFFERENT.

How hard was that single?!?

Goodness, that poor wall.#YANKSonYESpic.twitter.com/FOEHLKPz4O

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 5, 2026

Stanton smacked a line drive in the bottom of the seventh with an exit velocity of 116.3 mph and dented the wall, YES Network pointed out on the broadcast. 

“A blistering line drive that almost went through the wall,” play-by-play man Michael Kay said on air.

The ball bounced right to the left fielder, preventing Stanton from extending it to a double and keeping Ben Rice from scoring. 

The Yankees had been leading 4-3 at the time before the Marlins scored four runs in the eighth to go ahead 7-4.

Jerar Encarnacion reached first base on an error, until he didn't.

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello took exception and earned the first ejection of his MLB career in the process.

In the bottom of the seventh inning in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the New York Mets at Oracle Park, Encarnacion chopped a sinker from Mets pitcher Huascar Brazobán into the infield and took off toward first base. Brazobán fielded the ball and fired it to first baseman Mark Vientos, who couldn't hang on as the ball plopped out of his glove and hit the ground.

But first base umpire Nestor Ceja called Encarnacion out anyways, declaring that he failed to stay inside the runner's lane. The call itself though, was controversial because umpires usually only make it when a runner interferes with the ball or the throw, which Encarnacion did neither of.

“Jerar was on the grass,” Vitello told reporters postgame. “You’re not going to be automatically out for being on the grass only if the (umpire) sees that the runner impedes the throw. The throw didn’t hit the runner.”

Tony Vitello’s first ejection happens because the umps say this is an out pic.twitter.com/6HBxAGcH42

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 5, 2026

Vitello immediately confronted Ceja on the field, the veins in his neck popping as he got in the ump's face and delivered an expletive-filled rant that's sure to get a lip reading from Jomboy in the next few days. Ceja entertained Vitello for a while, standing in front of him with his arms crossed as the two exchanged words before Ceja ultimately sent Vitello packing for the rest of the game.

“I said one last thing, just out of frustration or being all fired up. That was complete nonsense,” Vitello said. “I think it was misinterpreted a little bit. When you’re on the field that long, and you’re not a player, you’re probably out of place a little bit.”

As Vitello walked back through the dugout and into the clubhouse, he received pats on the backside in support from several of his players.

The last time Vitello had been ejected was just under a year ago on May 4, 2025 for arguing balls and strikes while he was coaching at the University of Tennessee.

Through the first 10 games of the season, the Giants are 3-7 under Vitello. The Mets, meanwhile, improved to 6-4 with Sunday's win.

By golly, they actually did it!

For the first time since 2004, the White Sox have swept their home opening series, by virtue of a 3-0 win over the Blue Jays. It what might have been Chicago’s cleanest game of the season so far—no errors, no baserunning mishaps, and most importantly, not a single blemish on any pitcher’s stat line.

What a difference three games makes, as the team’s calamitous 1-5 start somehow feels distant in the rear view mirror. For those thinking about it, it took until May 15 for the Sox to engineer their first three-game win streak of the 2025 campaign. Maybe things really are different this time.

It was a banner day for the Davis Martin Hype Train, of which I have considered myself the Engineer since late 2024. The righty delivered the Sox first true quality start of 2026 — Sean Burke’s outing Friday would have counted, had he actually started — and gave the team’s bullpen a much-needed breather as he moved to 2-0 on the season. Martin’s stuff was as crisp as we’ve seen it all year, sitting a solid 95 mph with his heater today after living in the 92-93 mph range his last couple times out. He made use of all six of his pitches against a dangerous Blue Jays lineup, and with the exception of a third inning that saw Martin escape a bases-loaded jam, Toronto just couldn’t quite time anything up, ultimately touching him for just four hits in his six innings of work.

This is essentially what the best of version of Martin looks like. The stuff isn’t overwhelming — it never has been — but there’s more than enough of it that, if he’s clustering his fastballs to the arm side and breakers to the glove side, he can give you a quality start and a win any day of the week. Having this many pitches clustered over the middle of the plate might seem less than ideal, but when those pitches are an even mix of four-seamers, sinkers and cutters, hitters are still going to have difficulty finding a barrel unless they know exactly what’s coming.

On the hitting end, this was the definition of a “chip away” effort. The Sox got on the board in the very first inning. Chase Meidroth’s embrasure of his role as a top-of-the-lineup spark plug got things going to a great effect, leading off the contest with a double before coming around to score on a Miguel Vargas single that turned into a triple thanks to a terrible read by Jays left fielder Nathan Lukes:

A few innings later, Lenyn Sosa rewarded Will Venable for finally having the guts to let the Sox leading home run hitter from *checks notes* eight months ago face a right-handed pitcher, as a double against Austin Voth doubled Chicago’s lead after Eric Lauer was chased from the game earlier in the inning:

The final offensive strike of the day came an inning later, in similarly non-explosive fashion, as Austin Hays continued a solid start to his Sox tenure with a single to drive in Luisangel Acuña (who had a nice day himself, reaching base twice and swiping his fourth bag).

In other notable action, welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Tanner Murray! The 26-year-old didn’t reach base in either of the first two plate appearances of his big league career. But Murray had his moment in the spotlight nonetheless, saving a run in the early going with a fantastic defensive stop — and equally impressive pick from Munetaka Murakami, whose play at first base has taken just the slightest amount of heat in recent days — that had Davis Martin appropriately hyped up, it seems:

Bryan Hudson gave us all a scare with a pair of hits allowed in the seventh inning. But in a refreshing change of pace from earlier in the weekend, Jordan Leasure managed to work around it, retiring all four of the hitters he faced. With Seranthony Domínguez having pitched on back-to-back days and apparent backup closer Jordan Hicks also unavailable, Chris Murphy got the ball to close things out. He did so with little difficulty, earning the second save of his big league career.

The Good Guys remain at home for their next series, a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles, who are off to another disappointing start and are probably the South Siders’ only competition for the most dramatic fall from grace in the post-COVID baseball era. In a fascinating twist, Grant Taylor has already been announced as the opener for Monday’s game, his third “start” in four games, while the Orioles have yet to announce a starter. No matter who it is, we’ll see you there!

The Nats lost in a way that looked a lot like their final game of the Phillies series. It is also the kind of loss we have seen a lot in the last year. The Nationals bats were up for the fight, but they were let down by a bullpen that is not big league caliber.

This is a game the Nats really needed to win. It was a getaway day for the Dodgers, who had a lot of their starters sitting. The Nats also managed to take a 6-1 lead. That should be plenty of cushion, but not for this bullpen. Today proved that changes are necessary in the bullpen, and the Nats will need to churn through a lot of guys to find something resembling competence. 

The game felt like it would be a feel good game, even if there was a feeling of dread in the back of your mind. Offensively, the Nats continued to look good, and even James Wood got in on the fun. In this series, the Nats scored 17 runs against a great pitching staff, but came away with nothing to show for it.

Back to Wood though, I liked his at bats today. Obviously, the homer was great, and it was a classic Wood opposite field shot. However, the way he was attacking pitches and balancing patience and aggression was good for the most part. We will need to see more before he is officially back, but today was a step in the right direction.

A lot of these guys are locked in offensively, and it sucks that they are getting overshadowed by an atrocious pitching staff. CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr. and even Jorbit Vivas are excelling right now, but it is tough to talk about them.

The story right now is pitching. In the first two games, the starters were the main culprits, but the bullpen laid an egg today. Foster Griffin was actually very good for a second straight start. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer to Shohei Ohtani, which is something that can happen even to the best of pitchers.

His pitch count got high, so he was only able to give the Nats five innings. You could already sense trouble in the 6th inning, when PJ Poulin allowed a two-run homer to make the game 6-3. To Poulin’s credit, he stopped the bleeding and gave the Nats another inning in the 7th.

It was now a three run game, and Cionel Perez came in to try and preserve the lead. He totally imploded, failing to get an out and allowing four runs. Perez, who looked so sharp in Spring Training, looks much more like the guy who posted an ERA over 8 last year. 

On the season, the lefty has now allowed 6 runs in 2.2 innings. He just did not have it today, and did not give the Nats a chance. You have to wonder how much longer he will get to turn things around, and if the Nats make bullpen moves before tomorrow’s game.

Even without considering the poor performance, the Nats could use a fresh arm. Butera was non-committal when I asked him if changes were coming to the bullpen. For the sake of Nats fans’ sanity, I would hope for some changes.

This series was a real reality check after the Nats promising start. They have now lost five in a row. The boys cannot allow this to spiral and need to bounce back against a more manageable opponent in the St. Louis Cardinals. This was a tough one, but hey it is just game 9 out of 162.

Record 5-5. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2025: 0.

The D-backs blew leads of 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4, but managed to prevail in the bottom of the tenth inning. Ketel Marte swatted the first pitch he saw over the head of the Atlanta right-fielder, driving in Manfred Man Jorge Barrosa from second for our first walk-off win of the year. That gave them a split of the four games against the Braves, despite being outscored 25-10 overall. It also returned the team to .500, and Arizona now gets a day off tomorrow, to rest before a tough upcoming road-trip to the East coast.

Brandon Pfaadt started this game, and it was another underwhelming experience. He seemed to be throwing an inordinate number of curveballs in the early going. But it didn’t help in the first, as new nemesis Drake Baldwin homered off a thigh-high sinker with one out in the top of the inning. However, the Answerbacks showed up, tying the game in their half. Ketel Marte led off with a double to left, and productive outs proved to be productive. Marte advanced on a groundout to second by Corbin Carroll, and Geraldo Perdomo was able to get the run in from third with a sacrifice fly to left, making it 1-1.

The bottom of the second saw Carlos Santana gets his second single of the year, therefore avoiding the dishonor of lowest batting average by a D-back through ten games. However, he tweaked his groin earlier in the at-bat – not even on a swing – and was clearly hobbling as he was going down the line to first. He was lifted from the game, replaced at first by Ildemaro Vargas. But if an IL stint is needed – and it didn’t look good – it’s going to be interesting. Because the Diamondbacks literally do not have any other healthy position players on the 40-man roster. Jordan Lawlar, Tyler Locklear, Pavin Smith and Lourdes Gurriel are all hurt.

Today, at least, this proved to a blessing in disguise. The next time that spot came up, in the bottom of the fourth, two men were on base: Carroll had singled and Nolan Arenado walked. Vargas then drove them both in with a two-run triple into right (above). I feel fairly confident in saying that Santana would not have done that. Not least because since the start of 2020, he has hit precisely one triple in 3,133 plate appearances. That gave the D-backs a 3-1 lead. However, Pfaadt was unable to hold it. Three hits, a walk and a wild pitch, while recording only one out, let the Braves tie things up, and one out later, Pfaadt’s day was over.

The final line for Brandon: six hits and two walks over 4.2 innings, with three runs (all earned allowed) and just two strikeouts. The last is perhaps the most immediate matter of concern. In 10.2 innings of work, Pfaadt has struck out just five batters: that 6.75 ERA seems earned. He will get one more start, with the news today that Merrill Kelly needs an additional rehab appearance. But when Kelly is pronounced fit to return, on the evidence of the first two spins around the rotation, it would probably be Pfaadt, and not Michael Soroka, who makes the transition to pitching long relief out of the bullpen.

Thereafter, it was a case of punch and counter-punch. In the sixth inning, Carroll singled, stole his first base of the year and eventually scored on Arenado’s first RBI of the year, making it 4-3. But Nolan then blotted his copy-book with an error in the seventh, while trying to look the runner on third back to the bag. That extended the inning, allowing that runner to score: 4-4. The Answerbacks answered back immediately again, on a Jorge Barrosa double, followed by a Carroll triple (above): 5-4. Kevin Ginkel pitched a scoreless eighth, but three straight hits off Jonathan Loaisiga, in to save the game (because Paul Sewald pitched Friday and Saturday) blew that lead.

Indeed, it could have been worse than just a tying, but Loaisiga then avoided further damage from a situation of two on, with nobody out. This took Arizona into extras, and all the was left in the bullpen for the D-backs was either Taylor Rashi or Andrew Hoffman. Torey Lovullo went with the former, and the key play came with one out, after the Manfred Man had been advanced to third. The Diamondbacks had their infield in, and it paid off as a hot smash (102 mph) off the bat of Mauricio Dubón, was smothered by Perdomo. He looked the runner back, threw to first for the second out, and Rashi finished off the inning, putting up an invaluable zero.

Ketel Marte: one pitch (above). Any questions? It was Marte’s first walkoff hit in almost seven years, and gave him two doubles on the day. Carroll had three hits – all coming off left-handed pitchers – while Arenado and Vargas each reached base twice, with a walk and a hit. Credit must also go to the bullpen. While they were credited with a pair of blown saves, they allowed one earned run over 5.1 innings of work. Taylor Clarke and Ryan Thompson worked in addition to those mentioned above. While their collective ERA is still 6.50, it’s worth noting that half of the 26 earned runs they have allowed belong to Joe Ross and James McCann.

Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Eggs Benedict: Corbin Carroll, +33.5%
Eggs-ultation: Marte, +33.4%; Vargas, +22.6%; Rashi, +14.0%; Clarke, +13.4%; Ginkel, +12.2%
Rotten Egg: Jonathan Loaisiga, -19.5%
Walking on Eggshells: Tawa, -18.0%; Pfaadt, -12.7%; Thompson, -10.4%; Fernandez, -10.2%

An interesting decision about who should get the SnakePit W today. Unofficially (based off the Fangraphs figures, which are slightly different from Baseball Reference), this game goes to Carroll. The hitters picked up +53% in total, while the pitchers combined for -3%. But Carroll and Marte are so close at the top, that we will have to wait for the B-R results tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, in the Gameday Thread, we went past two hundred comments, with today’s winner being chwalter. While there were more-rec’d comments, this was the most relevant to the outcome!

All told, given how this series started, I’m more than happy to walk away with a split, and the team back at .500. Fingers crossed they will come back from this nine-game road-trip to the Mets, Phillies and Orioles no worse than one game below even. Things get under way at City Field on Tuesday, with Zac Gallen on the mound for the Diamondbacks, facing Freddy Peralta.

Angels 8, Mariners 7

Reese’s eggs: Cole Young, .37 WPA

Black jellybeans: José Ferrer, -.34 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

The Cubs had three home runs in this game, the second time they’ve gone deep three times in the early going in 2026. Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ homered for the Cubs.

Unfortunately, the result was the same as the other time they homered three times (a 6-3 loss to the Nationals). This time, it was a 6-5 loss to the Guardians, giving them a split of the Sunday doubleheader and a loss in the series.

The game began like the first game had been all along — scoreless, with the teams seemingly not able to hit anything.

Shaw’s home run in the third gave the Cubs the lead [VIDEO].

The Cubs extended their lead to 3-0 in the sixth. With one out, Carson Kelly singled. One out later, Swanson smacked his first home run of the season [VIDEO].

Meanwhile, Shōta Imanaga was mowing down Guardians hitters. He had allowed just two hits and a walk through five innings, then Steven Kwan doubled leading off the sixth. That was it for Shōta, who had a nice outing, throwing 92 pitches (62 strikes). Here’s more on Imanaga’s afternoon [VIDEO].

That was a good outing from Imanaga and he did not allow a home run. So, progress!

Ben Brown relieved Imanaga and, to be frank, was just awful. He couldn’t throw strikes — only 22 in 42 pitches — and allowed two walks, two hits and a sacrifice fly in the sixth, one of the runs charged to Imanaga, and Cleveland tied the game 3-3.

Brown was better in the seventh, retiring the side 1-2-3. I am still beginning to wonder what spot Brown actually has on this team. He’s clearly being used in a long relief role. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s very early in the season, but so far, the Cubs pen, a strength last year, has been shaky.

Happ, who was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, led off the eighth for the Cubs.

He had struck out the first six times he batted Sunday afternoon — all four times he batted in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Guardians and the first two times in the nightcap. That was followed by a fly out in the sixth, making him 0-for-7 on the day.

Happ homered in his eighth PA of the day, his fourth long ball of the young season [VIDEO].

Facts about Happ’s six whiffs from BCB’s JohnW53:

Ian Happ struck out six times, something a Cub had done 165 times before in back-to-back games. A Cub has had  seven strikeouts 27 times and eight strikeouts eight times.
Twenty-seven of the 165 with six whiffs also hit a home run, including two who homered twice: Byron Browne, in 1966 and Sammy Sosa, in 2000.
But only five before Happ struck out six times in a doubleheader, and none of them hit a homer:
Hank Sauer, 1951 (9 PA, 1 for 9, double)
Dee Fondy, 1953 (8 PA, 2 for 8, single and double)
Bobby Morgan, 1957 (9 PA, 2 for 9, single and double)
Billy Cowan, 1964 (10 PA, 2 for 10, two singles)
Derrek Lee, 2024 (9 PA, 1 for 9, double)

Unfortunately, Jacob Webb could not hold the lead in the bottom of the eighth. CJ Kayfus hit a one-out homer off Webb to tie the game, and then a single, walk and another hit gave Cleveland a 5-4 lead. So far — and yes, I realize it’s early — the signing of Webb isn’t looking too good.

Ethan Roberts, up as the 27th man for the doubleheader, relieved Webb. The first hitter he faced, Austin Hedges, singled to drive in a run to make it 6-4. That run, unfortunately, turned out to be really important for the Guardians.

Cade Smith came on to throw the ninth for Cleveland. And the Cubs rallied off him with two out, scoring a run and getting the tying and lead runs to scoring position.

Smith got Pete Crow-Armstrong on a fly to short right and struck out Moisés Ballesteros. Then Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman walked. Happ singled in Hoerner to make it 6-5 [VIDEO].

Scott Kingery ran for Happ and took second on defensive indifference.

But Carson Kelly struck out to end the game [VIDEO].

Give the Cubs credit, at least, for not folding with two out in the ninth and at least putting together a rally. But they are going to have to revisit some of the bullpen structure. So far, only a few of the relievers have been reliable.

Some doubleheader facts from John:

This is the first time since at least 2015 that the Cubs have alternated losses and wins through nine consecutive games.
….
The Cubs have not swept a doubleheader on the road since Sept. 11, 2015, when they won at Philadelphia, 5-1 and 7-3. They are 6-12 in games of nine subsequent twin bills on the road, including today. Today was just the third time they won Game 1. The two others both were at Cincinnati, on Aug. 29, 2020, and Sept. 1, 2023.

The Cubs move on to Tampa Bay, where they will open a three-game series against the Rays Monday afternoon. It’s the Rays’ home opener and first game back at Tropicana Field, which has been renovated after the roof was destroyed in Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and Shane McClanahan will go for the Rays in the series opener. Game time Monday is 3:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Welp, going into extra innings to keep the game alive, the Arizona Diamondbacks capitalized on an opportunity to prevent the third consecutive series win for the Atlanta Braves (6-5) and end the series on a split.

Besides Drake Baldwin’s solo homer in the first inning to give the Braves their early lead and racking up on RBI’s to keep the team in the game, today might not have started as the most exciting, but it sure was kept interesting to the finish.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets waited most of Sunday afternoon to start their offensive engine, and once it got revved, they weren’t about to leave Oracle Park with anything short of a series victory.

One at-bat after another in the eighth inning they persisted, placing hits in all corners of the field until four runs scored in a 5-2 victory over the Giants.

Luis Torrens’ pinch-hit double brought in the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth before the Mets added on. That meant Mark Vientos and Marcus Semien each with a run-scoring hit, allowing a cushion for Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, who pitched the final two innings scoreless.

The Mets won their third straight to complete a 4-3 road trip.

“The team has looked excellent the way the pitchers are pitching and the hitters are hitting,” Torrens said through an interpreter. “It’s been really special to come back in these games and just how [Kodai] Senga pitched today was amazing.”

Jared Young, who had already delivered three hits in the game, wasn’t permitted to face lefty reliever Erik Miller in the eighth with runners on second and third with one out. Enter Torrens, who worked the at-bat to nine pitches before slicing a changeup just inside the right field line, scoring both runners.

A short bench — Brett Baty was scratched from the lineup with left thumb soreness and Juan Soto is awaiting further evaluation on a right calf strain — left Carlos Mendoza’s options limited. The manager credited bench coach Kai Correa with the idea to use Torrens, the backup catcher, as a pinch hitter if an opportunity against a left-hander arose.

“And sure enough the situation presented itself and we shot him and [Torrens] was ready to go from the very beginning and he executed,” Mendoza said. “You are not so inclined to use the catcher when you are short on the bench.”

Torrens scored when Matt Chapman threw away Vientos’ grounder. The go-ahead rally was complete on Semien’s RBI double. Others involved included Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., whose double and single, respectively, ignited the comeback. Robert also stole second, eluding the tag on a throw that had him beat.

“We have got good players up and down,” Mendoza said. “We’re dealing with a few guys that have injuries and we’re feeling really good, not only with the guys that are in the lineup who are getting to play more, but on the bench as well. There’s a lot of versatility. There’s a lot of things we can do because of the flexibility.”

In a second straight solid outing to begin his season, Senga allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 ²/₃ innings. The right-hander took a shutout into the sixth but was undermined by two bloop hits sandwiched around Chapman’s game-tying double. Huascar Brazobán gave the Mets 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in relief before Weaver and Williams handled the rest.

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Vientos’ sizzling stretch continued with an RBI single in the second that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Vientos, who reached base seven times over the previous two games, is batting .476.

Robert and Young singled in succession before Vientos delivered against Logan Webb with a third straight hit to begin the inning. But Semien’s ensuing double-play grounder thwarted dreams of a big inning.

Senga struck out six of eight batters to begin his afternoon, utilizing the forkball as his weapon of choice.

Luis Arraez’s 10-pitch at-bat culminated with a leadoff single in the fourth, but Senga rebounded by getting Chapman to ground into a double play. After Rafael Devers walked, Senga escaped the inning by getting Heliot Ramos to hit into a fielder’s choice.

Jerar Encarnacion smoked a shot off the left field fence in the fifth, but Young fielded the carom cleanly and threw a strike to Semien, nailing Encarnacion as he attempted to stretch the single into a double.

Chapman jumped on an 0-1 forkball in the sixth and smashed an RBI double that tied it 1-1. Patrick Bailey singled leading off the inning and stole second before Chapman, with one out, delivered. Devers’ ensuing bloop single — just in front of a lunging Robert — gave the Giants a 2-1 lead and ended Senga’s afternoon.

WASHINGTON –– Sunday was one of those games the Dodgers had no business winning.

Not after Roki Sasaki gave up six runs in five innings. Not with Mookie Betts out injured and Will Smith, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy all getting off days. And certainly not after facing a five-run deficit entering the sixth inning, then a three-run hole going into the eighth.

Alas, on a rain-delayed getaway day at Nationals Park, the Dodgers battled back, flipped the script and secured a weekend sweep over the Washington Nationals, scoring the game’s final seven runs in an 8-6 win.

“It was a good fight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We just didn’t quit.”

The turnaround started as soon as Sasaki completed his calamitous outing –– one that featured two home runs, three walks and a bit of bad luck when a potential inning-ending grounder in the fourth ricocheted off the first-base bag to spur a four-run rally.

Even in the face of a 6-1 deficit, the Dodgers (7-2) kept stringing together late-game hits.

Dalton Rushing had the first big swing, launching a two-run blast in the top of the sixth that put the club within striking distance.

Then, in the eighth, the team completed the comeback against overmatched Nationals reliever Cionel Pérez, who failed to record an out while letting the game slip away.

The inning started with a single from Freddie Freeman. Andy Pages followed with a double down the left-field line. Alex Call loaded the bases after that, reaching base for the fourth-straight time by drawing a four-pitch walk. 

That set the stage for Santiago Espinal, who recorded his first Dodgers hit with a two-run single to center.

Pérez was mercifully removed after loading the bases again on a walk to the pinch-hitting Smith. But by then, the damage was already done.

A fielder’s choice grounder from Tucker, in another pinch-hit at-bat, tied the game. A sacrifice fly from Shohei Ohtani –– who opened the scoring Sunday with a 438-foot homer back in the third inning –– gave the Dodgers the lead.

Thanks to four combined innings of scoreless work from the bullpen, there would be no further late-game dramatics. Instead, Teoscar Hernández hit a ninth-inning insurance homer into the Dodgers bullpen, where closer Edwin Díaz was preparing for what would be his third save with the team.

“It is a mark of our ball club that every out matters, every game matters,” Roberts said.

From five runs down, to a first series sweep of the season.

From a game they shouldn’t have won, to one they wrapped up with relative ease.

What it means

That, even on a day so many other things went wrong, the Dodgers always have enough firepower to mount a late comeback.

In doing so Sunday, they got Sasaki off the hook for what should’ve been an ugly loss to the Nationals (3-6).

In the third inning, he started losing his command, and ultimately gave up a two-run homer to Luis García Jr. on an elevated fastball. The fourth was even worse, with the right-hander coming unraveled after a potential inning-ending grounder from Keibert Ruiz kicked off first base for an RBI single.

While that was a moment of bad luck, what followed was decidedly not. Sasaki gave up another single to José Tena, then hung an 0-2 splitter to James Wood that was clobbered for a three-run shot.

On any other day, his struggles would’ve been the story.

He can thank the team’s offense for ensuring that it wasn’t.

Who’s hot

The Dodgers’ late-game offense.

Sunday was already the team’s fifth come-from-behind victory –– and in all of them, they’ve trailed by multiple runs early on.

It might not be a sustainable recipe for success. But it does epitomize the relentless nature of their deep and talented offense.

And this time, they didn’t even need superstar contributions, instead being led by Call (2-for-3 with two walks), Hernández (2-for-4 with his home run after being bumped up to the No. 3 spot in the order), and Espinal and Rushing (two RBIs apiece).

Who’s not

In the wake of Betts’ injury, Alex Freeland is slated to get more regular starts at second base.

The Dodgers can only hope it snaps his poor start to the season.

Since hitting a home run and a double in his season debut, Freeland has looked more like the hitter who had a .190 batting average in the big leagues last season and a .125 average in an underwhelming spring.

After going 0-for-3 Sunday, he now has just one hit and three walks in his last 19 plate appearances. Even more concerning is that –– for a player tasked first and foremost with taking quality at-bats –– he has struck out two times in each of his last four games.

Up next

The Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays begin a World Series rematch on Monday at Rogers Centre. Justin Wrobleski is expected to get his first start of the season in the opener, opposite former Dodger and future Hall of Fame right-hander Max Scherzer.

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The St. Louis Cardinals will try to salvage the final game of their series against the Detroit Tigers in a night contest. According to MLB.com, Kyle Leahy will start the game for St. Louis while it will be Keider Montero for Detroit. This will be Montero’s first start of the season while Kyle Leahy is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. Game time at Comerica Park is 6:20pm central time. The broadcast of this game is being handled by NBC Sports Network/Peacock.

Detroit Tigers (4-4) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (4-4)

Time/Place: 7:20 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Viva El Birdos
Media: Peacock, NBC Sports, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Leahy (0-1, 7.20 ERA)

The Dodgers began their road trip in a similar fashion as their first home series, with a comeback win to complete a three-game sweep. This time it came against the Washington Nationals as the Dodgers scored seven unanswered runs and erased a five-run deficit to win 8-6.

It took a two hour and 15 minute rain delay to pass before Roki Sasaki could make his second start of the season, and although he allowed a hit over his first two hitters he faced, he got through a scoreless first inning on just nine pitches. He notched another scoreless inning bottom of the second, striking out a pair of hitters while also working around a two-out walk to Jorbit Vivas.

The Dodgers managed to strike first for a second consecutive game as Shohei Ohtani crushed his second home run of the series 438 feet to dead center field against left-hander Foster Griffin to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Ohtani later picked up a double in the top of the fifth inning to give him his third consecutive multi-hit game against Washington.

The Dodger lead was short lived as Sasaki surrendered a two-out, two-strike home run to Luis García Jr., helping give Washington since the second inning of Friday’s contest. He was still pitching relatively efficiently with just 44 pitches over his first three innings, but his confidence and his faith in his stuff began to weaken in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Sasaki was working with a C.J. Abrams at second base with two outs when he induced a weak ground ball from Keibert Ruiz down the first base side, but the ball ricocheted off the first base bag well over the head of Freddie Freeman, allowing Abrams to score and make it a two-run Washington lead. José Tena kept the two-out rally going with a single to put two men on with two outs for the struggling James Wood. Wood got a splitter right down the middle from Sasaki, and deposited it into the center field bleachers to make it a 6-1 Nationals lead.

Sasaki was able to have a clean bottom of the fifth inning, facing the minimum in order while picking up a pair of strikeouts, but it was yet another roller coaster of a performance. Over five innings of work, he allowed six earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five, now carrying an unconvincing 7.00 ERA on the season.

Dalton Rushing was given his second straight start against a left-hander this season, and he cut the deficit in half with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.

The Dodgers bullpen continued to shine in relief of Sasaki, as both Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer posted scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings respectively and continue to post spotless earned run averages.

The Nationals kept rolling with southpaws throughout the first seven innings, as PJ Poulin completed two innings of work despite being responsible for the Rushing home run. Left-hander Cionel Pérez took over for Washington in the top of the eighth, and he immediately put the Nationals lead in jeopardy by allowing a single to Freddie Freeman and a double to Andy Pages to put two men in scoring position with nobody out. The former National Alex Call worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases and Santiago Espinal had his first big moment as a Dodger with a two-run single to center field, trimming the deficit to one.

Will Smith came in as a pinch-hitter for Dalton Rushing, even though Rushing had gone deep against a left-hander in his previous at-bat, and Smith kept the line moving with a walk to once again load the bases with nobody out. As the Nationals brought in former Dodgers prospect Clayton Beeter, the Dodgers countered with Kyle Tucker as a pinch-hitter for Alex Freeland, and Tucker brought home the tying run by reaching on a fielder’s choice. Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodgers their first lead since the third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-6 game.

The Dodgers added some insurance in the top of the the ninth inning as Teoscar Hernández took Beeter deep to left-center field for his first home run of the season, giving the Dodgers a two-run lead.

Tanner Scott kept up the impressive work from the bullpen and Edwin Díaz recorded his first save on the road as the Dodgers remain undefeated away from Dodger Stadium.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (2), Dalton Rushing (1), Teoscar Hernández (1); Luis García Jr. (1), James Wood (2)
• WP— Jack Dreyer (1-0): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• LP— Cionel Pérez (0-1): 0 IP, 3 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
• SV— Edwin Díaz (3): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Up Next

The Dodgers fly north of the border as they prepare for a rematch of the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays beginning Monday at Rogers Centre (4:07 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Justin Wrobleski makes his first start of the season, going up against Max Scherzer.