Category: Baseball

Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. A pleasant breeze swirled around the baked brick of Camden Yards, carrying the warm tang of Old Bay seasoning. One would be forgiven if the pleasant atmosphere suggested a sedate affair, a leisurely stroll of a game.

The Giants had gone down in order at the top of the inning against Orioles starter Cade Povich, and after Pete Alonso swung heavily over a 1-1 change-up, their offense appeared about to do the same against Adrian Houser. And it’d carry on like that: quick at-bats, quick outs, quick innings… The two teams accumulating zeroes on the scoreboard with the competitive edge of an Easter egg hunt. One of those pleasant spring days in which nothing is expected, nothing needs to be fought for, or figured out quite yet. A day spent squinting up into the bright sun. A day in which a squirrel runs across the outfield. A day in which a leaf blower can be heard in the distance.

At least, it was supposed to be one of those days. Alonso whiffed at a 1-1 change-up, putting him in a 1-2 hole with two outs, and the inning felt over. One down. On to the next one.

Perhaps that sounds naive to say considering Alonso’ resume, but the slugger had moved down the coast for $155 million pocketed over 5 years and was off to the characteristically slow start for a player coming off free agency. He had been hitless in the first two games of the series, batting .167 with a .521 OPS so far on the season. He was getting settled, finding his footing, getting comfortable — he wasn’t yet a threat. Again, down in a 1-2 count, with the way Alonso has been struggling, the inning should’ve been over.

But then he took a pitch he wasn’t supposed to take.

Alonso had called time, found his breath and settled himself, and took a 1-2 sinker off the plate for a ball. No, the fastball wasn’t the most tantalizing offering, but the pitch’s location, paired with its back-door movement, was meant to tease. It was supposed to keep him in swing-mode, keep him defensive. Instead, Alonso let the pitch go, and it brought him back into the count. Maybe the players or fans weren’t completely cognizant of this the moment, but in retrospect, that was when the pastel-colored afternoon turned for the Giants. 

Houser spun an excellent 2-2 curveball that dropped out of the zone, and Alonso just let it go. A great, disciplined take that brought the count full. He then fought off another breaking ball before spitting on another sinker that came ’round just off the plate. Ball 4.

Should catcher Daniel Susac have challenged that call? According to the MLB Gameday and Baseball Savant zone, the ball looks like it may be a hair’s width from the corner, but those might not line-up with the stadium’s ABS zone. Still those are not the kind of dicey decisions you want to have to make in the 1st inning…and on a Sunday no less! 

Instead of a casual start to the game, Alonso’s walk made things stressful, and Houser didn’t handle it well. Two pitches later, Samuel Basallo (another scuffling big man) put the Orioles up for good. 

Disciplined at-bats from Baltimore hitters and clutch contact extended innings when it mattered most. The third strike, the third out proved elusive for Giants arms. 5 of the Orioles’ 6 runs on the day came with San Francisco pitching an out away from shutting down a frame.  

Another 2-run rally in the 5th against Houser similarly started with the bases empty and two outs already recorded. An innocuous single off the bat of Henderson kept the inning going. Down 0-2, Taylor Ward refused to bite at two pitches off the plate before flipping an inside fastball into right field for another single. And with runners on the corners, down 2-strikes again, Alonso dug out a curveball and pulled it into the left field corner for a two-run gut punch. 

The Orioles offense refused to go with the casual flow seemingly promised. This was not a day of rest, but a day of work. Every at-bat became an opportunity to assert themself on their opponent. The line-up worked 5 walks to go along with their 11 hits and struck out only 7 times.  Houser and subsequent relievers weren’t getting exposed on mistakes necessarily, either. Decent pitches were being spoiledby solid takes or contact-oriented swings.

(Synonyms for the verb spoil: thwart… ruin… upset… scupper… scotch… vitiate… muller… ) 

With a runner on second in the 6th, Coby Mayo thwarted a well-pocketed 2-2 slider from Ryan Walker. The spun bloop off a choked-up bat scored Baltimore’s fifth run, vitiating Walker’s chances of putting up a scoreless frame. In the 7th with two outs, Colton Cowser’s 2-out infield single off Erik Miller was hit just weakly enough to plate another run and scuppering the Giants chances of a comeback.     

The stubborn Orioles order was in stark contrast to the Giants’ offensive exploits against southpaw starter Cade Povich. While the line-up has been somewhat decent against left-handed pitching (117 wRC+, 6th in MLB) their Kryptonite has been 4-seam fastballs. Their collective 88 wRC+ against the straight heater is the worst in the league — and unfortunately, it’s a pitch Povich, and frankly a lot of other pitchers — likes to throw. The optics didn’t look great from the outset, then the early hole from the Basallo homer really put the line-up on the back foot. Resilience would not be the word I’d use to describe the make-up of these hitters. A lead has proved definitive against these Giants so far. They’ve only won one game this season when scoring second and that was only because the Mets got to hit first in their 7-2 win back on April 2nd.  

Povich retired the first 12 batters he faced in order, and he did it pretty fast. A lot of chased fastballs, flinched-at curves. A bushel of pop-ups. He fanned 5 with 0 walks over 6.2 innings pitched. 4 of the 5 knocks he allowed were singles. Heliot Ramos’s two out double in the 7th was the first extra base hit he allowed and ended up chasing him from the game. 

Daniel Susac continued to be a bright spot in his third start of the season. He threw out Colton Cowser from his knees to complete a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play in the 2nd. He’d record the only RBI against Povich with a 2-out punch up the middle in the 5th that at the time cut Baltimore’s lead in half. Batting clean-up and serving as the designated hitter for the fourth straight game, Casey Schmitt logged a 3-for-4 night of loud contact. His lead-off single in the 5th put Povich in the stretch for the first time and ultimately set-up the team’s first run, while his 9th inning solo shot gave him his fourth extra base hit of the series. Since the “catch the f***ing ball game” (7-1 loss to SD on 4/1), Schmitt has hit safely in each of his five starts, including three 3-hit games.  

San Francisco had their chances to close-out at-bats, close-out innings, and ultimately, close out this Baltimore series but couldn’t find a way to firmly shut the door. Now they’re 6-10 with more road series coming this week in Cincinnati and Washington.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Anthony Volpe is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment, but he no longer feels like a rehabbing player.

Six months removed from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, Volpe could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday with Double-A Somerset and is champing at the bit to get going.

“Probably the most excited I’ve ever been,” the shortstop said Sunday at Tropicana Field. “Just having that perspective [of missing time], it doesn’t matter, I’ll play anywhere, I’ll do anything.”

Volpe stayed back in Tampa when the season started to continue his rehab, which has included taking live at-bats in simulated games over the past week and a half. He is scheduled to see team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Monday, and if he gets the all-clear, will begin a rehab assignment, which comes with a maximum 20-day clock.

Despite spending most of the offseason rehabbing the shoulder, Volpe said he viewed it as a “blank slate” to analyze his swing and see how he could get better after three full big league seasons in which he has posted an OPS of .666, .657 and .663.

“Just cleaning up my bat path and just keeping it on plane for a lot longer,” he said. “We found some stuff where it kind of went wrong. I think the stuff we worked on is very objective, and I feel like I can make adjustments off of it.”

Cam Schlittler recorded a career-high 21 swings and misses while striking out eight but gave up three runs on a season-high seven hits (plus his first walk of the season) across five innings.

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“Just made the wrong pitches,” Schlittler said. “Overall, just kind of embarrassing. Got to be better there.”

Giancarlo Stanton got his second day off of the season Sunday, allowing Aaron Judge to DH and stay off the outfield turf. That forced Aaron Boone to use Randal Grichuk in right field, despite a tough right-on-right matchup with Drew Rasmussen and the veteran outfielder starting the season 0-for-10.

Stanton came in to pinch hit for Grichuk in the seventh inning, grounding out but driving in a run that pulled the Yankees within 3-2. Instead of Stanton staying in to play the field, Boone had Amed Rosario play right field for the first time this season.

Boone had said before the game that Rosario could get some time in the outfield off the bench and the occasional start, if needed.

Before Stanton replaced him, Grichuk went 0-for-2, getting robbed of his first hit when second baseman Richie Palacios made a diving stop on his 102.7 mph grounder up the middle.

A rough week for the Yankees with the automated ball-strike system continued Sunday, as Ben Rice looked at Strike 3 in a full count leading off the fourth inning and lightly touched his helmet before instantly appearing to regret it. He tried to talk his way out of it, but home plate umpire Dan Bellino charged him with the challenge, which was unsuccessful.

This marked the first time the Yankees have been swept by the Rays since April 16-18, 2021.

With the Mets struggling to find their groove, they needed Freddy Peralta to step up and pitch like the ace he is in Sunday’s series finale against the Athletics. 

Peralta did just that, delivering his longest and most encouraging outing of the season, but New York’s offense failed to back him up as the losing streak hit five. 

The right-hander said postgame that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he was still good enough to hold the A’s to just one run on a Nick Kurtz homer in six innings of work.

“We made adjustments and got better as the game went on,” he said. 

Peralta certainly did, as he retired six of the final seven batters he faced, working around a two out walk in the top of the fifth and then finishing his day with a scoreless sixth. 

He walked three, gave up four hits, and struck out six.

“He was good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “They ran his pitch count up with foul balls and good at-bats, but still found a way to get us six innings -- except for the breaking ball on the homer, I thought he was very good.”

Sean Manaea was just as solid in relief of Peralta. 

The lefty did a tremendous job keeping the team in the game, cruising through the final three innings. 

Manaea’s velocity remained down from last season, averaging just 89.3 mph on his fastball, but he once again showed that he can still be effective. 

He retired all nine hitters he faced and struck out four. 

“Very good,” Mendoza said. “Attacked, threw strikes, fastball continues to have life. The delivery, the way he’s moving, I like the aggressiveness overall -- he not only gave us three innings, but he kept us there, he gave us a chance.”

The Mets will need more pitching performances like this as their offense looks to get back into a groove.

For the second straight series, the Dodgers were on the cusp of a sweep but dropped the finale again. This time it was the Texas Rangers avoiding a sweep, stealing the final game by a final score of 5-2.

It was another adventurous beginning for Roki Sasaki’s day on the mound, as he allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo and promptly walked Evan Carter to put two men on with nobody out. He got ahead in the count to Corey Seager, managing to strike him out on a fastball down the middle. He fooled Jake Burger on a high fastball to punch him out, and then got out of the jam by striking out Joc Pederson on a splitter outside.

Shohei Ohtani immediately helped Sasaki build some confidence by crushing the first pitch of the game from Jacob deGrom into the right field pavilion for his second consecutive leadoff home run against Texas. It was his 26th career leadoff home run, and it extends his league-leading on-base streak to 46 games.

Sasaki once again found himself in trouble with two men on base and less than two outs, but he kept the Rangers scoreless by striking out Ezequiel Durán and getting Nimmo to pop out in foul territory. Sasaki got bit by the home run bug immediately in the top of the third, as Evan Carter attacked a first pitch fastball around the heart of the zone for his second home run of the series, tying the game.

He was a strike away from allowing just the one run, but Pederson lined a two-out, two-strike single to right field, sparking a two-out rally from the Rangers where they put four straight men on base, with a single from Josh Smith giving Texas a one-run lead. Sasaki struck out Duran to retire the side, but only after throwing 32 pitches in the inning. The Dodgers responded by putting two men on base against deGrom, but with Andy Pages at the plate with two outs, the Dodgers tried to implement a double steal. Call hesitated going for third and was tagged out, allowing the Rangers to get out of the jam.

Sasaki bounced back with a scoreless fourth inning, including getting Burger to strike out for the third time, but he needed at least 20 pitches to complete each frame on Sunday, only lasting four innings while tossing 94 pitches.

The strikeout stuff was apparent, striking out the side in the first and totaling a season-high six on the day, but his command was still wildly inconsistent, as he walked five hitters and has now walked 10 over 13 innings of work. He was effective using his slider on his first pitch of the at-bat, landing the strike zone four out of six times, but could only get a 50 percent first pitch strike rate on the afternoon, a fall from his previous outing against Washington where he was ahead in the count 70 percent to begin. He now carries a slightly improved 6.23 ERA on the season and his WHIP stands at 1.846.

While the young Sasaki showed flashes of brilliance mixed with his repeated lack of command, Jacob deGrom was giving flashbacks of his days as a Cy Young award winner with the New York Mets, as the only blemish on his day was the leadoff home run against Ohtani. He held the Dodgers scoreless over his next 92 pitches, tossing a quality start by going six innings, allowing just four hits and three walks while striking out a season-high nine hitters.

Once deGrom departed, the Dodgers chipped into the deficit, as Kyle Tucker recorded his first hit of the series with an RBI single against left-hander Jacob Latz to trim the Texas lead to one run. It’s been a rough start to the season for Tucker, as he has only two extra-base hits on the year with a slugging percentage at .316. He has continued to work great counts at the plate as he carries a .343 on base percentage, but he has a 23.9 percent strikeout rate, a significant spike from the 14.7 percent clip he registered with the Chicago Cubs last year.

After Sasaki’s day was done after four, the bullpen struggled with their command as well, as Edgardo Henríquez, Ben Casparius and Will Klein combined for five walks of their own while allowing three runs, two of which being earned. The Dodgers’ 10 walks allowed on the day is the most they have allowed all season, and it’s the first time they have walked at least 10 hitters since Sept. 18 of last season against the San Francisco Giants.

Andy Pages continues to swing a hot bat, hitting safely in each of the three games against Texas while his average stands at a league-leading .429 clip. Pages now ranks second in baseball for multi-hit games, as Brandon Nimmo passed him on Sunday with another pair of hits against the Dodgers.

Sunday’s game saw the Dodgers run out of ABS challenges by the third inning, while Rangers catcher Danny Jansen singlehandedly had four successful challenges across five attempts.

For the second straight series (regardless of location), the Dodgers tally just seven runs over the two games following an offensive explosion in the opener. The Dodgers are now 6-3 at home, but they average just 4.33 runs per game at Dodger Stadium this season.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Evan Carter (2); Shohei Ohtani (5)
• WP— Jacob deGrom (1-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
• LP— Roki Sasaki (0-2): 4 IP, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
• SV— Jakob Junis (3): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers continue their homestand as they open up a three-game series with the New York Mets on Monday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Justin Wrobleski makes his second start against left-hander David Peterson.

Roki Sasaki repeatedly averted disaster Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the rest of the team couldn’t do the same.

In a 5-2 loss to the Rangers, Sasaki was not sharp, giving up five hits and five walks over a four-inning outing marred by continued command issues. However, he somehow limited the damage to just two runs.

The bigger problems, at least in Sunday’s defeat, came from a string of sloppy mistakes made by the rest of the roster.

Sasaki might have been credited with the losing decision. But the team missed numerous chances to help get him off the hook.

Offensively, the Dodgers never got going against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, despite a leadoff home run from Shohei Ohtani. 

They tallied only six hits while going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They left nine total men on base, including two stranded in both the fifth inning (when Kyle Tucker struck out on a changeup in the dirt) and the seventh (when an RBI single from Tucker was sandwiched around rally-killing pop-outs from Ohtani and Andy Pages).

More maddening, however, were the mental miscues that poured further salt into the wound.

There was a baserunning blunder that extinguished another two-on, two-out threat in the bottom of the third –– when Alex Call aborted a steal attempt at second base, but got caught in an inning-ending rundown anyway when Ohtani broke from first base after seeing his big jump.

Defensive breakdowns helped the Rangers (8-7) score insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings –– the first on an Edgardo Henriquez throwing error that put a runner at third base, setting up Brandon Nimmo for an RBI grounder; the next on a wild pitch from Will Klein that brought another run across the plate.

The Dodgers (11-4) also burned both of their ABS challenges in the third inning, the latter coming on an ill-advised appeal from Hyeseong Kim after he was correctly rung up on a called third strike.

Even the one time the Rangers gifted them an opportunity, on a dropped Freddie Freeman pop-up in the sixth, the Dodgers failed to take advantage.

With the chance to complete a series sweep, it was instead that type of day.

What it means

The Dodgers still won this weekend’s series and remain the majors’ winningest team with victories in seven of their last nine games.

But their two losses in that span –– including last Wednesday’s defeat in Toronto –– both resulted from poor fundamentals and self-inflicted mishaps.

Another factor in Sunday’s loss: The 10 total walks the pitching staff issued, with two of the three runs charged to the Dodgers’ bullpen coming via runners who reached on a free pass.

As good as the Dodgers are, it’s a reminder that their margin for error is only so big.

Who’s hot

Two days ago, manager Dave Roberts noted that –– despite reaching base in every game this season –– Ohtani “hasn’t really got going yet.” 

Two days later, the four-time MVP is looking a lot more like his normal self.

After hitting a leadoff homer Saturday, Ohtani did the same on the first pitch of Sunday’s game, clobbering his fifth total long ball of the season on an inner-half fastball from deGrom.

Later, he worked an excellent walk in the third inning, fouling off an elevated full-count fastball before laying off a slider. By the fifth, the Rangers had seen enough of him, electing for an intentional walk with a runner at second and two outs.

It wasn’t a perfect day from Ohtani, whose pop-out on a center-cut, first-pitch fastball in the seventh was one of several poor situational at-bats from the team. He also struck out in his final at-bat in the ninth.

Still, he finished the day batting .286 and with an OPS of .996. His on-base streak, dating back to last year, is also up to 46 games. 

Who’s not

On the bright side, Sasaki recorded an MLB career-high six strikeouts and held the Rangers to 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

He needed to do so, however, to avoid what probably should’ve been a nightmarish day.

Once again, the former right-handed phenom lacked command, dealt with traffic and was inefficient in his third start of the season. The 10 baserunners he put aboard were also an MLB career high. 

In the first and second innings, Sasaki narrowly wiggled out of two-on jams. But the magic ran out in the third, when Evan Carter smoked a leadoff homer and Josh Smith hit a two-out RBI single.

That Sasaki’s day didn’t spiral from there –– he stranded the bases loaded later in the third, then worked around another walk in the fourth –– was at least one silver lining.

Alas, there were few others from his outing Sunday, which left him with a 6.23 ERA through three starts this year.

Up next

The Dodgers welcome the Mets to town this week for a three-game series. Justin Wrobleski (1-0, 4.00 ERA) will start in Monday’s opener, opposite struggling Mets left-hander David Peterson (0-2, 6.14 ERA).

The Texas Rangers scored five runs while the Los Angeles Dodgers scored two runs.

In a game where it felt like the Rangers should have won by double-digits, they decided it would be more fun to keep you engaged all afternoon as they avoided a sweep at the hands of the defending champion Dodgers by a margin kept almost inexplicably close until late.

After today’s starter Jacob deGrom gave up his customary solo home run to Shohei Ohtani to give the Dodgers an early lead, the Rangers kept getting runners on base against LA’s wild young starter Roki Sasaki and then kept figuring out the perfect way to do anything but bring them in.

Overall, Texas turned seven hits, eight walks, and an LA error through the first seven innings into just three runs. The dam finally broke in the 8th, however, with two more walks, two more hits, and a wild pitch as Texas added a couple of insurance runs.

Those insurance runs came after deGrom had exited and Jacob Latz allowed his first non-Muncy run of the season as the game teetered on the brink of “how do you lose this one?” as the Dodgers were a potential swing away from taking the lead. Luckily Cole Winn came in and cleaned up and then a third Ja(c)kob on the day got the save with Jakob Junis tossing a scoreless 9th.

Despite not exactly making the most of their opportunities (10 hits, 10 walks, 2-14 with RISP, 12 LOB), the five runs proved to be plenty with deGrom tossing a gem and the bullpen making use of the 8th inning cushion to help Texas escape LA with a sweep avoided.

Player of the Game: Batters of note include Josh Jung who had two hits and two walks, Danny Jansen who walked three times (and used five ABS challenges behind the plate, four of them successful!), Josh Smith who had two hits and the go-ahead RBI, and Evan Carter who homered and reached two other times via base on balls.

But with the current road trip long and without respite, and with the bullpen soaking up a lot of innings in the season’s first few weeks, the Rangers really needed deGrom to be at his most deGromy for as long as possible. deGrom answered with six innings of one-run ball against baseball’s modern juggernaut.

Following Ohtani’s 1st inning homer, deGrom allowed just three more hits. The Rangers’ elder ace did walk three (including an intentional walk to Ohtani) but he also struck out nine as he picked up his first win of the year.

Up Next: The Rangers are forced to trudge to West Sacramento for a series against the formerly Oakland Athletics in their first look at their AL West rivals in 2026. RHP Nathan Eovaldi will make the start for Texas in the opener against RHP Luis Severino for the Northern Californians.

The Monday night first pitch from Sutter Health Park is set for 8:40 pm CT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

It’s hard to describe this game as anything other than… deflating. While the Rockies entered the day on the verge of being swept, they had also kept the Padres on their toes for three games coming off of a sweep of the Houston Astros at home.

Today is where nothing really went right for the Rockies. I would argue one of only a few occasions that’s happened so far this season. It was certainly one of the harder-to-watch games of the young campaign as the Rockies were swept by the San Diego Padres for the first time in a four-game series since June, 1999.

Johnny Wholestaff

Both the Rockies and the Padres had to turn to their bullpens early this afternoon. Kyle Freeland was warming up in the bullpen for his start today but left with training staff before taking the mound. Freeland was later stated to be dealing with left shoulder soreness.

Right-handed reliever Jimmy Herget was forced into short-notice opening duty and struggled somewhat. He hit leadoff batter Ramón Laureano and gave up a single to Fernando Tatís Jr. Back-back-sacrifices then pushed a run home.

Chase Dollander—after throwing 81 pitches on Thursday—took over for Herget in a single inning of relief. He yielded a leadoff double in the second inning to Ty France, who was driven in by another pair of sacrifices by Padres hitters.

It was Valente Bellozo who was then called in to eat as many innings as he could in the series finale. Bellozo had pitched just once since his heroic efforts in the Rockies’ home opener: being on the receiving end of a walk-off home run earlier in this series. The former Miami Marlin made it through 4.1 difficult innings that put the game out of reach for the Rockies. He gave up eight earned runs on four walks and five hits—three of which were home runs—and recorded just a single strikeout. Bellozo was pulled after 90 pitches and left the bases loaded for lefty Brennan Bernardino, who induced an inning-ending 5-3 double play.

The Padres also leaned heavily on their bullpen after starting pitcher Nick Pivetta left the game in the fourth inning due to elbow tightness.

The offense left San Diego early

The Rockies turned in what was one of their worst performances of the season so far as they were held to just two hit against the combined efforts of the Padres pitching staff with only five baserunners. The Rockies struck out 12 times with two walks and a hit batter.

Miraculously, they were not shut out. The Rockies have actually yet to be shut out this season when at this point last season they were in the middle of being shut out for three straight games by these same Padres.

In the top of the fifth inning, Padres reliever Kyle Hart plunked Ezequiel Tovar square in the back and walked Brenton Doyle to give the Rockies their first baserunners of the game. Backup catcher Brett Sullivan then laced a line drive double to right field to score both runners.

The Rockies wouldn’t have another hit until the top of the ninth inning, when Hunter Goodman wedged a single by third baseman Manny Machado with two outs.

Coming Up Next

Thankfully, the Rockies have a much-needed day off tomorrow before heading to Texas on Tuesday for a rematch against the Houston Astros. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher at this time, but first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM MDT.

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Mariners 6, Astros 1

Tiffany’s! Cole Young, +0.10 WPA
Cartier! Luke Raley, +0.10 WPA
Black Starr Frost Gorham! Randy Arozarena, +0.12 WPA
Talke to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it! Logan Gilbert, +0.21 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

The Braves, winners of their first two rubber matches of the regular season, will look to make it three in a row and stand alone as the last major league team to not lose a series this season when they host the Cleveland Guardians for Sunday Night Baseball.

We could be in for quite a pitching duel with Atlanta throwing Chris Sale against Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee in a battle of top-of-the-rotation starters. But these offenses are also quite capable of putting up crooked numbers.

First pitch is at 7:20 p.m. ET. You can watch either on cable (NBC) or streaming (Peacock).

Game Notes

Preview

Starting lineups

Braves roster moves

After a 1-0 loss to the Athletics on Sunday afternoon, the Mets have now lost five games in a row. 

During those five games, they’ve scored a total of nine runs, six of which came in Saturday’s loss. They’ve been shut out twice in the last three days and were outscored 33-12 during their six-game homestand.

Now, New York heads to Los Angeles for a three-game series against the NL West-leading Dodgers who entered Sunday winners of seven out of their last eight games.

Despite the state of the team right now, the Mets are staying the course and believe greener pastures are on the horizon.

“You just gotta stay consistent, you gotta stay positive with the guys,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “There’s a lot of good hitters there and it’s just a bad stretch. You gotta continue to trust the players there – they’re really good – and continue to work with them.”

Unfortunately, those hitters couldn’t come through on Sunday for Freddy Peralta who threw a gem without having his best stuff. 

The Mets’ ace went six innings and allowed a run on four hits while walking three and striking out six. He threw one bad pitch, an 0-2 curveball to Nick Kurtz who launched it into right field for a solo homer in the third inning which was the difference in the game.

After that, the right-hander allowed just one more hit and retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.

“For some reason they weren’t swinging at the low changeups,” Peralta said about his outing. “But we made adjustments and we got better as the game was moving on and that’s what I’m happy with because we were able to make adjustments.”

As for the Mets hitters, they were unable to figure out Athletics starter Aaron Civale, who retired 13 in a row at one point, or the rest of the bullpen and scratched together four hits, half of them by Francisco Lindor.

“Today some balls were hit hard and we had a little bit of bad luck,” said Bo Bichette. “But overall I mean this team is really talented so we’re gonna score runs, but just overall everybody needs to have better at-bats and compete better. But we’ll be alright.”

The absence of Juan Soto in the lineup has exacerbated New York’s struggling offense. It was able to tread water for the first few games without him, but has been unable to pick up the slack since.

Still, one player, no matter how important, cannot be the team’s saving grace all year. At some point, other players need to step up as well.

“Nobody will deny the absence of Soto in the lineup, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the capacity to score runs,” Mendoza said. “It’s a tough stretch for the hitters but we continue to have confidence in the players that are active and their abilities to get out of a slump.

“Obviously it won’t be easy to replace Juan, but at the same time we have the resources necessary to get hits and score runs and we will do it.”

One player who has been great all year for the Mets is Luis Robert Jr. who got the day off on Sunday after playing in five straight games. New York continues to be cautious with Robert whose season ended last year with a hamstring injury and who has had a history of injuries in his career.

Asked why Robert, who is slashing .319/.458/.447 in 47 at-bats this season, didn’t pinch-hit late in the game on Sunday, Mendoza said he wasn’t available to play in the field and would only have got an at-bat with the game on the line.

“Tough homestand overall offensively,” the skipper said.

It’s still early enough in the season for anybody to start panicking, but with such high expectations for the Mets this year and such a disappointing season last year, everything will be magnified.

Nevertheless, New York deserves a little more time to try and get things right before getting too worried. It’s a long season after all.

“I know we are way better than this and we have a great team and we believe in each other and I know that we are gonna do better,” Peralta said. “The time is gonna come. I know that there’s a lot of people who want us to win and we want to win too. But sometimes baseball is tough and we gotta get through this and these moments and I know we have a great team.”

Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field was better than Saturday in every single way.

First, the weather was more than 30 degrees warmer — 80 at game time, a nice day to have in mid-April.

And the Cubs came from behind with good relief work and some excellent baserunning, tying the game in the eighth. Then Carson Kelly’s single walked it off in the ninth for a 7-6 win over the Pirates.

80-degree temps in April generally come with strong winds blowing out at Wrigley and this day was no exception. Six miles per hour, as reported in the boxscore? I think not, as howling winds made the flags look like this pre-game (Bluesky link):

It got so windy that they took the team flags down from the board. Jameson Taillon got taken deep by Oneil Cruz on the third pitch of the game. That one definitely had some help from the wind.

Then in the second, Taillon loaded the bases with two out, one of those outs thanks to a ball-four call that Kelly got overturned [VIDEO].

After that, Taillon threw ball one to Brandon Lowe and then laid one right down the middle of the plate that Lowe did not miss. It still had some help from the wind, but Lowe had a grand slam and the Pirates led 5-0. More on the slam from BCB’s JohnW53:

The grand slam off Taillon was the fifth he has served up among 174 career homers allowed.

It was the first at home. The others were at Cincinnati, in 2018, while with the Pirates, then as a Cub in 2023 at Philadelphia and Detroit, and on June 28, 2024, at Milwaukee.

The slam today was the 40th homer off him since then.

Credit to Taillon: He settled down after that, at one point retiring eight straight Pirates. That streak was ended by Lowe’s second homer of the game in the fifth — and that one had no help from the wind at all.

Meanwhile, the Cubs were inching their way back into the game. They had two solo homers in the third. First, Dansby Swanson [VIDEO].

Two outs later, Moisés Ballesteros [VIDEO].

At that point it was 5-2 and, well, early enough that a comeback was certainly possible. The Cubs got a one-out double from Kelly in the fourth, but he was stranded. Lowe’s second long ball made it 6-2 in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs got that run back in the bottom of the inning. Nico Hoerner led off with a single and went to third on a single by Ballesterois.

Alex Bregman scored Hoerner with this sac fly [VIDEO].

So now it’s 6-3, and, well, Cubs pitching is holding the Pirates down. Again, props to Taillon for sticking it out through the sixth and striking out 10. Here are the 10 K’s [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Taillon’s afternoon [VIDEO].

And more on Taillon from John:

Jameson Taillon is the first Cubs starter since 1901 to pitch exactly 6.0 innings, give up three home runs and strike out 10.

Kerry Wood went 6.0 with three homers and eight strikeouts at Toronto on June 13, 2003.

Yu Darvish went 6.0 with three homers and nine strikeouts at Cincinnati on Aug. 9, 2019.

Taillon gave up six runs on six hits and two walks; Wood, five runs on seven hits and two walks; and Darvish, four runs on four hits and no walks.

Riley Martin threw a scoreless seventh and was replaced after he allowed a one-out single in the eighth. I like what I’ve seen from Martin so far — he doesn’t mess around, goes right after hitters and has a good pitch mix. Always good to have another useful left-hander in the pen.

Meanwhile, the Cubs chipped away in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to some heads-up baserunning. Swanson led off with a walk. One out later, he took third on a double by Nico. Miguel Amaya, batting for Ballesteros, walked to load the bases.

Then this happened [VIDEO].

That is just outstanding baseball sense from Swanson. Seeing that Lowe fell over after catching Bregman’s popup, he broke for the plate. The Pirates, not expecting that, didn’t come close to throwing him out and it’s now 6-4. You don’t see too many sacrifice flies to the second baseman. All credit to Dansby for making that happen.

Ethan Roberts relieved Martin in the eighth, hit the first batter he faced, but then set down two Pirates in a row to end the inning.

Then the Cubs tied the game with even more heads-up baserunning. Seiya Suzuki led off the eighth with a walk. Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out, but Swanson also walked.

Michael Busch, given a day off from starting as he’s been in a horrific slump, batted for Matt Shaw, and Swanson did it again [VIDEO].

Busch’s single scored Suzuki easily, but when Bryan Reynolds’ throw to second got away, Swanson picked right up on that and scored the second run of the inning, tying the game. Can’t say enough about how aware Swanson is and how smart he is. That’s two runs basically stolen in this game by Swanson because he was heads-up on the basepaths. Great stuff.

Daniel Palencia retired the Pirates scoreless in the ninth, despite a two-out walk to Cruz, who wore the Cubs out all weekend. Cruz stole second and took third on a passed ball, but Palencia struck out Lowe on a 99 mile per hour fastball to set up the dramatic finish to this game.

Michael Conforto batted for Amaya and doubled. Scott Kingery ran for him. Bregman hit a ball to short and beat Konnor Griffin’s throw, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Ian Happ hit into a force play, with Kingery taking third. Suzuki walked to load the bases.

Take it away, Carson! [VIDEO]

Like I said — great weather, solid relief pitching, timely hitting and outstanding baserunning gave the Cubs this win, salvaging the final game of this series.

And one more note from John:

According to my research, this is the Cubs’ 998th regular-season walk-off win since 1876, first year of the National League.

It is their 900th of the Modern Era, which began in 1901.

It is their 795th at Wrigley Field, their home since 1916.

I still am not worried about this team, though there are some things that need shoring up. Consider: The Nationals just finished a sweep of the Brewers — in Milwaukee. There have been some very odd results early in this season, good teams like the Blue Jays, Mariners and Phillies have struggled, as have the Cubs. It is still VERY early.

Speaking of the Phillies, the Cubs travel to Philadelphia for a one-series, three-game road trip beginning Monday evening. Javier Assad will start the series opener for the Cubs and Cristopher Sánchez goes for the Phillies. Game time Monday is 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

A pair of Mets southpaws were back in action with Low-A St. Lucie on Sunday afternoon as they continue working their way back from respective injuries.

A.J. Minter and Nate Lavender took the mound for their second appearance. 

Minter again cruised his way through a perfect inning of work, throwing just seven pitches and striking out a batter in the top of the seventh. 

He used his full arsenal and topped out at 94 mph on his fastball.

Lavender was also effective, striking out one as well as he worked around a single in a scoreless inning of his own. 

He touched 93, but mainly sat around 92 mph on his fastball. 

The pair have now combined to allow just one hit while striking out five in two appearances back with St. Lucie. 

Both are expected to require lengthy minor league rehab stints. 

Minter is returning from a season-ending lat injury suffered early on last year, but is expected to play a significant role in New York’s bullpen when he returns. 

Lavender is still progressing his way back from Tommy John surgery, and will likely start the year down in Syracuse but figures to make his major league debut at some point.

The 26-year-old pitched to a 2.98 ERA across three levels in his last healthy campaign.

Putting the two of them alongside fellow lefty Brooks Raley in the Mets' bullpen could allow Carlos Mendoza to be agressive and creative with his usage. 

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! The third week of the season has seen the Yankees hit their first real snag of the season, as they dropped four of five games, including three straight, to cap off their first home stand of the season. Despite these hiccups on the field, however, the social media game remained strong. What was the team up to this week? Let’s find out!

Congrats, Derek!

It is a great pleasure for me to remind the world that Dan Hurley and the University of Connecticut lost the Men’s NCAA National Championship last Monday. Why does that matter? Well, as a Villanova alumnus, I think that’s all that matters, but for those of you seeking a Yankees connection, Derek Jeter is a Michigan fan.

The Game Belt

Despite their losses this week, the Yankees still had a couple of game belts to give out. First, we had Giancarlo Stanton earn the belt last Saturday for his work as a speed demon en route to the Easter Vigil victory over the Miami Marlins.

Then, of course, we had the Amed Rosario game.

Honestly, Big G seems more excited for Rosario receiving the belt than he did for himself!

Happy Birthday!

The Rodón family celebrated a birthday this week.

Rain Delay Wholesomeness

This past Friday, the Scranton RailRiders had a rain delay, and decided to take this picture of Spencer Jones hanging with the clubhouse crew. Except, I’m going to be honest with you, my eyes do not at all go to Spencer Jones or the clubhouse crew in this picture; rather, the more I look, the more absurdity I see.

Ouch!

Yankees 2022 legend Matt Carpenter posted a highlight of him pitching in youth baseball this week and, uh, I certainly sympathize with him on that hop.

Ichiro’s Statue

Over the weekend, the Seattle Mariners unveiled a statue of Ichiro Suzuki outside their stadium, and, uh, broke it during the unveiling. Ichiro, quickwitted as always, immediately joked that he “didn’t think Mariano would come out here and break the bat,” to which the Yankees replied on Twitter:

After a 1-5 home stand, the Nationals got off the mat in a big way with a sweep in Milwaukee. The Nats looked like the better team throughout the weekend series against a team that won 97 games last year and dominated the Nats in the season series. This was actually the Nats first sweep in Milwaukee since all the way back in 2006.

This game showcased who the Nats have been so far. The starting pitching was decent, if homer prone. The bullpen gave fans heart problems and the offense was electric. That is who the Nats have been so far. It is a great watch for neutral fans, even if it is stressful for Nats fans.

The Nats offense got off to a slow start in this one. Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff retired the first nine Nats he faced. However, James Wood got the party started in the top of the fourth with a majestic pull side homer. We are used to seeing Wood go backside, but on this pitch he got his hands inside and powered a ball into the upper deck.

After his sluggish start, Wood has woken up in a big way. His OPS is now over 1.000 and Wood has 5 homers and 14 RBI’s from the leadoff spot. When Wood is seeing the ball well, there are few players as scary as him at the plate. After that homer, the Brewers mostly pitched around Wood, even intentionally walking him once.

On the mound, Zack Littell was solid when he was not giving up home runs. He went five innings, allowing three runs, all on solo homers. Home runs have always been an issue for Littell, but he did not let the solo shots bother him too much.

Heading into the 7th, it was 3-2 Brewers, but the Nats offense woke up. They had a huge top of the 7th once Woodruff departed. Abner Uribe is one of the most underrated relievers in the league, but he was no match for this offense. 

This was a true rally, where the Nats were stringing hits together. Jacob Young started things off with a double that turned into three bases with an outfield error. Then Jose Tena delivered a huge pinch hit knock to drive him in. 

After Nasim Nunez made the second out, the Nats offense went into over drive. Curtis Mead made the Brewers pay for walking Wood by driving in the go-ahead run. Then, the Nats got another run in after they executed a steal of home on a first and third play. That was a play they could never get right last year, but they have done it right twice this season.

Just playing good offensive baseball has been the name of the game. The base running was not good yesterday, but it was fixed in this game. The broadcast made a comment about how Corey Ray said he was up all night upset after the base running mistakes. It is clear those got fixed, which you love to see.

However, this would not be a Nats game without a bullpen meltdown. After Ken Waldichuk got two outs in the 7th, he suffered an arm injury with the count 2-0 on the third batter. Unfortunately, Cole Henry was not able to pick him up. He walked that batter and then the guy after that. After falling behind Gary Sanchez, he left a cutter over the plate, which the veteran destroyed.

This could have demoralized the Nats offense, but there is no quit in this group. The offense just keeps coming in waves and they are getting production from throughout the lineup. 

Keibert Ruiz was the hero in this one. He replaced Drew Millas, who was pinch hit for. Then, in the 8th inning, he got a chance to deliver with men on second and third with one out. For a second straight game, the Nats catcher delivered with a massive hit up the middle to give the good guys the lead.

Ruiz’s overall offensive numbers have not been great, but he has delivered in clutch situations on a couple of occasions. His ability to put the bat on the ball serves him well with runners in scoring position. The Nats have not gotten outstanding play from their catchers, but Ruiz has certainly been the better of the two.

The game still felt totally up for grabs with the Nats bullpen having to get six more outs. However, PJ Poulin and Gus Varland finished off the Brewers in shockingly easy fashion. They retired six straight and closed the door on this one to give the Nats the sweep.

It was Varland’s first career save, and he stepped up with Clayton Beeter unavailable. When Varland is on his game, his stuff looks really crisp. The consistency is not always there, but I am bullish on him.

This was a huge statement series for the Nats, who improved to 7-8. They head to Pittsburgh to face a young and hungry Pirates squad for four games. It will not be easy, but if anyone could solve this Pirates pitching staff led by Paul Skenes, it would be these scrappy Nats.

It's been a frustrating past five days for the Yankees, who have not only dropped all five of their games, but have also scored a combined 13 runs (2.6 runs per game).

In Sunday's 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay, which secured a three-game sweep for the Rays, the Yankees scored four runs, but two came two came in the ninth inning, and it was too little, too late.

And while it's still early, sure, and the Yankees are still over .500 at 8-7, offensive inconsistency has been a trend.

"Guys are having some tough at-bats, but I think we just need to simplify some things at the plate," said Aaron Judge, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth but is still hitting at just a .218 clip for the season. "We’re trying to hit every single pitch we see up there and kind of getting ourselves in some bad counts and some bad situations. So I just think as a group, we simplify some things and refine our approach a little bit, hunt the pitch that we’re looking for and kind of pass the baton, and I think we’ll be in a better spot. 

"It’s tough, but it’s our job. We’ve got to go out there and take care of business."

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one Yankees hit, a Jazz Chisholm Jr. double, over his 6.0 shutout innings, striking out seven Yankees without a walk. 

"He’s a good pitcher, mixes up his cutter shape, plays with his slider shape," said Ryan McMahon, who went 1-for-4. "It’s good stuff, so sometimes you’ve gotta just tip your cap. He had good stuff today and we weren’t able to figure him out."

It's no secret that McMahon has been struggling in a big way this season, as he's now hitting .114 on the campaign. Despite all the Yankees' issues on Sunday, McMahon had a chance to tie the game with a runner on third and two outs, but he grounded out to first base on one pitch to end the game.

McMahon said that he's "working every single day" to get on the right track, and he's not concerned with the team's early offensive problems.

"I hate to use this cliché, but literally that’s baseball," he said. "We’re going to get going, we’re not worried about it. We’ve just go to start doing it."

And the Yankees' captain shared a similar statement, saying the Yankees need to flush this game immediately as they head back home for the start of a seven-game homestand, which starts on Monday night with the first of four against the Los Angeles Angeles.

"It’s baseball. We’ve just got to show up the next day and re-right the ship," Judge said. "You’ve got to have a short memory and move on to the next one. It’s tough, but that game’s over with. Move on to the next one."