Category: Baseball

The third game of a wrap-around four-game series had a start time that was pushed back by three hours to accommodate some inclement weather moving through Boston. After the rains came and (occasionally) went, the Tigers won the game 6-2 while dodging raindrops, especially late in the game.

Framber Valdez made his fifth start for the Tigers, and if you Porcello-out his clunker against the Twins, he’s been sensational. But since we can’t selectively remove only one start from a record, let it just be said that he’s been, overall, pretty decent. His previous start was on April 14, a seven-inning outing against the Royals in which he only gave up one run; that was the game in which both teams combined to strike out a half-dozen times. Weird.

Facing Valdez was a fellow lefty, Garrett Crochet. He spent three years in the White Sox bullpen (and another on the shelf recovering from Tommy John surgery), had a solid year in the White Sox’ rotation, exchanged white hosiery for red for 2025, and had a fantastic season last year in Boston, leading the American League in strikeouts. He placed second in the Cy Young voting last year to you-know-who. His previous outing was, shall we say, uncharacteristic for him: eleven runs (ten earned) in 1 2/3 innings against the Twins. The Twins have early on showed a knack for beating up on top shelf southpaws.

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Matt Vierling and Dillon Dingler hit back-to-back doubles for a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the inning Willson Contreras turned around a sinker that didn’t sink, and parked it over the Green Monster to even the score at 1-1. Trevor Story then singled and Wilyer Abreu walked, but Valdez struck out Ceddanne Rafaela to end the inning and limit the damage. He bounced back in the next inning for a 1-2-3 frame, though and went on to a really stong start.

In fact, both starters settled down for a while, with some inconsequential hits sprinkled here-and-there. But Jahmai Jones, who was in the leadoff spot against a lefty today, cracked a long home run to centre to put the Tigers up 2-1 with two out in the top of the fifth.

But the Tigers weren’t done: Gleyber Torres walked, Vierling singled, and Dingler smacked another home run to centre to make it a 5-1 game. All the runs in the fifth scored with two out, incidentally. How about Dillon Dingler, eh?

The rain occasionally intensified through the later innings, and the Fenway grounds crew did their best to make the dirt part of the field as playable as possible. Fresh rosin bags had to be delivered to the mound more than once.

Valdez finished six innings and gave up three hits, two walks and one run while striking out seven. It was good to see him increase his strikeout total today; he’s a big groundball pitcher but the strikeouts were still pretty nice nonetheless. Kyle Finnegan pitched a mostly-boring seventh, which is exactly what you want from him, particularly as it was pouring rain again by this point in the game. Will Vest’s eighth inning featured a leadoff walk, a double play, and a nice play by Hao-Yu Lee on a grounder deep down the third base line for the third out.

In the ninth Javier Báez singled to start the inning and Kerry Carpenter followed with a walk. Torres singled to right to plate Báez for a 6-1 score. After a double play, Dingler singled to left — his fourth hit of the day — and Torres tried to score all the way from first, but someone forgot to tell Torres how short that left field is and he was thrown out at the plate trying to score. Hey, the ball was sure to be wet, why not force the throw?

Connor Seabold came on for the last three outs; he gave up an infield single to Abreu, who advanced to second on defensive indifference and scored on a double by Caleb Durbin. A routine grounder to second ended things, and both teams went to their clubhouses to dry off a bit. Good win over one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Monday’s odd 11:05 am ET conclusion to this four-game set. They’re 8-2 over their last 10.

Final score: Tigers 6, Red Sox 2

Prior to the game, Kevin McGonigle and Hao-Yu Lee got the customary trip inside the famed Green Monster to add their signatures to the enormous list of players both famous and obscure who have inked their names inside the wall.

when at Fenway ✍️ pic.twitter.com/1R6tFYRUOn

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 19, 2026

Notes and Notices

• The word crochet is the French word for “hook.” So, if you buy a crochet hook, you’re buying a hook hook, and this has been Languages Corner with JT.
• The series finale goes Monday at 11:10 am EDT due to Patriots’ Day in Boston. The game is meant to coorindate with the running of the Boston Marathon.
• On this day in 1810, the people of Venezuela overthrew the governor that had been appointed by Spain so they could rule the place themselves. And that was the last time anything interesting happened with the government of that country.

With Missouri baseball hoping to grab at least one win in the series, the Tigers came up just short, battling to the finish in their final game against Oklahoma on Sunday, April 19.

Left-hander Javyn Pimental set the tone early for Mizzou, working a composed opening inning that included a double play, a pair of walks and a key throwout at second to escape early traffic. 

Kaden Peer provided that lone early spark with a single to left, but a batter interference call on Pierre Seals quickly ended that inning.

The Sooners struck first that same inning, with a home run to center, followed shortly by a triple and multiple hits that forced the Tigers into an early bullpen situation. Keyer Gonzalez came on in relief in the second and recorded a strikeout, but Oklahoma continued to apply pressure and added another run, making the score 4-0 before he could fully settle the inning.

Gonzalez later found his rhythm on the mound, mixing in two strikeouts and limiting damage after a defensive shift that saw Isaiah Frost and Tyler Macon switch positions. 

Still, Oklahoma’s big swing came in the fourth inning, when Ian Lohse came in to relieve Gonzalez during the middle of the inning, when a three-run home run to right pushed the lead to 8–0. Sooners

Offensively, Missouri was held quite early by Oklahoma starter Cord Rager, who worked through the first five innings with eight strikeouts while allowing just one hit.

Slight Hope for Mizzou

The Tigers’ offense finally broke through in seventh inning. Kam Durnin launched a 398-foot home run for his fourth of the season to put Mizzou on the board at 8–1. Isaiah Frost followed with a single, and while the inning ended on a double play, it gave Missouri its first real momentum of the day.

Defensively, the Tigers had bright spots throughout. Juan Villareal and Kaden Drew each turned in steady relief innings, while Sam Rosand benefitted from a highlight catch by Peer in center field that took away extra bases. Isaiah Salas also worked a clean frame, allowing one hit with a double play and strikeout.

The late push came in the eighth. Peer sparked it again with a single, Eric Maisonet followed with another hit and Tyler Macon worked a walk to load the bases. Blaize Ward delivered the biggest swing of the inning with a two-run single to left, scoring Peer and Maisonet to make it 8–3. Durnin later walked to reload the bases, but the rally ended when Frost grounded out.

Mizzou added one final push with Serna reaching on a walk, Peer collecting his third hit of the day and Maisonet hitting a single to the right side scoring Serna. Although the Tigers comeback attempt stalled as Macon struck out to end the game.

What’s Next

The biggest key for the Tigers right now is clear, they need timely hitting. Mizzou has shown they can get runners on, but the next step is cashing in when it matters. If the offense can start producing in those situational spots, the upcoming series against No. 16 Arkansas could be a real turning point for the season.

That test begins Thursday, April 23, and runs through Saturday, April 25 against the Razorbacks. It won’t be easy, but with an 11-10 record at home, the Tigers will be looking to lean on familiar surroundings and try to steal the series in front of their own fans.

Before that, Mizzou gets one more tune-up, hosting Southern Illinois at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 at Taylor Stadium. After a stretch of road games, the Tigers finally return home, where they’ll hope the energy from the crowd can help spark the consistency this lineup has been searching for.

To follow along and read more about Mizzou Baseball, follow @Rock MNation,@SophBleedsLA and @Henry_C81, on twitter/x.

The start of the game was delayed a little over three hours, but it didn’t seem to affect either the Yankees’ bats or arms. With a chance to sweep the Royals, the club did just that, flattening their onetime bitter rivals behind Ryan Weathers’ strong start and a big first inning for the lineup. The Yankees move to 13-9 with a dominant 7-0 victory on Sunday.

We got right to it once play was allowed, with leadoff hitter Ben Rice doing his job and walking, ahead of Aaron Judge:

That’s Judge’s fifth first-inning dinger of the season, more or less able to start his team with a lead before the game really starts. It’s also Judge’s ninth overall homer, second in baseball behind the currently-unconscious Yordan Alvarez, who cracked his 10th today. Austin Wells helped keep the pressure on in the first, bringing Cody Bellinger in with a sac fly after Cole Ragans walked three of four batters to load the bases. If you stuck around the Stadium through the entire delay, you were certainly rewarded with that big first inning.

Ben Rice continued to burnish his case for abolishing the platoon, taking Ragans to right field for his eighth long ball of the year, and fourth straight game with one:

This looks like a porch job, but it turns out Statcast has it a homer in 21 of the 30 MLB parks. Ben’s maturation as a hitter — and the two walks he took today — sure make him a good candidate to hit in front of Judge atop the lineup.

Trent Grisham helped the club put the game out of reach in the fifth:

For all the fun of the offense though, the real story may have been Ryan Weathers. The Yankee lefty had a second excellent start in three outings, going 7.1 innings and shutting out the Royals, albeit with a little bit of help from the defense behind him:

Getting through the first without allowing three straight home runs — although Bobby Witt Jr. did get a single in the frame — already meant we were off to a good start with Weathers, but more than one inning of work was the process. Weathers does not have a good four-seam fastball, and indeed those three home runs the Angels clocked were all center-cut heaters. Today, just 29 percent of his offerings were the #1, three points lower than that bad outing last Tuesday, and his slider/sweeper… thing was much more active, 28 percent of pitches thrown rather than 20.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Weathers pitches best when he pitches backwards, mixing more breaking and offspeed stuff in in place of his fastball. He was able to do that today, and posted his second-best start of the year. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a second excellent start sandwiched around that Angels game, which may be the start of some consistency for the southpaw.

For all the angst of the five-game losing streak, the Yankees went 5-2 on the week and took care of business to close out the homestand. They’ll be off tomorrow before a long road trip starts in Boston Tuesday night, with Luis Gil scheduled to get the start at Fenway. First pitch from the Hub comes at 6:45pm Eastern.

Box Score

Michael King took the mound for the San Diego Padres in the final game of the three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium looking to help his team win the series. King was not at his best, but he was good enough to hold the Angels scoreless over five innings before leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. The right-hander labored through his start thanks to four walks, but he made pitches to get out of trouble. King finished with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed en route to a 2-1 win.

Michael King strikes out six batters over five innings pitched and allows just one hit against the Angels.

Padres @ Angels#ForTheFaithfulpic.twitter.com/g8j379AJvM

— San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) April 19, 2026

The San Diego offense thought Reid Detmers was going to be on the mound for Los Angeles, but prior to the start of the game the Padres learned Walbert Urena would start for the Angels in what was expected to be a bullpen game for the home team. By the time Urena walked off the mound he had completed six innings and worked into the seventh, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He was charged with a second run to close the books on his outing when reliever Sam Bachman allowed an inherited runner to score in the seventh to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.

San Diego scored the first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when Xander Bogaerts singled through the middle of the infield to score Fernando Tatis Jr. who singled to right field to start the inning. The Padres held a 1-0 lead when they scored their second run of the game in the top of the seventh when Bryce Johnson singled to left field which allowed Bogaerts to score from second base. Johnson was 2-for-3 in the game with a single, a double, an RBI and stolen base.

Bryce adds on! pic.twitter.com/QBSfa3GidK

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 19, 2026

The Angels broke through against Kyle Hart in the bottom of the seventh inning. Los Angeles had runners at second and third with one out after an Adam Frazier sacrifice bunt. Zach Neto grounded out to shortstop, which brought a run home to cut the San Diego lead to 2-1. Hart was replaced on the mound by Bradgley Rodriguez who was able to get out of the inning without any additional damage. Rodriguez returned to the mound for the eighth inning and worked a scoreless frame to maintain the one-run lead.

The Padres were unable to add any runs in the top of the ninth, which meant Mason Miller came in to handle the bottom of the ninth. The right-hander earned his eighth save of the season striking out two of the three batters he faces to secure the win for San Diego.

Mason Miller locks down the save and extends his scoreless streak to 32.2 innings 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6xwL8OU0YF

— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2026

The Padres are off on Monday, but return to action against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday at 5:40 p.m.

The Chicago White Sox once again wasted no time getting on the board. First batter of the game, Chase Meidroth singled to left field. Jeffrey Springs walked Miguel Vegas and while he did K the great Munetaka Murakami, a single to Everson Pereira and an Edgar Quero sac fly made it 1-0 Southsiders.

Once again, the first inning has been a wash for the green and gold. Not only does giving up runs early put the A’s in the hole, but it also gives the opposers a less than desirable amount of confidence out of the gate.

This was on full display in the top of the 2nd as Derek Hill took Jeffrey Springs deep, followed by a two-run jack by Miguel Vargas which brought home Chase Meidroth, who once again reached base. This time via the double.

So before you can even settle into your seat with a cold one and a bag of peanuts, it’s 4-0 White Sox.

Thankfully WBC hero Darell Hernaiz has ice in his veins…

Darell Hernáiz hits his first homer of the season 😤 pic.twitter.com/fHwhBrNwra

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 19, 2026

His first home run of the season puts the A’s on the board, chipping away the deficit by making it a 4-1 game.

it wouldn’t take the White Sox very long to get that run back (and then some). The great Munetaka Murakami showcased that signature “powa” once again, taking Springs deep in the top of the 5th for a two-run tater. That wouldn’t be it for the Sox in the 5th. Just two batters later, Colson Montgomery would get ahold of one. Not even Denzel Clarke had a shot at this one as it would bang against the batter’s eye.

That would be it for Jeffrey Springs. He’d get out of the inning but overall, a pretty poor performance from the guy who had been our most reliable starter to start the season. Four home runs were offered up today by Springs. You would’ve thought he was Dillon Overton with the way the ball was leaving the yard.

On the offensive side, not a whole lot of damage was done by A’s hitters against the rookie Noah Schultz. He’d also be done for the day after five innings of work with the only run surrendered being that homer by Darell Hernaiz.

Now this is where things got interesting.

Tyler Soderstrom hit a one out double in the 7th inning. Darell Hernaiz reached first after a hard fought battle with reliever Grant Taylor that resulted in a walk. After a Lawrence Butler pinch hit strike out, Zack Gelof would get ahold of one, ripping it the other way for a bases clearing triple.

Zack Gelof brings home a pair ✌️ pic.twitter.com/t2QVNk8Sl6

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 19, 2026

That hit knocked Taylor out of the game, setting up Jacob Wilson for a battle against Jordan Leasure. An eleven pitch tug-o-war between Wilson and Leasure resulted in a pop out to catcher Edgar Quero to end the inning. But Gelof would indeed score during that at-bat on a wild pitch.

Gelof SCORES on the wild pitch 🏃‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/mdYpMZqBD9

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 19, 2026

7-4 White Sox going into the 8th inning.

A’s reliever Mason Barnett failed to record an out to start the 8th, so the A’s turned to flame thrower Luis Medina. He’d get Derek Hill to pop out on a bunt attempt, then suffer a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third. Everyone was on the edge of the seat for the Andrew Benintendi at-bat, where Medina battled against the lefty before striking him out on a spinner. The hard hitting Chase Meidroth would be his next victim. He’d get him to ground out to second, ending the threat and setting the A’s up for another shot at the comeback.

Unfortunately no runs were scored in the 8th by the A’s. A two out double by Carlos Cortes had them in striking distance, but he’d end up stranded there. Max Muncy put a charge in one though it’d fall just a few steps short of the warning track.

Onto the 9th inning.

A scoreless inning by reliever Scott Barlow sent the A’s to the plate for their last chance at a miracle. The bottom of the 9th got going with a one out walk to Darell Hernaiz. Lawrence Butler couldn’t get it done (once again) but Jeff McNeil was a different story. Off the bench, he’d get hit by a fastball from White Sox closer Seranthony Dominguez!

So now it’s first and second…two outs…Jacob Wilson at the plate…and he’d pop out to end the game : (

Just like that the A’s drop the series against the Chicago White Sox and fall to 11-11. What a disappointing home stand it ended up being, despite featuring flashes of promise. They’ll now head to Seattle for what should be a highly contested series. Those Mariners actually took down the Texas Rangers this afternoon and the San Diego Padres beat the Angels. Which means as of this moment, the A’s, Rangers, and Angels are in a three way tie for the division.

A’s losing on purpose so their record (11-11) could be an angel number.

Chess not checkers🧠🧠🧠

— Athletics Rants (@AthleticsRants) April 19, 2026

The week ended how it began, with a Kansas City loss. That is also how the entire middle went. Kansas City’s losing streak has extended to seven games and they will go home after an 0-6 road trip.

Cole Ragans’ first inning started BB, HR, BB, K, BB, BB and he still managed to get out of there with only 3 runs given up. That should make it seem like the Royals had a chance, but that 3 run lead felt insurmountable and then progressively got worse. Ben Rice, who cannot make outs, hit another home run in the second inning. Trent Grisham added the third homer in the 5th, a 3-run shot. On the day, Ragans walked 8, to set a new career high. He was charged with 7 earned runs and left his last walk on base for Mason Black to deal with. Black did get out of the inning, but by then it was pretty much over.

Ryan Weathers, on the other hand, dominated Royals hitters. Bobby singled in the first and then they waited all the way to 6th for their second hit when Elias Diaz singled to right. He was then thrown out at home on a Bobby Witt double a few batters later. Weathers ended up going 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 8 Ks. The team threatened to score again in the 8th to no avail. The Yankee bullpen held on to the shutout.

Mason Black had his first appearance for the Royals and it went well. No runs over 1 2/3 innings. He did allow 3 hits and a walk though, so the underlying metrics were not great. Both he and Diaz debuting with some success, are about the only bright spots on the day if you throw Bobby in there with them. This was not the least interesting baseball game I have ever watched, but it was a slog for sure.

The team will head back to Kauffman tied with the Mets for the worst record in baseball. Baltimore and the Angels will be in Kansas City for the coming week.

What losing to the Colorado Rockies does to a team.

The Colorado Rockies earned their eighth win of the season last night with a close and hard fought victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers—a feat they didn’t accomplish until August last season.

Before today’s game, Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing seemed to imply that the Rockies weren’t necessarily on the straight and narrow.

Well the Rockies took that personally.

The Rockies tied their number of 2025 victories against the Dodgers with a strong win on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, earning at minimum a series split and setting them up for a potential series win tomorrow night. It was also the first time in four years the Rockies have notched back-to-back-victories against the Dodgers.

Making things even worse for Los Angeles? Just a few blocks away at Ball Arena, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the first game of their Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A solid bounce back for Lorenzen

Veteran righty Michael Lorenzen has had an up-and-down season so far. His last time out he gave up seven runs—though only two were earned—in just 2.2 innings. The Rockies’ biggest name of the off-season needed a bounce back, but that was a potentially tall order against a strong Dodgers lineup.

But Lorenzen delivered.

While he gave up a decent amount of contact with seven hits, he also pounded the strike zone. He gave up just one walk, the fewest since his Rockies debut back at the start of the season. Lorenzen ultimately gave up three earned runs over five innings of work and struck out three batters to set the stage for an unlikely Rockies victory.

Senzatela leads a mostly solid effort from the bullpen

It took six appearances and 12.2 innings for Antonio Senzatela to give up his first earned run of the season. The former starter’s efforts are a stark contrast to his brutal struggles last season. Three singles in the top of the sixth inning plated a run with two outs, but he was able to secure the final out thanks to a good catch deep in left field by Mickey Moniak. After a breather in between innings, Senzatela set down the side in order in the top of the seventh.

Jimmy Herget also struggled somewhat in his inning of work, though without any damage. Herget gave up two singles in the top of the eighth, but navigated a scoreless frame with a strikeout.

Where things got hairy for the pitching staff was in the top of the ninth. The Rockies had plenty of cushion to work with as Victor Vodnik—who earned the save last night—had started warming up with just a two run lead and entered the game with five.

Vodnik struggled to locate his pitches. He gave up a lead-off double to Shohei Ohtani, who advanced on a wild pitch and eventually scored via a Will Smith single. Another single and a walk had the bases loaded with just one out. Rushing cast a sharp grounder to Willi Castro at second base, but Castro was unable to cleanly come up with the ball for what would have been a game-ending double play—only getting the out at first base—and another run scored.

With runners in scoring position, 28-year-old rookie debutant Ryan Ward made contact and sent the ball to right field. Thankfully, a diving catch by Troy Johnston secured the final out and the Rockies’ victory.

What’s so fishy about it?

After barely squeaking out a win 4-3 last night, the Rockies hauled in plenty of runs on their lines this afternoon. The Rockies scored nine runs on a whopping 15 hits against Dodgers pitching. They drove starter Roki Sasaki from the game after 4.2 innings, drove relievers Blake Treinen and Edwin Díaz from the game with neither recording a single out, and overall made the Dodgers use six different bullpen arms with a game left to play tomorrow and their next day off not coming until April 30th.

Edouard Julien, the pride of Québec City, broke out of a short slump and went 3-for-5 this afternoon. He scored once himself but more importantly drove in three runs on a bases loaded single in the eighth inning to bust the game wide open and give the Rockies plenty of cushion — cushion the bullpen ended up needing.

Kyle Karros, Moniak, and Johnston all had two hits off of Dodgers pitching. Karros hit his first home run of the season in a 2-for-3 afternoon with a walk. Moniak had an impactful hit in the seventh inning by launching his team-leading sixth home run for two runs to put the Rockies in a lead they would never relinquish. He also drove in an additional insurance run in the eighth inning.

10 of the 11 batters the Rockies sent to the plate today ended up with a hit, and they did so while striking out just five times.

Coming Up Next

The Dodgers now cannot win their first series against the Rockies. It will be the first series split or loss against a National League team of the season for them. The Rockies can secure a series win with a victory tomorrow night as they aim to send the folks in Dodger Blue home disappointed for the third straight game. It will be a lefty-on-lefty match-up with Justin Wrobleski slated to start for the Dodgers and José Quintana scheduled for the Rockies. First pitch is at 6:40 PM MDT.

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The Yankees swept the Kansas City Royals with Sunday's 7-0 win at Yankee Stadium.

Takeaways

1. LHPRyan Weathers arguably delivered his best start of the early season. He scattered five hits in 7.1 scoreless IP, striking out five and walking one. Weathers (1-2, 3.18 ERA) threw 66 strikes on 95 pitches and retired 12 straight at one point, including four consecutive strikeouts. After 22 frames without run support until the first inning of Sunday's game at Yankee Stadium, Weathers showed up once more with his best stuff -- and he was repaid.
2. RFAaron Judge's ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field, ended the aforementioned run-support drought for Weathers and put the Yankees (13-9) in control as a three-run first inning ensued. (Austin Wells later added a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Cody Bellinger and giving Weathers a 3-0 lead into the second inning.) Judge's three strikeouts dampened the captain's 1-for-5 afternoon, but he ultimately changed the game with an early long ball that Weathers needed to settle in and get his first win as a Yankee.
3. DHBen Rice, whose leadoff walk set the table for Judge's first-inning homer, did his own damage in the second when he launched a one-out blast to right and extended the Yankees' 4-0 lead. Rice's eight home run of the young season puts him one behind Judge in a three-way tie with the Chicago White Sox's Muntaka Murakami and the St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker among the MLB's HR leaders. (The Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez leads with 10.) With 17 combined home runs between them, Judge and Rice are becoming a top duo in the sport.
4. CF Trent Grisham's three-run homer in the fifth inning polished off the Yankees' 7-0 final and showed what this lineup is capable of beyond Rice and Judge at the top. Grisham's 2-for-4 day included a first-inning walk and sixth-inning single.

Who's the MVP?

Weathers, whose tone-setting start featured the type of swing-and-miss material that could be a game-changing presence in the Yankees' starting rotation.

Highlights

We have liftoff in the Bronx 🚀

Aaron Judge with a two-run blast! pic.twitter.com/bML6JWoexH

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 19, 2026

Home run No. 8 for Ben Rice! 🍚 pic.twitter.com/bSv4eg6zQb

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 19, 2026

Trent Grisham LAUNCHES one! pic.twitter.com/YOBCb9b2FS

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 19, 2026

A perfect relay as the Yankees get the put at home! pic.twitter.com/e62t6zjs3A

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 19, 2026

What's next

The Yankees take Monday off before they have their first rivalry series of 2026 with the Boston Red Sox.

This week's three-game series at Fenway Park begins with Tuesday's 6:45 p.m. opener, in which RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 7.00 ERA) is set to start for New York.

All dressed in your Sunday best: Bryan Woo, +.21 WPA

Rocking the Adam Sandler fit: Cal Raleigh, -.03 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the Seattle Mariners scored five runs.

A dumb weird little road trip for our dumb weird little baseball team in what is shaping up to be a dumb weird little baseball season.

Brandon Nimmo singled for Texas on the game’s first pitch and then the lineup went until the sixth inning before their next base runner of the game. Can’t complain about the lack of hits with RISP when you don’t even get on base, right? *points to temple with self-satisfied grin*

Meanwhile, Seattle leadoff hitter Rob Refsnyder also had a hit on the first pitch offered to the Mariners, only his went over the fence in what would become a trend today as the Mariners hit three home runs off of Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, two of which were of the two-run variety.

The Rangers did finally spark a rally in the top of the seventh when they loaded the bases against Seattle starter Bryan Woo. After a Josh Jung sac fly scored a run, and a Evan Carter double that scored another, the rally ended with Texas still trailing by the eventual final score.

And so the Rangers lost the game and series to finish this long West Coast trip at 4-6. Texas went 4-2 during the middle portion of the road trip but bookended their days away from home with two losses each to Los Angeles and Seattle as they return to .500 baseball.

Player of the Game: Um, er, well… Tyler Alexander tossed an inning of scoreless relief. That’s pretty cool.

Up Next: The Rangers get a day off to reacclimate to Texas before starting a series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates beginning on Tuesday.

The first pitch of the series opener from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be broadcast via the Rangers Sports Network.

What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.

In a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champs lost their second consecutive game to their plucky hosts. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead or keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park, though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning.

After Shohei Ohtani led off the ninth with a ground-rule double, the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. They had runners on second and third and Ryan Ward at the plate with two out in his first game in the majors. But right fielder Troy Johnston robbed Ward of his chance to chip away at the deficit further, diving to catch his line drive to end the game.

Before that, the Rockies chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Diaz, who came on in the eighth inning to pitch for the first time in nine days and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs.

He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.

Now, after arriving in Denver without having lost a game to a National League opponent, the Dodgers (15-6) are in danger of losing their four-game series against an NL club that is 9-13 and hasn’t made the postseason since 2018.

It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet big league debut.

Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first big-league hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning.

Ward lined a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0, and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.

He also singled in the sixth, sending Antonio Senzatela’s 96-mph sinker into center field. That advanced Alex Call, who scored to make it 4-3 after Kim’s fielder’s choice and another RBI single by Alex Freeland.

Read more:Rick Monday on saving an American flag at Dodger Stadium: 'I get letters every week'

In his first at-bat, Ward flew out to lead off the third inning, when the Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead to work with. Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim and Ohtani doubled in Freeland — while extending his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers’ history.

But to start the fifth, Sasaki fell behind to Kyle Karros, who hit a 96-mph fastball 448 feet for his first home run this season, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2. The Rockies tied it two batters later on Edouard Julien’s RBI double.

After that, Sasaki lasted only three more batters, including walking Tyler Freeman to put runners on first and second base with two out before reliever Alex Vesia came in and got TJ Rumfield to line out to second base to preserve the tie for the time being.

Sasaki went 4.2 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up seven hits, three runs, striking out and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the Dodgers’ current six-man rotation.

The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits without getting an out, including a two-run home run to Mickey Moniak.

Read more:Dodgers' bats turn cold during road loss to Colorado Rockies

After Diaz’s disastrous eighth, the Dodgers trailed 9-4 going into their final at-bat.

Still, the result will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story about getting the call after Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Just like Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers’ veteran infielder has a vivid recollection of his major league debut at Coors on June 6, 2014: He remembers making an error at shortstop. That the whole thing was wildly nerve-racking. And wonderful.

“You feel really good about being in the big leagues and getting your first shot of accomplishing your dream, what you've been working for your whole life,” said Rojas, standing in the same visitors clubhouse he entered before making his debut, trying not to be starstruck when he spotted his new teammates Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw getting ready to play.

“But then you have to deal with the emotions of being on the big league roster for the side of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's what I remember the most, the mixed feeling of emotions.”

So the Dodgers’ assignment, Rojas said, was to make the first baseman Ward “feel as comfortable as he can be.”

Then Rojas headed out to take grounders and give pointers at first base alongside Ward, who got the start there instead of his pal Dalton Rushing. The hot-hitting backup catcher might have played first base if manager Dave Roberts hadn’t decided Ward deserved the opportunity — with Rushing’s enthusiastic blessing.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: Readers show their love for Charley Steiner

The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP has spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 OPS for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers so far this year.

Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks, get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.

“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he's done all that,” Roberts said. “He's improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That's easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn't done that.”

If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.

“Honestly, I used it to keep going. ‘Okay, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’

“I used it as fire to keep working.”

That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.

In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

DENVER — For the first time this season, the Dodgers have lost back-to-back games.

And in a 9-6 loss to the Rockies on Sunday, they picked an ugly way to do it.

Despite being up three runs early, the Dodgers slowly wilted on a sunny afternoon at Coors Field. Roki Sasaki repeatedly stubbed his toe at the end of a 4 ⅔-inning, three-run start. Blake Treinen surrendered another lead in the seventh with a clunker out of the bullpen. The offense went quiet until a short-lived rally in the ninth.

And even Edwin Díaz’s return to action, after a nine-day layoff amid a drop in velocity that caused concern over his knee, only raised more questions during a three-run outing in the eighth that put the game out of reach.

“In this ballpark, a lot of things happen,” manager Dave Roberts said. “This ballpark is certainly a neutralizer. The pitchers don’t have the same feel.”

That became abundantly clear as the afternoon dragged along, with the Dodgers (15-6) failing to protect a late-game lead for the second straight day.

The team scored the first three runs, plating two in the third on an RBI single from Alex Freeland and an RBI double from Shohei Ohtani –– extending his on-base streak to 51 games –– then another in the fourth when debuting 28-year-old prospect Ryan Ward lofted a line drive over the second baseman’s head for an RBI single that marked his first career hit.

Alas, just like their loss Saturday, the offense cooled off, scoring only once more until the ninth.

And, also like Saturday, their pitching couldn’t keep them in front against the Rockies (9-13) and their light-hitting lineup.

The meltdown started with Sasaki, who couldn’t maintain his strong start to the day.

In the first three frames, the right-hander retired 8 of 10 batters he faced while attacking with his fastball. But after that, he let 8 of 12 reach base while once again losing his command.

The Rockies got one run in the fourth, an inning that could’ve been worse if not for a double play that retired the side. They then tied the game in the fifth, when Kyle Karros hit a 448-foot blast to lead the inning off and Edouard Julien followed Jake McCarthy’s double with an RBI single.

Veteran reliever Treinen was Sunday’s other culprit. Handed a 4-3 lead in the seventh, he failed to record an out while allowing four straight hits. The big blow was a two-run, go-ahead homer from Mickey Moniak. Tyler Freeman drove in another to extend the Colorado lead.

Then came Díaz, who also failed to record an out in his three-run eighth inning –– extinguishing virtually any hope of a comeback (even though the Dodgers got the tying run to the plate in the ninth) to send the team to this season’s first losing streak.

What it means

That, surprisingly, the Dodgers will not win this series in Denver.

They can still salvage a four-game split, with a quirk in the schedule setting up a series finale Monday.

But given the gulf of class between the franchises, even that would represent a disappointment for a Dodgers club that had won five of its first six series this season.

Who’s hot

Díaz. But only in the most literal sense.

For the first time since a blown save back on April 10, the Dodgers’ new $69 million closer not only got warm but finally entered a game.

What happened next, however, was not pretty.

He faced four batters. He recorded zero outs. And his velocity concerns did not go away, with his fastball averaging only 95.4 mph –– and bottoming out at 92.8 mph, one of the 10 slowest four-seamers of his 10-year career.

Granted, Díaz was coming off a long layoff and not pitching in a save situation. He also hit 97 mph on the radar gun a couple of times. 

Overall, though, he simply didn’t look sharp, ballooning his early-season ERA over 10.00.

“Obviously, today, it just didn’t look sharp,” Roberts said of Díaz, who did not address reporters postgame. “I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning.”

Who’s not

There’s obviously Sasaki, who allowed 10 baserunners (seven hits, two walks, one HBP) for a second straight start and now has a 6.11 ERA and 1.87 WHIP in four outings (only one of which has seen him complete the fifth).

However, even before Díaz’s entrance, Treinen and the Dodgers’ bullpen made their own ugly case.

Over the first three weeks of the season, the unit had only blown two late-game leads. Now, they’ve done it on back-to-back days.

Treinen had entered Sunday without allowing a run in his first eight appearances this year. Amid the Colorado altitude, however, he had trouble with his trademark sweeper. All four hits he allowed came on the pitch, with all but one of them smoked at least 95 mph off the bat.

Up next

The Dodgers will go for a series split Monday with Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12 ERA) on the mound. The Rockies will counter with veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63 ERA).

Grant Holmes and the Braves are hoping to sweep the leg vs. the Philadelphia Phillies in the series finale on Peacock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 pm ET. 

Game Notes

Pitching matchup

Lineups

What we learned as ‘frustrated' Phillies drop fifth straight, swept by Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It was clear this weekend who the better team was on the field. It became even clearer when the attention of the home crowd started drifting toward the ice.

“Let’s go Flyers!” hundreds of fans chanted midway through Sunday night’s chilly, nationally televised game.

The Braves, one of baseball’s strongest clubs entering the series, swept the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, finishing it off with a 4-2 win over their division rival.

Again, the Phillies’ offense was dormant outside of one inning, an exhausting theme through the first 21 games of the season.

Kyle Schwarber got the scoring started in the first with a two-run homer, but the lineup could not build off it. Even when it looked like they might break through in the bottom of the ninth, with two on and a chance to at least tie the game, Ronald Acuña Jr. made a lunging grab in the right-field corner to rob Schwarber of extra bases and end it.

Schwarber thought for a moment there was a chance it would fall.

“I thought there was a chance,” he said. “He’s a good defender, and he made a great play to end the game.”

It was the seventh time this year that the Phillies scored in only one inning of a game. That is a third of the season so far. Add in three shutout losses, and that is just under half of the young season.

What else came out of Sunday?

BOHM, STOTT SCUFFLES CONTINUE

This has been a common theme to this point, and another reminder that Spring Training success can only mean so much. The Phillies’ second and third basemen were the club’s hottest hitters for most of camp.

For Stott, the contact quality has not always been the problem. Entering the night, he ranked in the top 20 percent of hitters in hard-hit rate. One of his groundouts Sunday was again classified as hard-hit. The bigger issue has been staying in the strike zone.

That was one of Stott’s strengths last year, even in a season when he posted just a .719 OPS. This year, he has chased at a career-high 35 percent clip, which ranks in the bottom 25 percent of hitters. It could be a byproduct of pressing and trying to find a groove while the offense sputters around him. But until that changes, the struggles may continue.

Bohm’s issues have looked a little different.

He has actually done a nice job limiting whiffs, chase and strikeouts. But he has not barreled a single ball this year. Historically, his barrel rate has never been among the league’s best, but it is hard to produce when you are not squaring anything up.

Bohm has posted a league-worst .407 OPS. Stott is at .511. Not a good start, despite their strong defensive showings.

Thomson said Bohm’s frustration is obvious, but also noted that he could be turning the corner.

“He smothered some balls tonight,” Thomson said. “The last couple of nights, he’s actually hit the ball harder. So hopefully he’s coming around, but everybody’s frustrated.”

That frustration is not hard to spot around the lineup right now.

“A lot of frustration,” Thomson said. “We’re disappointed, we’re frustrated. I know they’re trying hard — sometimes trying too hard.”

PAINTER BATTLES, THEN FLAMES OUT

For much of the night, it looked like another mature outing from Phillies rookie Andrew Painter. He worked in and out of trouble through the first four innings, digging into his full repertoire and attacking hitters early in counts.

Then the fifth inning arrived, and it unraveled.

Painter fell behind both Michael Harris II, who had homered earlier, and Ronald Acuña Jr., and both lined singles. That was it for his night.

Rob Thomson came out to get his starter, and the bullpen did not pick him up.

Left-hander Tim Mayza entered, walked Braves catcher Drake Baldwin to load the bases, then watched Atlanta tack on an RBI groundout, a run-scoring single from Austin Riley and an RBI double by Ozzie Albies. Suddenly it was 4-2 Braves.

That was all Atlanta needed. Another big inning from the opponent put the Phillies in a hole, and once again their bats could not dig them out.

Painter’s was not a huge fan of his outing overall.

“I had a lot of deep counts,” he said. “It was just super inefficient, a lot of pitches.”

Thomson saw some good and some bad.

“I thought he was OK,” he said. “Fastball, he was up in the zone a lot with his fastball. I’d like to see him get ahead in the count a little bit more, but he got out of a lot of jams in the second and the fourth, so that was good to see.”

Painter, though, did not sound like someone feeling extra pressure from the bigger picture around the team.

“You’ve just got to stay within yourself, control those things that you can control,” he said. “Don’t try to get too big, don’t try to overdo anything.”

NOT TAPPING INTO STRENGTHS

The Phillies have two of the fastest players in baseball in Justin Crawford and Trea Turner, yet the club has only 11 stolen bases through the first three weeks of the season.

Of course, they need to get on base first to pressure pitchers and catchers. But during an offensive stretch like this one, the Phillies need to get back to basics: contact hitting, stolen bases and sound defense.

That would also create more chances for the back end of the bullpen to do its job.

The Phillies have invested heavily in Brad Keller and Jhoan Duran, though their closer is now on the injured list, but they have had so few late leads to protect. And now the middle relief group has hit some rough patches too, which has only made things worse during this 8-13 start.

Thomson said the club has to simplify things and stop letting the feeling take over at the plate.

“You’ve got to take the emotion out of it,” he said. “This isn’t football. It’s not hockey, where emotion can help you. In this sport, over-emotion can often hurt you.”

Schwarber echoed that idea afterward. The frustration is clear, but he made clear that pressing is not the answer.

“Results and chasing the result, chasing hits, chasing all that — that’s not the way to go about it,” Schwarber said. “At some point it’s going to change.”

HOME STRUGGLES PERSIST

With Sunday’s loss, the Phillies finished a nine-game homestand at 2-7 against Arizona, Chicago and Atlanta. It was their worst nine-game homestand since June 12-21, 2009.

The Phillies lost only three home series all of last season. They have already lost three during this stretch alone. Those are three of the better teams the National League has to offer.

“We’re not used to this,” Thomson said.

Schwarber did not try to hide behind clichés, even if he acknowledged how early it still is.

“No one wants to be in this position to start the year off,” he said. “But this team knows how to find its way out of holes.”

For now, though, the hole is getting deeper.

For the first time since June 28, 2022, the Dodgers have dropped two consecutive games to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, this time falling to Colorado 9-6 on Sunday.

In his first career start at Coors Field, Roki Sasaki impressed over his first three innings of work, as he held the Rockies silent across just 26 pitches, relying on his defense to bail him out of early inopportune counts.

The Dodgers broke through against Michael Lorenzen in the top of the third, as Hyeseong Kim doubled with one out before Alex Freeland singled him home for the game’s first run. Shohei Ohtani brought his on-base streak to 51 games with an RBI double to drive home Freeland, passing Willie Keeler for the third longest streak in team history and extending the lead to two.

Two-spot in the third! pic.twitter.com/LGK9FDjpzP

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2026

After flying out on the first big league pitch he saw, Ryan Ward got himself on the board against Lorenzen in the top of the fourth, as he drilled a single to right field for his first career hit, plating Andy Pages to increase the Dodger lead to three.

Ryan with his first Major League hit and RBI! pic.twitter.com/v6Jc7oIHvJ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2026

After the first scoreless third inning for Sasaki the year, the Rockies waited until the bottom of the fourth inning to rally against him. Mickey Moniak rocketed a leadoff single before Sasaki plunked Hunter Goodman to bring up the potential tying run with nobody out. Sasaki got Tyler Freeman swinging for his first strikeout of the game, but promptly allowed a single to T.J. Rumfield to put the Rockies on the board. After tossing just 26 pitches in the first three innings, Sasaki’s 20th pitch of the fourth resulted in a walk to Troy Johnston to load the bases. He got ahead of the next hitter Willi Castro early, and his fifth splitter of the at-bat induced a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam.

Sasaki’ struggles in the middle innings continued as he fell down 3-0 to Kyle Karros to begin the bottom of the fifth, eventually giving up a 448 foot home run from him that made it a one run game. Both of his now two career home runs have come against the Dodgers.

Jake McCarthy blooped a ball just out of the reach of a diving Pages in shallow right field, hustling into second base for a hustle double. Colorado kept the rally going against Sasaki as Edouard Julien tied the game with a single to center field to score McCarthy. After getting two straight outs, with the latter being a strikeout of Goodman, Sasaki missed inside on a full count splitter to Freeman to put two men on with two out. After a mound visit from Will Smith, Dave Roberts got the ball from Sasaki, who tossed 52 pitches over his final 1 2/3+ innings. Alex Vesia bailed out Sasaki by getting a lineout from Rumfield to get out of the jam.

Four starts into the season, Roki Sasaki has seen subtle improvements, such as his ability to go three scoreless innings against Colorado, but his severely struggles after his first go-around through the starting lineup. While he maintains a scoreless ERA over the first two innings in each start, the right-hander now has a worrisome 11.17 ERA over innings 3 through 5 on the season. Sasaki did allow a season-low two strikeouts, which coincided with a season-low two strikeouts.

The Dodgers quickly got to Antonio Sanzatela as both Alex Call and Ward singled with one out, with Hyeseong Kim avoiding a double play and putting the lead runner at third. Freeland connected for his second RBI single of the day, bringing home Call and retaking the lead.

Alex for the lead! pic.twitter.com/Dm8c56QJ1P

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2026

Will Klein came in for the sixth after taking the loss on Saturday, and worked around a leadoff baserunner to keep the lead intact. Blake Treinen also found himself with a man on base and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh, but this time he allowed a go-ahead two run home run on the first pitch to Moniak as the Rockies took their first lead of the afternoon. Goodman promptly followed the home run with a double, setting the stage for a broken bat bloop single from Freeman to put up a three-spot against Treinen.

Jack Dreyer extinguished the rally by striking out pinch hitter Ezequiel Tovar and getting Johnston to fly out, with a deke from Kyle Tucker in right field nearly doubling up Freeman at first. He later tried to go for second but was thrown out by Smith to end the inning.

Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim both singled against Jimmy Herget to put two men on with two outs and the potential tying run at first. Alex Freeland, who already had two RBI earlier in the game, took a 3-1 pitch that landed just outside the outside corner for a called strike two but did not challenge the call. He drove a fly ball to deep center field on the very next pitch, but Brenton Doyle tracked it down at the warning track to keep the Rockies in front.

Edwin Díaz made his first appearance since his blown save against the Rangers nine days prior, and even with the heavy rest he faced early trouble by loading the bases with nobody out. Edouard Julien took advantage with a two-run single to knock Díaz out of the game and make it a four run lead. Mickey Moniak knocked home another run on a groundout to cement the Rockies’ second three-run inning of the game.

The Dodgers’ ninth-inning comeback attempt resulted in just two runs, as Will Smith drove home Ohtani on a single to right field to make it a four-run game. Max Muncy reached on his third single of the game before Victor Vodnik walked Andy Pages to load the bases with one out and bring the potential tying run to the plate. Dalton Rushing pinch hit for Alex Call, and nearly reached on a ground ball bobbled by Castro at second but only resulted in an RBI groundout. Ryan Ward, already in the biggest moment of his young career, served a soft fly ball to right center field, but was robbed of an RBI hit with a diving catch by Troy Johnston to sink the Dodgers into their first losing streak of the season.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Kyle Karros (1), Mickey Moniak (6)
• WP— Antonio Senzatela (1-0): 2 IP, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Blake Treinen (1-1): 0 IP, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers look to avoid losing a third straight game as they wrap things up against the Colorado Rockies on Monday (5:30 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before flying out to San Francisco for a three-game series against the Giants. Justin Wrobleski makes his third start of the year against left-hander Jose Quintana.