Category: Baseball

ST. LOUIS — Kodai Senga’s spring training performances, taken as a whole, reverberated maybe the loudest of any by a pitcher the Mets had in camp.

The right-hander’s velocity reached new heights, and his secondary pitches were sharp. Optimism now flows that the Mets will unveil an ace at the back end of their new rotation.

On Tuesday he will return to a major league mound in a game that matters for the first time since Aug. 31, after which his second-half struggles prompted the Mets to ask Senga if he would agree to a minor league assignment. Senga accepted the demotion and pitched the final month for Triple-A Syracuse.

This spring he pitched to a 1.86 ERA in his three Grapefruit League appearances with 11 strikeouts in 9 ²/₃ innings. His only runs allowed were on two solo homers in his first start.

“The results are the results and I take them with a grain of salt,” Senga said through his interpreter before departing camp. “But if you look at the metrics of the pitches that I am throwing, I think that does translate into the season. Some are good and some are not as good, but compared to the previous years I feel I am performing at a higher level, so I have just got to keep it up in the season.”

Senga’s fastball touched 99 mph during spring training and Mets officials were encouraged by the manner in which he carried himself. Last season Senga averaged 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball.

“The way he came, the treat early on — how built-up he was and how physical he was and how his body felt was really exciting,” pitching coach Justin Willard said. “And then to kind of carry that into spring training and continue to put up big velocities, really good shapes and pound the strike zone was really good to see.”

Senga was rolling in mid-June, pitching to a 1.47 ERA when he hit the injured list with a strained right hamstring on a coverage play at first base. Senga missed a month, and after one strong performance in Kansas City began his nosedive.

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Overall he pitched to a 13.73 ERA in the second half before accepting his minor league assignment.

“As long as I am healthy and can pitch my pitches, pitch to my ability, I think the results come along with that,” Senga said. “So, I am striving for that and that is what I’m here to do. I came from Japan to the States to do that. Things aren’t always going to go my way, but if that happens, I will grind out there and hopefully the results come.”

The Mets saw the best of Senga in his rookie 2023 season, when he pitched to a 2.98 ERA and struck out 202 batters in 166 ¹/₃ innings. But injuries limited Senga to one regular-season start the next year, although he started twice during the playoffs.

Senga, before he left camp, was asked what he was still perfecting.

“The forkball, making sure it’s down,” Senga said of his signature ghost fork. “I don’t want to leave it up. It’s still happening a little bit and … hopefully I can bury it in the dirt.”

Manager Carlos Mendoza has been consistent in his praise of Senga since the pitcher’s first start this spring.

“I am excited because of what he’s shown in spring training,” Mendoza said. “The way he threw the ball, how he bounced back, just the smile on his face, the interaction that I’m having with him.”

What a wild four games for the Colorado Rockies.

They are swept by the Miami Marlins in the first three games, losing each game by only one run.

Then, they are stranded in Maimi for an additional six hours:

Recipe for disaster, right?

Next they faced the American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays — a team they lost to 45-6 through three games last year.

But tonight?

You were not dreaming: The Blue Jays had a position player, Eric Heineman, pitch the last two innings.

But that leads to tonight’s question for the Purple Row Night Owls: What are your biggest takeaways from the first four games?

Let us know in the comments.

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Ha, see what I did there, St Louis City? There were a bunch of county cops outside the stadium tonight. But it’s the city, dang it! Anways, sorry this recap is a little bit delayed, but I was at the game tonight and had some photography to prepare, just got out of the dark room now.

The game was much more of a Major League Baseball score tonight, the Metropolitans scoring 4 runs to the Cards 2. The Redbirds had a few opportunities to tie it up, but the offense was pretty silent outside of a Burly RBI and a Nolan Gorman home run.

Kyle Leahy experienced his first Cardinals start against a robust Mets lineup, and while he looked tough, he didn’t get the best results: 4 earned runs and walked 2 batters. To my eye at the game, the Mets were able to find the gaps tonight, and the BABIP backs that up at .381 on the night. Better luck next time, Kyle!

Busch on March 30, 2026

Alec Burleson RBI!

Herrera ends up getting a hit!

Jordan Walker massive cut!

Ok I had some more photos but there’s a time limit on recaps now so I’ll make this one more brief.

Howl’s destruction of the all you can eat Coca Cola zone ticket:

• 3 bratwurst
• 6 chicken strips
• 2 orders of fries
• 3 sodas
• 3 beers at 4 hands beforehand

Ok, I would write more but i’ll be quicker on the draw next week. Thank you.

After going 1-for-14 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Mets' opening series this past weekend, Bo Bichette admitted his at-bats were "terrible" and he was chasing a moment with his new team.

Looking to turn the page Monday on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals, Bichette stepped up when it mattered. 

He drove in a first-inning run on a groundout and then came through with a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning to put the Mets ahead for good as they'd go on to win 4-2.

Bichette finished the game 1-for-5 with two RBI, bringing his season total to three. He told reporters that he did a better job competing during his at-bats, but knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"I mean, I just wanted to get back on track I guess, compete," Bichette said. "I felt like I did a better job of that today, but still more to go."

He added: "Just kind of getting back to basics. But really, I mean the most important thing is getting out there on the field and getting in the moment and competing. Just did a better job of that."

The former AL batting champ is known to be a strong opposite field hitter throughout his career and put that skill on display Monday with the RBI single to right field, which recorded a 106.8 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. 

He was asked if driving the ball the opposite way is something he expects to do, saying it's more about being in a good position to have competitive at-bats.

"Well I mean as a competitor I expect to be in a good place all the time," Bichette said. "I don't know if that's a sign of anything. Honestly, I just want to be in a position to compete every at-bat and I felt like I did a better job of that today."

Overall, Bichette said he's feeling "more like myself" and believes he's in a better place moving forward after a rough first three games. 

Manager Carlos Mendoza agreed, saying he isn't surprised to see Bichette have a bounce-back performance and showed "some good signs" at the plate.

"I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised," Mendoza said with a smirk. "I thought he was more under control, not trying to do too much. Even the one that he lined out to right field, that was a pretty good at-bat there too. That's good to see. When he's doing that, those are some good signs.

The third baseman will now try to build on Monday's game and put his first three games in a Mets uniform behind him.

The St. Louis Cardinals had a silent night with the bats with the exception of Nolan Gorman who hit a moonshot home run as the New York Mets beat the Birds 4-2 Monday night at Busch Stadium.

The New York Mets jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when Francisco Lindor tripled and then scored on a ground out by Bo Bichette. The St. Louis Cardinals answered quickly when JJ Wetherholt walked and then was moved over by Ivan Herrera. Alec Burleson continued his hot start to the season with a RBI single to draw the Cardinals even at 1-1.

Kyle Leahy was sharp for the first 4 innings, but the Mets broke through in the 5th and 6th innings adding 3 more runs to increase their lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Nolan Gorman reached for the stars with a near vertical shot into the right field bullpen.

I would love to say that the St. Louis Cardinals showed their fighting spirit and rallied back to at least make a threat late in the game, but that was not the case. The stat line ended with a mere 2 runs on 5 hits as the Cardinals fell to .500 at an even 2-2 for the season.

We’ll try again Tuesday night as Andre Pallante is scheduled to make the start for St. Louis as the Cardinals will battle the Mets again with a 6:45p start time at Busch Stadium.

The Rays opened a three-game series in Milwaukee on Monday winning a close one against the Brewers.

Cedric Mullins was dropped from the starting lineup for the first time this season, which made sense with lefty Kyle Harrison starting for the Brewers. Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson were the only two left-handed hitters in the lineup.

Nick Martinez took the mound to make his first start in a Rays uniform, and looked to flip the script on a horrendous spring (13.2 IP, 14.49 ERA). He threw six solid innings, allowing just two runs on a William Contreras homer. If he can provide that line consistently, he will be a big addition to the rotation.

Yandy Diaz continued his hot start to the season with a leadoff home run, his first bomb of the year. In his next at bat, in vintage Yandy Fashion, he hit a single the other way with a 106 mph exit velocity.

Jonny DeLuca tied the game in the seventh with a 438-foot solo shot to left field (109 mph). If DeLuca can focus on getting out in front like he did tonight, and pulling the ball in the air, he may be able to unlock some more power this season. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think DeLuca had a swing like that in his bag.

Nick Fortes got involved in a big way on both sides of the plate in the ninth inning. His double to right drove in the eventual winning run. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, successfully challenged a pitch that would’ve made it a 3-1 count on Blake Perkins. It was changed to a strike, making it a 2-2 count, and Perkins grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game on the very next pitch. It’s early in the season, but Fortes has been a big contributor early on and played a huge role in tonight’s win.

After using Griffin Jax and Garrett Cleavinger in the seventh and eighth innings respectively, and Bryan Baker having pitched each of the last two days, Ian Seymour got the ball to start the ninth. It was a big vote of confidence from Kevin Cash, even if he didn’t have a better choice. Seymour hit the first batter he faced, but got the next two batters out. Kevin Kelly came in to get the final out, which was pinch hitter Blake Perkins.

The Rays will look to secure their first series victory of the season tomorrow night in Milwaukee, with Shane McClanahan making his first start since August 2023.

It was not the Milwaukee Brewers night tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays. It started with the first batter of the game when Yandy Diaz ripped a misplaced changeup from Kyle Harrison over the left field wall for his first homer of the season.

However, Harrison rebounded quite well from that first hitter, striking out eight across five innings of one run ball, scattering just four total hits.

“I thought he threw the ball well. For his first outing with us, he threw the ball really well and responded really well, especially after the first two innings” Pat Murphy said postgame.

The Brewers offense was able to provide some support in the 6th inning when Brice Turang led things off with a double down the line, his fourth double already of the regular season. Then William Contreras followed with an absolute blast to centerfield.

107 MPH off the bat and 415 feet later the Milwaukee Brewers had their first lead of the ballgame on Contreras’ first homer of the year.

But that lead would be short-lived as Aaron Ashby, in his second inning of work of what’s already his third appearance of the season, allowed a leadoff home run to Jonny DeLuca of the Rays to immediately tie the game back up.

The Brewers had a chance to take a lead late in the 8th. Turang walked and then stole second base, Contreras smoked a line drive but right at Junior Caminero. Luis Rengifo drew a walk so there was two on and two out, but pinch-hitter Gary Sanchez struck out swinging and Pat Murphy turned to Trevor Megill in the 9th.

Megill, pitching on back-to-back days, got the first two outs no problem, but then walked DeLuca on a full count and put the game in the hands of catcher Nick Fortes.

“We mound visited, and our message was ‘he’ll ambush fastball up’. That’s what he’s looking for.” Pat Murphy said.

Sure enough, Fortes ripped a fastball up and out of the zone to right-center for an RBI double and the Rays took a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the 9th, Sal Frelick led off with a hit by pitch, but the bottom of the order couldn’t get him over and in with a Mitchell strikeout, Hamilton flyout, and Blake Perkins groundout to end it.

“Two plays that killed us today was the two out walk and then Contreras’ line drive (in the 8th) getting caught. That’s a double and that’s a run” Pat Murphy said.

Brandon Woodruff is on the bump tomorrow for the Brewers as he makes his first start of the season.

Following a season-opening sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Athletics began their second series against the Atlanta Braves hoping to finally get in the win column this season. Alas, that will have to wait another day as the Braves shut out the A’s 4-0, extending the visitors’ losing streak to four games.

Making his first start of the season, A’s left-hander Jacob Lopez’s command issues were apparent from the jump. In the top of the first, Braves starter Bryce Elder retired the first three A’s batters in order. Then Lopez took the mound and immediately put his team in a hole. He walked three, gave up three hits and three runs. The Braves sent all nine batters to the plate in Lopez’s 41-pitch first inning. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson’s RBI double and shortstop Mauricio Dubón’s two-run single were both bloops that found grass. So, in a sense, Atlanta got lucky, yet Lopez deserved to get punished for his command struggles that inning.

Lopez endured three more innings without allowing any more runs. He only allowed one hard hit ball as four of Atlanta’s five hits had exit velocities of 81 mph or lower. However, failing to record a strikeout while walking five sums up Lopez’s performance.

Meanwhile, the A’s offense continued its early-season slump. Braves’ pitcher Bryce Elder, who had a 5.30 ERA last year and may not not have started this season in his team’s rotation were it not for injuries to his teammates, pitched six scoreless innings, only allowing five hits while striking out five A’s batters.

The A’s had several chances to reduce the Braves’ lead. In the third inning, first baseman Nick Kurtz lined out following right fielder Carlos Cortes’ two-out double. The next inning, the A’s had a rally going as Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back singles to bring the tying run up to the plate. Unfortunately, Elder got both Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler to fly out to center to escape the jam unscathed.

The Athletics had more chances in the later innings. In the seventh inning, third baseman Max Muncy hit a double off Braves’ left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer with one out, only for his teammates to leave him stranded on second base. In the top of the eighth inning, right-hander Robert Suarez got Rooker to ground into a double-play to stop another A’s rally and keep his team’s shutout going.

While the A’s offense continued its futility, the team’s relievers kept the deficit the same, a welcome sight given that group’s poor performance in Toronto this past weekend. Justin Sterner, Elvis Alvarado and Mark Leiter Jr. all pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen before the Braves scored a fourth run against Michael Kelly Jr.in the bottom of the eighth.

Throughout this game, the A’s had several chances to score runs and mount a comeback, yet failed to record the big hit every time. They hit several hard-hit balls right to Braves’ defenders, finishing the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Kurtz and Wilson, who finished first and second in American League Rookie of the Year voting last fall, both went 0-for-4, continuing their miserable performance through the season’s first four games. Whether it is due to their place in the lineup or a harbinger of a sophomore slump, the A’s need these two players to start contributing more given how much of an impact they have on this team’s offense.

The Athletics will try to get their offense rolling and snap this losing streak tomorrow in the second game of the series. Right-hander Aaron Civale will make his A’s debut, while the Braves have left-hander Jose Suarez lined up to start. With the A’s likely to face Braves ace pitcher Chris Sale in Wednesday’s series finale, they face another possibility of a series sweep should they not win the middle game of this inter-league series.

The Mets defeated the Cardinals 4-2 at Busch Stadium in the Mets’ first road game of the year.

Francisco Lindor led off the game against Kyle Leahy and continued his aggressive early season play, legging out a triple to right field. Bo Bichette would drive him in with a ground out to put the Mets on the board early.

Clay Holmes started the day off by walking JJ Wetherholt, who would advance to second on a ground out, third on a balk, and then score on a Alec Burleson single, tying the game at one apiece.

From there, both starters would settle down a bit, but both teams continued to threaten. The Mets put pressure in the second when they had two on and two out before Francisco Alvarez would strike out to end the threat. In the bottom of the third, Holmes gave up a double to Burleson and then walked Masyn Winn, but was able to induce a ground out from Nolan Gorman to end the inning.

The Mets added their second run in the top of the fifth, when Bichette notched his second RBI of the game, driving in Carson Benge to put the Mets up 2-1. They would tack on in the top of the sixth when Jared Young doubled home Brett Baty. That would do it for Leahy, who left the game with no outs in the sixth. Matt Svanson relieved him, and got two quick outs before things fell apart a bit for Svanson. Alvarez walked, Lindor was hit by a pitch, and the bases were loaded for Juan Soto. Soto walked in a run, and the Mets were now up 4-1.

Despite tossing 81 pitches through five, the Mets sent Holmes out there to start the sixth inning, getting two quick outs. However, Gorman drilled a long home run to right center field, putting the Cards within two and sending Holmes to the showers. Tobias Myers was first out of the ‘pen for the Mets, and he continued to look great, facing four batters, striking out three and not allowing a baserunner.

Brooks Raley pitched the bottom of the eighth, allowing an Iván Herrera single in an otherwise perfect appearance. Devin Williams would get the ninth and looked dominant, getting easy contact for the first two outs and then striking out Nathan Church to end the game with a flourish.

Every member of the Mets’ starting nine reached base tonight, with all but Semien collecting a hit. It was interesting to see Benge start in center, as well as see Jared Young get a start at first. The Mets rested Luis Robert Jr. for the first six innings, showing their dedication to keeping Robert healthy. Even with this somewhat wonky lineup, the Mets still delivered and took the first game of their roadtrip.

Tomorrow night, Kodai Senga starts for the Mets against Andrew Pallante.

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Box scores

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Clay Holmes, +14.1% WPA
Big Mets loser: Marcus Semien, -7.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +40.8% WPA
Mets hitters: +9.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette’s fifth inning single, +14.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Nolan Gorman’s sixth inning dinger, -8.1% WPA

Seventeen hits. Two homers. Six doubles. Fourteen runs.

Seven-for-18 with runners in scoring position and three stolen bases.

The Colorado Rockies got their first win of the 2026 with an exclamation point of a beatdown over the defending American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays in front of a sold-out Rogers Centre crowd on Monday night.

Is this the same team that got swept by the Miami Marlins over the weekend?

Troy Johnston hit a two-run homer to put the Rockies up 4-1 in the sixth inning — one where the Rockies put up a seven-spot and eventually took a 13-1 lead. Despite a late rally from the Blue Jays, the Rockies hung on for the victory.

Seven-Run Sixth

After not being able to string together consecutive hits and have that big inning against Miami in the opening series, the Rockies did it in style on Monday. After Ezequiel Tovar, who had three hits and three RBI, struck out to start the sixth, T.J. Rumfield singled to set the stage for Johnston’s homer.

Up 4-1, Jordan Beck walked and Kyle Karros struck out. With two outs, pinch hitter Braxton Fulford hit an RBI single, which was made possible after Beck stole second. Another pinch hitter, this time Brenton Doyle, hit a single and Hunter Goodman followed with a walk. Willi Castro was then able to capitalize with a two-run double down the right field line to make it 7-1.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, Tovar followed with a two-run double of his own, which helped put the Rockies up 9-1.

It was the most productive offensive inning on the road since May 7, 2023, when the Rockies scored seven runs in one frame against the New York Mets.

The Rockies added a pair of back-to-back doubles in the eighth inning to make it 13-1. Tovar and Rumfield led the Rockies with three hits each, while Johnston, Goodman and Doyle all put up two-hit nights. Fulford pinned on a solo homer in the ninth to make it two touchdowns.

Tomo Rocks Debut, Dollander Collects Win

Tomoyuki Sugano was impressive in his Rockies debut, even if it was shorter than hoped. Against a high-powered offense, he held the Blue Jays to two hits, including one solo homer to George Springer, while walking two and striking out four in 4 2/3 innings.

In the second inning, Sugano got back-to-back strikeouts when he sent both Daulton Varsho and Kazuma Okamoto down swinging.

His one blemish came in the third when Springer sent his second homer of the year 416 feet to center field. Sugano tallied another back-to-back strikeout series when he got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swinging and Addison Barger looking in the fourth inning.

With a runner on second in the fifth inning and Springer coming to the plate, manager Warren Schaeffer opted to have Jaden Hill take over. It worked out perfectly as Springer grounded out on Hill’s first pitch, ending the threat and leaving one of three Blue Jays on base.

Chase Dollander made his 2026 debut and his first appearance out of the bullpen since the one and only time he did it when he was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee. Backed by a solid defense and recording two strikeouts, Dollander put up goose eggs in the sixth and seventh innings.

He struggled to close it out, but luckily had a large cushion to work with. Dollander surrendered four runs, including three homers, on five hits with two walks, but also posted five strikeouts to notch the first win for a Rockies pitcher this season.

A Strange Series of Events

The third inning was straight up weird, and made me very grateful I wasn’t the official scorekeeper for this one. It started normally enough with Karros earning a walk, which, I admit, is pretty rare for the Rockies as it was only the sixth one of the season (the Rockies did draw four walks in the game to increase their season total to nine). Then, Edouard Julien struck out on a wild pitch that allowed Karros to advance to second.

Toronto’s starting pitcher Cody Ponce, who spent the last four seasons playing in Japan and Korea, then tripped and fell off the mound, resulting in a balk that moved Karros to third. Ponce seemed fine and was smiling. Next, Jake McCarthy hit a soft grounder between Ponce and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Ponce tried to grab it and appeared to suffer a painful lower right leg injury. He was forced to leave the game on a golf cart. Harshly, he also earned an error on the play, which allowed Karros to score and put the Rockies up 1-0.

The injury forced the Toronto bullpen to throw a lot as the Rockies saw six different Blue Jays pitchers, including two innings from backup catcher Tyler Heineman. The game could impact the Blue Jays bullpen depth in the remaining two games of the series, while the Rockies bullpen got a break with Saguno (4 2/3 innings) and Dollander (4 innings) eating innings and Hill contributing one pitch for one out.

The Rockies still struggled with strikeouts, going down at the plate 10 times, but Colorado’s pitchers also fanned nine Blue Jays.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies will continue their series in Toronto with game two on Tuesday at 5:07 p.m. MDT when Ryan Feltner will make his 2026 debut. The Blue Jays will send veteran two-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer, 41, to the mound.

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ST. LOUIS — Clay Holmes was on the brink of completing six innings Monday in his initial start this season before he threw a cutter that didn’t cooperate.

Nolan Gorman swatted the pitch beyond the right field fence, prompting manager Carlos Mendoza to leave the dugout and retrieve Holmes.

An additional out would have been nice, but even so, the Mets received an acceptable performance from a starter for a third straight game, in a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Holmes, who was last seen giving the Mets life with a strong outing in Game No. 161 last season in Miami, resumed where his 2025 ended. On this night, the right-hander allowed two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks, departing after 90 pitches.

“I felt really good,” Holmes said.

The Mets (3-1) settled the matter in nine innings after two straight days playing extra frames. They split those games against the Pirates, receiving solid performances from David Peterson and Nolan McLean in the process.

The rotation will flip over Wednesday with Freddy Peralta’s return from his underwhelming Opening Day start, but first the Mets will see Kodai Senga make his first start of the season. The Japanese right-hander is scheduled for Tuesday’s start as he looks to begin showing the team he can reemerge, following a hideous second half last season, as a trusted rotation piece.

Holmes, relying on his sinker, produced nine outs on ground balls. He navigated early traffic and was on a roll of seven straight batters retired before Gorman’s blast ended his night.

“There was a little bit of excitement early on, it was the first game of the year,” Holmes said. “Some sinkers were a little bit up and I got in some longer counts there and kind of drove my pitch count up early and I was able to just settle in.”

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Tobias Myers provided 1 ¹/₃ perfect innings in relief with three strikeouts before Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless eighth. Devin Williams earned his first save for the Mets with a perfect ninth.

The Mets scratched for their runs, receiving two RBIs from Bo Bichette and two hits apiece from Jorge Polanco and Carson Benge. Juan Soto reached base three times.

“Good approach up and down and we made those guys work,” Mendoza said. “We fouled some pitches off, but we made contact. We have guys throughout the lineup that are capable of putting the ball in play.”

Francisco Lindor’s triple leading off the game positioned the Mets for their first run. Bichette delivered the RBI with a groundout to the right side. It was the second RBI of the season for Bichette, who finished 1-for-14 on his initial Mets homestand and heard boos Sunday. Later, Bichette added an RBI single.

“I just wanted to get back on track, I guess, and compete,” Bichette said. “I feel like I did a better job of that today, but still more to go.”

The Cardinals recovered the run in the bottom of the first on Alec Burleson’s RBI single. Holmes’ balk moved JJ Wetherholt — who walked leading off — to third base before Burleson delivered.

Burleson’s two-out double in the third and Masyn Wynn’s ensuing walk gave the Cardinals a threat, but Holmes escaped by retiring Gorman. In the fourth, Holmes got Pedro Pagés to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Bichette stroked an RBI single in the fifth that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead against Kyle Leahy. Benge’s leadoff single and a walk to Lindor fueled the rally. Bichette delivered with two outs.

Jared Young’s RBI double in the sixth widened the lead to 3-1 and knocked out Leahy. Brett Baty singled leading off and Young’s ensuing double gave the Mets consecutive hits for the first time in the game.

Francisco Alvarez walked with two outs and Lindor got plunked to load the bases. Soto drew a walk, extending the Mets’ lead to 4-1 before Bichette was retired to end the inning.

“We had a lot of opportunities today and I was pleased with our at-bats,” Mendoza said.

It’s Monday here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. There’s always room for one more. The dress code is casual. We have a few tables still available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week, I asked you for your pick on how many wins the Cubs will have in 2026. Fifty-four percent of you think the Cubs will win between 90 and 94 games, or the same that they did last year. Another 23 percent said between 95 and 99 games. I like that “100 or more” got eight votes and “under 80” only got 1.

Here’s the part with the music and the movie stuff. You’re always free to skip that.

Tonight we have the Robert Glasper Trio playing “59 South” live in 2010.

Alibi Ike (1935) always gets mentioned among the best early baseball movies, but I had never seen it before last week. It’s a slight but amusing comedy starring Joe E. Brown, William Frawley and in her film debut, Olivia De Havilland.

Based on a story by Ring Lardner, Brown plays Francis Farrell, a terrific pitcher with a tendency to make up excuses for everything. That earns him the nickname “Alibi Ike” from his teammates on the Cubs. (Yes! This is a movie about the Cubs. More on that in a bit.) De Havilland plays Dolly, the sister-in-law of the Cubs’ manager (Frawley) who immediately falls in love with Francis from the stands.

Francis can’t stand the kidding from his teammates, so he’ll make up some lie to deny that he and Dolly are an item. Of course, that eventually will get him in trouble with Dolly. He frustrates his manager because he’ll do dumb stuff and then make up a ridiculous excuse for it. He also falls in with some gangsters who want him to throw games and it’s pretty much his own fault because he won’t be honest with anyone. But Francis is as honest as the day is long, so obviously he’s going to get into trouble with the gamblers as well.

One thing that I found amusing about this film is that while “Ike” pitches for the Chicago Cubs in 1935, they play the World Series at Wrigley Field at night. I don’t have to tell you that lights at Wrigley are over 50 years away. Not only that, but lights at any major league park are still three years in the future. But Wrigley Field Los Angeles, home of the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels, had lights as early as 1930. That’s where they shot the baseball scenes, naturally. It just strikes me how much Hollywood of the thirties just didn’t care about verisimilitude.

This film is clearly a vehicle for Brown, who was one the top comedians of the era. He was also a huge baseball fan and made several baseball-themed pictures, of which Alibi Ike is generally considered the best. You probably at least know Brown as Osgood Fielding III in Some Like it Hot, if you don’t know him from anything else. So if you find Brown’s stammering, mugging and slapstick funny, you’ll find the film funny. I thought he was funny enough to make watching the film worth my while.

If we ever do a baseball movie tournament in the off-season, Alibi Ike should be included. It’s certainly an old-fashioned comedy and the baseball is pretty incidental to the plot of a man who can’t ever be honest with anyone and it gets him into trouble. But Brown was a pretty talented comedian. Nothing in here will get as big a laugh as Brown got at the end of Some Like it Hot (perhaps the greatest laugh line of all-time in “Nobody’s perfect.”), he gets enough chuckles and laughs to make watching it worth while. That the Cubs win the World Series makes it all that much better.

Here’s the trailer for Alibi Ike

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

Tonight’s a simple question. Who is your choice to lead the Cubs in home runs this year.

Happ already has a lead with three home runs and he should have had a fourth if the wind wasn’t howling in on Opening Day. Bregman showed on Sunday that he can take advantage of the short power alleys at Wrigley. And we know that Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch can hit 30 a year.

Also, Seiya Suzuki can hit thirty in a season as well. EXCEPT I FORGOT TO PUT SUZUKI IN THE POLL AND IT’S TOO LATE TO CHANGE IT NOW. So if you think Seiya is going to get back healthy quickly enough to hit enough hoe runs to lead the Cubs, vote for “other.” I’m going to assume that most of the votes for “other” are for Suzuki.

Again, vote “other” if you want to vote for Seiya Suzuki. I’m sorry I messed that up.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope you’ve had a good time. Don’t be a stranger. Tell your friends about us. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.

The White Sox scored early and often against the Marlins, getting their first win of 2026 and second grand slam of the season so far. And for the record, there have only been four grand slams in all the major leagues thus far.

Before the bigger fireworks, Everson Pereira doubled to kick off the third inning. With two outs, Miguel Vargas knocked Pereira in with a single to left field, putting the Good Guys on the board first.

Munetaka Murakami kept the inning alive, slapping a single, which set the table for Austin Hays to hit his first homer of the season to break the inning wide open, 4-0.

The White Sox didn’t stop at 4-0, though.

Tristan Peters singled to start the fourth, and Pereira continued with another single. After an Edgar Quero sac bunt to advance runners, Luisangel Acuña was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That set the table for Chicago’s second grand slam of the young season, as Vargas crushed a ball that left the bat at 105.5 mph. The first baseman got to show off in his hometown of Miami, and the White Sox led, 8-0.

Chicago starter Davis Martin lost his focus a bit too much with the big cushion, giving up another walk and looking rushed at the mound in the Marlins half of the fourth. With the second Marlins hit of the ball game, Liam Hicks hit a two-run blast to actually put the Fish on the board.

The Marlins started to give Martin more trouble in the fifth when Griffin Conine doubled, and Jakob Marsee singled to send him home, making it 8-3.

Acuña picked up a walk in the top half of the sixth, and promptly stole second and third. Vargas knocked him in with a sac fly to put the Sox up 9-3. It was Vargas’ sixth RBI on the night.

With Martin in position for the win having gotten through five innings, Sean Newcomb trying to support him for three frames — and almost did. However, Miami rallied with a triple and two singles sandwiching two Ks for the southpaw. After Newcomb walked Owen Cassie to load the bases with two outs in the eighth, Will Venable made a frightening call to the pen: Jordan Hicks.

But on the second pitch of Connor Norby’s at-bat, Hicks jammed him up and in with a sinker and got the inning-ender on a flare to second base. Hicks stayed on for the ninth, earning his first White Sox save as well as the club’s first save of the season. The undefeated Marlins fell, and the White Sox got in the left-hand column for the first time all season.

The Mets recorded 10 hits and the bullpen tossed 4.1 scoreless innings to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2, on Monday night.

Here are the takeaways...

--  Francisco Lindor tripled for the second straight day to leadoff the game against Kyle Leahy, coming up just short of his first home run of the season with a blast off of the right-center field wall. Following some drama Sunday, Lindor opted to not run home on Juan Soto's hard grounder to short, but scored on Bo Bichette's ground ball to second to go up 1-0 as JJ Wetherholt couldn't get the ball out in time and had to turn to first base.

Lindor tied Jose Reyes in Mets franchise history with two triples through four games. It's also the first time he's tripled in back-to-back games as he's already doubled his 2025 total (zero). 

-- Bichette stepped up again and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, ripping a two-out single to right field that scored Carson Benge from third. 

Bichette also looked more comfortable at third base on Monday night. He made a nice backhand stop and a perfect throw in the first-inning to get Iván Herrera out at first base. The former SS nearly did it again in the second inning, but Jordan Walker reached first safely.

-- Clay Holmes was solid in his first outing of the 2026 campaign, allowing two runs on four hits over 5.2 IP (90 pitches) with five strikeouts and three walks. The righty forced eight groundouts, including a double play, and two flyouts.

He issued a leadoff walk to Wetherholt in the first inning, as the rookie advanced to second on a ground out and reached third on a balk. The right-hander then let up an RBI-single to Alec Burleson that tied the game up at 1-1.

Holmes got back-to-back strikeouts to end the first inning and after getting his pitch count up, settled in after the third inning for the rest of the game. He retired seven straight Cardinals into the sixth inning before allowing a two-out home run to Brendan Gorman, ending his night with the Mets up 4-2.

-- Starting for the first time, Jared Young made it a 3-1 game in the sixth inning with an RBI double to the right-center gap, scoring Brett Baty (single) from first base. Defensively, Young had no issues at first base, including a clean flip on a slow-roller to Holmes covering first to end the third inning. He finished the day 1-for-4 with the RBI and a run scored.

After Lindor got hit in the foot by Matt Svanson to load the bases in the sixth inning, Juan Soto picked up an RBI on a walk, extending New York's lead to 4-1.

-- Benge got his first start in CF and went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases. Carlos Mendoza decided to put Luis Robert Jr. in as a pinch-runner for Young in the seventh inning, moving Benge to right for Robert in the bottom half with Baty sliding to first base. DH-ing Monday night, Jorge Polanco went 2-for-5 with a ground-rule double.

-- Tobias Myers replaced Holmes and got a flyout to end the sixth inning. He then struck out the side in the seventh on 12 pitches. Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless eighth inning, topping out at 91.4 mph and allowing just a single. Devin Williams shut things down with a 1-2-3 ninth, earning his first save as a Met.

Game MVP: Bo Bichette

Bichette bounced back from a tough opening series, finishing the game 1-for-5 with two RBI. 

Highlights

A leadoff triple for Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/Bb79wawdte

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 30, 2026

Francisco Lindor comes in to score the first run of the game on a Bo Bichette groundout pic.twitter.com/3fwDgwPNUU

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 30, 2026

Bo Bichette with the backhand and the throw on the run! pic.twitter.com/rUiCXzAp5r

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 30, 2026

A pair of strikeouts from Clay Holmes to end the first pic.twitter.com/5Ytpm0MDsC

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

Carson Benge's second MLB hit pic.twitter.com/JgrMbkqjEF

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

A ground-rule double for Jorge Polanco pic.twitter.com/mwVqfUxHO8

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

Carson Benge is 2-for-2 pic.twitter.com/nCs9UUyWa3

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 31, 2026

Bo Bichette with a two-out RBI single while falling down to give the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/FBS8e762oL

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

Jared Young drives an RBI double to bring home Brett Baty to make it 3-1 Mets! pic.twitter.com/nGLfhQACNG

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

Tobias Myers strikes out the side in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/99PcWJ2Vj3

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 31, 2026

Upcoming schedule

The Mets continue their series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. on SNY.

Kodai Senga will face right-hander Andre Pallante.

The big story tonight was Cody Ponce’s injury. He had to leave on the cart, and while we can hope it isn’t serious he had the look of a guy who’s resigning himself to something terrible as he rode off. It was a devastating turn for a guy who’s more than paid his dues to make it back to the major leagues.

Otherwise, it was all bad. Bad pitching, no offence, and some uncharacteristic errors. Just a grim evening all around.

Ponce’s MLB return started well before quickly turning into a disaster. He at the Rockies down in order in the first with the help of a nice running grab by Addison Barger in the right field alley. He gave up a double in the second when TJ Rumfield went down and got a fastball on the outside corner and lined it to left, but got out of it without conceding a score. He walked the lead-off hitter in the third, then bounced back with a strikeout of Edouard Julien. He fell delivering a pitch to Jake McCarthy. It looked like his cleat slipped coming down the mound. That was a balk, advancing the runner to third. McCarthy hit a dribbler up the first base line that Ponce tried to field but bobbled, allowing McCarthy to reach and the runner to score. A couple steps after missing the ball, Ponce landed awkwardly and appeared to twist his right knee before going down in a heap. He was clearly in a lot of pain, and ultimately had to be carted off. Louis Varland took over, striking out the next two batters.

The offence couldn’t figue Tomoyuki Sugano out. Jesus Sanchez lined a single in the bottom of the first, but that was all the Jays could manage. They went down in order in the second, including a swinging K by Sugano’s long time teammate Kazuma Okamoto. Finally, with two out in the third, George Springer got into one, firing a laser to left-centre to tie the game at one.

Varland came back for the fourth. He gave up a line single to Ezequiel Tovar, who stole second. Varland got the next two, but then Ernie Clement booted a very routine grounder. It was the kind of error he usually just doesn’t make, but it allowed Tovar to score and extended the inning. Kyle Karros followed with an infield single, pushing Varland to 30 pitches and forcing John Schneider to make a change earlier than he would have hoped. Spencer Miles punched out the next batter to end the inning, limiting the damage at least.

Sugano continued to roll in the fourth, striking out Vladimir Guerrero jr. and Addison Barger. Alejandro Kirk walked on a pitch clock violation, but they couldn’t capitalize.

Mile came back for the fifth. He got a pair of fly outs and had a soft line single erased when Kirk gunned down Hunter Goodman stealing second. Okamoto worked a leadoff walk in the bottom half. Sugano go the next two batters, but was then pulled for Jaden Hill rather than seeing the top of the order a third time. Hill got Springer to ground out to end the inning.

The wheels came completely off for the Jays in the sixth. Miles returned and struck out Tovar, but then he gave up a line single to Rumfield, then a homer to Troy Johnston that extended Colorado’s lead to 4-1. The next batter walked, and that was it for Miles. Brendon Little got his first batter swinging, but then a pair of singles, a walk, and a pop up down the first base line that Addison Barger misplayed into a double resulted in two more runs. Tovar followed with a real double to clear the runners and make it 9-1.

At that point it was pretty much over. Tyler Rogers handled the seventh, while Tyler Heineman was called on to mop up. He gave up four in the eighth and one more in the ninth. His 22.5 ERA is less than half Brendon Little’s.

The Jays at least gave the crowd a bit of a show in the eighth. Andres Gimenez hit a solo homer and, following a Jesus Sanchez single, pinch hitter Davis Scheider went yard as well. Okamoto chipped in a solo shot of his own in the ninth.

Jays of the Day: Nobody

Less so: Miles (-0.11) and Little (-0.12) qualify, and Little especially deserves it, but this one was a team effort.

We’ll be back tomorrow at 7:07pm ET. Ryan Feltner goes for the Rockies, while Max Scherzer makes his 2026 debut for the Jays. And hey, it almost has to go better!