Category: Baseball

Whether it was via free agency or through trade, Coors Field isn’t usually an ideal landing spot for veteran starting pitchers. There are success stories, of course, but even those usually come with few wins and a ballooned ERA.

That’s why having three new veterans in the Rockies starting rotation this year was quite a surprise. An even better surprise is the promising performance of Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之. While the sample size is small, Sugano is shaping up to be a good addition to the Rockies roster. 

Sugano played and starred in Nippon Professional Baseball. During his 12-year career there, he was a three-time Central League MVP before coming to MLB in 2025. Sugano’s reasoning for coming to MLB is simple.

“Obviously, I wanted to play in the best place,” Sagano said last weekend through his interpreter Yuto Sakura. “Also, I wanted to test out how my skills translate.”

His 2025 season in Baltimore didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, as he went 10-10 in 30 starts with a 4.64 ERA and gave up an American League-leading 33 homers.

It’s been a different story for Sugano so far in 2026 with the Rockies, who signed the 36-year-old RHP in February to a one-year, $5.1 million deal. In two starts, Sugano is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA, nine strikeouts and only three walks in 10.2 innings. 

That includes a quality start in his first appearance at Coors Field when he held the Phillies to one run on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk in six innings. True to his KPop Demon Hunters anthem walk-up song, Sugano was ‘Golden.’

Prior to his start, he wasn’t too worried about pitching at elevation. He also said his brief time at a higher altitude hadn’t disrupted his sleep or taxed his body, but he did admit it had only been three days.

“I’m actually quite excited. I tested some of my offspeed stuff in the bullpen,” Sugano said. “I know it drops a little bit more than other stadiums, and we’ve been having good conversations with the pitching coaches and staff, so I’m quite excited.”

That excitement turned into the Rockies first quality start of the season and prevented a home opening weekend sweep at the hands of the Phillies. He surrendered only one run on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts to earn the win.

He threw 78 pitches in the outing: 23 four-seam fastballs, 21 sliders/sweepers, 13 cutters, 12 splitters, five curveballs and four sinkers. 

Due to his versatility and pitch mix, Sugano was able to overcome not having his best splitter.

“He was great. He mixed extremely well. He threw strikes. He did all the things we were talking about and looking for when we signed him,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the Rockies 4-1 victory on April 5. “He did not have his split, which is one of his best pitches, today. He didn’t have the best feel for it, so he used the slider a lot, used the heater late, and just a good, solid mix that kept them off balance.”

A key factor in Sugano’s success is his 51.7% ground ball rate. He got eight groundouts against the Phillies in Denver, when he also threw 51 of his 78 pitches for strikes.

“The mix of pitch selection is definitely my strength, so I’m glad it worked out that way. But towards the end of the outing, my splitter was working, so that was also good,” Sugano said. “I wasn’t thinking too much about the environment, per se. I was trying to keep the ball down, get groundouts and get punchouts when I can. [I know] offspeed pitches move differently here, so I try to take advantage of that.”

While he’d never pitched at high altitude before (Sugano had faced the Rockies once, but it was in Baltimore last season), Sugano did bring experience playing at a hitter-friendly venue.

“The Tokyo Dome was definitely hitter-friendly. It’s a smaller stadium to begin with, and the ball flies. It has a tendency to fly in the Dome,” Sugano said. “For Japanese players, it’s well known that it’s a hitter-friendly ballpark.”

Sugano, the Rockies’ first Japanese pitcher since Mac Suzuki in 2001, had a busy spring. Outside of joining the Rockies in Scottsdale, he also pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. In his lone start, he threw four scoreless innings with four hits, two strikeouts and no walks in a 4-3 win over Australia. Despite being new to the Rockies, he said he’s learning from his coaches and teammate Kyle Freeland, who he sought out for advice.

“He’s been here a very long time. He’s given me some advice on how to pitch here,” Sugano said. “Also, Alon [Leichman, the Rockies pitching coach], he’s been communicative throughout this process, and he’s been giving really good advice.”

Leichman believes Sugano has been a great addition to the team, especially since he and Sugano are both 36 years old.

“He’s my age, so I think it’s fun to have a guy like him around. You know, he sees a lot of things that most guys don’t, and he likes to express that. So it’s been good,” Leichman said. “He’s been a great clubhouse guy, he’s always super prepared, and what he did in Toronto really set an example for the rest of the team, too.”

While he wasn’t credited with the win, Sugano gave up one solo homer, with two hits, two walks and four strikeouts in a solid start of 4.2 innings in the Rockies first victory of the season, a 14-5 win over the Blue Jays on March 30.

In addition to learning to pitch at altitude, Sugano is also new to Leichman’s pitch suggesting. Like the other Rockies pitchers and catchers, he likes it.

“I’ve never experienced pitch calling from the dugout with my previous teams,” Sugano said. “But we have really good communication before the game and leading into the game, so I feel pretty confident about what we’re doing.”

Sugano is seeing early success, despite facing some heavy-hitting lineups in the Blue Jays and Phillies. That will be the case again today when Sugano will get his third start of the season tonight against Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, Xander Bogaerts and the rest of the Padres.

On the Farm

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 6, El Paso Chihuahuas 1

Vimael Machín hit a grand slam in a six-run sixth inning to carry the Isotopes to victory on Thursday. Nicky Lopez added an RBI single and came around to score on a wild pitch in the sixth. Five pitchers combined to hold the Chihuahuas in check with Sammy Peralta picking up the win after giving up one run in two innings. Keegan Thompson started the game with four scoreless innings, while Collin Baumgartner, Seth Halvorsen and TJ Shook each added a scoreless frame. Zac Veen, Lopez and Chad Stevens posted two hits apiece.

Double-A: Reading Fightin’ Phils 3, Hartford Yard Goats 2, 10 innings

Austin Murr hit a walk-off, two-run homer to defeat the Yard Goats on Thursday night in Reading. Hartford took the lead in the first inning when Aidan Longwell hit a sac grounder to go up 1-0. Jake Brooks had an outstanding start, giving up just one run on a solo homer with 11 strikeouts in six innings. When it went to extra innings, Roc Riggio hit an RBI double to put the Yard Goats up 2-1. Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived. Benny Montgomery and Connor Capel each recorded two-hit nights.

High-A: Hillsboro Hops 6, Spokane Indians 4, 10 innings

Despite having a 4-1 lead, Spokane couldn’t hold it and the Hops completed the comeback with a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. Alan Espinal hit an RBI triple, Ethan Hedges connected on a run-scoring double and Robert Calaz and Royneir Hernandez each drove in a run on singles to account for Spokane’s offense. Justin Loer earned a blown save when he gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Hedges and Jacob Humphrey both had two-hit nights.

Low-A: Stockton Ports 5, Fresno Grizzlies 1

Stockton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, continued to add to it throughout the game and came away with the victory. Roldy Brito hit an RBI double in the third inning to score Cameron Nelson for Fresno’s only run. The Grizzlies were held to four hits on the night and struck out eight times.

Colorado Rockies 2026 walk-up songs | Purple Row

Thanks to Renee Dechert for putting this together. It’s a great way to learn new music and get a glimpse into the taste, or lack thereof — Troy Johnston, I am talking to you — of the 2026 Rockies.

TJ Rumfield’s start giving Rockies edge in trade with Yankees | New York Post ($)

Jon Heyman dives into the early returns on the Rockies trade that sent Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and TJ Rumfield to Colorado. Rumfield is hitting .368/.432/.605 with two homers, eight RBI, a double and a single. He’s been a welcome surprise at first base.

Here is a potential impact callup for each team | MLB.com

Surprising no one, the MLB.com crew picked Charlie Condon. The 1B/OF is tearing things up with the Triple-A Isotopes, proving he’s the No. 1 PuRP for a reason.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Meet the Mets

Nolan McLean was great, but the Mets’ lineup and bullpen very much were not as the team dropped the rubber game of its series with the Diamondbacks last night at Citi Field.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic

Before the game, Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Jorge Polanco was getting the night off because his Achilles continues to bother him, and he didn’t rule out an IL stint if the situation doesn’t improve.

Anthony DiComo looks at three not-so-obvious effects of Juan Soto’s injury and wrote that the Mets continue to pay for having multiple players learning new positions on the fly.

Around the National League East

The Marlins improved to 8-5 on the season with a resounding 8-1 win over the Reds.

Here are the Braves’ new City Connect uniforms.

Zack Wheeler’s third rehab outing shows there’s still work to be done.

Federal Baseball considers what would make this Nationals season fun.

Around Major League Baseball

The Twins, projected to be the worst team in the American League Central this year, completed a four-game sweep of the Tigers with a 3-1 win.

The A’s, who begin a three-game series against the Mets tonight, shut out the Yankees in a 1-0 win as they took two of three games in the series in The Bronx.

It took until extra innings, but the Padres walked off the Rockies.

The White Sox got a much-needed win over the Royals.

Eight teams unveiled their new City Connect uniforms.

The Blue Jays raised the issue of how long it takes Shohei Ohtani to warm up when he’s pitching.

Dusty Baker, who won the World Series as a player in 1981 and as a manager in 2022 as a manager, has penned an autobiography.

This Date in Mets History

Tommie Agee hit a home run into the upper deck at Shea Stadium on this date in 1969.

Good morning.

• It must be a kind of a slow news day because the big news is the eight new City Connect uniforms that were announced on Thursday.
• Anthony Gharib has the details that went into the design of the new alternates.
• Gharib has the details on the uniforms and David Schoenfield gives them grades.
• Jack Baer ranks the eight City Connect uniforms.
• Matt Snyder also ranks the new City Connects.
• Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows spent the night in the hospital after a collision with left fielder Riley Greene in yesterday’s Tigers loss.
• Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin agreed to a nine-year, $140 million extension with the Bucs.
• Dan Szymborski evaluates the deal and thinks the Pirates did well here, even if Griffin falls a bit short his sky-high promise.
• Ken Rosenthal has the details on how the Pirates and Griffin came to an agreement. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Angels outfielder Jorge Soler and Braves pitcher Reynaldo López were both suspended seven games for their brawl on Tuesday. Both players are appealing the punishment.
• Mike Axisa has some early season trends. Edward Cabrera’s fastball is one.
• Jared Greenspan has pitchers with improved velocity.
• Brett Maguire has ten players turning heads so far this spring.
• Brian Murphy asks if a former prospect bust, Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, is finally living up to his potential this year.
• Jordan Schusterman explains how much panic should each team off to a slow start should feel?
• Matt Snyder does the same thing and puts a panic meter to teams off to disappointing starts.
• Dan Szymborski looks at three playoff contenders who have lost a key player to injury already. Not the Cubs. Fangraphs gave the Cubs their own separate injury article.
• Anthony DiComo has three not-so-obvious impacts of the injury to Mets outfielder Juan Soto.
• Jason Foster have six questions for the Braves. None are about their new City Connect uniforms.
• Michael Baumann profiles Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers and whether or not he deserves to be called an ace.
• Baumann also profiles Angels pitcher José Soriano, whom he calls a “good” but “weird” pitcher.
• Guardians third baseman José Ramirez just became the franchise’s all-time leader in games played. Thomas Harrington lists some other active players who could end up as the team’s leader in games played by the time they are done.
• The MLB Pipeline crew have a potential minor-league call-up for each team who could make a big difference.
• John Coppolella believes that college baseball is about to have a moment in the sun over the next few seasons if it can get its act together.
• Keith Law has his 2026 Draft rankings. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson is out for the year after elbow surgery.
• Orioles pitcher Zac Eflin is done for the year after Tommy John surgery.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that some umpires feel that ABS is holding them up to impossible standards. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Ryan Blake notes that bat speed goes down in cold weather, but that it probably doesn’t make much of a difference.
• Sam Blum reports that Dodgers fans are not taking to calling Dodger Stadium “Uniqlo Field.” (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Bob Nightengale speaks with Dusty Baker, who has a new autobiography coming out.
• Jared Greenspan has each team’s best promotional giveaway for the year.
• The White Sox are giving away White Sox Pope Hats to honor Pope Leo XIV.
• Paige Schector reports on the baby kangaroo that stole everyone’s heart at a Hub City Spartanburgers game.
• And finally, Theo DeRosa reports that Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson literally tore the cover off the ball on a ball he sent flying at . . . 14.3 miles per hour.

Good morning, baseball fans!

We are officially two weeks into the San Francisco Giants season, so I thought now would be a good time to check in and see how folks are feeling so far. We already have a standing feature for Friday BPs when the team is at home, so I’m thinking we can take stock of the overall season on Fridays when the team is traveling.

So, how are we feeling?

We’ve seen some highs, and many lows, and the team has only played four series. The good news is I get to write this right after they won two in a row against the Philadelphia Phillies. That’s exciting, and seemingly a little less likely to involve any of you throwing yourselves down the stairs, as we are wont to do.

But with that said, I don’t have a ton of great feelings about the season thus far. Sure, the two wins against the Phillies this week was a much needed shot of adrenaline, and I really hope they can transform that into some momentum going forward.

But that came on the heels of losing four in a row, three of which were to the New York Mets. You never want to out-Mets the Mets.

I’m also a little nervous about manager Tony Vitello and how he is handling the start of the season so far. On one hand, I kind of dig his willingness to share things with the public that maybe shouldn’t have been shared with the public. It certainly makes my job more interesting. But I do wonder if that openness comes at a cost. That cost being the trust of the players.

Overall, I’m trying not to let the last couple of games give me a false sense of optimism. Sure, it’s always nice to see them score seemingly a month’s worth of runs in two games. But now the month goes on, and we’ll just have to wait and see if the offense marches on with it.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin their series against the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon at 4:15 p.m. PT.

The San Diego Padres played their first extra-innings game of the 2026 season and the first under new manager Craig Stammen. It took 12 innings for the Padres to top the Colorado Rockies in their series opener at Petco Park on Thursday night, giving them and Stammen the win.

The game was settled in the bottom of the 12th inning when Xander Bogaerts blasted a grand slam home run deep into the left field bleachers for a walk-off 7-3 win. The San Diego shortstop made Colorado pay for issuing intentional walks to Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado with Jake Cronenworth on third base after a Fernando Tatis Jr. sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Bogaerts delivered the game winning drive on a 1-0 pitch on the inside part of the plate that sent the Friar Faithful home happy.  

The game-winning heroics by Bogaerts required Cronenworth to make a game-saving throw to the plate on a two-hopper on the infield to give San Diego a chance to win the game in extras. With one out in the top of the 12^th inning, Cronenworth fielded a ground ball off the bat of Brenton Doyle and threw quickly to Luis Campusano at home plate who applied a tag to Willi Castro to keep the game tied, 3-3. Reliever David Morgan got the Padres out of the inning two batters later when Kyle Karros grounded out to Bogaerts at shortstop, sending Tatis Jr., Merrill and Machado to the plate with a chance to win the game.

The end of the game got the headlines and overshadowed another fabulous start from Randy Vasquez, who pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks allowed. Vasquez worked in and out of trouble throughout the game but the one blemish on his start was a solo home run allowed to Doyle in the top of the third inning.

The San Diego offense matched the one run scored by Colorado in the bottom half of the inning when Freddy Fermin and Cronenworth hit back-to-back one out singles to put runners at the corners for Tatis Jr. The Padres right fielder lifted an 0-1 pitch into left field that allowed Fermin to tag up and score from third base.

Neither offense could do much against the opposing pitchers and the game remained tied into the 10^th inning. Both teams scored runs in the 10^th and 11^th innings and the game was decided in the 12^th.

San Diego and Colorado play Friday at 6:40 p.m. and the Padres will wear their City Connect 2.0 uniforms, which were officially unveiled on Thursday.

The Colorado Rockies fought and fought, pushing the San Diego Padres into extras. Unfortunately, they came out on the losing end of a crooked loss, but they showed some absolute heart. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak, and also marked the longest game (by innings) in 2026.

Jimmy Herget opened with a clear inning

Herget played the role of “opener” today. He said on the broadcast that last year he made an appearance in every inning except the first, so today he got his chance. Herget set the tone with an excellent first inning, going 1-2-3 to Jake Cronenworth, Fernando Tatís Jr., and Jackson Merrill. None of the outs were strikeouts, but outs are outs and Herget only threw 10 pitches (six for strikes).

Go Do(llander)

As expected, Chase Dollander took over in the second and ended up going 4.1 innings. He allowed just one earned run with one walk and three strikeouts. He started laboring in the sixth, but was able to get a huge strikeout of Tatís Jr.

Extra (extra) bases

Ezequiel Tovar reached twice again tonight, knocking two doubles.

Brenton Doyle also got to don the purple coat, which did make the trip. The center fielder hit his first home run of the year in the third inning to put the Rockies up 1-0.

Stop hitting Hunter!

In the sixth inning, Hunter Goodman got hit on the right hand for the second day in a row. Randy Vásquez threw a pitch up and in, and it caught Goodman’s hand wrapped around the bat. He walked to first and was met by Warren Schaeffer and Andy Stover. They immediately wrapped his middle finger and it looked like he would attempt to carry on, but he then started bleeding under the bandage. He went into the dugout to get it wrapped and more deeply examined, but then tore off his helmet and threw it down in frustration — Brett Sullivan would then enter the game in his place.

Luckily, it appears that x-rays were negative and Goodman just suffered a right finger laceration. Schaeffer said after the game that Goodman is “day to day.”

Defensive unraveling

The Rockies have had impeccable defense for most of the season, but when it rains, it pours sometimes…

In the bottom of the sixth, the Rox had plenty of opportunities to make outs but couldn’t hold onto the ball. First, Manny Machado reached on a throwing error by Edouard Julien, who tossed the ball into the dirt and Troy Johnston couldn’t smother it. Then, Dollander had Machado picked off but Johnston couldn’t keep it in his glove to record the out. And then, Xander Bogaerts hit a tailor-made double play ball, but Tovar bungled the transfer and rather than record three easy outs, the Rockies then had first and second with one out.

Bullpen wizardry

Luckily, Jaden Hill came in and quickly struck out Gavin Sheets, but then a double steal put men on second and third. Sullivan attempted to pick off Machado at third, but Willi Castro wasn’t quite at the bag. But Hill struck out Nick Castellanos and the Rockies escaped what could’ve been a very bad inning.

Hill stayed in for the seventh inning and got Ty France, Freddy Fermin, and Cronenworth 1-2-3.

Juan Mejia came in for the eighth and was outstanding. He battled against Tatís Jr., who did end up walking. They nearly got him at second after Merrill flied out to center, but Castro was once again slightly behind the bag. However, he was picked off on this excellent play:

Machado singled again, but Mejia struck out Bogaerts to end the inning.

Extra, extra, extra innings!

The 10th inning started with Castro on second as the ghost runner. Jake McCarthy hit a (weird) sacrifice bunt to move him over, and then Doyle walked.

Tyler Freeman hit another clutch single like he did in Toronto to put the Rockies up 2-1 in extras. Unfortunately, he slid early and was nearly leveled by Bogaerts — and that ended up being called interference to end the inning.

In the Padres’ half, Tovar kept Luis Campusano close at second, but then when Cronenworth hit a sacrifice bunt, Victor Vodnik was able to field and pick him off at third base. Unfortunately, Tatís singled and then Merrill walked to load the bases. Machado then hit a sac fly to score Cronenworth.

In the 11th, Sullivan led off with a double down the right field line to score Kyle Karros and put the Rockies up 3-2.

Johnston then walked, but then TJ Rumfield struck out swinging. Tovar grounded into a force out to get Johnston at second, and then Castro gathered a platinum sombrero with an inning-ending fifth strikeout.

Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the bottom half of the 11th and gave up a single to Sheets. He got Castellanos to line out on a spectacular glove save by Karros followed by a strikeout of Ramón Laureano. But then Campusano doubled to score Sheets and then Cronenworth popped out to Karros to send things to the bottom half.

In the bottom half, Valente Bellozo came on to try to hold the the Padres’ best hitters off the board. Tatís Jr. laid down a bunt to move over Cronenworth. Then, Schaffer elected to intentionally walk Merrill and Machado. Unfortunately, Bogaerts belted one over the left field wall for a walk-off grand slam, and the Rockies lost 7-3 after battling back all through extras.

Up Next

Luckily, tomorrow is another night game.

Tomoyuki Sugano will take on Walker Buehler at 6:40pm MT.

See you then!

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The Mets' bullpen has been extra sharp to start the season, and Luke Weaver has been a big part of that.

Entering Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Weaver had allowed just one hit and no walks across five scoreless innings. That would change at an inopportune time for the Mets.

After young right-hander Nolan McLean exited the game with a 1-0 lead and two runners on with one out, Weaver was called on to get out of the jam. Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno stepped into the box as a pinch-hitter and got ahead 2-1 on Weaver. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Weaver threw a changeup that was down and away from the right-handed backstop, but Moreno went down and got the barrel of the bat on the ball. 

The ball carried to right field, where Brett Baty was. However, Baty could not come up with the ball and a run scored to tie the game. A run-scoring fielder's choice, a sac fly and a triple later, and the Diamondbacks put up a four-spot in the seventh en route to a 7-1 loss for the Mets. 

Weaver would get the two outs needed to end the seventh, but the damage was done. Four runs scored -- two counted against Weaver -- on two hits.

After the game, Weaver was asked about the inning and gave credit to the team for executing against him.

"They’re a good team. Good lineup, put the ball in play," Weaver said. "At the end of the day, there’s only one way to look at it, and it’s if you do your job or you don't. Today was not one of those outcomes. They earned it, but I don’t want to be discouraged. I want to continue doing what I’m doing. Feel like I’m in a good spot. Just got to wrap it up to that."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Weaver got in trouble after getting behind 2-0 to Moreno, but gave the Arizona catcher all the credit for putting the barrel to the ball on an executed changeup.

Interestingly enough, Weaver disagreed on whether he executed the pitch.

"There was some indecision on what I wanted to do there," Weaver explained. "Pitch clock got involved there. It was a backed-up moment and just didn’t get to the right end of what I needed to do. [Moreno] did a good job of staying on the pitch. Just on the wrong side of it."

Thursday was Weaver's first blown save of the season and it came at the expense of McLean's gem. Again, Weaver was upbeat about the situation -- all thing's considered -- and is confident he'll get the job done for McLean in the future.

"Adds more of a sting for sure," Weaver said of blowing the save for McLean. "He deserves to walk out of that with his head high. Rely on us to get the job done in crunchtime. He deserved the win there. I hated to be that guy for him, but I’ll pick him up at some point and he’ll continue to do a great job for us."

About that Baty play in the OF

The Moreno at-bat was the catalyst for the Diamondbacks' win on Thursday, but could the game-tying double have been avoided?

Including Thursday, Baty has made just five starts in right field -- facilitated by Juan Soto's IL stint -- and is an infielder by trade. Moreno's double had an exit velocity of 99.3 mph and had a hit probability of 45 percent, according to Statcast. But Baty didn't seem to have a bead on it or know where he was in relation to the right field wall. The ball wound up sailing out of the reach of Baty and bounced off the wall.

Mendoza was asked if he felt Baty could have made the play.

"I don’t think so. He was a little shallow there," Mendoza said. "Moreno got a good piece on that one. I don’t think Baty had a chance on that one there."

When asked if the play was catchable, the Mets skipper spoke confidently that Baty wouldn't have made the play.

"We’ll have to go back and look. But especially with Moreno, he uses the whole field, have to give him credit," Mendoza said. "Where [Baty] was positioned, which is the right positioning, I don’t think he’ll make that play."

Flipped it. pic.twitter.com/CUk4POps8N

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 10, 2026

One batter later, Alek Thomas hit a sharp grounder to Mark Vientos at first base. Vientos grabbed it and squared his body, but bounced the throw wide of the plate, allowing the Diamondbacks to take the lead on the fielder's choice.

Mendoza said the ball was to his left and it's a tough play for any infielder to make. He also gave credit to Jose Fernandez, the runner on third, for his execution of getting down the line quickly. 

With Soto out and Jorge Polanco potentially joining him on the IL, Baty and Vientos are asked to play positions they haven't done much of in their careers. Despite that, Mendoza has liked what he's seen from both despite them learning on the fly.

“I think they’ve been playing the positions very well,” Mendoza said. “Even today, that ball in right field, that’s a tough play. And the one at the plate with Vientos, when you execute the way they did it -- hell of a job from the runner on third base going on contact. Anytime an infielder’s got to go to his right, to his left, you’re going to have to make a really good play to get the guy at home plate. But they've been good.”

The early numbers are, once again, not pretty for Francisco Lindor.

He snapped a skid of 11 hitless at-bats with a seventh inning single in his fourth trip to the plate in the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Citi Field.

He now has just eight hits all season, and just three of those have been for extra bases.

Lindor knows he’s off to another rough first few weeks to a season, but he insists it’s not because of the surgery to remove the hamate bone in his left hand in February.

He can point to the pair of hits, including a double, he had Tuesday against Arizona, with three balls over 100 mph.

Lindor noted the ball he hit off Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller on March 28, a shot that went to deep center at 106 mph, as proof that the procedure, which can rob hitters of power, is not to blame for any slow start.

“They said the power was gonna be down, and I’m hitting the ball just as hard as I have before,” Lindor said before Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. “It’s just a matter of time.”

Despite his confidence that he will hit like he typically does, Lindor acknowledged he still feels the effects of the injury “here and there, but I’m good.”

“Of course you worry about not being the same,” Lindor said of his mindset early in the season. “You do grips and strength tests, and you don’t know if it’s strong enough or what it once was. But then you feel you’re hitting the ball like normal and you think you’re fine. That’s where I am.”

The results so far haven’t followed. That’s nothing new for Lindor, no stranger to shaky Aprils, which is what Carlos Mendoza called this one.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

“The injury has nothing to do with it,” the manager said of the fact Lindor, who is now Thursday just 8-for-51 (.157) with three extra-base hits and no runs batted in. “He’s fine. Throughout his career, only last year were his numbers in April good. He’s hit a lot of balls hard that have gone right at people.”

But with Juan Soto sidelined with a calf injury and Jorge Polanco dealing with Achilles tendinitis, Lindor’s lack of production — along with Bo Bichette’s — is especially ill-timed.

“I’d like to contribute more to the team in this spot, but my struggles are not because of my hand,” Lindor said. “I have to put more quality at-bats together every day and the results will come.”

Asked if the absence of Soto has added more pressure, Lindor said, “No. Juan is irreplaceable. The stuff he does on the field and in the batter’s box, I can’t make up. None of us can.”

But Lindor can certainly do more than he has in the early going.

“You understand these starts are gonna happen sometimes,” Lindor said. “And at the beginning of a season, it looks worse because you don’t have numbers to make it better. It’s part of it. But you have to have a sense of urgency, which I do, to get going. You can’t just say, ‘I’ll get there.’ ”

And to Mendoza’s point, Lindor didn’t have a multi-hit game last year until the ninth game of the season, and in 2024 he was a mess at the plate well into April and slumped all the way to the middle of June.

“He’s an aggressive hitter,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to swing. He’ll get out of it and be fine.”

They call this a deGrom in Queens.

Unrewarded brilliance.

Nolan McLean was terrific as the Mets offense hibernated. He threw up zeroes for six innings. Then, the bullpen blew it and the lineup did nothing to get him off the hook.

The Mets suffered a series-losing, 7-1 setback to the Diamondbacks, and McLean took the loss despite a strong outing at frigid Citi Field.

“That’s part of baseball, at the end of the day. I’m sure I’ll leave guys out there and our bullpen is going to strand them for me plenty of times this year,” McLean said. “It’s already been done a couple of times. It’s part of the game. It’s a long season. I know those guys have my back.”

McLean departed with two runners on, one out in the seventh and a 1-0 lead. Luke Weaver entered, and two batters later the Mets were behind. Converted right fielder Brett Baty couldn’t get to a Gabriel Morena drive that hit the right field fence. Mark Vientos then threw wide to the plate on an Alek Thomas grounder. Arizona led and continued to add on, scoring seven times in the seventh and eighth.

“He deserves to work out of that with his head held high and rely on us to get the job done in crunch time,” Weaver said. “He deserves the win there. I hate to be that guy for him, but I’ll pick him up at some point, and he’ll continue to do a great job for us.”

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Despite the ugly ending, it was another quality outing from McLean.

The right-hander struck out eight, walked two and allowed three hits over 6 ¹/₃ innings. He threw 100 pitches, 64 for strikes, and his ERA on the young season now stands at 2.70.

He allowed just one hit over the first five innings. But McLean walked Geraldo Perdomo leading off the seventh, and with one out Jose Fernando singled softly to center. That was all for McLean.

McLean has made 11 career big league starts and has allowed more than two earned runs just once. The only Mets pitcher to accomplish that feat was Jim McAndrew.

“He had everything working, especially the sinker,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The sinker has been a pitch that’s been kind of off the first couple of outings. But today, the movement, the way he was just commanding that pitch, and he had pretty much everything else working. He was pretty solid.”

It is reminiscent of Jacob deGrom’s start to his career with the Mets. So was Thursday’s outing: no support from his lineup or bullpen.

Memphis Redbirds 4, Charlotte Knights 1
Memphis wasted no time, tagging starter Douglas Nikhazy for three early runs. The 26-year-old, a spring waiver flier from the Cleveland Guardians, has been little more than a roster filler. Tonight, he went 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. The Redbirds tacked on one more tally for good measure off Tyler Gilbert in the sixth.

Charlotte (5-6) finally scratched out a run in the third, courtesy of LaMonte Wade Jr. He ripped the Knights’ lone highlight, an RBI double in the third, to plate Mario Camilletti. Despite smacking seven hits and working three walks, the club couldn’t get anything else going. The good news is Sam Antonacci stretched his hitting streak to 10 games, leading off the ninth with a single. His spring slash line: .342/.500/.526 with a 1.026 OPS.

Chattanooga Lookouts 6, Birmingham Barons 2
Regions Field was quiet early as both teams were held hitless through four innings. The Barons (2-4) struggled early and failed to build any momentum, exchanging quick outs with Chattanooga. It all happened fast for the Lookouts in the fifth inning, beginning with back-to-back solo shots off starter Lucas Gordon. Chattanooga took a 2-0 lead and they wouldn’t look back.

Chattanooga took advantage in the eighth inning and piled on with a series of extra-base hits, extending their lead to 6-2. Birmingham plated two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly and a force out, but the damage was done. The Barons had plenty of baserunners (nine), but couldn’t piece together enough hits to complete their comeback, falling in a game where timely hitting made all the difference.

Winston-Salem Dash 8, Frederick Keys 3
The Dash (4-2) came out swinging, slapping three doubles in the first inning— by Caleb Bonemer, George Wolkow, and Jacob Burke. Just like that, they put four runs on the board. The Keys tried to make things interesting, clawing back to 4-3, but W-S slammed the door in the seventh. Bonemer uncorked a three-run blast, DePino chipped in with a solo shot, and that was all she wrote.

Grant Umberger did his job: five innings, two hits, one earned, five punchouts, and three walks. Jake Peppers tried to keep the train rolling in the sixth but promptly derailed, allowing a run on three hits and two free passes. Dash skipper Guillermo Quiroz summoned Luke Bell to put out the fire, and he did just that. Bell and Drew Conover finished things up, holding the Keys scoreless for the rest of the game.

Hickory Crawdads 3, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
The game was scoreless through four, thanks to Max Banks, who’s now two starts deep and still hasn’t surrendered a run. In four innings, he gave up one hit, one walk, and had seven punchouts. The White Sox selected him in the 14th round last year (No. 406), and the 22-year-old is making pro ball look easy so far.

Jeremy González took the ball for the fifth, and that’s when it unraveled. He served up two runs in the fifth, another in the sixth, and just like that, Hickory had all they’d need. The Ballers (2-4)? Four hits, three guys in scoring position, and not a hint of a rally.

The Atlanta Braves return to Truist Park and kick off the weekend with a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians. The Braves enter play with an 8-5 record and are coming off a series win in Anaheim, where the run column was high, and emotions even higher. The Guardians come to town with the same record after a recent series win over the Kansas City Royals. 

The series gets underway tonight at 7:15 ET, with Bryce Elder getting the nod against fellow right-hander Slade Cecconi. Game two is set for the same time Saturday night, as Martín Pérez faces Parker Messick. The series will conclude Sunday night with Chris Sale starting things off at 7:20 ET. 

The Braves haven’t dropped a series yet this season, and they’ll aim to keep that perfect streak intact this weekend.

More Braves News:

The City Connect uniforms have officially been unveiled, and here’s everything you need to know. 

BravesVision analyst Peter Moylan spoke with us earlier this week to talk about all things coaching, ABS, the big brawl, and more. 

Didier Fuentes threw a shutout and recorded eight strikeouts during Wednesday’s start. More in the minor league recap.

There are several high school prospects the Braves may explore this year, so take a look at potential selections. 

MLB News:

The Washington Nationals have yet to make an extension offer to outfielder Daylen Lile. The Nats currently have just one player on a guaranteed contract past 2026. 

From the Feed:

This week’s brawl has been the biggest Braves headline all week, and now it’s time to hear from you. Which Braves brawl do you think is most memorable?

There’s been plenty of reflection of the past this week after the City Connects were unveiled. So, let’s hear your favorite player as a kid. 

Jorge Polanco was out of the lineup Thursday against Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez with lingering left Achilles soreness, and manager Carlos Mendoza said the first baseman could end up on the IL.

“It is a possibility that we get to a point where we need to give him a break,’’ Mendoza said before a 7-1 loss at Citi Field. “It’s fluid. We’ll see what we’ve got.”

Right now, they’ve got a major part of their offseason transformation unable to play first base since the second game of the season, when Polanco first began to feel discomfort in the area.

He’s been limited to DH duties since then and even that hasn’t helped resolve the issue.

Mendoza said Polanco felt it again Wednesday, which led to Thursday’s decision.

“We’re saying it’s day to day and there are good days and days when he feels it more,” Mendoza said. “[Wednesday] was one of those days [he felt it].”

And there’s no telling how long Polanco will be dealing with the discomfort.

“It’s hard to tell,’’ the manager said. “We’re watching it closely.”

With Polanco sidelined versus the lefty, Mark Vientos was at first base and Francisco Alvarez was the DH.

The 32-year-old Polanco played 138 games with Seattle last season, but had IL stints due to leg injuries each of the three seasons prior — sidelined by hamstring strains in both legs, as well as left knee inflammation.

The lineup is already without Juan Soto, on the IL with a strained right calf and he hasn’t resumed running yet.

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“We’re being cautious,’’ Soto told The Post of the IL decision following a 7-1 loss to Arizona. “I want to be in the right spot when I come back. We have a plan and we’ll follow it.”

Soto, expected to be out 2-3 weeks after suffering the injury in San Francisco, is doing some baseball activities while he’s out, playing catch and hitting in the cages and said he feels “pretty good.”

There’s no timeline, though, for Soto to begin running, which will be the real test for when he might be able to return.

A.J. Minter, expected to be a major piece of the bullpen last year before being lost after a torn lat required season-ending surgery, returned to action Thursday with Low-A St. Lucie. The lefty tossed a scoreless inning to begin his rehab process. He’ll have to be activated by May 9.

“It was good to see him ready to go,’’ Mendoza said. “The fact he was in real competition was a good sign.”

Another veteran reliever, Craig Kimbrel, also tossed a shutout inning for St. Lucie after he had a rough spring.

While David Peterson continues to struggle and Sean Manaea can’t get his velocity back, Christian Scott had an encouraging outing Thursday for Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander, out since 2024 Tommy John surgery, threw five scoreless innings against Buffalo.

He sat in the mid-90s and allowed just a pair of hits, a walk and whiffed seven.

Tobias Myers entered Thursday having not pitched since Saturday and hadn’t thrown more than 30 pitches since his season debut on March 26. Mendoza said Myers was still built up for “40-45” pitches, but “if we need to use him for one inning in high-leverage, we will.”

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Mets had the highest Opening Day payroll at $352.2 million.

“There’s always pressure here in New York,’’ Mendoza said. “There are high expectations, regardless of payroll. We’ve got to go and not only get to October, but deep into October.”

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: Luis Gil, who started the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since the Yankees did not need a fifth starter, was recalled after yesterday’s game. To make room on the 40-man, the team will designate Cade Winquest for assignment. New York took Winquest in the Rule 5 Draft over the offseason, but the right-hander didn’t manage to make it into a game in his two weeks with the club. After allowing three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six in 4.2 innings for Scranton on Sunday, Gil is scheduled to make his season debut tonight against the Rays.

The Yankees made the move official on Friday afternoon;

The Winquest decision will likely spark debate over the Yankees’ decision to roster him but never use him across 12 games. For one perspective, check out the PSA account on BlueSky.

SNY | Alex Smith: The New York Yankees were blanked on Thursday afternoon by Jeffrey Springs and co., losing 1-0 and logging a single hit, a Ben Rice single in the seventh. They lost the series at the hands of the Athletics and haven’t scored a single run in their last 17 innings. As Matt noted in his recap for us, when the top of the order has a bad day, it just exposes the completely-punchless lower half. Ryan McMahon (2-for-29) and José Caballero (5-for-37) have horrid wRC+’s of 17 and 10, respectively, the catchers haven’t hit, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. has yet to homer. In fact, Chisholm, McMahon, Caballero, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham, and Austin Wells have combined for as many homers (2 in 304 PA) as bench bat Amed Rosario had on Tuesday alone.

Even manager Aaron Boone, known for always finding a silver lining in every tough situation, didn’t find any positives in Thursday’s game. “Look, we got shut down today,” Boone said. “The previous games where we’re struggling scoring, I feel like we’re getting the traffic and we’re having quality at-bats. Today was a day where we got beat. We just didn’t generate much, we didn’t hit a lot of balls on the screws at all, and didn’t create much traffic.”

NY Post | Dan Martin and Mark W. Sánchez: Yankees closer David Bednar, who has given up runs in three of his last four outings, has been averaging 95.6 mph with his fastball. After checking in at 97.1 mph in 2025 and 97.2 mph the year before, it’s clear his velo has been down a bit. The pitcher, however, is not concerned. “It’s early in the season and the weather [is cold],” Bednar told reporters. “It’s nothing to panic about.”

It’s also important to point out that the reliever has been throwing a lot these days due to the Yankees’ shallow bullpen, but the situation is worth monitoring even though it’s very early, and the cold does play a role. The pitching staff has at least generally done its part so far; it’s more the offense that needs to catch up.

CBS | RotoWire Staff: Yankees veteran ace Gerrit Cole keeps advancing in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. After throwing on Monday without issues, the next step is facing hitters with High-A Hudson Valley, according to Boone. The session will take place on Sunday and, if it goes well, a rehab assignment could be next.

Introduction

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

Bat Speed

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

Overly Aggressive

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

Missing Meatballs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But all of this is just a silver lining.

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